Debate contributions by Angelika NIEBLER

Madam President, Madam Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen! India is the largest democracy in the world with 1.4 billion people. India is the fourth largest economy in the world, and we Europeans share many common values and interests with India. That is why we need to strengthen our partnership and position ourselves strategically. I very much hope, after the experience of this afternoon's vote on Mercosur, that this House will appreciate this accordingly. With the EU-India FTA, we could send a very strong signal for open and rules-based global trade. At the same time, our partnership – and Madam Vice-President, you have shown it – goes far beyond trade. We will work together in areas such as technology and innovation, as well as security and defence. Cooperation with India on cybersecurity, counter-terrorism and space offers great opportunities, especially in the face of ongoing crises and geopolitical tensions, and our cooperation will be concrete, as the Security and Defence Partnership will show next week. Interpersonal relations will also be a central pillar of our cooperation. If we can strengthen the exchange between Indians and us Europeans, then I think that is also important. Especially in the field of education, science and academic cooperation, I believe we still have great potential with India. However, a strategic partnership also includes open words. We have different views, for example with regard to relations with Russia. I think it is our task here to address very openly and clearly what our position is, what we expect from our strategic partner. Without open words, it is basically not possible in a partnership. But I believe that if our dialogue is based on mutual trust – and we have been working on this for months now – then I hope that we will send a good signal in other areas with a free trade agreement that will hopefully be concluded soon and strategic cooperation. And as I said, I hope that Parliament will support this accordingly.

Madam President, Madam Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen! What happens if our networks fail? When communication is no longer possible? When no data arrives? In a connected world, the answer is clear: Then our society stands still. This is precisely why our networks need to become safer, faster and more resilient. We must not allow our critical infrastructure to be operated by companies from third countries that can literally turn off our lights at any time. This threatens our technical sovereignty. Madam Vice-President, I welcome the fact that you have Digital Networks Act have now submitted. It is crucial. With it, we are laying the foundations for a genuine European single market for communication. Our goal is clear: We need to be at the forefront of technology. AI cloud technologies are the innovation that needs to come. Our networks must also have all the possibilities, and we must gradually move away from our obsolete copper networks and decisively push ahead with the expansion of fiber, 5G and 6G. How we do this, we still have to discuss. We also need to empower and incentivise European businesses to invest in our digital infrastructure here in Europe. And that is why we need a single market. There must be an end to fragmentation by national rules. We have to get away from different requirements, from double structures and bureaucracy. This slows down our competitiveness. This slows down the grid expansion and should not remain so. I look forward to the debates and discussions on this proposal that you have now presented to us here. I hope that we will also build our network infrastructure in such a way that we become more resilient. In times like these, we need it more than ever.

Madam President, Madam Executive Vice-President of the Commission! Ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen! Cyberattacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, targeting data systems and people in all walks of life. IT infrastructure is disrupted, power outages are caused, attacks are taking place on our energy supply, our hospitals, our communications, our transport infrastructure. If we talk today about the cybersecurity package, about the cybersecurityAct Let's not talk about technology. We're talking about our internal security, we're talking about our economic stability, and we're talking about our geopolitical ability to act. The Cybersecurity Act 2019, an important building block of our European Union cybersecurity strategies, urgently needs to be revised to address the current technical and geopolitical challenges. And that is why, Commissioner, I very much welcome the proposal that you have now put on the table. Why is our European Cybersecurity Authority, why is ENISA not effective today? There is a lack of resources, both financial and human resources. And there is a lack of clear tasks and a solid mandate. From my perspective, ENISA must not only be the secretariat of the Member States, but ENISA must also be able to act operationally. I hope that we will do the same in the discussions on Cybersecurity Act can enforce. I was involved in the 2019 deliberations, also in charge. And even then, we had already demanded this, but were unable to assert ourselves vis-à-vis the Member States. We also need to take a closer look at the certification procedures, because I think they are, as of today, not practical. Certification needs to become faster and easier so that it also has added value for our small and medium-sized enterprises. In addition, the certification must be designed in such a way that it can also ensure international standards, so that our European standards also have the chance to become international standards. And in the case of particularly safety-critical infrastructure, it says: Security and European sovereignty come first. At the same time, of course, we must not close ourselves off globally. I look forward to the exchange and further discussions on this important legislative project for us in Europe.

