Next, the Europa Today newsletter that every Sunday morning tells you what will happen in the coming European week, edited by Alfonso Bianchi and Francesco Bortoletto (for comments, suggestions or criticisms write to [email protected]).
Top of the agenda
Sanchez’s future – Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is expected to announce on Monday 29 April whether he intends to resign from his post or not. The socialist leader on Wednesday announced his suspension from activities to reflect on what to do, after a Madrid court admitted a complaint against his wife, Begoña Gómez, for a possible crime of influence peddling.
Plan B in Brussels? – Sanchez defined the complaint as a “harassment and demolition operation” by the “right and ultra-right” with the aim of “weakening him politically and personally by attacking” his partner. For him, however, if he really decides to leave, there could be a luxury plan B: the position of president of the European Council will become available in June, and his name has already been mentioned several times as a possible candidate.
G7 Turin – From today, Sunday 28th, until Tuesday 30th April, a meeting of G7 ministers on climate, energy and environment will be held in Turin. The discussions will focus on how to tackle the climate crisis, focusing above all on the most vulnerable areas and populations. Among the objectives of the meeting is to identify technological solutions that make it possible to cleanly satisfy the energy needs of all countries and in particular of the African continent. Energy efficiency and renewable sources should be among the watchwords.
Panel discussion – The G7 discussions will also focus on synergies between public and private green finance, sustainable production and consumption, the circular economy, the protection of biodiversity and marine and terrestrial ecosystems as well as the sustainable management of natural resources. The reduction of climate-changing emissions will also be at the center of exchanges on the future of cities, where sustainable urban planning strategies can be tested to achieve the United Nations’ development objectives. Italy is among the countries in Europe that have fought against the Green Deal, designed specifically to combat climate change.
Other hot topics
Meeting on Gaza – Saudi Arabia is organizing a meeting on Monday 29 April to discuss the future of Gaza. On the sidelines of the special meeting of the World Economic Forum, Riyadh will put around the table the new Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, the Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Sigrid Kaag, United Nations aid coordinator for the Gaza Strip. But the Saudis would also like US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, British Foreign Minister David Cameron and EU officials to participate. The participation of representatives of Israel or members of Hamas is not expected.
The shadow of a refugee crisis – Europe fears that an extension of the conflict in the Middle East could lead to a new migrant crisis in Europe. Several hundred people are starting to flee from Lebanon, a country that hosts one and a half million Syrian refugees, with irregular landings in Cyprus increasing sharply. To discuss the situation on Thursday 2 May, the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will be in Beirut, together with the Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides.
Pact on migrants – The ministerial conference on the implementation and operation of the Migration and Asylum Pact will be held on Monday 29 April in Ghent, Belgium. The ministerial conference will bring together the European Commission, the Ministers of the Interior and Migration of the 27 Member States and the Schengen associated countries and representatives of the relevant agencies such as Frontex. Together, they will examine how and when the Pact can and should become operational. For Italy there will not be Minister Piantedosi but Undersecretary Nicola Molteni.
The debate between spitzenkandidat – The Maastricht debate will be held on Monday 29 April, the debate between the candidates of the European political parties to lead the Commission. There will obviously be the favourite, the popular Ursula von der Leyen, her main opponent, the socialist Nicolas Schmit, but also the spitzenkandidat of the Left and the Greens Walter Baier and Bas Eickhout. It certainly won’t be as glitzy as Eurovision, but for fans of European politics it’s an event not to be missed.
Read again on the podium – The annual conference on the EU budget will be held at the European Commission on Monday 29 April. Among the speakers there is also the former Italian Prime Minister, Enrico Letta, who was called to write a report on the future of the single EU market. Other speakers include the President of Moldova, Maia Sandu, the Director General of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva and the President of the European Investment Bank, Nadia Calviño.
Parliament
The European Parliament concluded its legislative activities with the last plenary in Strasbourg last week ahead of the elections on 8 and 9 June. The new legislature will be inaugurated with the session of 13-16 July.
EU Council
The point on the CAP – On Monday 29 April the heads of Agriculture and Fisheries of the Twenty-seven will meet in Luxembourg to discuss the simplification of the common agricultural policy (CAP), recently amended by the European Chamber during the last plenary in Strasbourg, with the aim of strengthening the position of farmers. The Council will also evaluate the implementation of the CAP in the various national contexts starting from the reports presented by the chancelleries themselves.
Enlarge the EU – A two-day informal meeting of the General Affairs Council will keep the ministers of the member states busy between Monday and Tuesday in Brussels, where past and future enlargements will be discussed. Tuesday 30th session on the lessons of the largest enlargement in the history of the Union, that of 2004 and which marks the twentieth anniversary, in which 10 nations entered the European family: Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta and Cyprus. Representatives of candidate countries, from Georgia to the Western Balkans, will also join the conversation.
Commission
In the shadow of the Mole – Commissioners Kadri Simson (Energy), Virginijus Sinkevicius (Environment) and Wopke Hoekstra (Climate) will also participate in the G7 meeting in Turin on Monday and Tuesday. The last of these will meet in a bilateral meeting with the Italian Minister for the Environment and Energy Security Gilberto Pichetto Fratin.
Other events
Khan’s reconfirmation in London – The citizens of London are called to the polls on May 2nd to elect the mayor and the 25 members of the city council. All the polls show the current Labor mayor, Sadiq Khan, as the winner for the third time, with a clear lead over his opponent, the conservative Susan Hall.
Five articles from the week just ended
No funding, for the EU the Strait Bridge remains just an idea (for now)
The League claims that the work can be supported by the European Union but Brussels says that the project has not yet been taken into consideration. And the possibility that it will be seems very remote at the moment: here’s why
European elections 2024: dates, candidates, programs, lists and all the things you need to know about the June vote
Europa Today’s explanation of the vote that will define the Union for the next five years.
Salaries of European officials will increase by 18% (but after the elections)
The adjustment, linked to inflation, will take place in the second half of the year. Over 60 thousand employees will benefit
Macron invites (again) to arm themselves: “Europe surrounded, risks dying”
For the French president “we are not equipped to respond to the risks” posed by powers such as Russia and China, and we must understand that “the period in which we entrusted our protection to the USA is over”.
“Salis is a criminal, but if elected she will be free”: the preventive sentence of Orbán’s deputy
During the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, a Fidesz member reiterated the official position of the Budapest government on one of the hottest political cases in our country.
