Highlights

The Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety will vote on the provisional agreement during inter-institutional negotiations on the reform of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM), on 25 February. The agreed text strengthens the existing legal framework in response to the unprecedented experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 1.263 billion EUR will be allocated to the UCPM under the 2021-2027 MFF, supplemented by 2.056 billion EUR from the EU Recovery Instrument.

The Committees on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, and on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality will hold a hearing on attacks on abortion rights and breaches of the rule of law in Poland, on 24 February. It will focus on the setback to women’s sexual and reproductive rights in Poland and stress the EU’s legal obligation to uphold and protect women’s human rights and gender equality. The hearing will equally explore the link with the deteriorating rule of law situation in Poland.

The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development will hold a debate with DG AGRI Director General Wolfgang Burtscher (European Commission) on the EU agri-food promotion policy work programme of 2021, on 24 February. The programme focuses on campaigns that are in line with the ambitions of the European Green Deal. The Committee will also go over the state of play of inter-institutional negotiations regarding the CAP Strategic Plans.

The Committee on Budgets will go over the draft report on the guidelines for the preparation of next year's EU budget, on 25 February. Structured along four main political axes, the report’s overarching priority is the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. The Committee will also discuss the changes for the budget implementation and planning brought by the new financial period with DG BUDG Director General Gert Jan Koopman (European Commission).

The Subcommittee on Tax matters will address the tax scam known as “Cum-Ex/Cum-Cum”, which took €55 billion out of European Tax Authorities’ coffers, between 2002 and 2012, on 24 February. Olaya Argueso Perez, Editor in Chief at Correctiv will go over the mechanisms that were used to request multiple refunds of withholding taxes. The hearing will also focus on lessons learnt, technical solutions, and the role of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) within this framework.

The Committee on Transport and Tourism will go over the progress in the implementation of the Rhine-Danube and the Atlantic corridors of the Trans-European transport network (TEN-T) core, on 25 February. The European Coordinators for these corridors, Inés Ayala Sender (Rhine-Danube) and Carlo Secchi (Atlantic), will participate in this debate.

The Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality will hold a Structured Dialogue with Equality Commissioner Helena Dalli, on 24 February. The topics that are expected to be discussed include the Decision of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal of 22 October 2020 regarding abortion, the impact of COVID-19 on women, and the recent proposal for adequate minimum wages in the European Union.

The Committee of Inquiry on the Protection of Animals during Transport will hold a public hearing to tackle the specific characteristics and challenges of implementation of Regulation 01/2005 in relation to long-distance transport of live animals within the EU. The hearing will take place on 25 February with the participation of experts who will go over the duties and obligations of Member States’ competent authorities, the most commonly reported issues, and best practices.

The Committee on International Trade will go over the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, on 24 February. It will then look into the Commission's Communication on the Trade Policy Review with European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, on 25 February. The Communication aims to chart the future of the EU's trade and investment policy. The Committee will also hold a public hearing with experts on the trade part of the EU-Mercosur agreement.