News > Weekly European Agenda | 08/03/2021
Weekly European Agenda | 08/03/2021
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08-14 March 2021
Monday 8 March
- EP: Plenary
- EC: President von der Leyen IWD Celebration in Parliament
- EESC Towards a holistic strategy on sustainable rural & urban development event
- CoR: For more women in politics IWD2021 Event
- Presidency: Remote work: challenges, risks and opportunities
- Ombudsman: International Women’s Day event
Tuesday 9 March
- EP: Plenary
- EC: College Meeting
- EESC: Fundamental rights, the rule of law and the post-COVID-19 recovery
- FRA: Human rights in COVID-19 recovery
- CoE: Implementing ECHR judgements
Wednesday 10 March
- EP: Plenary
- EC: President von der Leyen signs joint declaration on CoFoE
- EESC: The economic impact of organised crime and money laundering
- Presidency: Health challenges in a post-COVID-19 world
- FRA: Lecture to EU Delegation to Turkmenistan
- CoE: Implementing ECHR judgements
Thursday 11 March
- EP: Plenary
- CoM: Informal meeting of the justice ministers
- EC: President von der Leyen receives Prime Minister of Croatia
- CoE: Implementing ECHR judgements
Friday 12 March
- CoM: Informal meeting of home affairs ministers
- EC President von der Leyen meets with Prime Ministers of the Baltic States
- EESC: Civil Society Organisations during and after COVID-19: what challenges and what future?
- CoR: Future of Europe Online Workshop
Institutional Agendas
European Parliament
Plenary March 8 – 12
Monday March 8
Debates: Debates will be held on a WTO-compatible EU carbon border adjustment Mechanism, Equal treatment in employment and occupation in light of the UNCRPD, Administrative cooperation in the field of taxation, Corporate due diligence and corporate accountability, and Implementation of the Construction Products Regulation.
Tuesday March 9
Votes: Votes will take place on a WTO-compatible EU carbon border adjustment Mechanism, Administrative cooperation in the field of taxation, Corporate due diligence and corporate accountability, Equal treatment in employment and occupation in light of the UNCRPD; Fisheries control; Activities of the European Ombudsman Annual report 2019.
Debates: Debates will be held on the InvestEU programme, the EU4Health Programme, Fisheries control, Activities of the European Ombudsman Annual report 2019 in the presence of European Ombudsman and there will be a Commission statement on tackling the economic impact of the COVID pandemic by focusing on investment, competitiveness and skills.
Wednesday March 10
Votes: Votes will take place on Customs programme, European Semester: Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2021, and European Semester: employment and social aspects in the Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2021.
Debates: The signature of the Joint Declaration on Conference on the Future of Europe will take place; there will be Council and Commission statements on Action Plan for the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights in preparation of the Social Summit in Porto in May, on Government attempts to silence free media in Poland, Hungary and Slovenia, on Declaration of the EU as an LGBTIQ Freedom Zone, on Children’s Rights, and on Reforming the EU policy framework to stop tax avoidance in the EU after the OpenLux revelations; and debates on European Semester: Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2021 and European Semester: employment and social aspects in the Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2021.
Thursday March 11
Debates: There will be Commission statements on Application of Regulation (EC) 2020/2092 (the Rule of Law conditionality mechanism), and on Respecting the partnership principle, in the preparation and implementation of National Recovery and Resilience Plans, and ensuring good governance of the spending; and debates on Long term vision for rural areas, Evaluation of the Geo-blocking Regulation, and EU Pledge for Afghanistan at 2020 Geneva Conference
Find an overview of the parliamentary agenda here.
Council of Ministers
Thursday March 11
Informal meeting of the justice ministers
Agenda highlights include retention of electronic communication data, Fundamental rights in the EU and setting up of the Europe Public Prosecutor’s office.
Friday March 12
Informal meeting of home affairs ministers
Agenda highlights include discussion on enhancing the resilience of critical entities, external aspects of migration on the basis of the Commission’s communication on strengthening cooperation on return and readmission, and enhancing cooperation between the EU and North African countries.
An overview of planned Council meetings can be found here.
European Commission and High Representative
Monday 8 March
President von der Leyen participates in the European Parliament International Women’s Day Celebration.
Commissioner Schmit holds a videoconference call with representatives of the European Trade Union Confederation.
Commissioner Kyriakides delivers a speech via videoconference at the event ‘Women in the Era of the Pandemic,’ organised by the Marianna V. Vardinoyannis Foundation.
Tuesday 9 March
College Meeting
The college will meet to discuss Europe’s Digital Decade 2030 Digital Targets and the EU’s humanitarian aid in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond
Commissioner Timmermans participates via videoconference to the conference Milano per le donne, organized by the Municipality of Milan, on the occasion of the International Women’s Day.
Commissioner Vestager participates in the launch of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe’s new European Women’s Academy on the occasion of International Women’s Day.
Wednesday 10 March
President von der Leyen participates in the signature of the Joint Declaration on the Conference on the Future of Europe.
Commissioner Timmermans delivers via videoconference a speech at the Economic Council of Finland led by Sanna Marin, Prime Minister of Finland.
