Thursday

28th Mar 2024

Agenda

Eastern neighbourhood in the forefront this WEEK

  • The Maidan in Kiev. Van Rompuy will be visiting Ukraine Monday (Photo: Christopher Bobyn)

The EU this week will see a flurry of visits to and from the eastern neighbours - Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia - as Russia continues to stir trouble in the region.

On Monday (12 May), foreign affairs ministers in Brussels will consider whether to expand the Russian travel ban to more officials following the "illegal" referendum in eastern Ukraine on Sunday.

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The same day, EU council chief Herman Van Rompuy will travel to Ukraine where he is to meet Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk.

On Tuesday, Yatsenyuk is set to come to Brussels and meet EU commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

Van Rompuy then travels to Georgia and Moldova, with whom the EU is speeding up the signature of an association agreement, now scheduled to take place in June.

Russian vice-premier Dmitry Rogozin travelled to the separatist Moldovan region of Transnistria where 1,500 Russian troops are stationed. He offered support to the separatists who seek Crimean-style annexation and criticised Moldova's government for wanting to sign the EU association agreement.

He also delivered ballots to Transnistria residents, which were subsequently seized by the Moldovan authorities.

Rogozin, a former Brussels-based Russian ambassador to Nato known for his confrontational style accused Romania and Ukraine for "following orders from the US" when closing their airspace to his plane and threatened that the "next time, I will fly in a TU-160 bomber."

Moldovan Prime Minister Lurie Leanca, along with his entire government, is expected in Brussels on Thursday for meetings with the EU commission.

That same day, the top candidates for the EU commission post from the main parties in the upcoming EU elections will hold another televised debate from the European Parliament from 21.00 Brussels time.

The Eurovision debate - organised by the same network who carried the Eurovision Song Contest last week - will be broadcast live in 15 EU countries plus on the international news channels Euronews, TV5 Monde and Deutsche Welle. A full list of tv channels, webstreams and radio transmissions can be found here.

Meanwhile, in Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel is meeting the head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, for the third time in three weeks. Lagarde is tipped for a top EU post after the EU elections.

The week ends Saturday with an Open Day in the EU institutions - the European Commission, the EU diplomatic service, the European Council and the European Parliament will be open for the public to see the meeting rooms where key decisions are taken.

Environment, Ukraine imports, fish and Easter this WEEK

This week, expect no more than talks on environment, agriculture and fisheries, including discussions between the Polish and Ukrainian governments over angry protests by Polish farmers objecting to cheap grain imports from Ukraine.

EU summit, Gaza, Ukraine, reforms in focus this WEEK

This week, EU leaders come together in Brussels for their usual two-day summit to discuss defence, enlargement, migration and foreign affairs. EU ministers for foreign affairs and EU affairs will meet earlier in the week to prepare the European Council.

EU summit prep work and von der Leyen's Egypt visit This WEEK

MEPs will hold a debate with EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen about the next European Council on Tuesday. Later this week, on Sunday, von der Leyen will be in Egypt for talks regarding a potential 'cash-for-migrant-control' deal.

Defence, von der Leyen, women's rights, in focus This WEEK

Ursula von der Leyen is expected to be confirmed as the EPP candidate for president of the next EU Commission. A new defence strategy will be unveiled this week, while the ECB is expected to maintain interest rates.

More farmers, Ukraine aid, Yulia Navalnaya in focus This WEEK

EU agriculture ministers meet in Brussels amid new farmers' protests. MEPs will hear from Alexei Navalny's widow and give the final green light to the €50bn Ukraine facility, while the CBAM proposal faces a formal challenge at a WTO meeting.

Opinion

EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania

Among the largest sources of financing for energy transition of central and eastern European countries, the €60bn Modernisation Fund remains far from the public eye. And perhaps that's one reason it is often used for financing fossil gas projects.

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