Weekly European Agenda 13/02/2023
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13-19 February 2023
Monday 13 February
- EP: Plenary session
- CoM: Eurogroup
- EC: von der Leyen meets with President of the European Parliament
- EC: von der Leyen meets with European People’s Party Group and the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament
- EC: Timmermans receives the President of the European Investment Bank
- EC: Hahn receives Minister of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania
- EC: Gentiloni participates in the European Tech Champions Initiative
- EESC: Wooden construction for CO2 reduction in building sector
- CoR: Webinar on CEF Cross-border Renewable Energy Projects
- ECB: Participates in Eurogroup meeting
- CoE: Roundtable meeting between the Ministry of Justice and a delegation of the of the Council of Europe’s Department for the Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights
- CoE: Conference on the recommendations to Georgia
Tuesday 14 February
- EP: Plenary session
- EC: College meeting
- EC: Jourová meets with the European Ombudsman
- EC: von der Leyen attends Meeting of the College Commissioners
- EC: von der Leyen receives Co-Chairs of the Greens/EFA Group
- EC: Gentiloni meets with Minister of Finance of Finland
- EESC: Public hearing on Precarious work and mental health
- CoR: 16th meeting of the ENVE commission
- Presidency: Conference to prevent and combat smuggling of firearms in the context of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine
- EDPS: Plenary Session of the EDPB, Participation of Wojciech Wiewiórowski
- ECB: Luis de Guindos participates in an ECOFIN meeting
Wednesday 15 February
- EP: Plenary session
- EC: von der Leyen participates in the EP Plenary debate
- EC: Jourová speaks with President of Court of Justice of the European Union
- EC: Hahn receives Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium
- EESC: 8th meeting of the EU DAG under the EU-Japan EPA
- EDPS: Participation of Wojciech Wiewiórowski at the Council Data Protection Working Party
- EIB: Meeting No. 560 of the Board of Directors
- CoE: Bjørn Berge pays a working visit to Armenia
Thursday 16 February
- EMI: Overcoming labour & supply chain shortage in Europe
- EP: BUDG
- EP: Plenary session
- EC: von der Leyen receives Prime Minister of France
- EC: Gabriel delivers a keynote Speech
- EC: Dalli speaks at event in Stockholm
- EESC: Revision of the anti–trafficking directive
- EESC: Ecological overshoot
- Presidency: Free to Create – European Union Conference on Artistic Freedom and Cultural and Creative Industries
- ECB: Fabio Panetta participates in a discussion on “Monetary policy after the Energy shock”
- CoE: Bjørn Berge participates in the launching of the CoE Action Plan for Armenia 2023–2026
Friday 17 February
- EC: von der Leyen participates in the Munich Security Conference
- EC: Timmermans participates in the Munich Security Conference
- EC: Schinas participates to the Munich Security Conference
EC: Gabriel delivers a keynote Speech at the Munich Security Conference - EESC: Competence and skills development in the green digital transition
- CoR: 16th SEDEC commission meeting (mandate VII)
- FRA: European Presidents of Bar and Law Societies annual meeting
European Movement International
Thursday 16 February
Overcoming labour & supply chain shortage in Europe
The European Movement International and METRO AG would like to invite you to attend our event “Overcoming labour & supply chain shortage in Europe”, taking place on Thursday, 16 February, from 10:00 – 12:00 CET at Stanhope Hotel (rue du commerce 9, 1000 Brussels). After holding a series of roundtables in 2022 to discuss labour shortages in Europe and their impact on specific sectors and supply chains, bringing together sectoral organizations, social partners, civil society, policy experts, and EU institutions, this final event will be the occasion to unveil the conclusions and policy recommendations.
More information about the event here. To register, click here.
More information about EMI events can be found here.
Institutional Agendas
European Parliament
Monday 13 February
Plenary session
Debates: REPowerEU chapters in recovery and resilience plans; Electoral rights of mobile Union citizens.
