The Week Ahead 26 September – 02 October 2016

Panama Papers inquiry. The EP’s Panama Papers inquiry committee will kick off with a hearing of some of the journalists who revealed the scandal in their investigative work. Directly afterwards, committee chair Werner Langen and the two co-rapporteurs Jeppe Kofod and Petr Jezek will outline the work programme in a press conference at around 11:30. (Tuesday)

Roaming/fair use. The Industry Committee will debate a second draft decision by the Commission on how mobile operators should apply ”fair use” policies, which would allow telecoms providers to limit the amount of free roaming so as to avoid abuses, after roaming surcharges are abolished in June 2017. The Commission withdrew a first draft after criticism. (Monday)

Mario Draghi. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will present the ECB’s perspective on economic and monetary developments, in particular in the aftermath of the 23 June Brexit referendum, to the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee. The discussion with Members will also cover Euro area long-term bonds and financial market fragmentation. (Monday)

2017 EU budget. The Committee on Budgets will vote on more than 2,200 amendments to the draft EU budget for 2017, after its members criticised the cuts proposed by the Council as they affect a number of programmes that represent political priorities such as Horizon 2020 (research), the Connecting Europe Facility (infrastructure), or DCI (development cooperation, fighting the root causes of migration). (Wednesday and Thursday)

Counter-terrorism/de Kerchove. EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator (CTC) Gilles de Kerchove will debate the state of play in the fight against terrorism and recent attacks in member states with the Civil Liberties Committee. (Monday)

Car type approval system. Amendments to the proposed overhaul of EU rules aiming to ensure that cars placed on the market comply with all safety, environmental and production requirements will be debated for the first time in the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee. The proposal was presented by the Commission in the aftermath of the VW emissions scandal. (Thursday)

The future of the Jewish communities in Europe. Anti-Semitism and future prospects for Jewish communities in Europe will be debated at a conference hosted by EP President Martin Schulz and First Vice President Antonio Tajani, who will respectively close and open the event. (Tuesday

Plenary preparations. Political groups will prepare for the 3 – 6 October plenary session in Strasbourg, where MEPs will debate the agenda of the upcoming EU Council and the COP22 meeting in Marrakech on climate change, the macroeconomic situation in Greece and ways to avoid conflicts of interest of past and present Commissioners. Also on the agenda are materials in contact with food and trade in goods that could be used for torture or the death penalty

President’s diary. EP President Martin Schulz will meet Turkish Peoples’ Democratic Party co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş as well as the European Court of Auditors President Vítor Caldeira, on Tuesday. On Wednesday, he will meet European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti.

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