MEPs will meet, from Monday 14 December to Friday 18 December, for a plenary session which will be dominated by the green light from the EU Heads of State or Government for the adoption of the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2021-2027, the Recovery Plan and the regulation linking the disbursement of EU funds to respect for the Rule of law (see EUROPE 12620/1).
The plenary session will be opened from the European Parliament's headquarters in Strasbourg, European Parliament President David Sassoli announced, adding that the rest of the session will take place in Brussels, in accordance with the health rules in force. “The city of Strasbourg remains one of the houses of the European Parliament, which we hope to return to soon”, he said.
Following agreement at the European Council on Thursday 10 December, the European Parliament added a vote, due to take place on Wednesday, on the next MFF, the 2021 budget (see other news) and the Rule of law conditionality to its plenary session agenda. A debate on the 2021 budget is scheduled for Monday evening, while a debate on the MFF, the Rule of law conditionality and own resources is scheduled for Wednesday morning.
The regulations on the Rule of law mechanism could be voted on at an extraordinary meeting of the European Parliament's Committees on Budgets (BUDG) and on Budgetary Control (CONT) on Monday afternoon, before being put to the plenary session.
The European Parliament will also assess the other results of the EU summit on 10 and 11 December (see other news), in the presence of the Presidents of the EU Council and the Commission.
Brexit
MEPs will also review with the EU Council and Commission, on Friday morning, the ongoing negotiations on the post-Brexit relationship between the EU and the UK (see EUROPE 12620/6) and adopt a resolution on this.
In particular, Parliament could be called upon to vote on measures presented by the Commission on Thursday 10 December so as to avoid a sudden interruption of road and air traffic and to guarantee air safety in the absence of an agreement by 1 January 2021 (see EUROPE 12620/6).
The coordinators of the political groups in the European Parliament Committee on Transport (TRAN), meeting on this subject on Friday 11 December, decided to use the urgent procedure; “if no deal between the EU and the UK by Sunday, then the European Parliament will vote on the proposals next week”, announced EPP coordinator Marian Marinescu (Romania) on Twitter on Friday morning.
MEPs will vote on Wednesday 16 December, also under urgent procedure, on the recent proposal for a regulation to ensure the temporary extension, beyond the end of the transitional period, of certain authorisations, certificates and licences for rail operations in the Channel Tunnel (see EUROPE 12614/22).
Covid-19 vaccines and other measures
As the race for Covid-19 vaccines speeds up, MEPs will debate, on Wednesday, the EU vaccination strategy (see EUROPE 12582/7) with Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides. During the debate, they are expected to call for a European approach to ensure access to safe vaccines throughout Europe once marketing authorisation has been granted.
On Tuesday 15 December, MEPs are also expected to confirm the Interinstitutional Agreement on the ‘REACT-EU regulation (see EUROPE 12604/2), which provides for €47.5 billion to mitigate the immediate effects of the Covid-19 crisis in EU regions. On Wednesday, they will also adopt a resolution calling for measures to help SMEs cope with the economic crisis.
Environment and Agriculture
Pending concrete proposals from the European Commission in 2021 (see EUROPE 12552/15), MEPs will set out their expectations for sustainable corporate governance in a resolution to be adopted on Monday 14 December, calling for a new approach through obligations and incentives, not just disclosure of information (see EUROPE 12602/18).
On Tuesday, the European Parliament will vote on the Interinstitutional Agreement on the proposal to update the 1998 Drinking Water Directive (see EUROPE 12613/39), which reduces maximum limits for certain pollutants such as lead and bacteria. MEPs are also expected to call on Member States, in a resolution voted on Thursday, to respect existing EU water legislation.
After a debate with the Commission, MEPs are reportedly going to set out their expectations for the new climate change adaptation strategy, to be presented in early 2021, in another resolution to be voted on Thursday 17 December (see EUROPE 12613/18).
The European Parliament will also vote, on Wednesday, on the Interinstitutional Agreement (see EUROPE 12612/17) aimed at ensuring a smooth transition between the current Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the next one, which will enter into force in early 2022. The transitional measures incorporate provisions to provide €8 billion under the agricultural component of the Recovery Plan.
Home Affairs
The EU Security Strategy presented by the Commission in July (see EUROPE 12535/1) and the Commission's new Action Plan on fighting terrorism presented this week (see EUROPE 12619/14) will also be debated on Wednesday as well as a resolution.
On migration, MEPs will adopt two draft reports on Wednesday that highlight the shortcomings of the current rules: - the 'Keller' report on the implementation of the current rules of the Dublin Regulation, which lays down the responsibilities of Member States for processing asylum applications (see EUROPE 12613/8); - the 'Strik' report on the evaluation of the directive on the return of irregular migrants (see EUROPE 12614/19).
Foreign Affairs and Human Rights
On Tuesday, MEPs will debate the latest developments as regards the Eastern Partnership with the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, as well as the development of the situation in Mozambique and the 25 years of the ‘Barcelona Process’.
The European Parliament will also debate, on Thursday, the deteriorating human rights situation in Egypt (see EUROPE 12586/29), the situation of Uighurs in the Uighur Autonomous Province of Xinjiang (see EUROPE 12538/11) and the case of 2012 Sakharov Prize winner Nasrin Sotoudeh of Iran (see EUROPE B12214/15).
Lastly, the Sakharov Prize 2020 for Freedom of Thought will be given by David Sassoli to the democratic opposition in Belarus (see EUROPE 12587/1), in a ceremony in the hemicycle, on Wednesday at noon.
See the agenda of the plenary : https://bit.ly/343Z85e (Original version in French by Marion Fontana with Agathe Cherki)