Racism, organised crime, arms exports, Afghanistan, development, competition, data protection

Brussels, 14/09/2000 (Agence Europe) - At its plenary session in Brussels on 20 and 21 September, the European Parliament will (other than its traditional debate with the European Commission, as soon as work begins, on the main decisions the latter took that very day) have a debate on racism in Europe and the world and a debate on the first annual report of the EU Council on implementation of the code of conduct relating to arms exports. In addition, the agenda provides for discussions on three reports on development policy, a report on competition and horizontal cooperation agreements, and the controversial Eurodac system. Furthermore, the Commission and Council should be making statements on the latest developments in Afghanistan, as requested by Philippe Morillon (French, EPP). Here is the agenda, that may still be altered:

Wednesday 20 September (from 15.00 to 20.00 hrs. and 21.00 to 24.00 hrs.)

Commission communication on decisions taken at its weekly meeting, followed by questions;

MacCormick Report (Scottish, Green Group) on the request to lift the immunity of Mr. Pacheco Pereira (Portuguese, EPP);

Hernandez Millar Report (Spanish, EPP) on Portugal's initiative aimed at creating a secretariat for common authorities responsible for data-protection, introduced by the Europol Convention, by the Convention on the sue of computers in customs and by the Implementing Convention of the Schengen Accord on the gradual abolition of controls at common borders (consultation);

Pirker Report (Austrian, EPP) on the regulation aimed at creating the Eurodac system for comparing the fingerprints of asylum-seekers and other foreigners (re-consultation);

Skinner Report (British, Labour) on the amendment to the directive on minimum health and safety prescriptions for the use of working equipment (co-decision, first reading);

Jonathan Evans Report (British, Conservative) on the Commission communication on rules of competition applicable to horizontal cooperation agreements;

Wijkman Report (Swedish, EPP) on the joint project of the EP/Council conciliation Committee on the regulation on measures intended to play in favour of fully integrating the environmental dimension in developing countries' development processes (co-decision, third reading);

Fernandez Martin Report (Spanish, EPP) on the joint project of the EU/Council conciliation Committee on the regulation aimed at promoting the conservation and sustainable management of tropical forests and other forests in developing countries (co-decision, third reading);

Ferrer Report ( Spanish, EPP) on the Commission's communication on the complementary nature of Commission and Member States' policies in the field of development cooperation;

Souchet Report (French, Union for a Europe of Nations) on amending the trading system applicable to certain goods resulting from the processing of agricultural products (consultation);

Wallis Report (British, Liberal-Democrat) on the regulation concerning legal competence nd the recognition of the execution of decisions in civil and commercial matters (consultation).

Thursday 21 September (from 9.00 to 13.00 hrs.).

Joint discussion on oral questions Ludford (British, Liberal-Democrat) on the World Conference against racism, in 2001, and Schroedter (German, Green) on racism in the eastern part of Germany;