Speeches

The next item is the debate on the major interpellation to the Commission by Nicolaus Fest, Bernhard Zimniok, Gunnar Beck, Markus Buchheit and Gerolf Annemans, on behalf of the ID Group, on attacks on critical energy infrastructure (G-001001/2022).

The minutes of yesterday’s sitting and the texts adopted are available. Are there any comments? As this is not the case, the minutes are approved.

Mr President, the main target of Putin’s torture are civilians, the innocent and the most vulnerable. Recently, torture chambers for children were found in a Kherson region. There have been over 700 attacks on health facilities since the war began, and a Russian army has destroyed most of the energy system of Ukraine. People have to get by with a maximum of two hours of electricity a day, living in cold houses and temperatures below zero. So what are these solutions? We must organise and lead a major public and private international humanitarian effort to help Ukrainian people make it through the winter. We must prevent blackouts, send portable generators. But above all, we must stop the flow of deadly weapons to Russia.

The next item is the debate on the report by Jan Olbrycht and Margarida Marques, on behalf of the Committee on Budgets, on upscaling the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework: a resilient EU budget fit for new challenges (2022/2046(INI)) (A9-0281/2022).

Thank you very much, Minister, and on behalf of the European Parliament, I want to take this occasion to thank the Czech Presidency for the very good cooperation with this House, with the European Parliament, over the last six months. We appreciate all the work done and we thank you. The debate is closed.

Madam President, Madam Executive Vice-President, while the US and Europe are like-minded partners, both as democracies, but also economically, the Inflation Reduction Act threatens to undermine this partnership. Even if we don’t have a trade agreement with the US, which I wish we had, we have many national and sectoral agreements. European vehicles must be seen as equivalent to American assembled vehicles. But the Inflation Reduction Act has larger consequences. It’s a protectionist step which will launch a subsidy spiral between nations. Less than 30 years ago, we created the WTO to ensure disputes were settled by discussions instead of trade wars. Yet here we go. However frustrated we are in this moment, it should not blind us to the value that free trade brings to Europe, that free trade brings to the European citizens. Let us not join the race to the bottom without thinking first.

Madam President, I think the message from all of us here is very simple: time is running out. The last time when I spoke on this same issue here in the Chamber, my message was very simple: speed up! Since then, what we have seen is just a ping-pong – ping-pong between the Commission and the Council, without any result. The Commission is still stuck on the gas price cap. The Council has not yet agreed on the joint purchasing of gas. There are no clear rules on state aid either. Companies in one state will have a competitive advantage over others, threatening the key principle of the single market. We need to have a European solution so that we urgently help the citizens struggling with high bills and at the same time have a fair level playing field for all companies in the European internal market.

The next item is the debate on the statement by the Vice—President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the EU response to the increasing crackdown on protests in Iran (2022/2958(RSP).

The PPE Group has notified the President of decisions relating to changes to appointments within committees and delegations. These decisions will be set out in the minutes of today’s sitting, and take effect on the date of this announcement.

The next item is the debate on the Commission statement on ‘prevention, management and better care of diabetes in the EU on the occasion of World Diabetes Day’ (2022/2901(RSP)).

The deadline for tabling motions for resolutions to wind up this debate will expire today at 19.00. The debate is closed and the vote will be held on Thursday. Written statements (Rule 171)

That concludes the debate. The next point on our agenda is the Commission statement on: Fighting sexualised violence – The importance of the Istanbul Convention and a comprehensive proposal for a directive against gender-based violence.

Madam President, Commissioner, Minister, my plea today on the energy crisis is very simple. One: speed up, move from words to action. This cannot be yet another summit to agree that we will agree in the future. Countering the volatility of gas prices, joint procurement are good proposals, but we have been debating these measures already for months. But these are still just proposals. We are still stuck in the technicalities. Two: please ensure a fair level playing field for all European companies in the internal market. The German gas industry is affected by this crisis in the same way as the Czech gas industry is. However, we should not have a German or Czech plan on how to keep these sectors running. What we need is a European plan and we need it now.

Mr President, well, it’s our duty to back Ukraine against the terrorist Putin’s regime, but it is also our duty to protect and support our citizens and our companies in this energy crisis. Millions of Europeans don’t know how they will make it through this winter – steep increases in food prices, double-digit inflation. What we need is a crisis management and we need it now. This House proposed concrete solutions: exempting staple foods from VAT, more money for SMEs and bigger companies, decoupling electricity prices from the prices of gas. And we know how to finance this plan: windfall tax. And this needs to be properly implemented by all Member States. Winter is coming and all our talk must now be backed with concrete actions.

The next item is the debate on two oral questions on key objectives for the CITES CoP19 meeting in Panama (2022/2681(RSP)): – the oral question to the Council on key objectives for the CITES CoP19 by Pascal Canfin, on behalf of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (O-000038/2022 - B9-0023/2022); and – the oral question to the Commission on key objectives for the CITES CoP19 by Pascal Canfin, on behalf of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (O-000039/2022 - B9-0024/2022).

I have received one motion for resolution tabled in accordance with Rule 136(1) of the Rules of Procedure. The debate is closed. The vote will take place tomorrow. Written statements (Rule 171)

The next item is the debate on two oral questions on the situation of Roma people living in settlements in the EU (2022/2662(RSP)): – the oral question to the Council on the situation of Roma people living in the EU by Dragoş Pîslaru, Miriam Lexmann, Milan Brglez, Lucia Ďuriš Nicholsonová, Romeo Franz, Elżbieta Rafalska, Eugenia Rodríguez Palop, on behalf of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (O-000022/2022 – B9—0018/2022); and – the oral question to the Commission on the situation of Roma people living in the EU by Dragoş Pîslaru, Miriam Lexmann, Milan Brglez, Lucia Ďuriš Nicholsonová, Romeo Franz, Elżbieta Rafalska, Eugenia Rodríguez Palop, on behalf of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (O-000023/2022 – B9—0019/2022).