The press conference of the 60th MEP session was held early in the morning of Wednesday. For the press conference, a representative was selected from each committee to answer the questions asked by the press team.
The first round of the press conference began with 5 committees: EMPL, LIBE/JURI, DEVE, CULT, and AFCO. Different news outlets put their focus on various aspects. We, Euronews, focused on the committee on CULT during the first round of the press conference. The worry of harming the reputation of already-existing and well-regarded national degrees was shone under the spotlight. The representative answered by highlighting the voluntariness of the European degrees. Therefore, he stated that the implementation of European degrees would not influence negatively on the national degrees. However, the delegate was unclear about how to keep the legitimacy of the European degrees when the degree was totally voluntary upon the students.
The second round of the press conference involved the other five committees: ENVI, ITRE, LIBE, AFET, and IMCO. We, Euronews, centered our focus on ITRE and ENVI. We addressed the solution explaining the necessity of investment in desalination. Desalination is a separation method used to separate dissolved salt minerals from water; this method can be effectively used in countries bordering the sea. However, in landlocked countries, like Italy, this method is very difficult to approach as they do not have access to sea water. The representative of ENVI responded to our question by mentioning the trade of sea water between countries so that every country has equal access to sea water. The delegate also mentioned creating pipelines across the European continent to supply seawater to the EU member states.
Next, we directed our attention to the committee on ITRE. We put our focal point on the implementation of nuclear energy. The risks of nuclear energy were brought to the surface, and we asked the representative of the ways to reduce the worries of the public and, at the same time, promote to the public the benefits of nuclear energy. The representative of ITRE was on point as she explained to us about the exaggeration of the dangers of the nuclear power sources. She mentioned that certain nuclear accidents were indeed horribly dangerous. However, she stated that with caution and care, nuclear energy could help us efficiently yield the energy we need for the planet. She also pointed out that a direct transition to renewable energy sources—like wind or solar energy—would be impossible without the help of nuclear energy.
The biggest event for the press team has come to an end. However, we, the press team, are awaiting for the Plenary Session to come as the delegates spent their day in the afternoon today writing amendments to point out the flaws they spotted in each others’ resolutions.
Dayeon Woo, Euronews
