The EU’s Foreign Affairs Council will gather in Brussels on Monday to start current affairs discussions and review pressing issues on the international agenda, including developments in Venezuela, Turkey, Afghanistan and Iran.
The EU-Uzbekistan Cooperation Council will gather in Brussels on Monday to discuss bilateral relations under the current EU-Uzbekistan partnership and cooperation agreement. Foreign Minister of Finland, Pekka Haavisto, who holds the rotating Presidency of the Council, will chair the meeting and lead the EU delegation on behalf of High Representative Federica Mogherini. Foreign Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Abdulaziz Kamilov, will lead the Uzbek delegation. The Cooperation Council will discuss political developments in Uzbekistan, including domestic reforms, justice and home affairs, human rights, and the rule of law.
The Foreign Affairs Council will meet on Tuesday in Brussels to debate defense-related issues. Defense ministers will discuss security and defense issues, with a particular focus on PESCO (Permanent Structured Cooperation) - the part of the European Union's security and defense policy, and its coherence with other defense initiatives. The Council is expected to adopt 13 new PESCO projects. The ministers will also discuss EU-NATO cooperation with NATO's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
On Wednesday, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) will discuss the latest developments and rising tensions among Eastern Mediterranean countries following Turkey’s offshore drilling activities.
The hearings of the new Commissioners-designate Oliver Varhelyi (Neighborhood and Enlargement), Adina-Ioana Valean (Transport), and Thierry Breton (Internal Market) will take place on Thursday in the European Parliament.
Each will face a three-hour hearing in which MEPs will examine whether they are qualified to be Member of the College of Commissioners, to carry out their assigned duties, and to deliver on the program that President-elect Ursula von der Leyen presented to MEPs in July.
MEPs will discuss migration in the hotspots of the Greek islands and Bosnia with the Commission and the Finnish Council Presidency on Thursday.
The Economic and Financial Affairs Council will gather in Brussels on Friday to prepare negotiations with the European Parliament on the EU's general budget for 2020. The negotiations will be held on the same day as a conciliation committee meeting, which is convened if the Council does not approve all of the Parliament's amendments at a second reading.