By Ruth Marsden and Desmond Hinton-Beales - 23rd January 2012
Sparks are expected to fly when the economic and monetary affairs committee holds its Tuesday hearing on credit ratings agencies, featuring financial experts, including representatives from Fitch and the European Securities and Markets Authority.
MEPs will examine ratings agency competition, conflicts of interest, and the transparency and timing of sovereign debt downgrades.
The committee also holds a public hearing to assess the instruments currently being used to tackle the sovereign debt crisis, including the first assessment of the European financial stability fund.
Guy Verhofstadt (ALDE, BE), Daniel Cohn-Bendit (GUE/NGL, FR), Elmar Brok (EPP, DE), and Roberto Gualtieri (S&D, IT), will represent parliament at the Ecofin council discussions on the EU fiscal compact on Tuesday.
The four MEPs make up parliament's treaty drafting group and earlier this month released a joint statement saying that the current plans for reinforced economic union were "unacceptable".
This week all parliamentary committees are set to confirm their chairs and vice chairs for the second half of the 2009-2014 period, following last week's voting.
Parliament's new president Martin Schulz meets with Hungarian prime minster Viktor Orbán on Tuesday morning to discuss the recent political developments in Hungary, following Orbán's plenary address last week and commission threats of legal action against Budapest.
Also on Tuesday, the transport committee will discuss maritime safety with EU transport commissioner Siim Kallas following the Costa Concordia cruise-liner accident. The training of crews, retaining passenger lists and appropriate legislation for vessels will be addressed.
There will also be a discussion with the commission on the airports package, including noise, ground services and the provision of takeoff and landing slots.
The environment committee meet on Tuesday to look at ways to address any shortcomings in the current legislation concerning defective silicone gel breast implants, following the French government's decision to advise 30,000 women of the need to remove their PIP company implants.
International trade committee MEPs will vote on the international cocoa agreement on Thursday, accompanied by a resolution calling for measures to combat forced child labour in the industry.
The committee is also set to vote on a report regarding tariff quotas for imports of high quality beef following a 1988 ban of beef containing hormone treatments.
The so-called beef war between the EU and the US and Canada has been running for 24 years, and Washington and Ottawa have now suspended their infamous retaliatory blacklist of EU products following a long conciliation process.
