The outcome of the European Summit on 17 and 18 October—both on an orderly exit from the United Kingdom from the European Union (whose fate depends on the House of Commons vote on 19 October) and on enlargement—will dominate the plenary session of the European Parliament, which will begin on Monday 21 October.
The European Parliament is expected to decide to proceed with the ratification of the withdrawal agreement negotiated between London and the Twenty-Seven if the House of Commons gives it the green light on Saturday. If this is the case, the vote would take place on Thursday, 24 October.
MEPs will also discuss the situation of the 'von der Leyen' Commission, who is now expected to take office on 1st December. Parliament has indeed withdrawn the vote on the entire European College of Commissioners from its agenda.
On Friday, Mrs von der Leyen, who will meet the leaders of the three main political groups of the European Parliament (see EUROPE 12352/4) on Monday afternoon, still did not know the French, Romanian and Hungarian candidates. According to French media reports, President Emmanuel Macron will announce Sylvie Goulard's replacement for the internal market portfolio next week.
MEPs will also take stock of the outgoing Juncker Commission on the morning of Tuesday, 22 October.
Enlargement. On Wednesday, they will specifically discuss the issue of negotiations over accession to the European Union by Albania and North Macedonia, while the European Council was unable to adopt conclusions on Friday 18 October (see EUROPE 12352/2).
In previous resolutions, the European Parliament has repeatedly expressed its "full and complete" support for the launch of negotiations with the two countries.
Turkey. Also under discussion at the European summit (see EUROPE 12352/3), is the situation in Syria after the Turkish military offensive in the north-east of the country; in fact, it will be one of the priority topics of the session.
A debate is in fact scheduled for the morning of Wednesday 23rd, on how the European Union should react when the Turkish military operation is temporarily suspended. A resolution will be put to the vote on Thursday.
Sakharov Prize. On Thursday, the European Parliament's President David Sassoli will announce the winner of the 2019 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, with three candidates competing: Brazilian activists, the "Restorers" and Ilham Tohti (see EUROPE 12344/11).
2020 budget. MEPs will debate on Tuesday, then vote the following day on their position on the EU budget for 2020, the priorities of which will be climate change, youth unemployment, youth mobility, managing the migration challenge, and external policies. They will adopt the budgetary amendments and the accompanying reports by Monika Hohlmeier and Eider Gardiazabal Rubial (see EUROPE 12339/9).
Taxation. On Tuesday, MEPs will hold a debate on the taxation of multinationals. It is more specifically about the proposal for country by country reporting, which would require companies to publish certain accounting data, such as their turnover, profits and taxes paid (see EUROPE 11530/1).
The proposal has been blocked in the EU Council for several years (see EUROPE 12179/21), but the Finnish Presidency has undertaken to try to move the matter forward (see EUROPE 12349/28). In a resolution to be adopted on Thursday, MEPs are expected to once again denounce the lack of action in the EU Council (see EUROPE 12223/13) and call on the Member States to adopt their position so that interinstitutional negotiations can begin.
Migration. On the afternoon of Wednesday 23 October, the European Parliament will debate the safety and rescue operations for migrants at sea, as decided on 3 October at the request of the Greens/EFA group. It will also discuss a resolution urging Member States to honour their responsibilities in the Mediterranean, says the environmental group.
If necessary, MEPs should, on 22 October, approve amendments to the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, including any loss of jobs due to a no-deal Brexit. The same applies to a measure that will ensure British researchers, students and farmers will continue to receive EU support until the end of 2020. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic with editorial staff)