European Parliament

Did you know that at least 30% of content on streaming platforms in the EU must be EU-made? 🇪🇺   This law protects Europe's cultural diversity and film industry, but the 🇺🇸 US administration sees it as a trade barrier.    The EU must not back down on protecting its film and TV! Last week, Parliament members called on the EU to protect Europe’s film and TV industry in trade talks with the US administration. They insist that the rules are there to protect the EU’s cultural diversity and creative competitivity.   Nine of the 10 top television and video on-demand groups in Europe are owned by US companies, while US-made films accounted for 69% of cinema admissions in Europe in 2023.   Read more: https://lnkd.in/e6-_Pehh

🔄 It’s time to turn things around! Women should have the same opportunities as men to let their talents shine.  Because women's full participation in the workforce and public life is not only a matter of fairness - it also brings economic and social benefits for the whole society. In 2025, the European Gender Equality Week will focus on talent ↓ 

Lukashenka is NOT Belarus. Those fighting his regime deserve the EU's full support. There is a lot of evidence showing that opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya won Belarus’ 2020 elections, but victory was illegally taken away by Lukashenka's regime. Lukashenka continues to repress the Belarusian people, help Russia wage war on Ukraine and undermine European security. The EU must fully support Belarus’ democratic forces and independent media. It must impose stronger sanctions on those responsible for repression and for helping Russia’s war effort, MEPs say in a resolution. They also call for restrictions on Russian and Belarusian diplomats' movement in the Schengen area and more action to rid the EU of spy networks. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e6kPqaWW

Political polarisation and state repression have no place in Serbia.   MEPs hold the Serbian leadership responsible for the escalating repression and weakening of democracy, one year after the tragedy in Novi Sad. They also demand that those responsible for the collapse of the railway canopy are held to account.   Parliament has adopted a resolution on the ongoing situation in Serbia.    It states that: 🔹Students and citizens should have the right to protest peacefully 🔹Elections in Serbia should be free, fair, and unrestricted 🔹An EU fact-finding mission should be sent to Serbia to assess the situation on the ground 🔹Serbia should be supported in its bid to join the EU   Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eumQi6W2

How does the EU invest its money? How do we improve road safety? Parliament tackled these questions, announced the laureates of the Sakharov Prize and welcomed Belarusian opposition leaders in a packed, second October plenary.

Your safety on the road matters!   Texting, speeding, and drink driving are still the 3 biggest killers on EU roads, with almost 20,000 victims in 2024. The time for change is now.   Members of the European Parliament have backed new driving licence rules that aim to reduce accidents and save lives. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dsZC4rAy

⏰  Don't forget - clocks go back tonight! Last week, MEPs questioned the Commission and Council about what is stopping them from responding to the plea of citizens to end Europe’s seasonal clock adjustments. In March 2019 the European Parliament voted to end the practice of adjusting clocks by an hour in spring and autumn. This followed the results of a public consultation in which 4.6 million participated and 84% of respondents were in favour of ending the practice. However, a legislative proposal to end the practice of seasonal time change was not met by the same ambition in the EU Council, which after six years of consideration has not responded with a joint position of its own. The current EU directive regulating seasonal time changes requires EU countries to switch to summertime on the last Sunday of March and back to standard time on the last Sunday of October. What do you think of this initiative? Read more about the European Parliament's position: https://lnkd.in/e5YZQPNG  

Reporters who exposed how Russia evades oil sanctions won the Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism. Follow the Money news outlet in collaboration with media across Europe exposed the hidden financial networks enabling Russia’s sanction-evading oil trade. 🏆 The prize, supported by the European Parliament, rewards outstanding journalism that defends the core values of the European Union, such as human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. 🕊️ It is named in honour of the Maltese investigative journalist and blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was assassinated eight years ago in October 2017. Read more: https://lnkd.in/efPcW5m5 Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/eRmvKbsb

80 years since the UN Charter entered into force, we celebrate #UNDay.   Democracy, multilingualism, debate, and international cooperation are at the core of both the European Parliament and the United Nations.   They are committed to bringing diverse nations together to create a better world.   In the midst of global challenges, the EU and UN will be key to building a more just and sustainable future.   Here's to many more years of 🇪🇺🤝🇺🇳 cooperation!

"I managed to survive five years in solitary confinement in the hell of the Belarusian Gulag. Some of those I met there were not as lucky. We’ve been losing the best of our people."   These are the words of Belarusian opposition leader Sergey Tihanovski. Together with his wife and opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya he addressed the European Parliament in Strasbourg with an important message: Europe should become the main partner to support Belarus move toward democracy.   Sergey Tihanovski ran as presidential candidate in 2020 but was arrested and sentenced to 18 years in prison. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya entered the presidential race in her husband’s place and ran against Aliaksandr Lukashenka, who was declared winner of the fraudulent 2020 elections.    In October 2020, the European Parliament affirmed that Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya was president-elect in the eyes of the Belarusian people and that her Coordination Council was the legitimate representative of the people of Belarus.   Referring to the story of her husband, his imprisonment and release, calling for sustained international pressure on Belarus to free over 1,300 political prisoners, Tsikhanouskaya said: “Sanctions do work, no matter what the regime’s apologists say”.   Tihanovski was pardoned from jail this June and continues to fight for a free Belarus.   Find more: https://lnkd.in/enXha7By