S&D Plenary Bulletin

Preparation of the European Council of 19-20 December Debate on: Wednesday, 18 December

It’s not by chance that Ukraine has been my first official visit as the re-elected president of the S&D Group, and I want to send a strong message of full support to the Ukrainians. We will do whatever it takes in order for Ukraine to win this war. Ahead of the European Council, I will express the support of the Progressives to endorse the 15th package of sanctions against Russia since the beginning of the brutal aggression against Ukraine and insist on the need to dedicate the €200 billion of frozen Russian state assets to the armament and reconstruction of Ukraine. At the same time, I would like to reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the people of Ukraine and our support to their country on the reforms needed to join the EU, and to prepare the EU for the enlargement.

GARCÍA PÉREZ Iratxe | President of the S&D Group

Mis- and disinformation on social media platforms, such as X and TikTok, and related risks to the integrity of elections in Europe

What happened in Romania with the crucial role played by TikTok in the victory of the pro-Russian candidate Calin Georgescu, and the following invalidation of the first round of votes, has left the country in one of its worst political crises in decades. This year, we also saw foreign interference in elections in France, the Netherlands and Italy. This is a warning bell for us; this could happen in any EU country if we do not act quickly against algorithmic influence.

The Digital Services Act (DSA) is the cornerstone to protect us against misinformation, but how can we actually anticipate disinformation

campaigns during electoral processes? How can we protect freedom of speech while preserving our democracies? We hope that the new

Commission will ensure an enforcement of the DSA that addresses all these challenges.

AGIUS SALIBA Alex | Vice-president of the S&D Group for communication, campaigns and

digital agenda

Toppling of the Syrian regime, its geopolitical implications and the humanitarian situation

in the region

After thirteen years of devastating war, the fall of Assad’s dictatorship marks a moment of immense relief and hope for the Syrian people. The EU must ensure a peaceful and inclusive transition aligned with the United Nations’ Security Council Resolution 2254. Syrians deserve to rebuild their lives in peace, progress, and dignity and not to replace one tyrant for another. This requires dialogue, justice and reconciliation, ensuring that all communities and national and religious minorities, such as the Kurds, have a voice in shaping Syria’s democratic future.

MANIATIS Yannis | Vice-president of the S&D Group for foreign affairs, security and defence,

international energy security and cooperation

Election of the European Ombudsman

Next week, the members of the European Parliament will be electing the new European Ombudsman, a crucial actor in improving the quality of the European institutions for citizens in a transparent way. We expect the future watchdog to deliver concrete results on issues that are of key importance for our democracies, such as ensuring public access to EU documents for all, guaranteeing transparency in administrative and legislative procedures in EU institutions, and pointing out the non-transposition of crucial EU laws by national governments, including those affecting the rights of persons with disabilities. Europeans deserve nothing less. The S&D Group will meet in Strasbourg to discuss the candidates and will strive to keep working with the newly elected Ombudsman over the next five years to make the EU more open and accessible to all EU citizens.

GÓMEZ LÓPEZ Sandra | S&D spokesperson in the European Parliament’s committee on

petitions

Crackdown on peaceful pro-European demonstrators in Georgia

The Georgian government’s suspension of EU membership talks is a troubling setback for democracy, defying the will of its people who courageously protest despite unacceptable state violence. The European Parliament condemned this violent crackdown and called for rerunning parliamentary elections – EU candidate countries must uphold human rights and democratic standards. During a cross-party visit to Georgia last Thursday, I met with President Zourabichvili, opposition parties, civil society and independent media. They shed light on the situation following the rigged elections and the brutal repression against citizens. We expressed our solidarity with the Georgian people defending their democracy and their European future.

CREMER Tobias | S&D negotiator on the European Parliament's report on Georgia

Press conference with Sakharov Prize finalists – Tuesday 17 December

We believe that peace is possible and this is why the Socialist and Democrats in the European Parliament will continue supporting ‘Women wage peace’ and ‘Women of the sun’, our finalists for the Sakharov prize 2024. For over a decade, these two NGOs from Israel and Palestine have been led by mothers, daughters and sisters who have being marching together and urging political leaders to negotiate lasting peace.

On December 17, we will participate in a press conference and a panel discussion with them to shed light on peacebuilding activities and highlight the transformative role that women and civil society can have in this regard.

RIDEL Chloé | S&D member of the European Parliament's subcommittee on human rights

REUTEN Thijs | S&D member of the European Parliament's committee on foreign affairs

S&D Group press conference

GARCÍA PÉREZ Iratxe, President

17/12/2024, 10:00 - 10:30

Daphne Caruana Galizia room - Strasbourg, Weiss N-1/201 & online at socialistsanddemocrats.eu