December plenary: 2024 Sakharov Prize, Georgian President's speech and more

Last week, Members of Parliament gathered for one last plenary session in 2024. Let us go through some of the key topics they covered in Strasbourg in December.

The European Parliament awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to Venezuela’s President-elect Edmundo González Urrutia and opposition leader María Corina Machado.

Parliament paved the way for better and faster use of EU funds to finance recovery from natural disasters.

MEPs agreed that the application of EU’s new deforestation rules should be postponed by a year to allow more time to companies to comply with the requirements. 

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili delivered a passionate speech in Parliament, urging Europe to provide stronger support to the democratic forces in her country.

There were developments in Brussels, too, where Parliament President Roberta Metsola joined the Western Balkans summit and the European Council meeting to call for a more assertive Europe in foreign policy. 

Read on to find out more.

2024 Sakharov Prize awarded to Venezuela’s opposition leaders

The European Parliament honoured Venezuela’s President-elect Edmundo González Urrutia and opposition leader María Corina Machado with the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

"In their quest for justice, democracy and the rule of law, Edmundo González Urrutia and María Corina Machado are fearlessly upholding values that millions of Venezuelans and the European Parliament hold so dear," said President Metsola when awarding the prize at a ceremony on Tuesday.

Machado, represented in the ceremony by her daughter Ana Corina Sosa, was elected opposition candidate for the Venezuelan presidency in 2023, before being disqualified by the government-controlled National Electoral Council.

González, a diplomat and politician, succeeded Machado as the main opposition candidate after her disqualification. The incumbent president Nicolás Maduro declared victory but the election results were contested because of reports of electoral fraud.

The European Parliament has stated that that the presidential elections that took place in July 2024 did not meet international standards and recognises González as the legitimate and democratically elected President of Venezuela.

The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought distinguishes individuals, groups or organisations for their struggle for human rights and democracy. The laureates of 2023 were Jina Mahsa Amini and the Women, Life, Freedom Movement in Iran.

Previous Sakharov Prize laureates include Nobel Peace Prize winners Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai, Denis Mukwege and Nadia Mourad.

Watch the ceremony (recording)

Video about the 2024 Sakharov Prize laureates (YouTube video)

Video about the award ceremony (YouTube video)

2024 Sakharov Prize for the Freedom of Thought (press release)

Parliament resolution on the elections in Venezuela (press release)

The nominees, finalists and laureates of the 2024 Sakharov Prize (article)

More on Sakharov Prize (article)

Previous Sakharov laureates (article)

EU funds to help recovery from natural disasters 

Parliament paved the way for better and faster use of EU funds to finance natural disaster recovery with two new legislative acts.

The new rules allow EU countries to channel European regional development funds for reconstruction following natural disasters.

EU regional development funding will be able to cover up to 95% of the total cost of recovery projects. To provide quick assistance to those in need, up to 25% of the full amount would be made available as pre-financing. 

The new rules will apply for recovery from natural disasters that have occurred after 1 January 2024. 

EU countries with unspent money from rural development programmes will also be able to fast-track the use of this money to compensate losses of farmers, forest holders and small businesses active in these sectors. The money will be paid in lump sums and will be fully covered by EU funds.

Press conference by the co-rapporteurs on the proposal (recording)

Parliament paves way for the use of EU funds to finance natural disaster recovery (press release)

How the EU provides assistance in the aftermath of natural disasters (article)

More on climate and environment (article)

Natural disasters (Multimedia Centre)

New EU deforestation rules to be postponed by a year

Companies will have one more year to comply with new EU rules to prevent deforestation.

The new rules will ban the sale of products sourced from deforested land in the EU market.

Large operators and traders will now have to respect the obligations as of 30 December 2025, and micro- and small enterprises as of 30 June 2026.

The postponing of the application date comes as a response to concerns raised by EU member states, non-EU countries and businesses that they would not be able to fully comply with the rules if applied from the end of 2024.

The deforestation regulation, adopted by Parliament on 19 April 2023, aims to fight climate change and biodiversity loss by preventing deforestation related to EU consumption of products from cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soya, wood, rubber, charcoal and printed paper.

Parliament gives companies extra year to comply with the Deforestation law (press release)

Parliament’s work to fight deforestation (article)

Green Deal: key to a climate-neutral and sustainable EU (article)

EU forest strategy for 2030 (press release)

Farm to Fork Strategy (article)

Biodiversity Strategy (article)

Georgian President: We want our European future back

“We only ask for two things: give us our voice back, because of the stolen elections, and give us our European future back through new elections”, said President Zourabichvili in a speech to MEPs.

