As a follow-up to the European Council meeting on 14 and 15 December 2023, EU leaders discuss the mid-term revision of the EU’s long-term budget for 2021-2027, including support to Ukraine. Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, attends the Special European Council on 1st February 2024. This news item shows extracts from the arrival and doorstep of President Metsola to the Council, extracts from the roundtable and extracts from her statement during the press conference held after the meeting.

Brussels

statement

press conference

METSOLA, Roberta (EPP, MT, EP President)

meeting of the European Council

president's agenda

special meeting of the European Council 1 February 2024 (T)

Roberta METSOLA, EP President, at the Special European Council: arrival, doorstep, roundtable and extracts from the press conference

Arrival of Roberta METSOLA, EP President. (2 shots).

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Good to see you. So first of all, Ukraine is our top priority. We need an agreement today and it should be at 27. This will impact our legitimacy, our credibility and our predictability, because Ukraine security is Europe's security. We also need to top up badly needed funds that our citizens depend on. On health, on energy, on research. This is where our Parliament and our citizens will look at when they come to vote in June.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, To the farmers that are outside. We see you and we hear you. And if want your voice to be heard make it hard also in June, when you vote for the European Parliament elections.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, European Parliament voted. We wanted to vote as quickly as possible in order for us to send the clearest of messages that we know that Ukraine needs &euro;50 billion for its to continue to fight the war for all of us. And that's why trialogues are going on. Negotiations are going on. We are at the table. All we need is for that to be an agreement today, because Ukraine needed the money yesterday and not tomorrow or the day after. So the decision that should be taken today, and I'm hopeful that we will, as you have heard from all the leaders, is that we can actually give the news that Ukrainians so desperately want today.

Cutaways of Roberta METSOLA, EP President. (2 shots).

Roberta METSOLA, EP President, arriving to hold a press conference. (2 shots).

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Let me start by welcoming the deal reached on providing long term financial support for Ukraine. This is good news. Ukraine is our priority and that is why we need this agreement today by all 27 the member states and from within the EU budget.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, And for this, we must deliver on the commitments we made two years ago that we will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. We made that commitment not just from a moral standpoint, but from a strategic one, too.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, The Parliament has been very clear in its priorities and its position that we need to live up to our promises to boost our competitiveness and to be credible for our citizens. As we understand, the agreement that was reached includes a modest increase in the funding for migration management and for natural disasters. But in reality it also pulls money out of programmes that our citizens depend on and which Member States agreed on a few years ago.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, 2024 will be a massive year for democracy, for Europe and for the world. And contrary to Russia, where the results are already known, our elections will allow our citizens to decide for themselves the direction of Europe for the coming five years. So my appeal is for us not to take our democracy, the rights that we fought so hard for, for granted, but to defend that democracy by taking part because every vote matters.

Cutaways of the press conference. (5 shots).