What Roberta spoke about.

Following the resignation of Carola Rackete, and on the proposal of the Committee on Legal Affairs, Parliament takes note of the vacancy of her seat from 16 September 2025, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure, and has informed the national authority concerned thereof. The competent authorities of Czechia have notified me of the election of Jaroslav Knot to the European Parliament, replacing Ondřej Kovařík with effect from 31 July 2025. I welcome our new colleague and recall that he takes his seat in Parliament and its bodies in full enjoyment of his rights pending the verification of his credentials.

Dear colleagues, welcome back to Strasbourg. Much has happened over the last weeks, and this House will debate many of these issues over the coming days. Right now, we will take a moment to mark some of the incidents and events that have taken place. I would like to ask all Members to wait until all announcements are finished, to observe a minute's silence at the end. First of all, last Wednesday, we were shocked and saddened to learn of the tragic derailment of the Elevador da Glória funicular cable railway in Lisbon, which resulted in 16 people killed and 23 injured. We send our condolences to those families grieving unimaginable loss and wish strength to those on the path to recovery. This Parliament stands with Portugal and all of Europe in mourning. Europe has also faced and is currently facing the worst wildfire season since records began. At least eight people have died and over one million hectares of land have burnt this year alone. I know all our thoughts are with those whose lives have been turned upside down forever by these horrific events, particularly in Portugal and Spain, where much of this devastation has occurred. To those people suffering and those still fighting the flames: Europe stands with you. The European Union pre-positioned nearly 650 firefighters across southern Europe, ready to work alongside local emergency responders to keep communities safe. We also launched over 20 firefighting aircraft to tackle fires across the continent. We saw people crossing borders to keep their neighbours safe. This is European solidarity in action, and in the most trying of times, our people saw the best of Europe on display. Dear colleagues, the war in Ukraine continues, and while we will continue to push for peace and support all efforts in that regard, we understand that it must be a real peace – a peace with dignity and justice. We were appalled by the terrible murder of the former Chair of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Andriy Parubiy, in Lviv two weeks ago. Tragedies like Mr Parubiy's death serve to reinforce our Union's support for Ukrainians in their fight for freedom and democracy. To our south, the situation in the Middle East and in Gaza continues to horrify, with death and untold suffering becoming all too familiar. We cannot allow the normalisation of the horror we are witnessing. The situation is untenable and unacceptable. Too many have lost too much. Too many have been killed. Too many are still kept captive. Too many bombs have been dropped. Too many children now know war and hunger. I know that we are all determined to help find a way forward that breaks the violent cycle of history, and for that to have any chance, there must be a political solution that sees an end to the violence and the terror, and the return of the hostages. We need a ceasefire and a real perspective towards a two‑state solution. Too much innocent blood has been spilt. Europe must do more to find peace. Dear colleagues, as we remember all those lost, I ask you to join me now in observing a minute's silence.

I can assure you that we take our job extremely seriously, especially on declaring and questioning the admissibility of amendments. Your amendment was declared inadmissible according to Rule 188(1)(a) of the Rules of Procedure, because it does not directly relate to the text which it seeks to amend.

The first vote is on the motion of censure on the Commission (see minutes, item 6.1). ⁂ I would like to inform the House that I have received a request for a point of order. I will give the floor to Özlem Demirel.

The next vote is on the human cost of Russia’s war against Ukraine and the urgent need to end Russian aggression: the situation of illegally detained civilians and prisoners of war, and the continued bombing of civilians (see minutes, item 7.14).

The next vote is on mobilisation of the European Union Solidarity Fund: assistance to Austria, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Moldova relating to floods that occurred in September 2024 and Bosnia and Herzegovina relating to floods that occurred in October 2024 (see minutes, item 7.6).

The next vote is on the amending Regulation (EU) No 1026/2012 on certain measures for the purpose of the conservation of fish stocks in relation to countries allowing non-sustainable fishing (see minutes, item 7.4).

The next vote is on the objection pursuant to Rule 114(3): amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1675 to add certain countries to the list of high-risk third countries, and to remove other countries from that list (see minutes, item 7.2).

The first item on the agenda today is the debate on the European Council and Commission statements on the conclusions of the European Council meeting of 26 June 2025 (2024/2981(RSP)). I would like to remind you that we will continue with the new format for this debate and there will be no fixed speakers' list. After the first round of speakers, Members who received speaking time from their political groups or the non-attached secretariat will be called to speak and will be reminded of their allotted to intervene. Please keep an eye on the screens in the Chamber, where the current speaker and the next three speakers will be displayed. When your name appears, I would ask you to prepare and make your way to the lectern. The normal rules regarding blue cards and catch-the-eye procedure will apply.

I have one announcement before we start. In relation to the decision by several committees to enter interinstitutional negotiations pursuant to Rule 72(1) as announced at the opening of the session on Monday, 7 July 2025, I have received no request for a vote in Parliament by Members or political groups reaching at least the medium threshold. The committees may therefore start negotiations.

I would like to inform you that, since the adjournment of Parliament's session on 19 June 2025, I have signed, together with the President of the Council, two acts adopted under the ordinary legislative procedure in accordance with Rule 81 of Parliament’s Rules. The titles of the acts will be published in the minutes of this sitting.

The LIBE and JURI Committees have transmitted a corrigendum to a text adopted by the Parliament. Pursuant to Rule 251(4), this corrigendum will be deemed approved unless, no later than 24 hours after its announcement, a request is made by a political group or Members reaching at least the low threshold that it be put to the vote. The corrigendum is available on the plenary webpage. Its title will be published in the minutes of this sitting.