EU Agenda: Week Ahead - 27 September- 1 October 2021
This week, research ministers are invited to approve conclusions on a global approach to research and innovation; the Commission holds conferences on global tax avoidance and tax evasion, energy efficiency, global food emissions and climate change; and MEPs in committee meet ECB president Lagarde, and vote on revision of the trans-European networks for energy (TEN-E). 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 27 September to 1 October 2021.
Sunday 26 - Wednesday 29 September
Presidency of the Council of the EU | Events/Conf/Fairs | Culture, education and youth
EU youth conference
Online
The EU youth conference will be held as part of the EU youth dialogue. This event is taking place under the auspices of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU.
In addition to the dialogue between youth and decision-makers, the aim of this conference is to draw up recommendations for the implementation of the 9th EU youth goal ('Space and participation for all') and evaluate the 8th cycle of youth dialogue.
The dialogue will be attended by youth delegates (youth and youth organisation representatives), decision-makers in the field of youth, representatives of national Erasmus+ and ESC agencies, researchers and other stakeholders in the field of youth.
Monday 27 - Wednesday 29 September
European Commission | Events/Conf/Fairs | Business, taxation and competition - Research and innovation
The fiscal and distributional consequences of global tax avoidance and tax evasion
Online
The Joint research centre (JRC) of the European Commission is organising a high-level conference on the fiscal and distributional consequences of global tax avoidance and tax evasion, in partnership with the EU tax observatory and DG TAXUD.
The conference is structured in 3 days including 5 sessions. The first 2 sessions will introduce the policy prospective and discuss the academic research. The following 3 sessions will focus on the policy debate dealing with tax morale, novel policy instruments, and policy reforms.
The event will bring together key policymakers, world leading academics and representatives from the civil society including NGOs and journalists, to foster debates on recent and future research, and discuss policy proposals.
Monday 27 - Wednesday 29 September
European Commission | Events/Conf/Fairs | Energy, environment and climate - Research and innovation
Conference on water-energy-food-ecosystems (WEFE) nexus scientific advances in the Mediterranean region
Online
This conference is organised by the Joint research centre (JRC) and the Directorate-General for research and innovation of the European Commission, the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), the Partnership for research and innovation in the Mediterranean area (PRIMA), and the Cyprus Institute to address the role of science as a driver of innovation and its interface with the policymaking process.
It will recommend practical measures on how to integrate new paths in research and planning across the WEFE nexus, through a collaborative response throughout the Mediterranean region.
Participants will be scientists and practitioners, as well as social actors and decision-makers from diverse WEFE sectors from the entire Mediterranean area. But the conference will also be of broad interest to participants from outside the region sharing the same interests and wishing to learn from the Mediterranean experience.
Monday 27 September
European Parliament | Political Meetings | Institutional affairs
European Parliament committee and political group meetings
European Parliament, Brussels
ECB/Lagarde: Members of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee will quiz European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on the state of the Euro Area. Inflation, risks to price stability, disorderly market reactions after the pandemic and the review of the ECB's monetary policy strategy are among the topics likely to be raised.
Budget control/FRONTEX: following a decision by Parliament in April to postpone clearing of the accounts (so-called discharge) of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), the Budgetary Control Committee will vote on whether or not the discharge should be granted. MEPs needed clarification on a series of issues, e.g. delays in recruiting fundamental rights officers, gender imbalance, reported cases of harassment and meetings with lobbyists not on the EU transparency register.
2021 Sakharov Prize: the nominees for this year's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought will be presented to MEPs in a joint meeting of the Foreign Affairs and Development committees and the Human Rights Subcommittee.
Plenary preparations: political groups will prepare for the 4-7 October plenary session, where MEPs will discuss the future of EU-US relations and vote on resolutions on the humanitarian crisis along the EU-Belarus border and the Belarusian regime's hybrid warfare against the EU, on the state of the EU's cyber defence capabilities and on an EU-Taiwan partnership. They will also debate and vote on the use of artificial intelligence by the police, on how to meet the EU's ambition for zero road deaths by 2050, on opportunities and security challenges in the Arctic, on the reform of the EU Asylum agency and on the EU trust fund and the facility to support refugees in Turkey.
Monday 27 September
Presidency of the Council of the EU | Events/Conf/Fairs | Energy, environment and climate - Food, farming and fisheries
BIOEAST Foresight Conference "Climate-Neutral Future Depends on Sustainable Bioeconomies"
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Under the auspices of the Slovenian EU Council Presidency and the Hungarian Visegrad Group Presidency, the BIOEAST Initiative organizes a conference aiming to present the BIOEAST Foresight Report, to internalize the foresight experts' recommendations, to debate about key issues, policy support and possible development pathways.
