Speeches

Mr President, we start 2022, the European Year of Youth, still in the grip of a pandemic. Since the beginning, the virus and the effect of the health measures have greatly affected our youth’s lives and their well-being. The pandemic has taken a toll on mental health, with the number of young Europeans suffering from anxiety and depression rising steeply; it has had an impact on their social lives and on their education, with school closures and shifting to online learning, and it has only worsened their employment prospects. Madam Commissioner, we must put our youth needs first in this post-pandemic recovery. We must do everything to empower and invest in our youth, to encourage their creativity, to innovate and for them to be ready to help to solve the challenges of our times, such as the digital and green transitions.

Mr President, the internet is a mirror; a mirror of the best and worst of our society. It mirrors the realities of our offline world. If the real offline world cannot be perfect, neither can the internet. But this does not mean that we should not try to make it a better and safer place, a place which respects freedom of speech while supporting our European businesses. This must be the goal of the Digital Services Act. This is about creating a better system that will help us fight illegal content while giving citizens the right to challenge removals. It is about requiring the big giants to take a transparent look at themselves and to address the risks that are inherent within their systems. It is about making all providers, including marketplaces, understand that they have a social responsibility, and they must be honest and true in how they act towards us, their users. It is about protecting our children so they can avoid the worst of the internet. At the same time, we create a system that will support the growth of e—commerce and digital innovation in Europe without unneeded over-regulation. We need start—ups, we need scale—ups in Europe, and a system that works for them. Today, we create a law and a justice system for the internet, a system that can work for the whole diverse internet. However, this law is just the first step. Not the last one. We still have a lot of work ahead of us.

Madam President, the European Union stands with the Cubans, but we need to do more to help them on their path to democracy. Last week the Cuban Sakharov Prize laureates did what no one had done before: They proposed withdrawing their distinction if the European Union still fails to take concrete action in the face of human rights violations in Cuba. The situation in the country is getting worse: more repression, more human rights violations, more political prisoners and no progress on their commitments under the Agreement we signed five years ago, five years ago. I have a specific question for the High Representative: Why not ask for a meeting "of special urgency" with Cuba as stated in the agreement? It would be a step to show clearly that we take the commitments of the Agreement seriously, that we really want to help and improve the lives of the Cuban people. And I ask you for a concrete response and concrete action: Cubans are suffering a lot and need our support now.

The next item is the debate on the Council and Commission statements on plans to undermine further fundamental rights in Poland, in particular regarding the standards of the European Convention of Human Rights and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (2021/3014(RSP)).

Mr President, when you look at a map of Europe, you see an East-West vaccination divide with central and eastern Member States far behind. While Denmark has an 82% vaccination rate, Bulgaria is at 26%. While you talk of booster shots in some parts of Europe, other parts of Europe are still working on their first shots. One of the causes of this is clearly disinformation. However, disinformation is not an East-West problem, but an EU-wide problem, which we need to address at EU level. This is just another example of the need to do more against disinformation campaigns. The Digital Services Act will only do so much; we need to find other additional measures to counter this: tools to help our citizens know what is real and what is not. This European summit should address this.

Mr President, Mr High Representative, we are here again to talk about the situation in Nicaragua. It is clear that Daniel Ortega is a dictator and Nicaragua is under a dictatorship. Last month's fraudulent elections only confirmed this fact. It didn't take a crystal ball to know the outcome of these choices beforehand. Almost all opponents are in jail or have been forced into exile. Thousands of Nicaraguans have fled. The regime controls the country with violence, censorship and cruelty. The European Union has been very clear in its position on human rights in Nicaragua, but it is high time to send a clear political message. We are not going to have agreements with dictatorships. We have to suspend the agreement with Nicaragua.

Madam President, the companies covered by this law are companies so big that they have annual profits bigger than the GDP of some of our Member States. Being so big is not in itself a negative. They are big because people like them and many of our citizens look forward to their next release. With this size, however, must come responsibility. These companies should act in such a way that they serve the needs of the greater society, instead of what is good for their shareholders alone. I regret, that despite their best efforts, these efforts have not been enough. So here we are today, doing by law what these companies should have done on their own. Commissioner, I still think that any start—up can someday take down one of the gatekeepers. I still think that consumers will vote with their wallets and their eyes, and new alternatives will come, and one of the giants will fall. But we must give consumers and start—ups a chance and a choice. And today we do so.

I will now move to the second voting session of today. We will vote on the files as indicated on the agenda. The voting session will be open from 13.30 until 14.45. The same voting method will be used as during the previous voting sessions. All votes will be held by roll call. I declare the second voting session open. You have until 14.45 to vote. The results of the second voting session will be announced at 16.00. The debates will resume at 15.00 with the major interpellation on the Commission’s assessment of the quality of its answers to questions for written answer. (The sitting was suspended at 13.31)

Colleagues, before I give the floor to the Commission, I have one announcement to make on behalf of the President. At least 27 people drowned yesterday in the Channel trying to reach the UK, seeking a better life. We cannot allow such tragedies to continue, and this House is strongly engaged in the common migration and asylum policy. I invite you to observe a minute of silence in memory of the victims. (The House rose and observed a minute’s silence)

The next item is the debate on seven motions for resolutions on the human rights situation in Cameroon (2021/2983(RSP))*. ______________ * See Minutes.

