European Parliament

General : More than 10 years after EU-Turkey accession talks started, MEPs adopted a resolution on 24 November calling for the negotiations to be suspended until the Turkish government ended its disproportionate and repressive response to July's failed coup. Ankara replied by threatening to let thousands of migrants pass through to Europe. Greek EPP member Manolis Kefalogiannis, head of Parliament’s delegation to Turkey, commented: “We are entering a new phase in EU-Turkey relations”.

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General : With both committee meetings and a plenary session taking place, members have a busy week in store for them in Brussels. In plenary, MEPs are expected to seal the deal with member states on the EU budget for 2017, as well as vote on an agreement with the United States about protecting personal data transferred for law enforcement purposes. Rules on ensuring access to online content for people travelling abroad and a cap on wholesale roaming charges are to be put to a vote in committees.

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General : The world continues to be a dangerous place for women: one in three women in Europe has experienced violence, while 55% of women been sexually harassed in the past 12 months. To raise awareness the Parliament buildings in Brussels will be lit up in orange tonight in honour of today being the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. This week MEPs called on the EU to adhere to the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.

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Plenary sessions : The EU should freeze accession negotiations with Turkey in light of the country's vast crackdown that followed the failed July coup, said MEPs in a resolution adopted this week. Also during this week's plenary session MEPs called on EU countries to step up cooperation on defence. On Wednesday Parliament awarded its annual Lux Film Prize to dark comedy Toni Erdmann by German director Maren Ade.

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Committee EMPL / INTA - meeting 29/11/2016 (AM)
Committee on International Trade
Committee on Employment and Social Affairs

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Plenary sessions : Tackling all sources of conflict of interest is crucial to ensure the credibility of political decision-making, say MEPs in a resolution on EU Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly’s work in 2015, voted on Thursday. Parliament also reiterated its worries about former EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso’s appointment as non-executive chairman of Goldman Sachs International, and called on the Ombudsman to initiate a strategic inquiry into the Commission’s handling of this case.

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Plenary sessions : MEPs say that Belarus’ progress in upholding democratic values is “insufficient” in a resolution voted on Thursday. They note that Belarus is taking new political prisoners, harassing the opposition, using capital punishment, and failing to address safety concerns about its first nuclear power plant, being built in Ostrovets.

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Plenary sessions : MEPs want a temporary freeze on EU accession talks with Turkey. In a resolution voted on Thursday, they say Turkey should nonetheless remain “anchored” to the EU. They also pledge to review their position when the "disproportionate repressive measures" under the state of emergency in Turkey are lifted.

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Plenary sessions : The security in and around Europe is deteriorating, while there are concerns over the incoming USA administration's commitment to backing Europeans' security through Nato. This week MEPs approve several measures to facilitate cooperation on defence and security within the EU. They also reiterated calls for EU countries to devote 2% of their gross domestic product to spending on defence. Find out more by watching our video.

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Plenary sessions : MEPs advocate a full and immediate EU-wide ban on ivory and rhinoceros horn trade, and call for common sanctions at EU level against wildlife trafficking, in a resolution voted on Thursday. Wildlife trafficking is worth an estimated €20 billion annually. It has grown in recent years, becoming one of the biggest and most profitable forms of organised cross-border crime.

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Plenary sessions : All parties to the conflict in Syria should ensure humanitarian aid access throughout the country and cease bombing civilians, urge MEPs. Those responsible for violations of international human rights and humanitarian law should "sooner or later" face justice, they add in a resolution voted on Thursday.

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Plenary sessions : Providers of workplace pension schemes wanting to move their operations across national borders will now have to get the approval of a majority of their members, as well as the backing of regulators in both the host and recipient country, under new rules approved by MEPs on Thursday.

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Plenary sessions : The European Parliament strongly condemns the violence committed against the Guarani-Kaiowá people in the Mato Grosso do Sul region of Brazil, the disappearance of publisher Mr Minhai Gui in China and the detention and torture of Mr Ildar Dadin in Russia, in three resolutions voted on Thursday.

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The EU-US data protection framework, known as the “Umbrella Agreement” was backed by a large majority in the Civil Liberties Committee on Thursday morning. The deal will ensure high, binding data protection standards for data exchanged by police and law enforcement authorities across the Atlantic.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

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Diplomacy, development and defence should be the pillars of EU foreign policy, say Foreign Affairs Committee MEPs in a resolution voted on Thursday. They call on member states to show more unity and trust, and to speak with one voice, so as to make the EU a global player. MEPs also advocate a more realistic strategy on Russia and a “less for less” policy towards countries that try to throw democracy into reverse.
Committee on Foreign Affairs

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General : Toni Erdmann won this year’s Lux Film Prize for its original way of depicting a father desperately trying to become closer to his daughter while at the same time portraying the cut-throat realities of major international corporations. “Films like Toni Erdmann only exist thanks to national and European subsidies because they give you a certain freedom,” said director Maren Ade after receiving the prize in Parliament today.

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Plenary sessions : Progress in deciding how the Paris climate agreement is to be applied by its 197 signatory countries and the “Marrakesh Action Proclamation”, approved last week at the UN climate change conference (COP22) in Morocco, was debated on Wednesday morning with EU climate action and energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete and with Slovak State Secretary Ivan Korčok, representing the Council Presidency.

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Plenary sessions : Fraud involving VAT on goods exported to other member states costs EU tax payers an estimated €50 billion a year. The European Commission has come up with an action plan to clamp down on VAT fraud and update current VAT rules that have been left unchanged since 1993. MEPs debate the action plan on Wednesday 23 November and vote on it the following day. Read on to find out more about Parliament's position and watch our video for an explanation of how VAT fraud works.

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Plenary sessions : The German-Austrian-Romanian co-production “Toni Erdmann” has won the 2016 European Parliament LUX Prize, President Martin Schulz announced at a ceremony in the Chamber in Strasbourg on Wednesday. The film explores a complex relationship between a father and daughter in contemporary corporate culture.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP