After the agreement reached by the European Council on the climate/energy package, attention is now on the European Parliament. Next week plenary assembly (15-18 December) in Strasbourg will discuss and possibly approve the economic and environmental measures decided by the heads of State and Government. For this, MEPs will meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who will also take stock of his six-month presidency. The parliamentary week will also include a number of other meetings and issues: the Community budget 2009, the regulation on "toy safety" for toys sold in the 27 member States, and the working time directive. At this purpose, a demonstration organised by the European Trade Union Confederation (CES/ETUC) is going to take place outside the Parliament. In addition, the EU parliament will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Sakharov prize for freedom of thought with a round table that will be attended by past-year winners. There will also be a ceremony for the 2008 winner, Chinese dissident Hu Jia, who will not be able to attend as he is currently in jail. ” ” ” “
