EU strategy on the Middle East crisis
First on the agenda at 9.00 is this session’s key debate, with Marilena Raouna, Cyprus’s Deputy Minister for European Affairs, and Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, on the EU response to the crisis in the Middle East, high energy prices, and rising cost of fertilisers.
In a separate debate with Commissioner Hadja Lahbib from around 17.00, MEPs will discuss the situation in southern Lebanon, where hundreds of civilians have been killed and thousands injured and displaced following incursions by the Israeli army.
Viktor ALMQVIST
(+32) 470 88 29 42
Snjezana KOBESCAK SMODIS
(+32) 470 96 08 19
@EP_ForeignAff
Proxy voting for new and expectant mothers
Parliament will vote at noon to enable MEPs to delegate their votes while absent for up to three months before and six months after childbirth. The vote, which will be preceded by one round of political group speakers, will conclude the legislative procedure in Parliament. To enter into force, the revised EU Electoral Act will require formal adoption by the Council and ratification by all member states in line with their constitutional requirements.
Kyriakos KLOSIDIS
(+32) 470 96 47 35
Polona TEDESKO
(+32) 470 88 42 82
@EP_Institutional
@EP_GenderEqual
Tackling cyberbullying and on-line harassment
From round 14.00, MEPs will quiz Commissioner Glen Micallef on the Commission’s recent action plan against cyberbullying. A resolution, to be put to a vote tomorrow, is expected to call for targeted criminal provisions and increased platform responsibility to tackle harmful online behaviour.
Yasmina YAKIMOVA
(+32) 470 88 10 60
@EP_SingleMarket
Combating antisemitism
From around 15.00, MEPs will discuss how the EU can tackle antisemitism, with Marilena Raouna for the Cyprus presidency and Hadja Lahbib for the Commission. Coming in the wake of recent attacks targeting Jewish communities in the Netherlands and Belgium, the debate will focus on reinforcing the fight against antisemitism and strengthening the protection of Jewish life across Europe.
Kyriakos KLOSIDIS
(+32) 470 96 47 35
@EP_Institutional
In brief
Danger of normalising relations with Russia. Following on from yesterday evening’s debate on securing justice in response to Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, from around 16.30, MEPs and Commissioner Glen Micallef will discuss the danger of normalising relations with Russia in the context of major international sporting and cultural events.
Catastrophe in Sudan. From around 18.00, MEPs and Commissioner Hadja Lahbib will discuss the situation in Sudan, the largest humanitarian crisis in the world with more than 30 million people affected.
Breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. MEPs and Lahbib will hold urgent debates on trafficking in Haiti; the intensified suppression of ethnic identities in China; and the shortcomings of the ‘Amnesty Law’ in Venezuela. Resolutions on these subjects will be put to a vote at noon tomorrow.
Topical debate. In this session’s topical debate, requested by the Patriots for Europe political group, MEPs will discuss “Commission interference in democratic process and elections” with Democracy Commissioner Michael McGrath, from around 13.00.
Votes
At noon, MEPs will also vote, among others, on:
- whether to grant discharge to the European Commission and other European institutions and agencies for their management of the budget in 2024;
- its negotiating position on the Commission’s proposal to amend the market stability reserve for the new emissions trading system for road transport and buildings and additional sectors (ETS2),
- a resolution warning of the rapid growth of non-EU e-commerce in the single market and the increasing number of products that fail to meet EU standards and calling on the Commission to make full use of EU trade-defence instruments and to act to ease the burden on EU businesses;
- an own-initiative report on the situation of fundamental rights in the EU in 2024 and 2025;
- a report on the Commission’s 2025 rule of law report; and
- €2 million in European Globalisation Fund support for Belgian workers made redundant following the closure of Liberty Steel.
Live coverage of the plenary session can be found on Parliament’s webstreaming site and on EbS+.
For detailed information on the session, please also see our newsletter.
Find more information regarding plenary.