Large majority supports first European climate law in Parliament
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Historic agreement / 2030 target very ambitious / Europe will have to not only double but more than triple its climate protection efforts / It's a pity that not only the right and the left, but also the Greens vote against the law
On Thursday, the European Parliament voted by a large majority in favour of the first European climate law. This makes the climate target of 55% net by 2030 legally binding. As the first continent, Europe gives a legal commitment to climate neutrality in 2050.
Commenting on the outcome of the vote, the environmental spokesman of the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP, Christian Democrats) Dr. Peter Liese said: "Climate protection is probably the most important task of our generation of politicians. If we do not act vigorously, our children and grandchildren will not be able to get a grip on climate change anymore. We must therefore massively step up our efforts. The adopted target, especially for 2030, is extremely ambitious. Between 1990 and 2020, the EU cut greenhouse gases by 25%; now we have to cut them by 30% in just 9 years. That means not only doubling our efforts, but more than tripling them," Liese said.
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Novavax publishes results of clinical trial
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Very good results / Because of its rather traditional process, the vaccine can help to convince vaccination sceptics and ensure high vaccination rate in autumn / Unfortunately, serious difficulties in production and therefore no short-term help
"These are very encouraging results. I believe that the vaccine, because of its rather traditional process, can help to convince sceptics and ensure a high vaccination rate in the European Union in autumn," commented the health policy spokesman of the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP/Christian Democrats), Peter Liese, MD, on the publication of the results of the phase III trial of the vaccine manufacturer Novavax.
“Novavax is an American manufacturer but is also setting up production capacities in the European Union, for example in Halle/Westphalia (Germany), in Prague (Czech Republic) and in Uppsala (Sweden). The vaccine is based on rather traditional processes. It is neither an mRNA nor a vector vaccine, but a vaccine that contains only the protein of the coronavirus and thus produces a vaccine response through long-term tried and tested technologies. This may be helpful in case many people do not get vaccinated in the next few months because they are sceptical about mRNA or vector vaccines. According to the company, Novavax has an efficiency of 90% and even a protection of 100% against moderate and severe disease progression. The vaccine also works well against all new variants and was generally well tolerated," said Liese.
Open letter to UEFA President on Covid and EURO 2020
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Health is priority / 40,000 spectators at Wembley stadium irresponsible
In an open letter, the MEP and health spokesperson of the largest political group in the European Parliament (EPP, Christian Democrats) Dr med Peter Liese, addressed the UEFA President to urgently point out the dangers resulting from the Corona situation and especially the Delta variant with regard to the further course of the Euro2020 football championship.
"The health situation, especially in Great Britain, is very dangerous again. The Delta variant, which is much more dangerous, is spreading fast. Our health is priority. The spread of the delta variant makes it impossible for 40,000 spectators to view the final match in London’s stadium. A stricter hygiene concept is urgently needed. Perhaps a relocation is even unavoidable," said Liese.
Read more: Open letter to UEFA President on Covid and EURO 2020
Communication of the European Commission on lessons learned in the Covid-19-pandemic
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Everybody has to draw the right conclusions and reflect critically on his own behaviour, not only the Commission
More investment in production capacity for vaccine and other crucial materials and stronger reactions on protectionism
“Everybody has to reflect critically and draw conclusions from the lessons learned in the Covid-19-pandemic, not only the European Commission.”, said Peter Liese, spokesperson of the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP/Christian Democrats) on health policy ahead of a communication of the European Commission that will be published on Tuesday. “Some, especially far-left and far-right politicians tend to blame the European Commission for its actions but hide the fact that they were completely on the wrong track last year when it came to ordering the vaccines.
For example, former Polish prime minister Beata Szydło from the PiS party blamed the Commission for failing at ordering vaccines. In fact, among others, the Polish government argued against any advanced purchase agreement with BioNTech for a long time. When we look at the delivery of vaccines now, we see where we would stand in the vaccination campaign without this company that Poland did not want to cooperate with. Many left-wing politicians and some Greens1 and Social Democrats criticised the European Commission for concluding any advanced purchase agreement at all. However, it is clear that without this advanced purchase agreement, we would not be this far in the vaccination campaign,” clarified the doctor and MEP.
Read more: Communication of the European Commission on lessons learned in the Covid-19-pandemic