Busy week in last plenary of current term

Belgium (Brussels Morning Newspaper), MEPs head off to Strasbourg for another plenary next week, with a mixed bag of issues for them to deal with.

These range from Iran and domestic violence to industrial policy.

It will be the last session of this parliamentary term,

The EPP Group says it has spearheaded efforts to tackle violence against women and domestic violence across the continent. 

On Wednesday, the European Parliament will vote on groundbreaking EU legislation aimed at combating what the EPP calls these “heinous crimes.”

The EPP Group‘s vice-chair Frances Fitzgerald, who negotiated the draft law on behalf of the Parliament, emphasised the importance of the legislation.

The MEP said, “With this law, we have taken the first step towards making Europe the first continent in the world to eliminate violence against women.“

Elsewhere, on Tuesday the Parliament will conclude last week’s EU summit, which focused on European competitiveness. 

Christian Ehler, EPP Group spokesman on Industry, Research and Energy says, “It is time now for all the Institutions to start working on a serious industrial policy agenda for the next term. We need a coherent investment plan, improving the regulatory environment and other framework conditions such as R&D investment. 

“This will be the main task for all EU institutions during the next term.” 

The EPP Group says it is convinced that the completion of the EU Single Market in all its dimensions is more important now than ever. 

“We can only master the Green and Digital Transitions if we quickly remove all remaining barriers and extend the internal market to further sectors, with priority given to the energy, telecommunications, and the capital market,” says Andreas Schwab, EPP Group Internal Market spokesperson.

Meanwhile, in the aftermath of Iran’s attack against Israel, the EPP Group has called for the reinstatement of UN sanctions against Iran and for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah in its entirety to be declared terrorist organizations. 

“Complacency or appeasement towards dictators does not bring peace, democracy or advance human rights – we should have learned that when we tried the soft approach with Vladimir Putin”, said David Lega,  group spokesperson on Iran.  

“The EU must become a main actor in the Middle East and our role is to help avoid an escalation of the conflict. Israel has been attacked once more. Unity against terrorism and anti-democratic regimes is the only way for democracy and peace in the Middle East,” stressed Antonio López-Istúriz White, head of the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with Israel.

The European Parliament, meantime, will vote on Thursday on an urgent procedure to simplify the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) strategic plans. 

It says that “given the extensive recent farmer protests and the need to assess the administrative burden on farmers, the Commission has finally proposed several changes to the CAP. 

“All of these proposed adjustments aim to simplify the lives of farmers, reducing bureaucratic burdens and consequently contributing to ensuring food security,” added a spokesman.

The ECR Group says it supports this file being passed as an urgent procedure “so that Europe’s farmers can benefit from the changes immediately.”

On Iran, the ECR says, “This unprecedented escalation poses a threat to regional security. The ECR Group vehemently condemns Iran’s attack on Israel, reaffirms its unwavering support for Israel’s security, and endorses the call to classify the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.”