Summary

Next week is a plenary week in Strasbourg, France.  Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) will hold a number of important votes, committee meetings and debates.  In addition, the week will see visits from the Polish Prime Minister and the Angolan President, as well as from the Austrian Chancellor and Bulgarian President for the changeover in the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

On Monday, MEPs will hold the final debate on the European Defense Fund. the first EU program dedicated to European defense instruments.  With a €500 million budget for 2019-2020, the program will help fund the development of new and upgraded products and technologies for the defense sector.  The final vote will be on Tuesday.

Also on Monday, the Legal Affairs Committee (“JURI”) will formally announce its decision to start negotiations with Member States on the copyright directive.  If more than 10% of all MEPs (76 in total) object to this decision by midnight on Tuesday, a plenary vote will take place to confirm or reject the Committee’s decision on Thursday at noon.

On Tuesday, MEPs will reflect on the 28-29 June EU summit on migration, Brexit, common defense and the EU budget with Council President Donald Tusk and Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

Tuesday also sees a changing of the guard of the Presidency of the European Council, as Bulgaria will be succeeded by Austria.  From 10 am to noon, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz will discuss the priorities of the incoming presidency with MEPs and Commission President Juncker.

On Wednesday morning, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki will debate the future of Europe with MEPs and Commission President Juncker.  He is the eighth European leader to do so.  At noon, the President of Angola, João Lourenço, will also address the European Parliament.

Wednesday also sees a vote in the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (“EMPL”) on draft rules to improve enforcement in road transport, posting of drivers, and drivers’ rest periods.  The proposed amendments seek to simplify further the rules on posting that apply to the road transport sector and to reduce the administrative burden for companies and for their drivers.  See the EMPL Committee’s report here.

Thursday is an important day for the forthcoming annual EU budget, as the Parliament will adopt its position on its budget priorities prior to negotiations with Member States.  MEPs want the EU budget to focus on young people, migration, growth, innovation, competitiveness, security, fighting climate change, and the transition to renewable energy.

Meetings and Agenda

Monday, July 2, 2018

Plenary session

17:00-23:00

Debates

• Resumption of session and order of business
• European Defence Industrial Development Programme
  • Rapporteur: Françoise Grossetête (EPP, France)
• Integrated farm statistics
  • Rapporteur: Maria Gabriela Zoană (S&D, Romania)
• Violation of rights of indigenous peoples in the world
  • Rapporteur: Francisco Assis (S&D, Portugal)
• Towards an EU external strategy against early and forced marriages
  • Rapporteur: Charles Goerens (ALDE, Luxembourg)
• Climate Diplomacy
  • Rapporteurs: Jo Leinen (S&D, Germany), Arne Lietz (S&D, Germany)

Joint meeting – Committee on Budgets & Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

20:45-22:15

Debate

• Establishing the InvestEU Programme: Exchange of views with Jyrki KATAINEN, Commission Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, following the presentation of the legislative proposal

Committee on Legal Affairs

19:00-20:30

• Preventive restructuring frameworks, second chance and measures to increase the efficiency of restructuring, insolvency and discharge procedures (COD), adoption of draft report – rapporteur Angelika NIEBLER (EPP, Germany)

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

19:30-22:30

• Hearing on the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica Case – Part 3: Use of Facebook users’ data by Cambridge Analytica and impact on data protection – policy solutions and remedies

Committee on Constitutional Affairs

Debate (18:00-18:45 and 19:00-19:30)

• The withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Article 50 TEU) – exchange of views on (1) Brexit preparedness with Pascal LEARDIDI, Director of Institutional and Administrative Policies, Brexit Preparedness Group, European Commission and (2) on the state of play of the negotiations on Brexit, with the participation of Guy VERHOFSTADT (ALDE, Belgium) , Parliament’s coordinator for the withdrawal negotiations and Danuta Maria HÜBNER (EPP, Poland) , Member of the Parliament’s Brexit Steering Group.

