Newsletter

MEPs will debate "investment, growth and jobs" with European Commission President José Manuel Barroso on Tuesday at 15.00, ahead of a much-anticipated informal summit of EU leaders on Wednesday. Small and medium-sized enterprises - as key drivers of growth and job creation - will be the subject of a separate debate with Council and Commission on Tuesday at 9.00, which will examine their definition and access to EU structural funds.

The proposed financial transaction tax should be better designed to capture more trades and to make evading it unprofitable, Parliament is expected to say in an opinion, to be voted on Wednesday, on the draft legislation. MEPs will also say the tax should go ahead even if only some Member States opt for it.

Maximising the efficient use and recovery of natural resources will make the EU economy more competitive and protect the environment, says a resolution to be put to the vote on Thursday. MEPs are set to demand stricter rules on waste management and an end to environmentally-harmful subsidies.

On Tuesday, MEPs debate the situation in Ukraine, in particular the harsh treatment of jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko. This follows the concessions won by EP President Schulz in discussions last Wednesday with Prime Minister Azarov who agreed that doctors will be sent to treat Ms Tymoshenko and a high-level observer will monitor the trials against her.

MEPs will debate the fight against homophobia in Europe with Council and Commission representatives on Tuesday and vote a resolution on Wednesday. Draft EU legislation to ensure equal treatment of persons irrespective of sex orientation, age, religion or disability was voted by the European Parliament in April 2009, but has since been blocked in the Council of Ministers.

Parliament will urge the European Commission to table new measures to close the gender pay gap, including stricter sanctions on employers. The draft resolution, to be voted Thursday, points out that the gender pay gap still averages 16.4% in the EU, and in some member states has even widened.

Bluefin tuna stocks have been recovering recently, but illegal catches and fishing fleets need to be reduced to ensure stocks develop sustainably. MEPs will vote Wednesday to update EU legislation with internationally agreed measures to cut quotas and tighten controls.

MEPs are set to give their consent to an updated EU-Mozambique fisheries agreement on Wednesday. The new protocol, which puts more emphasis on sustainable fishing and has applied provisionally since 1 February 2012, opens up fishing opportunities to 75 EU vessels from Spain, France, Portugal, Italy and the UK.

The EU does not know how far China has penetrated EU member states’ economies, by investing in EU firms or purchasing sovereign debt. So the EU needs to set up a monitoring body to provide an advance evaluation of foreign strategic investment, like that already operating in the USA, says a draft resolution to be voted by MEPs on Wednesday.