Language
European Parliament
Every sitting is free to watch on Polyfact, live and on replay, no account needed.
Latest update yesterday
What is said in the sittings, update by update, the latest first. Each update opens the video at the second it was said.
The Chair and participating MEPs briefly present and endorse the report on the August AFCO mission to Greenland, highlighting its relevance for EU–Greenland relations and Arctic geopolitics, before formally closing the sitting and announcing the next meeting date.
Chair, rapporteur Reuten, political groups, Council and Commission discuss relaunching the long‑stalled implementing regulation on Parliament’s right of inquiry, focusing on the simplified ‘Lisbonised’ text, remaining political issues on Articles 5 and 12, institutional guarantees including the EP–Commission Framework Agreement, thresholds for minority opinions, and the timetable and format for concluding the informal process and preparing a political agreement.
In this chapter
Rapporteur Vincze presents mathematical options and treaty constraints for a permanent, degressively proportional seat allocation, then he and shadow rapporteurs from S&D, PfE, ECR and Renew debate political limits, population data choices, enlargement reserves and the decision to keep the file as a non‑legislative working document.
In this chapter
AFCO Chair opens the meeting, adopts agenda and minutes, reports coordinators’ decisions on future work and missions, and conducts the voting session on the proxy voting during pregnancy report, which is adopted after test and final votes.
In this chapter
The chair presents the AFCO mission to Washington and New York on parliamentary rules and AI governance, with Sandro Gozi and Fabrice Leggeri outlining key transatlantic and UN‑level findings and concerns on AI and judicial dialogue, before the committee endorses the mission report, announces the next meeting and closes the sitting.
In this chapter
JURI rapporteur Lara Wolters explains coordination with the Statute for Members and the conditions for automatic entry into force, including counting proxy votes for quorum, while López Aguilar closes by stressing the pragmatic, legally clear nature of the reform and the chair sets the amendment deadline and AFCO vote schedule.
In this chapter
AFCO moves to the draft report on proxy voting during pregnancy and after childbirth, with rapporteur López Aguilar detailing the scheme’s technical design, legal basis, entry into force and dependence on national ratifications, followed by political group shadows setting out divergent positions on quorum counting, same‑group requirements, session scope and inclusion of fathers and all parents.
In this chapter
The committee launches, conducts and completes the voting sequence on amendments to the institutional report on artificial intelligence, including multiple electronic checks, split and coordinated amendments with other committees, temporary voting system failures and use of show‑of‑hands, before adopting the amended AI report by roll‑call vote with broad support.
In this chapter
Chair Simon opens the AFCO meeting, confirms agenda and interpretation, announces committee membership changes and the vacancy of the second Vice‑Chair, then conducts the election of Antonio López‑Istúriz White as second Vice‑Chair by acclamation and adopts the previous minutes.
In this chapter
Interventions by S&D, PfE, ECR and Renew set out group lines on human-centred AI in EU institutions, limits on Treaty change, concerns about an AI observatory, protection of rights and electoral integrity, and promotion of a distinct European AI model and global governance framework, including at UN level.
In this chapter
Introduction of the agenda item on AI’s institutional aspects, with the rapporteur presenting the compromise package and outlining priorities on EU technological sovereignty, the investment gap with the US, global AI governance, protection of democracy and elections, and the proposed parliamentary AI observatory.
In this chapter
Opening of the AFCO meeting with adoption of agenda and minutes, followed by communication of coordinators’ decisions on the governance symposium, legislative files, appointments, and 2027 committee missions including destinations, sizes and d’Hondt allocation.
In this chapter
MEPs question the experts on the CJEU’s future role, competence boundaries, subsidiarity and democratic control in two Q&A rounds, after which the experts conclude, the rapporteur outlines next steps on the report and the Chair closes the sitting.
In this chapter
Former judges Huber and Rossi set out contrasting assessments of the CJEU’s accountability, internal checks, language regime and treatment of Article 2 values, national identity and dissenting opinions, debating the balance between Court autonomy and rule‑of‑law constraints.
In this chapter
MEPs highlight national rule‑of‑law concerns, especially regarding Poland and Article 267 preliminary references, before the Chair opens the expert hearing at which Dame Eleanor Sharpston presents the CJEU’s methods, language regime and constitutional case law in the broader judicial dialogue.
In this chapter
The Chair resumes the meeting, validates coordinators’ decisions and elects the fourth Vice‑Chair, then gives the floor to Rapporteur Weimers to introduce his Article 19 TEU report and to political groups to state their positions on the CJEU’s role, powers and primacy of EU law.
In this chapter
The Chair closes the exchange by thanking Byrne, stressing shared priorities on EU unity and institutional cooperation, and framing the Irish Presidency’s programme as a joint endeavour with Parliament.
In a one‑minute interventions round MEPs press the Presidency on finalising the regulation on Parliament’s right of inquiry, advancing a Biotech Act and Ukraine accession clusters, correcting geographical imbalances in EU staffing, embedding the connectivity principle in EU law, tackling misuse of vetoes and strengthening citizen engagement, with Byrne detailing planned work, political commitments and legal constraints across these files and defending Ireland’s compliance with EU free‑speech standards.
