Round-up of Strasbourg session 12-15 January

Published: 20 January 2009 y., Tuesday

Strasbūras
Last week's first Parliamentary session of the year opened with Members dealing with key international issues such as the crisis in Gaza and the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute. The week also saw MEPs vote to ban certain pesticides to protect safety.

With the death toll rising in Gaza last week Parliament's President Hans-Gert Pöttering led calls for an “immediate end of violence on both sides”, with fellow MEPs echoing these sentiments all week.
 
The start of the year also saw many homes in eastern and central Europe without gas as Russia and the Ukraine became locked in a fierce dispute over gas supplies. Throughout the week MEPs voiced condemnation of the whole debacle, with a resolution having now being passed.
 
A decade of the euro was also marked with MEPs being joined by the President of the European Central Bank Jean Claude Trichet and Europe's Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquín Almunia to debate the impact of the currency.
 
The first session of the year also saw the Czech Republic's PM Mirek Topolánek come before the House to set the priorities of his country's 6-month presidency of the EU.
 
In other debates the House passed the resolution to ban harmful pesticides in a bid to increase safety. Also discussed was the introduction of biometric passports, humane animal transport across Europe and the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet.
 

Šaltinis: europarl.europa.eu
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.

Facebook Comments

New comment


Captcha

Associated articles

The most popular articles

A (Copenhagen) Climate of disappointment

A gloomy inquest rather than angry recriminations marked the mood when the European Parliament debated the Copenhagen climate conference Wednesday (20 January). more »

The Presidency seeks to regulate illegal immigration and integration policies

At a press conference following the immigration section of the Informal Meeting of Ministers for Justice and Home Affairs in Toledo, the Spanish Secretary of State Consuelo Rumí and Commission Vice-president Jacques Barrot reported that the EU leaders set the bases for a European Immigration and Asylum Agreement. more »

Major cities join forces to make the Euro-Mediterranean partnership a success story

At the inaugural session of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) in Barcelona today, mayors of major cities from the European Union and the Mediterranean partner countries have joined forces to energise the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. more »

Human rights: China, Philippines and attacks on religious minorities

Three human rights resolutions - on recent attacks on religious minorities in Egypt and in Malaysia, on the case of Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo and human rights violations in China more generally, and on the situation in the Philippines - were approved by Parliament on Thursday. more »

Debating the economic and social future of Europe

During the question time that followed the presentation of the programme for Spain's Presidency of the EU to the European Parliament by the Spanish Prime Minister the main issue of interest was the path the European Union should take to recover from the crisis and improve its position in the global economy, maintaining its values and social model. more »

Iran debate: MEPs condemn regime's nuclear programme & dissent crackdown

In a charged and emotive debate on Iran the regime's nuclear programme and the crackdown on political dissent drew criticism from all sides. more »

Haiti needs rapid aid and long-term reconstruction

MEPs urged that the EU deliver on its aid pledge as soon as possible and give a solid commitment to reconstruction. more »

Rodríguez Zapatero presents the program of the EU Spanish Presidency

The Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero will today be presenting the programme of the Spanish Presidency of the EU for the first half of 2010. more »

EU and Iraq sign a Strategic Energy Partnership Memorandum of Understanding

The European Union and the Republic of Iraq have today signed in Baghdad, Iraq, a Memorandum of Understanding on a “Strategic Energy Partnership” which provides a political framework for reinforcing energy relations between Iraq and the EU. more »

EU-Latin America Conference, Towards Socially Responsible Tourism

On Monday 18 January the town of Alcalá de Henares near Madrid is to host the first ministerial meeting focusing on tourism issues to be held as part of the activities organised during this six-month period by the Spanish EU Presidency. more »