Debate contributions by Maria GRAPINI

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, today's debate must be immediately followed by action, Commissioner. That's what farmers expect. We need to have more economic and social fairness in the internal market if we want to have sustainable agriculture, because that's what we're talking about. We need to have regulations that combat inflation and stabilize prices. Inflation eats from the budget. We cannot let farmers sell their produce below cost. We need action here. We need to step up efforts to combat unfair trading practices. We are well aware that we have unfair practices in every Member State. Why? Because uncontrolled products enter the internal market. Farmers and agricultural workers need a decent life, they deserve better living conditions. We must encourage – if we do not resolve this, the younger generation will not work, the generation you were talking about having to replace. The common agricultural policy? The common agricultural policy must be reformed, but direct subsidies must remain. Commissioner, you spoke of polarisation. How are you going to stop being polarized? How will you make subsidies ethical and fair for all farmers? And yes, farmers support simplification without affecting competence and fair competition in the internal market.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, what we do is very important, not just what we say. The European Semester was a concept, a concept that, of course, brought a lot of expectations in the Member States, brought a lot of expectations to the citizens, because, after all, we have to work for the citizens. The results of our work here, of the regulations, must lead to an increase in living standards, an increase in jobs, an increase in competitiveness in the European Union. That is why, Commissioner, I hope you are telling the European Commission that in the European Semester, and what we will do in this 2025 programme, until our mandate is over, we need to bring about measures that will increase social cohesion and, as I was saying, people's well-being. We can't with energy that costs three times as much as in the United States, we can't with very large inputs, we can't only with restrictions. In agriculture, this is again a problem. Of course we also need a clean environment, but we also need a European industry that can withstand global competition.

Dear colleague, we are discussing the European Semester. You didn't say much in your speech. I want to ask you specifically: why do you think that the European Semester that we have had for a long time has not worked in terms of social cohesion, increasing employee incomes, increasing the number of SMEs, sustainability? Because this is the debate, what should the European Union do, what should the European Commission do for the European Semester to bring results? The governance that the Minister was talking about, economic governance, which would bring social cohesion. What, in your view, would be the measures to be taken?

Madam President, Commissioner, first of all I would like to stress something positive, namely that for the first time we have four European institutions led by women. I am proud that Romania, my country, has had a female commissioner for three mandates. These are things that have developed in our democratic society. There's one more thing I'd like: the word ‘protect’ has been widely used – let’s replace it with ‘assume’, not ‘protect’. Why? Women are strong. I want to address our male partners now. Assume to emphasize the criterion of value, that she is a woman, that she is a man, on the criterion of value. Then we'll be competitive and efficient. I want to tell you something else: in my country, on 8 March we celebrate – and all over the world, of course – International Women’s Day, but on 9 March it is Men’s Day and we respect each other and I believe in this partnership so that we can do projects together. I have been running a women's association in Romania for 28 years and believe me we work very well with male partners. In the roadmap, Commissioner, and I am proud that you are here, you also need to talk to the other Commissioners, to have concrete measures. As I have said in other debates, it is not enough to debate, but we must have concrete measures to make progress.

Madam President, President of the European Council, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, today we were supposed to debate the Council meeting on 20 March. Unfortunately, almost all speeches were related to rearmament, defence; are very important, but I want to stop at the three points raised by the Polish Presidency and I want you to discuss them, Mr President, on 20 March. This is about the economic problem. We cannot be strong – you said, Minister, and rightly so, three very important pillars: simplification, energy and investment. If we don't do these three things, we can't defend ourselves. I must say with regret that over the last 20 years, the European Union's diplomacy has declined. If you want to be strong in the global world, you need to know how to negotiate with those who are stronger than you and those who are weaker than you, and clearly have a solid economy, which then allows you to sit at the negotiating table. Therefore, President Costa, especially for you, please discuss on March 20 what solutions we have for energy. SMEs are on the ground, people cannot pay for their energy, at least in my country and other countries in the east.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, Europe's problem now is not only that of conflict, it is also the economic problem. And, Commissioner, gold-plating can lead to job losses. We have to understand, we have worked much more in the economy, in industry than in politics, we have to understand that we have to treat workers' rights as a package, with conditions for SMEs, especially, and for companies, because only companies create jobs and if we regulate, overregulate, these jobs can be eroded. But even if we deregulate, we can end up eroding jobs in the long run. This is why a very good analysis is needed, and perhaps the biggest fault of the European Union, the European Commission, is that regulations are being put in place, and a farmer, a farmer, an SME no longer knows what to do when these laws come into conflict. That is why we must be very careful to analyse what we are deregulating and, above all, to stop adding bureaucracy that brings nothing, neither competitiveness, nor job security, nor sustainability, nor the possibility for companies to raise wages.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I would first of all like to congratulate the Polish Council, the Polish Presidency, which is sitting here in the debate, unlike the President, who has not even presented her programme. Commissioner, are you in charge of the internal market? Of course it is good that we aim for competitiveness, but I tell you from experience, as an entrepreneur, we cannot have competitiveness without taking into account some policies to be integrated. For example: energy policy, also research and innovation, modern technologies, education and training. We can't do anything without qualified human resources, but we can't have qualified human resources if we don't think about people's lives. We cannot, in an unbalanced Europe where we have people in poverty, increase competitiveness. That is why, Commissioner, I propose to you that this Competitiveness Compass should be based on these pillars and that you link them together so that we do indeed get it! And look back at what we've legislated for. Do we have results or not? It's not enough to write on paper.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I think I can start by saying that the President of the Commission is being defiant, disrespectful and disinterested. If, when he has to present the Commission's five-year programme, he does not find time to come to Parliament, I believe that we must give him a vote of blame. Now, Commissioner, 11 pages has this five-year project. Know that a student I mentored made a better and more concrete program, because any program must answer three questions: How? With what? and when? Don't answer here. There are three and a half rows for agriculture, nothing for SMEs, you are resuming the social pact, but we have a social pillar, the same president led the last committee. Don't say anything about how to get the money back. It's a huge fraud. We feed budgets to the European Public Prosecutor's Office, to a lot of institutions, but we fail to collect the money that is defrauded. And one more problem: energy policy. It all starts here, Commissioner, and you know it. I appreciate you, but I do not appreciate the Commission's programme.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, we are, of course, discussing a very important issue: export restrictions on chips from the United States, but I think we are not aware of these restrictions now. They started five years ago, we know well, and I think that the European Union should have been active, developing its chip production in the European Union, because we know well that advanced technologies, Commissioner, are based on chips. We don't have any. We depend on imports and I think that's the weak point. I am interested, Commissioner, if in the programme that you will be presenting tomorrow, the Commission's programme, you have included concrete measures to develop capacities and boost production capacities, because we cannot have advanced technologies, we cannot have competitiveness, we cannot have resistance in the global market and in vain we are angry at any administration coming from the United States or Asia, if we do not take our fate into our own hands to produce here. That's why that's my question. I hope that tomorrow we will learn more about how chip production will develop in Europe.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, of course we are discussing a subject that I, at least, have known for three terms. We also know that health is a national competence. It is not only the European Union that can work here. But, Commissioner, we must say that policies at European Union level, from the point of view of allocating budgets for infrastructure, for the working conditions of health workers, must come from the European Union. You know very well, the country I know best, and you know it, is now in a great deficit of skilled personnel and infrastructure. But there's another problem: palliative treatment. If we add the lack of social assistance for palliative treatment and the lack of infrastructure for palliative treatment of patients, it is a big problem and I think they are all related here. Economically, the eastern states and central Europe must also develop, in order to have the possibility to increase wages, for doctors and nurses to stay in our villages, in the countryside, also to have infrastructure. So you have work to do, Commissioner for European health policies, of course, along with the national policy of each Member State.

Mr President, from 9 to 10 I am taking part in the debate and I signed up first for catch-the-eye. I do not understand not being notified that we are not being given ‘catch-the-eye’ because we have placed a card. This has to be said at the beginning of the meeting, in order to decide whether I am carding or keeping my catch-the-eye. It's absolutely rude and irregular.

Dear colleague, you have said on several occasions "we must", "we must have relations with the United States", but you have not said anything concrete. What would you concretely propose that the European Union do in relation to the United States? Do you think that the European Union's trade agreement policy is sufficient? Does it sufficiently protect industry in the European Union? What should be concrete? A proposal from you to the European Commission.

Mr President, Commissioner, the energy policy that the European Commission has made - not you, which was - is disastrous. The effects on competitiveness, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises, are now being seen. Commissioner, I propose that you discuss this in the College of Commissioners, that you make a real energy policy. We can't shut down energy production before we have an alternative. And it's clear that there's been a crisis. As long as companies in the European Union pay three to four times the price of energy than those in the United States or Asia, obviously they are no longer competitive, obviously they are in unequal competition, obviously they are being taken out of the market. The European Union's energy policy must therefore be geared towards supporting industrial production. We have a programme to reindustrialise the European Union. How to do it with these costs? The producer knows that inputs are important for the final price. I hope, from this Commission, that indeed - unfortunately, we have the same conductor, the same President of the Commission - but I hope that you will indeed put in place an energy strategy to increase the competitiveness of the European Union.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, we are discussing a sad thing and this is not the first time. I want to express my condolences to those who have lost their children, not only in Sweden. Let's remember what Christmas was like in Germany, what was recently in Brussels. Commissioner, I think we have to assume that we are telling the truth: Democracy has not been managed well. Democracy is not about giving up security. On the contrary, I think security needs to increase. Then let's see what we do, because there are states that have legislated, for example, drug use. They all have to do with: The drugs, the guns. We've regulated the weapons regime here. And what? What happened? Everyone has a gun at home, everyone pulls out their gun and shoots at children, at school or on the street. So if we don't commit to changing the rules - democracy doesn't mean chaos, democracy means order, democracy also means responsibilities, not just rights. We do not have the courage to say this, for fear that the citizens will somehow tell us that, Lord, we are not democratic. This is how I understand democracy: to increase security, the right of man to be alone in his home, on the street, in his city.

