A new EU plan to address the root causes of migration will be presented by the EU Commission and debated in plenary on Tuesday. The new “partnership framework with third countries”, prepared by Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, foresees using EU funds to promote private investment in migrants’ countries of origin, particularly in Africa.
The state of democracy in Turkey after its Grand National Assembly stripped MPs of their immunity from prosecution in a vote on 20 May, will be debated by MEPs with an EU Council representative on Wednesday.
The progress of the European Commission's €315 billion investment plan for Europe, or "Juncker plan", will be debated on Wednesday with Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen. Launched a year ago, the European Fund for Strategic investments (EFSI) aims to mobilise private and public funds to kick-start growth after the financial crisis. Tabling its first progress report on 2 June, the Commission proposed to extend the plan beyond the original three years and scale up resources for SMEs.
Parliament is set to vote Wednesday on a proposal by its political leadership to set up an inquiry committee to look into the “Panama Papers” revelations on the financial arrangements of offshore companies and their ultimate beneficiaries.
Parliament is to debate its stance on the EU Commission proposal for an anti-tax avoidance directive on Tuesday and vote a resolution on Wednesday. The proposal, which aims to close loopholes used by corporate tax avoiders, was welcomed by Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in a resolution voted on 24 May. MEPs nonetheless advocated stricter limits on deductions for interest payments and an effective corporate tax rate on foreign income of 15%.
Parliament is set to reiterate on Wednesday its demand that the European Commission publish the overdue scientific criteria needed to identify and tackle exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals, which should have been published by the end of 2013.
Parliament will vote on Thursday on new EU rules to facilitate the free movement of citizens by simplifying procedures for proving the authenticity of certain public documents, such as birth or marriage certificates, in other EU member states. To avoid the need for translations, the provisions would introduce new multilingual EU forms to be attached to the documents.
The President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Rosen Plevneliev, will deliver a speech in the European Parliament on Wednesday at 12.00. The future of Europe and the current challenges that the EU is facing are expected to be among the topics addressed.
MEPs want the European Commission to take action against unfair trading practices in the food sector. It should put forward proposals to foster fair and transparent relations between food producers, suppliers and distributors, they say in a non-legislative resolution to be debated on Monday and voted on Tuesday. MEPs also express concerns about overproduction and food waste caused by the so-called Unfair Trading Practices (UTPs).