Latest news with #S&D
Euronews
26-05-2025
- Business
- Euronews
MEPs on special mission to Washington, Newsletter
A delegation of MEPs from the Parliament's trade committee will travel to Washington between 27 and 30 May. But if Trump is running shy of one-on-one talks with Ursula von der Leyen, what difference if any will a bunch of EU lawmakers make, especially from an obscure assembly he almost certainly doesn't recognise? The US president threatened on Friday to impose 'a straight 50% tariff on the EU', an indicator for how well negotiations between the US and the EU are currently going. By Sunday Trump and von der Leyen had held a call, described as 'good' by the Commission President in a post on X, and the US president has now delayed imposition of the 50% tariff until 9 July pending the ongoing negotiations EU. But all discussions so far have place behind closed doors, or through exchanges of letters, between a small number of President Trump's advisors and a team of high-level EU negotiators. The voice of this group of MEPs led by the chair of the trade committee Bernd Lange (Germany/S&D) might fall on deaf ears, if any US lawmakers or trade representatives deign to listen to them. 'The main objective of this visit is to hear directly from the US administration and stakeholders about their recriminations and suggestions on how to fix transatlantic and world trade,' Lange said in a statement last week. They might need some time to listen, since the recriminations towards the EU have been coming thick and fast from day one of Trump's second presidency. And suggestions on how to fix transatlantic trade seems a wishful thinking when the US and the EU are so far away from clinching any deal. Industry sceptical on new EU single market strategy Business representatives gave a jaundiced welcome to a new single market strategy designed to strengthen internal trade presented last week by EU Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné, following years of promises on the issue by the European Commission. 'Every Commission term seems to feature a flagship communication on the single market, going back to the Monti Report in 2010, but unfortunately these have not always led to tangible improvements for businesses,' Ben Butters, the CEO of Eurochambres, which represents businesses across Europe, told Euronews.
Euronews
23-05-2025
- Business
- Euronews
Mainstream political groups propose overhaul of far-right tech report
Mainstream political groups in the European Parliament – the centre-right European People's Party, the centre-left S&D, liberal Renew and the Greens – are seeking an overhaul of a report into technology sovereignty presented in February by French far-right lawmaker Sarah Knafo, from the Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) group. Knafo's report touted six recommendations to boost technological sovereignty and guarantee the bloc's independence and security by protecting its strategic infrastructure and reducing dependence on non-European technology providers. The compromise amendments tabled by the EPP, S&D, Renew and Greens, and seen by Euronews, go beyond Knafo's six recommendations, listing 21 key elements for consideration, including digital infrastructure, fibre, 5G and 6G, cloud services, AI systems and quantum. The amendments call for example for 'a coordinated EU strategy for post-quantum cryptography to protect data from future cyber threats', increased investment in digital infrastructure to enable the growth of data centres, and stronger cybersecurity protection in all critical infrastructure sectors, with stricter measures to de-risk high-risk vendors in 5G and 6G networks. 'The geopolitical landscape and the resulting opportunity for market demand for European products and services' should be seen as 'a window of opportunity to position Europe as a global leader in trusted and secure digital solutions', according to the new draft. It calls on the Commission to set out a list of critical dependencies in digital infrastructure and technologies, and to assess storage services, identity and payment systems, communication platforms, as well as software, protocols and standards that support them, and to propose measures 'to promote access to market of products and services with high positive impact on technological sovereignty, European resilience and sustainability'. These include a call to encourage more private investment in high-potential European technology companies by simplifying the regulatory framework and scrapping two regulations for every new set of rules created in strategic sectors. The amendments say that 'the simplification of EU legislation must not endanger any of the fundamental rights for citizens and businesses and hence risk regulatory certainty; Any simplification proposal should not be rushed and proposed without proper consideration, consultation and impact assessment.' The report is awaiting a committee decision, in the Parliament's Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) committee, before it will be voted on in plenary, after the summer. Knafo's ESN group faces a 'cordon sanitaire' from the more mainstream political groups. The report is an own-initiative report, which means that it would force the Commission to respond on whether it will propose legislation or action on the topic.
Euronews
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Was Pope Francis really that progressive?
