Press conference by Iratxe GARCÍA PÉREZ, (ES), S&D President. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Strasbourg

press conference

GARCÍA PÉREZ, Iratxe (S&D, ES)

Briefing S&D: Press conference by Iratxe GARCÍA PÉREZ, (ES), S&D President

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SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Iratxe GARC&Iacute;A P&Eacute;REZ, S&amp;D President, Thank you very much. And good afternoon to everyone and thank you for being present. As my colleague just said, we had to change the time, but things are complicated at the moment and I'm very grateful that you are showing such flexibility.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Iratxe GARCÍA PÉREZ, S&D President, Of course, we are in a very important week and a week, which is a difficult for our political group. Yeah, maybe you were present at the commemoration for our president and the legacy that David Sassoli has left to the Parliament is immense. His value, European values which were represented in him.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Iratxe GARCÍA PÉREZ, S&D President, We've started the work. He did start the work. He did start the negotiations, but he couldn't carry on. We will certainly carry on working like we did in the past. So yesterday, the socialist and Democratic group decided to reach an agreement with the majority groups of the EPP and Renew Europe to provide the necessary stability to this institution.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Iratxe GARCÍA PÉREZ, S&D President, And to bring forward a political programme with a certain number of priorities and which we discussed in our internal meetings. We know who is responsible for what, but what is important to our citizens is that we should actually implement the the the political agreements we reached.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Iratxe GARCÍA PÉREZ, S&D President, We've come to one yesterday. We are pro-European political force. Of course, we have different ideological positions, but we are going to fight for the rule of law, for a social Europe. We want a green Europe as well. And we know what the priorities are in that field. Also, we would like to defend the social dimension and the rights of women. I think we need to emphasise that that we should agree on these ideas.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Iratxe GARCÍA PÉREZ, S&D President, And the S&D group has given its support to Roberta Metsola. And we want also want to have five vice presidents in the bureau and we have to wait for the results of the vote, but we hope that it will be a very diverse one. Then there will be the president's conference and we are going to have a special committee on Covid.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Iratxe GARCÍA PÉREZ, S&D President, This is connected also to how Europe has confronted itself with this pandemic. So we really hope that we will be able to move forward on all these initiatives. Now, the French presidency has started. Tomorrow, we are going to have President Macron in the chamber, and I would like to to say that the political compromise between the three groups is very important.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Iratxe GARCÍA PÉREZ, S&D President, How to get women on board, the directive on Violence against women. And we are going to ask the president Macron to show what his commitments are on all this. There are other fundamental debates as the fiscal tax and digitalisation.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Iratxe GARCÍA PÉREZ, S&D President, We need to have permanent instruments in the future. So we want to create greater stability for this institution, give it more certainty because people is what they want. That's what they want. After two years of pandemic, obviously, we are fully aware of what the majority is in this chamber and we are going to miss terribly David Sassoli, our beloved president.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Iratxe GARCÍA PÉREZ, S&D President, But what is going to happen is that there will be cooperation, and we will be critical when there is a need to be. This is not a blank check, is just a cooperation agreement. And we do hope that the votes. So we're going to have today and tomorrow, when the other groups are going to vote for the vice presidents. Thank you.