A Union flag flies in the wind in front of the clock face of Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big Ben, near the Houses of Parliament in Westminster | Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images Italian proposal for who gets British MEP seats With Brexit, 73 seats are in play.

Italy will present a proposal on how to reallocate the 73 seats that British MEPs hold in the European Parliament at a Brexit meeting of European ministers Thursday, according to several diplomats.

The plan calls for the creation of a pan-European list that would inherit the seats — an idea recently endorsed by Gianni Pittella, the president of the Socialist bloc in Parliament, who said he had “sympathy” for the idea which, in his view, “would represent a step forward in the process of integration and creation of a European democratic space.”

The proposal is also supported by centrist Emmanuel Macron, a frontrunner in the French presidential election, who incorporated the idea in his campaign program.

At the General Affairs Council meeting of the 27 remaining member countries in Luxembourg Thursday, which will also be attended by chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans, ministers are set to approve the draft negotiating guidelines for Brexit.

The General Affairs Council, comprising European ministers and undersecretaries, will play a crucial role in the Brexit process since it will have to approve many of the key documents, and the adoption of the guidelines is expected to be smooth. “There was a broad consensus on them,” a senior EU official said. “We're not expecting major changes."

EU officials are also expected to discuss next steps in the Brexit talks. So far, the 27 countries have managed to keep unity, though divisions could emerge later when the future trade relations with the U.K. are discussed, two diplomats said.

Officials are not expected to discuss a draft of the Commission negotiating directive for Barnier's mandate that was circulated last week because member nations have already seen it, one diplomat said.

The Commission has said that the official mandate, which will have more details compared to the guidelines, will be circulated among government officials “at the latest on May 3,” according to the diplomats.

The mandate will then have to be approved by another session of the General Affairs Council on May 22.

The issue of relocating EU agencies from London will be discussed by the European Council in June, one senior official said.