Speeches

Mr President, the management of the COVID crisis has ultimately been a success for the EU if we look at the development and distribution of vaccines to the Member States. We were faced with a completely new situation, and there were no ready-made operating models. With that in mind, I think we have succeeded, and against that background, we need an actor like HERA. But this process has not been open and transparent. The APAs on vaccines are so largely encrypted that it has been impossible for Parliament to fulfil its mandate and monitor the Commission’s activities and the use of public funds, let alone whether the Commission respected the mandate it obtained during the negotiations. The HERA now being set up is important and worthwhile in terms of its operational content, but the Commission's choice to override Parliament is not acceptable. Parliament's involvement, and thus transparency, must be guaranteed. This chosen legal basis raises legitimate concerns. Parliament must be involved in the implementation, planning and operation of HERA, otherwise Parliament will be a rubber stamp.

Mr President, I would like to begin by thanking the rapporteur. This report is quite good. You have improved the Commission's proposal, thank you. I would like to highlight one fundamental problem, which this report, too, does not yet change. That is, when the recipe for solving climate change is ultimately simple – emissions down, sinks up and financial flows to support the necessary ecological reconstruction – we do not yet call for changes in economic mechanisms. The report proposes that the Semester and its process remain unchanged. In order to bring about the necessary systemic change, it is necessary to be able to influence the mechanisms of the economy. The governance mechanism includes the Stability and Growth Pact, which at worst prevents Member States from making public green investments. It must be possible to exclude from the deficit calculator green investment and investment in research and development, which generates the new innovations that we need to solve this crisis.

Mr President, Hungary's new law is a continuum in a development in which the fight against women's and minorities' rights has been harnessed as a tool for a dark policy. This is not an isolated issue, but is part of a broader development that systematically curtails the rights and freedom of rainbow people, thus placing them in an unequal position on the basis of gender and sexual orientation. What is particularly disgusting about Hungarian law is that it equates homosexuality and paedophilia, and the law allegedly protects children. This is just a disgusting fog curtain trying to cover up the violation of human rights. This law is about systematic discrimination and racism, which is totally at odds with our common values. I would like to say to the Commission and the Council that we do not need any more beautiful speeches on the importance of our common values. We need action now to defend those values. There are means, there are means, but there is no will. Without action, your words echo very hollow.

Mr President, Commissioner Hahn, unfortunately your speech did not bring clarity, no answers, but above all it did not give confidence that the Commission wanted and intended to act. This situation can no longer be explained by the concerns of those Europeans who send messages about the erosion of core values. Why are we still only discussing and debating when this has already been decided? These guidelines were not necessary. They are not legally binding. They cannot change the text of the Regulation. The regulation itself is quite clear text, and it can be implemented immediately if there is any desire. The urgency is high because, especially since the MFF and the stimulus package are tied to this mechanism, there is a strong urgency for this implementation. In many countries, a critical debate arose on the stimulus package, and for many it was essential that the budgetary conditionality of the rule of law mechanism is included in that package. You cannot fail to deliver on this promise, because the Commission's own political guidelines for 2019-2024 state that we will not compromise on core values.