Agenda briefing plenary session from the 3rd to the 6th of April 2017 in Strasbourg
- Brexit: MEPs to state key conditions for consent to future withdrawal agreement
Political groups will set out their Brexit priorities in a key debate on Wednesday, just before talks start on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. MEPs will then vote on a resolution officially setting out the European Parliament’s key concerns and goals throughout the process.
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Germany’s newly-elected Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will address MEPs in a formal sitting on Tuesday at noon. Previously Federal Foreign Minister, Mr Steinmeier was elected as 12th President of the Federal Republic of Germany on 12 February 2017. He took office on 19 March.
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Plans for stricter monitoring and certification procedures to ensure full legal compliance and traceability of medical devices, such as breast or hip implants, will be put to a vote on Wednesday. MEPs will also vote on legislation to tighten up information and ethical requirements for diagnostic medical devices, used for example in pregnancy or DNA testing. Both draft laws have been informally agreed with the Council of Ministers.
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MEPs will debate and vote Tuesday on recommendations to the EU Commission and member states on how to remedy flaws in checks on car manufacturers and close legal loopholes to prevent further cheating in emissions tests, while also properly enforcing laws to protect air quality.
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An informal agreement between the Parliament and the Council on wholesale price caps for carrying “roaming” data transfers between EU countries will be debated on Wednesday evening, and put to a final vote on Thursday.
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The EU should tackle the environmental impacts of unsustainable palm oil production, such as deforestation and habitat degradation, particularly in South-East Asia, says a non-binding report to be put to a vote on Tuesday. Members advocate phasing out the use in biofuels of vegetable oils linked to deforestation by 2020, and a single certification scheme for palm oil entering the EU market.
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Hate speech, populism, and fake news on social media will be up for debate in plenary on Wednesday afternoon. MEPs will discuss how the EU can better respond to these phenomena to prevent interference in the democratic process and particularly in elections.
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EU-US “Privacy Shield” for data transfers made for commercial purposes must respect EU personal data protection, law as laid down in the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights and new data protection rules, MEPs say in a draft resolution ahead of the first annual review of the framework expected this summer.
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Eurogroup President and leading “Troika” figure Jeroen Dijsselbloem has been invited to Parliament to explain the state of play on the second review of the Economic adjustment programme for Greece in a debate on Tuesday afternoon.
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In a drive to prevent a recurrence of the VW emissions scandal, Parliament will amend EU car “type approval” rules in a vote on Tuesday, to make environmental and safety testing more independent and strengthen national and EU oversight of cars already on the road.
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Ukrainian citizens will have the right to travel to the EU without a visa under a draft law to be voted in plenary on Thursday. The text has already been informally agreed with the Council. It is likely to enter into force at the start of June.
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Firms, especially SMEs, should find it cheaper and easier to access diverse sources of capital across the EU thanks to new rules simplifying prospectuses published when securities are offered to investors or admitted to trading. These rules will be debated on Tuesday and put to a final vote on Wednesday.
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Draft rules to make money market funds (MMFs) more resilient in crises and better able to resist market turbulence will be put to a final vote on Wednesday. MFFs supply easily accessible liquid assets to investors seeking to diversify their portfolios, business start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), but can be vulnerable to panic runs on their money.
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Plans to make it easier to move money around within the EU’s long-run budget, to help tackle urgent challenges such as the migration crisis, strengthening security, boosting growth and creating jobs, will be voted on Wednesday. Parliament has long fought for greater flexibility within the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), which would apply for the remainder of the 2014-2020 MFF.
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Multilateral measures are urgently needed to manage the unprecedented numbers of migrants on the move worldwide, and not least to halt migrant deaths in the Mediterranean, MEPs will urge in a resolution to be debated on Tuesday and voted on Wednesday.
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MEPs are to call for robust legislation and proper funding for the new Solidarity Corps initiative which aims to create 100.000 volunteering and job placement opportunities for young people. However, the new initiative should not be financed at the expense of the Erasmus+ or other European programmes, MEPs say in a draft resolution to be voted on Thursday.
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How much tainted meat from Brazil has reached EU shores, why did EU border checks fail to reveal apparently systemic food fraud and what impact will this scandal have on ongoing trade talks with Mercosur? These are the questions that MEPs will put to the Commission on Monday evening.
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MEPs are set to approve €71,524,810 in EU aid to repair damage caused by floods in the UK from December 2015 to January 2016, drought and fires in Cyprus from October 2015 to June 2016 and fires on the Portuguese island of Madeira in August 2016, in a vote on Wednesday. The aid comes from the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF).
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MEPs will object to EU Commission plans to authorise imports of food and feed products derived from or containing a herbicide and pest-resistant genetically modified (GM) maize, in a non-binding resolution to be voted on Wednesday. The draft text highlights the lack of data on the many sub-combinations of the variety – all of which would also be authorised – and reiterates Parliament’s call for a reform of the EU’s GMO authorisation procedure.
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Parliament will hold urgent debates on the following human rights and democracy topics on Thursday 6 April, at around 10.00, with the votes following at 12.00.
Link: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/agenda/briefing/2017-04-03