Brussels, my love? What is the EU Green Business Plan and when will platform jobs acquire rights?

RockedBuzz via Euronews’ Brussels office brings you its latest episode of a new talk show that aims to break down European news and politics to make it more accessible to viewers.

This week’s episode features German MEP Christian Ehler of the European People’s Party, Belgian MEP Marc Botenga of The Left and Business Europe Deputy Director General Luisa Santos.

The big news this week in Brussels was the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who received a hero’s welcome to the European Parliament, where he thanked Europe for its support over the past 12 months.

Later, during a press conference at the EU Council, he asked Europe for more weapons, including long-range missiles, and reminded everyone that Ukraine wants speedy EU membership.

“I think it has a sad moment because it shows how important it is to be present in a democracy of attention.

“I mean, they have to rightly fear that after four, six weeks, we are just forgetting that people are dying. There is an occupied territory, the Russians are behaving like the Nazis did on the same territory during WWII,” Ehler told the jury.

For Botenga it is important to look beyond images, symbolic speeches and emotional moments.

“The question is how to get out of this war,” he said.

The panel also discussed the issue of platform workers and the fact that talks between the EU institutions on a bill granting them more rights will soon begin. The European Parliament recently passed a resolution calling for equal working conditions for platform workers.

“I think the plenary vote in favor of platform workers’ rights last week was really the culmination of a series of mobilizations because it started to put pressure on the European Commission to actually come up with a proposal on workers’ rights in this new economic platform,” Botenga said on the matter.

According to him, there are around 28 million platform workers across the EU.

But his German colleague warned that the matter could be more complex and that the EU might not be in the best position to regulate it.

“That’s a problem of the Member States. It’s the 18 or 19 different labor laws in Europe, quite incomparable. So the question is: are we to blame? And is it just a claim or is it something we can basically contribute?” Ehler asked.

Watch “Brussels, my love?” full episode in the video player above.