- 2025-05-13 “E-001892/2025 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Mînzatu on behalf of the European Commission With an allocated amount of EUR 5.3 billion for material support, the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) is, in continuation to the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD), the only instrument to target exclusively the most disadvantaged in the EU. According to Article 21 of the ESF+ Regulation 1 , the food and/or basic material assistance shall be distributed free of charge to the most deprived persons. In case that paid-for products are distributed in the same place as the ESF+ support, those will have to be financed through different resources. In practice, the organisations delivering food support combine ESF+ support with national and private financing, including food donations, in order to ensure a wider coverage for the most deprived. The ESF+ Community of Practice for Material Support 2 explores and promotes innovative practices in delivering material support, in line with the regulatory framework for addressing material deprivation with ESF+ programmes. 1 Regulation (EU) 2021/1057 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021establishing the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1296/2013 - https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/1057/oj/eng. 2 https://www.socialinnovationplus.eu/cop/material-support/.”
EU expenditure on social policy · Minimum income harmonisation at EU level
- 2025-03-26 “E-001254/2025 Answer given by Mr Serafin on behalf of the European Commission The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) conducts its investigative work in full independence, in accordance with Article 17(3) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 1 . The Commission is not in a position to comment on the internal decision-making process of OLAF. The Commission is neither involved in nor informed of OLAF’s operational decisions and therefore cannot comment on specific cases. Regarding referrals to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), OLAF is required, under Article 12c of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013, to submit a report to the EPPO without undue delay on any criminal conduct in respect of which the EPPO could exercise its competence in line with Chapter IV of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 (‘EPPO Regulation’) 2 . Such decisions fall exclusively within OLAF’s independent mandate and operational discretion. EPPO is competent to deal with corruption cases which affect or are likely to affect the protection of EU’s financial interests. Its mandate does not include investigations of corruption cases outside such a situation. The Commission is evaluating the implementation and impact of the EPPO Regulation, which is expected to be finalised by June 2026. In light of the conclusions and lessons learned from this evaluation, the Commission will consider whether the Regulation needs to be revised. 1 Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 September 2013 concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (Euratom) No 1074/1999, OJ L 248, 18.9.2013, p. 1–22. 2 Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 of 12 October 2017 implementing enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (‘the EPPO’), OJ L 283, 31.10.2017, p. 1–71.”
EU law enforcement cooperation in criminal matters · Transparency requirements of EU institutions
- 2024-11-19 “P-002582/2024 Answer given by Mr Serafin on behalf of the European Commission 1. The Commission received the case of Mr Hololei further to an investigation by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). This investigation is now completed. OLAF has not found evidence of criminal conduct. It did gather elements indicating a breach of professional obligations. The Commission received a recommendation from OLAF for a follow-up under the EU Staff Regulations (SR). The competent services are following up 1 . 2. The Commission works under the assumption that the co-legislators will reach an agreement in 2025 on the proposed Directive on combatting corruption, which aims to equip national authorities with enhanced tools to fight and prevent corruption. The Commission will assist Member States with its implementation. EU officials and agents are subject to the SR adopted by the European Parliament and Council, which provide for a comprehensive legal framework prohibiting and sanctioning all forms of unethical behavior, including but not limited to those outlined in the draft Directive. The Directive on combatting corruption will be addressed to all Member States hosting EU institutions. 3. The EU-Qatar air transport agreement was negotiated at the request of Member States and EU stakeholders. The negotiations were conducted in a fully transparent manner with the close involvement of Member States representatives and EU stakeholders. The outcome of the negotiations was endorsed unanimously by all Member States that considered it fully responded to the negotiating directives adopted by the Council. The agreement was then signed by all Member States and the EU. The Commission considers that potential breaches of professional obligations by the then Director-General should not result in a suspension of the application of the agreement. 1 During any disciplinary procedure, the persons concerned enjoy the presumption of innocence.”
