MEPs and UK parliamentarians gather in Brussels to discuss the state of EU-UK relations, joint efforts to support Ukraine and sanctions policies. The EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly was set up following the entry into force of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) in January 2021. It acts as a forum for the European Parliament and the UK Parliament to exchange views on EU-UK relations. It can also request information from the Partnership Council - the main joint EU-UK body overseeing the implementation of the TCA - and make recommendations to it. Full address by Roberta METSOLA, EP President, opening the second day of the meeting. The transcription is the result of an automatic process, please check against delivery.

Brussels

statement

EU - United Kingdom (T)

METSOLA, Roberta (EPP, MT, EP President)

meeting of a parliamentary assembly

LOISEAU, Nathalie (Renew, FR)

president's agenda

HEALD, Oliver

Address by Roberta METSOLA, EP President at the third meeting of the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly

Arrival of Roberta Mersola, the President of the European Parliament

Roberta Metsola, the President of the European Parliament, interacting with the chair of the meeting and with the representatives from UK (3 shots)

SOUNDBITE (English), Nathalie LOISEAU (Renew, FR), Chair, Good morning, dear colleagues. Welcome to this second day of our meeting of the Parliamentary Partnership Assembly. As announced yesterday, we have the honour this morning to welcome the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, to open or session. Thank you very much, Mrs. President, dear Roberta, for being with us today. The floor is yours.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, Thank you so much, dear Chair, dear Natalie, dear Chair, dear Sir Oliver, dear members of the EU UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly, dear friends, dear colleagues, current and former. Happy to be here on the second day of the third EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, As parliamentarians from the EU and the United Kingdom, we have a responsibility to not only keep an open dialogue between our parliaments going, but also to strengthen the relationship between the EU and the UK.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, The establishment of the EU UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement was an important step forward and we all know there will be many steps to come.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, A lot of us know each other very well already and this allows our discussions to hit the road running in order to tackle together as friends and as allies the current challenges that pose a threat to our common.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, And me start here, let by praising the United Kingdom for its unwavering support for Ukraine. Since the beginning of Putin's illegal attempted invasion, the United Kingdom has been one of Ukraine's key supporters as pledging billions of pounds in aid, training soldiers and pilots, providing military humanitarian, logistical and political assistance.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, We are on the same line when it comes to our relationship with Ukraine and our standpoint with regards to Russia. Our joint action and our outreach have undoubtedly united us in these times of hardship. And with this assembly, we are and we can continue on this common path. Last March, we marked the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement, which put an end to the conflict in Northern Ireland.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, On this occasion, the European Parliament reiterate its steadfast support for the hard earned peace process on the island of Ireland, brokered also with the tireless work of members of this House. This year, we equally welcomed a decisive Windsor framework, which lays down arrangements from the Protocol and Ireland and Northern Ireland.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, It charts as a new way forward in the UK EU relations, and I am pleased that the European Parliament was very swift in delivering urgent legislative files relating to the implementation of the framework. Now it is time for us to direct our joint efforts to further areas of common interest. Challenges to our economies, trade, financial services and energy are but a few of the areas where we should navigate together in these times of serious geopolitical turmoil.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, The best way forward is to move by respecting and fully implementing our jointly agreed framework, where there is the water withdrawal agreement completed by the Windsor Framework and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement because it provides a solid base for preserving our long standing friendship and also because it underpins our mutual endeavours of preserving democracy and fundamental rights.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, This Assembly has a true and concrete role to play not only in paving the way for our cooperation, but most importantly in monitoring the implementation of our mutual trade and cooperation agreement. And this is how we can ensure that we can utilise the full potential of this framework for the UK and for the EU alike.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, Dialogue matters, our relationship matters and discussing common EU UK interests matter. So we wish to maintain, and here is my commitment as I always do, a productive and ongoing exchange with you, the United Kingdom. Always, and on a personal note, I am the granddaughter of a Royal Navy cook.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, A I make to point illustrate that the ties that link us are far greater than our differences. And I know that the United Kingdom will always be a crucial political and economic partner and an ally for the European Union. But more than that, the EU and UK are friends and it is that fundamental understanding that will drive our discussions forward. Thank you.

Images of Roberta Metsola, the President of the European Parliament, leaving the room and of the people in the room (4 shots)