MEPs will meet in Strasbourg from Monday 17 to Thursday 20 October for the second plenary session of the month.
On Tuesday afternoon, MEPs will question the European Commission on its work programme for 2023, which it will unveil the same day. This programme will build on the announcements made by Ursula von der Leyen during her State of the Union address in mid-September (see EUROPE 13021).
On Wednesday morning, they will discuss the main issues for the European Council on 20 and 21 October, which, like the Prague summit at the beginning of October (see EUROPE 13038), will focus on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its economic and social repercussions for the EU.
Afterwards, the President of the Slovak Republic, Zuzana Čaputová, will address the Chamber as part of a series of exchanges on the future of the Union in which EU leaders regularly participate.
Poverty. The plenary session will start with a debate on how to step up the fight against poverty and social exclusion on the occasion of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, declared by the UN in 1992. The European Parliament supports the idea of considering poverty as a violation of human rights and calls, among other things, for adequate funding for the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD). Poverty affects 17% of the EU population.
Employment. On Monday evening MEPs will debate the new employment guidelines presented in May by the Commission and approved by the European Parliament Committee on Employment (EMPL) (see EUROPE 13040/25). They will call for measures to make the labour market more inclusive, to fight poverty, especially in-work poverty, and to pay trainees and apprentices and give them a right to social protection. MEPs will then confirm the EMPL committee’s resolution on Tuesday.
Budget. After a debate the day before, the European Parliament will adopt its negotiating position on the draft budget plan for 2023 on Wednesday. It provides for a total of €187.3 billion in commitment appropriations, €1.7 billion more than the European Commission’s draft budget plan presented in June (see EUROPE 13040/18).
In addition, on Tuesday, the European Parliament will vote on the discharge to be granted to the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) on its 2020 expenditure (see EUROPE 13037/23). The Committee on Budgetary Control recommended not granting the discharge because of the extent of serious misconduct and other irregularities committed by Frontex when it was still headed by Fabrice Leggeri, who has since resigned.
Finally, MEPs will be able to react to the presentation by the President of the European Court of Auditors on its annual report on the 2021 budget (see EUROPE 13042/21).
Ukraine and migration flows. On Tuesday evening, MEPs will also debate with the European Commission and EU Council the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on migration flows in the EU. To date, over 4.3 million Ukrainians have registered in the EU under the Temporary Protection Directive. The debate will be used to review how they have been treated.
Foreign affairs. On Wednesday afternoon, MEPs will debate the EU’s relations with the Western Balkans in the light of the new enlargement package adopted by the European Commission. The Commission recommends, among other things, that Bosnia and Herzegovina be granted candidate status for EU membership (see EUROPE 13041/13). MEPs will then discuss the political situation in Tunisia as the political crisis continues. They will also look at the ‘active role’ of the Lukashenko regime in the war against Ukraine (see EUROPE 13042/17).
Burkina Faso. The Parliament will adopt a resolution on Thursday on the second military coup in Burkina Faso by coup leader Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who officially became head of State on 5 October. MEPs had expressed their deep concern during a debate (see EUROPE 13036/11), at a time when talks were being held between ECOWAS and the new Burkinabe military authorities on respecting the timetable for a return to constitutional order (see EUROPE 13037/22).
Operation and enlargement of Schengen. On Tuesday evening, the European Parliament will again debate the state of the Schengen area, but this time regarding the continuation of internal border control measures. MEPs will consider the latest judgment of the EU Court of Justice in spring 2022, which re-framed the possibilities for Member States to extend such controls (see EUROPE 12939/9).
On Thursday, MEPs will adopt their position on the enlargement of the Schengen area to include Bulgaria and Romania. MEPs debated the issue in the last plenary and urged the EU Council to accept the entry of these two countries (see EUROPE 13036/7).
COP27. On Tuesday, MEPs will discuss the 27th UN Climate Change Conference (COP27), which will be held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, from 6 to 18 November, with the aim of adopting a resolution on Thursday.
They are expected to call on the EU and all G20 nations to lead by example by raising their greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets.
The draft resolution, approved by the Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI), urges all developed countries to ensure that the target of mobilising $100 billion a year to help less developed countries deal with climate change is finally met and that the money is actually paid out by 2022.
See the draft resolution: https://aeur.eu/f/3m6
Transport. A major part of the ‘Fit for 55’ package, MEPs will debate the deployment of alternative fuel infrastructure in the EU on Monday. The report, adopted in the European Parliament committee (see EUROPE 13035/24), includes a requirement that charging stations for electric vehicles should be no more than 60 km apart within the EU, including cross-border areas, by 2026. Hydrogen refuelling stations should be no more than 100 km apart by 2028. The Parliament is expected to adopt its position for the interinstitutional negotiations in a vote on Wednesday.
After a debate on Monday, the European Parliament is expected to adopt its position on another part of the ‘Fit for 55’ package, on future rules for the use of clean fuels in the maritime sector (see EUROPE 13035/25). As a reminder, the report revises upwards, among other things, the targets set by the Commission for greenhouse gas emission levels, setting the reduction of emissions from the sector at 2% in 2025, 20% in 2035 and 80% in 2050.
Taxation. MEPs will debate on Tuesday morning the introduction of an exceptional tax on profits to address the rising cost of living. This debate follows the Parliament’s call for a cap on the price of gas imported by pipeline (see EUROPE 13036/6).
Critical infrastructure. On Tuesday afternoon, MEPs will discuss the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines and how to strengthen the security of the EU’s critical infrastructure in the light of new EU rules (see EUROPE 13040/7). The European Parliament will ask the Commission to specify its plans to better protect these critical infrastructures, including through stress test exercises.
Fisheries. The Commission will make a long-awaited statement on Regulation 1614/2022 of 15 September determining existing deep sea fishing areas and establishing a list of areas that support or are likely to support vulnerable marine ecosystems. MEPs, especially from Spain, are extremely displeased about this delegated act which prohibits fishing operations using bottom gear at a depth of more than 400 metres in 87 areas (see EUROPE 13039/12). Some MEPs are calling for the suspension of this delegated act until further scientific advice on deep sea fishing is available in November.
Legal affairs. The Commission will make a statement to MEPs on Tuesday evening on a European framework for abduction alerts. The justice ministers of the EU27 called for a common alert system in February (see EUROPE 12884/2).
Health. The Commission and the Council will speak about the subject of mental health on Tuesday morning. Their statements will be followed by comments from MEPs.
Freedom of the press. The European Commission will make a statement on Monday on the rule of law in Malta on the fifth anniversary of the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. A resolution on the subject will be put to the vote on Thursday 20 October. In addition, the winner of the Daphne Caruana Galizia Award for Journalism will be announced on Wednesday.
Extremism. MEPs will debate the rise and spread of the anti-European far right in the EU on Wednesday, at the request of the Social Democrat (S&D) group. The latter intends to ask the Conservatives to cut their links with the far right. (Anne Damiani and the editorial staff)