At a glance: Parliament and the Council strike deal to boost EU defence investment; MEPs back citizens’ call for safe and accessible abortion across Europe; and the Committee on Civil Liberties warns of deepening rule of law crisis in Hungary.

News in Brief – 07/11/2025 - English

At a glance: MEPs push for faster green pest-control approvals; MEPs warn that Arctic militarisation threatens security; and the Committee on Constitutional Affairs approves proposal to allow MEPs to vote in plenary by proxy.

News in Brief – 06/11/2025 - English

At a glance: MEPs review EU defence readiness with Commissioner Kubilius; Parliament marks 25 years of UN Women, Peace and Security agenda; and the European Commission to present its first report on the implementation of the Istanbul Convention in the EU.

News in Brief – 05/11/2025 - English

At a glance: MEPs to quiz EU Budget Commissioner on next long-term budget; voting to take place on releasing EU Solidarity Fund money for Spain and France following natural disasters; and Commissioners to discuss the Connecting Europe Facility proposal with MEPs.

News in Brief – 04/11/2025 - English

At a glance: Parliament committees mark the 80th anniversary of the UN Charter; MEPs from the Trade and Foreign Affairs Committees meet in Brussels; the European Parliament hosts the sixth annual Gender Equality Week.

News in Brief – 03/11/2025 - English

The 2025 Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism has been awarded to ‘Follow the Money’ a Dutch platform for investigative journalism. The investigation, led in collaboration with 13 newsrooms from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, and the United Kingdom, revealed how Western shipowners earned over 6 billion dollars selling 230 aging tankers to Russia's shadow fleet.
The award helps to promote EU principles and values, as enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. It is named in honour of Daphne Caruana Galizia, the Maltese journalist, blogger and anti-corruption activist who was assassinated in 2017.

The Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism 2025

At a glance: MEPs review housing and wildfire response in Madeira, Portugal; Parliament to hold workshop on housing crisis and short-term rentals; EU trade delegation concludes talks in New Delhi on India free-trade deal.

News in Brief – 31/10/2025 - English

At a glance: the European Parliament hosts the sixth annual Gender Equality Week; a delegation from the Employment and Social Affairs Committee concludes its visit to Cyprus; and the Commissioner for Enlargement presents the 2025 enlargement package to the Members of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

News in Brief – 30/10/2025 - English

The pro-European party of Moldovan President Maia Sandu secured a victory and a new majority in parliament in elections seen as critical for her country's future path to the EU.&nbsp;Moldovans were voting&nbsp;on 28 September amidst Russian hybrid attacks and interference. Sandu´s&nbsp;&nbsp;Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) obtained 50% of the vote, with most of the 1.6m votes counted, far ahead of the pro-Russian Patriotic Electoral Bloc on under 25%. Turnout was 52%.

" The future of Moldova is in Europe, on this historic step forward, the people of Moldova have chosen the path of democracy, hope and opportunities.&nbsp;They have chosen Europe.", said President of the EP Roberta Metsola.

A delegation of MEPs, working with representatives of other international institutions, was&nbsp;observing Moldova’s parliamentary elections during the weekend.

EU - Moldova

MEPs elected Roberta Metsola (EPP, MT) on January 2022 as President of the European Parliament until 2024.

Roberta Metsola won the election in the first voting round, where she received an absolute majority of 458 votes out of 690 cast in the remote secret vote, among three candidates.&nbsp;

President Metsola is leading the Parliament in the second half of the current legislative term, until a new Parliament is constituted following the 2024 European Elections.

Born in Malta in 1979,&nbsp; Roberta Metsola who has been an MEP since 2013, is the youngest EP President ever elected. She became First Vice-President in November 2020, and was Parliament’s acting President after President Sassoli passed away on 11 January 2022.

She is the third female President of the European Parliament, after Simone Veil (1979-1982) and Nicole Fontaine (1999- 2002).

Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament 2022-2024

In July 2024&nbsp; MEPs re-elected Roberta Metsola (EPP, MT) as President of the European Parliament until 2027, with 562 votes in the first round. Roberta Metsola won the election in the first round of voting, where she received an absolute majority of 562 votes cast out of 699 by secret paper ballot, among two candidates. She will continue to lead Parliament for the first two and a half years of the 10th legislative term.

