Speeches

I have received an announcement from the competent authorities of Portugal: notice of the election to the European Parliament of João Albuquerque to replace Manuel Pizarro with effect from 13 September 2022. I would like to welcome our colleague and point out that he will take his seat in Parliament as from today and on its bodies in full enjoyment of his rights, as provided in the Rules of Procedure. Welcome. I understand that there is a point of order that Ms Reintke wants to make.

Good morning to all of you, dear colleagues. First of all, I am pleased to welcome the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to Parliament for the annual State of the European Union address. It is also very much a special honour to have Olena Zelenska with us on this important day. Dear Olena, we are with you and with the Ukrainian people. We are here today against an alarming backdrop of an illegal, unjustifiable invasion of sovereign Ukraine. High inflation, electricity and energy price rises, a climate catastrophe, increased food insecurity and a fast-emerging cost of living crisis. I think our message today will be that Europe will respond. And to underline how to do that, it is my pleasure to give the floor to the President of the European Commission to deliver her 2022 State of the European Union Address. Dear Ursula, the floor is yours.

We now come to the order of business. The final draft agenda, as adopted by the Conference of Presidents on 8 September 2022 pursuant to Rule 157, has been distributed. I would like to inform you that I have received one request for urgent procedure from the Commission pursuant to Rule 163 on macro-financial assistance to Ukraine. The vote on this request will be taken tomorrow and, if adopted, the vote will be held on Thursday. Finally, we move to the changes requested by the political groups. For the Monday, that means for today, the ID group has asked that the Council and Commission statements on surveillance and predator private spyware systems in Greece, scheduled as the third point this afternoon, be replaced by a Commission statement on Commission’s support for FEMYSO, an association suspected of radical Islam. I give the floor to Jean-Paul Garraud to move the request on behalf of the group.

I would also like to inform you that, since the adjournment of Parliament’s session on 7 July 2022, I have signed, together with the President of the Council, four acts adopted under the ordinary legislative procedure in accordance with Rule 79 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, one act adopted under the ordinary legislative procedure. The titles of the acts concerned will be published in the minutes of this sitting.

On the proposal of the JURI Committee, Parliament decides to validate the mandate of Matjaž Nemec with effect from 18 May 2022 and Max Orville with effect from 22 May 2022.

Following the election of Hélène Laporte, Julie Lechanteux, Joëlle Mélin and Manuel Bompard as members of the French national parliament, Parliament takes note of the vacancy of their seats from 29 July 2022, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure. Following the resignation of Luis Garicano, Parliament takes note of the vacancy of his seat from 2 September 2022, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure and shall inform the national authority concerned thereof. Following the appointment of Manuel Pizarro as Minister of Health within the Portuguese Government, Parliament takes note of the vacancy of his seat from 10 September 2022, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure. I have received from the competent authorities of France notice of the election to the European Parliament of Marie Dauchy, Patricia Chagnon, Eric Minardi and Marina Mesure to replace Hélène Laporte, Julie Lechanteux, Joëlle Mélin and Manuel Bompard respectively, with effect from 29 July 2022. To those colleagues, we bid them welcome. I have also received from the competent authorities of Spain notice of the election to the European Parliament of Ana Miranda to replace Pernando Barrena Arza with effect from 5 September 2022. To Ms Miranda, we also wish her welcome. I point out that you will take your seats in Parliament and on its bodies in full enjoyment of your rights, as provided for in the Rules of Procedure.

The minutes and the texts adopted of the sittings of 7 July 2022 are available. Are there any comments? That not being the case, the minutes have been approved.

Further events will be announced through the coming months, and in particular, an official acknowledgement of this 70-year milestone for European democracy will take place during the November 2020 plenary session of our Parliament. And to close these opening statements, I also wanted to give you a little bit of information that works have taken place over the summer to make our House truly accessible for everybody. So there has been a ramp that is installed for everybody who cannot walk to the lectern to be able to use the lectern. I think that was finally the time that we give this for our colleagues.

Dear colleagues, these past weeks have been very tough. We have witnessed the passing away of Mikhail Gorbachev, one of the most significant figures of the second half of the 20th century. We continue to face the consequences of climate change. Bulgaria and Pakistan have faced devastating floods. Major wildfires have caused severe impacts on Member States such as France, Portugal, Spain and Greece. And now the world grieves the loss of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Allow me to pause on behalf of the European Parliament and to extend heartfelt condolences to the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. Few have shaped global history like Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. And her words on European unity spoken in this European Parliament in 1992 still resonate today. As a monarch, Her Majesty’s unshakeable commitment to duty and service was an example to all. Her legacy will forever live on, inspiring many generations to come. At this point I would like to invite you all to stand for a minute of silence to honour her memory. (The House rose and observed a minute’s silence) I have also been informed that Alexei Navalny’s situation has deteriorated dramatically and he has now been put in isolation, which will impact further on his health condition. So we once again call for his immediate release. This week, 70 years ago, on 10 September 1952, here in Strasbourg, Paul-Henri Spaak, presided over the opening of the first ever session of the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community. It was the starting point of the Parliament in which we meet today. In 70 years, the Assembly has grown from strength to strength. From being a consultative body with limited powers, it became a true institution embracing European democracy and the expression of European public opinion. In 1962, it changed name and became the European Parliament, a further step towards becoming the only directly elected, multilingual, multiparty transnational parliament in the world. Over time, consecutive treaties allowed this House – with its three places of work in Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg – to develop into a powerful, independent political forum with co-legislative and budgetary powers that impact millions of European citizens, and with an ongoing illegal war in Ukraine that destroys, kills and undermines the political will of a people, we know today more than ever the importance of upholding the democratic voice of citizens and the democratic European values that this House stands for. And that is why, from this month until next summer 2023, a number of commemorative events will be held at the European Parliament to mark its 70th anniversary.

