EP News, November 10th, 2005 (No. 235)
[ EP session ] [ Committee meetings ] [ ACP-EU Parliamentary Assembly, Edinburgh ] [ STOA Lecture: Climate Change ] [ Hearings ] [ More information ]
European Parliament session 14-17 November 2005
MEPs meet in Strasbourg next week for a plenary session of the European Parliament. Highlights of the agenda include:
REACH - Chemicals regulations - 1st reading
One of the most important pieces of legislation in this Parliament is set for its 1st reading in Strasbourg. MEPs will debate the REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) proposals on Tuesday, with the vote due to take place on Thursday lunchtime.
REACH aims to strike a balance between the need to protect health and the environment on the one hand, and the need to avoid imposing excessive burdens on industry. Over 1,000 amendments have been tabled by Parliament's environment, industry and internal market committees, as well as by other MEPs. Some of the main issues to be voted on are:
Once the European Parliament has had its 1st reading, it is for the Council of Ministers to try to reach a Common Position between the 25 Member State governments. Unless they accept all the amendments adopted next week, the Regulation will return to the European Parliament for a 2nd reading at a later date.
[ Link via the Legislative Observatory to the full report and amendments adopted in committee - click here ].
Court of Auditors report (Tuesday)
Tuesday morning sees the presentation in the full Parliament of the annual report of the EU's Court of Auditors. This covers the management of the EU budget for 2004. As in previous years, a lively debate is expected which will kick off the European Parliament's work in deciding whether to grant discharge (clear the accounts) of the various EU institutions for 2004.
The Annual Report will be formally published shortly before Tuesday's debate. The Parliament's Budgetary Control Committee will receive a preliminary presentation at its meeting on Monday evening, 14 November, in Strasbourg.
Blacklisting of airlines (1st reading: debate Tuesday; vote Wednesday)
Airlines which do not meet international aircraft safety standards are the subject of this proposed Regulation due for its 1st reading by the European Parliament next week. The aim is to ensure that passengers know which operating company will be running their flight and which airlines have been subject to operating bans or air traffic restrictions.
Over 50 amendments were adopted at the committee stage, including:
[ Link via the Legislative Observatory to report and amendments adopted at committee stage - click here ].
[ Link to the European Aviation Safety Agency ].
Jack Straw, Foreign Secretary (Wednesday)
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw will be in Strasbourg for two major debates on Wednesday. In the morning, he will speak on behalf of the EU Presidency in the debate on Iraq following the referendum on the constitution there.
On Wednesday afternoon, he will begin the debate with MEPs on the outcome of last month's informal EU Summit at Hampton Court on the challenges of globalisation.
If the whole Parliament follows the recommendation of the Environment Committee, the European Commission's proposal on 'humane' animal traps is set for rejection at 1st reading next week. The proposed directive does not include leg hold traps which have been banned since 1991. The aim is to regulate other traps to make them less cruel - it also lists the 19 animals covered, including badgers, wolves, beavers.
In 1997 the European Parliament condemned agreements between the EU and Canada and Russia for not taking sufficient account of animal welfare.
Animal welfare is likely to be again a bone of contention here, especially with the use of the term 'humane' trapping in the directive's title. However, the debate will not all be one way: some Dutch MEPs do not want the directive to hinder their battle against the muskrat, which is apparently destroying the dykes that protect many parts of the Netherlands.
The new Occupational Pensions Directive is the subject of an oral question to the European Commission on Monday. By 23 September 2005, when the directive was supposed to come into force across the EU, only 9 Member States had introduced domestic legislation to comply. The UK did not meet the deadline but has since adopted new rules which allow a UK employer to sponsor an occupational pension scheme established elsewhere in the EU, and make it possible for a UK-based scheme to accept contributions from employers located elsewhere in the EU.
The MEPs are asking what action the Commission will take against countries that have yet to implement the directive. They ask for an analysis of the problems faced by certain member countries. And they ask for details of any prudential rules adopted which go beyond the directive and could thereby inhibit cross-border cover.
[ Link to further resources on the Department of Work and Pensions' website:
On Tuesday evening MEPs will be debating how best to use EU funds for the decommissioning of nuclear power stations. One power station in Slovakia (Bohunice V1) is the subject of a specific proposal where the debate will focus on how much money to put in and for how long on the different parts of the power station. The debate will also broaden out to the overall strategy for decommissioning as there are currently vastly different ways of managing the process and the funding in the different EU Member States.
MEPs will debate the latest European Commission progress reports on countries seeking EU membership (debate Tuesday). These were published on 9 November and concern Turkey, Croatia, Macedonia and Serbia/Montenegro.
Arms exports/Defence procurement
A series of reports on arms exports and defence procurement is due for debate on Wednesday. MEPs will vote on a resolution which, among other things, calls for a draft directive on defence procurement to ensure more competition in the sector and greater transparency and fairness in the awarding of contracts.
