Croatia | New Technologies | Foreign Affairs

Business in Brussels slowly resumes this week with institutions back after a brief period of hibernation, while Croatia officially kicks off its very first Presidency of the Council of the European Union with plenty of activities. One of the highlights this week is the opening ceremony of the Croatian Presidency on Thursday in Zagreb, which will be attended by the Commission President and the College of Commissioners. Meanwhile, Members of the European Parliament can be found in Brussels, preparing for next week’s plenary session while some will meet in their respective committees. The Council of the EU has yet to fully take up its work in the new year, with only working group and committee meetings taking place this week.

European Parliament

In what looks like a calm week for the European Parliament, the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) will meet on Thursday. While LIBE Committee Members will be presented with a report by the European Data Protection Board on the annual review of the EU-US Privacy Shield, the JURI Committee will hear from the European Commission’s Expert Group on Liability and New Technologies on the 'Liability for Artificial Intelligence and other emerging digital technologies'.

European Commission

The Commission starts its week in Brussels with business as usual, before Commissioners head to Zagreb on Thursday to ring in the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the EU. President Ursula von der Leyen and the College will attend a gala concert in the Croatian National Theatre that will mark the beginning of Croatian EU Presidency. Commissioners will also meet with Croatia’s Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and members of the Croatian Government.

Croatian Presidency

Next to the opening gala and official meetings taking place between the Croatian government and the European Commission, the presidency is also organising an ‘Informal Meeting of Political Directors’, taking place on Thursday. Chaired by the Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS), the meeting will bring together the Political Directors and European Correspondents of EU Member States to discuss key international developments and identify topics for the Foreign Affairs Council over the six months of the Presidency. US Under Secretary for Political Affairs David Hale and Assistant Minister for Europe Affairs of Kuwait Walid Ali Al-Khobaizi will be attending the discussions.