Faced with a growing international terrorist threat, the European Union (EU) is playing an ever more ambitious role in counter-terrorism.&nbsp;Even though primary responsibility for combating crime and ensuring security lies with the Member States, the EU provides cooperation, coordination and (to some extent) harmonisation tools, as well as financial support, to address this borderless phenomenon.

EU spending in the area of counter-terrorism has increased over the years and is set to grow in the future, to allow for better cooperation between national law enforcement authorities and enhanced support by the EU bodies in charge of security, such as Europol and eu-LISA.

The action plan to reinforce the fight against the financing of terrorism focuses on two main strands of action: tracing terrorists through financial movements and preventing them from moving funds or other assets and disrupting the sources of revenue used by terrorist organisations, by targeting their capacity to raise funds.

In April the European Parliament adopted a new regulation that will target content such as texts, images, sound recordings or videos, including live transmissions, that incite, solicit or contribute to terrorist offences, provide instructions for such offences or solicit people to participate in a terrorist group. It will also cover material that provides guidance on how to make and use explosives, firearms and other weapons for terrorist purposes.

Hosting service providers will have to remove or disable access to flagged terrorist content in all member states within one hour of receiving a removal order from the competent authority. Member states will adopt rules on penalties, the degree of which will take into account the nature of the breach and the size of company responsible.

Fight against terrorism

Recent scandals, from LuxLeaks (2014) to Panama Papers (2016), have demonstrated how important whistle-blowers’ revelations are to detect and prevent breaches of EU law harmful to the public interest and the welfare of society. Lack of effective whistle-blower protection at EU level can also negatively impact the functioning of EU policies in a member state, but can also spill over to other countries and the EU as a whole.

On 11 March 2019 the European Parliament and the Member States reached a provisional agreement that covers a wide reach of areas of EU law, including anti-money laundering and corporate taxation, data protection, protection of the Union's financial interests, food and product safety and environmental protection and nuclear safety. Further, Member States are encouraged o establish comprehensive legal framework to protect whistleblowers (whistle-blowers) in other areas. The new rules, approved by EU ministers on 25 September 2019, have been signed by the EP on 23 October 2019 and published in the Official Journal on 26 November 2019. Member states will then have two years to comply with such rules.

See more on this topic by visiting our <a href="https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/protection-of-whistleblowers-8th-parliamentary-term_9901_pk">package</a> for the 8th parliamentary term.

Protection of whistleblowers

Launched on 20 May 2020, the 'Farm to Fork' strategy put forward the EU’s ambition for making its food system a model of sustainability at all stages of the food value chain.

This strategy is at the heart of the Green Deal. It addresses comprehensively the challenges of sustainable food systems and recognises the inextricable links between healthy people, healthy societies and a healthy planet. Ensuring a sustainable livelihood for primary producers, who still lag behind in terms of income, is essential for the success of the recovery and the transition.

The Farm to Fork strategy aims to accelerate our transition to a sustainable food system that should have neutral and positive environmental impact, help mitigate climate change and adapt to its impact. It should also reverse the loss of biodiversity, ensure food security, nutrition and public health, making sure that everyone has access to sufficient, safe nutritious, sustainable food, preserve affordability of food while generating fairer economic returns, fostering competitivness of the EU supply sector and promoting fair trade.

A shift to a sustainable food system can bring environmental, health and social benefits, offer economic gains and ensure that the recovery from the crisis puts us onto a sustainable path.

Farm to fork

Every year the European Central Bank publishes an annual report on how it has carried out its supervisory responsibilities, it describes the tasks and activities of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and reports on the Eurosystem’s monetary policy. The report is usually published in April of the following year. The Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB presents the report to the European Parliament at a public hearing and then during a debate in plenary.

See more on this topic by visiting our <a href="https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/european-central-bank-annual-report-8th-parliamentary-term_4003_pk">package</a> for the 8th parliamentary term.

European Central Bank - annual report

Economic Dialogues are held in order to enhance the dialogue between the EU institutions on the application of economic governance rules and with Member States, if appropriate, to ensure greater transparency and accountability.

Representatives of Member States, the European Commission, the President of the Council, the President of the European Council and the President of the Eurogroup can be invited to discuss economic and policy issues before the competent Committee of the European Parliament.

