Corona crisis | Eastern Partnership | Eurogroup



With an increasing number of countries, including Belgium, restricting social interactions and travel in an effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus, most staff in the EU institutions will be working form home this week. Non-essential meetings will either being cancelled or postponed, or will otherwise take place through video calls or in a reduced format. After a shortened plenary session in Brussels last week, the European Parliament will focus on exercising its core functions and has revised its calendar <[link removed]> for the coming weeks accordingly. Commissioners will focus on a number of initiatives this week, including the Eastern Parternship post-2020. At Council level, the Eurogroup and the Economic and Financial Affairs Council are set to take place today and tomorrow.



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European Parliament

All activities of the European Parliament have been postponed or cancelled for this week, as staff is advised to work from home. After a shortened plenary session in Brussels last week, Parliament has revised its calendar for the coming weeks. For now, it will focus on exercising its core functions, which include legislative and budgetary powers, as well as plenary sessions, while trying to reduce health risks as much as possible.



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European Commission

This week, HR/VP Borrell, together with the rest of the College, will discuss and present the EU’s next ‘Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy’. The action plan tends to cover a 5-year period, in this case from 2020 to 2024, and aims to reaffirm the EU’s commitment to promoting and protecting fundamental values worldwide. The plan also takes into account any new challenges posed for instance by political shifts and new technologies.

The Commission is also expected to discuss the future Eastern Partnership this week, which was established in 2009, to enhance relations between the EU, its Member States, and Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. After 10 years of cooperation, a key priority now are the remaining reforms and delivery of tangible results for citizens.



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Council of the EU

Today, Eurozone ministers will discuss inflation and exchange rate developments as well as the 5th surveillance report for Greece, that the Commission adopted last month. Together with non-Eurozone finance ministers, they will also assess economic policy challenges under COVID-19. Ministers also plan to politically endorse revisions for the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) Treaty to continue crisis resolution mechanisms, these provisions will provide a legal basis for a set of new tasks assigned to the ESM.

An Economic and Financial Affairs Council is scheduled for Tuesday, 17 March. Ministers will discuss the Capital Markets Union (CMU) and equal access for citizens and businesses. Moreover, the European Commission will present its 2020 country reports and reviews in the context of the European Semester. Ministers will then exchange views on the implementation of country-specific recommendations.



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