The week in Strasbourg: "Give the Red Card to Prostitution" proclaimed the posters all around the European Parliament this week as the issue of enforced prostitution was highlighted as the World Cup took place across the border in Germany.
Swedish MEP Eva-Britt Svensson attacked the commission for not putting into practice its own proposals to deal with the exploitation of women and children.
She said studies had shown that about 15,000 children were prostituted annually and she argued the only way to deal with the issue was to eliminate demand.
MEPs also put down a resolution deploring the increase in racist and homophobic violence in Europe and passed a resolution calling on the commission to monitor what was happening at the World Cup in relation to racism.
The president of the parliament, Joseph Borrell, found himself in competition with the football when he arranged a briefing for journalists which, unfortunately for him, coincided with the kick-off between France and Switzerland.
Many of the French journalists apologised to him at the opening of the session, citing "important business".
During that briefing, he outlined his hopes for the forthcoming summit and refused to concede that the European constitution was dead. Member states, he said, should work at it until an acceptable formula was agreed.
In parliament, Fianna Fáil noted that the interim report of a temporary committee, which is investigating allegations of illegal activity in Europe by the CIA and extraordinary rendition, had not mentioned Shannon airport or Ireland.
The chairman of the temporary committee made it clear that the work was only half done and the investigations would intensify as more high-grade information on flights and the movement of prisoners emerged.
He made it clear to a press conference that just because a country had not been named in the interim report did not mean anything and that all the countries involved would be named in the full report at the end of the year.
The parliament adopted a resolution later that day calling on the US administration to close the Guantánamo Bay detention facility.
The resolution called on the US to comply with international law and insisted that every prisoner be treated in accordance with international humanitarian law and if charged, should be tried without delay in a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial court of law or international tribunal.
By Wednesday, the parliament had worked its way through a report on whether or not the EU should fund embryonic stem-cell research.
In the voting yesterday, the parliament decided by a small majority to allow the funding, which came as a surprise to most people here, as it had been expected that the parliament would not back funding.
Also on Wednesday, Seán Ó Neachtain presented his report on inshore fishing.
He said the vital contribution made by inshore fishing activities was undervalued by the commission.