CALENDAR / Main activities of the european institutions
19/11 - 25/11/2018
Monday 19 November
Brussels. Council of the EU. Extraordinary meeting of the Eurogroup. - Progress in the reform of the European Stability Mechanism. - Progress in the implementation of the Single Resolution Fund (SRF) safety net (risk-sharing component with a view to the completion of the Banking Union). - Debate on the fiscal capacity of the euro area. - Probable informal discussions on the Italian budget for 2019.
Brussels. Council of the EU. Foreign Affairs Council (and 20/11). *Foreign Affairs: - Yemen: possible political assistance in support of United Nations efforts; - Bosnia and Herzegovina: situation after the elections and constitution of governments. - Ukraine: elections in secessionist zones, militarisation of the Azov Sea, progress in ongoing reforms (fight against corruption, privatisation, etc.). - Central Asia: cooperation with the region and possibility of extending the EU's influence in the region in preparation for the ministerial meeting on 23/11). - Situation in Libya, Gaza and Iran. - Adoption of conclusions on Pakistan, Afghanistan, Ethiopia and Sudan (possible dialogue with the government). *Foreign Affairs/Defence: - Permanent structured cooperation: discussion on the rules of participation and on the projects proposed for selection (helicopters, missiles, radio-navigation system); position on the proposal to create a European Defence Fund; coordinated annual review on defence. - CSDP: strengthening the capacity to deploy civilian and crisis missions; strengthening and developing the Military Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC).
Brussels. Council of the EU. Agriculture and Fisheries Council (and 20/11). *Fisheries: Agreement on fishing opportunities for certain deep-sea stocks in 2019 and 2020. *Agriculture: - Common Agricultural Policy post-2020: debate on market measures and their effectiveness, evaluation of market instruments, horizontal regulation (responsibility of paying and certification agencies and annual performance evaluation). - Update with the Commission on the situation on agricultural markets. - Plant protection (new diseases and pests, evolution of the system for the approval and authorisation of plant protection products and the impact of the ban or non-use of these products). - The status of the work of the working group on rural Africa with its chairperson.
Brussels. European Parliament. Commission activities (as at 22/11). - LIBE: vote on the report on EU statistics on migration and international protection and on the opinion on financial support for customs control equipment (and 20/11); hearing of young Europeans in the framework of the EYE2018 initiative). - ECON: - review of the amendments tabled to the reports by Paul Tang and Dariusz Rosati on the taxation of the digital sector. - JURI: Public hearing on "Cross-border family conflicts: preserving the rights of the child". - CONT: Review of the 2017 Annual Reports on the EIB's financial activities and on the protection of the European Union's financial interests (19-20/11); discussion on the Commission's financial management in the context of the 2017 discharge procedure with Commissioners Creu and Moedas, with the Secretary-General of the Commission, Mr Seymayr, and the Members of the Court of Audit. - INTA: Trade Policy Day at the European Parliament "Trade for all: what benefits for our citizens?".
Tuesday 20 November
Brussels. Council of the EU. Foreign Affairs Council. *Defence: - EU/NATO: discussion with the NATO Secretary General on cooperation between the two sides and review of ongoing joint actions. - CSDP: review of ongoing missions (Eunavfor Med Sophia) and the G5 Sahel mission. - European Defence Agency: approval of the budget, implementation of permanent structured cooperation.
Brussels. Council of the EU. European Economic Area (EEA) Council: - General functioning of the EEA Agreement. - Orientation debate on the European Foundation of Social Rights in the context of the EEA Agreement. - Adoption of conclusions on: EEA cooperation, energy and climate change, digital single market, capital controls, integration of EU acts of relevance to the EEA, agricultural trade, EU programmes, financial mechanisms. - Discussion on the impact of Brexit on the EEA and multilateralism.
Brussels. European Parliament. Commission activities. - ENVI: vote on the report on the LIFE programme for the period 2021-2027. - LAW: Presentation of the report of the mission of a delegation to Slovakia and Malta from 17 to 20/09/2018; exchange of views with Michael O'Flaherty, Director of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency on the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. - JURI: vote on the two reports by Tadeusz Zwiefka and Evelyn Regner on the legislative package on company law. - ECON: vote on Bernd Lucke's report on a supervisory framework for covered bonds. - INTA: vote on the own-initiative report "WTO: the way forward". - EMPL: vote on Guillaume Balas' report on the coordination of social security systems; - vote on Georgi Pirinski's report on the establishment of a European Labour Authority.". - LIBE : Hearing on "The situation of the rule of law in Poland, in particular with regard to the independence of the judiciary". - SEDE: public hearing on "The threats posed by drones to the European armed forces".
Luxembourg. * EU Court of Justice. #Arrêts : - aff.jtes C-626/15 (Commission/Council for Antarctic MPA) and C-659/16 (Commission/Council - should the EU be the sole actor in the field of environmental protection (marine protected areas) or can Member States also do so?).
Wednesday 21 November
Brussels. European Commission. Weekly meeting of the College of Commissioners. - 'European Semester': Annual Growth Review (Dombrovskis). - Communication on the investment plan for Europe: assessment and next steps (Katainen). - Communication on the Single Market with an assessment of remaining obstacles and options for action to overcome them (Katainen).
Brussels. European Commission. Weekly meeting of the College of Commissioners. - Publication of final opinions on the Member States' 2019 draft budgets.
Brussels. Council of the EU. Coreper I and II.
Brussels. European Parliament. Commission activities. - TAX3: Public hearing on "Combating money laundering in the EU banking system" in the presence of whistle-blower Howard Wilkinson in the Danske Bank case. - ITRE: vote on Dan Nica's report on the next Horizon Europe programme. - IMCO: Consideration of amendments to the report on the implementation of the Late Payments Directive. - FEMM: hearing on child victims or witnesses of gender-based violence.
Luxembourg. * EU Court of Justice. #Arrêts : C-29/17(Novartis Farma - Compliance with EU law of reimbursement by the national health insurance system of a medicinal product for a use not covered by its marketing authorisation). #Conclusions : C-563/17 (Associação Peço a Palavra and others - is the procedure for reprivatisation of an air transport company belonging to the state-owned enterprise sector in conformity with EU law?).
Thursday 22 November
Brussels. Council of the EU. EU-Uzbekistan Cooperation Council and EU-Tajikistan Cooperation Council. - Development of cooperation between the two parties. - Discussion on economic and political issues of common interest.
Brussels. European Parliament. Commission activities. - TRAN and ITRE: vote on the renewal of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programme beyond 2020. - CONT-AGRI: Joint public hearing on "LEADER experiences: lessons learned and effectiveness of EU funds for rural development". - ITRE: Public hearing on homelessness.
Luxembourg. *EU Court of Justice: #Arrêt : aff.jtes T-274/16 (Saleh Thabet v Council) and T-275/16 (Mubarak and Others v Council - Application to annul the freezing of funds imposed on the two sons of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and their respective wives
Friday November 23
Brussels. Council of the EU. 14th EU-Central Asia Ministerial Meeting.
Brussels. Council of the EU. Coreper I.
Sunday 25 November
Brussels. European Council. Extraordinary European Council on the Brexit agreement. - Approval of the United Kingdom's withdrawal agreement from the EU. - Approval of a political declaration on future relations between the EU and the United Kingdom mentioned in the withdrawal agreement.
