European Ceremony of Honour for Helmut Kohl
On Saturday 1 July, Manfred Weber MEP, Chairman of the EPP Group, will participate in the European Ceremony of Honour for Helmut Kohl which will be held in the European Parliament in Strasbourg at 11:00. The ceremony will be jointly organised by the European Parliament, the European Council and the European Commission. "Kohl shaped my political generation, he inspired us with his tireless work towards a united Germany and Europe living in peace and freedom. With his conviction and his determination he became the father of both German and European unification. With his passing we are losing a piece of German and European history. The entire EPP Group is mourning and bows in front of this great statesman," said Manfred Weber after the announcement of the former Chancellor's death.
European Union Agency for Asylum
On Thursday the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs is expected to vote on the outcome of negotiations on the European Union Agency for Asylum. MEP Carlos Coelho is the EPP Group's negotiator. The Regulation will create a fully-fledged European Union Agency for Asylum with an enhanced mandate and considerably expanded tasks to monitor and address any structural weaknesses that arise in the application of the EU's common asylum system.
Nobel Prize winner Svetlana Alexievich will be keynote speaker at hearing on 'Belarusian society: towards a modern political and national identity?'
On Tuesday, the EPP Group will hold a hearing on 'Belarusian society: towards a modern political and national identity?'. 25 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the puzzling question is why, compared to other post-Soviet European countries, Belarus has not made any substantial progress on democracy building. Today Belarusians are in search of their identity. The idea of the hearing is to listen to the opinion of pro-European Belarusians. Svetlana Alexievich, Nobel Prize Winner in Literature, is to open the debate as a keynote speaker on “The 'Red Empire' is gone, but the 'Red Man', homo sovieticus, remains. He endures.” MEP Sandra Kalniete, EPP Group Vice-Chair in charge of Foreign Affairs and Eastern Neighbourhood Policy, and MEP Agnieszka Kozłowska-Rajewicz, Co-Chairwoman of the Euronest PA Working Group on Belarus, will open this event.
Chairmen of EPP parliamentary groups in national parliaments to discuss Brexit and the future of Europe
The EPP Group will host the 25th Summit of Chairmen of EPP parliamentary groups in the National Parliaments on Monday. The high-level meeting will focus on the future of Europe, Europe’s social and economic challenges and the start of Brexit negotiations. Amongst many group leaders from national parliaments, key speakers will include Commissioners Valdis Dombrovskis, Marianne Thyssen and Phil Hogan. On Brexit, chief negotiator Michel Barnier will brief national parliament leaders on the start of negotiations on the withdrawal agreement.
EU funds for critical projects of churches and religious organisations
A conference on churches' and religious organisations' access to EU funding for cooperation projects will take place on Tuesday 27 June, 16.30-18.30, in the European Parliament (ASP 3E2). Churches and religious organisations carry out valuable work in several critical areas such as health, education, conflict prevention, peace building or poverty reduction in third countries. They are eligible for EU funding, but sometimes have difficulty in accessing such resources for development cooperation or humanitarian projects. In hosting this conference, the Working Group on Interreligious Dialogue and Intercultural Activities aims to find a solution to improve the situation, in full respect of the rules, principles and accountability standards.
Chairman's agenda
Monday: panel discussion at Europa-Union's 'European Evening', Berlin
Tuesday: meeting with Bavarian youth organisation; meeting with former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
Wednesday: meeting with Commissioner Navracsics
Saturday: attending the Ceremony of Honour for Helmut Kohl, Strasbourg