The conference aims to bring further the findings of the Foresight Report and to debate about priorities in seven thematic areas: a) agroecology, b) food systems, c) forestry, d) fresh water, e) biochemical and biomaterials, f) bioenergy, and g) education and skills.
The conference will be held in English and is intended for bioeconomy stakeholder from BIOEAST countries, EU Member States and institutions as well as other states and organisations.
Tuesday 28 September
Council of the EU and European Council | Political Meetings | Research and innovation
Competitiveness Council (Research)
Brussels
Research ministers will be invited to approve conclusions on a global approach to research and innovation, and exchange views on governance and implementation of the European Research Area.
The Slovenian presidency will inform on the current situation of Institutionalised European Partnerships and on the virtual GenderAction conference.
The European Commission will give an update on the current situation of association of third countries to Horizon Europe.
Tuesday 28 September
European Parliament | Political Meetings | Institutional affairs
European Parliament committee meetings
European Parliament, Brussels
Revision of the trans-European networks for energy (TEN-E): the Industry and Energy Committee will vote on its position on the new EU guidelines for selecting the projects to be financed. The selected Projects of Common Interest should improve connection between national markets, secure supply and promote renewables. Financing of fossil fuels and hydrogen and carbon capture should also be addressed.
2022 EU budget: the Budgets Committee will set its negotiating position on the EU budget for 2022. MEPs want the budget to support the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and lay the foundations for a more resilient Union.
Tuesday 28 - Friday 1 October
European Commission - Other bodies and agencies | Events/Conf/Fairs | Research and innovation - Security and defence
European cybersecurity challenge 2021
Prague, Czechia
The European cybersecurity challenge is an initiative by the EU agency for cybersecurity (ENISA) and supported by the European Commission. This year the competition is organised in Czechia.
Top cyber talents from each participating country will meet in Prague to network and collaborate and finally compete against each other. Contestants will be challenged in solving security related tasks from domains such as web security, mobile security, crypto puzzles, reverse engineering and forensics and in the process collect points for solving them.
Tuesday 28 September
European Commission | Events/Conf/Fairs | Energy, environment and climate
2021 CEF Energy - Virtual Info Day on the call for proposals for preparatory studies for cross-border renewable energy projects
Online
The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) organises a virtual info day on 28 September to present the second call under the Connecting Europe Facility Energy 2021-2027. The event will cover the main aspects of the call for proposals addressing prefeasibility studies for cross-border renewable energy projects.
The event will explain the policy context of the calls, the application and evaluation process and will provide participants with valuable tips & tricks on writing a successful proposal.
Tuesday 28 September
European Commission | Events/Conf/Fairs | Energy, environment and climate
Recommendation and guidelines on Energy Efficiency First: from principles to practice
Online
While energy efficiency first is not new as a concept, there has been a need to make the principle more operational and to support its practical implementation, and this across different sectors, ranging from the energy supply and distribution to the end-use sectors.
The European Commission is organising an event to present the energy efficiency first recommendation and guideline to a wide range of stakeholders, public authorities, industry and financial institutions soon after their adoption. It will be opened by the Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson.
The speakers that follow, representing various stakeholders from the energy system, the main energy end-use sectors and from the finance community, will illustrate what energy efficiency first means, specifically for their sector, and how its application could look like.
At the event, the Energy Efficiency Financial Institutions Group (EEFIG) will also launch its working group on energy efficiency first. The aim of this working group is to further explore and to facilitate the application of the principle in the finance sector.
The event will be conducted in English.
Wednesday 29 September
Council of the EU and European Council | Political Meetings | Business - Business, taxation and competition
Competitiveness Council (Internal market and industry)
Brussels
Ministers responsible for internal market and industry will have a policy debate on the implementation of the updated new industrial strategy for Europe, with a focus on the 'Fit for 55' package from an industrial perspective.
Ministers will also debate future-proof policy making for the competitiveness of the EU and further fostering of the single market.
The European Commission will inform on the annual report of the Single Market Enforcement Task Force (SMET), and the Greek delegation will present the joint ministerial declaration on innovation procurement in the EU.
The Slovenian presidency will give an update on the unitary patent and the Unified Patent Court.
Wednesday 29 September
European Parliament | Political Meetings | Institutional affairs
European Parliament committee meetings
European Parliament, Brussels
Rule of law/Hungary: a Civil Liberties Committee delegation will travel to Budapest to assess the situation regarding the rule of law, media freedom, the education system and minority rights. MEPs will meet, among others, the Mayor of Budapest, Members of the Supreme and Constitutional Courts, the Fundamental Rights Commissioner, NGOs and journalists (Wednesday to Friday).
