Agenda briefing plenary session from the 7th to the 10th of September 2015 in Strasbourg
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Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will deliver his first State of the Union address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday morning, followed by a debate on achievements to date and the Commission’s 2016 work programme.
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EU and member state responses to the latest refugee crisis developments, in the Mediterranean, at Calais and on the Western Balkan route, will be debated with the Commission and Council on Wednesday after the State of the Union debate. The issue of how best to deal with mixed flows of migrants – asylum seekers and economic migrants – is also likely to be addressed in the debate. Parliament will vote a resolution on Thursday.
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The EP will debate emergency rules to relocate an initial total of 40,000 asylum seekers from Italy and Greece to other EU member states over two years on Tuesday and vote its opinion on them on Wednesday. Plans for a permanent scheme, on which the EP and Council will decide jointly, must be based on “a more substantial contribution to solidarity and responsibility-sharing among member states”, MEPs say.
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Parliament votes Tuesday on a draft law banning the cloning of all farm animals, their descendants and products derived from them, including imports, in the EU. MEPs beefed up the Commission’s initial proposal, citing high mortality rates at all development stages of cloning and EU citizens’ animal welfare and ethical concerns.
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MEPs raise concerns about the impact of austerity measures on fundamental rights in the EU, and question “hot return” procedures for migrants, in a non-binding draft resolution to be voted on Tuesday. They also call on the European Commission to establish a “scoreboard” to monitor democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights in EU member states.
