Parliament speeds up work ahead of election recess[fr][de] 

MEPs have only two sessions (21-24 April and 4-8 May) to strike agreements with member states on the Working Time Directive, telecoms regulation, the economic recovery plan and supervision of financial institutions before closing down on 8 May. 

For the numerous ongoing informal negotiations, the key word is 'trialogue'. The idea is to speed up the co-decision process with the European Commission and representatives of the 27 national governments by informally agreeing on texts before they are put to vote in plenary. 

On the Parliament side, it is usually the MEPs in charge of each dossier who take part, together with their 'shadows' from the other political groups. Under the co-decision mechanism, if a dossier reaches the stage of formal negotiations in the conciliation committee, one of the Parliament's vice-presidents leads the MEP delegation. 

Barroso's stimulus 

A plan recently adopted by EU leaders to spend five billion euros on energy and broadband Internet infrastructure - also known as the Barroso stimulus package (EurActiv 20/03/09) - has yet to obtain the Parliament's formal approval. As a leading MEP recently warned, this support cannot be taken for granted (EurActiv 13/03/09). 

Parliament and Council are currently trying to find an agreement so the package can be adopted at first reading during the May plenary session. The key outstanding issues are the list of potential projects, and especially how the plan will support energy efficiency measures. Parliament's industry committee is arguing that funds uncommitted by a certain date should be invested in energy-saving projects like 'smart cities' instead of being returned to member states. 

Banking, insurance, credit rating 

The 21-24 April plenary session is due to vote on key pieces of legislation aimed at improving the supervisory arrangements for the financial sector, specifically insurance (Solvency II) and credit rating agencies. The vote on rules on capital requirements for banks has been postponed to the plenary session in May.

Telecoms package 

A second reading vote is due to be held in May on the future of the EU telecoms legal framework. Important stumbling blocks have recently been removed (EurActiv 31/03/09). But there are still issues under discussion, including the re-allocation of the radio spectrum dividend and the protection of online copyright. 

Working time 

A proposed law updating EU rules limiting, in the interests of health, the hours that employees can be obliged to work has almost reached the end of the full legislative process and it is not yet clear if agreement can be reached. The Parliament has openly criticised the inactivity of the EU executive, as MEPs and the Council recently failed to resolve long-running disagreements over the directive (EurActiv 18/03/09). 

Formal negotiations in the conciliation committee failed to break the deadlock, and now informal talks between the Council and the Parliament are taking place to see if there is scope for a final formal session to reach an agreement. If not, the new law will have to be dropped altogether, leaving the existing rules in force for the moment.