Ecaterina Casinge Archives

The two largest parties in the European Parliament have today (10 October) backed Socialist MEP Tanja Fajon to replace Alenka Bratušek as Slovenia's Commissioner in the new Juncker Commission.

SPECIAL REPORT: Governments and civil society should continue providing Roma with social housing, in oder to help them integrate locally, and reduce their travel between countries, says Valeria Atzori, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) Adviser on Roma.

SPECIAL REPORT: Soraya Post says she wants to create an intergroup on Roma in the European Parliament, and that Member States which do not respect the anti-discrimination directive should be sanctioned.

Rebecca Harms, Co-Chair of the European Greens, was denied entry into Russia Thursday (25 September) after being held at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport for four hours.

Members of the European Parliament are using social media applications to ask their voters for questions they can submit to Commissioners-designate in the public hearings next week. MEPs hope their voters will help them choose the right ones.

Barbara Spinelli thinks that the European Parliament should reject Jyrki Katainen as Vice-President of the next Commission, because of his support for austerity  policies.

European parliament committees expressed their concerns about the structure, portfolios and competences of candidates in written questions to the 27 commissioners-designate. The queries were sent to the candidates last week as part of the approval process of the new Juncker Commission.

SPECIAL REPORT: Europe’s largest minority continue to be marginalised and discriminated against despite EU initiatives to improve their well-being. Almost half of the existing ten million Roma in Europe live on the edge of poverty and the majority of them face social exclusion every day.

SPECIAL REPORT: About 300 scholars, athletes and policymakers gathered on Monday (15 September) at the Special Olympics scientific symposium to discuss new and better ways to include people with intellectual disabilities in the labour market.

SPECIAL REPORT: More than ten thousand people gathered at the Special Olympics’ opening ceremony to watch athletes with intellectual disabilities launch the games, in Heizel, on 13 September.

Commissioner Vassiliou said the lack of exercise is a problem affecting all social groups that is why the Commission will have a dedicated budget for sports activities as part of the new Erasmus+ programme. The European Commission is also a partner in the special Olympics European summer games 2014 that are taking place in Belgium from 2-20 September.

A group of EU member countries will help tackle the problem according to a new opinion by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), an advisory body to the EU institutions.

SPECIAL REPORT: The Olympic flame arrived for the first time in Belgium as part of the Special Olympics European summer games on Tuesday (9 September), turning attention to an event few people in the EU sphere had heard of until now.

SPECIAL REPORT: Athletes with intellectual disabilities will be able to compete in different sports for the next ten days, at the Special Olympics European summer games in Belgium.