Ammunition to, and grain from Ukraine top This WEEK
Efforts to find a balance between supporting Ukraine militarily and mitigating the negative price impact of grain imports to the EU from Ukraine will continue this week.
MEPs on the trade committee in the parliament are set to vote on Monday (24 April) on a proposal to extend suspending EU import duties on Ukrainian exports. That would be a roll-over of an existing suspension of tariffs, which currently concludes at the end of June, and which has irked some of Ukraine’s neighbours.
On the same day, the agriculture committee in the European Parliament will hold a debate with Ukraine’s deputy minister for agrarian policy, Markian Dmytrasevych.
The foreign affairs council on Monday (24 April) in Luxembourg is set to discuss the Russian aggression against Ukraine, also via videoconference with Ukraine’s minister of foreign affairs Dmytro Kuleba.
Ministers will also focus on the geopolitical consequence of the Russian war of aggression, and likely to touch on the issue of grain imports too. Ministers are also set to discuss how to hold Russian top political and military brass accountable.
Ministers will discuss also the supply of ammunition to Ukraine, particularly on the issue of joint purchasing.
EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell last Friday said that 16,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been trained, and over €600m of ammunition and missiles have been delivered to Ukraine.
European lawmakers from the industry and the foreign affairs committees on Tuesday (25 April) are expected to vote on a new EU instrument to incentivise the joint purchase of defence products by member states.
Foreign ministers are also expected to have a talk on China, after the visit of EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and French president Emmanuel Macron to Beijing recently.
Campaign times
On Wednesday (26 April), the special committee on foreign interference will adopt its proposals to fight against malicious foreign actors, particularly Russia and China, using information manipulation to interfere in democratic processes.
MEPs expect foreign disinformation efforts to increase as the 2024 May European elections approach.
On Tuesday, the women’s rights committee is set to vote on a draft resolution evaluating what EU institutions and member states have done to fight against sexual harassment since the start of the ‘MeToo’ movement.
Eurozone ministers will meet in Stockholm on Friday (28 April) and finance ministers are also set to meet informally together with central bank governors.
MEPs on the legal affairs committee on Tuesday (25 April) are expected to adopt its position on the proposal for so-called corporate sustainability due diligence.
The draft law would require firms to identify and end or mitigate their negative impact on human rights and the environment.
MEPs in the environment and the industry committees on Wednesday (26 April) are expected to adopt their position on the first-ever EU legislation on methane emissions-reductions in the energy sector.