Quote of the week by vice-president Pedro Marques:
“We want to say it loud and clear: The world will not forgive us for our double standards. Our Union simply cannot continue to hesitate. If we want to be more geopolitical, we have to be geostrategic, mobilising all the Union's instruments. A safer Europe is a sustainable Europe that projects its strength globally to promote peace, not war; to promote development, not inequalities. A safer Europe can be more relevant in its own defence while also emphasising the importance of solidarity. It is time to turn aspirations into actions – knowing that an eye for an eye will only throw this world into blindness.”
Upcoming events
On 1 - 2 March, S&D Group president, Iratxe García Pérez, will participate in the 2024 PES Elections Congress in Rome together with Stefan Löfven, Nicolas Schmit, Elly Schlein, Olaf Scholz and Pedro Sánchez, among others. Iratxe García will gather with EU Social Democratic leaders to elect the PES common candidate and adopt the PES manifesto for the EU elections to be held next June. A delegation of S&D Group MEPs will join the S&D Group leader together with progressive heads of state and government, European Commissioners, party leaders, activists and supporters on this significant date for the progressive family.
For press inquiries, contact the President's spokesperson.
Upcoming activities
We start the week with a crucial vote in the committee on budgets on Monday afternoon, 4 March, when MEPs will cast their votes on the Guidelines for the EU budget 2025. We will stand in support of the report drafted by our MEP Victor Negrescu who is the leading negotiator on the topic on behalf of the European Parliament with the member states in the Council and the European Commission. The adoption of the guidelines on Monday is the first official signal the European Parliament sends to the European Commission and the member states on what the MEPs expect to see in the draft EU budget 2025, which is expected to be proposed by the Commission in June. We ask that the social dimension become a prominent cross-cutting criterion in all EU funding and that this be reflected in the annual budget for next year. The Socialists and Democrats are convinced that the Union's budget should put people in the centre and be used to make their lives better and easier in the face of so many challenges for Europeans. The adoption of the guidelines next Monday by the committee on budgets should be followed by the vote of the entire European Parliament during its plenary session in Strasbourg in March 2024.
Also on Monday, 4 March, the European Parliament and the EU Council are set to reach an agreement on a landmark regulation aimed at addressing Europe's mounting packaging waste crisis. Each year, the average European generates over 188 kilograms of packaging waste, contributing to a significant 20% increase in waste over the past decade. Our Group in the European Parliament has played a pivotal role in pushing against industry lobbying to ensure this regulation maintains its ambitious goals. The S&Ds are advocating for increased reuse, improved recycling methods, safer packaging for consumers and an overall reduction of unnecessary packaging. This is how we can cut back 15% on our packaging waste by 2040, representing a crucial step in combating pollution, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and safeguarding public health.
On the same day, the European Parliament and the EU Council are set to reach a provisional agreement on the new law to ban products made with forced labour from the EU market. This is a long-awaited key demand and policy proposal for the Socialists and Democrats in this legislature. It is estimated that in 2021, 28 million people worldwide were in forced labour – 3 million more than in 2016. With a new law, the EU would finally have an efficient instrument to help eradicate forced labour – a form of modern slavery. Throughout the negotiations, the S&Ds have been fighting to ensure that the future law will include remediation for workers involved in the production of products using forced labour; reinforce the European Commission’s role, for instance, to investigate cases of forced labour; and make it easier to prove some of the worst cases of forced labour, by ensuring non-cooperation cannot be used to prevent an investigation.
On Friday, 8 March, we will join the international community in celebrating International Women’s Day. Follow us on our socials to see our demands and current achievements on women’s rights!
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