Ursula von der Leyen, who is officially seeking a second term, is expected to be confirmed this week as the European People’s Party (EPP) lead candidate to become EU commission president.
During a congress in Bucharest, the EPP is expected to unveil its priorities for the next legislative term — with a focus on defence and reindustrialisation already pitched last week by von der Leyen during a plenary debate.
The news follows the appointment of the EU commissioner for jobs and social rights Nicolas Schmit as the lead candidate of the Socialists & Democrats this weekend in Rome.
On Tuesday, the European Commission is expected to unveil its much-awaited European Defence Industrial Strategy (EDIS) and European Defence Investment Programme (EDIP) in a bid to respond to calls from both industry and politicians to strengthen Europe’s defence capabilities.
Europe should “turbocharge” the bloc’s defence industrial capacity in the next five years, von der Leyen said last week.
EU ministers in charge of home affairs will meet in Brussels on Monday and Tuesday to discuss a legislative proposal to counter migrant-smuggling and the security situation in light of the Israel-Gaza war and war in Ukraine.
They are also expected to adopt good practices to combat drug trafficking and organised crime and to have an exchange of views on two legislative proposals to combat child sexual abuse.
The Belgian EU Council presidency will hold a conference for a Just Transition in Brussels on Monday and Tuesday.
Also on Monday, EU energy ministers will meet in Brussels to discuss the security of gas supplies for the next winter and progress made by member states towards 2030 climate targets.
Women’s rights
Meanwhile, MEPs will resume their committee activities and prepare for next week’s plenary in Strasbourg.
In the trade committee, lawmakers will discuss on Thursday the state of play of the deforestation regulation — which risks putting thousands of vulnerable farmers in Africa and Latin America out of business, as previously reported by EUobserver.
They are also expected to support the EU’s duty-free trade policy with beleaguered Ukraine —despite discontent voiced by Polish farmers in recent months.
Frontline neighbouring states have argued that their local markets and producers have experienced disruptions due to a surge in cheaper Ukrainian imports — prompting Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to place bans on Ukrainian grain imports.
On Monday, MEPs in the budget committee are set to adopt a report on new tasks for the EU chemical agency.
And lawmakers in the environment and transport committees aim to adopt a report for the harmonised measurement of transport emissions on the same day.
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Friday (8 March) will mark International Women’s Day and MEPs in the committee working on gender equality will discuss the challenges women face in sports.
The debate comes after the Spanish football chief, Luis Rubiales, gave a non-consensual public kiss to one of the stars of country’s women’s soccer team when they won the World Cup last year.
ECB meeting
In Frankfurt, the European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to refrain from reducing currently high interest rates during a meeting on Thursday, despite positive inflation forecasts.
“These interest rates are at levels that, maintained for a sufficiently long duration, will make a substantial contribution to ensuring that inflation returns to our two percent medium-term target in a timely manner,” ECB chief Christine Lagarde told MEPs last week.
The ECB has kept interest rates at record highs since September 2023 — but rumours point to potential cuts by the summer.
According to the latest Eurostat figures, the annual inflation in the euro area is expected to be down to 2.6 percent in February.
Also on Thursday, EU ministers will discuss the so-called late payment regulation and the state of play of the single market and EU competitiveness in Brussels.
A report on competitiveness from former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi, and a report on the European single market prepared by former Italian prime minister Enrico Letta, is expected later this year.
Ministers will also discuss the EU’s long-awaited Corporate Sustainable Due Diligence Directive — which has failed to gain approval from EU member states after 13 EU ambassadors declared an abstention and one, Sweden, expressed opposition, last week. The dispute in the council comes after a preliminary agreement was reached by co-legislators in November.
On Sunday (10 March), Portuguese citizens will head to the ballot boxes in a high-stakes snap general election. The elections come after the resignation of socialist prime minister Antonio Costa in November, amid a corruption scandal.
