European Union

In a bid to secure more state support a group of parents of disabled children has been staging a sit-in at the Polish parliament for the past five weeks. A parents who cares for a disabled child receives 350 euros per month until the child reaches 18, after which the government support ends. The government is refusing to give in to demands for more funds, citing limited financial resources. Poland's press is divided over the issue.

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EU Finance Ministers meet on 25 May 2018 in Brussels to agree measures to reduce risk in the banking sector. They discuss macroeconomic imbalances and age-related expenditure in the member states.

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EU Foreign Affairs ministers meet on 28 May 2018 in Brussels to focus on the situation in Iran, Venezuela, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the future agreement with the African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries. Foreign ministers also discuss the situation in Gaza, following the recent developments.

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EU Ministers of European Affairs, Industry, Research and related areas meet on 28-29 May 2018 in Brussels to carry out a competitiveness check-up on the impact of the internal market on industry. They hold discussions on mutual recognition of goods and on online platforms-to-business relations. On Tuesday, they debate space policy, the extension of the EURATOM research programme as well as research and innovation in the context of the next EU's multiannual budget. They are due to adopt conclusions on knowledge circulation and the European Open Science Cloud. The Council also takes note of a report on high performance computing.

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Source : © European Union, 2018 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2018 - EP

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EU Finance Ministers of the eurozone meet on 24 May 2018 in Brussels.

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Committee and political group meetings, Brussels

Source : © European Union, 2018 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2018 - EP

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EU Ministers for Education, Youth, Culture and Sport meet on 22-23 May 2018 in Brussels.

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Opinion on proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council providing further macro-financial assistance to Ukraine, 2018/0058(COD)
Report on on the negotiations on the EU-Azerbaijan Comprehensive Agreement
Consent on the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement with Armenia
Resolution on Consent on the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement with Armenia
Report on Cyber defence, 2018/2004(INI)
Report on EU-NATO relations, 2017/2276 (INI)
Report on violation of the rights of indigenous peoples in the world, including land grabbing, 2017/2206(INI)
Report on Towards an EU external strategy against early and forced marriages – next steps, 2017/2275(INI)
Source : © European Union, 2018 - EP

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The partnership between the EU and The Gambia is guided by the principles and objectives found in the Cotonou Agreement, which governs the relationship between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. The Agreement covers areas such as political dialogue, trade and development cooperation.

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EU Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Trade meet on 22 May 2018 in Brussels.

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EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Development meet on 22 May 2018 in Brussels.

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The Common Security and defence Policy (CSDP) will be strongly impacted by the imminent divorce between the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU), for better or for worse. What tomorrow will bring is nevertheless still unknown. The Brexit negotiations in the area of defence were supposed to be easier and more consensual than in other fields. It does not seem to have been the case so far. The first part of the study focuses on the terms of the equation. They analyse: the new interest of the United Kingdom for the CSDP, the proposal made by the UK to the EU in this area, how the EU has answered so far and what are the existing rules and practices allowing the involvement of third counties in the EU defence policies. The following part examines the potential impact of Brexit on the most promising defence policies that the EU is presently carrying out: the support to the defence industry, PESCO, the Galileo and Copernicus programs and, naturally, the CSDP missions. Finally, this study reviews the EU options on the table of one of the most difficult negotiations in contemporary history.
Source : © European Union, 2018 - EP

Main agenda items, approximate timing, public sessions and press opportunities.

At the final press conference, President Tusk presented the main results of the EU-Western Balkans summit and the Leaders' agenda dinner held in Sofia

The EU-Western Balkans summit took place in Sofia, Bulgaria, on 17 May 2018. EU leaders agreed on the Sofia declaration, with which the Western Balkans partners have aligned themselves.