EP News, May 4th, 2005 (No. 209)
Note to our readers: EP NEWS No 210 will be published later this week with an update on committee meetings from 9-12 May 2005.
European Parliament session 9-12 May 2005
MEPs meet in Strasbourg next week for a plenary session of the European Parliament. Highlights of the agenda include:
Tuesday morning sees one of the main debates of this European Parliament session as MEPs discuss their 1st reading of the proposal to amend the Working Time Directive.
The main issues up for debate will be:
At the committee stage, amendments to the European Commission proposal were adopted which would end the opt-out three years after the directive comes into force. A majority of MEPs in committee also voted for the entire on-call period to be included in the calculation of working time. The reference period for calculating the 48-hour average could be extended to 12 months, but only after consulting employees or through collective agreements.
This is the 1st reading in the codecision procedure. If the Council of Ministers does not accept all of the Parliament amendments, the proposal will return for a 2nd reading at a later date.
The 1976 Bathing Water Directive has had a massive impact on the quality of bathing waters around our coastlines. The proposal to update the 1976 directive now reaches its 2nd reading and will be the subject of Monday's main debate in the European Parliament.
MEPs will be discussing amendments to the proposal which include:
Many of the votes at committee stage were close and any amendment at 2nd reading requires 367 MEPs to vote in favour for it to be passed, so the outcome on Tuesday is far from clear. If the Council of Ministers does not accept all the amendments adopted, conciliation between Parliament and Council will follow in order to agree the final text.
Proposed changes to the rules on mutual recognition of professional diplomas return to the European Parliament for their 2nd reading next week. The aim is to make it easier for professionals to provide services in another EU Member State (the sectors affected are listed in the annexes to the proposal and include: accountants, architects, engineers). In the 30+ amendments adopted at committee stage, however, MEPs have been looking to give host countries greater powers to check qualifications before allowing individuals to practise. Amendments cover a range of issues, including: the role of professional bodies; the number of levels of training to be recognised; the type of documents to be provided for evidence of experience.
367 MEPs must vote in favour of any amendment for it to be passed at 2nd reading. Informal discussions have been proceeding between Parliament and the Council of Ministers. However, if any amendment adopted at 2nd reading is rejected by the Council, conciliation between Parliament and Council will begin to agree on the final text of the legislation.
Afghanistan's President, Hamid Karzai, will address the European Parliament in a formal sitting, due to commence at 11am (UK time) on Tuesday 10 May.
For further details on President Karzai's CV and the EU's relations with Afghanistan, see the full briefing here.
The European Commission will make a statement on the McCartney family's campaign to bring to justice the killers of Robert McCartney, a 33-year-old father of two from Belfast who was murdered in January. Members of the family are expected to be present in the public gallery for this debate on Monday afternoon.
Following a meeting with the family last month, European Parliament President Josep Borrell said: "I am deeply impressed by the bravery they have shown in standing up to impunity and by the campaign for justice they are leading. I wish to recall that the rule of law must prevail in all countries of the EU and in all circumstances".
LEGISLATION
Enhancing security in ports is the aim of a proposed directive receiving its 1st reading on Tuesday, the idea being to set up systems designed to prevent terrorist attacks on ports. MEPs will be debating the 63 amendments adopted at committee stage, including on the proposal that each Member State should have a port security agency and that a port security officer be appointed for each individual port.
Informal discussions have been going on between the Parliament and the Council of Ministers with a view to adopting the directive after 1st reading. If that is achieved, the directive is likely to come into force on 1 January 2007. If not, it will return to the European Parliament for a 2nd reading.
Tuesday sees the 1st reading of a proposed new directive on cross-border mergers of companies with share capital. The aim of the directive is to overcome complex differences in national laws on company mergers which lead to costly legal requirements. Many of the 30+ amendments adopted at committee stage look to enhance employee rights when two or more companies merge, with a particular focus on companies with 500 or more employees. Another amendment would extend the period for implementing the directive from 18 months to 2 years after its adoption.
If the Council of Ministers does not accept all amendments adopted at 1st reading by the European Parliament, the proposal will return to the European Parliament for a 2nd reading under the codecision procedure. [ See http://www.europarl.eu.int/code/default_en.htm ]
MEPs will hold their 1st reading of a proposed Recommendation on Europe's film heritage. The aim of the proposal is to suggest how EU Member States can better preserve film archives and take steps to improve the competitiveness of the film industry and other related activities. An EU Recommendation does not have the same force of law as a Directive or Regulation; as the word suggests, it makes recommendations to EU Member State governments, after which compliance is often monitored through regular reporting to the European Commission.
Ian Hudghton MEP (Scottish National Party, Scotland) has drafted the European Parliament's report on the proposed re-casting of the 1977 VAT Directive. The directive has been amended so many times in 28 years that the text was increasingly difficult to follow. A 'recasting' of the directive rewrites into one text all previous amendments to the directive without changing the substance of the VAT rules. MEPs are likely to approve the proposal without amendment.
Full information can be found in "The Briefing" at: http://www.europarl.eu.int/press/index_publi_en.htm
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