In this chapter
Greens and ESN MEPs question Byrne on operationalising the inter‑institutional ethics body, Council follow‑up to Parliament’s call to scrutinise the ESN party’s compliance with Article 2 TEU values, and on reforms to strengthen Commission political accountability and reversibility of EU decisions, with Byrne outlining Council’s stance, democratic safeguards and Parliament’s role in oversight.
In this chapter
PfE and Renew coordinators press Byrne on unanimity and vetoes in enlargement (notably Serbia), fiscal impacts for net contributors, links to the democracy shield and hate-speech law, and the follow-up to the Conference on the Future of Europe, while Byrne sets out the constraints of unanimity, broader benefits of enlargement and Council limits on electoral and governance reforms.
In this chapter
EPP and S&D coordinators question the Minister on sequencing enlargement with internal reforms, Council voting rules, Parliament’s composition, the electoral law file and EU accession to the ECHR, with Byrne detailing Ireland’s approach to reform using existing treaties and the state of play on the ECHR and electoral packages.
In this chapter
The Chair opens the AFCO meeting, adjusts the agenda and procedural items, then Minister Byrne outlines the Irish Council Presidency’s priorities, including competitiveness, values, security, enlargement, institutional reform, ethics, EU elections and EU–UK relations.
In this chapter
This block covers a new MEP’s concerns over party discipline and dependence created by electoral systems, followed by experts’ analysis of constitutional limits to the free mandate and debate on the democratic legitimacy and design of external ethics or integrity bodies in EU and national contexts, ending with a focused exchange on transparency tools in the European Parliament, their potential chilling effects and their role in political accountability after recent scandals.
In this chapter
From EP sanctions and hate speech thresholds to disinformation and ‘mal-information’, MEPs and experts debate how far Parliament can discipline speech without undermining the free mandate, examining undefined legal concepts, reliance on external standards and the risks of over‑legalising political expression.
In this chapter
The Chair and MEPs question the experts on the study’s governance focus, legal bases for restricting free speech, the EU’s 27+1 immunity regime, calibrated transparency, data‑protection limits and the practical dominance of party discipline over the free mandate in different constitutional systems.
In this chapter
The Chair opens the AFCO meeting, confirms the agenda and coordinators’ decisions, and introduces the comparative study on the free mandate of MEPs, followed by the rapporteurs’ detailed presentation of the legal framework, immunity, accountability tools, party discipline and their reform recommendations.
In this chapter
Chair confirms no additional items, announces next AFCO meeting date and time, thanks services and interpreters, and formally closes the sitting.
The chair outlines plans for an expert hearing with the President of the Court of Justice and national constitutional court representatives on the Article 19 report, then the rapporteur delivers closing remarks on key concerns (judicial protection, national courts’ role, legal certainty, conferral, transparency, constitutional identity) and the aim of a balanced text fostering trust between EU and national judicial systems.
In this chapter
EPP, S&D, Patriots, Greens and ES set out contrasting views on whether the ECJ’s Article 19 case law exceeds conferred competences, how to interpret judicial independence and subsidiarity, and how far Parliament should criticise or defend the Court’s constitutional role, including an exchange between López Aguilar and Sokol on primacy versus conferral.
In this chapter
The chair introduces Item 5 on Article 19 TEU and the EU institutional framework, and rapporteur Weimers outlines his planned report focusing on the ECJ’s interpretation of Article 19, the link to Article 2 values, and tensions with conferral, national competences and judicial independence.
In this chapter
The search covers the sittings held more than two weeks ago. A Polyfact subscription searches every sitting as soon as it is transcribed.
Céline Calvez 1 sitting European Parliament broadcasts the sittings of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO). Polyfact shows each one live, keeps it as a replay with its transcript and links its key moments to the second they were said.
25 sittings on Polyfact since 14 May 2025
Polyfact records and transcribes the sittings and committee hearings of European Union's parliaments. A speaker is named only once their identity is confirmed, by the official record or by a person; automatic guesses are left out.
On Polyfact, free and without an account: a sitting on air is marked live in the schedule above, and each sitting stays available as a replay.
Yes. Watching the sittings on Polyfact is free and needs no account. A Polyfact subscription, which you can try for free, adds the full transcripts as soon as they are ready, search across every sitting and alerts on your topics.
On each sitting's page on Polyfact, speaker by speaker, with its key moments one click from the second they were said. The search on this page covers the sittings held more than two weeks ago.
With a Polyfact plan you read every sitting as soon as it is transcribed, ask questions to the video assistant and get an alert as soon as your topics come up.
14-day free trial. A card is required, nothing is charged for 14 days, and you can cancel anytime.
Updated
'%20d='m0%200%2016%2011h61%2061%2061%2061%2060L47%2037h61%2061%2060%2061L16%2063h61%2061%2061%2061%2060L47%2089h61%2061%2060%2061L16%20115h61%2061%2061%2061%2060L47%20141h61%2061%2060%2061L16%20166h61%2061%2061%2061%2060L47%20192h61%2061%2060%2061L16%20218h61%2061%2061%2061%2060z'/%3e%3c/svg%3e)