The European Parliament today endorsed a proposal to grant preferential trade access to Burma (under the generalised scheme of preferences) after a break of 16 years. The Greens criticised the decision, notably the absence of any conditions or time limits, in spite of the human rights situation in the country. After the vote, Green trade spokesperson Ska Keller stated:

GUE/NGL MEPS call on parliament to reject current form of EU's negotiating mandate

In a plenary debate yesterday on what form the EU's negotiating mandate will take in the negotiations for a transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and the US, GUE/NGL MEPs voiced their concerns.

The winners of the European educational contest, Odysseus, received their prizes at a ceremony held in Space Expo, in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.

Commenting on outcome of today's summit of EU heads of state and government, Greens/EFA co-president Rebecca Harms stated:

"This summit, which should have prioritised progress on long-overdue measures to tackle tax evasion and avoidance in the EU, has been overshadowed by the red herring of energy prices. As a result, EU leaders have done little to break the impasse on key legislative proposals on tax and savings transparency, which are stalled due to obstructionism in Council, whilst adopting confusing conclusions on energy policy.

Two GUE/NGL MEPs have expressed their solidarity with Syrian refugees in a debate on the issue today in plenary.

GUE/NGL MEP Marisa Matias said: "We have talked a lot about Syria already in this house and we must continue to do so as the situation is only getting worse. It is not something that just affects the Middle East or Syria, it affects all of us. We must have a stronger position on Syria. There is a fund for helping refugees so let's use it. We must ensure refugees' protection and let them into Europe.