What Nicola spoke about.

The next item on the agenda is the debate on the report by Nacho Sánchez Amor, on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, on a recommendation from the European Parliament to the Council and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, on strengthening the right to participate: Legitimacy and resilience of electoral processes in illiberal political systems and authoritarian regimes’ (2022/2154(INI)) (A9-0323/2023).

Mr President! The pictures of the massacre of gruesomely flaunted murdered people who were only murdered, were murdered exclusively because they are Jewish or visited Israel, these pictures, dear colleagues, make crystal clear: Any statement that the annihilation of the State of Israel, the genocide of Jews is not the target of these terrorist organizations, has been cruelly refuted. Everyone, Mrs Aubry, who relativises or offsets terror against Israel, against Jews, everyone, Mr Pineda, is driving anti-Semitism and even more terror – in the Middle East, but also in our Member States. Now there can only be one attitude: That the hostages be freed, that democrats stand together in the fight against terrorism, that all political and financial support of Hamas ceases, that supporters of the murderers are sanctioned and do not find a home in Europe, that hatred and violence cease in order to build a path to a peaceful future. We are firmly on Israel's side.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. Many thanks for the active participation and the important input. I believe that the many points raised underline once again the relevance and urgency of the Critical Raw Materials Act. Many important points have been stressed and I find, also with a great deal of agreement in this House: whether it is the need for a safer and more sustainable supply of raw materials, hand in hand with the environment and the economy – i.e. truly balanced – in a sustainable way, especially once again by strengthening the circular economy, whether it is the question of how we can raise better private capital that is lying fallow, through secure frameworks for investment and fast processes, that we have to spell out raw materials diplomacy differently in the future in order to create benefits for us, but also in the partner countries, i.e. better standards for the environment, for working conditions and also for prosperity. Let me go back to the acceptance on the ground. We have discussed this very intensively. I believe that acceptance on the ground, especially by indigenous peoples, is extremely important to all of us. However, I would like to point out that with the inclusion of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Meaningful Stakeholders Engagement in the Extractive Sector implement these approaches on the ground. In other words, there will be early, transparent participation at this point. That is why, ladies and gentlemen, I very much encourage us to take the tailwind from the ITRE Committee with us here in plenary last week for tomorrow's vote. We need a strong parliamentary mandate in tomorrow's vote in order to enter the trilogue negotiations in a united manner. Only a common European approach, without exceptions and specific scenarios for individual interests of Member States, meets our strategic objectives in safeguarding raw materials. It takes courageous policy. Let's lay the foundation for this tomorrow.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, With decarbonization and digitalization, we are currently going through the biggest social transformations since the invention of the steam engine. And at the same time, we are geopolitically in stormy times: Putin's war of aggression in Ukraine in violation of international law, as well as China's latest export restrictions on germanium and gallium as a sign of his willingness to exploit European dependencies on raw materials. They show very clearly how urgently we Europeans not only need to talk about European sovereignty, but also to spell it out very concretely. To be clear: To be 99% dependent on China, for example on some rare earths, we simply can no longer allow ourselves. Ensuring a sufficient supply of raw materials as a precondition for competitiveness and resilience, and thus – that is clear – for our continued prosperity, is therefore key. It would be good if the announced Critical Raw Materials Club It will start this year, Commissioner. The Commission's draft law on critical raw materials also sets the right course for the establishment of new value chains with a view to extracting and processing raw materials in the EU and with partners outside it, as well as with a focus on the circular economy. But in some places, Commissioner, the Commission's proposal is far too short. We need a practicable law that inspires the industry with investment incentives, simple fast procedures and planning certainty for companies and investors instead of more bureaucracy and reporting obligations. And this is exactly what the EP draft, which was voted on last week with broad backing in the ITRE Committee, provides. Let me focus on four key points. Firstly: Risk management and internal reporting are the business, not the policy. We want to reduce bureaucracy seriously. Paralyzing rules on risk management, which clearly lie in corporate responsibility, would only be a foothold for European raw materials industries. Secondly: Investment incentives through fast, unbureaucratic and predictable processes – One stop shop with a case manager, practicable application for strategic projects, short approval periods, approval fictions, reversal of the burden of proof in favour of the projects as well as faster and ad hoc updates of the lists of strategic raw materials. In this way, we make raw material projects practicable and ultimately affordable for companies. With a guarantee instrument from the European Investment Bank and a revolving commodity fund at European level, we want to create additional incentives for private investments. Thirdly: Partnerships with third countries on an equal footing. Transfer of know-how and state-of-the-art technologies for dismantling and further processing on site, good working conditions including training and further education of skilled workers. This creates value and prosperity in our partner countries. This benefits society, the environment and the economy. This is what makes our commodity partnerships attractive, especially in geopolitical competition. And Last but not least: innovation. In the face of increasing demand for raw materials, alternative materials and innovative processes will play a crucial role in replacing critical and strategic raw materials. This is exactly what the Parliament's proposal makes possible: Substitution projects as strategic projects to finally bring technology leadership back to Europe. In short: We have before us a parliamentary proposal that makes the Commission's proposal practical and lays the foundation for genuine European sovereignty instead of further Brussels bureaucracy. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all the colleagues involved in the various committees, in particular the shadow rapporteurs and the shadow rapporteurs in the ITRE Committee - all of them, of course, with their teams - for the great and swift cooperation of the last few months. A further thank you goes to the Commission, Mr Hahn, for your willingness to discuss and explicitly to the staff of the EP administration for ensuring accelerated advice. And now I am looking forward to a lively debate.

