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Markus Grabitz

Markus Grabitz Published: February 2nd, 2024

Postponement of the reorganization of committees in the European Parliament

The planned reorganization of committees in the European Parliament will not be finalized during this legislative term. Instead, the reform of committee work in the European Parliament is expected to be decided upon before the European elections and will then apply to the next Parliament.According to information available to Table.Media, this decision was made by […]

Markus Grabitz Published: February 2nd, 2024

Political agreement reached on emergency instrument for the single market

Member states have 18 months to implement the rules of the Single Market Emergency Instrument (SMEI). This is provided for in the political agreement between Parliament and Council. The emergency instrument SMEI will be renamed the Internal Market Emergency and Resilience Act (IMERA) after implementation, as demanded by Parliament.It aims to draw lessons from the […]

Markus Grabitz Published: January 31st, 2024

Markus Pieper – an experienced MEP becomes SME representative of the Commission

Not every day, a Member of Parliament’s call for a new position is heard. Even rarer is when they actually receive that position. Markus Pieper, the Member of the European Parliament (CDU) from northern Münsterland (Lotte), has achieved this feat. After two decades of negotiating many important dossiers (most recently the Renewable Energy Directive, RED) […]

Markus Grabitz Published: January 31st, 2024

Agriculture: set-aside obligation to remain suspended

The regulations for a minimum proportion of fallow land on arable land are to remain suspended. This has been announced by the Commission. It is not yet clear what the proposal will look like. The text is due on Thursday. According to reports, it is not only the renewed suspension of the four percent set-aside […]

Markus Grabitz Published: January 30th, 2024

Offshoot of Erdoğan’s AKP wants to run in European elections

A new party with links to the Islamist-authoritarian Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan wants to run in the European elections in Germany. The party is called the Democratic Alliance for Diversity and Awakening (DAVA). In a press release dated Jan. 16, DAVA chairman Teyfik Özcan writes: “We will be fielding high-caliber candidates in the European […]

Markus Grabitz Published: January 29th, 2024

Finland: Alexander Stubb ahead after first round of presidential election

Alexander Stubb is ahead after the first round of the presidential election in Finland. Stubb was already the country’s Prime Minister and is a member of the Christian Democratic party family. The second round of the election will take place on February 11. According to projections, the 55-year-old was ahead of Pekka Haavisto from the […]

Markus Grabitz Published: January 29th, 2024

FDP elects Strack-Zimmermann as top candidate

Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann was chosen as the FDP’s top candidate in the European elections with more than 90 percent of delegates’ votes. The 65-year-old announced a fight against excessive bureaucracy and for military cooperation, including a European army. “Because if we are strong, we will not be attacked. Even the ancient Romans knew that.”She criticized too […]

Markus Grabitz Published: January 29th, 2024

SPD elects Barley as top candidate

Katarina Barley was elected top candidate with 98.66 percent of the vote at the SPD’s European Party Conference. The 55-year-old called on people to fight for Europe: “The European Union is like so many beautiful things in the world: after a while, you take it for granted. And forget that such a community is precious.”Whether […]

Markus Grabitz Published: January 29th, 2024

Regulation 883: Parliament curbs Belgium’s search for a compromise

The Belgian Council Presidency’s attempts to find a compromise on Regulation 883 on the coordination of social security systems have failed. According to information from Table. Media, the European Parliament refuses to reach an agreement in some sections, as proposed by Belgium. The Council Presidency wanted to negotiate an agreement on two aspects of the […]

Markus Grabitz Published: January 29th, 2024

Charles Michel does not want to join the EP after all

Charles Michel withdraws his candidacy for the European Parliament. Michel, who has been the permanent President of the Council since 2019, now wants to complete his term of office, which runs until November, and not leave early. This is apparently due to opposition to the 48-year-old’s top candidacy from his party, the Belgian Liberals (Mouvement […]