EU-UK future relationship. Parliament will adopt a resolution on the progress made in the EU-UK negotiations on a new partnership at 14.15, following the debate yesterday. A press conference is scheduled at 15.00. Find all details here.

Viktor ALMQVIST
(+32) 470 88 29 42
@EP_ForeignAff

Schengen border controls. MEPs will discuss ways and means to lift border controls and related travel restrictions at 14.30 with Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson. A resolution will be adopted on Friday at 17.30. Follow the debate live on EP MMC and on EbS+. #Schengen

Iina LIETZEN
(+32) 470 88 39 10
@EP_Justice

Disinformation/Freedom of expression. Parliament will debate the effects of fighting the spread of COVID-19 on fundamental rights in the EU, and especially the impact of measures against disinformation on the freedom of expression, from around 10.30 with EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell and Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency Věra Jourová. Follow live on EP MMC and on EbS+. #Disinformation

Kyriakos KLOSIDIS
(+32) 470 96 47 35
@EP_Justice

COVID-19 impact on foreign policy. From 9.15, MEPs will debate the situation in the European neighbourhood, Africa and the Middle East as well as relations with the US, China and Russia with EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell. MEPs will also debate the situation in Hong Kong and the possible Israeli annexation in the West Bank. Follow the debate live on EP MMC and on EbS+.

Snjezana KOBESCAK SMODIS
(+32) 2 28 32547
@EP_ForeignAff

Cross-border and seasonal workers. MEPs are set to push for better working conditions and health and safety measures for cross-border and seasonal workers in a debate starting at around 15.30 with Jobs and Social Rights Commissioner Nicolas Schmit. A resolution will be adopted on Friday at 17.30. Follow the debate live on EP MMC and on EbS+.

Elzelien VAN der STEEN
(+32) 477 45 42 84

@EPSocialAffairs

New committees. Parliament will vote on setting up special committees on beating cancer, on foreign interference in all democratic processes in the EU, including disinformation, and on artificial intelligence and the digital transformation as well as a permanent subcommittee on tax matters. The results of the votes will be available at 22.15. Follow live on EP MMC and on EbS+.

John SCHRANZ
(+32) 498 98 14 02
@EP_Economics

Press Conference (in Parliament’s Anna Politkovskaya pressroom and via Skype)

• 12:00 on “The case of the Czech Prime Minister: call to resolve potential conflicts of interest affecting EU funds”. Find all details here.
• 15:00 on “EU-United Kingdom future relations”. Find all details here.

Votes

The first voting session starts at 10.30, with results being announced at 14.15 on, among other things, the resolutions on the future EU-UK relationship and the Conference on the Future of Europe as well as on sustainable investment.

The second voting session starts at 14.30 with results being announced at 18.15.

The third voting session starts at 18.30 with results being announced at 22.15 on, among other things, setting up new special committees and a subcommittee.

The Fundamental Rights Survey asked people about their views on sharing personal data as well as their awareness of EU data protection rules, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Overall, the findings on ‘Your rights matter: Data protection and privacy’ reveal that:

• 41% do not want to share any personal data with private companies, almost double the number compared to public bodies;
• the type of personal data influences people’s willingness to share. Only around 5% want to share their facial images or fingerprints with private companies;
• 72% know the privacy settings on their smart phones. But 24% do not know how to check the privacy settings on their apps;
• 55% fear criminals or fraudsters accessing their personal data. Around 30% worry about advertisers, businesses and foreign governments’ access to information without them knowing;
• 33% do not read the terms and conditions when using online services compared with 22% who always read them;
• 69% know about the GDPR. A similar number know their national data protection supervisory authority (71%);
• only 51% are aware that they can access their personal data held by companies.

The EU’s data protection rules give users many safeguards. This includes Member States creating independent public authorities to protect users’ rights and to raise their rights awareness.

These rights include users’ consent to share their personal data and to inform users how organisations will use their data.

The findings also reveal some strong national differences. For example, in Belgium and Cyprus 47% of users do not read online terms and conditions, whereas in Estonia only 22% do not.

They draw on responses from 35,000 people across all EU Member States, North Macedonia and the United Kingdom. The survey ran from January to October 2019.

Parliament will not back a deal at any cost, warned several MEPs commenting on the ongoing negotiations about the future relationship between the EU and the UK. They rejected the UK’s intention to select certain policy areas on which to negotiate while ignoring others.

Several speakers underlined that both parties have to stick to the Political Declaration, signed by the UK and the EU last year, which provides a clear framework for a future relationship. MEPs also called for commitments to be met faithfully, among others in the interest of UK citizens in the EU and EU citizens in the UK, as laid down in the legally binding Withdrawal Agreement. Parliament hopes for a new dynamism to conclude talks, for which there are but 204 days left. A resolution assessing the talks will be adopted on Thursday, followed by a press conference.

