EU Agenda: Week Ahead - 23-28 September 2019
This week, energy ministers focus on the contribution of the energy sector to climate action, while the Competitiveness Council looks at the EU strategy for sustainable growth; the Commission holds a regional seminar for candidate countries and the European education summit; environment MEPs attend the UN Summit on Sustainable Development Goals and Climate Action; European Central Bank President Mario Draghi attends his last 'monetary dialogue' with the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee; and we have Multilingualism Day, and the European Week of Sport. The week's events in the European Union including EU Council, Commission and Parliament meetings and other EU-related conferences and events. Events for the week of 23-28 September 2019.
Monday 23 - Tuesday 24 September
European Chemicals Agency - Other bodies and agencies | Events/Conf/Fairs | Research and innovation
Workshop on REACH review action 3
ECHA, Helsinki, Finland
In 2018, the European Commission published the 2nd REACH review. Action 3 proposed in this review aims to improve the workability and quality of extended safety data sheets.
The European chemicals agency (ECHA) is supporting the Commission in this work that was kicked off in a workshop in March 2019.
As a follow-up to the March event, ECHA, jointly with the Commission, is organising a 2nd workshop that will highlight and further discuss the outcomes of the first event and share information on the progress made on certain focus areas.
The September workshop will discuss, in particular, which of the practical solution elements that have already been identified are worthy of further development.
Monday 23 September
European Parliament | Political Meetings | Institutional affairs
European Parliament Committee Meetings
European Parliament, Brussels
Mario Draghi: European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will attend his last "monetary dialogue" with the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, to debate the ECB's monetary policy in the euro area. Mr Draghi will also make his final appearance as Chair of the European Systemic Risk Board.
UN Summit: MEPs from the Environment and Development committees will attend the UN Summit on Sustainable Development Goals and Climate Action. The objectives are two-fold: to come up with realistic plans to reach the target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent and to net zero emissions by 2050, and focus on accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Monday to Wednesday).
Monday 23 - Friday 27 September
European Commission | Events/Conf/Fairs | Energy, environment and climate - Research and innovation
Workshop on extreme events and energy transitions - Tackling the challenges of climate change by integrating social and complex systems science
Ispra, Italy
Human activities exposes us to ever more frequent extreme events such as: power black-outs; droughts; extended floods.
This poses challenges to energy sustainability and actions to tackle climate change through renewable energies.
This workshop aims at exploring how to enable important advancements in this area by integration of complex system approaches with elements of social organisation and adaptation.
The event is open to people from EU countries working on extreme events and energy transition sustainability from both a social and a physical/engineering perspective, like practitioners, PhD students and postdoc/advanced researchers.
Monday 23 - Monday 30 September
European Commission | Events/Conf/Fairs | Culture, education and youth
European Week of Sport 2019
Europe
Every year in September, millions of sports professionals, enthusiasts, experts and associations from across Europe and beyond come together to take part in one of the biggest sport initiatives in the world: the European Week of Sport.
Led by the European Commission and co-organised by national coordinators and sport partners all over Europe, the event promotes an active lifestyle through a variety of celebrations and events.
In 2019, the 5th European Week of Sport will be the biggest ever, with events supported by 47 partner associations in 41 countries. The event is for everyone – regardless of age, background or fitness level – and helps individuals, public authorities, the sport movement, civil society organisations and the private sector collaborate in the field of sport.
Monday 23 - Tuesday 24 September
European Commission - Presidency of the Council of the EU | Events/Conf/Fairs | Justice and citizens' rights
High-level conference on advancing LGBTI equality in the EU: from 2020 and beyond
Brussels
To combat the discrimination against LGBTI people the Commission presented its 'List of actions to advance LGBTI equality' in December 2015. The Council adopted the first ever conclusions on LGBTI equality in June 2016 endorsing the list of actions.
This year the list of actions is coming to its end and it is time to take stock of the achievements and discuss how to advance LGBTI equality in the years to come. To this end the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the EU and the European Commission will host the conference 'Advancing LGBTI equality in the EU: from 2020 and beyond'.
