BETA


2019/2210(INI) Recommendation to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the Western Balkans, following the 2020 summit

Progress: Procedure completed

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead AFET PICULA Tonino (icon: S&D S&D) GÁL Kinga (icon: EPP EPP), KYUCHYUK Ilhan (icon: Renew Renew), VON CRAMON-TAUBADEL Viola (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE), ZIMNIOK Bernhard (icon: ID ID), KOULOGLOU Stelios (icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL)
Committee Opinion INTA
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 118

Events

2020/12/14
   EC - Commission response to text adopted in plenary
Documents
2020/06/19
   EP - Results of vote in Parliament
2020/06/19
   EP - End of procedure in Parliament
2020/06/18
   EP - Debate in Parliament
2020/06/17
   EP - Decision by Parliament
Details

The European Parliament adopted by 532 votes to 70, with 63 abstentions, a recommendation to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the Western Balkans, following the 2020 summit.

While recalling the strategic importance of the enlargement process for the EU, Members stressed that the Western Balkan countries are geographically, historically and culturally part of Europe and the process of integrating them into the European Union is of key importance for the stability and security of the continent as a whole, free and at peace.

The prospect of accession on the basis of merit is also a fundamental incentive for reform in the countries of the Western Balkans.

Parliament addressed the following recommendations to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy:

Maintaining the objective of enlargement

Parliament recommended supporting the European perspective of the Western Balkan countries and enhancing the accession process by ensuring that it reinforces fundamental values and the rule of law, contributes to sustainable democratic, economic and ecological transformation and social convergence, and fosters good neighbourly relations and regional cooperation, which are essential elements of enlargement and the Stabilisation and Association Process.

Members also called for:

- increased efforts to build political will among the Member States in progressing with the enlargement to the Western Balkans;

- an accelerated accession process of the countries committed, both politically and administratively, to the implementation of EU-related reforms;

- the opening of accession negotiations with Albania and Northern Macedonia to be in the interest of the Union, to give impetus to the negotiations in order to accelerate the accession of Montenegro and Serbia and to liberalise the visa regime for Kosovo as soon as possible.

Enhanced method for injecting a new dynamic into the enlargement process

Parliament recommended facilitating the implementation of the enhanced method for accession negotiations adopted by the European Commission for candidate countries whose negotiations have already started if they decide to use it for effective and sustainable alignment with EU standards and rules. It also called for:

- clear, transparent and consistent accession benchmarks and continuous political and technical support throughout the process, and improve the measuring of progress on the ground ensuring that each candidate country is assessed on the basis of conditionality and its own merits;

- increased policy incentives offered to the countries of the Western Balkans and encourage the gradual integration of the candidate countries into the Union's sectoral policies and programmes prior to accession, including through targeted financial assistance from Union funds.

Conditionality

Parliament recommended strengthening the conditionality mechanism and insisted on the reversibility of the accession process by applying objective criteria when deciding whether negotiations should be interrupted or suspended. It also highlighted the importance of:

- enhancing ownership of the enlargement process by Member States by increasing the involvement of experts on the rule of law and other areas from the Member States, as well as of civil society and human rights defenders on the ground;

- bringing the primacy of democracy, the rule of law, human and fundamental rights back to the very heart of the enlargement process by opening first and closing last the chapters related to the judiciary, corruption and organised crime, as well as those covering respect for human rights, including minority rights, media freedom and freedom of expression;

- compliance by the Western Balkan countries with their international obligations to prosecute war crimes and determine the fate of missing persons, in full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and its successor the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT), and the Kosovo Specialist Chambers (SC) and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office (SPO);

- the implementation of an anti-discrimination policy and the strengthening of the legal framework to prevent feminicide and violence against women and children.

Parliament also recommended:

- fostering of electoral reforms ensuring free, fair, pluralistic and transparent elections at central and local levels and the strengthening of the role of civil society in the accession process;

- increasing the EU’s commitment in solving outstanding bilateral issues and in developing good neighbourly relations and regional cooperation; the Western Balkans are called upon to commit themselves to reconciliation and to finding a peaceful solution to their long-standing disputes.

Investment strategy plan

Recalling that the EU is the largest foreign investor in the region by investing EUR 12.7 billion in foreign direct investments between 2014-2018, Members suggested that a strategic economic and investment plan be drawn up to improve competitiveness, the legal and business environment, the situation of SMEs and sustainable development in the whole region in line with the commitments made under the Paris Agreement and the European Green Deal.

