Written by Tessa Tumbrägel
Parliament is gearing up for the last plenary session before the summer recess, taking place in Strasbourg from 6-9 July. Items on the agenda include circular economy and green jobs, TTIP, the EU Emissions Trading System, copyright harmonisation, the 2016 budget and external affairs. MEPs will also have the opportunity to quiz the Commission on its work programme for 2016 and share their expectations for the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the EU, which will have to face a variety of pressing issues such as irregular migration.
The session starts on Monday, when MEPs will debate the shift towards a more circular economy in which materials are re-used and ‘waste’ can be turned into a resource. Parliament is scheduled to vote on a strategic report on the issue, which, among other things, calls for binding targets to increase resource efficiency by 30% by 2030, compared to 2014. Further discussing the potential of a ‘greener’ EU economy that combines economic and environmental rationales, Tuesday’s plenary will address the Union’s Emissions Trading System (ETS), a key tool for reducing industrial greenhouse gas emissions cost-effectively. The debate will centre on the establishment of a market stability reserve for the ETS, intended to tackle the current over-supply of allowances in the system. Also on Tuesday, Parliament updates its position on the EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), debating draft recommendations for the current negotiations.
Moving towards a circular economy Podcast:
During the rest of Tuesday, budgetary matters and employment policy are in focus. Parliament is due to consider a report by the Committee on Budgets, which provides a first analysis of the draft 2016 EU budget proposed by the Commission, highlighting EP principles and priorities that should underpin the upcoming negotiations with the Council. Afterwards, MEPs will debate a Commission proposal to launch a Green Employment Initiative, aiming to link green growth and employment more effectively. Other labour-related concerns this session include a legislative initiative to better protect seafarers under EU labour law, scheduled on Wednesday.
External policy moves up the agenda on Wednesday. Parliament will vote on its consent to three international agreements for scientific cooperation between the EU and Switzerland, the Faroe Islands and India. The plenary will then hear from the Council and the Commission on recent terrorist attacks and debate recent developments outside EU borders with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini. Reports from Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee on security challenges in the Middle East and North Africa and the review of the European Neighbourhood Policy will conclude Wednesday’s session.
Coming back to internal affairs, Thursday’s session will address the harmonisation of EU copyright rules and hear a report from the Legal Affairs Committee, which evaluates the current regulatory framework and recommends changes. The discussion will then continue, as usual, on specific human rights issues.
Towards reform of the EU Copyright Directive Podcast:
Other items on the agenda (Monday) are the situation of producer organisation in the EU fruit and vegetable sector since the 2007 reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, and multimodal integrated ticketing in Europe, aiming to harmonise transport ticketing in the EU across different modes of transport and to facilitate travel across borders for consumers and companies.
Interested in background information on EP plenary topics, but too busy to read? Tune in to our new ‘plenary podcast’ series and let us walk you through a selection of fresh briefing materials on what is going on in Strasbourg, in just a few minute’s listening. You can stream or download our podcasts on the Europarl website and already listen to the first two episodes on circular economy and copyright harmonisation. If you subscribe to the podcast via the Europarl podcast page, Stitcher or TuneIn, you automatically receive all new episodes.
| A list of all material prepared for this Plenary Session: |
| ETS Market Stability Reserve : DE – EN – ES – FR – IT – PL |
| Reviewing the European Neighbourhood Policy : DE – EN – ES – FR – IT – PL |
| Towards reform of the EU Copyright Directive : DE – EN – ES – FR – IT – PL |
| Moving towards a circular economy : DE – EN – ES – FR – IT – PL |
| Protecting seafarers under EU labour law : DE – EN – ES – FR – IT – PL |
| Parliament’s draft recommendations on TTIP talks : EN – |
| Green jobs on the labour market : EN – |
| Conclusion of scientific cooperation agreements : EN – |
| Producer organisations in the EU fruit and vegetable sector : EN – |
| Multimodal integrated ticketing : EN – |
| Security challenges in the MENA region : EN – |
| 2016 draft EU budget: Mandate for the trilogue : EN – |
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