In the European Union (EU), tourism is above all an internal affair. Nearly 90% of tourism nights in the EU are spent by EU residents, meaning that tourists from outside the EU account for only around 10% of the total.

Full text available on EUROSTAT website

(Susceptible de modifications en cours de semaine)

Déplacements et visites

 

Lundi 10 juillet 2017

President Jean-Claude Juncker receives Mr Joaquín Almunia, former Vice-President of the European Commission and former Minister of Employment of Spain.

President Jean-Claude Juncker receives Mr Michael Peters, CEO of Euronews.

Ms Federica Mogherini delivers a keynote speech at the Civil Society Forum Neighbourhood South, in Brussels.

Mr Andrus Ansip receives Mr Rodolphe Belmer, CEO of Eutelsat; and Mr Jean-François Bureau, Director of Institutional and International Affairs of Eutelsat.

Mr Maroš Šefčovič receives Mr Roberto Vavassori, President and Secretary General of the European Association of Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA).

Mr Maroš Šefčovič and Ms Corina Creţu deliver keynote speeches at the Cohesion Conference 2017″Towards a progressive strategy for cohesion policy post-2020″ organised by the Party of European Socialists (PES), in Brussels.

Mr Valdis Dombrovskis receives Mr Bruno Le Maire, Minister for the Economy and Finance of France.

Mr Jyrki Katainen receives Mr Steven Maijoor, Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).

Mr Jyrki Katainen receives Mr Andrea Enria, First Chairperson of the European Banking Authority (EBA).

Mr Günther H. Oettinger in Berlin, Germany: presents the European Solidarity Corps at an event organised by JUGEND für Europa.

Mr Johannes Hahn in Chișinău, Moldova: on official visit.

Mr Neven Mimica participates in the event “Assises of decentralised cooperation – Regions and Cities for Development”, organised by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), in Brussels.

Mr Miguel Arias Cañete receives Mr Amos Hochstein, Senior advisor and Vice-President at Tellurian Inc.

Mr Karmenu Vella receives Ms Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu, UN High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States.

Mr Vytenis Andriukaitis receivesMr Michael Warhurst, Executive Director of CHEM Trust.

Mr Vytenis Andriukaitis receives Mr Erik Fyrwald, CEO of Syngenta; Mr Mark Ball, Head of EU Public Affairs of Syngenta; Mr Liam Condon, Member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG and President of the Crop Science Division; and Mr Volker Koch-Achelpöhler, Head of EU Liaison Office of Bayer AG.

Mr Dimitris Avramopoulos in Munich, Germany (until 11/07): meets Mr Joachim Herrmann, State Minister for the Interior; for Building and Transport of Bavaria; and participates in the dinner reception of the Munich Aviation Security Conference.

Ms Marianne Thyssen receives Ms Gabriele Bischoff, President of the Workers’ Group and rapporteur of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on the European Pillar of Social Rights.

M. Pierre Moscovici reçoit M. Paschal Donohoe, Ministre des Finances, des Dépenses publiques et des Réformes d’Irlande.

M. Pierre Moscovici reçoit M. Hans Jörg Schelling, Ministre des Finances d’Autriche.

Ms Violeta Bulc in Ljubljana, Slovenia: presents “Europe on the Move” package to the Slovenian National Assembly.

Mr Tibor Navracsics in Ispra, Italy: meets Mr Roberto Maroni, President of the Region of Lombardy; visits the Joint Research Centre (JRC) site in Ispra to inaugurate the European Commission Atmospheric Observatory; the European Interoperability Centre for Electric Vehicles and Smart Grids; and the Advanced Safeguards Measurement, Monitoring and Modelling Laboratory.

Ms Corina Creţu receives Mr Jaume Collboni, Second Deputy Mayor of Barcelona City Council.

Ms Corina Creţu receives Ms Rovana Plumb, Minister-delegate for European Funds of Romania.

Mr Carlos Moedas in Lisbon, Portugal: meets Mr Rocha de Matos, President of Fundação AIP; and Mr António Costa, Prime Minister of Portugal.

Mr Julian King in London, the United Kingdom (until 11/07): participates in the UK Finance Policymaker Roundtable Dinner organised by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA).

 

Mardi 11 juillet 2017

President Jean-Claude Juncker and Mr Frans Timmermans receive Mr Mihai Tudose, Prime Minister of Romania.

President Jean-Claude Juncker receives Mr Jorge Carlos Fonseca, President of Cabo Verde.

President Jean-Claude Juncker receives Mr Rudy Demotte, Minister-President of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.

Ms Federica Mogherini in Mauerbach, Austria: attends the OSCE Informal Ministerial Meeting.

