The Conference of Presidents (CoP) of the European Parliament updated the institution’s calendar of activities on 2 July, to take into account the continuing precautionary measures taken to contain the spread of COVID-19. The full calendar is available on Parliament’s website.

Parliament's committees will meet representatives of the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union to discuss its priorities in relation to the committees' respective areas of responsibility. These meetings will start taking place as of 3 July 2020. The German Presidency started in the beginning of July and runs until the end of December 2020.

The Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety will vote on its report on protecting and restoring the world’s forests, in its meetings of 6 and 7 July. The report includes a call for a European legal framework based on due diligence in order to ensure sustainable and deforestation-free supply chains for products and commodities. The Committee will also discuss its report on the EU4Health Programme for 2021-2027, as part of the Recovery Plan to build resilient health systems.

The Committee on Legal Affairs will vote on the provisional agreement resulting from interinstitutional negotiations on representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumers, on 7 July. It will discuss the amendments to the files on the Digital Services Act, on civil liability regime for artificial intelligence, on intellectual property rights for the development of artificial intelligence technologies.

In this issue of the Policy Departments’ Monthly Highlights, LIBE Committee Chair Juan Fernando López Aguilar presents a publication that examines the impact of COVID-19 measures adopted by the Member States on democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights. This edition also features topics related to gender equality, the budget, artificial intelligence, agriculture, and Africa. Forthcoming publications and events are also announced.