Federalists oppose naming new building after Pope

A Polish campaign to name the new wing of the European Parliament building in Brussels after the late Pope John Paul II is gathering momentum.

Nick Aiossa, deputy director of Transparency International EU said there is a "culture of impunity" in the parliament among MEPs, which contributed to the Qatargate scandal that has rocked the insitution at the end of last year.

The European Parliament does not rule out mandatory anti-harassment training for MEPs — but has left questions of greater support for victims of bullying and abuse open-ended.

"We must do everything we can to be ready with this new system for the next European elections," MEP Sandro Gozi said after the committee vote.

The Socialists & Democrats want to regain the vice-presidency seat previously held by Eva Kaili, a Greek socialist MEP charged over allegations of corruption linked to Qatar. The Greens have other ideas and have put forward their own candidate.

Last week, London and Brussels secured a "breakthrough" with an agreement that will allow the EU to share real-time UK data on trade flows across the Irish Sea from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.