The European Parliament’s Civil Liberties committee has agreed that NSA fugitive Edward Snowden can give evidence to an inquiry into the allegations he has made – but only if he appears in a live and interactive session. European Conservatives and Reformists Group spokesman on the inquiry, Timothy Kirkhope MEP, continues to oppose any platform being […]
Final Stage Of Banking Union At Risk Says Workmann-Kool
“The final dossier of the Banking Union might be at risk. We demand a more efficient procedure for failing banks”, stated Corien Wortmann-Kool, Vice-Chairwoman of the EPP Group and Shadow Rapporteur on the Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM) dossier. Wortmann-Kool expressed her disappointment on Thursday morning following the start of trilogue negotiations with the Council and […]
Tsipras Meets Rehn. The Bro-mance That Never Was.
In Brussels, Alexis Tsipras, Greek MP and President of Synaspismos, met with Mr Karas and Mr Liêm Hoang Ngoc, to be briefed about the progress of the ongoing inquiry by the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the European Parliament on the role of the troika in the countries under Memorandum, Tsipras said: “We came […]
Coelho, “Saving Border Lives Should Be Mandatory”
The tragedy off the coast of Lampedusa on 3 October when hundreds of refugees drowned sparked calls for a more humane approach to migration in Europe to prevent the Mediterranean becoming the “graveyard of Europe”. To achieve this, the rules for search and rescue missions conducted by Frontex, the EU’s agency for external border security, […]
MEPs To Ban Non-EU Firms From EU Public Procurement, Unless There’s Reciprocation
A draft law that could bar non-EU firms from bidding for public procurement contracts in the EU unless their home countries allow EU firms reciprocal access to their public procurement markets was endorsed by the International Trade Committee on Thursday. The proposed “international public procurement instrument” should strengthen the EU’s hand in trade talks and […]
Groote’s New CO2 Emissions Targets Agreed
An informal agreement on new rules to achieve the 2020 CO2 emission target of 95g/km for new cars was reached by EP and member state negotiators on Tuesday afternoon. The file had to be reopened after EU ministers failed to endorse a previous informal deal on it with Parliament. During the negotiations, the European Parliament […]
“Trust Me, I’ve Changed…” TTIP’s ‘Promises, Promises’
The EU and the US need to find ways to restore their mutual trust so as to enable them to build a joint economic area under the Transatlantic Partnership agreement (TTIP), said Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee chair Elmar Brok (EPP, DE), opening Tuesday’s debate with the US Senate’s European Affairs Sub-Committee chair Chris Murphy and […]
MEPs Supporting Colombian ‘Mujeres por la Paz’ Peace March
More than 15 MEPs from the European Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, the Greens European Free Alliance and the European United Left have sent a letter of support for a march organized by the Women for Peace network ‘Mujeres por la Paz’ . The peace movement aims to ensure that neither the Colombian Government nor rebel movement […]
EU Cyber War Capabilities, Ashton Must Clarify Says Schaake
Dutch Member of European Parliament Marietje Schaake (ALDE/D66) has called on EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, to provide clarification on the European Union’s developing offensive capabilities in cyber defence. “It looks like Ashton is aiming for European offensive capabilities to counter threats against critical European ICT infrastructure.” “While cooperation in conventional defence is lagging […]
MEPs’ Human Chain Jostled By Police. Group Declares “17,306 Dead Trying To Enter ‘Fortress Europe’”
Migrants; a protest, an aggressive police response. A familiar combination? Not when the Strasbourg police forcefully corralled Members of the European Parliament, protesting right outside the Parliament, and using the public demonstration to call attention to civil liberties issues. Excessive police action did not deter a group of 15 organisations launching an appeal to citizens, […]