Statement by the President of the Commission - State of the Union; European Defence Industry Reinforcement through common Procurement Act (EDIRPA); Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya addresses the European Parliament and visits the ECR Group; EU must continue to support Belarusian citizens; ECR supports Iliana Ivanova as member of the European Commission; Distribution of seats in the European Parliament to be adapted to demographic changes; Introduction of EU geographical indication protections for craft and industrial products; ECR says no to treaty changes to appease EU federalism; Protection status of wolves must be adjusted

Statement by the President of the Commission - State of the Union

As MEPs return to Strasbourg for the first time since the summer recess, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will deliver the last State of the Union address of her mandate on Wednesday morning. Group leaders and MEPs are eagerly awaiting this speech to comment on it, starting with a reflection and stocktake of this mandate. The ECR Group has pointed out that the starting point for any reflection must be to recognise that Europe and European values of freedom and national sovereignty are under attack - militarily, politically and economically. Further steps should be taken to use frozen Russian funds to provide material support to Ukraine. On the Green Deal and climate policy, the ECR Group warned against a dogmatic approach and stressed the importance of ensuring that the EU is able to compete successfully in a global market. On migration, the ECR Group urges the EU to make its borders more secure and to focus efforts on fighting organised crime groups involved in human trafficking in all possible ways, focusing on the external dimension by tackling illegal departures in countries of origin and transit. These are just a few examples of important points and more will be to mention. It’s necessary to guarantee and - in some fields - to restore stability in the lives of citizens: through economic security, food security, energy security, border security and external security. Not experiments, not ideology, but the concerns of citizens should come first. Co-President Prof Legutko will speak on behalf of the Group and will take a critical look at the President’s policies so far.

Debate: Wednesday @ 9:00

European Defence Industry Reinforcement through common Procurement Act (EDIRPA)

On Monday, lawmakers will debate ECR Co-Rapporteur Zdzisław Krasnodębski’s report on the European Defence Industry Reinforcement through common Procurement Act (EDIRPA), a short-term instrument that seeks to incentivise Member States to procure defence products jointly. The act finances better cooperation of Member States that would lead to common procurement of legal and technical expertise and analysis of products. EU countries continue to transfer defence products to Ukraine, aiding the country in the ongoing-armed conflict. EDIRPA aims to help Member States to replenish their stocks more effectively. The ECR Group supports joint acquisition of defence equipment which strengthens the EU defence industry. The vote will take place on Tuesday.

Debate: Monday @ 17:00

Vote: Tuesday @ 12:00

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya addresses the European Parliament and visits the ECR Group

The ECR Group is pleased to welcome Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, National Leader of Belarus and Head of the United Cabinet, in Strasbourg. She will give a formal address in plenary at lunchtime on Wednesday. She will then attend an extraordinary meeting of the ECR Group at 17.00. The ECR Group strongly supports the people of Belarus represented by Ms Tsikhanouskaya, recognizing their democratic and European aspirations and their rightful place within Europe.

Formal sitting: Wednesday @ 12:30

Extraordinary ECR Group meeting: Wednesday @ 17:00

EU must continue to support Belarusian citizens

On Tuesday afternoon, MEPs will debate an own initiative report that assesses the current situation in Belarus within the broader geopolitical context of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine as well as the Lukashenka regime’s support for the war. Belarusian society continues to suffer systematic human rights violations and crimes against humanity committed by the Lukashenka regime. More than 1,500 people remain in prison for political reasons and some 300,000 Belarusians have fled the country due to persecution or fear of persecution. The ECR Group is of the opinion that the EU must continue to provide crosscutting support to Belarusian democratic forces, including human rights defenders, opposition political parties and independent media. The vote will take place on Wednesday.

Debate: Tuesday @ 17:00

Vote: Wednesday @12:00

ECR supports Iliana Ivanova as member of the European Commission

On Tuesday noon, MEPs will vote on the approval of Iliana Ivanova to become a member of the European Commission. Hailing from Bulgaria, Ms Ivanova is the Commissioner-designate for innovation, research, culture, education and youth. The ECR Group supports her candidacy because of her knowledge of all relevant issues related to innovation, research, education, culture, youth and sport. The ECR also appreciates her commitment to Ukraine.

