Speeches

Mr President, dear colleagues, one of the greatest achievements of European integration is the quality of food in Europe. People in Europe trust food quality, they trust food safety, and at the centre of this success is the European farmer. This is why we have the duty to listen to farmers in Europe, this is why we have the duty to support and to protect them. Of course, agriculture in Europe is modernising, agriculture in Europe has to modernise and to reform, as has every sector of our economy, as every part of our society. But we have to say clearly, ‘we are modernising agriculture with the farmers, not against the farmers’. My political family, the EPP, is ready to work with the majority here in Parliament to do the following seven things for farmers and agriculture. Firstly, no decision on agriculture without listening to farmers. Secondly, no decision without knowing the impact, and if there is any additional burden for the farmers, we have to be ready to provide more support. Thirdly, reducing bureaucracy for farmers: they have to farm more than they report. Fourthly, secure the quality and the quantity of food production in Europe: we have to produce more food in Europe, not less. Number five, invest in the rural areas as a whole: we want good schools, good hospitals. We are ready to invest in digitisation, in greening, but also in infrastructure in the rural areas, in the villages. Number six: help in times of crisis: if there is a crisis, we have to mobilise the European tools that we have, including crisis reserves, providing financial support. Number seven, help Ukraine, help Ukrainian farmers by also helping our farmers: absorb what we can in Europe, help Ukraine to export the other quantities to the other markets in the world where they are needed. We are ready to work with the majority in this House to achieve this for the farmers in Europe.

Madam President, President von der Leyen, President Michel, Vice-President Šefčovič, dear colleagues. Congratulations, President Michel, to you and to the Members of the Council for unanimously reaching an agreement on the revision of the multiannual financial framework and on granting EUR 50 billion to Ukraine. The message from this Council is clear: Europe is delivering, Europe stays united and Europe continues to support Ukraine for as much as is needed. The conclusion is also obvious: when Europe is united, populists have no chance. This revision of the multiannual financial framework was needed because when the multiannual financial framework was decided, the Council at the time made two mistakes: it adopted a framework that was too small, it did not have enough resources for the traditional and for the new priorities of the Union, and it did not have enough reserves for unexpected developments. This mistake had to be corrected. The second mistake made was that it did foresee the repayment of interest payments for NextGenerationEU from inside the budget but, of course, the budget is meant to support farmers, researchers, students and to better protect our borders. It is not meant to pay back interest payments. These two mistakes made in the past we are now managing together to correct to a large extent: we are going to better protect our borders, we are going to allocate significant resources to this new challenge – migration and border control. We are going to support Ukraine and the immediate neighbourhood and we are also protecting our industry. We are going to do this together. The conclusion also for the future is: involve Parliament fast in the process. It cannot be that the Council takes eight months to reach a proposal, and then expects Parliament to agree to it in 80 days. We are committed to working fast on it now, we are going to deliver, we are going to give our vote soon. But for the future, the conclusion needs to be clear: we need to work on this together and put forward budgets which are enough at the beginning of the period so that such revisions do not hastily become needed.

Madam President, I say to Mr Hidvéghi, your narrative on an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine we have heard from the Russian President, Vladimir Putin. The choice is not between war and peace in Ukraine. The choice is between victory and surrender, and we will not surrender and we will support Ukraine for as much as is needed. This has always been the will of the European Parliament and of the European Union. Now, with regard to the situation where we are, we have managed together, the European Parliament, Council and Commission, to achieve a lot at the end of last year, including the December European Council. The choice to start accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova is justified. It’s right for those countries, but it’s right for us as well, because those accession negotiations are the best tool that we have to modernise, to reform two neighbouring countries of the European Union. There is, however, one leftover from the last European Council, and that is the revision of the multiannual financial framework and granting immediate support of EUR 50 billion to Ukraine. This is urgent and it is important. And this is why, while the message to the people of Europe is ‘Europe was delivering in the last months of the last year’, now the message to the European Council and to the Council of the European Union is ‘agree on the revision and agree on the 50 billion for Ukraine on 1 February’. Later will be too late: 1 February is needed in order for us here in the Parliament to be able to fulfil our role, to examine this proposal, to add the opinion of Parliament and to give a clear, transparent vote with a good majority before the European elections. The message to the people of Hungary is that of course we want the people of Hungary to benefit from Europe, from European funds, from the Recovery and Resilience Facility as the people of any other European country do. Unfortunately, the actions of the Hungarian Government have prevented Europe’s will to support the people of Hungary. And this is why the message to the people of Hungary, and to anyone who might be attracted by the model of Viktor Orbán, by the confrontation with the European Union, is the following: unfortunately, Hungary has been losing in the last years and months. Viktor Orbán has been losing. He still has more than EUR 20 billion of EU funds blocked at European level. The President of the Commission has confirmed this. The solution in Europe is dialogue, is working together, is not a confrontation with Brussels. This is what we will deliver.