Thank you very, very much Prime Minister, and thank you dear colleagues, for this debate. We look forward to your Presidency, as you’ve seen from all the comments by the colleagues. Thank you and good luck. The debate is closed. Written statements (Rule 171)

Before we go to the round of political groups I have one quick announcement in relation to the decisions by the IMCO and ECON Committees to enter into interinstitutional negotiations pursuant to Rule 71(1), announced at the opening of the session of 4 July. 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 the negotiations.

Dear colleagues, we have with us today the Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. καλώς ήρθατε. Prime Minister, thank you for accepting our invitation to address the Parliament and the people of Europe as part of our ‘This is Europe’ debates. Europe is after all a Greek word, and the birth of democracy in Ancient Greece gave an impetus to a creative spirit that produced the architecture, the art and the philosophy that have shaped western civilisation as we know it. No society before the Greeks dared to believe that order and freedom were compatible and with the return of war on our continent and power politics on the global stage, we are reminded of the importance of safeguarding democracy, hand-in-hand with our rules-based order, to preserve freedom over autocracy. In over 40 years of membership, Greece has given the European Union influence and stability in the South-east Mediterranean. And no doubt, Greece’s importance will continue to grow as a new geopolitical reality unfolds. Greece will become an energy hub. Connecting the Greek electricity grid with the Middle East and Africa will soon accommodate imports of lower-cost renewable energy into Europe, and this signals a new age for Greece. This summer will also see Greece exit the Eurogroup’s enhanced surveillance framework, which helped steer Greece’s economy out a crisis which began 12 years ago. It was not easy. This year marks the end of a cycle of restrictions and close monitoring. A new era of sustainable economic growth and prosperity is opening up for Greece and its people. So today, we salute Greece and every Greek citizen for this important milestone achieved. Thank you Prime Minister for being with us to mark this success. Dear Kyriakos, the floor is yours.

President. – The ECR Group has asked that a Commission statement on ‘The political sentencing to 10 years of Jeanine Áñez, former President of Bolivia’, with one round of political group speakers, be added as the second item in the morning, after the Commission statement on ‘Recent heatwaves and drought in the EU’. As a consequence, the sitting would start at 8.30. The debate would be wound up with a resolution, also to be voted on Thursday. I give the floor to Hermann Tertsch to move the request.

President. – Also for Tuesday, the ID Group has asked that a Commission statement on ‘The recent unrest in Uzbekistan’ be added as the last item in the afternoon. As a consequence, the sitting would be extended until 23.00. I give the floor to Bernhard Zimniok to move the request on behalf of the ID Group.

Thank you very much Mr Gusmão. Thanks for the information, and of course we are doing everything we can. And I am also involved in making sure that there is a quick resolution to the ongoing discussions, and I am personally committed to that, I can assure you. We come to the requests by the political groups. For Tuesday, the ID Group has asked that Council and Commission statements on ‘Judicial cooperation in Europe in the light of the French court decision blocking extradition of Italian terrorists’ be added as the third item in the afternoon. As a consequence, the sitting would be extended until 23.00. I give the floor to Anna Bonfrisco to move this request.

We now come to the order of business. The final draft agenda, as adopted by the Conference of Presidents on 30 June pursuant to Rule 157, has been distributed. I will just inform you that I have received three requests for urgent procedure, respectively, from the TRAN Committee, the Council and the Commission, pursuant to Rule 163 on the following legislative files: First, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, temporary measures concerning drivers’ documents issued by Ukraine. Second, identification of the violation of Union restrictive measures as crimes under Article 83(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. And third, exceptional macro-financial assistance to Ukraine. The vote on these requests will be taken tomorrow. We now move to changes requested by political groups, but I see that there is a point of order with Mr Gusmão.

I would also like to inform you that since the adjournment of Parliament’s session on 23 June, I have signed, together with the President of the Council, four acts adopted under the ordinary legislative procedure, in accordance with Rule 79 of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure. I would like also to inform you that on Wednesday I shall sign together with the President of the Council, one act adopted under the ordinary legislative procedure. The titles of the acts will be published in the minutes of the sitting.

In relation to the decision by the PECH Committee to enter into interinstitutional negotiations pursuant to Rule 71(1) – announced on Wednesday 22 June – I have received no requests for a vote in Parliament, and the committee may therefore start its negotiations.