Thursday

1st Jun 2023

Agenda

Migration This WEEK, as Brexit looms

  • Aerial view of Dadaab camp, which is home to 600,000 people (Photo: Oxfam International)

Behind the scenes in Brussels and other EU capitals, officials are already preparing for the aftermath of the Brexit referendum in just three weeks time.

They are trying to clear as much as possible off the agenda of an EU summit that will take place a few days after the vote. That means the decision on extending Russia economic sanctions could be taken earlier and at a lower level, EU diplomats said.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • Britain looks inward to referendum (Photo: Prime minister's office)

But this week, EU institutions will focus on migration, with the European Commission and the EU foreign service on Tuesday (7 June) to present ideas on how to tackle the crisis overseas.

MEPs will debate the “migration compact” in Strasbourg the same day.

The plan foresees using EU money for investments in poor African countries. It comes amid reports that Kenya has threatened to close the Dadaab refugee camp, the largest in the world, unless it gets EU help.

Kenya's appeal to Europe has echoes of the EU-Turkey deal, which itself looks increasingly wobbly.

Turkey has agreed to take back migrants from Greece in return for EU perks. But NGOs have said some returns are illegal and Turkey’s leader keeps butting heads with EU politicians.

On Wednesday, MEPs will debate president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s latest attack on opposition MPs in Turkey.

On Friday, EU home affairs ministers will discuss if the EU-Turkey deal is being implemented and progress on Turkey’s bid to get EU visa-free travel.

With the Euro 2016 football championships starting in France the same day, an event that the US has said could be targeted by terrorists, ministers will also discuss control of small arms and data exchange.

Tax cheats

MEPs will in Strasbourg on Wednesday decide whether to hold an inquiry into the Panama Papers scandal on offshore tax cheats.

They will the same day vote on whether a new EU anti tax-avoidance law is tough enough.

In other events, Georgia’s president, Giorgi Margvelashvili, will visit Strasbourg and Brussels on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as Tbilisi also lobbies to get EU visa-free travel.

Meanwhile, Maros Sefcovic, the EU energy commissioner, will on Tuesday give a speech in Berlin amid keen interest on the commission's legal assessment of a new Russia-Germany gas pipeline, Nord Stream II.

Cameron warns of Brexit 'madness'

In an TV debate three weeks before the EU membership referendum, the British prime minister defended his promise to curb migration and warned that leaving the EU would be "economic self-harm".

Russia sanctions and EU elections on top This WEEK

The parliament's constitutional affairs committee is set to vote on a draft proposal on the number of seats in the European Parliament, and their distribution among EU countries, ahead of the 2024 elections.

Keeping China at arm's length is in focus This WEEK

The G7 aims to send a signal to China by announcing a joint effort to counter "economic coercion," with the EU hoping to avoid becoming a "vassal" in a US-China clash, as French president Emmanuel Macron said recently.

ECB: eurozone home prices could see 'disorderly' fall

The European Central Bank in its Financial Stability Review warned EU home prices could see a 'disorderly' fall as high mortgage rates are making houses unaffordable for households and unattractive for investors.

Latest News

  1. Europe's TV union wooing Lavrov for splashy interview
  2. ECB: eurozone home prices could see 'disorderly' fall
  3. Adapting to Southern Europe's 'new normal' — from droughts to floods
  4. Want to stop forced migration from West Africa? Start by banning bottom trawling
  5. Germany unsure if Orbán fit to be 'EU president'
  6. EU Parliament chief given report on MEP abuse 30 weeks before sanction
  7. EU clashes over protection of workers exposed to asbestos
  8. EU to blacklist nine Russians over jailing of dissident

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us