Tuesday 14 February
Plenary sessionDebates: CO2 emission standards for cars and vans; Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence: EU accession; The EU priorities for the 67th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
Votes: Revision of the Market Stability Reserve for the EU Emissions Trading System; Union’s rights in enforcing and implementing the UK Withdrawal Agreement and the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement; Amendments to the European Long-Term Investment Funds (ELTIFs) Regulation; Union Secure Connectivity Programme 2023-2027.
Wednesday 15 February
Plenary session
Debates: European Central Bank – annual report 2022; Access to strategic critical raw materials; Cross-border adoptions – the need for more transparency and international cooperation; Adequate minimum income ensuring active inclusion; Developing an EU Cycling Strategy.
Votes: EU/North Macedonia Agreement: operational activities carried out by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency in the Republic of North Macedonia; Authorising Poland to ratify the amendment to the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Pollock Resources in the Central Bering Sea; Protocol to the EC/Korea Cooperation Agreement on a Civil Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS): accession of Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania; Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe: Chips Joint Undertaking; Consultation on European Ombudsman Implementing Provisions.
Thursday 16 February
Plenary session
Debates: Availability of fertilisers in the EU; European initiative to promote civic engagement to protect and better support European volunteers; Explanation of votes.
Votes: The recent deterioration of the inhuman imprisonment conditions of Alexey Navalny and other political prisoners in Russia; An EU strategy to boost industrial competitiveness, trade and quality jobs; One year of Russia’s invasion and war of aggression against Ukraine; European Central Bank – annual report 2022; Motions for resolutions – Adequate minimum income ensuring active inclusion; Developing an EU cycling strategy; Motions for resolutions – Availability of fertilisers in the EU; Violence against opposition activists in Equatorial Guinea, notably the case of Julio Obama Mefuman; The situation of human rights defenders in Eswatini, notably the murder of Thulani Maseko; The erosion of the rule of law in Greece: the wiretapping scandal and media freedom.
Find an overview of the parliamentary agenda here.
Council of Ministers
Monday 13 February
Eurogroup
The following topics will be discussed: recent developments in energy markets and their impact on the fiscal policy response in the euro area; Thematic discussion – Euro area labour markets: recent developments and challenges ahead; Macroeconomic and financial developments, and policy coordination in the euro area.
Tuesday 14 February
Economic and Financial Affairs Council
The highlights include the economic and financial impact of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, an exchange of views on the economic governance review, as well as the possibility of the Council to adopt implementing decisions under the Recovery and Resilience Facility regarding updates of national recovery plans. The Presidency will also present the state of play of current legislative proposals in the field of financial services. The EU’s terms of reference in view of the G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors is expected to be approved by the Ministers on 23-24 of February. Finally, the Council may agree on a revised EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes.
An overview of planned Council meetings can be found here.
European Commission and High Representative
Monday 13 February
von der Leyen meets with President of the European Parliament
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will meet with President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola.
von der Leyen meets with chairs of the European People’s Party Group and the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will meet with Manfred Weber and Iratxe García-Pérez, chairs of the European People’s Party Group and the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament.
Timmermans receives President of the European Investment Bank
Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans will receive the President of the European Investment Bank, Werner Hoyer.
Hahn receives Minister of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania
Gintarė Skaistė, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania, will be recieved by Commissioner Johannes Hahn.
Gentiloni participates in the European Tech Champions Initiative
Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni will participate in the signature event of European Tech Champions Initiative, initiated by the European Investment Bank Group, and five EU Member States. The Member States are France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Belgium.
Tuesday 14 February
College meeting
Commissioners will meet in Strasbourg to present the review of the CO2 emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles.
Jourová meets with European Ombudsman
Vice President of the European Commission Vĕra Jourová will meet with European Ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly.
von der Leyen attends Meeting of the College Commissioners
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will participate in the Meeting of the College Commissioners.
von der Leyen recieves Co-Chairs of the Greens/EFA Group
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will receive Terry Reintke and Philippe Lamberts, co-chairs of the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament.
