European Parliamentary Research Service Blog

Written by Jakub Przetacznik.

The EU is providing Ukraine with strong political and economic support, and future EU accession should support its reconstruction and modernisation, the cost of which is currently estimated at over €450 billion. This year’s Ukraine Recovery Conference will seek to improve coordination and cooperation among its allies.

EU-Ukraine relations

In 2014, the EU and Ukraine signed an association agreement and established a deep and comprehensive free trade area, deepening bilateral political and trade relations. Since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU and its Member States have committed over €143 billion in financial, economic, humanitarian, and military support for Ukraine, and have welcomed refugees. The sum includes €50 billion for the Ukraine Facility, approved in February, its recovery and its path to EU accession. The EU has also granted annual renewable autonomous trade measures (ATM) – suspending outstanding customs duties and quotas for Ukrainian products. An extension of the ATM until June 2025, reinforcing protection for sensitive agricultural products was approved by Parliament in plenary on 23 April 2024.

EU accession process

Ukraine made a formal request to join the EU after Russia began its full-scale invasion in February 2022. It was granted candidate country status in June 2022, and it unveiled its roadmap for decentralisation reform in November 2023, with a view to EU accession. In December 2023, EU Member States agreed to open accession negotiations. The European Commission submitted a draft negotiating framework for Ukraine on 12 March 2024 and, in its conclusions of 21‑22 March, the European Council invited the Council to ‘adopt them and to take work forward without delay’. The draft framework has three parts: accession negotiation principles; six negotiation clusters; and procedures. Once approved, the first intergovernmental conference will take place, the framework will be made public, and formal negotiations will begin. The key challenges for EU enlargement relate to agricultural, budgetary and cohesion policy reform, security and defence policy, and the mutual defence clause. Ukraine will have to make progress on its reform agenda, not least on fighting corruption and implementing the entire acquis.

Reconstruction and recovery

At the end of 2023, the cost of Ukraine’s reconstruction and recovery was estimated at €452.8 billion over 10 years. The sectors with the greatest needs are housing (17 % of the total), transport (15 %), commerce and industry (14 %), agriculture (12 %), energy (10 %), social protection and livelihoods (9 %), and explosive hazard management (7 %). The sum is equal to 2.8 times Ukraine’s estimated 2023 nominal gross domestic product; to meet these needs will require international support. It is the joint assessment of Ukraine, the World Bank and the Commission that effective reconstruction will be crucial to secure adequate funding and resources, ensure a safe and secure environment, and overcome political challenges.

Ukraine Recovery Conference 2024

This year’s Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2024) will be held on 11 and 12 June in Berlin. The goal is to mobilise international support for recovery, reconstruction, reform and modernisation. URC2024 will focus on four themes: EU accession and related reforms; recovery of municipalities and regions; private-sector mobilisation for reconstruction and economic growth; and social recovery and human capital for the future of Ukraine. Integral to URC2024 will be the Recovery Forum, designed to offer a platform for dialogue, matchmaking and collaboration, and to enable local government and business representatives to interact.

Read this ‘at a glance note’ on ‘Ukraine‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

The European Parliament regularly receives enquiries from citizens about how the EU institutions deal with lobbyists and interest representatives.

The Treaty on European Union establishes that European Union (EU) institutions must have an open, transparent and regular dialogue with representative associations and civil society.

Transparency register

EU institutions interact with many people who represent specific interests, sometimes known as lobbyists. This is a legitimate and necessary part of the decision-making process, ensuring EU policies reflect society’s real needs. However, this process must be transparent. Transparency is one of the EU’skey principles and is important to maintain citizens’ trust.

Since 2021, the European Parliament, European Commission and Council share a common transparency register. This register lists ‘interest representatives’ (organisations, associations, groups and self-employed individuals) who try to influence the law-making and policy decisions of the EU institutions. It allows citizens to access information about lobbying activities in the institutions.

All interest representatives (lobbyists) are encouraged to register. However, registration is mandatory for certain activities, including access to the Parliament’s premises.

As of February 2024, close to 12 500 entities have been listed in the Transparency register. More than half are in-house lobbyists and trade associations and over a quarter are non-governmental organisations. For updated figures and more details, see the Transparency register statistics.

European Parliament calls for stricter rules to strengthen transparency

In the aftermath of ‘Qatargate’, the 2022 corruption scandal involving several Members of the European Parliament, Parliament adopted a resolution calling for stricter transparency rules. The text calls for the Transparency register to become fully mandatory and proposes setting up a special committee to identify any flaws in the European Parliament’s rules on transparency, integrity and corruption. Parliament has subsequently implemented a number of reforms to strengthen transparency.

Publication of meetings with lobby groups

• In the European Parliament, Members have to publish their scheduled meetings with lobby groups on the Parliament’s website.
• The European Commission’s high-level decision makers must publish lists of all meetings with lobby groups.

Further details on publications of meetings is available via the Transparency Register website.

Access to European Parliament premises

Organisations and individuals must be listed in the Transparency Register before requesting access (accreditation) to the European Parliament. However, registration in the Transparency Register does not mean that access is automatically granted. Further details on accreditation are available via the European Parliament website.

Further information

• Interinstitutional Agreement on a Transparency register, European Union, 2021
• EU Transparency Register, Briefing, European Parliamentary Research Service, 2023
• Article 7, Code of conduct for Members of the European Parliament regarding integrity and transparency, Rules of procedure of the European Parliament

Keep sending your questions to the Citizens’ Enquiries Unit (Ask EP)! We reply in the EU language that you use to write to us.

Written by Annastiina Papunen and Rebecca Torpey.

The special meeting of 17-18 April was the last European Council meeting before the European elections on 6-9 June. The EU Heads of State or Government concentrated on competitiveness, the situation in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine. The discussions on competitiveness – informed by a report by former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta on the future of the internal market – were lengthy and difficult. Whereas EU leaders agreed on the need for a new European competitiveness deal, the outcome was less ambitious on measures towards convergence of the business environment and more centralised supervision of financial markets. On Ukraine, the most salient topics discussed were the provision of air defence for Ukraine and of ammunition more generally, and the use of frozen Russian assets. On the Middle East, EU leaders condemned the Iranian attack on Israel, reiterated their previous statements on Palestine, called for be avoidance of further escalation of tensions in the region, and committed to increase support for Lebanon.

© European Union 2024 1.     General

Addressing EU leaders at the start of the meeting, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, emphasised – in the context of the European elections – that the European Parliament stood ready to support Member States in ‘pushing back and addressing any malign interference with our democratic decision-making processes’. With the participation of the European Parliament President, the European Council had a lengthy discussion on the threat of disinformation, and agreed to ‘closely monitor and contain any risks stemming from disinformation, including through artificial intelligence, as well as foreign information manipulation and interference in electoral processes’.

2.     European Council meeting Ukraine

The European Council recalled its March 2024 conclusions and its full support for Ukraine. Before entering the meeting, the Dutch Prime Minister identified air defence and ammunition as the two short-term priorities for Ukraine. The previous week, Germany had announced that it would send a third Patriot system, in addition to other air defence equipment already sent, such as Gepard anti-aircraft gun tanks and Iris-T air defence systems. Germany has been reaching out to both NATO and non-NATO partners to join the Immediate Action on Air Defence initiative. The aim is to ask partners to check their air defence stocks and consider what could be sent to Ukraine.

MEPs had already been calling on the Member States to send more patriot systems; 86 MEPs recently sent a letter to European Council President Charles Michel, the High Representative/Vice President (HR/VP) Josep Borrell and some Heads of State or Government (DE, EL, ES, PL, RO, NL). Michel stressed that Ukraine needed not words but more military equipment. Even with the Patriot systems in place, each missile costs millions of dollars, while Russia is using comparatively cheap drones (among other equipment), produced in Russia and Iran. EU leaders also welcomed the progress on the frozen Russian assets proposals and called for their speedy adoption. Funds such as these could be utilised to cover the cost of much-needed military equipment.

Since the start of its invasion in February 2022, Russia has launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Ukraine – killing thousands of Ukrainians and causing considerable damage to the country’s energy infrastructure. In response, EU leaders have committed to providing additional humanitarian and civil assistance to Ukraine, such as power generators.

Main message from the European Parliament President: Metsola stressed that the EU’s support for Ukraine cannot waver. ‘We need to speed-up and intensify the delivery of equipment that they need, including on air defence’.

Competitiveness

As indicated in Michel’s invitation letter, competitiveness and the single market took centre stage in this special meeting, and the conclusions on these topics were long and detailed. Years of polycrisis and a complex global situation have made strengthening the economic base an urgent task for the EU, as there are worries that China, the US and India will leave an ageing Europe behind if no action is taken. EU leaders notably called for action to enhance productivity and growth in Europe, both to improve the living standards of EU citizens and to strengthen Europe’s economic standing in the world. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said in the meeting that now is the time to show political will to deepen the single market or ‘we risk losing it all’.

One of the most intense debates related to further steps to deepen the capital markets union (CMU) in order to mobilise private capital, notably €33 trillion in private savings, for investment and innovation. Among the steps on CMU proposed, EU leaders agreed to harmonise ‘relevant elements of national corporate insolvency frameworks’. Proposals put forward by France and Germany, however, for ‘tougher and more centralised’ supervision of capital markets, were opposed by at least 10 smaller countries, led by Ireland and Luxembourg. The compromise text calls for an improvement in ‘the convergence and efficiency of the supervision’, and tasks the Commission with assessing the conditions for the European supervisory authorities to ‘effectively supervise the most systemic relevant cross-border capital and financial market actors’. After the meeting, Michel stated that ‘capital markets union is our European inflation reduction act’, which could deliver a similar boost to the EU economy. EU leaders will discuss CMU again during their June 2024 meeting. The divisive issue of new common EU debt was also raised as a possible way to finance a green and competitive Europe, but it was not mentioned in the conclusions.

Also subject to intense discussion was the question of whether or not to include corporate tax harmonisation on the list of steps forward. A number of countries, notably Ireland and Estonia, were strongly against this, as such a move might damage their competitive advantage. The conclusions therefore refer only to ‘a targeted convergence of business conditions’.

