June summit: Member states need to show more ambition to strengthen the EU

The conclusions of the 23-24 June European Council summit were discussed by MEPs with President Charles Michel, and Vice-President Maros Sezefovic, Commission Vice-President. Nearly all speakers supported the decision to begin the accession procedure for Ukraine, and Moldova, since Parliament had already asked. Many MEPs stressed that the path to accession will be difficult and would require many reforms to Ukraine and Moldova. Some argued that the EU should support these countries with military equipment.

Many speakers spoke out about the need to treat the Western Balkan country fairly, and to unblock their accession. This is something that Parliament has repeatedly requested in the past. Many MEPs were critical of the Conference on the Future of Europe, and the call by Parliament for a Convention in order to revise the EU Treaties. They also pointed out that the Council was lacking ambition and that reform is needed urgently. They insisted that citizens should not be disappointed and that their expectations should be met.

Many MEPs emphasized the need to coordinate more action to address the interconnected issues of rising energy prices, gas scarcity caused by Russia's war against Ukraine, rising inflation, and the effect of these on households. Many across political parties have called for a cap to gas prices. The need to reform the EU’s asylum and migration system, the accession of more EU members to the Schengen region, and Turkey’s aggression towards its EU neighbors were other topics.

You can view extracts from the debate, the first round MEPs' interventions and the entire debate here .

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