Ahead of the plenary session in Strasbourg from 14th of February to 17th of February, Press conference by Manon AUBRY (The Left,FR) and Martin SCHIRDEWAN (The Left,DE), Co-Presidents hold a press conference to present the priorities of their group for the session.

press conference

SCHIRDEWAN, Martin (The Left, DE)

AUBRY, Manon (The Left, FR)

The Left

Briefing The Left - Press conference by Manon AUBRY (The Left,FR) and Martin SCHIRDEWAN (The Left,DE), Co-Presidents

SOUNDBITE (English), Martin SCHIRDEWAN (The Left, DE), Co-President, It's great to see you this great turnout today. I mean, the issue we are all following closest is the concerns about a military conflict at the Russian Ukrainian border. And now it's a matter to do our utmost to see to it that we can stop that from happening, to stop an escalation. De-escalation is what we all need to work for, and it's a matter of disarming. The conflict didn't just fall out of the sky. The situation with Russia has worsened over the last year.

SOUNDBITE (English), Martin SCHIRDEWAN (The Left, DE), Co-President, Russia is no longer a member of the G8, the Minsk agreement that was not implemented, Russia and Nato have stopped speaking to one another. So all the diplomatic lines came to a standstill, and that all contributed to this escalation. So, peace in Europe and security in Europe, everything has to be done to see to it that we maintain peace and the basis for a new peaceful order is international law. It's not Nato, that is at the heart of the system, it's international law and the United Nations and all participants who would be well advised to work for peace on that basis.

SOUNDBITE (English), Martin SCHIRDEWAN (The Left, DE), Co-President, In our multilateral world, that has to take account of one another's interests where we can come to a path where conflicts can be sorted out by diplomacy. Now we've seen that there may be the possibility of tensions easing somewhat, but things are so much up in the air that it's anything but certain that this conflict will end peacefully. So as we said, everything has to be done to de-escalate. Everything has to be done to see to it that we can stop Russian from invading Ukraine and that we can set the basis for a peaceful order in Europe in future. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (French), Manon AUBRY (The Left, FR), Co-President, Good morning, everyone. I hope everyone's well, just like to add very briefly to the matter of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Just to say that there's a document that's in the works between the various groups, which would be a statement by the presidents of the political groups. What is being suggested by the Socialist coordinator does not seem balanced enough, because this version highlights the aggression and the threat from Russia with its troops at the Ukrainian border but at no point does it mention the tension and the provocation that results from NATO's continuously growing eastward.

SOUNDBITE (French), Manon AUBRY (The Left, FR), Co-President, So, if we want a de-escalation, if we want to see tensions ease for what's at stake for our continent, for our European Union is non-alignment, that is to say not to back Russia nor to blindly support NATO. And that is the position of our group. And that is why we will not endorse the document as draughted at present.

SOUNDBITE (French), Manon AUBRY (The Left, FR), Co-President, I also wanted to say a few words about the president of Columbia's address here to the Parliament. I mean, that's a bit strange to invite to the Parliament a president so near a presidential election here in France, and we know what the human rights situation has been. And the Colombian government, headed by Mr Dunque, has committed all kinds of dreadful crimes. And, since the European Union is meant to embody fundamental values we are not going to attend the address by the president of Colombia.

SOUNDBITE (French), Manon AUBRY (The Left, FR), Co-President, Then there's another issue that's not in the agenda of this session, but we did ask what it's SMSs gate. Some escaped and it's not as simple as that. We're talking about SMSs to pharmaceutical companies, where we're talking about huge amounts of public money. And one point eight billion doses negotiated with a strange increase of each dose by 25 percent. It's about transparency, it's about democracy. It's about where our money is going. And that's why it's important that we know what's in those estimates and the fact that they have been bizarrely deleted.

SOUNDBITE (French), Manon AUBRY (The Left, FR), Co-President, I mean, that's very telling when it comes to what some people understand by transparency. Right from the outset, we wanted transparency in regard to the contract. Offcourse it didn't happen, but we're not the only ones to be alive to this because the European Ombudsman has also expressed concern about this situation, and it's a shame that the president of the European Commission refuses to take this matter seriously. That's why we wanted there to be an oral question to underscore what we, as MPEs, expect in terms of transparency in respect of vaccines and their purchases, especially if we want to have people believe in them.

SOUNDBITE (French), Manon AUBRY (The Left, FR), Co-President, I think it's a shame that some groups have been putting this off and want to put it off forever, no doubt. But well, it's being put off to the next plenary. But I accept this democratic debate. I think it would be a tribute to our institution and the imperative of transparency in managing the health crisis. And when it comes to the decision, whether the ruling fromECJ about Poland, it was high time that we had a ruling. Now Poland's attitude, they're pretending that they've been backtracking with a draught piece of legislation. But when it comes to the chamber, they persecute judges, and then they're suspending judges who had questioned the appointment of a judge. Well, it goes to show that Poland is not going to give in. As Europeans, we have to stand up for the rule of law.

Q&A, focusing on the ongoing demonstrations in Canada and Europe called "Freedom Convoy 2022", and the official position of The Left on the instances presented by the protesters.

Q&A, on the diplomatic measures deployed by the EU in the context of the escalating crisis at the border between Ukraine and Russia, and on the recent Animal Welfare debate. set of questions and answers focusing

Q&A, follow up question on the "Freedom Convoy 2022" protests in Canada.