Debate following the statements by François HOLLANDE, President of the French Republic, and Angela MERKEL, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany on the current situation in the European Union, during the EP plenary session in Strasbourg. Statements by Manfred WEBER (EPP, DE), Giovanni PITTELLA, Ryszard LEGUTKO (ECR, PL), Guy VERHOFSTADT (ALDE, BE), Gabriele ZIMMER (GUE/NGL, DE), Rebecca HARMS (Greens/EFA, DE), and Marine LE PEN (ENF, FR)

VERHOFSTADT, Guy (Renew, BE)

Strasbourg

debate

plenary session

WEBER, Manfred (EPP, DE)

PITTELLA, Gianni (S&D, IT)

LEGUTKO, Ryszard Antoni (ECR, PL)

EU - France (T)

EU - Germany (T)

MERKEL, Angela (DE)

ZIMMER, Gabriele (GUE/NGL, DE)

LE PEN, Marine (ENF, FR)

HOLLANDE, François (FR)

HARMS, Rebecca (Greens/EFA, DE)

relations between France and Germany (T)

Statements by François HOLLANDE, President of the French Republic, and Angela MERKEL, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany on the current situation in the European Union: extracts from the MEPs debate

External shot of the European Parliament in Strasbourg (1 shot)

SOUNDBITE (German), Manfred WEBER (EPP, DE), Chairman EPP group, (On refugees) "Dear colleagues, we are speaking about human beings and therefore is this Chart (the European Chart of Human Rights) provides guidance for us, we are speaking about individuals. If Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, relatively poor countries, are able to host those fleeing from civil war, this rich Europe should also be able to make that effort too and we need the courage, we need to be encouraged and here let me thank Germany and you, Mrs. Chancellor, for encouraging people on this".

SOUNDBITE (German), Manfred WEBER (EPP, DE), Chairman EPP group, "And the second reality is that there are political forces on this continent that are making people feel afraid, that want to break something, namely what previous generations of elected politicians have built for decades. They are forces that describe problems but that have no ideas on how to solve problems".

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Giovanni PITTELLA, Chairman S&amp;D group, "I very much appreciate what Chancellor Merkel has said today, something we have been saying for long. Welcome and security and responsibility. That's why I salute that you have very firmly stated that Dublin is obsolete, yes Dublin is obsolete".

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Giovanni PITTELLA (S&amp;D, IT), Chairman S&amp;D group, "Still today the words of a great European are valid, Fran&ccedil;ois Mitterrand. Words he pronounced in this Chamber, just as you recalled: 'Our role is to prevent the inevitable and to achieve what seems impossible and to ensure that hopes become reality".

SOUNDBITE (English), Ryszard LEGUTKO (ECR, PL), "Don't you think that this is at least a part of the problem, that one or two countries decide for the rest and we are alltoghether 28. And 28 is far more than two".

SOUNDBITE (English), Ryszard LEGUTKO (ECR, PL), "You sometimes forget about the difference between leadership and dominance and get the impression that, across the European Union, people are concerned about that distinction".

SOUNDBITE (English), Ryszard LEGUTKO (ECR, PL), (To Merkel) "It was your decission to suspend the Schengen rules and to open the German border and it was your decission to close the border again. And, as far as I know, you did not consult any government or any European institution for that matter. if this is not a prove of dominance what is?"

SOUNDBITE (English), Guy VERHOFSTADT (ALDE, BE), Chaiman ALDE group, "If tomorrow the euro disappears or if Schengen falls appart, then we are left with what, in fact, in Europe? With only a loose confederation, a loose confederation of nation-states. We are going to be weak economically and in fact insignificant in the world stage".

SOUNDBITE (English), Guy VERHOFSTADT (ALDE, BE), Chairman ALDE group, "Mr. LEGUTKO, when you are saying 'yes, Europe is the problem and Europe creates itself the problem', when 20 million citizens in the 19th and 20th centuries where slaughtered in Europe, it was not because of Europe it was because of nationalism and populism that they have been slaughtered".

SOUNDBITE (German), Gabriele ZIMMER (GUE/NGL, DE), Chairwoman GUE/NGL group, (On Greece) "The memorandums were about saving German, French and Dutch banks, these countries are the beneficiaries of the so-called bailout packages. Therefore we demand from you an initiative for a debt haircut".

SOUNDBITE (German), Rebecca HARMS (Greens/EFA, DE), Chairwoman Green group, "The French had to move when it comes to sovereignty but Germans should now move too when it comes to their obsession with debt and monetary stability".

SOUNDBITE (French), Marine LE PEN (ENF, FR), Chairwoman ENF group, (To Hollande) "When, in a perfectly irresponsible gesture, Chancellor Merkel says that we should host 800,000 migrants with open arms, you applaud. When, some days later, she suspends Schengen and wants to control her borders, you appalud again".