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Brussels Live
Transcribed and translated by AI

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The President.

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Good morning, everybody. Can I ask you
please to take your seats so that we can

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start? The next item on the agenda is
European Council and the Commission statements

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conclusions of the European Council meeting
of the 15th and 16th of October 2026.

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Please ask you to take your seats. Before
I give the floor to the President of the

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European Council and the European Commission,
I will give the f loor to Elisabeth

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Vossenberg for a point of order. Please,
everybody, can I ask you to take your

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seats? I'm not going to start calling
out by names, but soon I will.

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Okay. Thank you. Wait, let's
have your microphone on.

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Press the button. Press
the button. Elisabeth?

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Ms. Vossenberg?

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No.

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Okay, sorry.

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Madam President, Mr President, yesterday
the Libyan House of Representatives

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unanimously approved the ratification of
the illegal Turkish-Libyan 2019 memorandum

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of understanding on maritime delimitation.

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We condemn in the most categorical manner
the action that challenges the sovereign

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rights of Greece and Cyprus, violates
the fundamental principles of the

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International Law of the Sea and undermines
peace, stability and security in the

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Eastern Mediterranean. This decision does
not alter the illegal, void and unfounded

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nature of the memorandum, which contravenes
international maritime law and infringes

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upon the sovereign rights
of the states in the region.

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Geography and the international law of the
sea do not change with unilateral legally

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unfounded parliamentary decisions. The
memorandum disregards the Greek islands and

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their rights to maritime zones under
UNCLOS and customary international law.

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Having already concluded agreements on the
delimitation of maritime zones with Egypt

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and Italy, in accordance with international
law, Greece has demonstrated respect for

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international law and the sovereign
rights of neighbouring states.

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We call on the European Union to take
immediate action against this negative

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development, with a single voice and
determination, utilising all available

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diplomatic and political means
to defend sovereign rights.

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Thank you very much.

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of our Member States.
Thank you, Madam President.

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Thank you very much, Ms.
Vossenberg. We share your concerns.

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Thanks for that. Another
quick announcement:

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Katerina Konečná is a member of the PFE
group as of today, 21st of October 2026.

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Now I give the floor to the President
of the European Council Antonio Costa.

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Madam President, Roberta Metsola. Madam
President von der Leyen, honourable Members,

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good morning. Madam
President, Roberta Metsola.

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Madam President von der Leyen,
honourable Members, good morning.

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I am addressing you just days after an
important and fruitful European Council.

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The message from the
European leaders is clear:

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Europe is strengthening its competitiveness
and is united in defending its interests

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and values. Our discussions
focused on four key priorities.

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essential priorities: competitiveness, our
upcoming multiannual financial framework,

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Ukraine and migration policy.
First, competitiveness.

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Since our informal meeting last year
in Allenbesen, we have made progress in

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implementing our 'A Europe
in the Market' programme.

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We have notably reduced administrative
formalities, removed burdens and taken

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measures to promote a true
capital markets union.

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The agreement on the package relating to
the integration and supervision of markets

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represents a very important step. We
must now accelerate work on EU Inc.

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Our 28th regime for businesses, and to wait
for the concrete objectives that we have

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set ourselves within the deadlines. While
maintaining a high level of ambition.

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To maintain this momentum, I will convene
a second Allenbesen meeting at the

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beginning of February in order to bring
together leaders to take stock of progress

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made in terms of competitiveness and defence,
and to renew our political commitment

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to delivering results. The cost of
energy is at the heart of this effort.

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Households and businesses are paying the
price for a war that is being waged well

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beyond our borders. Since the start of
the war in the Middle East, the cost of

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imported fossil fuels has increased
by 106 billion euros, without a single

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additional molecule of
energy having been produced.

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continued. We need a coordinated European
response combining immediate measures and

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structural solutions. In the short term,
we need to ease the pressure that is

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on households and businesses. The measures
that you are well aware of, presented by

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President von der Leyen here in the
European Parliament, concern the temporary

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framework for State aid, the report on the
application of the regulation on methane,

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the strategic dialogue on the European
refinery sector and strengthened coordination

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of energy purchases. In addition, there is
the coordinated release at G7 level of 5

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million barrels of oil and diesel. And
the European Council has invited the

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Commission to examine and propose, if
necessary, additional short-term measures.

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But emergency measures alone cannot
resolve a structural problem.

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As long as we remain dependent on imported
fossil fuels, our prosperity will remain

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exposed to events beyond our control.
Our response must be affordable energy

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produced in Europe. Renewable energies or
nuclear, or increased electrification and

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smart grids. modernised electricity grids.

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Last year, we installed 8.0 gigawatts of
renewable capacity, whereas six times that

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capacity was expected.
were still to be connected.

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We must finalise the package on European
networks and accelerate investments.

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We must also urgently advance the
modernisation of the ETS system.

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Competitiveness also requires fair trade.
Our trade policy is based on a vast

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network of trade agreements
that we continue to expand.

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But trade must be fair and based on rules.

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Our strategy is to engage in dialogue with
our partners, but a dialogue focused on

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results that bears fruit, and our discussions
have demonstrated the unity of the 27

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Member States. And I would like to
take this opportunity to congratulate

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Commissioner Ševković on the recent result
achieved in his dialogue with China.

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We must continue. Not only on cars,
but also in other industrial sectors.

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And we must also accelerate the
diversification of our trade exchanges.

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Pursue a dialogue that leads to concrete
results and strengthen our trade defence

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instruments. This is the mandate we have
given to the Commission to develop our

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"toolbox" of defensive measures. Secondly,
our next multiannual financial framework.

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The negotiations on the long-term budget
of the European Union are entering a

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decisive phase. We remain determined to
reach an agreement by the end of this year.

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I had a very useful exchange with the
European Parliament's contact group on the

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budget last week, just
before the European Council.

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I am fully aware of the role of the
European Parliament in the negotiations.

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And I would like to commend the efforts
made by the Harland Presidency to advance

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this process. Our discussions at the
European Council have allowed us to make

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progress. The next multiannual financial
framework is not just a question of

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figures. This is essentially a political
choice concerning the Europe that we want

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to build together and our capacity to act.

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We have a budget that is ambitious enough
to live up to our responsibilities while

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keeping national contributions
at a reasonable level.

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. That is why we need to make progress on
an ambitious package of new own resources.

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We will accelerate the work. Together with
the Member States, on the proposals from

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the Commission, as well as on those
put forward by the European Parliament.

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Thirdly, Ukraine. Our determination to
support Ukraine and its people is stronger

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than ever. Nearly €16 billion has already
been paid out this year under the defence

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component of loans to support Ukraine.
Furthermore, an additional 17 billion euros

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in budgetary aid could also be released
this year, subject to the implementation of

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the necessary reforms. We must honour
these commitments and respond to Ukraine’s

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additional financing needs for 202

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027. Europe and its Member States already
account for 80% of the external aid

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provided to Ukraine, and our international
partners must also step up their efforts.

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Our commitment to peace must therefore go
hand in hand with sustained pressure on

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the aggressor. Every effort
made in favour of peace counts.

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But Russia’s actions continue to demonstrate
an escalation that is unacceptable.

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Russia must put an end to
this dangerous headlong rush.

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Russia’s hybrid campaigns, including its
acts of sabotage and repeated violations of

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airspace. into, and repeated violations of
European airspace and territorial waters,

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remind us that Ukraine's security is
Europe's security, inseparably linked.

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We will accelerate the implementation of
our defence strategy and strengthen our

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ability to protect our citizens
and critical infrastructure.

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Our objective remains a
just and lasting peace.

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On conditions that respect Ukraine's
sovereignty and security, as well as its path

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towards accession to the European
Union. Finally, migration policy.

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Our common European
approach is bearing fruit.

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Irregular border crossings have significantly
decreased and the Pact on Migration

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and Asylum is now fully applicable.
Its implementation must continue.

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We must continue to strengthen our external
borders and improve the effectiveness of

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returns. And we must prepare for situations
in which State and non-State actors

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deliberately instrumentalise migration.
A European framework for responding to

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emergency situations could give Member
States the means to react quickly to such

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crises. The Commission will work on
this, with the Member States, in order to

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present a concrete proposal. Ladies and
gentlemen, these four priorities are closely

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linked. Competitiveness gives
Europe its economic strength.

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A flexible and sufficiently funded
budget gives us the capacity to act.

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Our support for Ukraine protects
our security and our principles.

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It is a common European solution on
migration that demonstrates the full value of

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collective action. The European
Council has set the course.

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We must now continue our
efforts and achieve results.

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With these parliaments and the Commission.

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Because Europe must not be
content merely to react to events.

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Europe must have the strength, the
resources and the unity needed to shape its

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future. Thank you.

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Thank you very much, President Koshta.
Now, President of the European Commission,

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Ursula von der Leyen.

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Good morning, President Metsola di
Roberta, President Costa di Antonio.

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Honorable members, indeed we had
a long and dense European Council.

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And let me touch on two of the main topics,
starting with European competitiveness.

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First, of course, first of all, of
course, we have to do our homework in

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competitiveness. That is,
completing our single market.

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And indeed, we have proposed EU Inc. to
make it easier for business, not only to

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start, but also to grow
in the European Union.

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We have made proposal for a new public
procurement act, to make procurement

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procedures simp ler and faster. We've put
forward 12 omnibus packages, three have

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reached the finish line, as well
as other simplification measures.

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If all these measures are agreed, together
they could save over 2 2 billion euros

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every year of administrative burden. We are
building simplicity by design into every

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new Commission proposal. But this ambition
must also be matched in every member

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state. And that was the discussion, and
this is why we are proposing a pact against

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gold plating. It has to be very simple.
A rule that is agreed at European level

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cannot become more comp lex and
fragmented when transposed or implemented

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nationally. Finally, I think we should
work much more radically in reducing

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reporting obligation. And of course, we
have to use artificial intelligence for

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that. And this is why we will want to use
a principle we call only once, that is,

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report data only once, and then with
the help of artificial intelligence, the

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administration will and
must ensure efficient use.

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Of course, the debate also centered
on Europe's high energy costs.

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Not only are we too dependent on foreign
fossil fuels, on gas setting the pr ice,

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but we are also squandering opportunities
by not having a true European energy

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union. From grids to interconnectors to
aggregated market power and purchasing, this

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is why the Commission will develop a plan
for a true European energy union because

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we have to make much better use
of the potential that we do have.

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Finally, speaking of energy on our
sanctions on Russia, we have placed energy

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sanctions on Russia due to its
war of aggression against Ukraine.

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And because of the actual debate,
I want to be crystal clear:

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these sanctions will sta y
until Russia stops the war.

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And moreover, we should
keep our lessons in mind.

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It was Russia that cut
Europe's supply of gas.

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Russia is not a trusted supplier of
energy because it would—this is our

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experience—at any time, weaponize ener
gy dependencies to blackmail others.

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So that is a lesson that Europe
certainly will not for get.

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Honorable members, as I said,
competitiveness starts at home, of course.

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But it also depends on our companies being
able to compete on fair terms globally.

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Let me take China as an example. You know
the figure in 2025, our trade deficit with

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China was 1 billion euros a
day. This is not sustainable.

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Industrial overcapacity, and unfair market
practices, are distorting competition.

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Just keep in mind that Chinese companies
receive up to eight times more subsidies

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than comparable firm s
in the OECD countries.

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And European industries
are paying the price.

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Factories are under pressure. We see
jobs lost in our industrial heartlands.

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So last week at the European
Council, we agreed a clear approach:

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first, dialogue where it delivers;
second, action where needed;

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and third, stronger tools
to defend our interests.

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Let me start with dialogue. And I also want
to commend Commissioner Sevkovic for his

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success. We have really
seen progress in dialogue.

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China has agreed to cut tariffs on EU
products worth almost 4 billion euros.

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We secured greater predictability on
export controls for rare earth and magnets.

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And we had the removal of certain EU
companies from Chinese control lists.

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But I think the clearest example
was in the automotive sector.

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So where did we come from? Chinese hybrid
electric vehicle exports to the European

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Union had gone up from 2
.5 billion US dollars to 7.

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5 billion US dollars. So a threefold
increase in just 12 months.

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This surge put, of course, a huge
pressure on our industry for hybrids.

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Here, too, the dialogue now delivered. We
agreed an annual quota of 350,000 hybrid

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vehicles from Ch ina. We're
using exports by around 45%.

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This will be implemented
through a safeguard.

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So we keep control. And thus, for the
first time, China has agreed to export

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moderation in a major industri al sector.
That is proof that dialogue can and does

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deliver. This is an important first step.
But we also should keep in mind that one

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agreement in one sector cannot fix
an overall structural im balance.

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That leads me to my second point. Europe
must be ready to act when dialogue does not

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produce res ults. If necessary, we
must be ready to use our trade defense

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instruments. And this includes safeguards.

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To respond quickly, when imports
surges, threaten our industries.

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So to this concept, last week
leaders gave a clear positive signal.

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And we are already working closely with
our chemicals and machinery sectors which

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are seeing or facing growing concern s.
Third element we must reduce our economic

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dependency. Last year, new trade restrictions
affected almost 3 trillion dollars of

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global trade. More than three
times as much as the year before.

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We see critical raw materials,
for example, restricted.

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We see essential technologies
used at geopolitical leverage.

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Europe must be able to withstand
such a kind of pressure.

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So we will act on three fronts.
First, reducing our vulnerabilities.

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In December, we will present a
package that we call Diversify EU.

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It will be country-agnostic. And it will
help European companies to diversify their

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sup ply chains. I think the principle for
all of us and all the companies in the

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European Union is very simple: there should
be no critical dependence on one single

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supplier. Second, deterrence. Here
we will propose a new instrument.

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So that we can act faster and immediately
can limit access to the single market when

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we see our interests threatened. Because
deterrence works when others know we are

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ready to respond.

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And my third point is very
important. It is solidarity.

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Economic threats are
designed to divide us.

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We know this. To target one
industry or one member state.

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This is why we will propose a solidarity
package so that no member state is left to

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face press ure alone, in a world where
economic power is increasingly used as

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weapon, Europe m ust use its economic
strength to defend our interests together.

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Honorable members, another central
issue in the last week's discussion was

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migration. And here, too,
Europe has made real progress.

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After years of hard work, our pact
on migration is now fully applicable.

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We have mandatory screening
at border procedures.

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That means the same rules fair and
firm apply in all member states.

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We have our return regulation so that
those who have no right to stay can be

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returned quickly. And we have deeper
partnerships along key migration routes.

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And the results are
speaking for themselves.

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Let me give you a few figures. Illegal
border crossings are down by 56% over the

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last two years. Another
34% so far this year alone.

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Asylum applications are down by 19%. And
our return rate has almost doubled in five

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00:25:30,717 --> 00:25:36,015
years and is now over 30%. These
are significant achievements.

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They show our common
European approach does work.

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But this summer showed again how quickly
new threats can emerge at our borders.

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So we must build on this progress.
And let me focus on three priorities.

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First, we need, of course, a full
implementation of the migration pact.

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We have agreed common rules. Now
there must be applied consistently.

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That means responsibility and
solidarity must go hand in hand.

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Every member state must take responsibility
for the asylum seekers it is responsible

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00:26:18,143 --> 00:26:25,235
for. And every member state must be able
to count on European solidarity when under

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pressure. We must also reduce incentives
for illegal migration and safeguard

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00:26:31,901 --> 00:26:38,908
Schengen. Because freedom of movement is
one of Europe's greatest achievements and

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we must protect it. Second,
stronger external borders.

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We will propose to reinforce Frontex.

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So it can support member states
whenever and wherever needed.

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Including on returns. And that means giving
it the mandate and the capabilities that

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this new real ity demands. And my
third point is preparing Europe for new

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challenges. This summer we witnessed
the tragic scenes in Ceuta.

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And we have seen how Russia and
Belarus have weaponized migration.

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State and non-state actors are deliberately
engineering mass movements of people.

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Of course, the goal is clear. They
want to overwhelm authorities.

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They want to spread fears.
They want finally to divide us.

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They will not succeed. We will not allow
anyone to exploit our values to put

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pressure on our union. And this is why
we will propose a so-called European

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emergency response framework. The aim is
to give member states the tool to respond

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quickly to these kind of extraordinary
threats at our external borders.

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And to protect, of course,
also our internal security.

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We will present this proposal on the
European Emergency Response Framework by the

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end of this year. So, honorable members,
Europe has come a long way on migration.

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But there is more work ahead. We will always
be a place that protects those fleeing

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war and pers ecution. And to do that,
citizens need to trust that our system is

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fair, and functioning, that rules are
enforced, that borders are secured.

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And above all, that it is Europeans who
decide who comes to the European Union and

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under what circum stances,
and not our adversaries.

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This is how we uphold our values and this
is how we protect the freedom and the

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security of our citizens. Thank
you very much and long live Europe.

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00:29:01,915 --> 00:29:04,508
Thank you very much,
President von der Leyen.

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00:29:04,566 --> 00:29:09,176
Before opening the floor, let me just
quickly reply to the point of order of Ms.

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00:29:09,233 --> 00:29:13,901
Elisabeth Rosenberg. We're very grateful
to the clarity of the joint statement of

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00:29:13,958 --> 00:29:18,338
Presidents Costa and von der Leyen on
the so-called memorandum and share the

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00:29:18,395 --> 00:29:21,622
concerns. Greece and Cyprus
can count on our solidarity.

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00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:25,195
Manfred Weber on behalf of the
EPP Group, you have the floor.

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00:29:30,115 --> 00:29:34,451
President Metsola, President von der
Leyen, President Costa, welcome into the

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00:29:34,507 --> 00:29:39,068
European Parliament. First of all, I want
to congratulate my colleagues for their

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00:29:39,124 --> 00:29:43,685
re-election as group leaders. Valerie
Iratxe and also Nico and Terry were already

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00:29:43,741 --> 00:29:47,176
re-elected. The others will do
it in the next upcoming weeks.

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So congratulations for this. The re-election
means also stability for this House,

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00:29:51,849 --> 00:29:54,721
that we can count on the
support of our colleagues.

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00:29:54,777 --> 00:29:58,212
And we need this stability to
deliver 27,000 jobs each month.

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00:29:58,268 --> 00:30:01,309
Are lost in the European
Union in this moment of time.

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00:30:01,365 --> 00:30:05,307
So we have a lot of huge challenges,
especially on the economic front.

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00:30:05,363 --> 00:30:10,093
And already the agreement inside of the
platform on the car and automotive sector is

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00:30:10,149 --> 00:30:14,428
a motivating signal that we can do deals
together and we can find solutions.

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00:30:14,485 --> 00:30:19,158
So congratulations. Let me start on a
positive note when we reflect on the European

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00:30:19,215 --> 00:30:23,719
Council meeting, China. One billion Ursula
von der Leyen mentioned it, enough is

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00:30:23,775 --> 00:30:28,111
enough. I want to remind ourselves that
one and a half years ago Commissioner

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00:30:28,167 --> 00:30:31,546
already initiated tariffs on
the question of electric car s.

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00:30:31,602 --> 00:30:36,163
That was not uncontroversial, I must say.
Today, I think everybody sees that this

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00:30:36,219 --> 00:30:39,260
was already brave leadership
one and a half years ago.

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00:30:39,316 --> 00:30:42,863
That things cannot continue as
they are in this moment of time.

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00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:45,848
That's why we have to stop
naivety and have to work.

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00:30:45,904 --> 00:30:49,508
I want to thank really Commissioner
Sevkovic for his great work.

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00:30:49,564 --> 00:30:52,267
We are in good hands in
your hands in this file.

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00:30:52,323 --> 00:30:56,884
So thank you very much for this. And we
also, as EPP, welcome the new instruments

316
00:30:56,940 --> 00:31:01,332
now, also proposed on the Council side,
to strengthen the role of the European

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00:31:01,388 --> 00:31:05,724
Commission and prec ondition for everything
is unity among our member states.

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00:31:05,780 --> 00:31:09,496
And that was a good outcome, a
good agreement on the Council side.

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00:31:09,553 --> 00:31:14,283
The more difficult aspect is obviously MFF,
which is the key issue in the next weeks

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00:31:14,339 --> 00:31:18,900
in front of us. Looking to the figures,
for example, on investments on artificial

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00:31:18,956 --> 00:31:22,447
intelligence, China 290 billion,
US 600 billion in this ye ar.

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00:31:22,503 --> 00:31:25,375
And the EU budget should
be now cut by 140 billion.

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00:31:25,795 --> 00:31:28,516
We cannot do more for
Europe with less money.

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00:31:28,577 --> 00:31:32,991
That will not work. So having this in
mind, we have to be now very clear.

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00:31:33,052 --> 00:31:37,466
For example, for farmers, for mayors,
we do not speak about cold figures.

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00:31:37,527 --> 00:31:42,485
We speak about the young farmers, whether
they have a chance, a perspective, to do

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00:31:42,546 --> 00:31:46,658
their business, to create independence
on food sec urity for Europe.

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00:31:46,718 --> 00:31:51,798
We speak about rural areas. We are fully
supporting the ideas from the Commission on

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00:31:51,858 --> 00:31:55,850
the modernization. So Horizon, now
we see 10% cuts from the Irish.

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00:31:55,910 --> 00:32:00,929
Defense cuts. We see for Frontex, the
colleagues, a few days ago, Frontex in Warsaw

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00:32:00,990 --> 00:32:05,888
published that they had to stop return
missions joint return missions on European

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00:32:05,948 --> 00:32:10,242
level because they have not any more
the funding for doing it together.

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00:32:10,302 --> 00:32:14,777
That's a reality on the ground. And
we see further cuts now from the Irish

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00:32:14,838 --> 00:32:17,499
presidency. So we have
to defend the future.

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00:32:17,559 --> 00:32:20,280
Let me say aspects of
this modernized budget.

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00:32:20,341 --> 00:32:24,997
I also want to be clear on the own
resources because it was a promise when we

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00:32:25,058 --> 00:32:29,835
discussed the next generation EU fund.
To repay it, the borrowed money, and the

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00:32:29,895 --> 00:32:34,673
interest rates, by own resources. The
promise is on the table and we remind the

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00:32:34,733 --> 00:32:39,692
Council to keep their promises to pay it
back, not via our budget, but through own

340
00:32:39,752 --> 00:32:44,590
resour ces. And I would also ask, please
stop the net payer perspective, because

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00:32:44,650 --> 00:32:48,642
stopping migration in Ceuta is in
Danish and is in Dutch interest.

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00:32:48,702 --> 00:32:53,298
And also having a drone shield in the
east is in German and French interest.

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00:32:53,358 --> 00:32:56,080
So let's do this from
a European perspective.

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And let me just appeal and
ask President Costa now.

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00:32:59,285 --> 00:33:02,853
You are a moderator, yes. But
you are not only a moderator.

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00:33:02,913 --> 00:33:05,876
And we know that you are
a brave European leader.

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00:33:05,937 --> 00:33:10,835
That's why in the next weeks and months
we will support you to show this European

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00:33:10,895 --> 00:33:15,794
leadership in this moment of time. And
finally, dear colleagues, if you allow me,

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00:33:15,854 --> 00:33:20,752
just on Ukraine, one final point. The
winter ahead of us will be again a test for

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00:33:20,813 --> 00:33:24,260
all of us. The war will not
be decided on the front line.

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00:33:24,320 --> 00:33:28,795
The war will be decided in our political
will, whether we stand up for fre

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00:33:28,855 --> 00:33:32,071
edom and democracy and we
support our Ukraine and France.

353
00:33:32,127 --> 00:33:36,696
That's why the message in front of this
winter is the EPP is on the side of those

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00:33:36,753 --> 00:33:39,235
who defend democracy
and freedom. Thank you.

355
00:33:39,655 --> 00:33:45,204
Thank you very much, Mr. Weber. Now I give
the floor to the Chair of the S&D Group,

356
00:33:45,271 --> 00:33:46,675
Iratxe Garcia-Per ez.

357
00:33:52,195 --> 00:33:53,395
Gracias, Presidenta.

358
00:33:54,715 --> 00:33:58,948
In Europe there are two ways
of understanding the future.

359
00:33:59,023 --> 00:34:05,261
Those who want a smaller Europe, with less
budget, less solidarity and fewer rights.

360
00:34:05,336 --> 00:34:11,277
And those of us who know that in a more
dangerous and unjust world, we need more

361
00:34:11,351 --> 00:34:16,922
Europe. A Europe that protects, that
invests and that leaves no one behind.

362
00:34:16,996 --> 00:34:22,120
And that difference is also evident
in how we talk about immigration.

363
00:34:22,195 --> 00:34:28,210
Yes, migration is a European challenge.
That is why it needs a European response,

364
00:34:28,285 --> 00:34:34,449
not a competition among Member States to
see who can shut the most doors or who can

365
00:34:34,523 --> 00:34:38,237
point the finger most
harshly at those who arrive.

366
00:34:38,311 --> 00:34:44,253
Because the data debunks the discourse
of fear, and today the President herself,

367
00:34:44,327 --> 00:34:47,520
President von der Leyen,
has laid them out.

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00:34:47,595 --> 00:34:53,536
Irregular entries have fallen by almost
a third in the first nine months of this

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00:34:53,611 --> 00:34:59,849
year. And also asylum applications. However,
the right and the far right continue to

370
00:34:59,923 --> 00:35:03,266
fuel the lie of a Europe
that is overwhelmed.

371
00:35:03,340 --> 00:35:06,682
Ms von der Leyen, Mr
Costa, I agree with you.

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00:35:06,756 --> 00:35:12,475
Combating the mafias and human trafficking,
managing our borders and ensuring

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00:35:12,549 --> 00:35:15,668
effective processes is our responsibility.

374
00:35:15,743 --> 00:35:21,164
But so too is defending the right to
asylum and combating disinformation.

375
00:35:21,239 --> 00:35:24,952
disinformation and ensure
legal and safe pathways.

376
00:35:25,026 --> 00:35:31,042
Because those who care for our elderly,
who tend to our sick, who build our homes

377
00:35:31,116 --> 00:35:37,132
and work in our fields are not a threat.
They are part of our society and help to

378
00:35:37,207 --> 00:35:41,514
sustain it. The real enemies
of Europe are not immigrants.

379
00:35:41,588 --> 00:35:47,753
The real enemies of Europe are the vulture
funds that evict an 87-year-old disabled

380
00:35:47,827 --> 00:35:54,066
woman from her home. They are the ones who
trigger wars and pass the bills on to our

381
00:35:54,140 --> 00:36:00,156
citizens. They are the same autocrats who
force our families to pay more than two

382
00:36:00,230 --> 00:36:04,909
euros per litre of petrol and
drive up the the shopping basket.

383
00:36:04,983 --> 00:36:10,925
Europe’s true enemies are the climate
change deniers who put their own interests

384
00:36:10,999 --> 00:36:16,495
above the lives of those who lose their
homes and their harvests to fires.

385
00:36:17,035 --> 00:36:22,973
And floods. And it is Putin’s allies within
this Union that are weakening our unity

386
00:36:23,045 --> 00:36:27,051
while Russia wages a hybrid
war against our democracies.

387
00:36:27,123 --> 00:36:32,775
And that is why we have the responsibility
to build the Europe of the citizens.

388
00:36:32,846 --> 00:36:38,856
Not an Europe like that Argentina of the
chainsaw cuts of Milei, we want that Europe

389
00:36:38,927 --> 00:36:44,865
of the left-wing and proud gaze. The Europe
that combats speculation and guarantees

390
00:36:44,937 --> 00:36:50,803
decent housing. The one that accelerates
renewable energies to lower energy costs.

391
00:36:50,875 --> 00:36:55,955
Let us build a Europe that invests
in defence to protect us from Putin.

392
00:36:56,026 --> 00:37:01,535
Without abandoning our farmers. Because
our security also depends on our food

393
00:37:01,607 --> 00:37:07,545
sovereignty. Let us build the Europe that
invests in cohesion to guarantee schools,

394
00:37:07,616 --> 00:37:11,408
hospitals, and opportunities
in every in our regions.

395
00:37:11,479 --> 00:37:17,274
And to make the Europe of the citizens a
reality, we need a European budget up to

396
00:37:17,346 --> 00:37:22,139
the scale of our challenges. Not
with cuts that force us to choose.

397
00:37:22,211 --> 00:37:27,291
Because the question is not whether
we can afford to build this Europe.

398
00:37:27,362 --> 00:37:31,225
The question is how much it
will cost us not to do so.

399
00:37:31,297 --> 00:37:34,373
Let us not allow fear
to decide our future.

400
00:37:34,445 --> 00:37:39,095
In the face of those who are
building walls, let us build rights.

401
00:37:39,167 --> 00:37:43,245
In the face of those who
divide, let us build solidarity.

402
00:37:43,316 --> 00:37:49,326
And in the face of those who want a smaller
Europe, let us defend a stronger, fairer

403
00:37:49,397 --> 00:37:53,762
and more humane Europe. That is
the Europe our citizens need.

404
00:37:53,833 --> 00:37:57,768
That is and always will be
the raison d’être of Europe.

405
00:37:57,840 --> 00:37:59,040
Thank you.

406
00:37:59,215 --> 00:38:03,835
Thank you very much. Now for the
PFE Group, its co-chair, Kinga Gal.

407
00:38:07,255 --> 00:38:12,717
Madam President, Mr President. Seeing the
shocking images coming from France, we can

408
00:38:12,782 --> 00:38:16,033
rightly ask ourselves how
Europe has come to this.

409
00:38:16,098 --> 00:38:21,495
From Ceuta to the major cities of Western
Europe, we are seeing increasingly severe

410
00:38:21,560 --> 00:38:24,357
signs of a deepening
civilisational crisis.

411
00:38:24,422 --> 00:38:28,583
This is a direct consequence of
this misguided migration policy.

412
00:38:28,648 --> 00:38:31,834
A radical patriotic turn
is needed across Europe.

413
00:38:31,899 --> 00:38:37,101
To protect Europe’s external borders and
guarantee the security of its citizens.

414
00:38:37,166 --> 00:38:42,433
Just as it has not provided any substantive
response to the migration challenges,

415
00:38:42,498 --> 00:38:47,505
the most recent EU summit has also failed
to address the economic challenges.

416
00:38:47,570 --> 00:38:52,837
The high energy prices, the declining
standard of living, and the bleak prospects

417
00:38:52,902 --> 00:38:57,714
for businesses. Meanwhile, in the new
multiannual financial framework, the

418
00:38:57,779 --> 00:39:03,176
Commission is asking for even more money
for centralisation and would introduce new

419
00:39:03,241 --> 00:39:08,378
financial burdens, would send even more
money to Ukraine and extend ideological

420
00:39:08,443 --> 00:39:13,775
pressure on the Member States. Instead,
we patriots would like to preserve support

421
00:39:13,840 --> 00:39:19,172
for farmers and regions. Review the
regulations that are strangling businesses and

422
00:39:19,237 --> 00:39:24,439
finally restore Europe’s competitiveness.
On Friday, we Hungarians will mark the

423
00:39:24,504 --> 00:39:29,836
70th anniversary of the 1956 revolution.
are commemorating the 70th anniversary of

424
00:39:29,901 --> 00:39:33,933
the 1956 revolution. In 2007,
it was then shamefully the 50th.

425
00:39:33,998 --> 00:39:38,940
on the 50th anniversary, the then
left-wing government responded to peaceful

426
00:39:39,005 --> 00:39:41,736
commemorators with brutal police violence.

427
00:39:41,801 --> 00:39:47,198
This year, once again unworthy of the
anniversary, there are political prisoners in

428
00:39:47,263 --> 00:39:52,465
Hungary. Most recently, a former
undersecretary, a mother of three children, was

429
00:39:52,530 --> 00:39:56,041
imprisoned on absurd charges.
The aim is intimidation.

430
00:39:56,106 --> 00:40:01,308
Opposition politicians have been stripped
of their right to run in the elections

431
00:40:01,373 --> 00:40:06,315
retroactively. The servers of the largest
opposition party have been seized.

432
00:40:06,380 --> 00:40:11,127
In Hungary, an autocracy reminiscent
of the communist era is being built.

433
00:40:11,192 --> 00:40:16,524
Madam President, Mr President, it would
be good if you were all aware of this when

434
00:40:16,589 --> 00:40:18,475
you visit Budapest on Friday.

435
00:40:20,035 --> 00:40:23,515
Thank you, Ms. Gal. Now for the
ECR Group, Nikola Prokacini.

436
00:40:29,335 --> 00:40:34,416
Thank you, Mr President. President
von der Leyen, President Costa.

437
00:40:34,493 --> 00:40:40,960
It was a long and troubled European Council,
we know that some governments are still

438
00:40:41,037 --> 00:40:47,350
trapped in the ideological spell of the
Green Deal or in keeping the doors open to

439
00:40:47,427 --> 00:40:51,585
immigration. But we also
know that more are waking up.

440
00:40:51,662 --> 00:40:57,744
Europe is beginning to put right its own
mistakes, and it is doing so above all

441
00:40:57,821 --> 00:41:02,286
thanks to Giorgia Meloni’s
determination, let me say that.

442
00:41:02,363 --> 00:41:08,676
For too long, we have undermined the
competitiveness of our businesses, encouraged

443
00:41:08,753 --> 00:41:14,758
industrial delocalisation, and ended up
importing the very products we stopped

444
00:41:14,835 --> 00:41:21,302
producing in Europe. We have exported jobs
and imported CO2 emissions, a masterpiece

445
00:41:21,379 --> 00:41:26,999
of economic and environmental self-harm.
Finally, the need to address the

446
00:41:27,076 --> 00:41:31,079
distortions in the ETS
system is being acknowledged.

447
00:41:31,156 --> 00:41:35,083
It is a first step, but
obviously it is not enough.

448
00:41:35,160 --> 00:41:39,394
There has also been an
objective change on immigration:

449
00:41:39,471 --> 00:41:45,553
after years in which those who called
for defending the borders were accused of

450
00:41:45,630 --> 00:41:51,712
violating European values, almost everyone
today admits the need for new tools.

451
00:41:51,789 --> 00:41:58,179
Unfortunately, the violence in Milan, Paris
and Brussels tells us that the mistakes

452
00:41:58,256 --> 00:42:04,415
of yesterday are being paid for today.
Integration is not achieved by renouncing

453
00:42:04,492 --> 00:42:10,189
one's own cultural, religious and
value-based heritage, but by sharing it.

454
00:42:10,266 --> 00:42:16,118
Alas, we cannot turn back time, but let
us at least avoid repeating the same

455
00:42:16,195 --> 00:42:22,431
mistakes in the future. On the next European
budget, the conservatives have clear

456
00:42:22,508 --> 00:42:28,436
ideas. In Parliament and in the Council.
Defend agriculture, territories, the

457
00:42:28,513 --> 00:42:34,133
principle of subsidiarity that respects
and promotes the role of nations.

458
00:42:34,210 --> 00:42:38,983
This is the change that conservatives
want to bring to Europe.

459
00:42:39,060 --> 00:42:45,373
A Europe that does not confuse ideology
with ecology, bureaucracy with solidarity,

460
00:42:45,450 --> 00:42:51,840
or legal immigration with free movement.
A Europe that returns to producing instead

461
00:42:51,917 --> 00:42:57,691
of importing, to protecting instead of
prohibiting, to competing instead of

462
00:42:57,768 --> 00:42:58,968
regulating.

463
00:42:59,395 --> 00:43:04,948
Because the strength of Europe is not
measured by the power of its institutions, but

464
00:43:05,014 --> 00:43:07,195
by the prosperity of its peoples.

465
00:43:09,895 --> 00:43:11,515
Thank you, Honourable Procacini.

466
00:43:11,815 --> 00:43:15,080
Now for the Renew Europe
Group, its chair, Valérie Ayer.

467
00:43:15,139 --> 00:43:16,339
Three minutes.

468
00:43:21,355 --> 00:43:26,288
Thank you. Madam President, I would like
in turn to congratulate Manfred Weber on

469
00:43:26,349 --> 00:43:31,221
your re-election. We are entering a new
phase of this European Parliament, and I

470
00:43:31,282 --> 00:43:36,398
would like us to seize this momentum to
consolidate the pro-European majority in the

471
00:43:36,459 --> 00:43:39,748
interests of Europe and in
the interests of Europeans.

472
00:43:39,809 --> 00:43:44,620
Madam President, Mr President, this
weekend, thousands of Europeans took to the

473
00:43:44,681 --> 00:43:49,492
streets across Europe. I condemn, with
the utmost firmness, the acts of extreme

474
00:43:49,553 --> 00:43:52,842
violence committed on the
margins of these gatherings.

475
00:43:52,903 --> 00:43:57,532
The latest demonstration of the different
national realities, but one shared

476
00:43:57,593 --> 00:44:02,587
concern: the cost of living. Energy prices,
purchasing power, the fear of downward

477
00:44:02,648 --> 00:44:07,033
mobility, the fear of losing one’s
job. This is what concerns Europeans.

478
00:44:07,093 --> 00:44:09,956
And this is what must
collectively mobilise us.

479
00:44:10,017 --> 00:44:15,011
That is why I want to commend the orientations
taken by the European Council, dear

480
00:44:15,072 --> 00:44:18,604
Antonio, on competitiveness
and, in particular, on energy.

481
00:44:18,665 --> 00:44:21,345
We need a single market
that actually works.

482
00:44:21,406 --> 00:44:25,243
We need to mobilise European
savings to finance our businesses.

483
00:44:25,304 --> 00:44:28,349
We need to simplify, invest
and produce in Europe.

484
00:44:28,410 --> 00:44:31,516
And above all, we need to
bring down energy prices.

485
00:44:31,577 --> 00:44:36,632
Because behind this word 'competitiveness'
there are companies fighting to survive.

486
00:44:36,693 --> 00:44:41,565
There are jobs to preserve. There are
families who can no longer make ends meet.

487
00:44:41,626 --> 00:44:46,559
Dear colleagues, there is a second emergency
that has already been mentioned, and

488
00:44:46,620 --> 00:44:51,614
that is our security. For nearly five years
now, Ukrainians have been fighting for

489
00:44:51,675 --> 00:44:56,547
their freedom. And for nearly five years,
they have also been fighting for ours.

490
00:44:56,608 --> 00:44:59,958
Today, as American support
wanes, we must face reality.

491
00:45:00,019 --> 00:45:04,952
No one will defend Europe in our place.
What is at stake here is our sovereignty.

492
00:45:05,013 --> 00:45:09,885
And I do not want to allow Trump and Putin
to organise a new Yalta, where Europe

493
00:45:09,946 --> 00:45:14,209
would be carved up. a Russian sphere
of influence and an American one.

494
00:45:14,270 --> 00:45:18,655
We are the only ones today who can
durably guarantee Ukraine’s security.

495
00:45:18,715 --> 00:45:23,718
yes, and we must do it. Not only out of
solidarity, not only out of fidelity to our

496
00:45:23,778 --> 00:45:28,057
values, but because by protecting
Ukraine, we are protecting ourselves.

497
00:45:28,118 --> 00:45:32,879
And I want to say this to those in this
hemicycle who would like to abandon the

498
00:45:32,939 --> 00:45:37,822
Ukrainians to their fate. To the far right,
which refuses aid, contests sanctions

499
00:45:37,882 --> 00:45:42,583
and prefers to cosy up to Putin rather
than defend the sovereignty of European

500
00:45:42,643 --> 00:45:45,657
nations, you will have to
answer to the Europeans.

501
00:45:45,717 --> 00:45:50,479
For I repeat, if Ukraine falls, it is
our security that is directly threatened.

502
00:45:50,539 --> 00:45:54,578
And that means millions more refugees
seeking protection in Europe.

503
00:45:54,638 --> 00:45:58,013
A migration crisis of a scale
we have never seen before.

504
00:45:58,073 --> 00:46:01,208
These are the consequences
of your irresponsibility.

505
00:46:01,268 --> 00:46:05,788
Dear colleagues, we know our priorities:
protecting the purchasing power of

506
00:46:05,849 --> 00:46:09,284
Europeans, defending our jobs,
guaranteeing our security.

507
00:46:09,344 --> 00:46:12,840
But there is a contradiction
that we can no longer accept.

508
00:46:12,901 --> 00:46:16,035
And I am obviously coming
to the budgetary question.

509
00:46:16,095 --> 00:46:19,591
We cannot ask Europe to do
more with ever fewer resources.

510
00:46:19,651 --> 00:46:24,714
We cannot want a Europe that is more
competitive, more independent, more secure, and

511
00:46:24,774 --> 00:46:27,607
yet deny it the means to
achieve its ambitions.

512
00:46:27,667 --> 00:46:32,309
And dear colleagues, the next European
budget will be a fundamental political

513
00:46:32,369 --> 00:46:36,950
choice. If we want a Europe that protects,
then we must give it the means to

514
00:46:37,010 --> 00:46:38,210
protect. Thank you.

515
00:46:38,815 --> 00:46:40,015
Thank you, Ms Ayer.

516
00:46:41,155 --> 00:46:45,235
Now, on behalf of the Greens group,
its co-chair, Niko Stefanutsa.

517
00:46:51,175 --> 00:46:55,615
Madam President, Madam President,
Mr President, dear colleagues,

518
00:46:57,355 --> 00:47:02,590
you never know how strong you are until
being strong is really your only choice.

519
00:47:02,656 --> 00:47:08,087
It's not some great philosopher, it's just
Bob Marley who said that, but it applies

520
00:47:08,153 --> 00:47:13,453
to Europe. It applies to Europe. Because
we really live through the hardest times

521
00:47:13,519 --> 00:47:18,558
that I've witnessed in my life. And I
think we really need to step up to this

522
00:47:18,623 --> 00:47:22,092
challenge and defend these
proud colors. Defend them.

523
00:47:22,157 --> 00:47:27,458
And defend the citizens, because we live
through the worst of times in terms of a

524
00:47:27,523 --> 00:47:32,170
cost of living crisis. And a house
divided against itself cannot stand.

525
00:47:32,235 --> 00:47:36,096
We cannot have citizens who
have and citizens who have not.

526
00:47:36,161 --> 00:47:39,892
Because those citizens will
not feel part of the project.

527
00:47:39,957 --> 00:47:44,865
And I ask you to all stand together to
defend and fight for those citizens.

528
00:47:44,931 --> 00:47:49,708
Don't talk—let's not talk about
priorities without looking at the budget.

529
00:47:49,773 --> 00:47:54,158
It's President Biden who said that.
Don't tell me about priorities.

530
00:47:54,223 --> 00:47:59,655
Tell me about the budget. So the main point
of this is how can we have gone through

531
00:47:59,720 --> 00:48:05,021
the last exercise where we saw that the
moment we adopted the last budget, it was

532
00:48:05,086 --> 00:48:10,518
already short. 2019 found Bergamo and the
COVID deaths and we had to show our empty

533
00:48:10,583 --> 00:48:15,753
pockets. Let's not do it again. With the
energy crisis, with the cost of living

534
00:48:15,819 --> 00:48:20,989
crisis, with people having a housing
crisis in Madrid, with forest fires raging

535
00:48:21,054 --> 00:48:25,897
through France, we cannot tell people
that Europe cannot step up for them.

536
00:48:25,962 --> 00:48:31,066
So let's strengthen the budget right
now. I'm looking at you, President Costa.

537
00:48:31,132 --> 00:48:35,386
You need to step it up. And we
need to really defend this budget.

538
00:48:35,451 --> 00:48:39,247
And help Europe stay strong
in the face of so many crises.

539
00:48:39,312 --> 00:48:43,827
Climate action belongs to the
discussion, not just because I'm green.

540
00:48:43,893 --> 00:48:47,950
It belongs to the discussion
because it makes the costs lower.

541
00:48:48,016 --> 00:48:51,026
Because renewables have
become lower in price.

542
00:48:51,091 --> 00:48:54,298
Because people suffer
under the price of heating.

543
00:48:54,363 --> 00:48:57,243
And we need to give
them actionable results.

544
00:48:57,308 --> 00:49:02,740
And President von der Leyen, you came up
with the Green Deal as an economic vision.

545
00:49:02,805 --> 00:49:06,470
It's an economic vision.
Defend it. Let's all defend it.

546
00:49:06,535 --> 00:49:08,695
It's a proud achievement to have.

547
00:49:08,815 --> 00:49:14,122
It's nothing to be ashamed of. Let not be
bullied by some people in this Parliament.

548
00:49:14,185 --> 00:49:17,723
It's something we want. It's
something that makes sense.

549
00:49:17,786 --> 00:49:22,651
It's something we need to fight for. On
the own resources, we fight for them.

550
00:49:22,714 --> 00:49:25,746
I think it's time that
Europe has own resources.

551
00:49:25,809 --> 00:49:29,095
Let's make the digital
giants pair their fair share.

552
00:49:29,158 --> 00:49:31,811
They are playing with our digital markets.

553
00:49:31,874 --> 00:49:36,297
They are making our voters go awry.
Let them make—let's make them pay.

554
00:49:36,360 --> 00:49:40,403
And also the super polluters who
make profits like never before.

555
00:49:40,466 --> 00:49:43,499
They should pair—pay their
own share for Europe.

556
00:49:43,562 --> 00:49:47,352
And then that's Russia. War is
looming. I come from Romania.

557
00:49:47,416 --> 00:49:50,574
People of Romania, of
Bulgaria, they're desperate.

558
00:49:50,638 --> 00:49:54,428
There's drones hitting apartment
blocks. Let's not be fools.

559
00:49:54,491 --> 00:49:57,776
This is a real and grave
danger. Let's stand united.

560
00:49:57,840 --> 00:50:02,578
This might be a historic moment where
Europe really needs to see us united.

561
00:50:02,641 --> 00:50:03,841
And I'm going to—

562
00:50:03,895 --> 00:50:04,255
Thank you.

563
00:50:04,255 --> 00:50:09,252
—finish saying that Europe is a matter
of elected affinities, like Goethe said.

564
00:50:09,315 --> 00:50:13,490
We are here because we chose to.
Let's be here because we want to.

565
00:50:13,553 --> 00:50:14,755
Because we need to.

566
00:50:15,415 --> 00:50:19,458
Thank you very much, Mr. Stefanutsa. Now
for the left group, its co-chair, Martin

567
00:50:19,508 --> 00:50:21,355
Schilderwand. One and a half minutes.

568
00:50:27,715 --> 00:50:30,415
Thank you, Madam President. Niko,

569
00:50:30,655 --> 00:50:31,435
get up, stand up.

570
00:50:31,435 --> 00:50:36,546
At the moment, Bob Marley’s probably got
the better title to describe the situation

571
00:50:36,607 --> 00:50:41,595
in Europe. Hundreds of thousands are
currently taking to the streets in a wave of

572
00:50:41,656 --> 00:50:45,412
social protest, and we hear not
a word from Ms von der Leyen.

573
00:50:45,474 --> 00:50:50,461
We also hear no word from Mr Costa on the
fact that in France, Belgium, Italy and

574
00:50:50,523 --> 00:50:55,449
Portugal people are angry because energy,
fuel, rents and food are becoming ever

575
00:50:55,510 --> 00:51:00,621
more expensive. Pupils and students are
taking to the streets across Europe because

576
00:51:00,683 --> 00:51:05,547
your policies are letting their schools
fall apart and destroying their future.

577
00:51:05,609 --> 00:51:09,919
In Albania, people are demonstrating
against their corrupt government.

578
00:51:09,980 --> 00:51:14,722
In Spain, there will be a general strike
on 11 November for affordable rents.

579
00:51:14,783 --> 00:51:19,771
And on 20 November, Italy will enter a
general strike for better wages and a good

580
00:51:19,832 --> 00:51:25,004
life for all. The cost-of-living crisis has
Europe firmly in its grip, and we on the

581
00:51:25,066 --> 00:51:30,054
Left stand alongside those who are resolutely
and peacefully taking their protest

582
00:51:30,115 --> 00:51:33,933
and their anger at the unjust
conditions out onto the streets.

583
00:51:33,994 --> 00:51:39,105
are carrying. It is a conflict between the
working population, the families and the

584
00:51:39,166 --> 00:51:44,216
youth of our countries and the profiteers
of a failing system, the exploitation of

585
00:51:44,277 --> 00:51:49,080
people and nature. And we will not leave
the people to their justified protest

586
00:51:49,141 --> 00:51:54,252
alone; their demands for an affordable life
and a good future are also our demands,

587
00:51:54,314 --> 00:51:59,301
despite all attempts at distraction and
the efforts of the far right to undermine

588
00:51:59,363 --> 00:52:03,119
these social issues. to politicise
conflicts in a racist way.

589
00:52:03,180 --> 00:52:07,798
Federal Chancellor Merz continues to
rely on cuts in social spending out of

590
00:52:07,860 --> 00:52:11,247
arrogance. This policy is
the real danger to democracy.

591
00:52:11,308 --> 00:52:16,173
And in order to distract from his failure,
he is now pointing the finger at the

592
00:52:16,234 --> 00:52:21,222
Left: this is just absurd. But it shows
how much fear he has that we are actually

593
00:52:21,283 --> 00:52:26,209
making policy for and with the people.
After the neoliberals have smashed social

594
00:52:26,271 --> 00:52:31,135
security, health care and pensions to
smithereens and privatised them, now even

595
00:52:31,255 --> 00:52:34,966
further cuts to social funds and
universities in the EU budget.

596
00:52:35,025 --> 00:52:39,856
And when it comes to their gifts to the
financial markets, Merz, Macron and Meloni

597
00:52:39,915 --> 00:52:44,510
are in agreement, as always: the banks,
insurance companies and BlackRock, the

598
00:52:44,569 --> 00:52:49,341
former employer of Chancellor Merz, will
be pleased, but they do not even want to

599
00:52:49,400 --> 00:52:52,109
solve the everyday
concerns of the population.

600
00:52:52,168 --> 00:52:54,937
You are governing over
the heads of the people.

601
00:52:54,996 --> 00:52:59,945
Mr President Costa, we urgently need a
special summit to end the social emergency in

602
00:53:00,004 --> 00:53:04,304
Europe. Mobilise all your strength so
that life becomes affordable again.

603
00:53:04,363 --> 00:53:06,955
Otherwise, European
democracy will collapse.

604
00:53:07,555 --> 00:53:08,755
Thank you very much.

605
00:53:09,775 --> 00:53:13,744
Danke schön. Now for the ESN
Group, Milan Ulrich, one minute.

606
00:53:13,809 --> 00:53:15,009
Go ahead.

607
00:53:15,835 --> 00:53:20,445
Ms Lenová, don't run away. Ms Lenová,
you should be ashamed for wanting to rob

608
00:53:20,504 --> 00:53:24,346
Europeans of another 70 billion
euros together with Mr Zelenskyy.

609
00:53:24,405 --> 00:53:29,134
You want to take tens of billions of euros
from working citizens of the European

610
00:53:29,193 --> 00:53:34,039
Union, who are growing ever poorer, in
order to finance a war that does not have a

611
00:53:34,098 --> 00:53:38,827
military solution anyway. And that is
exactly what you are doing at a time when,

612
00:53:38,886 --> 00:53:43,673
across the entire continent, hundreds of
thousands, millions of decent people are

613
00:53:43,732 --> 00:53:48,638
protesting against the fact that life in
Europe is becoming increasingly expensive,

614
00:53:48,697 --> 00:53:53,425
that this inflation is simply endless.
You are doing this at a time when, across

615
00:53:53,485 --> 00:53:58,331
European cities, these left-wing extremists,
together with the immigrants that you

616
00:53:58,390 --> 00:54:02,882
brought into Europe, are destroying and
setting fire to our European cities.

617
00:54:02,941 --> 00:54:06,310
Wake up to reality. Please
start listening to the people.

618
00:54:06,369 --> 00:54:11,334
Stop funding nonsense. Why don’t you help
young people with housing or families with

619
00:54:11,393 --> 00:54:16,358
rising costs? Businesses with energy? If
you can’t or won’t do that, then say so and

620
00:54:16,417 --> 00:54:19,195
leave, and let us handle
it. We will help them.

621
00:54:22,315 --> 00:54:25,043
Thank you. Now I give the
floor to Andrzej Halicki.

622
00:54:25,097 --> 00:54:26,755
One and a half minutes, please.

623
00:54:28,675 --> 00:54:33,166
Dear colleagues, yes, there can
be no agreement to a second Yalta.

624
00:54:33,234 --> 00:54:38,882
It is Russia that is the aggressor; it must
be punished, which is why sanctions are

625
00:54:38,950 --> 00:54:43,849
essential. And here, beyond divisions,
full support for the decisions of

626
00:54:43,917 --> 00:54:48,136
governments, so unanimous and
so strongly expressed last week.

627
00:54:48,204 --> 00:54:53,716
Donald Trump has responded. Ukraine will
receive support, military and financial,

628
00:54:53,784 --> 00:54:59,363
because it is the victim of this aggression,
and we will not allow it to lose this

629
00:54:59,432 --> 00:55:02,834
war. This is also a matter
of our future security.

630
00:55:02,902 --> 00:55:08,413
But if we are talking about key issues
for the future, negotiations on the budget

631
00:55:08,482 --> 00:55:13,925
are certainly one of them. And the budget
must be offensive, because that is the

632
00:55:13,993 --> 00:55:19,573
task before us. A difficult future ahead,
so more money is needed, not savings and

633
00:55:19,641 --> 00:55:25,153
cuts. This is obvious. So the appeal from
Parliament – I think it is obvious – is

634
00:55:25,221 --> 00:55:30,664
that we must build consensus in favour
of an offensive budget for the next seven

635
00:55:30,732 --> 00:55:36,380
years. And very important are the provisions
and conclusions of the Council, points

636
00:55:36,448 --> 00:55:40,531
8 and 11, which concern citizens
and their greatest concern.

637
00:55:40,599 --> 00:55:43,865
We have a fuel crisis,
energy prices are rising.

638
00:55:43,933 --> 00:55:46,791
And this concerns the revision of the ETS.

639
00:55:46,859 --> 00:55:50,057
Point 8 and point 11.
Why am I mentioning this?

640
00:55:50,125 --> 00:55:53,664
Because there is a great
expectation among citizens.

641
00:55:53,732 --> 00:55:58,835
A deeper revision of the ETS, the system
as it currently functions, and not

642
00:55:58,903 --> 00:56:03,734
introducing additional costs that
already affect individual households.

643
00:56:03,802 --> 00:56:06,728
Heating, home heating,
fuel prices, energy.

644
00:56:06,796 --> 00:56:10,675
ETS-2 should either be rejected
or postponed beyond 2030.

645
00:56:10,855 --> 00:56:15,355
Thank you, Mr. Halicki. Now I give the
floor to Jean-Marc Gemma, one minute.

646
00:56:17,335 --> 00:56:22,594
Madam President, Mr President, I have only
one word on the Irish Presidency's budget

647
00:56:22,657 --> 00:56:27,854
proposal, which was discussed at the last
European Council, following two months of

648
00:56:27,916 --> 00:56:32,549
negotiations to reach this point. How,
in the face of young people who are

649
00:56:32,612 --> 00:56:37,183
demonstrating, in the face of an
industry that is collapsing, can we say:

650
00:56:37,245 --> 00:56:42,254
'Oh yes, let's sacrifice the European
social fund' and at the same time the Just

651
00:56:42,317 --> 00:56:47,200
Transition Fund? How can we watch the
price of hydrocarbons soar and then say:

652
00:56:47,263 --> 00:56:50,894
'Oh yes, let's reduce the
funding for renewable energies'?

653
00:56:50,957 --> 00:56:55,277
How, faced with Trump’s umpteenth
abandonment of Ukraine, can we say:

654
00:56:55,340 --> 00:57:00,411
‘Oh yes, let’s give up on truly investing
in our defence and in our sovereignty’?

655
00:57:00,474 --> 00:57:05,671
And how can they dare to appear before us
empty-handed on their own resources, when

656
00:57:05,733 --> 00:57:10,993
the commitment was made in 2020 to do
everything possible to achieve this by 2025 at

657
00:57:11,055 --> 00:57:14,749
the latest? And what are the
key elements of any agreement?

658
00:57:14,812 --> 00:57:19,883
So I will say this clearly: less budget
means less Europe, and less Europe for us

659
00:57:19,946 --> 00:57:23,703
means no. Do not count on our
consent for such a compromise.

660
00:57:23,765 --> 00:57:28,586
And Mr President, take the draft back
to square one, take up the Parliament’s

661
00:57:28,649 --> 00:57:32,155
proposals and come back to
us with a meaningful project.

662
00:57:32,575 --> 00:57:32,815
Thank you.

663
00:57:32,815 --> 00:57:34,075
I thank you on behalf of Europeans.

664
00:57:34,915 --> 00:57:38,155
Thank you. Now I give the floor to
Jorge Buxa de Vilalba, one minute.

665
00:57:40,075 --> 00:57:44,753
Europe is losing competitiveness because
the Union has created a bureaucracy of tons

666
00:57:44,809 --> 00:57:47,649
of paperwork that criminalises
work and production.

667
00:57:47,705 --> 00:57:51,938
In France, the islamo-left and anti-fascist
terrorism have imposed violence,

668
00:57:51,994 --> 00:57:56,338
barbarism, and the frenzy of the Taliban.
In just a few days, no less than 1.2

669
00:57:56,393 --> 00:58:00,960
billion euros in losses. Faced with the
invasion of Ceuta, the Council has limited

670
00:58:01,016 --> 00:58:05,360
itself to showing its solidarity with
the sudden massive influx of immigrants.

671
00:58:05,416 --> 00:58:09,259
Sudden? Orchestrated, programmed,
planned and known by Pedro Sánchez.

672
00:58:09,314 --> 00:58:13,937
And here the European People’s Party is
aligning itself with the left to delay that

673
00:58:13,993 --> 00:58:18,448
special commission on Ceuta. Sánchez is
alone, and that makes him more dangerous

674
00:58:18,504 --> 00:58:23,182
than ever. He goes to the Council knowing
that neither the Italians, nor the Czechs,

675
00:58:23,238 --> 00:58:27,916
nor the Portuguese will vote for him. But
yes, thousands of foreigners who have been

676
00:58:27,972 --> 00:58:30,868
naturalised through fraud
and through the back door.

677
00:58:30,924 --> 00:58:35,157
He shows the immigrants the solidarity
he has not had with those from Ceuta,

678
00:58:35,212 --> 00:58:37,774
Valencia, La Palma or
Adamuz. But it is early;

679
00:58:37,830 --> 00:58:42,453
I hope that by now they no longer have you
on the Council, and that Spain opens the

680
00:58:42,508 --> 00:58:46,184
way to freedom, national priority,
deregulation and re-emigration.

681
00:58:46,240 --> 00:58:50,862
Without any consideration. Anyone who comes
here to steal or to destroy can just go

682
00:58:50,918 --> 00:58:51,775
back home.

683
00:58:51,775 --> 00:58:56,035
Thank you. Thank you very much. Now I give
the floor to Patrick Iaki, two minutes.

684
00:59:05,035 --> 00:59:11,649
Thank you so much, President. President,
Commissioner, we must begin with the most

685
00:59:11,730 --> 00:59:18,344
important item of the agenda: sec urity.
You can see the product of your policy in

686
00:59:18,425 --> 00:59:24,877
France. When I on the one side saw people
crying on the street because they lost

687
00:59:24,958 --> 00:59:31,492
everything, te achers and police officers
being humiliated, cities and historical

688
00:59:31,572 --> 00:59:35,686
land marks burning, crime
rapes and helpless state.

689
00:59:35,767 --> 00:59:42,220
And on the other side, no one is responsible
for this, but someone brought those

690
00:59:42,300 --> 00:59:48,592
migr ants here. Someone gave them generous
benefits from our taxes and someone

691
00:59:48,672 --> 00:59:53,593
suppressed people who predict
that exactly this would happen.

692
00:59:53,673 --> 00:59:59,965
You call them fascist, you accused of
hate speech, but yet there were ordinary

693
01:00:00,045 --> 01:00:06,418
people defending traditional order who
in fact were the victims of hate speech.

694
01:00:06,498 --> 01:00:12,790
It was the hate of elites, detached from
reality, who while living in rich gay

695
01:00:12,871 --> 01:00:17,629
communities lec ture others
how to integrate with migrants.

696
01:00:17,710 --> 01:00:24,244
Many people think that this is only a
problem of migration, but this is not true.

697
01:00:24,324 --> 01:00:30,858
This is much bigger problem. For decades
we have been seen destruction of western

698
01:00:30,938 --> 01:00:37,311
culture and Christian ity. And now you
are surprised that people on the streets

699
01:00:37,391 --> 01:00:43,602
cannot tell right from wrong. Can you
imagine young people who were taught to

700
01:00:43,683 --> 01:00:50,378
respect Europe western culture and heritage,
and after that he will go and burn it?

701
01:00:50,458 --> 01:00:56,669
You were ashamed of western culture and
now we can see result of this policy.

702
01:00:56,750 --> 01:01:01,267
You have replaced law and
order with chaos and nihilism.

703
01:01:01,348 --> 01:01:08,123
And we want God, we want churches, we want
to restore western culture and kicked out

704
01:01:08,204 --> 01:01:13,447
Mar xism. And it's up to you.
Which will be the symbol of Europe?

705
01:01:13,527 --> 01:01:16,915
Magnificent cathedrals or masked migrants?

706
01:01:17,095 --> 01:01:21,715
Thank you very much. I give the floor
now to Billy Kelleher, one minute.

707
01:01:23,875 --> 01:01:28,651
Conclusions five and six outline the
issues that were raised in the Council with

708
01:01:28,711 --> 01:01:32,651
regard to gold plating and the
recordly challenges that are there.

709
01:01:32,710 --> 01:01:37,606
And there's one area that we really have
to address, and that is the issue that is

710
01:01:37,665 --> 01:01:42,203
putting delays on infrastructural
development, roads, wastewater, the energy

711
01:01:42,262 --> 01:01:46,859
systems, which are all compiling huge
costs on housing itself, Commission er.

712
01:01:46,919 --> 01:01:51,456
And if we don't address this issue, we
are really going to fracture society.

713
01:01:51,516 --> 01:01:56,530
So I would really urge that in the context
of the environmental laws that there will

714
01:01:56,590 --> 01:02:01,247
be a deep dive done to see what areas
are causing difficulties in terms of the

715
01:02:01,306 --> 01:02:05,903
rollout of infrastructure which, as I
said, is delaying housing developments.

716
01:02:05,963 --> 01:02:10,798
On the issue of MFF, obviously the Irish
presidency published its proposals but I

717
01:02:10,858 --> 01:02:15,694
would suggest that a lot of people in this
house will go back to their capitalist

718
01:02:15,753 --> 01:02:20,708
themselves and request that member stat es
would open the purse strings so that the

719
01:02:20,768 --> 01:02:25,723
European Union will have the capacity to
do the many things that have been outlined

720
01:02:25,783 --> 01:02:30,738
in these Council proposals. So I would urge
that the MFF would be expanded but most

721
01:02:30,798 --> 01:02:35,275
importantly that member stat es would
propose that to their own government.

722
01:02:35,575 --> 01:02:39,355
Thank you very much. Mr. Kelleher,
now Rasmus Nordqvist, one minute.

723
01:02:41,035 --> 01:02:45,754
Thank you, President. Another
meeting and another negotiation box.

724
01:02:45,825 --> 01:02:49,972
Some want it smaller and some
just want business as usual.

725
01:02:50,043 --> 01:02:54,190
At least that's what we hear
coming out from your meeting.

726
01:02:54,261 --> 01:03:00,267
And so we're still left with the impression
that this is not a talk about a European

727
01:03:00,339 --> 01:03:05,558
long-term budget but about 27 national
priorities trying to fit in to one

728
01:03:05,629 --> 01:03:11,420
negotiation box. But the long-term budget
is not just about juggling of billions.

729
01:03:11,492 --> 01:03:17,497
If we cut it actually have consequences.
While democracy rule of law and civic space

730
01:03:17,569 --> 01:03:22,645
are under attack , the Council cut
funding for the Agora and Global EU.

731
01:03:22,716 --> 01:03:28,650
While there's war and aggression we cut
common investment in security and after the

732
01:03:28,722 --> 01:03:32,940
summer of heat wave we are
cutting in the green transition.

733
01:03:33,011 --> 01:03:37,373
The negotiation box are not
going to make problems disappear.

734
01:03:37,444 --> 01:03:42,949
It only going to make the necessarily
investments more expensive in 27 member

735
01:03:43,021 --> 01:03:48,669
states. So dear Council, let's build a
truly European budget one that serve our

736
01:03:48,740 --> 01:03:52,315
common priorities and not
just 27 ones. Thank you.

737
01:03:52,735 --> 01:03:56,155
Thank you, Mr. Nordqvist. And
now João Oliveira, one minute.

738
01:03:59,935 --> 01:04:04,425
Thank you, Mr President. Mr António Costa,
27 prime ministers and heads of State

739
01:04:04,481 --> 01:04:09,026
entered a room accompanied by you and by
Ms Ursula von der Leyen for a meeting of

740
01:04:09,083 --> 01:04:13,404
the European Council. 14 hours after
the meeting had begun, they announce the

741
01:04:13,460 --> 01:04:18,118
conclusions. There is no measure to halt
the rise in the cost of living, to control

742
01:04:18,174 --> 01:04:22,664
prices, or to address the accumulation
of profits by multinationals and economic

743
01:04:22,720 --> 01:04:26,760
groups. There is no proposal to promote
increases in wages and pensions.

744
01:04:26,817 --> 01:04:31,082
There is not a single measure to guarantee
the right to housing or access to

745
01:04:31,138 --> 01:04:35,740
healthcare. There is not a single political
or diplomatic initiative to put an end

746
01:04:35,796 --> 01:04:40,173
to the war in Ukraine, to build the peace
and collective security that all the

747
01:04:40,229 --> 01:04:44,887
peoples of Europe need. The only thing they
are announcing about this is more money

748
01:04:44,943 --> 01:04:47,581
to continue the war and
widen the battlefronts.

749
01:04:47,637 --> 01:04:52,239
There is not a single word about a budget
that meets the needs of the peoples, and

750
01:04:52,295 --> 01:04:56,336
the prospect of a multiannual financial
framework geared towards this is

751
01:04:56,392 --> 01:05:01,050
increasingly a mirage in the face of the
harsh reality of the vertigo of militarism

752
01:05:01,106 --> 01:05:05,764
and war. Mr Costa, for the European Union
to face up to the multinationals, it must

753
01:05:05,820 --> 01:05:10,197
turn its back on the peoples. Don’t be
surprised afterwards if people fill the

754
01:05:10,253 --> 01:05:12,835
streets and squares
fighting for their rights.

755
01:05:13,015 --> 01:05:15,909
Thank you very much. Mr. Oliveira,
would you accept a blue card from Mr.

756
01:05:15,950 --> 01:05:17,150
Madison? Go ahead, Jacques.

757
01:05:21,535 --> 01:05:26,375
Yes, sure. Thank you. You criticised the
fact that 40 hours of debate have not

758
01:05:26,438 --> 01:05:30,906
produced a result among the 27 Member
States of the European Commission.

759
01:05:30,968 --> 01:05:36,180
Good. If you were a representative of a
Member State at the European Council, do you

760
01:05:36,243 --> 01:05:41,207
think you could have come up with solutions
to the problems you raised within 40

761
01:05:41,269 --> 01:05:44,000
hours that all Member
States would agree on?

762
01:05:44,062 --> 01:05:48,158
Because, as I just heard, you
criticise war and the arms industry.

763
01:05:48,220 --> 01:05:52,998
As the representative of Portugal, could
you propose a reasonable solution to

764
01:05:53,060 --> 01:05:54,260
defence concerns?

765
01:05:54,295 --> 01:05:54,895
Thank you, Mr. Madison.

766
01:05:54,895 --> 01:05:57,147
Let's calm down Estonia,
Finland, Sweden and others.

767
01:05:57,190 --> 01:05:59,875
Are you really capable of that
or are you just going to whine?

768
01:05:59,995 --> 01:06:01,675
Thank you, Mr. Oliveira. You can respond.

769
01:06:06,715 --> 01:06:10,961
Thank you for your question, Mr Deputy.
You know that the problem is not the time

770
01:06:11,013 --> 01:06:15,154
these meetings take, because the European
Council could be meeting for two, two

771
01:06:15,206 --> 01:06:19,609
weekends, a month in a row, with the political
guidance these meetings have, nothing

772
01:06:19,661 --> 01:06:23,225
that would resolve the problems of
the peoples would come out of it.

773
01:06:23,278 --> 01:06:27,523
Because that is the issue. Naturally,
governments represent the Member States and

774
01:06:27,576 --> 01:06:31,821
should have brought those meetings to a
discussion on the real problems affecting

775
01:06:31,874 --> 01:06:34,285
people's lives. None of
this was on the table.

776
01:06:34,337 --> 01:06:37,692
The issue of the cost of living
and housing is truly scandalous.

777
01:06:37,744 --> 01:06:42,147
With the living conditions people are facing,
not a word, not a minute was wasted in

778
01:06:42,199 --> 01:06:46,602
that meeting to find a solution to this.
Mr Deputy, solutions exist and alternatives

779
01:06:46,654 --> 01:06:47,854
too. It is necessary.

780
01:06:48,055 --> 01:06:48,775
Thank you very much.

781
01:06:48,775 --> 01:06:50,755
May they be directed towards
them and not towards those.

782
01:06:51,535 --> 01:06:56,155
Thank you. That's good. Close
this. Roberto Vannozzi, one minute.

783
01:06:56,575 --> 01:06:57,775
Thank you, President.

784
01:07:00,175 --> 01:07:02,395
OMIDAT is another 70 billion.

785
01:07:03,895 --> 01:07:07,447
I am being invaded by 20
million Ukrainian citizens.

786
01:07:07,516 --> 01:07:12,845
This is the new frontier of Zelensky:
from fighting to defend your families to

787
01:07:12,913 --> 01:07:18,173
blackmail using his own citizens. He
must have learned from Erdogan, the same

788
01:07:18,242 --> 01:07:23,844
Erdogan to whom the European Commission
continues to pay a billion euros a year to

789
01:07:23,912 --> 01:07:29,445
keep the refugee taps closed. And who
cares if his troops invaded Cyprus in 1974?

790
01:07:29,514 --> 01:07:34,364
And what is President von der Leyen
doing while she has meanwhile left?

791
01:07:34,433 --> 01:07:40,171
It is calling for an increase in the European
budget, threatening cuts to the Common

792
01:07:40,240 --> 01:07:44,953
Agricultural Policy, in order to
continue funding a never-ending war.

793
01:07:45,022 --> 01:07:50,760
Meanwhile, European families cannot make
ends meet, businesses are closing down, and

794
01:07:50,829 --> 01:07:54,245
the cost of energy has now
surpassed that of gold.

795
01:07:54,313 --> 01:07:57,250
But money is always
found to finance a war;

796
01:07:57,319 --> 01:08:02,921
however, to achieve that ugly peace which
is certainly better than the ugly war we

797
01:08:02,989 --> 01:08:05,995
are financing, there
is even a lack of will.

798
01:08:06,475 --> 01:08:07,675
Thank you.

799
01:08:07,795 --> 01:08:10,203
Now I give the floor to
Monica Beniova, one minute.

800
01:08:10,250 --> 01:08:11,450
Go ahead.

801
01:08:13,315 --> 01:08:17,761
Thank you very much. Colleagues, the
October conclusions of the European Council

802
01:08:17,817 --> 01:08:21,096
read like a list of problems
we have known about for years:

803
01:08:21,152 --> 01:08:25,654
expensive energy, declining competitiveness,
threatened jobs, and an unmanageable

804
01:08:25,710 --> 01:08:30,378
migration policy. So I ask, where is, for
example, an effective price cap to protect

805
01:08:30,434 --> 01:08:34,769
European industry? Where is the extraordinary
taxation of excessive profits of

806
01:08:34,825 --> 01:08:37,993
energy giants? Because these
would be concrete solutions.

807
01:08:38,049 --> 01:08:42,050
I appreciate the initiative of Slovakia,
the Visegrád Group and Italy on

808
01:08:42,106 --> 01:08:46,608
re-evaluating ETS2. After five years of
discussions about expensive energy, we no

809
01:08:46,664 --> 01:08:49,776
longer need more promises or
further impact assessments.

810
01:08:49,832 --> 01:08:54,223
We need concrete solutions that will
reduce costs for our citizens and save the

811
01:08:54,278 --> 01:08:58,780
competitiveness of European industry.
Since Ms von der Leyen did not find even an

812
01:08:58,836 --> 01:09:03,338
hour to discuss this issue with us, I ask
you, Commissioner, can you tell us what

813
01:09:03,394 --> 01:09:06,895
the European solutions are? Where
is the promised deregulation?

814
01:09:06,951 --> 01:09:11,231
Where is the concrete proposal for
reducing energy prices, which we have been

815
01:09:11,286 --> 01:09:15,566
waiting for since February? Where has
European diplomacy been at key moments?

816
01:09:15,622 --> 01:09:20,012
And where in the Commission's proposals
do citizens remain, and their worsening

817
01:09:20,068 --> 01:09:24,459
economic and social situation? You cannot
see this in France, Italy, Belgium or

818
01:09:24,515 --> 01:09:29,128
Spain, do you not see that Europe is burning
because of the way you are running it?

819
01:09:29,183 --> 01:09:30,383
Thank you very much.

820
01:09:30,535 --> 01:09:33,807
Thank you very much. Now I give the
floor to Sigfrid Muresan, one and a half

821
01:09:33,851 --> 01:09:35,051
minutes.

822
01:09:35,095 --> 01:09:37,900
Thank you very much, Madam
President, President Costa.

823
01:09:37,951 --> 01:09:40,444
Welcome back to the
Parliament, dear colleagues.

824
01:09:40,496 --> 01:09:44,028
Look, the European Council tells
us that we shall invest more in our

825
01:09:44,080 --> 01:09:47,975
competitiveness, that security, defense
are prior ities, and that we should

826
01:09:48,027 --> 01:09:50,572
accelerate the enlargement
of the European Union.

827
01:09:50,624 --> 01:09:54,155
But while the European Council is
telling us that security, defense,

828
01:09:54,207 --> 01:09:58,466
competitiveness, and enlargement are
important, the Ir ish Presidency is proposing

829
01:09:58,518 --> 01:10:00,803
to reduce the budget
in exactly these areas.

830
01:10:00,855 --> 01:10:05,010
Cutting the budget for our competitiveness
by more than 10 percent is a mistake.

831
01:10:05,062 --> 01:10:09,269
Reducing funding to our immediate neighboring
countries by almost 20 percent is a

832
01:10:09,321 --> 01:10:12,697
mistake. This will weaken Europe,
it would not strengthen Europe.

833
01:10:12,749 --> 01:10:17,059
This is why, President Costa, there is a
lot of work ahead of us, and we're looking

834
01:10:17,111 --> 01:10:21,370
forward, as a European Parliament, to
working closely together with you to deliver

835
01:10:21,422 --> 01:10:25,681
for the next seven years a budget which
is in line with the priorities that we are

836
01:10:25,733 --> 01:10:29,991
defining for ourselves. If we say that
something is important, we need to allocate

837
01:10:30,043 --> 01:10:34,354
the resources. In that area, cutting the
very priorities that the Council claims to

838
01:10:34,406 --> 01:10:38,768
support is not consistent. This would weaken
Europe, it would create disappointment,

839
01:10:38,820 --> 01:10:43,131
it would increase populism. This is why,
for us as a European Parliament, the Irish

840
01:10:43,183 --> 01:10:47,494
negotiating box is not a basis for
negotiations, it is not a basis for, it is not a

841
01:10:47,546 --> 01:10:51,908
basis for consent. To have enough resources
to invest, we will need to work together

842
01:10:51,960 --> 01:10:56,063
with you, President Costa, to generate
own sources of revenues for the European

843
01:10:56,115 --> 01:10:59,283
Union. We as a Parliament, we
have an idea that digital levy.

844
01:10:59,335 --> 01:11:03,698
We propose that the large global technological
corporations contribu te a bit to the

845
01:11:03,750 --> 01:11:06,866
access, for the access to the
single market which they have.

846
01:11:06,918 --> 01:11:11,280
We would not be able to explain to our
citizens why we reduce funding to farmers, to

847
01:11:11,332 --> 01:11:15,539
security, to research, why Elon Musk and
Mark Zuckerberg enjoy free access to the

848
01:11:15,591 --> 01:11:18,707
European single market. This
is where the Parliament stands.

849
01:11:18,759 --> 01:11:22,135
We're looking forward to working
with Council in the next months.

850
01:11:22,195 --> 01:11:22,855
Thank you very much.

851
01:11:22,855 --> 01:11:26,332
Thank you very much. Mr. Muresan,
will you take a blue card?

852
01:11:26,390 --> 01:11:27,955
For Mr. Grazulis, go ahead.

853
01:11:28,135 --> 01:11:28,855
With pleasure.

854
01:11:28,855 --> 01:11:30,055
Quickly.

855
01:11:36,715 --> 01:11:41,703
Honourable rapporteur, you are one of
the representatives of one of the largest

856
01:11:41,766 --> 01:11:46,564
governing parliamentary parties. You
are talking about reducing bureaucracy.

857
01:11:46,627 --> 01:11:51,741
But there is no result. Do you not think
that if we were to fundamentally address

858
01:11:51,804 --> 01:11:55,088
this issue, we need to
abolish the European Council?

859
01:11:55,151 --> 01:12:00,138
After all, the European Commission and
Parliament represent the citizens of the

860
01:12:00,202 --> 01:12:05,316
European Union. We are directly elected,
whereas the European Council members are

861
01:12:05,379 --> 01:12:10,051
merely appointed. I would suggest
resolutely reducing this bureaucracy and

862
01:12:10,114 --> 01:12:12,955
abandoning this European
Council institution.

863
01:12:13,255 --> 01:12:15,235
Thank you. Thank you.
Go ahead, Mr. Muresan.

864
01:12:17,035 --> 01:12:20,758
Our solution is to cut red tape and reduce
bureaucracy in a way in which it benefits

865
01:12:20,803 --> 01:12:24,393
the citizens of Europe, the farmers, the
ent erprises, the small and medium-sized

866
01:12:24,437 --> 01:12:27,894
enterprises. We have, of course, the
highest respect for the European Council.

867
01:12:27,939 --> 01:12:31,485
We're looking forward to working with the
European Council, with the Commission,

868
01:12:31,529 --> 01:12:35,164
with Council, with all institutions, to
deliver on what the citizens expect in the

869
01:12:35,208 --> 01:12:36,715
next month s. Thank you very much.

870
01:12:37,315 --> 01:12:40,315
Thank you, Mr. Muresan. Now,
Carla Tavares, one minute.

871
01:12:44,575 --> 01:12:49,253
Madam President, Mr President, dear
colleagues, if we want a Europe that is a

872
01:12:49,314 --> 01:12:54,357
geopolitical power capable of defending
its values and, as the strong and respected

873
01:12:54,418 --> 01:12:59,339
voice in an increasingly unstable world,
the proposal presented to leaders at the

874
01:12:59,400 --> 01:13:01,952
European Council is not what Europe needs.

875
01:13:02,013 --> 01:13:07,117
We reject the cut to the financial framework
proposed by the Irish Presidency, €16.1

876
01:13:07,177 --> 01:13:12,099
billion less; that is, a 10% real terms
reduction compared to the current budget.

877
01:13:12,160 --> 01:13:17,263
Europe is not alone in the world, and our
partners expect the Union to lead, and the

878
01:13:17,324 --> 01:13:21,942
answer is more Europe, not less Europe.
A Europe that is present, capable of

879
01:13:22,002 --> 01:13:26,377
building partnerships, supporting
development, fulfilling commitments to

880
01:13:26,438 --> 01:13:31,299
humanitarian aid, defending peace and
human rights, committed to enlargement and

881
01:13:31,359 --> 01:13:36,159
Ukraine’s accession. Strategic autonomy
cannot be achieved with a short budget.

882
01:13:36,220 --> 01:13:39,380
A 17% cut in external action
is simply unacceptable.

883
01:13:39,440 --> 01:13:44,544
There is no global leadership without
investment, no credibility without commitment.

884
01:13:44,605 --> 01:13:49,648
Europe’s place in the world is measured
not only by the words it utters, but by the

885
01:13:49,709 --> 01:13:54,326
choices it makes. We need stable and
sufficient own resources to finance our

886
01:13:54,387 --> 01:13:59,369
ambition. For our part, the European
Parliament is deeply committed to reaching an

887
01:13:59,430 --> 01:14:01,435
agreement by the end of the year.

888
01:14:01,615 --> 01:14:02,155
Thank you, Mr. Tavares.

889
01:14:02,155 --> 01:14:05,452
Mr President, the European Council, we
are counting on your commitment to have a

890
01:14:05,493 --> 01:14:06,415
credible proposal.

891
01:14:06,415 --> 01:14:06,775
Thank you.

892
01:14:06,775 --> 01:14:07,855
At the time of the defenders.

893
01:14:07,855 --> 01:14:10,719
Thank you. There is a blue card
for you. Will you take it, Mr.

894
01:14:10,766 --> 01:14:12,475
Tavares, from Mr. Oliveira? Go ahead.

895
01:14:15,415 --> 01:14:18,780
Thank you. Thank you, Mr President. Ms
Carla Tavares, I referred to the multiannual

896
01:14:18,821 --> 01:14:22,227
financial framework, and that is what I
would like to ask you a few questions about.

897
01:14:22,267 --> 01:14:25,349
Thank you. Thank you, Mr President. Ms
Carla Tavares, I have referred to the

898
01:14:25,389 --> 01:14:28,430
multiannual financial framework, and
that is what I wanted to ask you a few

899
01:14:28,471 --> 01:14:31,877
questions about. Is the problem merely that
there is a shorter budget, or is it also

900
01:14:31,958 --> 01:14:35,040
the problem of resources being directed
towards militarism, towards the arms

901
01:14:35,080 --> 01:14:37,959
industry, instead of being directed
towards cohesion policy, to address

902
01:14:37,999 --> 01:14:39,865
socio-economic and
territorial cohesion needs?

903
01:14:39,905 --> 01:14:43,108
Is the problem merely one of securing
resources for the budget, or is it also a

904
01:14:43,149 --> 01:14:46,514
problem of inequality between Member States,
of national asymmetries that, with the

905
01:14:46,555 --> 01:14:49,677
proposal for the multiannual financial
framework under discussion, risk being

906
01:14:49,717 --> 01:14:53,083
exacerbated? Portugal fares poorly with
this proposal for the multiannual financial

907
01:14:53,123 --> 01:14:56,327
framework. And the question I put to you,
Ms Deputada, is how we can defend the

908
01:14:56,367 --> 01:14:58,435
national interest while
supporting such a proposal.

909
01:14:58,735 --> 01:15:00,115
Thank you. Please respond, Mr. Tavares.

910
01:15:00,415 --> 01:15:02,547
Thank you very much, Mr
Deputy João Oliveira.

911
01:15:02,595 --> 01:15:04,680
We do not have problems;
we have challenges.

912
01:15:04,727 --> 01:15:08,660
And the biggest challenge we face at this
moment is to have a multiannual financial

913
01:15:08,708 --> 01:15:11,504
framework that is up to the
ambition of the European Union.

914
01:15:11,551 --> 01:15:15,390
And that is what Parliament is committed
to, that is what the pro-European groups

915
01:15:15,437 --> 01:15:19,181
are committed to, and that is the work
we will continue to do in a particularly

916
01:15:19,228 --> 01:15:22,924
difficult manner. We are aware of this,
but particularly constructively in the

917
01:15:22,972 --> 01:15:23,875
coming months.

918
01:15:23,875 --> 01:15:24,775
Thank you very much.

919
01:15:24,775 --> 01:15:28,195
Thank you, Mr. Tavares. Now, Clara
Dostálová, one and a half minutes.

920
01:15:32,275 --> 01:15:36,792
Dear colleagues, the European Council was,
in places, very emotional, and it turns

921
01:15:36,847 --> 01:15:39,436
out that the European
Commission has a problem.

922
01:15:39,491 --> 01:15:44,008
It talks about competitiveness, yet European
companies face ever-increasing costs.

923
01:15:44,063 --> 01:15:48,250
It talks about affordable energy, yet
people are terrified by further bills.

924
01:15:48,305 --> 01:15:52,547
It talks about simplification, yet
entrepreneurs are drowning in bureaucracy.

925
01:15:52,602 --> 01:15:56,899
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has
consistently pointed out these problems,

926
01:15:56,954 --> 01:16:01,195
warning of the impacts of emission
permits, expensive energy, and the loss of

927
01:16:01,250 --> 01:16:05,823
competitiveness in European industry. For
many years, Brussels refused to listen to

928
01:16:05,878 --> 01:16:09,128
him. Today, however, his warnings
can no longer be ignored.

929
01:16:09,183 --> 01:16:13,425
It is precisely thanks to his persistent
efforts that a significant shift was

930
01:16:13,480 --> 01:16:17,666
achieved at the last European summit.
The European Council has called on the

931
01:16:17,721 --> 01:16:20,696
Commission to reassess the
impacts of the ETS2 system.

932
01:16:20,751 --> 01:16:23,891
But I ask: what more does the
Commission need to examine?

933
01:16:23,946 --> 01:16:28,463
When will its representatives, when will
its representatives stand with their feet

934
01:16:28,518 --> 01:16:31,713
on the ground, will they see
these problems at every turn?

935
01:16:31,768 --> 01:16:35,955
Energy is expensive, factories are
losing competitiveness, entrepreneurs are

936
01:16:36,010 --> 01:16:40,527
struggling with rising costs, and families
are calculating how much will remain in

937
01:16:40,582 --> 01:16:45,099
their wallets after paying the bills. We
do not need another stack of analyses for

938
01:16:45,154 --> 01:16:47,633
this. All that is needed
is to open our eyes.

939
01:16:47,688 --> 01:16:52,040
And today, we have finally managed to
bring these warnings to the table, to the

940
01:16:52,095 --> 01:16:56,722
negotiating table of European leaders. And
I will be glad if the European Commission

941
01:16:56,777 --> 01:17:01,295
finally realises that it is not here to
make life more complicated for people, but

942
01:17:01,350 --> 01:17:05,701
is here to help solve their problems.
People do not need more Brussels studies,

943
01:17:05,757 --> 01:17:10,274
promises and excuses. They need affordable
energy, a functioning economy and money

944
01:17:10,329 --> 01:17:11,335
for the people.

945
01:17:11,335 --> 01:17:14,875
Thank you. I give the floor now
to Charlie Weimers, one minute.

946
01:17:17,515 --> 01:17:22,034
Thank you, Madam President. Yes, the
Chamber is here, the Commission wants to

947
01:17:22,093 --> 01:17:25,379
introduce a new EU tax, and
you call them own resources.

948
01:17:25,438 --> 01:17:30,250
But it is, after all, the same thing: more
of the Swedes' money going to Brussels.

949
01:17:30,309 --> 01:17:35,180
There are a bunch of so-called conservative
members here cheering at the idea of EU

950
01:17:35,239 --> 01:17:40,169
taxes, and that makes me think of how Hayek
dedicated his book "The Road to Serfdom"

951
01:17:40,227 --> 01:17:44,570
to socialists in all parties. To the
Commission, I would like to say this:

952
01:17:44,629 --> 01:17:49,031
the Swedish people have not given you
the right to decide over their taxes.

953
01:17:49,089 --> 01:17:51,554
That power belongs to the Swedish Riksdag.

954
01:17:51,613 --> 01:17:56,425
And now we are going to negotiate the next
EU budget, and perhaps you think Sweden

955
01:17:56,484 --> 01:17:59,125
has to say yes in the
end, but you know what?

956
01:17:59,184 --> 01:18:03,762
We don’t. If we do not reach an agreement,
the EU can continue on the basis of

957
01:18:03,820 --> 01:18:07,811
today’s budget. Sweden therefore
does not need to accept a bad deal.

958
01:18:07,870 --> 01:18:12,741
We are not afraid to say no. Sweden has a
veto, and as long as the Sweden Democrats

959
01:18:12,800 --> 01:18:16,380
have anything to say about it,
we will be prepared to use it.

960
01:18:16,438 --> 01:18:19,549
Our message is simple: not
one krona in new EU taxes.

961
01:18:19,607 --> 01:18:21,955
Swedish taxes must be decided in Sweden.

962
01:18:23,275 --> 01:18:26,395
Thank you, Mr. Weimers. Now,
Gerben Jan Gerbrandi, one minute.

963
01:18:28,135 --> 01:18:33,931
Thank you. Madam Chair, some politicians
blame climate policy for high energy

964
01:18:34,007 --> 01:18:39,953
prices, but ren ewables saved us 29
billion euros in the first 16 weeks of this

965
01:18:40,029 --> 01:18:45,900
year. And it's Trump's diesel deal is
what happens when you desperately need a

966
01:18:45,975 --> 01:18:52,148
political win on energy prices. You take
the easy way out, ignore the root causes,

967
01:18:52,223 --> 01:18:58,321
and blame someone else. And here in Europe,
Meloni and Babiš are playing the same

968
01:18:58,396 --> 01:19:04,268
game. Instead of tackling our dependence
on fossil fuels, they're pointing the

969
01:19:04,343 --> 01:19:10,515
finger at the ETS. It's easier to blame
climate policy than to take responsibility

970
01:19:10,591 --> 01:19:16,613
for failing to deliver change. Easier to
blame Brussels for people's high energy

971
01:19:16,688 --> 01:19:22,635
bills than to deliver real solutions.
And of course, Europe must help Italy and

972
01:19:22,710 --> 01:19:27,076
Czechia to protect their
citizens from high energy prices.

973
01:19:27,151 --> 01:19:33,249
But at the next European Council, that
support must come with a clear commitment:

974
01:19:33,324 --> 01:19:39,120
keep your hands off the ETS. Because
when you touch the ETS, you're basically

975
01:19:39,196 --> 01:19:41,755
touching the savings of Europeans.

976
01:19:42,115 --> 01:19:46,075
Thank you. Thank you very much.
Now, Marie Toussaint, one minute.

977
01:19:47,395 --> 01:19:48,595
Thank you.

978
01:19:52,255 --> 01:19:57,249
Mr Costa, prices are soaring. Those for
food, rents, energy – don’t you hear the

979
01:19:57,312 --> 01:20:02,431
anger brewing across Europe? We had every
right to expect strong, immediate action

980
01:20:02,493 --> 01:20:07,300
from the Member States. But nothing.
There is no money left in the pockets of

981
01:20:07,363 --> 01:20:12,357
Europeans, nor in public services. The
world is warming at a rapid pace, but you

982
01:20:12,419 --> 01:20:17,663
still have not decided to tax the super-profits
of billionaires, of the tech sector,

983
01:20:17,726 --> 01:20:22,595
or of polluters. On the contrary, you
are multiplying handouts, including free

984
01:20:22,657 --> 01:20:26,715
pollution permits to the companies
that make the biggest profits.

985
01:20:26,778 --> 01:20:31,959
And you insist on the idea of making citizens
pay a new carbon tax on transport and

986
01:20:32,022 --> 01:20:37,141
heating, which could cost households several
thousand euros extra per year, on top

987
01:20:37,203 --> 01:20:42,447
of those already struggling to heat their
homes, put a roof over their heads and put

988
01:20:42,510 --> 01:20:47,504
food on the table. Mr Costa, more and
more Europeans have to juggle several jobs

989
01:20:47,566 --> 01:20:50,500
without always managing
to feed their children.

990
01:20:50,563 --> 01:20:55,744
Making European households foot the bill
for your climate inaction is unacceptable.

991
01:20:55,807 --> 01:21:00,926
The priority, the urgency, is to take the
money where it is, to finance the energy

992
01:21:00,988 --> 01:21:01,975
transition.

993
01:21:01,975 --> 01:21:02,215
Thank you.

994
01:21:02,215 --> 01:21:03,835
And reduce bills. Do it.

995
01:21:04,375 --> 01:21:05,635
Thank you. Ms Toussaint.

996
01:21:05,695 --> 01:21:07,435
Now, Irene Montero, one minute.

997
01:21:13,495 --> 01:21:18,479
Mr Costa, honourable Members, a burning
rubbish bin really gets your goat.

998
01:21:18,547 --> 01:21:23,261
But does a broken paving stone in
Italy really seem unbearable to you?

999
01:21:23,329 --> 01:21:26,764
Is a camp-out in Madrid
really too much to stomach?

1000
01:21:26,831 --> 01:21:29,929
All your solidarity is
with poor rubbish bins?

1001
01:21:29,997 --> 01:21:33,432
Your most sincere support
for broken paving stones?

1002
01:21:33,499 --> 01:21:38,147
I mean, prices are through the roof.
People who can’t pay their rent.

1003
01:21:38,214 --> 01:21:43,198
Millions of young people who are being
forced by your policies to study in

1004
01:21:43,266 --> 01:21:48,789
prefabricated classrooms. Millions of
evictions every day like the one suffered by

1005
01:21:48,856 --> 01:21:54,042
Mari Carmen. They are spending the money
meant for healthcare and pensions on

1006
01:21:54,110 --> 01:21:59,768
rearmament and war. They want to send our
children — not theirs — to war for profit.

1007
01:21:59,835 --> 01:22:05,358
But what outrages them is a burning bin.
Well, I think that if you call for a hard

1008
01:22:05,425 --> 01:22:10,881
line against young people who are protesting
and not against the speculators, the

1009
01:22:10,948 --> 01:22:16,269
banks, the big companies, the energy
firms, the billionaires who are destroying

1010
01:22:16,337 --> 01:22:19,435
their lives, then you
are part of the problem.

1011
01:22:19,615 --> 01:22:20,515
Thank you.

1012
01:22:20,515 --> 01:22:23,275
I give the floor next to
Alexander Jungbluth, one minute.

1013
01:22:29,215 --> 01:22:35,088
Dear Madam President, around 1.8 trillion
euros for the new multiannual budget is

1014
01:22:35,161 --> 01:22:39,946
not a compromise, it is a slap in
the face for European taxpayers.

1015
01:22:40,019 --> 01:22:45,892
In this respect, we welcome the Council's
proposal, as enormous cuts are possible

1016
01:22:45,964 --> 01:22:51,982
here. In view of the dramatic developments
and the many pointless expenditure items

1017
01:22:52,055 --> 01:22:57,856
in the EU budget, it is high time to
subject this budget to a complete overhaul.

1018
01:22:57,928 --> 01:23:03,729
Examples? Around 700 billion euros – more
than a third of the entire budget – is

1019
01:23:03,801 --> 01:23:09,312
earmarked for climate policy, while our
industry is increasingly relocating.

1020
01:23:09,384 --> 01:23:15,185
8.6 billion euros for Agora EU, through
which Brussels hand-picks people who are

1021
01:23:15,257 --> 01:23:19,245
then financed in the media
and so-called civil society.

1022
01:23:19,318 --> 01:23:24,031
And this House even wants to
increase that to 10.7 billion euros.

1023
01:23:24,103 --> 01:23:29,469
The Commission itself had to admit
that this tax money was used to finance

1024
01:23:29,541 --> 01:23:35,415
impermissible lobbying work for NGOs. We
are therefore demanding a drastic cut to

1025
01:23:35,487 --> 01:23:39,475
this budget; this is necessary
and urgent at this time.

1026
01:23:41,095 --> 01:23:44,824
Thank you. I give the floor
to Lefteris Nikolaou Alavanos.

1027
01:23:44,888 --> 01:23:46,088
One minute.

1028
01:23:50,095 --> 01:23:54,159
In France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and
Greece, workers and young people are

1029
01:23:54,212 --> 01:23:58,437
demonstrating against high prices, high
energy and housing costs, the attack on

1030
01:23:58,490 --> 01:24:01,217
education, income and,
overall, on people's rights.

1031
01:24:01,271 --> 01:24:05,549
At the same time, groups such as those
in the energy sector are recording record

1032
01:24:05,602 --> 01:24:09,773
profits, literally stepping on the bodies
of the people, as in Greece, fueling

1033
01:24:09,826 --> 01:24:13,837
justified anger. Despite the rivalries
within the European Council over the

1034
01:24:13,890 --> 01:24:18,275
interests of each state’s monopolies, all
governments agreed to squeeze the people

1035
01:24:18,329 --> 01:24:21,109
dry, primarily to meet the
needs of the war economy.

1036
01:24:21,163 --> 01:24:25,387
The government of New Democracy in Greece
and the other parties of the European

1037
01:24:25,441 --> 01:24:29,825
Union, which for years have been presenting
this wolf pack alliance as a shield of

1038
01:24:29,879 --> 01:24:34,103
protection for the peoples, are now
touting the goal of convergence, only to be

1039
01:24:34,157 --> 01:24:38,648
resoundingly refuted. In the face of the
European Union, its governments, the people

1040
01:24:38,702 --> 01:24:42,873
respond by escalating their struggle
with mass mobilisations, such as today in

1041
01:24:42,926 --> 01:24:47,311
Greece, with the nationwide strike on 25
November, with the international workers'

1042
01:24:47,364 --> 01:24:50,947
strike on 30 October, placing their
own interests at the forefront.

1043
01:24:51,001 --> 01:24:53,995
Affirming that for the people
to win, capital must lose.

1044
01:24:55,135 --> 01:24:56,215
Thank you.

1045
01:24:56,215 --> 01:24:59,035
Now I give the floor to Dolores
Montserrat, one and a half minutes.

1046
01:25:02,095 --> 01:25:05,220
Thank you, Madam President.
The figures do not lie.

1047
01:25:05,281 --> 01:25:09,570
Irregular entries into the Union are
at their lowest level since 2021.

1048
01:25:09,631 --> 01:25:12,939
With one exception: Spain.
And that is no coincidence.

1049
01:25:13,001 --> 01:25:18,147
The Migration and Asylum Pact is being
applied in 26 Member States, while Mr Sánchez

1050
01:25:18,208 --> 01:25:21,884
does not implement it and, on
top of that, voted against it.

1051
01:25:21,946 --> 01:25:25,622
Europe has never lacked a
response to the invasion of Ceuta.

1052
01:25:25,683 --> 01:25:30,462
What has been in abundance is the sectarian
ideology that opens the borders to

1053
01:25:30,523 --> 01:25:34,873
invaders and to the mafias that
traffic in people, with total impunity.

1054
01:25:34,934 --> 01:25:40,081
We congratulate the Commission on its new
proposal for a regulation on responding to

1055
01:25:40,142 --> 01:25:45,227
migration emergencies. Europe will be a
shield against hybrid attacks and those who

1056
01:25:45,289 --> 01:25:50,129
use migrants as weapons. And no kneeling
President like Sánchez will be able to

1057
01:25:50,190 --> 01:25:53,499
prevent it. Your failure
will not be Europe’s failure.

1058
01:25:53,560 --> 01:25:56,194
The second emergency
is the cost of living.

1059
01:25:56,256 --> 01:25:59,625
Climate sectarianism does
not pay the electricity bill.

1060
01:25:59,687 --> 01:26:04,220
Aid and tax relief, extensions, joint
purchases and cutting red tape, yes.

1061
01:26:04,282 --> 01:26:08,999
This is the policy that protects families,
the middle classes, businesses and

1062
01:26:09,060 --> 01:26:11,634
industry. Fewer dogmas and more solutions.

1063
01:26:11,695 --> 01:26:14,513
But we must move faster
and without complexes.

1064
01:26:14,575 --> 01:26:17,454
Without nuclear, there
will be no cheap energy.

1065
01:26:17,515 --> 01:26:20,824
And those who will suffer
will be the most vulnerable.

1066
01:26:20,885 --> 01:26:25,909
Winter will also come to Ukraine, a people
who have been resisting for almost five

1067
01:26:25,970 --> 01:26:29,218
years an empire that seeks
not peace but destruction.

1068
01:26:29,279 --> 01:26:33,384
Yours and ours. And we will not
stop. We will not allow it to fall.

1069
01:26:33,445 --> 01:26:37,795
Europe was not born to surrender and
we will always stand with Ukraine.

1070
01:26:40,015 --> 01:26:44,035
Thank you very much. Next speaker
will be Irene Tinagi, please.

1071
01:26:44,815 --> 01:26:48,584
Thank you, president. So we talk
a lot about competitiveness.

1072
01:26:48,645 --> 01:26:53,093
We've heard a lot this word this
morning. Let me give you just two data.

1073
01:26:53,155 --> 01:26:57,727
Every year Europe imports more than
300 billion euros in digital services.

1074
01:26:57,789 --> 01:27:02,237
We are overly dependent on U.S. big
tech for our digital infrastructure.

1075
01:27:02,298 --> 01:27:07,488
And at the same time, our industrial companies
face energy prices that can be two or

1076
01:27:07,550 --> 01:27:11,071
three times higher than those
of our international peers.

1077
01:27:11,133 --> 01:27:15,519
These are structural weaknesses. And
cannot be addressed just with some

1078
01:27:15,581 --> 01:27:20,647
simplification or omnibus thing. They
require investments, common infrastructures,

1079
01:27:20,709 --> 01:27:24,971
common investments. And this is
precisely the purpose of the European

1080
01:27:25,033 --> 01:27:30,161
competitiveness fund. Investing and supporting
investment in common infrastructures

1081
01:27:30,222 --> 01:27:34,609
and investments and energy transition,
digital technologies, et cetera.

1082
01:27:34,671 --> 01:27:39,798
Yet the council is moving in the opposite
direction, relying more on national state

1083
01:27:39,860 --> 01:27:44,493
aid while cutting common resources.
And precisely the competitiveness fund.

1084
01:27:44,555 --> 01:27:48,694
But a European strategy goes beyond
the sum of national strategies.

1085
01:27:48,756 --> 01:27:53,328
So we need to step up. Every day I
hear leaders complaining about Europe's

1086
01:27:53,390 --> 01:27:58,146
weaknesses, but then when it comes to
action, they turn their back on Europe.

1087
01:27:58,208 --> 01:28:01,915
I have a message for them. Start
behaving like real leaders.

1088
01:28:02,095 --> 01:28:05,635
Thank you. Thank you. Thank your next
speaker, Suzanna Ceccardi, please.

1089
01:28:09,715 --> 01:28:15,014
Thank you, Mr President. Not even cities
reduced to ashes and flames understand that

1090
01:28:15,077 --> 01:28:18,042
we need a more serious
approach to immigration.

1091
01:28:18,105 --> 01:28:21,007
Evidently, the lesson
of Ceuta was not enough.

1092
01:28:21,070 --> 01:28:25,991
Italy, Poland, Denmark have asked the
European Council for new resources to...

1093
01:28:26,054 --> 01:28:30,217
have asked the European Council
for a tougher line on immigration.

1094
01:28:30,280 --> 01:28:32,930
And yet once again, nothing has been done.

1095
01:28:32,993 --> 01:28:38,229
And while member states are still being
asked to make sacrifices, we are discussing

1096
01:28:38,292 --> 01:28:43,465
new resources are being allocated for
Ukraine, we are asking for one simple thing:

1097
01:28:43,528 --> 01:28:48,701
when will Europe start to put at the centre
also the security of its own citizens,

1098
01:28:48,764 --> 01:28:54,000
the competitiveness of our businesses?
Today we finally have news of the compromise

1099
01:28:54,063 --> 01:28:59,109
reached by the majority groups... who
understand that stopping the production of

1100
01:28:59,172 --> 01:29:01,822
diesel and petrol cars by 2035 is madness.

1101
01:29:01,885 --> 01:29:04,850
At last! But how long
have we been saying this?

1102
01:29:04,913 --> 01:29:07,941
How much time have we
wasted on competitiveness?

1103
01:29:08,004 --> 01:29:13,303
How many Chinese electric cars have flooded
our market while we were talking instead

1104
01:29:13,366 --> 01:29:18,350
of converting everything to electric?
Meanwhile, however, we patriots have been

1105
01:29:18,413 --> 01:29:23,207
saying this for many years. Now is the
time to have a good dose of humility.

1106
01:29:23,270 --> 01:29:28,380
Enough of treating as extremists the
positions of those who have been calling for

1107
01:29:28,443 --> 01:29:33,427
greater security, defence of our borders
and competitiveness for our businesses

1108
01:29:33,490 --> 01:29:37,212
while protecting jobs. The
patriots have always been right.

1109
01:29:37,275 --> 01:29:40,555
And sooner or later, you
will be forced to admit it.

1110
01:29:42,535 --> 01:29:44,755
Thank you. Next speaker, Marion Maréchal.

1111
01:29:47,695 --> 01:29:51,741
On this final day, France was devastated
by an alliance between far-left militias

1112
01:29:51,791 --> 01:29:54,438
and gangs of thugs who
burned, looted and terrorised.

1113
01:29:54,488 --> 01:29:58,584
e. Numerous European leaders from all
political backgrounds have responded to this

1114
01:29:58,634 --> 01:30:02,680
tragedy by recognising it as one of the
consequences of massive and unassimilated

1115
01:30:02,730 --> 01:30:06,676
immigration. The problem is that one of
the few heads of State who is not lucid

1116
01:30:06,726 --> 01:30:09,473
about this situation is
precisely the French President.

1117
01:30:09,523 --> 01:30:13,669
Once again, at the last meeting of the
European Council, it was Emmanuel Macron who

1118
01:30:13,719 --> 01:30:16,816
prevented the Union from toughening
its stance on immigration.

1119
01:30:16,866 --> 01:30:21,011
It was he, alongside the Socialist Pedro
Sánchez, who refused to approve a historic

1120
01:30:21,061 --> 01:30:24,957
declaration making the link between
immigration and crime, and explaining that

1121
01:30:25,007 --> 01:30:27,405
migratory subversion
destroys national cohesion.

1122
01:30:27,455 --> 01:30:31,351
The French must know the truth. It is
their President who has betrayed them by

1123
01:30:31,401 --> 01:30:35,347
blocking this text, which is nevertheless
supported by the majority of European

1124
01:30:35,397 --> 01:30:37,694
countries. So, fellow
Europeans, take courage.

1125
01:30:37,744 --> 01:30:41,940
There are less than six months to go, because
soon, in May 2027, France will reclaim

1126
01:30:41,990 --> 01:30:46,136
its rightful place and join the great
coalition of proud countries that want Europe

1127
01:30:46,186 --> 01:30:47,386
to remain Europe.

1128
01:30:48,175 --> 01:30:54,475
I colleague Maréchal, would you accept
a blue card from João Oliveira 125?

1129
01:30:59,935 --> 01:31:04,783
Thank you. Thank you, Mr President.
Madam Member, Madam Member, the far right

1130
01:31:04,846 --> 01:31:09,442
pretends to be very concerned about
people’s living conditions, about the

1131
01:31:09,505 --> 01:31:14,290
cost-of-living problems, about housing
problems, but in truth this is only a

1132
01:31:14,353 --> 01:31:19,641
pretext. Because there is zero concern.
Where was the government of Ms Meloni at the

1133
01:31:19,704 --> 01:31:23,230
European Council meeting to
raise these people's issues?

1134
01:31:23,293 --> 01:31:28,078
? The far-right government of Italy’s
Ms. Meloni gave its agreement to these

1135
01:31:28,141 --> 01:31:33,178
conclusions, agreed to the total disregard
for the cost of living, disregard for

1136
01:31:33,241 --> 01:31:37,648
housing, disregard for the difficulties
that people are going through.

1137
01:31:37,711 --> 01:31:42,496
You cannot come here pretending to be
concerned about the people if, in your

1138
01:31:42,559 --> 01:31:47,155
political actions, you contribute to
the problems afflicting their lives.

1139
01:31:48,835 --> 01:31:50,035
Please.

1140
01:31:53,515 --> 01:31:58,973
Mr Deputy, it seems to me that you would
have been better inspired to use the minute

1141
01:31:59,037 --> 01:32:04,235
that was granted to you to condemn the
absolutely scandalous attitude of some of

1142
01:32:04,300 --> 01:32:09,498
your far-left friends who, through an
anti-fascist international that engages in

1143
01:32:09,563 --> 01:32:14,241
terrorism, calls for violence, calls
for looting, calls for destruction.

1144
01:32:14,306 --> 01:32:17,294
And I say this to you
with the utmost gravity:

1145
01:32:17,359 --> 01:32:22,817
I am today in a country that is on the brink
of civil war because of the attitude of

1146
01:32:22,882 --> 01:32:28,274
your far-left friends. And I will conclude
simply by saying that there is no social

1147
01:32:28,339 --> 01:32:33,667
condition or precariousness that can justify
attacking police officers, beating up

1148
01:32:33,732 --> 01:32:37,435
shopkeepers, or destroying
town halls or public services.

1149
01:32:38,395 --> 01:32:42,955
Thank you. Next speaker,
João Cotrim de Figueiredo.

1150
01:32:45,415 --> 01:32:48,214
Thank you, Mr. President,
President Costa, Mr.

1151
01:32:48,275 --> 01:32:52,473
Commissioner Savković. I'd like to
say that last week's council was a

1152
01:32:52,534 --> 01:32:57,585
disappointment. For more than two years we
all have been calling for Europe to move

1153
01:32:57,646 --> 01:33:02,635
forward quickly and decisively, and yet
after the Council on Friday wh at we heard

1154
01:33:02,696 --> 01:33:05,434
was not the sound of
Europe marching forward.

1155
01:33:05,495 --> 01:33:10,485
What we heard was sounds of joy in Moscow
because Ukraine did not guarantee the 70

1156
01:33:10,545 --> 01:33:15,657
billion you'd asked for, sounds of joy in
Beijing because faced with the 360 billion

1157
01:33:15,718 --> 01:33:19,490
euro trade deficit the council
asked for, yet another toolbox.

1158
01:33:19,551 --> 01:33:24,601
Sounds of despair which I share from many
of my European concitizens realizing that

1159
01:33:24,662 --> 01:33:27,948
not one, not one really
structural decision was taken.

1160
01:33:28,009 --> 01:33:30,930
The council welcomes and
invites and takes note.

1161
01:33:30,991 --> 01:33:36,041
It spends countless hours redrafting issues
that were closed before, but nothing on

1162
01:33:36,102 --> 01:33:39,266
the MFF moved except the
lik ely date of conclusion.

