“With anti-dumping duties on Chinese fasteners, the supply of screws and other fasteners to the European economy could no longer be ensured. High capacity utilization, raw material shortages and shipping problems have already thrown international supply chains into unprecedented chaos, making it impossible for European fastener distributors to supply European industry, trade and crafts with fasteners in time.

Following the vote today in the environment committee on the report on the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the Socialists and Democrats Group in the European Parliament confirm their positive judgment over the Commission’s strategy, but stress the need for concrete actions and ambitious legislative proposals; amongst these a binding restoration target of 30% in the future EU Restoration Action Plan and a new European Biodiversity law.

Rapporteur and S&D MEP, César Luena, said:

26 May 2021, Brussels – Today’s date of application of the Medical Device Regulation (MDR) marks an important milestone for the medical devices sector. Since the MDR’s inception more than a decade ago, the medical technology industry has fully supported its goals and has heavily invested resources to comply with its strengthened requirements, geared towards protecting patients even further and increasing trust in the EU’s legal framework.

The Socialists and Democrats voiced serious concerns about the way Amazon treats its workers, during a special hearing today organised by the employment and social affairs committee in the European Parliament. They also call on Jeff Bezos, the CEO of the company, to appear before the Parliament to be held accountable for his very questionable business model. The S&D Group will also push for a specific debate to be held during an upcoming plenary session.