Mr President, dear colleagues, NGOs are an essential part of our society. They give voice to those in need. They influence public opinions. They help raise awareness. They fight for democracy, for rule of law. They fight for human rights. They do this inside the European Union and they also do this outside the European Union. They are an essential part of our society. We talk to them; we listen to them. They manage budgets. They influence decisions and they influence public opinions. This is why it is normal that – like for any other entity, like for any other governmental organisation, like for us as civil servants – there are rules. It is normal that there are rules also for NGOs. We are also witnessing that, in the essential role which NGOs play in a society, most of them play this role, fulfil their mission in good faith. But we have also seen illegitimate actions from NGOs. These are not the rule, they are the exception, but they exist and we cannot deny this and we should not deny this. This is why the report put forward by Markus Pieper helps us to create rules which should identify any wrongdoings on the side of NGOs, and this helps us as decision makers, but it also helps keep the credibility high of those NGOs – many of them – which respect the rules. This is why the main call of the report for transparency, particularly for NGOs who receive money from the EU budget; we should know who is behind them, who finances them, who influences their decisions. The people of Europe have the duty to know this, and it helps also restore the credibility of NGOs. This is why my group will support this report. We thank the rapporteur and we thank all colleagues in the House which will support this report.

Madam President, Prime Minister De Croo welcome back to the European Parliament. Obviously, Belgium takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union at a very important moment in time, specifically, also due to the European elections. Obviously, Belgium will have three main responsibilities, duties, opportunities during this presidency: firstly, to defend and promote whatever we have managed to do good in Europe over the course of the last five years, so that the citizens of Europe can make an informed decision when they go to the polls in June; secondly, to respond to crisis; and thirdly, to further develop the European Union. When I speak about responding to crises, we are seeing many farmers being concerned, being out in the streets in many Member States of the European Union. Prime Minister De Croo, we expect the Belgian Council Presidency to react to this, to put the concerns of the farmers on the agenda of the Council as a matter of priority. When it comes to further developing the Union, I think the Belgian Presidency has identified some correct priorities for the European Union, and I would like to encourage you to work a lot on further strengthening the competitiveness of the European economy. We started to do some good work with the Swedish Presidency on this topic. Improving the competitiveness of our economy means the economy can grow. We can create more jobs. We can secure the payments of salaries, of pensions, of social benefits. This is the core of what Europe is. So please work on competitiveness. Please be fast on revising the Multiannual Financial Framework at all levels in the Council. This needs to be done. Please count on the European Parliament. Prime Minister, to you, to the government and to the many Belgian diplomats working on the presidency, we wish all the best. Your success will be the success of all of us.

Madam President, dear colleagues, today we are looking back at the life and legacy of Jacques Delors, an honorary citizen of Europe. Almost a century of life, a century in Europe, a century in which Europe has fundamentally changed – for the better, I say – and Jacques Delors had a big role to play in this. In the aftermath of the Second World War, Jacques Delors witnessed how the founding fathers of the European Union have given their hands and understood that hope over hate and fear, unity over division, and peace over war are the solutions for a better life in Europe. This is what Jacques Delors also believed in – witnessing himself the first steps of European integration. Staying on the shoulders of the founding fathers, he took Europe to the next stage of integration. We owe him the freedoms of movement, of people, of goods, of services and of capital in the European Union – what we call today the single market, the internal market. This was a flagship project of Commission President Jacques Delors, and it allows us all to live wherever we want in Europe, to work wherever we want in Europe, and it allows young people to study wherever they want in Europe. We owe to him the Erasmus programme. We also owe to him the organisation of the budget of the European Union in seven-year programmes, giving predictability and meaning to European policies. And he also created cohesion policy as we know it today. And we owe to him a lot of decisive steps towards the creation of the euro. All these make Europe more tangible. The legacy of Jacques Delors is bringing Europe closer to the individual, closer to the citizen. The legacy is making Europe relevant for each of us. A Europe that matters, that improves our lives; a Europe that is concrete; a Europe that we can witness and feel every day. It is a big legacy. For this, he was made an honorary citizen of Europe. This is a legacy that we all have the duty to preserve and to protect and to further develop, as Jacques Delors did himself with Europe – further develop it. We shall make sure that we create a European Union that is relevant for the next generations, as he created a European Union that is relevant and helpful for our generation. May he rest in peace and may his legacy be preserved and remembered over centuries. (Applause)

Madam President, Commissioner Reynders, thank you very much for outlining here, in the plenary of the European Parliament, the concerns and the actions of the European Commission, and for telling us in detail the steps that the European Commission is undertaking to protect the rule of law in Slovakia. It will be very important that we, as institutions of the European Union, will together be active to prevent bad developments even before they are happening. Unfortunately, what is happening now under the leadership of Prime Minister Robert Fico confirms our fears that we had before the election. We see that the actions of this government are weakening Slovakia. We see that the rule of law in Slovakia is weakened, and we are seeing that the separation of powers in Slovakia is weakened. What is he doing? There is a clear overhauling of Slovakia’s criminal code, dismantling of the Special Prosecutor’s office and the softening of penalties for corruption offences. Why is he doing it? Because he wants to strengthen his grip on power. What should we do? Firstly, we should tell the people of the Slovak Republic who are going out publicly and saying that they are worried, we should tell the people: we hear you, we see you, we are with you, we are going to stand with you in defending the rule of law and European values in Slovakia, and anywhere else in the European Union. Then we should act together as institutions of the European Union to make sure that even before those dangers materialise we try to prevent them, because after laws are adopted, it will be much more complicated, it will be much more difficult. An attack upon the rule of law starts not with the adoption of the legislation, but with the drafting and the planning of it. We have a duty to act together to prevent bad things from happening in Slovakia and to protect European values.

