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European Parliament
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What is said in the sittings, update by update, the latest first. Each update opens the video at the second it was said.
Committee on Foreign Affairs Ordinary meeting
MEPs, the Commission and the EEAS review the political window for North Macedonia’s accession, underlining the need for constitutional amendments, rule‑of‑law and public administration reforms, anti‑discrimination measures, media freedom safeguards and continued CFSP alignment as prerequisites for moving forward with the fundamentals cluster and deeper integration.
In this chapter
Committee on Foreign Affairs Ordinary meeting
The rapporteur and MEPs from key groups outline North Macedonia’s long-standing candidate status, reform progress and remaining rule-of-law gaps, while stressing citizens’ fatigue, constitutional impasse on minority recognition, and risks for regional stability if commitments on the July 2022 conditions, anti-discrimination and judiciary independence are not met. They underline the strategic importance of the country for EU security and credibility, call for depoliticisation, better protection of minorities and media, and insist bilateral disputes must not derail but also cannot be detached from the accession framework.
In this chapter
Committee on Foreign Affairs Ordinary meeting
The AFET committee examines the 2025 report on Albania, with the rapporteur and shadows assessing progress on negotiations, rule of law, corruption, electoral reform, media and environment, alongside concerns over justice, property and misuse of EU funds, before the Commission and EEAS outline key reform priorities and next procedural steps.
In this chapter
Committee on Foreign Affairs Ordinary meeting
EU–India relations are reviewed from the Delhi summit outcomes and five‑year strategic agenda to detailed discussion of the FTA, security and defence partnership, human‑rights and climate conditionality, followed by MEP questions and EEAS replies on Russian oil, sustainability, migration, derisking from China and implementation tools like the €500m decarbonisation facility.
In this chapter
Committee on Foreign Affairs Ordinary meeting
Opening of the AFET item on East Asia with the rapporteur’s assessment of systemic rivalry with China, regional security (Taiwan, DPRK, maritime routes) and proposals to deepen EU cooperation with regional partners and multilateral formats.
Committee on Foreign Affairs Ordinary meeting
The committee turns to a draft recommendation on transnational water governance, with the rapporteur framing water as a human right and conflict factor, shadows stressing scarcity, weaponisation and migration impacts while some caution against EU over‑reach and call for updated international rules, and the rapporteur and chair concluding on treating water as a peace‑policy tool and detailing the amendment and vote timetable before adjournment.
In this chapter
Committee on Foreign Affairs Ordinary meeting
Following the closure of the work programme dialogue, the chair opens the item on countering transnational repression as the rapporteur presents a comprehensive EU strategy proposal, political groups debate scope, definitions, instruments, Interpol abuse and national competences, the EEAS outlines existing tools and cooperation, and the rapporteur closes by inviting amendments and highlighting national legal loopholes ahead of the announced procedural timetable.
In this chapter
Committee on Foreign Affairs Ordinary meeting
The Commissioner links Gaza reconstruction to Hamas disarmament and multilateral UN‑led implementation, explains strict conditionality on Syria funds, notes the draft but delayed Middle East strategy, clarifies that most bilateral cooperation with Israel is frozen pending member‑state decisions on Article 2, and underlines that lasting peace and investment require active Arab and Gulf engagement together with EU‑US coordination and stronger EU unity.
In this chapter
Committee on Foreign Affairs Ordinary meeting
Supportive and critical MEPs probe implementation of the 20‑point Gaza peace plan, preferred partners and timelines for reconstruction, people‑to‑people priorities in the Pact for the Mediterranean, conditions and sanctions architecture in the Syria package, Lebanon’s elections and Saudi and Turkish roles, as well as intra‑EU divisions, coordination with Muslim partners and concrete plans for the Mediterranean University and action plan deliverables.
In this chapter
Committee on Foreign Affairs Ordinary meeting
The Commissioner justifies attending the Board of Peace as an observer under UNSC 2803 and diplomatic courtesy, stresses she did not endorse its charter and used the format to advance EU Gaza objectives, and then details the three‑pillar Pact action plan, internal coordination, and strategic engagement with Algeria and Lebanon as part of a broader Mediterranean geopolitical approach.
In this chapter
Committee on Foreign Affairs Ordinary meeting
Political group coordinators challenge the EU’s participation in Trump’s Board of Peace, question its legality, transparency and impact on the UN system, criticise Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank, and press the Commission on Tunisia’s democratic backsliding, the safety of political refugees, engagement with Algeria and Lebanon, and the need to counter Russian influence and migration routes via Libya and Belarus.
In this chapter
Committee on Foreign Affairs Ordinary meeting
The chair launches the structured dialogue on the Commission work programme, as the Commissioner outlines the Pact for the Mediterranean, EU engagement on Gaza under UNSC 2803, early recovery and donor coordination for Gaza, and a broad regional tour covering Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Iraq, North Africa, the Gulf, Yemen, migration tools and the TMED energy initiative within a wider simplification and enforcement agenda.
In this chapter
Vice‑Chair Hanna Neumann opens an exchange with ICC First Vice‑President Judge Rosario Salvatore Aitala on the Court’s role in a fragmented order; Aitala gives a strongly worded statement linking the ICC and EU to post‑war European values, warning of rising violence and hatred, and describing unprecedented attacks by permanent UN Security Council members, including US sanctions that list ICC judges like criminals and restrict their financial and digital access; MEPs from several groups denounce the US sanctions, press for activation of the EU blocking statute, ask about the EU–ICC cooperation agreement, digital and financial dependence on US providers, possible use of Rome Statute Article 70, and concrete measures to protect Court staff and preserve deterrence; Aitala confirms intensive but confidential contacts with Commission and Council, stresses companies’ over‑compliance and the need for clear political backing and reassurance so European banks and service providers keep working with the Court, recalls the ICC’s complementarity with national jurisdictions and its role as part of Europe’s legal order, and urges continued political, legal and practical support as the Parliament insists the Commission act on the blocking statute and broader strategic autonomy.
The committee then debates the draft report on Turkey’s 2025 Commission report; rapporteur Nacho Sánchez Amor distinguishes the frozen, value‑based accession track (with continued authoritarian backsliding, political trials, and no progress on the seven remaining visa benchmarks) from the need for a pragmatic, transactional partnership on customs union, security and regional issues, and criticizes the Commission and Council’s public silence on democratic deterioration as damaging for pro‑EU civil society; shadows and other MEPs divide between those urging a tough line or formal end of accession, those pressing to include issues like persecution of minorities, Hamas links, Cyprus occupation and threats in the Eastern Mediterranean, and those emphasizing NATO/security cooperation but clear red lines on rule of law and political prisoners (Imamoğlu, Demirtaş etc.); Commission and EEAS respond that their assessment broadly aligns with Parliament’s, recall repeated calls on Turkey to respect ECtHR rulings and Cyprus’ sovereignty, note low CFSP alignment but some constructive steps (sanctions circumvention, refugee hosting, regional connectivity), and argue for continued selective engagement, after which Sánchez Amor reiterates the need for a louder, public EU stance on democracy and McAllister sets amendment and vote dates.
Committee on Foreign Affairs Ordinary meeting
The Chair expresses Parliament’s appreciation for the ICC and Judge Aitala’s testimony, invites future engagement with the Court, and formally closes the morning sitting of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
Committee on Foreign Affairs Ordinary meeting
Concluding intervention by Judge Aitala detailing the need for explicit EU political support, protection against overcompliance with foreign sanctions, the complementarity-based duties of EU member states, broader EU obligations to safeguard ICC-related actors, and the shared strategic destiny between the EU and the Court.
In this chapter
McAllister opens item 12 on the broad package of bilateral agreements with Switzerland ("bilateral 3"), explaining that the Council has just approved signature and that Parliament must now prepare its consent; rapporteur Christophe Grudler frames Switzerland as a unique, deeply interdependent but non‑EEA partner, describes the package as a long‑negotiated compromise to stabilize and modernize sectoral agreements (free movement, transport, energy, mobility, research) in a changing geopolitical context, and insists Parliament must scrutinize social protection, fair competition and implementation while voting on the package as a whole; shadows and opinion rapporteurs (IMCO, INTA) generally welcome the draft’s balanced tone, stress preserving the internal market’s integrity, cross‑border regional benefits, Horizon/Erasmus/Interreg participation, and argue for possibly broader trade and investment frameworks and joint WTO reform; Commission and EEAS present the package as a balanced whole bringing legal certainty, new cooperation in electricity and health, a parliamentary committee, and warn that failure to ratify would weaken relations, before Grudler closes by outlining the amendment calendar and the link to Parliament’s eventual consent.
