MEPs will be back in session from Monday 7 to Thursday 10 July, before the summer recess, for a plenary session marked by trade tensions with the United States and China. The Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, will also present the priorities of the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU to the elected representatives on Tuesday morning. The main debates on Wednesday morning will focus on the results of the June European Council and the budget.
Above all, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will face her first vote of no confidence on Thursday 10 July. Ahead of the vote on Monday, MEPs will debate the motion of censure tabled by Gheorghe Piperea (ECR, Romanian), in particular because of the opacity surrounding the European Commission’s purchase of Covid-19 vaccines manufactured by the Pfizer pharmaceutical group (see EUROPE 13672/33).
Foreign affairs. The week will also be marked by the deadline of 9 July, before which the European Commission must reach an agreement with the United States to avoid a 50% tariff on European products. A debate on the subject will be held in Strasbourg on the same day and MEPs will be informed of the outcome of the discussions (see other news).
On Tuesday, MEPs will set out their expectations for the forthcoming EU-China Summit scheduled for 24 and 25 July in Beijing (see other news).
On Monday evening, MEPs will discuss the sentencing in Algeria of French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal and journalist Christophe Gleizes. On Tuesday afternoon, the European Parliament will discuss the situation in the Middle East, followed by the situation in Belarus, in particular the release of political prisoners.
Debates will then continue on the progress of the following candidate countries to join the European Union: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Georgia, before a vote on the corresponding reports at midday on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, MEPs will vote on a resolution on “The human cost of Russia’s war against Ukraine and the urgent need to end Russian aggression”.
Africa. On Wednesday afternoon, the Commission and the EU Council will discuss the peace agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda (see EUROPE 13670/5).
Development. Also on Wednesday, MEPs will come back on the results of the Fourth UN Conference on Financing for Development, held at the beginning of July (see EUROPE 13672/19, 13671/17, 13661/21).
In addition, a draft report assessing the implementation of the UN’s sustainable development goals will be put to the vote on Thursday lunchtime (see EUROPE 13666/31). The European Parliament will thus define its position with a view to the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.
Human rights around the world. On Wednesday, MEPs will look at the situation of Ryan Cornelius, a British businessman imprisoned for fraud in the United Arab Emirates, then at the case of minorities in Syria, particularly following the terrorist attack on the Mar Elias church in Damascus (see EUROPE 13665/5), and finally at the arbitrary arrest and torture of Belgian-Portuguese researcher Joseph Figueira Martin in the Central African Republic. Resolutions on these subjects will be put to the vote on Thursday.
Climate. On Tuesday afternoon, MEPs will react to the proposed target of a 90% reduction in the EU’s net greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 compared to 1990 (see EUROPE 13672/1).
Environment. On Wednesday, MEPs will vote on Alexander Bernhuber’s (EPP, Austrian) objection, which calls for the withdrawal of the implementing act of the EU Deforestation-free products Regulation (see EUROPE 13666/18).
Energy. On Tuesday, MEPs will be asked to approve the European Parliament/EU Council agreement on the extension and revision of the Gas Storage Regulation (see EUROPE 13668/32). The Council of the EU has already approved it (see EUROPE 13669/29).
MEPs will also vote on an own-initiative report on security of energy supply in the EU (see EUROPE 13667/14).
Industry. MEPs will already be voting on the ‘Omnibus’ text, which postpones certain obligations of the ‘batteries’ regulation, proposed by the Commission at the end of May (see EUROPE 13645/2, 13663/11).
Budget. On Wednesday, MEPs will set out their expectations for the European Commission’s proposal for the post-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (see EUROPE 13641/8) on 16 July (see EUROPE 13667/29). Parliament adopted an own-initiative report on this subject in May (see EUROPE 13635/1).
Euro. On Tuesday, Parliament is expected to give a positive opinion on Bulgaria’s accession to the euro area starting January 2026, while the Ecofin Council will adopt the legislative texts necessary for the country to adopt the single currency (see EUROPE 13663/5).
Tax and money laundering. Also on Tuesday, Parliament will vote on the legislative package on Value Added Tax (VAT) in the Digital Age (ViDA). Rapporteur Ľudovít Ódor (Renew Europe, Slovakian) proposed a simplified procedure, without amendments (see EUROPE 13660/19).
On Wednesday, the European Parliament will decide whether or not to approve the list of high-risk jurisdictions with strategic gaps in their national anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing regimes, updated by the European Commission. The rapporteur, Jorge Buxadé Villalba (PfE, Spanish), proposed to oppose it (see EUROPE 13673/24).
Consumers. The report on the safety of e-commerce products (see EUROPE 13668/13) will be debated late Monday afternoon and voted on Wednesday.
Research. On Thursday, MEPs will vote on a resolution highlighting the strategic importance of the biotechnology and biomanufacturing sectors for Europe’s competitiveness and sustainability (see EUROPE 13667/19).
Agriculture. Ahead of the proposals on the post-2027 CAP expected on 16 July, the European Parliament will be holding a debate in which MEPs are expected to argue for an increase in the budget allocated to the CAP in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). On Monday 7 July, the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture will adopt the draft own-initiative report by Carmen Crespo Díaz (EPP, Spanish) on the post-2027 CAP.
Fisheries. On Wednesday, MEPs will approve updated rules, the result of a compromise with the Council of the EU, to combat unsustainable fishing practices by third countries in the context of shared stocks (see EUROPE 13652/5).
Cohesion. On Thursday, the Chamber will debate the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) on the equality of the regions and sustainability of regional cultures.
Civil protection. On Wednesday, MEPs will again debate the European Commission’s ‘Strategy for a Union of Preparedness’ (see EUROPE 13608/1), but in context of the summer wildfires.
On the same day, they will discuss the Commission’s proposal for a ‘Storage Strategy’ to improve access to critical resources in the event of a climate crisis or disaster (see EUROPE 13671/10).
Fundamental rights. On Wednesday, MEPs will debate the lessons to be drawn from the ‘Budapest Pride’ (see EUROPE 13670/17). The aim is to respond to the urgent need for anti-discrimination legislation at European level at a time when the 2008 proposal for a directive on the principle of equal treatment is about to be withdrawn by the Commission due to a lack of unanimity in the Council of the EU (see EUROPE 13664/25).
Local care. On Monday evening, the MEPs will take part in a debate on the theme ‘From institution to inclusion: an EU action plan for deinstitutionalisation, family- and community-based care’.
Gender equality/health. At the close of the plenary session, the European Commission will make a statement on endometriosis, a chronic gynaecological disease which, according to the WHO, affects 10% of women and girls of childbearing age. (Original version in French by the editorial staff)