· The European Commission has brought forward a proposal to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union to include “hate speech” and “hate crimes” in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union as an “EU crime”.

· Emily O’Reilly presented the European Ombudsman’s activity report for 2020 to the European Parliament.

· The Ombudsman’s findings show that both the European Commission and the Council made a number of errors.

· The European Commission is accused, for example, of a lack of transparency in the negotiations concerning the COVID-19 vaccines and their purchase and distribution.

· The European Parliament held a debate on violence against women and the current situation regarding ratification of the gender-based Istanbul Convention.

· The European Parliament held a debate on ‘the situation in Belarus and at its border with the EU, and the security and humanitarian implications’.

· The debate was remarkably calm, with the majority of MEPs unanimously supporting Poland’s resistance and condemning the aggressive actions of Belarus.

· The European Union intends to sign a new partnership agreement with the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS).

· The European Court of Human Rights receives complaints trying to abolish the ruling of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal of 22 October last year and undermine the ban on eugenic abortion in Poland.