The day of the first half of the plenary session arose on October 17, 2024. In the plenary session, the delegates were able to vote in favor or against the amendments and the resolutions presented by the presidents with their delegations. The plenary session took place in the Old Parliament House of Athens—the building grasped everyone’s attention with its breathtaking details and structure.
The first half of the plenary session covered a total of 5 committees: AFCO, IMCO, LIBE/JURI, ENVI, and DEVE. The first round of the session started with the committee of foreign affairs—AFCO. The committee of AFCO devised their resolutions for the enhancement of the EU’s coherence while reconciling with the diverse interests and preferences of the EU member states. The Bulgarian delegate of AFCO began the session with an opening speech, emphasizing the necessity to “amplify democracy” among the EU member states. Then, other delegates had the chance to ask any factual questions to the committee of AFCO, and a lot of countries, including Bulgaria, Hungary, Turkey, and Cyprus, took part in this. An amendment was suggested during this process by the delegate of Bulgaria, suggesting to strike the whole OC3 of the resolution. However, this amendment was declined with 53 votes in favor and 59 votes against. Next, the delegates were able to ask open debate questions; the floor was filled with fierce debates among the delegates. The UK delegate was chosen to give a speech against the resolution, and he was able to critique the resolution of AFCO. He described the resolution as “vague” and “ludicrous” as it did not provide any specificity for the plans. Going against the UK delegate, the delegate of Malta from the AFCO committee was chosen to give a speech refuting the UK. The delegate underscored the importance of “unity, not division” among the member states, firmly restating how “opt-outs should not be an abundant option” as it hinders the EU from being truly democratic. However, the AFCO resolution did not pass by 58 votes against and 34 votes in favor.
The second round of the plenary session was devoted to the committee of internal market and consumer protection—IMCO. The delegate of Cyprus opened the session with an opening speech. Next, an amendment suggested by the delegate of Greece was chosen by the presidents: the delegate found a flaw in OC8, as just implementing a special tax for large tech companies would ultimately be passed on to the consumers, resulting in increased prices, which would further worsen the problem. Therefore, the delegate of Greece suggested creating special funds for emerging companies instead of special taxes imposed on the companies. For the responding speech to the amendment, the delegate of Ireland was chosen from IMCO. The amendment was passed by 94 votes in favor and 24 votes against—approximately 80% of the delegates in the parliament voted in favor of the amendment. In the end, the resolution of IMCO passed with 63 votes in favor and 48 votes against.
The third round of the session centered around the committee of Civil Liberties and Home Affairs/Subcommittee on Legal Affairs—LIBE/JURI. The opening speech of LIBE/JURI was firm: the delegate of Portugal strongly articulated how “democracy is not negotiable.” The amendment raised about OC2 was accepted by just one vote: there were 59 votes against and 60 votes in favor of the amendment. The amendment pointed out how OC2 oppresses the freedom of press and speech in a way since it is seen to promote the idea of propaganda. During the open debate question session, many delegations held their flags up in order to ask a question. The delegation of Latvia pointed out OC13 to give an example of cases where AI was used to identify corruption in financial streams. The committee of LIBE/JURI pointed out how there hasn’t been an AI implementation yet, but how they are eager to start implementing AI for a more efficient process. Unfortunately, this resolution did not pass with 28 votes in favor and 81 votes against.
The fourth round revolved around the committee of Environment, Public Health, and Food Safety—ENVI. Unfortunately, this resolution did not pass; it received several criticisms regarding how inaccurate the resolutions are. The OC13 of the resolution mentions removing the vegetation in dry areas to reduce the risk of wildfire. However, the Netherlands delegate refuted this OC by commenting how removing vegetation would only further erode soil more quickly. Furthermore, a lot of controversial discussions were shared regarding OC4, which suggests using free roaming cattle to remove vegetation. The delegate of Netherland further critiqued the OC4 by pointing out the possibility of production of methane—which is 25 times more powerful than CO2—by the free-rattling cows. Due to these points lacking enough backup evidence, ENVI’s resolution was not able to pass.
The fifth round centered around the committee on Development/Artificial Intelligence—DEVE/AIDA. The amendment was proposed by the delegate of Bulgaria regarding OC7 to make a change in how the clause is worded. The delegate suggested specifying the word “source” in the clause to “publicly available sources” so that it promises a more transparent usage of information. However, the delegate of Malta pointed out the misuse of sensitive data like medical records. As a result, the amendment did not pass, receiving 48 votes in favor and 68 votes against. Through fierce discussions and debates, the majority of the delegates voted in favor of the resolution.
Euronews, Dayeon Woo