Quote of the week by Robert Biedroń, S&D MEP and chair of the European Parliament’s women’s rights and gender equality committee:
“Despite the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people, Russia’s barbaric war continues. And as usual in such conflicts, women and girls pay a very high price. Every day, independent media sources alert us that mass rapes, sexual and gender-based violence, torture and genocide are being used as a ‘weapon of war’. We will not rest until the perpetrators of these crimes are brought to justice.”
UPCOMING EVENTS
This weekend we’re happy to welcome everyone to the European Parliament in Brussels, as we are getting ready for our yearly Open Days event. After 2 years of pandemic, we are looking forward to meeting citizens, and discussing and explaining what our role is in the Parliament. This year’s theme? The Conference on the Future of Europe. Quite fitting, as this has been a pan-European exercise in democracy. Join us this Saturday 7 May!
The following Open Day will be in Strasbourg, also at the European Parliament premises, on Sunday 15 May. And we will gladly welcome everyone interested in discussing with us their vision of Europe.
This Saturday we are also supporting the March for Europe, scheduled to take place in Strasbourg. Alongside #Progressives4Europe partners, we will be following the March starting from Place Kléber, at 16h00 in support of the European project.
The Conference on the Future of Europe will conclude its activities with a final plenary session on Monday 9 May, in Strasbourg. Prime Minister António Costa and several of our members are expected to join and discuss with citizens the conclusions of the Conference. However, as our president stated this week, the Conference does not end here. We will take all the valuable input received from the citizens and, with all #Progressives4Europe, we will work to turn them into concrete proposals.
On Thursday 12 May, we are co-organising a new Global Progressive Forum webinar. The topic – Democracy vs. Autocracy. Join us live on www.socialistsanddemocrats.eu and on our Facebook page from 14h00 CET for an interesting debate with Andreas Schieder (GPF co-chair), Klara Dobrev (S&D MEP and former vice-president of the European Parliament) and other speakers from three continents.
On Saturday May 14, we will be in Helsinki to discuss one of the most crucial topics of the moment - the future of Europe and security issues. This is part of our #Progressives4Europe initiative to gather input from citizens in order to improve the functioning of the EU. Our morning seminar will be addressed by Tytti Tuppurainen, Minister for European Affairs, Marek Belka, Polish MEP, and Kenneth Forslund, Chairman of the Swedish Foreign Affairs Committee, Esa Pulkkinen, Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Defense, and Miapetra Kumpula-Natri and Eero Heinäluoma, Finnish Social Democrat MEPs. You can follow the event live on www.socialistsanddemocrats.eu and on Facebook.
NEXT WEEK
Committee work is also underway next week. On Tuesday 10 May, our members in the committee on regional development will discuss the 8th cohesion report. Follow us for reactions from the lead negotiator on the file, MEP Constanze Krehl.
Also on Tuesday, the newly implemented special committee on lessons learnt from the Covid-19 pandemic will hold its first meeting. On the agenda – exchange of views with commissioners Thierry Breton and Stella Kyriakides.
On the same day, members in the committees on civil liberties and gender equality will hold a hearing on gender-based violence.
Wednesday 11 May, is the day when our MEPs in the consumer affairs and civil liberties committees will have a joint meeting. They will discuss the draft report on the Artificial Intelligence Act. Brando Benifei and Petar Vitanov will share the achievements of our group in their committees on this crucial technology legislation.
We will also be keeping an eye on the European Commission’s proposal for the Children’s Rights package. It is expected to include issues like the use of internet by children and sexual abuse of minors. Follow us for reactions.
And don’t forget to stay updated on all our initiatives and reactions on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Spotify and Apple Podcasts!
