What's coming up next week in Parliament

Topics

• Tax justice: Country by country reporting (Committee Vote Monday)
• Glyphosate renewal (debate Tuesday)
• Energy efficiency labelling (debate and vote Tuesday)
• Effort sharing regulation (debate Tuesday, vote Wednesday)
• Trump's decision to withdraw the US from the Paris agreement (debate Wednesday)
• Panama Papers follow-up and the rule of law in Malta (debate Wednesday)
• Preparation of the European Council of 22 and 23 June 2017 (debate Wednesday)

Greens/EFA events

• Press briefing with Greens/EFA co-presidents (Tuesday)

Tax justice: Country by country reporting
ECON/JURI Committee vote Monday

After the Luxleaks, Panama Papers and Malta Files scandals, we need to put an end to secrecy and stop giant companies from shifting their profits and paying very little tax. We want to ensure that companies disclose information in all countries where they operate without exemption, so that we know what's going on in Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Ireland but also Panama, Cayman Islands or Liechtenstein.

Glyphosate renewal
Plenary debate Tuesday

The Monsanto papers highlighted the urgent need for an in-depth investigation by the Commission into undue influence from Monsanto on the outcomes of the EFSA and ECHA assessments on glyphosate. They also show the need for change to legislation so that the assessment of active substances by EU agencies can be fully scrutinised by independent experts. We want to see conclusions based only upon studies that are in the public domain and peer-reviewed. This increased level of transparency would help increase public trust in the important work these agencies do. Members of the Greens/EFA group have filed a case with the European Court of Justice demanding public access to the studies used by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in assessing the safety of glyphosate.

Energy efficiency labelling
Debate and vote Tuesday

The purpose of this review is to finally make the EU’s energy label system more simple and easy to understand for consumers. It has long been obvious that we need to shift to a simple, colour-coded A-G system, instead of the current confusing system. The Greens/EFA group welcomes a decision that will see consumers benefit from simplified energy labelling, but regrets the lengthy transition for so many products. There is no defence for pushing back the implementation for energy consuming products until 2030 or even beyond.

2016 report on Kosovo
Debate Tuesday
This report, from Greens/EFA rapporteur Ulrike Lunacek, forms the Parliament's response to the Commission's annual Progress reports on candidate and potential candidate countries. The future of an independent Kosovo lies in the European Union. The next step in this process is visa-free travel to EU countries for Kosovar citizens. To achieve this, two remaining benchmarks can and must be fulfilled by Kosovo (where elections are to be held this Sunday) as soon as possible: ratification of the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro and a track record of high level convictions for corruption and organized crime. The report also calls for the continuation of the dialogue with Serbia and the quick implementation of agreed commitments.

Effort Sharing Regulation
Debate Tuesday, vote Wednesday

The ESR is the EU's largest climate instrument that regulates emissions of the sectors that are not covered by the EU ETS: transport, agriculture, buildings and waste. The regulation sets climate targets for each country for the period 2021 to 2030 but it is up to each of them to see how they will meet them. Currently the proposal is not ambitious enough to respect the commitments made in the Paris Agreement and Member States are seeking loopholes to weaken it further. Especially following Trump's decision to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement, EU leaders need lead the way to the transition.

President Trump's decision to withdraw the US from the Paris agreement
Debate Wednesday

Following President Trump's announcement that he will withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, the European Parliament will debate and hear Council and Commission Statements on the issue. This decision is both economically and environmentally backwards. It was already clear at the G7 summit just how isolated Trump is, now he stands virtually alone. All parties must stand together in response. We must ensure that financial support for the climate fund is maintained.

Panama Papers follow-up and the rule of law in Malta
Plenary debate Wednesday

Thanks to a Greens/EFA initiative, the Maltese Prime Minister is invited to the Parliament to explain the role of Maltese politically exposed persons or companies in the Panama Papers. As a result of the Panama Papers, we know that Minister Mizzi and Prime Minister Chief of Staff Schembri have offshore structures created by Mossack Fonseca. There have also been allegations of the Prime Minister's wife owning an offshore company, and the anti-money laundering authorities have investigated serious allegations of money laundering. We published a report in January about Maltese tax law, allowing large companies to pay as little as 5% corporate income tax there, an efficient way for companies to shift their profits from other countries and reduce their tax contribution. We hope the Prime Minister will commit to revise the Maltese tax legislation, and end harmful tax competition.

Preparation of the European Council of 22 and 23 June 2017
Debate Wednesday

Key topics for the Council include: Migration; Security and defence; Jobs, growth, and competitiveness; Brexit negotiations (in the EU27 format).

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Co-presidents press briefing
Tuesday, 11.40-12:00, EP press room LOW N -1/201

Press briefing with Greens/EFA co-presidents Ska Keller and Philippe Lamberts on the key issues of the session for the Greens/EFA group. Also live-streamed on our website.