What Virginijus spoke about.

11

Jul

2023

EN Speech

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Ecodesign Regulation (debate)

– Mr President, honourable Members, my sincere thanks to this House for putting the ecodesign for sustainable products proposal on the agenda for this plenary session and for hosting this important debate this evening. Rapporteur Alessandra Moretti, ENVI Chair Pascal Canfin, opinion rapporteurs David Cormand and Maria Spyraki, as well as shadow rapporteurs and many other Members have done a tremen…

11

Jul

2023

EN Speech

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Accession to the Schengen area (short presentation)

– Mr President, honourable Members, the Schengen area is the largest area of borderless travel in the world, including so far 27 countries and benefiting 425 million people since the accession of Croatia earlier this year. As stated in this year’s State of Schengen report, the area is functioning well overall and was the most visited destination in the world last year. Schengen brings liberty and …

11

Jul

2023

EN Speech

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Financial activities of the European Investment Bank – annual report 2022 - Control of the financial activities of the European Investment Bank - annual report 2022 (joint debate - European Investment Bank)

– Mr President, honourable Members, just shortly to conclude, first of all, I would like to thank the Members of the Parliament and the EIB for today’s debate. Overall, as the reports testify, the EIB is our key partner in providing EU response to the crisis that we have faced. And the challenges ahead, including the EU’s green and digital ambitions, and the move to open strategic autonomy call fo…

11

Jul

2023

EN Speech

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Financial activities of the European Investment Bank – annual report 2022 - Control of the financial activities of the European Investment Bank - annual report 2022 (joint debate - European Investment Bank)

– Madam President, honourable Members of the European Parliament, President Hoyer, I would like to thank the European Parliament for these two reports and, in particular, the rapporteurs for their work. The EIB Group plays a key part in carrying out EU policies both inside and – as it was just presented – outside our borders, and it is integral to the EU’s response to today’s economic and geopolit…

11

Jul

2023

EN Speech

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Nature restoration (debate)

– Madam President, honourable Members, I have listened very carefully to your interventions today, and I would like to thank everybody for engaging in this important debate this morning. I am glad we are having this broad public debate on such an important topic. Nature deserves this public attention. So what can we take away from today’s debate? First, I think it has illustrated very well what’s …

11

Jul

2023

EN Speech

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Nature restoration (debate)

– Mr President, State Secretary, honourable Members, first of all, I’m truly grateful for the opportunity to address you today on the crucial role that nature plays for our future. And let me start by thanking the rapporteur, Mr Luena, all shadow rapporteurs and the rapporteurs of the two opinion giving committees, Ms Sander and Ms Roose and the many of you who I met over the last year, and even m…

13

Jun

2023

EN Speech

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Batteries and waste batteries (debate)

– Madam President, dear Members of Parliament, first of all, thank you very much for your support and kind remarks. And let me address a couple of the main issues that were raised by some Members of Parliament. First of all, on our dependency on critical raw materials that are needed for batteries, on the contrary, this proposal strengthens our strategic autonomy. Targets for recycling efficiency,…

13

Jun

2023

EN Speech

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Batteries and waste batteries (debate)

– Madam President, honourable Members, good afternoon. And I would like to first of all, of course, thank the European Parliament for all the hard work on this file. We have come a long way since the Commission presented its proposal on batteries two and a half years ago, bringing together the European Green Deal and our industrial strategy. And I have to say that I am very pleased with the outcom…

11

May

2023

EN Speech

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Towards a strong and sustainable EU algae sector (debate)

– Mr President, honourable Members, thank you for this debate today and thank you for your support and your contributions and feedbacks. They are essential in shaping the EU algae initiative towards a more sustainable future, and I trust that we will ensure a fruitful cooperation between our two institutions and work together towards this algae revolution to make sure that we make the best of thei…

11

May

2023

EN Speech

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Towards a strong and sustainable EU algae sector (debate)

– Mr President, honourable Members, the European Commission sees algae as a treasure of the seas and this is the reason why we have adopted on 15 November 2022 the Commission communication ‘towards a strong and sustainable EU algae sector’. The EU algae initiative is supposed to unlock the great potential of algae production in the EU and therefore I welcome our exchange today and the draft resolu…

11

May

2023

EN Speech

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Protecting and restoring marine ecosystems for sustainable and resilient fisheries - Agreement of the IGC on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (High Seas Treaty) (debate)

– Mr President, honourable Members, first of all, thank you. Finally, we had a full morning of parliamentary debate to value the importance of the oceans for our life on this planet. And of course, your views and contributions in today’s debate are extremely valuable. We are now at a pivotal moment. Copernicus satellite imagery is a wake-up call that unfortunately confirms that the health of our o…

11

May

2023

EN Speech

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Protecting and restoring marine ecosystems for sustainable and resilient fisheries - Agreement of the IGC on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (High Seas Treaty) (debate)

