Priority Question for Written Answer

Priority question for written answer P-006641/2020 to the Commission Rule 138 Rasmus Andresen (Verts/ALE), David Cormand (Verts/ALE), Daniel Freund (Verts/ALE), Damian Boeselager (Verts/ALE), Tatjana Ždanoka (Verts/ALE), Marc Botenga (GUE/NGL), Tanja Fajon (S&D), Sara Cerdas (S&D), Kim Van Sparrentak (Verts/ALE), Anna Cavazzini (Verts/ALE), Mounir Satouri (Verts/ALE), Eric Andrieu (S&D), Patrick Breyer (Verts/ALE), Sylvie Guillaume (S&D), Damien Carême (Verts/ALE), Carmen Avram (S&D), Karima Delli (Verts/ALE), Petar Vitanov (S&D), Yannick Jadot (Verts/ALE), Saskia Bricmont (Verts/ALE), Robert Hajšel (S&D), Dimitrios Papadimoulis (GUE/NGL), Alfred Sant (S&D), Eugen Jurzyca (ECR), Petros Kokkalis (GUE/NGL), Sven Giegold (Verts/ALE), Ciarán Cuffe (Verts/ALE), Miroslav Číž (S&D), Monika Vana (Verts/ALE), Günther Sidl (S&D), Giorgos Georgiou (GUE/NGL), Andreas Schieder (S&D), Monika Beňová (S&D), Hannes Heide (S&D), Henrike Hahn (Verts/ALE), Sarah Wiener (Verts/ALE), Caroline Roose (Verts/ALE), Elisabetta Gualmini (S&D), Salima Yenbou (Verts/ALE), Alessandra Moretti (S&D), Frédérique Ries (Renew), Viola Von Cramon-Taubadel (Verts/ALE), Bronis Ropė (Verts/ALE), Martin Häusling (Verts/ALE), Ville Niinistö (Verts/ALE), Thomas Waitz (Verts/ALE), Martin Hojsík (Renew), Marie Toussaint (Verts/ALE), Konstantinos Arvanitis (GUE/NGL), Manuel Bompard (GUE/NGL), José Gusmão (GUE/NGL), Alexis Georgoulis (GUE/NGL), Eugenia Rodríguez Palop (GUE/NGL), Leila Chaibi (GUE/NGL), Manon Aubry (GUE/NGL), Kateřina Konečná (GUE/NGL), Jutta Paulus (Verts/ALE), Michèle Rivasi (Verts/ALE), Biljana Borzan (S&D), Claude Gruffat (Verts/ALE), Aurore Lalucq (S&D), Gwendoline Delbos- Corfield (Verts/ALE), François Alfonsi (Verts/ALE) Subject: Transparency of contracts for COVID-19 vaccines During the COVID pandemic the Commission has concluded contracts with pharmaceutical companies, including CureVac, AstraZeneca, Sanofi-GSK, Janssen Pharmaceutica NV and BioNtech- Pfizer, and is conducting exploratory talks with Moderna. In order to support research on these vaccines, the European Parliament has approved up-front payments to these companies1. Given that vaccines are also being developed with taxpayers’ money from the EU and EU Member States, it is important that the public interest is fully preserved, and that scientific rigour, safety and transparency are respected. However, the Commission has not yet responded to several letters sent by MEPs calling for transparency on these contracts. Thus, in its resolution on the 2021 Budget2 (adopted by a large majority) Parliament called on the Commission to grant the budgetary authority access to the COVID-19 vaccine-related contracts before the end of the year 2020. 1. When will the Commission respond to Parliament’s demand for transparency on vaccine-related documents, including contracts? Can the Commission ensure that they are accessible to all MEPs wishing to see them? 2. Who is the Commission representative in the joint negotiating team responsible for the negotiation COVID-19 vaccines contracts? 1 Draft amending budget No 8/2020. 2 European Parliament resolution of 12 November 2020 on the Council position on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2021. Texts adopted, P9_TA(2020)0302. PE662.524v01-00.

