European Parliament this week: GMOs, Ebola, climate change

MEPs meet in committees this week to vote on updated rules for genetically modified food, discuss the impact of Ebola outbreak and the results of the latest EU summit. The environment committee will prepare for the UN climate change conference and a report on financial transactions by EU institutions will be presented to the budgetary control committee. On Sunday EP President Martin Schulz will be in Berlin to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

On Wednesday (5 November) the public health committee will vote on a draft proposal to modify rules for genetically modified organisms by giving member states the possibility to restrict or prohibit the cultivation of GMO crops in their territory even if they have been approved at EU level . MEPs will discuss the results of the latest EU summit during the Conference of Presidents on Tuesday (4 November). The summit on 23-24 October was dedicated to climate and energy policies, the economic and employment situation and external relations. This will be the last debate with Herman Van Rompuy as president of the European Council.

On Wednesday the environment committee will discuss the current state of the Ebola crisis with Zsuzsanna Jakab, the World Health Organization's regional director for Europe. On Monday (3 November) the development committee will debate  Ebola in order to receive input for a draft resolution.

The environment committee will vote on Wednesday on a non-binding resolution in preparation for the COP 20 UN climate change conference in December in Lima, where a Parliament delegation will join the negotiations. On Tuesday, during a separate event, Dr Rajendra Pachauri, the chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change (IPCC), will present the key findings of the IPCC’s fifth assessment report.

Vítor Manuel da Silva Caldeira, the president of the European Court of Auditors, will present on Wednesday the annual report on the regularity of financial transactions by EU institutions to the budgetary control committee. The Parliament’s decision on whether or not to approve the accounts of all EU institutions will be based on this report. Kristalina Georgieva, the new budget commissioner, will also participate in the meeting.

On Tuesday Schulz and members from the foreign affairs committee will meet Columbian president Juan Manuel Santos Calderón.

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