At a glance: European Parliament President Metsola visited Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank to reaffirm Europe’s commitment to regional peace; Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Michael O’Flaherty will debate key issues, including Ukraine and migration, with MEPs; EIB Vice-President Robert De Groot will discuss the bank’s role in strengthening European defence with the Committee on Security and Defence.

Blúiríní Nuachta – 17/02/2025 - Gaeilge

Déantar an Lá le haghaidh Idirlíon níos sábháilte a cheiliúradh ar fud an domhain gach Feabhra. Cuireadh tús leis in 2004 mar chuid de chéad phlean an Aontais le haghaidh idirlíon níos sábháilte, agus is cuid anois é de thionscnamh domhanda chun feasacht faoi shábháilteacht ar líne a mhúscailt. An téama atá ag an imeacht bliantúil ná ‘Ag gníomhú le chéile ar son idirlíon níos fearr’. Spreagann sé daoine chun teacht le chéile ar mhaithe leis an idirlíon a dhéanamh níos sábháilte agus níos fearr do chách.

An Lá le haghaidh Idirlíon níos Sábháilte: céannacht dhigiteach daoine a chosaint

At a glance: Parliament approved VAT reform to ensure fair taxation and combat fraud; MEPs and the Commission reviewed EU-Mercosur trade deal amid agriculture concerns; and the Committee on Budgetary Control will assess revamped EU long-term budget.

Blúiríní Nuachta – 14/02/2025 - Gaeilge

At a glance: the Commission’s 2025 work programme and new EU competitiveness strategy; the Chair of the Verkhovna Rada, or Ukrainian Parliament, addresses MEPs in Strasbourg; Parliament urges the European Central Bank to address geopolitical risks to price stability.

Blúiríní Nuachta – 13/02/2025 - Gaeilge

At a glance: EU vows firm response to new US tariffs on steel and aluminium; MEPs reaffirmed strong EU support for Ukraine amid ongoing war; and the European Parliament observed a minute of silence for Örebro shooting victims.

Blúiríní Nuachta – 12/02/2025 - Gaeilge

At a glance: During this week’s plenary session, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will unveil the Commission’s 2025 work programme; MEPs will debate repression in Russia one year after Alexei Navalny’s murder; Parliament will also discuss the US’s exit from the World Health Organization and the Paris Agreement.

Blúiríní Nuachta – 11/02/2025 - Gaeilge

At a glance: During the plenary session, MEPs will mark three years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; debate the EU’s planned Middle East strategy; and assess risks to EU trade amid US tariff threats.

Blúiríní Nuachta – 10/02/2025 - Gaeilge

At a glance: MEPs to discuss Ukraine support and Russia’s repression of democratic opposition in plenary; experts briefed MEPs on climate and biodiversity challenges; and the EU affirms its commitment to ending female genital mutilation.

Blúiríní Nuachta – 07/02/2025 - Gaeilge

On 24 February Russian troops invaded Ukraine. Shortly before&nbsp;Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized&nbsp;two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine&nbsp; as independent.&nbsp;The Conference of Presidents of the EP condemned the Russian attack on Ukraine in the strongest possible terms. "Ukraine is an independent and sovereign nation and its territorial integrity is non-negotiable. The invasion is unjustified and illegal. It is a threat to European and regional stability, as well as to the rules-based world order. The attack targets our model of democratic society. It cannot go unanswered, " says declaration of the COP.

"The Russian invasion into Ukraine is part of President Putin’s destabilisation agenda. It is a path that will bring the Kremlin in direct confrontation with Europe and the rule-based world-order. It is a path that pits authoritarianism against democracy. It is a path that we cannot allow him to walk unchallenged," said EP President Roberta Metsola.

European Union leaders met for a special European Council in Brussels on 24 February&nbsp;and adopted a set of sanctions related to the the financial sector, the energy and transport sectors,dual-use goods, exports, Russian individuals etc.&nbsp;

Ukraine is a priority partner for the European Union (EU). The EU supports Ukraine in ensuring a stable, prosperous and democratic future for its citizens and is unwavering in its support for Ukraine’s independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty. The Association Agreement (AA), including its Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) signed in 2014, is the main tool for bringing Ukraine and the EU closer together. Since 2014, the EU and the Financial Institutions have mobilised more than €15 billion in grants and loans to support the reform process in the country, with strong conditionality on continued progress.

As a result of the cooperation with Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada in the field of democracy support, European Parliament launched on 11 March the website “<a href="https://ukraine.europarl.europa.eu/en/home.html" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">The EU stands with Ukraine</a>” (in English and Ukrainian) provides the latest news, videos and podcasts, relevant legislation and resolutions to show how the EU is helping Ukraine. Content from the Ukrainian Parliament could also be shared on the site. Actively supporting EU efforts to promote democracy and human rights in the world is one of Parliament's core responsibilities.

EU - Ukraine

Have a look at stockshots (from 2021 onwards) with illustrative pre-edited broadcast quality video footage. These editable stockshots are clean (raw), with natural sound (no voice-over), produced to illustrate priority EU dossiers and parliamentary work. They are intended to help audiovisual media produce their own programs, for example, editing of news reports or documentaries.

Infoclips - Illustrative footage

On 24 February 2022,&nbsp;Russia&nbsp;began a&nbsp;military invasion&nbsp;of Ukraine, in a major escalation of the conflict that had begun in 2014. Shortly before, on 21 February, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent.&nbsp;

Since then, the EU and its international allies have rallied firmly behind the Kyiv government. This support has resulted in unprecedented levels of financial aid, assistance, weapons deliveries to Ukraine, sweeping sanctions against Moscow, and the granting of EU candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova.

On 1&nbsp;March&nbsp;the European Parliament held an extraordinary plenary session in Brussels to assess Russia’s military assault on Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky&nbsp;and the Speaker of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada (parliament) Ruslan Stefanchuk spoke live from Kiev.&nbsp;The European Parliament President Roberta Metsola was in Kyiv on 1 April&nbsp;to express the European Union´s support of&nbsp;the Ukrainian people and to condemn the Russian attack. On&nbsp;8 June&nbsp;Stefanchuk adressed Parliament in the Strasbourg hemicycle.

Following the atrocities carried out by Vladimir Putin’s regime against Ukrainian civilians, the European Parliament has&nbsp;recognised Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism in a resolution on November 2022.

On 9th February 2023, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy&nbsp;addressed the European Parliament during an extraordinary plenary session in Brussels.

In March 2024, &nbsp;MEPs voted to to amend the Commission’s proposal to suspend import duties and quotas on Ukrainian agricultural exports to the EU for another year, from 6 June 2024 to 5 June 2025.&nbsp;

Russian aggression against Ukraine

Ever since Russia launched an illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24&nbsp;February 2022, the EU and the Parliament have supported the country by condemning Russia’s aggression, sanctioning those responsible and providing financial and material aid. Parliament has also been supportive of Ukraine’s efforts to become an EU candidate country and has been calling on EU countries to launch accession talks.

The European Parliament President Roberta Metsola was in Kyiv on 1 April 2022 to express the European Union´s support to the Ukrainian people and to condemn the unjustified Russian attack.&nbsp; On 9 February 2023, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the European Parliament during an extraordinary plenary session in Brussels.

The&nbsp; new EP reconfirmed in July 2024&nbsp; its view that the EU must continue to support Kyiv for as long as it takes until victory. The resolution, which sets out the newly-elected European Parliament’s first official position on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, restates the continued support of MEPs for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders. It calls on the EU to maintain and extend its sanctions policy against Russia and Belarus, monitor and review its effectiveness and impact, and systematically tackle the issue of sanctions circumvention by EU-based companies, third parties, and third countries.

Parliament held also and&nbsp;extraordinary plenary session on 19th November 2024 with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, marking 1000 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Solidarity with Ukraine

The 61st Munich Security Conference (MSC) takes place from February 14 to 16, 2025, at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich. The MSC 2025 offers an unparalleled platform for high-level debates on the key foreign and security policy challenges of our time.

Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament participates at the Munich Security Conference 2025

Roberta METSOLA, EP President represents the European Parliament in discussions in Israel and the Palestinian territories at a critical moment in time for the Middle East and the world.

Roberta METSOLA, EP President: Official visit to Israel and occupied Palestinian territories

MEPs review the new US administration’s recent decision to pull back from a number of international organisations and agreements.

Following his inauguration on 20 January 2025, President Trump signed a large number of executive orders setting the priorities of the new US administration, including the country’s withdrawal from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation. Alongside Commission representatives, MEPs will discuss the impact of these decisions internationally and on the EU’s future involvement in these global initiatives.

Background

This is the second time the US has initiated the process of withdrawing from both the WHO and Paris Agreement.

During the first Trump administration (2017-2021), the US gave formal notice of withdrawal from the Paris Agreement in November 2019 (which then took 12 months to take effect). Shortly after taking office, President Biden revoked the decision, with the US formally rejoining the agreement in February 2021. President Trump also started the withdrawal process from the WHO in 2020, but it was never finalised and the decision was reversed by the Biden administration.

Debate on the US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, WHO and USaid

MEPs examine the Kremlin’s continued repression of Russia’s political opposition a year after the murder of Alexei Navalny. Mr Navalny, one of Russia’s most well-known anti-corruption activists, an opposition politician, and an ardent critic of Vladimir Putin, died under mysterious circumstances in a remote penal colony in the Russian Arctic on 16 February 2024, while serving a long prison sentence on trumped-up charges. After his death, the European Parliament adopted a resolution holding the Russian state, and President Putin in particular, responsible for his death.

Debate on the one year after the murder of Alexei Navalny and the continued repression of the democratic opposition in Russia

Roberta METSOLA, EP President participates at the Munich Security Conference 2025 - Participation at the GZERO Media Panel Discussion

Roberta METSOLA, EP President participates at the Munich Security Conference 2025 - Participation at the Spotlight Session on Venezuela

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

Roberta METSOLA, EP President participates at the Munich Security Conference 2025 - Meeting with Joel KAPLAN, Chief Global Affairs Officer at META

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Israel and occupied Palestinian territories - Meeting with Meetings with Released Hostages & Families and visit of the

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Israel and occupied Palestinian territories - Meeting with Hussein AL-SHEIKH, Secretary-General of the Executive Committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Israel and occupied Palestinian territories - Meeting with Reem AL HAJAJRA, Director of Women of the Sun and Sakharov Prize Nominee

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Israel and occupied Palestinian territories - Meeting with Isaac HERZOG, President of Israel

Strasbourg's Plenary session through the lens - Week 7

EP Plenary session - Cross-border recognition of civil status documents of same-sex couples and their children within the territory of the EU

President Metsola participates in the Munich Security Conference. She exchanges with Edmundo GONZÁLEZ URRUTIA, President-elect of Venezuela and Sakharov Prize laureate 2024 on the situation in Venezuela during a Spotlight Session. The 61st Munich Security Conference (MSC) offers an unparalleled platform for high-level debates on the key foreign and security policy challenges of our time.

Munich Security Conference 2025 - Spotlight Session on Venezuela with the participation of Roberta METSOLA, EP President and Edmundo GONZÁLEZ URRUTIA, President-elect of Venezuela and Sakharov Prize laureate 2024: opening statements

Roberta METSOLA, EP President participates at the 61st Munich Security Conference (MSC) at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich. MSC is the world's leading forum for debating the most pressing challenges to international security. This video includes her arrival and cutaways of her participation to the spolight on Venezuela with Edmundo GONZÁLEZ URRUTIA, President-elect of Venezuela and Sakharov Prize laureate 2024.

Roberta METSOLA, EP President participates at the Munich Security Conference 2025: atmosphere

President Metsola is on an official visit to Israel and the Palestinian occupied territory, where she is holding talks with the political authorities. She meets with Hussein AL-SHEIKH, Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Ramallah.

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Israel and occupied Palestinian territories: extracts from the meeting with Hussein AL-SHEIKH, Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)

Roberta METSOLA, EP President meets with Reem AL HAJAJRA, Director of Women of the Sun, Sakharov Prize Nominee in Ramallah. Reem Alhajajra co-founded the organistion in 2021 to promote cultural awareness as well as political engagement of women in Palestine.

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Israel and occupied Palestinian territories: extracts from the meeting with Sakharov Prize Nominee Reem AL HAJAJRA , Director of Women of the Sun

President Metsola is on an official visit to Israel and the Palestinian occupied territory, where she is holding talks with the political authorities. She exchanges with the President of Israel, Isaac Herzog at the Presidencial residence Beit HaNassi in Jerusalem.

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Israel and occupied Palestinian territories: meeting with Isaac HERZOG, President of Israel - Jerusalem

Roberta Metsola, EP President, visits the Nova Festival Victims Memorial commemorating the victims of the massacre. On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip. During this assault, 364 people, mostly civilians, were killed, and many others were injured at the Supernova Sukkot Gathering, an open-air music festival held near kibbutz Re'im.

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Israel and occupied Palestinian territories: visit to the Site of the Nova Festival, in Re'im

President Metsola travelled to the Kerem Shalom Border Crossing Point to visit the humanitarian operations. From there, President Metsola entered into Gaza where she was able to witness humanitarian aid entering from the Israeli side. President Metsola is the first European leader to enter Gaza in more than a decade. Her crossing of the border at a crucial moment in time is meant to highlight the EU’s critical role in supporting humanitarian efforts in Gaza (notably through the EUBAM operation) and the EU’s commitment to continue supporting the ceasefire and hostage exchange deal.

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Israel and occupied Palestinian territories: crossing into Gaza, visit to the border-crossing point and the humanitarian operation station

Votes on motions for resolution - Recent dismissals and arrests of mayors in Türkiye - Repression by the Ortega-Murillo regime in Nicaragua, targeting human rights defenders, political opponents and religious communities in particular - Continuing detention and risk of the death penalty for individuals in Nigeria charged with blasphemy, notably the case of Yahaya Sharif-Aminu - Further deterioration of the political situation in Georgia (debate: 21/01/2025) - Escalation of violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Voting Session

Maroš ŠEFČOVIČ, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, and European Commissioner for Interinstitutional Relations and Transparence opens the debate on EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement. The European Union and four Mercosur countries – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – reached a political agreement on 6 December 2024 for a ground-breaking partnership agreement. MEPs will review the recently concluded EU-Mercosur free-trade deal, amidst a new geopolitical context of increasing unilateralism, and concerns over the deal’s potential effects on European agriculture. If ratified, the deal would gradually phase out duties on 91% of EU exports to Mercosur and 92% of Mercosur exports to the EU. Parliament must give its consent before the agreement can enter into force. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement: Closing statement by Maroš ŠEFČOVIČ, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, and European Commissioner for Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency

823,944 torthaí

Ábhair (809)

Events (292)

Streaimeanna gréasáin (32,204)

Físeáin (23,635)

Photoset (46,164)

Grianghraf (718,000)

Fuaim (2,828)

Infhíosruithe (12)