European Parliament this week: Sakharov Prize, terrorism, Syria

The winner of this year's Sakharov Prize will be announced on Thursday (16 October), while the European Parliament president and the political group leaders will meet this week to discuss the committee evaluations of the candidate commissioners and decide the next steps. In addition the foreign affairs and civil liberties committees debate EU security and the threat posed by ISIS, while the human rights subcommittee discusses the violation of human rights in Syria.

On Thursday the foreign affairs and civil liberties committees will debate the new terrorism threats stemming from the rise of ISIS and its implications for EU security with Jean-Paul Laborde, the UN's executive director for counter terrorism.

The human rights subcommittee discussed the human rights situation in Syria, Iraq and neighbouring countries on Monday (³13 October).

On the same day the economic committee voted on a resolution on the progress made by member states in implementing the economic policy priorities - known as the European Semester - for 2014.

On Thursday European Parliament President Martin Schulz and the leaders of the political groups announce the laureate of the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for 2014.

Finally, the political groups will prepare for next week plenary session in Strasbourg where president-elect Jean-Claude Juncker will present his team for the next European Commission. Following a debate, MEPs will vote on whether to approve the new Commission.