The Week Ahead: September 30-October 6

October 5: The Moldovan Wine Festival, officially called National Wine Day, opens in Chisinau.

The Week Ahead is a detailed listing of key events of the coming week affecting RFE/RL's broadcast region.

Now on Twitter! Daily updates at @The_Week_Ahead.




MONDAY, September 30:

Council of Europe: The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) plenary session opens in Strasbourg (to October 4).

Council of Europe: The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) awards the first-ever Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize, which honors outstanding civil society action in defense of human rights.

Europe: The 75th anniversary of the Munich Agreement, signed by leaders of Britain, France, Germany, and Italy in Munich, allowing Nazi leader Adolf Hitler to annex German-speaking areas of Czechoslovakia.

EU/U.S.: EU's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton visits Washington, attends a Woodrow Wilson Center discussion on Europe’s external challenges and opportunities.

Turkmenistan/UN: Turkmen Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov delivers a speech at the UN General Assembly in New York.

U.S./Russia: National Endowment for Democracy in Washington hosts a discussion titled "Putin vs. Civil Society."


TUESDAY, October 1:

Azerbaijan: Azerbaijan holds the presidency of the UN Security Council throughout October.

Azerbainan/EU: Baku hosts an Azerbaijan-EU Cooperation Committee meeting.

Bosnia-Herzegovina: Bosnia-Herzegovina holds its first census as an independent state (to October 15).

Bosnia-Herzegovina/U.S.: The William J. Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas, hosts a symposium titled "Bosnia, Intelligence, and the Clinton Presidency."

EU: Ireland's Emily O'Reilly begins work as the EU's European ombudsman.

EU/Bosnia-Herzegovina: Brussels hosts a meeting of the high-level dialogue on the accession process.

Russia/PACE: Russian State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin addresses the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) plenary session in Strasbourg.

UN: International Day of Older Persons

World: Transparency International releases its report on corruption risks and education.

World: Istanbul hosts the Global Gas Opportunities Summit (to October 3).


WEDNESDAY, October 2:

Armenia/PACE: Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian addresses the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) plenary session in Strasbourg.

EU/Ukraine: EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht visits Kyiv to discuss trade relations between the EU and Ukraine ahead of the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius next month.

UN: International Day of Nonviolence

UK/Russia: Chatham House in London hosts a discussion titled "Business and Power in Russia: What Does the Future Hold?"

Ukraine: European Policy Center in Brussels hosts a discussion titled "Ukraine’s Road to Vilnius -- A Rocky But Essential Journey."


THURSDAY, October 3:

Belarus/Kazakhstan: Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka pays an official visit to Kazakhstan (to October 4).

EU/Azerbaijan: European Parliament in Brussels holds a discussion titled "Azerbaijan's Presidential Elections: What Future for the Land of Fire?"

Iraq: Independence Day

Moldova: Officials from Moldova, Transdniester, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the European Union, Russia, the United States, and Ukraine gather in Brussels for the next round of negotiations on solving the Transdniester issue.

Russia: United Russia party holds its 14th party congress in Moscow (to October 5).

Serbia/PACE: Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic addresses the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) plenary session in Strasbourg.


FRIDAY, October 4:

Moldova: Chisinau hosts the fifth annual meeting of the Eastern Parnership Civil Society Forum (to October 5).

Poland: Lublin hosts the Culture for the Eastern Partnership Congress (to October 6).


SATURDAY, October 5:

Moldova: The Moldovan Wine Festival, officially called National Wine Day, opens in Chisinau.

Russia: The chairman of the United Russia party and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is expected to deliver the main report to the party congress.

UNESCO: World Teachers Day


SUNDAY, October 6:

Iraq: Baghdad International Film Festival opens (to October 10).