What Maria spoke about.

7

Jun

2022

EN Speech

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Revision of the EU Emissions Trading System - Social Climate Fund - Carbon border adjustment mechanism - Revision of the EU Emissions Trading System for aviation - Notification under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) (joint debate – Fit for 55 (part 1))

Mr President, Executive Vice-President Timmermans, dear Chrysoula, it is an imminent need to speed up the transformation of our economy in the EU. It is also the time to seriously enhance our strategic autonomy. At this period of time we need also to provide to the market the proper stability and predictability with the legislation at stake. In that sense, starting with ETS, on which the rapporteu…

3

May

2022

EN Speech

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Question Time (Commission) Europe’s Energy Autonomy: The strategic importance of renewables and energy interconnections and efficiency

This is very good news, Commissioners, and thank you very much for your response. I would like just to say that the suggestions coming from ACER are looking for medium- and long-term solutions. In the cases (inaudible) the Commission is ready to intervene in a very short measure. And that’s why I insist on very short measures. Thank you very much once again.…

3

May

2022

EN Speech

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Question Time (Commission) Europe’s Energy Autonomy: The strategic importance of renewables and energy interconnections and efficiency

Thank you, Commissioner, for being here in the plenary. My first question concerns the level of the crisis that our citizens are facing. They are facing energy prices that are soaring and they are struggling to find a way to address them. In this regard, I think that it is now time for a European solution in order to address the price crisis. In this regard, I would like to ask you the following: …

2

May

2022

EN Speech

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Amending Annexes IV and V to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 on persistent organic pollutants (debate)

Madam President, today we are facing another important challenge, and this is how to practically align the Persistent Organic Pollutants Regulation with the Stockholm Convention and with the overall aim to protect human health and the environment. What we need to keep in mind is that in each and every step we have to set the basis for sustainable chemicals by design, maintaining the precautionary …

5

Apr

2022

EL Speech

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Guidelines for the 2023 budget – Section III (debate)

Madam President, the key message of the European Union budget in 2023 is the determination and protection of our citizens and societies from the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The pandemic has taught us that joint action delivers on a scale. In the face of skyrocketing energy prices, rising inflation, price control must be a top priority, hand in hand with the support of the vulnerabl…

4

Apr

2022

EN Speech

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Sixth Assessment Report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (debate)

Madam President, allow me to focus today in the framework of the IPCC on a really huge issue, which is the lack of water, and allow me to provide some figures. In Europe, about 30% of our population is affected by water stress, which is a situation where there is insufficient water of sufficient quality to meet the demands of people and the environment during an average year. As the climate crisis…

24

Mar

2022

EL Speech

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The Power of the EU – Joint European Action for more affordable, secure and sustainable energy (debate)

Madam President, Vice-President Dombrovskis, it is common ground that we are in the middle of a storm and our citizens are looking at us here in Brussels. It is urgent to take short- and medium-term measures in this direction as well. The Commission's proposals for joint gas orders, joint LNG storage processes and high stocks, which will reach 90% of full capacity next winter, prove that here in t…

10

Mar

2022

EN Speech

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The need for an ambitious EU Strategy for sustainable textiles (debate)

Madam President, the new strategy for sustainability in the fashion industry should, first of all, address the needs of consumers. Nowadays, consumers are becoming more conscious of the impact of their clothing choices. In this regard, we have to support measures to implement minimum repairability requirements, minimum ecodesign standards for stress resistance and lifetime of products and componen…

8

Mar

2022

EL Speech

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Rising energy prices and market manipulation on the gas market (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, we see in the harshest terms that we are still dependent on Russian gas, whereas since 2014 Putin has given us a handwriting sample of the illegal annexation of Crimea. And, you know, we all need to recognize here that we're late. We delayed looking for alternative gas suppliers. We delayed building the interconnection networks for electricity and …

15

Feb

2022

EL Speech

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Strengthening Europe in the fight against cancer(debate)

Madam President, Commissioner Kyriakides, ladies and gentlemen, today, World Day Against Childhood Cancer, we are taking a very important step towards the single health policy that the European Union so badly needs. By adopting the Cancer Plan, we are taking important steps to anticipate and strengthen screening and screening structures. We are taking important steps towards equitable access to ca…

14

Feb

2022

EL Speech

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A European strategy for offshore renewable energy (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner Simson, today's debate on offshore renewable energy comes at a time when Europe's energy autonomy is becoming an existential issue and an existential parameter. Achieving the offshore renewable generation target of 60 GW by 2030 and 340 GW by 2050 requires coordinated actions at European level, simplification of the permitting and regulatory framework. However, it req…

15

Dec

2021

EL Speech

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Preparation of the European Council meeting of 16-17 December 2021 - The EU's response to the global resurgence of Covid-19 and the new emerging Covid variants (debate)

Mr President, Vice-President Šefčovič, Minister, ladies and gentlemen, the problem of high energy prices can only be tackled by starting tomorrow with the European Council, collectively, European and dynamically, and despite the fact that the energy mix is the responsibility of the Member States. The European Union must return to the lessons of the pandemic and proceed without further delay with v…

24

Nov

2021

EN Speech

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Outcome of the COP26 in Glasgow (debate)

Mr President, the global agreement achieved at COP26 in Glasgow, having about almost 200 countries, is keeping alive the hope of limiting the rise of global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The Glasgow climate package is not a game changer in terms of climate commitment. However, it is a step forward which finally completes the Paris rulebook. COP26 was a great opportunity for us, for the EU, t…

20

Oct

2021

EN Speech

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An EU strategy to reduce methane emissions (debate)

Madam President, I would like to thank all colleagues for their comments and say frankly that I was trying to take into account their concerns, especially when they were based on scientific evidence. I have to try to do my best in this long process. Following the recent climate agreement with the US, it is our best hope in the EU to be able to lead the world in the right direction. It is now the t…

20

Oct

2021

EN Speech

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An EU strategy to reduce methane emissions (debate)

Madam President, methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, warming the planet 80 times as much as carbon dioxide over a 20-year period before degrading to CO2. We should provide a fair, comprehensive and clear legislative framework, setting binding measures and methane reduction targets covering all sectors, leading to a significant reduction of methane emissions in the EU by 2030. Ahead of COP26, a c…

20

Oct

2021

EN Speech

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UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, the UK (COP26) (continuation of debate)

Mr President, the UN Climate Change Conference in November is a unique opportunity for the EU to lead once again, this time to reduce methane emissions, which is the second gas responsible for raising the temperature in the planet after CO2. President von der Leyen and US President Biden have already announced the global methane pledge, an initiative to reduce global methane emissions to be launch…

6

Oct

2021

EL Speech

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European solutions to the rise of energy prices for businesses and consumers: the role of energy efficiency and renewable energy and the need to tackle energy poverty (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner Simson, when we were discussing the ambitious Energy Union project here in this Chamber in 2015, we declared that we would never again allow any supplier to drive our energy supply and threaten our energy security. Today, six years later, energy prices show that we did not foresee sufficient diversified supply for the gas transition fuel. And most importantly, we have…

15

Sep

2021

EL Speech

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Identifying gender-based violence as a new area of crime listed in Article 83(1) TFEU (continuation of debate)

Madam President, Commissioner Dalli, ladies and gentlemen, one in three women, one in three of us has experienced gender-based violence, one in three has been in the position of victim and has had to prove that responsibility lies with the perpetrator. One in three have seen the darker side of human relationships, sometimes even within the family home. The question is how many of the women who suf…