The EU’s General Affairs Council will meet on Monday when preparations will begin for the next European Council meeting on June 28–29, 2018, by discussing the annotated draft agenda.
Ministers will also hear a presentation and exchange views on the Commission's proposals for the multiannual financial framework (MFF) after 2020. They will discuss the state of play regarding the rule of law in Poland. The Commission's Chief Negotiator, Michel Barnier, will inform the Council, in an EU 27 format, about the state of play of the Brexit negotiations.
Ministers will also discuss the current situation concerning the completion of work on withdrawal to finalize the draft withdrawal agreement.
The EU-Algeria Association Council will meet on Monday in Brussels. The High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, and the Algerian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Abdelkader Messahel, will discuss regional developments and cooperation, as well as the prevention of and the fight against terrorism and radicalization.
The EU will host talks between the foreign ministers of Iran, the U.K., Germany, and France on Tuesday in Brussels. The ministers will discuss U.S. President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal.
The EU-Tunisia Association Council will meet in Brussels on Tuesday. The Council will discuss democratic transition, economic reforms, trade relations, bilateral cooperation and issues of migration and mobility. Mogherini, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Tunisia, Khemaies Jhinaoui, will discuss regional issues, in addition to cooperation on security, and the fight against terrorism.
The EU-Cuba Joint Council will meet for the first time on Tuesday in Brussels. It will discuss the implementation of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement, which has been provisionally applied since November 2017. Mogherini will lead the EU delegation and will chair the meeting. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba Bruno Eduardo Rodríguez Parrilla will lead the Cuban delegation. The Joint Council will hold a political dialogue and will exchange views on future cooperation in key areas and will review bilateral relations and cooperation programs in fields such as energy and agriculture. Cuba's efforts to reform its economy will also be discussed, as well as trade and investment between the EU and Cuba.
As new EU rules on data protection are set to take effect on May 25, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and national MPs will meet to discuss their implementation with law enforcement authorities, intergovernmental organizations, enterprises and IT specialists on Tuesday.
The European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee will vote on ways to improve of Europe’s armed forces on Wednesday. MEPs may call for closer integration of national defense capabilities and increases in financial and staff resources, in particular experts in cyber forensics, to make it easier to identify sources of cyber-attacks
The EU-Western Balkans summit will take place in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Thursday. The summit will aim to inject new energy into the EU-Western Balkans relationship. The EU-Western Balkans summit will bring together heads of state or government from EU member states and leaders from the six Western Balkans partners: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Kosovo.