EU Parliament Gets Down to Business: Farmers, Cancer, and Some Light Poverty Eradication
The European Parliament is having quite the Thursday, tackling everything from unfair trading practices to world poverty—because why do one thing when you can solve all of humanity’s problems before lunch?
Kicking things off at 10 AM, MEPs are rolling up their sleeves to protect farmers from getting the short end of the stick in cross-border deals. New rules aim to stop buyers from other EU countries (or beyond) from taking advantage of farmers—because apparently, someone thought it was a good idea to let that happen in the first place. The legislation, which got a provisional thumbs-up back in November, goes to vote at noon.
Meanwhile, the UN Commission on the Status of Women is getting some parliamentary love at 9 AM, with MEPs setting their priorities for the March session in New York. Nothing says “we care” like voting on gender equality before your morning coffee kicks in.
But wait, there’s more! The agenda reads like an ambitious to-do list written by an overachieving intern:
- Fighting cancer (because it’s World Cancer Day week)
- Ending poverty by 2035 (no pressure)
- Battling economic inequalities (starting at 3 PM, naturally)
The voting marathon at noon includes resolutions on Uganda’s post-election drama, Iran’s prison conditions, Turkey’s journalist expulsions, Syria’s ceasefire, workers’ rights in subcontracting chains, and some thrilling convention accessions by Montenegro and Albania.
So if you’re wondering what your elected officials are up to, they’re basically trying to save the world before afternoon tea. You can watch it all unfold live on Parliament’s webstreaming site—popcorn not included.