Highlights

The Committee on Constitutional Affairs, in cooperation with the Directorate for Relations with national Parliaments, will hold an Inter-parliamentary Committee Meeting on 17 May. The aim is to discuss with Members of National Parliaments the first results of the Conference on the Future of Europe. This ICM will be addressed by the three Co-Chairs of the CoFE's Executive Board as well as by representatives of the French and Czech parliaments.

The Committees on Budgets and on Economic and Monetary Affairs jointly will hold for the first time an exchange of views with Elena Flores, Chair of the InvestEU Steering Board, on 16 May. The InvestEU Programme provides long-term funding to companies and supports sustainable investment, innovation and job creation in Europe. About a year after the implementation of the InvestEU Regulation, this exchange of views will enable the Members to take stock of progress so far.

Committee on International Trade will vote on temporary suspension of tariffs on Ukrainian industrial and agricultural products, anti-dumping duties, and safeguard measures on steel imports, among others, on 16 May. The Executive Vice-Presidents Margrethe Vestager and Valdis Dombrovskis will debrief the Committee on the second meeting of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council. The Members also will discuss with EVP Dombrovskis the preparations for the 12th Ministerial Conference of the WTO.

The Committee on Budgets will hold a hearing on the implementation and financing of COVAX, to which the Committee on Development is associated, on 17 May . The Committee will also examine an application to support 1580 dismissed workers from Air France through the Globalisation Adjustment Fund. The Committee will vote on an opinion on the proposal for a regulation on the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations.

The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs will hold a hearing with Stefan Ingves, the Governor of the Bank of Sweden, who will appear in his capacity as First Vice-Chair of the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) on 16 May. The relevant legislation provides for the holder of this position to explain how (s)he will carry out their functions, and the hearing will provide the Members with an opportunity to ask questions about the work of the ESRB.

The committees on Budgets and Budgetary Control invited Gert-Jan Koopman, the Commission's Director-General for Budget, to present the proposals to revise the Financial Regulation on 16 May. The Financial Regulation sets the principles and procedures governing the establishment, implementation and control of the EU budget. The Committees have set high expectations for this revision in a resolution that set out a series of requirements for democratic accountability for a modern budget.

The Committee on Transport and Tourism will hold a discussion with Oleksandr Kubrakov, Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure on 17 May. The Minister will discuss with the Committee the situation of transports in Ukraine, its specific needs and what Parliament could do to help. Ukranian Members of the Delegation to the EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Association Committee who will be present in Brussels on that date will also attend this meeting.

The Subcommittee on Security and Defence and the Special Committee on foreign interference in all democratic processes in the European Union, including disinformation, will hold a joint discussion on Russian disinformation and propaganda in relation to the war in Ukraine on 17 May. With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it is clear those are an integral part of Russia's military plan. The threat from Russia and the counter-measures at the disposal of the EU and its allies will be assessed.

The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy will debate on Agency’s Final Assessment of the EU Wholesale Electricity Market Design, on May 16. It will be presented by Christian Zinglersen, the ACER Director. ACER finds that the current electricity market design is worth keeping; however, it suggest improvements are necessary for it to deliver on important challenges, and puts forward a set of measures to future proof the market design.