The Week ahead

On Tuesday, Parliament will debate the crisis of the rule of law in Poland following the decision of the illegitimate Constitutional Tribunal undermining the primacy of EU law. The latter ruled on 7 October, upon the request of Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (ECR), that Articles 1 and 19 of the TEU are incompatible with the Polish Constitution. The judgment was issued by persons selected and completely dependent on politicians from the government led by the Law and Justice Party (PiS). Prime Minister Morawiecki and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will take part in the plenary debate.

The EPP Group has warned against exploding energy prices as a result of ill-designed climate protection measures. Ahead of the EU Summit next week in Brussels, and the debate in the European Parliament on Wednesday morning, the EPP Group calls for a credible Social Climate Fund and for better sanctions against energy market manipulations. "We must be very watchful about who foots the bill for the Green Deal. It cannot be low-income families, middle class homeowners and car owners in rural areas without public transport who have to pay the highest bills", said Esther de Lange MEP, EPP Group Vice-Chairwoman in charge of economy and environment.

On Monday, Parliament will debate and vote on Tuesday on the so-called Farm to Fork Strategy, which is at the heart of the European Green Deal. The EPP Group agrees with the goals of the strategy but wants the European Commission to come up with viable alternatives for millions of European farmers who are struggling to understand how to reach these goals. Setting new rules for food production must not lead to less food being produced in Europe or being dependent on food imports from outside the EU. The EPP Group is also very concerned that Commission Vice-President Timmermans has kept a scientific assessment of the impact of the Farm to Fork Strategy secret, just because the results weren't what he wanted.

The leaders of the political groups in the European Parliament will decide on the winner of this year’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought on Wednesday. "The nomination of Alexei Navalny, Russia’s best-known anti-corruption activist and opposition politician for the Sakharov Prize is a clear signal to the Kremlin regime that the European Parliament continues to support the fight for democratic values in Russia and its democratic future. We believe that Russia can change and be a free country without dictators. Alexei Navalny and his continuous fight against the authoritarian regime which abuses power and attempts to silence those who seek to exercise their fundamental right of freedom of thought and expression, best corresponds to the spirit of the Sakharov Prize”, says Rasa Juknevičienė MEP, Vice-Chairwoman of the EPP Group.

On Tuesday, Parliament will debate and vote on Wednesday on upgrading EU-Taiwan relations. "Taiwan is a key partner and a democratic ally on its own merit. It is also a robust democracy and technologically very advanced economy. The EU and its Member States should intensify their relations with Taiwan", says Michael Gahler MEP, EPP Group Spokesman for Foreign Affairs and negotiator of the Report on behalf of the EPP Group.

The Pandora Papers put the spotlight on the massive fraud carried out by some politicians or billionaires such as Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, and prove the EU’s lacklustre progress in the fight against tax havens. On Thursday, Parliament will vote on a Resolution asking for concrete measures in order to fight against this scourge, such as resetting the EU blacklist and making sure that it contains places like the British Virgin Islands. On top of changing the methodology of the list, we also need to link the blacklist to an effective sanctions regime. The EPP Group calls for more international cooperation in the fields of tax evasion and money laundering.

The European Parliament will debate on Tuesday and vote on Wednesday on the proposed €171.8 billion EU Budget for 2022. The Parliament's positon increases the European Commission’s initial proposal by €2.7 billion. “The investment in recovery has no alternative. This is the expectation of our citizens. We have to convince our colleagues in the Council. The task is not finalised”, said Karlo Ressler MEP, the European Parliament’s negotiator of the 2022 EU Budget. After Wednesday's vote, a three-week conciliation period starts during which 27 MEPs of the European Parliament and the Council will aim to reach a deal on the EU budget for 2022.

We are all acutely aware of the need to reduce CO2 emissions and the urgent need for clean aviation fuels. We need to dedicate time, energy and finance for new technologies. Without these, we cannot reach our climate targets. Clean aviation holds the promise to improve competitiveness and employment. On Tuesday, the European Parliament will debate and vote on ten industrial partnerships under the EU research funding programme Horizon Europe, covering key sectors of our economy including mobility, health, energy, circular economy and digital technologies. One notable example of these partnerships is Global Health. It has, in past years, supported the development of the first malaria vaccine for children in sub-Saharan Africa. It remains committed to the further development of vaccines for malaria and AIDS. These partnerships are supported by public and private funds, totalling €20 billion. The European Parliament reduced bureaucracy and increased openness in order to help Small and Medium-sized Enterprises which will participate in all the different value chains and activities.

Ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) from 31 October to 12 November in Glasgow in the United Kingdom, the European Parliament will adopt its position on Thursday. It is expected that around 200 participating countries will present their plans to cut emissions by 2030 and agree on certain concrete proposals such as speeding up the phasing-out of coal. The European Parliament will participate with an official delegation. The EPP Group is convinced that in order to contain global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels, ambitious climate policy is necessary, but emerging markets such as China, the world's second largest economy, must make efforts similar to Europe's.

On Tuesday, the plenary will adopt two Reports from the Culture and Education Committee proposing measures for the recovery of the European media industry and artists after the Corona pandemic. Only last year, the cultural and creative sectors lost almost €200 billion in turnover. The EPP Group stands ready to do everything it can to help the sector get back on its feet and become globally competitive again. In order to protect journalistic freedom and cultural diversity in Europe, we will ask for better access to finance and investment for the industry and for fair income from digital platforms for artists.