Madam President, Mr Sánchez, let us be honest: the Council Presidency is the best opportunity any country has to influence the European agenda and to promote itself. Unfortunately, Mr Sánchez, you lost this opportunity for Spain. What did you do? You lost the regional election in May. You called for an early parliamentary election at the beginning of the Council Presidency and lost it, then spent the whole Council Presidency negotiating an amnesty law with persons who acted against the Spanish Constitution. While Spanish diplomats made efforts here, we had the impression that you were more preoccupied by granting amnesty to separatists than by the success of the Presidency. Let me be clear: the amnesty law concerns the European Union. A government granting amnesty to people who broke the Constitution attacks the rule of law. The amnesty law is an attack upon the rule of law, and we care about the rule of law because it is a European value. And let me be clear: whoever wants to access European funds needs to respect European values. The amnesty law and the attack upon the rule of law risks blocking European funds to Spain. We saw that happening for Hungary, we saw that happening for Poland. It can happen for Spain as well. We do not want that to happen. We want to help the people of Spain but we ask you, Prime Minister Sánchez, not to be an obstacle in the desire of the European Union to help the people of Spain.

Madam President, President von der Leyen, dear colleagues, just over the course of the recent weeks, we as institutions of the European Union have achieved a lot together: we have reached an agreement on the first global Artificial Intelligence Act, we have adopted the Critical Raw Materials Act, reducing our dependency on China and providing predictability to our industry. All of this makes Europe stronger and safer and we have, just two weeks ago here in the plenary of Parliament, voted the budget of the European Union for next year, which also gives predictability to the beneficiaries of EU funds for next year. But we need to give predictability to those who expect European support in the long term, and this is why the first important topic of this Council will be the revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework. It was agreed in 2020. Since then, we had to do many things which we did not anticipate. The Commission was right to put forward a revision proposal of the Multiannual Financial Framework in June. We the Parliament have expressed our view, and we urge the Council to adopt its position on this revision at the Council meeting this week, so that early next year we can conclude the final negotiations between Parliament and the Council on this topic. Why is this important and what do we expect? This revision is important to provide support to Ukraine, to better protect our borders, to manage migration, to strengthen our economy and make it more competitive, and indeed to support Ukraine. This revision is also important to create reserves for unforeseen developments so that, if anything unexpected happens until 2027, the Union can support people in case of need. This is the first important topic of the Council. The second one is indeed enlargement. Let me be clear: what Ukraine needs from us now is those concrete tools that help it win the war on the ground, the military support. But the financial support is also important. I was in Washington last week. The EUR 50 billion that the European Union will put forward for Ukraine will be essential to mobilise international, including US support. We cannot expect other regions of the world to support Ukraine financially and militarily unless we are there in the front line and support ourselves. Last point: the accession talks. No one is talking now about the immediate accession of Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova to the European Union, but what is important is that these negotiations start. Why is this important? Because the accession negotiations are the best tool that we, as the European Union, have to make our neighbouring countries safer and more stable, to help them reform, modernise and get closer to European standards, as well as adapt to and implement European legislation. This is why these accession negotiations are not only in the interests of our neighbouring countries, but they are in the interest of the European Union as a whole. This is the view of Parliament, of the majority of its Members. We hope the Council can unanimously make this decision this week.

Mr President, colleagues, whenever a politician attacks the rule of law, they ask everyone else to be silent. This is exactly what happened in the European Parliament today. The representative of the Government of Spain asked us all to be silent. And our answer is ‘no’! We are not going to be silent. Europe is not going to be silent. Europe sees, Europe listens, Europe hears the millions of people in Spain who defend the rule of law. We will be with the people in Spain and we will be defending the rule of law. Why? Because the rule of law is a European value and we all have to protect the rule of law. We have to make sure that in every corner of Europe, people who respect the law are safe and people who breach the law are held accountable. This is Europe. The rule of law is under attack in Spain. The amnesty law is an attack upon the rule of law. Everyone in Europe knows that Spain has a government that attacks the rule of law. I know what an attack on the rule of law means, because in my country, Romania, in the past, politicians also tried to attack the rule of law. And when the rule of law was attacked in my country, we went to the streets. Hundreds of thousands of people went to the streets to defend the rule of law. We went to the streets for months and we won. As a result, today no politician in my country dares to attack the rule of law. The rule of law is strong and protected. Romania is credible because politicians know that people will not accept it. This is also my message to the people of Spain: do not accept the weakening of the rule of law. Do not accept the weakening of Spain. Say loud and clear what you want. Say it publicly and say it for as long as it is needed. If you are present and visible, you will win. And Spain will never, ever have a government that attacks the rule of law. Si estáis presentes y sois visibles, ganaréis. Y España jamás tendrá un Gobierno que vuelva a atacar el Estado de Derecho. Sacad la bandera de España, sacad la bandera europea. No estáis solos, aquí en el Parlamento Europeo estamos con vosotros.

Mr President, this week – tomorrow, specifically – the European Parliament will vote in favour of the budget of the European Union for 2024. The first and most important signal that we are herewith giving to the citizens of Europe, to enterprises, to regions, is the funding from the European Union for next year is safe. We have a budget. Funding will be there for all those in need. The funding is safe and the funding is sufficient for our primary needs. I can also say that we have together, as a united Parliament, managed in negotiations with the Council and the Commission to make sure that the EU programmes are properly funded. We have managed to increase the allocations to the European research programme, to the infrastructure programme, more Erasmus scholarships for European students. We have managed to allocate more resources for young farmers, more resources to better protect our borders, to protect our immediate neighbourhood, to protect the environment. A total of EUR 807 million of increased allocations exactly to the areas needed. And to make sure that the money from the European Union budget is well spent, we are also strengthening the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to make sure that irregularities and fraud – which exist but which are, of course, an exception and not a significant phenomenon – we should make sure that they are tackled so that citizens in Europe know that EU money is well spent. Of course, these negotiations took place in a difficult context, in a context in which we see people expect more from the European Union. Whenever there is a crisis, the European Union should play an active role, should help. It does, but in order to be effective in doing this, it needs a proper budget. And this is why we have to adjust our seven-year multiannual financial framework to make sure that, up to 2027, we can further support our economy, we can better protect our borders, we can do what we need on security and defence. Because we will have to do more, faster and for a longer period of time. And we should make sure that we provide sustainable funding for Ukraine up to 2027. This is why we, as a Parliament, believe that the revision of the multiannual financial framework is so much needed. Parliament has a strong position on this. We urge the Council to also come to a position and to the negotiating table as soon as possible, so that we can give, also beyond 2024, predictability. We have a good budget for 2024, but we need to work also on the future. In the end, I would like to thank colleagues from the European Parliament. The good achievement on Parliament’s side was only possible because we were united. Many thanks to all my shadow rapporteurs, to all colleagues who stayed up late at night in the budget reconciliation and to secure this good result. Thank you, Commissioner Hahn, to you and to your team from the Commission, and many thanks to the Council Presidency. It’s a good common success of European institutions.

Madam President, Commissioner, rapporteurs, the introduction of own resources will make the EU financing more transparent, more predictable and less political. Instead of having politicians every seven years politically decide how we finance the European Union, this will be made in an automatic, in a transparent way. Citizens, enterprises, regions will know exactly that the financing of the Union is secure in the long term. This is why the introduction of own resources is the right path. We are supporting it as a European Parliament and on behalf of the Group of the European People’s Party, I would like to announce that we are supporting the report as is put forward by the two co-rapporteurs. They have the wide backing of Members of the European Parliament and we are expecting the Council to progress swiftly with work in these areas. The introduction of own resources will likewise allow Member States to limit their direct contributions to the budget. We will collect the revenues through the own resources and it will also allow us to pay back NextGenerationEU in a stable, transparent way in the long term. This basket of own resources also allows for the responsibility, when it comes to revenues, to be in an equal, balanced manner between Member States and different categories of contributions. Full support for the report.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, today's decision by the European Commission to start negotiations for the accession of Moldova and Ukraine to the European Union is correct, justified and a historic day. This decision is correct because the negotiations for accession to the European Union are one of the most powerful tools that the European Union has to support transformations, reforms, modernization and stabilization, strengthening the states in our immediate neighbourhood that want to become members of the European Union. With today's decision, the European Union makes it clear to the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine: we will get involved financially, technically, with all our expertise, so that the people of Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova will get closer to the European standards as soon as possible. We will be involved in reforming the judiciary, in modernizing these countries, in modernizing all areas. Commissioner, it will be very important that we also translate this recommendation into a final Council decision and start accession negotiations as soon as possible, at the beginning of next year. Today's decision is a victory of the European Union, a victory of the people of these states, and it is confirmation that the influence of the Russian Federation in the region is decreasing.

Mr President, President von der Leyen, President Michel, welcome back to the European Parliament. Firstly, let me say very clearly, we welcome the European Council’s unequivocal condemnation of terrorism. The brutal and indiscriminate terrorist attacks by Hamas against the innocent people of Israel deserve our full attention and our strongest condemnation. More than this, our focus also lies with the innocent people – innocent victims that are enduring immense suffering. For example, the hostages held by Hamas. And let me say very clearly, these have to be released immediately. And under no circumstances should innocent civilians be used as human shields or as trading materials by a terrorist organisation. More than this, we as the European Union have a role to contribute to stabilising the situation in the region in our neighbourhood and we of course have also a role to support civilians, to protect civilians. This is why we, as a European Parliament, have expressed support for the continuation of humanitarian aid, for the assessment of the needs, for increasing the humanitarian aid where it is needed, because it is also in our European interest that six million Palestinian people in the wider region, in Jordan, in Lebanon are being helped and can be taken care of as close as possible to their homes in in the region. But, President von der Leyen, let us work together to make sure that these amounts of money really reach the people in need and in no way are used for acts of extremism or acts of violence. We will have to do more for protecting people, for protecting citizens also here in Europe, for security. We will have to do more. We will have to do it quicker, faster, and we will have to do it for a longer period of time. And this is why we also need the means – the financial tools, the resources – to keep people in Europe safe and to support our immediate neighbourhood. The European Commission has rightly identified priorities to revise our multiannual budget of the European Union. In 2020 – President Michel, you were absolutely right when you said it – we decided the Multiannual Financial Framework, many things happened since. We financed many things which we did not anticipate. Now we need to revise our financial framework. We as a Parliament have a position. We know it’s not easy, but if 705 Members could agree, I believe that 27 Member States can agree as well to continue providing support for Ukraine, for migration, strengthening our borders and making our economy stronger and competitive. We, the European Parliament, stay ready to work with you on this.