Documents
2020/05/05
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
Documents
2020/05/05
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary
Documents
2020/04/20
   EP - Vote in committee
2020/03/03
   EP - Amendments tabled in committee
Documents
2020/02/07
   EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2019/12/19
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament
2019/11/06
   EP - PICULA Tonino (S&D) appointed as rapporteur in AFET

Documents

Votes

A9-0091/2020 - Tonino Picula - Am 32 #

2020/06/18 Outcome: -: 585, +: 85, 0: 13
EE CY MT LU LV SI EL SK HR FI LT DK IE AT SE CZ BE IT BG NL PT HU RO FR PL ES DE
Total
7
6
6
6
8
8
18
14
10
14
10
14
13
19
21
21
20
75
17
29
18
20
33
79
50
57
90
icon: ID ID
74

Estonia ID

For (1)

1

Finland ID

2

Denmark ID

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1
3

Czechia ID

2

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2

Netherlands ID

1
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25

Greece NI

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2

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1

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1

Hungary NI

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1

Germany NI

2
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
36

Cyprus GUE/NGL

2

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Ireland GUE/NGL

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4

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1

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1

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2
icon: ECR ECR
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Latvia ECR

2

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Croatia ECR

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1

Lithuania ECR

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1

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icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
64

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

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3
3

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183

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1

A9-0091/2020 - Tonino Picula - Am 33S #

2020/06/18 Outcome: -: 575, +: 100, 0: 10
EE CY MT LU LV SI EL FI SK HR LT FR DK IE AT NL SE PT BE IT CZ BG HU RO PL ES DE
Total
7
6
6
6
8
8
18
14
14
10
10
79
14
13
19
29
21
20
20
75
21
17
20
33
50
57
90
icon: ID ID
74

Estonia ID

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1

Finland ID

2

Denmark ID

For (1)

1
3

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1

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2

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2
icon: NI NI
25

Greece NI

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2

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1

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1

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Germany NI

2
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38

Cyprus GUE/NGL

2

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Ireland GUE/NGL

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64

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97

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A9-0091/2020 - Tonino Picula - Am 34S #

2020/06/18 Outcome: -: 572, +: 96, 0: 17
EE CY MT LU LV SI EL FI SK HR LT DK IE AT NL SE CZ FR PT BE IT BG HU RO PL ES DE
Total
7
6
6
6
8
8
18
14
14
10
10
14
13
19
29
21
21
79
20
20
75
17
20
33
50
57
90
icon: ID ID
74

Estonia ID

For (1)

1

Finland ID

2

Denmark ID

For (1)

1
3

Netherlands ID

1

Czechia ID

2

Belgium ID

2
icon: NI NI
25

Greece NI

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1

Slovakia NI

2

Croatia NI

Abstain (1)

1

Netherlands NI

1

Hungary NI

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1

Germany NI

2
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
38

Cyprus GUE/NGL

2

Finland GUE/NGL

Abstain (1)

1

Denmark GUE/NGL

Abstain (1)

1

Ireland GUE/NGL

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4

Netherlands GUE/NGL

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1

Sweden GUE/NGL

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1

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1

Portugal GUE/NGL

4

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1
icon: ECR ECR
61

Latvia ECR

2

Greece ECR

1

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2

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1

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4

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2

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1

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1
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
64

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1

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1

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2

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2

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3

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3

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3

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3

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3

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1
icon: Renew Renew
97

Estonia Renew

3

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2

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1

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2

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3

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2

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1

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2

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2

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1

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3

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1

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2
icon: S&D S&D
143

Estonia S&D

2

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2

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1

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2

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2

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2

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2

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3
3

Lithuania S&D

2

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3
icon: PPE PPE
183

Estonia PPE

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1

Cyprus PPE

2

Malta PPE

2

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2

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2

Slovenia PPE

4

Denmark PPE

Against (1)

1

A9-0091/2020 - Tonino Picula - Am 35S #

2020/06/18 Outcome: -: 573, +: 105, 0: 7
EE CY MT LU IE LV SI EL SK HR FI LT FR DK NL AT SE PT BE IT CZ BG HU RO PL ES DE
Total
7
6
6
6
13
8
8
18
14
10
14
10
79
14
29
19
21
20
20
75
21
17
20
33
50
57
90
icon: ID ID
74

Estonia ID

For (1)

1

Finland ID

2

Denmark ID

For (1)

1

Netherlands ID

1
3

Belgium ID

2

Czechia ID

2
icon: NI NI
25

Greece NI

For (1)

1

Slovakia NI

2

Croatia NI

Abstain (1)

1

Netherlands NI

1

Hungary NI

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1

Germany NI

2
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
38

Cyprus GUE/NGL

2

Ireland GUE/NGL

Against (1)

4

Finland GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Denmark GUE/NGL

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1

Netherlands GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Sweden GUE/NGL

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1

Portugal GUE/NGL

4

Belgium GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Czechia GUE/NGL

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1
icon: ECR ECR
61

Latvia ECR

2

Greece ECR

1

Slovakia ECR

2

Croatia ECR

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1

Lithuania ECR

Against (1)

1

Bulgaria ECR

2

Romania ECR

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1

Germany ECR

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1
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
64

