Macron and von der Leyen in China This WEEK

The NCP was seen winning 48 of the 200 seats in parliament, ahead of the nationalist Finns Party with 46 seats and prime minister Sanna Marin's Social Democrats on 43 seats, Yle's estimation showed Sunday night.

French president Emmanuel Macron and EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will head to China this week, on Tuesday (4 April), as the EU is trying to find its place as tension between the US and China are growing.

Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez went to Beijing last week for a two-day visit and that his country wanted a "balanced relationship with China".

Macron leaves behind deep domestic turmoil over his pension reform, as he aims to nudge China to put pressure on Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.

In a policy-setting speech last week, von der Leyen warned China that its approach to Russia's war in Ukraine would determine ties, but also said Europe was not looking to "decouple" from Beijing.

"We have to be frank on this point. How China continues to interact with Putin's war will be a determining factor for EU-China relations," she said.

Egg hunt

In Brussels and the wider 'EU Bubble', life comes to a relative standstill until after Easter.

Nevertheless, the EU Commission plans to come out with common criteria and procedures for transferring criminal proceedings to another member state.

The initiative would aim to make criminal proceedings more efficient and and create common understanding of issues of how, for instance, expert evidence should be considered.

The commission is also expected to reveal its reaction to the Save the Bees! citizens' initiative.

Organisers of the initiative want the commission to propose new rules that would phase out synthetic pesticides by 2035, restore natural ecosystems in agricultural areas, and support farmers in the transition.

This week European Parliament delegations will hit the road.

One group of MEPs on the internal market committee is set to travel to Singapore to discuss customs, and learn about the digital transformation about the local economy.

The European Parliament then returns with a plenary in Strasbourg, and in the council will restart as EU environment ministers will convene on Tuesday (18 April).

Your agenda to EU affairs will also take a break. We will be back for the week starting with 24 April.