Speeches

– Mr President, honourable members, first I would like to thank the Petitions Committee for adding this oral question to this week’s plenary agenda and for giving us the opportunity to discuss today this highly important topic. Let me start by stressing the Commission is strongly committed to protecting and restoring existing forests worldwide and that the protection of forests features very highly on our political agenda. This EU forest strategy, which we adopted last year, which is anchored in both the European Green Deal and the EU diversity strategy, builds on the multiple roles played by forests for the climate, biodiversity, society and the economy. It strives to ensure that our forests deliver on all those fronts. Our goal is to overcome the challenges related to climate change and biodiversity loss and at the same time to promote the bio—economy to unlock the potential of forests for our future. If we want the European Union to succeed in its transition towards sustainability, we will need forests that are bigger, healthier and more resilient than today. In this spirit, the forest strategy shows how increased climate and biodiversity ambitions can go hand-in-hand with economic prosperity. It is a realistic strategy, which also acknowledges that our forests are under threat. We have seen how, during the pandemic, illegal logging actually increased in the European Union. The EU forest strategy for 2030 states explicitly that the implementation and enforcement of our relevant acquis to protect forests needs to be stepped up, and the Commission is determined to play its role as guardian of the Treaties. Over the past years, where we concluded that EU legislation was not properly implemented, we have launched infringement procedures against the Member States concerned, for example, Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Estonia. In your oral question, you ask how the Commission plans to assess the extent of illegal logging and the economic losses it causes within the European Union. In relation to the economic losses linked to illegal logging, we do not have official recent estimates, but we can see from various data sources that it could be substantial. A study of the World Bank gives estimates of foregone tax revenue due to illegal logging for 2017 Europe without Russia. It estimates that between USD 19 million and USD 380 million in tax income was lost. The EU Timber Regulation remains the EU’s primary tool for preventing illegally logged timber entering EU markets. The Commission assesses the correct enforcement of EU Timber Regulation by Member States on the basis of their annual reporting of relevant, substantiated concerns and trade data. In addition, the Commission relies on satellite images available to evaluate illegal logging in protected Natura 2000 sites, and on reports from civil society on the ground. We will continue to work closely with Member States to develop other relevant initiatives and tools, including under the framework of the regulation of deforestation, which the Commission proposed in November 2021. The regulation of deforestation will eventually replace the Timber Regulation and expand reporting obligations by Member States. It proposes reporting on the content of checks, their follow up, country of origin and production of timber. This will allow the Commission to better assess the quality of Member States’ enforcement activities. Let me now turn to the second part of your oral question concerning the compliance of Member States with their commitments to restore areas deteriorated by illegal logging. The Commission has opened several infringements against Member States to address illegal logging that has taken place in Natura 2000 sites in breach of the Habitats Directive. In these cases, the Commission has asked Member States to restore deteriorated areas and to present a restoration plan. On this basis, the Commission will carefully assess the delivery of such commitments using both satellite intelligence and field evidence as appropriate. Lastly, on the publishing of the detailed assessment of all forest management plans in Member States, we plan to do this through the new legislative instrument on EU forest monitoring plans for 2023. Furthermore, the assessment will consider how to support and advice foresters in setting up those plans. In parallel, the Commission is using geospatial intelligence to assess individual cases where there might be a risk to compliance. For example, geospatial intelligence is increasingly being used by the Commission to assess complaints about natural forest habitat deterioration in special areas of conservation. Finally, the Commission is also developing the EU observatory on deforestation and forest degradation, which investigates changes in the world’s forest cover and associated drivers. Honourable Members, thank you for your attention, and I look forward to your questions and comments.

– Mr President, only a few comments. First of all, the Commission aims at adopting the legislative proposal after the summer break, as many of you asked. The initiative requires urgent action, which does not allow us to prepare an impact assessment, but the Commission will publish the evidence, as I said earlier, in a staff working document. We published a call for evidence on 23 May, and it is open for public feedback until 24 June. We encourage stakeholders to submit comments. All of us know that combating forced labour is nothing new. Our trade agreements commit our partners to signing and effectively implementing the ILO fundamental conventions, including on forced labour. Company law instruments and proposals oblige companies to report on forced labour and address it in their operations and supply chains. Moreover, our anti—trafficking directive from 2011 ensures that Member States penalise human trafficking and forced labour. And to conclude, I do appreciate the valuable comments and questions raised in this debate today. It is clear that we have the same objective. Combating forced labour and promoting due diligence standards are priorities of the European Union’s agenda on business and human rights. We are looking forward to further exchanges with you on this issue. Thank you Mr President, thank you honourable Members, thank you Mr Lange, so we are looking forward to having legislative proposals soon.

– Mr President, the Commission is addressing forced labour in global value chains as a priority. Forced labour exists on every continent, including Europe, unfortunately. However, it should be noted that the physical characteristics of a product do not reveal whether forced labour has been used. It also often takes place at the early stages of a supply chain. To address it efficiently, we need to tackle the root cause, which is often related to economic, social, political or cultural circumstances. Other root causes include legislative gaps and the lack of effective enforcement. Finding effective solutions requires a long—term effort, combined with short— and medium-term European Union action. It will require pooling together a number of relevant policy tools at European level and in the international context. I would like to thank you for the questions you have asked. We are still developing our approach and we still expect to receive comments from stakeholders. Therefore, I will not reply to all your questions in detail today, but they are all well noted for our further consideration. In response to your questions on the process, we aim to adopt a legislative proposal after the summer break. Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis and Commissioner Breton co—lead on this file, with all relevant Commission services as well as the External Action Service closely associated. Executive Vice-President Vestager is also associated with this file. The initiative requires urgent action, which does not allow preparing an impact assessment, but the Commission will publish the evidence of a staff working document. The Commission published on 23 May a call for evidence for public feedback. Furthermore, we are currently holding targeted consultations with EU and international stakeholders. This proposal will also respond to the recommendations of the Conference on the Future of Europe, the fight against child labour and forced child labour. As regards the content of the new instrument, the guidelines were presented by the Commission President in her State of the Union speech last September, and in the Commission communication on decent work worldwide. This provided the basis for the instrument we are currently fleshing out. The aim of the legislative proposal will be to effectively prohibit the placing on the EU market of products made by forced labour, and this marketing prohibition would cover both domestic and imported products. The instruments would have a risk—based enforcement, build on international standards and complement existing horizontal and sectorial EU initiatives, in particular due diligence and transparency obligations. The measure would introduce a prohibition to place products made with forced labour on the EU market. Therefore the relevant legal basis could be Article 114 of the Treaty, possibly combined with Article 207 of the Treaty if deemed relevant. The legislative proposal should recognise the role of due diligence in identifying, preventing, mitigating and accounting for the use of forced labour in value chains. It should be coherent with the due diligence obligations established in existing initiatives. It may be useful to give guidelines to companies to help them carry out various steps of due diligence. This should be in line with those guidelines to be developed in the framework of the proposal for a directive on corporate sustainability due diligence. Such guidelines should be tailored for different types of economic operators, especially those not covered by the above—mentioned proposal. We should avoid placing unnecessary additional administrative burden on businesses and the enforcement authorities, and we should provide tools to help them with implementation. For example, an important element will be information—sharing on the risks of forced labour. The proposal should also consider the specific situation of SMEs, both in its design and enforcement. Forced labour is a very complex issue. The international dimension is important and we are cooperating with partners, including the US and Canada – who indeed have their own systems – but also with international organisations. The initiative should consider ways to cooperate with third countries, including countries where supply chains originate.

