European Parliament (News)

Plenary sessions : MEPs elected Antonio Tajani as Parliament president on 17 January and on 18 January voted for who they wanted as vice-presidents and quaestors for the second half of the parliamentary term. Check out our infographic to find out who was chosen for Parliament's key posts.

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Plenary sessions : EU and national authorities should provide emergency aid to help migrants and refugees to cope with freezing temperatures and snow in several parts of Europe, MEPs urged on Wednesday. They also called on EU governments to keep their promises to transfer thousands of asylum-seekers, particularly from Greece, to other countries.

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Plenary sessions : Brexit, EU relations with the US and Russia, migration, economic and social progress, and the defence union were the key political challenges for 2017 debated by MEPs, Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen and Council President Donald Tusk on Wednesday. Mr Tusk briefed MEPs on the outcome of the December 2016 meeting of EU heads of state or government.

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Plenary sessions : Following the election of the President, MEPs elected 14 Vice-Presidents in two ballots on Wednesday. To be elected, candidates needed to win an absolute majority of valid votes cast. The new Vice-Presidents come from six different political groups. Members also elected five Quaestors, by acclamation.

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Plenary sessions : MEPs discussed the priorities of the Maltese Council Presidency with Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday.

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Plenary sessions : MEPs will assess political challenges in 2017 with Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen and Council President Donald Tusk in a debate, on Wednesday at 15.00, on the outcome of the European Council meeting of 15 December 2016.

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Plenary sessions : MEPs will debate the priorities of the incoming Maltese Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in a plenary debate chaired by Parliament’s new President Antonio Tajani.

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Plenary sessions : Antonio Tajani (EPP, IT) won Parliament’s presidential election with 351 votes in a final face-off with Gianni Pittella (S&D, IT), who secured 282 votes.

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Plenary sessions : MEPs elect on Tuesday 17 January Parliament's new president to replace Martin Schulz who is stepping down after five years. Seven candidates have put themselves forward for the post so far ahead of the first ballot on Tuesday morning. In case the president is not elected during the first ballot, nominations can still be added or withdrawn before each subsequent round of voting. Follow the candidates' speeches and the votes live on our website and on social media.

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The European Parliament will elect a new President, for the second half of this legislature, on 17 January. Outgoing President Martin Schulz will preside over the election of his successor, who will in turn oversee the election of the 14 Vice-Presidents and the five Quaestors, on 18 January.

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Plenary sessions : President Schulz called a minute’s silence for the late Portuguese statesman Mário Soares, who died on 7 January. Mr Soares fought oppression and dictatorship to bring about Portugal’s transition to democracy and accession to the European Community. It is our duty to honour and defend his political legacy, said Mr Schulz.

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Plenary sessions : Parliament will kick off the second half of its five-year term with the election of a new president, 14 vice-presidents and five quaestors during next week's plenary session. On 17 January MEPs will elect a successor to current president Martin Schulz, who is stepping down and will then go on to decide on who will be vice-presidents and quaestors. Read one to find out more about what they do, who is eligible to stand and how they are elected and follow the votes live on our website.

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General : EU border force Frontex, estimates that the number of people landing on Europe's shores fell by two-thirds in 2016. A drop in arrivals on Greece’s islands contrasts however with record numbers of migrants reaching Italy. With over 5,000 people killed or missing, the UN reports that 2016 was the deadliest year ever for migrants crossing the Mediterranean. In meetings with Commission, Council and UNHCR representatives on 12 January, civil liberties committee MEPs shared their views on the crisis.

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The priorities of the Maltese Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers are being outlined to parliamentary committees by Maltese ministers at a series of meetings taking place in January.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
Committee on Legal Affairs

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Following an exchange of views with the members of the Committees on Budgets, Budgetary Control and Legal Affairs, a majority of the committees’ coordinators were satisfied that Commissioner Günther Oettinger is in a position to assume the portfolio that is transferred to him and look forward to a close working relationship.
Committee on Legal Affairs
Committee on Budgets
Committee on Budgetary Control

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General : From drones to medical equipment, robots are increasingly becoming a part of our everyday life. But although some 1.7 million robots already exist worldwide, their use is still not properly regulated. A report being voted on today by the legal affairs committee calls on the European Commission to produce a legislative proposal to deal with issues such as who should be liable if someone gets hurt due to robots. We talked to report author Mady Delvaux, a Luxembourg member of the S&D group.

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EU rules for the fast-evolving field of robotics, to settle issues such as compliance with ethical standards and liability for accidents involving driverless cars, should be put forward by the EU Commission, urged the Legal Affairs Committee on Thursday.
Committee on Legal Affairs

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The European Parliament will elect a new President, for the second half of this legislature, on 17 January. Outgoing President Martin Schulz will preside over the election of his successor, who will in turn oversee the election of the 14 Vice-Presidents and the five Quaestors, on 18 January.

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Progress in transferring asylum seekers from Greece and Italy to other EU countries under an intra-EU deal and from third countries to EU territory will be assessed by Civil Liberties Committee MEPs on Thursday. They will also discuss the results of the March 2016 deal with Turkey to improve the management of migration and refugee flows.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

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General : The EU should in the future have more possibilities to finance itself directly instead of being mostly funded by member states, according to a report to be presented to Parliament on Thursday 12 January. Such a system of own resources was already in place for decades in the past and should be readopted. Report co-author Alain Lamassoure spoke to us ahead of the presentation, pointing out that the proposals would not result in a power shift from national governments to Brussels.

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