UN Summit on Refugees
A high-level delegation of the European Union will travel to New York this week to participate at the UN Global Migration Summit on Monday Sept. 19, and to take part in this year's UN General Assembly ministerial week starting on Tuesday Sept. 20. The EU delegation will join a large number of world leaders participating in these events.
First Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans and High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini will join the President of the Council, Donald Tusk in New York.
European Parliament
EP President Martin Schulz will meet U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan on Thursday in London. Also in London on Friday, Schulz will meet Labor Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn
Refugee resettlement
A Civil Liberties Committee delegation will visit Lebanon from Monday to Thursday to look into the situation of refugees and their resettlement. MEPs will visit refugee camps and meet the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Children’s Rights and Emergency Relief Agency (UNICEF) and United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), international NGOs and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) staff working with the refugees.
Car emissions inquiry
The Inquiry Committee on Emission Measurements in the Automotive Sector (EMIS) is sending a delegation to Luxembourg, France and Germany from Wednesday to Friday to visit testing facilities. They will speak with national authorities in charge of checking whether cars meet EU criteria on emissions.
A delegation of the Internal Market Committee, which is working on an overhaul of car type-approval rules, will go to the U.K. to discuss this with testing facilities, car makers, environmental groups and the national testing agency and the type approval authority.
General Affairs Council
The General Affairs Council will meet in Brussels on Tuesday to start preparations for the European Council on Oct. 20-21 by discussing an annotated draft agenda.
Ministers will also be informed about the implementation of the June European Council conclusions. They will hear a presentation by the Commission of its mid-term review of the EU's multiannual financial framework for 2014-2020. Finally, ministers will have an exchange of views on a Commission letter outlining the priorities of its work program for 2017.
EU Trade Agreements
EU Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström is hosting a conference on ‘EU Trade Agreements in Practice – Making Trade Work for You’ in Bratislava on Thursday. The event will bring together a broad spectrum of high-level speakers. Stakeholders from business, the European Parliament, trade unions and civil society will have the opportunity to have an exchange of ideas on EU trade and investment policy and what it means for growth and jobs. In the final session, Malmström will be joined by Canadian Minister for International Trade Chrystia Freeland for a discussion on putting progressive trade policy into practice.
Trade policy is increasingly at the center of public debate. The EU’s negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the U.S. in its talks for a plurilateral agreement on trade in services (TiSA), and its comprehensive trade deal with Canada (CETA) have attracted an unprecedented level of interest.