On the agenda: Brexit, food quality, migration, Italian bracelets.
Barnier on the Eurostar: The EU’s Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, will be heading to London on Monday to meet Brexit Secretary David Davis, the first time that Barnier has held discussions on Brexit in London.
Juncker’s big ideas: Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will be debating the weighty subject of the future of Europe in the European Parliament on Tuesday. That could be a useful precursor for the Commission president before his working dinner with Angela Merkel in Berlin on Thursday.
Food for thought: The Commission also announced that its common testing methodology for the dual quality of food would be ready in spring, and spokesperson Alexander Winterstein tried to hammer home the message that the EU takes the issue of sub-par foods in certain regions of Europe seriously. Known to hit Central Europe particularly hard, the issue was discussed by Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Commissioner Věra Jourová in Prague this morning.
Cash for energy: The European Investment Bank agreed to inject €35 million into an energy storage facility in Cyprus in order to boost the country’s energy efficiency and security.
Migration crisis: Responding to today’s news that 90 migrants had drowned off the Libyan coast, the Commission described “every life lost at sea [is] one too many.”
“That is why we carry out actions all along the central Mediterranean Sea …. search operations and fight against the networks that put these people in danger. We will continue these actions where our ships can operate,” spokeswoman Catherine Ray said.
Brexit questions dodged: Journalists hungry to know exactly what will be discussed in the next Brexit negotiation rounds were left wanting. The update on next week’s Brexit negotiations, Winterstein said, is exactly what it says on the calendar — an “update.”
Mystery Amazon bracelet: The Italian press was all over the news that Amazon had been issued patents to produce a bracelet that can track workers’ movements. Asked whether such a product would ever be admitted into Europe, Winterstein admitted that he knew “absolutely nothing about” the issue.