Speeches

Madam President, Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen, of the European Commission's 2024 work programme, which has now been presented, I would like to highlight three points. On budgetary matters, the revision of the MFF. The Commission’s political strategy until the elections includes continued support to Ukraine, with the approval of the Ukraine Facility. This requires a revision of the MFF. Promoting an innovative, decarbonised and competitive European industry: we must ensure that STEP is approved and provided with adequate financial means. Again, review the MFF. On economic governance: review the economic governance rules of the European Union. Going back to the old rules is not an option, we have to look to the future and not to the past. Strong political commitment and a clear awareness of the urgency are needed. We need balanced rules to ensure debt sustainability and sustainable investments. Finally, we cannot talk about further enlargements without talking about institutional reform and a revision of the architecture of the European Union budget.

Mr President, Madam Secretary of State, Commissioner, we have long known that the current multiannual budget 2021–2027 is not sufficient. This is evident in the debate we are having here today: relaunching European economies post-COVID, supporting Ukraine and the consequences of the war in the European Union, inflation, energy crisis, rising interest rates, disruptive supply chains or even grain shortages, strengthening the European Union’s strategic autonomy... And we are now witnessing an increase in global conflict with the resurgence of conflict in the Middle East, which will certainly bring increased responsibilities to the European Union. All this has exhausted budget lines, flexibility, margins in the MFF already in 2023 and brings new challenges. We therefore have very little room for manoeuvre to reinforce programmes or respond to unforeseen events in 2024. Therefore, an urgent revision of the MFF is needed and we cannot pervert the multiannual budget 2021–2027 to have the appropriate budget for 2024, nor vote on a budget that does not serve the European Union and frustrates citizens. And this leads us to say that we cannot postpone the revision of the MFF or make a partial revision. Dear Secretary of State, without a revision of the MFF it is impossible to move forward on the 2024 budget. There is no room for progress, for decision-making.

Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, what is STEP compared to the promised Sovereignty Fund? Very little! But a Sovereignty Fund is essential for deepening the European Union's strategic autonomy. For lack of more ambition, let's then take a first step, but this step can't be just one step. label, a seal. We need clear lines and we need adequate funding. We repeat what we have always said in the debate on the European Union's budget, be it the annual budget or the multiannual budget: New initiatives require new funding. Reprioritization is an urgent and punctual resource, not for structuring programs, as the deepening of strategic autonomy requires. It is time to build lasting solutions with a vision for the future. That is why we need to review the Multiannual Financial Framework now and provide it with the appropriate funding with new money for new programmes. And find flexibility solutions suitable for all Member States of the Union and preserve the European Single Market without further distortions.

Mr President, Commissioner, since the beginning of the war, Parliament has defended and voted for financial support for Ukraine. We also now support the European Commission's proposal so that we can continue to support Ukraine. A solution within the Union budget. It is based not only on loans, but also on grants. And this cannot be done without the revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework, which is necessary and urgent. A solution capable of leveraging other international donors and mobilising more financial support to Ukraine in a world in growing conflict on a global scale. To continue financing Ukraine (on 31 December funding will cease), but also to mitigate the impact of the war on the lives of Europeans and to create fiscal space for new challenges, indeed old ones, but which this war shows to be urgent in the current global geopolitical context.

Mr President, Commissioner, the tenth consecutive increase in the ECB's interest rate has put the reference rate at the highest level since the euro was created 20 years ago. And President Lagarde does not leave us resting on the possibility of further upswings, even though the European economy is already at risk of recession. This blind war on ECB inflation is wrong. The ECB is only fulfilling its primary mandate, it is not fulfilling its secondary and mandatory mandate, which is to support the policies of the European Union. And it's having dubious results. The economic and social consequences are in sight. It is making the household budget unsustainable, whether with the house or with the food. And it cannot tell governments to close their eyes and not intervene to help households and businesses face the consequences of the ECB's policies. Fortunately, the Portuguese Government maintains these essential supports, although we are not debating the situation in Portugal here, but the situation in Europe. Serious and balanced coordination between monetary and fiscal policy is necessary.

