MEPs backed new international measures to further reduce illegal catches of bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean, in a vote on Wednesday aimed at ensuring more sustainable development of stocks. They also called for more advice on the identification of spawning grounds and the creation of sanctuaries.

A new deal with Mozambique, which licenses fishing opportunities to 75 EU vessels from Spain, France, Portugal, Italy and the UK, puts more emphasis on sustainable fishing and controls and obliges EU vessel owners to employ local seamen, was backed by Parliament in a vote on Wednesday.

The welfare of animals in transport must be improved, but cutting transport time to eight hours must be supplemented by other measures, such as support for local slaughterhouses and meat processing plants, upgrading transport vehicles and full and uniform control of compliance with existing rules throughout the EU, said many Agriculture Committee MEPs in a debate on Monday.

In times of economic crisis and hardship, the "food for the needy" programme must continue beyond 2013 in the wider context of fighting poverty, and the Commission will act on Parliament's request that it table a proposal to this end, said Commissioner Olli Rehn on Thursday, in a statement welcomed by many MEPs.

The EU must take coordinated action to stop the spread of the Schmallenberg virus and to reassure the public and its trading partners, MEPs insisted in a debate on Thursday morning. Many speakers also criticised restrictions imposed by Russia and other countries on imports of EU live animals and meat in response to the outbreak as "unjustified" and called for their removal.

Common fisheries policy reform must ensure that stocks are fished sustainably, so that fishing can continue, MEPs said in a resolution passed on Thursday. The policy must also do more to help fishermen, in recognition of the public goods provided by the industry, such as creating jobs for coastal communities and providing secure food supplies for EU citizens, they added.

New legislation to boost dairy farmers' bargaining power to get fair prices for their raw milk and help them prepare for the end of milk quotas in 2015 was approved by the Parliament on Wednesday. It will enable farmers' organisations to negotiate raw milk prices on their behalf without falling foul of competition law.

The "Food for the needy" programme will continue to supply food to the EU's most deprived citizens for two more years, thanks to a rescue plan agreed with the Council and approved in plenary session on Wednesday. The programme, on which 18 million of the EU's poorest people in 20 Member States rely, will run until the end of 2013, with a budget of up to €500 million per year.

Rules to enable new bluetongue vaccines to be used more efficiently, and thus make farmers' lives easier, were approved by the Parliament on Tuesday. If Member States put these rules into effect quickly, then the new vaccines could be used for the 2012 vaccination campaign.

A two-year reprieve for the EU's "food for the needy" programme, on which 18 million of the EU's most deprived people rely, was backed by the Agriculture Committee on Monday. If Parliament as a whole endorses the plan to rescue the programme, it will run until the end of 2013, with a budget of up to €500 million per year.