Brussels briefing, April 1

The European Parliament is set to debate the state of play of the U.K.’s withdrawal from the EU with the Council and the Commission on Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) will discuss the state of trade relations with China with the Commission and Council, ahead of the EU-China summit on Tuesday, April 9.

On Thursday, measures informally agreed with EU ministers to reconcile career and private life, including ten working days' paid paternity leave, will be up for a vote.

MEPs will adopt new legislation on Thursday on the EU gas market to ensure the same rules apply both to gas pipelines inside the EU and to those coming into the EU from non-EU countries.

MEPs will vote on proposals on Thursday that aim to better tackle illegal practices in the road transport sector, while also defining the relevant application of rules on transport workers and the amendment of drivers’ rest times. 

A new tool to protect the EU budget and uphold EU values will be up for a vote on Thursday. The new system could mean that governments interfering with courts or failing to tackle fraud and corruption risk having their EU funds suspended.

EP members will vote on Thursday on a proposal to limit member states’ ability to introduce temporary border controls within the Schengen area to a maximum period of one year, instead of two.

 The Eurogroup will meet on Friday in Bucharest where the Eurogroup will be debriefed by the institutions on the progress made by the Greek authorities on the implementation of their reform commitments.