Plenary focus - September 2022

Ursula Von der Leyen should make her mea culpa in this years' SOTEU and apologize to European citizens. The neo liberal dogmas of the European Commission have demonstrated their total failure since the beginning of her term. VDL's initial political choices, for more market, deregulation, competition, free trade and so-called "green capitalism" are directly responsible for the hardships we're dealing today. After a summer of climate chaos and in the middle of an unprecedented inflation crisis, we need more than technical adjustments and demand radical change. Crisis profiteers must pay and the EU must set immediately a tax on windfall profits. Energy must be protected from market speculation and its prices must be urgently capped at a reasonable level as well as prices of all essential goods. A real Green and social new deal, including an adaptation section, must also be negotiated in the coming months in order to be able to meet (at last) the targets of the Paris agreements.

The European Commission's proposal lacks ambition and does not provide the necessary progress in the transition to renewable energy. The targets are not binding on Member States and they do not place any obligations on economic sectors that are reluctant to move away from fossil fuels. We remain committed to a just transition, guaranteeing a 50% share of renewables through binding commitments by member state and economic sectors. It is necessary to do so while protecting the workers and the territories affected. To achieve this, we need to end the current model, in the hands of the electricity oligopoly, and ensure democratic planning of the sector, as well as public control of the energy sector as a whole.

There is no other government of a Member State that has been target of such criticism and isolation as the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Even in the most apparent cases of far right governments, there were a few supporters. In the case of the Greek Government, there was none. The transparency and the search for the truth in the European Parliament's Pegasus Committee is in contrast to the violent cover up efforts of the relevant inquiry committee of the Greek Parliament. We hope to see the same robust response from the other EU institutions next week.

Decades of privatisation of the energy sector have only served to generate a massive increase in energy bills, boosting the profits of big energy corporations. We need to put an end to the marginal pricing model for energy. We must urgently invest in renewables, guarantee a real energy transition and ensure the EU’s energy independence. Diversifying energy supply and breaking the EU’s dependency on fossil fuels - regardless of their origin - will only be possible through a radical yet realistic paradigm shift, deploying and strengthening renewable energy sources, energy communities and energy efficiency.

Deforestation and forest degradation are significant drivers of global warming and biodiversity loss. An action combating these phenomena is necessary and fortunately, we now have an ambitious proposal, aiming to minimize consumption of products from supply chains associated with these phenomena. We must contribute to the protection of our forests and ensure that the EU has a strong deforestation law.

The situation in Hungary continues to be very serious, and the Commission continues to be way too passive. This report has a strong backing from almost all groups in the parliament and the message is clear; The Commission needs to make use of its tools and put some serious pressure on the Hungarian government.