European Parliament
Strasbourg

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German MEP Udo Bullman, the leader of the Socialist and Democrat group, thanks Emmanuel Macron for his "pro-European stance".

He says however that "Madam No" - a reference to German Christian democrat Chancellor Angela Merkel - will not make Mr Macron's plans to change the eurozone easy.

British Conservative Syed Kammall, a co-leader of the ECR group, says his group welcomes leaders with a "bold vision" and the "desire to shake things up".

However he says Mr Macron's vision of the EU, with a bigger budget and eurozone budget, is "not the right vision for all member states".

His proposals should be clearly presented to voters as a plan that will reduce the powers of national governments, he says.

European Parliament
Strasbourg

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German Christian democrat MEP Manfred Weber, who leads the centre-right EPP group, says European democracy should be reformed so that people don't see it as an outside power.

"True democracy", he says, means that important decisions cannot be taken behind closed doors and "blaming and shaming Brussels".

He says voters should be given a chance to influence the choice for the next president of the European Commission.

He also says that when the European Parliament calls for accession talks with Turkey to be frozen - as it did in November 2016 - the call should be enacted.

European Parliament
Strasbourg

Jean-Claude Juncker says the EU must continue to "open up" to the countries of the Western Balkans, or "we will see war" in the region again like in the 1990s.

European Parliament
Strasbourg

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European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker speaks next, thanking Mr Macron for his speech and telling MEPs: "the real France is back".

He goes over a number of EU policies that Mr Macron has supported, and says he hopes this can make the ideal of a "social Europe" a reality.

He says Europe must "stay open" on trade, whilst being prepared to "defend its interests".

Europe, he says, is "one whole" and should not be used to divide people.

European Parliament
Strasbourg

On migration, Emmanuel Macron calls for the "poisoned" debate on reforming the Dublin rules on asylum seekers to be unblocked.

He says he supports recently-announced EU plans for a tax on the revenues of digital firms, and says it could pave the way for the EU to get greater revenue-raising powers of its own.

He also repeats his demand for a "budgetary capacity" for the eurozone, and calls for a "more realistic" European trade policy.

He adds that there must be a "new phase" when it comes to implementing the ambitions of the Paris climate deal - and says France supports the idea of a border tax on carbon dioxide.

He says France is prepared to increase its contributions to the next long-term EU budget, but that the budget should be "recast".

European Parliament
Strasbourg

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President Macron continues with a defence of what he calls the European social model - which he says is "neither dated nor abstract".

Even an ally like the United States is "rejecting" multilateralism, free change and action against climate change, he warns.

He says there must be a "proper critical debate" on Europe before the European Parliament elections in the spring next year.

European Parliament
Strasbourg

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Now in place, Emmanuel Macron begins his opening speech by noting that he is speaking at a time of "division and doubt" within "a number of European countries".

Europe, he says, seems to be engaged in a "kind of civil war" - with a "fascination with the illiberal".

He says a new "European sovereignty" should be built, replying to the concerns of EU citizens.

The answer to authoritarian democracy should be "the authority of democracy", he tells MEPs.

Mr Macron is due to speak three times - he will give an opening speech, then react to speeches from political group leaders, then speak a third time after backbench MEPs have spoken.

The debate today comes after France last weekend joined the UK and United States in conducting air strikes in Syria in response to the alleged chemical attack on Douma this month.

There are a number of EU-related topics he could raise: the post-Brexit EU budget, eurozone reform, and even the future of the European Parliament.

Mr Macron was a notable enthusiast for creating a pan-EU constituency in the assembly – but MEPs rejected the idea at a vote in February.

European Parliament
Strasbourg

Dutch Liberal Sophia in't Veld says there is an "urgent need" for an instrument to fund rights groups within the EU, and condemns the "targeting" of NGOs in Hungary.

UKIP MEP Raymond Finch intervenes to ask whether giving financial support to such groups will make them "beholden" to governments and the EU.

Ms in't Veld replies that in democracies, a number of groups and bodies receive public funding.

"You're receiving funding. Does that impair your independence? - I don't think so", she adds.

European Parliament
Strasbourg

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Austrian social democrat Josef Weidenholzer says civil society must be allowed to function as a "critical voice" of politicians, and should be fully supported.

However Polish right-winger Marek Jurek says he is concerned about calls for such an EU fund, which he says goes "against democratic values".

It constitutes an attempt to "influence people's opinions", he says.

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Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova says rights groups play an important role in "safeguarding" the "values" of the European Union.

These bodies should be allowed to conduct their work "independently and effectively", but are "under pressure" in some parts of the EU, she says.

The says the European Commission is "exploring ways" to create a "values framework" in the next long-term EU budget, which runs from 2020.

The Commission is due to present its plans for the post-2020 budget next month.

Hello and welcome back to coverage of this European Parliament plenary sitting in Strasbourg.

From 09.00 BST, French President Emmanuel Macron will be the latest European leader to make a speech to MEPs to outline his vision for the future of the EU.

We'll be bringing you that speech later - but first this morning, MEPs will be debating recent calls for a dedicated fund to support charities and NGOs promoting democratic values within the EU.

The demand was recently made by charity groups from Poland and Hungary during a hearing at the European Parliament.

Next this evening there will be short presentations of four “own initiative” reports drawn up by some of the Parliament’s committees, followed by a round of short topical speeches.

However, that's where we leave our coverage for today - MEPs will be back tomorrow from 08.00 BST.

Tomorrow French President Emmanuel Macron will become the fourth European leader to offer his vision of the EU in a speech from 09.00 BST.

In the afternoon MEPs will debate the situation in Syria, relations with Russia and the recent arrest of two Greek soldiers in Turkey.

Next up, MEPs are debating another report on external aid spending, this time drafted by the development committee.

The report evaluates the success of three EU aid funds – two financed from the EU budget, another funded directly by member states.

The draft says a review by the European Commission has found the funds “generally fit for purpose”.

It calls for overseas aid spending to be increased in the next EU budget from 2020 and for the bloc to honour a commitment to spend 0.7% of combined national income on aid.

European Parliament
Strasbourg

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Gender Equality Commissioner Vera Jourova tells MEPs that if women are not "supported" into the digital sphere, it could increase gender inequality in the media.

She says she has had conversations with tech bosses where they have tried to convince her that women "are not in the pipeline" for top roles.

She also outlines EU action to combat hate speech online - she adds that social media firms are being urged to delete violent posts against various groups, including women.

She says that for her positive discrimination is "not the option", but calls for "fair competition".