Gentiloni meets with Minister of Finance of Finland
Paolo Gentiloni will meet with Annika Saarikko, Minister of Finance of Finland.
Wednesday 15 February
von der Leyen participates in the EP Plenary debate
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will participate in the debate “One year of Russia’s invasion and war of aggression against Ukraine” during the plenary session.
Jourová speaks with President of Court of Justice of the European Union
Vice President of the European Commission Věra Jourová will speak with Koen Lenaerts, President of Court of Justice of the European Union.
Hahn receives the Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium
Petra de Sutter, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Administration, Public Enterprises, Telecommunication and the Postal Services of Belgium, will be received by Commissioner Johannes Hahn.
Thursday 16 February
von der Leyen receives Prime Minister of France
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will receive Elisabeth Borne, Prime Minister of France.
Gabriel delivers a keynote Speech
Commissioner Marya Gabriel will attend the Cultural Conference in Umeå, where she will deliver a keynote Speech.
Dalli speaks at event in Stockholm
Commissioner Helena Dalli will speak at the event: ‘From Plan to Action- High Level Conference on the Implementation of National Action Plans against Racism’.
Friday 17 – Saturday 18 February
von der Leyen participates in the Munich Security Conference
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will participate in the Munich Security Conference.
Timmermans participates in the Munich Security Conference
Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans will participate in the 2023 Munich Security Conference.
Schinas participates to the Munich Security Conference
Vice-President Margaritis Schinas will participate to the Munich Security Conference.
Jourová speaks at the Munich Security Conference
Vice President of the European Commission Věra Jourová will speak at the Munich Security Conference on Disinformation: Navigating the Battle of Narratives.
An overview of the Commission College can be found here; the Commissioners’ weekly activities can be found here; the agenda of upcoming College meetings can be found here; Commission events can be found here.
European Economic and Social Committee
Monday 13 February
Wooden construction for CO2 reduction in building sector
Online event organized by the Section for Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and the Information Society (TEN) of the EESC. The hearing will build onto the exploratory opinion requested by the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU on Wooden construction for CO2 reduction in building sector.
Tuesday 14 February
Precarious work and mental health
The EESC is organising a remote public hearing to prepare the exploratory opinion requested by the future Spanish presidency of the EU on ”Precarious work and mental health”.
Wednesday 15 February
8th meeting of the EU DAG under the EU-Japan EPA
The 8th meeting of the EU Domestic Advisory Group (DAG) under the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement will be held. Important topics that will be discussed include EEAS presentation on EU-Japan relations, preparation of the EU DAG statement, and updates from the DG Trade statistics.
Thursday 16 February
Revision of the anti-trafficking directive
EESC is organising a public hearing on the anti-trafficking directive due to a fragmented implementation across the EU as a result of differing legal consequences for employers and users of the services of trafficked people.
Ecological overshoot
Conference organized by the Sustainable Development Observatory of the EESC addressing how the EU can push back against resource depletion. It will also look at how the EU can reduce its impact on the environment by addressing good practices and initiatives.
Friday 17 February
Competence and skills development in the green and digital transition
A public hearing will be organised in preparation of an exploratory opinion requested by the Swedish presidency. Due to rapid transformation in working life with the acceleration of digital transformation, automation, and transition to climate neutrality, this event will look at how the competences and skills will need to adjust to keep up with the transition.
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 13 February
Webinar on CEF Cross-border Renewable Energy Projects
The European Committee of the Regions will host the webinar with the Cross-Border Renewable Energy Programme, which is part of Connecting Europe Facility. This is a new programme under CEF, where the main objective is to provide financial support to cross border renewable energy projects to foster the uptake of renewable energy. This involves cooperation between Member States and Regions.
