ÌýThe EU’s Foreign Affairs Council will gather on Monday in Brussels. Foreign Ministers from 28 EU member states will start with a discussion on current affairs, allowing ministers to review pressing issues on the international agenda. The CouncilÌýwill exchange views on the Republic of Moldova, the situation in Venezuela and the Middle East peace process. The discussion on reviving the Middle East peace process will also include a lunch with the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States (LAS), Ahmed Aboul Gheit, and foreign minister members of the LAS follow-up committee (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Morocco, United Arab Emirates, and the Palestinian Authority).Ìý
EU-Kazakhstan Cooperation Council will meet on Monday in Brussels. Foreign Affairs Minister of Kazakhstan, Kairat Abdrakhmanov, will chair the meeting. In Bulgaria’s capacity as Council President, Deputy Prime Minister for judicial reform and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, Ekaterina Zaharieva, will represent the EU. The Cooperation Council will review the provisional application of the enhanced partnership and cooperation agreement. The Council will also take stock of political developments in Kazakhstan, including the national institutional reform program, as well as efforts to enhance the rule of law and human rights protection. In addition, the Cooperation Council will discuss economic and trade relations between the EU and Kazakhstan and how to improve the business climate to attract more foreign investors.
The European Parliament’s (EP) Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee will discuss the latest developments in the European economy with Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank (ECB) on Monday in Brussels. The Committee will hold an exchange of views with Luis de Guindos, the candidate for vice-president of the ECB on Monday. A vote on his appointment will take place on Tuesday.
The General Affairs Council will gather in Brussels on Tuesday when EU ministers from member states will begin preparations for the European Council’s Leaders Summit on March 22�23,2018 by discussing an annotated draft agenda. The Commission will present its reasoned proposal regarding the rule of law in Poland. The agenda also includes the presentation of the work program of the Bulgarian presidency.
At a separate session on the same day, the Commission's Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier will inform the Council about the state of play of the Brexit negotiations with the U.K. He is expected to focus on translating the legal text of the commitments in the December joint report, completion of the work on other withdrawal issues, and discussions on the transition period. In the upcoming March summit, the 27 EU heads of state or government are expected to adopt additional guidelines on the framework for the future relationship with the U.K.
An agreement with the Council of ministers for legislation setting more ambitious recycling targets for municipal and packaging waste and to cut landfilling will be put to a vote during the Parliament’s Environment Committee on Tuesday. The files are part of the so-called "circular economy" package.
The EP’s Plenary Session will take place in Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday. MEPs will debate the outcome of the informal meeting of EU heads of state or government on Friday, Feb. 23, focusing on the Spitzenkandidaten (lead candidate) process, on Parliament's composition after the 2019 elections and on the EU's long-term budget after 2020.
The EP is set to back the European Commission's call for EU governments to determine whether Poland is at clear risk of a serious breach of EU values. MEPs are likely to express their concerns regarding the rule of law in Poland, the separation of powers, the independence of the judiciary and fundamental rights. A resolution on the Commission's decision to activate Article 7 (1) of the EU Treaty will be put to the vote on Thursday.
MEPs on Wednesday will debate on ways to better protect bee health, intensify the fight against honey counterfeiting, increase support for EU beekeepers and promote the benefits of honey consumption in the EU. A resolution on this subject will be put to the vote on Thursday.
In a bid to crack down on aggressive cross-border tax planning, as revealed by the Panama and Paradise papers, Parliament will debate and vote on a law that would require service providers who help firms and individuals avoid tax through complex cross-border schemes, to automatically report such schemes to authorities on Thursday.
In response to the Paradise Papers revelations and the work of Parliament's PANA committee, MEPs on Thursday will vote on the setting up of a special committee to examine financial crime, tax evasion and tax avoidance.