Tuesday

19th Mar 2024

Agenda

EU goes on holiday as new UK PM arrives This WEEK

After the parliament (narrowly) approved Ursula von der Leyen as the new president of the European Commission, the EU effectively goes on holiday from next week, as Brussels empties out with thousands of officials and politicians leaving for a summer holiday.

But work will still go on in some corners of the EU institutions.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

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

... or subscribe as a group

EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker will meet next week with von der Leyen, a commission spokesperson said Friday, without giving an exact date.

On Wednesday (24 July) commissioners will gather for their weekly meeting in Brussels.

Commissioner for rule of law and better regulation Frans Timmermans will meet with a group of Polish lawyers from the FreeCourts Initiative, a civil group of Polish lawyers seeking to preserve the independence of the judiciary in their country.

Parliamentary committees will still be meeting with trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom paying a visit to the trade committee of the parliament on Tuesday (23 July) after the EU sealed the trade deal with Argentina, Brazil Paraguay and Uruguay.

Parliament's committees will also meet representatives of the Finnish EU presidency to discuss the priorities.

On Wednesday, the economic committee will hear from Elke Konig, the chairperson of the single resolution board, the central resolution authority in the EU.

On the same day, the budget control committee will discuss their priorities for the next five years - as the committee becomes one of the key authorities for checking the use of EU funds, with alleged abuse in several member states such as Hungary and the Czech Republic.

Still on Wednesday, the civil liberties committee will hear from security commissioner Julian King, and the next day MEPs in the committee will quiz Vera Jourova, the justice commissioner.

Meanwhile, the transport committee will hold a debate with transport commissioner Violeta Bulc.

On Monday (22 July), the budget committee of the parliament will meet to discuss amending the 2019 EU budget, partly to reinforce the Horizon 2020 research program, the Erasmus exchange program, and additional solidarity fund to Romania, Italy and Austria.

In the meantime, EU countries began nominating their commissioners, but so far, the gender balance sought by von der Leyen seems like an uphill battle.

PM Boris Johnson?

In the UK, the battle for the Conservative party leadership and with it the role of prime minister will end on Tuesday (23 July), when the result from the party elections will be announced.

Former foreign minister Boris Johnson is expected to become the UK's next prime minister. Johnson campaigned for Britain's exit from the EU, and is now signalling that a a no-deal divorce is possible, with the UK scheduled to leave the bloc at the end of October.

It is unlikely that a late surge in votes for the current foreign minister Jeremy Hunt, who is also in the race, could block the gaffe-prone Johnson from becoming prime minister.

With Johnson becoming prime minister, the Conservatives are expected to dive deeper into a crisis over Brexit, with current finance minister Philip Hammond already threatening to bring down the Johnson government in case it pushes for a no-deal Brexit.

Hammond said it was "absolutely necessary" for the UK to extend its EU membership beyond 31 October.

As well as being a former foreign minister, Johnson spent his childhood in Brussels in the 1970s whilst his father worked for the EU Commission, before returning to the city as a journalist for the Daily Telegraph in the 1990s, a eurosceptic newspaper.

Trump advocates no-deal Brexit on eve of UK visit

Johnson and Farage in charge, a no-deal Brexit, chlorinated chicken in British shops, and privatised healthcare - that is what the UK should head towards, Trump and his ambassador have said.

Conflicts of interest loom for Brexit Party MEPs

New Brexit Party MEP June Alison Mummery is the director of a company active in the fishing industry. She just joined the EU parliament's fisheries committee as a substitute member.

Analysis

What did we learn from the von der Leyen vote?

The vote on von der Leyen showed the fundamental change in EU politics. The rise of the European Parliament, the power of political parties, and the fragmentation of politics, are new realities to be taken into account.

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.

Opinion

Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers

The UN could launch an independent international investigation into Navalny's killing, akin to investigation I conducted on Jamal Khashoggi's assassination, or on Navalny's Novichok poisoning, in my role as special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, writes the secretary-general of Amnesty International.

Latest News

  1. Borrell: 'Israel provoking famine', urges more aid access
  2. Europol: Israel-Gaza galvanising Jihadist recruitment in Europe
  3. EU to agree Israeli-settler blacklist, Borrell says
  4. EU ministers keen to use Russian profits for Ukraine ammo
  5. Call to change EIB defence spending rules hits scepticism
  6. Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers
  7. EU summit, Gaza, Ukraine, reforms in focus this WEEK
  8. The present and future dystopia of political micro-targeting ads

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us