1163
01:33:39,327 --> 01:33:44,438
I myself made sounds of laughter when I
heard the council call for a regulatory soft

1164
01:33:44,499 --> 01:33:48,819
restraint coming from 27 head of
state which make gold plating a daily.

1165
01:33:48,880 --> 01:33:53,931
Past time. The upcoming astronomy meeting
of the 26th of November must produce very

1166
01:33:53,991 --> 01:33:58,555
different sounds, Mr. President, the
sounds of Europe moving to the future.

1167
01:33:59,875 --> 01:34:04,380
Colleague de Figueiredo, would you accept
that you have a two blue card so I will

1168
01:34:04,436 --> 01:34:09,052
try to do it but I will definitely will
not go to that I 'm colleague next time the

1169
01:34:09,108 --> 01:34:13,613
second blue card so otherwise we will be
much too late so first one is that Marta

1170
01:34:13,669 --> 01:34:15,115
Temido 86 place so please.

1171
01:34:17,695 --> 01:34:18,895
Thank you, President.

1172
01:34:19,675 --> 01:34:23,577
Madam Deputy, the Council concluded
that it is insufficient, but requested a

1173
01:34:23,629 --> 01:34:27,685
coordinated European response to the
increase in fuel costs, urgent, temporary,

1174
01:34:27,736 --> 01:34:31,895
targeted measures. This was the request
made by the Council, this was the request

1175
01:34:31,947 --> 01:34:35,951
made by this Parliament, on several
occasions, notably through the taxation of

1176
01:34:36,003 --> 01:34:39,751
excess profits of energy companies.
The gentleman seems to be against it.

1177
01:34:39,802 --> 01:34:42,986
How can you call for decisions
when you are then against them?

1178
01:34:43,037 --> 01:34:47,247
How do you expect Europe to have the trust
of its citizens and for its citizens to

1179
01:34:47,299 --> 01:34:51,355
trust in Europe if we do not then provide
responses for their day-to-day lives?

1180
01:34:54,535 --> 01:34:59,282
Thank you very much, Madam Deputy. You
are asking me about something on which the

1181
01:34:59,340 --> 01:35:04,029
Council has also not expressed an opinion,
and my response regarding that taxing

1182
01:35:04,087 --> 01:35:08,775
extraordinary profits is very simple. I
do not want to tax extraordinary profits

1183
01:35:08,834 --> 01:35:13,581
because I do not want to have to bear
extraordinary losses one day, and the moral

1184
01:35:13,639 --> 01:35:18,445
case is exactly the same. Therefore, I
once again criticise the Council because it

1185
01:35:18,503 --> 01:35:23,250
has not been decisive on Ukraine, it has
not been decisive on the MFF, it has not

1186
01:35:23,309 --> 01:35:28,232
been decisive on what are our major
difficulties in trade relations with some of the

1187
01:35:28,290 --> 01:35:33,154
blocs we have. This is where we need
decisions, not invitations, comments or wishes

1188
01:35:33,213 --> 01:35:34,795
to decide later, decisions.

1189
01:35:35,095 --> 01:35:35,395
Thank you.

1190
01:35:35,395 --> 01:35:36,955
Now, we need the Council
to do so immediately.

1191
01:35:37,195 --> 01:35:40,488
Thank you, colleague. You have a still
blue or second blue card so if you will

1192
01:35:40,531 --> 01:35:41,755
accept it so Bruno Gonçalves.

1193
01:35:41,995 --> 01:35:42,655
Very popular.

1194
01:35:42,655 --> 01:35:45,355
Bruno Gonçalves 304, you don't
need that interpretation.

1195
01:35:50,215 --> 01:35:53,303
Mr Deputy, thank you very much.
Mr Deputy, thank you very much.

1196
01:35:53,352 --> 01:35:57,323
I depend on your message being a Europeanist
invitation, a Europeanist invitation

1197
01:35:57,372 --> 01:36:00,803
that calls for more investment and
more decisive action in your words.

1198
01:36:00,852 --> 01:36:03,205
And they embody that very
thing, more resources.

1199
01:36:03,254 --> 01:36:07,274
And so the question I leave you with is:
against windfall profits and the taxation

1200
01:36:07,323 --> 01:36:11,245
of extraordinary profits, profits that,
by the way, do not derive from merit but

1201
01:36:11,294 --> 01:36:15,117
stem solely from the decisions of a
single unstable person in the White House.

1202
01:36:15,166 --> 01:36:18,255
My question is very simple: where
will we find these resources?

1203
01:36:18,304 --> 01:36:22,372
Do you advocate for greater own resources
from the Member States or do you advocate

1204
01:36:22,421 --> 01:36:24,235
for which and how new European taxes?

1205
01:36:26,095 --> 01:36:27,595
Mr/Ms Deputy, to your
question, the answer is.

1206
01:36:28,435 --> 01:36:32,545
A budget that is commensurate with Europe’s
ambitions, which will necessarily have

1207
01:36:32,595 --> 01:36:36,755
to be higher than the previous one and
which must not burden national contributions

1208
01:36:36,805 --> 01:36:39,211
by resorting to own
resources, on one condition.

1209
01:36:39,261 --> 01:36:43,421
That these own resources do not divert
revenue that currently belongs to the Member

1210
01:36:43,471 --> 01:36:47,681
States. Therefore, they must truly be own
resources generated, managed and collected

1211
01:36:47,731 --> 01:36:49,435
by the Union. Thank you very much.

1212
01:36:50,395 --> 01:36:53,995
Thank you. So next speaker,
Alice Kuhn-Kae, please.

1213
01:36:56,275 --> 01:36:59,178
Thank you, Mr President.
This is how it is:

1214
01:36:59,246 --> 01:37:04,917
the money is not enough for everything, and
therefore we need to have the ability to

1215
01:37:04,985 --> 01:37:10,656
prioritise. Freedom and defence are two
fundamental prerequisites in the face of the

1216
01:37:10,724 --> 01:37:16,125
challenges we are facing. The defence of
our freedoms and rights, the defence of

1217
01:37:16,192 --> 01:37:21,324
what builds the EU and Sweden’s strength.
And that is about the work against

1218
01:37:21,391 --> 01:37:26,725
disinformation, by investing in free,
scrutinising and independent media, it is

1219
01:37:26,793 --> 01:37:32,261
about meeting places – the local association,
the youth club, the rehearsal space

1220
01:37:32,329 --> 01:37:37,933
and the theatre stage – it is about the
vital women’s shelters, about resources for

1221
01:37:38,000 --> 01:37:43,537
the conditions to organise, about popular
movements, about a strong civil society.

1222
01:37:43,604 --> 01:37:48,060
It is precisely through these tools
that democracy becomes strong.

1223
01:37:48,128 --> 01:37:53,529
That is how we build trust in one another,
that is how we build the society that

1224
01:37:53,597 --> 01:37:56,635
Putin so eagerly wants
to destroy. Thank you.

1225
01:37:57,895 --> 01:38:00,955
Okay, would you accept the blue
card from Charlie Weimers, 107?

1226
01:38:01,915 --> 01:38:02,935
Yes.

1227
01:38:02,935 --> 01:38:04,135
Yeah, please.

1228
01:38:05,095 --> 01:38:05,515
Thank you.

1229
01:38:05,515 --> 01:38:10,146
Mr President, Alice Bah Kuhnke, you did
indeed speak in favour of defending freedoms

1230
01:38:10,201 --> 01:38:14,832
and rights, and on that we are in agreement,
but in the last session the Green Party

1231
01:38:14,887 --> 01:38:19,463
voted against defending precisely those
freedoms and rights with regard to Islamist

1232
01:38:19,518 --> 01:38:23,708
infiltration and you were opposed to
the terrorist designation of the Muslim

1233
01:38:23,763 --> 01:38:28,394
Brotherhood. At first I saw that you had
voted in favour of this, and I thought that

1234
01:38:28,449 --> 01:38:32,970
was good. She also sees that this is a
women-oppressing organisation, but then you

1235
01:38:33,025 --> 01:38:37,215
announce that you voted incorrectly.
Why is it wrong to designate the Muslim

1236
01:38:37,270 --> 01:38:39,475
Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation?

1237
01:38:40,975 --> 01:38:45,448
For me, as a Green, it is self-evident that
we are opposed to all forms of extremism

1238
01:38:45,501 --> 01:38:48,110
and all forms of violent
extremism and terrorism.

1239
01:38:48,164 --> 01:38:52,210
What we, on the other hand, are opposed
to, and will always stand up for, is

1240
01:38:52,264 --> 01:38:56,417
populism that, with sweeping generalisations,
seeks to stigmatise all Muslims.

1241
01:38:56,470 --> 01:39:00,890
Unfortunately, we are living in a reality
where many in this House, particularly on

1242
01:39:00,943 --> 01:39:05,097
the side to which Mr Charlie Weimers
belongs, are doing everything they can to

1243
01:39:05,150 --> 01:39:08,132
undermine human rights, to
drive a wedge between people.

1244
01:39:08,185 --> 01:39:10,315
We Greens will never go along with that.

1245
01:39:10,915 --> 01:39:12,115
Thank you.

1246
01:39:12,835 --> 01:39:16,537
Sorry, we from the time
constraints, we don't have a time.

1247
01:39:16,601 --> 01:39:19,601
Sorry, colleague, Weimers.
Thank you very much.

1248
01:39:19,665 --> 01:39:21,835
So next speaker, Katarina Martins.

1249
01:39:29,815 --> 01:39:33,090
Thank you, Mr President. I
would like to make a suggestion:

1250
01:39:33,146 --> 01:39:37,365
open the windows of the office and
listen, listen to what people are saying.

1251
01:39:37,421 --> 01:39:40,696
Thank you, Mr President. I
would like to make a suggestion:

1252
01:39:40,752 --> 01:39:45,027
open the windows of your office and
listen, listen to what people are saying.

1253
01:39:45,138 --> 01:39:48,635
They want homes, but there are
no homes that people can afford.

1254
01:39:48,691 --> 01:39:53,077
And while the far right blames workers
in agriculture, construction, transport,

1255
01:39:53,132 --> 01:39:56,796
distribution and care homes, the
sale of luxury homes has doubled.

1256
01:39:56,852 --> 01:39:59,683
Real estate funds have seen
their assets quintuple.

1257
01:39:59,739 --> 01:40:03,958
The Council meets, discusses the budget
and there is not a single word about

1258
01:40:04,013 --> 01:40:07,455
housing. They talk about
competitiveness, so what about wages?

1259
01:40:07,511 --> 01:40:10,842
Productivity in Europe has
almost tripled compared to wages.

1260
01:40:10,898 --> 01:40:15,339
People cannot make a living because
everything goes to the richest 1% who do not

1261
01:40:15,394 --> 01:40:20,058
even pay the taxes they owe. Yes, people
are angry and they have every reason to be.

1262
01:40:20,113 --> 01:40:24,555
And meanwhile, Ms von der Leyen, who has
already left, came here to say that she

1263
01:40:24,610 --> 01:40:29,274
wants to put more money into the billionaire
arms industry, which will be taken away

1264
01:40:29,329 --> 01:40:33,715
from schools and healthcare. Yes, the
arsonists are actually here in this room.

1265
01:40:36,895 --> 01:40:42,655
Colleague, Martins, you have a
blue card from Piotr Müller, 591.

1266
01:40:42,745 --> 01:40:47,155
Would you accept blue card
from Piotr Müller 591?

1267
01:40:48,415 --> 01:40:49,615
Yeah.

1268
01:40:53,215 --> 01:40:55,918
I am glad that you are talking
about the cost of living.

1269
01:40:55,966 --> 01:40:59,683
I am glad that you are talking about
the cost of living of European citizens.

1270
01:40:59,731 --> 01:41:02,386
It is very good that you are
drawing attention to this.

1271
01:41:02,434 --> 01:41:06,103
However, I have a question for you then:
what is your position regarding the

1272
01:41:06,151 --> 01:41:10,206
abolition or deep reform of the ETS system,
which in fact deepens the cost of living

1273
01:41:10,254 --> 01:41:14,116
for those who are least well-off, when
it comes to heating, when it comes to the

1274
01:41:14,164 --> 01:41:17,495
buildings directive, which also
increases costs precisely in housing?

1275
01:41:17,543 --> 01:41:21,453
What will you say on this matter? Because
the European Council has discussed this

1276
01:41:21,501 --> 01:41:24,928
issue in order to abolish the ETS
system or to fundamentally reform it.

1277
01:41:24,976 --> 01:41:28,790
I hope that the left will finally also
understand that this means higher living

1278
01:41:28,838 --> 01:41:30,038
costs for citizens.

1279
01:41:35,815 --> 01:41:40,041
Mr Deputy, changing environmental rules
now means making European industry more

1280
01:41:40,095 --> 01:41:44,482
vulnerable. Everyone is talking about
strategic autonomy, but then the rules could

1281
01:41:44,535 --> 01:41:48,869
be changed every day. This destroys jobs
in Europe, it destroys wealth in Europe.

1282
01:41:48,922 --> 01:41:53,416
You are not going to get me to defend the
carbon market, which I have never defended

1283
01:41:53,469 --> 01:41:55,716
in my life, but I will tell you one thing:

1284
01:41:55,770 --> 01:41:59,675
we can have a just transition, yes,
and make energy companies pay for it.

1285
01:41:59,729 --> 01:42:03,955
The problem is that they want to cut even
further what little they already pay.

1286
01:42:04,975 --> 01:42:07,915
So thank you. Next
speaker, Mari Khan, please.

1287
01:42:10,135 --> 01:42:15,758
You know, in just two days, 80,000 migrants
crossed the Spanish border illegally.

1288
01:42:15,828 --> 01:42:20,965
And what do the European heads of
government, what does Friedrich Merz do?

1289
01:42:21,034 --> 01:42:26,380
For this so-called invasion, they have
only three meagre paragraphs to offer.

1290
01:42:26,449 --> 01:42:31,309
And what are the people in Ceuta
supposed to do with their solidarity?

1291
01:42:31,378 --> 01:42:34,572
People who no longer
recognise their own city.

1292
01:42:34,641 --> 01:42:39,709
Three paragraphs without even mentioning
the child, namely that this mass

1293
01:42:39,779 --> 01:42:44,291
immigration is also being used as
a weapon against our continent.

1294
01:42:44,361 --> 01:42:49,984
And to this day, they have not been
willing—have not been willing at all—to spend

1295
01:42:50,053 --> 01:42:53,108
1.2 trillion euros to
defend this continent.

1296
01:42:53,177 --> 01:42:58,939
France and Italy have been burning for
weeks because they want it, because of their

1297
01:42:59,009 --> 01:43:04,702
migration policy. But they don’t care.
They let more criminals and terrorists into

1298
01:43:04,771 --> 01:43:10,047
Europe day after day. And unfortunately,
Ms von der Leyen is not here again.

1299
01:43:10,117 --> 01:43:14,351
She left early. You owe it to
Europeans at last to step down.

1300
01:43:14,421 --> 01:43:15,621
Thank you.

1301
01:43:16,135 --> 01:43:18,835
Thank you. Next speaker, Tomas Dobre.

1302
01:43:22,255 --> 01:43:27,686
President, colleagues, the European
Council has recognized the hard truth:

1303
01:43:27,759 --> 01:43:33,777
not only the awful war of aggression against
Ukraine, but also the constant hybrid

1304
01:43:33,851 --> 01:43:37,447
attacks against Europe
are threatening our union.

1305
01:43:37,520 --> 01:43:43,538
The EBP group strongly supports the message
that Russia's hostile actions will not

1306
01:43:43,612 --> 01:43:49,263
go unanswered. The same must go for any
other hostile actor attacking Europe.

1307
01:43:49,336 --> 01:43:54,694
We cannot be weak against our enemies.
And we cannot be naive about their

1308
01:43:54,767 --> 01:43:59,317
strategies. The weaponization
of migration is a clear example.

1309
01:43:59,391 --> 01:44:05,555
We must be prepared for crises like in
Ceuta, where our external border was breached

1310
01:44:05,629 --> 01:44:11,793
on a massive sc ale in a matter of days.
And of course, Prime Minister Sanchez needs

1311
01:44:11,867 --> 01:44:17,591
to leave office, but also the people who
don't have the right to be in Europe.

1312
01:44:17,665 --> 01:44:23,830
Russia and Belarus have since long used
migration to pressure Europe, and we need to

1313
01:44:23,903 --> 01:44:30,068
do more to tackle this. We also need to be
very clear about cross-border crime, with

1314
01:44:30,141 --> 01:44:36,232
a hybrid dimension. Europol has a crucial
role to play, and must be able to support

1315
01:44:36,306 --> 01:44:42,471
member states. Colleagues, we must do more,
not less, to defend our borders, protect

1316
01:44:42,544 --> 01:44:45,700
our democracies, and
safeguard our freedom.

1317
01:44:45,773 --> 01:44:49,736
We did not build the European
Union to be intimidated.

1318
01:44:49,810 --> 01:44:55,828
We built it together. And together we must
defend our values and fight for Europe.

1319
01:44:55,901 --> 01:44:57,101
Thank you.

1320
01:44:57,415 --> 01:45:00,115
Thank you. Next speaker,
Marit May, please.

1321
01:45:05,275 --> 01:45:10,114
Thank you, Mr President. Did you know that
in the latest proposal for the upcoming

1322
01:45:10,173 --> 01:45:14,894
European budget, the European Council is
allocating more than four times as much

1323
01:45:14,953 --> 01:45:18,140
money to agriculture as to
Europe’s social objectives?

1324
01:45:18,199 --> 01:45:22,802
For 8.8 million agricultural businesses,
261 billion euros have been reserved.

1325
01:45:22,861 --> 01:45:27,700
And for 92.7 million people living on or
at the edge of poverty, not a single euro

1326
01:45:27,759 --> 01:45:31,241
has been reserved, but rather
a target of 61 billion euros.

1327
01:45:31,300 --> 01:45:36,198
Children who go to school without breakfast
do not have tractors to stage protests.

1328
01:45:36,257 --> 01:45:39,089
People with disabilities
do not block motorways.

1329
01:45:39,148 --> 01:45:42,099
Homeless people cannot
afford expensive lobbyists.

1330
01:45:42,158 --> 01:45:47,115
The social dimension of the European Union
is under pressure with the narrative that

1331
01:45:47,174 --> 01:45:51,600
social policy is a burden. It is harmful
that the new Multiannual Financial

1332
01:45:51,659 --> 01:45:55,849
Framework does not have a separate
budget for the European Social Fund.

1333
01:45:55,908 --> 01:45:58,800
Europe is so much more
than just competitiveness.

1334
01:45:58,859 --> 01:46:02,576
It is also looking out for one
another and investing in people.

1335
01:46:02,635 --> 01:46:07,593
And let me repeat this one more time: a
separate budget for the European Social Fund

1336
01:46:07,652 --> 01:46:09,835
is a red line for the S&D. Thank you.

1337
01:46:10,795 --> 01:46:13,435
Thank you. Next speaker, Marieke Eilers.

1338
01:46:20,095 --> 01:46:25,420
Thank you, Mr President. I could speak
again today about Ukraine, the budget,

1339
01:46:25,489 --> 01:46:30,883
enlargement and competitiveness, but
then I would only be contributing to this

1340
01:46:30,952 --> 01:46:36,277
endless echo chamber. So let me therefore
address something more fundamental:

1341
01:46:36,346 --> 01:46:40,771
Mr President, the Member States
are the masters of the Treaties.

1342
01:46:40,841 --> 01:46:45,681
The Commission is the guardian
thereof. But neither seems to take that

1343
01:46:45,750 --> 01:46:51,490
responsibility seriously anymore. And once
again, it is citizens who are paying the

1344
01:46:51,559 --> 01:46:57,368
price. Their purchasing power is evaporating,
our competitive strength is declining,

1345
01:46:57,437 --> 01:47:02,900
and energy costs are skyrocketing. Illegal
migration continues unabated and our

1346
01:47:02,969 --> 01:47:08,363
streets are more unsafe than ever. And
Brussels just keeps on thundering away.

1347
01:47:08,432 --> 01:47:13,619
The committee acts like a decree factory
churning out destructive policies.

1348
01:47:13,688 --> 01:47:18,597
The majority in this Parliament has
long since lost touch with reality.

1349
01:47:18,667 --> 01:47:23,023
And the Member States themselves?
They just stand by and watch.

1350
01:47:23,092 --> 01:47:27,864
At home, government leaders promise
fewer rules and less bureaucracy.

1351
01:47:27,933 --> 01:47:33,534
They send urgent letters to Ursula. They
beg for a postponement of suffocating EU

1352
01:47:33,603 --> 01:47:38,651
rules and demand an emergency brake
on the Commission’s regulatory drive.

1353
01:47:38,721 --> 01:47:43,008
Yet once they are in Brussels,
they all capitulate one by one.

1354
01:47:43,077 --> 01:47:48,609
How many more angry letters about the
budget and deregulation will still follow?

1355
01:47:48,679 --> 01:47:54,211
When are the heads of government finally
going to block what they claim to fight

1356
01:47:54,280 --> 01:47:59,881
against at home? It is high time that the
Commission is reined in and its decrees

1357
01:47:59,950 --> 01:48:01,195
end up in the bin.

1358
01:48:01,795 --> 01:48:02,695
Thank you.

1359
01:48:02,695 --> 01:48:05,275
Thank you. Next speaker,
Francesco Torselli.

1360
01:48:11,935 --> 01:48:17,337
There is one case that, more than any other,
illustrates the absurd tendency of the

1361
01:48:17,402 --> 01:48:22,674
European Union to harm itself. This is
the case of the ETS, a mad system that has

1362
01:48:22,739 --> 01:48:26,709
seen, since its inception to
date, the cost multiply tenfold.

1363
01:48:26,774 --> 01:48:32,241
quotas, increasing financial speculation
and its cost being asymmetrically passed on

1364
01:48:32,306 --> 01:48:35,365
to energy prices in
various European countries.

1365
01:48:35,430 --> 01:48:39,661
But above all, it has not led to
a reduction in global emissions.

1366
01:48:39,726 --> 01:48:44,672
Without Giorgia Meloni’s insistence,
the Council would not have committed to

1367
01:48:44,737 --> 01:48:50,009
reviewing the ETS system and to assessing
the impact of the ETS2 folly on housing

1368
01:48:50,074 --> 01:48:55,281
and transport. So perhaps those who say
that here, locked in this bubble, Europe

1369
01:48:55,346 --> 01:48:59,967
does not see that our industry is
closing down and migrating are right.

1370
01:49:00,032 --> 01:49:05,369
It does not see that China is dominating
us with critical minerals, and I could go

1371
01:49:05,434 --> 01:49:10,771
on. In this dramatic context, anyone who,
for ideological or self-serving reasons,

1372
01:49:10,836 --> 01:49:14,155
still wastes time is simply
a tragically complicit.

1373
01:49:15,835 --> 01:49:18,235
Thank you. Next speaker, Laurence Farang.

1374
01:49:21,115 --> 01:49:25,612
Mr President, Mr President of the
Council, Commissioner, once again.

1375
01:49:25,679 --> 01:49:31,102
Donald Trump is betraying Ukraine and
Europe once again on the altar of foul deals

1376
01:49:31,168 --> 01:49:36,261
with Vladimir Putin. He is once again
choosing the aggressor over the victim.

1377
01:49:36,327 --> 01:49:41,684
Again! We repeat: we are supporting Ukraine
not only because we firmly believe in

1378
01:49:41,750 --> 01:49:46,380
respect for international law. We
are helping it for our own security.

1379
01:49:46,446 --> 01:49:51,341
The far right, which denies this
reality, is, as always, beneath contempt.

1380
01:49:51,407 --> 01:49:54,184
So let us step up our support for Ukraine.

1381
01:49:54,251 --> 01:49:58,417
Let us protect its skies. Let us
use the frozen Russian assets.

1382
01:49:58,484 --> 01:50:03,642
Let us rise to the occasion. Europe must
stop waiting for anything from Donald

1383
01:50:03,709 --> 01:50:09,000
Trump. It must absolutely build its
independence to defend its values, to combat

1384
01:50:09,066 --> 01:50:14,092
China's unfair competition, to protect
its economy and jobs, and to increase

1385
01:50:14,158 --> 01:50:19,317
Europeans' purchasing power. And to
achieve this, we need an ambitious budget,

1386
01:50:19,383 --> 01:50:23,484
equipped with new resources,
capable of giving us more leeway.

1387
01:50:23,550 --> 01:50:26,989
So let's stop dithering.
Let's stop being defeatist.

1388
01:50:27,056 --> 01:50:29,635
Let's be radically European. Thank you.

1389
01:50:29,935 --> 01:50:37,516
Thank you. Next speaker,
Damian Bozalaghed.

1390
01:50:37,693 --> 01:50:41,395
Could be enough, yes.

1391
01:50:48,655 --> 01:50:53,321
Dear President Costa, whenever Europe's
27 leaders meet to solve our problems, we

1392
01:50:53,379 --> 01:50:55,799
get your document expressing deep concern.

1393
01:50:55,856 --> 01:51:00,062
Underlining the urgency and reiterating
the need for something to happen.

1394
01:51:00,119 --> 01:51:04,901
Now, President Costa, while I understand
the power of words, in these chaotic times

1395
01:51:04,959 --> 01:51:09,625
we lack action, not words. When Trump cuts
Starshield and Ukrainians die in their

1396
01:51:09,683 --> 01:51:14,464
sleep, Europe needs to act. When young
people take to the streets for their future,

1397
01:51:14,522 --> 01:51:19,246
Europe needs to act. When Serbians are
trying to get rid of their dictator, Europe

1398
01:51:19,303 --> 01:51:23,970
needs to act. And when a mother is held
at gunpoint every day when picking up her

1399
01:51:24,028 --> 01:51:27,023
son at school in the West
Bank, Europe needs to act.

1400
01:51:27,081 --> 01:51:31,747
President Costa, I know that bringing 27
leaders together on the same will is not

1401
01:51:31,805 --> 01:51:34,455
easy, especially when
they're so weak at home.

1402
01:51:34,513 --> 01:51:39,352
But governing Europe is not only about
finding a common will, it's also about acting

1403
01:51:39,409 --> 01:51:43,269
on that will. So allow me to say
it in the language of the Council:

1404
01:51:43,327 --> 01:51:47,244
we strongly encourage European
leaders to move from words to action.

1405
01:51:47,302 --> 01:51:51,911
We underline the urgent need to replace
the 27 weak national leaders with a real

1406
01:51:51,968 --> 01:51:56,635
European government, and we demand that
the people of Europe are allowed to elect

1407
01:51:56,692 --> 01:51:58,075
their future. Thank you.

1408
01:51:58,735 --> 01:52:01,915
Thank you. Next speaker,
Estrella Galán, please.

1409
01:52:06,175 --> 01:52:11,213
Thank you, Mr President. Mr Costas, there
is enormous unrest in Europe, unrest that

1410
01:52:11,274 --> 01:52:15,826
is being expressed in housing protests,
in demonstrations for education, in

1411
01:52:15,887 --> 01:52:20,925
mobilisations over the cost of living. But
Ms von der Leyen has understood nothing,

1412
01:52:20,986 --> 01:52:25,902
nor has she even stayed to listen to it.
A large part of that unrest is affecting

1413
01:52:25,963 --> 01:52:29,787
young people. And what they are
telling us is something brutal:

1414
01:52:29,848 --> 01:52:34,461
we have no future. They had the opportunity
to tell the majority of society:

1415
01:52:34,521 --> 01:52:39,377
'We have heard you and we are going to
change course.' However, that is not what

1416
01:52:39,438 --> 01:52:44,173
they have done. They are once again
displaying the same old short-sightedness.

1417
01:52:44,233 --> 01:52:49,150
More deregulation and more borders is not
the answer to a precarious life with no

1418
01:52:49,211 --> 01:52:54,249
future. Completing the single market is
not the answer to the cost of living, which

1419
01:52:54,309 --> 01:52:59,408
is the nightmare of millions of families.
More competitiveness is not what is needed

1420
01:52:59,469 --> 01:53:04,446
to guarantee that housing is a right. You
mind your own business, and then you are

1421
01:53:04,507 --> 01:53:08,634
surprised that the weeds of the far
right keep growing at your feet.

1422
01:53:08,695 --> 01:53:12,215
The bad thing is that it is
not growing only at your feet;

1423
01:53:12,276 --> 01:53:13,915
it is also growing at ours.

1424
01:53:15,175 --> 01:53:19,555
Thank you. Next speaker,
Hans Neuhof. Please.

1425
01:53:28,135 --> 01:53:34,172
The EU’s Ukraine strategy has failed. 21
packages of sanctions have not brought

1426
01:53:34,249 --> 01:53:39,980
Russia to its knees. Its arms industry
is operating at full throttle, while

1427
01:53:40,056 --> 01:53:44,718
Ukraine's financial needs have
proven to be a bottomless pit.

1428
01:53:44,794 --> 01:53:50,984
Ukraine remains exposed to Russian drones
and missiles, while Moscow’s conditions

1429
01:53:51,061 --> 01:53:54,958
for negotiations remain
unchanged. remain the same.

1430
01:53:55,034 --> 01:54:00,919
The conclusions of the European Council
on this are nothing but a document of

1431
01:54:00,995 --> 01:54:04,281
failure. The same
appeals and declarations:

1432
01:54:04,358 --> 01:54:09,172
'Keep fighting, Ukraine,' which
we have been hearing for years.

1433
01:54:09,248 --> 01:54:13,757
Ukraine cannot continue this
war of attrition indefinitely.

1434
01:54:13,834 --> 01:54:17,502
Its population has shrunk
from 52 to 22 million.

1435
01:54:17,578 --> 01:54:23,768
Ladies and gentlemen, after the recapture
of the Vietnamese city of Bến Tre, a US

1436
01:54:23,844 --> 01:54:28,735
officer said: "We had to destroy
this city in order to save it."

1437
01:54:28,812 --> 01:54:35,154
Who among you would want to be responsible
for a policy about which it will one day

1438
01:54:35,231 --> 01:54:36,355
be said...

1439
01:54:36,355 --> 01:54:37,555
We do conclude. Please.

1440
01:54:37,915 --> 01:54:39,595
save them, and has done so.

1441
01:54:39,775 --> 01:54:42,934
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much.

1442
01:54:43,009 --> 01:54:45,115
Next speaker, Niklas Herbst.

1443
01:54:49,675 --> 01:54:53,563
Thank you, Mr President. My dear ladies
and gentlemen, I live in Kiel on the Baltic

1444
01:54:53,610 --> 01:54:55,998
Sea, and the Baltic Sea is
the main operating area.

1445
01:54:56,045 --> 01:54:59,933
Thank you, Mr President. My dear ladies
and gentlemen, I live in Kiel on the Baltic

1446
01:54:59,980 --> 01:55:03,680
Sea, and the Baltic Sea is the main
operating area of the Russian shadow fleet.

1447
01:55:03,727 --> 01:55:07,240
This is not only a threat to security
policy and the economy, it is also an

1448
01:55:07,287 --> 01:55:10,613
ecological threat to us in an ecosystem
that is already very sensitive.

1449
01:55:10,659 --> 01:55:13,704
And we do not have to wait for
attacks. We have experienced them.

1450
01:55:13,751 --> 01:55:17,639
There have been attacks on undersea cables,
the lifelines in the Baltic Sea region.

1451
01:55:17,685 --> 01:55:21,292
These are not just random incidents. We
have seen espionage attempts, acts of

1452
01:55:21,339 --> 01:55:23,306
sabotage, drone overflights, cyberattacks.

1453
01:55:23,353 --> 01:55:27,241
So we do not have to wait. The attacks are
happening, and we must also make it very

1454
01:55:27,288 --> 01:55:31,035
clear to people: that is why it is important
that the conclusions of the Council

1455
01:55:31,082 --> 01:55:34,782
also include security policy demands. I
do not read too much of them, but some.

1456
01:55:34,829 --> 01:55:38,623
For example, regarding the Agile programme,
which is praised but is still far too

1457
01:55:38,670 --> 01:55:41,012
limited and is essentially
still in a pilot phase.

1458
01:55:41,059 --> 01:55:43,447
On military mobility, which
is extremely important.

1459
01:55:43,494 --> 01:55:47,429
And hopefully will also be seen in the
countries that are a little further away from

1460
01:55:47,476 --> 01:55:50,333
the NATO eastern flank. And the
European Union must act here.

1461
01:55:50,380 --> 01:55:52,675
And there is the saying,
which I think fits well:

1462
01:55:52,675 --> 01:55:53,935
"Put your money where your mouth is."

1463
01:55:54,055 --> 01:55:57,945
Because if we look at what the proposal is
in the current negotiating box, cuts are

1464
01:55:57,992 --> 01:56:01,835
being made precisely in these areas. And
that is why, ladies and gentlemen, we all

1465
01:56:01,882 --> 01:56:04,600
need to move. And. That is
also my message to the Council:

1466
01:56:04,647 --> 01:56:08,349
here in Parliament you will find many
well-meaning forces that are able to move

1467
01:56:08,396 --> 01:56:12,145
forward as well. In order to actually
create these opportunities within the next

1468
01:56:12,192 --> 01:56:15,894
multiannual financial framework, however,
this movement must also happen on the

1469
01:56:15,941 --> 01:56:19,878
Council’s side. We are ready, and we hope
that the Council is too, for the people in

1470
01:56:19,925 --> 01:56:22,315
the Baltic Sea region and
across Europe. Thank you.

1471
01:56:23,395 --> 01:56:25,675
Colleague Herbst, Colleague Herbst,

1472
01:56:25,735 --> 01:56:29,755
you have a two blue cards. First one
is Luca Zipper, would you accept it?

1473
01:56:31,255 --> 01:56:32,455
I have already been waiting.

1474
01:56:32,635 --> 01:56:33,835
Yeah, please.

1475
01:56:36,055 --> 01:56:41,209
Thank you very much, Mr President. Thank
you very much, colleague, for accepting the

1476
01:56:41,270 --> 01:56:46,240
blue card. I am also pleased about that.
That I am allowed to ask you a question.

1477
01:56:46,301 --> 01:56:49,491
I would like to play devil’s
advocate a little here.

1478
01:56:49,553 --> 01:56:54,645
Because you and I, I think we both know
that when we go out to the public – and you

1479
01:56:54,706 --> 01:56:59,798
have said we need to explain this to people
– it keeps happening that people say we

1480
01:56:59,860 --> 01:57:04,768
are to blame for having provoked Russia,
that we are the aggressors, that we are

1481
01:57:04,829 --> 01:57:09,860
standing in the way of peace. Now, you and
I both agree that that is not the case.

1482
01:57:09,922 --> 01:57:13,480
But what do you say to these
people to change their minds?

1483
01:57:13,541 --> 01:57:14,741
Thank you.

1484
01:57:15,115 --> 01:57:17,517
Also, where I come from, the
people are very peaceful.

1485
01:57:17,562 --> 01:57:20,320
But they also know how maritime
navigation works, for example.

1486
01:57:20,365 --> 01:57:22,856
And that you don’t accidentally
destroy undersea cables.

1487
01:57:22,900 --> 01:57:26,326
Rather, that it is a targeted attack.
And that it is a targeted attack on us.

1488
01:57:26,370 --> 01:57:29,663
And the people understand that too,
when you confront them with the truth.

1489
01:57:29,707 --> 01:57:32,866
And that is why I believe that if we
simply stick to the facts and say:

1490
01:57:32,910 --> 01:57:36,647
We are not attacking anyone, we are not
destroying any undersea cables, but they are

1491
01:57:36,692 --> 01:57:39,850
being destroyed in our waters, then
I think that is explanation enough.

1492
01:57:39,895 --> 01:57:42,475
And the vast majority of people
understand that very well.

1493
01:57:44,815 --> 01:57:50,696
Thank you. Kollege Herbst, the second card
is from Kollege Jungblut, 613, would you

1494
01:57:50,766 --> 01:57:51,715
accept it?

1495
01:57:51,715 --> 01:57:55,163
I am not quite as pleased about the colleague
Mr Sipper, but progress is being made

1496
01:57:55,204 --> 01:57:56,404
here too, of course.

1497
01:57:58,135 --> 01:57:58,615
Please.

1498
01:57:58,615 --> 01:58:02,826
Yes, thank you very much, colleague. I
am all the more pleased to be able to put

1499
01:58:02,878 --> 01:58:06,984
this question to you. Very briefly: you
have indeed criticised some cuts quite

1500
01:58:07,036 --> 01:58:11,247
clearly, and now the fact is that even
Germany’s Federal Chancellor is proposing

1501
01:58:11,300 --> 01:58:15,247
significant cuts. That means that even
the proposals from the Irish Council

1502
01:58:15,300 --> 01:58:19,668
Presidency do not go far enough for you.
He says that we actually need to make even

1503
01:58:19,721 --> 01:58:22,932
more significant cuts to the
multiannual financial framework.

1504
01:58:22,984 --> 01:58:27,405
How does this align with your demands that
we should significantly increase spending

1505
01:58:27,458 --> 01:58:28,658
in some areas?

1506
01:58:29,395 --> 01:58:33,164
As I have already said, I believe that we
should all leave our trenches and discuss

1507
01:58:33,209 --> 01:58:35,207
how to spend money in
the most sensible way.

1508
01:58:35,253 --> 01:58:38,886
That is the only question. It is not just
about the amount, but really about the

1509
01:58:38,931 --> 01:58:40,929
question: where can
things best be achieved?

1510
01:58:40,974 --> 01:58:44,426
And I am quite certain that if we not
only quote the Federal Chancellor in a

1511
01:58:44,471 --> 01:58:47,968
shortened form, but also quote him on
the fact that he is very committed to a

1512
01:58:48,013 --> 01:58:51,646
modernised budget, to greater competitiveness
and to greater defence capability,

1513
01:58:51,691 --> 01:58:54,552
that this can also have positive
effects on the federal budget.

1514
01:58:54,597 --> 01:58:57,731
So we should all move away a little
from this very simplistic debate:

1515
01:58:57,776 --> 01:59:01,318
How much money are you spending? Instead:
How can we best spend the taxpayers'

1516
01:59:01,363 --> 01:59:04,315
money? The Herr Finanzamt can also
make a good contribution here.

1517
01:59:05,035 --> 01:59:10,934
Yeah, thank you. So, next speaker, no,
blue card is over, yeah, so thank you,

1518
01:59:11,011 --> 01:59:14,995
Kollege Herbst. Next speaker,
Javier Moreno Sánchez.

1519
01:59:18,655 --> 01:59:22,811
Thank you, Mr President. Mr President,
Commissioner, honourable Members.

1520
01:59:22,869 --> 01:59:27,602
Let us recall that the European Parliament
is the budgetary authority and that the

1521
01:59:27,660 --> 01:59:32,508
pro-European forces are prepared to reject
the Council’s inadequate proposal for the

1522
01:59:32,566 --> 01:59:37,357
next multiannual financial framework. This
would lead to an unprecedented financial

1523
01:59:37,415 --> 01:59:42,206
and institutional crisis that would leave
a weak Union, adrift in a turbulent world

1524
01:59:42,263 --> 01:59:46,997
order. We need a competitive and green
Europe that guarantees its own security and

1525
01:59:47,054 --> 01:59:51,557
defence. Honourable Members, the proposal
from the Irish Presidency is clearly

1526
01:59:51,614 --> 01:59:56,174
insufficient to keep the European Union
united, cohesive both territorially and

1527
01:59:56,232 --> 02:00:00,792
socially. As defended by my country's
President, Pedro Sánchez, at the European

1528
02:00:00,850 --> 02:00:04,775
Council, cuts cannot be made.
Moreover, own resources are essential.

1529
02:00:04,833 --> 02:00:08,989
The priority is the health, education,
work and housing of our citizens.

1530
02:00:09,046 --> 02:00:12,394
That is why an adequate European
Social Fund is essential.

1531
02:00:12,452 --> 02:00:17,243
Mr President, the agreement must be finalised
in December so that this House can do

1532
02:00:17,301 --> 02:00:22,034
its work and adopt the legislative acts
that guarantee the continuity of the funds

1533
02:00:22,092 --> 02:00:25,555
in 2028. Mr President Costa,
we are counting on your skills.

1534
02:00:26,935 --> 02:00:30,115
Yeah, thank you very much. Next
speaker, Jean-Paul Garreau.

1535
02:00:36,055 --> 02:00:39,637
At the last European Council, the
social-democrat Prime Minister of Denmark

1536
02:00:39,685 --> 02:00:43,554
delivered a damning assessment that we
have been making for years among patriots.

1537
02:00:43,602 --> 02:00:47,375
Uncontrolled immigration threatens the
cohesion of our societies, weighs on our

1538
02:00:47,423 --> 02:00:49,477
public services and
exacerbates insecurity.

1539
02:00:49,524 --> 02:00:53,393
When a left-wing leader denounces mass
immigration, she completely undermines the

1540
02:00:53,441 --> 02:00:57,071
caricatures of political correctness
that would label any clear-eyed view on

1541
02:00:57,119 --> 02:01:00,892
migration as far-right. And we saw this,
moreover, just last weekend in France,

1542
02:01:00,940 --> 02:01:04,904
where hordes of rioters, many of them from
immigrant backgrounds, laid waste to our

1543
02:01:04,952 --> 02:01:07,053
to label all migration
realism as far-right.

1544
02:01:07,101 --> 02:01:11,066
And we saw this, moreover, last weekend in
France, where hordes of rioters, many of

1545
02:01:11,113 --> 02:01:14,648
them from immigration backgrounds,
ransacked our cities alongside far-left

1546
02:01:14,696 --> 02:01:18,660
militants. In Denmark, the left has understood
that ignoring the will of the people

1547
02:01:18,708 --> 02:01:21,574
is to betray the working classes
and open the door to chaos.

1548
02:01:21,621 --> 02:01:25,633
By contrast, the Spanish socialist Prime
Minister persists in mass regularisation of

1549
02:01:25,681 --> 02:01:29,407
several hundred thousand undocumented
migrants, putting all of Europe at risk.

1550
02:01:29,455 --> 02:01:33,371
Fortunately, the upcoming legislative
elections will correct this policy and bring

1551
02:01:33,419 --> 02:01:37,288
our allies from Vox to power. This European
fracture proves that the divide is no

1552
02:01:37,335 --> 02:01:41,061
longer between the right and the left,
between reality and denial, but between

1553
02:01:41,109 --> 02:01:45,025
patriots and globalists. Only the firmness
of nations, thank you, masters of their

1554
02:01:45,073 --> 02:01:46,315
borders, will save Europe.

1555
02:01:46,495 --> 02:01:51,804
Thank you. You have a blue card, Kollege
Garreau, from Schwab, Andreas Schwab, 199.

1556
02:01:51,868 --> 02:01:53,275
Would you accept? Yes?

1557
02:01:53,335 --> 02:01:53,635
Yes.

1558
02:01:53,635 --> 02:01:54,295
Please.

1559
02:01:54,295 --> 02:01:58,047
Thank you. Thank you, Mr President.
Dear colleagues, I am here.

1560
02:01:58,107 --> 02:02:02,693
So, I listened very carefully to your
speech on immigration, and since we are

1561
02:02:02,753 --> 02:02:05,492
talking about the budget,
I wanted to ask you:

1562
02:02:05,552 --> 02:02:10,555
what advantage do you see in the European
budget in the interest of French citizens?

1563
02:02:12,355 --> 02:02:15,683
But is this question related
to what I was talking about?

1564
02:02:15,741 --> 02:02:20,587
The European budget, if you want me to talk
about the European budget, it is indeed

1565
02:02:20,646 --> 02:02:25,142
a major subject, an immense subject,
with this key question being that of own

1566
02:02:25,200 --> 02:02:29,988
resources. Of this budget. To which we are
totally opposed, because we cannot, and

1567
02:02:30,046 --> 02:02:33,958
we do not want, an increase in the
European budget's own resources.

1568
02:02:34,016 --> 02:02:36,235
So I think that answers your question.

1569
02:02:37,615 --> 02:02:41,635
Thank you. Now, next
speaker, Johan van Overtvelt.

1570
02:02:47,695 --> 02:02:50,657
Mr President, President
Costa, Commissioner.

1571
02:02:50,724 --> 02:02:56,109
In the current geopolitically turbulent
circumstances, it is more important than

1572
02:02:56,176 --> 02:03:00,619
ever that the European Union places
competitiveness at the centre.

1573
02:03:00,686 --> 02:03:05,869
Our delegation therefore welcomes the
joint appeal by the German, Italian and

1574
02:03:05,937 --> 02:03:11,591
Belgian heads of government. The European
Union must enhance its competitiveness not

1575
02:03:11,658 --> 02:03:16,707
only by stimulating new investments
but also by actively removing legal and

1576
02:03:16,774 --> 02:03:22,226
administrative obstacles and by a
forward-looking reshaping of European budgetary

1577
02:03:22,294 --> 02:03:27,948
expenditures. Moreover, of course, competitiveness cannot be considered in isolation

1578
02:03:28,015 --> 02:03:32,727
from the phenomenon of China and the
unfair practices applied by them.

1579
02:03:32,795 --> 02:03:38,449
I repeat my call for a general import tariff
of around 10% on everything coming from

1580
02:03:38,516 --> 02:03:43,767
China. t. The revenue from this could
be used to support Ukraine, and we would

1581
02:03:43,834 --> 02:03:46,728
immediately send a
double message to China:

1582
02:03:46,796 --> 02:03:51,036
stop this unfair competition and
stop facilitating Putin’s war.

1583
02:03:51,104 --> 02:03:56,287
The EU will only be heard if it proves
that it can act truly, effectively and

1584
02:03:56,354 --> 02:03:57,835
decisively. Thank you.

1585
02:03:58,075 --> 02:04:02,984
Kollega, van Overtvelt. Kollega van
Overtvelt, you have a two blue cards, but I

1586
02:04:03,046 --> 02:04:08,266
would like to say, since you have those who
ask a blue c ard, you already have a KJI

1587
02:04:08,329 --> 02:04:13,051
registration, so please do it. We cannot
do both because of time constraint.

1588
02:04:13,114 --> 02:04:18,085
And the same with the kollega Koelemans,
Estelle, would you like to stay on KJI?

1589
02:04:18,147 --> 02:04:19,347
Or blue card?

1590
02:04:23,215 --> 02:04:27,118
I will have other opportunities to
question Mr van Overtvelt, including on Mr

1591
02:04:27,169 --> 02:04:31,021
Franken's remarks, so I will keep my
speaking time for later to focus on KJI

1592
02:04:31,072 --> 02:04:32,272
instead. Thank you.

1593
02:04:33,475 --> 02:04:34,675
Yeah, thank you, Johan.

1594
02:04:34,855 --> 02:04:36,055
Okay.

1595
02:04:38,755 --> 02:04:40,555
Next speaker, Engin Eroglou, please.

1596
02:04:43,435 --> 02:04:47,001
Honourable President of the Commission
Costa, honourable Commissioner and

1597
02:04:47,050 --> 02:04:51,056
Commissioner, now is the moment to listen
and less to Mr Commissioner, you and the

1598
02:04:51,105 --> 02:04:55,061
Commission are trying to give a naked man
a shirt by reaching into the pockets of

1599
02:04:55,110 --> 02:04:59,067
some Member States. it’s not even got
pockets left because there’s no money left.

1600
02:04:59,116 --> 02:05:02,926
And the reason there’s no money left in
the Member States is that the European

1601
02:05:02,975 --> 02:05:06,834
Commission, with its announcements and
massive regulation of the economy in the

1602
02:05:06,883 --> 02:05:10,987
European Union during the last mandate, has
broken the legs and arms of the economy.

1603
02:05:11,036 --> 02:05:15,090
And the only thing, Mr Commissioner, that
will move us forward now is not trying to

1604
02:05:15,139 --> 02:05:18,900
take money from a naked man, but to make
the economy capable of action again.

1605
02:05:18,949 --> 02:05:23,004
And this also applies to you, Mr Costa. We
now finally have to start extracting the

1606
02:05:23,053 --> 02:05:25,935
raw materials that are in the
ground in the European Union.

1607
02:05:25,984 --> 02:05:29,794
We must finally start processing the raw
materials that we have then extracted

1608
02:05:29,843 --> 02:05:33,653
within the European Union. Through
extraction, through processing, through the

1609
02:05:33,702 --> 02:05:37,757
economy, innovation will emerge, and through
growth we will solve our problems, not

1610
02:05:37,806 --> 02:05:39,955
through redistribution.
Thank you very much.

1611
02:05:40,855 --> 02:05:43,555
Thank you very much. Next
speaker, Benedetta Scuderi.

1612
02:05:47,995 --> 02:05:52,790
European families are being crushed by
electricity and energy prices and the

1613
02:05:52,853 --> 02:05:57,774
cost-of-living crisis. And the European
Council is failing to propose anything

1614
02:05:57,837 --> 02:06:01,434
substantial: no fuel price
cap, no tax on excess profits.

1615
02:06:01,497 --> 02:06:06,607
In return, you have accepted the postponement
of the methane rules and a plan for

1616
02:06:06,670 --> 02:06:11,970
refineries. In the face of the fossil fuel
crisis, the response is more fossil fuel.

1617
02:06:12,033 --> 02:06:16,955
You wrote it yourselves: transition is
the most effective way to lower prices.

1618
02:06:17,018 --> 02:06:21,750
But then the Irish Presidency proposes
cuts of €141 billion compared to the

1619
02:06:21,813 --> 02:06:24,526
Commission’s already
insufficient proposal.

1620
02:06:24,589 --> 02:06:29,384
We are reducing resources for businesses’
competitiveness and for the energy

1621
02:06:29,447 --> 02:06:34,684
transition. By cutting Horizon, which is
research, by almost a tenth and 30% of the

1622
02:06:34,747 --> 02:06:38,343
funds for democracy. Less
money for regions and cohesion.

1623
02:06:38,406 --> 02:06:43,580
All this for what reason? Why on earth
would we think of taxing the excess profits

1624
02:06:43,643 --> 02:06:48,816
of companies, the fossil fuel giants filling
their pockets because of this crisis?

1625
02:06:48,880 --> 02:06:53,927
Or of reducing spending on rearmament?
Leave these buildings and look at what is

1626
02:06:53,990 --> 02:06:58,848
happening. And perhaps you will understand
that this is the time to invest in

1627
02:06:58,911 --> 02:07:01,435
energy, our people, and our territories.

1628
02:07:02,215 --> 02:07:05,035
Thank you. Next speaker,
Daniel Buda, please.

1629
02:07:07,255 --> 02:07:12,366
Mr President, thank you, Mr Costa. I welcome
the conclusions of the European Council

1630
02:07:12,427 --> 02:07:17,052
at point 17, which strongly condemn the
attacks by the Russian Federation on

1631
02:07:17,113 --> 02:07:21,859
commercial vessels in the Black Sea.
This is one of the world's most important

1632
02:07:21,920 --> 02:07:26,727
commercial routes for cereals and plays
a crucial role in global food security.

1633
02:07:26,787 --> 02:07:31,899
Romania has decisively contributed to the
functioning of these solidarity corridors,

1634
02:07:31,960 --> 02:07:36,949
with millions of tonnes of cereals being
transported through the Port of Constanța

1635
02:07:37,010 --> 02:07:42,000
and along the Danube. If the Black Sea
becomes unsafe, Ukrainian exports will once

1636
02:07:42,061 --> 02:07:46,624
again be redirected to overland routes.
This means higher costs, logistical

1637
02:07:46,685 --> 02:07:51,614
bottlenecks and additional pressure on
the agricultural markets in Romania and in

1638
02:07:51,675 --> 02:07:54,230
the other Member States bordering Ukraine.

1639
02:07:54,291 --> 02:07:57,212
The gravity of the situation
is already evident.

1640
02:07:57,273 --> 02:08:01,836
According to data received this morning,
over 5 million tonnes of grain are

1641
02:08:01,897 --> 02:08:06,948
currently awaiting transport from the Black
Sea region, but the insecurity of trade

1642
02:08:07,009 --> 02:08:12,120
routes is blocking these exports. Romanian
farmers and those in the EU Member States

1643
02:08:12,181 --> 02:08:16,866
on the eastern border must receive
guarantees that their activity will not be

1644
02:08:16,927 --> 02:08:20,030
affected by the current
situation in the Black Sea.

1645
02:08:20,091 --> 02:08:24,716
Therefore, I call on the European
Commission and the Council to come up with

1646
02:08:24,776 --> 02:08:29,888
concrete measures and rapid funding to
secure ports, protect commercial vessels, and

1647
02:08:29,949 --> 02:08:34,269
strengthen defence capabilities
against drones in Romania and Bulgaria.

1648
02:08:34,330 --> 02:08:39,319
Dear colleagues, we cannot talk about
global food security without security in the

1649
02:08:39,380 --> 02:08:41,875
Black Sea and the Danube area. Thank you.

1650
02:08:42,775 --> 02:08:46,315
Thank you. Next speaker,
René Lepazi, please.

1651
02:08:52,615 --> 02:08:57,232
Mr President, dear colleagues, let me
immediately address the Irish Council

1652
02:08:57,293 --> 02:09:02,464
Presidency. Mr President, dear colleagues,
how can you put forward a budget proposal

1653
02:09:02,525 --> 02:09:07,696
that at the same time so blatantly ignores
reality and then also and colleagues, let

1654
02:09:07,758 --> 02:09:11,082
me turn straight away to the
Irish Council Presidency.

1655
02:09:11,143 --> 02:09:16,314
How can you present a budget proposal that
is so blind to reality and also sets such

1656
02:09:16,376 --> 02:09:20,869
wrong priorities? Europe needs
innovation, Europe needs investment in its

1657
02:09:20,931 --> 02:09:23,762
competitiveness. And
what do you come up with?

1658
02:09:23,824 --> 02:09:27,579
You cut research, you cut
education, you cut competitiveness.

1659
02:09:27,640 --> 02:09:32,134
One euro invested in research corresponds
to 11 euros in economic output.

1660
02:09:32,195 --> 02:09:34,904
That’s what your own
Research Minister said.

1661
02:09:34,965 --> 02:09:40,013
Your cuts to research correspond, compared
to the Commission's proposal, to a loss

1662
02:09:40,074 --> 02:09:42,906
of 150 billion euros in
economic output alone.

1663
02:09:42,968 --> 02:09:47,954
And this at a time when top researchers
are leaving the USA and Asia is competing

1664
02:09:48,015 --> 02:09:53,124
for the best minds. are flocking. If you
are so afraid of tractors, then do not cut

1665
02:09:53,186 --> 02:09:56,510
back on the future of Europe
and our young generation;

1666
02:09:56,571 --> 02:10:01,742
instead, introduce a digital tax on Big
Tech that pays what the Member States cannot

1667
02:10:01,804 --> 02:10:03,835
or do not want to pay. Thank you.

1668
02:10:04,615 --> 02:10:06,595
Next speaker, Harald Vilimski.

1669
02:10:09,355 --> 02:10:15,108
Thank you very much, Mr President. Dear
colleagues, we are having a rather lifeless

1670
02:10:15,177 --> 02:10:20,929
debate on the conclusions of the Council
meeting of 15 and 16 October, during which

1671
02:10:20,999 --> 02:10:26,751
migration was also a topic. Rather, we
should have a lively debate about how we are

1672
02:10:26,821 --> 02:10:30,009
to address the current
developments in Europe:

1673
02:10:30,078 --> 02:10:35,553
Look to Paris, to Milan, to many cities
across Europe, where tens of thousands,

1674
02:10:35,623 --> 02:10:41,306
hundreds of thousands of people young men
who are obviously and clearly of Arab or

1675
02:10:41,375 --> 02:10:46,851
African origin or affiliation are roaming
and vandalising through these cities,

1676
02:10:46,920 --> 02:10:52,465
where windows and shop fronts are already
being smashed shops are being smashed,

1677
02:10:52,534 --> 02:10:58,009
where these young men are jumping on
cars, where street battles are being waged

1678
02:10:58,079 --> 02:11:03,831
against police officers, where people are
living in fear, where the state order has

1679
02:11:03,900 --> 02:11:09,584
completely failed. This is a complete
failure of migration policy, and it is also,

1680
02:11:09,653 --> 02:11:14,643
in a sense, an invasion and an attack
on European values, perpetrated by

1681
02:11:14,713 --> 02:11:18,871
Islamist-influenced structures.
What is being chanted there?

1682
02:11:18,940 --> 02:11:24,069
Calls for Palestine are being chanted,
Islamist slogans are being chanted.

1683
02:11:24,138 --> 02:11:29,752
That cannot be. This Europe is built on
the values of humanism and enlightenment.

1684
02:11:29,822 --> 02:11:34,465
We are not the place for developments
of this kind, of this nature.

1685
02:11:34,535 --> 02:11:40,218
And we want to say this to the people who
are attacking our values, our lives, our

1686
02:11:40,287 --> 02:11:43,891
culture and our countries:
You are not welcome here.

1687
02:11:43,961 --> 02:11:45,161
Go home.

1688
02:11:46,315 --> 02:11:49,195
Thank you. Next speaker,
the ERDCRD. Please.

1689
02:11:55,855 --> 02:12:01,726
Your partner, Turkey, is provoking again;
just yesterday, it issued a new illegal

1690
02:12:01,798 --> 02:12:07,742
NAVTEX, directly challenging the sovereign
rights of European Union member states.

1691
02:12:07,814 --> 02:12:13,323
At the same time, Libya’s Parliament
has approved the illegal Turkish-Libyan

1692
02:12:13,395 --> 02:12:18,396
memorandum, which you yourselves
have characterised as null and void.

1693
02:12:18,469 --> 02:12:24,412
And Europe stands by idly. You talk to us
about European defence, about protecting

1694
02:12:24,485 --> 02:12:27,674
every inch of European
soil. What do we see?

1695
02:12:27,746 --> 02:12:31,733
Occupation in Ukraine?
Sanctions? Occupation in Cyprus?

1696
02:12:31,805 --> 02:12:35,792
Words. Russian violations?
Support? Turkish violations?

1697
02:12:35,864 --> 02:12:41,663
Again, just words. Mr Kóstas, Europe is
not confined to the offices in Brussels.

1698
02:12:41,735 --> 02:12:45,577
Europe is Greece, it is the
Aegean, it is Cyprus too.

1699
02:12:45,649 --> 02:12:50,868
Enough with declarations of sympathy;
we demand consequences for Turkey.

1700
02:12:50,940 --> 02:12:54,637
You do not bow to terrorist
states; you stand tall.

1701
02:12:54,709 --> 02:13:00,290
You do not shake their hand; you squeeze
them financially, with sanctions and

1702
02:13:00,363 --> 02:13:01,563
strength.

1703
02:13:01,855 --> 02:13:04,555
Thank you. Next speaker,
Helmut Brandstetter.

1704
02:13:14,335 --> 02:13:18,339
Thank you, Mr President. Commissioner,
Mr President, on Russian television

1705
02:13:18,393 --> 02:13:21,802
yesterday, a friend of Putin sent
a message to Mr Trump saying:

1706
02:13:21,856 --> 02:13:25,427
"Let’s divide up Europe like
brothers." "That is what it is about.

1707
02:13:25,481 --> 02:13:29,809
So it seems we do not only have friends,
so we must defend ourselves, and we can

1708
02:13:29,864 --> 02:13:34,300
only do that together. And the European
Council has come up with some, but far too

1709
02:13:34,354 --> 02:13:38,304
few, answers." Yes, we need to cut
red tape, but please tell the national

1710
02:13:38,358 --> 02:13:40,685
governments that they
also need to do that.

1711
02:13:40,739 --> 02:13:44,526
Trading with China is unfair, and
we also need to get tougher on that.

1712
02:13:44,580 --> 02:13:47,881
And we need to respond to the
threats from the United States.

1713
02:13:47,935 --> 02:13:51,885
Yes, we are in favour of Made in Europe
because that secures jobs for us.

1714
02:13:51,939 --> 02:13:56,322
We are not going to be intimidated. We
finally need the single capital market and

1715
02:13:56,376 --> 02:13:58,973
the EU, Inc. And yes,
migration is a huge issue.

1716
02:13:59,027 --> 02:14:03,464
We have the Migration Pact; right-wing
extremists are pleased about every problem.

1717
02:14:03,518 --> 02:14:06,818
We are the ones who say: "The
Migration Pact solves problems.

1718
02:14:06,872 --> 02:14:10,335
" We have to do this together.
And we can only do this together.

1719
02:14:10,389 --> 02:14:14,772
Yes, democracy is arduous, the rule of
law is sometimes arduous and difficult, it

1720
02:14:14,826 --> 02:14:18,722
takes time. And our freedom is abused
by others, through disinformation.

1721
02:14:18,776 --> 02:14:21,102
All the more reason we
must stand together.

1722
02:14:21,156 --> 02:14:25,647
Only a united Europe can secure everything
that makes this wonderful Europe what it

1723
02:14:25,701 --> 02:14:27,595
is and also our freedom. Thank you.

1724
02:14:28,675 --> 02:14:33,688
Next, next speaker, before
we. Martus Scheller.

1725
02:14:33,795 --> 02:14:34,995
Sorry.

1726
02:14:37,255 --> 02:14:44,298
Europe has an hourglass on its head. Its
deindustrialisation is proceeding at an

1727
02:14:44,386 --> 02:14:51,604
ever faster, unstoppable pace. Europe had
set itself the target of reaching 14% of

1728
02:14:51,692 --> 02:14:58,559
GDP by 2025. This target was then revised
by the Irish Presidency, pushing its

1729
02:14:58,647 --> 02:15:06,042
deadline back to 2035. But in reality we
know full well that this target will become

1730
02:15:06,130 --> 02:15:12,556
very difficult to achieve. Because we
are shooting ourselves in the foot.

1731
02:15:12,644 --> 02:15:19,775
For three reasons. First: the ETS. We
cannot imagine paying while other countries

1732
02:15:19,863 --> 02:15:23,912
countries far from Europe
continue to pollute.

1733
02:15:24,000 --> 02:15:31,219
We cannot imagine that Europe, which
represent only 5% of global CO₂ emissions and

1734
02:15:31,307 --> 02:15:38,173
European industry only 1.2%, in the end
we still end up paying for everything.

1735
02:15:38,261 --> 02:15:45,216
The over-regulation from Europe, every
day we are there building new rules that

1736
02:15:45,304 --> 02:15:51,466
bring our industries difficulty in
adapting, difficulty in keeping up.

1737
02:15:51,554 --> 02:15:58,421
this. And then we cannot imagine that
we continue to reason with a free trade.

1738
02:15:58,509 --> 02:16:05,728
We must reason with a fair trade. In other
words, we cannot imagine that countries

1739
02:16:05,816 --> 02:16:12,506
which do not act in a similar way to
us can then benefit from our commercial

1740
02:16:12,594 --> 02:16:15,235
capacity. That is why we must—

1741
02:16:15,475 --> 02:16:16,015
Thank you very much.

1742
02:16:16,015 --> 02:16:17,155
—give us one.

1743
02:16:17,155 --> 02:16:20,506
Thank you, colleagues. So, I
have to be fair to everybody:

1744
02:16:20,564 --> 02:16:24,955
micro is switched off. Please. Next
speaker, Vice President Victor Negresco.

1745
02:16:29,035 --> 02:16:34,083
President, colleagues, the latest European
Council has exposed deep divisions over

1746
02:16:34,145 --> 02:16:38,886
the next EU budget. Some member states
want to cut the budget, others want to

1747
02:16:38,947 --> 02:16:43,996
protect traditional policies, and Europeans
are struggling with high living costs.

1748
02:16:44,057 --> 02:16:49,167
So we cannot do more with less. I fully
support Presidents Costa's efforts to bring

1749
02:16:49,229 --> 02:16:54,277
countries closer together. And I believe
an extraordinary council dedicated to the

1750
02:16:54,339 --> 02:16:58,094
next MFF is necessary. But we
need more than another meeting.

1751
02:16:58,156 --> 02:17:00,926
We need political
leadership from EU leaders:

1752
02:17:00,988 --> 02:17:04,066
clear priorities and a
willingness to compromis e.

1753
02:17:04,128 --> 02:17:06,837
Cohesion and agriculture
must remain strong.

1754
02:17:06,898 --> 02:17:11,269
Competitiveness, security, health,
and education need adequate funding.

1755
02:17:11,331 --> 02:17:16,441
And they require new resources. The European
Parliament is central to this process.

1756
02:17:16,503 --> 02:17:20,073
We are co-decision-makers,
representing European citizens.

1757
02:17:20,135 --> 02:17:24,999
We will not support a budget that weakens
the capacity of the EU to deliver for

1758
02:17:25,060 --> 02:17:29,678
citizens. Europe needs unity, but unity
cannot mean lowering our ambitions.

1759
02:17:29,739 --> 02:17:30,939
Thank you.

1760
02:17:31,375 --> 02:17:34,195
Thank you. Next speaker,
Tom van den Driessche.

1761
02:17:39,055 --> 02:17:42,574
Mr President, they claim
that the money has run out.

1762
02:17:42,642 --> 02:17:47,379
That they therefore have to cut back
on our pensions and our families.

1763
02:17:47,446 --> 02:17:51,507
That they therefore have to
invent all kinds of extra taxes.

1764
02:17:51,574 --> 02:17:55,228
As if the Flemish people
aren’t already paying enough.

1765
02:17:55,296 --> 02:18:00,845
What is not being cut, however, is the
billions for the European Union, as von der

1766
02:18:00,913 --> 02:18:06,462
Leyen gets her way, Belgium’s contribution
will increase by no less than 4 billion

1767
02:18:06,530 --> 02:18:11,876
euros. 4 billion euros, per year. What
is not being cut is the billions for the

1768
02:18:11,943 --> 02:18:16,816
expansion of the European Union.
Albania, Moldova, Georgia and Gaza too.

1769
02:18:16,883 --> 02:18:22,229
The poorer the country, the more the
European Union is waving its money around.

1770
02:18:22,297 --> 02:18:27,508
Nor is there any saving on the billions
for an endless war in Ukraine with no

1771
02:18:27,575 --> 02:18:33,057
prospect of lasting peace. If we claim
that the money has run out, just know that

1772
02:18:33,125 --> 02:18:36,170
they are lying. The
money is not gone at all.

1773
02:18:36,237 --> 02:18:41,651
It seems to be gone only for our people.
They are being forgotten and abandoned.

1774
02:18:41,719 --> 02:18:44,155
And that, colleagues, has to change.

1775
02:18:44,515 --> 02:18:45,055
Thank you very much.

1776
02:18:45,055 --> 02:18:46,795
Well, our people have had
more than enough of it.

1777
02:18:47,035 --> 02:18:49,795
Thank you. Next speaker,
Sebastian Timkenen.

1778
02:18:57,115 --> 02:19:00,857
Dear President, EU
leaders have betrayed us.

1779
02:19:00,942 --> 02:19:06,726
How many cars have to be burned?
How many policemen have to be hurt?

1780
02:19:06,811 --> 02:19:13,955
How many businesses have to be looted? How
many cultural sites have to be destroyed?

1781
02:19:14,040 --> 02:19:17,867
How many neighborhoods
have to be segregated?

1782
02:19:17,952 --> 02:19:22,375
How many centers of
radicalization have to be built?

1783
02:19:22,460 --> 02:19:26,117
How many terrorists do
we have to tolerate?

1784
02:19:26,202 --> 02:19:31,901
How many girls have to be raped?
How many areas have to be invaded?

1785
02:19:31,986 --> 02:19:36,579
How many more before you do
what our citizens dem and?

1786
02:19:36,664 --> 02:19:38,875
Send them back. Thank you.

1787
02:19:40,375 --> 02:19:42,475
Thank you. Next speaker, Charles Gordons.

1788
02:19:48,535 --> 02:19:52,909
Mr President, as usual, the last European
Council was unable to agree on the next

1789
02:19:52,963 --> 02:19:57,390
multiannual financial framework. Mr
President, as usual, the last European Council

1790
02:19:57,444 --> 02:20:00,900
was unable to agree on the next
multiannual financial framework.

1791
02:20:01,008 --> 02:20:03,330
Two logics come into
play at such meetings:

1792
02:20:03,384 --> 02:20:07,865
arithmetic logic, which often overlooks
the positive impact of European integration

1793
02:20:07,919 --> 02:20:12,347
on Member States, and political logic.
What is different this time compared to the

1794
02:20:12,401 --> 02:20:16,936
past is a geopolitics that threatens the
place of the European Union and its role on

1795
02:20:16,990 --> 02:20:21,418
the international stage. Indeed, a gentleman
in Moscow who, in a first step, wants

1796
02:20:21,472 --> 02:20:25,846
to crush Ukraine, another gentleman in
Washington who is doing everything to make

1797
02:20:25,900 --> 02:20:30,111
the Kremlin feel at ease, and a gentleman
in Beijing who, on the surface, lets

1798
02:20:30,165 --> 02:20:34,539
things happen but who, in reality, is
openly siding with the aggressor are behind

1799
02:20:34,593 --> 02:20:39,129
the said threat. Soon, in China, a meeting
between these three gentlemen—let us call

1800
02:20:39,183 --> 02:20:43,394
it the ball of hypocrites—will take
place, and will no doubt meet their shared

1801
02:20:43,448 --> 02:20:46,526
aspiration to oust the European
Union from world affairs.

1802
02:20:46,580 --> 02:20:50,792
For now, it is hard, when it comes to
this triumvirate, not to think of Yalta.

1803
02:20:50,846 --> 02:20:55,273
They want to leave behind a world based
on rules, hitherto applicable to trade, to

1804
02:20:55,327 --> 02:20:56,527
respect for integrity.

1805
02:20:56,695 --> 02:20:57,775
Thank you, colleagues.

1806
02:20:57,775 --> 02:20:58,195
Thank you.

1807
02:20:58,195 --> 02:21:00,955
Any sign of weakness on the part of
the European Union could be fatal.

1808
02:21:01,255 --> 02:21:05,070
Thank you. Next speaker,
Élisabeth Rosenberg-Brionidi.

1809
02:21:05,140 --> 02:21:06,340
Please.

1810
02:21:09,655 --> 02:21:15,124
Thank you very much, Mr President. Hundreds
of thousands of European citizens, with

1811
02:21:15,190 --> 02:21:20,197
explosive protests, are opposing
austerity, energy costs and impoverishment.

1812
02:21:20,263 --> 02:21:25,468
In France, Italy, Belgium, Portugal and
Spain, the destructive consequences are

1813
02:21:25,534 --> 02:21:30,607
already visible. The recent Summit, Mr
President, Mr Kosta, which exposed the

1814
02:21:30,673 --> 02:21:36,208
divisions within the European Union, fuelled
the explosion and calls on all of us to

1815
02:21:36,274 --> 02:21:41,611
rise to the occasion. What do we say to
citizens who expect immediate action from

1816
02:21:41,676 --> 02:21:47,211
the leaders of the Member States for their
future, yet those leaders appear hesitant

1817
02:21:47,277 --> 02:21:52,416
and indecisive? How can we explain the
fact that only 16 countries support the

1818
02:21:52,482 --> 02:21:58,017
policy of... Mr President, the energy crisis,
a result of two wars, affects everyone

1819
02:21:58,083 --> 02:22:03,485
without exception. There can be no longer
be à la carte solidarity and a two-speed

1820
02:22:03,551 --> 02:22:06,648
policy, north-south, and
there is no time left.

1821
02:22:06,714 --> 02:22:12,248
Bold decisions are needed here and now. The
Greek government has taken the lead with

1822
02:22:12,314 --> 02:22:17,783
an effective and comprehensive proposal
that has already been positively evaluated,

1823
02:22:17,849 --> 02:22:21,143
and a swift adjustment by
the Council will follow.

1824
02:22:21,209 --> 02:22:26,085
We expect an immediate fair decision.
We are calling for additional fiscal

1825
02:22:26,151 --> 02:22:31,619
flexibility in order to fund temporary and
targeted measures to address the serious

1826
02:22:31,685 --> 02:22:36,693
crisis. A harsh winter is coming, and
we must support our societies that are

1827
02:22:36,759 --> 02:22:40,580
deprived and unable to cope
with the unprecedented crises.

1828
02:22:40,646 --> 02:22:45,983
After all, it is certain that the credibility
of our Union is judged each time by

1829
02:22:46,049 --> 02:22:48,355
its decisions. Thank you very much.

1830
02:22:49,015 --> 02:22:51,432
Thank you very much. Next
speaker, Elio Di Rupo.

1831
02:22:51,483 --> 02:22:52,683
Please.

1832
02:22:54,775 --> 02:23:00,545
Mr President, we are dependent and subject
to external blackmail in strategic areas

1833
02:23:00,614 --> 02:23:06,245
Mr President, we are dependent and subject
to external blackmail in strategically

1834
02:23:06,314 --> 02:23:11,876
vital areas such as energy, medicines,
artificial intelligence, food or defence.

1835
02:23:11,945 --> 02:23:17,506
We are going to have to invest hundreds
of billions, and free ourselves from the

1836
02:23:17,576 --> 02:23:22,859
trap in which Europe is ensnaring itself.
And above all, we must support our

1837
02:23:22,928 --> 02:23:28,420
European populations. More than half of
Europe's regions have a level of wealth

1838
02:23:28,489 --> 02:23:34,190
below the European average. On the
international stage, it is not enough to simply

1839
02:23:34,259 --> 02:23:38,917
express concern, particularly about
escalations in the Middle East.

1840
02:23:38,986 --> 02:23:44,200
Europeans need to be protected in terms
of their jobs, their incomes, their

1841
02:23:44,269 --> 02:23:49,761
purchasing power and their security. In
this dangerous world, for the lives and

1842
02:23:49,830 --> 02:23:55,113
future of Europeans, heads of State or
government must rise to the occasion.

1843
02:23:55,183 --> 02:23:58,172
We are emerging from
strategic complacency;

1844
02:23:58,242 --> 02:24:03,942
the time for acceleration is now. So, Mr
President, together, let us make Europe a

1845
02:24:04,011 --> 02:24:05,211
global power.

1846
02:24:05,815 --> 02:24:08,755
Thank you. Thank you. Next
speaker, Eszter Lajos.

1847
02:24:08,815 --> 02:24:10,015
Please.

1848
02:24:14,935 --> 02:24:18,940
Mr President! Honourable Members!
Without affordable energy, Europe has no

1849
02:24:18,994 --> 02:24:21,701
competitiveness. Mr
President! Honourable Members!

1850
02:24:21,755 --> 02:24:25,002
Without affordable energy,
Europe cannot remain competitive.

1851
02:24:25,056 --> 02:24:29,386
This was also emphasised by Heads of State
and Government at the October Council

1852
02:24:29,440 --> 02:24:33,554
meeting. However, the Member States are
not starting from an equal position.

1853
02:24:33,608 --> 02:24:37,775
Mr President! Honourable Members! Without
affordable energy, Europe cannot be

1854
02:24:37,830 --> 02:24:42,268
competitive. The heads of state and
government also emphasised this at the October

1855
02:24:42,322 --> 02:24:46,652
Council meeting. However, the Member
States do not start from an equal position.

1856
02:24:46,706 --> 02:24:50,549
Moreover, the Visegrád countries are
at a particular disadvantage here:

1857
02:24:50,603 --> 02:24:54,770
many of them have no coastline, and
diversifying energy imports also requires

1858
02:24:54,825 --> 02:24:59,209
significant infrastructure investments.
It is no coincidence that the electricity

1859
02:24:59,263 --> 02:25:03,809
prices in the region are now among the
highest in the European Union, and on Monday,

1860
02:25:03,863 --> 02:25:07,544
the four energy ministers also drew
attention to this in Bratislava.

1861
02:25:07,598 --> 02:25:11,765
These Member States need more EU support
and greater budgetary flexibility to

1862
02:25:11,820 --> 02:25:16,204
achieve the green transition and diversify
their energy supplies in the face of a

1863
02:25:16,258 --> 02:25:20,263
global energy crisis. EU regulations
must not increase, but rather reduce,

1864
02:25:20,317 --> 02:25:22,915
inequalities—and this
applies to energy as well.

1865
02:25:23,215 --> 02:25:26,635
Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker,
Vitenis Pavelos, Andrew Kaitis.

1866
02:25:34,135 --> 02:25:39,767
Dear colleagues, the issue of European
defense and security is particularly urgent

1867
02:25:39,836 --> 02:25:43,544
on the council agenda, Mr.
President. Let us be clear:

1868
02:25:43,613 --> 02:25:48,489
today in absence of European defense
union prolongs the war in Ukraine.

1869
02:25:48,558 --> 02:25:54,327
When member states doing defense separately
it's cost around 18 or 57 bill ion euros

1870
02:25:54,396 --> 02:25:57,761
per year is a waste of
money and a waste of time.

1871
02:25:57,830 --> 02:26:03,531
There are three clear demands. We need a
true single market for defense with common

1872
02:26:03,599 --> 02:26:08,682
testing, common certification, and
simple transfers between member states.

1873
02:26:08,750 --> 02:26:13,902
We need a European preference in the
coming defense procurement regulation.

1874
02:26:13,970 --> 02:26:19,671
And of course we need to make sure that we
fund only defense designed and developed

1875
02:26:19,739 --> 02:26:25,371
under European design authority and del
ivers through joint projects for the whole

1876
02:26:25,440 --> 02:26:31,209
European Union. Let's make solidarity against
hybrid threats from Lisbon to Helsinki

1877
02:26:31,278 --> 02:26:32,995
a reality, Mr. President.

1878
02:26:33,235 --> 02:26:35,995
Thank you very much. Next
speaker, Carlo Ressler.

1879
02:26:38,455 --> 02:26:44,436
We live in dangerous times that are imposing
ever greater and more numerous goals on

1880
02:26:44,507 --> 02:26:50,346
Europe. And at the same time, a long-term
budget is being proposed that is even 8%

1881
02:26:50,417 --> 02:26:55,971
smaller than the Commission's proposal.
This is not a serious response to what

1882
02:26:56,042 --> 02:27:01,880
surrounds us. Second, Europe must be ready
and have the courage to acknowledge its

1883
02:27:01,952 --> 02:27:07,434
own mistakes. Too many delusions about
migration, too little determination in

1884
02:27:07,505 --> 02:27:12,418
protecting borders. Too much
bureaucracy, too little competitiveness.

1885
02:27:12,489 --> 02:27:18,114
It is time for more responsibility, for
more self-confidence, and a little more

1886
02:27:18,186 --> 02:27:24,095
European guard. For a decisive response to
increasingly serious hybrid threats from

1887
02:27:24,167 --> 02:27:30,147
the east, for a Europe that knows how to
ensure security, including border security,

1888
02:27:30,219 --> 02:27:34,847
and for a budget that reduces
divides rather than deepening them.

1889
02:27:34,918 --> 02:27:40,757
Because the price of our divisions and a
weaker Europe would be enormous and would

1890
02:27:40,828 --> 02:27:44,815
not be felt or paid only here
in Strasbourg or Brussels.

1891
02:27:45,415 --> 02:27:48,835
Thank you. Next speaker,
Koštas Mavridis. Please.

1892
02:27:54,235 --> 02:27:58,879
The European Union cannot become
more autonomous with less budget.

1893
02:27:58,950 --> 02:28:04,720
Our citizens demand a very clear: security,
affordable housing, low energy prices,

1894
02:28:04,790 --> 02:28:10,631
and decent liv ing standards for which we
need adequate funding for strong cohesion

1895
02:28:10,701 --> 02:28:16,190
policies, and we must also remember that
is lands and remote regions face even

1896
02:28:16,261 --> 02:28:19,498
greater challenges and
need special attention.

1897
02:28:19,568 --> 02:28:25,127
An autonomous Europe also in defense and
the security is also a need to protect

1898
02:28:25,198 --> 02:28:30,898
Europe as a whole and not selectively.
Finally, in the Eastern Mediterranean, the

1899
02:28:30,968 --> 02:28:36,457
appeasement policy of EU has fueled for
years Turkey's neo-Ottoman aggression,

1900
02:28:36,527 --> 02:28:40,609
disregarding international law
against member stat es, Mr.

1901
02:28:40,679 --> 02:28:46,168
President, such as Cyprus and Greece,
with illegal occupation of EU territory,

1902
02:28:46,238 --> 02:28:50,601
weaponization of migrants, with
threats of war, and much more.

1903
02:28:50,671 --> 02:28:56,020
We had enough of words and condemnation.
We need concrete action against the

1904
02:28:56,090 --> 02:29:01,931
aggressor and violator, and one question:
did you ever suggest any sanction against

1905
02:29:02,001 --> 02:29:04,675
the neo-Ottoman expansionist policies?

1906
02:29:05,095 --> 02:29:07,435
Thank you. Next speaker, Reinhold Lopatka.

1907
02:29:09,895 --> 02:29:14,949
Dear colleagues, the European Council's
recent decision to address the major

1908
02:29:15,015 --> 02:29:20,534
challenges is the right approach, because
those challenges have grown even greater.

1909
02:29:20,601 --> 02:29:24,923
I see three areas that will
crucially shape our future in Europe.

1910
02:29:24,990 --> 02:29:28,780
First: the war in Ukraine
following the Russian invasion.

1911
02:29:28,846 --> 02:29:33,967
We are facing the fifth winter of war,
and we must continue our support here.

1912
02:29:34,033 --> 02:29:38,156
After the midterms, we must bring
the USA back on board again.

1913
02:29:38,222 --> 02:29:41,082
We need to increase
the pressure on Russia.

1914
02:29:41,148 --> 02:29:44,407
Secondly: on the multiannual
financial framework.

1915
02:29:44,473 --> 02:29:49,660
In light of the strained budget situation
in many Member States, we do need to

1916
02:29:49,726 --> 02:29:55,312
exercise caution here. We need clear
priorities when it comes to competitiveness and

1917
02:29:55,379 --> 02:30:00,964
security. Instead, we should not finance
new areas that fall outside EU competences,

1918
02:30:01,031 --> 02:30:06,350
such as housing. And we need effective
trade defence measures in our fight — and

1919
02:30:06,417 --> 02:30:11,537
this is a fight against China. Yes, to
free trade, but under fair competitive

1920
02:30:11,604 --> 02:30:14,995
conditions. That is the
task of the European Union.

1921
02:30:15,895 --> 02:30:18,355
Thank you. Next speaker, Tonino Pizzola.

1922
02:30:21,715 --> 02:30:27,188
Thank you, Chair. Colleagues, I believe our
enlargement policy must remain credible,

1923
02:30:27,253 --> 02:30:32,596
consistent, and firmly mer it-based.
Commitments must be honored, obligations must

1924
02:30:32,661 --> 02:30:35,398
be fulfilled, and progress must be earned.

1925
02:30:35,463 --> 02:30:40,936
A candidate country that fails to meet its
commitments cannot expect to be rewarded.

1926
02:30:41,001 --> 02:30:44,715
Ukraine should one day become
part of the European Union.

1927
02:30:44,780 --> 02:30:48,690
We have a strategic interest
in making that future possible.

1928
02:30:48,755 --> 02:30:54,033
But we must also look beyond immediate
geopolitical context and prepare seriously

1929
02:30:54,098 --> 02:30:59,506
for the union of tomorrow. We have to ready,
be ready for accession of not only one

1930
02:30:59,571 --> 02:31:04,914
country, but potentially several new
members, which are tod ay very different from

1931
02:31:04,979 --> 02:31:10,452
one another. Our citizens must be ensured
that enlargement will strengthen the union

1932
02:31:10,517 --> 02:31:15,665
rather than weaken its capacity to act,
while candidate countries deserve fair,

1933
02:31:15,730 --> 02:31:20,942
transparent, and predictable process.
That way, we won't have to speculate about

1934
02:31:21,008 --> 02:31:25,438
dates for further enlargement, as
they will emerge from the results.

1935
02:31:25,503 --> 02:31:26,515
Thank you.

1936
02:31:26,515 --> 02:31:28,943
Thank you. Next speaker,
Ludek Niedermayer.

1937
02:31:29,000 --> 02:31:30,200
Please.

1938
02:31:32,215 --> 02:31:35,853
Thank you, President. Let me start
with the budget, turning to Mr.

1939
02:31:35,909 --> 02:31:40,098
Kosta. It seems that we have two groups
of the countries and two narratives.

1940
02:31:40,153 --> 02:31:44,674
First groups want to send less national
money into EU budget, and the second group

1941
02:31:44,729 --> 02:31:48,257
wants to get more money from EU
budget to their national budget.

1942
02:31:48,312 --> 02:31:52,502
Surprisingly, I'm afraid the compromise
is possible, but this would be a bad

1943
02:31:52,557 --> 02:31:57,023
compromise. Because securing smaller budget
means that Europe will not deliver on

1944
02:31:57,078 --> 02:32:01,543
its priorities on expectation of citizens
and the firms, and secondly, the second

1945
02:32:01,598 --> 02:32:06,064
request will lead to lower efficiency of
the budget that is obviously bad for the

1946
02:32:06,119 --> 02:32:08,434
credibility and also for use of the money.

1947
02:32:08,489 --> 02:32:10,860
On competitiveness, I
can be more positive.

1948
02:32:10,915 --> 02:32:14,664
One Europe, one market is important
agenda where we are progressing.

1949
02:32:14,719 --> 02:32:17,806
We should deliver on big
things as well as small things.

1950
02:32:17,861 --> 02:32:21,665
The small things, removal of the
barriers on the member states level.

1951
02:32:21,720 --> 02:32:26,240
Here, simplification played a role, but
we should not forget that there is nothing

1952
02:32:26,296 --> 02:32:29,272
that is more difficult than
make simplification right.

1953
02:32:29,328 --> 02:32:33,738
So that's why I guess big issues should
have the priority and we must deliver on

1954
02:32:33,793 --> 02:32:34,993
that. Thank you.

1955
02:32:35,515 --> 02:32:38,395
Thank you. Next speaker,
Sander Gomez-Lopez.

1956
02:32:43,555 --> 02:32:48,498
Thank you, Mr President. President Kosta,
if anything demonstrates this Council, it

1957
02:32:48,557 --> 02:32:52,845
is that agreeing that Europe needs
[something] is easier said than done.

1958
02:32:52,905 --> 02:32:57,490
Thank you, President. President Kosta,
what this Council demonstrates is that

1959
02:32:57,550 --> 02:33:02,552
agreeing that Europe needs to do something
is easier than agreeing on how to pay for

1960
02:33:02,611 --> 02:33:07,614
it. But security cannot be built at the
expense of cohesion, nor can competitiveness

1961
02:33:07,673 --> 02:33:11,723
be built at the expense of our
farmers. That cannot be the solution.

1962
02:33:11,782 --> 02:33:15,236
No, at least not the one that
this Parliament will accept.

1963
02:33:15,296 --> 02:33:19,107
That is why I ask you to count
on our proposal on own resources;

1964
02:33:19,167 --> 02:33:23,752
the digital tax, online gambling or
cryptocurrencies could generate more than

1965
02:33:23,812 --> 02:33:26,789
€30,000 million a year.
And what are we afraid of?

1966
02:33:26,849 --> 02:33:31,375
Of Trump? The pact with Putin, the
supply of Russian diesel against European

1967
02:33:31,434 --> 02:33:34,352
interests, and I do not
see that it has asked us.

1968
02:33:34,412 --> 02:33:38,938
Let us also defend our interests,
European interests, and let us address our

1969
02:33:38,997 --> 02:33:43,583
challenges by exercising our sovereignty,
just as the rest of the world does,

1970
02:33:43,642 --> 02:33:46,858
without any problem. President
Kosta, we trust in you.

1971
02:33:46,917 --> 02:33:51,920
Let the big tech companies also pay. They
make millions thanks to our single market.

1972
02:33:51,979 --> 02:33:55,195
This time, let them make the
effort, not our families.

1973
02:33:55,615 --> 02:33:58,075
Thank you. Next speaker,
Sean Kelly, please.

1974
02:34:04,735 --> 02:34:09,695
Good morning. I welcome the European
Council's call on the Commission to bring

1975
02:34:09,759 --> 02:34:12,938
forward measures to address
soaring energy prices.

1976
02:34:13,002 --> 02:34:18,280
Few countries feel the more than Ireland.
We have the highest household electricity

1977
02:34:18,344 --> 02:34:22,604
prices in the union, around 480
euro a year, more than the average.

1978
02:34:22,668 --> 02:34:27,755
Which is a direct result of our continued
reliance on imported gas and the price

1979
02:34:27,819 --> 02:34:32,906
impact the conflic ts in Ukraine and the
Middle East have had on global markets.

1980
02:34:32,970 --> 02:34:38,184
While temporary interventions to protect
vulnerable cons umers are important, they

1981
02:34:38,248 --> 02:34:43,399
are merely paper over the cracks. As long
as we're exposed to fossil fuel markets

1982
02:34:43,463 --> 02:34:48,804
over which we have no control, Europeans
will pay through the nose ever y time there

1983
02:34:48,868 --> 02:34:53,955
is a supply shock. The only viable long-term
solution is to replace fossil fuels

1984
02:34:54,019 --> 02:34:57,135
with renewable res ources
we have here in Europe.

1985
02:34:57,199 --> 02:35:02,477
So we need to accelerate work on the grids
package and electrification action plan.

1986
02:35:02,540 --> 02:35:07,818
And I welcome the Irish presidency's efforts
to accelerate this important work, and

1987
02:35:07,882 --> 02:35:12,715
we in Parliament must also work hard
to deliver these important initiatives.

1988
02:35:13,135 --> 02:35:14,335
Thank you.

1989
02:35:14,395 --> 02:35:16,795
Next speaker, Walter Becke, please.

1990
02:35:18,535 --> 02:35:23,135
Thank you very much. Mr President,
Commissioner, Mr President of the European

1991
02:35:23,194 --> 02:35:27,973
Council, colleagues. We often think here
in this Parliament that citizens expect

1992
02:35:28,033 --> 02:35:32,872
heaven and earth from Europe, but in
reality, Mr President, that is not the case.

1993
02:35:32,931 --> 02:35:35,679
They expect something
very normal from Europe.

1994
02:35:35,739 --> 02:35:40,279
Namely that Europe protects prosperity,
protects jobs and protects security.

1995
02:35:40,339 --> 02:35:44,341
And that is why I look back at the
past summit with mixed feelings.

1996
02:35:44,401 --> 02:35:49,120
Because on the one hand, we are finally
speaking with one voice about Putin and

1997
02:35:49,180 --> 02:35:54,018
about China, and that is very good, but
on the other hand, let's be honest, let's

1998
02:35:54,078 --> 02:35:58,737
also admit that we are divided. Divided.
There is a lack of unity in Europe on

1999
02:35:58,797 --> 02:36:03,516
affordable energy. For our families and
businesses, about an ambitious European

2000
02:36:03,576 --> 02:36:08,295
budget, about a genuine capital markets
union without privileges for some large

2001
02:36:08,355 --> 02:36:13,373
countries. And about reforms that are
necessary if the European Union truly wants to

2002
02:36:13,432 --> 02:36:18,390
grow. Colleagues, big words against China
and Russia will not suffice on their own.

2003
02:36:18,450 --> 02:36:21,736
We must also dare to show
that same resolve internally.

2004
02:36:21,795 --> 02:36:25,738
For Europe must do one thing, and
that is to protect its citizens.

2005
02:36:25,798 --> 02:36:26,998
Thank you.

2006
02:36:27,295 --> 02:36:30,312
Thank you, colleagues.
We have a KGI procedure.

2007
02:36:30,376 --> 02:36:35,768
I will do my best. We have, I will keep a
political balance and also give a priority

2008
02:36:35,833 --> 02:36:39,684
for those colleagues who didn
't speak on blue cards issues.

2009
02:36:39,748 --> 02:36:41,995
We will start with Michael Scherba,

2010
02:36:44,395 --> 02:36:49,842
Mr President, Mr President, the European
Council, and distinguished colleagues,

2011
02:36:49,911 --> 02:36:55,703
these are the most important days these
decisions are behind us, but we very clearly

2012
02:36:55,772 --> 02:37:01,495
want to confirm what the Polish Prime
Minister conveyed after the European Council.

2013
02:37:01,564 --> 02:37:07,080
Above all, solidarity, unity and support
for Ukraine, for Ukraine, will face the

2014
02:37:07,149 --> 02:37:11,355
winter, but above all will face
the solidarity of its allies.

2015
02:37:11,424 --> 02:37:15,493
We see negative examples on
the other side of the Atlantic.

2016
02:37:15,561 --> 02:37:20,595
I want to make it very clear that we
must condemn the Russian escalation.

2017
02:37:20,664 --> 02:37:26,387
We will do this consistently. We will
increase pressure on Russia through sanctions

2018
02:37:26,456 --> 02:37:31,627
policy. We must also implement measures
concerning former Russian soldiers.

2019
02:37:31,696 --> 02:37:37,281
Combating the shadow fleet and tightening
visa requirements for Russian citizens.

2020
02:37:37,350 --> 02:37:41,005
But in all of this, we must
think about our security.

2021
02:37:41,074 --> 02:37:46,866
And defence readiness and also protecting
the funds for security and defence will be

2022
02:37:46,935 --> 02:37:49,555
a strategic goal. Thank you very much.

2023
02:37:49,855 --> 02:37:52,315
Thank you, colleague. Next
speaker, Estelle Coolemans.

2024
02:37:55,135 --> 02:38:00,170
Mr President, as social movements are shaking
Europe, as our young people are out on

2025
02:38:00,230 --> 02:38:05,086
the streets to demand to claim what is
our responsibility, to be able to study in

2026
02:38:05,146 --> 02:38:10,062
good conditions and build ourselves a
future, while employment and wages are under

2027
02:38:10,122 --> 02:38:15,037
attack in favour of dividends and shareholders,
not a single word in the Council's

2028
02:38:15,097 --> 02:38:18,934
conclusions on the need for to
maintain and create quality jobs.

2029
02:38:18,994 --> 02:38:23,969
Not a word about fairer wages or improving
working conditions in a world undergoing

2030
02:38:24,029 --> 02:38:28,885
rapid change. Nothing about the need to
guarantee budgets for the European Social

2031
02:38:28,945 --> 02:38:33,680
Fund, which is not an investment in
employment, training and combating poverty.

2032
02:38:33,740 --> 02:38:36,258
The European Council's record is shocking.

2033
02:38:36,318 --> 02:38:41,114
The competitiveness agenda of the Commission
and its string of deregulations are

2034
02:38:41,174 --> 02:38:45,910
taking us further away every day from a
European project that truly responds to

2035
02:38:45,969 --> 02:38:50,885
people's urgent needs and demands. So Mr
President, but above all Commissioner von

2036
02:38:50,945 --> 02:38:55,621
der Leyen, who has unfortunately already
left us, there will be no sustainable

2037
02:38:55,681 --> 02:39:00,477
European project if we do not replace the
compass of competitiveness and profits

2038
02:39:00,536 --> 02:39:02,155
with a true social compass.

2039
02:39:03,715 --> 02:39:06,235
Thank you. Next speaker, Elena Yoncheva.

2040
02:39:08,395 --> 02:39:11,515
Dear colleagues, dear colleagues,
I will speak in Bulgarian.

2041
02:39:11,635 --> 02:39:17,201
Dear Mr Kosta, the European Council recognises
the attacks in the exclusive economic

2042
02:39:17,268 --> 02:39:22,105
zones of Bulgaria and Romania as
serious violations of international law.

2043
02:39:22,171 --> 02:39:27,406
But where are the concrete measures,
where are the concrete measures, Mr Costa?

2044
02:39:27,473 --> 02:39:32,111
The economic consequences for Bulgaria
and Romania can be devastating.

2045
02:39:32,178 --> 02:39:37,545
Therefore, first of all, by the next
Council at the latest, in December, specific

2046
02:39:37,612 --> 02:39:43,178
measures must be proposed for the affected
economies of the two Member States of the

2047
02:39:43,244 --> 02:39:46,359
European Union in the
Western Black Sea region.

2048
02:39:46,425 --> 02:39:51,660
For the Black Sea region, specific measures
for Bulgaria and Romania, Mr Kosta.

2049
02:39:51,726 --> 02:39:57,160
Secondly, the European Council must set
up a special commission, a special mission

2050
02:39:57,226 --> 02:40:01,269
to monitor environmental risks
and security in the Black Sea.

2051
02:40:01,335 --> 02:40:06,769
The danger from floating mines and the
environmental threat are growing every day.

2052
02:40:06,835 --> 02:40:10,546
We cannot wait for a disaster
to start acting, Mr Costa.

2053
02:40:10,612 --> 02:40:11,812
Thank you.

2054
02:40:12,595 --> 02:40:14,755
Thank you. Next speaker, Sandro Gozzi.

2055
02:40:20,515 --> 02:40:26,399
Thank you, Chair. I think that the best
part of this debate was the quote by Nico

2056
02:40:26,471 --> 02:40:32,283
Stefanuta about Bob Marley. So I would
like to contribute to the quality of this

2057
02:40:32,355 --> 02:40:38,166
debate. Referring to a famous 80-band
song, "Simple Minds," they used to sing, I

2058
02:40:38,239 --> 02:40:43,178
quote, "Europe as a problem, talk,
talk, talk, talking on," unquote.

2059
02:40:43,251 --> 02:40:48,772
Forty years later, Mr. President, the
European Council had the same problem.

2060
02:40:48,844 --> 02:40:54,728
Too much talk, too little action. Worse
still, it promised a stronger Europe with

2061
02:40:54,801 --> 02:41:00,830
less money. It praises Draghi, who calls
for 800 billion euro in annual investment,

2062
02:41:00,902 --> 02:41:05,043
and it fights over a 7- year
budget of just 1.6 trillion.

2063
02:41:05,115 --> 02:41:09,328
It calls for more efficiency,
but defends national vetoes.

2064
02:41:09,401 --> 02:41:13,614
It wants to enlarge the Union,
and this is even worse, Mr.

2065
02:41:13,687 --> 02:41:17,028
President, without bold
institutional reforms.

2066
02:41:17,101 --> 02:41:21,241
You cannot promise European
power and refuse to build it.

2067
02:41:21,314 --> 02:41:23,275
Time to deliver. Thank you.

2068
02:41:24,295 --> 02:41:27,235
Thank you. Next speaker, Gregor Braun.

2069
02:41:34,855 --> 02:41:43,857
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm old enough to
remember lengthy speeches of the Communist

2070
02:41:43,964 --> 02:41:52,751
Soviet Party's secretaries, so it gives
me the strong déjà vu feeling listening to

2071
02:41:52,858 --> 02:42:01,753
Madame Reichsführerin von der Leyen. Here
today, because she's saying peace, and at

2072
02:42:01,860 --> 02:42:09,683
the same time she 's a warmongerer.
She's saying prosperity, good future,

2073
02:42:09,790 --> 02:42:18,363
competitiveness, and in fact, she brings
Europe to the most horrific industrial—

2074
02:42:18,470 --> 02:42:26,401
Economical disaster. In post-Second
World War Europe, and so on and so on.

2075
02:42:26,508 --> 02:42:35,509
But because comrades Stalin and Hitler are
no longer around, this gives me hope that

2076
02:42:35,617 --> 02:42:42,475
Madame von der Leyen's political
activity will not last forever.

2077
02:42:42,955 --> 02:42:46,655
Thank you very much.
Please, yours next time, Ms.

2078
02:42:46,731 --> 02:42:53,074
Comparisons, which is those persons who are
gave a cri me in Nürnberg, and so that's

2079
02:42:53,149 --> 02:42:58,435
why you cannot make this comparison.
But thank you very much for your—

2080
02:42:58,675 --> 02:42:59,875
Do you want to discuss—

2081
02:42:59,875 --> 02:43:02,515
Thank you. It's close to your—

2082
02:43:02,755 --> 02:43:05,755
Okay, point. Next speaker, Lukas Furlas.

2083
02:43:07,615 --> 02:43:08,815
Please.

2084
02:43:09,175 --> 02:43:12,115
The blue card already. I announced
the rules, how I can do it.

2085
02:43:12,655 --> 02:43:14,275
Lukas Furlas is speaking next.

2086
02:43:14,635 --> 02:43:15,835
Thank you.

2087
02:43:16,435 --> 02:43:20,143
Mr President, I wish to strongly
condemn the ratification of the illegal

2088
02:43:20,194 --> 02:43:23,696
Turkish-Libyan memorandum, which
violates Greece's sovereign rights.

2089
02:43:23,748 --> 02:43:28,073
Mr President, it is null and void. I welcome
the immediate condemnation by all three

2090
02:43:28,125 --> 02:43:32,451
institutions following the joint declaration
of the Cypriot and Greek delegations to

2091
02:43:32,502 --> 02:43:36,467
the European People’s Party, but I want
to tell you with great affection that

2092
02:43:36,519 --> 02:43:39,351
condemnations are no longer
enough; we now need action.

2093
02:43:39,403 --> 02:43:43,625
I also want to ask the following: I am
trying to understand why the European Union

2094
02:43:43,677 --> 02:43:47,745
allows Turkey to organise conferences in
Natalya, while it does not recognise a

2095
02:43:47,797 --> 02:43:52,071
Member State. Does the leadership of the
European Union feel alright when it has to

2096
02:43:52,122 --> 02:43:56,294
intervene with letters and démarches to
call in the President of Cyprus, a Member

2097
02:43:56,345 --> 02:44:00,671
State? Do European officials feel alright
when they go to Natália and meet there the

2098
02:44:00,722 --> 02:44:04,533
envoy of Ankara, whom Erdoğan is trying
to bring in through the back door?

2099
02:44:04,585 --> 02:44:06,954
These things are
unacceptable and condemnable.

2100
02:44:07,005 --> 02:44:08,205
Thank you very much.

2101
02:44:09,415 --> 02:44:11,515
Thank you. Next speaker, Maria Grappini.

2102
02:44:14,155 --> 02:44:18,218
Mr Commissioner, Mr President Costa, I
have listened to the conclusions and,

2103
02:44:18,271 --> 02:44:20,783
frankly, I think there
are two parallel things.

2104
02:44:20,837 --> 02:44:23,830
One thing you have declared
here and another is reality.

2105
02:44:23,884 --> 02:44:28,267
And I will explain: the mere fact that the
President has acknowledged the mistakes

2106
02:44:28,320 --> 02:44:32,811
and is now trying to correct them with the
methane regulation and electric vehicles,

2107
02:44:32,864 --> 02:44:36,232
what does that mean? It means
that we have borne certain costs.

2108
02:44:36,285 --> 02:44:39,225
But who has borne these costs?
Citizens and businesses.

2109
02:44:39,279 --> 02:44:43,555
Speak up, Mr Costa, and also Madam President
of Competitiveness, because we have

2110
02:44:43,608 --> 02:44:47,404
strengthened competitiveness. How
have we strengthened competitiveness?

2111
02:44:47,457 --> 02:44:51,734
When we use the money from public
procurement, if a control or verification were

2112
02:44:51,787 --> 02:44:56,277
carried out, you will see that most European
funds go to public procurement in third

2113
02:44:56,331 --> 02:44:59,110
countries. Why? Because we
are dependent on imports.

2114
02:44:59,164 --> 02:45:03,119
And it is very good that the procurement
directive is being changed into a

2115
02:45:03,173 --> 02:45:07,556
regulation, but for over ten years we have
been asking an entrepreneur, if they do

2116
02:45:07,610 --> 02:45:11,191
not take immediate measures, they
lose money from their own pocket.

2117
02:45:11,244 --> 02:45:15,360
Who is paying these costs? We are talking
about energy, you said we have, you

2118
02:45:15,414 --> 02:45:18,835
declared that we have lower prices.
How do we have lower prices?

2119
02:45:19,015 --> 02:45:19,975
Thank you very much.

2120
02:45:19,975 --> 02:45:24,614
Thank you very much. Next
speaker, Christian Terhes.

2121
02:45:24,704 --> 02:45:31,127
Is it working? Thank you. First
question: where is Ursula von der Leyen?

2122
02:45:31,216 --> 02:45:38,354
She came here this morning, had a monologue,
pre ached to us how a great job her

2123
02:45:38,443 --> 02:45:44,867
commission does, but now when we have
to ask her directly, she ran away.

2124
02:45:44,956 --> 02:45:51,558
She stated today, and praise herself,
for deregulating and simplifying E U

2125
02:45:51,647 --> 02:45:59,141
legislation. And among many things, she
mentioned that she's proposing right now the

2126
02:45:59,231 --> 02:46:05,387
EU public proc urement act. Do you
know how many pages that draft is?

2127
02:46:05,476 --> 02:46:10,740
200 pages. On top of it, they
are 74 more pages of annexes.

2128
02:46:10,829 --> 02:46:18,145
On top of these pages, there are 432 pages,
I just want to quote to make sure that

2129
02:46:18,234 --> 02:46:24,568
I'm precise, of imp act assessment.
This is just one draft legislation.

2130
02:46:24,658 --> 02:46:29,654
Proposed by Ursula von der
Leyen. I'm asking all of you:

2131
02:46:29,743 --> 02:46:31,795
is this simplification?

2132
02:46:32,395 --> 02:46:34,075
Thank you very much, colleague.

2133
02:46:34,255 --> 02:46:35,155
All of you are repeating the word.

2134
02:46:35,155 --> 02:46:40,443
Colleague, Terhes, you have to do it
according to the rules, orally, not using any

2135
02:46:40,508 --> 02:46:44,635
kind of items. So just remind
you, next speaker, one lunch shot.

2136
02:46:49,135 --> 02:46:55,128
Thank you. Thank you very much, Chair.
Dear President Costa, dear colleagues,

2137
02:46:55,206 --> 02:47:01,665
hearing Trump praise Putin, and seeing the
pictures of Ukra inian children who died

2138
02:47:01,743 --> 02:47:07,736
from Russian bombs after Starshield was
cut off, it made me think of D ante's

2139
02:47:07,814 --> 02:47:14,196
Inferno, where the deepest circle of hell
is reserved for traitors forever f rozen

2140
02:47:14,273 --> 02:47:20,655
in a lake of ice. But just one level above
that circle and that lake of ice is the

2141
02:47:20,733 --> 02:47:24,002
cir cle reserved for liars and hypocrites.

2142
02:47:24,080 --> 02:47:30,540
Is that where we will end up? Will we be
the hypocrites condemning Trump for buying

2143
02:47:30,617 --> 02:47:36,455
diesel while some far-right politicians
want us to import more Russian gas?

2144
02:47:36,532 --> 02:47:42,836
Or will we be liars for telling Ukraine
we will support them as long as it takes?

2145
02:47:42,914 --> 02:47:48,829
It depends on what we do now. And I say
no, let's live up to our promise and

2146
02:47:48,907 --> 02:47:54,355
increase our support for Ukraine.
Ukraine has been going through hell.

2147
02:47:54,475 --> 02:47:56,850
Thank you very much,
colleague. Thank you very much.

2148
02:47:56,896 --> 02:48:00,551
Thank you very much. And last speaker,
last speaker, thank you very much on Kate

2149
02:48:00,596 --> 02:48:02,515
Zai. We'll be Juan Fernando López Aguilar.

2150
02:48:04,075 --> 02:48:05,755
Thank you so much, Mr. President.

2151
02:48:06,595 --> 02:48:11,356
Dear and respected President Costa, we
know it is not easy, but you have ample

2152
02:48:11,417 --> 02:48:16,117
authority and leadership to move the
Council in the direction of the European

2153
02:48:16,178 --> 02:48:21,244
Parliament’s own resources, because without
them there is no support for the values

2154
02:48:21,305 --> 02:48:26,371
or the social and regional policy, nor to
housing, nor to migratory solidarity with

2155
02:48:26,432 --> 02:48:30,827
Spain and with any other country with
an external border under pressure.

2156
02:48:30,888 --> 02:48:35,039
Nor, either, will there be a European
Union of Defence and Security.

2157
02:48:35,100 --> 02:48:39,922
that is relevant in the world. Therefore,
own resources, for crypto-assets, for

2158
02:48:39,983 --> 02:48:45,110
online gambling, for large digital companies,
and even for windfall profits, are the

2159
02:48:45,171 --> 02:48:49,993
necessary response for the European Union
to address the frustration and social

2160
02:48:50,054 --> 02:48:55,059
anger shaking Europe. There is a huge
amount at stake in the Council's decision to

2161
02:48:55,120 --> 02:48:59,515
engage with the European Parliament,
and we have full confidence in you.

2162
02:49:00,415 --> 02:49:01,615
President Costa.

2163
02:49:02,095 --> 02:49:07,307
Thank you, colleagues. We are closing.
Kate Zai procedure, and now I would like to

2164
02:49:07,371 --> 02:49:11,947
take floor for the commission.
Commissioner Shevchevich, floor is yours.

2165
02:49:12,011 --> 02:49:17,160
Sorry, commissioner, so I got, I had you
principal why you didn't get a Kate Zai.

2166
02:49:17,223 --> 02:49:20,020
You are not alone who
didn't get a Kate Zai.

2167
02:49:20,084 --> 02:49:21,355
Thank you very much.

2168
02:49:22,735 --> 02:49:28,497
Thank you very much, President. Mr.
President of the European Council, Honorable

2169
02:49:28,569 --> 02:49:34,619
Members, I have allocated time only for a
few telegraphic messages, but I would like

2170
02:49:34,691 --> 02:49:40,525
to start by underscoring that some
expressions mentioned in this House just a few

2171
02:49:40,597 --> 02:49:46,431
minutes ago are totally unacceptable and
undignified for the democratic debate in

2172
02:49:46,503 --> 02:49:51,328
this House. And I very much appreciate
that you addressed them, Mr.

2173
02:49:51,400 --> 02:49:57,306
President. Coming back to the debate, first
and foremost, I would like to reassure

2174
02:49:57,378 --> 02:50:03,356
this House that the commission is using
every opportunity for highlighting the need

2175
02:50:03,428 --> 02:50:09,262
for multi-annual financial framework that
responds to the ch allenges of our time

2176
02:50:09,334 --> 02:50:12,864
and responds to the
expectations of our citizens.

2177
02:50:12,936 --> 02:50:18,625
I mean, the whole debate today was about
how much more it's important to do for

2178
02:50:18,698 --> 02:50:24,171
Europe and Europe ans. And it's very
clear that we cannot do more with less.

