Quote of the week by President Iratxe García during her mission to New York and Washington DC:
“Now that the US is back to multilateralism with the Biden Administration, there’s momentum to reform UN governance as well as the international financial institutions. As we discussed with UN Secretary General António Guterres, we must move towards a fair system that includes all regions of the world to make multilateralism work, especially in the current context of the war in Ukraine. The unity between the EU and the US in relation to the conflict is essential to defend freedom and a rules-based international order, while not forgetting our engagement with the Global South.”
Upcoming work
On Tuesday 7 March, EU leaders will give their final say on zero-emissions cars by 2035, following their agreement in October last year and the European Parliament’s green light last February. For the S&D Group, the phase-out of fossil fuel cars is indispensable to spur on the Green Deal and fulfil our climate commitments, to reduce our dependence on fossil fuel imports, allow the EU industry to pick up the pace in the race to decarbonisation, and keep high-quality jobs on the continent.
On Thursday 9 March, the S&D-chaired COVI special committee is organising a workshop with leading medical and scientific experts on long Covid, as well as representatives of long-Covid patients and trade unions. Studies estimate that about 10-15% percent of people who have been ill with Covid-19 suffer from severe long-Covid symptoms, which heavily impact their daily lives. Millions of people living in Europe are affected, with an already-tangible effect on the labour market. The workshop will look into symptoms and ways to support patients and workers.
Also on Thursday, our MEP and EP chief negotiator on the Energy Efficiency Directive, Niels Fuglsang, is going to negotiations with the European Commission, the Member States in the Council and his colleagues from other political groups in the EP committee on industry, research and energy. He hopes for a good deal to be reached, in the best interests of citizens and climate. Increased ambitions on energy efficiency are essential in meeting our RePowerEU targets, reducing the EU's dependence on natural gas and getting the energy bills down. The energy efficiency directive is expected to deliver 1/3 of the natural gas savings coming from the Fit for 55-package, and so for the S&Ds it is crucial to have a strong governance that will help the Member States to deliver on the Union 2030 energy efficiency target. Now we need to see commitment from the Council so that we can deliver on these objectives.
Mission to the US on International Women’s Day
March 8 marks International Women’s Day and, as part of a FEMM committee mission to the UN Commission on the Status of Women, our members Robert Biedroń (Chair), Evelyn Regner and Heléne Fritzon will travel to New York from March 6 to 9 for an exchange on the topic of “innovation and technological change and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls”. The meeting will be followed by a one-day visit to Washington – where the delegation meets with lawmakers and NGOs to discuss the growing anti-abortion rights and anti-gender movements, in particular after the overturning of the Roe vs Wade ruling last autumn.
And don’t forget to stay updated on all our initiatives and reactions on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and TikTok!
