S&D Times

The?new?College?of?Commissioners?of?the?European?Union

Iratxe?García?Pérez?–?president?of?the?S&D?Group

We?voted?in?favour?to?support?the?President?of?the?European?Commission,?Ursula?von?der?Leyen,?because?she?committed?to?our?main?key?demands.?But?our?support?is?not?a?blank?cheque.?The?proposal?for?the?College?of?Commissioners?should?be?in?line?with?the?political?guidelines?of?the?European?Commission?and?should?fully?respect?the?pro-European agreement between pro-European and democratic forces.

Full?respect?to?the?spitzenkandidat?process,?gender?balance,?a?strong?focus?on?social?rights?and?the?fair?distribution?of?executive?vice-president?positions?re?ecting?the?majority in the European Parliament – this is what we have been asking for.

We,?the?S&D?family,?are?ready?to?do?our?job.?Negotiations?are?still?ongoing?and?the?process?of?hearings?for?the?Commissioners-Designate?will?be?key.?All?candidates?should?demonstrate their commitment to European values and progressive priorities.

Presentation?of?the?Draghi?report?and?a?debate?on?the?future?of?European?competitiveness

Iratxe?García?Pérez?–?president?of?the?S&D?Group

We?need?a?competitive?Europe?that?does?not?lose?its?social?heart.?Competitiveness?needs?to?bene?t?everybody?–?based?on?well-being?and?social?progress.?This?debate?is?a?good?way?to?kick?off?the?new?legislative?period?with?ideas?on?how?to?modernise?our?economy?and?accelerate?the?green?and?just?transition.?We?need?to?increase?the?EU’s?investment?capacity?with?common?EU?funding?and?a?strong?budget,?while?advancing?on?the?social?deal?in?line?with?our?EU?green?goals.?The?decarbonisation?of?the?EU?economy?and?the?green?industrial?strategy,?based?on?social?equality,?equity?and?quality?public?services,?must?be?high?on?the?agenda?for?this?mandate.

The?Draghi?report?–?as?a?continuation?of?Enrico?Letta’s?report?earlier?this?year?–?offers?a?good?overview?of?the?challenges?we?are?facing?and?the?solutions?across?various?policy areas. Growth is possible with social justice.

Presentation?of?the?programme?of?activities?of?the?Hungarian?Presidency

Iratxe?García?Pérez?–?president?of?the?S&D?Group

Klára?Dobrev?–?head?of?the?Hungarian?Delegation?in?the?S&D?Group

Hungary?is?halfway?through?its?presidency?of?the?Council?of?the?European?Union.?Unlike?Orban,?this?Parliament?does?respect?the?treaties?and?democracy.?This?is?why?he?will?be?invited?to?the?European?Parliament?and?given?the?same?courtesy?as?all?other?member?states?holding?the?rotating?Presidency.?At?a?time?when?we?are?de?ning?our?strategic?policies?for?the?next??ve?years,?and?while?–?at?our?immediate?borders?–?the?war?continues?in?Ukraine?and?the?con?ict?between?Israel?and?Gaza?is?still?growing,?we?require commitment and responsibility from the rotating presidency.

Instead?of?assuming?this?role,?Orbán?is?making?the?Hungarian?presidency?a?disgrace,?shakinghands?with?hostile?enemies?of?our?Union,?openly?defying?EU?law?and?using?his?veto?to?prevent?important?decisions.?The?EU?is?not?a?cherry-picking?exercise.?As?a?member,?and?in?particular?as?lead?of?the?Council,?you?must?act?as?an?honest?broker,?representing the views and positions taken jointly, not run a one man show.

EU?budget?2025?–?presentation?by?the?Council?of?its?position

Victor?Negrescu?–?European?Parliament’s?negotiator?on?the?matter?in?the?EP?committee?on?budgets

This?is?the??rst?budget?after?the?revision?of?the?pluriannual?budget?of?the?Union?2021-2027,?known?also?as?the?Multiannual?Financial?Framework?(MFF),?and?also?the??rst?time?that?we?will?need?to?pay?the?increasing?interest?costs?on?funds?borrowed?under?the?European?Union?Recovery?Instrument?(EURI).?Consequently,?we?are?extremely?worried?by?the?position?of?the?Council?which?asks?for?major?cuts?in?headings?and?programmes?with?a?direct?and?visible?impact?on?our?citizens.?A?lot?is?at?stake,?including?Horizon?Europe?–?the?key?funding?programme?for?research?and?innovation?and?Erasmus+?–?one?of?the?greatest?EU?success?stories?involving?young?people.?The?position?of?the?Council?asking?for?major?cuts?in?2025?goes?far?beyond?what?we?agreed?with?the?member?states?as?a?revision?of?the?current?MFF.?The?S&D?message?to?the?member?states?is?“keep?your?promises!”?If?the?budgetary?cuts?for?2025?become?a?reality,?this?will?undermine?the?credibility?of?the?European?project?in?the?eyes?of?Europeans?because?it?will?considerably?decrease?the??nancial?means?to?deliver.?This?is?unacceptable?for?the?Socialists?and?Democrats,?and?we?are?working?to?build?a?majority?in?the?Parliament?to?block?these?ideas?coming?from?the?Council.?We?want?to?ensure?a?long-term?budgetary?perspective?that?will?enable?us?to?deal?with?all?the?upcoming?challenges.

Global?measures?towards?social?media?platforms

Alex?Agius?Saliba?–?vice-president?of?the?S&D?Group?for?communication,?campaigns?and?digital?agenda

The?recent?clashes?between?several?democratic?governments?and?tech?giants?like?X?(formerly?Twitter)?highlight?the?crucial?role?that?social?media?can?play?in?our?democracies.?Elon?Musk’s?decision?to?not?comply?with?Brazilian?court?orders?is?just?one?more?example?of?how?tech?giants?are?increasingly?behaving?with?impunity?before?governments?and?the?courts.?The?Digital?Services?Act?represents?the?EU’s??rst?step?in?protecting?our?citizens?against?the?spread?of?misinformation?and?preserving?our?youth’s?mental?well-being.?But?we?should?not?stop?there.?Following?the?UN?Secretary’s?call,?we?must?explore?how?we?can?protect?our?democracies?worldwide?against?the?digital Wild West that social media platforms have become.

War?in?the?Gaza?Strip?and?the?situation?in?the?Middle?East

Nacho?Sánchez?Amor?–?member?of?the?European?Parliament?and?S&D?spokesperson?in?the?EP?committee?on?foreign?affairs

There?are?no?more?words?to?describe?the?disastrous?state?in?Gaza?which?show?the?highest?levels?ever?seen?of?food?insecurity,?lack?of?shelter,?clean?water,?sanitation...?all?elements?of?basic?human?dignity.?Even?worse,?day?after?day?we?wake?up?to?news?of?recurrent?massacres?of?civilians?and?humanitarian?workers?perpetrated?by?the?indiscriminate?and?criminal?actions?of?the?Netanyahu?government.?We?cannot?tolerate?this?situation?becoming?the?new?normal.?This?must?stop?now.?The?international?community?can?no?longer?accept?this?bloodshed?in?Gaza.?It?is?about?respecting?international?law?and?if?the?EU?does?not?speak?together?about?this,?who?else?in?the?world?will??We?must?make?use?of?all?the?instruments?at?hand?to?exert?the?necessary?pressure?to?stop?this?man-made?catastrophe.

The?deteriorating?situation?of?women?in?Afghanistan

Yiannis?Maniatis?–?vice-president?of?the?S&D?Group?for?foreign?affairs,?security?and?defence,?international?energy?security?and?cooperation

The?new?law?passed?in?Afghanistan?silences?and?erases?women?from?society,?further?reducing?public?spaces?for?women.?A?woman’s?voice?should?not?be?raised?outside?the?home, and they should not sing or read poetry aloud.?All of this is unacceptable.

The?rights?and?conditions?of?women?in?Afghanistan?worsens?day?by?day?to?the?near?indifference?of?the?world.?Newspapers?and?TV?stations?hardly?talk?about?it?anymore,?and?only?the?NGOs?still?present?in?the?country?continue?to?address?the?issue.?We?need?the?EU?and?the?international?community?to?make?their?voices?heard?–?loud?and?clear?–?and?to?put?pressure?on?the?Taliban?regime?to?revise?these?laws?ensuring?human?rights?are?upheld?for?all?women.?Geopolitical?interests?cannot?prevail?over?women’s?rights?and?bodies.

Situation in Venezuela

Yiannis?Maniatis?–?vice-president?of?the?S&D?Group?for?foreign?affairs,?security?and?defence,?international?energy?security?and?cooperation

The?Socialists?and?Democrats?in?the?European?Parliament?will?not?recognise?the?results?of?the?last?Venezuelan?elections?until?Nicolas?Maduro?provides?proof?of?election.?Unfortunately,?the?hope?of?having?transparent?and?democratic?elections?vanished?rapidly?when?it?became?clear?that?Maduro?did?everything?in?his?power?to?be?re-elected,?although?the?real?numbers?say?that?the?opposition?leader?Edmundo?González?Urrutia?won?the?elections.?The?arrest?warrant?against?him?is?yet?more?evidence?of?Maduro’s?policy?of?repression?that?we,?as?a?Group,?have?repeatedly?denounced.?This?is?why?the?Spanish?government’s?decision?to?grant?political?asylum?to?González?Urrutia?shows?courage,?determination?and?coherence?to?contribute?to?the?defence?of?democracy?in?that?country.?We?have?always?supported?the?efforts?and?work?of?the?high?representative?and?vice-president?of?the?Commission?Josep?Borrell?to?foster?dialogue,?but?now?it?is?time?for?the?EU?step?up?its?game?and?increase?sanctions?on?the?regime,?including?high-level?of?cials,?members?of?the?security?forces?and?the?regime’s?Supreme?Tribunal?of?Justice,?and?Maduro?himself.