- 2026-01-28 “E-000345/2026 Answer given by Mr Šefčovič on behalf of the European Commission The Commission proposal on a Reparations Loan to Ukraine 1 refers to the bilateral investment treaties between certain Member States and the Russian Federation. In the Commission’s view, given the systematic disregard by the Russian Federation of internationally agreed norms, including with regard to its commitments concerning the protection of investments by investors from Member States in the territory of the Russian Federation, maintaining bilateral investment treaties between Member States and the Russian Federation is no longer consistent with the investment protection policy developed by the EU pursuant to Article 207 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union 2 . While approval by the co-legislators of that proposal is still pending, the Commission expects Member States to continue closely coordinating with the Commission services regarding their bilateral investment treaties in the light of their obligations under EU law, including on issues related to their agreements with the Russian Federation. In relation to claims against certain Member States based on their bilateral investment treaties with the Russian Federation, the EU has indeed ensured that the EU sanctions regime provides for procedural safeguards against any damages claims or arbitral disputes. The responsible Commission services are analysing the complaints referred to by the Honourable Member. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:52025PC3502. 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:12012E/TXT:en:PDF.”
EU-Belarus relations · EU-Russia relations (from March 2022)
- 2025-03-12 “E-001054/2025 Answer given by Mr McGrath on behalf of the European Commission Prevention of international child abduction and the regulation of cross-border issues related to parental responsibility are an essential part of the EU policy to promote the rights of the child and a core feature of EU judicial cooperation, including with third countries. At EU level the Brussels IIb Regulation establishes very strict rules concerning the return of the child after abduction 1 which supplement the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction in relations between EU Member States. The Regulation, which is directly applicable to Member States, is constantly monitored by the Commission and discussed in the European Judicial Network in civil and commercial matters (EJN-civil) to ensure correct application in the Member States. To date, no complaints have been received on its implementation by France. The Commission has taken several initiatives to inform and train judges, lawyers and Central Authorities, including via the 2022 practice guide 2 to improve the application of the Regulation. The Hague Convention is subject to the monitoring of the Hague Conference on Private International Law. Special Commissions to identify problems and best practices are convened on a regular basis, most recently in 2023 3 , and the Commission proactively participates to ensure proper implementation and enforcement. 1 Council Regulation (EU) No 2019/1111 of 25 June 2019 on jurisdiction, the recognition and enforcement of decisions in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, and on international child abduction (recast), OJ L 178, 2.7.2019, p. 1–115. 2 https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/ff34bda5-ea90-11ed-a05c-01aa75ed71a1. 3 For information about the last Special Commission held in October 2023 see: https://www.hcch.net/en/publications-and-studies/details4/?pid=8488&dtid=57.”
Jurisdiction conflicts between EU and national courts
- 2025-03-12 “P-001053/2025 Answer given by Ms Kos on behalf of the European Commission The use of Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) would allow for flexibility on certain intermediate steps in the enlargement process such as the opening of clusters. The final decision on accession would still be taken by all Member States unanimously. The Commission stands ready to engage with Member States to explore ways to apply QMV to some aspects of the enlargement process. Gradual integration of Ukraine into the single market ahead of EU accession is a priority of the Commission 1 . In the energy sector, the Commission is working to facilitate Ukraine’s electricity market integration with the EU by spring 2027 as well as further integration in the EU gas sector. Priorities for Ukraine’s integration into the EU security and defence sector are defined in the recently adopted White Paper for European Defence – Readiness 2030 2 . In addition, the new Security Action for Europe instrument would allow the Ukrainian defence industry to participate in collaborative procurements on the same footing as EU-based industry. Gradual integration is a useful tool supporting integration of enlargement partners in the EU through alignment with the EU acquis and early participation in some EU policies and processes. Nevertheless, this approach must be coupled, where appropriate, with robust institutional safeguards to guarantee both the uniform interpretation and implementation of EU law and the capacity to address non-compliance effectively. As part of the screening process, enlargement partners can express their interest in participating in the work of EU bodies as observers. The Commission then issues recommendations to this end, as part of the screening report. 1 As laid out in the new Priority Action Plan for Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area implementation (2025-2026). 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52025JC0120.”
