Headlines – current highlights in the European Parliament

Buzek welcomes appointments for top EU posts

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:08:00 GMT

The whole EU can "now focus more on the crucial issues facing our citizens" according to the Parliament's President Jerzy Buzek. He was speaking after the appointment of Herman Von Rompuy and Catherine Ashton to the top two posts created by the Lisbon treaty. The latter will have to appear for a Q&A session before Members of the European Parliament before she can take up her post, a procedure now foreseen for January.

Source : © European Parliament

Strasbourg plenary session 23-26 November

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:20:00 GMT

MEPs are set to make a final decision on an overhaul of Europe's telecoms market that will impact internet users. They will also vote on new labels to make tyres more fuel and cost efficient when they meet in Strasbourg. MEPs are also likely to call for leadership from Europe ahead of the Copenhagen climate summit.

Source : © European Parliament

Stockholm programme: balancing liberty and security

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:54:00 GMT

The EU has to strike the right balance between security and fundamental rights, MEPs and MPs said at a joint meeting to discuss the EU's new 5-year "Stockholm" programme to promote citizens' rights, democratic accountability and security in Europe. The European Parliament will discuss the Stockholm priorities during its plenary session next week in Strasbourg.

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Atalanta chief on EU fight against pirates

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:49:00 GMT

"Operation Atalanta" is the codename for the EU anti-piracy campaign off the Somali coast, seeking to protect to vessels crossing these treacherous waters. It is no small task considering the size of the area the operation has to patrol. Operation Commander Rear-Admiral Peter Hudson of Britain's Royal Navy was in parliament this week to tell MEPs about the state of play and the main challenges the operation faces.

Source : © European Parliament

NATO boss Rasmussen calls for stronger security cooperation with EU

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:57:00 GMT

In an exclusive interview, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says it "makes sense" for the EU and NATO to cooperate politically and militarily. On Afghanistan, he hopes for a transfer of responsibility for security to the Afghans to start next year and on relations with Moscow, he points to common threats and says that "NATO is not an enemy of Russia". Finally, he likens his present job to his former role as Danish prime minister in that it is all about "consensus building".

Source : © European Parliament

"Finance and climate change" - a challenge for the future

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:50:00 GMT

"Finance and climate change" was under discussion at a 10 November hearing in parliament's Industry, Research and Energy Committee. Greek Socialist Vice-Chair Anni Podimata said, "the real challenge is to create sustainable living conditions for the future".

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LUX prize: "Eastern Plays", "Sturm", "Welcome"

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:24:00 GMT

A play about reluctant a Neo-Nazi and his brother, a Yugoslav war crimes prosecutor and how a swimming teacher helps a migrant are three subjects tackled in the short list for the Parliament's 2009 LUX film prize. We spoke to the film makers about their work and what has influenced them.

Source : © European Parliament

Telecoms Package: internet access safeguarded

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:06:00 GMT

After nearly 2 years of legislative work the Telecom Package is due to be put to a final vote in Parliament on 24 November in Strasbourg. Under a deal reached between MEPs and Council negotiators earlier this month public authorities will only be allowed to cut users' internet access after a “fair and impartial” procedure including the user's "right to be heard".

Source : © European Parliament

8 things that caught our eye during the Brussels November Plenary session

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:12:00 GMT

The anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall was a major theme during the two-day plenary session in Brussels last Wednesday and Thursday. Václav Havel, the Czech dissident who became President addressed the House to mark the occasion. Among other issues, MEPs urged EU states to pool their research into Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases. The new top jobs in the EU were discussed as was a forthcoming summit with Russia.

Source : © European Parliament

MEPs under threat of assassination

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:02:00 GMT

At least three members of the current European Parliament are living under the threat of being killed for their political views. We spoke to Italian anti-mafia MEP Rosario Crocetta, former Greek reformist Education Minister Marietta Giannakou and Spaniard Carlos Iturgaiz who has taken on the Basque separatist terrorist movement ETA. They talk about repeated assassination attempts, and the toll life under threat takes on their family lives.

Source : © European Parliament

Results from EU-summit 29-30 October

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:12:00 GMT

With the Lisbon Treaty now to come into force, MEPs zeroed in on the question of top EU jobs as they faced Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfelt and Commission President José Manuel Barroso in Parliament's chamber. What kind of Council President, what kind of commissioners, what kind of High Representative do Europe's parliamentarians want?

