European Parliament under pressure as it opens 2016 session

The European Parliament opened Monday in Strasbourg in what stands to be a tense plenary session as growing divisions between member states of the European Union (EU) have been aggravated by the ongoing refugee crisis and anti-terrorism measures that have threatened the integrity of the Schengen Zone.

President of the European Council Donald Tusk and President of the European Commission Claude Juncker will debate with the plenary assembly on Tuesday afternoon regarding the conclusions of the European summit held Dec. 17-18 of last year. In the summit's concluding text, in place of an official agreement, European leaders restated what should be implemented in order to save the free circulation of the Schengen Zone and to find a response appropriate to the arrival of more then 800,000 people on the Old Continent in 2015.

The relocation of refugees into different EU countries is at a standstill, registration and "sorting" centers for migrants referred to as "hot spots" are not operational, and no decisions on the creation of a European border guard organization have been made. As these questions are held in limbo, several member states such as Denmark and Sweden have reintroduced checkpoints along their borders.

Meanwhile, though Slovakia, Hungary and Poland refuse the arrival of Muslim refugees on their soil, Germany is under pressure from public opinion and is struggling to follow its policy of welcoming refugees following the shock of events which took place in Cologne on New Year's Eve where migrants have been accused of sexual violence against women.

Another theme which will be at the heart of January's plenary session will be the fight against terrorism. At the opening of the session on Monday, President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz condemned the terrorist attacks perpetrated in Istanbul and Ouagodougou on the 12th and 15th of January, and demanded increased cooperation at the European level in the combat against terrorism.

But it is rather the decision made by France, following Nov. 13's terrorist attacks in Paris, to invoke the mutual defense clause of the European Union treaty in order to request aid from member states in its "war" against the Islamic State which has raised the biggest questions. Members of European Parliament (MEPs) will debate the implications of this decision on the functioning of the EU Wednesday afternoon, in the presence of foreign policy High Representative Federica Mogherini, before voting on a resolution Thursday. EU member states have unanimously promised to give aid and support to France, but are still in the process of definition regarding the form of their commitments.

Another hot subject will center on Poland, where the new conservative government launched controversial reforms concerning the Constitutional Court, as well as the media, which led Brussels to open legal proceedings against Warsaw last week "to save the rule of law." Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo is expected Tuesday afternoon in Strasbourg to debate these concerns, even if Warsaw has already claimed that it was out of the question to "give in to any pressure." The Polish government has imposed five new judges on the Constitutional Court and has given the Ministry of the Treasury the power to nominate the heads of public television and radio broadcasters.

The results of international climate negotiations in Paris will also be examined during this session in a debate Wednesday afternoon with French Minister of Foreign Affairs Laurent Fabius, who presided over the conference.

A follow-up on the Volkswagen affair is also on the program for the Parliament which, during a Thursday vote, will name the 45 members of the temporary investigating committee put in place last December. This special committee is charged with investigating the violations of EU regulations regarding emissions tests for motor vehicles and presumed negligence regarding the application of EU rules. The case will take on increasing importance as automakers Renault, Ford and Mercedes have since also been accused of negligence in emissions testing. Enditem