At a glance: Parliament’s political groups are preparing for the next plenary session, which will start next Monday in Strasbourg. International trade, the EU’s Banking Union and the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War are all on the plenary agenda.

News in Brief – 29/04/2025 - English

At a glance: MEPs are in favour of a more ambitious European Defence Industry Programme; the EU's gas storage scheme will be extended until the end of 2027; and Vice-President of the European Central Bank Luis de Guindos presents the Bank’s 2024 Annual Report to the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.

News in Brief – 28/04/2025 - English

The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty adopted at COP21 - the United Nations Climate Change Conference - in 2015.
Its central aim is to limit global warming to well below 2°C, ideally 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels.
It brings together nearly all countries in a shared commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The EU ratified the Paris Agreement in 2016, placing it at the heart of its climate policy.

Saving our Planet: the Paris Agreement

At a glance: The Committee on Budgets set out Parliament’s priorities for the next long-term EU budget; the Committee on Civil Liberties endorsed plans to gradually roll out the Entry/Exit System at the EU’s external borders; and the Commission’s assessment of EU countries’ measures under the marine strategy framework.

News in Brief – 25/04/2025 - English

At a glance: Trade MEPs endorsed simplified carbon border rules to strengthen EU climate efforts; Parliament experts sound the alarm on Russia’s escalating hybrid threats across Europe; European Parliament President Metsola will attend Pope Francis’ funeral in Vatican City.

News in Brief – 24/04/2025 - English

At a glance: European Parliament President pays tribute to Pope Francis; the first European Defence Industry Programme; and a proposal to extend the 2022 Gas Storage Regulation.

News in Brief – 23/04/2025 - English

In January 2025, the Commission presented the Competitiveness Compass, the first major initiative of the second Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen. The Compass provides a strategic and clear framework to define the Commission’s work. It sets a path for Europe to become the place where future technologies, services and clean products are invented, manufactured and put on the market, while achieving climate neutrality.

A competitiveness compass for the EU

At a glance: MEPs wrap up their visit to Hungary, which focused on EU values and fundamental rights; in Paris, MEPs from the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs push for stronger economic and financial governance in the EU; meanwhile, in Austria, a delegation from the Committee on Petitions assessed the impact of the EU deforestation law.

News in Brief – 16/04/2025 - English

The LUX Audience Film Award is presented every year by the European Parliament and the European Film Academy, in partnership with the European Commission and Europa Cinemas. A symbol of the European Parliament’s commitment to culture, the Lux award continues to build cultural bridges across Europe, by putting the spotlight on films that go to the heart of the European public debate.

The award aims to strengthen ties between politics and citizens, by inviting European audiences to become active protagonists and cast their vote for their favourite films.

“The Teachers’ Lounge” by German director Ilker Çatak won the 2024 LUX European Audience Film Award, in a ceremony in Parliament’s hemicycle in Brussels.

The film, produced in Germany, tells a story about Carla, a young high school teacher, distinguished from her colleagues by her idealism. When a series of unsolved thefts sour the atmosphere among the teaching staff, Carla decides to investigate. With the help of a hidden camera and to everyone’s surprise, she exposes the thief but her revelation unleashes forces that slide steadily out of control and presents Carla with an unsolvable dilemma.

The five films shortlisted for the 2024 LUX European Audience film award were&nbsp;unveiled at the Venice film festival on Friday 1st of September.&nbsp; 20 000 Species of Bees, Fallen Leaves, On the Adamant, Smoke Sauna Sisterhood and The Teachers’ Lounge&nbsp;competed for the 2024 LUX Audience Award.

Lux Audience Award 2024

Five films are shortlisted for the 2025 LUX Audience Award: “Animal” by Greek director Sofia Exarchou, “Dahomey” by French director Mati Diop, “Flow” by Latvian director Gints Zilbalodis, “Intercepted” by Ukranian director Oksana Karpovych, and “Julie keeps quiet” by Belgian director Leonardo van Dijl.

The winning film is chosen by a combined public vote and vote by MEPs, each group’s choice weighted at 50%.

The LUX Audience Film Award is presented every year by the European Parliament and the European Film Academy, in partnership with the European Commission and Europa Cinemas. A symbol of the European Parliament’s commitment to culture, the Lux award continues to build cultural bridges across Europe, by putting the spotlight on films that go to the heart of the European public debate. The award aims to strengthen ties between politics and citizens, by inviting European audiences to become active protagonists and cast their vote for their favourite films.

Lux Audience Award 2025

The Republic of Ireland covers five-sixths of the island of Ireland. The north-eastern part of the island is Northern Ireland which is part of the United Kingdom. There are 11 members of the European Parliament from Ireland.&nbsp;

The&nbsp;plenary is&nbsp;commemorating&nbsp;the 25th anniversary of the Northern Ireland peace agreement on 29 March.&nbsp;&nbsp;Presidents Metsola, Michel and von der Leyen will take the floor, followed by a round of political groups interventions.

