EPP
EPP group president Manfred Weber began by commenting on the ongoing Hellenic debt crisis, saying, "the Greek government has recently provoked its partners in the EU once again and announced it would be sending mass flows of refugees to Europe. This breaks the common consensus we need for partnership and questions European solidarity".
The German MEP also attacked Greece for so far failing to "come up with specific reform proposals - this is not acceptable. We cannot endlessly have these delays - Greece must come up with clear measures once and for all".
"We cannot endlessly have these delays - Greece must come up with clear measures once and for all" - Manfred Weber
On a brighter note, he added, "the economic situation in Europe is encouraging and the eurozone reform seems to be working in a positive way. We want to continue this reform agenda, particularly with the help of Juncker's investment plan. Unfortunately, some countries, such as France, have not really tackled the reform policies properly".
Moving on to the situation in Russia and Ukraine, he explained, "reforms have not yet been implemented as they should and the peace process is not working as it should, although there have been some encouraging signals. However, Nemtsov's murder raises a lot of difficult questions and this is not a good thing in the context of what we are working towards".
He also pointed out that "the EPP group has asked for a debate on Libya, because we are very concerned about the new successes obtained by the Islamic state - this is a topic which we must tackle urgently".
S&D
The focus of the S&D group in the coming week will be Libya, Nigeria, Greece and a meeting to be held with commission president Jean-Claude Juncker. On Libya, the S&D group president Gianni Pittella warned that "the collapse of Libya could have wider implications throughout the entire region". He noted that over 1.5 million migrants have now left the country.
He added that the efforts of the UN and EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini are essential and the S&D group want to hold a conference bringing together all the relevant regional actors.
"Good will can win the day and a positive result can be achieved [in Greek debt negotiations]" - Gianna Pittella
Pittella outlined his support for efforts by the Italian government to assess the destination of migrants in an effort "to prevent people smuggling". He stressed the need to reduce "massive migratory flows" and called for "reception centres" to be set up in the southern Mediterranean region for those that do leave the north African state.
The S&D president also referred to the ongoing unrest in Nigeria, where he said, "Boko Haram are using the same tactics as ISIS" and called for Nigeria, the African Union and the EU "to square up to the threat".
Pittella expressed optimism in relation to efforts to overcome the Greek debt crisis. He said, "Good will can win the day and a positive result can be achieved." He said that all parties need to "get away from prejudice". He also called on Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras and his ministers to "avoid ridiculous statements". The S&D group president cited the example of the Greek defence minister Panos Kammenos, who said, "If Europe leaves us in the crisis, we will flood it with migrants, and it will be even worse for Berlin if in that wave of millions of economic migrants there are some jihadists from Islamic state."
Finally, ahead of a meeting with commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, Pittella called for support for the EU investment plan but emphasised that "it should go further". He added that there needed to be a particular emphasis on environmental and social projects, in particular the maternity leave directive and "the EU should be at the forefront on decarbonising our economy".
ECR
ECR group chair Syed Kamall focused his comments on the "ongoing situation in Russia" and the European semester, beginning by voicing his concerns over violence in eastern Ukraine. "We are more than two weeks into the ceasefire and, although the situation seems to have calmed down, we cannot say it is properly in place," he warned.
Kamall stressed that there was "no desire from Moscow to change its attitude", saying, "we need to take action by training the Ukrainian army or by strengthening sanctions". The UK MEP said he had met with Ukrainian representatives who had asked for "sanction strengthening, technical assistance and weapon training if possible".
"We do not need an EU with general Juncker at it head and I won't be marching behind him - this is a federalist fantasy" - Syed Kamall
Pointing to comments from the commission president over the weekend, Kamall said, "We do not need an EU with general Juncker at it head and I won't be marching behind him - this is a federalist fantasy." He also warned that larger member states would not want to assume the "heavy lifting" heavy lifting will not want, underlining his belief that, "Where the EU can really play a role is through coordination and soft power." "At the summit we can make a contribution to revitalising the European neighbourhood policy in this way."
Switching to economics, Kamall said his group supported some of the basic principles of the European semester, including "boosting investment and growth friendly fiscal measures", but added that "it is increasingly clear that some of these objectives are unrealistic in the current environment". He also the criticised the round of quantitative easing that has just begun in the eurozone, saying that, "the eurozone doesn't need cheap money" and that European central bank president Mario Draghi was "storing problems up for the future".
"If you debase currency your currency it leads to inflation in stock, asset and housing markets, creating a bigger gap between those who have and those who do not. We must be honest with taxpayers - if you want to keep the euro together in its current form be honest about the need for fiscal transfers from more competitive states to poorer nations, probably forever".
ALDE
ALDE group president Guy Verhofstadt said, "I want to simply make clear that for us it is very difficult to believe in an independent investigation inside Russia, and we are asking for an international independent investigation".
