MNI POLITICAL RISK ANALYSIS – Week Ahead 5-11 July

All timings subject to change.

Monday 5 July:

• United Kingdom (England): Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to announce that from 19 July almost all COVID-19 restrictions will be lifted in England, with face masks no longer mandatory in indoor public settings, limits lifted on indoor and outdoor gatherings, and the one-metre social distancing rule scrapped to allow pubs and restaurants to increase capacity. There remains opposition to the relaxation from some in the media and sciences, with new cases of the Delta variant rising quickly. The government has been quick to highlight the apparent breaking of the link between cases and hospitalisations as the factor allowing for the unwinding.
• European Union: European Parliament plenary session gets underway in Strasbourg. Continues through to Friday 8 July.
• United Kingdom: The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill faces is Report stage and Third Reading in the House of Commons. The vast and controversial legislation covers areas as wide as controls on protestors to evicting traveller encampments, to toughening up sentencing for violent offenders. Leftists protesters have engaged in marches and in some instances rioting against the bill, while the Commons Joint Committee on Human Rights has advocated the removal of some key clauses.
• Germany: Chancellor Angela Merkel holds a presser at 1730CET (1130ET, 1630BST) following the conclusion of the "Summit of the Berlin Process on the Western Balkans 2021". The summit, being held virtually, is intended to increase dialogue between leaders in the Western Balkans and between those nations and the EU. Founded in 2014, this will be Merkel's final Berlin Process summit as German chancellor.
• United States: Public holiday in observance of Independence Day. Both chambers of Congress in recess all week.

MNI POLITICAL RISK ANALYSIS – Week Ahead 5-11 July.pdf