Plenary focus - July

The NGOs that are helping refugees in Hungary and those rescuing lives in the Mediterranean Sea or assisting people in the mountains are heroes - not criminals. These people are doing what the EU and its member states should be doing. To persecute solidarity is totally unworthy of our democracies and marks the start of a very dangerous, slippery slope.

For two-and-a-half years, the Council has allegedly been working on the Parliament’s proposal to reform European electoral law. Yet, they will only be introduced for the 2024 elections. Furthermore, the Parliament’s proposals were already quite weak - but the Council has managed to reduce them to virtually nothing. Compelling arguments for enforcing the Spitzenkandidaten, to ensure gender equality and transparency during the nomination of candidates, as well as to harmonise the electoral processes across the 28 member states were simply ignored. We will reject this proposal.