European Union

Thursday, 23 January

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Thursday, 23 January

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

On 27 January, after its constitution as new fully-fledged Committee, SEDE holds exchange of views with Paweł Zalewski, Secretary of State at the Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Poland, on the Polish Presidency priorities in the area of the EU security and defence. On 28 January, the SEDE Committee - in association with the Delegation for relations with the NATO PA (DNAT) - holds an exchange of views with James Appathurai, NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for ...
Innovation, Hybrid, and Cyber on the Baltic Sentry and hybrid threats, to debrief the Members on the recent Summit of Baltic Sea Allies, which took place in Helsinki. Furthermore, the SEDE Coordinators will have an in camera exchange of views with Andrius Kubilius, Commissioner for Defence and Space, on the White Paper on Strengthening European Defence.
Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Which way is the wind blowing for little Britain?

Little? Yes. We are a tiny, isolated, island in a corner of the North Sea, now quite alone in the world, lost, and lonely.

We’ve turned away from our closest allies, our neighbours on our continent, with whom we used to enjoy a close affinity, and a leading role, as a full member of the European Union.

But our relatively new Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has made it clear: there is no path back.

For the past five years, Sir Keir, as Labour leader, has repeatedly and emphatically declared, “There is no case for going back into the EU and no case for joining the Single Market or customs union.”

No case! That’s the door closed shut. Not even ajar.

Yet Labour’s promises hinge on one critical factor: economic growth – and lots of it.

Persisting with barriers to trade with our biggest trading partner in the world by far – our own continent – is the antidote to economic growth.

If Sir Keir refuses to look east towards Europe for economic opportunity, will he turn west instead, aligning with Trump’s America? Increasingly, this seems to be the strategy.

Starmer is now pursuing a trade deal with the USA, a long-cherished but elusive goal of Brexiters. He has assembled a ‘mini-Cabinet’ of senior ministers tasked with achieving this objective.

Back in 2019, when Trump was President and Starmer wasn’t yet Labour leader, he opposed Brexit plans to prioritise ties with the USA over the EU.

Such a deal, he warned, would have “obvious consequences for our public services, for businesses, for food and environmental standards and for workers’ rights.”

It was not something, he strongly stated, that Labour “will ever countenance.”

How times change.

Now, despite being desperate for an economic lifeline to reverse Britain’s post-Brexit fortunes, Starmer has dismissed Europe as the solution.

Of course, Trump may well say ‘NO’ or demand huge trade-offs for a trade deal.

But Reform leader, Nigel Farage, has offered the Labour government his help to seal what GB News described as a “mega-Brexit deal” with the US. Mr Farage told The Telegraph:

“The US is our most important relationship in the world. Forget Brussels.”

If Britain looks west rather than east, the dream of Rejoiners – to rejoin the EU – could be extinguished for a generation or longer.

This, despite consistent polling showing that most Britons believe Brexit was a mistake and now support EU membership.

A new poll published on the front page of The Observer shows voters clearly favour prioritising more trade with the EU than the US.

But where is the big campaign to explain why we should join the EU again? It doesn’t exist.

In the nine years since the referendum, there has not been any prominent, powerful, professional campaign to present to the nation the positive benefits of EU membership for Britain and Britons.

If Britain chooses the west, the chance to reorient eastward may slip away – perhaps forever.

This could well be Britain’s last opportunity to chart a course back to Europe.

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Donald Tusk outlined to MEPs on Wednesday his goals for Poland’s helming of the EU Council presidency and the country’s "Security, Europe!" strategy.

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Donald Tusk outlined to MEPs on Wednesday his goals for Poland’s helming of the EU Council presidency and the country’s "Security, Europe!" strategy.

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

In a resolution adopted on Wednesday, MEPs call on the EU to reject the upcoming presidential election in Belarus on 26 January as a sham.
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

In a resolution adopted on Wednesday, MEPs call on the EU to reject the upcoming presidential election in Belarus on 26 January as a sham.
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

In a resolution adopted on Wednesday, MEPs call on the EU to reject the upcoming presidential election in Belarus on 26 January as a sham.
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

On Wednesday, MEPs debated the outcome of the December EU summit with Presidents Costa and von der Leyen, focussing on Ukraine, EU-US relations and the EU’s global role.

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

On Wednesday, MEPs debated the outcome of the December EU summit with Presidents Costa and von der Leyen, focussing on Ukraine, EU-US relations and the EU’s global role.

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Parliament’s President and political group leaders adopted the following statement on the recent ceasefire in Gaza:

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Parliament’s President and political group leaders adopted the following statement on the recent ceasefire in Gaza:

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Wednesday, 22 January

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Wednesday, 22 January

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

On the first day of his new presidency, President Trump signed an executive order ending birthright citizenship for children of ‘illegal’ immigrants.

A Trump official said:

“The federal government will not recognize automatic birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens born in the United States.” 

The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, guarantees birthright citizenship.

Trump’s order seeks to reinterpret this Amendment, which grants citizenship to all individuals born on U.S. soil. Legal experts argue this action is unconstitutional and will likely face immediate legal challenges.

It remains unclear whether the order applies retroactively to children already born to undocumented migrants or only to those born after its implementation.

The irony of this decision is striking. The United States was founded and built by a mix of undocumented migrants, forced migrants, and enslaved people.

European occupation of what is now the United States began in the late 15th and early 16th centuries.

By the 17th and 18th centuries, waves of settlers from England, Spain, France, the Netherlands, and other nations colonised the land – none of them ‘documented’ in the modern sense.

The displacement of Indigenous peoples during this time involved violent conquest, forced removal, cultural suppression, and the introduction of devastating diseases.

Many historians and Indigenous leaders describe this displacement and genocide as foundational to the country’s formation.

The concept of “illegal immigration” did not exist then.

However, the forcible displacement of Indigenous peoples and the imposition of foreign systems of governance raise significant moral and ethical questions about the legitimacy of European claims to the land.

Additionally, between the 17th and 19th centuries, millions of Africans were forcibly brought to the Americas through the transatlantic slave trade.

Enslaved individuals, denied freedom and subjected to brutal exploitation, played a critical role in building the United States’ economy, particularly in agriculture and infrastructure. Their unpaid labour laid much of the nation’s early wealth.

Today, it is undeniable that a significant portion of the U.S. population are the children – i.e. descendants – of both ‘undocumented’ and enslaved migrants.

Many African Americans trace their ancestry to enslaved people brought to America during the transatlantic slave trade.

President Trump’s promise to ‘Make America Great Again’ stands in stark contrast to the historical reality that the nation was built on the labour and sacrifices of marginalised and often undocumented groups.

Indigenous peoples, enslaved Africans, and exploited migrants played foundational roles in shaping the country while being denied recognition, rights, and freedom.

In the end, it was ‘illegal migrants’ who made America ‘great’ in the first place.

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Tuesday, 21 January

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Tuesday, 21 January

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

President Metsola opened the 20-23 January session by welcoming the Gaza ceasefire, noting the importance of EU-US relations, and marking the anniversary of the death of David Sassoli.

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP