Policy Focus

The Week Ahead, 17-21 Nov

The Week Ahead: 17-21 November 2008

Strasbourg Plenary session - Agenda

Source: European Parliament press release

•    MEPs will set out their position on the reform of the CAP.
•    The House will hear from Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.
•    MEPs will debate the financial crisis and the Commission work programme 2009.
•    Parliament is due to adopt a resolution on the situation in DR Congo.
•    The House will set out their position on a European Blue Card for highly skilled workers.
•    The EU Court of Auditors report for 2007 will be presented and a proposal for more fruit and veg for children at school will also be put forward.

Financial crisis G-20 DC summit, Commission work and legislative programme for 2009
On 18 November at 3pm, MEPs will debate the financial crisis, the outcome of the European Council and G-20 summit in Washington DC and the Commission's legislative and working plan for 2009. At the beginning of the debate, group leaders will make statements on the financial crisis. On 15 November in Washington DC, the G-20 will hold a key summit on resolving the financial crisis and modernising the world's financial institutions. MEPs will vote on a resolution on the Commission work programme.

British and Commonwealth Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks to address MEPs
Sir Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Commonwealth, will address a formal sitting of the House on Wednesday 19 November as part of the series of speeches by eminent guests in the context of European Year of Intercultural Dialogue. Born in London in 1948, Sir Jonathan Sacks has been Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth since 1 September 1991.

MEPs to debate the situation in DR Congo
On Wednesday morning, 19 November, the House will debate the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo after hearing statements from Council and Commission. The House will also vote on a resolution on this topic. The Head of UN peacekeeping has recently asked the UN Security Council for more than 3 000 extra troops to protect civilians in the eastern DR Congo.

EU Court of Auditors 2007 annual report to be presented to plenary
The President of the European Court of Auditors Vítor Manuel da Silva Caldeira will present its report on how EU funds were spent in 2007 on Thursday 20 November. Although the accounts themselves have been approved without qualification, the same cannot be said of the "transactions underlying the accounts". The Court said that for the 14th year in a row it was not able to issue a "statement of assurance" that the EU money had been spent well and according to the rules in all policy areas.

Regulation on investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)
The Committee on Budgetary Control is tabling a report introducing 92 amendments to a Commission proposal, which proposes changes to regulation on investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). To strengthen the efficiency of the European Anti-Fraud Office and to clarify the legal framework of its mission, the report, drafted by Ingeborg Gräßle (EPP-ED, DE), asks the Commission to progress without any further delays on a consolidation of the legal texts on Community administrative investigations.

MEPs seek improvements in rules on excise duties
The Economics Committee is generally supportive of Commission plans to update the rules on excise duties, and most of the amendments MEPs in the committee propose aim at clarifying the text. Other amendments set out when can travellers have access to duty free shops, and whether there should there be guidelines for the amount of alcohol and tobacco citizens can take across borders.

Challenges ahead after 10 years of Economic and Monetary Union
MEPs are to debate a comprehensive overview of how all aspects of the Economic and Monetary Union could be developed in the years to come. The report from the Economics Committee gives Parliament’s views on the ECB, the Lisbon Strategy, the Stability and Growth Pact, external representation for the eurozone and financial services supervision, among other issues.

Raising the ceiling on financial assistance for non-euro Member States
The Commission proposes raising the ceiling for financial assistance to non-euro area Member States facing balance of payments difficulties from €12 to €25bn. It also wants to be granted the power to decide on further changes to the ceiling without going through a full legislative process. Parliament will vote on Tuesday morning on whether to apply an urgency procedure to this proposal – if it does, it could complete its passage through Parliament during this plenary week.

CAP health check: finding the right balance
Parliament will adopt its position on the Common Agricultural Policy health check just before EU agriculture ministers decide on the final shape of this legislation. In reports tabled to plenary, the Agriculture Committee calls for a smaller cut in farm aid and a limited increase in milk quotas as well as special aid for milk producers and livestock farmers. It also argues that, for certain sensitive sectors, intervention schemes and the link between subsidies and production should be preserved. The four reports, drafted by Luis Manuel Capoulas Santos (PES, PT), strike a balance between the various proposals put forward by MEPs during debates on the health check and also reflect the variety of situations facing farmers in the European Union.