The European Semester is the framework for integrated surveillance and coordination of economic and employment policies across the EU. Since its introduction in 2011, it has become a well-established forum for discussing EU countries’ fiscal, economic and employment policy challenges under a common annual timeline. It's being adapted to take into account the creation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility. The implementation of Member States’ recovery and resilience plans will drive their reform and investment agenda for the years ahead. The European Semester, with its broader scope and multilateral surveillance, will usefully complement the implementation of the recovery and resilience plans.

During the last economic dialogue, on 7 February 2022, Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President for An Economy that Works for People, and Paolo Gentiloni, Commissioner for Economy, debated with Members from the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs ECON the fiscal part of the Autumn Package of the 2022 European Semester and in particular overall assessment of the 2022 draft budgetary plans and policy guidance on the appropriate fiscal stance.

Economic Dialogue

EU-Russia relations have been strained since 2014 because of Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, support for rebel groups in eastern Ukraine, policies in the neighbourhood, disinformation campaigns and negative internal developments. Tensions have also grown over Russian intervention in Syria. The EU has regularly renewed sanctions against Russia since 2014. The EU and Russia remain closely interdependent and the EU applies a ‘selective engagement’ approach.

EU - Russia (2019-2020)

EU-Russia relations have become increasingly strained over the past decade, not least because of the country's 2014 annexation of Crimea, the Kremlin’s support for separatists in eastern Ukraine and Russia’s military intervention in Syria. Another source of tension is Russia’s disinformation campaigns and cyber-attacks, as well as attempts to interfere in Western democratic processes and the arrest of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, EU economic sanctions target Russia’s financial, defence and energy sectors. Russia has responded with counter-sanctions.&nbsp;

The European Parliament (April plenary session) confirmed concern about Russian military posturing close to the country’s border with Ukraine as well as in illegally occupied Crimea. The EP resolution also deplored the revelation that Russian intelligence services set off the explosion of an arms depot in Vrbětice, Czechia, in 2014, in which two Czech citizens were killed. Parliament also reiterated its call for the immediate and unconditional release of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

On 30 April Russia barred eight officials from European Union countries from entering the country in retaliation for sanctions imposed on Russian citizens by the EU. Russia's foreign ministry said those banned included Vera Jourova, vice president for values and transparency at the executive European Commission and David Sassoli, the President of the European Parliament. Presidents of the European Council, Commission and Parliament condemned in a joint statement the imposition of restrictive measures targeting the EU by Russia as unacceptable and groundless.

During September&nbsp;vote in plenary Parliament said that&nbsp;the EU must push back against aggressive policies while laying the groundwork for cooperation with a future democratic Russia.&nbsp;Assessing the state of EU-Russia relations, the European Parliament made&nbsp;clear that it distinguishes between the Russian people and President Vladimir Putin’s regime.&nbsp;

EU - Russia

The President of the European Central Bank (ECB) takes part four times a year in a monetary dialogue with Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) to report on monetary policy and answer question from MEPs.&nbsp;Although guaranteed independence under the Treaty, the ECB is accountable for its actions towards the European Parliament, and more precisely the ECON Committee.

The European Central Bank is the central institution of the Economic and Monetary Union and has been responsible for conducting monetary policy for the euro area since 1 January 1999 The ECB and the national central banks of all EU Member States constitute the European System of Central Banks.

Monetary dialogue

GMO stands for genetically modified organisms. They are organisms whose genetic material has been artificially modified in order to give it a new property. For example, this could be to make it easier for a plant to resist a disease, insects or drought, or to increase crop productivity.

The EU's GMO legislation stems from 1990 when the first two directives concerning GMOs came into force. Both original directives have since been updated, but the definition of a GMO has remained unchanged. This is causing problems for new techniques developed since then. New plant genetic modification techniques, referred to as 'gene editing' or 'genome editing', have evolved rapidly in recent years, allowing much faster and more precise results than conventional plant-breeding techniques. They are seen as a promising, innovative field for the agri-food industry, offering great technical potential.There is, however, considerable debate as to how these new techniques should be regulated, and whether some or all of them should fall within the scope of EU legislation on genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

See more on this topic by visiting our <a href="https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/genetically-modified-organism-8th-parliamentary-term_6504_pk">package</a> for the 8th parliamentary term.

