As a result of the situation linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, the plenary session of the European Parliament starting on Monday 18 January will be held by videoconference and in Brussels, as will be the one next February. It will, unsurprisingly, be devoted to the European response to the coronavirus, as a new dedicated European summit will be held on Thursday 21 January by videoconference.
The Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa, will be present in the Brussels Chamber of the European Parliament on Wednesday 20 January to debate the priorities of the Presidency of the Council of the EU that his country is assuming in the first half of the year (see EUROPE 12634/3, 12610/2).
On Tuesday 19 January at 8:30 am, MEPs will take stock of the latest developments in the pandemic as several Member States tighten their health measures in an attempt to control the resurgence of the virus and the spread of its variants. They are expected to reiterate the need for clarity and transparency regarding bulk purchases of vaccines, their availability and deployment in order to combat mistrust and disinformation (see other news, EUROPE 12635/3).
Parliament will discuss measures to minimise the social consequences of the crisis caused by the pandemic, one of the priorities of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council. It will address the issue of access to housing, in relation to homelessness (see EUROPE 12608/7), and will discuss specific measures taken under the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) in the framework of REACT-EU (see EUROPE 12604/2). Parliament will also vote in favour of a directive dedicated to workers’ right to disconnect (see EUROPE 12614/28).
MEPs will validate the agreement with the EU Council on the technical support instrument that will help EU countries prepare their national recovery plans in order to access the Recovery and Resilience Facility before the summer (see EUROPE 12624/4). The Parliament/EU Council agreement will be validated at the February plenary session (see EUROPE 12626/1). In anticipation of the post-Covid-19 economic recovery, Parliament will call for the removal of unjustified barriers to the free movement of services.
Anticipating the revision of the trans-European transport network (TEN-T) guidelines, promised by the Commission for 2021 (see EUROPE 12607/17), they will debate on Tuesday the still laborious deployment of the network. On Wednesday, a specific draft resolution that received strong support from the committee will be put to the vote (see EUROPE 12613/15).
New rules allowing the EU to use trade sanctions while WTO arbitration is blocked will be debated on Monday and voted on Tuesday (see EUROPE 12600/34). On Wednesday MEPs will ask the Commission and Council of the EU what they intend to do to increase pressure on tax havens, ahead of a vote scheduled for Thursday.
Migration/Justice. The difficulties encountered by the Member States—the Canary Islands, the Greek islands and the Croatian-Bosnian border—in managing migratory flows to the EU will be the focus of a debate with the EU Council and the Commission on Tuesday morning.
The following day, MEPs will discuss the controversy surrounding the appointment of the Portuguese public prosecutor to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, José Guerra (see EUROPE 12635/4). The Christian democrat EPP group calls for a board of inquiry to be set up in Parliament on this appointment, which took place under Mr Costa’s socialist government.
On Monday, Parliament’s proposals on how to regulate the use of artificial intelligence in the military and public domains will be debated.
Foreign Affairs. In the area of foreign affairs, early Wednesday morning discussions will focus on relations with the United States, on the eve of the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. MEPs will comment on the storming of the Capitol (see EUROPE 12631/7) by supporters of the outgoing president, Donald Trump, who is the subject of a second impeachment process. The future of EU-US relations will also be discussed.
On Tuesday afternoon, MEPs will debate how to improve the EU’s external action in Latin America and the Caribbean. The political and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, after the Maduro regime took control of the last stronghold held by the opposition (see EUROPE 12630/7). MEPs will then debate the implementation of the common security and defence policy, as well as the state of human rights and democracy in the world. On Thursday, they will adopt resolutions on the human rights situation in Hong Kong, Turkey and Vietnam.
On Thursday, the day will be marked by three debates and the vote on three resolutions on gender equality. Parliament will first examine the disproportionate consequences of the health crisis between men and women (see EUROPE 12470/16). It will then decide on the European Commission’s 2020-2025 strategy for gender equality (see EUROPE 12440/7) and is expected to argue for additional measures to be considered. Finally, MEPs will address the issue of the under-representation of women in the digital economy.
See the agenda of the plenary session: http://bit.ly/2XHxveP (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion with Agathe Cherki and Pascal Hansens)