The particularly busy plenary session of the European Parliament will undoubtedly be dominated by the debate on the resolution on the negotiations on Brexit, to be adopted by the MEPs on Wednesday 5 April.
The debates are likely to get quite heated, with no fewer than three other alternative resolutions presented. The resolution, which was presented on Wednesday at the conference of the presidents of the political groups (see EUROPE 11756), came under fire at a press conference following the session, on Friday 31 March.
The ECR Group spokesperson said that his group would not vote for the resolution, for two reasons: firstly, the drafting process, which involved four groups (EPP, S&D, ALDE, Greens), was felt to be discriminatory and insufficiently transparent; secondly, he described the content of the text as "unhelpful", as it goes no further than to draw several lines in the sand.
The GUE/NGL spokesperson seemed to share this analysis. Speaking to a group of journalists, the ALDE spokesperson dismissed this criticism, pointing out for instance that Guy Verhofstadt (ALDE, Belgium) – coordinator on the text and the Parliament's point of contact on Brexit – had consulted all political groups before drafting the resolution.
Three groups (ECR, GUE/NGL and EFDD) will present alternative draft resolutions, according to several sources. However, it is highly likely that Verhofstadt's resolution will be the first to be voted on and will certainly be adopted, according to one source, "which could render the others null and void". Only the ENF has not presented a resolution.
The European Parliament's position on Brexit will receive much attention, and not without cause: this institution will have the final responsibility for approving the future agreement on Brexit – assuming there is one.
On the legislative plank, there will be two important votes on Wednesday 5 April to reinforce medical devices, following the scandal of adulterated breast implants (see EUROPE 11740).
Dieselgate. Another controversial and highly anticipated dossier will be the recommendations of the EMIS committee of investigation into ‘Dieselgate’ (see EUROPE 11735) and the draft regulation on the reception and market surveillance of motor vehicles (see EUROPE 11722). Both of these votes will take place on Tuesday 4 April. All eyes will be on one point: plans to create a European market surveillance body.
Additionally, an informal agreement between the Parliament and Council on upper limits on roaming charges will be put to the vote on Thursday 6 April.
Speech by the German president. The new president of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, will address MEPs in formal session on Tuesday 4 April. A European Parliament spokesperson said that the European Parliament president, Antonio Tajani, would hold talks with Steinmeier, particularly to discuss the future of Europe. He will be the fourth German president to have been received by the European Parliament.
Other subjects on the agenda will include a resolution to tackle deforestation caused by palm oil (see EUROPE 11742) on Tuesday 4 April. The following day, the MEPs will discuss hate speech and 'fake news' on social networks, by request of the S&D Group. MEPs will debate how to tackle this growing phenomenon and, additionally, external interference in national elections – referring to allegations that Russia attempted to destabilise the American elections (see EUROPE 11756). The debate will not be followed by a resolution, an institutional source told EUROPE.
Venezuela. By request of the Tajani, a debrief on the situation in Venezuela may be added to Monday's agenda (see other article).
Finally, a debate with the president of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, on the situation in Greece was initially scheduled, with Athens and its creditors negotiating a package of reforms in exchange for a further tranche of financial aid. However, the Dutch finance minister, who has recently come under fire over his divisive and sexist comments about the extravagant lifestyles of southern eurozone countries, is reported to have declined due to prior commitments (see EUROPE 11751). The European Parliament is clearly annoyed by this, reiterating that Dijsselbloem has systematically turned down all invitations since January. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)