European Parliament (News)

General : It would take another 70 years for women to earn the same as men with the current pace of progress, according to the European Commission. Europe might be one of the world's leaders when it comes to gender equality, but in the EU women still get on average lower salaries and pensions and continue to be underrepresented in political and economic positions of power and decision-making. A report adopted by the women's rights committee today urges the EU to step up its efforts.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

General : Some 200 million women and girls have suffered a form of genital mutilation. It consists of cutting off genitalia and is mostly carried out on young girls up to 15 years old. On the occasion of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation on 6 February we spoke to women's right committee member Malin Björk, a Swedish MEP from the GUE/NGL group, about what should be done to end the practice.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

General : The internal market committee votes this week on new rules to improve the quality and independence of safety and environmental tests for new cars. The economic committee discusses the latest economic and monetary developments, while the civil liberties committee debates whether to extend temporary internal border checks in some European countries with representatives from the European Commission.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

General : To create a better Europe, the EU is focusing this year on legislative proposals that can make a difference to everyone. The main issues to tackle include security, the migration crisis, climate change and the digital single market. Find out more about the EU's six priorities for 2017 and what Parliament is doing to make them possible.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

General : European Parliament President Antonio Tajani visited Malta on the eve of the Informal European Council to be held in Valletta on 3 February. Tajani met representatives of Maltese civil society, student organisations, unions, business organisations and NGOs at Europe House in Valletta for an informal exchange of views on the challenges facing Europe today.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

General : What does it mean to be a European? It’s not just the great leaders: all people are a part of this history and they have a valuable role to play in preserving this common heritage and identity of ours. So dig through your photos, your videos or even sound files, find digital content you feel is appropriate to share with everyone and upload it to My House of European History, our collaborative platform that aims to become a virtual library of testimonials and stories from people across Europe.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : Georgian citizens will be able to enter the EU without a visa for short stays, under a new law passed by Parliament on Thursday.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : To protect adopted children’s best interests, MEPs have urged the EU Commission to require all EU countries to recognise each other’s adoption certificates automatically. Their resolution, voted on Thursday, proposes a European Certificate of Adoption to speed up the automatic recognition process.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : The results of 2016 Gabon’s presidential election are "non-transparent and highly doubtful", say MEPs in a resolution, voted on Thursday, on the rule of law crises in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in Gabon. They also call on the Congolese authorities to hold credible elections before the end of 2017.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : Rules to protect EU banana growers against any surge in imports from Ecuador after its accession to the EU-Colombia/Peru trade deal were approved by MEPs on Thursday.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : The need to stabilise the internal situation in Libya and to preserve the EU values, including human rights, were the recurring points raised by MEPs in a Wednesday afternoon debate with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini on growing migratory pressure in the central Mediterranean.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : “Accelerating the modernisation of Europe’s entire economy, making it low carbon and efficient in energy and resources” are key aims of Energy Union legislation, said Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič in Wednesday’s plenary debate.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : Political group leaders reacted on Wednesday to President Donald Trump’s recent signing of an executive order banning nationals of seven countries from entering US territory. Most MEPs described the travel restrictions as arbitrary and defying the core values of western democracies, such as freedom, non-discrimination and solidarity.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : President Tajani announced that a statement by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini on “travel restrictions following US President executive orders” would be added as the first item on Wednesday, followed by a debate. A debate on migration along the Central Mediterranean route was added on Wednesday and a debate on democracy and justice in Romania was added as the first item on Thursday.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : Ahead of the informal European Council meeting of 3 February, MEPs will debate the current growing migratory pressure in the central Mediterranean with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini on Wednesday afternoon at around 17.00, following the addition of this item to the plenary agenda.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Parliament and Council negotiators agreed on wholesale price caps on Tuesday evening. Caps are significantly lower than those proposed by the Commission. Wholesale price caps define how much telecoms operators can charge each other for using their networks to carry cross-border “roaming” calls.
Committee on Industry, Research and Energy

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : Parliament’s political group leaders will react to the executive order signed last Friday by US President Donald Trump to ban the nationals of seven countries from entering the US, with immediate effect. They will first hear a statement by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini on the consequences of these travel restrictions.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

General : Euroscola - 09/02/2017 (AM)

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As the geopolitical importance of the Arctic region is growing, with climate change effects and competition for natural resources bringing new environmental and security risks for the region and for the world, the EU should speak with one voice and push to keep the Arctic an area of cooperation, says a resolution adopted by the Foreign Affairs and Environment committees on Tuesday.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

The US administration’s ban on citizens from seven Muslim-majority states entering the country could "seriously undermine current global efforts towards a fair international sharing of responsibilities for refugees", said Development and Foreign Affairs MEPs in a joint resolution voted on Tuesday.
Committee on Development
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on Human Rights

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP