Wijzigingen in mediawetten die het voor overheden makkelijker maken zich te bemoeien met de media in hun land, moeten jaarlijks op Europees niveau worden gecontroleerd. Dit staat in een resolutie waarover het Parlement dinsdag heeft gestemd. Om mediavrijheid en pluralisme te waarborgen, moet de richtlijn audiovisuele mediadiensten worden herzien en werkomstandigheden van journalisten worden verbeterd.

The EU cannot tolerate shameless discrimination of millions of its citizens on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity, Civil Liberties Committee MEPs said on Friday, the International Day against Homophobia. EU member states must stop blocking the proposed anti-discrimination directive, they added.

Draft rules to make it easier for national authorities to freeze and confiscate criminals' assets across the EU were beefed up by the Civil Liberties Committee on Tuesday. However, MEPs also sought to safeguard the right to a fair trial. They also called upon member states to use confiscated assets to fight crime and for social projects. The draft law, which must still be negotiated with national governments, is part of a broader EU strategy to fight fraud and corruption.

Anyone convicted of a serious crime or corruption should be barred from tendering for public contracts or standing for election in the EU for at least five years, says the Special Committee on Organised Crime in a resolution voted on Tuesday. Mafia membership should be made a crime throughout the EU, and EU-wide rules drawn up on how to use confiscated mafia assets for social purposes, it adds.

The Civil Liberties Committee will debate on Monday and Tuesday two draft laws updating the current data protection legislation. A proposal for a regulation covering the bulk of personal data processing in the EU, both online and off-line, will be discussed from 16.45 on Monday. A draft directive, concerning data processed in criminal investigations, will be debated from 12.10 on Tuesday.

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.

New rules to ensure that chemicals used in industrial processes, such as manufacturing plastics, textiles, aspirin, flu and allergy remedies, dyes and perfumes, are not diverted to the illegal production of heroin, speed or crack were adopted by the Civil Liberties Committee on Wednesday and by the International Trade Committee on Thursday.

Obliging companies to switch auditors regularly and prohibiting auditors from supplying certain non-auditing services are among the changes voted by the Legal Affairs Committee on Thursday to a draft law to open up the EU audit services market and improve audit quality and transparency.

A European Commission proposal to allow the use of EU air passenger name record (PNR) data in investigating serious crime and terrorist offences was rejected by Civil Liberties Committee MEPs Wednesday, by 30 votes to 25.

The Cuban "Ladies in White" (Damas de Blanco) protest movement was at last able to receive its European Parliament Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in Brussels on Tuesday, when, over seven years later, Havana finally lifted a travel ban. The prize was presented at a special ceremony during a joint meeting of the foreign affairs, development and human rights committees, attended by European Parliament President, Martin Schulz.