This briefing is intended as a background overview for parliamentary committees (and their secretariats) planning their activities in relation to the European Commission's 2023 work programme (CWP 2023), adopted on 18 October 2022. The CWP 2023 is shaped by the exceptional circumstances linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which triggered a vast humanitarian, human rights, displacement, food and energy crisis. As of 7 October 2022, the UN Refugee Agency reports that nearly a third of Ukrainians have been forced from their homes; Europe is hosting over 7.6 million refugees from Ukraine, and 6.2 million people remain displaced by the war within Ukraine. Skyrocketing gas and electricity prices, coupled with energy supply concerns, have also impacted the cost of living of European households as well as the post-pandemic recovery. Last but not least, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has shattered Europe's peace and altered its security situation, requiring EU foreign, security and defence policy, and the tools thereof, to adapt appropriately. In an unprecedented move, the EU has activated the European Peace Facility to provide military assistance to Ukraine, mobilising (up to September of this year) €3.1 billion, as well as providing €19 billion to strengthen Ukraine's economic, social and financial resilience. On the humanitarian front, the EU has provided aid through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, with over 70 000 tonnes of aid delivered to Ukraine so far, and has activated the Temporary Protection Directive, thus ensuring that Ukrainian refugees have access to jobs, housing, education and healthcare. Medical and specialised equipment for public health risks, such as chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats, have been mobilised via the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) and rescEU emergency stockpiles. Through the Cohesion's Action for Refugees in Europe (CARE), and the FAST-CARE (Flexible Assistance for Territories) proposal, the Commission has made it easier for Member States and regions to mobilise cohesion funds to help people fleeing the war. On energy, the EU has taken a number of steps both to align its policies with more ambitious climate goals and to boost energy independence, including the REPowerEU plan for saving energy, producing clean energy, and diversifying EU energy supplies. As regards the food crisis caused by increasing prices, and aggravated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Commission has facilitated Ukraine's access to the single market and global supply chains through alternative routes ('solidarity lanes'), and continues to work closely with the Member States, its international partners and Ukraine to ensure access to fertilisers, food production and open trade to prevent food supply distortions. In line with its title, 'A Union standing firm and united', the CWP 2023 is set against the above background and framed, according to the Commission, by three complementary realities. The first is that challenges of such scale can only truly be tackled collectively. The second is that the aforementioned crises underline the need for Europe to continue to accelerate the radical (twin green and digital) transformation set out at the beginning of this Commission's mandate. The third reality is that these crises cannot be met with a business-as-usual approach.Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP