Brussels, 03/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - In the middle of the refugee crisis, with ships sinking off the Libyan coast and with the Turkish regime experiencing a certain autocratic drift, the question of migration will again be the main subject during the European Parliament plenary session (6-9 July in Strasbourg), with two debates.
The first debate will focus on the new migration pact that the European Commission will be presenting on Tuesday 7 June. This seeks to get to the root causes of migration and encourage investment in the countries of origin. The second debate will be on the blue card for integrating legal migrants who want to work in their host countries, and on other areas of integration.
The debate on the state of democracy in Turkey (a factor that will have a direct impact on visa liberalisation in the context of the EU-Turkey agreement on migration) will form the mainstay of the plenary session, as will the vote on setting up the committee of enquiry following the Panama Papers scandal, and the vote on the resolution on endocrine disruptors, given the delays in the work of the Commission.
The session will also include a speech by the Bulgarian president, Rosen Plevneliev. This is the first time that the European Parliament will host the visit of a head of state from this country since it joined the EU in 2007.
The migration pact will be debated on Tuesday 7 June in the morning, and will be attended by the vice-president of the Commission, Franz Timmermans and the EU high representative for foreign and security policy, Federica Mogherini. The new European plan they have prepared for the external dimension of migration policy seeks to use European funds for promoting private investment in the countries of migrants' origin, particularly Africa, in the perspective of what was proposed by the Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi, and supported by the high representative (see EUROPE 11533).
The debate on the state of democracy in Turkey (at the end of Wednesday afternoon) will allow MEPs to express their concerns about the autocratic drift displayed by the regime, particularly after the adoption on 20 May of the law on lifting the immunity of 138 MPs at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (see EUROPE 11555).
The debate on the first results from the Juncker plan (Wednesday morning) will provide MEPs with an opportunity to respond to the report that the Commission presented on 2 June on the mid-term review of this European investment plan for growth, which it is seeking extension (see EUROPE 11563). Juncker is expected to take part in the debate. The plan has the broad support of the ALDE Group (which regrets, however, the few eligible projects available to Greece - only one - as well as the delays and distribution of the legislative texts) and the ECR Group, but has disappointed the S&D, Greens/EFA and the GUE/NGL groups.
MEPs will vote on setting up a committee of enquiry that will investigate the presumed shortcomings in EU law involving money laundering, tax evasion and tax avoidance, in compliance with the mandate approved by the presidents of the political groups on 2 June (see EUROPE 11564). This committee of enquiry will consist of 65 MEPs (including 20 EPP members, 17 S&D, 6 ALDE, and 4 Greens/EFA). The names of the MEPs will be announced during second June plenary session in Brussels on 11 June.
On Wednesday 8 June, MEPs will debate the inaction of the Commission, which has still failed to present the scientific criteria for defining endocrine disruptors, in view of introducing regulation on them. This inaction was criticised by the European Court of Justice on 16 December 2015 (see EUROPE 11540). The impact study announced for June is still not accessible. A resolution will be adopted on Thursday 9 June.
On Tuesday evening 7 June, the European Commission will be questioned about acts of torture committed by the CIA (resolution vote on Wednesday). Among the many other important subjects on the session agenda are: rules for tackling tax evasion practices (Hugues Bayet report); unfair trade practices by the major supermarkets towards producers and farmers in the food chain (Edward Czesak report); the free movement of citizens by simplifying the acceptability of certain public documents (such as birth certificates, for example, to avoid administrative red tape) (Mady Delvaux report); and strengthened cooperation in matrimonial legal regimes for international couples (Jean-Marie Cavada report).
On the sidelines of the session, the Georgian president, Guiorgui Margvelachvili, will make a speech (on relations between the EU and Georgia) to the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee on Monday evening 6 June. The president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, will be meeting the Georgian president for bilateral talks at 11.30am on Tuesday 7 June. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)