Debate contributions by Anna-Maja HENRIKSSON

Madam President, thank you very much. The most valuable thing we have is our children and young people, and they need to grow up in safety also online. Today it is not so. Many young people are mentally ill because of what they have experienced online. Our responsibility as adults and our responsibility as the EU is to act and do it now. All the alarm bells are ringing. This is a new public health problem that affects our children and young people. Therefore, platforms need to take more responsibility. Algorithms based on creating dependency in children must be effectively countered. And children's and young people's dependence on social media is actually the biggest, perhaps, cause of the increase in ill health among young people. It is a public health problem. We need to put theirs, children's and young people's, right first and platforms second.

Madam President, thank you very much. Commissioner. Who started the war against Ukraine? It was Putin. Who is it that has bombed, caused immense devastation, injury, excessive suffering? That was and is Putin. Who has violated international law? It's Putin. Therefore, the question is simple when you ask it: Who's gonna pay? Putin and his Russia will have to pay for it. What does the EU do? Not yet enough. But our momentum is now. Now it's time to deliver. Now is the time to show that we in Europe do not want to sit in the audience, but we also want to be part of the solution, and therefore we must dare to use the frozen Russian funds for Ukraine. And it's urgent. It is time to show that we are serious when we say that Ukraine's fight for freedom is also our fight for freedom, democracy and human rights.

Madam President, thank you very much. It is quite clear that the violations that Russia is subjecting us to in the air, at sea and online are totally unacceptable. That is why Member States need to act. That is why we need to work together, and the EU also needs to act. Therefore, it is also time to deploy the frozen Russian funds to support Ukraine. Ukraine's struggle, every day, is also our struggle for freedom, for democracy and for the people of Europe to have a future. For this reason, I would like the Commission to come to a swift decision on a model for using the frozen Russian funds. Then we need a drone wall. Finland's 1,340-kilometre border with Russia is part of the external border of Europe and the EU. We need to strengthen our entire eastern border and thus also strengthen the whole of Europe.

Mr President, I would like to thank Commissioner Séjourné for mentioning my report on cutting red tape in the internal market and strengthening our competitiveness. We all know what we should do now. Now is the time to act. Anna, 30, is currently unemployed. He has a university degree, but the company he worked for got into profitability problems and had to lay off many employees. This is a reality for far too many talented young people in Europe today. There are too many unemployed. The worst affected countries are my country, Finland, and Spain, both of which have an unemployment rate of more than 10%. This should not be the case. Competitiveness, Security and Employment, Strengthening the Single Market: They're all connected. Now is the time to break down unnecessary bureaucracy, make everyday life easier for entrepreneurs and get rid of unjustified national barriers. Just as the Commissioner also mentioned, now is the time to act and apply to all of us.

Madam President, thank you very much. Many thanks to the Commission and the Commissioner! It is good to hear that the Commission wants to take action, because we need it. Thank you colleagues for the debate, thank you for the discussion! It's clear that we can't sit on the couch and eat chips, but now we need to make sure there's action. The good thing is that we, the European Parliament, in our 27 Member States, can decide this if we only make the decisions that we need, it is up to us. We have the keys in our own hands. But it is quite clear, as President von der Leyen said yesterday, that there is a fight in Europe, a fight for our future. That is why we need to strengthen our defence, we need to strengthen our security, but also our competitiveness and our internal market. We need to do this now. There is no time to lose. When I speak to companies in my country, Finland, and when I speak to representatives of entrepreneurs in Europe, in Brussels, the message is the same. We have too much bureaucracy – please, do something! That is what this report is about. At the same time, we will stick to our climate targets, we will stick to a high level of consumer protection and we will take social aspects into account. But we have reason to take ourselves by the collar. We have to act. The people of Europe have voted for us here in this Parliament, for us to dare to make decisions, for us to dare to renew Europe, for jobs to be created, for us to keep Europe safe, and we shall do that. So I would like to thank all colleagues, thank you for the strong support in committee! I now hope that we in the Chamber today can vote in favour of this report by a wide margin. Another big thank you to the Commission. We want to see action.

Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner, thank you very much. We need to strengthen our internal market. With its 450 million inhabitants in 27 Member States, the EU is one of the largest economic blocs in the world. We all have the potential to do well in global competition. But we have an internal market whose full potential we are not using. Therefore, we do not reach the level of competitiveness that we could have and the economic growth that we could create. Concrete measures are therefore needed to strengthen the internal market and reduce the administrative burden on our businesses, especially SMEs. We need to remove unnecessary bureaucracy. Action is needed to attract investment and innovation in Europe, which in turn will bring more jobs, more tax revenues for the Member States and thereby also more jobs and stronger welfare for all of us here in the EU. We live in a time of great uncertainty. Russia’s brutal war of aggression in Ukraine continues. Yesterday we woke up to news that Russian drones were shot into Polish airspace, into EU airspace. This is unacceptable. We must set foot against Russia and for that we also need a Europe that can stand on its own feet. Europe must take responsibility for its own future. The question is whether we can do it. I am convinced that we do, but then we must also be prepared to innovate. Dear colleagues, This report is precisely about that. It is about how to strengthen our competitiveness and our internal market, how to make sure that our European companies perform better in global competition – in line with what Draghi and Letta have highlighted. The message from the business community and our companies has been clear: The administrative burden must be reduced. That is why we will simplify and improve, while staying true to our climate goals and strong consumer protection and respecting social standards in the Member States. In the report we have 40 concrete action points that we want the Commission and the Member States to take on board now. Let me mention a few: We therefore want to reduce unnecessary administrative burdens for our companies. We want to cut red tapeAs we say in English. Future legislation must be designed to support innovation and strengthen competitiveness. We need so-called legislative sandboxes, innovation hubs in the Member States, so that good new ideas can shine. Digitalisation and artificial intelligence shall be used to facilitate reporting and management. Especially when it comes to small and medium-sized enterprises, it is incredibly important that we look at things from a practical point of view. That is why, in the report, I and the IMCO Committee propose a digital one-stop-shop, especially for smaller companies, where you can easily manage all your reports and cases. Future legislation must also be proportionate and not impose new unnecessary burdens on our businesses. Therefore, impact assessments are also needed for Parliament's and Council's proposals, where justified. Best friends! Member States need to better implement Single Market rules. It should be fair play for companies in cross-border trade and service. Dear colleagues, I would like to warmly thank all the shadow rapporteurs for the constructive work on the report and the approximately 300 amendments on which we voted. I now call on the Grand Chamber to vote in favour of this report.

Mr President, thank you very much. The strategy is very welcome. In these turbulent geopolitical times, Europe must be able to stand on its own feet and we must strengthen our internal market. We will use the full potential that we have. We have 450 million consumers and are the second largest global economy in the world with €18 trillion. However, we are not making full use of it and therefore all the measures contained in the strategy are most welcome. I would particularly like to highlight the services sector. Services account for 75% of the EU's gross domestic product, and in many countries 2/3 of the workforce works in the services sector. There's a lot of potential there, but we don't buy from each other enough across borders. Today, we do not buy more services from each other than we buy from countries outside the EU, and we cannot have that. We still have the same barriers to trade that we had 20 years ago. It is time to remove them and make it profitable to be an entrepreneur in Europe.

Mr President, thank you very much. Finland celebrates its victory day on 27 April 1945. Nazi Germany's forces had been driven away from Lapland and Finland was once again free. Min far kämpade tillsammans med sina finska vapenbröder för vår frihet och självständighet. The fact that Finnish soldiers twice managed to stop the Red Army's massive invasion and occupation attempts, first in the Winter War and since the summer of 1944, was an unprecedented achievement for democracy in Europe. In Finland, we call this victory a victory of deterrence. Today, Ukraine is fighting with the knife against the throat. It is also our – yes, the whole of Europe’s – struggle. Ukraine must also have its averting victory, on its terms, and Russia must be held accountable for its unprovoked aggression and brutal destruction. The EU emerged as a peace project after the Second World War. Let us always remember that and do everything we can to ensure that one day Ukraine will also be a member of the European Union.

Madam President, thank you very much. Commissioner. Natural disasters, accidents, pandemics, hybrid threats, cyberattacks and armed conflicts – these are all examples of what we need to be prepared for. Preparedness. After all, it is also a matter of thinking in advance and acquiring the tools you need to deal with different types of crises. Citizens are also key here, not only governments and the European Parliament, the EU, but also citizens and businesses. This is why it is important for citizens to think. What do you do if there is a power outage due to a storm or hybrid attack? What do you do if suddenly there is no water in the tap? We in Renew Europe propose that every household in Europe should receive a contingency guide. When people feel that they have thought things through, they also feel safer. President Niinistö's report is a very good one, and I would like to congratulate the Commission on taking it into account. This preparedness strategy is a step in the absolutely right direction.

Mr President, Commissioner, for more than three years, Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has caused incomprehensible suffering, death and destruction. Ukrainians are fighting not only for their own freedom, but also for our whole Europe every day. As a result of the sanctions, more than EUR 200 billion of Russian assets are currently frozen in the EU. Last autumn, we made an important decision to start financing support for Ukraine with their proceeds. It is high time that capital was also used for the benefit of Ukraine. The Commission must now find a way forward, because Russia continues to violate international law every day, and that is not right. Instead, it is right that these frozen funds are used and that the attacker has to pay.

