IN THE CHAIR: Martin SCHULZ
President

1. Resumption of the session

The sitting opened at 17.05.

2. Tribute

The President, on behalf of Parliament, paid tribute to the memory of Hans Jansen, who had died on 5 May 2015.

3. Approval of the minutes of the previous sitting

The minutes of the previous sitting were approved.

4. Election of a Vice-President of the European Parliament (deadline for submitting nominations)

On a proposal from the President, the deadline for submitting nominations for the election of a Vice-President had been set at 18.00 on Tuesday 19 May 2015.

The election would take place at 12.00 on Wednesday 20 May 2015.

5. Parliament's calendar of part-sessions – 2016

At its meeting of 30 April 2015, the Conference of Presidents, had adopted the draft calendar of part-sessions for the 2016 parliamentary year, as follows:

- 18 to 21 January

- 1 to 4 February

- 24 and 25 February

- 7 to 10 March

- 11 to 14 April

- 27 and 28 April

- 9 to 12 May

- 25 and 26 May

- 6 to 9 June

- 22 and 23 June

- 4 to 7 July

- 12 to 15 September

- 3 to 6 October

- 24 to 27 October

- 21 to 24 November

- 30 November and 1 December

- 12 to 15 December

Deadline for tabling amendments: Tuesday 19 May 2015 at 12.00.

Vote: Wednesday 20 May 2015 at 12.00 (minutes of 20.5.2015, item 10.2).

6. Composition of Parliament

Following the death of Hans Jansen, in accordance with Rule 4(1), Parliament established the vacancy of his seat with effect from 6 May 2015.

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The Finnish authorities had given notice of the election of Pirkko Ruohonen-Lerner to replace Sampo Terho as Member of Parliament with effect from 27 April 2015.

Under Rule 3(2), until such time as her credentials had been verified or a ruling had been given on any dispute, and provided that she had previously made a written declaration stating that she did not hold any office incompatible with that of Member of the European Parliament, Pirkko Ruohonen-Lerner would take her seat in Parliament and on its bodies and would enjoy all the rights attaching thereto.

7. Verification of credentials

On a proposal from the JURI Committee, Parliament confirmed the mandate of Hannu Takkula with effect from 27 April 2015.

8. Composition of committees and delegations

The President had received the following requests for appointments from the ECR and EFDD Groups:

Delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly: Tomasz Piotr Poręba to replace Ian Duncan

Delegation for relations with the United States: Pirkko Ruohonen-Lerner to replace Sampo Terho

ECON Committee: Pirkko Ruohonen-Lerner to replace Sampo Terho

Delegation to the EU-Montenegro Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee: Marco Zullo was no longer a member

The appointments would be deemed ratified if there were no objections before the approval of these minutes.

9. Written declaration (Rule 136)

The President informed Parliament that the following written declaration had been signed by a majority of Parliament's component Members:

Written declaration 4/2015 on Establishing a European Year on Combating Violence against Women, submitted by the following Members: Marc Tarabella and 14 other Members.

In accordance with Rule 136, this written declaration has been published in these minutes with the names of the signatories (minutes of 18.5.2015 annex 1).

10. Signature of acts adopted under the ordinary legislative procedure (Rule 78)

The President announced that on Wednesday, together with the President of the Council, he would sign the following acts adopted under the ordinary legislative procedure:

- Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on insolvency proceedings (recast) (00031/2015/LEX - C8-0129/2015 - 2012/0360(COD))

- Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Directive 2006/70/EC (00030/2015/LEX - C8-0128/2015 - 2013/0025(COD))

- Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on information accompanying transfers of funds and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1781/2006 (00029/2015/LEX - C8-0127/2015 - 2013/0024(COD))

- Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulations (EC) No 850/98, (EC) No 2187/2005, (EC) No 1967/2006, (EC) No 1098/2007, (EC) No 254/2002, (EC) No 2347/2002 and (EC) No 1224/2009, and Regulations (EU) No 1379/2013 and (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, as regards the landing obligation, and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1434/98 (00011/2015/LEX - C8-0126/2015 - 2013/0436(COD))

- Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1304/2013, as regards an additional initial pre financing amount paid to operational programmes supported by the Youth Employment Initiative (00019/2015/LEX - C8-0125/2015 - 2015/0026(COD))

11. Delegated acts (Rule 105(6))

In accordance with Rule 105(6), the Chair of the Conference of Committee Chairs had informed the President of Parliament that no objections had been raised with regard to:

Recommendation of the AGRI Committee to raise no objections to the Commission delegated regulation of 27 April 2015 amending Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (C(2015)02802 – 2015/2673(DEA)) (B8-0439/2015).

If no objections to this recommendation are raised by a political group or at least 40 Members within 24 hours, it shall be deemed to have been approved. If this is not the case, it shall be put to the vote.

The recommendation is available on Europarl for the duration of the current part-session.