Born in Malta in 1979, Roberta Metsola has been an MEP since 2013.&nbsp;She was elected First Vice-President in November 2020, and was Parliament’s acting President after President Sassoli passed away on 11 January 2022. On 18 January 2022,&nbsp;she was elected President&nbsp;for the second half of the 9th legislative term. She is the third female President of the European Parliament, after&nbsp;Simone Veil&nbsp;(1979-1982) and Nicole Fontaine (1999-2002).

Addressing the House after she was elected, President Metsola said: “Together, we must stand up for the politics of hope, for the dream that is Europe. I want people to recapture a sense of belief and enthusiasm for our project. A belief to make our shared space safer, fairer, more just and more equal. A belief that together we are stronger and we are better. A belief that ours is a Europe for all.”

Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament 2024-2027

Italy is a parliamentary republic with a head of government - the prime minister - appointed by the president and a head of state - the president. The Parliament is composed of 2 houses: the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic.

Italy is a member of the eurozone since 1 January 1999 and of the Schengen area since 26 October 1997. There are 75&nbsp;members of the European Parliament from Italy.

EU - Italy

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Chisinau (Moldova) 

President Metsola meets the President of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova Igor Grosu.
She then addresses the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova.
She meets the President of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu, followed by a press conference.
She meets the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova Alexandru Munteanu.
President Metsola and President Sandu participate in a European Youth dialogue.

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Chisinau (Moldova)

Harnessing women’s talent through education, training and employment, to drive economic growth and progress, is the main topic of several events being organised by parliamentary committees this week (Monday to Thursday). 

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola opens the hearing on “Women’s leadership in politics” in the Women's Rights and Gender Equality Committee on Wednesday.

Every year Parliament holds a Gender Equality Week to take stock of the achievements and identify new measures to advance girls' and women's rights and ensure gender equality. Events are organised by Parliament's committees, delegations, political groups and administration. The first edition was held in 2020, on the initiative of the Women's Rights and Gender Equality Committee.

In 2025 the European Gender Equality Week will focus on talent. The main event will host a discussion on how to ensure women can access the same opportunities as men in order to be able to harness their talents.

Parliament wishes to emphasise that creating the conditions for women to participate fully in the workforce and public life is not only a matter of fairness, but it also brings economic and social benefits.

Gender Equality Week: "Women's leadership on politics"

President Roberta Metsola meets with the Mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, and addresses the boards of agriculture sector organisations Coldiretti and Confagricoltura. She also speaks at an event organised by Formiche and addresses the opening of the Sigma Summit

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Rome (Italy)

President Metsola’s three-day mission to Washington DC (27–29 October 2025) featured a dense programme of high-level meetings, strategic dialogues, and media engagements. Her visit included exchanges with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Senators and Congressman, alongside discussions with representatives from leading global companies including Warner Bros. Discovery, META, Airbus, Spotify, Amazon and Microsoft. The President also took part in a World Economic Forum roundtable on technology and artificial intelligence and delivered a keynote speech with Q&A at Georgetown University.

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Washington DC (USA)

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Chisinau (Moldova) - Meeting with Alexandru MUNTEANU, Moldovan Prime Minister

As many women and girls continue to face barriers in accessing affordable menstrual products, menstrual poverty remains a significant socioeconomic issue. To combat it, the EU Value Added Tax (VAT) Directive now allows Member States to apply reduced or zero VAT rates to sanitary products. On 4 November 2025, the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Tax Matters (FISC) will hold a public hearing on this issue in light of the Parliament's Gender Equality Week.

VAT rates on tampons across the EU

This briefing provides a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in the current 10th parliamentary term (2024-2029) who had held public office at local, regional and/or national level before taking up their mandates (or, in some cases, continue to hold sub-national level public posts).