ADVERTISEMENT Committed to the poor, migrants, and the environment, Pope Francis devoted his pontificate to the most disadvantaged. But was he really that progressive? The Argentine pontiff, who died on Easter Monday at the age of 88, dedicated his first visit to the Italian island of Lampedusa on 8 July 2013. On that occasion, he paid tribute to the migrants who had died in the Mediterranean and denounced "the globalisation of indifference" to their fate. "He was a man of peace, a man for human dignity, and he always spoke out when people were mistreated and when migrants were scapegoated and demonised by forces that are no less present in this parliament", Evin Incir, a Swedish Social Democrat MEP (S&D), told Euronews. Nicknamed the "Pope of the Poor," Francis had multiplied his actions in favour of people in need, inviting homeless people to dine at the Vatican and instituting a World Day of the Poor. Very interested in economic issues, the head of the Church also denounced the "excesses of globalisation", finance that "tramples people underfoot," and "the new idolatry of money." Ecology was at the heart of his pontificate, to which he dedicated his encyclical letter Laudato Si', published in 2015. Pope Francis hugs Jeannette Zurita, an inmate representative at the San Joaquin women's prison, as he visits the prison in Santiago, Chile, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. T(AP Photo/ Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Human rights In the field of minority rights and women's rights, the situation has not changed much. While the head of the Church has opened the blessing of marriage to homosexual couples, the door to religious marriage remains closed to them. Related Pope Francis urges parents not to condemn gay children Women's sexual and reproductive rights have been largely absent from his pontificate. During a visit to Belgium, the Pope described abortion doctors as "hired killers" and compared abortion to homicide. "He failed to see that restrictions on women's sexual and reproductive rights will not put an end to abortions. It will only make abortions dangerous and not accessible to all women," said Lina Gálvez, Spanish MEP (S&D). "So he was a man who fought against a lot of inequalities, but it seems that these gender inequalities and this gap in women's rights were not in his mind," she adds. Although he put forward women in the Vatican, they are still excluded from the priesthood. MEP Lina Gálvez does not hesitate to speak of a "missed opportunity." The question remains: was he unable, or unwilling, to reform the Church in depth?
Euronews
03-04-2025
- Business
- Euronews
Trump targets EU law, but it's not up for negotiation, says lead lawmaker
ADVERTISEMENT The prime target of US President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs is European regulation rather than EU tariffs on American imports, according to MEP Bernd Lange (Germany/S&D) the chair of the European Parliament's Trade Committee, but EU law is non-negotiable, he said. '[In this report,] you find 30 pages about the EU,' Lange said, citing a report from the US Trade Representative, claiming that this is 'more or less a comprehensive overview of our legislation. This is an indication that the president Trump is not looking on tariffs.' According to the MEP, the only justification proffered by Trump's team to arrive a figure of 39% in tariffs imposed by the EU tariffs lies in European legislation. Citing "unfair" trade practices by its partners, the US announced a sweeping wave of reciprocal tariffs on Wednesday, affecting imports from countries around the world. Washington claims the EU imposes a 39% tax on US imports, and in response Trump declared a 20% tariff on all European goods, escalating trade tensions between the two economic powers. A US Trade Representative report lists those tariffs and non-tariff barriers it claims the EU applies to US imports, citing a broad range of EU legislation including sanitary and phytosanitary, environmental and digital regulations. 'We need a basis of what we can negotiate: European legislation is not on the table,' said Lange, who advocates for a negotiated approach with the Americans to break the deadlock of the trade war. The lawmaker added that Europeans could consider further investment in the US as a basis of negotiation. Lange said that Trump's tariffs 'will really harm people on the ground,' including Europeans, Americans and those from the global South. 'This is unfair practice. President Trump called it liberation day, I will call it inflation day,' he added.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
EU parliament lawmakers to join Budapest Pride Parade, defying ban
Members of the European Parliament plan to take part in this summer's Budapest Pride Parade in support of LGBTQ+ rights, despite a government-imposed ban. "I am looking forward to going to Budapest," said Marc Angel, a Luxembourg MEP and co-chair of a cross-party group of over 100 fellow lawmakers advocating for Europe's LGBTQ+ community, speaking in Strasbourg late Tuesday. Angel added that Iratxe García, leader of the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) faction, had urged her party's lawmakers to attend the march, too. Two weeks ago, Hungary's parliament hastily approved a bill banning the annual Pride event, backed by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's right-wing populist government. Participants face potential fines of up to 200,000 forints (around $540) for violating the ban, with authorities planning to use facial recognition technology to identify marchers. Both organizers and attendees could be penalized under the new law. Should the ban remain in place, Terry Reintke, a German politician co-leader of the Greens in the European Parliament, has vowed to travel to Budapest for the march, expecting many fellow Green lawmakers to join.
