The German Presidency of the EU dominates the week ahead for EU leaders in the European Commission. European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager and the European Commissioner for Economy and Finance Paolo Gentiloni are scheduled to meet with high-level German officials.
DG Competition (COMP)
Vice President Vestager will be in Berlin on Monday 7 September, where she will meet Mr. Peter Altmaier, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Mr. Olaf Scholz, Federal Minister for Finance, and Mr. Andreas Mundt, Head of the German Competition Authority.
Vestager will deliver an intervention at the Bundestag’s European Affairs Committee as well as delivering a keynote address at the European Competition Day Conference 2020 (7-8 September), which also takes place in Berlin.
On Tuesday 8 September, Vestager will be among participants at an event in Brussels marking the closure of the public consultation on the Digital Education Action Plan, which seeks to improve digital literacy across the EU.
DG Climate Action (CLIMA)/European Green Deal
On Tuesday 8 September, EC First Vice President Frans Timmermans will take part in a teleconference session on Financing the European Green Deal with financial sector companies. “Organic farming – action plan for the development of EU organic production”, a public consultation launched on Friday, 4 September, — has paved the way to boost the organic farming sector in line with European Green Deal targets, according to Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski. Welcoming the initiative, the Commissioner said: “The Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies set ambitious targets for the agricultural sector to ensure it is Green Deal-ready. Organic farming will be a key ally in the transition that we are leading towards a more sustainable food system and a better protection of our biodiversity. The Commission will support the organic sector towards the achievement of the 25% target of agricultural land under organic farming by 2030 with the appropriate policy and legal framework.”
College Meeting
The first College Meeting after the summer break takes place on Wednesday, 9 September. All 27 European Commissioners are expected to coordinate the work to follow suit. European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton will hold a videoconference with Mr. François Jacq, General Administrator of the Atomic Energy Commission (CEA).
DG Economy and Finance (ECFIN)
On Thursday, 10 September, Economy and Finance Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni will visit Berlin to meet Federal Minister for Finance Olaf Scholz, Mr. Dieter Kempf, BDI (Federation of German Industries) President Dieter Kempf, and the President of the German Bundestag, Wolfgang Schäuble.
Gentiloni will also attend the Bundestag Committees for European Affairs and Finance and meet German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier.
DG Justice and Consumers (JUST)
Also on Thursday, European Commissioner for Transparency Vĕra Jourová will hold a videoconference with the European Public Health Alliance and the Corporate Europe Observatory.
DG Climate Action (CLIMA)
Closing the week, on Friday, 11 September, First Vice President Frans Timmermans Timmermans will meet France’s Minister for Industry Agnès Pannier-Runacher. On 3 September, the European Commission announced the launch of a new industry alliance (Action Plan on Critical Raw Materials) with a view to building a complete EU supply chain for raw materials like lithium, which are seen as critical for the bloc’s digital and green transitions.