S&D Times - Issue 15

This week?

External Group meeting in Krakow

This week our Group travelled to Krakow and joined forces with our Polish social democratic party, Nowa Lewica, at an external group meeting to defend the rule of law and women’s rights – issues that have been under attack by the PiS government.

We had many debates and exchanges, outlining our progressive solutions to current EU challenges, including the social and economic damage caused by Putin's war on Ukraine.

On Wednesday we discussed the current backlash against women’s rights and presented the EU Charter of Women’s Rights, which we want to be adopted at the EU level to enshrine all the most important fundamental rights of women and girls in the EU.

The challenges facing young people were also the focal point of our outreach event where, together with young citizens, we discussed how to secure a Progressive Future for a new generation.

See more?here

What’s coming up?

Next week we’ll travel to Strasbourg for another busy plenary sessions. Here are our priorities?

Own resources: a new start for EU finances, a new start for Europe

Next week, a vote will take place regarding the report that seeks to re-evaluate the EU's system of own resources for its budget. The purpose of this is to identify potential sources of additional funding that can be used to finance various EU policies and instruments. This is intended to promote the well-being of both the economy and people. We need new own resources in order to promote tax justice; deliver on EU priorities; ensure the success of the NextGenerationEU and allow the creation of a permanent fiscal capacity at Union level. We, the Socialists and Democrats, are convinced that inequalities in our Union should be reduced by taxing the super-rich; introducing an EU minimum Capital Gain Tax and by the extension of the windfall taxes on excessive profits to all sectors that profiteered from the global crisis.

Debate with the Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz?

On Europe Day, 9 May, the Parliament will host German chancellor Olaf Scholz. This will be an opportunity to discuss the progressive policies needed to help citizens make ends meet. Our solidarity with Ukraine, and our roadmap towards a more environmentally-sustainable Union, must go hand in hand with social policies to ensure a fair transition.

EU accession to the Istanbul Convention on violence against women - debate

On Tuesday 9 we’ll debate the EU accession to the Istanbul Convention. Six years after the EU signed the Istanbul Convention – the most important international legal instrument that aims to eradicate violence against women – the Council has finally overcome the conservative minority opposition and is ready to ratify it!?Women cannot wait any longer. One in three women in the EU – around 62 million women – have experienced physical or sexual violence and more than half of the women in the EU have experienced sexual harassment at least once in their lives. The EU accession to the Istanbul Convention will help to end this. But our fight will not be over. As Socialists and Democrats we are currently working on a new EU directive on gender-based violence that goes even further?than the Istanbul Convention to protect women.

Situation in Sudan - debate?

Sudan needs everything but another war. Both parties involved should respect the ceasefire and immediately stop the violence as a precondition to kick off real negotiations. In the meantime, the EU cannot allow another humanitarian tragedy to spread across and beyond the country.

This should be – for the EU – the natural ground to play an active role in peacebuilding, while also preventing other international players from infiltrating the country and running another proxy war.

The UN Refugee Agency has calculated that more than 100,000 people have fled the country, whereas the internal displaced persons are roughly 334,000. We should do our utmost to ensure humanitarian access to avoid further suffering for the population.

EU-US Data Privacy Framework debate and vote

On Wednesday we will debate and vote on Thursday the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. Like its predecessors Safe Harbor and Privacy Shield, we are concerned that the new EU-US framework will yet again be rejected in the European courts. Citizens and businesses need certainty, not more doubt, and we are not there yet. We are not convinced that the new framework sufficiently protects the personal data of our citizens. The Commission needs to deal with the concerns raised by the European Data Protection Board and the Civil Liberties Committee so that we can reach equivalent levels of data protection between the EU and the US, even if that means reopening the negotiations.

Methane emissions reduction in the energy sector

Next week, the European Parliament is ready to approve the EU's first-ever regulation on reducing methane emissions in the energy sector. With its climate impact over 80 times greater than CO2, methane is a significant contributor to global warming. The new regulation will serve as a crucial tool to combat climate change and align with the EU's goal of reducing emissions by 55% by 2030. It will enable the EU to measure and reduce methane emissions in all aspects of fossil fuel production, distribution and use – preventing uncontrolled methane leaks and their disastrous effects on the climate.

Empowering consumers for the green transition - vote

Next week, we expect a key decision that will help consumers embrace the green transition in their daily lives. Moving to more sustainable practices in the production and consumption of goods will not only benefit the environment, but also everyone’s wallets as we are all more and more confronted with the inflation crisis. With the new regulation “Empowering consumers for the green transition” that the S&D Group has been leading on, consumers will be better informed about the sustainability of the goods they buy, and companies will be pushed to stop early obsolescence, and to make their products repairable. This is a ‘no brainer’ in the ecological crisis we live in, which urges everyone to waste less. May all the European Parliament see the writing on the wall next week!