Key quote of the week (1/2) by the leader of the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, Iratxe García, on the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council:
“As we approach the end of this legislative term, time is running out to adopt crucial legislation that will ensure a better functioning European Union, a Union that is better prepared to face challenges like climate emergency, growing inequalities and our strategic autonomy.”
Key quote of the week (2/2) by S&D MEP and European Parliament’s chief negotiator on the Nature Restoration Law in the committee on environment, public health and food safety (ENVI), César Luena:
“Nature lost a battle today, but we will continue fighting in plenary. I remain open, as always, to negotiate everything with everyone. I sincerely hope Manfred Weber will come to his senses and stop his personal crusade against Ursula von der Leyen, so that we can pass the European Commission’s proposal in plenary. It’s high time to focus on reversing biodiversity loss rather than these political games.”
Upcoming activities:
On Wednesday 5 July, the European Commission is expected to launch an ambitious proposal on soil health law. Complementary to the much-needed Nature Restoration Law, which should go to plenary vote the week after – but specific to land only – this proposal aims to put forward ambitious measures to improve the health of soil, since a staggering 61% of EU soil is unhealthy according to data from the EU Soil Observatory. Healthier soil will help carbon sinks absorb more CO2 from the atmosphere, will make our food systems more productive and less reliant on resource intensive external inputs, will help farmers adapt to climate change impacts and will reverse biodiversity loss, which is causing dramatic decline of pollinators – insects – all of which are crucial for sustainable agriculture.
Next week, the Commission will publish its 2023 rule of law report. For the Socialists and Democrats, this annual exercise is a key tool to monitor the state of rule of law across all EU member states. However, in order to be effective it needs a concrete follow-up and specific country recommendations.
Upcoming events:
On Wednesday, 5 July, join us in the European Parliament for a seminar on cross-border families and recognition of parenthood. Our MEPs, Maria Manuel Leitão Marques and Ibán García del Blanco, will host a debate with several specialists in order to tackle this issue which affects scores of European families.
Registration is open here and the event starts at 14:30.
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