Among our many proposals during these years, S&Ds called for the replacement of unanimity voting with qualified majority in the Council, including in EU foreign policy, to improve the EU’s capacity to take rapid and effective decisions. We also called for more defence integration among EU countries, a more assertive trade policy through sustainable trade agreements, energy security and reshoring production in key technological sectors to Europe. The S&D Group strongly backed the mobilisation of €300 billion as part of REPowerEU - the European Commission’s plan to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels and fast forward towards the green transition.
We have intensified our dialogue with the Administration, Congress, trade unions and civil society to pool energies to fight climate change, build a greener and more robust sustainable growth for a more inclusive society. We have worked towards building a common progressive agenda with democracy, rule of law, environmental goals and labour rights as well as the fight against inequalities at its centre.
We have not been shy to fight for EU interests when they were diverging from US both bilaterally and internationally. Despite the shared goals to achieve a sustainable and inclusive environmental and digital transition, the paths chosen have created frictions and tensions and on quite some issues. For example, we have been pushing the US to make progress to reform the 3 core functions of the WTO - make sure open multilateral agreements can be integrated in the WTO, reform the appellate body, reinforce monitoring and deliberative function - and update WTO rules on state owned enterprises, industrial subsidies and overcapacity, forced technology transfer to efficiently address the challenges posed by China.
At a bilateral level, we have explored ways to get rid of the unilateral and unlawful measures imposed by the Trump government that are still in place. Among others, a solution on the unjustified tariffs on steel and aluminum imposed on national security ground has still not materialised (talks are ongoing to negotiate for the first time, a global arrangement on steel and aluminum to address carbon intensity and global overcapacity - deadline March 2025).
We are cooperating to ease tensions caused by new initiatives such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and work towards a strong environmental and labour agenda, including a similar approach for a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and build on each other’s experience to more efficiently enforce labour rights.
We have welcomed the opening of negotiations on an agreement with the US on strengthening international supply chains for critical minerals, to the extent that these negotiations will achieve a balanced result that is compatible with WTO rules and improve mutually beneficial cooperation. We support the efforts to cooperate in the framework of the Trade and Technology Council.
Respect for human rights is an essential element of the EU trade and investment relations with China and the EU must take remedial efforts in any forms of sanctions when human rights violations occur. The S&D Group has proudly led the negotiations and shaped the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and the regulation on prohibiting products made with forced labour. For the S&Ds, the adoption of these new legislations during the current mandate, it is a huge victory, as we initiated this fight to tackle modern slavery and to make companies accountable for the harm they cause to human rights and the environment.
Trade between China and the EU matter as both economies are interlaced and interdependent. However, the trade relationship has become unbalanced with the EU is increasingly depending and vulnerable on China for products necessary to its digital and ecological transition. The EU must keep reducing its overreliance and its vulnerabilities on China in strategic sectors and strengthening its internal resilience and strategic autonomy notably by building diversified, secure and resilient supply chains and by increasing its actions in key areas such as research and development, cutting-edged technologies, critical raw materials, reindustrialisation and new infrastructures. Hence, we fully support the recently developed legislations and mechanisms to address the unbalanced trade relationship and to mitigate EU vulnerabilities. We support a reassessment by the Commission of the necessity of a comprehensive agreement on investment with China, which is on hold since it imposed sanctions against members of the European Parliament. We call China to lift these sanctions immediately and unconditionally. We urge the Commission to undertake an impact assessment evaluating the possibility of a bilateral investment agreement with Taiwan. We support the ‘One China’ policy as the political foundation of the EU-China relations and deplore China’s confrontational attitude towards Taiwan and we strive for the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. Tensions in the South China Seas need to be significantly de-escalated. In this respect, we call for a reinforced EU policy of deterrence vis-à-vis China and for a coordinated EU strategy of preparedness and anticipation of possible scenarios in the South China Seas.