– Mr President, I was listening carefully to this debate this morning, and I want, first of all, to thank you for inviting me to this debate. I think now that all of us agree that, following this intense year of deliberation and engagement with citizens through the Conference on the Future of Europe, the input of engagement of citizens helps reinforce representative democracy. At the beginning it was not like this, but now I am sure that all of us can share this opinion. We should not lose out of sight that what we have achieved is historically significant. Every institutional component of the Conference gave its consensus on 49 proposals. In the words of President von der Leyen, the Conference weaved and crafted the vision of Europe that delivers on what matters most that helps to make everyday life better. And we have all listened to the citizens. We all have a role in following up to the proposals of the Conference. Effective feedback is vital to this process. This is where we show that the message from citizens has been well received. For the Commission as a first step, the follow-up will take the shape of a communication and President von der Leyen will announce the Commission’s first initiatives, as I already said this morning, in her State of the Union address. The subsequent Commission work programme will see the further implementation of a number of proposals. For the European Parliament, part of the response includes calling for Treaty change. As President von der Leyen said in her speech at the closing of the Conference, the Commission will always be on the side of those who want to reform the European Union and to make it work better. As mentioned earlier, the Commission is ready to play its part. That’s all for my side. Thank you for having me here today and I am looking forward to voting.

– Mr President, thank you, good morning to everybody. Dear colleagues, you know that in the Conference on the Future of Europe, we gave our citizens a central role. We have heard their voice, and now it’s up to each institution to deliver on the follow-up of the Conference according to the commitment in the joint declaration at the beginning of the Conference. Follow-up is a shared responsibility. The Commission is ready to play its part in turning proposals into concrete action. Next week already, the Commission is putting forward a communication that charts out the way for the follow—up of the Conference outcome in areas that fall under the Commission’s remit. There is already a lot the institutions can do and some of the proposals can be implemented rather swiftly. The first new Commission proposal responding to the final report will be announced by President von der Leyen in her State of the Union address in September. Recent examples show that even in the midst of a worldwide pandemic or a war, Europe is able to deliver on areas that are not explicitly provided for in the Treaties. We have procured billions of vaccines for Europeans and worked on kick-starting the economy through Next Generation EU, to mention just two examples. Beyond this, we could go further. As you say in your resolution, Europe could play a greater role, for example, in health and in defence, and in some key areas, unanimity voting does not make sense and we need to be able to move faster. The European Parliament is now on the path to use its powers to call for treaty change and the Commission is ready to play its part. We have to find the most direct way to follow up on the conclusions of the Conference, either by using the full limits of what can be done within the treaties or, if needed, changing the treaties where necessary. And now it is delivery time. That’s all for the beginning.

– Madam President, good morning. I want to thank honourable Members for dedicating time to this very, very important topic. All of us know that children’s rights are human rights, and this is something we have to keep in mind. Every child has the right to grow up in a secure environment, to play, to learn, and to have prospects for a peaceful future. Today, we see children under attack in Ukraine, on our European soil. We see their most basic rights, including the very right to life, brutally denied. Children are trapped in the bomb shelters, caught in crossfire and are braving harsh conditions. Look at Bucha. These harrowing images cannot, and will not, be left unanswered. The perpetrators of these crimes must not go unpunished, and a global response is necessary. Two and a half million children have been forced from their homes and some two million children have crossed the border into the European Union. Many arrive without their parents. I think there are about 100 000 children in Ukrainian institutions, more than half of them with disabilities. It is a top priority for all of us to urgently respond to their needs. On 23 March, the Commission adopted its communication on welcoming those fleeing war in Ukraine, readying Europe to meet their needs. We outlined concrete measures that equip the European Union and Member States to offer these children protection and give them swift access to their rights and services without any discrimination. We are making European Union funding available to support inclusion, foster