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Highlights of next week's European Parliament plenary agenda in Strasbourg include:

• Shipping - maritime safety package - 1st reading (Tues/Weds);
• Flood management - 2nd reading Directive (Tues/Weds);
• EU accounts 2005 (Debate Tues - vote Weds);
• Advanced Therapy Products (1st reading - debate Mon/ vote Weds)
• Intellectual property rights - criminal sanctions (1st reading).

 

Maritime safety - 1st reading of Erika 3 package of legislation

Tuesday afternoon's top debate deals with the package of maritime safety measures known as 'Erika 3'. Seven proposed new directives and regulations cover obligations of flag states, inspections in EU ports, places for refuge of ships in distress, passenger protection, insurance, classification societies and civil liability. Five of these are up for 1st reading in Strasbourg:

• Port state control, seeking to improve the standard of safety inspections of ships in European ports, including the role of pilots in detecting safety shortcomings;
• Traffic monitoring and providing a legal framework on places of refuge for ships in distress, with discussion on the size of ship that should have Automatic Identification System;
• Investigation of accidents;
• Liability of shipowners regarding damage caused to passengers and their belongings;
• So-called "classification societies", renamed 'recognised organisations', the bodies which carry out inspections of ships flying the flag of a Member State.

The reports and amendments adopted in the Transport Committee can be seen below. Unless the Council of Ministers accepts all amendments adopted at 1st reading, the proposals will return for a 2nd reading at a later stage.

Joint debate - Maritime transport - List of reports:

• Dirk Sterckx - Community vessel traffic monitoring and information system
• Jaromír Kohlíček - Investigation of accidents in the maritime transport sector
• Paolo Costa - Liability of carriers of passengers in the event of accidents
• Dominique Vlasto - Port State control
• Luis de Grandes Pascual - Ship inspection and survey organisations

 

Flood Management - 2nd reading (debate Tuesday - vote Wednesday)

MEPs have their 2nd reading of a proposed directive aimed at reducing the economic and environmental impact of floods in the EU. Some 40 amendments were adopted at 2nd reading in the Environment Committee, including a broadening of the definitions of flood risk management with this to cover flood plains as well as coastal areas. Other amendments tighten up the criteria for drawing up flood risk maps, including showing installations that might cause accidental environmental pollution as a consequence of flooding. Finally, there is concern that the directive needs to be in line with the Framework Directive on Water.

To view the report (rapporteur: Richard Seeber MEP) and amendments adopted at committee stage see this link.

Note that at 2nd reading any proposed amendment must receive a minimum of 393 votes (ie 50% + 1 of all MEPs) for it to be adopted. Unless the Council of Ministers accepts all amendments adopted by the European Parliament at 2nd reading, the discussions will proceed to conciliation between Parliament and Council to reach agreement on the final wording of the directive.

The 1st reading debate (on 12 June 2006) can be seen here. The only UK MEP to speak then was Wales Plaid Cymru MEP Jill Evans.

 

EU accounts 2005

Tuesday morning's main debate concerns the EU accounts for 2005.

Among the issues raised in the resolution adopted by the Budgetary Control Committee (and set for adoption by the full Parliament on Wednesday) is the idea of 'national declarations', whereby Member State governments take responsibility for accounting for European funds spent on their territory. Although the EU treaties formally state that the European Commission is responsible for managing the EU budget, almost 80% of EU funding is in effect co-managed with the Member State authorities. The Netherlands has already agreed in principle to produce such a national declaration; the UK and Sweden are reportedly thinking of following suit. Such statements could make a significant difference in efforts to gain a 'positive statement of assurance' from the Court of Auditors.

The so-called 'discharge' process culminates on Wednesday when MEPs vote on whether or not to clear the EU accounts.

 

Advanced therapy products - 1st reading

Monday's debate and Wednesday's 1st reading vote are likely to be the most controversial of the week in Parliament. At issue is a draft Regulation designed to foster gene therapy, somatic cell therapy and tissue engineering. In the area of tissue engineering, for example, there are currently no European rules and differing national approaches to classification and authorisation which limit patients' access to this type of treatment.

A number of amendments have been tabled dealing with ethical issues. If these are adopted by the full Parliament, they would lead to a clash with the Council of Ministers, where the consensus appears to be to restrict the Regulation to technical matters and leave ethical aspects to be dealt with nationally. The ethical issues concern the use of human embryonic or foetal cells and it is impossible at this stage to predict the outcome of the votes.

For the report and amendments adopted in the Environment Committee, please use this link. Also see this page on europarl for further amendments tabled direct to the plenary session.

Procedurally, any of three options is still possible: referral back to committee for further discussion; 1st reading decision which the Council of Ministers cannot accept, meaning a return to Parliament for 2nd reading; or 1st reading agreement with Council, meaning the Regulation enters into force in either 2 or 4 years (also depending on votes next week).

 

Intellectual property - criminal sanctions for piracy debate Mon - vote Weds

MEPs will have their 1st reading of a proposed directive imposing criminal sanctions for piracy and counterfeiting of intellectual property. The proposed directive would oblige all Member States to regard as a criminal offence any intentional infringement of an intellectual property right carried out on a commercial scale. The deterrent measures proposed range from fines to imprisonment, depending on the gravity of the crime.

