A Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council meeting will take place in Luxembourg on Thursday and Friday. The Council is expected to agree on a general approach to updated rules for the training and qualifications of professional lorry and bus drivers. The proposal, which aims to ensure the application of appropriate minimum training requirements across the EU and in all EU countries, would recognize training received in other EU countries. The Council is also expected to adopt a general approach on a draft regulation to increase regulatory oversight and price transparency for cross-border parcel delivery services. The proposal aims to bring down prices and improve competition on the market. Ministers will have a policy debate on the revision of EU telecoms rules to improve fixed and mobile connectivity, promote investments, competition and innovation in Europe.
The Justice and Home Affairs Council will meet on Thursday and Friday in Luxembourg. Member States are expected to reach an agreement on the establishment of a European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), following the launch of enhanced cooperation in April. The office would oversee the investigation and prosecution of perpetrators of offenses against the Union's financial interests.
Ministers will also try to reach agreements on the directive on the supply of digital content as well as on the directive for countering money laundering through criminal law. The Council will review the work on proposals to improve the Schengen Information System, the large-scale information system that supports external border control and law enforcement cooperation in the Schengen States, in addition to discussing counter-terrorism.
European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee MEPs will assess the current refugee situation and migrants in Italy on Thursday. Italy is the main arrival point for refugees in the EU since the closure of the Balkan route and the EU-Turkey deal. MEPs will also discuss with the Commission how to protect migrant children.
The European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs will discuss the double taxation issue on Thursday. Under proposals being voted on by the committee, firms within the EU would gain access to an effective mechanism to resolve disputes over income taxed in two different EU countries.
The nineteenth bilateral summit between the EU and China took place in Brussels last week. European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker represented the European Union while Prime Minister Li Keqiang represented China. The leaders discussed EU-China political and economic relations. All parties reaffirmed their cooperation to tackle climate change and their support of the Paris Agreement. The leaders exchanged views on foreign policy and security challenges, including the situation in the Korean Peninsula. They also discussed ways to improve cooperation on human rights at bilateral and at an international level. An EU-China business summit took place on the margins of the summit where different approaches to trade were discussed. China wants the EU to accept it as a free market economy and remove barriers to trade.
Business magnate and philanthropist George Soros gave a speech at Brussels’ Economic Forum last week when he warned that the European Union is not functioning well and is experiencing an existential crisis.
Under the EC’s merger regulation, the European Commission has cleared unconditionally the acquisition of the U.S.’ Baker Hughes Incorporated by American giant the General Electric Company. The Commission concluded that the transaction would not adversely affect competition in the relevant markets.
The European Commission set out possible ways for the deepening of Europe's Economic and Monetary Union through a reflection paper released last week. The EC proposed the foundation of a genuine Financial Union, a more integrated Economic and Fiscal Union, as well as anchoring democratic accountability and strengthening euro area institutions.