Preparation of the European Council meeting of 21 and 22 March 2019 and Brexit
Udo Bullmann, udo.bullmann@europarl.europa.eu, +33 388 1 75342
“The European Council meeting will be dominated by the UK’s departure from the EU, which is supposed to take place on March 29th. Theresa May is playing a reckless game holding the vote on the agreement just two weeks before the UK’s departure. This is leaving millions of EU and UK citizens with their lives on hold. If the UK Parliament again rejects the deal next week then the Prime Minister must work with Labour for a closer EU-UK relationship or must put the question back to the British people. We have always seen Brexit as an historic mistake and would welcome it if the UK were to change its mind.”
S&D press officer: Angelika Pentsi +32473930060
Situation in Turkey
Kati Piri, kati.piri@europarl.europa.eu - +33(0)388 1 75138
“The rapid decline of the rule of law in Turkey is also reflected in the European Parliament’s position on the accession process. With all the flagrant human rights violations, the lack of judicial independence and the implementation of a new constitution missing crucial checks and balances, it makes no sense to continue talks on EU membership with the current government. That is why we are calling for talks to be suspended. When a candidate country crosses key red lines, there should also be political consequences. This does not mean we want to close all doors to Turkey. The EU must do its utmost to support civil society, journalists and human rights defenders.”
S&D press officer: Inga Czerny-Grimm +32474622884
Climate change resolution
Kathleen van Brempt, kathleen.vanbrempt@europarl.europa.eu, +33(0)388 1 75447
“Our Group is strongly committed to gearing the transition towards a net-zero greenhouse gas economy by 2050, and it is feasible if we set the right strategy now. So we will propose an ambitious resolution next week. The decarbonisation of our economy is urgently needed to save our planet and to protect human health and well-being against extreme weather conditions. At the same time it presents an opportunity to change our economic model and create new enterprises and quality jobs, as long as we ensure a just transition.”
S&D press officer: Vicki Martín De La Torre +32473234173
Import of cultural goods
Alessia Mosca, alessia.mosca@europarl.europa.eu, +33(0)388 1 75746
“For the first time, the EU will establish common rules for the import of cultural goods from third countries. The new rules will finally put an end to divergent requirements across member states that allowed for different treatments in the trading of antiquities and artefacts. Illegal trade of arts is one of the most lucrative businesses next to those of drugs, weapons and counterfeit goods. Traffickers have exploited gaps between member state rules to bring cultural goods into the EU. These new rules will help crack down on this illegal behaviour. The S&D Group is committed to fighting to protect cultural heritage and promoting a value-based trade policy.”
S&D press officer: Markus Wolschlager +32 484 12 73 31
Establishing the Asylum and Migration Fund
Miriam Dalli, miriam.dalli@europarl.europa.eu, +33(0)388 1 75635
“Next week Parliament will vote on the creation of a fund of over 10 billion Euros to help member states deal with migration and asylum. This instrument should be used to help frontline member states, who have had to deal with the vast majority of new arrivals. We insisted that 95% of this funding should be used within EU countries, as separate mechanisms already exist to help third countries. We are disappointed that the centre-right EPP Group opposed this. It is essential that in the next long-term EU budget, enough money be devoted to managing migration, asylum and integration in an effective and humane way.
S&D press officer: Tim Allan +32 475 63 56 73
Gender balance in EU economic and monetary affairs' nominations
Mercedes Bresso, mercedes.bresso@europarl.europa.eu +33(0)388 1 75148
Pervenche Beres, pervenche.beres@europarl.europa.eu +33(0)388 1 75777
"With the nomination of Philip Lane as a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB) and José Manuel Campa as Chair of the European Banking Authority (EBA), the gender balance has once again not been respected. Women continue to be underrepresented in executive positions in the field of banking and financial services. We cannot accept this ongoing discrimination and call therefore, in a resolution next week, for a radical shift in mind set and procedure for gender equal nominations in all EU and national institutions and bodies for the future. We also expect a clear answer from the Council to the letter of the European Parliament, where we raised our concerns this week. In the future, we will not take any list of candidates that is not gender balanced into consideration."
S&D press officer: Markus Wolschlager +32 484 12 73 31
