The speech by the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, on the State of the European Union, to take place on Wednesday 14 September, will be the most highly-anticipated event of the European Parliament's September plenary session.
The other highlights will include the hearing of the candidate Commissioner Sir Julian King by the MEPs (see other article) and debates on the rule of law in Poland, the situation in Turkey, the case of Apple and the vote on sending the proposals on investor protection back to the Commission.
State of the Union. The president's speech is expected to be shorter than last year's, according to certain sources, but will not be short on material given the current situation in Europe, which is dominated by the refugee crisis, terrorist attacks, the economic crisis and the consequences of the British referendum vote in favour of the United Kingdom leaving the EU (Brexit).
Juncker is expected to submit a raft of definite proposals in favour of EU cohesion, two days ahead of the informal summit of the EU27 in Bratislava (see EUROPE 11605). Security and protection of European citizens, the economy, with the extension of the investment plan, defence and defending a social pillar will be among the subjects addressed. The Commission president will break down the main thrusts of the Commission's working programme for 2017.
Hearing of the British candidate commissioner. The committee on civil liberties, justice and home affairs (LIBE) will examine the candidacy of the Briton Sir Julian King for the post of Commissioner for the Security Union, early in the evening of Monday 12 September. The European Parliament will take position on his candidacy on Thursday 15 September, on the basis of the recommendations of the committee and the position of the Conference of the Presidents of the political groups.
Following the results of the British referendum on Brexit, Commissioner Lord Jonathan Hill for Financial Stability handed Juncker his resignation (see EUROPE 11587). The ALDE Group said that it was in favour of the candidate. The EPP, EUROPE is told, felt that preliminary contact with the candidate went positively. In August, the S&D voiced concerns at the role to be given to the new commissioner and its problematic overlaps with other portfolios, most particularly that of Dimitris Avramopoulos, Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs.
Debate on Ireland's illegal aid to Apple. The Commission's decision against the tax agreement in place between Ireland and Apple, which now requires Ireland to recover €13 billion (plus interest) in unpaid tax between 2003 and 2014 (see EUROPE 11612), will be one of the other hot topics of the session. On Wednesday, the MEPs will hold an exchange with Margrethe Vestager. The majority of the political groups support the competition commissioner, with the notable exception of the Irish delegation to the EPP and the EFDD Groups - in fact, the latter group sees it as the Commission giving itself greater licence to meddle in national tax policy.
Debate on the rule of law in Poland. The MEPs will hold a brief exchange (in which only one MEP may take the floor for each political group) to take stock on developments in the rule of law situation in Poland and negotiations underway between Warsaw and the First Vice-President of the Commission, Frans Timmermans (see EUROPE 11602). They will adopt a non-binding resolution on Wednesday 14 October. All of the groups support the Commission and hope to send out a clear message to the Polish government. The ECR and EFDD, however, have said they are not in favour of this debate. In the case of the former group, this is because the Commission has still not submitted its report on Poland. The latter feels that the EU is not credible on the issue, as it does not comply with the treaties itself, as in the case of Spain and Poland.
Slide towards authoritarianism in Turkey. The debate on recent developments in Turkey following the coup will be on the agenda of the plenary session on Tuesday. The MEPs have expressed concern that the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is becoming increasingly authoritarian. In this regard, a number of groups are currently opposing visa liberalisation for Turkey, among them the ALDE Group, as well as the agreement signed between the EU and Turkey for the returns of migrants (see EUROPE 11616), such as the GUE/NGL and Greens/EFA.
On legislative matters, the Parliament will have three main issues to discuss. On Wednesday 14 September, the MEPs will debate the new European travel document to facilitate returns of non-European nationals (see EUROPE 11560), which will be put to the vote the following day. On Wednesday, the Parliament will vote on whether to send the proposals on investor protection back to the Commission. The committee on economic and monetary affairs recently rejected the Commission's draft implementing measures by an overwhelming majority (see EUROPE 11614). Finally, on Tuesday 13 September, the MEPs will vote on the interim report of the EMIS committee of investigation into the Volkswagen scandal, which entered its 'political' phase with the hearings of former Commissions (see EUROPE 11617 and 11616).
Any other business. The committee on foreign affairs (AFET) is to receive a visit from the Dalai Lama on Thursday 15 September. They will discuss Tibet, alongside more metaphysical subjects. On Monday 12 September, the EMIS committee will hear two commissioners from the current Commission: Karmenu Vella (Environment) and Elzbieta Bienkowska (Single Market and Industry).
Finally, the Conference of the Presidents will on Thursday 15 September adopt a position in the framework of the structural dialogue called for with the Commission on the freezing of the structural and investment funds earmarked for Spain and Portugal, two eurozone countries which failed to meet their budgetary commitments under the Stability and Growth Pact (see EUROPE 11619). (Original in French by Pascal Hansens)