care, psychosocial support and counselling. Unaccompanied minors, and separated and orphaned children are at high risk of abuse and exploitation. We are working to obtain sufficient data so that all children are properly registered. My colleague Ylva Johansson will speak in more detail about this later on. Legal guardians must be assigned as quickly as possible. Potential foster families should be vetted so that the children do not end up in abusive households. Our Member States’ national offices for children, child protection services and the Ombudsman are mobilised. I can confirm that national coordinators of the European Child Guarantee are now operational. They will play an important role in providing access to key services. We have established a solidarity platform for Member States. This will help ensure effective coordination and cooperation. We recently launched the European Union Network for Children’s Rights, which will strengthen the coordination among child rights actors and help us identify further needs. Education is key. We support our Member States to help children return to school to regain a sense of normality. Integration into national childcare and school systems will be accompanied by psychosocial support, and culture and sport activities to help overcome trauma, language and cultural barriers. The Commission’s School Education Gateway will serve as a one—stop shop to link educational material from Ukraine to Member States’ material in the Ukrainian language. We will also draw on the capacities of Ukrainian teachers among the new arrivals in the European Union. Upon arrival, healthcare is crucial. Children will need psychosocial care. Many will have missed out on proper nutrition. Standard paediatric vaccinations will be prioritised and the Commission is supporting the supply of vaccines through HERA. Inside Ukraine, genuine humanitarian corridors must be established to evacuate the most vulnerable. We are providing substantial humanitarian aid, working with our international partners and in coordination with the Ukrainian authorities to ensure humanitarian aid reaches its destination and that children can receive protection. This war will mark the children of Ukraine for life. We will not leave a stone unturned to ensure that they will be well cared for, that they can recover and be a child again. This is not only a job. It is our collective responsibility and a human imperative.

– Madam President, I would like to thank the honourable Members and the rapporteur, Ms Gabriele Bischoff, in particular for consulting the Commission on these amendments of its Rules of Procedure. This is foreseen in paragraph 21 of the framework agreement on the relations between the two institutions. The Commission gave due consideration to the amendments adopted in December last year to ensure the functioning of Parliament under extraordinary circumstances, in particular those linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Commission takes note of the current amendments which mainly concern internal arrangements of the European Parliament. These amendments mostly aim at ensuring legal certainty by updating a number of references in order to take account of recently adopted legal texts. In particular, the Commission notes the amendment to Rule 99 on discharge to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the budget amended to include a reference to the new financial regulation, that is Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046. The Commission knows that the Rule 235 on powers and responsibilities relating to European political parties and European political foundations was amended to include a reference to the same regulation, and the Commission notes the reference of the Regulation (EU) 2019/1673 on the European citizens’ initiative in Rule 222 on public hearings and debates on citizens’ initiatives, and Rule 230 on the Citizens’ initiative. The Commission does not have any comments related to these amendments. The Commission welcomes the European Parliament’s commitment to ensure gender balance within its internal bodies as reflected in the amendment to Rule 213 on the Bureau of parliamentary committees. We understand that the revision of the Rules of Procedure is a work in progress. Additional amendments might be considered in the future to take into account further developments. This is relevant in the context of the reflection process launched by President Sassoli on how to improve the democratic work of Parliament and draw lessons from the recent pandemic. The framework agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the European Commission is the written translation of the spirit of sincere and mutual cooperation that should govern the relations between our two institutions. It is therefore of the utmost importance that Parliament and the Commission duly implement its provisions, both when it comes to claiming rights and to respect obligations. In this context, the Commission expects to continue to be informed on and stands ready to respond to any consultation on future amendments to the Parliament’s Rules of Procedure that would affect the mutual cooperation. I want to thank you very much for your work and am looking forward to our cooperation.

