Quentin Deranque

Parliament’s President Roberta Metsola opened the session by speaking briefly about the shocking murder of 23 year-old Quentin Deranque in France on 14 February. She said that Parliament had been in touch with representatives of Deranque’s family and noted their public appeal that his death not be instrumentalised politically.

International Day of Solidarity with Belarus

Metsola went on to remind MEPs that 25 March is the International Day of Solidarity with Belarus, a “powerful symbol of resistance against oppressive dictatorship”. She took the opportunity to reiterate Parliament’s support for all Belarusians fighting for a free and democratic country.

Iran

Reflecting on the situation in Iran, the Gulf region and the Strait of Hormuz, Metsola repeated the Parliament’s condemnation of the Iranian regime’s horrifying oppression of its own people and its continued brutal and unacceptable attacks on civilians in the Gulf States and across the region….