Workers posted temporarily to another EU country will get equal pay for equal work in the same place thanks to new revised rules adopted by the Parliament on Tuesday. The new rules aim to improve conditions for workers and ensure fair competition for companies.
Higher tariffs could be imposed on dumped or unfairly cheap imports to better protect EU jobs and businesses following a vote in Parliament on Wednesday. Speaking ahead of the vote, Christofer Fjellner, the MEP responsible for the legislation, said the measures were “a modern way of addressing unfair trading practices”.
On Tuesday, MEPs debated how the EU should respond to the imminent decision of US President Donald Trump to introduce new duties on steel and aluminium imports.
The prime minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, was the sixth EU leader to debate the future of Europe with MEPs. He called for strengthening European unity during the debate on Wednesday.
In a vote on the EU’s post-2020 budget on Wednesday, MEPs called for sufficient EU funding to meet new challenges such as security and migration. They also said the Erasmus+ budget should be tripled and specific funding for SMEs and tackling youth unemployment doubled.
On Wednesday MEPs adopted a resolution on the future of the EU's farm policy. They want to make it simpler, smarter, more sustainable and fully integrated into the circular economy. They rejected proposed cuts for funding. They are against farm subsidies for the breeding of bulls for bullfighting.
Parliament warned that the Schengen area was under significant pressure in a report adopted on Wednesday as reintroduced internal border checks remain in place. “If Schengen perishes, the Europe of citizens that we have today will vanish,” said lead MEP Carlos Coelho.
MEPs want to update the current EU ecodesign directive, which aims to make products such as boilers, computers and house hold appliances more energy efficient. Parliament want to go further and make products last longer and easier to dismantle, recycle and repair, marking a shift to a more sustainable economic model known as the circular economy, in which materials and products are reused, repaired and recycled for as long as possible.
Parliament called for measures against odometer tampering on Thursday, which affects about half of second-hand cars traded in the EU and is costing consumers and business billions every year.
On Wednesday, MEPs voiced concerns about golden visas programmes put in place by some EU countries to grant residence rights or even citizenship in exchange for investment. These programmes are discriminatory and may be an open door for corruption and tax evasion, many MEPs said in the debate.
Members approved €104.2 million in aid for Portugal (€50.6 million), France (€49 million), Spain (€3.2 million) and Greece (€1.3 million).
The President of the Republic of Guinea, Alpha Condé, called for EU-Africa relations to be strengthened further and focused on the root causes of migration, on development and human trafficking, during his address in plenary on Tuesday.
“Only peace and reconciliation, only democracy and respect for human rights can counteract the harmful influence of nationalism, fundamentalism, racism, populism and intolerance,” said Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos during his address in plenary on Wednesday, where he thanked the Parliament for its support to the peace process in the country.
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