Speeches

Thank you very much, Ms Düpont. I put the request of the Greens Group to a vote by roll call. (Parliament rejected the request) Therefore the agenda remains unchanged. Therefore, dear colleagues, the agenda is adopted and the order of business is thus established. Dear colleagues, please listen to the points that will be made. I give the floor to Mélissa Camara.

Thank you very much, Ms Bentele. So I put the request of the EPP Group to a vote by roll call. (Parliament approved the request) The agenda is changed accordingly. For tomorrow, the Greens Group has requested that the report of Ms Sippel on 'Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2021/1232 as regards the extension of its period of application' be removed from the votes. I give the floor to Markéta Gregorová to move the request on behalf of the Greens Group.

Thank you very much, Ms Bentele. I have received an alternative proposal from the S&D Group, which would be a statement on 'The worsening Middle East escalation in light of Israel's planned security zone in Lebanon, the recent strikes on energy infrastructure in the Gulf and the risk of imminent executions in Iran.' Mr Maniatis, do I understand correctly that you want to speak against the EPP proposal or in favour of yours? Both.

I have received separate requests for a vote in Parliament from The Left, Greens and S&D groups reaching the medium threshold on the decision of the LIBE Committee to enter into negotiations on the following file: Common system for the return of third-country nationals staying illegally in the Union. The vote will be held tomorrow.

The EPP, ECR, Renew Europe groups and the non-attached Members 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.

The minutes and the texts adopted of the sitting of 12 March are available. Are there any comments? I see that is not the case. Therefore, the minutes are approved. Ms García Pérez would like the floor. Please, Iratxe, you have the floor.

The next vote is on the EU-Ecuador Agreement: cooperation between Europol and the Ecuadorian authorities competent for combating serious crime and terrorism (see minutes, item 8.4).

This is a very important report. Thank you to Sven Simon and Bernd Lange for their work. We will hold a signing ceremony with the Commission President at a future part-session.

The first vote is on the Framework Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the European Commission (see minutes, item 8.1).

Dear colleagues, it is an honour to welcome the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, to the European Parliament today. Prime Minister, dear Nikol, welcome back to this House. When you last addressed us, you set your country in motion to deepen relations with the European Union. Since then, we have come a long way – from our increased cooperation through our strategic agenda to our support for Armenia's armed forces, to the European Peace Facility. And we are also going further: agreeing on plans to pave the way for visa-free travel and planning ahead to the European Political Community summit and the EU-Armenia summit in May. Our close cooperation comes at a critical time for everyone. We had the opportunity to discuss this also bilaterally. In Ukraine, the brutal Russian invasion has just entered its fifth year, and in Iran we see people calling courageously for freedom. In this moment, Europe and Armenia stand together in our efforts for peace and stability. Thank you for assisting in facilitating the evacuation of European nationals from Iran. Thank you for your commitment to peace and your leadership in finding solutions. We are also working with your country ahead of your elections later this year. We all know the unprecedented level of threat posed by disinformation and interference to democratic processes everywhere. So now, as Armenia prepares for elections, Europe is stepping up its support for Armenia's democracy and security, with a EUR 15 million package. We fully support the swift provision of EU expert assistance to counter hybrid threats, and this House is already acting together with the National Assembly to shore up democracy – with Armenia as a priority country for democracy support. Today's discussion is another step in the right direction, and we look forward to hearing how you see the path ahead for your country and for Europe. So without further ado, dear Prime Minister Pashinyan, dear Nikol, the floor is yours.

The next item is the joint debate on: – the Council and Commission statements on the preparation of the European Council meeting of 19‑20 March 2026 (2026/2590(RSP)); and. – the Council and Commission statements on the US‑Israel military operation against the Iranian regime, its consequences and the need to support the people of Iran (2026/2634(RSP)). I'd like to remind you that we continue with the format for this debate, and that there will be no fixed list of speakers. So after the first round of speakers on behalf of the groups, Members who received speaking time from their political group or the non-attached secretariat will be called to speak and will be reminded of their allotted speaking time. Please keep an eye on the screens in the Chamber, where the current speaker and the next three speakers will be displayed. The normal rules regarding blue cards and catch-the-eye procedure will apply.