Other resolutions seek to confirm the European Parliament's position that the arms embargo on China should not be lifted and call for stronger controls on exports to countries where an arms embargo has been lifted.
Giles Chichester MEP (Conservative, South West) is co-author of an oral question to the European Commission on the proposed switchover to digital broadcasting by 2012. Is that date feasible across the whole of the EU? And what guarantees are there that there will be no interference from analogue channels broadcasting from outside the EU after that date? MEPs will vote on a resolution following Monday evening's debate.
Wednesday morning's business starts with a major debate on climate change. The resolution to be adopted by MEPs is intended to set out the European Parliament's position ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference in Montreal (28 Nov - 9 Dec). Among the issues likely to be discussed: building on Kyoto Protocol targets; emission reduction targets to be achieved by 2020; partnerships with China , South Africa, Brazil and India; research and innovation. MEPs are likely to call for greater energy efficiency in EU institutions' buildings and low carbon travel, especially for European Parliament vehicles.
European Commission Work Programme 2006
On Tuesday morning, MEPs will debate the European Commission's Work Programme for 2006. This was adopted at the end of October. It sets out both the overall strategic priorities for the Commission and what legislative proposals and other communications it plans to publish.
2006 will be the European Year for Mobility of Workers. Among the specific pieces of legislation listed are proposals on bringing aviation into the EU's emissions trading scheme; a directive on clearing & settlement; a revision of existing rules on safety of toys. The Commission also proposes to pursue its better regulation agenda with refinement of its business impact assessments.
Thursday morning sees MEPs debating development policy, with a special focus on Africa. A resolution specifically on Africa will call for an EU strategy to encourage good governance and to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS across the continent.
Diary note: From 19-24 November MEPs and parliamentarians from the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) nations will be meeting in Edinburgh.
[ Link to further resources on ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly's website: http://www.europarl.eu.int/intcoop/acp/10_01/default_en.htm ].
MEPs turn their attention to management of eel stocks on Tuesday. The concern is that eel stocks are declining so rapidly that extinction is a possibility. A report adopted by the Parliament's Fisheries Committee calls on Member States to draw up national management plans.
Committee meetings 14-18 November 2005
Highlights of the week in committee include:-
Edited committee agenda below, with links to full agenda on www.europarl.eu.int, and working documents on the committees' websites:
| AFET - Foreign Affairs | 14 November 05 | full agenda | committee homepage |
| Report on the comprehensive monitoring report on the state of preparedness for EU membership of Bulgaria | Geoffrey Van Orden (EPP-ED) | Own initiative | Consideration of a draft report |
| Romania: * Exchange of views with Mrs Monica Luisa MACOVEI, Minister of Justice of Romania * Report on the comprehensive monitoring report on the state of preparedness for EU membership of Romania |
Pierre Moscovici | Own initiative | Consideration of a draft report |
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| SEDE - Subcommittee on Security and Defence | 01 December 05 | committee homepage | |
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| DROI - Subcommittee on Human Rights | 21 November 05 | full agenda | committee homepage |
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| BUDG - Budgets | 14 November 05 | full agenda | committee homepage |
| BUDGET 2006 2006 Budget : Conciliation Procedure |
Giovanni Pittella (PSE) | Preparation for conciliation and second reading : exchange of views | |
| BUDGET 2005 | |||
| Draft Amending budget 6/2005 : Section IV - Court of justice, Creation of the European Union Civil Service tribunal |
Anne E. Jensen (ALDE) | exchange of views and possible adoption of the draft report for Parliament's second reading |
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| Mobilisation of the Solidarity Fund: storm in Northern Europe | Reimer Böge (EPP-ED) | Consideration of a draft report and possibly vote |
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| Draft amending budget 7/2005: Solidarity fund following the storms in Northern Europe (Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) | Salvador Garriga Polledo (EPP-ED) | Consideration of a draft report and possibly vote |
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| 2005 Budget: Section III (Commission) | Salvador Garriga Polledo (EPP-ED) | Consideration of transfer request | |
| INTERINSTITUTIONAL AGREEMENT and FP 2007-2013 | |||
| Interinstitutional agreement on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure | Reimer Böge (EPP-ED) | Exchange of views on possible oral question | |
| BUILDING POLICIES | |||
| Submission under Article 179(3) of the Financial regulation Information Office in The Hague |
Jan Mulder (ALDE) | ||
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CONT - Budgetary Control |
14 November 05 | full agenda | committee homepage |
Presentation of the European Court of Auditors' Annual Report concerning the financial year 2004 by the President of the Court, Mr Weber
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| Presentation of the European Court of Auditors' Special Report 5/2005 on interpretation expenditure incurred by the Parliament, the Commission and the Council, by the Member of the Court responsible for administrative expenditure, Mr Levysohn |
