Summary

Next week is a committee week in the European Parliament.

Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) are expected to discuss and vote on a number of interesting files before they leave Brussels for a short Easter break.

On Monday, the European Parliament’s Budgetary Control Committee (“CONT”) and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (“LIBE”) will consider a draft report on Slovakia.  The report is being prepared by the ad-hoc parliamentary delegation that visited the country to assess the situation on the ground following the assassination of Ján Kuciak.  The work of the ad-hoc delegation will feed into a resolution that is likely to be subject to a vote in the European Parliament’s next plenary session.

On Tuesday, LIBE will also vote on its own-initiative report on media pluralism and freedom in the EU.  LIBE seeks to enhance the working conditions of journalists, and especially their integrity and independence.  It calls on the Commission and the EU Member States to adopt appropriate measures to attain these objectives through various means, including ensuring net neutrality and addressing appropriately new challenges, such as “fake news” and “hate speech”.

Also on Tuesday, the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (“ENVI”) will vote on a draft resolution on the midterm evaluation of the “LIFE” Program.  LIFE is the EU’s funding instrument that supports environmental and climate action projects in the EU.  Through this program, the EU provides grant opportunities to a number of actors, including SMEs, large companies, NGOs, and authorities, to support their projects in a variety of fields, such as energy, climate change, biodiversity and waste.  The report outlines the Parliament’s position on the midterm evaluation report that the Commission published in November 2017.  The Commission’s report evaluates whether the program meets its objectives at midterm. 

Meetings and Agenda

Monday, March 26, 2018

Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

15:00 – 18:30

Debates

• Exchange of views with Danièle NOUY, Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB

Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

15:00 – 18:30
Debates

• Exchange of views with Mr Karmenu VELLA, Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries as part of the structured dialogue

• Joint committee procedure of AFET, ENVI

Committee on Regional Development

15:00 – 18:30

Debate

• Cohesion policy and the circular economy (INI) – consideration of draft report

  • Rapporteur: Davor ŠKRLEC (Greens/EFA, HR)

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

15:00 – 18:30

Joint debate with the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) on the agenda on migration (15.00 – 16.30)

• Progress report on the Implementation of the European Agenda on Migration COM(2018)0250 and annexes – Discussion with representatives from the EEAS, from the Commission and the Migration Policy Centre

• Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council – Second Annual Report on the Facility for Refugees in Turkey

• State of play of Commission pilot project with third countries on legal migration

End of joint debate

• Standing Committee on Operational Cooperation on Internal Security (COSI) – Presentation of the 5th COSI report by Georgi Arabadzhiev, Bulgarian Council Presidency and Chair of COSI (16.30 – 17.15)

Joint debate with the Committee on Budgetary Control (17.45 – 18.30)

• Joint CONT-LIBE ad-hoc delegation to Slovakia (7-9 March 2018) – Consideration of a draft delegation report

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

09:00 – 12:30

Debates

• Structured dialogue with Pierre MOSCOVICI, Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs

• EMU package – Exchange of views with Valdis DOMBROVSKIS, Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue, also in charge of Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union and Pierre MOSCOVICI, Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs

Committee on Employment and Social Affairs

14:30 – 18:30
Votes

• Protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work – Adoption of draft report

  • Rapporteur: Claude ROLIN (EPP, BE)

Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

09:00 – 12:30

Debates

• Exchange of views with European Court of Auditors on: “Rural Development Programming: less complexity and more focus on results needed” from the agri-environment-climate measures’ perspective and “Greening: a more complex income support scheme, not yet environmentally effective”

Votes

• Charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructures – Adoption of draft opinion

  • Rapporteur: Seb DANCE (S&D, UK)

• Monitoring the application of EU law 2016 – Adoption of draft opinion

  • Rapporteur: Marijana PETIR (EPP, HR)

• Mid-term evaluation of the LIFE programme – Adoption of motion for a resolution

  • Co-rapporteurs: Dubravka ŠUICA (EPP, HR), Nicola CAPUTO (S&D, IT), Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY (ALDE, NL), Stefan ECK (GUE/NGL, DE), Marco AFFRONTE (Greens/EFA, IT), Mireille D’ORNANO (EFDD, FR), Bolesław G. PIECHA (ECR, PL)

Committee on Regional Development

09:00 – 12:30

Votes

• Strengthening economic, social and territorial cohesion in the European Union: the 7th report of the European Commission (INI) – adoption of draft report

  • Rapporteur: Marc JOULAUD (EPP, FR)

• Cohesion Policy and thematic objective ‘promoting sustainable transport and removing bottlenecks in key network infrastructures’ – Article 9(7) of the Common Provisions Regulation (INI) – adoption of draft report

  • Rapporteur Andrey NOVAKOV (EPP, BG)

Debates

• Exchange of views with Corina CREŢU, Commissioner for Regional Policy

Committee on Legal Affairs

09:00 – 16:30

Votes (11.00 – 11.30)

• Annual reports 2015-2016 on subsidiarity and proportionality (INI)  vote on a draft report

  • Rapporteur: Mady DELVAUX (S&D, LU)

• Statistics of goods transport by inland waterways (codification) – rule 103 – (COD) – vote

  • Rapporteur: Lidia Joanna GERINGER de OEDERNBERG (S&D, PL)

End of votes

• Presentation of the results of the EAVA Study “A Common EU Approach to Liability Rules and Insurance for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles”  (15.00 – 15.30)

• Application of Directive 2004/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage (the ‘ELD’ – Commission follow-up position (15.30 – 16.30)

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

09:00 – 16:30

• Mutual recognition of freezing and confiscation orders (COD) – Reporting back to committee on the trilogue negotiations (9.00 – 9.10)

  • Rapporteur: Nathalie GRIESBECK (ALDE, FR)

• Combating fraud and counterfeiting of non-cash means of payment (COD) – Consideration of draft report (9.10 – 9.45)

  • Rapporteur: Sylvia-Yvonne KAUFMANN (S&D, DE)

• FRONTEX – the European Border and Coast Guard Agency – Presentation on Joint Operation Themis and Fundamental Rights issues by Fabrice Leggeri, Executive Director and Inmaculada Arnaez Fernandez, Fundamental Rights Officer (9.45 – 11.15)

Votes (11.15 – 12.30)

• Council Decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism (CETS No. 196) (NLE) – vote on a draft report

  • Rapporteur: Helga STEVENS (ECR, BE)

• Council Decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Additional Protocol supplementing the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism (CETS N° 217) (NLE) – vote on a draft report

  • Rapporteur: Helga STEVENS (ECR, BE)

• Subjecting new psychoactive substances to control measures (NLE) – vote on draft reports

  • Rapporteur: Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA RUIZ (ALDE, ES)

• Media pluralism and media freedom in the European Union (INI) – vote on a draft report

  • Rapporteur: Barbara SPINELLI (GUE/NGL, IT)

Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality

14:30 – 18:30

• Visit of Věra JOUROVÁ, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality – Structured dialogue (15.00 – 16.00)

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Committee on Legal Affairs
11:300 – 12:30

Joint meeting with the Committee on Constitutional affairs

• Interpretation and implementation of the interinstitutional agreement on Better Law-Making

Committee on Constitutional Affairs

11:300 – 12:30

Joint meeting with the Committee on Legal Affairs

• Interpretation and implementation of the interinstitutional agreement on Better Law-Making

Thursday, March 29, 2018

• No meetings of note