Brussels, 13/01/2006 (Agence Europe) - At the first European Parliament plenary session of 2006, to be held in Strasbourg on 16-19 January, Chancellor Schussel will outline the Austrian Presidency's programme for the first six months of this year (see EUROPE 9105). The other big event will be debate on the Duff-Voggenhuber report on the European constitution (see other article and EUROPE 9108).
There is a highly controversial piece of draft legislation on the agenda next week, namely the directive on accessing the market for port services (see EUROPE 9075 on vote at EP Transport Committee on the report by German Christian Democrat Georg Jarzembowski when, following the adoption of the rapporteur's compromise amendments, the final amended draft was rejected, sending the whole issue back to the starting point, i.e. the European Commission's initial proposal). In the Transport Committee, the PES, Greens/EFA, GUE/NGL and Independence and Democracy groups lodged an unsuccessful attempt to have the European Commission's whole directive rejected. In a press release published on Thursday, German Social Democrat Willi Piecyk said: 'We want this proposal to be sunk in the water. Right at the outset, we will table an amendment to reject the whole directive out of hand. We do not want ships flagged out with badly paid crews, poor employment conditions and doubts about safety.' British labour MEP Stephen Hughes said: 'This is an ill thought-out directive. The fact that the Commission has brought it back virtually unchanged shows an utter contempt for the democratically elected European Parliament.' Hughes explained 'it is downright dangerous to suggest that the crews should be responsible for loading and unloading cargoes. You need a dedicated corps of trained and experienced workers. Otherwise, there will be a health and safety nightmare in every EU port.' About 5000 dockers are expected to demonstrate in Strasbourg on Monday and across the EU, dockers are to go on strike. Demonstrators from the European Transport Workers' Federation are to sail a vessel upriver in Strasbourg to the European Parliament and moor alongside (see EUROPE 9106).
On Thursday, the Conference of Presidents added the following other issues to the agenda of next week's plenary (see EUROPE 9100 for details: Tuesday: statement by Council and Commission on safety of EU energy supply following the gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine (see EUROPE 9102 and 9103 on statements by acting President of the Council, Martin Bartenstein, and EU Commissioner Andris Piebalgs). In a press release, German Social Democrat Peter Liese says the EPP-ED had a lively debate on the issue, during which Chancellor Schroder's lobbying for the joint German and Russian gas consortium was slammed by non-Germans. Liese says the Polish and Baltic members of the EPP-ED were the most insistent about putting the matter on the agenda; Vote on Wednesday on the Böge Resolution on the Financial Perspectives 2007-2013 (see EUROPE 9108), an issue to be discussed as part of the debate on the Austrian Presidency; vote on Wednesday on Conference of Presidents of EP political groups' suggested composition and mandate of new EP temporary committee on scandal of clandestine CIA prisons in Europe (see EUROPE 9108); vote on Wednesday on Conference of Presidents' planned investigative committee on Equitable Life case (see EUROPE 9034 and 9097); and debates on Thursday on human rights in Egypt, Peru and Cambodia.