(Strasbourg) “Impact of restrictive abortion law in Poland”: this is the title of one of the debates taking place in the European Parliament today during the plenary session. Starting at about 4.00pm, the MEPs will discuss with Commissioner Dalli the results of a UN survey on the Polish law on voluntary termination of pregnancy that recommends decriminalising it.
The session will certainly provide facts for a further political exchange among the MEPs, like the one that was held in the morning about migration (potential changes in the EU law on repatriation of third-country nationals who are not eligible for staying in Europe), where the different political groups exchanged views – actually fought – with each other, their biased, distant positions making no contribution to such a hot issue.
In the afternoon, instead, the winner of the Daphne Caruana Prize for Journalism 2024 will be announced during a ceremony in the pressroom of the EU Parliament at 6.00pm, which will be attended by the President of the EU Parliament, Roberta Metsola. Before the ceremony, a workshop will be held on “Protecting media freedom: the role of the European Union”. In a debate during the plenary session at about 5.00pm, the MEPs will look at the situation of the rule of law in Malta seven years after the murder of Caruana Galizia, journalist and anticorruption blogger.
Also in the afternoon, after the voting round, the MEPs are expected to send a warning on the current war crimes that are being committed by the Russian Federation, including the killing of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
The other points on the agenda include the steel crisis and the promotion of a competitive and sustainable European steel industry, without losing any quality jobs.
Today, the MEPs are called to vote on several matters: the EU Parliament’s position on the EU budget 2025; the application of an urgency procedure to a proposed update on the Regulation on Deforestation; the tendencies of the member states’ job policies; the need to change the Medical Devices Regulation.