Day-by-day

Monday 2 November

• EP: AFET and DROI delegation at the UN in New York
• EP: LIBE delegation in Beijing
• EC: Mogherini in Egypt; Georgieva in Washington; Andriukaitis in Beijing
• PACE: Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights
• PACE: Election Observation Missions in Azerbaijan and Turkey
• Venice Commission: delegation visit to Albania
• CoE Chairmanship: Exchange on the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue

Tuesday 3 November

• EP: external parliamentary activities
• EC: Moscovici in Athens
• EC: Jourová receives Human Rights Commissioner Nils Muižnieks
• EC: Mid-term conference on the environmental footprint pilot phase
• EESC: Study Group on the Report on Competition Policy 2014
• CoR: CoR–Montenegro Joint Consultative Committee
• PACE: Monitoring Committee
• PACE: Fact-finding mission to Finland
• ECHR: 9 judgments

Wednesday 4 November

• EP: external parliamentary activities
• EC: Weekly College meeting
• EC: Conference on the Freedom of Expression in the Western Balkans and Turkey
• EC: Arias Cañete in Ecuador for COP21 preparations
• EC: Hill in Frankfurt to meet with the ECB
• EESC: Conference Common social values and principles & social governance
• CoR: EUROCITIES annual conference 2015
• CoR: Lunchtime lecture: Cohesion and growth
• Ombudsman: meeting with Jean-Claude Juncker
• CoE: International Advisory Panel report on the Odessa violence investigations
• PACE: Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy
• ECHR: Grand Chamber hearing

Thursday 5 November

• EP: PETI delegation in the UK
• Asia-Europe Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
• EC: Šefčovič and Dombrovskis in Bratislava
• EC: Malmström in Nigeria; Mimica in Niger; Creţu in Italy
• EC: Consultative Commission on Industrial Change
• CoR: General Assembly of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe
• EIB: Participation of the EIB in the 2015 Microfinance Centre Conference
• ECHR: 67 judgments
• Venice Commission: delegation at Ukraine post-electoral conference
• CoE Chairmanship: Final conference on Regional Support for Inclusive Education

Friday 6 November

• EP: external parliamentary activities
• Asia-Europe Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
• EC: Hahn on an official visit to Kosovo
• EC: Malmström receives the Minister of Economic Integration of Kazakhstan
• EESC: Study Groups on a New Deal for Energy Consumers, and the EU Urban Agenda
• EESC: Conference Smart policies for smart islands
• CoR: Working Group on Relations with Turkey
• EIB: InnovFin Seminar – Supporting Innovation in Spain

Saturday 7 November

• EC: Arias Cañete in Paris for the Pre-COP21 Ministerial meeting

Sunday 8 November

• EC: Violeta Bulc in Qatar
• Parliamentary Elections in Croatia

 

European Union

European Parliament

Green week: external parliamentary activities

Sunday 1 – Tuesday 3 November

A delegation from the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and the Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI) will be in New York to meet high-level UN officials and discuss the developments in Ukraine and Syria, migration issues, anti-terrorism measures, and the protection of children in armed conflicts.

Monday 2 – Friday 6 November

A delegation of the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee (LIBE) in Beijing to discuss the threats posed by the online sale in the EU of new psychoactive substances. Other topics to be addressed are data protection policies, including the exchange of personal data with the EU, the fight against international serious crime, especially human trafficking and child pornography, and the prevention of cybercrime.

Thursday 5 – Friday 6 November

A Petitions Committee (PETI) delegation will meet UK national authorities, representatives of social services, NGOs, journalists and lawyers in London to discuss petitions against allegedly abusive decisions by the UK authorities on adoption as well as the placing of children in foster care without the consent of biological parents.

An overview of delegation meetings can be found here.

 

Council of Ministers / Luxembourg Presidency

Thursday 5 – Friday 6 November

12th Asia-Europe Foreign Ministers’ Meeting: Working together for a sustainable and secure future
The meeting will take stock of the commitments from the October 2014 meeting in Milan, and pave the way to ASEM’s 20th Anniversary which will be celebrated during the next summit in Mongolia. Ministers will focus on climate change, disaster management, non-traditional security, connectivity, regional and international issues as well as the future of ASEM. The first plenary session on November 5th will be on “Climate Change, 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management”, the second plenary session will focus on “Connectivity and the Future of ASEM”. The retreat session on November 6th will deal with International and Regional Issues.

Information on the meeting can be found here.

