States could cite environmental reasons to ban the cultivation of GM crops, MEPs think, and look into extending the polluter-pays principle to road transport.

The News: GM crops - Road tolls

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/15541442/N001-110412-EN.srt

want to leave the choice to the states,  but under conditions.

Lorries could be taxed  for the pollution they create in the EU.

As fuel prices are going up,  the debate rages in the EP.

And also in this edition,  a round-up of today’s news in images.

Only two genetically modified organisms  are currently grown in the EU:

one variety of potato  and one of maize.

These crops cover  only 100 000 hectares.

MEPs decided to allow the Member  States to ban these kinds of crops

even if they have been authorised  at EU level, on certain conditions.

The community health and environmental  assessment is here to stay, it's secure,

but the Member States can have  further environmental assessments.

The second important modification is  to allow a Member State to have a ban

if they don’t have sufficient data  to take a stand on the matter.

These measures have not been  definitively approved.

The text must still be adopted  by the Parliament as a whole.

The majority party in the EP, the EPP,  abstained from voting at this stage.

It has some reservations  about the final vote.

We are here to solve problems,  not to create them.

This document favours giving the states  the freedom to decide about GMOs.

But some measures could  interfere with the internal market.

The states will also have to decide.  The debate is far from being over.

1 vehicle in 10 travelling on our roads  is a heavy goods vehicle.

They already pay a tax  related to the construction

or maintenance of the road network,  the Eurovignette.

The EU now wants to apply  the polluter-pays principle.

Lorry drivers will, perhaps, have to pay  a tax on air and noise pollution.

The polluter-pays principle  seems a priori perfectly fair.

Unfortunately it excludes  a number of polluters.

It should include not only rail transport  but also air transport

and, of course, everyone else  whose travels contribute

to the emission of CO2,  noise and particulate matter.

While this new law  has not yet been fully outlined,

the EP and the Member States  are already at odds

over the use of the euros  that this tax could yield.

The MEPs want to reinvest this money  into a sustainable transport policy,

It should go to the transport system  as a whole, not only roads

but also alternatives  such as railways or inland waterways.

All lorries will not be treated the same.

The oldest ones which pollute the most  will pay more than the newest ones.

The tax would also be reduced  for lorries travelling outside peak hours.

These days, when the transport sector  has to deal with very high oil prices,

we have to be cautious  in adding more and more costs.

The MEPs will now have to  convince the Member States.

Immigration: difficult talks in Tunisia  for the Commission President.

on how to manage the influx  of immigrants from North Africa,

to develop cooperation  between the EU and Tunisia.

Paris and Rome demand a stop  to the illegal immigration.

The EP calls for reconciliation in Ivory  Coast. After Laurent Gbagbo's arrest,

MEPs demand that all those responsible  for crimes be brought to justice.

However, they remain divided over  the intervention of French and UN forces

Faster internet: MEPs approved the use  of more radio frequencies by 2015.

They suggest increasing the bandwidth  to speed up data exchange.

This measure should support  the development of new internet,