Debate contributions by Stéphanie YON-COURTIN

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, at a time when all European citizens are calling for more tax justice, I am delighted that the Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled in favour of the European Commission. The European Commission – you know, Brussels, as some call it – well, it was the Commission that asked Ireland to recover EUR 13 billion from Apple. These 13 billion euros are tax advantages granted to the apple company which is worth 3 trillion on the stock market and which were in fact only illegal state aid. A violation of our rules which must ensure fair and equitable conditions between our Member States. Europe, which some describe as the champion of unbridled liberalism, is in fact hissing the end of unfair tax competition. Large corporations are not above our laws, even when it comes to taxes. This is a crucial judgment that shows that tax justice will not be at the expense of our single market, nor on the backs of European taxpayers, so I extend my congratulations to Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager and her teams.

Madam President, EUR 800 billion a year is the sum that Europe needs to finance itself, according to Mario Draghi. If today we have set ambitious European targets, the European Union's vital prognosis is on track. The pockets of the states are empty and we lack money. Mobilising private money will be key to ensuring a green, digital and secure Europe. How? By creating a real European financial market, this "savings and investment union", a necessity if we want to place Europe as a real competitor against the United States. Our role in the European Parliament is twofold. First, to rethink and simplify our rules so that our companies invest more, and also invest in us in Europe. Secondly, to make investment more attractive to citizens. If Europeans are known to save their money, they would have everything to gain by investing a small part of it. Creating a long-term European savings product would allow Europeans to access a better pension and become actors in financing transitions. We all share the diagnosis or almost, except the Eurosceptics, so it is time to act. Let us create a "Savings and Investment Union" to inject a good deal of competitiveness into Europe.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, a week ago Elon Musk, the American billionaire and owner of X, called on Europe to get rid of itself, and I quote: "unnecessary rules". He was necessarily talking about the Digital Services Act, the DSA, which he felt was so complicated to comply with. Because yes, Mr. Musk, the DSA is like the Chernobyl cloud: It does not stop at the borders of Europe. The obligation to combat the pollution of hateful content has no borders. One year after the application of the DSA, which must make illegal online what is already illegal offline, it is unacceptable to see platforms used every day by millions of citizens thriving, amplifying content that fuels hatred, manipulation and radicalisation. This is true for the conflict in the Middle East, the US elections or this summer's demonstrations in the UK. Faced with a baroque alliance of American libertarians allied to patriots who have only the name, Europe must resist to implement this "dangerous" regulation of the online digital space. And to all those who doubt, those who cry conspiracy, I ask them: Ask yourself. Would you like your children to see this kind of content on billboards on the streets when they go to school?