Speeches

Madam President, Commissioner, the 3rde The UN Ocean Conference was an opportunity for the Commission to present its pact: an Ocean Pact that has been developed on the basis of input from all stakeholders. Your ability to synthesize sometimes contradictory, often complementary, expectations was widely praised. Many of the EPP proposals were retained in the final version. I am thinking of your desire to develop the blue economy, instead of fishermen valuing the fisheries resource while preserving biodiversity, the urgency of setting up an ocean diplomacy. I also note your determination to promote our food security, to combat illegal fishing, to modernize the fishing fleet, to better manage conflicts of use. On marine protected areas, we support you in your pragmatic approach on a case-by-case basis, based on scientific advice and at the level of marine territories. The European Union has therefore taken the lead and now has a roadmap. It remains to be given the means necessary for its implementation, financial and regulatory, by 2027. With a decisive first step, the revision of the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive. Commissioner, you should know that the EPP Members will be able to mobilise to ensure that this pact is not a bottle thrown into the sea, but a promise made to future generations for the sustainable development of our oceans.

Mr President, Commissioner Kadis, there is one subject that is being discussed in the debate on the Ocean Pact: Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Between some radical NGOs, who would like to ban all human activity, and angry fishermen, who claim to be able to fish, including with trawls, the towel burns. You did us the honor of coming to Brittany, this region dear to my heart, for your first trip to France. Presentation was made to us of a marine protected area managed in good intelligence: the Marine Natural Park of Iroise, in Finistère: 3,550 square kilometers, where many species coexist. A management plan that allows a high level of protection without compromising the fishing of 220 vessels and 450 seafarers. With this park, we have proof that it is quite possible to reconcile sustainable fishing activity and safeguarding biodiversity. At least four conditions: constant dialogue between all stakeholders, an appropriate management plan, scientific monitoring and control of the marine environment. In Lorient, Commissioner, you reiterated your commitment to a blue economy in Europe. On MPAs, you have confirmed your willingness on a case-by-case basis. I want you to know that you have our full support.

Madam President, Commissioner, this resolution reminds me of the creative destruction described by Joseph Schumpeter. When innovations make the activities of the moment obsolete, newly created jobs come to replace existing jobs, but sometimes with a lag in time, and therefore a surge in unemployment. This is precisely what happens when a company is forced to dismiss. To anticipate this and protect the employees of my region, Brittany – where I invite you, Commissioner – we are working with the social partners on the forward-looking management of jobs and skills – considering that supporting employees who need to change jobs goes hand in hand with combating labour shortages. Support for retraining and vocational training requires human and financial resources. My question is therefore how, in times of change, the Commission, together with the Member States, promotes the matching of labour supply and demand.

Mr President, on 28 February 2025, a cyclone of unprecedented intensity struck the island of Réunion. It will have caused five victims and very heavy damage. The French State has announced €200 million and advances for farmers. On 5 March, the region voted in the standing committee on EUR 100 million for the reconstruction of the island. Its President, Huguette Bello, also appealed to the European Union. Réunion can and should be able to benefit from both the EU Solidarity Fund and the Restore scheme: the EUSF for the rapid refurbishment of buildings, support for the relocation of families and emergency aid paid to disaster victims, in particular by the CCAS; Restore to effectively channel ERDF, ESF Plus and EAFRD funds towards the fastest possible reconstruction of public infrastructure and equipment, but also to support businesses that are heavily affected. Access to EU funds is often considered difficult and complex. The European Union, in partnership with the French public authorities, has the opportunity to prove otherwise. The return to normal life on Reunion Island depends on this. At a time when the geopolitical situation is taking over people's minds, we should not forget our duty of solidarity with the victims of natural disasters in European regions, starting with those overseas. The events suffered by the island of Mayotte are still in all memories. For the outermost regions, Commissioner, simplification, speed and efficiency.

Mr President, Commissioner, the fertility rate in Europe has reached 1.46 children per woman. In France, it is now 1.59. Generational renewal amounts to 2.1 children per woman. It is therefore necessary to ask why, in essence, this lack of confidence in the future and how to act at European level to support family policies, which remain the competence of the Member States. In 2020, the European Parliament adopted a resolution to reverse the demographic trend in Europe. You have just mentioned the toolbox presented in 2023. It is about using cohesion policy and creating synergies between structural funds and NextGenerationEU. The idea is to promote an effective strategy to support local development through sustainable investments in our territories – cities and regions. Let us bet that the European Commission will help to create a regulatory and financial framework that is concretely conducive to the return of confidence, a guarantee of the revival of the birth rate in Europe.

Madam President, Commissioner, next February, in France, it will be 20 years since the law on equal rights and opportunities, participation and citizenship for people with disabilities was passed. This will be an opportunity to measure the progress made, but also the improvements to be continued. Today we are discussing the need to update the European Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. I was therefore interested in Erasmus, because it should be noted that 6% of the people taking part in the mobility programme have a disability, i.e. around 78,000 people. They may be granted an inclusion financial supplement on the basis of actual costs. However, the system is not sufficiently known, and the main difficulty lies in finding an establishment or a reception facility. The main obstacles are related to people's health (difficulty in ensuring continuity of care), the setting up of the mobility project (complexity of procedures) or constraints during the stay (lack of adaptation of housing). Let us bet, but I am sure, that the Commission will be keen to remove all these obstacles. Thank you and wish a happy Christmas to the more than 100 million Europeans with disabilities and their families.

Mr President, Commissioner, 70% of European legislation has a direct impact on our municipalities. As the mayor of a town in Brittany, I have noted this. The role of cities and territories is therefore absolutely central to the implementation of EU policies. In order to be effective and legible, measures that concern the daily lives of citizens must therefore be developed with local institutions, including rural and outermost territories. Simplifying the rules governing access to European projects and their appraisal has long been a demand of local elected representatives, who are the guarantors of local democracy. It should therefore be possible to recognise the territorial level as a level of trust in the administrative and financial management of the Structural Funds – funds which should be preserved, strengthened and multiannualised, and which could be the subject of advance payments. In order to respond concretely to the expectations of our citizens, dialogue with the Committee of the Regions and the associations of elected representatives of the 27 Member States must therefore be permanent and sincere. I have no doubt that this will be one of the priority objectives of the future Commission.

Mr President, Commissioner, the share of vacant dwellings in the European building stock varies between 5% and more than 25% depending on the country. In France, there are nearly 3 million homes. The fight against vacant housing could therefore be, ladies and gentlemen, a shared priority of our mandate. This means, among other things, supporting the thermal renovation of housing, which consists of improving energy performance, contributing to the comfort of occupants and reducing energy bills. For this, there is no need for European legislation that would increase costs. On the other hand, specific funding, both public and private, would be needed. The Commission President has decided to appoint a Commissioner for Energy and Housing. May it show its determination to mobilize the financial means necessary for the energy renovation of housing that urgently needs to be put back on the market.