12. Documents received

The following documents had been received:

1) from the Council and Commission

- Appointment of a Member of the Court of Auditors - Bettina Michelle Jakobsen (DK) (08487/2015 - C8-0122/2015 - 2015/0803(NLE))

- Proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement between the European Union and the United Arab Emirates on the short stay visa waiver (07185/2015 - C8-0124/2015 - 2015/0062(NLE))

2) from committees

2.1) reports

- Report on the implementation of the Common Security and Defence Policy (based on the Annual Report from the Council to the European Parliament on the Common Foreign and Security Policy) (2014/2220(INI)) - AFET Committee - Rapporteur: Arnaud Danjean (A8-0054/2015)

- *** Recommendation on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the European Convention on the legal protection of services based on, or consisting of, conditional access (05651/2012 - C7-0069/2012 - 2010/0361(NLE)) - JURI Committee - Rapporteur: Pavel Svoboda (A8-0071/2015)

- ***I Report on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on indices used as benchmarks in financial instruments and financial contracts (COM(2013)0641 - C7-0301/2013 - 2013/0314(COD)) - ECON Committee - Rapporteur: Cora van Nieuwenhuizen (A8-0131/2015)

- ***I Report on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the strengthening of certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and of the right to be present at trial in criminal proceedings (COM(2013)0821 - C7-0427/2013 - 2013/0407(COD)) - LIBE Committee - Rapporteur: Nathalie Griesbeck (A8-0133/2015)

- Report on green growth opportunities for SMEs (2014/2209(INI)) - ITRE Committee - Rapporteur: Philippe De Backer (A8-0135/2015)

- Report on financing the Common Security and Defence Policy (2014/2258(INI)) - AFET Committee - BUDG Committee - Rapporteurs: Eduard Kukan and Indrek Tarand (A8-0136/2015)

- ***I Report on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Fund for Strategic Investments and amending Regulations (EU) No 1291/2013 and (EU) No 1316/2013 (COM(2015)0010 - C8-0007/2015 - 2015/0009(COD)) - BUDG Committee - ECON Committee - Rapporteurs: José Manuel Fernandes and Udo Bullmann (A8-0139/2015)

- ***I Report on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council setting up a Union system for supply chain due diligence self-certification of responsible importers of tin, tantalum and tungsten, their ores, and gold originating in conflict-affected and high-risk areas (COM(2014)0111 - C7-0092/2014 - 2014/0059(COD)) - INTA Committee - Rapporteur: Iuliu Winkler (A8-0141/2015)

- Report on safer healthcare in Europe: improving patient safety and fighting antimicrobial resistance (2014/2207(INI)) - ENVI Committee - Rapporteur: Piernicola Pedicini (A8-0142/2015)

- Report on Financing for Development (2015/2044(INI)) - DEVE Committee - Rapporteur: Pedro Silva Pereira (A8-0143/2015)

- ***I Report on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the safeguard measures provided for in the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Swiss Confederation (codified text) (COM(2014)0305 - C8-0009/2014 - 2014/0158(COD)) - JURI Committee - Rapporteur: Andrzej Duda (A8-0145/2015)

- *** Recommendation on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union and its Member States, of the Additional Protocol to the Agreement on Trade, Development and Cooperation between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of South Africa, of the other part, to take account of the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union (07657/2015 - C8-0103/2015 - 2014/0236(NLE)) - DEVE Committee - Rapporteur: Davor Ivo Stier (A8-0146/2015)

- Report on the request for waiver of the immunity of Viktor Uspaskich (2014/2203(IMM)) - JURI Committee - Rapporteur: Laura Ferrara (A8-0149/2015)

- Report on the request for waiver of the immunity of Janusz Korwin-Mikke (2015/2049(IMM)) - JURI Committee - Rapporteur: Kostas Chrysogonos (A8-0150/2015)

- Report on the request for waiver of the immunity of Theodoros Zagorakis (II) (2015/2071(IMM)) - JURI Committee - Rapporteur: Andrzej Duda (A8-0151/2015)

- Report on the request for waiver of the immunity of Jérôme Lavrilleux (2015/2014(IMM)) - JURI Committee - Rapporteur: Heidi Hautala (A8-0152/2015)

- Report on the impact of developments in European defence markets on the security and defence capabilities in Europe (2015/2037(INI)) - AFET Committee (associated committee) - Rapporteur: Ana Gomes (A8-0159/2015)

2.2) recommendations for second reading

- ***II Recommendation for second reading on the Council position at first reading with a view to the adoption of a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Directive 2006/70/EC (05933/4/2015 - C8-0109/2015 - 2013/0025(COD)) - ECON Committee - LIBE Committee - Rapporteurs: Krišjānis Kariņš and Judith Sargentini (A8-0153/2015)

- ***II Recommendation for second reading on the Council position at first reading with a view to the adoption of a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on information accompanying transfers of funds and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1781/2006 (05932/2/2015 - C8-0108/2015 - 2013/0024(COD)) - ECON Committee - LIBE Committee - Rapporteurs: Peter Simon and Timothy Kirkhope (A8-0154/2015)

- ***II Recommendation for second reading on the Council position at first reading with a view to the adoption of a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on insolvency proceedings (recast) (16636/5/2014 - C8-0090/2015 - 2012/0360(COD)) - JURI Committee - Rapporteur: Tadeusz Zwiefka (A8-0155/2015)

13. Texts of agreements forwarded by the Council

The Council had forwarded certified true copies of the following:

- Additional Protocol to the Agreement on Trade, Development and Cooperation between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of South Africa, of the other part, to take account of the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union;

- Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and Iceland, of the other part, concerning Iceland's participation in the joint fulfilment of the commitments of the European Union, its Member States and Iceland for the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change;

- Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and Georgia, of the other part;

- Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Moldova, of the other part;

- Minutes of Rectification to the Agreement on the participation of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania in the European Economic Area.

