The Week ahead

On Wednesday, EPP Group Chairman Manfred Weber will lead the debate with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the State of the Union. The EPP Group expects the Commission President to deliver on the urgency of rising energy prices and to give a clear perspective on Europe’s long-term support for Ukraine.

On Tuesday, Members of the European Parliament will debate the Renewable Energy Directive. The EPP Group wants higher renewables targets in order to increase its energy independency and ditch Russian gas. Rapporteur Markus Pieper is proposing a new overall target of 45 percent of renewables by 2030. This is a very important increase from the previous 32 percent. All forms of renewable energies are needed to diversify the European energy mix and the EPP Group proposes many pragmatic innovative and digital solutions. This is how Europe can cut energy ties from Russia and maintain its security. Mr Pieper will hold a press briefing on Tuesday at 11.00 hrs that can be followed here.

Following the EU Energy Ministers' meeting on 9 September, the European Parliament will debate the EU’s response to the rising energy prices with the Council and Commission on Tuesday afternoon. The EPP Group calls for concrete measures to address rising energy prices for people and businesses, such as zero VAT for fruit, vegetables, dairy and other basic, primary food products, the decoupling of electricity prices from gas, investments in the EU energy infrastructure, a price cap on Russian fuels and better solidarity between EU Member States. More information here.

The state of the war and the situation in Ukraine will again be high on the Parliament’s agenda. In the presence of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, and with a vote on a Resolution on Thursday, the EPP Group will express its utmost outrage and indignation over forced deportations of Ukrainian civilians to Russia and forced adoptions of Ukrainian children in Russia. “History is repeating itself”, says Rasa Juknevičienė MEP, EPP Group Vice-Chair in charge of Foreign Affairs. “As in the Soviet times, innocent people are being displaced and deported in a systematic and planned system. It was and it is a crime of aggression and those responsible must be brought to justice in a special international tribunal for crimes of aggression", she says.

On Monday, the European Parliament will debate and on Wednesday vote on the Energy Efficiency Directive. The EPP Group wants to increase the ambition of this law because energy savings are the quickest and cheapest way to address the current energy crisis and reduce bills. By using less energy, it will also be easier to achieve the green transition and depend less on Russian fossil fuels. For these reasons, the EPP Group supports the 14.5% energy savings goal for 2030.

On Tuesday, the European Parliament will vote on rules aimed at halting EU-driven global deforestation. The EPP Group wants to protect forests, both in Europe and across the globe. We believe that to fight climate change and biodiversity loss globally, companies must verify that goods sold in the EU have not been produced on illegally-deforested land. We want to make sure that no European company uses palm oil, cocoa, soy, wood, coffee, rubber and other commodities from illegally-deforested land in the Amazon, South America or beyond.

The illegal detention of the former Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Boyko Borissov, by the police in the country will be debated on Wednesday afternoon in plenary. The detention of Borissov was widely publicised by the Ministry of the Interior, headed by former Communist investigator Boyko Rashkov. The detention was subsequently declared illegal by the Sofia City Administrative Court because it does not meet the standards of legality and non-arbitration. The EPP Group has asked the Vice-President of the European Commission, Věra Jourová, and the Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, to publicly condemn the actions of the Bulgarian Government and particularly of the Ministry of the Interior, which led to the illegal arrest of the leader of the largest opposition party and to take appropriate measures to guarantee respect of democratic values and the rule of law in Bulgaria.

On Wednesday, the European Parliament will vote on the agreement between the Council and the Parliament on minimum wages in the European Union. The focus of EU Member States to guarantee a social safety net for their citizens is one of the values that sets Europe apart from countries such as the United States or China. The new Directive facilitates and encourages Member States to guarantee a reasonable minimum wage for every worker. The EPP Group's Dennis Radtke MEP negotiated the new law on behalf of the European Parliament.

On Thursday, the Parliament's plenary will debate the new Industrial Strategy for Europe. As European companies continue to battle strong headwinds due to high energy prices, inflation, side-effects of lockdowns, supply chain problems, scarcity of raw materials and excessive red tape, it is clear that the European Union needs a robust Industrial Strategy. It is fundamental for the success of the Green Deal that European companies - big and small - remain competitive, resilient and more independent in strategic areas like raw materials and key technologies. This strategy is the other side of climate policy, because we need an ambitious industrial policy to create the jobs of tomorrow in Europe.