The EP hearings of Mairead McGuinness - Commissioner-designate in charge of financial services, financial stability and the Capital Markets Union - and Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis - set to assume responsibility for the trade portfolio - are scheduled to take place on 2 October.

In a resolution, adopted overwhelmingly on Thursday, MEPs called for dedicated EU funding to help rebuild the European cultural sector severely hit by the coronacrisis and the lockdowns posed throughout Europe for curbing the spread of the virus.

Lawmakers adopted its position on the new Just Transition Fund (JTF), and are ready to start negotiations with the Council. The fund is part of the European Green Deal and will help regions relying on fossil fuels and carbon-intensive industries adapt to the green economy.

Speeding up the voting schedule, MEPs backed on Wednesday a legislative opinion on the Own Resources Decision and asked the Council to swiftly adopt it as to trigger the process leading to the ratification by national parliaments. Thus, it will allow the Commission to raise €750bn on the markets for the recovery fund.

The pandemic - and the uncertainty that goes with it - is not over and the recovery is still in its early stage, said EC President Ursula von der Leyen in her first State of the Union speech, delivered to the European Parliament on Wednesday morning. This is the moment for Europe to lead the way from the current fragility towards a new vitality, she asserted.

The EP Committee on Legal Affairs adopted on Thursday its opinion on the report on the establishment of the EU Mechanism for Democracy, the Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights, led by the EP Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.

France's Europe Minister Clement Beaune and Strasbourg's mayor Jeanne Barseghian on Wednesday expressed regret for the cancelling of next European Parliament's session in the French city over fears for coronavirus spike. In a joint statement French officials call for a "swift return to plenary sessions in Strasbourg".

Members of the Committee on Budgets discussed future EU financing in Tuesday's meeting with the MFF/Own Resources negotiating team reporting back from the first trilateral talks with the Council. They have also endorsed their legislative opinion on the Own Resources Decision as to ensure the rapid implementation of the EU Recovery Plan.

During the extraordinary plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels on Thursday on the conclusions of the special EU summit Charles Michel, President of the European Council said that it is his conviction that the deal hammered on 21 July is pivotal moment in European history.

On Thursday morning, MEPs will debate on the special EU summit results with Council and Commission. On the same day, lawmakers will adopt a resolution on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), an Own Resources system and a Recovery Plan for Europe.