European Parliament (News)

General : Less than one year after adopting the Paris climate agreement, world leaders and negotiators are meeting for talks in Marrakesh. The COP22 conference on 7-18 November focuses on ways of implementing the first universally binding global deal on climate change, a matter of huge urgency for the planet. Parliament is represented at the talks by a delegation of 12 MEPs led by Italian EPP member Giovanni La Via.

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General : This week MEPs sit down with representatives of the member states and the Commission with the aim of striking a deal on the 2017 EU budget. Parliament's inquiry committee investigating the Panama papers scandal holds an exchange of views with experts including economist and Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz. With a twelve-strong delegation of MEPs taking part in the COP22 talks in Marrakesh, climate change is also high on the agenda. Read on to learn more about this week’s parliamentary business.

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General : Drones are used for many things, from filming and taking photos to inspecting gas pipelines and spraying crops. But these small unmanned aircraft could also pose a risk to airplanes and be used to invade people’s privacy. On Thursday 10 November the transport committee approved changes to EU aviation safety rules that would also include basic safety measures for drones. Find out more about drones in our infographic.

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A twelve-strong delegation of MEPs will take part in UN (COP22) climate talks (COP22) in Marrakesh from Monday to Friday. Following the European Parliament’s ratification and the entry into force of the 2015 Paris agreement, these will focus on how to finance and share the efforts needed to keep climate warming well below 2 degrees compared to pre-industrial levels.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

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Plans to update EU civil aviation safety rules to address emerging risks were amended and approved by Transport and Tourism Committee MEPs on Thursday. The updated EU regulation will also introduce the EU-level requirements for drones, to ensure safety and privacy.
Committee on Transport and Tourism

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General : The election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States will undoubtedly affect the country’s relations with the EU. Not only could it have an impact on the ongoing negotiations for free-trade agreement TTIP, there could also be repercussions for the other pillar of Euro-American cooperation, Nato. We talked to German EPP member David McAllister, chair of Parliament's delegation for relations with the United States, what Europe can expect from a Trump presidency.

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EU structural funding for Spain and Portugal should not be suspended, as this would only undermine investment, harm their economies and alienate their citizens from the EU project, MEPs agreed with Spanish economy minister Luis de Guindos and Portuguese finance minister Mário Centeno at a joint meeting of the Regional Development and Economic Affairs committees on Tuesday.
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs
Committee on Regional Development

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General : Life in a refugee camp can be hard, especially if you are a woman or a child. A delegation from the women's rights committee visited camps and centres for refugees around Athens on 3-4 November to assess their situation. Following the mission we spoke to the head of the delegation Constance Le Grip, a French member of the EPP group. She called on EU countries to live up to their commitment to take in more refugees, especially women and children.

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To help farmers to cope with volatile prices, the EU must develop new risk and crisis management tools and strengthen their bargaining position in the food supply chain, says a non-legislative resolution voted in the Agriculture Committee on Tuesday. The supply chain should be made more transparent, and the EU budget more flexible, so that funds can be deployed faster to tackle crises, add MEPs.
Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development

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General : The three films competing for this year's Lux Film Prize are coming to a cinema near you: À peine j’ouvre les yeux (As I Open My Eyes), Ma vie de courgette (My Life As a Courgette) and Toni Erdmann. Don't miss the chance to watch them and let us know which one is your favourite. MEPs will determine the winner of this year's Lux Prize, which will be announced later this year. Read on to find how you can watch the short-listed films.

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General : The free trade agreement between the EU and Canada and the future of the EU's trade policy will be debated by MEPs this week as committees are meeting. On the agenda are issues such as a data protection agreement between the EU and the US, aviation safety rules to meet new challenges such as drones and the ongoing investigation into the Panama papers.

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General : Ever wondered what the Parliament looks like from inside? It's now possible to visit our building from the comfort of your own home using your smartphone thanks to virtual reality technology. In our first ever VR video you will be greeted by Parliament’s Facebook followers and President Martin Schulz and be shown around the plenary chamber.

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General : Young people who make a difference deserve recognition. That is why the European Parliament and the International Charlemagne Prize Foundation award the Charlemagne Youth Prize every year. Today we open applications for the 10th edition. If you are between 16 and 30 years old and run a project with a European dimension, do not hesitate to apply for our competition. The winning projects will benefit from recognition and media coverage as well as prize money to further develop the initiative.

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General : Yazidi survivors and public advocates Nadia Murad and Lamiya Aji Bashar were announced as this year's Sakharov Prize laureates during this week's plenary session in Strasbourg. In addition MEPs called on the European Commission to regulate harmful trans fats in processed food. They also adopted Parliament's position on the EU's budget for next year, insisting on more funds to boost growth, tackle the migration crisis and help to find young people work. Read on for an overview.

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Plenary sessions : The EU needs a better coordinated policy on volunteering, to give volunteers a proper legal status and help them join programmes, say MEPs in a resolution voted on Thursday. Almost 100 million EU citizens have taken part as volunteers in education, culture or arts, sport events, humanitarian and development aid work. Young people should take advantage of volunteering schemes to develop skills and acquire experience that helps them to find jobs afterwards, stresses the text.

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Plenary sessions : Worsening relations between nuclear-armed states, such as Russia and the US or India and Pakistan, but also Russia’s threats to use nuclear weapons or to deploy them to more territories in Europe, are making the EU’s security environment ever more tense, say MEPs in a resolution voted on Thursday. They call on these states to reduce nuclear weapons, move them away from deployment into storage and to diminish their role in military doctrines.

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General : Yazidi survivors and public advocates Nadia Murad and Lamiya Aji Bashar are this year's joint laureates of the European Parliament Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, following a decision by Parliament President Martin Schulz and the political group leaders on 27 October. The Sakharov award ceremony will be held in Strasbourg on 14 December.

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Plenary sessions : "Release journalists being held without compelling evidence of criminal activity", MEPs urge the Turkish authorities in a resolution voted on Thursday. Since the failed coup d’état on 15 July, the Turkish government has arrested at least 99 journalists and writers, revoked the press credentials of at least 330 journalists, and closed the offices of more than 100 media outlets, leaving over 2,300 media workers without jobs.

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Plenary sessions : The Iraqi operation to liberate Mosul from jihadi group ISIS/Daesh was backed by MEPs on Thursday. They called on Iraqi authorities to make every effort to protect civilians, hospitals and schools, as they progress towards Mosul. Daesh atrocities and genocide against Christians, Yazidis and other minorities should be referred to International Criminal Court, added MEPs.

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Plenary sessions : Parliament demanded more funds, to help young people into jobs, boost economic growth and assist third countries with a view to mitigating the migration crisis, in a plenary vote on Wednesday. MEPs reversed all the Council’s proposed cuts in the draft EU budget for 2017. They expect some of the additional funds needed to come from new appropriations to be obtained through the mid-term revision of the EU’s long-run budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).

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