– Madam President, on behalf of my colleague, High Representative and Vice President, Josep Borrell, I would like to congratulate the rapporteur, Antonio López—Istúriz White, for the comprehensive report on EU—NATO cooperation in the context of transatlantic relations. Let me welcome that it incorporates a number of elements of key importance and relevance for EU—NATO cooperation, such as emphasising the European Union’s ambition to be a global actor for peace and security, highlighting that the European Union’s strategic autonomy strengthens transatlantic security, reaffirming the importance of key principles guiding EU—NATO cooperation and calling for coherence between the two reflection processes, notably the Strategic Compass on the European Union side and NATO 2030 on NATO’s side. In the current strategic environment and in light of the common challenges, joining and closely coordinating our efforts is the most obvious choice. Enhanced EU—NATO cooperation remains instrumental in bringing Europe and North America closer. We seek to deepen the fostering of the transatlantic bond. Cooperation with NATO remains a key priority for the European Union, as confirmed by the Council on several occasions. Last month, the NATO Summit Communiqué reaffirmed that the European Union is a unique and essential partner for NATO. The two joint declarations of 2016 and 2018, together with the 74 common actions for implementation, provide a well-established, solid and comprehensive framework for cooperation. It is based on a strong political mandate received from both EU Member States and NATO allies. The NATO summit invited the Secretary-General to develop the next strategic concept to be endorsed at the next summit. At the same time, on our side, we are taking forward our reflection process, which will lead to the adoption of the Strategic Compass in March next year. Rest assured that we see a clear need for coherence between these two reflection processes. We are working in this direction in full respect of the decision—making autonomy of both organisations. In the wake of a very successful EU—US summit and as we approach the fifth anniversary of the Warsaw Joint Declaration, we see clear political momentum for further strengthening our strategic partnership and taking our cooperation to the next level. We are exploring ways regarding the common way forward, a renewed political commitment to take the form of a new joint declaration. I count on the continued support of the European Parliament in further strengthening our mutually reinforcing and beneficial strategic partnership with NATO.

– Madam President, honourable Members, on behalf of Vice—President Valdis Dombrovskis, I want to thank Parliament and the Committee on International Trade (INTA Committee) and our rapporteur, Kathleen Van Brempt, for the attention, work and time invested in this report. I also want to thank you for your involvement in the trade policy review process, which led to the adoption by the Commission of the communication on an open, sustainable and assertive trade policy on 18 February. I fully share your analysis about the special context in which the trade policy review is taking place. As you rightly pointed out, trade policy finds itself at a crossroads. This is why there is a need for a new EU trade and investment strategy. This must take into account the difficult current geopolitical reality, including the challenges of the COVID—19 crisis, and also those stemming from our ambitions linked to the green and digital transitions. The new trade policy strategy is built on three pillars: openness, sustainability and assertiveness. The key challenge we face is to find the right balance between these three elements. On openness: reaffirming our commitment to open, fair and rules—based trade is not just EU idealism. It is an economic and political necessity. The competitiveness of our economy depends on it. This is particularly evident in the multilateral space. Again, I thank you for supporting our plans to lead an in—depth reform of the World Trade Organization. It is in this spirit of openness that European Union has proposed that WTO members agree as soon as possible on a global trade initiative for equitable access to COVID—19 vaccines and medicines. The European Union also stands ready to support close cooperation between international bodies, especially the recently—announced intensified collaboration of the WTO, the World Health Organization and the World Intellectual Property Organization in fighting the pandemic. In your report, you underlined the need for the European Union to enhance its strategic autonomy, notably to secure access to critical raw materials, goods and services, especially medical and pharmaceutical goods. This is a legitimate request that is supported by the openness of our economy. This is why the overarching concept guiding the strategy is the model of open strategic autonomy. To address today’s most pressing challenges, such as climate change and biodiversity loss or the COVID—19 crisis, we need more rather than less global cooperation. A policy of open strategic autonomy will therefore allow the European Union to continue reaping the benefits of international opportunities, while at the same time assertively defending our interests, protecting our economy from unfair trade practices and ensuring a level playing field. I welcome that sustainability is very much at the forefront of the European Parliament’s priorities in your resolution. This is in line with the new strategy, which represents a clear choice for a green and progressive trade policy. It puts the green transition and protection of labour rights at the very heart of European Union trade policy. More concretely, I also agree with the view expressed by the European Parliament that we need to work further on issues such as fair, resilient and sustainable value chains, the enforceability of trade and sustainable development chapters, and the importance of delivering an efficient carbon border adjustment mechanism. We shall also continue our efforts in promoting resource—efficient and circular economy models around the world through the trade levers. The dialogues on these issues will continue in particular during the review of the 15—point action plan on trade and sustainable development, which will be launched very soon. On assertiveness, I certainly agree with many of the points made in this resolution. In particular, I agree with the idea that our openness should go hand—in—hand with effective rules, ensuring fair competition and a level playing field for European businesses. I also agree with you that where cooperation is not possible, the European Union should pursue its interests through autonomous measures to protect its values and fight against unfair trading practices in accordance with international law. So this is very much in line with our clear shift towards stronger implementation and enforcement and with the new instruments that we are proposing, such as the foreign subsidies instrument and the future anti—coercion instrument. Finally, I would like to emphasise that the Commission intends to build on the very positive trade policy review process and continue the dialogue and engagement on trade policy with all key stakeholders. I want to thank you, honourable Members.

