EU Agenda: Week Ahead - 21-26 October 2019
This week, the EU debates whether to open accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia; the Council is due to adopt conclusions on the future of work and the Economy of Wellbeing; the Finnish presidency holds conferences on gender equality in science; the European Parliament is due to announce the winner of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought; MEPs in plenary are set to approve changes to the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund to include support for workers who would lose their jobs due to a no-deal Brexit; and it's European week for safety and health at work. 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 21-26 October 2019.
Monday 21 - Friday 25 October
Other bodies and agencies | Events/Conf/Fairs | Consumer affairs and public health - Employment and social rights
European week for safety and health at work 2019
Bilbao, Spain
This year's European week for safety and health at work continues to raise awareness on the current healthy workplaces campaign's topic: Managing dangerous substances in the workplace.
The European agency for health and safety at work (EU-OSHA) collaborates with an extensive network of national focal points, official campaign partners, campaign media partners, and occupational safety and health ambassadors from the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN). They work together to raise awareness during the European Week, organising many events, including conferences, competitions, training sessions, exhibitions, and networking and good practice events.
Monday 21 October
Presidency of the Council of the EU | Events/Conf/Fairs | Research and innovation - Security and defence
SEMIC 2019 conference: Linking data spaces for citizens
Helsinki, Finland
This conference will discuss interoperability of EU countries' administrations and the proposal for a common European data space.
SEMIC's mission is to contribute to the interoperability of European public administrations and the implementation of the ISA2 programme for creating joint digital solutions.
The event is organised under the auspices of the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the EU.
Monday 21 - Wednesday 23 October
European Commission - Other bodies and agencies | Events/Conf/Fairs | Business
2019 Enterprise Europe Network annual conference
Helsinki, Finland
The 2019 Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) annual conference is EEN's main event. It brings together business advisers from more than 600 EEN member organisations from more than 60 countries, as well as representatives from the European institutions and key external stakeholders.
This year's edition is organised by the European Commission and the Executive Agency for small and medium-sized enterprises (EASME) in partnership with our 3 Finnish network partners: Business Finland; Helsinki Region Chamber of Commerce ; Turku Science Park.
European SMEs and EEN are facing a number of challenges, from major shifts in the political environment to the rapid rate of industrial and technological change. In the light of these challenges, the overarching theme for this year's event is: 'Addressing future needs of SMEs'. This theme will be addressed by a range of sessions covering a selection of topics.
Monday 21 October
European Commission | Events/Conf/Fairs | Energy, environment and climate
EU-US high-level forum on small modular reactors
Brussels
The European Commission and the US Department of energy will host the first EU-US high-level forum on small modular reactors.
This technology has potential for deployment worldwide in those countries that choose to use nuclear energy. The high-level forum will look into this issue by bringing together business stakeholders and government authorities.
The event will be held at the presence of EU Commissioner for climate action and energy Miguel Arias Cañete and US Secretary of energy Rick Perry.
Monday 21 - Tuesday 22 October
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction - Other bodies and agencies | Events/Conf/Fairs | Consumer affairs and public health - Justice and citizens' rights
2nd European conference on prison health
Lisbon, Portugal
The European monitoring centre for drugs and drug addiction (EMCDDA) supports the 2nd European conference on healthcare in prison which aims to combine daily practice with scientific theory and evidence. The 2019 conference provides space for discussion and exchange in order to provide the urgently needed answers to key challenges faced by healthcare professionals and people living in prison on a daily basis.
The conference wishes active involvement of people from practice, research and monitoring, law enforcement agencies, international organisations, NGOs, as well as administrators or people with personal prison experience.
Monday 21 October
European Parliament | Political Meetings | Institutional affairs
European Parliament plenary session
European Parliament, Strasbourg
Tuesday 22 October
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction - Other bodies and agencies | Events/Conf/Fairs | Consumer affairs and public health - Security and defence
International symposium on drug checking
Lisbon, Portugal
The European monitoring centre for drugs and drug addiction (EMCDDA), in collaboration with SICAD, COPOLAD, and the Trans-European drug information (TEDI) network are organising an international symposium on drug checking.
The aims of this symposium are to:
- explore drug markets dynamics with an international comparison of cocaine and MDMA trends, purity and adulteration in producing and consuming countries through European, Colombian and Australian drug checking test results
- discuss the challenges and opportunities of drug checking within national drug policies
The symposium will include a series of expert talks followed by an interactive discussion.
