Europaparlamentets presstjänst

Telekompaketet: stärkta konsumenträttigheter och ökad konkurrens

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:44:00 GMT

Den 24 november röstar parlamentet för sista gången om en större översyn av EU:s regler för telekommunikation, som ska stärka telefon- och nätanvändarnas rättigheter och öka konkurrensen mellan telekomföretagen.

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EU är frihet och gemenskap

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:33:00 GMT

Maria Chalhoub från Enskede, Aron Johnsson Regnell från Bromma och Michelle Haglund från Ludvika har två saker gemensamt. De är alla födda i november 1989 och de bjöds in till Europaparlamentet för att medverka i 20-års jubileet av Berlinmurens fall i Bryssel.

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The Week Ahead 23-29 November 2009

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:12:00 GMT

Plenary Session - Strasbourg

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The Week Ahead 23-29 November 2009

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:40:00 GMT

Plenary Session - Strasbourg

Source : © European Parliament

Sessionsinfo 23-26 november 2009, Strasbourg

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:18:00 GMT

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Frågor och svar om tillgång till Internet och telekompaketet

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:18:00 GMT

Användare kan stängas av från Internet, om det behövs och står i proportion till deras agerande. Men först efter att en rättvis och opartisk prövning har gjorts, där användaren har rätt att bli hörd. Natten mellan onsdagen den 4 november och torsdagen den 5 november nådde parlamentet och ministerrådets delegationer en överenskommelse om denna sista olösta fråga i telekompaketet.

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2010 budget conciliation: funding of economic recovery plan solved

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:19:00 GMT

The EU's 2010 budget was agreed by conciliation delegations from Parliament and the Council on Wednesday evening. They found funding for the EU economic recovery plan and of the closure of the Bulgarian nuclear plant Kozlodoy and agreed on emergency aid to milk producers. Payments will be €122,937 million, splitting the difference between the two sides' initial proposals.

Source : © European Parliament

Energy-saving buildings: agreement reached

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:45:00 GMT

All buildings built after 31 December 2020 must have high energy-saving standards and be powered to a large extent by renewable energy. Public authorities will lead the way two years earlier and part of the funding for these changes will come from the EU. These are among the key points of a deal reached on Tuesday evening between Parliament and Council negotiators.

Source : © European Parliament

MEPs and Council Presidency agree energy efficiency classes for white goods

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:46:00 GMT

Any advertisement promoting price or energy efficiency of fridges, washing machines or ovens will have to indicate the product's energy class, MEPs agreed with the Swedish Presidency on Tuesday. The new label allows for additional classes (with "A+++" for the most energy-efficient products) but limits the total number of energy classes to 7.

Source : © European Parliament

MEPs and national MPs debate Stockholm programme

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:07:00 GMT

More cooperation is needed on judicial affairs but without compromising national traditions and fundamental rights, concluded national and European MPs, who are both set to see their responsibilities increased in this area by the Lisbon Treaty. The parliamentarians debated the five-year priorities for justice, freedom and security at a meeting at the EP on Tuesday.

Source : © European Parliament

Parliament-Commission working party on lobbyists continues deliberations

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:59:00 GMT

The European Parliament and European Commission joint Working Party on lobbyists met on Thursday 12 November to resume discussions on a common register and code of conduct for interest representatives.

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Kai Eide on Afghanistan:"I did not want the UN to be involved in a second round"

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:09:00 GMT

Kai Eide, the UN Special Representative to Afghanistan, told MEPs on Monday of his reluctance to involve the UN in the presidential run-off, where fraud would have been inevitable. MEPs of the Development Committee questioned him about electoral fraud and the upcoming Parliamentary elections, ahead of Hamid Karzai's swearing-in in this Thursday.

Source : © European Parliament

EU Atalanta anti-piracy escorts: ships should register for protection

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:38:00 GMT

EU anti-piracy escorts off Somalia have sunk ships, destroyed weapons, intercepted vessels and thwarted direct attacks. No escorted ship has been successfully attacked by pirates, but vessels should register before crossing the Gulf of Aden, EU Naval Force Commander Rear Admiral Peter D. Hudson told MEPs on Monday. MEPs called for more effective protection for European fishing vessels.

Source : © European Parliament

"US and China disappoint the world", says Jo Leinen

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:09:00 GMT

"The biggest polluters turn out to become the biggest failures for climate protection", commented EP Environment Committee Chair Jo Leinen (S&D, DE), on this weekends events. On the contrary, the December climate conference in Copenhagen "needs to become a success", stressed Mr Leinen, who will chair the EP's Copenhagen delegation.

