Quote of the week by Iratxe García Pérez, on the European Court of Justice ruling:
“We have a clear ruling now and it is time to act. We approved the conditionality mechanism one year ago, but for political reasons, and contrary to its obligation to enforce EU law, the Commission was waiting for this ruling. Well, now we have it. There are no more excuses for stalling, because inaction weakens the whole union and the trust of the citizens.
“Wherever law doesn’t rule, tyrants do. Without the rule of law, democracy becomes the dictatorship of a majority who feels legitimised to supress minorities and opponents, and try to impose an official line of thought.”
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The EU-Africa summit is unfolding as we speak. European and African counterparts are working towards an improved strategy for partnership between the two continents. We stand ready to enrich our collaboration #WithAfrica, as stated in the conclusions of our own S&D Africa Week which took place on 8-9 February. Read more about it here.
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The upcoming week our focus will be on the European Commission’s long-awaited proposal on sustainable corporate governance. For the S&D Group, responsible business conduct is an absolute priority. We are pushing for rules that make sure any company looking to sell in the EU identifies and corrects their negative impacts on labour rights, human rights and the environment. Ahead of the presentation on Wednesday at 12pm, our Group will hold a press briefing with Lara Wolters MEP, Parliament’s lead on the due diligence report that received widespread support plenary in March 2021.
On Tuesday, the General Affairs Council will finally hold a formal hearing on Poland’s deteriorating rule of law situation we have been calling for a long time. We are urging the ministers to take the Article 7 (1) procedure to the next level, and vote on concrete recommendations!
Our members will also join several different European Parliament missions. One of them is the LIBE (committee on civil liberties, justice and home affairs) and AFCO (committee on constitutional affairs) fact-finding mission to Poland, co-chaired by our Juan Fernando López Aguilar, which will start on Monday. Members in the committees on budgets and fisheries will be in Senegal starting Tuesday and the special committee on foreign interference in all democratic processes is organising a mission to Washington.
We are also constantly following the situation regarding the Russian military threat against Ukraine, supporting diplomatic and mediation efforts undertaken by the High Representative Josep Borrell and other EU leaders. As we said in the plenary, any invasion of Ukraine must be met with far-reaching sanctions from the EU and its allies.
It’s time to get back on the road! First stop – Budapest. On March 4 our group is coming to the capital of Hungary for a much-needed discussion with the citizens. This event is part of our #Progressives4Europe initiative, aimed at listening to citizens’ ideas as part of the Conference on the Future of Europe.
The topic – Social Justice and Democracy For All. We are selecting local activists to take part in the debate, because it’s the people we want to hear from! Register now and comment on the platform for a chance to become an activist and be a part of the team!
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And don’t forget to stay updated on all our initiatives and reactions on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Spotify and Apple Podcasts!
