Parliament to elect new President, Vice-Presidents and Quaestors The European Parliament’s first act in 2012 will be to elect its new President, fourteen Vice-Presidents and five Quaestors. The three candidates declared so far to succeed Jerzy Buzek are Martin Schulz (S&D, DE), Diana Wallis (ALDE, UK) and Nirj Deva (ECR, UK). Debate on Hungary Recent [...]
Discussion on the Commission’s 2012 work programme on Tuesday Parliament to debate Commission strategic priorities for 2012 MEPs will discuss the Commission’s work programme for next year with its President José Manuel Barroso on Tuesday. The current legislative term (2009-14) is the first in which MEPs had a say on the programme before the Commission [...]
I am delighted to congratulate Michael D Higgins as the 9th President of Ireland. His tenure as First Citizen will build on the many achievements of Mary McAleese in developing Irish culture both at home and abroad. I also send my best wishes to his wife, Sabina, and family. Congratulations!
Question time with the Commission on single market Parliament to assess European Council conclusions The outcome of the 23 October summit of EU heads of state and government will be debated in Parliament on Thursday, with Council and Commission presidents Herman Van Rompuy and José Manuel Barroso. EU budget 2012 Parliament debates and votes its [...]
New VAT system Schengen: MEPs to call for fair decision on whether Bulgaria and Romania can join Was it “fair” or “legal” for the Netherlands and Finland to block a bid by Bulgaria and Romania to join the Schengen border check-free area? MEPs say the candidates already meet all Schengen membership requirements, and should not [...]
Less horse trading, more transparency for future economic governance Parliament will vote on the economic governance “six-pack”, which aims to prevent Eurozone members from simply ignoring Commission warnings to correct their budgetary policies and make them tackle economic imbalances more promptly. The package would greatly enhance overall transparency and accountability, and should also improve the [...]
The State is currently bidding for the proposed European Coast Guard Secretariat to be based in Ireland. The secretariat would comprise coast guard officers from EU member states, European Commission representatives and EU agencies. The Irish Coast Guard Director, and current Chair of the EU Heads of Coast Guard Network, Chris Reynolds, will prepare the [...]
Economic crisis, Libya, energy on the agenda EU border guards set to get new powers and new watchdog European border guard teams would patrol the EU’s outer borders by the end of 2011, and EU border control agency Frontex would hire an inspector to ensure that EU border checks respect human rights, under plans to [...]
23/08/2011 “As widely reported in the media over recent weeks the Fianna Fáil leadership has demonstrated that it does not want an internal party candidate to contest the upcoming Presidential Election. There have also been many public statements by some Parliamentary Party members supporting that view of not running a F.F. candidate. It is very [...]
STRASBOURG PLENARY SESSION 4 – 7 JULY 2011 Clearer food labelling to help consumers choose Food labels will in future have to spell out a food’s energy content as well as fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugar, protein and salt levels, under EU rules set to be approved by MEPs next Wednesday. MEPs gear up for [...]
