Russian opposition politician and anti-corruption activist, Alexei Navalny, will likely be awarded the 2021 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in a ceremony on Wednesday on the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, the place the physique’s plenary convenes on December 13-16.
The EP will even, amongst others, maintain a debate on Wednesday with the European Fee President, Ursula von der Leyen, and the EU Slovenian Presidency, in view of the forthcoming EU Summit and can focus on concerning the state of affairs relating to the EU borders with Belarus.
Russian politician Alexi Navalny, who will obtain the 2021 Sakharov Prize, is presently imprisoned in Russia and might subsequently not attend the award ceremony in Strasbourg himself. His daughter Daria Navalnaya will obtain the prize on his behalf from EP President, David Sassoli.
President Sassoli and Leonid Volkov, one in every of Navalny’s political advisers, who served as his chief of employees throughout Navalny’s 2018 presidential election marketing campaign, are scheduled to carry a press convention after the award ceremony.
The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, named in honour of Soviet physicist and political dissident Andrei Sakharov, is awarded every year by the European Parliament. It was established in 1988 to honour people and organisations defending human rights and elementary freedoms.
On Wednesday morning, MEPs will debate with the President of the Fee, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Slovenian EU Presidency concerning the forthcoming December European Council and the battle in opposition to COVID19.
The evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic and the EU’s response to each the general public well being and financial disaster, rising power costs, safety and defence points and exterior relations would be the predominant matters mentioned by heads of state or authorities throughout their assembly.
MEPs will even focus on with the Council and the Fee the EU`s response to the worldwide resurgence of COVID-19 and the brand new rising COVID-19 variants.
On Wednesday, MEPs will quiz the Fee and the Council on the proposal to adapt EU asylum guidelines in Poland, Latvia and Lithuania to take care of migrants coming from Belarus.
The European Fee has proposed to switch the asylum, return and reception guidelines on the EU borders with Belarus for six months. This might give Poland, Latvia and Lithuania better flexibility in coping with the arrival, organised by the Lukashenka regime, of migrants and asylum-seekers at their borders. Authorities would then have longer to register an individual’s software for worldwide safety, the border asylum process -which imposes stringent restrictions on applicants-, would apply to virtually all candidates and will take as much as 16 weeks, and return procedures could be sooner.
To enter into pressure, the proposal wants the approval of the Council as soon as it has consulted the European Parliament. Within the plenary debate, MEPs are more likely to query the deserves of adopting this choice given the present humanitarian context, in addition to the selection of the authorized framework getting used to alter these guidelines, which circumvents the Parliament as co-legislator, solely giving it a consultative position.
On Tuesday afternoon, MEPs will focus on the large-scale Russian navy build-up alongside the Ukrainian border with EU International Coverage Chief Josep Borrell.
Russia has lately moved 1000’s of troops close to Ukraine’s jap border, despite the fact that the Russian authorities has denied any plans to assault the neighbouring nation.
Western leaders, together with these of the US, the UK, France, Germany and Italy, have known as on Russia to de-escalate present tensions, whereas signalling their readiness to reply firmly to any Russian aggression, equivalent to by issuing powerful financial sanctions.
MEPs are anticipated to name for extra to be accomplished to cease gender-based cyber-violence, in mild of the worrisome improve in these affected by it throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
The draft legislative initiative tabled by the Ladies’s Rights and Civil Liberties committees asserts that the EU lacks a authorized framework to fight gender-based cyber-violence and a minimal stage of safety and reparation for victims.
The EU subsequently wants a directive that gives a standard legal regulation definition of cyber-violence to make sure convergence at nationwide and EU stage. It also needs to embody harmonised sanctions and safety mechanisms according to the requirements set out within the Istanbul Conference, MEPs urge.
The draft textual content stresses that cyber violence in opposition to ladies and LGBTIQ individuals is a continuation of gendered violence offline, and that issues equivalent to cyber harassment, cyber stalking, violations of privateness, and recording and sharing pictures of sexual assault have to be addressed urgently.
The controversy will happen on Monday, the vote is scheduled for Tuesday.
The Parliament will vote on its place on the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which units guidelines on what huge on-line platforms will likely be allowed to do and never do within the EU. The draft regulation, to be debated on Tuesday and put to a vote on Wednesday, blacklists sure practices of enormous platforms appearing as “gatekeepers” and permits the Fee to hold out market investigations and sanction non-compliant behaviour.
The Digital Markets Act, as amended by the Inner Market and Client Safety Committee on 23 November, units new obligations and prohibitions straight relevant to such platforms, with a view to making sure truthful competitors.
It is going to apply to the key corporations offering so-called “core platform providers” most liable to unfair enterprise practices. These embody on-line intermediation providers, social networks, search engines like google, working programs, internet advertising providers, cloud computing, and video-sharing providers, which meet the related standards to be designated as “gatekeepers”. MEPs additionally included within the scope of the DMA internet browsers, digital assistants and linked TV.
Different adjustments launched to the Fee’s proposal are associated to the definition of gatekeepers based mostly on sure thresholds, the record of obligations and prohibitions (“do`s and don’ts”), together with new provisions on focused promoting and on interoperability of providers, restrictions to “killer acquisitions”, EU enforcement, the position of nationwide competitors authorities and fines.
MEPs are set to demand that the EU and its member states suggest concrete measures to uphold ladies’s rights and cut back gender inequalities.
In a draft report back to be debated on Monday and put to a vote on Wednesday, MEPs name on member states to take sensible measures to make sure that ladies have equal entry to the labour market, with equal pay and equal labour rights. Taking into consideration the rise in violence in opposition to ladies throughout the pandemic, the draft report additionally urges member states to guarantee that perpetrators of abuse are recognized and pursued by the police. To sort out gender-based violence, MEPs will reiterate that Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia ought to ratify the Istanbul Conference, and that complete EU laws on this matter is required.
MEPs will recall that entry to sexual and reproductive well being and rights is a elementary proper that might not be withdrawn, and that the denial of abortion care constitutes a type of violence in opposition to ladies.
On Wednesday, MEPs will focus on whether or not nationwide restoration plans meet the agreed targets in addition to the state of affairs in nations that haven’t but had their plans permitted.
Throughout the debate, MEPs are set to investigate whether or not nationwide restoration plans absolutely meet the agreed targets for the inexperienced and digital transformation in addition to for employment and social insurance policies equivalent to well being care and training. MEPs will in all probability stress that the clock is ticking to implement reforms and investments, and are more likely to demand options from the nations which might be lagging behind.