 

European Commission and High Representative

Monday 2 November

Federica Mogherini in Cairo, Egypt, on an official visit.

Kristalina Georgieva in Washington, D.C., USA, until 5 November. During her visit, she will meet with Mr Mr Colin Bruce, Senior Adviser in the Office of the World Bank’s President; and participate in the event Celebrating Peace: 70 Years of the United Nations.

Vytenis Andriukaitis on official visit in Beijing, China, until 5 November. During his visit, he will meet with Mr Bi Jingquan, Minister of China Food and Drug Administration; and deliver a keynote speech at the China International Food Safety & Quality Conference.

Tuesday 3 November

Pierre Moscovici in Athens, Greece, until 4 November. During his visit, he will meet with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Finance Minister Eucleid Tsakalatos, Alternate Minister of Finance Giorgos Houliarakis, President of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises Theodoros Fessas, Minister for Labour, Social Insurance and Social Solidarity Giorgos Katrougalos, and Minister of Economy, Development and Tourism Georgios Stathakis.

Vĕra Jourová receives Nils Muižnieks, Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe.

Tuesday 3 – Wednesday 4 November

Mid-term conference on the environmental footprint pilot phase
The conference will take stock of progress so far and will kick off discussions on the policy challenges and ideas around the product and organisation environmental footprint. The conference will be opened by Commissioner Karmenu Vella.

Wednesday 4 November

Weekly College meeting

Speak Up! 3 Conference on the Freedom of Expression and Media in the Western Balkans and Turkey. The Speak Up! 3 conference will take stock of the results achieved in freedom of expression in enlargement candidate countries after the first two conferences in 2011 and 2013, and define the way forward. This year’s edition will put the accent on media literacy, professional and ethical standards in mainstream media, the lack of solidarity among journalists that exposes them to political and economic pressures, prevents formation of effective self-regulation, leads to poor labour conditions in media outlets The conference will also examine the multifaceted role of social media in the context of democracy, the fine-tuning of the policy/assistance relating to media freedom and the way forward.

Miguel Arias Cañete in Quito, Ecuador, until 7 November. He will meet with representatives of the Latin American countries on preparations to the COP21 Conference.

Jonathan Hill in Frankfurt, Germany. He will address the European Central Bank Forum on Banking Supervision; meet with Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank; meet with Danièle Nouy, Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Single Supervisory Mechanism of the European Central Bank; and attend a seminar on Capital Markets Union with Mr Thomas Schäfer, Hessian Minister of Finance, and representatives from SMEs.

Thursday 5 November

Maroš Šefčovič and Valdis Dombrovskis in Bratislava, Slovakia, to participate in the Tatra Summit Conference, a European Semester event, and a Citizens’ Dialogue.

Cecilia Malmström in Lagos, Nigeria to participate in 4th EU-Nigeria Business Forum.

Neven Mimica in Niger for a number of bilateral meetings, including with Mr Mahamadou Issoufou, President of Niger; Mr Aichatou Boulama, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation; Mr Saidou Sidibe, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning; Mr Marou Amadou, Minister of Justice; Mr Mahamadou Ouhoumoudou, President’s Director of Cabinet Minister.

Corina Creţu in Italy to participate in a Citizens’ Dialogue.

Friday 6 November

Johannes Hahn on an official visit to Kosovo.

Cecilia Malmström receives Zhanar Aitzhanova, Minister of Economic Integration of Kazakhstan.

Saturday 7 November

Miguel Arias Cañete in Paris, France, until 10 November, to participate in the Pre-COP21 Ministerial meeting.

Sunday 8 November

Violeta Bulc in Qatar: meets with Mr Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, Emir of Qatar; Mr Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior of Qatar; Mr Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti, Minister of Transport of Qatar; Mr Akbar Al Baker, Group Chief Executive Qatar Airways.

A full list with meetings of Commissioners can be found here.

 

European Economic and Social Committee

Tuesday 3 November

Study Group on the Report on Competition Policy 2014
Discussion of the preliminary draft opinion on the Commission Report on Competition Policy 2014.

Budget Group meeting

Wednesday 4 November

Conference Common social values and principles & social governance
The event’s aim is to have key social deliberations endorsed by the Commission and the Luxembourg Presidency: the EESC opinion on ‘Principles for effective and reliable welfare provision systems’, an academic contribution on «Common social values in the EU» and the ESO study ‘Socialising the European Semester? Economic Governance and Social Policy Coordination in Europe 2020’.

