Next week will be a committee week in the European Parliament. There will also be a mini plenary session.
Interesting votes and debates are expected to take place.
On Tuesday, January 29, Mr. George Ciamba, Romania’s Minister-delegate for European Affairs will introduce to the Members of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (“AFCO”) the priorities of the Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU. On January 1, 2019, Romania took over the rotating presidency of the Council for the first time since its EU accession. Over the next six months, the Romanian presidency will take actions based on the so-called “four pillars”, i.e., (i) Europe of convergence, (ii) Europe of safety, (iii) Europe of global actor, and (iv) Europe of shared values.
On Wednesday, January 30, Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) are expected to vote on the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (“ITRE”) report on the proposal for a regulation on the implementation and functioning of the .eu Top Level Domain Name. The .eu top level domain (“TLD”) guarantees the interoperability of trans-European networks by providing a complementary registration domain and a global registration in the generic top-level domains. The Proposal aims to ensure a better management of the .eu TLD by reinforcing security in the digital single market. In addition, it will promote innovation in the .eu system at the level of the registry as well as in the downstream markets of registrars and registrants. See the draft report here, the amendments tabled to the draft report here and the proposal for a regulation here.
On Thursday, January 31, MEPs are expected to vote on the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (“AFCO”) report on Amendments to the Parliament’s Rules of Procedure. Among other things, the amendments aim to reform the standards of conduct for MEPs, including by enhancing transparency rules and measures to prevent harassment. In addition, the amendments require that key actors involved in the legislative procedure (e.g., rapporteurs and shadow rapporteurs) make available online information on all the meetings they hold with interest representatives. See the draft report here.
Meetings and Agenda
Monday, January 28, 2018
· No meetings of note
Tuesday, January 29, 2018
Committee on Budgetary
09:00 – 18:30
Debates
· EU Anti-Fraud Programme (COD) – Adoption of draft report
o Rapporteur: José Ignacio SALAFRANCA SANCHEZ-NEYRA (EPP, ES)
Joint meeting: Budgetary Control and Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs committees
14:30 – 15:00
· Appointment of the European Chief Prosecutor – exchange of views with the Commission on the procedure for the appointment
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
14:30 – 18:30
Votes (16.30 – 16.45)
· Listing of third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement, as regards the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the Union (COD) – adoption of draft report and vote on the decision to enter into interinstitutional negotiations and on the composition of the negotiating team
o Rapporteur: Claude MORAES (S&D, UK)
· Draft Agreement on cooperation between Eurojust and Georgia (CNS) – vote on the simpliied procedure (Rule 50(1) without amendment) report
o Rapporteur: Sylvia-Yvonne KAUFMANN (S&D, DE)
Debate (17.00 – 18.30)
· Exchange of views with Věra JOUROVÁ, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality
Committee on Constitutional Affairs
09:00 – 12:30
Debate (09.15 – 10.15)
· Priorities of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU – presentation of the programme by George CIAMBA, Minister-delegate for European Affairs
Votes (11.00)
· Protection of personal data in the context of elections to the European Parliament (COD) – vote on the provisional agreement resulting from interinstitutional negotiations (Rule 69f(4)) (single vote by a majority of the votes cast)
o Co-rapporteurs: Mercedes BRESSO (S&D, IT) and Rainer WIELAND (EPP, DE)
· Implementation of the legal provisions and the Joint Statement ensuring parliamentary scrutiny over decentralised agencies (INI) – adoption of draft report
o Rapporteur: György SCHÖPFLIN (EPP, HU)
· Right of inquiry – proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament (EP) on the detailed provisions governing the exercise of the EP’s right of inquiry replacing the Decision of the EP, the Council and the Commission of 19 April 1995 (95/167/EC, Euratom,ECSC) – consideration and adoption of motion for a resolution
o Rapporteur Ramón Jáuregui ATONDO (S&D, ES)
Wednesday, January 30, 2018
Plenary session
15:00 – 15:30
Formal sitting
· International Holocaust Remembrance Day
15:30 – 00:00
· Resumption of session and order of business
· Combatting the climate of hatred and physical violence against democratically elected mandate holders
· The rule of law and fundamental rights in Hungary, developments since September 2018
· Latest developments in the cross-strait relations between China and Taiwan
· Implementation and functioning of the .eu top level domain name
o Rapporteur: Fredrick FEDERLEY (ALDE, SE)
· Annual report on competition policy
o Rapporteur: Michel REIMON (Greens/EFA, AT)
· Annual report 2017 on the protection of the European Union’s financial interests- fight against fraud
o Rapporteur: Marian-Jean MARINESCU (EPP, RO)
· Roma integration strategies
· Women on boards
· Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies
· NAIADES II – An action programme to support inland waterway transport
· State of the US-EU trade negotiations
Thursday, January 31, 2018
Plenary session
09:00 – 11:20
Debates
· Debate with the Prime Minister of Finland, Mr Juha Sipilä, on the Future of Europe
11:30 – 13:30
Votes and explanation of votes
· Motions for resolutions concerning debates on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law (Rule 135)
· Texts on which debate is closed
15:00 – 16:00
Debates
· Amendments to Parliament’s Rules of Procedure
o Rapporteur: Richard CORBETT (ALDE, UK)
· Union Customs Code: inclusion of the municipality of Campione d’Italia and the Italian waters of Lake Lugano in the customs territory of the Union
o Rapporteur: Jasenko SELIMOVIC (ALDE, SE)
· Accession of the Dominican Republic to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction
o Rapporteur: Mary HONEYBALL (S&D, UK)
· Accession of Ecuador and Ukraine to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction
o Rapporteur: Mary HONEYBALL (S&D, UK)
· Accession of Honduras to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction
o Rapporteur: Mary HONEYBALL (S&D, UK)
· Accession of Belarus and Uzbekistan to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction
o Rapporteur: Mary HONEYBALL (S&D, UK)
· Association of the Overseas Countries and Territories with the European Union including relations between the EU, Greenland and Denmark
o Rapporteur: Maurice PONGA (EPP, FR)
· Annual report 2017 on the protection of the European Union’s financial interests- fight against fraud
o Rapporteur: Marian-Jean MARINESCU (EPP, RO)
· Implementation and functioning of the .eu top level domain name
o Rapporteur: Fredrick FEDERLEY (ALDE, SE)
· Harmonisation of gross national income at market prices (GNI Regulation)
o Rapporteur: Roberto GUALTIERI (S&D, IT)
· Annual report on competition policy
o Rapporteur: Michel REIMON (Greens/EFA, AT)
· NAIADES II – An action programme to support inland waterway transport
Committee on Legal Affairs
Time to be confirmed
Joint meeting with BUDG committee
· Use of digital tools and processes in company law (COD) – trialogue/conciliation