MEPs' public-office experience before being elected in 2024

Attracting young people to agriculture has been a goal of the European Union's (EU) common agricultural policy (CAP) since the 1980s. However, EU farmers are getting older – 57 % of farm managers are over 55 years of age, while only 12 % are under 40. Young farmers ensure continuity of agricultural production and bring vitality to rural areas.

Generational renewal in EU agriculture

Maternity leave and voting procedures for Members of parliaments differ widely across the European Union (EU). Maternity-related absences are considered justified for Members of the European Parliament, but the current rules do not permit remote voting, proxy voting or temporary substitution. Maternity leave for parliamentarians is generally permitted across the EU's Member States, although legal frameworks and practical arrangements differ.

Maternity leave and voting procedures in EU national parliaments

This infographics summarises the results of integrated assessments of Baltic Sea's pressures and status. It illustrates the proportion of the Baltic Sea, based on square kilometers, in different assessment status categories. The assessment was carried out during the period 2016-2021.

State of the Baltic Sea environment

Care work, whether provided in institutional settings such as childcare centres and healthcare facilities, or in home settings, is largely invisible, undervalued and carried out by women. The resulting gender care gap has profound consequences for the European Union's (EU) labour market and competitiveness as well as the well-being and cohesion of society. This briefing seeks to support the European Parliament's committees on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) and Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) in their preparation of an own-initiative report on addressing the gender care gap.

Addressing the gender care gap: Potential European added value

With the growing weaponisation of trade, the EU's trade defence toolbox is increasingly relevant. The importance of the EU's trade defence arsenal is underscored, among other factors, by persistent global overcapacity in a range of sectors, which has significant distorting effects on international markets, and by the weaponisation of trade, including through economic coercion amid growing geopolitical tensions.

Understanding the EU trade defence toolbox

Military mobility, defined as the capacity of armed forces to swiftly move troops and equipment across the European Union (EU), is a crucial but long-overlooked aspect of European defence. After decades of underinvestment and unresolved obstacles, there is a need to intensify coordinated and integrated efforts at EU, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Member State level to increase resources and address physical, legislative, and regulatory barriers that continue to cause delays and disruptions for military forces. Failure to act would leave armed forces unprepared in the face of threats, and undermine the security of citizens. This briefing looks within and beyond the current framework and explores the potential impact of additional investment of between €75 billion and €100 billion until 2035 to improve the current state of infrastructure. Our analysis finds that the added value associated with a larger amount of funds invested collectively leads to benefits which are almost three times higher (€21 billion additional GDP per year in 2035) than when Member States invest separately and in an uncoordinated way.

CEF military mobility funding by transport mode

One of the first, and boldest, measures taken by Western countries as a response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was the immobilisation of the Russian central bank assets held under their jurisdictions, the value of which could be around €300 billion worldwide, according to recent estimations. As the war is well into its fourth year, the debate on how to use the immobilised assets to sustain Ukraine's reconstruction efforts – a cost estimated at US$524 billion – has evolved.

Frozen Russian assets: where are they immobilised?

Euroscola

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs - ICM

LIBE

Committee on Security and Defence Ordinary meeting ICM

SEDE

Beyond the numbers: the contribution of Article 17 TFEU to an EU Multiannual Financial Framework grounded in ethics, solidarity and inclusion

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Chisinau (Moldova) - Meeting with Maia SANDU, President of Moldova

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Chisinau (Moldova) - Formal address by Roberta METSOLA, EP President, to the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Chisinau (Moldova) - Meeting with Igor GROSU, Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament and visit at the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova

Roberta METSOLA, EP President meets with Richard RAŠI, Speaker of the National Council of Slovakia

SEDE - Current challenges facing UN Peacekeeping with Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General, Department of Peace Operations

CONT - Hearing on MFF 1 and MFF 5, Security and Defence with Executive Vice-President Henna VIRKKUNEN and Commissioner Andrius KUBILIUS, in the presence of ECA reporting Members Mihails KOZLOVS (MFF Heading 1), and Marek OPIOLA (MFF Heading 5)

FEMM LIBE - Presentation by the Commission - Baseline evaluation procedure of the European Union's implementation of the Council of Europe   Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (the Istanbul Convention)

