The European Parliament Plenary sits in Strasbourg this week to discuss and vote on legislation regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI), building energy performance, single application procedure for work and residence permits for third -country nationals in the EU, as well as Media freedom in the EU.
The situation in Ukraine and Gaza will also be discussed at the EP Plenary session on Tuesday morning, during the preparation for the European Council Summit on March 21-22, with a statement by the President European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. In addition, the plenary will also address the immediate risk of mass starvation in Gaza and the attacks on humanitarian aid deliveries.
The European Media Freedom Act will be discussed on Tuesday. The EP aims to prevent governments from searching journalists, using spyware to monitor them, and even detain them, as mentioned during the Media briefing on Monday. Also, the Act will make it harder to turn media outlets into propaganda channels. It will also
be harder for Social Media platforms to delete independent news reporting, simply because they don’t like it.
The Act for the artificial intelligence (AI) was mentioned as ‘perhaps the most important’ issue that the Plenary will vote on during this session. The aim is to safeguard the reliability, the security and the respect of fundamental rights, when using AI tools, but also to promote the support of innovation.
On Tuesday, the Plenary will vote on the legislation regarding the energy performance of buildings. The legislation for a single application procedure for a single permit for third-country nationals to reside and work in the territory of a Member State and on a common set of rights for third-country workers legally residing in a Member State, will be discussed on Tuesday and the voting will take place on Wednesday.
Also, on Tuesday, a ceremonial session will pay tribute to the International Women’s Day celebration. The focus will be on women athletes this year, so the Plenary will be hosting two
women footballers from the national Spanish women’s football team, to address the session.
The Plenary will also discuss the urgent need to reduce waste, particularly food and textile waste. As mentioned during the Media briefing, food waste sums up to 60 mln tons per year (1.3 kg/person) and the goal it to reduce it by 20% in food processing and by 40% per capita in restaurants and households.
As for textile waste, it sums up to 2.6 mln tons per year, of which only 1% is being recycled into new products. The aim is to cover the cost for the collection and the recycling of these products, which may come from clothing, footwear, accessories, blankets, bed linen and even carpets.
Finally, the Plenary will also discuss address the promised revision of the EU animal welfare legislation and the animal welfare-related European citizens’ initiatives.
Source: Cyprus News Agency
