Speeches

on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. - (DE) Mr President, colleagues, the current economic recovery is accompanied by an increase in energy prices, but even as we have always managed to overcome crisis phenomena with common European solutions, I am convinced that the way out of the current situation is again common solutions in the energy field. It is European cooperation in research and development, both in infrastructure interconnection and in joint purchases of selected energy raw materials, that can lead to better use of resources, better efficiency, which will translate not only into better competitiveness of our products, but also into better prices for our citizens. The European Union has always been a world leader in setting high standards in saving energy prices and protecting the climate. In the context of the completed climate summit and the targets we have set ourselves, it must be said that any efforts to reduce emissions will be superfluous if the countries that pollute the most are not involved. We must pursue active and effective climate and energy diplomacy, also so that others adopt our environmental standards. In doing so, we must not harm our economy and, in particular, small and medium-sized enterprises, which bear the greatest burden of various regulations and also make a significant contribution to energy payments. The current situation, when we are facing an unprecedented increase in prices and an energy crisis, should be a challenge for us to complete a real Energy Union. Only in this way will we be able to overcome the crisis and prepare for the new challenges ahead.

Mr President, protecting the environment for future generations is one of the key challenges ahead of us. The most challenging task will be to find ways to protect the environment in a way that will boost our economy, employment and social care. The environmental agenda is stronger every day and I believe that the organisation of the Glasgow Summit is really a success of our European policy. This is the most important message. There are also three good messages, in my view. The first one is that the Glasgow Agreement has been signed by 151 countries. The second one is that countries also agreed to a robust process to develop a new and larger climate finance goal to come into effect after 2025. Thirdly, finance. There is a significant milestone to address this issue. The Adaptation Fund reached an unprecedented level of contributions, with new pledges for USD 356 million that represent almost three times its mobilisation targets for 2022. On the other hand, there are very high expectations and there are still challenges remaining. The first one is coal. Many countries will phase out coal by 2030, but the world’s largest users of the fuel, like China, India and the United States of America, will not do so. Secondly, transportation. Better investment for sustainable transport modes was not forced in Glasgow. There is still a lack of focus on public transport and cycling. Thirdly, fossil fuels. The subsidisation of fossil fuels, the largest source of global greenhouse gas emissions, was opposed by several countries with large fossil-fuel based economic sectors. Glasgow clearly showed that the democratic world is trying to address and solve the issues, while the non-democratic one is still waiting. We can really be leaders and represent the green transformation for the rest of the world.

on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group. - (DE) Madam President, colleagues, during the pandemic we have all moved more into the online space, which is a space that reduces costs, removes many obstacles, creates new opportunities, but brings some threats, and the threat is, for example, a threat to the safety of our children. Violence against children online cannot be tolerated and I am glad that many discussions are starting to take place on this topic. I have recently organised one of them myself, and it has been shown that, for example, the number of children who have experienced bullying has increased from 6 to 26% year-on-year, or the number of children who have experienced sexual content has increased from 36 to 61%, for example. These are alarming numbers, and online abuse is a really serious sensitive topic. I think everyone needs to be aware of their share of responsibility in order to protect children from it. In particular, service providers need to be aware of this responsibility. It is about creating an online space that is safe for everyone and especially for our children. It is also about tools for detecting offenders and, equally importantly, for prevention.

Mr President, there are many lessons to be learned from a pandemic, but I do believe that the most important one is that democracies should stand together. During the pandemic, Taiwan sent much-needed masks to the European Union and to other countries. And for us, Taiwan is our inspiration in many fields. For example, as we know Taiwan represents 50% of the world’s semiconductor production. I do believe that our economic cooperation and newly prepared Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA) is a natural strengthening of cooperation at the economic level between communities with equal values and belief in democracy and justice. I do believe that Taiwan is an inspiration also in the fight against the pandemic and deserves full membership of the World Health Organization (WHO). We cannot be blind to China’s escalating provocations against the Taiwanese people, and we have to say a clear ‘no’ to these provocations and a clear ‘yes’ to cooperation between our democracies. I am convinced that the cooperation between EU and Taiwan will enrich each other and bring benefits to both parties. Democracies should stand together.

Madam President, since 2020, tourism in the European Union has literally experienced a shock. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, tourism fell by 70%. At the same time, we all know that tourism is one of the fundamental economic pillars on which many European countries base their economies. When we talk about job sustainability, the sector represents 27 million employees, representing 11,2 % of employment within the Union. Before the crisis, the sector accounted for more than 10% of EU GDP. In the European Parliament, we came up very quickly with a number of proposals to address this crisis, and we would very much like to learn more from the Commission. We need the Commission to carry out an analysis of how the two challenging seasons have affected employment and developments in the sector and what the forecasts are. The market will recover in a few years at the earliest, but it would be interesting to know how tourism has also been supported by the European support mechanisms of individual Member States and how these instruments have been effective. The development of tourism has a positive impact on the economic development of regions, infrastructure and regional employment. I do not need to remind you that most employers are small and medium-sized entrepreneurs who are threatened by insecurity. On the other hand, I want to express my admiration for their tenacity, creativity, innovations that help them survive. I think they are a lot of inspiration.

Madam President, first, while recognising the importance of dialogue with China, the EU has every interest in an open and rules-based Indo-Pacific region. I am looking forward to seeing the Joint Communication on the EU Strategy for Cooperation in this region, because I do hope that this timely initiative will allow us to boost cooperation with other like-minded democracies. Speaking of this, I would like to underline the necessity of focusing our attention on important regional partners willing to work with us, such as Taiwan. I do believe that Taiwan, being a like-minded partner to the EU, can contribute its experience and expertise in many areas, including on matters relating to trade, technology, critical supplies, or the fight against disinformation, and therefore can be an excellent partner for us. This is also the moment to urge the Commission and the Council to further demonstrate solidarity with Lithuania over its sovereign decision to conduct cultural, economic and diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and to condemn China’s economic sanctions on Lithuania over this issue.