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On 10 January 2022, Parliament's Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT) held a hearing on the partial renewal of members of the European Court of Auditors (ECA). Subsequently, CONT gave a favourable opinion on three candidates: Czech nominee Jan Gregor (renewal), Latvian nominee Mihails Kozlovs (renewal) and Slovenian nominee Kristijan Petrovič (new candidate). CONT gave an unfavourable opinion, however, on the renewal of Polish nominee Marek Opioła's mandate. A plenary vote is scheduled for the January ...

Xenotransplantation, defined as the transplantation of animal derived organs and cells into humans, is currently a very active focus of research as it overrides some of the obstacles encountered with tissue engineering, such as vascularization and innervation. The resurgence of interest in xenotransplantation is mainly attributed to the improvement of gene editing techniques (such as CRISPR/Cas9), since genetically engineered animals have been generated to overcome organ rejection. However, xenotransplantation ...

As part of building a European Health Union, as well as in response to the Covid 19 pandemic, the European Commission proposed in November 2020 to reinforce the European Medicines Agency's role in crisis preparedness and the management of medicines and medical devices. The proposed regulation seeks to better anticipate possible shortages and to ensure timely development of high-quality medicinal solutions, to allow the EU to react to health crises more quickly, efficiently, and in a coordinated manner ...

In December 2020, the European Commission published a proposal for a digital services act (DSA) designed to define clear responsibilities and accountability for digital service providers and promote a transparent and safer online environment. New rules are proposed to address emerging societal challenges such as the spread of counterfeit goods, hate speech and disinformation online. The new rules, once adopted, will re-shape the rights and obligations of digital service providers, online users, customers ...

Protests erupted in Kazakhstan on 2 January 2022 and quickly span out of control, resulting in multiple deaths and several days of chaos. Although initially triggered by a fuel price hike, the unrest points to deeper causes of discontent, including poverty, inequality and frustration at the lack of political change. A Russia-led peacekeeping mission has helped to restore order, but could also compromise Kazakh independence.

Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 had a positive impact on animal welfare during transport after its entry into force; however, its implementation is not yet harmonised across the European Union (EU). To investigate its application across Member States and whether the European Commission is enforcing them properly, the European Parliament set up a Committee of Inquiry on the Protection of Animals during Transport (ANIT) in June 2020, which led to the drafting of a report and recommendations. A final ...

At the January 2022 plenary sitting, the European Parliament (EP) is due to elect its 31st President, to hold office for the second half of the current term, up to the next European elections, following which the new Parliament will elect its President in July 2024. The President has an important and increasingly visible function in the EU institutional and international setting, mirroring the influential role of the Parliament as shaper of EU policies and as co-legislator. This is a further update ...

Haiti is currently experiencing one of the most difficult periods in its recent history. Just one month after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse on 7 July 2021, a devastating 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit the south-west of the country, affecting over 800 000 people and killing over 2 200. As a result, the national and regional elections (scheduled for 26 September 2021) were postponed indefinitely. At the same time, kidnappings and gang violence have increased insecurity; and the repatriation ...

The Summit for Democracy, a pledge of US President Joe Biden's 2020 electoral campaign, came to fruition on 9 10 December 2021. The first-ever global summit dedicated to harnessing international support for democratic renewal launched the 2022 'year of action', aimed at fostering resilient democracies worldwide.

The proceedings summarise the presentations and discussions that took place during the EMPL workshop held on 2 December 2021 on Mental health and well-being in the digital world of work post COVID. The workshop had four presentations, each followed by a Q&A session. The presentations touched upon the cost of poor mental health and the cost of inaction, digitalisation in the world of work, innovative and practical ways to create a resilient workplace and the role of legislation at national and EU ...