President. – On Wednesday, 5March2025, the Conference of Presidents adopted the proposal for the calendar of part-sessions for the parliamentary year 2026.
The dates are available on the plenary webpage and the deadlines are as follows: amendments, today at 7p.m.; roll-call votes, Tuesday, 11March at 4p.m. The vote will then take place on Wednesday, 12March at noon.
⁂
I would like to inform the House that I have received multiple requests for points of order. I will go through them one by one.
First, I give the floor to MsIratxe García Pérez.
Iratxe García Pérez (S&D). – Madam President, dear colleagues, today marks five years since the start of COVID-19. We remember those who died and honour their memory. Faced with a difficult challenge, the European Union worked together in a way we hadn't seen before. We bought vaccines together. We made a digital certificate to help travel safely. We created NextGenerationEU to help our economies recover. This initiative showed that the EU acted together to protect its citizens.
Now we face new challenges, like the threat of war. Let us not forget how we handled COVID-19. We need to be bold and stay united. By learning from that time we can build a more resilient and cohesive Europe. This will help us face any future crisis with determination and unity.
Željana Zovko (PPE). – MadamPresident, dear colleagues, I would like to draw your attention to the situation of minorities in Syria. In recent days, multiple sources indicated that both the Alawite population and Syria's shrinking Christian community have been deliberately targeted.
Extremist factions associated with militant groups have reportedly executed civilians, including women and children. Christian families have endured brutal killings and violent raids at the hands of armed militants who have stormed homes, seized belongings and claimed innocent lives.
The European Union must take decisive action in support of stability and humanitarian relief efforts to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people, including Christians and other affected communities.
Christianity in Syria and in some other parts of the Middle East-North Africa region is at a critical crossroads. It will either endure or it will vanish, leaving behind a profound religious, ethnic and cultural void.
Europe must not remain indifferent to this existential threat. An External Action Service with its press release - it is shameful that they did not take this into account.
Αφροδίτη Λατινοπούλου (PfE). – Κυρία Πρόεδρε, ευχαριστώ. Τοποθετούμαι επί της εφαρμογής του κανονισμού βάσει των άρθρων 10 και 164. Μετά την τελευταία Διάσκεψη των Προέδρων, που υιοθέτησε την ημερήσια διάταξη, ο ευρωβουλευτής του ECR, o κύριος Φράγκος, με επίσημη ανακοίνωσή του και με το λογότυπο του ECR πάνω της, διέσπειρε fake news στους Έλληνες πολίτες, πως η συγκεκριμένη Ολομέλεια είναι αρμόδια να διερευνήσει το σιδηροδρομικό δυστύχημα των Τεμπών, διαβάλλοντας τόσο τους Πατριώτες όσο και εμένα προσωπικά, ότι δήθεν εμποδίσαμε την έρευνα του εγκλήματος.
Όλοι γνωρίζουμε, αγαπητοί συνάδελφοι, πως αυτό είναι μία χυδαία συκοφαντία κατά όλων μας. Είμαι σίγουρη πως το ECR θα καταδικάσει τα ψέματα του κ. Φράγκου, ο οποίος όχι μόνο προσπάθησε να εξαπατήσει τους Έλληνες, με μόνο σκοπό να διασύρει την πατρίδα του αλλά και να πατήσει πάνω σε νεκρούς, πηγαίνοντας χέρι χέρι με τους αριστερούς. Κύριε Φράγκο, να χαίρεστε τον πατριωτισμό σας. Εσκεμμένα συκοφάντησατε τους θεσμούς που υποτίθεται πως υπηρετείτε. Και, αγαπητό ECR, να χαίρεστε το μέλος σας που ακόμα κρύβεται αντί να ζητήσει συγνώμη. Σε αυτήν την Ολομέλεια οι σοβαροί πατριώτες έχουμε ιερό χρέος να προστατεύουμε τόσο τους θεσμούς όσο και τις πατρίδες μας. Ευρωβουλευτές και συμπεριφορές τύπου Φράγκου δεν είναι ανεκτές.
Alice Kuhnke (Verts/ALE). – Madam President, dear colleagues, I take the floor under Rule 39.
The right to be who you are, to love who you want and to live your life free from discrimination is a fundamental European right. That right is clearly under attack.
At this critical moment, the decision by the European Commission to announce the withdrawal of the horizontal anti-discrimination directive came as a shock. It also represents a betrayal of all the EU citizens who are currently lacking protection against discrimination.
It is time for the EU to show global leadership against discrimination, not to back down. As the European Ϸվ's rapporteur for this directive, I strongly condemn this decision and I urge the European Commission to immediately reconsider it.
Fabio De Masi (NI). – Frau Präsidentin! Ich beziehe mich auf Artikel167 der Geschäftsordnung für Angelegenheiten von besonderem Interesse– eine Kollegin hat es bereits angesprochen: Wir sind Zeuge von schlimmsten Gräueltaten in Syrien gegen die alevitische Minderheit geworden in den letzten Tagen. Und der European External Action Service hat ein wirklich groteskes Pressestatement herausgegeben, in dem er die Verantwortung für diese Gräueltaten im Prinzip implizit Pro-Assad-Kräften zugesprochen hat.
Man muss nun wirklich kein Freund des Assad-Regimes sein, um zu erkennen, dass das wirklich groteske Fake News waren, und ich finde, es muss ein deutliches Signal von diesem Parlament ausgehen, dass wir so etwas nicht dulden hier in diesen heiligen Hallen.
Lynn Boylan (The Left). – Madam President, I wish to raise a point of order relating to the agenda item on the deteriorating situation in Gaza.
On February 24, the official mission of this Ϸվ's delegation for relations with Palestine, of which I am the Chair, was supposed to take place. Instead, myself, Rima Hassan, MEP, and two officials of this Ϸվ were detained by the Israeli authorities and subsequently deported.
While detained by the Israeli authorities, our electronic devices held by Members and staff of the delegation were confiscated for over 90 minutes. Our passports, including an Irish diplomatic passport, were confiscated and were not returned to us until we arrived back in Brussels.
This all took place on the same day that the EU-Israel Association Council was taking place, and EU leaders were committing themselves to continue business as usual with Israel, while the Israeli authorities were not allowing us, as elected officials, to do our jobs.
So I ask you, Madam President, that you address this matter urgently.
President. – Thank you, I will.
Costas Mavrides (S&D). – MadamPresident, I will be quite short because the subject has already been mentioned by some of my colleagues. It is with regard to the situation in Syria.
Based on reports by agencies that were our sources of information during the Assad regime, hundreds of people have been murdered in their homes, thousands were tortured and kidnapped, including kids and women and men. Much more were expelled by the new jihadist regime simply because the victims are Alawites, Druze or Christians.
For this reason, I will kindly ask the following: let's show our conscience by observing a one-minute silence.
President. – Thank you very much. Let's see how we take it. We have also a debate on this matter, and I ask all the Members to speak also during that debate.