Safeguarding human dignity was a key theme of the formal address delivered by Pope Francis to Members of the European Parliament on Tuesday. Immigration, protecting the environment, and promoting human rights and democracy were among the topics stressed in a speech that enjoined "Europe to rediscover the best of itself".

Opening the formal sitting, Parliament’s President Martin Schulz said that the loss of confidence of people in politics, both at national and European level, is "tremendous", stressing that no institution can operate if it lacks support. "We therefore all need to cooperate to regain this lost trust", he said.

The European Commission welcomes the results of the G20 summit in Brisbane (15-16 November 2014) as they help to put the global economy on a sustainable growth path. The G20 summit adopted the Brisbane Action Plan on Growth and Jobs and put strong emphasis on investment.

The G20 has also reaffirmed its commitment to fairer taxation and provided a renewed impetus to financial regulation, global climate action and open trade. Finally, the G20 has made progress on anti-corruption, energy and sustainability, development and reform of international economic institutions. The EU has been instrumental in achieving these results.