Transparency requirements of EU institutions · Accounting and auditing of EU budget
- “Thank you. Colleagues. Tobias, who are our allies going to be tomorrow? In a world shaken by the return of brutal force, Europe has to stand together with those countries ready to stand up to imperialism, whether it's coming from Russia, China or where. When Mark Carney spoke in Davos in January this year, he said out loud what a lot of Europeans are keeping to into their own thoughts. He talked about rupture in international relations, that the USA were no longer a reliable partner, and he said that from this fracture we can build up something better, stronger and fairer. The Canadian prime minister had the courage to stand up to Trump threatened by US tariffs with the three quarters of Canadian exports depending on the US market. But they boycotted when Trump threatened to turn them into 51st state. It's a lesson in dignity for Europe to know how to be true to your values and make yourself respected in a world marked by rivals rival rivalry between big powers. We know what to do. We have to get together to create a third path. And that's what we need. Solidarity between Europeans and with other democracies like Canada, which refused this brutal violence. Thank you.”
EU foreign policy approach
- “Dear colleagues, I do sometimes wonder what world we're living in. Benjamin Netanyahu is calling on Trump to be given the Nobel Peace Prize, while Trump is talking about a forced displacement still for Palestinians outside Gaza. Thirst, starvation, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Trying to give out food and assistance, 613 people killed Israeli soldiers. Speaking out about the horrors of war. Feeling betrayed by Netanyahu. We hear them say, I am ashamed of this war. Ethnic cleansing of the Gaza Strip. And Netanyahu is seized by the desire for reprisals. And even now, he's refused for a billion state to be created and for Israel to withdraw from the Gaza Strip over time. This is complicity with war criminals. And we should suspend the EU Israel Association Agreement to show that we do defend a two state solution, people living side by side in freedom and security limits.”
Relations with Israel - Palestine
- “So I start. Okay. Merci beaucoup. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. There are 300 NGOs that have supported this citizens initiative. It's a huge movement for freedom, which has. We've heard from survivors. And I think that we should repeat the words that we heard from our speakers. These are human beings, and the victims of this therapy have a terrible psychological consequences and suicide even. This is a form of torture. They are being forced to take hormones. They go through humiliations and exorcisms. They are forced to watch a pornography. They are basically being tortured. And it's an attack on human dignity that we cannot accept in the European Union. We have a charter on fundamental rights in the EU. It says that human dignity is inviolable. It has to be respected and protected, and nobody can be submitted to torture, so we can't prevent people from having bad opinions about gay or trans people, but we cannot allow them to torture people who are the way they are and have a right to be that way. So I have a question for the European Commission. Well, yes, we should be banning these practices. What legal options would you prefer to pursue and what are you going to do in practice to monitor the situation and flag up those involved in these procedures?”
LGBTIQ+
- “01:16 – 12:04:02): Thank you very much I'm gonna speak French. I'd like to thank you for joining us today. We met a year ago in the Hague before Trump was reelected. You have also come to Tuoha subcommittee here as well and back then you already warned us that there was the possibility that there would be US sanctions against the court or against its judges and you were right because then just a few months later the court prosecutor and the judges were sanctioned.
And for a year and a half now in the European Parliament we have in this socialist group in particular continued to ask the European Commission to act to protect the court and its judges and to activate the blocking instrument and yesterday in the drug in the drug subcommittee we had someone from the commission who came and they confirmed that they could activate the blocking instrument if a majority in the European Parliament or a majority in the Council did not prevent it from doing so.
And you said in your introduction that this European Parliament voted a majority for this instrument to be activated so that criminal court could be protected and this still has not happened the commission has not done anything and we know that it's not because there's a legal obstacle here but it's because there is the lack of political will to take action.
So I think we need to keep asking for this not only of the commission but also of the European heads of state to make sure that they also make the same decision. We need to protect the ICC and we also need to open people's eyes to the sovereignty risks here Donald Trump is going against the ICC he's also sanctioning judges elsewhere a judge in Brazil for example who had convicted Bolsonaro and this is a tactic which they are now applying they are intimidating judges when they don't like their decisions and they feel that they can do so because they're so powerful when it comes to the economy and tech and digital developments as well and this is having a devastating effect.
We need to be sovereign in Europe when it comes to financial and digital services so that you can have alternatives to the American services that you had used in the past to run the ICC so you have our full support and we will continue to urge the commission to take action to protect you.”
Foreign interference in Europe
- “Thank you. Chairman. I'll speak in French. Social media disseminate a great deal of false information from abroad, which is made possible by the such platforms as X that prevent, uh, truth being re-established when it's necessary. So, Commissioner, you've said several times this afternoon that you believe that application of EU legislation of the DSA is a priority, because we have the tools to fight against this foreign interference. There's an investigation open against X. It's been there since 2023. May 2023. There's still no penalty or conclusion on that case against X. So what is the commission waiting for before applying the DSA?”
Disinformation & online freedoms
- “So I start. Okay. Merci beaucoup. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. There are 300 NGOs that have supported this citizens initiative. It's a huge movement for freedom, which has. We've heard from survivors. And I think that we should repeat the words that we heard from our speakers. These are human beings, and the victims of this therapy have a terrible psychological consequences and suicide even. This is a form of torture. They are being forced to take hormones. They go through humiliations and exorcisms. They are forced to watch a pornography. They are basically being tortured. And it's an attack on human dignity that we cannot accept in the European Union. We have a charter on fundamental rights in the EU. It says that human dignity is inviolable. It has to be respected and protected, and nobody can be submitted to torture, so we can't prevent people from having bad opinions about gay or trans people, but we cannot allow them to torture people who are the way they are and have a right to be that way. So I have a question for the European Commission. Well, yes, we should be banning these practices. What legal options would you prefer to pursue and what are you going to do in practice to monitor the situation and flag up those involved in these procedures?”
LGBTIQ+
- “Thank you. Chair. The S&D Group has decided to nominate for the Sakharov Prize. These two groups, Women Wage Peace and Women of the sun. Women of the sun is an independent Palestinian organization of women that regroups women and children from the West Bank, from Gaza and from the Palestinian diaspora. You and me lives in. The West Bank and has been exiled. However, her struggle has continued. A Women of Peace is a Jewish Arabic Israeli association that also fights for peace. And as you saw in the video that was just projected, these two women's association and three days before the attacks of the 7th of October protested together in the. Gaza Strip. We would therefore like to reward their bravery, their bravery to keep talking to each other even in the face of great suffering. These women who are not great figures, who aren't lawyers, they are women. They are sisters. They are normal women, and they have the courage to keep speaking up, even if it means going against the communities and the repressive spirit reigning. And so they continue to fight for peace and justice in Israel and Palestine, we see that freedom for Palestine is a condition for the security of Israel, where they are also sending out a pro-woman. Um, call saying that women have to have a unified voice and should be taken into account in peace negotiations. And now I will give the floor to my colleague. In addition to what my colleague said, Miss Wilmers and Miss Riedel, I want to underline how important it is that these two organizations, women of the Sun and Women Wage Peace, collaborated, even when that was not evident. When it was not obvious to speak out, they promoted and supported peace. Even in these times when people say, oh, this is useless. Don't do it. In the spirit of Sakharov, they spoke out when others did not. And by awarding the Sakharov Prize to these two organizations and founders, we also acknowledge that in these dire times, in these dire times, we see them and that we listen and that we also salute their courage and emphasise the need for women to have a lead role in the peace negotiations and in the reconstruction. We saw it just now in the clip. We need to be at the place of decision making. And I think that it is important to underline that, especially now, and I respect very much. I repeat what my colleague Yilmaz also said, that this is a non-partisan nomination. And in the spirit of Sakharov, they collaborate, they spoke out. So I hope that the European Parliament will, by awarding the Sakharov Prize 2024 to these two organisations, once again stand with freedom, with women, and with peace. We nominate hereby the women of peace and women of the sun. Thank you.”
Relations with Israel - Palestine
- “Thank you, chair, and thank you for your presentations. Thank you for your work indeed. Because across the globe, women continue to suffer from violence, sexual violence, being murdered, not having access to sexual reproductive rights or just inequality or political pressure, oppression. For us, it's not just about values and human rights. It's also about our interests and security. You mentioned this. We know that the more equality we have, the more development goes hand in hand with that, as well as security and peace. We as Europeans, which is the region with the most gender equality. It doesn't mean that we're perfect, but it just means that we're more advanced. We have to have a feminist diplomacy, and I'd like to think about the instruments that we could avail ourselves of, of to have a feminist, foreign policy, feminist approach to diplomacy. Maybe we should include this in the next multiannual Financial framework and think about how we could finance. Or we could fund feminist European diplomacy by setting up specific dedicated programs fighting for gender equality. In areas where we know that the regimes are trying to go in the other direction. Thank you very much. Okay. So in order of groups.”
EU development policy (gender conditionality)
- “Dear colleagues, the illegal war that has been launched in Iran by the United States and Israel is out of control and is plunging the Middle East into chaos. The regime is one of the worst that exists, but you cannot provide justice for the 30,000 Iranians and women that fell victim to the bullets just by attacking. Because what Israel is doing and the United States, they're not only destroying military infrastructures, but oil infrastructure, desalination plants, which are essential. This mass bombing has created a huge environmental and health crisis with very many victims. And then there are the Lebanese in the south of Lebanon who are also suffering. And we've seen that there's a threat that this will turn into a new Gaza. Russia benefits because they can sell their oil at higher prices. And this is an instrument turned against us. So please, Mrs. von der Leyen, wake up. It's not up to the European citizens to pay the price for your for this disregard of international law and defend. Try and do something about our oil and gas independence. Support the Ukrainian people and the speaker is interrupted.”
EU-Iran relations
- “Thank you. Colleagues. Tobias, who are our allies going to be tomorrow? In a world shaken by the return of brutal force, Europe has to stand together with those countries ready to stand up to imperialism, whether it's coming from Russia, China or where. When Mark Carney spoke in Davos in January this year, he said out loud what a lot of Europeans are keeping to into their own thoughts. He talked about rupture in international relations, that the USA were no longer a reliable partner, and he said that from this fracture we can build up something better, stronger and fairer. The Canadian prime minister had the courage to stand up to Trump threatened by US tariffs with the three quarters of Canadian exports depending on the US market. But they boycotted when Trump threatened to turn them into 51st state. It's a lesson in dignity for Europe to know how to be true to your values and make yourself respected in a world marked by rivals rival rivalry between big powers. We know what to do. We have to get together to create a third path. And that's what we need. Solidarity between Europeans and with other democracies like Canada, which refused this brutal violence. Thank you.”
EU-US relations
- “Thank you. I'll be speaking French, and I'd like to begin by thanking. The judge who has spoken to us today. She's experiencing huge problems. Nicola is a judge at the International Criminal Court ruling on Palestine. So we continue to condemn the sanctions issued by the US against these judges. As the judge has said, these are sanctions which are normally reserved for terrorists and criminals. Now the white House is using them against international judges, but also national judges to intimidate them and threaten their independence. It's been a year and a half now that we have called on the Commission to defend the independence of the ICC, to protect them by activating the blocking statute. And we've already called on the European Commission in plenary, and the Commission replied that they would do everything to protect the ICC, including activating the blocking statute, but nothing has been done. So the question remains, what can be done to justify the fact that nothing is happening? Where is it when it falls into the powers of the commission to activate this blocking statute. This inertia is an act of complicity with the US administration attacks against the judge, and it runs counter to international law. We have Mr. Stelzer with us who is responsible within Fisma. So I'm going to ask what is going to be done to allow judges who are under sanction to continue a normal life and to be able to use payment systems. When will we have European means of payment, so that we have sovereignty in this area and are not taken hostage by such inimical measures from the US? Thank you.”
Support for International Criminal Court
- “01:16 – 12:04:02): Thank you very much I'm gonna speak French. I'd like to thank you for joining us today. We met a year ago in the Hague before Trump was reelected. You have also come to Tuoha subcommittee here as well and back then you already warned us that there was the possibility that there would be US sanctions against the court or against its judges and you were right because then just a few months later the court prosecutor and the judges were sanctioned.
And for a year and a half now in the European Parliament we have in this socialist group in particular continued to ask the European Commission to act to protect the court and its judges and to activate the blocking instrument and yesterday in the drug in the drug subcommittee we had someone from the commission who came and they confirmed that they could activate the blocking instrument if a majority in the European Parliament or a majority in the Council did not prevent it from doing so.
And you said in your introduction that this European Parliament voted a majority for this instrument to be activated so that criminal court could be protected and this still has not happened the commission has not done anything and we know that it's not because there's a legal obstacle here but it's because there is the lack of political will to take action.
So I think we need to keep asking for this not only of the commission but also of the European heads of state to make sure that they also make the same decision. We need to protect the ICC and we also need to open people's eyes to the sovereignty risks here Donald Trump is going against the ICC he's also sanctioning judges elsewhere a judge in Brazil for example who had convicted Bolsonaro and this is a tactic which they are now applying they are intimidating judges when they don't like their decisions and they feel that they can do so because they're so powerful when it comes to the economy and tech and digital developments as well and this is having a devastating effect.
We need to be sovereign in Europe when it comes to financial and digital services so that you can have alternatives to the American services that you had used in the past to run the ICC so you have our full support and we will continue to urge the commission to take action to protect you.”
Support for International Criminal Court
- “So I start. Okay. Merci beaucoup. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. There are 300 NGOs that have supported this citizens initiative. It's a huge movement for freedom, which has. We've heard from survivors. And I think that we should repeat the words that we heard from our speakers. These are human beings, and the victims of this therapy have a terrible psychological consequences and suicide even. This is a form of torture. They are being forced to take hormones. They go through humiliations and exorcisms. They are forced to watch a pornography. They are basically being tortured. And it's an attack on human dignity that we cannot accept in the European Union. We have a charter on fundamental rights in the EU. It says that human dignity is inviolable. It has to be respected and protected, and nobody can be submitted to torture, so we can't prevent people from having bad opinions about gay or trans people, but we cannot allow them to torture people who are the way they are and have a right to be that way. So I have a question for the European Commission. Well, yes, we should be banning these practices. What legal options would you prefer to pursue and what are you going to do in practice to monitor the situation and flag up those involved in these procedures?”
LGBTIQ+
- “Thank you. Chair. Oh, we're. We're here to talk about crimes committed by Ice in the United States and the total absence of response from the European Union. Now, we're not casting the stone at you personally, but we've got to be aware of this. Now, let me just list of some of the things that they've done. Um they have um seized parents, um on their way to the creche, they've seized people in the streets, they've shot people at point blank range like in Minneapolis. And it's good. And Alex and Rachel. Good. And then there are these huge detention centers, detention centers in these industrial zones. So you've got sort of which which the director of rice is called Amazon Prime, but with people with criminals. And there has not been one single response, one single tweet, even press communique, which condemns these actions. So to go back to what Geeta said, to recall some of the most somber moments of our history, and I just recall what the words of the lady from Human Rights Watch just said, well, we could have, uh, sanctions against the people working for Ice. At least we could prevent any of them coming into the European Union. I mean, there were some people who were present at the Olympics, and they should be prevented from coming into the European Union. So this lack of action from the European Union shows how Mrs. von der Leyen is absolutely enthralled to the Americans.”
EU-US relations