Speeches

Madam President, honourable Members, the debate today shows the importance of our ongoing efforts to promote the abolition of the death penalty worldwide. Let us be very clear. The death penalty is incompatible with the right to life and the absolute prohibition of torture and other ill treatment. It is an affront to human dignity. Proponents of the death penalty often base their argument on deterrence. However, studies consistently show that states with capital punishment do not have lower crime rates than those without. The death penalty also makes miscarriages of justice irreversible and any reformation and social rehabilitation impossible. I want to stress that even if the current trend in some countries is alarming and requires a firm stance from the European Union, there has been significant progress in the abolition of the death penalty in the last decades. Two thirds of all states are today abolitionists in law or practice. This positive trend is also reflected in the growing support for the biennial resolution calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, in the UN General Assembly. Last time, in December 2024, the resolution was adopted for the first time with a two-thirds majority of all UN states voting in favour. We will continue to call on those few remaining states that still carry out death sentences to introduce a legal moratorium as a first step towards full abolition. We also see the upcoming World Congress against the Death Penalty, to be held in Paris at the end of June this year, as an important opportunity to engage with civil society and states from around the world. I assure you that the European Union will continue to work towards the abolition of the death penalty in the countries that still retain it.

Madam President, honourable Members of the European Parliament, abolition of the death penalty is a long-standing priority for the European Union. Our position on it couldn't be any clearer: we object to its use in all cases and in all circumstances – no exceptions. Regrettably, 2024 was a record year in executions, and the preliminary data concerning last year, 2025, indicates that executions have significantly increased further in some countries. The significant increase in the global number of recorded executions in 2024 – that is +32 % – was mainly attributable to three countries in the Middle East: Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Iran accounted for 64 % of them. Having said this, we should note that it is estimated that executions and death sentences in China remained in the thousands last and previous years, although the figures remain a state secret, as they do also in North Korea and Vietnam. In 2024, over 40 % of all recorded executions were related to drug offences, in clear violation of international law. The information we received at the beginning of the year indicates that around 1 200 persons were executed for drug-related crimes in 2025. This would represent an over 90 % increase an drug-related executions as compared to 2024. Hence, I want to stress that it is not only of concern that the number of executions is further rising, but also that capital punishment is increasingly being applied to offences that do not meet the threshold of most serious crimes under international law, understood as crimes of extreme gravity involving intentional killing. Furthermore, the effect of the death penalty is often discriminatory, with disproportionate impact on racial, ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities, foreign nationals, and the LGBTIQ+ community. Many facing the death penalty are executed following unfair trials after having been subjected to torture and other forms of ill treatment. In the hands of authoritarian governments, the death penalty can become a political tool to instil fear, to repress opposition and quash the exercise of fundamental freedoms. Honourable Members, the death penalty has no place in the 21st century. Our fight against it should continue. The EU guidelines on the death penalty remain the anchor of our external action. The EU continues to raise this issue with all states that still retain capital punishment in law and and/or in practice. We use our political and human rights dialogues, as well as démarches and other bilateral meetings, to raise concerns in relation to fair trial standards, due process guarantees, discriminatory application and other minimum standards under international law. Other tools include trial observation, support to human rights defenders, public statements, and engagements in multilateral contexts, such as the UN General Assembly and Human Rights Council. One of our most important achievements is the increased cooperation with civil society on the ground. In July 2024, the EU initiated a framework partnership to support the new Global Consortium for Death Penalty Abolition, composed of 25 abolitionist organisations operating in 40 target countries. This cooperation has been instrumental in empowering civil society to more effectively advocate for abolition in the target countries and coordinate action at regional and international levels. This is crucial as civil society continues to lead efforts against the death penalty worldwide.

Madam President, Members, I thank you for quite a lively debate. I attend many debates and this was lively, important, but polarised on certain issues, and it should not be. Somebody said that there is no Europe without social Europe – this is what the Commission believes and this is what I believe. I greatly appreciate your questions and the level of ambition that you want to set for all the topics that are important for our social rights. I won't respond to each and every one of you, but I will say this: the European Pillar of Social Rights delivers. Go and speak with the people about how they perceive Europe and they will say that they know that the Minimum Wage Directive – in some countries where it has already been implemented – has helped them have a higher income. This is quite important. Turning to Romania, Ms Grapini asked about child poverty. The European Child Guarantee in Romania has an allocation currently at about EUR 7 billion out of our European Social Fund Plus. But that is not important; what is important is that while, yes, one out of three children is at risk of poverty and exclusion, the story that must come from this Parliament and from this European Union is that 200 000 Romanian children were lifted out of risk of poverty and exclusion in 2024 with the help of the European Social Fund Plus. We must share the story that from almost 40 % children in in risk of exclusion, we are now at 33 %. Because if we do not give hope that what has been implemented already – while not enough – has delivered, then we don't have the fuel to continue to deliver on our social ambitions. So it is extremely important that when we say we will have a strong European anti-poverty strategy, a fair labour mobility package with legal initiatives to strengthen the European Labour Authority and to have a fair treatment for workers, that when we say we have a Quality Jobs Act to deal with AI challenges, but also subcontracting, people will believe that we mean it because we have already proven that our words become realities in people's lives. Together – Commission, Parliament, Council, governments – we have a tremendous duty for this pillar of social rights to remain extremely ambitious in a very complicated context. I invite you to support us to continue to set the bar high, but also to continue to share, with credibility, the success story of European social policies thus far and the European Pillar of Social rights and the first action plan thus far, and to help us fill in the gaps. Thank you so much for your commitment and I think throughout 2026, beyond this action plan, with all the initiatives that will be put forward, we will be able to go in front of the citizens with very concrete initiatives that follow up on what has already been provided.