Mr President, Minister, Commissioner, I have recently had the opportunity to be in Moldova on the mission of the European Parliament and to observe the commitment and the political will to carry out reforms and to integrate the acquis communautaire. In fact, I have to say that, today, the President of Moldova is in my country, in Lisbon. We await the European Commission’s report on the 2023 enlargement package. It is very important that Moldova complies with the nine steps identified by the European Commission as necessary for the opening of negotiations. to resolutely pursue its reform agenda on democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights, respect for and protection of minorities, the fight against organised crime and corruption, and in the effort to increase the country’s energy security. Proceed resolutely with your agenda. Make progress on the full implementation of the Association Agreement and the Free Trade Area.

Madam President, as I said at the beginning of this debate, we have set priorities so that we can take an ambitious but realistic position. We are aware of the unwillingness of some Member States to contribute or to adopt new own resources to increase the budget of the European Union, even when faced with these new challenges, the answers to which, we know, are European rather than national. We are aware that we are embarking on a difficult negotiation, but the unity of Parliament and the political commitment of all is essential for the necessary coherence between European political ambition and European budgetary resources and for the European Parliament to be able to respect the commitments to the citizens who elected us. Today's debate here has given us valuable arguments for negotiation. Thank you all very much. We hope that this report, which gives Parliament its mandate, will be adopted as we have presented it, so that Parliament's position remains realistic and so as to ensure Parliament's unity. Minister, you have had the opportunity to listen to us. We count on the Spanish Presidency so that the revision of the multiannual financial framework can be done in a timely manner and can already have implications for the 2024 budget. I am pleased that you tell us that the Council is committed. I hope that this compromise can, on the one hand, build on the Commission's proposal, which is ambitious but not sufficient, and, on the other hand, combine it with Parliament's position so that the European Union can, in fact, have an ambitious budget that also responds to political ambition.

Madam President, Minister, Commissioner, in times of crisis, whether health, economic or war, the answer is always more Europe and not less Europe. Answers that put people, families, companies at the center. SURE and the NextGenerationEU recovery fund have saved the lives of millions of families in Europe. The European Parliament asked in December, the European Commission proposed in June, we now vote on a mandate from the European Parliament, as the budgetary authority to review the European Union's multiannual budget, by the end of 2027. COVID, the war and the challenges it brings have exhausted the current budget. Seven key concerns: First, continue to support Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in Ukraine and outside Ukraine and create the budgetary basis for mobilising international aid. At the same time, mitigate the economic and social impact of the war on the lives of Europeans. Europeans cannot see interest rates rising and the burden of young people, families with their homes or energy rising every day. Second, mobilise additional means to support third-country nationals seeking Europe as their lifeline and countries receiving them, in transit or as their final destination. Thirdly, to provide more means to help national governments react to natural disasters, such as floods or droughts, such as those we have recently suffered and which are sure to be repeated. Fourth, strengthening the strategic autonomy of the European Union. To this end, support the establishment of the STEP programme – the first step: deep, clean and biotechnologies, valuing research and technological development in Europe – supporting green industrialisation, supporting more and better jobs, creating opportunities for young people and building a fair, equal and cohesive Union, while being competitive in the global context. Fifth, ensuring that the NextGenerationEU debt burden will affect neither European policies nor programmes, such as cohesion policy or agricultural policy. Sixth, to create a permanent instrument to respond to crises that have happened more quickly and more complexly, often at the same time. We cannot continue with one-off measures without causing serious damage to European policies or programmes or to investment objectives to make the climate or digital transition. We need permanent solutions, learning from what we have done in the European Union in response to recent crises, such as the creation of NextGenerationEU or the SURE programme. Seventh, protecting the identity and dimension of cohesion policy. There is no question of revising the so-called national envelopes. We have set priorities so that we can take a realistic position. Finally, we know that further enlargements require institutional reforms, but they also require a new architecture for the European Union budget. The budget cannot be the same, either on the revenue side or on the expenditure side, in a Europe of 27 or in a Europe of 30 or 35. Finally, I would like to thank the co-rapporteur Jan Olbrycht, with whom I had the privilege of working, and our teams, the shadow rapporteurs, the Secretariat of the Committee on Budgets.

