During 17-20 January 2022 plenary session in Strasbourg, MEPs will elect their President, 14 Vice-Presidents and five Quaestors. On Tuesday, Parliament will choose its President for the second half of the legislative term.&nbsp;Roberta Metsola, Alice Kuhnke, Kosma Złotowski and Sira Rego are running for the post of Parliament’s President for the second half of the 2019-2024 term.&nbsp;The President is elected by an absolute majority of valid votes, cast by secret vote, i.e. 50% plus one. Due to the pandemic, the vote is&nbsp;held remotely. If the first round does not deliver a winner, the same or other candidates can be nominated for a second and a third round, under the same conditions. If no one is elected at the third round, the two candidates with the most votes in this round proceed to a fourth and final vote, in which the candidate receiving the most votes wins. The newly-elected President may then deliver an opening address before presiding over the election of the remaining members of Parliament’s Bureau. Appointments to parliamentary committees for the rest of this legislative term will also be confirmed during the upcoming plenary session. Following the election and installation of Parliament’s new&nbsp;President, MEPs will elect the 14 Vice-Presidents and five Quaestors who, together with the President, comprise&nbsp;Parliament’s Bureau.

Election of the President of the European Parliament

David Sassoli was born in Florence on May 30, 1956.&nbsp; He started working as a journalist at small newspapers and news agencies, before moving to the editorial office of Il Giorno in Rome, where he worked for seven years. In 1992, he began working as a television news reporter and correspondent for TG3.&nbsp;

 
Subsequently he worked on news programmes on Rai Uno and Rai Due, before joining the editorial staff of TG1 in 1999 as a special correspondent. Over the next 10 years, he was responsible for managing prime time news broadcasts, and covering major national and international events. In 2007, he became Deputy Director of TG1 and responsible for in-depth programmes TV7 and TG1 Special. 
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When the Partito Democratico (PD) was formed in 2007, he considered it the right place for his political commitment. On 7 June 2009, he was elected to the European Parliament as a member for central Italy. In the 2009-2014 legislature, he was head of delegation of the Partito Democratico in the European Parliament. 
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In 2014, he was re-elected as an MEP and was elected Vice-President of the European Parliament, with responsibility for Mediterranean Policy, the budget, and buildings. He was a member of the Committee for Transport and Tourism, and led on European railway reform (4th Railway Package), and the Single European Sky. 
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In May 2019, he began his third term as an MEP for central Italy and on 3 July, he was elected President of the European Parliament. He passed&nbsp; away on 11 January. The Parliament honoured his memory in a ceremony in Strasbourg on Monday&nbsp;17 January.

President Sassoli

Have a look at the latest stockshots of 2021 with illustrative pre-edited broadcast quality video footage. These editable stockshots are clean (raw), with natural sound (no voice-over), produced to illustrate priority EU dossiers and parliamentary work. They are intended to help audiovisual media produce their own programs, for example, editing of news reports or documentaries.

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Infoclips - Illustrative footage

The European Union has advocated animal welfare for more than 40 years and is widely recognised as a global leader, with some of the world’s best animal welfare standards. EU rules have also positively influenced legislation in non-EU countries. They mainly concern farm animals (on the farm, during transport and at slaughter), but also wildlife, laboratory animals and pets. In December, Parliament’s Committee of Inquiry on the Protection of Animals during Transport (ANIT) wrapped up its work of 18 months, concluding that&nbsp;EU animal welfare rules&nbsp;are not always complied with in member states and do not fully take into account animals’ different transport needs. The most obvious violations include a lack of headroom, water or food supply for transported animals, the shipping of animals unfit for transport and overcrowding. Vehicles that are inappropriate for transporting animals are being used, and transport sometimes take place under extreme temperatures and extended journey times. To remedy the situation, the draft recommendations call on the EU Commission to update the current EU rules, to establish limits on journey time for all animal species and ages, ban the transport of very young animals below the age of 35 days and bolster controls on live animal export. MEPs also advocate a transition to a more efficient and ethical system, that favours the transport of semen and embryos over breeding stock, and carcasses and meat over animals being moved for slaughter.&nbsp;

Animal welfare

The Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) have two main goals: to create a safer digital space in which the fundamental rights of all users of digital services are protected and to establish a level playing field to foster innovation, growth, and competitiveness, both in the European Single Market and globally.

