As 2022 draws to a close, here’s what some MPs hope to achieve next year
The past year has been one of the most intense in EU history, with lawmakers grappling with the return of war to the continent, the energy and cost of living crises as well as shocking corruption scandal in Brussels.
Euronews spoke to MEPs at their final plenary of the year in Strasbourg to discuss highlights of the year and what they hope the bloc will move forward in 2023.
For Belgian MEP Philippe Lamberts, co-president of the Verts/ALE group, “the biggest fight was to prevent the Green Deal, the European Green Deal and the Fit for 55 (from being) derailed”.
He added that a “serious concern” for the group is that there are efforts to weaken the Green Deal, which aims to make the EU carbon neutral by mid-century.
The environment is also high on the agenda of Irish MEP Luke Ming Flanagan (The Left), in particular the Nature Restoration Directive and its link to food security and food sovereignty.
The directive was proposed by the Commission in June and aims to restore ecosystems, habitats and species in land and sea areas of the EU in order to strengthen nature’s resilience and meet the EU’s climate objectives. EU.
The European Parliament and the Council must now negotiate and approve the bill.
Radosław Sikorski, Polish EPP MEP, places the energy crisis and defense among his two priorities for 2023.
“We now have to deal with it (the energy crisis) both because it is about protecting our planet’s climate, but also because it is a matter of security. We cannot depend on of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, and we may not be blackmailed by an authoritarian state like that.
“So I will persevere in trying to persuade this House and the other EU institutions, indeed the Member States, that it is high time to take European defense seriously,” he added.
Watch our report in the video player above.