Member States should reduce the use of pesticides in agriculture in order to protect bees, the EP Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee said on Tuesday in a resolution. The committee also highlighted weaknesses in the EU Pollinator Initiative considering it inadequate to address the main causes of pollinators' decline in Europe.

Corruption is one of the most unacceptable phenomena that erode the fabric of democracy in Europe and it is high time to crack down on it, said MEPs from the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee (LIBE) at a public hearing. 

The European Central Bank (ECB) should do more to help tackle the climate emergency, new ECB president Christine Lagarde said on Monday during a hearing at the EP Economic Affairs Committee. Questions on how the ECB is responding to the threat of climate change were a recurring subject during the hearing. In a strong hint that as president she would move the ECB beyond its traditional remit of controlling inflation, Lagarde said the bank would incorporate the climate threat into both its economic forecasts and in its capacity as watchdog of the financial system.

With a delay of a month and after a number of hindrances, the von der Leyen Commission, comprising 27 members, is taking office on 1st December. The next day, the EC President will deliver a speech at the COP25 Climate Conference in Madrid. On Wednesday, MEPs finally greenlighted the new College by 461 votes in favour, 157 against and 89 abstentions.

After assessing the nominees, MEPs voted on 27 November to elect the European Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen, allowing it to take office on 1 December, the EP press service reported. A total of 461 MEPs voted in favour of the new Commission, while 157 voted against and 89 abstained.

At their mini plenary session in Brussels, MEPs held a thorough discussion with the Commission and the Finnish Presidency of the Council on the situation in the hotspots on the Greek islands, in particular the case of Moria camp.

A political agreement on a European tyre labelling was reached on 13 November between the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission. The new rules improve and strengthen EU tyre labels enabling European consumers to make better choices and bringing energy savings equivalent to taking 4 million cars off EU roads every year.

The Conference of Presidents (EP President and leaders of political groups) on Friday decided that the hearings of the three new Commissioners-designate will take place on 14 November, the EP press service reported. The candidates are: Oliver Varhelyi from Hungary (Neigbourhood and Enlargement), Adina-Ioana Valean from Romania (Transport) and Thierry Breton from France (Internal Market). Parliaments Committee on Legal Affairs will meet on 12 November to evaluate the candidates’ declarations of financial interest.

MEPs from the EP committees on Foreign Affairs, Development and Civil Liberties joint forces on Wednesday to examine together with Commission's DG NEAR (Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations) and DG ECHO (European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations) the situation with Syrian refugees in Turkey. 

The EP Committee on Foreign Affairs decided that Ilhan Kyuchyuk, Bulgarian MEP of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms representing the Renew Europe party, will be the rapporteur for EP in the coming five years on North Macedonia.