On 30 January 2016 the Sejm accepted the information on the Republic of Poland's participation in the activities of the European Union in July-December 2015, during the Luxembourg Presidency of the EU Council - resolution. The information was earlier debated together with the position of the EU Affairs Committee in plenary on 28 January 2016 (verbatim record/PL, point 9).

On 29 January 2016 the Sejm heard information of the Minister of Foreign Affairs on the tasks of the Polish foreign policy in 2016 and held the debate (verbatim record/PL, point 4).

• scrutinised 56 EU documents:
  • pursuant to Art. 7(4) of the Cooperation Act – 12 EU draft legislative acts concerning i.a. the landfill of waste, control of the acquisition and possession of weapons or certain aspects of company law,
  • pursuant to Art. 151(1) of the Sejm Standing Orders and Art. 3(2) of the Cooperation Act – 28 European Commission documents (22 reports, 5 communications and 1 recommendation) concerning i.a. the organisation of the labour force sample survey in the Community, European copyright framework or the structure and rates of excise duty applied to manufactured tobacco,
  • pursuant to Art. 11(1) of the Cooperation Act – EU documents, which were to be discussed by Economic and Financial Affairs Council,
  • pursuant to Art. 8(2) of the Cooperation Act – 14 EU draft legal acts concerning i.a. the autonomous Common Customs Tariff duties on certain agricultural and industrial products, the Agreement between the European Union and the People's Republic of China on the short-stay visa waiver for holders of diplomatic passports or the position to be adopted, on behalf of the European Union, in the control committee of the Paris memorandum of understanding on port state control,
• adopted opinion no. 4 concerning draft Council decision on the adoption of provisions amending the Act concerning the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage (mtg no. 19),
• examined and adopted positive opinion for the Public Finance Committee on the draft budget act within the scope of the Committee competence (opinion no. 3, mtg no. 12),
• heard information on the progress of dialogue between Poland and European Union on selected aspects of Polish internal policy, presented by Secretary of State in Ministry of Foreign Affairs Konrad Szymański (mtg no. 16),
• heard information on the annual report of the European Court of Auditors on the implementation of the budget concerning the financial year 2014, presented by the member of ECO Augustyn Kubik (mtg no. 18),
• considered Government's information on the Republic of Poland's participation in the activities of the European Union in the period July-December 2015 during Luxembourg Presidency (paper no. 181, mtg no. 19),
• met with the vice-ambassador of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg André Flammang and heard information on the results of Luxembourg Presidency of the EU Council, and met with the Chargé d'affaires a.i. of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Adriaan Palm and heard information on the programme of the Netherlands Presidency of the EU Council (mtg no. 21),
• appointed standing subcommittees (mtg no. 22):
  • on trade agreement between the European Union and the United States of America (TTIP),
  • on the use of founds from the European Union. 

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In January 2016 information on and documents of SUE meetings no. 12-15 and 17-20, provided by the EU Affairs Committee secretariat, were published in the EDL-S (European Legislative Documents in the Sejm) and IPEX databases.

Digital Affairs, Innovation and New Technologies Committee

• 27.01.2016, considered information of the Minister of Digital Affairs on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and the Council concerning measures to ensure a high common level of network and information security across the Union (so called NIS directive);
• 28.01.2016, considered information of the Supreme Audit Office on the results of audit of supporting the development of the innovative enterprises with European Union founds under action 4.3 and 4.5 of the Innovative Economy Operational Programme together with the position of Minister of Development.

Energy and State Treasury Committee

• 28.01.2016, considered information on EU energy package in the context of the impact of conclusions of the COP Paris Conference on national energy system.

In January 2016

• the following bills implementing EU law have been referred to the first reading [paper no.]:
  • Government bill on the Bank Guarantee Fund, the deposit guarantee scheme and forced restructuring [215],
  • Government bill amending the act on radio and television broadcasting [203],
  • Government bill amending the act on public roads and the act on toll motorways and the National Road Fund [190],
• the following act implementing EU law has been adopted [paper no.]:
  • Act of 30 January 2016 on the re-use of public sector information [141],
• the following acts implementing EU law have been published [paper no.]:
  
  • Act of 22 December 2016 on principles of recognition of professional qualifications acquired in the Member States of the European Union [108],
  • Act of 22 December 2015 amending the act on vehicle drivers [84].

In January 2016, 20 draft legislative acts were subject to subsidiarity scrutiny. As of 3 February 2016, the national parliaments submitted 3 reasoned opinions on the non-compliance of the scrutinised draft acts with the subsidiarity principle.