The rules governing the provision of digital services in the EU have remained largely unchanged since the adoption of the e-Commerce Directive in 2000, while digital technologies and business models continue to evolve rapidly and new societal challenges are emerging, such as the spread of counterfeit goods, hate speech and disinformation online.

Against this backdrop, on 15 December 2020, the European Commission tabled a new legislative proposal on a Digital Services Act (DSA) to update the current EU legal framework governing digital services. In parallel, the Commission unveiled a proposal for a Digital Markets Act (DMA).

Digital Markets Act&nbsp;&nbsp;sets rules on what big online platforms will be allowed to do and not do in the EU. It&nbsp;blacklists certain practices of large platforms acting as “gatekeepers” and enables the Commission to carry out market investigations and sanction non-compliant behaviour.

The&nbsp;Digital Services Act&nbsp;aims to create a safer digital space in which users rights are protected, including rules to tackle illegal content online, enhance the accountability and transparency of algorithms, and dealing with content moderation and targeted advertising.

On 8 November MEPs discussed&nbsp;with Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen the negative impact on users of big tech companies’ products and business models, and how EU digital rules can address these issues. The Digital Services Act&nbsp;&nbsp;has the potential to be a “global gold standard” and inspire other countries to “pursue new rules that would safeguard our democracies”, Ms Haugen stressed in the&nbsp;hearing.

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Digital Services and Digital Markets Act

On 16 December 2021, EU leaders met&nbsp;in Brussels to discuss COVID-19, crisis management and resilience, energy prices, security and defence and external relations.

The European Council&nbsp;discussed the&nbsp;current epidemiological situation&nbsp;in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the&nbsp;emergence of a new variant. In this regard, EU leaders&nbsp;discussed continued coordinated efforts to respond to the developments, keeping in mind that any restrictions should not undermine the functioning of the single market or hamper travel between EU member states and to Europe.

The European Council&nbsp;also touched upon&nbsp;the&nbsp;importance of vaccination in the fight against the pandemic, including the importance of rolling out vaccines to all and to deploy booster doses.

Participants exchanged views on how best to&nbsp;tackle vaccine hesitancy and disinformation, and on the effectiveness of various measures and strategies in this respect.&nbsp;.

Leaders&nbsp;also discussed&nbsp;the&nbsp;situation at the EU’s border with Belarus and&nbsp;Russia's military build-up at the border with Ukraine.

European Council, 16 December 2021

From January to June 2022, France holds the Presidency of the EU Council, following the Slovenian&nbsp;Presidency and preceding the Czech Presidency.&nbsp; During January plenary session MEPs will discuss with French President Emmanuel Macron the political strategy and aims of France’s six-month helm of the EU. The motto of the&nbsp;French Presidency&nbsp;is “Recovery, Strength and a Sense of Belonging”, to underline that, in order to fight the health crisis, the rise of aggressive foreign powers and climate disruption, the best response is a European response. In terms of EU legislation, France plans to give priority to negotiations on the new Digital Services and Markets Acts, the establishment of an adjustment system for carbon pricing at the EU’s borders, and on common minimum wages rules. The&nbsp;Conference on the Future of Europe&nbsp;is expected to deliver its proposals in the course of the French Presidency semester in the first half of 2022. The presidency of the Council rotates among the EU member states every 6 months. During this 6-month period, the presidency chairs meetings at every level in the Council, helping to ensure the continuity of the EU's work. Member states holding the presidency work together closely in groups of three, called 'trios'. This system was introduced by the Lisbon Treaty in 2009. The trio sets long-term goals and prepares a common agenda determining the topics and major issues that will be addressed by the Council over an 18-month period. On the basis of this programme, each of the three countries prepares its own more detailed 6-month programme.