As part of the meeting, following a June 2023 European Council request, former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta presented his much anticipated 140-page report on the future of the internal market, entitled ‘Much more than a market – Speed, security, solidarity‘. The report argues that the single market is in dire need of updating, especially in relation to energy, telecoms and finance, which, as Letta underlined, are crucial components of economic security. Letta also advocates the formulation of a ‘fifth freedom’ to enhance research, innovation and education, in addition to the classic ‘four freedoms’ of free movement of goods, services, capital and people. Moreover, he underlines that ‘powerful forces of change – spanning demographics, technology, economics, and international relations – necessitate innovative and effective political responses’. The EU leaders welcomed the report and asked the current and upcoming Council presidencies to take work forward on its recommendations by the end of the year.  

EU leaders also called for a new European competitiveness deal to close gaps in innovation, growth and productivity, and to strengthen ‘Europe’s economic, manufacturing, industrial and technological base, thereby securing the Union’s economic resilience and industrial renewal, global competitiveness, technological leadership, and attractiveness as a business location’. The aim is also to have a level playing field – both inside the EU, through an effective State aid and competition framework, and globally. Former European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi is currently working on a report on EU competitiveness to be presented to EU leaders in June. In a recent speech, Draghi said that he would call for ‘radical change’, because a ‘rapidly changing world has caught Europe by surprise’, and many current EU processes are designed for ‘the world of yesterday – pre-COVID, pre-Ukraine, pre-conflagration in the Middle East, pre-return of great power rivalry’.

Another crucial component in efforts aimed at boosting EU competitiveness is the development and implementation of an effective industrial policy together with stakeholders. The globalisation and smooth supply chains of recent decades have seen factories move to countries outside the EU. The move needs to be countered and European strategic autonomy increased, for Europe to have ‘more factories and fewer dependencies‘. In this vein, EU leaders also stated that strategic dependencies should be reduced, as mentioned in the Versailles Declaration, especially on (i) energy, (ii) critical raw materials, (iii) semi-conductors, (iv) health, (v) digital, (vi) food, (vii) critical technologies, and additionally on (viii) chemistry, (ix) biotechnology and (x) space. The EU currently has an industrial strategy in place that was published in 2020 before the COVID-19 crisis, and updated in 2021.

Being digitally advanced as a society and at the forefront of ‘game-changing digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, quantum computing and immersive reality technology’ was another essential element mentioned in the conclusions to strengthen EU competitiveness. In that context, EU leaders also requested a joint communication from the Commission and the HR/VP on ways to strengthen the EU’s leadership in global digital affairs.

The EU Heads of State or Government also looked into the current regulatory framework and the administrative burden it poses on companies. They stressed that the Commission should apply the ‘think small first’ principle, and carry out ‘high-quality, timely and thorough impact assessments and competitiveness checks, including of cumulative effects’ when designing major proposals, in order not to overburden companies or national authorities. EU leaders called for an initiative to cut reporting requirements by at least 25 %.

Finally, EU leaders underlined that a ‘competitive, sustainable and resilient agricultural sector’ was a key strategic interest of the Union. Reiterating their March 2024 conclusions, they called for the swift adoption of amendments to the Common Agricultural Policy Regulation and for work to be taken forward, notably on (i) cutting red tape for farmers; (ii) strengthening the position of farmers in the supply chain to secure their income; and (iii) ensuring fair competition internally and globally. They also mentioned cohesion policy, which rarely features in European Council conclusions, as having ‘a key role in narrowing disparities and stimulating long-term sustainable growth’.

EU-Türkiye relations

As anticipated, the European Council held a strategic discussion on EU-Türkiye relations. The European Council made it clear that progress on EU-Türkiye cooperation would be linked to the resumption of, and progress in, the Cyprus settlement talks. Talks have been stalled since the 2017 talks in Crans Montana. Furthermore, the European Council welcomed the appointment of María Angela Holguín Cuéllar as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Cyprus.

Middle East Iran/Israel

The European Council condemned the Iranian attack on Israel on 13 April, which utilised hundreds of missiles and drones – similar to the weapons supplied to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine. In advance of the meeting, a number of EU leaders (such as those of Greece and Ireland) called for restraint and de-escalation to avoid a regional conflict. The US, Israel’s main security guarantor, has also stated that it will not participate in any retaliatory attack on Iran. EU leaders were united in agreeing to further sanctions on Iran in response to the attack, namely in the sectors of missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, i.e. drones.

Gaza

The European Council reiterated its calls for (i) an immediate ceasefire; (ii) unconditional release of all hostages; and (iii) full, rapid, safe and unhindered access to humanitarian aid for Palestinians. EU leaders restated the EU’s commitment to a two-state solution. Both Ireland and Spain wanted to discuss recognition of the Palestinian state, as part of momentum towards a two-state solution. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo stated that Belgium was open to recognising the Palestinian state ‘at some point’, but as part of a process and if further steps were taken.

Lebanon

Southern Lebanon has also been impacted by the escalation of violence in the region, with Israeli retaliatory strikes on Hezbollah on the southern Lebanese border and growing conflict between Hezbollah and other factions. EU leaders called on all parties to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls for the full cessation of hostilities, notably between Israel and Hezbollah. The European Council committed to strengthening EU support for the Lebanese armed forces, as well as to providing additional aid for the most vulnerable in Lebanon – notably refugees. Struggling with a severe economic crisis, high inflation and poverty, Lebanon is also the country with the highest number of refugees per capita in the world – approximately 1.5 million refugees in total. Amid increasing numbers of Syrian refugees arriving in Cyprus, the Cypriot government announced that it was suspending examination of asylum requests, and wanted EU partners to reconsider the status of certain areas of Syria, so as to declare them safe for refugee returns. EU leaders recalled the need to ‘achieve conditions for safe, voluntary and dignified returns’ of Syrian refugees based on the UNHCR definition. The European Council tasked the High Representative / Vice-President and the Commission with examining and improving the efficiency of EU assistance for Syrian refugees and displaced people in Syria.  

Main message from the European Parliament President: Metsola noted that ‘the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to have the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps listed as a terrorist organisation. We maintain that’.

Strategic agenda

As flagged up in the EPRS outlook, this meeting was also the moment to take stock of preparations for the next strategic agenda which have been going on in small groups of Heads of State or Government in recent weeks. Michel informed the members of the European Council of the results from the various small group sessions and indicated the next steps in the process.

In that context, the European Council’s indicative leaders’ agenda had also envisaged a discussion on internal reforms. Neither that topic, nor the specific call from the European Parliament to open a convention for Treaty change were addressed at this meeting.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Outcome of the special European Council meeting of 17-18 April 2024‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Written by Ralf Drachenberg with Paweł Bącal.

In a series of ‘This is Europe’ debates, from 2022 to 2024, many EU Heads of State or Government have addressed the European Parliament, to present their vision for Europe and its future. Touching on past and present crises, they have outlined the policy areas that they believe the EU should concentrate on in the future. While every speaker has had their own focus, there have been six recurring themes: (i) the value of EU membership; (ii) the importance of defending EU values; (iii) the main challenges facing the EU; (iv) the need to deliver for EU citizens; (v) the next steps in EU integration; and (vi) the importance of EU unity. While offering a unique analysis of all of these contributions, this briefing outlines the main messages, the key topics, and similarities and differences between the various speakers. It also examines the focus of participants based on party political affiliation and provides a comparison with the previous debates on the future of Europe with EU Heads of State or Government, in 2018-2019.

Read the complete briefing on ‘‘This is Europe’ debates in the European Parliament, 2022-2024‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Participants in ‘This is Europe’ debates in the European Parliament (2022-2024) Attention given by each speaker to the 20 most addressed topics. categories of all topics

Written by Marc Jütten.

The global supply of cocaine is at record levels: in just six years (from 2014 to 2020), cocaine production doubled and led to a 416 % increase in the European cocaine market. Almost all cocaine produced comes from the Andean region: With 61 % of total production, Colombia remains the world’s biggest cultivator of coca, followed by Peru (26 %) and Bolivia (13 %).

Political instability experienced in Andean countries in recent years goes hand in hand with a worsening public security situation and rising cocaine supplies. There has been a dramatic security deterioration, particularly in Ecuador, where the homicide rate rose from 13.7 per 100 000 people in 2021 to about 45 in 2023, placing Ecuador among the top three most violent countries in Latin America.

Illicit drug trafficking is also affecting the EU as never before. In 2021, EU Member State authorities seized 303 tonnes of cocaine – the highest ever amount of cocaine confiscated in Europe. Today, the drug trade orchestrated by organised crime poses one of the most serious security threats to the EU. Almost 40 % of the criminal networks active in the EU are involved in the illegal drugs trade. Some 50 % of all homicides in Europe are connected to drug trafficking.

Against this backdrop, the EU is stepping up its response and has established a series of instruments to fight organised crime, such as the EU security union strategy and the roadmap to fight drug trafficking and organised crime. Moreover, in 2023, the European Commission started negotiating international agreements on the exchange of personal data between Europol and a series of Latin American countries and launched the European Ports Alliance in January 2024.

Cooperation on illegal drug-related issues has become a priority for the strategic partnership between the EU and the Community of Latin America and Caribbean states (CELAC).

Read the complete briefing on ‘EU cooperation with Latin America: Combating drug trafficking in the Andean region‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Written by Vivienne Halleux (1st edition).

Once dispersed in the environment, microplastic particles under 5 mm in size are extremely difficult to remove and very persistent. Today, they are present in the air, soil, freshwater, seas, oceans, plants and animals, and in several components of the human diet. Human exposure to microplastic particles is therefore widespread, raising concerns about potential health impacts.

The EU has committed to addressing microplastic pollution in two action plans –on the new circular economy and on zero pollution for air, water and soil – both of which are part of the European Green Deal. On 16 October 2023, the European Commission proposed a regulation to tackle microplastic pollution resulting from losses of plastic pellets – the industrial raw materials used to make plastic products. These losses are the third largest source of unintentional microplastic releases into the EU environment. The proposal would apply to all economic operators handling plastic pellets in the EU in quantities above 5 tonnes per year, as well as to EU and non-EU carriers transporting plastic pellets within the EU. It would set requirements for best handling practices, mandatory certification and self-declaration, and provide for the development of a harmonised methodology to estimate losses.

Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI), responsible for the file, adopted its legislative report on 19 March 2024. The text awaits a vote during the second April 2024 plenary session, with a view to establishing Parliament’s position at first reading.

Complete version

• April 2024: ‘Reducing microplastic pollution from plastic pellet losses‘ (1st edition)

Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on preventing plastic pellet losses to reduce microplastic pollution).Committee responsible:Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI)COM(2023) 645
16.10.2023Rapporteur:João Albuquerque (S&D, Portugal)2023/0373(COD)Shadow rapporteurs:Catherine Chabaud (Renew Europe, France)
Ska Keller (Greens/EFA, Germany)
Karol Karski (ECR, Poland)
Idoia Villanueva Ruiz (The Left, Spain)Ordinary legislative
procedure (COD)
(Parliament and Council
on equal footing –
formerly ‘co-decision’)Next steps expected: Plenary vote on the committee report

Written by Clare Ferguson.

Members sit down to a packed agenda for Parliament’s last plenary session before the European elections, with many legislative files reaching their conclusion. Parliament is scheduled to debate the conclusions of the recent European Council meeting on Tuesday morning. Members will debate Iran’s attack on Israel in a key debate on Wednesday. Parliament also marks the 20th anniversary of the 2004 EU enlargement in a formal sitting on Wednesday morning. An important vote is also expected on Thursday on simplifying common agricultural policy rules, following farmers’ protests.

To support Ukraine’s economy and avert an international food crisis, autonomous trade measures liberalising Ukrainian exports to the EU were introduced following Russia’s 2022 invasion. On Tuesday afternoon, Members are scheduled to consider a provisional agreement endorsed by the Committee on International Trade (INTA) to extend these trade measures for a further year, and introduce a ‘reinforced safeguard mechanism’ to limit imports of sensitive products, to protect EU farmers.

Also partly responding to farmers’ demands, Members are due to consider two reports from the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI), in a debate set for Tuesday evening. The proposed revision addresses a dozen laws on seeds and other plant and forest reproductive material created to regulate marketing of seeds, young plants and other types of reproductive material. The committee proposes exemptions for materials sold in specific cases, such as small quantities of plant materials exchanged by farmers, and that new sustainability tests are only mandatory for agricultural crops. The committee also wants the Commission to provide technical assistance for forest reproductive contingency plans.

Protecting our environment

Members are due to consider several proposals during this session that seek to protect the environment. Revising EU rules on packaging and packaging waste returns to the plenary agenda on Wednesday, when Members are set to consider a provisional agreement endorsed by the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI). As per Parliament’s demands, the agreed text bans per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances in food packaging, and sets new rules on bio-based feedstock in plastic packaging. If agreed, the new law could mean all packaging sold in the EU from 2030 is recyclable, and some packaging formats, such as single-use plastic packaging for condiments, would be forbidden. Take-away outlets would have to provide a way for customers to use their own containers, and EU countries should set up deposit return systems for drinks containers.

Plastic pellet losses are the third largest source of unintentional microplastic releases in the EU environment. Once dispersed, they are extremely difficult to remove – and no EU-level law covers this issue. Members are therefore scheduled to debate an ENVI committee report on a proposal aimed at preventing plastic pellet losses on Monday afternoon. The ENVI report seeks to widen the definition of pellets, as well as to include their transport in the scope of the proposal. The committee would like to see more complete risk assessments from economic operators, who would be required to use specific labels for better management of the pellets.

The proposal to better promote the repair of goods also returns to Parliament on Monday afternoon, when Members are expected to consider a political agreement on the file. The agreed text would ensure all EU countries introduce at least one measure promoting repair, that manufacturers ensure spare parts and tools are available (and do not hamper the repair of goods). Parliament’s Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) negotiators have ensured an extension of legal guarantees on repaired products of one year.

Protecting EU borders

Following the adoption of the immigration package during the last plenary session, Members are due to consider revising another tool used to improve border controls, combat illegal immigration and for other law-enforcement purposes, advanced passenger information (API), in a debate scheduled for Wednesday evening. If agreed, the provisional agreement reached between Parliament and Council would result in parallel new rules on the use of API for border management and for law enforcement, that will boost fundamental rights safeguards and data security, and strengthen supervision of the collection and transfer of passenger information.

Recent migration, security, and public health challenges led many EU countries within the Schengen area to reintroduce internal border checks. In response, the European Commission has proposed to revise the Schengen Borders Code, which lays down the rules for such temporary derogations. Earlier on Wednesday, Members are set to vote on a provisional agreement reached (after the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) rejected the Commission’s proposal on the instrumentalisation of migrants) by the co-legislators. The agreed text tightens the rules on temporary reintroduction of internal border controls and introduces bilateral voluntary cooperation on non-EU nationals found in border areas, which could apply to minors, but should not apply to asylum-seekers.

Protecting people

Several of Parliament’s key demands were retained in the compromise agreed on new laws to combat violence against women and domestic violence, despite the removal of the criminalisation of rape (on grounds of national competence). These include criminalisation of forced marriage and cyber-flashing; additional aggravating circumstances; and a five-year review of the legislation’s impact. If agreed, minimum EU standards will apply for criminalising severe violence and for enhancing prevention, access to justice and protection of victims. Members are scheduled to debate the compromise text negotiated by Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) and the LIBE committee, on Tuesday afternoon.

Often involving violence, trafficking in human beings is a persistent crime that affects mostly women, with an estimated 7 000 victims per year in the EU – although the true figures are probably much higher. To step up EU action on combating this crime, Members are expected to debate a draft agreement on revising the Human Trafficking Directive on Monday afternoon. Endorsed by the LIBE and FEMM committees, the agreement supports Parliament’s inclusion of surrogacy, as well as the criminalisation of knowingly using services of a human-trafficking victim in the revised law.

An estimated 27.6 million people, including 3.3 million children, suffer under forced labour worldwide. To tackle the issue, Members are due to consider a draft agreement introducing new legislation to ban products produced under forced labour from the EU market, also on Monday afternoon. Endorsed by the Committees on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) and on International Trade (INTA), the text tasks the Commission with EU-wide bans, withdrawal or disposal of such products. Parliament has ensured they are then donated, recycled or destroyed.

The EU is determined to resolve the employment issues created by digital platforms’ use of ‘gig’ work – for taxi or food-delivery services, for example. To this end, Members are set to vote on an agreement on a new law to improve platform working conditions on Wednesday afternoon. The outcome of difficult negotiations, and less stringent than the initial proposal, if agreed the legislation will set minimum working conditions for people who work through digital labour platforms, and introduce the first-ever EU rules on algorithmic management in the workplace.

Parliament has long supported facilitating access to education, employment, healthcare and culture for the millions of people in the EU with a form of disability. On Tuesday afternoon, Members are scheduled to consider a text agreed between the co-legislators on a proposal to create an EU-wide European disability card and European parking card. Endorsed by the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL), the resulting law should mean disabled people’s rights to participate fully in daily life are equally recognised throughout the EU (including for non-EU residents).

To solve conflicts of competence between national courts when it comes to which court should try a criminal case in the EU, the co-legislators have agreed a draft law to regulate the transfer of proceedings in criminal matters. Members are set to consider the text endorsed by the LIBE committee, on Tuesday afternoon. The draft text largely maintains the original Commission proposal, with the addition of Parliament’s position on legal persons as victims, and proportionality as a criterion in transfer requests.

For its own part, Parliament proposed to set up a body to oversee ethical standards back in 2021. Subsequent negotiations between eight EU institutions and bodies led to a draft agreement on creating an interinstitutional body for ethical standards. Members are expected to debate the draft agreement in plenary on Thursday morning. The body should strengthen EU institutions’ ethics, integrity and transparency, by ensuring they have equivalent rules and an ethics culture, and raising awareness.

Reinforcing economic governance

To ensure prosperity and improve the balance between debt sustainability and sustainable and inclusive growth throughout the EU, the Council and Parliament have reached a provisional agreement on a far-reaching new economic governance framework to update the stability and growth pact. A debate on the package of economic files is expected on Tuesday morning. These would introduce nationally set medium-term fiscal plans and a reference trajectory for countries in debt. The plans would be based on net spending, and backed by a debt sustainability analysis that includes safeguards on debt sustainability and deficit resilience. As the first national plans will be based on 2023 figures, it is likely that a number of EU countries will come under the excessive deficit procedure.

To prevent EU banks from failing, holding sufficient prudential capital (‘own funds’) is essential. The Commission is therefore proposing to strengthen the prudential framework within the banking union through a pair of interconnected proposals, supported by Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON). Members are therefore due to consider a political agreement reached on the amendments to the Capital Requirements Directive and Regulation on Wednesday afternoon, which largely retains the Commission’s proposal and most of the committee’s amendments. To align with the Basel Agreement and harmonise banking supervision, a new ‘output floor’ should ensure firms do not go below a certain level of risk-weighted asset. Banks will also have to take environment, social and governance risks into account when assessing collateral. As banks become exposed to crypto-assets, their disclosure will become mandatory under the new rules.

Also on Wednesday afternoon, Members are scheduled to debate a package of three draft agreements on tackling money-laundering and terrorist financing, strengthening the current rules and establishing an EU Anti-Money-Laundering Authority (AMLA) to ensure they are implemented correctly. Parliament insisted that AMLA mediate in disagreements between national supervisors and between Financial Intelligence Units. It also ensured that reporting of non-implementation or sanctions evasion and money-laundering risks are now included in the single rulebook. If agreed, a €10 000 EU-wide limit will apply for cash payments. Parliament also amended the proposal to extend the legitimate interest category to journalists and civil society organisations.

Turning to its own finances, the recent revision of the EU’s 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework to address EU priorities means amending the EU’s budget for this year. Draft amending budget No 1 (DAB1/2024) specifically raises the 2024 budget for security and defence, the neighbourhood and the world heading, and for the new Ukraine Reserve. Parliament’s Committee on Budgets (BUDG) recommends approval of the Council position, which Members are set to consider on Thursday afternoon. The revision is also expected to considerably strengthen support for the Western Balkans under the current budget.