2179
02:50:24,243 --> 02:50:30,005
And I think that this debate clearly
pointed to the fact that the expectation is

2180
02:50:30,077 --> 02:50:35,983
that we have to do much mor e. My second
and last point is to reassure you that we

2181
02:50:36,055 --> 02:50:42,033
are already working very hard on delivering
and we do our utmost to deliver most of

2182
02:50:42,105 --> 02:50:48,011
it before the next December European Counc
il, to make sure that it would continue

2183
02:50:48,083 --> 02:50:53,917
completing our single market, that we
would diversify our supp ly chains, that we

2184
02:50:53,989 --> 02:50:58,455
would build new trade partnership
and reduce our dependencies.

2185
02:50:58,527 --> 02:51:04,433
And of course, to implement what we jointly
agreed upon including to reinforce our

2186
02:51:04,505 --> 02:51:09,042
internal and external security
and continue to support Ukraine.

2187
02:51:09,114 --> 02:51:11,635
Thank you very much, Mr. President.

2188
02:51:12,055 --> 02:51:16,296
Thank you very much, Commissioner. And
now I would like to ask to take floor for

2189
02:51:16,349 --> 02:51:18,947
President of the European
Council, Antonio Costa.

2190
02:51:19,000 --> 02:51:20,200
Floor is yours.

2191
02:51:24,715 --> 02:51:32,503
Thank you, President. Honorable Members,
allow me to focus on two main issues.

2192
02:51:32,603 --> 02:51:40,092
First of all, the cost of living is at
the heart of the European concern s.

2193
02:51:40,192 --> 02:51:48,280
To tackle these concerns, we need on the
one hand to boost our competitiveness in

2194
02:51:48,380 --> 02:51:56,168
order to sustain our social model create
quality jobs with better salaries and

2195
02:51:56,268 --> 02:52:04,456
reduce inequalities. At the same time, we
need to address the costs of housing and

2196
02:52:04,555 --> 02:52:12,643
energy. For the very first time, I brought
housing to the European Council agenda

2197
02:52:12,743 --> 02:52:20,631
October last year. Since then, the
commission presented the European Affordable

2198
02:52:20,731 --> 02:52:29,119
Housing Strategy, and now the European
Parliament and the Council are discussing the

2199
02:52:29,218 --> 02:52:37,606
Affordable Housing Act. And we need to act
in order to ensure affordable housing for

2200
02:52:37,706 --> 02:52:42,898
our citizens, especially
for the yo ung generations.

2201
02:52:42,998 --> 02:52:51,186
Regarding energy, the. European Council
supported the commission proposals for the

2202
02:52:51,285 --> 02:52:55,479
short time and call for further me asures.

2203
02:52:55,579 --> 02:53:01,071
But we need to focus on the
deep roots of energy costs.

2204
02:53:01,171 --> 02:53:09,258
We need to ensure our strategic autonomy
based on homegrown sources, like renewab

2205
02:53:09,358 --> 02:53:17,346
les or nuclear. And we need to invest in
our grids, extend interconnections, and

2206
02:53:17,446 --> 02:53:22,039
discuss how to improve
our electricity market.

2207
02:53:22,139 --> 02:53:26,932
But we cannot ignore that
the current crisis of.

2208
02:53:27,032 --> 02:53:32,624
Energy comes beyond our
borders, far beyond our borders.

2209
02:53:32,723 --> 02:53:41,111
And to protect the European citizens, we
need to have a Europe strong in the world ,

2210
02:53:41,211 --> 02:53:49,199
able to uphold international law against
the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz or

2211
02:53:49,299 --> 02:53:54,690
against the Russian war of
aggression against Ukraine.

2212
02:53:54,790 --> 02:54:02,579
Secondly, the European needs and European
budget which reflects our polit ical

2213
02:54:02,679 --> 02:54:10,766
priorities answer to our strategic challenges
and to the citizens ' expectations.

2214
02:54:10,866 --> 02:54:16,558
Our Union doesn't add bureaucracy
but rather eff iciency.

2215
02:54:16,658 --> 02:54:22,948
The average of administrative
costs in our member states is 40.

2216
02:54:23,048 --> 02:54:29,938
1 percent, and the current budget
proposal is is close to 6 per cent.

2217
02:54:30,038 --> 02:54:38,325
A budget which respects the subsidiary
principle needs to support our farmers, o ur

2218
02:54:38,425 --> 02:54:45,115
regions, our cities, namely to help
funding their housing policies.

2219
02:54:46,255 --> 02:54:54,665
And the budget that prioritizes investment
where we have a clear added value act ing

2220
02:54:54,765 --> 02:55:03,075
together in breakthrough technologies like
artificial intelligence, quantum ener gy

2221
02:55:03,175 --> 02:55:11,084
shortage, investing in supporting a just
and effective transition in energy and

2222
02:55:11,185 --> 02:55:19,194
digital, in protecting our common external
borders, in sharing solidarity in the

2223
02:55:19,294 --> 02:55:27,504
face of dramatic natural events, in
strengthening our collective defense to ensure

2224
02:55:27,604 --> 02:55:35,814
peace in Europe. And yes, this means to
support Ukraine because Ukraine's security

2225
02:55:35,914 --> 02:55:43,723
is the front line of our own security.
We cannot— We cannot afford to save our

2226
02:55:43,823 --> 02:55:51,833
priorities. But we need to balance our
ambitions with our capacity to fund them.

2227
02:55:51,933 --> 02:55:57,740
We must keep national contributions
at a reasonable level.

2228
02:55:57,840 --> 02:56:06,150
And for this, it is essential to have a
balance, fair, and effective package of new

2229
02:56:06,250 --> 02:56:13,358
own resources. Europe needs reliability,
predictability, and stability.

2230
02:56:13,458 --> 02:56:20,066
For this, we need to approve a new
budget by the end of this year.

2231
02:56:20,166 --> 02:56:28,576
It is the only way to have an to have
conditions to implement a new budget since the

2232
02:56:28,676 --> 02:56:37,086
1 st of January 2028. That's why I will
present a new detailed negotiation box to be

2233
02:56:37,186 --> 02:56:44,695
negotiating negotiated in the extraordinary
Council of the 26th and 27th of

2234
02:56:44,795 --> 02:56:52,505
November. And to bring us closer to a
landing zone probably only in December.

2235
02:56:52,605 --> 02:57:00,614
And I will start to work immediately with
the European Commission and the member

2236
02:57:00,714 --> 02:57:07,923
states and keeping close contact with
the European Parliament reporters.

2237
02:57:08,023 --> 02:57:16,133
The next European budget will have to be
the basis of an alliance for the future.

2238
02:57:16,233 --> 02:57:18,235
Thank you very much.

2239
02:57:19,435 --> 02:57:26,092
Thank you very much, Mr. President. Colleagues,
we are closing this point in agenda.

2240
02:57:26,171 --> 02:57:32,035
Debate is closed. And plenary, we will
be started with voting in a minute.

2241
02:58:24,475 --> 02:58:28,875
Okay. Dear colleagues,
we have a very long vote.

2242
02:58:28,967 --> 02:58:33,825
Can I ask you to take your
seats just after the vote?

2243
02:58:33,917 --> 02:58:37,767
I will give the floor to three colleagues.

2244
02:58:37,859 --> 02:58:42,259
Nicola Bay, Sebastian
Kraus, and Daniele Polato.

2245
02:58:42,350 --> 02:58:46,200
So stay in the room for that. Let's start.

2246
02:58:46,292 --> 02:58:53,992
Final voting list of the general budget of
the European Union for the financial year

2247
02:58:54,084 --> 02:59:01,417
2027. All sections— For adoption, I will
go slowly until everybody puts in their

2248
02:59:01,509 --> 02:59:09,209
voting card. The amendments require the
votes of a majority of the component members

2249
02:59:09,301 --> 02:59:15,993
of Parliament, which means we will
need 360 votes for them to go through.

2250
02:59:16,084 --> 02:59:20,484
Now we start. Revenue:
Block 1. Who is in favor?

2251
02:59:20,576 --> 02:59:25,893
Who is against? Who abstains?
Adopted. Heading 1, Block 2.

2252
02:59:25,984 --> 02:59:30,201
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2253
02:59:30,293 --> 02:59:35,426
Adopted. Amendment 305. Who
is in favor? Who is against?

2254
02:59:35,518 --> 02:59:39,643
Who abstains? Rejected.
306. Who is in favor?

2255
02:59:39,735 --> 02:59:44,685
Who is against? Who abstains?
Rejected. Amendment 437.

2256
02:59:44,776 --> 02:59:48,993
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2257
02:59:49,085 --> 02:59:54,218
Adopted. Amendment 527. Who
is in favor? Who is against?

2258
02:59:54,310 --> 02:59:58,343
Who abstains? Rejected.
Heading 2A, Block 3.

2259
02:59:58,435 --> 03:00:02,652
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2260
03:00:02,743 --> 03:00:07,877
Adopted. Amendment 223. Who
is in favor? Who is against?

2261
03:00:07,969 --> 03:00:13,010
Who abstains? Rejected.
Amendment 310. Who is in favor?

2262
03:00:13,102 --> 03:00:18,052
Who is against? Who abstains?
Rejected. Amendment 529.

2263
03:00:18,144 --> 03:00:22,360
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2264
03:00:22,452 --> 03:00:26,761
Rejected. 224. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2265
03:00:26,852 --> 03:00:30,977
Who abstains? Rejected.
311. Who is in favor?

2266
03:00:31,069 --> 03:00:35,102
Who is against? Who
abstains? Rejected. 312.

2267
03:00:35,194 --> 03:00:39,411
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2268
03:00:39,502 --> 03:00:44,728
Rejected. 313 by Roko. Vote
is open. 313. Vote is closed.

2269
03:00:44,819 --> 03:00:50,044
Rejected. Amendment 530. Who
is in favor? Who is against?

2270
03:00:50,136 --> 03:00:54,261
Who abstains? Rejected.
316. Who is in favor?

2271
03:00:54,353 --> 03:00:58,386
Who is against? Who
abstains? Rejected. 227.

2272
03:00:58,478 --> 03:01:02,695
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2273
03:01:02,786 --> 03:01:07,553
Rejected. 317 by Roko. Vote
is open. Vote is closed.

2274
03:01:07,645 --> 03:01:11,953
Rejected. 318. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2275
03:01:12,045 --> 03:01:16,628
Who abstains? Rejected.
320 by Roko. Vote is open.

2276
03:01:16,720 --> 03:01:20,937
Vote is closed. Rejected.
Heading 2B, Block 4.

2277
03:01:21,028 --> 03:01:25,245
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2278
03:01:25,337 --> 03:01:29,095
Adopted. 528. Amendment. Who is in favor?

2279
03:01:29,335 --> 03:01:32,905
Who is against? Who
abstains? Rejected. 624.

2280
03:01:32,986 --> 03:01:36,719
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2281
03:01:36,800 --> 03:01:40,533
Adopted. 628. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2282
03:01:40,614 --> 03:01:44,184
Who abstains? Adopted.
629. Who is in favor?

2283
03:01:44,265 --> 03:01:47,754
Who is against? Who
abstains? Adopted. 387.

2284
03:01:47,836 --> 03:01:51,568
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2285
03:01:51,649 --> 03:01:55,382
Adopted. 226. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2286
03:01:55,463 --> 03:01:59,115
Who abstains? Rejected.
638. Who is in favor?

2287
03:01:59,196 --> 03:02:02,685
Who is against? Who
abstains? Adopted. 450.

2288
03:02:02,766 --> 03:02:06,499
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2289
03:02:06,580 --> 03:02:10,312
Adopted. 642. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2290
03:02:10,393 --> 03:02:13,964
Who abstains? Adopted.
232. Who is in favor?

2291
03:02:14,045 --> 03:02:17,615
Who is against? Who
abstains? Rejected. 644.

2292
03:02:17,696 --> 03:02:21,429
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2293
03:02:21,510 --> 03:02:25,243
Adopted. 184. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2294
03:02:25,324 --> 03:02:28,894
Who abstains? Adopted.
235. Who is in favor?

2295
03:02:28,975 --> 03:02:32,546
Who is against? Who
abstains? Rejected. 535.

2296
03:02:32,627 --> 03:02:36,359
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2297
03:02:36,440 --> 03:02:40,254
Rejected. 649. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2298
03:02:40,335 --> 03:02:43,906
Who abstains? Adopted.
185. Who is in favor?

2299
03:02:43,987 --> 03:02:47,476
Who is against? Who
abstains? Adopted. 538.

2300
03:02:47,557 --> 03:02:51,290
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2301
03:02:51,371 --> 03:02:55,184
Rejected. 650. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2302
03:02:55,266 --> 03:02:58,836
Who abstains? Adopted.
455. Who is in favor?

2303
03:02:58,917 --> 03:03:03,623
Who is against? Who abstains?
Adopted. Heading 3, Block 5.

2304
03:03:03,704 --> 03:03:07,437
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2305
03:03:07,518 --> 03:03:11,251
Adopted. 237. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2306
03:03:11,332 --> 03:03:14,983
Who abstains? Rejected.
651. Who is in favor?

2307
03:03:15,065 --> 03:03:18,554
Who is against? Who
abstains? Adopted. 239.

2308
03:03:18,635 --> 03:03:22,367
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2309
03:03:22,449 --> 03:03:26,262
Rejected. 240. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2310
03:03:26,343 --> 03:03:29,995
Who abstains? Rejected.
456. Who is in favor?

2311
03:03:30,076 --> 03:03:33,565
Who is against? Who
abstains? Adopted. 459.

2312
03:03:33,646 --> 03:03:37,379
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2313
03:03:37,460 --> 03:03:41,193
Adopted. 243. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2314
03:03:41,274 --> 03:03:44,925
Who abstains? Rejected.
244. Who is in favor?

2315
03:03:45,006 --> 03:03:48,577
Who is against? Who
abstains? Rejected. 245.

2316
03:03:48,658 --> 03:03:52,390
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2317
03:03:52,472 --> 03:03:56,691
Rejected. 324 by Roko. Vote
is open. Vote is closed.

2318
03:03:56,772 --> 03:04:01,397
Rejected. Amendment 657. Who
is in favor? Who is against?

2319
03:04:01,478 --> 03:04:05,049
Who abstains? Adopted.
248. Who is in favor?

2320
03:04:05,130 --> 03:04:09,917
Who is against? Who abstains?
Rejected. Heading 4, Block 6.

2321
03:04:09,998 --> 03:04:12,595
Who is in favor? Who is against?

2322
03:04:12,775 --> 03:04:16,721
Who abstains? Adopted.
659. Who is in favor?

2323
03:04:16,811 --> 03:04:20,667
Who is against? Who
abstains? Adopted. 250.

2324
03:04:20,757 --> 03:04:24,883
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2325
03:04:24,972 --> 03:04:29,188
Rejected. 660. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2326
03:04:29,277 --> 03:04:33,224
Who abstains? Adopted.
661. Who is in favor?

2327
03:04:33,313 --> 03:04:37,170
Who is against? Who
abstains? Adopted. 252.

2328
03:04:37,260 --> 03:04:41,385
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2329
03:04:41,475 --> 03:04:45,690
Rejected. 253. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2330
03:04:45,780 --> 03:04:50,264
Who abstains? Rejected.
330 by Roko. Vote is open.

2331
03:04:50,354 --> 03:04:55,466
Vote is closed. Rejected.
Amendment 662. Who is in favor?

2332
03:04:55,556 --> 03:05:00,758
Who is against? Who abstains?
Adopted. Heading 5, Block 7.

2333
03:05:00,847 --> 03:05:04,973
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2334
03:05:05,063 --> 03:05:09,188
Adopted. 663. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2335
03:05:09,278 --> 03:05:13,224
Who abstains? Adopted.
254. Who is in favor?

2336
03:05:13,314 --> 03:05:17,260
Who is against? Who
abstains? Rejected. 255.

2337
03:05:17,350 --> 03:05:21,475
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2338
03:05:21,565 --> 03:05:26,229
Rejected. 333 by Roko. Vote
is open. Vote is closed.

2339
03:05:26,318 --> 03:05:30,982
Rejected. 353 by Roko. Vote
is open. Vote is closed.

2340
03:05:31,072 --> 03:05:35,287
Rejected. 334. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2341
03:05:35,377 --> 03:05:40,220
Who abstains? Rejected.
Amendment 69. Who is in favor?

2342
03:05:40,310 --> 03:05:44,166
Who is against? Who
abstains? Adopted. 336.

2343
03:05:44,256 --> 03:05:48,381
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2344
03:05:48,471 --> 03:05:52,686
Rejected. 337. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2345
03:05:52,776 --> 03:05:56,812
Who abstains? Rejected.
338. Who is in favor?

2346
03:05:56,902 --> 03:06:00,848
Who is against? Who
abstains? Rejected. 339.

2347
03:06:00,938 --> 03:06:05,063
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2348
03:06:05,153 --> 03:06:09,368
Rejected. 340. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2349
03:06:09,458 --> 03:06:13,494
Who abstains? Rejected.
341. Who is in favor?

2350
03:06:13,583 --> 03:06:17,530
Who is against? Who
abstains? Rejected. 342.

2351
03:06:17,619 --> 03:06:21,745
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2352
03:06:21,835 --> 03:06:26,498
Rejected. 343 by Roko. Vote
is open. Vote is closed.

2353
03:06:26,588 --> 03:06:30,803
Rejected. 667. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2354
03:06:30,893 --> 03:06:35,288
Who abstains? Adopted.
345 by Roko. Vote is open.

2355
03:06:35,377 --> 03:06:39,593
Vote is closed. Rejected.
346. Who is in favor?

2356
03:06:39,682 --> 03:06:43,629
Who is against? Who
abstains? Rejected. 668.

2357
03:06:43,718 --> 03:06:47,844
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2358
03:06:47,934 --> 03:06:52,059
Adopted. 348. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2359
03:06:52,149 --> 03:06:56,633
Who abstains? Rejected.
349 by Roko. Vote is open.

2360
03:06:56,723 --> 03:07:01,835
Vote is closed. Rejected.
Amendment 669. Who is in favor?

2361
03:07:01,925 --> 03:07:05,781
Who is against? Who
abstains? Adopted. 351.

2362
03:07:05,871 --> 03:07:09,997
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2363
03:07:10,086 --> 03:07:13,315
Rejected. 352 by Roko. Vote is open.

2364
03:07:16,435 --> 03:07:19,812
Vote is closed. Rejected.
Heading 6, Block 8.

2365
03:07:19,887 --> 03:07:23,339
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2366
03:07:23,414 --> 03:07:26,866
Adopted. 670. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2367
03:07:26,941 --> 03:07:30,243
Who abstains? Adopted.
541. Who is in favor?

2368
03:07:30,318 --> 03:07:33,620
Who is against? Who
abstains? Rejected. 542.

2369
03:07:33,695 --> 03:07:37,147
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2370
03:07:37,222 --> 03:07:40,749
Rejected. 543. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2371
03:07:40,824 --> 03:07:44,201
Who abstains? Rejected.
355. Who is in favor?

2372
03:07:44,276 --> 03:07:47,578
Who is against? Who
abstains? Rejected. 256.

2373
03:07:47,653 --> 03:07:51,105
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2374
03:07:51,180 --> 03:07:54,707
Rejected. 673. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2375
03:07:54,782 --> 03:07:58,084
Who abstains? Adopted.
357. Who is in favor?

2376
03:07:58,159 --> 03:08:02,062
Who is against? Who abstains?
Rejected. 360 by Roko.

2377
03:08:02,137 --> 03:08:05,439
Vote is open. Vote is
closed. Rejected. 415.

2378
03:08:05,514 --> 03:08:08,966
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2379
03:08:09,041 --> 03:08:12,493
Adopted. 545. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2380
03:08:12,568 --> 03:08:15,945
Who abstains? Rejected.
546. Who is in favor?

2381
03:08:16,020 --> 03:08:19,322
Who is against? Who
abstains? Rejected. 547.

2382
03:08:19,397 --> 03:08:22,849
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2383
03:08:22,924 --> 03:08:26,451
Rejected. 548. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2384
03:08:26,526 --> 03:08:29,903
Who abstains? Rejected.
549. Who is in favor?

2385
03:08:29,978 --> 03:08:33,280
Who is against? Who
abstains? Rejected. 550.

2386
03:08:33,355 --> 03:08:36,807
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2387
03:08:36,882 --> 03:08:40,634
Rejected. Heading 7,
European Commission, Block 9.

2388
03:08:40,709 --> 03:08:44,161
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2389
03:08:44,236 --> 03:08:47,688
Adopted. 553. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2390
03:08:47,764 --> 03:08:51,141
Who abstains? Rejected.
554. Who is in favor?

2391
03:08:51,216 --> 03:08:54,517
Who is against? Who
abstains? Rejected. 561.

2392
03:08:54,593 --> 03:08:58,045
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2393
03:08:58,120 --> 03:09:01,647
Rejected. 259. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2394
03:09:01,722 --> 03:09:05,099
Who abstains? Rejected.
562. Who is in favor?

2395
03:09:05,174 --> 03:09:08,476
Who is against? Who
abstains? Rejected. 563.

2396
03:09:08,551 --> 03:09:12,003
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2397
03:09:12,078 --> 03:09:15,605
Rejected. 565. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2398
03:09:15,680 --> 03:09:19,057
Who abstains? Rejected.
567. Who is in favor?

2399
03:09:19,132 --> 03:09:22,434
Who is against? Who
abstains? Rejected. 570.

2400
03:09:22,509 --> 03:09:25,961
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2401
03:09:26,036 --> 03:09:29,563
Rejected. 571. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2402
03:09:29,638 --> 03:09:33,015
Who abstains? Rejected.
572. Who is in favor?

2403
03:09:33,090 --> 03:09:36,392
Who is against? Who
abstains? Rejected. 574.

2404
03:09:36,467 --> 03:09:39,919
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2405
03:09:39,994 --> 03:09:43,521
Rejected. 575. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2406
03:09:43,596 --> 03:09:46,973
Who abstains? Rejected.
577. Who is in favor?

2407
03:09:47,048 --> 03:09:49,975
Who is against? Who abstains? Rejected.

2408
03:09:50,755 --> 03:09:54,392
578. Who is in favor? Who
is against? Who abstains?

2409
03:09:54,464 --> 03:09:57,816
Rejected. 581. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2410
03:09:57,887 --> 03:10:01,097
Who abstains? Rejected.
582. Who is in favor?

2411
03:10:01,168 --> 03:10:04,306
Who is against? Who
abstains? Rejected. 585.

2412
03:10:04,378 --> 03:10:07,658
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2413
03:10:07,730 --> 03:10:11,724
Rejected. Amendment 37. Who
is in favor? Who is against?

2414
03:10:11,795 --> 03:10:14,933
Who abstains? Adopted.
593. Who is in favor?

2415
03:10:15,005 --> 03:10:20,853
Who is against? Who abstains? Rejected.
Heading 7, Heading 7, European Parliament,

2416
03:10:20,924 --> 03:10:23,920
Block 10. Who is in favor? Who is against?

2417
03:10:23,991 --> 03:10:27,201
Who abstains? Adopted.
Amendment 296 by Roko.

2418
03:10:27,272 --> 03:10:31,123
Vote is open. Vote is closed.
Rejected. Amendment 606.

2419
03:10:31,195 --> 03:10:34,476
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2420
03:10:34,547 --> 03:10:38,184
Adopted. 299 by Roko. Vote
is open. Vote is closed.

2421
03:10:38,256 --> 03:10:42,321
Rejected. Amendment 213. Who
is in favor? Who is against?

2422
03:10:42,392 --> 03:10:45,602
Who abstains? Rejected.
214. Who is in favor?

2423
03:10:45,673 --> 03:10:48,811
Who is against? Who
abstains? Rejected. 215.

2424
03:10:48,883 --> 03:10:52,164
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2425
03:10:52,235 --> 03:10:55,587
Rejected. 216. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2426
03:10:55,658 --> 03:10:58,868
Who abstains? Rejected.
217. Who is in favor?

2427
03:10:58,939 --> 03:11:02,077
Who is against? Who
abstains? Rejected. 218.

2428
03:11:02,149 --> 03:11:05,430
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2429
03:11:05,501 --> 03:11:08,853
Rejected. 220. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2430
03:11:08,924 --> 03:11:14,773
Who abstains? Rejected. Heading 7, Council
and European Council, we go straight to

2431
03:11:14,844 --> 03:11:18,196
Amendment 519. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2432
03:11:18,268 --> 03:11:21,477
Who abstains? Rejected.
521. Who is in favor?

2433
03:11:21,548 --> 03:11:24,687
Who is against? Who
abstains? Rejected. 522.

2434
03:11:24,758 --> 03:11:28,039
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2435
03:11:28,110 --> 03:11:31,462
Rejected. 523. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2436
03:11:31,534 --> 03:11:34,743
Who abstains? Rejected.
525. Who is in favor?

2437
03:11:34,814 --> 03:11:40,734
Who is against? Who abstains? Rejected.
Heading 7, Court of Justice of the European

2438
03:11:40,806 --> 03:11:44,300
Union, Block 12. Who is
in favor? Who is against?

2439
03:11:44,372 --> 03:11:48,223
Who abstains? Adopted.
Amendment 262. Who is in favor?

2440
03:11:48,294 --> 03:11:54,285
Who is against? Who abstains? Rejected.
Heading 7, European Court of Auditors, Block

2441
03:11:54,357 --> 03:11:57,923
13. Who is in favor? Who
is against? Who abstains?

2442
03:11:57,994 --> 03:12:02,915
Adopted. Heading 7, European Economic
and Social Committee, Block 14.

2443
03:12:02,987 --> 03:12:06,268
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2444
03:12:06,339 --> 03:12:10,333
Adopted. Amendment 264. Who
is in favor? Who is against?

2445
03:12:10,404 --> 03:12:13,614
Who abstains? Rejected.
594. Who is in favor?

2446
03:12:13,685 --> 03:12:14,815
Who is against?

2447
03:12:14,815 --> 03:12:18,062
Who abstains? Rejected.
265. Who is in favor?

2448
03:12:18,134 --> 03:12:21,308
Who is against? Who
abstains? Rejected. 286.

2449
03:12:21,380 --> 03:12:24,699
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2450
03:12:24,771 --> 03:12:27,802
Ooh, 268. Who is in favor? Who is against?

2451
03:12:27,874 --> 03:12:31,192
Paying attention. Who
is abstaining? Rejected.

2452
03:12:31,265 --> 03:12:34,944
269. Who is in favor? Who
is against? Who abstains?

2453
03:12:35,016 --> 03:12:39,706
Rejected. Heading 7, European
Committee of the Regions, Block 15.

2454
03:12:39,778 --> 03:12:43,097
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2455
03:12:43,169 --> 03:12:46,488
Adopted. 270. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2456
03:12:46,560 --> 03:12:49,807
Who abstains? Rejected.
703. Who is in favor?

2457
03:12:49,879 --> 03:12:52,981
Who is against? Who
abstains? Adopted. 276.

2458
03:12:53,053 --> 03:12:56,372
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2459
03:12:56,444 --> 03:12:59,835
Rejected. 277. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2460
03:12:59,907 --> 03:13:03,154
Who abstains? Rejected.
278. Who is in favor?

2461
03:13:03,226 --> 03:13:08,998
Who is against? Who abstains? Rejected.
Heading 7, European Ombudsman, Block 16.

2462
03:13:09,070 --> 03:13:12,389
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2463
03:13:12,461 --> 03:13:17,295
Adopted. Heading 7, European Data
Protection Supervisor, Block 1 7.

2464
03:13:17,367 --> 03:13:20,686
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2465
03:13:20,758 --> 03:13:24,798
Adopted. Amendment 281. Who
is in favor? Who is against?

2466
03:13:24,870 --> 03:13:28,838
Who abstains? Rejected.
Amendment 283. Who is in favor?

2467
03:13:28,910 --> 03:13:34,971
Who is against? Who abstains? Rejected.
Heading 7, European External Action Service,

2468
03:13:35,043 --> 03:13:38,073
Block 18. Who is in favor? Who is against?

2469
03:13:38,145 --> 03:13:42,041
Who abstains? Adopted.
Amendment 284. Who is in favor?

2470
03:13:42,113 --> 03:13:45,288
Who is against? Who
abstains? Rejected. 286.

2471
03:13:45,360 --> 03:13:48,679
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2472
03:13:48,751 --> 03:13:52,142
Rejected. 288. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2473
03:13:52,214 --> 03:13:55,461
Who abstains? Rejected.
291. Who is in favor?

2474
03:13:55,533 --> 03:13:58,707
Who is against? Who
abstains? Rejected. 292.

2475
03:13:58,779 --> 03:14:02,098
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2476
03:14:02,170 --> 03:14:06,427
Rejected. Pilot projects and
preparatory actions, Block 19.

2477
03:14:06,499 --> 03:14:09,818
Who is in favor? Who is
against? Who abstains?

2478
03:14:09,890 --> 03:14:15,951
Adopted. I give the floor to the Council
Presidency, Minister of State for Fisheries

2479
03:14:16,023 --> 03:14:18,115
and Marine, Mr. Timmy Dooley.

2480
03:14:19,615 --> 03:14:23,707
Very much, Madam President. Honourable
Members, Commissioner, Ladies and Gentlemen.

2481
03:14:23,756 --> 03:14:27,898
The European Parliament has just adopted
amendments to the Council's position on the

2482
03:14:27,947 --> 03:14:32,089
draft budget. For the financial year 2027,
and I take note of the differences in the

2483
03:14:32,138 --> 03:14:36,181
positions of our two institutions concerning
the draft bud get 27 presented by the

2484
03:14:36,230 --> 03:14:40,273
Commission. Consequently, in my capacity
as President of the Council, I agree that

2485
03:14:40,322 --> 03:14:44,267
the President of the European Par liament
convenes the conciliation committee as

2486
03:14:44,316 --> 03:14:48,359
required in Point C of Paragraph 4 of
Article 314 of the Treaty of the Functioning

2487
03:14:48,408 --> 03:14:50,035
of the European Union. Thank you.

2488
03:14:50,635 --> 03:15:00,342
Thank you very much, Minister Dooley. So
I shall, in fact, convene the conciliation

2489
03:15:00,459 --> 03:15:10,165
committee in accordance with Article 314(4)
of the Treaty on the Functioning of the

2490
03:15:10,282 --> 03:15:15,896
European Union. Now we
move to the report by Mr.

2491
03:15:16,013 --> 03:15:21,042
Nils Ozarkovs and Mr.
Mihalis Hadjipantela.

2492
03:15:21,158 --> 03:15:30,047
On the general budget of the European
Union for the financial year 2027, all

2493
03:15:30,163 --> 03:15:38,116
sections—lots of roll calls—amendment
2, vote is open, by roll call.

2494
03:15:38,233 --> 03:15:45,951
Vote is closed. Rejected. Amendment
3, by roll call, vote is open.

2495
03:15:46,068 --> 03:15:53,787
Vote is closed. Rejected. Amendment
4, by roll call, vote is open.

2496
03:15:53,904 --> 03:16:01,623
Vote is closed. Rejected. Amendment
5, by roll call, vote is open.

2497
03:16:01,739 --> 03:16:08,406
Vote is closed. Rejected. 22,
by roll call, vote is open.

2498
03:16:08,522 --> 03:16:15,072
Vote is closed. Rejected.
Amendment 23, who is in favor?

2499
03:16:15,189 --> 03:16:23,492
Who is against? Who abstains? Rejected.
24, by roll call, vote is open.

2500
03:16:23,609 --> 03:16:30,275
Vote is closed. Rejected. 25,
by roll call, vote is open.

2501
03:16:30,392 --> 03:16:37,058
Vote is closed. Rejected. 68,
by roll call, vote is open.

2502
03:16:37,175 --> 03:16:43,724
Vote is closed. Rejected.
Amendment 26, who is in favor?

2503
03:16:43,841 --> 03:16:50,975
Who is against? Who abstains?
Rejected. 112, who is in favor?

2504
03:16:51,092 --> 03:16:58,108
Who is against? Who abstains?
Rejected. 69, who is in favor?

2505
03:16:58,225 --> 03:17:07,698
Who is against? Who abstains? Rejected.
Amendment 70, by roll call, vote is open.

2506
03:17:07,815 --> 03:17:15,768
Vote is closed. Rejected. Amendment
113, by roll call, vote is open.

2507
03:17:15,885 --> 03:17:22,551
Vote is closed. Rejected. 71,
by roll call, vote is open.

2508
03:17:22,668 --> 03:17:29,334
Vote is closed. Rejected. 72,
by roll call, vote is open.

2509
03:17:29,451 --> 03:17:34,830
Vote is closed. Rejected.
73, who is in favor?

2510
03:17:34,947 --> 03:17:43,367
Who is against? Who abstains? Rejected.
114, by roll call, vote is open.

2511
03:17:43,484 --> 03:17:50,150
Vote is closed. Rejected. 74,
by roll call, vote is open.

2512
03:17:50,267 --> 03:17:57,050
Vote is closed. Rejected. 115,
by roll call, vote is open.

2513
03:17:57,167 --> 03:18:03,833
Vote is closed. Rejected. 75,
by roll call, vote is open.

2514
03:18:03,950 --> 03:18:10,616
Vote is closed. Rejected. 27,
by roll call, vote is open.

2515
03:18:10,733 --> 03:18:16,113
Vote is closed. Rejected.
76, who is in favor?

2516
03:18:16,230 --> 03:18:23,247
Who is against? Who abstains?
Rejected. 28, who is in favor?

2517
03:18:23,364 --> 03:18:31,667
Who is against? Who abstains? Rejected.
77, by roll call, vote is open.

2518
03:18:31,784 --> 03:18:38,450
Vote is closed. Rejected. 29,
by roll call, vote is open.

2519
03:18:38,567 --> 03:18:43,947
Vote is closed. Rejected.
78, who is in favor?

2520
03:18:44,064 --> 03:18:47,455
Who is against? Who abstains?

2521
03:18:47,575 --> 03:18:54,648
Rejected. Amendment 30, by
roll call, vote is open.

2522
03:18:54,787 --> 03:19:02,414
Vote is closed. Rejected.
Amendment 6, who is in favor?

2523
03:19:02,553 --> 03:19:12,122
Who is against? Who abstains?
Rejected. Amendment 7, who is in favor?

2524
03:19:12,261 --> 03:19:23,356
Who is against? Who abstains? Rejected.
Amendment 8, by roll call, vote is open.

2525
03:19:23,495 --> 03:19:32,648
Vote is closed. Rejected. Amendment
9, by roll call, vote is open.

2526
03:19:32,787 --> 03:19:42,078
Vote is closed. Rejected. Amendment
10, by roll call, vote is open.

2527
03:19:42,217 --> 03:19:51,509
Vote is closed. Rejected. Amendment
11, by roll call, vote is open.

2528
03:19:51,648 --> 03:20:00,940
Vote is closed. Rejected. Amendment
12, by roll call, vote is open.

2529
03:20:01,078 --> 03:20:08,983
Vote is closed. Rejected. 13,
by roll call, vote is open.

2530
03:20:09,122 --> 03:20:17,027
Vote is closed. Rejected. 14,
by roll call, vote is open.

2531
03:20:17,166 --> 03:20:25,071
Vote is closed. Rejected. 15,
by roll call, vote is open.

2532
03:20:25,210 --> 03:20:33,115
Vote is closed. Rejected. 31,
by roll call, vote is open.

2533
03:20:33,253 --> 03:20:41,159
Vote is closed. Rejected. 32,
by roll call, vote is open.

2534
03:20:41,297 --> 03:20:49,202
Vote is closed. Rejected. 33,
by roll call, vote is open.

2535
03:20:49,341 --> 03:20:57,246
Vote is closed. Rejected. 34,
by roll call, vote is open.

2536
03:20:57,385 --> 03:21:03,903
Vote is closed. Rejected.
108, who is in favor?

2537
03:21:04,042 --> 03:21:13,888
Who is against? Who abstains? Rejected.
35, by roll call, vote is open.

2538
03:21:14,027 --> 03:21:21,932
Vote is closed. Rejected. 79,
by roll call, vote is open.

2539
03:21:22,071 --> 03:21:30,115
Vote is closed. Rejected. 116,
by roll call, vote is open.

2540
03:21:30,253 --> 03:21:38,158
Vote is closed. Rejected. 36,
by roll call, vote is open.

2541
03:21:38,297 --> 03:21:46,202
Vote is closed. Rejected. 80,
by roll call, vote is open.

2542
03:21:46,341 --> 03:21:54,246
Vote is closed. Rejected. 37,
by roll call, vote is open.

2543
03:21:54,385 --> 03:22:06,034
Vote is closed. Rejected. Paragraph 15.f,
original text, by roll call, vote is open.

2544
03:22:06,173 --> 03:22:17,684
Vote is closed. Adopted. Paragraph 15.g,
original text, by roll call, vote is open.

2545
03:22:17,822 --> 03:22:26,976
Vote is closed. Adopted. Amendment
81, by roll call, vote is open.

2546
03:22:27,114 --> 03:22:35,019
Vote is closed. Rejected. 82,
by roll call, vote is open.

2547
03:22:35,158 --> 03:22:44,450
Vote is closed. Rejected. Amendment
83, by roll call, vote is open.

2548
03:22:44,589 --> 03:22:51,107
Vote is closed. Rejected.
109, who is in favor?

2549
03:22:51,246 --> 03:23:01,231
Who is against? Who abstains? Rejected.
117, by roll call, vote is open.

2550
03:23:01,370 --> 03:23:13,019
Vote is closed. Rejected. Paragraph 21.a,
original text, by roll call, vote is open.

2551
03:23:13,158 --> 03:23:22,311
Vote is closed. Adopted. Amendment
84, by roll call, vote is open.

2552
03:23:22,450 --> 03:23:30,355
Vote is closed. Rejected. 85,
by roll call, vote is open.

2553
03:23:33,115 --> 03:23:39,724
Vote is closed. Rejected.
Amendment 86, who is in favor?

2554
03:23:39,842 --> 03:23:49,401
Who is against? Who abstains? Rejected.
Amendment 87, by roll call, vote is open.

2555
03:23:49,519 --> 03:23:59,078
Amendment 87. Vote is closed. Rejected.
Amendment 88, by roll call, vote is open.

2556
03:23:59,196 --> 03:24:05,804
Vote is closed. Rejected.
Amendment 38, who is in favor?

2557
03:24:05,922 --> 03:24:15,481
Who is against? Who abstains? Rejected.
Amendment 89, by roll call, vote is open.

2558
03:24:15,599 --> 03:24:23,506
Vote is closed. Rejected. Amendment
90, by roll call, vote is open.

2559
03:24:23,624 --> 03:24:33,537
Vote is closed. Rejected. Paragraph 22.a,
original text, by roll call, vote is open.

2560
03:24:33,655 --> 03:24:40,146
Vote is closed. Adopted.
Amendment 91, who is in favor?

2561
03:24:40,264 --> 03:24:49,823
Who is against? Who abstains? Rejected.
Amendment 16, by roll call, vote is open.

2562
03:24:49,941 --> 03:24:57,966
Vote is closed. Rejected. Amendment
110, by roll call, vote is open.

2563
03:24:58,084 --> 03:25:04,811
Vote is closed. Rejected. 39,
by roll call, vote is open.

2564
03:25:04,929 --> 03:25:11,655
Vote is closed. Rejected. 40,
by roll call, vote is open.

2565
03:25:11,773 --> 03:25:18,500
Vote is closed. Rejected. 41,
by roll call, vote is open.

2566
03:25:18,618 --> 03:25:25,345
Vote is closed. Rejected. 42,
by roll call, vote is open.

2567
03:25:25,463 --> 03:25:32,072
Rejected. Amendment 43, who
is in favor? Who is against?

2568
03:25:32,190 --> 03:25:37,382
Who abstains? Rejected.
17, who is in favor?

2569
03:25:37,500 --> 03:25:44,581
Who is against? Who abstains?
Rejected. 18, who is in favor?

2570
03:25:44,699 --> 03:25:51,780
Who is against? Who abstains?
Rejected. 19, who is in favor?

2571
03:25:51,898 --> 03:25:58,978
Who is against? Who abstains?
Rejected. 20, who is in favor?

2572
03:25:59,096 --> 03:26:07,475
Who is against? Who abstains? Rejected.
21, by roll call, vote is open.

2573
03:26:07,593 --> 03:26:14,320
Vote is closed. Rejected. 44,
by roll call, vote is open.

2574
03:26:14,438 --> 03:26:21,165
Vote is closed. Rejected. 45,
by roll call, vote is open.

2575
03:26:21,283 --> 03:26:28,009
Vote is closed. Rejected. 46,
by roll call, vote is open.

2576
03:26:28,127 --> 03:26:34,972
Vote is closed. Rejected. 118,
by roll call, vote is open.

2577
03:26:35,090 --> 03:26:45,003
Vote is closed. Rejected. Paragraph 27.a,
original text, by roll call, vote is open.

2578
03:26:45,121 --> 03:26:51,730
Vote is closed. Adopted. 92,
by roll call, vote is open.

2579
03:26:51,848 --> 03:26:58,575
Vote is closed. Rejected. 93,
by roll call, vote is open.

2580
03:26:58,693 --> 03:27:05,419
Vote is closed. Rejected. 94,
by roll call, vote is open.

2581
03:27:05,537 --> 03:27:11,674
Vote is closed. Rejected.
So I give the floor to Mr.

2582
03:27:11,792 --> 03:27:21,115
Nicolas B. to move an oral amendment to
add a new paragraph after paragraph 27.

2583
03:27:28,255 --> 03:27:32,713
Thank you, Madam President. Dear colleagues,
on behalf of the ECR Group, I wish to

2584
03:27:32,768 --> 03:27:37,118
present an oral amendment seeking to
insert, after paragraph 27, a new paragraph

2585
03:27:37,172 --> 03:27:41,630
27a, worded as follows: "Recalls the
position expressed by the European Parliament

2586
03:27:41,685 --> 03:27:46,089
in its resolution of 8 October 2" 026
during the last plenary session on the need

2587
03:27:46,143 --> 03:27:50,710
for the Union to adopt a strategy against
Islamist entryism and the influence of the

2588
03:27:50,765 --> 03:27:55,223
Muslim Brotherhood network, in which it
called on the Commission to ensure that no

2589
03:27:55,278 --> 03:27:59,464
Union funds could reach or benefit,
directly or indirectly, entities that are

2590
03:27:59,519 --> 03:28:03,760
partner contractors, subcontractors,
beneficial owners, final beneficiaries or

2591
03:28:03,814 --> 03:28:07,566
recipients linked to networks
associated with the Muslim Brotherhood.

2592
03:28:07,620 --> 03:28:12,024
» « I call on the Commission and the other
Union bodies to proactively assess and

2593
03:28:12,078 --> 03:28:16,102
strengthen control over compliance
with Union values by applicants for and

2594
03:28:16,156 --> 03:28:20,506
recipients of Union funds, whether through
exempt checks or the requirement of a

2595
03:28:20,560 --> 03:28:23,768
binding written commitment in
order to detect any breaches.

2596
03:28:23,823 --> 03:28:25,015
» Thank you.

2597
03:28:25,015 --> 03:28:26,215
Thank you, Mr B.

2598
03:28:26,455 --> 03:28:32,702
Is there any opposition
to the oral amendment?

2599
03:28:32,838 --> 03:28:42,615
Okay. There is enough opposition, so
the oral amendment cannot be taken.

2600
03:28:42,751 --> 03:28:51,849
We move to the next vote. Amendment
47, by roll call, vote is open.

2601
03:28:51,985 --> 03:28:59,726
Vote is closed. Rejected. 48,
by roll call, vote is open.

2602
03:28:59,862 --> 03:29:07,602
Vote is closed. Rejected. 49,
by roll call, vote is open.

2603
03:29:07,738 --> 03:29:15,478
Vote is closed. Rejected. 50,
by roll call, vote is open.

2604
03:29:15,614 --> 03:29:23,355
Vote is closed. Rejected. 95,
by roll call, vote is open.

2605
03:29:23,491 --> 03:29:31,367
Vote is closed. Rejected. 119,
by roll call, vote is open.

2606
03:29:31,503 --> 03:29:39,243
Vote is closed. Rejected. 96,
by roll call, vote is open.

2607
03:29:39,379 --> 03:29:47,255
Vote is closed. Rejected. 120,
by roll call, vote is open.

2608
03:29:47,391 --> 03:29:55,132
Vote is closed. Rejected. 51,
by roll call, vote is open.

2609
03:29:55,267 --> 03:30:03,008
Vote is closed. Rejected. 52,
by roll call, vote is open.

2610
03:30:03,144 --> 03:30:10,884
Vote is closed. Rejected. 53,
by roll call, vote is open.

2611
03:30:11,020 --> 03:30:18,761
Vote is closed. Rejected. 54,
by roll call, vote is open.

2612
03:30:18,896 --> 03:30:26,637
Vote is closed. Rejected. 55,
by roll call, vote is open.

2613
03:30:26,773 --> 03:30:33,020
Vote is closed. Rejected.
56, who is in favor?

2614
03:30:33,155 --> 03:30:41,303
Who is against? Who abstains?
Rejected. 57, who is in favor?

2615
03:30:41,439 --> 03:30:49,587
Who is against? Who abstains?
Rejected. 58, who is in favor?

2616
03:30:49,723 --> 03:30:59,500
Who is against? Who abstains? Rejected.
111, by roll call, vote is open.

2617
03:30:59,636 --> 03:31:07,513
Vote is closed. Rejected. 121,
by roll call, vote is open.

2618
03:31:07,648 --> 03:31:15,389
Vote is closed. Rejected. 97,
by roll call, vote is open.

2619
03:31:15,525 --> 03:31:23,265
Vote is closed. Rejected. 59,
by roll call, vote is open.

2620
03:31:23,401 --> 03:31:31,142
Vote is closed. Rejected. 60,
by roll call, vote is open.

2621
03:31:31,277 --> 03:31:39,018
Vote is closed. Rejected. 98,
by roll call, vote is open.

2622
03:31:39,154 --> 03:31:46,894
Vote is closed. Rejected. 99,
by roll call, vote is open.

2623
03:31:47,030 --> 03:31:54,771
Vote is closed. Rejected. 61,
by roll call, vote is open.

2624
03:31:54,906 --> 03:32:02,647
Vote is closed. Rejected. 62,
by roll call, vote is open.

2625
03:32:02,783 --> 03:32:10,523
Vote is closed. Rejected. 63,
by roll call, vote is open.

2626
03:32:10,659 --> 03:32:18,400
Vote is closed. Rejected. 64,
by roll call, vote is open.

2627
03:32:18,535 --> 03:32:24,782
Vote is closed. Rejected.
65, who is in favor?

2628
03:32:24,918 --> 03:32:33,066
Who is against? Who abstains?
Rejected. 66, who is in favor?

2629
03:32:33,202 --> 03:32:41,350
Who is against? Who abstains?
Rejected. 67, who is in favor?

2630
03:32:41,485 --> 03:32:51,263
Who is against? Who abstains? Rejected.
100, by roll call, vote is open.

2631
03:32:51,399 --> 03:32:59,275
Vote is closed. Rejected. 101,
by roll call, vote is open.

2632
03:33:02,935 --> 03:33:09,451
Vote is closed. Rejected. 102,
by roll call, vote is open.

2633
03:33:09,563 --> 03:33:14,843
Vote is closed. Rejected.
103, who is in favor?

2634
03:33:14,955 --> 03:33:23,044
Who is against? Who abstains? Rejected.
122, by roll call, vote is open.

2635
03:33:23,156 --> 03:33:29,672
Vote is closed. Rejected. 104,
by roll call, vote is open.

2636
03:33:29,784 --> 03:33:36,300
Vote is closed. Rejected. 105,
by roll call, vote is open.

2637
03:33:36,412 --> 03:33:42,928
Vote is closed. Rejected. 106,
by roll call, vote is open.

2638
03:33:43,040 --> 03:33:48,320
Vote is closed. Rejected.
123, who is in favor?

2639
03:33:48,433 --> 03:33:57,757
Who is against? Who abstains? Rejected.
Paragraph 49.c original text, by roll call,

2640
03:33:57,869 --> 03:34:05,845
vote is open. Vote is closed. Adopted.
107, by roll call, vote is open.

2641
03:34:05,958 --> 03:34:14,945
Vote is closed. Rejected. Citation to
original text, by roll call, vote is open.

2642
03:34:15,057 --> 03:34:24,044
Vote is closed. Adopted. Citation 10,
original text, by roll call, vote is open.

2643
03:34:24,157 --> 03:34:31,683
Vote is closed. Adopted. Amendment
124, by roll call, vote is open.

2644
03:34:31,796 --> 03:34:37,974
Vote is closed. Rejected.
Amendment 1, who is in favor?

2645
03:34:38,087 --> 03:34:47,074
Who is against? Who abstains? Rejected.
We vote on the resolution as a whole, by

2646
03:34:47,186 --> 03:34:52,691
roll call, vote is open.
Vote is closed. Adopted.

2647
03:34:52,803 --> 03:34:59,993
Congratulations to the rapporteurs.
We move to the report by Mr.

2648
03:35:00,105 --> 03:35:08,980
Pasquale Tridico on the discharge 2024
EU General Budget, European Council, and

2649
03:35:09,093 --> 03:35:15,047
Council. There is a decision
to refuse the discharge.

2650
03:35:15,159 --> 03:35:21,562
We vote on the decision. Who
is in favor? Who is against?

2651
03:35:21,675 --> 03:35:28,190
Who abstains? Adopted. There
is a motion for a resolution.

2652
03:35:28,303 --> 03:35:34,594
Amendment 2, by roll call,
vote is open. Vote is closed.

2653
03:35:34,706 --> 03:35:41,896
Rejected. Paragraph 21, Amendment
3, by roll call, vote is open.

2654
03:35:42,008 --> 03:35:49,423
Vote is closed. Rejected. Amendment
1, by roll call, vote is open.

2655
03:35:49,535 --> 03:35:58,859
Vote is closed. Rejected. We vote on the
original text, by roll call, vote is open.

2656
03:35:58,971 --> 03:36:08,408
Vote is closed. Adopted. We vote on the
resolution as a whole, by roll call, vote is

2657
03:36:08,520 --> 03:36:15,148
open. Vote is closed. Adopted.
We move to the report by Ms.

2658
03:36:15,261 --> 03:36:24,023
Lucia Iar on the mobilization of the
European Union Solidarity Fund to provide

2659
03:36:24,136 --> 03:36:33,572
assistance to Malta and Italy regarding
storm Harry in January 2026, and to Portugal

2660
03:36:33,684 --> 03:36:40,425
and Spain following the storms
in January and February 2026.

2661
03:36:40,537 --> 03:36:47,278
We first start with Amendment
1, by roll call, vote is open.

2662
03:36:47,390 --> 03:36:49,075
Vote is closed.

2663
03:36:49,855 --> 03:36:51,055
Sorry?

2664
03:36:53,455 --> 03:36:57,664
Rejected. Amendment 3, who
is in favor? Who is against?

2665
03:36:57,740 --> 03:37:01,796
Who abstains? Rejected.
Amendment 4, who is in favor?

2666
03:37:01,872 --> 03:37:07,993
Who is against? Who abstains? Rejected.
Amendment 2, by roll call, vote is open.

2667
03:37:08,070 --> 03:37:12,279
Vote is closed. Rejected.
Amendment 5, who is in favor?

2668
03:37:12,355 --> 03:37:17,635
Who is against? Who abstains?
Rejected. Amendment 6, who is in favor?

2669
03:37:17,711 --> 03:37:23,833
Who is against? Who abstains? Rejected.
We vote on the resolution as a whole, by

2670
03:37:23,909 --> 03:37:27,659
roll call, vote is open.
Vote is closed. Adopted.

2671
03:37:27,735 --> 03:37:33,551
We move to the report by Ms. Aura Salla.
On the mobilization of the European

2672
03:37:33,627 --> 03:37:37,606
Globalization Adjustment
Fund for displaced workers.

2673
03:37:37,683 --> 03:37:42,503
Application for SLA Suomi, and
Helsinki Uusimaa Paper, Finland.

2674
03:37:42,580 --> 03:37:46,023
Amendment 1, who is in
favor? Who is against?

2675
03:37:46,100 --> 03:37:50,155
Who abstains? Rejected.
Amendment 2, who is in favor?

2676
03:37:50,232 --> 03:37:55,511
Who is against? Who abstains?
Rejected. Amendment 3, who is in favor?

2677
03:37:55,588 --> 03:38:01,709
Who is against? Who abstains? Rejected.
We vote on the resolution as a whole, by

2678
03:38:01,786 --> 03:38:05,535
roll call, vote is open.
Vote is closed. Adopted.

2679
03:38:05,612 --> 03:38:11,427
We now vote on the report by Mr. Michael
McNamara on the Perikles 5 exchange

2680
03:38:11,504 --> 03:38:16,937
assistance and training program for
the protection of the eur o against

2681
03:38:17,013 --> 03:38:22,675
counterfeiting 2028-2034. We first
vote on the amendments by the committee

2682
03:38:22,752 --> 03:38:27,037
responsible in a block. Who
is in favor? Who is against?

2683
03:38:27,113 --> 03:38:30,863
Who abstains? Adopted.
Amendment 3, in two parts.

2684
03:38:30,939 --> 03:38:34,306
First part, who is in
favor? Who is against?

2685
03:38:34,383 --> 03:38:39,203
Who abstains? Adopted. Second
part, by roll call, vote is open.

2686
03:38:39,280 --> 03:38:44,254
Vote is closed. Adopted. Amendment
7, by roll call, vote is open.

2687
03:38:44,330 --> 03:38:48,309
Vote is closed. Adopted.
Amendment 14, in two parts.

2688
03:38:48,386 --> 03:38:51,752
First part, who is in
favor? Who is against?

2689
03:38:51,829 --> 03:38:56,650
Who abstains? Adopted. Second
part, by roll call, vote is open.

2690
03:38:56,726 --> 03:39:03,001
Vote is closed. Adopted. We vote on the
commission proposal, by roll call, vote is

2691
03:39:03,077 --> 03:39:09,352
open. Vote is closed. Adopted. I give the
floor now to the Chair of the Committee,

2692
03:39:09,428 --> 03:39:11,035
Mr. Javier Zazalejos.

2693
03:39:12,295 --> 03:39:16,519
Thank you. Madam President, Parliament
has now adopted its amendments to the

2694
03:39:16,575 --> 03:39:19,131
commission proposal of
the Perikles 5 program.

2695
03:39:19,187 --> 03:39:23,689
So, on behalf of the committee on civil
liberties, justice, and home affairs, and

2696
03:39:23,745 --> 03:39:28,080
pursuant to Rule 60, paragraph 4, rules
of procedure , I request the matter be

2697
03:39:28,135 --> 03:39:32,637
referred back to the committee responsible
so that we can open interinstitutional

2698
03:39:32,693 --> 03:39:37,195
negotiations with the Council on the basis
of the text adopted by the Parliament.

2699
03:39:38,095 --> 03:39:38,275
Thank you.

2700
03:39:38,275 --> 03:39:46,521
Thank you very much. Mr. Zazalejos, so
we will now vote on the referral back to

2701
03:39:46,625 --> 03:39:51,113
committee. Who is in
favor? Who is against?

2702
03:39:51,218 --> 03:39:59,985
Who abstains? It is adopted and therefore
it is referred back for interinstitutional

2703
03:40:00,089 --> 03:40:05,517
negotiations and accords
with Rule 60 , paragraph 4.

2704
03:40:05,621 --> 03:40:13,867
Now we vote on the report by Ms. Lee
Andersson on guidelines for the employment

2705
03:40:13,971 --> 03:40:22,426
policies of the member states. We start
with a block vote of the amendment by the

2706
03:40:22,530 --> 03:40:28,271
committee responsible. Who
is in favor? Who is against?

2707
03:40:28,375 --> 03:40:34,951
Who abstains? Adopted. Amendment
5, by roll call, vote is open.

2708
03:40:35,055 --> 03:40:41,944
Vote is closed. Adopted. Amendment
16, by roll call, vote is open.

2709
03:40:42,048 --> 03:40:49,563
Vote is closed. Adopted. Amendment
17, in three parts, all by roll call.

2710
03:40:49,668 --> 03:40:54,886
First part, vote is open.
Vote is closed. Adopted.

2711
03:40:54,991 --> 03:41:00,836
Second part, by roll call,
vote is open. Vote is closed.

2712
03:41:00,940 --> 03:41:06,054
Rejected. Third part, by
roll call, vote is open.

2713
03:41:06,159 --> 03:41:13,674
Vote is closed. Rejected. Amendment
18, in two parts, both by roll call.

2714
03:41:13,778 --> 03:41:18,997
First part, vote is open.
Vote is closed. Adopted.

2715
03:41:19,101 --> 03:41:23,485
Second part, vote is open. Vote is closed.

2716
03:41:23,589 --> 03:41:28,808
Adopted. Amendment 29, by
roll call, vote is open.

2717
03:41:28,913 --> 03:41:34,653
Vote is closed. Adopted.
Amendment 38, who is in favor?

2718
03:41:34,758 --> 03:41:42,168
Who is against? Who abstains? Rejected.
39, by roll call, vote is open.

2719
03:41:42,273 --> 03:41:49,266
Vote is closed. Rejected. Amendment
12, by roll call, vote is open.

2720
03:41:49,370 --> 03:41:56,259
Vote is closed. Adopted. Amendment
14, by roll call, vote is open.

2721
03:41:56,363 --> 03:41:58,555
Amendment 34 as well?

2722
03:41:58,855 --> 03:41:59,275
Yes.

2723
03:41:59,275 --> 03:42:03,697
We vote for an amendment 34 as
well, by roll call, vote is open.

2724
03:42:03,766 --> 03:42:06,115
Yes, I understand. Same here, huh?

2725
03:42:06,535 --> 03:42:07,735
Okay.

2726
03:42:08,095 --> 03:42:08,575
Yeah.

2727
03:42:08,575 --> 03:42:14,813
I understand. Vote is
closed. Sorry. Okay, hold on.

2728
03:42:14,935 --> 03:42:20,194
We vote on amendment
34 again. Again on 34.

2729
03:42:20,316 --> 03:42:30,223
Vote is closed. And it is rejected, so we
now vote on amendment 14, by roll call,

2730
03:42:30,345 --> 03:42:35,604
vote is open. 14.
One-four. Vote is closed.

2731
03:42:35,727 --> 03:42:44,777
Adopted. So 35 falls. Amendment 40,
four-zero, by roll call, vote is open.

2732
03:42:44,900 --> 03:42:54,929
Vote is closed. And it is rejected, so we
vote on amendment 22, by roll call, vote

2733
03:42:55,051 --> 03:43:04,224
is open. Vote is closed. Adopted.
Amendment 36, by roll call, vote is open.

2734
03:43:04,346 --> 03:43:11,195
Vote is closed. Rejected.
Amendment 26, who is in favor?

2735
03:43:11,318 --> 03:43:20,735
Who is against? Who abstains? Adopted.
Therefore, 37 falls, so we vote now on

2736
03:43:20,857 --> 03:43:27,829
amendment 41, by roll call,
vote is open. Vote is closed.

2737
03:43:27,951 --> 03:43:38,102
And it is rejected. We vote on the commission
proposal, by roll call, vote is open.

2738
03:43:38,225 --> 03:43:45,196
Vote is closed. Adopted. Now
we vote on the report by Mr.

2739
03:43:45,318 --> 03:43:54,614
Nicola Zingaretti on a new co-ownership
for the future of Euro-Mediterranean

2740
03:43:54,736 --> 03:44:00,117
relation s. The pacts
for the Mediterranean.

2741
03:44:00,240 --> 03:44:06,355
First, I give the floor
to Mr. Nacho Sanchez-Amor.

2742
03:44:07,975 --> 03:44:11,519
Thank you, Chair. And we have of my
group, Bourjois and the Rule, 206.

2743
03:44:11,570 --> 03:44:15,823
I would like to request the postponement
of the vote on this affair-owned initiative

2744
03:44:15,874 --> 03:44:18,355
report, the pact of the
Mediterranean. Thank you.

2745
03:44:19,255 --> 03:44:25,944
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Sanchez-Amor.
So, in accordance with Rule 206, there is a

2746
03:44:26,024 --> 03:44:32,713
request for adjournment. I put this procedural
motion on behalf of the S&D group to

2747
03:44:32,794 --> 03:44:36,178
the vote. Who is in favor? Who is against?

2748
03:44:36,259 --> 03:44:41,578
Who abstains? Okay. There is a
majority, so the vote is adjourned.

2749
03:44:41,658 --> 03:44:48,266
So we go to the report by Ms. Brigitte
Vandenberg on boosting skills in the Union.

2750
03:44:48,347 --> 03:44:54,391
Opportunities for vocational education
and training in times of transition.

2751
03:44:54,471 --> 03:44:58,984
Amendment 1, by roll call,
vote is open. Vote is closed.

2752
03:44:59,065 --> 03:45:04,222
Rejected. Paragraph 29, amendment
2, by roll call, vote is open.

2753
03:45:04,303 --> 03:45:10,266
Vote is closed. Rejected. So we vote
on the original text, in three parts.

2754
03:45:10,347 --> 03:45:13,893
First part, who is in
favor? Who is against?

2755
03:45:13,973 --> 03:45:18,164
Who abstains? Adopted.
Second part, who is in favor?

2756
03:45:18,244 --> 03:45:22,435
Who is against? Hold on,
we check this. Second part?

2757
03:45:25,015 --> 03:45:26,215
Rejected.

2758
03:45:28,075 --> 03:45:35,567
Vote is closed. It is rejected,
therefore the third part falls.

2759
03:45:35,686 --> 03:45:43,416
We vote on the resolution as a
whole, by roll call, vote is open.

2760
03:45:43,535 --> 03:45:49,600
Vote is closed. Adopted.
We move to the final vote.

2761
03:45:49,719 --> 03:45:58,044
Objection? Genetically modified
soybean. Amendment 2, who is in favor?

2762
03:45:58,162 --> 03:46:03,633
Who is against? Who
abstains? Check. Last one.

2763
03:46:03,752 --> 03:46:08,866
Vote is closed. Okay,
it's clear. Rejected.

2764
03:46:08,984 --> 03:46:14,336
Amendment 1, who is in
favor? Who is against?

2765
03:46:14,455 --> 03:46:20,163
Who abstains? Let's check
again. Vote is closed.

2766
03:46:20,282 --> 03:46:29,558
Rejected, so we vote on the resolution
as a whole, by roll call, vote is open.

2767
03:46:29,677 --> 03:46:34,315
Vote is closed. Okay, and it's adopted.

2768
03:46:34,855 --> 03:46:38,105
I give the floor to Mr. Nicolas
Bay for the point of order.

2769
03:46:38,160 --> 03:46:40,915
Shh. We have a couple of
points of orders, please.

2770
03:46:49,195 --> 03:46:54,414
Thank you, Madam President. My point of
order is based on Article 22 of our Rules of

2771
03:46:54,477 --> 03:46:59,634
Procedure, which states, I quote: 'The
Chair may only take the floor in a debate to

2772
03:46:59,696 --> 03:47:04,791
present the state of the matter and to
bring it back to order.' On Monday evening,

2773
03:47:04,853 --> 03:47:09,638
during the debate on the violence in
France, Belgium and Italy, the Chair, Ms

2774
03:47:09,700 --> 03:47:14,919
Katharina Barley, interrupted me in the
middle of my speech and then went on to make

2775
03:47:14,981 --> 03:47:17,715
disparaging comments
about other colleagues:

2776
03:47:17,778 --> 03:47:22,748
Fabrice Leggeri and Petra Stuger. Presidents
of the session must maintain strict

2777
03:47:22,811 --> 03:47:26,477
political neutrality and must
not interfere in the debates.

2778
03:47:26,539 --> 03:47:31,758
Ms Barley completely departed from her role
as Chair and subsequently undermined the

2779
03:47:31,820 --> 03:47:35,238
function she holds and the
prestige of our institution.

2780
03:47:35,300 --> 03:47:40,209
Therefore, I ask you, Madam President,
to call Ms Barley to order and no longer

2781
03:47:40,271 --> 03:47:45,490
entrust her with chairing sessions if she
is not capable of performing this function

2782
03:47:45,552 --> 03:47:46,795
properly. Thank you.

2783
03:47:51,415 --> 03:47:57,115
Okay. Thank you very much. Vice
President Barley, you want the floor?

2784
03:47:59,395 --> 03:48:04,990
Yes. Thank you very much, President. I
have to say I didn't understand everything

2785
03:48:05,059 --> 03:48:08,167
that was said, because
it was very loud here.

2786
03:48:08,236 --> 03:48:11,275
But I have to say, these
colleagues can ask—

2787
03:48:11,455 --> 03:48:12,955
Colleagues, could you please be quiet?

2788
03:48:13,855 --> 03:48:22,642
Thanks. So I didn't get everything that was
said, but apparently it was an attack on

2789
03:48:22,746 --> 03:48:25,675
my— or are you. Still there?

2790
03:48:26,035 --> 03:48:26,335
Yes.

2791
03:48:26,335 --> 03:48:32,761
Yes. So it was attacking my President's—
my Presidency, me presiding yesterday, I

2792
03:48:32,840 --> 03:48:38,869
think it was, in the discussion on the
riots in France, Belgium, and Ital y.

2793
03:48:38,949 --> 03:48:45,454
I have to say, in the first place, that
this was actually a very— an example for a

2794
03:48:45,533 --> 03:48:48,945
very good debate, for
a very he ated topic.

2795
03:48:49,024 --> 03:48:54,260
It was— it was emotional, it was
controversial, but it was by far.

2796
03:48:54,339 --> 03:48:59,813
Most of the time very respectful.
And I want to thank the colleagues.

2797
03:48:59,892 --> 03:49:04,890
It was also with a lot of blue
cards. It was a real discussion.

2798
03:49:04,970 --> 03:49:06,715
So thank you for that.

2799
03:49:07,255 --> 03:49:07,675
Okay.

2800
03:49:07,675 --> 03:49:08,335
Yes?

2801
03:49:08,335 --> 03:49:09,055
Thank you.

2802
03:49:09,055 --> 03:49:17,072
I think it's obvious, with a heated topic
like that, that there were— I think it was

2803
03:49:17,167 --> 03:49:23,275
three— Words, or notions, that I
referred back to the President.

2804
03:49:23,455 --> 03:49:23,815
Yeah.

2805
03:49:23,815 --> 03:49:27,355
To check it. And the one
that Mr. Bay himself—

2806
03:49:27,715 --> 03:49:28,015
Okay.

2807
03:49:28,015 --> 03:49:29,275
—who is leaving now—

2808
03:49:29,395 --> 03:49:31,195
Stop. Stop shouting. Stop shouting.

2809
03:49:31,375 --> 03:49:33,355
—is in German. I was—

2810
03:49:33,535 --> 03:49:34,135
Okay.

2811
03:49:34,135 --> 03:49:39,955
Look, I couldn't. Half of the time
because people were so— so, okay.

2812
03:49:40,435 --> 03:49:40,915
Stop shouting.

2813
03:49:40,915 --> 03:49:42,715
So the word that Mr. Bay used—

2814
03:49:43,015 --> 03:49:43,315
Okay.

2815
03:49:43,315 --> 03:49:46,471
—in German translation
was the word "Abschaum".

2816
03:49:46,538 --> 03:49:50,635
I can't— I don't know what it
is in French, and I don't know—

2817
03:49:50,815 --> 03:49:51,115
Okay.

2818
03:49:51,115 --> 03:49:52,315
—if it's okay in French.

2819
03:49:52,495 --> 03:49:52,855
Okay.

2820
03:49:52,855 --> 03:49:55,195
But in German, this is a word—

2821
03:49:55,375 --> 03:49:55,675
Okay.

2822
03:49:55,675 --> 03:49:57,595
—that dishumanizes people.

2823
03:49:57,895 --> 03:49:58,495
Okay.

2824
03:49:58,495 --> 03:50:01,075
And this is against
the rules of procedure.

2825
03:50:01,255 --> 03:50:01,915
Thank you. Thank you.

2826
03:50:01,915 --> 03:50:03,115
Paragraph 10.

2827
03:50:03,355 --> 03:50:03,655
Thank you.

2828
03:50:03,655 --> 03:50:06,215
So this is what I did.
The President will decide.

2829
03:50:06,267 --> 03:50:09,715
And this is how we do it. I think
it's a totally normal procedure.

2830
03:50:09,775 --> 03:50:10,015
Okay.

2831
03:50:10,015 --> 03:50:10,435
Thank you.

2832
03:50:10,435 --> 03:50:13,781
Okay, thank you. So— We
will look into two things.

2833
03:50:13,848 --> 03:50:18,533
One, what was said in the original
language, and what was interpreted.

2834
03:50:18,600 --> 03:50:24,087
But once again, I also ask all colleagues
to really respect each other when we use

2835
03:50:24,154 --> 03:50:27,902
what kind of language and how
we debate in this chamber.

2836
03:50:27,969 --> 03:50:31,315
Now, I give the floor next
to Mr. Sebastian Krauß.

2837
03:50:35,095 --> 03:50:38,527
Yes, thank you very— thank you
very much, Madam President.

2838
03:50:38,587 --> 03:50:43,203
I rise to point under Article 6. 10.
It's regarding safety and dignity in this

2839
03:50:43,262 --> 03:50:48,055
Parliament. Yesterday we saw this House
being chaired by a Vice President of this

2840
03:50:48,114 --> 03:50:52,671
Parliament, which belongs to La France
Insoumise, a party that had — that has

2841
03:50:52,730 --> 03:50:57,110
incited a far-left gang combined violent
crackdown on the French Republic.

2842
03:50:57,169 --> 03:51:02,022
I'm sick and tired in this House of hearing
repeated speeches about the dignity of

2843
03:51:02,081 --> 03:51:06,519
this House, while someone who represents
a party that undermines democratic

2844
03:51:06,578 --> 03:51:10,247
institutions is— is permitted
to preside over its proceedings.

2845
03:51:10,307 --> 03:51:15,041
During the previous Strasbourg session,
we also witnessed one of his colleagues,

2846
03:51:15,100 --> 03:51:18,355
Rima Hassan, a convicted
Hamas-loving Nazi sympathizer.

2847
03:51:18,535 --> 03:51:18,715
Okay.

2848
03:51:18,715 --> 03:51:22,585
—finally vandalizing an exhibition
about Israel in this Parliament.

2849
03:51:22,642 --> 03:51:27,147
Where is the red line? Where's the minimum
standard we are supposed to abhort?

2850
03:51:27,205 --> 03:51:31,767
How can this House maintain a cordon
sanitaire against certain political groups

2851
03:51:31,825 --> 03:51:36,388
while allowing representatives of the
extre me left to proceed over Parliament?

2852
03:51:36,445 --> 03:51:39,622
Despite the serious concerns
surrounding their conduct.

2853
03:51:39,680 --> 03:51:40,375
I will not—

2854
03:51:40,375 --> 03:51:40,615
All right.

2855
03:51:40,615 --> 03:51:43,435
—accept the normalization of
the far-left in this House.

2856
03:51:43,735 --> 03:51:43,975
Okay.

2857
03:51:43,975 --> 03:51:48,683
—because many people feel unsafe about it,
and I want direct and concrete measures

2858
03:51:48,740 --> 03:51:51,955
against happening this again.
That the far-left here is—

2859
03:51:52,375 --> 03:51:52,615
Okay.

2860
03:51:52,615 --> 03:51:53,515
—chairing this—

2861
03:51:53,515 --> 03:51:59,313
Okay. Can I— can I— can I please recall
to the colleague that the Vice Chair you

2862
03:51:59,385 --> 03:52:05,473
referred to was elected by this plenary,
and I can tell you that I have full support

2863
03:52:05,546 --> 03:52:09,894
and respect for all the Vice
Chairs of this— of this Ho use.

2864
03:52:09,966 --> 03:52:13,735
Now, I give the floor finally
to Mr. Daniele Polato.

2865
03:52:18,295 --> 03:52:18,835
Please.

2866
03:52:18,835 --> 03:52:25,509
Thank you. Thank you, Mr President.
Colleagues, we still have before our eyes the

2867
03:52:25,591 --> 03:52:32,265
damage caused in our cities by violent
criminal acts under the guise of protests.

2868
03:52:32,348 --> 03:52:39,269
The case of the French city of Limoges is
emblematic, where the municipal bell tower

2869
03:52:39,351 --> 03:52:43,389
collapsed due to a fire
started by demonstrators.

2870
03:52:43,471 --> 03:52:48,085
The collapse of the town hall
is the collapse of Europe.

2871
03:52:48,168 --> 03:52:54,842
Under the unsustainable weight of laxity,
tolerance and complacency towards those

2872
03:52:54,924 --> 03:53:00,115
who seek to damage our societies
by sowing hatred and violence.

2873
03:53:00,197 --> 03:53:06,542
Watching the town hall tower fall into
the flames strikes at the heart of our

2874
03:53:06,624 --> 03:53:12,392
European democracy. It strikes at
our roots, at our local communities.

2875
03:53:12,474 --> 03:53:18,736
The ECR has proposed donating a daily
parliamentary allowance to the town of

2876
03:53:18,819 --> 03:53:25,328
Limoges. We therefore invite all our
parliamentary colleagues to donate a daily

2877
03:53:25,410 --> 03:53:32,167
allowance to the town of Limoges. In the
coming hours, all colleagues will receive

2878
03:53:32,249 --> 03:53:38,841
an email asking them to join this cross-party
initiative to send a strong signal

2879
03:53:38,923 --> 03:53:41,395
against disorder and violence.

2880
03:53:41,875 --> 03:53:42,295
Thank you.

2881
03:53:42,295 --> 03:53:44,635
This is what is striking
our Europe. Thank you.

2882
03:53:44,935 --> 03:53:46,675
Ok, thank you. Honourable Member Polato.

2883
03:53:47,275 --> 03:53:49,315
Okay. Now we go to the next item.

2884
03:55:41,215 --> 03:55:47,092
Then we can start our debates. The minutes
of yesterday's sitting and the texts

2885
03:55:47,167 --> 03:55:53,342
adopted are available. If you don't have
any comment, we can approve these minutes.

2886
03:55:53,416 --> 03:55:56,764
And then we are moving
to the topical debate.

2887
03:55:56,838 --> 03:56:03,013
That is the next item on the agenda. Request
by a political group, in this case the

2888
03:56:03,088 --> 03:56:08,816
EPP, under the Rule 169: cutting costs
on unne cessary reporting obligations.

2889
03:56:08,891 --> 03:56:14,321
Now, concrete next steps to deliver
swift relief for E U's entrepreneurs.

2890
03:56:14,396 --> 03:56:20,199
I would like to inform members that for
this debate there is no catch the eye.

2891
03:56:20,273 --> 03:56:24,960
As you know, procedure and that
no blue cards will be accepted.

2892
03:56:25,035 --> 03:56:28,978
And the next— and first
speaker of the debate is Mrs.

2893
03:56:29,052 --> 03:56:32,995
Walsman, author of the
topical debate, for 4 minutes.

2894
03:56:38,215 --> 03:56:44,185
Dear Mr President, dear colleagues, at
the Trade Day of the Austrian Economic

2895
03:56:44,262 --> 03:56:48,526
Chamber, an entrepreneur
handed me two sheets of paper.

2896
03:56:48,604 --> 03:56:54,418
They listed the new EU requirements
that he alone has to implement in 2026.

2897
03:56:54,496 --> 03:57:00,930
Here’s what they show: for us, these may
be individual regulations, but for him, it

2898
03:57:01,008 --> 03:57:05,969
is the total of what his company
has to achieve at great effort.

2899
03:57:06,047 --> 03:57:12,016
And it is precisely this overall burden
that does not create any added value.

2900
03:57:12,094 --> 03:57:17,908
Anyone promising to reduce bureaucracy
must deliver more than just the next

2901
03:57:17,986 --> 03:57:23,258
announcement. And thanks to the
EPP, some things are already moving.

2902
03:57:23,335 --> 03:57:29,848
With the Sustainability Omnibus, we are
easing the burden on SME suppliers, and with

2903
03:57:29,925 --> 03:57:36,437
Omnibus 4, we are creating the category of
small mid-caps with up to 1,000 employees

2904
03:57:36,515 --> 03:57:42,717
so that growing companies do not suddenly
lose all the relief intended for SMEs.

2905
03:57:42,794 --> 03:57:48,764
With the environmental omnibus, we want
to speed up approvals, create central

2906
03:57:48,841 --> 03:57:53,726
contact points and abolish
duplicate documentation obligations.

2907
03:57:53,803 --> 03:57:59,463
Yesterday, we also voted to suspend
unnecessary authorised representative

2908
03:57:59,540 --> 03:58:04,812
obligations for packaging and
batteries. But all that is not enough.

2909
03:58:04,889 --> 03:58:10,626
The ongoing omnibus negotiations and
legislative reviews must be used more

2910
03:58:10,704 --> 03:58:16,441
ambitiously to provide relief. In the
next work programme, we need clearer

2911
03:58:16,518 --> 03:58:21,945
decisions. And simplifications. In
particular in energy and water law.

2912
03:58:22,023 --> 03:58:27,837
And we must finally bring together and
align due diligence obligations from

2913
03:58:27,915 --> 03:58:34,427
different legal acts. From the Supply Chain
Act to conflict minerals and the Battery

2914
03:58:34,504 --> 03:58:40,396
Regulation: it is time to put an end
to companies having to provide the same

2915
03:58:40,474 --> 03:58:46,211
evidence multiple times. With the EU
Inc., we could enable digital company

2916
03:58:46,288 --> 03:58:49,855
incorporations within
48 hours for under €100.

2917
03:58:49,932 --> 03:58:55,049
It is good that the political
centre is striving for a compromise.

2918
03:58:55,126 --> 03:59:01,406
But in the end, we need a lean, practical
instrument that start-ups and scale-ups

2919
03:59:01,484 --> 03:59:05,515
can actually use and with
which they can truly grow.

2920
03:59:06,295 --> 03:59:10,724
Public procurement also needs
to become more SME-friendly.

2921
03:59:10,801 --> 03:59:16,910
The issue of lot sizes: fewer multiple
certificates, so that small companies can

2922
03:59:16,986 --> 03:59:22,867
also benefit from public contracts. And
the national reflex to over-implement

2923
03:59:22,943 --> 03:59:29,205
European regulations must be curbed. That
is why I expressly welcome the announced

2924
03:59:29,281 --> 03:59:33,329
pact against the pernicious
practice of gold-plating.

2925
03:59:33,405 --> 03:59:38,751
But let us also sweep our own doorstep.
How can processes be improved?

2926
03:59:38,827 --> 03:59:44,937
Why not set up a cross-factional and
cross-committee working group to rigorously

2927
03:59:45,013 --> 03:59:51,046
examine the key changes in the legislative
procedure for their actual impact on

2928
03:59:51,122 --> 03:59:57,384
companies? And it is very welcome that
companies and authorities will soon be able

2929
03:59:57,461 --> 04:00:00,897
to benefit from a concrete
relief instrument.

2930
04:00:00,974 --> 04:00:07,236
It is positive, and I can say this as the
EPP shadow rapporteur, that the European

2931
04:00:07,312 --> 04:00:13,498
Business Wallets will in future enable
companies to digitally store identity data

2932
04:00:13,574 --> 04:00:19,913
approvals and certificates. They can be
reused across Europe, electronically signed

2933
04:00:19,989 --> 04:00:23,578
and securely communicated
with the authorities.

2934
04:00:23,655 --> 04:00:28,389
And this is in the spirit of the
planned Once-Only initiative:

2935
04:00:28,466 --> 04:00:34,728
to suspend reporting obligations in principle
and to submit information only once.

2936
04:00:34,804 --> 04:00:40,073
And AI can and should also help to
automate administrative processes.

2937
04:00:40,150 --> 04:00:46,488
The trilogue negotiations on the European
Business Wallet are underway, but I would

2938
04:00:46,565 --> 04:00:50,765
also say: digitisation must
not create new obligations.

2939
04:00:50,841 --> 04:00:54,965
Five paper forms must not
become five digital portals.

2940
04:00:55,041 --> 04:01:01,303
These two sheets that I showed at the
beginning, from the trade day, show in black

2941
04:01:01,380 --> 04:01:07,565
and white where the problem lies. So let
us not measure our work by the number of

2942
04:01:07,642 --> 04:01:13,904
laws and reliefs we announce, but by whether
these two sheets will be shorter next

2943
04:01:13,980 --> 04:01:17,875
year or end up in the
wastepaper basket. Thank you.

2944
04:01:21,295 --> 04:01:24,082
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mr.

2945
04:01:24,145 --> 04:01:26,995
Dolly. And representing
the European Council.

2946
04:01:32,215 --> 04:01:37,052
Uh, President, uh, Honorable Members,
Commissioner, it's a pleasure to be with you

2947
04:01:37,111 --> 04:01:41,477
today. Could I begin by congratulating
the recently re-elected and elected

2948
04:01:41,536 --> 04:01:46,491
Presidents and Vice Presidents to the three
groups of RenewEPP and S&D, and wish you

2949
04:01:46,550 --> 04:01:51,505
well in your term ahead. In 2025, the
European Council decided to mark a step change

2950
04:01:51,564 --> 04:01:55,812
in the EU action to boost competitiveness
and agreed to give priority to

2951
04:01:55,871 --> 04:02:00,531
simplification. And by reducing regulatory
and administrative burdens to unlock

2952
04:02:00,590 --> 04:02:04,955
necessary investment in the E U economy.
In March of the same year, and at

2953
04:02:05,014 --> 04:02:08,908
subsequent meetings, leaders have
called for action at all levels:

2954
04:02:08,967 --> 04:02:13,450
EU, national, and regional , to ensure
a clear smart and innovative friendly

2955
04:02:13,509 --> 04:02:18,405
regulatory framework and to drastically
reduce, as a matter of urgency, administrat

2956
04:02:18,464 --> 04:02:22,535
ive, regulatory, and reporting
burdens for business and indeed public

2957
04:02:22,594 --> 04:02:27,490
administrations. All of this, of course,
while ensuring the integrity of the single

2958
04:02:27,549 --> 04:02:32,091
market, something we hold dearly. In
line with the leaders' call, the Council

2959
04:02:32,150 --> 04:02:37,047
quickly began its work on the various
simplification packages, coordinating the eff

2960
04:02:37,106 --> 04:02:42,061
orts across policy areas with the General
Affairs Council, playing an important role

2961
04:02:42,120 --> 04:02:47,075
in monitoring progress. On six of these
packages, together with European Parliament,

2962
04:02:47,134 --> 04:02:51,913
we've given proof of our joint resolve
and readiness to quickly achieve a smarter

2963
04:02:51,972 --> 04:02:56,927
and more coherent regulatory framework.
Many of these packages are already published

2964
04:02:56,986 --> 04:03:01,115
and in force, and a few of them are
in the last phase of finalization.

2965
04:03:01,174 --> 04:03:05,953
So, as regards the remaining packages, we
remain fully committed to the ambitious

2966
04:03:06,012 --> 04:03:10,672
objectives and tim elines agreed by each
of the institutions in one Europe, one

2967
04:03:10,731 --> 04:03:15,509
market roadmap, with the view to providing
European business, in particular SMEs,

2968
04:03:15,568 --> 04:03:20,524
which were mentioned by the author and
promoter of this topical issue, and cit izens

2969
04:03:20,583 --> 04:03:24,476
with meaningful simplification
benefits and tangible cost savings.

2970
04:03:24,535 --> 04:03:29,372
Each institution has a role to play in
ensuring we reach these targets and deliver

2971
04:03:29,431 --> 04:03:31,555
on the promise of the One Europe One

2972
04:03:31,735 --> 04:03:36,024
Market roadmap. We must ensure that
where agreement is possible on technical

2973
04:03:36,080 --> 04:03:40,651
aspects, this should allow work to move
forward without waiting for w ider policy

2974
04:03:40,707 --> 04:03:45,391
discussions to be resolved. And in the
spirit, the Irish Presidency is committed to

2975
04:03:45,448 --> 04:03:49,906
advancing quickly and inter-institutional
negotiations on the remaining omnibus

2976
04:03:49,962 --> 04:03:54,533
packages as soon as the European Parliament
position our positions have been set.

2977
04:03:54,589 --> 04:03:59,160
And we're very conscious that at the end
of the year, deadline of agreeing on the

2978
04:03:59,217 --> 04:04:03,844
digital environmental and automotive and
inde ed the food and feed safety packages

2979
04:04:03,900 --> 04:04:08,471
is fast approaching. And I would call on
the European Parliament to work together

2980
04:04:08,527 --> 04:04:13,268
with the Council for a com mon endeavor to
avoid unnecessary bureaucratic burdens in

2981
04:04:13,324 --> 04:04:16,033
EU legal acts, as recalled
by leaders last week.

2982
04:04:16,089 --> 04:04:20,773
And at the same time, let me also recall
that any new initiative has to be based on

2983
04:04:20,829 --> 04:04:25,118
an in-depth regulatory review of the
EU AKI to eliminate outdated provisions

2984
04:04:25,174 --> 04:04:29,576
inconsistencies and indeed redundancies.
The key concept here is simplicity by

2985
04:04:29,632 --> 04:04:33,752
design. Let me finally recall that
our ultimate goal is to strengthen the

2986
04:04:33,808 --> 04:04:38,548
competitiveness of the European economy and
to ensure that proper functioning of the

2987
04:04:38,605 --> 04:04:43,063
single market while preserving the EU's
high standards of social, consumer, and

2988
04:04:43,119 --> 04:04:45,715
environmental protection.
Thank you very much.

2989
04:04:47,995 --> 04:04:51,977
Thank you very much. On the next
speaker is Commissioner Seraphine.

2990
04:04:52,036 --> 04:04:54,235
Representing the European Commission.

2991
04:04:55,495 --> 04:04:59,009
The President, Honorable
Members, the Minister.

2992
04:04:59,084 --> 04:05:02,747
The debate today is about
a very simple question:

2993
04:05:02,822 --> 04:05:08,654
is Europe doing enough to make life
easier for those who create jobs, inv est,

2994
04:05:08,728 --> 04:05:15,009
innovate, and grow our economy? For many,
too many companies the answer is that they

2995
04:05:15,083 --> 04:05:21,065
expect more. They still spend too much
time navigating complex rules, filling in

2996
04:05:21,139 --> 04:05:25,177
forms, and meeting overlapping
reporting requirements.

2997
04:05:25,252 --> 04:05:28,990
They do little to help
them grow. Hire or compete.

2998
04:05:29,065 --> 04:05:32,728
And nowhere is this more
important than for SMEs.

2999
04:05:32,803 --> 04:05:36,990
For them, excessive reporting
means lost time and money.

3000
04:05:37,064 --> 04:05:42,373
This is true for all red tape that
holds Europe back and undermines our

3001
04:05:42,448 --> 04:05:48,578
competitiveness. The Commission has therefore
implemented an approach covering all

3002
04:05:48,653 --> 04:05:52,840
administrative costs. And
changing the way we legislate.

3003
04:05:52,915 --> 04:05:56,503
We implement right now
the simplicity by design.

3004
04:05:56,578 --> 04:06:02,036
That includes first, legislation that
implements the once-only principle.

3005
04:06:02,111 --> 04:06:08,391
Before asking companies to provide any
additional information or documents, we first

3006
04:06:08,466 --> 04:06:13,475
check whether we already have th
em. Second, regulatory discipline.

3007
04:06:13,550 --> 04:06:19,531
We introduce reporting requirements only
when they are strictly necessary and we

3008
04:06:19,606 --> 04:06:24,989
will act at EU level only where
justified in line with the principles of

3009
04:06:25,064 --> 04:06:30,895
subsidiarity and proportionality. Cutting
administrative burdens and reporting

3010
04:06:30,970 --> 04:06:35,306
requirements is a clear priority
across the whole College.

3011
04:06:35,381 --> 04:06:40,166
Each Commissioner has been asked
to contribute to this exercise.

3012
04:06:40,241 --> 04:06:46,073
Our aim is clear: to remove unnecessary
complexity, from existing EU rules and

3013
04:06:46,147 --> 04:06:49,362
ensure that new
requirements are justified.

3014
04:06:49,437 --> 04:06:55,717
Since the start of its mandate, the Commission
has proposed measures that could save

3015
04:06:55,792 --> 04:06:59,829
22 .3 billion euro in
administrative costs every year.

3016
04:06:59,904 --> 04:07:06,110
Provided that co-legislators maintain the
level of ambition present in Commission's

3017
04:07:06,185 --> 04:07:12,166
proposal. That matters. Every euro saved
in paperwork is also a euro that can be

3018
04:07:12,240 --> 04:07:16,726
used towards more investment ,
innovation, wages, or growth.

3019
04:07:16,801 --> 04:07:22,857
But we cannot achieve progress alone. The
Commission is accelerating its efforts,

3020
04:07:22,932 --> 04:07:28,315
but real change requires all institutions
to pull in the same direction.

3021
04:07:29,095 --> 04:07:34,443
Furthermore, national and regional authorities
must also play their part, because a

3022
04:07:34,507 --> 04:07:39,662
rule agreed at European level sho uld not
become more complex than transposed or

3023
04:07:39,726 --> 04:07:44,945
implemented in the Member States. That is
why the President of the Commission has

3024
04:07:45,009 --> 04:07:50,357
proposed a pact against gold plating. The
aim is to increase transparency and limit

3025
04:07:50,421 --> 04:07:55,383
unnecessary national additions that
create complexity and fragment the single

3026
04:07:55,447 --> 04:07:58,668
market, while safeguarding
rights and protections.

3027
04:07:58,733 --> 04:08:03,887
This Commission will continue to simplify
EU rules and deepen the single market,

3028
04:08:03,952 --> 04:08:08,526
because both are essential to Europe's
prosperity and compet itiveness.

3029
04:08:08,591 --> 04:08:09,791
Thank you.

3030
04:08:13,615 --> 04:08:17,838
Thank you very much. Commissioner,
on the next speaker is Mrs.

3031
04:08:17,907 --> 04:08:20,768
Gasiuc Pihowicz for one minute and a half.

3032
04:08:20,836 --> 04:08:22,675
Representing the EPP Group.

3033
04:08:24,535 --> 04:08:30,262
Thank you very much. Madam President, Mr
Commissioner, it was 100 pages, exactly 100

3034
04:08:30,330 --> 04:08:34,625
pages, that much new law was
coming to Poland every single day.

3035
04:08:34,693 --> 04:08:39,397
In 2016, even on Sundays. And that
was an absolute record in history.

3036
04:08:39,465 --> 04:08:45,192
The genius behind this record was the PiS
government, or rather the very same people

3037
04:08:45,260 --> 04:08:50,101
who today in this Chamber are
frightening us with Brussels bureaucracy.

3038
04:08:50,169 --> 04:08:54,668
And then there was the tax revolution
they called the Polish Deal.

3039
04:08:54,736 --> 04:08:59,713
And who paid the price? Accountants
who worked nights on end, 2.3 million

3040
04:08:59,781 --> 04:09:05,167
micro-enterprises, because these companies
did not have specialist departments.

3041
04:09:05,235 --> 04:09:08,780
These people had to waste
their evenings after work.

3042
04:09:08,849 --> 04:09:12,666
And today, in Poland, we are
doing exactly the opposite.

3043
04:09:12,735 --> 04:09:18,461
354 proposals from entrepreneurs regarding
regulation and deregulation are now being

3044
04:09:18,529 --> 04:09:24,188
implemented by our government. Inspections
in micro-enterprises have been shortened

3045
04:09:24,256 --> 04:09:29,301
from 12 days to 6. Exactly by half.
And this rule is now enshrined in law.

3046
04:09:29,369 --> 04:09:33,937
If you add a new obligation, you
look for an old one to strike out.

3047
04:09:34,005 --> 04:09:37,277
And today, Europe faces
exactly the same choice.

3048
04:09:37,346 --> 04:09:42,322
On the table are 150 billion euros a
year, because that is precisely what

3049
04:09:42,391 --> 04:09:48,117
bureaucracy costs us. And unfortunately,
there are major EU regulations ahead of us.

3050
04:09:48,185 --> 04:09:51,730
On industry, public
procurement, on cloud computing.

3051
04:09:51,799 --> 04:09:55,003
Let us not do to Europe
what PiS did in Poland.

3052
04:09:55,071 --> 04:09:59,298
Because how are entrepreneurs
going to find their way in this?

3053
04:09:59,366 --> 04:10:04,547
Let us ask businesses once. Let us
strike things out before we add new ones.

3054
04:10:04,615 --> 04:10:09,115
Poland has shown that it can be
done. And now it is Europe’s turn.

3055
04:10:13,975 --> 04:10:17,035
The next speaker is Mrs.
Bischoff for one minute.

3056
04:10:18,955 --> 04:10:23,819
The debate on the truth also includes
the fact that there are two camps here.

3057
04:10:23,882 --> 04:10:28,809
One camp uses the debate to push
simplifications as a Trojan horse in order to

3058
04:10:28,873 --> 04:10:34,116
dismantle rights. A good example is Omnibus
1, but also the current proposal on the

3059
04:10:34,179 --> 04:10:38,916
EU Inc. directive, which comes at the
expense of workers and social rights.

3060
04:10:38,980 --> 04:10:44,159
We oppose this. But there are also good
examples because there is a second camp in

3061
04:10:44,223 --> 04:10:49,150
this House that wants to simplify without
using it as an attack on consumer or

3062
04:10:49,213 --> 04:10:54,203
workers' rights. Good examples are, for
instance, the reform of Regulation 883,

3063
04:10:54,266 --> 04:10:59,383
which we have just adopted—I was the
rapporteur myself—or yesterday’s vote on the

3064
04:10:59,446 --> 04:11:03,489
E-Declaration. You can simplify
without attacking social rights.

3065
04:11:03,552 --> 04:11:08,732
So stop putting forward discourses where
you claim that simplification is all that

3066
04:11:08,795 --> 04:11:13,596
is at stake, when in reality they are
using it to dismantle consumer rights,

3067
04:11:13,659 --> 04:11:16,881
workers' rights and to
restrict social protections.

3068
04:11:16,944 --> 04:11:22,250
And I am grateful to Ms von der Leyen that
she clarified last week that gold-plating

3069
04:11:22,313 --> 04:11:26,798
cannot exist in the social sphere,
because these are minimum standards.

3070
04:11:26,861 --> 04:11:31,220
What we need here is clarity and a
genuine debate about alternatives.

3071
04:11:31,283 --> 04:11:32,483
Thank you.

3072
04:11:34,855 --> 04:11:37,137
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mrs.

3073
04:11:37,188 --> 04:11:39,115
Latino-Polu for one minute and a half.

3074
04:11:42,055 --> 04:11:47,199
SMEs account for 90% of businesses in the
European Union and 99% of businesses in

3075
04:11:47,263 --> 04:11:51,645
Greece. They are the ones that give
oxygen and life to our countries.

3076
04:11:51,708 --> 04:11:56,852
They are the people who, struggling every
day, try against all odds to survive in

3077
04:11:56,916 --> 04:12:00,091
this suffocating environment
that you have shaped.

3078
04:12:00,155 --> 04:12:03,520
They are the family businesses
that you hate so much.

3079
04:12:03,584 --> 04:12:08,411
These are the local baker, the greengrocer,
the butcher, the fishmonger, the

3080
04:12:08,474 --> 04:12:13,618
taverna, the café, the patisserie, the
pharmacy and the hairdresser’s shop in our

3081
04:12:13,682 --> 04:12:17,556
neighbourhood. It is as if you
have been wronged in some way.

3082
04:12:17,619 --> 04:12:22,954
You are trying every means to wipe them
out, along with the hundreds of thousands of

3083
04:12:23,017 --> 04:12:27,907
workers whose livelihoods depend on
these small and medium-sized enterprises.

3084
04:12:27,971 --> 04:12:32,734
Your socialist economic policies, the
exorbitantly priced green energy, the

3085
04:12:32,797 --> 04:12:38,005
suffocating taxation, the endless bureaucracy
and the constant legislative changes

3086
04:12:38,068 --> 04:12:43,276
that create insecurity and instability are
precisely what are strangling small and

3087
04:12:43,340 --> 04:12:48,166
medium-sized entrepreneurship. And all
this you are doing to drive them into

3088
04:12:48,230 --> 04:12:51,596
bankruptcy for the benefit
of the big multinationals.

3089
04:12:51,659 --> 04:12:56,994
So when did we start trusting the arsonist
to put out the fire and rebuild the house

3090
04:12:57,057 --> 04:13:01,249
he himself burned down? Are we
going to go completely mad in here?

3091
04:13:01,312 --> 04:13:06,393
Reduce bureaucracy. Reduce taxation. Now.
Maybe we can manage to save something.

3092
04:13:06,456 --> 04:13:11,410
Let’s finally understand this. Socialism
is killing off small and medium-sized

3093
04:13:11,473 --> 04:13:13,315
enterprises. It’s killing us.

3094
04:13:17,395 --> 04:13:19,866
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mr.

3095
04:13:19,923 --> 04:13:22,675
Mantovani for one minute,
representing ECR Group.

3096
04:13:23,275 --> 04:13:27,444
Thank you, Mr President.
Commissioner, Minister, colleagues.

3097
04:13:27,513 --> 04:13:33,280
Omnibus. 1 has freed 9 out of 10 businesses
from unnecessary reporting obligations.

3098
04:13:33,350 --> 04:13:39,116
An important initiative. And yet, according
to the Council, the proposals now under

3099
04:13:39,186 --> 04:13:44,466
negotiation would cost businesses an
additional €1.5 billion per year in new

3100
04:13:44,536 --> 04:13:48,149
bureaucratic costs. Up to
26 billion for compliance.

3101
04:13:48,218 --> 04:13:52,804
That is more than all the savings
promised by the Omnibus package.

3102
04:13:52,874 --> 04:13:56,903
And the burden of the ill-fated
Green Deal is still there.

3103
04:13:56,973 --> 04:14:02,809
For 64% of the proposals, no assessment of
the impact on businesses has been carried

3104
04:14:02,879 --> 04:14:08,437
out: the sums have not been done. Every
law should first be measured in terms of

3105
04:14:08,507 --> 04:14:11,633
costs for small and
medium-sized enterprises;

3106
04:14:11,703 --> 04:14:14,829
if they are useless,
they need to be changed.

3107
04:14:14,899 --> 04:14:19,971
We need an immediate moratorium on
new burdens and preferential lanes for

3108
04:14:20,040 --> 04:14:25,390
simplification. We need a year without
new rules to change the existing ones,

3109
04:14:25,460 --> 04:14:29,351
transforming them from obstacles
into levers for growth.

3110
04:14:29,420 --> 04:14:30,620
Thank you.

3111
04:14:32,695 --> 04:14:35,008
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mr.

3112
04:14:35,061 --> 04:14:37,795
Lockegard for two minutes,
representing Renew Group.

3113
04:14:40,975 --> 04:14:45,115
Commissioner, Jessica Collier i Rådet.

3114
04:14:46,435 --> 04:14:50,463
It is a little sad that every time we
have this debate, we have to start by

3115
04:14:50,516 --> 04:14:53,309
establishing that we are
in our respective trenches.

3116
04:14:53,363 --> 04:14:57,820
I listened with interest to my Social
Democratic colleague, who says that this will

3117
04:14:57,874 --> 04:15:00,505
become a game of removing
social rights from him.

3118
04:15:00,559 --> 04:15:04,479
That is not what this is about at all.
Nor has it ever been at any point.

3119
04:15:04,533 --> 04:15:08,668
So should we not try to move away from
that and engage in a more constructive

3120
04:15:08,722 --> 04:15:12,427
debate? which is about how we actually
get rid of what is a nuisance.

3121
04:15:12,481 --> 04:15:16,992
This could, for example, be unnecessary
reporting requirements in the sustainability

3122
04:15:17,045 --> 04:15:21,342
legislation. It could be overlapping
requirements in the GDPR, the Data Act, and

3123
04:15:21,395 --> 04:15:25,853
indeed all the digital legislation. Get
rid of the unnecessary documentation in the

3124
04:15:25,906 --> 04:15:29,129
AI Act. Get rid of the bureaucratic
burdens in the taxonomy.

3125
04:15:29,182 --> 04:15:32,995
Get rid of the 27 different
interpretations of the same national rules.

3126
04:15:33,049 --> 04:15:37,560
European rules, excuse me. Get rid of the
paperwork, double-checking and forms whose

3127
04:15:37,614 --> 04:15:41,964
clear purpose no one can see anymore. I
think we should be able to agree on that.

3128
04:15:42,017 --> 04:15:46,313
And I note with satisfaction that von der
Leyen in her State of the Union speech

3129
04:15:46,367 --> 04:15:49,052
spoke about gold-plating
and raised it as a topic.

3130
04:15:49,106 --> 04:15:53,241
We should at least be able to agree on
that, even if it is not something that

3131
04:15:53,295 --> 04:15:57,537
directly concerns us here in this House,
but rather concerns the Member States.

3132
04:15:57,591 --> 04:16:01,726
But this is a good place to start and
I would like, on behalf of my group, to

3133
04:16:01,780 --> 04:16:06,130
welcome with satisfaction that von der
Leyen is proposing a page on this issue of

3134
04:16:06,183 --> 04:16:09,674
gold-plating. I think we should
tackle this much more vigorously.

3135
04:16:09,728 --> 04:16:14,131
I have also proposed this several times.
And I think we need to look at how we can

3136
04:16:14,185 --> 04:16:18,320
push the Member States to live up to
the obligations they say, at every given

3137
04:16:18,374 --> 04:16:21,005
opportunity, that they
are willing to live up to.

3138
04:16:21,059 --> 04:16:25,516
There is a huge black box between the level
of heads of government and the relevant

3139
04:16:25,570 --> 04:16:29,598
ministers they send to Brussels when
it comes to living up to this issue of

3140
04:16:29,651 --> 04:16:34,055
addressing goldplating. So let us start
there and let us agree, from both the left

3141
04:16:34,109 --> 04:16:36,955
and the right, that this is
the right place to start.

3142
04:16:37,075 --> 04:16:38,275
Thank you for the floor.

3143
04:16:43,195 --> 04:16:45,863
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mr.

3144
04:16:45,923 --> 04:16:48,955
Tegetov for one minute,
representing Greens Group.

3145
04:16:53,575 --> 04:16:58,136
A potter in Estonia sells a few
mucks a month to Italy and Germany.

3146
04:16:58,204 --> 04:17:03,582
Because of the new packaging rules, the
paperwork now costs more than the mucks

3147
04:17:03,650 --> 04:17:09,165
itself. The businesses who build the single
market, one parcel at a time, are now

3148
04:17:09,233 --> 04:17:14,407
considering whether to stop selling
abroad because they just can't afford it

3149
04:17:14,475 --> 04:17:19,853
anymore. The principle is right. If you
put packaging on the market, you pay to

3150
04:17:19,921 --> 04:17:25,503
recycle it. But making the smallest
businesses pay representatives in every single

3151
04:17:25,571 --> 04:17:29,043
country they ship to makes
a mockery of the system.

3152
04:17:29,111 --> 04:17:34,762
The Commission wanted to lift this requirement
for everyone, including Shein, Temu,

3153
04:17:34,830 --> 04:17:38,982
Amazon, that's just a gift to
companies that never needed it.

3154
04:17:39,050 --> 04:17:42,182
We need relief for micro
and small businesses.

3155
04:17:42,250 --> 04:17:45,245
And keep the rules
unchanged for the giants.

3156
04:17:45,313 --> 04:17:48,717
One EU-wide registration
point as the lasting fix.

3157
04:17:48,785 --> 04:17:53,755
Christmas is just weeks away. Member
states, stop stalling, fix this now.

3158
04:17:57,775 --> 04:18:00,474
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mr.

3159
04:18:00,536 --> 04:18:03,235
Saedi for one minute,
representing the Left.

3160
04:18:05,515 --> 04:18:10,288
My dear colleagues, Ewing was supposed
to enable us to catch up on the delay of

3161
04:18:10,348 --> 04:18:13,853
European businesses in terms
of innovation and technology.

3162
04:18:13,913 --> 04:18:18,928
But then, if that is the case, why is Ewing
intended for all European companies and

3163
04:18:18,988 --> 04:18:23,943
not just start-ups? In the end, this
technological lag is actually due to the fact

3164
04:18:24,003 --> 04:18:28,837
that our European companies invest far
less in research, pay their engineers far

3165
04:18:28,897 --> 04:18:33,610
less well, and distribute far more
dividends to their shareholders than US and

3166
04:18:33,670 --> 04:18:37,658
Chinese companies. So what is Ewing
actually going to be used for?

3167
04:18:37,718 --> 04:18:42,733
Ewing will allow all European companies,
I stress all of them, to be able to set up

3168
04:18:42,793 --> 04:18:47,748
anywhere, to choose their tax regime, to
choose where they do or do not pay social

3169
04:18:47,808 --> 04:18:52,642
security contributions, and to choose the
labour law that will apply, completely

3170
04:18:52,702 --> 04:18:57,717
decoupled from their actual place of
establishment, their actual place of activity,

3171
04:18:57,777 --> 04:19:02,067
where they employ their workers and
where they generate their turnover.

3172
04:19:02,127 --> 04:19:05,450
Ewing is a frontal attack on
the European social model.

3173
04:19:05,511 --> 04:19:06,711
Thank you.

3174
04:19:08,335 --> 04:19:11,511
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mr.

3175
04:19:11,583 --> 04:19:12,955
Drus for ECN Group.

3176
04:19:14,935 --> 04:19:19,133
Dear colleagues, for years, actually decades,
we have been hearing the same promises

3177
04:19:19,183 --> 04:19:23,231
from Brussels: less bureaucracy, fewer
reporting obligations, less of everything.

3178
04:19:23,281 --> 04:19:27,129
And today we are already discussing
again here how we can reduce bureaucracy.

3179
04:19:27,179 --> 04:19:29,628
The Commission, which is
constantly expanding it.

3180
04:19:29,678 --> 04:19:33,826
Companies need no new action plans, no
omnibus packages and no further declarations

3181
04:19:33,876 --> 04:19:37,974
of intent. What they need is tangible
relief at long last and the room to breathe.

3182
04:19:38,024 --> 04:19:42,022
That is why it must be crystal clear:
first, scrapping unnecessary reporting and

3183
04:19:42,072 --> 04:19:44,871
documentation obligations
instead of just renaming them.

3184
04:19:44,921 --> 04:19:49,119
Secondly, no new EU regulations. And thirdly,
an end to ever new burdens in the name

3185
04:19:49,169 --> 04:19:53,317
of climate change. Ms Weißmann from the
CDU, it is good that you have spoken to the

3186
04:19:53,367 --> 04:19:57,115
entrepreneurs. But your EPP has itself
supported the vast majority of these

3187
04:19:57,165 --> 04:20:00,014
regulations. That is simply
part of what honesty entails.

3188
04:20:00,064 --> 04:20:04,162
And so, dear EVP colleagues, if you are
serious about competitiveness, you must be

3189
04:20:04,212 --> 04:20:08,410
honest about it. Ladies and gentlemen, less
Brussels, less European Commission today

3190
04:20:08,460 --> 04:20:10,659
means more freedom for
our domestic economy.

3191
04:20:10,709 --> 04:20:14,657
The return to a prosperous Europe, as
far as Germany is concerned, will only be

3192
04:20:14,707 --> 04:20:18,405
possible with the Alternative for
Germany in a position of responsibility.

3193
04:20:18,455 --> 04:20:19,655
Thank you.

3194
04:20:21,655 --> 04:20:23,627
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mr.

3195
04:20:23,671 --> 04:20:25,195
Warborn for one minute and a half.

3196
04:20:28,555 --> 04:20:34,361
Thank you very much, President, Minister,
Commissioner, let me start off by actually

3197
04:20:34,430 --> 04:20:40,167
thanking the Commission for your hard work
when it comes to reducing the regulatory

3198
04:20:40,236 --> 04:20:46,042
burden. I think the packages you have
presented so far, the omnibuses packages, is a

3199
04:20:46,111 --> 04:20:51,088
great step in the right direction.
I'd like to ask you a question today.

3200
04:20:51,157 --> 04:20:55,926
And that is, when will you start
using the one-in-t wo-out principle?

3201
04:20:55,995 --> 04:21:01,663
And I'm saying this because we, of course,
now have the one -in-one-out principle,

3202
04:21:01,732 --> 04:21:07,054
but we need the one-in-two-out principle.
And colleagues know this, but maybe

3203
04:21:07,123 --> 04:21:11,685
someone that is looking to this
doesn't know about this principle.

3204
04:21:11,754 --> 04:21:17,560
But it actually means that for each euro
you add in cost for businesses with a piece

3205
04:21:17,629 --> 04:21:23,228
of legislation, the Comm ission today
commits to deduct that euro one-in-one-out.

3206
04:21:23,297 --> 04:21:28,896
And that is perfect. That's a very good
principle because it's keeps, it's like a

3207
04:21:28,965 --> 04:21:34,771
break from Brussels now. There is no
administrative burden added from Brussels since

3208
04:21:34,840 --> 04:21:38,849
this principle started to be
used. I think it was in 2022.

3209
04:21:38,918 --> 04:21:42,028
But of course, one-in-one-out
means the same.

3210
04:21:42,097 --> 04:21:46,175
And we need to reduce the
regulatory burden for businesses.

3211
04:21:46,244 --> 04:21:51,912
And that's why this House, with a majority
in February, I think it was, passed the

3212
04:21:51,981 --> 04:21:56,336
one-in-two-out principle for each
euro you add, you deduct two.

3213
04:21:56,405 --> 04:22:01,036
And that's I'm saying, this
Parliament, with a majority, passed it.

3214
04:22:01,105 --> 04:22:06,634
Now it's up to the Commission to use it.
So when will we have the one-in-two-out

3215
04:22:06,704 --> 04:22:08,155
principle? Thank you.

3216
04:22:10,615 --> 04:22:12,861
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mr.

3217
04:22:12,912 --> 04:22:14,112
Klerjo for one minute.

