European Parliament
Monday 22 – Tuesday 23 January
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON)
Debates: Establishing a Head Office Tax system for micro, small and medium sized enterprises, and amending Directive 2011/16/EU; Transfer pricing; Economic Dialogue and exchange of views with Vincent Van Peteghem, ECOFIN President and Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance; Payment services in the internal market and amending Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010; Payment services and electronic money services in the Internal Market; Scrutiny of delegated acts and implementing measures; Proposal for a Union Act, under Rule 47(2) of the Rules of Procedure, on the need to protect families, businesses and self-employed persons from the rise in fuel prices in Europe.
Votes: Faster and Safer Relief of Excess Withholding Taxes.
Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE)
Debates: Presentation of the Council Belgian Presidency’s programme; Structured dialogue with Iliana Ivanova, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth; Exchange of views with Jo Brouns, Flemish Minister for Economy, Innovation, Work, Social Economy and Agriculture (industry, SMEs); Hearing of the candidate for the post of the Director of the Agency for Support for BEREC (BEREC Office).
Votes: Internal markets for renewable and natural gases and for hydrogen (recast); Establishing a framework of measures for strengthening Europe’s net-zero technology products manufacturing ecosystem (Net Zero Industry Act); Common rules for the internal markets in renewable and natural gases and in hydrogen (recast); Horizontal cybersecurity requirements for products with digital elements and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1020; Amending Decision (EU) 2017/1324 as regards the continuation of the Union’s participation in the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA) under Horizon Europe; Guidelines for the 2025 Budget – Section III.
Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN)
Debates: Amending Directive 2013/11/EU on alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes; Exchange of views with Florian Guillermet, the new Executive Director of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA); Exchange of views on the European Declaration on Cycling; Guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network; Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking; Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking; Single European Sky ATM Research 3 Joint Undertaking; Guidelines for the 2025 Budget – Section III; Workshop on the New demands and skills for the green and digital transformation of the transport and automotive sectors; Amending Regulations (EC) No 80/2009, (EU) No 996/2010 and (EU) No 165/2014 as regards certain reporting requirements in the fields of road transport and aviation; Amending Directives 2009/12/EC, 2009/33/EC and (EU) 2022/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Directive 96/67/EC as regards certain reporting requirements in the fields of road transport and aviation; Presentation of the priorities of the Belgian Presidency; Exchange of views with Commissioner Vălean in the framework of the Structured Dialogue; Feedback on TRAN visit to the European Agency for Railways (ERA), Valenciennes, 27/11/2023; Exchange of views with Josef Doppelbauer, the Executive Director of the European Agency for Railways (ERA).
Votes: 2022 discharge: General budget of the EU – Commission, European Union Aviation Safety Agency, European Maritime Safety Agency, European Union Agency for Railways.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE)
Debates: Exchange of views with the Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU, Frans van Daele; Mission Report following LIBE delegation to Bulgaria, 12 – 13 October 2023; Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Albania on operational activities carried out by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency in the Republic of Albania; Harmonised rules on Artificial Intelligence (Artificial Intelligence Act) and amending certain Union Legislative Acts; Exchange of views on the way forward on visa reciprocity following the CJEU’s judgment in Case C-137/21; Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, 2024; The situation in Tunisia with regard to asylum and migration, and the cooperation with the EU in this area; EU-Tunisia cooperation in the field of asylum and migration – update on the state of play of the EU-Tunisia Memorandum of understanding; Laying down minimum rules to prevent and counter the facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit and stay in the Union; Enhancing police cooperation in relation to the prevention, detection and investigation of migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings, and on enhancing Europol’s support to preventing and combating such crimes and amending Regulation (EU) 2016/794; Study: Compliance assessment of measures adopted by the Member States to adapt their systems to Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 of 12 October 2017 implementing enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office; Report of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights: “Being Black in the EU – Experiences of people of African descent”; Agreement between Canada and the European Union on the transfer and processing of passenger name record (PNR) data.
