The EU’s Foreign Affairs Council will meet on Monday in Luxembourg to discuss current affairs, and allow ministers to review pressing issues on the international agenda. These include the outcome of the 73rd UN General Assembly held in September, the results of the consultative referendum in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and the outcome of the elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The High Representative will also refer to the recently announced EU strategy for connecting Europe and Asia on which the Council is expected to adopt conclusions. Foreign ministers will discuss the external aspects of migration and take stock of progress achieved and measures adopted. They will also discuss the situation in Libya and Venezuela.
The EU’s Agriculture and Fisheries Council will meet on Monday in Luxembourg. The Council will discuss fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea in 2019. The aim is to reach an agreement on total allowable catches and quotas for the ten main commercial stocks in the basin.
Agriculture ministers will consider a progress report on the regulation on Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) strategic plans. Ministers will also be updated on the meeting of the G20 agriculture ministers, the latest developments in the fight against African swine fever - a devastating infectious and potentially deadly disease affecting pigs, the latest developments in the sugar sector and the election of the director general of the intergovernmental International Organization of Vine and Wine.
The European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee will vote on two legislative proposals on Monday in Brussels whose aim is to make information exchange and data sharing between the various EU information systems more effective and efficient, to boost protection of the EU's external borders, improve migration management, and enhance internal security.
The Tripartite Social Summit will meet on Tuesday in Brussels under the main theme of Growth and Employment to reinforce competitiveness, sustainable job creation and social fairness in the EU. Discussions will focus on the potential of the digital revolution for labor markets and the economy, the implementation of the European pillar of social rights and the next multiannual financial framework including InvestEU, the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and the deepening of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).
The EU’s General Affairs Council on Brexit will meet in Luxembourg on Tuesday. The Commission's Brexit Chief Negotiator, Michel Barnier, will update participants at the meeting, which will be held in an EU27 format, on the state of play of Brexit negotiations with the U.K. regarding both the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration on future relations. Ministers will, on this basis, prepare the European Council (Article 50) on Wednesday. Oct. 17. However, some parts of the withdrawal agreement need further negotiation including the issue of avoiding a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
In a different session, ministers will continue preparations for the upcoming European Council on Thursday, Oct. 18, by revising previous draft conclusions and discussing the rule of law in Poland. The presidency will inform ministers on how it intends to organize the Council's proceedings following the triggering of the Article 7(1) procedure for Hungary, which could open the door to sanctions against the country. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government is accused of silencing media, targeting NGOs and removing independent judges.
The European Parliament’s Development Committee and the European Think Tanks Group, which brings together five think tanks, is organizing a public debate on the future of European development and innovation on Wednesday in Brussels. EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Co-chair Bill Gates will join one of the panels.
New binding reduction targets for CO2 emissions produced by heavy-duty vehicles will be up for a vote by the Environment and Public Health Committee of the European Parliament on Thursday in Brussels. CO2 emissions from trucks represent 6 percent of total EU greenhouse gas emissions.
EU27 leaders will meet in the European Council to discuss Article 50 on Brexit on Wednesday in Brussels.
The October European Council will gather in Brussels on Thursday. They will focus on migration and internal security. It will be followed by the Euro Summit in an inclusive format.
The European Council will adopt conclusions on internal security.
EU leaders will meet for the Euro Summit in an inclusive format of 27 EU member states to discuss the state of play of negotiations on the deepening of the EMU ahead of the Euro Summit in December.
The 12th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit will take place on Thursday and Friday in Brussels. The ASEM summit will bring together heads of state or governments of 51 European and Asian countries, representatives of the European Union and the Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Discussions will focus on the theme, Europe and Asia: Global Partners For Global Challenges. Leaders will seek to strengthen dialogue and cooperation between the two continents on a wide range of areas, including trade and investment, connectivity, sustainable development climate, security challenges such as terrorism, non-proliferation, cyber-security and irregular migration.
EU-Republic of Korea summit will meet in Brussels on Friday. Leaders will take stock of bilateral relations, including the implementation of the EU-South Korea free trade agreement in place since 2011. The denuclearization of the Korean peninsula is also high on the agenda, along with other foreign and security policy issues. In addition, leaders will discuss how to boost EU-South Korea cooperation on climate change, research and development, and other global issues.
