EU Decoded

More than 300.000 people crossed European borders illegally in 2022.  

Member States' reception capacities are at their limits, and serious action is needed.  

In our latest episode, we discussed the European migration crisis and the benefits of the newly adopted Pact on Migration and Asylum. We also discussed the grim reality of migrant smuggling.  

With MEPs Tomas Tobé, Lena Düpont, Paulo Rangel, Rasa Juknevičienė, Henna Virkkunen and Dr Lars Gerdes, Frontex Deputy Executive Director for Return and Operations. 

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We are only a few days away from the beginning of the COP28 in Dubai where the EU arrives leading the fight against climate change with over 30 laws that aim pushing us closer to achieving the Paris Agreement goals.

But as it was said many times before, Europe can't do it all on its own. We need others to step up, mainly USA, India and China.

Tune in to our latest episode with MEPs Lidia Pereira and Peter Liese, and EU's Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra.

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Almost 800 young people from all corners of Europe gathered in Brussels for EPP Group Youth Week. They attended topical workshops with experts and debated with MEPs and European Commissioners. They eventually suggested their own campaign on a topic they found crucial at the EU level.   

We spent some time with them and asked them what they see as the most significant issues in the EU. We also asked what changes they would like to see.   

From fantastic ideas about the future to a marriage proposal in the Hemicycle of the European Parliament - we've seen it all this week.   

Tune in to our latest episode and hear what the younger generations want from the EU.   

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Irregular entries into the European Union rose about 20% in the first eight months of this year to over 230.000. Within that number the crossings across the central Mediterranean nearly doubled. The UN International Organization for migration lists 2800 dead or missing, mostly in the central Mediterranean so far this year.

The situation is, obviously, very serious and we need a solution.

In our latest episode we talked to MEPs Lena Dupont and Jeroen Lenaers about the EU Migration and Asylum Pact.

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How can we make the EU function better? How can we make sure it will be able to take action more decisively on the challenges we face today? Is adapting the Treaties the answer? In which way?

In our latest episode we talked to MEP Sven Simon of European Parliament's Committee on Constitutional Affairs on these topics.

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The European Union needs 10 billion euros more in emergency spending for Europe's recovery from the pandemic, strategic autonomy, the Ukraine war, migration and natural disasters, say EPP Group MEPs in this episode.

The funding is to expand on the European Commission's nearly 66 billion-euro proposed top-up of the EU's budget through 2027. Recent fires, floods, a migration crisis have compounded the EU's challenges, and the additional support for Ukraine is needed before existing funding runs out at the end of the year.

The EU27 leaders in the European Council will need to approve the extra funding, which MEP Jan Olbrycht of Poland calls "ambitious" and "realistic".

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With close links to Putin’s war machine, Russian and Belarusian athletes should be barred from the Paris Olympics next year, say former star athletes and EPP Group MEPs.  

In this podcast episode, we talk to them at a roundtable event in the European Parliament. They say that while Russia’s military is killing thousands of Ukrainians – including hundreds of athletes - it is unacceptable for Russian and Belarusians linked to that army to compete in the Games. 

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Russia's invasion of Ukraine is speeding up what the EU has been trying to do for a long time: building a common defence.  

In this episode, MEPs Sara Skyttedal and Michael Gahler discuss how the EU is buying and building more weapons together to arm Ukraine, with a programme they negotiated in the European Parliament called EDIRPA – European Defence Industry through Common Procurement Act. 

The aim is to increase interoperability, boost innovation and jobs in Europe and save money through economies of scale.   

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Lithium, graphite, cobalt, and nickel are just a few from the long list of Critical Raw Materials essential to today's technology and industry.

They are needed for batteries, robotics, solar and wind power.

According to current assessments, by 2040, we will need six times more of these minerals than today.

But Europe doesn't have many of them; we depend on getting them elsewhere.

So where do we get them? And how?

In this episode, we talk to MEPs Hildegard Bentele and Tom Berendsen regarding the upcoming EU strategy on this subject. We also discuss the Critical Raw Materials Act.

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25 years of intercultural and interreligious dialogue in the EPP Group. That's what this episode is all about, marking a quarter century of bringing Europe's faiths together. As we'll hear from religious leaders and MEPs, it's helped in the healing after the Balkan wars, after terror attacks, and in shaping the Future of Europe.

We talked to our MEPs as well as leaders of different religious communities.

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