Debate contributions by Pascal CANFIN

Madam President, Commissioner, today we are still faced with extreme right-wing rhetoric which tends to suggest that all the problems in the car industry are linked to the 2035 rule. However, the reality is that Chinese competition is completely shifting employment in our territories. OEMs are losing jobs in our territories: It has nothing to do with electrification, but everything to do with China entering this new market. So we need to move towards more local content, made in Europe, to protect our industry, to protect jobs in our territories against this massive and unfair competition. I note that, for the first time in a climate text, you sought to articulate the climate neutrality objectives – which you maintain – with limited flexibilities and, for the first time, local content. Green steel will have to be made in Europe. Small electric cars made in Europe will have ‘surbonus’ so that car manufacturers are incentivised to create more jobs in the European car industry. I welcome this convergence between climate and industrial policies, and we will, for Renew, our group, support this proposal.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, for the second time this month, and in a completely new way in the history of our Parliament, far-right groups are calling for a secret vote, this time on the climate law. I do not know, Mr Bardella, what you have to hide, but probably something. I do not know, Mr Procaccini, what you are afraid of – probably something. We will not allow ourselves to be done. We will not allow you to manipulate European democracy, because you are depriving us of the fundamental right to know, in democracy, who voted for what, Mr Bardella, Mr Procaccini. That is why the Renew Group will be submitting a request to amend the Rules of Procedure next week in order to put an end to this manipulation of democracy by the far right.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, a compromise is a compromise. Obviously, it is always too left for some, always too right for others. But a compromise is better than the spirit of extremism and the spirit of polarization. And so we in the Renew Group will value and support this compromise, no matter how imperfect, like any compromise. For it is out of the question to leave hands to the extremes of these hemicycles. It is out of the question to let the spirit of polarisation, cleavage, division of anti-Europeans divide Europe and our ability to compromise between pro-European forces. So we will all be united, all united in the Renew Group to support this compromise.

Madam President, Commissioner, on behalf of the French delegation from the Renew Group, I wanted to say how much we support the European Commission's action plan for the automotive industry today, in all its dimensions. The first dimension is demand side support. As you said, a lot of public money and private capital has been invested in supply; We must now absolutely support the demand. The second element is to support ‘made in Europe’. For the first time, there is an extremely clear element in this plan for the automotive industry that all European public money must be reserved for those who produce in Europe, be it cars or the entire value chain, including subcontractors and batteries. Unfortunately, we have bad news today, with Northvolt, but we need to support our European battery industry. The third element is that we must stay the course we have set. We are ready to do what you ask us to do, namely to move fast in supporting the amendment of sanctions in 2025, in a targeted, stable and rapid manner. I hope that all the groups in this European Parliament will have the wisdom to follow this proposal.

Mr Executive Vice-President of the Commission, ladies and gentlemen, the Renew Group strongly supports your Clean Industry Pact. Why? By supporting demand for decarbonised goods, it puts an additional 100 billion on the table, supports industry made in Europe and provides funding for innovation. I would also like to say that you have put your finger on something that is key, and that is very important for Renew: there is no competitiveness without decarbonisation and there is no decarbonisation without competitiveness. This is the heart of the pact that you are proposing to us today and that we support. I would like to tell the far-right colleagues, who are supposedly patriots and sovereignists, that by constantly supporting fossil fuels, which we import 100%, they are one day constantly supporting Putin’s Russia, the next day Trump’s United States, the third day Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the fifth day Kazakhstan and Algeria... It is these countries – which finance terrorism, which finance the war in Ukraine, which finance radical Islam – that you support, through your positions against the Green Deal and today against the Clean Industry Deal. You are the least sovereignist in this House. You are the least patriotic in this House.

Mr President, I would like to address the EPP representatives in front of me today to say that you have the choice today to go fast, with us, in this simplification process without falling into the excesses we have just heard from the right-wing and far-right groups. You have a choice, and we, Renew, are ready to move very quickly, on the basis of the Commission's proposals. We can discuss the details, but the balance point, for example on the CSRD, which is one of the texts of this omnibus package, is generally acceptable to us, since there are carry-overs, but the elements that seemed absolutely essential to us, such as the so-called principle of double materiality, are maintained. Otherwise, you have the choice not to negotiate with us, but with the far right. If you are negotiating with the far right, then it means that you are breaking the ability to have confidence in this majority von der Leyen, who elected the President of the Commission. But you need this majority von der Leyen; Europe needs this von der Leyen majority to respond to the geopolitical crisis we are experiencing and build the Europe-power we need more than ever. You will not do this with the far right. It is not with those who have just recalled that the worst responsibility on the steel sector would be the text on the CSRD, when it is obviously the friends of the far right, such as Donald Trump, who want to impose tariffs that will hurt the steel sector very badly. You have a choice: either you make a smart simplification with us, or you make the chainsaw with the far right. History is your concern.