Tuesday 14 February
16th meeting of the ENVE commission
First on the agenda, are: “Revision of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive”, which is followed by a discussion on the CoR participation at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity COP15 and a discussion on the CoR SEDEC opinion “Amending the Directive on Asbestos”. Other topics include “Fostering the potential and synergies of EU energy and climate initiatives for regions and cities”, and “Revision of the EU Ambient Air Quality Legislation” with the participation of the Presidency and Timmermans.
The meeting will be concluded with two presentations: The Green Deal Going Local Handbook on Adaptation, and Partnerships of Regional Innovation – a contribution towards the Green Deal, climate mitigation and adaptation.
Friday 17 February
16th SEDEC commission meeting
Agenda for the meeting includes approval of the Work Programme for 2023. There will be a discussion and adoption of Zero long-term unemployment: the local and regional perspective, followed by debates on: Taking Stock of the second year of implementation of the Joint Action Plan; Partnerships for Regional Innovation (PRI); Strengthening Cultural Heritage Resilience for Climate Change; EU Industrial and R&D Investment Scoreboard.
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.
Swedish Presidency
Tuesday 14 – Wednesday 15 February
Conference to prevent and combat smuggling of firearms in the context of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine – possible measures enhanced customs cooperation
The conference will be chaired by Director General for International Affairs, Dr Svensson and with opening remarks by Strömmer, Minister of Justice. It will be focused on the threat of illicit firearms and challenges with the smuggling of firearms and light weapons. Deputy Head of the State Customs Service of Ukraine, Mr Kalynovych, will also be present to present the situation in Ukraine with what regards weapons control. Other stakeholders such as United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Europol, and the World Customs Organization.
Thursday 16 – Friday 17 February
Free to Create – European Union Conference on Artistic Freedom and Cultural and Creative Industries
With a wide range of participants, including representatives from Member States and the European Commission, more focus will be put on the importance of artistic freedom in order for creative and cultural industries to flourish. Following COVID-19 and the current invasion of an EU neighbor, the importance of cultural workers and their role in safeguarding freedom of expression has become increasingly clear.
The agenda of the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU can be found here.
European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights
Friday 17 February
European Presidents of Bar and Law Societies annual meeting
The annual meeting will address how much transparency the rule of law need needs, and FRA will take part in this conference.
Information on upcoming FRA events can be found here.
European Data Protection Supervisor
Tuesday 14 February
Plenary Session of the EDPB, Participation of Wojciech Wiewiórowski
The European Data Protection Supervisor, Wojciech Wiewiórowski, will take part in the Plenary session of the EDPB.
Wednesday 15 February
Participation of Wojciech Wiewiórowski at the Council Data Protection Working Party
Participation at the Council Data Protection Working Party by The European Data Protection Supervisor, Wojciech Wiewiórowski.
Find more information on EDPS agenda here and events here.
European Central Bank
Monday 13 February
ECB participates in Eurogroup meeting
President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde and Exceutive board member Fabio Panetta will participate in the Eurogroup meeting.
Tuesday 14 February
Luis de Guindos participates in the ECOFIN meeting
Vice-President of the European Central Bank Luis de Guindos will participate on the ECOFIN meeting.
Wednesday 15 February
Participation by Christine Lagarde in the plenary debate on the ECB Annual Report 2021
President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde will take part in the plenary debate on the ECB Annual Report 2021.
More information about ECB events can be found here.
European Investment Bank
Wednesday 15 February
Meeting No. 560 of the Board of Directors
No agenda is yet available.
The agenda of the EIB can be found here.
Council of Europe
Wednesday 15 February
Bjørn Berge will pay a working visit to Armenia
Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge will pay a working visit to Armenia.
Thursday 16 February
Bjørn Berge participates in the launching of the CoE Action Plan for Armenia 2023–2026
Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge will take part in the launc of the CoE Action Plan for Armenia 2023–2026 at a ceremony accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ararat Mirzoyan.
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.
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