14. Questions for oral answer (submission)

The following questions for oral answer had been submitted by Members (Rule 128):

- (O-000028/2015) by Jerzy Buzek, on behalf of the ITRE Committee, to the Commission: Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) - human resources necessary to fulfil its statutory mandate to monitor energy wholesale markets (2015/2627(RSP)) (B8-0118/2015);

- (O-000049/2015) by Iratxe García Pérez and Maria Arena, on behalf of the FEMM Committee, to the Council: Maternity Leave Directive (2015/2655(RSP)) (B8-0119/2015);

- (O-000050/2015) by Iratxe García Pérez and Maria Arena, on behalf of the FEMM Committee, to the Commission: Maternity Leave Directive (2015/2655(RSP)) (B8-0120/2015);

- (O-000051/2015) by Marita Ulvskog, on behalf of the EMPL Committee, to the Council: Youth Employment Initiative - need for swift implementation at Member State level (2015/2679(RSP)) (B8-0551/2015).

15. Order of business

The final draft agenda for the May I 2015 sittings (PE 557.487/PDOJ) had been distributed and a number of changes had been proposed (Rule 152):

The President, after consulting the political groups, proposed the following changes:

- the vote on the reports by Arnaud Danjean (A8-0054/2015), Eduard Kukan and Indrek Tarand (A8-0136/2015) and by Ana Gomes (A8-0159/2015) in connection with the joint debate on the CFSP (items 38, 37 and 87 on the final draft agenda) would be held on Thursday;

- the vote on Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No …/.. amending Regulation (EC) No 376/2008 as regards the obligation to present a licence for imports of ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2336/2003 introducing certain detailed rules for applying Council Regulation (EC) No 670/2003 laying down specific measures concerning the market in ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin would be held on Wednesday.

Parliament approved the proposal.

The following spoke: Inês Cristina Zuber and Daniele Viotti.

Monday

No changes.

Tuesday

Request by the Verts/ALE and S&D Groups to wind up the debate on the Council and Commission statements on the situation in Hungary by the tabling of motions for resolutions.

The following spoke: Rebecca Harms, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, and Enrique Guerrero Salom, on behalf of the S&D Group, to move the request.

The President announced that he had received a letter of 14 May 2015 from the Presidency-in-Office of the Council, stating that it did not wish to participate in the debate, since the Council had not reached a common position.

The President also announced that he had received from the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, a letter stating that he wished to take part in the debate.

The President asked the Group Chairs to decide with him what course of action to take.

The following spoke: Sophia in 't Veld, in support of the request, and József Szájer, against the request.

Parliament agreed to the request by electronic vote (181 in favour, 114 against, 6 abstentions).

Parliament decided to put the motions for resolutions to the vote at the June I part-session. The deadlines for tabling amendments would be set in June.

The following spoke: Marie-Christine Vergiat.

Wednesday

No changes.

Thursday

Request from the S&D Group that the debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law (Rule 135) be brought forward to the morning. The vote on motions for resolutions would be held at noon.

The following spoke: Enrique Guerrero Salom, on behalf of the S&D Group, to move the request, and Cristian Dan Preda, against the request.

Parliament agreed to the request by electronic vote (185 in favour, 106 against, 2 abstentions)

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The order of business was thus established.

16. Indices used as benchmarks in financial instruments and financial contracts ***I (debate)

Report on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on indices used as benchmarks in financial instruments and financial contracts [COM(2013)0641 - C7-0301/2013 - 2013/0314(COD)] - Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. Rapporteur: Cora van Nieuwenhuizen (A8-0131/2015)

IN THE CHAIR: Ryszard CZARNECKI
Vice-President

Cora van Nieuwenhuizen introduced the report.

The following spoke: Jonathan Hill (Member of the Commission).

The following spoke: Marisa Matias (rapporteur for the opinion of the ITRE Committee), Luděk Niedermayer, on behalf of the PPE Group, Jonás Fernández, on behalf of the S&D Group, Kay Swinburne, on behalf of the ECR Group, Sylvie Goulard, on behalf of the ALDE Group, Josu Juaristi Abaunz, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group, Philippe Lamberts, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, Bernard Monot, non-attached Member, Eva Paunova, Pervenche Berès, Stanisław Ożóg, Barbara Kappel, who also replied to a blue-card question by Doru-Claudian Frunzulică, Massimiliano Salini, who also replied to a blue-card question by Paul Rübig, Zbigniew Kuźmiuk and Daniel Buda.

The following spoke under the catch-the-eye procedure: Marijana Petir, Nicola Caputo, Notis Marias, Ivan Jakovčić, Emmanouil Glezos, Igor Šoltes and Doru-Claudian Frunzulică.

The following spoke: Jonathan Hill and Cora van Nieuwenhuizen.

The debate closed.

Vote: minutes of 19.5.2015, item 5.11.

17. Financing for development (debate)

Report on Financing for Development [2015/2044(INI)] - Committee on Development. Rapporteur: Pedro Silva Pereira (A8-0143/2015)

Pedro Silva Pereira introduced the report.

The following spoke: Neven Mimica (Member of the Commission).

The following spoke: Charles Goerens (rapporteur for the opinion of the BUDG Committee).

IN THE CHAIR: Ioan Mircea PAŞCU
Vice-President

The following spoke: Paul Rübig, on behalf of the PPE Group, Norbert Neuser, on behalf of the S&D Group, Beatriz Becerra Basterrechea, on behalf of the ALDE Group, Lola Sánchez Caldentey, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group, Heidi Hautala, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, Ignazio Corrao, on behalf of the EFDD Group, Olaf Stuger, non-attached Member, Davor Ivo Stier, who also replied to a blue-card question by Paul Rübig, Elly Schlein, João Ferreira, Nathan Gill, who also replied to two blue-card questions by Doru-Claudian Frunzulică and Heidi Hautala, Franz Obermayr, Bogdan Brunon Wenta, Enrique Guerrero Salom, Lidia Senra Rodríguez, Eleftherios Synadinos, Adam Szejnfeld, Doru-Claudian Frunzulică, Arne Lietz, who also replied to a blue-card question by João Ferreira, Patrizia Toia and Louis Aliot.

