Highlights

At the initiative of the Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee, the European Parliament is holding its first European Gender Equality Week during the last week of October. Several committees are organising dedicated events related to the topic. The FEMM committee itself is holding, amongst others, a hearing on women and digitalisation, on 28 October, in association with the AIDA committee. It will also go over the findings of the Gender Equality Index 2020, on 29 October.

The Committees on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, and on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality will hold a hearing on combating trafficking in human beings on 26 October, to look into gaps in the current legislation and measures needed to reinforce its application. The Committees will also discuss the draft implementation report on trafficking in human beings, which goes over the identification, protection, and support of victims, and the efficiency of criminal systems, on 29 October.

The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development will hold a public hearing on the impact of measures taken by the EU to face the COVID-19 pandemic, on the fruits, vegetables and wine markets. The hearing will take place on 26 October. With the EU being the largest agri-food exporter and importer in the world, the Committee will also look into ongoing third country trade-related agricultural issues, on 27 October.

The Committee on Artificial Intelligence in a Digital Age will look into the EU data strategy with Internal Market Commissioner, Thierry Breton, on 26 October. The Commission’s AI White Paper will then be discussed with Commission Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, on 27 October. The Committee will also go over OECD initiatives on AI, including the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) and the Going Digital project.

The Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee will go over the 2020 Strategic Foresight Report on 26 October, with Commission Vice-President for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight, Maroš Šefčovič. This first annual report presents the Commission’s plan to integrate strategic foresight into EU policy-making. It identifies lessons from the COVID-19 crisis, introduces resilience as a compass for policy-making and discusses the role of strategic foresight in strengthening resilience.

The Committee on Legal Affairs is holding an Interparliamentary Committee Meeting on Better Law Making from the Digital Perspective, on 27 October. The aim of this meeting with national parliaments is to discuss the role that digitisation plays in the legislative process and how to ensure that new legislation is in accordance with modern requirements.