S&D Group: Iratxe García Pérez on the launch of the S&D Africa Week 2022:

“The pandemic may have bent all of us but certainly not broken the political and strategic engagement the Socialists and Democrats have been dedicating to Africa for decades now in the European Parliament. Covid-19 will go down in history for having drastically changed billions of people’s lives and increasing inequality and poverty across the world. This is particularly true in all African countries, and while the global economic recovery is on its way in Europe as elsewhere, in Africa this is undermined by the dramatic lack of vaccines. G20 countries have received 15 times more Covid-19 vaccine doses per capita than sub-Saharan African countries. This is not acceptable. For the S&D Group, no one is safe until everyone is safe. Patent waivers is the only way forward to gear up production and vaccination in Africa. „

Coming up

Our Group’s fifth edition of the Africa Week kicked off this Thursday, with a trans-continental debate live from the European Parliament. Udo Bullmann, Carlos Zorrinho and Marie Arena answered questions from journalists and civil society from both continents. The debate continues next week, on 8 and 9 February, with several workshops and cultural events scheduled. Take a look at the programme and save the date! Live streaming at www.socialistsanddemocrats.eu/

This week the European Parliament organised the ‘Afghan Women Days’. Special guests were our Sakharov Prize nominees, a collective of women in Afghanistan fighting for their rights under the Taliban regime. Take a look at our video on the topic.

Committee work continues next week. On Monday, members in the committee on civil liberties (LIBE) will hold an exchange of views on the still extremely worrying situation of refugees and migrants at the Polish – Belarusian border. Polish authorities have started building a wall along the border, the aim being to prevent asylum seekers from entering the country, and the government is still denying journalists access to the area.

Also on Monday, the committee on economic affairs (ECON) will hold a vote on the latest report on the European Semester.

On Wednesday, Commissioner Margrethe Vestager is expected to present the European Chips Act. As promised by the president of the EU Commission, this is intended to make the EU more self-sufficient in the production of microchips in order to put less pressure on the supply chain and reduce our dependency on Asian production. Our members will keep an eye on the proposal. Follow us for reactions.

Of course, this is also the time to start preparing files for the upcoming plenary session. Our Group Bureau has been elected and responsibilities shared. Take a look at our new vice-presidents here.

Starting this week, our Group is also on TikTok. Check us out and let us know if we’re doing it right.

And, don’t forget to stay updated on all our initiatives and reactions on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify!

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