From 28.11.2022 9:00 To 04.12.2022 9:30

The Week ahead

Take a look at what we have coming up over the next seven days. Explore our EPP Group agenda and the main issues we’ll be focusing on in the week ahead: from upcoming debates in the European Parliament on important legislative and policy issues to the meetings that our Members will be attending.

25.11.2022

The Week ahead

No EU money for Hungary until it takes real measures

Budapest,

On Wednesday, the European Commission will decide on the next steps concerning billions of Euros of EU funds which have been withheld from Budapest after the Hungarian Government did not fully implement reforms to curb rule of law and corruption concerns. "We expect the Commission to follow the EPP's line on this issue next week. Money should not be released until Hungary has taken the necessary measures to protect EU funds and to rectify violations of the rule of law", says Petri Sarvamaa MEP, the EPP Group's Spokesman in the Committee for Budgetary Control.

Europe mustn't compromise values when dealing with China

Podcast

When meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday, European Council President Charles Michel is expected to speak about human rights and Taiwan while seeking to maintain trade ties. Ahead of this visit, Radosław Sikorski MEP, EPP Group Spokesman on China, stresses that “China is a global power that we do not want to isolate and certainly not ignore. The EU should instead require Chinese authorities to follow the same rules that China requires of others, namely transparency and access to the Chinese market on an equal footing. The EU should not further compromise on its values and principles.” Sikorski also highlighted the need to promote the EU's strategic autonomy: "EU companies operating in strategic sectors and the EU's critical infrastructure must not be sold to companies or entities from outside the EU, to avoid the EU's dependence on foreign actors."

Don't hamper food production during war

Food

The EPP Group warns against new legislation that could hamper food production in Europe in times of war. Parliament's Agriculture Committee will debate the planned new rules to reduce pesticide use with Commissioner Stella Kyriakides on Monday evening. "We must not put our food security at risk and add pressure to price rises at the expense of consumers. We need to feed millions of people. The impact assessment did not properly take into account what effects the Regulation could have on food security", says Herbert Dorfmann MEP, EPP Group Spokesman in the Agriculture Committee. The EPP Group insists on a new impact assessment before adopting new laws with such widespread implications. We must properly study their impact on food security, on food prices as well as on those who will have to apply them, especially farmers and businesses.

Create international tribunal for Putin and his henchmen

Ukraine

On Monday, Parliament‘s Subcommittee on Human Rights will debate the establishment of an international tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine in the presence of Carl Bildt, Co-Chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), Olivier Corten and Vaios Koutroulis, Professors of public international law at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), and Anton Korynevych, Ambassador-at-large of Ukraine. The EPP Group calls for the acceleration of the setting-up of an international tribunal for the crime of aggression committed by the leadership of Russia against Ukraine. Vladimir Putin, the Russian civilian and military leadership and their proxies responsible for masterminding, launching and conducting the war in Ukraine must be prosecuted.

No more shelter for aggressive tax practices

Tax

On Thursday, MEPs will vote on a Directive that aims to combat the misuse of shell companies for tax purposes. The new law sets up concrete common minimum economic substance requirements that will help to identify what constitutes a company and what constitutes a tax shelter. For Lídia Pereira MEP, Parliament‘s negotiator of the new rules, “European taxpayers expect the EU to guarantee tax transparency and fairness within the Single Market. The 'Unshell Initiative' is a concrete step towards eliminating tax schemes that only serve to allow multinationals to avoid their duty. We need to differentiate the legitimate use of companies to invest and create jobs and the misuse of complex legal schemes to avoid taxes.”

ECB must focus on preserving Europeans' purchasing power

in

In October, inflation in the Euro area reached its highest level since the introduction of the Euro, with consumer price inflation standing at 10.6%. On Monday, Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee will debate the current uncertainty and strong inflationary pressures with Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB). The EPP Group will remind Lagarde that the ECB's primary task is to safeguard the stability of the Euro in order to preserve the purchasing power of Europeans.

 

Better cross-border information exchanges between national police forces

Border

The EPP Group is pushing for more tools to fight crime. On Tuesday afternoon, trilogue negotiations will take place on the Directive on information exchange between Member State law enforcement authorities. The aim is to streamline the rules for cross-border information exchanges between police and other authorities competent to prevent, detect and investigate crime while ensuring that Europol is provided the information necessary to do its job.

MEPs Involved:
Press officers:
Lina STENLUND

Press Officer for Legal and Home Affairs Working Group and Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee. National press, Swedish Media. Adviser for Iraq Delegation