EPP, France

Maurice Ponga is the first Vice-Chair of Parliament’s DEVE committee. An MEP since 2009, he has helped steer several key dossiers through the institutions, including the EU-ACP partnership post-2020, the European Fund for Sustainable Development and the Instrument Contributing to Stability and Peace (ICSP).

Ponga was also Rapporteur for the own-initiative report on the EU-Africa strategy, a major report adopted ahead of the last EU-AU Summit in Abidjan in November 2017. This report stressed the importance of further enhancing the EU’s partnership with Africa to tackle common challenges such as migration, climate change, and sustainable development.

A French MEP for New Caledonia in the South Pacific, Ponga is Parliament’s only deputy from one of the EU’s overseas countries and territories (OCTs).

He is currently rapporteur for the EU-OCTs instrument – a new mechanism proposed by the European Commission following calls from Parliament to have a dedicated financial instrument for these territories. This can foster cooperation between the EU and OCTs and contribute to the implementation of the SDGs.

S&D, France

A member of Parliament’s BUDG committee and S&D group Vice-President in charge of budgetary questions, Isabelle Thomas was the Parliament’s Rapporteur on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), the EU budget for 2021-2027. She succeeded in building a strong Parliamentary consensus on the MFF for Europe and its citizens.

She fought to increase the budget in the face of new challenges, staunchly refusing to accept austerity proposals or budget reductions in all the texts concerning the MFF. She helped in strengthening the budget - reaching 1.3 per cent of the EU’s gross income - and in maintaining CAP and cohesion policies and support for Erasmus+ and Youth Employment. She also championed the introduction of new own resources to rebalance EU financing, including the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) and the tax on multinationals. In the current negotiations with the Council, she has advocated that Parliament use the power offered by the consent procedure.

Thomas also ensured that the MFF integrated the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, climate ambitions, gender equality ambitions and policies in the fight against child poverty.

EPP, Poland

Widely acknowledged for his work promoting UNCRPD implementation and for his commitment to an inclusive society, Marek Plura has played an active role in politics despite disability and a serious degenerative illness. He is a member of Parliament’s EMPL and TRAN committees and Vice-President of the Disability Intergroup.

Plura was Rapporteur on the report on Skills policies to fight youth unemployment. He takes an active part in improving the labour market and creating conditions to tap into the potential of young people from underprivileged backgrounds. He also organises annual internship contests and supports Parliamentary traineeships for students with disabilities.

Plura is very active in areas where he believes action at European level is crucial, such as rare diseases and brain disorders. He is involved in numerous campaigns and events on these topics.

He is currently engaged in promoting the participation of persons with disabilities in the upcoming European elections, including a seminar on political participation in the European Parliament, as well as taking part in information campaigns and events.

Greens, Hungary

Benedek Jávor is first Vice-Chair of the ENVI committee and is a member of the delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly.

He has shown an outstanding commitment in driving forward environmental issues in the EU. His active involvement in issues such as Natura 2000, LIFE and the next MFF has helped to deliver stronger and improved EU legislation with better implementation. He has contributed to numerous reports, opinions and resolutions: the action plan for nature, various elements of the circular economy package, energy efficiency, whistle-blower protection, implementation of EU environmental policy and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Jávor was the Greens/EFA Shadow Rapporteur on the energy efficiency directive where he called, during recent trialogue negotiations, for more ambitious targets in the final draft, arguing that energy efficiency measures were the most cost-effective tool in reducing energy poverty.

He has also been pushing for sustainable forest management, for phasing out palm oil and for putting an end to deforestation. He fought for ensuring safe drinking water is available for all, including the vulnerable groups.

EPP, Greece

An MEP since 2014, Maria Spyraki is a firm believer in the transformative power of research and innovation. During this legislative period, with the support of the European Ideas Network, she hosted a two-day seminar followed by a school competition on the topic of “Investing in Education and Innovation” in Thessaloniki.

Spyraki also conceived and launched the single-use plastics awareness-raising campaign “Fish or Plastic,” with the support and participation of Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen and fellow MEPs Henna Virkkunen and Sofia Ribeiro.

Tackling climate change through innovation with a focus on lagging regions is high on Spyraki's priorities. She hosted in November the Annual Global Gas Centre Conference in the European Parliament and presented in the European Utility Week on the needs of diversification of the energy portfolio and the security of supply. In cooperation with the Technical Chamber of Central Macedonia she is hosting in March a debate on: ”Clean Energy Package: An opportunity for jobs and growth.”

She is a strong proponent of the transformation to a circular industry and of tackling climate change through innovation. Included in the many events that she hosts, organises or participates in are the EU Energy Day at COP24 Katowice, where she supported regions transitioning from coal, and in both 2018 conferences on "Clean Energy for EU Islands."

She also strives to take citizens on board to harness the digital revolution. Commissioner Gabriel engaged with the people in Thessaloniki and presented the digital agenda in an event hosted by Spyraki, in cooperation with the Cyber Security International Institute, where she is hosting on February 22 the workshop: “Digital Life safety and security for young people.”

ECR, United Kingdom

Following his election to Parliament in 2004, Sajjad Karim quickly established himself as a defender of free and values-based trade. He is widely recognised for his work in championing trade between the EU and the wider world, and on trade enhancing internal EU reform. He is a leading proponent of human rights conditions in trade agreements.

As Chair of the South Asia Trade Monitoring Group, spokesperson to the WTO and Rapporteur on numerous policy- setting files, including audit reform, the issue of Parliamentary reform has always been at the forefront of Karim's trade focus.

Whether as the Parliament’s original Rapporteur for EU-India FTA, on the reinstatement of GSP for Sri Lanka, on Bangladesh’s garments industry safety reforms, or by guiding the INTA committee towards the adoption of a preferential trade package for Pakistan, his contribution to EU-South Asia trade has been long-recognised both in and outside Europe.

Karim has also steered Parliament’s relations with the South Caucasus. As Chair of the region’s delegation he is helping finalise the negotiations on a new comprehensive agreement with Azerbaijan.