Summary Next week, Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) will gather in Strasbourg for plenary sessions.  Important debates and votes are scheduled to take place. What won’t take place next week is a vote to confirm the next European Commission.  A spokesman of the Parliament indicated that the vote will be delayed after three Commissioners-designate were rejected by the Parliament as no alternative candidates have yet been approved.  This means that the new European Commission…

Summary Next week, Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) will gather in Brussels for committee meetings and political group meetings.  It will be relatively quiet in camera, but a lot will be happening behind the scenes. Over the past two weeks, MEPs have rejected three candidates for the next European Commission, one from each of the three largest political groups.  Just yesterday, MEPs rejected Sylvie Goulard, the French candidate associated with the Renew Europe party…

Summary Next week, Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) will gather in Brussels for committee meetings and mini-Plenary sessions.  Several interesting debates and hearings are set to take place. On Monday, the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (“AFCO”) and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Affairs (“LIBE) will have a hearing with Commissioner-designate Vĕra Jourová.  Since 2014, she holds the portfolio of Justice, Consumer Protection and Gender Equality.  She has been active as the…

Summary Next week, the European Parliament will conduct the hearings of the Commissioners-designate and a hearing on Search and Rescue operations in the Mediterranean.  The Budgets Committee is set to adopt its position on the annual EU budget for 2020. Throughout the week, the Commissioners-designate will answer questions from Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) in front of the committees related to their portfolios.  During these three-hour hearings, MEPs will assess whether the Commissioners are…

Summary Next week, Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) will gather in Brussels for committee meetings.  Several interesting debates and hearings are scheduled to take place. On Monday, the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (“ECON”) will have their final “monetary dialogue” with Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank.  They will interrogate Mario Draghi about his recent decision to cut interests rates further into the negative territory and to restart the quantitative easing…

On September 10, Ursula von der Leyen, President-elect of the European Commission, presented her new team. If approved by the European Parliament, they will take over from the Juncker Commission on November 1, 2019. This blog outlines the proposed structure of the new Commission, each Commissioner’s portfolio, and the key regulatory priorities that the President set for each member of her team. A Three-Tier Commission The new President of the Commission was confronted with the…

Summary Next week, the European Parliament’s agenda includes debates on the Amazon forest fires, plant patents, and EU aid for the 2018 floods.  MEPs will also discuss political upheavals worldwide, with discussions scheduled on Brexit, foreign electoral interference, and the latest developments in Hong Kong.  Tying it all together is the expected finalization of Christine Lagarde’s appointment as ECB President. On Monday, MEPs will question the European Commission about plant patenting.  Concerns raised by vocal…