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Letter to the Commission Regarding Printers Voluntary Agreement
Brussels, Wednesday 26th of May To: Mr Virginijus Sinkevičius, European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Mr Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market Mr Frans Timmermans, European Commission Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal We urge the European Commission to keep its promises and propose a regulatory measure addressing the durability and repairability of printers as well as the reusability of cartridges as part of the forthcoming Circular Electronics Initiative. And we ask that the Commission rejects the proposed voluntary agreement drafted by manufacturers. The Commission's flagship Circular Economy Action Plan, adopted in March 2020, has set out to address the entire life cycle of products and tackle their premature obsolescence notably by promoting the right to repair for ICT products. In addition to mobile phones, laptops and tablets, the Plan has rightfully identified printers as a particularly wasteful product category, and has included a commitment to tackle them by means of a dedicated regulatory instrument “unless the sector reaches an ambitious voluntary agreement” by September 2020. Nearly one year later, the discussions on the voluntary agreement have not yielded any tangible results. Voluntary approaches clearly do not work. We need strong regulatory action now. We are extremely concerned by this situation. Not only because of the negative impacts of short-lived printers on the environment and on consumers but also because we are witnessing promises made being walked back on. Printers are one of the most iconic examples of premature obsolescence. Our analysis of printers in use today suggests that over 80% of them have been in use for less than 3 years, and only about 4% have been in use for 5 years or longer.
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European Parliament Elections 2019 - Forecast
Briefing May 2019 European Parliament Elections 2019 - Forecast Austria – 18 MEPs Staff lead: Nick Dornheim PARTIES (EP group) Freedom Party of Austria The Greens – The Green Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) (EPP) Social Democratic Party of Austria NEOS – The New (FPÖ) (Salvini’s Alliance) – Alternative (Greens/EFA) – 6 seats (SPÖ) (S&D) - 5 seats Austria (ALDE) 1 seat 5 seats 1 seat 1. Othmar Karas* Andreas Schieder Harald Vilimsky* Werner Kogler Claudia Gamon 2. Karoline Edtstadler Evelyn Regner* Georg Mayer* Sarah Wiener Karin Feldinger 3. Angelika Winzig Günther Sidl Petra Steger Monika Vana* Stefan Windberger 4. Simone Schmiedtbauer Bettina Vollath Roman Haider Thomas Waitz* Stefan Zotti 5. Lukas Mandl* Hannes Heide Vesna Schuster Olga Voglauer Nini Tsiklauri 6. Wolfram Pirchner Julia Elisabeth Herr Elisabeth Dieringer-Granza Thomas Schobesberger Johannes Margreiter 7. Christian Sagartz Christian Alexander Dax Josef Graf Teresa Reiter 8. Barbara Thaler Stefanie Mösl Maximilian Kurz Isak Schneider 9. Christian Zoll Luca Peter Marco Kaiser Andrea Kerbleder Peter Berry 10. Claudia Wolf-Schöffmann Theresa Muigg Karin Berger Julia Reichenhauser NB 1: Only the parties reaching the 4% electoral threshold are mentioned in the table. Likely to be elected Unlikely to be elected or *: Incumbent Member of the NB 2: 18 seats are allocated to Austria, same as in the previous election. and/or take seat to take seat, if elected European Parliament ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• www.eurocommerce.eu Belgium – 21 MEPs Staff lead: Stefania Moise PARTIES (EP group) DUTCH SPEAKING CONSITUENCY FRENCH SPEAKING CONSITUENCY GERMAN SPEAKING CONSTITUENCY 1. Geert Bourgeois 1. Paul Magnette 1. Pascal Arimont* 2. Assita Kanko 2. Maria Arena* 2.