Madam President, this new anti-coercion instrument is a truly important step for the European Union. The European Union is thus equipped to cope with economic pressure from third countries and to strengthen its strategic autonomy. We have seen a global increase in coercive practices in recent years. This instrument sends a clear signal to our global partners that we reject all forms of economic coercion by third countries. The instrument is primarily intended to deter any practice of economic coercion. Be more assertive in defending our legitimate rights and interests and, in case of economic coercion, first ensure the use of cooperation dialogue. If such cooperation fails, the European Union may apply several countermeasures against the coercive country. With this instrument, the European Union is better equipped to defend the interests of European businesses and a fairer global market.

Madam President, I would like to begin by thanking President Von der Leyen for reminding you here of the results of the European Union's policies over these four years. And there have been many of them and they are the result of strong interinstitutional cooperation and joint work between the European Commission and Parliament. I highlight the creation of SURE or the creation of NextGenerationEU, which we have to look at to think about how it can be used in the future. But I would like to highlight here two significant absences from Von der Leyen's speech. The first is the revision of the multiannual budget of the European Union. Above all, we have to think that there will be no further enlargements if we do not succeed in changing the architecture of the European Union's budget. Second gap, no reference to the revision of the economic governance rules. Now, we know that we can only continue to support investment and support citizens, Europeans, if we do so.... (The Chair took the floor from the speaker)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the advance of the far-right is calling into question the deeper values of the European Union: respect for human rights, democracy, the rule of law. Values where Europeans demand greater responsibility from the European Parliament. This is the position expressed in the last Eurobarometer. It weakens the functioning of European democracies, weakens the institutions used to favour sectarian interests of extremist movements. The normalisation of the far-right is an attempt by these political forces to hide their anti-Europeanism. But what the far-right actually wants becomes apparent in concrete policies. In your vote in this House. And it is very visible when they come to power in the suppression of rights, in the radicalization of political discourse. The fight against the extreme right must come from all the democratic forces that defend the European Union as an area of peace, values, rights and well-being. And the EPP must be clear, not only in its speech, but also in the political positions it takes here in Parliament and in the alliances it has been making in some Member States.

Mr President, Mr Secretary of State, welcome and good luck to the Spanish Presidency of the European Union, Commissioner, the middle class is the great support of the European project. The European Union does not exist without a strong, stable middle class that believes that the best responses are made within the European framework. The middle class has been particularly penalised by the crises of recent years: increased cost of living, instability, precariousness or difficulties for new generations to freely choose their own lives. The climate and digital transition requires the sustainable retraining of workers and creates new jobs. Tax systems must ensure that the rich pay their fair share of taxes, so that states can ensure quality public services for all. The implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, the revision of the European Union's Multiannual Financial Framework, the revision of economic governance rules are three opportunities to put European economies in the fight against inequalities and at the service of the middle class.

Mr President, Mr Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen, the revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027 and the revision of the Stability and Growth Pact are absolutely necessary and cannot be postponed. The European Parliament has been expressing these two priorities. The Council expressed them in its conclusions. Being able to provide effective and lasting responses is part of our mandates. In the budget, we have used budgetary flexibilities to the full, we are talking about further enlargements, but this requires new principles and another dimension in the budget of the European Union and already in the preparatory phase. We do not have a permanent instrument to react immediately to crises without jeopardising European political priorities or programmes, and it could continue. In economic governance, we expect political ambition, timely sustainable and credible solutions for Member States. Returning to the old rules is not a possibility. We have to change. We're here for that.

Mr President, Commissioner, Mr President, the European Investment Bank has been one of the most effective mechanisms in the European Union's investment policy, such as the Green Bank or in the digital transition, in supporting SMEs or in social inclusion and cohesion within and outside the European Union. The increased investment needs for climate alone need EUR 1 trillion per year, i.e. a seven-year multiannual financial framework for one year and an unstable geopolitical economic framework show that the EIB needs a larger capacity, including other financial means with increased capital. But the EIB cannot play this role alone. We also need to review the European Union budget with ambition and move forward with the creation of a permanent investment capacity at European level.

Madam President, last week the Commission carried out yet another major Israeli military operation in the Jenin camp in violation of international law. Twelve Palestinians died. Yes, the approximately 3 million Palestinians living in the West Bank are citizens like us, protected by international law. We know very well that the two-state solution is the only viable one. This effectively commits all actors in the region, respecting security, territorial integrity, the rule of law, human rights and international agreements. We must continue to support the Palestinian people in health, education, the green and digital transition, youth participation, democratisation and good governance. Reinforcing humanitarian aid, yes, 63% of the population in the Gaza Strip needs this aid. The International Criminal Court must do its job, advance investigations into war crimes committed in the Palestinian territories, as in Jenin last week, and I congratulate the rapporteur on the balanced report we are debating here today.

Madam President, Minister, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, companies are key to achieving the European Union's strategic objectives: sustainable, inclusive growth based on the digital and climate transition, more and better jobs, resilience and innovation. As an investment space in the global market, the European Union has assets that should be further valued: security, labour and regulatory stability, a highly skilled workforce, genuine respect for the rule of law and relevant levels of innovation and entrepreneurship. All these factors are crucial for achieving sustainable and long-lasting businesses and investments. But in addition to a regulatory framework that ensures a level playing field within the internal market, or a fair and balanced tax system, we need to equip the European Union with the tools to create a business and investment climate that gives confidence to investors. We need to take steps towards further economic and financial integration, complete the banking union or the capital market union and move towards the creation of a permanent post-NextGenerationEU investment capacity. Only in this way will we have not only the instruments but also the resources to make the European Union a true investment area. Finally, as for the reform of economic governance, investment plans and incentives in the European Union should also be simplified, with flexibility to deal with the diversity of Member States, investors and businesses.

Mr President, we were surprised when the President of the European Commission went to Tunisia to propose a five-pillar agreement, including Pillar Migration. Is Tunisia a precious partner for the European Union? Yes, yes. Has the European Union supported the democratic path since 2011? Yes, yes. Fighting human trafficking in the region? Yes, yes. Strengthening relations with Tunisia by investing in stability and prosperity? Yeah, but it's not much. But to propose to Tunisia today an operational partnership to fight migrant smuggling and to support Tunisia in border management? We are talking about people and talking about people is talking about human rights. What guarantees did President Von der Leyen have on human rights? What demands have you made on democracy and the rule of law? In a country where democracy has been emptied, where there is no trade union freedom (detained trade unionists), where there is no freedom of expression (detained oppositionists and journalists), this is what we need to know: What guarantees?

Mr President, Madam Minister, diversity is an added value, it is a wealth of the European Union, so the argument of diversity cannot be used against negotiation. We know that we have to deal with diversity in every political decision and we know that it is complex to deal with that diversity. But it is not only in European electoral law that we deal with diversity, and therefore diversity is a value of the European Union and not a difficulty that leads us not to be able to take decisions in the European Union, timely decisions. We need a European electoral law that strengthens citizenship, inclusiveness and democracy. The European Parliament voted a year ago. My question now, Madam Minister, here is whether the Council intends to start negotiations on a day after, i.e. on 10 June 2024?

Mr President, Mr Vice-President, in responding to major structural crises competition policy needs comprehensive and coherent coordination in order to ensure equal rules for all, but also to protect the most vulnerable and exposed households and businesses. The recent inflationary crisis has shown that many companies take advantage of rising energy costs to abuse their profit margins, and in essential goods such as food and energy. The ECB described this as the inflation of greed. greedflation. This attitude affects unequally and is unbearable for the poorest families. And it reduces the efforts of the European institutions to fight inflation by blocking a faster fall in prices. In order to protect the internal market, competition policy must ensure a level playing field and avoid unilateral or uncoordinated responses. But it must also be able to provide robust and effective responses to its social impacts.

Mr President, Commissioner, the resolution we are going to vote on is not just about journalist El-Kadi, it is about the lack of freedom of expression and the press in Algeria. The numbers don't lie. According to Reporters Without Borders, in the annual press freedom index, Algeria ranks 134 out of 180 countries. References to corruption and repression of demonstrations can be fatal for journalists. The Constitution guarantees freedom of the press, but subject to the religious and cultural characteristics and values of the nation. The Criminal Code provides for arrest for the dissemination of news that undermines national order and security. The new Information Code introduced new sanctions. Freedom of the press and freedom of expression are fundamental rights. This resolution calls on the Algerian authorities to ensure the full exercise of these rights and calls for the immediate release of those who are arbitrarily and illegally detained. Only political, economic and social stability in Algeria will make it possible to strengthen cooperation on both sides of the Mediterranean.

