Griekse schuld en Russische gascrisis domineren EU-zaken (en)
BRUSSELS - Greek debt and - potentially - a new Russian gas crisis will dominate EU affairs in the coming week.
Prime Minister Lucas Papademos i on Friday (3 February) said Greece is in the "final phase" of talks with private bondholders on how much debt they are willing to write off to stop the country going bust.
The talks were supposed to wrap up weeks ago. If Papademos and the markets clinch a deal, eurozone finance ministers will later in the week - on a date still to be confirmed - rubber stamp the second Greek bail-out and breathe a sigh of relief.
If the talks break down, the crisis will enter a dangerous new phase that could see Greece leave the euro.
Cuts in Russian gas supplies are also likely to top the agenda after 10 EU countries on Friday reported drops in volumes, while Moscow and Kiev began trading blame in a deja vu of the massive gas crunch in 2009.
Top EU officials will mid-week fly to Calcutta for an EU-India summit designed to expedite the already-five-years-long talks on a free trade agreement.
Back in Brussels, EU junior ministers on youth and culture will next Friday look at how to reduce soaring unemployment rates among Europe's under-25s.
The European Commission and the EU parliament will have a low-key week in terms of planned events.
The commission will on Tuesday unveil a "scoreboard" on which EU countries are best at promoting innovation. It will on Wednesday put forward plans on how to cut back on EU red tape in its next seven-year budget, as well as a bill on creating EU-level "stiftungs" - foundations with tax breaks which do charity work or political advocacy.
MEPs in committees on Monday will vote on how long the crisis-hit EU should keep giving free food to its poor, debate an anti-insider-trading law and vent thoughts on the commission's 2013 EU budget plan.
Brussels will next week also host two interesting visitors - Turkey's EU affairs minister and China's deputy FM.
The Turkish visit comes amid fraying EU-Turkey relations over stalled enlargement talks and Armenian genocide denial. The Chinese fixture comes as EU leaders solicit China for EU bail-out money and ask it not to buy Iranian oil.
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