French Presidency

Vaccines are a key part of a long-term strategy to bring SARS-CoV-2 under control. It is essential to rollout vaccination rapidly to protect as many people as possible and to lower the opportunities for the virus to evolve further. Any vaccine must be authorised by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

The European Commission has secured up to 4.4 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines so far and negotiations are underway for additional doses. However, countries are facing different challenges around the disinformation or vaccine acceptance. The European Parliament is trying to keep an eye on the purchase and safety of these vaccines. During June plenary the EP adopted a resolution calling for COVID-19 vaccine patent waiver. Parliament proposed negotiations start for a temporary waiver of the WTO TRIPS Agreement on patents to improve global access to affordable COVID-19-related medical products and to address global production constraints and supply shortages. The EP approved also the Digital Green Certificate to facilitate the safe free movement of citizens within the EU during the pandemic.

EU Vaccine Strategy

Refugee movements and migration are at the centre of global attention. In recent years, Europe has had to respond to the most severe migratory challenge since the end of the Second World War. The unprecedented arrival of refugees and irregular migrants in the EU, which peaked in 2015, exposed a series of deficiencies and gaps in EU policies on asylum, external borders and migration.

Despite the number of arrivals that were&nbsp;decreasing since the 2015 peak, the EU must help member states at the external borders to manage migration flows and ensure that those seeking protection are welcomed in line with its core values.

As the reform of the common asylum policy stalled, in September 2020, the Commission proposed a new&nbsp;Pact on Migration and Asylum, which sets out faster procedures throughout the EU’s asylum and migration system and provides new options how member states can show solidarity. The new pact constitutes a revision of the Dublin regulation, which determines the country responsible for processing each asylum claim.

The immigration policy at European level deals both with legal and irregular immigration.&nbsp;Regarding regular immigration, the EU decides on conditions for legal entry and residence. Member states keep the right to rule on admission volumes for people coming from non-EU countries to seek work.

In September 2021 MEPs adopted the reform of the EU Blue Card to facilitate the employment of highly qualified non-EU nationals and help alleviate labour shortages in key sectors.&nbsp;Originally proposed by the Commission in 2016, this will be the only legislative change at EU level in the field of legal labour migration in recent years.

The European Parliament is actively involved, in the adoption of new laws on irregular and regular immigration. It is a full co-legislator together with the Council representing member states on these matters since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009.

Migration

Since October 2020, the EU has&nbsp;progressively imposed restrictive measures&nbsp;against Belarus. The measures were adopted in response to the fraudulent nature of the August 2020 presidential elections in Belarus, and the&nbsp;intimidation and violent repression&nbsp;of peaceful protesters, opposition members and journalists.&nbsp;

The democratic opposition, including the opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, was awarded the&nbsp;2020 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

In May 2021 the EU leaders&nbsp;dealt with the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk and subsequent arrest of anti-government activist and journalist Raman Pratasevich.&nbsp;In a resolution adopted by the EP in June, MEPs strongly condemned the “Ryanair hijacking” as an act of ‘state terrorism’, and called for Raman Pratasevich and his girlfriend&nbsp;Sofia Sapega, as well as all other political prisoners in Belarus, to be immediately and unconditionally released.