Mr President, thank you very much. Thank you, Commissioner Virkkunen. The first 100 days of the Commission have come at a time when US policy towards Ukraine has changed radically since Donald Trump took office as President of the United States. The EU and Europe must now take greater responsibility for supporting Ukraine, as well as for their own defence and security. The security policy changes that we are now seeing will have far-reaching consequences both economically and geopolitically. Now we need to have the courage to do things. We need to strengthen defence, and we also need to strengthen our strategic autonomy. We must also have the courage to strengthen our internal market, and I hope that the Commission will now have that. We need less bureaucracy, we need a lighter business environment. But we need to do the right things. Ultimately, it is about our values, democracy, the rule of law and human rights, defending the movement of people, goods and services within the EU.

Mr President, I would like to thank you. Europe is lagging behind and we cannot continue to do so. We need to make full use of our strengths and skills. We need to increase our competitiveness. How do we do this? By moving from words to deeds. Less talk and more workshop, so that our companies can grow, dare to hire and invest. That is why I welcome all the measures that are now removing barriers to growth, without sacrificing our climate goals. As rapporteur for the own-initiative report on how to simplify and harmonise the rules of the internal market, I know that there are great expectations here from our companies, including small and medium-sized ones. Their administrative burden simply needs to be reduced. When we do this and at the same time build a well-functioning capital market, create fair rules for state aid, invest in digitalisation, the green transition, AI and lifelong learning, then we can also succeed.

Madam President, I would like to thank you for your The most important resource we have is our people. That is why we need to ensure that everyone gets a good education. We are learning for life, and in these uncertain times that we are now living, a good level of education for all is incredibly important - for our crisis resilience, for our democracy and for gender equality, but also for Europe's competitiveness. It is therefore also important that the Commission and the European Parliament can continue to support the Erasmus+ programme and that those who receive vocational training can also take part in Erasmus+. Then there is the question of strengthening Europe's competitiveness. Our companies have a shortage of labour. We need to educate to work, not to unemployment. As a former Finnish Minister of Education, I know that cooperation between companies, between professional trainers and with the regions is extremely important here. And we can do better. We will make sure that everyone feels that they are doing a valuable job also when they are training in vocational education and training.

Mr President, Commissioner, it is quite clear that Europe must take more responsibility for its own defence. The defence industry needs to be strengthened and a well-functioning defence internal market created, and Ukraine, of course, needs to be supported. It is about the future of Ukraine and of Europe as a whole. The global political situation, of course, worries many, but we will be able to do so with decisive action and cooperation between the EU, NATO and our Member States. We are strong. We just need to move forward together and decisively. What is our most important task here in the European Parliament? Right now, the most important task is to stick together. Right now, the most important task is to defend our values: democracy, the rule of law and our human rights. And in this house, in the middle group, we do just that. And that's what we have to do for everyone. We will all work to strengthen Europe's defence.

Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner Virkkunen! The security situation in the Baltic Sea has deteriorated. On a daily basis, substandard cargo ships belonging to the Russian shadow fleet, with dozens of tons of oil, operate on this important inland sea. These pose a safety risk to the marine environment as well as to the countries around the Baltic Sea and the EU as a whole. The cargo ship Eagle S was caught in the act by the Finnish authorities during the Christmas season in a very successful attack. The ship's anchors had dragged along the seabed prior to the strike, and important underwater infrastructure had been damaged. A coincidence? Hardly. Both NATO and the member states have intensified their surveillance of the Baltic Sea. It is welcome and it is necessary. With determined action and cooperation between the EU, NATO and the member states, we are strong. We need to increase funding for security, defence and preparedness. The Baltic Sea should not be a place of thumb for hybrid operations and sabotage.

Madam President, I would like to thank you for your The most important thing we have is our freedom. Freedom to Vote. Freedom to influence. Freedom to choose our lives. Free and fair elections are also the cornerstone of our European countries. All candidates must be treated equally and we must be sure that external actors do not influence our electoral processes. Social media platforms, such as TikTok, bring both threats and opportunities to our societies. We humans are affected by the information we get to see, read and hear. Platforms must not become a threat to our democracy. Freedom of expression is also not a right for Russia, for example, to create fake accounts to influence our European elections or to manipulate voters. Now it is up to the Commission to investigate the suspicions that exist and to ensure that our rules are complied with. We must not be naive. Our democracy must be defended every day.

