European Parliament
Strasbourg

Image source, EBS

Switching into English, President Juncker says a country outside the EU cannot be allowed to enjoy the "same privileged position" as member states.

"If you leave the Union, you are of course no longer part of our single market, and certainly not only in parts of it," he adds.

He pledges that the EU will show "loyalty and solidarity" with Ireland, and will work to avoid a hard Irish border.

"It is Brexit that is making the border more visible in Northern Ireland, not the European Union," he tells MEPs.

However he says the UK will not be an "ordinary third country" after Brexit, and the European Commission will not "stand in the way" of a new partnership based on a free trade area.

European Parliament
Strasbourg

Announcing a new "partnership" with Africa, he says. Europe's relation with the continent cannot be seen through the "sole prism" of development aid.

Calling such an approach a "humiliation" for Africa, he adds that Africa "does not need charity".

He says a new alliance with Africa could create up to 10 million jobs in the continent over the next five years.

European Parliament
Strasbourg

Turning to the subject of migration, he says the resurrection of national borders within the passport-free Schengen area is an "unacceptable backward step".

"Ad hoc" solutions to the migration crisis are "not adequate", he says.

He announces that by 2020, the EU should directly fund 10,000 border guards for the EU's border and coast guard force.

The role of the force will be "strengthened" when it comes to returning failed asylum seekers, he says. But he repeats that he is in favour of creating greater legal migration routes to Europe.

European Parliament
Strasbourg

President Juncker calls for a new EU law on plastics, and repeats his backing for ending the practice of adjusting clocks by an hour in spring and autumn.

National governments, he says, should be able to decide whether their citizens live in summer or winter time.

He also says the Commission is today proposing new measures to counter terrorist propaganda online, calling one hour the "decisive time window" to take content down.

He adds that the EU's recently agreed prosecuting body, external should see its mandate extended to help fight terrorism across borders.

European Parliament
Strasbourg

Image source, EBS

Jean-Claude Juncker continues with praise for the "success stories" of the EU's enlargements, which he says have allowed the continent to "export its stability".

He says the EU must take a "forthright" position on the membership prospects of countries in the Western Balkans.

He says the EU must be "global players" as well as "global payers".

He says the European Commission's plans for greater defence co-operation are about promoting greater independence, not "militarising" Europe.

European Parliament
Strasbourg

Image source, EBS

Jean-Claude Juncker begins his speech by telling MEPs of the difficulty of making a "sea-change" in history during the five-year term of a European Commission.

Europe has "turned the page" since the financial crisis, with the economy growing, and more than 12 million jobs created since 2014, he says.

He praises the "Herculean" effort of the people of Greece, which recently completed its three-year eurozone emergency loan programme.

Reviewing his recent trip to the United States to discuss trade with President Trump, he says Europe is a "force to be reckoned with" in world politics.

Hello and welcome to coverage of today’s sitting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

This morning Jean-Claude Juncker will be making his last ‘state of the union’ speech as president of the European Commission.

This will be his last such speech before the European Parliament elections next spring.

Mr Juncker will reportedly push for the euro to take a more important role in world trade and call for the EU’s border guard to get a stronger mandate to deport failed asylum seekers.

Lastly tonight, MEPs will be debating another report from the foreign affairs committee - this time on EU relations with China.

This evening, they will also debate new rules on bringing cash into the EU.

Under the plans, the €10,000 declaration threshold should also include cash sent in postal parcels, prepaid cards and precious metals like gold.

However that's where we leave our coverage for tonight.

MEPs will be back tomorrow from 08.00 BST, when Jean-Claude Juncker will be making his final 'state of the union' speech as president of the European Commission.

European Parliament
Strasbourg

Image source, EBS

EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini tells MEPs she shares the "sense of urgency" that led them to add the debate to the agenda yesterday.

She says the destruction of the village will be a blow for hopes of a two-state solution to the the Israel-Palestinian conflict, which is already "under serious threat".

She has called on the Israeli authorities to reconsider their decision, she says.

She adds that the EU will continue to back a two-state solution to the conflict, to which she says there is not a "realistic and viable alternative".

Image source, Reuters

MEPs are now debating the demolition of a Bedouin village in the occupied West Bank whose fate has been a subject of international concern.

Israel's Supreme Court recently upheld an order to raze Khan al-Ahmar, where about 180 people live in shacks between two Jewish settlements.

Israel's government says the structures were built illegally, but Palestinians say permits are impossible to obtain.

The United Nations has called on Israel to allow the Bedouin to remain on the land, saying such demolitions are against international law.

Image source, Reuters

MEPs have now been joined by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini to debate recent fighting between rival militia factions in Libya.

Over 60 people were killed in days of fighting around the capital Tripoli last week, whilst some 400 prisoners escaped from a prison during the violence.

A ceasefire between the groups was brokered by the United Nations last week.

The UN's refugee agency said last week that it had "evacuated" around 300 migrants from the Ain Zara camp as they risked being caught in the crossfire.

European Parliament
Strasbourg

Image source, EBS

German Christain democrat Elmar Brok, who drafted the report, says the US is "moving way from the security architecture that its has built up".

China is the "great winner" from this, he says, with the "values of the West" becoming weaker.

Another German, a social democrat Bernd Lange who chairs the international trade committee, says the EU should "refute" Mr Trump's recent suggestion that the EU is "almost as bad as China" on trade.

Image source, Reuters

MEPs are now debating a draft report from the foreign affairs committee about relations between the EU and the United States.

The report criticises tariffs the US imposed on European steel and aluminium earlier this year, whilst dismissing the idea that they can be justified on national security grounds.

It adds that any “potential” trade agreement between the US and the EU “cannot be negotiated under pressure nor under threat”.

It also says any agreement must be “comprehensive” and cover “all trade areas” – not only specific sectors or products.

The report also criticises Trump officials for “expressing contempt” for the EU and the president’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.

Next EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini will join MEPs to debate its policy concerning the development of autonomous military weapons.

Last year more than 100 of the world's top robotics experts wrote a letter to the United Nations calling for a ban on the development of such "killer robots".

European Parliament
Strasbourg

UKIP leader Gerard Batten says it is right that artists are paid for their work but that this copyright directive is "not the answer".

They have been widely criticised as a way introductory "censorship" on the internet, he says.

He predicts the law will "cause bigger problems" than those it intends to solve.