Mr President, Commissioner, Mrs Lagarde, I saw that you were congratulated by your colleagues and I was very attentive to what you said. Among other things, you criticized households for not spending more. Mrs. Lagarde, do you know how many people are in poverty? How can they spend more when they don't know what's going on, when they don't have enough money, than to pay for their light, their electricity? From my point of view, the ECB did not do what it should do, from the point of view of monetary policy, from the point of view of the pressure borne by the poorest, in fact, inflation, interest rates. Do you know what the interest rate is in my country, in Romania? How? SMEs are being swept away. So, as far as I'm concerned, you're responsible. You said you were coming to meet us. Very well, but you have some specialists on very high salaries there. They have to do monetary policy. They must ensure our existence and resilience in the internal market of the economy, after all, in order to be able to compete globally.

Madam President, Commissioner, for fear of evasion, we must not oppose innovation. Cryptocurrencies are the result of innovation. You said very well, we have regulation, we have directive, we think about international standards, because yes, we are not alone in the world, we have a global market. The problem is that, from my point of view, we must not prevent citizens from using their income, we must not prevent companies from investing as they wish, but we must have rules that they follow. You have said, Commissioner, among other things, that you want to remove harmful actors. You also have to see how, you have to say what measures, you need a lot of transparency. I do not know if you have any statistics in the European Union, in the Member States: How many cases do we have of evasion, of cryptocurrency scams? But these things have to be done, and I think we have to stick with this innovation - cryptocurrencies - also in the European Union, but with proper regulation and supervision.

Dear colleague, you said only one theory. What would be your and your group's proposal for land restoration? Because, of all the debates, you oppose agriculture, you oppose industry, you oppose everything! We want food security. How do you see this?

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, of course, we are debating a very important issue, it is a pity that there are so few Members of the European Parliament in the Chamber. As stated here, as in the declaration of the Convention, the land is degraded annually. 70% of the land has been converted from its natural state. Droughts cause damage and costs and damage, more than 300 billion a year. Where does this damage and damage go? Obviously, to farmers and, ultimately, to citizens. In 2015-2019 alone, some 100 million hectares of healthy and productive land were degraded annually, clearly threatening the world's food security as well as water availability. What needs to be done, Commissioner? You told us what was at the Convention and that no important compromises were reached. I believe that the European Union must be especially concerned about what is happening in the European Union, certainly, and globally. I believe that we need to improve national and European policy instruments for a productive approach to drought management. We have a lot of work to do here. Budgets need to be allocated to finance land restoration, increasing drought resilience through research and innovation. The European Commission must have an action plan at European Union level to combat land degradation in collaboration with the Member States. And there is one more thing that needs to be done, Commissioner: The policies of the European Union, of the Commission, must not be canceled as in algebra - plus and minus - are thousands of hectares now, with photovoltaic parks, land that is not recovered for decades. We need to see how we relate energy policy to this land protection policy, and I very much believe that you need to think mainly about how not to put pressure on farmers in the European Union, on citizens in the European Union, as long as the rest of the world, the United States, Japan and the other states, have not voted in this Convention.

Madam President, I see that many of you have forgotten the title of the debate. I am a member of the Committee on Budgetary Control and I think that we should now be debating how to finance the LIFE programme transparently, and we have seen all sorts of debates here, forgetting the subject. No one is saying from here and I don't think that any MEP doesn't want there to be NGOs. Yes, I have set up NGOs in my country, but I want transparency. It cannot be that the Commission, which is an executive, is not subject to the scrutiny of the European Parliament. We want NGOs to exist, but we want them to be controlled exactly as an SME is controlled when it receives European funds. That's what you really want. I do not understand, as if you were biting on the hat some of you at the time when you spoke. We do not want to dismantle NGOs, but we want a transparent functioning and we are ultimately responsible for the management of European funds, and the executive must submit to parliamentary control.

