Parliament back to work, and the agenda is alredy full

European Parliament back to work after the summer break, and waiting for him there are several key measures to be approved by the autumn, aimed primarily at curbing the economic crisis.

The work will starts this Monday with a hearing behind closed doors of the European Central Bank President Mario Draghi at the Economic Commission. Then they will be heard as well Commissioners Olli Rehn, Michel Barnier and Joaquin Almunia, to help the members in the preparation of a report on a “genunine economic and monetary union”. Other committees, such as the one on Human Rights, will start working next week. The plenary starts on September 10 with the first session in Strasbourg during which it is expected (on the 12th), the annual State of the Union speech by Jose Manuel Barroso. Last year, the President of the European Commission spoke of the importance to revive sustainable growth, market surveillance, support to Greece and the fight against tax evasion. We can not know the contents of the next speech, but it is not hard to imagine that it will certainly return to these topics, with a touch on governance reforms to which you are working, such as banking supervision.

The most difficult question in the House and between the institutions shall be on the Budget for 2013. The project amounts to 151 million euro (+ 2% over the 2012 budget) in commitments (ie what the EU can undertake to invest through contracts and procurement) and € 138 million (+ 6.8% compared to 2012 budget) in payment appropriations (ie the actual payments to be executed). But, before arriving at the final vote in October, there will certainly be battle between Parliament and the European Council that would like to reduce the budget to 132.6 million euros implementing cuts on research, policy and cohesion funds for small and medium-sized enterprises. MPs do not want to hear instead of cuttings, and in a sensitive time like this, in order to save money they proposed to eliminate one of the two headquarters of the Parliament (ie Strasbourg…). As if that was not enough, it will also be necessary to determine the multiannual financial framework 2014-2020, the expenditure forecasts for the future of the EU, another issue on which the debate is sure to be severe.

And whenever it comes to budget we have back the central problem of how to find the resources. According to the treaties the EU budget must be fully funded with “own resources”. Strasbourg, however, urged new sources to reduce the level of national contributions based on gross national income, 75 to 40% by 2020. One such source could be the so-called Tobin Tax: a proposal from the Commission, approved by Parliament and waiting for the opinion of the Council. It woul be a tax on financial transactions applicable to all exchanges between financial institutions and the rate is set at 0.1% per transaction of stocks or bonds, and 0.01% for derivatives. According to estimates could create annual revenues of 57 billion euros, more than one third of the EU budget, money that could be reinvested for growth or welfare programs, at least according to the trade unions and left-wing parties, major supporters of the measure.

Another important vote scheduled in the fall and that will impact directly on the European economy is updating the package MiFID (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive). The text (which will be used as the basis for the proposal that the Commission will in the negotiations with the Member States) should better regulate markets and protect investors dealing with instruments such as high frequency trading and speculation on commodities.

To boost real economy is than expected the CAP, the Common Agricultural Policy reform (since 2014). Agriculture alone currently account for around one third of the EU budget. The Agriculture Committee is expected to vote to send the text to the plenary in the late autumn (the rapporteur is the president, Paolo De Castro S & D) with proposals to reduce bureaucracy and simplify the payment of farmers and controls on how the funds are used and support young farmers, helping them in the lease agreements through the use of funds for rural development.

In terms of civil rights in the pipeline there is the Directive on the protection of victims of crime, which would harmonize the different criminal justice systems to ensure the same standard of support to victims and rights in their country of origin in each Member State. The legislation should be voted at the first Plenary session and then it will need only the Council Ok to become operational.

Alfonso Bianchi