Commissioner Timmermans holds a videoconference call with Stefan Löfven, Prime Minister of Sweden.
Thursday 11 March
President von der Leyen receives Andrej Plenković, Prime Minister of Croatia.
Friday 12 March
President von der Leyen meets with the Prime Ministers of the Baltic States, via videoconference.
A full list with meetings of Commissioners can be found here; the Commissioners’ weekly activities can be found here; the agenda of the College Meetings can be found here; Commission events can be found here.
European Economic and Social Committee
Monday 8 March
Towards a holistic strategy on sustainable rural & urban development
The Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment (NAT) of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) will hold a thematic debate on the importance of a holistic strategy for the sustainable development of rural and urban areas.
Tuesday 9 March
Fundamental rights, the rule of law and the post-COVID-19 recovery
The hearing will build on the reflection launched by the FRRL Group at its first hearing on COVID-19 in December 2020. The hearing will concentrate on the lessons learned from the crisis in terms of fundamental rights and the rule of law and on ensuring that the recovery will take account of those lessons.
Wednesday 10 March
The economic impact of organised crime and money laundering
This public conference will look at the impacts of Covid-19 on organised crime.
Friday 12 March
Civil Society Organisations during and after COVID-19: what challenges and what future?
The hybrid conference will see the launch of a study commissioned by the EESC to shed light on the activities of civil society organisations (CSOs) in assisting local communities and vulnerable groups to deal with the pandemic. Discussions with high-level speakers and civil society representatives will focus on the impact of the pandemic on vulnerable groups of people, how CSOs helped these vulnerable groups, initiatives taken by CSOs to review how they handled the crisis and the ways in which CSOs will contribute to reconstruction and to sustainable post COVID-19 communities.
More information about EESC events can be found here.
The agendas of the different EESC meetings can be found here.
Committee of the Regions
Monday 8 March
For more women in politics – International Women’s Day 2021
A one-day online conference entitled “For more women in politics” will reflect on the issue of women’s participation in local, regional and European politics. Members of the European Committee of the Regions, Members of the European Parliament and participants in the CoR Young Elected Politicians Programme will gather on International Women’s Day 2021 to highlight the urgent need to address the democratic deficit constituted by the under-representation of women in this particular field.
Friday 12 March
Future of Europe Online Workshop
The Marshal of Podkarpackie Region in partnership with the European Committee of the Regions will hold a panel discussion on the future of Europe aimed at involving young Europeans in social dialogue.
More information about Committee of the Regions events can be found here. The agendas of the different Committee of the Regions meetings can be found here.
Portuguese Presidency
Tuesday 9 March
Remote work: challenges, risks and opportunities
The conference is an opportunity to contribute to and discuss the proposal in the Council Conclusions on the topic “Remote Work: Challenges, Risks and Opportunities
Wednesday 10 March
Health challenges in a post-COVID-19 world
In this third conference, the panel discusses strategic investments in health infrastructure and innovation in the Health industry.
EU Trade Policy – what ambitions for the EU agri-food trade?
The meeting will provide an opportunity for discussion on the European Union’s role in world trade in agro-food products and commodities and its ambitions for the future, in the wake of the recent launch of the Strategy of the Committee on Future European Trade Policy. It will also offer the chance to consider how EU Trade Policy helps to support agriculture and sustainable agricultural systems.
The agenda of the Portuguese Presidency can be found here.
European Ombudsman
Monday 8 March
Freshfields Brussels International Women’s Day event
The European Ombudsman will take part in a panel discussion, moderated by the Brussels Women in the Network (WiN). The panelists will discuss the experiences and challenges that have shaped their career paths.
The EU Ombudsman calendar of activities can be found here.
European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights
Tuesday 10 March
Human rights in COVID-19 recovery
FRA will present findings from its work on the impact of COVID-19 on fundamental rights during the UNECE Regional Forum on Sustainable Development. It will be part of discussions on 10 March on how human rights can guide sustainable recovery. FRA will also draw on its work on implementing the Sustainable Development Goals in the EU. The event focuses on how to ensure that the principle of leaving no-one behind is entrenched in COVID-19 recovery strategies and plans
Procedural safeguards for children in criminal proceedings
FRA will hold a meeting to prepare for the second part of its Procedural safeguards for children who are suspects or accused in criminal proceedings project.
Wednesday 11 March
Lecture to EU Delegation to Turkmenistan
FRA will give a virtual lecture about the EU justice system and its legal bodies to the EU Delegation to Turkmenistan. The lecture will present an overview on the EU policy system, the Agency’s work and how it protects human rights in the EU.
Information on upcoming FRA events can be found here.
Council of Europe
Tuesday 9 March – Thursday 11 March
Implementing ECHR judgements
The Committee of Ministers will hold its quarterly meeting to oversee the implementation of judgments and decisions from the European Court of Human Rights.
Find an overview of Council of Europe events here; the PACE diary here; the Congress calendar of events here; information on forthcoming judgments here; the calendar of hearings here; information on Venice Commission events here; the agenda of the Commissioner of Human Rights here; and the Chairmanship agenda here.
