The Week ahead

The EPP Group wants EU leaders to deliver a stronger and safer Europe, with progress on the long-term EU budget, defence, Ukraine, enlargement and migration. On Tuesday, the European Parliament will debate the preparations for the 15-16 October European Council summit in Brussels. "Ukraine, Moldova and all candidate countries are important. For us, enlargement is part of security policy. Europe's stability and long-term prosperity are at stake," says Andrzej Halicki MEP, Vice-Chair of the EPP Group. "Europe needs a migration policy that works. That means protecting our borders, implementing the Migration Pact and ensuring effective returns," says Tomas Tobé MEP, Vice-Chair of the EPP Group.

On Tuesday, Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, a leading figure of the EPP political family, will address the European Parliament. "Montenegro’s address comes at a key moment. It is a chance to hear Portugal's priorities for the future of Europe and its vision for a long-term EU budget that strengthens Europe's security, competitiveness and cohesion," says Paulo Cunha MEP, head of the Portuguese delegation in the EPP Group.

The EPP Group will not accept a long-term EU budget (MFF) that falls short of Europe’s needs. This is the message we will deliver to the Member States during Wednesday’s plenary debate on the MFF. "A weaker EU budget means a weaker Europe, with less firepower to invest in all priorities, including defence and competitiveness. The European Parliament has done its job. Now it’s time for EU leaders to do theirs,” says Siegfried Mureșan MEP, Parliament’s co-negotiator for the 2028-2034 EU budget and Vice-Chair of the EPP Group.

The EPP Group wants a clear and confident EU approach to China that protects European jobs and economic security. On Tuesday, the European Parliament will debate EU-China political relations. "Cooperation with China is important, but it must be based on reciprocity, fair competition and respect for international commitments. Where these principles are not respected, the EU must be ready to protect its economic security and strategic interests," says Nicolás Pascual de la Parte MEP, the EPP Group spokesman on China in the Foreign Affairs Committee. The EPP Group also expects China, as a permanent UN Security Council member, to end any support for Russia's war against Ukraine.

The EPP Group wants EU sanctions against everyone who facilitated the organisation of Russia's fake 2026 Duma elections, the first held since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On Tuesday, at the EPP Group's request, the European Parliament will hold an extraordinary debate and vote on a resolution condemning those fake elections. "The Kremlin blatantly violated international law by holding this vote in Crimea and the occupied territories of Ukraine. This farce had nothing to do with a free and democratic choice. Putin’s regime is an authoritarian regime and there should be no room for any complacency towards dictators," says Sandra Kalniete MEP, the EPP Group's spokesperson on Russia.

The EPP Group wants Europe's start-ups and small companies to turn their ideas into the defence technology Europe needs to stay safe. On Tuesday, Parliament will vote on AGILE, a new €115 million EU programme for fast defence innovation, scheduled to launch next year. "AGILE is essential to empower SMEs, start-ups and scale-ups to grow in Europe's defence industry," say Eszter Lakos MEP and Jan Farský MEP, who spearhead the file for the EPP Group in the Security and Defence Committee and the Industry Committee.