MEPs assess the outcome of the 23-24 March European Council in a debate with Presidents Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen. The discussion focuses on three main topics: EU competitiveness, migration and the latest decision of the ICC to give an warrant of arrest against Putin. Extracts from the debate.

debate

plenary session

WEBER, Manfred (EPP, DE)

LAMBERTS, Philippe (Greens/EFA, BE)

MICHEL, Charles (BE)

PICIERNO, Pina (S&D, IT)

AZMANI, Malik (Renew, NL)

VON DER LEYEN, Ursula (DE, EC)

European Council meeting 23-24 March 2023 (T)

C﻿onclusions of the European Council meeting of 23-24 March 2023: extracts from the debate

SOUNDBITE (English), Charles MICHEL, President of the European Council, We also discussed, the recent International Criminal Court decision. This is the beginning of a process to hold Russian leaders accountable for their crimes in Ukraine. And we also agreed to step up efforts along with our partners, to prevent the circumvention and battery launch of our sanctions.

SOUNDBITE (English), Charles MICHEL, President of the European Council, We face the reality as it is today. China is a major trading partner and has become more assertive and more challenging. So we need to be clear on our role. We want to reached not to decuple.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the EC, We are looking for an agreement that will ensure that critical minerals for batteries that are extracted and processed in the European Union are treated equally to those from Canada and Mexico, for example, as if we had free trade agreement.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the EC, If we do not act right now, this Chinese dominance over the clean tech value chain will become even more, not less, pronounced. This is why the Commission has put forward two extracts. The one is the Net-zero Industry Act and the other one is the Critical Raw Materials Act.

SOUNDBITE (German), Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the EC, With that decision, Putin's world has just that bit smaller. If he travels to any of the countries who work with the International Criminal Court, he risks being imprisoned. Any visits to these countries, whether in Africa, Asia, Europe or South America, becomes an incalculable collateral risk for him. We will support the ICC until justice is done.

SOUNDBITE (English), Manfred WEBER (EPP, DE), Our job is to create jobs in Europe and not, first of all, in China. And speaking about China, in November, Olaf Scholz went alone to China after selling the Hamburg Harbour to COSCO. Then our president, Charles Michel, was in in December in China. Now I learn this week Sanchez will go to China and at the end of the week Ursula von der Leyen together with Emmanuel Macron will go to China in one week, two trips and three leaders in a way. So that is good that we are there. But I ask myself, do we really have a common voice? Do we have really a common understanding?

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Pina PICIERNO (S&amp;D, IT), They also repeated their commitment to migration policies, although President von der Leyen and President Michel those that commitment is still only partial. We need more courage on every disputation and search and rescue. We don't want to come here grieving for the tragedies that occur in the Mediterranean.

SOUNDBITE (English), Malik AZMANI (Renew, NL), Irregular migration is a great concern for many. That is why we need Europe. Hard to build a majority in this House and felt that our building blocks of the migration and Asylum pact. Let's use this momentum. It's now up to the Council. Promises of progress in June cannot become September and September cannot slip to December. We need the full attention of the Commission and the Council to deliver the real results. Now our institution is ready.

SOUNDBITE (French), Philippe LAMBERTS (Greens/EFA, BE), I want to begin with one question: Can Europe be self-sufficient? The answer, I think, is that even if it wanted to, it couldn't be self-sufficient. And I'm not sure we should want to be self-sufficient either, because Europe is not an island. It's part of the rest of the world as well. And we know we depend on others. When it comes to climate change, apart from anything else. What we have to avoid is overlap and something recent years have shown that we can't be overdependent on suppliers we saw with Russia. And also when it comes to our customers and obviously I'm talking about China.

C﻿onclusions of the European Council meeting of 23-24 March 2023: extracts from the debate

Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 23-24 March 2023: extracts from the debate