On 23 September at 16.00, the second virtual meeting in a series of public dialogues – ideas for a new world – will take place. The initiative, promoted by the President of the European Parliament David Sassoli, brings together philosophers, writers, economists, representatives from European civil society and the world of work. The aim of the dialogues…
Year: 2020
EESC Condemns Belarus Brutality
The EESC says it “strongly condemns” the continuous violations of human rights and the rule of law that have been taking place in Belarus since the presidential elections, which were neither free nor fair. The sweeping brutality and torture perpetrated against peaceful protesters, especially women and young people, and the unabated, arbitrary and unexplained arrests…
Commission Signs Vaccine Contract with Sanofi-GSK
On Friday, a second contract with a pharmaceutical company entered into force following the contact’s formal signature between Sanofi-GSK and the Commission. The contract will allow all EU Member States to purchase up to 300 million doses of the Sanofi-GSK vaccine. Moreover, Member States may donate reserved doses to lower- and middle-income countries. Sanofi and GSK…
Control of EU Arms Exports
The European Parliament has called for stricter EU-wide controls on EU arms exports, better end-use control of exported arms, more coordination of national decisions on arms exports, a publicly accessible database on national arms exports and, for arms subsidised through the European Defence Fund, a sanctions mechanism for breaches of the eight EU export criteria….
EESC Closes Last Plenary of Current Term of Office
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has hosted its end-of-term ceremony during the last plenary session before the renewal of the institution in October. Luca Jahier, president of the EESC since April 2018, expressed his gratitude to all of the members and highlighted the important contribution of the civil society organisations represented at the…
UN Holds “SDG Moment”
The COVID-19 pandemic is still holding the world under its spell. Inequalities are worsening worldwide and putting many achievements of recent years in danger. The UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are key in the struggle for amelioration. Today, Friday 18 September, marks an important day in this struggle. The first ever annual ‘SDG Moment’ has been held, setting…
Anti-Racism Action Plan
The Commission has presented today (Friday 18th September) a new EU anti-racism action plan that sets out a series of measures for the next 5 years. Inter alia, the Commission will ensure that Member States fully implement relevant EU law and further strengthen the legal framework, if needed. This could happen in particular in the areas…
EP Support for the Opposition Council of Belarus
Backing Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the EPP Group joined with other political forces in the European Parliament in a virtual event with her to show their support. The EPP Group and other MEPs have now called for an end to the crackdown by the government of Aleksander Lukashenko, who sparked more than a month…
ECR Reaction to State of the Union Address
ECR Co-Chairman Prof. Ryszard Legutko, has urged the EU to “work with member states.” He was responding to Ursula von der Leyen’s state of the union address this week. He told her,”I urge you: work with member states, not with ideologically driven campaigns.” “The last decade has been rather turbulent for the EU, and the…
EP Demands EU Medicine Security
The European Parliament has called for the EU to be more self-sufficient when it comes to medicines and medical equipment so that affordable treatments are available at any time. Parliament addresses the root causes of recent medicine shortages in a resolution, adopted by 663 votes to 23 and 10 abstentions. MEPs call for an increased…