This WEEK in the European Union

The European Stability Mechanism is a €500 billion fund aimed at lowering borrowing costs of large EU member states like Spain and Italy. The fund should be operational in July.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is not keen on increasing its spending power. "Some say that it has to be double the size, then if that's not big enough, others will say it has to be three times as big," she said at the World Economic Forum on Wednesday (25 January). Merkel is resisting attempts to increase the fund and instead proposes transferring more powers of fiscal oversight to the EU institutions.

The new intergovernmental treaty on fiscal discipline announced at the last European summit in December has since caused some dissension between member states who use the euro and those who do not.

Non-eurozone member states complain of being sidelined and want full input and participation rights on all euro-related matters.

Poland's prime minster has threatened not to sign the treaty unless all member states can attend future euro-zone summits. A concession had already been made allowing non-euro leaders to attend the euro-zone summits but only as bystanders and from time-to-time.

Prime minsters from Denmark, Austria, Belgium, Slovenia and Cyprus along with European Parliament chief Martin Schulz and EU foreign relations chief Catherine Ashton will also meet for a pre-summit extravaganza at the Party of European Socialists HQ in central Brussels earlier the same day.

The week is not entirely dedicated to euro-zone matters, however.

Tuesday will mark the 25th anniversary of the Erasmus student exchange programme. The commissioner responsible for education, Androulla Vassiliou, will attend a celebratory event in Brussels along with a select number of students and teachers from 33 countries. Nearly 3 million students have participated in the exchange programme since its launch in 1987.

The United Nations high-level Global Sustainability Panel, which includes climate change commissioner Connie Hedegaard, will publish a final report on global sustainability on Tuesday. The report presents proposals on how to develop a low-carbon economy while eradicating poverty.

In the meantime, Copenhagen will host a three-day discussion on the internal market, industry and research as EU ministers responsible for competitiveness arrive in the Danish capital on Wednesday.

Denmark's rotating EU presidency will also host a conference on how to better use technology to enhance border control among and between member states. The two-day conference starts Thursday, also in Copenhagen.

Eurobonds and sanctions on Iran will dominate discussions at the European parliament on Thursday, with MEPs expected to vote on resolutions on both issues. EU foreign relations chief Catherine Ashton will also be present to discuss Russia.

Finally, on Friday, commissioners Neelie Kroes, Michel Barnier, Kristalina Georgieva, and Gunther Oettinger along with EU foreign relations chief Catherine Ashton will attend a major security conference in Munich. The conference ends Saturday (5 February).