European Parliament:
Incoming/Outgoing MEPs
Dr Manuel Pizarro (S&D, PT) was named Portugal’s new Minister of Health on 9 September 2022. In taking up his new role, Dr Pizarro will be stepping down as an MEP after three years. In addition to having served as Vice-Chair of the Brazil Delegation (D-BR), Dr Pizarro was also a member of the Fisheries (PECH) and Employment (EMPL) committees. A doctor by profession, he previously served as a junior minister in the Ministry of Health between 2008 and 2011.
Dr Pizarro will be succeeded by former President of the Young European Socialists João Albuquerque (S&D, PT). No stranger to the European Parliament, Albuquerque previously worked as a parliamentary assistant to EP Vice-President Pedro Silva Pereira (S&D, PT). He has already replaced Dr Pizarro as a member of PECH and EMPL.
Moving on to Spain, there has been a change in the Ciudadanos party delegation with Eva-Maria Poptcheva (Renew, ES) replacing Luis Garicano (Renew, ES). Garicano resigned as an MEP earlier this summer to pursue a teaching position at Columbia University.
An expert in EU legal practice, Poptcheva previously headed the Legislative Affairs Unit of the European Parliament and, before that, worked as a lawyer in Spain and Germany.
Ad Hoc MEP Movements
- Patricia Chagnon (ID, FR) joined the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Affairs (LIBE)
- Marina Mesure (GUE/NGL, FR) and Marie Dauchy (ID, FR) joined the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE)
- Manon Aubry (GUE/NGL, FR) joined the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON)
- Eric Minardi (ID, FR) joined the Committee on Budgets (BUDG)
- Ryszard Czarnecki (ECR, PL) joined the Delegation to the EU-Kazakhstan, EU-Kyrgyzstan, EU-Tajikistan and EU-Uzbekistan Parliamentary Cooperation Committees and for relations with Turkmenistan and Mongolia (DCAS)
- Marisa Matias (GUE/NGL, PT) joined the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET)
European Council:
The General Affairs Council (GAC) met on 20 September to discuss a draft agenda of policy areas for the Council to address in the upcoming European Council meeting scheduled for 20-21 October. The annotated draft agenda underlined several cross-cutting policy issues of particular importance to EU Member States. Click here to see the agenda.
European Courts:
The European Court of Auditors (ECA) elected Irish-national Tony Murphy as President for a renewable three-year term on 20 September. He is set to officially replace German politician and lawyer Klaus-Heiner Lehne, who has faced scrutiny over alleged misuse of funds, on 1 October.
The week, in short:
Committees and group meetings resumed this week. The next Plenary sitting is scheduled to take place in the week commencing 3 October. Click here to see a draft agenda of the issues to be covered at the upcoming Plenary sitting.
National elections were held in Italy on 25 September 2022, and the hard-right coalition led by Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, encompassing three other right-wing parties, Lega, Forza Italia and Us Moderates, won a clear majority.