Mr President, honourable Members, I would like to thank this House for the oral question that you adopted in December on the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan. It gives an important opportunity to us to take stock of where we are so far in the mandate and what is yet to come. A large number of policies, measures, legislation and guidance have been agreed since the Pillar Action Plan was adopted in March 2021, so the tools and instructions manual are ready. But now we have to be vigilant in making sure that the fair, inclusive and resilient social Europe that we want and that we need continues to be actually built. The 2021 Action Plan shows results, progress has been recorded. However, we need to do more, we need to do better and we need to do faster in some areas. Therefore, the full implementation of the 2021 Action Plan remains an imperative. Some people might believe that the commitments made five years ago to strengthen labour rights and social protections in the European Union are no longer a priority with global developments and the associated, more pressing matters always on our doorstep. But I believe that the opposite must be true. If we want to increase our resilience and our competitiveness – and I've said it numerous times – Europe needs to embrace even more tightly the values of equality, fairness and opportunity on which it was built. Last year, the Commission carried out a review of the 2021 Action Plan to understand what has worked well, whether there are gaps and where future possibilities and priorities should lie. We are currently analysing the results and finalising this review. While the impacts on the ground of the action plan are unfolding, the feedback we received confirmed the importance and the relevance of our pillar. Meanwhile, we have adopted during this mandate a number of of key initiatives: in December, we adopted the Quality Jobs Roadmap, giving a clear message that every job in Europe must be a quality job. That is how we attract talent, that is how we reduce in-work poverty and that is how we strengthen Europe's competitiveness. This includes ensuring that people furthest from the labour market can be brought back in, helping address both social cohesion and labour shortages. The Union of skills that we presented earlier in March 2025 will help us turn the tide so that young people and those of other ages are better trained and prepared for what lies ahead. In December, we also launched the first phase of consultation of social partners on a forthcoming quality jobs act, which covers many of the areas that you mentioned in the oral question. This year, 2026, we will adopt the first-ever EU anti-poverty strategy, a Council recommendation on fighting housing exclusion and a strengthened European Child Guarantee. The anti-poverty strategy will have a strong, person-centred life cycle and preventive approach, also in view of the increased cost of living pressures. We will also present this year a fair labour mobility package with a legislative proposal for a European social security pass, a legislative proposal to strengthen the European Labour Authority, and a skills portability initiative that is meant to remove barriers to worker mobility. When it comes to funding, under the proposal for the next MFF, we have, for the first time, a system that will be put in place to ensure that systematic and transparent monitoring of the contribution from the EU budget towards social objectives is performed, and this is a major step forward – and you know of the proposal concerning the minimum 14 % social investment commitment for all national plans. We will present the results of the review of the 2021 Action Plan in July. Future actions will be defined on the basis of a thorough analysis of implementation but also, importantly, in view of the gaps and the new needs that have been identified. The new actions will complement and strengthen ongoing and planned initiatives, thus contributing to supporting the EU's competitiveness but, more importantly, its resilience and preparedness at societal level. Honourable Members, I count on your continued support. I am looking forward during this debate to hearing your ideas, your contributions on how to make these instruments as effective as possible in the current context in Europe.

Mr President, thank you for the very valuable debate, for your contributions. It is important to reiterate that drones and drone defence are a top priority of the Commission, and clearly also of the Parliament. On my side – because my portfolio is connected with the work on our own defence industry – it's important to note that designing a defence industry that extracts value from our European talents, from our students' education, from our STEM education, the skills creating jobs, high-quality jobs related to this field, is extremely important. Because in the end, we want an industry that is not fragmented, that is efficient, that is able to scale – although that is dependent, of course, on the professionals, on the talent, on those that work in this topic. So, I invite you, of course, to support this report with your vote later today, and all other related topics that have been raised in the debate today can be replied by my colleagues from the Commission.

Mr President, honourable Members, I thank Mr Pozņaks and the shadows for this important report and urgent call to action. Drone and counter drone capacities are top Commission priorities. As the Commission and the HR/VP presented in the defence white paper already nine months ago, and in the defence readiness roadmap in October. The drone danger threatens all of Europe. It is part of the toolbox of hybrid warfare, and we've seen drone incursions and airspace violations in Poland, in the Baltic Sea and also in Romania, the country that I know best. And we've seen drone disrupting airports all over Europe. Drones threatening our critical infrastructure and the EU's internal security. Russia and other malicious actors use drones to challenge our safety, our security and our supply chains, and to test our defence readiness. They impact directly our citizens, for example, through spreading fear and through airport closures. And equally, our economic actors, including critical entities. We must develop cutting edge-capacity capacities to detect, to track, to identify and to neutralise incoming drones. And we must use drones to deter and to defend. Learn from Ukraine, where drones halt the Russian advance on land and force the Russian navy into its ports. Efficient drone defence needs integration and cooperation on radar surveillance, on command and control. In short, EU added value. That's why already last October, we proposed flagship defence projects. Complementing the work of the European capability coalitions, flagships will be led by Member States with the support of the Commission and of the HR/VP. The European drone defence Initiative to develop multi-layered, technologically advanced and interoperable counter drone capabilities. And at the Helsinki summit in December, Member States took steps forward on the Eastern Flank Watch flagship project to guard the eastern border on land, in the air and at sea. Member states included drone and drone defence in their SAFE loan proposals, and EUR 1 billion from the European Defence Fund is being used for drone and counter drone prototypes. The European Defence Industry programme offers new money to de-risk investment and should be mobilised also in support of drone production. Moreover, EDIP will include measures to protect supply lines for crucial company components. We strengthen supply lines also through the Chips Act, through STEP and through the Critical Raw Materials Act. Drones, counter drone systems and other defence technology is evolving at an unprecedented speed. The battlefield is changing and so must our defence industry. The EU Defence Innovation Scheme and the European Innovation Council, as well as the European Defence Hub for EU defence innovation, will continue supporting new defence actors, so that we can develop drone and counter drone technologies through the producer-developer-operator model. Furthermore, we set up the Tech Alliance: Talented SMEs, start-ups, scale-ups that connect with Member States. The first industry roundtable meeting was in November on drone defence. Also, we presented our European defence industry transformation roadmap to do more than build a better drone or a better tank to build a better defence industry, a fully connected ecosystem linking innovators and industry to soldiers in the field. We must speed up. That is true. Our new pilot programme, AGILE, aims to cut development down from 6 to 12 months. We are learning from Ukraine. We have the most dynamic defence industry in Europe. In the Brave Tech EU initiative, sharing knowledge and linking EU to Ukrainian companies and through the drone alliance that we are setting up with Ukraine. Also last week we proposed EUR 90 billion in loans for Ukraine, and I thank Parliament for triggering the urgent procedure so that we can quickly get this to support Ukraine. Drones and their ecosystems offer opportunities not only for our defence but also internal security, including border protection. In the face of recent incidents from drones against the security of critical infrastructures, there is a need to enhance the coordination, the ambition and the visibility of our actions through a comprehensive approach. The Commission will soon come forward with an action plan, which will cover the multidimensional aspects of drone and counter drone capacity. Its objective will be to enhance the EU's preparedness to prevent impactful incidents, to better detect malicious activities, and to deploy the right capacities so that we can respond faster to the threats. And drones also offer massive opportunities for our economies and for our societies. We already have one of the best legal frameworks for civil drones in the world. Last summer, 54 Members of Parliament asked us to make Europe a lead market on drones, and now we can make that happen because of dual use. What's good for civil drones will also be good for our defence. So let's work together so Europe can lead on drone industry and on drone defence for our benefits and for our protection.

