Weber elected president of centre-right EPP party

Pressure is mounting for EU states to ease multiple-entry visas for human rights defenders from Belarus and Russia. But with EU states in charge of issuing visas, the possibilities for a coordinated EU approach appears limited.

Japan and the Netherlands are set to agree to join the United States in restricting exports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China.

Last June, a Latvian socialist MEP went to Azerbaijan and sang its praises — but the EU Parliament committee he claimed to represent had no idea he was there.

The ECHR ruled that Russia was in "effective control" of separatist regions of Eastern Ukraine from 11 May 2014. In doing so, the court has formally acknowledged the inter-state character of the conflict and Russia's culpability for human rights abuses.

Sanctions targeting Russia's fossil fuel earnings are now in place but as exports by European-controlled tankers persist, revenues still flow into the Kremlin purse.

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.