Parliament Denounces Undermining of Media Freedom by Poland

Media Freedom in Poland under threat

Adding to a long list of concerns on the state of EU values in Poland, MEPs denounce the latest attempts to silence critical voices and undermine the primacy of EU law. In a resolution adopted on Thursday with 502 votes in favour, 149 against, and 36 abstentions, Parliament condemns the continuing deterioration of media freedom…

Indo-Pacific Strategy Gets “Thumbs-Up”

Butikofer welcomes indo-pacific strategy

The EU´s new Indo-Pacific strategy has been welcomed by senior MEP Reinhard Bütikofer, foreign policy coordinator of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament. He says: “The EU´s new Indo-Pacific strategy that was published today contains but one surprise. Mostly, the new document is following closely in the footsteps of the Council Conclusions of 19 April 2021….

S&D Group Insist China Must Make Progress with Human Rights

China Human Rights

The S&D group has backed a European Parliament resolution on the EU-China strategy but insisted that the China must first make progress to protect human rights. For the S&Ds the consideration and ratification process for the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) cannot start until the Chinese sanctions against MEPs and EU institutions have been…

EU Must Improve Basic Rights for LGBTIQ

LGBTIQ rights

The EU should lift all obstacles facing LGBTIQ people when exercising their basic rights, say MEPs. In a resolution on the rights of LGBTIQ persons in the EU (adopted with 387 votes in favour, 161 against and 123 abstaining), the European Parliament emphasises that these citizens should be able to fully exercise their rights, including…

Promoting Plant Rich Diets

Two powerful European Parliament committees have called on the European Commission to promote healthy plant-rich diets as part of a sustainable EU food strategy. The NGO Compassion in World Farming EU welcomes this call, as ambitious measures are needed in order to improve our food systems for the benefit of people, animals and the planet….

EPP Wants More Health powers for EU

Drawing lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, the EPP Group says it wants more health powers for the EU. It will vote in favour of increasing cross-border health cooperation and of strengthening the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).  The European Parliament will debate and vote this week on the two new laws. “One…

Gender Based Violence: Parliament Takes a Stand

In this week’s plenary, MEPs are to vote on a crucial decision on gender-based violence (GBV).  The Greens/EFA’s Diana Riba and The Left’s Malin Björk are co-rapporteurs on an ambitious report that aims to add gender-based violence as a new area of EU crimes listed in Article 83(1) TFEU.  The Greens says that by doing so, the EU would have…