Common Agricultural Policy (CAP); COP26 outcomes; Address by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya; Situation in Belarus and at its border with the EU; Measures in light of increasing cases of Covid-19 and the EU’s role in combatting the pandemic; EU Budget 2022; Tackling non-tariff and non-tax barriers; “Europe's Strategy for beating cancer: the long-term effects for our health”

Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)

On Tuesday, after years of negotiating, the European Parliament will debate and vote on a final agreement between Council and Parliament on the European Common Agricultural Policy 2023-2027. The ECR Group has always stressed that the policy must both ensure that European farmers can keep putting food on our tables and further improve the sustainable development of farming and rural areas.

In the opinion of the ECR Group, the agreement reached and its greening initiatives are ambitious but workable, provided innovation is boosted and administrative burdens cut. According to ECR Shadow Rapporteur Bert-Jan Ruissen, “the policy will ensure consumers good quality food, produced according to world-leading environmental and animal welfare standards. However, for the farmer much will depend on the national strategic plans of Member States.” Therefore, Mr Ruissen calls on Member States to strengthen their agricultural sectors for greater economic resilience and European food security.

Debate: Tuesday @ 9:00

Votes: Tuesday @ 12:00

COP26 outcomes

On Wednesday morning, MEPs will give their views on the outcome of the UN Climate Change Conference to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The agreement achieved in Glasgow (UK) called for a 45 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030 compared to 2010 levels, and to achieve net zero around mid-century. Parties are also called on to significantly reduce emissions of other greenhouse gases by 2030, including methane. For the first time conclusions also refer specifically to coal and its phase-down. With that said, the Glasgow Climate Pact serves as a reminder that commitments alone will not deliver the change necessary to limit climate change. Appropriate policies, investment and technologies are now needed. In the opinion of the ECR Group, the COP26 outcomes were particularly weak on carbon sinks, with nothing said about the role of artificial carbon sequestration methods. The ECR Group believes that if CO2 reduction is to be pursued successfully, we must consider all available technical options, including the creation of artificial carbon sinks.

Debate: Wednesday @ 9:00

Address by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya

On Wednesday, Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya will address the Parliament’s plenary. The ECR Group has always been in favour of a policy of non-recognition of Alexander Lukashenko, and instead granting opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya a special status in the EU. The ECR Group expresses its support of the Belarusian people in their aspirations for democratic reforms, and demands an end to all acts of violence committed by Lukashenko’s regime against Belarusian society. Over a year after the fake presidential election in Belarus, repression of citizens continues. The ECR Group is convinced that the elections in Belarus have been falsified and calls for negotiations that will lead to free elections in the country. Stronger sanctions against the Belarusian regime and necessary.

Formal sitting: Wednesday @ 12:00

Situation in Belarus and at its border with the EU

On Tuesday, the European Parliament will debate the situation at the EU-Belarus border. The ECR Group condemns the escalation of conflict on the Polish-Belarusian border, where a huge number of migrants under the control of armed Belarusian units have been destroying border fences and harassing Polish border police in an attempt to cross illegally into EU territory. We believe that the scenes taking place on the border between Poland and Belarus are a continuation of the Lukashenko regime’s attempt to use people as weapons in its hybrid warfare campaign to destabilise the Union. The ECR Group expect a response from the EU in the strongest possible terms.

Debate: Tuesday @ 16:00

Measures in light of increasing cases of Covid-19 and the EU’s role in combatting the pandemic

On Monday and Wednesday, Members will debate possible responses to the increasing numbers of Covid-19 infections across Europe, as well as a possible strategy to increase vaccination rates worldwide. The rise in case numbers is alarming. The European Union urgently needs a common response to the persistent challenge posed by Covid-19. It is important to consider the efficacy of existing vaccines, the rollout of third and potentially fourth doses, new therapeutic drugs, and the need for other epidemic control measures. At the same time, it is essential that citizens’ rights are respected,
protected and fulfilled while fighting this pandemic.

Commission statement on the coordination of Member States’ measures: Monday @ 17:00

Topical debate on “How to vaccinate the world”: Wednesday @ 15:00

EU Budget 2022

On Tuesday, after the conclusion of the trilogue meetings with the Council, the European Parliament will debate the EU budget for 2022, followed by a vote on Wednesday. Budget increases requested by Parliament that are important for a quicker recovery were included in the deal, such as for Horizon Europe and other programmes like Erasmus+, EU4Health and Single Market Programme. Humanitarian Aid to cover increased needs of the EU Solidarity Fund in relation with the natural catastrophes in the EU, like the recent floods in Germany, were also requested. For the ECR Group, this is the right response to the challenges the Union is facing today, which include fighting COVID-19, improving research and innovation to modernise member states’ economies, and protecting the EU’s borders.

Debate: Tuesday @ 19:00

Vote: Wednesday @ 12:30

Tackling non-tariff and non-tax barriers

On Monday, the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection will vote on ECR Rapporteur Kosma Zlotowski’s own initiative report on tackling non-tariff and non-tax barriers. Mr. Zlotowski believes that an efficient single market free from unnecessary red tape is the best guarantee for a swift recovery of the European economy after the COVID-19 crisis.

Vote: Monday @ 19:30

Online round table with Members of the European Parliament and oncology experts “Europe’s Strategy for beating cancer: the long-term effects for our health”

On Saturday 27 November, a webinar organised and hosted by MEP Andrey Slabakov will bring together Members of the European Parliament, representatives from the European Commission and Bulgarian Ministry of Health, international oncology experts and the pharmaceutical industry for a virtual roundtable discussion on the EU’s approach to fighting cancer. In light of on an upcoming vote of the European Parliament’s Special Committee on Beating Cancer, MEP Andrey Slabakov has invited stakeholders to the table to discuss the expected impacts of the Beating Cancer Plan, not only on a policy level, but for real patients, for those at risk, and for cancer survivors. The event aims to highlight both the strong and weak points underlying the European strategy on cancer and any potential for its improvement.

Main speakers are Andrey Slabakov, ECR MEP, Member of the Special Committee on Beating Cancer; Joanna Kopcinska, ECR MEP, Vice-Chair of the Special Committee on Beating Cancer; Véronique Trillet-Lenoir, Rapporteur for the report on the EU Beating Cancer Plan (TBC); Prof. Dobrin Konstantinov, MD, PhD – Head, Pediatric Clinical Hematology and Oncology Department, “Tsaritsa Johanna” Hospital, Sofia; Assoc. Prof. Natalia Chilingirova, MD, PhD – Head of Medical Oncology Clinic at the Center of Clinical Excellence, Pleven; Ivana Cattaneo – Vice-Chair, EFPIA Oncology Platform.

More information is available on the website of the ECR Group.

You can follow the live broadcast on YouTube (EN) and Facebook (BG).

When: Saturday @ 9:30 – 16:30