Committee meetings at the European Parliament will be resuming in the week between 11 and 15 July. Among others, the Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN), the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL), the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), and the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) will meet.
Many topics will be discussed and voted on this week in the areas of digital, energy and health. In many of the committees, the priorities of the newly established Czech EU Council Presidency will be presented, followed by exchanges of views with Czech ministers and deputy ministers responsible for the relevant issues. But that is not all. In Prague this week there will be the meeting of the attachés for telecommunications and the digital agenda, and the meeting of the Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget (COTER). On the other hand, the city of Brno will host a meeting of oncology experts who will discuss the implementation of the European Plan to Combat Cancer.
As for the Council’s agenda, between 11 and 15 July, the Eurogroup and the Economic and Financial Affairs Council as well as the informal workshop of the International Environmental Issues Group, will also take place.
DIGITAL
- Tuesday 12 July 2022: The Transport and Tourism Committee (TRAN) will vote on the draft opinion on the Artificial Intelligence Act, whose rapporteur is Maltese MEP Josianne Cutajar (S&D). On the same day, amendments to the draft report on the proposal for the improvement of working conditions through digital platforms will be discussed during the meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL). Rapporteur of the dossier is Italian MEP Elisabetta Gualmini (S&D).
- Wednesday, 13 July and Thursday, 14 July 2022: In Prague, the meeting of telecommunications and digital agenda attachés will discuss the digitisation of the Czech Republic and Europe in general.
- Wednesday, 13 July and Thursday, 14 July 2022: On Wednesday, the Committee for Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) will meet to vote on the provisional agreement reached in inter-institutional negotiations on the proposal for a directive on measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union. The rapporteur for the dossier is Dutch MEP Bart Groothuis (Greens). Linked to the topic of EU industrial policy, there will also be a public hearing on Wednesday on the prospects of the proposed Chips Act. The following day, ITRE members will vote on the draft report on the implementation of the New Industrial Strategy for Europe by Dutch MEP Tom Berendsen (EPP).
ENERGY
- Sunday 10 July and Monday 11 July 2022: Prague will host the meeting of the EU Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget (COTER). The meeting will focus on the topic of investments in decarbonisation and the modernisation of public transport.
- Wednesday 13 July 2022: The Committee for Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) will vote on the report by Danish MEP Niels Fuglsang (S&D) on the revision of the energy efficiency (recast) directive. In addition, ITRE members will also consider the draft reports of Polish MEP Jerzy Buzek (EPP), rapporteur for the recast of the Gas/Hydrogen Regulation, and German MEP Jens Geier (S&D), rapporteur for the recast of the Gas/Hydrogen Directive. The Regulation and the Directive specifically aim to enable the market to decarbonise gas consumption, as well as proposing measures to support the creation of hydrogen infrastructure.
- Wednesday 13 July and Thursday 14 July 2022: On Wednesday, the Committee for International Trade (INTA) will discuss with the Commission the results of the modernisation process of the Energy Charter Treaty, a treaty that promotes energy security through more open and competitive energy markets. While on Thursday, committee members will be presented with the Commission’s Communication “The Power of Trade Partnerships: together for green and just economic growth“.
HEALTH
- Tuesday, 12 July 2022: Members of the parliamentary committee for Environment, Public Health, and Food Safety (ENVI) will vote on the provisional agreement reached during inter-institutional negotiations on the Regulation on serious cross-border threats to health.
- Wednesday, 13 July and Thursday 14 July 2022: Brno in the Czech Republic will host a meeting of oncology experts who will discuss the implementation of the European Plan to Combat Cancer to produce a Call for Action in the field of oncology. The meeting will be attended by EU experts and health ministers together with experts from the World Health Organisation.
OTHER APPOINTMENTS
- Monday 11 July 2022: The Eurogroup will meet in Brussels. The items on the agenda will include potential impacts of the ‘digital euro’ on the financial system, fiscal policy orientations for 2023, macro-economic developments and policy challenges in the euro area.
- Monday 11 July and Tuesday 12 July: In the run-up to the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt, environment ministers will meet for the informal workshop of the International Environmental Issues Group. The group is the Council preparatory body that prepares EU positions for international negotiations on environmental and climate change issues.
- Tuesday, 12 July 2022: In the Economic and Financial Affairs Council, ministers will adopt the last three legal acts that will allow Croatia to join the Eurozone – entry scheduled for 1 January 2023. During the Council, the work programme of the new Czech Presidency of the EU Council will also be presented.
- Tuesday 12 July to Thursday 14 July 2022: The EU Council Presidency will organise an informal meeting of environment ministers in Prague.