Committee on Foreign Affairs Ordinary meeting
MEPs from The Left and francophone groups denounce a two-tier international order and EU hypocrisy on Israel, call for concrete EU measures vis-à-vis the US to protect ICC staff and enforce warrants, and demand a sovereignty-affirming use of the blocking statute before a final question on alliances for the rules-based order closes the round.
In this chapter
Committee on Foreign Affairs Ordinary meeting
First-round questions from EPP, S&D and Greens/EFA MEPs reaffirm strong political support for the ICC while pressing the Commission’s inaction on the blocking statute, EU legal obligations under cooperation agreements, and options to secure the Court’s financial and digital autonomy, including anti-coercion tools and Article 70.
In this chapter
Committee on Foreign Affairs Ordinary meeting
Judge Aitala details political and legal backlash from major powers against the ICC, highlights current investigations, and urges the EU, referencing Parliament’s 2026 resolution, to operationalize tools such as the blocking statute to protect Court officials and partners.
In this chapter
Committee on Foreign Affairs Ordinary meeting
The Chair opens the AFET meeting, presents the hearing format and gives Judge Aitala the floor, who recalls the ICC’s European roots, core values and the growing expectations of victims in a deteriorating international climate.
In this chapter
The committee turns to the 2025 Commission report on Montenegro; rapporteur Marian Šarec presents a broadly positive draft noting 13 provisionally closed chapters and the ambition to conclude negotiations by 2026, while insisting that Chapters 23/24, judicial independence, anti‑corruption, media freedom, environment and visa alignment remain decisive benchmarks; shadows from across groups plus several MEPs highlight Montenegro’s frontrunner position but also internal political tensions, judicial appointments, attacks on journalists, foreign interference (notably from Serbia/Russia), minority and restitution issues, and the need for credible track record before accession; Commission (DG NEAR) and EEAS confirm progress and remaining rule‑of‑law and visa‑policy gaps, stress risks from institutional tensions and hybrid threats, and underline support via EPF and security dialogue, after which Šarec thanks colleagues and McAllister sets amendment and vote deadlines.
McAllister introduces the draft report on Georgia’s 2025 Commission report, stressing unprecedented democratic backsliding and Georgia’s status as “candidate in name only”; rapporteur Rasa Juknevičienė details regression on all nine priorities, anti‑EU disinformation by Georgian Dream, calls for targeted sanctions and warns visa‑free suspension may follow, while shadows and other MEPs underline government’s pro‑Russian drift, support for Georgian civil society and Sakharov laureates, and debate how EU sanctions and support to Ukraine link to Georgia’s trajectory; Commission (DG NEAR) and EEAS outline concrete measures already taken (downgrading contacts, suspending assistance, triggering visa‑suspension mechanism) and expectations on political prisoners, repressive laws, CFSP alignment and sanctions evasion, before the rapporteur closes and McAllister sets amendment and committee/plenary vote timelines.
After DEVE members leave, AFET votes on: the recommendation on enhanced EU–Canada cooperation (short presentation by rapporteur Tobias Kramer, vote on compromises and key amendments, then final roll‑call adoption); the draft opinion on the next MFF interim report (rapporteur Dan Barna, swift sequence of compromise amendments and final adoption); and the DROIT draft opinion on the 2025 Rule of Law Report (starting from compromise 6, multiple close roll‑call checks, series of compromises and individual amendments, ending with adoption of the opinion and confirmation that all morning votes were completed within 30 minutes.
Chair David McAllister opens the joint AFET/DEVE meeting, adopts the agenda and previous minutes, then conducts a lengthy electronic vote on the Global Gateway report (past impacts and future orientation), including test vote, series of compromise and individual amendments, roll‑call checks, and final adoption of the draft report, followed by a vote approving the inter‑institutional provisional agreement on amending Regulation 2021/947 (External Action Guarantee).
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76 sittings on Polyfact since 9 April 2025
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