Madam President, honourable Members, Jimmy Lai has now been detained for more than five years. Most of this time, he was held in solitary confinement. In December, the Hong Kong High Court convicted him on national security grounds, and he now faces a lengthy prison sentence and will likely spend the rest of his life in jail. The trial against Jimmy Lai was politically motivated. He was prosecuted for his support for freedom of expression and for democracy in Hong Kong. The independent newspaper that he founded, Apple Daily, was forced to shut down in 2021, and six former journalists from Apple Daily were charged. This is a striking example of the clampdown on the free and independent press in Hong Kong. It demonstrates the dramatic decline of the rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong since June 2020, when Beijing imposed the National Security Law on Hong Kong. Since then, hundreds of opposition politicians, journalists and civil society activists have been arrested. Most independent media outlets were forced to close and many civil society organisations had to disband. A free and independent media is vital for resilient societies and ensuring government accountability. Criminalising speech and political dissent breaches Hong Kong's international commitments and its own Basic Law. The prosecution of Jimmy Lai further undermines confidence in the rule of law, a cornerstone of Hong Kong's attractiveness and success as an international business hub. The European Union, through its office in Hong Kong and Member States' representations on the ground, has closely followed national security trials and regularly attended the court hearings. The EU has repeatedly raised its concerns in public and in meetings with the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities. Today, the European Union reiterates its call for Jimmy Lai's immediate and unconditional release. The European Union will continue to call on China and Hong Kong to adhere to the Sino-British Joint Declaration and Hong Kong's Basic Law, to respect international commitments, and to preserve the 'one country, two systems' principle.

Madam President, honourable Members of the European Parliament, we share your concern regarding the case of Mr Joseph Figueira Martin, a European citizen currently detained in the Central African Republic. Since the outset of this case, in May 2024, the High Representative and the European External Action Service have been closely monitoring developments in coordination with the Belgian and Portuguese authorities. While the European External Action Service and the EU delegation support coordination and information-sharing, they do not provide direct consular services themselves. That remains within the competence of the Member States. Belgium and Portugal have been granted access to Mr Figueira Martin and are providing him with regular consular assistance. Both in Bangui and in Brussels, on every possible occasion and at all possible levels, we have consistently stressed to the Central African authorities the imperative that Mr Figueira Martin's rights are fully respected. We have also underlined the importance of ensuring that his conditions of detention meet international standards, in line with the Central African Republic's obligations under international law – including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as the Convention Against Torture – with a view to achieving his liberation, and we will continue to do so. More broadly, the European Union remains deeply concerned by the human rights environment in the Central African Republic, particularly in areas where the Wagner Group has been active. The EU has repeatedly condemned the actions of this group and its affiliates, which have been associated with serious human rights abuses and violations of the international humanitarian law. The Wagner Group has been listed under the EU's Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, along with key individuals and entities operating in the Central African Republic. The European External Action Service and the EU delegation in Bangui, in coordination with Belgium and with Portugal, will continue to follow with great attention the developments of Mr Joseph Figueira Martin's legal case, but also of his health. We hope for a positive outcome, to which we stand ready to contribute within the remit of our competencies, and we extend our sympathy and support to his family.

Madam President, honourable Members of the European Parliament, on 30 November, the Honduran people went in high numbers and in a peaceful manner to cast their votes, reaffirming their commitment to democracy. On 24 December, following a long and protracted process, the Honduran National Electoral Council proclaimed Mr Nasry Asfura as the next President of Honduras. The EU congratulated him on his election. This election saw an unprecedented number of international and national observers in the country, including an EU electoral observation mission led by MEP Francisco Assis as Chief Observer. The will of the Honduran people is clear and there is no doubt about that. Nevertheless, the EU recognises that both the pre- and post-electoral periods have been very challenging. The independence of electoral institutions has been questioned and the vote count was very slow, opening the door to unsubstantiated allegations of fraud. Some political actors have refused to accept defeat, fuelling disinformation and tension. Honourable Members: international partners, civil society and independent media have systematically highlighted the crucial role of international observation, including our own. Through our electoral observation missions and continuous public diplomacy and private outreach, the EU has contributed to safeguard Honduras' democratic space. In this regard, special recognition is due to the EU observers led by Chief Observer Assis. This EU EOM has shown once again the importance of electoral observation as a key EU instrument in supporting electoral governance and democracy. In a world where democratic values are contested, this example encourages us to ensure the continued investment of the EU in election observation. We reiterate the importance of credible and transparent elections free of interference. As inauguration day for President Asfura approaches, the EU has voiced its concerns regarding political violence against parliamentarians and recent statements by the incumbent president and the President of Congress calling for a recount of the general elections. Our position is clear: we call on all political actors to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition of power. In the coming days, we will remain extremely vigilant, closely monitoring developments through our delegation in Honduras, EU Member State embassies and in close coordination with like-minded partners, including Latin American countries. The EU looks forward to working with Nasry Asfura and his future administration. We recognise that Honduras continues to face serious human rights challenges, including in the protection of human rights defenders. Addressing these concerns will be a key priority and an important area of engagement with the new administration.

Mr President, Members, I enjoyed listening to you. I wish you tomorrow a vote that is clear. Make no mistake that the vote that you are giving tomorrow is extremely important. It's a topic for which the world is looking towards Europe – a Europe that wants to become an AI continent, but the Europe that is the home of the European pillar of social rights. So these two need to go hand in hand. The Commission is clearly engaged to support more innovation, more productivity, and that is very relevant when we bring AI and algorithmic management in the workplace. But at the same time, it is Europe's way that must be continued in the sense that we have a European social model and that we need to make sure that there is trust to be able not only to take more AI resources into the workplace, but to diffuse it in a way that protects and empowers workers. Because – and this is my personal belief, of course – AI is able to empower humanity, but that can only happen in a trusted environment. Our work is not one to create burden, it is not one to create irrelevant rules; it's work that creates trust and that helps us diffuse AI to the benefit of both our economies and, of course, to the benefit of the workers and of the people. With this in mind, we will be watching your vote tomorrow and, of course, the Commission stands ready to respond accordingly to your vote on this Article 225 TFEU resolution.