Source : © European Parliament

MEPs react to local in elections in Kosovo

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:08:00 GMT

A seven-strong ad-hoc delegation of MEPs led by German MEP Doris Pack (EPP) visited Kosovo on the occasion of the first elections held under the sole responsibility of the Kosovo authorities on Sunday 15 November. Although the delegation's mandate was not to observe the election in a formal capacity, MEPs nonetheless visited several polling stations across the country, including some of the newly-established municipalities.

Source : © European Parliament

The Week Ahead 16-22 November 2009

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:57:00 GMT

Committee meetings and political groups week – Brussels

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The Week Ahead 16-22 November 2009

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:37:00 GMT

Committee meetings and political groups week – Brussels

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Stockholm programme : MEPs seek balance between liberty and security

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:45:00 GMT

A European Court of Cyber Affairs, mutual recognition by EU Member States of same-sex couples, and a set of prisoners' rights in the EU should be incorporated in the 4-year Stockholm programme of laws to consolidate EU citizens' rights, said MEPs at a joint meeting of the Civil Liberties, Legal Affairs and Constitutional Affairs committees on Thursday.

Source : © European Parliament

Bandet mellan EU och Ryssland ska stärkas - när förutsättningar är rätt

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:18:00 GMT

Klimatförändringar, energisäkerhet och ett nytt samarbetsavtal. Det är några av de ämnen som bör diskuteras vid toppmötet mellan EU och Ryssland i Stockholm 18 november. Det säger Europaparlamentet i en resolution de antog genom handuppräckning på torsdagen. Ledamöterna uttryckte också en oro över hur de mänskliga rättigheterna efterlevs i Ryssland.

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Bättre information om ombudsmannen behövs

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:16:00 GMT

För att minska antalet felriktade klagomål behövs bättre information som guidar medborgarna till vart de kan klaga på EU:s institutioner. Det skriver parlamentet i sin årliga utvärdering av den europeiska ombudsmannens arbete. Ledamöterna är också oroade över att så många klagomål handlar om brist på öppenhet.

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Forskning om Alzheimers: samarbete ger bättre resultat

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:16:00 GMT

Neurodegenerativa sjukdomar, som Alzheimers och Parkinsons sjukdomar, är en av Europas största utmaningar när det gäller den psykiska hälsan. På torsdagen gav parlamentet starkt stöd till EU-ländernas pilotprojekt för gemensam programplanering av forskning på detta område, vilket förhoppningsvis leder till en kritisk massa av kompetens, kunskaper och ekonomiska resurser.

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Lisbon Treaty: Parliament's new budget powers must be respected from day one

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:59:00 GMT

The European Parliament's beefed-up powers over the EU budget should apply in full from the day the Lisbon Treaty enters into force, without waiting for detailed supplementary legislation, say MEPs. On Thursday they voted to give the EP delegation on the 2010 budget a mandate to negotiate transitional rules to ensure Parliament can play its new budgetary role straight away.

Source : © European Parliament

Albania and Bosnia must catch up on reform to qualify for short-stay visa waiver

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:24:00 GMT

Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina must catch up on the reforms needed to qualify for a short-stay visa waiver like those of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, said MEPs on Thursday. The European Commission should report on the two countries' progress early in 2010, and also start a dialogue on visas with Kosovo, they added.

Source : © European Parliament

Parlamentet firade Berlinmurens fall

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:05:00 GMT

I år är det är 20 år sedan Berlinmuren föll. Detta firades i Europaparlamentet under onsdagen. En debatt i parlamentet med 89 stycken 20-åringar födda i november 1989 i var en av dagens stora händelser. På eftermiddagen deltog en av huvudpersonerna i de demokratiska förändringarna under 80-talet, den före detta tjeckoslovakiske presidenten Václav Havel, i en ceremoni.

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Should VAT be tax-deductible for company cars?

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:38:00 GMT

Companies in the EU Member States should possibly be allowed to deduct their input VAT for cars, laptops, mobile phones and other movable assets that form part of their business assets but first it has to be made clear what impact this would have on the internal market, said Members of the EP Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee on Tuesday.

Source : © European Parliament

CRIS : phasing out of support measures not imminent

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:43:00 GMT

The monetary policy stance should be normalized and non-standard measures to support the financial system withdrawn as and when economic and financial conditions gradually improve, ECB Executive Board member José Manuel González-Páramo told the Financial, Economic and Social Crisis (CRIS) Committee on Tuesday. These policy changes are not imminent, he added.

Source : © European Parliament

MEPs favour maintaining a strong, reformed, common agricultural policy

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:52:00 GMT

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) can benefit all EU citizens, if equipped to face new challenges such as climate change, food security and water management, but it must be maintained and supported to meet new global demands, agreed most Agriculture Committee MEPs on Tuesday, in a workshop on the CAP's future after 2013.