In the Belgian MEP's view, Russia's conclusions on the case cannot be trusted, as "within two hours' time they went from blaming the CIA, to Ukraine, to the opposition. In any case, what is clear is that Nemtsov was the victim of a climate of hate that exists inside Russia today which was established three years ago. This climate targets neighbours, minorities and anyone who has an opinion that does not match the Kremlin's".
Verhofstadt said, "we are asking the EU, and particularly [European council president] Donald Tusk and [EU foreign affairs chief] Federica Mogherini to follow a proactive policy towards Russia, not always reacting with sanctions after [Russian president] Vladimir Putin makes a move, but to clearly indicate to the Kremlin what the consequences will be if Putin violates the Minsk agreement or any other international agreement".
Moreover, he called on EU officials "to prepare a positive package for the people living in Russia, for example by facilitating the issuing of visas for young people, researchers, owners of small and medium sized companies, so that everyone can see that the problem that Europe has with Russia is not with its people, it is with Putin and the way he is governing Russia".
The Liberal deputy then gave the floor to Russian opposition leader Mikhail Kasyanov who is co-chair of the republican party of Russia - Russian people's party, of which Nemtsov was also co-chair. He said, "the murder of Boris Nemtsov was absolutely politically motivated and even two weeks ago, it was inconceivable that something like this could happen in Russia, in central Moscow and in the 21st century. It is beyond imagination to believe that one of the brightest leaders of the opposition was killed so close to the Kremlin - this was a demonstrative murder".
"I want to simply make clear that for us it is very difficult to believe in an independent investigation inside Russia, and we are asking for an international independent investigation" - Guy Verhofstadt
Kasyanov rejected investigators' claims that Chechen activists had committed the murder and that Nemtsov was killed over anti-Muslim statements. He explained, "I have known Boris for more than 20 years and he has never made such statements. We as Liberals are tolerant of every religion, and he fought for this tolerance. In the 90s, he was against [Russian president] Boris Yeltsin's decision to start a war in Chechnya and started a petition which gathered thousands of signatures. This version cannot gain any public support among those who are brave enough to have an independent vision of what is going on in Russia".
He warned, "everyone could and should be scared - anyone could be a victim of murder".
The Russian activist also commented that, "the EU should defend its values and not treat Russia as a special or strange country – it is a member of the OECD and the council of Europe, meaning it has obligations, and Europe should demand that Russia respect these obligations".
Verhofstadt announced that Kasyanov would be meeting with commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and Mogherini, as well as with parliamentary group leaders.
GUE/NGL
GUE/NGL group chair Gabi Zimmer began her briefing by pointing to the importance of the energy union and security, calling it vital in the context of discussions over the future of the European neighbourhood policy in the upcoming EU summit.
The German deputy also said that "fracking is a crucial issue", adding that the European commission has brought this into discussions "under the guise of energy security". She urged the commission to "iron out if fracking is going to be part of this or not", as this is "not a topic that is sorted out".
Zimmer also underlined the high levels of energy imported into the union, adding that if Europe wants to achieve its aim of being "number one in renewables" then current proposals on maintaining energy security are "not over-ambitious".
"Instead of applying pressure and bringing the Greeks to breaking point we must work with them to find a solution" - Gabi Zimmer
"The current approach is not tackling the problem," she said, stressing the need for "investment in green jobs and in climate protection". She also said that her group was committed to challenging the "idea that energy is looked at as a market product and automatically leads to energy access for individuals".
"This idea is being challenged despite general access to energy playing almost no role in negotiations. [Politicians] are always looking at supply for business and not for people. There must be democratic control of energy."
Zimmer then turned her attention to the situation in Greece, which she said the GUE/NGL group were "monitoring very closely". "The Tspiras government should not be given any more time to redraft its programme," she said, stressing that Athens must "end the monetary crisis and reorganise its entire state apparatus".
However, she underlined that "instead of applying pressure and bringing the Greeks to breaking point we must work with them to find a solution", adding that the "troika is aware of the need to help shoulder the burden".
Greens/EFA
Philippe Lamberts and Rebecca Harms, co-chairs of parliament's Greens/EFA group focused on the new tax rulings and other measures similar in nature or effect committee (TAXE), and the murder of Boris Nemtsov in Moscow.
"I am extremely sceptical about the account of this murder outside the Kremlin" - Rebecca Harms
Lamberts suggested that there was "foot dragging" on the part of parliament's other groups in getting the "reluctantly established" TAXE committee set up.
The Greens/EFA group co-chair noted that the special committee was adopted a month ago for six months and expressed "concern about the political will to take action" on the matter of tackling "the scourge of tax evasion".
Harms focused on the murder of outspoken critic of the Russian regime Boris Nemtsov. She said, "I am extremely sceptical about the account of this murder outside the Kremlin." The German deputy highlighted that the murder occurred "in an area where you can't even take out a camera if you visit". Harms said she had seen no actions taken that could lead to the relaxation of sanctions against Russia.