At the April plenary, the European Parliament tackled pressing global and regional challenges, including a push for more support for Ukraine, a bigger EU role in resolving the Middle East conflict and progress on achieving strategic autonomy. MEPs set the stage for a resilient 2026 EU budget focused on defence, sustainability, and economic competitiveness.

Parliament called for helping energy-intensive sectors such as the steel industry to become greener and more competitive. MEPs approved adjusting the implementation timeline for two directives to make it easier for businesses to deal with sustainability requirements and they also urged the EU to keep its commitment to universal democratic values.

Below are the highlights from the European Parliament’s meeting in Strasbourg last week:

• MEPs adopted the 2026 budget guidelines, prioritising strategic preparedness, security, and economic resilience. In Parliament’s view, the EU should focus on areas such as defence, cybersecurity, research, health, energy, migration and farmers.
• In a debate with Council President António Costa and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, MEPs assessed the outcome of the meeting of EU leaders on 20 March.
• MEPs adopted reports on foreign and defence policies urging increased support for Ukraine, an expanded EU presence in the Middle East, closer EU-NATO coordination, and enhanced defence capabilities to ensure strategic autonomy.
• Parliament debated the Commission’s action plan to help the steel industry and adopted a resolution on the future of energy-intensive sectors, proposing faster issuance of clean energy permits and simplified processes to support decarbonisation and competitiveness.
• A Parliament report on the situation of human rights around the world denounced authoritarian regimes and assaults on media and civil society, while warning about the risks artificial intelligence poses to democratic integrity.
• Members approved the postponement of provisions in two directives that set out companies’ responsibility for protecting human rights and the planet.
• There were also debates on the crisis in Gaza, Hungary’s restrictions on assembly rights, Türkiye’s political trajectory, and reactions to the impact of US tariffs.

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*Feature image provided by Unsplash and taken by Guillaume Périgois.