European Parliament (News)

General : In Brussels this summer and curious about the EU? Why not pay a visit to the European Parliament's visitors centre in Brussels and get a unique insight into the work of MEPs and how it touches your daily life? Rated one of the top things to do in Brussels by travel website Tripadvisor, the award-winning centre has already welcomed more than one million visitors since opening its doors in October 2011.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

General : As the first half of the year is behind us, we take a look at some of the key moments which marked the European Parliament in 2015 so far, from political figures visiting the Parliament to legislative accomplishments.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

General : Literacy, women’s rights and free movement in the EU were the most liked topics on the Parliament’s Facebook page this year between January and June with Sakharov Prize laureates Malala Yousafzai and Hauwa Ibrahim's messages on equal access to education and women’s rights proving to be the most popular

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

General : Countries such as Italy and Greece dealing with an influx of asylum seekers should receive more support from other member states, MEPs said on a delegation visit to the Italian island of Sicily from 22 to 24 July. “Italy spends over €1 billion every year just to take care of those who make it across the Mediterranean. Italy’s borders are the EU's borders and a better management of the migratory flows is our common responsibility,” said French ALDE member Jean Arthuis, co-chair of the delegation.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

General : Articles on our photography contest, Ukraine, social media, gender equality and the European integration of the Western Balkans have proved to be most popular on our website in the first half of 2015. Read our article to find out more and click on the links to discover them yourself.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

The three films competing for the 2015 LUX Prize were announced on 24 July in Rome by EP vice-president Antonio Tajani and culture committee chair Silvia Costa, at the Venice Days press conference. The films are: Mediterranea by Jonas Carpignano (Italy, United States, Germany, France, Qatar), Mustang, by Deniz Gamze Ergüven (France, Germany, Turkey, Qatar) and Urok (The Lesson) by Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov (Bulgaria, Greece).
Committee on Culture and Education

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General : We all love to travel, but do you know what to do if things go wrong? When there is an emergency, your flight gets cancelled or you lose your passport? There are EU rules in place to make travellers' lives easier. Here are a few key points to remember.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary sessions : While the conflict in Ukraine continues, the country and the EU ratified a bilateral association agreement on 16 September 2014. Read up on all the latest developments in Ukraine with the help of our timeline, from the Euromaidan movement to the historic vote in the two parliaments in September and the parliamentary elections in Ukraine in October.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

The priorities of Luxembourg EU Council Presidency will be outlined to the various parliamentary committees by Luxembourg ministers in a series of meetings to be held during this week.
Committee on International Trade
Committee on Development
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Committee on Budgets
Committee on Budgetary Control
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs
Committee on Legal Affairs
Committee on Culture and Education
Committee on Constitutional Affairs
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
Committee on Petitions
Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality
Subcommittee on Human Rights
Special Committee on Tax Rulings and Other Measures Similar in Nature or Effect
Subcommittee on Security and Defence
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
Committee on Employment and Social Affairs
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, 2015 - EP

A draft EU law that would enable any member state to restrict or prohibit the use of EU-approved GMO food or feed on its territory was strongly opposed by MEPs from all political groups in a debate on Wednesday. Members were concerned that the draft did not include an impact assessment, that member state measures might not be compatible with single market or WTO rules and that the proposal might prove unworkable.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

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The rescue package for Greece agreed at the 12-13 July Eurozone Summit on Greece was debated in the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee on Thursday. Members gave their views on the deal struck by Greece and its creditors, the functioning of the Eurozone, the role played by the European Parliament and on Parliament’s future involvement in monitoring the implementation of the agreement.
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

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A binding emergency mechanism to relocate an initial total of 40,000 asylum seekers from Italy and Greece to other EU member states was backed by civil liberties MEPs on Thursday. An upcoming permanent scheme, on which Parliament will decide jointly with the Council, must be based "on a more substantial contribution to solidarity and responsibility-sharing among member states", MEPs say.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

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As air pollution is responsible for around 400,000 premature deaths in the EU yearly, Environment MEPs on Wednesday tightened up Commission plans and called for more ambitious national caps on emissions of six main pollutants, such as sulphur dioxide, particulate matter and nitrogen oxides in order to cut emissions by 70% across the EU and save €40bn in air pollution costs by 2030. MEPs also want to include emissions reduction ceilings on mercury, and a midpoint target for most caps of 2025.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

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Draft EU rules on sharing and protecting the Passenger Name Record (PNR) data of people flying to or from the EU, and its use by member states and Europol to fight terrorism and serious transnational crime, were approved by the Civil Liberties Committee on Wednesday. This data must only be used to prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute these crimes, said MEPs, inserting safeguards to ensure "the lawfulness of any storage, analysis, transfer and use of PNR data".
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

General : The end of roaming charges could become a reality in just two years' time. Parliament's industry committee approved on Wednesday a deal to end roaming charged that had been agreed with EU governments and the European Commission. Prices should drop next year, while from 15 June 2017 making a call or watching a football match live on a mobile phone abroad would cost the same as doing so at home. Read on for more details.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

General : On 15 July 2014 MEPs voted to elect Jean-Claude Juncker as European Commission president. During last year's European elections Juncker had run as the candidate of the European People's Party (EPP) and when it won more seats than any other group, the new Parliament backed Juncker to lead the Commission. Our video tells the story of an important innovation that ensured voters had more say than ever on who should be in charge in Europe.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Deliberately destroying and pillaging archaeological sites and trafficking art objects in war zones amount to « cultural genocide » and should be classified as war crimes, argued speakers in a public hearing held by the European Parliament’s Culture and Education Committee on Monday afternoon. MEPs and experts reiterated the need for harmonised international legislation in this area.
Committee on Culture and Education

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The proportion of female researchers and students might be increasing in Europe, yet they remain underrepresented in scientific careers and disciplines. A report adopted by the women's rights committee on 14 July sets out how women could be helped to overcome the barriers preventing them from progressing in science, research and the technology sector. Check out our infographic to find out how many men and women graduated in science over the past decade.
Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality

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General : Quotas to relocate refugees arriving in Greece and Italy, GMOs and limits on emissions of air pollutants are on the agenda this week in the European Parliament. Plans to introduce EU-wide rules for collecting and processing the data of air passengers will also be discussed.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

General : Members of the agriculture, energy and international trade committees are visiting on 18 and 19 June the Milan Expo, the world exhibition whose motto is "feeding the planet, energy for life". The aim of the visit is to promote efforts to increase global food security, fight food waste and encourage healthy lifestyles.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP