Te Europe Diary A long-term calendar of European events for journalists and broadcasters. February 2020 onwards Please check entries before broadcast or publication: see contacts at end of Diary.
A Brexit Special Edition February 1st UK/EU. At 11pm UK time on January 31st, Britain will have left the EU, the first country to do so since the EEC was established. It will be marked by a light show of red, white and blue on government buildings in London, with a countdown clock projected on to Downing Street. A 'party' in Parliament Square has been organised by Nigel Farage and fellow Brexiteers. Called 'Have Your Cake and Eat It' there will be music and cake. A commemorative 50p coin will be introduced with the words, 'Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations'. Union Jack flags will line Parliament Square and The Mall. Opposition politicians call this celebration inappropriate and divisive gloating. The 'Denied My vote' Campaign will be holding a candlelit vigil. At the Berlaymont in Brussels the UK flag, the Union Jack, will be lowered at midnight with no ceremony. Life will generally carry on the same in the UK as it enters an 11-month 'transition period'. Britain will stay in the Single Market and the Customs Union, and must still obey EU rules, but it will not be represented in the EU Council of Ministers or the European Parliament. EU citizens will still be able to travel to and work in the UK, and British citizens can do the same in EU states. The UK will begin attempting to negotiate a favourable future relationship with its European neighbours. Commentators say this will have to be done by July 31st to allow enough time for ratification by all the EU member states. Ursula von der Leyen has urged Johnson to extend his transition period deadline of Dec 31st to allow more time for the complex negotiations and ratification by the 27 member states and some regional parliaments. Very many issues are unresolved. The government says there will be no alignment with EU rules, no membership of the Single Market and no membership of the Customs Union, but that they want a tariff-free trading arrangement. This is a contradiction, so leaving with no deal is still an option. The status of Northern Ireland remains unclear. The Withdrawal Agreement Bill gives Johnson 30 days from today to publish his negotiating objectives. This is likely to come in early February, with a speech by the PM. The EU member states are due to agree their negotiating position on February 25th. Then serious talks begin. Another race against time. So Brexit will be far from 'done' as claimed by Johnson.
1 Editorial. (I have tried not to editorialise during the 22 years of this monthly Europe Diary; but this edition is different). Leaving the EU will remain very divisive for a long time to come and could lead to the break-up of the UK. The Scottish Parliament, The Welsh Assembly and the newly re-instated Northern Ireland Assembly have now all voted against the Withdrawal Agreement Bill. Under the way devolution works in the UK, the devolved Parliaments/Assemblies must 'give their consent' to Westminster laws affecting them - including this bill. But votes against parliamentary legislation are not legally binding. The leading business and industry organisations are generally against Brexit, regarding the EU as the biggest, closest and most integrated market. London voted against Brexit in the referendum, as did Scotland and N. Ireland. The notion that Britain can negotiate wonderful trade deals with the USA and other countries is a fantasy. Trade deals take many years to negotiate and the trade deals the EU bloc have negotiated over the years cannot be matched by an isolated country. Major industries are actively contemplating relocation or investing elsewhere to retain free access to the Single Market. The under-pressure National Health Service is highly dependent on EU workers enjoying free movement within Europe. Agriculture relies on seasonal workers from the EU. Care homes have huge numbers of Europeans keeping them going, but current government policy is to restrict immigration to the 'highly skilled' who earn more than £30K p.a. Countless pieces of independent analysis have concluded there are no benefits whatsoever in pulling out of the EU.
