Debate contributions by André ROUGÉ

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, what efforts does the Commission intend to make to ensure that European industry benefits from the production of nickel in New Caledonia, a French territory that holds 29% of the world's reserves and the third largest producer in the world in 2023 of this ore coveted by China? Does the European Commission have a clear vision? I doubt it. Without affirming its solidarity with France in the face of foreign interference in its overseas territories, the Commission could have argued for our common interests in sustainable development at the Summit of the Future. Nevertheless, our group can only endorse the desire to manage energy resources sustainably. In this regard, France, with its expertise in the field, its strategic depth and resources sometimes poorly exploited overseas, can contribute to the sustainable development of our continent. I come back to New Caledonia nickel, a strategic raw material for the manufacture of batteries in our automotive industry, and therefore for the immense work of the energy transition. I solemnly repeat it here: New Caledonia contributes to Europe's strategic autonomy. Let us therefore act in the direction of our common interests, those of the Pacific region, which would have everything to lose from a de facto annexation of this territory by a hegemonic power. The European Union must guarantee a future for the New Caledonian nickel industry. We propose that, like Greenland, an association decision be adopted between the European Union and New Caledonia, providing for EIB intervention alongside that territory. By moving from words to deeds, let us act to ensure that France and the European states have a safe and environmentally friendly supply of nickel.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, who wants to take over France from overseas? Brazil's G20 presidency has identified the growing confrontation between the United States and China as a priority for its upcoming summit in Rio. This confrontation poses a threat to the whole of a world experiencing a number of hotbeds of tension at risk, whether, among others and as everyone knows, in the Middle East or on the Russian-Ukrainian borders. However, this confrontation leads to a number of factors of instability that are particularly worrying for our countries, and in particular for France's overseas territories. We are convinced that this global competition, between hyperpowers in search of new strategic positions and new sources of raw materials, has taken the French overseas departments and territories hostage. It is this same competition that increasingly directly affects the peace and prosperity of local populations, objectives that were expressed at the G20 ministerial meeting last July. The G20 is the embodiment of multilateralism. Its objectives were based on mutual respect among States and therefore on non-interference in internal affairs. In this regard, what is happening today in different territories of overseas France, victims of obvious foreign interference, especially in New Caledonia, but also in Martinique or Mayotte, must question us as to the sincerity of some leading protagonists within this G20 summit. We therefore expect Rio to be an opportunity for France and the European Union with it to solemnly recall the refusal of any interference and the inalienable nature of French sovereignty over its entire national territory. We will therefore be very attentive to the expression of the solidarity of the members of the G20 in view of the difficulties that France of the great sea is going through today, this distant France which brings to our country, as well as to Europe as a whole, a cultural and human added value, but also a maritime projection and leading strategic resources.