The following spoke under the catch-the-eye procedure: Csaba Sógor, Michela Giuffrida, Notis Marias, Ivan Jakovčić, Kostas Chrysogonos and Igor Šoltes.

The following spoke: Neven Mimica and Pedro Silva Pereira.

The debate closed.

Vote: minutes of 19.5.2015, item 5.12.

18. Tobacco agreements (debate)

Commission statement: Tobacco agreements (2015/2686(RSP))

Kristalina Georgieva (Vice-President of the Commission) made the statement.

The following spoke: Petri Sarvamaa, on behalf of the PPE Group, Inés Ayala Sender, on behalf of the S&D Group, Martina Dlabajová, on behalf of the ALDE Group, who also replied to a blue-card question by Tibor Szanyi, Dennis de Jong, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group, Bart Staes, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, Marco Zanni, on behalf of the EFDD Group, Edouard Ferrand, non-attached Member, who also replied to two blue-card questions by Andreas Schwab and Jérôme Lavrilleux, Ingeborg Gräßle, who also replied to a blue-card question by Inés Ayala Sender, Derek Vaughan, who also replied to a blue-card question by Nathan Gill, Frédérique Ries, José Bové, who also replied to a blue-card question by Doru-Claudian Frunzulică, David Coburn, Claudia Schmidt, Jens Geier, who also replied to a blue-card question by José Bové, Miroslav Poche, Zigmantas Balčytis, Karl-Heinz Florenz and Julie Girling.

The following spoke under the catch-the-eye procedure: Marijana Petir, Momchil Nekov, Angel Dzhambazki, Ivan Jakovčić and João Ferreira.

The following spoke: Kristalina Georgieva.

The debate closed.

IN THE CHAIR: Antonio TAJANI
Vice-President

19. Rules on VAT and VAT mini one-stop shop (MOSS) for digital services, books and papers in the EU (debate)

Commission statement: Rules on VAT and VAT mini one-stop shop (MOSS) for digital services, books and papers in the EU (2015/2682(RSP))

Andrus Ansip (Vice-President of the Commission) made the statement.

The following spoke: Andreas Schwab, on behalf of the PPE Group, Neena Gill, on behalf of the S&D Group, Syed Kamall, on behalf of the ECR Group, Sophia in 't Veld, on behalf of the ALDE Group, Matt Carthy, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group, Helga Trüpel, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, Dario Tamburrano, on behalf of the EFDD Group, Dominique Bilde, non-attached Member, Jiří Pospíšil, Tibor Szanyi, Kazimierz Michał Ujazdowski, Dita Charanzová, Miguel Urbán Crespo, Molly Scott Cato, Róża Gräfin von Thun und Hohenstein, Pervenche Berès, Vicky Ford, Fredrick Federley, Eva Paunova, Catherine Stihler, Anneleen Van Bossuyt, Antanas Guoga, Ildikó Gáll-Pelcz, Alessia Maria Mosca, Marcus Pretzell, Kaja Kallas, Siegfried Mureşan, Doru-Claudian Frunzulică, Ruža Tomašić, Jérôme Lavrilleux, Dariusz Rosati and Romana Tomc.

IN THE CHAIR: Rainer WIELAND
Vice-President

The following spoke: Michaela Šojdrová and Michał Boni.

The following spoke under the catch-the-eye procedure: Bogdan Brunon Wenta, José Blanco López, Maite Pagazaurtundúa Ruiz, Emmanouil Glezos and Ernest Maragall.

The following spoke: Andrus Ansip.

The debate closed.

20. One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

In accordance with Rule 163, the following Members who wished to draw the attention of Parliament to matters of political importance spoke for one minute:

Pál Csáky, Victor Negrescu, Marcus Pretzell, Ivo Vajgl, Neoklis Sylikiotis, Petr Mach, Janusz Korwin-Mikke, Michaela Šojdrová, Jonás Fernández, Beatrix von Storch, Ilhan Kyuchyuk, Josu Juaristi Abaunz, Karima Delli, Philippe Loiseau, Marijana Petir, Laurenţiu Rebega, Notis Marias, Maite Pagazaurtundúa Ruiz, Max Andersson, Franc Bogovič, Adam Gierek, Marek Jurek, Seán Kelly, Alessia Maria Mosca, Alojz Peterle and Jude Kirton-Darling.

21. Safer healthcare in Europe (short presentation)

Report on safer healthcare in Europe: improving patient safety and fighting antimicrobial resistance [2014/2207(INI)] - Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety. Rapporteur: Piernicola Pedicini (A8-0142/2015)

Piernicola Pedicini made the presentation.

The following spoke under the catch-the-eye procedure: Paul Rübig, João Ferreira, Anna Záborská, Cristian-Silviu Buşoi and Seán Kelly.

The President interrupted Seán Kelly to ask Doru-Claudian Frunzulică, who was disrupting the sitting, to leave the Chamber.

Doru-Claudian Frunzulică left the Chamber.

The following spoke under the catch-the-eye procedure: Seán Kelly.

The following spoke: Andrus Ansip (Vice-President of the Commission).

The item closed.

Vote: minutes of 19.5.2015, item 5.13.

22. Green growth opportunities for SMEs (short presentation)

Report on green growth opportunities for SMEs [2014/2209(INI)] - Committee on Industry, Research and Energy. Rapporteur: Philippe De Backer (A8-0135/2015)

Philippe De Backer made the presentation.

