Thursday

28th Mar 2024

Agenda

Malta summit on EU future This WEEK

  • The Maltese capital will host the EU27-UK leaders (Photo: Ronny Siegel)

Twenty seven EU leaders, with the UK left out, will meet in Malta on Friday (3 February) to discuss reforms in reaction to last year’s Brexit vote.

The informal talks are part of a “reflection” that already produced the so-called Bratislava Roadmap last September.

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  • Trump election poses questions on future of EU's "eastern partnership" policy. (Photo: wikipedia creative commons)

EU leaders declared in the Slovak capital that they would find new ways to stem the flow of migrants to Europe, tighten up security on external borders, pursue military integration, and fight youth unemployment.

They also agreed to step up their communications policy to “challenge simplistic solutions of extreme or populist political forces” and to renew “trust and confidence” in the European project.

The self-reflection has been given added urgency by the election of Donald Trump in the US and the risk of a rift in transatlantic relations on top of the Brexit rupture.

The Maltese summit is to pave the way for final decisions “on the future orientation” of the EU to be undertaken in Rome in March.

Differences remain, not least on the bloc’s long-term migration policy, with central and eastern European states unwilling to take in Arab asylum seekers under EU quotas.

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and EU foreign relations chief Federica Mogherini will also meet with Libya’s UN-recognised leader Fayez Mustafa al-Sarraj in Valletta on Thursday.

Some member states want to strike a deal with al-Sarraj on stopping migrants on the model of an EU-Turkey agreement, but EU institutions have said that Libya is too chaotic for the time being.

Eastern partnership

Trump’s election has also posed questions for the EU’s plans to help a handful of former Soviet countries align with the West.

MEPs will vote on Thursday on letting Georgian nationals visit the EU’s passport-free Schengen zone without visas in future.

A similar vote on Ukraine is expected next month.

The EU energy commissioner, Maros Sefcovic, will also brief MEPs in a mini-plenary session in Brussels on Thursday on how to reduce dependence on Russian gas by building an “energy union”.

But if Trump, who is cosying up to Moscow, gives Russia a free hand to wage war in Ukraine, then the EU’s “eastern partnership” policy and its broader strategy for regional security could crumble.

Putin in Budapest

If more EU leaders take a pro-Russian line, the policy could crumble further.

The EU commission’s Juncker will meet with Bulgaria’s new president, Rumen Radev, in Brussels on Monday to discuss his vision for the future of one of the EU’s most Russia-dependent members.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin is also scheduled to visit Budapest for the second time in two years on Thursday.

No opt-outs on migration, says Malta

For the Mediterranean country that just took the EU presidency, the migration crisis is still there and must be addressed internally and externally.

Environment, Ukraine imports, fish and Easter this WEEK

This week, expect no more than talks on environment, agriculture and fisheries, including discussions between the Polish and Ukrainian governments over angry protests by Polish farmers objecting to cheap grain imports from Ukraine.

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.

Defence, von der Leyen, women's rights, in focus This WEEK

Ursula von der Leyen is expected to be confirmed as the EPP candidate for president of the next EU Commission. A new defence strategy will be unveiled this week, while the ECB is expected to maintain interest rates.

More farmers, Ukraine aid, Yulia Navalnaya in focus This WEEK

EU agriculture ministers meet in Brussels amid new farmers' protests. MEPs will hear from Alexei Navalny's widow and give the final green light to the €50bn Ukraine facility, while the CBAM proposal faces a formal challenge at a WTO meeting.

Opinion

EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania

Among the largest sources of financing for energy transition of central and eastern European countries, the €60bn Modernisation Fund remains far from the public eye. And perhaps that's one reason it is often used for financing fossil gas projects.

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