Voting session

MEPs held their daily voting session on 13 December 2012 during which they voted to:

• adopt the annual report on global human rights

• adopt a report on negotiations on an EU-Russia agreement

• pass a critical report on the Council of Minister's attitude to the role of the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency in 2013-2020

• approve an amendment of the European Parliament's rules of procedure on the use of written declarations

• adopt resolutions by MEPs on Israeli settlements, Ukraine, Albania and the steel sector.

The session started with brief discussions over the ruling by the European Court of Justice that it was unconstitutional for the European Parliament to vote to reduce the number of sessions held in Strasbourg.

British Conservative Ashley Fox, whose amendment had led to the reduction of Strasbourg journeys said it was the "settled will" of Parliament to have one seat, in Brussels and urged EU governments to allow it to happen.

However French MEP Joseph Daul said "we are lawmakers and so we have to respect the law".

Changing the base of the European Parliament would require a unanimous change of the EU treaties, and the French government has consistently blocked any attempt to end the Strasbourg sittings.

Useful links:

Democracy Live's guide to how the plenary sessions work.

A disclaimer on the use of simultaneous interpretations, on the European Parliament's website.