Voting on post-2020 EU expenditure and revenue
The Budgets Committee will vote on Thursday on Parliament's position on the EU's post-2020 seven-year budget (Multi-Annual Financial Framework {MFF}) and the reform of the EU’s ability to finance itself independently (own resources) without contributions from other Member States which represent the bulk of the EU budget. On the expenditure side, as Brexit carries the certainty that the EU and its long-term budget will change after 2020, the Rapporteur for the MFF Jan Olbrycht MEP warns that “The next MFF must match EU ambitions. A decision on the future model of the EU is needed as soon as possible." On the revenue side, Rapporteur Janusz Lewandowski MEP proposes an in-depth reform of the EU system of own resources: “There's now a window of opportunity to reform EU own resources as a long-time supporter of the existing system is leaving the EU.”
Stronger industrial cooperation on defence
Europe needs stronger and better cooperation in the field of defence. The pan-EU cooperation on an industrial defence programme is an important step towards creating a genuine European Defence Union. On Wednesday, the Industry, Research and Energy Committee will vote on establishing such a programme, aimed at cross EU-country development of EU defence capabilities. To get things rolling, we immediately want to allocate €500 million for 2019 and 2020 for the programme. The amount should increase to €1 billion per year from 2021.
Making the internal market for electricity work for consumers and industry
The way the electricity markets work inside the EU needs an overhaul to increase the supply of affordable and secure energy across EU borders. The electricity market design should aim at making the electricity markets work with more accent on free market and less reliance on state subsidies. Doing away with overcapacity and connecting the electricity markets of EU Member States will make our industries more competitive and will work in the interest of consumers, points out Krišjānis Kariņš MEP, author of the legislative proposal to be voted in the Industry, Research and Energy Committee on Wednesday.
Towards the harmonisation of taxable profit in EU
Members of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee will vote on Alain Lamassoure’s Report on the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) on Wednesday. The text aims to harmonise the definition of taxable profit across the EU’s Member States and also to establish a system to redistribute corporate tax revenue between EU countries. The proposals will allow taxation on wealth where it is created, allowing businesses to evolve into a more equitable and transparent system.
New rules for goods sold online or at a distance
The Internal Market Committee will vote on Thursday on the 'Contracts for the online and other distance sales of goods' Report, which calls for equal consumer rights in all EU Member States, applying to both online and in-store purchases. Rapporteur Pascal Arimont MEP urges for the highest possible degree of harmonisation in this field, including the rules on guarantee, which should be standardised to 2 years across the EU: "Both consumers and retailers indicate a lack of confidence and security holds them back from selling and/or purchasing goods across borders. At the moment, consumers, for instance, often have trouble returning, exchanging or recovering damaged goods. If we really want to make things easier for consumers and businesses, we will have to ensure that the same rules apply to both online and offline purchases, including guarantee rules. The European Single Market is a success, so let us extend that success to the Digital Single Market.”
Improving the European Citizens' Initiative
The Constitutional Affairs and Petitions Committees will organise a hearing on Wednesday afternoon on the new rules for the European Citizens' Initiative proposed by the European Commission. Among the suggested improvements are a more extensive use of digital possibilities thus making it easier to set up initiatives, lifting burdensome requirements, as well as giving the possibility to younger Europeans, from 16 years of age, to support an initiative. For the EPP Group Constitutional Affairs Spokesman György Schöpflin, Parliament's person responsible for assessing this proposal, the main things to follow up on is the monopoly of the Commission when it comes to admissibility and the transparency of sources of financing the Citizens' Initiatives. In the Petitions Committee, the responsible MEP Jarosław Wałęsa considers that the Parliament's role should be reinforced both on the admissibility check and on the political follow-up, e.g. bringing Citizens' Initiatives to a plenary debate. He outlined the importance of the allocation of the EU budget to the successful initiatives to increase transparency.
Chairman's Agenda
Friday: attendance at the Munich Security Conference (MSC), Germany; EPP Group event 'Defending Western Security together - the Defence Union and its impact on Transatlantic Relations' at the MSC
Saturday: attendance at the MSC
Wednesday: visit to Rome, Italy
Friday: CSU Party event, Altötting
Press Conferences
- Monday @ 11.00 hrs: Briefing on the parliamentary agenda
- Thursday @ 13.30 hrs: Jan Olbrycht, and other co-rapporteurs for the MFF, Janusz Lewandowski, and other co-rapporteurs for Own Resources, on the vote on the BUDG Committee's position on the EU's next long-term budget post-2020 (MFF) and Own Resources reform”