The Week Ahead 11 – 17 October 2021
Committee and groups meetings, Brussels
Climate change/COP26. Ahead of the November UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26), the Environment Committee will vote on their input to the EU position. MEPs are expected to call for more ambitious 2030 emissions reduction targets and more climate finance for developing countries. The COP26 will be the first opportunity to take stock of the implementation of the Paris Agreement (Tuesday).
Media Freedom/SLAPPs. The Civil Liberties and the Legal Affairs committees will propose measures to strengthen media freedom and pluralism in the EU by curbing the phenomenon of vexatious lawsuits designed to silence journalists, NGOs and civil society. Parliament’s proposals will feed into the upcoming Commission initiatives against SLAPPs (Thursday).
Rule of law/Slovenia. A Civil Liberties Committee delegation will travel to Ljubljana to assess the situation regarding the rule of law and media freedom in the country. MEPs will meet NGOs, academia representatives, the government Ombudsman, journalists, state prosecutors and high-level government officials. The delegation will hold a press conference at the end of the mission (Wednesday to Friday).
Roaming. A proposal to extend by ten years current EU rules on the end of roaming charges, due to expire in 2022, will be voted on by the Industry Committee. The renewed legislation would also provide travellers with the same mobile network quality and speed as at home and better mobile access to emergency services for people with disabilities (Thursday).
European Critical Infrastructure. The Civil Liberties Committee will vote on a legislative proposal to better protect EU critical infrastructure for essential services such as energy, transport and drinking water. The rules would help EU countries prevent, resist and recover from disruptive incidents, such as natural disasters, terrorism or public health emergencies (Monday).
2021 Sakharov Prize. The three final candidates for the 2021 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought will be selected by the Foreign Affairs and Development Committees in a joint vote (Thursday).
2021 Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism. Parliament will award the 1st Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for outstanding journalism work based on the principles and values of the EU. EP President David Sassoli will open the award ceremony (Thursday).
Conference on the Future of Europe/ Citizens’ Panels. The last of four European Citizens’ Panels will come together in Strasbourg to focus on the EU’s role in the world and on migration. The Panels will put forward recommendations that will feed into the Conference deliberations and ultimately into the report on its final outcome (Friday to Sunday).
Plenary preparations. Political groups will prepare for the 18-21 October plenary session, where MEPs will outline their expectations for the European Council (21-22 October) and vote on resolutions on the Pandora Papers and transparency in the development, purchase and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. They will debate and vote on the UN COP26 in Glasgow, 2022 EU budget, Farm to Fork Strategy and the economic and social policies of the euro area.
President’s diary. EP President David Sassoli will speak at the 19th European Week of Regions and Cities of the Committee of the Regions, on Monday. On Tuesday, the President will open the Annual Conference of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). President Sassoli will also deliver the opening speech at 2021 Women’s Forum G20 on Sunday. All speeches will be held remotely.
Press briefing. On Friday at 11:00, spokespersons from Parliament and political groups will hold a press briefing on the following week’s plenary session.
