Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, is welcomed by Wolfgang SOBOTKA, President of the Austrian National Council, and receives the Grand Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria - the country’s highest award, recognizing her significant contributions to EU-Austria relations - during her official visit to Viena (Austria). The visit underscores the strong ties between the European Union and Austria, focusing on key areas of cooperation and shared priorities. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

meeting

official visit

METSOLA, Roberta (EPP, MT, EP President)

EU - Austria (T)

Vienna

president's agenda

SOBOTKA, Wolfgang (AT)

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Vienna (Austria): Welcoming Address by Wolfgang Sobotka, President of the Austrian National Council

SOUNDBITE (English) Wolfgang Sobotka, President of the Austrian National Council, 'Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to warmly welcome you to our ceremony. I am delighted that we are able to present one of Austria's highest awards to a great European woman, who also knows very well the needs of smaller medium-sized states in the European Union.

SOUNDBITE (English) Wolfgang Sobotka, President of the Austrian National Council, Dear President of the European Parliament, welcome to the Austrian Parliament. I cordially tell our President of the Federal Council how he greets us from Sydney. The Minister of Finance, still Minister of Finance, because his Commissioner of the European Union, is the Ambassador of the European Union to us. Thank you very much for coming.

SOUNDBITE (English) Wolfgang Sobotka, President of the Austrian National Council, Mediating representatives and parties have found their way to us, in the National Council and also in the European Parliament and representatives of the Federal Council. Welcome to this ceremony. They are an expression of that. And we also made that very clear in the visitor center.

SOUNDBITE (English) Wolfgang Sobotka, President of the Austrian National Council, Democracy needs opportunities where members gather. The places are our parliaments. Whether that is the state parliament, whether it is the Federal Council, the National Council or the European Parliament. Coming together, adopting laws together and also monitoring the government is our task, which we also face up to in a special way.

SOUNDBITE (English) Wolfgang Sobotka, President of the Austrian National Council, Welcome, our delegates! Is that the employee of our house at the head of Parliament, Director Dr. Dossier Herzlich welcome to us. Just for the end, our music, which accompanies our ceremony, is a good tradition in Austria. That we do not allow our celebrations to be accompanied by what distinguishes Austria many times in the world, even here. It is a very important part.

SOUNDBITE (English) Wolfgang Sobotka, President of the Austrian National Council, There is also art in this house. You can see it in the pictures here. You can see it in how we live our lives here. And they also see it in the music we use. It is often music at ceremonies. Especially those people who had to leave the country in the years 33 to 38 and then 38 to 45 and whose works often did not receive attention in this form.

SOUNDBITE (English) Wolfgang Sobotka, President of the Austrian National Council, Which were regarded as ostracized art, as degenerate art. Which we are bringing back today through cooperation with the University of Music, but also with the Academy of Fine Arts. Art has always been very important to us. So welcome. Thank you!