Mr President, just one technical adjustment that we need to put to the vote: a pilot project that we are going to finance was wrongly mentioned. It would be a new pilot project, but in fact it is the continuation of an existing pilot project. It is the European body for jet fuel standards and safety certification, coming from the TRAN Committee. So technically we have to include this in budgetary line 02 23 05 not in line 02 24 01. Just this technical adjustment. I’m sure members want to know exactly everything that they are voting.

Madam President, welcome back to the European Parliament, and thank you on behalf of the EPP Group, for the good cooperation that exists between the Parliament and the European Commission in the context of the interinstitutional agreement and interinstitutional relations. Of course, the context today in Europe is uncertain. In addition to the one war that we have been facing in Ukraine for more than one and a half years now, we saw the terrorist attacks of Hamas against Israel that have to unite us, that have to be condemned with all toughness, and which for sure will require us to do more in the area of security, defence, migration. We will have to do more than planned. We will have to do it earlier, and we will have to do it for a longer period of time. Inflation, energy crisis, the situation in Armenia, the migration challenge and of course the food tensions; our agenda remains busy. Nevertheless, I believe that the approach that you have presented now to focus on delivering, on providing concrete solutions which work in reality to the people of Europe, is correct – not to come up with new initiatives which we cannot conclude, which we cannot solve before the European elections, but to deliver on what we have promised. In that sense, we count on the Commission respecting the democratic calendar. We are looking forward to working with you over the course of the first four months of next year before the European elections, focusing on the top priorities and on making sure that we can still conclude and we can still deliver on some files. What do we expect as the EPP Group? Firstly, I would like to welcome the approach that you have put forward on reducing bureaucracy, reducing red tape, supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and supporting competitiveness only through strengthening our economy, making it more competitive, research-oriented, more innovative can we secure the high social standards that we have here in Europe. So this competitiveness agenda is not something abstract, but it is something that profoundly benefits enterprises and people in Europe. We have to work together on this. We have to make sure that whenever the Commission puts legislation forward, it does not negatively affect the competitiveness of our economy. We should implement what we have all together agreed in the Conference on the Future of Europe: the competitiveness check – the European Commission should please control that whenever it wants to put legislation forward it does not negatively affect competitiveness. Likewise, we also expect the Draghi report on competitiveness to be concluded before June 2024. And we expect the appointment of an SME envoy to take place. This SME envoy should be equipped with proper staff, with proper competences, responsibilities, and powers to also safeguard for good SME policy. For our group, of course, trade policy is important. Only an economy that is open, that trades with other parts of the world, is a strong economy. Please make progress and bring towards the ratification of Parliament the agreement with Chile, already finalised, with Australia, which good progress is being made on, and we need to make progress on Mexico as well. Last point, of course, Executive Vice-President, one of the key tools that the European Union has to deliver on its agenda is the budget. Please work with us to put pressure on the Presidency of the Council, and especially on the European Council President, to deliver this revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework, which would allow us to better protect our borders, to support refugees when they come to tackle the migration crisis, to do more on security, defence and to help Ukraine in a predictable manner, and from our side also the action plan on cyber bullying. Cyber bullying is bullying. This needs to be addressed as well. Thank you very much and we are looking forward to working with the Commission for the first part of next year.

Mr President, Commissioner, Minister, dear colleagues, thank you very much for this constructive and very positive debate – first point from my side. Second point, we have seen today a united European Parliament, a Parliament which is ready to adopt tomorrow a position on an ambitious budget for the Union, a budget which is capable of providing solutions to the problems that people are facing all over Europe. Commissioner, I would like to thank you for defending the draft budget of the Commission as the bare minimum in all areas and being ready to work with us on enforcement, on strengthening of the budget in those areas where it is needed. We in Parliament have done three things. Firstly, in those lines where we saw that there is big demand, lines which were oversubscribed – the research, innovation, Erasmus scholarships, transport as a consequence of the war in Ukraine – we are demanding some reinforcements. Money for young farmers as well, as I said in my introductory remarks, will be very important to increase again the attractiveness of farming. The second thing that the Parliament is doing in its position is aligning the yearly budget with our position on the revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework, because the European Commission has rightly put forward a revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework, and it has rightly identified the areas in the context of that revision which need to be strengthened: security, defence, migration, plus the EUR 50 billion for Ukraine to provide stable financing for Ukraine for the next years. Minister, we call upon you, upon the Spanish Presidency of the Council, but also upon President of the European Council, Charles Michel, to discuss the matter urgently, to put it on the agenda of the European Council at the end of the month, to provide us with this revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework so that we can incorporate it into the budget of next year. And the third thing that we did was to align the position on the budget with our position as Parliament on STEP, to be able to make sure that we strengthen our economy, our competitiveness, our industries, including our defence industry. A consistent position by Parliament, adopted, I am sure, tomorrow by a large majority already adopted in the Budgets Committee, by a large majority. We are looking forward to working with the Commission and the Council to finally reach an agreement on the budget, of course, before the end of this year.