Ms Federica Mogherini receives Mr Sergei Lavrov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

Mr Andrus Ansip meets Mr Jiro Akama, State Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan; delivers a keynote speech in the digital economy session of theannual EU-Japan Business Round Table; meets Mr Hiroshige Seko, Minister for the Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan; and Mr Kentaro Sonoura, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, in Brussels.

Mr Jyrki Katainen delivers a keynote speech at the annual EU-Japan Business Round Table, in Brussels.

Mr Jyrki Katainen delivers a keynote speech on investments at a conference hosted by the European People’s Party (EPP) Group in the European Parliament, in Brussels.

Mr Jyrki Katainen receives Mr János Lázár, Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office of Hungary.

Mr Jyrki Katainen receives Mr Hiroshige Seko, Minister for the Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan.

Mr Jyrki Katainen delivers a keynote speech at the event “Modern Farming in Europe: Unlocking the Potential of Farming 4.0“, organised by Politico, in Brussels.

Mr Günther H. Oettinger receives separately Mr Hans Jörg Schelling, Minister for Finance of Austria; Mr Vladislav Goranov, Minister for Finance of Bulgaria; Mr Märt Kivine, Special Representative in charge of the negotiations for EU budget 2018.

Mr Günther H. Oettinger participates in the EPP Expert Group meeting on the Multiannual Financial Framework post-2020, in Brussels.

Mr Günther H. Oettinger delivers a speech on “Female Managers in the European Commission” at an event organised by Women Political Leaders, in Brussels.

Ms Cecilia Malmström participates in the annual EU-Japan Business Round Table, in Brussels.

Ms Cecilia Malmström meets Ms Urve Palo, Minister for Entrepreneurship and Information Technology of Estonia, in Brussels.

Ms Cecilia Malmström receives Ms Corinne Vargha, Director of the International Labour Standards Department at the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Mr Neven Mimica in Geneva, Switzerland: attends the plenary session of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on Aid for Trade Global Review 2017; and meets Mr Roberto Azevêdo, Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Mr Miguel Arias Cañete receives Mr János Lázár, Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office of Hungary.

Mr Miguel Arias Cañete receives Mr Hiroshige Seko, Minister for the Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan; and signs Memorandum of Cooperation between EU and Japan on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

Mr Vytenis Andriukaitis in Amsterdam, the Netherlands: delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the European Congress of Psychology.

Mr Dimitris Avramopoulos in Munich, Germany: delivers the keynote speech at the Munich Aviation Security Conference.

M. Pierre Moscovici rencontre M. Vladislav Goranov, Ministre des Finances de la Bulgarie, à Bruxelles.

M. Pierre Moscovici reçoit des élus du Conseil régional de la région de Bretagne, France.

M. Pierre Moscovici participe au séminaire sur l’avenir de la Social-démocratie en Europe au Parlement européen, à Bruxelles.

Mr Christos Stylianides receives Mr Ayman Al Safadi, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

Mr Phil Hogan in Ankara, Turkey: meets Mr Nihat Zeybekçi, Minister for the Economy of Turkey; Mr Faruk Çelik, Minister for Food, Agriculture and Livestock of Turkey; and participates in an award ceremony for the addition of a Turkish food product to the list of Protected Designation of Origins (PDO).

Ms Violeta Bulc in Italy (until 12/07): participates in a cross-border Citizens’ Dialogue in Gorizia.

Ms Vĕra Jourová receives Mr Andrea Enria, First Chairperson of the European Banking Authority (EBA).

Ms Vĕra Jourová receives Mr Hiroshige Seko, Minister for the Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan.

Ms Corina Creţu receives Ms Alenka Smerkolj, Minister without portfolio responsible for Development, Strategic Projects and Cohesion of Slovenia.

Ms Corina Creţu receives Mr Mihai Tudose, Prime Minister of Romania; and Ms Sevil Shhaideh, Vice Prime Minister, Minister for Regional Development, Public Administration and European Funds of Romania.

Mr Carlos Moedas meets Mr Marcello Scalisi, Director at the Mediterranean Universities Union (UNIMED), in Brussels.

Mr Carlos Moedas receives Mr Charles Wessner, Professor at Georgetown University.

Mr Carlos Moedas delivers a speech at the closing session of the event “Foresight: driving EU towards a knowledge-based society”, in Brussels.

 

Mercredi 12 juillet 2017

College of Commissioners

12-13/07 EU-Ukraine Summit

President Jean-Claude Juncker in Kyiv, Ukraine (until 13/07): participates in a working dinner ahead of the EU-Ukraine Summit with Mr Donald Tusk, President of the European Council; and Mr Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine.

Ms Federica Mogherini, Mr Johannes Hahn and Ms Violeta Bulc in Trieste, Italy: attend the 2017 Western Balkans Summit.