Tuesday 22 October
European Food Safety Authority - Other bodies and agencies | Events/Conf/Fairs | Consumer affairs and public health - Food, farming and fisheries - Research and innovation
Technical stakeholder event: cumulative risk assessment of pesticides in food
Brussels
The European food safety authority (EFSA) is finalising two pilot risk assessments looking at the cumulative risks of pesticide residues in food. EFSA has performed retrospective assessments of cumulative risks for the nervous system and the thyroid using monitoring data from 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Although the methodologies were subject to public consultations before adoption, EFSA decided that the highly complex nature of the subsequent work – and the high public interest in this area – warranted further engagement with stakeholders, including two public consultations. To complement the consultations, EFSA is holding an event in Brussels to explain and discuss the science behind the assessments with representatives of stakeholder groups with an interest in pesticides.
EFSA scientists and external experts will present the approaches taken and main findings of the two assessments, after which attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions. The meeting is intended for all stakeholders with expertise and interest in the area of pesticides in general and cumulative risk assessment of pesticides in particular.
Tuesday 22 - Thursday 24 October
Other bodies and agencies | Events/Conf/Fairs | Culture, education and youth - Employment and social rights - Enlargement, external relations and trade
Eastern partnership annual regional forum on work-based learning in vocational education and training
Lviv, Ukraine
The European training foundation (ETF) is organising the Eastern partnership annual regional forum on work-based learning (WBL) in vocational education and training (VET). This initiative is part of the ETF support to the Eastern partnership countries to develop and implement the policies for WBL which is considered a key tool to better match VET provision with skills needs of companies, to improve overall relevance and attractiveness of VET and, therefore, to contribute to improvement of employability of young people.
The focus of the 2019 forum will be on SMEs engagement in WBL and quality assurance in WBL.
Tuesday 22 October
Presidency of the Council of the EU | Events/Conf/Fairs | Research and innovation
Digital government conference
Helsinki, Finland
This conference will discuss the implementation of the Tallinn declaration on e-government and the future prospects of digital governance in the face of technological rupture. The declaration was signed by all EU and EEA member states in 2017.
Tuesday 22 October
European Parliament | Political Meetings | Institutional affairs
European Parliament plenary session
European Parliament, Strasbourg
EU Summit: MEPs will take stock of the outcome of the 17-18 October meeting of EU heads of state or government in a debate with Council President Donald Tusk and Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. The summit focussed on Brexit, negotiations for a long-term EU budget, strategic priorities for the next five years, climate change, enlargement and foreign affairs.
Juncker Commission: In a debate with Jean-Claude Juncker on Tuesday morning, MEPs will take stock of the work done by the outgoing Commission during its five-year mandate.
EU budget 2020: Parliament will adopt its position on next year's EU budget, focussing on climate change, youth unemployment, Erasmus, migration and external policies (debate Tuesday, vote Wednesday).
Multinationals/Taxes: MEPs will discuss stalled legislation obliging multinationals to disclose what taxes they pay in each country and vote on a resolution, which is likely to call on EU ministers to adopt a position to start negotiations on the new law (debate Tuesday, vote Thursday).
Brexit/EU funds: MEPs are set to approve changes to the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund to include support for workers who would lose their jobs due to a no-deal Brexit. They are also expected to endorse a measure to make sure that UK researchers, students and farmers would continue to get EU support in the event of a no-deal Brexit until the end of 2020.
Wednesday 23 - Friday 25 October
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction - Other bodies and agencies | Events/Conf/Fairs | Consumer affairs and public health
Lisbon Addictions 2019
Lisbon, Portugal
Lisbon Addictions 2019, the third edition of the European conference on addictive behaviours and dependencies, is a multidisciplinary event that provides a forum for networking across the addictions.
Once again, the event will be jointly organised by the Portuguese General Directorate for intervention on addictive behaviours and dependencies (SICAD), the journal Addiction/Society for the study of addiction, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and the International Society of Addiction Journal Editors (ISAJE).
Wednesday 23 - Thursday 24 October
European Commission | Events/Conf/Fairs | Energy, environment and climate - Research and innovation
Our Ocean 2019
Oslo, Norway
Our Ocean 2019 will highlight the importance of knowledge as the basis of our actions and policies to ensure protection of our ocean, responsible management of marine resources and sustainable future economic growth.
The conference will bring together leaders from governments, businesses, civil society and research institutions to share their experience, identify solutions and commit to action for a clean, healthy and productive ocean.
The Our Ocean Tracker will officially be launched during this event. This tool helps keep track of the €12 billion plus, in commitments undertaken under the 'Our Ocean' process. By clicking on a dynamic map, one can zoom in and see which governments, which businesses, which NGOS and individuals have made which commitment.
Wednesday 23 October
Presidency of the Council of the EU | Events/Conf/Fairs | Justice and citizens' rights - Research and innovation
New pathways to gender and equality in research and innovation in the EU
Helsinki, Finland
Dedicated to gender equality in research and development, this 2-day conference will look at the progress made in equality over the past 20 years and outline future trends and priorities.
The targeted audience includes the research community, research funders, and research and innovation policy stakeholders.
