Highlights – Financial services cooperation with the Biden Administration: hearing – Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

The Committee on Budgets and the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affair will hold their second Recovery and Resilience Dialogue with Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President for an Economy that Works for People, and Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni, on 14 July. The debate is expected to focus on the Commission’s assessment of national recovery and resilience plans submitted by Member States.

The Committees on Petitions and on Transport and Tourism will hold a hearing to assess how effectively air passenger rights were safeguarded during the COVID-19 outbreak, on 14 July. The pandemic has resulted in many passengers having their flights cancelled by airlines. National emergency measures such as flight bans, and quarantine or negative COVID-19 test requirements, were also taken. The hearing will look into whether the EU’s current legal framework is adequate to deal with such crises.

The Committees on Legal Affairs and on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality will vote on a joint report regarding the impact of intimate partner violence and custody rights on women and children, on 13 July. The draft calls on the Member States to urgently address the issue by guaranteeing the safety and economic independence to victims by means of access to specific housing, essential public services, and professional psychological support.

The Committees on Budgets and on Budgetary Control will go over the European Court of Auditors’ review on financial contributions from non-EU countries to the EU, with ECA Member François-Roger Cazala, on 12 July. These contributions are based on agreements through which non-EU countries gain access to EU programmes and activities and/or to the EU single market. In 2019, they amounted to EUR 1,9 billion, meaning 1% of the total EU revenue.

The Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality will go over its opinion on the EU Budget for 2022, on 12 July. Amongst other things, the draft asks for an increase in the European Institute for Gender Equality’s budget and an independent budget line to the objective dedicated to promoting gender equality in the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme. The Committee will then vote on its opinion on the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy, on 13 July.