Source : © European Parliament

"Visa liberalisation not a substitute for accession negotiations"

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:15:00 GMT

"Visa liberalisation must not be a substitute for the start of accession negotiations. It is an instrument for further integration; it is not a goal in itself", Foreign Affairs Minister of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Antonio Milososki told MEPs on Tuesday.

Source : © European Parliament

Court of Auditors 2008 report: further improvements needed, say MEPs

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:11:00 GMT

Although control of EU spending has improved and errors are down, more needs to be done, said Budgetary Control Committee MEPs on Tuesday as the Court of Auditors presented its 2008 report. The presentation launched the 2008 discharge procedure.

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Tjugo år efter järnridåns fall - parlamentet firar med ceremoni

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:04:00 GMT

89 ungdomar från hela Europa, födda samma månad som Berlinmuren föll, kommer till Bryssel för att fira det nya Europa på onsdag 11 november. I högtidlighållandet av 20-årsdagen de demokratiska förändringarna i Central- och Östeuropa deltar även Tjeckiens före detta president Václav Havel.

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Global Warming Hearing with Sir Paul McCartney and Dr Rajendra K. Pachauri

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:35:00 GMT

The European Parliament will host a major event on global warming and food policy on 3 December where Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Dr Rajendra K. Pachauri and environmental activist Sir Paul McCartney will urge legislators and experts to focus on what an individual can do to fight climate change, for example by eating less meat.

Source : © European Parliament

Massoud Barzani on Iraqi elections, Turkey and oil

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:35:00 GMT

Iraqi Kurdistan's President Massoud Barzani discussed Iraq's forthcoming elections, relations with Turkey, oil supplies, minority rights and honour killings with MEPs on Tuesday. MEPs paid tribute to Mr Barzani's role in stabilising northern Iraq.

Source : © European Parliament

UN Human Rights Council "bias" disappoints MEPs

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:45:00 GMT

The UN Human Rights Council should drop its "political bias" on human rights in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories and take a more flexible and pragmatic approach to human rights worldwide, said Human Rights Sub-Committee MEPs at a public hearing on Tuesday. It is too soon to judge the HRC, replied its President Alex Van Meeuwen.

Source : © European Parliament

Lux-priset: Film i fokus när framstående filmskapare besöker parlamentet

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:35:00 GMT

Den kommande månaden i Europaparlamentet blir en tid i filmens tecken. Flera framstående europeiska filmskapare och skådespelare besöker parlamentet i Bryssel den 10 november för att diskutera filmerna som tävlar om årets Lux-pris: "Eastern Plays", "Sturm" och filmen "Welcome". Dessutom presenteras världens första DVD med textning på 30 språk.

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Sessionsinfo 11-12 november 2009, Bryssel

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:20:00 GMT

We want reciprocity in EU-US relations, MEPs tell Napolitano

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:49:00 GMT

Reciprocity is the recipe for progress on contentious EU-US civil liberties issues such as data protection and visa waiver, MEPs told US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano at an extraordinary meeting on Friday. On the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, Ms Napolitano said "Our belief is that Guantanamo has been used more as a recruitment tool than anything else".

Source : © European Parliament

The Week Ahead 9-15 November 2009

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:55:00 GMT

Parlamentet och ministerrådet överens om telekompaketet i natt

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:58:00 GMT

Användares tillgång till internet får begränsas, men bara om det verkligen behövs och står i proportion till deras agerande. Men det får enbart ske efter ett rättvist och opartiskt förfarande och efter att nätanvändaren först hörts om händelsen. Det enades företrädare för parlamentet och ministerrådet om under onsdagsnattens telekom-förhandlingar.

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Vuk Jeremic: Serbia likely to submit its EU application before end of 2009

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:35:00 GMT

"The basic groundwork is there for Serbia to submit its official application for EU membership. We hope to do so by the end of this year", Serbian foreign minister Vuk Jeremic told members of the EP Foreign Affairs Committee this Thursday. However, he would not back a call by MEPs for the Serbian government to encourage Serbian Kosovars to take part in upcoming local elections in Kosovo.

Source : © European Parliament

Europeiska Karlspriset för ungdomar: tredje upplagan lanseras i dag

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:45:00 GMT

Idag, den 5 november, går startskottet för europeiska Karlspreistävlingen för ungdomar. Tävlingen riktar sig till ungdomar som är involverade i projekt som främjar förståelsen mellan människor från olika länder i Europa. Sista ansökningsdagen för att skicka in bidrag är den 22 januari 2010.

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