The Week Ahead 04 – 10 December 2023
©European Union, 2021, Source: EP – Multimedia CentreDriving licences. The Transport and Tourism Committee will adopt its position on an update to EU rules on driving licences to improve road safety and move closer to the target of zero deaths on EU roads by 2050. Among several proposals, MEPs will vote on issuing mobile licences along physical ones to embrace digital transition and EU single market. They will also decide if to introduce a two-year probation period and zero tolerance for drink driving for novice drivers. More than 20 000 lives are lost in road accidents in the EU every year (Thursday).
2022 EU anti-fraud report. The Budgetary Control Committee will vote on its EU anti-fraud report for 2022. MEPs will look into existing measures and future improvements to ensure the EU’s financial interests are protected, including on the resources allocated for the EU’s response to Russian aggression in Ukraine, national control systems on the Recovery Facility spending as well as protecting journalists and news media concentration (Monday).
COP28 – UN Climate Change Conference. A delegation of MEPs will participate in the UN COP28 Climate Change Conference, where the first Global Stocktake, aiming to provide an overall picture of the implementation progress of the Paris Agreement, will take place (Friday 8 to Tuesday 12 December).
Media event “Six months ahead of the European Elections”. Accredited journalists are invited to an event for media to mark the six months ahead of the European Elections (EE24). Parliament’s Press service will provide professionals with useful information on the 6-9 June EE24. The results of a Eurobarometer survey, to be published the following day, will also be distributed under embargo (Tuesday).
Autumn 2023 Eurobarometer. Parliament will publish a Eurobarometer public survey on questions to citizens on topics such as their image of the Parliament and the EU, their opinion on EU membership, Parliament’s policy priorities and the core values to defend, plus a focus on the 2024 European elections, including awareness, interest and likelihood to vote (Wednesday).
Plenary preparations. Political groups will prepare for the 11-14 December session, during which the 2023 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought will be awarded to Jina Mahsa Amini and the Woman, Life, Freedom Movement in Iran. MEPs will also debate and vote on the Critical Raw Materials Act to increase the supply of strategic raw materials, on the European Health Data Space to boost the right to health data portability and enable secure sharing, and on the EU’s relations with both the US and China. They will also vote on their proposals for the 6-9 June 2024 EP elections including a mechanism to elect the Commission President, outline their demands for the 14-15 December European Council and assess the results of the Spanish Council Presidency with President of Government Pedro Sánchez.
Pre-session press briefing. The EP’s Press Service will hold a press briefing with the Parliament’s political group spokespersons at 11.00 on Friday (Anna Politkovskaya room, press centre, Brussels).
President’s diary. EP President Roberta Metsola will continue her visit to Italy on Monday and Tuesday, where she will speak at the public event “Next Generation EU e le Sfide dell’UE” and meet the Italian Minister for European Affairs, Cohesion Policy, the South, and the National Plan for Recovery and Resilience, Raffaele Fitto, followed by a press point. She will also visit the Control Room of Operation Zero Tolerance, at the Seat of the Region of Calabria, followed by a meeting with Roberto Occhiuto, the President of the Region of Calabria, and a press point. On Tuesday, President Metsola will attend a simulation of the Emergency System 112 together with the Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, and the President of the Region of Calabria, Roberto Occhiuto, followed by a joint press point. In the afternoon, she will give a keynote speech at the inauguration of the new academic year at the University of Palermo.
