Roberta METSOLA, EP President, gives her opening statement before the address in front of the hemicycle by Cate Blanchett, Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Brussels

statement

plenary session

migration and refugees in Europe (T)

METSOLA, Roberta (EPP, MT, EP President)

EU - UNHCR (T)

president's agenda

Address by Cate Blanchett, Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency: introductory statement by Roberta METSOLA, EP President

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, We have today, this afternoon with us, Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Refugee Agency, Cate Blanchett. Welcome to the European Parliament.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Cate Blanchett has been a dedicated activist on humanitarian issues for years. We know her for her activism as well as for her work in field. We are delighted that you are able to be here with us today at a time when events around the world threaten more lives and forcing more people to flee.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Almost eight years ago you stated that there has never been a more crucial time to stand with refugees and show solidarity. Sadly, that statement could be repeteted today. Just last month at the European Parliament, we marked ten years since Lampedusa shipbreak that claimed more than 316 lifes.That tragedy of 2013 was far from being an isolated catastrophe. The cemetery of the Mediterranean has claimed the lives of thousands more women, children and men since.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, I am proud that this situation has led the debate on a European level to find a way forward that tackles this challenge of our generation. And I am hopeful that we will agree on a new Asylum and Migration Pact for Europe by the end of this Legislature.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, This Parliament's commitment to these challenges remains unwavering for all those who lost their lives, for all the exploited victims of trafficking. For all those families never to be reunited, we remember them. And Ms. Blanchett, we are grateful to you for using your voice to draw greater attention to the plight of so many people across the world. The floor is yours.