The Week ahead

On Monday evening, the plenary will debate EU funding allocated to Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) incriminated in the Qatargate corruption scandal. The EPP Group asked for this debate because we want better rules to ensure transparency of NGOs. The corruption cases involving Members and staff of the S&D Group have shown how an NGO was used to cover a criminal organisation and to channel bribes from a third country to influence the European decision-making process. We urgently need the comprehensive financial pre-screening of NGOs before they are registered on the transparency register. We call for contractual agreements between the European Commission and NGOs to be published and for an NGO regulation to establish a definition of such organisation. These measures will help to distinguish genuine, legitimate organisations from those that are less transparent with shady financing. ”This is the debate the public deserves!  It is striking that this debate was agreed against resistance by the Socialists and Democrats and The Left”, said Monika Hohlmeier MEP, Chair of Parliament’s Budgetary Control Committee.

On Wednesday, as a part of the key debate, the plenary of the European Parliament will discuss the European Commission's 'Green Deal Industrial Plan'. The EPP Group welcomes this plan, but regrets that it did not come earlier and that it will have limited effect. The EPP Group has consistently advocated for industrial competitiveness to be a greater political priority and points out that a "regulation only" approach will be insufficient to facilitate the industry's transition to carbon neutrality. "The challenge by the American Inflation Reduction Act demonstrates that the regulatory approach of Timmerman's Green Deal has immense limitations. Our industry is facing a very difficult transition on the way to carbon neutrality. Europe needs to continuously focus on our 2030 ambitions, but must strictly avoid additional burden for our industry. We need to end the liar's poker that reaching all desired sustainability goals while maintaining European competitiveness without any efforts for it is feasible", says Christian Ehler MEP, EPP Group Spokesman for Industry. The Parliament will also vote on a Resolution on 'An EU strategy to boost industrial competitiveness, trade and quality jobs' on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, MEPs will discuss and vote on the new rules for the reduction of CO2 from new cars and vans, on which the European Parliament and EU Member States agreed at the end of October 2022. The deal includes a ban on sales of new cars with combustion engines from 2035, something the EPP Group opposes. "This could lead to a ‘Havana effect’. After 2035, our streets might become full of vintage cars, because new cars are not available or not affordable. This new law shuts the door on new technological developments and puts all the eggs into one basket. This is a mistake”, said Jens Gieseke MEP.

On Wednesday, MEPs will debate access to strategic critical raw materials ahead of the European Commission’s presentation of its European Critical Raw Materials Act in early March. Hildegard Bentele MEP, EPP Group raw materials expert and European Parliament negotiator on a 2021 Report for a European strategy for critical raw materials, said: “In many ways, the supply of critical raw materials has an impact on our climate targets, our competitiveness and jobs in Europe. While all forecasts suggest that our demand will increase exponentially, we are highly dependent on a few supplier countries and companies. We have to act now. It is about time we examined our supply chains and put them on stable ground. I hope that we won't need a severe crisis to understand the urgency of diversified critical raw material supply chains.”

On Wednesday, the European Parliament will commemorate the first anniversary of Russia’s fully fledged, unprovoked and unjustified military invasion and war of aggression against Ukraine. "By further invading Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has signed his political end and set his own country back by several decades. There won’t be a ‘business as usual’ approach to Russia as long as he remains in power. For the use of force, the devastation of an independent state and the killing of thousands of innocent people, Putin and his proxies will be tried by an international tribunal", says Rasa Juknevičienė MEP, EPP Group Vice-Chair for Foreign Affairs. "Ukrainians are the guardians of the European way of life. As President Zelensky said, we must help Ukraine to return home. Their European aspirations must become true", she added.

With supply disruptions caused by the COVID pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the following energy crisis, fertiliser prices are skyrocketing. The EPP Group has been a frontrunner in demanding measures to ensure availability and affordability of fertilisers. The limited availability of fertilisers poses a serious threat to European food production and security. In the short term, we must tackle the current rising prices while, in the long-term, we must begin the transition of European agriculture away from its dependency on synthetic fertilisers and increase our European autonomy in food production. The Parliament's debate will take place on Thursday.

On Tuesday, the European Parliament will vote on the exact job description of the new committee for public health. Since the COVID pandemic, the EPP Group has pushed for making health a top EU priority. "We have consistently called for the creation of a European Health Union that brings true added value to EU citizens. The new committee will help us get a step closer to this achievement", said Manfred Weber MEP, Chairman of the EPP Group. In this permanent political body, which will have 30 members, the EPP Group will address the shortage of medicines and medical devices, the treatment and prevention of diseases and supply chain resilience; all that is required to better prepare the EU for future health crises. For the EPP Group, it is crucial to ensure European patients have access to affordable medicines and can move freely in the EU. The constituent meeting will take place in March.

Foreign interference, fake news and propaganda in the EU have increased dramatically since the start of the Russian war in Ukraine. In the last two years, a special committee on disinformation (INGE) collected expertise in countering disinformation. On Tuesday, the Parliament will vote on the establishment of the successor of this committee, which will also deal with the so-called Qatargate corruption scandal. “We welcome the decision to prolong the foreign interference committee. Our committee gained immense expertise throughout the dozens of hearings with experts and policymakers in the last two years. I am confident that with this background, we are ready to contribute towards mitigating the risk of the foreign capture of EU Institutions and EU policymaking. We must be ready to confront malign foreign interference in European democracy as we approach the 2024 elections”, said Vladimír Bilčík MEP, EPP Group Spokesman on the special committee.

On Wednesday, the European Parliament will adopt its position on the European Chips Act. The Chips Act aims to address semiconductor shortages and mobilise billions of Euros in funding to strengthen research, innovation and production of semiconductors and their ecosystems in the EU. The Parliament's position is shaped by the EPP Group's Eva Maydell MEP, who is leading the work as the European Parliament's negotiator for the Chips Act. The EPP Group wants to strengthen the EU chips and innovation ecosystem, encourage international cooperation to avoid threats to the supply chain and encourage investment and funding while avoiding unnecessary market intervention to burden industry.

On Tuesday, MEPs are expected to endorse a sanctions mechanism to enforce the EU's post-Brexit agreements with the UK. The new law will empower the EU with greater legal ability to protect EU rights, including possible retaliation measures, under the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement and Trade and Cooperation Agreement. Politically, it is a strong statement of EU unity and readiness to take action if the UK were to breach either agreements, including the Northern Ireland Protocol.

On Wednesday, the Parliament will vote on the EU-wide ratification of the so-called Istanbul Convention, which is the first legally-binding international treaty and a golden standard to prevent and combat violence against women. Arba Kokalari MEP, Parliament‘s negotiator, insists it’s time for the EU to ratify the Istanbul Convention: "We must do as much as we can to prevent gender-based violence, protect victims and punish perpetrators. The EU must step up, go from words to action and be a world leader in women's rights!"

On Tuesday, the European Parliament will approve the agreement reached on the so-called REPowerEU proposals. Using fresh EU money and under-utilised loans under the Union's Recovery and Resilience Fund, REPowerEU aims to end Europe’s dependency on Russian fossil fuels while significantly increasing renewable energy supplies. The EPP Group has managed to get a fair approach to support Member States and enable them to achieve these objectives.