The following spoke under the catch-the-eye procedure: Paul Rübig, Notis Marias, João Ferreira, Igor Šoltes and Bronis Ropė.

The following spoke: Elżbieta Bieńkowska (Member of the Commission).

The item closed.

Vote: minutes of 19.5.2015, item 5.14.

23. Agenda of the next sitting

The agenda of the next day's sitting had been established ('Agenda' PE 557.487/OJMA).

24. Closure of the sitting

The sitting closed at 22.50.

Present:

Adaktusson, Affronte, Agea, Agnew, Aguilera García, Aiuto, Aker, Albrecht, Aliot, Alliot-Marie, Anderson Lucy, Anderson Martina, Andersson, Andrieu, Androulakis, Annemans, Arena, Arnautu, Arnott, Ashworth, Assis, Atkinson, Auken, Auštrevičius, Ayala Sender, Ayuso, van Baalen, Bach, Balčytis, Balczó, Bashir, Batten, Bay, Bayet, Bearder, Becerra Basterrechea, Becker, Beghin, Belder, Belet, Bendtsen, Berès, Bergeron, Bettini, Bilbao Barandica, Bilde, Bizzotto, Björk, Blanco López, Blinkevičiūtė, Bocskor, Böge, Bogovič, Bonafè, Boni, Borghezio, Borrelli, Borzan, Boştinaru, Boutonnet, Bové, Brannen, Bresso, Briano, Briois, Brok, Buda, Bullmann, Buşoi, Cabezón Ruiz, Cadec, Calvet Chambon, van de Camp, Caputo, Carthy, Carver, Caspary, Castaldo, Cavada, Valero, Charanzová, Chauprade, Childers, Chinnici, Christensen, Christoforou, Chrysogonos, Cicu, Clune, Coburn, Coelho, Cofferati, Collin-Langen, Collins, Comi, Comodini Cachia, Corazza Bildt, Corbett, Corrao, Costa, Cristea, Csáky, Czarnecki, van Dalen, Dalton, D'Amato, Dance, Dăncilă, Danjean, Danti, De Backer, De Castro, Delahaye, Deli, Delli, Delvaux, De Masi, Demesmaeker, De Monte, Denanot, Deprez, de Sarnez, Deß, Deutsch, Diaconu, Díaz de Mera García Consuegra, Dlabajová, Dodds Anneliese, Dodds Diane, Dohrmann, Dorfmann, D'Ornano, Duncan, Durand, Dzhambazki, Eck, Eickhout, Engström, Epitideios, Erdős, Eriksson, Ernst, Ertug, Estaràs Ferragut, Etheridge, Evans, Evi, Faria, Federley, Ferber, Fernandes, Fernández, Ferrand, Ferrara, Ferreira Elisa, Ferreira João, Finch, Fisas Ayxelà, Flanagan, Flašíková Beňová, Fleckenstein, Florenz, Ford, Foster, Fotyga, Fountoulis, Fox, Freund, Frunzulică, Gahler, Gál, Gáll-Pelcz, Gambús, García Pérez, Gardini, Gasbarra, Gebhardt, Geier, Gentile, Gerbrandy, Gericke, Geringer de Oedenberg, Gierek, Gieseke, Gill Nathan, Gill Neena, Girauta Vidal, Girling, Giuffrida, Glezos, Goddyn, Goerens, Gollnisch, Gomes, González Pons, Gosiewska, Goulard, de Graaff, Grammatikakis, de Grandes Pascual, Grapini, Gräßle, Griesbeck, Groote, Grossetête, Grzyb, Gualtieri, Guerrero Salom, Guillaume, Guoga, Guteland, Halla-aho, Hannan, Harkin, Häusling, Hautala, Hayes, Hedh, Helmer, Henkel, Hetman, Heubuch, Hoffmann, Hökmark, Hölvényi, Honeyball, Hookem, Hortefeux, Howitt, Hübner, Hudghton, Hyusmenova, in 't Veld, Iotova, Iturgaiz, Ivan, Iwaszkiewicz, Jaakonsaari, Jäätteenmäki, Jackiewicz, Jadot, Jahr, Jakovčić, James, Jáuregui Atondo, Jiménez-Becerril Barrio, de Jong, Jongerius, Joulaud, Juaristi Abaunz, Jurek, Kaili, Kalinowski, Kallas, Kalniete, Kamall, Kammerevert, Kappel, Karas, Kari, Karim, Kariņš, Karlsson, Karski, Kaufmann, Kefalogiannis, Kelam, Keller Jan, Keller Ska, Kelly, Khan, Kirkhope, Kirton-Darling, Koch, Kofod, Kölmel, Konečná, Korwin-Mikke, Kósa, Köster, Köstinger, Kovács, Kovatchev, Kozłowska-Rajewicz, Krasnodębski, Krehl, Kudrycka, Kuhn, Kukan, Kumpula-Natri, Kuźmiuk, Kyenge, Kyllönen, Kyrkos, Kyrtsos, Kyuchyuk, Lamassoure, Lambsdorff, Landsbergis, Lange, de Lange, Langen, Lauristin, La Via, Lavrilleux, Lebreton, Legutko, Le Hyaric, Leinen, Lenaers, Le Pen Jean-Marie, Le Pen Marine, Lewer, Liese, Lietz, Lins, Loiseau, Lope Fontagné, López, López-Istúriz White, Lösing, Lucke, Ludvigsson, Łukacijewska, Lunacek, Lundgren, Łybacka, McAllister, McAvan, McClarkin, Mach, McIntyre, Macovei, Maeijer, Maletić, Malinov, Maltese, Mamikins, Mănescu, Maňka, Mann, Manscour, Maragall, Marias, Marinescu, Marinho e Pinto, Martin David, Martin Dominique, Martin Edouard, Marusik, Maštálka, Matias, Mato, Maura Barandiarán, Mavrides, Mayer, Mazuronis, Meissner, Mélenchon, Mélin, Melior, Melo, Meszerics, Metsola, Michel, Michels, Mihaylova, Mikolášik, Millán Mon, van Miltenburg, Mineur, Mizzi, Mlinar, Moi, Moisă, Monot, Monteiro de Aguiar, Montel, Moody, Moraes, Morgano, Morin-Chartier, Mosca, Mureşan, Muselier, Nagy, Nart, Negrescu, Nekov, Neuser, Nica, Nicolai, Niebler, Niedermayer, Niedermüller, van Nieuwenhuizen, Nilsson, Ní Riada, Noichl, Novakov, Obermayr, O'Flynn, Olbrycht, Omarjee, Ożóg, Pabriks, Paet, Pagazaurtundúa Ruiz, Paksas, Panzeri, Paolucci, Papadakis Demetris, Papadakis Konstantinos, Papadimoulis, Paşcu, Paulsen, Paunova, Pavel, Pedicini, Peillon, Peterle, Petersen, Petir, Picula, Pieper, Piotrowski, Piri, Pirinski, Pittella, Plenković, Poc, Poche, Pogliese, Poręba, Pospíšil, Post, Preda, Pretzell, Preuß, Quisthoudt-Rowohl, Radev, Radoš, Rangel, Ransdorf, Rebega, Reda, Reding, Regner, Reid, Reimon, Reintke, Reul, Ribeiro, Ries, Riquet, Rochefort, Rodrigues Liliana, Rodust, Rohde, Rolin, Ropė, Rosati, Rozière, Rübig, Ruohonen-Lerner, Saïfi, Sakorafa, Salini, Sánchez Caldentey, Sander, Sant, Sârbu, Sargentini, Sarvamaa, Saryusz-Wolski, Sassoli, Saudargas, Schaake, Schaffhauser, Schaldemose, Schlein, Schmidt, Scholz, Schöpflin, Schreijer-Pierik, Schulz, Schulze, Schuster, Schwab, Scott Cato, Sebastià, Sehnalová, Senra Rodríguez, Sernagiotto, Serrão Santos, Seymour, Siekierski, Silva Pereira, Simon Peter, Simon Siôn, Sippel, Škripek, Škrlec, Smith, Smolková, Sógor, Šojdrová, Šoltes, Sommer, Sonneborn, Spinelli, Spyraki, Staes, Starbatty, Štefanec, Steinruck, Štětina, Stevens, Stier, Stihler, Stolojan, von Storch, Stuger, Šuica, Šulin, Svoboda, Swinburne, Sylikiotis, Synadinos, Szájer, Szanyi, Szejnfeld, Tajani, Takkula, Tamburrano, Tănăsescu, Tang, Tannock, Tapardel, Tarabella, Tarand, Taylor, Telička, Terricabras, Theocharous, Theurer, Thun und Hohenstein, Toia, Tőkés, Tomaševski, Tomašić, Tomc, Toom, Torvalds, Tošenovský, Troszczynski, Trüpel, Ţurcanu, Ujazdowski, Ujhelyi, Ungureanu, Urbán Crespo, Urtasun, Urutchev, Uspaskich, Vaidere, Vajgl, Valcárcel Siso, Vălean, Vana, Van Bossuyt, Van Brempt, Vandenkendelaere, Vaughan, Vautmans, Väyrynen, Vergiat, Verheyen, Vilimsky, Virkkunen, Vistisen, Voigt, Voss, Vozemberg-Vrionidi, Wałęsa, Weber Renate, Weidenholzer, Wenta, Werner, Westphal, Wieland, Wikström, Willmott, Winberg, Winkler Hermann, Winkler Iuliu, Wiśniewska, Woolfe, Záborská, Zagorakis, Zahradil, Zala, Zanni, Zanonato, Ždanoka, Zdechovský, Zdrojewski, Zeller, Zemke, Zīle, Zimmer, Žitňanská, Złotowski, Zoffoli, Zorrinho, Zuber, Zullo, Zver, Zwiefka

