EU summit focuses on Brexit and Covid-19 This WEEK

Access to each others' fishing waters remains one crucial issue, with eight member states, including France, Belgium and Denmark, pushing for a tough EU position.

Another key hurdle are state aid and level playing field rules, where the EU wants to make sure the UK will not be able to undercut European companies. Any dispute resolution in the possible future agreement also remains an open question.

EU leaders will also talk about Africa and climate change, and progress in delivering the EU's objective of climate neutrality by 2050 is progressing.

Before leaders meet, EU affairs ministers on Tuesday (13 October) will get a briefing from EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier on the post-Brexit talks.

EU affairs ministers will also discuss recommendations on better coordinating Covid-19 measures in order to have a less fragmented approach in Europe, and avoid border closures.

Ministers are trying to hammer out a common approach on joint data-analysis (with a clear focus on regions), agreeing on a unified colour code for regions at different level of infections, and common rules on quarantine and testing.

Budget block

Ministers will also discuss the negotiations with the European Parliament over the seven-year EU budget and the coronavirus recovery fund.

Talks were suspended last week by MEPs after they said the German EU presidency, which is representing the council of member states, had not made an effort to compromise.

A senior EU diplomat said, however, that the German presidency has made a comprehensive offer, and suggested the MEPs' move to withdraw from talks is partly political theatre.

"I do find it [withdrawal] regrettable. We are not far from an agreement, we cannot afford the luxury not to talk to each other," said the diplomat.

One of the key disagreements is over extra funding, of around €39bn, MEPs requested for 15 EU programmes, such as Horizon and Erasmus.

The diplomat said the German presidency "offered an upper single digit number between 5.0-9.9, which is probably not very far from where the landing zone will be," he added.

Talks with MEPs will continue on Wednesday morning (14 October).

Another key issue remains the rule-of-law conditionality: linking the disbursement of EU funds to respect for judicial independence. In a parallel negotiation, MEPs will meet with diplomats from the German presidency on Monday (12 October) to agree on the exact mechanism.

Merkel via videolink

On Monday and Tuesday, EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and German chancellor Angela Merkel will will discuss the EU's response to the coronavirus pandemic at the European Committee of the Regions via videolink.

On Tuesday, von der Leyen will hold another videoconference with Merkel and French president Emmanuel Macron with different European companies to discuss digital issues.

EU foreign ministers will meet on Monday to talk about recent developments in Belarus, the Nagorno-Karabakh region, the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, and relations with Russia.

Prizes

On Monday, MEPs on the foreign affairs and development committee will vote on the shortlist of candidates for the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

The democratic opposition in Belarus led by Sviatlana Tsikhanouska, the Archbishop of Mosul Mgr Najeeb Moussa Michaeel, Guapinol activists and Berta Caceres in Honduras as well as a group of Polish LGBTI activists have been nominated.

The new annual Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism, rewarding outstanding journalism centred on the EU's principles and values, will be launched on Friday (16 October), the date that the Maltese anti-corruption investigative journalist was murdered, three years ago.

On Monday, the parliament's new special committee on beating cancer will hold its first meeting.

On Thursday and Friday, MEPs on the civil liberties committee will talk about emergency measures adopted by EU countries to tackle the pandemic and their impact on democracy, fundamental rights and the rule of law.