Mr Jyrki Katainen receives Mr Jorge Domecq, Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency (EDA).

Mr Jyrki Katainen in Pori, Finland (until 14/07): participates in the SuomiAreena public debate Forum.

Mr Miguel Arias Cañete receives Mr Fernando López Miras, President of the Region of Murcia, Spain.

Mr Vytenis Andriukaitis delivers a speech at evening event of German Hospital Federation hosted by several Members of European Parliament, in Brussels.

Mr Vytenis Andriukaitis and Mr Tibor Navrasics receive representatives of Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nüremberg, the Sports University Kaunas and World Health Organization Copenhagen Regional Office for Europe.

Ms Marianne Thyssen and Mr Tibor Navracsics attend the official opening of the stand exhibition at the Europe Entrepreneurship Education Summit; and visit the exhibition, in Brussels.

Ms Marianne Thyssen delivers a keynote speech at the Pact for Youth Leaders Meeting, in Brussels.

M. Pierre Moscovici reçoit M. Jaume Collboni, Seconde maire-adjoint de Barcelone.

M. Pierre Moscovici reçoit M. Ewald Nowotny, Gouverneur de la Banque Centrale Autrichienne.

Mr Phil Hogan receives Mr Pierre Olivier Drège, President of the European Landowners’ Organisation (ELO).

Ms Vĕra Jourová receives Mr Reiner Hoffmann, President of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB).

Mr Carlos Moedas delivers a speech at the 124th Plenary Session of the Committee of the Regions

M Julian King à Paris, France : rencontre  M. Mounir Mahjoubi, secrétaire d’Etat auprès du Premier Ministre, chargé du numérique ; rencontre  Mme Sabine Thillaye, Présidente de la Commission des affaires européennes à l’Assemblée nationale; rencontre M Pierre de Bousquet de Florian, Coordonnateur national du renseignement et de la lutte contre le terrorisme.

 

Jeudi 13 juillet 2017

EU-Ukraine Summit

President Jean-Claude Juncker in Kyiv, Ukraine: together with Ms Federica Mogherini, Mr Johannes Hahn, and Mr Valdis Dombrovskis, participates in the EU-Ukraine Summit with Mr Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, and Mr Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine; and holds a joint press conference together with Mr Donald Tusk and Mr Petro Poroshenko.

President Jean-Claude Juncker in Thessaloniki, Greece: attends a ceremony in which he will be awarded an honorary doctorate by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Mr Valdis Dombrovskis in Kyiv, Ukraine (until 14/07): participates in a working lunch in the sidelines of the EU-Ukraine Summit hosted by Mr Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine; meets Mr Volodymyr Groysman, Prime Minister of Ukraine; Mr Oleksandr Danyliuk, Minister for Finance of Ukraine, and heads of political factions of Verkhovna Rada.

Mr Jyrki Katainen in Pori, Finland: participates in a working breakfast with Mr Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO of Fortum; delivers an opening address at Finland’s centenary celebratory event “Whole Finland celebrates”; participates in debate organised by think-tank Libera on the “Future of Finland”; in debate organised by MTV on “Finland and European Defence”; and in working dinner with Mr Risto Siilasmaa, Chair of the Board of Directors of Nokia Corporation, and Ms Anne Berner, Minister for Transport and Communications of Finland.

Mr Miguel Arias Cañete in Tallinn, Estonia: meets Mr Kaspars Gerhards, Minister for Environmental Protection and Regional Development of Latvia, meets Ms Barbara Hendricks, Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety of Germany, meets Mr Chad Holliday, Chair of Shell Global.

M. Pierre Moscovici participe au débat organisé par France Stratégie “Quel avenir pour la zone euro?“, à Bruxelles.

Mr Christos Stylianides in Washington D.C., the United States (until 14/07): participates in a humanitarian event on Iraq organised by the Department of State of the USA; and delivers a speech at a high-level event on the Humanitarian situation in Mosul, Iraq.

Ms Vĕra Jourová receives Mr Steven Maijoor, Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).

Ms Corina Creţu receives Mr Fernando López Miras, President of the Region of Murcia, Spain; and Mr Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso, Vice-President of the European Parliament.

Ms Margrethe Vestager receives Professor Ewald Nowotny, Governor of Austrian National Bank.

Mr Carlos Moedas in Lisbon, Portugal: participates to the interministerial conference “a new era of Blue enlightenment” on cooperation with Brazil and South Africa in research and innovation; meets Mr Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, President of Portugal.

Vendredi 14 juillet 2017

Mr Jyrki Katainen Pori, Finland: participates in “Success of Finland in the international arena” debate organised by the representation of the European Commission and the information office of the European Parliament in Finland.

