The European Left welcomed the European citizens’ initiative «no profit on pandemic» and is committed to actively supporting this crucial campaign to restore the right to safe access to cure and treatment of European citizens. The right to healthcare and cure will be restored only through a collective effort to build a more democratic Europe; only if the future of the healthcare system will return into the hands of the people, and not of big pharma. 

Today, the plenary of the European Parliament will agree on stricter rules for the export of dual-use goods, which can be used for both civilian and military ends. Up until now, export restrictions applied to aerospace items, navigation instruments or trucks. From now on, these rules will also apply to EU produced cyber-surveillance technologies, which demonstrably have been abused by authoritarian regimes to spy on opposition movements; for instance, during the Arab Spring, in Turkey or China or as recently in Myanmar.

During this plenary session, the European Parliament will approve the budget guidelines for the second year of the multi-annual financial framework (MFF) 2021-2027. The 2022 budget, negotiated with the input of shadow rapporteur Victor Negrescu MEP, includes important progressive achievements, among which are gender and climate mainstreaming, and measures to support SMEs, the digital transition, culture and education, mobility, humanitarian aid and migration.

On Wednesday 24 March, Pascal Bolo, President, and Valeria Ronzitti, General Secretary, represented SGI Europe at the Tripartite Social Summit, with the participation of Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, Charles Michel, President of the European Council, and António Costa, Portuguese Prime Minister.