Outside plenary, negotiators from the Parliament, Council and Commission will meet to thrash out a deal on a Covid-19 certificate to make it easier for people to travel in the EU this summer. The EU certificate would show that someone had been vaccinated, recovered from or had a negative Covid test.
Parliament will consider a proposal to waive intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines.
Parliament will vote on the new €26 billion Erasmus+ programme for 2021-2027, allowing significantly more people to benefit from learning and mobility, including people living with a disability, those living in poverty or in a remote location and migrants.
MEPs are also expected to approve the Just Transition Fund, a €17.5 billion package to help European regions move to a green economy. It can help finance a range of support for micro-enterprises and research institutions to job-seeking assistance and reskilling.
The cultural sector has been hit had by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Creative Europe programme will bring €2.2 billion in investment to the cultural and creative sector, including support for the live music sector..
Members are set to adopt the European Solidarity Corps programme for 2021-2027, supporting volunteering activities for young people in the EU and beyond.
MEPs will discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after some of the worst clashes in years took place in recent days.
Parliament’s proposals for decarbonising Europe’s energy system, industry and transport sector will be presented during the May plenary. MEPs say hydrogen produced from renewable sources is key to achieving climate neutrality.
MEPs will be calling for new legal options for people outside the EU to work here to fill shortfalls in the EU job market, in order to help reduce irregular migration. In addition, they will vote on a report criticising the EU and some EU countries for overusing informal agreements on the return and readmission of irregular migrants.
Parliament will call for more support for digital innovation and the use of artificial intelligence in a resolution on Europe’s digital future.
Also on the agenda
- Recent developments in Turkey and Montenegro’s EU accession negotiations
- Strengthening EU rules on environmental liability of companies to reduce and prevent environment harm
- Protection of environmental rights defenders and recognition of ecocide as an international crime
- Tackling illegal online streaming of sporting events
- Findings on the breach of conflict of interest rules involving Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš
- Protection for people displaced by climate crisis
- New EU industrial strategy
- The EU Solidarity Fund
- Reversing demographic trends in EU regions
