The pandemic - and the uncertainty that goes with it - is not over and the recovery is still in its early stage, said EC President Ursula von der Leyen in her first State of the Union speech, delivered to the European Parliament on Wednesday morning. This is the moment for Europe to lead the way from the current fragility towards a new vitality, she asserted.

The EP Committee on Legal Affairs adopted on Thursday its opinion on the report on the establishment of the EU Mechanism for Democracy, the Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights, led by the EP Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.

France's Europe Minister Clement Beaune and Strasbourg's mayor Jeanne Barseghian on Wednesday expressed regret for the cancelling of next European Parliament's session in the French city over fears for coronavirus spike. In a joint statement French officials call for a "swift return to plenary sessions in Strasbourg".

Members of the Committee on Budgets discussed future EU financing in Tuesday's meeting with the MFF/Own Resources negotiating team reporting back from the first trilateral talks with the Council. They have also endorsed their legislative opinion on the Own Resources Decision as to ensure the rapid implementation of the EU Recovery Plan.

During the extraordinary plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels on Thursday on the conclusions of the special EU summit Charles Michel, President of the European Council said that it is his conviction that the deal hammered on 21 July is pivotal moment in European history.

On Thursday morning, MEPs will debate on the special EU summit results with Council and Commission. On the same day, lawmakers will adopt a resolution on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), an Own Resources system and a Recovery Plan for Europe.

Proposed cuts in the EU’s multiannual financial framework for research projects and the Erasmus programme are not acceptable, European Parliament President David Sassoli insisted on Wednesday.

Parliament’s negotiating team on the Multiannual Financial Framework and own resources was very fast to deliver its reaction about the political compromise reached at the European Council, held on 17-21 July. MEPs said they remain ready to immediately enter negotiations in order to achieve “a better agreement for Europe”.

On the fourth day of the ongoing special European summit, which was originally scheduled to end on Saturday, EU 27 leaders are still too divided on the basic parameters of the pandemic recovery fund and the seven-year community budget. Commenting on the situation, EP President David Sassoli stated that after days of discussions, European citizens expect an agreement that lives up to this historical moment.

Welcoming the orderly and impartial conduct and the substantial voter turnout during the general elections in North Macedonia on 15 July, despite the difficult circumstances due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Bulgarian Renew Europe (Movement for Rights and Freedoms) MEP Ilhan Kyuchyuk, who is the EP's standing rapporteur on North Macedonia, stated that this all shows a high degree of civic engagement to the country's future.