Quote of the week by S&D President, Gianni Pittella
"We call on the leaders meeting in Rome next week to fortify our European house. The more our house is threatened, weakened and under attack; the more we need to push for further integration. It is no longer time for ambiguities or hesitations: the Rome summit must be a turning point for Europe. Our children's future depends on the EU 27 remaining united, strong and with the capacity to deliver."
Past activities
Last week in Strasbourg our Group focused on a series of important topics - conflict minerals, e-democracy and big data, the sentence on LuxLeaks, a report on combatting terrorism and radicalisation, tightened controls on the food supply chain, the recognition of gender equality, circular economy, stricter controls on dangerous firearms and our hopes for a new direction for Europe were just a few of the issues on our agenda.
Check out a video wrap-up of the March Plenary session:
Activities
Our Group president, Gianni Pittella, is continuing his European tour in Greece. This Friday he is in Athens, the capital of a country whose status in the EU has been a priority for us, where he received an honorary citizenship of Athens from the Mayor, Giorgos Kaminis, as well as attending a series of other meetings with socialist leaders, ministers and politicians. Follow us on Twitter for more details on his visit, and see below for photos.
Next week we are looking forward to receiving French presidential candidate Benoît Hamon in our Group, and we are also getting ready to meet our friends who care about the future of the EU as much as we do, at our next #EuropeTogether event, scheduled to take place on March 24 in Rome.
Upcoming activities
We are also getting ready for our next #EuropeTogether event, alongside our sister organisations. It is scheduled to take place next Friday 24 March, in Rome, just one day before we celebrate 60 years since the signing of the Treaty of Rome. Prominent speakers and political leaders will be present and debate Europe’s hottest topic - its future.
We are also launching an extensive consultation campaign online, as we want to receive input and comments from you, our EU citizens. Follow our site for upcoming details and don’t forget to register now!
Our MEPs are also organising an event on the occasion of the International Roma Day. Remembering the Past and Vindicating Forgotten Victims will take place on March 29 in the European Parliament. Our MEPs Soraya Post, Tanja Fajon and Brando Benifei will be joined by Roma holocaust survivors and specialists in the fight against anti-gypsyism. Registrations for the event are open until March 22. Please email: s-d.conf-integration@ep.europa.eu
Another big event we are looking forward to in the coming months is the third edition of the School of Democracy. The lively and interactive event will be back for another session in April, in Reggio Emilia in Italy, and we are looking forward to meeting 100 young democrats aged 18 to 25 from Europe and beyond in order to start a debate on the most important topics our Union is facing, both within and outside its borders.
