Flaws in the US anti-terror system exposed by the recent arrest in Amsterdam of two suspected terrorists flying from Chicago pushed MEPs from the two main parties in the European Parliament to ask for "better" rather than "more" security checks ahead of a crucial new round of negotiations between the EU and the US over Passenger Name Records (PNRs).

Seven EU countries and the European Parliament have told the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that the European Commission's plans for a single patent court are unacceptable, EurActiv has learned. The move leaves Europe deeply divided on an issue that goes to the heart of efforts to boost innovation and competitiveness.

The latest edition of Total Politics includes a feature piece about Sharon Bowles, Liberal Democrat MEP and chair of the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee: The Lib Dem MEP is a hugely powerful and yet virtually unknown British politician. She has had far more impact on our legislation than your average Westminster politician…

The escalating row over the right to fish for mackerel in the north Atlantic is to be discussed at the European Parliament later.

The European Parliament is to launch a new virtual role-playing game and social networking forum to boost citizens' understanding of how the EU works. But critics predict the website will become an expensive "virtual ghost" with very few users. 

Fancy a try out as an avatar? A few days’ back, the astonishing news broke that the European Parliament was spending a couple of hundred thousand pounds on a computer simulation of life in EU politics. The site is now...

Politics has been reduced to the level of Citzalia, an online game in which you play at taking part in the European Parliament, says Christopher Booker

Brussels has joined Westminster in offering its citizens online impotence, says Christopher Booker

On his blog, Jon Worth notes that the European Parliament is financing the development of a role-playing and networking website modelled on the European Parliament, named ‘Citzalia’. The project appears to be financed from €4 million allocated to European Service Network (ESN), a Brussels-based communications agency, from the European Parliament.

Citzalia is democracy in action. It is role playing game and social networking forum wrapped in a virtual 3D world that captures the essence of the European Parliament. You may even recognise parts of the building ...