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Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence
Debate: Aucun
Vote: Wednesday
Eleven years ago, on April 24th, the Rana Plaza textile factory in Bangladesh collapsed and killed 1,137 workers, who were making clothes for major fashion brands such as Primark, Auchan and H&M. Through their value chains, these companies were exploiting workers in hazardous and inhumane conditions in complete impunity. This week, the European Parliament will finally adopt a corporate due diligence directive that requires multinationals to respect human rights and the environment in their entire value chains, define sanctions for criminal companies and give victims access to justice. It is a major victory for our group, as I initiated this legislative process and secured ambitious rules, in particular by adopting fines up to 5% of companies’ turnover.
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Fighting Money Laundering
Debate: Wednesday
Vote: Wednesday
Organised crime’s best friend is a lack of transparency when it comes to property. While poor people have to disclose everything to unknown clerks, corporations and the mega-rich can hide their assets behind corporate networks. Organised crime and the mafia also benefit from this shadow financial economy. This legislative package is only a first step, but it is a step nonetheless. The governments and the EU must dare more in the coming legislative period and finally take serious action against the super-rich so that the EU can better combat financial crime and money laundering.
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Preventing trafficking in human beings
Debate: Monday
Vote: Tuesday
Revising the rules on human trafficking was essential. With this piece of legislation, we are introducing the exploitation of surrogacy, the online dimension, new sanctions, specialised assistance and support, better training, mandatory criminalisation of the use of services, national referral mechanisms, focal points, national anti-trafficking coordinators, independent bodies to monitor, national action plans or the collection of data. We will be closer to ending this form of barbarism!
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Improving working conditions in platform work
Debate: Aucun
Vote: Wednesday
Throughout the negotiations, Parliament had to contend with the aggressive lobbying of platforms, who could count on the precious support of the French president. Through our fight, we didn’t let Uber make the law in Europe. The agreement reached will enhance the lives of millions of workers by imposing on member states a presumption of salaried status for all digital platform workers, as well as a reversal of the burden of proof.
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Withdrawing from the Energy Charter Treaty
Debate: Tuesday
Vote: Wednesday
Exiting the Energy Charter Treaty is the result of years of mobilisation. By allowing fossil fuel multinationals to sue governments and the EU for compensation for “lost profits”, this Treaty protects the interests of the real polluters at the expense of environmental progress. People must not pay for their greed. Next step must be massive public investments in renewables.
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The return of austerity
Debate: Tuesday
Vote: Tuesday
The new rules are not just a missed opportunity to put Europe on track to meet its social and climate goals. These rules are a return to austerity policies which have failed on every single goal, including public finances. They also represent a new attack on democratic legitimacy through the imposition of expenditure cuts, even if they go against the political commitments of governments. The new rules are a huge gift to the far right.
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Combating Violence against Women
Debate: Tuesday
Vote: Wednesday
I am very happy and proud to end this term by voting through two important feminist laws that I have been so involved in – the directive against gender-based violence and the directive to combat trafficking in human beings. As left-wing feminists we have been absolutely central to pushing these laws. We wanted even stronger provisions, notably against rape, but these new laws are clearly a huge step in the right direction.
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Interinstitutional Ethics Body
Debate: Thursday
Vote: Thursday
More than a year later after QatarGate, a weak Commission proposal has been further weakened by the Council. However, we support the establishment of this brand-new Body. It is a first step towards common rules across institutions to address the systemic shortcomings in terms of ethics and ending the self-assessment and self-regulation practices that always end up with no sanctions). Our group will continue the fight for ethics next term. We will use the revision clause to reinforce transparency with binding recommendations and sanctions.
Plenary focus
April 2024
PRESS BRIEFING | TUE 23 APR 11:30 CET
European Parliament, Daphne Caruana Galizia room – LOW N-1/201
Journalists are welcome to question the Co-presidents of The Left in the European Parliament on issues they are covering. Physical & remote participation possible.
See @Left_EU on Twitter for more details.
with Manon Aubry (France Insoumise, France)
APR 2024
PDF · 19 / 04 / 2024