President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Brussels this week to attend a leaders meeting in the new NATO Headquarters. Erdogan will also meet with European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Thursday to discuss EU-Turkey relations.
NATO meeting
A meeting of NATO heads of state and government representatives will be held in Brussels on Thursday where an opening ceremony will be held at the new headquarters. During this summit, 27 leaders will discuss counter-terrorism efforts and increasing defense spending.
Trump’s visit
U.S. President Donald Trump will attend the NATO summit in Brussels where thousands of people are preparing to protest Trump’s first official visit to Europe. Tusk and Juncker will meet with Trump on Thursday at a separate meeting.
Brexit
The General Affairs Council will meet in Brussels on Monday at an EU27 format to adopt a decision authorizing the opening of Brexit negotiations with the U.K. while also nominating the Commission as the EU negotiator to undertake directives for the Brexit process. These directives, which will cover citizens' rights, financial settlements and how Ireland will be affected by the U.K. withdrawal, will be prioritized.
Eurogroup
The Eurogroup will be briefed on the preliminary agreement reached on May 2 between Greece and the institutions (the European Commission, the European Central Bank, the European Stability Mechanism and the International Monetary Fund) on a new set of policy reforms in the context of Greece's economic adjustment program, financed by the European Stability Mechanism. Ministers will also discuss Greece's medium-term (from 2018 onwards) fiscal targets and issues related to the sustainability of the country's public debt.
ECOFIN
The Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) will gather in Brussels on Tuesday. The Council is expected to reach an agreement on the proposal for a Council directive for taxation dispute resolution mechanisms in the EU. The proposal aims to make the EU's existing dispute resolution mechanisms more effective and efficient by introducing a number of clarifications and timelines and by strengthening the enforceability of decisions. It will also allow for more accessibility and transparency for taxpaying companies. The Council will be briefed on the progress achieved in the technical examination of the proposal for a Council directive to introduce a common corporate tax base in the EU.
European Parliament
The European Parliament will have a delegation-green week in which various members of the European Parliament (MEPs) will travel abroad or to their own constituencies. A Petitions Committee delegation will visit Madrid to investigate several petitions on babies allegedly kidnapped at birth by hospital personnel in Spain. MEPs will meet Spanish authorities and petitioners to gather more information. A Civil Liberties Committee delegation will visit several reception facilities in Greece to take stock of the different aspects related to receiving large numbers of migrants. An International Trade Committee delegation will be in Indonesia to discuss the new free trade deal with governmental, parliamentary, civil society and industry representatives. Trade negotiations with Indonesia were launched in July 2016. A Foreign Affairs Committee delegation will travel to Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia to meet the heads of the three countries and civil society representatives to foster EU-South Caucasus relations and prepare a European Parliament (EP) recommendation on a new EU-Armenia agreement and on the advancement of negotiations on an EU-Azerbaijan agreement.