The Week ahead

On Tuesday, Plenary will vote on the agreement by the Parliament’s Rapporteur and the Member States. The new rules will allow for fair payment for the work of journalists and creatives published on the Internet so that high-quality media and content is preserved in Europe, and European creators will be better protected in the online world.

On Monday, the Plenary will debate the Resolution on the rule of law and the fight against corruption in the EU, specifically in Malta and Slovakia. The Resolution was drafted by a Working Group which visited both countries. It includes a number of recommendations to be taken by the authorities of both Member States, especially after the murders of investigative journalists Daphne Caruana Galizia and Ján Kuciak respectively.

On Tuesday, the Plenary will vote on new rules which will protect the collective interests of consumers. Through these rules, victims of unfair and illegal commercial practices, such as the false advertising during the Dieselgate scandal or the recent massive cancellation of flights by Ryanair, will be able to act together and see their situations remedied. We also made sure that the new rules prevent abuse by business competitors. Losers of disputes will have to pay legal costs, which will be a safeguard against speculative actions destroying the reputation of firms.

On Wednesday, the European Parliament will adopt new rules banning items such as plastic forks, knives, spoons, plates, straws and cotton buds from the market, especially when good alternatives exist. The EPP Group is in favour of the agreement reached by the EU Institutions.

The European Parliament will confirm on Wednesday an agreement reached between the EU Institutions limiting CO2 emissions for both cars and vans (15% by 2025 and 37.5% by 2030). The EPP Group is committed to fighting climate change and we want to do it while creating jobs and growth at the same time. We insist on reaching the reductions in a technologically neutral way and finding a way to promote Europe as a standard-maker for the rest of the world.

The introduction of the seasonal time change did not lead to the expected benefits such as energy saving. Instead, there are serious warnings from doctors about health hazards. On Tuesday, the plenary will vote on the Transport and Tourism Committee’s proposal to abolish the biannual clock-change in 2021. For the EPP Group, it is clear that a solution that fits all Member States must be found.

The Plenary will vote on the Special Committee on Financial Crimes, Tax Evasion and Tax Avoidance's (TAX3) final Report on Tuesday. The Report will call for the abolition of the Golden Visa and other national schemes providing tax privileges: "Unfair tax advantages for the wealthy and the Golden Visa for investors are economically risky and erode trust between EU Member States. Sustainable economic policy looks different", say Dariusz Rosati MEP, EPP Group Spokesman in the Committee, and Luděk Niedermayer MEP, Co-rapporteur of the Report.

MEPs are set to approve new rules that will make it easy and safe to buy and sell both goods and digital content EU-wide. Consumers are better protected with the legislative framework that guarantees a clear set of remedies in cases of faulty goods bought online and offline as well as digital content. The trader's liability will be at least 2 years and consumers will also be protected when they provide personal data in exchange for digital services. Businesses will gain from a level playing field, legal certainty and less paperwork to engage in cross-border sales.​ The vote will take place on Tuesday.

On Thursday, Members will again reiterate their deep concern over the political and social crisis in Venezuela by voting on the Resolution on the emergency situation in the country. The EPP Group confirms its recognition of Juan Guaido as the legitimate interim President of Venezuela, condemns the fierce repression and violence, resulting in killings and casualties, denounces the abuse of law enforcement and the brutal repression of security bodies by restraining the entry of humanitarian aid and calls for additional sanctions on illegitimate state authorities’ assets abroad and those individuals responsible for human rights breaches and repression. On the initiative of the EPP Group, the European Parliament held an urgent debate about the situation in the country during last Plenary session.

The EPP Group pioneered the creation of an Energy Union in the EU which will give European households and citizens an affordable, secure and clean supply of energy. An important cornerstone of the Energy Union is the modernisation of the rules on the internal electricity market in the European Union. The new rules will lead to more competition and choice to the benefit of the consumers as we - amongst other things - will have a real European electricity market where 70 per cent of all electricity can cross EU borders freely. Suppliers of electricity will be able to set prices freely. This will boost competition and lead to lower prices for consumers. The joint debate on the internal market for electricity will take place on Monday.

The European Parliament will confirm the changes to the Drinking Water Directive to improve the quality of drinking water and access to it. The new rules are the result of the first-ever successful European Citizens’ Initiative, called Right2Water which gathered over 1.8 million signatures. The vote will take place on Thursday.

On Thursday, the European Parliament will vote on the Report on the Erasmus+ Programme authored by Milan Zver MEP. Erasmus+ is one of the most popular EU programmes as it reinforces the sense of European identity, increases employability and supports the personal and professional development of young and older Europeans. "Young people who have grown up in a united Europe should be as enthusiastic as possible about Europe. Nearly everyone who has done an Erasmus says that their experience has encouraged them to be more open-minded and confident in their newly-acquired skills", says Milan Zver. Zver proposes increasing the budget to around €45 billion for the future period (2021-2027) and will thus enable participation in the programme to be three times bigger, that is to say around 12 million Europeans.

The approval process on how EU taxpayers’ money was spent during the year 2017 comes to plenary on Tuesday. 53 Discharge Reports will be first debated and then voted on. They include reports on the EU agencies drafted by EPP Group Member Petri Sarvamaa and the important Commission Discharge Report where the responsibility of the EPP Group line was carried by the Chair of the Budgetary Control Committee, Inge Gräßle MEP. The debate and the votes will take place on Tuesday.

Monday @ 16.00 Pre-session briefing

Tuesday @ 11.10 EPP Group Plenary briefing

Tuesday @ 14.30 Pavel Svoboda MEP, Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee, Annie Schreijer-Pierik MEP, Anna Záborská MEP, Angelika Niebler MEP Andrzej Grzyb MEP and others on the vote on ending clock change

Tuesday @ 15.00 Axel Voss and others on the Copyright Directive

Tuesday @ 15.00 Luděk Niedermayer MEP and others on the adoption of the final Report of the Special Committee on Financial Crimes, Tax Evasion and Tax Avoidance