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili came to the European Parliament on Wednesday to urge Europe and the West to provide sustained political backing to her country’s democratic voices.

The parliamentary elections held in Georgia on 26 October were marred by significant irregularities, which prompted the European Parliament to call for a re-run in a resolution adopted in November.

The new Georgian parliament elected Mikheil Kavelashvili, a 53-year-old former football player, to succeed Zourabichvili as the next Georgian President at the end of the month, but Zourabichvili says she will not leave office because the irregularities at the elections have made the Georgian Parliament illegitimate.

There have been daily mass demonstrations in the country against the Georgian government’s decision to put EU accession talks on hold.

President Zourabichvili stressed in her speech that what is happening in Georgia is about more than democracy and political choices – but also about Europe and its strategic interests. If Georgia falls “under Russian control, it will touch upon everything’’.

She outlined how in recent years Georgia has been sliding down a more and more authoritarian trajectory.

Welcoming the President of Georgia, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said: “I speak for this entire House when I say to all Georgians who look to Europe for support and for their future: you are not alone. We see you, we hear you, we are with you. This House stands strong with Georgia in its journey towards Europe.”

Watch the debate here (video)

Georgian President at the European Parliament (Facebook link)

Protests in Georgia: president Zourabichvili speaks in the European Parliament (YouTube video)

Georgian President Zourabichvili calls on EU to step up and defend its values (press release)

Parliament calls for new elections in Georgia (press release)

How enlargement works and how countries can join the European Union (article)

Georgia (Multimedia Centre)

Election of the European Ombudsman

Parliament elected Teresa Anjinho as the new European Ombudsman.

In this role, Anjinho will be tasked with following up on complaints by citizens against the actions of EU bodies and holding the EU’s institutions and agencies to account.

Her experience includes working as an independent human rights expert and academic researcher, as well being a member of the committee of the European Anti-Fraud Office.

“We must always respect due process, rules and essential formal proceedings, but we also must deliver. It is a matter of trust in the institution, but also – in the end – in the European Union as whole,” she told MEPs in a hearing organised on 3 December to assess her candidacy.

Anjinho and five other candidates were interviewed for the post by Parliament’s petitions committee and the final decision was taken by all MEPs in two rounds of voting.

Anjinho will take over on 27 February for a five-year mandate, when the outgoing EU Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, will pass on the baton.

Website dedicated to the election of the European Ombudsman in 2024

More on the European Ombudsman (Multimedia Centre)

Teresa Anjinho elected as the new European Ombudsman (press release) 

Information on the candidates

New parliamentary committees

Parliament approved the establishment of two standing committees, on security and defence and public health, as well as two special committees that will seek solutions to threats to democracy and the housing crisis.

The proposal aims to address Europe’s current challenges as well as citizen concerns.

The existing security and defence subcommittee and the public health subcommittee have been transformed into fully-fledged committees. In 2025, there will also be two new special committees: one will focus on the so-called Democracy Shield initiative included in the European Commission’s 2024-2029 political guidelines, and another one will recommend steps to deal with the rising housing costs in the EU.

The members of the two standing and two special committees will be determined by each political group and non-attached MEPs in January. The distribution of seats in each committee mirrors the distribution of seats among political groups in the whole Parliament. 

Changes to the list and responsibilities of standing committees as well as the establishment of special committees, require a decision by the President of the Parliament and the political group leaders as well as a vote by the whole Parliament.

Standing committees propose amendments to legislative proposals and draw up non-legislative reports. Special committees are created to address specific issues and can operate for up to 12 months – unless their term is extended by a vote in Parliament.

New parliamentary committees to work on security and defence, health, democracy, housing (press release)

Parliament to establish two new standing and two special committees (press release)

About the European Parliament’s committees

President Metsola calls for the EU to step up in 2025

“We need to step up if we are truly serious about asserting Europe’s place on the world stage. We have little other choice,” Parliament President Roberta Metsola told EU leaders at their meeting in Brussels on Thursday.

She stressed that Ukraine should be provided the necessary support from the EU in order to be speaking from a position of strength in any peace talks.

A day earlier, Metsola addressed another summit of EU and Western Balkans leaders in Brussels and said the EU should move faster when it comes to enlargement.

Metsola at the EU-Western Balkans summit (press release)

Parliament President addressing the EU and Western Balkans leaders in Brussels (press release)

Press conference by Parliament President Roberta Metsola following her participation at the European Council meeting (opening remarks)