Thursday 5 November

Consultative Commission on Industrial Change
Adoption of own-initiative opinions on: the Contribution of indigenous coal and lignite resources to the EU’s energy security; The role of engineers in reindustrialising Europe; and Nanotechnology for a competitive chemical industry.

Friday 6 November

Study Group on Delivering a New Deal for Energy Consumers 
Discussion of the working document on the Commission Communication: Delivering a New Deal for Energy Consumers.

Study Group on the Future of the EU Urban Agenda
Presentation of the view of the European Commission on the Future of the EU Urban Agenda by a representative of the DG REGIO; Discussion of the working document on the Future of the EU Urban Agenda seen from the perspective of civil society, General debate.

Conference Smart policies for smart islands
Following the adoption of its own initiative opinion on Smart Islands, the EESC will kick off with a conference on Smart policies for smart islands. The Conference will explore the idea that islands have unique characteristics which bring specific difficulties, but which can often be turned into opportunities if smart and sustainable development policies are implemented. Such policies give islands a competitive advantage deriving from sustainable growth and better jobs. The conference takes place on the Island of Krk, Croatia.

More information about EESC events can be found here.
The agendas of the different EESC meetings can be found here.

 

Committee of the Regions

Tuesday 3 November

CoR–Montenegro Joint Consultative Committee
Opening session; Session: Human resources management at the local level; Session: Interregional and transnational cooperation. In Cetinje, Montenegro.

Wednesday 4 – Friday 6 November

EUROCITIES annual conference 2015: Living cities – sustainable growth and quality of life
EUROCITIES is the network of major European cities. Through six thematic forums, a wide range of working groups, projects, activities and events, it offers members a platform for sharing knowledge and exchanging ideas. The objective is to reinforce the important role that local governments should play in a multilevel governance structure. EUROCITIES aims to shape the opinions of Brussels stakeholders and ultimately shift the focus of EU legislation in a way which allows city governments to tackle strategic challenges at local level. In Copenhagen and Malmö.

Wednesday 4 November

Lunchtime lecture: Cohesion and growth: challenges and prospects for EU policy-making
EU cohesion policy has been thoroughly reformed in 2013 and some 450 regional and national programmes are underway implementing an investment worth EUR 350 billion by 2020. At the same time, preparations for reform post-2020 have started and will probably intensify in 2016/17. During this lunchtime lecture, an analysis of the reform(s) of EU cohesion policy together with challenges and prospects of an “integrated cohesion and growth policy” beyond 2020 will be given.

Thursday 5 – Friday 6 November

43rd General Assembly of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe 
Being located along Europe’s shoreline brings both advantages  and specific difficulties, so some 160 Regions have come together to form the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe (CPMR). The General Assembly takes place in Florence, Italy.

Friday 6 November

Working Group on Relations with Turkey
Opening session; First session: Subsidiarity: empowering local authorities; Second session: Local and regional strategies for improving the business environment; Study tour of CoR members to Izmir projects and discussions. In Izmir, Turkey.

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.

 

European Ombudsman

Wednesday 4 November

Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly visits Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, and meets with the Spanish Permanent Representative to the European Union, Alfonso Dastis.

The EU Ombudsman calendar of activities can be found here. 

 

European Investment Bank

Thursday 5 – Friday 6 November

Participation of the EIB in the 2015 Microfinance Centre Conference
The 18thMicrofinance Centre Conference “Employment, Youth and Investment: What can microfinance do?” will offer microfinance practitioners the opportunity to experiences and debate the role of microfinance in financing start-ups and social entrepreneurs as well as in community development. Other subjects including innovative ways to support youth, new trends in offering housing products and dealing with currency risks will also be discussed. In Prague, Czech Republic.

Friday 6 November

InnovFin Seminar – Supporting Innovation in Spain
The EIB Group, in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness in Spain and the Basque Government, will host a corporate seminar to present the extensive range of financial support and advisory services available to innovative businesses in Spain. The morning seminar will consist of a keynote speech, a series of concise product presentations, and several illustrative case studies. In Bilbao, Spain.

More information about EIB events can be found here. 

 

Council of Europe

Wednesday 4 – Thursday 5 November

International Advisory Panel report on the May  2014 Odessa violence investigations
The International Advisory Panel will present its review of the May 2014 Odessa violence investigations at press conferences in Kyiv and Odessa. The report will be presented by Sir Nicolas Bratza, IAP Chair, former President of the European Court of Human Rights; Volodymyr Butkevych, IAP Member, former Judge of the European Court of Human Rights, and Oleg Anpilogov, IAP Member, a former prosecutor of Ukraine.