Source : © European Parliament

Rundown of 11-12 November Parliamentary sitting

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:34:00 GMT

The twentieth anniversary of the democratic revolutions behind the Iron Curtain was marked this week in a two day session of the European Parliament on Wednesday and Thursday (11-12 November). Czech dissident playwright turned President, Václav Havel, joined others to mark the occasion. Europe's climate change position ahead of the Copenhagen earth summit and the EU's top jobs were also debated in Brussels as MEPs considered the results of the last European summit.

Source : © European Parliament

Afghan Government must win trust of people, say MEPs

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:45:00 GMT

Winning the trust of the people will be the number one challenge for Hamid Karzai's Afghan government, according to MEPs just back from Kabul. They were there as part of an international force to monitor the second round of elections, before the challenger Abdullah Abdullah, pulled out. Thijs Berman, the Dutch Socialist who headed the team said "the Afghan people have lost trust in their government".

Source : © European Parliament

Serbia's Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić pledges EU future for Belgrade

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:13:00 GMT

Serbia's Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić said Belgrade will apply for EU membership before the end of the year, with the aim of joining within seven years. Speaking to us during his visit to the European Parliament on 5 November, the youthful Mr Jeremić (34) stressed his view that disagreements over Kosovo independence should be separated from negotiations over the EU. He also spoke of the cultural heritage and the strong relationship with Moscow that Serbia can bring to the Union.

Source : © European Parliament

Combining drugs now more widespread says EU Monitoring Agency

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:09:00 GMT

The use of a combination of drugs is the norm amongst people who misuse substances according to the latest report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). Their annual report found that users now rarely restrict their use to a single substance.

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1989 - Europe's Annus Mirabilis

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:09:00 GMT

The two decades that have passed since Europe's revolutions of 1989 have only served to highlight the importance of those events. The Solidarity victory in Poland, people standing on the Berlin Wall and huge crowds on Prague's Wenceslas square, such images seemed impossible in the spring of that year. The end of the Soviet Empire in Central and Eastern Europe heralded the end of the Cold War and opened the door to Germany's unification and the uniting of independent states in a European Union.

Source : © European Parliament

Environment head Jo Leinen calls for "solidarity" at Copenhagen climate summit

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:35:00 GMT

"The Obama Administration is very ambitious but the Americans have come quite late" says the head of Parliament's Environment Committee Jo Leinen. The German Socialist MEP is just back from talks with the US Congress ahead of the UN's Copenhagen climate summit in December where he will lead Parliament's delegation. In this interview Leinen says that a lack of targets for CO2 cuts and who is going to finance climate adaption and mitigation are two stumbling blocks.

Source : © European Parliament

Financial, Economic and Social Crisis Committee holds opening session

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:21:00 GMT

The remit of the Parliamentary Committee set up to examine the financial crisis was debated at its first meeting on Wednesday (4 November). Rapporteur Pervenche Berès vowed that she would ensure that it focuses on the "financial, economic and social crisis all together" rather than each individually. The 45-strong committee, led by German Liberal Wolf Klinz, is expected to hold hearings and investigations with the aim of drawing up a report soon.

Source : © European Parliament

Mozambique election given clean bill of health by MEPs

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:11:00 GMT

Mozambique in southeast Africa is one of the most beautiful countries in Africa, lying as it does on the Indian Ocean. However, political instability and civil war have blighted life for its 22 million people since independence. On 28 October it held its fourth Presidential and Parliamentary elections since multi-party democracy took hold in the 1990's. A group of MEPs took part in the EU's Election Observation Mission and found the election to be fair despite some logistical problems.

Source : © European Parliament

Werner Schulz: the power of words and memories

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:41:00 GMT

In an exclusive interview to coincide with the anniversary of events in1989, we spoke to German Green Werner Schulz who saw the crowds gather to topple the iconic Berlin Wall and with it overthrow the East German regime in a cold November 20 years ago. He tells us of the events that day as a 39-year-old scientist and opposition activist and also what it feels like to have fought for freedom and democracy.

Source : © European Parliament