Members are earlier expected to debate a text agreed following the conclusion of interinstitutional negotiations on a new Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans, on Tuesday afternoon. To help advance their internal reforms, the €6 billion fund should provide Western Balkan countries with certain benefits of EU membership before they join the EU. Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and BUDG committee nevertheless demand clear progress indicators, more safeguards and greater focus on rule of law and conditionality, and recommend stronger parliamentary oversight and transparency.

Strengthening industry

Members are due to vote on the draft agreement on a proposal to reduce the cost of deploying gigabit electronic communications networks on Tuesday afternoon. The new gigabit infrastructure act, agreed between the co-legislators and endorsed by the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), would allow tacit approval for permit-granting, the introduction of an optional fibre-ready label for buildings and an end to fees for intra-EU calls by 2029.

On Thursday morning, Members are scheduled to return to the proposed net zero industry act and a text agreed between the co-legislators in February. The proposal seeks to expand EU capacity to manufacture the clean energy technologies it needs to achieve its climate targets. Parliament’s ITRE committee negotiators ensured the agreement includes Parliament’s demand that EU countries can designate specific ‘net-zero acceleration valleys’ and take measures to increase their attractiveness.

Parliament is set to debate another agreement with the Council, negotiated by the ITRE committee, on a proposed cyber solidarity act on Wednesday afternoon. Aiming for stronger solidarity in the EU in detecting and responding to cyber-threats, if agreed, the new regulation would provide for a pan-European cybersecurity alert system, as well as emergency and incidence review mechanisms. Parliament has ensured new workforce skills are included in the objectives; a greater role and resources for the EU Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA); and that funding for Digital Europe programme objectives, such as digital skills and artificial intelligence, are not diverted.

• European Parliament Plenary Session, April II 2024
• Targeted CAP amendments on environmental conditionality
• Extension of EU trade benefits to Ukraine
• Seeds and other plant and forest reproductive material
• Revising rules on packaging and packaging waste
• Microplastic pollution from plastic pellet losses
• Promoting the repair of goods
• Revised rules on advance passenger information
• Revision of the Schengen Borders Code
• EU rules on combating violence against women
• Revision of the Human Trafficking Directive
• Ban on products made using forced labour
• EU directive on platform work
• European disability card and European parking card
• The transfer of proceedings in criminal matters
• Interinstitutional body for ethical standards
• New economic governance framework
• Banking union
• Anti-money-laundering package
• Draft amending budget No 1/2024: Amendments required following MFF revision
• Establishing the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans
• Gigabit infrastructure act
• Net-zero industry act
• Cyber-solidarity act

Written by Nera Kuljanic

Proteins are the building blocks of our bodies. They are also important for bodily function and regulatory processes. We get these essential nutrients from food. Is there enough protein to feed everyone? Where does it come from? Looking at the future, will there be enough sustainable and diverse protein, considering the growing population, climate change effects and geopolitical tensions? Is there room for some new protein sources on our plates and how easy are they to find on the market today?

The Parliament has been active on this topic in recent years. In 2021, the Parliament highlighted the potential of non-plant based alternative protein sources in the EU. After the COVID‑19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine disrupted supply chains and highlighted dependencies on foreign suppliers for agricultural inputs and commodities in 2022, Parliament invited the European Commission to propose ‘a comprehensive European protein strategy in order to increase European protein production and reduce the EU’s dependency on third countries in this regard’. Parliament also demanded measures to ‘facilitate access to markets of alternative proteins’. Most recently, in October 2023, the Parliament outlined its own vision for a European protein strategy. The Commission is currently putting together a legislative proposal on sustainable food systems (it was due by the end of 2023). 

In this context, the European Parliament Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA) commissioned a study on the future role of alternative protein sources in sustainable animal and human nutrition, as proposed by STOA Panel member Martin Hlaváček (Renew, CZ). The study examines the current and projected protein balance, focusing on conventional and alternative protein sources (algae, insects, microbially fermented products, and cultured meat), analyses the current state-of-the-art of the alternatives and challenges and opportunities for their adoption, and describes policy options to support the development of those alternatives.

Protein balance

The data shows conventional proteins dominate the current protein balance. While globally most dietary protein comes from plants (57 %), in Europe most human dietary protein comes from animal sources (55‑60 %). Total alternative proteins consumed represent only a small fraction (2 % of the animal protein market). The sources of protein used in animal feed are both non-edible for humans (such as grass) and edible (mostly grains, including cereals and pulses). The EU is 77 % self-sufficient in feed protein sources, and has an ample supply of roughage, which is the primary feed protein source (but relatively low in proteins). However, the EU only produces a quarter of the high-protein oilseed meals it requires to feed its livestock sector.

Looking to 2050, the demand for proteins will increase and there are strong reasons – population growth, health, climate, environment, geopolitics – for questioning whether the current distribution of animal and plant-based proteins, and their relative contribution to the overall intake globally and in the EU can and should be maintained. Alternative proteins offer potential to contribute to a more sustainable and resilient protein balance. However, their current contribution is minimal and data on their usage, particularly in an EU context, are limited and sometimes outdated.

Closer look into alternative protein sources

While alternative proteins generally require less water and land and produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional animal proteins, there are variations and complexities within each alternative that necessitate further research and optimisation. For example, the energy use in producing some alternative proteins can be equivalent to or even higher than their conventional counterparts, and specific feed sources for alternatives such as insects and algae can result in higher greenhouse gas emissions compared to soybean. Alternative proteins generally tend to generate less waste, with some even offering circular economy benefits by utilising waste as an input, the full extent of their sustainability potential requires further investigation.

The potential of alternative proteins to replace conventional protein sources hinges on their nutritional contribution to people and animals’ diets. In human nutrition, some of the alternative protein sources offer a beneficial macronutrient profile when compared to conventional animal-based proteins, although research on their bioavailability depending on type of alternative protein, and how they are produced and processed, is ongoing. Similarly, for their micronutrient content, the impact of different production processes and processing deserves further investigation. Moreover, there are also questions of price, regulation, and consumer acceptance. The level of investment in R&D, commercial and technological maturity and industrial capacity further point to how the future of alternative proteins may play out.

Future support for the alternative proteins sector

While alternative protein sources present opportunities to strengthen European food security and sustainability, they face considerable obstacles in scaling up technologies, achieving commercial viability against subsidised conventional sources, and navigating complex regulations and legislative barriers. The study lays out complementary policy options to help scale up alternative protein development and production in the EU. Proposed interventions include 1) targeted research funding to advance technologies and address knowledge gaps, 2) industrial policy investments in infrastructure and processing facilities, 3) incorporating environmental considerations into regulatory approval processes, and 4) enhanced coordination across policies and stakeholders.

Read the interview with Professor Arnold van Huis about entomophagy (the human consumption of insects), and with Professor Mark Post about lab-grown meat.

Your opinion counts for us. To let us know what you think, get in touch via stoa@europarl.europa.eu.

Written by Ionel Zamfir.

Women continue to be under-represented in EU countries at all levels of political decision-making as well as in political parties. The origins of this situation are complex, but one reason stands out: violence against women active in politics discourages many women from entering the political arena. Female politicians are exposed to two severe and intersecting forms of violence: political violence and gender-based violence.

Violence against people active in politics, whether men or women, is a major obstacle to the exercise of political rights and freedoms, and a serious violation of basic human rights. The increasing polarisation of liberal societies has been accompanied by rising violence against political stakeholders. However, this is only half the story. Violence against women in politics needs to be understood and addressed in a distinct manner. When political violence targets women just because they are women, when it takes sexist and sexualised forms and when it seeks to discourage women generally from taking part in political life, there is a gender dimension. This form of violence can also often be a backlash against women’s greater presence in political life. Violence against women in politics takes multiple forms, from physical attacks to psychological and symbolic abuse, including sexual and sexist comments, online hate speech and sexual harassment, etc. Women surveyed tend to consider the impact of this type of violence significant in terms of psychological discomfort. They also feel less ready to defend certain positions.

At EU level, several measures seek to combat violence against women in politics, either indirectly or specifically. The legislative proposal for combating violence against women covers crimes that also affect politicians, while the proposal to criminalise hate speech would also address the issue.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Violence against women active in politics in the EU: A serious obstacle to political participation‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Listen to podcast ‘Violence against women active in politics in the EU: A serious obstacle to political participation‘ on YouTube.

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Written by Kamil Baraník with Hugo Carmona Bas (1st edition).

The supplementary protection certificate (SPC) is a specific intellectual property right that extends the basic patent’s market exclusivity for plant protection products. The unitary patent became operational in the EU on 1 June 2023, unifying patent protection in all participating Member States. Despite this significant change, SPCs, which are inseparable from patent protection, remain regulated at national level. This fragmented regulatory approach has proven ineffective, leading to excessive administrative costs for SPC applicants, who have to navigate the national laws of each Member State where they seek SPC protection. To address this issue, on 27 April 2023 the Commission submitted a proposal for a regulation introducing a unitary SPC for plant protection products as a complement to the protection offered by the unitary patent. This proposal, coupled with a parallel proposal for an SPC for plant protection products of the same date, seeks to harmonise the process of granting SPCs for plant protection products in the single market.

In Parliament, the proposal was assigned to the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI), with Tiemo Wölken (S&D, Germany) as rapporteur. Following the approval of the reports on the two proposals by the Parliament plenary at first reading, Parliament adopted its position for the interinstitutional negotiations. The Council has yet to agree on its negotiating mandate.

Complete version

• April 2024: ‘Unitary supplementary protection certificate for plant protection products‘ (1st edition)

Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the unitary supplementary protection certificate for plant protection products and for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the supplementary protection certificate (recast).Committee responsible:Legal Affairs (JURI)COM(2023)221
COM(2023)223
27.4.2023Rapporteur:Tiemo Wölken (S&D, Germany)2023/0126(COD)
2023/0128(COD)Shadow rapporteurs:Javier Zarzalejos (EPP, Spain)
Adrián Vázquez Lázara (Renew, Spain)
Marie Toussaint (Greens/EFA, France)
Emmanuel Maurel (GUE/NGL, France)Ordinary legislative
procedure (COD)
(Parliament and Council
on equal footing –
formerly ‘co-decision’)Next steps expected: Trilogue negotiations

Written by Enrico D’Ambrogio with Yana Diane Meulemeester.

