The Week Ahead 01 – 07 May 2023
Committee and political group meetings, Brussels
Packaging and packaging waste. MEPs on the Environment Committee will discuss their position on a draft bill to reduce the environmental impact of packaging and packaging waste. The text proposes EU binding targets to reduce, among others, single-use plastic beverage bottles by 65% and PET packaging, which is used for most soft drinks, by 50% from 2040 (Thursday).
Classification, labelling and packaging of chemicals. The Environment Committee will also debate a draft report on a Commission proposal to introduce increased labelling obligations for companies about the hazardousness of various household chemicals such as cleaning products, especially those for environment hazards, so consumers can make better-informed purchasing decisions (Thursday).
Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism. On World Press Freedom Day, the European Parliament will launch the call for submissions of entries to the Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism. Every year the Prize, open to professional journalists, rewards outstanding journalism that promotes or defends the core principles and values of the European Union such as human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, rule of law, and human rights (Wednesday).
Europe Day 2023. To mark Europe Day 2023, commemorating the Schuman Declaration on 9 May 1950, the EU institutions will organise a wide range of online and on-site activities, providing citizens with the opportunity to discover the EU. On 6 May, the event will happen in Brussels, where EU institutions will open their doors to citizens. Parliament will organise exceptional visits, interactive presentations, games and meetings with its political groups. The celebration will continue on 9 and 13 May in Luxembourg and Strasbourg.
Plenary preparations. Political groups will prepare for the 8-11 May plenary session, where MEPs will debate Europe’s future with Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz as part of the “This is Europe” debate series and hold a formal sitting with Portugal’s President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. They will also debate and vote on a new law to reduce methane emissions in the energy sector (part of the “Fit for 55” package), on a directive to improve product labelling, make products last longer and end misleading claims, on the EU’s accession to the Istanbul Convention on combating violence against women, and on progress reports on Serbia and Kosovo. MEPs will also consider the impact on the 2024 EU budget of increasing European Union Recovery Instrument borrowing costs, new sources of EU revenue, and vote on whether to sign off on accounts of the EU institutions and bodies.
President’s Diary. EP President Metsola will be in London on Friday and Saturday, where she will attend the Coronation ceremony of His Majesty King Charles III and her Majesty the Queen Consort (Saturday) and meet with Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House of Commons and attend the King’s Reception for Overseas Representatives (Friday).
Pre-session press briefing. The EP Press Service will hold a press briefing with the Parliament’s political group spokespersons at 11.00 on Friday (Anna Politkovskaya room, press centre, Brussels).