Mr President, good evening, honourable Members, I would like to thank the rapporteur, Mr Buła, the shadows and you all for this important contribution to the debate on artificial intelligence and algorithmic management in the workplace. The Commission welcomes the draft resolution, which aims to improve working conditions and workers' data protection. It is in line with the commitments made by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission in the 2023 European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles for the Digital Decade. These principles include the right to fair, just, healthy and safe working conditions and appropriate protections. They emphasise the important role of trade unions and employers' organisations in guiding the digital transformation. They also call for protection against unlawful and unjustified surveillance, transparency on the use of AI in the workplace, and human oversight in important decisions affecting workers. On 4 December 2025, the European Commission adopted the Quality Jobs Roadmap, which addresses the impact of digitalisation on working conditions, among other important topics. The roadmap recognises that algorithmic management can increase efficiency and improve safety at work. However, it also points to concerns from excessive surveillance and data breaches to discrimination and also psychosocial risks. It proposes two goals that must be able to go hand in hand: first, to support the take‑up of AI tools at work; and second, to protect workers from the risks that algorithmic management may bring. We should recall that algorithmic management systems are already partially covered by the GDPR when they process personal data and by the AI Act, insofar as they fall under the definition of AI systems. Any EU action should focus thus on enforcing the protections that we already have and clarifying them where needed. But if gaps remain, new targeted complementary measures need to be considered and could be considered, always, of course, ensuring coherence and avoiding overlaps with existing laws. In parallel to the roadmap, the Commission has launched the first‑phase consultation of EU social partners on the possible direction of the Quality Jobs Act, including issues relating to AI and algorithmic management. We will wait for the outcome of the two‑stage consultation before moving forward, of course. I want you to be assured that, in line with the better regulation guidelines, we will systematically assess the impacts of competitiveness and SMEs with an impact assessment, including the proportionality of potential administrative and compliance burdens. This reflects the Commission's renewed focus on competitiveness and simpler EU rules. But I will also recall the commitment taken by the Commission President to respond to Article 225 resolutions with a legislative act in full respect of the proportionality, subsidiarity and better lawmaking principles and subject to the outcome of the social partner consultation. Should this report be adopted with the required majority, we will officially reply within the term of three months. I thank you and I look forward to hearing your views in this important debate.

Madam President, honourable Members, thank you for the debate, for keeping the protection of our democracy so high on our public agenda. An EU response to the commonly shared threat of third country interference is needed. A level playing field is necessary for economic players to carry out their activities in the internal market with a stable and predictable framework. Transparency should be ensured with common standards across the Union. This is essential to avoid forum shopping and loopholes which can be abused. Accountability is necessary for those who seek to influence public decision-making, and we should strive for a common EU approach that upholds EU values, fundamental rights and proportionality. With this proposal, the co-legislators have the opportunity to contribute to setting standards – not only in the European Union, but also on a global scale – on how to address covert foreign influence in a coherent, balanced and proportionate way, fully respecting fundamental rights and democratic values. I am convinced that the best way to protect democracy is through democratic means, transparency, accountability and informed and empowered citizens. The Commission is looking forward to continuing the common work to achieve these very important objectives.

Madam President, honourable Members, dear rapporteur, thank you for the opportunity to exchange with you about this very important proposal. Democracy and the rights and freedoms associated with it are at the core of our societies. There is no democracy without transparency and accountability. Instilling the transparency and openness in the way interests of third countries are represented in the European Union is essential to protect the integrity of our democratic space and to prevent foreign interference. We see Member States more and more legislating or adopting measures in this area in a fragmented manner. And outside the European Union, we see countries such as Canada and Australia that have put in place legislation on this matter and, similarly, the OECD is increasingly addressing the issue of foreign influence. In this context, the proposal for a directive on interest representation carried out on behalf of third countries has been a flagship initiative of the 2023 defence of democracy package. This proposal has two objectives. Firstly, to improve the functioning of the internal market of interest-representation activities carried out on behalf of third countries, creating a level playing field, reducing compliance costs for entities that seek to carry out interest-representation activities on behalf of third countries across borders, and preventing regular regulatory arbitrage. Secondly, to enhance the integrity of and public trust in the Union's and Member States' democratic institutions by ensuring the transparency of interest representation activities carried out on behalf of third countries and by improving the knowledge of the magnitude, trends and actors behind such activities. The proposed directive aims to regulate specific activities. These are interest-representation activities impacting decision-making processes in the EU carried out on behalf of third countries. It does so without distinctions on the type of entities, acknowledging that there is a wide variety of actors of interest-representation activities that are active on our internal market. The proposal does not ban or prohibit any conduct. It simply requires that activities affecting the core of our democratic processes are carried out transparently. This translates into targeted and proportionate requirements, including registration and record keeping. When doing so, the Commission paid particular attention to provide for strong safeguards to prevent potential negative impacts on the entities concerned, ensuring full respect for fundamental rights and democratic principles and values. As such, this proposal is radically different from any of the so-called foreign agent laws, aiming at stigmatising some entities and reducing their space to express their views. The proposal also minimises the administrative burden, including by relying on different instruments. It will rely on the Internal Market Information System, funded with the EU budget, which allows to connect the national authorities quickly and easily and supports efficient and easy exchanges. I am aware of the hard work and extensive discussions that the IMCO Committee has put into this proposal. I would like to warmly thank the rapporteur and the political groups for their relentless efforts in finding compromise solutions. Now it is the moment for this House to secure a robust negotiating position ahead of the interinstitutional negotiations once the Council has also reached its general approach. This directive is part of our instruments to ensure transparency and counteract interference. It is part of a broader agenda to strengthen democracy and to strengthen democratic resilience. And let me also stress in this context that the Commission has put forward last week the European Democracy Shield, which sets out a series of further measures to empower, to protect and to promote strong and resilient democracies across the European Union. These actions are aimed to boost our collective capacity to counter information manipulation and disinformation, and to strengthen the overall democratic resilience of our societies. I am looking forward to hearing your contributions to this debate.

