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Weekly European Agenda 16/12/2024

Institutional Agendas

European Parliament


Monday 16 December 

Plenary
Debates: Activities of the European Ombudsman – annual report 2023; Regional Emergency Support: RESTORE; Short presentation of the following report: Conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the United Nations Convention on transparency in treaty-based investor-State arbitration.

Tuesday 17 December 

Plenary
Votes: Election of the Ombudsman; Discontinuation of the European ODR Platform; Specific measures under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) for Member States affected by natural disasters; Forest reproductive material of the ‘tested’ category, its labelling and the names of the authorities responsible for the approval and control of the production; Mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund: application EGF/2024/002 BE/Limburg machinery and paper – Belgium.
Debates: Mis- and disinformation on social media platforms, such as X and TikTok and related risks to the integrity of elections in Europe; Debate on foreign affairs issues in the presence of the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

Wednesday 18 December

Plenary
Votes: EC-Pacific States Interim Partnership Agreement: accession of Tonga; Conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the United Nations Convention on transparency in treaty-based investor-State arbitration; EC-Pacific States Interim Partnership Agreement: accession of Niue; EC-Pacific States Interim Partnership Agreement: accession of Tuvalu.
Debates: Preparation of the European Council of 19-20 December 2024; Joint debate – EU priorities for the upcoming session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women; Challenges facing EU farmers and agricultural workers: improving working conditions, including their mental well-being; Debates on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law (Rule 150).

Thursday 19 December 

Plenary
Debates: Need to update the European strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities; Right to clean drinking water in the EU.

Find an overview of the parliamentary agenda here.

European Council 


Thursday 19 December

European Council
EU leaders are meeting in Brussels to discuss Ukraine, the EU in the world, the Middle East, resilience and preparedness, migration and foreign policy issues. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, will attend the meeting.

An overview of planned Council meetings can be found here.

Council of Ministers 


Monday 16 December 

Foreign Affairs Council
EU Foreign Affairs Ministers will discuss the Russian aggression against Ukraine, after an informal exchange of views with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha, via videoconference. Additionally, the Foreign Affairs Council will also exchange views on the latest developments in Georgia. The Council will also have a discussion on the latest developments in the Middle East, focusing on Syria, Lebanon and developments in the Middle East crisis.

Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council
Following the presentation of a report on the future of geothermal energy (by Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency), energy ministers will be invited to approve conclusions on the promotion of geothermal energy. Ministers will also hold a discussion on the future of energy policy in view of a genuine Energy Union. They will exchange views on the priorities for the next legislative cycle and discuss how these can help build the Energy Union.

Tuesday 17 December 

Environment Council
EU environment ministers will be invited to reach a general approach for a regulation on preventing plastic pellet losses to reduce microplastic pollution. Ministers will also exchange views on the Commission communication on the EU’s 2040 climate target which recommends a target of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by 90% of 1990 levels by 2040.

General Affairs Council
Ministers will continue preparations for the European Council meeting on 19-20 December 2024 by discussing draft conclusions. Ministers will also hold an exchange of views on the future of Europe.

An overview of planned Council meetings can be found here.

European Commission and High Representative


Monday 16 December

Dombrovskis meets Gintautas Paluckas
Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis will meet with Gintautas Paluckas, Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania, in Vilnius.

Kos attends the Foreign Affairs Council
Commissioner Marta Kos will attend the Foreign Affairs Council, in Brussels.

Jørgensen participates in the Friends of the Renewables EU Ministerial meeting
Commissioner Dan Jørgensen will participate in the Friends of the Renewables EU Ministerial meeting, in Brussels.

Tuesday 17 December

College meeting
EU Commissioners will meet in Strasbourg to unveil the European Semester –Autumn Package II.

Commissioner Kos attends the General Affairs Council
Commissioner Marta Kos will attend the General Affairs Council, in Brussels.

Šuica attends the European Parliament Plenary session
Dubravka Šuica will attend the European Parliament Plenary session, in Strasbourg.

Wednesday 18 December

Kos receives Edi Rama
Commissioner Kos will receive Edi Rama, Prime Minister of Albania, in Brussels.

Thursday 19 December

Jørgensen meets with Magnus Heunicke
Commissioner Dan Jørgensen will meet with Magnus Heunicke, Minister for Environment & Gender Equality of Denmark, in Copenhagen.

An overview of the Commission College can be found here; the Commissioners’ weekly activities can be found here; the agenda of upcoming College meetings can be found here; Commission events can be found here.

European Economic and Social Committee


Tuesday 17 December

19th meeting of the EU-China Round Table
The 19th meeting of the EU-China Civil Society Round Table will take place in Beijing. At this occasion the delegations of the EESC and its Chinese counterpart, the CESC, will discuss the following topics: Strengthening EU-China cooperation in the field of circular economy and promoting sustainable development in the EU-China economic relations. The aim of the discussions will be to find common ground, and exchange ideas, experiences and best practices.

Wednesday 18 December

Towards a result-oriented cohesion policy. What is the role of the civil society?
The EESC is organising this public hearing to discuss how civil society partners can use a results-orientation approach in cohesion policy for the next programming period. The conclusions of this debate will contribute to the exploratory opinion from the Polish Presidency on Strengthening the results orientation of post-2027 cohesion policy – challenges, risks and opportunities.

Defence funding in the EU
As Europe needs to develop defence capabilities in a more integrated way, there is a need to significantly increase investment in European defence infrastructure and technological innovation to improve preparedness to respond to threats. Conclusions of the debate will feed into the EESC draft opinion on defence funding, drawn up at the request of the upcoming Polish presidency of the Council of the EU.

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

European Ombudsman


Monday 16 December 

Presentation of Annual Report 2023 to the European Parliament
The Ombudsman will present her office’s 2023 Annual Report to the European Parliament, providing an overview of its activities over the past year.

The EU Ombudsman calendar of activities can be found here.

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