The European Union’s future Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the due diligence on the part of companies and the future of the ‘European Semester’ are among the many subjects that will punctuate the next plenary session of the European Parliament from Monday 8 to Thursday 11 March, which will again take place in Brussels and online.
CBAM
After speeches by the President of the Parliament, David Sassoli, and the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, to celebrate International Women’s Day, the plenary will start with a debate on the draft own-initiative report by Yannick Jadot (Greens/EFA, France) on the CBAM, the future EU instrument to prevent ‘carbon leakage’ (see EUROPE 12650/7, 12652/10).
Unless there is a surprise, the Jadot report will be put to the vote on Tuesday (vote on amendments) and Wednesday (vote on the report). The institution thereby hopes to provide guidance to the European Commission on the future CBAM, pending the presentation of the legislative proposal scheduled for the second quarter of 2021.
Due diligence
MEPs will follow the same pattern (debate on Monday and votes on Tuesday and Wednesday) for the draft legislative initiative report by Lara Wolters (S&D, the Netherlands), who is calling for mandatory due diligence at EU level. The objective is to require companies to detect, prevent and reduce the social and environmental impacts of their activities throughout their supply chains.
Adopted almost unanimously in the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI – see EUROPE 12645/4), the draft text is generally supported across the political spectrum. However, a question mark remains over the possibility, in the event of damage caused by a European company in a non-Member State, of applying European law in European courts. Two amendments have indeed been tabled to this effect by the S&D, Renew Europe, Greens/EFA and The Left groups, in order to prevent companies from being able to choose the law that would be most favourable to them (see EUROPE 12671/4).
InvestEU
On Tuesday, the day will open with a debate on the programme InvestEU which replaces, over the period 2021-2027, 14 programmes, including the Juncker investment plan (see other news and EUROPE 12618/21). With a public guarantee of €26.2 billion , InvestEU will stimulate private investment through leverage in four areas: – infrastructure durables; – research, innovation and innovation digitalisation; – SMEs; – social sector and skills. Investments in strategic sectors can be supported across sectors. The MEPs’ vote will be held on the same day and will lead to the approval of the interinstitutional agreement reached in December 2020.
EU4Health
After a debate in the morning, Parliament is expected to approve, also on Tuesday, the interim agreement reached with the EU Council on the new European programme EU4Health for health (see EUROPE 12623/4).
With a budget of €5.1 billion for the period 2021-2027, this programme will aim to better anticipate future health threats, in particular by providing stocks of medicines and replacement medical staff in the event of a crisis.
Rule of law and respect for freedoms
In the afternoon, the plenary will again debate the adoption by some Polish municipalities of homophobic resolutions giving them the status of “free from LGBTI ideology” (see EUROPE 12393/13, 12530/19).
A resolution declaring, on the contrary, the EU ‘LGBTI freedom zone’ (see EUROPE 12656/29) will be put to the vote on Wednesday and is expected to be widely supported.
On Wednesday, MEPs will discuss press freedom and attacks on independent media in Poland, Hungary and Slovenia.
Recent weeks have seen the emergence of a controversial media advertising revenue tax bill in Poland, the suspension in Hungary of the broadcasting licence of independent radio Klubrádió (see EUROPE 12655/26), and attacks on journalists by Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša (see EUROPE 12661/23).
The situation in Slovenia was the subject of a hearing in the parliamentary committee on civil liberties on Friday 5 March (see other news).
The issue of the rule of law will return to the plenary agenda on Thursday in a debate in which MEPs are expected to call on the Commission to activate without delay the regulation on a general cross-compliance regime for the protection of the EU budget (see EUROPE 12645/22).
The Commission should therefore be asked why it has not yet used the mechanism to protect the EU budget against widespread rule of law deficiencies since its entry into force on 1 January (see EUROPE 12634/5).
MEPs will also recall that the provisions on the mechanism are legally binding, contrary to the European Council conclusions on the issue, which have no legal effect. A European Parliament resolution on the subject will be adopted in plenary during the second session in March.
