European Parliament

Plenary sessions : The EU must do more to help farmers to earn a fair return from the food supply chain, introduce better tools for dealing with market disturbances and help farmers to find new outlets for produce shut out of the Russian market, MEPs say in two non-binding resolutions voted on Tuesday. Member states should help them join forces in producer organisations to boost their bargaining power, they add.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary sessions : Integrated ticketing for travel across EU borders using more than one mode of transport would increase the use of public transport, said MEPs on Tuesday. They call on EU countries to improve and connect timetables and on providers to develop multimodal cross-border "journey planners". If there is no progress by 2020 they will call for legislation.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary sessions : Three agencies managing migration flows into the EU and two EU funds for migration measures should get a €69.6 million budget boost for extra staff and other expenses for this year, after Parliament backed a European Commission proposal on Tuesday. Parliament has been calling for the bigger budgets in the wake of the April tragedies that cost the lives of around 1,200 migrants.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

General : Members of the agriculture, energy and international trade committees are visiting on 18 and 19 June the Milan Expo, the world exhibition whose motto is "feeding the planet, energy for life". The aim of the visit is to promote efforts to increase global food security, fight food waste and encourage healthy lifestyles.

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The Syrian conflict could be the largest humanitarian crisis since World War II, leaving millions homeless and hundreds of thousands desperately seeking to find safety in neighbouring countries and Europe. "We can and should do much more for all of those forced to run to save their lives and their freedom," said Portuguese GUE/NGL member Marisa Matias, chair of the EP’s delegation to Syria. Ahead of World Refugee Day on Saturday June 20, our infographic shows you the extent of the crisis.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary session and committee meetings, Brussels

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

General : EP President Martin Schulz discussed British plans to renegotiate EU membership during a meeting with UK Prime Minister David Cameron today. They also talked about the migration crisis in the Mediterranean and the ongoing talks on trade deals. Afterwards Schulz said: I came to London to listen and to learn and I think we had an excellent and open-minded exchange of views.”

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Lydia Foy is among the 47 winners of the European Citizen's Prize 2015 of the European Parliament. Since 2008, the prize has been awarded to citizens or organisations having contributed to promoting better mutual understanding and closer integration between citizens or to facilitating cross-border or transnational cooperation within the EU. The winner will receive a medal of honour at an award ceremony in Ireland and will be invited to a joint event with all 47 winners in Brussels in October.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

General : The European Youth Event (EYE) will return next year and you could be a part of it! #EYE2016 organisers are looking for enthusiastic young people and organisations that want to help shape the event's programme. Check out the Facebook page for the latest news, including all the information about the previous edition in 2014 and its follow-up phase.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

An informal deal to remove the technical obstacles that differing national standards and procedures place in the way of rail operators and rolling stock manufacturers was struck by MEPs and EU and the Latvian Presidency of the Council of Ministers on Wednesday. This deal, on the “technical pillar” of the 4th railway package should cut the time and cost involved in certifying that operators, locomotives and carriages meet safety and technical standards.
Committee on Transport and Tourism

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Data forms an integral part of international trade as they are used to improve services and products, however it remains important that people's personal data are not abused. The international trade and civil liberties committees held a hearing on 16 June to discuss how to reconcile the need for data protection with trade agreements that boost business in the EU, an issue that has gained in importance due to the upcoming reform of EU data protection rules.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

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A draft law to ban the cloning of all farm animals, their descendants and products derived from them, including imports, in the EU was voted by the Environment and Agriculture committees on Wednesday. MEPs beefed up the European Commission’s initial proposal, citing high mortality rates at all development stages of cloning and EU citizens’ animal welfare and ethical concerns.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development

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The question of how to resolve Europe's economic woes continues to divide the European Union. The economic committee approved on 16 June a report evaluating the EU's economic governance. French S&D MEP Pervenche Berès, who wrote the report, told us in an interview that there was a clear division between those who believe current rules are not working and those who say they not been correctly implemented.
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

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Binding waste-reduction targets, revamped ecodesign legislation and measures to break the link between growth and the use of natural resources are the chief demands set out in a resolution passed on Wednesday by environment MEPs,who call on the Commission to table new legislation by the end of 2015.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

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Parliament and the Council are set to embark on informal talks to come up with a compromise on a reform of data protection rules. Although MEPs already adopted their position in March 2014, member states have only agreed an approach now. We talked to German Greens/EFA MEP Jan Philipp Albrecht, who will be leading negotiations on behalf of Parliament, what the benefit of the new rules will be for consumers and companies and what issues still need to be resolved.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

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Should cloning for food be banned because of animal welfare concerns? The environment and agriculture committees vote today on amendments to a European Commission proposal to ban the cloning of farm animals in the EU. The MEPs in charge of steering the plans through Parliament support the ban, but want to add provisions on the offspring of cloned animals and the marketing of their products coming from countries outside the EU. Watch the vote live from 15.00 CET.
Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

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General : The specific problems of the Pacific region, such as climate change, fisheries, maritime security and regional integration, as well as the generation of fiscal revenues in ACP countries, were discussed by the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly at its 29th session, which closed on Wednesday in Suva (Fiji).

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

An informal deal on the wording of draft EU law on transmissible animal diseases, negotiated by MEPs, the Latvian Presidency of the Council of Ministers and the European Commission, was backed by the Agriculture Committee on Wednesday. The law will merge and update many scattered items of old legislation, so as to help prevent and halt new outbreaks of animal diseases such as avian flu or African swine fever and keep pace with scientific progress.
Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development

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Human Rights subcommittee MEPs debated today the human rights situation in Venezuela with representatives of the political opposition, human rights activists and spokespersons of victims groups.
Subcommittee on Human Rights

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