Madam President, Commissioner! Ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen! The next summit is a historic one. Are we as a European Union capable of acting? Do we live up to our historical responsibility? I think that's what this summit is all about. I appeal to the Heads of State and Government to make themselves aware of this responsibility for the European project and not to think nationally, and here I am with Mr Gerbrandy, who has just once again raised this issue. What does that mean in concrete terms? Further financing of Ukraine is essential. It's not just about Ukraine, it's about the security of all of us. What does that mean in concrete terms? We need a green light for Mercosur with the proposed guarantees for our farmers. What does that mean in concrete terms? We must be open to structural changes in our European architecture. I am very pleased that our Group Chairman Manfred Weber mentioned this today. Ladies and gentlemen, if we continue as we have done so far, if decisions are only taken with unanimity in the Council, especially in foreign policy, how is this to continue in the coming years and decades? I believe that next year, 2026, must really be the year when we really make the effort to tackle these structural reforms here. We had a referendum in the UK in 2016, a big drama after that. We discussed rounds of how to improve our European architecture. Nothing happened. We had no chance, even though we as Parliament had always demanded that we finally set up a convention and discuss these urgent questions for our future in Europe. Nothing happened. And I really ask you all in the New Year: Let's do this together. For today: Merry Christmas, a happy new year and let's also experience a lot of common European spirit in the new year together!

Madam President, Commissioner! Ladies and Gentlemen! Dear colleagues! The Commission has adopted the CO2-legislation opened, including for heavy-duty traffic. That, in my opinion, is a good message. But does the proposal really provide for technology neutrality? Does it really secure jobs in Europe? In my home country, Bavaria alone, more than 350,000 people work in the automotive and supplier industry. Let's look at the market. More and more electric vehicles are being sold. The share of new registrations of e-vehicles is increasing continuously. And why? Because the customer decides. It can't be up to the legislator to decide which technology is the right one. Innovation is created by competition, by incentives, by good offers, by the existing charging infrastructure, not by policy requirements. And we must not hide the global market either. In many regions of the world, combustion engines continue to dominate. It must also be possible for vehicles from Europe to be purchased here. Therefore, the planned electrification rate is precisely for the corporate fleet Totally unacceptable in my opinion. That would be a burner ban through the back door. There is still a considerable need for improvement in the legislative process.

Mr President, Mr Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen! The Commission’s work programme for 2026 is entitled ‘Reducing dependencies, strengthening Europe as a location and making economies easier’. The latter, in particular, is urgently needed. Simplification is the order of the day. Of the 38 initiatives proposed, almost half have the goal of significantly reducing bureaucracy. And, Mr Vice-President, I very much welcome that. For the last few years, I have also felt like a tennis player here in the European Parliament, standing on the court and being shot at by a ball machine during training. The ball machine was the commission, which was constantly shooting around with new specifications. Thank goodness these days are finally over. I would like to highlight three things that are very important to me: First, the 28th. regime. I think it is good that a new legal framework should be offered in the future, a new legal form, in order to enable our companies to carry out the work that Rolling out Facilitating the Single Market. Secondly, I think that the Commission's defence package has achieved a really massive mark-up – congratulations on that. And thirdly, ladies and gentlemen, the focus of the political agenda on innovation, on research, on high-tech, on the establishment of a Scaleup EuropeFund, These are all good initiatives and I very much welcome them.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen. The ban on new cars from 2035 is a dead end – a dead end linked to massive job cuts, the flooding of the market with Chinese vehicles and the death of an entire industry. In Germany alone, in my home country, we lost 50,000 jobs in the automotive industry last year. If you believe the forecasts of what I am doing, then the situation will be that by 2040, 300,000 jobs will be lost here. The ban on incinerators is simply too short. We need to be open to technology, because this is the only way we can remain competitive and react flexibly to future developments. Our industry needs framework conditions that promote research and development of all propulsion technologies, whether it is the combustion engine, electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, e-fuels or hydrogen. I really ask everyone, ladies and gentlemen, to finally recognise the seriousness of the situation. I recognise that the revision of emission standards should now take place in a timely manner, Commissioner, and that an automobile bus is also planned. That's all good and right. But at the same time, the initiative to green corporate fleets is still in place. I think that would be a burner ban through the back door. We must not expect this from industry or the jobs that are currently attached to the automotive industry. That's why I really ask: Wake up and make the necessary corrections. The end for the burner has to go!