The Council decided in June&nbsp;to reinforce restrictions on Belarus by introducing a&nbsp;ban on flights over EU airspace&nbsp;and on access to EU airports&nbsp;by Belarusian carriers of all kinds.&nbsp;A total of&nbsp;183 individuals&nbsp;and&nbsp;26 entities&nbsp;are now designated under the sanctions regime on Belarus. These include Belarusian President,&nbsp;Alexandr Lukashenko&nbsp;and his son and National Security Adviser,&nbsp;Viktor Lukashenko, as well as other key figures of the political leadership and of the government, high-level members of the judicial system and several prominent economic actors.&nbsp;

In a resolution adopted in October, Parliament expressed&nbsp;strong solidarity with Lithuania, Poland and Latvia, as well as other EU countries recently targeted by the Belarusian regime’s attempts to direct a substantial number of migrants and refugees towards the EU’s external borders - with hundreds of people detained after crossing over into the EU illegally and even some deaths. Parliament also stressed&nbsp;the need to consider bringing the case of Belarus to the International Court of Justice over crimes committed on a massive scale against the country’s citizens by the regime.

In November President of the EC Ursula von der Leyen called "the instrumentalisation of migrants for political purposes by Belarus"&nbsp;unacceptable.&nbsp;The EU must stand united in its response to the Belarusian regime’s inhuman instrumentalisation of migrants, MEPs repeated during the plenary debate and&nbsp;expressed their deep worries over the dramatic crisis&nbsp;unfolding at the Polish-Belarusian border.&nbsp;

EU - Belarus

In&nbsp; 2017, the Parliament adopted a Resolution on options for improving access to medicines. The Treaty of Lisbon has enhanced the importance of health policy, stipulating that ‘a high level of human health protection shall be ensured in the definition and implementation of all Community policies and ativities’. ​​​​

Primary responsibility for health protection and, in particular, the healthcare systems continues to lie with the Member States. However, the EU has an important role to play in improving public health, preventing and managing diseases, mitigating sources of danger to human health, and harmonising health strategies between Member States. The EU has successfully implemented a comprehensive policy, through the Health Strategy ‘Health for Growth’ and its action programme (2014-2020) and a body of secondary legislation.

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Healthcare safety (2019 - 2020)

On 29 March 2017, Theresa MAY, British Prime Minister, triggered Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

The right of a Member State to withdraw from the European Union was introduced for the first time with the Lisbon Treaty; the possibility of withdrawal was highly controversial before that. The Article 50 provides for the negotiation of a withdrawal agreement between the EU and the withdrawing state, defining in particular the latter's future relationship with the Union. If no agreement is concluded within two years, that state's membership ends automatically, unless the European Council and the Member State concerned decide jointly to extend this period.

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See also our previous package on <a href="https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/brexit-8th-parliamentary-term_1603_pk">Brexit</a>.

Brexit

The EU is under growing pressure from disinformation by countries, non-state actors and terrorist groups which promote violence and use pseudo-news agencies and internet trolls to challenge democratic values and divide Europe.

The EU has been increasingly hit by destabilising messagesamounting – in different forms and to different degrees – to coherent hostile ‘strategic communications’ campaigns, or the processes of infusing communications activities with an agenda or plan to impact the behaviour of a target audience.
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Anti-EU propaganda

On 21 and 22 October, EU leaders met in Brussels&nbsp;to discuss&nbsp;COVID-19, digital transformation, energy prices, migration&nbsp;and&nbsp;external relations. EU leaders noted that vaccination campaigns around Europe have brought about significant progress in the fight against COVID-19.

Nevertheless, the situation in some member states remains very serious. Leaders called for efforts to overcome vaccine hesitancy to be stepped up, including by tackling disinformation, notably on social media. The European Council called for further coordination to facilitate free movement within the EU and travel into it. It encouraged the Commission to accelerate its work&nbsp;with third countries on the&nbsp;mutual recognition of certificates.

Leaders called for the rapid removal of obstacles hampering the&nbsp;global rollout of vaccines, and invited the Commission to further engage directly with manufacturers in this respect.

The European Council addressed the recent spike in energy prices and considered the impact of these price rises on citizens and businesses, especially those striving to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. EU leaders noted that the toolbox presented by the Commission contained useful measures for both the short and the longer term.

