European Union

President Charles Michel chaired the last European Council of 2022 where leaders talked about Ukraine and Russia, energy and economy, security and defence, Southern Neighbourhood, transatlantic relations.

Written by Clare Ferguson and Katarzyna Sochacka.

The highlight of the December 2022 plenary session was the ceremony awarding the 2022 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to the brave people of Ukraine. Also, in a ‘This is Europe’ debate, the Prime Minister of Slovenia, Robert Golob, addressed the plenary.

With Council and European Commission representatives, Members debated the preparation of the European Council meeting of 15 December 2022. A number of debates also took place: on the outcome of COP27; addressing persistent challenges in the aviation sector; and turning the Child Guarantee into reality. Debates also took place on the recent Council decision on Schengen accession; the EU response to the US Inflation Reduction Act; and defending the European Union against the abuse of national vetoes. The Commission’s reports on the situation of journalists and the implications of the rule of law; the 30th anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities; recognising the Holodomor as genocide; and the humanitarian situation in Ukraine were also debated. Members also discussed foreign affairs issues, such as prospects for a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine; Turkish airstrikes on northern Syria and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq; and EU-ASEAN relations.

In the wake of allegations of corruption in and around the Parliament, Members held a debate with the Commission on the need for transparency and accountability in the European institutions and adopted a resolution on the issue. The also voted for the early termination of the mandate of the vice-president arrested and charged in recent days.

2022 Sakharov Prize for the brave people of Ukraine

Supporting people’s basic rights and democratic values, both in the EU and the wider world, is one of Parliament’s top priorities. Parliament has awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought for outstanding achievements in defending human rights and fundamental freedoms every year since 1988. Having taken a courageous stand for freedom and democracy in the face of great hardship since the Russian invasion, the 2022 award goes to the brave people of Ukraine. President Roberta Metsola presented the Sakharov Prize in a ceremony during a formal sitting.

REPowerEU

Members considered and adopted a Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) report on the European Commission’s proposal to amend EU energy legislation under the REPowerEU plan. The ITRE committee proposes to reduce the time taken to approve new renewable energy installations and upgrade existing ones. The adopted report sets Parliament’s position for forthcoming interinstitutional negotiations.

Upscaling the 2021-2027 MFF

The war in Ukraine and its consequences are having a considerable impact on the EU’s finances. The MFF was not designed to cope with emergencies with huge financial implications, such as COVID‑19 and Russia’s invasion of its neighbour. Members debated and voted on a Committee on Budgets own-initiative report calling for an urgent revision of the MFF to increase the EU budget and make it more flexible. The committee calls for the Commission to propose an upscaled 2021-2027 MFF to provide a resilient EU budget fit for new challenges – with a bigger and more flexible budget, fresh revenue streams, action on preserving the budget from fluctuations in debt repayment for the EU recovery instrument, and greater scrutiny and transparency.

A long term vision for the EU’s rural areas

Over 80 % of total EU territory is rural, supplying much of the EU’s natural resources in terms of biodiversity, agriculture and more. Those living in many rural EU areas face challenges ranging from finding employment to connecting to the internet. To remedy this, the Commission has drawn up a long-term vision for the EU’s rural areas to encourage their resilience in the face of an ageing population, poor connectivity, and lack of opportunity. Members debated and voted an own-initiative report on the proposals from Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI). The report underlines the key role of rural areas in the EU, and the need for action to support the needs of their populations, underpinned by dedicated funding.

Towards equal rights for persons with disabilities

Continued discrimination and a failure to ensure equal rights for persons with disabilities to participate in social and political life are compounded by a lack of suitable accommodation, among other things. Members debated and voted on a Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) own-initiative report on progress towards implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the EU. While the report recognises the efforts made to meet the standards set out in the Convention, the committee decries a number of serious failings, particularly the use of EU funding to construct institutions, despite an EU target to end the practice of placing persons with disabilities in care.

Cultural policy in EU and external relations

Parliament debated and voted a Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) own-initiative report on the implementation of the new European agenda for culture and the EU strategy for international cultural relations. The first strategy sets social and economic objectives for EU cultural policy (for the post-pandemic recovery, employment) and touches on opportunities also identified in the second, for cooperation with non-EU countries on the role of cultural diversity and heritage in sustainable socio-economic development and driving peace. The CULT committee recommends, among other things, paying stricter attention to employment conditions for creative workers and easier access to funding for small entities. Looking to cultural relations outside the EU, the report regrets the lack of focus on sustainable development and warns against perceptions of cultural diplomacy as ‘Eurocentric’.

Question time: Protecting strategic infrastructure against China’s influence

Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President of the Commission, attended the plenary to provide answers to Members’ questions on protecting EU strategic infrastructure from China’s influence during the regular question time session.