Votes: Report on the Commission’s 2023 Rule of Law report; Implementation report on the EU LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020-2025; Combating corruption, replacing Council Framework Decision 2003/568/JHA and the Convention on the fight against corruption involving officials of the European Communities or officials of Member States of the European Union; The transfer of proceedings in criminal matters; The time the European Commission takes to deal with requests for public access to documents; Amending Council Decision 2009/917/JHA, as regards its alignment with Union rules on the protection of personal data; Asset recovery and confiscation; Definition of criminal offences and penalties for the violation of Union restrictive measures; A single application procedure for a single permit for third-country nationals to reside and work in the territory of a Member State and on a common set of rights for third-country workers legally residing in a Member State (recast); 2022 discharge.
Committee on Petitions (PETI)
Debates: Petitions for discussion in committee on the basis of the Commission’s written reply or other documents received: Fundamental Rights, External relations, Regional Policy, Environment, Education, Justice-Rule of Law, Immigration, Property, Internal Market – Recognition of qualifications, Disability; Draft Mission Report Following the fact-finding visit to Ireland from 30 October to 1 November 2023; Presentation of the Study on “Linguistic and cultural diversity – Minority and minoritised languages as part of European linguistic and cultural diversity”; Review of 2020 and 2021 petitions.
Votes: Oral Question on “Working conditions of teachers in the EU”.
Tuesday 23 January
Joint meeting of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) and the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET)
Debates: Association agreements for the participation of third countries in Union programmes.
Joint meeting of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO)
Votes: Deepening EU integration in view of future enlargement.
Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET)
Debates: Debriefing on the EU-China summit; Exchange of views with the EEAS on the implementation of the EU-Japan Strategic Partnership Agreement and presentation of In-Depth Analysis on “Deepening EU–Japan cooperation”; Exchange of views with the Commission and the EEAS on the political situation in Serbia following the elections; Exchange of views with the Commission and the EEAS on the political situation in Albania; Exchange of views with the EEAS on the Venezuela-Guyana border dispute (In association with the Delegation for relations with Mercosur).
Votes: EU-Russia political relations; 2022 discharge: General budget of the EU – European External Action Service, General budget of the EU – Commission; Guidelines for the 2025 Budget – Section III.
Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT)
Debates: 2022 discharge: General budget of the EU – European Parliament; Discharge 2022: Other Institutions; Discharge 2022: Joint Undertakings; Study on ”Due diligence in EU Institutions’ procurement rules and practices”; ECA Special report 28/2023 – Public procurement in the EU: Less competition for contracts awarded for works, goods and services in the 10 years up to 2021 (Jointly with with Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO).
Votes: Establishing the Union Customs Code and the European Union Customs Authority, and repealing Regulation (EU) No 952/2013.
Committee on Regional Development (REGI)
Debates: Forest fires of summer 2022, lessons to be learned, Policy Department B study presented by Lindon Pronto; Network of European Regions Using Space Technologies (NEREUS), presented by Thierry Cotelle; Digitalisation of EU funds management, ECA report presentation; Amended proposal for a regulation on a mechanism to resolve legal and administrative obstacles in a cross-border context, presented by the Commission; Exchange of views with Elio Di Rupo, Minister-President of the Government of Wallonia, on priorities of the Belgian Presidency; Exchange of views with Themis Christophidou, Director-General of DG REGIO; Reporting back from trilogue on the proposal for a regulation establishing the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (‘STEP’).
Votes: 2022 discharge: General budget of the EU – Commission.
Committee on Fisheries (PECH)
Debates: European Court of Auditors’ Special report 25/2023 “EU aquaculture policy: stagnating production and unclear results despite increased EU funding”; Training and social security schemes for fishers – State of play and perspectives in the EU; Conclusion of an Agreement between the European union and the Republic of Seychelles on access for Seychelles fishing vessels to the waters of Mayotte; Sustainable fisheries partnership agreement of the European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco.
Votes: 2022 discharge: European Fisheries Control Agency; Laying down conservation, management and control measures applicable in the area covered by the Convention on future multilateral cooperation in the North-East Atlantic fisheries.
Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO)
Debates: Permanent system for the allocation of seats in the European Parliament; Report of the AFCO mission to Washington D.C. (U.S.A.) and Ottawa, (Canada) – 30 October to 2 November 2023; Report of the AFCO mission to Dublin (Ireland) – 30 November to 1 December 2023.
Votes: Guidelines for the 2025 Budget – Section III.
Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL)
Debates: European Semester for economic policy coordination: employment and social priorities for 2024; Working conditions in the Amazon warehouses; Exchange of views with Pierre-Yves Dermagne, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy and Employment; European labour market statistics on businesses.
Votes: Guidelines for the 2025 Budget – Section III.
Subcommittee on Public Health (SANT)
Debates: Presentation of the 2023 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: the imperative for a health-centered response in a world facing irreversible harm, by Dr. Marina Romanello, Executive Director at Lancet Countdown.
Subcommittee on Tax Matters (FISC)
Debates: Public hearing on “Taxation of capital gains in the EU.”
Wednesday 24 January
Committee on Development (DEVE)
Debates: Priorities of the Belgian Presidency; The conclusion of the Partnership Agreement between the European Union, of the one part, and the members of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific (OACPS) States, of the other part; Climate action support to developing countries in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change; Advancing a bi-regional pact for CARE between the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) (Jointly with the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM); The Global Gateway strategy – state of play (Jointly with the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET); Impact of sanctions on humanitarian aid.
Votes: 2022 discharge: General budget of the EU – Commission, General budget of the EU – EDF (8th, 9th, 10th and 11th); Guidelines for the 2025 Budget – Section III.
Committee on Budgets (BUDG)
Debates: Study on “The impacts of recent inflation developments on the EU finances”; 2023 Budget: Section III – Commission – Exchange of views – autonomous transfers; Building policy – exchange of views; Guidelines for the 2025 Budget – Section III.
Votes: Financial activities of the European Investment Bank – annual report 2023; Business in Europe: Framework for Income Taxation (BEFIT); 2024 Budget: Section III – Commission; Building policy.
Joint meeting of the Committee on Budgets (BUDG) and the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET)
Debates: Establishing the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans.
Joint meeting of the Committee on Budgets (BUDG) and the Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT)
Debates: Implementation of the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation.
Votes: Financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (recast).
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI)
Debates: Amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1242 as regards strengthening the CO₂ emission performance standards for new heavy-duty vehicles and integrating reporting obligations; Establishing a Union certification framework for carbon removals; Amending Regulation (EU) No 691/2011 as regards introducing new environmental economic accounts modules; Exchange of views with Leena Ylä-Mononen, Executive Director of the European Environment Agency (EEA); European Union 8th Environment Action Programme – European Environment Agency Monitoring report on progress towards the 8th EAP objectives 2023 edition; Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union on submitting proposals for amendment of Appendices II and III of the Convention on the Conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats with a view to the meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention; Presentation of the Council Presidency’s programme; Amending Directives 1999/2/EC, 2000/14/EC, 2011/24/EU and 2014/53/EU as regards certain reporting requirements in the fields of food and food ingredients, outdoor noise, patients’ rights, and radio equipment; Amending Directive 2007/2/EC as regards certain reporting requirements for infrastructures for spatial information.
Votes: Guidelines for the 2025 Budget – Section III; Amending Directives 2009/12/EC, 2009/33/EC and (EU) 2022/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Directive 96/67/EC as regards certain reporting requirements in the fields of road transport and aviation; 2022 discharge: General budget of the EU – Commission, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control; Safety of toys and repealing Directive 2009/48/EC; Plants obtained by certain new genomic techniques and their food and feed.
Joint meeting of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) and the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO)
Debates: Substantiation and communication of explicit environmental claims (Green Claims Directive).
Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI)
Debates: Amending Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards multiannual survey programmes, notifications concerning the presence of regulated non-quarantine pests, temporary derogations from import prohibitions and special import requirements and establishment of procedures for granting them, temporary import requirements for high risk plants, plant products and other objects, the establishment of procedures for the listing of high risk plants, the content of phytosanitary certificates, the use of plant passports and as regards certain reporting requirements for demarcated areas and surveys of pest; Production and marketing of forest reproductive material; Production and marketing of plant reproductive material in the Union; Coordinators’ meeting and exchange of views with Jan Olbrycht and Margarida Marques on the MFF; Exchange of views with Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič on the future of agriculture in the EU; Exchange of views with the rapporteur of the European Economic and Social Committee on ‘Towards a sustainable food labelling framework to empower consumers to make sustainable food choices’; Exchange of views with the Commission on the implementation of the EU Forest Strategy.
