Tuesday

5th Dec 2023

Agenda

Second phase of Brexit starts This WEEK

  • EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier will be back to set out exactly what the EU and the UK should be talking about (Photo: Council of the European Union)

The EU has entered the week with one less member, as the UK has officially became a "third country" last Friday (31 January).

However, Brexit continues as negotiations on the future relationship will start, to reach an agreement by the end of the year - a deadline that will be almost impossible to respect, officials warn.

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

On Monday (3 February), EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier will unveil the EU commission's proposal on the negotiating mandate for the next phase of talks.

The broad mandate will be around 30-pages long, will lack details, and be based on the political declaration attached to the Brexit withdrawal agreement and the recent negotiating mandate on trade talks with Australia, one EU official said.

The EU will be looking for one overall agreement on all aspects of trade, because it would want to avoid the sectorial approach similar to its troubled agreement with Switzerland.

One key aspect to look for in the proposal will be the legal framework of the agreement: a mixed agreement could mean that in the end national and regional parliaments would have to ratify the deal, which takes several years.

The proposed mandate is expected to be agreed by member states on 25 February, so that the actual negotiations with the UK can start in early March.

Enlargement?

In the meantime, the EU moves on.

The enlargement commissioner Oliver Varhelyi will on Wednesday (5 February) present a new methodology for the EU enlargement process.

Albania and North Macedonia's bid for opening accession negotiations with the EU was denied in October last year.

It was mainly down to opposition from France, which insisted on a new accession strategy and methodology, to be developed before candidate countries start the negotiations for EU membership.

The new methodology will have to be agreed by member states eventually, but EU officials and diplomats hope it would be enough to nudge Paris into agreeing to the start of negotiating talks at the Zagreb summit in early May.

On Thursday (6 February) MEPs on the civil liberties and budget control committee will hear from Laura Codruta Kovesi, the EU's first-ever chief prosecutor, on the establishment on the office.

The economic committee will host Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, on the same day.

The environment committee will will discuss the outbreak of coronavirus on Monday with Andrea Ammon, executive director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Top officials from the centre-right European People's Party will meet early in the week in Brussels and are expected to decide on the fate of their suspended party member, Hungary's ruling Fidesz.

The decision has since been postponed, and the suspension will remain in place, but tensions could still run high over prime minister Viktor Orban's party.

Orban, meanwhile, will meet with commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Monday.

EU council president Charles Michel will be meeting heads of governments all week in preparation for the 20 February summit on the EU's seven-year budget.

Member states have been deeply divided on the budget and how to fill in the gap left b the UK's departure. Michel will try to figure out where is room for compromise.

EPP to keep Orban's Fidesz suspension

European People's Party president Donald Tusk told his group's MEPs that the suspension of Hungary's Fidesz party will continue - and vowed not to compromise on the centre-right party alliance's values.

EU-China summit and migration files in focus This WEEK

This week, EU and Chinese leaders will meet in Beijing to discuss how to cooperate in the international area despite their rivalry. Meanwhile, a marathon trilogue on the five migration files takes place on Thursday.

UN climate talks and passengers' right in focus This WEEK

The two-week UN climate talks (#COP28) will kick off on Thursday. Earlier this week, the EU Commission will unveil a proposal to improve passengers' rights and Nato foreign affairs ministers will meet in Brussels.

Opinion

Can Green Deal survive the 2024 European election?

Six months ahead of the EU elections, knocking an 'elitist' climate agenda is looking like a vote-winner to some. Saving the Green Deal and the EU's climate ambitions starts with listening to Europeans who are struggling to make ends meet.

Latest News

  1. EU nears deal to fingerprint six year-old asylum seekers
  2. Orbán's Ukraine-veto threat escalates ahead of EU summit
  3. Can Green Deal survive the 2024 European election?
  4. Protecting workers' rights throughout the AI revolution
  5. Russia, the West, and the geopolitical 'touch-move rule'
  6. Afghanistan is a 'forever emergency,' says UN head
  7. EU public procurement reform 'ineffective', find auditors
  8. COP28 warned over-relying on carbon capture costs €27 trillion

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  3. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  4. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?
  5. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  6. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  6. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us