Mr President, good afternoon, dear colleagues, and welcome to this important debate on the position of Parliament on the budget of the European Union for 2024. Dear colleagues, the budget of the European Union is one of the most important tools that we have to do good for the people of Europe, for enterprises, for regions, to help people, to be in solidarity with them when they need support, to respect and finance properly the traditional policies of the European Union, to make sure that farmers, enterprises, regions have enough funding, to make sure that we finance properly the newer priorities of the European Union: the transition to the green economy, the digital transition, managing migration, managing our external borders. But we also have to make sure that whenever an unexpected development occurs, the European Union can act, can support people in need. And we have seen, since 2020, when we together adopted the Multiannual Financial Framework, two wars starting in our proximity: the war in Ukraine and the terrorist attack of Hamas upon Israel. Both military conflicts are in our neighbourhood. In both situations, it is important that the budget of the European Union is capable of acting. Security, defence, military mobility, migration, the support for Ukraine, humanitarian aid where needed – all of these are important and they need to be provided with the support of the European Union. The European Commission has put forward a draft budget for next year. The Council of the European Union proposes to make cuts. We as the Parliament, reject all cuts made by the by the Council of the European Union on the grounds that we cannot ask the European Union to do more, but in the same time to cut the funding of the European Union where it is needed. We support the draft budget of the European Commission, and we have looked, as a Parliament, in a very responsible way to areas where funding has proven insufficient, where more is needed. And I am convinced that tomorrow, with a large majority, we as a Parliament will adopt the position of the Parliament and our mandate for the negotiations with the Council and Commission with the following priorities: firstly, research and innovation. We have to invest more in Horizon Europe, in research and innovation. This makes Europe strong. Here we have concrete benefits for the people of Europe, including medical research. We have concrete benefits for our enterprises, to make sure that they remain innovative, strong, competitive. Secondly, invest in infrastructure, in transport infrastructure. Particularly since the war in Ukraine, we have seen how important it is that we connect ourselves between countries, between regions, that we facilitate transport towards Ukraine, from Ukraine, where needed. Thirdly, we as a Parliament together want more Erasmus scholarships for the young people of Europe. We want this because this gives visibility to the European Union, and this is also for young people one of the concrete benefits of Europe. We as a Parliament also want to stand by the side of young farmers. We want to make agriculture attractive for young farmers. This is why we are proposing an increase of allocations there. And in parallel with that, we are proposing an increase of allocation to the LIFE programme, the important programme for environment and biodiversity, supported by Parliament as a whole. Creative industries, health programmes – these have been priorities. Here we are asking for moderate responsible reinforcements where justified and also we want to strengthen the European Public Prosecutor to make sure that European money is well spent and to make sure that if any regularities and frauds appear, these are tackled. This is important for European taxpayers’ money. This is the position of Parliament on the budget for next year. This will be adopted tomorrow, I am convinced, by a large majority. We are looking forward to negotiations with the Council and the Commission, with the expectation to successfully give a budget to the Union before the end of the year. I would like to thank all shadow rapporteurs of political groups who have worked with us in a very constructive manner and their constructive manner, their work will enable the Parliament to adopt our position with a large majority and have a strong voice in the upcoming negotiations, with a key objective to give a budget to the European Union before the end of this year.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the Republic of Moldova is a candidate state for accession to the European Union. The citizens of the Republic of Moldova want to live, like us, in freedom, in democracy and with the Republic of Moldova, now a candidate state, we, the members of the European Parliament, must say very clearly: one day the Republic of Moldova will be a member of the European Union and the citizens of the Republic of Moldova will have exactly the same rights as all citizens of the other Member States of the European Union. We see how reforms, which in the Republic of Moldova have been delayed for years, are finally now being implemented with speed. We see how corruption is combated, justice is strengthened, the rule of law is strengthened in the Republic of Moldova. We see how economic reforms are also implemented so that Moldova can gain investor confidence, create stable, well-paid jobs, investors can go to the Republic of Moldova. We appreciate these efforts, we support the Republic of Moldova with all we can and, lately, especially since the beginning of the illegal, illegitimate invasion of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine, the European Union has supported the Republic of Moldova financially more than ever - over one billion euros. Commissioner Lenarčič detailed the measures implemented by the Commission: financial support, technical support. We offer the Republic of Moldova everything we have: resources, access to gas, like any other Member State of the European Union. Precisely because we do so many things together, we have to move on to the next stage. That is why, with this resolution, we, the European Parliament, will say very clearly: We call for the start of negotiations on Moldova's accession to the European Union by the end of this year. Thus, the Republic of Moldova will modernize and reform even more, as soon as possible - a good thing for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova and good for the people of the European Union.

Madam President, dear colleagues, whenever people in Europe are in need, the European Union is helping through the budget of the European Union. People, enterprises, regions which were in difficult situations in COVID had to face economic and social consequences of the pandemic, and high energy prices, inflation were helped from the budget of the European Union. This MFF was agreed in 2020. Since then, we had to do many things which were not initially foreseen, which were not planned, and which none of us could envisage, particularly linked to the illegal invasion of Russian armed forces into Ukraine. We did more than we had to do initially. We did more than we planned with this MFF. We are now seeing that it reaches its limits. In the draft budget of the European Union for next year presented by the Commission, in four out of seven headings of the budget, we have a margin of EUR 0, which means no capacity to react if something happens. We have to correct this, and the revision of the multiannual financial framework is the right place and the right time to correct this, so that we can better protect our borders, care for people in Ukraine who came to Europe and continue to help people facing all of the difficulties. This is why, Minister, representatives of the Council, we urge you to put forward a negotiating position of the Council as soon as possible, so that the Council and Parliament can sit together, can agree on the budget for the next for the next seven years. On the revision of this seven-year MFF, I would like to congratulate Jan Olbrycht and Margarida Marques as our two rapporteurs. They will receive a strong mandate and a strong majority today. Just one word, in the end, to the net contributing members in the Council who complained that a bigger budget might mean more contributions. Contribution of member states this year are 20% reduced. The member states are not paying in more for the time being.

Madam President, Madam State Secretary, Commissioner, welcome back to the European Parliament. We, as the European Parliament, are looking forward to a swift and meaningful decision of the European institutions on the budget of the European Union for next year. We have to work together; we have to deliver as institutions of the European Union, because whenever people in Europe face difficulties, they expect support from the European Union. And throughout the last years, we have shown that the European Union is there to support; in the pandemic, in times of war, people, farmers, enterprises, NGOs, students, researchers were supported with European funds. The budget of the European Union is one of the main tools that we have to support the people in Europe, and we have indeed agreed in 2020 a Multiannual Financial Framework. But many things have happened since. We had to help Ukraine, we had to tackle inflation, high energy prices and we are now seeing that the Multiannual Financial Framework is reaching its limits. The European Commission has put forward a proposal to revise this and we will have to work together with the Spanish Presidency to conclude this revision as soon as possible – not later than the end of this year – so that we can include space of manoeuvre, reserves, margins, resources allocated to new priorities into the budget for next year and have a meaningful budget for next year. Unfortunately, the Multiannual Financial Framework is tight, following pressure from the Council, and we are now seeing the negative consequences of that tightness. We will have to correct some of the mistakes made by the Council when the MFF was negotiated in the yearly budget procedure this year and in the MFF negotiations. When looking at the position of the Council for the draft budget of the Union for next year, we as a Parliament do not understand it. We do not support it. And I have to say, very clearly, we reject the reading of the Council to the draft budget put forward by the Commission for 2024. We have joint priorities. We have agreed to do more in some areas. We have understood that migration is a challenge. People who come to Europe need to be supported. Illegal migration has to be tackled because anything that is illegal has to be tackled, of course. The Eastern and Southern Neighbourhoods need more support; military mobility, defence needs more support. We have to continue with the transition to the green and the digital economy. This is why the reading of the Council proposing cuts throughout the budget is something that is not understandable. We cannot agree that we want to do more in the area of health and then cut the budget when it comes to research in the area of health or when it comes to new health care projects. This is why we will not support this. We, as a parliament, will put forward the proposal, which will start from the draft budget of the European Commission, which we believe is the bare minimum required. And I think the Commissioner has very eloquently reiterated this in front of Parliament, and we are going to propose some moderate increases to some budgetary lines which are oversubscribed, where financing is clearly needed: in the area of research, in the area of health, in the area of supporting creative people, supporting young farmers to make the rural areas more attractive, Erasmus scholarships and of course, as I said, asylum, migration, the Southern and the Eastern Neighbourhoods. To conclude, Madam President, we will, in the reading of Parliament, align our budget for next year with the revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework proposed by the Commission. We are going to align it with everything proposed on industrial policy and we are looking forward to a swift and successful negotiation with the colleagues in the Council.

Madam President, I would like to thank President von der Leyen for putting competitiveness back at the heart of Europe’s agenda. This will make our economy stronger and it will allow us to safeguard higher social standards in Europe. Thank you very much for putting farmers back on the European agenda. Farmers had to manage high uncertainty since the Russian invasion. They need all our support and we have to make sure that grain from Ukraine gets to where it is needed in northern Africa and the Middle East, and doesn’t flood the markets in central and eastern Europe and doesn’t become a risk for farmers in EU Member States. Thank you for also supporting the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area. Romania and Bulgaria joining the Schengen area will make the whole Schengen area stronger, will make Europe as a whole safer. Two points from my side. Firstly, whenever people are in need of support in Europe, support is coming. We have shown this in the pandemic and in times of war. One of our main tools to provide support is the budget. You have put forward a proposal for the revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework because it is getting to its limits. It has to do more than it was anticipated. Let’s work together to get this done before the end of the year, to provide stable finances for the next years, to be able to do more for defence, for military mobility, for people who are coming to Europe and who need support for tackling illegal migration, because whatever is illegal has to be tackled of course. My second and last point, we can only live in safety and stability within the borders of the European Union if we are surrounded by countries which are safe and stable. So let us start accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. That does not mean that the countries will join now; it just means that we make them stronger and fitter for accession, which is good for those countries and good for the European Union. There is a wide majority in Parliament for this.

