The plenary session opening on 11 November and running until 13 November in Brussels will once again be held remotely, with as little physical presence as possible in the hemicycle.
Unsurprisingly, this session will be dominated by the US elections of 3 November, the fight against terrorism and the defence of freedom of expression, as well as the latest situation regarding the pandemic in Europe and the EU’s response to it, both medically and in terms of respect for the Rule of law.
Negotiations on the Recovery Plan and the multiannual budget will also be covered by MEPs as crucial negotiations are taking place and the European Parliament will have to decide on the EU budget for 2021.
The victory of Democratic candidate Joe Biden over outgoing President Donald Trump will be one of the first issues to be discussed by MEPs, who are set to debate it on Wednesday, just after the opening of the plenary session.
David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament, reacted on Saturday evening after the announcement of Joe Biden’s victory, saying that he hoped for “a world with fewer inequalities”. “The world needs a strong relationship to exist between Europe and the United States and a re-launch of transatlantic relations so that we can all meet the challenges of our time. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, this is the first time that Europe and the United States have faced a global challenge, but without a common vision this makes our responses less effective”, he said, calling for better cooperation over other issues, such as climate change, security, terrorism and human rights.
This is to be followed shortly afterwards by a statement by the European Commission and the High Representative of the EU on the fight against impunity for crimes committed against journalists around the world, and a statement on the Abraham Accords in the Middle East.
MEPs will then discuss the fight against terrorism and the right to freedom of expression and education, going around the table to include each of the political groups.
The EU’s general budget for 2021 and the Investment Plan for a Sustainable Europe will conclude the debates on Wednesday.
As far as voting is concerned, MEPs will begin work on the European Union general budget for the 2021 financial year (see EUROPE 12591/10), led by Pierre Larrouturou (S&D, France), the introduction of capacity limits for Eastern Baltic cod, and improved cooperation between public employment services. The results will be known that evening at 9 p.m.
Pandemic and fundamental rights. On Thursday morning, MEPs will debate the impact of Covid-19 on fundamental rights and the Rule of law.
The debate will be followed by the vote on a resolution adopted at the end of October in parliamentary committee (see EUROPE 12590/14). MEPs will then begin a discussion on the EU Action Programme for Health 2021-2027.
The Commission, in a third phase, will then talk about vaccines and transparency in the purchase of, and access to, vaccines.
Several partnership agreements on fisheries (EU/Senegal, EU/Seychelles) will then be discussed.
Regarding Thursday’s votes, the European Parliament will begin with the election of the first Vice-President of the European Parliament. Malta’s Roberta Metsola (EPP) is due to replace Ireland’s Mairead McGuinness as EU Commissioner.
Voting will continue on the introduction of exceptional trade measures in favour of countries and territories participating in, and linked to the Stabilisation and Association Process.
In the afternoon, recent trade agreements with China will be discussed, including the agreement on cooperation pertaining to protected geographical indications. A resolution will then be put to the vote.
The final results of the votes will be available on Friday morning.
Link to the agenda: https://bit.ly/3kj2czD (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)