At Parliament’s first session of 2019, MEPs review the plans of Romania’s presidency of the Council, discuss Brexit developments and look at the impact of autonomous cars.

On Tuesday afternoon, Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă discusses the priorities for her country’s Council presidency with MEPs. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz also presents the achievements of his country’s presidency in the latter half of 2018.

One day after the House of Commons meaningful vote, members discuss on Wednesday the state of play regarding the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

Driverless vehicles will be on the EU market from 2020. On Tuesday, Parliament votes on an own-initiative report on autonomous driving. Members will likely stress that further efforts are needed to ensure sufficient funding to support the sector and that there are appropriate safety and liability rules.

Parliament holds a ceremony on Tuesday to mark 20 years of the euro, while the following day MEPs vote on proposals to boost trust in the EU approval procedure for pesticides.

Members also vote on Thursday on establishing rules that would restrict access to EU funding for member states found to be lacking on rule of law issues such as independence of the judiciary or fighting fraud and corruption.

In the 15th of a series of debates on the future of Europe, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez discusses the Union’s future direction with MEPs on Wednesday.

© European Parliament, 2019