After a bittersweet final result from the ultimate EU summit of the yr, the Brussels Bubble will do this week to finalise new guidelines on fiscal guidelines and the pact on migration and asylum earlier than the Christmas vacation break.
MEPs and representatives from EU member states will meet on Monday (18 December) to attempt to conclude inter-institutional negotiations on all 5 recordsdata on migration, after they failed to succeed in an settlement final week.
”We can’t go to the European elections in June with no deal on migration,” mentioned EU parliament president Roberta Metsola.
She warned that there are new threats associated to the instrumentalisation of migrants on the exterior borders of the EU and that the bloc’s returns insurance policies must be ”stronger” and ”more practical”.
Nonetheless, no settlement is anticipated on the invoice on returning rejected migrants. The return directive just isn’t a part of the pact, though is straight linked to it.
EU setting ministers will even meet in Brussels on Monday to debate the final result of the UN talks in Dubai (COP28), which noticed world leaders agreeing solely on imprecise wording for ”transitioning away from fossil fuels.”
Ministers are additionally anticipated to undertake a place on new guidelines for packaging and packaging waste, paving the way in which to begin negotiations with the European Parliament to finalise the textual content earlier than elections in June.
Throughout lunch, they are going to informally focus on the EU’s 2040 local weather goal — that’s, no less than a 90 p.c emission-reductions by 2050.
Additionally on Monday, EU fee president Ursula von der Leyen is anticipated in Nairobi for the signing ceremony of the financial partnership between Kenya and the EU.
Later that day, she is going to journey to Kigali, Rwanda, to ship €40m package deal to spice up the well being sector in Rwanda underneath the International Gateway.
She will even attend the launch ceremony of BioNtech Africa, along with a number of African leaders, together with the chair of the African Union fee, the German overseas minister Annalena Baerbock and representatives from the European Funding Financial institution.
On Tuesday, EU power ministers will collect for his or her final assembly of the yr to debate emergency measures, which have been lately extended by the EU fee for an additional yr to additional safe gasoline provides within the continent.
”The emergency rules must be prolonged due to the persisting dangers for the EU’s safety of gasoline provide and to be able to stop market volatility and excessively excessive gasoline costs,” reads an announcement from the EU Council.
Moreover, EU financial system ministers will meet nearly on Wednesday (20 December) in a bid to lastly attain a deal on the long-overdue reform of debt-and-spending guidelines forward of the tip of the yr.
A number of earlier makes an attempt didn’t ship an settlement on account of disagreements, notably between Germany which desires stricter debt-reduction benchmarks and Italy pushing for better flexibility in spending limits.
Within the European Parliament, in the meantime, just a few delegations of MEPs will journey to completely different nations for devoted missions this week, together with Malawi, Zambia, Thailand, and India.
This EUobserver AGENDA will now take a break till the New Yr — see you in 2024, thanks for studying, and Merry Christmas and a peaceable and affluent New Yr.