The Week ahead

The EPP Group calls for reversing the planned 2035 combustion engine ban and adopting a technology-neutral approach to decarbonising road transport. This is being proposed in a long-awaited report on CO2 emission standards for cars by EPP Group vice-chair Massimiliano Salini MEP. Salini will present his report to the European Parliament’s environment and climate committee on Tuesday. As Parliament’s rapporteur, Salini proposes scrapping the planned ban currently foreseen for 2035. “We want to decarbonise road transport by using all available technologies. It does not make sense to tie ourselves rigidly to a single technology. I propose a pragmatic change of direction to adapt the current regulation to the socio-economic realities of the automotive industry. This will not lower our environmental ambitions, while also guaranteeing citizens freedom of choice,” said Salini.

The EPP Group wants faster and more effective returns for migrants whose asylum applications have been legally rejected. On Monday, the European Parliament and Member States will meet to finalise the new Return Regulation, the last pillar of the Pact on Migration and Asylum. “With this new law on returns, we are revolutionising the game. No one should be allowed to remain in Europe after entering or remaining on European territory illegally. One key issue remains unresolved: the timeline for implementing the regulation. Given the urgency of the migration situation, we have firmly opposed proposals to delay its application by one or even two years. Such delays are unjustifiable, especially now that agreement has been reached on the substance of the text. I count on Member States to ensure that this regulation can enter into force immediately after its adoption. This will remain my key priority at the next trilogue on Monday” said François-Xavier Bellamy MEP, vice-chairman of the EPP Group.

The EPP Group calls for swift approval of the “Turnberry” EU-US tariffs deal to ease transatlantic tensions and restore certainty for European businesses and workers. On Tuesday, 2 June, Parliament's Committee on International Trade will vote to confirm the agreement reached on 20 May between the European Parliament and Member States. “Thanks to the EPP Group’s leadership, co-legislators reached an agreement on trade between the EU and the US, preventing a serious escalation of transatlantic trade tensions,” said Željana Zovko MEP, responsible for US trade relations. “Despite its shortcomings, the Turnberry deal remains the most viable option currently available and the preferred outcome for EU businesses,” added Jörgen Warborn MEP, EPP Group spokesman on international trade.

The EPP Group has been advocating for simpler AI rules to unlock Europe’s potential in artificial intelligence while maintaining strong safeguards. By simplifying and postponing the EU’s new AI rules, companies will have more time to prepare and face fewer overlapping obligations. On Tuesday, the Internal Market and Civil Liberties committees will jointly vote on the agreement reached on 7 May between the European Parliament and Member States on the proposal. “For Europe to become a true AI continent, we need to promote innovation, support startups and scaleups, and make it easier to develop AI in Europe,” said Arba Kokalari MEP, who negotiated the law on behalf of Parliament's Committee on Internal Market. “By banning so-called ‘nudifier’ apps we prevent serious societal harms. In doing so, we have been careful not to regulate the technology itself, but rather its harmful applications,” emphasised Axel Voss MEP, the EPP Group’s negotiator in the Civil Liberties Committee.