The Week ahead

An emergency EU summit to resolve the EU’s 2021-2027 Budget stalemate will be held on Thursday in Brussels. The EPP Group will approve the deal only if it provides sufficient funding for our priorities, such as cohesion and agriculture as well as climate change, research and innovation, youth and security for the EU. The long-term EU Budget decision-making process requires the consent of the European Parliament to be concluded.

All dimensions of the European Union policy on energy and climate will have to be considered when the EU chooses which energy projects are eligible for EU financial support. This means that the upcoming revision of the guidelines for energy projects (TEN-E) should not only reflect the climate targets in the EU Green Deal, but also take into consideration other important objectives like security of energy supplies and the need for affordable energy. The vote on the TEN-E guidelines will take place in the Energy Committee on Tuesday.

We therefore request clear rules from the Commission on how to deal with alleged conflicts of interest regarding high profile politicians, as we have witnessed in countries such as the Czech Republic. At the same time, an EU regulation preventing land-grabbing malpractices is necessary to defend our farmers. That is what EPP Group Rapporteur Monika Hohlmeier will ask for in a discharge to the European Commission, to be voted on Wednesday in the Budgetary Control Committee.

On Wednesday morning, the Civil Liberties Committee will hold a hearing on the implementation of a law that determines which EU Member State is responsible for the examination of an application for asylum submitted by persons seeking international protection - the so-called ‘Dublin III Regulation.' “It is obvious that the current Dublin Regulation does not work and that it needs to be reformed. I look forward to next week's hearing where experts from several Member States will share their views on this important issue. I hope this report can contribute to the upcoming challenge of creating a well-functioning and controlled Migration Policy in Europe," says MEP Tomas Tobé, EPP Group spokesman on the subject.

Monday @11.00 hrs: Briefing on the Parliamentary agenda

Tuesday @13.00 hrs: Norbert Lins, Chair of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, on the “EFSA and the Agriculture Committee: Cooperation on Animal Welfare”

Tuesday @14.30 hrs: Leopoldo López Gil, on “Human Rights Activism in Cuba”