From 19 April to 1 June 2024, 968 million Indian voters are eligible to elect the members of the Lok Sabha (lower house). Voting is to take more than six weeks in seven phases across states and territories, concluding with a final round on 1 June; the votes are set to be counted on 4 June. Since 1999, elections to the Lok Sabha have coincided with those for the European Parliament.

In 2023, India overtook China as the world’s most populous country. The government has been able to lower India’s poverty rate substantially through efficient delivery of welfare schemes, while other layers of Indian society have steadily improved their situation since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014. Inequality has not improved significantly, however, and job creation is lagging.

India is one of the world’s fastest growing economies, and the Modi government has set the goal of becoming a developed country by 2047, the centenary of Indian independence. However, analysts argue that India’s economic growth has failed to create the necessary stock of employment, especially for young people. In recent years, India has undergone a major digital transformation. With the landing on the moon in August 2023, India also consolidated its status as a space power.

Analysts have expressed concern about the situation of India’s democracy and human rights. This includes the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s autonomy, violence and discrimination against Muslims and members of other religious minorities, the rise of Hindu nationalism and abandonment of the country’s traditional secularist posture, and the legislation on telecommunications.

The year 2023 was an important moment for India’s foreign policy and its pursuit of global recognition and growing international stature. India hosted the G-20 Summit, championing the cause of the ‘Global South’ while projecting India’s global leadership. Modi also proposed to host the COP33 Summit in 2028, highlighting New Delhi’s commitment to fighting climate change.

The EU is India’s second largest trading partner and their cooperation is increasing; recently, an EU-India Connectivity Partnership and an EU-India Trade and Technology Council were added. They are currently negotiating three agreements, on free trade, investment protection and geographical indications.

Read the complete briefing on ‘India ahead of the 2024 elections‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

GDP growth in China and India (annual %),
2014 to 2025 India’s main trading partners in 2022 (€ million)

Written by Gisela Gieger.

A key function of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is to serve for its members as a forum for the negotiation of global trade rules. However, since the WTO’s foundation in 1995, WTO members have largely failed to meet their self-defined negotiating objectives as set out in the comprehensive 2001 Doha Development Agenda (DDA). By the time of the 2024 Abu Dhabi Ministerial Conference, WTO members had settled on merely two multilateral agreements in almost 30 years: a 2013 agreement on trade facilitation and a partial agreement on fisheries subsidies, concluded in 2022.

As some of the DDA’s trade liberalisation items were dropped and negotiations on other items have stalled, sub-sets of WTO members have found other ways to craft new trade rules outside the WTO: either through bilateral or regional preferential trade agreements or through plurilateral trade negotiations, leading to the fragmentation of rules and questioning of the WTO’s legitimacy. Modelled on the successful conclusion in 1997 of the first WTO plurilateral agreement eliminating tariffs on information technology, groups of WTO members led by developed countries set up two separate tracks of plurilateral talks on liberalising trade in services and in environmental goods in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Both stalled in 2016 and virtually ended market access-enhancing efforts within the WTO. In 2017, a group of members launched three initiatives – on domestic services regulation, investment facilitation and e-commerce – to re-invigorate the WTO’s negotiating function. The initiatives marked a shift from a new market access-seeking approach to an approach prioritising trade and investment facilitation with a strong development dimension. Albeit more successful, their incorporation into the WTO legal architecture has been challenging given opposition from some members. If opposition were overcome, plurilaterals could be a means of multilateralising new trade rules, as was the case for the ‘codes of conduct’ under the pre-WTO GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) regime by 1995.

To retain legitimacy and relevance, experts suggest that the WTO could do more to leverage its role as a forum for deliberating emerging issues, such as plastics pollution, trade and gender, green and fossil fuel subsidies, trade and industrial policies, carbon border mechanisms and regulatory action, for sustainable trade towards concrete negotiated outcomes.

Read the complete briefing on ‘The WTO’s negotiating function: Towards plurilaterals and new trade challenges‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Written by Ralf Drachenberg and Annastiina Papunen.

The special European Council meeting on 17-18 April will be an important step towards agreeing on the EU’s political priorities for the 2024-2029 period. The three main priorities are likely to centre on ‘a strong and secure Europe’, ‘a prosperous and competitive Europe’ and ‘a free and democratic Europe’. EU leaders are also expected to adopt lengthy conclusions related to competitiveness, notably addressing the single market and the capital markets union. They will also address the war in Ukraine, and hold a strategic debate on EU-Türkiye relations. They may also discuss developments in the Middle East following Iran’s attack on Israel.

1.     General

This will be the first meeting for two new members of the European Council: the new prime minister of Portugal, Luís Montenegro, as well as Simon Harris, the new Taoiseach (i.e. prime minister) of Ireland.

2.     Special European Council meeting, 17-18 April Strategic Agenda 2024-2029

EU leaders will dedicate a substantial part of their discussions to the next long term priorities of the European Union, to be set out in the strategic Agenda 2024-2029. The process has intensified recently and the main priorities have now been identified.

Process. In June 2023, European Council President Charles Michel invited EU leaders to start the reflection process on the priorities for the next institutional cycle, which will feature in the Strategic Agenda 2024-2029. The first step in the reflection process was a discussion at the informal European Council meeting in Granada, Spain on 5‑6 October 2023. The second step was a series of meetings, each with a small number of EU leaders representing a mix of geographical regions in the EU, political party affiliations and diversity of opinion. Four meetings took place in late 2023: on 13 November in Berlin, 14 November in Copenhagen, 16 November in Zagreb, and 29 November in Paris. A second series of small group meetings has taken place more recently, on 2 April in Vilnius, 3 April in Bucharest, 11 April in Warsaw, and 12 April in Vienna. Whilst many EU leaders have participated in only one of these meetings, some have participated in two, notably Robert Abela, Nikos Christodoulides, Nikolay Denkov, Mette Frederiksen, Luc Frieden, Kaja Kallas, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Karl Nehammer, Petteri Orpo, Mark Rutte and Donald Tusk. Charles Michel, together with the Secretary-General of the Council, Thérèse Blanchet, has attended all of these meetings. On the other hand, the Commission President, also a member of the European Council, has not been involved thus far.

Priorities. EU leaders will discuss the current outline for the Strategic Agenda 2024-2029, which in the view of Charles Michel is converging around the common goal of transforming ‘Europe into a strong, resilient and more prosperous union’. The current working draft is based on three main broad priorities:

1. ‘A strong and secure Europe’, including the topics of the EU’s international role, security and defence, migration, and enlargement.
2. ‘A prosperous and competitive Europe’, addressing many topics including competitiveness, innovation, digital, energy, climate change, food security and social policy
3. ‘A free and democratic Europe’, concentrating on the rule of law, and promoting democracy and fundamental values.

These main priorities, notably the ones mentioned under ‘A strong and secure Europe’, also reflect the main concerns of EU citizens – the war in Ukraine, immigration and the international situation – as expressed in the autumn 2023 Eurobarometer survey.

The draft Strategic Agenda 2024-2029 shows both similarities with and differences from the Strategic Agenda 2019-2024. Whilst the issue of migration is salient in both, an enhanced focus on security and defence as well as on enlargement is apparent in the 2024-2029 draft. As for the rule of law, it clearly has a prominent position in the 2024-2029 agenda compared to the current one, which hardly mentions it.

In the context of long-term EU priority-setting, Michel stressed that the EU needs to ensure that its financial decisions reflect its ambitions. Indeed, the draft Strategic Agenda 2024-2029 specifies that ‘the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) should take these priorities into account’.

Competitiveness

In the face of growing geopolitical and trade challenges, many Member States have underlined the need for greater focus on European competitiveness in the coming years. EU leaders are thus likely to hold a lengthy discussion on the future directions. The High-level report on the future of the Single Market, requested by the European Council in June 2023 and drawn up by former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta, will feed into the debate. Amongst the means proposed to support EU companies and incentivise investment, Letta mentions US style tax credits. He also advocates a joint industrial policy at EU level.

As a concrete measure stemming from the debate, EU leaders are expected to call for a horizontal Single Market Strategy by June 2025, an idea also raised by 15 Member States in a non-paper in January 2024. Building on previous initiatives designed to strength the Single Market, the strategy would put special focus on SMEs. There also seems to be political momentum for introducing a ‘European competitiveness deal‘ to encourage growth, productivity and innovation in Europe. In addition, EU leaders may insist on the need to reduce strategic dependencies and increase investments in infrastructure/connectivity. In that context, access to capital, notably for SMEs, as well as concrete measures aimed at advancing the capital markets union (CMU) will be central points for discussion. Possible measures on the latter range from harmonising national insolvency frameworks and corporate tax law to designing new products to mobilise investment. Considering the role of digital transformation for European competitiveness, EU leaders are also expected to request a joint communication on ways of strengthening the EU’s leadership in global digital affairs.

EU-Türkiye relations

In recent years, the European Council’s discussions on Türkiye have been overshadowed by other external relations issues, e.g. the war in Ukraine. Previously, Türkiye was regularly on the European Council agenda in connection with, i) the migration crisis; ii) Syria; and iii) illegal activities in the eastern Mediterranean, as well as with the key issue of the Cyprus settlement. Reunification of the island of Cyprus was the prominent subject in the Cypriot President’s speech to the European Parliament in June 2023. EU leaders will most likely reiterate their commitment to resolving the problem within the United Nations framework, in line with United Nations Security Council resolutions, and consistent with the EU’s principles and acquis.

In June 2023, the European Council requested the High Representative and the Commission to submit a report on the state of play of EU-Türkiye relations. Based on this report, presented in November 2023, EU leaders will hold a strategic debate on EU-Türkiye relations. Reportedly, Germany wants work to be ‘taken forward’ on political, economic and trade relations with Türkiye, whilst Greece wants a balance between engaging with Türkiye and addressing Cyprus’s concerns.

