In primo piano

Parliament's committees will meet representatives of the Portuguese 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 on 25 January. The Portuguese Presidency started its mandate in the beginning of January and runs until the end of June 2021.

The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs will hold a structured dialogue with Commissioner Mairead McGuinness, responsible for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union, on 25 January. The debate is expected to focus on the completion of the Banking Union, the Digital Finance package, the Retail Payments Strategy, and the consequences of the UK's departure from the European Union.

The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development will go over the state of play of inter-institutional negotiations regarding the CAP Strategic Plans, on 25 January. It will also vote on its opinion on the report on cohesion policy and regional environment strategies in the fight against climate change. The day after, the Committee will hold a debate with Commissioner Wojciechowski on the update of a JRC study on the cumulative impact of trade agreements on EU agriculture.

The Committee on Transport and Tourism will go over the Commission’s recently adopted Strategy on Sustainable and Smart Mobility, on 25 January, together with Transport Commissioner Adina Vălean. The strategy consists of a future-oriented roadmap for the Union’s transport policy, and an action plan to achieve the objectives of a sustainable, smart and resilient mobility system.

The Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality will hold a hearing with experts on gender aspects of precarious work, on 25 January. The hearing will focus on the gender dimension in relation to precarious work, poverty, the gender pay gap and minimum wages. The Committee will also discuss amendments to the draft report on the situation of sexual and reproductive health and rights in the EU, in the frame of women’s health.

The Committee on Budgetary Control will look into the draft discharge reports for 2019 regarding the implementation of the EU budget by the European Parliament and EU institutions other than the European Commission, on 25 January. The Committee will also go over its opinion on strengthening transparency and integrity in the EU institutions by setting up an independent EU ethics body.

The Committee on Petitions will discuss three petitions focusing on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on international travel, on 26 January. The Committee will also examine two petitions raising the issues of discrimination of the LGBTQI community and the creation of LGBT-free zones in Poland.

The Committees on Budgetary Control and on Development will look into the European Court of Auditors’ Special Report on EU development aid to Kenya, on 26 January. The report notes that the Commission and the EEAS have not demonstrated that European Development Fund aid to Kenya between 2014 and 2020, which amounted to €435 million, has addressed the country's development obstacles and reduced poverty. The ECA now calls on the Commission to rethink its approach when allocating development aid.

The Subcommittee on Tax matters will hold a hearing with experts on the post-Brexit fight against tax evasion and avoidance, on 26 January. In particular, the hearing will focus on how Brexit is expected to affect the Code of Conduct’s future assessment of the UK, its overseas territories and crown dependencies, and on the consequences of Brexit as regards the level playing field in the tax area.