MEPs meet in plenary session in Strasbourg on 14-17 June 2010.
Among the highlights of the agenda:
New legislation on food labelling is due for discussion on Tuesday morning, with a vote at 1st reading on Wednesday. The proposed Regulation has been the subject of lobbying from all sides in the UK: from food manufacturers and retailers, consumer groups, farmers and, most recently, the Women's Institutes.
Among the issues set to be decided by MEPs in Strasbourg:
This is the 1st reading in the European Parliament. Unless the Council of Ministers accepts all amendments adopted in Strasbourg, the issue will return at a later stage for 2nd reading. At this stage there are no time limits for the negotiations between Parliament and Council. Once a text has been agreed, however, businesses will have three years to introduce the new labelling regime (and an extra two years for SMEs).
The specific Working Time Directive covering bus and lorry drivers is back on the Parliament's agenda, with a debate due on Tuesday morning in Strasbourg. At issue is how to define self-employed drivers and whether to bring them within the scope of the Working Time Directive.
The European Commission proposal suggests leaving genuine self-employed drivers out of the Directive, but to tackle the issue of the so-called 'fake' self-employed, who are legally self-employed but actually work for the same employer most or all of their time.
In May 2009, the previous Parliament had rejected the Commission proposal, arguing that all self-employed drivers should be covered by the Directive. They referred it back to committee stage. When the Employment Committee met for the first time after the elections in 2009, it voted narrowly to carry on with the procedure, thus rejecting the earlier rejection. A more recent committee stage vote in April 2010 returned to the Parliament's original position that self-employed drivers must, on health and safety grounds, be covered by the same rules as employees.
We wait now to see how the full Parliament votes. A rejection of the Commission position would result in the self-employed coming into the scope of the 2002 Directive. Acceptance of the Commission proposal would mean the text goes then to the Council of Ministers for its position.
NB Working time covers driving time plus loading and unloading, maintenance, assistance to passengers and dealing with customs or police formalities.
Wednesday looks like being a busy day for Baroness Ashton, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. At the end of the morning, she reports back to MEPs on the outcome of the recent EU-Russia summit (31 May-1 June). MEPs will then adopt a resolution with their own conclusions on the summit.
Wednesday afternoon's debates begin with a statement from Baroness Ashton on Gaza, in light of the Israeli military operation against the humanitarian flotilla heading for Gaza. The ensuing debate is likely also to address more generally EU-Israel relations, with the Parliament still blocking Israel's participation in European Community programmes.
Further debates between MEPs and Baroness Ashton later in the afternoon deal with the situation in Korea and in Bosnia/Herzegovina.
Question Hour with Commission President Barroso begins at 2.00pm on Tuesday (UK time). Representatives of the political groups can ask questions on any topic in the first half; but economic governance is the chosen theme for the 2nd half of this session when any MEP is free to take the floor. Watch this and all plenary debates via webstreaming or the Parliament's webtv.
On Monday evening, Sarah Ludford MEP (LibDem, London) will present her report to plenary on proposed legislation guaranteeing EU citizens access to translation and interpretation when facing a criminal trial in another Member State. This means, for example, that a British football fan arrested in Portugal would have the right to interpretation during police questioning, in court and in all communications with his or her lawyer.
MEPs have reached an agreement with the Council of Ministers on these interpretation and translation rights which would apply from the time the person is made aware that they are suspected of having committed a criminal offence until the conclusion of any court proceedings. The UK has opted-in to this directive and will have three years to transpose the rules into domestic statute. Vote: Tuesday.
An updating of the transparency requirements for securities offered to the public is due for debate on Tuesday afternoon, with a 1st reading vote on Wednesday. Among the issues raised in amendments adopted at committee stage: a raised threshold for the value of securities that can be sold without needing a prospectus; clarification of liability for the content of a prospectus. The aim of the changes to existing rules is to help small companies raise capital. Subject to this 1st reading vote and the agreement of the Council of Ministers, the new regime would come into effect by March 2012.´
A new system for tracking bluefin tuna from catch to sale, so as to protect Atlantic stocks, will be put to the vote on Thursday. The new rules will require documentation at every stage, including caging, harvesting, importing, exporting and re-exporting, so as to ensure complete and reliable traceability. If agreement can be reached, they would come into effect for the next tuna fishing season, following reports that the tuna quotas have been reached already for this year and the European Commission has imposed a ban on bluefin tuna fishing this year from 9 June 2010.
West Midlands Labour MEP Michael Cashman will lead Monday's debate on the Millennium Development Goals, prior to a vote on Tuesday designed to set out the European Parliament's priorities ahead of the EU Summit later in the week. The Summit should pull together the EU's position for the UN meeting in September to review the Millennium Development Goal targets. Among the issues raised in Michael Cashman's report: the need for a financial transaction tax; the 0.7% of GNI aid pledge by 2015.
South East LibDem MEP Sharon Bowles, in her capacity as chair of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, will be presenting an oral question to the European Commission on the proposed new powers for Eurostat to check the national statistical data, which lay the basis for each EU Member State's budget plans. One part of the question asks: Does the Commission agree with giving Eurostat wider powers to make on-site inspections without any advance warning and hold interviews with any organisation it deems relevant to its work? Debate: Tuesday morning.
