We have just ended a busy plenary session in Strasbourg. Turkey and the respect for the rule of law, women’s rights, hostilities in Aleppo, wildlife trafficking, freedom of the press in Hungary, the situation of our banking sector, investment in the recovery of European economy, controlling atmospheric pollutants and new steps in the fight against tax evasion were just some of our Group’s priorities in the past week.

Not to mention the fact that finally, after a long fight, the Council, Commission and European Parliament negotiators reached a final agreement on rules to exclude conflict minerals from the EU market - a huge success for us after a long fight!