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1. Debbie Abrahams, Labour Party, United Kingdom 2
1. Debbie Abrahams, Labour Party, United Kingdom 2. Malik Ben Achour, PS, Belgium 3. Tina Acketoft, Liberal Party, Sweden 4. Senator Fatima Ahallouch, PS, Belgium 5. Lord Nazir Ahmed, Non-affiliated, United Kingdom 6. Senator Alberto Airola, M5S, Italy 7. Hussein al-Taee, Social Democratic Party, Finland 8. Éric Alauzet, La République en Marche, France 9. Patricia Blanquer Alcaraz, Socialist Party, Spain 10. Lord John Alderdice, Liberal Democrats, United Kingdom 11. Felipe Jesús Sicilia Alférez, Socialist Party, Spain 12. Senator Alessandro Alfieri, PD, Italy 13. François Alfonsi, Greens/EFA, European Parliament (France) 14. Amira Mohamed Ali, Chairperson of the Parliamentary Group, Die Linke, Germany 15. Rushanara Ali, Labour Party, United Kingdom 16. Tahir Ali, Labour Party, United Kingdom 17. Mahir Alkaya, Spokesperson for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Socialist Party, the Netherlands 18. Senator Josefina Bueno Alonso, Socialist Party, Spain 19. Lord David Alton of Liverpool, Crossbench, United Kingdom 20. Patxi López Álvarez, Socialist Party, Spain 21. Nacho Sánchez Amor, S&D, European Parliament (Spain) 22. Luise Amtsberg, Green Party, Germany 23. Senator Bert Anciaux, sp.a, Belgium 24. Rt Hon Michael Ancram, the Marquess of Lothian, Former Chairman of the Conservative Party, Conservative Party, United Kingdom 25. Karin Andersen, Socialist Left Party, Norway 26. Kirsten Normann Andersen, Socialist People’s Party (SF), Denmark 27. Theresa Berg Andersen, Socialist People’s Party (SF), Denmark 28. Rasmus Andresen, Greens/EFA, European Parliament (Germany) 29. Lord David Anderson of Ipswich QC, Crossbench, United Kingdom 30. Barry Andrews, Renew Europe, European Parliament (Ireland) 31. Chris Andrews, Sinn Féin, Ireland 32. Eric Andrieu, S&D, European Parliament (France) 33.
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Hon. Mr President of the European Parliament, Dear David Sassoli
Hon. Mr President of the European Parliament, Dear David Sassoli, Since March, when the outbreak of COVID-19 intensified in Europe, the functioning of the European Parliament (EP) has changed dramatically, due to the sanitary measures applied. We understand the inevitability of the contingency plan, taking into account the need to prevent infection and the spread of the virus and to protect the health and lives of people. Six months later, the functioning of the EP is gradually returning to normal. However, there are services whose unavailability seriously impairs parliamentary work, namely the interpretation service. The European Union (EU) has 24 official languages and all deserve the same respect and treatment. We recognize that the number of languages available in committee meeting rooms has been increasing, but even so, more than half of the languages still have no interpretation. Multilingualism is a right enshrined in the Treaties that allows Members to express themselves in their own language. Now, that is not happening and we are concerned that the situation will continue, even taking into account the expected workflow in the commissions after these atypical six months. In this sense, we appeal, once again, to you, the President of the EP for the application of the letter and the spirit of the principle of multilingualism, finding solutions that respect this principle and that allow the use of any of the 24 official languages of the EU. The expression of each deputy in her/his own language is a priority so that there can be conditions to fully exercise the mandate for which she/he was elected and a condition of respect for the citizens who elected her/him.
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Members of the European Parliament Mr Janusz
Members of the European Parliament Mr Janusz Wojciechowski Commissioner for Agriculture European Commission Rue de la Loi 200 B-1049 Bruxelles Mr Virginijus Sinkevičius Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries European Commission Rue de la Loi 200 B-1049 Bruxelles Brussels, 11 November 2020 Subject: Deforestation and illegal logging of Romania’s primary forests Dear Commissioners, we, the undersigned Members of the European Parliament, are addressing you to express our deep concerns about massive violations of the protection of Natura 2000 areas, primary and ancient forests and UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Romania. In Romania, deforestation caused by illegal logging is continuing on an alarming scale. It threatens the last and irreplaceable primary forests in the EU, which are more crucial than ever in the fight against climate change and for the preservation of biodiversity. According to expert estimates, up to two thirds of the EU’s remaining primary forests are located in Romania. Largely untouched areas in the Romanian Carpathian Mountains and the Făgăraș Mountains have survived until today – a European if not global heritage of invaluable ecological value. Some of these forests are also included in the List of World Heritage Sites UNESCO.1 Now, ruthless greed and large-scale corruption are seriously endangering these European natural treasures and the time for protective measures is running out. If no immediate action is taken, the still existing forests will soon be lost forever. Since the launch of the European Commission’s infringement procedure against Romania on 12 February 2020 for failing to establish effective measures against illegal logging2, thousands more hectares were destroyed.
