MEPs meet in plenary session in Strasbourg on 5-8 July 2010.
Among the highlights of the agenda:
New rules on capital requirements for banks and a cap on bonuses for bankers will come into effect in 2011 if MEPs approve a text which has been negotiated between representatives of the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers. Tuesday's debate on the proposal will be led by North West Labour MEP Arlene McCarthy who is the Parliament's rapporteur on the issue. The vote will take place on Wednesday.
Some of the key elements of the new rules are:
Following the agreement reached this week, Arlene McCarthy said: "Two years on from the global financial crisis, these tough new rules on bonuses will transform the bonus culture and end incentives for excessive risk taking. A high-risk and short-term bonus culture wrought havoc with the global economy and taxpayers paid the price. The public want banks to prioritise stability and lending over their own pay and perks. In the last two years the banks have failed to reform, and we are now doing the job for them."
Four months after the European Parliament rejected the SWIFT agreement on bank data transfers to the USA, MEPs will be asked to approve a fresh version of the accord, after safeguards were negotiated with the Council of Ministers and the USA.
Thanks to MEPs, the EU will also be setting up a data processing system of its own so that bulk data transfers to non-EU countries can be avoided in future.
For the immediate future, bulk data transfers to the USA are set to continue. However, under the agreement, data can only be transferred with the approval of Europol, on a case-by-case basis and in the smallest possible quantities.
And MEPs squeezed a commitment from the US authorities that Europeans can seek redress if data is misused.
The new accord, which was approved by the Council of Ministers on Monday 28 June, will be examined by the Civil Liberties Committee on Monday 5 July before being put to a vote by the full Parliament on Wednesday. Debate Tuesday morning.
On Tuesday afternoon, MEPs will have their 1st reading debate on the package of proposals setting up an EU supervisory system for different parts of the financial services sector. This covers banking, securities and markets and the insurance and occupational pensions sectors, with South East Labour MEP Peter Skinner leading the negotiations for the Parliament in the latter area.
At issue is the extent to which the EU supervisory authorities should be empowered to override a fragmented, nationalistic approach when dealing with a future crisis in financial services.
The 1st reading vote is currently scheduled for Wednesday, but there is no agreement yet with the Council of Ministers. So, a formal vote at this stage will lay down a marker from the Parliament for the continuation of negotiations. There are no time limits for these discussions. But once agreement is reached, the whole package would then have to return to the European Parliament for a formal 2nd reading before the various directives and regulations can become law.
(Tuesday evening debate; Wednesday vote)
The proposed Integrated Pollution, Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive will review and bring together in one text seven existing directives on industrial emissions. It is estimated that the new IPPC regime will limit pollution from 52,000 industrial installations across Europe, from large combustion plants to waste incinerators and from poultry or pig farms to cement factories.
Two basic issues have come to the fore in the text agreed informally between representatives of the Parliament and the Council of Ministers:
In the 1st reading debate on 10 March 2009, four of the sitting UK MEPs spoke: Chris Davies (LibDem, North West); Fiona Hall (LibDem, North East); Glenis Willmott (Labour, East Midlands); Robert Sturdy (Conservative, Eastern).
Scottish Liberal Democrat MEP George Lyon will present his report on CAP reform on Thursday morning. This sets out a series of recommendations for future changes to farm payments schemes, food security and environmental protection. It will set a marker from the European Parliament ahead of the publication expected this autumn of the European Commission's proposals for reform of the Common Agricultural Policy after 2013.
Under the Lisbon Treaty, the European Parliament now has increased powers in the area of agriculture policy, so MEPs will be fully involved in the negotiations about the future structure of the CAP as we move towards 2013. The vote on George Lyon's report will take place on Thursday at the end of the morning.
Passengers on ferries, river boats and cruise ships will have a set of new rights from 2012 provided they embark or disembark in an EU port, if MEPs endorse an agreement reached in informal negotiations between representatives of the Parliament and the Council of Ministers. The new rules will be similar to those governing the air travel industry, which were so in the news earlier this year following the disruption caused by the Icelandic volcano. They set out details of compensation in the case of delays or cancellations, and lay down the EU-wide standards for guaranteeing disabled passengers' access.
A further proposed Regulation covers bus and coach passengers. However, on this proposal there is no agreement yet between the Parliament and the Council, so MEPs will adopt their 2nd reading position and the discussions will enter into the conciliation phase, with a view to resolving differences between the two institutions' positions.
The debate is first up on Monday afternoon (4.00pm UK time), with the votes on Tuesday. When the Parliament had its 1st reading debate on 22 April 2009, the chair of the Parliament's Transport Committee, Brian Simpson (Labour, North West) was the only sitting MEP from the UK to speak.
