School killings in Austria and France

At the very start of the sitting, President Metsola expressed her deep sadness at the shocking events of Tuesday 10 June, when a school boy stabbed and killed a school assistant in Nogent, France, and a former pupil shot and killed nine students and a teacher and injured many more in Graz, Austria.

Violence and hatred have no place in Europe, and no place in our schools, she said, concluding that “schools must remain safe spaces of learning and growth – never of fear”. President Metsola invited MEPs to join her in a minute’s silence in memory of those killed.

Forty years of the Schengen area

Immediately after opening the June 2025 plenary session, President Metsola led celebrations to mark the Schengen Agreement’s 40th birthday. “Around the world, the Schengen area is looked at with admiration as a clear and very tangible example of what European cooperation can achieve, she said. But we should never take it for granted, she…