– Madam President, honourable Members, on behalf of my colleague Vice-President Věra Jourová, I thank you for this opportunity to exchange views on this important matter. The Commission is fully committed to engaging with citizens in shaping European Union policy. We have been using various methods and tools for some time. Since 2012, the Commission has promoted a format of citizens’ dialogues. These are open and direct dialogues between citizens and the European Commission. Sometimes senior Commission officials participate on specific issues. More than 2 000 dialogues have been organised across all Member States. I personally have participated in them and find them to be a valuable source of inspiration and exchange. In the last year, due to the pandemic, citizens’ dialogues have moved entirely online. I’m looking forward to meeting and discussing with citizens in person again too. Dialogues allow the European Commission to open the debate about Europe to more and more people throughout the Union. They have uncovered an increasing demand for events that enable people to be heard. Many different participatory formats of dialogues have taken place over the years. Workshops and other methods are frequently used to ensure the participation of all those attending the events. However, citizens’ dialogues are primarily a listening exercise. This is where the Conference on the Future of Europe deepens citizens’ engagement. This unprecedented exercise in deliberative democracy at the European level has a built-in feedback mechanism. In the joint declaration the three presidents committed to following up on citizens’ input. Crucially, citizens will be able to see the outcome of their inputs. The conference pan-European citizens panels as a key feature. A representative sample of 800 citizens will deliberate and come up with policy recommendations on the main topics addressed on the conference digital platform. These recommendations will feed into the overall conference discussions for follow up. But we want to go a step further. We are therefore doing our utmost to mainstream citizens’ participation in various policy domains. The conference is not a panacea for all ills. It will not replace representative democracy but will reinforce it. And I want to highlight this today here in this hemicycle. One of the tangible tools engaging Europeans in the European Union policy-making for the last nine years is the European citizens’ initiative. It gives all European citizens the power to directly ask the European Commission to take action on matters they care about. On 30 June we have given a positive reply to the sixth successful initiative ‘End the cage age’ calling for prohibiting caging of various farm animals. This year legislative acts adopted in the follow up of two other European citizens’ initiatives – Right to water and Ban glyphosate – entered into application. This is evidence of the substantive legal and political impact of successful citizens’ initiatives. But the real impact of the European citizens’ initiative goes further. Even initiatives that do not reach the final formal steps of the process can generate multiple impacts because the citizens’ initiative is first and foremost an agenda-setting tool. From the moment citizens start an initiative, they bring the issue they care about into the public space and to the attention of the Commission. This year, we already registered six new citizens’ initiatives. We hope to receive many more in the future as we are further extending our information campaign – EU take the initiative – and the legal and practical advice offered by the forum on the European citizens’ initiative. Honourable Members, dear Mr Scholz, the Commission will study your resolution and look at how to better involve citizens right from the early stages of policy-making. Structurally embedding citizen engagement in the European Union helps to address some of the frustrations and concerns of our citizens and contributes to bringing the European Union closer to them.

