European Commission (EC) Vice-President Maros Sefcovic will host a high-level meeting on the European Battery Alliance in Brussels on Monday.
EC President Jean-Claude Juncker is expected to hold a news conference in Brussels on Wednesday.
The European Parliament’s delegation week in which MEP’s travel to different countries will start this week.
The Civil Liberties Committee will take part in a fact-finding visit to Bulgaria to see first-hand how Frontex operations at the border with Turkey from Monday to Wednesday. Frontex supports national authorities in carrying out border checks and in intelligence gathering.
A delegation of the Development Committee will visit Senegal from Tuesday to Friday to assess how the EU’s Emergency Trust Fund for Africa works on the ground. The fund was set up to tackle the root causes of migration. They will also visit EU-funded projects, meet local authorities, civil society representatives as well as returned migrants.
The Human Rights Subcommittee will visit Myanmar from Monday to Friday and travel to the border with Bangladesh to gain a first-hand impression of current developments in the region. The delegation includes members of the Foreign Affairs and International Trade committees and an EU-ASEAN delegation. They will visit Rohingya camps and meet international NGOs.
A Defense Minister-level meeting of the North Atlantic Council (NAC) will be held at NATO Headquarters on Wednesday and Thursday. U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis is expected to meet his Turkish counterpart Nurettin Canikli at the meeting.
-Last week:
Talks over an agreement between the U.K. and the EU for a proposed transition period for Brexit have come to a standstill as the first round of the second phase of Brexit negotiations concluded last week. The latest disagreements have now put a smooth deal for the transition period in danger -- a limited period which will give businesses a chance to adapt themselves to the effects of Brexit.
The EC imposed definitive anti-dumping duties on Chinese corrosion resistant steel as a trade defense measure. The measures, which will be in place for the next five years, range from 17.2 percent to 27.9 percent. Corrosion resistant steel is mainly used in the construction industry, for mechanical engineering, in the production of welded pipes and tubes and in the manufacturing of domestic appliances.
The EC has approved, under EU state aid rules, electricity capacity mechanisms in Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, and Poland. The Commission found that the measures would contribute to ensuring the security of supply while preserving competition in the single market.
The Commission released its Winter 2018 Interim Economic Forecast last week. According to the report, growth rates for the euro area and the EU beat expectations last year as the transition from economic recovery to expansion continues. The euro area and EU economies are both estimated to have grown by 2.4 percent in 2017, the fastest pace in a decade. Downside risks related to the uncertain outcome of the Brexit negotiations remain, as do those associated with geopolitical tensions and a shift towards more inward-looking and protectionist policies.
Turkey last week submitted to EU authorities a draft document for Turkish citizens to travel to Schengen countries visa-free.
