European Parliament Agenda: The Week Ahead 20 – 26 April 2015

Juncker’s Strategic Investment Plan. The European Strategic Investment Fund, designed to leverage €315 billion to boost the EU economy, will be up for a joint legislative vote in the Budget and Economic Affairs committees. Arrangements for financing it will be of particular interest. Members will also vote on opening talks with EU ministers on an agreement to allow the Fund to start working in mid-2015. A press conference will take place at 18:00. (Monday)

Financing development. The Development Committee will vote on how EU development aid should be financed, with a view to an international conference on development finance in Addis Ababa in July, and the new Global Development Goals to be agreed at a UN summit in New York City in September 2015. (Monday)

Consumer safety. Two draft laws, one to improve the safety of personal protective equipment such as life jackets and bicycle helmets and the other to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning by gas appliances, will be voted in the Internal Market Committee. Members will also seek to ensure that the administrative burden of these laws is proportionate to safety risks. (Thursday)

Plenary preparations. Political groups will prepare for the 27 – 30 April plenary session in Strasbourg, where MEPs are to vote on plastic bag reduction, biofuels, a new EU alcohol strategy, the e-Call system for cars, the 2014 accession progress reports on Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina and money market funds. MEPs will also debate economic governance with Economic and Financial Affairs and Taxation Commissioner Pierre Moscovici.

President’s diary. EP President Martin Schulz will deliver a keynote speech at a conference on “The role of Parliaments in the negotiations on international treaties”, in Rome, on Tuesday. He will meet European Council President Donald Tusk and the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church His Holiness, the Patriarch of Kyiv and All Rus’-Ukraine Filaret, on Wednesday. On Thursday, Mr Schulz will deliver a speech at Politico’s launch event.

Pre-session press briefing. The EP Press Service will hold a press briefing with the EP political groups’ spokespersons at 11.00 on Friday. (“Anna Politkovskaya” EP Press conference room, Brussels)

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