The Week Ahead 04 – 10 September 2023

Committee and political group meetings, Brussels

Hearing of Commissioner-designate Iliana Ivanova. The Industry, Research and Energy Committee and the Culture and Education Committee will hold a three-hour hearing with Iliana Ivanova, Commissioner-designate for innovation, research, culture, education and youth, to assess her competences and suitability to become Commissioner (Tuesday).

On Wednesday, Parliament’s Conference on Presidents will decide whether to close the hearing process and hold the final vote during the September plenary session.

NATO/Stoltenberg. MEPs in the Foreign Affairs Committee and Security and Defence Subcommittee will discuss the latest developments in the war in Ukraine, Western long-term support and the possibility of security guarantees for Kyiv as well as EU-NATO relations, with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (Thursday).

Media Freedom Act. The Culture and Education Committee will vote on Parliament’s draft position on the European Media Freedom Act. The draft bill seeks to protect pluralism and the independence of editorial decisions. MEPs will vote on amendments on safeguards against political interference, prohibiting the use of spyware against journalists, transparency of media ownership, state advertising and a stronger European Media Services Supervisor (Thursday).

Energy market manipulation. The Industry, Research and Energy Committee will adopt its position on draft legislation aiming to protect the wholesale energy market from manipulation, so that the energy bills of European households and businesses are less affected by short-term market price fluctuations (Thursday).

Supply of critical raw materials. The Industry, Research and Energy Committee will also vote on the critical raw materials (CRMs) act, which aims to secure the supply of these key materials and reduce dependence on imports. CRMs, such as lithium for batteries or silicon for semiconductors, are crucial in a wide range of industrial settings as well as for the green and digital transitions (Thursday).

Parliament’s integrity. The Constitutional Affairs Committee will vote on a series of changes to Parliament’s internal rules to strengthen its integrity, make it more independent and accountable. The proposed amendments concern former MEPs’ access to Parliament, conflicts of interest, penalties for breaching the code of conduct and publishing information on meetings (Thursday).

Priorities of the Spanish Presidency. Spain’s ministers will present their priorities in the Employment and Social Affairs and Culture and Education committees, the first two in a series of upcoming meetings with parliamentary committees. Spain will hold the Presidency of the Council until the end of December 2023 (Monday to Thursday).

Plenary preparations. Political groups will prepare for the 11 - 14 September plenary session, where Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will deliver her State of the European Union speech and debate with MEPs the Commission’s plans until the end of its mandate. MEPs will also debate and vote on the renewable energy directive, promoting renewable energy, on ambient air quality and cleaner air as well as on strengthening the European Defence Industry through common procurement. They will also debate and vote on relations with Belarus, assess the situation in Türkiye and on new rules protecting consumers from credit card debt, overdrafts and loans unsuitable for their financial situation.

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).

President’s diary. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola will meet the Speaker of Malta's Parliament Anġlu Farrugia, and a Maltese parliamentary delegation, on Tuesday. From Thursday to Saturday, she will be in Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan, to attend the G7 Speakers’ meeting.