Summary

Next week will be a committee week in the European Parliament.  All Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) will slowly resume their activities.  Only a few committee meetings will take place as MEPs gear up for the increase in activities during the week of September 4 ahead of the plenary sitting, to be held from September 11 to 14 in Strasbourg.

On Wednesday, the European Parliament Brexit Coordinator Guy Verhofstadt will give a presentation to the members of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (“EMPL”), where he will provide an update on the state of play of the Brexit negotiations and next steps, with a particular focus on social and labor policies.

On the same day, the EMPL Committee will vote on the provisional interinstitutional agreement on the Commission proposal to amend Directive 2004/37 on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work, reached with the Council of the EU in July 2017.  Amendments are aimed at limiting harmful substances that workers may be exposed to, such as hard wood dust, chromium IV and vinyl chloride monomer.  The Parliament’s final position will be subject to a vote during the next plenary sitting.  See the draft interinstitutional agreement here, and the Commission proposal here.

Finally, on Thursday, Commission officials from DG Health and Food Safety will give a presentation on the “Illegal use of fipronil containing substance in laying hen farms and the consequences for the food chain” before the members of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (“AGRI”).

Meetings and Agenda

Monday, August 28, 2017

• No meetings scheduled.

Tuesday, August 29, 2017 

• No meetings scheduled. 

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Committee on Foreign Affairs

09:00 – 18:30

• Conclusion of the Agreement establishing the EU-LAC International Foundation (NLE) – vote on a draft resolution
  • Rapporteur: Javier Couso Permuy (GUE/NGL, ES)
• Discussion with Alexander Rondos, EU Special representative for the Horn of Africa

Committee on Development

09:00 – 18:30

Jointly with the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE)

• Addressing shrinking civil society space in developing countries (INI) – vote on draft resolution
  • Rapporteur: Teresa Jiménez-Becerril Barrio (EPP, ES)

Committee on International Trade

09:00 – 18:30

• Protocol to the Agreement establishing an association between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Chile, of the other part, to take account of the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union (NLE), vote on draft recommendations
  • Rapporteur: Inmaculada Rodríguez-Piñero Fernández (S&D, ES)

Committee on Budgets

15:00 – 18:30

• General budget of the European Union for the financial year 2018 – all sections (BUD) – Presentation of Working document on Council position
  • Co-rapporteurs: Siegfried Muresan (EPP, RO) and Richard Ashworth (ECR, UK)

Voting time

• Mobilization of the European Union Solidarity Fund to provide assistance to Italy (BUD) – Consideration and adoption
  • Rapporteur: Giovanni La Via (EPP, IT)
• Draft amending budget no. 4 to the general budget 2017 accompanying the proposal to mobilize the European Union Solidarity Fund to provide assistance to Italy (BUD) – Consideration and adoption
  • Rapporteur: Jens Geier (S&D, DE)
• Mobilization of the European Globalization Adjustment Fund – EGF/2017/002 FI/MICROSOFT 2 – Finland (BUD) – Consideration and adoption
  • Rapporteur:  Petri Sarvamaa (EPP, FI)

Committee on Employment and Social Affairs

09:00 – 18:30

• Discussion on supplementary measures in support of EU countries experiencing high unemployment with Rania Antonopoulos (Greek Alternate Minister of Labor, Social Security and Social Solidarity) and Nicolas Schmit (Luxembourg’s Minister for Labour, Employment, and the Social and Solidarity Economy) (11.30-12.30)

Votes (15.00-16.00)

• Amendment to Directive 2004/37/EC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work (COD) – Vote on the provisional agreement resulting from interinstitutional negotiations
  • Rapporteur: Marita Ulvskog (S&D, SE)

End of votes

• Discussion and update on Brexit negotiations by EP Brexit Coordinator Guy Verhofstadt (16.00-17.00)

