Highlights

The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs will hold a structured dialogue on competition policy with Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age and Commissioner for Competition, on 31 January. The meeting will provide an important opportunity to take stock of the current developments on competition policy and to discuss the progress on the review of key regulations and guidelines.

The Committee on Budgets will hear I. Tsanova, Deputy Director-General of DG BUDG on the borrowing decisions and debt management of NGEU and MFA+ (for Ukraine), on 31 January. Members will also debate report “Own Resources: a new start for EU finances, a new start for Europe”, proposing fresh ideas to finance the EU budget. Jointly with the Committee on Budgetary Control, Members will receive ECA to discuss its special report "Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency".

The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development will discuss the priorities of the Swedish Presidency in the field of agriculture and the CAP national Strategic Plans on 30-31 January. Members will also exchange on the barriers to EU-UK agri-food trade, and the legislation on farmed animal welfare. The Committee will also adopt a motion for a resolution on fertilisers, an opinion on outermost regions and an opinion on Treaties amendments.

The Committee on Transport and Tourism will welcome the incoming Swedish Presidency. Mr. Andreas Carlson, Minister for Infrastructure and Housing, in charge of transport, on 31 January. Mr Carlson will present to the Members the priorities of the Swedish Presidency in the field of transport and tourism. Among those is green and energy transition: despite of high and volatile energy prices the Presidency will focus on a global response to climate challenge, on putting Fit for 55 in action.

The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs in association with the Committee on Culture and Education, and the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, organises on 31st of January a hearing dedicated to the "Media Freedom Act", a long awaited legislative proposal aiming to strengthen media pluralism and media freedom in the European Union.

The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs will receive Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, on 31 January. The Commissioner will present a proposal for a directive aiming to approximate the definition of criminal offences and penalties for the violation of Union restrictive measures. This follows from Parliament's consent of 7 July 2022 to a Council decision aimed at extending the list of eurocrimes in Article 83(1) TFEU to the violation of EU restrictive measures.

The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs will vote on the e-evidence package on 31 January. The new package will put in place a cooperation mechanism for authorities to obtain evidence stored in electronic form by service providers located in another EU Member State. It strikes balance between the need for law enforcement and judicial authorities to have swift procedures to access data, while ensuring appropriate fundamental rights guarantees.

The Subcommittee on Security and Defence and the Committee on Foreign Affairs will exchange views with the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak and the former Secretary General of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen on the Kyiv Security Compact on 31 January. The discussion will also focus on Ukraine military capability needs to stop Russia's war of aggression including support from allies and partners in the short and medium term.

Studies, in-depth analyses and briefings produced by Parliament's policy departments and the Economic Governance Support Unit are available online in the dedicated section for Supporting Analyses. Apart from searching specific publications, a selection of papers and upcoming events can be found under "Highlights". A monthly overview of the work of policy departments is published in "Periodicals", with key studies on thematic issues.