Overzicht van de plenaire zitting van April in Straatsburg (en)

MEPs face a packed agenda in the penultimate plenary session before the European elections 4-7 June 2009 in a session that starts today, Tuesday, 21 April and ends on Friday 24 April.

Highlights of the Strasbourg plenary session 21-24 April 2009 include:   

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  Reform of Credit Rating Agencies
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  Supervision of the insurance sector
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  Gas and electricity markets to be further liberalised
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  Mobile roaming: new charges for calling, texting and mobile internet surfing
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  Clearing away the obstacles to cross-border healthcare 
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  Stricter rules to keep illegal timber off the EU market
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  Fisheries control: MEPs want to rewrite rules on recreational fishing
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  Budgetary control: MEPs set to postpone approving Council spending
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  Music copyright to be extended from 50 to 95 years
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  Parliament's calendar of plenary sessions for 2010

Credit Rating Agencies: partially responsible for the current financial crisis

Jean-Paul GAUZÈS i (EPP-ED, FR) for the Economics Committee will be putting forward a legislative report on Credit Rating Agencies.  MEPs and the Council have reached a first-reading deal on this. A credit rating agency (CRA) is a company that provides opinions on the future value of companies, securities or obligations. These ratings, despite being just opinions, are used by investors, lenders, issuers and securities regulators and therefore influence global financial transactions. Given this influence on the financial market, CRAs' decisions have to be taken in transparent and independent way.

Solvency II: better financial supervision of the insurance industry

Peter SKINNER i (PES; UK) will be putting forward a legislative report on Solvency II, taking up and pursuit of the business of insurance and reinsurance.  A first-reading deal has been reached with Council. The new legislation seeks to achieve a major overhaul of the supervisory framework to enhance the financial stability of the insurance industry.

Safer and easier e-money transactions

The offer of e-money services should be enhanced by boosting innovation and improving consumers' confidence with a legislative report put forward by John PURVIS i (EPP-ED, UK) for the Economics Committee. Updating the existing legislation on e-money business to achieve a true single market allowing this industry to expand is the objective of the report.

Economics Committee calls for the end of tax havens

All EU Member States should agree to exchange full information on interest earned on saving accounts by July 2014, says the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee. Members also call for an end to tax havens. The report by Benoit HAMON i (PES, FR) for the Economics Committee calls for the end of the withholding tax option for certain Member States and asked the Council to take action to put an end to so-called tax havens. The aim of the draft legislation under consideration is to improve action against tax fraud.

Electricity and gas market: MEPs to debate and vote on deal with Council Presidency

Europe's electricity and gas markets will be further liberalised while the rights of energy consumers are strengthened. Parliament will debate and vote on a compromise agreed with the Czech Presidency on a wide-ranging package of energy market legislation. The informal compromise negotiated by Industry Committee MEPs with the Czech Presidency still needs to be backed by the whole Parliament and the Council of Ministers.

Charges for calling, texting and mobile internet surfing

Charges for calling, texting and mobile internet surfing will be cut from 1 July 2009. MEPs negotiated a compromise with the Czech Presidency on the extension of the 2007 which will be debated and voted on in Strasbourg. The informal compromise negotiated by Industry Committee MEPs with the Czech Presidency still needs to be backed by the whole Parliament and the Council of Ministers.

Tyre labels to show fuel efficiency, safety and noise

Tyre buyers will be better informed about their fuel-efficiency, safety and noise performance thanks to a mandatory tyre label proposal put forward by the Industry Committee. Like the European energy label, the tyre label will use fuel-efficiency classes ranging from best-performance (green “A” class) to worst (red “G” class). It will also show the tyre's wet grip and noise performance.

Nuclear safety measures in the EU must be improved, say MEPs

The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy is backing a report from the Commission/Council which is calling for an EU-wide nuclear safety framework, based on the principles of the International Atomic Energy Agency. According to the report, drafted by Gunnar HÖKMARK i (EPP-ED, FI), nuclear installations should be operated so as "to achieve the highest safety standards that can reasonably be achieved taking into account economical and social factors."

Report calls for Member States to maintain minimum stocks of crude oil

MEPs are concerned that a sudden shortage of crude oil - one of the main energy sources of the EU - could be extremely damaging to the economies of Member States, and that could also "compromise" national military capabilities.  The risk of an unexpected shortage of oil has increased in recent years due to increasing global demands, the concentration of oil supplies in often unstable areas and decreasing resources within the European Union.  In light of this, the report drafted by Miloslav RANSDORF i (GUE/NGL, CZ) calls for increased energy security and more effective monitoring of oil stocks in the EU.

All new buildings to be zero energy from 2019

All buildings built after 31 December 2018 will have to produce as much energy as they consume on-site, says a report put forward by the Industry Committee, amending the 2002 Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. MEPs in the committee also call for more public investments in energy-efficient buildings.

