European Parliament

Plenary sessions : Providers of workplace pension schemes wanting to move their operations across national borders will now have to get the approval of a majority of their members, as well as the backing of regulators in both the host and recipient country, under new rules approved by MEPs on Thursday.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : The European Parliament strongly condemns the violence committed against the Guarani-Kaiowá people in the Mato Grosso do Sul region of Brazil, the disappearance of publisher Mr Minhai Gui in China and the detention and torture of Mr Ildar Dadin in Russia, in three resolutions voted on Thursday.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

The EU-US data protection framework, known as the “Umbrella Agreement” was backed by a large majority in the Civil Liberties Committee on Thursday morning. The deal will ensure high, binding data protection standards for data exchanged by police and law enforcement authorities across the Atlantic.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Diplomacy, development and defence should be the pillars of EU foreign policy, say Foreign Affairs Committee MEPs in a resolution voted on Thursday. They call on member states to show more unity and trust, and to speak with one voice, so as to make the EU a global player. MEPs also advocate a more realistic strategy on Russia and a “less for less” policy towards countries that try to throw democracy into reverse.
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : Toni Erdmann won this year’s Lux Film Prize for its original way of depicting a father desperately trying to become closer to his daughter while at the same time portraying the cut-throat realities of major international corporations. “Films like Toni Erdmann only exist thanks to national and European subsidies because they give you a certain freedom,” said director Maren Ade after receiving the prize in Parliament today.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : Progress in deciding how the Paris climate agreement is to be applied by its 197 signatory countries and the “Marrakesh Action Proclamation”, approved last week at the UN climate change conference (COP22) in Morocco, was debated on Wednesday morning with EU climate action and energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete and with Slovak State Secretary Ivan Korčok, representing the Council Presidency.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : Fraud involving VAT on goods exported to other member states costs EU tax payers an estimated €50 billion a year. The European Commission has come up with an action plan to clamp down on VAT fraud and update current VAT rules that have been left unchanged since 1993. MEPs debate the action plan on Wednesday 23 November and vote on it the following day. Read on to find out more about Parliament's position and watch our video for an explanation of how VAT fraud works.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : The German-Austrian-Romanian co-production “Toni Erdmann” has won the 2016 European Parliament LUX Prize, President Martin Schulz announced at a ceremony in the Chamber in Strasbourg on Wednesday. The film explores a complex relationship between a father and daughter in contemporary corporate culture.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : The EU authorisation for Bentazone herbicide, which expires on 30 June 2017, should not be renewed as its safety has yet to be confirmed, says a non-binding resolution voted on Wednesday. MEPs point out that Bentazone can easily leak directly into groundwater and is suspected of interfering with human reproduction.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : Propaganda pressure on the EU from Russia and Islamist terrorist groups is growing, MEPs warn in a resolution voted on Wednesday. It seeks to distort the truth, incite fear, provoke doubt and divide the EU. To counteract anti-EU campaigns, MEPs suggest reinforcing the EU’s tiny “strategic communication” task force and investing more in awareness raising, education, online and local media, investigative journalism and information literacy.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : Terrorism, hybrid threats and cyber- and energy insecurity leave EU countries no choice but to step up their security and defence cooperation efforts, thus paving the way to a European Defence Union, say MEPs in a resolution passed on Tuesday. They suggest devoting 2% of GDP to defence, establishing multinational forces and EU headquarters to plan and command crisis management operations, and enabling the EU to act where NATO is unwilling to do so.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : Plans for more ambitious national caps on emissions of key pollutants by 2030, including NOx, particulates and sulphur dioxide, won the support of MEPs on Wednesday. They had already been informally agreed with the Dutch Presidency of the Council. Air pollution causes about 400,000 premature deaths in the EU per year.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : Parliament rejected a request by 89 MEPs to refer the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on Wednesday.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : The calendar of European Parliament part-sessions for 2018, as tabled by its EP Conference of Presidents, was approved by MEPs on Wednesday.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : Close to half a million Europeans die every year from diseases linked to the millions of tons of gases and particulates human activity releases into the atmosphere. These range from sulphur dioxide that contributes to the acid rain that damages buildings and kills plants, to tiny particulate matter that can cause respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. On Wednesday 23 November, MEPs vote to set tougher emission limits for key air pollutants. Learn more about where they come from in our chart.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Committee on Foreign Affairs - meeting 24/11/2016 (AM)
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : World leaders gathered at the COP22 climate talks in Marrakesh for the last two weeks to negotiate how to implement the priorities of the Paris agreement. Today nearly 200 countries have backed a proclamation declaring implementing them an "urgent duty". The European Parliament was present at the conference with a delegation composed of 12 MEPs. We asked delegation head Giovanni La Via, an Italian member of the EPP group, about the next steps and the Parliament’s role.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary session and committee meetings in Strasbourg

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP