Committee and group meetings, Brussels
ECB/Lagarde. Members of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee will quiz European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on the state of the Euro Area. Inflation, risks to price stability, disorderly market reactions after the pandemic and the review of the ECB’s monetary policy strategy are among the topics likely to be raised (Monday).
Revision of the trans-European networks for energy (TEN-E). The Industry and Energy Committee will vote on its position on the new EU guidelines for selecting the projects to be financed. The selected Projects of Common Interest should improve connection between national markets, secure supply and promote renewables. Financing of fossil fuels and hydrogen and carbon capture should also be addressed (Tuesday).
Budget control/FRONTEX. Following a decision by Parliament in April to postpone clearing of the accounts (so-called discharge) of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), the Budgetary Control Committee will vote on whether or not the discharge should be granted. MEPs needed clarification on a series of issues, e.g. delays in recruiting fundamental rights officers, gender imbalance, reported cases of harassment and meetings with lobbyists not on the EU transparency register (Monday).
European Public Prosecutor/ Kovesi. Members of the Budgetary Control Committee will discuss with EU chief Prosecutor Laura Kövesi how the EU Public Prosecutor’s Office has fared in its first few months fighting against financial crimes. The Office’s workload, its lack of staff as well as the appointment procedures of the delegated prosecutors are likely to be raised by MEPs (Friday).
Rule of law/Hungary. A Civil Liberties Committee delegation will travel to Budapest to assess the situation regarding the rule of law, media freedom, the education system and minority rights. MEPs will meet, among others, the Mayor of Budapest, Members of the Supreme and Constitutional Courts, the Fundamental Rights Commissioner, NGOs and journalists (Wednesday to Friday).
2022 EU budget. The Budgets Committee will set its negotiating position on the EU budget for 2022. MEPs want the budget to support the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and lay the foundations for a more resilient Union (Tuesday).
European Citizens’ Panels/Conference on the Future of Europe. The European Citizens’ Panels will continue their discussions with the third 200-citizen meeting in Strasbourg. It will focus on climate change, the environment and health. The Panels will put forward recommendations that will feed into the Conference deliberations and ultimately into the report on its final outcome (Friday to Sunday).
2021 Sakharov Prize. The nominees for this year’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought will be presented to MEPs in a joint meeting of the Foreign Affairs and Development committees and the Human Rights Subcommittee (Monday).
Plenary preparations. Political groups will prepare for the 4-7 October plenary session, where MEPs will discuss the future of EU-US relations and vote on resolutions on the humanitarian crisis along the EU-Belarus border and the Belarusian regime’s hybrid warfare against the EU, on the state of the EU’s cyber defence capabilities and on an EU-Taiwan partnership. They will also debate and vote on the use of artificial intelligence by the police, on how to meet the EU’s ambition for zero road deaths by 2050, on opportunities and security challenges in the Arctic, on the reform of the EU Asylum agency and on the EU trust fund and the facility to support refugees in Turkey.
Press briefing. On Friday at 11:00, spokespersons from Parliament and political groups will hold a press briefing on the following week’s plenary session.
Source – EP: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/agenda/2021-39