European Parliament (News)

General : The European Parliament has had an eventful six months. MEPs worked hard to help member states contain the migration crisis, updated rules for the protection of personal data and adopted new measures to fight the terrorist threat. Those with an interest in European politics were also very keen to read about it on our website. Revisit the articles that proved the most popular in the first half of 2016.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Chair of the European Parliament’s Human Rights committee MEP Elena Valenciano (S&D,ES) expressed on Monday her concern and solidarity with Cuban human rights activist and Sakharov Prize Laureate 2010 Guillermo Fariñas and other Cuban human rights activists on hunger strike. Mr Fariñas is on a hunger and thirst strike to protest against the torture and mistreatment of political prisoners by the Cuban Government.
Subcommittee on Human Rights

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : Only death and taxes are certain in life - as the cliché goes - but that doesn't mean you have to like either. In the case of taxes, it's made worse by not everyone paying their fair share. According to the latest Eurobarometer survey commissioned by the European Parliament, 75% of all Europeans believe the EU should do more to fight tax fraud. Read on to find what the Parliament is currently working on to address the issue.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : Parliament's Facebook page is one of the most popular platforms for people to follow what MEPs are working on. More than two million people use it to discover the latest news and discuss the latest issues. But what are they interested in the most? Read on as we reveal the five most popular Facebook post of the first six months of 2016.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : The finalists competing for the 2016 Lux Film Prize have been announced: “À peine j´ouvre les yeux”, “Ma vie de courgette” and “Toni Erdmann”. The three films showcase a wide variety of genres, topics and artistic approaches: a testimony of a young generation in Tunisia, a stop-motion animation film portraying life in an orphanage and a political tragicomedy dealing with contemporary corporate culture.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

The European Parliament aims to become the first 100% carbon neutral EU institution, as decided at the end of last year by the Bureau (President, Vice-Presidents and Quaestors). In order to fulfil this commitment, a call for tender was opened on 16 July 2016.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : Words will only get you so far, sometimes you need images to convey the full picture. For this article we go easy on the text and let our photos do the talking. Take a look at our favourite pictures of the year so far in our photo gallery and discover how you can find many more of them online.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : With unemployment in the EU remaining above 8%, 77% of Europeans want the EU to do more to tackle the issue, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey. Reacting to the results of the Europe-wide study, Thomas Händel, the head of Parliament’s employment committee, urged EU leaders to “endeavour to ensure investment and high-quality, sustainable employment”. Read on to learn more about the EU’s role in the fight against unemployment.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

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.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Jean Arthuis (ALDE, FR), Chair of the Committee on Budgets, travelled on Tuesday to the Gaza Strip. He visited EU-funded projects aimed at promoting sustainable economic development and empowerment of women as well as infrastructure projects in the water sector, such as the North Gaza Emergency Sewage Treatment Plant NGEST and recently inaugurated Water Desalination Plant in Deir Bala, next to Khan Yunis.
Committee on Budgets

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Members of the Foreign Affairs Committee discussed the motives and the possible consequences of Turkey’s recent attempted coup with Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn and representatives of the European External Action Service on Tuesday morning. MEPs emphasized that to ensure further accession talks, Turkey must stick to democracy, the rule of law and human rights.
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : Interested in the EU and planing to spend some days in Brussels or Berlin this summer? Then check out the Parliament's visitors centre in Brussels, discover how laws and policy decisions are shaped by the Parliament and the other EU institutions and enjoy the new exhibition "Searching for beauty". Nearly 1.5 million have already visited the Parlamentarium centre since it opened in October 2011. Since May you are also able to experience Europe in our visitors centre in Berlin as well.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Members of the Foreign Affairs Committee will discuss the motives and the possible consequences of Turkey’s recent attempted coup, which claimed hundreds of lives and pushed the country in a turmoil, with Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn and representatives of the European External Action Service on Tuesday morning. MEPs are likely to emphasize the need to protect democratic freedoms and assess the future of the EU-Turkey relations too.
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : Terrorism continues to pose a threat to Europe and people expect the EU to act: 82% of Europeans want it to do more, while 69% consider its current measures to be insufficient, according to a Eurobarometer poll commissioned by Parliament. The survey also showed that the majority of people think the fight against terrorism should be the EU's main priority for more action.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : This morning, I would like to express my deep sorrow following the attack last night in Nice. On behalf of the European Parliament, I would like to extend my condolences to the families and friends of the many victims. I send my wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured. I commend the courage and solidarity of both the emergency services and ordinary citizens of Nice.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

The EU needs a common definition of “normal car use”, says Renault. Diesel engine NOx emissions are the price paid to hit lower CO2 targets, says the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association. But Volkswagen is ashamed of cheating to beat strict US emissions laws. So said contributors to the “triple bill” of hearings in held by the Committee of Inquiry into Emission Measurements in the Automotive Sector (EMIS) on Wednesday and Thursday. Its work will continue after the summer break.
Committee of Inquiry into Emission Measurements in the Automotive Sector

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : A delegation from the civil liberties committee went to Calais in northern France yesterday to assess the situation of people gathering there with the aim of crossing the Channel. The delegation, led by Portuguese S&D member Ana Gomes, visited facilities for migrants and refugees and met with representatives from local authorities, non-governmental organisations as well as French-British border authorities.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : Terrorists have been able to make use of reconverted weapons but new new rules aim to put an end to this. Yesterday the internal market committee approved an update of the EU firearms directive to ensure that any firearm which has been converted to firing blanks continues to be covered by EU law. UK ECR member Vicky Ford, the MEP responsible for steering the new rules through Parliament, said: “The goal of this legislation was to close the loophole that was exploited during the Paris attacks.”

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

EU countries will have to introduce stronger controls on “blank-firing” guns, to prevent them being converted to fire live ammunition, under Internal Market Committee amendments, voted on Wednesday, to a draft update of the EU firearms directive. The changes approved by MEPs ensure that any firearm which has been converted to firing blanks continues to be covered by EU gun control rules. This closes a legal loophole which became evident in the aftermath of last year’s terrorist attacks in Paris.
Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

The priorities of the Slovak Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers are being outlined to parliamentary committees by Slovak ministers at a series of meetings, during this week and in September.
Committee on Development
Committee on International Trade
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs
Committee on Legal Affairs
Committee on Culture and Education
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection
Committee on Industry, Research and Energy
Committee on Regional Development
Committee on Transport and Tourism
Committee on Fisheries
Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP