2018.03.16

Protecting the rights of victims of terrorism in the EU

22 March marks the 2-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks in Brussels. The Special Committee on Terrorism will organise two hearings on resilience against terrorism and the rights of victims on Wednesday and Thursday. The outcome of the debate with specialists will be used in the Terrorism Committee's final report, prepared by Monika Hohlmeier MEP. A panel on victims of terrorism, which will be opened by European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, will commemorate 20 years since the assassination of Alberto Jiménez-Becerril, a Spanish politician killed by the terrorist organisation  of ETA. The EPP Group has been at the forefront in defending rights of victims, including their families, who have suffered the horrors of terrorist attacks. They need special attention, support and social recognition due to the particular nature of the crime that has been committed against them. We will stress this not only in the Terrorism Committee's report but also in a separate report prepared by Teresa Jiménez-Becerril MEP, sister of Alberto, on support for victims of terrorism.

Making gas from outside the EU comply with Energy Union goals

The current Gas Directive will be updated to apply not only to the internal gas market in the EU, but also to gas pipelines that arrive in the EU from third countries. The change is to achieve the goals of the Energy Union to supply affordable, secure and sustainable energy to citizens and businesses of the EU. The update of the Gas Directive follows controversy about the Russian gas pipeline project NordStream2 which runs from Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany. The vote will take place on Wednesday 21 March in the Industry Committee. 

Europe-wide rules on how to tax Facebook, Amazon & Co

The European Commission will make a formal law proposal for a digital tax on Wednesday. This comes one week after Parliament, on the initiative of the EPP Group, came forward with a concrete plan to tax digital tech giants such as Google, Facebook and Amazon. "Without Europe-wide rules on how to tax digital companies, we will never have fairness in corporate tax. The principle of taxing companies where the value is created must also apply to the digital economy", say Alain Lamassoure MEP and Markus Ferber MEP who have been pushing this EPP Group initiative over the last couple of months. 

Protecting European airlines from unfair competition

The Transport Committee will vote on a legislative Report by Markus Pieper MEP on safeguarding competition in air transport on Tuesday. A booming global aviation market has increased competition to unprecedented levels and in the absence of global competition rules, this Regulation aims to safeguard a level playing field in the future. The Report focuses particularly on protecting Europe’s connectivity with the world and reinforces the procedure with which the Commission investigates suspected cases of unfair competition, like discriminatory practices and state subsidies. 

Tackling vaccine hesitancy in Europe

The Environment Committee will vote on a Report tackling vaccine hesitancy in Europe on Tuesday. The EPP Group believes that vaccination is one of the most cost-effective public health measures available in Europe. However, despite, and perhaps because of vaccines' public health impact, an increasing number of parents and patients are choosing to delay or refuse vaccines. This is why the EPP Group will vote in favour of the Report which will call on Member States to be more active in this domain. 

The implementation of the Treaty provisions concerning national parliaments

The Constitutional Affairs Committee will vote on Wednesday on a Report which encourages national parliaments to fully exercise their European functions in order to directly influence and scrutinise the content of European policies. The Report recommends better involvement of national parliaments in the European Semester and calls for better coordination of the budgetary calendars at national and European level. EPP Group MEP Paulo Rangel is responsible for the Report.

Chairman's Agenda

Thursday: EPP Summit, Brussels

Press Conferences (19-23 March)

Monday @ 11.00 briefing on the parliamentary agenda

  • Source : eppgroup.eu
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