European Parliament (News)

Plenary sessions : Vice-president Mairead McGuinness drew the House's attention to the nightclub fire in Bucharest on 30 October in which at least 46 people died, with 100 or more still in hospital, and the Russian plane crash in Sinai on 31 October, which killed 224 people. She conveyed the House's condolences to the friends and families of the victims of both tragedies and to the people of Romania and Russia.

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General : The Lux Prize not only gives recognition to some of the best European films, but also serves as an opportunity to show them to cinema lovers across the EU. Join the conversation on social media, enjoy the films and learn more about the Lux Prize and the people whose creativity and passion brought us this year's finalists: Mediterranea, Mustang and The Lesson.

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General : Martin Schulz called for a comprehensive and long-term migration policy in cooperation with African countries in order to tackle the refugee crisis. The EP President made the plea on 10 November at the Maltese Parliament ahead of the Valletta summit on migration taking place today and tomorrow. Schulz said: “As long as war continues, people will continue to flee and won’t be able to return home.”

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Plenary sessions : Aviation is a key driver of economic growth and jobs, but in order to ensure safety and let European companies maintain their competitiveness, current EU rules need to be updated. The European Commission is working on proposals now, but MEPs have already adopted a resolution on what they would like to see in the aviation package to be announced by the end of the year. Check out our infographic about the EU's largest airports.

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The civil liberties committee on Tuesday approved a deal struck by Parliament and Council negotiators on new EU rules to ensure that the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty in criminal proceedings is respected throughout the EU. The aim is to enhance the right to a fair trial and to strengthen member states' trust in each other's criminal justice systems.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

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The EU should better align its spending with its political priorities, carefully considering the intended objectives before allocating EU funds. And this new approach should be adopted as quickly as possible, so the EU can better react to current and future crises, said MEPs in a debate on the European Court of Auditors (ECA) report on the 2014 budget on Tuesday.
Committee on Budgetary Control

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General : The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) helps troubled euro zone countries get their finances in order using loans and other forms of assistance. On 10 November Managing Director Klaus Regling comes to the Parliament to discuss the new financial assistance programme for Greece with the economic committee and Jeroen Dijsselbloem, president of the Europgroup. Follow the discussion live online and read on for our interview with Regling.

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The industry committee set out its demands for a European energy union in a resolution passed on Tuesday. Among them: compliance with the Commission's recommendation concerning hydraulic fracturing, a voluntary system to collectively purchase energy, and support for the development of Europe's own energy resources.
Committee on Industry, Research and Energy

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Microloans help people in difficult social circumstances to find their way out of unemployment and poverty. Although generally associated with South Asia and Latin America, where the first initiatives were launched four decades ago, they are also increasingly used in Europe. In 2010, the EU launched the European Progress Microfinance Facility to improve conditions for borrowers to obtain small loans. On Tuesday the EP's employment committee votes on a report concerning its implementation.
Committee on Employment and Social Affairs

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The economic and monetary committee will debate the macroeconomic adjustment programme for Greece with Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Eurogroup president and chair of the Board of Governors of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), and Klaus Regling, the ESM managing director, on Tuesday at 17.00.
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

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The final round of the ninth edition of the 2015 LUX Film Prize competition starts in Brussels on Monday. It includes three screenings, live debates with audiences and two weeks in which the three shortlisted films –Mediterranea, Mustang and Urok (The Lesson) – will be shown at the EP, with MEPs voting for the winning film and audiences choosing their favourites.
Committee on Culture and Education

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General : It's a busy week ahead in Brussels as members return from duties in their constituencies or with parliamentary delegations. In coming days committees deal with the macroeconomic programme for Greece, plans for energy union and the ECB's quantitative easing programme. In plenary on Wednesday MEPs are set to discuss and vote on EU funding to deal with the Syrian conflict and irregular migration from Africa. The aviation sector and electoral law reform will also be on the agenda.

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General : Launched in 2011 Snapchat is currently the fastest growing social media network on the planet, its over 200 million users send almost 9,000 photos to each other every second. Roughly one third of Snapchat users come from Europe, and in Ireland, Sweden and Belgium, about 50% of teenagers use the app. In order to allow them to get a fun glimpse into the workings of the EU, Parliament set up its own account last May, and now has over 1,000 followers on the video messaging platform.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

General : EP President Martin Schulz travelled today to the Greek island of Lesbos in order to visit a refugee registration and identification centre where almost 2,500 people are recorded on a daily basis. Speaking at the so-called hotspot at Moria, he said: "We must urgently reinforce efforts to complete hotspots. To be effective, however, all member states must take part in the relocation." While in Greece the President also visited Athens for the first relocation of refugees from Greece to Luxembourg.

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General : Turkey is the gateway to Europe for hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war zones and as such an essential partner for the EU to help tackle the refugee crisis. Following Sunday's elections in Turkey, we talked to Greek EPP member Manolis Kefalogiannis, chair of the delegation to the EU-Turkey joint parliamentary committee, about the need for an agreement on migration between the EU and Turkey, the country's human rights situation as well as its progress towards joining the EU.

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General : On Wednesday and Thursday European Parliament President Martin Schulz will travel to Athens and Lesbos to discuss the migration crisis and will be present for the departure of the first relocated refugees from Greece.

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General : The European citizens’ initiative was an innovation in the Lisbon Treaty that gave people the right to demand EU action on a particular subject provided they collect a million signatures. However, after three years no initiative has yet led to a new legislative proposal. The European Commission is preparing a review but MEPs already adopted on 28 October several ideas on how to improve the process. We spoke with report author György Schöpflin, a Hungarian member of the EPP group.

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General : EU heads of state and government met this Wednesday 23 September to discuss the migration crisis in the EU and, speaking at the start of the European Council, EP President Schulz said that the European Union "is built on de facto solidarity, out of necessity, not romanticism." "The European Parliament will now engage as a matter of priority with the Council on the proposals presented by President Juncker on 9 September, and present its own further proposals, " he said.

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ECB President Mario Draghi painted a somewhat downbeat picture of economic developments in the Eurozone but assured Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee MEPs that the ECB "will not hesitate to act if some of the downward risks weaken the inflation outlook over the mid-term more fundamentally than we project at present". He hinted at the possibility of adjusting the size, composition and duration of the ECB’s asset purchase programme, to add monetary policy impetus if necessary.
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

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The environment committee said on Wednesday that Parliament's delegation to the COP 21 climate talks in Paris must call for a 40% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, a 40% energy-efficiency target and a binding 30% target for renewable energy.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

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