Agenda
The week ahead 02 – 08 March 2020
Committee and political groups meetings, Brussels
Climate change/Greta Thunberg. During an extraordinary meeting of the Environment and Public Health Committee open to all MEPs, members will discuss, with climate activist Greta Thunberg, the EU climate law and targets due to be announced the same day. Before the meeting, at 12:30, EP President David Sassoli will meet Ms Thunberg (Wednesday).
EU response to COVID-19 outbreak. Members of the Environment and Public Health Committee will discuss with the Commission how the EU is confronting, together with member states, the coronavirus Covid-19 (Thursday).
EU Civil Protection Mechanism. The Environment and Public Health Committee will vote on the financing of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) for 2021-2027. The UCPM, designed to help member states deal with crises, including those that are health-related, has been recently mobilised to co-finance the repatriation of EU citizens from the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Yokohama, Japan, following the outbreak of the COVID-19 (Thursday).
International Women’s Day (IWD). In the run-up to the 2020 IWD, the Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee is organising an inter-parliamentary meeting on “The 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration”. EP President Sassoli and Commission Vice-President Jourová will deliver opening speeches, followed by two panel discussions on women in economy and women’s role in the fight against climate change. A press point with Committee Chair Evelyn Regner and Equality Commissioner Dalli will be held at 12.30, outside the meeting room 2Q2 (ANTALL building) (Thursday).
Climate change/2020 Covenant of Mayors. The ‘2020 Ceremony of the Covenant of Mayors & European Climate Pact’ will take place in the EP to debate measures towards climate-neutral cities. EP President David Sassoli will open the afternoon session. A number of mayors from cities across the EU will be among the guest speakers. The mayors of three cities, winners of the Covenant 2020 Awards, will be announced during the event (Wednesday).
Plenary preparations. Political groups will prepare for a debate with Council President Charles Michel on the failure of member states to agree on the long-term budget and to discuss the agenda of the next European Council meeting. Furthermore, they will discuss their expectations regarding upcoming Commission proposals on the climate law and the Circular Economy plan. MEPs will also draw their conclusions from the findings of the recent delegation to Czechia to fine-tune the draft resolution that is scheduled for a vote. The “European Semester” Growth Survey, in particular its social aspects, and reports on the Banking Union and EU competition policy will be finalised.
President’s diary. EP President David Sassoli will meet Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg, on Tuesday. President Sassoli will meet Polish Sejm’s Deputy Speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty and Committee of the Regions’ President Apostolos Tzitzikostas, on Wednesday.
Pre-session press briefing. The EP Press Service will hold a press briefing with the EP’s political group spokespersons at 11.00 on Friday (Anna Politkovskaya room, press centre, Brussels).