Mr Karmenu Vella receives Mr Leo Donovan, CEO of the recycling centre WEEE Ireland.

Mr Carlos Moedas in Lisbon, Portugal: delivers a speech at the Honorary Doctorate ceremony of Minister Pandor; closes the seminar on the White Paper in the presence of the Prime Minister for Portugal.

M Julian King à Nice, France: participe à la journée hommage du 14 juillet.

 

Samedi 15 juillet 2017

 

Dimanche 16 juillet 2017

Prévisions du mois de juillet:

12-13/07 EU-Ukraine Summit

 

Permanence DG COMM le WE du 08 au 09 juillet 2017:

Johannes BAHRKE: +32 (0)460 75 86 15

Permanence RAPID – GSM: +32 (0) 498 982 748

Service Audiovisuel, planning studio – tél. : +32 (0)2/295 21 23

The European Commission has announced additional humanitarian assistance of €60 million to help people in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, who have been facing critical levels of food insecurity due to severe drought.

This additional assistance brings EU humanitarian aid to the Horn of Africa region (including Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Djibouti) to nearly €260 million since the beginning of the year.

“The situation in the Horn of Africa has drastically deteriorated in 2017 and it keeps getting worse. Millions of people are struggling to meet their and their families’ food needs. The risk of famine is real. The European Union has been following the situation closely since the very beginning and progressively increasing aid to the affected populations. This new package will help our humanitarian partners scale up the response further and keep bringing lifesaving assistance to people in need,” said Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides.

The Horn of Africa region has been affected by prolonged drought, particularly severely in south-eastern Ethiopia, northern Kenya and in Somalia where a pre-famine alert has been issued. Some 17 million people are in urgent need of food to survive, while the countries’ coping capacities are exhausted. In addition, all three countries are hit by a cholera outbreak, which has a severe impact on the most vulnerable.

The newly announced EU assistance will support humanitarian partners already responding to the needs of the affected populations to step up emergency food assistance and treatment of malnutrition. Projects addressing water supply, livestock protection and response to outbreaks will also be supported. The bulk of the funding (€40 million) will go to help the most vulnerable in Somalia, while €15 million will go to Ethiopia and €5 million to Kenya.

Background

Millions of people in the Horn of Africa are affected by food insecurity and water shortages. Vegetation is sparse. Livestock deaths, high food prices and reduced incomes are being reported. As a result of the poor performance of the ongoing rainy season, the next harvests will be much reduced and the situation is expected to worsen in the coming months.

The drought comes on the heels of the erratic weather caused by the El Niño phenomenon in 2015-16. In Ethiopia, it prompted the biggest drought response operation in the country’s history.

The region also hosts 2.3 million refugees, notably from Yemen, South Sudan and Somalia account for the majority of refugees, and is struggling to meet their increasing needs.

The EU has allocated over €1 billion in humanitarian aid to its partners in the Horn of Africa since 2011. EU funding has helped provide food assistance, health and nutrition care, clean water, sanitation and shelter to those whose lives are threatened by drought and conflict.

However, aid for the drought-affected populations is complicated by the remoteness of certain areas, as well as by the ongoing violence in Somalia. All parties to the conflict are therefore urged to provide unimpeded access to people in need.

For more information:

Factsheet Horn of Africa

Factsheet Somalia

Factsheet Ethiopia

Factsheet Kenya

Rewards to go to best projects to integrate people into labour market

The EESC has launched its 2017 Civil Society Prize. This year, the EESC will reward innovative projects to promote quality employment and entrepreneurship for the future of work undertaken by civil society, focusing on young people, migrants and other people who have difficulty accessing the labour market.

A total of EUR 50.000 will be awarded to a maximum of five winners. The deadline for applications is 8 September 2017 while the award ceremony will take place on 7 December 2017 in Brussels.

Almost ten years after the peak of the financial and economic crisis the European Union is still struggling with high levels of unemployment, despite recent improvements. That is why this year the EESC has decided to reward the best innovative projects which promote quality jobs, entrepreneurship or self-employment, and thus fight to reverse the trend.

The prize will be granted to initiatives already implemented or still ongoing which favour non-discrimination as regards labour market integration. Initiatives must target newcomers such as young people, people with a migrant background or requiring specific support such as the long-term unemployed, women detached from the labour market, people with disabilities or living in poverty.

The Civil Society Prize, now in its ninth year, was launched by the EESC to reward and encourage tangible initiatives and achievements by civil society organisations and/or individuals that have made a significant contribution to promoting the common values that shore up European cohesion and integration. In 2016 the Prize focused on migration.

Further details and the application form are available here.