MEPs call for national and EU measures to guarantee all patients have safe and timely access to essential and innovative medicines.

To protect animal welfare, consumers and public health, the Environment and Public Health Committee called for EU Action Plan to address illegal trade in companion animals.

Lack of transparency has recently fuelled uncertainty and disinformation regarding COVID-19 vaccination in Europe, say MEPs.

The share of municipal waste to be recycled will rise to 55% by 2025, from 44% today, under legislation on circular economy backed by Environment MEPs on Tuesday.

The EU should tackle the environmental impacts, such as deforestation and habitat degradation, linked to the unsustainable production of palm oil in particular in South-East Asia, said Environment MEPs in a non-binding report adopted on Thursday. Members advocate a phase-out of the use in biofuels of vegetable oils that drive deforestation by 2020, and a single certification scheme for palm oil entering the EU market.

Parliament negotiators reached an agreement with Council on Monday on new criteria to determine whether an economic activity is environmentally sustainable.

Addressing the challenges linked to securing access to safe COVID-19 vaccines will be the main topic of an online hearing on 22 September from 09.00-12.00 in the European Parliament.

All of the EP’s 20 standing committees and two subcommittees held their constitutive meetings on Wednesday to elect their chair and vice-chairs.

Environment MEPs advocate a full and immediate EU-wide ban on ivory and rhinoceros horn trade, and call for common sanctions at EU level against wildlife trafficking, in a resolution voted on Thursday. Wildlife trafficking is worth an estimated €20 billion annually. It has grown in recent years, becoming one of the biggest and most profitable forms of organised cross-border crime.

European Parliament's President Antonio Tajani reacted to the announcement by U.S. President Donald J. Trump to withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change, on Thursday.

A European Citizens’ Initiative petition calling for an EU-wide ban on herbicide glyphosate was discussed on Monday with the petitioners and the European Commission.

Environment and Public Health Committee MEPs will discuss the current Coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak with the European Commission on Thursday morning.

A draft law to reform the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), by reducing the surplus of carbon credits available for trading into order to support the price, was informally agreed upon by MEPs and the Latvian Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers on Tuesday. The surplus reserve would start operating in 2019.

The Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee calls for more EU self- sufficiency and better-coordinated strategies to tackle medicine shortages.

MEPs call on the Commission to put forward rules to stop EU-driven global deforestation through mandatory due diligence for companies placing products on the EU market.

On Tuesday, MEPs quizzed the European Commission and European Medicines Agency on latest developments concerning the authorisation and purchase of COVID-19 vaccines.

Parliament and Council reached a provisional agreement on Thursday to make the European Medicines Agency more effective in tackling shortages of medicines and medical devices.

A European Parliament delegation arrives in Glasgow today to participate in the COP26, where they will meet with key players in the negotiations.

A draft law to cap the production of traditional biofuels and accelerate the shift to alternative sources, such as seaweed and waste, was approved by the Environment Committee on Tuesday. It aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that result from the growing use of agricultural land to produce biofuel crops.

The growing threat posed by antibiotic-resistant bacteria can be tackled through a “One Health” approach, MEPs said on Wednesday.