European Parliament

General : The EU's budget for next year will be decided over the coming months. Starting this week parliamentary committees adopt their opinion on the budget, while the budgets committee discusses the Council's position on Wednesday 31 August. The committee will then draft a recommendation to MEPs, which will be put to a plenary vote at the end of October. Check out our infographic for all the steps of the budgetary procedure.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

The respect of human rights and the rule of law in Turkey in the aftermath of the failed coup attempt will be a crucial test for the state of the country’s democracy, said Foreign Affairs Committee MEPs on Tuesday. They assessed the results of last week’s fact-finding mission to Turkey by the committee chair and rapporteur and stressed the need for constant monitoring.
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : The investigation into the Volkswagen emissions testing scandal continues on Tuesday 30 August when the Parliament's inquiry committee questions former commissioner Günter Verheugen, who was responsible for enterprise and industry from 2004 to 2010. Parliament is currently working on new legislation to improve the reliability of car testing. Check out our infographic to find out more on how car emissions are tested.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

The EPIO Dublin and member of the EP’s Economic Committee, Brian Hayes, held a consultation in Dublin (19 July) with leaders from a cross section of Irish society to update them on current state-of-play with the Pensions Directive and the implications for pension providers.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : Parliamentary committees deal with anything from relations with Turkey to migration and car emissions this week. Parliament President Martin Schulz is due to visit Ankara, while MEPs discuss the EU-Canada trade agreement. In addition former commissioner Günter Verheugen answers questions from the Parliament's inquiry committee investigating car emission tests.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Committee meetings, Brussels

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : MEPs act as the voice of more than 500 million Europeans at the EU level, but how do they work and how do they organise themselves in the European Parliament? Check out our updated infographic for some basic facts about the Parliament.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : Parliament is not just there to amend and approve new laws, but also to scrutinise the EU institutions. One of the tools at its disposal are committees that investigate specific issues. In recent months committees have been set up to look into revelations on car emissions cheating and wealthy individuals stashing money offshore. Read on to find out how Parliament uses its investigative powers to address people’s concerns and put important issues on the political agenda.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : The environment is something Europeans care deeply about: 67% of them would like to the EU to do more on environmental protection, according to a Eurobarometer survey commissioned by the European Parliament. Read our article to find out more about what the EU is already doing and will be doing to protect your health, safeguard biodiversity and fight climate change.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : From Brexit to the migration crisis: 2016 has proved a very eventful year, but Parliament's work is far from finished. Until the end of the year MEPs will be working on a broad range of issues, from tackling the terrorism threat to improving the digital single market. Read on for an overview of the challenges MEPs will be dealing with the coming months.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : Traineeships at the Parliament offer a unique chance to launch your career, gain valuable insights into how the EU operates and above all have an unforgettable experience. From 15 August you will have two months to apply for the next round of traineeships. Read on to find out more on the traineeships offered by the Parliament and how to apply for them.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : The migration crisis showed you can’t have a Schengen zone of free movement without strong external borders. According to the latest Eurobarometer survey, 71% of Europeans want the EU to do more to protect these borders. Parliament is working on a range of initiatives to beef up those controls.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : If you find the EU's inner workings and policies hard to understand, then help is now at hand. Our How it Works videos are there to answer all your questions on topics ranging from data protection to the European Council. Continue reading to find out more.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : Launched in 2011, Snapchat has been expanding rapidly. More than 100 million people use it every day to watch and send stories to their friends and follow events from around the world. As one third of Snapchat users live in Europe, the European Parliament opened an account in May 2015 to give them the chance to find out more about European politics. Already more than 15,000 people follow the Parliament on Snapchat. Read on to find out more details.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : The EU has experienced an unprecedented influx of migrants over the last few years. 74% of Europeans want the EU to do more to manage the situation, according to the latest Eurobarometer poll commissioned by the European Parliament. In addition two thirds of respondents said EU action on migration was insufficient. Read on to discover what measures the European Parliament is working on.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

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

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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