Meeting in plenary in Strasbourg from 12 to 15 March, the members of the European Parliament will adopt their position on the multiannual financial framework (MFF) post-2020 and will react to the commercial tension triggered by the unilateral US decision to tax US imports of steel and aluminium heavily (see other article).
Multiannual financial framework. The European Parliament is planning to make its voice heard, with various scenarios currently being considered by the European Commission and member states on the future of the Community budget of 27 after 2020 (see EUROPE 11961, 11968).
Before the Commission unveils its proposal, two initial solutions will be put to a vote on Wednesday 14 March. The MEPs are hoping for an agreement, ahead of the European elections of May 2019, on a seven-year MFF with an envelope equivalent to 1.3% of gross national income (GNI). They are calling for new own resources to be created and rules brought in to make access to European funding conditional on compliance with fundamental European values (see EUROPE 11967).
Although there is an agreement between the EPP and S&D groups to avoid an avalanche of amendments, the ALDE group is not entirely satisfied with the draft texts. In particular, it does not want to ringfence the envelopes earmarked for agriculture and cohesion and calls for firmer language on reducing the duration of the multiannual financial framework to five years after 2027. The idea is to get as close as possible to what the Commission is going to produce, according to a Liberal Parliamentary source.
Once a unanimous agreement has been reached at the European Council, the Parliament must give its approval or reject the agreement en masse.
US taxes on steel and aluminium. On Wednesday, the MEPs will meet the Trade Commissioner, Cecilia Malmström, to discuss the potential impact on Europe of the US decree establishing customs duty on imports of steel and aluminium, and the European response.
Despite a speech that started off consciously conciliatory, the Commission called on Wednesday 9 March for clarifications concerning these measures before talking about any possible countermeasures (see other article).
Brexit. One week after the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, presented guidelines concerning post-Brexit relations between the EU and the United Kingdom (see EUROPE 11976), MEPs will set out their own vision, on Wednesday 14 March.
The text is expected to follow on from statements made by Guy Verhofstadt (ALDE, Belgium), Parliament’s coordinator for Brexit, who called on 7 March for a deep and comprehensive association agreement.
Appointments. The European Parliament will also discuss two appointments to senior EU posts.
On Monday, they will be joined by the Commissioner for Human Resources, Günther Oettinger, to discuss the appointment of Martin Selmayr, the former head of Cabinet of President Jean-Claude Juncker, to the position of Secretary General of the European institution. This express advocacy, which was made official by Juncker in person on 21 February (see EUROPE 11966), and has caused a stir in European circles (see EUROPE 11969). Several political groups, on the left and right, have expressed their concerns over the transparency of the appointment procedure (see EUROPE 11972).
MEPs will also take a position on the appointment of Luis de Guindos to the vice-presidency of the ECB, following the granting of the Eurogroup’s approval (see EUROPE 11965). The competent parliamentary committee has already taken a position in favour of this appointment, but regrets that it was only consulted on the matter (see EUROPE 11970).
Future of the EU. On Wednesday 14 March, the Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa, will make a speech on the future of the EU. This will be followed by an exchange with the MEPs. Costa’s attendance, following that of the Irish Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, in January and the Croatian Prime Minister, Andrej Plenković, in February, comes as part of a series of debates organised between the heads of state or government and MEPs on the future of the EU. It is worth noting that the French President Emmanuel Macron will take his turn in April.
Taxation. The MEPs will also vote on a text concerning the common corporate tax base (CCTB) and the common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB). This vote, which follows the adoption of a resolution by the committee on economic and monetary affairs on 21 February of this year (see EUROPE 11967), will not be binding, as the European Parliament is only consulted on taxation matters.
Readers may recall that the Council of the EU is discussing these matters (see EUROPE 11947) with a view, amongst other things, to requiring companies to pay tax where they actually make their profits.
Syria. An exchange with the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, on the humanitarian and political situation in Eastern Ghouta is scheduled for Tuesday 13 March. Bombing raids and non-compliance with the United Nations resolution calling for a 30-day truce to allow humanitarian access have already been condemned by Mogherini (see EUROPE 11975), and the MEPs will vote on a resolution to this effect on Thursday 15 March.
Freedom of the press. MEPs will also hold a debate on the safety of journalists and freedom of the press, following the murder of Slovak journalist Ján Kuciak (see EUROPE 11969) just a few months after that of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia (see EUROPE 11885). They will discuss Kuciak’s last ever article, reporting the misuse of European funds for Slovakia.
Parliament plans to vote on a resolution on this matter at its April plenary session.
MEPs will also take a position on macro-economic aid in favour of Georgia, aiming to cover some of the country’s external financing needs (see EUROPE 11965). Finally, an inter-institutional agreement on cross-border parcel delivery will be approved (see EUROPE 11926). (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)