Yet it is happening because of a misguided referendum with a simplistic question. Young people whose lives will be most affected voted overwhelmingly to remain. They were outnumbered by the older leave voters. UK citizens living abroad were denied a vote. The Vote Leave campaign was illegally funded and based on blatant untruths which could not be stopped. Yet - by the time you read this - the UK will have technically left the EU. I find this collective insanity, led by self- serving and ideologically-driven politicians, depressing, and I know I am not alone. I can only hope that the many journalists and officials living in the EU who have asked for this diary each month will not think too ill of the Brits. So long and thanks for all the fish. (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy). Perhaps by the end of the year the UK will have a close and beneficial future relationship with the EU. Perhaps. I must now switch on the Infinite Improbability Drive. (RT). 1st Lisbon. It's reported that Portugal’s Prime Minister António Costa has extended an invitation to a summit to the leaders of the “Friends of Cohesion” group. This is a 17-strong alliance made up primarily of eastern and southern EU countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Malta, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. They may be seeking a common approach to the talks on the next long-term budget. www.politico.eu 1st – Mar 14th England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France and Italy. The Six Nations Rugby. www.sixnationsrugby.com 3rd- 4th Croatia. Informal meeting of EU Ministers responsible for Research. www.eu2020.hr 6th Paris. Finance Summit 2020 conference. What will make Europe's financial sector more resilient and sustainable? https://diievents.dii.eu/finance-summit/
2 8th Ireland. General Election after the Dail was dissolved by the President at the request of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. The opposition Fianna Fail seem to be marginally ahead in the opinion polls with increased support for Sinn Fein. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Irish_general_election 8th- 25th Venice. The pre-lent Venice Carnevale. https://venice-carnival-italy.com 9th Azerbaijan. Parliamentary Election. www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/12/azerbaijan- hold-snap-parliamentary-election-february-9-191205143543086.html 10th- 13th Strasbourg. European Parliament plenary session. www.europarl.europa.eu 12th- 13th Brussels. Meeting of NATO Defence Ministers. www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_172833.htm 14th The UK Labour Party's leadership election enters its final stage. By this date, the four candidates who received sufficient support from fellow MPs and MEPs must have received support from 5% of Constituency Labour Parties, or affiliates, which include 12 Trades Unions. Those who pass this second threshold will have their names on the ballot going to all party members. The result will be announced at a special conference on April 4th. www.itv.com/news/2019-12-18/how-does-a-labour-leadership-election-work/ 14th- 15th Brussels. The 21st EU Studies and Career Fair organised by Politico. https://diievents.dii.eu/eu-studies/ Email: [email protected] 17th Brussels. EU Foreign Ministers meet in the Foreign Affairs Council. 17th- 18th Brussels. EU Ministers for Agriculture and Fisheries meet. www.eu2020.hr 17th Brussels. Finance Ministers from the nineteen eurozone countries meet in the Eurogroup. www.eu2020.hr 18th Brussels. Finance Ministers from all the EU member states meet in the ECOFIN Council. www.eu2020.hr 18th- 19th Brussels. 'A European Perspective on Artificial Intelligence (AI)'. A conference for SMEs, Research Institutes and Policy-makers, organised by the European Commission. https://ai-sme-conference.yve-tool.de/public_registration/ 20th Brussels. EU Ministers for Education meet in the Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council. www.eu2020.hr 21st- 26th Madrid. The Madrid Carnival. Music, dance, street drama, dressing up. www.esmadrid.com 25th Brussels. EU Foreign Ministers meet in the General Affairs Council. It is expected that the 27 member states will agree their negotiating mandate for the future relationship with the UK; this will be handed to the EU's Chief Negotiator, Michel Barnier. www.eu2020.hr 26th-Mar 1st Berlin. The World Track Cycling Championships. www.uci.org/track/events 27th- 28th Brussels. EU Ministers for the Internal Market, Industry and Research meet in the Competitiveness Council. www.eu2020.hr 29th Slovakia. Parliamentary Elections. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Slovak_parliamentary_election
3 March 4th Brussels. 'Driving Change', a conference on seeking the transition to renewable energy, with an emphasis on transport, organised by Eurelectric and Accenture. www.eurelectric.org 4th- 6th Zagreb. Informal meeting of EU Foreign Affairs and Defence Ministers. www.eu2020.hr 5th Brussels. EU Environment Ministers meet. www.eu2020.hr 5th Brussels. 