Vote (18:45)

• Reform of the electoral law of the European Union (APP), consideration and adoption of draft recommendation (consent), Co-rapporteurs Jo LEINEN (S&D, Germany) and Danuta Maria HÜBNER (EPP, Poland)

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Plenary session

09:00-11:50

• Review of the Bulgarian Council Presidency
• Presentation of the program of the Austrian presidency

Votes followed by explanations of votes

• Notification of investment projects in energy infrastructure: repeal
  • Rapporteur: Barbara Kappel (ENF, Austria)
• Cooperation Agreement between the EU and the Agency for Aerial Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar
  • Rapporteur: Jerzy Buzek (EPP, Poland)
• Extension of the EU-U.S. Agreement for scientific and technological cooperation
  • Rapporteur: Rolandas Paksas (EFD, Lithuania)
• Measures to strengthen administrative cooperation in the field of value-added tax
  • Rapporteur: Roberts Zile (ECR, Latvia)
• European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking
  • Rapporteur: Zigmantas Balčytis (S&D, Lithuania)
• Mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund: application EGF/2017/009 FR/Air France
  • Rapporteur: Alain Lamassoure (EPP, France)

Debates

15:00-23:00

 Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 28 and 29 June 2018

• Autonomous weapon systems
• The migration crisis and humanitarian situation in Venezuela and at its borders
• Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo
• Guidelines for Member States to prevent that humanitarian assistance in criminalized
• The definition of SMEs
• Partnership Agreement between the EU and EAEC and Armenia
• Partnership Agreement between the EU and EAEC and Armenia (resolution)
  • Rapporteur: László Tőkés (EPP, Hungary)

Wednesday, July 4, 2018

Plenary session

09:00-12:00

Debates 

• Debate with the Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, on the Future of Europe

Votes followed by explanations of votes

12:30-14:30 

• 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly
  • Rapporteur: Eugen Freund (S&D, Austria)
• Reform of the electoral law of the European Union
  • Rapporteurs: Danuta Maria Hübner (EPP, Poland), Jo Leinen (S&D, Germany)
• EU-Iraq Partnership and Cooperation Agreement
  • Rapporteur: Tokia Saïfi (EPP, France)
• EU-Iraq Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (resolution)
  • Rapporteur: Tokia Saïfi (EPP, France)
• EU-New Zealand Agreement relating to the modification of concessions (accession of Croatia)
  • Rapporteur: Daniel Caspary (EPP, Germany)
• Negotiations on the EU-Azerbaijan Comprehensive Agreement
  • Rapporteur: Norica Nicolai (ALDE, Romania)
• Draft Amending Budget n° 2/2018 entering the surplus of the financial year 2017
  • Rapporteur: Siegfried Mureşan (EPP, Romania)
• Draft amending Budget No 3/2018: extension of the Facility for refugees in Turkey
  • Rapporteur: Siegfried Mureşan (EPP, Romania)
• Opening of negotiations for an EU-Jordan Agreement on the exchange of personal data for fighting serious crime and terrorism
  • Rapporteur: Claude Moraes (S&D, United Kingdom)
• Vehicle taxation: charging of heavy good vehicles for the use of certain infrastructures
  • Rapporteur: Deirdre Clune (EPP, Ireland)
• Enforcement requirements and specific rules for posting drivers in the road transport sector
  • Rapporteur: Merja Kyllönen (Greens, Finland)
• Daily and weekly driving times, minimum breaks and rest periods and positioning by means of tachographs
  • Rapporteur: Wim van de Camp (EPP, Netherlands)
• Adapting to development in the road transport sector
  • Rapporteur: Ismail Ertug (S&D, Germany)

Debates

15:00-23:00

• Conclusion of the third economic adjustment program for Greece
• Topical debate (Rule 153a)
• 2019 budget: Trilogue mandate
  • Rapporteur: Daniele Viotti (S&D, Italy)
• European Travel information and Authorization System (ETIAS): Europol tasks
  • Rapporteur: Kinga Gál (EPP, Hungary)
• Adequacy of the protection afforded by the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield
• Financial rules applicable to the general budget of the union
  • Rapporteurs: Richard Ashworth (EPP, United Kingdom), Ingeborg Gräßle (EPP, Germany)
• The adverse effects of the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act on EU Citizens
• Participation of persons with disabilities in the European elections

Thursday, July 5, 2018

Plenary session

Debates

09:00-11:50

• Statute for social and solidarity-based enterprises
  • Rapporteur: Jiří Maštálka (Greens, Czech Republic)

VOTES followed by explanation of votes

12:00-14:00

• Motion for resolutions concerning debates on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law (Rule 135)

Major interpellations

15:00-16:00

• Major interpellations (Rule 130b)

Friday, July 6, 2018

No meetings of note