EPP Group Study Days in Munich
Protecting the European way of life, the challenges for the EU, and the ambitions for Europe's future are amongst the major themes of the EPP Group Study Days from 6 to 8 June in Munich. Guests include the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Austrian Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz, Commissioner Günther Oettinger, business CEOs, and academic experts. The Group will adopt a position paper on the priorities for the upcoming years.
Hearing on Facebook/Cambridge Analytica
Following Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's attendance at the European Parliament two weeks ago, the LIBE Committee - in cooperation with the AFCO, JURI and ITRA Committees - will start a series of hearings which will delve further into the details of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The first hearing will be held on Monday 4 June. During the debate with the journalists who revealed the Cambridge Analytica scandal, former employees of Cambridge Analytica and Facebook, and representatives of the academia, the EPP Group Members will insist that Facebook takes the necessary measures to prevent a breach of European citizens' data. People deserve answers and security, and we will make sure that such demands are met.
Fair competition and competitiveness in transport
On Monday afternoon, the Transport Committee will vote on the social and market aspects of the first mobility package. These are the driving and rest times, and the posting of workers in transport and cabotage. The EPP Group will insist on a clear signal that the new rules should be proportionate, enforceable and reduce administrative burdens, rather than increase them, without undermining an open and competitive internal market.
Free flow of non-personal data
The four freedoms will soon be accompanied by a fifth freedom - free movement of data. On Monday, Members of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee will approve a Report by Anna Maria Corazza Bildt MEP on the Regulation for the free flow of non-personal data. “This Regulation is truly a game changer for the digital economy in Europe, potentially providing enormous efficiency gains for both companies and public authorities. It will pave the way for artificial intelligence, cloud computing and big data analysis", said the Rapporteur. "It is a major step towards reducing data protectionism which is threatening the digital economy. My goal is to have rules that are clear, net neutral and future-proof."
The voice of Belarusian civil society
Representatives of Belarusian civil society will meet MEPs at a conference hosted by Sandra Kalniete MEP, EPP Group Vice-Chairwoman responsible for Foreign Affairs, and Bogdan Zdrojewski MEP, Chairman of the European Parliament's delegation for relations with Belarus, on Tuesday 5 June at 14.30-17.15 hrs in Room JAN 6Q1, European Parliament, Brussels. The conference 'Belarus 2018: the voice of the civil society' will highlight the political context in which civil society organisations are operating in Belarus. The keynote speaker, Andrew Wilson, Professor at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London, will be joined by several representatives of Belarusian civil society. Alaksandr Milinkievič, Sakharov Prize laureate in 2006, will give a special address at the event.
Chairman's agenda
Monday: EPP Presidency and Political Assembly; meeting with PSL President Władysła Kosiniak-Kamysz; meeting with PO President Grzegorz Schetyna, Warsaw
Tuesday: meeting with representatives of the Chamber of Trade and Crafts for Munich and Upper Bavaria, Brussels; meeting with Volker Bouffier, Minister President of Hesse, Brussels; meeting with Ana Patricia Botin, President of the Santander Bank
Wednesday-Friday: EPP Group Study Days in Munich
Press Conferences (4-8 June)
Friday @ 11.00 Pre-session briefing