Press room 

Mobility package proposals will be returned to the EP’s Transport Committee for a vote before they will be put to the full House on 3rd and 4th April.

The European Parliament made the case on Thursday for EU-wide data sharing on the registration of cats and dogs to tackle the illegal trade in pets that are often badly bred and at risk of spreading diseases. Trafficking of pets, including wild and exotic animals, is increasingly linked to organised crime and poses a public health risk, say MEPs.

The UNFCCC Paris Agreement on fighting climate change, the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate deal, will come into force next month, having met the necessary conditions much earlier than predicted, as the European Parliament agreed to its ratification by the European Union in a historic vote on Tuesday. The EU will join the US, China and India, other global players and major greenhouse gas emitters, at a November meeting of Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA) in Marrakesh.

New rules to ensure that public funding for European political parties and foundations is used properly were approved by the European Parliament on Tuesday.

Negotiations with EU governments on the revised rules for the posting of workers can start after the full House gave the green light.

MEPs vote to expand the use of an online VAT payment system for businesses which would slash compliance costs and deliver billions more to member states.

MEPs backed plans on Tuesday to improve consumers’ trust in drinking water from the tap, which is much cheaper and cleaner for the environment compared to bottled water.

The fact that diesel cars’ nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions are much higher in real driving conditions than in laboratory tests was known to the EU member states and Commission over a decade ago. They should now act swiftly to improve tests and checks on new cars on EU roads, say MEPs in recommendations voted on Tuesday. In a separate vote, MEPs also amended EU “type approval” rules to make environmental and safety testing more independent, with stricter oversight of cars already on the road.

Draft legislation updating the EU Tobacco Directive to make tobacco products less attractive to young people was endorsed by MEPs on Wednesday. This legislation, already informally agreed with EU health ministers, would require all packs to carry picture warnings covering 65% of their surface. E-cigarettes would be regulated, either as medicinal products if they claim to help smokers to quit, or as tobacco products.

In a vote on Wednesday, MEPs confirmed their position on the next EU long-term budget, including a precise breakdown of the amounts for each EU programme.

Three measures to ensure that banks shoulder the risks of failure rather than relying on taxpayers to bail them out were approved by Parliament on Tuesday. Two deal with restructuring and winding down troubled banks, and the third ensures that banks, not taxpayers, guarantee deposits under €100,000 in the event of a run on a bank. These measures complement the single bank supervision system, already in place, and take the EU far down the road towards banking union.

The Council and finance ministers were sharply criticised by MEPs on Tuesday for their lacklustre performance in fighting tax evasion and avoidance.

Non-EU nationals exempt from visa requirements will have to get an authorisation before travelling to the EU, under new rules backed by Parliament on Thursday.

"China is not a market economy" on EU criteria, argued MEPs of all political colours in Tuesday morning's debate with the Council and Commission. The debate centred on how the EU should counter any unfair competition from China after 11 December 2016, when its World Trade Organization (WTO) access protocol foresees changes in its treatment in trade defence investigations.

MEPs overwhelmingly decided on a show of hands to set up a new special committee on financial crime, tax evasion and avoidance on Thursday.

The safety assessment of the most widely used herbicide, for which authorisation will expire at the end of the year, was put into doubt by many MEPs on Tuesday.

Updated rail passengers’ rights should include higher compensation rates for delays and better assistance to people with reduced mobility.

Firms would be taxed where they earn their profits under a proposed harmonised corporate tax system which uses the online activities of digital firms to calculate their tax bills.

Given concerns about the carcinogenicity and endocrine disruptive properties of the herbicide glyphosate, used in many farm and garden applications, the EU Commission should renew its marketing approval for just 7 years, instead of 15, and for professional uses only, Parliament says in a resolution voted on Wednesday. MEPs call for an independent review and the publication of all the scientific evidence that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) used to assess glyphosate.

The EU and its member states should step up their efforts to achieve equality between women and men. Despite progress on some issues, much remains to be done to reduce pay gaps, remove “glass ceilings” blocking women’s careers, remedy their lack of economic independence and improve their work/life balance, say MEPs in a non-legislative resolution voted on Tuesday.