'Women Rule Live', a one-day conference organised by Politico. www.politico.eu/event/women-rule-live/ 9th - 12th Strasbourg. European Parliament plenary session. www.europarl.europa.eu 10th- 11th Opatija, Croatia. Informal meeting of EU Ministers for Transport, Telecoms and Energy with a focus on maritime affairs. www.eu2020.hr 12th Brussels. EU Ministers for Trade meet in the Foreign Affairs Council. www.eu2020.hr 12th Frankfurt. European Central Bank Monetary Policy Meeting. www.ecb.eu 12th- 13th Brussels. EU Ministers for Justice and Home Affairs meet. www.eu2020.hr 16th Brussels. Finance Ministers from the EU eurozone countries meet in the Eurogroup. www.eu2020.hr 16th- 17th Brussels. AI (Artificial Intelligence) Summit 2020 organised by Politico. https://diievents.dii.eu/ai-summit/ 17th Brussels. Finance Ministers from all the EU member states meet in the ECOFIN Council. www.eu2020.hr 19th Brussels. EU Ministers for Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs meet in the EPSCO Council. www.eu2020.hr 19th- 20th Zagreb. Informal meeting of EU Ministers for Internal Market and Industry. www.eu2020.hr 23rd- 24th Brussels. EU Ministers for Agriculture and Fisheries meet. www.eu2020.hr 23rd- 24th Brussels. EU Foreign Ministers meet in the Foreign Affairs and General Affairs Councils. www.eu2020.hr 26th London. Bank of England Monetary Policy Meeting. www.bankofengland.co.uk 26th- 27th Brussels. European Summit with the EU reduced to 27 member states. www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/european-council/2020/03/26-27/ 30th – April 2nd Strasbourg. European Parliament plenary session. www.europarl.europa.eu 31st Brussels. The annual Forum for the Future of Agriculture, with a theme this year 'Accelerating Change'. www.forumforagriculture.com
4 April 2nd London. The UK Society of Editors National Press Awards. www.societyofeditors.org 2nd Frankfurt. European Central Bank Governing Council. www.ecb.eu 4th UK. At a special conference, the main opposition Labour Party will announce the result of its leadership contest following the heavy defeat of Jeremy Corbyn in the December general election. Four candidates achieved sufficient support from Labour MPs and MEPs to go forward to the ballot of members: Sir Keir Starmer, Emily Thornberry, Rebecca Long-Baileyand Lisa Nandy. https://labour.org.uk 4th Aintree, Liverpool. The Grand National. The world's toughest steeplechase. www.grandnational.org.uk 9th- 13th EU. European institutions closed for Easter. 21st- 22nd Luxembourg. EU Foreign Ministers meet in the General Affairs and Foreign Affairs Councils. www.eu2020.hr 22nd- 23rd Brussels. European Parliament mini-plenary. www.europarl.europa.eu 24th- 25th Croatia. Informal meeting of EU Finance Ministers. www.eu2020.hr 27th- 28th Luxembourg. EU Ministers for Agriculture and Fisheries meet. www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/agrifish/2020/04/27-28/ 27th - 28th Croatia. Informal meetings of EU Ministers for Social Policy (EPSCO) and Energy (TTE). www.eu2020.hr 29th - 30th Zagreb. Informal meeting of EU Minsters for Health. https://eu2020.hr/Events/Event?id=209 30th Frankfurt. European Central Bank Monetary Policy Meeting. www.ecb.eu May 9th Europe Day. The European Commission will launch 'The Conference on the Future of Europe', a two-year project to give EU citizens a greater say on what the EU does and how it works for them. Details here: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_89
The T-Media Europe Diary, updated monthly, is available online at the Association of European Journalists British Section website www.aej-uk.org and at www.moderatorseurope.eu the conference facilitators network.
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5 Contacts
The EU Calendar from the European Commission is at: http://europa.eu/newsroom/calendar
All EU press releases are posted at http://europa.eu/press_room/index_en.htm
European Commission: Media information is handled by the Directorate-General for Communication. Commission contacts can be found via http://ec.europa.eu/contact/index_en.htm Also each Directorate-General (DG) has its own Information Unit. Call the general number in Brussels, +322 299 1111, and ask for either the Spokesperson of the appropriate DG - for political matters and interview requests with the Commissioner - or the “Information Unit” of the directorate. (E.g. Agriculture DG or Environment DG).
For broadcast facilities: Simona Pilko, Head of News, Audiovisual Division at DG Communication. Tel: +322 296 8294. Email: [email protected] A/V Planning Office: Tel: +322 295 2123. Email: [email protected] There is a "virtual press office" on the web, which carries news releases, background material and video- streaming. http://europa.eu/comm/press_room Press releases are at http://europa.eu/rapid/ TV coverage on Europe-by-Satellite http://europa.eu/comm/ebs/schedule.cfm TV topical features are available free from ICF Mostra Communication at TVLink Europe www.tvlink.org Email: [email protected] +322 537 4400.
The London Press Office of the Commission: 020 7973 1971 http://ec.europa.eu/unitedkingdom Press Office: 020 7973 1971 Email: [email protected]
European Parliament: www.europarl.europa.eu Video coverage: https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu Audiovisual Division in Brussels. Tel: +322 284 4811. Press officer: [email protected] Audiovisual Facilities Planning Office: +322 284 2010 [email protected] Information and Broadcast Facilities: +322 284 4817. Email: [email protected] www.europarl.ep.ec/dg3/audiov/en/ftv.htm The London Office of the Parliament: 020 7227 4300 Website: www.europarl.org.uk Press attache: [email protected]
EU Council of Ministers: http://consilium.europa.eu TV pix: http://tvnewsroom.consilium.europa.eu Head of Media Relations: Guy Milton. Tel: +322 281 8519 [email protected] Press Centre: Tel: +322 281 9000 Email: [email protected] Croatia's Presidency website: www.eu2019.hr
EU News, information and contacts are also available on the Europa ‘Europe Direct’ site. www.europa.eu/europedirect
------Council of Europe: www.coe.int CoE Press Service. [email protected] Jeremy Moakes +33 3 90 21 50 52 [email protected] or Alun Drake (audio-visual) +33 3 88 41 25 64 [email protected] European Court of Human Rights: Emma Hellyer [email protected]
NATO: Press Service: +322 707 5041. [email protected] www.nato.int
Europe Diary February 2020 onwards www.t-media.org.uk
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