The International Fund for Ireland is expected to benefit from further EU contributions following a vote on Wednesday. The Fund was set up in 1986 to promote cross-community projects in support of the Northern Ireland peace process. One of the projects funded to date is called "Football for Peace", which brings young people from different communities together, using football as a means of promoting cross-border and cross-community relations.
Preparing EU summit + G20: Wednesday morning's key debate concerns preparations for the forthcoming EU Summit (17 June) and the G20 (26-27 June). The EU's 2020 strategy for growth and employment will be a major focus of the debate, as will the latest proposals for economic governance. UK MEPs who took part in the last plenary debate on economic governance (on 19 May) were: Timothy Kirkhope (Cons, Yorkshire & Humber); Marta Andreasen (UKIP, South East); Kay Swinburne (Cons, Wales); Andrew Brons (BNP, Yorkshire & Humber). MEPs will adopt a resolution on Wednesday. The Summit on 17 June will be David Cameron's first as British Prime Minister.
Trade in torture tools: An EU law banning the trade in torture tools has been in place since 2006, but levels of implementation vary considerably among the EU Member States. According to Amnesty International, which published a report into the continuing trade in March, "The UK is one of only seven of 27 EU countries to have publicly reported their export authorisations of policing and security equipment controlled by the regulation, despite all Member states being legally required to do so". Wednesday afternoon's debate is based on an oral question asking the European Commission to update the legislation to include tools such as thumb-cuffs and spiked batons.
Derivatives: A report and resolution from the Economic Committee on derivatives markets is due for debate on Monday evening and vote on Tuesday. Coming just a few weeks before the European Commission is due to publish proposals to regulate the area, this resolution can be viewed as an indication of where the European Parliament is likely to go once the proposals are formally tabled. In the report adopted in the committee, MEPs called for tougher rules to prevent dangerous levels of risk building up through inexperienced users and speculators. (Derivatives are an agreement to trade rather than an actual purchase of a commodity.)
Credit rating agencies: Credit rating agencies are on the agenda on Tuesday afternoon. This is an opportunity for MEPs to give their initial reactions to the European Commission's recent communication on the subject, prior to concrete proposals for legislation.
Waterford Crystal: Former workers from the Waterford Crystal manufacturers in Ireland will be eligible for EU Globalisation Fund monies if MEPs give the green light on Tuesday. 598 Waterford workers lost their jobs in 2009 and will be able to apply for vocational training or business start-up assistance from the €2.5m Ireland has applied for from the Fund. The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) exists to support workers who lose their jobs as a result of changing global trade patterns.
Satellite: A new Earth Observation Satellite, funded by the EU, should be up and running by 2014, provided MEPs give their backing to the funding for the system to become operational. Its role will be to monitor and help manage natural disasters such as floods, oil spills and earthquakes. MEPs will vote on the system on Wednesday.
Aquaculture/Whaling: The UK is one of the EU's four biggest producers of seafood through aquaculture (including fish-farming). Thursday morning sees a debate on a report and resolution looking at the sector as a whole. The resolution will make recommendations on environmental protection, public health, labelling and species protection. This debate will be proceeded by a statement from the European Commission on latest developments concerning the ban on commercial whaling.
Football players' agents: With the World Cup getting underway this weekend, MEPs show they're on the ball with an oral question to the European Commission on players' agents. This debate on Tuesday evening relates to the increasing number of cross-border transfers of players and protection of players who are under 18.
Divorce: Divorce is on the agenda on Wednesday, when MEPs hold a procedural vote to allow 14 EU Member States to move forward on legislation in an area where not all countries can agree. Once this procedural vote has taken place, the 14 countries will be able to discuss and adopt legislation allowing couples from more than one EU Member State to choose which national law should apply for their divorce or separation. The UK is not one of the 14 countries and so will not be covered by any future rules in this area. Malta is the only EU Member State where divorce is not recognised, although 'legal separation' is - and Malta will be covered by any rules that follow.
Euro for Estonia: The European Parliament's opinion is needed before Estonia can be admitted to the eurozone. On Monday evening, MEPs will debate the recommendation that Estonia be allowed to adopt the Euro in January 2011; they will then vote on the proposal on Wednesday.
New committee on long-term EU budgets: MEPs are expected to set up a new committee to look into future EU budgeting, as we move towards 2013 when the current seven-year budgeting perspectives run out. If agreed in plenary, the committee would be composed of 50 members and would start work next month.
CAP reform:
Adoption of report by George Lyon MEP (LibDem, Scotland - Agriculture Committee (Tuesday)
1 January-30 June 2010: Spanish Presidency
1 July-31 December 2010: Belgian Presidency
European Parliament plenary sessions 2010
5-8 July, Strasbourg
6-9 September, Strasbourg
20-23 September, Strasbourg
6-7 October, Brussels
18-21 October, Strasbourg
10-11 November, Brussels
22-25 November, Strasbourg
13-16 December, Strasbourg