European Parliament (News)

An “effective and comprehensive European whistle-blower protection programme” should be proposed “immediately” by the EU Commission, urged the Budgetary Control Committee on Monday.
Committee on Budgetary Control

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General : Manfred Weber MEP, EPP Group Chairman

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Three parliamentary committees will quiz Commissioner Günther Oettinger about his new portfolio for Budget and Human Resources, which Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has asked him to take over from former Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva.
Committee on Budgets

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General : Three parliamentary committees question commissioner Günther Oettinger this week to assess his suitability for his new portfolio of budget and human resources. In addition the civil liberties looks at the current state of play regarding refugees in Europe, while the legal affairs committee votes on the first-ever EU rules for robotics and artificial intelligence.

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General : Aarhus in Denmark and Pafos in Cyprus are Europe's cultural capitals for this year. Since the capitals of culture initiative was launched in 1985, 54 cities around Europe have had the honour. The aim is to highlight the richness of Europe’s cultural diversity and looks at its shared history and heritage. Read more about this year’s cultural capitals.

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Three parliamentary committees will quiz Commissioner Günther Oettinger about his new portfolio for Budget and Human Resources, which Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has asked him to take over from former Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva.
Committee on Budgets

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General : Malta has taken over the rotating presidency of the EU Council from Slovakia. This means that for the next six months the small island state plays a key role in setting the agenda, finding compromises and addressing a range of challenges such as the migration crisis and the expected start of the Brexit negotiations. We asked Maltese MEPs what their hopes and expectations were for their country's firs- ever presidency of the EU Council.

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General : As 2016 is drawing to an end, take a look back at the events that the marked the year in Parliament: from UK Prime Minister David Cameron meeting Parliament President Martin Schulz ahead of the Brexit referendum to MEPs paying tribute to the victims of the Nice tragedy in July. Relive this year's key events in our photo gallery and join the conversation on our Facebook page.

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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 : Fighting illicit financial flows, investing in family and small-scale agriculture and coordinating aid for Haiti after Hurricane Matthew were among the issues on which Members of the European Parliament and their counterparts from African, Caribbean and Pacific countries agreed at the 32nd session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) in Nairobi, which closed on Wednesday.

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General : From Pinterest to LinkedIn, the European Parliament is present on most major social media platforms in order to better communicate with you. On these platforms we offer not only background information and the latest news, but also videos, photos, infographics and the opportunity to discuss topical issues. We also offer EP Newshub: our special tool to follow Parliament politics in real time. Try out our interactive infographic to get a taster of what we serve up on each platform.

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Evidence of law enforcement shortcomings in EU member states as regards car emissions is set out in the draft report by the Committee of Inquiry into Emission Measurement in the Automotive Sector (EMIS), published on Monday. The report and draft recommendations were prepared jointly by co-rapporteurs Jens Gieseke (EPP, DE) and Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy (ALDE, NL). EMIS will have a first public debate on the text on 12 January.
Committee of Inquiry into Emission Measurements in the Automotive Sector

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General : "The history of humanity is the history of migrations. Zero migration has never existed, and it never will”, said Louis Michel (ALDE, BE), EU Co-President of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) at the opening of its 32nd session, in Nairobi (Kenya) on Monday. “We must manage migration flows in a human way, in line with our values. Fortress Europe is not working”, he added.

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Plenary sessions : Islamic State survivors and Iraqi Yazidi activists Nadia Murad and Lamiya Aji Bashar, received Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought at the December plenary which was also the last one to be fully presided over by Martin Schulz. MEPs adopted a report on fundamental rights in the EU and updated Parliament's internal rules to improve procedures and transparency. Read about these and other subjects in our article.

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Plans to boost greenhouse-gas emission curbs through the EU carbon market (EU ETS) were backed by the Environment Committee on Thursday. MEPs propose reducing the carbon credits to be auctioned by 2.4% each year, and doubling the capacity of the market stability reserve (MSR) to absorb the excess of allowances on the market.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

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General : Martin Schulz stressed the importance of cooperation and solidarity in his last speech as Parliament President at a European Council meeting. Addressing heads of government at the summit in Brussels, he called on them to make progress on issues such as defence, migration and Russia. “You all agreed that you need the EU, that the EU is the only means to tackle the challenges we are facing in this century. This spirit should never be forgotten and should guide your actions over the years to come.”

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Plenary sessions : Over fifty years after the Thalidomide tragedy, in which a German-made morning sickness medicine for pregnant women caused malformations in their babies in several EU countries, victims are still fighting for fair compensation. MEPs call on the EU and its member states to ensure that all EU citizens affected have access to similar compensation, in a resolution voted on Thursday.

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Plenary sessions : Draft EU measures to help prevent citrus fruit and tree pests being imported into the EU are not good enough to protect EU growers, says a resolution voted on Thursday. MEPs want more stringent rules and checks to prevent the spread of pests such as citrus black spot fungus and the false codling moth.

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Plenary sessions : Visa requirements for non-EU nationals will be reintroduced faster when EU countries face irregular migration surges or security risks, under new rules passed by Parliament on Thursday.

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Plenary sessions : The European Parliament condemns the demolition of the Larung Gar Tibetan Buddhist Academy, the imprisonment of scholar Ilham Tohti by Chinese authorities and the persecution of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar, while urging the protection of mass graves in Iraq, in three resolutions voted on Thursday.

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