Last week, between 16 and 19 July, the first plenary session of the newly elected European Parliament took place in Strasbourg. The Parliament re-elected Ursula von der Leyen as the European Commission President for the next five years with a comfortable majority. It re-elected its President, Roberta Metsola (EPP, Malta) with an overwhelming cross-party majority of 562 votes in favour, and chose to (re-)appoint its Vice-Presidents, including five Socialists and Democrats (S&D) Vice-Presidents (VPs), and three European People’s Party VPs. The first plenary officially kickstarted the new legislative mandate that will last for the next 5 years, until 2029. New groups and new strength The new Parliament is composed of 720 seats, which is a slight increase of 15 seats compared to the previous one (after Brexit), in order to…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. VON DER LEYEN'S NEW COMMISSION GETS THROUGH AMID DEEP DIVISIONS Ursula von der Leyen's new Commission squeaked through the European Parliament on Wednesday with 370 votes in favour, 282 against and 36 abstentions. Behind the numbers lies a deeply fractured political landscape, with tensions simmering across party lines and national delegations. The centre-right European People's Party (EPP) almost unanimously supported the Commission, joined by the far-right European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), including Italy's Brothers of Italy and the Flemish NVA, a surprising turnaround for the ECR who had previously opposed von der Leyen's second term but backed the team to ensure right-wing leadership in Brussels. However, the road to approval was far from smooth. The Socialists and Democrats (S&D) remained split…

On 25 October, the European Economic and Social Committee adopted a report by Krzysztof Balon on the transparency and integrity of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) ratings, on which Better Europe’s senior consultant Yiorgos Vassalos acted as advisor to the rapporteur. In the report, the EESC recommends the adoption of minimum quality requirements for ESG ratings, such as the mandatory inclusion of the assessment of company impact on people and the environment (double materiality). It also proposes reinforcing the provisions against conflicts of interest, improved transparency by moving more information on the methodology of ratings to the public domain, and a lot more. The full EESC opinion was adopted in plenary with 166 votes in favour, 2 against, and 2 abstentions, and several Members of the European Parliament have integrated…

Just one day ahead of the European Parliament's deadline for amendments, the European Economic and Social Committee adopted a report from Kestutis Kupsys on the Commission's Retail Investment Strategy, on which Better Europe's director Joost Mulder acted as advisor to the rapporteur. In the report, the EESC recommends basic products to be extended to provide a benchmark for product manufacturers to do better; to increase training requirements for people selling financial products who often themselves do not fully understand the complex products they are selling, including on sustainability matters; to measure and disclose the actual sustainability impact of investments; to always offer a sustainable product in investment advice situations, with a default for the sustainable option, and much more. The full EESC opinion was adopted in plenary with 209 votes…

The current European Parliament (2019-2024) is coming back to work after its last summer recess, in view of a very busy autumn into the Brussels bubble. With the official date of the last plenary session now set for 22-25 April 2024, the final countdown before the 2024 elections, which will bring forward a brand-new European Parliament, has officially begun. Summer developments The two major European political parties, the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) and the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), show two different trends according to the July polls. The EPP continues to lose another 4 seats compared to earlier polls, bringing it down to 157 seats, and S&D recovers a bit, to 143 seats. The race for third place goes on as the liberal Renew Europe group…

The March EU Academy ‘Advocating for the public good: gearing up for the 2020 German Council Presidency’ gathered eighteen participants working on a variety of policy areas, such as climate, sustainable development, human rights and agriculture with varying levels of experience. Led by Marc-Olivier Herman and Joost Mulder, the training combined the essentials of EU decision-making, insights from Council representatives and key steps of an advocacy strategy in a uniquely interactive format. Exploring the role of the Council was undoubtedly a breath of fresh air as its importance in EU advocacy often gets overlooked. However, what made the training really stand out for me was that it went beyond facts and theory. Not only did it offer unique insights into the essentials on ‘when’, ‘how’ and ‘who’ in advocacy but…

On the 10th of March, together with other participants from like-minded organisations, I was warmly welcomed by Marc, Lucy and Joost at Holland House to gear up for the 2020 German Council Presidency for what would be an interactive and intensive two-day training. Although I have some experience in EU advocacy, I never studied the EU institutions during my education. I lacked concrete insight into the different institutions and had little knowledge on the interactions between the Commission, Parliament and Council. Hence, I was happy to learn that the first half day of the course introduced us to this ‘golden triangle’ and the EU policy cycle. Marc and Joost took us on a journey to explore the EU ‘tube map’ and provided us with all the essentials of EU policy-making…

A diverse and eager group attended EUChanger’s first training in Brussels on 21 June 2019. Focussing on influencing for the public good in the post-election context, the first EU Academy attracted 20 participants active in a wide range of policy areas including: climate, energy, international development, corporate governance, sustainable finance, tax, and human rights. It was a packed day with expert input from Vote Watch Europe on the outcome of the May European elections, a dynamic training on EU influencing essentials drawing on the experience of EUChanger’s Marc-Olivier Herman and Better Europe’s Joost Mulder, a lunch debate with advisors of various EP political groups and a group simulation on a current legislative file. The feedback we received from many participants shows just how important this type of training is for…