The European Parliament is meeting on 7-10 June in Strasbourg, in part, to debate a number of issues related to Covid-19, as well as Belarus, biodiversity, and the rule of law.
The arrangements for the ‘hybrid’ plenary session in Strasbourg, the first of its kind since the outbreak of the pandemic in spring 2020, have been agreed.
The target is for one third of European Parliament staff to come to Strasbourg. The proportion of MEPs who plan to travel varies according to some political groups. The EPP hopes that “the majority of the group’s members” will be present in Strasbourg. 15% of the EPP staff will travel.
“I think that between a quarter and a third of S&D MEPs” will be in Strasbourg (10-15% of the staff), according to a spokeswoman.
“Just under 50%” of Renew Europe members will go to Strasbourg, but this figure is constantly changing (15% for staff).
The ECR group is “opposed to the return of the sessions to Strasbourg, given the health situation”. “Our presence will be very limited”, said a spokesperson for the group.
As for the Greens/EFA group, “we don’t have the figures”.
From The Left group, the two vice-presidents will be present in Strasbourg, among others.
Voting will take place electronically (see EUROPE 12728/28).
Covid-19. On pandemic-related issues, MEPs will debate on Tuesday the EU Digital Covid Certificate, which was the subject of an inter-institutional political agreement on 20 May and which will make it easier for people who have been vaccinated, tested negative, or recovered from Covid-19 to move around the EU (see EUROPE 12724/6).
Parliament should call again in this debate for work to be done to make PCR tests accessible. The result of the vote will be known on 10 June. With the expected green light from Parliament and a final approval by the EU Council, the regulation creating this certificate will be operational on 1 July, although some member countries are already more advanced than others and have already made use of this tool (see EUROPE 12731/20).
On Monday, a motion for a resolution will be voted on the effects of lifting patents on Covid-19 vaccines and thus intellectual property obligations. MEPs discussed the draft resolution with Commissioner Dombrovskis at the last plenary session (see EUROPE 12722/8). The results of the vote will be announced on Thursday.
The Renew Europe group said on Friday 4 June that “lifting the patents will not address the urgency of the situation”. The EPP also believes that lifting these patents “is a bad American idea”. A temporary lifting would be a solution, said a source in the S&D group.
On Tuesday, MEPs will debate with the EU Council and Commission the ongoing assessment of the national recovery plans submitted so far by Member States, in the light of the priorities identified.
On Monday, Parliament will discuss the situation of SMEs, particularly active in the sectors most affected by the crisis, and the strategy to support them in the recovery.
European Council. Parliament will debate the conclusions of the extraordinary European Council held on 24-25 May on Wednesday. The Heads of State or Government took stock of the vaccination efforts against Covid-19 and discussed a number of foreign affairs issues, including Russia, Mali, and relations with the UK. EU leaders also strongly condemned the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk, Belarus.
Rule of law conditionality. On Wednesday 9 June, MEPs will question the EU Council and Commission on the application of new rules linking the payment of EU funds to the respect of the rule of law (see EUROPE 12732/28).
“The Commission has failed to meet the 1 June deadline. It is time to act”, a spokesperson for the Renew Europe group said on Friday.
“A growing number of States have problems with the rule of law” (Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria), said a spokeswoman for the S&D group on Friday, which also called for the activation of the rule of law mechanism.
The Greens/EFA group cited problems, notably in Hungary.
In addition, on Wednesday, MEPs will vote on a resolution calling for the Czech Prime Minister’s conflict of interest, which has now been confirmed, to be addressed. MEPs should ask the Commission to examine the reports on Andrej Babiš’s influence on the country’s media and judiciary and to consider using the text on the rule of law mechanism. The draft text also states that the Prime Minister should not be involved in decisions related to the EU budget as long as the conflict of interest persists, notably in the ongoing negotiations on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Brexit adjustment reserve. Cohesion policy will be in the spotlight, with the announcement at the beginning of the session that Parliament will enter into interinstitutional negotiations with the Council of the EU on the Brexit adjustment reserve. If there is no request for a vote on the agreed text in the Committee on Regional Development (see EUROPE 12727/10, 12726/8) within 24 hours of the announcement, the rapporteur group will be able to start negotiations with the EU Council. In addition, Parliament will vote on Tuesday 8 June on a resolution tabled by Monika Vana (Greens/EFA, Austria) on the gender dimension of cohesion policy.
On the social front, MEPs will take stock of the conclusions of the Porto Social Summit on Wednesday afternoon, 9 June. On Tuesday afternoon, 8 June, they will hold a debate on the interinstitutional agreement reached on the European Social Fund plus (ESF+) at the end of January (see EUROPE 12647/15). They will vote the next day. On Thursday 10 June, parliamentarians will discuss the issue of autism in the workplace.