Excused:

Crowley, Gabriel, Händel, Herranz García, Liberadzki, Morvai, Picierno, Piecha

Annex 1 - Establishing a European Year on Combating Violence against Women (written declaration)

Written declaration 4/2015, submitted under Rule 136, by Marc Tarabella, Iratxe García Pérez, Vilija Blinkevičiūtė, Biljana Borzan, Barbara Matera, Constance Le Grip, Mariya Gabriel, Teresa Jiménez-Becerril Barrio, Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, Catherine Bearder, Inês Cristina Zuber, Kostadinka Kuneva, Terry Reintke, Ernest Urtasun and Jana Žitňanská, on Establishing a European Year on Combating Violence against Women1 (minutes of 18.5.2015, item 9), and signed by 413 Members.

Text of the written declaration:

1.   The expression ‘violence against women’ denotes all acts of gender‐based violence that result in, or are likely to result in, physical, sexual, psychological or economic harm or suffering for women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.

2.   Violence against women encompasses crimes that disproportionately impact on women, such as sexual assault, sexual harassment, rape, stalking and domestic violence, and is a violation of women’s fundamental rights with respect to dignity, equality and access to justice.

3.   Violence against women is a major obstacle to gender equality and is one of the most widespread human rights violations, knowing no geographical, financial, cultural or social barriers.

4.   Violence against women is a severe problem in the EU, where one out of three women is a victim of sexual and/or physical violence.

5.   The Commission is hence called upon to establish in 2016 a European Year on Combating Violence against Women.

6.   This declaration, together with the names of the signatories, is forwarded to the Commission.

____________

1 Pursuant to Rule 136(4) and (5), of Parliament's Rules of Procedure, where a declaration is signed by a majority of Parliament's component Members, it shall be published in the minutes with the names of its signatories and forwarded to the addressees, though it shall not be binding on Parliament.

List of signatories:

Laura Agea, Clara Eugenia Aguilera García, Daniela Aiuto, Marina Albiol Guzmán, Nedzhmi Ali, Lucy Anderson, Martina Anderson, Max Andersson, Eric Andrieu, Maria Arena, Petras Auštrevičius, Inés Ayala Sender, Pilar Ayuso, Zigmantas Balčytis, Hugues Bayet, Catherine Bearder, Beatriz Becerra Basterrechea, Heinz K. Becker, Bendt Bendtsen, Brando Benifei, Pervenche Berès, Joëlle Bergeron, Goffredo Maria Bettini, Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, Malin Björk, José Blanco López, Vilija Blinkevičiūtė, Franc Bogovič, Simona Bonafè, Michał Boni, Biljana Borzan, Victor Boștinaru, Lynn Boylan, Paul Brannen, Mercedes Bresso, Renata Briano, Klaus Buchner, Daniel Buda, Cristian-Silviu Bușoi, Soledad Cabezón Ruiz, Alain Cadec, Enrique Calvet Chambon, Wim van de Camp, Nicola Caputo, Matt Carthy, David Casa, Fabio Massimo Castaldo, Pilar del Castillo Vera, Jean-Marie Cavada, Bodil Ceballos, Lorenzo Cesa, Dita Charanzová, Nessa Childers, Caterina Chinnici, Ole Christensen, Lefteris Christoforou, Kostas Chrysogonos, Salvatore Cicu, Alberto Cirio, Deirdre Clune, Sergio Gaetano Cofferati, Lara Comi, Therese Comodini Cachia, Anna Maria Corazza Bildt, Ignazio Corrao, Silvia Costa, Javier Couso Permuy, Andrea Cozzolino, Pál Csáky, Rosa D'Amato, Seb Dance, Viorica Dăncilă, Arnaud Danjean, Nicola Danti, Michel Dantin, Rachida Dati, Paolo De Castro, Angélique Delahaye, Karima Delli, Mady Delvaux, Fabio De Masi, Isabella De Monte, Jean-Paul Denanot, Marielle de Sarnez, Agustín Díaz de Mera García Consuegra, Martina Dlabajová, Anneliese Dodds, Diane Dodds, Damian Drăghici, Pascal Durand, Angel Dzhambazki, Stefan Eck, Frank Engel, Linnéa Engström, Ismail Ertug, Rosa Estaràs Ferragut, Jill Evans, Eleonora Evi, Tanja Fajon, José Inácio Faria, José Manuel Fernandes, Jonás Fernández, Laura Ferrara, João Ferreira, Santiago Fisas Ayxelà, Luke Ming Flanagan, Monika Flašíková Beňová, Knut Fleckenstein, Lorenzo Fontana, Vicky Ford, Eleonora Forenza, Lampros Fountoulis, Doru-Claudian Frunzulică, Mariya Gabriel, Francesc Gambús, Iratxe García Pérez, Elisabetta Gardini, Evelyne Gebhardt, Elena Gentile, Lidia Joanna Geringer de Oedenberg, Adam Gierek, Neena Gill, Juan Carlos Girauta Vidal, Julie Girling, Michela Giuffrida, Charles Goerens, Ana Gomes, Tania González Peñas, Esteban González Pons, Sylvie Goulard, Luis de Grandes Pascual, Maria Grapini, Nathalie Griesbeck, Theresa Griffin, Matthias Groote, Françoise Grossetête, Enrique Guerrero Salom, Sylvie Guillaume, Antanas Guoga, Sergio Gutiérrez Prieto, Takis Hadjigeorgiou, Marian Harkin, Martin Häusling, Heidi Hautala, Anna Hedh, Esther Herranz García, Maria Heubuch, Iris Hoffmann, Monika Hohlmeier, Mary Honeyball, Richard Howitt, Danuta Maria Hübner, Ian Hudghton, Sophia in 't Veld, Iliana Iotova, Carlos Iturgaiz, Cătălin Sorin Ivan, Liisa Jaakonsaari, Anneli Jäätteenmäki, Yannick Jadot, Ivan Jakovčić, Ramón Jáuregui Atondo, Teresa Jiménez-Becerril Barrio, Eva Joly, Marc Joulaud, Josu Juaristi Abaunz, Philippe Juvin, Karin Kadenbach, Eva Kaili, Kaja Kallas, Barbara Kappel, Othmar Karas, Rina Ronja Kari, Rikke Karlsson, Sylvia-Yvonne Kaufmann, Jan Keller, Afzal Khan, Jude Kirton-Darling, Jeppe Kofod, Dietmar Köster, Elisabeth Köstinger, Stelios Kouloglou, Andrey Kovatchev, Agnieszka Kozłowska-Rajewicz, Miapetra Kumpula-Natri, Kostadinka Kuneva, Kashetu Kyenge, Merja Kyllönen, Miltiadis Kyrkos, Georgios Kyrtsos, Ilhan Kyuchyuk, Alain Lamassoure, Philippe Lamberts, Gabrielius Landsbergis, Marju Lauristin, Giovanni La Via, Jérôme Lavrilleux, Constance Le Grip, Jörg Leichtfried, Bogusław Liberadzki, Arne Lietz, Barbara Lochbihler, Javi López, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, Paloma