This WEEK in the European Union

EU ministers will start the week with a tussle over two of the bloc's trickiest dossiers - the Greek crisis and climate change.

Euro-area finance ministers in Brussels on Monday (15 March) are expected to discuss the details of a potential bail-out package for their debt-ridden colleague, Greece, in a debate with broader implications for EU solidarity and future economic governance.

The full panoply of 27 EU finance ministers will on Tuesday follow up with plans on how to regulate the EU's murky hedge fund and private equity sector, with the UK currently unhappy with the text on the table.

Single market commissioner Michel Barnier will in Brussels on Monday meet with US treasury officials to allay US fears that the new EU rules could disadvantage foreign firms, following an angry letter from US treasury secretary Tim Geithner this week.

EU environment ministers will on Monday discuss the EU's climate change strategy in the wake of the Copenhagen summit fiasco last year, which saw the US clinch a minimalist deal on CO2 with emerging powers, leaving the EU out of the room.

Environment commissioner Connie Hedegaard will on Tuesday fly to Washington to seek US support for the EU climate programme.

EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton on Sunday embarks on her first tour of the Middle East, visiting Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel, including a controversial trip to Gaza, which is set to highlight the humanitarian cost of the Israeli blockade on aid shipments.

Ms Ashton will on Friday also drop in to Moscow for a meeting with the US, UN and Russia - the so-called Quartet - to discuss the way forward for Middle East peace.

Back in Brussels, Ms Ashton's aides will on Wednesday submit to EU diplomats a draft plan for the internal structure of the EU's new diplomatic corps. The union is keen to wrap up discussions on the new institution by April, but the deadline is slipping out of reach.

On a parallel diplomatic track, EU enlargement commissioner Stephan Fuele will on Monday embark on a tour of EU-aspirant countries in southeastern Europe, covering Turkey, Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Albania.

Croatia and Slovenia have tabled a top-level Balkans conference for Saturday, but the event risks falling apart due to Serb tension over Kosovo's status as an independent country.

In another sensitive engagement, trade commissioner Karel de Gucht, will on Monday in Brussels meet a Sri Lankan delegation in the context of EU plans to impose sanctions on the Asian country over grave human rights abuses.

The European Parliament will in Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday also hold an extensive discussion on the future of EU military integration and space policy with the chief of the EU's Military Staff, David Leakey.