-EU-Georgia Association Council
The fourth meeting of the Association Council between the EU and Georgia will take place on Monday in Brussels. The EU High Representative Federica Mogherini will chair the meeting in which Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili will lead the Georgian delegation. The Association Council will review the state of EU-Georgia bilateral relations within the framework of the Eastern Partnership and the European Neighborhood Policy. The Council will review the impact of the short stay visa-free regime, following the entry into force of the visa liberalization agreement in March 2017. In addition, it will examine the economic situation and EU cooperation with Georgia, including in the transport and energy sectors.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, together with the College of Commissioners, will visit Luxembourg on Monday to participate in a meeting with the European Court of Auditors to discuss the EU budget.
Brexit negotiations between EU and U.K. will continue in Brussels on Tuesday.
The European Parliament’s plenary session will be held in Strasbourg this week. MEP’s will discuss whether online buyers will have better cross-border access to products, hotel bookings, car rentals or concert tickets under new rules on Monday. Their conclusions will be put to a final vote on Tuesday. If these rules are put in place, traders will be obliged to treat online shoppers from other EU countries the same as local customers by granting them access to the same sales and pricing structure and conditions.
According to a legislative initiative to be debated and put to the vote on Wednesday, the European Parliament is proposed to shrink from 751 to 705 MEPs when the U.K. leaves the EU. The initiative also recommends the election of a number of MEPs through “transnational” electoral lists comprising the entire territory of the Union.
MEPs are expected to voice concerns about how prolonging the ECB’s post-crisis bank asset purchase program could affect individual savers and the financial equilibrium of pension and insurance schemes, in a debate with ECB President Mario Draghi on Monday evening. Cyber threats and the consequences of Brexit are also likely to be raised.
The mandate for a special committee to look into the EU’s authorization procedure for pesticides will be put to the vote on Tuesday, and on Thursday its nominal composition will be voted on. The special committee was set up in response to concerns about the risk assessment of herbicide glyphosate. EU member states renewed glyphosate’s marketing license for five years in November last year.
-EU-Azerbaijan Cooperation Council
The EU-Azerbaijan Cooperation Council will gather in Brussels on Friday. Mogherini will chair the Council and the Foreign Affairs Minister of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov, will lead the delegation of Azerbaijan. The Cooperation Council will review ongoing negotiations of the new EU-Azerbaijan bilateral agreement and discuss partnership priorities.