A quick glance at the main forthcoming events in the European Union including EU Council, Commission and Parliament meetings and other EU-related conferences and events. Events for the week of 15th to 21st July 2019.
Monday 15 July, The Foreign Affairs Council meets and will start with a discussion on current affairs, allowing ministers to review pressing issues on the international agenda. This may include the situation in Sudan, Ethiopia and Venezuela. Ministers may also touch on Turkey’s current illegal drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean. The High Representative Frederica Mogherini may also debrief ministers on the EU-Ukraine summit on 8 July and the EU-G5 Sahel ministerial meeting.
Under Finland’s presidency, the Agriculture and Fisheries Council meets in Brussels. The Council will be informed about the priorities and work programme of Finland’s presidency in the field of agriculture and fisheries. Ministers will exchange views on the environmental and climate-related aspects of the post 2020 Common Agricultural Policy reform package. The Council will be updated on the work of the high-level group on sugar created by the Commission to carry out a thorough evaluation of the sugar sector at EU and national level.
The European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg, France. The plenary sessions represent the culmination of the legislative work done in committees and in the political groups. These sessions are where the Parliament formally sits to vote on EU legislation and adopt its position on political issues.The MEPs meet around once a month in Strasbourg for a four-day part session from Monday to Thursday. In addition to these 12 annual Strasbourg sessions, the Parliament may also meet in additional two-day plenary sessions in Brussels up to six times a year.
President Jean-Claude Juncker receives Joseph Daul, President of the European People’s Party; and Manfred Weber, Chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament.
Tuesday 16 July, the election of Commission President. At 09.00 on Tuesday morning, Ursula von der Leyen will take the floor in Parliament’s plenary session and outline her vision and plans as Commission President, followed by a debate with MEPs until 12.30. On Tuesday at 18.00, Parliament will vote on von der Leyen’s nomination for Commission President. To be elected, she needs an absolute majority (50% plus one) of Parliament’s component members. The vote will be held by secret paper ballot.
The EP Conference of Committee Chairs will hold a hearing with Commissioners-designate Kadri Simson from Estonia and Ioan Mircea Paşcu from Romania on Tuesday.
Paşcu and Simson are set to replace former Commissioner Corina Crețu and Commission Vice-President Andrus Ansip who left the current Commission to take up their seats as Members of the European Parliament.
Meeting of the College of Commissioners, in Strasbourg, France.
Wednesday 17 July, the EU-Canada summit will be held in Montreal, Canada. EU and Canadian leaders will meet in Montreal to intensify EU-Canada relations and discuss future areas of cooperation. As like-minded partners, the EU and Canada will reaffirm their joint commitment to multilateralism and rules-based trade. They will reiterate their full commitment to the Paris Agreement, and they will call for further efforts to fight climate change. At the summit, leaders from both sides will discuss strategic cooperation on global challenges, including in science, technology and innovation. Foreign and security issues will also feature on the agenda.
The European Parliament will debate humanitarian assistance in the Mediterranean. Parliament will debate NGOs’ operations in the Mediterranean and the diverging positions of member states with the Finnish Presidency and the Commission on Wednesday afternoon.
Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Commissioner Karmenu Vella in New York, the United States speaks at the High-Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development at the United Nations.
Thursday 18 July, In Brussels, the General Affairs Council will be held. The Council will hear a presentation on the priorities of Finland’s presidency for the next six months. The presidency will inform ministers about its plans for work on the multi annual financial framework for 2021-2027. Ministers will also exchange views on the implementation of the new strategic agenda 2019-2024. The European Commission is expected to present its new communication on further strengthening the rule of law in the EU, if adopted by the college in time for the Council meeting. The Council will also take stock of the state of play on the rule of law in Poland following the judgment of the European Court of Justice on Poland’s Supreme Court law.
In Helsinki, Finland, an informal meeting of justice and home affairs ministers. Migration, the course of internal security and strengthening of common values and the rule of law will be the key issues as the justice and home ministers of EU member states convene in an informal meeting in Helsinki on 18–19 July.
On Thursday, the home affairs ministers will discuss in their working sessions the future of EU internal security and migration policy. During the working lunch, they will address artificial intelligence. In the afternoon, the ministers will hold a political debate based on a fictitious hybrid threat scenario with the aim of highlighting hybrid threats from the internal security angle. On Friday 19 July, justice ministers will discuss the future of justice. The first working session will be devoted strengthening of the rule of law, and the second will focus on topical challenges in the field of cooperation in criminal matters. The role of civil justice in multilateral cooperation will be discussed during the working lunch.
The possible plenary vote is set to take place on Thursday, once the Conference of Presidents (EP President Sassoli plus political groups leaders) has declared the hearings closed on two Commissioners-designate.
Via Ci Consulta – Geopolitics – EU affairs unit
