European Parliament

Plenary sessions : The situation in Ethiopia ahead of the 24 May parliamentary elections, the political crisis and killings in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and preparations for the 21-22 May Riga Eastern Partnership Summit will be discussed with Commissioner Christos Stylianides, the Latvian Presidency, and EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini, from 15.00 on Wednesday.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary sessions : The situation in Hungary, following Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's remarks on the possibility of reinstating the death penalty there and the government’s public “consultation” on immigration, were debated by MEPs, Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans, Latvian State Secretary for European Affairs Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica for the Latvian Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers and Mr Orbán himself on Tuesday afternoon.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary sessions : MEPs will give their views on the European Agenda on Migration presented on 13 May in a debate with Commission Vice-president Frans Timmermans, Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos and the Council Presidency on Wednesday at 9.00.

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Plenary sessions : Rules on maternity leave vary widely between EU countries, however plans to harmonise them have been blocked by national governments since 2008. With the European Commission now threatening to withdraw its proposal, MEPs debate the situation on 19 May and will vote the next day on a resolution urging member states to resume negotiations. Follow it live on our website.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary sessions : Could creating a digital single market in the EU and removing barriers online help give a boost to European companies? The European Commission outlined its strategy on 6 May, while it will also feature on the agenda of the European Council on 25-26 June. Meanwhile the Parliament is planning to respond with an own-initiative report on the digital market. They debated the issue on 19 May, during which MEPs highlighted the challenges and potential benefits involved.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary sessions : Suggested ways to improve patient safety, including tackling growing resistance to human and veterinary antibiotics, using today’s treatments more responsibly and promoting innovation, are set out in a resolution voted on Tuesday. MEPs note that 8 - 12% of patients in EU hospitals suffer adverse events, such as healthcare-related infections, which are implicated in 37,000 deaths a year and place a heavy burden on limited health service budgets.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary sessions : MEPs urged EU member countries to respect their Official Development Assistance (ODA) target of 0.7% of national income and to set timetables for reaching it by 2020 in a resolution adopted on Tuesday. They also stressed the need to mobilise domestic resources efficiently in developing countries as a key source of financing.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary sessions : MEPs will debate the situation in Hungary with Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans late on Tuesday afternoon. The debate follows Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's remarks on the possibility of reinstating capital punishment in Hungary and a public consultation on immigration launched by the Hungarian government. Mr. Orbán will also be present during the debate.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary sessions : Military groups in conflict areas such as in the Democratic Republic of the Congo often use the sale of minerals found in their territory to fund their activities. A new EU proposal aims to put an end to this by setting up an EU system of self-certification to encourage importers, smelters and refiners to source their minerals responsibly. MEPs will debate the plans on Tuesday 19 May and vote on them the following day. Follow it live on our website.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary sessions : MEPs will give their views on the proposed digital single market strategy on Tuesday morning. The strategy includes measures to improve consumer and business access to digital goods and services across Europe, create better conditions and a level playing field for digital networks and innovative services to exploit the full growth potential of Europe's digital economy. The debate with digital agenda Commissioner Andrus Ansip will start around 10.00.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary sessions : President Schulz informed the House that the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, had asked to attend the debate on the situation in Hungary, scheduled for late afternoon on Tuesday.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary sessions : Military groups in conflict areas such as in the Democratic Republic of the Congo often use the sale of minerals found in their territory to fund their activities. A new EU proposal aims to put an end to this by setting up an EU system of self-certification to encourage importers, smelters and refiners to source their minerals responsibly. MEPs will debate the plans on Tuesday 19 May and vote on them the following day. Follow it live on our website.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary sessions : Benchmarks are widely used to track market developments, however financial scandals involving benchmarks such as Libor and Eurobibor have shown that they are susceptible to manipulation.On 18 May MEPs debate new rules to ensure the full transparency of all benchmarks used in the EU and vote on them the next day. Dutch Alde member Cora van Nieuwenhuizen, who wrote the report with recommendations, said: “It is a major step forward in ensuring the future robustness and accuracy of benchmarks.”

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

General : The International Day against Homophobia is marked every 17 May to raise awareness about the importance of non- discrimination of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people around the world. This year also marks the 25th anniversary of the decision by the World Health Organization to remove homosexuality from the list of mental disorders. MEPs highlighted the importance of fighting discrimination during a discussion with experts in the Parliament on 12 May.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary session, Strasbourg

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

General : Martin Schulz, president of the European Parliament, will on Thursday 14 May receive the International Charlemagne Prize. The prize is awarded every year to recognise work in the service of European unification. The ceremony in Aachen will be attended by eight heads of states as well as many former laureates such as Pat Cox and Jean-Claude Juncker. French president François Hollande and King Abdullah II of Jordan will pay tribute to Schulz with a speech.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

General : EP President Martin Schulz will be awarded the 57th International Charlemagne Prize at a ceremony on Thursday 14 May in Aachen. The prize goes to Mr Schulz for his work to promote democracy, not least by making the European Parliament more visible, audible and understandable, and for his role in the "Spitzenkandidaten" process ahead of the 2014 European elections.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

How should the EU interact with its neighbours to the east? Georgian president Giorgi Margvelashvili shared his views when he joined the foreign affairs committee on 11 May to discuss the Eastern Partnership ahead of the summit in Riga on 21-22 May. We spoke to him afterwards to ask how the partnership is working out for his country and how the EU should deal with Russia.
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP