RepowerEU chapters in recovery and resilience plans; Esports and video games; Carriage of freight by road between the EU and Ukraine and between the EU and Moldova; Digital finance; Panel Discussion: The Digital Euro — Disruptive Technology or Digital Dystopia.

RepowerEU chapters in recovery and resilience plans

On Wednesday during the mini plenary session, Parliament will discuss the RepowerEU chapters in recovery and resilience plans, followed by a vote on Thursday. In light of the global energy crisis caused by the Russian invasion in Ukraine, the Commission has recently proposed to make targeted amendments to the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) Regulation to integrate dedicated REPowerEU chapters in Member States’ existing recovery and resilience plans (RRPs). Although several positive aspects have been introduced reflecting current energy dependency risks, the Russian war, inflation and geopolitically driven aspects, the ECR Group believes that the proposed additional chapters severely reduce the potential of this regulation to be implemented swiftly and effectively.

Debate: Wednesday @ 16:00
Vote: Thursday @ 11:00

Esports and video games

On Wednesday, MEPs will discuss an initiative report that seeks to have a thorough look at Esports and the practice of competitive video games. Video games represent a cultural and creative industry worth 23.3 billion euros, which has experienced strong structural growth and still has great potential with the digital transition embraced by the European Union. Although the market is extremely international and video games seek a global audience, Europe has established itself as one of the world’s leading markets for video games, as well as a key player in all stages of their development, from writing to distribution. For the ECR Group, it is vital for the competitiveness of the European industry to increase the number of quality educational programmes leading to video game professions, often linked to the digital transition. The ECR Group welcomes this report but draws attention to the challenges facing esports, such as the problem of doping. The debate will be followed by a vote on Thursday.

Debate: Wednesday @ 21:00
Vote: Thursday @ 11:00

Carriage of freight by road between the EU and Ukraine and between the EU and Moldova

On Thursday, Members of the European Parliament will vote on the EU/Ukraine and EU/Moldova Agreements on the carriage of freight by road. The ECR Group believes that, following the Russian war in Ukraine, alternative routes by road for export from Ukraine need to be found and facilitated. As the number of transport operations compared to normal times have increased and would exceed the quotas, the ECR Group welcomes that these agreements will replace existing bilateral agreements and liberalise transport markets. Additionally, in the case of Ukraine, the agreement also deals with specific clauses related to driving licenses, exempting drivers from the requirement to present an international driving permit. Many Ukrainian drivers are no longer able to follow the administrative procedures related to driver documents such as international driving permit applications or the issuing of new documents.

Vote: Thursday @ 11:00

Digital finance

On Wednesday, MEPs will hold a joint debate on Digital Finance, followed by votes on Thursday. The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) establishes uniform security requirements for network and information systems of financial sector companies and organisations, as well as critical third parties that provide them with information and communications technology (ICT) services. The proposed regulatory framework requires all businesses within its scope to enhance their ability to withstand, respond to and recover from all types of ICT-related disruptions and threats so as to help build a more resistant environment for consumers and businesses. This approach is especially relevant against the backdrop of the increased weaponisation of cyberspace by rogue states and the rise of cybercrime. The ECR Group welcomes that building a consistent ICT incident reporting mechanism that reduces the administrative burden for financial institutions and strengthens supervisory effectiveness has been included in the report.

The report on Amending Directive regarding Digital Operational Resilience requirements is meant to ensure that further support and harmonisation is provided to the potential of digital finance in terms of innovation and competition, particularly in ICT related spheres. The ECR Group welcomes that this directive puts forward a set of amendments that are necessary to bring legal clarity in relation to the application by financial entities that are authorised and supervised in according with those Directives of various digital operational resilience requirements. The ECR Group believes that the amendments on the directive on payment services will reduce administrative burdens by setting a new beneficial single and fully harmonized incident reporting mechanism for regulated financial entities.

Debate: Wednesday @ 18:00
Vote: Thursday @ 11:00

Panel Discussion: The Digital Euro — Disruptive Technology or Digital Dystopia

On Tuesday, ECR MEP Michiel Hoogeveen will host a panel discussion where experts will explore the opportunities and potential pitfalls of implementing the digital euro. While the investigation phase is still ongoing, the realisation phase may begin as early as September 2023. Panellists include Evelien Witlox, Programme Manager of the Digital Euro, ECB; Lex Hoogduin, Former Director of the DNB, Professor at Groningen University; Wim Boonstra, Special Advisor and Economist at RaboResearch Global Economics & Markets.

When: Tuesday @ 9:30 - 12:30
Where: ASP1H1
You can watch the event live here.

9 November 1989: a date that has shaped the modern history of our continent

With the fall of the Berlin Wall, communist tyranny collapsed and the conditions were created for the reunification of Europe in the name of freedom and democracy and against totalitarianism. Taking place on Wednesday 9 November 2022, MEP Carlo Fidanza has organised the discussion forum “the Europe of Freedom” to reflect on the 33 years that have followed the fall of the Berlin Wall. Other speakers include MEP Prof Ryszard Legutko, Chairman of the ECR Group; ECR MEP Roberts Zīle, Vice-President of the European Parliament; EPP MEP Rasa Juknevičienė, Chair of the EP Remembrance Group; NA MEP Enikő Győri; and ECR MEP Angel Dzhambazki.

When: Wednesday @ 11:00 - 12:00

Where: PHS 7C050

The Data Act: Enhancing cloud switching and interoperability

In line with the European Commission’s “digital targets for 2030”, the competitiveness of the European services sector and industry rely
heavily on an accelerated uptake of cloud services. While the Commission’s Data Act proposal highlights the right principles to remove barriers and boost cloud uptake in Europe, its implementation seems quite challenging: the proposal does not recognise that the use of cloud services differs between market participants. In this regard, ECR MEP Adam Bielan, Rapporteur on the IMCO Data Act Opinion, has organised a roundtable conversation on Thursday 10 November with data experts Robert Condon, Senior Director, Government at VMware; Hans Bos, Amazon Web Services Security Assurance Europe, Public Sector; Amal Taleb, EU Public Affairs Director, SAP; Jacqueline van de Werken, Group General Counsel & DPO, Leaseweb; Julien Rolland, EU Affairs Specialist, Dassault Systèmes; and Dr Aleksandra Musielak, Director of the Digital Economy Department, Konfederacja Lewiatan.

When: Thursday @ 9:00 - 10:30

Where: ASP 1H1