Mr President, Mr Vice-President of the Commission, we welcome the European Commission's compass for competitiveness because it does not oppose, on the one hand, competitiveness and, on the other hand, the Green Deal and decarbonisation, but, on the contrary, it deals with both at the same time. Beyond all the ideological battles that sometimes animate us, if there is one figure that we should all have in mind, it is that last year, we Europeans spent $450 billion to buy gas and oil and that, at the same time, Americans earned, by selling oil and gas, $150 billion, which makes a difference, in a single year, of $600 billion, which makes a difference, over the last five years, of $2.5 trillion. It is there, the difference between the growth of the United States and ours, $2.5 trillion difference. The only way to reduce this gap is to decarbonise, to electrify, to move towards energy efficiency, to move towards green industries. It is to do exactly what you are about to put on the table with the Clean Industry Compact, which we look forward to.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, I would like to say to all the far-right colleagues who are hitting on our climate action day after day, on the one hand, that it will cost us a lot, a lot, a lot more tomorrow, if we do not act today. All studies show this. Look at them, please, rather than saying absolutely anything in this Chamber. On the other hand, we Europeans bought, spent, pulled out of the coffers of our Europe almost $500 billion last year to buy oil and gas that we do not have. The Americans earned $150 billion by exporting gas and oil. This means that, in a single year, last year, we recorded almost $600 billion in a year’s gap between the European and US economies. Almost one recovery plan per year. One recovery plan per year of gap. Why? Because we buy oil and gas instead of developing the energies we know how to produce at home: renewables, nuclear, energy efficiency. For our sovereignty, for our independence, for our trade balance, for our prosperity and for our jobs, we must therefore redouble our efforts for climate action. This is not only a moral issue, it is also our economic interest. We should therefore act even more and, above all, not listen to those who are Trump’s allies, Milei’s allies, the allies of the fossil powers, and who are now on the far right in this Chamber.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, thank you. Mr Procaccini, you have proposed to us a debate based on facts, and I welcome this debate based on facts. You know that last year, Europe, all of us, all businesses, all households, all European families, we bought €400 billion worth of oil and gas abroad. Meanwhile, the US exported $150 billion worth of oil and gas in a single year. That is almost 600 billion difference between us and the United States. Why? Because we are dependent on fossil fuels. Over the last five years, that's $2.5 trillion difference between the United States and us. Over five years! Why? Because we are dependent on fossil fuels. That is why the Green Deal is at the heart of our project to regain autonomy, sovereignty and competitiveness. You want to develop nuclear power in Italy. I welcome this as a Frenchman. What does that mean? That means more electricity. But for there to be more electricity, there must be supply and demand. And what is demand? It is the electrification of our mobility, it is electric cars. Call them 'nuclear cars', if you like. Why do you oppose it? Electrification means more electricity in our industry. This is the carbon market, to decarbonise our industry. Why do you oppose it when, at the same time, you want to do more nuclear? Be consistent, Mr Procaccini. Look reality in the face and come and support the Green Deal with us.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased, as are others, that we seem to have a consensus to introduce more tax justice in the world. We managed to do it for companies; there is no reason why we should not be able to do this for individuals. This process takes place at G20 level and must be strongly supported by the European Union. I am delighted that this Parliament seems to be moving in that direction. The Commission and the Council, of course, should do the same. This is a very clear appeal to Ursula von der Leyen to explicitly and strongly support this process. Remember, this process does not fall from the sky; it stems from the action of a number of G20 countries, the Brazilian Presidency in the first place, but also from countries that, from the beginning, supported President Lula's action. I would like here to salute the role of France and the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, who was the first to co-sign papers with Lula to convince the other G20 countries to go in this direction. It is now up to the European Union to do the work and support as strongly as it can this new international push for more tax justice.

Madam member, I come from a region, the Hauts-de-France, where there are many members of the Rassemblement national. In Dunkirk alone, 40,000 jobs will be created. In this city alone, 40,000 jobs, thanks to the decarbonization of our automobile and industry, and the development of nuclear and renewable energies. That is the Green Deal. Go and tell the 40,000 employees in Dunkirk that you, in fact, at the Rassemblement national, want to destroy their jobs. I don't want to, I believe in the future, I believe in innovation and I believe in European talent, unlike you.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, today's debate is entitled 'The automotive industry in crisis'. I recall that European manufacturers – and this is all the better – made historic profits in 2023, and I recall that almost all of them made significant profits in the first half of 2024. Again, so much the better. Nevertheless, let us not confuse financial realities, which are objective, with political discourse and ideology of wanting to blame the Green Deal for anything that would not go to Europe today. We must continue to support the automotive industry in its transformation, of course first and foremost industrial policy. That is why we need to create a battery industry across Europe – something we have been doing for the last five years. We must continue, and above all not go back. The second element is to bring justice to trade. That is why I am delighted, on behalf of the French delegation from Renew, that the European Commission and the Member States have finally put in place tools to combat unfair competition from China.

Mr President, Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, if there is one word I want to take away from the outcome of this strategic dialogue, it is the word 'hope'. After months of agricultural crisis, after weeks and months of demonstrations and polarizations, tensions, conflicts, there was the result of this strategic dialogue with trade unions, non-governmental organizations, companies and scientists. And when all these people, a priori with very different points of view, spend weeks working together to define a common path, they succeed. This document is signed by both NGOs and agricultural trade unions. Who would have thought it would be possible? So we MEPs need to take the result of this strategic dialogue – we do not agree with everything, I myself do not agree with everything in this strategic dialogue, but it is a very good balance point, a very good compromise point. Our responsibility, and that of the Commission, is now to translate it into action in the coming months.