The crisis still dominates discussion

The European Parliament, following the recent approval in Brussels of the 2012 EU budget, (in the session of November 30 -December 1) will be holding the last plenary of the year (December 12-15) in Strasbourg. Items on the agenda include a debate with the representatives of the EU Commission and Council on the outcomes of the EU27 summit on the economic and financial situation, the recipients of the Sakharov prize, the keynote address of the EP president Jerzy Buzek. During the first session of 2012, due to take place in January, the European Parliament, half way through its mandate, will undertake a thorough review of its internal structures, that includes the figure of the EP president.The Sakharov Prize to the “Arab Spring”. On December 14 the European Parliament will award the 2011 Sakharov Prize for the freedom of thought and the defense of human rights. The winners, whose names were announced in October, are five representatives of the Arab people, “in recognition and support of their drive for freedom and human rights” which the world witnessed over the past months. The Prize goes to Asmaa Mahfouz (Egypt), Ahmed al-Zubair Ahmed al-Sanusi (Libya), Razan Zaitouneh (Syria), Ali Farzat (Syria) and posthumously to Mohamed Bouazizi (Tunisia). When the prize recipients were announced President Jerzy Buzek said: “These individuals contributed to historic changes in the Arab world” and “this award reaffirms Parliament’s solidarity and firm support for their struggle for freedom, democracy and the end of authoritarian regimes”. The Sakharov Prize “is a symbol for all those working for dignity, democracy and fundamental rights in the Arab world and beyond”. Green light to the 2012 budget. The European Parliament – that shares budgetary power with the EU Council – endorsed the 2012 EU budget. MEP’s proposals focused on growth, innovation, border control, migration flows, and support to democracy in the Arab world. The overall budget for next year will amount to €129.1 billion (1.86% increase) in payments and €147.2 billion (+3.8%) in commitments. Increases were limited according to Member States’ request, given the ongoing difficulties of all national budgets. But during the year it will be necessary to establish whether the EU will manage to address all of its commitments with the established funding. “The EU budget must have its own resources” to implement community policies, remarked Italian MEP Francesca Balzani, general rapporteur of the 2012 budget, who followed the talks aimed at reaching a mediation on community accounts. The agreement that has been reached, underlined the MEP “is a decision dictated by responsibility” at the present time of crisis. “The European Parliament has given a central role to the Europe 2020 Strategy for growth and employment”, and in fact the agreement allocates “greater resources to growth, employment, research, immigration policy, foreign affairs”. However, the rapporteur underlined, “the agreed level of payments is insufficient” to “meet the Commission spending forecasts”. Balzani thus proposes – with the support of a large number of MEPs – to create EU own resources, so that the “earnings” may act as the grounds for financial recovery. Croatia’s accession and education. With a large majority vote, the EU Parliament gave its consent to Croatia’s EU accession. Croatia could become the EU’s 28th Member State on 1 July 2013. The ratification of Croatia’s accession Treaty is scheduled to take place in Brussels on December 9, after which Member States will complete the ratification process at national level. Hannes Swoboda, Austrian MEP, rapporteur of the provision, acknowledged the “major progress” made by Croatia during the accession negotiations, complying with the criteria established by the EU. But Croatia is called to fulfill further requirements in the coming one and a half years especially concerning judicial reform and the fight against corruption and organized crime. MEPs “urge Croatia to step up its efforts to prosecute war crimes, comply with all International Criminal Tribunal recommendations for the former Yugoslavia and encourage the return of war refugees, especially Serbs”. They call on Croatia to continue making structural reforms to its economy, stimulate employment by reviving the labour market and pursue fiscal consolidation in order to boost competitiveness. In the area of education MEPs approved a resolution calling for the need to cut the early school-leaving rate, registered across the EU. MEPs urge Member States to raise the mandatory school leaving age from 16 to 18, and to create more “second chance schools” so as to reintegrate the “drop-outs”.