Forward look: 7 – 20 December 2020

Overview of the main topics and events at the Council of EU and European Council.

The location and the format (physical or virtual) indicated for each meeting are subject to change.

7 December 2020

Foreign Affairs Council

EU ministers of foreign affairs will be briefed about current affairs and exchange of views on transatlantic relations and strategic autonomy

Video conference of telecommunication ministers

Ministers will discuss the proposal for a data governance act, published by the Commission on 25 November

Video conference of European affairs ministers

European Council and (poss.) EU-UK relations will be on the agenda of the videoconference of EU Affairs ministers

8 December 2020

Video conference of transport ministers

Ministers will discuss a proposal to revise the EU road-charging directive (Eurovignette), and the Commission’s proposals concerning the Single European Sky

10-11 December 2020

European Council

EU leaders will meet in Brussels to discuss further coordination on COVID-19, climate change, security and external relations

14 December 2020

Justice and Home Affairs Council

Home affairs ministers will discuss the migration and asylum pact, as well as how to improve EU engagement with third countries on migration. The Council is also expected to approve conclusions on internal security and the European Police Partnership and to take stock of progress in the implementation of interoperability

Video conference of energy ministers

Energy Ministers will exchange views on Energy System Integration and receive information from the Commission on recent developments in the field of external energy relations

15-16 December 2020

Agriculture and Fisheries Council

Ministers will seek to agree the fishing opportunities in the Atlantic and North Sea, Mediterranean and Black Seas for next year and adopt conclusions on animal welfare and front-of-pack nutrition labelling

17 December 2020

Environment Council

Environment Ministers will aim to reach a general approach on the European Climate Law reflecting the outcome of the discussions in the European Council of 10-11 December 2020

For video coverage of Council sessions and audiovisual material, please see the following Council websites:



Weekly schedule of President Charles Michel

Monday 7 December 2020
17.30 Phone call with UN Secretary-General António Guterres

Wednesday 9 December 2020
EU-African Union leaders’ meeting via video conference

Thursday 10 December 2020
13.00 European Council

Friday 11 December 2020
European Council
Euro Summit

Saturday 12 December 2020
Climate Ambition Summit 2020



ESMA updates reporting under the Money Market Funds Regulation

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has today updated its validation rules regarding the Money Market Fund Regulation (MMFR). This relates to the requirements of Article 37 of MMFR that require MMF managers to submit data to National Competent Authorities, who will then transmit this to ESMA.

Following feedback received by market participants after the publication of the validation rules, ESMA has decided to implement amendments to them.

The proposed changes are not related to the published XML schemas. The changes only provide clarifications on existing validation rules in order to fix inconsistencies or ease the understanding of the rules. It also extends the Classification of Financial Instruments (CFI) codes for eligible assets.

The updated MMFR reporting validations documentation is available here.



Media Advisory – European Council on 10 and 11 December 2020

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Media advisory – Foreign Affairs Council of 7 December 2020

Indicative programme

9.30
Beginning of the Foreign Affairs Council, chaired by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell

– Current affairs and review of the latest international developments
– Transatlantic Relations
– Strategic Autonomy
– Other business: Hong Kong Security Law

At the end of the meeting (+/- 14.30) press conference in live streaming.

Arrangements for the press conference

Please note that there will be no physical press conference. EU accredited journalists will be able to ask questions remotely using this link.

Journalists who already registered for previous FAC press conferences do not need to register again.

  • Deadline: Monday, 7 December 2020, 13.30

Further instructions will be sent to all registered participants approximately half an hour after the deadline.

Videos and photos from the event