Written by Clare Ferguson with Olga Dunderberg.
The agenda for the European Parliament’s June 2025 plenary session has a strong focus on the rule of law and advances several important files through the legislative procedure. The Commission will make statements on the following week’s NATO summit, and on the recently adopted European Oceans Pact. His Majesty King Abdullah II, King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is scheduled to address Parliament in a formal sitting on Tuesday morning.
The main investment tool underpinning the EU’s Next Generation EU (NGEU) response to COVID‑19, the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), finances reform and investment in EU countries. Members are due to discuss a joint report from the Committees on Budgets (BUDG) and Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) on Tuesday, which looks at how the RRF has been implemented to date. The report acknowledges the RRF’s stabilising effect and notes that the Member States even exceeded their green and digital targets. However, implementation delays are a key concern, particularly in the impact on repaying the NGEU debt. To boost transparency and traceability, the report calls for improved data on the use of RRF funding, and greater Parliament involvement in ensuring scrutiny and accountability.
Today’s criminal law rules on child sexual abuse and exploitation are no longer fit for purpose. Members are therefore set to debate the European Commission’s proposed directive on combating child sexual abuse on Tuesday morning. A report from the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) on the proposal urges increased maximum penalties for such offences, including recruiting children for prostitution or possessing or distributing child sexual abuse material and proposes to remove limitation periods so that victims can claim compensation indefinitely. The committee also calls to criminalise the use of artificial intelligence systems for child sexual abuse. The vote on the report will set Parliament’s negotiating mandate on the legislative proposal.
On Tuesday afternoon, Members are to debate a resolution drafted by the LIBE committee on the Commission’s fifth annual rule of law report, which looks at the state of the rule of law in all Member States plus four candidate countries. The LIBE report on the Commission’s work highlights gaps on prison conditions and the quality of administrative justice. It also regrets that some non-governmental organisations face restrictions, and urges all Member States to support media freedom and implement the Anti-SLAPP Directive and Parliament’s PEGA inquiry committee recommendations. The report highlights the continued need for EU governments to act on LGBTIQ rights, anti-Semitism, islamophobia and equality and non-discrimination for third-country nationals legally residing in the EU.
Turning to future EU enlargement on Tuesday afternoon, Members are expected to debate reports from the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) on the Commission’s 2023 and 2024 reports on EU accession prospects for Montenegro and Moldova. Montenegro’s EU accession negotiations began in 2012, and AFET’s report welcomes the country’s ambitious plan to join the EU in 2028, recognising its commitment to EU accession and confirming Parliament’s full support for future EU membership. To ensure progress however, the report emphasises the need for political stability and the effective implementation of adopted reforms. While the report underlines Montenegro‘s full alignment with EU common foreign and security policy, it also outlines malign foreign interference, destabilisation efforts, hybrid threats and disinformation campaigns as central concerns. Also facing significant challenges, not least the impact of Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine and interference in Moldova’s democratic processes, AFET’s report on Moldova underlines the need for authorities to deal with fundamental issues such as money laundering and corruption, and calls for EU support for justice reform. While Moldova‘s EU accession negotiations began more recently, in 2024, the AFET report nevertheless emphasises the country’s steady progress on its reforms.
Home to a quarter of Europe’s population and occupying a majority of the EU’s territory, rural areas face economic, social, demographic and structural challenges that affect their economic growth and development. On Monday evening, Members are scheduled to debate an own-initiative report from the Committee on Regional Development (REGI) on strengthening rural areas through cohesion policy. The REGI report underlines the demographic and structural challenges facing these regions, vital for food and water supplies. The REGI report emphasises the need for investment in transport, digital connectivity, agriculture, tourism and essential public services. It underlines that young people, and women in particular, need more support to thrive in rural areas, through a decentralised and place-based cohesion policy with simplified access to funding. The committee urges the Commission to prepare a new rural strategy and to secure sufficient EU funding for rural areas.
Finally, on Thursday, Members are due to pose oral questions to the Commission on the United Kingdom’s planned accession to the 2019 Hague Judgments Convention. Parliament welcomes the UK’s accession, recognising its benefit for citizens and companies alike by ‘simplifying the recognition and enforcement of judgements in civil and commercial matters’. Members are also expected to vote on a resolution, which is likely to remind the Commission of its obligation to respect Parliament’s right to be involved in the procedure.