Quote of the week:

“Luxleaks, Panama Papers and now the Paradise Papers; there is really nothing to be surprised about or new to discover. It's the same old cancer on our economies: fraud, tax evasion and tax avoidance. It is shameful that while austerity was imposed on many member states, many corporations and private citizens were hiding their money in fiscal paradises to avoid contributing their fair share of taxes due to fund our societies. - Gianni Pittella

 

This week

For a roundup of our busy November plenary session this week, check out our wrap-up video!

On Tuesday, the S&Ds unveiled their vision for an agricultural model truly fit for the 21st century, with the launch of a position paper based on five key principles. The group is taking a bold and innovative approach to supporting farmers' livelihoods, safeguarding human health, speeding up the transition to sustainable farming, investing in rural areas, and meeting geopolitical challenges in the future. This revolutionary model challenges the market-dominated status quo, and we will be keenly reporting on our progress in the Parliament. You can find out more from the newsroom here.

Also, on Thursday we had a successful #EuropeTogether Conference in Gothenburg, Sweden where we brought our family together again to discuss Social Justice and Sustainable Growth. You can access livestreams from the event in many languages here

 

Upcoming

In committees next week,  the Internal Market and Legal Affairs committees will vote on a compromise proposed by S&D MEP Evelyne Gebhardt, on EU-wide rules on the supply of digital content  in order to protect online shoppers.

Registrations are already open for our next #EuropeTogether event in Antwerp! We will be welcoming the public and leaders from around Europe on the 23rd of November, to ask, and try to answer one big question: will sustainable cities will save Europe? We will be joined in particular by the Mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb; President of the Eurocities Group, Daniël Termont; and of course our President, Gianni Pittella!

Also present will, of course, be our Together Ambassadors! They will be drawn from our online discussion platform, where you can sign up for a chance to be selected at www.europe-together.eu. The debate is already underway and we're all waiting for your ideas!

Two days prior, on the 21st November, our group will be screening Sands Of Silence, an award-winning documentary about the realities of international sex trafficking and exploitation. It follows one reporter on a personal journey to end the silence, calling to break the chains of sexual violence worldwide. Registrations are currently open for the screening, at 19:00 in room A3-2 at the European Parliament in Brussels.

On the 6th of December we will be holding an S&D Group Hearing on refugee sponsorship. With opening and closing remarks by our President, Gianni Pittella, we will be led by S&D Vice-Presidents Tanja Fajon and Josef Wiedenholzer, as well as representatives from the Canadian Mission to the EU Mary Coulter, Julien Féret, and Magali Peltier; and others, on how sponsorship can bolster efforts to resettle and integrate refugees in the EU. Registrations are open now, closing on the 4th December.

S&D press contact