Plenary focus - June 2022

The few improvements brought by the 8 files of the Fit for 55 package are better than nothing, but they remain mostly based on market mechanisms and will not be sufficient at all to comply with the Paris agreement. The Left strongly regrets the absence of a real green and social new deal for Europe that it has been demanding since 2019. However, this first small step is even too much for the conservatives and industry lobbies that are actively trying to weaken even more the initial position of the Parliament. This is not acceptable! Our group will fight alongside NGOs and activists to increase the ambition of this climate package and develop its social dimension, in order to save the planet rather than corporate interests.

EU sanctions must clearly target Putin and its power apparatus. The sanctions should not be imposed on residents in regions like East Germany. This is why we need state guarantees to help people in the regions of the EU most affected by the sanctions packages against Russia. A clear perspective is needed for these regions if we want to prevent deindustrialisation as in the Ruhrpott and to get independent on fossil fuels! The necessary funds can be financed from a windfall tax on energy, pharmaceutical and defence companies.

Climate change is a fact and we are running out of time. The Fit for 55 package is the core of the European Green Deal. These are vital decisions about how we in the EU respond to the climate crisis in the years and decades to come. We need decisions that are socially just and right for the planet.

When states ban abortion, they violate women’s right to decide over their own body, put their lives at risk and exacerbate inequality and discrimination. The foreseeable limitation of abortion rights in the USA, as has happened in Poland, reminds us that we cannot let our guard down and that we must continue to weave networks of sisterhood to fight the backlash: “Stay out of our wombs: my body, my rights.”

The EU should promote the resolution of conflicts through political agreements, in order to prevent conflicts and avoid the escalation of current ones. We believe that the EU should avoid fueling the arms spiral and work towards disarmament. We believe it is essential for the EU to cooperate with the UN to mitigate the side effects of conflict, such as energy and food shortages, and to protect refugees fleeing war, regardless of their passport.

A political front has been formed to ensure the emergence of a genuine European island policy, which has become urgent and a priority. The specificities of insularity must be taken into account by European regulations and be the subject of specific policies. Islands have other realities than continents. This European ambition for islands must be achieved by 2023. We have completed the urban agenda, we have completed the rural agenda, and now it is time for the islands. A Europe that is close to its citizens requires this and the European Commission cannot be deaf and blind to the concrete realities of the territories.

If we cannot learn from our mistakes, we are doomed to repeat them. As we reflect on 60 years of CAP we must accept that despite success in some aspects, the productivist paradigm of endlessly producing more food that has been a central characteristic of the policy has led us down a self-destructive path. Going forward, agriculture and food production must be reimagined, “Food security” must be replaced with “food sovereignty”. Our food must become more than a commodity, exploited for the maximum financial gain, to become a basic human right with affordable quality food for all. Our food production must respect planetary boundaries within which it operates and protect and enhance the biodiversity upon which it depends. Only then will the reflection be worthwhile.