Weekly European Agenda 17-23 April
Day-by-day
Monday 17 April
- EP: Green Week
- EP: Delegations to Morocco and Bolivia
- EC: Moedas in the United States: visits the Carnegie Mellon University
Tuesday 18 April
- EP: Green Week
- EP: Delegations to the Democratic Republic of Congo
- EC: Thyssen delivers speech at Strategy Committee of the Federation of Enterprises
- EC: Stylianides in Cyprus: meets Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus
Wednesday 19 April
- EP: Green Week
- EC: Juncker receives a group of Euronews journalists and employees
- Presidency: Expert meeting: BLUEMED
- Presidency: Conference on European Judicial Network
Thursday 20 April
- EP: Green Week
- EP: Tajani meets May
- EC: Juncker, Hahn and Moscovici participate in Meetings of WB Group and IMF
- EC: Mimica in Haiti: meets President and Prime Minister of Haiti
- EC: Thyssen meets Prime Minister of Belgium
- CoR: Don’t Waste Our Future event
- CoR: Study visit: International cooperation for border control at the Schengen borders
- Presidency: Conference on Blue Growth and Ocean Governance
- CoE: New study on intimidation of journalists and self-censorship will be published
Friday 21 April
- EP: Green Week
- EC: Malmström receives Director-General of the European Consumer Organisation
- EC: Moscovici participates in a meeting of the ministers of finance of the G20
- EESC: Conference in Malta Digital Europe and Industrial Change
- CoR: Seminar on developing entrepreneurship in insular areas
- CoE: Secretary General visits Czech Republic in preparation of Czech Chairmanship
Saturday 22 April
- 2017 Global Infrastructure Forum
Sunday 23 April
- EP: Conference of the Speakers of European Union Parliaments
- CoE: Meeting of the Presidential Committee
- French Presidential elections
European Union
European Parliament
Green Week
Monday 17 – Thursday 20 April
Delegation to Morocco
A five MEPs delegation will visit Rabat (Morocco) to meet their counterparts from the Joint EU- Morocco Parliamentary Committee. Migration, security, EU neighbourhood policy and fight against radicalisation are some of the highlights MEPs and MPs are do discuss next week.
Tuesday 18 – Friday 21 April
Delegation to Bolivia
A delegation of Human rights subcommittee will travel to La Paz (Bolivia) to meet government, parliament and civil society representatives in order to assess the human rights situation, to learn the achievement and to encourage the further improvements in this field.
Delegation to the Democratic Republic of Congo
A three MEPs strong delegation of the Security and Defence subcommittee, led by its chair Ms. Anna Fotyga (ECR, PL), will pay a fact-finding mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo next week, to visit UN stabilisation mission (MONUSCO) and to discuss the security situation in Eastern Congo.
Thursday 20 April
European Parliament President Antonio Tajani will meet with British Prime Minister Theresa May in London.
Sunday 23 – Tuesday 25 April
Conference of the Speakers of European Union Parliaments in Bratislava, Slovakia
The main purpose of the conference is to exchange views, information and experiences on topics related to the role of national parliaments and the thorough exercise of parliamentary capacity. The conference also aims to promote research activities and common approach in the context of forms and instruments of inter-parliamentary cooperation.
This conference gathers speakers of parliaments of the EU Member States and the President of the European Parliament. Speakers of parliaments of candidate countries are also invited to participate, as observers.
Find the full plenary agenda here. Find an overview of committee agendas here.
European Commission and High Representative
Monday 17 April
Moedas in the United States in Pittsburgh: visits the Carnegie Mellon University and delivers a lecture.
Tuesday 18 April
Thyssen delivers a keynote speech at the Strategy Committee of the Federation of Enterprises in Brussels, Belgium.
Stylianides in Nicosia, Cyprus: meets Mr Ioannis Kasoulides, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus.
Wednesday 19 April
Juncker receives a group of Euronews journalists and employees.
Thursday 20 April
Juncker, Hahn and Moscovici in Washington, D.C., the United States: participate in the Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Mimica in Port au Prince, Haiti: meets Mr Jovenel Moïse, President of Haiti; Mr Jack Guy Lafontant, Prime Minister of Haiti and other members of the government.
Thyssen meets Mr Charles Michel, Prime Minister of Belgium.
Friday 21 April
Malmström receives Ms Monique Goyens, Director-General of the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC).
Moscovici in Washington D.C., the United States: participates in a meeting of the ministers of finance of the G20 and the governors of the central bank.
A full list with meetings of Commissioners can be found here; the agenda of specific Commissioners can be found here; Commission events can be found here.
European Economic and Social Committee
Friday 21 April
EESC/CCMI conference in Malta Digital Europe and Industrial Change
The EESC’s Consultative Commission on Industrial Change has drawn up several opinions on the paradigm of digitalisation. These opinions contained recommendations for the European Institutions and public authorities in general. The conference to be held in Malta on 21 April 2017 will provide an opportunity for passing on these recommendations again so that they can be taken on board and swiftly implemented by the public authorities.
More information about EESC events can be found here.
The agendas of the different EESC meetings can be found here.
Committee of the Regions
Thursday 20 April
Don’t Waste Our Future event
Session 1: The “Don’t Waste Our Future!”Project: Introduction video on the impact of food waste; The framework for action on cooperation and development; Creating commitment for action of the European youth and Local Authorities; Good practices and methodologies from the “Don’t Waste our Future!” project.