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen! India is not only a fascinating country, but also a very, very important strategic partner for us Europeans in the future. 1.4 billion people, the fourth largest economy in the world, a democratic system: All this speaks to the fact that we are intensifying our relations with India. That is why I welcome the new strategic agenda. I very much hope and wish the Commission very, very good luck that the free trade agreement can be signed by the end of the year. And I believe, ladies and gentlemen, that we must also intensify cooperation in other areas: technology and progress, security and defence, aviation. All of this is planned, and that's a good thing. And let me also say: Strategic partners, friends can also find open words with each other, can also address difficult topics. Colleagues have already taken it up: India’s relationship with Russia, with Belarus, the issue of human rights – these are all issues that, of course, we must also address, especially in the European Parliament. But nevertheless: The most important thing is to establish a close strategic cooperation. And then we can also have an open, intensive exchange and discourse, especially on the topics that are particularly important to us.

Madam President, Vice-President, Commissioner, Prime Minister, ladies and gentlemen! What's the point now? Europe must ensure the security of its citizens. We need to ensure our defense capabilities. We must continue to defend Ukraine. We need to tackle illegal migration, and our businesses need to be relieved. We need to cut red tape, strengthen our European location, create a good framework for jobs to stay with us here in the European Union. Of course, climate protection and competitiveness must go hand in hand. The Danish Presidency intends to take care of all this in the next six months. Madam Prime Minister, I wish you and your whole team good luck, I wish you a happy hand in your Presidency and, like my colleagues from the Group, I can only offer good cooperation with the EPP. I would like to address again a topic that you also want to address as a priority, that is the issue of relief, reducing bureaucracy. I very much hope that the first omnibus, the first major discharge package, will be able to come under your presidency. We need a massive relief for our medium-sized companies. The first omnibus on sustainability was largely discussed under the Polish Presidency of the Council. So good luck, and I really hope you succeed in doing that. This is the signal that our companies in particular need that we are serious about cutting red tape.

Madam President, Madam Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen! NATO is and remains the central pillar of our defence here in Europe and beyond. The NATO summit in The Hague must send a signal of strength and cohesion. Security does not exist at a zero rate. We need to strengthen our defense capabilities and continue to massively expand our capabilities. We need to invest in armaments, infrastructure, civil protection, cybersecurity and ramp up our own production here in Europe. In recent months, the European Union has put a lot of pressure on this. The SAFE program, joint production and procurement, financing of flagship projects such as its own air defense shield have been initiated. We also need a European arms and defence equipment market; The market is still totally fragmented today, which ultimately endangers the lives of our soldiers and costs billions. The proposals for this are also on the table. I very much hope that this signal of strength and cohesion will be sent out in The Hague.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen! Europe is an excellent location for scientists from all over the world. The freedom of teaching, research and science is a very important asset for us in Europe. Promoting and incentivising talent to come to Europe is just the thing. I welcome the new funding programme for cutting-edge research, top researchers and international talent. I welcome this super-financial assistance to the European Research Council. I welcome the better funding for Marie Curie scholarships. All of these, my dear colleagues, are excellent initiatives, and they also help to make our location even more attractive. What we really still have to work on is that we are also facilitating the framework conditions for the talents who come to Europe. I hear from the scientific community that there are still huge problems in the Member States when issuing visas, that it is difficult to get started – even in this new environment. This is not the Commission's primary task now, but perhaps we can also make sure that the talents who want to come to us in Europe feel really welcome here. And that starts with the fact that we are making it easier to issue visas.