Votes: Substantiation and communication of explicit environmental claims (Green Claims Directive); Amending Directive 2008/98/EC on waste; Guidelines for the 2025 Budget – Section III; Laying down Union procedures for the authorisation and supervision of medicinal products for human use and establishing rules governing the European Medicines Agency.
Joint the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) and the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL)
Debates: Council decision inviting Member States to ratify the Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190) of the International Labor Organization.
Joint the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE)
Debates: Amending Directive 2012/29/EU establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA; Amending Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims; Combating violence against women and domestic violence.
Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI)
Debates: Exchange of views on the implementation of the EU global Human Rights sanctions regime, as follow-up to the European Parliament resolution of 8 July 2021 on the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime (EU Magnitsky Act); Exchange of views on the recent developments in the field of the EU external migration policy from a fundamental rights protection perspective as follow-up to the European Parliament resolution of 19 May 2021 on human rights protection and the EU external migration policy; Exchange of views on the state of democracy in Guatemala.
Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE)
Debates: Jiří Šedivý, Chief Executive, European Defence Agency: update on the Capability Development Plan and the Annual Coordinated Review of Defence; Israel-Hamas war: escalation in the Red Sea and in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait with Rosamaria Gili, Deputy Managing Director, Middle East and North Africa, EEAS and with Cosmin Dobran, Director – Peace, Partnership and Crisis Management, EEAS; Update on the European Peace Facility’s Clearing House Mechanism and the state of play of EU Military Assistance Mission (EUMAM) Ukraine, with Lt Gen Michiel van der Laan, Director General of the EU Military Staff and Director of Military Planning and Conduct Capability; Joint Meeting with the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on National Security, Defence and Intelligence.
Committee on Culture and Education (CULT)
Debates: Establishing an EU talent pool; Ghent European Youth Capital 2024; Presentation of the priorities of the Belgian Presidency by Pierre-Yves Jeholet (Minister-President of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation), Caroline Désir (Minister of Education of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation) and Françoise Bertieaux (Minister for Higher Education, Scientific Research, University Hospitals, Youth Assistance, Houses of Justice, Youth and Promotion of Brussels); Exchange of views on educational mobility post-Brexit; Exchange of views with Commissioner Ivanova.
Votes: Establishing a common framework for media services in the internal market (European Media Freedom Act) and amending Directive 2010/13/EU; Guidelines for the 2025 Budget – Section III.
Wednesday 24 – Thursday 25 January
Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO)
Debates: Common rules promoting the repair of goods and amending Regulation (EU); Amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 as regards the digital labelling of EU fertilising products; Amending Regulations (EU) 2016/424, (EU) 2016/425, (EU) 2016/426, (EU) 2019/1009 and (EU) No 305/2011 as regards emergency procedures for the conformity assessment, adoption of common specifications and market surveillance due to a Single Market emergency; Amending Directives as regard emergency procedures for the conformity assessment, adoption of common specifications and market surveillance due to a Single Market emergency; Laying down harmonised conditions for the marketing of construction products, amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 and repealing Regulation (EU) 305/2011; Harmonised rules on Artificial Intelligence (Artificial Intelligence Act) and amending certain Union Legislative Acts; Liability for defective products; Establishing a framework for setting ecodesign requirements for sustainable products and repealing Directive 2009/125/EC; Exchange of views with Pierre-Yves Dermagne, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy and Employment, and Alexia Bertrand, State Secretary for the Budget and Consumer Protection, Belgian Presidency; Establishing the Union Customs Code and the European Union Customs Authority, and repealing Regulation (EU) No 952/2013; Safety of toys and repealing Directive 2009/48/EC; Combating late payment in commercial transactions; Presentations of two EPRS briefings on the revision of the EU framework on alternative and online dispute resolution; Repealing Regulation (EU) No 524/2013 and amending Regulations (EU) 2017/2394 and (EU) 2018/1724 with regards to the discontinuation of the European ODR Platform.
Votes: Detergents and surfactants, amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 648/2004; Transparency and targeting of political advertising; Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on data collection and sharing relating to short-term accommodation rental services and amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1724.
Thursday 25 January
Plenary
Debates: International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Find an overview of the parliamentary agenda here.