The next item is the debate on six motions for resolutions on human rights violations by private military and security companies, particularly the Wagner Group (2021/2982(RSP))*. ______________ * See Minutes.

The sitting is closed and will resume tomorrow, Thursday 25 November 2021 at 9.00 with the Commission statement on the International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women and the state of play on the ratification of the Istanbul Convention. The agenda has been published and is available on the European Parliament website.

Good evening, colleagues. The sitting is resumed. The next item is the debate on the Commission statement on a European Action Plan Against Rare Diseases (2021/2940(RSP)).

Mr President, while this Council is a major opportunity, there is no doubt that the European Union and the United States have a lot of potential for common action and cooperation. And our agenda is finally on the right track. But we must ensure that this doesn’t become just a talking shop. We need to prioritise. We need to make tangible suggestions. The goal of each meeting should be a concrete result and concrete action. The procedure to implement any decision will, however, take time, so we need to move quickly, or it may be too late. Some have pointed out that the TTC should not turn into just a China-bashing exercise. They are right, but we cannot ignore the geopolitical reality and who our main competitor is.

– I will now move to the second voting session of today. We will vote on the files as indicated on the agenda. The voting session will be open from 13.45 until 15.00. The same voting method will be used as during the previous voting sessions. All votes will be held by roll call. I declare the second voting session open. You have until 15.00 to vote. The results of the second voting session will be announced at 16.30 and the debates will resume at 15.00 with the Commission statement: the proposal to build a ‘single market for philanthropy’. (The sitting was suspended at 13.46)

Mr President, today we will take an important step, an important step towards making our roads safer, a better insurance system that protects victims of accidents, including when an insurance company goes bankrupt. Today, we start the process to end discrimination – discrimination of EU car owners who move from one Member State to another, so experienced drivers are no longer treated like they just turned 18 years again. Today we end the uncertainty around our motorsports in Europe, who will be able to keep racing. Today, we prevent over-regulation that would have harmed the uptake of e-bikes and could have made even wheelchairs subject to a law designed for cars and trucks. Overall, this is a good day for all vehicle users in Europe and for anyone who unfortunately finds themselves injured in an accident. These are concrete examples of Europe taking concrete actions for our citizens. On average, there is one car for two Europeans. Vehicles are a huge part of our lives and will continue to be. While our hope that our citizens never have to use their motor insurance, they should know that it will work if they need it. I’m proud to have been part of this effort. Concretely, if you have an accident and your insurance company or the insurance company of the other person goes bankrupt, you are protected. Every Member State must have a compensation fund that will ensure compensation for injured parties as if your insurer was still active. The European Parliament also made sure that you should receive your compensation as soon as possible, within weeks instead of years. Soon, you will see also a harmonised claim history statement across Europe. There will no longer be any excuse to discriminate against a driver coming from another Member State. So if a Czech driver moves to France, even if his or her statement is in Czech, a harmonised form will ensure it is understandable. The boxes will be the same throughout Europe. In addition, Parliament also ensured that if an insurer offers a discount for good drivers that you are also entitled to the same discount – no matter your nationality. Your clean driving record will be universally understood and valued across Europe. We have also ended the dark cloud over our motor sports in Europe. For years, it has been unclear what the insurance requirements for racing vehicles were. For many motor sports, especially amateur competitions, to require a full motor insurance would have been their demise as either no one would sell them the insurance or the price of that insurance would be beyond all reason. After today, it will be clear – while a competition must have insurance to cover spectators and other third parties, there is no European requirement to have full motor insurance on each racing vehicle. This means the viewing public can keep going to the race track on Fridays in our cities and towns across Europe and have a good time. They will be protected and motorsports will stay legal in Europe. Lastly, citizens can feel free to go out and buy e-bikes. There is no European requirement for motor insurance on e-bikes. While many should take out voluntary insurance, others can continue to be covered by other types of house or family insurance. But you can feel safe that buying an e-bike will be easier than buying a car or truck. These and many other items within the Directive are examples of the European Parliament applying common sense, common sense to our motor insurance rules. We listened to our citizens and what they wanted and we delivered. However, citizens should know that a European directive can only do so much. How these reforms are now implemented is in the hands of the Member States. So, I can only hope that Member States will use the tools we have given them in the law to make sure that the common sense Parliament has shown is mirrored also, at national level. Just because you can require insurance on anything with an engine or wheels, doesn’t mean you should. Let me end by thanking everyone who had a hand in this process and in this success from the European Commission, especially Commissioner McGuinness, to the Croatian, German and especially Portuguese Presidencies who worked with us over some very technical details of this file and found this good and very successful compromise. Let me also thank all my shadows, their assistants, but also the IMCO secretariat who kept this file alive and a special thanks to my assistant, Andrew Hillman, who was vital at every stage of this negotiation and who lived this file with me during the last more than two years.