Madam President, many thanks for your contributions. First of all, I was discussing with Mr Szekeres and I will say that, indeed, our debate – which was so important – should have been accessible online also to people with disabilities. We were discussing the situation of people that are deaf, or could not see subtitles or see a sign language – so we need to do small things first and foremost, so that we are integrating every citizen into our democracies. I will give you a positive spin to our debate, although I am the first to tell you that we have much more to do. Everything to do? Maybe not, but much more to do. The positive spin is the following: as a person that has worked her entire life with cohesion policy in an eastern European country that has huge emotional and social scars, also from the Communist times, for people with disabilities, for women who went through this ban on abortions. I don't want to go into that direction, because the suffering that women in Romania suffered is inexplicable. But the fact that the European Union has led and has financed with EU funds in a way that it took into consideration the specific needs of persons with disabilities, has changed many people's lives. The EU is perceived in many places of our continent as the leading voice and the leading source of financing that is, step by step, not solving everything, but is improving lives for the better. What I mentioned in my opening speech about accessibility is just one part of what is happening, but we do invest in social economy that many times means employment or entrepreneurship opportunities for people with disabilities. We are working on education, from infrastructure – EU funds supporting accessibility of schools or kindergartens – to teaching the teachers on the adapted curriculum. We did a lot of work with the Polish Presidency on the accessibility of education and on excellence, yes, because there is no there is no accessible education without putting the same level of excellence for all teachers and all students alike. I think that we are coming from a place where we show that we can improve the lives of our citizens. I am of the belief that maybe the optimum situation will be when we will no longer need a strategy for the rights of people with disabilities, but when everything is mainstreamed in all other policies. With my portfolio, I'm working on the Quality Jobs Roadmap, which will be published on 3 December, the very day we celebrate the rights of people with disabilities. We're looking at the affordable housing plan, so trying to mainstream, to integrate there initiatives that need to also serve women, people with disabilities, our citizens overall. But yes, we do still need a dedicated tool. Next year we will publish the enhanced strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities, and this is a good moment to collect your ideas and to assess where we are. We will have a report as well. We see the gaps: what we have done, what we have not done. Did we enforce the legislation as we should? Must we enforce it with a different rhythm and with a different commitment? With this in mind, I think that we can set our goals for the next years looking at what AI transformation means for people with disabilities, from assistive technologies to AI skills and literacy, and how we can significantly improve lives and health by looking at research. So you have in me – as Vice‑President also in charge of equality, supporting our Commissioner Hadja Lahbib and all our colleagues in the College – a partner, so that we can, with the tool that we launch in the spring next year with the enhanced strategy, a really strong and mainstream tool, because I am a believer that it is not by having a single silo that we can improve people's lives. We have to work across. Your strong messages today, the pain in many people's voices, the anger, the passion: they are very important for the battle for a social Europe in which I really believe. So I really thank you for that. And with honesty that we have much more to do ahead of us, let us also believe that it is in our common power to deliver for our citizens, including for citizens that experience disability but are in many ways stronger, more talented, and have much more potential to support Europe than many others who consider themselves advantaged. Thank you so much for the debate. I really was inspired by it.

Madam President, honourable Members, I want to thank the European Parliament for holding this plenary debate on the EU strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities post‑2024. I thank you also for your work on the report on the future of the strategy set to be adopted tomorrow. Our goal is to improve the lives of persons with disabilities in the European Union and beyond. This debate, then, is timely because we are halfway in the implementation of the strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities 2021‑2030. The strategy includes seven flagship initiatives, 57 Commission actions and 23 calls for action to Member States. It promotes disability mainstreaming in all areas and creates a strong framework for EU action in addition to Member States' policies. I will mention some key achievements during the first half of the strategy. First, I will refer to the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities. This is a landmark directive to facilitate the free movement of persons with disabilities across the European Union, and to improve their access to services in other Member States. Second, I will mention the Disability Employment Package. This initiative has provided guidance for employers and other relevant actors to improve labour market outcomes of persons with disabilities. The package covers all stages of employment including reasonable accommodation, vocational rehabilitation, as well as alternative employment models and pathways to the open labour market. Third, we created AccessibleEU, a resource centre to support the implementation of the European Accessibility Act and other accessibility legislation. AccessibleEU is providing training to stakeholders and public authorities on accessibility issues. This will help enhance capacity and promote the application of accessibility rules across our European Union. Finally, in 2021, we established the Disability Platform. This platform brings together national authorities and civil society to enhance cooperation and to support the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Looking forward, the Commission is committed to continue upholding the rights of persons with disabilities, and we envisage new actions to reinforce the strategy. This will allow us to respond to calls for new actions coming from many, many stakeholders. In April this year, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has issued recommendations to the EU on the way it implements the UN Convention, asking to develop new actions under the strategy. The European Economic and Social Committee has adopted an opinion on the matter this June. Member States have recently discussed how to advance disability rights in the coming years at the EPSCO council meeting on 17 October. Commission services met last week with social partners and with civil society organisations who have expressed their views through several position papers, and we also launched a public consultation to gather input from all citizens. This consultation is open until 6 February, and I invite everyone to join and respond. We look forward to the report being adopted tomorrow by this House. The contribution of other EU institutions will also be crucial in terms of legislation and policy implementation, as well as setting the example as public administrations and employers. All of this input is feeding into the development of new actions from the Commission, which will be presented next spring, as outlined in the Commission work programme for 2026. The goal is to update and to enhance the strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities up to 2030. Honourable Members, we are all united in our efforts to advance the rights of persons with disabilities across our Union. I look forward to hearing your views and engaging with you on this crucial area, which, as your draft reports rightly showed, touches every part of the life of persons with disabilities and their families, and it shapes our societies and our economies as a whole.

Madam President, Europe is beyond any doubt facing a sustained grey-zone campaign. We must scale up to deter, we must attribute, and we must act with unity. Our citizens expect us to ensure that every square centimetre of European territory remains protected and remains safe. Hybrid warfare is designed to stretch our systems and to test our unity. We must demonstrate that our resolve is stronger than the pressure that is applied against us. We welcome the European Parliament's clear stance that the EU's response to hybrid attacks must match the intensity and the severity of the attacks themselves. This principle of proportionality in deterrence is essential. The message is clear: Europe will not be intimidated. We will defend every part of our Union together – with unity, with capability and with determination.

