The European Parliament and Council have reached a provisional agreement on Thursday to make the European Medicines Agency more effective in tackling shortages of medicines and medical devices. The European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) capacity to manage the availability of medicinal products and medical devices will be strengthened with the creation of two “shortages steering groups”,…
The EPP has warned the West: always be ready for a cyber attack. “In today’s world, it is not about whether a company or institution will be hacked, the question is whether you are prepared and resilient when it happens. Today’s vote is a clear signal that we stand for the strong cybersecurity protection of…
On Saturday 23 October, the second Conference Plenary meeting took place in the European Parliament in Strasbourg to discuss citizens’ contributions. The 80 representatives of the European Citizens’ Panels have met to discuss the future of Europe. The Conference on the Future of Europe is said to be an unprecedented, open and inclusive democratic exercise,…
The Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament have denounced the 7 November 2021 general Nicaraguan elections as a farce, which will only further cement authoritarianism under Daniel Ortega. S&D MEPs reiterated their call on the Ortega regime to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners; to end the repression and breaches of human rights;…
Members of the European Parliament have voted on a report on the Pandora Papers, in the wake of the revelations by the ICIJ and others into global tax avoidance, evasion and money laundering. The report was an initiative of the Greens/EFA Group. For the first time, this report sees the European Parliament condemn the role…
The European Parliament has called for closer relations with Taiwan guided by the EU’s One China Policy, while issuing warnings over the continued tensions across the Formosa Strait. MEPs hail Taiwan as a key EU partner and democratic ally in the Indo-Pacific, one that contributes to maintaining a rules-based order in the midst of an…
MEPs have awarded Russian opposition politician and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny the European Parliament’s 2021 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. Parliament Vice-President Heidi Hautala announced the 2021 laureate in the Strasbourg plenary chamber on Wednesday afternoon, following an earlier decision by the Conference of Presidents (President and political group leaders). Parliament President David Sassoli said: “The European Parliament…
The EPP Group says it has “fought tooth and nail” for €20 billion in public-private partnerships to tackle global challenges. “We all know the kind of challenges that planet earth, and indeed humanity, are facing today. Innovation holds the promise to overcome them”, declared Maria da Graça Carvalho MEP, the European Parliament Rapporteur on nine…
The Farm to Fork strategy is possibly the last call we have to make the whole food production system in Europe healthier – with less pesticides, antibiotics, and fertilizers; more sustainable; protecting biodiversity; more just; with decent remuneration for our farmers and decent working conditions in the food chain; and last but not least up…
The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has voted for the Parliament to take the European Commission to court for inaction on the Rule of Law Conditionality Mechanism. Despite numerous breaches of the rule of law endangering the proper use of EU funds, the Commission has failed to activate the mechanism. MEPs, led by…