Committee on Fisheries

14:00 – 17:30

Voting time with Commission and Council of the EU

• General budget of the European Union for the financial year 2018 – all sections
  • Rapporteur: Alain Cadec (PPE, FR)

End of votes

• Amendment of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 on the common fisheries policy – Consideration of draft report
  • Rapporteur: Alain Cadec (PPE, FR)
• Exchange of views with the Commission on the annual progress report on achieving maximum sustainable yield and on the situation of fish stocks (application of Article 50 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013)
• Presentation of the study on ‘International ocean governance’ requested by the Committee on Fisheries and organized by Policy Department B
• Exchange of views with the Commission on the ex post assessment of the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) 2007-2013
• Report on the Committee on Fisheries’ visit to Mecklenburg/Vorpommern, Germany from 17 to 19 July 2017

Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development

09:00 – 18:30

Voting time

• General budget of the European Union for the financial year 2018 – all sections
  • Rapporteur: Szanyi Tibor (S&D, HU)
• Adapting a number of legal acts providing for the use of the regulatory procedure with scrutiny to Articles 290 and 291 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU
  • Rapporteur: Buda Daniel (PPE, RO)

End of votes

• Recommendation on the negotiating mandate for EU trade negotiations with Australia
  • Rapporteur: Andrieu Eric (S&D, FR)
• Recommendation on the negotiating mandate for EU trade negotiations with New Zealand
  • Rapporteur: Nicholson James (ECR, UK)
• Presentation by Chris Botterman of GEOPA-COPA’s Report on “Social Dialogue as the most effective means of combating social dumping and undeclared work in the agriculture sector”
• Rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers
  • Rapporteur: Ropė Bronis (Verts/ALE, LT)
• Presentation of a STOA study on “Precision Agriculture and the future of farming in Europe” 

Thursday, August 31, 2017

Committee on Development

09:00 – 11:00

• Joint DEVE-INTA Hearing on “the Revision of the EU Strategy on Aid for Trade”

Committee on International Trade

09:00 – 12:30

• Joint DEVE-INTA Hearing on “the Revision of the EU Strategy on Aid for Trade”

Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

09:00 – 12:30

• No information available before Monday morning.

Committee on Transport and Tourism

09:00 – 12:30

Voting time

• General budget of the European Union for the financial year 2018 – all sections
  • Rapporteur: Tošenovský Evžen (ECR, CZ)

End of votes

• Promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (recast)
  • Rapporteur: Eickhout Bas (Verts/ALE, NL)
• ‘Infrastructure funding challenges in the sharing economy’ – Presentation by Prof Juan J. Montero, representing the European University Institute. Study requested by the TRAN Committee, commissioned and managed by the Policy Department
• Presentation by the Commission of Progress report on the implementation of the TEN-T network in 2014-2015 – COM(2017)0327

Committee on Foreign Affairs

09:00 – 12:30

• Exchange of views with Markus Ederer, newly appointed Head of the EU Delegation to Russia (in compliance with the Declaration on Political Accountability of the HR/VP)
• Exchange of views with Ketil Karlsen, newly appointed Head of the EU Delegation to Nigeria (in compliance with the Declaration on Political Accountability of the HR/VP)
• Exchange of views with Isabel Brilhante Pedrosa, newly appointed Head of the EU Delegation to Venezuela (in compliance with the Declaration on Political Accountability of the HR/VP) (to be confirmed)
• Exchange of views with Claudia Wiedey, newly appointed Head of Delegation for the Kingdom of Morocco (in compliance with the Declaration on Political Accountability of the HR/VP) (to be confirmed)

Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development

09:00 – 12:30

• “Illegal use of fipronil containing substance in laying hen farms and the consequences for the food chain” – presentation by a Commission representative (DG SANTE)

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

09:00 – 12:30

• Recent developments in Poland and their impact on the Rule of Law (9.00 – 10.30) – Discussion with First Vice-President Frans Timmermans, European Commission