Justice and citizenship

After the widely followed January plenary debate with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the Civil Liberties Committee is holding a public hearing on Thursday to assess the civil rights situation in the country.

The EP is calling on the Commission and member states to do more to tackle violence against women and young people. Up to a quarter of women and young people in Europe are estimated to have experienced physical violence. Today the EP voted in favour of a report arguing for more action and for more support for the Daphne programme, the only EU programme seeking to combat violence against children, young people and women.

EU support in peace processes should be made conditional on women participating in negotiations. That is one of the conclusions of a report on women's situation in war by Romanian Liberal Norica Nicolai. The report proposes several measures to help reinforce the position of women in war-torn countries and to reduce sexual violence against them. The report will be voted on Thursday.

Passions ran high in the chamber on Wednesday as several political group leaders raised concerns not only over specific legal and constitutional provisions in Hungary, but also what they saw as a wider undermining of democratic values in that country. Others vigorously opposed this view, warning that such an approach went too far. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told MEPs that straightforward solutions to meet concerns could be found.

Tunisia was the first country to revolt and demand democratic elections, followed by several other North African and Arab nations. Developments and challenges facing the so-called "Arab Spring" show that democracy is an ongoing process and can't be taken for granted. We look back at some of parliament's reaction to events.

In a hectic six months, MEPs negotiated a 2012 budget that met EP concerns about growth, innovation and employment and got stuck into deciding how the EU long-term budget should look in future as well as the reform of farm policy. The EP marked the momentous events in the Arab world by awarding this year's Sakharov prize for freedom of thought to five Arab Spring activists.

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 financial and economic crisis and the attendant fall in demand and increase in competition has put a lot of pressure on small- and medium-sized enterprises and on employees. On 21 November two citizens came to present different aspects of the problems faced by many citizens to the Parliament's Petitions Committee - the difficulties faced by SMEs and collective redundancy.

Nikiforos Diamandouros, the European Ombudsman, presented his 2010 annual report to the EP in Strasbourg Thursday. MEPs congratulated the Ombudsman on his work but deplored the large and increasing number of complaints against the Commission. Mr Diamandouros spoke to us and gave his views on his role and the complaints his team receives.

The European Parliament Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought in 2011 goes to five representatives of the Arab people, in recognition and support of their drive for freedom and human rights. It will be presented to the winners by President Jerzy Buzek at Parliament's formal session in Strasbourg, on 14 December.