Genetically modified organism

During the plenary sessions MEPs hold debates on foreign affairs and security policy to discuss European Union (EU) action beyond its borders. The EU Treaties differentiate between common foreign and security policy (CFSP), common security and defence policy (CSDP), external action, and the external dimension of internal policies. To address new challenges such as climate change, rising insecurity or new migration patterns, the EU has put forward concrete solutions to shape synergy between the actors, in order to use shared expertise more effectively, and to find new sources of funding. The new foreign policy framework (EU global strategy) is intended to map the tools and resources best designed to help society as awhole, in the EU and partner countries, to withstand natural and manmade shocks more effectively. In the years to come, global instability is expected to rise; the challenge for the EU will be to ensure security while upholding the core values of the Treaties – human rights, democracy and the fight against poverty – as its primary objectives on the global stage.

Ahead of the 17-18 February European Union-African Union summit in Brussels, plenary discussed with Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, about how to work together with African partners for a more strategic and results-oriented partnership. The discussion focused on the common challenges facing both continents, including the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, boosting vaccination and stimulating investments.

EU - Africa

A Greek, German and British consortium has won the 2023 Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for investigating the Adriana shipwreck, which left over 600 migrants dead off Pylos in Greece.

The joint investigation by the Greek investigative outlet Solomon, in collaboration with Forensis, the German public broadcaster StrgF/ARD, and the British newspaper The Guardian revealed how the deadliest migrant shipwreck in recent history happened as a result of the actions taken by the Greek Coast Guard. It also reveals inconsistencies in the Greek authorities’ official accounts.

The awards ceremony&nbsp;take place each year around 16 October, the date Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated. The prize and the €20 000 prize money demonstrates the European Parliament’s strong support for investigative journalism and the importance of free press. Over the last few years, Parliament has warned about attempts both in the EU and beyond to undermine media pluralism.

Daphne Caruana Galizia was a Maltese writer, blogger and anti-corruption activist, who reported on political events in Malta. In particular, she focused on investigative journalism, reporting on government corruption,allegations of money laundering and organized crime. She was killed in a car bomb explosion on 16 October 2017.

Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism

Switzerland is not in the European Union but has signed up to many of its policies. However, in May the Swiss Federal Council decided to stop negotiations of the EU-Swiss Institutional Framework Agreement.

As an EFTA (European Free Trade Area) member, Switzerland took part in the negotiations for the EEA (European Economic Area) Agreement and signed the agreement on 2 May 1992. Immediately after that, the Swiss Government submitted an application for accession to the EU on 22 May 1992. However, following a referendum held on 6 December 1992 that yielded a vote against participating in the EEA, the Swiss Federal Council stopped pursuing the country’s EU and EEA membership. Since then, Switzerland has developed its relations with the EU through bilateral agreements in order to safeguard its economic integration with the EU. The EU and Switzerland have signed over 120 bilateral agreements, including a free trade agreement in 1972, and two major series of sectoral bilateral agreements that aligned a large portion of Swiss law with that of the EU at the time of signing. While the agreements intensified economic relations, they also created a complex and sometimes incoherent network of obligations. In order to resolve these problems, EU-Swiss negotiations for an Institutional Framework Agreement (IFA) were launched on 22 May 2014.

In May 2021 the Federal Council decided to terminate the negotiations of the EU-Swiss IFA. The European Commission took note of this decision and expressed its regrets.

EU - Switzerland

The EU and China are two of the biggest traders in the world, with China being the EU's second trading partner.&nbsp; The EU-China Human Rights Dialogue was launched in 1995.&nbsp;Parliament strongly condemns the Chinese government-led system of forced labour – in particular the exploitation of Uyghur, ethnic Kazakh and Kyrgyz, and other Muslim minority groups – in factories within and outside internment camps in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Over the past year, EU-China bilateral relations have deteriorated, notably related to a growing number of irritants (i.e., China’s counter-measures to EU sanctions on human rights, economic coercion and trade measures against the single market, and China’s positioning on the war in Ukraine).

