The Week Ahead 12 – 18 September 2022
Plenary session, Strasbourg
State of the European Union debate. At 9.00 on Wednesday, Commission President von der Leyen will deliver her State of the European Union address to Parliament, followed by a debate with MEPs. The discussion is expected to focus on EU solidarity with Ukraine, sanctions on Russia, how to ensure the EU’s energy supply and curb its dependence on Russian fossil fuels, and the current price spikes.
Energy prices/Boosting renewables/Energy savings. On Tuesday afternoon, MEPs will debate the EU’s response to the dramatic rise in energy prices with the Council and Commission. Parliament will also debate and vote on plans to speed up the deployment of renewable energy and reduce energy consumption by 2030 (votes Wednesday)
War against Ukraine. Parliament will discuss on Tuesday afternoon the latest developments in Ukraine with EU Foreign Policy Chief Joseph Borrell and will vote later in the week on a €5 billion macro-financial loan to help Ukraine.
This is Europe/Sanna Marin. On Tuesday morning, Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin will share her views on Europe’s current situation and future direction, followed by interventions from political groups. This will be the sixth “This is Europe” debate to take place at the European Parliament. A joint press conference by EP President Metsola and Mrs Marin is scheduled for 12.00.
Droughts and fires in Europe. In light of this summer’s devastating droughts and forest fires across Europe, MEPs will discuss on Tuesday how to increase EU efforts to fight climate change. A resolution will be put to the vote on Thursday.
Adequate minimum wages. MEPs are set to greenlight new EU rules on minimum wages to tackle in-work poverty, ensure decent living conditions, and foster collective bargaining, while recognising existing EU member states’ wage-setting traditions (debate Tuesday, vote Wednesday)
EU values/Hungary. Reviewing developments since Parliament activated Article 7 back in 2018, MEPs are set to declare that Hungary can no longer be ranked as a full democracy and that EU values there are under systemic threat. (debate Wednesday, vote Thursday)
Limiting deforestation. To fight global climate change and biodiversity loss, MEPs will debate and vote on a new law demanding companies ensure products sold in the EU do not come from deforested or degraded land. (debate Monday, vote Tuesday)
President’s Diary. On Tuesday, EP President Metsola will have a bilateral meeting with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin before the latter’s address to Parliament. In the afternoon, she will meet with the Secretary of State for European affairs, Laurence Boone. On Thursday, President Metsola will be in Berlin for the G7 Speakers’ Conference, where she will meet with the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, and the Speaker of the UK House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle. On Friday, she will speak at the G7 Conference session on “Russia’s aggression against Ukraine – consequences for a new international security architecture”, meet with the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan, Hiroyuki Hosoda, and give the keynote speech at the “Strengthening democracy with civic education” Conference session. A press conference in Berlin is scheduled for 12.00.
Last-minute briefing. On Monday at 16.30, Parliament’s Spokesperson will hold a press briefing on the plenary session, which starts at 17:00. Political group briefings will take place on Tuesday morning.
