They will also exchange views on Russia’s current aggression in Ukraine and the current situation between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
After the meeting, EU-27 ministers will meet the six foreign ministers of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.
The EU-Western Balkans ministerial meeting will take place days after the European Commission announced a €6 billion growth plan for the region.
The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, will meet the Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ararat Mirzoyan, on Wednesday November 15.
On Tuesday (14 November), EU ministers will meet NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and the European Defense Agency steering committee for breakfast. Their meeting will be followed by a debate on EU defense policy and efforts to support Ukraine militarily.
Stoltenberg is also expected to meet the College of Commissioners the following day as well as the European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, on Friday (17 November).
Also on Wednesday, the European Commission is due to unveil its talent mobility package. As part of this initiative, Brussels wants to create a system that would connect European employers and job seekers from third countries in order to fill existing gaps in certain sectors.
The package would include, for example, a recommendation calling on EU member states to recognize the qualifications of foreign job seekers.
Preparation of the European Council
Across the street, EU ministers responsible for European affairs will kick off preparations for this year’s final European Council, scheduled for early December.
Opening accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova and the approval of EU financial aid to kyiv in the long term are expected to be high on the agenda of the next meeting of EU leaders.
Spain’s request to make Catalan, Basque and Galician Official EU languages, the European electoral law and the commission’s work program for 2024 are also due to be discussed by ministers on Wednesday.
Ministers from the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries will meet on the same day in Apia, Samoa, to discuss continued cooperation, before signing a new partnership.
In addition, the decision-making body of the European Central Bank (ECB) will meet on Wednesday.
Although inflation could remain high in the short term, keeping interest rates unchanged for a while could bring inflation back to their 2% target, ECB President Christine Lagarde said on Friday.
“We are at a level where we think that, if we maintain it long enough – and this is not trivial – it will take us to the 2% target in the medium term,” she said.
Online child sexual abuse
The controversial bill aimed at preventing online child sexual abuse will be voted on by Parliament’s civil liberties committee on Tuesday.
Even though the commission’s proposal has been described as unprecedented mass surveillance mechanismthe preliminary agreement of the deputies advocates targeted control of suspicious individuals subject to judicial arrest warrants.
If passed, the bill will go to a plenary vote later this month.
On the same day, the committee is also expected to vote on a report extending EU crimes to include hate speech and crimes.
Also on Tuesday, co-legislators will meet for a new round of negotiations on Europe’s first-ever law to combat violence against women and domestic violence.
In the meantime, the possible final meeting of the trilogue on Critical raw materials the act will take place on Monday. Minerals such as lithium or cobalt are considered essential to the EU’s strategic autonomy and economic prosperity, as they are essential for the development of many modern technologies.
MEPs in the Transport and Tourism Committee are set to adopt their position on Thursday (16 November) on revising EU rules aimed at tackling illegal discharges from ships into the sea.
Also this week, Spanish socialist deputies in the Madrid parliament aim to register the controversial amnesty law that secured Pedro Sánchez. re-election as Prime Minister of the country — with an investiture vote that could take place Wednesday or Thursday.