EU-Ukraine relations · EU enlargement
- 2024-11-06 “E-002448/2024 Answer given by Ms Albuquerque on behalf of the European Commission The EU is aware of the ongoing campaigns and the modus operandi of the Russian government. The EU has detected and exposed several foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) operations coming from the Russian state or pro-Kremlin actors. In response to Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, the EU has taken steps to combat Russian information manipulation and interference, including disinformation in the territory of the EU, amongst others through the restriction of broadcasting of content of certain outlets, which engage in continuous, and concerted propaganda actions and which support the war of aggression 1 . The EU has, however, also banned operators from providing advertising services to the Russian state or Russian legal person 2 . The purchase and/or provision of advertising space in the EU, if carried out on behalf of the Russian state or Russian legal person, is prohibited. The Member States shall ensure that any violations of these prohibitions amount to criminal offences, in line with the obligations set out in the Directive (EU) 2024/1226 3 . The EU coordinates closely with the EU Member States and EU institutions on FIMI activity in the context of the Rapid Alert System (RAS), including with regards to the Social Design Agency 4 as well as other entities with links to such operations. 1 Article 2f of Council Regulation (EU) 833/2014; https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02014R0833-20241029 2 Article 5n of Council Regulation (EU) 833/2014; https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02014R0833-20241029 3 Directive (EU) 2024/1226 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 April 2024 on the definition of criminal offences and penalties for the violation of Union restrictive measures and amending Directive (EU) 2018/1673; https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2024/1226/oj 4 Russian IT company listed, see https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX%3A32023D1566”
EU-Russia relations (from March 2022) · Foreign interference in Europe
- 2024-11-06 “E-002447/2024 Answer given by Mr Kubilius on behalf of the European Commission The Commission is not in a position to comment on the details of the public announcement in question. The Commission takes note of the statement of the Thales group that it will be able to absorb the redeployment of employees in Europe from its space division to its defence activities. The Thales group is involved in projects supported by the European Defence Fund (EDF) 1 . In this context, the Commission recalls that, in line with the objectives of the EDF to boost the competitiveness of the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB) 2 and to reinforce the strategic autonomy of the EU, entities benefiting from EDF funding must comply with strict eligibility rules, requiring inter alia their establishment in the EU and that the results of actions supported by the EDF must not be, directly or indirectly, subject to any control or restriction by non-associated third countries or by non-associated third country entities. These eligibility conditions are of application for the entire duration of the funded actions. 1 https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/eu-defence-industry/european-defence-fund-edf-official-webpageeuropean-commission_en 2 https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/eu-defence-industry_en”
EU competences on defence · "Buy European" provisions
- “Thank you. Commissioner. Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States is a bully. Bully? He sees the world as his school playground. But when you face the bully, there's no point in looking away. There's no point in just trying to miss his. Dodge his blows. We have to show that Europe is strong rather than a traditional approach of saying, if you place taxes, I will will tax your whiskey. A very expensive approach which won't dissuade Trump. Lets adopted a targeted approach at the heart of his empire Digital Services. At the heart of the so-called Trumpist oligarchy, let's finally use the strength of our market. Let's adopt. Let's implement the digital law so as to face down ex, Amazon and the other digital giants. The historical moment we're experiencing is the emergence of a European sovereign power when it comes to industry and business. This birth is also an act of divorce. The choices we make now will be a defining characteristic of the nature of Europe for the next decades. The status quo has become impossible. This means we have to move on.”
EU-US trade relations
- “We have to understand that the council was having a very restrictive approach on the scope and on what the instruments should be looking at, focusing only on purely national security issues. And what we have seen is that, uh, the flexibility were there and a way forward is possible. Our ambition is to conclude, uh, the file before the end of Danish presidency, and we will have a next trilogue in late November that should certify that we have a deal on these two points and tackle the issue. The main remaining issue, which is economic security and the position of the Parliament, is very ambitious. So I think that we have a possibility to to to cut a deal on these two, even if our position are quite far from each other with the Council and during the negotiations. I must say that the Commission was very helpful to, to to be able to cut a deal and share the ambition of the Parliament to make it a very European and efficient instrument to protect our economies and our nations from hostile investment in strategic sectors. So I guess we are on the right path.”
EU policy on screening foreign investment in strategic sectors and critical infrastructure
- “Colleagues, the war in Iran is continuing without us. But we are paying the price every day because we have been drugged with the addiction to gas and oil. And this is leading us to be subject to the decisions taken by foreign leaders for which we have no influence. Trump's war has already cost us €30 billion, and this is the first time in five years that we are suffering from this lack of fossil fuels. In 2021, after the invasion of Ukraine, we saw that this cost Um, France alone €10 billion. We can no longer afford to delay our energy transition. The high prices are turning our back on oil and gas is necessary from a climate point of view, but also so from a social and economic point of view. So I let me look around the room to the right, to the far right. Stop standing in the way of the Green Deal. Stop standing against the climate. Stop undermining our climate goals, because this is an attack on our sovereignty and our independence. Those who are not suffering as a result of these are standing against the climate change. We are all suffering as a result of Trump's decisions.”
EU approach to energy security (home-made vs import sources)
- “Thank you. Are we ready? Russian planes and drones are daily violating our airspace. Are we ready? Are we prepared to defend Europe against this ever present threat from Putin's tyranny? And are we prepared to do it alone, i.e., not at the whim of a US president who only needs a phone call from a Russian tyrant to forget about Ukrainian sovereignty and European security? The time has come for Europe to become sovereign. The time has come for us to liberate our defence industry from its structural dependency. The time has come for us to develop our autonomous production capacity, to develop cyber defense drones, all made in Europe. The agreement is a first step down the path to European sovereignty. The European funds should benefit European industry from now on. Decisions relating to European security should be taken in Europe by Europeans. This is the only way that we can ensure our security and live in freedom. Thank you.”
EU competences on defence
- “President's colleagues. I sometimes ask myself whether we're all actually aware of just how serious the situation is that we find ourselves in nowadays in Germany and Denmark, Estonia and Poland. We're hearing the same thing that Putin could invade an EU country before 2030. And every word, every decision, every step taken by Donald Trump confirms something for us, and that is that we are alone in assuring our own safety. So why? Why are we incapable of facing up to this threat when we manage to tackle the pandemic? Why are we still blocked when it comes to defence? Why are we only producing national No proposals. Why is the only true European defence proposal? We have actually at just €1.5 billion. And why, when we're looking at Ukraine and Edip, why do we have €0 available? This is either going to be the cradle of European defence or it's tomb.”
EU competences on defence
- “Thank you very much. Commissioner. President. Colleagues, the president of the United States has decided on tariffs. Tariffs that will hurt our productive industries will hurt European industry. And what are the pseudo patriots doing? Rather than resisting their new hero, what they're doing is they're attacking the Green Deal the asylum and migration pact. And they will not say one word to defend Europe's industries against the ones who are hurting the most at the moment, and that's Donald Trump. Donald Trump, you are his affiliates, his accomplices. We are the real patriots. We want to really defend European industry. And we call upon the commission to be firmer. We have the tools that we need to respond to this relationship with the US that is being imposed on us. We've got tools on FDI, we've got the rules on digital services, we've got all the tools we need to resist. And as patriots, we will defend the interests of Europeans against the American administration if we have to.”
EU-US trade relations
- “Thank you. Commissioner. Let's be blunt here. Let's be frank. You accepted a profoundly unfair deal against the illusion of a promise of stability and security. I'm afraid very quickly you will be disillusioned. The president of the commission went to Scotland. Trump took the opportunity to humiliate her and humiliate us. By the same token, let's never forget that we are the biggest market, the first market in the world. We have the means. We have the means to negotiate properly with the USA. Nobody wants a trade war. But if you don't actually fight your corner, then you're basically paving the way for further blackmail on the part of Trump. And it means that our principles will be held in disregard. So let's wake up. Trump is not going to help us. Not with Ukraine, not with anything. He's just going to walk all over us if we let him. Therefore, the only way of gaining respect, the only way of building our strength, our power, would be to believe in our own force, our own strength. If you're just trying to kowtow to an adversary, they will see that as a as a sign of weakness. And Trump cannot take weakness.”
EU-US relations
- “Thank you, dear chair. And I speak under your supervision and control because you were with us leading the negotiations. I think that we can say that the negotiations are taking place in a spirit of compromise. Also on the council side, and that's a climate of trust has been created, even if we have still differences in the ambition that we are having for for this instrument. Yesterday was a second trilogue on the screen regulation. Parliament, I remind everybody, has adopted this mandate in plenary in May and the Council its position in June. So as you know, it has been coming, uh, it has become an increasingly important instrument in recent years. And the ambition that is already in the Commission proposal is to have a more harmonised and more efficient instrument after this revision. Uh, we already agree on making the screening mechanism mandatory for each member state, and we have to still make progress on the scope. The cooperation mechanism and on, uh, the question of economic security. This trilogue, the second trilogue was, uh, putting the focus on both the scope and the cooperation mechanism. And without entering into details, I think that we have advanced a lot on, uh, bringing our positions that were quite far from each other to a point on which we could have a deal, uh, with the council.”
EU policy on screening foreign investment in strategic sectors and critical infrastructure
- “Thank you. President. President of the Commission. You've come to tell us this morning that Europe is in an existential fight. And you're right. It needs to be said. Europe is under threat and needs to fight back. But submitting to Donald Trump in Scotland wasn't fighting. Is it fighting to allow Russian funds in our banks? Is it really fighting, allowing TikTok and X to undermine our democracy? Is it fighting to not apply the digital service. Uh, is it fighting to allow Gaza to be raised? Is it fighting to allow urban and Fico to trample on human rights in the EU itself? And is an MFF with so little ambition. Really fighting words, words, words hamlet said in Shakespeare? Well, we need more than words. If you want to turn words into deeds, then we will stand by you, including against the extreme right and against the council. But if it's just a case of fine words, then we're in trouble.”
Von der Leyen
- “Dear colleagues, it is one minute to midnight for Europe in the face of Russia's war, American betrayal and the Chinese offensive against our industrial production. So the time has now come to assert European sovereignty. The time has come to build our military sovereignty, our energy sovereignty, our industrial sovereignty. It is time to impose European preference and priority in all of our public procurement policies, and to assert genuine European independence. We're at a tipping point, and it's time that we did not listen to the voices of capitulation here in this House. Yes, you over there on the right, the false patriots who ever since the beginning of this debate have submitted to Trump and to Putin. You are the puppets of foreign powers, but you will not prevail. We together will build a Europe which will stand the test of time.”
"Buy European" provisions