Ukraine

Following a wave of missile attacks on cities and infrastructure, EU leaders may discuss developments in Ukraine, and notably the need to supply Ukraine with, inter alia, anti-aircraft defence systems. The European Parliament expressed its support for President Zelenskyy’s reiterated requests, by postponing the discharge for the Council’s 2022 budget, to pressure Member States to provide additional air defence systems. Moreover, considering the importance of sanctions against Russia in the EU’s response to the invasion of Ukraine, EU leaders may discuss a recent decision by the Court of Justice of the EU annulling the inclusion of two Russian oligarchs on a list of individuals under sanctions, and its likely consequences. Member States can still appeal the Court’s decision; whether or not to do so, could be part of EU leaders’ discussion.

Read this ‘at a glance note’ on ‘Outlook for the special European Council meeting on 17-18 April 2024‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Written by Albaladejo Román.

Ukraine enjoys excellent conditions for agriculture, including around a third of the world’s most fertile land. Three crops dominate the country’s agricultural production: wheat, maize and sunflower, intended primarily for export. Medium-sized agricultural enterprises lead crop production, although some companies farm as much as 500 000 hectares. This is a direct consequence of Soviet collectivisation, and the agricultural policies adopted after Ukraine’s independence in 1991. Only recently did Ukraine start opening up its land market.

In 2013, Russia blocked Ukrainian exports to prevent Kyiv from developing closer ties with the EU. Following Moscow’s illegal annexation of Crimea and its military aggression in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv signed an association agreement with the EU, which became its primary market. Unlike most of its industrial production, Ukraine’s crops remained competitive in the EU market and exports surged. By 2021, agriculture represented 41 % of Ukraine’s exports, up from 27 % in 2013.

In addition to stealing millions of hectares of land, Russia has inflicted a terrible economic, environmental and human cost on Ukraine. By the end of 2023, the Ukrainian agricultural sector had sustained an estimated US$80 billion in damages and losses. Rebuilding Ukraine’s agriculture is expected to cost US$56.1 billion, and demining will cost an additional US$32 billion. Russia also blockaded Ukrainian agricultural exports. The EU Solidarity Lanes, the Black Sea Initiative, and the more recent Ukrainian Corridor have helped to keep Ukraine’s economy afloat, and avert a wider global food security crisis.

Ukraine applied for EU membership shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion. In December 2023, the European Council authorised the opening of accession negotiations with Ukraine. Historically, agriculture has been a contentious issue in most enlargement negotiations, and integrating Ukraine’s sizeable agricultural sector poses a challenge to the EU, especially without prior reform of the common agricultural policy. Despite the early stage of Kyiv’s candidacy, some studies have tried to estimate the potential cost and benefits to the EU of Ukraine’s eventual membership of the bloc.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Ukrainian agriculture: From Russian invasion to EU integration‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Map of areas potentially contaminated by mines or unexploded ordnance Ukraine’s share of global agricultural exports and rank in the world before the Russian invasion Comparison of Ukrainian and EU production of selected agricultural products Map of Ukraine’s ecological regions

Written by Clare Ferguson and Katarzyna Sochacka.

Approaching the end of the mandate, a number of debates on important legislative proposals took place during the April I 2024 plenary session: on the migration and asylum package, reform of the EU electricity market, and the pharmaceutical package. Members also debated Russia’s undemocratic elections, and in particular their extension to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, allegations of Russian interference in the European Parliament, Chinese police activity in Europe, the rule of law in Hungary, and the rule of law and media freedom in Slovakia. His Majesty King Philippe, King of the Belgians, addressed the Parliament to mark his country’s presidency of the Council. Finally, President Roberta Metsola made a statement for International Roma Day.

Migration and asylum

Members debated the comprehensive revision of the EU laws that make up the migration and asylum package, piloted by the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), and adopted interinstitutional agreements reached in December 2023 on 10 files:

1. A revised Asylum and Migration Management Regulation to replace the ‘Dublin’ Regulation, establishing a harmonised and swifter EU procedure for asylum requests.
2. A new crisis and force majeure regulation to better equip EU countries to face future migrant crises, with a separate solidarity mechanism.
3. New screening of third-country nationals at the EU’s external borders, so those who do not fulfil the conditions to enter the EU may be refused entry as a result.
4. A revised common procedure for asylum to speed up and harmonise the procedure across the EU, and introduce shorter deadlines for rejecting inadmissible claims.
5. Changes to the Eurodac Regulation to add facial images to fingerprints and maintain records on those who pose a security threat, to identify irregular migrants to the EU more effectively.
6. Amended rules on use of law-enforcement databases and the interoperability regulations, where Parliament’s negotiators succeeded in limiting the purpose of security checks.
7. New EU-wide standards for legal recognition of people applying for international protection and their rights under a revised Qualification Directive, based on EU Asylum Agency assessment of countries of origin.
8. A separate return border procedure to set EU-wide standards for treatment of applicants.
9. A revised Reception Conditions Directive setting out measures to help ensure asylum-seekers receive the same treatment wherever they arrive in the EU.
10. A new EU resettlement framework creating a voluntary scheme for EU countries to offer resettlement to vulnerable refugees hosted by non-EU countries, and providing a legal, organised and safe way for refugees to obtain a long-term solution to their situation.

Energy market Hydrogen and decarbonised gas market

In a joint debate, Members debated and adopted two agreed texts endorsed by the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), on the hydrogen and decarbonised gas market package. The agreement on the Gas Directive should increase consumer protection, by preventing disconnection and creating new rules providing for a supplier of last resort. It would also allow targeted price regulation in the event of a gas price crisis. The agreement on the Gas Regulation would allow pipeline gas from Russia and Belarus to be restricted, to protect EU security interests. Parliament introduced a voluntary mechanism to help develop the hydrogen market, to be implemented by the European Hydrogen Bank.

EU electricity market design

Members also debated and adopted provisional agreements on two texts to improve EU electricity market design. To reduce price volatility for consumers and improve low-carbon energy investment, the ITRE committee endorsed revisions aimed at strengthening consumer protection. Special provisions for vulnerable consumers would apply, in line with Parliament’s position.

EU certification framework for carbon removals

To help deliver climate neutrality by 2050, the EU is working on an EU certification framework for carbon removals – a voluntary tool to certify three types of carbon removal activity. Members adopted a provisional agreement that extends the scope of the Commission’s proposal, specifies additional minimum requirements and adds elements to increase environmental integrity.

CO2 standards for heavy duty vehicles

Members adopted stricter CO₂ standards for heavy-duty vehicles. The text agreed between the co‑legislators extends the scope of the regulation to almost all new heavy-duty vehicles from July 2025, includes vocational vehicles from 2035, and requires all new urban buses to be zero-emission by that date.

Soil monitoring and resilience

Healthy soil is essential for growing food and regulating our water, carbon and nutrient cycles. Members adopted at first reading a report from the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) on a Commission proposal aimed at establishing the first-ever EU-wide common framework on soil monitoring and resilience. The committee proposes a more nuanced, five-level classification of soil ecological status, and adds more flexible sustainable soil management requirements.

Discharge 2022

Members debated a large number of reports concerning the discharge procedure for the EU’s 2022 budget, and in each case followed the Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT) recommendation. Parliament thus granted discharge to the European Commission, (including spending under the Recovery and Resilience Facility), all six executive agencies and the European Development Funds, for the implementation of the 2022 budget. CONT nevertheless highlighted ‘deterioration in the rule of law in some Member States’, and urged a consistent approach across financing instruments, as well as highlighting the low absorption rate in some Member States and a high level of error in 2022 expenditure. Once again, in the light of the continued institutional differences between Parliament and the European Council and the Council, the Parliament postponed the decision on discharge of their 2022 budget, as has been the case each financial year since 2009. In contrast, Parliament granted discharge to the other EU institutions and bodies, although CONT again made observations on opportunities to improve budgetary management. Parliament also granted discharge to all 33 EU decentralised agencies and 9 joint undertakings, with CONT welcoming their corrective actions following previous observations.

Pharmaceutical package

Members debated and adopted at first reading two ENVI committee reports on Commission proposals to revise EU pharmaceutical legislation. These aim to ensure medicines are more available, accessible and affordable across EU countries than is currently the case. Parliament has consistently called for a more coherent policy on pharmaceuticals that takes both public health interests and industry’s needs into account. The ENVI committee emphasised the need to support EU research and market attractiveness, calling for minimum regulatory data protection for new medicines, and two years’ market protection following market authorisation.

Cross-border processing of personal data

Shortcomings have been flagged in the enforcement of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) since it became applicable in 2018, particularly regarding cross-border processing of personal data. Members adopted a LIBE committee report on new rules that could address differences in the procedures employed by national data protection authorities, and sent it back to the committee for future trilogue negotiations.

New EU standards for equality bodies

Members adopted one proposal under the ordinary legislative procedure and gave consent to another, on new EU standards for equality bodies to strengthen national bodies and their mandate to fight discrimination on grounds of sex, race, religion or belief, disability, age and sexual orientation. The Committees on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) and on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) had endorsed a political agreement with the Council that stipulates equality bodies should have sufficient resources and independence, and apply impartial staff selection procedures.

Accidents in the maritime transport sector

Members adopted a provisional agreement reached on updating the EU principles governing the investigation of maritime accidents. While the EU directive has largely been successful, Parliament agreed to the obligation to inform maritime security authorities if an accident investigation body suspects an offence has been committed, and to remove the mandatory quality management system entailing significant additional workload with limited added value.

Preparing for the next term

Finally, Members adopted a range of amendments to Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, to implement recommendations made by the ‘Parliament 2024’ working group, to apply from the start of the next legislative term. The reforms, set out in a Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) report, will facilitate the legislative procedure, with among other things: expedited attribution of files to committees, improved procedures on overlapping committee competences, limits on use of the urgent procedure in plenary and stronger assessment of the budgetary implications of new proposals. A new format for ‘special scrutiny hearings’ is introduced and the rules for Commissioner hearings (renamed ‘confirmation hearings’) are simplified and clarified, in time to apply for the nominees to the next Commission.