SEDE - Defence readiness agenda - 2030: achievements, state of play and priorities for 2026 with Andrius Kubilius, Commissioner for Defence and Space

EP President Roberta METSOLA and President of Moldova Maia SANDU hold a press conference after their meeting. This transcription is the result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Press conference by Roberta METSOLA, EP President and Maia SANDU, President of Moldova

This news items shows extracts from the meeting between Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, and Maia SANDU, President of Moldova. It also includes extracts from their press conference. The President of Moldova, Maia Sandu, and the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, discuss Moldova's progress towards EU membership and mention that Moldova has consistently chosen the European path, as evidenced by recent elections and a referendum.

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Chișinău (Moldova) - Meeting with Maia SANDU, President of Moldova: arrival, meeting and extracts from the press conference

On the occasion of her official visit, EP President Roberta METSOLA comes to the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova. Igor GROSU, Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament makes some introductory remarks and the assistance listens to National and European Anthems.

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Chișinău (Moldova): arrival in the plenary hall, welcome and introductory remarks by Igor GROSU, Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament and National and European Anthems

This news items shows extracts from the meeting between Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, and Igor Grosu, Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament; cutaways of President Metsola signing the Guest's Book and extracts from her formal address to the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova. President Metsola has emphasized that the European Parliament's unwavering support for Moldova's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Chișinău (Moldova) - Visit at the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova: arrival, meeting with Igor GROSU, Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament and extracts from the address

On the occasion of her official visit, EP President Roberta METSOLA addresses to the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova. This transciprtionm is the result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Chișinău (Moldova): formal address by Roberta METSOLA, EP President, to the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova

On the occasion of the sixth edition of the European Parliament's Gender Equality Week 2025, ECON's contribution featured high level female representatives in European finance, on Wednesday 5 November 2025. Nadia Calviño, President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) addressed ECON Members via a video message on 'The EIB Group's strategy for gender equality and women's economic empowerment'.

Video message by Nadia Calviño, President of the European Investment Bank on 'The EIB Group's strategy for gender equality and women's economic empowerment'

EP President Roberta METSOLA delivers a speech, opening the public hearing on Women's Leadership in Politics at the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM). This year the European Gender Equality Week focus on talent. The main event hosts a discussion on how to ensure women can access the same opportunities as men in order to be able to harness their talents. Parliament wishes to emphasise that creating the conditions for women to participate fully in the workforce and public life is not only a matter of fairness, but it also brings economic and social benefits. The first edition was held in 2020, on the initiative of the Women's Rights and Gender Equality Committee. This transcription is the result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Public hearing on Women's Leadership in Politics: speech by Roberta METSOLA, EP President

This News item shows extracts from the public hearing on Women's Leadership in Politics at the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) and statement by Lina GÁLVEZ (S&D, ES), Chair of FEMM Committee. This year the European Gender Equality Week focus on talent. The main event hosts a discussion on how to ensure women can access the same opportunities as men in order to be able to harness their talents. Parliament wishes to emphasise that creating the conditions for women to participate fully in the workforce and public life is not only a matter of fairness, but it also brings economic and social benefits. The first edition was held in 2020, on the initiative of the Women's Rights and Gender Equality Committee. This transcription is the result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Women's Leadership in Politics: extracts from the public hearing and statement by Lina GÁLVEZ (S&D, ES), Chair of FEMM Committee

Antonella SBERNA, Vice-President of the European Parliament responsible for the Gender Equality Week delivers a speech, opening the public hearing on Women's Leadership in Politics at the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM). This year the European Gender Equality Week focus on talent. The main event hosts a discussion on how to ensure women can access the same opportunities as men in order to be able to harness their talents. Parliament wishes to emphasise that creating the conditions for women to participate fully in the workforce and public life is not only a matter of fairness, but it also brings economic and social benefits. The first edition was held in 2020, on the initiative of the Women's Rights and Gender Equality Committee.

Public hearing on Women's Leadership in Politics: speech by Antonella SBERNA, Vice-President of the European Parliament responsible for the Gender Equality Week

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