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The first EU Parliamentary Democracy Forum will gather Members of EU national Parliaments, MEPs, parliamentary networks, EU institutions, civil society, and experts. The goal is to share solutions to strengthen our democratic systems.

The Forum will focus on three topical sessions:

• Strengthening parliamentary democracy through citizen engagement
• Overcoming political polarisation
• Building resilience

The event is organised under the leadership of the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola with the support of the Vice-Presidents for Relations with national Parliaments Katarina Barley and Esteban González Pons.

The Forum will be highly interactive, fostering active participation and meaningful discussions.

The sixth Interparliamentary Committee Meeting on the "Evaluation of Eurojust's activities" will take place on Thursday, 2o November 2025, from 09:30 to 13:00, at the European Parliament in Brussels, room ANTALL 6Q2.

n accordance with Article 85(1) TFEU and Article 67(3) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1727 on the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust), the President of Eurojust shall appear once a year for the joint evaluation of Eurojust's activities by the European Parliament and national Parliaments, within the framework of an interparliamentary committee meeting, to discuss the agency's current activities and to present its annual report or its other key documents.

The programme of this edition of the ICM will be divided into three separate panels.

The first panel will be dedicated to the overview of Eurojust activities, on the basis of the annual report, but will also include a debate on recent salient developments the agency has faced in 2025. Economic crime remains a key focus of the Agency's work and represents an important share of its caseload.

Alongside evolving fraud trends, in particular online fraud, Eurojust plays an important role in asset recovery within the EU, supporting national judicial authorities in tracing, freezing and confiscating the proceeds of crime across borders. These activities will be addressed in detail in the second panel.

Finally, the third panel will focus on the ongoing review of the Eurojust regulation, with a revision expected in 2026.

Against this background, the Committee of Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) will organise together with the Legislative Dialogue Unit of the Directorate for Relations with National Parliaments, the 6th interparliamentary committee meeting on "The evaluation of Eurojust activities".

This week marks Gender Equality Week (3–9 November 2025) in the European Parliament

From classrooms to boardrooms, too many bright minds still face unequal expectations and opportunities.

A recent report by the Inter-Parliamentary Union analysing three decades of women in national parliaments reveals that the percentage of seats held by women has risen from 11.3% in 1995 to 27.2% in 2025. The report shows that, from 2000 to 2015, the proportion of women in parliament rose steadily. However, in recent years, this progress has slowed.

In 2024, despite a high number of elections with 73 chamber renewals globally, women's parliamentary representation increased by only 0.3 percentage points -- the slowest rate of progress since 2017.

The European Parliament's message is loud and clear: "It's time to turn things around."

As President Roberta Metsola reminds us: "When women succeed, they generate growth, they transform communities, and they inspire the next generation."

Explore the debates happening this week on the European Parliament's GEW website and join us in making gender equality a reality -- for everyone.

The 17th meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group (JPSG) on Europol will take place on 3-4 November 2025 at the European Parliament in Brussels, József Antall Building, room 2Q2.

The meeting will tackle a number of issues directly arising from the JPSG's prerogatives, including presentations by Ms Catherine DE BOLLE, Europol Executive Director, Mr Ireneusz SIEŇKO, the Chair of the Europol Management Board, and Mr Wojciech WIEWIÓROWSKI, the European Data Protection Supervisor.

During the meeting, exchanges of views with Europol's Data Protection Officer will also be held.

The agenda includes two scrutiny sessions:

• "Lawful access to data for law enforcement - necessity and proportionality"

• " From waste trafficking to trade in protected species - organized environmental crime".

A specific agenda point is also dedicated to an update on Europol activities linked to the war in Ukraine.

The JPSG will be consulted on Europol's Multiannual Programming Document 2026-2028 and the Executive Director of Europol will reply to the written comments received from parliamentary delegations during her intervention.

The FISC Sub-Committee in cooperation with the Legislative Dialogue Unit of the Directorate for Relations with national Parliaments organised an ICM on digital taxation on Thursday, 16 October, from 09.45 to 12.30 at the European Parliament, in the Antall building, room 4Q1.