3218
04:22:15,535 --> 04:22:19,144
Mr President, Commissioner,
let us stop the omnibus bills.

3219
04:22:19,206 --> 04:22:22,815
Mr President, Commissioner,
let us stop the omnibus bills.

3220
04:22:22,877 --> 04:22:26,175
Omnibus bills have nothing
to do with simplification;

3221
04:22:26,237 --> 04:22:31,214
they are deregulation tools that attack
workers' rights and undermine health and

3222
04:22:31,277 --> 04:22:36,192
environmental protection. Some, such as
the omnibus on chemical products or the

3223
04:22:36,254 --> 04:22:41,232
omnibus on pesticides, are so absurd and
dangerous that it is the Council itself

3224
04:22:41,294 --> 04:22:46,521
that has contradicted and disavowed you and
has re reduced their scope considerably.

3225
04:22:46,583 --> 04:22:51,809
I believe that today the cost of this
administrative mess in our collective life and

3226
04:22:51,872 --> 04:22:56,849
the cost for the environment and health
of these omnibus proposals is far higher

3227
04:22:56,911 --> 04:23:01,702
than their benefit for businesses. So
if you really want to simplify life for

3228
04:23:01,765 --> 04:23:06,867
businesses, well yes, focus on simplifying
procedures for SMEs, focus on combating

3229
04:23:06,929 --> 04:23:12,093
the over-transposition of standards, and
focus on completing the single market—this

3230
04:23:12,155 --> 04:23:16,884
real European simplification that is
the demand of all businesses in Europe.

3231
04:23:16,946 --> 04:23:20,431
So stop the omnibus bills and
start real simplification.

3232
04:23:20,493 --> 04:23:21,693
Thank you.

3233
04:23:23,875 --> 04:23:28,315
Thank you. The next speaker is Mrs.
Nagyová for one minute and a half.

3234
04:23:34,255 --> 04:23:39,417
Dear colleagues, Commissioner, imagine a
small entrepreneur who comes home after

3235
04:23:39,481 --> 04:23:43,095
work and is still sitting at
midnight filling out forms.

3236
04:23:43,159 --> 04:23:48,063
Or a doctor who closes their surgery
at 12 and is still filling out piles of

3237
04:23:48,127 --> 04:23:53,354
paperwork by five. During that time, they
are not producing, innovating, creating

3238
04:23:53,418 --> 04:23:58,193
jobs, or treating patients. And then
we wonder why we are not competitive.

3239
04:23:58,258 --> 04:24:02,903
When we waste human potential like
this. Back in 2016, 16 % of small and

3240
04:24:02,968 --> 04:24:08,323
medium-sized enterprises identified
administration as their biggest problem, and by

3241
04:24:08,388 --> 04:24:12,130
2025 that figure was 64 %. But
what is incredible is this:

3242
04:24:12,195 --> 04:24:15,098
in practice, this burden
is still increasing.

3243
04:24:15,163 --> 04:24:20,131
And whatever we in the European Parliament
are unable to manage, the European

3244
04:24:20,195 --> 04:24:24,519
Commission will manage through its
delegated and implementing acts.

3245
04:24:24,583 --> 04:24:28,842
Or the Member States. Classic, and
I’m not joking, I’m not joking.

3246
04:24:28,906 --> 04:24:33,939
Because just take PPWR, the Packaging
and Packaging Waste Regulation, that's a

3247
04:24:34,003 --> 04:24:39,230
nightmare for businesses, especially small
and medium-sized ones, since August of

3248
04:24:39,294 --> 04:24:43,166
this year. Take what we have,
or let’s take another example:

3249
04:24:43,230 --> 04:24:46,714
the performance regulation,
the performance framework.

3250
04:24:46,779 --> 04:24:52,005
Originally, it was meant to simplify
things, yes, a good idea, but in the end, it

3251
04:24:52,070 --> 04:24:57,490
looks as though only the work for the
European Commission is being simplified, while

3252
04:24:57,554 --> 04:25:02,006
for the Member States and end
recipients, the workload is increasing.

3253
04:25:02,071 --> 04:25:06,459
So, classic case: we abolish one
form, and two new ones are created.

3254
04:25:06,523 --> 04:25:11,749
One to confirm the abolition of the previous
one, and another to check the first.

3255
04:25:11,814 --> 04:25:17,234
A bit of a Catch-22 situation. However,
when I listen to my colleagues, I see a good

3256
04:25:17,298 --> 04:25:22,654
will to change things, so I’ll keep my
fingers crossed, hopefully it will work out,

3257
04:25:22,718 --> 04:25:26,525
and I will do my utmost to
ensure that everything improves.

3258
04:25:26,590 --> 04:25:27,790
Thank you.

3259
04:25:29,095 --> 04:25:32,995
Thank you very much. Thank you
very much. The next speaker is Mr.

3260
04:25:33,055 --> 04:25:34,555
Zlatovský for one minute.

3261
04:25:37,855 --> 04:25:41,169
Ms Commissioner, Ladies and Gentlemen,
when we said 'do not add burdens on

3262
04:25:41,213 --> 04:25:44,617
entrepreneurs, give them freedom', the
European Commission, supported by the

3263
04:25:44,662 --> 04:25:47,348
majority, including in Parliament,
did exactly the opposite.

3264
04:25:47,393 --> 04:25:50,662
Ms Commissioner, Ladies and Gentlemen,
when we said do not add burdens on

3265
04:25:50,707 --> 04:25:54,065
entrepreneurs, give them freedom, the
European Commission, supported by the

3266
04:25:54,110 --> 04:25:56,797
majority, including in Parliament,
did exactly the opposite.

3267
04:25:56,842 --> 04:26:00,424
Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, when
we said we should not impose additional

3268
04:26:00,469 --> 04:26:04,006
burdens on entrepreneurs, we should give
them freedom, the European Commission,

3269
04:26:04,051 --> 04:26:07,499
supported by the majority, including in
Parliament, did exactly the opposite.

3270
04:26:07,544 --> 04:26:10,455
It created more and more regulations
and imposed new obligations.

3271
04:26:10,544 --> 04:26:14,216
When we warned that the Green Deal meant
higher costs, rising prices, and even the

3272
04:26:14,261 --> 04:26:17,843
risk of bankruptcies, the Commission and
the parliamentary majority consistently

3273
04:26:17,888 --> 04:26:21,605
pushed through more regulations. And we
were told that we were far-right extremists

3274
04:26:21,650 --> 04:26:23,530
with whom one cannot cooperate. And today?

3275
04:26:23,575 --> 04:26:27,292
Bureaucracy and the costs associated with
the Green Deal have become unbearable for

3276
04:26:27,337 --> 04:26:31,053
many entrepreneurs. The Commission is now
trying to repair the damage it itself has

3277
04:26:31,098 --> 04:26:34,860
caused, and Parliament is adopting further
packages of simplification of regulations

3278
04:26:34,904 --> 04:26:38,218
that it had previously adopted. No
cosmetic changes, ladies and gentlemen.

3279
04:26:38,263 --> 04:26:41,621
And certainly, debating them every
month in Strasbourg will not improve the

3280
04:26:41,666 --> 04:26:44,935
situation of European businesses. The
Green Deal is killing [businesses].

3281
04:26:45,355 --> 04:26:47,035
the green deal kills.

3282
04:26:48,115 --> 04:26:49,315
Thank you.

3283
04:26:50,935 --> 04:26:53,146
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mr.

3284
04:26:53,196 --> 04:26:54,955
Kelleher for one minute and a half.

3285
04:26:55,555 --> 04:27:00,158
Very good, Kelleher. Commissioner, I
guess, Era, followed a quick in Parliament.

3286
04:27:00,215 --> 04:27:04,991
The simple fact is that the EU talks a lot
about supporting SMEs and entrepreneurs.

3287
04:27:05,048 --> 04:27:09,709
But it repeatedly fails to deliver the
supports and regulatory environment needed

3288
04:27:09,766 --> 04:27:14,196
for them to thrive and compete. Draghi
and later reported on a two years ago:

3289
04:27:14,254 --> 04:27:19,087
"But if we are to be honest, Commissioner,
with ourselves, it has been like this for

3290
04:27:19,144 --> 04:27:23,920
many years. " As an MEP, I must also hold
my hands up and accept part of the blame.

3291
04:27:23,977 --> 04:27:28,753
But will member states and the Commission
also accept their role in making Europe a

3292
04:27:28,810 --> 04:27:33,068
cold place for SMEs and entrepreneurs?
Are member states' cold place at EU

3293
04:27:33,125 --> 04:27:37,383
legislation and the Commission really
doesn't carry out the right sorts of

3294
04:27:37,441 --> 04:27:41,353
regulatory impact assessments on
the vast majority of its proposals?

3295
04:27:41,411 --> 04:27:46,013
And this needs to change. Otherwise, our
existing SMEs will be forced to shutter

3296
04:27:46,071 --> 04:27:50,904
their doors and our entrepreneurs will never
get a chance to get their ideas off the

3297
04:27:50,961 --> 04:27:55,622
ground. In August, 63 recommendations were
made by the Irish Government's Cost of

3298
04:27:55,679 --> 04:28:00,282
Business Advisory For um. It found that
energy is the biggest driver of business

3299
04:28:00,340 --> 04:28:04,137
cost, better price transparency,
and easier switching is required.

3300
04:28:04,194 --> 04:28:07,531
Regulators need to change or
to engage more with business.

3301
04:28:07,589 --> 04:28:10,178
A new culture of regulatory
reform is needed.

3302
04:28:10,236 --> 04:28:15,069
There is an urgent need for legal reform
and limited business banking competition is

3303
04:28:15,126 --> 04:28:19,959
driving high borrowing costs. Overall, I
found that Ireland must shift from a public

3304
04:28:20,017 --> 04:28:24,619
sector culture that measures activity and
process to one that measures outcomes.

3305
04:28:24,677 --> 04:28:29,165
The Renew Europe Group, through our Vice
President Martin Løkkegaard, has been

3306
04:28:29,222 --> 04:28:33,883
consistent in our campaign to reduce the
bureaucratic burden on our SMEs and it's

3307
04:28:33,940 --> 04:28:37,795
time for the institutions to listen
and to implement our proposals.

3308
04:28:40,075 --> 04:28:42,892
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mrs.

3309
04:28:42,955 --> 04:28:44,395
Ojisalo for one minute.

3310
04:28:49,495 --> 04:28:54,013
Mr President, at the same time as big
tech companies are cutting down forests

3311
04:28:54,072 --> 04:28:58,883
without permission, data centres are
guzzling electricity and water, and the world

3312
04:28:58,942 --> 04:29:03,284
around us is burning, here we are being
told that we need less regulation.

3313
04:29:03,343 --> 04:29:06,159
Mr President, this is not
helping entrepreneurs;

3314
04:29:06,218 --> 04:29:10,443
it is people who are suffering, it
is European nature that is suffering.

3315
04:29:10,501 --> 04:29:15,078
But also the companies that have already
invested in sustainable solutions and

3316
04:29:15,137 --> 04:29:17,777
products, and in Finland
we still have these.

3317
04:29:17,836 --> 04:29:22,765
The reporting is not about unnecessary
bureaucracy, but about the fact that ordinary

3318
04:29:22,823 --> 04:29:27,752
consumers have the right to know that the
products they buy are not linked to modern

3319
04:29:27,811 --> 04:29:30,803
slavery, child labour or
environmental destruction.

3320
04:29:30,862 --> 04:29:35,732
When I meet companies myself, they are not
asking for new omnibus packages, but for

3321
04:29:35,791 --> 04:29:40,544
predictability. Constant deregulation and
erratic legislation is the worst poison

3322
04:29:40,603 --> 04:29:45,355
for businesses. Investments are not made
when no one knows which rules will be in

3323
04:29:45,414 --> 04:29:49,991
force next year. If responsibility does
not bring a competitive advantage, the

3324
04:29:50,050 --> 04:29:54,274
winners will be only and exclusively
the biggest and most flagrant ones.

3325
04:29:54,333 --> 04:29:58,675
Forward-looking companies that do
things right must not be left to suffer.

3326
04:30:01,975 --> 04:30:04,809
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mr.

3327
04:30:04,874 --> 04:30:06,355
Kennes. For one minute.

3328
04:30:10,195 --> 04:30:13,135
Thank you. The European Volkspartij

3329
04:30:13,375 --> 04:30:18,430
complains that entrepreneurs are struggling
and that we need to make it even easier

3330
04:30:18,491 --> 04:30:21,414
for them so that they can
make even more profit.

3331
04:30:21,475 --> 04:30:26,347
As if it were not bad enough that over
the past decades millions of workers have

3332
04:30:26,408 --> 04:30:30,549
been laid off. Do you want to give
big business even more pampering?

3333
04:30:30,610 --> 04:30:35,482
Just as the People's Party has made it
easier for companies to buy raw materials

3334
04:30:35,543 --> 04:30:40,598
that are dug out of the ground by Congolese
children with their bare hands, and for

3335
04:30:40,659 --> 04:30:43,278
example to dump toxic
waste in Ivory Coast.

3336
04:30:43,338 --> 04:30:47,297
All in the name of Europe’s
competitiveness and Christian values.

3337
04:30:47,358 --> 04:30:52,352
That is why I was in Geneva last week, at
the UN negotiations for a binding treaty

3338
04:30:52,413 --> 04:30:57,346
that holds transnational corporations
accountable for the human rights violations

3339
04:30:57,407 --> 04:31:01,974
they commit. By the way, these negotiations
are being obstructed by the EU.

3340
04:31:02,035 --> 04:31:06,786
So please stop concealing corporate
crimes under the guise of economic growth.

3341
04:31:06,846 --> 04:31:11,658
You care about nothing for workers,
nothing for children, and even less for the

3342
04:31:11,719 --> 04:31:16,591
environment. You are here only to do the
dirty work for your rich friends in the

3343
04:31:16,652 --> 04:31:18,235
business world. Thank you.

3344
04:31:21,175 --> 04:31:23,388
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mr.

3345
04:31:23,438 --> 04:31:24,638
Bouhaid for one minute.

3346
04:31:25,375 --> 04:31:29,865
Thank you, Mr Chair. Yes, ladies and
gentlemen, it is the big week of the EPP, which

3347
04:31:29,918 --> 04:31:34,301
is now boldly throwing itself into the
fight against the combustion engine ban and

3348
04:31:34,354 --> 04:31:37,454
now also wants to boldly tackle
the bureaucratic measures.

3349
04:31:37,507 --> 04:31:40,607
Yet, ladies and gentlemen,
that is of course not the case.

3350
04:31:40,661 --> 04:31:45,150
One could cry as winter has already set in,
so much sand has been thrown in people’s

3351
04:31:45,204 --> 04:31:49,372
eyes this week. Ladies and gentlemen,
in the last legislative term, this House

3352
04:31:49,426 --> 04:31:52,205
adopted 13,000 new legal
acts between 2019 and 2024.

3353
04:31:52,259 --> 04:31:55,946
The USA in the same period issued
3,500, just over a quarter of that.

3354
04:31:56,000 --> 04:31:59,367
And now we are here saying: How
can we reduce this bureaucracy?

3355
04:31:59,420 --> 04:32:03,750
Dear EPP, you are responsible for this,
responsible for what has happened here in

3356
04:32:03,803 --> 04:32:08,293
recent years. Is it the citizens who are
suffering under the Lieferkettenrichtlinie?

3357
04:32:08,346 --> 04:32:12,729
That they are suffering under the Taxonomie,
that they are suffering under the ETS

3358
04:32:12,782 --> 04:32:17,111
system, that they are suffering under the
sustainability reporting requirements –

3359
04:32:17,165 --> 04:32:19,516
this is, to a very large
extent, your doing.

3360
04:32:19,570 --> 04:32:24,006
So, if you are thinking today about what
you can do against bureaucracy, then first

3361
04:32:24,059 --> 04:32:28,549
of all stop constantly chasing every new
fad under ever new compulsions to adopt new

3362
04:32:28,602 --> 04:32:32,931
laws, and focus instead on how you can
avoid creating new bureaucracy, ladies and

3363
04:32:32,985 --> 04:32:36,673
gentlemen. Turn away from the Green
Deal and then tackle bureaucracy.

3364
04:32:36,726 --> 04:32:37,926
Thank you very much.

3365
04:32:41,875 --> 04:32:44,160
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mr.

3366
04:32:44,212 --> 04:32:45,412
Geisel for one minute.

3367
04:32:46,255 --> 04:32:50,925
Mr President, Commissioner, dear colleagues,
what characterises bureaucratic rule?

3368
04:32:50,982 --> 04:32:55,652
The answer is quite simple: when faced
with the choice of regulating a matter in a

3369
04:32:55,709 --> 04:32:59,923
complicated or simple way, it usually
opts for the complicated regulation.

3370
04:32:59,980 --> 04:33:02,543
That secures jobs and
control over knowledge.

3371
04:33:02,600 --> 04:33:07,156
German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz
is said to have calculated that, in the

3372
04:33:07,213 --> 04:33:11,086
first term of office of Ms von der
Leyen, we have had a total of 13.

3373
04:33:11,143 --> 04:33:15,471
000 new regulations with extensive
reporting, documentation and verification

3374
04:33:15,528 --> 04:33:19,686
obligations to thank. That we have
thereby done a great disservice to the

3375
04:33:19,743 --> 04:33:24,413
competitiveness of European industry now
seems to have been understood even by the

3376
04:33:24,470 --> 04:33:28,855
Commission. And that is why — keyword:
Omnibus — rules are now suddenly to be

3377
04:33:28,912 --> 04:33:31,475
simplified or suspended
until further notice.

3378
04:33:31,532 --> 04:33:35,177
Perhaps it would be better to
take a more radical approach here.

3379
04:33:35,234 --> 04:33:38,138
With every new regulation,
we should ask ourselves:

3380
04:33:38,195 --> 04:33:41,157
What does it actually
achieve? Who benefits from it?

3381
04:33:41,214 --> 04:33:44,688
And is the effort in a reasonable
proportion to the benefits?

3382
04:33:44,745 --> 04:33:47,250
Often, we would then
come to the conclusion:

3383
04:33:47,307 --> 04:33:50,155
the best solution is the
zero solution. Thank you.

3384
04:33:52,795 --> 04:33:55,023
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mrs.

3385
04:33:55,072 --> 04:33:56,755
Pereda. For one minute and a half.

3386
04:34:00,655 --> 04:34:06,382
Thank you very much, Mr President. Mr
Commissioner, a company exists to produce,

3387
04:34:06,453 --> 04:34:12,180
sell and innovate. However, six out of
ten European companies say that complying

3388
04:34:12,252 --> 04:34:15,688
with new rules is an
obstacle to their activity.

3389
04:34:15,760 --> 04:34:20,413
And worse still, the most innovative
ones are the most penalised.

3390
04:34:20,484 --> 04:34:26,426
The result, therefore, is perverse. Some
prefer not to grow so as not to exceed the

3391
04:34:26,498 --> 04:34:32,511
threshold that brings new obligations.
Meanwhile, China and the United States invest

3392
04:34:32,582 --> 04:34:36,663
and gain ground in the market
and welcome their unicorns.

3393
04:34:36,734 --> 04:34:42,390
This regulatory burden, this weight of
rules, is also felt in access to credit.

3394
04:34:42,461 --> 04:34:48,045
When a bank is required to report the
same data time and time again, it is the

3395
04:34:48,117 --> 04:34:53,772
entrepreneur who waits. That is why, with
more proportionate rules and a single

3396
04:34:53,844 --> 04:34:59,499
reporting system, credit reaches those
who want to invest more quickly and more

3397
04:34:59,570 --> 04:35:05,441
cheaply. European leaders once again
acknowledged last week that simplification is

3398
04:35:05,512 --> 04:35:10,666
urgent. The Council, the Commission
and this Parliament are all aligned.

3399
04:35:10,738 --> 04:35:16,680
The moment has come to move from words to
action and to finalise the simplification

3400
04:35:16,751 --> 04:35:22,120
packages that are still pending. Simple,
clear rules help companies attract

3401
04:35:22,192 --> 04:35:27,489
investment, grow and create quality
jobs across the entire European space.

3402
04:35:27,561 --> 04:35:33,288
There should be no doubt: simplifying
means betting on Europe's competitiveness.

3403
04:35:33,359 --> 04:35:34,559
Thank you.

3404
04:35:36,055 --> 04:35:38,556
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mrs.

3405
04:35:38,612 --> 04:35:39,835
Mendes for one minute.

3406
04:35:40,735 --> 04:35:46,121
Thank you very much, Mr President. Dear
colleagues, Commissioner, I believe we are

3407
04:35:46,187 --> 04:35:50,653
all in agreement on one thing:
Europe needs greater competitiveness.

3408
04:35:50,719 --> 04:35:55,645
And over the years, Europe has survived
with the weight of bureaucracy and,

3409
04:35:55,711 --> 04:35:59,849
precisely for that reason, I
agree that it is need to simplify.

3410
04:35:59,915 --> 04:36:04,841
But when it comes to simplification,
we cannot talk about deregulation and,

3411
04:36:04,907 --> 04:36:09,899
therefore, we need to combine the need
to invest in innovation in artificial

3412
04:36:09,965 --> 04:36:15,022
intelligence, which will change our
lives and the world of work, with what is

3413
04:36:15,088 --> 04:36:19,883
absolutely essential, which is the
strength of the workforce and workers.

3414
04:36:19,949 --> 04:36:25,335
And so, Ladies and Gentlemen Deputies, and
my dear Commissioner, the importance of

3415
04:36:25,401 --> 04:36:30,853
this debate is that we simplify the rules
to have more competitive, more innovative

3416
04:36:30,918 --> 04:36:36,436
companies. but that they should not be at
the expense of workers' rights, so that we

3417
04:36:36,501 --> 04:36:41,953
can continue to have a European social
model that has shaped us and brought us this

3418
04:36:42,019 --> 04:36:44,515
far over the past 80 years. Thank you.

3419
04:36:46,915 --> 04:36:49,477
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mr.

3420
04:36:49,536 --> 04:36:50,875
Penella for one minute.

3421
04:36:53,035 --> 04:36:58,425
It is quite astonishing to see that the
EPP is today holding a debate on reducing

3422
04:36:58,492 --> 04:37:03,549
European bureaucracy when it supported
the disastrous Green Deal and all the

3423
04:37:03,616 --> 04:37:08,606
constraints that flow from it. If
reducing 40 years of accumulated European

3424
04:37:08,673 --> 04:37:14,263
bureaucratic and technocratic red tape is
a good thing for businesses, we need to go

3425
04:37:14,329 --> 04:37:19,852
even further with deregulation. That means
removing standards that abusively hinder

3426
04:37:19,919 --> 04:37:24,777
our economy. What is the point of
removing a few forms if our farmers and

3427
04:37:24,843 --> 04:37:30,433
industrialists remain crushed by ever more
stringent regulations that increase their

3428
04:37:30,499 --> 04:37:33,893
production costs and destroy
their competitiveness?

3429
04:37:33,960 --> 04:37:39,416
Carbon tax, bans on combustion engines,
restrictions on plant protection products,

3430
04:37:39,483 --> 04:37:44,740
reductions in fertiliser use, nature
restoration regulations, IED directives on

3431
04:37:44,806 --> 04:37:48,600
livestock farming: we must
put an end to these obstacles.

3432
04:37:48,666 --> 04:37:54,056
Our entrepreneurs and farmers need the
freedom to produce and ensure the economic

3433
04:37:54,123 --> 04:37:58,315
strength of our nations. When
are you going to understand that?

3434
04:38:01,555 --> 04:38:04,180
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mrs.

3435
04:38:04,238 --> 04:38:05,755
Teodorescu for one minute.

3436
04:38:06,175 --> 04:38:07,375
Thank you, Chair.

3437
04:38:07,495 --> 04:38:12,419
Today’s debate on reducing costs and
bureaucratic burdens comes at a critical moment

3438
04:38:12,478 --> 04:38:17,226
for European entrepreneurs. Regulations
such as the Packaging Directive are clear

3439
04:38:17,284 --> 04:38:22,032
evidence of how micro-enterprises and SMEs
are suffocated by abusive fixed costs,

3440
04:38:22,091 --> 04:38:26,136
authorised representatives in each
country, and infernal bureaucracy.

3441
04:38:26,194 --> 04:38:31,060
Up to 12,000 euros a year, a small artisan
has to dig into their own pocket to meet

3442
04:38:31,118 --> 04:38:35,808
all these absurd requirements. But has
anyone asked themselves whether they even

3443
04:38:35,866 --> 04:38:40,614
make 12 000 euros in profit in one year?
However, beware, the legislative tsunami

3444
04:38:40,673 --> 04:38:45,480
that has strangled the European business
environment cannot be resolved by another

3445
04:38:45,538 --> 04:38:49,700
legislative tsunami either. This
time, with derogations, exceptions and

3446
04:38:49,759 --> 04:38:54,331
improvisations on top of incoherent
legislation, built on ideology rather than

3447
04:38:54,390 --> 04:38:59,138
pragmatism. If we patch up bad laws with
temporary exceptions, we only deepen the

3448
04:38:59,196 --> 04:39:03,769
chaos and the lack of predictability,
which is the basis of any business plan.

3449
04:39:03,827 --> 04:39:07,813
We need a pragmatic, coherent
approach and real political ownership.

3450
04:39:07,872 --> 04:39:12,503
Stop the excessive regulation and restore
the business environment’s freedom to

3451
04:39:12,561 --> 04:39:13,761
produce. Thank you.

3452
04:39:16,975 --> 04:39:19,318
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mrs.

3453
04:39:19,370 --> 04:39:20,570
Balger for one minute.

3454
04:39:21,775 --> 04:39:26,930
Force Stellifor. You are an entrepreneur
and you have brought your customers abroad,

3455
04:39:26,991 --> 04:39:31,900
and that is a very good step. But then
you have to get to work in the evening to

3456
04:39:31,962 --> 04:39:34,785
find out which registrations
are all required.

3457
04:39:34,846 --> 04:39:38,160
, which forms, which permits.
What comes with that is:

3458
04:39:38,221 --> 04:39:41,964
your business grows, but
unfortunately so does the paperwork.

3459
04:39:42,026 --> 04:39:46,015
And that means extra costs, and
that is something we do not want.

3460
04:39:46,076 --> 04:39:51,169
As far as I am concerned, entrepreneurs
must be able to innovate, they must be able

3461
04:39:51,231 --> 04:39:53,931
to make time for
production, for investment.

3462
04:39:53,992 --> 04:39:57,429
And also invest in their
people and conquer new markets.

3463
04:39:57,490 --> 04:39:59,515
That is how our prosperity grows.

3464
04:40:00,574 --> 04:40:03,684
So my first call is therefore
also to the Commission:

3465
04:40:03,742 --> 04:40:08,377
sit down with entrepreneurs, keep talking
to them, and let them point out which

3466
04:40:08,436 --> 04:40:12,015
paperwork is duplicated and
unnecessary. And then scrap that;

3467
04:40:12,074 --> 04:40:14,831
it is time we really
deliver on simplification.

3468
04:40:14,890 --> 04:40:19,818
And make sure that small businesses can
also comply with the rules without having to

3469
04:40:19,877 --> 04:40:24,453
hire expensive advisers. And the second
call is to the national Member States:

3470
04:40:24,512 --> 04:40:29,264
that includes the Netherlands, avoid
unnecessary, superfluous national additional

3471
04:40:29,323 --> 04:40:34,017
regulatory burdens. Let us work together
to ensure that we finally truly have an

3472
04:40:34,075 --> 04:40:35,275
internal market.

3473
04:40:38,374 --> 04:40:40,534
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mr.

3474
04:40:40,583 --> 04:40:41,783
Mazurek for 1 minute.

3475
04:40:42,754 --> 04:40:46,894
You will come in one day with a mandatory
e-invoice for small entrepreneurs and at

3476
04:40:46,945 --> 04:40:51,034
the same time with some central you are
coming one day with a mandatory e-invoice

3477
04:40:51,085 --> 04:40:55,074
for small entrepreneurs and at the same
time with some central register for all

3478
04:40:55,124 --> 04:40:59,264
accommodation providers operating in the
tourism sector, and the next day you will

3479
04:40:59,315 --> 04:41:02,950
tell us that you want less bureaucracy
and a better-functioning business

3480
04:41:03,001 --> 04:41:06,939
environment. You are bringing in gender
scoring as a mandatory requirement for

3481
04:41:06,989 --> 04:41:11,180
accessing EU funds and gender quotas as a
condition for companies, and then you are

3482
04:41:11,231 --> 04:41:15,472
lying again by claiming that you want the
business environment to have more freedom.

3483
04:41:15,522 --> 04:41:19,764
You will come here without shame with the
recycling directive, which will oblige all

3484
04:41:19,814 --> 04:41:23,904
producers to draw up 1,000 new forms on
the certification and origin of materials

3485
04:41:23,954 --> 04:41:27,135
used in the production process,
and then you will come and say:

3486
04:41:27,186 --> 04:41:31,023
"We need less paperwork, less bureaucracy,
we need better and more efficient

3487
04:41:31,073 --> 04:41:35,163
functioning of the business environment."
"After all, the biggest obstacle to the

3488
04:41:35,214 --> 04:41:39,303
development of the business environment
and the competitiveness of the economy in

3489
04:41:39,354 --> 04:41:43,444
the European Union are you. Please, leave,
give people some peace, stop with this

3490
04:41:43,494 --> 04:41:47,634
bureaucracy, stop constantly making up
nonsense, and allow people to create and do

3491
04:41:47,685 --> 04:41:49,654
business freely, as they deserve to do.

3492
04:41:53,434 --> 04:41:57,334
Thank you very much. The next speaker is
Ms Benjumea for one minute and a half.

3493
04:41:58,114 --> 04:42:03,800
Thank you, Mr President. Commissioner,
Minister, the European Union must be a space

3494
04:42:03,869 --> 04:42:09,144
of freedom and equal opportunities, and
one that promotes a culture of merit.

3495
04:42:09,213 --> 04:42:14,419
It must be an attractive space in which
to do business, to set up a company.

3496
04:42:14,488 --> 04:42:19,763
What cannot be is that it is perceived
as a hyper-regulated space drowning in

3497
04:42:19,832 --> 04:42:25,312
bureaucracy. Under a protectionist mantra
that claims to defend our rights, when

3498
04:42:25,381 --> 04:42:30,245
what it really does is curtail our
freedom and limit our opportunities.

3499
04:42:30,313 --> 04:42:35,863
Europe has companies capable of competing
with the best in the world, but its own

3500
04:42:35,931 --> 04:42:40,932
regulatory, administrative and financial
environment has become a burden.

3501
04:42:41,001 --> 04:42:46,345
Excessive bureaucracy is compounded by
the fragmentation of the single market,

3502
04:42:46,413 --> 04:42:51,757
difficulties in accessing financing and
high energy costs, with regulation and

3503
04:42:51,825 --> 04:42:55,045
taxation that penalise
our production capacity.

3504
04:42:55,114 --> 04:42:59,841
That is why I welcome the Commission’s
decision to make improving the

3505
04:42:59,910 --> 04:43:05,664
competitiveness of our businesses a priority
by firmly committing to simplification.

3506
04:43:05,733 --> 04:43:11,419
But that strategy will not be enough if we
do not accompany it with a fiscal policy

3507
04:43:11,488 --> 04:43:15,735
that promotes competitiveness
and helps to attract investment.

3508
04:43:15,804 --> 04:43:21,422
Just as we have realised that in the Union
we cannot respond to every problem with

3509
04:43:21,490 --> 04:43:25,121
more regulation, neither
can we do so with new taxes.

3510
04:43:25,190 --> 04:43:30,944
And I am referring to the CORE, Mr Commissioner,
a tax that we are firmly opposed to

3511
04:43:31,013 --> 04:43:36,699
and which we are asking you to withdraw
from your proposal for the next multiannual

3512
04:43:36,768 --> 04:43:41,700
financial framework. Less tax and
less regulation, that is the solution.

3513
04:43:41,769 --> 04:43:42,969
Thank you.

3514
04:43:43,714 --> 04:43:46,774
Thank you very much. The next
speaker is Mr Ruena for 1 minute.

3515
04:43:48,454 --> 04:43:50,494
Thank you very much, Mr
President. What we are discussing

3516
04:43:50,674 --> 04:43:55,150
goes much further than eliminating
unnecessary red tape, something we support.

3517
04:43:55,207 --> 04:43:59,568
We are witnessing a progressive attack
on European environmental and climate

3518
04:43:59,626 --> 04:44:04,102
legislation, using small businesses to
justify the removal of obligations that

3519
04:44:04,159 --> 04:44:08,750
fundamentally affect large corporations.
Corporate sustainability standards have

3520
04:44:08,807 --> 04:44:13,341
been weakened, legislation against
deforestation has been delayed, and emission

3521
04:44:13,398 --> 04:44:16,726
standards for cars and vans
are being weakened even today.

3522
04:44:16,784 --> 04:44:21,604
The ETS, environmental assessments, and now
there are increasing pressures to reopen

3523
04:44:21,661 --> 04:44:26,195
the directives on birds and habitats, as
well as the Water Framework Directive.

3524
04:44:26,252 --> 04:44:31,015
What does protecting our rivers and waters
have to do with eliminating bureaucracy?

3525
04:44:31,072 --> 04:44:35,548
Because when we talk about water, I would
remind you that we are talking about

3526
04:44:35,605 --> 04:44:40,311
public health. Europe, it is true, needs
competitive businesses, of course, but it

3527
04:44:40,368 --> 04:44:43,926
also needs clean air, clean water
and a protected environment.

3528
04:44:43,983 --> 04:44:48,517
Competitiveness can never be an excuse
for dismantling the guarantees that have

3529
04:44:48,574 --> 04:44:49,894
taken decades to build.

3530
04:44:54,154 --> 04:44:56,918
Muchísimas gracias. The
next speaker is Mrs.

3531
04:44:56,981 --> 04:44:58,181
Gyori for 1 minute.

3532
04:45:00,874 --> 04:45:02,074
There was a mistake here.

3533
04:45:02,074 --> 04:45:06,642
I cannot even count how many debates
we have already held on simplifying EU

3534
04:45:06,703 --> 04:45:09,260
regulation. It’s always the same old tune:

3535
04:45:09,321 --> 04:45:13,889
we talk about it, we urge action, the
Commission promises, and then nothing

3536
04:45:13,950 --> 04:45:18,761
meaningful changes. Where is the promised
35% burden reduction for the smallest

3537
04:45:18,822 --> 04:45:21,502
companies, promised
since 2023, for example?

3538
04:45:21,563 --> 04:45:26,679
We have only just started negotiations on
half of the Commission's 12 simplification

3539
04:45:26,739 --> 04:45:31,551
packages. Meanwhile, they boast that €17
billion, or even €22 billion, has been

3540
04:45:31,612 --> 04:45:36,423
mentioned here – that much savings has
already been achieved for the companies.

3541
04:45:36,484 --> 04:45:41,478
Let’s do a quick calculation together: if
we divide this by the 34 million SMEs in

3542
04:45:41,539 --> 04:45:46,533
the Union, it quickly becomes clear that
this amounts to an average monthly saving

3543
04:45:46,594 --> 04:45:51,466
of €41 for a small business. Yet 86% of
them need to employ a separate person to

3544
04:45:51,527 --> 04:45:55,120
ensure compliance with the
legislation. A concrete example:

3545
04:45:55,181 --> 04:45:59,992
a small, low-revenue sole trader crafting
handmade jewellery must have 20 to 30

3546
04:46:00,053 --> 04:46:03,159
pages of internal regulations
drawn up by a lawyer.

3547
04:46:03,220 --> 04:46:05,960
So how can we expect
them to grow and invest?

3548
04:46:06,021 --> 04:46:09,615
This, by the way, is your
legacy, from the EPP to the left.

3549
04:46:09,676 --> 04:46:14,426
We patriots demand real deregulation in
order to fully unleash entrepreneurial

3550
04:46:14,487 --> 04:46:15,687
freedom.

3551
04:46:19,414 --> 04:46:21,924
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mrs.

3552
04:46:21,980 --> 04:46:23,374
Van Leeuwen for 1 minute.

3553
04:46:25,474 --> 04:46:28,499
Thank you very much, Chair,
Minister, Commissioner.

3554
04:46:28,558 --> 04:46:33,243
In every member state, village shops,
local tradespeople, and family businesses

3555
04:46:33,303 --> 04:46:38,225
provide jobs and services close to home.
They keep our towns, villages, and regions

3556
04:46:38,285 --> 04:46:42,911
running. The Commission has promised to
remove two rules for every new rule it

3557
04:46:42,970 --> 04:46:47,833
introduces to alleviate small and medium-sized
businesses, so when will you start?

3558
04:46:47,893 --> 04:46:52,697
The farmer-citizen movement wants to
eliminate overlapping reporting requirements

3559
04:46:52,756 --> 04:46:56,552
and bring EU sustain ability
reporting back to the bare minimum.

3560
04:46:56,611 --> 04:47:01,593
So we only want to adopt new legislation
if you remove two other rul es, and it does

3561
04:47:01,652 --> 04:47:05,744
not result in overlapping reporting
requirements on a national level.

3562
04:47:05,804 --> 04:47:10,252
As a first proposal, let's have a
careful look at how the new packaging and

3563
04:47:10,311 --> 04:47:14,700
packaging waste regulation affects the
international business of our SMEs.

3564
04:47:14,759 --> 04:47:19,682
The announced gold plating act should,
besides working with member states to remove

3565
04:47:19,741 --> 04:47:24,486
national rules that jeopardize an equal
playing field on the EU internal market,

3566
04:47:24,545 --> 04:47:29,527
also tackle unnecessary national additional
reporting obligations, so the EU becomes

3567
04:47:29,587 --> 04:47:32,374
a true union of entrepreneurs
again. Thank you.

3568
04:47:35,314 --> 04:47:40,654
Thank you very much. The next speaker
is Ms Aguirregoitia for one minute.

3569
04:47:44,074 --> 04:47:48,193
We urgently need to improve our
competitiveness and, therefore, we need

3570
04:47:48,251 --> 04:47:53,066
entrepreneurs, we need innovation and we
need companies that are capable of growing

3571
04:47:53,124 --> 04:47:55,792
and competing globally.
But we have a problem:

3572
04:47:55,850 --> 04:48:00,375
we know that we generate talent, and yet
we are not managing to retain them in

3573
04:48:00,433 --> 04:48:05,306
Europe. As Mr Draghi said: almost 30% of
the unicorns created in Europe between 2008

3574
04:48:05,364 --> 04:48:09,946
and 2021 have moved their headquarters
abroad, and practically or mainly to the

3575
04:48:10,004 --> 04:48:14,703
United States. And we cannot continue to
lose innovative companies because of the

3576
04:48:14,761 --> 04:48:19,228
difficulties of growing in Europe. We
need to simplify regulations, eliminate

3577
04:48:19,286 --> 04:48:24,101
bureaucracy and facilitate access to
financing, and we must do this especially with

3578
04:48:24,159 --> 04:48:28,858
startups and with SMEs that innovate. And
simplifying does not mean deregulating,

3579
04:48:28,916 --> 04:48:32,628
but rather facilitating innovation
and growth for our companies.

3580
04:48:32,686 --> 04:48:37,443
Our objective, therefore, should not only
be that companies can be born in Europe,

3581
04:48:37,501 --> 04:48:42,258
but that they can grow and become true
global leaders without having to leave this

3582
04:48:42,316 --> 04:48:43,534
continent. Thank you.

3583
04:48:45,754 --> 04:48:47,975
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mr.

3584
04:48:48,025 --> 04:48:49,225
Veke for 1 minute.

3585
04:48:50,434 --> 04:48:52,174
Thank you, President.

3586
04:48:52,354 --> 04:48:55,932
Mr Commissioner, colleagues,
entrepreneurs want to do business.

3587
04:48:55,989 --> 04:49:00,759
Not having to fill an hour every day with
administrative obligations and hundreds of

3588
04:49:00,816 --> 04:49:03,258
forms, often in 27
different sets of rules.

3589
04:49:03,315 --> 04:49:06,779
And this also applies to our
SMEs, for example our start-ups.

3590
04:49:06,836 --> 04:49:11,550
Every minute they spend on that is time
they cannot invest, cannot innovate, cannot

3591
04:49:11,606 --> 04:49:14,162
innovate, cannot grow
and cannot create jobs.

3592
04:49:14,219 --> 04:49:18,819
It’s that simple. And yes, of course, we
have taken steps to reduce the red tape.

3593
04:49:18,876 --> 04:49:22,567
But when I speak to entrepreneurs,
they notice very little of it.

3594
04:49:22,624 --> 04:49:27,338
Because we are mainly preventing new rules,
but what about the mountain of existing

3595
04:49:27,395 --> 04:49:31,938
rules? And what about our permits? For
entrepreneurs and farmers, this remains a

3596
04:49:31,995 --> 04:49:36,538
Herculean task. Through years of case
law, a framework has emerged in which even

3597
04:49:36,595 --> 04:49:40,002
strategic investments and
greening measures grind to a halt.

3598
04:49:40,059 --> 04:49:44,659
That is why, Commissioner, my call: come
up with a horizontal permitting omnibus.

3599
04:49:44,716 --> 04:49:48,805
Tackle the problems at the root,
including in our European environmental

3600
04:49:48,862 --> 04:49:51,588
legislation. Entrepreneurs
want to move forward.

3601
04:49:51,645 --> 04:49:52,894
Give them that chance.

3602
04:49:56,014 --> 04:49:56,974
Thank you very much.

3603
04:49:56,974 --> 04:49:59,494
The next speaker is Mr
Girauta for one minute.

3604
04:50:01,354 --> 04:50:06,188
Thank you, Mr President. Two out of
three small and medium-sized enterprises

3605
04:50:06,252 --> 04:50:10,196
identify regulatory complexity
as an obstacle to their growth.

3606
04:50:10,259 --> 04:50:14,966
Mr President, two out of three small
and medium-sized enterprises identify

3607
04:50:15,030 --> 04:50:18,401
regulatory complexity as an
obstacle to their growth.

3608
04:50:18,465 --> 04:50:23,363
22% of SMEs devote more than 10% of
their workforce to assessing and managing

3609
04:50:23,426 --> 04:50:28,388
regulatory requirements. 150 billion
euros is the annual cost estimated by the

3610
04:50:28,451 --> 04:50:33,477
European Commission in recurring expenses,
in recurring costs, in the design of

3611
04:50:33,540 --> 04:50:38,692
administrative processes. There is no way
to be competitive without reviewing and

3612
04:50:38,756 --> 04:50:43,272
deregulating this labyrinthine
situation. Silence should be the norm in

3613
04:50:43,336 --> 04:50:48,552
administrative procedures. Administrations
should not request a document that they

3614
04:50:48,616 --> 04:50:53,959
already have. It seems that the telecommunications revolution that changed the world

3615
04:50:54,022 --> 04:50:58,793
of business organisations 20 years ago
25 years ago, the telecommunications

3616
04:50:58,857 --> 04:51:03,945
revolution transformed the world of
business organisations, but it has still not

3617
04:51:04,009 --> 04:51:09,225
reached Europe’s public administrations.
This Parliament has an obligation to stop

3618
04:51:09,288 --> 04:51:14,441
producing paper, paper and more paper.
Every new piece of legislation should mean

3619
04:51:14,504 --> 04:51:17,494
the repeal of several
previous ones. Thank you.

3620
04:51:20,674 --> 04:51:24,814
Muchas gracias. The next speaker
is Mrs. Malock for 1 minute.

3621
04:51:27,754 --> 04:51:32,939
Ladies and Gentlemen, in Poland, it used
to be joked that communism solved the

3622
04:51:33,006 --> 04:51:38,457
problems it itself created. It seems the
European Union has now taken that joke as

3623
04:51:38,523 --> 04:51:43,775
an instruction manual. The Green Deal,
more directives, reports – who voted for

3624
04:51:43,842 --> 04:51:49,359
them? The people in this Chamber. €150
billion in annual administrative burdens for

3625
04:51:49,426 --> 04:51:54,944
the Union. You promise great savings with
omnibus bills, but does the fourth burden

3626
04:51:55,010 --> 04:51:58,666
remain for the entrepreneur?
Where is the success here?

3627
04:51:58,733 --> 04:52:04,251
In Poland, the cost of the ETS accounts
for half of the energy prices for industry.

3628
04:52:04,317 --> 04:52:07,840
Where is the competitiveness
here? Another absurdity.

3629
04:52:07,907 --> 04:52:12,494
The Packaging Regulation. A small
shop wants to send packages abroad.

3630
04:52:12,560 --> 04:52:16,948
You add representatives, formalities,
and then you propose relief.

3631
04:52:17,014 --> 04:52:20,937
Where is the logic here? Behind
this chaos stands a person.

3632
04:52:21,003 --> 04:52:24,859
A small and medium-sized
entrepreneur and their employees.

3633
04:52:24,925 --> 04:52:30,509
You talk about competitiveness, about putting
the human being at the centre, yet you

3634
04:52:30,576 --> 04:52:35,362
place regulations above them. Start
counting the costs before the votes.

3635
04:52:35,429 --> 04:52:40,813
Remove unnecessary obligations. The European
economy needs room to grow, not more

3636
04:52:40,880 --> 04:52:43,938
debates on the consequences
of your decisions.

3637
04:52:44,004 --> 04:52:45,334
Thank you very much.

3638
04:52:47,854 --> 04:52:50,512
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mrs.

3639
04:52:50,572 --> 04:52:51,772
Vonte for 1 minute.

3640
04:52:55,474 --> 04:52:59,377
Colleagues, yes, I do find it rather
ironic that it is precisely the Christian

3641
04:52:59,427 --> 04:53:03,630
Democrats who have requested this debate.
Those who have been at the controls of the

3642
04:53:03,680 --> 04:53:07,583
European regulatory machinery for years,
those who have for years been the big

3643
04:53:07,633 --> 04:53:11,736
advocates of climate and sustainability,
ironic that it is precisely the Christian

3644
04:53:11,786 --> 04:53:15,989
Democrats who have requested this debate.
Those who have been at the controls of the

3645
04:53:16,039 --> 04:53:20,142
European regulatory machine for years, who
have for years supported the EU’s major

3646
04:53:20,192 --> 04:53:24,395
climate and sustainability plans, the heavy
reporting obligations for companies, the

3647
04:53:24,445 --> 04:53:27,697
rules that hold companies responsible
for an entire supply chain.

3648
04:53:27,747 --> 04:53:31,700
And now they act as though they are, as
it were, the deus ex machina, the great

3649
04:53:31,750 --> 04:53:35,853
saviours of businesses. Well, that reminds
me a little of the arsonist playing the

3650
04:53:35,903 --> 04:53:38,305
fireman. And can that
fire even be extinguished?

3651
04:53:38,355 --> 04:53:42,408
Because every day we see the catastrophic
economic consequences of this misguided

3652
04:53:42,458 --> 04:53:45,960
policy. And the Commission itself
now admits that it was all too much.

3653
04:53:46,010 --> 04:53:50,113
But the administrative burden is one thing,
but the high energy prices, the carbon

3654
04:53:50,163 --> 04:53:52,865
taxes and the fierce
international competition remain.

3655
04:53:52,915 --> 04:53:57,018
And what we need is a policy that puts
entrepreneurship and competitiveness at the

3656
04:53:57,068 --> 04:54:00,021
centre. But that is not possible
without political courage.

3657
04:54:00,071 --> 04:54:04,174
And to achieve that, a great many green
and left-wing dogmas will still have to be

3658
04:54:04,224 --> 04:54:05,424
swept away.

3659
04:54:07,534 --> 04:54:09,898
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mr.

3660
04:54:09,952 --> 04:54:11,152
van Dijk for 1 minute.

3661
04:54:11,434 --> 04:54:16,651
Thank you, Mr President. For prosperity,
economic growth is a priority.

3662
04:54:16,725 --> 04:54:20,252
And for that growth, our
businesses are crucial.

3663
04:54:20,325 --> 04:54:26,424
And that is why, Commissioner, European
rules should only be applied where they add

3664
04:54:26,497 --> 04:54:32,229
value. Everything else is dead weight.
It costs our businesses time, money and

3665
04:54:32,302 --> 04:54:38,034
confidence, to the detriment of investment
and innovation and thus of economic

3666
04:54:38,107 --> 04:54:43,692
growth. And despite numerous initiatives,
the Commission is not, or not yet,

3667
04:54:43,765 --> 04:54:49,276
sufficiently succeeding in reducing
regulatory burden and turning the tide.

3668
04:54:49,350 --> 04:54:52,657
A more ambitious approach
is needed. In fact.

3669
04:54:52,730 --> 04:54:58,902
And it can be done. I believe in that. Clear
language, no rules that contradict each

3670
04:54:58,976 --> 04:55:04,634
other, solid impact assessments, less
reporting, especially for SMEs, digital

3671
04:55:04,707 --> 04:55:08,749
solutions and an end to gold
plating. End gold plating.

3672
04:55:08,822 --> 04:55:14,848
Make it clear to your colleagues, Commissioner,
that regulation and simplification

3673
04:55:14,921 --> 04:55:21,093
are two different things. But both are
necessary to make European rules enforceable,

3674
04:55:21,167 --> 04:55:24,694
affordable and therefore
competitive. Thank you.

3675
04:55:27,034 --> 04:55:29,611
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mrs.

3676
04:55:29,669 --> 04:55:30,869
Deloge for 1 minute.

3677
04:55:33,634 --> 04:55:36,757
Europe is counting its spending,
but not what it costs our farmers.

3678
04:55:36,803 --> 04:55:40,439
In 2026, the European budget plans more
than 13 billion euros for the European

3679
04:55:40,485 --> 04:55:44,214
public administration. At the same time,
a European study estimates that farmers

3680
04:55:44,260 --> 04:55:48,175
spend an average of 1,200 euros per year
on administrative tasks related to the CAP.

3681
04:55:48,222 --> 04:55:51,950
The problem with our administration is
not that it lacks data, but that it keeps

3682
04:55:51,997 --> 04:55:55,865
asking for it over and over again. In June
2025, the French Ministry of Agriculture

3683
04:55:55,912 --> 04:55:59,594
indicated that the Commission had decided
to roll out the single administrative

3684
04:55:59,641 --> 04:56:01,878
control at European level.
So where do we stand?

3685
04:56:01,924 --> 04:56:05,560
Farmers should no longer have to submit
the same information multiple times to

3686
04:56:05,606 --> 04:56:08,216
administrations that do not
communicate with each other.

3687
04:56:08,263 --> 04:56:12,131
We are calling for a single farm file with
pre-filled declarations and genuine data

3688
04:56:12,178 --> 04:56:15,394
sharing. for administrations that
do not communicate with each other.

3689
04:56:15,440 --> 04:56:19,355
We are calling for a single operational
file for pre-filled declarations and genuine

3690
04:56:19,402 --> 04:56:23,084
data sharing between administrations,
because information that has already been

3691
04:56:23,130 --> 04:56:25,321
provided will never be
requested from us again.

3692
04:56:25,367 --> 04:56:27,605
It is time for Brussels
to understand one thing:

3693
04:56:27,651 --> 04:56:30,960
it is not the administrations that
should be at the service of farmers;

3694
04:56:31,007 --> 04:56:34,782
it is the administrations that should be
at the service of farmers, not the other

3695
04:56:34,829 --> 04:56:36,029
way around. Thank you.

3696
04:56:38,854 --> 04:56:41,414
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mr.

3697
04:56:41,472 --> 04:56:42,694
Kutilek for 1 minute.

3698
04:56:47,254 --> 04:56:51,852
Honourable Mr President, the European
Council called on the European Commission a

3699
04:56:51,909 --> 04:56:56,564
few days ago to propose cuts in reporting
requirements, particularly for small and

3700
04:56:56,620 --> 04:57:01,332
medium-sized enterprises. And to us
legislators, it sent a message to be restrained

3701
04:57:01,389 --> 04:57:05,135
in the legislative process and not
to add unnecessary bureaucracy.

3702
04:57:05,192 --> 04:57:09,961
I recommend that we follow this recommendation
and do so straight away in the debate

3703
04:57:10,017 --> 04:57:14,786
on "Made in EU", which the European Council
wants to be completed by the end of this

3704
04:57:14,843 --> 04:57:18,873
year. The Commission proposal already
includes requirements for complex

3705
04:57:18,930 --> 04:57:23,244
documentation of origin and carbon
footprint, and a significant part of this

3706
04:57:23,301 --> 04:57:25,912
Parliament wants to
tighten them even further.

3707
04:57:25,969 --> 04:57:30,453
If we continue in this direction, we will
have a perfect overview of every last

3708
04:57:30,510 --> 04:57:33,689
screw, but we will be producing
fewer and fewer of them.

3709
04:57:33,746 --> 04:57:38,514
Our competitors in America and China will
be happy, but European companies will lose

3710
04:57:38,571 --> 04:57:43,112
out. So let's do what is expected of us:
let our companies produce, not fill out

3711
04:57:43,169 --> 04:57:44,369
forms. Thank you.

3712
04:57:46,054 --> 04:57:49,107
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mr.

3713
04:57:49,176 --> 04:57:50,494
Pempe for 1 minute.

3714
04:57:54,454 --> 04:58:00,915
Dear colleagues, our entrepreneurs spend
their time ticking boxes and providing

3715
04:58:00,997 --> 04:58:07,785
justifications. The point is for them to
feed your technostructure, which is hungry

3716
04:58:07,866 --> 04:58:14,491
for data and thirsty for... of forms. This
machine, you built it yourselves, with

3717
04:58:14,572 --> 04:58:21,279
the zealous support of the EPP. You pretend
to want to solve the problems you have

3718
04:58:21,360 --> 04:58:25,041
created. You mention
the next concrete steps;

3719
04:58:25,122 --> 04:58:28,721
I suggest a simple one:
stop adding to them.

3720
04:58:28,803 --> 04:58:35,182
stop. Because the cup is full. Our SMEs
do not need another fake support plan.

3721
04:58:35,263 --> 04:58:40,252
What they need are low energy
costs, thanks to nuclear power.

3722
04:58:40,334 --> 04:58:43,851
These are reasonable
and predictable taxes.

3723
04:58:43,932 --> 04:58:49,248
These are low social charges,
through controlled migratory flows.

3724
04:58:49,330 --> 04:58:55,873
It is confidence and order that will get
businesses back on their feet and bring

3725
04:58:55,954 --> 04:58:57,154
them peace.

3726
04:58:58,594 --> 04:59:03,154
Thank you very much. Now it's time for the
European Commission to answer the debate.

3727
04:59:03,208 --> 04:59:06,574
Commissioner Serafin, the turn
is yours. You have two minutes.

3728
04:59:08,074 --> 04:59:13,781
Thank you, Mr. President. Honorable members,
I will refer to some of the comments

3729
04:59:13,851 --> 04:59:19,770
lines of today's debate. It's true that for
the success of the of our simplification

3730
04:59:19,840 --> 04:59:23,292
agenda, it 's not enough
to have only strategies;

3731
04:59:23,363 --> 04:59:29,211
they also need to be implemented. So that
leads me to repeating the point I made at

3732
04:59:29,281 --> 04:59:34,847
the beginning: how important it is that
co-legislators work on the basis of the

3733
04:59:34,918 --> 04:59:40,554
Commission's proposals, and how important
it is to avoid also goldplating at the

3734
04:59:40,625 --> 04:59:46,472
national level. That is the only way to
make sure that our businesses, including in

3735
04:59:46,543 --> 04:59:51,475
particular small and medium-sized
businesses, can feel the difference.

3736
04:59:51,545 --> 04:59:54,575
Then the second point
I would like to make:

3737
04:59:54,645 --> 05:00:00,563
that is the question of how we do the rules
at the European level, how we make rules

3738
05:00:00,634 --> 05:00:03,664
at the European level.
I will repeat again:

3739
05:00:03,734 --> 05:00:09,089
once only principle, this is the principle
which is guiding now the European

3740
05:00:09,159 --> 05:00:12,541
Commission, and we will
stick to that principle.

3741
05:00:12,611 --> 05:00:18,318
Which means that once the information has
been provided, we cannot, we should not

3742
05:00:18,389 --> 05:00:21,982
ask the business to provide
it for the second time.

3743
05:00:22,052 --> 05:00:27,971
We should also definitely use further AI,
digital tools to reduce compliance cost s,

3744
05:00:28,041 --> 05:00:31,916
and unnecessary administrative
work. That is also true.

3745
05:00:31,987 --> 05:00:37,835
And let me also tell you that for the next
year, in the Commission working program,

3746
05:00:37,905 --> 05:00:43,330
we will have some further simp lification
proposals in areas such as banking,

3747
05:00:43,401 --> 05:00:48,614
transport, and housing. Now let me
refer to Honorable Member Varborn, who.

3748
05:00:48,685 --> 05:00:54,462
Attracted our attention to the fact that
the Commission is following the principle

3749
05:00:54,533 --> 05:00:59,324
one in one out. It's true, this is
the formal approach that we have.

3750
05:00:59,394 --> 05:01:05,171
We are following this principle since 2022,
formally speaking, because in practice

3751
05:01:05,242 --> 05:01:09,540
the approach we are implementing
right now goes much further.

3752
05:01:09,610 --> 05:01:15,528
I got the data before this debate. Last
year, Commission proposals we have propos ed

3753
05:01:15,599 --> 05:01:21,376
additional 247 million of additional
administrative costs, and at the same time 15

3754
05:01:21,447 --> 05:01:24,617
billion of reduction of
administrative costs.

3755
05:01:24,688 --> 05:01:28,774
So in practice the principle
last year was one in 6 1 out.

3756
05:01:29,194 --> 05:01:36,296
Thank you. Thank you very much. Now it's
time for the Councillor to answer the

3757
05:01:36,387 --> 05:01:39,574
debate. Mr. Dully. For two minutes.

3758
05:01:40,834 --> 05:01:44,660
Thank you very much, and thank you
for the contributions of so many.

3759
05:01:44,716 --> 05:01:48,993
The Council took note of the call for
from several member states for further

3760
05:01:49,049 --> 05:01:53,382
simplification, including through
legislative and regulatory self- restraint.

3761
05:01:53,438 --> 05:01:57,658
This was touched upon during the meeting
of the General Assembly Council in

3762
05:01:57,714 --> 05:02:02,328
September, 22nd of September, and further
re iterated in the latest conclusions of

3763
05:02:02,385 --> 05:02:07,055
the Council. Council also notes the calls
by the European Council last week for the

3764
05:02:07,111 --> 05:02:11,444
Commission to put forward further
initiatives to avoid goldplating and reduce

3765
05:02:11,500 --> 05:02:16,170
administrative and regulatory burdens,
especially for small and medium enterprises.

3766
05:02:16,226 --> 05:02:19,377
And we stand ready to play
our part in relation to that.

3767
05:02:19,434 --> 05:02:24,104
A number of people raised the issue of
packaging, and the impact that that has, and

3768
05:02:24,160 --> 05:02:28,549
the burden it has, particularly on SMEs.
Now, I just want to let you know that

3769
05:02:28,605 --> 05:02:32,882
COREPER will today hold a discussion
on the extended producer responsibility

3770
05:02:32,938 --> 05:02:36,426
regulation, and will seek a
mandate to enter into institution.

3771
05:02:36,483 --> 05:02:41,097
Negotiations to alleviate the disproportionate
burden on small operators, affected

3772
05:02:41,153 --> 05:02:45,373
by the entry into application of key
provisions of the packaging act, waste

3773
05:02:45,429 --> 05:02:49,649
regulation of the 12th of August. And
it is important that we alleviate any

3774
05:02:49,706 --> 05:02:54,376
disproportionate burden for small businesses,
and as the Presidency is committed to

3775
05:02:54,432 --> 05:02:58,202
entering into that inter -institutional
negotiations without delay.

3776
05:02:58,258 --> 05:03:02,703
I know quite a number of people raised
the issue about simplification, and it's

3777
05:03:02,760 --> 05:03:07,430
connected ness to competitiveness, and of
course the Council is very clear on that.

3778
05:03:07,486 --> 05:03:12,100
However, simplification does not have to
mean a retrenchment from an environmental

3779
05:03:12,156 --> 05:03:15,645
standard, nor does it mean an
under mining of workers' rights.

3780
05:03:15,701 --> 05:03:19,077
And from a Presidency perspective,
we're very clear on that.

3781
05:03:19,134 --> 05:03:23,804
Just in reaching agreements between our
institutions and on the outstanding omnibus

3782
05:03:23,860 --> 05:03:28,136
packages without delay will provide I
believe further necessary and tangible

3783
05:03:28,193 --> 05:03:32,075
financial and administrative relief
to economic operators, regulatory

3784
05:03:32,131 --> 05:03:36,858
predictability, all the while boosting the
union's competitiveness and deepening the

3785
05:03:36,914 --> 05:03:40,234
single market, which I think
most contributors felt was nec

3786
05:03:40,354 --> 05:03:44,808
essary. There's still work to be done
on the outstanding omnibuses, and let me

3787
05:03:44,865 --> 05:03:49,490
mention as I said that COREPER will today
seek to agree a mand ate on the digital

3788
05:03:49,547 --> 05:03:53,259
and environmental omnibuses, where
we are eager to enter into the

3789
05:03:53,316 --> 05:03:56,057
inter-institutional
negotiations without del ay.

3790
05:03:56,114 --> 05:04:00,911
And this debate has also shown that we
broadly share the same objectives, however if

3791
05:04:00,968 --> 05:04:05,422
we work hand in hand in a spirit of
cooperation, and compromise, will turn our

3792
05:04:05,479 --> 05:04:10,161
shared commitments into tangible results.
And I certainly listened to a number who

3793
05:04:10,218 --> 05:04:13,530
wanted action now rather than
further talk or more papers.

3794
05:04:13,587 --> 05:04:15,814
It's about action. Thank you very much.

3795
05:04:17,794 --> 05:04:23,593
Thank you very much. With that, the debate
is closed, and the sitting is suspended.

3796
05:04:23,663 --> 05:04:26,737
Because it will be
resumed in a few minutes.

3797
05:04:26,807 --> 05:04:30,300
With the next point, that
it has to start at 2:15.

3798
05:04:30,370 --> 05:04:34,771
To the presentation of the Court
of Auditors and a report 2025.

3799
05:04:34,841 --> 05:04:38,614
With that, the sitting is
resumed for this 10 minutes.

3800
05:12:21,674 --> 05:12:27,409
The seating is resumed, and we are going
to continue with the next item on the

3801
05:12:27,482 --> 05:12:33,291
agenda, that is the presentation of the
Court of Audit ors' annual report 2025.

3802
05:12:33,364 --> 05:12:38,291
The first speaker is Mr. Murphy,
coming from the Court of Auditors.

3803
05:12:38,364 --> 05:12:39,614
For five minutes.

3804
05:12:44,774 --> 05:12:49,891
Thank you, President. Honorable members,
Commissioner, Representative of the

3805
05:12:49,958 --> 05:12:55,479
Council, Presidency, Minister Dooley. I'm
very pleased to be here today to present

3806
05:12:55,547 --> 05:13:01,135
the key findings and core messages from
the European Court of Auditors' 2025 annual

3807
05:13:01,202 --> 05:13:06,791
report. It identifies risks, shares lessons,
and makes practical recommendations to

3808
05:13:06,858 --> 05:13:11,841
support Parliament and other E U
institutions in their decision-making and

3809
05:13:11,908 --> 05:13:17,025
legislative roles. As negotiations on
the next seven-year EU budget, the MFF

3810
05:13:17,092 --> 05:13:22,546
continue, our annual report examines the
current budget and draws lessons for the

3811
05:13:22,613 --> 05:13:25,643
next. The key takeaways
of our annual report:

3812
05:13:25,711 --> 05:13:30,087
we provide a clean opinion on the
reliability of the EU accounts;

3813
05:13:30,154 --> 05:13:35,810
however, we emphasize some matters related
to the introduction of the new accounting

3814
05:13:35,877 --> 05:13:41,466
system SUMA. We also provide a clean opinion
on the EU revenue, which was free from

3815
05:13:41,533 --> 05:13:47,054
material error but, as we always say, this
is based on the book ed revenue and not

3816
05:13:47,121 --> 05:13:52,306
the unreported revenue. Regarding the
regularity of expenditure, we offer two

3817
05:13:52,373 --> 05:13:57,356
separate opinions, one for the traditional
EU budget and one for the RR F.

3818
05:13:57,423 --> 05:14:02,607
Reflecting the different nature of these
types of spending, we start with the

3819
05:14:02,675 --> 05:14:07,926
traditional EU budget spending. Our
estimated level of error increased to 3.8%

3820
05:14:07,994 --> 05:14:13,582
compared with 3. 6% the previous year. This
is above our materiality threshold, and

3821
05:14:13,649 --> 05:14:18,901
given the significant and widespread
nature of the er rors identified, we have

3822
05:14:18,968 --> 05:14:24,624
issued an adverse opinion on EU budget
expenditure for the seventh consecutive year.

3823
05:14:24,691 --> 05:14:30,347
Our audit covered expenditure totaling 130.8
billion euros under the general budget.

3824
05:14:30,414 --> 05:14:35,801
The largest contributor to our error rate
was natural resources and environment,

3825
05:14:35,868 --> 05:14:38,763
which had an estimated
level of error at 3.

3826
05:14:38,831 --> 05:14:44,419
9% compared to 2.6% the previous year.
Cohesions, resilience, cohesion, resilience,

3827
05:14:44,486 --> 05:14:47,718
and values had an estimated
level of error of 6.

3828
05:14:47,786 --> 05:14:53,239
6% compared to 5.7% the previous year.
Together, these two spending areas account

3829
05:14:53,307 --> 05:14:56,606
for almost two-thirds of
our audited expenditure.

3830
05:14:56,673 --> 05:14:59,972
This has important
implications for the next MFF.

3831
05:15:00,040 --> 05:15:04,214
The proposals would place great
responsibility on national aut

3832
05:15:04,274 --> 05:15:07,507
horities to manage EU funds
and provide assurance.

3833
05:15:07,571 --> 05:15:10,869
Even though we cannot yet
fully rely on their work.

3834
05:15:10,934 --> 05:15:15,072
We recognize that national
authorities face capacity challenges.

3835
05:15:15,136 --> 05:15:20,438
Bringing the common agricultural policy
and cohesion policy into a single fund may

3836
05:15:20,503 --> 05:15:23,283
offer opportunities to
simplify the system.

3837
05:15:23,347 --> 05:15:28,455
However, while this could make the
administrative administration easier for the

3838
05:15:28,520 --> 05:15:33,822
Commission, we are concerned that the
burden may simply shift to the member states

3839
05:15:33,886 --> 05:15:38,930
and beneficiaries. Who are already under
pressure to manage the current funds.

3840
05:15:38,994 --> 05:15:44,102
Ultimately, any reforms aimed at
simplification must not come at the expense of

3841
05:15:44,167 --> 05:15:49,598
accountability. In terms of the recovery
and resilience facility, as we know, it has

3842
05:15:49,662 --> 05:15:53,994
a different delivery model from
the traditional EU budget spending.

3843
05:15:54,059 --> 05:15:59,361
Whereby payments depend on the satisfactory
fulfillment of milestones and targets,

3844
05:15:59,426 --> 05:16:03,628
not on the actual costs or compliance
with EU and national rules.

3845
05:16:03,693 --> 05:16:08,283
We therefore apply a separate
methodology and issue a separate opinion.

3846
05:16:08,348 --> 05:16:12,033
In 2025, RRF expenditure
amounted to 45. 4 billion euros.

3847
05:16:12,098 --> 05:16:17,529
In payments to nine member states, we found
milestones and targets that had not been

3848
05:16:17,594 --> 05:16:22,508
satisfactorily fulfilled, as well as
issues involving double funding and the

3849
05:16:22,572 --> 05:16:27,809
eligibility period. We also identified
weaknesses in the design of milestones and

3850
05:16:27,874 --> 05:16:33,047
targets, gaps in the Commission's monitoring,
and persistent shortcomings in the

3851
05:16:33,111 --> 05:16:36,085
reliability of member
states' control systems.

3852
05:16:36,150 --> 05:16:39,965
We therefore issued a qualified
opinion on RRF expenditure.

3853
05:16:40,029 --> 05:16:45,396
In addition, we found that previously agreed
milestones and targets were amended to

3854
05:16:45,461 --> 05:16:50,892
reflect what member states had actually
already achieved, lowering the initial level

3855
05:16:50,956 --> 05:16:54,189
of ambition without affecting
the related payment.

3856
05:16:54,254 --> 05:16:59,685
This weakens the link between funding and
delivery, and risks allowing payments when

3857
05:16:59,749 --> 05:17:05,116
performance falls short. Member states had
until the 30th of September this year to

3858
05:17:05,181 --> 05:17:08,155
submit their final RRF
grant payment requests.

3859
05:17:08,219 --> 05:17:13,198
Twenty-one requests were submitted that
month, including eight on the 29th of

3860
05:17:13,263 --> 05:17:16,754
September and a further eight
on the 30th of September

3861
05:17:16,874 --> 05:17:22,382
. The Commission must now process and
pay around 90 billion euros by the end of

3862
05:17:22,452 --> 05:17:28,169
2026. Our past experience has shown that
end-of-period spending pressure increases

3863
05:17:28,239 --> 05:17:32,423
the risk of noncompliance,
fraud, and substand ard projects.

3864
05:17:32,492 --> 05:17:38,001
This is all the more concerning given
that, at the end of 2025, 21% of the EPOs

3865
05:17:38,070 --> 05:17:42,114
active expend iture fraud
investigations were RRF-related.

3866
05:17:42,184 --> 05:17:47,971
So in terms of the implications for the
next MFF, as the proposed delivery model is

3867
05:17:48,041 --> 05:17:53,619
likely to draw on the recovery and
resilience fac ility, we must learn from this

3868
05:17:53,689 --> 05:17:59,127
experience. If EU funding moves away
from a cost-based model, that is based on

3869
05:17:59,197 --> 05:18:04,427
milestones and targets, they must be
credible, clearly defiant, objectively

3870
05:18:04,496 --> 05:18:08,122
measurable, and directly
linked to intended results.

3871
05:18:08,192 --> 05:18:11,399
Performance information
must also be reliable.

3872
05:18:11,469 --> 05:18:16,838
Transparent and independently verifiable.
Our assessment is that the proposed

3873
05:18:16,907 --> 05:18:22,764
framework remains weak. In its current form,
it does not make it possible to measure

3874
05:18:22,834 --> 05:18:26,181
adequately wh at EU
spending will have achieved.

3875
05:18:26,250 --> 05:18:31,968
Our annual report also shows that EU
borrowing could reach 1 trillion euros by the

3876
05:18:32,038 --> 05:18:37,825
year 2027. And while debt increases, the
Commission's proposals for the next budget

3877
05:18:37,895 --> 05:18:43,403
also allow for potential substantial new
borrowing, including 15 0 billion from

3878
05:18:43,473 --> 05:18:49,260
member states' national and regional plans,
the so-called catalyst statement, up to

3879
05:18:49,329 --> 05:18:54,907
100 billion in additional support for
Ukraine, and the potential use of a severe

3880
05:18:54,977 --> 05:19:00,834
crisis instrument of 395 billion euros. So
overall, we can say that there has been a

3881
05:19:00,904 --> 05:19:06,621
slight increase in the error rate, the
typology of err ors remains the same, which

3882
05:19:06,691 --> 05:19:12,478
is concerning, and we just would like to
bring attention to the increasing level of

3883
05:19:12,548 --> 05:19:17,150
debt and the related ob ligations
this gives to the member states.

3884
05:19:17,219 --> 05:19:18,614
Thank you very much.

3885
05:19:22,154 --> 05:19:27,710
Thank you very much, Mr. Murphy. President
of the Court of Auditors, and now the

3886
05:19:27,780 --> 05:19:32,225
next speaker is the European
Commission. Commissioner Seraphine.

3887
05:19:32,294 --> 05:19:33,614
The floor is yours.

3888
05:19:36,554 --> 05:19:42,695
Mr. President, honorable members, let me
begin by thanking the Court for the annual

3889
05:19:42,769 --> 05:19:48,171
report and for the constructive
cooperation throughout the audit process.

3890
05:19:48,245 --> 05:19:54,238
The Commission welcomes the Court's
unqualified audit opinion on the EU accounts.

3891
05:19:54,312 --> 05:19:58,826
Confirming that they are complete,
transparent, and reliable.

3892
05:19:58,900 --> 05:20:05,115
This result is particularly significant
because in 2025, we have implemented the our

3893
05:20:05,189 --> 05:20:11,183
system SUMMA, which was the first year of
SUMMA accounting system, SUMMA being in

3894
05:20:11,257 --> 05:20:17,472
pla ce. At the same time, we also want to
welcome the Court's assessment that, as in

3895
05:20:17,546 --> 05:20:22,874
previous years, the level of error
in revenue in 20 25 was not material.

3896
05:20:22,948 --> 05:20:28,867
But we take very seriously the Court's
conclusion on expenditure and its adverse

3897
05:20:28,941 --> 05:20:34,195
opinion on the legal ity and regularity
of the MFF expenditure, with 3.

3898
05:20:34,269 --> 05:20:40,262
5 on average error rate, and its qualified
opinion on the recovery and resilience

3899
05:20:40,336 --> 05:20:46,478
facility. We should always recall, when we
talk about the error rate, that we we do

3900
05:20:46,552 --> 05:20:49,659
not talk about the rate of fraud or waste.

3901
05:20:49,733 --> 05:20:55,579
We talk about the error rate, which in
most of the overwhelming majority of the

3902
05:20:55,653 --> 05:20:58,982
cases is the rate of
administrative mistakes.

3903
05:20:59,056 --> 05:21:05,124
Nevertheless, the high level, higher
slightly higher than last year, is the reason

3904
05:21:05,198 --> 05:21:11,265
for concern, and in particular the higher
levels reported for cohesion and natural

3905
05:21:11,339 --> 05:21:14,521
resources require our
particular attention.

3906
05:21:14,595 --> 05:21:20,810
For the recovery and resilience facility,
the Court's qualified opinion reflects its

3907
05:21:20,884 --> 05:21:27,100
view that in 16 out of 42 0 milestones and
targets examined, they were shortcomings.

3908
05:21:27,174 --> 05:21:33,241
The Commission will continue to work closely
with EU member states, which manage a

3909
05:21:33,315 --> 05:21:39,235
large share of EU expenditu re. We'll do
so to prevent errors before they occur,

3910
05:21:39,309 --> 05:21:43,156
detect weaknesses, and
correct them when necessar y.

3911
05:21:43,230 --> 05:21:49,298
Specifically, as regards the cohesion
policy, we are implementing right now action

3912
05:21:49,372 --> 05:21:55,143
plans with member states audit aut
horities to address weaknesses of detection

3913
05:21:55,217 --> 05:22:00,989
capacity we have also increased the
coverage of Commission's audits to check a

3914
05:22:01,063 --> 05:22:06,686
larger number of audit authorities and
programs where shortcomings have been

3915
05:22:06,760 --> 05:22:07,960
identified.

3916
05:22:08,174 --> 05:22:13,523
As regards natural resources, we'll leverage
new technologies to improve monitoring,

3917
05:22:13,587 --> 05:22:18,427
such as the area monitoring system,
Copern icus Sentinel data and artificial

3918
05:22:18,491 --> 05:22:23,777
intelligence, where necessary we also apply
financial corrections and recoveries to

3919
05:22:23,840 --> 05:22:28,808
protect the EU budget. The Commission
values recommendations made by the ECHA.

3920
05:22:28,871 --> 05:22:34,030
In fact, more than 90% of the ECHA
recommendations are accepted and are being and

3921
05:22:34,093 --> 05:22:37,596
are or have been impl emented
by the by the Commission.

3922
05:22:37,660 --> 05:22:42,882
Let me conclude by reaffirming the Commission
that the Commission will continue to

3923
05:22:42,946 --> 05:22:47,977
act on the identified weaknesses, follow
up on the Court's recommendations, and

3924
05:22:48,040 --> 05:22:51,033
strengthen the system to
protect the EU budget.

3925
05:22:51,097 --> 05:22:52,297
Thank you.

3926
05:22:54,374 --> 05:22:59,024
Thank you very much, Commissioner. Now
it's the turn for the political groups.

3927
05:22:59,083 --> 05:23:03,614
The first speaker is Mrs. Kolar for two
minutes, representing the EPP group.

3928
05:23:05,774 --> 05:23:06,974
Thank you, Chair.

3929
05:23:08,294 --> 05:23:13,034
The European Court of Auditors'
annual report sends a clear message.

3930
05:23:13,103 --> 05:23:18,052
It is not enough for the Union's
budget to finance Europe's priorities;

3931
05:23:18,122 --> 05:23:23,279
we must also ensure that every euro
is spent in accordance with the rules,

3932
05:23:23,349 --> 05:23:27,183
transparently, and in a way
that delivers real results.

3933
05:23:27,252 --> 05:23:32,410
For the seventh year in a row, the
European Court of Auditors has issued a

3934
05:23:32,480 --> 05:23:37,010
disclaimer opinion on the legality
and regularity of EU spending.

3935
05:23:37,080 --> 05:23:42,865
The estimated error rate rose to 3.8% in
2025, while in cohesion policy, the figure

3936
05:23:42,935 --> 05:23:48,092
reached 6.6%. As Members of the European
Parliament, we cannot let this go

3937
05:23:48,162 --> 05:23:51,577
unchallenged; we must find
the reasons behind it.

3938
05:23:51,647 --> 05:23:57,014
It is clear that the error rate does
not equate to the number of fraud cases.

3939
05:23:57,084 --> 05:24:02,869
Yet it still raises important questions.
Are the persistent shortcomings in the use

3940
05:24:02,938 --> 05:24:08,584
of EU funds so serious and widespread? Or
are our rules too complex, impractical,

3941
05:24:08,654 --> 05:24:11,790
and thus lead to overly
formalistic controls?

3942
05:24:11,860 --> 05:24:17,366
I ask the Court of Auditors to provide
answers and guidance on these questions.

3943
05:24:17,436 --> 05:24:22,942
The correct answers are particularly
important now, as negotiations on the next

3944
05:24:23,012 --> 05:24:28,867
multiannual financial framework are underway
and we plan to significantly reform the

3945
05:24:28,936 --> 05:24:34,721
way EU funds are spent. We also count on
the European Court of Auditors to continue

3946
05:24:34,791 --> 05:24:39,113
its independent, critical and
constructive work in the future.

3947
05:24:39,182 --> 05:24:44,967
Because every euro must count, and we must
be able to account for every euro spent.

3948
05:24:45,037 --> 05:24:46,237
Thank you.

3949
05:24:50,054 --> 05:24:52,699
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mrs.

3950
05:24:52,758 --> 05:24:55,814
Tavares for two minutes,
representing the S&D group.

3951
05:24:56,714 --> 05:24:59,174
Thank you, President,
Commissario Serafins.

3952
05:24:59,234 --> 05:25:04,118
Mr President of the European Court of
Auditors, I naturally begin by thanking this

3953
05:25:04,177 --> 05:25:09,001
report and all those that you have produced,
in particular those that have direct

3954
05:25:09,061 --> 05:25:12,337
relevance for the next
multiannual financial framework.

3955
05:25:12,396 --> 05:25:17,399
The European Court of Auditors' independent
assessments help this Parliament to make

3956
05:25:17,458 --> 05:25:22,163
good decisions, ensure that public money
is well managed and that decisions are

3957
05:25:22,223 --> 05:25:27,226
based on reliable data. We are at a decisive
moment for the next multiannual budget.

3958
05:25:27,285 --> 05:25:32,169
Parliament approved its mandate in April;
the Council is still trying to build its

3959
05:25:32,229 --> 05:25:37,112
own. And what is at stake is not just the
size of the budget, but also how it will

3960
05:25:37,172 --> 05:25:40,805
be financed, implemented and
controlled. The report is clear:

3961
05:25:40,864 --> 05:25:45,808
in traditional expenditure, error rates
remain above the materiality threshold, and

3962
05:25:45,867 --> 05:25:50,870
they are significant and widespread. And
we still cannot fully trust the work of the

3963
05:25:50,930 --> 05:25:55,277
national authorities, even though many
of them are working under capacity

3964
05:25:55,337 --> 05:26:00,220
constraints. Now, the Commission's proposal
gives these same authorities even more

3965
05:26:00,280 --> 05:26:04,211
responsibility for the management
and guarantee of European funds.

3966
05:26:04,270 --> 05:26:08,142
The Court also confirms what this
Parliament has always defended:

3967
05:26:08,201 --> 05:26:13,025
simplifying means reducing unnecessary
bureaucracy, but it cannot shift it to the

3968
05:26:13,085 --> 05:26:17,075
Member States and must never, at
any moment, weaken accountability.

3969
05:26:17,135 --> 05:26:21,601
The Court also urges us to learn from
the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

3970
05:26:21,661 --> 05:26:26,604
The milestones and targets must be credible,
measurable and linked to results, with

3971
05:26:26,664 --> 05:26:30,416
reliable, transparent and
independently verifiable information.

3972
05:26:30,475 --> 05:26:35,359
Finally, a warning: the proposed budget
depends on new revenue amounting to around

3973
05:26:35,419 --> 05:26:40,302
20% of the total. If they do not materialise,
we will naturally have less ambition

3974
05:26:40,362 --> 05:26:45,186
and more indebtedness. That is why we are
defending in this Parliament a European

3975
05:26:45,246 --> 05:26:50,010
budget financed with sustainable and
predictable revenue through new genuine own

3976
05:26:50,070 --> 05:26:53,048
resources, without
overburdening national budgets.

3977
05:26:53,107 --> 05:26:58,050
Reinforcing this, the Council must consider
Parliament’s proposals, alongside those

3978
05:26:58,110 --> 05:27:00,254
of the Commission, in particular the

3979
05:27:00,314 --> 05:27:05,784
proposal for a digital contribution on the
major platforms that could generate up to

3980
05:27:05,849 --> 05:27:11,254
€25 billion per year. The aim is a stable
flow of at least €60 billion annually and

3981
05:27:11,320 --> 05:27:14,966
an agreement on revenue as
swift as that on expenditure.

3982
05:27:15,032 --> 05:27:16,334
Thank you very much.

3983
05:27:18,674 --> 05:27:21,166
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mr.

3984
05:27:21,223 --> 05:27:24,734
Gnodek for one minute and a half,
representing Patriots Group.

3985
05:27:25,454 --> 05:27:31,988
Thank you, Chair. Mr. Commissioner, Mr.
President, I would like to congratulate EC

3986
05:27:32,068 --> 05:27:37,168
HA for preparing a robust and
overall relevant annual report 25.

3987
05:27:37,247 --> 05:27:42,267
ECHA continually proves to be a
reliable partner of this House.

3988
05:27:42,347 --> 05:27:48,881
Now to the report. ECHA concludes again a
negative assessment with confirmed trend

3989
05:27:48,961 --> 05:27:54,379
of growing irregular ities in shared
and direct management programs.

3990
05:27:54,459 --> 05:28:00,754
Definitely something worse for a cost
analysis and some appropriate improvement

3991
05:28:00,834 --> 05:28:07,368
efforts. And I would have an invitation
for two elements for ECHA to be considered

3992
05:28:07,448 --> 05:28:12,707
in the report to com e. The first
one is related to the omnibuses.

3993
05:28:12,787 --> 05:28:19,400
We do many of them, and we would be interested
to hear whether they really simplify

3994
05:28:19,480 --> 05:28:23,544
the lives of EU businesses.
Somehow to quantify it.

3995
05:28:23,624 --> 05:28:30,158
And second element, really a real life
effec tiveness check of EU climate policies

3996
05:28:30,238 --> 05:28:36,612
and spending. Really focus on the results,
not just the fact to which extent the

3997
05:28:36,692 --> 05:28:43,306
money has been spent or not. For example,
last week it turned out that the share of

3998
05:28:43,385 --> 05:28:49,442
EU-based energy-int ensive production
moves outside the EU, which at the end

3999
05:28:49,521 --> 05:28:55,976
increases the global footprint and global
emissions by 46%, which is not good for

4000
05:28:56,055 --> 05:28:59,561
climate, neither for
economy and our safety.

4001
05:28:59,641 --> 05:29:04,980
So if you could elaborate also
deeper in this we would be grateful.

4002
05:29:05,060 --> 05:29:06,494
Thank you so much.

4003
05:29:09,674 --> 05:29:12,484
Thank you very much.
The next speaker is Mr.

4004
05:29:12,548 --> 05:29:15,614
Erickson for one minute,
representing ECR Group.

4005
05:29:17,954 --> 05:29:23,641
An important message from the Court of
Auditors is that the EU’s borrowing is

4006
05:29:23,715 --> 05:29:29,772
increasing at a very rapid pace. This is
an eightfold increase in just five years.

4007
05:29:29,846 --> 05:29:35,533
And as we heard the President say, the
debt burden is expected to reach 1 000

4008
05:29:35,607 --> 05:29:41,368
billion euros by the end of 2027. As a
result of this, interest costs are also

4009
05:29:41,442 --> 05:29:47,646
increasing. The Court of Auditors notes
that they are set to become twice as high as

4010
05:29:47,720 --> 05:29:53,260
the Commission has forecast. The
realisation of this level of debt needs to

4011
05:29:53,334 --> 05:29:59,390
increase. One way would be to report the
debt burden distributed among each Member

4012
05:29:59,464 --> 05:30:04,634
State and add it on top of their
national debt as a percentage of GDP.

4013
05:30:04,708 --> 05:30:10,395
Each member state's national debt would
then be almost 4% higher than what is

4014
05:30:10,469 --> 05:30:16,452
currently reported. This would mean that
even fewer countries meet the Maastricht

4015
05:30:16,526 --> 05:30:20,145
criteria and that the
maximum public debt is 60%.

4016
05:30:20,219 --> 05:30:25,242
This is serious, and we must break
this trend of constant borrowing.

4017
05:30:25,315 --> 05:30:26,515
Thank you.

4018
05:30:29,114 --> 05:30:32,655
And now I give the floor to my colleague
Mr Šestál from the Renew Europe group,

4019
05:30:32,700 --> 05:30:33,900
please.

4020
05:30:35,474 --> 05:30:38,946
Mr President of the Court
of Auditors, Commissioner.

4021
05:30:39,013 --> 05:30:44,355
I obviously want to start by thanking
President Murphy for his presentation, but

4022
05:30:44,422 --> 05:30:48,295
also more generally for the
work of the Court of Auditors.

4023
05:30:48,361 --> 05:30:53,970
In its annual report, it is stated that 94%
of the recommendations made in 2025 have

4024
05:30:54,037 --> 05:30:57,443
been fully or partially
accepted by the Commission.

4025
05:30:57,509 --> 05:31:03,052
And yet, the error rate has risen to 3.8%,
the model of the Recovery and Resilience

4026
05:31:03,119 --> 05:31:08,728
Facility continues to have flaws regarding
milestones or the risk of double funding,

4027
05:31:08,794 --> 05:31:14,403
and absorption rates remain insufficient.
The discharge exercise is not trivial, nor

4028
05:31:14,470 --> 05:31:19,679
is it a mere administrative formality,
and it must not be instrumentalised for

4029
05:31:19,745 --> 05:31:24,687
political score-settling either. Next
May, at the end of our work, all our

4030
05:31:24,753 --> 05:31:29,628
resolutions must set out clear,
ambitious recommendations to the European

4031
05:31:29,695 --> 05:31:35,170
institutions and to European taxpayers on
how their money has been spent, for what

4032
05:31:35,237 --> 05:31:37,574
purpose and to what end. Thank you.

4033
05:31:40,634 --> 05:31:41,774
Thank you.

4034
05:31:41,774 --> 05:31:44,912
And now I give the floor to my colleague
Mr Frohn from the Greens/EFA Group, the

4035
05:31:44,952 --> 05:31:46,034
European Free Alliance.

4036
05:31:46,034 --> 05:31:47,234
Certainly.

4037
05:31:47,414 --> 05:31:52,205
Dear colleagues, thank you to the
Court of Auditors, and Commissioner.

4038
05:31:52,274 --> 05:31:57,887
When you read through the report of the
Court of Auditors, you have to say that it

4039
05:31:57,955 --> 05:32:03,363
makes your hair stand on end, particularly
in the examples that you find there,

4040
05:32:03,431 --> 05:32:08,839
where agricultural funds are being
distributed, to shepherds, in Crete, who for

4041
05:32:08,907 --> 05:32:14,383
example, 226 kilometres away, where they
let their animals graze, and which they

4042
05:32:14,451 --> 05:32:17,600
apparently had to travel
to by ship every day.

4043
05:32:17,668 --> 05:32:23,213
Even in Germany, further education centres
receive far more computers and tablets

4044
05:32:23,281 --> 05:32:28,689
than there are people. Unfortunately, we
spend many billions every year without

4045
05:32:28,757 --> 05:32:34,302
following the rules. And this applies to
parts of the EU budget that have already

4046
05:32:34,370 --> 05:32:39,846
been audited at national level. So,
unfortunately, we can only conclude that our

4047
05:32:39,914 --> 05:32:43,131
control systems are not
working as they should.

4048
05:32:43,200 --> 05:32:48,950
And we really need to urgently address this,
both at national and European level, so

4049
05:32:49,018 --> 05:32:53,741
that we don’t waste and misuse four
to five billion euros every year.

4050
05:32:53,810 --> 05:32:55,010
Thank you.

4051
05:32:56,654 --> 05:33:00,344
Thank you. And now I would like to call
on my colleague Fran Gan from the The Left

4052
05:33:00,389 --> 05:33:01,874
group in the European Parliament.

4053
05:33:01,994 --> 05:33:03,194
Please the floor is yours.

4054
05:33:04,634 --> 05:33:08,079
So the question is, can the
RRF be properly audited?

4055
05:33:08,146 --> 05:33:13,711
I'd say no, not in the traditional sense.
The RRF operates on a financing not linked

4056
05:33:13,778 --> 05:33:16,627
to cost mod el. There
is a cost blind spot.

4057
05:33:16,693 --> 05:33:21,066
The Commission does not systematically
track actual project bills.

4058
05:33:21,132 --> 05:33:26,631
So it is mathematically impossible to
calculate if EU citizens got value for money.

4059
05:33:26,698 --> 05:33:32,263
I don't know that the people in the crowd
listen, but they're wasting your money and

4060
05:33:32,330 --> 05:33:35,841
we don't know. We now face
a cliff on accountability.

4061
05:33:35,907 --> 05:33:41,009
The RRF expired this September because
countries delayed much implementation,

4062
05:33:41,076 --> 05:33:46,111
milestones were rushed through, and
checked off at the end of the facility's

4063
05:33:46,177 --> 05:33:50,683
lifespan. Introducing massive admin
error and audit oversight risks.

4064
05:33:50,749 --> 05:33:53,996
I don't envy the court's
task in the years ahead.

4065
05:33:54,062 --> 05:33:58,567
Your job is to monitor how EU funds
are spent and you try your best.

4066
05:33:58,634 --> 05:34:03,802
It is impossible to do that when the
Commission has put a hand over your eyes.

4067
05:34:03,868 --> 05:34:08,639
Simplification that comes at the cost
of accountability is unacceptable.

4068
05:34:08,705 --> 05:34:12,614
But that seems to be what we're
doing. Thank you very much.

4069
05:34:14,054 --> 05:34:18,265
Thank you. And now I would like to ask
my colleague Ms Lajková from the European

4070
05:34:18,317 --> 05:34:20,054
Sovereign Peoples’ Group. Please.

4071
05:34:23,714 --> 05:34:28,344
Thank you, Mr President. The European
Court of Auditors is one of the few

4072
05:34:28,408 --> 05:34:32,721
institutions in the European Union
that still does its job honestly.

4073
05:34:32,784 --> 05:34:37,415
Thank you, Mr President. The European
Court of Auditors is one of the few

4074
05:34:37,478 --> 05:34:41,792
institutions in the European Union
that still does its job honestly.

4075
05:34:41,918 --> 05:34:46,803
And that is precisely why it is absolutely
scandalous that this Parliament is

4076
05:34:46,866 --> 05:34:52,194
blocking every attempt by the European Court
of Auditors to audit the billions being

4077
05:34:52,258 --> 05:34:57,015
sent to Ukraine. Cartel parties are
blocking the audit without explanation.

4078
05:34:57,078 --> 05:35:02,216
But let us be clear: the audit is not
questioning whether aid should be provided,

4079
05:35:02,279 --> 05:35:06,402
but is asking whether the money
reached where it was supposed to.

4080
05:35:06,466 --> 05:35:11,604
At the same time, Ukrainian anti-corruption
bodies themselves uncovered a bribery

4081
05:35:11,667 --> 05:35:16,488
scheme involving around USD 100 million
within the highest circles of power.

4082
05:35:16,551 --> 05:35:21,879
In this environment, the money of European
taxpayers is being spent without any real

4083
05:35:21,943 --> 05:35:27,081
oversight. Parliaments exist to decide
how to spend people's money and to control

4084
05:35:27,144 --> 05:35:32,218
the flow of funds. But this Parliament
prefers to talk about the urgent need for

4085
05:35:32,282 --> 05:35:35,453
urgent needs rather than
fulfilling its core task:

4086
05:35:35,517 --> 05:35:38,054
controlling how people's money is spent.

4087
05:35:41,054 --> 05:35:43,334
Now I would like to ask Ms
colleague Vincik to take the floor.

4088
05:35:45,914 --> 05:35:50,054
Mr President, Commissioner, every year we
are faced with the same question in this

4089
05:35:50,105 --> 05:35:54,245
report. Mr President, Commissioner, every
year we are faced with the same question

4090
05:35:54,296 --> 05:35:58,335
in this report: what is the level of fraud
and what is it due to in this complex

4091
05:35:58,386 --> 05:36:02,526
system? Mr President, Commissioner, every
year we are faced with the same question

4092
05:36:02,577 --> 05:36:06,667
in this report. What is the level of fraud
and what is due to the complex system?

4093
05:36:06,717 --> 05:36:10,756
The Court of Auditors itself says that
the error rate is not a measure of fraud,

4094
05:36:10,807 --> 05:36:13,433
since it includes everything
from forms to receipts.

4095
05:36:13,483 --> 05:36:16,159
This year, however, there
has been a slight increase.

4096
05:36:16,210 --> 05:36:20,199
The error rate is increasing. And the
problem does not necessarily lie with the

4097
05:36:20,249 --> 05:36:22,774
beneficiary organisations,
but also in the system.

4098
05:36:22,824 --> 05:36:26,864
We know this from the business world. A
large company has its own department for

4099
05:36:26,914 --> 05:36:30,449
funding, whereas a municipality or
a medium-sized enterprise does not.

4100
05:36:30,499 --> 05:36:34,135
What concerns me most, however, is
the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

4101
05:36:34,185 --> 05:36:37,215
Nine out of 37 payments were
not in conformity with the law.

4102
05:36:37,265 --> 05:36:40,800
Targets were lowered retrospectively
without sufficient justification.

4103
05:36:40,850 --> 05:36:45,092
This year is the last year of the Recovery
and Resilience Facility and at the end of

4104
05:36:45,142 --> 05:36:48,525
the previous year, 38 percent of
the grants were still outstanding.

4105
05:36:48,576 --> 05:36:52,413
There is therefore still ample opportunity
to monitor the flow of funds more

4106
05:36:52,464 --> 05:36:56,604
closely. Simplification and control are
not contradictory, I am convinced of that.

4107
05:36:56,654 --> 05:37:00,896
Therefore, I expect more precise checks
from the Commission before payments are made

4108
05:37:00,946 --> 05:37:04,935
and from the Member States that they meet
the targets they have set themselves,

4109
05:37:04,986 --> 05:37:06,854
rather than lowering them afterwards.

4110
05:37:09,014 --> 05:37:12,155
Thank you very much. And now I give
the floor to Ms colleague Rajdel.

4111
05:37:12,200 --> 05:37:13,400
Please, go ahead.

4112
05:37:16,154 --> 05:37:20,291
Dear colleagues, Mr President Murphy, I for
my part am concerned about the political

4113
05:37:20,340 --> 05:37:22,852
instrumentalisation of your
two reports from 20 25.

4114
05:37:22,901 --> 05:37:26,988
The contribution report on the funding of
NGOs, which did not identify any specific

4115
05:37:27,038 --> 05:37:31,174
irregularities in the funding of O NGOs,
is being instrumentalised nonetheless, this

4116
05:37:31,224 --> 05:37:35,360
report, to justify a pseudo-inquiry committee
which, for its part, has also revealed

4117
05:37:35,410 --> 05:37:39,497
nothing on the question of NGOs, but which
has contributed to casting opprobrium on

4118
05:37:39,546 --> 05:37:42,551
civil society and to undermining
it undermines our democracy.

4119
05:37:42,600 --> 05:37:46,540
Furthermore, in another 2025 report on
the European anti-fraud institutions, you

4120
05:37:46,589 --> 05:37:50,184
recommend a new system for exchanging
information on fraud suspicions and

4121
05:37:50,233 --> 05:37:54,321
investigations. We share the goal of
strengthening cooperation between the European

4122
05:37:54,370 --> 05:37:58,063
Public Prosecutor's Office and OLAF,
but some colleagues have taken up this

4123
05:37:58,113 --> 05:38:02,200
recommendation without the safeguards.
necessary guarantees for the confidentiality

4124
05:38:02,249 --> 05:38:06,386
of criminal investigations, risking the
weakening of the work of the European Public

4125
05:38:06,436 --> 05:38:10,326
Prosecutor's Office. These two examples
therefore raise a fundamental question,

4126
05:38:10,375 --> 05:38:14,512
which is as follows: how can we prevent the
public instrumentalisation of your work?

4127
05:38:14,561 --> 05:38:18,452
Your reports must make clearer what they
demonstrate, but also what they do not

4128
05:38:18,501 --> 05:38:22,589
allow us to affirm. This is essential to
prevent them from being used for political

4129
05:38:22,638 --> 05:38:24,854
purposes that they do
not justify. Thank you.

4130
05:38:27,434 --> 05:38:29,414
And now I would like to give the
floor to my colleague Mr Sánchez.

4131
05:38:29,444 --> 05:38:29,834
Please.

4132
05:38:29,834 --> 05:38:33,262
On the legality and regularity of
the Union's budgetary expenditure.

4133
05:38:33,313 --> 05:38:37,296
The estimated error rate for expenditure
stands at 3.8 %, and for the cohesion,

4134
05:38:37,346 --> 05:38:40,523
resilience and values heading,
we are even at 6.6 % error rate.

4135
05:38:40,573 --> 05:38:44,708
Ms von der Leyen will tell us that everything
is fine, but the reality is that for

4136
05:38:44,758 --> 05:38:48,590
the seventh consecutive year, the Court
has issued an adverse opinion on the

4137
05:38:48,640 --> 05:38:52,623
irregularities in expenditure. And the
worst part is that these checks are only

4138
05:38:52,674 --> 05:38:56,859
carried out by sampling. We can all imagine
the scandals that slip through the net.

4139
05:38:56,909 --> 05:39:01,094
If the European Union were a company, its
leaders would have been fired a long time

4140
05:39:01,144 --> 05:39:03,463
ago. Added to this is
the opacity in spending.

4141
05:39:03,514 --> 05:39:07,699
Today, in the age of artificial intelligence,
there is no possible control over the

4142
05:39:07,749 --> 05:39:11,631
spending done here; we do not even have
the exhaustive list of final profits.

4143
05:39:11,682 --> 05:39:15,009
A democratic scandal that shocks
no one except the Patriots group.

4144
05:39:15,060 --> 05:39:17,530
We are once again alerting
you to several points.

4145
05:39:17,581 --> 05:39:20,253
We are demanding public
transparency on the spending.

4146
05:39:20,303 --> 05:39:24,337
So, better control of spending. The
controls are insufficient and irregularities

4147
05:39:24,387 --> 05:39:27,513
persist. We also demand that the
FRR model not be generalised.

4148
05:39:27,564 --> 05:39:31,396
That would be dangerous. The Court
itself is now documenting its weaknesses.

4149
05:39:31,446 --> 05:39:33,614
Will you listen to it
and to us? Thank you.

4150
05:39:34,874 --> 05:39:37,334
Will you accept the blue card with—

4151
05:39:37,394 --> 05:39:39,130
Will you accept the blue
card from Mr. Freund?

4152
05:39:39,168 --> 05:39:40,368
Please, Daniel.

4153
05:39:43,034 --> 05:39:48,212
Mr Sanchez, I am here. You have complained
about all this corruption that only your

4154
05:39:48,274 --> 05:39:53,515
party or your group is interested in. In
fact, the offices of your Secretary-General

4155
05:39:53,577 --> 05:39:58,568
have just been searched by the police.
Because your political group continues to

4156
05:39:58,631 --> 05:40:02,062
embezzle hundreds of thousands
of euros, unfortunately.

4157
05:40:02,124 --> 05:40:06,554
You have not spoken about it, but
perhaps you can answer this question:

4158
05:40:06,616 --> 05:40:11,732
why is there so much corruption among the
Patriots and particularly in your party,

4159
05:40:11,794 --> 05:40:14,539
where there are already
so many convictions?

4160
05:40:14,602 --> 05:40:15,974
You do not mention it.

4161
05:40:17,414 --> 05:40:21,897
I know, Mr Freund, that you like communist
regimes and that you have a nostalgia for

4162
05:40:21,950 --> 05:40:25,579
them, and that in those regimes,
in general, justice does not exist.

4163
05:40:25,633 --> 05:40:28,194
We, once again, are
attached to the rule of law.

4164
05:40:28,248 --> 05:40:32,571
I think you often talk about it. The rule
of law is precisely about ensuring that

4165
05:40:32,624 --> 05:40:36,627
there are fair trials. In this case,
there are cases that have not yet been

4166
05:40:36,680 --> 05:40:41,110
definitively ruled on, and I believe that
everyone will have the opportunity to say

4167
05:40:41,163 --> 05:40:44,365
what they have to say regarding
what is currently under way.

4168
05:40:44,418 --> 05:40:48,848
This does not concern the Patriots group;
it concerns the former ID group, of which

4169
05:40:48,901 --> 05:40:53,171
I was not a member. Thank you. In any
case, as regards NGOs, I think it would be

4170
05:40:53,224 --> 05:40:57,494
interesting to look into that as well,
and you may have things to tell us on the

4171
05:40:57,547 --> 05:40:58,747
subject.

4172
05:41:00,974 --> 05:41:04,094
Now I would ask my colleague Mr
Brudžinský to take the floor.

4173
05:41:06,674 --> 05:41:11,590
Thank you very much. Mr President, Mr
Commissioner, European taxpayers' money

4174
05:41:11,654 --> 05:41:16,889
requires greater accountability. The high
error rate of 3.8 % contained in the ETO

4175
05:41:16,953 --> 05:41:21,996
opinion for 2025, again exceeding the 2
% materiality threshold, shows that the

4176
05:41:22,060 --> 05:41:27,103
European Commission should be held
accountable for the actual results of budget

4177
05:41:27,167 --> 05:41:30,551
management, not just for
the declarations it submits.

4178
05:41:30,615 --> 05:41:33,679
We need effective, reliable
control, not a sham.

4179
05:41:33,743 --> 05:41:38,659
In the area of cohesion, the ETO estimated
the error rate at 6.6 %, while the

4180
05:41:38,723 --> 05:41:43,447
Commission indicated only 2.3 %. Despite
methodological differences, these

4181
05:41:43,511 --> 05:41:48,874
discrepancies show the need for greater
transparency in expenditure verification and

4182
05:41:48,937 --> 05:41:51,810
the consistent elimination
of irregularities.

4183
05:41:51,874 --> 05:41:56,535
The Recovery Fund demonstrates the
risks associated with the Commission's

4184
05:41:56,599 --> 05:42:01,834
discretionary actions, particularly through
the freedom to formulate and then meet

4185
05:42:01,897 --> 05:42:07,260
generally defined milestones. In 13 audited
changes, the requirements for milestones

4186
05:42:07,324 --> 05:42:11,538
were already modified after the
payment application was submitted.

4187
05:42:11,601 --> 05:42:16,581
Therefore, the risk of the arbitrary
application of funding conditions towards

4188
05:42:16,645 --> 05:42:19,454
Member States must be
eliminated. Thank you.

4189
05:42:20,654 --> 05:42:23,258
Thank you. And now I give the
floor to my colleague Mr Štreit.

4190
05:42:23,300 --> 05:42:24,500
Please, go ahead.

4191
05:42:27,134 --> 05:42:31,640
Thank you. Dear colleagues, Mr President
of the Court of Auditors Murphy, I am

4192
05:42:31,698 --> 05:42:36,089
pleased to see you again here in
Strasbourg after we also met in Luxembourg.

4193
05:42:36,147 --> 05:42:40,942
Every year, the European Court of Auditors
presents its report, and every year it’s

4194
05:42:41,000 --> 05:42:45,564
the same thing. There is talk of
mismanagement in the EU and in the Commission.

4195
05:42:45,621 --> 05:42:49,550
And what does Ms von der Leyen do?
She is demanding even more money.

4196
05:42:49,608 --> 05:42:54,403
She wants two trillion euros for the next
several multiannual financial frameworks.

4197
05:42:54,461 --> 05:42:59,198
And at the same time, there are shortcomings
with the Corona recovery fund, errors

4198
05:42:59,256 --> 05:43:03,820
in EU spending and mounting debts. Ms
von der Leyen, how do you explain this to

4199
05:43:03,878 --> 05:43:08,269
citizens, that you always want more
money but do not effectively control the

4200
05:43:08,326 --> 05:43:11,504
measures? Ms von der Leyen,
you always want more money.

4201
05:43:11,562 --> 05:43:16,299
But what we need are clear priorities. We
need effective controls and consequences

4202
05:43:16,357 --> 05:43:20,112
for waste. The European Court of
Auditors does its job very well.

4203
05:43:20,170 --> 05:43:23,174
Ms von der Leyen, when will
you finally do your job?

4204
05:43:26,954 --> 05:43:29,774
Now I would like to ask my colleague
Ms Bossdorf to take the floor.

4205
05:43:33,554 --> 05:43:38,973
Almost four billion euros disappear every
year from EU funds alone through opaque

4206
05:43:39,040 --> 05:43:44,258
channels. 17.5 million euros for a
wellness hotel in Croatia, over 100 million

4207
05:43:44,324 --> 05:43:49,743
diverted from a 300 million euro project
for water infrastructure in Romania, the

4208
05:43:49,810 --> 05:43:53,690
Italian mafia apparently
benefiting from the whole affair.

4209
05:43:53,757 --> 05:43:58,574
18 million for manipulated procurement
procedures in Corsica, and so on.

4210
05:43:58,640 --> 05:44:03,390
No single EU policy area is as
susceptible to fraud as cohesion policy.

4211
05:44:03,457 --> 05:44:08,943
Last year, the error rate even rose further,
from 5.7 to 6.6 %, and is thus almost

4212
05:44:09,010 --> 05:44:12,087
twice as high as in the
rest of the EU budget.

4213
05:44:12,154 --> 05:44:16,903
We need consistent recovery of funds
that have been misused and greater

4214
05:44:16,970 --> 05:44:21,185
responsibility in the allocation
of funds in the Member States.

4215
05:44:21,252 --> 05:44:26,470
We Germans, Europe’s paymasters, must
urge the Council to use funds sparingly,

4216
05:44:26,537 --> 05:44:32,089
because German taxpayers’ money must not
be misused to compensate for inadequate EU

4217
05:44:32,156 --> 05:44:33,494
controls. Thank you.

4218
05:44:35,954 --> 05:44:38,294
And now I would like to call on
my colleague Rodneveď, please.

4219
05:44:40,634 --> 05:44:44,469
Thank you, Mr President. We rarely appreciate
our colleagues from the European Court

4220
05:44:44,515 --> 05:44:48,351
of Auditors, who produce various reports.
And in many of those reports, for example,

4221
05:44:48,396 --> 05:44:52,095
they also mention that our policies are
not as correct as they should be, that we

4222
05:44:52,140 --> 05:44:54,058
are not meeting them in the way we should.

4223
05:44:54,104 --> 05:44:57,802
And these reports, which they submit to
us every year, also state that we are not

4224
05:44:57,848 --> 05:45:00,176
managing our affairs as
well as the European Union.

4225
05:45:00,222 --> 05:45:03,053
For seven years in a row, we
have received a negative opinion.

4226
05:45:03,099 --> 05:45:06,569
It is certainly a coincidence that this
seven-year period coincides with the

4227
05:45:06,614 --> 05:45:09,582
presidency of the European Commission
by Ms Ursula von der Leyen.

4228
05:45:09,628 --> 05:45:13,463
The Annual Report now states that this error
rate is 3.8 % in the expenditure of the

4229
05:45:13,509 --> 05:45:17,345
European Union and the European budget. So
I ask, if some European Member State were

4230
05:45:17,390 --> 05:45:20,860
to manage its finances like this, what
would be the reaction of the European

4231
05:45:20,906 --> 05:45:23,006
Commission? This is
really a very big problem.

4232
05:45:23,052 --> 05:45:26,887
We would immediately hear about breaches
of the rules, sanctions and the freezing of

4233
05:45:26,933 --> 05:45:30,632
EU funds. So if we, as the European Union,
manage badly in this way, then this is

4234
05:45:30,677 --> 05:45:33,554
also the result of the work of
the European Commission as such.

4235
05:45:33,599 --> 05:45:36,978
It is all well and good that Mr
Commissioner said that they will take some

4236
05:45:37,024 --> 05:45:40,814
corrective action and that the European
Commission will take some measures, but the

4237
05:45:40,859 --> 05:45:44,101
question is what measures they can
take to prevent this from happening.

4238
05:45:44,147 --> 05:45:47,937
Likewise, the question is whether these
rules apply equally to everyone, or whether

4239
05:45:47,982 --> 05:45:50,174
we have some kind of
double standard. Thank you.

4240
05:45:52,154 --> 05:45:54,734
Now I would like to ask my colleague
Ms Doreta to take the floor.

4241
05:45:57,914 --> 05:46:02,542
Thank you, President. For somebody opening
their payslip in Dublin, my hometown, the

4242
05:46:02,597 --> 05:46:05,572
tax deducted is real hard-e
arned money that's earned.

4243
05:46:05,627 --> 05:46:10,145
Money that could be used for other things
like rent, childcare, or the weekly food

4244
05:46:10,200 --> 05:46:14,553
bill. So there are absolutely entitled
to know where their taxes go, and expect

4245
05:46:14,608 --> 05:46:19,126
every euro to be spent wisely. And that
includes the money that Ireland sends here

4246
05:46:19,181 --> 05:46:23,258
to the European budget. And I think
that's why the Court of Auditors is so

4247
05:46:23,313 --> 05:46:27,776
important. The independent scrutiny helps
people really trust that their money is

4248
05:46:27,831 --> 05:46:32,129
being properly manag ed. So, President
Murphy, as a fellow Dubliner, I want to

4249
05:46:32,184 --> 05:46:36,592
welcome you here and thank your colleagues
for all the crucial work that you do.

4250
05:46:36,647 --> 05:46:40,614
Last year, the EU budget spending
excluding recovery grants totaled 166.

4251
05:46:40,669 --> 05:46:43,754
3 billion euros. And the
courts have estimated that a 3.

4252
05:46:43,809 --> 05:46:46,674
8% of error rate in the
expenditure in their audits.

4253
05:46:46,729 --> 05:46:51,192
That's just shy of 7 billion. And we
absolutely, obviously, must always strive to

4254
05:46:51,247 --> 05:46:55,710
bring that number down. But the error rate
this year is an increase on last year.

4255
05:46:55,765 --> 05:46:59,952
And whilst it is small, what's really
worrying is that we're seeing the same

4256
05:47:00,008 --> 05:47:03,038
mistakes being made by member
states year in, year out.

4257
05:47:03,093 --> 05:47:07,390
And that really isn't good enough. So
the court sets out what needs to change.

4258
05:47:07,446 --> 05:47:11,963
The commission and the member states are
supposed to act on those recommendations.

4259
05:47:12,019 --> 05:47:16,261
But we can't see those warnings fall on
deaf ears or the trend will continue.

4260
05:47:16,316 --> 05:47:20,944
Also, I think it's really alarming that we
have a growth in EU rising debt without a

4261
05:47:20,999 --> 05:47:23,919
sufficient clear plan of
how we're going to repay it.

4262
05:47:23,974 --> 05:47:28,602
The substantial interest bill alone for the
next seven or eight years is going to be

4263
05:47:28,658 --> 05:47:33,065
93 billion euros. And if we have an
incomplete payment plan, what will happen is

4264
05:47:33,120 --> 05:47:37,528
that we'll end up rounding back to those
taxpayers in Dublin, looking for more m

4265
05:47:37,583 --> 05:47:42,046
oney. And that's absolutely unacceptable.
All of our citizens work really hard to

4266
05:47:42,101 --> 05:47:46,619
earn their wages. They deserve to know
that every euro they contribute is properly

4267
05:47:46,674 --> 05:47:50,972
accounted for. And that, when problems
are absolutely identified, which is the

4268
05:47:51,027 --> 05:47:55,214
court's job, they're acted upon and
changed so that they don't happen again.

4269
05:47:55,394 --> 05:47:59,608
And that's how we protect the public trust
in Europe, by taking responsibility and

4270
05:47:59,659 --> 05:48:03,976
by showing their trust in the results.
Taxpayers do their part to give us the money.

4271
05:48:04,028 --> 05:48:06,854
We have to do our part to
make sure we spend it wisely.

4272
05:48:07,394 --> 05:48:08,594
Thank you, Chair.

4273
05:48:08,954 --> 05:48:13,646
Thank you. And let me inform you, dear
colleagues, that I'm closing HDI, the four

4274
05:48:13,704 --> 05:48:18,569
requests for HDI, and we should be accommod
ating all of them just so I will have to

4275
05:48:18,627 --> 05:48:21,407
be very strict. And let
me give the floor to Mr.

4276
05:48:21,465 --> 05:48:22,665
Ruisen. Please.

4277
05:48:27,194 --> 05:48:32,709
Thank you, Mr President. Commissioner,
dear colleagues, Thank you, Mr President.

4278
05:48:32,778 --> 05:48:38,569
Dear Commissioner, dear colleagues, the
picture that the Court of Auditors paints of

4279
05:48:38,638 --> 05:48:42,912
the management of the 2025 budget
is certainly not a rosy one.

4280
05:48:42,981 --> 05:48:46,841
Another adverse opinion. Still
far too high error rates.

4281
05:48:46,910 --> 05:48:52,494
In the case of cohesion, even 6.6%.
Inadequate accountability in the Recovery and

4282
05:48:52,563 --> 05:48:58,216
Resilience Facility. And a mountain of
debt that will grow to 1 trillion euro next

4283
05:48:58,285 --> 05:49:01,663
year. The Court of Auditors
is highlighting this:

4284
05:49:01,732 --> 05:49:05,592
that is its role. And thank
you for your excellent work.

4285
05:49:05,661 --> 05:49:09,935
But the Court of Auditors cannot
call the Commission to order.

4286
05:49:10,004 --> 05:49:13,037
That is our task as
elected representatives.

4287
05:49:13,106 --> 05:49:17,380
And that is what we must do. If
we do not intervene, who will?

4288
05:49:17,449 --> 05:49:23,240
For me, Mr President, it is clear that with
such error rates and deficiencies in the

4289
05:49:23,309 --> 05:49:29,031
accounts, we cannot grant discharge. The
time for settling for nice promises is now

4290
05:49:29,100 --> 05:49:32,753
truly over. We, as Parliament,
must stand our ground.

4291
05:49:32,822 --> 05:49:37,234
And let us also heed the warning
about the enormous debt burden.

4292
05:49:37,303 --> 05:49:39,854
So, stop with those loans. Thank you.

4293
05:49:42,074 --> 05:49:45,494
Thank you. And now I would like to
ask my colleague Mr Ronč, please.

4294
05:49:47,894 --> 05:49:52,954
Mr President, on behalf of the ECR,
I would like to say a few words.

4295
05:49:53,029 --> 05:49:58,982
Mr President, anyone who wishes the
European Union well should take into account

4296
05:49:59,057 --> 05:50:03,299
every report presented by the
European Court of Auditors.

4297
05:50:03,373 --> 05:50:09,252
These documents are truly important and
relevant for the future of the European

4298
05:50:09,327 --> 05:50:15,429
Union. And these reports clearly and plainly
show that the European Union does not

4299
05:50:15,503 --> 05:50:20,713
check how it spends money, and
unfortunately, it does not do so fully.

4300
05:50:20,787 --> 05:50:27,038
And this is our problem. The Union does not
see, and this is evident in the reports,

4301
05:50:27,113 --> 05:50:33,364
the debts of the European Union and the
consequences of the Union in this regard for

4302
05:50:33,438 --> 05:50:39,615
the future. And after all, we want the
project called the European Union to endure.

4303
05:50:39,690 --> 05:50:45,941
So if we do not take into account these
reliable pieces of information, the European

4304
05:50:46,015 --> 05:50:52,192
Court of Auditors, we will be supporting
extremist forces within the European Union

4305
05:50:52,266 --> 05:50:57,104
that will simply exploit what is
happening in the European Union.

4306
05:50:57,178 --> 05:51:02,462
So my request to all of you here and
those who are not present is this:

4307
05:51:02,536 --> 05:51:03,736
read

4308
05:51:06,674 --> 05:51:11,246
I really have to be strict
and fair. Dziękuję bardzo.

4309
05:51:11,333 --> 05:51:15,215
We have to be equal. It
happens to all of us.

4310
05:51:15,301 --> 05:51:21,254
And now we move to HDI. And let me
give the floor to Madame Grappini.

4311
05:51:23,234 --> 05:51:28,168
Thank you, Mr President. Mr President of
the Court, I would like to congratulate you

4312
05:51:28,227 --> 05:51:30,811
and your entire team.
I am in my third term.

4313
05:51:30,870 --> 05:51:34,277
I continue to monitor what the
Court of Auditors is doing.

4314
05:51:34,336 --> 05:51:38,800
Unfortunately, the committee does not
take this into account, even though it

4315
05:51:38,859 --> 05:51:43,675
acknowledges the observations. Because,
here we are, once again after seven years,

4316
05:51:43,734 --> 05:51:48,668
at an error rate. And even though the
Commissioner said so and may even be listening

4317
05:51:48,727 --> 05:51:51,958
to me, I will interrupt until
the Commissioner listens.

4318
05:51:52,016 --> 05:51:56,774
That is correct. Yes? I return to it. I
will wait for the Commissioner to listen.

4319
05:51:56,833 --> 05:52:01,532
If the Court of Auditors does its job and
every time in the report, I have heard

4320
05:52:01,591 --> 05:52:06,408
this also in committee, why does our
Budgetary Control Committee not correct these

4321
05:52:06,466 --> 05:52:09,873
things? Because you cannot ask
Member States to be honest?

4322
05:52:09,932 --> 05:52:14,455
To sanction them? Instead, you have been
persisting in error for seven years.

4323
05:52:14,514 --> 05:52:19,389
What worries me is that I have heard today,
I have also heard in the committee, the

4324
05:52:19,448 --> 05:52:22,208
proposed framework is
very weak for the future.

4325
05:52:22,267 --> 05:52:25,674
So what chances do we have not
to have these things again?

4326
05:52:25,733 --> 05:52:30,608
Because, ultimately, this money belongs to
the citizens and we must have efficiency

4327
05:52:30,667 --> 05:52:33,134
in the way we spend this money. Thank you.

4328
05:52:34,874 --> 05:52:36,614
Thank you. Correctly, because—

4329
05:52:36,974 --> 05:52:40,934
Thank you. And now I will call on
my colleague Mr Tinklainen to speak.

4330
05:52:48,674 --> 05:52:54,411
Mr President, the European Court of Auditors’
annual report makes for grim reading.

4331
05:52:54,480 --> 05:53:00,217
Mr President, the auditors state bluntly
that the error rate in EU spending remains

4332
05:53:00,286 --> 05:53:05,539
too high. The audit found that the
errors were significant and far-reaching.

4333
05:53:05,608 --> 05:53:11,137
The general problem was that EU money was
granted to projects that were not even

4334
05:53:11,206 --> 05:53:16,874
entitled to support. And so, once again,
the auditors issued an adverse opinion on

4335
05:53:16,943 --> 05:53:20,399
EU spending. Isn’t this
the seventh year in a row?

4336
05:53:20,468 --> 05:53:26,274
And what about that massive recovery package
that the Finns Party warned about years

4337
05:53:26,343 --> 05:53:31,872
ago? During the year, nearly a quarter
of the aid payments made to member states

4338
05:53:31,941 --> 05:53:36,849
from the recovery package did not
comply with the rules and conditions.

4339
05:53:36,918 --> 05:53:42,309
Auditors have warned that the mere
interest payments on the recovery package’s

4340
05:53:42,378 --> 05:53:46,663
grants could balloon to €93
billion over the next seven years.

4341
05:53:46,733 --> 05:53:49,774
The EU is an irresponsible
spender of money.

4342
05:53:49,843 --> 05:53:51,043
Thank you.

4343
05:53:52,694 --> 05:53:55,454
Thank you. And now I give the
floor to my colleague Olivier.

4344
05:53:59,954 --> 05:54:04,315
Thank you, Mr President. Commissioner
Serafim, regarding this report from the

4345
05:54:04,372 --> 05:54:08,959
European Court of Auditors, I would like
to highlight two aspects that concern us

4346
05:54:09,016 --> 05:54:13,773
are absolutely essential. First, the criticism
levelled at the model of the Recovery

4347
05:54:13,830 --> 05:54:18,247
and Resilience Facility, from which the
national recovery and resilience plans

4348
05:54:18,304 --> 05:54:22,778
(PRRs) emerged, concerns the concentration
of power in the European Commission,

4349
05:54:22,835 --> 05:54:27,479
which assumes an almost absolute power in
management of the funds, with no form of

4350
05:54:27,535 --> 05:54:32,180
control or obstructing the control over
the use of the funds, and, naturally, with

4351
05:54:32,236 --> 05:54:36,994
the ability it has to condition and subject
the Member States based on this power to

4352
05:54:37,050 --> 05:54:41,808
disburse the funds, which subjects the
Member States to a situation of vulnerability

4353
05:54:41,864 --> 05:54:45,885
in the imposition of the policies
that the European Commission imposes.

4354
05:54:45,942 --> 05:54:50,643
With these criticisms, this is yet another
reason to reject the model that is being

4355
05:54:50,699 --> 05:54:54,381
proposed for the multiannual
financial framework, for 2028, 2034.

4356
05:54:54,437 --> 05:54:58,798
Secondly, I would like to emphasise what
the European Court of Auditors says:

4357
05:54:58,855 --> 05:55:03,556
regarding the financial madness with the
financing of the war in Ukraine, with loan

4358
05:55:03,612 --> 05:55:06,614
after loan. €18 billion in
2028, €90 billion in 2025.

4359
05:55:06,794 --> 05:55:07,154
Thank you.

4360
05:55:07,154 --> 05:55:08,354
And the peoples are
paying the price for this.

4361
05:55:09,914 --> 05:55:12,614
And now I give the floor to
my colleague Ms Soral, please.

4362
05:55:17,654 --> 05:55:22,285
Mr President of the Court of Auditors,
I would like to address the issue of the

4363
05:55:22,343 --> 05:55:26,916
operating expenditure of the institutions,
in particular those of the European

4364
05:55:26,974 --> 05:55:29,788
Parliament and those of
the European Commission.

4365
05:55:29,847 --> 05:55:33,539
The Parliament [is at] 2.5 billion,
the Commission 4.5 billion.

4366
05:55:33,598 --> 05:55:38,405
In an era of tremendous advances in
artificial intelligence, do you not think that

4367
05:55:38,463 --> 05:55:41,453
some operating expenses
may perhaps be superfluous?

4368
05:55:41,512 --> 05:55:46,201
That serious reflection must be undertaken
to rationalise the functioning of the

4369
05:55:46,260 --> 05:55:50,421
institutions, to increase their
efficiency and to reduce certain waste.

4370
05:55:50,480 --> 05:55:54,642
Some might consider that this would
bring little in the way of savings.

4371
05:55:54,701 --> 05:55:58,804
I believe the opposite. Moreover,
we have a duty of exemplary conduct.

4372
05:55:58,862 --> 05:56:01,324
This is public money we are talking about.

4373
05:56:01,383 --> 05:56:06,190
At a time when we regularly discuss the
cost of living and the distress of some of

4374
05:56:06,248 --> 05:56:10,059
our fellow citizens. So I put this
question to you, Mr President:

4375
05:56:10,117 --> 05:56:14,689
who, in your view, should oversee the
institutions to make them more virtuous?

4376
05:56:14,748 --> 05:56:18,089
I do not believe in self-analysis
or self-psychoanalysis.

4377
05:56:18,148 --> 05:56:19,348
Thank you.

4378
05:56:22,514 --> 05:56:26,914
Thank you. And with that I close, as I
always do, and I will now give the floor to

4379
05:56:26,967 --> 05:56:28,167
Commissioner Serafin.

4380
05:56:39,554 --> 05:56:44,916
Mr President, I will now give my
remarks following today's discussion.

4381
05:56:44,992 --> 05:56:51,349
Let me stress that we value, as the European
Commission, the reports, in particular

4382
05:56:51,426 --> 05:56:55,179
the Court's annual reports.
They are independent;

4383
05:56:55,256 --> 05:57:01,536
it is an independent assessment of how the
EU budget is managed and protected, and

4384
05:57:01,613 --> 05:57:07,894
we have no doubt that such an independent
assessment is needed and can improve how

4385
05:57:07,970 --> 05:57:13,715
things work. We are, of course, aware
that managing a budget of this scale,

4386
05:57:13,791 --> 05:57:19,842
implemented through different instruments
and involving many actors, inevitably

4387
05:57:19,919 --> 05:57:26,353
entails risks. A zero-risk scenario is not
realistic and is not even cost-effective.

4388
05:57:26,429 --> 05:57:32,480
But what matters is that these risks are
identified, addressed, and followed up

4389
05:57:32,557 --> 05:57:38,608
effectively. And here I will refer to
the comment made by the Honourable Member

4390
05:57:38,684 --> 05:57:42,744
Grappini: I will repeat what
I said at the beginning.

4391
05:57:42,820 --> 05:57:49,024
The Commission not only values the
recommendations made by ECHA, but also accepts

4392
05:57:49,101 --> 05:57:52,471
and implements
recommendations made by ECHA.

4393
05:57:52,548 --> 05:57:58,828
So, in fact, more than 90 percent of the
ECHA recommendations are accepted and are

4394
05:57:58,905 --> 05:58:03,271
being or have already been
implemented by the Commission.

4395
05:58:03,347 --> 05:58:08,249
And we will do the same with the
report which is in front of us.

4396
05:58:08,326 --> 05:58:14,300
We will analyse the court's findings and
recommendations, and we will take the

4397
05:58:14,377 --> 05:58:20,428
necessary actions; sometimes, quite often,
those actions would need to be taken

4398
05:58:20,504 --> 05:58:25,406
together with the Member States
and other implementing partners.

4399
05:58:25,483 --> 05:58:31,840
I also want to stress that we have taken
careful note of the questions and concerns

4400
05:58:31,917 --> 05:58:37,048
raised today, and the Commission
will ensure appropriate follow-up.

4401
05:58:37,125 --> 05:58:43,253
This is one step in the process of the
discharge procedure, so I am also looking

4402
05:58:43,329 --> 05:58:49,763
forward to cooperation both with the Court
and with this House in the context of the

4403
05:58:49,840 --> 05:58:52,214
discharge procedure. Thank you.

4404
05:58:55,094 --> 05:59:00,138
Thank you very much. And now I would
like to invite the Chair of the Board of

4405
05:59:00,204 --> 05:59:01,514
Auditors, Mr Murphy.

4406
05:59:01,694 --> 05:59:02,894
You're welcome.

4407
05:59:07,154 --> 05:59:11,852
Thank you, President. I'd like to thank
all the Honorable Members who have

4408
05:59:11,915 --> 05:59:17,184
intervened and shared their views on our
annual report, which obviously we listened

4409
05:59:17,247 --> 05:59:22,580
to and welcome any comments. I think the
common issues which were raised most tod ay

4410
05:59:22,643 --> 05:59:25,881
were basically the level
of debt and own resources.

4411
05:59:25,944 --> 05:59:29,118
And in a way, they're kind
of linked, I would say.

4412
05:59:29,182 --> 05:59:33,117
I mean, the own resources, I
think it's very important to say.

4413
05:59:33,181 --> 05:59:38,386
I think, as was mentioned by already by
Honorable Members, it's 21 percent roughly

4414
05:59:38,450 --> 05:59:41,687
of the next MFF budget pro
posed by the Commission.

4415
05:59:41,751 --> 05:59:46,766
I mean, it's 21 percent of this two
trillion euros, so obviously if they do not

4416
05:59:46,829 --> 05:59:51,907
materialize, I mean, y ou know, in addition
to the already announced cuts, let's

4417
05:59:51,971 --> 05:59:57,113
say, the EU may still face a significant
shortfall, which would require either, I

4418
05:59:57,176 --> 06:00:02,382
mean, there are— I mean, any sort of
diminution in the level of own resources will

4419
06:00:02,445 --> 06:00:07,777
mean that there will need to be funds from
other sources, whether it's increased GNI

4420
06:00:07,841 --> 06:00:12,983
contributions, which is probably not
realistic, additional debt, which we already

4421
06:00:13,046 --> 06:00:18,252
have some concerns about, rollover of the
existing debt, or basically reducing the

4422
06:00:18,315 --> 06:00:22,568
overall ambition of the EU budget
and the policies which it covers.

4423
06:00:22,632 --> 06:00:27,901
I think another area— the RRA has been
mentioned a few times, and obviously we also

4424
06:00:27,964 --> 06:00:33,233
would prefer to see a lower rate than 3.
8 percent, but I think it's very important

4425
06:00:33,296 --> 06:00:36,915
that we clarify once again
that this is not fraud per se.

4426
06:00:36,978 --> 06:00:42,311
I mean, some projects which, you know, are
perfect on paper and have no errors don't

4427
06:00:42,374 --> 06:00:45,358
deliver much added value,
and it 's vice versa.

4428
06:00:45,421 --> 06:00:50,436
Some of the projects which actually have
errors attached can be a positive— you

4429
06:00:50,499 --> 06:00:55,832
know, contribu tion to the EU taxpayer. I
think the issue raised by Honorable Member

4430
06:00:55,895 --> 06:01:00,529
Doherty about the typology of errors
being cons istent, that is an issue.

4431
06:01:00,593 --> 06:01:05,925
Despite our recommendations, which the
Commission says have been implemented, we see

4432
06:01:05,989 --> 06:01:09,163
the same type of error
year after year after year.

4433
06:01:09,226 --> 06:01:14,114
So obviously there is a systemic structural
issue there which needs to be add

4434
06:01:14,174 --> 06:01:17,868
ressed. In terms of the debt,
we've already given the figures:

4435
06:01:17,928 --> 06:01:22,873
one trillion euros by 2027. I mean, and I
think linked to the own resource, we have

4436
06:01:22,933 --> 06:01:27,938
to remember when the next generation EU was
being devised, there was an own resource

4437
06:01:27,997 --> 06:01:31,215
proposal on the table to
basically repay the NGU debt.

4438
06:01:31,274 --> 06:01:35,564
This never materialized, and now we
see the actual consequence of that .

4439
06:01:35,624 --> 06:01:40,212
We're in the Commission proposal: 8
percent of the next budget, or around 160

4440
06:01:40,271 --> 06:01:45,276
billion, is solely earmarked for serv icing
this next generation EU debt, and as was

4441
06:01:45,336 --> 06:01:50,043
mentioned by the Honorable Member above
there, interest costs alone could reach

4442
06:01:50,103 --> 06:01:52,724
around 93 billion over
the 2028-2024 period.

4443
06:01:52,784 --> 06:01:57,729
And where the latest proposal has reduced
this figure somewhat, the amount involved

4444
06:01:57,789 --> 06:02:02,794
are still quite substantial. Then we come
to the perennial topic on the table before

4445
06:02:02,853 --> 06:02:07,560
this new MFF, which was the RRF. And I
think we have been quite clear about our

4446
06:02:07,620 --> 06:02:11,135
concerns in relation to this
delivery mechanism, let's say.

4447
06:02:11,195 --> 06:02:15,961
And as has already been pointed out, it
will be replicated to some degree in the

4448
06:02:16,021 --> 06:02:19,954
European Fund, particularly in
relation to the national program s.

4449
06:02:20,013 --> 06:02:24,899
And we really hope that some of the advice
we have given, that lessons are learned

4450
06:02:24,959 --> 06:02:29,904
from this. It remains to be seen, because
with the devil will be in the detail, the

4451
06:02:29,963 --> 06:02:34,790
Commission is currently working on its
assurance framework, which will give us an

4452
06:02:34,849 --> 06:02:39,735
indication of how they see their role in
controlling the funds, and obviously this

4453
06:02:39,795 --> 06:02:44,740
will be instrumental in how we adopt their
method ology to use their work, and also

4454
06:02:44,800 --> 06:02:49,566
what additional work we will have to do
to make sure basically that wherever the

4455
06:02:49,626 --> 06:02:53,558
delivery mechanism, that EU taxpayers
are getting value for money.

4456
06:02:53,618 --> 06:02:58,563
I think one area where we still have
significant concerns in relation to the RRF is

4457
06:02:58,623 --> 06:03:03,389
the performance framework. I mean, the
whole idea of a performance instrument is

4458
06:03:03,449 --> 06:03:08,216
that you can measure its impact. And we
consider the performance framework to be

4459
06:03:08,275 --> 06:03:13,161
still very weak, which means that in the
end it will be actually very difficult to

4460
06:03:13,221 --> 06:03:14,294
measure the real

4461
06:03:14,294 --> 06:03:17,139
impact and what has been
delivered for the money.

4462
06:03:17,197 --> 06:03:20,391
A couple of quick replies to
some of the issues raised.

4463
06:03:20,449 --> 06:03:25,210
In terms of EU climate policy spending,
we actually do a lot of work in this area,

4464
06:03:25,268 --> 06:03:28,055
and will continue over
the next couple of years.

4465
06:03:28,113 --> 06:03:32,119
And we have actually reported that
there has been an overstatement of

4466
06:03:32,177 --> 06:03:36,938
climate-related expenditure by the Commission
in terms of the 2 014-20 program, in

4467
06:03:36,996 --> 06:03:41,467
terms of the one and five Europe being
spent, and also in relation to the RRF

4468
06:03:41,525 --> 06:03:46,402
program where we saw many billions of euros
which were incorrectly reported as being

4469
06:03:46,460 --> 06:03:51,338
green expenditure. Then I suppose also the
administrative expenditure was mentioned.

4470
06:03:51,396 --> 06:03:56,099
I mean, I think AI will have a— there's
no doubt that that will have an impact on

4471
06:03:56,157 --> 06:04:00,105
the administrative setup and related
costs of all the institution s.

4472
06:04:00,163 --> 06:04:04,982
You know, we actually do— not of the
institutions in our annual report, chapter 10,

4473
06:04:05,040 --> 06:04:09,569
and we see that there is consistently
press ure on the administrative heading.

4474
06:04:09,627 --> 06:04:14,214
We see in the new proposal that the
administrative heading four has been cut by

4475
06:04:14,272 --> 06:04:19,033
another 95 billion, which will require
institutions de facto to rationalize and be

4476
06:04:19,091 --> 06:04:23,330
more efficient because the resources
available to them will be much less.

4477
06:04:23,388 --> 06:04:27,975
Finally, I would like to thank many of
the Honorable Members for their positive

4478
06:04:28,033 --> 06:04:32,387
comments in relation to our annual
report, and I think this is bas ically a

4479
06:04:32,446 --> 06:04:37,149
consequence of the dedicated work of our
staff and all the people involved in the

4480
06:04:37,207 --> 06:04:42,026
production of this report in the EC CA,
and I would like to thank them on behalf of

4481
06:04:42,084 --> 06:04:44,755
the College of the
European Court of Auditors.

4482
06:04:44,813 --> 06:04:46,013
Thank you very much.

4483
06:04:47,834 --> 06:04:52,134
Thank you, President, and thank you for
the great work of the Court of Auditors.

4484
06:04:52,188 --> 06:04:55,574
And for being with us, this
concludes the debate on this topic.

4485
06:04:56,114 --> 06:05:01,583
The next item on the agenda is the declaration
of the rule of law mission to Malta

4486
06:05:01,650 --> 06:05:05,251
nine years after the murder
of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

4487
06:05:05,318 --> 06:05:10,187
And I welcome Commissioner McGrath
and would ask him to open this debate.

4488
06:05:10,253 --> 06:05:11,654
Please, Commissioner.

4489
06:05:20,654 --> 06:05:26,403
Dear Chair, Honorable Members, thank you
for holding this debate to commemorate the

4490
06:05:26,472 --> 06:05:31,044
ninth anniversary of the assassination
of Daphne Carolina Galicia.

4491
06:05:31,113 --> 06:05:36,724
Daphne was a courageous Maltese investigative
journalist known for her determined

4492
06:05:36,793 --> 06:05:40,810
and fearless reporting. Her
assassination shook all of us.

4493
06:05:40,880 --> 06:05:46,698
Her murder, robbed her family, and friends
of a loved one, including her three sons,

4494
06:05:46,767 --> 06:05:52,378
Matthew, Paul, and Andrew. And a society
of a courageous journalist who dedicated

4495
06:05:52,447 --> 06:05:56,742
her life to exposing corruption,
and holding power to account.

4496
06:05:56,811 --> 06:06:01,382
It was an attack on journalism,
and an attack on democracy itself.

4497
06:06:01,452 --> 06:06:06,508
The Commission has consistently called
for all those responsible for this

4498
06:06:06,577 --> 06:06:11,634
assassination to be brought to justice.
There needs to be accountability.

4499
06:06:11,703 --> 06:06:17,521
There can be no impunity for this atrocious
crime, and judicial procedures are still

4500
06:06:17,591 --> 06:06:23,201
ongoing. Sadly, Daphne was not the only
journalist in Europe to pay with her life

4501
06:06:23,270 --> 06:06:28,950
for her work. Just four months later, in
February 2018, Jan Kuczek was murdered in

4502
06:06:29,020 --> 06:06:32,829
Slovakia, together with his
fiancée, Martina Kušnírová.

4503
06:06:32,898 --> 06:06:36,085
He too was investigating
fraud and corruption.

4504
06:06:36,154 --> 06:06:41,764
And this year marks 30 years since Veronica
Gieren was shot dead in Dublin, in my

4505
06:06:41,834 --> 06:06:46,405
own country, Ireland, because of
her reporting on organized crime.

4506
06:06:46,475 --> 06:06:52,085
And I can still remember the shock around
the country when the news of her murder

4507
06:06:52,154 --> 06:06:55,964
broke; it is a moment that
Ireland has never forgotten.

4508
06:06:56,033 --> 06:07:01,505
The protection of media and journalists
remains a political priority across the

4509
06:07:01,575 --> 06:07:07,393
European Union. For our part, in the years
following Daphne's assassination, we have

4510
06:07:07,462 --> 06:07:12,519
taken concrete action to uphold media
freedom and to protect journalists.

4511
06:07:12,588 --> 06:07:18,198
We have recommended a wide-ranging measures
to ensure the protection, safety, and

4512
06:07:18,268 --> 06:07:22,216
empowerment of journalists
and other media professionals.

4513
06:07:22,285 --> 06:07:28,034
New EU legislative rules are in place to
protect journalists and civil society from

4514
06:07:28,103 --> 06:07:33,575
abusive lawsuits. And we have enshrined
a comprehensive regime to protect media

4515
06:07:33,645 --> 06:07:38,147
freedom and media pluralism under
the European Media Freedom Act.

4516
06:07:38,216 --> 06:07:44,035
We are working with member states to ensure
that this framework is implemented fully

4517
06:07:44,104 --> 06:07:45,974
and delivers on the ground.

4518
06:07:46,634 --> 06:07:51,986
In addition, the European Democracy Shield
published last November seeks to further

4519
06:07:52,051 --> 06:07:57,145
support journalists and enhance their
protection against the undue pressure and

4520
06:07:57,210 --> 06:08:02,176
threats. As regards the situation of
the rule of law in Malta, since 2020 the

4521
06:08:02,240 --> 06:08:07,592
Commission has closely monitoring developments
in the context of the annual rule of

4522
06:08:07,657 --> 06:08:13,009
law reports. I would like to thank the
Maltese authorities and stakeholders for the

4523
06:08:13,074 --> 06:08:16,750
good cooperation throughout
the annual rule of law cycle.

4524
06:08:16,814 --> 06:08:22,167
The 2026 edition of the rule of law report,
published in July, contains an in-depth

4525
06:08:22,231 --> 06:08:26,745
analys is of the main developments
regarding the rule of law in Malta.

4526
06:08:26,810 --> 06:08:32,033
The report notes that Malta has taken
certain steps to address some of the issues

4527
06:08:32,098 --> 06:08:37,450
identified, but that further efforts are
needed to address the recommendations made

4528
06:08:37,515 --> 06:08:42,932
by the European Commission. Looking at the
situation of media freedom and pluralism,

4529
06:08:42,996 --> 06:08:48,155
the report noted limited progress on
adopting safeguards to impro ve the working

4530
06:08:48,220 --> 06:08:52,476
environment of journalists including
access to official documents.

4531
06:08:52,540 --> 06:08:57,828
The Commission is aware that the Maltese
government has announced the tabling of a

4532
06:08:57,893 --> 06:09:00,924
comprehensive media reform
in the coming weeks.

4533
06:09:00,988 --> 06:09:06,212
In that context, it will be important that
Malta ensures adequate consultation of

4534
06:09:06,276 --> 06:09:11,693
all relevant stakeholders. The Commission
will analyze this legislation once adopted

4535
06:09:11,758 --> 06:09:16,336
including in light of the provisions
of the European Media Freedom Act.

4536
06:09:16,401 --> 06:09:21,818
The Commission has also aware of the
government's intention to expand the protection

4537
06:09:21,882 --> 06:09:26,912
of journalists and other act ing as
public watchdogs against abusive lawsuits.

4538
06:09:26,977 --> 06:09:32,265
Our so-called SLAPPs. Malta was the first
member state to transpose the anti-SLAPP

4539
06:09:32,329 --> 06:09:35,425
directive. In 2024,
covering cross-border cases.

4540
06:09:35,489 --> 06:09:40,584
In its anti-SLAPP recommendation, the
Commission called on all member states to

4541
06:09:40,648 --> 06:09:45,936
extend the protection also to domestic
cases, and I very much hope that Malta will

4542
06:09:46,001 --> 06:09:51,095
take the opportunity now to en act such
an extension to domestic SLAPP cases as

4543
06:09:51,160 --> 06:09:56,254
well. Under justice system, the Commission
recommended to Malta to take forward

4544
06:09:56,319 --> 06:09:59,414
initiatives to increase
resources to reform cour

4545
06:09:59,414 --> 06:10:04,637
t procedures and to advance digitalization
with a view to improving the efficiency

4546
06:10:04,700 --> 06:10:09,668
of the justice system, as no further
progress had been reported in this year's

4547
06:10:09,732 --> 06:10:14,636
report. Efficiency of justice is crucial
for effective judicial protection of

4548
06:10:14,700 --> 06:10:19,477
citizens and businesses, and for
strengthening trust in the justice system.

4549
06:10:19,541 --> 06:10:24,509
The report also recommended taking forward
reforms with a view to invol ve the

4550
06:10:24,572 --> 06:10:28,904
judiciary in the procedure for the
appointment of the Chief Justice.

4551
06:10:28,967 --> 06:10:33,171
This reform is still pending, and
the political debate is ongoing.

4552
06:10:33,235 --> 06:10:38,521
With regard to the fight against corruption,
the report noted that progress remains

4553
06:10:38,585 --> 06:10:43,362
to be achieved on establishing a robust
tra ck record of final judgments in

4554
06:10:43,425 --> 06:10:47,502
corruption cases, given the high
backlog of pending court cases.

4555
06:10:47,565 --> 06:10:52,661
Judges' workload and that a limited team
of four magistrates are responsible for

4556
06:10:52,724 --> 06:10:58,075
handling preliminary inquiries. The report
also noted that limited progress was made

4557
06:10:58,138 --> 06:11:02,915
to address challenges related to the
length of investigations of high-level

4558
06:11:02,979 --> 06:11:07,310
corruption cases and recommended
stepping up efforts in this regard.

4559
06:11:07,374 --> 06:11:12,724
Finally, in relation to other checks and
balances, the rule of law report notes that

4560
06:11:12,788 --> 06:11:17,373
Malta made limited progress in
introducing a formal framework for public

4561
06:11:17,437 --> 06:11:22,724
participation in the legislative process.
Since legislative reforms remain pending,

4562
06:11:22,787 --> 06:11:26,672
it is recommended to Malta to
now introduce such a framework.

4563
06:11:26,736 --> 06:11:31,386
Moreover, the report called on Malta
to establish a national human rights

4564
06:11:31,449 --> 06:11:36,672
institution as a legislative proposal to
that end remains under preparation at the

4565
06:11:36,736 --> 06:11:42,022
moment. To conclude, Chair, the European
Commission continues to insist on the need

4566
06:11:42,086 --> 06:11:46,927
to make further progress on the different
pend ing issues highlighted in the

4567
06:11:46,990 --> 06:11:50,175
recommendations in this
year's rule of law report.

4568
06:11:50,239 --> 06:11:54,697
The Commission remains committed to
supporting Malta in these efforts.

4569
06:11:54,761 --> 06:12:00,047
I look forward to the contribution of
colleagues across the House to this important

4570
06:12:00,111 --> 06:12:03,614
debate and to responding
later on. Thank you very much.

4571
06:12:05,594 --> 06:12:09,186
Thank you, Mr Commissioner. And now I
would like to call on my colleague Mr Kazú

4572
06:12:09,231 --> 06:12:12,374
from the European People’s Party
Group of Christian Democrats, please.

4573
06:12:13,694 --> 06:12:22,781
Thank you, Mr President. Colleagues, two
decades ago Galicia marked me definitively

4574
06:12:22,891 --> 06:12:28,912
and I earned it in the Chamber.
Let it be a joke to me.

4575
06:12:29,022 --> 06:12:36,248
The institutions of the countries
uphold those who seek integrity.

4576
06:12:36,357 --> 06:12:41,831
The definitions of corruption,
justice. And the...

4577
06:12:41,941 --> 06:12:50,918
But is there in mind a group of people
accused of obstructing justice, the failure

4578
06:12:51,028 --> 06:13:00,115
of the Maltese state, failure and... The
public inquiry that existed on the states’

4579
06:13:00,224 --> 06:13:02,414
climate of impunity.

4580
06:13:16,994 --> 06:13:25,821
The Prime Minister is attacking
Parliament, accusing Malta.

4581
06:13:25,971 --> 06:13:28,514
Stagnant politics

4582
06:14:21,074 --> 06:14:22,274
Thank you.

4583
06:14:23,114 --> 06:14:26,943
Thank you. And now I would like to
call on colleague Adius Saliba from the

4584
06:14:26,994 --> 06:14:30,254
Progressive Alliance of Socialists
and Democrats group, please.

4585
06:15:54,014 --> 06:15:59,174
Now I would ask my colleague
Mr Legeri to take the floor.

4586
06:16:03,674 --> 06:16:08,126
Thank you, Mr President, Commissioner. Nine
years after the assassination of Daphne

4587
06:16:08,180 --> 06:16:11,076
Caruana Galizia, the
perpetrators have been convicted.

4588
06:16:11,130 --> 06:16:15,636
convicted, but no masterminds. To understand
this case, we must look at what she was

4589
06:16:15,689 --> 06:16:20,195
denouncing: a corruption so deeply entrenched
that, according to the public inquiry,

4590
06:16:20,249 --> 06:16:24,379
the State had created the climate of
impunity that allowed her assassination.

4591
06:16:24,433 --> 06:16:28,617
This scandal tarnishes a Labour government,
yet another one for your political

4592
06:16:28,670 --> 06:16:30,494
family, dear socialist colleagues.

4593
06:16:31,754 --> 06:16:36,064
I'm sorry, just sorry to interrupt you.
I'm missing the English interpretation, so

4594
06:16:36,117 --> 06:16:37,694
you might need to start again.

4595
06:16:38,294 --> 06:16:38,894
Oh, sorry.

4596
06:16:38,894 --> 06:16:41,894
Because you're halfway through and
we don't have English interpretation.

4597
06:16:42,434 --> 06:16:43,634
But there is.

4598
06:16:43,694 --> 06:16:45,254
I didn't have it for the first—

4599
06:16:45,554 --> 06:16:46,154
I did not.

4600
06:16:46,154 --> 06:16:46,634
No.

4601
06:16:46,634 --> 06:16:47,834
Ah, okay.

4602
06:16:49,814 --> 06:16:51,974
Can I get a confirmation
that it will be okay again?

4603
06:16:52,514 --> 06:16:53,714
Yes, thank you.

4604
06:16:53,954 --> 06:16:56,894
Perfect. That happens to all
of us. Please start again.

4605
06:16:57,194 --> 06:16:58,394
Thank you. Thank you.

4606
06:16:59,714 --> 06:17:04,200
Nine years after the assassination of
Daphne Caruana Galizia, the executors have

4607
06:17:04,256 --> 06:17:08,967
been convicted, but no masterminds. To
understand this case, we need to look at what

4608
06:17:09,023 --> 06:17:13,678
she was denouncing: a corruption so deeply
entrenched that, according to the public

4609
06:17:13,734 --> 06:17:17,715
inquiry, the State had created the
climate of impunity that enabled her

4610
06:17:17,771 --> 06:17:22,370
assassination. This scandal is tarnishing
a Labour government, yet another one for

4611
06:17:22,426 --> 06:17:25,174
your political family,
dear Socialist colleagues.

4612
06:17:25,230 --> 06:17:29,828
You who lecture the whole of Europe on the
rule of law, start by demanding answers

4613
06:17:29,884 --> 06:17:33,810
from your friends. Back in 2019,
Jordan Bardella was warning you here:

4614
06:17:33,866 --> 06:17:37,230
seven years later, we are still
repeating the same speeches.

4615
06:17:37,287 --> 06:17:41,773
Today, the Commission is publishing
reports, Malta is promising reforms, but the

4616
06:17:41,829 --> 06:17:45,754
Daphne Foundation is still denouncing
recommendations that are largely

4617
06:17:45,810 --> 06:17:49,175
unimplemented. Now, we are
demanding a timeline and results.

4618
06:17:49,231 --> 06:17:53,213
Daphne was investigating so that the
powerful would be held to account.

4619
06:17:53,269 --> 06:17:56,185
Honouring her memory means
demanding accountability.

4620
06:17:56,241 --> 06:17:59,774
Including from your political
friends. Thank you, Mr President.

4621
06:18:02,714 --> 06:18:05,864
Now I would like to ask my colleague Ms
Goševská from the European Conservatives and

4622
06:18:05,902 --> 06:18:07,214
Reformists Group to take the floor.

4623
06:18:08,594 --> 06:18:13,090
We are debating the rule of law in Malta.
Nine years after the murder of Daphne

4624
06:18:13,146 --> 06:18:17,756
Caruana Galizia. The rule of law means
that power is subject to the law and state

4625
06:18:17,813 --> 06:18:22,479
institutions are independent, and citizens
can look to the authorities with trust.

4626
06:18:22,536 --> 06:18:25,324
can look the authorities
in the eye without fear.

4627
06:18:25,381 --> 06:18:29,592
Let us look at Poland. The dispute
over the legality of the Constitutional

4628
06:18:29,649 --> 06:18:32,893
Tribunal's actions. Undermining
the constitutional order:

4629
06:18:32,950 --> 06:18:37,161
the police against protesting citizens.
Where is the European Union today?

4630
06:18:37,218 --> 06:18:41,941
Where is the European Commission? When
Donald Tusk was fighting for power, Brussels

4631
06:18:41,998 --> 06:18:46,664
was using the rule of law as a tool of
political pressure on the government of the

4632
06:18:46,721 --> 06:18:51,387
United Right. Today, when Tusk wields that
power, the same Brussels remains silent

4633
06:18:51,444 --> 06:18:55,029
in the face of actions that strike
at the constitutional order.

4634
06:18:55,086 --> 06:18:57,476
Back then, Brussels helped him gain power.

4635
06:18:57,533 --> 06:19:00,492
Today, it does not want to
challenge his government.

4636
06:19:00,549 --> 06:19:05,215
The rule of law cannot be a tool for
fighting political opponents and a shield for

4637
06:19:05,272 --> 06:19:09,995
political allies. Because if it depends on
who is in power, we are not dealing with

4638
06:19:10,052 --> 06:19:13,694
the protection of European values,
but with political hypocrisy.

4639
06:19:16,514 --> 06:19:21,014
Now I call on Vice-President Wilmes on
behalf of the Renew Europe group, please.

4640
06:19:22,634 --> 06:19:27,469
Thank you, Mr President. Nine years
since the assassination of Daphne Caruana

4641
06:19:27,532 --> 06:19:32,681
Galizia. Nine years that her family has
been waiting, still, for responsibility to

4642
06:19:32,744 --> 06:19:37,328
be established. Which makes it
particularly difficult for them to grieve.

4643
06:19:37,390 --> 06:19:42,351
This assassination also marked the
Parliament, which led to the creation of the

4644
06:19:42,414 --> 06:19:46,056
DRFMG in 2018, a group that I
have the honour of chairing.

4645
06:19:46,119 --> 06:19:51,079
'Yes. Because many questions remain
unanswered, and we cannot be satisfied with

4646
06:19:51,142 --> 06:19:54,910
that, the DRFMG will once again
travel to Malta in November.

4647
06:19:54,973 --> 06:20:00,247
On site, we want to understand what is still
not working, what is fuelling this lack

4648
06:20:00,310 --> 06:20:05,396
of unity, but above all we want to see
what has actually changed in the past nine

4649
06:20:05,459 --> 06:20:10,545
years. We will of course share our
conclusions with this Parliament and with you,

4650
06:20:10,608 --> 06:20:13,245
Commissioner, but I want to be very clear:

4651
06:20:13,308 --> 06:20:16,825
this mission cannot simply
result in yet another report.

4652
06:20:16,888 --> 06:20:22,162
It must, on the contrary, lead to real and
concrete progress for the Maltese people.

4653
06:20:22,225 --> 06:20:26,683
Because Daphné Caruana Galizia’s
memory demands more than our tributes.

4654
06:20:26,746 --> 06:20:27,946
Thank you.

4655
06:20:29,534 --> 06:20:33,320
Thank you. And now I would like to ask my
colleague Freund from the Greens/European

4656
06:20:33,366 --> 06:20:35,054
Free Alliance group to speak, please.

4657
06:20:36,314 --> 06:20:42,048
Dear colleagues, it's been nine years
since the brutal assassination of Daphné.

4658
06:20:42,121 --> 06:20:48,145
And for these nine years now, we have been
waiting for justice, for closure on this

4659
06:20:48,218 --> 06:20:52,210
case. The hitmen have been
sentenced. They are in jail.

4660
06:20:52,282 --> 06:20:58,161
But the person that ordered the brutal
assassination by car bomb is still walking

4661
06:20:58,234 --> 06:21:03,895
free today. And that shows us that
something is not quite right in the justice

4662
06:21:03,968 --> 06:21:09,412
system in Malta. Things have changed,
but I think more change is necessary.

4663
06:21:09,484 --> 06:21:14,928
All the recommendations by the public
inquiry need to be fully implemented.

4664
06:21:15,001 --> 06:21:20,880
It is, to me, really not understandable
that abuse of office—for example—is still

4665
06:21:20,952 --> 06:21:27,049
not criminalized in Mal ta. That an
intervention by the Prime Minister's office into

4666
06:21:27,122 --> 06:21:31,332
the ongoing procedures has
seen no consequence whatsoever.

4667
06:21:31,404 --> 06:21:37,429
So I'm glad we're going that a mission of
the European Parliament is going to Malta

4668
06:21:37,501 --> 06:21:43,453
in a couple of weeks. And we will look at
what has changed and what more change we

4669
06:21:43,526 --> 06:21:46,574
need to see in Malta. Thank you very much.

4670
06:21:48,974 --> 06:21:53,646
Ďakujem. And now there is no blue-collar
possibility in the first round, if that's

4671
06:21:53,702 --> 06:21:54,902
what you wanted.

4672
06:21:55,454 --> 06:21:59,478
Now I would like to invite my colleague
Arvani Tisa from the Left group in the

4673
06:21:59,530 --> 06:22:00,974
European Parliament, please.

4674
06:22:05,114 --> 06:22:09,334
Mr Pitropé, colleagues, Mr President, one
year after the assassination of Daphne

4675
06:22:09,387 --> 06:22:13,027
Caruana Galizia, things have taken
their course, of course, in Malta.

4676
06:22:13,080 --> 06:22:17,142
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen
colleagues, Mr President, a year since the

4677
06:22:17,195 --> 06:22:21,574
assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia,
things have taken their course, of course,

4678
06:22:21,627 --> 06:22:25,953
in Malta. There was a promise that we would
soon be there, the relevant committee.

4679
06:22:26,005 --> 06:22:29,382
Eight years since the murder of
Giannis Koutsou and his fiancée.

4680
06:22:29,434 --> 06:22:32,547
Five years since the murder of
the Dutchman Peter de Vries.

4681
06:22:32,600 --> 06:22:35,660
Five years since the murder
of Giorgos Karaivaz in Greece.

4682
06:22:35,712 --> 06:22:40,144
And in most of these cases, the victims,
those who were murdered, were investigative

4683
06:22:40,197 --> 06:22:44,417
journalists. They were trying to expose
the collusion between politics and major

4684
06:22:44,470 --> 06:22:48,743
economic interests. Despite the guidelines
on SLAPs, we still have not decisively

4685
06:22:48,796 --> 06:22:53,069
secured press freedom issues. Mr Pittoors,
Mr President, honourable colleagues, I

4686
06:22:53,122 --> 06:22:57,078
wish to reiterate my proposal from this
podium, as I did several years ago.

4687
06:22:57,131 --> 06:23:01,352
To demonstrate in practice the importance
of press freedom and the protection of

4688
06:23:01,404 --> 06:23:04,939
journalists, let us at least adopt,
as the European Parliament, the

4689
06:23:04,992 --> 06:23:09,265
families—particularly the children—of
murdered journalists who have fallen in the

4690
06:23:09,318 --> 06:23:13,644
line of duty. In closing, it is not very
safe to be a journalist in the Union, nor

4691
06:23:13,697 --> 06:23:18,128
even an MEP. I remind you of the case of
our colleague Mr Stelios Kouloglou, who was

4692
06:23:18,181 --> 06:23:22,454
on the PEGA committee and was found to
have been under surveillance by your PEGA.

4693
06:23:22,634 --> 06:23:23,054
Thank you.

4694
06:23:23,054 --> 06:23:24,254
Thank you.

4695
06:23:25,274 --> 06:23:28,214
Now I will call on Mr Vargickevič, please.

4696
06:23:29,834 --> 06:23:36,230
Dear Chair, Commissioner, colleagues, in
her final years in 2016 and 2017, Daph né

4697
06:23:36,308 --> 06:23:42,079
Caruana Galizia focused on the journalism
targeting key figures in Maltese

4698
06:23:42,157 --> 06:23:48,709
government , the ministers of Energy and
Economy, the chief of staff and wife of the

4699
06:23:48,787 --> 06:23:54,247
Prime Minister. This recalls situations
in Orban's Hungary, before her

4700
06:23:54,325 --> 06:24:00,252
assassination, she asked Maltese officials
questions on behalf of all of us,

4701
06:24:00,330 --> 06:24:06,882
actually, about possible corruption schemes,
including secret companies in Panama or

4702
06:24:06,960 --> 06:24:13,433
possible bribes kept in New Zealand. This
is a normal work of journalists, free and

4703
06:24:13,511 --> 06:24:17,567
independent journalism is
the backbone of our union.

4704
06:24:17,645 --> 06:24:21,545
Under the rule of law,
under the democratic rules.

4705
06:24:21,623 --> 06:24:28,174
The free press should remind elected
representatives to ser ve to public rather than

4706
06:24:28,252 --> 06:24:31,528
their own interests or political sponsors.

4707
06:24:31,606 --> 06:24:37,690
Nine years after the murder, public
perception among many Maltese people still

4708
06:24:37,768 --> 06:24:44,319
points to a widespread culture of impunity
and special treatment for public figures.

4709
06:24:44,397 --> 06:24:50,793
It cannot be accepted. Honorable members,
as a reporter to the Commission's 2026 r

4710
06:24:50,871 --> 06:24:56,955
ule of law, report I promise you to do
my best to bring the recent rule of law

4711
06:24:57,033 --> 06:25:01,088
situation in Malta to the
special attention of this.

4712
06:25:01,166 --> 06:25:06,626
House and present you with the
findings before the 10th anniversary of

4713
06:25:06,704 --> 06:25:08,654
assassination. Thank you.

4714
06:25:09,974 --> 06:25:14,801
Thank you. Will you accept
the blue card from Mr.

4715
06:25:14,899 --> 06:25:16,574
Gonzalez? Please.

4716
06:25:21,194 --> 06:25:24,138
Dear Member, I think we all
mourn the memory of Daphné.

4717
06:25:24,191 --> 06:25:27,777
But you have been mentioning
corruption and trying to correlate it.

4718
06:25:27,830 --> 06:25:32,112
It's funny because when we vote for more
transparency on the Panama Papers, your

4719
06:25:32,165 --> 06:25:36,554
group votes against. When we vote, for
example, on having a clear traffic of flows

4720
06:25:36,607 --> 06:25:39,337
on the offshore accounts,
your group votes against.

4721
06:25:39,390 --> 06:25:42,441
And then you bring all the
countries that you don't like.

4722
06:25:42,494 --> 06:25:46,829
You brought Portugal. You have brought
Spain because it's a socialist government.

4723
06:25:46,883 --> 06:25:51,164
You have brought Sweden two weeks ago
voting an amendment stating that there was

4724
06:25:51,218 --> 06:25:54,215
interference in the elections
by the Muslim Brotherhood.

4725
06:25:54,268 --> 06:25:57,265
Is your problem with corruption
or is it with democracy?

4726
06:25:57,319 --> 06:25:58,519
Thank you.

4727
06:26:01,034 --> 06:26:05,484
As EPP group, we do not have
problems with the democracy.

4728
06:26:05,562 --> 06:26:09,076
We do not have problems
with the rule of law.

4729
06:26:09,154 --> 06:26:15,322
We always support our common union values
and we always vote after very serious

4730
06:26:15,400 --> 06:26:20,319
consideration. So we are bringing
today the situation in Malta.

4731
06:26:20,397 --> 06:26:26,799
We are bringing the story of murdered
Daphné Galizia to raise this problem in this

4732
06:26:26,877 --> 06:26:33,436
Ho use. And as I promised, as a rule of law
reporter, I will bring this situation to

4733
06:26:33,514 --> 06:26:37,574
the attention of this House
in my report. Thank you.

4734
06:26:39,734 --> 06:26:45,092
Thank you. And I see that Mr. Mularczyk
requested KGDI, but I'm sorry, you need to

4735
06:26:45,157 --> 06:26:48,751
request it during the initial
intervention of a member.

4736
06:26:48,816 --> 06:26:52,214
So I would like to give the
floor to Madam Minister.

4737
06:26:54,254 --> 06:26:58,852
Colleagues, the brutal murder of
Daphné Caruana Galizia demands justice.

4738
06:26:58,916 --> 06:27:04,088
Justice for Daphné, justice for her family,
and accountability for every criminal

4739
06:27:04,152 --> 06:27:08,494
and master manipulator responsible.
Because no one is above the law.

4740
06:27:08,558 --> 06:27:13,475
But sometimes I'm wondering if this
Parliament is turning into a Mickey Mouse

4741
06:27:13,539 --> 06:27:18,647
Parliament where the EPP and the far right
is exploiting tragedies for political

4742
06:27:18,711 --> 06:27:23,756
gain. Because let's stay to the facts.
Malta has abolished criminal defamation,

4743
06:27:23,820 --> 06:27:29,056
strengthened journalist protections,
introduced measures against abusive lawsuits,

4744
06:27:29,120 --> 06:27:32,823
and secured five convictions
connected to Daphné's murder.

4745
06:27:32,887 --> 06:27:35,633
Is this enough? Of
course it is not enough.

4746
06:27:35,697 --> 06:27:40,486
But ignoring progress because it doesn't
fit into the EPP and the far right

4747
06:27:40,550 --> 06:27:43,488
narrative is not defending
or serving justice.

4748
06:27:43,551 --> 06:27:48,404
Justice is not a political weapon. And
Daphné's memory, deserves better than

4749
06:27:48,468 --> 06:27:53,641
political points scoring. So let's serve
Daphné justice, but stop lying about the

4750
06:27:53,705 --> 06:27:54,905
progress in Malta.

4751
06:27:57,734 --> 06:28:03,320
Thank you. And you cannot have—sorry, you
cannot have a blue card on a member from

4752
06:28:03,388 --> 06:28:06,318
your own group. So
that's why I cannot ask.

4753
06:28:06,386 --> 06:28:09,724
But let me give the floor
to a colleague. Cannot.

4754
06:28:09,792 --> 06:28:10,992
Next apartheid.

4755
06:28:12,614 --> 06:28:13,814
Thank you, Mr President.

4756
06:28:14,354 --> 06:28:19,278
Dear colleagues, nine years ago Daphné
Caruana Galizia was brutally murdered for

4757
06:28:19,340 --> 06:28:22,479
exposing corrup tion and
challenging laws in power.

4758
06:28:22,540 --> 06:28:26,849
Nine years later we must ask ourselves:
has justice truly been served?

4759
06:28:26,910 --> 06:28:31,773
The rule of law cannot exist where
journalists are intimidated, corruption goes

4760
06:28:31,835 --> 06:28:35,404
unpunished, and political
connections stand above justice.

4761
06:28:35,466 --> 06:28:40,575
But let us also be clear: the rule of law
must never become a political weapon used

4762
06:28:40,636 --> 06:28:45,006
selectively against certain member
states while others escape scrutiny.

4763
06:28:45,068 --> 06:28:50,177
Malta deserves justice, Daphné's family
deserves justice, and the European citizens

4764
06:28:50,238 --> 06:28:53,685
deserve equal standards not
political double standard s.

4765
06:28:53,747 --> 06:28:58,917
No government should be above the law, no
journalists should have to die for telling

4766
06:28:58,979 --> 06:29:03,964
the truth, and no European institution
should confuse the defense of justice with

4767
06:29:04,026 --> 06:29:06,734
political interference.
Thank you very much.

4768
06:29:08,714 --> 06:29:11,962
Thank you. And now I give the floor to
my colleague Ms García Harminda van der

4769
06:29:12,004 --> 06:29:12,794
Valle.

4770
06:29:12,794 --> 06:29:13,994
You're welcome.

4771
06:29:14,054 --> 06:29:18,942
Thank you, Chair, Commissioner. Nine years
have passed since the brutal murder of

4772
06:29:19,003 --> 06:29:24,072
Daphné Caruana Galizia. Murdered for
investigating corruption and the mastermind has

4773
06:29:24,132 --> 06:29:29,020
still not been convicted. Nine years. And
the Maltese authorities and courts have

4774
06:29:29,081 --> 06:29:32,702
still not done enough to bring
those responsible to justice.

4775
06:29:32,762 --> 06:29:37,711
I think we can all agree on this. A disgrace
not only for Malta but for the entire

4776
06:29:37,771 --> 06:29:42,720
European Union. And time and time again
the European Parliament and the Commission

4777
06:29:42,780 --> 06:29:45,496
have called on Malta to
speed up its justice.

4778
06:29:45,556 --> 06:29:48,875
Especially for investigations
on high-level corruption.

4779
06:29:48,935 --> 06:29:51,651
Without much result
until now, unfortunately.

4780
06:29:51,711 --> 06:29:54,910
So dear Commissioner, please,
you have been to Malta.

4781
06:29:54,970 --> 06:29:59,979
Do your best to ensure that all due reforms
are passed quickly and that we end this

4782
06:30:00,040 --> 06:30:04,807
culture of impunity. And about ending
this culture of impunity, I will say this

4783
06:30:04,867 --> 06:30:09,695
about this Parliament. It is a disgrace
that murders of journalists depending on

4784
06:30:09,756 --> 06:30:14,523
which country they come from and which
government is in power are being used by

4785
06:30:14,584 --> 06:30:17,601
different political groups.
I'm sorry. S&D, Malta.

4786
06:30:17,661 --> 06:30:22,127
EPP, Greece. FICO, in Slovakia. We see
this across the political spectrum.

4787
06:30:22,188 --> 06:30:26,110
Stop doing this. This is a disgrace
to the memory of the victims.

4788
06:30:26,171 --> 06:30:27,371
Thank you.

4789
06:30:27,614 --> 06:30:34,454
Thank you. Will you accept the blue
card? From colleague Mularczyk, from ECR.

4790
06:30:39,914 --> 06:30:42,634
Thank you very much for
accepting the blue card.

4791
06:30:42,691 --> 06:30:47,281
Madam, in your speech you quite rightly
emphasise that journalists must enjoy the

4792
06:30:47,337 --> 06:30:51,927
right to freedom of expression, must be
protected, and citizens have the right to

4793
06:30:51,984 --> 06:30:56,687
reliable information. You mentioned countries
where violations of freedom of speech

4794
06:30:56,744 --> 06:31:01,504
occur. Have you heard about the situation
in Poland, where the liberal government of

4795
06:31:01,561 --> 06:31:05,471
Donald Tusk is harassing journalists
from the TVN television station?

4796
06:31:05,527 --> 06:31:10,004
and in Poland, where the police enter
journalists' homes, where journalists are

4797
06:31:10,061 --> 06:31:14,084
detained, harassed, and where they
are denied the right to information?

4798
06:31:14,141 --> 06:31:17,654
Have you heard, Madam, about the
harassment in Poland against—

4799
06:31:17,834 --> 06:31:21,369
Thank you. I have to
applaud the time. I'm sorry.

4800
06:31:21,442 --> 06:31:23,534
Do you have a minute? Please.

4801
06:31:24,074 --> 06:31:28,547
Thank you, colleague. This debate is
meant to honor the memory of one murdered

4802
06:31:28,604 --> 06:31:33,191
journalist, in this case Dap hné Caruana
Galizia, and it has been mentioned also

4803
06:31:33,249 --> 06:31:38,008
that she's not the only one. We have Jan
Kusak, we have Giorgios Karavis, there are

4804
06:31:38,065 --> 06:31:42,825
many. This is not about specific cases of
violation of freedom of expression, which

4805
06:31:42,882 --> 06:31:47,641
you bring into this debate when this debate
is about high -level corruption and how

4806
06:31:47,699 --> 06:31:52,229
journalists who are investigating high-level
corruption are being murdered in a

4807
06:31:52,286 --> 06:31:57,045
European Union. It's unacceptable. And I
don't want to say that other infringements

4808
06:31:57,103 --> 06:32:01,575
are not serious. The rule of law looks
into this, but please don't bring other

4809
06:32:01,632 --> 06:32:02,894
subjects to something—

4810
06:32:03,794 --> 06:32:05,714
Thank you. I have to be equally strict.

4811
06:32:06,674 --> 06:32:09,793
And now I would like to give the floor to
my colleague from the Arsal Echosa group,

4812
06:32:09,831 --> 06:32:11,031
please.

4813
06:32:13,394 --> 06:32:18,527
Thank you, President and Commissioner.
Well, nine years is a failure.

4814
06:32:18,601 --> 06:32:23,436
Assassination, corruption at
highest level, a wall of complicity.

4815
06:32:23,510 --> 06:32:28,940
The role of media and investigative
journalists at act, the protection of

4816
06:32:29,015 --> 06:32:35,040
journalists ignored. And the perceived
succumbing of the response of the judicial

4817
06:32:35,114 --> 06:32:41,139
system. All these elements together make
this case not only a tragic event but an

4818
06:32:41,214 --> 06:32:46,570
unprecedented challenge to rule of
la w and basic democratic principles.

4819
06:32:46,644 --> 06:32:52,818
Justice system must deliver, I think we
all agree on that, and must del iver on its

4820
06:32:52,892 --> 06:32:58,992
responsibility. Justice has to be done and
all, all those responsible for this des

4821
06:32:59,066 --> 06:33:04,496
picable conspiracy that led to the
killing of Daphné Caruana must be held

4822
06:33:04,571 --> 06:33:10,819
accountable. The retrial of Jörgen Fennek
following the appeal against his acquittal

4823
06:33:10,893 --> 06:33:14,092
is an opportunity that
shouldn't be missed.

4824
06:33:14,166 --> 06:33:19,522
In order to have a fresh and thorough
reconsideration of the whole case.

4825
06:33:19,596 --> 06:33:25,845
Maltese people, Maltese institutions, Maltese
democracy, Daphné's family, deserve to

4826
06:33:25,919 --> 06:33:31,721
have their confidence restored. So
Commissioner, I call on you to take all the

4827
06:33:31,795 --> 06:33:37,597
necessary steps in your specific
responsibility in rule of law in the European

4828
06:33:37,672 --> 06:33:43,325
Union. Ensuring that Daphné's death was
not in vain is a moral and political

4829
06:33:43,399 --> 06:33:45,854
obligation for us all. Thank you.

4830
06:33:47,894 --> 06:33:51,734
Thank you. And now I would like to ask
my colleague Bajada to take the floor.

4831
06:33:57,314 --> 06:34:02,402
Elis tells us and Daphne Caruana Galizia
did not die for the democracy that we

4832
06:34:02,467 --> 06:34:07,556
journalists defend here. The fight for
freedom requires protection of justice.

4833
06:34:07,621 --> 06:34:11,209
And also democracy is not
just about the right to vote.

4834
06:34:11,274 --> 06:34:15,188
It is also about the right to
access and verify information.

4835
06:34:15,253 --> 06:34:19,885
But I must also investigate the cases
that are hidden behind computers.

4836
06:34:19,950 --> 06:34:25,364
And also when we take a closer look at the
critical issues, there is one thing that

4837
06:34:25,429 --> 06:34:30,452
is very clear: that journalism and the
work of the media are in great danger.

4838
06:34:30,518 --> 06:34:35,932
The fabrication presented manipulates the
information that it claims to provide and

4839
06:34:35,997 --> 06:34:41,346
to inform. This is where trust in journalists
and in the citizens who are supposed

4840
06:34:41,411 --> 06:34:46,891
to be informed is lost. The fabrication
presented as truth and the manipulation that

4841
06:34:46,956 --> 06:34:52,110
is claimed to be information. And we also
need a European sugar for independent

4842
06:34:52,175 --> 06:34:57,654
journalism. Citizens deserve to be protected
from misinformation and to benefit from

4843
06:34:57,720 --> 06:35:01,764
effective access to the truth.
We remember the life of Daphne.

4844
06:35:01,829 --> 06:35:03,134
We defend democracy.

4845
06:35:06,554 --> 06:35:09,818
Thank you. And now I would like to invite
our colleague, Vice-President Kučiarová,

4846
06:35:09,858 --> 06:35:11,058
to take the floor.

4847
06:35:12,314 --> 06:35:17,861
Yes, thank you, Mr President. Tell the
truth, even if your voice trembles.

4848
06:35:17,936 --> 06:35:24,232
And one of the phrases that Daphne Caruana
Galizia loved to repeat, and it is one of

4849
06:35:24,307 --> 06:35:28,729
the phrases that perhaps encaps
counts best who Daphne was:

4850
06:35:28,804 --> 06:35:33,901
having courage despite fear, having
strength despite our weaknesses.

4851
06:35:33,976 --> 06:35:39,823
This tells us who Daphne was, but it
also tells us and remains a very powerful

4852
06:35:39,897 --> 06:35:45,594
warning to to this Chamber, to all of
us, because press freedom is never won

4853
06:35:45,669 --> 06:35:51,965
forever; it remains a daily battleground.
And so remembering Daphne means once again

4854
06:35:52,040 --> 06:35:56,912
taking on, certainly here in this
Chamber, a concrete commitment:

4855
06:35:56,987 --> 06:36:03,283
we know that the assassins have been brought
to justice, but much remains to be done

4856
06:36:03,358 --> 06:36:09,205
with regard to the instigators, and I
join the appeal of my colleagues who are

4857
06:36:09,280 --> 06:36:15,126
asking the Commissioner to do everything
possible to ensure that this happens.

4858
06:36:15,201 --> 06:36:21,198
This means ensuring that no journalist
is left alone when facing the powers they

4859
06:36:21,273 --> 06:36:27,494
seek to investigate. This is our duty, this
is the duty of the European Parliament.

4860
06:36:27,794 --> 06:36:28,994
Thank you. Thank you.

4861
06:36:29,834 --> 06:36:32,294
Now I will call on Ms Wieser and Ms Lima.

4862
06:36:38,894 --> 06:36:43,912
Mr President, Commissioner, Malta, a
Member State of the European Union, and Mr

4863
06:36:43,975 --> 06:36:49,184
President, Commissioner, Malta, a Member
State of the European Union, and yet nine

4864
06:36:49,247 --> 06:36:54,583
years after the assassination of Daphne
Caruana Galizia, those who commissioned this

4865
06:36:54,646 --> 06:36:59,537
crime have still not been convicted.
The perpetrators are in prison, yes, but

4866
06:36:59,600 --> 06:37:04,872
justice remains incomplete. The acquittal
of 2 September has brought Maltese people

4867
06:37:04,936 --> 06:37:09,954
onto the streets. They are protesting
against a verdict they do not understand.

4868
06:37:10,017 --> 06:37:14,908
Now, when a people loses confidence in
its justice, when it is convinced that

4869
06:37:14,971 --> 06:37:18,655
impunity reigns, it is democracy
itself that is in danger.

4870
06:37:18,719 --> 06:37:22,784
The Maltese people deserve better.
We demand justice for Daphne.

4871
06:37:22,847 --> 06:37:28,056
We also demand that the shortcomings
identified by the Commission in its 2026 Rule

4872
06:37:28,119 --> 06:37:32,947
of Law Report, Commissioner, which you
yourself have highlighted, finally be

4873
06:37:33,010 --> 06:37:37,837
corrected. The slowness of justice and
the lack of convictions in high-level

4874
06:37:37,901 --> 06:37:43,173
corruption cases. The Union has a duty to
ensure compliance with the rule of law in

4875
06:37:43,236 --> 06:37:47,555
each Member State. And the European
Parliament will remain vigilant.

4876
06:37:47,619 --> 06:37:48,819
Thank you.

4877
06:37:51,614 --> 06:37:56,272
Ďakujem. I'm closing KHDI and I have to
warn you, I'm not going to be able to take

4878
06:37:56,329 --> 06:38:00,476
all of you by far because yeah, we
are go ing to be late of time already.

4879
06:38:00,533 --> 06:38:02,294
Mr. Attard, the floor is yours.

4880
06:38:03,914 --> 06:38:08,501
Colleagues, this is a clear case of a
conflict of interest and a clear case of an

4881
06:38:08,558 --> 06:38:12,975
evident conflict of interest. In Malta,
it is a matter of the Prime Minister’s

4882
06:38:13,032 --> 06:38:15,580
discretion whether they
are among the judges.

4883
06:38:15,637 --> 06:38:19,035
The judges themselves have also
underlined these conditions.

4884
06:38:19,092 --> 06:38:23,453
They have told us that we must reform
the current system to ensure that it is

4885
06:38:23,509 --> 06:38:27,643
independent and that it is effective.
More protection for journalists and

4886
06:38:27,700 --> 06:38:30,305
responsibility for those
who have to conclude.

4887
06:38:30,362 --> 06:38:35,006
Mr President, I would like to ask Commissioner
Reynders whether, in this political

4888
06:38:35,062 --> 06:38:39,763
context and in this moment when the protection
of journalists and those responsible

4889
06:38:39,820 --> 06:38:44,180
for the press are not guaranteed, the
Commission intends to take any steps to

4890
06:38:44,237 --> 06:38:48,938
counter this worrying trend. They pay. Then
the Chamber here must set standards, or

4891
06:38:48,994 --> 06:38:53,468
else the one who is in charge for one
year, for one year, will have Malta under

4892
06:38:53,525 --> 06:38:58,169
attack, directly hit, as if there were a
storm here, with all the others trembling

4893
06:38:58,226 --> 06:39:02,869
in fear. I have already spoken about Malta,
I have already spoken about Malta, but

4894
06:39:02,926 --> 06:39:05,871
Europe must decide now what
to do with this project.

4895
06:39:05,928 --> 06:39:07,128
Thank you.

4896
06:39:08,594 --> 06:39:12,134
Thank you. And now I would like to ask
our colleague Ms Joveva to take the floor.

4897
06:39:15,734 --> 06:39:18,874
Nine years ago, Daphne
Caruana Galizia was killed.

4898
06:39:18,937 --> 06:39:22,202
Because she asked too many
questions. Knew too much.

4899
06:39:22,265 --> 06:39:26,284
Would not be silenced. Today, we
paid tribute to her once again.

4900
06:39:26,347 --> 06:39:30,931
The only correct thing. We still talk
too little about the fact that when

4901
06:39:30,994 --> 06:39:34,385
journalists are silenced,
democracy has no voice left.

4902
06:39:34,447 --> 06:39:39,408
for far too long. But unfortunately,
respect for the murdered journalist is not

4903
06:39:39,471 --> 06:39:43,553
enough if we remain silent in the
face of pressure on the living.

4904
06:39:43,616 --> 06:39:45,374
I will continue in Croatian.

4905
06:39:46,334 --> 06:39:51,153
In a country whose government claims it
wants to join the European Union, before the

4906
06:39:51,210 --> 06:39:55,799
elections an attempt is being made once
again to discipline those last remaining

4907
06:39:55,857 --> 06:39:59,241
media outlets that have not
yet learned to bow their heads.

4908
06:39:59,299 --> 06:40:02,282
The message is roughly as
follows: conform or leave.

4909
06:40:02,339 --> 06:40:06,986
Who do free journalists bother? Those who
would most gladly have microphones, but

4910
06:40:07,043 --> 06:40:10,542
not questions. Daphne paid for
this difference with her life.

4911
06:40:10,600 --> 06:40:14,156
Let us not wait for another
Daphne to finally understand this.

4912
06:40:14,214 --> 06:40:18,918
After all, a democratic and self-confident
government is not afraid of independent

4913
06:40:18,975 --> 06:40:21,614
media. Nor of observation
missions. Thank you.

4914
06:40:24,434 --> 06:40:27,854
Thank you. And now I would like to ask
my colleague Mr Agius to take the floor.

4915
06:40:33,014 --> 06:40:37,301
Colleagues, I would like to speak
about the Labour Government.

4916
06:40:37,370 --> 06:40:43,109
But I will speak about how the Labour
Government is implementing the Daphne inquiry

4917
06:40:43,178 --> 06:40:46,358
reforms. Every day Daphne
is in the committee.

4918
06:40:46,427 --> 06:40:52,097
Today Daphne is here as well. Let us recall
that the European Commission expressed

4919
06:40:52,166 --> 06:40:57,836
its displeasure at the European Commission's
role in the corruption issue in Malta

4920
06:40:57,905 --> 06:41:03,505
and that it is part of the problem. And
these scoreboards and rule of law reports

4921
06:41:03,574 --> 06:41:07,585
are not showing us that half
of the institutions are down.

4922
06:41:07,654 --> 06:41:12,978
Commissioner for Justice, the Attorney
General is a puppet in the Government.

4923
06:41:13,047 --> 06:41:18,440
The magistrates' investigations have now
been going on for six months, and the

4924
06:41:18,509 --> 06:41:24,248
citizens are still waiting for justice.
The Commission has been able to count on Mr

4925
06:41:24,317 --> 06:41:30,056
Joseph Muscat and now on Ms Roberta Metsola,
and with more scoreboards, I am sorry,

4926
06:41:30,125 --> 06:41:35,863
Mr President, the Commission has become a
rubber stamp for corruption in Malta, and

4927
06:41:35,933 --> 06:41:41,671
not just in Malta, but also in Europe, the
funds and as you can see, Europe is also

4928
06:41:41,740 --> 06:41:47,133
trampling on rights and it is doing so
with more scoreboards and more actions.

4929
06:41:47,203 --> 06:41:48,403
Thank you.

4930
06:41:49,334 --> 06:41:52,233
Thank you. Will you accept
the blue card from Mr.

4931
06:41:52,292 --> 06:41:53,534
Agius Saliba? Please.

4932
06:41:56,174 --> 06:42:01,574
You know, you know, Madam
Eliadke, right. Now.

4933
06:42:02,114 --> 06:42:08,182
You know, Madam Eliadke, if MP Malti il
supposed eti rappresenta il paeso, ellum yi

4934
06:42:08,255 --> 06:42:13,957
giune cui appella il commissionia europea
sa bishtilbes linguante tal hadith u

4935
06:42:14,030 --> 06:42:19,659
tattaccal il paeso metanda che il
commissionia europea un ex tes u dim da nel

4936
06:42:19,732 --> 06:42:25,727
parlamento li attai le kle perfette mahnish
e ma le rihafna u hafna reformi tvet u

4937
06:42:25,800 --> 06:42:29,894
sa besh il giustizia v paes
natkun tista temshiel u dim.

4938
06:42:29,967 --> 06:42:35,596
Peter Agius ma isto loksh tisseja
rappresentant Malti aunek da nel parlamento

4939
06:42:35,669 --> 06:42:36,869
europeo.

4940
06:42:38,834 --> 06:42:43,015
Leonette, you know, mush supposed
rappresentare il population.

4941
06:42:43,083 --> 06:42:48,680
Malti. You know, the rappresentare il popolo
Malti we attau netkellem ali yom anche

4942
06:42:48,747 --> 06:42:51,984
al dauk lirdu yarav
commissionie aktar ps aheta.

4943
06:42:52,052 --> 06:42:57,716
U forse il commissionie ma tafsh li reato
tal abuso d'ufficio uva applicable hafna f

4944
06:42:57,784 --> 06:43:03,448
Malta shkenna chief of staff flufficio tal
premier ministro e fishkel l'inchiesta ta

4945
06:43:03,516 --> 06:43:09,046
Daphné Caruana Galizia for si alek uva
importanti le nei duom da un lafariet u dim

4946
06:43:09,113 --> 06:43:10,934
de nel plenaria sur Saliba.

4947
06:43:12,494 --> 06:43:13,694
Thank you.

4948
06:43:13,814 --> 06:43:17,704
Thank you. He has the right for follow-up
questions, so and then you will have a

4949
06:43:17,752 --> 06:43:19,454
right for follow-up answer. Please.

4950
06:43:22,274 --> 06:43:26,923
The milk date you are giving us is a slap
in the face to the country, but we also

4951
06:43:26,980 --> 06:43:31,802
see this in the Parliament, especially in
the Maltese delegation, where the European

4952
06:43:31,859 --> 06:43:36,393
Commission is giving aid. there are many,
many reforms that the Commission, the

4953
06:43:36,451 --> 06:43:41,214
Venice Lists, the European Commission and
various institutions have I would like to

4954
06:43:41,272 --> 06:43:45,921
point out that we have already implemented
and are continuing to implement in the

4955
06:43:45,978 --> 06:43:50,455
Member States and the Council of Ministers
a series of measures to address the

4956
06:43:50,513 --> 06:43:55,104
situation in a comprehensive manner, and
I would like to remind the country, the

4957
06:43:55,162 --> 06:43:59,294
Member States, that this is precisely
the added value that we represent.

4958
06:43:59,354 --> 06:44:02,534
Thank you. Please. You should go
for a question, not a comment.

4959
06:44:04,034 --> 06:44:08,751
But the facts, the facts! But the facts,
but the Toksh rajo ash edi nau ash disa

4960
06:44:08,810 --> 06:44:13,528
sninwara mandate to the House, Mr Michel
has the facts, but the Toksh rajoon ash

4961
06:44:13,587 --> 06:44:18,422
alkem etnaraul scoreboards and rule of law
reports etnaraul the Maltese Government

4962
06:44:18,481 --> 06:44:23,375
in this case has violated rights and must
respect the judicial inquiries set by the

4963
06:44:23,434 --> 06:44:28,152
citizens themselves, justice and the
country is in this situation and after that

4964
06:44:28,211 --> 06:44:32,987
declaration etnaraam the European Commission,
ladies and gentlemen, has noted the

4965
06:44:33,046 --> 06:44:37,645
real situation that Malta faces regarding
corruption and is taking good steps.

4966
06:44:37,704 --> 06:44:38,904
Thank you.

4967
06:44:39,974 --> 06:44:41,174
Yes.

4968
06:44:42,674 --> 06:44:46,454
Thank you. And now we move on
to KHDI and just to inform you,

4969
06:44:46,514 --> 06:44:57,728
I'm going to be able to take only one
speaker per group , so let me start with Mr.

4970
06:44:57,865 --> 06:45:01,694
Lopatka. One moment, moment.

4971
06:45:02,834 --> 06:45:04,694
Where it is murdering, sorry.

4972
06:45:06,194 --> 06:45:14,244
No, no, okay. Thank you. Nine years ago,
Daphné Galizia was murdered by a car bomb.

4973
06:45:14,341 --> 06:45:22,294
That's a fact. But it's also a fact that
no one has been convicted of ordering the

4974
06:45:22,391 --> 06:45:26,852
bombing. Colleague Agius
said it very clearly.

4975
06:45:26,949 --> 06:45:33,544
We have to respect of course the
independence of the Maltese courts.

4976
06:45:33,641 --> 06:45:41,109
But the trial left questions about the
police investigation and the handling.

4977
06:45:41,206 --> 06:45:45,667
Very open. The wider
picture is also worrying.

4978
06:45:45,764 --> 06:45:53,038
The commission's role rule of law report
finds no progress on free of seven

4979
06:45:53,135 --> 06:46:00,506
recommendations. The government of Malta
should listen very carefully to the

4980
06:46:00,603 --> 06:46:06,325
majority of this speeches h
ere in the European Parliament.

4981
06:46:06,422 --> 06:46:11,174
I strongly call on Malta
to complete its reforms.

4982
06:46:13,454 --> 06:46:17,414
Thank you. And now I would like to call
on my colleague Mr López Aguilar, please.

4983
06:46:19,514 --> 06:46:21,614
Thank you so much, Mr.
President. Commissioner Magra,

4984
06:46:22,154 --> 06:46:27,304
nine years since the assassination of
Daphne Caruana and nine years that, on this

4985
06:46:27,367 --> 06:46:30,483
date, we invariably hold
a tribute to her memory.

4986
06:46:30,546 --> 06:46:34,297
For which the press room of
this Parliament bears her name.

4987
06:46:34,361 --> 06:46:39,065
Full solidarity with your work, full
solidarity with your family, and full

4988
06:46:39,129 --> 06:46:44,151
commitment to ending impunity. But
invariably this debate ends up being used by

4989
06:46:44,215 --> 06:46:47,267
Malta’s government opponents
to attack unjustly.

4990
06:46:47,330 --> 06:46:51,208
There has been an investigation,
a criminal trial, a verdict.

4991
06:46:51,272 --> 06:46:56,422
And therefore, we must draw attention to
the subject of this debate, which is the

4992
06:46:56,485 --> 06:47:01,508
memory of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Not
the Government of Malta, however much its

4993
06:47:01,571 --> 06:47:06,721
opponents may dislike it. And so, if we
truly want to honour the memory of Daphne

4994
06:47:06,785 --> 06:47:10,345
Caruana, let us keep the
debate within its proper scope.

4995
06:47:10,409 --> 06:47:15,431
Which is to honour investigative journalism,
to protect journalists against all

4996
06:47:15,495 --> 06:47:20,263
threats. And naturally to guarantee
information pluralism and investigative

4997
06:47:20,327 --> 06:47:24,014
journalism in the European
Union. Thank you, Mr President.

4998
06:47:25,994 --> 06:47:30,374
Thank you. And now I would like to ask our
colleague Ms Višnevská to take the floor.

4999
06:47:32,594 --> 06:47:37,360
Mr President, honourable Members. Madam
President, honourable Members, I was in

5000
06:47:37,420 --> 06:47:42,247
Malta a few weeks ago and I saw Maltese
people protesting against what happened.

5001
06:47:42,307 --> 06:47:47,013
Mr President, honourable Members, I was
in Malta a few weeks ago and I saw the

5002
06:47:47,073 --> 06:47:52,080
Maltese protesting against what happened.
Today Mr López is speaking here on behalf

5003
06:47:52,141 --> 06:47:56,666
of Ms Aguilar, and says this is a debate
dedicated to commemorating Daphne.

5004
06:47:56,726 --> 06:48:00,165
But Daphne’s memory has still
not been properly honoured.

5005
06:48:00,225 --> 06:48:03,483
The perpetrators of this
crime have not been punished.

5006
06:48:03,543 --> 06:48:08,430
And when the left-wing government responsible
for the rampant corruption in Malta

5007
06:48:08,490 --> 06:48:13,437
and for Daphne’s death is pointed out in
this Chamber, then the representatives of

5008
06:48:13,498 --> 06:48:18,445
this supposedly so sensitive left they
stand as one behind the corrupt government.

5009
06:48:18,505 --> 06:48:23,331
Behind a government that has drawn no
lessons whatsoever from this tragic death.

5010
06:48:23,392 --> 06:48:26,830
And this shows, in a nutshell,
their left-wing hypocrisy.

5011
06:48:26,891 --> 06:48:28,091
Thank you.

5012
06:48:30,194 --> 06:48:33,854
And now, as the last colleague, I
call on Mr Zaliņš to take the floor.

5013
06:48:36,914 --> 06:48:41,175
Thank you. Dear colleagues, nine
years after assassination of Ms.

5014
06:48:41,240 --> 06:48:46,156
Galizia Europe has still done and not
done enough to protect media freedom.

5015
06:48:46,222 --> 06:48:51,531
Last year investigative reporters were
targeted by explosive attacks in Italy and

5016
06:48:51,596 --> 06:48:56,185
Greece. Twenty Italian journalists
required all day police protection.

5017
06:48:56,250 --> 06:49:01,101
Elsewhere politicians used smear
campaigns to discredit independent media.

5018
06:49:01,166 --> 06:49:06,541
Public broadcasters also faced political
interference undermining their ability to

5019
06:49:06,607 --> 06:49:11,588
hold governments acco untable. In
Lithuania, after attempts by the governing

5020
06:49:11,654 --> 06:49:16,832
majority to bring public broadcaster
under political contr ol, prosecutors have

5021
06:49:16,897 --> 06:49:21,551
launched an inquiry into how LRT
journalists gather covert information.

5022
06:49:21,617 --> 06:49:26,402
The European Broadcasting Union has
warned already that this could expose

5023
06:49:26,467 --> 06:49:30,597
confidential sources and undermine
the editorial independ ence.

5024
06:49:30,662 --> 06:49:36,037
Together with cases revealed a disturbing
pattern of growing political pressure on

5025
06:49:36,103 --> 06:49:40,035
journalists. But we have
instruments which must be enforced.

5026
06:49:40,101 --> 06:49:42,854
The European Media Freedom Act. Thank you.

5027
06:49:45,014 --> 06:49:48,471
Thank you very much. And sadly I
have to conclude with this, the KHDI.

5028
06:49:48,521 --> 06:49:52,570
Thank you to all of you who expressed the
interest, but since we are running late,

5029
06:49:52,620 --> 06:49:56,225
we cannot take all of the requests.
And let me give the floor back to the

5030
06:49:56,274 --> 06:49:59,534
Commission, to the Commissioner
Magra. Please, the floor is yours.

5031
06:50:04,214 --> 06:50:09,298
Thank you very much, Chair. And can I
thank all of the honorable members who

5032
06:50:09,364 --> 06:50:14,515
contributed to this debate? I highly
charged debate, understandable given the

5033
06:50:14,582 --> 06:50:18,261
circumstances and the issue
that was under discuss ion.

5034
06:50:18,328 --> 06:50:23,879
And as colleagues will know, neither I nor
any member of the Commission can comment

5035
06:50:23,946 --> 06:50:28,562
on cri minal proceedings that are
ongoing before the National Courts.

5036
06:50:28,628 --> 06:50:32,575
We have to fully respect the
independence of the judiciary.

5037
06:50:32,642 --> 06:50:38,260
And as we have done since the assassination
we will closely monitor all developments

5038
06:50:38,327 --> 06:50:43,545
so that justice is d one for Daphné. But
what I can say is that the despicable

5039
06:50:43,612 --> 06:50:48,829
assassination of Daphné in 20 17 was
undoubtedly an attack on press freedom in

5040
06:50:48,896 --> 06:50:54,247
Europe. Our thoughts remain with her
family today and her friends, who have been

5041
06:50:54,314 --> 06:50:57,658
fighting a long battle to
secure justice for h er.

5042
06:50:57,725 --> 06:51:02,073
The pursuit of justice for Daphné
and her loved ones is not over.

5043
06:51:02,140 --> 06:51:05,284
All those responsible
must be held accountable.

5044
06:51:05,351 --> 06:51:10,902
There can be no impunity. For what was a
heinous attack and judicial procedures are

5045
06:51:10,969 --> 06:51:14,314
still ongoing and we should
resp ect that process.

5046
06:51:14,381 --> 06:51:17,190
Free press lies at the heart of democracy.

5047
06:51:17,257 --> 06:51:21,738
Journalists must be able to work
safely, freely, and independently.

5048
06:51:21,805 --> 06:51:25,618
There must be able to do their
job. This is not a luxury.

5049
06:51:25,685 --> 06:51:31,103
But I think we can all agree that it is
a basic component of democracy and of the

5050
06:51:31,170 --> 06:51:36,387
rule of law. Over the past decade the
Commission, with your support, has taken

5051
06:51:36,454 --> 06:51:42,073
concrete action to uphold media freedom and
protect journalists and this is now also

5052
06:51:42,139 --> 06:51:46,621
a key plank of our commitments
under the European Democracy Shield.

5053
06:51:46,688 --> 06:51:52,173
The European Freedom Act, passed by this
House, provides a set of rules to protect

5054
06:51:52,240 --> 06:51:57,658
media pluralism and independence in the
EU and we are currently working to ensure

5055
06:51:57,725 --> 06:52:03,143
its application on the ground. And in
other tribute to all of the journalists who

5056
06:52:03,210 --> 06:52:08,694
have tragically lost their lives in the
European Union is to make sure that all of

5057
06:52:08,761 --> 06:52:14,179
the provisions of the European Media
Freedom Act are implemented right across the

5058
06:52:14,246 --> 06:52:19,062
member states of the European Union.
And since 2021 we have a Commission

5059
06:52:19,129 --> 06:52:24,614
recommendation on the safety of journalists,
aimed at ensuring that journalists ac

5060
06:52:24,614 --> 06:52:29,494
ross Europe are able to rely on a framework
of laws and measures to ensure their

5061
06:52:29,555 --> 06:52:34,314
safety without fear or constraints. The
recommendation is currently undergoing

5062
06:52:34,375 --> 06:52:39,011
review with the intention of updating
it. We also have the framework against

5063
06:52:39,072 --> 06:52:44,074
so-called slaps, we have the directive and
a recommendation and again I would urge

5064
06:52:44,135 --> 06:52:48,162
all of the member states to make
sure we have full implementation.

5065
06:52:48,223 --> 06:52:53,164
The media resilience program will reinforce
financial support for independent and

5066
06:52:53,225 --> 06:52:57,983
local journalism. We know that many parts
of the media are under real pressure

5067
06:52:58,044 --> 06:53:03,108
including financial sustainability issues
that play a crucial role in our democracy

5068
06:53:03,169 --> 06:53:08,293
and I believe are deserving of support. We
are extremely vigilant on this matter and

5069
06:53:08,354 --> 06:53:12,502
continue to monitor the state of
media freedom in all member states.

5070
06:53:12,563 --> 06:53:17,321
And please allow me to use the conclusion
of this debate to express my sincere

5071
06:53:17,382 --> 06:53:20,311
gratitude for the work
of Maltese civil society.

5072
06:53:20,372 --> 06:53:25,313
Which has undoubtedly played a crucial
role following the assassination of Daphné

5073
06:53:25,374 --> 06:53:30,498
nine years ago. In relation to the situation
concerning the rule of law in Malta the

5074
06:53:30,559 --> 06:53:35,684
Commission counsels the Maltese authorities
to take forward the necessary reforms to

5075
06:53:35,745 --> 06:53:40,869
adequately address the recommendations
addressed to Malta in the rule of law report.

5076
06:53:40,930 --> 06:53:45,871
And I would take this opportunity finally
to urge all of the member states across

5077
06:53:45,932 --> 06:53:50,874
the European Union to fully implement the
recommendations that the Commission has

5078
06:53:50,935 --> 06:53:55,876
made in respect of the rule of law. And
we are there to support and assist member

5079
06:53:55,937 --> 06:54:00,390
states in that regard and please be
assured of my personal commitment and

5080
06:54:00,451 --> 06:54:05,515
determination to working with all of you
to improve the rule of law in the European

5081
06:54:05,576 --> 06:54:10,334
Union and to ensure that justice is
achieved in respect of all of these cases.

5082
06:54:10,694 --> 06:54:11,894
Thank you very much.

5083
06:54:13,034 --> 06:54:17,692
Thank you, Commissioner. And indeed I hope
that not only justice will be served in

5084
06:54:17,748 --> 06:54:21,554
all of the cases but that no
journalists will be harmed ever again.

5085
06:54:22,274 --> 06:54:27,905
The debate on this item is now closed.
The next item on the agenda is the report

5086
06:54:27,975 --> 06:54:33,184
presented by colleague Zdrojevský on
Erasmus+, for the years 2028 to 2034.

5087
06:54:33,254 --> 06:54:39,166
To open the debate, I would now like to
give the floor to Mr colleague Zdrojevský as

5088
06:54:39,237 --> 06:54:40,574
rapporteur. Please.

5089
06:54:44,594 --> 06:54:49,453
Mr President, Commissioner, it is hard
to believe, but next year we will be

5090
06:54:49,518 --> 06:54:53,340
celebrating the 40th anniversary
of the Erasmus+ programme.

5091
06:54:53,405 --> 06:54:58,718
It is even harder to believe the fact that
nearly 17 million people have benefited

5092
06:54:58,782 --> 06:55:03,965
from this programme. Mr President,
Commissioner, it is hard to believe, but next

5093
06:55:04,030 --> 06:55:08,889
year we will be celebrating the 40th
anniversary of the Erasmus+ programme.

5094
06:55:08,954 --> 06:55:14,267
And it is even harder to believe that
nearly 17 million people have benefited from

5095
06:55:14,331 --> 06:55:19,709
this programme. Today’s debate on this
programme should therefore be something of a

5096
06:55:19,774 --> 06:55:25,151
celebration. Because this is indeed a major
effort and, as a result, a gigantic – I

5097
06:55:25,216 --> 06:55:30,334
stress, gigantic – success. For me, as
the rapporteur, today’s debate is also a

5098
06:55:30,399 --> 06:55:35,582
positive finale and, at the same time, a
presentation of the results of nearly a

5099
06:55:35,646 --> 06:55:40,829
year’s work, of course not only mine.
During this time, there was no shortage of

5100
06:55:40,894 --> 06:55:44,911
interesting debates, interesting
conferences or consultations.

5101
06:55:44,976 --> 06:55:50,353
We had everything that was key: evaluations
of the programme itself, postulates for

5102
06:55:50,418 --> 06:55:53,916
the future, interesting
questions, and expert answers.

5103
06:55:53,981 --> 06:55:59,229
The whole process was crowned with a
fantastic snapshot of where we are today and

5104
06:55:59,294 --> 06:56:03,699
what we need in the future. Erasmus
is a multidimensional programme.

5105
06:56:03,764 --> 06:56:06,874
Student exchanges obviously
dominate, of course.

5106
06:56:06,939 --> 06:56:12,381
But today, what must not be forgotten is
also the activities of youth organisations.

5107
06:56:12,446 --> 06:56:17,175
Cooperation between universities,
training, and professional development.

5108
06:56:17,240 --> 06:56:20,868
And even support for sport
and physical activity itself.

5109
06:56:20,933 --> 06:56:26,245
Erasmus+ is a complementary programme.
Returning to the origins and drawing on the

5110
06:56:26,310 --> 06:56:31,428
experience gained, we must, however,
emphasise the necessary conditions for its

5111
06:56:31,493 --> 06:56:34,344
implementation. And
there are three of them.

5112
06:56:34,409 --> 06:56:38,166
First of all, there must be
demand. Desire to participate.

5113
06:56:38,231 --> 06:56:42,442
Good evaluation of implementation.
And I will answer immediately:

5114
06:56:42,507 --> 06:56:47,496
it is fantastic. We do not even have a
chance of meeting all the quantitative

5115
06:56:47,560 --> 06:56:52,419
expectations. On this occasion, I
welcome the return of the United Kingdom.

5116
06:56:52,484 --> 06:56:56,890
This enriches our offer and expands
our implementation capabilities.

5117
06:56:56,955 --> 06:57:01,814
Perhaps Switzerland will soon join,
and in the longer term, Canada as well.

5118
06:57:01,878 --> 06:57:05,247
I am pleased that Hungarians,
students from Hungary.

5119
06:57:05,312 --> 06:57:10,754
The second equally important condition is
simplifications, flexibility, facilitation

5120
06:57:10,819 --> 06:57:15,613
of access and, above all, maximum
reduction of various forms of exclusion.

5121
06:57:15,678 --> 06:57:19,306
This is the proposed simplicity
and ease of application.

5122
06:57:19,371 --> 06:57:24,554
And thirdly, an adequate budget. In our
proposal, this amounts to €47.2 billion.

5123
06:57:25,094 --> 06:57:30,544
I would like to remind you that in the
current, still ongoing multiannual financial

5124
06:57:30,610 --> 06:57:36,125
framework, this was 26 billion. Thank you
to colleague Jar for good cooperation with

5125
06:57:36,191 --> 06:57:40,196
the Committee on Budgets. And
here I must pause for a moment.

5126
06:57:40,262 --> 06:57:44,399
We are not lacking in energy.
There is no shortage of interest.

5127
06:57:44,464 --> 06:57:49,258
There is no shortage of organisations
ready for professional cooperation.

5128
06:57:49,323 --> 06:57:52,738
But we still do not have
enough financial resources.

5129
06:57:52,803 --> 06:57:57,859
It is worth remembering that every
additional euro invested in Erasmus+ is of

5130
06:57:57,925 --> 06:58:03,244
enormous importance. Even a small increase
in this programme increases the number

5131
06:58:03,309 --> 06:58:06,067
and opportunities for thousands of people.

5132
06:58:06,133 --> 06:58:11,451
Conversely, any cuts mean sending young
people away and wasting their educational

5133
06:58:11,517 --> 06:58:16,507
aspirations. We must give the youngest
generation the tools for development.

5134
06:58:16,573 --> 06:58:19,659
Spending on Erasmus+ is
a guarantee of success.

5135
06:58:19,725 --> 06:58:25,043
It is an investment with a 100% return.
This is not inflation-linked bonds, but a

5136
06:58:25,109 --> 06:58:29,508
capital investment with indicators
unknown to banking institutions.

5137
06:58:29,574 --> 06:58:32,595
The budget of EUR 47.2
billion is the minimum.

5138
06:58:32,660 --> 06:58:37,979
And finally, of course, we know that the
most important battle ahead of us is the

5139
06:58:38,044 --> 06:58:42,903
trilogues. This is the cooperation
between the Commission, the Council and

5140
06:58:42,969 --> 06:58:48,485
Parliament. This will happen next year. We
must ensure a guarantee for the budget at

5141
06:58:48,550 --> 06:58:54,000
a level adequate to our needs. Today, I am
keeping my fingers crossed for the young

5142
06:58:54,066 --> 06:58:58,334
generation of Europeans. This
debate and this report are for you.

5143
06:59:02,174 --> 06:59:06,526
Thank you, Mr rapporteur. And now I would
like to invite the Commission's Executive

5144
06:59:06,579 --> 06:59:08,414
Vice-President, Ms Minzátú. Please.

5145
06:59:13,454 --> 06:59:18,924
Thank you, Honorable Members. Erasmus+,
the most loved, the most well-known, the

5146
06:59:18,992 --> 06:59:24,463
most cherished of EU programs, the one
that has a very direct impact in people's

5147
06:59:24,531 --> 06:59:29,728
lives, especially young people, be them
students, pupils, but also teachers,

5148
06:59:29,796 --> 06:59:33,488
volunteers, all those engaged
in youth organization s.

5149
06:59:33,557 --> 06:59:39,232
For 40 years a program that has built a
sense of belonging for all of us in Europe.

5150
06:59:39,300 --> 06:59:44,497
And beyond the anniversary, our debate
today is about the next generation of

5151
06:59:44,565 --> 06:59:50,104
Erasmus+, what's happening in the next
financial multi-annual financial framework

5152
06:59:50,172 --> 06:59:55,779
2028-2034. Of course, first of all, we
want to protect what works, what works well

5153
06:59:55,847 --> 07:00:01,522
with this program. A program that offered
so many Europeans, millions of Europeans,

5154
07:00:01,591 --> 07:00:07,266
the first to for the first time maybe travel
in Europe, to study, to gather skills,

5155
07:00:07,334 --> 07:00:11,232
to discover new people, new
places, to understand Europe.

5156
07:00:11,300 --> 07:00:14,719
We want to make this program
even more accessible.

5157
07:00:14,787 --> 07:00:20,326
I think it's important that no matter what
region you come from or no matter what

5158
07:00:20,394 --> 07:00:25,522
your social, economic background is ,
you should be able to access Erasmus.

5159
07:00:25,591 --> 07:00:30,856
We also want Erasmus to contribute more
to what we call excellence in Europe.

5160
07:00:30,924 --> 07:00:35,984
Because we have so much talent and we
want our Europeans to choose Europe.

5161
07:00:36,052 --> 07:00:41,249
And we want to invest in European
university alliances, in the scholarships.

5162
07:00:41,317 --> 07:00:44,189
We want to make Erasmus simpler to access.

5163
07:00:44,258 --> 07:00:49,864
It's important that it's easy, that it's
not bureaucratic, that it's a demand that

5164
07:00:49,933 --> 07:00:55,471
comes from of course national agencies,
from students, from teachers, from you in

5165
07:00:55,540 --> 07:00:59,711
this house. And this is a
direction that we've also followed.

5166
07:00:59,779 --> 07:01:04,018
And all these are reflected in
the proposal of the Commission.

5167
07:01:04,087 --> 07:01:07,916
But of course the money
matters. A bigger budget indeed.

5168
07:01:07,984 --> 07:01:13,249
Commission proposed an increase from
the current 27 billion euros to a bigger

5169
07:01:13,317 --> 07:01:19,061
amount. I wouldn't say the ideal amount
because we need an Erasmus for all, but it's

5170
07:01:19,129 --> 07:01:24,805
a big step forward. 41 billion euros. This
house has supported a very strong budget

5171
07:01:24,873 --> 07:01:29,933
and even better numbers. I need to
thank all of you of course first of all

5172
07:01:30,001 --> 07:01:34,514
rapporteurs Zdrojewski for the
work that he has done, all the shad

5173
07:01:34,574 --> 07:01:39,466
ow rapporteurs, all the members of this
house that have contributed and keep

5174
07:01:39,530 --> 07:01:42,298
contributing to a strong
relevant E rasmus.

5175
07:01:42,362 --> 07:01:47,576
And of course we need to have a debate
that would reflect not only the budget but

5176
07:01:47,640 --> 07:01:52,854
also the soft power that Erasmus has in
the lives of European citizens and in the

5177
07:01:52,918 --> 07:01:58,196
lives of those that are outside of Europe
and we mentioned here the countries that

5178
07:01:58,261 --> 07:02:03,667
want to also to join. So looking forward
to this debate and to your questions and to

5179
07:02:03,732 --> 07:02:05,534
come back to them of course.

5180
07:02:08,174 --> 07:02:11,709
Thank you very much. So now I would like
to give the floor for the Committee,

5181
07:02:11,755 --> 07:02:13,454
Karolina Moracze, the floor is yours.

5182
07:02:15,314 --> 07:02:20,680
Thank you. Thank you, Mr President.
Commissioner, and first of all I would like to

5183
07:02:20,745 --> 07:02:25,784
start by thanking my colleague Zdrojewski
for the excellent work carried out.

5184
07:02:25,850 --> 07:02:30,365
Erasmus+ reminds us that education
does not stop at the school desks.

5185
07:02:30,430 --> 07:02:35,076
We learn by travelling, by meeting
other cultures, by practising sport.

5186
07:02:35,142 --> 07:02:39,461
Because growing up also means
learning to know and respect others.

5187
07:02:39,526 --> 07:02:44,892
But while we discuss these opportunities,
we cannot forget the young Palestinians.

5188
07:02:44,957 --> 07:02:49,538
In Gaza, war has destroyed schools
and disrupted educational pathways.

5189
07:02:49,604 --> 07:02:54,839
By depriving an entire generation of the
normality of studying, playing and even

5190
07:02:54,904 --> 07:02:59,877
dreaming. As rapporteur for the opinion
of the Development Committee, I have

5191
07:02:59,943 --> 07:03:03,869
stressed the need to protect
students affected by conflicts.

5192
07:03:03,934 --> 07:03:09,104
Erasmus+ cannot fund the physical
reconstruction of schools, but it can provide

5193
07:03:09,170 --> 07:03:14,601
scholarships and educational opportunities
to those at risk of losing their future.

5194
07:03:14,666 --> 07:03:19,574
Education, just like sport, must build
bridges even where war erects walls.

5195
07:03:19,640 --> 07:03:20,840
Thank you.

5196
07:03:22,154 --> 07:03:25,574
Thank you very much. Now for Budget
Committee will speak Lucia Iar.

5197
07:03:28,334 --> 07:03:31,334
Commissioner, colleagues,
I'll speak in Slovak.

5198
07:03:32,294 --> 07:03:37,382
This is the language, friends from all
over Europe, an experience for a lifetime.

5199
07:03:37,445 --> 07:03:42,595
This is precisely Erasmus. One of the best
things the European Union has ever come

5200
07:03:42,658 --> 07:03:45,924
up with. And an investment
that absolutely pays off.

5201
07:03:45,987 --> 07:03:51,201
That is why, in the new seven-year budget,
we need a stronger Erasmus, but not only

5202
07:03:51,263 --> 07:03:56,414
in the budget, but also in terms of the
changes for the better that will come with

5203
07:03:56,477 --> 07:04:01,753
it. Erasmus must not be a luxury. Try renting
a room somewhere in Amsterdam or Milan

5204
07:04:01,816 --> 07:04:06,841
on today’s scholarship, good luck. After
all, it must not be the parents' wallet

5205
07:04:06,904 --> 07:04:10,987
that decides who gets to go abroad.
Erasmus must not be a luxury.

5206
07:04:11,049 --> 07:04:16,074
But the skills of students. We want to
strengthen competitiveness, we constantly

5207
07:04:16,137 --> 07:04:21,413
talk about this here. Excellent. So let's
link Erasmus with research and innovation.

5208
07:04:21,476 --> 07:04:26,564
After all, the greatest competitive
advantage of Europe is the potential of young

5209
07:04:26,627 --> 07:04:31,840
people, who are turning it into results.
In business, in technology, in science and

5210
07:04:31,903 --> 07:04:34,604
in politics. I know
what I'm talking about.

5211
07:04:34,667 --> 07:04:39,692
Erasmus changed my life too. Without it,
I wouldn't even be standing here today.

5212
07:04:39,755 --> 07:04:44,654
So let's give all young people a stronger,
more accessible and fairer Erasmus.

5213
07:04:46,094 --> 07:04:49,814
Thank you. For the Committee
will speak Daniel Freund.

5214
07:04:52,634 --> 07:04:58,339
Dear colleagues, Erasmus is the best
thing that the European Union is doing.

5215
07:04:58,414 --> 07:05:04,494
There is no other program that changes
lives of millions of Europeans so directly

5216
07:05:04,570 --> 07:05:09,674
and so profoundly. I myself, 20
years ago, I was an Erasmus student.

5217
07:05:10,394 --> 07:05:16,528
And during that year I spent in Paris, I
didn’t just fall in love with the French

5218
07:05:16,603 --> 07:05:21,374
language, but also with a woman
from Italy who today is my wife

5219
07:05:22,394 --> 07:05:28,020
and there is a study that says that over
a million children have come from these

5220
07:05:28,091 --> 07:05:31,818
Erasmus relationships, three
of them are my children.

5221
07:05:31,889 --> 07:05:37,797
So what could be a more beautiful symbol
than the fact that, after centuries of war,

5222
07:05:37,867 --> 07:05:43,634
we now have a programme where millions of
Europeans spend time in another country.

5223
07:05:43,814 --> 07:05:48,739
That we have overcome war for this
program of peace, of meeting each other.

5224
07:05:48,805 --> 07:05:54,255
Actually every European should get the
chance once in their life to spend some time

5225
07:05:54,321 --> 07:05:59,115
in another member state. This is the
best way that we can spend EU money.

5226
07:05:59,181 --> 07:06:00,494
Thank you very much.

5227
07:06:02,594 --> 07:06:06,614
Thank you. Next speaker for Ample
Committee will be Nella Riel.

5228
07:06:11,834 --> 07:06:16,617
In France, a 16-year-old boy left his
house to demand a classroom that lets him

5229
07:06:16,677 --> 07:06:19,946
imagine a future. Instead
he came home without an eye.

5230
07:06:20,007 --> 07:06:23,882
A 15-year-old lost his hand. A
14-year-old has a broken jaw now.

5231
07:06:23,942 --> 07:06:28,907
They are facing riot police because they
ask for heating, for dry ceiling, and for

5232
07:06:28,967 --> 07:06:33,750
enough shares to sit on at school. And
politicians answer with even more budget

5233
07:06:33,810 --> 07:06:38,654
cuts. Because young people's future is
always the first budget to be cut because

5234
07:06:38,714 --> 07:06:43,497
it's super easy to take away from someone
who's not even sitt ing at the table.

5235
07:06:43,557 --> 07:06:48,582
And it's easier to blame young people for
disrupting society than to fix the system

5236
07:06:48,643 --> 07:06:51,973
that actually caused the
disruption in the first place.

5237
07:06:52,033 --> 07:06:57,058
But colleagues, this is our job. In France,
Italy, Belgium, students are protesting

5238
07:06:57,119 --> 07:06:59,843
and asking, isn't anyone
taking us seriously?

5239
07:06:59,904 --> 07:07:03,960
And today we give them the answer
by protecting the Erasmus budget.

5240
07:07:04,020 --> 07:07:08,864
We show them we do. It is the education
budget that you controls and we can show

5241
07:07:08,924 --> 07:07:11,709
that with us they do
have a future to imagine.

5242
07:07:11,770 --> 07:07:15,705
Thank you, Mr. Zdrojewski. Thank
you, Roxana, for the great work.

5243
07:07:15,765 --> 07:07:18,974
Thank you all colleagues
for the great work together.

5244
07:07:20,114 --> 07:07:24,371
Thank you. I now speak on behalf of the
European People's Party Group, Eldar Sousa

5245
07:07:24,423 --> 07:07:25,623
Silva.

