An intense plenary session of the European Parliament will open on Monday 4 July in Strasbourg - the last before the summer break and the first under the Czech Presidency of the EU Council, at a time when the EU is at a crossroads.
The impact of the war in Ukraine, a crucial vote on taxonomy with an uncertain outcome and the priorities of the Czech Presidency of the six-month period under the slogan ‘Rethink, rebuild and repower’ will be at the heart of the hemicycle until Thursday 7 July.
EU2022CZ. MEPs will attend the presentation of the programme of activities of the Czech Presidency of the EU Council by Prime Minister Petr Fiala and will debate its priorities on Wednesday morning.
Prague, which took over the rotating presidency of the EU Council on 1 July, has set itself the following priorities: management of the refugee crisis and post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, energy security, defence capabilities and cyberspace security, the strategic resilience of the European economy and the resilience of democratic institutions.
Future of Europe. On Tuesday morning, Greek Prime Minister Kyriákos Mitsotákis will set out his vision for the future of Europe, an exercise previously undertaken by his Croatian (see EUROPE 12977/9) and Irish (see EUROPE 12967/6) counterparts.
Taxonomy. On Wednesday afternoon, the Parliament will vote on a request to object to the European Commission’s draft complementary delegated act on the EU taxonomy, a classification system to guide private investment by listing sustainable economic activities on the basis of technical criteria.
Presented by the Commission last 2 February (see EUROPE 12882/1), this draft provides for the inclusion of certain fossil gas and nuclear energy activities in the taxonomy as ‘transitional’ activities.
It divides the Parliament sharply, with a majority of Social Democrat (S&D) MEPs, Greens/EFA, The Left, and a number of members of the Renew Europe and EPP groups on one side, and the ID and ECR groups, as well as members of Renew Europe, the EPP and some Social Democrats on the other.
The two most divided groups on the issue appear to be Renew Europe and the EPP. If the social democrats are relatively united, the Romanian and Finnish MEPs in the group could vote in favour of the delegated act.
The outcome of the vote therefore remains uncertain, especially as the rejection of the draft delegated act requires an absolute majority, meaning 353 votes in favour of the objection. A debate on the subject, scheduled for the day before the vote, could provide some clarity.
On 14 June, the European Parliament’s Environment (ENVI) and Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) Committees voted against the draft delegated act by a narrow simple majority (see EUROPE 12971/1).
If an absolute majority of MEPs do the same in plenary, the Commission will have to withdraw or amend its proposal.
Foreign affairs. On Wednesday morning, the European Parliament will discuss the conclusions of the European Council of 23 and 24 June, including granting EU candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova, and giving Georgia a European perspective.
They could also address the situation in the Western Balkans, including the question of opening EU accession negotiations for Albania and North Macedonia and granting candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
On the afternoon of Tuesday 5 July, MEPs will debate and vote on the 2021 progress of three Western Balkan countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina (report by Paulo Rangel, S&D, Portugal), Serbia (report by Vladimír Bilčík, EPP, Slovakia) and Kosovo (report by Viola Von Cramon-Taubadel, Greens/EFA, Germany). They will also discuss the report by Javi López (S&D, Spain) on the EU and the defence of multilateralism.
Mitigating the rising cost of living. On the same day, MEPs will hear from the Council of the EU and the Commission on EU initiatives to tackle the rising cost of living, including the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights. No resolution is foreseen on the subject. They will debate the own-initiative report by Jordi Cañas (Renew Europe, Spain) on an ‘EU Social Economy Action Plan’ (see EUROPE 12850/15).
Energy. On Wednesday, MEPs will debate the most effective way to impose a one-off tax on the windfall profits currently being made by some energy companies, an option they called for in a resolution adopted in May.
Food Security. On Wednesday, the EU Council and Commission will make statements and then discuss with MEPs how to facilitate Ukrainian agricultural exports, in the context of the war and the blockade of Black Sea ports - an key issue for the Ukrainian economy and global food security (see EUROPE 12983/12).
MEPs will vote on Wednesday on the report by Beata Kempa (ECR, Poland) advocating local solutions for food security in developing countries (see EUROPE 12877/14), which was adopted unanimously on 23 June.
Transport/’Fit for 55’. On Thursday morning, MEPs will discuss the report by Søren Gade (Renew Europe, Denmark) on the deployment of sustainable fuels in the aviation sector (‘ReFuelEU Aviation’) (see EUROPE 12980/6). The Danish MEP’s report was adopted by members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport on 27 June (see EUROPE 12980/6). The Parliament’s vote, to validate - or not - the European Parliament’s position on the matter, will take place in the afternoon.
