Quote of the week by S&D MEP and author of the CO2 car emissions report, Miriam Dalli
“Some see a trade-off between jobs and the environment. I see them as complementary to one another: if we don’t make sure that Europe is able to produce clean cars within a reasonable time frame, we will not only miss our Paris Climate Change targets but the European car industry will lag behind in the global market and jobs will be lost. Consumers will be the ones who will benefit the most over the lifetime of their vehicles. My Group was ready to vote for a 45% reduction target, but we accepted the 40% for the sake of building a strong parliamentary majority. We also include a fair transition fund for those workers and regions that will be affected - something that the European Commission did not even propose.”
Upcoming activities
A busy week is on the way with numerous votes taking places in the different parliamentary committees.
On Tuesday 9 October, the Committee on Budgets will adopt a motion for a resolution co-drafted by S&D MEP Daniele Viotti on the 2019 EU budget. The committee on development and in cooperation with the subcommittee on human rights will jointly vote on a shortlist of three candidates nominees for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2018.
Also on Tuesday, S&D Euro MP Bogusław Liberadzki will lead the vote in the transport committee on railway passengers’ rights and obligations to improve the assistance to persons with reduced mobility or disabilities and compensation in case of travel disruptions. The transport committee will also vote on port reception facilities for the delivery of waste from ships. We want to make sure that all port reception facilities are prepared to separate collection of waste.
On Wednesday 10, there are several important votes taking place as well. The environment committee will be voting on a report to reduce single-use plastics, a crucial pillar of the overall waste reduction efforts inspiring a circular economy.
In the constitutional affairs committee, MEPs will vote on amendments to the Parliament's Rules of Procedure drafted by S&D MEP Richard Corbett. In the civil liberties committee, there are important votes on a report on Humanitarian Visas drafted by S&D MEP Juan Fernando López Aguilar and motion for a resolution on the use of Facebook users' data by Cambridge Analytica and the impact on data protection drafted by S&D MEP Claude Moraes.
Our MEPs will be also organising and participating in a number of conferences and workshops. On Monday 08, S&D MEPs Mady Delvaux and Virginie Rozière will be chairing the “European Collective Redress - Strengthening the Rights of EU Citizens” workshop. It will be held in room A3G-2 in the European Parliament in Brussels from 14.00 - 17.00. You can register here.
Together and Go Local - Our month of Defending Democracy
On 11 October our #EuropeTogether goes to Vienna, Austria, for an open debate on the Rule of Law. We will be joined by a number of high-level speakers, including Christian Kern, the former chancellor of Austria and Pamela Rendi-Wagner, Party leader of the Austrian Social Democrats SPÖ. Our Group president Udo Bullmann and vice-president Josef Weidenholzer and MEP Sergei Stanishev, will debate with you how Europe can best defend the Rule of Law when it is under threat from Orbán, Kaczynski, Salvini and other populists. Our #EuropeTogether team will be delighted to welcome you from 17:30 at Expedithalle Absberggasse 27 - 1100 Vienna, Austria. Additional info and registrations here.
The Go Local Tour also kicks off in Vienna, where we will gather in Ottakring on 10 October. During this event, we will hear from local citizens what democracy means for them, with Josef Weidenholzer MEP and other leading PSOE members contributing.
The tour will then head to Brno, Czech Republic on 12 October, where we will debate on “A message from young people in Europe: Don’t steal our future!” This event aims to raise awareness of the importance of democratic engagement among young people: why does their vote matter?
From Brno, we will move on to Kosice, Slovakia on 13 October, where we will discuss the importance of the Future of Europe in a debate led by Monika Smolkova MEP. As part of this event, we will have a video link or video message with Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič.
The Go Local tour will finish in Budapest, Hungary on 14 October, where will have a united S&D platform with our MEPs István Ujhelyi, Péter Niedermüller and Tibor Szanyi, who will together lead a debate on the future of Hungary in Europe, with a focus on the rule of law. Csaba Molnar MEP may also join the debate. We will end the tour in Szczecin, Poland.
Finally, from the 5th to 9th of November we will be hosting the fourth edition of the Africa week. Our MEPs will engage over seminars, exhibitions and conferences with stakeholders from Europe and Africa to help build a stronger EU-Africa partnership. For more info and registration see here.
Follow us on Twitter for daily reactions, proposals and comments on EU and international politics!