Madam President, we have been debating migration for over 10 years. Unfortunately, we are looking at the effects and not the causes, and we are not looking at why every measure we have tried has not paid off. In the end, people die, either drowned or people who are attacked in the Member States. I think, Commissioner, that it turns out very well that it is harder to fix a wrong thing done than to do it right all over again, and then I think we need to find appropriate measures. On the one hand, to delineate illegal and legal migration and to catch the smugglers, the traffickers – who are doing what? I'm taking the money. Those people sell all the stuff they have there and pay for these smuggling rings. That's what we have to do. What Happens to Trafficking Networks? Why can't they be dismantled? Why can't the guides get caught? Because migrants are still dying, European citizens are also dying.

Madam President, Mr President, first of all, I would like to say good luck in the new term and thank you for being here to the end, because, as always, the President is speaking and leaving. This is not communication, this is not understanding. She has never been able to stay as president of the Commission until the end. Thank you very much for staying here. Mr President, you have said, among other things, that you want a solid peace for Ukraine and a peace chosen by Ukraine. How will you do this? Because I have a report here and I would like you to answer me; I have a report showing that 3.5 billion corporate taxes in Russia in 2023 were paid by US and European companies, including companies based in the G7 and the EU – 17 of the top 20 companies that have fuelled Russia’s budget. If we continue to feed Russia's budget, Russia will be strong and we will not be able to achieve that peace. Then you said you wanted a competitive industry and we agree, but tell me how we can make an industry competitive, when from last term we had a program for reindustrialization and, unfortunately, it sits on the shelf. This reindustrialization has not begun.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, today's debate shows that the DSA is not working. And it also means something: that it was not well understood, because we have seen a lot of speeches from the far right, which assumes that this regulation means not having the right to communication. But, dear colleagues, democracy does not mean chaos. Democracy means regulation, and democracy means having the right of all equals, and your right is up to that point until it violates the right of the other. That is why we need to have regulation, transparency and not have ... what would you say, dear colleagues, if your child committed suicide for some manipulations on these platforms? What if you were attacked in front of the house for virulence and unfair attacks on social networks? I believe, Commissioner, that we must explain why we need regulation in all Member States and also explain that everything that works in the European Union must also be respected by third countries, by those who are not in the European Union. We need this regulation!

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I think we are all glad that this agreement existed yesterday. I saw the faces of the three hostages – between them a Romanian woman, a 31-year-old fellow citizen of mine. It's very, very hard to imagine how these hostages lived. Of course, the loss of any life is to be condemned, but we must be fair and remember and not treat with double standards: just as we condemned Russia for attacking Ukraine, so we must not forget that Israel was attacked by Hamas. I believe that in order to have peace there we must all think, from the European Union, the United States, the United Nations: How can we get rid of Hamas and Hezbollah? Until they are eradicated, until there is no money to develop these organizations, there will be no peace and, of course, it is good to have two states, but let's see how we build the State of Palestine; be a democratic state with democratic institutions, not with Hamas and Hezbollah. Until then, we need to think about how to maintain the ceasefire.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, today's debate is extremely important. You said, Commissioner, about independent living for people with disabilities, we have 30% of the population of Europe. But how to have this independent living, when very often the income is simply humiliating? Sometimes they can't afford to take their medication, they can't afford to move around. Not to mention they can't afford to take a vacation. I think that this strategy that we have, Commissioner, and you are taking over a strategy, very concrete measures need to be set out. We need to talk about inclusion. We need to talk about hiring. If all state institutions in all Member States were to engage in work from home, for example, teleworking could greatly develop. Yes, I very much believe that for next year the first problem you have, Commissioner, is to make the infrastructure for the movement of persons with disabilities work in all Member States, to have access. I want to wish Merry Christmas to all people, especially those with disabilities, and to trust that we will fight for them.

Madam President, Commissioner, we are discussing the first meeting of the Council at which the newly elected Commission is presenting itself. Unfortunately, the President of the Commission has only spoken about geopolitical issues, which are certainly very important, but if we are talking about Europe's role in the world, we cannot help thinking about how Europe can play a more important role than through a strong economy. What do we do? We're on the verge of winter. People in my country are thinking about how they pay for their energy. How can Europe be strong in the world if we pay three times as much for energy as in the United States? How can Europe be strong in the world if we have big differences in innovation, in research compared to the United States, compared to China? So I would have liked to have discussed the economic situation at this Council. We had a reindustrialisation plan made by the outgoing Commission. I put it on the shelf. Nothing's going on. SMEs are suffering. What do we do with the economy? We are in winter, so I think that the economic situation and the situation of the citizens of the European Union should also have been discussed at this Council.