Newsletter - 8-11 February 2010 - Strasbourg plenary session

MEPs vote on the election of the European Commission on Tuesday afternoon. They may elect or reject the new College of Commissioners, which will hold office for the next five years. Parliament will also vote on a resolution on a new cooperation agreement between the two institutions and on resolutions by the political groups setting out their views of the Commission.

 

Parliament is expected to give a positive overall assessment of last year's efforts by Croatia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to qualify for EU membership. It is also expected to underline the limited progress Turkey has made towards meeting the "Copenhagen" EU eligibility criteria, in resolutions to be debated and approved on Wednesday (10 February).

 

Next Thursday in Strasbourg MEPs will have the final say on the provisional nine-month agreement signed by EU government ministers on the transfer of bank data to the United States for counter-terrorism purposes. A rejection by MEPs - as recommended on 4 February by the EP Civil Liberties Committee - would render the agreement legally void.

 

Plans to use body scanners in airport security checks, following the December 2009 failed bomb attack on a flight to Detroit, will be debated by MEPs with the Council and Commission on Tuesday afternoon. An impact evaluation report on body scanners is to be published by the Commission in the coming weeks.

 

On Wednesday (10 February) Parliament will adopt resolutions on Haiti, Iran and Yemen following debates at its January plenary session in Strasbourg on developments in these countries.

 

Poor communities could get EU regional funding in all Member States for renovation or replacement of their houses, according to a regulation to be put to the vote on Wednesday.

 

Parliament will debate and vote on the annual report on equality between women and men in the European Union for 2009. Gender equality should be mainstreamed into all policy areas, say MEPs, to improve the lot of women and remedy the effects of the financial, economic and social crisis on their personal lives and position in the labour market.

 

Since the Guantánamo Bay prison has not been closed as originally scheduled on 22 January by the US administration, MEPs, Council and the Commission will discuss possible cooperation with the US for resettling prisoners.

 

Parliament will vote on an agreement between the European social partners to prevent needle-stick injuries in hospitals, one of the most widespread and serious risks to health workers across the EU.

 

MEPs will vote on a resolution on the outcome of the December 2009 climate change summit in Copenhagen. In a debate on 20 January, they said the agreement reached there was weak and a huge disappointment. MEPs stressed that EU needs to do more and speak with one voice. Some also said that UN negotiating methods should be revised.

 

MEPs want to know how the Commission plans to respond to a recent European Court of Justice decision upholding the right of the Portuguese authorities to ban a foreign on-line gambling site, given that the Commission itself has brought infringement proceedings against many EU Member States for failing to respect the free movement of services.

 

The situation in Ukraine following the second round of presidential elections on 7 February will be the subject of a debate in Strasbourg on Wednesday. Parliament will vote on a resolution at its February II plenary session (25 February).

 

Parliament will vote on a resolution calling on the European Commission and EU Member States to back a ban on international trade in endangered animals or their products, such as blue fin tuna and polar bears, and to maintain an existing ban on trade in African elephants.

 

Following a Commission statement, MEPs will debate the situation of Opel in Europe, in particular in the light of the closure of the company's Antwerp plant, announced on 21 January.