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| DEVE - Development | 14 November 05 | full agenda (in FR) | committee homepage |
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| ECON - Economic and Monetary Affairs | 14 November 05 | full agenda | committee homepage |
| Amendment of the common system of VAT, with regard to the length of time during which the minimum standard rate is to be applied |
Zsolt László Becsey (EPP-ED) | Consultation | Consideration, Adoption of amendments |
| Arrangements for the refund of VAT to taxable persons established in another Member State | Zsolt László Becsey (EPP-ED) | Consultation | Consideration, Adoption of amendments |
| Temporary restriction on beer imports in Finland | Pervenche Berès (PSE) | Consultation | Consideration, Adoption of a draft report (Art. 43) |
| Amendment of the regulation concerning introduction of the euro | Dariusz Rosati (PSE) | Consultation | Consideration, Adoption |
| Oral question on VAT (Possibly) | Exchange of views , Approval of the oral question on VAT (Possibly) | ||
| Financial Services Policy -
Exchange of views with M McCREEVY, Commissioner for the Internal Market and Services. |
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| 2004 Competition Annual Report | Alain Lipietz (Verts/ALE) | 1st exchange of views (Possibly) | |
| Implementation of the European Charter for Small Enterprises | Katerina Batzeli (PSE) | Own initiative | Consideration of amendments (Possibly) |
| EMPL - Employment and Social Affairs | 22-23 November 05 | committee homepage | |
| ENVI - Environment, Public Health and Food Safety | 21-22 November 05 | committee homepage | |
| ITRE - Industry, Research and Energy | 14 November 05 | full agenda | committee homepage |
| In the presence of the Council and the European Commission: | |||
| Energy end-use efficiency | Mechtild Rothe (PSE) | Codecision second reading | Consideration of a draft recommendation - Consideration of amendments |
| IMCO - Internal Market and Consumer Protection | 21-22-23 November 05 | committee homepage | |
| INTA - International Trade | 23-24 November 05 | committee homepage | |
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| TRAN - Transport and Tourism | 14 November 05 | full agenda | committee homepage |
| Road transport: charging heavy goods vehicles for use of certain infrastructures (amending Directive 1999/62/EC) |
Corien Wortmann-Kool (EPP-ED) | Codecision second reading | Adoption of a draft recommendation |
| International Safety Management Code within the Community | Paolo Costa (ALDE) | Codecision second reading | Adoption of a draft recommendation |
| Developing the agenda for the Community's external aviation policy | Saïd El Khadraoui (PSE) | Own initiative | Consideration of amendments |
| Relations with the Russian Federation and China in the field of air transport | Roberts Zile (UEN) | Own initiative | Consideration of amendments |
| REGI - Regional Development | 21 November 05 | committee homepage | |
| AGRI - Agriculture and Rural Development | 14 November 05 | full agenda | committee homepage |
| In the presence of the Commission: | |||
| Decision on procedure: the Council's request on the Avian Influenza dossiers | |||
| Community measures for the control of Avian Influenza | Neil Parish (EPP-ED) | Consultation | Adoption of draft report |
| Expenditure in the veterinary field | Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) | Consultation | Adoption of draft report |
| PECH - Fisheries | 23-24 November 05 | committee homepage | |
| CULT - Culture and Education | 23-24 November 05 | committee homepage | |
| JURI - Legal Affairs | 21-22 November 05 | committee homepage | |
| LIBE - Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs | 14 November 05 | full agenda | committee homepage |
| Retention of data processed in connection with the provision of public electronic communication services | Alexander Nuno Alvaro (ALDE) | codecision first reading | Consideration of amendments and possible compromises - Presentation of the current state of the negotiation with the European Commission and the Council |
| Local border traffic at the external land borders of the Member States | Mihael Brejc (EPP-ED) | codecision first reading | Consideration of a draft report in the presence of the Council Presidency - Consideration of amendments and possible compromises |
| AFCO - Constitutional Affairs | 17 November 05 | committee homepage | |
| FEMM - Women's Rights and Gender Equality | 23-24 November 05 | committee homepage | |
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| PETI - Petitions | 23-24 November 05 | committee homepage | |
[ EP session ] [ Committee meetings ] [ ACP-EU Parliamentary Assembly, Edinburgh ] [ STOA Lecture: Climate Change ] [ Hearings ] [ More information ]
The 10th session of the African Caribbean Pacific - European Union Joint Parliamentary Assembly will take place in Edinburgh, 19-24 November. Details about the event are available from http://www.europarl.eu.int/intcoop/acp/10_01/default_en.htm. Visitors should register in advance - contact Mrs Maura Delaney: mdelaney@europarl.eu.int.
The 4th STOA Annual Lecture (2005) and related events on Climate Change, placed under the patronage of the President of the European Parliament, Mr Josep Borrell Fontelles, will take place on 23 November in Brussels. The programme and registration details are available from http://www.europarl.eu.int/stoa/annuallecture4/default_en.htm. Prior registration is required.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
TO SUBSCRIBE OR UNSUBSCRIBE please email André Vanderstock, avanderstock@europarl.eu.int
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