A particularly busy agenda for the institutions in Brussels this week, with important meetings in all three focus areas. In the digital area, there will be important votes on the Data Act, the Chips Act and the Chips Joint Undertaking. Both the ENVI and ITRE Committees will have exchanges with representatives of the Swedish government as part of the presidency’s objectives. Finally, the energy theme with both the Renewable Energy Directive and the Energy Efficiency Directive will be analysed in the ITRE Committee.
DIGITAL
Monday 23 January 2023. The IMCO Committee will consider amendments on accelerating through eGovernment digital public services that support the functioning of the single market, the rapporteur being the Croatian MEP Tomislav Sokol (EPP). This will be followed by a vote on the approval of the Committee draft opinion on the Data Act signed by Polish MEP Adam Bielan (ECR). The thematic department’s study “E-commerce and the EU Green Deal: Analysis of the environmental footprint of online sales in the context of the circular economy” will also be presented.
Tuesday 24 January 2023. The ITRE Committee will vote on the decision to open inter-institutional negotiations on the Chips Act following the approval of the draft report, the rapporteur being the Romanian MEP Dan Nica (S&D). Then, the vote on the Chips Joint Undertaking will follow – rapporteur is the Bulgarian MEP Eva Maydell (EPP). In the afternoon there will be an exchange of views with Ebba Busch, Minister of Energy, Business and Industry (energy, industry, innovation and digital, ICT, telecommunications) and Mats Persson, Minister of Education (research, space), as part of the Swedish Presidency.
ENERGY
Monday 23 January 2023. Still with the ITRE Committee, on the agenda is the report to the committee on the negotiations its two important dossiers – the Renewable Energy Directive with rapporteur the German MEP Markus Pieter (EPP) and the Energy Efficiency Directive with rapporteur the Danish MEP Niels Fuglsang (S&D). In addition, a study will be presented on the ETS market and the role played by financial operators showing how much their activity influences the pricing of allowances.
HEALTH
Monday 23 January 2023. In the ENVI Committee, as part of the start of the Swedish Council Presidency there will hold an exchange of views with the Swedish Ministers for Social Affairs and for Health, Jakob Forssmed and Acko Ankarberg Johansson. This will be followed by a discussion on the status of the pandemic trail from Covid-19 and the drug shortage plaguing Europe. As far as the Council is concerned, its Public Health Working Group will work on the presentation of a compromise on the European Health Data Space.
Wednesday 25 January 2023. During the meeting of the Joint DEVE and ENVI Committees, the Commission will present the EU Global Health Strategy, “Better Health for All in a Changing World”. Last November 30, the Commission endorsed the new strategy with three overarching goals – to improve people’s health and well-being throughout life, to strengthen health systems and boost universal health coverage, and to propose a “One Health” approach to prevent and combat health threats.
