Opening of Strasbourg session: vote on new Commission the highlight of the week

The president first expressed sorrow at the death following the earthquake in Haiti of Ms Pilar Juárez Boal, head of operations section at the EU delegation in Haiti and a former EP official.  He then commented on the outcome of the presidential elections in Ukraine, saying he had been told by MEPs who had observed the polls that, despite some complaints, the elections had followed the procedures.  He now believed that "democracy is well rooted in that country" and looked forward to good working relations between the EU and Ukraine.  A debate on the Ukrainian elections is on Parliament's agenda for this Wednesday.  Lastly, Mr Buzek drew attention to Tuesday's key votes on the election of the new Commission and the framework agreement on cooperation between the Commission and Parliament.

 

Two changes to the week's agenda were approved by the House.  On Tuesday afternoon at 3pm a debate will take place on Eurozone countries in difficulty and on Wednesday the debates on progress towards enlargement by Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey will be merged into a joint debate.