EU Council Conclusions; Back to the drawing board, Mr Timmermans; EU must condemn the Cuban regime’s repression; Digital information exchange in terrorism cases; Fostering and adapting vocational education and training; Ammunition for Ukraine; Recommendation on EU-Palestine relations: a travesty; New ecodesign directive could stifle innovation; No restrictions on the separation of powers, even for supposedly benign reasons; Let Romania and Bulgaria join the Schengen area

EU Council Conclusions

On Wednesday morning, the European Parliament will debate the outcome of the European Council meeting of 29-30 June, in particular the recent developments in the war against Ukraine. While Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine continues, the value of the EU’s support cannot be underestimated. The ECR Group welcomes the Council’s conclusion regarding continued financial, humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine and its people for as long as it is necessary. Following the Council’s encouraging words on Ukraine’s efforts in its EU accession process, the ECR Group underlines its belief that Ukraine’s integration into the European Union should be a priority.

Debate: Wednesday @ 9:00

Back to the drawing board, Mr Timmermans

After the Nature Restoration Law failed to achieve a majority and was effectively rejected by three of the European Parliament’s committees, MEPs will debate and vote on whether to reject the law in plenary. For the ECR Group, the proposal fails to address important economic and social demands. Protecting Europe’s nature is important, but a more balanced proposal is needed. The idea that nature should always have priority, even outside nature reserves, is simply too far-reaching. The proposal leaves very little flexibility for Member States to prepare national restoration plans and risks creating conflict between nature restoration and green transition requirements. In some Member States, the proposal might limit economic growth and contribute to a shortage of available housing and potential problems with food security. If adopted, it could seriously damage European agriculture. The vote will take place on Wednesday.

When: Tuesday @ 9:00

Wednesday: Wednesday @ 12:00

EU must condemn the Cuban regime’s repression

On Wednesday, the European Parliament will vote on a resolution on the state of play of the EU-Cuba Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (PDCA) following High Representative Josep Borrell’s visit to the island in May. The text calls on the EU, its Member States, the European External Action Service (EEAS) and its delegation in Cuba to publicly condemn the Cuban regime’s repression. It criticises Borrell for missing an opportunity to engage with civil society and promote democracy during his visit. It also calls on the Council to apply the EU’s Magnitsky Act sanctions against the dictatorship. Josep Borrell’s visit to Cuba has not only caused considerable outrage among Cuban exiles, but also runs counter to the European Parliament’s mandate, secured by the ECR Group, calling for the suspension of the agreement. The EU must stop turning a blind eye to human rights abuses on the island while expressing satisfaction at being the main economic partner of the Cuban regime. There must be drastic consequences and a change of approach towards Cuba.

Vote: Wednesday @ 12h00.

Digital information exchange in terrorism cases

On Wednesday, the European Parliament will vote on a regulation that clarifies and strengthens the legal obligation of Member States to share data on terrorist offences with Eurojust. The proposal aims to address the shortcomings of the technically outdated system used by Eurojust and to create a modern, digital case management system that stores information and allows it to be cross-checked. It will enable Eurojust to better identify links between cross-border investigations and prosecutions in the field of terrorism and proactively inform Member States of the links found, as well as facilitating cooperation with third countries. ECR rapporteur Patryk Jaki believes that in order to combat terrorism effectively, it is essential that the competent authorities of the Member States and the Union’s agencies exchange information that could assist in the prevention, investigation, detection and prosecution of terrorist offences.

Vote: Wednesday @ 12:00

Fostering and adapting vocational education and training

On Monday evening, ECR rapporteur Anna Zalewska will present a report on fostering and adapting vocational education and training (VET) as a tool for workers’ success and a building block for the EU economy in the new Industry 4.0. Her report aims to show that VET can be attractive and modern and, above all, that it is much needed. With VET, economies can respond to labour market challenges such as demographic change, labour shortages and skills mismatches, provided that certain conditions are met, such as cooperation with enterprises, lifelong learning and the promotion of intergenerational links. This is crucial in the context of building the European Union’s resilience and its capacity to train its own specialists. The COVID-19 pandemic and now the war in Ukraine have shown the importance of the Union’s independence in this area. The vote will take place on Tuesday.