Madam President, I would like to thank you for your Every child is unique and every child has the right to a safe and secure upbringing. This is stated in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which now celebrates its 35th anniversary. It is important and we should live with it every day, every minute in all our societies, in all our countries. The voice of the children must be heard and we must also be their means. We are the ones who have the power. We know that many children today feel bad. We know that many are exposed to dangers – online dangers, which may not have existed 35 years ago. We need to better protect our children also in the digital environment. We in the European Parliament have a very special responsibility here. Every child also has the right to go to school. We need an equal school, where every child can be themselves, where you get the support you need and where you can look forward to an education that then gives a job. It's to everyone's advantage. Every child should have the right to a hobby.

Madam President, I would like to thank you for your The Baltic Sea is a sensitive inland sea in many ways, including from a security policy point of view. On the seabed there are undersea cables that constitute extremely vulnerable infrastructure. It's not okay to sabotage them. Hybrid attacks are unacceptable. Recent events must be taken seriously. The freedom to navigate the sea does not imply a right to destroy critical infrastructure on the seabed. If there is a gap in the law of the sea, it must be closed. There must be solutions for intervening also in international waters or within the so-called economic zone in order to be able to stop reasonably suspicious vessels. What can the EU do? Yes, we must act decisively to protect our critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea and we must act together. The Commission has a very important task here, and President Niinistö's report contains many good proposals. Let's take care of them.

Mr President, we Finns know that it is worth blowing together when there is a crisis. This is what we're used to. That is the spirit that we in the European Parliament must also bring about. We are in the same boat and therefore we have to do things together. Therefore, we also have to strengthen the EU's resilience and we can do it together – I believe that. I am absolutely sure that we can do this. We need everyone to understand that we are also important players when it comes to resilience and overall preparedness. Thank you for this excellent question.

Madam President, I would like to thank you for your Many thanks to President Niinistö for a valuable report. We are living in a critical time and it is necessary to be prepared for all possible scenarios, including those considered improbable. President Niinistö's report may now serve as a wake-up call for the EU. The report shows that we in Europe have much we can do to strengthen our societies' ability to respond to different types of crises, and we need to act now. We need to strengthen the EU's preparedness. When we talk about preparedness on a broad front, we also talk about the importance of all actors, from the individual, companies, local and civil actors to the armed forces. Relevant information must be shared more quickly between the Member States and the EU, and the concept of total defence is important. As we say in Finnish: (speech in Finnish) "It is wise to be prepared also for the improbable." And we shall be in the EU. Thank you to President Niinistö.

Madam President, I would like to thank you for your Thank you for the report, best Enrico Letta! We have every opportunity to succeed in creating a sustainable future and strengthening the welfare of all European citizens. But now we have to do the right things. We need to make the green transition happen. We need to harness the full potential of digitalisation, and we need to strengthen the European defence industry. For all this, we need a strong internal market that promotes our competitiveness, a skilled workforce, investment in research and innovation, world-class education. And we need fair rules for state aid. A functioning capital market is key. We need to direct our resources to cutting-edge technologies such as AI and quantum computing. Obstacles to growth must be removed. Both smaller and larger companies should be spurred on and not stuck in the bureaucratic jungle. It is now a question of finding a common will. I hope we have it.

Mr President, I would like to thank you. A prosperous population is in the interest of the EU as a whole, but the reality is different for many. Almost half of all Europeans have experience with mental health problems. If you break your leg, your injury is clear and you get help right away, but with mental illness it is different – it is often very difficult to get care. Low-threshold receptions would now be needed for everyone. Well-being also affects our competitiveness. Better health leads to higher productivity. A young person who has been knocked out costs society around EUR 1 million, we have calculated in Finland. Not to mention personal suffering. I am particularly concerned about our children and young people. They face high demands and a harsh climate on social media, with bullying and harassment. There we need zero tolerance both online and offline. In Finland, the government has just signed up for a therapy guarantee for young people. Why not also a joint EU initiative on rapid access to therapy for our children and young people?

Now, of course, it is about finding solutions that can actively counter hybrid influences, and I will work to ensure that, in general, we in this House also find a solution to that. For it is not to anyone's advantage that Russia can continue to act as it does. That is something we must take very seriously. It is in everyone's interest.

Madam President, I would like to thank you for your We need peace and stability in Europe. In parallel with its brutal war of aggression against Ukraine, Russia is engaging in various types of hybrid influence on several fronts. My home country, Finland, has a 1,300-kilometre border with Russia and it is also the EU's external border. It has been closed since 2023, in December. Why? Well, because Putin deliberately allowed migrants to come to the border with the intention of exerting external pressure on our country. Using people as tools against another country is unacceptable. Nor do we want Russia to succeed in infiltrating people with evil intentions into our European societies. That is why we need concrete actions and European legislation that also respond to these hybrid threats to the security of the Member States and the Union, while safeguarding fundamental human rights. We need to strengthen the EU's external borders.