EU parliament opens plenary session with migration, defense, social media rules in focus

STRASBOURG, France, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- The European Parliament opened a four-day plenary session in Strasbourg on Monday, with migration, defense and proposed restrictions on children's access to social media high on the agenda.

The centerpiece will be European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's annual State of the Union address on Wednesday, when she will set out the bloc's priorities and flagship initiatives for the coming year.

Von der Leyen is expected to propose a minimum age for access to social media and call for platforms used by minors to be "safe by design," including by removing addictive features that encourage excessive use.

The European Commission will formally present the proposed EU Kids Act in Brussels on Thursday, Commission spokesperson Olof Gill has said. Officials have been weighing an outright ban for children under 13, as recommended by an expert panel, against a threshold of 15 backed by France.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will be the guest of honor at the plenary session and is due to address parliament on Thursday. His speech is expected to focus on EU-Canada relations amid growing geopolitical tensions.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said Monday that the assembly would open an antenna office in Ottawa to strengthen ties with Canada and facilitate transatlantic parliamentary exchanges. The office will cover Arctic affairs.

Migration, defense and trade measures will also feature on the agenda. Lawmakers will debate what parliament's agenda describes as the "instrumentalization of migrants" in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta and calls for a coordinated response to protect the EU's external borders, with a resolution due for a vote on Thursday.

The plenary session will also consider measures to speed up permits and investment for defense projects and proposals to broaden the scope of the EU's carbon border levy.

Other debates will cover support for Ukraine, fighting in the Middle East and Europe's response to heat waves, wildfires and droughts that struck the continent during the summer. Enditem