In relation to the decision by several committees to enter into interinstitutional negotiations pursuant to Rule 72(1), announced at the opening of the session on Monday 9 March 2026, I have received no requests for a vote in Parliament by Members or political groups reaching at least the medium threshold. The committees may therefore start negotiations.

Good morning, dear colleagues. I have two announcements. Jessika Van Leeuwen and Sander Smit are no longer members of the EPP Group and have joined the ECR Group as of 11 March 2026.

I have one announcement. I would like to recall that on 16 June 2025, the Bureau amended its Decision on rules governing access to and attendance in the Chamber and the conduct of debates. Mobile phones may not be used in the Chamber for the purpose of taking pictures or making audiovisual recordings when this could harm Parliament's dignity and reputation or the principle of mutual request. Pursuant to Rules 10 and 183 of the Rules of Procedure and the above-mentioned Bureau Decision, and after taking into account the observations of the Members concerned, I have decided to impose the following penalties. First, on Alvise Pérez, for recording during a plenary session another Member of the European Parliament without his consent, and subsequently disseminating the video on social media with derogatory comments: the forfeiture of his entitlement to the daily subsistence allowance for a period of 10 days and a temporary suspension from participation in the plenary activities of Parliament for a period of 4 days on which Parliament meets in part-session, without prejudice to his right to vote in plenary and subject to strict compliance with the Members’ standards of conduct. Mr Pérez has been notified of the decision. He lodged an internal appeal with the Bureau under Rule 184. The Bureau, at its meeting of yesterday, confirmed the penalty imposed, without prejudice to the external rights of appeal open to the Member concerned. The penalty is therefore final. Second, on Leila Chaibi, for recording herself and making improper gestures during the formal sitting on the 40th anniversary of the accession of Spain and Portugal to the European Union, and subsequently disseminating the video on her social media account: the forfeiture of her entitlement to the daily subsistence allowance for a period of 2 days and a temporary suspension from participation in the next two formal sittings during which a head of state or government is invited to address the plenary. Third, on Rima Hassan, for recording during a plenary session a Member of the European Parliament without his consent, and subsequently disseminating the video on her social media account accompanied by a personal comment: a reprimand. Ms Chaibi and Ms Hassan have been notified of the respective decisions. They have not lodged internal appeals with the Bureau under Rule 184. The penalties are therefore final.

So now I put the request to a vote by roll call. (Parliament rejected the request) The agenda remains unchanged. The agenda is adopted and the order of business is thus established. I will now go through the significant number of requests for points of order – fewer than usual, but let's see. Please quote the Rule over which you are rising.

The final draft agenda, as adopted by the Conference of Presidents on 4 March 2026 pursuant to Rule 163, has been distributed. I would like to inform you that I have received two requests for urgent procedure, from the EPP Group and the ENVI Committee, pursuant to Rule 170(6), on the following proposal: Calculation of emission credits for heavy-duty vehicles for the reporting periods of the years 2025 to 2029. The vote on this request will be taken tomorrow. If adopted, the vote will be held on Thursday. We now move to changes requested by political groups. The PfE Group has requested that Council and Commission statements on 'President Zelenskyy's unacceptable threats against Hungary's sovereignty and its Prime Minister: potential implications for Ukraine's demand for accession to the EU' be added after the Commission statement on the energy package. I will give the floor first to Harald Vilimsky to move the request on behalf of the PfE Group.

I would like to inform you that, together with the President of the Council, I shall on Wednesday sign five acts adopted under the ordinary legislative procedure in accordance with Rule 81. The titles of the acts are the following and they will be published in the minutes of this sitting: − Measuring systems for electric vehicle supply equipment; − Unfair trading practices in business-to-business relationships in the agricultural and food supply chain; − European Union designs (codification); − Implementing the bilateral safeguard clauses of the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement and the EU-Mercosur Interim Trade Agreement; − Setting of a Union intermediate climate target for 2040.

The ENVI Committee has transmitted a corrigendum to a text adopted by 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 and its title will be published in the minutes of the sitting.

The EPP, S&D and PfE 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.