What Marion spoke about.

Madam President, Ladies and Gentlemen! This debate is urgently needed. As SME Europe We have long been calling on the EPP to ensure that our SMEs are finally heard here. The so-called Gold ‑Plating, i.e. if Member States have additional national obligations when implementing EU ‑ law on top It costs our companies time and money and is detrimental to competition. In her State of the Union address t

Whoever bears what share of what here is completely indecisive. It is crucial that we act and that, when we recognize mistakes, we correct them, and that is what we are working on.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. Many thanks to Maria Walsh, Daniel Buda and Herbert Dorfmann for initiating this debate. When I first delved deeper into wool, I couldn't believe what we as the EU are doing here – or rather, couldn't do. We all know that Europe is truly not blessed with raw materials. Wool is such a raw material: versatile, regionally available, water-repellent, flame retardant

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, The citizens’ initiative ‘Stop Destroying Videogames’ essentially poses one of the fundamental questions of the digital age: If consumers properly purchase a digital product, be it a video game or, more generally, software, do they have the right to use that product permanently, or does it remain a mere privilege for developers or publishers to be able to wit

Madam President, Dear colleagues! Commissioner! We have been holding this debate for years on the single market, on competitiveness, on Europe's industrial strength. However, it is no longer enough to celebrate the single market. We need the single market fit for the future. The keywords are named: Digitalisation, harmonisation, cutting red tape, competitiveness. That's all right, because every we

Madam President, Dear colleagues! Anyone who talks about medicines today talks about security of supply, competitiveness and industrial strength. Experienced supply bottlenecks show us: Europe can no longer rely on global dependencies on critical medicines. The Critical Medicines Act This is a paradigm shift: away from the cheapest provider, towards a European resilience model. Security of supply

Madam President, Dear colleagues! Europe is at a turning point. Our productivity is stagnating, global uncertainty is growing and our competitiveness is coming under increasing pressure. In order to counter this, we need not only large strategies, but also concrete tools that have a noticeable effect on the everyday life of companies. This is where the 28th chance comes in. regimes. It can be anot

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. In just a few weeks, Christmas is a time when millions of European families are looking for gifts for their loved ones. Today we have the chance to give them the greatest gift: security. Toys remain the most frequently reported product category in the EU rapid alert system for unsafe products. We cannot and will not accept this any longer. With the new Toy Safet

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, For two decades, North Macedonia has been striving to join the EU – with perseverance, a willingness to reform and clear popular support. Despite the challenges, the country has made impressive progress. And yet, the accession process is stalled. Bilateral disputes have been blocking the way for years. This undermines confidence in North Macedonia and the cre

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen! Europe faces the challenge of remaining an attractive location for venture capital and safe foreign direct investment. This is not only a question of competitiveness, but also of the future viability of our continent. The numbers speak a sobering language. While the US and China are investing heavily in start-ups and disruptive technologies, Europe is moving

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, With the vote on the report on toy safety, we will take a major step towards adapting the outdated existing rules to the needs of our time. We must seize the opportunity, because our children, as the most vulnerable and vulnerable consumer group, must be better protected from unsafe toys. We will address risks stemming from hazardous chemicals, insufficient c

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. First of all, before I forget what is on my heart: Thanks to the shadow rapporteurs for the excellent cooperation on this very technical but also difficult dossier. We have achieved a good compromise that will make SEP licensing in the EU more efficient. The proposal was also not criticised by DG TRADE during the hearing. The TRIPS Agreement is compatible, as wa

Mr President, Commissioner Breton, dear Thierry, ladies and gentlemen! Once upon a time, there was a small company that started manufacturing smart meters. After some time, the company writes black numbers and suddenly it receives a letter from another company from a third country, which requires a considerable amount for the use of its SEP. Now the SME knows at best that SEPS is the abbreviation

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to thank all those who took part in the debate. Together, I would like to emphasise, we have succeeded in strengthening our European craftsmanship by attesting to the quality and origin of craftsmanship produced in the EU with this new quality label. Our cultural and traditional heritage is strengthened. The quality label on products will not only h

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. The report on the protection of geographical indications for craft and industrial products is a true European success story. Finally, we will be able to protect the many traditionally produced products such as porcelain, textiles or knives with an EU seal of approval. The report is a success story because it can be summarised under the title ‘Efficiency’. Effici

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, With the accession of the European Union to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications, we make it possible for all protected products to be protected at international level. This is already the case for some European products originating from the seven Member States which had already acceded to the Geneva Ac

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Tomorrow's vote on overall product safety is an important milestone for the Single Market and for Europe's consumers. A good negotiation result for safe products in the European Union has finally been achieved. This is in line with what we as Parliament had already called for in November 2020 in the context of the own-initiative report on product safety, which I

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. The Istanbul Convention is of immense importance because every single person, whether mostly women or, in some cases, men who are abused at home by a partner, is a victim too much. And because every child who is a victim of this domestic violence or witness to this abuse is one too many. Immeasurable suffering, lifelong physical and mental damage result from thi

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. What could be better than watching a child play, driving the construction crane through the sandbox or falling asleep with the teddy in his arm? It is all the more frightening to learn that in the past year, every fifth product classified as dangerous by the EU was a toy. It cannot and must not be that today's toys contain toxic or harmful chemicals that can lea

Dear Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Without innovative solutions, we will not be able to meet our upcoming goals of the Green Deal, digitalisation and Industry 4.0. It is therefore important to strengthen intellectual property rights, such as patents, designs and trademarks, and to improve their enforcement. This report identifies existing problem situations and proposes solutions. For exampl

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. As the EPP shadow rapporteur in the Committee on Legal Affairs, I consider this own-initiative report to be particularly important for two main reasons: firstly, because the number of women, but also men, who are victims of physical and psychological violence within the partnership, especially in the pandemic, has increased dramatically. Behind the figures are d