EU long-term budget and COVID-19 recovery support

On the next long-term EU budget and the COVID-19 recovery package, MEPs said that time is pressing and it is now in the European Council’s hands to quickly take the next important step: finding a common position among member states. The economy has to get back on track urgently, and the recovery plan “can get things going, but only with an ambitious long-term budget can we cross the finishing line”.

Many MEPs underlined that the Commission’s proposal is the bare minimum. In addition, the Parliament’s role has to be strengthened in devising and implementing the package, as “a crisis cannot be an excuse to undermine democracy”.

Please click on links to watch the speeches:

Nikolina Brnjac for the Council

Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission President

Christophe Hansen, (EPP, LU), Rapporteur

Kati Piri, (S&D, NL), Rapporteur

Nicolae Ștefănuță, (Renew Europe, RO), Committee on Budgets

David McAllister (EPP, DE)

Iratxe Garcia Pérez (S&D, ES)

Marco Zanni (ID, IT)

Ska Keller (Green/ALE, DE)

Jan Eppink (ECR, NL)

Martin Schirdewan (GUE/NGL, DE)

Dacian Cioloș (Renew Europe, RO)

Background information

EP President Sassoli will address EU heads of state or government on 19 June at their video conference meeting to discuss the recovery fund plans to respond to the COVID-19 crisis and a new EU long-term budget presented by the European Commission on 27 May 2020 in Parliament. According to Council, the EU leaders’ discussion will serve as a “thorough preparation” for a summit at a later date. The EP President will hold a press conference after his intervention, at 11.00.

In addition, the Presidents of the European Council and of the Commission will inform the leaders about their discussions with Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the EU-UK high-level meeting via video conference on 15 June 2020.

Following the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union on 31 January 2020, the two parties have been engaged in negotiations to establish a future partnership starting after a transition period that ends on 31 December 2020.

On Wednesday 17 June MEPs debated racism, discrimination and police violence, often faced by minorities such as those of African descent, with Council and Commission representatives.

In late May, George Floyd, an African American, died while being arrested by police officers on the street in the US city of Minneapolis. His death, along with other such cases, has sparked both peaceful and violent protests against racism and police brutality in the US and around the globe the past few weeks.

At the opening of the plenary session, Parliament held a minute of silence for George Floyd before President David Sassoli gave the floor to a black MEP Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana (Greens/EFA, Germany). She gave an account of her own experience with police brutality in Belgium when she took photos of police officers during an incident with two young black people at Brussels’ North Station.

“I think we have to take a lot of measures to protect a lot of people who are not here and have not been able to escape police violence,” she said.

Racism in Europe

Acknowledging the existence of racism in Europe, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, “As a society, we need to confront reality.”

“We relentlessly need to fight racism and discrimination – visible discrimination, of course, but also more subtle – in the justice system and law enforcement, in our labour market and the housing market, in education and health care, in politics and migration,” she added.

Hermann Tertsch (ECR, Spain) said that in the current debate on racism, the focus has largely been the on the US, who are seen as the bad guys, even though racism and hate also exists in Europe.

Alice Kuhnke (Greens/EFA, Sweden) agreed: “We need to send a strong signal to the US but also to clean our own house. This Parliament and the Commission will define how the EU steps up to create a sustainable society that leaves no-one behind. There can be no room for racism and discrimination.”

Younous Omarjee (GUE/NGL, France) said “European history has always swung between barbarism and civilisation” with conquests, slavery, colonisation and the Holocaust. He called for measures to address both racial and social inequality in Europe.

Susanna Ceccardi (ID, Italy), however, said some of the recent protests had resulted in looting and damage to historical statues. “Apart from racism there’s another plague spreading across the world: that’s the plague of ignorance and the stupidity of those who want to erase their own history.”

Dacian Cioloş (Renew Europe, Romania) questioned whether the EU institutions themselves reflect the diversity of the European Union. “We must contribute to building an inclusive society, starting with being more inclusive ourselves. And when we set the example ourselves, then we can ask others to respect that principle,” he said.

This format is in line with the requirements included in the Commission Delegated Regulation 2019/815 (ESEF Regulation) and the guidance provided in the ESEF Reporting Manual as last updated by ESMA in July 2019.

The report was prepared by the Global LEI Foundation in cooperation with ESMA and aims to provide issuers with an example of an annual report in the ESEF format for their submissions to the national Officially Appointed Mechanisms. Additional publications (such as an Inline XBRL viewer) are available on GLEIF’s website.