Madam President, Minister, Commissioner, on this day when we celebrate Europe Day, we cannot but value the creation of what is the key instrument of the European response to the pandemic – NextGenerationEU. With NextGenerationEU, Europe is not going through a recession, as expected. Economies are starting to grow, public investment is strengthening. The RRP has been instrumental in making European economies and societies more sustainable, resilient and better prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the green and digital transitions. It is never too much to remember that the RRP is a programme distinct from all the others created so far, and not only by the funding model. The RRP is a results-based mechanism. Payments are made upon evidence of results translated into reforms and investment, milestones and targets. Centralised management by the Commission, but the Commission – be clear – is managing within the framework approved by the Council. It is for the European Parliament, and I fear it has done so, to ensure that there is transparency and integrity in the management of European money. And, as in all new and different programmes, there is a necessary adaptation that the European Commission has complied with. A good example is the methodology of partial non-compliance by a state, published in February. The RRP, we must recognise, worked in 2021 thanks to everyone’s effort.

Mr President, Madam Minister, Mr Vice-President, the legislative proposals confirm several of Parliament's requests for economic governance reform. The case-by-case analysis of debt and expenditure or the inclusion of the European Pillar of Social Rights are examples of this. The inclusion of new benchmarks Quantitative measures, which are missing in the Commission's November proposal, represent a return to the past and a step backwards in the ambition of this reform. The obligation to reduce the deficit by at least 0.5% per year or the prohibition on primary expenditure growing above potential output are serious risks of countercyclical policies and economic destabilisation. These proposals are more conducive to financial discipline than to investment and strategic reforms. Without a permanent common investment instrument, this reform will be incomplete. The right investments bring the right accounts. The opposite is not guaranteed.

Mr President, colleagues, in the post-COVID period citizens realised that the European Union was finally meeting their expectations. It protected them from a predictable and even real economic crisis, it gave them security. And all this thanks to the creation of the Recovery and Resilience Fund, NextGenerationEU. We must honour this expectation. The costs of this fund risk increasing significantly because interest rates have increased significantly. The fund must start to be repaid in 2028 and the budget of the European Union must be prepared, without the risk of cutting into other European policies or programmes, by integrating new own resources, as we have committed ourselves, Commission, Parliament, Council. Let us take the necessary decisions in time to respect commitments and not force citizens and European ambition to pay for the lack of timely action by the European institutions.

Mr President, Commissioner, the multitude of crises, emerging and urgent needs since the beginning of this multiannual financial framework have exhausted important budget lines and weakened the European Union budget. Challenges, crises, initiatives that in 2020 no one could have guessed, of course. Proof that the MFF is not ready to respond to unforeseen events... The resources in the MFF are insufficient to finance important emerging priorities – and already in 2004: strategic autonomy and Sovereignty Fund, energy autonomy, partnership to the east, Ukraine, Moldova, enlargement to the east and the Balkans do not fit into this budget. The revision of the MFF cannot be postponed. An approachbusiness as usual’ It will not be enough to address all the challenges we face. Nor would it strengthen trust in the European Union. The Commission must ensure flexibility, but flexibility is just not enough. It needs to secure the necessary funding for major new policy initiatives and to respond to unforeseen challenges. Commissioner, the revised MFF should be in place on 1 January 2024 and thus provide the framework for the EU’s fair and effective budget for 2024.

Mr President, Mr Vice-President, Mr High Commissioner, the EU-China Strategy must be defined within an interinstitutional framework. It cannot be a single institution alone that undermines the position of the European Union. This debate serves that purpose. The European Union, as a global power, must set its priorities, its path in dialogue with China. Since the Treaty of Lisbon, we have also had the High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy for this purpose. We know that in the last year there have been further disruptions in the bilateral relationship with China. We also know that the challenges and opportunities that China represents have changed over time. We have red lines: Respect for human rights is one of them. But China is an important partner in global and regional balance. Finally, we need a political, economic and security strategy that benefits the European Union, its strategic autonomy as a global actor, and contributes to peace and multilateral balance.