Parliament in brief

Official documents

MEPs on Tuesday (4 February) adopted by a sweeping majority rules that are intended to reduce requirements for EU citizens and businesses to submit official documents to authorities in another member state. Under the proposed rules, which have yet to be endorsed by member states, a simplified procedure would be used by national authorities to confirm the authenticity of documents such as birth or marriage certificates.

Seasonal workers

The plenary yesterday (5 February) adopted EU-wide rules on seasonal workers from outside the Union. The legislation, proposed by the European Commission in 2010, is the first legal avenue at EU level for low-skilled workers to come to Europe. It requires the backing of the Council of Ministers.

Arms trade

MEPs yesterday authorised member states to ratify the multilateral Arms Trade Treaty, which regulates international commerce in weapons. The treaty was adopted by the United Nations in April 2013 and is to take effect once 50 states have ratified it.

2015 schedule

The plenary yesterday approved the Parliament’s calendar for 2015, which foresees 12 four-day plenaries in Strasbourg. The adoption took place without a vote after the centre-right European People’s Party withdrew a proposal to slash the number of mini- plenaries in Brussels, now set at ten. The calendar was initially scheduled for adoption in January but was delayed when a proposal to cut the length of Strasbourg plenaries by one day was ruled inadmissible.

Anti-dumping

MEPs endorsed updated rules proposed by the Commission last April against dumped and subsidised imports from outside the EU. Under the new rules, anti-dumping and anti-subsidy cases are to be limited to nine months, down from 15 months at present.

New leftist MEP

Rina Ronja Kari, 28, has begun her career as an MEP three months before the end of the parliamentary term. She is a member of Denmark’s leftist People’s Movement Against the EU, and replaces Søren Bo Søndergaard, who announced last year that he would retire in February. Ronja Kari has been spokesperson for the party’s youth wing since 2004.

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