The Week Ahead 20 – 26 January 2020
Committees’ meetings, Brussels
Brexit. The Constitutional Affairs Committee will vote on their recommendation to Parliament on whether it should grant its consent to the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement. The final vote in plenary, scheduled for 29 January in Brussels, will take place if the UK has ratified fully the Agreement by then (Thursday).
EU-Vietnam free trade deal. The EU-Vietnam free trade and investment protection agreements are up for a vote in the International Trade Committee. If approved, the deal would remove all export tariffs from the EU and protect 169 GIs (products with geographical indication), while Vietnam would open its public procurement market to EU firms. The contentious issues are Vietnam’s human rights record and its labour laws (Tuesday).
Artificial Intelligence. The Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee will vote on a resolution addressing several challenges arising from the rapid development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, in particular those related to consumer choice, the problematic use of bias data and the need to adapt EU liability rules to cover new AI-enabled products (Thursday).
NATO/EU. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will address the Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Security and Defence and the Parliamentary Delegation to NATO just a week after Parliament adopted resolutions on the state of play of the Common Foreign and Security Policy as well as Common Security and Defence Policy. MEPs called for close cooperation with NATO, while stressing that the EU needs to have strategic autonomy (Tuesday).
Public Health. The Environment and Public Health Committee will vote on whether to veto a proposal from the Commission to promote the recycling of PVC waste containing lead. According to the draft decision, this may prolong and enhance consumers’ exposure to lead (Tuesday).
Illegal trade in pets. Members of the Environment and Public Health Committee are expected to demand immediate action against illegal trade in pets to protect animal welfare, consumers and public health (Tuesday).
Croatian Presidency. Croatian Ministers will present the rotating Council Presidency’s priorities to the relevant parliamentary committees. Croatia holds the Presidency of the Council until July (Monday to Wednesday).
President’s diary. EP President David Sassoli will attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday, the EP President will be in Jerusalem at the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre (Yad Vashem) for the 75th anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz and will meet Yuli-Yoel Edelstein, Speaker of Knesset. On Friday, President Sassoli will deliver a speech at the Conference on the New Green Deal, in Assisi, Italy.
Press briefing. The EP Press Service will hold a press briefing on the week's activities at 11.00 a.m. on Monday, in the “Anna Politkovskaya” EP press conference room.