The debates and discussions of the conference will inform future policies aiming at advancing LGBTI equality in the EU.
Tuesday 24 - Thursday 26 September
European Commission | Events/Conf/Fairs | Research and innovation
European Research and Innovation Days – policy conference
Brussels
The policy conference of the European Research and Innovation Days will bring together high-level policymakers, leaders from industry, finance, academia and the entrepreneurial community to debate and shape the future research and innovation landscape.
It will cover vital areas of science, engineering, medicine, and wider social and environmental concerns.
It will be an important opportunity to debate and shape the targeted impact and strategic priorities of Horizon Europe, the European Commission's proposal for the next EU research and innovation programme (2021-2027) with a proposed budget of €100 billion.
Tuesday 24 - Thursday 26 September
European Commission | Events/Conf/Fairs | Research and innovation
Scientific workshop on nuclear fission dynamics and the emission of prompt neutrons and gamma rays
Barga, Italy
The workshop aims at providing a comprehensive overview about the research on the dynamical aspects of nuclear fission and their consequences on fission fragment properties. It promotes the exchange between theoreticians and experimentalists on future data needs for basic research and applications.
It is the 5th workshop of a series initiated in 2010 (Sinaia, Romania) and continued in 2012 (Biarritz, France), 2014 (Opatija, Croatia) and 2017 (Varna, Bulgaria).
Workshop topics include:
- nuclear fission dynamics
- fragment properties and nuclear de-excitation
- prompt neutron and gamma-ray emission
- isomer ratios, shape isomer population
- data needs for improved fission modelling
- modelling for nuclear
Tuesday 24 September
Presidency of the Council of the EU | Events/Conf/Fairs | Justice and citizens' rights
Seminar on the future of EU transparency
Brussels
The aim of this seminar organised jointly by Finland's Presidency and the Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki is to take stock of recent developments and discuss how EU transparency should be developed in the future with the contributions of experts from EU institutions and agencies, civil society and academia.
The seminar will explore the future of transparency in the EU under 2 themes. The first theme will aim to place transparency in a broader context, also taking into account the challenges posed by technological developments. The second theme of the day will focus on regulation 1049/2001, taking stock of the case law and exploring how the regulation has stood the test of the time.
Tuesday 24 September
Presidency of the Council of the EU | Events/Conf/Fairs | Culture, education and youth
Conference on sport
Helsinki, Finland
This conference on safe physical activity and sport for children and youth is expected to gather some 120 experts, policymakers, and decision-makers in the field of sports. The set goals are to benchmark practices, ensure a safe sporting environment for children and youth, and find ways to prevent bullying, harassment and injuries.
On 23 September, Finland will also co-host with the European Commission the official opening of the European Week of Sport. The inauguration coincides with the School Action Day, a physical exercise event organised for some 10,000 schoolchildren. On the same day, there will be a seminar on the promotion of children's and young people's physical activity.
Tuesday 24 September
European Parliament | Political Meetings | Institutional affairs
European Parliament Committee Meetings
European Parliament, Brussels
European elections/Eurobarometer: the Parliament will publish the full results of a post-electoral Eurobarometer survey, one of the most comprehensive, publicly available quantitative surveys on the last European elections.
Tuesday 24 - Wednesday 25 September
Other bodies and agencies | Events/Conf/Fairs | Research and innovation - Transport and travel
EGNOS annual workshop
Rome, Italy
Organised by the European satellite services provider (ESSP) and the European global navigation satellite system agency (GSA), the event will include information about the European geostationary navigation overlay service's (EGNOS) status, applications and success stories from partners currently using EGNOS in real applications.
The 2019 workshop will have specific sessions on aviation, maritime and land applications. There will be also awards and diplomas for stakeholders already using EGNOS and a networking event.
Tuesday 24 September
Council of the EU and European Council - Presidency of the Council of the EU | Political Meetings | Energy, environment and climate
Transport, Telecommunications & Energy Council - Energy
Brussels
The Council will focus on the contribution of the energy sector to climate action.
Ministers will first hold a public debate on the European Commission's communication about the draft national energy and climate plans.
