European Parliament
Strasbourg

Italian Lega Nord Matteo Salvini accuses other members of the European Parliament of wishing to "gag Facebook" and "reinventing the Ministry of Truth".

He says there is an effort to "ban" dissenting viewpoints, adding: "long live Facebook". 

Conservative MEP Andrew Lewer says he worries that the fight against "hate speech" can "inadvertently" lead to censorship if mishandled.

European Parliament
Strasbourg

Digital Single Market Commissioner Andrus Ansip tells MEPs that politicians have a duty to "uphold fundamental values", including democracy and the freedom of expression.  

He says the "proliferation of hate speech online" is "shirking" the space for democratic discussion. 

He adds that the Commission is "assessing" whether EU-wide procedures are needed in the area of removing illegal online conduct. 

He says a decision will be announced next month as part of a review of the EU's digital single market, external  strategy. 

European Parliament
Strasbourg

Slovenian social democrat Tanja Fajon tells MEPs that the debate on fake news is timely given the "rise in populism and xenophobia".

She adds that the problem is "as old as the press itself" but the phenomenon has been aggravated by social media, with six out of 10 news articles online being shared without being read first. 

She calls on social media firms to do more in this area, and says the EU should "explore the possibility of legislative intervention" in this area. 

BBC News UK

Fake news is nothing new, depending on what you mean by it.

But during the past year - specifically during Donald Trump's election - it has become a cancer in the body politic, growing from an isolated but malignant tumour into a raging, mortal threat.

Read more . 

Welcome back to coverage of this plenary sitting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

First up this afternoon MEPs are going to be debating the phenomenon of “fake news” with Digital Single Market Commissioner Andrus Ansip. 

He has previously said he wants Facebook and other social media firms to make greater efforts to tackle fake news stories online.

He has added that self-regulation could also be accompanied by “some kind of clarification” from the EU. 

Image source, PA

Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier is told by an Ulster Unionist MEP to "actually listen to the speech". 

The European Parliament agrees Brexit "red lines" but Nigel Farage likens them to the "mafia".

European Parliament
Strasbourg

That’s today’s voting session finished. MEPs will now have the opportunity to make short speeches to explain how they voted.

After this the sitting will resume at 14.00 BST with a debate on what the EU’s response should be to the phenomenon of “fake news”. 

European Parliament
Strasbourg

In other votes, MEPs also sign off on a decision to grant several millions euros’ worth of emergency aid from the EU’s Solidarity Fund.

The money is meant to be used to repair damaged housing and infrastructure in the wake of natural disasters.

The package includes:

• €60m for the UK, for the floods in December 2015 and January 2016
• €7m for Cyprus after droughts and forest fires in 2015 and 2016
• €3.9m for Portugal to cope with the wild fires in Madeira last year 

Image source, Getty Images

Parliament's chief Brexit spokesman Guy Verhofstadt and Parliament President Antonio Tajani will be giving a press conference shortly on the result of the vote. 

You can watch it here, external . 

European Parliament
Strasbourg

The European Parliament approves a motion setting out its position on the forthcoming Brexit negotiations by 516 votes to 133 with 50 abstentions.

MEPs will not participate directly in exit talks but must ratify the final deal. 

A series of amendments to the main motion – mostly tabled by UKIP – were rejected.

The resolution backs the “phased” approach to negotiation favoured by EU leaders, and says the UK should be considered liable for financial commitments it made as a member.

It says any transitional arrangements should be time-limited to three years and overseen by the EU’s Court of Justice.

It also says:

• UK citizens in the EU and EU citizens in Britain should receive “reciprocal” treatment
• the final deal should not include a “trade-off” between trade and security co-operation
• the UK should adhere to EU environmental and anti-tax evasion standards to get close trade ties
• the European Banking Authority and European Medicines Agency should be moved out of London
• the UK should pay towards costs for the EU that “arise directly from its withdrawal”

European Parliament
Strasbourg

That’s the debate on the European Parliament’s red lines for Brexit talks finished.

The draft motion drawn up by four political groups will be the first item to be voted on, before voting on other motions and on legislation takes place. 

European Parliament
Strasbourg

The debate swings back to the political group leaders, and UKIP leader Nigel Farage speaks for the second time. 

He tells MEPs that the demands for a large exit bill from the UK "just doesn't work" and has "gone so far".

Reaching a deal will require "give and take" on both sides, he adds, before suggesting that if the EU "gave" on the issue of money and Gibraltar, the UK should be prepared to "unilaterally guarantee" the rights of EU citizens to stay in Britain after Brexit. 

Liberal group leader Parliament's chief Brexit spokesman Guy Verhofstadt uses his second speech to call for a "huge majority" when the motion is shortly put to the vote. 

European Parliament
Strasbourg

Gyorgy Schopflin, from the ruling Fidesz party in Hungary, warns that Parliament's motion today will "not be popular" and that some in the UK see leaving the EU as a "kind of liberation".

"It can take quite a while for illusions to dissipate", he tells MEPs. 

He says that although the triggering of Article 50 has seen a "silly season" of comments, the Parliament should "stay calm" and pursue talks will the same "professionalism" shown in the motion. 

European Parliament
Strasbourg

Jens Geier, a German social democrat who sits on the Parliament's budgets committee, says the UK must be expected to respect commitments to the EU budget it has already made. 

The commitments were made by the UK government, which was "investing in a political alliance", he says, before adding: 

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Strasbourg

Glenis Willmott, who leads the group of Labour MEPs in the Parliament, says that MEPs should "give a voice" to those directly affected by Brexit.

She accuses the right wing of the Conservative party of "clamouring to use Brexit" to bring about a "bonfire of EU workers' rights". 

She adds that those threatening to walk out of the EU without a deal have "no answers to the questions that constructive questions will bring". 

European Parliament
Strasbourg

Green MEP Molly Scot Cato, whose constituency includes Gibraltar, says that she will "fight for their right to self-determination". 

She criticises the recent comments  from former Conservative leader Michael Howard suggesting Theresa May would defend Gibraltar in the same way as Margaret Thatcher defended the Falklands.

His remarks were "sadly symbolic of the loss of commitment to peace and to basic standards of diplomacy", she adds.