European Parliament session, Brussels 2-3 February 2011

Electronic waste

MEPs will decide on an update to EU rules on the disposal of electricaland electronic equipment, after no agreement could be found with the Council of Ministers.  

MEPs want the rules to apply to all type of devices (fridges, mobile phones, computers and so on), excluding military materials and solar panels. They also want ambitious targets for the collection of such devices (85% instead of 65%) and for their recycling (50-70% depending on the category).  

Tunisia
  
High Representative/Commission Vice-President Catherine Ashton will debate developments in Tunisia with MEPs who will then vote on a resolution on the issue the next day A delegation of MEPs will visit the country after the session. Depending on events it is highly likely the situation in Egypt will also be discussed.

Bananas
  
An agreement aimed at ending the long-running dispute on the trade in bananas will be put to Parliament. The EU reached the deal to cut tariffs on banana imports with Latina American producers in 2009, which will make them more competitive vis-à-vis African and Carabbean exporters who enjoy a no-tariff regime with the EU. As a result of this deal the price of bananas could fall by up to 12%.

For full plenary agenda, see here.

Paola Buonadonna
paola.buonadonna@europarl.europa.eu
European Parliament Information Office in the UK
Tel: 020 7227 4300

1 January 2011-30 June 2011: Hungarian Presidency

European Parliament plenary sessions January-June 2011

14-17 February - Strasbourg
7-10 March - Strasbourg
23-24 March - Brussels
4-7 April - Strasbourg
9-12 May - Strasbourg
6-9 June - Strasbourg
22-23 June - Brussels