What Ciarán spoke about.

17 Jan

2023

IT Speech

Presentation of the programme of activities of the Swedish Presidency (debate)

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Madam President, Mr Kristersson, ladies and gentlemen, in order to cope with the cost-of-living crisis caused by the increase in the cost of energy and to tackle the climate emergency, we have an easy solution that also isolates Putin. Isolate the houses. As rapporteur for the revision of the Energy Performance and Buildings Directives, I want the European Union and the Member States to address th…

13 Dec

2022

EN Speech

Renewable Energy, Energy Performance of Buildings and Energy Efficiency Directives: amendments (REPowerEU) (debate)

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Madam President, Executive Vice-President Timmermans, our shadow rapporteur, Ville Niinistö, could not be here today as he is heading to the biodiversity COP in Montreal. But he asked me to say a few words on his behalf. This limited revision of the Renewable Energy Directive stemming from the REPowerEU package of May aims at simplifying and shortening the administrative permit-granting processes …

12 Dec

2022

EN Speech

Addressing persistent challenges in the aviation sector and the impacts on passengers, workers, capacity and safety (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner Vălean, the aviation sector has already recovered from the impact of COVID-19, but two challenges remain – environmental and social. The ongoing race to the bottom on labour standards in the aviation sector is failing workers and passengers alike. This process started with accelerated liberalisation in the 1990s, making flying affordable and pervasive, but at a great …

12 Dec

2022

EN Speech

Outcome of COP27 (debate)

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Madam President, Executive Vice—President Timmermans, I compliment you on the role you played at COP, along with my colleague Eamon Ryan from Ireland, to create the loss and damage fund. But we have created a vessel; we now have to fill it. The challenge in the years ahead is to find the funding and deliver it to the people that need it most. Above all of this, we have these headline commitments; …

23 Nov

2022

EN Speech

A truly interconnected Energy Single Market to keep bills down and companies competitive (topical debate)

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Madam President, the energy crisis is pushing millions into energy poverty around Europe. And instead of writing blank checks to energy companies that are making billions out of this crisis, we need to help the most vulnerable. More targeted social support is needed for those who are suffering in this crisis. And on top of this, there’s so much we can do to smooth out the price volatility and prot…

18 Oct

2022

EN Speech

Keep the bills down: social and economic consequences of the war in Ukraine and the introduction of a windfall tax (debate)

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Mr President, in an age of private yachts and super-jets, as the super—rich get richer, it is time for windfall taxes. Five months ago this week, on 19 May, this House adopted a resolution calling for a windfall tax on energy companies. But two weeks ago, we rejected a call for a tax on the excessive profits of corporations benefiting from the crisis. While we’ve been debating this tax for five mo…

5 Oct

2022

GA Speech

Humanitarian situation after the devastating floods in Pakistan and the climate crisis (debate)

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More than seven million people have been displaced. One thousand six hundred people were killed, including five hundred children. Millions of children in Pakistan have lost their homes, families, and schools. And now, they are at risk of many diseases that are destroying the country. The United Nations is calling for more humanitarian assistance and we should help them. The European Union needs to…

5 Oct

2022

EN Speech

Russia’s escalation of its war of aggression against Ukraine (debate)

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Mr President, a cold winter lies ahead for Putin and his cronies. Russia’s attempts this week to illegally annex four regions in Ukraine have been rightfully condemned. This is an age of hybrid warfare, and the Nord Stream attacks reminds us that we are vulnerable. I am encouraged by the plan presented by the Commission President this morning to protect our critical infrastructure. But I am concer…

13 Sep

2022

EN Speech

The new European Bauhaus (debate)

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Mr President, we rarely discuss beauty and design within these walls, but the New European Bauhaus brings these values and the heart into the European Green Deal. It can give communities a real say in their common future. It helps us design the new and support the past as we renovate and regenerate our homes and neighbourhoods. It helps us design the circular economy in public spaces, in buildings…

7 Jul

2022

EN Speech

Developing an EU Cycling Strategy (debate)

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Mr President, I would like to thank the Commissioner, for being with us today. It was the author H.G. Wells who said, ‘when I see an adult on a bicycle, I have hope for the human race’. I think the same could apply to a child on a bicycle. I do believe, when it comes to the European Green Deal, that cycling can deliver. It lowers emissions, it cleans the air, it improves road safety and it allows …

7 Jul

2022

EN Speech

Sustainable aviation fuels (ReFuelEU Aviation Initiative) (debate)

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Mr President, we just heard of record temperatures and droughts affecting the European Union, so it’s a fitting time to discuss the decarbonisation of aviation. This ReFuelEU proposal is a positive step forward. Unfortunately, while the Commission proposal lacks the ambition needed to decarbonise aviation’s fuel mix as rapidly as the climate emergency demands, this Parliament has opted to weaken t…

6 Jul

2022

GA Speech

The UK government’s unilateral introduction of the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill and respect for international law (debate)

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President, the events from London show that the British people have lost confidence in their government, including two ministers in that government. The people of Northern Ireland deserve better than this. The protocol bill violates international law, the Belfast Agreement, and threatens peace in Northern Ireland. In this uncertain time, we need to listen and work with people in Northern Ireland. …