Madam President, something new and dangerous is happening in our skies. In recent weeks, the airspace has been violated over Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, and again Romania yesterday. These incidents are a pattern, not an accident. These incidents are elements of a hybrid warfare, a deliberate grey zone campaign targeting Europe. They are testing our resolve, probing our systems and attempting to unsettle our citizens. They are designed to not be easily attributable, but we must not shy away from attribution. Investigations must continue, and when responsibility can be established, we should call it out. Hybrid actions thrive on ambiguity. Deterrence requires clarity. Our response must be collective and credible. Unity is our strongest asset. Air‑policing missions and shared situational awareness already demonstrate concrete solidarity across the Union, working hand in hand with NATO. But Europe must also deter. We cannot allow cheap drones to force costly reactions. We urgently need systems that are scalable, affordable and fit for purpose. This is why the proposed European defence drone initiative is central. It remains the prerogative of the Member States to define and decide on military capabilities. Such an initiative would strengthen detection, interception and response capabilities across the Union, drawing on the experience of Ukraine. Together with the capability coalition on drones and counter drones, as set up by Member States, the European defence drone initiative could form a major strand of our collective response. Our approach must be unequivocally 360 degrees. Air, land, sea, cyber and information domains are all targeted in this grey zone campaign. Our response must cover all of them, from counter drone systems to monitoring of all critical infrastructure and enhanced situational awareness across the entire Union. This is an important element of the Readiness Roadmap 2030. The Commission is ready to mobilise its instruments, such as the European Defence Industrial Programme, in support of this priority. The SAFE instrument provides a EUR 150 billion loans programme that supports Member States in urgent defence procurement, including on drones and counter drones solutions. Furthermore, our actions supporting internal security, such as the Integrated Border Management Fund and its cause – specifically, addressing the threat by drones – will provide funding towards building and enhancing Member States' capabilities, making it possible to address this whole‑of‑society threat, both from civil as well as military aspects. Cybersecurity measures and frameworks, such as the NIS 2, CERT and the Cyber Solidarity Act, can play a supporting role. Our priority is to strengthen Europe's real time ability to detect, to deter and to respond to hybrid threats in the physical and in the digital domains.

Madam President, honourable Members of the European Parliament, today's debate is important as it addresses an important issue that stands at the core of our values. The protection of freedom of religion or belief has remained high on the agenda of the EU's external human rights policy over the last years. In recent years, we have always unequivocally condemned all acts of discrimination, of hatred, of violence or persecution based on religion or belief, including acts committed in the name of religion. We have taken determined action in Nigeria and in the Middle East to promote interfaith dialogue and support populations affected by violence. For instance, we were very reactive after the Yelwata massacre, which took place last June in Nigeria. Fulani herders attacked the Yelwata community, burning many houses, leaving between 100 and 200 mostly Christian victims and displacing another 3 000. Our EU ambassador visited the victims a few days after the attack, together with the Federal Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction. We provided rapid support through ECHO humanitarian assistance and our INTPA-funded projects for social protection for durable solutions for internally displaced persons. The EU delegation in Nigeria has been, for instance, partnering with the National Human Rights Commission and the National Peace Committee and, in the next few days, EU-funded events organised by these widely respected Nigerian institutions will take place in Abuja to discuss issues such as indigene-settler conflicts and how to address violence, how to prevent conflicts in northern Nigeria, including the Middle Belt. Nigeria remains a like-minded and fundamental partner of the European Union, suffering from spill-over of insecurity from the Sahel, and we have to step up our support to help fight targeted violence. The EU attaches fundamental importance to freedom of religion or belief. Every individual should be free to practise, to change or to renounce their religion or belief without any fear.

Madam President, honourable Members, freedom of religion or belief is a strategic priority for the European Union. Wherever it is challenged, wherever religious minorities are under attack, we do not look away, we intervene – responding across all affected communities through powerful actions guided by neutrality and impartiality. The security situation, especially in northern Nigeria, is of great concern. The country faces systemic insecurity, affecting, among others, Christian individuals, communities and places of worship. It is important to bear in mind that violence in Nigeria cuts across ethno‑religious boundaries. Numerous well‑documented incidents show Christian communities, churches, schools and clergy being deliberately targeted in the country. Only last week, attacks took place against a church and a Catholic school, with several people killed and dozens abducted. We are relieved that some of the persons abducted last week have now been released, or managed to escape with the support of the authorities. We sympathise with all the victims and their families. We strongly condemn these vile and cruel attacks targeting minors and worshippers. These attacks blatantly violate children's basic rights as well as freedom of religion and belief. I want to express the EU support to the Nigerian Government's efforts to have all hostages safely released without delay and to prevent other similar attacks. Over the last years, we have we have taken action to address this dire situation. The EU and the Member States have funded many projects on prevention of violence, on peacebuilding and support to populations affected by violence. Both the Federal Government of Nigeria and the State Governor expressed deep appreciation to the EU. But this shows that we need to support the authorities even more. Let me stress that our support is of course not selective: the EU helps people in need in Nigeria and victims of violence regardless of their ethnic, religious or political affiliation. Our humanitarian aid in particular strictly observes this principle of neutrality. We also have an ongoing dialogue with religious leaders, including Christians, both in Abuja and in the framework of field visits. The Federal Government of Nigeria is multi‑ethnic and multi‑confessional. We see it as neutral towards the different ethnic and religious communities in the country. It is, of course, its sovereign responsibility to ensure the protection of all its citizens, including those forming part of Christian communities. The Middle East is one of the world's most diverse regions, home to a multiplicity of religious communities whose histories and identities are deeply intertwined. This includes Christian communities in all their traditions, Jewish communities, Yazidis, Copts, Bahá'ís, the Druze, the Zoroastrians and many others, alongside diverse Muslim communities. In this context the EU remains concerned about restrictions on religious practice and pressure on minority communities in the Middle East. The EU continues to support efforts that strengthen inclusive governance, uphold equal rights for all communities and protect those at risk. Egypt is a great example of this rich diversity – a partner with which we engage regularly on the topic, notably on the implementation of Egypt's national and international commitments in human rights and freedom of religion or belief. The EU is also closely following the situation of Christians in Syria. The EU welcomes the commitments and first steps of the new Syrian Government toward a peaceful and inclusive transition. The EU calls for all actors in Syria to uphold the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Syrians in their diversity, based on their equal rights as citizens. The transitional authorities bear the responsibility to ensure the protection of all Syrians without distinction. Another situation that the EU is looking at with great attention is that of the Christians in Israel, the occupied Palestinian territory, including in East Jerusalem, and in particular the Old City of Jerusalem. The EU has stressed the importance of de-escalation in the West Bank and called for an end to settler violence, including against Christian communities. The special status and character of Jerusalem and its Old City, sacred to Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the inviolability of its sacred spaces and the viability of all its communities must be preserved and respected by all. We have been consistently calling for safe access to the holy sites and for the status quo to be upheld.