This discussion is meant to help member states prepare their revised national energy and climate plans - due to be presented by the end of the year. It is also expected to highlight ways of closing the so-called ambition gaps in energy efficiency and renewable energy. These are two key aspects in the EU's efforts to meet the 2030 targets for climate and energy.
The second public debate will address the energy sector beyond 2030. In particular, ministers will discuss the road ahead towards climate neutrality.
Tuesday 24 September
European Commission | Events/Conf/Fairs | Research and innovation
European HTCondor workshop 2019
Ispra, Italy
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is co-organsing the 2019 edition of the European HTCondor workshop.
HTCondor is an open-source high-throughput computing software framework for coarse-grained distributed parallelization of computationally intensive tasks. It is used by NASA, CERN, Ligo, DESY, IceCube, INFN and others.
Novice and experienced users of HTCondor will get the opportunity to learn, get support and interact with the HTCondor developers and experts.
Tuesday 24 - Thursday 26 September
European Commission | Events/Conf/Fairs | Research and innovation
Global summit on regulatory science 2019 - Nanotechnology and nanoplastics
Lake Maggiore, Italy
The European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) will co-organise with the Global Coalition for Regulatory Science Research (GCRSR) the Global summit on regulatory science 2019 (GSRS19).
The GSRS19 will bring together scientists from government, industry, and academic-research communities from around the world for addressing regulatory-research questions concerning Nanotechnology and Nanoplastics.
The focus will be on topics in Nanotechnology related to advances in standards, medical products/drugs, medical devices, food, cosmetic (personal care) products and the emerging pollutant nanoplastics.
The conference provides a platform where regulators, policy makers, and bench scientists can exchange views on innovative methodologies and regulatory assessments, as well as harmonising strategy via global collaboration.
Wednesday 25 - Thursday 26 September
European Commission | Events/Conf/Fairs | Business - Culture, education and youth - Employment and social rights
4th regional seminar for candidate countries
Skopje, Macedonia
The European Commission and the European Training Foundation will host the '4th regional seminar for candidate countries: Engagement of small and medium-sized enterprises in work-based learning'.
The event will gather delegates from European Alliance for Apprenticeships (EAfA) member organisations and the EU candidate countries.
The purpose of the seminar is to discuss the latest policy developments in apprenticeships and work-based learning in EU candidate countries and share experiences between them and EAfA members.
Wednesday 25 - Friday 27 September
European Commission | Events/Conf/Fairs | Business - Research and innovation
7th European conference on corporate research and development (R&D) and innovation (CONCORDi 2019)
Seville, Spain
CONCORDi 2019, the biennial European conference on corporate R&D and innovation is organised by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in association with the Organization for economic cooperation and development (OECD).
This year's edition of CONCORDi will focus on 'Innovation for industrial transformation'.
The conference aims to identify the research, business and policy challenges in this area for the future. CONCORDi 2019 will look for novel and useful input to the EU industrial research and innovation policy agenda.
Thursday 26 September
European Commission | Events/Conf/Fairs | Culture, education and youth
2nd European education summit
Brussels
The 2nd European education summit will be hosted by Tibor Navracsics, Commissioner for education, culture, youth and sport.
Ministers, experts, and teachers from across Europe are gathering to exchange experience, insights, and ideas on the future of education in the EU. The summit emphasises the critical role education plays in promoting resilience, fairness and social cohesion. Last year's edition helped to drive discussions on new policy initiatives linked to the European Education Area.
This 2nd edition will focus on the teaching profession – which has a key role to play in building a true European Education Area by 2025. Discussions will address, among many topics, the challenges facing teachers, linked to factors such as recognition, prestige, training, autonomy and demography. Sessions will explore solutions to specific issues like the use of new technologies in the classroom, teaching in rural areas and the promotion of common values in education.
Thursday 26 - Friday 27 September
Council of the EU and European Council - Presidency of the Council of the EU | Political Meetings | Business, taxation and competition
Competitiveness Council
Brussels
Internal market and industry, 26 September
Ministers will hold a public policy debate on the long-term EU strategy for sustainable growth. In the same context, they will exchange views on the external dimension of the EU's competitiveness - under the competitiveness check-up.
