European Parliament

New measures to strengthen and boost funding for an EU scheme to provide fruit, vegetables and milk products in schools were backed by the agriculture committee on Monday. They put more emphasis on educating children in healthy eating, increase the budget and merge into one the current separate schemes for milk and fruit in schools.
Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development

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General : European Parliament President Martin Schulz was in Portugal on Friday 8 January, where he joined the event marking the 30th anniversary of the country's 1986 accession to the EU, then called the European Economic Community. “Thirty years later, we can honestly say that Portugal's EU membership has been an enormous success,” he said at the ceremony in Lisbon.

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General : Measures to tackle the migration and refugee crisis are to be discussed by the civil liberties committee on Thursday. MEPs also vote on the first EU-wide cybersecurity rules and on the protection of undisclosed business information against unlawful acquisition and use. MEPs are to discuss the programme of the new Council presidency with the relevant Dutch ministers while political groups prepare for next week's plenary session in Strasbourg.

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Political group and committee meetings, Brussels

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General : This month it has been 30 years since Spain and Portugal joined the EU. At the time the EU was still known as the European Economic Community and after the accession of Portugal and Spain consisted of 12 member states.

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General : The Netherlands will be at the helm of the Council of the EU for the first six months of this year. The country will focus on promoting economic growth and connecting with civil society. The priorities will be migration and international security; innovation and job creation; sound finances and a robust euro zone; a forward-looking climate and energy policy. We asked Dutch MEPs across the political spectrum about their expectations.

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General : Every year comes with new hopes and dreams and with renewed determination to pursue them. At the very end of 2015, we asked leading MEPs about their wishes for 2016. All of us at the European Parliament would like to join them in wishing you a happy and prosperous new year!

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Often photos can say more than words. In our slide show you will find this year's most important moments in the Parliament captured for you by our photographers.

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General : As 2016 is rapidly approaching, it is a good occasion to look back at this year's most memorable moments, from the refugees crisis to the terrorist attacks. The European Parliament also dealt with issues such as tax rulings, Greece and debated the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and the US. Watch our video to relive those moments.

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General : Launched in 2011, Snapchat is today the world's fastest growing social media network. It boasts more than 200 million user sending 8,796 photos every second. As one third of Snapchat users live in Europe, the European Parliament opened an account in May to give them the chance to find out more about European politics. Already more than 6,000 people follow the Parliament on Snapchat. Read on to find out more details.

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General : From all of us at the European Parliament, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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General : It’s time to put your knowledge of European languages to the test. Do you know how to say chocolate or reindeer in Finnish? Or gift in Portuguese? Test, learn and play.

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The social, economic and legal aspects of transport networking companies like Uber were at the centre of a debate in the Transport and Tourism Committee on Monday. MEPs heard the views of Uber head of policy for Europe, Middle East and Africa, representatives of the European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF) and International Road Union (IRU) and European Commission.
Committee on Transport and Tourism

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Committees and holiday recess

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General : "It is easy to blame Europe or Schengen for security failures in our Member States, and wave the illusion that retreating behind national borders somehow immunises against - often home-grown - terrorists", said the EP President Schulz in his opening speech before the European Council of 17-18 December dedicated to pressing issues, such as migration, counter terrorism and the British referendum. "If we want to preserve our freedom of movement, then we must act fast and decisively."

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Plenary sessions : Ensaf Haidar accepted the 2015 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought on Wednesday on behalf of her husband Raif Badawi, a Saudi human rights activist who remains in prison. A day earlier, Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem attended plenary for the first time to discuss the euro, while the European Commission presented its plan for reinforcing the EU's external borders.

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New rules on data transfers for policing and judicial purposes, informally agreed on Tuesday and backed by Civil Liberties Committee MEPs on Thursday morning, will set high standards of data protection to protect citizens' rights and freedoms. They should also enable police forces across Europe to work together faster and more efficiently to counter serious crime and terrorism.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

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Plenary sessions : The Virunga National Park, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has become one of the most dangerous places in the world when it comes to wildlife conservation, said Parliament in a resolution adopted on Thursday. MEPs called for measures to protect this UNESCO World Heritage Site which is also home to the endangered mountain gorilla species.

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Plenary sessions : Member states must apply the EU's eight-point code on arms exports more rigorously, particularly with the changed security environment in the EU's neighbourhood, the EP said on Thursday. It stressed that these trade flows are not in the EU's direct security interests and national political and economic considerations must not override decision-making on export licences.

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Plenary sessions : A ban on the patenting of products obtained by conventional breeding techniques, such as crossing, is essential to sustain innovation, food security and small businesses, says a non-legislative resolution voted by Parliament on Thursday. MEPs, surprised by the European Patent Office decision to allow patents on such products, call on the EU Commission to clarify existing EU rules as a matter of urgency and protect plant breeders’ access to biological material.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP