Speeches

I put the request to the vote by roll call. (Parliament rejected the request) The agenda is adopted and the order of business is thus established.

We put the request to a vote by roll call. (Parliament rejected the request) For today as well, the ID Group has requested that the debate on Council and Commission statements on ‘ongoing hearings under Article 7(1) regarding Hungary to strengthen rule of law and its budgetary implications’, be postponed to the next part-session and replaced by a Commission statement on ‘the need for more transparency and immediate publication of Mario Draghi’s report on EU competitiveness’. The debate would be wound up with a resolution to be voted at the next part-session. I give the floor to Jean-Paul Garraud to move the request.

Thank you very much, Mr Złotowski. I put the request to the vote by roll call. (Parliament rejected the request) Also for today, the Greens Group has requested that the commission statement on ‘Russia’s undemocratic presidential elections and their illegitimate extension to the occupied territories’ be moved to tomorrow as the first item in the morning. As a consequence, the sitting would start at 8.30. I give the floor to Ms Kuhnke to move the request.

So we will first vote on the postponement of Mr Hojsík’s report by roll call. (Parliament rejected the request) We now vote on the postponement of the report by Ms Pereira, also by roll call. (Parliament rejected the request) I have a request for a point of order from Ms Al-Sahlani.

So now we move to further points and announcements. With the agreement of the political groups, I wish to put to the House the following proposals for changes to the final draft agenda. For Wednesday, so today, the debate on the Commission statement on ‘Russia’s undemocratic presidential elections and their illegitimate extension to the occupied territories’ will be wound up with a resolution to be voted at the next part-session. The report by Mr Torvalds on urban wastewater treatment, initially planned for the vote tomorrow, is brought forward to today’s voting session. The Council and commission statements on ‘New allegations of Russian interference in the European Parliament, in the upcoming EU elections and the impact on the Union’ are added as the first item after the votes. This debate will be wound up with a resolution to be voted at the next part-session, and the sitting is extended to 23.00. For Thursday, the following items are added to tomorrow’s voting session: the report by Mr García del Blanco on the request for the waiver of the immunity of Gunnar Beck; the three reports by Mr Lebreton on the requests for the waiver of the immunities of Andris Ameriks, Nils Ušakovs and Julia Donath; and the objection pursuant to Rule 111(3) on specific hygiene requirements for certain meat, fishery products, dairy products and eggs. The deadlines for objections are today at 14.00 for amendments and today at 19.00 for split and separate votes. If there are no objections, these changes are approved. We now move to changes requested by the individual political groups, starting with today. The ECR Group has requested that the vote on the following two reports be postponed: the report by Mr Hojsík on soil monitoring and resilience, and the report by Ms Pereira on the Union certification framework for carbon removals. I give the floor to Ms Zalewska to move the request on behalf of the ECR Group.

I would like to inform you that the deadline for tabling questions for written answer will be Thursday 25 April 2024. All questions must be tabled by that date in order to be answered by their addressees, if admissible.

I was informed that no objections have been raised within the Conference of Committee Chairs to the recommendations by the AGRI Committee not to oppose two delegated acts, pursuant to Rule 111(6) of the Rules of Procedure. The recommendations are available on the plenary webpage. If no objections are raised by a political group or Members reaching at least the low threshold within 24 hours, the recommendations shall be deemed to have been approved; otherwise, they will be put to the vote.

Several committees have decided to enter into interinstitutional negotiations, pursuant to Rule 71(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 71(2), Members or political groups reaching at least the medium threshold may request in writing by tomorrow, Thursday 11 April at midnight that the decisions be put to the vote. If no request for a vote in Parliament is made before the deadline expires, the committees may start the negotiations.

The EPP and The Left groups have notified me of decisions relating to changes to appointments within committees and delegations. These decisions will be set out in the minutes of today’s sitting and take effect on the date of this announcement.

Based on the conclusions of the Advisory Committee on the Conduct of Members, and after taking into account the observations of the Member concerned, I have decided to impose a penalty on Tatjana Ždanoka pursuant to Articles 1, 4 and 6 of the Code of Conduct for Members of the European Parliament regarding Integrity and Transparency, as well as to Rule 176. The penalty consists of a prohibition from representing Parliament on an interparliamentary delegation, interparliamentary conference or any interinstitutional forum until the end of her current mandate and a forfeiture of entitlement to the daily subsistence allowance for a period of five days. The Member concerned has been notified of the decision and has not lodged an internal appeal with the Bureau under Rule 177. The penalty is therefore final.

Following the election of Nuno Melo and Marisa Matias to the Portuguese Parliament, Parliament takes note of the vacancy of their seats from 26 March 2024, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure. Following the appointment of Maria da Graça Carvalho, José Manuel Fernandes and Paulo Rangel to the Portuguese Government, Parliament takes note of the vacancy of their seats from 2 April 2024. Following the appointment of Cláudia Monteiro de Aguiar as a Secretary of State in Portugal, Parliament takes note of the vacancy of her seat from 5 April 2024. The competent authorities of Germany have notified me of the election of Jan Ovelgönne to the European Parliament with effect from 12 March 2024. The competent authorities of Portugal have notified me of the election of Vasco Becker-Weinberg and Anabela Rodrigues with effect from 26 March 2024; of the election of Vânia Neto, Teófilo Santos and Ana Miguel dos Santos with effect from 2 April 2024; and of the election of Ricardo Morgado with effect from 5 April 2024. I wish our new colleagues a warm welcome and recall that they take their seats in Parliament and its bodies in full enjoyment of their rights pending the verification of their credentials.

The minutes and the texts adopted of the sitting of 14 March are available. Are there any comments? I see that is not the case. Therefore, the minutes are approved.

This is the last vote, so a reminder to stay in the Chamber if you are participating in the next debate. (The sitting was suspended at 12.40)

We will look at the exact wording used. The Vice-President who was chairing – I think it was Ms Charanzová – cut off the speaker then, so we will also do the procedure.

Dear colleagues, dear champions, thank you for joining us to mark International Women’s Day in the European Parliament. Thank you for inspiring young girls and boys across the world, for proving that football is her game, too. Before we begin this ceremony, I would like to invite all of you to turn your attention to the screens to watch a short video clip prepared especially for today’s celebrations. (A video was shown in the Chamber) Dear colleagues, from leading businesses or households to steering nations, from breaking barriers in the boardroom to blazing trails in sports, women have changed the world. That is why we must continue to work harder to level the playing field and to make women’s contributions more visible; to ensure that every little girl and every little boy has role models to aspire to. And to do this, it is my pleasure to welcome to the European Parliament world champions Ivana Andrés and Alba Redondo, on behalf of the Spanish football team that won the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and, only a few days ago, the first Women’s Nations League. Welcome! (Applause) Bienvenidas, Ivana, Alba, we have seen you and your teammates shattering stereotypes, we have seen you reaching your goals – and scoring quite a lot of them, too! Your victory is a reminder that gender cannot and will not hinder the road to success – that hard work, ambition and determination are qualities that overcome all limitations. We know that this does not come easy. In sports, inequality persists – not least when it comes to media coverage, sponsorship opportunities and pay. More broadly, I think of the women who, despite all their best efforts, are still struggling every day to reach their full potential. This is a systemic problem and one that the European Parliament is working hard – day in, day out – to uproot. Everyone has a role to play here. It is up to each one of us to facilitate a paradigm shift in thinking and in working. To foster policies that will eliminate gender discrimination; to make it easier for women; to remove the unfair barriers that remain. That is why International Women’s Day is so important – as a day to celebrate women’s achievements, but also as a reminder of the remaining work that still needs to be done. And I am so proud that this House is a global leader on these issues and will remain a force for true equality. Thank you. (Applause)

The AFET and BUDG committees jointly decided to enter into interinstitutional negotiations, pursuant to Rule 71(1). The report which constitutes the mandate for the negotiations is available on the plenary webpage and its title will be published in the minutes of the sitting. Pursuant to Rule 71(2), Members or political groups reaching at least the medium threshold may request in writing by tomorrow, Wednesday, 13 March at midnight, that the decision be put to the vote. If no request for a vote in Parliament is made within the deadline, the committees may start the negotiations.

So can we please vote now on Ms Van Sparrentak’s request by show of hands? (Parliament approved the request) Therefore, we will have a statement. For Thursday, the Renew, Left and S&D groups have requested that Council and Commission statements on ‘Inclusion of the right to abortion in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights’ be added as the first point in the morning. I give the floor to Ms Hayer to move the request.

We will vote on the EPP proposal and, therefore, first on the debate, as amended by Renew. We cannot split the vote on the title. Next we vote on the resolution, but for the moment just the debate. (Parliament approved the request to hold the debate) Now we put the request for a resolution to a vote by roll call. (Parliament rejected the request to wind up the debate with motions for resolutions) Therefore there is no resolution, just the debate. Now we move to the next point. For Wednesday, the Greens/EFA Group has requested that a Commission statement on ‘Rising anti-LGBTIQ rhetoric and violence: recent attacks in Thessaloniki’ be added in the evening before the debate on ‘The time the European Commission takes to deal with requests for public access to documents’. As a consequence, the sitting would be extended to 23.00. I give the floor to Ms Van Sparrentak to move the request.

I have received an alternative proposal from the Renew Group, which I will read out: ‘The need to impose sanctions on the import of Russian and Belarussian food and agricultural products to the EU and to ensure stability of EU agricultural production’, with resolution. I will put to the vote first the request to add the debate. Then for the resolution I need to ask Mr Halicki whether he agrees with the alternative proposal of the Renew Group. We have an alternative title, as proposed by the Renew Group. I will give you one minute to think about it. In the meantime, we have some advice from Mr Waitz, it seems.