Madam President, who are we, women? We are the people that work for one year and are paid for ten months. We are the people that need a 28-hour day, not a 24-hour day, so that we can balance our jobs and our care roles in the family. We are the people that occupy, in most countries, the lowest paid jobs of the available jobs. We are the people that you will not and do not see in parliaments, in ministries, in local councils, in mayor positions. But we are the people that you see that are beaten to death by their spouses, by their partners – and the recent example from Romania is quite relevant. We are those people that receive treatment and medical attention based on treatments that have been tested on men and that have been trialled on men. This is just a bit of the definition of our work. We cannot have democracy, we cannot have freedom if we are not treating those that are part of our societies in the same way – women and men alike need equal treatment, and this is a fight from which we must not take a step back. We cannot leave such a legacy to the next generations. So the Commission stands firm with the next gender equality strategy to not go back, not even a centimetre – not even a step – to work with Member States, with your Parliament towards the best, the most adequate route so that we are able to implement our ambitions. I count on our common efforts, on our joint efforts, because only together we can deliver on gender equality. Thank you.

Madam President, honourable Members, one in three women in Europe have suffered physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. Women in the European Union earn 12 % less than men on average. In older age, they face a staggering 29 % gender pension gap. The employment rate for women is still ten percentage points below that of men. Women also spend twice as many hours each week as men caring for children or relatives with disabilities. More women than men still face severe material and social deprivation. Only one in three members of national parliaments and senior ministers across the European Union are women. One in three women in politics feel forced to leave social media because of hate and because of abuse. The Gender Equality Index of the European Institute for Gender Equality shows that at the current pace, it will take another 60 years to reach full gender equality in the EU. Now these figures speak for themselves, and they show that we must continue our fight for a gender-equal European Union. We have come a long way, as shown by the Commission's monitoring tool of the gender equality strategy 2020-2025, but much remains to be done. And I want to thank this House, especially the rapporteur of this own-initiative report, Mr Vešligaj, for his leadership and commitment. Your report is crucial input for shaping the next gender equality strategy, which will be launched around International Women's Day next year. So, what has the Commission done so far? And where do we stand with the next gender equality strategy? At the eve of International Women's Day this year, we presented the roadmap for women's rights, setting out our vision for a truly gender-equal society. This roadmap is built around a declaration of principles for a gender-equal society, and I really want to thank Parliament for endorsing it. The eight principles in it form the foundation for the next gender equality strategy, and we are now working to turn each of them into concrete measures, translating values into action for the next five years. I welcome Parliament's draft report and, of course, today's debate. It shows once again that the fight for gender equality cannot be led by one institution alone. It is a shared vision, one that requires all of us – EU institutions, bodies and agencies and every Member State, all acting together. That is why the broad endorsement of the roadmap is so important. Your support, together with other EU institutions, women's organisations, UN Women and all Member States sends a clear and united message that Europe stands together for women's rights. At a time when many women feel that their rights are under pressure and there is a fear of a backlash against our what our mothers, what our grandmothers fought for, this unity is a sign of hope and of inspiration. Over the past months, we have held extensive consultations to shape our next gender equality strategy. An open public consultation with a call for evidence and a non-public consultation questionnaire received almost 1 000 contributions. We also organised dedicated stakeholder consultations, giving space to voices from across society, social partners, equality bodies, international organisations, civil societies and EU agencies. Now we are analysing your inputs, but of course your report comes at the perfect moment; as we move from consultation to drafting, your ideas, your proposals will directly shape our work. The next strategy will have a strong focus on implementation, turning legislation into real change on the ground. This means delivering on key laws adopted in recent years – I refer to the directive on violence against women, to the directive on pay transparency and to the women on boards directive. But we will also need to go further. The strategy will propose new actions to advance gender equality in the European Union. Your draft report contains a wealth of ideas and proposals that we will closely assess and follow up on. It will strengthen gender mainstreaming across all policy areas, the EU budget and external action, because equality must be built into everything that we do. Honourable Members, our daughters and granddaughters, our sons and grandsons cannot wait 60 years for gender equality. By working together across our institutions, across our Member States, we can make it happen faster. How fast is up to us, to turn equality into reality for everyone in Europe.

Mr President, it is a moment where we really need to recommit, or to commit to a degree and to an intensity that has not been here before – but not just us, the European Commission, European Parliament, and Council. Member States, regions, communities, all stakeholders – fighting poverty is such a complex goal and we must fight like our lives depend on it. And it does depend on it, because every person that is affected by poverty – adult or child alike, whether it is part of our family, of our community or not – it does affect our lives, directly or indirectly. As I've said in my opening statement, I think our internal security is very closely connected with how well we are able to fight and, in the end, to eliminate poverty inside our societies. Now, this is not an easy task, and you've all hinted at that. It's a multi-policy effort, from good jobs, from eliminating in-work poverty, to fighting homelessness – and we can fight, and we can eradicate homelessness, it will be central in the anti-poverty strategy as well – to education, which is so important in our complex effort to eradicate multigenerational or cross-generational poverty, to energy poverty and the housing crisis that affects Europe, just to name some examples. We need to offer responses, to deliver policies, financing, to learn from each other and to commit to put this in the centre of our efforts and of our policymaking. It is important that we also support financially. The Commission has proposed a strong budget for the next multiannual framework, a EUR 2 trillion budget. We have a strong position inside the support that we give to Member States in the national plans, but it is important that we understand that beyond the support of our budgets, we need to look at the national budgets, at the effort of local communities, at international financial institutions – we need to work together. And this centrality of this topic needs to go beyond the debate that we have today, whether we will discuss quality jobs, we will discuss housing, we will discuss education. We need all the time to remember that what we put on the table for Europeans needs to not just offer opportunity, not just increase our strength economically, but to alleviate and to raise out of poverty the almost 100 million Europeans that are affected, or potentially affected, by this social illness. So I am very happy to hear your commitment as well. Together, we will work to deliver a strong anti-poverty strategy and beyond. It has to reverberate in our gender equality strategy, everywhere, in each policy, and this is our task. Here, today, in this Chamber, when we have the ambassadors, the pioneers, the apostles fighting on the realm of our social topics. But we need to get to everybody, so every type of policy that we deliver from this House, from the Commission, needs to have in mind that our goal by 2050 is to eradicate poverty. Thank you so much and looking forward to our work together on this extremely important, if not the most important topic, for Europeans.

