The Week Ahead 20 – 26 February 2023

No parliamentary meetings are scheduled in Brussels, as the week is set aside for committee delegations conducting visits linked to topics falling under their responsibility.

War in Ukraine/Euronest. The Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, comprised of 60 MEPs and 10 members from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, will meet in Chișinău, Moldova, for its 10th Ordinary Session. They will discuss the impact of the war in Ukraine on the Eastern Partnership (Sunday 19 to Tuesday 21 February). A press conference is foreseen on Tuesday at 11.30.

Security/Bosnia and Herzegovina. A Security and Defence Subcommittee delegation will go to Bosnia and Herzegovina to assess the EU’s military operation Althea and the security situation in the country. MEPs will meet with members of the Tripartite Presidency and the new government, parliamentarians and representatives of the international and think tank community (Monday to Thursday).

Budget control/Spain. A delegation of the Budgetary Control Committee will travel to Madrid to look into how the EU’s recovery and resilience funding is being spent. Meetings are scheduled with members of government, regional authorities, employers’ and workers’ associations, the business community and investigative press (Monday to Wednesday). A press conference will take place on Wednesday at 12.00.

Women’s Rights/Spain. A delegation of the Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee will be in Madrid to gather information on the sexual consent law, care and dependence law and the fight against trafficking and sexual exploitation. They will meet with representatives of the judiciary, NGOs, trade unions, ministers, members of parliament, academics and will visit a women’s shelter (Monday to Wednesday). There will be a press point on Wednesday at 14.00.

Migration/Belgium, France and Holland. A Civil Liberties Committee delegation will go to Brussels (Belgium), Calais (France) and Ter Apel (Netherlands) to look into irregular crossings to the UK and the implications for reception facilities. MEPs will meet with government officials and agencies in charge of migration policy as well as NGO representative, and they will visit reception facilities. (Monday to Wednesday).

Use of spyware/Hungary. The Inquiry Committee on the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware will go to Budapest to learn more about allegations of spyware abuse targeting journalists, the opposition and civil society. MEPs will meet with the leadership of the Hungarian National Assembly’s Committee on National Security, the President of the National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, as well as journalists and NGOs (Monday and Tuesday).

COVID-19/South Africa and Ethiopia. A delegation of the special committee on the COVID-19 pandemic will be in Cape Town to discuss with representatives from the South African ministry of health and parliamentarians dealing with health, trade and international relations. MEPs will also visit the Biovac pharmaceutical company, manufacturing and distributing vaccines in Africa (Monday to Wednesday). The delegation will then travel to Addis Ababa to meet with representatives from the African Union, the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the WHO and the Red Cross (Thursday and Friday).

President’s diary. A video message by EP President Roberta Metsola will be shown at the opening of the 10th Ordinary Session of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, on Monday.