EU Agenda: Week Ahead - 25 February-2 March 2019
This week, the Commission organises conferences on multimodal transport; the European Food Safety Authority holds a workshop on antimicrobial resistance in EU pre-accession countries; MEPs in committee quiz candidates for the European Chief Prosecutor, and vote on digital copyright rules; and the Special Committee on financial crimes and tax evasion releases its findings. 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 25 February-2 March 2019.
Monday 25 February
European Parliament, Political Meetings, Institutional affairs
European Parliament Committee Meetings
Brussels
Tuesday 26 February
European Commission, Events/Conf/Fairs, Transport and travel
High-level conference: Multimodal transport – towards the future
Brussels
Violeta Bulc, European Commissioner for transport, and the Directorate-General for transport and mobility (DG MOVE) are inviting transport stakeholders for a high-level conference officially closing the 2018 Year of Multimodality.
The thematic year was called to promote the functioning of the transport sector as a fully integrated system, making better use of existing capacities in all transport modes, and improving efficiency of the logistics chains.
The conference will summarise the achievements of the Year of Multimodality, discuss with stakeholders possible gaps towards the transport system of the future, and address with them opportunities and new openings for a seamless multimodal transport system.
Tuesday 26 February
European Parliament, Political Meetings, Institutional affairs
European Parliament Committee Meetings
Brussels
Appointment of the European Chief Prosecutor: shortlisted candidates for the first ever post of EU Chief Prosecutor for crimes against the EU budget and VAT fraud will be quizzed in a public hearing by the Civil Liberties and Budgetary Control committees. They are Jean-François Bohnert from France, Laura Codruta Kövesi from Romania and Andres Ritter from Germany.
Brexit/Social security: the Employment and Social Affairs Committee will vote on a series of contingency measures to safeguard the social security entitlements for EU and UK citizens in case of a no-deal Brexit.
Digital copyright rules: an informal deal reached between EP and Council negotiators on legislation to ensure that the rights and obligations of copyright law also apply to the internet will be up for a vote by the Legal Affairs Committee.
Tuesday 26 - Wednesday 27 February
European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, Other bodies and agencies, Events/Conf/Fairs, Justice and citizens' rights, Research and innovation
Conference on the impact of artificial intelligence on human rights
Helsinki, Finland
The Finnish Presidency of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers and the Council of Europe are jointly organising a high-level conference on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) development on human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.
Michael O'Flaherty, Director of the European Agency for fundamental rights, will speak on a panel on the impact of AI-powered techniques on human rights such as privacy and freedom of expression.
The conference will bring together experts from governments, international organisations, businesses, technology, academia and research, civil society and the media.
Tuesday 26 - Wednesday 27 February
European Food Safety Authority, Other bodies and agencies, Events/Conf/Fairs, Consumer affairs and public health, Enlargement, external relations and trade
Regional workshop on one health approach against antimicrobial resistance in EU pre-accession countries
Belgrade, Serbia
The European centre for disease prevention and control (ECDC) and the European food safety authority (EFSA), in close collaboration with the European Commission services DG SANTE and DG NEAR, are organising a regional workshop on one health approach against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in EU pre-accession countries.
The overall aim of the workshop is to boost the advancement in this field, to reflect on the work done by countries, to share experiences with EU/EEA Member States, and to identify key priority areas that need to be addressed at regional level in Western Balkans.
Together with the commitment and active participation of national authorities of Western Balkans, the expected outcome of this workshop will be a list of key elements for a regional action on one health against AMR with tangible, budgeted, and time-bound interventions to be supported by EU financial assistance.
Wednesday 27 February
European Parliament, Political Meetings, Institutional affairs
European Parliament Committee Meetings
Brussels
Financial crimes and tax evasion: the Special Committee on Financial Crimes, Tax Evasion and Tax Avoidance, set up by MEPs following continued media revelations (Luxleaks, the Panama Papers, Football Leaks and the Paradise Papers), will approve its final findings and recommendations after a 12-month inquiry, including 18 hearings, 10 meetings with finance ministers, European Commissioners and other authorities and 4 fact finding missions. A press conference is scheduled at 10:30.
Serbia and Kosovo: a Foreign Affairs Committee delegation will meet the political leadership in Belgrade and Pristina as well as national MPs, opposition and civil society representatives to assess the political situation and take stock of Serbia's and Kosovo's current relations with the EU, including mutually agreed reforms and the EU-facilitated dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo (Wednesday to Saturday).
Death Penalty: the EP will host the opening of the 7th World Congress Against the Death Penalty. The event will bring together MEPs, high-level guests, including EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini and Belgian Foreign Affairs Minister Didier Reynders, and various representatives of the abolishment movement.
Wednesday 27 February
European Parliament, Other bodies and agencies, Events/Conf/Fairs, Culture, education and youth, Employment and social rights
The role of vocational education and training on shaping the future of Europe
Brussels
This debate on the future of vocational education and training (VET) in Europe, is jointly organised by the European centre for the development of vocational training (Cedefop) and MEP Anne Sander.
The event will be an opportunity for Cedefop to inform its members on its latest work on the rapidly changing nature and role of VET in Europe. Building on research covering a total of 30 countries, a set of 'scenarios 2035' will be presented, illustrating the choices faced by policymakers and stakeholders in the years ahead. The seminar will also be an opportunity to reflect on the role played by VET in the overall education and training system, as well as in relation to the labour market and society at large.
Thursday 28 February
European Economic and Social Committee, Events/Conf/Fairs, Economy and the euro, Employment and social rights
Towards a more inclusive European Semester
Brussels
In order to bring together the views of policymakers and organised civil society, at both EU and national level, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is organising a high-level conference on the topic of the European Semester. The topics to be discussed will include the current state of the European economy, policy challenges within the European Semester process, and the future of the Semester.
The EESC represents organised civil society and strives to be the bridge between the European and the national levels within the Semester process. As a part of this, the EESC has started to organise regular country visits to collect national organised civil society's policy views to feed into the semester process. Findings from these first visits will also be presented at the conference.
Thursday 28 February
European Economic and Social Committee, Events/Conf/Fairs, Energy, environment and climate
Strategy for long-term EU greenhouse gas emissions reduction
Brussels
Just a few days ahead of last December's climate summit COP24 in Poland, the European Commission published its long-term strategy 'A clean planet for all' presenting its vision for achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, through a socially-fair transition in a cost-efficient manner.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) – in the context of the work on its opinion in response to the strategy – organises a public hearing to exchange views with experts, stakeholders, and decision-makers on the strategy. The hearing aims at discussing and evaluating the strategy from 3 angles, namely in terms of different sectors and their contributions, as regards cross-cutting challenges, and with regard to governance and the involvement of civil society.
Friday 1 March
European Parliament, Political Meetings, Institutional affairs
European Parliament Committee Meetings
Brussels
Projections of seats for next Parliament: Parliament will release the second set of seat projections for the composition of the next (9th) European Parliament. The data is based on a selection of polls conducted by national polling institutes in the member states.