The Week Ahead 01 – 07 June 2020

Committee meetings – Brussels

COVID-19/Schengen internal checks. A resolution on the situation of the Schengen area following the COVID-19 outbreak will be voted on by the Civil Liberties Committee. During a debate held on 12 May, MEPs emphasised that the temporary checks on Schengen borders need to be lifted in a coordinated manner as soon as conditions allow (Thursday).

New EU long-term budget/Agriculture. The Agriculture Committee will debate the revised MFF proposal and its impact on EU farm policy funding with Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn. MEPs have repeatedly insisted that only adequately-funded EU farm policy can deliver food security and at the same time take on board the EU Green Deal (Tuesday).

COVID-19/Digital surveillance. The use of digital surveillance in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and its implications for human rights will be debated by the Human Rights Subcommittee (Friday).

Roma Integration Strategies. The implementation of National Roma Integration Strategies will be debated by the Civil Liberties Committee with Equality Commissioner Helena Dalli and EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) Executive Director Michael O’Flaherty. These strategies aim at combating negative attitudes towards people of Romani background in Europe and facilitate their integration (Thursday).

President’s diary. EP President David Sassoli will meet, via videoconference, Parliament’s Contact Group on the MFF to discuss the upcoming talks on the new long-term budget, on Tuesday. The President will have a bilateral meeting, also via videoconference, with the Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte as well as a phone call with the Speaker of Ukraine’s Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) Dmytro Razumkov, on Wednesday. On Thursday, President Sassoli will deliver a speech on NEF Online, the online debate platform of the Nueva Economía Forum.