Plenary round-up – November III 2024
The highlight of the November III 2024 plenary session was the election of the European Commission, following the Commission President-elect's presentation of the College of Commissioners and a debate in the chamber. Members held debates on Commission statements on the outcomes of the G20 Leaders' Summit and the COP29 climate change conference. Members also debated Commission and Council statements on reinforcing the EU's unwavering support for Ukraine; continued escalation in the Middle East; and the political and humanitarian situation in Mozambique. Other debates on Commission statements addressed, inter alia, Bulgaria and Romania's full accession to the Schengen Area; prevention of the recruitment of minors for criminal acts; the need to adopt an ambitious international legally binding agreement on plastic pollution; the Commission's Autumn 2024 economic forecast; venture capital financing and safe foreign direct investments in the EU; energy prices and fighting energy poverty; the gender pay gap; critical infrastructure vulnerabilities and hybrid threats in the Baltic Sea; foreign interference and espionage by third-country actors in European universities; condemning the unilateral declaration of independence of the secessionist entity in Cyprus and efforts to legitimise it, 41 years on; and the repression of freedom of speech in Algeria. Members also posed questions to Commissioner Elisa Ferreira on challenges in the implementation of the 2021-2027 cohesion policy.
V stručnosti