5246
07:07:31,154 --> 07:07:35,651
Mr President, Commissioner, dear colleagues,
I would first like to congratulate my

5247
07:07:35,705 --> 07:07:40,092
colleague Bogdan Zdrojewski Mr President,
Commissioner, dear colleagues, I would

5248
07:07:40,147 --> 07:07:44,589
like to begin by congratulating my colleague
Bogdan Zdrojewski and all the shadow

5249
07:07:44,644 --> 07:07:48,757
rapporteurs for the rigorous and
ambitious work on this report, which is as

5250
07:07:48,812 --> 07:07:53,418
important as Erasmus+. Madam Commissioner,
dear colleagues, I would like to start by

5251
07:07:53,473 --> 07:07:58,079
congratulating my colleague Bogdan Zdrojewski
and all the shadow rapporteurs for the

5252
07:07:58,134 --> 07:08:02,411
rigorous and ambitious work on this
report, which is as important as Erasmus+.

5253
07:08:02,521 --> 07:08:06,634
Faced with an extremely positive proposal
from the Commission, but one that

5254
07:08:06,689 --> 07:08:10,472
Parliament says is insufficient,
and with the financial cuts proposed

5255
07:08:10,527 --> 07:08:14,859
incomprehensibly by the Council, this is
the moment for Parliament to halt this

5256
07:08:14,914 --> 07:08:19,301
retreat and clearly demand more. After
all, we are talking about one of the most

5257
07:08:19,356 --> 07:08:23,798
emblematic and also most sought-after
programmes of the Union, which prepares new

5258
07:08:23,853 --> 07:08:28,185
generations for the challenges of the
future and shapes true European citizens.

5259
07:08:28,240 --> 07:08:32,188
But the future of Erasmus+ does not
depend solely on how much we invest.

5260
07:08:32,243 --> 07:08:34,710
It depends on the
programme we want to build.

5261
07:08:34,765 --> 07:08:37,397
And the report points
exactly in this direction.

5262
07:08:37,452 --> 07:08:41,675
We need an Erasmus+ that goes further.
That does not waste talent and lack of

5263
07:08:41,730 --> 07:08:44,636
opportunities. Let it empower
young people and sport.

5264
07:08:44,691 --> 07:08:48,310
And let it take Europe to the world
and bring the world to Europe.

5265
07:08:48,365 --> 07:08:51,436
In the end, Erasmus+ is not
just another budget heading.

5266
07:08:51,491 --> 07:08:54,397
It is one of the most concrete
ways of living Europe.

5267
07:08:54,452 --> 07:08:58,894
For many young people, it is where Europe
becomes real because it shapes how they

5268
07:08:58,948 --> 07:09:01,471
see the Union and choose
to participate in it.

5269
07:09:01,526 --> 07:09:05,474
That is why Erasmus+ is not just
another expense in the European budget;

5270
07:09:05,529 --> 07:09:09,422
it is one of the best investments in
the next generations of Europeans.

5271
07:09:09,477 --> 07:09:10,677
Thank you very much.

5272
07:09:11,834 --> 07:09:16,214
Thank you. I now speak on behalf of the
Socialist and Democrats Group, Sabrina Repe.

5273
07:09:16,754 --> 07:09:17,954
Thank you very much.

5274
07:09:23,474 --> 07:09:25,919
And where did you do your
Erasmus+ at the time?

5275
07:09:25,971 --> 07:09:30,342
This question is always being asked of me
again and again, as if it were a matter of

5276
07:09:30,394 --> 07:09:34,764
course. that a young woman who is sitting
in the European Parliament today must have

5277
07:09:34,817 --> 07:09:37,470
also spent time abroad with
Erasmus+ at some point.

5278
07:09:37,522 --> 07:09:40,956
And you know what? I would have
loved to have had that experience.

5279
07:09:41,008 --> 07:09:44,962
It wasn’t because I didn’t want to. But
because I simply couldn't afford it.

5280
07:09:45,014 --> 07:09:49,125
Who works alongside their studies to pay
their rent cannot simply take that job

5281
07:09:49,177 --> 07:09:53,443
abroad. If parents cannot financially step
in, then this opportunity often remains

5282
07:09:53,495 --> 07:09:57,658
unattainable. All too often, it is still
the parents’ purse that decides who can

5283
07:09:57,710 --> 07:10:01,976
take part in Erasmus+ and who cannot. And
that is precisely what we must change in

5284
07:10:02,028 --> 07:10:06,086
the upcoming Erasmus+ programme. We want
to significantly increase the budget.

5285
07:10:06,138 --> 07:10:10,301
Because what good is Erasmus+ if you still
can’t afford to study abroad with it?

5286
07:10:10,353 --> 07:10:14,567
We have enshrined a clear goal: at least
one in five places should benefit people

5287
07:10:14,619 --> 07:10:18,157
for whom studying abroad has not
previously been a matter of course.

5288
07:10:18,209 --> 07:10:20,811
Because talent does not
depend on parents’ income.

5289
07:10:20,863 --> 07:10:23,985
And European opportunities
should not depend on that either.

5290
07:10:24,037 --> 07:10:28,303
Furthermore, 15 percent of the budget is
earmarked for youth and voluntary service

5291
07:10:28,355 --> 07:10:32,518
programmes. Because Europe is experienced
not only in the lecture hall, but also

5292
07:10:32,570 --> 07:10:36,368
through youth exchanges, voluntary
service or during vocational training.

5293
07:10:36,420 --> 07:10:40,686
These opportunities must be open, in
particular, to young people from rural areas.

5294
07:10:40,738 --> 07:10:43,912
Erasmus+ is not an elite programme
and must never become one.

5295
07:10:43,964 --> 07:10:46,826
I want young people in future
no longer to have to say:

5296
07:10:46,878 --> 07:10:50,260
"I would have liked to do an
Erasmus+, but I couldn’t afford it."

5297
07:10:50,312 --> 07:10:53,850
I myself was unable to take advantage
of this opportunity back then.

5298
07:10:53,902 --> 07:10:58,168
Today, I am sitting here in the European
Parliament and can help ensure that other

5299
07:10:58,220 --> 07:11:02,435
young people can take this path. Because
in the end, it should not be decided how

5300
07:11:02,487 --> 07:11:06,805
much money their parents have, but rather
what dreams and opportunities these young

5301
07:11:06,857 --> 07:11:08,057
people bring with them.

5302
07:11:09,074 --> 07:11:10,934
Thank you. Frau Weiß,

5303
07:11:10,994 --> 07:11:12,254
the patriot of Europe's garden

5304
07:11:12,794 --> 07:11:14,174
I am speaking, Katerina Grize.

5305
07:11:17,054 --> 07:11:21,615
Thank you, Mr President. Commissioner, for
how long will you divert Erasmus from its

5306
07:11:21,670 --> 07:11:24,439
original purpose, which is
Thank you, Mr President.

5307
07:11:24,493 --> 07:11:28,946
Commissioner, how long will you divert
Erasmus from its original purpose, which is

5308
07:11:29,000 --> 07:11:33,181
to bring young Europeans together? How
long will you extend this programme to

5309
07:11:33,235 --> 07:11:36,385
migration objectives, at the
risk of betraying its spirit?

5310
07:11:36,439 --> 07:11:41,000
And above all, how can we explain that,
after having excluded Hungarian universities

5311
07:11:41,055 --> 07:11:45,453
for years, Brussels is now opening the
doors of Erasmus to them just months after

5312
07:11:45,507 --> 07:11:50,014
its champion arrived in Budapest? The
Commission is invoking reforms to the rule of

5313
07:11:50,069 --> 07:11:54,304
law. But why have students had to pay
the price for this political tug-of-war?

5314
07:11:54,358 --> 07:11:58,920
Dear colleagues, the rule of law must never
become an instrument of pressure applied

5315
07:11:58,974 --> 07:12:03,372
with double standards. Education must not
be a bargaining chip in politics nor an

5316
07:12:03,426 --> 07:12:07,770
instrument of migration policy. Erasmus
belongs to European students, not to the

5317
07:12:07,825 --> 07:12:10,214
Commission’s political
ambitions. Thank you.

5318
07:12:11,474 --> 07:12:15,734
Thank you. Now I will speak on behalf
of the Renew Group, Lara Magoni.

5319
07:12:15,974 --> 07:12:17,174
Please.

5320
07:12:17,954 --> 07:12:20,731
Thank you to the
rapporteur, Mr Zdrojewski.

5321
07:12:20,795 --> 07:12:26,220
In an Europe where too many policies have
disappointed citizens, Erasmus remains one

5322
07:12:26,284 --> 07:12:29,771
of the greatest success
stories of the European Union.

5323
07:12:29,836 --> 07:12:34,679
In 1987, only 3,200 students took part;
today, over 16 million people have.

5324
07:12:34,744 --> 07:12:40,168
have lived this experience. But the real
success is not the numbers, it is the young

5325
07:12:40,232 --> 07:12:45,592
people who have learned to get to know
other cultures, to break down prejudices and

5326
07:12:45,657 --> 07:12:50,565
to broaden their horizons. At a time
when we are witnessing too many acts of

5327
07:12:50,629 --> 07:12:55,924
violence, even in our squares, investing
in education, dialogue and knowledge also

5328
07:12:55,989 --> 07:12:59,540
means preventing intolerance
and building alternatives.

5329
07:12:59,605 --> 07:13:04,707
Volunteering, youth projects and sport
will be given greater prominence, making

5330
07:13:04,771 --> 07:13:09,679
these pathways more accessible to all.
Because young people must not only be

5331
07:13:09,743 --> 07:13:13,553
Europe’s future, but conscious
protagonists of its present.

5332
07:13:13,618 --> 07:13:18,978
Europe is also defended in this way, by
offering opportunities, building trust, and

5333
07:13:19,042 --> 07:13:23,950
forming free, responsible citizens
capable of living together, thanks to the

5334
07:13:24,015 --> 07:13:25,215
Commissioner.

5335
07:13:25,934 --> 07:13:29,414
Thank you. On behalf of the Renew Europe
group, I will speak Lorens Fareng.

5336
07:13:30,914 --> 07:13:34,899
Thank you, Mr President. Madam
Vice-President, dear colleagues.

5337
07:13:34,962 --> 07:13:39,580
We have an Erasmus, and we can
congratulate ourselves on the speed of our

5338
07:13:39,643 --> 07:13:43,375
negotiations and the good
collaboration in this Parliament.

5339
07:13:43,438 --> 07:13:48,751
Finally, some good news. For 40 years, 17
million young people have gone abroad, and

5340
07:13:48,815 --> 07:13:54,065
today more than ever, Erasmus — which has
become Erasmus+ — fulfils three major and

5341
07:13:54,128 --> 07:13:59,125
essential ambitions. To develop European
citizenship and education, earlier and

5342
07:13:59,188 --> 07:14:04,185
earlier, right from primary school.
Promote the democratisation of education by

5343
07:14:04,248 --> 07:14:09,498
integrating students in apprenticeships
and vocational training into the programme,

5344
07:14:09,562 --> 07:14:14,875
but also by increasing grants for pupils
who need them, and individuals persons with

5345
07:14:14,938 --> 07:14:19,998
disabilities. Finally, to develop our
excellence and our capacity for innovation

5346
07:14:20,062 --> 07:14:25,248
with European university alliances. So,
Ladies and Gentlemen, Heads of Government,

5347
07:14:25,312 --> 07:14:30,245
at the Council, why break this momentum?
and momentum with drastic cuts to the

5348
07:14:30,309 --> 07:14:35,559
budget? At a time when young people all
over Europe are worried about their future,

5349
07:14:35,622 --> 07:14:40,872
are demonstrating for better education,
know that in this Parliament, we will fight

5350
07:14:40,935 --> 07:14:43,718
for the budget and the
ambition of Erasmus+.

5351
07:14:43,781 --> 07:14:44,774
Thank you.

5352
07:14:44,774 --> 07:14:48,254
Thank you. I now speak on behalf of
the Greens group, Benedetta Scuderi.

5353
07:14:50,834 --> 07:14:56,119
On 19 January, a very young me packed half
my life into a suitcase and for the first

5354
07:14:56,182 --> 07:15:01,278
time entered to live in another State. In
Madrid I met incredible people, I spoke

5355
07:15:01,341 --> 07:15:06,248
languages I didn’t know, I experienced
situations I would never have imagined.

5356
07:15:06,311 --> 07:15:11,407
Erasmus has taught me that people outside
what I knew are much more similar to me

5357
07:15:11,470 --> 07:15:16,566
than I thought, that young people have
similar fears, and that sometimes my peers

5358
07:15:16,629 --> 07:15:21,851
face far greater difficulties. And that is
how we build Europe, with its people who

5359
07:15:21,914 --> 07:15:27,136
know and understand one another. That is
how we create the heart of citizenship and

5360
07:15:27,199 --> 07:15:31,981
democracy. Erasmus has taught me that
you can always change course, and that

5361
07:15:32,043 --> 07:15:34,686
together, in diversity, we are better off.

5362
07:15:34,749 --> 07:15:38,083
Today, unfortunately, that
experience is for the few.

5363
07:15:38,146 --> 07:15:43,368
But let us ensure that no young person has
to give up on the European dream because

5364
07:15:43,431 --> 07:15:48,716
they cannot afford it. Let origins, economic
circumstances or vulnerability never be

5365
07:15:48,779 --> 07:15:54,001
a barrier. So that every young person, even
those who today feel furthest away from

5366
07:15:54,064 --> 07:15:57,147
Europe, can discover that
Europe belongs to them.

5367
07:15:57,210 --> 07:16:02,054
Erasmus brought me here, and from here
we must make it possible for everyone.

5368
07:16:03,674 --> 07:16:07,214
Thank you. Now, speaking on behalf
of the Left group, Mario Furori.

5369
07:16:13,334 --> 07:16:18,257
Thank you, President. First of all, I would
like to thank the rapporteur on behalf

5370
07:16:18,317 --> 07:16:23,300
of the group of The Left, from my colleague
Pappas, for their willingness to engage

5371
07:16:23,360 --> 07:16:26,541
in dialogue and for having
listened to our proposals.

5372
07:16:26,601 --> 07:16:31,644
We worked in a spirit of collaboration, and
I think it is right to acknowledge that.

5373
07:16:31,704 --> 07:16:36,027
Erasmus, as we were saying, is one
of the best things about this Europe.

5374
07:16:36,087 --> 07:16:40,889
It has allowed millions of young people
to travel, to study, to get to know each

5375
07:16:40,950 --> 07:16:45,152
other and to feel truly European.
But today we must also face reality:

5376
07:16:45,212 --> 07:16:50,075
across Europe, young people are taking to
the streets because they are tired of a

5377
07:16:50,135 --> 07:16:54,937
future marked by ever-rising rents, wages
that are too low, and precarious jobs.

5378
07:16:54,997 --> 07:16:59,920
Now, I always condemn violence, but this
cry of pain must be heard, and it must be

5379
07:16:59,980 --> 07:17:02,862
heard also in light of
the approval of Erasmus+.

5380
07:17:02,922 --> 07:17:07,725
Why should Erasmus not only be a programme
to train more competitive workers and

5381
07:17:07,785 --> 07:17:12,467
meet the needs of the market, but one
reserved only for the wealthiest groups?

5382
07:17:12,527 --> 07:17:16,490
We must focus today above all on
the most vulnerable young people.

5383
07:17:16,550 --> 07:17:21,532
And it must first and foremost be a tool
for social justice that gives everyone the

5384
07:17:21,592 --> 07:17:26,455
same opportunities. And we have insisted
on this in our amendments, and I welcome

5385
07:17:26,515 --> 07:17:31,498
the European Parliament Culture Committee’s
proposal to increase study grants by 20

5386
07:17:31,558 --> 07:17:36,181
%. We have achieved important results
and improved the Commission’s proposal.

5387
07:17:36,241 --> 07:17:41,223
But there is still a lot to do. We want an
Erasmus programme open to everyone, as I

5388
07:17:41,283 --> 07:17:44,225
was saying, not just those
from wealthy families.

5389
07:17:44,285 --> 07:17:47,827
And today’s young people are
asking us to be able to study.

5390
07:17:47,887 --> 07:17:51,969
To work. To live with dignity. And
to build a future for themselves.

5391
07:17:52,030 --> 07:17:56,472
And I believe that the very least we
can do as Europe is to give them this

5392
07:17:56,532 --> 07:18:00,014
opportunity. Thank you,
Commissioner. Thank you very much.

5393
07:18:00,674 --> 07:18:04,454
Thank you. Speaking on behalf of the
Sovereign Nations Group, Mark Jungen.

5394
07:18:11,114 --> 07:18:16,111
For countless young people from all over
Europe, student mobility through Erasmus+

5395
07:18:16,172 --> 07:18:20,012
represents a formative experience,
and that is very gratifying.

5396
07:18:20,073 --> 07:18:25,192
However, a voluntary exchange programme has
long since become an educational tool of

5397
07:18:25,253 --> 07:18:30,006
the EU. Through conditionality, Member
States and their universities are being

5398
07:18:30,067 --> 07:18:34,760
blackmailed; the exclusion of Hungarian
universities is just one particularly

5399
07:18:34,821 --> 07:18:39,696
drastic example. At the same time, an
ideological agenda is being pushed through

5400
07:18:39,757 --> 07:18:44,572
horizontal priorities. Diversity and
inclusion as binding requirements, climate

5401
07:18:44,632 --> 07:18:49,447
policy as a cross-cutting objective, the
systematic strengthening of a European

5402
07:18:49,508 --> 07:18:54,140
identity at the expense of national
ties, and the promotion of projects that

5403
07:18:54,200 --> 07:18:57,613
democratically elected parties
as G danger to democracy.

5404
07:18:57,674 --> 07:19:02,793
Moreover, the bureaucratic instruments that
enabled and enforced the harmful Bologna

5405
07:19:02,854 --> 07:19:06,206
Process were largely financed
through these programmes.

5406
07:19:06,267 --> 07:19:11,325
Even in view of the necessary cuts to the
EU budget, we cannot agree to the planned

5407
07:19:11,386 --> 07:19:16,384
further expansion. However, we are not
opposing the negotiations with the Council.

5408
07:19:16,445 --> 07:19:17,645
Thank you.

5409
07:19:18,554 --> 07:19:21,734
Thank you. Next to speak
is Giuseppina Princi.

5410
07:19:23,114 --> 07:19:26,274
Thank you, President.
Vice-President Mizzotti.

5411
07:19:26,343 --> 07:19:31,221
To understand what Erasmus is, we do
not need to start from Strasbourg.

5412
07:19:31,290 --> 07:19:36,855
We must start with Antonio, a 20-year-old
boy born in San Luca in the province of

5413
07:19:36,923 --> 07:19:42,420
Reggio Calabria. Antonio grew up there,
where the world can seem distant and the

5414
07:19:42,489 --> 07:19:47,779
future already mapped out. One day,
Antonio arrives in Lisbon, studies, meets

5415
07:19:47,847 --> 07:19:51,077
people, searches for
words in another language.

5416
07:19:51,145 --> 07:19:56,916
And he understands one crucial thing: the
place you come from must not determine how

5417
07:19:56,985 --> 07:20:01,726
far you can go. Over these 40 years,
Erasmus has done precisely that:

5418
07:20:01,794 --> 07:20:07,085
it has not only brought States closer
together, it has shortened the distance

5419
07:20:07,153 --> 07:20:12,375
between what a young person dares to
imagine and what they can truly become.

5420
07:20:12,443 --> 07:20:16,360
This is the whole political
insight, the European vision.

5421
07:20:16,428 --> 07:20:21,925
Even before millions of young people knew
how to explain what the European Union

5422
07:20:21,993 --> 07:20:25,016
was, Europe had already
entered their lives.

5423
07:20:25,085 --> 07:20:29,688
Not as a treaty, not as a distant
institution, but as an open door.

5424
07:20:29,757 --> 07:20:33,810
Because Europe is not built
solely within our institutions.

5425
07:20:33,879 --> 07:20:38,620
It is also built in the distance
that separates San Luca from Lisbon.

5426
07:20:38,688 --> 07:20:44,253
On paper it may remain the same, but what
changes is its meaning in the life of a

5427
07:20:44,322 --> 07:20:49,956
young European. Because talent does not
choose where to be born, opportunities too

5428
07:20:50,025 --> 07:20:55,658
often do, and our European ambition is
measured by our ability to break this link.

5429
07:20:55,727 --> 07:20:56,927
Thank you.

5430
07:20:58,394 --> 07:21:01,934
Thank you. Now Hannes
Heide will speak, please.

5431
07:21:03,074 --> 07:21:07,258
Thank you, Mr Chair. Madam
Vice-President of the Commission.

5432
07:21:07,327 --> 07:21:13,184
Every European woman, every European man
must have the opportunity to participate in

5433
07:21:13,254 --> 07:21:16,950
Erasmus+ at least once in
their life. to participate.

5434
07:21:17,019 --> 07:21:22,667
No EU programme is more successful than
Erasmus+, and that is how we should treat

5435
07:21:22,737 --> 07:21:28,385
it. With a comparatively small budget,
Erasmus+ is able to achieve extraordinary,

5436
07:21:28,455 --> 07:21:34,033
indeed magnificent things. Since its
inception, more than 18 million people have

5437
07:21:34,103 --> 07:21:39,890
participated in it. And almost 100% say
that they have benefited from this mobility

5438
07:21:39,960 --> 07:21:45,747
experience. But more than any numbers,
Erasmus+ speaks for itself in that there are

5439
07:21:45,817 --> 07:21:51,325
now more than 1 million Erasmus+ babies.
The Draghi report calls for a fourfold

5440
07:21:51,395 --> 07:21:57,113
increase in the Erasmus+ budget. We are
calling for at least €47.4 billion for the

5441
07:21:57,182 --> 07:22:02,900
next multiannual financial framework in
order to be able to achieve our objectives

5442
07:22:02,970 --> 07:22:08,618
and thus reach more people as well.
Students, just like apprentices, young people

5443
07:22:08,687 --> 07:22:14,335
with fewer opportunities, athletes,
volunteers, for example in our voluntary fire

5444
07:22:14,405 --> 07:22:17,682
brigades through the
European Solidarity Corps:

5445
07:22:17,752 --> 07:22:23,470
every single exchange is an investment in
the future of democracy and the European

5446
07:22:23,539 --> 07:22:28,629
Union. My appeal to the Council: do
not attack this budget proposal, this

5447
07:22:28,699 --> 07:22:34,417
Parliament. Are we aware of the power
Erasmus+ has and what we can achieve with it

5448
07:22:34,487 --> 07:22:37,694
for Europe, for the
European Union? Thank you.

5449
07:22:38,474 --> 07:22:44,645
Thank you, Kollege Heide. Kollege Heide,
would you approve Blue Card, yeah, from

5450
07:22:44,723 --> 07:22:46,574
Kollege Molarczyk, 5 90?

5451
07:22:50,714 --> 07:22:51,914
Ah, colleague Molarczyk.

5452
07:22:52,514 --> 07:22:57,006
Thank you very much, Mr Ambassador,
for accepting the blue card.

5453
07:22:57,076 --> 07:23:02,972
You emphasise, just like your colleague,
that over a million children, a million new

5454
07:23:03,042 --> 07:23:07,113
Europeans, have been born
thanks to the Erasmus programme.

5455
07:23:07,183 --> 07:23:12,938
of them. This is, of course, an interesting
and positive signal of this programme.

5456
07:23:13,009 --> 07:23:18,834
But I also have a question. , whether these
million new Europeans have two parents,

5457
07:23:18,904 --> 07:23:24,800
as my colleague here mentioned, the Member
who met his spouse during this programme.

5458
07:23:24,870 --> 07:23:28,801
The point is that children
should be born into families.

5459
07:23:28,871 --> 07:23:33,854
Do you have, do you have that knowledge,
whether these children have...

5460
07:23:34,034 --> 07:23:34,634
Thank you, thank you.

5461
07:23:34,634 --> 07:23:36,614
Stable families too. Thank you very much.

5462
07:23:38,054 --> 07:23:39,254
Please.

5463
07:23:42,674 --> 07:23:44,749
Also, I believe this
question answers itself.

5464
07:23:44,795 --> 07:23:47,054
But thank you very much
for asking that question.

5465
07:23:50,534 --> 07:23:53,654
Next to speak is Anna Marija
Viceka, for one minute, please.

5466
07:23:54,314 --> 07:23:57,194
Thank you, Chair. Honorable
Commissioner, I will speak in Hungarian.

5467
07:23:59,174 --> 07:24:04,467
The original mission of Erasmus is mobility,
skills development, language learning

5468
07:24:04,531 --> 07:24:09,953
and cultural experience. This is what makes
the programme one of the most successful

5469
07:24:10,018 --> 07:24:15,440
and most popular EU initiatives. Its special
value lies in its political neutrality.

5470
07:24:15,504 --> 07:24:20,410
That is why we cannot allow it to become
a tool for political or ideological

5471
07:24:20,475 --> 07:24:25,767
interests. The European Union's task is
to support national education systems, not

5472
07:24:25,832 --> 07:24:31,125
to override them. Therefore, in the operation
of Erasmus, a balance must be struck

5473
07:24:31,189 --> 07:24:35,966
between the competences of the Member
States and the European added value.

5474
07:24:36,030 --> 07:24:39,645
There is one thing I would
like to stress in particular:

5475
07:24:39,710 --> 07:24:44,744
participants in the programme must not
become hostages to political conflicts.

5476
07:24:44,809 --> 07:24:49,844
The years-long exclusion of students and
lecturers from the affected Hungarian

5477
07:24:49,908 --> 07:24:52,813
universities has created
a serious precedent.

5478
07:24:52,877 --> 07:24:58,170
Therefore, we demand clear guarantees that
this cannot happen again in the future.

5479
07:24:58,235 --> 07:25:03,076
As shadow rapporteur, I will continue
to work during the interinstitutional

5480
07:25:03,140 --> 07:25:08,239
negotiations to ensure that these
fundamental principles are given even greater

5481
07:25:08,304 --> 07:25:09,194
prominence.

5482
07:25:09,194 --> 07:25:09,494
Thank you.

5483
07:25:09,494 --> 07:25:10,394
The final decision.

5484
07:25:10,394 --> 07:25:18,626
Kollega Viceka, thank you. Would you accept
the Blue Card from Kollega Wiśniewska,

5485
07:25:18,726 --> 07:25:23,143
430? No? Can you— Okay,
so we will continue.

5486
07:25:23,243 --> 07:25:26,054
Next speaker, Marco Squarta.

5487
07:25:30,374 --> 07:25:33,055
President, young Europeans
don't lack talent.

5488
07:25:33,115 --> 07:25:36,392
Too often they simply lack
the opportunity to prove it.

5489
07:25:36,452 --> 07:25:41,397
And when a teenager sees their stronger
public square or looting a shop as a formal

5490
07:25:41,457 --> 07:25:46,104
political participation, we face a problem
that go es far beyond public order.

5491
07:25:46,164 --> 07:25:51,109
Investing in culture and education means
giving young people the tools to think for

5492
07:25:51,169 --> 07:25:55,936
themselves, to distinguish protest from
violence, and the freedom from impunity.

5493
07:25:55,995 --> 07:25:58,498
This is also what Erasmus should be about:

5494
07:25:58,558 --> 07:26:03,265
giving young people the opportunity to
study, develop their skills, and build a

5495
07:26:03,324 --> 07:26:07,912
future, regardless of where they come
from or what their families can afford.

5496
07:26:07,972 --> 07:26:11,070
And this is where our
political responsibility lies:

5497
07:26:11,130 --> 07:26:15,897
giving them a reason to come back, a place
to fulfill their ambition, and a real

5498
07:26:15,956 --> 07:26:20,544
alternative to those who exploit their
frustration and lack of opportunities.

5499
07:26:20,604 --> 07:26:25,490
The success of the new Erasmus program
will not only be measured by the experience

5500
07:26:25,549 --> 07:26:30,137
young people have abroad, but by the
opportunities waiting for them when they

5501
07:26:30,197 --> 07:26:31,397
return.

5502
07:26:32,474 --> 07:26:36,446
Thank you. Next to speak
is Vlada Vasile Vaicule.

5503
07:26:36,527 --> 07:26:37,727
Please.

5504
07:26:39,014 --> 07:26:44,081
Mr President, Madam Vice-President of the
Commission, dear colleagues, Erasmus is,

5505
07:26:44,142 --> 07:26:48,776
definitively, one of the best things
Europe has ever done for young people.

5506
07:26:48,838 --> 07:26:51,804
It began in 1987, with
just 3 000. 200 students.

5507
07:26:51,866 --> 07:26:56,562
The year marks 40 years. It is 40 years
since over 18 million Europeans have

5508
07:26:56,623 --> 07:27:01,690
benefited from this programme. It created
the framework and provided a few hundred

5509
07:27:01,752 --> 07:27:04,470
euros in scholarships
that can change lives.

5510
07:27:04,532 --> 07:27:09,660
Meanwhile, Erasmus has grown; it is no
longer just about students, it is also about

5511
07:27:09,722 --> 07:27:12,503
pupils, apprentices and
teachers. Volunteers.

5512
07:27:12,564 --> 07:27:17,322
It has become one of the most well-known
and appreciated European programmes.

5513
07:27:17,384 --> 07:27:20,782
And now it needs to do more
for even more young people.

5514
07:27:20,844 --> 07:27:25,416
That requires money, obviously. The
Commission is proposing €40.8 billion.

5515
07:27:25,478 --> 07:27:30,421
We are proposing €47.4 billion. Let us
not go below this amount, because for any

5516
07:27:30,483 --> 07:27:35,488
young person, a young person from a village,
especially for a young person from a

5517
07:27:35,549 --> 07:27:40,183
village or a small town, Erasmus can
be the only chance to discover Europe.

5518
07:27:40,245 --> 07:27:43,643
These grants must take into
account the cost of living.

5519
07:27:43,705 --> 07:27:48,463
The money must cover transport,
accommodation, everything, everything that is

5520
07:27:48,525 --> 07:27:51,614
needed. Erasmus must be
multiplied and replicated.

5521
07:27:51,794 --> 07:27:53,114
Thank you. Thank you, Kollega. Thank you.

5522
07:27:53,414 --> 07:27:56,294
Thank you. Now the floor goes
to Mr Mārtiņš Staķis, please.

5523
07:28:00,494 --> 07:28:05,354
Thank you, Mr President. Millions of young
Europeans have participated in Erasmus

5524
07:28:05,414 --> 07:28:10,334
programmes. They have got to know other
countries, languages and traditions, found

5525
07:28:10,394 --> 07:28:15,194
friends for life, new career opportunities,
well, and what else to hide, love as

5526
07:28:15,254 --> 07:28:20,234
well. Returning home with a different view
of the world and a united European idea.

5527
07:28:20,294 --> 07:28:24,914
Erasmus is like a bridge where every
day Europe itself comes to visit itself.

5528
07:28:24,974 --> 07:28:29,834
We are different peoples with our languages
and traditions, but we choose to work

5529
07:28:29,894 --> 07:28:34,754
together and learn from one another. And
that is precisely why Europe is the best

5530
07:28:34,814 --> 07:28:38,594
place to live. But they are
already sawing through this bridge.

5531
07:28:38,654 --> 07:28:43,454
Across Europe, we are seeing populism and
demagogues clawing their way to power.

5532
07:28:43,514 --> 07:28:47,174
Even today in Strasbourg, the
AfD presented its future plans.

5533
07:28:47,234 --> 07:28:51,974
Divided, weak and easily manipulated.
Well, in such an Europe, Erasmus would no

5534
07:28:52,034 --> 07:28:56,954
longer exist. Colleagues, our generation
opened the doors to Europe, and it is our

5535
07:28:57,014 --> 07:29:01,934
duty to ensure that they are not slammed
shut for the next generations, for future

5536
07:29:01,994 --> 07:29:03,374
generations. Thank you.

5537
07:29:04,334 --> 07:29:07,365
Thank you. Now the floor is
given to Mr Milan Mazurek.

5538
07:29:07,421 --> 07:29:08,621
Please.

5539
07:29:10,214 --> 07:29:15,380
You are misusing almost every single European
policy to destroy national identities

5540
07:29:15,443 --> 07:29:19,551
and to br ing more culturally
incompatible immigrants into Europe.

5541
07:29:19,613 --> 07:29:23,099
How many more you want them
in Europe? One million more?

5542
07:29:23,161 --> 07:29:25,900
Five millions more?
Maybe ten millions more?

5543
07:29:25,962 --> 07:29:28,825
When you will be finally
happy about yourself?

5544
07:29:28,887 --> 07:29:33,120
When will we achieve the so-called
multicultural paradise in Europe?

5545
07:29:33,182 --> 07:29:37,103
When all the cities in Europe
will burn like Paris or Brussels?

5546
07:29:37,166 --> 07:29:42,332
This program, Erasmus, should serve for
European students, for European people, for

5547
07:29:42,394 --> 07:29:47,436
European hardworking people who are paying
ta xes here and not serve as a vehicle

5548
07:29:47,498 --> 07:29:52,664
for young men from North Africa to come
and stay in Europe because this is what you

5549
07:29:52,727 --> 07:29:55,839
are doing right now. This
is betrayal of European.

5550
07:29:55,901 --> 07:30:00,756
This is the betrayal of hardworking
people who are paying taxes also for y ou.

5551
07:30:00,818 --> 07:30:05,362
We should openly say, finally, that
this is the time when Europe is full.

5552
07:30:05,425 --> 07:30:10,404
Europe should support its own citizens
and not the whole world and the only real

5553
07:30:10,466 --> 07:30:13,454
migration policy which
we need is re-m igration.

5554
07:30:14,834 --> 07:30:18,869
Kolēga Mazurek, you have two
Blue Cards. Would you accept?

5555
07:30:18,939 --> 07:30:21,374
So first one is João Oliveira, 125.

5556
07:30:29,474 --> 07:30:34,445
Thank you, Mr President. Mr Mazurek,
education is the foundation of any democracy,

5557
07:30:34,506 --> 07:30:39,174
and sharing experiences and exchanges
among young people only strengthens the

5558
07:30:39,234 --> 07:30:42,932
democratic conception that our
youth must have deeply rooted.

5559
07:30:42,993 --> 07:30:48,085
I understand that the far right opposes
these values, opposes the Erasmus programme,

5560
07:30:48,146 --> 07:30:53,056
because it allows, through this sharing
of experiences and values, to effectively

5561
07:30:53,117 --> 07:30:58,209
reinforce the possibility of young people
contributing to the building of democracy.

5562
07:30:58,270 --> 07:31:03,180
What I ask is whether, in your opinion,
the perspective that the far right has to

5563
07:31:03,241 --> 07:31:07,727
offer young people is one of closure,
of each person isolating themselves,

5564
07:31:07,788 --> 07:31:10,334
disregarding the entire world around them?

5565
07:31:10,574 --> 07:31:11,774
Thank you. Thanks a lot.

5566
07:31:13,394 --> 07:31:18,344
I don't understand why you, Marxist
politician, have always lied to us.

5567
07:31:18,414 --> 07:31:22,388
We are not against the exchange
of experiences in Europe.

5568
07:31:22,458 --> 07:31:27,965
We are not against the traveling. We are
against your misuse of this program to

5569
07:31:28,035 --> 07:31:32,358
spread your propaganda into
children. And this is what I said.

5570
07:31:32,428 --> 07:31:37,447
And I am calling for stopping of this.
Just stop to misuse this program.

5571
07:31:37,517 --> 07:31:42,119
Stop to use it as so-called European
identity, not as that exists.

5572
07:31:42,188 --> 07:31:46,790
And please be calm. Don't talk to
me when I am saying you can ask.

5573
07:31:46,860 --> 07:31:48,254
This is very simple.

5574
07:31:48,674 --> 07:31:53,820
Thank you. Thank you, Kollega Mazurek.
Second question is from Kollega Wiśniewska,

5575
07:31:53,883 --> 07:31:55,083
430.

5576
07:31:57,914 --> 07:32:03,044
Thank you very much. I share these remarks
regarding expanding opportunities for

5577
07:32:03,108 --> 07:32:06,058
third-country youth to
participate in Erasmus.

5578
07:32:06,122 --> 07:32:11,317
I am not surprised by the speech of the
Member from The Left, who sees this as an

5579
07:32:11,381 --> 07:32:16,639
opportunity for the European Union, because
after all it is the far-left in France

5580
07:32:16,703 --> 07:32:20,551
that is accused of setting fires
and inciting mass protests.

5581
07:32:20,615 --> 07:32:25,745
Given that we have a very difficult
budgetary situation, do you not think, then,

5582
07:32:25,809 --> 07:32:30,876
that we should stick to the existing
Erasmus framework rather than creating yet

5583
07:32:30,940 --> 07:32:36,134
another new pathway enabling migration
from countries outside the European Union?

5584
07:32:38,174 --> 07:32:41,893
Thank you very much for your
question. I absolutely agree with you.

5585
07:32:41,949 --> 07:32:46,224
They are misusing those programs for
their Marxist propaganda, which they are

5586
07:32:46,279 --> 07:32:50,498
pushing into children, and they also
want to mis use those programs and even

5587
07:32:50,554 --> 07:32:55,161
increase the financing of those programs
with bringing more immigrants into Europe.

5588
07:32:55,217 --> 07:32:59,769
They are saying that openly, and they
support that idea, but I think right now, in

5589
07:32:59,824 --> 07:33:04,266
our European situation, we just don't
have enough money for this kind of things.

5590
07:33:04,321 --> 07:33:08,929
We should not support their ideas, and
their proposals, and we should stay where we

5591
07:33:08,984 --> 07:33:13,425
have been at the beginning. This should
support European students, not the whole

5592
07:33:13,481 --> 07:33:14,681
world.

5593
07:33:14,714 --> 07:33:18,014
Thank you. Next speaker,
Nikolaos Anadiotis.

5594
07:33:24,734 --> 07:33:29,947
Ms Commissioner, today we are discussing
the future of Erasmus+ with the Committee

5595
07:33:30,011 --> 07:33:32,935
on Culture and Education
proposing the budget.

5596
07:33:32,998 --> 07:33:38,021
over €47 billion. At the same time, in
Greece, children succeed in the national

5597
07:33:38,084 --> 07:33:43,361
exams but are unable to their families
cannot afford the unaffordable rents, energy

5598
07:33:43,424 --> 07:33:48,256
costs and daily expenses. living. How
can we talk about European educational

5599
07:33:48,320 --> 07:33:52,515
mobility when young people cannot
even study in their own country?

5600
07:33:52,579 --> 07:33:57,792
The billions are worthless if the young
people who need them most are left without

5601
07:33:57,855 --> 07:34:03,005
opportunities. At the same time, we must
examine whether the European city serves

5602
07:34:03,068 --> 07:34:08,345
education or promotes ideological opposit
ideologies such as those of the so-called

5603
07:34:08,409 --> 07:34:13,622
'woke' agenda. True education cultivates
free individuals with knowledge, critical

5604
07:34:13,685 --> 07:34:16,927
thinking, ethics, and
respect for their traditions.

5605
07:34:16,991 --> 07:34:22,013
Education cannot be a privilege of wealthy
families, nor a tool for ideological

5606
07:34:22,077 --> 07:34:26,654
imposition. And a child's future
cannot depend on their parents' wallet.

5607
07:34:28,034 --> 07:34:31,786
Yes, thank you very much. Before I will
give the floor to the next speaker, I would

5608
07:34:31,831 --> 07:34:35,312
like to say that we are closing KJI
procedure because we have a more than 1 0

5609
07:34:35,357 --> 07:34:37,934
already registered. So next
speaker will be Viktor Weiss.

5610
07:34:43,094 --> 07:34:44,654
Thank you. I'll speak in Hungarian.

5611
07:34:46,034 --> 07:34:50,551
The peace of the future often begins in
a dormitory room, when a Hungarian, a

5612
07:34:50,610 --> 07:34:55,420
Romanian, a Slovak, an Irish or a French
young person studies together, has dinner

5613
07:34:55,479 --> 07:35:00,407
together, and talks until dawn, and in the
process they realise that much more binds

5614
07:35:00,465 --> 07:35:04,396
them together than divides them.
That is the true power of Erasmus.

5615
07:35:04,454 --> 07:35:09,265
It does not only provide language skills,
experience and lifelong friendships, but

5616
07:35:09,324 --> 07:35:12,139
also builds trust between
the nations of Europe.

5617
07:35:12,198 --> 07:35:17,126
But what is the value of this opportunity
if someone misses out on it simply because

5618
07:35:17,184 --> 07:35:20,294
their family cannot afford
the cost of living abroad?

5619
07:35:20,352 --> 07:35:25,163
That is why I advocate that the new Erasmus
programme should receive more funding.

5620
07:35:25,221 --> 07:35:30,149
Let the grants be adjusted to actual costs,
and so that not only university students

5621
07:35:30,208 --> 07:35:34,432
but also those in vocational training
can participate with greater ease.

5622
07:35:34,490 --> 07:35:39,359
Now that the restrictions affecting Hungarian
universities have finally been lifted

5623
07:35:39,418 --> 07:35:44,346
thanks to the Hungarian government and the
European Union, our task now is to ensure

5624
07:35:44,404 --> 07:35:49,098
that as many young Hungarians as possible
can take advantage of this opportunity

5625
07:35:49,156 --> 07:35:53,673
once again. Let us learn from the negative
trends unfolding around the world.

5626
07:35:53,732 --> 07:35:58,190
Let us learn from divisions and wars.
Let us build together a strong Europe.

5627
07:35:58,249 --> 07:36:02,942
And in this regard, Erasmus is an investment
where the next generations will not

5628
07:36:03,001 --> 07:36:07,694
build against each other, but together,
a peaceful and thriving European future.

5629
07:36:08,174 --> 07:36:09,374
Thank you very much.

5630
07:36:09,914 --> 07:36:13,642
I thank you. I don't see next speaker,
Kollega Rapabić in the hemicycle.

5631
07:36:13,694 --> 07:36:16,334
That's why I will give the
floor to Antonin Stanek.

5632
07:36:24,734 --> 07:36:30,543
Thank you for the floor. Erasmus+ is one
of those European programmes that people

5633
07:36:30,615 --> 07:36:36,353
love regardless of whom they vote for.
It has opened up the world to millions of

5634
07:36:36,424 --> 07:36:40,512
young people without telling
them what to think about it.

5635
07:36:40,584 --> 07:36:46,609
The programme bears the name of a man who
travelled across Europe to get to know it.

5636
07:36:46,680 --> 07:36:52,418
, not re-educate. A century later, my
fellow countryman Jan Amos Komenský had to

5637
07:36:52,490 --> 07:36:55,932
leave his homeland. under
religious intolerance.

5638
07:36:56,004 --> 07:36:59,088
We Czechs have a clear
lesson from history:

5639
07:36:59,159 --> 07:37:05,040
as soon as schools become a tool of ide
ideology, it ceases to serve the children.

5640
07:37:05,112 --> 07:37:10,491
That is why we want the forty billion
euros to serve primarily study stays,

5641
07:37:10,563 --> 07:37:16,014
vocational education and languages, not
the imposition of a uniform European

5642
07:37:16,085 --> 07:37:19,313
identity, green ideology
or migration policy.

5643
07:37:19,384 --> 07:37:23,616
Member States are responsible
for the content of education;

5644
07:37:23,688 --> 07:37:29,640
the Union should support, not replace. Let
Erasmus unite young Europeans, but let’s

5645
07:37:29,712 --> 07:37:32,294
not prescribe how they should think.

5646
07:37:34,154 --> 07:37:36,614
Thank you. Next speaker, Jan-Peter Warnke.

5647
07:37:47,414 --> 07:37:50,046
Mr President, Commissioner,
dear colleagues.

5648
07:37:50,106 --> 07:37:54,653
If we want to inspire young people for
Europe today, we do so with Erasmus+.

5649
07:37:54,713 --> 07:37:59,739
Young people thus experience best what it
means to live, learn, work and love in the

5650
07:37:59,799 --> 07:38:04,764
EU and to experience Europe’s diversity.
I am pleased about the Culture Committee’s

5651
07:38:04,824 --> 07:38:09,670
proposal, which provides €47 billion for
the new Multiannual Financial Framework.

5652
07:38:09,730 --> 07:38:14,397
This means the Parliament’s proposal is
above the Commission’s proposal of €41

5653
07:38:14,457 --> 07:38:19,482
billion. However, this is cut by 4 percent
in the Irish Council proposal, which is a

5654
07:38:19,542 --> 07:38:22,892
shame. I urge us not to make
any cuts to this programme.

5655
07:38:22,952 --> 07:38:26,602
However, we urgently need to
talk about administrative costs.

5656
07:38:26,662 --> 07:38:31,568
In all budget proposals, the level of
administrative costs is simply not specified

5657
07:38:31,627 --> 07:38:36,533
at all. A shortcoming, I would say. In
today's world, administrative processes can

5658
07:38:36,593 --> 07:38:40,183
be drastically simplified with
AI, thereby saving resources.

5659
07:38:40,243 --> 07:38:45,029
The winners would be more young people
in our EU if such freed-up funds could be

5660
07:38:45,089 --> 07:38:49,815
allocated to the project. And regarding
the report, colleague, chapeau and many

5661
07:38:49,875 --> 07:38:51,075
thanks.

5662
07:38:51,974 --> 07:38:54,494
Thank you. Next speaker, Manuel Ripa.

5663
07:38:58,454 --> 07:39:03,556
I myself took part in Erasmus and know
from my own experience that Erasmus+ is far

5664
07:39:03,618 --> 07:39:08,844
more than a mobility programme. How much
it broadens one’s own horizons, strengthens

5665
07:39:08,907 --> 07:39:14,071
competences and makes Europe tangible. That
is precisely why it is an investment in

5666
07:39:14,133 --> 07:39:19,297
our future, in people, their skills and
their openness to cooperate across borders.

5667
07:39:19,359 --> 07:39:24,275
And it is an investment in our democracy,
because those who learn to understand

5668
07:39:24,337 --> 07:39:29,563
other perspectives develop mutual understanding
and appreciation for the values that

5669
07:39:29,625 --> 07:39:34,852
unite us in Europe. That is why, alongside
students, the programme must also include

5670
07:39:34,914 --> 07:39:39,207
many more school pupils, teachers,
trainees and reach further groups.

5671
07:39:39,269 --> 07:39:44,496
To do this, Erasmus needs significantly
more money than the Commission has proposed.

5672
07:39:44,558 --> 07:39:49,722
In the Culture Committee, there was a very
broad majority in favour of this, and we

5673
07:39:49,784 --> 07:39:53,268
now need this unity here in
the plenary session as well.

5674
07:39:53,331 --> 07:39:58,184
And we must work together to convince
the Member States to secure this budget.

5675
07:39:58,246 --> 07:40:03,099
Because anyone who wants to strengthen
Europe's competitiveness, democracy and

5676
07:40:03,161 --> 07:40:08,076
resilience must not, of all things, cut
spending on young people who will shape

5677
07:40:08,139 --> 07:40:09,339
Europe's future.

5678
07:40:09,434 --> 07:40:19,253
Thank you, Kollege. I don't see in the
room Kollega Negrescu, and I will give the

5679
07:40:19,374 --> 07:40:27,374
floor to Elisabeth Dieringer.
Sorry, please, floor is yours, yeah.

5680
07:40:27,974 --> 07:40:32,733
I am speaking in German and as a former
teacher who has been fortunate enough to

5681
07:40:32,792 --> 07:40:37,551
witness the benefits of the programme for
pupils and teachers, both actively and

5682
07:40:37,610 --> 07:40:41,715
across many countries. That is why
the money is also very well spent.

5683
07:40:41,774 --> 07:40:44,451
We can still talk about
bureaucratic hurdles.

5684
07:40:44,511 --> 07:40:48,556
But this report gives a political
mandate to an education programme.

5685
07:40:48,615 --> 07:40:53,612
Applicants should be vetted in advance for
compliance with EU values, with sanctions

5686
07:40:53,671 --> 07:40:58,311
extending to the recovery of funds. But
who then decides which school or which

5687
07:40:58,370 --> 07:41:03,367
association has the right attitude? At the
same time, Erasmus is to recruit talented

5688
07:41:03,427 --> 07:41:08,423
individuals from all over the world, and
the Member States are to reduce barriers to

5689
07:41:08,483 --> 07:41:11,516
visas and residence permits.
I am clear about this:

5690
07:41:11,576 --> 07:41:14,669
Erasmus is an exchange
programme for Europe’s youth.

5691
07:41:14,729 --> 07:41:19,606
It does not have to be the whole world
coming to us through an exchange programme.

5692
07:41:19,666 --> 07:41:24,484
Who is allowed to enter and stay here
should continue to be decided by the Member

5693
07:41:24,544 --> 07:41:29,481
States. Mobility for our pupils, yes, but
ideological screening and immigration via

5694
07:41:29,540 --> 07:41:30,740
Erasmus, no.

5695
07:41:31,934 --> 07:41:34,934
Thank you. Thank you. Next
speaker, Milan Sverre.

5696
07:41:42,854 --> 07:41:48,078
Thank you for the floor. Honourable Members,
I have been the European Parliament’s

5697
07:41:48,142 --> 07:41:51,900
rapporteur for the Erasmus+
programme for almost ten years.

5698
07:41:51,964 --> 07:41:56,869
That was a golden period for this most
effective and Thank you for the floor.

5699
07:41:56,933 --> 07:42:01,902
Honourable Members, I was for almost ten
years the permanent rapporteur of the

5700
07:42:01,966 --> 07:42:04,960
European Parliament for
the Erasmus+ programme.

5701
07:42:05,023 --> 07:42:10,247
That was a golden age of this most effective
and visible programme in the European

5702
07:42:10,311 --> 07:42:13,942
Union. I am glad that at that
time we doubled the budget;

5703
07:42:14,006 --> 07:42:18,911
at the same time, we enabled much greater
inclusion of people, not just young

5704
07:42:18,975 --> 07:42:24,007
people, in Erasmus+. In short, we have
largely eliminated some shortcomings, in

5705
07:42:24,071 --> 07:42:29,359
short, a lot has been done, and today I am
very pleased to see in this new Erasmus+

5706
07:42:29,422 --> 07:42:34,774
leadership so much energy and so much
ambition that Erasmus will certainly remain at

5707
07:42:34,837 --> 07:42:39,997
the top of European programmes. I wish Mr
Bogdan Zdrojewski all the best, I thank

5708
07:42:40,061 --> 07:42:45,412
him for his work to date, and given what
he has just said, that Erasmus+ is a unique

5709
07:42:45,476 --> 07:42:50,827
investment in knowledge, in people, in our
common future, I believe it will continue

5710
07:42:50,891 --> 07:42:52,091
to be successful.

5711
07:42:53,114 --> 07:42:55,454
Thank you. Next speaker, Marek Maj.

5712
07:43:00,014 --> 07:43:04,960
Thank you, Chair. Dear Executive Vice
President, imagine with me for a minute:

5713
07:43:05,024 --> 07:43:10,351
you are a young person, you are born and
raised in Willemstad, Curaçao, or in Accra,

5714
07:43:10,414 --> 07:43:15,741
Ghana. Your hard work and dedication paid
off, and you get an Erasmus scholarship to

5715
07:43:15,805 --> 07:43:20,751
study in Denmark or in the Netherlands.
And you are one of the few coming from

5716
07:43:20,815 --> 07:43:25,888
outside of the EU. It's the first time
in your life, and you need a winter coat.

5717
07:43:25,951 --> 07:43:29,883
Because the rainy season here
is not just wet, it's also cold.

5718
07:43:29,947 --> 07:43:35,210
You can only spend your euro once. We call
it equal opportunity, but we designed it

5719
07:43:35,274 --> 07:43:37,937
as if everyone starts from the same place.

5720
07:43:38,001 --> 07:43:43,074
The next Erasmus+ must change that.
Bureaucracy should not determine who gets to

5721
07:43:43,137 --> 07:43:48,401
learn. A geographical coefficient, a term
that I introduced and I'm proud to see in

5722
07:43:48,464 --> 07:43:53,474
this proposal, ensures that funding
reflects the actual experience of students.

5723
07:43:53,538 --> 07:43:58,674
And a minimum of 2% of the budget goes to
participants from low and middle-income

5724
07:43:58,738 --> 07:44:02,796
countries. Education to build
bridges, not to reinforce borders.

5725
07:44:02,860 --> 07:44:04,060
Thank you.

5726
07:44:05,774 --> 07:44:10,855
Kollega Maj, so you have a blue card from
João Oliveira, but João Oliveira, you are

5727
07:44:10,916 --> 07:44:14,160
also on the KJI, so you alre
ady asked one blue card.

5728
07:44:14,222 --> 07:44:19,241
So we are not very far behind schedule,
but you have to choose which one you want.

5729
07:44:19,302 --> 07:44:20,894
One more blue card or KJI?

5730
07:44:24,854 --> 07:44:26,861
That's a very difficult
choice to make, Mr.

5731
07:44:26,907 --> 07:44:27,614
President.

5732
07:44:27,614 --> 07:44:29,294
We did this exercise also before the vote.

5733
07:44:29,594 --> 07:44:31,814
Okay, I think the KJI.
I'll take the KJI then.

5734
07:44:32,114 --> 07:44:34,902
Okay, thank you. Thank
you, Kollega Maj as well.

5735
07:44:34,960 --> 07:44:37,574
So next speaker, Tiago
Moreira de Sá, please.

5736
07:44:41,654 --> 07:44:46,384
Thank you, Mr President, Commissioner. In
1514, the Upper Cloister of a convent in

5737
07:44:46,442 --> 07:44:49,615
the Netherlands wrote an old
monk demanding his return.

5738
07:44:49,673 --> 07:44:54,403
The recipient was called Erasmus. But that
young orphan, who had left the convent,

5739
07:44:54,461 --> 07:44:58,960
no longer existed. Paris, Louvain, Geneva,
Basel, Freiburg, London, Cambridge,

5740
07:44:59,018 --> 07:45:03,114
Venice, Rome, the books, the scholars,
the debates had transformed him.

5741
07:45:03,172 --> 07:45:07,325
The convent was claiming the man it
had known and who no longer existed.

5742
07:45:07,383 --> 07:45:09,863
Education had made of
the orphan a new man.

5743
07:45:09,921 --> 07:45:14,709
Erasmus replied that he would not return.
Erasmus of Rotterdam was no longer merely

5744
07:45:14,767 --> 07:45:19,440
of Rotterdam. Five centuries later, millions
of young people are following in his

5745
07:45:19,497 --> 07:45:23,247
footsteps, thanks to the programme
that bears his name, Erasmus+.

5746
07:45:23,305 --> 07:45:27,977
Education is the most powerful promise of
individual and collective emancipation.

5747
07:45:28,035 --> 07:45:32,592
And if it is capable of turning a young
man from Rotterdam into one of Europe’s

5748
07:45:32,650 --> 07:45:37,438
greatest intellectuals, it is also capable
of inspiring this example and making any

5749
07:45:37,496 --> 07:45:40,323
young person in Europe an
Erasmus from Rotterdam.

5750
07:45:40,380 --> 07:45:41,580
Thank you very much.

5751
07:45:42,614 --> 07:45:45,134
Thank you. Next speaker,
Magdalena Adamowicz.

5752
07:45:50,474 --> 07:45:54,904
Mr President, Commissioner, we think we
have given young people the whole world

5753
07:45:54,960 --> 07:45:59,615
because they have it in their phones. But
with this phone, we have opened the doors

5754
07:45:59,671 --> 07:46:04,213
of hell for them. Mr President, Commissioner,
we thought we gave young people the

5755
07:46:04,269 --> 07:46:07,017
whole world because they
have it in their phones.

5756
07:46:07,073 --> 07:46:10,269
But with that phone, we opened
the gates of hell to them.

5757
07:46:10,381 --> 07:46:12,849
We have made children
victims of algorithms;

5758
07:46:12,905 --> 07:46:17,559
the algorithms will make them addicted and
teach them to mock and hurl mud at their

5759
07:46:17,615 --> 07:46:21,933
peers. Or that they are the enemy. At
the same time, in so many places across

5760
07:46:21,989 --> 07:46:26,644
Europe, the real world offers them no chance
of a proper education, let alone their

5761
07:46:26,700 --> 07:46:31,354
own home or starting a family. Erasmus is
not a cure for all these problems, but it

5762
07:46:31,410 --> 07:46:34,326
is a slice of the world
where you talk to strangers.

5763
07:46:34,382 --> 07:46:39,037
You live with strangers, you learn with
strangers, until they stop being strangers.

5764
07:46:39,093 --> 07:46:41,897
And then no propaganda can
turn them into enemies.

5765
07:46:41,953 --> 07:46:44,476
We must not stint on
this scrap of the world.

5766
07:46:44,532 --> 07:46:49,075
On the contrary, let us expand it as much
as we can, because we owe this to young

5767
07:46:49,131 --> 07:46:53,729
people, and in this way let us repair a
piece of the world that we have ruined for

5768
07:46:53,785 --> 07:46:57,374
the young. Congratulations to the
rapporteur, Bogdan Zdrojewski.

5769
07:46:58,154 --> 07:47:01,063
Thank you, colleagues. Now
we start the KJI procedure.

5770
07:47:01,117 --> 07:47:05,587
I would be glad to give it the floor to
everybody who is on the list, but please be

5771
07:47:05,641 --> 07:47:10,058
collegial and good colleagues and not to
overtake too much time on your one-minute

5772
07:47:10,112 --> 07:47:12,374
speeches. Nina Carberry will be the first.

5773
07:47:15,194 --> 07:47:20,011
Thank you, President. 1.5 million people,
that's how many people took part in

5774
07:47:20,074 --> 07:47:25,204
Erasmus+ exchanges in 2024 alone. But
Erasmus+ is much more than students studying

5775
07:47:25,267 --> 07:47:30,022
abroad. It is the EU's main funding
program for grassroots sports, and sport

5776
07:47:30,084 --> 07:47:35,277
matters. It supports 1.8 million jobs across
Europe, with young people particularly

5777
07:47:35,339 --> 07:47:40,407
benefiting. And I see its impact in my
own constituency, in County Mayo, Erasmus+

5778
07:47:40,470 --> 07:47:45,350
has helped share Ireland's successful
act of school f lag model, with European

5779
07:47:45,412 --> 07:47:50,355
schools. And in County Leesh, it funded
six Port Leesh AFC coaches to travel to

5780
07:47:50,417 --> 07:47:55,172
Belgium, bringing home new ideas to
keep young players involved in football.

5781
07:47:55,235 --> 07:47:58,050
These are huge opportunities
for Irish sport.

5782
07:47:58,113 --> 07:48:03,180
That is why, as Parliament prepares to
vote in the next seven years, E rasmus+, I

5783
07:48:03,243 --> 07:48:07,122
support a 47 billion budget,
almost double the current amount.

5784
07:48:07,184 --> 07:48:12,315
And with more funding being ring-fenced
for sport than ever before, we must ensure

5785
07:48:12,377 --> 07:48:16,006
that sport is not an optional
extra in the next EU budget.

5786
07:48:16,068 --> 07:48:17,268
Thank you.

5787
07:48:17,714 --> 07:48:19,934
Thank you. Next speaker, Tomas Bajada.

5788
07:48:24,734 --> 07:48:28,696
In the last two years of family donations,
in the previous Erasmus experience, he

5789
07:48:28,745 --> 07:48:32,805
limited it, the actor without luggage. They
helped me, they gave me, they supported

5790
07:48:32,854 --> 07:48:36,914
me, or they simply overlooked me. Mecca is
where the cultural experience of Jeddah,

5791
07:48:36,963 --> 07:48:41,072
its coffee, its spices and its confidence
in the calculation and in the motor of the

5792
07:48:41,121 --> 07:48:45,181
fight for these days is. But we must not
forget that Erasmus+ is also a melting pot

5793
07:48:45,230 --> 07:48:48,067
of languages. They do not grant
the child the right to be.

5794
07:48:48,116 --> 07:48:52,029
They do not grant the right to be heard.
They do not grant the right to be seen.

5795
07:48:52,078 --> 07:48:54,230
They do not grant the
right to be respected.

5796
07:48:54,279 --> 07:48:58,339
And colleagues, they did not grant the
child the right to be with his parents, they

5797
07:48:58,388 --> 07:49:02,448
did not grant him the right to be with his
family, they did not grant him the right

5798
07:49:02,497 --> 07:49:06,410
to be with his mother, they did not grant
him the right to be with his family at

5799
07:49:06,459 --> 07:49:10,373
all, and I say this with great regret,
because they are taking him away from his

5800
07:49:10,422 --> 07:49:14,384
mother from the very beginning. But we,
European democracy, is being destroyed by

5801
07:49:14,433 --> 07:49:18,444
these people who are not even capable of
constructive criticism, who are trying to

5802
07:49:18,493 --> 07:49:22,357
sabotage the decisions we make, and they
want to kill the Erasmus+ project, and

5803
07:49:22,406 --> 07:49:26,515
these people have no idea how much we have
invested in this, how much we have fought

5804
07:49:26,564 --> 07:49:28,814
for it, and how much we
have achieved with it.

5805
07:49:29,474 --> 07:49:32,054
Thank you. Next speaker,
Malgožata Gosievska.

5806
07:49:34,994 --> 07:49:39,656
Thank you. We are in favour of Erasmus,
a bigger budget and greater opportunities

5807
07:49:39,713 --> 07:49:44,317
for our young people. But we oppose the
idea of turning this excellent programme

5808
07:49:44,375 --> 07:49:46,965
into a centralised
political tool. Thank you.

5809
07:49:47,022 --> 07:49:51,684
We are in favour of Erasmus, of a larger
budget and greater opportunities for our

5810
07:49:51,741 --> 07:49:56,288
young people. But we oppose turning this
excellent programme into a centralised

5811
07:49:56,345 --> 07:50:01,122
political tool. As European students struggle
with rising living costs, Brussels is

5812
07:50:01,237 --> 07:50:06,072
shifting the focus of the programme towards
attracting and retaining external talent

5813
07:50:06,129 --> 07:50:10,618
from third countries. So I ask: whose
interests should be the priority of this

5814
07:50:10,676 --> 07:50:15,280
programme? We must support young Europeans,
and education must remain within the

5815
07:50:15,337 --> 07:50:19,884
competence of the Member States. We also
oppose linking universities’ access to

5816
07:50:19,941 --> 07:50:24,200
funding to political criteria that
primarily harm the students themselves.

5817
07:50:24,258 --> 07:50:28,862
Let us return to the roots of Erasmus.
Equal opportunities, knowledge and talent

5818
07:50:28,919 --> 07:50:33,581
instead of ideology. Respect for the
sovereignty of States and priority for young

5819
07:50:33,638 --> 07:50:34,634
Europeans.

5820
07:50:34,634 --> 07:50:35,834
Thank you.

5821
07:50:36,434 --> 07:50:38,174
Thank you. Next speaker, Elena Kontur.

5822
07:50:46,694 --> 07:50:51,722
Thank you very much, Mr President. Hundreds
of thousands of pupils and students

5823
07:50:51,786 --> 07:50:56,814
across Europe are demonstrating and
demanding public, free , quality education,

5824
07:50:56,878 --> 07:51:01,461
adequate funding and decent conditions
for studying, working and living.

5825
07:51:01,524 --> 07:51:06,234
These demands also concern Erasmus,
which is one of Europe’s most tangible

5826
07:51:06,298 --> 07:51:11,644
achievements. Millions of young people have
the opportunity to acquire knowledge, to

5827
07:51:11,708 --> 07:51:14,954
get to know new cultures
and to forge lasting ties.

5828
07:51:15,018 --> 07:51:20,046
beyond national borders. However,
participation cannot depend on family income,

5829
07:51:20,110 --> 07:51:24,502
place of residence or the ability
to cover an exorbitantly high rent.

5830
07:51:24,565 --> 07:51:29,784
How will a young person who is already
struggling to pay their rent where they are

5831
07:51:29,848 --> 07:51:35,195
studying participate? The new programme the
Erasmus+ programme must be strengthened.

5832
07:51:35,258 --> 07:51:40,350
With greater financial support, covering
the actual cost of transport and living

5833
07:51:40,414 --> 07:51:45,506
expenses for beneficiaries. Targeted
support for rural, island and remote areas.

5834
07:51:45,569 --> 07:51:50,534
And specific funding for young people
and volunteering, so that participation—

5835
07:51:50,714 --> 07:51:51,194
Thank you, thank you.

5836
07:51:51,194 --> 07:51:52,574
—should be a right for all.

5837
07:51:52,754 --> 07:51:54,854
Okay. Next speaker, Petras Gražulis.

5838
07:52:04,274 --> 07:52:10,436
Honourable Chair, first of all, I would
like to make a remark to you that you are

5839
07:52:10,512 --> 07:52:16,521
very biased and undemocratic. You allow
other MEPs to speak multiple times, ask

5840
07:52:16,597 --> 07:52:22,835
questions and speak themselves. Unfortunately,
you have applied censorship towards

5841
07:52:22,911 --> 07:52:29,301
me not for the first time. Now, essentially,
more than a million students from other

5842
07:52:29,377 --> 07:52:34,017
countries are studying at
universities in the European Union.

5843
07:52:34,093 --> 07:52:40,407
A large proportion of them are funded under
the European Union's Erasmus programme.

5844
07:52:40,483 --> 07:52:46,720
And just recently, we saw those students
in France, in other cities, taking to the

5845
07:52:46,797 --> 07:52:50,296
streets, smashing up
shops and cultural sites.

5846
07:52:50,372 --> 07:52:56,686
I believe this programme should apply only
to European Union citizens, and we won’t

5847
07:52:56,762 --> 07:53:02,771
be able to educate the entire world.
Secondly, how many European Union students

5848
07:53:02,847 --> 07:53:06,651
themselves cannot afford
to pay for their studies?

5849
07:53:06,727 --> 07:53:10,454
So I believe this programme
needs to be adjusted.

5850
07:53:10,874 --> 07:53:16,139
Thank you. So, just a small remark: you
said about my chairmanship, so I am not

5851
07:53:16,206 --> 07:53:21,804
doing any c ensorship. You didn't get before
the vote when I was chairing because of

5852
07:53:21,871 --> 07:53:27,269
the announced principles. We were in time
constraints, and it was nothing against

5853
07:53:27,335 --> 07:53:31,934
you personally. Thank you very much.
So, next speaker, Malika Sorell.

5854
07:53:37,754 --> 07:53:43,343
Dear colleagues, you have all said it:
Erasmus is the most popular programme of the

5855
07:53:43,411 --> 07:53:49,068
European Union. Unfortunately, many young
people's requests cannot be met because we

5856
07:53:49,135 --> 07:53:52,435
are subject to significant
budgetary constraints.

5857
07:53:52,502 --> 07:53:58,159
Yet, you keep on increasing or expanding
the number of eligible groups, professions,

5858
07:53:58,226 --> 07:54:03,277
sectors and age ranges. So this is an
insoluble problem, a basic arithmetic

5859
07:54:03,344 --> 07:54:08,867
question. I do not understand your approach,
your reasoning, especially as we know

5860
07:54:08,934 --> 07:54:13,850
that the number of young people already
eligible do not have the money to

5861
07:54:13,917 --> 07:54:19,507
participate, because let us be frank, this
programme unfortunately remains elitist.

5862
07:54:19,574 --> 07:54:24,894
Most often, young people from poor
backgrounds cannot complete this experience.

5863
07:54:24,962 --> 07:54:30,349
Madam Vice-President, are you aware that
the indefinite scrapping of the Erasmus

5864
07:54:30,416 --> 07:54:33,985
programme will end will only
exacerbate frustrations?

5865
07:54:34,053 --> 07:54:39,306
And will tarnish Erasmus’ good name at
a time when the rise of populism should

5866
07:54:39,373 --> 07:54:42,134
prompt us to be more vigilant. Thank you.

5867
07:54:43,154 --> 07:54:45,134
Thank you. Next speaker, Luda Smažilis.

5868
07:54:48,434 --> 07:54:53,317
Thank you, Mr President. Commissioner,
colleagues, Erasmus+ is one of the most

5869
07:54:53,380 --> 07:54:58,388
successful European Union initiatives,
uniting students across the continent and

5870
07:54:58,451 --> 07:55:03,334
beyond for decades. Every euro invested
in young people returns in the form of

5871
07:55:03,397 --> 07:55:06,840
skills, jobs, resilience,
and European competitiveness.

5872
07:55:06,903 --> 07:55:11,911
u. However, it is important that the
updated programme maintains a strong higher

5873
07:55:11,974 --> 07:55:16,920
education foundation. Exchanges must not
be limited to excursions and visits to

5874
07:55:16,982 --> 07:55:21,302
cultural sites. They must provide
an opportunity to acquire top-level

5875
07:55:21,365 --> 07:55:26,498
future-oriented competences. It should be
noted that quality education begins with

5876
07:55:26,561 --> 07:55:31,820
the teacher, so Erasmus+ must invest in
teachers, lecturers, as well as in students.

5877
07:55:31,882 --> 07:55:34,887
In their improvement,
mobility, and competences.

5878
07:55:34,950 --> 07:55:40,209
By investing in one student, we change one
life, but by investing in one teacher who

5879
07:55:40,272 --> 07:55:43,214
is studying, we may change
hundreds. Thank you.

5880
07:55:44,594 --> 07:55:47,294
Thank you. Next speaker,
Juan Fernández López Aguilar.

5881
07:55:48,614 --> 07:55:51,974
Thank you so much, Mr. President.
Commissaria, Minsatu, el

5882
07:55:51,974 --> 07:55:54,980
the Erasmus+ programme
is a story of success.

5883
07:55:55,047 --> 07:56:00,258
It was conceived decades ago by the late
and much-missed Spanish Commissioner,

5884
07:56:00,325 --> 07:56:05,135
Manuel Marín. Not only is it linked
to the European Solidarity Corps and

5885
07:56:05,202 --> 07:56:10,280
volunteering, but above all to the
training and educational opportunities it

5886
07:56:10,347 --> 07:56:15,625
provides for young people. Of a closely-knit
network, of coexistence, of shared

5887
07:56:15,691 --> 07:56:21,170
experiences and of shared affection. That
is precisely why, because Europe matters

5888
07:56:21,237 --> 07:56:26,715
so much, we see the ferocity with which
the far right attacks it, alleging that it

5889
07:56:26,782 --> 07:56:32,126
is a diabolical bureaucratic and ideological
plot serving a supposedly malignant

5890
07:56:32,193 --> 07:56:37,672
Europeanist ideology. But also, precisely
for that reason, the European Parliament

5891
07:56:37,738 --> 07:56:43,217
has committed, in its negotiating position
on the multiannual financial framework,

5892
07:56:43,284 --> 07:56:48,762
to funding of €50 billion. Because it is
absolutely essential to keep the European

5893
07:56:48,829 --> 07:56:52,704
Union’s social contract alive
with the younger generation.

5894
07:56:52,771 --> 07:56:54,374
Thank you, Mr President.

5895
07:56:54,674 --> 07:56:59,294
Thank you. Next speaker
is Madame Wiszniewska.

5896
07:57:01,754 --> 07:57:08,583
Thank you very much, Mr President. All
speakers have expressed satisfaction with the

5897
07:57:08,664 --> 07:57:12,323
Erasmus+ programme as
it currently functions.

5898
07:57:12,404 --> 07:57:18,908
So why change something that works well?
You want to change a programme that has

5899
07:57:18,989 --> 07:57:25,818
been effective and you are proposing its
extension of students from third countries.

5900
07:57:25,899 --> 07:57:32,728
While European students struggle with the
enormous crisis of the cost of living, the

5901
07:57:32,810 --> 07:57:38,988
new regulation proposes shifting the
focus from the mobility of our youth to

5902
07:57:39,070 --> 07:57:42,728
scholarships for citizens
of third countries.

5903
07:57:42,809 --> 07:57:49,476
European taxpayers' money must first and
foremost go to young people from European

5904
07:57:49,557 --> 07:57:56,386
cities and towns. Turning Erasmus into a
recruitment vehicle leads to a drain on the

5905
07:57:56,467 --> 07:58:03,296
European budget. The current programme’s
practice shows how easily EU funds can also

5906
07:58:03,377 --> 07:58:08,174
be hijacked by left-wing
activism, and I warn against this.

5907
07:58:08,474 --> 07:58:08,894
Thank you.

5908
07:58:08,894 --> 07:58:09,434
Thank you.

5909
07:58:09,434 --> 07:58:11,894
Thank you. Next speaker, Joao Oliveira.

5910
07:58:13,874 --> 07:58:14,954
Thank you, Mr President.

5911
07:58:14,954 --> 07:58:15,674
It's your volunteer.

5912
07:58:15,674 --> 07:58:20,247
The contribution that the Erasmus
programme can make to the consolidation of

5913
07:58:20,307 --> 07:58:24,218
democratic values is undeniable,
placing education at the centre.

5914
07:58:24,279 --> 07:58:29,032
of fundamental aspects to structure the
democratic system and also allowing the

5915
07:58:29,092 --> 07:58:34,147
broadening of young people’s experience to
create the space for the consolidation of

5916
07:58:34,207 --> 07:58:39,081
those democratic values. But it is also
necessary that, under the conditions that

5917
07:58:39,141 --> 07:58:42,751
the programme ensures, this
democratic access is guaranteed.

5918
07:58:42,811 --> 07:58:47,625
It is essential that the Erasmus programme
can adapt to the real cost of living,

5919
07:58:47,685 --> 07:58:51,055
notably by providing adequate
coverage of housing costs.

5920
07:58:51,115 --> 07:58:56,049
It is also absolutely essential that access
to the Erasmus programme can allow, in

5921
07:58:56,109 --> 07:59:01,104
terms of education conditions and access
to the education system, the consolidation

5922
07:59:01,164 --> 07:59:05,556
of this democratic access to higher
education, but also in the sharing of

5923
07:59:05,617 --> 07:59:09,768
experiences, namely in terms of
support for the movement associative.

5924
07:59:09,829 --> 07:59:14,522
That is why we proposed a budget increase
of €80 billion in the European Union

5925
07:59:14,582 --> 07:59:18,734
budget and it is absolutely essential
that this increase is achieved.

5926
07:59:18,914 --> 07:59:20,654
Thank you. Next speaker, Sean Kelly.

5927
07:59:24,614 --> 07:59:29,995
It was striking the number of MEPs who
spoke, saying they benefited themselves from

5928
07:59:30,060 --> 07:59:34,793
Erasmus, and indeed MEP Act said she
wouldn't be an MEP only for Erasmus.

5929
07:59:34,858 --> 07:59:39,785
And the benefits of Erasmus would be
replicated by the 16 million people who

5930
07:59:39,850 --> 07:59:45,101
actually took part in it. And one could
say that each of those becomes a lifelong

5931
07:59:45,166 --> 07:59:49,510
human billboard promoting the E U
as a result of their experiences.

5932
07:59:49,575 --> 07:59:54,891
I'm glad to say that even though Brexit
occurred, the Northern Ireland people were

5933
07:59:54,956 --> 08:00:00,207
able to continue in Brexit because of the
generosity of the Irish government, but

5934
08:00:00,272 --> 08:00:05,524
Boris Johnson and his folly withdrew the
United Kingdom from Erasmus, thinking he

5935
08:00:05,588 --> 08:00:10,905
had set up a better scheme himself, now
the United Kingdom sensibly admit it was a

5936
08:00:10,970 --> 08:00:16,351
mistake, like everything else in Brexit,
and they want to come back in to Erasmus+.

5937
08:00:16,416 --> 08:00:21,862
And I welcome them with open arms. Also, I
would like to say, like my colleague Nina

5938
08:00:21,926 --> 08:00:27,048
Carbury, the broad benefits for sports
people, universities, teachers, coaches,

5939
08:00:27,113 --> 08:00:30,614
everybody else, must be
embraced so we should expand —

5940
08:00:30,794 --> 08:00:31,394
Thank you. Thank you.

5941
08:00:31,394 --> 08:00:33,254
—not contract, Erasmus+.

5942
08:00:33,494 --> 08:00:36,254
Thank you. Thank you. Next
speaker, Maria Grappini.

5943
08:00:38,534 --> 08:00:43,074
Mr President, Commissioner, it is rare
for a project to receive such support.

5944
08:00:43,133 --> 08:00:47,672
I believe this is the most popular
European project, Erasmus, and rightly so,

5945
08:00:47,731 --> 08:00:50,325
because it is an
investment in young people.

5946
08:00:50,384 --> 08:00:55,100
And it is a long-term investment, because
the cultural exchange, the educational

5947
08:00:55,159 --> 08:00:58,756
exchange that takes place through
this project is beneficial.

5948
08:00:58,815 --> 08:01:03,767
However, I believe we need to extend it
also to those who attend vocational schools,

5949
08:01:03,826 --> 08:01:08,365
because we know that in the European
Union there there is a very large skills

5950
08:01:08,424 --> 08:01:13,023
shortage, and if we extend this to
vocational schools, we will certainly gain.

5951
08:01:13,082 --> 08:01:17,562
And do not worry, we support you in
increasing the budget, because this is a

5952
08:01:17,621 --> 08:01:22,515
long-term investment in human resources
and I believe all Member States can benefit

5953
08:01:22,574 --> 08:01:25,285
if you also extend this
to vocational schools;

5954
08:01:25,344 --> 08:01:26,544
thank you.

5955
08:01:27,554 --> 08:01:30,374
Thank you. Next speaker,
Arkadiusz Molarczyk.

5956
08:01:36,614 --> 08:01:40,864
Thank you very much. Erasmus+ is one of
those European Union programmes that bring

5957
08:01:40,916 --> 08:01:43,092
concrete, measurable benefits to citizens.

5958
08:01:43,144 --> 08:01:47,394
concrete benefits. They bring together
young Europeans through education, language

5959
08:01:47,446 --> 08:01:51,799
learning and discovering new countries.
That is why in the new multiannual financial

5960
08:01:51,851 --> 08:01:55,842
framework we should strengthen it. But
a larger budget must also mean greater

5961
08:01:55,894 --> 08:01:59,107
accessibility and equal opportunities
for all young Europeans.

5962
08:01:59,159 --> 08:02:03,150
every young European, regardless of the
country, place of residence or family

5963
08:02:03,202 --> 08:02:07,296
income, should have the same opportunity
opportunity to participate in Erasmus.

5964
08:02:07,348 --> 08:02:11,287
Today, the barrier is often the high
cost of housing and living in different

5965
08:02:11,338 --> 08:02:15,692
countries of the European Union. Therefore,
support should better reflect the actual

5966
08:02:15,744 --> 08:02:19,942
cost of living and the financial situation
of the participant and where they come

5967
08:02:19,994 --> 08:02:24,347
from. We must particularly open up Erasmus
to young people from smaller towns, rural

5968
08:02:24,399 --> 08:02:28,597
areas and less affluent families. Because
if Erasmus is truly to unite Europe, it

5969
08:02:28,649 --> 08:02:32,899
must be accessible to all young Europeans,
not just those whose parents can afford

5970
08:02:32,951 --> 08:02:35,646
mobility or whose parents
can afford their mobility.

5971
08:02:35,697 --> 08:02:36,897
Thank you very much.

5972
08:02:37,994 --> 08:02:40,214
Thank you. Next speaker,
Sebastian Timkinen.

5973
08:02:45,074 --> 08:02:49,390
Mr President, student mobility
within Europe is a good thing.

5974
08:02:49,461 --> 08:02:55,193
The fact that the EU is allocating €47
billion to the Erasmus+ programme for this

5975
08:02:55,264 --> 08:03:00,995
purpose is not a good thing. But listen,
the European Parliament is demanding €47

5976
08:03:01,066 --> 08:03:06,939
billion. At the same time, war is raging
in Ukraine, and Europe is literally ablaze

5977
08:03:07,010 --> 08:03:12,671
with internal security concerns. burning
cars and falling bombs should wake this

5978
08:03:12,741 --> 08:03:17,412
House up to the fact that now we
must prioritise the use of funds.

5979
08:03:17,482 --> 08:03:23,072
But no. Instead, this squandering of
Erasmus funds is justified by the European

5980
08:03:23,143 --> 08:03:28,875
Commission on the grounds that Europeans
can be encouraged to adopt an active and

5981
08:03:28,946 --> 08:03:32,767
knowledge-based citizenship.
stance on sustainability.

5982
08:03:32,837 --> 08:03:38,215
Tens of billions, because formal
education, non-formal learning and everyday

5983
08:03:38,286 --> 08:03:43,381
learning have a significant role in
promoting climate change mitigation.

5984
08:03:43,451 --> 08:03:47,414
Not Finnish taxpayers' money
for this scheme, thank you.

5985
08:03:48,794 --> 08:03:53,580
Thank you. Now we are closing cage Z
procedure, and I would like to take the floor

5986
08:03:53,638 --> 08:03:57,374
for the commission, executive
vice president Mzatu for security.

5987
08:04:04,154 --> 08:04:10,219
Well, what a debate. Thank you. So much.
You know, Erasmus has be en, or let me put

5988
08:04:10,292 --> 08:04:16,064
it another way, from its start in 1987,
18 million particip ants benefited from

5989
08:04:16,137 --> 08:04:20,667
Erasmus. To me, this is very
little. This is the small number.

5990
08:04:20,740 --> 08:04:26,659
To me, a Romanian that has never had the
chance to travel to Europe until she was

5991
08:04:26,732 --> 08:04:32,869
25, never the dream of being able to
participate in Erasmus, this seems very little.

5992
08:04:32,942 --> 08:04:37,326
And if we are now to divide,
okay, we cannot exactly divide.

5993
08:04:37,399 --> 08:04:43,464
The total number of participants to the
member states, we see how small this number

5994
08:04:43,537 --> 08:04:49,236
is. And we see that, I think, our main
objective together is to make sure that

5995
08:04:49,309 --> 08:04:55,374
through the struggle, the work, the budget
that we will be able to obtain, we reach

5996
08:04:55,447 --> 08:04:59,977
much, much more Europeans. Because
it does change their lives.

5997
08:05:00,050 --> 08:05:04,215
It empowers them. It empowers
them in a very civic sense.

5998
08:05:04,288 --> 08:05:10,280
It empowers them with skills. It connects
them to Europe and to their own national

5999
08:05:10,353 --> 08:05:16,125
identity. Going outside of your community,
outside of your country, gives you a

6000
08:05:16,198 --> 08:05:20,144
sense about Europe and a
sense about your own country.

6001
08:05:20,217 --> 08:05:25,989
A way to look at yourself, your street,
your neighborhood, your nation, that is

6002
08:05:26,062 --> 08:05:31,761
different. That enriches you. So we owe
it to the many, many millions of young

6003
08:05:31,834 --> 08:05:37,899
Europeans who have not been able, even to
think, to participate in Erasmus, be them

6004
08:05:37,972 --> 08:05:44,110
in vocational education and training. We
need much more participants from that area.

6005
08:05:44,183 --> 08:05:47,325
Be them from youth or
sports organizations.

6006
08:05:47,398 --> 08:05:50,539
Our students, to fight
for a bigger budget.

6007
08:05:50,613 --> 08:05:56,531
And I thank you. I thank Rapporteur
Zdrojewski, for the vote that I hope you will

6008
08:05:56,604 --> 08:06:00,403
give, a strong vote, a
strong mandate to this House.

6009
08:06:00,477 --> 08:06:06,614
For a bigger budget so that you will be
able to negotiate with the Council as big as

6010
08:06:06,687 --> 08:06:11,510
a budget as possible, because in
the end, the limit is the budget.

6011
08:06:11,583 --> 08:06:17,209
And the duty is towards all the tens of
millions of Europeans that know about

6012
08:06:17,282 --> 08:06:22,104
Erasmus but cannot dre am to access
it. I agree we need synergies.

6013
08:06:22,177 --> 08:06:26,561
There is a housing crisis. There
is a cost of living crisis.

6014
08:06:26,635 --> 08:06:30,434
It affects young people
more than other generations.

6015
08:06:30,734 --> 08:06:35,275
And we need to think beyond Erasmus, how
to connect it with European social fund

6016
08:06:35,332 --> 08:06:38,568
plus, with other funds, so
that it can be more inclusive.

6017
08:06:38,625 --> 08:06:43,223
But this is, I think, the battle for the
next generation of Europeans and for the

6018
08:06:43,279 --> 08:06:46,629
future of our European Union.
So thank you for this battle.

6019
08:06:46,685 --> 08:06:49,070
And together, I hope that we will succeed.

6020
08:06:49,126 --> 08:06:50,326
Thank you.

6021
08:06:50,654 --> 08:06:53,519
Thank you. Thank you very
much, executive vice president.

6022
08:06:53,569 --> 08:06:56,534
Now floors go back to Rapporteur
Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski.

6023
08:06:59,774 --> 08:07:00,974
Thank you very much.

6024
08:07:01,034 --> 08:07:06,960
First, I will respond to a few critics. Of
those nearly 40 critics, there were only

6025
08:07:07,031 --> 08:07:10,244
a few. But I have one
simple request for you:

6026
08:07:10,315 --> 08:07:15,812
read this report. Read that report. You
won’t find Marx, Engels, or—even less

6027
08:07:15,884 --> 08:07:19,739
so—Lenin in it. Secondly, a
response to Ms Wiśniewska.

6028
08:07:19,810 --> 08:07:23,166
You have confused Erasmus
Mundus with Erasmus+.

6029
08:07:23,237 --> 08:07:28,449
There is no funding in this programme.
Not only that, we are blocking and

6030
08:07:28,521 --> 08:07:34,518
restricting and better controlling the
implementation of this programme than was the

6031
08:07:34,589 --> 08:07:38,301
case before. We are not
changing it in this respect.

6032
08:07:38,373 --> 08:07:43,585
Erasmus Mundus is not funded under
Erasmus Plus, but under Global Europe.

6033
08:07:43,656 --> 08:07:47,654
The second point is very
important and very significant.

6034
08:07:47,725 --> 08:07:53,294
We do indeed have a million children
born as a result of cooperation under the

6035
08:07:53,365 --> 08:07:57,292
Erasmus+ programme. That is
why the right must respond.

6036
08:07:57,363 --> 08:08:01,005
We have one of the best
pro-demographic programmes.

6037
08:08:01,076 --> 08:08:06,787
You always wanted this. So here it is.
There is a pro-demographic programme, and

6038
08:08:06,859 --> 08:08:12,642
every child born always has, for one Member
of Parliament, two parents – a mother

6039
08:08:12,713 --> 08:08:15,712
and a father. And let’s be happy about it.

6040
08:08:15,783 --> 08:08:20,566
And now a few remarks, as I didn’t
get the chance to do so earlier.

6041
08:08:20,638 --> 08:08:24,707
The budget amounts to 47.4
billion, that is our proposal.

6042
08:08:24,779 --> 08:08:30,633
We are aware, the entire CULT Committee,
but also the budget, that there are needs

6043
08:08:30,704 --> 08:08:36,273
regarding Europe's security, energy
security, and the fight for cheaper fuels.

6044
08:08:36,344 --> 08:08:41,913
But this fight must also be conducted
with an eye to the future of Europe, the

6045
08:08:41,984 --> 08:08:47,839
future of the younger generation. These
are our most important investments, let us

6046
08:08:47,910 --> 08:08:53,479
not forget that. We are proposing 75%
of the budget for education and training

6047
08:08:53,550 --> 08:08:57,263
alone. A minimum of 15% for
youth with volunteering.

6048
08:08:57,334 --> 08:09:00,475
And 4.1% for sport.
These are our proposals.

6049
08:09:00,547 --> 08:09:06,401
And 20% of the funds is to be allocated
to support people with fewer opportunities

6050
08:09:06,472 --> 08:09:10,042
who are at risk. excluded.
And finally, my thanks.

6051
08:09:10,113 --> 08:09:16,111
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude
to the committee, Commissioner Mzatu,

6052
08:09:16,182 --> 08:09:21,751
and Commissioner Glen Mahler. It was an
excellent, professional collaboration.

6053
08:09:21,822 --> 08:09:26,534
There were some rough edges, but
the outcome was always fantastic.

6054
08:09:26,774 --> 08:09:27,194
Thank you.

6055
08:09:27,194 --> 08:09:30,882
I also thank the secretariat
of our committees.

6056
08:09:30,960 --> 08:09:34,334
And finally, I thank
all the organisations.

6057
08:09:34,574 --> 08:09:35,234
Thank you, colleagues.

6058
08:09:35,234 --> 08:09:40,186
To national institutions and agencies
that have shared our position.

6059
08:09:40,259 --> 08:09:43,464
They know, through
experiences and opinions.

6060
08:09:43,536 --> 08:09:45,794
We wish the youth all the best.

6061
08:09:45,854 --> 08:09:46,994
Thank you very much.

6062
08:09:46,994 --> 08:09:48,194
Thank you very much, sir.

6063
08:09:48,854 --> 08:09:50,414
Colleagues debate it

6064
08:09:50,414 --> 08:09:56,127
are closed. And voting will take
place tomorrow on this issue.

6065
08:09:56,219 --> 08:10:03,591
Next agenda item: Council and Commission
statements on the Circular Economy Act,

6066
08:10:03,683 --> 08:10:11,332
which strengthens Europe's strategic
autonomy, promotes competitiveness and reduces

6067
08:10:11,424 --> 08:10:17,967
the cost of living for European
citizens. And there will be a change of

6068
08:10:18,059 --> 08:10:22,574
Commissioners. I would
just like to take a moment

6069
08:10:22,754 --> 08:10:27,833
before the commission vēl
commission of you are welcome to.

6070
08:10:27,919 --> 08:10:35,064
So now I would like to ask to take floors
for the Council of Minister Dooley, floor

6071
08:10:35,151 --> 08:10:36,614
is yours, please.

6072
08:10:45,674 --> 08:10:50,434
President, Members, Honorable Members,
Commissioner, thank you for organizing this

6073
08:10:50,492 --> 08:10:55,136
timely debate on the upcoming circular
econom y act, which the Council very much

6074
08:10:55,194 --> 08:11:00,070
looks forward to. Our economy in competitiveness, our facing challenges that require

6075
08:11:00,128 --> 08:11:04,830
both immediate relief and structural
long-term solutions for producers especially

6076
08:11:04,888 --> 08:11:09,532
small and medium enterprises, but also
for the recycling industry, and of course

6077
08:11:09,590 --> 08:11:14,408
really importantly for our citizens. Who
expect further efforts to make their lives

6078
08:11:14,466 --> 08:11:19,052
more affordable. We need a truly functioning
internal market with secondary raw

6079
08:11:19,110 --> 08:11:21,664
materials, to achieve
our circularity goals.

6080
08:11:21,722 --> 08:11:26,076
But this is only possible if we have
long-term predictable investments into

6081
08:11:26,134 --> 08:11:30,952
recycling technologies and if we make sure
that there 's enough demand for recycled

6082
08:11:31,010 --> 08:11:34,493
materials on the side of the
manufacturers of various goods.

6083
08:11:34,551 --> 08:11:39,195
These objectives go hand in hand with the
aim of boosting our strategic autonomy

6084
08:11:39,253 --> 08:11:43,897
ensuring that production cap abilities
remain in the EU and that EU products are

6085
08:11:43,955 --> 08:11:48,367
attractive to EU customers. Our reliance
on imported raw materials including

6086
08:11:48,425 --> 08:11:51,095
critical raw materials
should be well managed.

6087
08:11:51,153 --> 08:11:55,971
At the same time we must pay due attention
to our international commitments whether

6088
08:11:56,029 --> 08:12:00,557
they concern trade relationships and
level playing field c limate goals or for

6089
08:12:00,615 --> 08:12:05,259
instance shipments of waste. And this
brings me to the upcoming circular economy

6090
08:12:05,317 --> 08:12:10,193
act. The Council expects the proposal to
tackle as a matter of priority the extended

6091
08:12:10,251 --> 08:12:12,980
producer responsibility
for all waste stre ams.

6092
08:12:13,038 --> 08:12:16,985
To ensure traceability so that the
proper treatment can be provided.

6093
08:12:17,043 --> 08:12:21,803
These are complex topics that need to be
handled in a consistent and comprehensive

6094
08:12:21,861 --> 08:12:26,099
way in order to provide clear guidance
for economic operators and SMEs in

6095
08:12:26,157 --> 08:12:31,033
particular. And bringing solutions for
alleviating their administrative burden while

6096
08:12:31,091 --> 08:12:34,342
preserving the very base of
the whole collection system.

6097
08:12:34,400 --> 08:12:39,160
The latter is essential to build a functioning
market for secondary raw materials.

6098
08:12:39,218 --> 08:12:43,862
In the meanwhile the Council also remains
attentive to the areas in which urgent

6099
08:12:43,920 --> 08:12:48,390
action is required in order to provide
immediate relief for the most impacted

6100
08:12:48,448 --> 08:12:49,394
sectors

6101
08:12:49,394 --> 08:12:53,876
of our economy. As part of the environmental
omnibus the Council is looking at a

6102
08:12:53,932 --> 08:12:58,357
targeted solution to alleviate the burden
under the existing ext ended producer

6103
08:12:58,413 --> 08:13:03,119
responsibility obligations for producers
of limited amounts of packaging or packaged

6104
08:13:03,175 --> 08:13:06,536
products under the packaging
and packaging waste regulation.

6105
08:13:06,592 --> 08:13:11,186
The omnibus file is a high priority for
our presidency and we aim to deliver under

6106
08:13:11,242 --> 08:13:15,836
the One Europe One Market Roadmap together
with the Parliament and the Commission.

6107
08:13:15,892 --> 08:13:20,150
As regards our long-term expectations
for the circular economy act some very

6108
08:13:20,206 --> 08:13:24,743
important aspects have been raised by
delegations at the Environmental Council on

6109
08:13:24,799 --> 08:13:29,393
the 12th of October and we can expect that
boosting demand with regard to recycled

6110
08:13:29,449 --> 08:13:33,931
plastic materials or EU preference or
ensuring a stronger regime of controls for

6111
08:13:33,987 --> 08:13:38,580
third country materials to make sure it
complies with our EU requirements would be

6112
08:13:38,637 --> 08:13:42,614
am ong the issues that will require
most attention thank you very much.

6113
08:13:43,694 --> 08:13:46,921
Thank you very much Minister so now I
would like to ask to take floor for the

6114
08:13:46,963 --> 08:13:48,974
Commission Commissioner
Hoekstra floor is yours.

6115
08:13:57,194 --> 08:14:03,725
Thank you very much dear President and
Honorable Members on behalf of my friend and

6116
08:14:03,804 --> 08:14:10,414
colleague Jessica Roosevelt I am taking
part in this debate ladies and gentlemen our

6117
08:14:10,493 --> 08:14:16,552
economy is and our security are under
pressure the cost of materials for some

6118
08:14:16,631 --> 08:14:23,083
sectors can be more than twice the cost
of labor and energy such as iron and steel

6119
08:14:23,162 --> 08:14:29,300
and in our view this shows just how
essential circularity is and how essential

6120
08:14:29,378 --> 08:14:35,674
material efficiency is to European
competitiveness at the same time the r isk of

6121
08:14:35,752 --> 08:14:42,362
supply disruptions is becoming ever more
concrete Europe unfortunately is highly dep

6122
08:14:42,441 --> 08:14:48,815
endent let me stress that highly dependent
on imported materials particularly for

6123
08:14:48,894 --> 08:14:55,346
key technologies of the green and dig ital
transition we import roughly 60% of the

6124
08:14:55,425 --> 08:15:01,878
critical raw materials and that per centage
goes up to 90% when you would focus on

6125
08:15:01,956 --> 08:15:08,566
rare materials just alone and I' m going
to make it worse for some raw materials the

6126
08:15:08,645 --> 08:15:14,547
Union is almost fully dependent on a
single country for its supply now such

6127
08:15:14,625 --> 08:15:21,235
dependencies create in our view a high risk
of supply disruptions that are likely to

6128
08:15:21,314 --> 08:15:27,924
distort competition internationally and
fragment our internal market to make matters

6129
08:15:28,003 --> 08:15:34,534
even worse we're effectively burying valuable
resources in the European Union about

6130
08:15:34,613 --> 08:15:40,593
30% of our waste still goes to landfill
and with it critical materials go to

6131
08:15:40,672 --> 08:15:47,203
landfill so cir cle circular transition
the circular transition is not a choice for

6132
08:15:47,282 --> 08:15:53,498
our competitiveness and resilience it
simply has become a necessity it is about

6133
08:15:53,577 --> 08:15:59,479
creating the right legal framework and
making the best use of the resources

6134
08:15:59,558 --> 08:16:05,853
available in the Union including of course
all the things that we call waste and

6135
08:16:05,932 --> 08:16:12,384
that means ensuring that materials and
products are reused remanufactured recycled

6136
08:16:12,463 --> 08:16:18,915
and k ept within the economy and it means
taking a more strategic approach to redu

6137
08:16:18,994 --> 08:16:25,447
ce our exposure to unreliable suppliers
and there are many of those out there if .

6138
08:16:25,525 --> 08:16:32,057
We get this right if we manage to do this
this will benefit citizens and businesses

6139
08:16:32,135 --> 08:16:38,195
alike but it will also benef it the
environment and help us reach our climate

6140
08:16:38,273 --> 08:16:40,634
targets now a well-functioning

6141
08:16:40,874 --> 08:16:47,037
single market is essential essential for
advancing these goals and unfortunately o

6142
08:16:47,112 --> 08:16:53,200
urs still faces too many barriers and too
much friction and we hear this directly

6143
08:16:53,276 --> 08:16:59,364
from businesses operating all over the
European Union as they still face and I'll

6144
08:16:59,439 --> 08:17:05,001
give you the list non-uniform
implementation of EU la w different national

6145
08:17:05,076 --> 08:17:11,014
requirements in different member states
fragment fragmented compliance system s

6146
08:17:11,089 --> 08:17:16,576
uncertain legal status of waste and
materials higher transaction cost for

6147
08:17:16,651 --> 08:17:22,739
cross-border trade within Europe than for
domestic trade and the list goes on and

6148
08:17:22,814 --> 08:17:29,128
ladies and gentlemen this is not what a
single market was designed for to deliver it

6149
08:17:29,203 --> 08:17:35,516
is not what we promise and the consequences
go well be yond the circular economy so.

6150
08:17:35,591 --> 08:17:41,830
Chair the circular economy act will address
at least some of these challenges right

6151
08:17:41,905 --> 08:17:47,843
away first we will simplify the regulatory
framework and remove barriers to our

6152
08:17:47,918 --> 08:17:53,555
single market for example the national
impl ementation of extended producer

6153
08:17:53,630 --> 08:17:59,568
responsibility systems has the practical
effect of stopping some companies from

6154
08:17:59,643 --> 08:18:05,806
selling cross-border and we've made a
proposal to mitigate some of these in in the

6155
08:18:05,881 --> 08:18:12,195
environmental omnibus and we're currently
assessing how the circular economy act can

6156
08:18:12,270 --> 08:18:18,283
actually bring that even further we must
also reform the system so companies can

6157
08:18:18,358 --> 08:18:24,521
actually comply easily and do their utmost
to boost circularity themselves we will

6158
08:18:24,597 --> 08:18:30,760
harmon harmonize simplify digitalize and
also ensure stronger enforcement bec ause

6159
08:18:30,835 --> 08:18:36,622
that will be needed as well another
example relates to so-called end of waste

6160
08:18:36,698 --> 08:18:42,786
criteria harmonization will make it easier
to move secondary raw materials within

6161
08:18:42,861 --> 08:18:48,799
the European Union to where they have
the highest value and the highest utility

6162
08:18:48,874 --> 08:18:55,187
second we will strengthen the secondary raw
materials market add ressing bottlenecks

6163
08:18:55,262 --> 08:19:01,426
on the supply and demand side simultaneously
and that includes ensuring that waste

6164
08:19:01,501 --> 08:19:07,589
is recycled instead of being landfilled
third specifically for raw materials this

6165
08:19:07,664 --> 08:19:13,978
means diversif ying supply by making better
use of waste streams like for electronic

6166
08:19:14,053 --> 08:19:14,774
and elec

6167
08:19:14,774 --> 08:19:20,734
trical equipment we. Effectively need to
turn more of Europe's waste into what I

6168
08:19:20,808 --> 08:19:26,694
would like to call a strategic resource
for Europe 's industry and the circular

6169
08:19:26,768 --> 08:19:32,803
economy act will build on the legislation
that we have already in place including

6170
08:19:32,877 --> 08:19:38,912
the eco design for sustainable products
regulation and of course the construction

6171
08:19:38,986 --> 08:19:44,723
products regulation the circularity
economy act will complement exactly these

6172
08:19:44,797 --> 08:19:50,981
efforts by addressing broader single market
barriers as we kn ow exist and then the

6173
08:19:51,055 --> 08:19:56,791
act itself is only one part of our
ambition what we're doing is working on an

6174
08:19:56,866 --> 08:20:02,900
integrated package of legislative and
non-legislative measures some to be adopted

6175
08:20:02,975 --> 08:20:09,233
alongside the act and others to follow later
and these accompanying measure measures

6176
08:20:09,307 --> 08:20:15,193
will be just as important in our view as
the act itself dear chair we also need

6177
08:20:15,267 --> 08:20:21,302
research and innovation enabling market
conditions incentives and practical tools

6178
08:20:21,376 --> 08:20:27,634
including new ways to use public but also
private funds because circularity requires

6179
08:20:27,709 --> 08:20:33,892
investments but frankly speaking it pays
back as a driver of competitiveness and it

6180
08:20:33,966 --> 08:20:40,001
is the combination of all of these meas
ures that I've described working together

6181
08:20:40,075 --> 08:20:45,886
that in our view truly will make a
difference it will help to deliver material

6182
08:20:45,961 --> 08:20:52,144
efficiencies and supply chain supply chain
certainty that we so clearly need and it

6183
08:20:52,219 --> 08:20:56,763
will strengthen E U resilience
and our strategic autonomy so.

