European Parliamentary Research Service Blog
At a glance
Plenary round-up – Strasbourg, March I 2019
Highlights of the March I plenary session included debates on Brexit, preparation of the European Council meeting of 21-22 March 2019, and the latest debate on the Future of Europe, with Peter Pellegrini, Slovakia’s Prime Minister. Continue reading
What if your emotions were tracked to spy on you? [Science and Technology Podcast]
Recent reports of celebrity singer, Taylor Swift, deploying facial recognition technology to spot stalkers at her concerts raised many eyebrows. What started out as a tool to unlock your smartphone or tag photos for you on social media is surreptitiously becoming a means of monitoring people in their daily lives without their consent. Continue reading
Victims of terrorism
The European Day of Remembrance of Victims of Terrorism has been established as 11 March each year, marking the Madrid bombings in 2004. The protection of victims of terrorism constitutes an essential part of the EU’s action to address all dimensions of the terrorist threat. Continue reading
Venezuela [What Think Tanks are thinking]
The situation in Venezuela appears to be approaching a tipping-point, as President Nicolas Maduro faces growing international and domestic pressure to relinquish power to National Assembly leader and self-proclaimed acting President Juan Guaidó. The latter is recognised by many Western countries as the legitimate interim leader of the oil-rich Latin American country, which has seen its economy undermined by mismanagement and corruption. Continue reading
The euro at 20 [What Think Tanks are thinking]
The euro marked its 20th anniversary in January 2019, as debates continued about the single currency’s track-record and the shape of future reform. Continue reading
Plenary round-up – Strasbourg, February 2019
The February plenary session highlights included a further debate on the Future of Europe, with Giuseppe Conte, Italy’s Prime Minister; debates on Syria, and the future of the INF Treaty and its impact on the EU; and discussions on Roma integration strategies, and on a reflection paper on a sustainable Europe by 2030. Continue reading
The death penalty and the EU’s fight against it
The European Union is strongly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances, and fighting it is a foremost priority of its external human rights policy. While most countries in the world have abolished capital punishment, death sentences continue to be handed down and carried out in a number of countries. Continue reading
What if we could design better technologies through dialogue? [Science and Technology Podcast]
While we often worry about the acceptance of technology in the face of real and potential public opposition, there are frequently gaps between how regulators, developers and experts conceptualise acceptance and opposition. Continue reading
Zero tolerance for female genital mutilation
The European Union is committed to working collectively to eradicate female genital mutilation (FGM) as part of broader efforts to combat all forms of violence against women and girls, and to support the efforts of its Member States in this field. Continue reading
Plenary round-up – Brussels, January II 2019
Highlights of the January II plenary session included the Future of Europe debate with Juha Sipilä, Finland’s prime minister, and the latest debate on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. Continue reading
The EU’s long-term budget framework [What Think Tanks are thinking]
Since May 2018, European Union governments and the European Parliament are negotiating the next long-term budget for the bloc, the Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2021-2027, in a bid to secure sufficient resourses for new priorities such as security, defence and migrationm and to respond in a realistic way to the financial consequences of the the UK withdrwal from the EU. Continue reading
Plenary round-up – Strasbourg, January I 2019
Highlights of the January I plenary session included the latest debate on the future of Europe, with Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, Spain’s prime minister, and a debate on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. Continue reading
COP24 climate change conference: Outcomes
The COP24 climate change conference, held in Katowice, Poland, from 3 to 15 December 2018, agreed detailed rules for the implementation of the Paris Agreement, with the exception of rules on market mechanisms, a subject on which international negotiations will continue throughout 2019. Continue reading
What if we let consumer electricity prices fluctuate? [Science and Technology Podcast]
Allowing consumer electricity prices to fluctuate from one time of the day to another could help accelerate the transition towards renewable energies and drive down the costs of this transition. Electricity production from renewable sources, such as wind and solar energy, is expanding rapidly in Europe and around the world. Continue reading
The US Congress in 2019: What to expect
Following the mid-term elections of 6 November 2018, the new United States Congress will start work on 3 January 2019 with a Republican majority in the Senate and a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives. The shift of power in the House is likely to affect key issues including oversight and immigration. Continue reading
Plenary round-up – Strasbourg, December 2018
The December plenary session was marked by theterrorist attack that took place in Strasbourg on 11 December. Continue reading
The 2018 Sakharov Prize
Thirty years since it was first awarded, the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought retains all its symbolic meaning, as human rights continue to be embattled in many parts of the world. Continue reading
What if we genetically engineered an entire species? [Science and Technology Podcast]
A gene drive is a technique for manipulating ecosystems by introducing self-propagating custom genes among a population of sexually reproducing organisms, using the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology. Continue reading
Plenary round-up – Brussels, November II 2018
The highlights of the November II plenary session were the debate on the future of Europe with the Prime Minister of Denmark, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, and the discussion on the Council and Commission statements on UK withdrawal from the European Union. Continue reading
What if algorithms could abide by ethical principles? [Scientific and Technology Podcast]
Algorithms are step-by-step procedures for solving a problem, usually expressed in computer code as a set of instructions for a computer to follow in order to complete a task. Continue reading
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