EU parliament, electing the new presidentBy Monday January 16 European parliament groups must present nominations for the first ballot in the election of the new President, that will take place during the plenary in Strasbourg next January 16-19. The nominations must be addressed to the outgoing Polish president Jerzy Buzek and to the EP secretary general. MEPs will elect a new president that will remain in office for two and a half years – until the next elections in 2014- 14 Vice-Presidents, as well as five Quaestors. The composition of 22 parliamentary committees will also be decided. Political groups are humming as nominations draw close – the most frequently mentioned candidate president – owing to a deal struck between the two largest political groups in the European Parliament: the Socialists & Democrats and the European People’s Party – is EPP leader Martin Schulz (DE). Before the end of his mandate, EP president Jerzy Buzek announced a “live chat on Facebook” with European citizens (www.facebook.com/europeanparliament) that will take place on the afternoon of January 11.Commission: have a bigger say in European policy-making”With its policy for ‘smart regulation’ the Commission aims at involving citizens and businesses in the legislative process to ensure that it takes all relevant evidence and concerns into account when drafting a legislative proposal”. From 1 January, the European Commission gives citizens, businesses and non-governmental organisations at least 12 weeks, compared to 8 weeks previously, to comment on plans for new policies and legislations”, to get involved in EU policy-making. The Commission has also introduced “an alert service for upcoming initiatives”: Organisations that sign up for the Transparency Register – the Commission explains in a release – can subscribe to this alert service to get early information on the roadmaps for new initiatives in their fields of interest about one year before there adoptions”. José Manuel Barroso, president of the Commission, said: “A key part of getting our policies right is listening to the people who will be affected by them. By keeping our consultations open longer we will strengthen the voice of the citizens, businesses and organisations that help us shape our policies for the benefit of all”.Kids’ Corner: explaining the “common home” to the youth”Let’s explore Europe”, “Dive and count”, “Time traveller”, “Euro run”: these are some of the games presented at www.europa.eu/kids-corner, by the European Commission to help children and youth aged 6-16 to learn more about the EU, the community integration process, the single currency and in general, the content of policies carried out by continental institutions with educational language customized for children. Along with the pages for children there is also a Teacher’s Corner addressed to teachers, parents and educators alike. Geography, history, culture, mores and consumption are some of the topics addressed, through which the youth have the possibility of learning, for example, that Belgium is famous for having invented French fries and comic-books (the most renown characters are Tintin and The Smurfs); that Slovakian Stefan Banic invented the parachute; and also that the new ringway across the city of Limassol, which decongested traffic on the island of Cyprus, was financed with EU funds. The games, quizzes, and fact sheets are available in 22 languages.The parliamentary assembly of the Council of EuropeThe Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will take place 23-27 January in Strasbourg. Several guests are expected to deliver panel lectures to the representatives of the 47 member countries. These include Prime Minister David Cameron (the United Kingdom holds the rotating presidency of the Committee of ministers of the CoE), Finnish president Tarja Halonen, the foreign minister of Georgia Grigol Vashadze. There has also been a request for an urgent debate on “The Russian Federation between two elections” (Russia is a member of the Council of Europe). Special guests include also Irina Bokova, Unesco Secretary General. Other highlights include debates on “Guaranteeing the authority and effectiveness of the European Convention on Human Rights” the CoE makes known in a statement. Reports on the situations in Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Ukraine are also foreseen. Domestic violence, migration, the demographic trend in Europe are also on the agenda of the meeting.
