Eurogroup will gather on Monday in Brussels. The Eurogroup will discuss the international role of the euro and how to strengthen it. Ministers will also exchange views on the deepening the European Monetary Union.
European Commission Vice-President responsible for the Energy Union, Maros Sefcovic will chair the trilateral gas talks between Russia and Ukraine, in Brussels on Monday. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolyev, and Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Russian Gazprom Deputy Chairman Alexander Medvedev will participate the talks. The first ministerial meeting, which was on July 17, 2018, followed by experts' meetings during the second half of 2018. Discussions on Monday will build on the expert-level meetings and focus on the key parameters agreed in Berlin, notably on the applicable legal framework, volumes, duration and tariffs.
Foreign Affairs Council will meet on Monday for discussions on current affairs, allowing ministers to review pressing issues on the international agenda. Regarding the situation in Venezuela, the High Representative will update foreign ministers on the ongoing work to establish an international contact group which could, if conditions are met, help facilitate a political process. The High Representative and foreign ministers will also refer to the latest developments in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Foreign ministers will discuss the action plan against disinformation presented by the Commission.
The EU-ASEAN ministerial meeting will bring together EU foreign ministers and their counterparts from the 10 member states of ASEAN on Monday in Brussels.
Both sides will discuss cooperation on regional and international issues, including global challenges such as climate change and strengthening the rules-based multilateral system. The states are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar/Burma, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The EU-African Union ministerial meeting will bring together foreign ministers from the EU and from the African Union (AU) on Monday and Tuesday in Brussels. EU foreign ministers will discuss EU-AU cooperation with their African counterparts. The ministerial meeting will cover political aspects: peace, security and governance, economic aspects: trade, investment, and economic integration, multilateralism: strengthening cooperation in support of a rules-based global order.
Economic and Financial Affairs Council will gather in Brussels on Tuesday. The Council will discuss InvestEU, a proposed programme to support investment, innovation and creating jobs in the EU. Ministers will also take stock of ongoing negotiations on reviewing the existing architecture of financial supervision.
Also, European Parliament Committee Meetings will be held in Brussels this week.
An update of EU consumer protection rules will be up for a vote in the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee on Tuesday. It covers, among different issues, penalties for infringements, transparency of online marketplaces (e.g. ratings and reviews), protection for consumers who use 'free' digital services (e.g. apps, social media), doorstep-selling as well as dual quality of products. It is part of the "New Deal for Consumers" package.
New motor insurance rules to better protect road accident victims will be put to the vote by the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee on Tuesday. Proposed provisions relate to compensating victims when an insurance company goes bankrupt, minimum amounts of insurance cover, as well as checks to tackle uninsured drivers.
An overhaul of the rules and conditions on receiving financial support from the main EU funds during the 2021-27 period will be voted on by the Regional Development Committee on Tuesday. The vote covers EU funds for regional development, social, cohesion, asylum and migration, internal security and border management policies, which are spent and managed by member states.
A legislative proposal aiming to alleviate water scarcity, in the context of adapting to climate change, by increasing the uptake of water reuse for agricultural irrigation, will be voted on by the Environment and Public Health Committee on Tuesday. The proposal seeks to ensure that reclaimed water is safe, by setting standards for its quality.
The International Trade Committee will vote on whether to approve a free trade deal with Singapore that would end virtually all tariffs on EU imports to the country on Thursday. Intellectual property rights, rules of origin and sustainable development clauses are part of the package. In parallel, the committee votes on investor-state dispute settlement between the two parties.