Clearing away the obstacles to cross-border healthcare

The general aim of the draft directive on cross-border healthcare is to ensure that there are no obstacles to patients who seek treatment in a Member State other than their own. It also clarifies the right to be reimbursed after a treatment in another Member State. These rights have been confirmed in European Court of Justice Judgments but are not yet included in EU legislation. The directive also aims to ensure high-quality, safe and efficient healthcare and to establish healthcare co-operation mechanisms among Member States. Parliament will vote at first reading on plans to give patients the right to seek healthcare abroad more easily and be reimbursed for the costs. The Environment and Public Health Committee's report also calls for patients to be properly informed about their rights when treated outside their home Member State.

Rare diseases: an invisible threat

Although the incidence of each rare disease is very low, millions of people are affected across the European Union because the number of such diseases is high. There are between 5,000 and 10,000 rare diseases, with a total number of sufferers ranging between 27 and 36 million people. Rare diseases contribute heavily to the death rate in Europe but often go unrecorded owing to weaknesses in healthcare data systems. Concerted action at EU and national level is needed to tackle this problem, according to a report tabled to plenary by the Environment and Public Health Committee.

War on hospital bugs

The Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee is urging Parliament to back measures designed to reduce the millions of infections picked up by patients in hospitals each year. The recruitment of specialised nurses, better education, support for research and better information for patients are among the measures proposed. Patient safety is of increasing concern in healthcare systems everywhere. The most common problems are healthcare associated infections, medication-related events and complications during or after operations. Many such problems could be avoided fairly easily.

Pollution at sea to be punished under criminal law

Tough legal penalties to help combat pollution at sea are expected to be endorsed by Parliament when it votes at first reading on a report by the Transport Committee on a directive on ship source pollution. The aim of the proposed directive is to tackle a widespread problem in sea transport, namely the worrying increase in illegal operational discharges of ship-source polluting substances.  

Action plan for urban mobility

Sixty per cent of Europeans lived in urban areas in 2005, and that number will rise to eighty per cent in 2020, making urban transport a major component of goods and passenger transport in Europe. A significant proportion of greenhouse gases are generated by road traffic in urban areas.  Parliament will vote on a report by the Transport Committee that seeks to prompt EU action on problems relating to urban mobility such as congestion and pollution.

Intelligent Transport Systems to make roads safer and more efficient

Fresh ideas are needed to cope with increasing congestion on transport systems (freight road transport is expected to increase by 55% and passenger road transport by 36 % by 2020) and the related energy consumption and negative environmental impacts (CO2 emissions from transport will grow a further 15% by 2020). Modern information technology can do much to improve road safety and traffic efficiency but the maximum benefit will be reaped only if measures are coordinated at European level. With this in mind, MEPs will be asked to approve with amendments a draft directive on the deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems in the field of road transport.

Shifting freight traffic from road to rail

Increased funding for projects that seek to shift freight from road to rail, and better compatibility between European rail networks, are the subject of two reports being tabled to plenary by the Transport Committee. Ulrich STOCKMANN i (PES, DE) drafted the report on a regulation on "Marco Polo", an EU funding programme which encourages the shift of freight transport from road to other, more sustainable and environmentally-friendly transport modes: rail, sea, and inland waterways. Freight transport companies who present projects which apply this "intermodal shift" are eligible for funding. 

New rights for bus, coach and ship passengers

Parliament will vote at first reading on two regulations designed to replicate for bus, coach and ship passengers certain rights already granted to air travellers under EU rules. There will be stricter rules on compensation for delays and cancellations and on payments in the event of accidents and assistance for disabled passengers. The Transport Committee is tabling the two reports, one by Gabriele ALBERTINI i (EPP-ED, IT) on rights of bus and coach passengers, the other by Michel  TEYCHENNÉ (PES, FR) on the rights of passengers travelling by sea and inland waterway.

Road transport package set to speed through Parliament

Fewer empty lorries on Europe's roads, longer maximum working hours for coach and bus drivers, and tougher inspections of transport companies are among the key aims of the "road transport package" set to be approved by Parliament in Strasbourg. Members of the EP Transport Committee have hammered out a second-reading agreement with the Council on the three regulations making up the package: on cabotage rules, on maximum working hours for coach and bus drivers and on rules governing road haulage firms. 

Deforestation and forest degradation

Recent studies show that there is potential for reducing global greenhouse emissions by 40 % by 2030 and that, at a cost of less than half of one percent of global GDP, wind, solar and other sustainable renewable energies could provide almost a third of total global power needs; whereas energy efficiency could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than a quarter and whereas deforestation could be almost halted. Parliament will debate the challenges of deforestation and forest degradation to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss following a statement from the Commission. MEPs will also vote on a resolution on this topic.

Stricter rules to keep illegal timber off the EU market

Stricter rules on timber sold in the EU are needed to combat illegal logging - the main cause of deforestation - says a report by Caroline LUCAS (Greens/EFA, UK) for the Environment Committee. All the operators in the timber supply chain must prove the legality of their timber and illegal timber suppliers must pay penalties that reflect the degree of environmental and economic damage, it added. EU rules need to be more effective, as 20 to 40% of global industrial wood production is from illegal sources, stress the Environment committee, which calls on the Commission to table tough legislation to ensure that illegally harvested timber and timber products are removed from the EU market, through a concrete system of traceability and monitoring.

