Round-up of the Strasbourg session 02-05 February

Strasbūras
There was no escaping the gravity of the issues present in February's Strasbourg session. Speaking to the Parliament, President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas addressed MEPs about hopes for peace in the area. Also discussed this week, MEPs tackled climate change, the situation with prisoners at Guantanamo, safer animal feed and the increasing problem of illegal labour across Europe.

Addressing the formal sitting of the House on Wednesday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas spoke of the need for a two-state solution compromise and pushed its benefits for both sides.
 
The Parliament also welcomed the move from President Obama to close Guantanamo correctional facility. MEPs adopted the resolution with a strong majority, accepting individual responsibility for prisoners released.
 
Amendments were voted on concerning the sanctions directive; a piece of legislation set to penalise employers of illegal workers. The final Parliament position will be decided in the March plenary session.
 
MEPs set the climate change standard by agreeing to detailed economic actions. This falls in line with EU plans to keep a global temperature rise of 2 degrees as a maximum and achieving an 80% cut in emissions by 2050. 
 
In further debates, Thursday saw the House discuss plans to harmonise the process of animal feed labelling. This move will lead to complete transparency of feed content and ultimately safeguard against future outbreaks of BSE and other related crises.
 
The March plenary sitting will commence on 9 March. A second March sitting of the House will also take place on 23 March.