The Commission (DG CONNECT) defends the proposed ‘handbrake’ on trade secrets in the Data Act, the AI Omnibus approach, voluntary data intermediation regimes and repeal of the P2B Regulation in favour of DSA/DMA, arguing for legal predictability and compliance simplification, while acknowledging Parliament’s concerns. Rapporteur Benifei then stresses areas of convergence, urges legally robust compromises to influence lead committees, and announces the amendment deadline and need for swift conclusion of the Digital Omnibus file.
The Chair opens the voting session, with the committee first adopting the retail investment strategy package to reinforce investor protection and then completing the single currency legislative package, including the digital euro, non‑euro area service provision and the legal tender status of cash, while recording a minority statement on the legal basis. Negotiation mandates are granted across the files, closing work on savings, investment and the digital euro framework at committee level.
The Chair underlines the EU added value of existing tools despite worsening trends, promises to defend relevant budget lines in the next MFF, thanks the UN Special Rapporteur and survivor witnesses, and signals continued DROI work by moving to the next agenda item on murdered human rights defenders.
MEPs adopt compromise packages and reports on Horizon Europe, CEF, Single Market & Customs, civil protection and health preparedness, then approve the Decarbonisation Fund, extend CBAM, validate institutional budget transfers and an OIB buildings file, and lodge a formal objection related to an Erasmus cost‑of‑living amendment.
A petitioner calls for stronger support for women wishing to continue pregnancies and for review of EU funding and communication, leading the Commission to outline competence limits and existing equality and health instruments, and triggering a polarised debate between MEPs defending abortion as a right and those demanding greater policy focus on maternity support, with the petition kept open for further examination.
MEPs from EPP, Renew, ECR, Greens/EFA and The Left set out their lines on the Digital and AI Omnibus, focusing on trade secret safeguards, data access grounds, the future of the Platform‑to‑Business Regulation, data intermediaries’ registration, business‑to‑government data sharing, personal data definitions and GDPR‑linked AI training and biometric processing. Fault lines emerge between those prioritising simplification and SME burden reduction and those warning against deregulation and erosion of fundamental rights and the existing Data Act/DGA balance.
After a brief procedural pause, the Chair formally opens the Digital Omnibus agenda item and gives the floor to rapporteur Benifei, who presents JURI’s draft opinion on the Digital and AI Omnibus as part of the EU’s digital simplification agenda, detailing positions on data governance, P2B, cloud switching, smart contracts, trade secrets, B2G data access and coordinated enforcement.
The Vice‑Chair restarts the Budgets Committee, confirms agenda and voting procedures, and leads the voting session on Draft Amending Budget 1/2026, including entry of the 2025 surplus, mobilisation of the EU Solidarity Fund, technical assistance under the EGF and establishment of the European Competitiveness Fund.
The Chair reports on the JURI delegation’s meetings in Washington and Boston on AI, digital regulation and IP, contrasting EU rule‑making with the US approach, then answers an ECR question on whether US counterparts are ready to cooperate on copyright safeguards and EU interests in AI training and use.
An Egyptian case study of systemic torture and abusive pretrial detention leads into Chair-led questions on international justice and funding gaps, prompting exchanges on politicisation and double standards (Latin America, Israel/Gaza, Gulf allies), the limits of international courts, the need to strengthen national jurisdictions, safeguard protest, and integrate anti-torture training and civic space protection into future EU programming.
MEPs question the Commission, ECB and OECD on EU fiscal rules, energy‑related fiscal risks, low‑income households and the design of temporary energy support, linking these to strategic autonomy, green investment and the impact of Middle East instability on inflation and investment. The institutions defend the current fiscal framework, explain guidance on targeted energy measures, and outline how climate and geopolitical factors are integrated into monetary policy and business investment analysis.
An NGO petitioner denounces continued placement of very young children in Spanish residential care despite national pledges, prompting the Commission and MEPs to link the case to the European Child Guarantee, call for scrutiny of national and EU funds for deinstitutionalisation, and agree to keep the petition open while seeking detailed information from Spain and the Commission.
Political group spokespeople set out their positions on EU Inc, balancing support for startups and reduced bureaucracy with strong demands to preserve national labour competences, avoid social dumping and letterbox companies, clarify legal basis and necessity, and tighten scope, registration controls and worker rights protections.
Following a Polish MEP’s ideological framing of torture and critique of EU inconsistency, the Commission, IRCT and Penal Reform International reiterate the EU’s operational commitments, stress lifelong rehabilitation and survivor agency, and argue for decarceration, decriminalisation of poverty and scrutiny of abusive prison labour within a prevention strategy.
MEPs question asymmetric impacts of energy shocks, especially on islands, the flexibility of state aid and consumer support, and the effectiveness of ECB rate hikes, then move to concerns about financing the Energy Union and Ukraine under tight fiscal space and repeated escape clauses, with institutions defending targeted support, medium‑term debt sustainability and disciplined use of fiscal flexibility.
The rapporteur presents the Commission’s EU Inc proposal as a new EU company form, then details EMPL’s draft opinion focusing on fraud and abuse risks, limits to scope, protection of national labour and worker participation rules, removal of the simplified insolvency regime and stronger safeguards against using EU Inc for wage and social security dumping.
The Commission defends its biotech proposal as part of a wider health and industrial package, justifies SPC extensions and targeted sandboxes under strict safeguards, after which rapporteur Casares and the chair close the item by restating access and affordability concerns, announcing the amendment deadline and ENVI’s competences, and suspending the meeting until the afternoon session.
Initial sitting covers the post‑2027 CAP financing debate, budget transfers for a fisheries partnership and advisory bodies, and the Commission’s request to extend usufruct contracts for Brussels buildings, with rapporteurs’ recommendations, Commission clarifications and procedural next steps ahead of later votes.
The Commission details EU-level VET priorities, mobility and funding gaps, while the rapporteur responds to political groups’ amendments, stressing equal treatment of VET and academic paths and VET’s role in green and digital transitions.
Members examine a petition on alleged inadequate maintenance of Spanish TEN‑T roads, debating national responsibilities, EU funding and the need to keep the file open for monitoring, then turn to a petition on post‑accident vehicle integrity, where DG MOVE and MEPs discuss gaps in EU‑wide minimum standards and propose follow‑up via PETI and TRAN.
Political group speakers and the associated‑committee co‑rapporteur present their lines on the biotech framework, including support for food and feed biotechnology, calls to strengthen EFSA’s innovation role while preserving its independence, opposition to SPC extensions and limits on regulatory sandboxes, and proposals to ensure all member states can benefit from biotech projects.
The UN Special Rapporteur and OMCT analyse global trends of conflict, authoritarianism and shrinking civic space, highlight EU leadership and the survivor-led Charter of Rights, present a global torture risk index, and urge the EU to defend non-refoulement, treat anti-torture funding as strategic infrastructure and anchor future UN resolutions in survivor rights.
The chair restarts the agenda with the new EU framework for biotechnology and biomanufacturing, gives the floor to rapporteur González Casares who sets the strategic, regulatory and industrial objectives for ENVI’s opinion, and outlines his concerns on SPC extensions, crisis‑oriented public instruments and the need to anchor incentives in EU‑based biotech innovation.
Shadows and other MEPs set out their priorities on VET, covering dual systems, SMEs, quality jobs, social dialogue, gender gaps, NEETs, subsidiarity, and the status and dignity of vocational pathways and teachers.
The Commission and OECD set out revised growth and inflation forecasts, constrained fiscal space and possible extension of the defence escape clause to energy security, before the Q&A opens with a first set of questions on why energy prices evolved more moderately than feared and how remaining risks are assessed by the Commission, OECD and ECB.
The Chair opens the EMPL agenda point on boosting skills and vocational education and training (VET) and mandates the rapporteur to present the draft report, outlining its scope and legislative-political context.
The committee opens the meeting, presents the 2025 PETI annual report mandate and key statistics, and hears political group and Commission reactions on PETI’s role, thematic focus, subsidiarity, and procedural and geographic balance, before closing the item and moving to individual petitions.
Three survivors from Venezuela, Belarus and Bahrain describe torture as a tool of societal control, its long-term psychological and social consequences, the use of denationalisation and exile, and call on the EU to sustain targeted sanctions, rehabilitation, and concrete diplomatic pressure grounded in the new Survivors’ Charter.
The ECON Chair closes the previous EMPL/ECON exchange and opens the dedicated ECON session, with the ECB presenting its assessment of growth resilience, inflation dynamics and a data‑driven monetary policy stance in light of the Middle East crisis.
The Chair closes the SAFE item, announcing that the committee will return to the file in September with more detailed data and indicating the next hearing with the EU Chief of Defence.
EC press point and signing ceremony by European Commissioner Ekaterina ZAHARIEVA and Australian Minister of Industry and Innovation Tim AYRES on Australia’s association to Horizon Europe
College read-out / Press conference (with international sign language) by European Commission Executive Vice-President Henna VIRKKUNEN and Commissioner Michael McGRATH on the Digital Fairness Act and a Consumer enforcement initiative
College read-out / Press conference by European Commission Executive Vice-President Henna VIRKKUNEN and Commissioner Michael McGRATH on the Digital Fairness Act and a Consumer enforcement initiative
Committee on Budgetary Control Ordinary meeting CONT Committee meeting
Upcoming
Committee on European Democracy Shield (special committee) (EUDS)
Special Committee on the European Democracy Shield Ordinary meeting
Upcoming
Committee on Housing Crisis (special committee) (HOUS)
Special Committee on the Housing Crisis in the European Union Ordinary meeting
Upcoming
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE)
7th Inter-Parliamentary Committee Meeting On Evaluation Of The European Union Agency For Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) Activities
Upcoming
Committee on European Democracy Shield (special committee) (EUDS)
Issues raised by bot farming and social media anonymity in elections
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