Speeches

The debate is closed. The sitting was adjourned for a few moments and will resume at 10:30 with the debate on the budget of the Spanish Presidency of the Council. Written declarations (Rule 171)

Ladies and gentlemen, since we have a problem of delay in time, I am told that we cannot accept catch-the-eye. I am very sorry, but there has been a delay and Executive Vice-President Šefčovič has the right to speak.

Of course, as you know, the Commission is represented by Executive Vice-President Šefčovič, but in any case we will refer to your point of order.

Let us now turn to the discussions. The next item is the statements by the Council and the Commission in preparation for the European Council meeting on 14 and 15 December 2023 (2023/2937(RSP)).

In relation to the decisions of some committees to enter into interinstitutional negotiations under Rule 71(1) of the Rules of Procedure, announced at the opening of the session on Monday 11 December, the President did not receive any request for a vote in plenary from a number of Members or one or more political groups reaching at least the average threshold. Committees can therefore start negotiations.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, a year later we are still here looking with dismay and anger at the endless list of women killed, beaten and annihilated. To tell us once again that there is no more time, we have no more. To remind us once again that women do not die as a result of a natural tragedy; They do not die because they are killed by an earthquake or flood. They die because they are all killed at the hands of men: comrades, former comrades, men. We are talking about murders, a crime, a criminal who abuses the victim. But this crime has something special: The victims are all women and the murderers are all men. And these men must be stopped. The culture that fuels their violence must be stopped because it has a precise name: It's called patriarchy. And so we are still here to remind ourselves that we have been trying to carry out important work for months. This Parliament is doing a lot. But much is still not enough because we have not yet managed to obtain a minimum, ambitious and reasonable text that includes minimal things. Two of them: in the absence of consent it is violence and the time of the denunciation does not affect the validity of the denunciation itself. It is the least we can achieve by the blood of our sisters that we cannot wash away and in memory of them we must continue this battle together. And we'll do it together. We'll change everything.

The next item is the report by René Repasi, on behalf of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on common rules promoting the repair of goods and amending Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 and Directives (EU) 2019/771 and (EU) 2020/1828 (COM(2023)0155 - C9-0117/2023 - 2023/0083(COD)) (A9-0316/2023).

The next item is the report by Christian Ehler, on behalf of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, on the framework of measures to strengthen Europe’s net-zero technology product manufacturing ecosystem (Net-Zero Industry Act) (COM(2023)0161 - C9-0062/2023 - 2023/0081(COD)) (A9-0343/2023)

Before moving on to the next debate, I would like to inform the House that the EPP has communicated a decision to amend the appointments in a delegation. This decision will be included in the minutes of today's sitting and will enter into force with effect from this announcement.

The minutes of yesterday's sitting and of today's sitting will be submitted to Parliament for approval at the beginning of the next sitting. If there are no objections, I shall immediately forward the resolutions adopted at today's sitting to their addressees.

The next item is the election of a Quaestor of the European Parliament (replacing Monika Beňová) (2023/2928(RSO)). I would remind you that, under Rule 20 of Parliament's Rules of Procedure, the new Quaestor takes the place of his predecessor in the order of precedence. For the election of a Quaestor to replace Mr Beňová, the President has received the nomination of Mr Victor Negrescu, nominated by the S&D Group. As the number of candidates does not exceed the number of seats to be allocated, the candidate shall be elected by acclamation, in accordance with Rule 15(1) of the Rules of Procedure, unless a number of Members request a secret ballot. So I have to ask you, is there a request for a secret ballot? There is no request. I declare Mr Victor Negrescu elected Quaestor of the European Parliament. Congratulations to Mr Negrescu on his election. The composition of the new Bureau will be notified to the Presidents of the institutions of the European Union. Let us continue with the votes.