Debate: Monday @ 21:00

Vote: Tuesday @ 12:00

Ammunition for Ukraine

After the trilogue negotiations on the Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP), which aims to increase production capacities in the European defence industry to address current security challenges in the context of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, were concluded on 7 July, the file is expected to be dealt with again in the Industry Committee on Monday and then adopted in the plenary of the Parliament on Thursday. The ECR Group is pleased that the text will enter into force soon and the grant part can start as soon as possible. For ASAP, the Commission has proposed a budget of €500 million that comes from redeployment of funds from European Defence Fund (EDF) and the European Defence Industry Reinforcement through Common Procurement Act (EDIRPA). In order to speed up entrance into force the grant pillar of the Programme the co-legislators agreed to remove the most controversial regulatory pillar. Instead they signed a joint statement calling on the Commission to present a new legislative proposal, that would reflect the parts dismissed in the ASAP, for example in context of European Defence Investment Programme. At the plenary session in May I in Strasbourg, the ECR Group supported Parliament’s decision to deal with this dossier in urgency procedure. “Ukraine needs ammunition and missiles and our own stocks are running out. We need to boost production, also to support the Ukrainian counter-offensive to retake the areas where the Russian aggressor’s troops are still standing,” said ECR shadow rapporteur Zdzisław Krasnodębski.

Expected vote in the ITRE Committee: Monday @ 19:00

Plenary vote expected: Thursday @ 12:00

Recommendation on EU-Palestine relations: a travesty

On Tuesday afternoon, a recommendation from the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs on relations between the EU and the Palestinian authorities will be debated. According to the title, the own initiative report was meant to focus on EU-PA relations. Instead, the rapporteur has compiled a list of what is mainly criticism towards Israel which veers far from the EU’s position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. For example, it hardly mentions – let alone criticises – Palestinian terrorism, one of the root causes of the conflict. The text even calls for the release of all political prisoners, which includes members of EU-listed terrorist organisations, such as Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a no-go for the ECR Group. At committee level, the ECR Group was able to improve the text by calling on the international community to put a stop to rearming of terrorist groups in Gaza and the West Bank, however the tone and language of the report still go completely against the ECR’s position on Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. According to the ECR Group, the European Parliament must not turn a blind eye to persistent Palestinian-sponsored terrorism. The text will be voted on during Wednesday’s voting session.

When: Tuesday @ 15:00

Vote: Wednesday @ 12:00

New ecodesign directive could stifle innovation

On Tuesday afternoon, a new Ecodesign Regulation will debated in plenary, which aims to promote environmental sustainability and circularity in almost all physical goods sold on the EU market, with the exception of certain categories such as food and feed. According to the ECR Group, despite the theoretical benefits of ecodesign, there are serious concerns about the proposed regulation. A major concern is the potential impact on innovation capacity. While the intention of ecodesign is to stimulate the development of more sustainable products, there is a risk that the stringent requirements may stifle innovation. The complexity of meeting different environmental sustainability criteria may divert resources away from research and development efforts aimed at creating truly innovative solutions. In addition, the proposed definition of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) has raised alarm due to its potential complexity and the burden it could place on manufacturers. Tracking thousands of substances could be a logistical challenge and could lead to fragmented legislation, as REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals Regulation) is the primary legislation for chemical safety and will be revised later this year. The vote will take place on Wednesday.

Debate: Tuesday @ 20:00

Vote: Wednesday @ 12:00

No restrictions on the separation of powers, even for supposedly benign reasons

On Wednesday, the European Parliament will vote on a resolution to create an inter-institutional ethics body, which would establish common minimum standards of ethical conduct for MEPs and a formal mechanism for coordination and exchange of views on ethical requirements between the institutions. For the ECR Group, and from a democratic point of view, this is a bad idea. Parliament should not subject its Members to an inter-institutional ethics body that includes external parties and members of the executive. Allowing the body to set rules for Parliament undermines its independence and goes against the separation of powers. In the view of the ECR Group, different institutions can of course adopt common ethical principles, but Parliament should lay down its own rules for its Members, independently of the executive. Parliament’s independence must be preserved, as it is supposed to control the executive and not the other way round. The debate took place during the last Strasbourg session on 13 June.

Vote: Wednesday @ 12:00

Let Romania and Bulgaria join the Schengen area

On Tuesday, a resolution from the Committee on Petitions will be presented in plenary, pointing out that both Romania and Bulgaria should benefit from the full implementation of the Schengen acquis. All Member States must be able to take full advantage of all the opportunities offered by membership of the European Union and the Schengen area. Parliament criticises the failure of the Council to take a decision in this respect. The ECR Group fully supports the Parliament’s position, as the Group stands for equal treatment of all Member States. The vote will take place on Wednesday.

Debate: Tuesday @ 19:00

Vote: Wednesday @ 12:00