Mr President, as the honourable Members of Parliament set into their activities, I would just like to say a deep thank you to you, Mr President, for mentioning Erasmus and paying tribute to Sofia Corradi, whose vision inspired Erasmus. We must keep that dream alive for all our young Europeans. Honourable Members, just days after the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, we gather here today to say that the time to act is now. Today, more than 93 million people in Europe – that is one out of five – are still at risk of poverty and at risk of social exclusion. And these are not just numbers. They are families who struggle to pay their bills, they are children growing up without access to the services that they need to develop their full potential. Yes, we have made some progress. Today, we can account some 2.5 million fewer people at risk of poverty compared to 2019, and this is a welcome trend. But the rhythm, the pace, is too slow. The persistence of child poverty is particularly alarming. And it comes at a huge cost to our society. Childhood socio-economic disadvantage translates badly later in the adult labour market and health outcomes. Moreover, one in ten workers in the European Union – approximately 20 million people – are still at risk of poverty, a situation of great concern as well that forces us to think and to act. Failing to make the fight against poverty a true priority for Europe is simply not justifiable. This Commission is committed to stepping up our efforts and building a new momentum. We are, as you know, preparing the first European anti-poverty strategy. Our goal is clear: not just reaching our 2030 target, the Porto target, which is about taking 15 million European people out of poverty, out of social exclusion, including at least 5 million children. But our goal is also to set a clear path to help eradicate poverty by 2050, as was committed by President von der Leyen in the State of the Union speech. Time and time again, this Parliament has reiterated its commitment to this goal and we thank you for that. We also look forward to reading the own-initiative report that you will present on the anti-poverty strategy. Fighting poverty is not only the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do. It builds trust in our institutions, it builds bonds in our societies, it makes us collectively more resilient and, I dare say, more secure. It supports our economic growth, bringing more people into the labour market, delivering stronger household incomes and offering, in the end, new and more opportunities for all of us. Our anti-poverty strategy will focus on what matters most: access to essential services and protections; tackling the roots of exclusion; breaking the cycle of poverty from one generation to the other; and, of course, delivering on a stronger European Child Guarantee, which will be, I repeat this, central to our efforts. In the past months, we have also listened, to local and national leaders, to social partners, to NGOs, and most importantly, we have listened to people who know poverty because they experience it. All these voices must be involved in preparing and delivering this tool, our new strategy. We want to look at this from all angles possible because poverty is multidimensional. It is not just about salaries or work, it is not just about money. It is about access to schools, to housing; it is about energy bills; it is about food. It is also about access to key services like healthcare or like childcare. So every policy must serve inclusion. Now, beyond Europe, in two weeks' time, the first Leaders' Meeting of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, as well as the Second World Summit for Social Development, after 30 years, will take place in Doha. The summit will focus on fighting poverty, on creating jobs and on promoting social justice. It is a key opportunity to place the eradication of poverty at the heart of the global agenda, with a strong commitment on the part of the European Union. Poverty, I think we can all understand that, is not destiny. It is not inevitable. It is the result of policy choices that we make. And together we can choose differently and better. I am happy to see that we share a common goal that is one to put Europe on a sustainable path of poverty reduction and over time, help eradicate poverty on our continent.

Mr President, I thank you for your observations and for your points. They were indeed listened to. Of course, I want to give some remarks. I do believe that the oldest of the funds, one of the traditional funds that supports the social fibre of the European Union, the European Social Fund Plus, is able to modernise and to invest in people while responding to the current challenges that we face. So, with this amendment, we are able to create jobs, to invest in skills in sectors that are extremely relevant for our present-day realities – starting from sectors that are strategic. I mentioned some of them: of course, defence is one of them, but it's not only defence; it's cybersecurity, it's cutting-edge technology. We need talent, and we need to create jobs in these sectors for Europe to be able to thrive and for people to be able to thrive. Continuing to the adjustments and amendments that are done to the ERDF Regulation and concern investment in infrastructure, it is important to show that this amendment brings the fund closer to the everyday realities, to the current challenges and problems that are faced by citizens, by communities and by our society. Regarding the concerns that have been re‑expressed here about the way we will apply the rule of law and the respect for our fundamental rights in the reallocation of funds by Member States, I will reaffirm what I have stated during the trilogues: there is a formal declaration that I have made on behalf of the Commission – and I stand by it – that the Conditionality Regulation, the Common Provision Regulation, the rule of law, the respect for the fundamental rights principles will be strictly observed and strictly applied by the Commission, as it is done normally for all the other funds and in all other situations. So, this is my commitment. It is already put in writing, but I can of course reiterate it from this microphone in this Hemicycle to you distinguished Members of Parliament again. We will work closely with Member States in the amendment of their ESF‑based programmes so that they really deliver quickly calls for proposals and projects that are really able to support citizens in concrete jobs and in skills deployment.

Mr President, honourable Members, I want to congratulate the European Parliament for having reached an agreement with the Council on this proposal. This agreement allows Member States and regions to address critical strategic challenges in light of the geopolitical and economic situation, and this is how we aim to show our citizens that Europe delivers. Investing in people is essential for advancing our strategic priorities and forms an integral part of the deal. We see major shortages in skills in crucial sectors like civil preparedness, defence, cybersecurity, new digital and green technologies, just to name a few sectors. Member States and regions should focus investments on the development of skills in these strategic areas for our own competitiveness and sovereignty. This amendment underlines the role of the European Social Fund Plus as the Union's main fund for supporting employment and skills development. It will encourage Member States to use the European Social Fund Plus to reinforce investment in people. It will equip workers with the skills our industries are looking for to support our strategic defence, preparedness and decarbonisation efforts. Member States and regions will benefit from an immediate financial injection to kickstart such investments and, in turn, this also helps to reduce social exclusion and prevents inequalities from growing further. This is how we aim to strengthen our competitiveness while remaining true to our social model. The Commission welcomes the compromise that strengthens the respect for the rule of law to protect the EU budget, where funding between and within programmes is reallocated. The Commission made a formal statement on the respect for rule of law and fundamental rights. The statement reiterates the Commission's firm commitment to ensure that these principles are upheld in the implementation of the funds, in line with the provisions in the Common Provisions Regulation, the Conditionality Regulation and the Mid-Term Review Regulation. This statement has been sent to the Parliament's services for inclusion in the verbatim record of this debate. I thank you, and I am, of course, looking forward to the debate on this topic.