Roberta METSOLA, EP President, participates at the European Council meeting (27-28/06): arrival, doorstep and extracts from the press conference. Addressing the European Council today in Brussels, President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola highlighted the following topics: Ukraine, the Enlargement, delivering on messages from the elections, security and defence, competitiveness and the Single Market, financing growth and that no-one must be left behind in the green and digital transitions. She also said that the European Parliament remains firmly behind the Lead Candidate process on the election of the President of the European Commission

Brussels

statement

press conference

METSOLA, Roberta (EPP, MT, EP President)

meeting of the European Council

president's agenda

European Council meeting 27-28 June 2024 (T)

Roberta METSOLA, EP President, participates at the European Council meeting (27-28/06): arrival, doorstep and extracts from the press conference

Arrival of Roberta METSOLA, EP President, 3 shots

<ul> <li>(English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, We very much welcome the fact that President Zelensky is here. And we are very glad that we can continue to work on the enlargement path also in the new Parliament, as accession negotiations have started with Ukraine and Moldova, something that we asked for for a very long time. </li> </ul>

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Two and a half weeks ago, we had European elections. We got pretty clear messages from those elections and now we have to make sure that we implement the political message to our program. And that means that we need to renew our focus on competitiveness, on security, on defense, and also on making sure that nobody is left behind in the digital and green transitions.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, On the appointments, we very much look forward in order for us to take the first steps on an agreement today during this European Council, we are ready as a European Parliament to take the necessary decisions. So once they are taken, we do it.

Roberta METSOLA, EP President arrives in the press room

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Let me start by welcoming the security pact signed with Ukraine. Including also a number of bilateral ones in the presence of President Zelensky, together with the agreement on the aid coming from proceeds from frozen Russian assets. The 14th package of sanctions and the start of accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. We are sending the clearest of messages of our unwavering suppor t for Ukraine.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, The challenge is now how to turn these electoral messages into a political program for the European Parliament. For a program that is serious, that is deliverable and that is implementable. This was the core of the discussion that I just had with the leaders. People have called for the defense of our values and for security to remain our top priority, meaning that our support for Ukraine must continue. It means doing more to increase Europe's ability to respond to any type of crisis, and it means real strategic autonomy.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, The message we heard in these elections was one of people being worried about whether they can pay their bills, whether they can keep their job, or whether they will ever be able to afford to buy their own house. And these messages should serve, first of all, as food for thought when we discuss fair and rules based trade, deepening of the single market, the need for both private and public funding, and the need to cut red tape and to simplify procedures. If there's one message that we can take from this is that the responsibility and our lies with us, in order to have the answers to those challenges with both ambition and understanding, especially when it comes to making progress on the green and digital transitions, no one should be left behind.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President,

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, I recalled that the European Parliament remains firmly behind, the lead candidate process. But of course we will respect due process. So the next step is for leaders to agree on the nomination of the President of the European Commission, hopefully already tonight. We will then invite the nominee to meet with the group leaders already on Tuesday next week to discuss a political program that is, first of all, able to catch the electoral messages, that I've outlined and that also can find the necessary qualified majority in Parliament.