A political agreement approving the proposal of the Spanish airport manager AENA to expand the El Prat airport in Barcelona was approved recently. The project aims to an increase of up to 20 million passengers in the coming years. The European Greens say they reject the expansion project, and express “our strongest opposition…
German Greens MEP Sven Giegold has called on the EU to offer protection for locally employed civilians in Afghanistan. He said, “The Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan has also put the local personnel of EU missions in the country at imminent risk. At least 600 local staff and their close family members of the EU Police…
“The first anniversary of the presidential election in Belarus of 9 August 2020 will be a sad day. It will be a sad day for the people of Belarus and for the European Union. Following an unprecedented mobilisation, the people of Belarus were determined to elect a democratic president and they did, electing Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. Unfortunately, because of widespread…
On the first anniversary of the catastrophic port explosion in Beirut, the Socialists and Democrats call on Lebanese authorities to ensure victims’ quest for truth and justice. More than 217 people were killed, and over 7.000 injured, as 2.750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded in Beirut’s port on 4 August 2020. Around 300.000 people were displaced, whereas the…
The S&D Group mourns the death of their Secretary General, Michael Hoppe, who died yesterday at the age of 58 after a long and severe illness. Michael Hoppe, a “truly committed” European and long-standing member of the SPD, was one of the longest serving officials of the S&D Group. He served the Group and the…
The European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee says the EU must push back against Russia’s aggressive policies while laying groundwork for cooperation with a future democratic country. In a new assessment of the direction of EU-Russia political relations, MEPs made clear the Parliament distinguishes between the Russian people and President Vladimir Putin’s regime. The latter is,…
The European Parliament has criticised Pakistan’s controversial Blasphemy Laws and called for a review of the status quo, writes Philippe Jeune. Pakistan is a major beneficiary of the trading opportunities offered by the EU Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP). From January 1st 2014 Pakistan has benefited from generous tariff preferences (mostly zero duties on two…
The Czech Senate has voted on a bill that recognises and foresees financial compensation for the forced sterilisation of Roma women in Czechia which took place for decades. The European Green Party and Zelení, the Czech Green Party, said they welcome this important step in fighting discrimination against Roma communities in Czechia. …
The S&D Group in the European parliament said it welcomes the latest annual assessment on the rule of law in the EU but expresses concerns that the report will fail to improve the situation in the Member States without clear and specific recommendation to EU governments. Domènec Ruiz Devesa, S&D MEP who led the Parliament’s work…
The Executive Board of the conference on the future of Europe has agreed to allocate more seats in the Conference Plenary to regional and local elected representatives, as well as to social partners. The sixth meeting of the Conference’s Executive Board was the first one during the Slovenian Presidency of the Council. The Executive Board…
