The Socialists and Democrats are hosting an event in Saarbrücken, Germany, on cross-border work later this week. Anke Rehlinger, Saarland’s Minister for Economic Affairs, Labour, Energy and Transport, and Nicolas Schmit, EU Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, will deliver keynote speeches. S&D Group leader Iratxe García; SPD-MP Secretary General Christian Petry; head of the SPD delegation in the European Parliament Jens Geier;…
Iratxe García Pérez, the leader of the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, met with judges in Warsaw on Saturday who are fighting to save the rule of law in Poland, and with attorney Michal Wawrykiewicz, co-founder of the Free Courts Civic Initiative. After the meeting, García Pérez said,”What I heard today is extremely…
The European Green Party has endorsed Gergely Karácsony’s candidacy at the Hungarian opposition primaries. In a unique democratic exercise, six Hungarian opposition parties have united to organise a primary election ahead of the general elections to be held in the spring of 2022. Gergely Karácsony, the only Green candidate in this…
Ahead of this week’s presentation of the European Commission’s Action Plan on how to implement the 2017 European Pillar of Social Rights, the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament issued a strong call for making social rights a reality for all Europeans by introducing binding targets. Iratxe García, S&D Group leader, said:“9 out of…
The European Parliament is calling on European leaders to make social rights legally enforceable and reach concrete social objectives by 2030. The Socialists and Democrats had pushed for the 2017 adoption of the European Pillar of Social Rights in Gothenburg and are now leading the drive for a Porto Agenda, to be signed by EU…
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…
Socialist group leader Iratxe Garcia has added her voice to those calling for next week’s plenary in Strasbourg to be scrapped. She joins other members who fear that having hundreds of MEPs, staff and others converge on the city could pose a serious health risk and lead to the coronavirus spreading far and wide. Garcia, a Spanish…
Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament say they are following the developments of the political crisis in Bulgaria with “great concern.” S&D MEPs state their solidarity with the protesters and their demand for fair elections and upholding the rule of law. This is why the S&D Group will call for a plenary debate in the Parliament. S&D…
President von der Leyen delivered a press statement following the resignation of Commissioner Hogan as a consequence of the so called Golfgate scandal. Hogan quit his post as EU trade commissioner on Wednesday after he allegely broke quarantine rules during a trip to his native Ireland. He apologised but denied any wrongdoing. “Phil Hogan submitted his resignation from the…
In an extraordinary plenary session, MEPs commented on the 17-21 July European Council deal on EU financing and the recovery plan to tackle the pandemic fallout. “We are not ready to swallow the MFF pill”, said Manfred Weber (EPP). Also, S&D leader Iratxe García would not accept the cuts, “not at a time when we…
