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Corona crisis | Eastern Partnership |
Eurogroup
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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
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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