Vote: Tuesday @ 12:00

Distribution of seats in the European Parliament to be adapted to demographic changes

On Monday evening, the Constitutional Affairs Committee, followed by the plenary on Wednesday lunchtime, will vote on the composition of the European Parliament for the 2024-2029 parliamentary term. Taking into account demographic changes in the Member States, and in order to respect the principle of degressive proportionality without any Member State losing seats, Parliament initially proposed an updated distribution that would provide for a minimum of additional seats. The following 9 Member States would gain seats: ES (+2), NL (+2), AT (+1), DK (+1), FI (+1), SK (+1), IR (+1), SI (+1), LV (+1). The Council based its draft decision on this proposal and also proposed to allocate two additional seats to France (FR +2) and one additional seat each to Belgium (BE +1) and Poland (PL +1). This would result in a Chamber of 720 seats. The ECR Group strongly supports the Council’s draft decision, which ignores the efforts of the centralist groups to introduce a transnational list and to reserve 28 additional seats for MEPs elected in a Union-wide constituency. As there is no “European people” or “demos”, transnational lists would run counter to democratic principles of accountability.

Vote in AFCO Committee: Monday @ 19:00

Vote in Plenary@ Wednesday @ 12:00

Introduction of EU geographical indication protections for craft and industrial products

On Monday, MEPs will debate a report to establish geographical indications (GIs) to protect craft and industrial products. Product names can be assigned a ‘geographical indication’ if they have a specific link to the place where they are made. The EU has specific legislation that protects GIs only for spirit drinks, wine and agricultural products. This proposal will introduce an EU-wide GI protection directly applicable to artisanal and industrial products. It creates legal certainty for all actors involved and ensures the prevention of infringements of intellectual property rights, including at international level. For the ECR Group, the promotion of national cultural heritage, and the preservation of traditions are a priority. Thus, the ECR favours this new set of rules, which will bring benefits for consumers and will have a positive economic impact, especially on SMEs. The vote will take place on Tuesday.

Debate: Monday @ 17:00

Vote: Tuesday @ 12:00

ECR says no to treaty changes to appease EU federalism

On Thursday, the ECR Group will speak out and vote against yet another attempt by federalist EU lawmakers to centralise the EU and take powers away from Member States. The declared aim of the own-initiative report on ‘Parliamentarism, European Citizenship and Democracy’ is to call for a change from unanimity to qualified majority voting (QMV), thus implementing the conclusions of the one-sided past Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFE), which was completely dominated by actors pursuing a federalist agenda. The ECR Group has been very critical of the shortcomings of the CoFE in terms of participation, legitimacy and transparency. It is clear that this initiative has been set up with its eyes closed to reality and would undermine the whole structure of the functioning of the EU as a whole. The ECR Group rejects any attempt to circumvent the Treaty-based principles of representative democracy as we know it and rejects the efforts of federalist political groups to advance their political agenda for a more centralised EU that weakens national democracies.

Debate: Thursday @ 9:00

Vote: Thursday @ 12:00

Protection status of wolves must be adjusted

On Wednesday, European Parliament lawmakers will debate reviewing the protection status of wolves and other large carnivores. The number of wolves has risen significantly in recent decades and the number of attacks on livestock herds is increasing rapidly. This has become a growing challenge for many livestock farmers in relevant protected areas. Therefore, the ECR Group supports adapting the protection status of large predators. Pietro Fiocchi, ECR Deputy Coordinator in the Environment Committee, together with the well-known mountaineer Reinhold Messner and the Agriculture coordinators of the EPP, Herbert Dorfmann and S&D, Paolo De Castro had explained the views of alpine farmers in a letter to the Commission at the beginning of October 2022 and pointed out the special challenges to traditional farming culture in mountain areas.

Debate: Wednesday @ 14:00

END’s