The Week Ahead 10 – 16 January 2022

Political ads. The Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee will kick off the discussion on a legislative proposal on the transparency and targeting of political advertising. The draft law would require any political advert to be clearly labelled and include information on who paid for it and how much. The proposed rules will create a more secure environment for consumers, as they also include measures on the use of amplification techniques. (Monday).

Belarus/EU borders. The Civil Liberties Committee will hear about the recent proposal for temporary measures in case of a sudden influx of third country nationals from Commission Vice-President Schinas and Home Affairs Commissioner Johansson. These measures would give Poland, Latvia and Lithuania greater flexibility in dealing with the arrival, organised by the Lukashenka regime, of migrants and asylum-seekers at their borders (Thursday).

New EU sources of income. The Committee on Budgets will discuss with Commissioner Hahn the proposed three new “own resources” for the EU budget, based on a revised EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and including a share of the future additional corporate tax income, expected once the OECD/G20 agreement is in place at EU level (Thursday).

Vaccines/developing countries. The Development and Foreign Affairs committees will debate access to COVID-19 vaccines in developing countries, including the EU’s commitment to share 700 million doses by mid-2022, with representatives of international organisations (Thursday).

Election of EP President and bureau. Political groups will prepare for the 17-20 January plenary session in Strasbourg, where MEPs will elect their President, 14 Vice-Presidents and five Quaestors. Parliament will also decide on the composition of its standing committees and subcommittees and debate the priorities of the incoming French Presidency of the Council of the EU, with President Emmanuel Macron.

Media webinar on Digital Services. The Parliament’s Media Service will organise a webinar for journalists with key MEPs on the proposed Digital Services Act, before a vote in plenary and the start of negotiations with EU governments (Thursday at 15:00).

Pre-session press briefing. The EP 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).