Fisheries
On Tuesday, MEPs will also debate a draft report by Clara Aguilera (S&D, Spain) on overhauling the Community fisheries control system. The vote will take place on Wednesday in a tense environment, given that the Commission has criticised some of Parliament’s amendments (see EUROPE 12663/11).
One of the issues at stake in the adoption of Parliament’s position will be whether or not it will be compulsory to have cameras on board vessels to check compliance with the rule banning the discarding of fish at sea (see EUROPE 12652/7). The Council of the EU, for its part, has not yet adopted its position on the dossier.
‘European Semester’
Another topic on the plenary agenda is European economic governance in the context of the budgetary process for the ‘European Semester’, which will be discussed by the MEPs on Wednesday.
After 2 years of unsuccessful attempts linked to a polarised political debate after the European elections in May 2019, MEPs will attempt in the meantime to adopt a position on the matter on the basis of the draft report by Enikő Győri (EPP, Hungary), arduously adopted on Thursday 4 March in parliamentary committee (see EUROPE 12671/5).
The draft report, which is expected to be amended for the plenary vote, approves the maintenance of exceptional budgetary measures to combat the economic crisis generated by the Covid-19 pandemic for as long as necessary.
Conference on the Future of Europe
Immediately after the debate on the ‘European Semester’, the Presidents of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and, on behalf of the Council of the EU, the Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa, will sign the interinstitutional declaration laying the foundations for the Conference on the Future of Europe (see EUROPE 12671/27).
The objective is to organise a public event to launch the work on 9 May before Parliament in Strasbourg.
OpenLux
On Wednesday afternoon, MEPs will discuss with the EU Council and the Commission the lessons to be learned from the OpenLux survey, which revealed in early February that Luxembourg is home to 55,000 offshore companies managing assets worth at least €6,500 billion (see EUROPE 12653/1).
In Parliament, the survey had rekindled criticism of the EU’s ‘black’ list of tax havens (see EUROPE 12641/14).
Foreign affairs
Throughout the plenary, MEPs will also discuss various foreign affairs topics.
On Tuesday afternoon, they will discuss the situation in Syria, 10 years after the start of the uprising against the Assad regime (see EUROPE 10342/2) with the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell. MEPs will discuss the humanitarian situation, how a political solution can be found and the human rights situation in the country. This debate is organised ahead of the 5th Brussels conference on ‘Supporting the future of Syria and the region’, which will take place on 29 and 30 March (see EUROPE 12653/24). A resolution on the situation in Syria will be put to the vote on Thursday.
MEPs will also exchange views on the political situation in Georgia. While relations between the ruling coalition and the opposition were already very tense in the aftermath of the November 2020 parliamentary elections (see EUROPE 12597/12), polarisation was again heightened after the arrest of opposition leader Nikanor Melia (see EUROPE 12666/21). Visiting Georgia on 1 March, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, undertook mediation between the leaders of the political parties (see EUROPE 12669/33, 12668/19).
On Thursday, parliamentarians will debate and vote on emergency resolutions. One of them concerns the massive human rights violations in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the recent armed attack on a World Food Programme convoy near Goma, which resulted in the death of Italian Ambassador Luca Attanasio (see EUROPE 12668/21).
Two other resolutions concern the human rights situation in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the mass trials against the opposition and civil society in Cambodia (see EUROPE 12669/29).
Other topics
Finally, other topics on the agenda include: – a draft own-initiative report calling for better facilities and working conditions for people with disabilities (debate Monday and vote Wednesday); – a debate (Wednesday) on the future EU strategy on children’s rights (with vote on a draft resolution on Thursday); – and a draft own-initiative report on the activities of the European Ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly, in 2019 (debate Tuesday and vote Wednesday).
From Monday 8 March it will be mandatory to wear medical masks with a standardised minimum protection level in the EP buildings. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot with the editorial staff)