On Wednesday 9 June, they will discuss the recent cyberattacks in the EU against EU institutions and sensitive national institutions—both public and private. Afterwards, MEPs will discuss the EU’s cyber security strategy for the digital decade. The Commission will be asked to answer a question by Cristian-Silviu Buşoi (EPP, Romania) on measures to improve cyber security and strengthening the EU’s strategic autonomy. A vote on a motion for a resolution on the subject will take place the following day.
European Parliament right of enquiry. On Wednesday, Parliament will put an oral question to the EU Council and the Commission in an attempt to break the deadlock in the interinstitutional work on giving Parliament the right to investigate any breach of EU law (see EUROPE 12564/20).
The EU Council and Parliament clearly have a different interpretation of the special legislative procedure (Article 226 of the TFEU) on which any initiative in this area would be based. For Parliament, this legal basis requires good faith cooperation from all three institutions, say MEPs. However, the Council of the EU does not feel obliged to enter into negotiations and refuses to discuss.
On the basis of the forthcoming debate, the rapporteur, Domènec Ruiz Devesa (S&D, Spain), is expected to draft a motion for a resolution for adoption in July at the earliest.
Foreign affairs. MEPs will debate foreign affairs issues in the afternoon on Tuesday 8 June. They will first discuss with the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, the hijacking of a Ryanair plane to Minsk and the arrest of Belarusian journalist Roman Protasevich and his fiancée (see EUROPE 12725/1).
MEPs will then discuss the situation in Afghanistan (see EUROPE 12715/15) as foreign troops begin their withdrawal from the country despite a enduring, very high level of violence. They will then discuss human rights and the political situation in Cuba.
Resolutions on all three topics will be put to the vote on Thursday.
NDICI. MEPs will hold the final vote on Wednesday afternoon to endorse, at second reading, the Parliament/EU Council agreement on the single Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) ‘Global Europe’ in the EU’s 2021-2027 budget. With €79.5 billion (€70.8 billion in 2018 prices), the NDICI streamlines the EU’s external assistance by merging ten existing regulations and the European Development Fund (EDF) into one tool (see EUROPE 12712/19).
Parliament will also discuss the report by María Soraya Rodríguez Ramos (Renew Europe, Spain) on the 75th and 76th sessions of the UN General Assembly, which will be voted on Wednesday.
Also on Wednesday, MEPs will debate their expectations for the G7 summit on 11-13 June in the UK and the EU-US summit on 15 June in Brussels (see EUROPE 12705/30).
On Thursday, MEPs will discuss and vote on urgent resolutions on the violation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the use of minors by Moroccan authorities in the Ceuta migration crisis (see EUROPE 12726/4); on the situation in Sri Lanka, including arrests under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and finally on the listing of German NGOs as ‘undesirable organisations’ by Russia; and the detention of Andrei Pivovarov (see EUROPE 12732/34).
Biodiversity. MEPs will vote on the 2030 Biodiversity Strategy, proposed by the Commission in May 2020 to ensure that the EU effectively fights the sixth species extinction internally and takes the lead at the UN post-2020 conference (COP15, October).
The non-legislative resolution (own-initiative report by Spain’s César Luena of the S&D group) on which they will vote on Tuesday 8 June, after a debate on Monday, supports the strategy’s ambition and binding targets—the protection of at least 30% of the EU’s land and sea areas. It reinforces this by seeking: – an EU Biodiversity Act, modelled on the Climate Act, to establish a governance framework through 2050 to ensure the restoration, resilience, and protection of global ecosystems by 2050; – urgent action to halt the decline of bees and other pollinators; and – binding targets on urban biodiversity (see EUROPE 12729/8). The results of the vote will be known on Wednesday.
End the Cage. Parliament is due to adopt its position on the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) ‘End the Cage Age’ on 10 June, which calls for a ban on keeping farm animals in cages. In particular, it calls for its phasing out by 2027, following the publication of an impact assessment by the European Commission. The European Commission is expected to present its response to the citizens’ initiative very soon.
Gender equality. The plenary will also be marked by several debates and votes on gender equality. MEPs will discuss the gender dimension of cohesion policy on Monday and vote on an own-initiative report on the subject (see EUROPE 12705/11) the following day. Then on Wednesday, in the presence of representatives of the Commission and the EU Council, they will discuss the issue of online violence against women. This will be followed by a debate on the draft report by Susana Solís Pérez (Renew Europe, Spain) on gender equality in training and employment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The report in question will be put to the vote on Thursday.
Finally, the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, will announce the winner of the 2021 LUX Prize for European film at a ceremony in the chambers on Wednesday at noon.
Representatives of the three LUX Prize nominees will be present in Strasbourg and will discuss the issue of media freedom in Europe, as well as the difficult situation of the European film sector due to the pandemic. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur and editorial staff)