Today's meeting of the European Parliament's group leaders (with exception of EPP) backed a proposal to postpone the vote to the next part session, but not withdraw a resolution, concerning the Hungarian media law in order firstly to take account of the announcement yesterday in Strasbourg by European Commissioner, Neelie Kroes, that Hungary has agreed to modify its controversial media law in line with her four principal criticisms* and secondly to keep the pressure on the Hungarian authorities to implement the necessary modifications.

"In the light of the announcement made by the European Commission yesterday, the European Parliament has decided to put off its vote on its Resolution on the Hungarian media law. This was inevitable since this issue has now been overtaken by events", said Simon Busuttil MEP, EPP Group Coordinator in the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee of the European Parliament.

CPME welcomes the measures adopted by the European Parliament in combating falsified medicines. In the past years, numerous packages of falsified medicines reached patients not only via the illegal but also via the legal supply chain. These products usually contain sub-standard or falsified ingredients, no ingredients or ingredients in the wrong dosage, thus posing an imminent danger and serious risks to patients. In the future, the infiltration of falsified medicines in the legal supply chain will be prevented by an authentication system introduced by the proposal for a

"A crucial indicator of the situation of the Rule of Law in Russia is the fact that tens of independent journalists and civil activists have been murdered - to name just a few Anna Politkovskaya, Natalya Estemirova, Sergei Magnitsky - and yet not one crime has been solved and not one murderer has been brought to justice", said Tunne Kelam MEP.

"By its unwillingness to bring about justice and transparency, the Kremlin can be seen as complicit in these crimes."

Speaking ahead of a counter-protest against Europe's biggest neo-Nazi rally this Saturday in Dresden, GUE/NGL President Lothar Bisky said his group strongly supports the counter-protest and called on the people of Dresden to take part.

"This weekend we will show our opposition to historical revisionism and far-right ideology," he said, and "we are especially happy to welcome international guests to support the blockade of the annual march" where Neo-Nazis will publicly deny Germany's liability for World War II and the holocaust.