Who will be the three lucky winners going to Strasbourg to interview president @Martin Schulz? Come see who is in the lead, cast your vote and tip the scales...(read more) Facebook
Instagram - Behind the scenes of the plenary Directly from us to you... Look at our Instagram pictures taken behind the scenes of the May plenary session in Strasbourg. And find more pics @...(read more) Facebook
Travelling with your pet? There are 64 million cats and 66 million dogs in the EU, which could need a passport or vaccination to cross borders. Parliament has...(read more) Facebook
Photo of the day: flags in front of the Parliament building in Strasbourg. Facebook Parliament passed three separate resolutions on Thursday, calling for measures leading to the abolition of the death penalty in India and to human rights reforms in Rwanda, and expressing concerns about the situation of hunger striking prisoners in Guantanamo.
Following the recent fires and building collapse at factories in Bangladesh, MEPs called on Thursday for justice for victims and EU action to prevent similar events in future. They want the Commission to promote responsible business conduct among EU companies operating abroad and ensure strict compliance with all legal obligations in the areas of human rights, labour and the environment.
On 24 January 2013 the Internal Market Committee adopted its position on draft rules setting out minimum EU requirements for the award by public authorities of "concession" contracts to procure works or services from private suppliers. These contracts are typically high-value, complex and long-term. These Q&A deal with certain aspects of the committee text, on which informal negotiations are now under way with the Council headed by the Irish Presidency and the European Commission.
The growing globalisation of data flows, via social networks, cloud computing, search engines, location-based services, etc, arguably increases the risk that people could lose control of their own data. MEPs are debating a major overhaul of current EU data protection rules which aims to put people in control of their personal data and to build trust both in social media and in online shopping and communication in general.
The EU Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) and Directive (CRD) aim to stabilise and strengthen the banking system by making banks set aside more and higher quality capital as a cushion against crises. The new rules should also foster a convergence of supervisory practices across the EU. Banks that are better able to withstand future crises should be more capable of financing investment and growth.
Europe on the Ground, a Greek youth media project, was awarded first prize at the 2012 Charlemagne Youth Prize ceremony on 15 May in Aachen. Second prize went to Europe Meets School, an exchange programme for Erasmus students (Czech Republic) and the winner of the third prize was the Cycle Me Home project, a documentary road-movie (Hungary). The Charlemagne Youth Prize is awarded annually to projects that foster a shared sense of European identity and integration among young people.
"Europe on the Ground", a Greek youth media project, was awarded first prize at the 2012 Charlemagne Youth Prize ceremony on 15 May in Aachen. Second prize went to "Europe Meets School", an exchange programme for Erasmus students (Czech Republic) and the winner of the third prize was the "Cycle Me Home" project, a documentary road-movie (Hungary). The Charlemagne Youth Prize is awarded annually to projects that foster a shared sense of European identity and integration among young people.
The deadline for candidates to come forward for the 2012 Charlemagne Prize has been extended to 13 February 2012, giving more youngsters a chance to come forward for the fifth edition of the prize.