Bees and bee-keepers face emergency
The decline in the number of bees all over the world but especially in Europe poses a threat not just to honey production but to the pollination of plants and hence to food production. In a debate based on an oral question, followed up with a resolution, MEPs will press the Commission to take action. The threat to bees comes partly from the use of modified and treated seed, which has led to a reduction in pollen and nectar, and partly from the reduction in agricultural set-aside land.

CAP further simplified as wine is brought into common market organisation
The process of simplifying the Common Agricultural Policy will take another step forward when Parliament approves plans to bring the wine regime into the single "common market organisation" regulation. Previously there were twenty-one different market organisation regimes, making the CAP unnecessarily complex. The latest reforms do not change any of the market arrangements but will simplify the regime and make it more transparent. Neil Parish (EPP-ED, UK) will be putting forward the report.

More fruit and veg for children at school
The House will vote on a draft report by the Agriculture Committee which urges an expansion in the EU programme for distributing fruit and vegetables in schools. The aim is to encourage healthier eating habits in children and combat the obesity epidemic. MEPs would like to see more funding for the programme and they also suggest giving priority to local seasonal produce. In the European Union around 22 million children are overweight and more than 5 million are obese, mainly owing to excessive consumption of fatty, sweet or salty food. The World Health Organisation recommends consumption of at least 400g of fruit and vegetables per day for children under the age of 11.

A European "Blue Card" for highly-skilled immigrants
The EU's "Blue Card" plan to attract highly-skilled immigrants to take jobs in EU economic sectors suffering from skill shortages, modelled on the US "Green Card" system, needs clearer definitions, says the EP Civil Liberties Committee. The committee proposes clarifications, and more flexibility for Member States, whilst urging them not to "steal" brains from third countries and reaffirming the "Community preference" principle. The Blue Card, proposed by the European Commission, is designed to attract highly-qualified workers from third countries by giving them access to the 27 Member States. This card would not replace existing national systems, but would provide an additional channel of attraction, with a common grant procedure.

Civil Liberties Committee: Single application procedure could have been more ambitious
The directive on a single application procedure and common set of rights for third-country nationals wishing to legally reside and work in the EU could have been "more ambitious", says the EP Civil Liberties Committee, but it does complement the Blue Card directive, the EU plan to model the US "Green Card" system.

HIV/AIDS: early diagnosis and early care
MEPs will hear statements by the Council and Commission on HIV/AIDS: Early Diagnosis and Early Care on Wednesday 19 November, less than one month away from the 20th anniversary of World AIDS day on 1 December 2008. In Europe, the numbers of newly diagnosed infections are increasing throughout the 25 EU Member States, with the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Spain seeing the highest rates of new HIV infections (EuroHIV, 2007).

Economic and social impact of demographic tendencies in the EU
MEPs will hear statements from the Commission and Council on the economic and social impact of demographic tendencies in the EU on Wednesday 19 November. With profound changes in Europe's population structure, demographic change is high on the European policy agenda. Eurostat, the Commission statistical agency, expects the EU population, standing at 495 million on 1 January, 2008, to rise to 521 million in 2035. The UK population is predicted to become the largest in the EU, reaching 77 million by 2060.

European Union Solidarity Fund: obstacles to its reform - questions to the Commission
The Commission proposal modifying Council Regulation on the European Union Solidarity Fund has been kept on hold by the Council for more than two years since the European Parliament gave it its first reading. Parliament considers it to be of paramount importance to have a Solidarity Fund Regulation which meets the challenges and allows the Union to deliver prompt and effective assistance when Member States suffer a disaster. The Commission will be questioned on the European Solidarity Fund and obstacles to its reform.

