Speeches

The next vote is on the report by Joachim Stanisław Brudziński on Discharge 2023: EU general budget – European External Action Service (see minutes, item 8.12).

The next vote is on the report by Joachim Stanisław Brudziński on Discharge 2023: EU general budget – European Ombudsman (see minutes, item 8.10).

The next vote is on the report by Joachim Stanisław Brudziński on Discharge 2023: EU general budget – Committee of the Regions (see minutes, item 8.9).

The next vote is on the report by Joachim Stanisław Brudziński on Discharge 2023: EU general budget – European Economic and Social Committee (see minutes, item 8.8).

The first vote is on the request from the REGI Committee for an urgent procedure on amending the ERDF, Cohesion Fund and Just Transition Fund as regards specific measures to address strategic challenges in the context of the mid-term review (see minutes, item 8.1).

Please remain standing now for the European anthem. (The House rose and listened to the European anthem performed by soprano Francesca Sorteni, accompanied by Thomas Gautier and Claire Rigaux on violin, Marie Viard on cello and Emma Errara on viola.) Let us remember what Europe has endured. Let us speak proudly of what Europe has built. And let us never forget. The most powerful tribute to those who fell lies not only in remembrance, but in resolve. In the choices we make. In the values we defend. In the peace that we seek.

Dear President Costa – dear António, dear Members, distinguished guests, dear veterans, dear friends, we gather today in this House of European democracy to mark a solemn and significant anniversary: 80 years since the end of the Second World War in Europe – the largest and deadliest conflict in human history and the very reason our Union was born. We come together to remember those who fought and those who fell. We honour their courage, their sacrifice and their defiance in the face of tyranny. We remember, so that the horrors of Europe's darkest chapter are never repeated. They fought so we could live in peace. They sacrificed their lives so we could live in freedom. They risked everything so our children could grow up safe. We will always remember them. Let us now turn to our screens to watch a short film that tells the story of that defining moment 80 years ago. (A video was shown in the Chamber) Eighty years ago, in a red‑brick schoolhouse in Reims, just a few hours west of where we are now, Nazi Germany signed its unconditional surrender, bringing the war in Europe to an end. By the next morning, the guns had fallen silent. In London, Paris and Prague people poured into the streets. They embraced. They sang. They wept – with joy, with relief, but also with grief. It was a day many feared they would never live to see. After nearly six long years, the war in Europe was finally over. But for millions, peace came too late. Tens of millions of lives had been lost. Among them, six million Jews. Entire communities were erased. Entire generations wiped out. Entire cities reduced to ash. Many who survived faced famine, displacement and disease. For a generation, trauma left its mark in silence. Millions of children across Europe would grow up without a father, their mothers without a husband. The war was over, but the wounds were deep. And for millions across Europe, 1945 brought not liberation, but a new kind of oppression. As Stalin's grip tightened, an Iron Curtain descended upon Europe, dividing countries, families and lives. For the people of Warsaw and Riga, Bratislava and East Berlin, the end of one struggle marked the beginning of another, and it would take decades before they could truly be free. In the aftermath of the war, Europe lay in ruins, but its spirit was unbroken. And across the continent people began the quiet, dignified work of rebuilding. Not only with bricks, but with hope. The names that line the corridors of our Parliament – Schuman and Adenauer, Spaak and De Gasperi, Churchill and Monet – these were men who had lived through the war, who had buried brothers, lost friends and seen cities burn. And yet they chose reconciliation over revenge. They chose to believe that former enemies could become partners, that cooperation was not a weakness but a necessity. And from their courage, a new Europe was born. A Europe that rejected the poison of the past and dared to build peace. And it is because of them that we stand here today in a Parliament of nations, of former foes turned friends, united by a shared promise: never again. Forty years ago today, President Ronald Reagan stood before this very Parliament and spoke with profound admiration of what we had achieved. These were his words: 'Europe, beloved Europe, you are greater than you know. You are the treasury of centuries of Western thought and Western culture; you are the father of Western ideals and the mother of Western faith. Europe, you have been the power and the glory of the West, and you are a moral success. In the horrors after World War II, you rejected totalitarianism; you rejected the lure of the new superman and a new Communist man; you proved that you were and are a moral triumph. You in the West are a Europe without illusions, a Europe firmly grounded in the ideals and traditions that made her greatness, a Europe unbound and unfettered by a bankrupt ideology. You are today a new Europe on the brink of a new century, a democratic community with much to be proud of.' President Reagan's words were not only a recognition of how far Europe had come, but a call to protect what had been built. We owe a profound debt to the men and women who made that peace possible, and some of them are with us here today. It is my deepest honour to welcome three extraordinary men who lived through that war, and who carry its memories still: Mr Robert Chot, Mr Janusz Komorowski, Mr Janusz Maksymowicz. To you, and to all of those who are not with us today, we say simply: thank you. (The House rose and applauded) Your courage lit Europe's darkest hour. You risked your lives so that we could live ours. You chose to resist. You chose to hope. And we will never forget. Eighty years have passed, but the story is not over. Once again, war has returned to our continent. Once again, cities are being bombed. Civilians attacked. Families torn apart. The people of Ukraine are fighting not only for their land, but for freedom, for sovereignty, for democracy. Just as our parents and our grandparents once did. This Parliament will always stand with those who seek peace, for liberty. We stand against those who shatter it. We stand against tyranny. And the task before us today is the same as it was then: to honour memory, to protect democracy, to preserve peace – a peace that is just, real and lasting.

I have received an alternative proposal from the S&D Group that Council and Commission statements entitled ‘The illegal visit of President Erdoğan to the occupied areas of Cyprus’, with one round of political speakers, be added as the last item on Wednesday afternoon, without a resolution. I will give the floor to anybody who wants to speak against having this discussion in the first place. As no one wishes to speak against, Mr Geadi, do you agree with the alternative proposal from the S&D Group, on the title and the resolution?

OK, but now you will see that there is space because the previous two items were not accepted, so we will have it on the agenda on Wednesday, as the Renew Group asked, and the vote was taken. For Thursday, the ECR Group has requested that a Commission statement on ‘The illegal visit of President Erdoğan to the occupied areas of Cyprus – escalating threats against the Republic of Cyprus’ be added on Thursday morning as the second item. The statement would be wound up with a resolution. I give the floor to Geadis Geadi to move the request on behalf of the ECR Group.

The agenda for the next session will then be adopted during this Conference of Presidents. So we vote now on the Renew Group request to have it this week. (Parliament approved the request) The agenda is changed. The sitting will be extended until 23:00.

Thank you, Ms Miranda, but we are in the middle of adopting the agenda, so we will move to a request by the Renew Group, but your point is made and taken. The Renew Group has requested that a Commission statement on ‘The fine against TikTok and the need to strengthen the protection of citizens’ rights on social media platforms’ be added in the afternoon before the debates under Rule 150. As a consequence, the sitting would be extended until 23:00. I give the floor to Veronika Cifrová Ostrihoňová to move the request on behalf of the Renew Group.

We now come to the order of business. The final draft agenda as adopted by the Conference of Presidents on 30 April pursuant to Rule 163 has been distributed. For Wednesday, The Left Group has requested that a Commission statement on ‘Reported drone strike against the humanitarian civil vessel Freedom Flotilla and its implications for maritime security and humanitarian activist protection’ be added on Wednesday evening before the debates on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. As a consequence the sitting would be extended to 23:00. I give the floor first to Özlem Demirel to move the request on behalf of The Left Group.

We will do that right now, in fact, when we adopt the agenda, because there is a proposal along those lines that we will discuss and vote on in a couple of minutes.

I would like to inform you that I have received the following requests for urgent procedure pursuant to Rule 170(6): – from the ECR Group, and jointly from the EPP, S&D and Renew groups, on the following legislative file: CO2 emission performance standards for new passenger cars and new light commercial vehicles for 2025 to 2027; – from the ENVI Committee on the following legislative file: The protection status of the wolf (Canis lupus); – from the ECON Committee: amendments to the Capital Requirements Regulation as regards securities financing transactions under the net stable funding ratio. The vote on these requests will be taken tomorrow. ⁂ Now I would like to inform the House that I have received requests for points of order. I will start by giving the floor to Bas Eickhout. ⁂

I would like to inform you that, since the adjournment of Parliament's session on 3 April, I have signed, together with the President of the Council, three acts adopted under the ordinary legislative procedure in accordance with Rule 81 of Parliament's Rules of Procedure. I would also like to inform you that on Wednesday, I shall sign, together with the President of the Council, another three acts adopted under the ordinary legislative procedure. The titles of the acts will be published in the minutes of this sitting.

The LIBE, PECH and – jointly – the SEDE and ITRE committees have decided to enter into interinstitutional negotiations pursuant to Rule 72(1) of the Rules of Procedure. The reports, which constitute the mandates for the negotiations, are available on the plenary webpage and their titles will be published in the minutes of the sitting. Pursuant to Rule 72(2), Members or political groups reaching at least the medium threshold may request in writing by tomorrow, Tuesday 6 May at midnight, that the decisions be put to the vote. If no request for a vote in Parliament is made before the expiry of that deadline, the committees may start the negotiations.

I have received a request from the competent authorities in Hungary for the parliamentary immunity of Péter Magyar to be waived. The request is referred to the Committee on Legal Affairs.

Thank you very much, Mr Kyuchyuk. So I will write, in accordance with your argumentation, to the presidents of the Council and Commission to inform them of the procedure.

I would like to inform you that I have received a letter from the Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee concerning the verification of the legal basis for the SAFE proposal. In accordance with Rule 138, the Legal Affairs Committee verified the Article 122 legal basis at its meeting of 23 April. It voted unanimously that Article 122 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union was not the appropriate legal basis, so I will give the floor to the Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee, Ilhan Kyuchyuk, to share the committee's conclusions.

The minutes and the texts adopted of the sitting of 3 April are available. Are there any comments? I see that is not the case. Therefore they are approved.

The next vote is on the report by Nicolás Pascual de la Parte on the implementation of the common security and defence policy – annual report 2024 (see minutes, item [7.8]).