The European Parliament’s special COVI committee has elected Kathleen Van Brempt as its Chair, alongside four Vice-Chairs, and will commence its review of the EU’s response to the pandemic. Specifically tasked with looking into how the European response to the pandemic and the lessons learned can contribute to future action in a variety of EU…
Parliament
Common Charger for Mobile Devices
Consumers will no longer have to buy a charger together with their new mobile device. Instead, they will be able to use their old one, thus saving money and better protecting the environment from plastic and electronic waste. This will be possible thanks to the adoption of the report on the common charger for all…
Regulating Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum should no longer be an Eldorado for money laundering and terrorist financing, say MEPs. “Regulating cryptocurrencies is just as important as the fight against terrorism. It’s clear that, especially now with Russia’s horrible war on Ukraine, we have to get this right. We need to make sure our law…
Parliament Postpones Decision on European Border Agency
In a vote with 6 in favour to 23 against and 1 abstentions in the dischards. MEPs in the Budgetary Control Committee postponed the decision on the 2020 accounts of the EU’s border control agency, Frontex. They cited, as reasons behind the decision, a failure to fulfil the conditions set out in Parliament’s report, as…
Transparency for Crypto-Assets
Under new requirements agreed by MEPs, all transfers of crypto-assets will have to include information on the source of the asset and its beneficiary, information that is to be made available to the competent authorities. The rules would also cover transactions from so-called unhosted wallets (a crypto-asset wallet address that is in the custody of…
Combating the Crisis of Family Values
Spanish ECR MEP Margarita de la Pisa has inaugurated the new ECR policy working group on ‘Family and Life’, a project of the European Conservatives and Reformists to “combat the crisis of family values”, countering the broad left-wing consensus in Brussels. At the event, moderated by Italian ECR MEP Carlo Fidanza, Ms de la Pisa thanked the ECR group for “the trust placed…
Council and Parliament Agree on Digital Markets Act
The European Parliament and the French Council Presidency have reached an agreement on the Digital Markets Act (DMA). “The agreement is the beginning of a new era for tech regulation worldwide. The Digital Markets Act puts an end to the ever-increasing dominance of big tech companies”, said Andreas Schwab MEP. Schwab leads the negotiation team…
EU To Increase Food Production
The EU has been told to increase food production in order to stave off possible food shortages. “The European Commission must take a clear line to support European farmers to grow as much food as possible now”, said Herbert Dorfmann MEP, the EPP Group Spokesman in the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee. “The Russian attack on…
Rule of Law Crisis in Bulgaria
The president of the European Parliament’s committee on civil liberties, justice and home affairs, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, this week met with the Bulgarian Minister of Justice, Nadezhda Yordanova. They discussed together the rule of law crisis in Bulgaria over the last years. According to them, there are too many questions that need answers, especially…
Right to Repair for Consumers
The “right to repair” must encompass designing products that last longer and can be fixed, as well as labelling to better inform consumers and extending guarantee rights. In a resolution approved on Wednesday with 41 votes in favour, none against and 4 abstentions, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee stresses that an effective right…