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

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1

Ireland Verts/ALE

2

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1

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3

Lithuania Verts/ALE

2

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2

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3

Austria Verts/ALE

3

Sweden Verts/ALE

3

Portugal Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Belgium Verts/ALE

3

Czechia Verts/ALE

3

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1
icon: Renew Renew
97

Estonia Renew

3

Luxembourg Renew

2

Ireland Renew

2

Latvia Renew

Against (1)

1

Slovenia Renew

2

Slovakia Renew

2

Croatia Renew

Against (1)

1

Finland Renew

3

Lithuania Renew

2

Austria Renew

Against (1)

1

Sweden Renew

3

Italy Renew

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1

Bulgaria Renew

3

Hungary Renew

2
icon: S&D S&D
143

Estonia S&D

2

Cyprus S&D

2

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1

Latvia S&D

2

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2

Greece S&D

2

Slovakia S&D

Abstain (1)

3
3

Finland S&D

2

Lithuania S&D

2

Belgium S&D

3
icon: PPE PPE
183

Estonia PPE

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1

Cyprus PPE

2

Malta PPE

2

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2

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2

Slovenia PPE

4

Denmark PPE

Against (1)

1

A9-0091/2020 - Tonino Picula - Am 9 #

2020/06/18 Outcome: +: 596, -: 46, 0: 45
DE ES PL IT RO FR NL SE CZ PT HU BG BE IE AT SK EL LT FI DK HR LV SI CY MT LU EE
Total
90
57
50
75
33
79
29
21
21
20
20
17
20
13
19
14
20
10
14
14
10
8
8
6
6
6
7
icon: PPE PPE
183

Belgium PPE

4

Denmark PPE

For (1)

1

Latvia PPE

2
2

Malta PPE

2

Luxembourg PPE

2

Estonia PPE

For (1)

1
icon: S&D S&D
143

Greece S&D

2

Lithuania S&D

2

Latvia S&D

2

Slovenia S&D

2

Cyprus S&D

2

Luxembourg S&D

For (1)

1

Estonia S&D

2
icon: Renew Renew
97

Italy Renew

For (1)

1

Hungary Renew

2

Ireland Renew

2

Austria Renew

For (1)

1

Slovakia Renew

2

Lithuania Renew

2

Finland Renew

3

Croatia Renew

For (1)

1

Latvia Renew

For (1)

1

Slovenia Renew

2

Luxembourg Renew

2

Estonia Renew

3
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
64

Spain Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Netherlands Verts/ALE

3

Sweden Verts/ALE

3

Czechia Verts/ALE

3

Portugal Verts/ALE

1

Belgium Verts/ALE

3

Ireland Verts/ALE

2

Austria Verts/ALE

3

Lithuania Verts/ALE

2

Finland Verts/ALE

3

Denmark Verts/ALE

2

Latvia Verts/ALE

1

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

For (1)

1
icon: ECR ECR
61

Germany ECR

For (1)

1

Romania ECR

1

Netherlands ECR

4

Bulgaria ECR

2

Greece ECR

1

Lithuania ECR

1

Croatia ECR

For (1)

1

Latvia ECR

2
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
38

Netherlands GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Sweden GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Czechia GUE/NGL

1

Belgium GUE/NGL

Abstain (1)

1

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For (1)

1

Denmark GUE/NGL

1

Cyprus GUE/NGL

2
icon: NI NI
27

Germany NI

2

Netherlands NI

1

Hungary NI

1

Slovakia NI

Against (1)

Abstain (1)

2

Greece NI

Against (1)

3

Croatia NI

Abstain (1)

1
icon: ID ID
74

Netherlands ID

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1

Czechia ID

For (1)

Abstain (1)

2

Belgium ID

2

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3

Finland ID

2

Denmark ID

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1

Estonia ID

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1

A9-0091/2020 - Tonino Picula - Am 10 #

2020/06/18 Outcome: +: 590, -: 64, 0: 33
DE ES FR PL RO HU NL PT IT BG CZ BE SE IE AT SK LT FI DK HR LV SI EL CY MT LU EE
Total
90
57
79
50
33
20
29
20
75
17
21
20
21
13
19
14
10
14
14
10
8
8
20
6
6
6
7
icon: PPE PPE
183

Denmark PPE

For (1)

1

Latvia PPE

2
2

Malta PPE

2

Luxembourg PPE

2

Estonia PPE

For (1)

1
icon: S&D S&D
143

Lithuania S&D

2

Latvia S&D

2

Slovenia S&D

2

Greece S&D

2

Cyprus S&D

2

Luxembourg S&D

For (1)

1

Estonia S&D

2
icon: Renew Renew
97

Hungary Renew

2

Italy Renew

For (1)

1

Ireland Renew

2

Austria Renew

For (1)

1

Slovakia Renew

2

Lithuania Renew

2

Finland Renew

3