We have condemned in the strongest possible way the heinous terrorist attack carried out by Hamas last 7 October 2023, when 1,139 Israeli and foreign citizens, including 36 children, were killed, and called for the immediate release of all hostages still held by Hamas. We have equally condemned the disproportionate and indiscriminate Israeli reaction against the civilian population in Gaza, which has caused over 25,000 civilian deaths, mainly women and children.
Thanks to our support, the European parliament raised its voice to express its support for the ongoing investigations by the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court against war crimes and the blatant violation of human rights in Gaza. This must also apply to the West Bank, where the Palestinian population lives under constant threat by Israeli forces and settlers.
We fiercely oppose the spreading of illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which undermine the prospects of any two-state solution, and we support restrictive measures against extremist settlers who violate human rights and international law. It is in this spirit that we urge the EU to take the lead on a possible international two-state solution process for Israel and Palestine. S&Ds maintain high-level political contacts in the region through our sister parties, including the Labour Party and Meretz in Israel, and Fatah and the Palestinian National Initiative in Palestine.
The S&D Group has taken a responsible position at all times in relation to the Israeli-Palestine conflict, calling for an end to the occupation of Palestinian land and condemning all forms of violence, be it the launching of rockets from the Gaza Strip, terrorist attacks, military operations targeting civilians, or settler violence. We seek peace and security for both peoples. We call for an immediate end to human rights abuses by Israeli authorities, as well as to corruption and human rights abuses by Palestinian authorities.
We continue supporting UNRWA, which delivers essential services to Palestinian refugees across the Middle East in the fields of education, health care, relief and social services, emergency assistance, and other areas. We have also shown clear differences compared to EPP and other right wing groups in the European Parliament, for example in the case when the European Commissioner from Hungary, Varhelyi, threatened to suspend the aid for Palestinians, which we rejected. We have also always been against the Israeli government plan to limit the powers of the judiciary, which caused major demonstrations and was ruled unconstitutional by Israeli Supreme Court.
For the S&Ds, ‘open strategic autonomy’ means a stronger, more united, and more assertive Europe that puts the interests and values of its citizens first. A Europe that decides and acts autonomously when needed, without an over reliance on the resources and support of outside players. At the same time, the European Union should continue doing everything it can to defend multilateralism, the rules-based international order, and on an open and fair trade.
The S&D Group has been a great supporter of strong and balanced TA ties. The EU and the US have been and will continue to be strategic partners, even more so in the current challenging geo-political context. Under the Trump Administration, transatlantic relations have encountered tense moments and have taught us that our relationship should never be taken for granted. We have invested in improving our relations under the Biden Administration. We have worked toward building stronger ties and a more resilient alliance of democracies for reinvigorating the multilateral world order and resisting the assertive authoritarians undermining it.
We expect China to assume its responsibilities as a permanent member of the UNSC upholding a rules-based international order, an effective multilateralism and global governance. China should promote peace and stability and play a constructive role in resolving conflicts, including the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. S&Ds lead the fight for the promotion and respect of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, which must be at the centre of the EU’s external relations and should be the cornerstone of our relations with China. In this respect, China needs to put an end to the systemic repression of the Tibetan and Uygur minorities and should be held accountable for the crimes against humanity being perpetrated against the Uyghur population in Xinjiang, which constitutes serious risk of genocide. We reaffirm the need for a mutual commitment to the 'One Country, Two Systems' principle and S&Ds have systematically condemned its violations by the Chinese authorities in the case of the continued crackdowns on human rights in Hong Kong and Macao by application of the National Security Laws which should be repealed.
The Middle East has long been a political focal point for the S&D Group. We have invested in our support for the Middle East Peace Process with the aim of achieving a just and lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians in the framework of the two-state solution along the 1967 borders and with Jerusalem as the capital of both states. As pointed out by High Representative, a social democrat, Josep Borrell, we need to resume genuine 'two-state solution' talks between both sides aimed at achieving tangible results in the context of the broader Arab-Israeli conflict. We have expressed our strong support for the comprehensive approach put forward by the High Representative, marking the EU's active role in ending the bloodshed in Gaza and paving the way for the establishing of a Palestine state alongside Israel.