At present maximum fines for violating intellectual property rights range from £586 in Greece to £67,000 in Holland. Maximum prison sentences range from three months in Greece to 10 years in Britain. Under the new directive, in cases of serious crimes committed by a criminal organisation, the maximum penalty must be at least €300,000 and/or four years' imprisonment.

Among the 29 amendments adopted at the committee stage are some that clarify what is not covered by the directive, including patent rights and piracy committed by private users for personal, non-profit purposes.

For the report and amendments adopted in the Legal Affairs Committee, please use this link. Unless the Council of Ministers accepts all the amendments adopted at 1st reading, the proposal will return to Parliament for a 2nd reading at a later stage.

 

Other legislation

>> Payment services - 1st reading

The Payment Services Directive, aimed at creating a single European payments area for non-cash payments such as card transactions, bank transfers and direct debits, is set for its 1st reading in Strasbourg (debate Monday; vote Tuesday).

Cross-border payments can be slower and more expensive than national ones as they rely mainly on the various national systems across the 27 EU Member States. Whether it is individuals making regular payments for a holiday home abroad or businesses carrying out cross-border trade, the current situation is unnecessarily complex and expensive. The Directive, if adopted this month, should give the banking industry the time it needs to meet its target of 2010 for setting up a European payments area.

The Parliament's Economics Committee adopted its 1st reading report and amendments back in September 2006, but negotiations have been underway ever since with a view to achieving a consensus with the Council of Ministers. Many of the amendments adopted at committee stage are expected to be included in the final text of the Directive. For the committee report and amendments, see this link.

 

>> European Aviation Area

The setting up of a European Common Aviation Area (ECAA) will be debated on Tuesday. The ECAA is designed to open up aviation markets between the EU and neighbouring countries, with rules on aviation security, air traffic management, state aid and competition among the issues addressed.

The European Parliament is only consulted on this proposal, with the Council of Ministers having the final say on the wording of the text. The European Parliament's rapporteur is calling for MEPs to give the proposal their full backing.

 

>> Rapid Reaction Force - illegal immigration

The UK is not affected by the proposed Regulation due for its 1st reading in Strasbourg, as it is not part of the Schengen free movement area.

The Regulation allows for the setting up of rapid reaction teams to deal with massive influxes of illegal immigrants over EU external borders. The text lays down the tasks that can be carried out by 'guest' border officials of other Member States and lays down which costs will be met by national and European agencies. For the committee report and amendments, see this link

 

OTHER ISSUES

• HIV/AIDS in Europe: On Tuesday morning, MEPs will be debating the proposed new action plan from the European Commission on combating HIV/AIDS. The plan is a response to the increase in new infections in recent years. Among the issues raised in the report from the Environment and Public Health Committee are: access to health care; education; and research funding.
  
• Galileo: MEPs will hear a statement from the European Commission on progress towards setting up the Galileo radio satellite navigation system (Tuesday). There have been concerns about the negotiations aimed at creating the public-private partnership to implement Galileo, so Tuesday's debate is the opportunity for MEPs to clarify the latest state of play and set out their own views on how to move the process forward.
  
• Homophobia: MEPs will hear statements from the European Commission and Council Presidency on homophobia in Europe on Wednesday afternoon. On 18 January 2006, MEPs adopted a resolution on homophobia in Europe which strongly condemned any discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. A further resolution is set to be adopted after the debate this month.
  
• EU-USA relations: MEPs will debate EU-US relations on Wednesday morning, before adopting a resolution aimed at feeding in the European Parliament's views to the EU-US Summit on 30 April. Key topics for debate at the Summit will be energy and climate change. Wales Conservative MEP Jonathan Evans chairs the European Parliament's delegation for relations with the US Congress.
  
• Human rights: Wednesday afternoon sees the European Parliament hold its annual debate on human rights in the world. Commenting on the situation in 2006, the report adopted in the Foreign Affairs Committee singles out China, Iran, Russia and Sudan for criticism, though many other countries are also in the spotlight and the EU itself comes in for criticism due to some of its activities on human rights.
  
• Croatia: Croatia has been a candidate for EU membership since 2005 so it is now subject to an annual report on its progress towards accession. MEPs will debate the latest report on Tuesday. Among the concerns likely to be raised: environmental standards; progress towards the market economy; judicial reform; minority rights.
  
• India: The President of India, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, will make a formal address to the European Parliament on Wednesday (11am UK time). This is the first time a President of India will have addressed the European Parliament. West Midlands Labour MEP Neena Gill chairs the European Parliament's delegation for relations with India.
  
• Fisheries: Elspeth Attwooll MEP's report on revised funding for the fisheries Regional Advisory Councils is due for adoption on Thursday. The financial rules are to be amended so that RACs receive a fixed financial contribution from the EU budget. Other issues, such as the number and composition of the RACs will be addressed in future proposals.
  
• BBC journalist: One of Thursday's urgency debates will be an opportunity for MEPs to voice their concerns about the case of the BBC journalist Alan Johnston, abducted in Gaza.

 

Full information can be found in "The Briefing" at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/tous_les_briefing/default/default_en.htm