Opening of trilogue negotiations

One decision to enter into interinstitutional negotiations from the LIBE/FEMM committees on rights, support and protection of victims of crime, and two decisions from the ECON committee on packaged retail and insurance-based investment products (PRIIPs) and on retail investor protection rules were announced.

Read this ‘at a glance’ note on ‘Plenary round-up – April I 2024‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Written by Marcin Grajewski.

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act moved close to final adoption when the European Parliament voted in favour of the text on 13 March. It will become law after the final endorsement of the Council of the European Union, making the Union the first major world power to adopt horizontal legislation governing AI.

The act defines the rules for using and selling artificial intelligence systems in the EU, and regulates general-purpose AI tools such as ChatGPT and AI-based biometric surveillance. It also requires much more transparency than up to now in high-risk AI systems, and delineates unacceptable risks of AI.

This note offers links to recent reports and commentaries from some major international think tanks and research institutes on artificial intelligence. More publications on the topic can be found in a previous edition of What think tanks are thinking.

Charting the geopolitics and European governance of Artificial Intelligence
Carnegie Europe, March 2024

The EU’s AI Act creates regulatory complexity for open-source AI
Center for Data Innovation, March 2024

What to expect from the Digital Markets Act
Centre for European Reform, March 2024

Quantum computing: A blessing and a threat to our digital world
Friends of Europe, March 2024

Artificial intelligence, diplomacy and democracy: from divergence to convergence
Friends of Europe, March 2024

Is the EU missing another tech wave with AI?
Atlantic Council, February 2024

Should the UN govern global AI?
Brookings Institution, February 2024

Fairness in machine learning: Regulation or standards?
Brookings Institution, February 2024

Licensing AI is not the answer, but it contains the answers
Brookings Institution, February 2024

Tech firms’ promise to fight election fakes is a good start, but only a start
Bruegel, February 2024

Intellectual monopolization on steroids: Big Tech in the AI age
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, February 2024

The AI election year: How to counter the impact of Artificial Intelligence
German Council on Foreign Relations, February 2024

Quel rôle pour le groupe aéronaval à l’heure de la guerre en réseau?
Institut français des relations internationales, February 2024

Artificial Intelligence and democracy
Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies,

Why artificial general intelligence lies beyond deep learning
Rand Corporation, February 2024

The dark side of urban Artificial Intelligence: addressing the environmental and social impact of algorithms
Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, January 2024

The impact of generative AI in a global election year
Brookings Institution, January 2024

Effective AI regulation requires understanding general-purpose AI
Brookings Institution, January 2024

The implications of the AI boom for non-state armed actors
Brookings Institution, January 2024

How the EU can navigate the geopolitics of AI
Carnegie Europe, January 2024

Rethinking concerns about AI’s energy use
Center for Data Innovation, January 2024

The New York Times’ copyright lawsuit against OpenAI threatens the future of AI and fair use
Center for Data Innovation, January 2024

The long-termist fear of a future malevolent superintelligence is hindering our progress today
Centre for European Policy Studies, January 2024

Envisioning Africa’s AI governance landscape in 2024
European Centre for Development Policy Management, January 2024

Nuclear arms control policies and safety in artificial intelligence: Transferable lessons or false equivalence?
Finnish Institute of International Affairs, January 2024

Algorithms by and for the workers
Foundation for European Progressive Studies, January 2024

Rethinking concerns about AI’s energy use
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, January 2024

Pour une Autorité française de l’IA
Institut Montaigne, January 2024

The promise and peril of AI in the power grid
Rand Corporation, January 2024

AI poses risks to both authoritarian and democratic politics
Wilson Center, January 2024

A cluster analysis of national AI strategies
Brookings Institution, December 2023

New technologies in the workplace: A round-up of project research
Bruegel, December 2023

Skills or a degree? The rise of skills-based hiring for AI and green jobs
Bruegel, December 2023

The competitive relationship between cloud computing and generative AI
Bruegel, December 2023

Artificial intelligence and energy consumption
Bruegel, December 2023

Policymakers should use the SETI model to prepare for AI doomsday scenarios
Center for Data Innovation, December 2023

What Is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
Council on Foreign Affairs, December 2023

Artificial Intelligence and the clustering of human capital: The risks for Europe
European Centre for International Political Economy, December 2023

Après le ravage des écrans, l’école doit-elle vraiment sauter dans le train de l’intelligence artificielle?
Institut Thomas More, December 2023

Philosophical debates about AI risks are a distraction
Rand Corporation, December 2023

The EU AI Act is a cautionary tale in open-source AI regulation
Center for Data Innovation, December 2023

Generative AI: Global governance and the risk-based approach
Centre on Regulation in Europe, November 2023

AI won’t be safe until we rein in Big Tech
European Policy Studies, November 2023

The drama at OpenAI shows that AI governance remains in the hands of a select few
Chatham House, November 2023

The global race for Artificial Intelligence regulation
Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale, November 2023

Awareness of artificial intelligence: Diffusion of information about AI versus ChatGPT in the United States
Kiel Institute for the World Economy, November 2023

The geopolitics of Generative AI: international implications and the role of the European Union
Real Institute Elcano, November 2024

Read this briefing on ‘Artificial intelligence‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Written by Anja Radjenovic (1st edition).

In November 2023, the Commission proposed a directive to modernise and strengthen the legal framework on the fight against migrant smuggling. The proposal addresses the steady rise in irregular arrivals in the EU and the rise in smuggling on all main EU entry routes. The current directive defining the offence of facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit and residence in the EU, and the framework decision on strengthening of the penal framework have both been widely criticised for their failure to provide legal certainty and uniformity of implementation. Parliament has been the main critic of these legal acts since their adoption in 2002. Many human rights players have also warned that the overly broad definition of migrant smuggling has resulted in the investigation and prosecution of innocent people, be they smuggled migrants or individuals providing humanitarian assistance to irregular migrants.

To clearly define and effectively sanction migrant smuggling, the Commission would replace the existing rules with others focused on criminal offences, penalties for natural persons, liability of and sanctions for legal persons, but also on jurisdiction, prevention, investigation and data collection.

In Parliament, the file has been assigned to the LIBE committee, with Birgit Sippel (S&D, Germany) as rapporteur. The next expected step is the publication of a draft report.

Complete version

• March 2024: ‘Preventing and countering the facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit and stay in the EU‘ (1st edition)

Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down minimum rules to prevent and counter the facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit and stay in the Union, and replacing Council Directive 2002/90/EC and Council Framework Decision 2002/946 JHACommittee responsible:Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE)COM(2023) 755
28.11.2023Rapporteur:Birgit Sippel (S&D, Germany)2023/0439(COD)Shadow rapporteurs:Lena Düpont (EPP, Germany)
Fabienne Keller (Renew, France)
Erik Marquardt (Greens/EFA, Germany)
Jorge Buxadé Villalba (ECR, Spain)
Anne-Sophie Pelletier (The Left, France)Ordinary legislative
procedure (COD)
(Parliament and Council
on equal footing –
formerly ‘co-decision’)Next steps expected: Publication of draft report

Written by Eszter Fay with Niklas Dreier.

In the fast-evolving landscape of scientific research, the European Parliament’s Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA) Academic Freedom Roundtable ‘Research Integrity in Open Science for Europe’ brought together researchers and European policymakers to discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by Open Science. Amidst insightful discussions on Open Science’s challenges and ethical dimensions, the event, held on 21 February 2024, invited us to question who truly benefits from Open Science’s promise of transparency and societal impact? How does Open Science reshape our understanding of research excellence?

Open Science as a policy priority for the European Union

As we navigate a time where scepticism toward science is prevalent, STOA Vice-Chair Ivars Ijabs (Renew, Latvia) underscored the need to increase transparency and trustworthiness in scientific endeavours by facilitating Open Science. EU Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education, and Youth Iliana Ivanova reaffirmed the EU’s policy commitment to promoting Open Science. Yet, in this very endeavour, Commissioner Ivanova emphasised the importance of developing assessment methods that measure research excellence beyond traditional measures such as citations. The evaluative focus, she noted, should be on rewarding and fostering research with a positive societal impact. These introductory remarks thus raised the question: Who benefits from Open Science research?

Open Science for and by whom?

Professor Frank Miedema, from the University of Utrecht, stressed in his keynote on ‘Science in Transition’ the need to question why and for whom we should pursue Open Science. He advocated for a shift from ‘science for science’ to ‘science for society’, echoing Commissioner Ivanova’s position. While advocating for more data accessibility, Professor Miedema also highlighted the importance of considering scenarios where withholding research data might be pertinent. Likewise, Marcel Bogers, Professor of Open & Collaborative Innovation at Eindhoven University of Technology, cautioned against excessive data openness, drawing parallels between Open Science and his expertise in open innovation. Referring to a recent open innovation study, he demonstrated that beyond an optimal threshold, excessive openness may detrimentally affect performance. Professor Bogers asserted that advancing Open Science would require a reassessment of how research is incentivised, alluding to challenges linked to fostering and evaluating the excellence of Open Science research.

Assessing research quality: Challenges to Open Science

The subsequent panel discussed the challenges hindering the transition to Open Science. Dr Elizabeth Gadd, Head of Research Culture & Assessment at Loughborough University, underscored the need to revamp the incentive and assessment system for research. Dr Gadd introduced the INORMS SCOPE Framework as a solution to assess research quality beyond traditional citation metrics, thereby also mitigating global inequalities in scientific output assessment. The SCOPE framework, an acronym for START, CONTEXT, OPTIONS, PROBE, and EVALUATE, offers a comprehensive five-stage model for responsible research evaluation, guiding evaluators in planning and assessing research endeavours. This framework is based on three principles advocating a discerning and strategic approach to evaluation. First, evaluating only where necessary, stressing the importance of considering alternative strategies. Second, evaluating with the evaluated, emphasising collaboration and inclusivity by involving the communities or individuals under evaluation. Third, drawing on evaluation expertise, underscoring the necessity for a thorough and informed evaluation process aligned with academic research standards to ensure validity, reliability and comprehensive understanding.

