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It looks set to be a busy 12 months for MEPs with the economic crisis continuing, a raft of energy and transport issues on the agenda and negotiations on reforming the Common Agriculture Policy.

EP President Jerzy Buzek announced 27 October that five Arab Spring activists will be awarded the 2011 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought for their contribution to historic changes in the Arab world and as a "symbol for all those working for dignity, democracy and fundamental rights in the Arab world and beyond". The prize was awarded on 14 December during a formal sitting in Strasbourg.

The European Parliament is almost half way through its seventh term and it has been quite a turbulent two and a half years with the economic crisis. As we reach the mid-point between elections we look back at some of the key legislation approved by MEPs, including the economic governance 6-pack, financial supervision, wide-ranging consumer protection rules and passenger rights.

The European Parliament's October vote on next year's EU budget marked the beginning of the final stage of negotiations. With the agreement on the size and priorities of the 2012 budget, reached on the evening of 18 November, it took a concrete step towards a final agreement. The EP and Council agreed that the 2012 budget should rise 1.86%.

This year's LUX film prize went to French move "Les neiges du Kilimandjaro". Jerzy Buzek awarded the prize during a ceremony on 16 November during the plenary ceremony in Strasbourg. Director Robert Guédiguian couldn't attend and producer Marc Bordure attended on his behalf.

Agricultural spending accounts for 41% of the European Union's annual budget and has been at the heart of EU policy since the very start of the European project. As the European Parliament, European Commission and member states begin to haggle over the EU's long-term budget, we look into the role of the Common Agricultural Policy in the so-called Multiannual Financial Framework for 2014-2020.

Are European Union countries, still facing economic crises, ready to support the ambitious EU 2020 growth strategy, or will it get tangled up in the claims of member states preoccupied by what they contribute to the budget and what they get back? And, if they do come up with a budget to support the 2020 targets, what will happen to traditional policy areas? These issues will be tackled when the EU negotiates its long-term budget, the so-called multiannual financial framework (MFF) for 2014-2020.

Last autumn the EU agreed to tighten financial supervision in the private sector, in an effort to head off any future financial crisis, now the public sector is under the spotlight as the European Parliament tackles dangerous imbalances in EU economies and considers new rules meant to limit the growth of debt and deficits in the member states. On 28 September MEPs finally approved the so-called "six- pack" of new rules. Read on to find out more about its passage through Parliament.

Food legislation is on the menu in the EP. MEPs have votedon proposals about GMOs, food labelling and will vote on food quality. The main idea is to give consumers more information, choice and quality. It will be up to them to choose what they eat - but Parliament's decisions will allow them to make a more informed decision.

The European Parliament celebrated International Women's Day 2011 with a series of events held between the 3-8 March in Brussels and in Strasbourg. While celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women so far, the events also drew attention to the inequalities still to be redressed, including female poverty, differences in pay and access to jobs as well as maternity issues.