Mr President, Mr Vice-President, Mr Minister, ladies and gentlemen! U.S. tariffs hit our companies to the mark. The United States is our most important trading partner, and many jobs here in the European Union depend on exports. If the US administration unilaterally imposes unwarranted tariffs and ultimately declares customs war on us, we must act decisively and, above all, together. I think that the Commission has reacted correctly – prudently: You did not immediately impose counter tariffs, you were always ready for dialogue, open to negotiations, negotiated hard. But the Commission has also prepared to impose countermeasures, to react immediately if tariffs are sharpened. I think it's important to find new strategic partners as well. I must also compliment the Commission on this. You are traveling all over the world: Mercosur agreements have been concluded, negotiations are underway with India, with ASEAN countries, with African countries. I welcome all these initiatives – this is exactly the right way to go – and I thank you and hope that you can continue in this way and successfully conclude further trade agreements.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, Europe is an autocontinent. The European automotive and supply industry is one of our core industries in the economy. More than 13 million people work in the automotive industry, in my home country, in Germany, alone over 600,000. I want it to stay that way. I want these jobs to be preserved, and that is why I welcome the Commission's action plan. It is a right and important signal for our companies and our employees in this important industry. I think it is right that the car manufacturers should be given more time, the CO2–To reach limit values and thus to avoid the penalty payments here. The situation is very challenging economically. That is a correct suggestion. However, what I lack from the Commission in the Action Plan is a clear commitment that all alternative propulsion technologies will continue to be fully approved in the future. The end for the incinerator for the year 2035 must go away. I very much hope that we will get approval for this here in this Parliament as well.

Mr President! Mr Executive Vice-President! Ladies and Gentlemen! Dear colleagues! What kind of sham debate are we having here in this House? The left half of this House is trying to persuade the Conservatives to cooperate with the extreme right here. Talking about it. I can only say: There has never been cooperation, there is no cooperation, and there will be no cooperation with the extreme right. What we are not forbidding from the left side of the House is to formulate our positions, our beliefs here in this House. That is what you do, dear Greens, dear Leftists, dear Social Democrats. My colleague Daniel Caspary has shown who has already been supported here with whom. When I look at the final decisions: I have just discussed with my colleague Monika Hohlmeier about the Budget guidelines. Who voted with whom? All of them, the Left, the Social Democrats and the Greens, voted with the AfD, with the ESN. I could give other examples. Look at your own voting behavior before pointing the raised index finger at other people here. I can only say: Those who ignore the problems and hardships of the people in our country and do not take them seriously, promote the election of the far-right and far-left. And if you look at what the traffic light government has done in the last three years: We have over 50,000 corporate insolvencies, half of them in the last year alone. We have rising unemployment, 400,000 more than at the beginning of the traffic light government. And we have 100 billion euros of capital going out. These are problems that we have to solve and address, not sham debates that we have in the European Parliament.

Madam President, Commissioner! Ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen! Making Europe more attractive again as a business location, strengthening industry and companies, creating freedom and, above all, attracting investment to Europe - this is what the next few years will be all about. In my view, the Commission's work programme sounds very promising. Everything is focused on competitiveness. The U-turn is coming, and Commissioner, you say yes: not business as usual. I can only support that. The reduction of bureaucracy should now be tackled in a very concrete way. It is to be invested in infrastructures, in new future technologies, and also the energy costs are to go down. That all sounds good. I think that courageous proposals must be made now. I think it's important that we finally get serious about cutting red tape. Away with all the paperwork that only burdens companies, away with rules that nobody needs, that have no added value at all! Just have the courage to abolish rules - I think that's good. I have read with pleasure that there is no proposal on AI liability rules now. I don't think we need that. I also think that everything that has gone on in terms of sustainability reporting is totally out of control. Here we must counteract; I look forward to the proposals. We must invest in our future, ladies and gentlemen, that is to say, we must also build data centres; America is fooling us. The proposal to promote artificial intelligence, to build gigafactories so that our European programmers can also train their models here. I think it's a good idea, I think it's the right way to go. Invest where necessary, including in European Sky Shield. I think that's what matters now: show that Europe is strong, able to act and can focus on the essentials.