6184
08:20:56,838 --> 08:21:02,872
Delighted to have the opportunity to
present and truly eager to hear the views of

6185
08:21:02,947 --> 08:21:09,055
the esteemed members of par liament on the
upcoming act and how we can turn all of

6186
08:21:09,130 --> 08:21:15,388
these ambition into action as soon as
possible alt ogether thank you very much thank

6187
08:21:15,462 --> 08:21:21,050
you very much commissioner now for EPP
group will speak Pablo Arias gracias

6188
08:21:21,124 --> 08:21:27,010
presidente señor ministro señor comisario
rediseñar reducir reutilizar re parar

6189
08:21:27,084 --> 08:21:33,342
renovar recuperar y reciclar durante demasiado
tiempo hemos basado nuestro modelo de

6190
08:21:33,417 --> 08:21:39,004
producción y consumo en fabricar usar
y tirar la economía circular no puede

6191
08:21:39,079 --> 08:21:45,039
entenderse únicamente como un objetivo
climático o medioambiental es también una

6192
08:21:45,113 --> 08:21:46,454
cuestión de compet

6193
08:21:46,754 --> 08:21:51,678
itividad de seguridad económica y de
autonomía estratégica para Europa nuestros

6194
08:21:51,740 --> 08:21:56,852
recursos son limitados y la dependencia
ex terior especialmente en materias primas

6195
08:21:56,914 --> 08:22:02,150
críticas nos hace vulnerables a las tensiones
geopolíticas y pone en riesgo el sumin

6196
08:22:02,212 --> 08:22:06,887
istro de nuestra industria reducir
estas dependencias reutilizar y reciclar

6197
08:22:06,949 --> 08:22:12,060
materiales e impulsar la innovación son
nec esidades estratégicas pero también una

6198
08:22:12,123 --> 08:22:17,358
oportunidad para rediseñar nuestro modelo
productivo y generar nuevas oportun idades

6199
08:22:17,421 --> 08:22:22,407
de negocio y empleo en nuestro mercado
para ello necesitamos una ley de economía

6200
08:22:22,469 --> 08:22:27,518
circular ambiciosa pero a la vez realista
una ley que repare la competitividad de

6201
08:22:27,581 --> 08:22:32,629
nuestras empresas en lugar de debilitarla
y para ello la simplificación tiene que

6202
08:22:32,692 --> 08:22:37,367
estar en el centro del debate no podemos
añadir más burocracia cada trámite

6203
08:22:37,429 --> 08:22:42,041
innecesario resta recursos a la
innovación a la inversión y al crecimiento

6204
08:22:42,104 --> 08:22:47,152
especialmente de nuestras pymes la transición
debe hacerse de la mano de nuestras

6205
08:22:47,215 --> 08:22:52,077
empresas facilitando su adopción a nuevos
modelos de producción y renovando su

6206
08:22:52,139 --> 08:22:57,375
competitividad necesit amos normas claras
armonizadas y previsibles que faciliten la

6207
08:22:57,437 --> 08:23:01,987
inversión y eliminen barreras en el
mercado único y permitan compet ir en

6208
08:23:02,049 --> 08:23:06,662
condiciones adecuadas a las materias
primas secundarias desde el grupo PPE

6209
08:23:06,724 --> 08:23:11,773
defendemos una economía circular más compet
itiva resiliente y europea hagamos de

6210
08:23:11,835 --> 08:23:16,946
las siete erres una ventaja estratégica
para Europa una vía para recuperar nuestra

6211
08:23:17,009 --> 08:23:22,182
industria y fortalecer nuestra capacidad
de generar empleo apostemos por una ley de

6212
08:23:22,245 --> 08:23:27,356
economía circular ambiciosa a la vez que
senc illa y eficaz que impulse a nuestras

6213
08:23:27,418 --> 08:23:32,467
empresas y sitúe a Europa a la cabeza de
la economía del futuro muchas gracias th

6214
08:23:32,529 --> 08:23:37,204
ank you very much for SMB group will
speak Delara Burhart vielen dank liebe

6215
08:23:37,266 --> 08:23:42,502
Kolleginnen und Kollegen ob das große
Aluminium Recycling Werk in Sachsen-Anhalt das

6216
08:23:42,564 --> 08:23:47,800
Hamburger B iotech Unternehmen das aus Agrar
Reststoffen neue Materialien entwickelt

6217
08:23:47,863 --> 08:23:51,914
oder der Recyclinghof in meiner
Heimat in Kiel sie alle zeigen he

6218
08:23:51,914 --> 08:23:57,039
ute schon Kreislaufwirtschaft funktioniert
doch sie alle kämpfen mit den gleichen

6219
08:23:57,102 --> 08:24:02,037
Hürden zu geringe Nachfrage nach recycelten
R ohstoffen und einem Wirrwarr von

6220
08:24:02,100 --> 08:24:07,288
Regeln auch innerhalb der Europäischen
Union die gute Nachricht ist wir können das

6221
08:24:07,351 --> 08:24:12,665
ändern der Circular Econom y Act muss die
Kraft unseres Binnenmarktes neu entfesseln

6222
08:24:12,728 --> 08:24:17,600
und mit gemeinsamen harmonisierten
ambitionierten Regeln mehr Nach frage nach

6223
08:24:17,663 --> 08:24:22,914
Recyclingmaterialien und einer starken
Herstellerverantwortung die Wiederverwendung

6224
08:24:22,978 --> 08:24:28,165
und Ressourcenschonung belohnt das ist
eine riesige Chance für mehr Unabhängigkeit

6225
08:24:28,229 --> 08:24:33,480
von Rohstoffimporten für geringere
Materialkosten in der Produktion und für gute Ar

6226
08:24:33,543 --> 08:24:38,478
beitsplätze in der Industrie von heute
aber eben auch von morgen und vor allen

6227
08:24:38,541 --> 08:24:43,792
Dingen für Bezahlbare Produkte die lang
lebiger und günstiger werden Herr Kommissar

6228
08:24:43,855 --> 08:24:48,727
Sie haben dieses strategische Potenzial
erkannt jetzt wird's wichtig dass Sie

6229
08:24:48,790 --> 08:24:53,978
endlich liefern wir warten schon eine Weile
auf den Circular Economy Act für einen

6230
08:24:54,041 --> 08:24:59,292
unabhängiges Wettbewerbsfähiges und
nachhaltiges Europa vielen dank th ank you very

6231
08:24:59,355 --> 08:25:04,290
much for the PFE group will speak Victoria
Ference tisztelt biztos úr tisztelt

6232
08:25:04,353 --> 08:25:09,162
képviselők Európa gazdasága egyre
nehezebben viseli a magas költségeket és a

6233
08:25:09,225 --> 08:25:14,413
ránehezed ő szabályozási terheket igaz ez
a hulladékgazdálkodásra is a körforgásos

6234
08:25:14,476 --> 08:25:19,727
gazdaságról szól ó szabályozásnak ezért
Európa versenyképességét kell szolgálnia az

6235
08:25:19,790 --> 08:25:24,156
újrahasznosítás és az újrafelhasználási
arányok javítása garantálja a

6236
08:25:24,219 --> 08:25:29,533
környezetvédelmét miközben Európa nyersanyagfüggőségét is csökkenti emellett szükség

6237
08:25:29,597 --> 08:25:34,531
van a másodlagos nyersanyagok piacának
fejlesztésére is de nem újabb jelentési

6238
08:25:34,595 --> 08:25:39,593
kötelezettségekre és nem a nemzeti
rendszerek egységesítésére minden áron az új

6239
08:25:39,656 --> 08:25:44,337
uniós szabályozásnak lehetőséget kell
adni ar ra hogy a tagállamok a saját

6240
08:25:44,401 --> 08:25:49,209
tapasztalataikra és adottságukra építsenek
közös célokat szem előtt tartva a

6241
08:25:49,272 --> 08:25:54,397
szabályoknak a tisztességes versenyt is
garantálniuk kell olyan nem fordulhat elő

6242
08:25:54,460 --> 08:25:59,774
hogy miközben az európai váll alatok szigorú
kötelezettségeket teljesítenek az unión

6243
08:25:59,838 --> 08:26:03,254
kívülről érkező szereplők
kibújhatnak ezek alól köszön

6244
08:26:03,314 --> 08:26:08,871
öm thank you for ECR group will speak
merci monsieur le président chers collègues

6245
08:26:08,940 --> 08:26:14,222
nous débattons aujourd'hui d'un projet
législatif dont l'analyse d'impact non

6246
08:26:14,291 --> 08:26:19,916
concluante a repoussé le calendrier au
mois de novembre prochain et bien profitons

6247
08:26:19,985 --> 08:26:25,679
de ce délai pour introduire un peu de bon
sens dans nos réflexions recycler n 'a de

6248
08:26:25,748 --> 08:26:31,031
sens que si quelqu'un achète ce qu'on
recycle et aujourd'hui des montagnes de

6249
08:26:31,099 --> 08:26:36,450
matières premières s'entassent dans des
hangars faute de clients on impose aux

6250
08:26:36,519 --> 08:26:41,939
professionnels du recyclage des objectifs
de recyclage toujours plus haut et on

6251
08:26:42,007 --> 08:26:47,359
voudrait en plus les f aire entrer dans
le marché du carbone ce qui serait une

6252
08:26:47,427 --> 08:26:52,847
double peine certes oui il faut récupérer
nos matériaux critiques plutôt que de

6253
08:26:52,916 --> 08:26:58,198
dépendre de la Chine mais à plusieurs
conditions d'abord pas de taxe déguisée

6254
08:26:58,267 --> 08:27:03,824
alourdir les éco-contributions c 'est
faire payer le consommateur l'inverse de la

6255
08:27:03,892 --> 08:27:08,969
vie plus abordable ensuite protégeons
nos recycleurs par des contrôles aux

6256
08:27:09,038 --> 08:27:14,183
frontières une traçabilité et des
obligations strictes pour les plateformes

6257
08:27:14,252 --> 08:27:19,672
étrangères enfin pas de décroissance
l'Eur ope doit produire mieux pas produire

6258
08:27:19,740 --> 08:27:25,160
moins simplifier protéger faites confiance
à nos entreprises le reste n'est que

6259
08:27:25,229 --> 08:27:30,648
bureaucratie merci thank you for the new
Europe will speak Anna Maya Henriksson

6260
08:27:30,717 --> 08:27:36,480
arvoisa puhemies komisaari hyvät kollegat
kierto talous hyödyttää sekä ilmastoa että

6261
08:27:36,548 --> 08:27:41,214
ihm isten kukkaroita se vahvistaa
samalla EU:n autonomiaa uskon että

6262
08:27:41,282 --> 08:27:46,908
kiertotaloudella on paljon pot entiaalia
vahvistaa Euroopan kilpailukykyä vähentää

6263
08:27:46,976 --> 08:27:52,465
riippuvuuttamme EU:n ulkopuolelta tulevista
ra aka-aineista ja parantaa Euroopan

6264
08:27:52,534 --> 08:27:58,091
kansalaisten arkea samalla kun uudistumme
ja u udistamme on myös tärkeä vaalia jo

6265
08:27:58,159 --> 08:28:03,785
toimivia ratkaisuja esimerkiksi Suomen
erinomaisesti toim iva pullojen ja tölkkien

6266
08:28:03,853 --> 08:28:09,273
panttijärjestelmä on pystyttävä säilyttämään
ja sähköautojen akkuja on vo itava

6267
08:28:09,342 --> 08:28:15,105
korjata turvallisesti ja kohtuullisin
kustannuksin kaikkialla EU:ssa odotan että kom

6268
08:28:15,173 --> 08:28:20,524
ission tuleva esitys kiertotaloudesta
kannustaa meitä korjaamaan ja käyttämään

6269
08:28:20,593 --> 08:28:22,514
tuotteita uudelleen antamaan

6270
08:28:22,694 --> 08:28:29,002
niille uuden elämän sekä kierrättämään
materiaaleja jotta arvokkaat raaka-aineet

6271
08:28:29,081 --> 08:28:35,625
saadaan talteen ja olen myös toiveikas
siitä että riittävästi huomioidaan pienet ja

6272
08:28:35,704 --> 08:28:42,011
keskisuuret y ritykset ja samojen sääntöjen
on koskettava myös EU:n ulkopuolisia

6273
08:28:42,090 --> 08:28:47,294
yrityksiä jotka haluavat toim ia
meidän sisämarkkinoillamme kiitos

6274
08:28:57,914 --> 08:29:02,853
bonjour merci monsieur le président
monsieur le commissaire cher conseil chers

6275
08:29:02,917 --> 08:29:08,173
collègues d'abord une évidence il n'y a
pas de bon déchet le bon déchet c'est celui

6276
08:29:08,236 --> 08:29:13,366
qu'on ne produit pas et quand on parle
d'économie cir culaire il me semble que ce

6277
08:29:13,429 --> 08:29:18,305
qu'il on doit mettre au cœur de notre
logique c'est trois éléments d'abord la

6278
08:29:18,369 --> 08:29:23,561
prévention et ç a c'est l'éco-conception
des produits pour qu'ils puissent être le

6279
08:29:23,625 --> 08:29:28,627
plus réparable possible durer le plus
longtemps possible et en fin de vie qu'on

6280
08:29:28,691 --> 08:29:33,884
puisse récupérer le plus facilement possible
l'ensemble des matières premières qui

6281
08:29:33,947 --> 08:29:39,076
ont été utiles à sa production deux ièmement
c'est le réemploi et donc là il faut

6282
08:29:39,140 --> 08:29:44,333
s'appuyer notamment sur la commande publique
pour favoriser la réutilisation et le

6283
08:29:44,396 --> 08:29:49,652
réemploi la seconde vie mais pour cela il
faut une offre et donc avoir des produits

6284
08:29:49,715 --> 08:29:55,035
qu'on ait au préalable remis en é tat et
puis la réparation c'est la même logique il

6285
08:29:55,098 --> 08:30:00,038
y a deux autres textes dont on est en
train de parler en ce moment c'est l'acc

6286
08:30:00,101 --> 08:30:05,167
élérateur industriel et la commande
publique la circularité doit être au cœur de

6287
08:30:05,230 --> 08:30:10,233
notre stratégie europ éenne car notre
continent ne sera pas compétitif dans une

6288
08:30:10,297 --> 08:30:15,363
logique d'économie linéaire et extractiviste
c'est ça l'ambition que nous devons

6289
08:30:15,426 --> 08:30:20,555
nous fixer pour une Europe plus puissante
plus industrielle et plus sociale merci

6290
08:30:20,619 --> 08:30:25,748
mer ci mister gunta das Kreislaufwirtschaftsgesetz muss Menschen und den Planeten

6291
08:30:25,812 --> 08:30:30,688
vor endlosen Produktion und Profit
stellen eine Kreislaufwirtschaft muss mehr

6292
08:30:30,751 --> 08:30:36,007
leisten als nur Abfall zu verwalten sie
muss den Ressourcenverbrauch senken und die

6293
08:30:36,071 --> 08:30:39,933
endlose Produktion und nutz
losen Konsum in Frage stellen das

6294
08:30:39,997 --> 08:30:45,190
Kreislaufwirtschaftsgesetz bietet die
Chance einer Wende einzuleiten Binnenmärk te

6295
08:30:45,253 --> 08:30:50,382
für Recycling und Abfall reichen nicht
aus Abfallvermeidung muss an erster Stelle

6296
08:30:50,446 --> 08:30:55,575
stehen Produkte müssen länger halten leicht
zu reparieren und wieder zu verwenden

6297
08:30:55,639 --> 08:31:00,705
sein wir brauchen Strukturen die effektive
und damit kosteng ünstige Reparaturen

6298
08:31:00,768 --> 08:31:05,771
erst ermöglichen wir brauchen ein Verbot
der Vernichtung unverkaufter Waren wir

6299
08:31:05,834 --> 08:31:07,034
brauchen die Auswe

6300
08:31:07,034 --> 08:31:12,474
itung der Herstellerverantwortung auf mehr
Produkte wir brauchen langliebiges und

6301
08:31:12,541 --> 08:31:17,309
reparierbares Des ign mehr Mittel in
die Abfallvermeidung Reparatur und

6302
08:31:17,376 --> 08:31:23,018
Wiederverwendung nicht nur in die Abfallsammlung
und das Rec ycling diese Wende muss

6303
08:31:23,085 --> 08:31:28,458
klare Meilensteile und Rechenschaftspflichten
setzen zugunsten der Beschäftigten

6304
08:31:28,525 --> 08:31:33,091
sein g ute sichere Arbeitsplätze
mit starken Arbeitnehmerrechten und

6305
08:31:33,159 --> 08:31:37,994
Tarifverhandlungen schaffen vielen
Dank vielen Dan k mister Commissioner

6306
08:31:48,374 --> 08:31:53,901
thank you very much dear chair and delighted
to see you back specifically in that

6307
08:31:53,969 --> 08:31:59,565
chair maybe three reflections if I may
from my side at this point in time first to

6308
08:31:59,633 --> 08:32:05,160
build on what quite a few speakers said
I think the EPP in particular and that is

6309
08:32:05,229 --> 08:32:10,892
the logic that we have here in front of us
to make sure we bridge one everything we

6310
08:32:10,960 --> 08:32:15,669
have in the domain of c limate and
nature with the huge importance of

6311
08:32:15,737 --> 08:32:21,264
competitiveness and everything related to
the domain of autonomy and independence

6312
08:32:21,332 --> 08:32:26,587
and recycling actually is a great idea
on all these three fronts and it is an

6313
08:32:26,655 --> 08:32:32,387
opportunity that we do need to reap so there
are very much agree with those who have

6314
08:32:32,455 --> 08:32:38,119
articulated that logic second ly and that
was what Madam Burkart was saying das ist

6315
08:32:38,187 --> 08:32:43,782
eine Chance and that is indeed really the
opportunity here we have the opportunity

6316
08:32:43,851 --> 08:32:49,514
to move from a world where we are burning
90% of the stuff towards a world where we

6317
08:32:49,583 --> 08:32:55,246
re cycle 90% of the stuff and and that is
simply an opportunity whether you look at

6318
08:32:55,315 --> 08:33:01,046
this from an ecological perspective whether
y ou look at this from the wallet or you

6319
08:33:01,115 --> 08:33:06,028
look at the dramatic truly dramatic
dependencies that Europe has third .

6320
08:33:06,096 --> 08:33:09,371
And last dear chair and
and there was something.

6321
08:33:09,440 --> 08:33:14,762
That was brought up also by a few speakers
some were focusing on the cost and.

6322
08:33:14,830 --> 08:33:20,494
Of course there are as with everything in
life there are smarter and dumber ways to

6323
08:33:20,562 --> 08:33:26,089
do this there are more expensive and
cheaper ways to do this but if I look at the

6324
08:33:26,158 --> 08:33:31,821
member state that I know best and it has
not nearly maximized its its its potential

6325
08:33:31,890 --> 08:33:37,485
in the doma in of recycling but the reason
why it went into this and why it is the

6326
08:33:37,553 --> 08:33:43,217
world champion in in in recycling a
circularity is because there is a business case

6327
08:33:43,285 --> 08:33:48,881
and and that is something where we need
much more of in Europe let me give you one

6328
08:33:48,949 --> 08:33:54,544
last example I'm sure he will forgive me
for bringing that up here once again I on

6329
08:33:54,613 --> 08:34:00,208
ce had a chat with the previous CEO of
IKEA and he explained to me how he c ame to

6330
08:34:00,276 --> 08:34:05,394
start recycling mattresses in the
Netherlands this was first imposed by the

6331
08:34:05,462 --> 08:34:06,662
government and I

6332
08:34:06,734 --> 08:34:12,055
KEA embraced it and thought that this was
a great opportunity from an ecological

6333
08:34:12,121 --> 08:34:17,442
perspective but probably also a cost and
and and something that would that would

6334
08:34:17,509 --> 08:34:23,029
come with a certain financial. Burden to
them in in doing that until they looked at

6335
08:34:23,095 --> 08:34:28,283
it and they saw that actually this was
che aper than the process that they had

6336
08:34:28,350 --> 08:34:33,936
before and what they then started to do is
lobby the other 26 govern ments in Europe

6337
08:34:34,003 --> 08:34:39,191
to ask for the exact same regulation
because again it works from an ecological

6338
08:34:39,257 --> 08:34:44,711
perspective but actually it is better for
the wallet of that specific company that

6339
08:34:44,777 --> 08:34:50,298
is. Micro example but it tells you a story
and that's the one I will keep repeating

6340
08:34:50,364 --> 08:34:55,951
and Commissioner Roosevelt will keep re
peating that we have an opportunity to bring

6341
08:34:56,018 --> 08:35:01,538
our objectives in climate and environment
in terms of competitiv eness and in terms

6342
08:35:01,604 --> 08:35:07,191
of autonomy and independence truly hands
in hand if we do this well thank you th ank

6343
08:35:07,258 --> 08:35:12,645
you thank you very much dear Commissioner
my next speaker is mister Joneski panie

6344
08:35:12,711 --> 08:35:18,032
przewodniczący szanowny panie komisarzu
ale nie zbudujemy europejskiej konkurenc

6345
08:35:18,099 --> 08:35:23,220
yjnej gospodarki i synergia będzie u
nas ponad dwa razy droższa niż w Stanach

6346
08:35:23,287 --> 08:35:28,740
Zjednoczonych i trzy razy droższ a niż w
Chinach no jeśli tylko popatrzymy na Unię

6347
08:35:28,807 --> 08:35:34,261
Europejską to za prąd dla przemysłu tu w
Europie nasze firmy płacą 20 eurocenta za

6348
08:35:34,327 --> 08:35:39,648
kilowatogodzinę a w Chinach 7,5 eurocenta
za kilowatogodzinę i to nie jest dobra

6349
08:35:39,714 --> 08:35:45,235
drobna różnica to jest ta przewaga
konkurencyjna którą oddajemy innym gospodarstwom

6350
08:35:45,301 --> 08:35:50,156
i dlaczego o tym mówię tu w tej chwili
dlatego że dyskusja o recyklingu o

6351
08:35:50,223 --> 08:35:55,677
odzyskiwaniu surowców i uniezależnieniu
się od Chin to dobry kierunek oczywiście i

6352
08:35:55,743 --> 08:36:01,130
bardzo bardzo dobrze że o tym rozmawiam
y ale jeśli przetwarzanie tych surowców w

6353
08:36:01,197 --> 08:36:06,584
Europie będzie zbyt drogie nasze ambicje
po prostu pozostaną na papierze bo jeśli

6354
08:36:06,651 --> 08:36:11,905
europejska firma płaci za dużo za energię
to inwestycja w Europie przestaje się

6355
08:36:11,972 --> 08:36:17,492
opłacać jak przestaje się opłacać to
produkcja pr zenosi się poza Unię a my stajemy

6356
08:36:17,558 --> 08:36:22,214
się zależni od importu ten wyścig
technologiczny wygrają ci którzy będ

6357
08:36:22,214 --> 08:36:27,915
ą mieli tanią energię i ten wyścig trwa i
my musimy zrobić wszystko w Europie żeby

6358
08:36:27,984 --> 08:36:33,754
ten wyścig wygrać dlatego ceny energii
muszą być jed nym z priorytetów tej polityki

6359
08:36:33,824 --> 08:36:39,455
bez taniej i stabilnej energii nie będzie
nowych inwestycji silnego przemysłu ani

6360
08:36:39,525 --> 08:36:45,295
też real nej strategicznej autonomii dlatego
po pierwsze przesunięcie i odejście od

6361
08:36:45,364 --> 08:36:51,065
ETS2 a po drugie potrzebujem y prostych
przepisów gospodarka o obiegu zamkniętym o

6362
08:36:51,135 --> 08:36:56,835
których komisarz mówi ma tworzyć wartość
i wzmacniać firmy a nie m nożyć obowiązki

6363
08:36:56,905 --> 08:37:02,188
administracyjne nie wystarczy odzyskiwać
surowce musimy jeszcze sprawić żeby

6364
08:37:02,258 --> 08:37:07,680
opłacało się to po prostu robić tu w
Europie dziękuję thank you very much dear

6365
08:37:07,750 --> 08:37:13,520
colleague mister Tobak you have the floor
thank you chair colleagues waste not want

6366
08:37:13,590 --> 08:37:19,429
not if buying something is difficult or
expensive then wasting what you already have

6367
08:37:19,499 --> 08:37:25,200
is plain dumb yet that is what we do in
Europe we complain about high energy costs

6368
08:37:25,269 --> 08:37:30,900
about insecure supplies of crucial rare
materials of metals or magnets and at the

6369
08:37:30,970 --> 08:37:36,740
same time we th row away what we already
have our citizens pay three times for this

6370
08:37:36,810 --> 08:37:42,441
failure we pay to buy we pay to dispose
burn our landfill and we pay again to buy

6371
08:37:42,510 --> 08:37:48,350
again and while Chinese players are al ready
eyeing our wind turbines to recover the

6372
08:37:48,420 --> 08:37:54,259
precious materials inside we needlessly
complicate the transport of used toaster for

6373
08:37:54,329 --> 08:38:00,030
recycling in a neighboring member state
colleagues reusing goods and materials has

6374
08:38:00,099 --> 08:38:05,800
always made ec ological sense but in today's
world it also has great strategic and

6375
08:38:05,869 --> 08:38:11,639
economic value so commissioner more than
ever there is no time to waste and no time

6376
08:38:11,709 --> 08:38:17,479
to waste in connecting circular to economy
and to act I'm looking forward thank you

6377
08:38:17,549 --> 08:38:22,902
thank. You il signor Inselbini si continua
giustamente a parlare di autonomia

6378
08:38:22,971 --> 08:38:28,463
strategica competitività e riduzione dei
costi per i cittadini ma come possiamo

6379
08:38:28,533 --> 08:38:34,303
essere autonom i se da una parte dipendiamo
dall'estero per l'approvvigionamento di

6380
08:38:34,373 --> 08:38:39,865
materie prime strategiche e dall'altro
soffochiamo i nostri imprenditori con la

6381
08:38:39,934 --> 08:38:45,774
burocrazia il circular economy act rappresenta
un'occasione unica è vero ma non deve

6382
08:38:45,844 --> 08:38:47,234
diventare l'ennesimo

6383
08:38:47,294 --> 08:38:53,111
capitolo del Green Deal fatto solo di
costi e di burocrazia abbiamo bisogno di

6384
08:38:53,186 --> 08:38:59,301
trasformare i rifiuti in risorse industriali
e non le impr ese in uffici solamente

6385
08:38:59,376 --> 08:39:05,193
amministrativi servono mercati europei
efficienti procedure più rapide criteri

6386
08:39:05,267 --> 08:39:11,159
armonizz ati e meno ostacoli alla
circolazione dei materiali recuperati la vera

6387
08:39:11,233 --> 08:39:17,423
economia circolare deve infatti ridurre la
dipendenza strategica dalle importazioni

6388
08:39:17,498 --> 08:39:23,464
abbassare i costi produttivi e rafforzare
le nostre filiere oltre che proteggere

6389
08:39:23,539 --> 08:39:29,430
tutti quei materiali strategici come il
rottame che adesso vengono svenduti per

6390
08:39:29,505 --> 08:39:35,695
esempio all'estero quindi non solo regole
ma si devono dare alle imprese la libertà

6391
08:39:35,769 --> 08:39:41,512
e gli strumenti per produrre innovare
e competere grazie g razie onorevole la

6392
08:39:41,586 --> 08:39:47,627
signora Vasconcelos thank you chair
commissioner council colleagues a competitive

6393
08:39:47,702 --> 08:39:53,742
economy and strategic autonomy two top
priorities in for Europe in this uncertain

6394
08:39:53,817 --> 08:39:59,485
world for both we need critical raw
materials like lithium cobalt and copper

6395
08:39:59,559 --> 08:40:05,376
ingredients we need for everything from
our phones our car car bat teries wind

6396
08:40:05,451 --> 08:40:11,641
turbines data centers and defense equipment
our continent is not as naturally ri ch

6397
08:40:11,715 --> 08:40:17,831
in these materials as others are but that
does not mean that we don't have them in

6398
08:40:17,905 --> 08:40:24,021
spades in our waste by 2040 recycling could
could cut our demand for new cobalt by

6399
08:40:24,095 --> 08:40:30,136
up to 70% and for nickel up to hal f Europe
has the knowhow and the technology to

6400
08:40:30,211 --> 08:40:36,326
reuse and recycle the challenge is regulation
particularly in 27 different regimes

6401
08:40:36,401 --> 08:40:42,068
across member states no business should
have to register with every national

6402
08:40:42,143 --> 08:40:48,333
producer responsibility scheme one by one
give businesses a single digital one-stop

6403
08:40:48,407 --> 08:40:54,672
shop and build a real single market where
trade is unburdened and recycled materials

6404
08:40:54,747 --> 08:41:00,713
circulate freely Europe al ready has an
untapped mind of secondary raw materials

6405
08:41:00,787 --> 08:41:06,977
let's stop wasting it ob rigado eh Madame
Matti dear colleagues last week Elon Musk

6406
08:41:07,052 --> 08:41:13,093
showed off a flying car uh while people
worldwide fear that A I will replace them

6407
08:41:13,167 --> 08:41:19,208
for us Europeans the answer to that is
closer to the ground creating new jobs and

6408
08:41:19,282 --> 08:41:20,774
making sure that the

6409
08:41:20,834 --> 08:41:26,936
jobs we already have stay in Europe so
I recently met the CEO of Gallo it's a

6410
08:41:27,016 --> 08:41:33,277
Belgian recycler and he told me when he
started his company that his family was

6411
08:41:33,356 --> 08:41:40,013
asking him while why a well-educated man
would actu ally want to deal in trash today

6412
08:41:40,092 --> 08:41:46,591
the company employs over 800 people and
it's highly successful in the beginning he

6413
08:41:46,670 --> 08:41:53,169
thought that the EU rules on car recycling
were completely impossible right now he

6414
08:41:53,248 --> 08:41:59,589
says it allowed his company to flourish
and he thanked me for them an innovative

6415
08:41:59,668 --> 08:42:06,246
textile recycling companies are actually
also telling me the same thing they want c

6416
08:42:06,325 --> 08:42:12,586
lear rules they want market demand or
they just move to China so in a couple of

6417
08:42:12,665 --> 08:42:19,164
weeks commission you will present the
circular economy act I will judge it on just

6418
08:42:19,243 --> 08:42:25,901
one question does it infect give our
innovative companies a reason to stay in Europe

6419
08:42:25,980 --> 08:42:32,399
or not because that more than flying cars
really gives people economical security

6420
08:42:32,479 --> 08:42:39,057
thank you. Madame Matie you have a blue
card from Madame Bisnieska do you accept it

6421
08:42:39,136 --> 08:42:45,714
from ECR group um Mad ame Bisnieska sit
four three zero you have the floor dziękuję

6422
08:42:45,793 --> 08:42:49,993
bardzo za przyjęcie mojego
pytania mam podobny Sorry.

6423
08:42:50,073 --> 08:42:56,413
Yeah I have no translation Let's try now
is correct dziękuję bardzo za przyjęcie

6424
08:42:56,492 --> 08:43:02,753
mojego pytania mam podobny pogląd jeśli
chodzi o pot encjał który tkwi w złomie

6425
08:43:02,832 --> 08:43:09,410
zatem chciałam panią zapytać czy nie uważa
pani że powinniśmy wprowadzić restrykcje

6426
08:43:09,490 --> 08:43:14,166
jeśli chodzi o eksport złomu
poza Unię Europejską dziękuję.

6427
08:43:14,245 --> 08:43:20,823
Sorry the translation was not great but if
I understand you correctly it's about um

6428
08:43:20,902 --> 08:43:27,559
maybe limiting the export of scrap right
that was your question yeah well um I think

6429
08:43:27,639 --> 08:43:33,900
it's important uh to know all the numbers
u h before we make uh this kind of uh

6430
08:43:33,979 --> 08:43:40,161
decision and I think uh if you look at
for instance what we're doing uh in the

6431
08:43:40,240 --> 08:43:46,739
revamp of CBAM right now this is going to
be a good way to actually make sure that

6432
08:43:46,818 --> 08:43:53,317
we put on um the kind of legislation that
is working and that is necessary I think

6433
08:43:53,396 --> 08:43:59,815
for some uh it can be interesting uh to
put on export restrictions but I wouldn't

6434
08:43:59,895 --> 08:44:06,314
say right now we have all the data to make
100% sure that it's actually necessary

6435
08:44:09,614 --> 08:44:13,094
thank you madame uh madame
you have the floor maga.

6436
08:44:13,162 --> 08:44:18,348
Sufficient safe structural this is what
our circular economy act needs to be

6437
08:44:18,416 --> 08:44:23,807
sufficient because focusing on resource
efficiency while consumption skyrockets

6438
08:44:23,875 --> 08:44:29,402
won't cut it we need to reduce our demand
and make hard choices about what we pri

6439
08:44:29,470 --> 08:44:34,997
oritize in our production and consumption
do we prioritize the critical materials

6440
08:44:35,065 --> 08:44:40,661
for the green transition or squander them
on weapons systems safe because circular

6441
08:44:40,729 --> 08:44:46,256
models that rely on toxic chemicals and
contaminated materials work for no one we

6442
08:44:46,324 --> 08:44:51,919
need harmonized end of waste criteria and
import standards to ensure the safety of

6443
08:44:51,987 --> 08:44:57,446
circular materials for workers and consumers
and structural because today linear

6444
08:44:57,514 --> 08:45:02,632
models are built into the way businesses
produce and people consume we need

6445
08:45:02,700 --> 08:45:08,227
circularity by design we need to challenge
production models like fast fashion we

6446
08:45:08,295 --> 08:45:13,754
need global action like a plastics treaty
that tackles production and we need to

6447
08:45:13,822 --> 08:45:19,418
ensure that circularity is pri oritized
right across EU policies so it's time that

6448
08:45:19,486 --> 08:45:24,808
we actually got serious about the circular
economy th ank you madame la señora

6449
08:45:24,876 --> 08:45:30,540
Crespo tiene la palabra eh gracias presidente
eh comisario ministro la circularidad

6450
08:45:30,608 --> 08:45:36,340
es la mejor forma de aprovechamiento la da
competitividad y mejora el medio ambiente

6451
08:45:36,408 --> 08:45:41,867
un residuo inmediatamente se convierte
en una oportunidad en un recurso y en una

6452
08:45:41,935 --> 08:45:47,666
fuente de ingreso evitamos sacar del medio
natural más recursos y no se acumulan los

6453
08:45:47,735 --> 08:45:52,852
residuos que ten emos en muchas ocasiones
y podemos producir energía biogás

6454
08:45:52,920 --> 08:45:58,379
fertilizantes renure y muchos otros
productos los de dep uradora agua regenerada

6455
08:45:58,447 --> 08:46:04,179
ejemplos concretos ya hay en toda Europa
en estos momentos podemos hablar de oliv ar

6456
08:46:04,247 --> 08:46:09,433
de economía circular en el agro o de
comares con nuestros pescadores pero la

6457
08:46:09,501 --> 08:46:15,097
investigación la innovación las nuevas
tecnologías tenemos que invertir en ella es

6458
08:46:15,165 --> 08:46:20,214
una inversión que se rentabiliza como
decía el comisario Joescra y como la

6459
08:46:20,282 --> 08:46:25,809
presidenta presentaba en el debate estaba
hablando de agua reutilizamos solo 1000

6460
08:46:25,878 --> 08:46:28,334
millones de metros cúbicos en Europa

6461
08:46:28,394 --> 08:46:34,391
de agua y se puede multiplicar por seis es
necesario invertir en la circularidad del

6462
08:46:34,463 --> 08:46:39,746
agua porque eso ad emás produce balance
produce equilibrio en los sectores

6463
08:46:39,817 --> 08:46:45,029
productivos en el agua y evita las
dificult ades con la sequía terciarios

6464
08:46:45,101 --> 08:46:50,741
cuaternarios un nuevo nicho de negocio
a través de la infraestructura de agua y

6465
08:46:50,812 --> 08:46:56,809
además permite equilibrar los sectores
productivos el equilibrio que produce el agua

6466
08:46:56,881 --> 08:47:02,735
para ello se necesitan herramientas y para
ello tenemos el fondo de competitividad

6467
08:47:02,807 --> 08:47:08,233
en estos momentos en el marco financiero
que se ajusta como anillo el dedo y

6468
08:47:08,304 --> 08:47:14,230
especialmente en estos momentos es una ley
adecuada simplificada y posibilista todo

6469
08:47:14,301 --> 08:47:20,299
son vent ajas muchas gracias señora Crespo
tiene una tarjeta azul del señor Gunta de

6470
08:47:20,370 --> 08:47:26,225
de Left la acepta míster Gunta ich würde
in Deutsch sprechen haben Sie Übersetzung

6471
08:47:26,296 --> 08:47:32,150
ja pas st das okay ja vielen vielen dank
ich habe sie Ihnen und Ihren Kollegen von

6472
08:47:32,222 --> 08:47:37,791
der EPP sehr genau z ugehört habe viel
über Recycling und gehört was ich nicht

6473
08:47:37,862 --> 08:47:43,859
gehört habe ist Abfallvermeidung und Sie
haben ja jetzt hier auch ein Wasserbeispiel

6474
08:47:43,931 --> 08:47:49,714
genannt wir wissen alle dass durch undichte
Wassersysteme Milliarden Kubikmeter W

6475
08:47:49,785 --> 08:47:55,283
asser in der EU verloren gehen während
es hier auch eine auch ein praktisches

6476
08:47:55,354 --> 08:48:01,351
Beispiel dafür dass wir eigentlich auf die
Vermeidung erstmal Wert legen müssten und

6477
08:48:01,423 --> 08:48:07,420
könnten Sie dafür zu was sagen efectivamente
absolutamente de acuerdo acabo de decir

6478
08:48:07,491 --> 08:48:13,274
que evitamos sacar recursos del medio
natural est o es un tema muy importante que

6479
08:48:13,346 --> 08:48:18,986
mejora el medio ambiente y además convierte
los productos en pos ibilidades más

6480
08:48:19,057 --> 08:48:24,769
económicas en el agua tenemos un déficit
de infraestructura que lo dijo ya la la

6481
08:48:24,840 --> 08:48:30,623
propia presidenta en el debate de la
comunidad perdemos de cada 4 L 1 L de agua y

6482
08:48:30,695 --> 08:48:35,835
por tanto tenemos oportunidad de equ
ilibrar los sectores con una ley de

6483
08:48:35,907 --> 08:48:41,261
circularidad o que sea objetiva y que
dé oportunidad de la infraestructuras

6484
08:48:41,333 --> 08:48:47,259
hidráulicas con terciario y cuaternario
para nosotros es un son todo ventajas y hay

6485
08:48:47,330 --> 08:48:53,042
posibilidad de hacer una buena ley en
Europa que en ese sentido también crea las

6486
08:48:53,113 --> 08:48:57,254
posibilidades que necesitamos
en el agua y en otros materi

6487
08:48:57,614 --> 08:49:04,490
ales que evitamos sacar de la naturaleza
por tanto todo ventaja y la competitividad

6488
08:49:04,573 --> 08:49:11,533
se mejora gracias muchas gracias señora
Crispo my next speaker is madame Frison tack

6489
08:49:11,615 --> 08:49:17,912
herr talman kommissionär Högstra vi
pratar om bristen på viktiga mineral och

6490
08:49:17,995 --> 08:49:23,877
metaller of ta fokuserar vi på debatten
på handel geopolitik gruvor och

6491
08:49:23,960 --> 08:49:30,919
leveranskedjor samtid igt som vi ägnar oss
åt resurslöseri i stor skala och bara för

6492
08:49:31,002 --> 08:49:37,796
att ge ett exempel vi återvinner bara
ungefär 40 % av vårt elektroniska avfall och

6493
08:49:37,879 --> 08:49:44,506
nästan h älften av strategiska och kritiska
råmaterial i små apparater ja de går

6494
08:49:44,589 --> 08:49:51,217
förlorade vid insamlingen och så här ser
det ut på område efter område för olika

6495
08:49:51,300 --> 08:49:58,011
avfall och olika material vi är helt enkelt
för dåliga på sekulär ekonomi och det

6496
08:49:58,094 --> 08:50:04,804
har vi inte råd med nu är det dags för EU
att öka takten det är så mycket viktiga

6497
08:50:04,887 --> 08:50:11,847
resurser som går förlorade vi behöver höja
ambitionerna fixa fungerande lagstiftning

6498
08:50:11,929 --> 08:50:18,226
och inv estera i ny teknik jag räknar
dagarna tills kommissionen presenterar

6499
08:50:18,309 --> 08:50:24,523
cirkulär ekonomi t ack thank you very
much mister Tarsiu you have the floor

6500
08:50:24,605 --> 08:50:31,399
mulțumesc domnule președinte stimați colegi
comisia ne promite o viață mai ieftină

6501
08:50:31,482 --> 08:50:38,358
și o restartare cumva a economiei europene
prin reciclare dar oamenii nu și plătesc

6502
08:50:38,441 --> 08:50:45,235
facturile cu materiale reciclate ci în eur
o care provin din salarii câștigate tot

6503
08:50:45,318 --> 08:50:52,277
mai greu cine garantează că această lege
va scădea prețurile și nu va muta costurile

6504
08:50:52,360 --> 08:50:58,988
în spinarea cumpărătorului cine garantează
că firmele mici din România nu vor fi

6505
08:50:59,071 --> 08:51:05,284
îngropate în hârtii burăoară comisia
vrea să dubleze gradul de reciclare în

6506
08:51:05,367 --> 08:51:11,829
următorii ani pe ch eltuiala producătorilor
și a consumatorilor și propune noi

6507
08:51:11,912 --> 08:51:18,706
reguli nu de asta avem nevoie ci de energie
la prețuri rezonabile de investiții în

6508
08:51:18,789 --> 08:51:25,416
colectare și reciclare și de materiale
reciclate care se vând pentru că sunt mai

6509
08:51:25,499 --> 08:51:32,376
ieftine nu pentru că o lege obligă pe cineva
să le cumpere să dăm legi de ci pentru

6510
08:51:32,459 --> 08:51:39,418
oameni nu împotriva lor mulțumesc thank you
very much mister Tarsiu mad ame Balgi we

6511
08:51:39,501 --> 08:51:46,294
for an onafhankelijk Europa is moet beginnen
met wat we al hebben en daar zit voor

6512
08:51:46,377 --> 08:51:50,354
mij de kracht van een
circulaire economie produc

6513
08:51:50,594 --> 08:51:55,770
ten langer gebruiken repareren of vernieuwen
aan nieuwe standaarden en grondstoffen

6514
08:51:55,833 --> 08:52:00,822
opnieuw benutten zo houden we de waar de
de banen en de productie hier zo was ik

6515
08:52:00,884 --> 08:52:05,873
vrijdag bij een haven event waar we spraken
over het revitten naar nieuwe schone

6516
08:52:05,936 --> 08:52:11,050
brandstoffen voor de shortse schepen of
ik spreek met de sloot sloopsector die zit

6517
08:52:11,112 --> 08:52:16,226
te wachten op een beschermde markt voor
de aluminium scrap onze ondernemers willen

6518
08:52:16,288 --> 08:52:21,527
vaak vooroplopen maar dan moet Europa wel
de ruimte geven dus verwachten we in de eh

6519
08:52:21,590 --> 08:52:26,641
circular economy act voor de ondernemer
een echt verdienmodel en dat betekent dus

6520
08:52:26,703 --> 08:52:31,630
ook een mar kt creëren voor circulaire
grondstoffen en de vraag is waar hoe dat

6521
08:52:31,693 --> 08:52:36,869
uiteindelijk ook in de circular economy
act goed tot zijn recht komt want we hebben

6522
08:52:36,931 --> 08:52:41,858
het nodig voor onze veiligheid en voor
onze consumenten dat de producten langer

6523
08:52:41,921 --> 08:52:47,035
meegaan een onafhankelijk Europa en een
duurzame toekomst veel grondstoffen hebben

6524
08:52:47,097 --> 08:52:52,024
we al laten we daar ons welvaart mee
voortb ouwen thank you very much eh madame

6525
08:52:52,086 --> 08:52:57,138
Cavazzini president dear commissioner dear
colleagues die Zeit in der europäische

6526
08:52:57,200 --> 08:53:02,065
Unternehmen Rohstoffe verlässlich auf
dem Welt markt besorgen konnten die sind

6527
08:53:02,127 --> 08:53:07,116
leider Geschichte kreislaufwirtschaft
muss deshalb die Konsequenz und auch Kernb

6528
08:53:07,179 --> 08:53:12,230
estandteil jeglicher EU-Industriepolitik
sein und ich glaube da gibt's eine große

6529
08:53:12,293 --> 08:53:17,344
Einigkeit hier im Plenum was gut ist wir
müssen runter vom Rohst offverbrauch hin

6530
08:53:17,406 --> 08:53:22,520
zum Nutzen von Rohstoffen und das heißt
wiederverwenden aufarbeiten reparieren und

6531
08:53:22,583 --> 08:53:27,135
auch recyceln aber leider leider treten
wir immer noch auf der Stelle die

6532
08:53:27,198 --> 08:53:32,436
Kreislaufquote und das wissen wir die
stagniert seit Jahren auf einem se hr geringen

6533
08:53:32,499 --> 08:53:37,488
Niveau das Kreislaufwirtschaftsgesetz
muss daher das Geschäftsmodell der Zukunft

6534
08:53:37,550 --> 08:53:42,789
schaffen w ir brauchen endlich EU-Ziele zur
Verringerung des Materialfußabdrucks wir

6535
08:53:42,851 --> 08:53:48,090
müssen zweitens Hersteller für das ges amte
Leben ihrer Produkte mitverantworten mit

6536
08:53:48,153 --> 08:53:53,266
einem Preisschild das sich in der Umweltwirkung
ausrichtet und das einheitlich auf

6537
08:53:53,329 --> 08:53:55,574
dem ganzen Binnenmarkt hier brauchen

6538
08:53:55,574 --> 08:54:01,307
wir endlich ein Ende der kleinen Staaterei
hier gucke ich Richtung Rat und drittens

6539
08:54:01,376 --> 08:54:06,141
wir müssen diese Gelder nutzen für
Abfallvermeidung für Reparatur und

6540
08:54:06,210 --> 08:54:12,012
Wiederverwertung und nicht nur für Recycling
vielen herzlichen Dank danke il signore

6541
08:54:12,081 --> 08:54:17,814
Tamburrano Salve colleghi eh ci sono cose
da fare ci sono cose da un fa da non fare

6542
08:54:17,883 --> 08:54:23,546
un pessimo esempio di economia cir colare
l'abbiamo noi romani dove negli scavi di

6543
08:54:23,615 --> 08:54:26,585
preparazione del nuovo
inceneritore da 800.

6544
08:54:26,654 --> 08:54:32,456
000 tonnellate stanno uscendo sacchi di
amianto che nessuno sa come sono arrivati là

6545
08:54:32,525 --> 08:54:38,327
quindi eh e commissario io sono molto
contento del della sua azione e sono certo che

6546
08:54:38,396 --> 08:54:43,438
farà un bel lavoro con quest 'atto
però forse qualcosa di più sull'ETS2 e

6547
08:54:43,507 --> 08:54:49,239
l'emissione dell'incerimento credo fosse
opportuno fare comunque una qualche parola

6548
08:54:49,308 --> 08:54:54,903
sui pannelli fotovoltaici e sulla
responsabilità estesa del produttore i pannelli

6549
08:54:54,972 --> 08:55:00,773
durano 25 anni mentre qualche produttore
dopo tre e già sparito il pannello resta la

6550
08:55:00,842 --> 08:55:06,506
responsabilità resta il pannello evapora
e gli accantonamenti non sono commisurati

6551
08:55:06,575 --> 08:55:11,824
ai costi attuali perché sappiamo che
le installazioni non hanno un andamento

6552
08:55:11,893 --> 08:55:17,211
temporale lineare il circola economy
act deve imporre garanzie finanziarie ai

6553
08:55:17,280 --> 08:55:22,944
produttori fin dalla vendita ritiro davvero
gratuito anche a residenziale recupero

6554
08:55:23,013 --> 08:55:28,746
effettivo dei materi ali e controlli sulle
esportazioni e filiere di recupero anche

6555
08:55:28,815 --> 08:55:34,340
consumer to business nell'economia cir
colare devono circolare le risorse non le

6556
08:55:34,409 --> 08:55:39,865
responsabilità grazie grazie onorevole
eh mister Coller sehr geehrter Kommissar

6557
08:55:39,934 --> 08:55:45,667
Höchstra sehr geehrter Minister Duli
geschätzte Kollegen und Kolleginnen ich blicke

6558
08:55:45,736 --> 08:55:51,469
mit Spannung auf den angekündigten Circular
Economy Act der Europäischen Kommission

6559
08:55:51,538 --> 08:55:57,063
dieser stellt eine Chance für mehr
Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und mehr strategische Un

6560
08:55:57,132 --> 08:56:02,381
abhängigkeit da beides brauchen wir
dringend unsere europäischen Unternehmen

6561
08:56:02,450 --> 08:56:08,045
brauchen außerdem Planungssicherheit das
ist der Grundstein für eine erfolgreiche

6562
08:56:08,114 --> 08:56:13,846
Wirtschaft die in Innovationen und
Umweltfreundliche Technologien investiert dah er

6563
08:56:13,916 --> 08:56:18,681
möchte ich die Kommission nachträglich
darum bitten den Vorschlag zur

6564
08:56:18,750 --> 08:56:23,654
Kreislaufwirtschaft auch in diesem
Sinne zu nutzen und mehr praktikabil

6565
08:56:23,834 --> 08:56:29,264
ität zu schaffen dazu zählen für mich
die eine Vereinfachung der erweiterten

6566
08:56:29,336 --> 08:56:35,123
Herstellerverantwortung für Kleinstunternehmen
und die Schaffung von Anreizen für

6567
08:56:35,194 --> 08:56:40,624
Innovation wir benötigen einen sinnvollen
Rechtsrahmen für Recycling und ein

6568
08:56:40,696 --> 08:56:46,626
europaweit harmonisier tes Recyclingsystem
ich freue mich auf den Austausch und die

6569
08:56:46,698 --> 08:56:51,413
Diskussion vielen dank thank. You
very much eh la signora Moretti.

6570
08:56:51,485 --> 08:56:57,200
Presidente colleghi commissario il lavoro
che da anni stiamo portando avanti sul

6571
08:56:57,272 --> 08:57:03,131
tema della circolarità ha bisogno di uno
scatto in avanti l'occasione del prossimo

6572
08:57:03,202 --> 08:57:09,132
circular economy act per creare finalmente
un sistema produttivo più s ostenibile e

6573
08:57:09,204 --> 08:57:14,991
competitivo non può essere sprecata
essenziale sarà creare un mercato unico delle

6574
08:57:15,063 --> 08:57:20,850
materie prime secondar ie per trovare uno
sbocco in Europa al materiale riciclato

6575
08:57:20,921 --> 08:57:26,066
intervenire concretamente per ridurre
la di pendenza sulle materie prime

6576
08:57:26,137 --> 08:57:32,139
trattenendone l'economia europea i materiali
di valore questo sforzo deve essere fat

6577
08:57:32,210 --> 08:57:37,926
to con il dovuto supporto alle imprese
in particolare alla piccola media impresa

6578
08:57:37,998 --> 08:57:43,999
così da rilanciare l'industria e creare
posti di lavoro i benefici di un sistema più

6579
08:57:44,071 --> 08:57:49,930
sostenibile sono per tutti per l'ambiente
la salute il lavoro e le imprese starà a

6580
08:57:50,001 --> 08:57:56,003
noi come istituzioni nei prossimi mesi ed
anni trovare un giusto compromesso che met

6581
08:57:56,074 --> 08:58:00,718
te insieme ambiente e sviluppo
grazie. Onorevole eh mister Smith.

6582
08:58:00,790 --> 08:58:06,791
Voorzitter commissaris Hoekstra minister
Duli collega's we moeten kringlopen sluiten

6583
08:58:06,863 --> 08:58:12,722
met gezond verstand af val is een bron van
secundaire grondstoffen en energie geen

6584
08:58:12,793 --> 08:58:18,723
afvalbergen dus maar recycling en afvalenerg
iecentrales sluitstuk van de kringloop

6585
08:58:18,795 --> 08:58:24,796
zonder energetische benutting wordt verwerking
duurder zonder dat er meer zou worden

6586
08:58:24,868 --> 08:58:30,727
zal worden gerecycled de rekening komt bij
huishoudens of het afval verdwijnt naar

6587
08:58:30,798 --> 08:58:36,514
stortplaats en elders met methaanemissies
tot gevolg wie grondstoffen en energie

6588
08:58:36,585 --> 08:58:42,444
terugwinning niet samen ziet ondermijnt
cir culariteit de wisselwerking met uw ETS

6589
08:58:42,516 --> 08:58:46,874
is cruciaal geen haalbare business
case voor recycling zonder

6590
08:58:47,114 --> 08:58:53,371
betaalbare energetische verwerking van
reststromen daarbij horen CCS en CCU koester

6591
08:58:53,446 --> 08:58:59,778
de afvalsector maak van de Noordzeeregio
één recyclinghub met havens die reststromen

6592
08:58:59,854 --> 08:59:05,884
over water gemakkelijk uitwisselen behandel
tenslotte commissaris mest als bruin

6593
08:59:05,959 --> 08:59:11,538
goud als grondstof commissaris neem
dit me e in de circular economy act zo

6594
08:59:11,613 --> 08:59:17,417
versterken we strategische autonomie
concurrentiekracht en de portemonnee van

6595
08:59:17,493 --> 08:59:23,825
Europeanen dank u wel danke danke sen madame
katijnen Arvoisa puhemies commission ja

6596
08:59:23,900 --> 08:59:29,177
neuvoston edustajat euroopan on
vahvistettava omaa kilpailukyky ään ja

6597
08:59:29,252 --> 08:59:34,604
omavaraisuuttaan välittömästi
energiariippuvuutemme ulkoma ulkomaisesta

6598
08:59:34,680 --> 08:59:40,786
fossiilisesta on n ostanut tavallisten
ihmisten elinkustannukset räjähdysmäisesti

6599
08:59:40,861 --> 08:59:46,590
eri puolilla eurooppaa samaa virhettä
ja uusien riippuv uuksien rakentamista

6600
08:59:46,666 --> 08:59:52,545
esimerkiksi kiinaan ei enää pidä tehdä
meidän on käytettävä omia resurssejamme

6601
08:59:52,621 --> 08:59:58,425
paljon nykyistä tehokkaammin biotalous
kestävä metsätalous sekä teollisuus ja

6602
08:59:58,500 --> 09:00:04,606
maatalouden sivuvirrat ni itten hyödyntäminen
tarjoaa merkittäviä mahdollisuuksia

6603
09:00:04,682 --> 09:00:10,486
luoda uutta yrittäjyyttä ja työpaikkoja
biopohjais ella materiaaleilla voimme

6604
09:00:10,561 --> 09:00:16,215
korvata fossiiliset samalla kiertotalous
luo elinvoimaa maaseudulle niitten

6605
09:00:16,291 --> 09:00:22,623
uusiutuvien lu onnonvarojen äärelle
kiertotalouden on toimittava myös käytännössä me

6606
09:00:22,698 --> 09:00:28,427
tarvitsemme toimivia markkinoita
kierrätysmateriaale ille sekä ennustettavaa

6607
09:00:28,502 --> 09:00:34,156
säätelyä joka ei aiheuta lisää taakkaa
pk-yrityksille tai maa- ja metsätalo

6608
09:00:34,231 --> 09:00:40,488
usyrittäjille kiertotalouden markkinoiden
täytyy toimia yli jäsenvaltioiden rajojen

6609
09:00:40,563 --> 09:00:46,217
ennakoivasti ja u utta luoden kiitoksia
thank you very much mister Norwich.

6610
09:00:46,292 --> 09:00:52,172
I worked in fashion for years before
joining politics the industry I loved was

6611
09:00:52,248 --> 09:00:58,429
running on one model produce more sell
more throw more away nobody was changing it

6612
09:00:58,504 --> 09:01:04,686
so I left for politics and since then it
's only gotten worse and the solution for

6613
09:01:04,761 --> 09:01:10,415
fashion and other industries is
circularity circularity is not just a green

6614
09:01:10,490 --> 09:01:16,671
obsession it is core industrial policy
using fewer resources our companies biggest

6615
09:01:16,747 --> 09:01:22,928
cost is also what makes europe more
competitive and it means quality local jobs in

6616
09:01:23,003 --> 09:01:24,203
repair in reuse

6617
09:01:24,254 --> 09:01:29,409
and of course in recycling but circular
must be obvious and the affordable choice

6618
09:01:29,472 --> 09:01:34,627
recycled materials as we know it today
are not too expensive virgin materials are

6619
09:01:34,690 --> 09:01:39,845
too cheap so let's make imported pl astic
and chemicals pay for the carbon at our

6620
09:01:39,909 --> 09:01:45,127
borders and let materials move freely in
our single mar ket this is not only about

6621
09:01:45,190 --> 09:01:50,472
waste it's actually about ending line air
business models which simply c annot last

6622
09:01:50,536 --> 09:01:55,309
thank you thank you very much messi
argument Vielen dank sehr geehrter Herr

6623
09:01:55,372 --> 09:02:00,272
Präsident sehr geehrter Herr Kommissar
sehr geehrter Herr Minister wir müssen

6624
09:02:00,336 --> 09:02:05,681
Bedingungen schaffen damit sich Abfall zu
Rohstoffm ärkte entwickeln können ich habe

6625
09:02:05,745 --> 09:02:10,963
zuletzt Hersteller sehr erfolgreiche
Hersteller von Schaumstoffen für Verpackungen

6626
09:02:11,027 --> 09:02:16,118
und Kunststoff recy cle besucht ihre
Botschaft war klar drei Dinge müssen wir im

6627
09:02:16,181 --> 09:02:21,209
circular economy act machen erstens
Unternehmen dürfen nicht läng er sich durch

6628
09:02:21,272 --> 09:02:26,299
unterschiedliche Rücknahmeregistrierungs-
und Meldesysteme kämpfen wir brauchen

6629
09:02:26,363 --> 09:02:31,327
einen digitalen One Stop Shop zweitens
Recycling darf nicht an Europas Grenzen

6630
09:02:31,390 --> 09:02:36,545
scheitern wer Abfälle zur Verwertung in
einen anderen Mitgliedstaat transportiert

6631
09:02:36,609 --> 09:02:41,636
braucht je nach Material die Zustimmung
mehrerer Behörden gleichzeitig wird das

6632
09:02:41,699 --> 09:02:46,663
selbe Material nicht überall gleich
eingestuft was hier als Rohstoff gilt kann

6633
09:02:46,727 --> 09:02:51,818
hinter der Grenze wieder als Abfall gelten
das kostet Zeit Geduld und verhindert

6634
09:02:51,881 --> 09:02:56,972
einen echten Binnenmarkt drittens unsere
alten Handys und Elektrogeräte sind die

6635
09:02:57,036 --> 09:03:02,381
Minen die wir längst in Europa haben darin
stecken wertvolle Rohstoffe die wir sonst

6636
09:03:02,445 --> 09:03:07,663
teuer importieren ich appelliere da an die
Kommission harmonisieren Sie die Regeln

6637
09:03:07,727 --> 09:03:12,245
sorgen Sie dafür dass recycelt sich
re chnet dann bleiben Rohstoffe und

6638
09:03:12,309 --> 09:03:17,145
Wertschöpfung in Europa Kreislaufwirtschaft
ist Industriepolitik europäische

6639
09:03:17,209 --> 09:03:22,236
Unabhängig keit und ich wiederhole mich
wir müssen Bedingungen schaffen und das

6640
09:03:22,299 --> 09:03:27,645
schnell damit sich Abfall zu Rohstoffmärkten
entwickeln können vielen dank danke sen

6641
09:03:27,709 --> 09:03:33,054
madame Grossmann Ja meine Damen und Herren
Kreislaufwirtschaft ist eine strategische

6642
09:03:33,118 --> 09:03:36,554
Chance für Europa sie
verringert unsere Rohstoffabhäng

6643
09:03:36,614 --> 09:03:43,308
igkeit und Umweltbelastung stärkt die
Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und macht den Alltag der

6644
09:03:43,389 --> 09:03:49,921
Menschen leistbar er dafür müssen wir die
Kreislaufwirtschaft ganzheitlich denken

6645
09:03:50,002 --> 09:03:56,615
Produkte müssen langlebig reparierbar und
wiederverwendbar sein und auch sozusagen

6646
09:03:56,696 --> 09:04:02,422
eine Chance auf ein zweites Leben
haben und gleichzeitig müssen wir die

6647
09:04:02,502 --> 09:04:09,035
Verbraucherinnen stärken und dazu gehört
auch der Schutz vor nichtkonformen Waren

6648
09:04:09,116 --> 09:04:15,487
wir brauchen EU-weite Qualitätsstandards
und auch Online-Plattformen müssen als

6649
09:04:15,568 --> 09:04:22,261
Wirtschafts akteure anerkannt und auch
stärker in die Verantwortung genommen werden

6650
09:04:22,342 --> 09:04:29,117
ja wir brauchen auch reduzierte Mehrwertsteuersätze für Reparatur Wiederaufbereitung

6651
09:04:29,197 --> 09:04:35,649
und Gebra uchtwaren nach dem Vorbild
einiger Mitgliedstaaten und damit das alles

6652
09:04:35,730 --> 09:04:42,424
gelingt brauchen wir endlich einen koh
ärenten Rechtsrahmen und ich stimme dem Satz

6653
09:04:42,504 --> 09:04:49,118
vollkommen zu wir haben bei der Kreislaufwirtschaft keine Wahl es ist eine Pflicht

6654
09:04:49,198 --> 09:04:55,731
thank. You very much mister Veriga thank
you dear colleagues the circular economy

6655
09:04:55,811 --> 09:05:02,586
act is an important initiative aiming to
str engthen Europe's competitiveness reduce

6656
09:05:02,667 --> 09:05:09,038
our dependence on imported raw materials
and create a genuine single market for

6657
09:05:09,119 --> 09:05:15,490
recycled materials however we must also
recognize the potential risks mandatory

6658
09:05:15,571 --> 09:05:22,184
recycled content targets additional reporting
obligations and complex traceability

6659
09:05:22,264 --> 09:05:28,716
requirements co uld increase production
costs and place an unnecessary burden on

6660
09:05:28,797 --> 09:05:35,168
European businesses and particularly SMS
SMEs we must also ensure that European

6661
09:05:35,249 --> 09:05:41,943
producers are not put at a competitive
competitive disadvantage compared to imports

6662
09:05:42,023 --> 09:05:48,717
from third countries our pri ority should
be to remove barriers not create new ones

6663
09:05:48,798 --> 09:05:54,605
we must ensure that new requirements
are driven by real market needs are

6664
09:05:54,685 --> 09:06:01,218
technologically feasible and do not
undermine the competitiveness of European man

6665
09:06:01,299 --> 09:06:07,670
ufacturers thank you thank you very much
madame Grapini Domnule comisar domnule

6666
09:06:07,751 --> 09:06:14,122
ministru stimați colegi propunerea de a
avea un act legislativ privind economia

6667
09:06:14,202 --> 09:06:20,654
circular ă este binevenită însă mi a
plăcut ce ați spus și dumneavoastră domnule

6668
09:06:20,735 --> 09:06:25,574
ministru și dumneavoastră domnule
comisar trebuie să avem în

6669
09:06:25,814 --> 09:06:32,438
calcul situația existentă trebuie să avem
un cadru normativ corect trebuie să găsim

6670
09:06:32,518 --> 09:06:39,141
soluții de exemplu pentru tras abilitatea
deșeurilor trebuie să ne gândim cum facem

6671
09:06:39,221 --> 09:06:45,925
investiții în tehnologie pentru a putea să
facem reciclarea eu vin din mediul privat

6672
09:06:46,004 --> 09:06:52,149
și vă spun că în țara mea dar și în alte
state nu avem încă tehnologii pentru

6673
09:06:52,229 --> 09:06:58,534
reciclare pentru toate produsele până la
urmă reciclarea nu înseamnă doar mediu

6674
09:06:58,613 --> 09:07:05,157
înseamnă eficiență și eficacitate și orice
întreprinzător va vrea să facă economii

6675
09:07:05,237 --> 09:07:11,542
dar dacă costul de reciclare este mai
mare decât materia primă nouă n o va face

6676
09:07:11,621 --> 09:07:18,165
nimeni de aceea trebuie să gândim foarte
bine acest act legislativ și să încurajăm

6677
09:07:18,245 --> 09:07:24,709
și să ținem cont că IMM urile au o presiune
și acuma foarte mare ați spus domnule

6678
09:07:24,789 --> 09:07:31,173
comisar că avem deja prea multe bariere
în pia ța internă atunci să nu mai creăm

6679
09:07:31,253 --> 09:07:37,957
prin acest act legislativ da îl avem nevoie
de o economie circulară economia liniară

6680
09:07:38,036 --> 09:07:44,181
este dep ășită dar trebuie s o facem un
cadru normativ echitabil și corect vă

6681
09:07:44,261 --> 09:07:50,805
mulțumesc thank you very much de ar colleague
I have three requests for Cast first

6682
09:07:50,885 --> 09:07:57,269
one is for madame Nikel sit 6 5 7 Panie
przewodniczący panie komisarzu tytuł tej

6683
09:07:57,349 --> 09:08:03,494
debaty obiecuję obniżenie kosztów życia
i większą konkurenc yjność gospodarki

6684
09:08:03,574 --> 09:08:09,639
europejskiej cudownie czy mamy komisję
za słowo bo obieg zam knięty nie może

6685
09:08:09,719 --> 09:08:16,262
oznaczać wyłącznie kolejnych restrykcji i
kar dla naszych przedsiębiorców sur owce

6686
09:08:16,342 --> 09:08:22,487
wtórne i recykling muszą realnie obniżać
ceny produktów dla konsumentów a nie

6687
09:08:22,567 --> 09:08:29,031
generować n owe certyfikaty i biurokrację
z którymi być może małe i średnie firmy

6688
09:08:29,111 --> 09:08:35,096
nie będą mogły sobie poradzić pol ski
przemysł i Śląsk potrafią przetwarzać

6689
09:08:35,176 --> 09:08:41,002
materiały i tworzyć nowoczesne produkty
ale potrzebują uczciwych warunków

6690
09:08:41,081 --> 09:08:47,306
konkurencji z rynkami azjatyckimi pani
komisarzu czy to im zapewniamy ch rońmy

6691
09:08:47,386 --> 09:08:54,090
europejski przemysł rynki pozwólmy przedsiębiorstwom się rozwijać bo tak naprawdę to

6692
09:08:54,169 --> 09:08:59,835
one tworzą lepsze życie dla Europejczyków
dziękuję sit 430 Bardzo panie

6693
09:08:59,915 --> 09:09:06,539
przewodniczący i. Że być kolejnym batem na
europejski przemysł ani źródłem ukrytych

6694
09:09:06,619 --> 09:09:08,534
kosztów dla obywateli je

6695
09:09:08,534 --> 09:09:15,206
śli chcemy realnie wzmacniać europejską
konkurencyjność najwyższy czas by przesta ć

6696
09:09:15,287 --> 09:09:21,878
dusić przedsiębiorców którzy już dzisiaj
mają bardzo trudne warunki funkcjonowania

6697
09:09:21,959 --> 09:09:28,631
rec ykling innowacje mają sens tylko wtedy
gdy opłacają się ekonomicznie i wpływają

6698
09:09:28,711 --> 09:09:35,303
na obniżkę cen kosztów życia a nie wtedy
kiedy stają się kolejnym ciężarem zwracam

6699
09:09:35,384 --> 09:09:42,056
na szczególnie trudną zwracam państwa uwagę
na szczególnie trudną sytuację w branży

6700
09:09:42,136 --> 09:09:48,648
AGD która już dziś ostr zega przed utratą
konkurencyjności i apeluję o stworzenie

6701
09:09:48,728 --> 09:09:55,239
planu wspierającego branżę czy państwo
wie cie że w tej branży zatrudnionych jest

6702
09:09:55,320 --> 09:10:01,429
ponad milion pracowników a regulacje o
których dzisiaj mówimy b ędą niestety

6703
09:10:01,510 --> 09:10:07,780
kolejnym bardzo wielkim obciążeniem dla
firm produkujących sprzęt AGD i utrata

6704
09:10:07,860 --> 09:10:14,291
konkurencyjności jeśli chodzi o Chiny
jest oczywista także proszę mieć na uwadze

6705
09:10:14,372 --> 09:10:20,320
sytuację tej branży dziękuję bardzo
thank you very much dear colleague Mr.

6706
09:10:20,401 --> 09:10:27,153
Tinkinen sit 210 Arvoisa puhemies komissaari
Hökstra suomessa pulloja ja tölkkejä on

6707
09:10:27,234 --> 09:10:33,745
kierrätetty panttijärjestelmän ansiosta
vuosikymmeniä mutta nyt EU:n romuttamassa

6708
09:10:33,825 --> 09:10:40,498
toimivan järjestelmämme EU vaatii että
vuonna 2030 osa juomapakkauksista pitää olla

6709
09:10:40,578 --> 09:10:46,768
uudelleen käytettäviä suomen panttisysteemi
menisi uusiksi ja kustannusarviot

6710
09:10:46,848 --> 09:10:53,360
liikkuvat sadoissa miljoonissa koittakaa
nyt ymmärtää siellä komissiossa suomessa

6711
09:10:53,440 --> 09:11:00,112
tölkit ja pullot eivät päädy kadulle tai
roskiin kuten monissa muissa Euroopan mais

6712
09:11:00,193 --> 09:11:06,543
sa suomessa on järjestelmä jossa pullot
ja tölkit palautetaan ne litistetään ja

6713
09:11:06,624 --> 09:11:12,814
materiaalit kierrätetään kok onaispalauteaste
on Suomessa 99% olemme maailman

6714
09:11:12,894 --> 09:11:19,164
huippua suomen järjestelmä on esimerkki
miten materiaalien kierrätystä voidaan

6715
09:11:19,245 --> 09:11:25,836
arjessa lisätä suomi ei ansaitse u utta
huonompaa ja kalliimpaa järjestelmää suomi

6716
09:11:25,917 --> 09:11:32,509
ansaitsee poikkeuksen jäädä näiden uusien
EU-vaatimusten ulkopuolelle kiitos thank

6717
09:11:32,589 --> 09:11:39,020
you very much el señor Oliveira sitio 125
Obrigado obrigado presidente eh quando

6718
09:11:39,100 --> 09:11:45,531
discutimos a economia circular devíamos
estar a discutir uma economia centrada e

6719
09:11:45,612 --> 09:11:52,284
orient ada na satisfação das necessidades
sociais numa economia orientada pelo pelo

6720
09:11:52,364 --> 09:11:54,374
para o equilíbrio no apro

6721
09:11:54,434 --> 09:11:59,708
veitamento dos recursos naturais e produtivos
porque cadeias curtas de produção de

6722
09:11:59,773 --> 09:12:04,790
distribuição e consumo pelo ap oio aos
pequenos produtores e consumidores numa

6723
09:12:04,854 --> 09:12:09,614
lógica de promoção de produzir consumir
local o problema é que tudo isto é

6724
09:12:09,678 --> 09:12:14,888
contraditório com as políticas da
competitividade que põem no centro a l ógica da

6725
09:12:14,952 --> 09:12:20,226
liberalização da sujeição às lógicas do
mercados de praticamente todas as áreas da

6726
09:12:20,291 --> 09:12:25,243
vida económica e social políticas
orientadas para favorecer os grandes grupos

6727
09:12:25,308 --> 09:12:30,710
económicos as grandes multinacionais em
prejuí zo das pequenas e médias empresas dos

6728
09:12:30,775 --> 09:12:35,985
pequenos produtores que verdadeiramente
estão em condições de dar concretização a

6729
09:12:36,049 --> 09:12:41,195
uma economia cir cular e portanto senhor
comissário a questão central é perceber

6730
09:12:41,259 --> 09:12:46,469
como é que tudo isto se compatibiliza
parece-nos que não há compatibilização poss

6731
09:12:46,533 --> 09:12:51,550
ível insistindo nestas políticas não é
possível superar a contradição que elas

6732
09:12:51,614 --> 09:12:56,889
colocam com a lógica que devia ter a
economia circular Mu ito obrigado eh minister

6733
09:12:56,953 --> 09:13:02,227
Mr. Tulli eh thank you very much to all
who contributed I certainly think it was a

6734
09:13:02,292 --> 09:13:07,630
very worthwhile debate and thank you for
your contribution the debate underscores I

6735
09:13:07,694 --> 09:13:13,033
believe the importance and the urgency of
the forthcoming circular economy act it's

6736
09:13:13,097 --> 09:13:18,436
clear that it needs to strike a balance
between the immediate priorities and indeed

6737
09:13:18,500 --> 09:13:23,839
the long-term sustainable solutions from
the council's perspective tackling the ext

6738
09:13:23,903 --> 09:13:29,242
ended producer responsibility for always
streams should be one of the priorities of

6739
09:13:29,306 --> 09:13:34,259
this file and we are working on a target
ed and time-limited solution for the

6740
09:13:34,323 --> 09:13:39,597
specific case of the packaging uh and
packaging waste regulation the PPWR and I 'm

6741
09:13:39,662 --> 09:13:45,064
pleased to confirm that just today Corper
has completed its mandate for negotiations

6742
09:13:45,129 --> 09:13:50,403
on the environmental omnibus including on
extended producer responsibility so more

6743
09:13:50,467 --> 09:13:55,549
broadly the council believes that we need
a long-term solution in the up coming

6744
09:13:55,613 --> 09:14:00,630
circular economy act which provides a
real relief to producers without risk of

6745
09:14:00,694 --> 09:14:03,074
circumvention and free riding as well

6746
09:14:03,074 --> 09:14:10,306
as without undermining the ability of
competent authorities to enforce the rules we

6747
09:14:10,393 --> 09:14:17,625
stand ready to start the examination of
the circular economy act once the proposals

6748
09:14:17,712 --> 09:14:24,944
are formally uh transmitted to us thank
you very much for your attention th ank you

6749
09:14:25,031 --> 09:14:32,176
Mr. Minister the debate is closed the next
item on the agenda is or al question to

6750
09:14:32,263 --> 09:14:39,146
the council and the commission you a
climate change conference 2026 in An talia

6751
09:14:39,233 --> 09:14:45,158
Turkey COP 31 first place the author
of the question madame Pereira.

6752
09:14:45,245 --> 09:14:52,303
You have the floor obrigado Muito obrigada
senhor presidente caros colegas senhor

6753
09:14:52,390 --> 09:14:59,361
comissário durante demasiado tempo de
ixámos que a conversa sobre a Europa fosse

6754
09:14:59,448 --> 09:15:06,593
dominada por uma narrativa de conflitos
Bruxelas de um lado as pessoas do outro as

6755
09:15:06,680 --> 09:15:13,563
instituições de um lado a vida real do
outro mas eu não acredito nessa Europa a

6756
09:15:13,650 --> 09:15:20,795
Europa é um lugar não é um lugar distante
a Europa somos nós e se qu eremos que as

6757
09:15:20,882 --> 09:15:28,201
pessoas confiem nas instituições europeias
temos de lhes mostrar que as decisões que

6758
09:15:28,288 --> 09:15:35,520
tomamos têm um impacto concreto nas suas
vidas é por isso que a transição climática

6759
09:15:35,607 --> 09:15:42,665
não pode ser apenas uma discussão sobre
metas e emissões tem de ser uma discussão

6760
09:15:42,752 --> 09:15:50,071
sobre empregos salários energia mais acess
ível empresas mais competitivas segurança

6761
09:15:50,158 --> 09:15:56,954
e qualidade de vida tem de ser uma
discussão sobre a capacidade da Europa para

6762
09:15:57,042 --> 09:16:04,012
produzir inovar e criar prosperidade não
queremos uma Europa obrigada a escolher

6763
09:16:04,099 --> 09:16:10,983
entre clima e crescimento queremos uma
Europa que cresce porque investe e inova

6764
09:16:11,070 --> 09:16:18,389
enquanto se descarboniza é esta a visão que
orienta a nossa posição para a COP 31 em

6765
09:16:18,476 --> 09:16:25,272
Antalia e quero começar por recon hecer
o trabalho de compromisso que permitiu

6766
09:16:25,359 --> 09:16:32,591
construir esta resolução num parlamento
com diferentes sensibilidades e prioridades

6767
09:16:32,678 --> 09:16:39,649
encontrar uma posição comum exige diálogo
capacidade de negociação e sent ido de

6768
09:16:39,736 --> 09:16:46,445
responsabilidade esse compromisso é
importante porque a ação climática global

6769
09:16:46,532 --> 09:16:52,980
precisa de uma Europa unida coesa capaz
de defender os seus objetivos e de

6770
09:16:53,067 --> 09:17:00,212
influenciar os resultados mas o compromisso
não pode ser um fim em si mesmo tem de

6771
09:17:00,299 --> 09:17:04,394
nos permitir avançar da
ambição para a execução

6772
09:17:05,174 --> 09:17:10,417
a COP 31 não pode ser apenas mais uma
conferência de promessas tem mesmo de ser a

6773
09:17:10,482 --> 09:17:15,725
COP da implementação já assumimos vários
compromissos agora temos de os cumprir e

6774
09:17:15,789 --> 09:17:21,226
temos de garantir que essa transformação
produz resultados concretos para as pessoas

6775
09:17:21,291 --> 09:17:26,210
e para a economia em primeiro lugar
precisamos de acelerar o investimento em

6776
09:17:26,275 --> 09:17:31,712
tecnologias limpas e energias renováveis
reconhecer em definitivo que as tecnologias

6777
09:17:31,777 --> 09:17:37,149
limpas são muito mais do que uma política
climática são políticas de segurança e de

6778
09:17:37,214 --> 09:17:42,263
autonomia estratégicas quando reduzimos
a dependência dos combustíveis fósseis

6779
09:17:42,328 --> 09:17:47,441
reduzimos também a nossa vulnerabilidade
geopolítica quando investimos em novas

6780
09:17:47,506 --> 09:17:52,166
tecnologias criamos oportunidades
para as nossas empresas e reforçamos a

6781
09:17:52,231 --> 09:17:57,668
competitividade europeia mas há uma condição
essencial a Europa tem de ser líder nas

6782
09:17:57,733 --> 09:18:02,911
tecnologias limpas e também na produção
dessas tecnologias a descarbonização não

6783
09:18:02,976 --> 09:18:08,025
pode significar desindustrialização não
podemos definir objetivos ambiciosos e

6784
09:18:08,089 --> 09:18:13,397
depois deixar que o investimento a capacidade
produtiva e os empregos associados à

6785
09:18:13,462 --> 09:18:18,122
transição sejam criados noutros
continentes pre cisamos de transformar o

6786
09:18:18,187 --> 09:18:23,171
conhecimento em inovação inovação em
investimento e investimento em indústria

6787
09:18:23,236 --> 09:18:28,220
precisamos de criar con dições para que
as empresas europeias possam competir

6788
09:18:28,284 --> 09:18:33,139
crescer e liderar os mercados do futuro
em segundo lugar temos de preservar

6789
09:18:33,204 --> 09:18:37,864
instrumentos que dão previsibilidade
ao investimento e contribuem para a

6790
09:18:37,929 --> 09:18:43,107
transformação da economia inclu indo o
mercado europeu de carbono ao mesmo tempo

6791
09:18:43,172 --> 09:18:48,479
devemos assegurar que a transição é
acompanhada por condições de concorrência just

6792
09:18:48,544 --> 09:18:53,658
as e por soluções que protejam a
competitividade da nossa indústria em terceiro

6793
09:18:53,722 --> 09:18:59,159
lugar precisamos de reforç ar o financiamento
climático e a adaptação os países mais

6794
09:18:59,224 --> 09:19:04,402
vulneráveis não podem ser chamados a
assumir compromissos sem dis porem de meios

6795
09:19:04,467 --> 09:19:09,775
para os realizar e as nossas próprias
sociedades têm de estar mais preparadas para

6796
09:19:09,839 --> 09:19:15,018
os impactos climáticos que já en frentamos
sem financiamento sem adaptação e sem

6797
09:19:15,082 --> 09:19:18,254
confiança não haverá uma
resposta global eficaz e

6798
09:19:18,314 --> 09:19:23,674
finalmente temos de garantir uma transição
justa porque uma transição que deixa

6799
09:19:23,741 --> 09:19:29,372
trabalhadores famílias ou regiões para tr
ás não será sustentável nem económica nem

6800
09:19:29,440 --> 09:19:34,935
politicamente caros colegas ex iste uma
falsa escolha que temos de rejeitar entre

6801
09:19:35,003 --> 09:19:40,499
proteger o planeta e proteger a economia
não temos de escolher tem os de fazer as

6802
09:19:40,566 --> 09:19:46,265
duas coisas e o verdadeiro desafio é construir
um modelo de desenvolvimento em que a

6803
09:19:46,333 --> 09:19:51,760
inovação e a produtividade re forcem a
competitividade em que as energias limpas

6804
09:19:51,828 --> 09:19:57,391
reduzam dependências e em que o crescimento
económico contribua para uma sociedade

6805
09:19:57,459 --> 09:20:02,887
mais saudável resiliente e próspera os
custos da transição são reais e devem ser

6806
09:20:02,955 --> 09:20:08,585
levados a s ério a União Europeia deve
continuar a defender o objetivo de limitar o

6807
09:20:08,653 --> 09:20:13,606
aquecimento global a 1,5o reforçar a
co operação internacional e exigir a

6808
09:20:13,674 --> 09:20:19,237
implementação dos compromissos assumidos
mas deve fazê-lo com a convicção de que a

6809
09:20:19,305 --> 09:20:24,800
política clim ática pode ser também uma
política de crescimento de segurança e de

6810
09:20:24,868 --> 09:20:30,431
prosperidade sen hor presidente eu estou
mesmo a terminar a nossa ambição deve ser

6811
09:20:30,499 --> 09:20:36,130
construir uma Europa que protege o planeta
sem abdicar da sua indústria que promove

6812
09:20:36,197 --> 09:20:41,896
a inovação sem deixar ninguém para trás e
que transforma a descarbonização num ativo

6813
09:20:41,964 --> 09:20:47,595
estratégico menos promessas mais implementação
menos dependência mais inovação mais

6814
09:20:47,663 --> 09:20:53,158
competitividade e mais prosperidade é essa
a Europa que vamos defender em Antalia

6815
09:20:53,226 --> 09:20:58,179
obrigado senhora Pereira eh ministra
Tuli hum president honorable members

6816
09:20:58,246 --> 09:21:03,742
commissioner um COP 31 will take place
this year against the backdrop of new clim

6817
09:21:03,809 --> 09:21:09,169
ate records over the past summer global
air and sea temperatures broke alarming

6818
09:21:09,237 --> 09:21:14,936
records again this was also the third warmest
summer ever recorded for our continent

6819
09:21:15,004 --> 09:21:20,363
with record breaking temperatures across
western Europe alt hough over the last

6820
09:21:20,431 --> 09:21:26,130
decades the international community has
made progress on climate change policies the

6821
09:21:26,198 --> 09:21:31,625
worrying climate developments are a stark
reminder that greenhouse gas emissions

6822
09:21:31,693 --> 09:21:36,374
cuts have not been sufficient and
have not happened fast enough there

6823
09:21:36,494 --> 09:21:41,722
fore COP 31 should put a further emphasis
on the effective implementation of the

6824
09:21:41,787 --> 09:21:47,081
Paris agreement and advance technical work
in all core areas including mitigation

6825
09:21:47,146 --> 09:21:52,570
adaption and just transition formal
negotiations in Antalia will be complemented by

6826
09:21:52,636 --> 09:21:58,125
the so-called global climate action agenda
um the compromise uh this compromise is a

6827
09:21:58,191 --> 09:22:03,549
wide range of initiatives proposed by COP
presidencies relating to electrification

6828
09:22:03,615 --> 09:22:08,189
zero waste and methane reduction
resilien ce cities and building green

6829
09:22:08,255 --> 09:22:13,614
industrializations and others the council
outlined its overall position for COP 31

6830
09:22:13,679 --> 09:22:18,972
in a set of conclusions approved on 12th
of October and allow me to underline our

6831
09:22:19,038 --> 09:22:24,070
key priorities we would like this COP
to demonstrate tangible progress on the

6832
09:22:24,135 --> 09:22:29,559
implementation of the current commitments
under the Paris agreement and establish a

6833
09:22:29,625 --> 09:22:35,114
firm foundation for the further ambition
aligned with best available science for the

6834
09:22:35,180 --> 09:22:40,538
EU staying as close as possible to 1 .5
Celsius warming threshold and getting back

6835
09:22:40,604 --> 09:22:45,701
below 1. 5 remains a key goal this
requires continued rapid and deep emissions

6836
09:22:45,767 --> 09:22:50,864
reduction as every additional fra ction
of a degree brings greater risk to our

6837
09:22:50,929 --> 09:22:56,223
health economy security and prosperity
therefore this COP 31 must communicate the

6838
09:22:56,288 --> 09:23:01,647
urgency of climate action and in line with
the urgency of emissions reductions the

6839
09:23:01,712 --> 09:23:07,202
EU will support a str ong outcome on a
package of mitigation related initiatives and

6840
09:23:07,267 --> 09:23:12,234
such outcomes must send a strong signal
to the parties u h that have not yet

6841
09:23:12,299 --> 09:23:17,266
submitted their national uh determined
contributions and to do so as soon as

6842
09:23:17,331 --> 09:23:22,298
possible and to all parties to ensure
that these contributions and long-term

6843
09:23:22,363 --> 09:23:27,787
strategies are aligned with 1. 5° the UAE
consensus from COP 28 must be implemented

6844
09:23:27,853 --> 09:23:33,146
this includes commitments related to a
just orderly and equitable transition away

6845
09:23:33,212 --> 09:23:38,505
from fossil fuels tripling renewables and
doubling energy efficiency improvements

6846
09:23:38,570 --> 09:23:43,864
and ac tion to reduce methane and other
non-CO2 emissions and halt the reverse of

6847
09:23:43,929 --> 09:23:49,223
deforestation by 20 30 and the groundwork
for the second global stocktake must be

6848
09:23:49,288 --> 09:23:51,314
firmly established moreover the

6849
09:23:51,314 --> 09:23:56,455
EU focus will also be on accelerated clean
energy deployment through electrification

6850
09:23:56,516 --> 09:24:01,534
clean energy trans ition does not only
bring down emissions it also contributes to

6851
09:24:01,595 --> 09:24:06,491
energy security and affordability and
reduces strat egic dependencies and in the

6852
09:24:06,553 --> 09:24:11,571
current unstability of political context
in the period of high energy cost this is

6853
09:24:11,632 --> 09:24:16,712
more important than ever and in this context
uh the 35 by 35 global electrification

6854
09:24:16,773 --> 09:24:21,791
pledge launched by the Turkish COP presidency
as one of their flagship initiatives

6855
09:24:21,852 --> 09:24:26,993
offers a welcome platform for discussions
on energy transition at COP 31 the EU will

6856
09:24:27,054 --> 09:24:31,950
engage in these discussions in line with
its commitment to clean electrification

6857
09:24:32,011 --> 09:24:36,907
with intensifying impacts on clim ate
change climate resilience and strengthened

6858
09:24:36,968 --> 09:24:41,925
preparedness and adaption policies have
become a necessity for safe societies and

6859
09:24:41,987 --> 09:24:46,883
econom ies therefore the EU supports
further technical work towards reaching the

6860
09:24:46,944 --> 09:24:51,962
global goal of adaption which should support
progress on adaption at country level

6861
09:24:52,023 --> 09:24:57,042
right across the globe as countries move
to low emissions societies just equitable

6862
09:24:57,103 --> 09:25:02,243
and inclusive climate action is a growing
priority for many including us here in the

6863
09:25:02,305 --> 09:25:07,201
EU in line with this the EU will support
an agreement on lean and effective just

6864
09:25:07,262 --> 09:25:12,341
transition mechanisms that helps countries
integrate just transition considerations

6865
09:25:12,402 --> 09:25:17,482
into their climate measures finally like
in previous COPs we expect the climate fin

6866
09:25:17,543 --> 09:25:22,561
ance will draw significant attention the
EU remains firmly committed to delivering

6867
09:25:22,623 --> 09:25:27,702
on our existing commitments under the new
collective qualif ied goal as agreed back

6868
09:25:27,763 --> 09:25:32,659
at COP 29 just two years ago our focus
this year will be on improving ac cess to

6869
09:25:32,720 --> 09:25:37,800
climate finance particularly foremost
vulnerable countries such as small developing

6870
09:25:37,861 --> 09:25:42,879
island states and least developed countries
and allow me to highlight that despite

6871
09:25:42,941 --> 09:25:47,714
the fiscal and geopolitical challenges
the EU and its member states remain the

6872
09:25:47,775 --> 09:25:52,794
largest contribut or to climate finance
it's often last on some I think however in

6873
09:25:52,855 --> 09:25:56,894
order to achieve the goals of the
Paris agreement funding from all

6874
09:25:57,134 --> 09:26:03,172
sources will be needed we need to broaden
the range of contributors increase private

6875
09:26:03,244 --> 09:26:09,211
finance and remove barriers to finance flow
so uh dear honorable members along with

6876
09:26:09,283 --> 09:26:15,033
these priorities the EU and its member
states will work hard to shape a positive

6877
09:26:15,105 --> 09:26:21,072
outcome uh from from COP before concluding
allow me to highlight that in Italia E U

6878
09:26:21,144 --> 09:26:27,110
and member states pavilions will be co-located
in the EU village I'm confident that

6879
09:26:27,182 --> 09:26:33,148
this integrated presence will significantly
amplify uh the union's impact at COP 31

6880
09:26:33,220 --> 09:26:39,043
providing a platform to showcase our
collective progress in global climate action

6881
09:26:39,115 --> 09:26:45,153
thank you very much for your attention and
I look forward to seeing those of you who

6882
09:26:45,225 --> 09:26:51,120
are intended on traveling to COP 3 1 very
shortly thanks a lot thank you very much

6883
09:26:51,192 --> 09:26:57,158
Mr. Minister uh dear Commissioner you have
the floor merci thank you very much dear

6884
09:26:57,230 --> 09:27:02,837
President and honorable members fantastic
to have the opportunity to have this

6885
09:27:02,909 --> 09:27:08,804
debate and let me start by thanking
wholeheartedly the great work that Lidia Peria

6886
09:27:08,875 --> 09:27:14,770
has done in leading the delegation in the
past but also in all the current ongoing

6887
09:27:14,842 --> 09:27:20,593
work which I think is truly instrumental
in this whole en deavor and let me also

6888
09:27:20,665 --> 09:27:26,703
wholeheartedly thank the collaboration I
have experienced at the previous C OPs with

6889
09:27:26,775 --> 09:27:32,813
um the various members of parliament when
we were at the COP and of course there are

6890
09:27:32,885 --> 09:27:38,780
significant differences as always in every
political arena but making sure that we

6891
09:27:38,852 --> 09:27:44,818
do team up when we are far and away is
actually an asset to advancing the goals and

6892
09:27:44,890 --> 09:27:50,856
the um and the um contributions Europe can
be making um so I do want to salute that

6893
09:27:50,928 --> 09:27:56,967
next thing I would want to share and that
is wh at Lidia Perera said as well this is

6894
09:27:57,038 --> 09:28:02,861
going to be an implementation COP and it
should be an implementation COP beca use

6895
09:28:02,933 --> 09:28:08,684
frankly speaking we have too often fallen
into the trap of trying to do many new

6896
09:28:08,756 --> 09:28:14,147
things r ather than just deliver on
what we already have and I think it was

6897
09:28:14,219 --> 09:28:20,042
Churchill who once famously said that no
matter how beautiful the strategy you do

6898
09:28:20,114 --> 09:28:26,152
need to occasionally look at the results
um and the results are not nearly what they

6899
09:28:26,224 --> 09:28:27,424
should be so hav

6900
09:28:27,434 --> 09:28:33,627
ing the conversation on delivery rather
than on coming up with new things I think is

6901
09:28:33,701 --> 09:28:39,599
is is is hugely important second thing
to convey and and and there are very much

6902
09:28:39,672 --> 09:28:45,497
agree with what the presidency has just
said if you look at the context that is

6903
09:28:45,570 --> 09:28:51,763
truly intimidating we've had the worst
summer ever in Europe um our friends in um in

6904
09:28:51,837 --> 09:28:57,440
particular the Pacific and it was
recently in in Fijian Tuvalu are literally

6905
09:28:57,514 --> 09:29:03,633
battling the water uh we are facing a hugely
complicated geopolitical situation and

6906
09:29:03,707 --> 09:29:09,605
let's also be hon est about the last thing
that unfortunately shapes the context

6907
09:29:09,678 --> 09:29:15,576
hesitation and in some cases out right
denialism do make the whole endeavor ever

6908
09:29:15,650 --> 09:29:21,327
more complicated having said that there
is an opportunity for us all of us to

6909
09:29:21,401 --> 09:29:27,299
deliver to continue to art iculate the
hugely important endeavor we we are at in

6910
09:29:27,372 --> 09:29:33,418
staying as close as possible to 1. 5 to
deliver on the NDCs frankly speaking it is

6911
09:29:33,492 --> 09:29:39,537
mindboggling that there still countries
that have not delivered their NDC s and it

6912
09:29:39,611 --> 09:29:45,804
is almost as mindboggling that many of the
NDCs fall far short of what is needed but

6913
09:29:45,877 --> 09:29:51,923
we can push the needle here and the main
way we will be able to do that is through

6914
09:29:51,996 --> 09:29:57,747
clean electrification which is a unifying
theme uh which has I think a smart a

6915
09:29:57,821 --> 09:30:03,792
degree of um of amb ivalence to it because
some might focus specifically on solar

6916
09:30:03,866 --> 09:30:09,690
others might focus on wind again others
might focus on nuclear and again others

6917
09:30:09,764 --> 09:30:15,810
would focus on batteries and for the
commission all of it is a great idea so we do

6918
09:30:15,883 --> 09:30:22,003
need to push that that that as a as a theme
um next thing I would want to say uh is

6919
09:30:22,076 --> 09:30:28,122
of course the conversation on adaptation
and also adaptation finance and access to

6920
09:30:28,195 --> 09:30:34,315
adaptation finance will contin ue and
rightly so particularly with our friends from

6921
09:30:34,388 --> 09:30:40,213
from the Global South and at the same
time Europe is already by far the largest

6922
09:30:40,286 --> 09:30:46,332
contributor to uh this whole endeavor by
far so any conversation about making sure

6923
09:30:46,405 --> 09:30:52,525
that the money actually reaches those most
in need is one we should absolutely have

6924
09:30:52,598 --> 09:30:58,791
con versations again on financing are not
going to be productive because the finance

6925
09:30:58,865 --> 09:31:01,814
COP was two years ago and we've had that

6926
09:31:01,994 --> 09:31:08,278
one uh at the same time we do invite
everyone with similar higher almost similar

6927
09:31:08,357 --> 09:31:14,720
levels lev els of affluence to chip in
and to join what we are doing because that

6928
09:31:14,798 --> 09:31:21,082
would actually help final . Um let me um
once again articulate some of the other

6929
09:31:21,161 --> 09:31:27,524
things that are hugely important we have
no choice than to fully embrace the best

6930
09:31:27,602 --> 09:31:34,044
available science and that is a thing that
I will contin ue to articulate at every

6931
09:31:34,122 --> 09:31:40,250
single endeavor at the COP content-wise
ne xt to electrification we do have an

6932
09:31:40,328 --> 09:31:46,848
opportunity to make progress in carbon
markets uh and in methane in met hane and um

6933
09:31:46,927 --> 09:31:53,447
I do very much look forward to trying to
make a mark over there as well let me wrap

6934
09:31:53,525 --> 09:32:00,045
up um and thank everyone once again for
the opportunity to have this debate and I'm

6935
09:32:00,124 --> 09:32:06,408
truly looking forward to working together
with so many of you at the COP uh well

6936
09:32:06,486 --> 09:32:12,535
knowing that the context will not be
easy thank you th ank you very much dear

6937
09:32:12,614 --> 09:32:16,934
Commissioner on behalf of
the EPP group Madame Terlack.

6938
09:32:21,674 --> 09:32:27,713
From parched farmlands last summer to flooded
cities this week in Spain, the effects

6939
09:32:27,785 --> 09:32:33,536
of climate change are evident, and no
matter how you look at it, places where we

6940
09:32:33,608 --> 09:32:39,431
live dry out, places where we feel safe
are being damaged, and we are facing high

6941
09:32:39,503 --> 09:32:45,038
recovery costs and a lot of work. At
the UN Climate Summit in Turkey, I would

6942
09:32:45,110 --> 09:32:50,574
therefore like to send a clear message:
how do we ensure that our cities can

6943
09:32:50,646 --> 09:32:55,390
withstand drought and extreme heat?
how do we tackle these issues?

6944
09:32:55,462 --> 09:33:01,429
How do we ensure that we have sufficient
clean drinking water available even during

6945
09:33:01,501 --> 09:33:07,396
prolonged periods of drought? And how do
we ensure that ships can continue to sail

6946
09:33:07,468 --> 09:33:11,853
even at low river levels? So,
it is about concrete solutions.

6947
09:33:11,925 --> 09:33:17,748
As the European Union, we will continue
to do everything in our power to make our

6948
09:33:17,820 --> 09:33:23,355
way of life more sustainable, and we
will have to allocate funds to cover the

6949
09:33:23,427 --> 09:33:27,453
consequences of climate change
and the associated costs.

6950
09:33:27,525 --> 09:33:33,348
on the other hand, we cannot and must not
accept that those who pollute the least

6951
09:33:33,420 --> 09:33:38,309
end up paying the highest price.
As Europe, we cannot do this alone;

6952
09:33:38,380 --> 09:33:44,347
we must work together with all countries.
We need to invest in the green economy of

6953
09:33:44,419 --> 09:33:50,386
the future, because that is the only
perspective we have for a sustainable, healthy

6954
09:33:50,458 --> 09:33:54,484
and safe future. Yes, yes,
yes, uh, Ms Fritson, exactly.

6955
09:33:54,556 --> 09:33:55,756
Important issue

6956
09:33:58,214 --> 09:34:04,131
Thank you, Mr President, Commissioner
Högström, yes, and in fact we already know

6957
09:34:04,205 --> 09:34:08,717
what we need to know about the
gravity of the climate crisis;

6958
09:34:08,791 --> 09:34:14,930
the facts are on the table. Yet the countries
of the world—and, unfortunately, many

6959
09:34:15,004 --> 09:34:18,850
of the Members in this
Chamber—need a reality check.

6960
09:34:18,924 --> 09:34:24,915
We have once again experienced a summer
of heat records with drought and fires in

6961
09:34:24,989 --> 09:34:30,906
our part of the world, and floods and
flash floods in other parts of the world –

6962
09:34:30,980 --> 09:34:34,456
equally alarming is the
geopolitical situation.

6963
09:34:34,530 --> 09:34:38,376
Wars and conflicts repeatedly
lead to energy crises;

6964
09:34:38,450 --> 09:34:44,663
we have seen this in Russia’s war against
Ukraine and we are experiencing it through

6965
09:34:44,737 --> 09:34:50,507
the situation in the Hormuz Strait. Our
dependence on fossil fuels has made us

6966
09:34:50,580 --> 09:34:55,610
vulnerable; we are exposed to both
energy shortages and cost shocks.

6967
09:34:55,684 --> 09:35:00,270
This is not just a climate issue,
it is also a security issue.

6968
09:35:00,344 --> 09:35:06,261
Investing in the climate is also investing
in our security and our independence.

6969
09:35:06,335 --> 09:35:12,400
If the research and facts about the severity
of the climate crisis are not enough,

6970
09:35:12,474 --> 09:35:18,021
then perhaps reality should make every
politician pull themselves together.

6971
09:35:18,095 --> 09:35:24,012
We have had several chances to learn the
lesson, and time and again, the world’s

6972
09:35:24,086 --> 09:35:28,598
countries have failed. So at
COP31, we must go the whole way.

6973
09:35:28,672 --> 09:35:34,885
We must deliver. We must invest heavily in
renewable energy, for the climate and for

6974
09:35:34,959 --> 09:35:36,734
our security. Thank you.

6975
09:35:37,154 --> 09:35:44,894
You very much and Madame on
behalf of patriots for Europe

6976
09:35:50,114 --> 09:35:55,593
Thank you, Mr President, Commissioner.
This COP will be like the previous ones a

6977
09:35:55,662 --> 09:36:01,004
failure as long as you follow an ideological
agenda that cannot be implemented

6978
09:36:01,072 --> 09:36:06,757
within the deadlines set by the Paris
Agreement without massive deindustrialisation

6979
09:36:06,825 --> 09:36:12,441
and severe social upheaval: green finance,
carbon market, green funds, phasing out

6980
09:36:12,510 --> 09:36:17,852
fossil fuel subsidies. All of this does
not even stem emissions that are still

6981
09:36:17,920 --> 09:36:23,605
rising. even if Europe were to achieve
climate neutrality, the rest of the world is

6982
09:36:23,673 --> 09:36:29,221
not aligned with this green timetable and
is increasing its consumption of fossil

6983
09:36:29,289 --> 09:36:34,700
fuels. We may deplore this, but it is
their freedom to choose their energy mix,

6984
09:36:34,768 --> 09:36:38,124
especially in the midst
of a geopolitical crisis.

6985
09:36:38,193 --> 09:36:43,809
And this, even though the EU is funding
the rest of the world’s climate transition

6986
09:36:43,877 --> 09:36:49,288
at its own expense while weighing down
its own industry, is steering us towards

6987
09:36:49,356 --> 09:36:53,534
impoverishment and decline under
the banner of climate guilt.

6988
09:36:56,834 --> 09:37:00,674
Thank you very much Madame
Salewska on behalf of the ECR group

6989
09:37:01,754 --> 09:37:07,590
Mr President, Mr Commissioner, in order
to sit down honestly to negotiate with the

6990
09:37:07,661 --> 09:37:12,144
whole world, we must honestly
answer ourselves a few questions:

6991
09:37:12,215 --> 09:37:18,051
first, why is the European Union alone?
Why does the world not want to participate

6992
09:37:18,122 --> 09:37:21,538
in the ambitions proposed
by the European Union?

6993
09:37:21,609 --> 09:37:25,666
Why are we losing jobs? Why
have we lost competitiveness?

6994
09:37:25,737 --> 09:37:31,359
competitiveness, and the whole world
knows this because it is familiar with our

6995
09:37:31,430 --> 09:37:37,266
documents, including the Draghi report.
Why do we have high energy prices, and why

6996
09:37:37,337 --> 09:37:42,888
is the whole world not interested in the
ETS, which is destroying the European

6997
09:37:42,959 --> 09:37:48,937
economy? We know that there are various
types of solutions, but in reality, they are

6998
09:37:49,009 --> 09:37:54,915
illusory and only serve to mislead. I mean
SIBAM, which we proposed as a remedy for

6999
09:37:54,987 --> 09:38:00,111
the fact that European investments
are flowing out of our Member States.

7000
09:38:00,182 --> 09:38:05,733
I think what we need to do, what we need
to consider above all, is adaptation,

7001
09:38:05,804 --> 09:38:09,078
because that is what
Europeans expect from us.

7002
09:38:09,149 --> 09:38:14,913
They will not withstand further taxes,
which are being proposed, among others, by

7003
09:38:14,984 --> 09:38:20,891
the European Commission as part of own
resources in the next budgetary perspective.

7004
09:38:20,962 --> 09:38:22,162
Thank you.

7005
09:38:22,574 --> 09:38:29,070
Thank you very much Madame Mad ame Bizner
in behalf of Renew this will be the fifth

7006
09:38:29,148 --> 09:38:35,644
time I'm go ing to the Global Climate
Conferences but somehow it feels like this is

7007
09:38:35,723 --> 09:38:42,140
the first time the presidency has set a
clear goal a global electrification target

7008
09:38:42,219 --> 09:38:48,323
35% by 20 35 so what are we waiting for
now we have the focus we know what the

7009
09:38:48,401 --> 09:38:54,819
presidency wants so where are the EU leaders
where what are we waiting for this is

7010
09:38:54,897 --> 09:39:01,472
like really a a no-brainer electrification
tar get well that's what we need if we're

7011
09:39:01,550 --> 09:39:08,124
going to lower energy prices in Europe if
we're going to decarbonize electrification

7012
09:39:08,203 --> 09:39:14,699
is what we need and for that we need a
target so I would like every European leader

7013
09:39:14,777 --> 09:39:21,116
in this ho use and in the European Council
to be crystal clear in your support we

7014
09:39:21,195 --> 09:39:27,456
need to help the presidency in mak ing
this a success and we also need to do our

7015
09:39:27,534 --> 09:39:33,952
homework because if we're going to have a
global electrification target we need to

7016
09:39:34,030 --> 09:39:40,604
do the same and support one also in Europe
let's do this how hard can it be it's not

7017
09:39:40,683 --> 09:39:47,257
that difficult let's make this COP a success
and let's take historical steps forward

7018
09:39:47,335 --> 09:39:53,909
thank you I'm done wait ing let's just do
it Thank you dear colleague Madame Interel

7019
09:39:53,988 --> 09:40:00,014
uh my next speaker is Mr. Holmgren On
behalf of the group of the Greens Tack.

7020
09:40:00,554 --> 09:40:05,284
Mr President, Commissioner, ministers,
colleagues, the EU really must show true

7021
09:40:05,344 --> 09:40:09,714
climate leadership now at the climate
summit and this summer we have just

7022
09:40:09,774 --> 09:40:14,804
experienced, with record heat in large parts
of Europe, forest fires, drought and so

7023
09:40:14,863 --> 09:40:18,396
on. That should be a sufficient
wake-up call for all of us.

7024
09:40:18,456 --> 09:40:23,186
At the same time, you have just today —
or whether it was yesterday or possibly

7025
09:40:23,246 --> 09:40:28,275
today, a new report from the UN has just
been released showing how global warming is

7026
09:40:28,335 --> 09:40:33,364
now accelerating and that the Paris Agreement
will probably no longer be achievable.

7027
09:40:33,424 --> 09:40:38,273
So this record-breaking summer we have
just experienced will likely become one of

7028
09:40:38,333 --> 09:40:43,123
the coolest summers for the rest of this
century, and this is we need much, much

7029
09:40:43,183 --> 09:40:47,733
more ambitious climate policy here and
now, but I am very pleased that we in

7030
09:40:47,793 --> 09:40:51,685
Parliament have now agreed on a
fairly ambitious resolution text.

7031
09:40:51,745 --> 09:40:56,415
It is clear that we believe that fossil
fuels must be phased out, that climate

7032
09:40:56,475 --> 09:41:01,384
resilience and adaptation are very closely
linked to nature policy and, not least,

7033
09:41:01,444 --> 09:41:06,354
nature restoration, and thirdly, that
climate is also an issue of justice, that we

7034
09:41:06,413 --> 09:41:11,383
really must focus globally on solidarity.
on financing, because it is so important.

7035
09:41:11,443 --> 09:41:16,352
The resolution is a good step, but we need
to move from talk to action in the long

7036
09:41:16,412 --> 09:41:21,381
run. What determines how good leadership
we have is what we do, and to succeed with

7037
09:41:21,441 --> 09:41:26,411
that, we must ensure that the pile is
stopped in its dismantling of climate policy,

7038
09:41:26,471 --> 09:41:31,141
speed up the transition for real, for
example by ensuring that all of Europe's

7039
09:41:31,201 --> 09:41:36,110
farmers are properly paid for important
ecosystem services, and also implement the

7040
09:41:36,170 --> 09:41:38,804
Nature Restoration Law
in all Member States.

7041
09:41:38,864 --> 09:41:43,834
that is what is required in all the Member
States here and now if we are to live up

7042
09:41:43,893 --> 09:41:48,683
to what we ourselves have written in the
resolution and demonstrate real climate

7043
09:41:48,743 --> 09:41:52,994
leadership at the Antalya summit in
a month’s time, thank you very much

7044
09:41:54,254 --> 09:41:59,756
Thank you very much dear colleague on behalf
of the left Madame Boylan Guten Morgen

7045
09:41:59,822 --> 09:42:04,926
uh as we prepare for COP 31 the world
is still reeling from months of natural

7046
09:42:04,993 --> 09:42:10,561
disasters we are processing the new s that
we will overshoot our 1.5 degree goal and

7047
09:42:10,627 --> 09:42:15,864
the illegal US-Israel war against Iran
highlights the risks of o ur fossil fuel

7048
09:42:15,930 --> 09:42:21,299
dependence these diarrhealities mean that
world leaders must come to COP 31 ready

7049
09:42:21,365 --> 09:42:26,536
for ch ange the European Parliament is
calling for the EU to lead with a clear

7050
09:42:26,602 --> 09:42:32,038
consistent position that brings real progr
ess to the negotiations climate finance

7051
09:42:32,104 --> 09:42:37,009
will be a big topic and we want the
EU and member states to step up and to

7052
09:42:37,076 --> 09:42:42,577
contribute more beyond the negotiations we
are also calling for the EU to lead from

7053
09:42:42,644 --> 09:42:47,814
home we want all EU policies to be aligned
with the Paris Agreement and robust

7054
09:42:47,880 --> 09:42:53,183
legislative proposals to achieve the 2040
target we will all do well to remember

7055
09:42:53,250 --> 09:42:58,752
these calls and the urgent need for stronger
climate action in the coming months we

7056
09:42:58,818 --> 09:43:04,320
can have no roll ing back on what we have
achieved to date Thank you very much dear

7057
09:43:04,386 --> 09:43:07,634
colleague on behalf of
the ESN group Madame Arndt

7058
09:43:10,514 --> 09:43:16,750
For 30 years, your climate conferences
have failed, and yet in November there will

7059
09:43:16,826 --> 09:43:22,149
be another one to extract billions
more from our citizens for nothing.

7060
09:43:22,226 --> 09:43:27,777
Since 1995, global CO2 emissions have
risen by around 64% despite climate

7061
09:43:27,853 --> 09:43:31,275
conferences and despite
billions in spending.

7062
09:43:31,351 --> 09:43:37,511
Just last year, Germans alone paid €21.4
billion in CO2 taxes and €11 billion for

7063
09:43:37,587 --> 09:43:43,823
international climate climate financing,
and nobody can answer the question of how

7064
09:43:43,899 --> 09:43:48,843
our climate will develop. Our
climate is a highly complex system.

7065
09:43:48,919 --> 09:43:55,231
The sun, oceans, clouds, water vapour, the
Earth's orbit and the tilt of its axis –

7066
09:43:55,307 --> 09:44:01,695
none of these can be influenced here.
Nevertheless, you are telling us that reducing

7067
09:44:01,771 --> 09:44:07,855
a trace gas will make a difference. The
control over global temperatures and the

7068
09:44:07,931 --> 09:44:11,657
weather that this enables
is scientific nonsense.

7069
09:44:11,733 --> 09:44:15,308
End the climate conferences
and the Green Deal.

7070
09:44:15,384 --> 09:44:19,034
Europe needs the ESN, and
Germany needs the AfD.

7071
09:44:22,154 --> 09:44:29,568
Thank you very much Mr. Hostra would you
like to take the floor Thank you very much

7072
09:44:29,657 --> 09:44:36,893
Chair also for your generosity because
I'm aware I actually used all the speaking

7073
09:44:36,982 --> 09:44:44,306
minutes in in the first attempt but then
you granted me two hours let so so let me

7074
09:44:44,396 --> 09:44:51,810
try not to not to waste them um I think
actually there there are a couple of qu ick

7075
09:44:51,899 --> 09:44:59,134
points to be made uh one is to thank and
to embrace everyone who has um supported

7076
09:44:59,224 --> 09:45:01,814
the commission and supported.

7077
09:45:02,534 --> 09:45:06,432
The whole endeavor, which I
think is hugely important.

7078
09:45:06,505 --> 09:45:12,352
Secondly, I do like—and I do very much
appreciate—all the comments that have been

7079
09:45:12,425 --> 09:45:18,417
made in the domain of electrification. And
indeed, this is very relevant for Europe

7080
09:45:18,489 --> 09:45:24,048
as well. I am positive that we're going
to come up in the doma in of the 2030

7081
09:45:24,120 --> 09:45:30,040
package with an electrification target
that actually bridges also the those mostly

7082
09:45:30,112 --> 09:45:36,104
in favor of renewables and those mostly in
favor of nuclear, and basically embrace.

7083
09:45:36,176 --> 09:45:42,096
And further push the bar in Europe on
electrification, which again is the best way

7084
09:45:42,169 --> 09:45:48,161
out of the climate problem or crisis, the
best way out of the competitiveness issue

7085
09:45:48,233 --> 09:45:54,297
we're having, and the best way in terms of
securing more autonomy and independ ence.

7086
09:45:54,369 --> 09:46:00,145
So we're going to move the needle there,
but it is hugely important that we also

7087
09:46:00,217 --> 09:46:06,137
move the bar internationall y, and that
is what we're going to do with this theme.

7088
09:46:06,209 --> 09:46:09,530
There's one thing I
cannot. Leave unaddressed.

7089
09:46:09,602 --> 09:46:15,450
And that is: I very much disag ree with
all those who are skeptical about climate

7090
09:46:15,522 --> 09:46:21,586
action and who are saying that actually,
well, let 's just postpone it because it is

7091
09:46:21,659 --> 09:46:25,629
too expensive or whatever
kind of arguments are coming.

7092
09:46:25,701 --> 09:46:31,477
But what may be surprises me even more
is that if that is your view, then at the

7093
09:46:31,549 --> 09:46:37,180
very least you have a clear incentive
to push the bar upwards internationally,

7094
09:46:37,253 --> 09:46:42,667
right? Because whatever you do, that
makes it easier in the European Union.

7095
09:46:42,739 --> 09:46:48,370
So that is the one thing I would want
to convey to people across the spectrum.

7096
09:46:48,443 --> 09:46:54,074
There is a huge incentive given that the
vast majority of emissions take place

7097
09:46:54,146 --> 09:46:59,272
outside of the European Union. If
you do the calculations, roughly 94%.

7098
09:46:59,344 --> 09:47:04,542
To increase the bar internationally—by
the way, as well as domestically.

7099
09:47:04,614 --> 09:47:07,574
On that note, thank you very much, Chair.

7100
09:47:08,774 --> 09:47:13,835
Thank you very much, dear Commissioner.
We jump now into the second part of the

7101
09:47:13,899 --> 09:47:16,334
debate. My first speaker is Mr. Kelly.

7102
09:47:23,474 --> 09:47:29,486
Module 1 is a privileged fast alert cup
took ahead as some group of the parliament

7103
09:47:29,559 --> 09:47:35,571
August have. Entirety module. Each of the
last 10 years ranks among the 10 hottest

7104
09:47:35,644 --> 09:47:41,509
on record. Europe is the fastest warming
continent, and current national pledges

7105
09:47:41,583 --> 09:47:44,955
still point to well over
2 degrees of warming.

7106
09:47:45,029 --> 09:47:48,768
Our greatest challenge for
COP 31 is effectiveness.

7107
09:47:48,841 --> 09:47:54,926
We've already established the ambition.
Now, how do we turn this into deliverables?

7108
09:47:54,999 --> 09:48:00,278
First, finance. Europe is the largest
public climate financial provider.

7109
09:48:00,351 --> 09:48:05,997
At 31.7 billion in 2024, we will press
others to meet their fair share of the

7110
09:48:06,070 --> 09:48:10,102
backward goal, and to be
transparent about what counts.

7111
09:48:10,176 --> 09:48:16,334
Second, the fossil fuel transition. This
parliament wants a roadmap brought into the

7112
09:48:16,407 --> 09:48:21,246
formal negotiations and a plan to
phase out fossil fuel subsidies.

7113
09:48:21,319 --> 09:48:27,478
Third, we back the global pledge to reach
1,500 gigawatts of storage by 2030, and we

7114
09:48:27,551 --> 09:48:31,217
wel come the presidencies'
electrification pledge.

7115
09:48:31,290 --> 09:48:36,862
Fourth, no one gets left behind. That
means a just transition mechanism that

7116
09:48:36,935 --> 09:48:42,434
actually works and support for small
islands and least developed countries.

7117
09:48:53,114 --> 09:48:56,291
Thank you very much, Mr.
Kelly. My friend, Mr.

7118
09:48:56,360 --> 09:48:57,560
Chaim.

7119
09:48:58,274 --> 09:49:02,843
Thank you, Chair. Recently, I've been in
contact with families in the Netherlands

7120
09:49:02,899 --> 09:49:06,509
who lost their loved ones in the
devastating wildfires in Bidar.

7121
09:49:06,566 --> 09:49:09,273
One of them wrote to me
about losing his father.

7122
09:49:09,330 --> 09:49:12,206
And he's in contact with
families of other victims.

7123
09:49:12,263 --> 09:49:17,001
They know that they cannot bring their loved
ones back, but they are as king us, but

7124
09:49:17,057 --> 09:49:20,103
they're asking for their
stories to be heard publicly.

7125
09:49:20,159 --> 09:49:24,672
Because they want us to understand that
climate change and the growing threat of

7126
09:49:24,728 --> 09:49:29,241
wildfires is not an abstract issue. For
these families, this is deeply personal.

7127
09:49:29,297 --> 09:49:33,979
They have lost family they love. And they
want action to ensure that other families

7128
09:49:34,035 --> 09:49:38,604
do not have to suffer the same loss. We
owe it to these families to listen and to

7129
09:49:38,661 --> 09:49:43,060
act. And at the same time, we carry
responsibilities as parliament, along side

7130
09:49:43,117 --> 09:49:46,839
Commissioner Hagstra, to send this
message while we go to Türkiye.

7131
09:49:46,896 --> 09:49:50,280
We must go there to deliver
real progress on climate action.

7132
09:49:50,337 --> 09:49:54,623
But Commissioner Hoekstra, at the same
moment, this parliament is discussing

7133
09:49:54,680 --> 09:49:57,162
delaying action to
reduce methane emissions.

7134
09:49:57,218 --> 09:49:59,587
One of the most powerful greenhouse gases.

7135
09:49:59,643 --> 09:50:04,325
That's why I ask to you directly: will you
stand by the promise we made in 2001 and

7136
09:50:04,382 --> 09:50:08,894
to deliver on our commitment to reduce
global methane emissions by 2030, by 30%?

7137
09:50:10,574 --> 09:50:15,494
Thank you very much, dear
colleague. Mr. Haida,.