Find an overview of Council of Europe events here.

 

Parliamentary Assembly

Monday 2 November

Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights
The Committee, meeting in Paris, is due to adopt the reports The fate of critically ill detainees in Europe, and Access to justice and the Internet: potential and challenges; consider the draft report How to prevent inappropriate restrictions on NGO activities in Europe; and consider an introductory memorandum on Legal remedies to human rights violations on the Ukrainian territories outside the control of the Ukrainian authorities.

Election Observation Missions in Azerbaijan and Turkey

Tuesday 3 November

Monitoring Committee 
The Committee will hold an exchange of views with the delegation of “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” to PACE on recent developments in this country, with the participation of EU mediators; an exchange of views with the Governor (Bashkan) of the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia-Yeri of the Republic of Moldova; and an information note by the co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Albania following their fact-finding visit to Tirana last June.

Tuesday 3 – Friday 5 November

Fact-finding mission to Finland
PACE rapporteur Maria Edera Spadoni will travel to Helsinki for a fact-finding visit in the context of the preparation of her report on “Systematic collection of data on violence against women”. Ms Spadoni will meet, in particular, representatives of the Ministry for Social and Health Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the National Police Board, as well as members of the Finnish delegation to PACE and the parliamentary Committee on Employment and Equality.

Wednesday 4 November

Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy
The Committee is due to adopt the report Escalation of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh and the other occupied territories of Azerbaijan; Consider the introductory memoranda on Foreign fighters in Syria and The situation in Kosovo and the role of the Council of Europe; consider an information memorandum on the Evaluation of the partnership of democracy in respect of the Palestinian National Council; and have rapporteur statements on: the Situation in Belarus, Political consequences of the crisis in Ukraine, and Political developments in Iran.

Find the PACE diary here and the diary of PACE President Anne Brasseur here.

 

ECHR

Tuesday 3 November

9 Judgments concerning Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Poland and Romania.

Wednesday 4 November

Grand chamber hearing in the case Magyar Helsinki Bizottság v. Hungary (no. 18030/11). The case concerns the authorities’ refusal to provide an NGO with information related to the work of public defenders.

Thursday 5 November

67 Judgments and / or decisions concerning Azerbaijan, Croatia, Denmark, France, Finland, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

Information on forthcoming judgments can be found here, the calendar of hearings can be found here.

 

Bosnia and Herzegovina Chairmanship

Monday 2 – Tuesday 3 November

Council of Europe Exchange on the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue: Building Inclusive Societies Together
The conference in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, will focus on the role of religions and non-religious beliefs in preventing radicalisation and violent extremism. The opening session will feature the President of the Jewish Community and President of the Interreligious Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina, PACE President Anne Brasseur, and the Minister of the Interior of Austria Johanna Mikl-Leitner. Keynote presentations on the role of religions and non-religious beliefs in preventing radicalisation and violent extremism will be delivered by Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland and the Director of the Library of Alexandria, Ismail Serageldin. Session 1 will focus on “The role and place of religion in the public space”; session 2 on “Teaching about religions and non-religious beliefs at school”.

Thursday 5 – Friday 6 November

Final conference of EU/CoE Joint project “Regional Support for Inclusive Education”
The conference in Sarajevo will aim to highlight outcomes and achievements of the 3-year project. It will bring together representatives of the 49 pilot schools of the project, decision-makers, experts as well as officials of the EU, CoE and relevant ministries from the 7 beneficiaries of the project: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Kosovo.

Find more information here.

 

European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice)

Monday 2 – Tuesday 3 November

Venice Commission delegation visits Albania in the framework of the preparation of an opinion on the judicial system reform, namely on the draft constitutional amendments on the European integration and the judiciary. The rapporteurs will meet President of Republic of Albania, Prime Minister, Speaker of Parliament, Chairman of Ad Hoc Parliamentary Committee “On Reform of Justice System”, and opposition members in Ad Hoc Parliamentary Committee, Chairmen of the Constitutional and High Courts, Minister of Justice, representatives of the international community present in Albania.

Thursday 5 November

Venice Commission delegation at the post-electoral conference on the Ukraine local elections, in Kyiv, Ukraine.

More information on upcoming events can be found here.

 

Elections

Sunday 8 November

Parliamentary Elections in Croatia