Madam President, Madam President of the Commission, ladies and gentlemen! We need an effective Commission. The challenges we face here in Europe are enormous and have already been addressed many times: For over 1,000 days of war in Ukraine, the Trump administration will take office on January 20, many regions are shutting themselves off, raising tariffs, our economy is badly off, companies are cutting thousands of jobs across Europe. That is why I can only ask all my fellow Members once again to support the Commission today, to confirm the Commission today and thus to make a clear commitment to a strong common Europe. Dear colleagues, dear colleagues! As a follow-up to the Commission's confirmation today, we can take a critical look at every single Commissioner, if I may say so. It is not yet over with the confirmation, but today I ask you to really go into yourself again, all those who still have doubts, with regard to what lies ahead in the world and how we are perceived in the world. Today, with your vote, please give the Commission the confirmation we need. After that, we will continue to do our job, critically question, admonish. If the political priorities we want in the new Commission do not come, then we will certainly do our job. But today a signal of unity and strong support for a strong Commission and a strong Europe must come from this Parliament, and that is what I ask all my fellow Members to do.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen! If the bureaucracy prevails, progress falls by the wayside. This statement by Franz Josef Strauss has not lost its relevance – on the contrary. Our companies are innovative, capable of making progress if we let them; But that's just what's missing. Our companies are drowning in bureaucratic requirements, reporting obligations, documentation obligations, taxonomy, sustainability reporting, supply chain law, ecodesign regulation, deforestation regulation, circular economy rules, rules on packaging, to name but a few. Then there are the so-called implementing provisions in the delegated acts, further detailed specifications, hundreds of pages of specifications that our companies have to implement. This is a regulatory overkill. I think we need to radically change direction. We need a turnaround, we need to put our entire set of rules to the test. And, ladies and gentlemen, we must also have the courage to simply abolish unnecessary regulations.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen! There is no longer any doubt that the Medical Devices Regulation was well-intentioned but badly done. It has to be changed and it has to happen very, very quickly. We've lost a lot, a lot of valuable time. We here in the European Parliament have been beating for almost three years – almost three years! – Alarm. The first changes to the Medical Devices Regulation were good. But they are not enough. The situation, as many colleagues have mentioned, is still dramatic. The European medical device manufacturers leave our European Union, the applications are now made to the FDA in the USA and no longer to us in Europe. This is actually a big scandal. I also say that when you go to hospitals, when you listen to the medical profession, when you ask the certified bodies, they all say: It doesn't go on like this. I really ask the new Commission to present a proposal immediately, not to evaluate it first. We've lost three years now. We need an accelerated approval process for innovative medical devices. The recertification of low-risk products for every five years must be abolished. We also need to abolish the certification of niche products.

Mr President, Mr Vice-President of the European Commission, ladies and gentlemen! More than 13 million people work in the automotive industry. In Germany, in my home country, there are over 780,000. Europe is an autocontinent. The European automotive and supplier industry is one of the core industries of our economy. I want it to stay that way. I want jobs in the automotive and supplier industries to be maintained in Europe. I also want the industry to focus on climate neutrality, which means that the transformation will come. Global competition has intensified dramatically, it is also played with unfair methods. Therefore, the question must be: What benefits our companies, what benefits our companies and thus secures the jobs here on site, and what harms? That must be our benchmark. Penalties, ladies and gentlemen, are of no use. After all, the automotive industry – at least in my home region – has been on its way to becoming sustainable for a long time. We need to review the regulation on CO2‐Prefer emission limit values to 2025. We need to check the fleet limits. We need a Lifecycle‐Analysis and we need technology neutrality. We have to correct the end for the combustion engine and also promote alternative fuels, because this is the only way to get a better CO for the existing fleet – that is more than 40 million cars driving on the road for me in Germany –2Footprint. We need fair competition globally. I think it is true that the Commission initiated the threat of countervailing duties. I very much hope that through negotiations we will be able to refrain from punitive tariffs or countervailing tariffs due to the pressure that has been built up. That must be the last resort.