European Parliament

Europe's drones sector offers exciting opportunities for growth, however new rules are needed to ensure they can be used safely, but without deterring investment. The transport committee adopted a report on this on 15 September. Find out more about the opportunities, the need for proper training and what should be done about the privacy issue in our video interview with Jacqueline Foster, who is in charge of steering the new rules through Parliament.
Committee on Transport and Tourism

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Draft rules to cut emissions of major air pollutants from non-road mobile machinery (NRMM), ranging from lawn mowers to bulldozers, tractors and inland waterway vessels, were backed by Environment Committee MEPs on Tuesday. NRMM engines account for about 15% of all NOx and 5% of particulate emissions in the EU.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

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Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

General : EP President Martin Schulz praised Sweden's response to the refugee crisis during a visit to the country on Monday 14 September. Migration and the refugee crisis topped the agenda when he met his counterpart Urban Ahlin, the Speaker of the Swedish Parliament. Schulz also had meetings with King Carl XVI Gustaf and with Prime Minister Stefan Löfven.

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The European Parliament should play a greater role in Eurozone governance, said Commissioner Pierre Moscovici in a debate with Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee MEPs on Tuesday. Economic and monetary union calls for democratic deepening, he added, stressing that "This is not something that can wait. We need more regular exchanges with the Parliament. The European Parliament is the Parliament of the Eurozone and we want to give this political impetus."
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

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Measures to deal with the migration and refugee crisis as well as the situation in transit countries in the Mediterranean region were debated at a joint hearing held by the Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs, Human Rights committees on Tuesday morning. MEPs expressed disappointment at the outcome of Monday’s Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting and urged EU to shoulder its responsibilities.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
Subcommittee on Human Rights
Committee on Foreign Affairs

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"Member states have yet again failed to make tough decisions and provide a compassionate response to the refugee crisis", said the Chair of the European Parliament's Committee responsible for migration and asylum, Claude Moraes. "We are running out of time - the meeting on 8 October is the EU's final chance to agree an organised response to the biggest refugee crisis since World War II in Europe", he added.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

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Bulgaria and Greece should get €16.3 million in EU aid to help repair damage done to public and private infrastructure by exceptionally severe weather conditions early in 2015, said the Budgets Committee on Monday. This European Solidarity Fund aid still needs to be approved by Parliament as a whole in October.
Committee on Budgets

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Traditional products from Calais lace to Scottish tartans could soon enjoy extra protection in the form of geographical indications, reassuring consumers about their origin and quality. This already exists for food products, but on Tuesday the EP's legal affairs committee votes on a proposal to extend this to non-agricultural products as well. We spoke to French S&D member Virginie Rozière, who is in charge of steering the plans through Parliament, about why the new rules are needed.
Committee on Legal Affairs

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General : Migration, development and the crisis on the agricultural markets will be debated by MEPs during the plenary session on Wednesday. Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, will discuss taxation regulations for multinational companies with the economic committee and the special committee on tax rulings on Thursday. He will be joined by commissioners Pierre Moscovici and Margrethe Vestager.

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Plenary and committees meetings, Brussels

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Plenary sessions : Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, gave his first State of the Union speech in plenary on Wednesday morning, focusing on migration and the situation in Greece. MEPs also supported a emergency scheme for relocating asylum seekers from Italy and Greece to other member states and welcomed the Commission's new proposals for dealing with the growing influx of refugees. They also approved a ban on cloning farm animals and a stricter ban on seal products.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

The nominations for Parliament´s 2015 Sakharov Prize were announced on Thursday 10 September. The prize is awarded every year to honour exceptional individuals who combat intolerance, fanaticism and oppression.The nominations will be formally presented on Monday 28 September during a joint meeting of the foreign affairs and development committees and the human rights subcommittee. The winner will be announced in October.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Committee on Development
Subcommittee on Human Rights

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Plenary sessions : New migration management proposals, including relocating 120,000 asylum seekers within the EU - on top of the May proposal to relocate 40,000 - a permanent distribution mechanism for the future, a list of safe countries of origin to ensure faster returns of those whose asylum request is rejected, and legal migration channels to the EU, were outlined by the Commission and debated in Parliament this morning. MEPs urged member states to act and praised EU citizens for warmly welcoming refugees.

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Plenary sessions : King Felipe VI of Spain will address the European Parliament in a solemn session during the next Strasbourg plenary, the Conference of Presidents has confirmed today.

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Plenary sessions : Parliament called on Thursday for a fresh EU approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The EU must fulfil its responsibilities as an influential player and take a bold and comprehensive peace initiative for the region, MEPs said, regretting the lack of a comprehensive and coherent vision of the EU's engagement in the Middle East Peace Process, despite its ambitions there.

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Plenary sessions : Welcoming the European Commission's new proposals to deal with the unprecedented influx of migrants and refugees, MEPs declared themselves ready to work on draft laws to set up a solid migration and asylum policy for the future in a resolution voted on Thursday.

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Plenary sessions : Migrants who make it to Europe are setting it an historic test. Hundreds of thousands look to it for protection from war and persecution. The right response to this global challenge is not walls or deterrence, national selfishness or national measures, but a common asylum and refugee policy, President Schulz urged in his opening address. Plans for sharing asylum seekers among EU countries will be presented to Parliament on Wednesday by Commission President Juncker, he added.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

General : Fewer seals could be hunted over their fur thanks to a stronger EU ban on the trade in seal product. MEPs debate the plans today and vote on them tomorrow. Under the new rules hunting seals in order to protect fishing stocks would no longer be allowed, although Inuit and other indigenous communities will continue to be exempt from the ban. These changes, already agreed with EU governments, are needed to bring EU regulation in line with World Trade Organization rules.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP