The Week Ahead 18 – 24 June 2018

EU copyright reform. Legislative proposals to update current EU rules on copyright will be up for a vote by the Legal Affairs Committee. They aim to ensure that artists’ copyrighted works are well protected when they are accessed online and that press publishers are remunerated when users access their texts online. (Wednesday) 

EP Conference of Presidents. Parliament’s Conference of Presidents (EP President and political groups’ leaders) will be in Vienna to prepare for the upcoming Austrian Council Presidency. EP leaders will meet representatives of the Austrian Federal Government, Austria’s President Alexander Van der Bellen as well as representatives of the Austrian National Parliament. They will discuss migration and external borders, the EU’s long-term budget (MFF), employment and the Western Balkans. Finally, they will also attend, on the same day, a debate with students and young Austrians. (Tuesday)

Antimicrobial resistance. The Public Health and Environment Committee will contribute to an Action Plan to fight antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR causes an estimated 25,000 deaths and €1.5 billion in extra healthcare costs every year in the EU, due to factors such as inappropriate use of antibiotics in humans, veterinary overuse in livestock and poor hygiene conditions in healthcare facilities or in the food chain. (Wednesday)

Migration: trafficking of women and children. Speakers from IOM, OSCE and Europol, as well as the EU Anti-Trafficking coordinator and other experts, will debate with MEPs how to tackle human trafficking, particularly of children and women. The same day, the Civil Liberties Committee will discuss a report from the Europol Migrant Smuggling Centre. (Thursday)

EU-China relations. Foreign Affairs Committee MEPs are set to urge EU countries to stand united against China’s attempts to take control of Europe’s strategic infrastructure and anchor their ties with China in respect for human rights and the rule of law. (Wednesday)

ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly. MEPs and their counterparts from the national parliaments of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states will meet for the 35th session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly in Brussels to discuss migration, demographic growth, fighting xenophobia, racism and discrimination, fighting international terrorism and the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan. (Monday to Wednesday)

President’s diary. EP President Antonio Tajani will be in Vienna on Tuesday for the EP Conference of Presidents’ meeting, where he will also have a bilateral meeting with Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, with a joint press point conference at 12:00. President Tajani will reply to citizens’ questions on the importance and promotion of European cultural heritage in a Facebook Live on Wednesday at 16 CET. On the same day, President Tajani will meet the Egyptian Parliament’s Speaker Dr. Ali Abdel Aal.