Following the great success of the EU Tax Symposium last March, indicating a clear willingness to exchange on European tax topics, and in light of ongoing developments at OECD/G20 level, the Subcommittee on Tax Matters (FISC) organised an interparliamentary committee meeting to discuss and exchange experiences on digital taxation at national and international (OECD/G7) level.

This meeting brought together representatives from the European Parliament, national parliaments, representatives from national tax administrations, the Commission and economists. The discussion focused on the reasons behind the implementation (or not) of a digital services tax (DST), the choice of the tax base and the rate applied and the difficulties encountered.

90% of EU citizens want more unity among Member States, “that's why the European Parliament is working more closely than ever with national Parliaments”, says EP President Roberta Metsola, presenting the results of the latest Eurobarometer survey.

In an increasingly unpredictable world, the European Union emerges as a place of stability in the eyes of citizens, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey, published in September 2025.

There are also strong expectations regarding the future role of the EU, with citizens putting the focus on security, defence, the economy, peace and democracy.

In particular, the vast majority of EU citizens (90%) want Members States to be united against global challenges. To do so, the cooperation between the European Parliament and national Parliaments is crucial.

As European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said: "Nine out of ten European citizens want more unity and coordination among Member States. That's why the European Parliament is working more closely than ever with national Parliaments across our Union".

The AGRI Committee in cooperation with the Legislative Dialogue Unit of the Directorate for Relations with national Parliaments organised an ICM on “Vision for Food and Agriculture - Implications at National and EU Level” on Thursday, 25 September, from 09.00 to 12.30 at the European Parliament.

The event sought to facilitate a constructive discussion that anticipates legislative developments, ensuring that future policies are well-adapted to the evolving needs and challenges of European agriculture.
This meeting brought together representatives from the European Parliament, national parliaments, EU institutions, and well as experts and stakeholders to explore two key thematic areas:

•  Ensuring a Fair Standard of Living for Farmers as a Prerequisite for Food Security and Generational Renewal
• New Tools for Risk Management: Enhancing the Agricultural Reserve and Developing Mechanisms to Address Natural, Market, and Sanitary Risks

15 September marks the International Day of Democracy. Democracy is one of the core values of the EU and underpins everything that the European Parliament does. The European Parliament has a unique role in fostering democracy, as the only directly elected EU institution.

In her video message, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola mentioned an upcoming important event for parliamentary democracy in Europe, the Parliamentary Democracy Forum, to take place on 19 November in Brussels.

The Democracy Forum will be a chance to bring together Members of the European Parliament, national Members of Parliament, EU institutions and experts to discuss ways to strengthen resilience in the face of disinformation, polarisation and foreign interference.

"Democracy must be nurtured and defended every day and in these difficult and uncertain times, every one of us has a role to play" concluded President Metsola in her message.

The Danish Presidency will host the COSAC Chairpersons’ meeting in the Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen on Thursday 3 and Friday 4 July.

The COSAC Chairpersons' meeting marks the opening event of the parliamentary dimension of the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU led by the Danish Folketinget. The European Parliament will be represented by Mr. Esteban González Pons, Vice-President of the European Parliament.

The AFCO Committee in cooperation with the Legislative Dialogue Unit of the Directorate for Relations with national Parliaments organised an ICM on “Institutional Consequences of the EU Enlargement Negotiation” on Tuesday 24 June from 10.00-12.30 in the EP in Brussels (Room Antall 6Q2)

The main aim of this ICM was to exchange views with national Parliaments from the EU Member States and the Candidate Countries on the internal groundwork and reforms necessary to make the EU fit for future enlargement, in parallel to the reform efforts by aspiring Members.

AFCO is currently working on an important own initiative report, the aim of which is to convey Parliament's key political messages on the possible ways to improve the functioning of the enlarged EU. The debate was based on the draft report on the 'Institutional consequences of the EU enlargement negotiations', under the rapporteurship of Mr Sandro Gozi.