López Bermejo, Antonio López-Istúriz White, Sabine Lösing, Bernd Lucke, Elżbieta Katarzyna Łukacijewska, Krystyna Łybacka, David McAllister, Linda McAvan, Emma McClarkin, Mairead McGuinness, Monica Macovei, Ivana Maletić, Svetoslav Hristov Malinov, Andrejs Mamikins, Ramona Nicole Mănescu, Vladimír Maňka, Thomas Mann, Louis-Joseph Manscour, Marian-Jean Marinescu, António Marinho e Pinto, David Martin, Edouard Martin, Fulvio Martusciello, Barbara Matera, Marisa Matias, Gabriel Mato, Fernando Maura Barandiarán, Emmanuel Maurel, Costas Mavrides, Georg Mayer, Gesine Meissner, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Susanne Melior, Tamás Meszerics, Roberta Metsola, Martina Michels, Iskra Mihaylova, Marlene Mizzi, Angelika Mlinar, Sorin Moisă, Csaba Molnár, Cláudia Monteiro de Aguiar, Clare Moody, Claude Moraes, Nadine Morano, Luigi Morgano, Elisabeth Morin-Chartier, Alessia Maria Mosca, Siegfried Mureșan, Alessandra Mussolini, Victor Negrescu, Momchil Nekov, Norica Nicolai, Angelika Niebler, Péter Niedermüller, Cora van Nieuwenhuizen, Liadh Ní Riada, Maria Noichl, Andrey Novakov, Franz Obermayr, Younous Omarjee, Urmas Paet, Maite Pagazaurtundúa Ruiz, Pier Antonio Panzeri, Demetris Papadakis, Dimitrios Papadimoulis, Gilles Pargneaux, Ioan Mircea Pașcu, Aldo Patriciello, Marit Paulsen, Eva Paunova, Piernicola Pedicini, Vincent Peillon, Alojz Peterle, Marijana Petir, Pina Picierno, Tonino Picula, Sirpa Pietikäinen, Kati Piri, Georgi Pirinski, Gianni Pittella, Andrej Plenković, Miroslav Poche, Salvatore Domenico Pogliese, Maurice Ponga, Soraya Post, Cristian Dan Preda, Gabriele Preuß, Franck Proust, Emil Radev, Jozo Radoš, Laurențiu Rebega, Julia Reda, Viviane Reding, Evelyn Regner, Olli Rehn, Michel Reimon, Terry Reintke, Christine Revault D'Allonnes Bonnefoy, Sofia Ribeiro, Michèle Rivasi, Liliana Rodrigues, Maria João Rodrigues, Inmaculada Rodríguez-Piñero Fernández, Ulrike Rodust, Claude Rolin, Bronis Ropė, Virginie Rozière, Fernando Ruas, Paul Rübig, Tokia Saïfi, Sofia Sakorafa, Massimiliano Salini, Lola Sánchez Caldentey, Anne Sander, Alfred Sant, Daciana Octavia Sârbu, Algirdas Saudargas, Jean-Luc Schaffhauser, Christel Schaldemose, Elly Schlein, Helmut Scholz, Annie Schreijer-Pierik, Molly Scott Cato, Jordi Sebastià, Olga Sehnalová, Lidia Senra Rodríguez, Remo Sernagiotto, Ricardo Serrão Santos, Siôn Simon, Branislav Škripek, Davor Škrlec, Csaba Sógor, Igor Šoltes, Renate Sommer, Maria Spyraki, Bart Staes, Sergei Stanishev, Ivan Štefanec, Jutta Steinruck, Helga Stevens, Davor Ivo Stier, Catherine Stihler, Beatrix von Storch, Dubravka Šuica, Richard Sulík, Patricija Šulin, Pavel Svoboda, Neoklis Sylikiotis, Eleftherios Synadinos, Tibor Szanyi, Antonio Tajani, Dario Tamburrano, Claudiu Ciprian Tănăsescu, Paul Tang, Charles Tannock, Claudia Tapardel, Marc Tarabella, Indrek Tarand, Keith Taylor, Pavel Telička, Josep-Maria Terricabras, Isabelle Thomas, Ruža Tomašić, Yana Toom, Evžen Tošenovský, Giovanni Toti, Ulrike Trebesius, Ramon Tremosa i Balcells, Helga Trüpel, Claude Turmes, István Ujhelyi, Ernest Urtasun, Vladimir Urutchev, Viktor Uspaskich, Ivo Vajgl, Elena Valenciano, Marco Valli, Ángela Vallina, Monika Vana, Kathleen Van Brempt, Derek Vaughan, Hilde Vautmans, Miguel Viegas, Daniele Viotti, Henna Virkkunen, Anders Primdahl Vistisen, Axel Voss, Elissavet Vozemberg, Julie Ward, Renate Weber, Cecilia Wikström, Glenis Willmott, Iuliu Winkler, Janusz Wojciechowski, Anna Záborská, Theodoros Zagorakis, Jan Zahradil, Pablo Zalba Bidegain, Flavio Zanonato, Tatjana Ždanoka, Janusz Zemke, Gabriele Zimmer, Jana Žitňanská, Damiano Zoffoli, Carlos Zorrinho, Inês Cristina Zuber, Marco Zullo, Milan Zver