General : A 15-strong delegation of MEPs will visit Israel and the Palestinian Territories from 24 to 27 May. The mission will focus on the humanitarian situation, the peace process and the use of EU funds in the Palestinian Territories. MEPs have deplored the Israeli authorities' refusal to grant access to Gaza.Source : © European Parliament

Plenary sessions : The completion of the single market, the sustainability of national debts and a grass-roots led EU cohesion policy are central to the success of the EU2020 strategy, insisted MEPs in a series of resolutions adopted on Thursday. The vote on Parliament's EU 2020 resolution has been postponed until June.Source : © European Parliament

The UK nominations for the EP Prize for Journalism have been selected and will now compete for the €5,000 prizes against entries from other EU Member States. The TV category winner was Simon Thomson for his programme 'Democracy in Action'; BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat won the radio nomination; in the internet category the UK winner was James Clive-Matthews for his EUtopia blog; and in the written press category, Daniel Trilling, for a feature in the New Statesman magazine on the European Parliament.

Plenary sessions : Country of origin labels should become compulsory for clothes sold in Europe so that consumers are not misled by labels suggesting they were made in an EU Member State, said the European Parliament on Tuesday when it approved an update of the EU clothes labelling scheme.Source : © European Parliament

Committees : The EP Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee on Monday adopted its position on the draft EU law regulating managers of alternative investment funds, including hedge funds. MEPs voted for new ways to deal with managers and funds located outside the EU, a proportionality system to regulate less risky funds more lightly, and rules on remuneration policies and short selling. They also made improvements to the directive's transparency and risk reduction rules.

Plenary sessions : Ukraine will be eligible for an EU loan of up to €500 million to help it through the financial crisis, following a vote at the European Parliament on Tuesday.Source : © European Parliament

Plenary sessions : Lorry drivers who break rules on working time, rest periods or working conditions should pay clear and comparable penalties across the EU, says a resolution adopted by Parliament on Tuesday. The resolution criticises wide disparities in EU Member States' fines for similar offences and calls for closer harmonisation and co-ordination of penalties, in the interests of road safety and fair competition.Source : © European Parliament

Plenary sessions : At the start of this week's Strasbourg session, EP President Jerzy Buzek announced that, as every year, the EU was celebrating 17 May as International Day against Homophobia (IDAHO). This year's Europe Day and the Charlemagne Prizes were among other topics mentioned by Mr Buzek, who also congratulated the new UK and Hungarian governments on taking office. He welcomed a request to send condolences to families of soldiers killed in Afghanistan.Source : © European Parliament

Committees : EU Satellites that observe the Earth's surface for environmental and security purposes came a step closer on Tuesday, when Industry Committee MEPs unanimously approved a draft regulation providing a legal basis for them, plus €107 million for initial operations in 2011-2013. The regulation has still to be approved by the full Parliament, probably in June.Source : © European Parliament

Committees : The EU's financial supervisory plans were beefed up by Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee MEPs on Monday, with new measures including a much bigger say for the nascent European Systemic Risk Board before and during crises affecting financial stability, direct EU supervision of systemically important financial institutions, the right to impose temporary bans on very risky financial products and the designation of two EU stability-assisting funds.Source : © European Parliament

Plenary sessions : With more than 3 million new cases and 1.7 million deaths each year, cancer is the second biggest cause of death in Europe. But one third of cancer cases could be prevented. The European Parliament wants EU governments and institutions to step up the fight against this disease. MEPs called on Thursday for further action to promote a healthy lifestyle and reduce environmental and workplace risk factors as well as demanding increased EU investment in information and screening campaigns.

Plenary sessions : Standard chargers for electric cars would be a major step towards a single European electric vehicle market, says a resolution adopted by Parliament on Thursday. Smart electricity grids would also make these vehicles easier to use. More broadly, MEPs call for a balanced development of related technologies with more EU support to innovation in this field.Source : © European Parliament