The Week ahead

The EPP Group is calling for stronger action to shield European democracies from foreign interference, disinformation and hybrid threats. This objective will guide Tuesday’s vote in Parliament’s special committee on the European Democracy Shield. "The European Democracy Shield is a welcome initiative, but it does not yet match the scale and urgency of the threats facing Europe’s democracies. Foreign information manipulation, disinformation and hybrid interference are becoming increasingly sophisticated and coordinated. Russia remains the primary threat to Europe’s democratic integrity, and no Member State can counter it effectively on its own. That is why the report calls for a concrete reform agenda centred on stronger operational capabilities, greater accountability and enhanced preparedness," says Tomas Tobé MEP, EPP Group vice-chair, who drafted the final report of the special committee. The final plenary vote is scheduled for September.

The EPP Group wants faster support for defence innovation in Europe, particularly for startups and small companies. Next week, the Parliamentary committees on Industry and on Security and Defence will vote on the AGILE programme, a €115 million EU scheme that helps SMEs develop new technologies with faster approval times and less bureaucracy. "AGILE will strengthen cooperation between Europe’s innovators, industry and armed forces, accelerating the development and deployment of the next generation of defence technologies," says Nicolás Pascual de la Parte MEP, the EPP Group spokesman in the Security and Defence Committee and the Group's negotiator of the new programme. "AGILE must help innovative European companies bring solutions faster to the market. We have aligned the programme more closely with Europe’s defence capability priorities while safeguarding space for disruptive innovation. We also fought for simpler rules and faster procedures. If the programme is called AGILE, it must deliver agility in practice, not become another slow and bureaucratic EU funding instrument," adds Jan Farský MEP, who negotiated the programme in Parliament’s Committee on industry.

The EPP Group wants to protect citizens' freedom to choose how they pay by safeguarding cash and introducing the Digital Euro. This objective will guide the EPP Group's vote on Tuesday in the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee on the single currency package. "We strengthen access to and acceptance of cash while making central bank money available in digital form. The digital euro will complement cash, not replace it. Citizens will be able to use it both offline and online if they choose, including without an internet connection. No one should be forced away from cash, and no one should be left without a secure, resilient and genuinely European digital payment option," said Fernando Navarrete MEP, Parliament’s negotiator on the single currency package. "Strengthening the resilience of Europe’s payments system has become a geopolitical necessity. In an increasingly uncertain world, we can no longer afford to rely so heavily on a handful of foreign providers for digital payments. This package addresses that vulnerability," said Markus Ferber MEP, EPP Group spokesman for the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee.

The EPP Group wants to remove the bureaucratic barriers that slow the movement of troops and military equipment across Europe. On Tuesday, joint committees of Transport and of Security and Defence will vote on new rules to increase military mobility. "We have secured simpler procedures, shorter deadlines for transport authorisations, faster digitalisation, greater interoperability with NATO, and more resilient strategic dual-use infrastructure. Military mobility is about ensuring the logistics that underpin our defence capabilities and delivering a true ‘Military Schengen’," says Michał Szczerba MEP, Parliament's lead negotiator on the file in the Security and Defence Committee. "In a crisis, our armed forces cannot afford to be held up at borders by permits and paperwork when every minute counts. Military mobility is European security in action. It is a matter of speed and readiness. If troops and military equipment cannot move rapidly across Europe, our readiness is compromised," adds Dariusz Joński MEP, the EPP Group's lead negotiator on the file in the Transport Committee. 

The EPP Group is spearheading the fight against child sexual abuse with updated EU rules designed to tackle emerging technologies head-on. Final political negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council to deliver this landmark law will take place on Monday. "We can never be ambitious enough when it comes to protecting children. We are criminalising child sexual abuse manuals, and lifelike AI-generated material will be treated with the exact same severity as real material. We also insist on significantly prolonging the statutes of limitations for these crimes across the EU - because there can be no expiration date on justice," says Jeroen Lenaers MEP, Parliament’s chief negotiator. 

The EPP Group wants to cut red tape and speed up procedures to strengthen Europe’s defence industry and defence readiness. Three parliamentary committees will vote on Wednesday and Thursday on the Defence Omnibus V package, which aims to simplify permit granting, defence procurement and defence investments. "We cut red tape, speed up permit procedures and enable Europe’s defence industry to scale up production faster, more efficiently and with greater predictability," says Henrik Dahl MEP, Parliament’s negotiator on the file in the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee. "We reduce unnecessary bureaucracy in defence procurement," adds Pekka Toveri MEP, Parliament’s negotiator on the file in the Security and Defence Committee. "We are strengthening Europe’s ability to deliver the defence capabilities needed to meet today’s security challenges," concludes Aura Salla MEP, Parliament’s lead negotiator on the file in the Industry, Research and Energy Committee.