Deze week: Top EU-Rusland, mogelijke Letse toetreding eurozone en Schengen (en)

BRUSSELS - EU leaders will travel to Yekaterinburg on the Kazakhstan border for the latest EU-Russia summit on Monday and Tuesday (3-4 June). The EU's four-person team will be led by Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso i and Herman van Rompuy i, with the bloc's Foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton i and Energy commissioner Gunther Oettinger i also present.

The crisis in Syria will top the agenda, a week after the EU controversially lifted its arms embargo to the country in the face of concerted pressure led the UK, who demanded the right to arm the rebels.

For its part, the Russian government defended its decision to send the first shipment of the S-300 anti-aircraft system to Bashar al-Assad's regime last week on the grounds that it would deter European nations and the US from intervening in the conflict.

Although EU ministers have in principle agreed not to send arms until August, after planned peace talks between the two sides in July, it is unclear whether this will be kept to. Asked by this website where EU countries would be free or not free to ship arms now, an EU source commented: "Both are correct, technically speaking."

Energy prices charged by Russian gas-giant Gazprom are also set to be discussed as well as visa-free travel. EU officials also suggested that they could take Russia to the World Trade Organization if the country continues to refuse to overturn legislation on car recycling and imposing vehicle fees on foreign car firms before the end of June.

However, EU officials are expecting few concrete decisions to emerge from the summit.

Meanwhile, Latvia's ambitions to join the eurozone i could receive a boost on Wednesday (5 June) when the commission publishes its convergence report on whether the Baltic state has met the criteria to join the single currency. A positive report and recommendation by the EU executive could pave the way for EU governments to approve Latvia's membership bid in July.

Latvia called on the commission to prepare its convergence report in March. The report will assess a range of criteria including price and exchange rate stability and the convergence of long-term interest rates, as well as the EU's rules on government debt and deficit levels.

If successful, Latvia would become the 18th member of the eurozone in January 2014, three years after its neighbour Estonia joined.

EU Justice and Home affairs ministers will gather in Brussels on Thursday (6 June) with talks expected to focus on legislation re-writing the rules on data protection and the Schengen acquis.

Ministers will discuss common rules allowing governments to temporarily reintroduce border controls in exceptional circumstances.

In the European Parliament, Neven Mimica, Croatia's nominee to the European Commission, will face questioning from MEPs on Tuesday (4 June). Mimica, who has been allocated the consumer protection portfolio, will be grilled by members of the internal market and environment committees.