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Supported Amendments
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European Alliance for a Green Recovery
Launch of the European alliance for a Green Recovery Press Release Under embargo until 14/04 7:00am At the initiative of Pascal Canfin, Chair of the Environment Committee at the European Parliament, 180 political decision-makers, business leaders, trade unions, NGOs, and think tanks have come together to form a European alliance for a Green Recovery. In the face of the coronavirus crisis, the biggest challenge Europe has faced in peacetime, with devastating consequences and a shock to the economy tougher than the 2008 crisis, Ministers from 11 countries, 79 cross-party MEPs from 17 Member States, 37 CEOs, 28 business associations representing 10 different sectors, trade union confederation representing members from 90 national trade union organisations and 10 trade union federations, 7 NGOs and 6 think tanks, have committed to working together to create, support and implement solutions to prepare our economies for the world of tomorrow. This first pan-European call for mobilisation on post-crisis green investment packages will work to build the recovery and transformation plans which enshrine the fight against climate change and biodiversity as a key pillar of the economic strategy. Sharing the belief that the economic recovery will only come with massive investments to protect and create jobs and to support all companies, regions and sectors that have suffered from the economy coming to a sudden halt, the alliance commits to contribute to the post-crisis investment decisions needed to reboot and reboost our economy. Covid-19 will not make climate change and nature degradation go away. The fight against this crisis will not be won without a solid economic response.
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Albulena HAXHIU Minister of Justice, Government of Kosovo
Albulena HAXHIU Minister of Justice, Government of Kosovo Cc: Isuf Jahmurataj Chair, Working group for reviewing the draft Civil Code Brussels, 15 June 2021 Subject: Civil Code of Kosovo and the inclusion of same-sex partnerships Dear Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, As Members of the LGBTI Intergroup in the European Parliament, a cross-party grouping of Members of the European Parliament working on equality for LGBTI people, we contact you today to send a strong message of support for the inclusion of same-sex partnerships in the Civil Code of Kosovo. We are aware that, with the support of the European Commission, the government of Kosovo has been working and developing its first ever Civil Code. This presents a golden opportunity for affording legal protection to LGBTI persons, namely in the context of the regulation of their relationships. In its official position on Kosovo, adopted 25 March 2021 by a majority, the European Parliament referred specifically to LGBTI rights and to same-sex partnerships, welcoming the government’s work on the matter and calling for specific measures: 54. Welcomes the progress on the protection of LGBTI rights at the legislative and policy level; […] calls on the government to include same-sex partnerships in the draft Civil Code, as guaranteed by the country’s Constitution;1 It therefore comes as a surprise that, in the final Draft Civil Code, 1) marriage is defined as a legally registered union between spouses of different sexes, in contradiction of the letter and principles of the Constitution, and that 2) same-sex partnerships are not regulated, as per below: CHAPTER II – MARRIAGE | Sub-chapter I – Meaning of Marriage Article 1138 - Marriage 1.
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Urgent Call for Action: Making Use of the Conference on the Future of Europe for Reforming Or Abolishing the EURATOM Treaty
Urgent call for action: Making use of the Conference on the Future of Europe for reforming or abolishing the EURATOM Treaty Brussels, 6 October 2020 Dear Mrs. President of the EU Commission von der Leyen, Dear Mr. President of the European Council Michel, In your application speech for your current position held on 16 July 2019, you have passionately advocated a united, fair and equal Europe that is developing strong and ambitious solutions to the climate crisis. We welcome the commitment and energy you are putting into the implementation of the Green Deal. In order to achieve a carbon-neutral European Union until 2050 with a clean, resource efficient and competitive economy, you are focusing on fair and inclusive transitions for everyone. One of the main European Treaties, the EURATOM-Treaty, diametrically opposes your efforts. On 25 March 1957, the treaty for establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) was signed in Rome - at the same time as the treaty establishing the European Economic Community (EEC). The "Roman Treaties" are the foundation of today's European Union. While the EEC-Treaty has been reformed several times (EEC - EC - TFEU-Treaty), the EURATOM-Treaty has remained unchanged since 1957. Its main aim is the development of a powerful European nuclear industry. Nuclear energy "represents an essential resource for the development and invigoration of industry and will permit the advancement of the cause of peace" - up to this day. This also applies to 14 member states that have never operated nuclear power plants or that have decided to phase out nuclear energy as well as to those that reject the technology constitutionally.