Madam President, Geopolitically, we are in heavy seas. We - Parliament, the Council and the Commission - have united and reacted to Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine. I would have liked to see this joint effort, Madam President of the Commission, also in the implementation of your promise to strengthen the European Parliament. After all, a decisive, constructive Parliament forms the basis for an EU capable of acting both internally and externally. It is precisely this ability to act that guarantees security, prosperity and competitiveness in Europe. Driving force: our middle class. In times of political upheaval, strong companies are needed to lead the way towards a sovereign, open Europe. For this, the economy must not be blocked by bureaucratic ballast. Four years ago, Mrs von der Leyen, you campaigned to free our middle class from leaden bureaucracy. Keyword: One in, one out. However, there is still a lack of concrete cuts in bureaucracy. The SME package: Too late. Just a lot of words, hardly any actions. Now it is time to boost our economy in order to set course for the future for our citizens.

Mr President! Our small and medium-sized enterprises are the engine of our economy in terms of jobs, training, innovation and growth. To stay on track, we need to pave the way for entrepreneurship, inventiveness and risk-taking. Away with the shackles through more and more regulation, 50% less bureaucracy is possible. Away from the shackles of more and more reporting obligations, there is enough data that can be used digitally. And away with the shackles of the taxonomy, which massively impedes the financing of the middle class, especially in the transformation. Disappointing: Mrs von der Leyen's lavishly announced SME package, Commissioner, is worth just a few dry words to you. Will it finally recognize mid caps? Or is it just the fight against late payments? This is not enough for our small and medium-sized businesses. In order to remain competitive, solutions are needed that give flexibility and planning certainty. Not European paper madness. Every euro that a medium-sized company does not have to spend on bureaucracy can be used for innovation and progress. Please let us finally inspire our SMEs, not constantly burden them! Let's finally make a European SME policy!

Mr President! The resolution to be voted follows on from the resolution on the future prospects of the two-state solution for Israel and Palestine of December 2022 and focuses on the European Union’s relations with the Palestinian Authority. It takes into account the undoubtedly difficult framework conditions with which the PA is confronted in the performance of its tasks. However, the resolution also sets out – and this is very important to me – our expectations towards the PA: the expectation of fighting corruption, protecting religious and other minorities, not oppressing civil society, but promoting it and urgently holding elections for democratic legitimacy. Moreover, it is crucial that we continue to demand determined and measurable progress from the PA. The continued support of the PA by the European Union must not be interpreted as a free pass to "continue this way". The PA must now finally deliver, i.e. effective and transparent governance and budget management, consistent efforts against education on hatred and, above all, the abandonment of support and financing of Palestinian terror against Israel. I would like to thank the rapporteur and all the shadow rapporteurs and hope that this Parliament can also create a bridge between these Members.

The next item on the agenda is the brief presentation of Anna Zalewska’s report on the promotion and design of VET as a tool for workers’ success and as a building block for the EU economy in the new Industry 4.0 (2022/2207(INI)) (A9-0232/2023).