Sunday
14th Aug 2022
The European Commission will unveil its rule-of-law audit of all EU member states this week. Meanwhile, several ministers from the Czech Republic will present to EU lawmakers the priorities of the rotating EU Council presidency for the next six months.
Beijing's club was meant to forge stronger European relations. Lithuania left it last year. Now Estonia and Latvia have also decided to walk over Chinese bullying.
Kosovo prime minister Albin Kurti has warned of possible armed conflict with Serbia, following heightened border tensions with Belgrade over the past month.
The EU Commission is set to come with proposals against lawsuits launched in an effort to silence journalists, civil society or putting pressure on publications.
French voters have narrowed the presidential race to the final two contenders over the weekend — while in the EU, discussions over Ukraine, energy, possible food shortages and Hungary top the agenda.
After elections in Hungary and Serbia this weekend, the focus of attention in the EU again will be on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and how it impacts gas supplies to the EU and the European economy.
MEPs will gather in Strasbourg for the final plenary before the summer break, with a crucial vote on the classification of gas and nuclear. The Czech Republic will present to EU lawmakers its presidency's priorities for the next six months.
EU energy ministers and environment ministers are expected to reach common positions on different aspects of the Fit for 55 package — as the continent is increasingly worried about energy prices and future supplies.
EU leaders will gather in Brussels and discuss Ukraine's candidacy status, and the impact of Russia's invasion of the country on energy and defence. European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde will give a briefing to MEPs on inflation to MEPs.
MEPs will vote on an objection to the EU Commission's proposal to classify, temporarily, gas and nuclear energy investment as 'green', under the so-called taxonomy. Meanwhile, EU finance ministers are expected to approve Poland's recovery plan.
EU leaders are gathering in Brussels after they got stuck on imposing on oil embargo on Russia. Poland's recovery plan gets approved and Danish voters will vote in a historic referendum this week.
Eurozone finance ministers will discuss the economic worries with the backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, agriculture ministers are set to talk food prices, and EU affairs ministers will put Hungary on the spot in the Article 7 procedure.
The EU Commission is expected to put forward the RePowerEU plan, which aims to help the diversification of fossil fuel imports in the bloc, as the EU aims to get rid of its dependence on Russian energy supplies.
As EU ambassadors discuss the sixth round of sanctions against Russia in Brussels, senior EU officials are presenting the plan of citizens for the future of the EU in Strasbourg.
More sanctions against Russia, energy imports, and the economic fallout of the war in Europe will be in focus this week, as Italian prime minister Mario Draghi will address MEPs in Strasbourg.
The war on Ukraine will dominate the European Parliament's plenary meeting in Strasbourg too. Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas will discuss Europe's new security reality with MEPs.
The EU has been busy drawing up a list of sanctions against Moscow in retaliation for any aggression. But the threshold for their imposition still needs to be determined.
EU leaders will meet their African counterparts at the sixth AU-EU summit and the European Court of Justice will decide on a key rule-of-law tool.
Poland's president Andzej Duda will be in Brussels in an apparent attempt to end the EU-Warsaw rule-of-law row. The commission will meanwhile put ramping up European microchip production on the agenda.
MEPs in the foreign interference committee will have a discussion with the 2021 Nobel peace prize laureate, Filipino-American journalist Maria Ressa, and MEPs will discuss the Pegasus spyware targeting journalists.
Throughout the week, MEPs will vote on the chairs and vice-chairs of the 20 standing committees and three sub-committees for the next two-and-a-half years, the remainder of the current legislative term.
The lead candidate is the centre-right European People's Party's (EPP) Maltese MEP Roberta Metsola, who has been outspoke against corruption and rule-of-law issues - but some MEPs are concerned over her anti-abortion voting record.
The Nato-Russia council will take place in Brussels on Wednesday, as western and Russian officials begin a series of meetings this week in an effort to de-escalate tensions over Ukraine's eastern border - where Russia has amassed troops.
Energy has emerged as a key dividing issue between EU countries, with leaders failing to agree on a common statement on the rise of energy prices (and how to tackle them) last week at their summit in Brussels.
The EU-27 plus Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine will also adopt a statement raising alarm on "continuous destabilisation" in Ukraine.
The EU Commission is expected to present a revision of the Schengen border code, plus a proposal on the rights of so-called platform workers.
As the fourth wave hits the EU, an increasing number of member states are taking measures to curb the number of infections, and hospitalisations.
The debate over a successor for David Sassoli, the centre-left Italian president of the European Parliament will heat up, and Belarusian democratic opposition figure Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya will address the plenary.
Facebook whistleblower is expected to meet with MEPs and representatives of the French senate this week. Meanwhile, eyes turn again to the Glasgow UN climate summit as pressure is mounting for negotiators to finish the 2015 Paris Agreement rulebook.
In the meantime, the dispute between Warsaw and the EU insitutions is escalating, with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen last week offering a way out of the conundrum.
In the European Parliament, the home affairs committee will start to work on new migration laws: providing the legal framework for the new migration policy in the EU.
Vaccine roll-outs, energy prices, migration and an upcoming climate summit will top the agenda at an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, while MEPs in Strasbourg tackle rule of law.
Rule-of-law conflict in Europe is getting worse, but top EU officials also go to Kyiv for a summit, while MEPs hold talks on spiralling energy prices.
