Plenary focus - December

The report voted in the ‘Panama Papers’ committee contains many important points - thanks in part to GUE/NGL’s amendments which passed with the majority’s support. But as if the new EU blacklist on tax havens wasn’t embarrassing enough with so many omissions, the EPP is now trying to water down the report. We therefore remain hopeful that this plenary vote won’t further undermine the EU’s fight against tax evasion.

The silence has been deafening. We can no longer sit by passively to act and save the Rohingyas now. Nor will we stop our criticisms and condemnation until the Rohingyas are allowed to be reestablished, peacefully, in their own country. They must be recognised as an integral part of the Burmese people and are treated as equals.

Europe must become a leading international actor in designing the rulebook on digitised global economy. However, regulatory framework is failing to keep up with technological development. As Europeans, we must embrace new opportunities without compromising on data protection: it’s a fundamental part of EU law. GUE/NGL is determined to protect this right and we reject the notion that data protection would be a barrier to trade. Quite the contrary, in fact. We reject the proposal in TiSA to allow corporate access to our data to facilitate trading with European citizens, patients and customers. Sadly, the EPP is determined to reopen TiSA negotiations in this report and we will therefore vote against it.

I welcome the inclusion of the Omnibus regulation to the Plenary agenda, stating that while there are unsatisfactory elements within it such as the promotion of financial instruments, there are some positive aspects to it. These beneficial aspects, changes to land eligibility, adjustments to the ‘young farmers’ scheme will have a broad and tangible benefit on the ground if implemented properly.