European Parliament session, Brussels
13-14 October 2004
Highlights of this week's European Parliament session in Brussels include:
- Stocktaking of the Romano Prodi Commission 1999-2004
- Procedures for ratifying the EU Constitutional Treaty
- Leyla Zana - Kurdish woman elected to Turkish parliament
Stocktaking - Romano Prodi Commission 1999-2004
Wednesday's session opens with a statement from European Commission President Romano Prodi reviewing the work he has led over the last five years. The subsequent debate will give MEPs the chance to provide their assessments of the Prodi Commission.
Leyla Zana
Nine years after she was awarded the Sakharov prize for freedom of thought by the European Parliament, Leyla ZANA, the first Kurdish woman to be elected to the Turkish parliament, is coming to Brussels to be honoured in person at last. She will address the European Parliament on Thursday at 10.00am UK time. See link for background note: http://www.europarl.eu.int/press/index_en.htm
Procedures for ratifying the EU Constitutional Treaty
Following the debate at the last European Parliament session in September, MEPs will vote on a resolution making recommendations on procedures for ratifying the Treaty. The draft resolution calls on the Council of Ministers to co-ordinate the timing of the various national ratification processes and suggests the period 5-8 May might be suitable for the holding of referendums in Member States. For access to the text of the final resolution, voted on Thursday, see this link.
Other issues scheduled for debate this week in Brussels are:
- West Midlands Labour MEP Neena Gill is due on Wednesday evening to present her report on an amendment to the EU's 2004 budget to provide additional funding for the setting up of the office of the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS). The EDPS is responsible for monitoring the processing of personal data by the European Community institutions and bodies. For more details on the EDPS, see this link: http://www.edps.eu.int/
- Asylum & immigration, trafficking in people and the EU's counter-terrorism action plan are to be debated on Wednesday with statements from the European Commission and the Dutch Presidency of the EU, followed by debate. This is timed to feed into the Brussels summit of European heads of government and state on 4-5 November.
- Trade preferences for developing countries: Oral questions have been tabled to the European Commission and the Dutch Presidency of the Council on proposals for reform of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSPs). These are seen as key instruments for developing countries by helping them generate revenue through international trade. MEPs will be asking how the proposed reforms will work in practice and which countries will be affected. Debate and vote Thursday. For more details on the GSPs, see link: http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/issues/global/gsp/index_en.htm
- Combating the use of drugs in sport: The European Commission will make a statement to MEPs on its strategy for combating the use of drugs in sport. With limited powers in the area of sport, the Commission has focused on awareness-raising, co-operation and coordination. For more information on the strategy, see link: http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/sport/action_sports/dopage/dopage_overview_en.html
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