Brussels 11.12.2021 The European Parliament will award the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, discuss the pandemic situation and gender equality in the EU in December plenary in Strasbourg.

On Wednesday, December 15, the Parliament will award the 2021 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to the imprisoned Russian opposition leader and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny. The prize will be received by his daughter Daria.

Parliament Vice-President Heidi Hautala announced the 2021 laureate in the Strasbourg plenary chamber on Wednesday afternoon, following an earlier decision by the Conference of Presidents (President and political group leaders).

Parliament President David Sassoli said: “The European Parliament has chosen Alexei Navalny as the winner of this year’s Sakharov Prize. He has campaigned consistently against the corruption of Vladimir Putin’s regime, and through his social media accounts and political campaigns, Navalny has helped expose abuses and mobilise the support of millions of people across Russia. For this, he was poisoned and thrown in jail.”

Gender Equality and Gender-based cyber violence
On Monday, December 13, MEPs will debate two reports addressing gender equality and gender-based violence. The first report proposes measures for combatting increased gender-based harassment in cyberspace. The second report calls on member states to remove existing inequalities between men and women in the EU and make sure women are treated equally. MEPs will vote on both reports on Wednesday.

European Year of Youth
MEPs will vote on Tuesday, December 14, to mark 2022 as the European Year of Youth. This initiative takes into account the difficult situation of young people during the pandemic, which affects their education, employment, social life, mental health and wellbeing.

Covid-19
On Wednesday, December 15, in the morning, in view of the upcoming EU Summit on 16-17 December, MEPs will debate the coordination of measures to contain the Covid-19 pandemic and the spread of new virus variants in Europe. Later the same day the MEPs, the Commission and the Council, will discuss the implementation of national recovery plans, which are a key part of the EU response to the pandemic.

Discrimination of EU companies on foreign procurement markets
The proposed International Procurement Instrument (IPI) introduces measures to limit the access of non-EU companies’ to the open EU public procurement market if their governments do not offer similar access to public tenders for EU companies. MEPs will vote on their position on Tuesday, which will form Parliament’s mandate for further negotiations.

Russia, Ukraine and the dissolution of the Soviet Union
MEPs will debate the Russian military build-up along the Ukrainian border with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Tuesday afternoon and will vote on a resolution on Thursday.

The 30th anniversary of the dissolution of the Soviet Union will be marked with statements from President Sassoli and political groups on Monday afternoon.

Among the other highlights of the agenda in Strasbourg are the following:
Address by the President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo
Situation at the EU-Belarus border
EU aid for Croatia after earthquakes, and for dismissed workers in Spain and Italy
Weapons of Mass Destruction
Rule of law and media freedom in Slovenia
Possible EU ban on the use of wild animals by circuses

Threats to fundamental rights in Poland.