EU - Ireland

The Drinking Water Directive sets quality standards for drinking water and requires that Member States ensure monitoring and compliance with these standards.

The plans aim to increase citizens’ confidence in the water supply and increase the use of tap water for drinking, which could contribute to reducing plastic usage and litter.

If confidence in tap water improves, citizens can also contribute to reducing plastic waste from bottled water, including marine litter. Plastic bottles are one of the most common single use plastic items found on European beaches. With the update of the Drinking Water Directive, the Commission takes an important legislative step towards implementing the EU Plastics Strategy presented on 16 January 2018.

See more on this topic by visiting our <a href="https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/water-quality-8th-parliamentary-term_9403_pk">package</a> for the 8th parliamentary term.

Water quality

On Sunday 4 May, the European Parliament kicks off the celebration of Europe Day (9 May) in Strasbourg, with citizens invited to a series of events to celebrate European democracy. Events also take place in Luxembourg and Brussels on 9 and 10 May.

Europe Day 2025 (Strasbourg)

The EP’s Press Service holds a press briefing with Parliament’s political group spokespersons 

Plenary preparations. The political groups are preparing for the 5-8 May plenary session, where MEPs will debate how the EU should respond to US trade measures, and assess global trade opportunities for the EU. They will also debate and vote on their priorities for the upcoming proposal on the EU’s long-term budget, outline their priorities for the EU-UK summit, and debate and vote on the EU water resilience strategy. The draft plenary agenda also includes a debate on the Commission’s latest reports on Türkiye, and debates and votes on the 2023 budget discharge for the EU institutions and agencies, and on progress on establishing the EU banking union. Parliament will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe

Pre-session briefing

LUX Audience Award 2025 Press point

The winner of the 2025 LUX Audience Award is announced at a ceremony in the European Parliament hemicycle in Brussels. Five films made the shortlist: “Animal” by Greek director Sofia Exarchou, “Dahomey” by French director Mati Diop, “Flow” by Latvian director Gints Zilbalodis, “Intercepted” by Ukrainian director Oksana Karpovych, and “Julie keeps quiet” by Belgian director Leonardo van Dijl

LUX Audience Award 2025 ceremony

LUX Audience Award 2025 - Arrival of guests

Batteries are vital to the EU’s clean energy transition, industrial future, and strategic autonomy. While the sector benefits from strong R&D support, it faces challenges such as reliance on third countries, high costs, and competition from regions with lower environmental standards. Sustainable value chains and recycling could help, but uncertainty remains over the EU’s ability to meet future demand. Rising costs, market slowdowns, and gigafactory setbacks, including Northvolt’s collapse, raise concerns. To secure a resilient battery supply chain, the EU focuses on strategic coordination, regulatory frameworks, and funding, offering key lessons for industrial policy.

Battery supply chain

The digital information sphere has become the main space for public debate, shaping opinions and access to information. In the past decade, it has also become a geostrategic battleground, with authoritarian states manipulating public opinion to weaken democracies. At the same time, corporate rivalry over emerging technologies, particularly AI, has intensified. AI-driven disinformation poses growing risks to democratic information ecosystems. Strengthening information integrity is crucial to safeguarding human rights and freedom of expression. Multilateral efforts to enhance resilience align with the EU’s planned European Democracy Shield, building on existing measures and fostering new partnerships.

Information Manipulation and the EU response

The European elections are the largest transnational elections in the world. There are some common rules that apply in all EU countries but many details vary by country.


Election days range from Thursday 6 June to Sunday 9 June and it is up to each country to decide when and how they organise the vote.


The number of MEPs elected varies between countries: bigger countries get more seats than smaller ones. Due to changes in the size of the population, some EU countries will get extra seats in the upcoming elections compared to the outgoing Parliament. In total 15 seats will be added.


There are also differences in other aspects of voting, for example regarding the minimum voting age or the rules about voting from abroad.

EU Elections 2024

The European elections are the largest transnational elections in the world. There are some common rules that apply in all EU countries but many details vary by country.


Election days range from Thursday 6 June to Sunday 9 June and it is up to each country to decide when and how they organise the vote.

