Newsletter

MEPs will state their views on key issues at the 30 January informal European Council, including any decision on fiscal union, in a debate on Wednesday. They will also set out a way forward to boost growth and employment, in a resolution to be voted on Thursday.

The sanctions against Iran approved by the Council on 23 January and Russia's December 2011 legislative elections will be debated with EU foreign policy High Representative Catherine Ashton on Wednesday, after the question hour.

EU Member States should consolidate and harmonise their measures to prevent repressive regimes from stashing cash, owning property, doing business or travelling in the EU, Parliament will say in a resolution to be voted on Thursday.

Parliament is set to ask some tough questions about how the EU manages its humanitarian aid budget and how EU aid is channelled through the UN. The critical draft resolution to be put to a vote on Thursday was unanimously approved by the Budgetary Control Committee.

Funding for the next Daphne programme must be kept at a level comparable to that of the previous ones, says a resolution to be voted Thursday.

Managing waste badly is expensive, but exporting it costs even more, says a resolution to be voted on Thursday. Environmental, health and economic factors all militate in favour of good waste treatment practices, say MEPs, stressing that Europe's recycling industry has the potential to generate up to half a million jobs.

For the first time, Parliament will debate ideas for EU-wide measures to tackle violence in sports stadiums, doping, match-fixing and illegal betting. It is expected to call, in a resolution to be voted on Thursday, for tough penalties on sports-related tax fraud and new rules to govern sports agents.