Strasbourg December plenary in 10 points

Flame of peace: After hundreds of kilometres of travelling, the Bethlehem Flame of Peace stopped, for the 14th time, on Tuesday at the Parliament in Strasbourg. President Jerzy Buzek lit a candle with the flame that commemorates the birth of Jesus and recalls the need for understanding between peoples. A sea of flames filled Strasbourg city centre, from where the Flame heads to to Austria for 24 December.

 

Question hour: The third session of question time gave MEPs a chance to quiz Commission President José Manuel Barroso on the planned 2020 Strategy to make EU a greener social market economy. During the first 30 minutes political group leaders' questions ranged from future Commission portfolios and recent EU-Ukraine summit to the chances of introducing the so-called "Tobin Tax" on cross border currency trade.

 

Swedish EU presidency in numbers: MEPs gave their - mainly positive - verdict on the Swedish EU Presidency. Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt summed up EP-Presidency relations in numbers: Swedes paid a total of 44 visits to Committees, addressed MEPs in plenary 43 times, including 25 speeches by Europe Minister Cecilia Malmström and 4 appearances by Mr Reinfeldt himself.

 

Sakharov prize: President Buzek awarded Parliament's annual prize for freedom of thought to Russian human rights defenders on Wednesday. Oleg Orlov, Sergei Kovalev and Lyudmila Alexeyeva were in Strasbourg to receive the prize on behalf of Russian NGO Memorial. "My country needs support and pressure", 79 year old human rights campaigner Sergei Kovalev told the House.

 

Foreign affairs: Tuesday afternoon MEPs debated the recent conclusions of the Foreign Affairs Council relating to the Middle East Peace Process and the situation in East Jerusalem that called for a two state solution and a way to be found through negotiations to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of two states.

 

On Wednesday, MEPs evaluated the new EU action plan for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and discussed ongoing violent conflict in DR Congo despite the considerable efforts of the international community. Relations with Belarus and sanctions against its officials were also on the agenda. On Tuesday MEPs had already come back to who started the Russian-Georgian war in 2008.

 

Facebook: While MEPs were preparing for the opening of the plenary, EP fans logged on to Parliament's Facebook page to question 2009 Sakharov Prize winner Oleg Orlov. Responding from an ice-cold Moscow, the Memorial activist gave a frosty picture of Russia's human rights record. On Wednesday EP fans were back on-line, sharing their climate concerns with MEP Karl-Heinz Florenz, vice-chair of the Parliament's delegation in Copenhagen.

 

Smart sanctions: MEPs called for a say on measures such as freezing of bank accounts for the likes of Osama bin Laden, the Al-Qaida network and the Taleban. UN and EU blacklisting regimes having been criticised for counter-productiveness. MEPs want a say on any future sanctions to ensure they are accompanied by appropriate legal safeguards and guarantees. EU sanctions are an important means to put pressure on governments to fight terrorism, Swedish Europe minister Malmström reminded MEPs.

 

Public access to documents: MEPs pressed the Commission and Council to move forward in the revision of EU legislation on access to documents. EU's new Lisbon Treaty is supposed to bring greater transparency and easier access to EU documents. The issue is dear to the hearts of MEPs who in March adopted amendments to a draft proposal reopening the debate on revision.  

 

Globalisation fund: MEPs gave the green light for support to unemployed car and construction workers in Sweden, Austria and Netherlands. These Member States will have 12 months to use €15.9 million from the EU's Globalisation Adjustment Fund aid for training, self-employment and professional orientation services.

 

EU budget 2010: On Thursday Parliament adopted the EU budget for 2010. The main challenge of budget talks was to find funding for the EU's economic recovery plan, expected to cost €2.4 billion in 2010.