Brussels – The State of the European Union, the current situation in Ceuta, this summer’s wildfires, the protection of European democracy from external interference and hybrid threats, and children online: these are some of the topics on the agenda for the European Parliament’s plenary session, which will open on Monday 14 September in Strasbourg and run until Thursday 17. The session will also be attended by the Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, who on Thursday (17 September) will deliver a speech on EU-Canada relations against a backdrop of growing geopolitical tensions. Today (11 September), during the press briefing ahead of the plenary session, the spokesperson for the Socialists, Utta Tuttlies, stated that Carney “is standing firm against Trump’s high-handedness and defending its citizens” and that, for this reason, her group has long been calling for “stronger cooperation” with the North American country, “the strengthening of EU partnerships, and the consolidation of the rules-based international order.”
The highlight of the plenary session will be on Wednesday (16 September), when the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will deliver the State of the Union address, the so-called SOTEU. This is a key annual event at which the head of the European Commission will outline the political and legislative priorities for the coming year, followed by a debate with MEPs. The spokesperson for the European People’s Party, Pedro López de Pablo, stated that: “If we consider all the events of the summer, the state of the Union appears precarious,” as “the situation is dire.” Among the causes, according to de Pablo, are “the ‘invasion’ of Ceuta, the drought, the heatwaves and, to top it all off, the interest rate rises by central banks.”
Ceuta Chapter. On Tuesday (15 September), MEPs will hold discussions with representatives of the European Commission and the Irish Presidency of the Council about the humanitarian and security situation in the exclave. This will be followed on Thursday (17 September) by a vote on a resolution dedicated to this issue. The spokesperson for Patriots for Europe, Alonso de Mendoza Asensi, described the situation as “a total disaster,” as “the Spanish city is still in chaos.” Asensi recalled that last week von der Leyen visited Greenland “to defend its sovereignty” and asked: “When will she come to Ceuta?”
Also on Tuesday, the European Parliament will debate and vote on recommendations aimed at strengthening the Union’s resilience to foreign interference and other threats “in an increasingly hostile global context.” The report drawn up by the Special Committee on the European Democracy Shield (EUDS)—a temporary body of the European Parliament set up to protect the Union’s democratic processes—proposes concrete measures to tackle malicious interference, hybrid attacks and disinformation campaigns. MEPs are expected to back the creation of a centralised EU body tasked with countering such threats, equipped with a clear mandate and budget. According to the spokesperson for the Conservatives and Reformists Group, Michael Strauss, the proposal goes “too far.” His group believes that “there is no clear legal basis in the Treaties for such measures” and that there is a risk of “problematic EU involvement in the electoral processes of Member States.” During a briefing with the Italian press, also held today (11 September), the MEP for the Patriots, Paolo Borchia, urged that the debate be framed “in terms of solutions rather than taking sides or attempting to exploit the debate for electoral gain.” Across Europe, “citizens are expressing a preference for movements whose positions run counter to those of Brussels”, and the response is to bring “foreign interference” into the picture. According to Borchia, this represents “the undermining of the expression of the will of the people.” The spokesperson for the Renew group, Linda Aziz-Rohlje, does not share this view; she reiterated that “countries such as Russia, China, and Iran want to divide us, frighten us, and weaken our support for Ukraine.” So far, however, “Europe’s response has been too slow and too fragmented” and the time has come to “change course” through “a strong, unified plan that provides for greater protection of our democracy, clear rules, and concrete consequences for those who attack us,” she emphasised.
With regard to hybrid threats, MEPs will discuss—and vote on—a series of proposals on the same day (16 September), aimed at strengthening the EU’s response to hybrid threats originating mainly from Russia. MEP (S&D) Brando Benifei has called on his colleagues to tackle this issue “rationally, but also with great care,” because “this is about the future and the safety of our citizens,” he explained.
Following a summer marked by record temperatures and drought in many Member States, as well as a large number of fires that have burnt almost 700,000 hectares of woodland, on Tuesday MEPs will discuss with the Commission and the Irish Presidency of the Council the possible actions the EU can take to prevent, prepare for, and respond to increasingly frequent extreme weather events. The Greens’ spokesperson, Pia Kohorst, emphasised that this year there have been “35,000 excess heat-related deaths” and that “the economic costs of these heatwaves are also skyrocketing and continue to rise.” For this reason, her group expects the Commission President to “deliver a strong and unified response” in the State of the Union address and to outline “her climate action plan.” From the ranks of the Left, it was pointed out that “seven years ago, Europe launched the Green Deal to lead the fight against climate change,” but that today “a clear lack of preparedness is becoming apparent.” The spokesperson for the sovereigntists, Vijay Monany, on the other hand, made it clear that he and his group share “the emotions stirred by the forest fires that have occurred in Europe, but we also reject the exploitation of such emotion to exacerbate and inflame the debate.” The Italian MEP from the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group, Ruggero Razza (FdI), has criticised the Commission’s actions, in particular because it had called for “pursuing the path of a European industrial partnership to build aircraft that would be useful in fighting forest fires,” but the appeal went unheeded. The Left’s MEP, Valentina Palmisano (M5S), pointed out that “Italy is one of the countries most exposed to the risks of climate change, to increasingly intense heatwaves, prolonged droughts, floods, and forest fires that destroy entire regions.” It would therefore be “essential to increase the funds allocated to the European adaptation strategy in the next multiannual budget, as well as to support cities and local communities in tackling the increasingly severe impacts of climate change,” she explained.
Finally, with regard to the impact of social media on minors, on Thursday (17 September) MEPs are expected to call on platforms to ban practices and tone down designs that are addictive. Green MEP Ignazio Roberto Marino explained that, together with his group, he had presented “a study on the mental health of young people across the 27 Member States.” The findings revealed that suicide resulting from incidents of online violence “is the leading cause of death among teenage girls.” For this reason, “we will put forward a parliamentary proposal to the Commission on how to help our young people,” he announced.