Mr President, thank you very much and I know exactly what I want to share with colleagues this morning. The title of our debate is, of course, ‘Developments in the war against Ukraine in and in the Russian Federation’. 500 days since the beginning of the war, we are seeing that the Russian Federation is a threat for the security of all of us in Europe. And now, it’s time to invest in the security of our Member States. And security will not come by itself. We have to invest; we have to support our Member States. We have to spend and we have to do more wherever possible at European level. And we also have to learn from the mistakes of the past. In the past, we always said we shouldn’t provoke the Russian Federation, but now we saw Russia attacked Ukraine in an unprovoked manner. And what provokes Russia is weakness, not strength. The stronger we are, the better it is for our relations with Russia. And this is also the conclusion since 2014 – had we supported Ukraine more and faster, maybe the invasion could have been prevented. So what we have to do now is support Ukraine immediately with all its needs. Secondly, of course, work on the NATO perspective. And the signs from the Vilnius NATO summit are encouraging. And we saw the political will that as soon as this is possible, Ukraine should become a Member State of NATO. I believe this will strengthen NATO and this will be the best guarantee for the security of Ukraine in the long term. In order to do what we need to do on security, on defence, to be stronger, to better defend ourselves, we need resources and we also need the right amount of money, including at European level. In 2020, we have decided a seven-year multiannual financial framework without knowing that Ukraine would be invaded, without knowing how much we will have to do for millions of Ukrainian people here in Europe, to provide shelter security, without knowing that inflation will be so high, that energy prices will be so high. Europe has helped a lot – including through the budget – Ukraine, Moldova, the neighbourhood, but also people here within Member States. But what we need now is an actualisation, a revision of this seven-year multiannual financial framework. This was not meant for the unexpected developments that we saw with Ukraine. So we need an actualisation so that we have money in reserve to respond to unexpected developments in Europe and to support Ukraine in a sustainable, predictable manner until 2027 and beyond that, for as much as is needed.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, we all want to help Ukraine. Ukraine has been attacked illegitimately, unfairly, illegally by the Russian Federation, and we all want to help Ukraine. But we must help Ukraine in such a way that we do not affect farmers in Member States of the European Union and, Commissioner, for a year now we have known that we have a surplus of cereals in Ukraine, too many cereals, and we know that these cereals are needed in other countries outside the European Union. In your position as Commissioner for Agriculture you had to make sure that the transit of cereals, where there are too many cereals, where they are needed, is organised properly. These cereals have flooded the markets of the Member States of the European Union, they affect local producers, they affect local farmers and that is why, Commissioner, you must put in place and make this mechanism work exactly as we thought it would last year. Its commissioning has been delayed and this is your direct obligation as Commissioner for Agriculture. In two or three months the harvest will come this year already and it must be clear: grain can leave Ukraine, Member States in the European Union are just transit zones and go where they are needed. It is your obligation to defend farmers in all Member States of the European Union. It is your obligation to defend farmers in a crisis situation, but we need to prepare for such situations in order to avoid going back into times of crisis in the future. That's why the mechanism we've decided on has to work. It is a European solution for farmers in all European countries.

Mr President, dear colleagues, we have just decided together the new common agricultural policy, which is under implementation since the beginning of this year, and this is why I say now that the priority needs to be to implement what we have decided together. Do not add additional costs, additional burdens to the farmers. Farmers have already needed to adapt a lot. They have already made sacrifices. What they need now is predictability, not new burdens and not unpredictability. My group, the EPP, is committed to the Green Deal, to the transition to the green economy, but we want this to be done with farmers, not against the farmers. We have to create a framework in the rural areas which attracts farmers, young farmers, female farmers, not a framework which rejects farmers. Farmers are essential to our society. They ensure high quality food products here in Europe, they ensure food security. So we have to listen to them. We have to treat them with respect. The war in Ukraine, dear colleagues, we have to recognise, changed a lot in terms of market situations, in terms of price volatility, in terms of risks to food security, and we have to take this into account in any decision that we are making. This is why, on nature restoration, on pesticides, the new reality has to be taken into account. Herbert Dorfmann has said, on behalf of our group, everything that had to be said. May I add, on behalf of the EPP Group, that there should be no additional measures, no proposal for the reform of the common agricultural policy right now. Let us implement what we decided. One last word, Commissioner McGuinness, we appreciate your presence today here, your efforts, but the Commissioner on Agriculture belongs in a debate on agriculture in the European Parliament. Commissioner Wojciechowski is absent. He is weak. He is not defending farmers. Please convey to him that we expect him to listen to farmers and to listen to the European Parliament.