In Parliament this week: access to medicine, energy, safer pesticides, Arctic

Boosting safer pesticides and securing green energy will be dealt with during this week’s plenary session. Parliamentary committees also look at how to improve access to medicine and how to better protect the Arctic. In addition MEPs meet their national counterparts to discuss how to stimulate the economy and ensure everyone will benefit from it.

Plenary

On Wednesday MEPs debate with commissioner Maros Sefcovic, the next steps to complete the European Energy Union, which aims to secure affordable climate-friendly energy in our continent.

On the same day MEPs debate plans for safer pesticides and vote on a resolution on it the following day.

MEPs vote on Thursday on whether to ask the European Commission to produce a proposal to make it easier to adopt children from another EU country.

Georgian citizens could soon be able to travel to the EU without a visa following an informal deal struck by Parliament and Council negotiators last December. MEPs are this week asked to formally approve it.  The debate about the visa exemption for Georgians takes place on Tuesday and the vote on Thursday. The visa waivers apply only to the Schengen area.

Committees

The environment committee votes Tuesday on improving access to medicine in Europe. Due to the high price of new treatments, measures to help patients to access affordable and innovative treatments are necessary.

To better protect the Arctic the foreign affairs committee and the environment committee vote Tuesday on proposals regarding climate change, commerce and defence in the region.

European Parliamentary Week

MEPs and members of national parliaments gather in Brussels from 30 January to 1 February for the European Parliamentary Week 2017. During the event they will discuss economic, budgetary and social issues.