Wednesday 23 - Thursday 24 October
European Commission | Events/Conf/Fairs | Energy, environment and climate
33rd Madrid Forum
Madrid, Spain
The European gas regulatory forum, also known as the Madrid Forum, gathers key stakeholders across the European gas sector to discuss opportunities and challenges related to the creation of an internal gas market in the EU.
The participants include national regulatory authorities, EU national governments, the European Commission, transmission system operators, gas suppliers and traders, consumers, network users, and gas exchanges.
The forum meets once a year in Madrid and is co-hosted by the Spanish energy regulator Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia and the European Commission.
Wednesday 23 - Thursday 24 October
Other bodies and agencies | Events/Conf/Fairs | Consumer affairs and public health - Research and innovation
Public health genomics – an introduction
Stockholm, Sweden
This workshop, organised by the European centre for disease prevention and control (ECDC), will bring together experts with epidemiology, microbiology and pathogen genomics backgrounds to gain knowledge and skills on how to apply whole genome sequencing for outbreak investigations and surveillance of communicable disease and antimicrobial resistance threats.
The aim is to facilitate the technology transition to optimise EU-wide use of whole genome sequencing for disease and drug resistance detection and surveillance, and epidemiologic investigations of crossborder outbreaks.
Wednesday 23 - Thursday 24 October
European Commission - Presidency of the Council of the EU | Events/Conf/Fairs | Justice and citizens' rights - Research and innovation
Research and innovation excellence through gender equality: New pathways and challenges
Helsinki, Finland
The Finnish Ministry of education and culture, with support from the European Commission through Horizon 2020, is organising a conference on gender equality under the auspices of the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the EU.
This event marks 20 years since the first European Commission communication on women in science and the follow-up founding of the Helsinki Group on gender in research and innovation, which launched the EU action in this area.
The event will bring together top policymakers and participants from the research and higher education community, research funding institutions, innovation actors, the digital and tech industry, and NGOs.
The aim of the conference is to take stock of progress made, with a focus on institutional change, and discuss current challenges, with a view to reshaping our EU policy objectives on gender equality in research and innovation ahead of Horizon Europe and the future European Research Area (ERA). The event will culminate in the publication of a co-created Helsinki call for action.
Wednesday 23 October
Presidency of the Council of the EU | Presidency of the Council of the EU | Research and innovation - Security and defence
Hybrid threats – hybrid response in modern security environment
Helsinki, Finland
This conference is part of the wider European and transatlantic security debate. It is about discussing hybrid issues, about raising awareness, about identification of risks and capabilities and about countering hybrid threats together.
The conference is organised jointly by the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE).
The conference is targeted at senior policy practitioners working with hybrid issues in their national administrations in the EU and in NATO member states as well as in Eastern Partnership and Southeast European countries. The conference is held under the Chatham House Rule.
Wednesday 23 October
European Parliament | Political Meetings | Institutional affairs
European Parliament plenary session
European Parliament, Strasbourg
Turkey/ Syria: MEPs will discuss the Turkish military operation in north-east Syria and how the EU should react on Wednesday morning, with a resolution to be put to the vote on Thursday.
Albania and North Macedonia's EU Accession: MEPs will debate with Council and Commission on whether to open accession talks with the two Western Balkan countries. Parliament has, in previous resolutions, expressed its strong support to start negotiations with both countries.
Thursday 24 October
European Aviation Safety Agency - Other bodies and agencies | Events/Conf/Fairs | Energy, environment and climate - Transport and travel
Environmental label programme - Stakeholders workshop
EASA, Cologne, Germany
Aviation is increasingly challenged from an environmental performance and sustainability perspective. Citizens receive very little information on the actual aviation environmental performance. Furthermore, the information provided is frequently inconsistent and contradictory, as many measures and calculation methods exist.
As shown in other industries, an environmental label is an effective tool for communicating environmental performance. To develop the concept the European aviation safety agency (EASA) engaged with Member States, industry and NGOs. The label will initially focus on the performance of aircraft technology and may later be expanded to look at other aspects, like the overall CO2 performance, airlines, airports or the use of sustainable aviation fuels.
This technical workshop will provide information and allow for discussions about the rationale, metrics, graphical concepts and communication elements around environmental labelling for aviation.
Thursday 24 October
European Commission - Other bodies and agencies | Events/Conf/Fairs | Business - Research and innovation
Connecting with the entrepreneurial ecosystem
Brussels
The Joint research centre (JRC) of the European Commission is organising this workshop, together with TECNALIA.
The technical workshop is focused on entrepreneurship programmes. An important challenge in establishing spin-off companies of real-time operating systems (RTOs), certainly when it concerns deep-tech spin-offs, is attracting complementary talent to the existing technological/scientific one, such as sales profiles and potential CEOs interested in transforming these spin-offs into growing SMEs.