Opening of trilogue negotiations

Members confirmed, without vote, a mandate for negotiations from the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justices and Freedom (LIBE) on the proposal for a regulation on the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).

This ‘at a glance’ note is intended to review some of the highlights of the plenary part-session, and notably to follow up on key dossiers identified by EPRS. It does not aim to be exhaustive. For more detailed information on specific files, please see other EPRS products, notably our ‘EU legislation in progress’ briefings, and the plenary minutes.

Read this ‘at a glance’ on ‘Plenary round-up – December 2022‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

The European Commission should publish the revision of the regulation for evaluating and authorising chemicals before the end of its mandate to protect human health and the environment, writes Zakia Khattabi.

On Monday the European Council is about to softly kill the main legislative part of the Farm to Fork and biodiversity strategy — all in the name of food security.

Three French socialist MPs on Thursday (15 December) presented a bill that aims for a 'true nationalisation' of energy giant EDF, as opposed to the government's plans to recapitalise it.

Tobacco, alcohol and cannabis are being consumed much less by French youth since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, though lockdowns are not the only reason for this downward trend, according to a recent study.

The Czech reimbursement mechanism for rare diseases has been applauded for involving patient organisations in its decision-making processes - however, only one drug has completed the approval process so far.

The dumpster fire at the European Parliament may be largely of the EU's own making.

Resilience is a word the EU has overused over the past few years, but to find its true meaning, one has to consider what price people are ready to pay to defend their freedom. Nine months after Russia’s aggression on...

Aija Kalnaja, the interim head of the EU’s border guard agency Frontex is under investigation by the EU anti-corruption watchdog (OLAF), it was confirmed to EURACTIV on Friday (16 December). The European Commission and member states were informed of the...

May I have your attention, please? Will the real ‘skim’ shady please stand up? And by the real skim shady, we mean the smooth cream-inals that have been accused of forming a Spanish milk cartel to skim the profits off...

Following negotiations this weekend on the Emissions Trading System and Social Climate Fund, a press conference with lead MEPs is scheduled for Monday 19 December at 10.30.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

Following negotiations this weekend on the Emissions Trading System and Social Climate Fund, a press conference with lead MEPs is scheduled for Monday 19 December at 10.30.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

Market design changes alone won’t cut our dependence on fossil fuels, solve nuclear reactor issues or prevent droughts hitting hydropower generation, writes Jean-Michel Glachant. But good design can protect consumers, secure supply and help decarbonise, he argues.

Delegations

Source : © European Union, 2022 - EP

Renew Europe MEP Giorgos Kyrtsos and investigative journalist Tasos Teloglou are the new victims of the “Greek Watergate”, a wiretapping scandal that has been shaking Athens for months.

Written by Polona Car and Stefano De Luca (1st edition).

New technologies come with new risks, and the impact of cyber-attacks through digital products has increased dramatically in recent years. Increasingly, consumers have fallen victim to security flaws linked to digital products such as baby monitors, robo-vacuum cleaners, Wi-Fi routers and alarm systems. For businesses, the importance of ensuring that digital products in the supply chain are secure has become pivotal, considering three in five vendors have already lost money owing to product security gaps.

The European Commission’s proposal for a regulation, the ‘cyber-resilience act’ therefore aims to impose cybersecurity obligations on all products with digital elements whose intended and foreseeable use includes direct or indirect data connection to a device or network. The proposal introduces cybersecurity by design and by default principles and imposes a duty of care for the life cycle of products.

In Parliament, the file has been provisionally assigned to the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE).

Versions

• December 2022: EU cyber-resilience act (1st edition)

Horizontal cybersecurity requirements for products with digital elements Committee responsible:Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE)COM(2022)454
15.9.2022Rapporteur:Nicola Danti (Renew, Italy)2022/0272(COD)Shadow rapporteurs:Henna Virkunen (EPP, Finland)
Beatrice Covassi (S&D, Italy)
Ignazio Corrao (Greens/EFA, Italy)
Evžen Tošenovský (ECR, CzechiaOrdinary legislative procedure (COD)
(Parliament and Council on equal footing
– formerly ‘co-decision’) Next steps expected: Publication of draft report

One of the most striking features of this scandal is the fact that it was the Belgian police — working on this case for months — who spotted what was arguably hiding in plain sight, writes EU Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly.

Belgian MEP Frederique Ries, vice-chair of the Renew Europe political group, sat on a board of a foundation fronting for Morocco — at a time when Rabat was lobbying MEPs to secure an EU trade deal.

The EU’s ambition to hold third countries' food imports to its own sustainability standards has been met with consternation as stakeholders sounded the alarm in key trading partners, including Brazil and the US.