Quote of the week by César Luena on the Nature Restoration Law:
"We have secured more conservative votes than in previous occasions (at committee level), though not as many as we anticipate in the upcoming plenary vote. This law has garnered support across pro-European political groups, including the European People’s Party, the same parties that pledged to uphold the Green Deal in 2019. Now, it is a matter of honouring the commitment made.
Restoring nature is a pillar of the Green Deal, which the S&D Group put at the heart of the Commission’s programme at the beginning of this legislature and is now delivering on. We are committed to protecting the people, the planet, and supporting everyone in the transition".
Activities
Next Monday evening, the European Parliament and Council are expected to reach a provisional agreement on the regulation regarding Ecodesign requirements for sustainable products. Led by the European Parliament’s lead negotiator Alessandra Moretti, this regulation aims to ensure that products in the Union market become more sustainable. The Commission will set specific environmental requirements for products on elements such as durability, reparability and environmental footprint. The S&D Group is advocating particularly for clear rules on the destruction of unsold products, and has been pushing for a prohibition of destruction of unsold textile and footwear products. The S&Ds are also striving to make sure products do not contain substances that present a risk to the environment and to human health. This legislation constitutes a cornerstone of the Green Deal’s circular economy package.
Next Thursday, S&D members Heléne Fritzon and Javi López, led by vice-president for the Green Deal Mohammed Chahim, will head to Dubai to attend the United Nations climate summit COP28. S&D members will engage with key stakeholders to advance their main priorities: delivering on the Loss and Damage Fund, phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, setting a global target for renewables, addressing conflicts of interest at COPs, highlighting the significance of the first global stocktake to measure progress made towards the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement. Additionally, a crucial focus will be placed on adopting a Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) to further support vulnerable communities in the face of climate change challenges.
Events
On Tuesday, 5 December, just a week ahead of the European Council where key decisions regarding the accession process should be taken, we will be holding our Seminar on Enlargement. As advocates, we have been vocal of a more ambitious EU enlargement policy, considering it an engine for democracy, peace, freedom and prosperity on our European continent. High-ranking speakers for this event include deputy prime ministers of Ukraine Olga Stefanishyna and North Macedonia’s Bojan Marichikj. Group leader Iratxe García and vice-president Pedro Marques will open the debate. See the programme and register here.
On Wednesday, we will be live with the Cross-Party Forum “8+100”, a three-panel discussion on Belarus, with the participation of speakers from the European Parliament, European parties and different Belarusian political parties prosecuted by the Lukashenka regime. The main objective of the Forum, which will be opened by MEP Juozas Olekas, chair of the EP delegation for relations with Belarus, is to discuss a common strategy towards a democratic Belarus, as well as to create a platform for cooperation between Belarusian and European sister parties. Details here.
Also on Wednesday, 6 December, our Members will present an overview of our achievements to date in the European Parliament's committee on culture and education. They will also attempt to outline the way forward on the many challenges to European youth, educators, artists and creators as well as to journalists and news editors. The event is set from 14:30 to 16:30 CET. It is divided into three panels – “For a quality education for all”, “Toward a Europe for culture” and “Media freedom in a digital world”. It will be opened and closed by our vice-president Alex Agius Saliba and will bring together S&D negotiators on various crucial parliamentary reports as well as civil society experts from SOLIDAR, Culture Action Europe and FEPS as well as interested participants. The Spanish presidency will also share their remarks on these key topics. Follow the event online on our website or on our YouTube channel.
Join us on Thursday, 7 December, for the conference: Shaping Europe's digital model: building alliances for a progressive European vision, jointly organised with our partners at FEPS (Foundation for European Progressive Studies) in the European Parliament. We have been at the forefront of the digital transition – one of the main challenges of this decade – taking the lead on files like the Digital Services Act, the right to disconnect and the current negotiations on Artificial Intelligence. But we’ve still got a lot of work to do. This is why, during the full-day conference, we will discuss how the EU has made steps in setting a comprehensive regulatory framework to face the digital age, but also the many challenges that remain ahead: the rapid rise of opaque machine learning applications in the workplace and digital surveillance or questions around fundamental rights and data sovereignty.
Registrations are open here.
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