Weekly European Agenda | 18/01/2021

18-24 January 2021

Monday 18 January

Tuesday 19 January

Wednesday 20 January

Thursday 21 January

Friday 22 January

Sunday 24 January

European Movement International

Thursday 21 January

EuropeanChats with SGI and ETUC
On Thursday, the European Movement International will hold the fifth edition of EuropeanChats, this time featuring SGI Europe and ETUC. EuropeanChats gathers activists and stakeholders from the European Movement International network, to discuss with European citizens different issues surrounding the COVID-19 crisis, and how it affects European economies and societies. We also aim to tackle the wider debate around the future of Europe. More information on this event can be found here.

More information about the event here.

More information about EMI events can be found here.

Institutional Agendas

European Parliament

Monday 18 - Thursday 21 January

Plenary
MEPs will vote and debate on several issues during these first plenary sessions of the year. There wil be votes on, among other things, Technical Support Instruments; amendments on the exercise of the Union's rights for the application and enforcement of international trade rules; strengthening the single market: the future of free movement of services; the implementation of the Common Foreign Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy; human rights in the world and EU policy in the matter; and EU-Asia relations. Moreover, debates are expected covering topics such as EU's global strategy on COVID-19 vaccinations; enhancing EU's external action in Latin America and the Caribbean following the latest EU-LAC ministerial conference; the inauguration of the new president of the USA and the current political situation; a presentation of the programme of activities of the Portuguese Presidency; specific measures to address the COVID-19 crisis a joint-debate on gender equality; and the earthquakes in Croatia.

Find an overview of the parliamentary agenda here.

European Council

Thursday 21 January

European Council Summit
The EU leaders will discuss coordination on the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the large-scale roll-out of vaccines and the deployment of all available instruments to limit the spread of the virus.

The meeting page can be found here.

Council of Ministers

Monday 18 January

Eurogroup
The Eurogroup will come together to discuss, among other things, the macroeconomic imbalances in the euro area in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, the envisaged priorities for upcoming Recovery and Resilience Plans, and the prospects of future relations with the US in the monetary and financial area.

European Affairs Ministers
European affairs ministers will hear a presentation of the Portuguese presidency's work programme, take stock of the discussions on the Conference on the Future of Europe, and prepare the video conference of heads of state or government on COVID-19 coordination to be held on 21 January.

Tuesday 19 January

Economics and Finance Ministers
The Portuguese presidency will present, in public session, its work programme on economic and financial matters. Moreover, ministers will hold a policy debate on the Commission's action plan on tackling non-performing loans in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wednesday 20 January

EU-Cuba Joint Council
This meeting, chaired by Josep Borrell, will first take stock of the implementation of EU-Cuba Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (PDCA). Moreover, a discussion about regional and global issues is on the agenda. Finally, the recent developments in the EU and its Member States and in Cuba will be addressed.

An overview of planned Council meetings can be found here.

European Commission and High Representative

Monday 18 January

Jourová speaks with the Austrian National Parliament
Commissioner Vĕra Jourová for Values and Transparency holds a video meeting with the Austrian National Parliament.

Tuesday 19 January

College meeting
The Commission is expected to adopt its strategy for strengthening Europe's economic and financial sovereignty.

Johansson speaks with Portuguese Minister of Internal Administration
Commissioner Ylva Johansson for Home Affairs speaks with Eduardo Cabrita, Portuguese Minister of Internal Administration.

Wednesday 20 January

Commissioner Schmit speaks with Belgian Minister for Social Affairs and Health
Commissioner Nicolas Schmidt for Jobs and Social Rights speaks with Frank Vandenbroucke, Belgium's Minister for Social Affairs and Health.

A full list with meetings of Commissioners can be found here; the Commissioners' weekly activities can be found here; the agenda of the College Meetings can be found here; Commission events can be found here.

European Economic and Social Committee

Thursday 21 January

LMO Section Meeting
The Section for Labour Market Observatory will discuss, among other things, its work programme and work method.

More information about EESC events can be found here.
The agendas of the different EESC meetings can be found here.

Committee of the Regions

Friday 22 January

ECON Meeting
During this meeting, a vote will take place on the 2021 Action Plan for cooperation between the CoR and the European Investment Bank and on the Work programme of the ECON commission for 2021. Moreover, the ECON Commission is organising, among other things, a hearing on Local and Regional Authorities ('LRAs') and the Recovery and Resilience Plans.

More information about Committee of the Regions events can be found here. The agendas of the different Committee of the Regions meetings can be found here.

Tuesday 20 - Wednesday 21 January

Presidency Workshop on Climate Change

Friday 22 January

Dialogue with consumers on Consumer Agenda

The agenda of the Portuguese Presidency can be found here.

European Investment Bank

Wednesday 20 January

Annual Press Conference
The EIB Group's Annual Press Conference will take place on 20 January 2021 with President Werner Hoyer. The press conference will be livestreamed on this page starting at 10:30 CET. More information can be found here.

Thursday 21 - Friday 22 January

EIB Annual Economics Conference
Under the overarching theme of 'Europe: smart and green' this edition of our flagship event features an engaging programme aiming to bring together a wide range of perspectives on the transition to a carbon-neutral and highly-innovative European economy. More information can be found here.

The agenda of the EIB can be found here.

Elections

Sunday 24 January

Portuguese Presidential Elections