Wednesday 29 September
European Commission | Events/Conf/Fairs | Energy, environment and climate
Is climate change really happening? Learning from the past to look into the future
Online / Milan (Italy)
On 29 September 2021, in the framework of the pre-COP26 All4Climate - Italy 2021 initiative, this event aims to inform and discuss the science behind climate change with representatives from civil society, youth movements, young activists, and interested citizens.
The event will be an interactive 'Ask a Scientist' workshop, with presentations and active discussions. It will involve an interdisciplinary group of scientists from Europe: Andrea Toreti (European Commission's Joint Research Centre); Andreia F. Silva Ribeiro (ETH Zurich); Ana Bastos (Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry); Elena Xoplaki (Justus-Liebig University of Giessen); Francesco Lamperti (Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies); Ricardo Trigo (University of Lisbon).
The four main themes of the event will be:
- How we know that the Earth is getting warmer
- Climate change is anthropogenic
- Back to the future: learning from the past
- What will happen in the next 80 years
The event will be hybrid with webstreaming and online interactions. For a limited number of participants, the in-presence part of the event will take place in Milan.
Thursday 30 September - Friday 1 October
Presidency of the Council of the EU | Events/Conf/Fairs | Research and innovation
Conference: Space for a green and digital recovery
Ljubljana, Slovenia
The conference will address the use of space technologies in solving the worlds greatest challenges, such as climate change. It will tackle the green recovery, new digital solutions and the economic development opportunities that the space segment offers.
It will stress the importance of space technologies for our everyday life and will bring together a great community of space experts, both from the private and the public sector from across Europe.
This event is taking place under the auspices of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU.
Thursday 30 September
European Commission | Events/Conf/Fairs | Energy, environment and climate - Food, farming and fisheries - Research and innovation
EDGAR-FOOD: the first global food emission inventory
Online
In the framework of the pre-COP26 All4Climate - Italy 2021 initiative, this online event organised by the European Commission's Joint research centre (JRC) focuses on the EDGAR-FOOD database.
Developed and launched earlier this year, this inventory is the first global food emission database of greenhouse gas (GHG) covering all countries and sectors of the world's food system. This research shows that a third of GHG emissions are related to food.
Representatives of civil society, youth movements, young activists, and citizens who are interested in understanding the complexity of the food system and how food production contributes to the global GHG emissions are welcome to join.
Organised in the format 'Ask a scientist', the discussion will revolve around the latest scientific findings in a multimedia form on how much our food contributes to global warming.
Friday 1 October
Presidency of the Council of the EU | Events/Conf/Fairs | Energy, environment and climate - EU regional and urban development
International conference: Smart villages for a green, digital and resilient Europe
Brestanica, Slovenia
The main purpose of this international conference will be to present achievements, initiatives, policy solutions and examples of best practice from Slovenia and the EU in the field of smart villages, especially in the context of the discussions on the 'Long-term vision for rural areas' of the European Commission.
This event is taking place under the auspices of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU.
Friday 1 October
European Parliament | Political Meetings | Institutional affairs
European Parliament committee meetings
European Parliament, Brussels
European Public Prosecutor/ Kovesi: Members of the Budgetary Control Committee will discuss with EU chief Prosecutor Laura Kövesi how the EU Public Prosecutor's Office has fared in its first few months fighting against financial crimes. The Office's workload, its lack of staff as well as the appointment procedures of the delegated prosecutors are likely to be raised by MEPs.
European Citizens' Panels/Conference on the Future of Europe: the European Citizens' Panels will continue their discussions with the third 200-citizen meeting in Strasbourg. It will focus on climate change, the environment and health. The Panels will put forward recommendations that will feed into the Conference deliberations and ultimately into the report on its final outcome (Friday to Sunday).
Friday 1 October
European Commission | Events/Conf/Fairs | Energy, environment and climate - Enlargement, external relations and trade
5th EU-Norway energy conference
Brussels
Norway is a strategic energy partner for the EU, and a major supplier of energy. Through the European Economic Area (EEA), Norway participates as a full member of the internal energy market and cooperates on fighting climate change. Norway shares the European Commission's vision for a European Green Deal.
The 5th EU-Norway energy conference will take place 1 October 2021 in Brussels, with possibility for digital participation. It will be hosted by Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for energy and Tina Bru, Norwegian Minister for petroleum and energy.
The conference programme will cover issues relating to the energy transition, the European Green Deal and the 'Fit for 55' package, with high-level speakers from both Norway and the EU.