7138
09:50:18,194 --> 09:50:21,705
It is, of course, well known how
these climate conferences proceed.

7139
09:50:21,758 --> 09:50:25,950
Various representatives, state organisations
and representatives of state-funded

7140
09:50:26,002 --> 09:50:29,094
organisations travel thousands
of kilometres, by aeroplane.

7141
09:50:29,147 --> 09:50:32,710
The representatives of the state-funded
organisations, also known as

7142
09:50:32,763 --> 09:50:37,112
non-governmental organisations, stage a
few colourful demonstrations to justify the

7143
09:50:37,165 --> 09:50:41,462
multi-billion euro funding, while at the
same time a few working groups are set up

7144
09:50:41,514 --> 09:50:45,654
and sanctimonious speeches are delivered.
And of course, the outcome is already

7145
09:50:45,707 --> 09:50:49,637
predetermined from the very beginning:
the Europeans are supposed to pay up

7146
09:50:49,689 --> 09:50:53,253
handsomely. That is, in fact, the
only purpose of this entire event.

7147
09:50:53,305 --> 09:50:57,603
And on top of that, Europeans are supposed
to impose as many and as strict climate

7148
09:50:57,655 --> 09:51:01,952
targets on themselves as possible. That
is the most effective way to keep European

7149
09:51:02,005 --> 09:51:06,302
companies at bay from global markets. The
other states are getting more money, the

7150
09:51:06,354 --> 09:51:10,756
NGOs more funding, and Ms von der Leyen is
paying for everything with our tax money.

7151
09:51:10,809 --> 09:51:13,848
At least the climate conference
has paid off for everyone.

7152
09:51:13,901 --> 09:51:18,145
Everyone except the citizens, of course,
and the EU, because they’re the ones who

7153
09:51:18,198 --> 09:51:20,294
have to foot the bill for this nonsense.

7154
09:51:22,094 --> 09:51:24,014
Thank you very much. Mr Piccaro.

7155
09:51:29,114 --> 09:51:34,957
Mr President, honourable colleagues, COP31
in Antalya, which I will be attending,

7156
09:51:35,030 --> 09:51:40,512
will be a decisive moment for turning
international climate commitments into

7157
09:51:40,584 --> 09:51:46,644
concrete actions. Mr President, honourable
colleagues, Europe must arrive there with

7158
09:51:46,716 --> 09:51:52,127
a credible strategy, based on technological
neutrality, energy security and

7159
09:51:52,199 --> 09:51:57,465
industrial competitiveness. In this
process, nuclear energy is strategic;

7160
09:51:57,537 --> 09:52:01,938
it guarantees stable, programmable
energy with low emissions.

7161
09:52:02,010 --> 09:52:07,637
The ECR Group has proposed recognising
its role and assessing the economic and

7162
09:52:07,709 --> 09:52:11,461
technological feasibility
of the climate objectives.

7163
09:52:11,533 --> 09:52:17,448
All of this has been ignored in the text
of the resolution, which continues to set

7164
09:52:17,520 --> 09:52:22,642
ambitious targets without adequately
valuing the tools to achieve them.

7165
09:52:22,714 --> 09:52:28,053
That is why we will vote against it.
Meanwhile, at COP31 I will bring this

7166
09:52:28,125 --> 09:52:34,113
conviction: without the contributions of
nuclear power, the energy transition risks

7167
09:52:34,185 --> 09:52:36,854
being more costly and less effective.

7168
09:52:38,294 --> 09:52:39,794
Thank you. Thank you, honourable Member.

7169
09:52:40,034 --> 09:52:41,234
And Ms Fries.

7170
09:52:48,194 --> 09:52:53,307
The European leaders will arrive at COP
31 telling the rest of the world that we

7171
09:52:53,371 --> 09:52:57,654
need to do more to fight climate
change. But isn't it a bit ironic?

7172
09:52:57,718 --> 09:53:00,978
How, here in Europe, we
are weakening climate laws.

7173
09:53:01,042 --> 09:53:05,196
We are going backwards on deals
that we spent years fighting for.

7174
09:53:05,260 --> 09:53:10,054
At the same time, Europe is warming
twice as fast at the rest of the world.

7175
09:53:10,118 --> 09:53:15,295
30,000 people died in this summer's extreme
heat, and extreme weather has already

7176
09:53:15,359 --> 09:53:18,427
cost the European Union
more than €20 0 billion.

7177
09:53:18,491 --> 09:53:23,860
Euros, of course. And yet some politicians
in this parliament seem to think that our

7178
09:53:23,924 --> 09:53:29,229
climate policies are moving too fast. The
right wing keeps telling us to slow down,

7179
09:53:29,293 --> 09:53:33,384
that we should just wait a little
longer. Well, how much longer?

7180
09:53:33,448 --> 09:53:36,197
And how much more is
this going to cost us?

7181
09:53:36,260 --> 09:53:41,374
Because let me tell you something: climate
change is not going to wait until its

7182
09:53:41,438 --> 09:53:46,487
politically convenient. If we want the
rest of the world to take climate action

7183
09:53:46,551 --> 09:53:49,747
seriously, we need to take
it seriously ourselves.

7184
09:53:49,811 --> 09:53:53,774
Europe cannot lead the world on
climate. By walking backwards.

7185
09:53:55,394 --> 09:53:57,854
Thank you very much, dear
colleague. Madame Mathieu.

7186
09:54:00,974 --> 09:54:06,235
Colleagues, when a climate disaster hits,
it's always the people that are close by

7187
09:54:06,299 --> 09:54:09,122
that are risking their
lives for each other.

7188
09:54:09,186 --> 09:54:14,383
When the glacier collapsed in Nepal and
killed over 1,400 people, rescuers pulled

7189
09:54:14,448 --> 09:54:19,580
more than 1 3,000 people out of the mud.
And last month in Antalya, where we are

7190
09:54:19,644 --> 09:54:24,328
actually going for the COP, a farmer
died after helping the firefighters.

7191
09:54:24,392 --> 09:54:29,589
Just like our farmers in Belgium helped
during the wildfires in Les Haute-Vignes.

7192
09:54:29,653 --> 09:54:35,043
So a lot of people are actually trying to
help or to combat climate change while big

7193
09:54:35,107 --> 09:54:40,304
oil really cashes in on all of it . While
the war in Iran has pushed prices up at

7194
09:54:40,368 --> 09:54:45,757
every single pump, the five biggest oil
companies made €6,000 every second, and they

7195
09:54:45,822 --> 09:54:48,580
want to drill more.
It's completely absurd.

7196
09:54:48,645 --> 09:54:52,494
Dear colleagues, we can't go
to the COP with empty promises.

7197
09:54:52,558 --> 09:54:57,563
We cannot let those that did the least
to cause climate change pay the highest

7198
09:54:57,627 --> 09:55:02,824
price. So let's bring our own European
plan to the COP, to get off oil, coal, and

7199
09:55:02,888 --> 09:55:07,828
gas with real dates on it. Our lives
are worth more than fossil fuel profits.

7200
09:55:07,892 --> 09:55:09,092
Thank you.

7201
09:55:09,434 --> 09:55:12,254
Thank you very much, Ms
Mathieu. Jonas Søsted.

7202
09:55:15,614 --> 09:55:20,255
Thank you very much, Mr President.
Colleagues, Commissioner Höglund.

7203
09:55:20,323 --> 09:55:25,647
Ahead of the UN Climate Conference in
Antalya, the EU's message must be clear.

7204
09:55:25,715 --> 09:55:29,946
Emissions must come down. What
has been promised must be kept.

7205
09:55:30,014 --> 09:55:34,314
This also means that the European
Union must keep its promises.

7206
09:55:34,382 --> 09:55:38,614
Promises on financing, but also
promises on reduced emissions.

7207
09:55:38,682 --> 09:55:42,163
But here, the EU has a
growing credibility problem.

7208
09:55:42,231 --> 09:55:47,077
Because what is said in the ceremonial
speeches does not quite hold up.

7209
09:55:47,145 --> 09:55:52,673
At the same time as we talk about reduced
emissions, we are negotiating to weaken

7210
09:55:52,741 --> 09:55:57,314
the EU's Emissions Trading System.
One of our most important tools.

7211
09:55:57,382 --> 09:56:03,047
At the same time, in this House we are
discussing whether to continue allowing cars

7212
09:56:03,115 --> 09:56:07,688
that run on fossil fuels when we
had said they would be phased out.

7213
09:56:07,756 --> 09:56:13,148
That does not hold water. Our self-image
is that we are leading the transition.

7214
09:56:13,216 --> 09:56:16,355
The fact is that we are
about to be overtaken.

7215
09:56:16,423 --> 09:56:21,406
Both in terms of renewable electricity
and in terms of electric vehicles.

7216
09:56:21,474 --> 09:56:26,388
This is bad for the climate, and it
is bad for Europe’s competitiveness.

7217
09:56:26,456 --> 09:56:28,094
Thank you, Mr President.

7218
09:56:28,694 --> 09:56:31,094
Thank you very much, dear
colleagues. Mr Kartezer.

7219
09:56:35,294 --> 09:56:40,944
Climate conferences aim to secure massive
transfers of money from the European Union

7220
09:56:41,011 --> 09:56:46,661
and its Member States to third countries,
at a time when we can no longer afford it.

7221
09:56:46,728 --> 09:56:51,705
Supposedly, to combat climate change.
Climatology, moreover, is a divided,

7222
09:56:51,772 --> 09:56:57,287
politicised and unreliable science. The
colossal sums we are spending on projects,

7223
09:56:57,355 --> 09:57:02,803
often nonsensical but supposedly aimed at
protecting the climate, would be better

7224
09:57:02,870 --> 09:57:08,116
used to tackle the real and urgent
scourges of humanity, such as tuberculosis,

7225
09:57:08,183 --> 09:57:12,017
malaria, or to improve healthcare
in the poorest regions.

7226
09:57:12,084 --> 09:57:17,532
In truth, the world will remain dependent
on fossil fuels for a very long time to

7227
09:57:17,599 --> 09:57:23,114
come. The only credible and reliable
alternative currently remains nuclear energy.

7228
09:57:23,182 --> 09:57:28,428
Should the European Union not prioritise
its own economic interests instead of

7229
09:57:28,495 --> 09:57:31,925
indulging in self-destructive
ideological activism?

7230
09:57:31,993 --> 09:57:37,642
Rather than overreaching, the European Union
should align its energy transition with

7231
09:57:37,709 --> 09:57:40,602
the pace and priorities
of its competitors.

7232
09:57:40,669 --> 09:57:42,014
Thank you very much.

7233
09:57:42,674 --> 09:57:45,134
Thank you very much. Dimitris Tsiodas.

7234
09:57:47,714 --> 09:57:53,069
Thank you, Mr President. The United Nations
conference on climate change in Antalya

7235
09:57:53,134 --> 09:57:58,296
is indeed an important event. However,
this is overshadowed by the fact that the

7236
09:57:58,360 --> 09:58:03,393
President of the Republic of Cyprus was
invited under pressure from the Member

7237
09:58:03,457 --> 09:58:08,813
States and European bodies, while at the
same time Turkey was excluding Cyprus from

7238
09:58:08,877 --> 09:58:11,910
preparatory meetings
related to the conference.

7239
09:58:11,974 --> 09:58:17,330
These are not isolated incidents. The
international endorsement by the Libyan House

7240
09:58:17,394 --> 09:58:22,685
of Representatives of the illegal
Turkish-Libyan memorandum is yet another example

7241
09:58:22,749 --> 09:58:28,169
of Turkey’s policy of violating international
law and the law of the sea, especially

7242
09:58:28,234 --> 09:58:31,911
when it is preparing to host
a United Nations conference.

7243
09:58:31,976 --> 09:58:36,944
This sham memorandum challenges the
sovereign rights of European Union member

7244
09:58:37,009 --> 09:58:42,106
states, specifically Greece and Cyprus.
This policy must have consequences from

7245
09:58:42,170 --> 09:58:47,461
Europe. These borders and rights of the
Member States must be considered European,

7246
09:58:47,526 --> 09:58:52,107
and illegal actions against one must
be treated as actions against all.

7247
09:58:52,171 --> 09:58:57,010
The European Union must act swiftly
and decisively, utilising all available

7248
09:58:57,075 --> 09:59:02,237
diplomatic, political and economic tools
to defend the territorial integrity and

7249
09:59:02,301 --> 09:59:06,624
sovereignty of its Member States.
This means a truly united Europe.

7250
09:59:06,689 --> 09:59:07,889
Thank you.

7251
09:59:09,314 --> 09:59:12,614
Thank you very much. Next speaker,
Vice-President Ravi Lopez.

7252
09:59:16,274 --> 09:59:17,474
Thank you very much, Mr President.

7253
09:59:17,594 --> 09:59:20,709
Thank you very much,
Commissioner Högström.

7254
09:59:20,781 --> 09:59:24,259
The climate crisis is no
longer a future threat.

7255
09:59:24,331 --> 09:59:29,619
It is a tragedy of the present.
Thousands of dead Europeans in heatwaves.

7256
09:59:29,692 --> 09:59:35,270
Hospitals overwhelmed. Devastating fires.
Devastating megafires every summer.

7257
09:59:35,342 --> 09:59:40,413
And now, in the Mediterranean, floods
causing deaths, week after week.

7258
09:59:40,486 --> 09:59:46,426
While the planet is burning and literally
on the brink of hell, some here, in this

7259
09:59:46,498 --> 09:59:52,439
Parliament, continue to demand dismantling
climate action, the climate policy that

7260
09:59:52,511 --> 09:59:58,596
is the only thing that can save us. The
climate denialism no longer serves merely to

7261
09:59:58,669 --> 10:00:03,305
deny the science, but knowing it,
to deliberately reject action.

7262
10:00:03,377 --> 10:00:09,318
When the United Nations has just told us
that current policies will put the planet

7263
10:00:09,390 --> 10:00:14,244
on track for a 2.8 degree increase,
with catastrophic consequences.

7264
10:00:14,316 --> 10:00:19,822
COP31 in Turkey must stop being a summit
of small promises and grandiloquent

7265
10:00:19,894 --> 10:00:23,227
speeches. And Europe
must act with leadership.

7266
10:00:23,299 --> 10:00:28,877
How? How? With a clear roadmap to phase
out fossil fuels and real funding for

7267
10:00:28,950 --> 10:00:32,209
adaptation for the most
vulnerable countries.

7268
10:00:32,282 --> 10:00:38,295
Because the climate emergency is not waiting,
and history will not judge us for our

7269
10:00:38,367 --> 10:00:42,134
empty promises. Only for
the courage we have to act.

7270
10:00:43,514 --> 10:00:47,174
Thank you very much, Mr
Vice-President. Ms Boras Paboni.

7271
10:00:52,754 --> 10:00:55,242
Yes, thank you, Mr
President. Commissioner.

7272
10:00:55,300 --> 10:00:57,789
Yes, thank you, Mr
President. Commissioner.

7273
10:00:57,847 --> 10:01:02,708
Time and time again, the climate elite land
in their private jets to tell the farmer

7274
10:01:02,766 --> 10:01:05,659
that the big environmental
problem is his tractor.

7275
10:01:05,717 --> 10:01:10,463
This time, in the midst of an energy crisis
and with diesel costing over two euros

7276
10:01:10,521 --> 10:01:15,093
per litre, their priority is to eliminate
fossil fuels, which in the real world

7277
10:01:15,150 --> 10:01:20,012
translates to more expensive diesel, more
expensive heating, industries leaving, and

7278
10:01:20,070 --> 10:01:23,137
farmers finding they have
to pay more for everything.

7279
10:01:23,195 --> 10:01:27,304
Mr Commissioner, I have a question.
Who do you think COP really serves?

7280
10:01:27,361 --> 10:01:29,966
It is clear that it does
not serve Europeans.

7281
10:01:30,024 --> 10:01:34,190
So many billions of euros wasted on
hypocrisy, and all these hypocrites.

7282
10:01:34,248 --> 10:01:38,994
as for the climate hypocrites we have had
to listen to today, I will tell you that

7283
10:01:39,052 --> 10:01:42,640
Europe emits 6% of all global
emissions. And China almost 30%.

7284
10:01:42,698 --> 10:01:47,501
But your plan here is to punish European
industry while increasing Chinese imports.

7285
10:01:47,559 --> 10:01:51,957
In other words, the climate fight that
you proclaim here will be paid for by

7286
10:01:52,015 --> 10:01:54,909
Europeans, but the profits
will go to the Chinese.

7287
10:01:54,966 --> 10:01:58,207
This is about decarbonising
or deindustrialising Europe.

7288
10:01:58,265 --> 10:02:01,217
We are suffocating our
farmers, yet we do not care.

7289
10:02:01,275 --> 10:02:04,226
Encouraging deforestation
through Mercosur imports.

7290
10:02:04,284 --> 10:02:08,798
Nor do we care about uprooting more than
50,000 olive trees in Jaén to install

7291
10:02:08,856 --> 10:02:13,717
photovoltaic panels. Ladies and gentlemen,
water, grazing, firebreaks and affordable

7292
10:02:13,775 --> 10:02:15,974
energy. That is true environmentalism.

7293
10:02:16,334 --> 10:02:21,003
Ms Paboni, yes, you have a
speaking time, Mr Oliveira.

7294
10:02:21,090 --> 10:02:22,290
Are you okay?

7295
10:02:22,754 --> 10:02:23,294
Yes.

7296
10:02:23,294 --> 10:02:25,094
Mr President,

7297
10:02:38,594 --> 10:02:43,047
thank you, Mr President. Honourable
Member Ms Borras Pabon, you are making a

7298
10:02:43,106 --> 10:02:47,969
critical reference here to the costs of
energy, particularly for families and small

7299
10:02:48,027 --> 10:02:52,715
producers. I ask a very simple question.
Is there a way to resolve this problem,

7300
10:02:52,773 --> 10:02:57,695
namely through public control of the set
or strategic control and with price control

7301
10:02:57,754 --> 10:03:02,676
by the States so that prices are not set
by the multinationals in the energy sector,

7302
10:03:02,734 --> 10:03:05,840
as you well understand. The
question I put to you is:

7303
10:03:05,898 --> 10:03:10,820
do you agree with this public control of
the energy sector, or is the concern of the

7304
10:03:10,879 --> 10:03:13,574
far right about energy
prices merely for show?

7305
10:03:22,154 --> 10:03:26,342
The problem with energy in Europe, of
course, is not with private companies.

7306
10:03:26,397 --> 10:03:30,915
The problem with energy in Europe lies in
the ideologisation, in the ideology that

7307
10:03:30,970 --> 10:03:33,284
you are imposing, in your energy policies.

7308
10:03:33,339 --> 10:03:36,590
Poisoning absolutely everything
with your climate ideology.

7309
10:03:36,645 --> 10:03:41,274
If you impose a CO2 tax that increases the
costs for industries, obviously energy is

7310
10:03:41,329 --> 10:03:45,461
going to become much more expensive.
That is not what private companies do;

7311
10:03:45,517 --> 10:03:48,933
that is what you are doing here
with your European Green Deal.

7312
10:03:48,988 --> 10:03:53,616
They increase production costs, they increase
the price of diesel, they increase the

7313
10:03:53,671 --> 10:03:57,859
costs for our farmers and livestock
farmers, and they make it impossible and

7314
10:03:57,914 --> 10:04:00,614
difficult for them to
carry out their activities.

7315
10:04:00,914 --> 10:04:03,014
Thank you for your response, Mr Oliveira.

7316
10:04:03,614 --> 10:04:05,774
Ms Boras Paboni, yes, you

7317
10:04:05,834 --> 10:04:06,794
can stay here.

7318
10:04:06,794 --> 10:04:07,994
Mr Oliveira.

7319
10:04:11,234 --> 10:04:15,142
Here she is, Ms Boras Pabon. After all,
the far right wants to speak out against

7320
10:04:15,191 --> 10:04:19,196
energy prices, but it does not want to
confront the interests of the multinational

7321
10:04:19,245 --> 10:04:23,201
energy companies. Because, after all, they
never want to bite the hand that feeds

7322
10:04:23,250 --> 10:04:27,305
them. That is precisely the problem. It is
that the far right is not an alternative

7323
10:04:27,353 --> 10:04:31,456
to anything. Everything that is necessary
to defend the interests of the people, you

7324
10:04:31,505 --> 10:04:35,560
always shrink back whenever that implies
confronting economic interests, because at

7325
10:04:35,608 --> 10:04:39,516
the end of the day, the far right represents
exactly the same economic interests

7326
10:04:39,565 --> 10:04:43,473
that crush the lives of the people. And
that is the contradiction that cannot be

7327
10:04:43,522 --> 10:04:47,527
resolved. Ms Boras Pabon, it is not possible
to defend the interests of the people

7328
10:04:47,576 --> 10:04:51,679
and their right to access energy at fair
prices while, at the same time, siding with

7329
10:04:51,728 --> 10:04:54,854
the multinationals. And you are
entangled in that contradiction.

7330
10:04:57,854 --> 10:04:59,054
You may respond.

7331
10:05:00,914 --> 10:05:05,159
It is not at all surprising that the left
always does the same thing, which is to

7332
10:05:05,212 --> 10:05:09,509
blame others for its own responsibility.
Here, the only ones responsible, the only

7333
10:05:09,562 --> 10:05:13,493
ones to blame, are you. It is the left,
the climate hypochondriacs, who are

7334
10:05:13,545 --> 10:05:17,633
dedicated to intervening in the market,
to implementing policies that increase

7335
10:05:17,686 --> 10:05:21,826
costs, as I have said, energy costs,
production costs, which hinder the work of

7336
10:05:21,878 --> 10:05:26,124
those who truly take care of the countryside
and the fields, like are our farmers

7337
10:05:26,176 --> 10:05:28,902
and livestock farmers. I
am not the one saying this;

7338
10:05:28,954 --> 10:05:33,199
you go out into the street and everyone
knows that with your European Green Deal,

7339
10:05:33,252 --> 10:05:37,340
all you are doing is destroying biodiversity,
attacking those who care for the

7340
10:05:37,392 --> 10:05:40,694
countryside and driving up energy
costs. Not the big companies.

7341
10:05:40,874 --> 10:05:44,500
Sir, your response, the exchange is
closed, we are continuing the discussion.

7342
10:05:44,548 --> 10:05:45,748
Mireille Bloss.

7343
10:05:55,094 --> 10:06:00,873
Thank you very much. Colleagues, President,
Commissioner, today the United Nations

7344
10:06:00,944 --> 10:06:05,948
tells us that the world is going to
a temper ature rise of 2.8 degrees.

7345
10:06:06,019 --> 10:06:11,869
What does it mean? It means that about
one-third of the populated territory of this

7346
10:06:11,939 --> 10:06:17,789
planet will face extensive heat bul bs.
Temperatures above 35 degrees with humidity

7347
10:06:17,859 --> 10:06:23,146
above 90 percent. And this is a situation
where your body simply collapses.

7348
10:06:23,216 --> 10:06:28,643
Because it cannot cool itself anymore.
And if you stay outside, you will die.

7349
10:06:28,714 --> 10:06:33,436
2.8 degrees means 1.5 billion people
will live in such territories.

7350
10:06:33,506 --> 10:06:38,229
Either they have to move or they
have to cool down, but many can't.

7351
10:06:38,299 --> 10:06:43,444
Colleagues, you might think that
climate change is not important anymore.

7352
10:06:43,515 --> 10:06:49,435
You're wrong. The climate crisis will be
the defining challenge of your life, of the

7353
10:06:49,506 --> 10:06:53,664
life of your children, and the
life of your grand children.

7354
10:06:53,734 --> 10:06:58,668
But we know how to fix it. We have
to stop burning oil, coal, and gas.

7355
10:06:58,739 --> 10:07:04,166
And Mr. Commissioner, I know this is a
lot of responsibility, but you have to

7356
10:07:04,236 --> 10:07:09,945
deliver. Deliver at the climate conference
and deliver for us Europeans a plan to

7357
10:07:10,016 --> 10:07:14,174
free ourselves from fossil
dependency. Thank you very much.

7358
10:07:16,094 --> 10:07:17,534
Thank you very much. Mr Georgiou.

7359
10:07:28,814 --> 10:07:31,425
Mr Commissioner, the
climate crisis is here.

7360
10:07:31,485 --> 10:07:34,096
Mr Commissioner, the
climate crisis is here.

7361
10:07:34,156 --> 10:07:39,082
Wildfires, heatwaves, drought, devastating
floods, a continuous state of emergency.

7362
10:07:39,141 --> 10:07:42,583
Of course, the cost is being
paid by the European peoples.

7363
10:07:42,643 --> 10:07:45,254
Mr Commissioner, the
climate crisis is here.

7364
10:07:45,313 --> 10:07:50,239
Wildfires, heatwaves, drought, devastating
floods, a continuous state of emergency.

7365
10:07:50,299 --> 10:07:53,741
Of course, the cost is being
paid by the European peoples.

7366
10:07:53,800 --> 10:07:58,370
Whatever left to be done by the new
COP31 climate conference is self-evident:

7367
10:07:58,430 --> 10:08:02,584
actions, not new promises. That is
what we have burned and drowned in.

7368
10:08:02,644 --> 10:08:07,510
The fight against the climate crisis is,
of course, not only an environmental one.

7369
10:08:07,570 --> 10:08:12,436
It is a battle for social justice, equality,
and not exclusions, but unfortunately

7370
10:08:12,496 --> 10:08:17,184
Turkey attempted to obstruct the
participation of the Republic of Cyprus and to

7371
10:08:17,244 --> 10:08:21,992
instrumentalise the conference with the
aim of politically promoting the illegal

7372
10:08:22,051 --> 10:08:24,900
secessionist entity in
the occupied territories.

7373
10:08:24,959 --> 10:08:29,054
It also acknowledges, of course,
the illegal Turkey-Libya memorandum.

7374
10:08:29,114 --> 10:08:34,040
And I must say this—let me say it—Pontius
Pilates with Turkey, perhaps even for the

7375
10:08:34,099 --> 10:08:35,299
climate.

7376
10:08:37,994 --> 10:08:40,214
Thank you very much, dear
colleagues. Manuel Aripa.

7377
10:08:45,074 --> 10:08:49,091
Today we are talking about climate
protection, about COP31, but we should also be

7378
10:08:49,140 --> 10:08:51,967
discussing COP17 on biodiversity
with the same intensity.

7379
10:08:52,016 --> 10:08:56,182
we are also speaking today about climate
protection, about COP31, but we should also

7380
10:08:56,231 --> 10:09:00,148
be discussing just as intensively the
COP17 on biodiversity, which is currently

7381
10:09:00,198 --> 10:09:04,215
taking place in Armenia and which I will
be attending next week with a delegation

7382
10:09:04,264 --> 10:09:08,430
from the European Parliament. Because climate
protection and nature conservation are

7383
10:09:08,479 --> 10:09:12,595
inextricably linked, and both conferences
face the same challenges, such as phasing

7384
10:09:12,644 --> 10:09:16,760
out environmentally harmful subsidies,
securing financing, and finally implementing

7385
10:09:16,810 --> 10:09:19,240
decisions consistently.
Let us now turn to COP31.

7386
10:09:19,289 --> 10:09:22,909
In this debate, the circular economy
is being given too little attention.

7387
10:09:22,959 --> 10:09:26,826
The reduction of primary raw material
consumption and the increase in resource

7388
10:09:26,876 --> 10:09:30,942
efficiency must be systematically taken
into account in the national climate plans

7389
10:09:30,992 --> 10:09:33,322
and made verifiable
through measurable targets.

7390
10:09:33,372 --> 10:09:37,537
To this end, we must in particular promote
durable, repairable and reusable products

7391
10:09:37,587 --> 10:09:41,455
and advance the market for high-quality
secondary raw materials from recycling

7392
10:09:41,504 --> 10:09:45,025
processes. This also needs to be
given greater international attention.

7393
10:09:45,074 --> 10:09:49,091
Because this way, we also reduce emissions,
cut back on raw material dependencies

7394
10:09:49,141 --> 10:09:53,058
and strengthen resilience. We need to
think more closely together about climate

7395
10:09:53,108 --> 10:09:55,934
protection, nature conservation
and the circular economy.

7396
10:09:57,254 --> 10:09:59,534
Thank you very much. Mr Maren.

7397
10:10:09,194 --> 10:10:14,753
Dear colleagues, we live in a world where
multilateral cooperation is increasingly

7398
10:10:14,821 --> 10:10:19,973
giving way to the rule of the strongest.
But climate change knows no border.

7399
10:10:20,041 --> 10:10:25,126
We can adopt ambitious legislation at
European level, but without clear and

7400
10:10:25,193 --> 10:10:30,617
coordinated international action, our
efforts will have a limited global impact.

7401
10:10:30,685 --> 10:10:35,837
COP31 is an opportunity to relaunch
this global effort, and Europe must take

7402
10:10:35,905 --> 10:10:41,532
responsibility and lead by examp le. We
must turn commitments into concrete action.

7403
10:10:41,600 --> 10:10:47,226
Push the major emitters to raise their
ambition and ensure climate finance supports

7404
10:10:47,294 --> 10:10:51,497
those most affected by the crisis.
Our goal must remain clear:

7405
10:10:51,565 --> 10:10:55,904
climate neutrality and a just
transition away from fossil fuels.

7406
10:10:55,972 --> 10:11:01,463
Colleagues, at a time when international
cooperation is under pressure, we cannot

7407
10:11:01,531 --> 10:11:06,954
afford to step back on climate action.
Europe must show that multilateralism can

7408
10:11:07,022 --> 10:11:09,734
still deliver for our planet. Thank you.

7409
10:11:11,234 --> 10:11:13,814
Thank you very much, dear
colleagues. Annalisa Corrado.

7410
10:11:18,674 --> 10:11:23,126
Thank you, Mr President. Many people think
that the UN's effort against the climate

7411
10:11:23,179 --> 10:11:27,095
crisis is an exercise for environmentalists
and for Thank you, President.

7412
10:11:27,148 --> 10:11:31,547
Many people think that the UN’s efforts
against the climate crisis are an exercise

7413
10:11:31,600 --> 10:11:34,014
for environmentalists
and for those involved.

7414
10:11:34,067 --> 10:11:38,466
Far removed from real problems. And yet,
even if I were not an environmentalist, I

7415
10:11:38,519 --> 10:11:42,703
would work to abandon fossil fuels,
because they cause unsustainable bills and

7416
10:11:42,756 --> 10:11:47,262
skyrocketing costs for everything. Meanwhile,
very few people are getting richer and

7417
10:11:47,315 --> 10:11:51,767
richer. If I were not an environmentalist,
I would fight to revolutionise mobility,

7418
10:11:51,821 --> 10:11:56,112
transport, production and distribution,
because the plight of those who live off

7419
10:11:56,165 --> 10:12:00,617
their own work cannot be resolved with a
few tweaks to a deeply unjust and unstable

7420
10:12:00,671 --> 10:12:04,801
model. If I were not an ecologist, I
would consider it unacceptable that this

7421
10:12:04,854 --> 10:12:07,161
summer's heat has cost
Europe €180 billion.

7422
10:12:07,214 --> 10:12:11,612
If I were not an environmentalist, I would
recognise that the path to salvation is

7423
10:12:11,666 --> 10:12:14,616
precisely the one indicated
by the UN for the next COP:

7424
10:12:14,670 --> 10:12:18,692
to exit our dependence on gas and oil
and accelerate the electrification of

7425
10:12:18,746 --> 10:12:23,144
technologies and services. You do not need
to be an environmentalist to understand

7426
10:12:23,198 --> 10:12:26,738
this; you just need to be on the
side of the many against the few.

7427
10:12:26,791 --> 10:12:31,243
On the side of those who pay too much
without having any fault, of the young people

7428
10:12:31,297 --> 10:12:34,944
whose hope someone wants to take
away, on the right side of history.

7429
10:12:34,998 --> 10:12:36,198
Thank you.

7430
10:12:36,374 --> 10:12:38,774
Thank you very much, dear
colleagues. Gunther Seeden.

7431
10:12:43,394 --> 10:12:48,145
Dear Mr President, esteemed Commissioner.
Climate protection and the abandonment of

7432
10:12:48,202 --> 10:12:50,835
fossil fuels are no
longer options for Europe.

7433
10:12:50,892 --> 10:12:55,643
They are the only way out. We live on the
continent that is heating up the fastest.

7434
10:12:55,701 --> 10:13:00,509
We are experiencing more heatwaves, more
droughts and an increase in extreme weather

7435
10:13:00,566 --> 10:13:05,202
events every year. At the same time, in
this uncertain geopolitical situation, we

7436
10:13:05,260 --> 10:13:09,152
are powerless against price
fluctuations, for example in oil or gas.

7437
10:13:09,209 --> 10:13:14,017
It is therefore high time that we draw the
right lessons from these developments and

7438
10:13:14,075 --> 10:13:17,394
finally once again set a clear
example by leading the way.

7439
10:13:17,452 --> 10:13:22,145
Only if we show the world that climate
protection also brings economic advantages,

7440
10:13:22,203 --> 10:13:26,896
such as boosting our own innovative strength,
will things finally start to move in

7441
10:13:26,954 --> 10:13:31,647
this direction. COP31 is the next opportunity
to find allies on this path, and the

7442
10:13:31,704 --> 10:13:34,452
European Union must also
seize this opportunity.

7443
10:13:34,509 --> 10:13:35,709
Thank you very much.

7444
10:13:38,714 --> 10:13:45,287
Thank you very much. We now move on to
the expressions under the 4JI procedure.

7445
10:13:45,371 --> 10:13:47,534
To begin, Costas Mavridis.

7446
10:14:00,914 --> 10:14:02,114
Oh, now it is.

7447
10:14:02,894 --> 10:14:08,131
I would like to congratulate my
colleagues on this very important text.

7448
10:14:08,205 --> 10:14:12,335
After all, climate change is
a fact and not an ideology.

7449
10:14:12,409 --> 10:14:18,457
And especially in Europe, and particularly
in the Mediterranean, climate change is

7450
10:14:18,531 --> 10:14:24,284
even more intense. However, such global
problems require global approaches and

7451
10:14:24,358 --> 10:14:30,258
interstate cooperation. Among the many
important aspects of this report, I would

7452
10:14:30,332 --> 10:14:36,380
like to highlight one: the proposal for
specific, measurable targets to bridge the

7453
10:14:36,454 --> 10:14:40,732
gap between objectives and
their practical implementation.

7454
10:14:40,806 --> 10:14:46,854
However, unfortunately, and I am addressing
both the Council and the Commissioner,

7455
10:14:46,928 --> 10:14:52,091
unfortunately once again the the
Turkish regime in Ankara attempted to

7456
10:14:52,164 --> 10:14:58,065
instrumentalise this international
conference once again to the detriment of the

7457
10:14:58,139 --> 10:15:03,966
Republic of Cyprus, attempting to exclude
the participation of the President of

7458
10:15:04,039 --> 10:15:10,161
Cyprus. I urge both of you to defend until
the end the Member State of the European

7459
10:15:10,235 --> 10:15:12,374
Union and the United Nations.

7460
10:15:13,214 --> 10:15:15,134
Thank you very much, Viktoria Ferenc.

7461
10:15:20,294 --> 10:15:25,166
Mr President, Commissioner. Mr President,
Commissioner, it is beyond doubt,

7462
10:15:25,231 --> 10:15:30,688
especially after last summer, that climate
change has severe consequences in Europe.

7463
10:15:30,753 --> 10:15:34,197
We must state that adequate
adaptation is inevitable.

7464
10:15:34,262 --> 10:15:39,719
However, we must also face the fact that
the Green Deal and the measures based on it

7465
10:15:39,784 --> 10:15:44,981
have not led to success. Even though the
continent is responsible for only 6% of

7466
10:15:45,046 --> 10:15:50,308
global emissions, the major international
polluters are not following the Union’s

7467
10:15:50,373 --> 10:15:55,700
example. And there is nothing surprising
in that, because what do they see here in

7468
10:15:55,765 --> 10:16:00,832
Europe? declining competitiveness,
artificially inflated energy prices, rising

7469
10:16:00,897 --> 10:16:05,185
household heating and fuel prices,
climate taxes such as the ETS2.

7470
10:16:05,250 --> 10:16:10,188
No wonder that with such climate policy
we find few international followers.

7471
10:16:10,252 --> 10:16:15,320
Instead, we stand on the side of
responsible, balanced climate policy based on

7472
10:16:15,385 --> 10:16:16,814
adaptation. Thank you.

7473
10:16:18,434 --> 10:16:20,774
Thank you very much. Sébastien Thinkinen.

7474
10:16:28,694 --> 10:16:33,977
Mr President, the EU has gone to war
against climate change with a bazooka.

7475
10:16:34,047 --> 10:16:39,823
a. In the previous year, the EU and its
Member States mobilised nearly €32 billion

7476
10:16:39,893 --> 10:16:43,415
in public funds for
international climate finance.

7477
10:16:43,485 --> 10:16:47,077
But this is not enough for
the European Parliament.

7478
10:16:47,148 --> 10:16:53,064
Now we need new and greater climate funding,
which should be provided in addition to

7479
10:16:53,135 --> 10:16:59,051
official development assistance. It seems
that European politicians never run out of

7480
10:16:59,122 --> 10:17:04,968
money, but Europeans do. We are currently
dealing with over 30 pages of demands and

7481
10:17:05,038 --> 10:17:09,053
positions from the European
Parliament regarding climate.

7482
10:17:09,124 --> 10:17:14,195
Tell me, how is it possible that China
has not been mentioned even once?

7483
10:17:14,265 --> 10:17:19,759
You do not mention a country that is
responsible for around a third of all the

7484
10:17:19,830 --> 10:17:25,324
world’s carbon dioxide emissions. Let's
put an end to this scattering of money

7485
10:17:25,394 --> 10:17:31,240
around the world. Let's take real climate
action and bring industry back from China

7486
10:17:31,311 --> 10:17:33,494
to a cleaner Europe. Thank you.

7487
10:17:35,054 --> 10:17:36,974
Thank you. João Oliveira.

7488
10:17:40,394 --> 10:17:45,378
Thank you, Mr President. Commissioner Oxtra,
one of the objectives under discussion

7489
10:17:45,438 --> 10:17:50,001
at COP31 is to increase the share of
electricity in final energy consumption

7490
10:17:50,061 --> 10:17:55,105
worldwide to 35% by 2035. This objective
requires an energy policy that enables each

7491
10:17:55,165 --> 10:17:59,729
State to make the most of its capacities
and resources in energy production,

7492
10:17:59,789 --> 10:18:04,593
distribution and supply, in the most
balanced and tailored way to its social and

7493
10:18:04,653 --> 10:18:09,036
economic needs. But this objective is
not compatible with the policies of

7494
10:18:09,096 --> 10:18:13,780
liberalisation and privatisation of the
energy sector, including the resources

7495
10:18:13,840 --> 10:18:18,463
necessary for energy production.
Subjugating energy policy to the criteria of

7496
10:18:18,523 --> 10:18:23,507
liberalisation means subordinating the
satisfaction of energy needs to the logic of

7497
10:18:23,567 --> 10:18:28,371
profit. Handing over resources and
production capacities to multinational energy

7498
10:18:28,431 --> 10:18:33,115
companies means leaving those rec these
companies expose the territory and the

7499
10:18:33,175 --> 10:18:38,218
populations to the circumstances in which
those multinational corporations decide to

7500
10:18:38,278 --> 10:18:42,242
exploit those resources to generate
profit as quickly as possible.

7501
10:18:42,302 --> 10:18:47,285
The installation of large-scale photovoltaic
plants or the privatisation of dams or

7502
10:18:47,345 --> 10:18:52,389
the handing over of lithium reserves are
examples that contradict the objectives set

7503
10:18:52,449 --> 10:18:57,193
out at COP31, and we hope that this
contradiction will be overcome by rejecting

7504
10:18:57,253 --> 10:18:58,454
neoliberal policies.

7505
10:18:59,234 --> 10:19:01,694
Thank you very much, dear
colleague. Maria Zakaria.

7506
10:19:04,214 --> 10:19:09,590
Ladies and gentlemen, colleagues, for
years we were told that environmental

7507
10:19:09,661 --> 10:19:15,324
protection hinders development. Now,
wildfires, floods, and drought are the new

7508
10:19:15,395 --> 10:19:18,764
reality. The climate did
not go mad on its own.

7509
10:19:18,836 --> 10:19:24,784
The draft resolution for COP31 recognises
a role for nuclear energy, carbon capture

7510
10:19:24,856 --> 10:19:28,727
and storage, and constantly
speaks of competitiveness.

7511
10:19:28,798 --> 10:19:34,604
However, COP31 demands real emission
reductions, protection of societies, climate

7512
10:19:34,676 --> 10:19:39,478
financing, and a just transition.
There is no room for complacency.

7513
10:19:39,549 --> 10:19:44,137
In Brno, residents are opposing
offshore carbon dioxide storage.

7514
10:19:44,208 --> 10:19:47,649
We brought this case to
the Petitions Committee.

7515
10:19:47,720 --> 10:19:52,307
We also support the fight against
nuclear energy and combustion.

7516
10:19:52,379 --> 10:19:56,321
For us, the critical questions
are: who is responsible?

7517
10:19:56,393 --> 10:19:59,403
Who pays? And who will be held to account?

7518
10:19:59,475 --> 10:20:04,062
Will the big polluters bear the
cost? They must, not the people.

7519
10:20:04,134 --> 10:20:07,574
Before it is too late for
the planet. Thank you.

7520
10:20:09,914 --> 10:20:12,854
Thank you very much. Juan
Fernando López Aguilar.

7521
10:20:14,954 --> 10:20:16,214
Thank you, President Tomasi.

7522
10:20:16,334 --> 10:20:20,999
In this debate, we are adding all those
that we have had throughout this plenary

7523
10:20:21,058 --> 10:20:25,723
session, because the European budget and
the financial framework the multiannual

7524
10:20:25,781 --> 10:20:30,447
financial framework is crucial for ensuring
both the resources and the political

7525
10:20:30,505 --> 10:20:35,287
will for the European Union to have a
respected voice at the Climate Conference in

7526
10:20:35,346 --> 10:20:40,128
Turkey, COP31. Because it is not ideology
that we are facing a global warming that

7527
10:20:40,186 --> 10:20:44,968
borders on the unbearable. Particularly
in the European continent, where there are

7528
10:20:45,026 --> 10:20:49,750
deaths and lives lost to climate change
and movements of people across the planet

7529
10:20:49,808 --> 10:20:52,841
seeking climate refuge,
lacking a seat at the table.

7530
10:20:52,899 --> 10:20:57,565
Of protection in international law.
Therefore, the response cannot simply be one

7531
10:20:57,623 --> 10:21:02,347
omnibus after another lowering our standards,
but rather maintaining exactly that

7532
10:21:02,405 --> 10:21:07,304
response in the face of scorching summers
that seem endless and, for the rest of the

7533
10:21:07,362 --> 10:21:11,094
year, DANA storms and instability
that are equally catastrophic.

7534
10:21:11,153 --> 10:21:15,701
The European Union must rise to the
occasion at the Conference with sufficient

7535
10:21:15,760 --> 10:21:18,734
resources and political
will. Thank you, President.

7536
10:21:19,874 --> 10:21:25,555
Thank you very much, Juan Fernando. We are
coming to the end of this discussion and

7537
10:21:25,623 --> 10:21:28,771
I will now give the floor
to the Commissioner.

7538
10:21:28,840 --> 10:21:32,673
Ah, to the Council first.
Give the floor to the Council.

7539
10:21:32,741 --> 10:21:33,941
Timi Giuli.

7540
10:21:39,854 --> 10:21:44,359
Thank you very much. I thought I was
getting off the hook there, President, but

7541
10:21:44,416 --> 10:21:48,635
Honorable Members, Commissioner and
President, just to thank all those who

7542
10:21:48,692 --> 10:21:52,969
contributed to this debate and I look
forward to your continued engagement,

7543
10:21:53,026 --> 10:21:57,701
particularly when we attend C OP. As you
know, COP31 convenes at a really critical

7544
10:21:57,758 --> 10:22:02,377
geopolitical juncture marked by mounting
pressure on multilateral cooperation and

7545
10:22:02,434 --> 10:22:05,798
renewed skepticism surrounding
established climate science.

7546
10:22:05,855 --> 10:22:10,588
Although global climate action has been
insufficient it is important to stress that

7547
10:22:10,645 --> 10:22:14,921
the Paris Agreement has made a very
significant difference through the impl

7548
10:22:14,978 --> 10:22:18,114
ementation of nationally
determined mitigation pledges.

7549
10:22:18,171 --> 10:22:22,505
The Paris Agreement has successfully
altered the global emission trajectory.

7550
10:22:22,562 --> 10:22:26,952
Lowering projected end-of-century warming
from approximately three and a half

7551
10:22:27,009 --> 10:22:30,716
degrees to a range between 2. 3
and 2.5. That's very significant.

7552
10:22:30,773 --> 10:22:35,106
Decisive climate action to limit the
1. 5°C overshoot to the greatest extent

7553
10:22:35,163 --> 10:22:39,839
possible is more urgent than ever. And it
must be coupled with societal industrial

7554
10:22:39,896 --> 10:22:44,457
and technological transition. We will
continue our international engagement with

7555
10:22:44,514 --> 10:22:48,278
allies and other partners towards
the meaningful outcome of COP31.

7556
10:22:48,335 --> 10:22:52,725
I just want to respond to one particular
issue that was raised by a number of

7557
10:22:52,782 --> 10:22:55,576
contributors, and that
was in relation to Turkey.

7558
10:22:55,633 --> 10:22:58,370
It is mandate of COP31,
the Council conclusions.

7559
10:22:58,427 --> 10:23:03,103
The Council has underlined the importance
of participation of all member states at

7560
10:23:03,160 --> 10:23:07,950
COP31. It is also reaffirmed the principle
of solidarity among member states in this

7561
10:23:08,007 --> 10:23:12,625
regard. Turkey has sent invitations to
the leaders' summit at COP31 to all member

7562
10:23:12,682 --> 10:23:15,134
states, including
Cyprus. Thanks very much.

7563
10:23:16,694 --> 10:23:23,634
Thank you very much, Mr Minister. I had
not forgotten you, but I joined the debate

7564
10:23:23,719 --> 10:23:30,574
midway and the Commissioner was able to
intervene at the start of the discussion.

7565
10:23:30,659 --> 10:23:37,261
The debate is closed. I have received a
draft resolution to close this debate.

7566
10:23:37,345 --> 10:23:44,116
And the vote will take place tomorrow.
The agenda now calls for the Commission's

7567
10:23:44,201 --> 10:23:51,310
statement on deepening the EU-Canada alliance,
preparation for the EU-Canada summit.

7568
10:23:51,395 --> 10:23:57,743
Let us give Commissioner Sykela time
to take his seat and we will begin our

7569
10:23:57,827 --> 10:23:59,774
discussion immediately.

7570
10:24:12,134 --> 10:24:14,414
Mr Commissioner, it is your turn.

7571
10:24:17,114 --> 10:24:18,314
Thank you very much.

7572
10:24:20,294 --> 10:24:25,831
Good evening, Honorable
President, Honorable Members.

7573
10:24:25,936 --> 10:24:33,250
I have the honor to address you today
on our relationship with Canada.

7574
10:24:33,354 --> 10:24:38,056
One of our most trusted
and closest partners.

7575
10:24:38,160 --> 10:24:46,414
With Canada, we share similar values:
the same commitment to open, pl uralistic

7576
10:24:46,519 --> 10:24:54,877
societies, and the similar vision for the
global rules-based multilateral order.

7577
10:24:54,981 --> 10:25:00,937
In these changing times, we
also face similar challenges.

7578
10:25:01,041 --> 10:25:09,713
The exchange today is timely. We are one
week away from the 21 st EU-Canada Summit,

7579
10:25:09,818 --> 10:25:15,564
which takes place in Montreal
next Thursday and Friday.

7580
10:25:15,669 --> 10:25:24,027
From 29th to 30th October, you all witnessed
the state of the Union's speech and

7581
10:25:24,131 --> 10:25:30,609
Prime Minister Carney's intervention
at the September plenary.

7582
10:25:30,714 --> 10:25:36,774
So you will know that the
ambition for the summit is high.

7583
10:25:36,878 --> 10:25:45,445
Negotiations ahead of the summit are still
ongoing, I do not want to preempt those

7584
10:25:45,550 --> 10:25:51,819
disc ussions and cannot at this
stage prejudge the outcomes.

7585
10:25:51,923 --> 10:25:57,983
When it comes to summits,
nothing is done until it's done.

7586
10:25:58,087 --> 10:26:06,550
And one week is still a long time. What
I can share with you today is the general

7587
10:26:06,655 --> 10:26:15,327
thinking behind the str engthening of the
EU-Canada ties and to give you a sense of

7588
10:26:15,431 --> 10:26:20,028
the direction of travel
in the relationship.

7589
10:26:20,133 --> 10:26:24,625
The ambition does not
come out of the blue.

7590
10:26:24,730 --> 10:26:33,402
We built on a solid foundation namely the
strategic partnership agreement and CETA,

7591
10:26:33,506 --> 10:26:42,074
Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement.
Canada is a unique strategic partner and a

7592
10:26:42,178 --> 10:26:49,805
close friend. It is a G7 member and
NATO ally to many member states and a

7593
10:26:49,910 --> 10:26:56,492
like-minded partner in defending
and promoting multilateralism.

7594
10:26:56,596 --> 10:27:05,373
Canada has always stood by us and it is an
unwavering supporter of Ukraine rel iable

7595
10:27:05,477 --> 10:27:14,149
provider reliably providing financial
military and material support since 2 022 and

7596
10:27:14,254 --> 10:27:21,254
taking the lead on issues such as
the return of Ukrainian children.

7597
10:27:21,358 --> 10:27:26,896
Over the past year we have
further deepened our ties.

7598
10:27:27,000 --> 10:27:35,777
It's not enough to be like-minded in a world
of power politics and the weaponization

7599
10:27:35,881 --> 10:27:44,553
of everything we both need to adapt and
bol ster our resilience and we turn to each

7600
10:27:44,657 --> 10:27:52,807
other as partners of choice. The June
25 summit adopted an ambitious agenda of

7601
10:27:52,911 --> 10:27:54,374
commitments ac

7602
10:27:54,494 --> 10:28:02,079
ross a range of areas and marked the
signature of the Security and Defense Part

7603
10:28:02,175 --> 10:28:10,241
nership. And we have both worked actively
on the implementation of these commitments

7604
10:28:10,337 --> 10:28:15,618
and we are delivering for o
ur citizens on both shores.

7605
10:28:15,714 --> 10:28:23,683
One example has been the signing of Canada
's SAFE agreement earlier this year with

7606
10:28:23,779 --> 10:28:28,484
one contract already signed
under this framework.

7607
10:28:28,580 --> 10:28:35,686
The 2026 summit will mark an even
greater step change in our relationship.

7608
10:28:35,782 --> 10:28:42,983
As President von der Leyen stated in
her SOTEO speech, we want to bring the

7609
10:28:43,079 --> 10:28:48,360
relationship with Canada to
the highest level possible.

7610
10:28:48,456 --> 10:28:56,425
She explained that our intention is to move
from SETA to an alliance for the future

7611
10:28:56,521 --> 10:29:02,091
to create a common prosperity
and economic security space.

7612
10:29:02,187 --> 10:29:09,676
This could include first further supply
chain integration in strategic sectors

7613
10:29:09,772 --> 10:29:15,533
through joint investments and
deeper regulatory cooperation.

7614
10:29:15,629 --> 10:29:23,695
Second, creating a trusted digital and
technology space involving joint research and

7615
10:29:23,791 --> 10:29:31,184
inv estments what President von der
Leyen called a tech alliance and third co

7616
10:29:31,280 --> 10:29:39,057
ordinating our respective economic security
policies to ensure o ur shared supply

7617
10:29:39,153 --> 10:29:46,835
chains are consistently protected. Beyond
the alliance for the future, we should

7618
10:29:46,931 --> 10:29:54,996
also consider whether we want to offer
Canada a basic a basis for stronger political

7619
10:29:55,092 --> 10:30:03,158
and institutional collaboration. This would
build on the type of regular invitations

7620
10:30:03,254 --> 10:30:11,127
that Canada has already received to particip
ate in recent summits of the European

7621
10:30:11,223 --> 10:30:16,120
political community and
informal co uncil meetings.

7622
10:30:16,216 --> 10:30:23,994
And it would allow us to identify shared
priorities and jointly respond to common

7623
10:30:24,090 --> 10:30:31,963
challenges. This is what President von der
Leyen had in mind when she said that we

7624
10:30:32,059 --> 10:30:39,741
are opening the door to Canada to becoming
the first associate member of the EU.

7625
10:30:39,837 --> 10:30:47,422
In the coming year, leading up to the
next EU-Canada summit, we look forward to

7626
10:30:47,518 --> 10:30:53,087
working with y ou as well as
our member states and Canada.

7627
10:30:53,183 --> 10:31:00,865
On defining the full scope of what such
an associate membership could look like.

7628
10:31:00,961 --> 10:31:08,834
I am sure I will find a positive echo in
this chamber for closer ties with Canada.

7629
10:31:09,794 --> 10:31:16,976
As some in this chamber always remind us,
very aptly, Canada is the most European of

7630
10:31:17,061 --> 10:31:24,243
non-European countries. I expect the pass
ahead to become clearer as a result of the

7631
10:31:24,328 --> 10:31:31,339
summit. Of course, we won't fail to inform
the European Parliament of the outcome.

7632
10:31:31,424 --> 10:31:33,134
Thank you very much.

7633
10:31:35,474 --> 10:31:40,200
Thank you very much, Commissioner Sékela.
As you know, the Bureau of the European

7634
10:31:40,258 --> 10:31:43,934
Parliament has decided to open
an office in Canada, Mr Warborn.

7635
10:31:51,674 --> 10:31:55,418
Thank you, President,
for giving me the floor.

7636
10:31:55,499 --> 10:31:59,812
And colleagues, you saw how
this podium was elevated.

7637
10:31:59,894 --> 10:32:06,242
I think that that is what we are going
to try to do with the relationship with

7638
10:32:06,323 --> 10:32:12,915
Canada. Let's elevate the relationship.
EPP is committed to upgrade the EU-Canada

7639
10:32:12,997 --> 10:32:19,508
relations and we will work to fill this
al liance for the future with meaningful

7640
10:32:19,589 --> 10:32:26,344
content that delivers concrete economic
and geopolitical benefits for both parties.

7641
10:32:26,425 --> 10:32:30,169
Associated membership
was the label mentioned.

7642
10:32:30,250 --> 10:32:37,087
But I think that much more important than
any label is that this alliance can mark a

7643
10:32:37,168 --> 10:32:43,272
starting point of an ambitious process
of approximation across all economic

7644
10:32:43,353 --> 10:32:49,294
dimensions including deeper integration
in go ods and services regulatory

7645
10:32:49,376 --> 10:32:55,235
harmonizations in strategic sectors
and enhanced cooperation on critical

7646
10:32:55,317 --> 10:33:01,990
capabilities. Building on SETA, our trade
agreement, we should work towards a more

7647
10:33:02,072 --> 10:33:08,501
even more integrated econom ic area by
reducing barriers to trade in goods with

7648
10:33:08,583 --> 10:33:14,768
mutual recognitions of standards con
formity assessments and certifications.

7649
10:33:14,849 --> 10:33:21,116
A transatlantic service market would be
the natural step to upgrade SETA with

7650
10:33:21,197 --> 10:33:25,348
frictionless cross-Atlantic
provisions of services.

7651
10:33:25,429 --> 10:33:31,533
And we should work towards a rapid
conclusion of an ambitious digital trade

7652
10:33:31,614 --> 10:33:36,335
agreement. We should also
ensure open procurement markets.

7653
10:33:36,416 --> 10:33:42,927
And we should leverage our complementarias
notably in the critical raw materials

7654
10:33:43,008 --> 10:33:47,240
using the EU demand to boost
Canada Canadian supply.

7655
10:33:47,322 --> 10:33:53,914
That will power our diversification efforts
and enable the much needed de-risking

7656
10:33:53,995 --> 10:34:00,587
from China. So to conclude, let's now be
pragmatic, flexible, and open to try new

7657
10:34:00,669 --> 10:34:05,959
ways forward with less focus on
labels and more focus on content.

7658
10:34:06,040 --> 10:34:07,240
Thank you.

7659
10:34:07,574 --> 10:34:09,374
Thank you very much. Ms von der Leyen.

7660
10:34:13,094 --> 10:34:17,224
Thank you very much, President,
Commissioner, colleagues.

7661
10:34:17,296 --> 10:34:22,586
In a world filled with trumps Europe
needs sta ble and reliable partners.

7662
10:34:22,658 --> 10:34:28,310
And partners that share our values and
that share our ambition for the future.

7663
10:34:28,382 --> 10:34:33,599
And Canada is such a partner. It makes
sense to deepen that partnership.

7664
10:34:33,672 --> 10:34:38,526
And that partnership recently has
been giving a lot of fancy names.

7665
10:34:38,599 --> 10:34:43,743
You mentioned it, an associated
membership, an alliance for the future.

7666
10:34:43,815 --> 10:34:48,887
It all sounds very promising. But
it must be more than just a promise.

7667
10:34:48,960 --> 10:34:52,510
The upcoming summit must
deliver on real results.

7668
10:34:52,583 --> 10:34:58,379
Building on the clear expectations set
out by Prime Minister Carney here at this

7669
10:34:58,452 --> 10:35:04,538
stage. With closer comparison on energy,
security, defense, trade, critical minerals

7670
10:35:04,610 --> 10:35:10,407
but also on students for instance. And
not only working closing together because

7671
10:35:10,479 --> 10:35:16,421
that might be the more easy part. What we
need to do is responding together to the

7672
10:35:16,493 --> 10:35:21,638
threats that we face. This alliance
should help defend multilateralism.

7673
10:35:21,710 --> 10:35:27,289
And the rules-based international order.
And lay the groundwork for a broader

7674
10:35:27,362 --> 10:35:33,448
alliance with other middle powers to use
the name of Mark Carney and of the coercion

7675
10:35:33,520 --> 10:35:39,607
by people like Trump and Xi. That also
requires for Europe to be a reliable partner.

7676
10:35:39,679 --> 10:35:44,968
Yet that member state still have to
ratify SETA and that is unacceptable.

7677
10:35:45,041 --> 10:35:48,301
Everybody needs to take
their responsibility.

7678
10:35:48,374 --> 10:35:52,214
Europe and Canada stronger
together let's act on it .

7679
10:35:53,234 --> 10:35:54,974
Thank you very much, Ms Ferré.

7680
10:36:01,694 --> 10:36:02,894
Is that sufficient for you?

7681
10:36:03,254 --> 10:36:04,334
Yes, exactly.

7682
10:36:04,334 --> 10:36:05,534
Thank you.

7683
10:36:05,834 --> 10:36:11,150
Mr Commissioner. Mr Commissioner, On the
eve of the Montreal summit, the Commission

7684
10:36:11,278 --> 10:36:15,762
wants to make Canada the first
associate member of the European Union.

7685
10:36:15,826 --> 10:36:21,206
Behind this fine-sounding phrase lurks the
spectre of CETA, that infamous free trade

7686
10:36:21,270 --> 10:36:24,024
agreement which is
ruining our agriculture.

7687
10:36:24,088 --> 10:36:29,148
The French Senate rejected it to protect
our livestock farmers, and yet you are

7688
10:36:29,212 --> 10:36:34,336
implementing it. With force. But this
associate member status goes even further.

7689
10:36:34,400 --> 10:36:39,652
You want to grant Canadian industry access
to the SAFE Fund, a fund of 150 billion

7690
10:36:39,716 --> 10:36:44,648
euros intended to reindustrialise Europe
and ensure our military sovereignty.

7691
10:36:44,712 --> 10:36:49,644
Buying North American armaments exposes
us to the blackmail of kill switches.

7692
10:36:49,708 --> 10:36:53,423
It is remote deactivation that
makes us totally dependent.

7693
10:36:53,487 --> 10:36:56,945
It is financing our own
vassalisation. What hypocrisy.

7694
10:36:57,009 --> 10:37:02,390
Finally, on raw materials. With your punitive
environmental policy, you are shutting

7695
10:37:02,454 --> 10:37:07,642
down our factories. Then you cross the
Atlantic, begging for Canadian lithium and

7696
10:37:07,706 --> 10:37:12,381
cobalt. Stop orchestrating our ruin.
Protect our industry and respect our

7697
10:37:12,445 --> 10:37:13,645
parliaments.

7698
10:37:14,114 --> 10:37:16,214
Thank you. Mr Kols.

7699
10:37:21,074 --> 10:37:26,599
Dear colleagues, Brussels has been busy
debating what associated membership for

7700
10:37:26,669 --> 10:37:30,795
Canada means. Europe does not
need 28th quasi-member state.

7701
10:37:30,865 --> 10:37:36,670
Europe needs hard industrial depth to break
our dependencies on Beijing and Moscow.

7702
10:37:36,740 --> 10:37:42,335
Canada holds 34 critical raw materials
that European industry desperately lacks.

7703
10:37:42,405 --> 10:37:46,042
Yet our mineral imports
from Canada stand at just 3.

7704
10:37:46,112 --> 10:37:49,049
3 billion euros. The delivery gap is real.

7705
10:37:49,119 --> 10:37:54,994
We gave Canada 80% content ceiling inside
our SAFE instrument, six months later that

7706
10:37:55,064 --> 10:37:59,190
has produced just one contract,
tactical radios for Poland.

7707
10:37:59,260 --> 10:38:04,785
On energy, the draft text for Montréal
offers only another feasibility study on

7708
10:38:04,855 --> 10:38:10,660
Canadian LNG. And nine member states still
have not ratified SETA after nine years.

7709
10:38:10,730 --> 10:38:16,465
Shame. Montréal summit must make Europe
stronger, democracies are global minority.

7710
10:38:16,534 --> 10:38:22,269
And deeper cooperation is simple math. We
do not need new institutional labels for

7711
10:38:22,339 --> 10:38:27,445
Canada we need to deliver on the agre
ements that we already have signed.

7712
10:38:27,515 --> 10:38:28,715
Thank you.

7713
10:38:29,474 --> 10:38:32,429
Thank you very much.
I do not see Mr Barna.

7714
10:38:32,498 --> 10:38:33,698
Mr Ninisto.

7715
10:38:39,254 --> 10:38:44,252
Mr. President, Europe and Canada should
build an ambitious alliance for the future.

7716
10:38:44,312 --> 10:38:48,948
We can together defend democracy resist
coercion and uphold international law

7717
10:38:49,009 --> 10:38:52,802
consistently while also building
bridges with the Global South.

7718
10:38:52,862 --> 10:38:57,740
The Montréal summit must deliver a strong
security cooperation s ustained support

7719
10:38:57,800 --> 10:39:01,051
for Ukraine and protection
of critical infrastructure.

7720
10:39:01,112 --> 10:39:04,423
We can do more to support
Ukraine together with Canada.

7721
10:39:04,484 --> 10:39:09,241
We also need fair trade clean industry
and resilient mineral supply chains with

7722
10:39:09,301 --> 10:39:12,372
strong workers rights and
recycling at their heart.

7723
10:39:12,432 --> 10:39:17,490
Here we can also increase cooperation.
Coming from Finland, I want also to emphasize

7724
10:39:17,550 --> 10:39:21,705
Arctic cooperation in this day when
the Arctic strategy has come out.

7725
10:39:21,765 --> 10:39:26,703
We have to together support the indigenous-led
conservation and respect indigenous

7726
10:39:26,763 --> 10:39:31,640
rights also when it comes to biodiversity
and the sensitive nature in Interarctic

7727
10:39:31,700 --> 10:39:36,698
while also taking into account the increased
geopolitical threats and address them.

7728
10:39:36,758 --> 10:39:41,575
With Canada together we can build a wider
coalition of democracies and also with

7729
10:39:41,636 --> 10:39:46,393
countries both from the Global South that
support the rules-based international

7730
10:39:46,453 --> 10:39:47,594
order.

7731
10:39:47,594 --> 10:39:49,773
Thank you very much, dear
colleagues, next speaker.

7732
10:39:49,816 --> 10:39:51,016
Marina Mesure.

7733
10:39:54,074 --> 10:39:58,372
Thank you very much, Mr President. Fifty
years ago, the European Union and Canada

7734
10:39:58,425 --> 10:40:02,829
sealed their first comprehensive cooperation
agreement, inaugurating with it a rare

7735
10:40:02,882 --> 10:40:07,127
and lasting relationship. Today, in the
face of the imperialist threats from the

7736
10:40:07,181 --> 10:40:11,213
Trump administration, this compass of
our history takes on its full meaning.

7737
10:40:11,266 --> 10:40:15,458
It can create a credible diplomatic and
international alternative to bloc-based

7738
10:40:15,511 --> 10:40:19,863
logic. To this end, our cooperation with
Canada should not be reduced to unbridled

7739
10:40:19,916 --> 10:40:23,418
free trade without respect for
environmental and health standards.

7740
10:40:23,471 --> 10:40:27,450
Nor should it lead us to take part in
defence initiatives that increase our

7741
10:40:27,504 --> 10:40:31,961
dependence on NATO and the United States.
On the contrary, we could draw inspiration

7742
10:40:32,014 --> 10:40:36,100
from models of cooperation such as France
and Quebec, based on scientific and

7743
10:40:36,153 --> 10:40:40,557
cultural influence. In this regard, I wish
to recall that the provinces have a role

7744
10:40:40,610 --> 10:40:45,067
to play in this partnership. In conclusion,
these discussions provide an opportunity

7745
10:40:45,120 --> 10:40:47,720
to give new impetus to
our relations with Canada.

7746
10:40:47,774 --> 10:40:51,912
Building an ambitious partnership that
protects our farmers and our consumers.

7747
10:40:51,966 --> 10:40:56,423
That deepens our university, scientific and
diplomatic ties and that asserts, in the

7748
10:40:56,476 --> 10:41:00,349
face of the imperialist ambitions of
the United States, our commitment to

7749
10:41:00,402 --> 10:41:02,790
non-alignment and the
sovereignty of peoples.

7750
10:41:02,843 --> 10:41:04,043
Thank you.

7751
10:41:04,154 --> 10:41:06,734
Thank you very much,
Ms Mesure. Ms Anderson.

7752
10:41:11,594 --> 10:41:13,814
Thank you. Ursula von der Leyen

7753
10:41:13,934 --> 10:41:17,934
wants to lure Canada into an
associate membership of EU.

7754
10:41:18,006 --> 10:41:24,006
What does that even mean? Since SETA is
already in place, it couldn't be about trade

7755
10:41:24,077 --> 10:41:29,792
relations. What then? Apparently, Ursula
von der Leyen is no longer content with

7756
10:41:29,863 --> 10:41:35,792
merely terrorizing the people's in the EU
with her insane regulations, bureaucracy,

7757
10:41:35,864 --> 10:41:41,721
and cronyism. No, she is yet looking for
yet another people whose industry she can

7758
10:41:41,792 --> 10:41:47,650
wipe out, whose prosperity she can destroy,
whose speech she can censor, and whose

7759
10:41:47,721 --> 10:41:51,722
countries she can flood with
even more illegal migrants.

7760
10:41:51,793 --> 10:41:57,436
Thus, turning Canada into a living hell.
The question is, is Mark Carney stupid

7761
10:41:57,507 --> 10:42:03,293
enough to fall for it, or will he do right
by the Canadian people and tell Ursula

7762
10:42:03,365 --> 10:42:09,294
von der Leyen to bugger off? If he won't,
then the Canadian people will have to fix

7763
10:42:09,365 --> 10:42:13,508
it. And maybe a new freedom
convoy would then be in order.

7764
10:42:13,580 --> 10:42:14,780
Thank you.

7765
10:42:16,274 --> 10:42:17,534
Thank you. Mr Junkski.

7766
10:42:22,094 --> 10:42:26,986
Thank you, Mr President. Commissioner,
today the whole world is watching Europe.

7767
10:42:27,047 --> 10:42:31,939
They are looking at us. Seeking stability,
security, and the defence of European

7768
10:42:32,000 --> 10:42:36,891
values. That is precisely why the European
Union is a symbol of this free world.

7769
10:42:36,952 --> 10:42:42,089
And that is good news. Especially today,
when Donald Trump is holding talks with the

7770
10:42:42,150 --> 10:42:46,919
criminal Putin, and the logic political
deals are starting to prevail over the

7771
10:42:46,980 --> 10:42:52,117
principles that for decades – precisely for
decades – have built the world order and

7772
10:42:52,178 --> 10:42:57,253
stability. Yet we cannot stop there. The
world expects responsibility from us, from

7773
10:42:57,314 --> 10:43:01,289
Europe. We must prove that we are
able to rise to this challenge.

7774
10:43:01,350 --> 10:43:05,691
That is why we need strong, reliable
allies, and Canada is one of them.

7775
10:43:05,752 --> 10:43:10,461
Together, we can build an international
order based not on domination, not on

7776
10:43:10,522 --> 10:43:14,435
blackmail, but on the rule of
law, cooperation and mutual trust.

7777
10:43:14,496 --> 10:43:19,632
And the speech delivered here, in this hall,
by the Prime Minister of Canada in this

7778
10:43:19,694 --> 10:43:24,463
chamber, has shown that both sides
understand the significance of this moment.

7779
10:43:24,524 --> 10:43:27,581
Our partnership is more
than just trade relations.

7780
10:43:27,643 --> 10:43:31,189
It is a shared responsibility
for the future of democracy.

7781
10:43:31,250 --> 10:43:36,203
Canada is a huge asset, with critical
mineral resources, a space industry, highly

7782
10:43:36,264 --> 10:43:41,217
developed artificial intelligence, and
access to the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic

7783
10:43:41,278 --> 10:43:45,497
Oceans. 81% of Canadians support
closer ties with the European Union.

7784
10:43:45,558 --> 10:43:50,633
And I want to say it outright: by deepening
the alliance between the European Union

7785
10:43:50,695 --> 10:43:55,831
and Canada, we are strengthening not only
ourselves, we are strengthening the entire

7786
10:43:55,892 --> 10:44:00,661
free world. And it is precisely this
kind of Europe that everyone needs today.

7787
10:44:00,723 --> 10:44:01,923
Thank you.

7788
10:44:02,774 --> 10:44:08,390
Thank you. Before giving the floor to
Mr Moreno, I wish to say that the Prime

7789
10:44:08,463 --> 10:44:13,934
Minister of Canada is a head of government
whom we must respect here in our

7790
10:44:14,007 --> 10:44:19,696
assembly. And while some statements can
be criticised, some statements are not

7791
10:44:19,769 --> 10:44:21,374
acceptable. Mr Moreno.

7792
10:44:25,814 --> 10:44:27,914
Thank you, Mr President. Commissioner.

7793
10:44:27,974 --> 10:44:32,739
Honourable Members, following President
von der Leyen's announcement in the plenary

7794
10:44:32,796 --> 10:44:36,815
on the Associate State Status of
Canada, a legal debate has opened up.

7795
10:44:36,872 --> 10:44:39,283
Three brief considerations on this matter.

7796
10:44:39,341 --> 10:44:43,933
Yes, Commissioner, I have been saying for
years that Canada is the most European

7797
10:44:43,991 --> 10:44:48,756
country outside Europe. We share history,
culture and languages, as well as values,

7798
10:44:48,813 --> 10:44:52,487
principles and a worldview that
respects international legality.

7799
10:44:52,545 --> 10:44:55,243
Honourable Members, we
are mentally associated.

7800
10:44:55,300 --> 10:45:00,065
Two: it is true that the concept of an
Associated State is not in the treaties, but

7801
10:45:00,122 --> 10:45:04,256
neither was the euro, nor Schengen,
nor health competences during COVID.

7802
10:45:04,313 --> 10:45:07,184
But where there is political
will, it is possible.

7803
10:45:07,241 --> 10:45:11,948
More important than the legal debate is
that Canada be a de facto Associate State.

7804
10:45:12,006 --> 10:45:14,704
De facto. And we are not
starting from scratch.

7805
10:45:14,761 --> 10:45:18,378
We already have a strategic
partnership agreement and the CETA.

7806
10:45:18,436 --> 10:45:23,028
At the next summit we need to take concrete
steps to continue strengthening this

7807
10:45:23,086 --> 10:45:27,908
partnership. We hope that at the summit the
digital agreement will be concluded that

7808
10:45:27,965 --> 10:45:31,984
facilitates and protects relations
between our citizens and companies.

7809
10:45:32,041 --> 10:45:36,749
That progress be made on labour mobility
by expanding the agreement for architects

7810
10:45:36,806 --> 10:45:41,341
to other professions. That Canada's
participation in Erasmus Plus be finalised.

7811
10:45:41,399 --> 10:45:45,876
That cooperation on energy be strengthened,
as well as cooperation on critical

7812
10:45:45,934 --> 10:45:50,469
minerals. And finally, for this partnership
to work, it is essential to involve

7813
10:45:50,527 --> 10:45:55,349
citizens. That is why we must strengthen
and institutionalise dialogue between civil

7814
10:45:55,406 --> 10:45:58,334
societies on both sides of
the Atlantic. Thank you.

7815
10:45:59,474 --> 10:46:04,596
Mr Moreno. Yes, you have two
blue cards, two requests.

7816
10:46:04,691 --> 10:46:09,434
First, from the EPP, Ms
Sofia Kircher. Ms Kircher,

7817
10:46:14,894 --> 10:46:21,591
Thank you very much, Mr President, and
thank you also for accepting the blue card.

7818
10:46:21,673 --> 10:46:28,370
The translation is working. You have just
said that it is important to involve the

7819
10:46:28,452 --> 10:46:33,842
population in this process. And
here is my very specific question:

7820
10:46:33,924 --> 10:46:36,374
How can this best be achieved?

7821
10:46:39,374 --> 10:46:40,574
You do not have the translation.

7822
10:46:45,074 --> 10:46:46,154
Sorry.

7823
10:46:46,154 --> 10:46:48,854
No worries. I mean, I can
also do it in English.

7824
10:46:50,354 --> 10:46:51,554
One moment.

7825
10:46:54,374 --> 10:46:58,755
You have spoken about how important
it is to bring the population along.

7826
10:46:58,816 --> 10:47:01,736
When it comes to better
cooperation with Canada.

7827
10:47:01,797 --> 10:47:06,543
And here is my very concrete question:
In your view, how can the population be

7828
10:47:06,604 --> 10:47:11,654
involved on this path in order to also
guarantee a good partnership for the future?

7829
10:47:15,734 --> 10:47:20,852
Yes. Thank you for your question. Yes.
There are already what they call the DACs,

7830
10:47:20,916 --> 10:47:26,097
which are the Domestic Agreements, which
allow and meet every year to hold a forum

7831
10:47:26,160 --> 10:47:30,520
in which trade unions, NGOs, all
levels of civil society participate.

7832
10:47:30,584 --> 10:47:35,639
And then they present them; for example,
they presented their conclusions at the

7833
10:47:35,702 --> 10:47:38,672
International Trade
Committee a few months ago.

7834
10:47:38,735 --> 10:47:43,916
What I would like is for this to be
reinforced, even institutionalised, and for it

7835
10:47:43,980 --> 10:47:48,782
to happen much more often. That these
forums should be the ones to bring the

7836
10:47:48,845 --> 10:47:53,774
proposals to the decision-making bodies.
Thank you very much for the question.

7837
10:47:54,614 --> 10:47:59,242
Mr Moreno, you have a second request
from Mr Steer, from the EPP Group.

7838
10:47:59,307 --> 10:48:00,507
Mr Steer.

7839
10:48:01,994 --> 10:48:06,859
Thank you, President. We will skip the
translation and ask the question in Spanish.

7840
10:48:06,917 --> 10:48:10,786
One. The key thing that you said
in your speech is political will.

7841
10:48:10,844 --> 10:48:14,713
Even if something is not in the
treaties, there is political will.

7842
10:48:14,771 --> 10:48:19,695
The way and the means are found. But do you
not think that, even before this summit,

7843
10:48:19,753 --> 10:48:24,677
it would be good to send a political signal
by ratifying in those Member States that

7844
10:48:24,735 --> 10:48:29,131
have not yet ratified CETA and by
considering how to expedite that process?

7845
10:48:29,190 --> 10:48:33,879
Yes, I thank you for the question. I
should tell you that when I go to Canada as

7846
10:48:33,938 --> 10:48:38,333
President of the delegation of this
House, for relations with Canada, it is

7847
10:48:38,392 --> 10:48:43,315
difficult for me to answer that question.
Why are there nine Member States that have

7848
10:48:43,374 --> 10:48:48,180
still not ratified it? Because it is an
agreement that is benefiting both parties,

7849
10:48:48,239 --> 10:48:51,756
but much more so the European
side. I am a pragmatic person.

7850
10:48:51,814 --> 10:48:56,562
What we can do at the level of this House
is what I call parliamentary diplomacy.

7851
10:48:56,620 --> 10:49:01,016
It is about trying to talk to our
counterparts in the national parliaments,

7852
10:49:01,075 --> 10:49:05,295
explaining that this treaty works,
in the hope that it will be ratified.

7853
10:49:05,354 --> 10:49:09,222
But it is true that this is an
outstanding issue and I always say:

7854
10:49:09,281 --> 10:49:13,969
just a moment, I always say that the
relationship between two partners has to be

7855
10:49:14,028 --> 10:49:18,893
based on trust and respect. And I believe
we must demonstrate that respect and that

7856
10:49:18,951 --> 10:49:20,534
trust. Thank you very much.

7857
10:49:21,194 --> 10:49:24,472
Thank you very much. We will
now continue the discussion.

7858
10:49:24,529 --> 10:49:25,729
Ms Recio Noba.

7859
10:49:31,034 --> 10:49:36,603
Thank you. Honourable Mr President,
Commissioner, the world is becoming ever more

7860
10:49:36,672 --> 10:49:42,241
dangerous. Authoritarian regimes are
gaining strength and Europe cannot afford to

7861
10:49:42,310 --> 10:49:45,886
lose any part of itself.
Canada is our natural ally.

7862
10:49:45,954 --> 10:49:50,011
And deepening cooperation with
it is a strategic necessity.

7863
10:49:50,080 --> 10:49:55,580
But Europe has one unpleasant weakness.
We can talk about cooperation for a long

7864
10:49:55,649 --> 10:49:59,637
time, but taking real steps
is much more difficult for us.

7865
10:49:59,706 --> 10:50:04,656
We do not need any more declarations.
Summits full of lofty words or new

7866
10:50:04,725 --> 10:50:08,163
bureaucratic structures.
We need concrete actions.

7867
10:50:08,232 --> 10:50:13,182
Remove trade barriers, strengthen
security in the Arctic and open up new

7868
10:50:13,251 --> 10:50:16,964
opportunities for our
companies, students and workers.

7869
10:50:17,033 --> 10:50:22,052
The upcoming EU-Canada summit must
not just result in a joint photograph.

7870
10:50:22,121 --> 10:50:27,552
And another list of promises. Let's stop
just talking about Canada's associated

7871
10:50:27,621 --> 10:50:30,578
membership. Let's give
it concrete content.

7872
10:50:30,646 --> 10:50:31,846
Thank you.

7873
10:50:33,854 --> 10:50:35,294
Thank you very much. Ms Ion Courtin.

7874
10:50:38,114 --> 10:50:40,915
Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr President.

7875
10:50:40,976 --> 10:50:44,629
Commissioner, dear colleagues,
a cousin, a partner, an ally.

7876
10:50:44,689 --> 10:50:48,099
For us, Canada is all of that
at once. And so much more.

7877
10:50:48,160 --> 10:50:51,752
Where I come from, in Normandy,
no one has forgotten D-Day.

7878
10:50:51,813 --> 10:50:56,318
And I say this as a former mayor of a
town liberated by Canadian soldiers.

7879
10:50:56,379 --> 10:50:58,997
Today, our shared
history takes a new turn.

7880
10:50:59,058 --> 10:51:03,929
Faced with the upheavals in the world,
with the pressures from Donald Trump, the

7881
10:51:03,990 --> 10:51:07,521
EU-Canada relationship must
hold firm and be strengthened.

7882
10:51:07,582 --> 10:51:11,965
The CETA agreement has shown the way.
We must complete its ratification.

7883
10:51:12,026 --> 10:51:16,714
And let us go further. On defence, AI,
cybersecurity, critical raw materials,

7884
10:51:16,775 --> 10:51:21,098
Erasmus. We have everything to gain
from a strong, win-win partnership.

7885
10:51:21,159 --> 10:51:24,690
Today, Canada is looking to
Europe at the Montreal summit.

7886
10:51:24,751 --> 10:51:29,804
We must seize this outstretched hand. Our
partnership cannot be a fleeting liaison.

7887
10:51:29,865 --> 10:51:34,980
It must be a long-term relationship, a
cooperation, I repeat, a win-win cooperation,

7888
10:51:35,040 --> 10:51:40,155
between the two shores of the Atlantic. Let
us build a new Euro-Canadian alliance to

7889
10:51:40,216 --> 10:51:45,086
shape our common future. Thank you and
thank you to Mr President Moreno Sanchez,

7890
10:51:45,147 --> 10:51:48,374
President of the European
Union Delegation to Canada.

7891
10:51:48,974 --> 10:51:51,494
Thank you very much. Ms Bricmont.

7892
10:51:58,634 --> 10:52:03,181
Europeans and Canadians must strengthen
their ties, especially in a context where

7893
10:52:03,237 --> 10:52:06,494
historical neighbours and
partners are no longer reliable.

7894
10:52:06,550 --> 10:52:09,469
Yes, Mr McCartney, we need
to launch major policies.

7895
10:52:09,525 --> 10:52:13,904
And among these, starting at COP31, in
a few days' time, relaunching the fight

7896
10:52:13,960 --> 10:52:17,946
against climate change and for
biodiversity restoration, mobilising the

7897
10:52:18,002 --> 10:52:21,876
international community again. Around
concrete, coordinated measures.

7898
10:52:21,932 --> 10:52:26,367
A major concrete policy for our fellow
citizens, on both sides of the Atlantic.

7899
10:52:26,423 --> 10:52:30,970
Indeed, 680,000 hectares of European
forests and 4.7 million hectares of Canadian

7900
10:52:31,027 --> 10:52:35,405
forests went up in smoke this summer.
Let us therefore jointly provide funding

7901
10:52:35,462 --> 10:52:40,121
intended for the transition in the poorest
countries, industrial policies that will

7902
10:52:40,177 --> 10:52:43,658
strengthen the resilience of our
jobs and reduce energy bills.

7903
10:52:43,714 --> 10:52:47,925
Therefore, I hope that, within the
framework of an open alliance with other

7904
10:52:47,981 --> 10:52:52,472
partners, the European Union and Canada,
hand in hand, will cooperate closely on

7905
10:52:52,528 --> 10:52:56,963
economic security issues, to finally free
ourselves from the diktats imposed by

7906
10:52:57,019 --> 10:53:01,735
Trump, Putin and Xi Jinping. The powers
that are hostile to us are also dependent on

7907
10:53:01,791 --> 10:53:05,833
us. Let us identify certain products
and technologies and identify these

7908
10:53:05,889 --> 10:53:10,436
vulnerabilities. The moment is historic.
To put in place major policies together.

7909
10:53:10,493 --> 10:53:11,534
Thank you.

7910
10:53:11,534 --> 10:53:13,574
Thank you very much, dear
colleagues. Elena Contura.

7911
10:53:16,574 --> 10:53:21,958
Thank you very much, Mr President. Honourable
colleagues, at a time of increasing

7912
10:53:22,024 --> 10:53:26,810
conflicts and international instability,
the European Union needs strong

7913
10:53:26,876 --> 10:53:31,596
partnerships that serve peace,
diplomacy and the consistent respect for

7914
10:53:31,662 --> 10:53:36,714
international law. Canada is an important
partner in this effort, and closer

7915
10:53:36,780 --> 10:53:42,297
cooperation in scientific research,
technology, artificial intelligence, as well as

7916
10:53:42,363 --> 10:53:47,747
in the green and energy transition can
contribute to the creation of quality jobs

7917
10:53:47,814 --> 10:53:51,802
and the improvement of the daily
lives of European citizens.

7918
10:53:51,868 --> 10:53:57,385
Ahead of the summit, I call on the Commission
to seek full and effective protection

7919
10:53:57,451 --> 10:54:02,835
of European geographical indications, such
as Greek feta and Cypriot halloumi, in

7920
10:54:02,902 --> 10:54:07,953
the Canadian market. The protection of
these products concerns the income of

7921
10:54:08,020 --> 10:54:13,005
livestock farmers, our production
tradition and the sustainability of local

7922
10:54:13,071 --> 10:54:18,521
communities. Deepening our relations with
respect and trust must ensure fair trade

7923
10:54:18,588 --> 10:54:21,778
terms and substantial
support for our producers.

7924
10:54:21,845 --> 10:54:23,174
Thank you very much.

7925
10:54:24,194 --> 10:54:26,414
Thank you very much, Ms
Contura. Stéphane Koller.

7926
10:54:31,874 --> 10:54:34,285
Dear Commissioner, Ms
Keller, dear colleagues.

7927
10:54:34,338 --> 10:54:38,584
Canada is very close to my heart. In 1989,
I did an internship there, and to this

7928
10:54:38,637 --> 10:54:41,415
day, friendships connect me
from east to west Canada.

7929
10:54:41,467 --> 10:54:45,399
Commissioner, Ms Keller, dear colleagues.
Canada is very close to my heart.

7930
10:54:45,452 --> 10:54:49,645
In 1989, I did an internship there, and
to this day, I maintain friendships from

7931
10:54:49,698 --> 10:54:54,101
east to west Canada. As a member of the
delegation for relations with Canada, I know

7932
10:54:54,206 --> 10:54:58,610
that this partner is reliable. Last week,
I had the honour of speaking with Canada’s

7933
10:54:58,662 --> 10:55:03,013
Minister of Agriculture, Heath MacDonald.
Our conversation has once again shown how

7934
10:55:03,066 --> 10:55:05,792
much we have in common,
particularly in agriculture.

7935
10:55:05,844 --> 10:55:09,933
In a world where old certainties are
faltering, we need partners who share our

7936
10:55:09,986 --> 10:55:13,603
values. Canada is such a partner,
reliable, competent and democratic.

7937
10:55:13,655 --> 10:55:16,119
We must now resolutely
deepen this cooperation.

7938
10:55:16,171 --> 10:55:19,841
But honesty is also required. Some
are already talking about CETA 2.0.

7939
10:55:19,894 --> 10:55:23,983
Yet almost ten years after its launch,
CETA 1.0 has still not been ratified in

7940
10:55:24,035 --> 10:55:27,233
several Member States. That is
not a good signal to a friend.

7941
10:55:27,285 --> 10:55:31,689
I appeal to the remaining Member States:
finally bring the ratification process to a

7942
10:55:31,741 --> 10:55:36,040
close. The summit in Montreal at the end
of October is the opportunity for a clear

7943
10:55:36,092 --> 10:55:38,294
commitment to this partnership. Thank you.

7944
10:55:39,254 --> 10:55:40,814
Thank you very much, Tobias Krämer.

7945
10:55:44,714 --> 10:55:49,511
Colleagues, Canada could become the first
associate member of the European Union.

7946
10:55:49,570 --> 10:55:53,241
But what does that actually mean?
For us, the vision is clear:

7947
10:55:53,300 --> 10:55:58,038
associate membership must mean the closest
possible part nership that the EU can

7948
10:55:58,097 --> 10:56:03,071
offer to a non-European country. In the
case of Canada, that means unleashing CETA's

7949
10:56:03,130 --> 10:56:07,986
full potential, integrating our defense
industries, cooperating in the Arctic, and

7950
10:56:08,045 --> 10:56:13,019
allowing young Canadians and Europeans to
travel, study, and work more freely across

7951
10:56:13,079 --> 10:56:17,698
the Atlantic. But it must also mean
embedding all these great initiatives into

7952
10:56:17,757 --> 10:56:22,613
something more enduring. Into a common
institutional framework of coordination and

7953
10:56:22,672 --> 10:56:27,409
cooperation. For instance, by inviting
Canada to participate in relevant council

7954
10:56:27,468 --> 10:56:32,442
meetings, or by establishing a formal
parliamentary partnership assembly between the

7955
10:56:32,502 --> 10:56:35,936
EP and the Canadian Parliament,
as we have it with the UK.

7956
10:56:35,995 --> 10:56:40,081
This Euro-Canadian alliance must be
more than just a trade deal plus.

7957
10:56:40,141 --> 10:56:45,056
And not just because we all love Canada,
which we do, but because it could actually

7958
10:56:45,115 --> 10:56:47,779
become the nucleus of
something much big ger.

7959
10:56:47,839 --> 10:56:52,694
Of a global network of like-minded partners
that offers a world a different way, a

7960
10:56:52,754 --> 10:56:56,070
different vision of doing
politics in the 21 st century.

7961
10:56:56,129 --> 10:57:01,044
A vision in which collective security,
shared interests, and mutual respect prevail

7962
10:57:01,103 --> 10:57:05,959
over m ight is right. Colleagues, over the
last few months, Canada and Europe have

7963
10:57:06,018 --> 10:57:09,097
been pretty good at writing
each other love letters.

7964
10:57:09,157 --> 10:57:12,710
And that's been wonderful. But
now it's time to get serious.

7965
10:57:12,769 --> 10:57:17,743
And to turn this Euro-Canadian love story
into a more concrete commitment for Canada

7966
10:57:17,802 --> 10:57:19,934
for Europe and the world. Thank you.

7967
10:57:20,954 --> 10:57:23,294
Thank you very much,
dear colleagues. Mr Beck.

7968
10:57:27,554 --> 10:57:33,351
Thank you, President. Dear colleagues,
in Flanders' fields, the puppies blow.

7969
10:57:33,426 --> 10:57:38,997
More than 100 years ago, Canadian
soldiers came to the fields of Flanders.

7970
10:57:39,072 --> 10:57:45,396
To defend our freedom. But that bound should
be more than just a memory of the past.

7971
10:57:45,471 --> 10:57:51,494
Because the reality is that Canada and
Europe need each other once again, not to

7972
10:57:51,569 --> 10:57:55,409
fight a war, but to defend
our interests. Together.

7973
10:57:55,484 --> 10:58:01,432
As global powers put increased pressure
on us, we must stand stronger together.

7974
10:58:01,507 --> 10:58:06,476
For our security. For a liable
energy. For critical raw materials.

7975
10:58:06,551 --> 10:58:09,713
And Europe also has a lot to offer Canada.

7976
10:58:09,788 --> 10:58:15,660
A huge single market. Erasmus, small
smart students' investments, you name it.

7977
10:58:15,735 --> 10:58:19,951
But that truly unites us goes
beyond economic interests.

7978
10:58:20,027 --> 10:58:26,350
We share, yes indeed, the same values.
Democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and

7979
10:58:26,426 --> 10:58:32,298
the respect for international law. And
these are precisely the values that are

7980
10:58:32,373 --> 10:58:38,019
increasingly under pressure today. But
colleagues, why should we stop here?

7981
10:58:38,095 --> 10:58:44,418
Let Europe and Canada take the lead in
bringing other partners together, such as the

7982
10:58:44,494 --> 10:58:50,667
United Kingdom and Australia. Bring them
on board to build a stronger coalition of

7983
10:58:50,742 --> 10:58:56,614
democracies. Because when facing global
powers, allies must stand together and

7984
10:58:56,690 --> 10:58:59,174
strengthen each other. Thank you.

7985
10:59:00,434 --> 10:59:03,854
Thank you very much, Mr
Becker. Brando Benifei.

7986
10:59:07,874 --> 10:59:12,457
Can we really deepen our alliance with
Canada if we cannot even deepen our own

7987
10:59:12,516 --> 10:59:17,451
European Union? For decades we have been
paralysed in the debate between enlargement

7988
10:59:17,510 --> 10:59:22,328
and deepening of the Union. Too many
proposals from this Parliament have fallen on

7989
10:59:22,387 --> 10:59:27,087
deaf ears. Today, strengthening relations
with third countries such as Canada is

7990
10:59:27,146 --> 10:59:31,670
necessary. And recognising it as the
first associate member of the Union is a

7991
10:59:31,729 --> 10:59:35,372
concrete proposal. But statements
of principle are not enough.

7992
10:59:35,431 --> 10:59:38,369
We need legal instruments
and political decisions.

7993
10:59:38,428 --> 10:59:43,363
To establish this new status, we need to
amend Article 49 of the Treaty on the Union

7994
10:59:43,422 --> 10:59:46,947
with a dedicated protocol. We
are not starting from scratch.

7995
10:59:47,006 --> 10:59:51,707
Let us take up the work of the Spinelli
Group, which I led in 2022 and which has

7996
10:59:51,765 --> 10:59:56,407
made clear proposals on this matter since
the presidency of my former colleague

7997
10:59:56,466 --> 10:59:59,815
Andrew Duff. We must seriously
heed Mark Carney’s appeal.

7998
10:59:59,874 --> 11:00:04,692
We cannot ask our partners to build a
common future if we continue to postpone our

7999
11:00:04,751 --> 11:00:09,569
choices. Let us therefore lead with
conviction an alliance that is truly global to

8000
11:00:09,627 --> 11:00:13,094
restore democratic order to a
world that is in chaos today.

8001
11:00:14,054 --> 11:00:16,214
Thank you very much, Mr
Pasquale De La Parte.

8002
11:00:25,214 --> 11:00:29,469
Thank you very much, Mr President. Ahead
of the summit in Ottawa at the end of

8003
11:00:29,523 --> 11:00:33,832
January, we must say that the European
Union must prepare to offer our Canadian

8004
11:00:33,887 --> 11:00:38,087
friends, as other speakers have said,
a legal framework to give effect to the

8005
11:00:38,141 --> 11:00:40,705
association agreement we
have agreed with them.

8006
11:00:40,759 --> 11:00:45,341
This is the highest level of cooperation,
the highest level of collaboration that we

8007
11:00:45,396 --> 11:00:49,596
can have with a non-European State.
Therefore, we must be innovative and have

8008
11:00:49,650 --> 11:00:53,359
sufficient capacity to offer those
legal frameworks for cooperation.

8009
11:00:53,414 --> 11:00:57,559
We already have this in the area of
security and defence, in which Canada is

8010
11:00:57,614 --> 11:01:02,196
actively participating in the SAFE programme
of joint defence procurement contracts.

8011
11:01:02,250 --> 11:01:06,723
We will also surely have this in the
Erasmus+ programme and the Horizon programme.

8012
11:01:06,778 --> 11:01:09,996
We must also obviously collaborate
with them on the Arctic.

8013
11:01:10,050 --> 11:01:14,359
The Commission has just approved the new
European strategy on the Arctic, which

8014
11:01:14,414 --> 11:01:18,941
refers to cooperation with Canada. We also
have to remind our Canadian friends that

8015
11:01:18,996 --> 11:01:23,359
they must make their financial contribution
to the effort to support Ukraine, to

8016
11:01:23,414 --> 11:01:27,941
those 70 billion euros that our Ukrainian
friends need by 2027, and that Canada has

8017
11:01:27,996 --> 11:01:32,414
also committed to collaborating. And,
above all, as I say, we must identify those

8018
11:01:32,469 --> 11:01:36,941
areas in which we will all benefit: rare
earths, critical minerals, cybersecurity,

8019
11:01:36,996 --> 11:01:39,014
innovation, etc. Thank you very much.

8020
11:01:39,254 --> 11:01:43,454
Thank you very much. Thank you
very much. Ms Chloé Riedel.

8021
11:01:50,594 --> 11:01:54,712
Thank you, dear colleagues. On 16
September, as we remember, we welcomed the

8022
11:01:54,766 --> 11:01:57,800
Canadian Prime Minister, Mark
Carney, to this hemicycle.

8023
11:01:57,855 --> 11:02:02,406
Who said: 'As the non-European country that
is the most European, Canada first turns

8024
11:02:02,460 --> 11:02:06,524
to the European Union to build a better
world.' And we must respond to him.

8025
11:02:06,578 --> 11:02:11,075
In a world marked by chaos, by the brutality
of Donald Trump, Europe must reach out

8026
11:02:11,129 --> 11:02:14,597
to the leading democratic power
of the North American continent.

8027
11:02:14,651 --> 11:02:19,094
For scientific, technological and security
cooperation, parliamentary cooperation,

8028
11:02:19,148 --> 11:02:22,724
and for defending an international
order based on the rule of law.

8029
11:02:22,779 --> 11:02:27,059
Canada, for example, is joining the fight
to protect the International Criminal

8030
11:02:27,113 --> 11:02:31,610
Court. A Canadian judge is among the judges
of the ICC — the International Criminal

8031
11:02:31,665 --> 11:02:35,457
Court — whom we, for our part, wish
to reward with the Sakharov Prize.

8032
11:02:35,512 --> 11:02:39,955
That is what brings us together. We believe
that the law applies to all, including

8033
11:02:40,009 --> 11:02:44,560
and above all the powerful. We will respond
to the disorder caused by autocrats with

8034
11:02:44,614 --> 11:02:48,353
solidarity among democracies. Canada
is not a partner of convenience;

8035
11:02:48,407 --> 11:02:52,959
it is an ally that shares our values and,
better than us, refuses to bow down today.

8036
11:02:53,013 --> 11:02:57,022
So Trump saw the rapprochement between
Europe and Canada as a hostile act.

8037
11:02:57,076 --> 11:02:59,894
That is because we are on
the right path. Thank you.

8038
11:03:00,194 --> 11:03:03,614
Thank you very much. Juan
Fernando López Aguilar.

8039
11:03:05,414 --> 11:03:06,734
Thank you, Madam President.
On a point of order.

8040
11:03:07,214 --> 11:03:11,748
It is undeniable that Canada enjoys enormous
goodwill in this European Parliament

8041
11:03:11,804 --> 11:03:15,610
because it has it. In the citizenry
that this Parliament represents.

8042
11:03:15,666 --> 11:03:18,969
For its constitutional, federal
and integrative experience.

8043
11:03:19,025 --> 11:03:23,727
Of its diversity. Of its social protection
model, but also of the courage with which

8044
11:03:23,783 --> 11:03:27,869
it is standing up to the onslaughts
of its immediate neighbour, the Trump

8045
11:03:27,925 --> 11:03:32,459
administration of the United States. But
President von der Leyen announced in the

8046
11:03:32,515 --> 11:03:37,049
State of the Union debate nothing less
than a unique experiment, my distinguished

8047
11:03:37,105 --> 11:03:40,687
colleague, a privileged strategic
partnership without precedent.

8048
11:03:40,743 --> 11:03:45,389
The legal basis needs to be clarified. And
if necessary, the reform of the Treaties

8049
11:03:45,445 --> 11:03:50,091
and institutional reform to accommodate
this absolutely unique modality, which will

8050
11:03:50,147 --> 11:03:53,281
undoubtedly receive support
in this European Parliament.

8051
11:03:53,337 --> 11:03:57,032
But what is needed is for this to
begin precisely by strengthening

8052
11:03:57,087 --> 11:04:01,677
inter-parliamentary dialogue, making the
European Union-Canada delegation, of this

8053
11:04:01,733 --> 11:04:06,435
European Parliament which my colleague
Javier Moreno presides over, the embryo of an

8054
11:04:06,491 --> 11:04:10,801
inter-parliamentary assembly that
replicates the Africa-Caribbean-Pacific and

8055
11:04:10,857 --> 11:04:15,447
Euro-Latin America model. This is a good
way to begin that strengthening of mutual

8056
11:04:15,503 --> 11:04:18,134
trust and mutual respect.
Thank you, President.

8057
11:04:19,274 --> 11:04:21,734
Thank you very much, Juan
Fernando. Lynne Boylan.

8058
11:04:24,374 --> 11:04:25,574
Thank you to the Presidency.

8059
11:04:26,114 --> 11:04:30,946
Yes, Europe and Canada, must cooperate
on the global challenges facing us.

8060
11:04:31,011 --> 11:04:36,431
We absolutely should work together on
climate action, multilateralism, and building

8061
11:04:36,496 --> 11:04:41,850
a fair trading partnership. However, we
must unequivocally reject investor courts,

8062
11:04:41,916 --> 11:04:45,507
be they in CETA, the EU Chile,
or EU Mexico agreements.

8063
11:04:45,572 --> 11:04:50,992
Investor courts represented a wrecked
corporate attack on the sovereignty of states

8064
11:04:51,057 --> 11:04:55,824
and underm ine climate action and the
delivery of strong public services.

8065
11:04:55,889 --> 11:05:00,917
After a summer of lethal heatwaves, do
the Commission not recognize the peril

8066
11:05:00,982 --> 11:05:04,182
investor courts represent
for European citizens ?

8067
11:05:04,247 --> 11:05:09,405
The fossil fuel companies have already
won more than 80 billion dollars in ISDS

8068
11:05:09,470 --> 11:05:14,890
awards. Our planet is burning, and ISDS
cells are sovereignty to those responsible.

8069
11:05:14,955 --> 11:05:20,244
So, on the one hand, we have a Commission
that sees Canada as such a close friend

8070
11:05:20,310 --> 11:05:25,076
that they are literally prepared to
make up a membership status for them.

8071
11:05:25,141 --> 11:05:30,626
And yet, on the other hand, say that we
cannot trust each other's independ ent legal

8072
11:05:30,692 --> 11:05:31,892
systems.

8073
11:05:32,894 --> 11:05:36,179
Thank you very much, Ms Boylan. We
are coming to the end of this debate.

8074
11:05:36,224 --> 11:05:38,414
And I now give the floor
to Commissioner Sékela.

8075
11:05:47,834 --> 11:05:51,974
Thank you. Thank you, Mr
President. Honourable colleagues,

8076
11:05:52,874 --> 11:06:00,312
let me thank you for your inter ventions
and for the strong support for deeper

8077
11:06:00,407 --> 11:06:04,603
EU-Canada relations
that you have expressed.

8078
11:06:04,698 --> 11:06:12,041
CETA has proven to be one of the most
successful tr ade agreements the EU has

8079
11:06:12,136 --> 11:06:19,956
signed. Since CETA's provisional entry
into application, bil ateral trade in goods

8080
11:06:20,051 --> 11:06:27,871
and services increased by 80 percent,
reaching 130 bill ion euros in 2025, up from

8081
11:06:27,966 --> 11:06:35,976
72. 1 billion in 2016. Unfortunately, nine
member stat es still need to ratify CETA.

8082
11:06:36,072 --> 11:06:41,126
But there is a momentum:
Slovenia rat ified recently.

8083
11:06:41,221 --> 11:06:48,468
Congratulations. And hopefully, this
will propel some others to follow suit.

8084
11:06:48,564 --> 11:06:56,192
I take this opportunity to encourage MEPs
from the nine member states that still

8085
11:06:56,288 --> 11:07:03,916
need to rat ify CETA and the three member
states that need to ratify the S PA to

8086
11:07:04,012 --> 11:07:08,589
continue to advocate for
ratification back home.

8087
11:07:08,684 --> 11:07:16,504
Building on the success of CETA in boosting
bilateral trade, it is only logical to

8088
11:07:16,599 --> 11:07:24,418
explore deeper t ies with Canada. Support
from for closer EU-Canada ties strong on

8089
11:07:24,514 --> 11:07:31,666
both s ides of the Atlantic. For Canada,
I can refer you to a pool in early

8090
11:07:31,761 --> 11:07:39,676
September showing that 81 percent of
Canadians support closer integr ation with the

8091
11:07:39,771 --> 11:07:47,495
EU. Including making it easier to trade
travel work and study and to cooperate on

8092
11:07:47,591 --> 11:07:55,124
security. I believe a majority of EU cit
izens feels the same way about Canada.

8093
11:07:55,219 --> 11:08:03,134
We can be proud of what has been achieved
in recent years, but today's challenge re

8094
11:08:03,229 --> 11:08:09,714
quires an even greater critical
mass of cooperation and advancement.

8095
11:08:09,809 --> 11:08:17,819
I wish to commend the European Commission's
Special Envoy for Relations with Canada,

8096
11:08:17,915 --> 11:08:25,543
Mr. Just Cortez, for his work with the
personal representative of Prime Minister

8097
11:08:25,639 --> 11:08:33,267
Carney for relations with the EU , John
Hannaford, in supporting the delivery of

8098
11:08:33,363 --> 11:08:41,087
these commitments. They have injected a
consistent focus on deliverables and been

8099
11:08:41,182 --> 11:08:49,192
able to sustain political momentum. And
they will continue to support our work under

8100
11:08:49,288 --> 11:08:57,298
our new alliance for the future. So let us
look ahead to next week's summit with big

8101
11:08:57,393 --> 11:09:00,254
optimism. Thank you very much.

8102
11:09:01,634 --> 11:09:05,670
Thank you very much, Commissioner.
The debate is closed.

8103
11:09:05,742 --> 11:09:08,769
The agenda calls for explanations of vote.

8104
11:09:08,841 --> 11:09:12,661
And I give the floor
immediately to Christian Thérès.

8105
11:09:12,733 --> 11:09:14,174
Thank you very much.

8106
11:09:16,994 --> 11:09:22,637
Thank you. I voted against the report on
the general budget of the European Union

8107
11:09:22,707 --> 11:09:28,281
for 2027 because it it wants to continue
directing European public money towards

8108
11:09:28,350 --> 11:09:34,203
aberrant ideological priorities, instead
of focusing on the concrete problems of the

8109
11:09:34,272 --> 11:09:39,846
economy and of European citizens. The
report continues to push money towards the

8110
11:09:39,916 --> 11:09:45,350
green agenda and gender ideology, for
example, when young Europeans protest in

8111
11:09:45,420 --> 11:09:51,133
Western Europe over the lack of jobs,
Europe’s concern seems to be more focused on

8112
11:09:51,202 --> 11:09:56,846
the sexual perversions of some. If sex is
so important, why isn’t the family with

8113
11:09:56,916 --> 11:10:02,629
children supported? Furthermore, the same
text calls for the expansion of the EU's

8114
11:10:02,698 --> 11:10:07,993
own resources and new revenue, it says,
of around 60 billion euros per year.

8115
11:10:08,063 --> 11:10:11,964
Does this mean more taxes,
more levies? The question is:

8116
11:10:12,034 --> 11:10:17,747
from whom? Because all these European
public policies that have been promoted have

8117
11:10:17,817 --> 11:10:20,534
impoverished the population. Thank you.

8118
11:10:21,854 --> 11:10:27,340
Thank you for your explanation of the
vote on the general budget of the European

8119
11:10:27,408 --> 11:10:32,963
Union for the 2027 financial year. Mr
Papadakiskosas, on the new co-ownership for

8120
11:10:33,031 --> 11:10:38,174
the future of Euro-Mediterranean
relations, the Pact for the Mediterranean.

8121
11:10:38,414 --> 11:10:39,314
Thank you for that.

8122
11:10:39,314 --> 11:10:44,167
I do not see him in the Chamber. I will now
give the floor to our colleague Nikolaou

8123
11:10:44,224 --> 11:10:48,962
Alavanas Lefteris for an explanation of
vote on strengthening skills in the Union,

8124
11:10:49,019 --> 11:10:53,699
the possibility of teaching and vocational
training during the transition period.

8125
11:10:53,756 --> 11:10:54,956
You have the floor.

8126
11:10:58,634 --> 11:11:02,970
A report commissioned from the Draghi
report which elevates skills as a condition

8127
11:11:03,023 --> 11:11:05,860
for the competitiveness and
profitability of capital.

8128
11:11:05,914 --> 11:11:10,410
The aim is to bind vocational education and
training more closely to business groups

8129
11:11:10,463 --> 11:11:13,354
within the framework of a
European Union skills union.

8130
11:11:13,407 --> 11:11:17,529
It promotes dual education, meaning the
exploitation of students by groups as

8131
11:11:17,583 --> 11:11:21,704
apprenticeships, while giving businesses
a role in determining the content of

8132
11:11:21,758 --> 11:11:25,986
studies. Thus, it aims to produce cheap,
flexible, easily mobile labour without

8133
11:11:26,040 --> 11:11:28,341
secured employment and
professional rights.

8134
11:11:28,395 --> 11:11:32,838
These are measures intensifying class
divisions, state underfunding, infrastructure

8135
11:11:32,891 --> 11:11:37,120
shortages and educational deficiencies
which in France also sparked the massive

8136
11:11:37,173 --> 11:11:41,456
student mobilisations. Young people of
working-class and popular origin, through

8137
11:11:41,509 --> 11:11:45,684
their struggle, are demanding unified
public and free education, without class

8138
11:11:45,738 --> 11:11:50,180
barriers, with strong general education,
guaranteed professional specialisation and

8139
11:11:50,234 --> 11:11:52,589
the possibility of
continuing their studies.

8140
11:11:52,643 --> 11:11:57,032
In the streets, they are challenging the
strategic commodification of education by

8141
11:11:57,085 --> 11:12:01,261
the European Union, the bourgeois
governments and parties, posing the dilemma:

8142
11:12:01,314 --> 11:12:03,134
either their profits or our lives.

8143
11:12:06,194 --> 11:12:10,028
Thank you very much. Dear colleagues, the
next sitting will take place tomorrow,

8144
11:12:10,076 --> 11:12:13,240
Thursday 22 October 2026, at 9
a.m. The agenda has been published.

8145
11:12:13,288 --> 11:12:15,828
It is available on the
European Parliament’s website.

8146
11:12:15,876 --> 11:12:19,854
Colleagues, the next sitting will take
place tomorrow, Thursday 22 October 2026, at

8147
11:12:19,902 --> 11:12:23,832
9 a.m. The agenda has been published. It
is available on the European Parliament’s

8148
11:12:23,880 --> 11:12:27,858
website. The minutes of today’s sitting
will be submitted for Parliament’s approval

8149
11:12:27,954 --> 11:12:30,734
tomorrow early in the afternoon;
the sitting is adjourned.

8150
11:12:31,214 --> 11:12:32,414
Thank you very much.