European Parliament (News)

General : Following last week’s plenary session in Strasbourg, members are back in Brussels where committees are meeting before Parliament goes on a short recess for Easter. Among the issues on this week’s agenda are the latest developments in Syria and how to combat food waste. Members of the civil liberties committee discuss new proposals for the EU’s migrant return policy, while the human rights and women’s rights committees hold a joint hearing on child marriages.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : MEPs overwhelmingly approved a resolution setting out Parliament's priorities for the negotiations concerning the UK's withdrawal from the EU during this week's plenary session in Strasbourg. In addition MEPs urged European authorities to establish new checks to prevent car emissions fraud and also approved stricter rules to ensure the safety of medical devices as well as plans to enable more flexibility regarding the EU's long-term budget.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : The European Commission and most EU countries failed to prevent car manufacturers from cheating emissions test, according to the final report by Parliament's inquiry committee investigating the car emissions scandal. It was set up in December 2015, a few months after Volkswagen admitted to falsifying test results in their diesel cars. In the report adopted on 4 April, MEPs propose a set of measures to prevent dishonest practices by car manufacturers in the future.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : New rules allowing the US National Security Agency (NSA) to share private data with other US agencies without court oversight, recent revelations about surveillance activities by a US electronic communications service provider and vacancies on US oversight bodies are among the concerns raised by MEPs in a resolution passed on Thursday.

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Plenary sessions : Ukrainian citizens will be exempted from EU short-stay visa requirements, after Parliament endorsed an informal deal with the Council on Thursday.

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Plenary sessions : The new EU Solidarity Corps (ECS) initiative, which aims to create 100,000 volunteering and job placement opportunities for young people, needs proper legislation and funding, say MEPS in a resolution passed on Thursday. Its funding should under no circumstances be at the expense of the Erasmus+ or other EU programmes, they add.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : MEPs removed the last hurdle on the way to full abolition of retail “roaming” surcharges in a vote on Thursday.

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Plenary sessions : The European Parliament urges the Russian authorities to release opposition politician Alexei Navalny and other detained demonstrators, condemns the crackdown on peaceful protestors and arrests of human rights defenders and journalists in Belarus, and calls on the government of Bangladesh to close loopholes in new legislation that provide legal authorisation for child marriage, in three resolutions voted on Thursday.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : An overwhelming majority of the house (516 votes in favour, 133 against, with 50 abstentions) adopted a resolution officially laying down the European Parliament’s key principles and conditions for its approval of the UK's withdrawal agreement. Any such agreement at the end of UK-EU negotiations will need to win the approval of the European Parliament.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : MEPs worry about the proliferation of hate speech and fake news, particularly in social media, they said in a debate on Wednesday. But they disagreed on how best to respond. Ideas aired included removing false and defamatory content, imposing fines to non-cooperative companies and fostering media literacy.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : A visa-free regime for Ukrainians travelling to the EU is just the latest step in the European Parliament’s continued support of Ukraine. The Parliament has consistently shown solidarity by condemning Russia’s military involvement and illegal annexation of Crimea and promoting political and economic reforms.

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Plenary sessions : Multilateral measures are urgently needed to manage the unprecedented numbers of migrants on the move worldwide, and not least to halt migrant deaths in the Mediterranean, MEPs urge in a resolution voted on Wednesday.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : New rules to make money market funds (MMFs) more resistant to crises and market turbulence were approved on Wednesday. MFFs supply easily accessible liquid assets to business start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), but can be vulnerable to panic runs on their money.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : MEPs oppose EU Commission plans to authorise imports of food and feed products derived from or containing a herbicide and pest-resistant genetically modified (GM) maize in a resolution voted on Wednesday. It highlights the lack of data on the many sub-combinations of the variety - all of which would also be authorised - and reiterates Parliament’s call for a reform of the EU’s GMO authorisation procedure.

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Plenary sessions : Plans to make it easier to move money around within the EU’s long-run budget, to help tackle urgent challenges such as the migration crisis, strengthening security, boosting growth and creating jobs, were backed by Parliament on Wednesday. MEPs have long fought for greater flexibility within the Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF), which would apply for the remainder of the 2014-2020 MFF.

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Plenary sessions : MEPs have approved €71,524,810 in EU aid to repair damage caused by floods in the UK from December 2015 to January 2016, drought and fires in Cyprus from October 2015 to June 2016 and fires on the Portuguese island of Madeira in August 2016, in a vote on Wednesday. The aid comes from the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF).

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : An overwhelming majority of the house (516 votes in favour, 133 against, with 50 abstentions) adopted a resolution officially laying down the European Parliament’s key principles and conditions for its approval of the UK's withdrawal agreement. Any such agreement at the end of UK-EU negotiations will need to win the approval of the European Parliament.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : Uniform rules on the information given in investor prospectuses were approved by Parliament on Wednesday. They aim to protect investors, create a more efficient single capital market and ease small firms’ access to finance.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : Stricter rules to ensure that medical devices such as breast or hip implants are traceable and comply with EU patient safety requirements were backed by MEPs on Wednesday. MEPs also approved laws to tighten up information and ethical requirements for diagnostic medical devices, e.g. for pregnancy or DNA testing.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : The UK and the EU will soon start talks to determine the terms of their new relationship and any resulting agreement would have to be approved by the European Parliament. Tomorrow MEPs debate Parliament’s priorities and vote on them afterwards. A key principle will be to ensure that the interests of people are safeguarded . Watch our video for a reminder of the benefits of being an EU citizen.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP