European Parliament

Plenary sessions : Close to half a million Europeans die every year from diseases linked to the millions of tons of gases and particulates human activity releases into the atmosphere. These range from sulphur dioxide that contributes to the acid rain that damages buildings and kills plants, to tiny particulate matter that can cause respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. On Wednesday 23 November, MEPs vote to set tougher emission limits for key air pollutants. Learn more about where they come from in our chart.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Committee on Foreign Affairs - meeting 24/11/2016 (AM)
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : World leaders gathered at the COP22 climate talks in Marrakesh for the last two weeks to negotiate how to implement the priorities of the Paris agreement. Today nearly 200 countries have backed a proclamation declaring implementing them an "urgent duty". The European Parliament was present at the conference with a delegation composed of 12 MEPs. We asked delegation head Giovanni La Via, an Italian member of the EPP group, about the next steps and the Parliament’s role.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary session and committee meetings in Strasbourg

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : What brings EU citizens together is more important than what separates them, say 71% of Europeans, while 53% believe that being an EU member is good for their country, according to Eurobarometer’s latest “Parlemeter” poll, commissioned by the European Parliament and published on Friday.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

EU member states should “refrain from inciting fear and hatred in their citizens towards migrants and asylum-seekers for political gains”, said Civil Liberties Committee MEPs voting a resolution on fundamental rights in the EU on Thursday. The rights to free movement and life-saving abortion are also stressed in the text, which will now be put to a vote by Parliament as a whole.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

It's vital Europe takes up the leadership in the fight against tax evasion, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz told Parliament's inquiry committee investigating the Panama papers on 16 November. Stiglitz, who served as an advisor to the Panama government following the revelations, said the US was unlikely to be effective in tackling the issue: "When your [future] president is evader-in-chief, it’s hard to have confidence in where we are going to go."
Committee of Inquiry to investigate alleged contraventions and maladministration in the application of Union law in relation to money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : Wildlife trafficking is the world's fourth largest criminal activity with rhino horn now being worth more than gold. On Monday 21 November MEPs debate a report calling for common sanction at EU levels to help fight wildlife tracking and vote on it the following day. We talked to report author Catherine Bearder, a UK member of the ALDE group, about wildlife trafficking and what is fuelling demand for it.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

MEPs have fought for and obtained better support for unemployed youngsters and additional funds to boost key initiatives supporting SMEs, transport infrastructure projects, research and Erasmus+ student mobility. The provisional deal on the EU Budget 2017 with the Council was reached in the early hours of Thursday. After Budget MEPs and Council have formally endorsed the agreement, the new EU budget will be voted in plenary in December.
Committee on Budgets

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

There needs to be a “comprehensive global approach” against secret tax structures, says the Nobel Prize-winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz, who called for “zero tolerance”. Speaking to Parliament’s Panama Committee on Wednesday, the former advisor to the Panamanian government suggested that secrecy in tax affairs should be treated like a disease which needs to be isolated.
Committee of Inquiry to investigate alleged contraventions and maladministration in the application of Union law in relation to money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

An agreement on the EU money market funds regulation has been struck by the European Parliament, Council and Commission, after lengthy negotiations, more than three years after the Commission published the original proposal.
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

The EU needs a European register of beneficial owners of companies, consistent definition - and handling - of suspicious transactions and enforced transnational cooperation like the US Financial Investigation Unit, experts on anti-money laundering enforcement in Belgium and Germany told Parliament’s Panama Papers Inquiry Committee on Monday.
Committee of Inquiry to investigate alleged contraventions and maladministration in the application of Union law in relation to money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

The EU should do more to protect independent journalists and bloggers and human rights defenders, say MEPs in their report on the state of human rights in the world in 2015, approved by the Foreign Affairs Committee on Monday. Members point out that the "universality of human rights is seriously being challenged in many parts of the world" and say the EU "should ensure coherence between its internal and external policies with regard to respect for human rights".
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : Less than one year after adopting the Paris climate agreement, world leaders and negotiators are meeting for talks in Marrakesh. The COP22 conference on 7-18 November focuses on ways of implementing the first universally binding global deal on climate change, a matter of huge urgency for the planet. Parliament is represented at the talks by a delegation of 12 MEPs led by Italian EPP member Giovanni La Via.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : This week MEPs sit down with representatives of the member states and the Commission with the aim of striking a deal on the 2017 EU budget. Parliament's inquiry committee investigating the Panama papers scandal holds an exchange of views with experts including economist and Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz. With a twelve-strong delegation of MEPs taking part in the COP22 talks in Marrakesh, climate change is also high on the agenda. Read on to learn more about this week’s parliamentary business.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : Drones are used for many things, from filming and taking photos to inspecting gas pipelines and spraying crops. But these small unmanned aircraft could also pose a risk to airplanes and be used to invade people’s privacy. On Thursday 10 November the transport committee approved changes to EU aviation safety rules that would also include basic safety measures for drones. Find out more about drones in our infographic.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Committee and political group meetings, Brussels

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP