Quote of the week by President Iratxe García:
“Polish citizens are European citizens, and they deserve to have the same rights as everyone else in the EU. Our Group is going to meet in Krakow to express our support to the Polish people who are struggling with a government that is not respecting European values and is weakening democracy and the rule of law. We also want to express our support to our sister party, Nowa Lewica, which strongly defends women, young people, the LGTBIQ+ community, and all those who feel excluded and discriminated against by the policies of the PiS government.”
Group meeting in Krakow
From Tuesday, 2 May, to Friday, 5 May, our Group will be in Krakow for a full week of events, debates and meetings with Polish citizens.
Our working visit to defend the rule of law and push for an EU Charter of Women’s Rights kicks off on Tuesday. On Wednesday and Thursday we will host two debates – both webstreamed and open for media attendance*, and a live event, which is open to the general public.
1. On Wednesday, Group president Iratxe García, and Chair of the European Parliament's committee on women's rights and gender equality Robert Biedroń, will lead a discussion on Fighting the backlash against women's rights: A progressive response to the crisis with several key guest speakers. The S&D Group will present the EU Charter of Women’s Rights initiative, 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 event will start at 10:30 and will be webstreamed.
2. On Thursday, at the same time, the debate will focus on Challenges for the EU. Speakers will include Group leader Iratxe García, MP Maciej Gdula (Nowa Lewica), co-presidents of Nowa Lewica Robert Biedroń and Włodzimierz Czarzasty, and PES vice-president Andrzej Szejna. A press conference, streamed live on our site, will follow at 12:00.
3. On Thursday evening, starting at 17:00, president Iratxe García, MEP Robert Biedroń and Polish MP Maciej Gdula will discuss the key issues facing the youth of today. A panel including young Polish activists will be followed by a Q&A session during our event Securing a progressive future for a new generation. If you would like to attend the debate in person, register here.
The last day of our Group mission will be dedicated to remembering the victims of the Holocaust, on a ceremonial visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum.
* Journalists from Poland are kindly asked to confirm their participation with rzecznik@lewica.org.pl and journalists travelling from abroad with inga.czerny-grimm@ep.europa.eu.
Upcoming events and activities
On Monday, 1 May, we will continue our tradition and join our comrades at SolSoc in marking International Labour 
Over the next week we will also work on the important files of the upcoming Plenary session in Strasbourg. Among them: empowering consumers for the green transition, EU accession to the Istanbul Convention and the situation in Sudan. We are also happy to welcome to the Strasbourg hemicycle German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, for a key note speech and debate to mark Europe Day, and to our Group meeting.
On Saturday, 6 May, from 10:00 to 18:00, we invite everyone in Brussels to join us for Europe Day – the European Institutions Open Day. As usual, admission is free and we look forward to meeting everyone at our stand.
Don’t forget to stay updated on all our initiatives and reactions on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Telegram, Mastodon, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and TikTok!
