This week, parliamentary committees will deal with Brexit, a free trade agreement with Vietnam, and discuss security issues with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.
On Thursday, the Constitutional Affairs Committee will vote in favor of Parliament recommending whether it should approve an EU-UK withdrawal agreement. The final vote of all members of the European Parliament at the planned plenary meeting is currently scheduled for January 29 and will take place if the UK fully ratifies the agreement by then.
The EU-Vietnam Free Trade and Investment Protection Agreements are voted on by the International Trade Committee on Tuesday. If approved, the transaction will exclude all export tariffs from the EU, open the Vietnamese public procurement market for EU firms and protect 196 EU goods with a geographical indication.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will appeal on Tuesday to the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Security and Defense Subcommittee, and the parliamentary delegation to NATO. Last week, parliament passed resolutions on the state of the EU’s common security, defense and foreign policy and called for closer cooperation with NATO, while emphasizing the need for strategic EU autonomy.