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

• EU Lisbon Treaty - Richard Corbett MEP (Lab, Yorks & Humber) - debate and vote Weds;
• Marketing of products - 1st reading (debate Tuesday);
• Abuse of power by supermarkets (Written declaration).

Highlights in committee:

EU Reform Treaty

Wednesday morning's debate on the Lisbon Treaty is likely to be the highlight of the week in Strasbourg. Richard Corbett MEP (Labour, Yorks & Humber) will kick-start the debate as he presents the report he has steered through the Parliament's Constitutional Affairs Committee.

The report, as adopted in committee, can be seen on the European Parliament's website via this link. It expresses the hope that Member States will all ratify the Treaty before the end of the year so that it can enter into force in good time for the 2009 European Parliament elections.

Among the main changes in the Treaty which would affect the European Parliament:

• Codecision (with the Council of Ministers) on virtually all areas of EU policy, with notable new areas being justice & home affairs and agriculture;
• Equal power with the Council of Ministers on all expenditure under the EU budget, including Common Agricultural Policy payments;
• Election of the President of the European Commission, following a proposal by the European Council which would base its proposal on the result of the European elections;
• A ceiling of 751 members for the European Parliament, 73 of whom would be elected in the UK.

Among the other UK MEPs expected to take part in Wednesday's debate: Leader of the UK Liberal Democrats and EP representative in negotiations on the Treaty, Andrew Duff (Eastern Region); Timothy Kirkhope (Conservative, Yorks & Humber); Nigel Farage (UKIP, South East), co-leader of the Independence/Democracy Group of MEPs.

On Tuesday MEPs will hear MEPs will hear a formal address from the Swedish Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt. This is the latest in a series of invitations to prime ministers of EU Member States which is running concurrently with the ratification process for the Lisbon Treaty. Likely to be prominent in the debate which will follow are: South West Liberal Democrat MEP Graham Watson who leads the European Liberal Democrats; South West Conservative MEP Giles Chichester who leads the UK Conservatives in the European Parliament; North West Labour MEP Gary Titley, who leads the UK Labour MEPs.

Marketing of products

A package of three pieces of legislation on the marketing of goods is set for its 1st reading, with debate on Tuesday morning.

The aim is to balance the free movement of goods and the need to remove any unlawful protectionist barriers at national level against the need to ensure that only safe products appear on the market. In adopting amendments at the committee stage, MEPs sought to make the sale of goods within the EU easier while boosting consumer confidence in products bearing the 'CE' label. They also attempt to address the growth in imports from non-EU countries, and their subsequent movement across the EU, so that issues such as the import of dangerous toys from China can be addressed.

This is the 1st reading in the codecision procedure where the European Parliament has equal decision-making powers with the Council of Ministers. Negotiations between Parliament and Council in the run-up to this session mean that agreement is likely at this 1st reading stage, and the Regulations could therefore come into effect in 2009 and 2010 respectively.

As part of Tuesday's debate, Arlene McCarthy MEP (Labour, North West) will be asking the European Commission to clarify the existing 'CE'-marking rules, and potential improvements to enhance consumer information.

Supermarkets

South East Green MEP Caroline Lucas is one of the promoters of a Written Declaration on supermarkets which has now been signed by more than half of the 785 MEPs. Written Declarations are like Early Day Motions in the House of Commons and once it is officially announced in the Parliament that it has achieved 393 signatories, it becomes the policy of the European Parliament.

This Declaration calls on the European Commission to investigate the impact of concentration in the supermarket sector and to assess any abuses of buying power.

The text of the Declaration can be seen online on Europarl.

OTHER ISSUES

• Customs & excise - agriculture: East Midlands Liberal Democrat MEP Bill Newton Dunn will present his report on new rules covering cooperation between customs authorities in different Member States, with a view to combating in particular agricultural fraud (Debate Monday, vote Tuesday). Mr Newton Dunn has said: "This is an important measure to counter cross-border crime in the light of technological developments and enlargement of the European Union".
  
• Electro-magnetic fields: Any health professionals' concerns about the existing Electro-Magnetic Fields Directive affecting the use of MRI scans should be put to rest by the proposal to extend the deadline for implementation of the Directive in Member States' laws from April 2008 to April 2012. The European Commission wants to use the time to assess the scientific evidence and, if necessary, propose new exposure limit values. (Vote: Tuesday)
  
• Terrorism: A report on the factors favouring support for terrorism and recruitment of terrorists is due to be debated on Wednesday evening. Among the issues raised in the resolution set for adoption on Thursday: inclusion of 'justification of terrorism' in the definition of a terrorist offence; follow-up to the Parliament's report on CIA flights last year; mutual information exchanges on citizens expelled from EU Member States because of their connection with terrorist activities.
  
• Fraud: MEPs will discuss a report on fraud involving EU monies on Monday evening. The report covers the years 2005-2006. Irregularities in the use of Structural Fund monies are to the fore, with the UK third in terms of volume of fraud behind Italy and Spain. The report also refers to a House of Lords report on lost VAT receipts in the UK. MEPs make proposals for putting a stop to fraudulent imports of TVs, cigarettes and counterfeit goods in general.
  
• Lisbon Agenda - economy: Wednesday morning's key debate is on the latest economic policy guidelines. The next EU summit in March is due to adopt a new set of Broad Economic Policy Guidelines for the next three years. These guidelines are the main instrument for coordinating economic policies in the Member States in the context of the Lisbon Strategy for making the EU economy more competitive. The debate and resolution set out MEPs' views ahead of the summit.

• Population census: Wednesday morning sees a vote on proposed census questions to be asked from 2011. This had aroused some interest in the UK media at the committee stage before MEPs on the Employment Committee threw out a proposed question on 'consensual union'. The Regulation aims to overcome wide disparities between Member States' questions and timings of population and housing censuses, making comparisons difficult and thereby hindering the development of regional, social and environmental policies in the future.
  
• Demographics: MEPs address demographic change in a report set for discussion on Wednesday evening. Among the issues raised in the report: a universal right to infertility treatment; breaking the link between career breaks for parental leave and lower pension entitlements; employment advice for older people; greater freedom of movement for workers across the EU before 2014.
  
• Spatial development planning: Thursday morning's key debate concerns spatial development and town planning. MEPs will be discussing a report looking into implementation of the Leipzig Charter for sustainable cities. A series of recommendations for future action will be laid down in a resolution set for adoption on Thursday. These cover issues such as: re-use of land for existing buildings rather than building on new land; quantifiable indicators on land use for measuring spatial development in different Member States; action to prevent urban sprawl.

• Arms exports: Wednesday afternoon sees the annual debate on the implementation of the EU Code of Conduct on arms exports. MEPs will adopt a resolution on Thursday.
  
• Gaza: On Wednesday the European Parliament will adopt a resolution on the situation in Gaza. MEPs debated Gaza on 30 January 2008 at the plenary session in Brussels. Chris Davies (Lib Dem, North West) and Charles Tannock (Conservative, London) were the UK MEPs who took part in that debate. Since then, three more UK MEPs have visited Gaza on a fact-finding mission: Jill Evans (Plaid Cymru, Wales); Richard Howitt (Labour, Eastern); Jean Lambert (Greens, London).
  
• Kosovo : MEPs will hear statements from the European Commission and the Council on latest developments in Kosovo (Wednesday).

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

Committee meetings