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Dear President of the European Parliament, Dear President of The
Dear President of the European Parliament, Dear President of the European Council, Dear President of the European Commission and Dear President of the French Republic, We all have a responsibility for the shared future of Europe. In this time of crisis, it is high time to re-evaluate some of the rules we have upheld till now and focus on the most important aspects of the European project, which will help us move forward. An unprecedented health crisis is currently affecting millions of people in Europe and tragically taking thousands of lives. However, this is not the end. The economic crisis will crush the hopes and dreams of generations of Europeans. We sincerely hope that we will all do whatever is in our power not to leave anyone behind. We firmly believe that the European Parliament needs to take on its responsibility and share the burden since it is the highest European directly elected body. We need to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. If we want the people to have confidence and trust in the European project, we need to show them that we are also ready to make concessions. Therefore, we would like to ask you to do everything in your power to change the treaties in order to have just a single seat of the Parliament in Brussels. This call has again gained a large majority of support in the 2018 Parliament discharge resolution adopted on 13 May 2020 and shall now be taken into account and acted upon. The financial and environmental costs of moving the Parliament are, especially in these times of digitally connected Europe, extremely high and hard to justify.
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Brussels, 18Th September 2020 UNESCO Intergovernmental
Brussels, 18th September 2020 UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Place de Fontenoy 7 75007 Paris FRANCE Subject: Opposition to the classification of Bullfighting as Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding Dear Director-General of UNESCO, Ms. Audrey Azoulay, It came to our attention that an application to consider bullfighting as part of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding was submitted by the International Tauromaquia (Bullfighting) Association on 7 June 2020. In accordance with the provisions of the 2003 Convention, the application will most likely be discussed by the Bureau of the Intergovernmental Committee at its meeting in October this year. We recognize and fully support UNESCO’s vital mission of seeking to build peace through international cooperation in Education, the Sciences and Culture. Nevertheless, just like expressed in UNESCO’s mandate, we also agree that peace must be built upon the intellectual and moral solidarity of humanity. It is our view that intellectual and moral solidary of humanity necessarily encompasses solidarity towards all living beings. Bullfighting is an activity that depicts and glorifies abuse, violence and cruelty towards animals for the sake of the entertainment of a limited number of individuals around the globe. In addition to the brutality experienced by the animals involved, bullfighting also has serious mental repercussions on those of young age that are habituated to witness it and, consequently, not educated with the desirable ideals of peace and kindness towards all living beings. This way, from our perspective, bullfighting has no place in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.
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Question for Written Answer
Question for written answer E-001742/2021 to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Rule 138 Brando Benifei (S&D), Patrizia Toia (S&D), Giuliano Pisapia (S&D), Bettina Vollath (S&D), Margarida Marques (S&D), Evelyn Regner (S&D), Andreas Schieder (S&D), Domènec Ruiz Devesa (S&D), Milan Brglez (S&D), Pierfrancesco Majorino (S&D), Petar Vitanov (S&D) Subject: The detention of Ahmed Samir Abdelhay Ali in Egypt Ahmed Samir Abdelhay Ali, a student at the Central European University in Austria, has been arbitrarily detained in Cairo, Egypt by the Egyptian Security Forces since 1 February 2021, after he returned to Egypt to spend the holidays with his family. Mr Samir, a researcher into the history of family planning in Egypt and an advocate of safe and legal access to healthcare and women’s reproductive rights, has been charged by the Supreme State Security Prosecution with joining and funding a terrorist organisation and deliberately spreading false news. Mr Samir is currently being held in solitary confinement and is being denied contact with his family and lawyers, access to warm clothing and acceptable living conditions. He has testified to being a victim of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment by national security forces. His case is reminiscent of those of Patrick George Zaki, Walid al-Shobaki and Giulio Regeni. 1. Is the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy aware of this latest worrying case? 2. Will he raise this issue with the Egyptian authorities as a matter of urgency and call for Mr Samir’s immediate release and for the withdrawal of all charges against him? PE691.730v01-00.
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