– Madam President, the Commission welcomes the report by the Committee on Fisheries (PECH) on the impact on fisheries of offshore windfarms and other renewable energy systems. On behalf of my colleague, Virginijus Sinkevičius, I want to thank in particular the rapporteur, Peter van Dalen, for all his work and strong commitment to this important issue. This report puts a much—needed emphasis on environmental considerations, the rational use of space and the involvement of all sea users. This is very much in the spirit of our new approach to a sustainable blue economy. Under the European Green Deal, the European Union is committed to becoming climate neutral by 2050 in order to mitigate the effects of climate change and related biodiversity loss. Sustainably-sourced and circular renewable energy is essential to reaching this target. Offshore wind energy needs to be developed in line with the objectives of the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 and the circular economy action plan. The Maritime Spatial Planning Directive clearly stipulates having, in the early stages, both a dialogue and cooperation with the fishing community and all relevant stakeholders. The main goal of maritime special planning is to ensure access to maritime space for the different sea users and to facilitate the coexistence and synergies between those users, while safeguarding the marine environment. Therefore, one of the actions under the new sustainable blue economy approach will be the creation of a blue forum for all users of the sea. In the blue forum, a dialogue will be coordinated between stakeholders from the fisheries, aquaculture, shipping, tourism and energy sectors, as well as scientists. The aim is to develop synergies and reconcile competing uses of the sea. The Commission has carried out and financed several projects looking at a combination of fisheries or aquaculture on the one side, wind farms on the other side, and the relevant impacts. Work in this area must continue. The Commission is encouraging this, notably via the blue forum and the Horizon Europe mission on ocean waters, coastal and inland waters. In addition, best practices in terms of minimising disruption and mitigating damage to ecosystems will be shared and showcased by a new community of practices that will be launched by the end of this year. By March 2022, the Commission will also submit the report to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of maritime special planning interactions between sectors and stakeholders. Consultation processes will be looked at carefully during the analysis of all available national maritime special plans. Through the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, we are supporting cooperation projects for maritime special planning in all European Union sea basins. By the end of 2020, we had already funded 13 such projects on maritime special planning for a total amount of more than EUR 25 million. This cooperation will be continued and increased in the coming year to tackle new challenges. It is important to note that the maritime special planning process takes place in subsequent stages. Plans will be regularly updated to fit new realities and policy developments at a minimum of every ten years. All offshore renewable energy developments must fully comply with European Union environmental legislation, notably going through the environmental impact assessment before any project can begin. Together with your EU strategy on offshore renewable energy, in November 2020, the Commission adopted updated guidance on wind energy developments and European Union natural legislation. This guidance notably looks at the combination and integration of offshore wind farms within marine protected areas. Clearly, one does not exclude the other. The end of life of wind turbines and decommissioning also need to be looked at in terms of environmental impact at sea and in terms of recycling. Therefore, the Commission will, in the coming year, carry out further studies on technology development in offshore energy. These studies will also look at how the related infrastructure can be embedded sustainably in the marine environment and socio—economic ecosystems. The European Union strategy on offshore renewable energy will boost emerging technologies that reduce the impact on fisheries, notably floating offshore wind, wave and tidal devices. To achieve this, we need to set clear, short and long—term targets for the ocean energy sector. Finally, I would like to underline that easy access to renewable energy produced at sea in the form of electricity and hydrogen will create opportunities for decarbonising other blue sectors, notably shipping, fisheries and aquaculture. To end, offshore wind energy plays a key role in achieving the objectives of the European Green Deal. This Commission is fully committed to ensuring that environmental, economic and social sustainability is achieved. We will therefore make sure that the fisheries and aquaculture sectors will be appropriately involved in all decision making in this context. Before any offshore wind farms see the light, all projects will undergo – as I have already said – the necessary impact assessment. I’m convinced that ultimately we will achieve a win-win situation for all stakeholders, including the fishing community.