7 Jun

2022

EN Speech

Binding annual greenhouse gas emission reductions by Member States (Effort Sharing Regulation) - Land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) - CO2 emission standards for cars and vans (joint debate – Fit for 55 (part 2))

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Mr President, the journey of a thousand miles begins with that first step. And today we take that step in moving towards a greener future for travel, with cleaner air, improved mobility and quality jobs. To do so, we must back a full phase-out of the internal combustion engine by 2035, with intermediate targets for 2027 and 2030. It is shameful that we didn’t secure a 2030 phase-out date. The infl…

19 May

2022

EN Speech

The REPowerEU Plan: European solidarity and energy security in face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including the recent cuts of gas supply to Poland and Bulgaria (debate)

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Mr President, the REPowerEU initiative announced yesterday contained some good elements, but these must be followed up by concrete actions. I welcome the raising of the binding renewable target to 45% and the mandatory national energy savings target from 9% to 13%. And these moves will inject some ambition into the Renewable Energy Directive, contribute to greater energy security, as well as lower…

18 May

2022

EN Speech

2021 Report on Albania (debate)

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Mr President, colleagues, Commissioner, the war in Ukraine is a stark reminder that peace is a fragile thing. In the 1990s, the Western Balkans provided us with this grim reminder. We must never forget that only through cooperation and dialogue do we overcome hatred, competition and violence between nations. The European Union is a forum for Member States to reach compromise through words, not arm…

3 May

2022

EN Speech

Impact of Russian illegal war of aggression against Ukraine on the EU transport and tourism sectors (debate)

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Mr President, I want to pay tribute to the transport workers who risk their lives to keep transport in Ukraine running, without which millions of refugees would not have been able to flee Putin’s aggression, without which goods and supplies would not be able to go to where they are needed most, without which countless more lives would have been lost. Putin’s armed forces have cruelly targeted tran…

4 Apr

2022

EN Speech

Use of vehicles hired without drivers for the carriage of goods by road (debate)

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Madam President, I am pleased to see this proposal become legislation because allowing the greater use of hired vehicles across borders can mean more opportunities for businesses to use vehicles that they may not have the power to buy or have access to in their own country. It can also mean less emissions if these vehicles are cleaner. And that’s something that tends to be the case with hired vehi…

4 Apr

2022

EN Speech

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

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Madam Chair, we can half emissions by 2030. That is the conclusion of today's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. And yes, again, it feels like déja vu; another terrifying scientific report on the climate crisis. But it is unequivocal in calling for the end of fossil fuels. Europe must be resolute in its response to this existential climate crisis, just as it has responded to …

9 Mar

2022

EN Speech

Batteries and waste batteries (debate)

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Madam President, this proposal on batteries is welcome and timely. In the last two weeks, the rulebook on energy has been rewritten. The goals of geopolitics and the climate movement now converge on the need to phase out fossil fuels. As we move towards electrification in all spheres, batteries will play a crucial role in weaning ourselves off fossil fuels, including Russian sources, and this will…

16 Feb

2022

GA Speech

Charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructures (debate)

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First of all, the Eurovignette proposal was full of promise. But now, the Eurovignette Directive has failed to promote two policies that are crucial for the health of our environment and our citizens. Firstly, we should ensure that the cost of road transport is reflected equally in road prices, in terms of air and noise pollution and climate change. Secondly, we need to move away from road transpo…

14 Feb

2022

EN Speech

A European strategy for offshore renewable energy (debate)

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Madam President, offshore energy is key to our climate plans. We’re fortunate that wind is a plentiful resource. This report from Morten Petersen is timely. More than 40 years ago, I visited Denmark for the first time and I saw wind turbines around Copenhagen harbour. I saw the future. Sometimes it takes a while for the good things to arrive. Many countries have harnessed ocean energy, but there i…

15 Dec

2021

EN Speech

EU response to the transport poverty (debate)

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Mr President, transport poverty is a widespread phenomenon in the European Union, and yet it scarcely features in our discussions on transport. There are varying definitions, but being transport poor is generally accepted to be someone who has little or no transport options for their daily needs, or transport spending pushes them below the poverty line or is excessively dangerous or time consuming…

25 Nov

2021

EN Speech

International ports’ congestions and increased transport costs affecting the EU (debate)

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Mr President, there have been winners and losers in this awful pandemic. And I read this morning that container shipping companies made profits of almost USD 50 billion in the third quarter alone of this year, and that kind of money surpasses the profits of tech giants like Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google, despite the fact that most of the underlying costs for these companies haven’t changed.…

24 Nov

2021

EN Speech

State of the Energy Union (debate)

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Mr President, as you said yourself, Commissioner, the good news is that renewables overtook fossil fuels as the EU’s main electricity source last year. We could only dream of this a decade ago. But the bad news is that we’re subsidising fossil fuels by over EUR 100 per year for every man, woman and child in the European Union. So when we see forest fires and floods and storms on our screens, in a …

21 Oct

2021

EN Speech

The outcome of the Western Balkans summit (continuation of debate)

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Mr President, despite much fanfare, the Western Balkans Summit earlier this month turned out to be a disappointment. It failed in one of its most crucial tasks, that of offering a tangible and credible path to EU membership for those in the Balkans who continue to dream of a future within the European Union. Despite numerous enacting demands and targets, those countries continue to be offered only…