Meat and dairy products from cloned animals and food produced using nanotechnology are both targeted in new proposals for an EU Regulation governing novel foods. The rules govern the placing on the market of new food types or food that has not been traditionally consumed in the EU. One of the major issues of discussion in negotiations between MEPs and the Council has been on whether food from cloned animals should be included in the scope of the Regulation. Debate: Tuesday evening; vote: Wednesday.
This is the 2nd reading in the European Parliament (See the verbatim record of the 1st reading debate on 24 March 2009 on the Parliament's website). Agreement has not been reached with the Council of Ministers, so negotiations are likely to go into the conciliation phase once Council has formally given its response to the plenary vote at 2nd reading.
Criminalising the illegal timber trade and ensuring traceability of timber products through the supply chain are two of the major elements of a new EU Regulation due for discussion on Tuesday and adoption (at 2nd reading) on Wednesday. Former Greens MEP Caroline Lucas (who stood down from the European Parliament after winning a seat at Westminster in May) led the debate at 1st reading when the Parliament last discussed this proposal (Debate of 21 April 2009). A Finnish Green MEP will now lead the debate in Strasbourg.
New EU rules designed to cut red tape for ships entering or leaving EU ports are due to get the go-ahead if MEPs approve the position taken in the Parliament's Transport Committee. The new directive on reporting formalities would introduce a single form to be accepted by port authorities in all EU Member States and an electronic system for easy exchange of information between ships and ports.
Other UK MEPs
Scottish LibDem MEP George Lyon and Northern Ireland MEP Jim Nicholson (UUP) are two of the signatories to an oral question set for debate on Thursday morning. At issue is the reopening last month of negotiations with the Mercosur countries of South America with a view to reaching a new association agreement. Some MEPs have concerns about the potential impact of such an agreement on EU producers, especially in the beef and poultry sectors, so we can expect discussion of issues such as food safety and animal welfare.
EU presidencies (Spain/Belgium): Spain's Prime Minister José Luis Zapatero will present the conclusions of the Spanish EU Presidency in a debate starting on Tuesday morning at 8am (UK time). Belgium took over the Presidency on 1 July and will lead Council discussions in the various policy areas for the next 6 months until 31 December 2010. Belgium's Prime Minister Yves Leterme will present his country's priorities to MEPs from 8.00am on Wednesday morning. Among those priorities are likely to figure: economic governance; EU enlargement; climate change and the environment.
Economic governance: Commission President José Manuel Barroso will make a statement to MEPs on Tuesday afternoon on the latest proposals for economic governance and surveillance of national budgets. This kicks off at 2.00pm (UK time) and replaces the usual Question Hour session.
External Action Service/Baroness Ashton: Baroness Ashton, the EU's High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, will kick off Thursday's debate on the European External Action Service. The discussion this session revolves around the organisation and functioning of the service, rather than its budget. So, when MEPs vote - in the Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday evening; and in plenary on Thursday - it is on the formal Council Decision to set up the Service and on Declarations concerning its political accountability in the future.
Iceland/Kosovo/Albania: Wednesday sees two separate debates, first on Iceland's application to join the EU, and then on Kosovo and Albania. First up is Iceland (Wednesday morning), where the European Parliament's formal green light is needed before membership talks can begin. Among the issues for discussion will be compensation payments to UK depositors in Icesave Bank, though a majority in the Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee called for this to be resolved bilaterally with both the UK and the Netherlands. Wednesday afternoon's debate on Kosovo and Albania look at some of the remaining barriers to these countries' future EU membership, including corruption and organised crime. In the case of Kosovo, 5 EU Member States have still not recognised its independence. Also at issue is the question of visa requirements for entry to Schengen countries.
Biowaste: The European Parliament's response to a European Commission Green Paper on management of bio-waste is up for discussion on Monday evening (vote on a resolution: Tuesday). Biowaste is food and garden waste from households as well as industry, of which there are some 118-138tonnes produced across the EU every year. The report, as adopted in the Parliament's Environment Committee, calls for separate collection and recycling of biowaste and calls on the Commission to come up with a proposal for a new Directive later this year.
Oil exploration safety: Tuesday evening sees a debate on the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, including any potential impact this may have on future oil exploration and extraction in EU waters.
Intellectual property: Infringements of copyright on the internet come to the fore on Monday when MEPs debate a report on enforcement of intellectual property rights in the internal market. A resolution agreed in the Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee states that "the enormous growth of unauthorised file sharing of copyrighted works and recorded performances is an increasing problem for the European economy". MEPs will vote on Thursday on the resolution which will set out their recommendations for dealing with the problem.
1 July-31 December 2010: Belgian Presidency
European Parliament plenary sessions 2010
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