Opening the extraordinary session, European Parliament President Martin Schulz noted that this was the first time that a plenary session had been convened at such short notice, but also that the UK citizens’ decision to leave the EU was equally unprecedented. He warmly welcomed Lord Hill and thanked him for his work in the EU Commission and deciding to step down, having campaigned for Britain to remain in the EU. His statement was followed by standing ovations from both MEPs and Commissioners.
On Thursday15 January, the European Parliament welcomed a number of important investigations “concerning the lack of transparency in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations, whistleblowing in the EU institutions, lack of transparency in Commission expert groups, 'revolving door' and conflict of interest cases, fundamental rights in cohesion policy, and the European Citizens' Initiative; the EP looks forward to the findings of these inquiries.”