Quote of the week by vice-president Pedro Marques, on the Porto Social Forum:

“Our new roadmap towards a social Europe, which will be discussed in Porto, is anchored in the principle that social rights must get the same priority as economic and environmental goals.

"The S&Ds have always strived to ensure that the EU puts people first. Social and labour rights must always be among our top priorities. The much-needed digital and green transitions can only happen hand in hand with social progress. The long-awaited reform of EU fiscal rules can only be effective if it is anchored in social principles.”

Upcoming activities

As the second round of presidential elections gets underway on Sunday in Turkey, we will be keeping a close eye on what the country decides. “May 14 showed the commitment of Turkish people to democracy with a massive turnout. There is a strong desire for change against autocracy and the disastrous policies at home and abroad”, said president Iratxe García.

Next week, the S&D Group is leading a crucial vote in the plenary on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. S&D MEP Lara Wolters is Parliament’s rapporteur on binding rules to make businesses respect people and the planet. Under the new rules, companies are obliged to identify and stop the negative impact of their activities on human rights and the environment throughout the entire value chain, both inside and outside the EU. Failure to comply will mean sanctions, and victims that are harmed should be able to get justice in court.

The vote takes place in plenary on Thursday, 1 June, and forms Parliament’s positions in negotiations with the Council. Ahead of the plenary vote, the S&D Group is organising an online press briefing with the European Parliament’s rapporteur, S&D MEP Lara Wolters, on Tuesday, 30 May, at 9.00am. Raphaël Glucksmann, MEP from the human rights committee, Tiemo Wölken, MEP from the environment committee, and René Repasi, MEP from the economic affairs committee, will also take part in the online briefing. You can register to the press briefing to receive the link by email to Ewan.Macphee@europarl.europa.eu.

Next week, Thursday, 1 June, the European Parliament plenary is voting on the Act in Support of Ammunition Production (known also as ASAP or the Ammunitions Act). Our group welcomes the Commission’s proposal and we are fully committed to helping Ukraine in the war by increasing our production and delivery of ammunitions. At the same time, we are convinced that funding this production should not be at the cost of the cohesion policy, the targets of the national Recovery and Resilience Plans and the social rights of European workers.

On the same day, MEPs will debate and vote on a report on the Hungarian government’s relentless breaches of the rule of law and fundamental rights and EU frozen funds. The S&D Group is determined to stop EU funds lining the pockets of the Hungarian government’s friends and family, while at the same time determined to find ways to ensure EU funds reach citizens, local authorities and NGOs. Furthermore, in light of the relentless attacks on democracy and EU values, the S&D Group does not believe the Hungarian government is up to the task of the presidency of the Council. Socialists and Democrats will use the plenary debate next week to urge the Council to act.

On Thursday, MEPs will first debate and then vote on how to protect the democratic process from malicious foreign actors, particularly from Russia and China. Hostile foreign interference, disinformation, hybrid threats, cyberattacks and other tactics exploiting the vulnerabilities in European open societies, are increasing, and will intensify in the run-up to the European Parliament elections in 2024. We urge the European Commission and member states to step up their efforts and implement recommendations such as prohibiting foreign funding from non-EU countries for political parties and identifying common EU rules on political campaigning and political party financing. We have to strengthen resilience, defend our democracies and safeguard the European elections. 

The EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles is scheduled for a plenary vote on Thursday, 1 June. It is important to note that European textile consumption ranks fourth in terms of its impact on the environment and climate change after food, housing and mobility. With the leadership of our S&D rapporteur Delara Burkhardt, we have successfully incorporated key measures into the strategy. These include the requirement for all textile products sold in the EU market to be durable, repairable, and recyclable. Moreover, a significant proportion of these products will be composed of recycled fibres, ensuring a reduced environmental footprint. Additionally, they will be free from hazardous chemicals and manufactured in compliance with social rights and environmental standards.

Also on Thursday, the European Parliament will vote on a resolution on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as a reply to the Commission's recommendation to the Council. Antimicrobials – including antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and antiparasitics – are medicines used to prevent and treat infections in humans, animals and plants. If overused, they create a resistance, meaning that bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites no longer respond to medicines; making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. This is why we need to ensure prudent use of antibiotics for humans and animals. Under our lead, we will make sure the European Union takes action to prevent the excessive use of antimicrobials as well as pharmaceutical waste in the environment wherever possible, as this leads to the proliferation of antimicrobial resistance. We will also ensure better promotion of research and development of novel antibiotics, plus alternative treatments including bacteriophage products. Currently, more than 1.2 million people per year globally die due to infections to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. 

Upcoming events             

event posters

Registrations are already open for two upcoming events in the first half of June. 

If you are interested in attending our Group’s second edition of the Latin America Day, on 7 June, register here: https://www.socialistsanddemocrats.eu/events/sd-group-latin-america-day-towards-new-eu-latin-america-progressive-agenda

And, if you are in Strasbourg on 10 June, make sure you don’t miss out on our debate on banning unpaid internships. Details and registration here: https://www.socialistsanddemocrats.eu/events/sd-european-youth-event-2023-ban-unpaid-internships

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S&D press contact