European Parliament (News)

The EU Agency for Asylum must coordinate information exchange among member states and ensure they protect fundamental rights, said Civil Liberties Committee MEPs on Thursday.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

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General : Malta is set to take over the Presidency of the European Council in January for the first time since joining the EU in 2004. Parliament's Conference of Presidents, which is composed of Parliament President Martin Schulz and the political group leaders, visited the island on Thursday 8 December to find out how the country was preparing for it.

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A proposal to grant Spain €856,800 in EU aid to help find new jobs for 250 former car workers who were made redundant by 29 firms making motor vehicle parts in the Valencia region was approved by the Budgets Committee on Thursday. The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) aid still needs to be approved by the Council of Ministers on 12 December, and by a plenary vote in Parliament planned for 14 December.
Committee on Budgets

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The EU Commission and member states will be able to reimpose visa requirements faster and more easily under new rules agreed by Parliament and Council negotiators on Wednesday.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

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General : Some 462 million children live in countries affected by war or national disasters and about 75 million of them need educational support. The EU and Unicef launched the Emergency Lessons campaign this year to highlight the importance of education for children affected by emergencies. On 6 December children, teachers and volunteers visited the Parliament in Brussels to talk about their experiences.

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General : Volunteers from the Syria Civil Defence - better known as the White Helmets - risk their lives on a daily basis by serving as the main rescue group operating in besieged eastern Aleppo. Addressing Parliament’s foreign affairs and development committees on 5 December, their chief liaison officer Abdulrahman Al-Mawwas decried the current situation in Aleppo and called for both a no-fly zone and humanitarian corridors to prevent a large-scale humanitarian disaster.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Foreign fighters as well as “lone wolves” training and preparing terrorist attacks on European soil will be criminalised under new EU-rules to fight terrorism backed on Monday.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

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All EU citizens and third country nationals entering or leaving the EU will be checked against databases, e.g. of lost and stolen documents, under a draft law informally agreed by MEPs and EU ministers on Monday.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

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Easier access for all rail operators to domestic rail markets should give rail passengers more choice and better quality services under draft rules backed by Transport and Tourism Committee on Monday.
Committee on Transport and Tourism

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General : EU nationals being radicalised and travelling to fight in Iraq or Syria represent a growing threat. Most of the recent terrorist attacks in Europe were perpetrated by home-grown terrorists, and some of them proved to be returning “foreign fighters”. The civil liberties committee votes today on a new directive on combatting terrorism. The text, drafted in the wake of the November 2015 Paris attacks, proposes the criminalisation of preparatory acts such as travelling for terrorist purposes.

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The 32nd plenary session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) will take place in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, from December 19 to 21 2016. The session will be opened formally by its Co-Presidents Louis Michel for the European Parliament, and Netty Baldeh (Gambia) for the ACP in presence of Justin Muturi, Speaker of the National Assembly of Kenya.

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General : With committees meeting and the final plenary session of the year to prepare for, MEPs have a busy week in store for them in Brussels. MEPs vote on proposals to help member states better fight terrorism and to make the EU more democratic and transparent. The political groups also prepare for next week’s sitting in Strasbourg where the 2016 Sakharov Prize will be awarded to Yazidi survivors and advocates Nadia Murad and Lamiya Aji Bashar.

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General : Some 7,500 young people came to the Parliament in May 2016 to come up with ideas on how the improve the situation in Europe as part of the European Youth Event (EYE). In recent weeks a number of these participants were invited to present their ideas on anything from asylum policy to e-voting to Parliament committees. Thanking participants at the end of the hearings this week, Vice-President Mairead McGuinness said: “Your future is determined by politics, make sure you are involved in it."

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General : Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, visited today the European Parliament in Brussels, where he was welcomed by Parliament President Martin Schulz. They had a meeting during which they discussed developments in Tunisia and EU-Tunisia relations. Essebsi called the visit is a "historic and highly symbolic moment" and addressed MEPs on his country's commitment to democracy and freedom.

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Plenary sessions : MEPs approved €31.5 million in EU aid to repair flood damage in Bavaria in a plenary vote on Thursday. Seven people died in the May and June 2016 floods, which affected more than 47,000 people in Lower Bavaria. Over 2,000 were still unable to return to their homes two months later. Hardest hit was the Rottal-Inn district in Lower Bavaria. The aid will come from the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF).

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Plenary sessions : Trust in the US took a hit following revelations of mass surveillance by Edward Snowden, but an agreement on data protection adopted by MEPs today should help to restore it. The deal known as the umbrella agreement covers the transfer of all personal data exchanged across the Atlantic when dealing with criminal offences, including terrorism. Green German MEP Jan Albrecht, who was responsible for steering the deal through Parliament", said it would ensure “high standards and high protection”.

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Plenary sessions : The European Commission should revise its code of conduct for Commissioners, to ensure that their declarations of interests give a complete picture of the financial situation and activities of a Commissioner and his or her family, said MEPs in a non-binding resolution voted on Thursday. The “cooling off” period for ex-Commissioners should be prolonged to 36 months, they added.

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Plenary sessions : For next year’s budget, MEPs have ensured better support for unemployed youngsters and additional funds to boost key initiatives supporting SMEs, transport infrastructure projects, research and Erasmus+ student mobility. Commitment appropriations for 2017 total €157.8578 billion, and payment appropriations €134.49 billion.

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Plenary sessions : The EU-US Umbrella Agreement on the protection of personal data exchanged for law enforcement purposes was backed by a broad majority of MEPs on Thursday. The deal will ensure high, binding data protection standards for data exchanged by police and law enforcement authorities across the Atlantic.

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Plenary sessions : Small investors need better information about the possible risks and fees for investment products they might buy, say MEPs. They voted on Thursday, by 561 votes to 9 with 75 abstentions, to delay the introduction of a key explanatory document supplied by investment providers to consumers, while the EU Commission comes up with better proposals.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP