- 2026-02-12 “E-000617/2026 Answer given by Mr Brunner on behalf of the European Commission The EU-India Memorandum of Understanding on a comprehensive framework of cooperation on mobility (the MoU) is a non-legally binding instrument, which does not create any new legal pathways to the EU. In accordance with Article 79(5) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Member States retain the right to determine volumes of admission of third-country nationals coming to their territory to seek work. Issuing visas also remains a competence of the Member States. To obtain a permit, thirdcountry nationals, including those using the EU Talent Pool 1 and the EU Legal Gateway Office pilot 2 , will need to undergo national immigration procedures, comprising security checks. To register on the EU Talent Pool, jobseekers will have to declare they are not subject to an entry ban. If this is the case, they will not have access to the platform. The MoU fits into the wider context of deepening EU ties with India, alongside the ‘Towards 2030: A Joint India-European Union Comprehensive Strategic Agenda’ 3 , the Free Trade Agreement, the Security and Defence Partnership 4 , as well as other initiatives concluded at the EU-India Summit of 27 January 2026. The EU engages with India on all concerns regarding Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, including on sanctions circumvention. The Summit Statement 5 and the accompanying Strategic Agenda also pave the way for enhanced EU-India cooperation on the clean transition and energy resilience, including energy security and diversification. 1 https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/migration-and-asylum/legal-migration-and-resettlement/work/eutalent-pool_en. 2 https://www.eeas.europa.eu/delegations/india/launch-european-legal-gateway-office-pilot_en?s=167. 3 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/it/statement_26_224. 4 https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/security-and-defence-eu-and-india-sign-security-defence-partnership_en. 5 https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-5727-2026-INIT/en/pdf.”
EU-India relations · Asylum & border control
- 2025-10-17 “E-004102/2025 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Virkkunen on behalf of the European Commission The European Media Freedom Act 1 establishes transparency requirements for media ownership and state advertising revenues of media service providers, and requires public funds for state advertising to be allocated through transparent, objective, proportionate, and non-discriminatory criteria. However, the Act itself does not provide for any EU funding to media service providers. However, the EU provides financial support to a wide range of media through open calls for proposals, with transparent award criteria and full respect of editorial independence. Funding is modest, around EUR 50 million per year, considering that the revenues of the media market in Europe represent an estimated EUR 88 billion per year. An overview of funding for the news media sector is available on the Commission's website 2 . The Commission monitors compliance before, during and after project implementation. All beneficiaries of EU funding, including factchecking networks, are also listed on the Financial Transparency System (FTS) web page 3 . The Commission supports stringent standards of integrity and accountability for fact-checking entities. This is why the EU has supported the creation of such standards, which ensure nonpartisanship, impartiality and financial transparency. These self-regulatory standards also foresee mechanisms to hold any transgressions to account. For example, the mentioned call for proposals for a ‘European Network of Fact-checkers’ requires the participation of a factchecking organisation certified as independent by such standards in the successful consortium and the call’s activities will contribute to promoting and upholding the highest standards for transparency and independence throughout all EU Member States. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L_202401083. 2 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/funding-news-media-sector. 3 https://ec.europa.eu/budget/financial-transparency-system/analysis.html.”
Disinformation & online freedoms · EU support for traditional (non-digital) media
- 2025-10-02 “E-003864/2025 Answer given by Mr Síkela on behalf of the European Commission The EU is monitoring the recent incidents involving students and police in Dili. Lasting stability and social peace can only be achieved through strong democratic institutions, accountable governance and respect for fundamental rights. Support to good governance is one of two priority areas of the 2021-2027 Multiannual Indicative Programme for Timor Leste 1 , which includes projects that strengthen public finance management and bring public administration and services closer to the people. For instance, under the Multiannual Action Plan 2025-2026, the EU will finance a EUR 6 million action to facilitate citizens’ access to justice by digitalising the Ministry of Justice and streamlining its service delivery. The EU also allocated EUR 1.5 million from its 2025-2027 thematic programme on Human Rights and Democracy 2 to support civil society organisations, democracy activists and human rights defenders working on human rights, rule of law and democracy issues in Timor Leste. Moreover, the EU stays committed to engage with Timor Leste’s youth. The EU Youth Sounding Board provides young Timorese with a platform to express their views, take part in policy dialogue and contribute to shaping more inclusive governance. The EU listens to young people, promotes civic engagement and supports opportunities for youth to become constructive agents of change. In response to the events in September 2025, the EU Ambassador met with the President of the National Parliament to voice the EU’s concern, urge calm, and repeat the EU’s readiness to promote dialogue, transparency and trust between citizens and institutions. The EU stands ready to work with all partners to boost the rule of law, improve governance and support a peaceful and democratic Timor-Leste. 1 https://international-partnerships.ec.europa.eu/document/download/62aeefcf-5be2-4d72-a5683c419d34d6b5_en?filename=mip-2021-c2021-9071-timor-leste-annex_en.pdf. 2 https://international-partnerships.ec.europa.eu/policies/peace-and-governance/human-rights_en.”
Global priorities for international development · EU Development & Humanitarian Aid
- 2025-09-19 “E-003632/2025 Answer given by High Representative/Vice-President Kallas on behalf of the European Commission 1. There is currently no EU programme supporting the Mozambican police, and none has been discontinued. The EU does not provide general technical assistance or training to regular police personnel, though some specialised capacity-building activities, embedded within broader programmes, continue. 2. The EU and Mozambique have a longstanding partnership covering a wide range of fields, including the security and defence sector. The EU supports the efforts of Mozambique in promoting peace in Cabo Delgado and its neighbouring provinces. The Council launched the European Union Military Training Mission in Mozambique (EUTM Mozambique) on 15 October 2021, upon request from the Mozambican government to support their armed forces through a training and capacity building mission. EUTM Mozambique trained selected Mozambican units to compose 11 Quick Reaction Forces (QRF) to help the local armed forces in protecting the civilian population and restoring safety and security in the Cabo Delgado province. Building on the results of EUTM Mozambique, the EU military partnership with Mozambique has continued with the EU Military Assistance Mission Mozambique launched on 1 September 2024 (EUMAM Mozambique), which aim is to ensure that the 11 QRF units trained by EUTM Mozambique become self-sufficient by June 2026. The respect of international humanitarian law and international human rights law has been the cornerstone of the trainings provided. The current mandate runs until 30 June 2026 and the ongoing strategic review will be presented to Member States in the beginning of 2026. 3. As defined in the Council Decision 2024/1354 of 14 May 2024 1 , the mandate of EUMAM Mozambique is to help the country independently prepare and employ the units of the QRF trained by EUTM Mozambique, supporting security in Cabo Delgado. EUMAM is a nonexecutive mission and does not include the deployment of forces in the insurgency-affected area of Cabo Delgado. 1 Council Decision amending Decision (CFSP) 2021/1143 on a European Union Military Training Mission in Mozambique (EUTM Mozambique).”
EU Development & Humanitarian Aid · EU policy on African region
- 2025-06-12 “E-002371/2025 Answer given by Mr Brunner on behalf of the European Commission The Commission proposal on the EU Talent Pool 1 aims at facilitating international recruitment of third country nationals residing outside the EU. It will be a voluntary tool for the Member States. It is part of the comprehensive approach to migration set out in the Pact on Migration and Asylum 2 . The Commission does not impose any direct or indirect penalties under the Pact if a Member State decides not to participate in the EU Talent Pool. The EU Talent Pool will be used only for job vacancies in sectors where there are shortage occupations that cannot be filled through European workforce, in line with the principle of preference for EU citizens. These areas are identified in the proposed regulation. EU citizens wishing to find a job in another Member State already have access to the wide range of services offered by the European Employment Services. The existing national and EU legal frameworks determining the entry and residence conditions for third-country nationals for the purpose of work, study, family reunification or other reasons will continue to apply. In accordance with Article 79(5) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the proposal does not affect Member States’ competence to determine volumes of admission of third-country nationals coming from third countries to seek work. 1 COM(2023) 716 final, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52023PC0716. 2 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on a New Pact on Migration and Asylum, https://eurlex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:52020DC0609.”
Legal migration
- 2025-05-12 “E-001893/2025 Answer given by Ms Albuquerque on behalf of the European Commission The strategy for the Savings and Investments Union (SIU) 1 aims to offer citizens more opportunities to invest in capital markets and increase their wealth. The SIU seeks to ensure that citizens have easy, simple and low-cost access to a wide variety of investment opportunities offering good returns on their savings. It will also improve the availability of stronger and more effective supplementary pension systems that deliver better performance to help citizens save for retirement. The SIU focuses on empowering citizens to choose what best suits their needs, while ensuring that the strong EU investor protection safeguards are correctly applied. Improving financial literacy is also essential for citizens to make informed investment decisions. At the same time there is no expectation that citizens should become financial market experts. This is why the SIU is predicated on ensuring that retail investors are adequately protected and are offered information in a simple and easily understandable manner. The SIU will not result in forced contributions, diversion of funds or sequestrations. Citizens will continue to have full freedom to choose if and where to invest. Citizens will continue having the choice to keep their savings in deposit the protection of which will be further reinforced through our efforts to complete the Banking Union. They will have full control of where they want to keep and allocate their money. This is not affected by emergency situations such as armed conflicts in the vicinity of the EU or the outbreak of new pandemics. 1 COM(2025) 124 final: https://finance.ec.europa.eu/publications/commission-unveils-savings-and-investmentsunion-strategy-enhance-financial-opportunities-eu_en.”
European Banking Union · Financial regulation
- 2025-03-31 “E-001321/2025 Answer given by Mr Síkela on behalf of the European Commission The EU and South Africa (SA) have a Strategic Partnership based firmly on democratic values and human rights, as exemplified by the recent EU-SA Summit, which resulted inter alia in the announcement of the Global Gateway Investment Package with SA to which the Honourable Members refer. In the context of this partnership, the EU and SA are engaged in a regular human rights dialogue. The Commission follows the programming procedures that are outlined in the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) – Global Europe Regulation (Articles 13 and 14) 1 . These programming procedures are designed to enhance the effectiveness and responsiveness of EU external action, ensuring that funding is strategically allocated to support sustainable development and address global challenges. Applying a human rights-based approach to all interventions is an obligation enshrined in the NDICI – Global Europe Regulation (Article 8). With Global Gateway, the EU aims to embed democratic principles, good governance and transparency in all investments. The EU assesses in each country whether the required pre-conditions for investments exist, including regarding human rights. The new Financial Regulation 2 requires that the EU budget be implemented in full respect of EU values, including human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, and the rights of minorities. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32021R0947. 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/2509?utm_source.”
EU competences on human rights · EU policy on African region
- 2025-02-17 “E-000704/2025 Answer given by Mr Síkela on behalf of the European Commission EU funds allocated to development assistance are implemented in accordance with the principle of transparency enshrined in the Financial Regulation applicable to the EU Budget 1 . Detailed information on amounts funded are available in the Financial Annexes of the Report on the Implementation of the EU's External Action Instruments that the Commission publishes on a yearly basis 2 . These annexes provide a breakdown of the development assistance funding across multiple dimensions. In particular: - Table 3B provides a breakdown of disbursements by Instrument and responsible Directorate-General (DG International Partnerships vs. other services). - Table 5B provides a breakdown of disbursements made by thematic area/ sector being targeted (e.g. health, education, population policies, humanitarian aid) and the responsible Directorate-General. - Table 6B provides a breakdown of disbursements made by country/region and the responsible Directorate-General. - Table 8B provides a breakdown of disbursements made by country/region and thematic area / sector. - Table 13B provides a breakdown of disbursements made by type of contribution (e.g. contribution to a project, contribution to an NGO, etc…). Information on EU budget funding (with the exception of programmes under shared management 3 ) awarded to specific recipients, such as European media outlets and think tanks, is publicly available through the centralised Financial Transparency System (FTS) web page 4 . This tool provides information at individual project level (e.g. nature of the measure, committed amount, project start & end date, funding instrument, responsible DirectorateGeneral) allowing to conduct searches across multiple dimension (e.g. name of the think tank, year of funding, beneficiary country). 1 Article 38 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2024 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union: https://eurlex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/2509/oj/eng. 2 For 2023’s activity, the Financial Annexes can be found in Section 8 of the Commission Staff Working Document (SWD(2024) 267 final) accompanying the 2024 Annual Report on the implementation of the European Union's External Action Instruments in 2023 (COM(2024) 548 final): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=SWD:2024:267:FIN; https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail//publication/bfc002cc-bdca-11ef-91ed-01aa75ed71a1/languageen#:~:text=This%20is%20the%20staff%20working%20document%20accompanying%20the,international%20pa rtnerships%2C%20humanitarian%20aid%2C%20foreign%20policy%20and%20enlargement. 3 Funding implemented through shared management represents less than 2% of the total volume of development aid, and mostly relates to interregional cooperation projects in EU border regions (e.g. transport, connectivity). 4 https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/eu-budget_en.”
EU development aid (migration conditionality) · EU development policy (gender conditionality) · EU Development & Humanitarian Aid
- “Mr. president, colleagues, we are in favour of free trade and we recognise its benefits for economic growth and prosperity. But let's look at the errors made in the made in the last century. We don't want to repeat them again. They happened in the 20s and 30s. We think that there are geopolitical advantages to this. Um, Mercosur agreement. It would stymie further growing Chinese influence. But we are concerned about what could happen to our farmers, our fishers, our industry and the SMEs who are the backbone of our economy. We are always in contact with those companies that are affected by this agreement. But no one knows the reality of what is happening better than them. They have legitimate concerns. They are worried about the competition of third countries, which don't comply with the same security and quality and safety standards as we do. We need to ensure a level playing field and fairness. We need to ensure that our productive sectors are safeguarded and we will work hard to ensure that happens. Thank you.”
Trade relations with Mercosur