The next plenary session of the European Parliament, to be held in Strasbourg from 4 to 7 October, will be dominated by debates on soaring gas prices and on transatlantic relations, currently marred by the French submarine crisis and the precipitous withdrawal from Afghanistan, but also by the pending Polish and Hungarian recovery plans and European diplomatic action against the Belarusian regime.
On Wednesday morning, MEPs will debate soaring energy prices with Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson and the Slovenian Presidency of the EU Council.
While the European Commission has announced the presentation in the coming weeks of a “toolkit” to guide Member States in implementing national measures (see EUROPE 12796/9), as well as a recommendation on the social aspects of climate change (by December - see EUROPE 12764/24), the debate will be an opportunity to examine the solutions available at EU level.
It will focus in particular on the role of energy efficiency measures, renewable energy, and the need to tackle fuel poverty.
United States, European Union, and Belarus
Foreign issues will be discussed on Tuesday, as usual. In the morning, MEPs will debate the state of the transatlantic partnership, particularly following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the announcement of the Australia-UK-US cooperation agreement (AUKUS) (see EUROPE 12795/4).
On Wednesday they will vote on the report on the future of EU-US relations by Tonino Picula (S&D, Croatia). This report was adopted in July in the Foreign Affairs Committee, i.e. before Afghanistan and AUKUS, and should therefore be subject to several amendments mentioning these events.
The Parliament will also discuss the situation in Belarus on Tuesday morning after a year of protests and their violent repression. In addition to this repression, the Parliament is expected to revisit the sending of migrants to European borders by the regime, which has been happening since this summer. The EU has already adopted several rounds of sanctions against Belarus, and new measures are being prepared (see EUROPE 12783/2). MEPs will vote on a resolution on Thursday.
On Tuesday afternoon, MEPs will debate the report by Urmas Paet (Renew Europe, Estonia) on the state of the EU’s cyber defence capabilities. They will also discuss the report by Anna Fotyga (ECR, Poland) on the Arctic and the opportunities, concerns, and security challenges related to this region. Both reports will be voted on Wednesday and the results announced on Thursday.
Pending national recovery plans and the Rule of law
In the economic and financial area, MEPs will on Wednesday take stock of the national recovery plans still to be approved at EU level under the Next Generation EU Recovery Plan.
In particular, the Polish and Hungarian plans, which are still the subject of tough negotiations between the European Commission, Warsaw, and Budapest, are expected to be addressed, especially on issues relating to respect for the Rule of law and the fight against corruption. Early in the week, the European Commission is expected to recommend the adoption of the Finnish and Estonian plans. This leaves the Swedish plan, which has already been submitted to the European Commission, and the Dutch and Bulgarian plans, which have not yet been finalised at national level.
United Kingdom, EU-UK and EUAA Interparliamentary Assembly
On Tuesday evening, the Parliament will vote on the establishment of the EU-UK interparliamentary assembly with the setting of the numerical threshold (decision confirmed on Thursday at the Parliament’s Conference of Presidents - see EUROPE 12802/12).
On Thursday morning a debate will be held on the future European Asylum Agency (EUAA, formerly EASO) based on the report by Elena Yoncheva (S&D, Bulgaria). The EU Council and the Parliament reached an agreement on 29 June (see EUROPE12751A14), and the Committee on Civil Liberties gave its approval in July. The final vote could take place during the second October session. With this in mind, the S&D launched an appraisal mission to Malta on 30 September to evaluate the EASO.
Development policy and human rights
On Monday evening, MEPs will debate the own-initiative report by Michèle Rivasi (Greens/EFA, France) on the role of EU development policy in combating biodiversity loss in developing countries. The draft resolution, adopted in July in committee, calls on the EU to recognise the right to a healthy and sustainable environment and to increase funding for biodiversity protection (see EUROPE 12667/16). The vote is scheduled for Tuesday. The results will be known on Wednesday.
On Tuesday 5 October, the European Parliament is expected to validate the political agreement reached on 12 July with the Council of the EU on the amendment of EU Regulation 1367/2006 on public access to justice in environmental matters, to bring it into line with the international Aarhus Convention, which it transposes (see EUROPE 12768/3). This will be a vote of confirmation at first reading of an Interinstitutional Agreement, before the EU Council adopts the text in time for the seventh meeting of the Parties to the Convention (18-20 October, see EUROPE 12800/9).
MEPs will again debate the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Tigray on Tuesday afternoon, where civil war has already claimed thousands of lives in ten months and aid is failing to reach people on the brink of starvation due to lack of full humanitarian access. An access that has been repeatedly called for by the EU and the UN (see EUROPE 12760/13, 12757/5). A resolution will be voted on Thursday.
Also on Thursday, the Parliament will discuss and vote on resolutions on the humanitarian situation in Myanmar, including the situation of religious and ethnic groups, the case of Paul Rusesabagina in Rwanda (see EUROPE 12657/19) and the abortion law in Texas (US).
Banking Union, taxation and ESMA
In the meantime, MEPs will debate the banking union in the euro area on the basis of the draft ‘Huebner’ report, which is to be adopted on Thursday. The finalisation of the banking union is stalled on the ‘deposit guarantee’ issue (see EUROPE 12798/17). The Eurogroup has been asked to establish a comprehensive work programme on this issue by the end of 2021.
In the area of taxation, MEPs will on Wednesday debate the ‘Lalucq’ report, which makes recommendations on how to better combat harmful tax practices in the EU (see EUROPE 12762/18); the report is expected to be adopted on Thursday. The report suggests replacing the Code of Conduct on business taxation with a new code called the ‘Framework on Aggressive Tax Arrangements and Low-rates’ (FATAL).
On Tuesday, following the favourable opinion of the competent committee (see other news), MEPs are expected to approve the appointment of German Verena Ross as head of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), replacing Steven Maijoor (see EUROPE 12796/8).
Road safety, artificial intelligence and HERA
After debating it the day before, MEPs will vote on Monday 4 October on the main road safety measures for the 2021-2030 period. The report was voted on 17 June by members of the European Parliament’s Transport Committee (see EUROPE 12690/11). The text highlights the role of speed and drink driving in accidents, calls for the incorporation of a ‘safe driving mode’ for mobile devices to limit driver distraction, and aims to contribute to the goal of ‘zero deaths on Europe’s roads’ by 2050.
On Monday 4 October, MEPs will debate a report by Petar Vitanov (S&D, Bulgaria) on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by police and judicial authorities in criminal matters. The text, which among other things calls for greater “human control” over AI in justice, was adopted by the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE) on 29 June (see EUROPE 12752/7). The final plenary vote will take place on Tuesday 5 October in the evening.
On Tuesday afternoon, MEPs will debate the new European Health Emergency Response Authority - HERA - and their role in it. This discussion will be held in the presence of representatives of the EU Council and the European Commission and should be an opportunity for the European Parliament, which has been kept out of the HERA project (see EUROPE 12792/24), to express its dissatisfaction once again (see EUROPE 12799/11).
MEPs will debate on Monday the draft report by Luisa Regimenti (ID, Italy) and Elena Kountoura (The Left, Greece) on the consequences of domestic violence for women and children (see EUROPE 12663/25). The text, which focuses in particular on the issue of access to and custody of children in the event of separation, will be put to a vote on Tuesday.
To consult the final agenda: https://bit.ly/39VNRGJ (Original version in French by the editorial staff)