The European Commission launched an infringement procedure against Poland by sending a Letter of Formal Notice, following the publication in the Polish Official Journal of the Law on the Ordinary Courts Organisation on Friday 28 July. The Polish authorities have one month to reply to the Letter of Formal Notice. The Commission's hand is still extended to…
Tag: MEP
Timor-Leste elections 'credible and inclusive'
On 22 July the people of Timor-Leste cast their votes in the third parliamentary elections since the country’s independence. As with the recent Presidential elections, the strong voter turnout once again demonstrated a strong commitment to participate in the democratic process. Parliamentary #Elections today in #TimorLeste – congratulations to all first time #voters. With support…
EU-Cuba relations Renaissance
MEPs gave their consent to the first ever EU-Cuba cooperation agreement, thereby marking a turning point in bilateral relations. “With this vote the European Parliament is giving its support to use dialogue and cooperation with Cuba as the best instruments to build a constructive and future-oriented relationship, beneficial for citizens on both sides of the…
MEPs call Azerbaijan to release political prisoners
The European Parliament calls upon Azerbaijan authorities to immediately release and drop all charges against Afgan Mukhtarli (pictured), an investigative journalist exiled in Georgia, from where he was abducted on May 29 and brought to Azerbaijan. He now faces prosecution and possibly a prison sentence of several years “following bogus charges”, say MEPs. Azerbaijani authorities…
EU to observe elections in The Gambia
In response to an invitation by the Gambian authorities, the European Union has deployed an Election Observation Mission (EOM) to The Gambia to observe the Parliamentary elections scheduled for 6 April 2017. This would be the first time the EU would be deploying a fully-fledged EOM in The Gambia, reflecting the EU’s commitment to supporting…
MEP Wikström for reform of ‘Dublin’
On 9 March 2017 the reform of the Dublin system is debated in the European Parliament with Cecilia Wikström, MEP (ALDE, Sweeden), who will present her draft report to the Civil Liberties Committee. The draft report is a first response to the Commission’s proposal, presented in May 2016, for reform of the Dublin regulation, which…
Marine for President without immunity
Modestly, the European Parliament official site does not mention the news making the headlines around the world: the MEPs lifted Marine Le Pen’s immunity from prosecution for tweeting photographs of the Islamic State (IS) violence scenes. Member of the European Parliament, Marine Le Pen is a leader of Front National party, and a front-runner for…
Europarl against foreign fighters
To counter the growing threats from “foreign fighters” travelling to conflict zones for terrorist purposes and “lone wolves” planning solo attacks, new EU-wide rules were approved by Parliament on Thursday. The new directive on combatting terrorism will update the current EU “framework” rules on terrorist offences and widen their scope to include emerging threats. “We…
A50: MEP Farage pleased by MPs vote
MPs have voted by a majority of 384 to allow Prime Minister Theresa May to get Brexit negotiations under way. Historic vote in Parliament tonight. A huge majority to get our Brexit negotiations going forward. History has been made — Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) February 1, 2017 They backed the government’s European Union Bill, supported by…
MEPs: Arctic needs protection
In the European Parliament resolution, adopted by 111 votes to 8, with 1 abstention, MEPs stress that the Arctic sea ice has diminished significantly since 1981, threatening to release huge amounts of carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere, while melting glaciers contribute to globally rising sea levels. The volume of sea ice present during…
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