The European Commission is expected to present its vision for the EU budget for 2028-2034 and work programme for this year to MEPs in Strasbourg on Wednesday (12 February). Here are EUobserver’s takeaways from the draft that was leaked last week.
EU budget commissioner Piotr Serafin has already started touring various capitals to discuss the budget, although the official proposal for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) is expected later this year, likely in July or September.
The EU Commission wants a more simplified and flexible budget with fewer programmes and new 'own resources', under a model that would see a link between reforms and investments in each member state.
The European Parliament will also scrutinise the commission’s Competitive Compass on Wednesday.
But as usual, geopolitical developments are set to drive the week’s agenda.
Ahead of the third anniversary of the war in Ukraine, MEPs will assess the impact of the war and the future of a nation that continues to fight for its sovereignty and European aspirations. EUobserver will be on the ground this week, bringing the voices of Ukrainians closer to Brussels.
The developments in the Middle East, particularly in Syria and Gaza, and transatlantic relations will also be part of Tuesday’s plenary agenda.
US-EU relations will be a key topic this week, as the 27-nations bloc could be the next target of US president Donald Trump’s tariffs, after he slapped 25-percent levies on goods from Mexico and Canada, along with an additional 10-percent tax on Chinese imports.
The EU parliament will also review the impact of the new US administration's withdrawal from international organisations and agreements like the Global Tax Convention, the Paris Agreement on climate emissions, and the World Health Organization. Expect EU lawmakers to raise concerns over Trump’s decision to halt foreign aid funding.
On Tuesday, MEPs will discuss the implications of the Biden administration’s decision to restrict the export of chips used for AI models to certain EU member states.
In January 2025, the US imposed export limits on security grounds, affecting 120 countries worldwide, including China and 17 EU member states (Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia).
The plenary debate comes just weeks after DeepSeek went viral, showing that US export controls don’t seem to be working in holding back China’s tech progress — which still leaves Europe struggling to keep up in an increasingly competitive market.
Still on Tuesday, MEPs will discuss the war and humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) following military incursions by Rwandan armed forces and the M23 militia group. A resolution will be voted on Thursday.
The fragile situation is increasing pressure on the EU to impose sanctions and end its minerals-access deal with Rwanda, one of the EU’s closest partners in Africa.
Also, the political crisis in Serbia will be discussed on Tuesday, while MEPs will address the harsh crackdown by Georgian authorities on peaceful protesters on Thursday.
On the same day, MEPs are expected to raise concerns about strategic autonomy in communication infrastructure. This comes in the wake of Italian PM Giorgia Meloni’s negotiations with Tesla CEO Elon Musk about joining SpaceX's satellite system. The EU's own sovereign system, IRIS (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity, and Security by Satellite), is set to become operational in 2030.
The trade deal with Mercosur countries, which France is still opposing over concerns about the impact on agriculture, will also be on Thursday’s plenary agenda.
European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde will brief MEPs on Monday.
Also on Monday, MEPs in the economic committee will have an exchange of views about the recovery funds with EU cohesion commissioner Raffaele Fitto and EU economy commissioner Valdis Dombroskis.
EU ministers in charge of development policy will meet for an informal meeting in Warsaw on Monday and Tuesday.
In a plenary debate on Wednesday, MEPs will also address the state of media freedom in Europe, ahead of the seven-year anniversary of the assassination of Slovak journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová in 2018.
Elena is EUobserver's editor-in-chief. She is from Spain and has studied journalism and new media in Spanish and Belgian universities. Previously she worked on European affairs at VoteWatch Europe and the Spanish news agency EFE.
Elena is EUobserver's editor-in-chief. She is from Spain and has studied journalism and new media in Spanish and Belgian universities. Previously she worked on European affairs at VoteWatch Europe and the Spanish news agency EFE.