What's coming up in Parliament

COP 24 resolution
Debate Monday, 22 October, vote Thursday, 25 October

The resolution sets out the European Parliament’s position ahead of the next COP24 UN climate summit, taking place from 3 to 14 December in Katowice, Poland. The upcoming COP 24, where countries will discuss their national climate plans will be of crucial importance if we are to keep global warming within the 1.5c limit. The resolution maintains the overall position of the parliament and proposes an ambitious update of national targets to a 55% reduction in emissions by 2030 in order to respect the Paris climate goals - something the Greens/EFA group will be pushing for. The EPP group wants to obtain a lower target and this will be a decisive moment for the EU Parliament if it is to take its climate obligations seriously.

COP 14 resolution, cross-party call to halt gene eradication technology
Debate Monday, 22 October, vote Thursday, 25 October

The European Parliament will vote on a call for an international moratorium on a new and alarming biotechnology known as ‘gene drive’, whereby scientists can manipulate genes and in theory eradicate entire populations of living organisms. The amendment, which was tabled as a cross-party initiative led by the Greens/EFA group, urges the European Commission to take a stand on this issue during the next Conference of the parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Of central concern, is investment in this area by military research organisations such as DARPA in the United States.

More: Greens/EFA blog post on gene drive

Reducing plastic pollution
Debate Monday, 22 October, vote Wednesday, 24 October

Plastic is clogging our oceans and littering our planet. Single-use plastics consume fossil resources, which contributes to climate change. This is why we need an urgent shift in the way that we consume plastics across Europe and the world. The Environment Committee of the European Parliament has already voted to ban a whole range of polluting plastics responsible for millions of tons of waste, such as plastic straws and plates. On 23 October, the European Parliament will vote on whether to take a big step forward in reducing plastic waste.  

Facebook resolution
Debate Tuesday, 23 October, vote Thursday, 25 October

The Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal has shown that big platforms such as Facebook can be a threat to our democratic elections and referendums. This resolution calls for enhanced transparency and limits on political advertising. The Greens/EFA group has managed to get a majority for key improvements in the LIBE committee, including a complete ban on targeted political advertising based on personal data and individual profiles. We are also calling on the European Commission to stop the uncontrolled transfer of personal data to the United States.

Charging of heavy goods vehicles
Debate Wednesday, 24 October, vote Thursday, 25 October

The Parliament has the chance to take forward measures to charge certain heavy-duty vehicles according to the polluter pays principle, as part of the Eurocharging directive. This is a major green policy and would be a step forward in meeting climate goals in the transport sector.

Use of antibiotics in farming
Debate Wednesday, 24 October, vote Thursday, 25 October

Antimicrobial resistance poses a growing challenge to public health in the EU. The Greens/EFA group has been calling for a ban on the routine use of antibiotics in animal farming in the EU and in imported food, to fight against antimicrobial resistance and for healthier food. This week, the European Parliament will vote on three files under the umbrella of tackling antimicrobial resistance.

Drinking water directive and open letter
Debate Monday, 22 October, vote Tuesday, 23 October

Drinking water was the focus of the first-ever European citizens’ initiative, ‘Right to Water’, which aimed to ensure universal access to water and sanitation. Following an EU Commission proposal on this, as voted in the Environment Committee, the text fails to respect the demand of the original ECI to recognise access to safe water as a basic human right in the EU. The EPP has introduced amendments that weaken the ambition of the proposal. In a joint initiative together with the S&D, GUE and EFDD, the Greens/EFA group will publish an open letter to push for major improvements to the text, ahead of the plenary vote.

Decision on Sakharov Prize winner, 2018
Thursday, 25 October

The Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament will decide on this year’s Sakharov Prize winner on the morning of Thursday, 25 October. The Greens/EFA group, together with the S&D group, have nominated a collection of NGOs responsible for saving the lives of refugees at sea, in recognition of their tireless humanitarian efforts where national governments are reluctant to act. The human rights prize will be awarded at the December plenary session of the European Parliament

Future of Europe debate with Klaus Iohannis, Romanian President
Tuesday, 23 October, 10:30am

Greens/EFA co-president, Ska Keller, will participate in the debate on the future of Europe with the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis. Proper respect for democracy and the rule of law in Romania will be high on the list of demands from the Greens/EFA group.

Debate on EU-wide breaches of REACH chemicals regulation
Wednesday, 24 October

At the request of the Greens/EFA group, a debate will be held on the unlawful marketing of hundreds of chemicals in the EU without adequate surveillance of whether they are toxic, eco-toxic or harmful to human health. The debate follows publication of a study by the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) and the Federal Environment Office showing that one third of the 1,814 chemicals manufactured or imported into the EU since 2010 are in breach of the European Chemicals Regulation REACH and illegal under EU law. The REACH committee will hold its next meeting on Thursday, 25 October and we are calling for this issue to be high on the agenda.