Press room 

EU ministers should admit Bulgaria and Romania to the border check-free Schengen area as soon as possible, MEPs urge.

For next year’s budget, MEPs have secured better support for students, unemployed youngsters and researchers.

On Wednesday, MEPs acknowledged Ukraine‘s positive reform track, while condemning Russia‘s aggression in the Kerch Strait and the construction of Nord Stream 2.

Two Iranian activists, lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and film director Jafar Panahi, are this year's joint winners of the European Parliament Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. They were chosen by President Schulz and political group leaders on Friday morning.

Parliament voted to reform the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund supporting workers dismissed due to globalisation, technological or environmental changes.

The Employment Committee’s decision to increase the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and make youth and children the main beneficiaries was approved by plenary.

MEPs back the Ombudsman’s special report asking for a more transparent Council and call for quick implementation of her and the Parliament’s recommendations.

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.

Loopholes used by some of the world’s multinationals to avoid paying tax were closed by Parliament in a vote on Thursday.

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.

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.

The EP expressed its concerns regarding the offensive against women’s rights and gender equality in some member states, in a resolution adopted on Wednesday.

MEPs called on the 11 member states that haven’t ratified the Istanbul Convention to do so, in a plenary debate with Commissioner Ansip on Monday evening.

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.

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.

MEPs call for the inclusion of a specific gender chapter in all future EU trade and investment agreements, in a report adopted in Plenary on Tuesday.

The EU needs stricter rules to prevent mafia-style organisations from accessing legal economic circuits and infiltrating political circles, says a resolution adopted on Tuesday by Parliament. MEPs also suggest setting up a special committee to investigate the negative social and economic impact of organised crime in Europe.

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

The Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee (FEMM) will have 35 full members in the ninth legislature.

The Commission and member states must step up their efforts to help end female genital mutilation, said MEPs in a resolution voted on Wednesday.