This WEEK in the European Union
ANDREW WILLIS
03.07.2009 @ 17:37 CET
EUOBSERVER / WEEKLY AGENDA (6-12 July) - This week looks set to be dominated by a Group of Eight industrialised nations meeting (8-10 July) in L'Aquila, Italy, where the country's premier, Silvio Berlusconi, will be keen to use the event to shake off domestic revelations over paid escorts and raucous parties.
EU finance ministers will meet at the beginning of the week (Photo: European Community)
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano has called on Italian politicians to hold a temporary truce in the ongoing mudslinging so that the event can pass off smoothly, while many have not forgotten the riots in Genoa last time Italy held the presidency of the G8 in 2001.
Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso will also attend the meetings as a full member of the G8, with the financial crisis and economic downturn, trade, climate change, development/Africa and food security the main issues on the agenda.
Day two of the talks will see Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa and Egypt join the proceedings while day three will see G8 leaders hold a working breakfast with leaders from African nations.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi had previously dubbed the meeting "The Summit of Rules" but has recently downplayed the chances of the G8 meeting agreeing on new rules for global finance, saying instead that it was one step in a long process.
Parliamentary politicking
Negotiations between parliament and the Swedish presidency over Jose Manuel Barroso's candidacy for a second term as commission president continue this week, with the leaders of the political groups headed to Stockholm on Monday.
The Swedish presidency has said the parliament vote is likely to take place in September, instead of July as member states had hoped, and is getting ready to formalise Mr Barroso's nomination. It is hoping this move will persuade MEPs to agree to a quick vote after the summer break.
Earlier in the week, on Tuesday, the parliament's largest group, the centre-right European Peoples Party, will decide on their candidate for parliamentary president, with Polish MEP and former prime minister Jerzy Buzek the current front runner. The other candidate is Italian MEP Mario Mauro, who has had public backing from Rome.
Finance, health and more
Sweden's minister for finance, Anders Borg, will present the Swedish presidency's programme at a meeting of finance ministers on Tuesday, where they will also discuss procyclicality and prepare for the next G20 meeting in the US this September.
The day before ministers from the 16-nation Eurogroup will meet, while on Friday the full 27 will reconvene to discuss the 2010 EC budget.
There will be an informal meeting of health ministers on Monday and Tuesday, while on Thursday European commissioner for health, Androulla Vassiliou, will open a two-day conference in Brussels on youth health as part of a drive to help young people take better care of themselves.
Wednesday and Thursday sees an informal meeting of employment and social affairs ministers, with the commission producing a green paper on cross-border learning also on Wednesday.
Seizures by customs, including counterfeit goods made at the EU's external border, is the subject of a commission report on Thursday.
