Plenary focus - September 2023

In recent years, Commission President von der Leyen promised Europeans the sun and the moon. However, the Commission has delivered little in the way of real solutions to real problems. Food prices continue to rise, and more and more people struggle to pay at the supermarket. The years under President von der Leyen saw fat gains for large corporations. For the people of the EU, on the other hand, there is less money in their wallets and more questions than answers to the current social crises.

I believe the legislation that I prepared as rapporteur will substantially protect consumers in the field of consumer credit. And for the first time in history, we managed to enforce the guarantee of the right to be forgotten for cancer patients in EU legislation. No consumer should be exposed to dangerous financial products or their advertising. This especially applies in the troubled times of the current crisis.

We clearly oppose this deal. It is well documented that Tunisia is abandoning refugees and asylum seekers in the desert, leaving them to die. Against this background, it should be unthinkable to make the country “the next gatekeeper of Europe”. Dirty Deals externalising the EU’s responsibility for migration are part of the problem not the solution.

In response to Qatargate, the Constitutional Affairs committee was tasked with revising the Parliament’s Rules of Procedure on the basis of the 14-point-plan adopted by the Plenary earlier this year. Against the resistance of the right-wing, which voted against the report, we were able to successfully push for an obligatory declaration of MEP assets, a more rigorous publication of meetings with lobby representatives and a reform of the Advisory Committee through the inclusion of external experts. We now need to defend this in the plenary.

Parliament’s report on Türkiye’s poor and deteriorating record on human rights and rule of law is a reaffirmation of the strict accession standards set by the EU vis-à-vis all candidates for EU membership. Nevertheless, The Left remains deeply concerned about the tolerance exhibited towards Ankara’s continuing provocative and illegal activities, and its hypocritical praise as a factor of stability. The military invasion in Syria, the continuing occupation of Cyprus and its illegal activities at Varosha and Pyla as well as the ferocious persecution of progressive Turkish Cypriots and Kurds are only some of those examples. The Parliament should rather adopt a strong stance by requesting an arms embargo and the immediate reversal of all illegal activities against EU member states and third countries. Any possible modification of the current relationship between EU-Turkey, that would alter its obligations towards member states, is objectionable.

The proposal for a new directive on renewable energies is a good opportunity to strengthen Europe’s efforts in the fight against climate change and decarbonisation. Increasing the production of green energy up to 42,5% of the total will become mandatory, states will be compelled to have a coherent infrastructure plan when it comes to respecting the environment and rural population, and it also explicitly protects the Natura 2000 network.

We reject the absurd and unjustified cuts proposed by the Council. At a time of multiple crises requiring more funds, the Council’s position for horizontal cuts on various policies and programmes is simply incomprehensible. We will demand more funds for the 2024 EU budget to address peoples’ needs and the social and economic consequences of the challenges we face.