At the workshop the European Institute of innovation and technology (EIT) will present how its innovation communities support development of entrepreneurial ecosystems, how to facilitate development of new companies and acceleration of existing start-ups.
The workshop will gather technology providers, venture builders, technology transfer officers, top managers of accelerator/incubator programmes, business schools, and policymakers to share experiences and lessons learned.
Thursday 24 - Friday 25 October
European Commission | Events/Conf/Fairs | Culture, education and youth - Energy, environment and climate - Research and innovation
8th European university-business forum (UBForum)
Brussels
The 8th UBForum will bring together policymakers, representatives from higher education and business, and other stakeholders to discuss and debate the role of university-business cooperation for innovation and sustainable development. It provides a unique opportunity for discussion, sharing of experience, exchange of good practive, networking and mutual learning.
The forum will feature plenary and parallel sessions, keynotes and panel discussions, pitches, and interactive workshops. It will also host an exhibition with a number of projects demonstrating how the cooperation between higher education and business works in practice.
Under the overall focus of the forum on innovation and sustainable development, topics like skills mismatch, lifelong learning, regional and local ecosystems, social innovation, artificial intelligence, entrepreneurial individuals and entrepreneurial organisations, institutional change will be discussed.
Thursday 24 October
Council of the EU and European Council - Presidency of the Council of the EU | Political Meetings | Consumer affairs and public health - Employment and social rights
Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council
Luxembourg
Economy of Wellbeing
Ministers are expected to adopt Council conclusions on the Economy of Wellbeing. This topic is among the main priorities of Finland's presidency.
Future of work
Ministers are also due to adopt Council conclusions on the International Labour Organization (ILO) Centenary Declaration on the future of work.
European Semester 2019
Ministers are expected to endorse key messages prepared by the Employment Committee (EMCO) and the Social Protection Committee (SPC) based on their annual reports and performance monitors.
Changing world of work
Ministers will hold a debate on matching skills and labour market needs in the changing world of work.
Anti-discrimination
The Council will hold a broader policy debate on enhancing anti-discrimination in the EU and present the outcome to the European Council and the incoming Commission.
Thursday 24 - Friday 25 October
Other bodies and agencies | Events/Conf/Fairs | Research and innovation - Security and defence
Internet of things security conference
Athens, Greece
For the 3rd year in a row, the EU agency for cybersecurity (ENISA) and the EU law enforcement agency (Europol) are co-organising a conference to raise awareness on the security implications of the Internet of things (IoT).
This year's event will also focus on the topic of artificial intelligence (AI) and related security aspects and challenges. The conference aims to enable a broad discussion by bringing together experts from cybercrime units, computer security incident response teams (CSIRTs), international organisations, private industry, regulatory agencies, and academia.
Thursday 24 October
European Commission | Events/Conf/Fairs | Research and innovation
2019 European Social Innovation Competition awards ceremony
Brussels
The event will showcase the 10 finalists of the 2019 edition, as well as feature the announcement of this year's 3 winners, who will each receive a €50,000 prize.
The theme for the 2019 European Social Innovation Competition is 'challenging plastic waste'. It launched in February 2019 in Ljubljana, Slovenia with the aim of supporting ideas and projects that reduce plastic waste and littering through changing and improving existing processes, or through introducing brand new products and initiatives. 30 semi-finalists were selected for a 3-day training academy held in Turin, Italy where they received individual tailored coaching.
The event will also feature the announcement of the 2019 'Impact Prize Winner', an award which goes to the semi-finalist from the 2018 edition of the competition that has achieved the most significant social impact over the past year.
Thursday 24 October
European Parliament | Political Meetings | Institutional affairs
European Parliament plenary session
European Parliament, Strasbourg
Sakharov Prize: Following a decision by Parliament's Conference of Presidents, EP President Sassoli will announce the winner of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2019. The award ceremony will take place on 18 December in Strasbourg.
Saturday 26 October
European Investment Bank | Events/Conf/Fairs | Economy and the euro - Energy, environment and climate
Stakeholder workshop on EIB's increased climate ambition and the review of its climate strategy
Brussels
On Friday 25 October 2019, the European Investment Bank (EIB) organises an informal stakeholder workshop on the EIB's increased climate ambition and the review of its Climate Strategy. It will provide an early and informal opportunity to exchange with EIB climate experts on the implications for the institution of becoming the EU's climate bank and aligning its financing activities with the goals of the Paris agreement.
More specifically, the workshop has the following objectives:
- increase understanding on how the main building blocks for Paris alignment are interlinked with the EIB climate strategy and its implementation plan
- present the review on the implementation of the current EIB climate strategy and discuss possible directions for the post-2020 period
- discuss options and additional elements that can inform the the EIB's climate strategy beyond 2020