31 January - 2 February 2016, Warsaw, Meeting of the European Affairs Committees from parliaments of the Visegrád Group countries
- Common asylum and migration policy – to secure Europe's external borders
- United Kingdom European Union membership referendum
- EU funds for transport and energy infrastructure projects
- Adoption of the conclusions

24-25 January 2016, Vilnius, Meeting of the of the EU Affairs Committees of the parliaments of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland
- Exchange of views on the draft agenda of the meeting of COSAC chairpersons
- Exchange of views on the topical EU agenda questions: migration agenda of the EU, Brexit
- Exchange of views on the development of regional infrastructure projects

NEW ON THE OIDE WEBSITE

Following sections have been updated

OIDE Notes: Green and White Papers
Debates of the Sejm on EU affaires: 8th term
Resolutions of the Sejm on EU affaires: 8th term

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LATEST DEBATES - COMMENTS

Selected articles on the current political and economic issues in the EU from the specialist periodicals available on-line (accessed 03.02.2016)

• Biscop S.: Brexit and defence: where is the strategy?, EGMONT Royal Institute for International Relations, "Commentaries", 06.01.2016
• Bond I.: The Brexit equation: EU minus UK = ?, Centre for European Reform, "Bulletin article", 22.01.2016
• Borońska-Hryniewiecka K.: Holenderskie przewodnictwo w UE: między poszukiwaniem jedności a skutecznością polityczną, Polski Instytut Spraw Międzynarodowych, „Biuletyn PISM" 2016, nr 3
• Brattberg E.: TTIP is too important to fail, "Europe's World" 31.01.2016
• Cienski J., Palmeri T.: Tusk to EU leaders: Here's the deal, "Politico" 02.02.2016
• Debyser A.: European Commission's 2016 work programme, European Parliament, "Briefing", 15.01.2016
• Dimitriadi A.: The Janus face of Europe's migration policy, European Council on Foreign Affairs, "Commentary", 01.02.2016
• Elman P.: The EU-Turkey Deal on Refugees: How to Move Forward, Polski Instytut Spraw Międzynarodowych, "PISM Policy Papers" 2016, No. 3
• Gostyńska-Jakubowska A.: Poland: Europe's new enfant terrible?, Centre for European Reform, "Bulletin article", 22.01.2016
• Guild E.: Rethinking Migration Distribution in the EU: Shall we start with the facts?, Centre for European Policy Studies, "CEPS Essay" 2016, No. 23
• Jünemann A.: The tough migration questions Europe needs to answer, "Europe's World" 27.01.2016
• Lilyanova V: Kosowo: 'Pierwszy formalny krok' ku przystąpieniu do UE, Parlament Europejski, „W skrócie", 26.01.2016
• Lilyanova V.: 2015 r.: Serbia otwiera pierwsze rozdziały negocjacyjne, Parlament Europejski, „W skrócie", 26.01.2016
• Lilyanova V.: The Western Balkans: Frontline of the migrant crisis, European Parliament, "Briefing", 26.01.2016
• Łazowski A.: Is there a way out of the Polish pickle?, European Policy Institutes Network, "EPIN Commentary" 2016, No. 31
• Palmeri T.: The EU and David Cameron: We need to talk about Brexit, "Politico" 02.02.2016
• Piris J.-C.: If the UK votes to leave. The seven alternatives to EU membership, Centre for European Reform, "Policy brief", 12.01.2016
• Rahman M.: Europe's migrant crisis will present big market risks in 2016, "E!Sharp", January 2016
• Renman V., Russack S.: Balancing Priorities and Emergency Measures: Luxembourg's Council Presidency, European Policy Institutes Network, "EPIN Commentary" 2016, No. 30
• Sapir A., Wolff G.: One market, two monies: the European Union and the United Kingdom, "Bruegel Policy Brief" 2016, issue 1
• Seufert G.: Turkey as Partner of the EU in the Refugee Crisis, German Institute for International and Security Affairs, "SWP Comments" 2016, No. 1
• Stojić M.: EU enlargement to the Western Balkans: Out of sight, out of mind?, Europeum, "Policy paper", February 2016
• Szczepański M.: W kierunku aktu o jednolitym rynku cyfrowym, Parlament Europejski, „W skrócie", 11.01.2016
• Zerka P.: Na fali czy pod prąd? Wpływ TPP na TTIP i wnioski dla Polski, demosEUROPA, „Policy paper", 22.01.2016