Quote of the week by S&D president, Iratxe García on the situation at the Polish-Belarus border:
“Dictator Lukashenka's use of migrants for political purposes is not only inhumane but criminal. Faced with the gravity of the situation, the European Union must give a firm response. But we cannot be ambiguous in searching for solutions. We must say it loud and clear that the European Union must never fund walls. We have other instruments at our disposal to stop the drama on the border between Poland and Belarus.”
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This afternoon, our Progressive Society report The Great Shift will have its political launch in Paris, in the presence of Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo, secretary general of the Portuguese Socialist Party Antonio Costa, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez, Spanish minister for an ecological transition Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, S&D Group vice-president Eric Andrieu and PES president Sergei Stanishev. Main takeaway? How to turn ground-breaking new thinking into political action, to build a sustainable and fair future for all.
Follow the event live here www.socialistsanddemocrats.eu from 14:30.
On Wednesday next week, our Group will confirm Iratxe García Pérez as president for the remainder of this mandate.
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We’re starting next week with the Latin America High-Level Meeting on 15 November, organised with our partners from the PES. We’ll be live from the hemicycle of the European Parliament, with our Group president Iratxe García and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the 35th president of the Republic of Brazil. We will also be joined by our Group vice-president Pedro Marques, Dr Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, Mayor of México City (remotely), José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, former Spanish prime minister (2004-2011), Claudia Nayibe López Hernández, Mayor of Bogotá, Colombia (tbc), as well as Maria-Manuel Leitão Marques, EUROLAT S&D coordinator and Javi López, EUROLAT co-chair.
Starting at 17:00 we’ll be streaming live on our site, because that’s one meeting you won’t want to miss!
Next week we’re gearing up for our largest hybrid event of this fall! On 17, 18 and 19 November we’ll be hosting a marathon of workshops, debates and high-level speakers, as the Global Progressive Forum 2021 kicks off.
Check out the Global Progressive Forum site for the updated programme and the entire list of confirmed speakers.
During the week, we will also be preparing the next plenary session, scheduled to take place in Strasbourg between 22 and 25 November. Some of the big files we’ll be working on are gender equality in the EU, the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) and the EU response to the pandemic.
And don’t forget to stay updated on all our initiatives and reactions on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
