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Markus Grabitz

Markus Grabitz Published: September 19th, 2024

European Parliament: Competences of the Vice-Presidents have been determined

Parliament President Roberta Metsola has assigned the 14 Vice-Presidents and five Quaestors of the European Parliament their areas of responsibility. Two German MEPs are members of the Bureau:Sabine Verheyen (CDU), who received the most votes in her election as Vice-President of Parliament, will be responsible for the working areas in the Presidium:Katarina Barley (SPD), who […]

Markus Grabitz Published: September 18th, 2024

Anti-cancer plan: Commission wants more non-smoking zones

The EU Commission is calling for more smoke-free zones to protect people from passive smoking and reduce the number of cancer deaths. “Every year, 700,000 people in the EU lose their lives due to tobacco consumption, including tens of thousands due to passive smoking”, said outgoing Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides. “In a European Health Union, […]

Markus Grabitz Published: September 17th, 2024

One thing is certain: Ursula von der Leyen will meet with the parliamentary group leaders today at 9 a.m. to inform them about the formation status of the Von der Leyen Commission II. How far have her plans progressed? Who will be her deputies, who will have a prominent position among the commissioners? Which portfolios […]

Markus Grabitz Published: September 17th, 2024

European Parliament: administration to become more effective

The Bureau of the European Parliament, in which Parliament President Roberta Metsola and the 14 Vice-Presidents are represented, is negotiating a reform of the Parliament’s administration. The Directorate-General for Internal Policies (DG IPOL) is to be split into four Directorates-General (DGs) with thematic responsibilities.The new DGs are to be operational in January. The current Directorate […]

Markus Grabitz Published: September 15th, 2024

CO2 fleet limits: industry wants suspension by state of emergency

European car manufacturers want to call on the EU Commission to either postpone the CO2 fleet regulation targets for passenger cars for 2025 by two years or make serious adjustments. Renault CEO Luca de Meo, currently ACEA President, wants the EU umbrella organization ACEA to have the Commission’s initiative approved by the Executive Committee on […]

Markus Grabitz Published: September 13th, 2024

Government budget crisis hits German School in Brussels

The budget woes of the Berlin traffic light have consequences for the German School in Brussels. The international school with excellence status is attended by many children of EU diplomats and Members of Parliament. On Wednesday, an email arrived in parents’ inboxes that began like this: “The German government’s budget has been preoccupying politicians, the […]

Markus Grabitz Published: September 12th, 2024

EGC ruling: Whistleblowers in the European Parliament should have been protected

The European Parliament must pay compensation of €10,000 to a former parliamentary assistant (APA). This ruling has now been published by the European General Court (EGC). The APA worked for an MEP from August 2019 to February 2022. After two years of employment, he reported her to the Parliament’s administration for harassment and financial irregularities […]

Markus Grabitz Published: September 12th, 2024

It takes longer. The schedule for the confirmation hearings for the future Commissioners can no longer be adhered to. They were supposed to take place in the parliamentary group week of Oct. 14 and be completed on Friday of the same week. However, as Ursula von der Leyen will only present the portfolios and structure […]

Markus Grabitz Published: September 11th, 2024

Ursula von der Leyen will not make her proposal for the portfolios and structure of her new Commission public today, but only next Tuesday at 9 a.m. in Strasbourg. The reason for the delay is probably of a technical nature: The Slovenian parliament will only formulate its assessment of the candidate Marta Kos, who was […]

Markus Grabitz Published: September 11th, 2024

‘We need a reform of the GHG quota’

Germany wants to be climate-neutral by 2045. The automotive industry is firmly behind this goal. We are convinced that innovation and investment are key to achieving this goal and are therefore investing around €280 billion in research and development between 2024 and 2028 alone. We need every technology to achieve the climate targets we have […]