Over lunch, ministers will discuss the financing of sustainable growth.
Research, 27 September
Research ministers will also have the possibility to debate publicly the long-term EU strategy for sustainable growth.
In addition, they will exchange views on the possible interlinks between Horizon Europe and other EU programmes.
Over lunch, ministers will discuss the role of research and innovation in achieving climate targets.
Thursday 26 September
European Commission | Events/Conf/Fairs | Transport and travel
High-level conference - Towards a more inclusive and diverse transport sector
Brussels
European Commissioner for transport Violeta Bulc is inviting transport stakeholders and governments' transport representatives to the high-level conference 'Towards a more inclusive and diverse transport sector'.
The aim of the conference is to promote diversity and to raise awareness on its importance.
Participation of CEOs from various transport companies and agencies, workers' representatives, transport ministers, and other high-level politicians will ensure a fruitful brainstorming with the Commissioner on 'Inclusive and gender balanced leadership for 21st century transport'.
Commissioner Bulc will then launch a wide network of EU diversity ambassadors for the transport sector. We are looking for ambassadors with diverse profiles, from all genders, living all over Europe and representing all transport sectors.
Thursday 26 - Friday 27 September
European Union Intellectual Property Office - Other bodies and agencies | Events/Conf/Fairs | Business - Security and defence
Intellectual property Horizon 5.0 conference: Mapping opportunities and challenges in a globalised economy
Alicante, Spain
The conference is co-organised by the EUIPO and the prestigious San Francisco-based McCarthy Institute.
The event will cover issues at the forefront of Intellectual Property (IP), such as cutting-edge developments and artificial intelligence initiatives in the field of IP. Opportunities presented by global e-commerce and transformative technologies will also be discussed, together with the future of IP jobs.
The conference will bring together representatives from some of the leading IP offices in the world, international businesses, policy-makers, practitioners, academics and enforcement authorities for a two day event.
Thursday 26 September
Other bodies and agencies | Events/Conf/Fairs | Research and innovation - Security and defence
7th ENISA National Cyber Security Strategies (NCSS) workshop
Warsaw, Poland
The EU Agency for network and information security (ENISA) is organising in Warsaw a workshop in cooperation with the Polish National Research Institution (NASK) to discuss innovation in the context of National Cyber Security Strategies (NCSS).
The discussions will focus on national objectives and priorities supporting research and innovation of cybersecurity technologies and services. National experts will have the opportunity to share good practices and discuss gaps and challenges related to funding, incentives, collaboration mechanisms, and policy initiatives that shape the national or the European market.
In addition, the workshop will also cover aspects related to Information Sharing and Analysis Centres (ISACs), as well as public private cooperation.
Friday 27 September
European Commission | Events/Conf/Fairs | Enlargement, external relations and trade
EU-Asia Connectivity: Building bridges for a sustainable future
Brussels
This event builds on the recent European Commission communication 'Connecting Europe and Asia: Building blocks for an EU strategy'. It is a first concrete manifestation of facilitating much deeper ties between Europe and Asia in promoting shared values and joint interests: from upholding the rules-based, multilateral order and developing high standards for digital and physical infrastructure, to embracing sustainability and clean technologies.
In a mix of keynote addresses by high-ranking political leaders and interactive panels, speakers will explore connectivity as a global megatrend, and extrapolate what it means for the EU-Asia relationship as well as the wider world. In particular, connectivity will be examined through various angles, from geopolitics and economics to standards and finance.
President Juncker has invited Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, to open the event by his side, thus highlighting the key strategic partnership and unique bilateral relationship between the EU and Japan, including on connectivity.
Saturday 28 September
European Parliament | Political Meetings | Institutional affairs
European Parliament Committee Meetings
European Parliament, Brussels
Multilingualism Day: Parliament will hold its third Multilingualism Day, where various activities will be organised to mark European Day of languages (26 September), Europe's linguistic diversity and show how interpreters and translators work. Events will take place in Parliament's buildings and hemicycle as well as the European House of History.