A debate on a European cycling strategy is scheduled for Thursday at the end of the session.
Digital. On Monday, MEPs will debate the ‘DMA-DSA’ digital package on digital markets and services. On the Digital Markets Act, the Interinstitutional Agreement was approved by MEPs of the Parliament’s Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (‘IMCO’) on 16 May (see EUROPE 12953/31).
A month later, on 16 June, MEPs in the IMCO Committee also voted in favour of the Interinstitutional Agreement on the Digital Services Act (see EUROPE 12973/11). The final vote on both texts will take place the following day, Tuesday 5 July.
Economy/Finance. On Monday, MEPs will debate whether Croatia should join the euro area starting January 2023 (see EUROPE 12973/2) and the following day they will approve the enlargement of the eurozone to include a twentieth Member State.
On Tuesday, the Parliament will approve its annual report on Banking Union in the eurozone. On Thursday, it will adopt the ‘Cormand’ and ‘Cretu’ reports on the European Investment Bank’s financial activities, after a debate the day before in the presence of its president, Werner Hoyer
Taxation. Following the plenary debate at the end of June (see EUROPE 12978/8), a draft resolution will be put to the vote on Wednesday, calling on Hungary to lift its veto in the EU Council on the proposed directive transposing the OECD agreement on minimum taxation of multinationals (see EUROPE 12979/6). Many want to question the unanimous decisions of the Member States in the EU Council on tax matters.
United Kingdom/Northern Ireland Protocol. MEPs will debate, on Wednesday 6 July, the latest developments regarding the UK bill challenging the Northern Ireland Protocol (see EUROPE 12972/3). A resolution will be prepared and voted on at a subsequent plenary session.
The EPP group is behind the call for a debate, while the Commission has warned London against unilateral action. However, the bill had already passed a formal stage in the British Parliament on Monday 27 June. Travelling to London for a Bloomberg event, Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič said, on 29 June, that no checks between Britain and Northern Ireland were “not an option”.
Post-Cotonou agreement. On Wednesday, MEPs will question the European Commission on the fate of the renewed and modernised Partnership Agreement between the EU and the 79 ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) States, which is to succeed the Cotonou Agreement. The EU’s signature of this agreement in April 2021 is still in limbo due to a reservation by Hungary on the migration provisions (see EUROPE 12859/26).
Trade. MEPs will consider a number of trade-related texts. For example, the report by Jan Zahradil (ECR, Czech Republic) on the EU’s trade and investment strategy for the Indo-Pacific will be debated on Monday, before being put to the vote on Tuesday. This will also be the case for the one by Geert Bourgeois (ECR, Belgium) on cooperation and trade with India on the same days.
Also on Tuesday, the Parliament will vote on the report by Markéta Gregorová (Greens/EFA, Czech Republic) for temporary trade liberalisation between the EU and Moldova (see EUROPE 12983/6).
Migration. On Monday, at the opening of the session, MEPs will discuss the tragic events in Melilla, the Spanish enclave in Morocco, where 23 people died on 24 June after clashes with Moroccan law enforcement agencies. More than 2,000 people had tried to reach Spanish territory, but were turned away by the Moroccan police, and the passivity of the Spanish authorities was also pointed out by organisations. The Commission will make a statement.
Social. MEPs will vote on Tuesday on an own-initiative motion for a resolution calling for European action on comprehensive and equitable access to healthcare. The report submitted to a vote was prepared by Milan Brglez (S&D, Slovenia) and Sirpa Pietikäinen (EPP, Finland).
Abortion in the United States. MEPs will debate on Monday the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed the right to abortion across the US. They will vote on Thursday on a draft resolution condemning the rollback of sexual and reproductive health and rights in the US.
Biodiversity. On Tuesday afternoon, MEPs will ask the Commission about its plans to raise the level of ambition for the 15th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15, Montreal, 5-17 December) (see EUROPE 12982/25, 12977/17).
Human Rights. On Wednesday, MEPs will debate: - the human rights situation in Hong Kong, in particular the arrest in May of Cardinal Zen; - the situation in the Tajikistan’s Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province, where demonstrations have been violently repressed in recent days; - the situation of indigenous peoples’ and environmental defenders in Brazil. All three resolutions will be voted on Thursday.
See the agenda of the session: https://aeur.eu/f/2gl (Original version in French by Aminata Niang with the editorial staff)