Recommendations to reduce the pay gap between men and women
Edit Bauer (EPP-ED, SL) will be tabling an own-initiative report on equal pay for men and women. The Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality recommends a revision of existing legislation on equal pay to bring about a "significant reduction in the pay gap" between men and women. Women earn on average 15% less than men in the European Union and up to 25% less in the private sector.

EU Passenger Name Records - MEPs to vote on a resolution
Parliament will vote on Thursday 20 November on a resolution on PNR data. PNR data are data originally collected for commercial purposes, while now serving an increasing number of security purposes (such as aviation security, immigration control, fiscal fraud, money laundering, preventing terrorism and crimes and prevention of communicable diseases, etc) as introduced since September 2001 by the US, Canada, Australia and more recently by the UK, France and Denmark.

How to bring space down to earth, ask MEPs
The EU and its Member States have been involved in financing and developing space technology and science for over 30 years. The adoption of the EC-ESA Framework Agreement in November 2003 gradually led to a European Space Policy (ESP). The resolution of the ‘Space Council’ on 22 May 2007 confirmed its commitment. The draft Lisbon Treaty and its Article 189 of the TFEU provide the EU with a legal framework for translating Council resolutions into policy initiatives. Questions on the European Space Policy and how to bring space down to earth will be put to both the Council and Commission.

Convention on cluster munitions - questions to the Council
In Dublin, at the end of the international meeting of States held on 19-30 May 2008, 107 States adopted the Convention on Cluster munitions, which bans the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of this class of weaponry. The Convention will be opened for signature on 3 December 2008, in Oslo. It will enter into force six months after 30 States have deposited their instruments of ratification with the UN Secretary General. The Council will be asked what have they taken to convince all States - in particular those who are Member States of the European Union - to sign, ratify and immediately implement the Convention on Cluster munitions.

Minimum criteria for environmental inspection in the Member States - questions to the Commission
Miroslav Ouzký (EPP-ED, CZ), on behalf of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, will be asking the Commission questions on the review of Recommendation 2001/331/EC providing for minimum criteria for environmental inspections in the Member States.

Carbon capture and storage technology needs prompt and direct financial commitment
Christian Ehler (EPP-ED, GER) is tabling an own-initiative report, supporting early demonstration of sustainable power generation from fossil fuels, but warns that the measures unveiled by the Commission are "not sufficient to provide the desired incentives". The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy calls for a direct financial commitment to ensure that 12 demonstration projects testing the permanent underground storage of CO2 are constructed by 2015.

Languages used by the Council Presidencies - Support for German
The report endorses the conclusions of the Ombudsman on the complaint by an association for the defence of the German language who asked the Dutch and the Luxembourg governments to offer the websites of their respective Presidencies not only in English and French but also in German. The report calls upon the Council to examine the question of the language options of the website of its Presidencies, in order to ensure that the entire population of the EU has easy access to information.

The future of social security systems
The increasing ageing population will affect social security systems. In this own-initiative report, MEPs in the Employment Committee express their preoccupation with maintaining the core of European social models. Encouraging higher employment rates are among the recommendations of the report. Social security systems under pressure: The ageing population is expected to lead to increases in public spending, most of it for pensions, health care and long-term care, in most Member States by 2050 if current policies are pursued.

Protecting the consumer: improving consumer education and awareness on credit and finance
MEPs will hear an own-initiative report drafted by Iliana Iotova (PES, BG) on protecting the consumer: improving consumer education and awareness on credit and finance. Overall, the report welcomes the Commission initiatives to educate consumers on finance and credit because "empowered and educated consumers help to foster competition, quality and innovation within the banking and financial services industries".

Increase awareness of Consumer Market Scoreboard, says Internal Market Committee
When consumers have the right information, education and conditions, they can make good and well-founded choices. As such, the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection calls for increasing awareness of the Commission's Consumer Markets Scoreboard, a tool for identifying and analysing problems from the point of view of the consumer, and stepping up media coverage.

Human rights debates and resolutions
As usual the session ends with three debates and votes on human rights issues in the world, on this occasion the topics are: Somalia, death penalty in Nigeria, and the case of the al-Kurd family (East Jerusalem).