Following the European Council of 24 and 25 June 2021, the European Commission and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy presented&nbsp;eight action plans for priority countries of origin and transit. To prevent loss of life and to reduce pressure on European borders in accordance with EU and international law, EU leaders called on the Commission and the High Representative to&nbsp;make those plans operational, implement them without delay and underpin them with adequate financial support.

European Council, 21 and 22 October 2021

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.&nbsp;(born November 20, 1942) is an American politician and the&nbsp;president-elect of the United States.

Candidate for&nbsp;the&nbsp;Democratic Party,&nbsp;he defeated incumbent president&nbsp;Donald Trump&nbsp;in the&nbsp;2020 presidential election&nbsp;and will be&nbsp;inaugurated&nbsp;as the 46th&nbsp;president&nbsp;on January&nbsp;20, 2021.&nbsp; 
Joe Biden served as the 47th&nbsp;vice president&nbsp;during the&nbsp;Obama administration&nbsp;from 2009 to 2017. He represented&nbsp;Delaware&nbsp;in the&nbsp;United States Senate&nbsp;from 1973 to 2009.

Joe Biden addressed addressed the European Parliament on 06/05/2010 to stress the need to renew and rebuild the transatlantic relationship as part of a visit to Europe aimed at making progress on relations with Washington.

Joe Biden

The EU and Tunisia have close and long-standing trade relations. Tunisia was the first partner in the EU’s Southern Neighbourhood ( to sign and implement an Association Agreement with the EU. The EU is the biggest foreign investor in Tunisia, accounting for 85% of the foreign direct investment (FDI) stock in the country. The current situation in the country is the topic of the discussion in the EP.

During October II plenary the European Parliament debated&nbsp;how&nbsp;to end the political crisis in Tunisia.&nbsp;Tunisian President Kais Saied currently holds almost all executive, legislative and judicial powers, after he dismissed the prime minister and suspended parliament in July 2021.

In September Saied also suspended, by presidential decree the country’s Constitution.&nbsp;Saied appointed Najla Bouden Romdhane as prime minister, making her the first woman in the country's history to hold the office. Bouden Romdhane has yet to name a government. With thousands of Tunisians demonstrating in the streets in support of or in opposition to the president’s decisions, fears are growing that political divisions could spiral into violent confrontations between these rival camps.&nbsp;

EU - Tunisia

​​​​​​This storybook is about a little girl, Anna, who is starting school in a new country and learning the local language through immersion. The audiobook and e-book versions are available in the 24 EU official languages. While the target audience is 3-6 year olds, this storybook could also be useful for older children learning to read, whether in their first EU language or in another one.

<a href="https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/anna-learns-new-language-all-versions_15508_pk">See the other language versions</a>

Anna learns a new language (Lithuanian version)

This storybook is about a little girl, Anna, who is starting school in a new country and learning the local language through immersion. The audiobook and e-book versions are available in the 24 EU official languages. While the target audience is 3-6 year olds, this storybook could also be useful for older children learning to read, whether in their first EU language or in another one.

<a href="https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/anna-learns-new-language-all-versions_15508_pk">See the other language versions</a>

Anna learns a new language (Bulgarian version)

This storybook is about a little girl, Anna, who is starting school in a new country and learning the local language through immersion. The audiobook and e-book versions are available in the 24 EU official languages. While the target audience is 3-6 year olds, this storybook could also be useful for older children learning to read, whether in their first EU language or in another one.

<a href="https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/anna-learns-new-language-all-versions_15508_pk">See the other language versions</a>

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Anna learns a new language (Maltese version)

This storybook is about a little girl, Anna, who is starting school in a new country and learning the local language through immersion. The audiobook and e-book versions are available in the 24 EU official languages. While the target audience is 3-6 year olds, this storybook could also be useful for older children learning to read, whether in their first EU language or in another one.

<a href="https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/anna-learns-new-language-all-versions_15508_pk">See the other language versions</a>

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