European Parliament

Plenary sessions : MEPs urge all parties in the Syrian war, and especially Russia and the Assad regime, to stop bombing civilians, in a resolution voted on Thursday. They condemn the recent attacks on hospitals and a humanitarian relief convoy and call on International Syria Support Group members to resume negotiations for a stable truce and an eventual peace deal in Syria.

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Plenary sessions : Parliament condemns any act of intimidation, arrest, detention or prosecution of opposition party leaders, members and activists in Rwanda, the ongoing indiscriminate bombing of civilians and human rights breaches in Sudan, and the guilty verdict against worker's rights defender Andy Hall in Thailand, in three separate resolutions voted on Thursday.

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Plenary sessions : An EU Commission proposal to tighten up existing rules for the Transparency Register, which lists independent organisations and other lobbyists seeking access to the EU institutions, was welcomed by MEPs in a debate on Wednesday evening. The changes would include the Council in the system alongside the Commission and Parliament, clarify definitions, improve monitoring and introduce penalties for breaches. MEPs debated the proposal on Wednesday evening.

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Plenary sessions : Attempts to make Poland’s stringent sexual and reproductive health laws still more restrictive sparked a heated debate in the Parliament on Wednesday. MEPs focused on a national bill to ban all abortions, but the European Parliament’s legal right to debate the topic was also hotly contested.

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Plenary sessions : The rejection in last Sunday’s plebiscite of the peace deal agreed by the Colombian government and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) was a disappointment, but it does not compromise the peace process, which a majority of MEPs consider “irreversible”. In a plenary debate on Wednesday, they urged the EU to continue supporting the negotiations and insisted that the FARC should be kept off the list of terrorist groups.

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Plenary sessions : With the collapse of a US-Russia brokered ceasefire last month, the war in Syria looks as intractable as ever and violence has escalated in the past fortnight. During a plenary debate on Wednesday afternoon several MEPs criticised Russia’s involvement in the conflict with others calling for the EU to play a greater role in resolving the crisis.

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Plenary sessions : The EU Commission should review EU legislation on mass dismissals, in view of plans to close down Caterpillar and Alstom in Belgium, say MEPs in a non-legislative resolution passed on Wednesday. MEPs also call for support measures for ”these workers and their local economies.”

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Plenary sessions : Moves to make Poland’s stringent sexual and reproductive health laws still more restrictive will be debated late on Wednesday afternoon. The debate will follow an EU Commission statement at around 18.00. MEPs are most concerned about Polish parliament bills on women’s access to legal abortion and to In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF).

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Plenary sessions : Action to stop massacres in Syria, implement migration policies and border controls, and ensure a balanced approach to trade deals while defending EU industry are the key challenges that EU heads of state or government should tackle at their 20-21 October meeting in Brussels, said Parliament’s political group leaders in a debate with the Slovak Council Presidency and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday.

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Plenary sessions : Young Europeans are on track to receive a free InterRail pass on their 18th birthday in the future. MEPs discussed the proposal and overwhelmingly supported it during a debate in plenary on 4 October. Millions of young European have travelled throughout the continent using Interrail over the last few decades, but the pass itself can cost up to hundreds of euros.

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Plenary sessions : The latest developments in Syria, including failed US-Russia attempts to revive the ceasefire followed by the Russian-backed Syrian government offensive against Aleppo, will be debated on Wednesday at 15.00. Following this, MEPs will take stock of Colombia’s referendum vote narrowly rejecting a peace deal with the rebel group FARC. Later, MEPs will also assess the deteriorating political situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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Plenary sessions : The situation in and around the port town of Calais is untenable for everyone: migrants and asylum seekers living in the informal camps, truck drivers crossing to the British Isles and the local population, said MEPs in a plenary debate on Tuesday. Most urged the EU Commission, France and the UK to work together to find a long-term solution.

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Plenary sessions : The code of conduct for European Commissioners needs to be thoroughly tightened up, in order to prevent conflicts of interest for Commission members, and to help restore the faith of European citizens in today’s political institutions. This was the key message agreed by most MEPs during Tuesday evening’s debate with EU economic affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici, on the business ties of past and present Commissioners and the recent “Bahamas” leaks.

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Plenary sessions : MEPs voiced startlingly different views on the state of Greece’s economic adjustment programme, its impact and the prospects for future negotiations between Greece and its creditors, in a public debate with Commissioner Pierre Moscovici on Tuesday afternoon.

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Plenary sessions : High-level guests, solemn speeches and a warm applause. All this was present on Tuesday afternoon at the ceremony surrounding Parliament’s historic vote in favour of the Paris climate agreement and the signature paving the way for it to enter into force. Take a look at our slideshow to see how it happened.

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Plenary sessions : The UNFCCC Paris Agreement on fighting climate change, the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate deal, will come into force next month, having met the necessary conditions much earlier than predicted, as the European Parliament agreed to its ratification by the European Union in a historic vote on Tuesday. The EU will join the US, China and India, other global players and major greenhouse gas emitters, at a November meeting of Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA) in Marrakesh.

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Plenary sessions : Revised EU rules to prevent trade in goods and services that may contribute to torture or execution were approved by MEPs on Tuesday. In negotiations with member states on previous drafts, the European Parliament inserted a ban on the marketing and transit of equipment used for cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of people in third countries.

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Plenary sessions : Parliament approved €1,651,834 in EU Solidarity Fund aid on Tuesday to help Greece to repair damage caused by an earthquake that hit the Ionian Islands region, and in particular Lefkada, northern parts of Ithaki and Kefalonia, on 17 November 2015.

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Plenary sessions : Parliament gave its green light on Tuesday to EU aid worth €5.3 million to help find new jobs for 1,441 workers made redundant by Microsoft and its suppliers in Finland and almost €4 million for 918 workers made redundant by Ericsson in Sweden. The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) aid had been approved by the EU Council of Ministers on 29 September.

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Suspending EU structural funding for Spain and Portugal would be counter-productive, because it would harm their most vulnerable citizens and regions, a vast majority of MEPs warned the EU Commission at a “structured dialogue” hearing yesterday. The suspension had been proposed under EU Stability and Growth Pact rules, because Spain and Portugal had run up excessive deficits.
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs
Committee on Regional Development

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