During his recent visit to China, Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis told his counterparts that “competition must be fair” and urged Beijing to address the lack of reciprocity in economic relations, as the EU’s trade deficit with China in 2022 reached almost 400 billion euro. Mr Dombrovskis said that the EU and China are at a significant political and economic crossroads, and warned that China’s stance on the war in Ukraine could jeopardise its relationship with the EU.

His visit came after Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced during her State of the European Union address that the Commission would launch a probe into whether China's electric vehicle industry is receiving unfair subsidies

EU - China

The Conference on the Future of Europe, organised by Parliament, Council and Commission, is among Commission President von der Leyen’s most prominent commitments.

The Conference was expected to start in May 2020 and run for two years, but has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will need to be launched as soon as possible in order for effective reforms to be implemented based on its outcome. It should be built on citizen participation involving a cross-section of society, and be free to define the future shape and form of the EU.

Future of Europe (2019 - 2020)

The EU4Health programme is a comprehensive response to the political demand to reflect the lessons learned from both the coronavirus crisis and previous health programmes.

On 28 May 2020, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a regulation on the establishment of a programmefor the Union's action in the field of health for the 2021-2027 period (EU4Health programme). It was announced as part of the Next Generation EU recovery instrument, aimed at countering the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

EU4Health is intended to boost the EU's preparedness for major cross-border health threats and improve health systems' resilience. This should enable the EU to face not only future epidemics, but also long-term challenges such as an ageing population and inequalities in health.

EU4Health

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The right to health, including sexual and reproductive health, is protected internationally.&nbsp;Access to sexual and reproductive healthcare goods and services is a fundamental component of sexual and reproductive rights.

Under international human rights law and standards, European Union Member States should ensure access to safe and quality sexual and reproductive healthcare.

A range of United Nations (UN) treaties ban discrimination in general terms, effectively outlawing discrimination in sexual and reproductive health and rights. These rights include the right to health and the right to family planning, equal access to service, freedom from violence and the right to life. Specific international treaty protections exist to combat discrimination on the grounds of sex, race, disability but not sexual orientation or gender identity.

At European level, the Council of Europe protects sexual and reproductive health and rights through the European Convention on Human Rights and through the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (the Istanbul Convention).

Sexual and reproductive health and rights

EP Plenary session - Oral Questions - The European Parliament's right of inquiry

EP Plenary session - Joint debate - Anti Money Laundering

Press conference on the first EU due diligence rules

LEX signing ceremony in presence of Roberta METSOLA, EP President and Mathieu MICHEL, Belgian Secretary of State for Digitalisation, on behalf of the Belgian Presidency

EP Plenary session - Joint debate - Banking Union

EMPL - Working Group on the European Child Guarantee

Press conference on Ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe

Press conference on EU-Egypt: a strategic partnership for whom?

EP Plenary session - The attack on climate and nature: far right and conservative attempts to destroy the Green Deal and prevent investment in our future

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EP Plenary session - Oral Questions - The European Parliament's right of inquiry

EP Plenary session - Joint debate - Anti Money Laundering

Press conference on the first EU due diligence rules

LEX signing ceremony in presence of Roberta METSOLA, EP President and Mathieu MICHEL, Belgian Secretary of State for Digitalisation, on behalf of the Belgian Presidency

EP Plenary session - Joint debate - Banking Union

EMPL - Working Group on the European Child Guarantee

Press conference on Ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe

Press conference on EU-Egypt: a strategic partnership for whom?

EP Plenary session - The attack on climate and nature: far right and conservative attempts to destroy the Green Deal and prevent investment in our future

EP Plenary session - Voting session

20th Anniversary of the 2004 EU Enlargement - Interviews

20th Anniversary of the 2004 EU Enlargement - Arrivals and family photo

EP Plenary session - 20th Anniversary of the 2004 EU Enlargement

EP Plenary session - Key Debate - Iran’s unprecedented attack against Israel, the need for de-escalation and an EU response

Press briefing EPP

EP Plenary session - Establishing the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans

EP Plenary session - Joint debate - Plant and forest reproductive material

EP Plenary session - Commission statement - Situation in Haiti