Music copyright to be extended to 95 years

Copyright term for music recordings must be extended from 50 years to 95 years, says legislation put forward by Brian CROWLEY i (UEN, IE) for the Legal Affairs Committee. Increasing the term of copyright protection would ensure that performers and producers continue to receive royalties for 95 years from the first publication or performance of their song, according to a Commission proposal backed by the committee.

Strengthening the fight against nuclear proliferation

The next Review Conference of the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is scheduled for 2010, and according to MEPs, it should be a chance to put the production, use and disarmament of nuclear weapons under the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna.  The conference also presents an opportunity to reach a consensus on a treaty to end the production of fissile material for military purposes.

MEPs report on the activities of the Committee on Petitions in 2008

The report, drafted by Mairead McGUINNESS (EPP-ED, IE), summarises the work of the Committee on Petitions for 2008.  The UK submitted the sixth highest number of petitions, whilst Ireland submitted the largest number of petitions per capita.  The issues covered ranged from landfill sites to the planned route of the M3 in Ireland to the Equitable Life affair in the UK.  The Committee on Petitions also expresses its hope that its powers will be extended in the next Parliament, to better allow it to represent the views of the European people.

Budgetary control: MEPs set to postpone approving Council spending

MEPs suggest postponing the approval of the EU Council of Ministers' spending for 2007. The Budgetary Control Committee said Council's administrative spending had in fact become increasingly operational, and that Parliament should therefore have scrutiny over the Council budget. Yet the Council has consistently refused to give the committee the facts. Rapporteur Søren Bo SØNDERGAARD (GUE/NGL, DK) explained that the vote to postpone "granting discharge" was to show that MEPs took this issue very seriously but also to give Council the opportunity to deliver the information requested before the April plenary session, when the full House will vote on budget discharges for the EU institutions and agencies.

Western Balkans: reaffirmed European perspective to stabilise the region

The prospect of future EU membership for countries of the Western Balkans is the primary guarantor of stability and a driver of reforms, say MEPs in a report drafted by Anna IBRISAGIC i (EPP-ED, SE). Full membership to the EU of countries that satisfy the Copenhagen criteria must not be delayed or denied, says MEPs to the Commission and to the Member States. The EU's leverage in the Western Balkans depends on the credibility of its commitment to a European future for the region. MEPs ask the Commission and the Member States not to unduly delay or deny full membership of the EU for countries that satisfy the Copenhagen criteria.

Situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina

MEPs will debate the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina after hearing statements from the Council and Commission. Parliament will also vote on a resolution on this topic. The draft resolution says that only a single sovereign state of Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) can aspire to join the EU. Concerned at the deteriorating political climate in the country, MEPs deplored the "paucity of attention" paid to it by the Council and the "lack of determination" shown by Member States.

Governance of Common Fisheries Policy must be improved according to MEPs

The Committee on Fisheries call for improved governance of the Common Fisheries Policy through better financing and more efficient representation for parliamentarians at all levels of policy making. The report, drafted by Elspeth ATTWOOLL i (ALDE, UK) expresses its concern at the lack of formalised participation by MEPs at meetings of the Regional Fisheries Organisations, and is calling for clarification of their position in both regional and international meetings concerning fisheries policies.  It is also calling for members of the Fisheries Committee "to be given observer status at meetings of the Council of Fisheries Ministers."

Fisheries control: MEPs want to rules on recreational fishing

MEPs want to rewrite the rules on recreational fishing in its consultative report on a proposed "control regulation" to ensure compliance with common fisheries policy (CFP) rules. It also replaces proposed rules to enable the Commission to close fisheries or reduce quotas with new ones on unused quota transfers, and said that EU budget aid should be available for installing vessel monitoring systems and electronic logbooks.

Conservation of fisheries resources through technical measures

The proposal is intended to achieve the protection of juvenile fish, and an important part of these measures is designed to limit their capture, for example, by measures to improve the selectivity of fishing gear or fixing certain closed seasons/areas. It will bring together most of the existing technical measures in various Community regulations for the Atlantic and the North Sea.

Europe must deliver a common immigration policy, say MEPs

An own-initiative report by Simon BUSUTTIL i (EPP-ED, MT) is proposing a blue-print for a common policy on European immigration. The report recognises the importance of legal immigration, in the face of Europe's ageing population and declining workforce, but also urges Member States to jointly tackle the problems caused by illegal immigration.

MEPs call for stricter legislation to protect citizens from the effects of profiling

At a time when our personal data is accumulating on the internet and in data-bases, a Parliamentary report, drafted by Sarah LUDFORD i (ALDE, UK), warns against the dangers of 'profiling' of European citizens on the basis of criteria such as ethnicity, religion, gender or age, especially by the police. MEPs are warning against the excesses of the system and call on Member States to shed light onto these practices.

Calendar of part-sessions 2010

Parliament will vote on the calendar of part-sessions for 2010 on Wednesday (22 April) at midday based on a proposal from the Conference of Presidents.

Human rights in the world

As usual the session ends with three debates and votes on human rights issues in the world. On this occasion, the topics are:

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  Women's rights in Afghanistan
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  Support for the Special Court of Sierra Leone
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  Humanitarian situation of Camp Ashraf residents (Iraq)