The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen gave her first State of the European Union address, looking at what’s been achieved and priorities for the future. Parliament also discussed the economic recovery plan and coordinating an EU response to the Covid-19 crisis. Members debated the humanitarian crisis in Lesbos and the political situation in Belarus.

Plenary highlights: State of the EU, recovery plan and foreign policy

After a year at the head of the European Commission, president von der Leyen has begun implementing the new initiatives in her programme. Members of Parliament will scrutinise the past twelve months and analyse what the EU’s future will look like - the Covid-19 recovery, financing the next seven years, protecting the climate and repositioning the EU on the world map are on the menu.

Announcer: 2020 State of the European Union Debate

Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, the EU has been at the forefront of coordinating measures, fighting both the health crisis and its economic impact. Here are  10 things the EU is doing to get Europe back on its feet.

Covid-19: 10 things the EU is doing to support recovery

Europe has faced major challenges over the past six months but is looking forward and investing in long-term solutions. To tackle the fallout of Covid-19, the EU released unprecedented funds to support people, jobs and research. To face the climate emergency, Parliament continued its fight for greener politics and more ambitious goals.

Parliament’s 2020 so far…

MEPs will debate coronavirus and the next EU budget, call for the return to freedom of movement and say that the Conference on the Future of Europe should be organised as soon as possible. All that and more, coming up in Brussels.

Coming up in Brussels: The future of Europe, Covid-19 recovery and freedom of movement

Parliament has set out its position on an ambitious coronavirus recovery plan to reboot the EU economy. MEPs are calling for citizens, the environment and digitalisation to be at the heart of the next long-term budget and the economic recovery.

€2 trillion to rebuild the economy after Covid-19

The European Union is continuing to play a central role in the response to the coronavirus pandemic. While the short-term priority is to fight the spread of the virus and support member states, the long-term goal is to mitigate the socio-economic impact of the crisis. Here are 10 steps the EU has taken, along with the Parliament, to fight Covid-19.

10 things the EU is doing to fight coronavirus

The EU is fighting back. It is supporting research into a coronavirus vaccine as well as ways to slow the pandemic and develop better diagnostics. This is why the EU is allocating ambitious funding to research and to further develop health emergency preparedness.

EU funding for COVID-19 research

"Restaurant owner Lealdina Fernandes, 73, survived the terrible wildfire that devastated central Portugal in 2017.
Her life’s work, her café-restaurant, was badly damaged. She is now rebuilding it thanks to EU emergency funds deployed to help communities and the local economy recover from the fire."

Reborn from the ashes

EU funds helped Miodrag Rusimovici and his son modernise the family farm in rural Romania. With those funds, they built greenhouses and installed an irrigation system, which made their vegetable production viable all year long.

Keeping the family together on the farm

Ann-Marie Larsson, 85, lives in a remote area in Northern Sweden.
There are no doctors there, but she can connect with them thanks to a virtual care centre. These virtual checks saved her life after she discovered she was suffering from a cancer.

Remote healthcare access saves lives

The European Parliament proposes actions to close the gender pay gap, for a more prosperous and equal society.

Closing the gender pay gap

Pascal, from France, spent a year in Ireland in the 1980s as part of one of the first ever Erasmus student exchanges. This opportunity shaped his life: he experienced another country and culture, furthered his studies, and even met his future wife!

The first Erasmus couple

2021 will see the start of a new long-term EU budget. The budget allows the EU to invest in its citizens and the future. But who decides on the size of the budget? What does the EU spend its budget on and how is the EU budget funded?

What is the EU long-term budget and how does it affect me?

The Tuffery family's jeans' workshop was feeling the impact of globalisation and competition from overseas. With the help of European funds, the family business was saved and now flourishes while staying rooted in their native Cévennes, in the south of France.

From decline to success: how a family business was saved

Parliament discussed the EU’s long-term budget, approved a trade deal with Vietnam and debated the Eurozone's future economic policies with new ECB chief Christine Lagarde. MEPs also pushed for more action on tackling female genital mutilation and the illegal pet trade.

Plenary highlights: Long-term EU budget, trade with Vietnam and FGM

In a crucial debate in Strasbourg ahead of a special European summit on the next EU’s long-term budget for 2021-2027, MEPs underlined that Parliament will only give its consent to a budget that can meet the European Union’s ambitions.

EU long-term budget: discussing Europe’s future

Ilham Tohti was awarded the 2019 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, Parliament elected a new EU Ombudsman and MEPs voted to condemn hate speech against the LGBTI community. Parliament also voted on measures to save Europe’s pollinators, and asked for clarification on digital tax rules.

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