Map European elections 2024

Online shopping, take-away food, coffee to go... Packaging waste is growing. Find out how much is being produced and how the EU wants to reverse the trend

How to reduce packaging waste in the EU

With war having returned to the European continent, measuring the level of threats to peace, security and democracy around the world – as the 'Normandy Index' does – is more important than ever. The annual Index was presented for the first time at the Normandy Peace Forum in June 2019, as a result of a partnership between the European Parliament and the Region of Normandy. The Index has been designed and prepared by the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS), in conjunction with and on the basis of data provided by the Institute for Economics and Peace. This paper sets out the findings of the 2023 exercise, which draws on data compiled in 2022, and explains how the Index can be used to compare peace – defined on the basis of a given country's performance against a range of predetermined threats – across countries and regions. It is complemented by 61 individual country case studies, derived from the Index. The paper forms part of the EPRS contribution to the 2023 Normandy World Peace Foru

Mapping threats to peace and democracy worldwide: Normandy Index 2023

Discover key figures about the repatriation of migrants and proposed changes to EU law.
The EU’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum includes new rules and the revision of existing legislation, such as the Return Directive.
In a draft resolution on the Return Directive adopted in December 2020, MEPs stressed the importance of protecting individual fundamental rights as well as respect for procedural safeguards.

Repatriation: how many migrants in the EU are sent back?

Over the past 30 years the single market has brought unity and opportunities to Europeans.

30 years of EU single market: benefits and challenges

Find out about the top cyber threats in 2022, the most affected sectors and the impact of the war in Ukraine.

The digital transformation has inevitably led to new cybersecurity threats. During the coronavirus pandemic, companies had to adapt to remote working and this created more possibilities for cybercriminals. The war in Ukraine has also affected cybersecurity.

In response to the evolution of cybersecurity threats, Parliament adopted a new EU directive introducing harmonised measures across the EU, including on the protection of essential sectors.

Cybersecurity: main and emerging threats

Euroscola

Europe Day 2025 Opening Ceremony

Future-Fit legislation: Mainstreaming Intergenerational Fairness

STOA Workshop - Generative AI and scientific development

LUX Audience Award 2025 - Youth Seminar with European Parliament Ambassador School teachers and students

LUX Audience Award 2025 - Meeting with film representatives and content creators

Workshop on Gender-Sensitive Parliaments - Inter Pares Partnership with the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan

LUX Audience Award 2025 - Exchanges among film representatives by Euronews

ECON - Exchange of views following the presentation of the 2024 Annual Report by ECB Vice-President, Luis De Guindos

IMCO Committee

This infoclip shows illustrative footage on water resilience. Announced by the Commission for the second quarter of 2025, the European Water Resilience Strategy aims to address, inter alia, growing water scarcity by improving water management practices, increasing water efficiency and promoting sustainable water use.The European Parliament has taken several initiatives calling for sustainable water policy as strategic priority. Following the public hearing "The way to a European Water Resilience Strategy - an EU Blue Deal" organised in January 2025, ENVI has prepared a report ahead of the upcoming Commission's Strategy. The report aims to deliver a basis for a comprehensive strategy, including binding legislation, and addresses water resilience through six key pillars: water efficiency, pollution mitigation, climate adaptation, funding, digitalisation and innovation, and cross-border cooperation.

Infoclip: Water resilience

Roberta METSOLA, EP President is in Rome with António COSTA, European Council President and Ursula von der LEYEN European Commission President to assist to the funeral ceremony of His Holiness Pope Francis. He died at the age of 88 on 21 April 2025.

Funeral ceremony of His Holiness Pope Francis: Attendance of Roberta METSOLA, EP President, António COSTA, European Council President and Ursula von der LEYEN European Commission President

This video displays the statement by Anna CAVAZZINI (Greens/EFA, DE), Chair of the Euroepan Parliament's Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) Committee, on the first fines for breaches of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The European Commission determined today, 23rd of April 2025, that Apple violated the DMA's anti-steering rules, while Meta failed to comply with the requirement to offer users a less data-intensive service. As a result, Apple was fined €500 million and Meta €200 million. The DMA aims to ensure contestable and fair markets in the digital sector. It regulates gatekeepers, which are large digital platforms that provide an important gateway between business users and consumers.

Statement by Anna CAVAZZINI (Greens/EFA, DE), Chair of IMCO Committee, on the first fines for breaches of the Digital Markets Act (DMA)

Oral History Interview With Astrid Lulling - Working As A Quaestor. With English subtitles.

Oral History Interview with Astrid Lulling – Working As A Quaestor - EN Subtitles

Oral History Interview With Astrid Lulling - Working As A Quaestor. With German subtitles.

Oral History Interview with Astrid Lulling – Working As A Quaestor - DE Subtitles

Oral History Interview With Astrid Lulling - Trade Unions And Jean Monnet. With German subtitles.

Oral History Interview with Astrid Lulling – Trade Unions And Jean Monnet - DE Subtitles

Oral History Interview With Astrid Lulling - Trade Unions And Jean Monnet. With English subtitles.

Oral History Interview with Astrid Lulling – Trade Unions And Jean Monnet - EN Subtitles

Oral History Interview With Astrid Lulling - An Unexpected Political Career. With English subtitles.

Oral History Interview with Astrid Lulling – An Unexpected Political Career - EN Subtitles

Oral History Interview With Astrid Lulling - An Unexpected Political Career. With German subtitles.

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