The Week ahead

EU leaders on Thursday failed to approve the €1.8 trillion package agreed between the negotiators representing the Council, European Commission and the European Parliament to boost Europe's economic recovery from the Coronavirus. The EPP Group expresses its full support for the agreement which links EU money to the rule of law. The rule of law is not the enemy: the enemy is the Coronavirus and its impact on our economies.

On Tuesday, MEPs will debate illegal actions by Turkey in Varosha (Cyprus) with the High Representative of the EU, Josep Borrell. The EPP Group stands with the EU Member State Cyprus and strongly condemns Turkey’s plans for the “re-opening” of the fenced-off area of Varosha under conditions of occupation. Varosha must be returned to its rightful inhabitants. Parliament's Resolution will be voted on on Wednesday and Thursday.

With the changes in the judicial system, the veto against the common European budget and the near-total ban on abortion, the Polish government is pushing Poland away from Europe. The country has been facing the biggest protests since the fall of Communism in 1989 as people all over the country are taking to the streets to oppose the government's intention to impose its way of life on the citizens and transform Poland into an ideological and religious state opposed to the EU. The EPP Group insists that the rule of law, independence of the judiciary and the respect of civic freedoms are fundamental to a democratic country and calls on the European Commission to seriously examine the latest developments in Poland and to act fast. The Plenary will debate the controversial abortion judgment in Poland on Wednesday and will vote on a Resolution on Thursday.

Parliament debates on Monday and votes on Wednesday on a new strategy for Europe's industry. Employing around 35 million people and accounting for around 16 percent of EU economies, European industry is vital for our economy. As the global competitive landscape continues to change rapidly, we need to adapt our competition framework and keep pace. The EPP Group believes that industrial strategy must foster Europe's strategic autonomy. Otherwise, the EU risks becoming too dependent on other parts of the world for many vital products such as batteries, microelectronics and raw materials for the production of wind turbines, among other things.

The negotiations on the planned new law allowing the deletion of terrorist propaganda faster from the Internet are being delayed over and over again. The assassination of French teacher Samuel Paty as well as the recent terror attacks in Nice and Vienna were also linked to Islamist propaganda campaigns on social media. Radical Islamists and other terrorists keep using online propaganda to radicalise, recruit and incite violent attacks.  We want such propaganda to be deleted from the Internet as quickly as possible, it should not take more than one hour. The EPP Group calls on EU Member States as well as on the Socialists in the European Parliament to make sure the new law can be adopted as fast as possible.

Freedom of the media has been continuously deteriorating in recent years. The COVID-19 outbreak has exacerbated this deterioration and brought the importance of the media and the right of access to reliable information to the forefront. On the initiative of the EPP Group, MEPs will debate on Monday and vote on Tuesday and Wednesday on a Report on Strengthening Media Freedom, drafted by Magdalena Adamowicz MEP. The Report argues that to defend the rule of law and democracy in the EU, we must combat all forms of media capture, hate speech and disinformation. If journalists cannot do their job freely, our democracies as we know them will cease to be democracies.

On Thursday, Parliament will debate and then vote on the Resolution condemning the continuous violations of human rights in Belarus as well as the murder of Roman Bondarenka. The 31 year-old art teacher died after being in police custody for his opposition to Alexander Lukashenko. “It is Europe’s duty to take action when human rights are trampled on at our borders. Thousands of Belarusians are risking their freedom and lives. We welcome the decision of the Foreign Affairs Council to extend the sanctions against the regime in Belarus. We call for the establishment of an evidence collection centre to assist the international investigation into the crimes of Lukashenko's regime against the people. We need to set up a European high level mission to Belarus to help stop the violence, assist in freeing political prisoners and detainees, explore all possibilities to create a conductive environment for a national political dialogue which should result in free and fair elections”, said Sandra Kalniete MEP, EPP Group Vice-Chair. “I hope President Sassoli will not delay the decision greenlighting the launching of such mission”, she added.

Reports across Europe indicate an alarming rise in domestic violence incidents during the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns. This worrying trend will be the key focus of a Plenary debate on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (25 November). One third of women in the EU have experienced some form of physical and/or sexual violence since the age of 15. The EPP Group underlines that violence against women is a crime for which we have zero tolerance. We strongly advocate the EU and all Member States to ratify the Istanbul Convention - the first legally-binding international instrument on preventing and combating violence against women.

Products embedding emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, robotics, 3D printing and blockchain challenge the existing product safety rules which have to be made fit for the digital age. We want strong safety rules for products sold in the EU, whether or not they are sold online or offline or produced in or outside the EU. At the same time, excessive bureaucracy has to be avoided so as not to hinder innovation, therefore only existing legal gaps have to be closed. This is the main message of the Report of EPP Group Member Marion Walsmann, which will be debated in Plenary on Monday and voted on on Wednesday. The vote sets Parliament's position for the upcoming revision of product safety rules in 2021. On Monday, the Commission will also present its plans for a New Consumer Agenda beyond 2020.