Briefing
Newsletter - 24-27 February 2014 - Strasbourg plenary session
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The political situation in Ukraine will be debated with Commissioner Füle and Greek Deputy Minister Kourkoulas on Wednesday afternoon. MEPs will vote a resolution on Thursday.
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Legislation to make tobacco products less attractive to young people will be put to a vote on Wednesday. Already informally agreed with EU ministers, it would require all packs to carry a health warning covering 65% of their surface. E-cigarettes would be regulated, either as medicinal products, if they are presented as having curative or preventive properties, or as tobacco products.
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EU aid to the most deprived citizens will be prolonged until 2020 and maintained at €3.5 billion thanks to Parliament. The informal deal with the Council of Ministers, to be endorsed in a vote on Tuesday, ensures that the Fund is immediately fully operational, covering bills as from 1 January 2014.
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EU-wide rules to make it easier for member states to trace, freeze, manage and confiscate crooks’ assets will be put to a vote on Tuesday. Today, less than 1% of the proceeds of crimes such as drug trafficking, counterfeiting, human trafficking and small arms smuggling are frozen and confiscated.
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The CO2 emission limit for new cars sold in the EU is to be reduced from 130 g/km in 2015 to 95 g/km by 2020, under draft legislation to be voted on Tuesday. The text, already informally agreed with EU ministers, also paves the way for achieving further reductions after 2020, and provides for the introduction of a new emissions test protocol that better reflects real-world driving conditions.
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Emergency call devices that automatically alert rescue services to car crashes would have to be fitted to all new models of cars and light vans by October 2015 under draft rules to be voted on Wednesday. “eCall” technology would use the 112 emergency number to enable rescuers to reach crash scenes faster, thus saving lives and reducing injuries.
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New rules on how insurance brokers and salesmen should advise clients will be debated on Tuesday and voted on Wednesday. By updating an existing EU directive, MEPs aim to put an end to unfair or misleading information, including small print and marketing communication, and further harmonise rules on how insurance is sold in Europe.
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President of the Czech Republic Miloš Zeman will deliver a formal address on Wednesday at noon. Mr Zeman, who was Prime Minister from 1998 to 2002, became the country’s first directly-elected President in March 2013.
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The issue of how Switzerland’s 9 February referendum vote to curb immigration from EU countries will affect its relations with the EU will be debated by political group leaders on Wednesday morning. The majority in favour was 50.3%.