– Madam President, I want to thank you for this very enriching debate. All of you said ageing starts from the moment we are born, so ageing is a very complex phenomenon. Many of you said that ageing is a challenge, but it is also an opportunity since we said at the beginning that in the last 50 years we live 10 years more, which means that we live longer and healthier lives, so this is also very important. And I have to highlight once again that this is the first ever Commission which assigned one portfolio to demography, which shows how important demography is for us in Europe. So your report shows that tackling ageing requires a whole-of-government approach. You identify a common goal of ensuring intergenerational solidarity and upholding the rights of everyone at all stages in life. I have been listening carefully to the points you raised. Many principles of the European pillar of social rights relate to ageing, including the principle of lifelong learning, access to quality and affordable health and long-term care, pensions, many others. In synergy with the Green Paper, the European social rights action plan announced several initiatives relevant for ageing policies including the initiative on long-term care in 2022. The European Union gender equality strategy is also relevant in tackling ageing trends. It delivers on the Commission’s commitment to achieving a Union of equality. Women often align their decision to work and how to work with their caring responsibilities. They carry a disproportionate burden of unpaid work, which constitutes a significant share of economic activity. Accumulated lifetime gender employment and pay gaps result in an even wider pension gap and consequently older women are more at risk of poverty than men. This is what many of you highlighted today. Demographic change is happening in real time. Never before have citizens enjoyed such long and healthy lives. This is a major achievement of our social market economy model. Addressing demographic change is key to building a fairer and more resilient society. The European Union and its Member States can prevent or limit the negative impact of ageing. I reiterate once again, this is mostly in the competence of the Member States. For this, we need the firm commitment and engagement of young and older people. We need to foster intergenerational solidarity and responsibility with enabling policies. I want to thank Parliament for your work on ageing policies, and we look forward to continued cooperation on demography.

– Madam President, thank you for today’s opportunity to address a key demographic trend that is impacting our entire continent, namely ageing, a trend that will significantly impact the European Union in the coming years and decades. It is vital that we prepare ourselves now. Many thanks to the rapporteur Beata Szydło for the comprehensive report. The issues you address all echo the work of the European Commission, including health and long-term care, measures to encourage active and healthy ageing and social inclusion. Many of the competences linked to ageing are in the hands of the Member States. Nevertheless, the Commission has an important role in supporting the relevant measures at national, regional and local levels. The von der Leyen Commission is the first one to dedicate one portfolio to demography. Our work is based on the report on the impact of demographic change of June 2020. It is a valuable tool to help us to understand demographic change. We see how life expectancy at birth has increased by about 10 years for both men and women. One of the most prominent features of ageing is that the sheer number of older people will increase. Today, 20% of the population is over 65. By 2070 it will be 30%. Meanwhile, the share of people above 80 is expected to more than double, reaching 13% in the same period. The demography report lays the ground for the Green Paper on ageing. I want to emphasise the important message that ageing brings both challenges and opportunities. Ageing is not just a matter for older people. Everyone is impacted directly by the prospect of living a longer life, including the young. We must balance our policymaking for everyone across the entire life cycle, making sure we leave no one behind. Adopted in January, the Green Paper was launched in the European Union-wide discussion on ageing. It takes a life-cycle approach and reflects the universal impact that ageing has on all generations and stages in life. It highlights the importance of striking the right balance between sustainable solutions for our welfare systems and strengthening solidarity between the generations. In fact, the full title of the paper is ‘Green paper on ageing: fostering solidarity and responsibility between generations’. This highlights the importance we attach to inter-generational fairness. The paper’s public consultation closed in April. We gathered a total of 473 replies from 26 Member States, as well as some from non-European countries. We are now analysing the input and considering possible policy responses. In this context the Commission has recently published three reports related to ageing, namely the 2021 Pension Adequacy Report, the 2021 Long-Term Care Report, and the 2021 Ageing Report. The reports address some of the main challenges of a continent growing older and identify areas that are key to ensuring intergenerational responsibility and solidarity. I look forward to hearing your views today as we strengthen efforts to address the challenges of ageing and grasp its opportunities.