Signe Mezinska, Associate Professor at the University of Latvia, emphasised the social disparities within the scientific community and across countries, especially regarding the economic costs associated with publishing according to Open Science principles. Elaborating on these inequalities, Henriikka Mustajoki, Head of Development, Open Science, Finland, grounded the justification for the Open Science movement in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. While advocating for data accessibility to all, she acknowledged the potential systemic pressures that widespread openness might pose to Open Science researchers’ academic freedom and freedom of speech. Kadri Simm, Chair of Practical Philosophy at the University of Tartu, and Olivier Le Gall, Chair of the French Advisory Board on Research Integrity, further identified potential challenges arising from emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, particularly regarding confidentiality in handling diverse data sources. To address these challenges, the experts on the panel delved into the ethical dimensions of Open Science and discussed the Responsible Open Science in Europe (ROSiE) guidelines as a potential solution to ethical conflicts.

An ethical framework for Open Science: Responsible Open Science in Europe (ROpen ScienceiE) general guidelines and academic freedom

Professor Rose Bernabe from the University of Oslo presented the ROSiE guidelines project and advocated for their inclusion in the European definition of academic freedom. Funded by the EU’s research and innovation programme Horizon 2020, the project aims to collaboratively develop and foster foundational tools that facilitate responsible Open Science and research integrity. As Dr Simm noted that specific approaches to Open Science conflict with each other, she also emphasised that the ROpen ScienceiE guidelines represent a promising initial move towards establishing a comprehensive ethical framework for Open Science.

The STOA Academic Freedom Roundtable highlighted the complexity and urgency of navigating the Open Science landscape. The event not only underscored the benefits of Open Science but also called attention to the challenges, which demand collaborative solutions. As we chart a course towards Open Science, embracing diverse perspectives and establishing responsible guidelines will be crucial to ensuring a future where research serves society while preserving academic freedom and ethical integrity.

For more details, you can watch the event recording.

Read the ESMH interview with Teodora Konach from the ROSiE project on ‘Paving the way towards responsible open science‘.

Your opinion matters to us. To let us know what you think, get in touch via stoa@europarl.europa.eu and follow us on X at @EP_ScienceTech.

Written by Marc Jüttten.

The multidimensional crisis and spiralling violence in Haiti has reached its peak, with criminal gangs in control of 80 % of the capital Port-au-Prince. On 11 March 2024, Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced his resignation. Hopes lie with a transitional governance arrangement that was agreed at a meeting in Jamaica between Haitian stakeholders, CARICOM and representatives from the international community. The installation of the Transitional Presidential Council is a precondition set by Kenya to lead the Multinational Security Support Mission to Haiti authorised by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in October 2023.

Haiti’s multidimensional crisis

Since the 7 July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, insecurity has spiked and gang control of the country has expanded continuously. According to the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, in January and February 2023, 1 193 people have been killed by gang violence. Homicides rose from 1 141 in 2019 to 2 183 in 2022 and more than 4 700 in 2023, representing an increase of 400 % within five years. Currently, 80 % of the capital Port-au-Prince is under the control of criminal gangs. On 3 March 2024, the government declared a three-day state of emergency and a night-time curfew after armed gangs stormed the country’s two biggest jails, allowing more than 4 000 criminals to escape back onto the streets.

The explosion of violence in Haiti does not come as a surprise. In fact, the multidimensional crises have been looming for years and are characterised by the intertwining of politics and criminal business, political deadlock, extreme violence, and dire humanitarian conditions. Some experts also blame the international community for their failure to contribute to a long-term solution. Since the assassination of President Moïse, the country has lacked an elected president, legislature, and mayors. Backed by the international community, Ariel Henry has acted as Haiti’s prime minister since 20 July 2021, following the resignation of Claude Joseph as interim Prime Minister. However, a political stalemate has persisted over whether Henry or a transitional government should govern until elections can be convened and an elected government is in place. According to observers, the vacuum of democratically accountable political authority has created space for the gangs to expand their influence. The dramatic escalation in violence and protests, including roadblocks, has led to food and fuel shortages and thousands fleeing their homes. The World Food Programme estimates that 4.4 million people, representing 44 % of Haiti’s population, are facing acute food insecurity. This includes 1.4 million living in an emergency situation and about 276 000 children aged between six months and six years. Currently, more than 360 000 people have been internally displaced. In addition, the health system is on the brink of collapse, with many health facilities having been forced to shut down.

International community response

In October 2023, the UNSC (in response to the 2022 request by the Haitian authorities for an international specialised armed police force to address the insecurity resulting from criminal action by armed gangs) authorised the Multinational Security Support Mission to Haiti; it will be headed by Kenya, which agreed to deploy 1 000 police officers. Other countries such as Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, and Jamaica have also pledged to contribute. Despite its authorisation by the UNSC, the mission is not a UN peacekeeping operation but a multinational operation conducted by an ad hoc coalition tasked with supporting the Haitian National Police in re-establishing security and building security conditions conducive to holding free and fair elections.

Given the recent dramatic security deterioration, on 11 March 2024 the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) convened Haitian stakeholders and representatives from Brazil, Canada, France, Mexico, UN and the United States to discuss the multidimensional crisis in Haiti. Following the meeting in Jamaica, CARICOM issued an outcome declaration on a transitional governance arrangement. Participants agreed on the establishment of a Transitional Presidential Council comprised of seven voting and two observer members that should swiftly select and appoint an interim Prime Minister. The Transitional Presidential Council will, together with the Interim Prime Minister, appoint an inclusive Council of Ministers. Individuals who have been sanctioned by the UN, individuals intending to compete in the next election, and individuals who oppose UNSC Resolution 2699 authorising the Multinational Security Support Mission are excluded from the council. Ariel Henry has committed to resigning immediately upon the installation of the council. The installation of the Transitional Presidential Council (which at the time of writing is still in the making) is a precondition set by Kenya to lead the security mission.

United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on 11 March 2024 an additional US$100 million to fund the deployment of the security support mission, bringing total US support for this effort to US$300 million. He also announced an additional US$33 million in humanitarian aid.

However, Jimmy Cherizier – one of Haiti’s most powerful gang leaders, known as ‘Barbecue’, who is under UN and European Union (EU) sanctions – has said that his coalition of armed groups, known as the ‘G9 Family and Allies’, will continue the fight for Haiti’s liberation, painting himself as a revolutionary and threatening political leaders who are set to take part in the Transitional Presidential Council.

European Union support for Haiti

The EU has allocated more than €200 million in bilateral assistance to the country since 2021, with the focus on enabling the continuity of basic public services for the Haitian population. Overall, since 1994, the EU has supported Haiti with €500 million, which makes Haiti the largest recipient of EU humanitarian aid in Latin America and the Caribbean. The EU’s support for Haiti is twofold: on the one hand, to strengthen institutional capacity, and on the other to facilitate the population’s access to basic public services in the very insecure and volatile context. Given the recent developments, the European Commission allocated an additional €20 million in emergency humanitarian aid to Haiti on 13 March 2024 to help humanitarian partners address the most urgent needs of the population, in terms of protection, food assistance, nutrition, water and sanitation, and healthcare.

On 21 October 2022, the UN Security Council adopted a sanctions regime against members of the Haitian political and economic elite who support armed gangs. On 28 July 2023, the EU set up an autonomous framework allowing the EU to impose sanctions on individuals (such as the above-mentioned Jimmy Cherizier) and entities responsible for threatening the peace, security or stability of Haiti, or for undermining democracy or the rule of law in Haiti. On 15 January, the EU added four more people to the list of those sanctioned in connection with the situation in Haiti. HR/VP Borrell said that the EU would support the broader objectives of the Multinational Security Support Mission, once it is deployed, through the EU’s cooperation instruments.

Views

While international actors including the US and the EU welcomed the outcome of the Jamaica meeting, an expert from Medico International criticised the agreement as another short-term technocratic solution from the outside with the principal objective of avoiding a refugee and migration wave that would affect the region. It would not provide for a sustainable solution to build a democratic state in Haiti. Jake Johnston, Haiti expert at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, criticises the fact that the US and other foreign powers have pushed Haiti into a pact that will face legitimacy concerns and is unlikely to lead to a solution to the current crisis by itself.

European Parliament position

In October 2022, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on human rights breaches in Haiti and called for a durable, time-bound and commonly accepted solution to allow for fair legislative and presidential elections. Moreover, Parliament encouraged the EU and international financial institutions to increase their financial support for Haiti. On 5 February 2024, during their plenary session, MEPs exchanged views with the European Commission on the situation in Haiti on the eve of the deployment of the United Nations Multinational Security Support Mission.

Read this ‘at a glance’ note on ‘Haiti in a spiral of violence‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Written by Marketa Pape (1st edition).

European Works Councils (EWCs) are bodies that should guarantee employees the right to be consulted on important issues in large multinational companies active in multiple EU countries. The possibility to set up EWCs was introduced 30 years ago and the rules were revised in 2009. However, with limited rights to information and little influence, EWCs have been criticised for being ineffective, on account of unclear definitions, non-dissuasive sanctions and ineffective access to justice.

In February 2023, the European Parliament called for legislative action to address the shortcomings identified and strengthen the functioning of EWCs. In response, the European Commission consulted European social partners and put forward a proposal in January 2024 to revise the 2009 directive.

The European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs is preparing a report, with a view to securing a mandate for interinstitutional negotiations in the next legislative term.

Complete version

• March 2024: ‘Revision of the European Works Councils Directive: Stronger social dialogue in a multinational context‘ (1st edition)

Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2009/38/EC as regards the establishment and functioning of European Works Councils and the effective enforcement of transnational information and consultation rightsCommittee responsible:Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL)COM(2024) 14
24.1.2024Rapporteur:Dennis Radtke (EPP, Germany)2024/0006(COD)Shadow rapporteurs:Brando Benifei (S&D, Italy)
Jozef Mihál (Renew, Slovakia)
Rosa D’Amato (Greens/EFA, Italy)
Elżbieta Rafalska (ECR, Poland)
Elena Lizzi (ID, Italy)
Eugenia Rodríguez Palop (The Left, Spain)Ordinary legislative
procedure (COD)
(Parliament and Council
on equal footing –
formerly ‘co-decision’)Next steps expected: Committee vote