Session 2: The crucial Role of the Development Education and Awareness Raising (DEAR) for the food waste reduction and the global right to food: Opportunity and challenges from the territories: voices from the project young protagonists, followed by a panel discussion.
Session 3: The role of local public policies for food waste reduction and sustainable food Systems: «Towards a sustainable EU food policy that creates jobs and growth in Europe’s Regions and Cities; Guidelines for sustainable food strategies from local and regional authorities (ACR+); Lessons from FUSIONS & REFRESH; Panel discussion: Local examples of sustainable food strategies: challenges and opportunities.
Study visit: International cooperation for border control at the external Schengen borders; the development and enforcement of the Dublin regulation in Szeged, Hungary.
Friday 21 April
Seminar on developing entrepreneurship in insular areas: Challenges, opportunities and policy responses
Introduction by Dr Christian Buchmann, Chairman of the ECON commission; Opening remarks by Mr Markku Markkula, President of the European Committee of the Regions; Presentation of the Maltese Presidency by Mr Christian Cardona, Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Business; Presentation of the results of the CoR study by Ms Sabine Zillmer, Senior Expert, Spatial Foresight; Panel 1: Challenges and opportunities for island entrepreneurship; Panel 2: Policy responses to tackle the challenges and realise the opportunities.
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.
Maltese Presidency
Wednesday 19 April
Expert meeting: BLUEMED – A basin of research and innovation for sustainable growth
The BLUEMED Technical Meeting will be organised by the Malta Council for Science and Technology within the Ministry for Education and Employment.
The technical meeting of the BLUEMED consortium will serve to continue consolidating the work of the group and support the update of the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) developed and launched in 2015. The meeting will also be the first occasion during which the initiative will be opened up to the non-EU Mediterranean countries, which will also play an important role in the further development of the BLUEMED SRIA.
A session on the BLUEMED initiative will be included in the agenda of the Informal Ministerial Conference on “The Blue Growth Initiative: Nautical and Maritime Tourism” in Malta on 20 April. The session will serve to present the conclusions of the technical meeting, the work of the BLUEMED initiative itself, and emphasise the role of research and innovation in the blue growth agenda.
Conference on European Judicial Network in Civil and Commercial Matters (EJN)
At this meeting the contact points and Central Authorities under the Maintenance Regulation will discuss recent developments of the application of the Council Regulation (EC) No 4/2009 on Maintenance Obligations and Council Regulation (EU) No 1259/2010 on the law applicable to divorce and legal separation as well as promoting family mediation. The meeting will be preceded by a workshop on the iSupport system of the Hague Conference on Private International Law and by bilateral meetings between national authorities on individual cross border cases.
The meeting should discuss the application of EU instruments in the area of maintenance obligations, Rome III and family mediation. The meeting will also be an opportunity for national authorities to meet and discuss individual maintenance cases in bilateral setting.
Thursday 20 April
Conference on Blue Growth and Ocean Governance in the EU and the Mediterranean: Innovation and Nautical Tourism
The aim of the meeting is to discuss the various aspects and the future direction of the Blue Growth Initiative and the development of the implementation of ocean governance in the EU and the Mediterranean. The meeting will also revolve around the importance of innovation for the sector’s competitiveness. A Ministerial Declaration shall be endorsed covering the thematic issues mentioned above.
The agenda of the Maltese Presidency can be found here.
European Investment Bank
Saturday 22 April
2017 Global Infrastructure Forum
This 2017 forum is co-hosted by the European Investment Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. The second global infrastructure forum will focus on financing economically, financially and socially sustainable infrastructure, while considering its link to climate change. Participants will have the opportunity to gain valuable insights by exploring best practices from across the world, understanding the need to foster early planning and how to access a range of financing sources for infrastructure projects. EIB President Werner Hoyer, Vice-Presidents Jonathan Taylor, Ambroise Fayolle, Andrew McDowell and Deputy Secretary-General Marjut Santoni will contribute to the discussions and complementary breakout sessions on behalf of the EIB.
The agenda of the Maltese Presidency can be found here.
Council of Europe
Thursday 20 April
New study on intimidation of journalists and self-censorship in Europe will be published
The Council of Europe will publish a study that explores the interferences that journalists face in Europe today, including physical violence, threats, intimidation, surveillance, sexual harassment and cyberbullying. The study “Journalists under pressure: Unwarranted interference, fear and self-censorship in Europe” gathers information submitted by 940 journalists reporting from the 47 Council of Europe Member States and Belarus. Carried out by experts Marilyn Clark and Anna Grech, from the University of Malta, the research project is supported by the Association of European Journalists, the European Federation of Journalists, Index on Censorship, International News Safety Institute and Reporters without Borders.
Friday 21 April
Secretary General visit to Czech Republic in preparation of the Czech Chairmanship
Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland will carry out a working visit to the Czech Republic and meet high-level officials in the framework of the preparation of the forthcoming Czech Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (May-November 2017).
Sunday 23 April
Meeting of the Presidential Committee in Strasbourg, France
In preparation of the second part session of 2017 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
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.
Elections
Sunday 23 April
French Presidential elections