EU

#EuropeanParliament this week: #PressFreedom, workers' health, #Selmayr

Published

8 years ago

March 27, 2018

Parliamentary committees deal this week with protection from carcinogens, attacks on journalists and the appointment of the European Commission’s new secretary general.

On Tuesday (27 March), Parliament's employment committee votes on an update of the rules protecting workers from carcinogens. The aim is to protect workers by reducing exposure to carcinogenic chemicals, such as those present in diesel engine emissions, in the workplace.

On the same day the civil liberties committee votes on an own-initiative report on media freedom, which calls for a safe and secure environment for journalists and other people working in the media. The report also stresses the importance of independent and pluralistic media in the democratic process.

The budgetary control committee will question Günther Oettinger, the commissioner responsible for human resources, about Martin Selmayr's appointment as Secretary-General of the European Commission, in a public hearing on Tuesday. MEPs are expected to vote on a resolution on this during the April plenary in Strasbourg.

On 1 April two new pieces of legislation affecting most people will enter into force. All new vehicles sold in the EU must be equipped with an emergency call device (e-Call) that automatically alerts rescue services to car crashes. This is expected to reduce the number of deaths due to road accidents.

New rules on the portability of online content services will mean that people can access their online subscriptions for films, video games or music while travelling to other EU countries.

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