– Mr President, honourable Members, we share a huge responsibility for our oceans and for those who earn their living from what the oceans offer us. And we need to face our responsibilities collectively. We need to continue taking measures that reduce ocean pollution and mitigate the impact of climate change on marine life. We need to implement fully our comprehensive environmental legislation and…

11

May

2023

EN Speech

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European Citizens' Initiative "Stop Finning – Stop the trade" (debate)

– Mr President, honourable Members, first of all I would like to thank you for today’s debate and for your comments and views on such important topic as the protection of sharks. And the views expressed by citizens are crucial when we design and improve our policies. And the European Citizens’ Initiative is an excellent tool to channel and make these views here. And it’s our institutional and lega…

11

May

2023

EN Speech

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European Citizens' Initiative "Stop Finning – Stop the trade" (debate)

– Mr President, honourable Members. The European citizens’ initiative that we are discussing today rightly points to a worrying situation of sharks globally and to the role that demand for shark fins in Asia plays in this. We share these concerns of citizens, and therefore we are active both within and outside the European Union when it comes to protecting sharks and promoting sustainable fishing.…

15

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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One year of Russia’s invasion and war of aggression against Ukraine (debate)

– Mr President, High Representative, honourable Members, first of all, let me thank this House for today’s debate and for your interventions, because this is an important moment – an emotional one, too, and a moment of determination. It was important to have this debate. Today, it gives us – the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council – an opportunity to strongly reconfirm our…

16

Jan

2023

EN Speech

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The creation of a European Capital of Local Trade (short presentation)

– Mr President, I thank the honourable Members, and let me also join the warm welcome to the group of petitioners from Spain who are present here. Today we are discussing a motion for a resolution on the creation of a European capital of local trade and retail, and this proposal is built upon a petition put forward by federations of small retailers keen to give a more prominent role to local trade…

16

Jan

2023

EN Speech

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Shipments of waste (debate)

– Honourable Members, thank you for this productive and very consensual exchange. I have taken good note of all your remarks and observations, and I’m very pleased to see a large majority supporting Ms Weiss’ report. Let me briefly reflect on some of the key issues raised. First of all, as regards the proposed ban on the export of plastic waste from the EU, which, as I already said in my introduct…

16

Jan

2023

EN Speech

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Shipments of waste (debate)

– Mr President, honourable Members, let me thank the European Parliament for the very comprehensive work that has gone into this file. My thanks go in particular to Pernille Weiss and her team, together with all the shadow rapporteurs for their very full scrutiny of this proposal for new EU rules on waste shipments. The progress you have made so far is very welcome, and we particularly appreciate …

23

Nov

2022

EN Speech

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A post-2020 Global biodiversity framework and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity COP15 (debate)

– Mr President, Minister, honourable Members, thank you very much for this rich debate and for your comments and interventions, of which I took good note, and thank you very much for your great support. Let me come back just to a couple of points that some of you raised. First of all, of course, resource mobilisation. Yes, this will be a key point in the negotiations. The package must cover the me…

23

Nov

2022

EN Speech

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A post-2020 Global biodiversity framework and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity COP15 (debate)

– Mr President, Minister, honourable members, the UN biodiversity COP – COP 15 – is almost upon us. A successful COP, one that adopts an ambitious post—2020 global biodiversity framework, is a key priority for the Commission and for me personally. Protecting the health of people and the planet are central elements of the European Green Deal, and we must reverse the trend of biodiversity loss and w…

23

Nov

2022

EN Speech

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Amending Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 of 17 December 2020 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027 - Amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 as regards the establishment of a diversified funding strategy as a general borrowing method - 'Macro-Financial Assistance+' instrument for providing support to Ukraine for 2023 (debate)

– Mr President, Minister, honourable Members, let me first of all sincerely thank you once again for your support for Ukraine, for Parliament’s solidarity and for the urgency and priority that Parliament has given to this file. I would also like to thank you for your interventions and comments, to which I have listened very carefully. I would like to reply just to a couple of questions which requi…

23

Nov

2022

EN Speech

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Amending Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 of 17 December 2020 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027 - Amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 as regards the establishment of a diversified funding strategy as a general borrowing method - 'Macro-Financial Assistance+' instrument for providing support to Ukraine for 2023 (debate)

– Madam President, Minister, honourable Members, I would like to start this debate by reaffirming the EU’s solidarity with Ukraine. While Russia continues its brutal war, killing Ukraine’s citizens and destroying infrastructure, the EU stands with Ukraine as long as it takes. The EU remains steadfast in its support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity and its inherent …

13

Sep

2022

EN Speech

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Consequences of drought, fire, and other extreme weather phenomena: increasing EU's efforts to fight climate change (debate)

– Mr President, honourable Members, Minister, I would like, first of all, to thank all of you for your interventions and the good debate today. The terrible events we have experienced this summer in Europe and worldwide are yet another wake-up call. Natural question: how many of those wake-up calls do we still need? Many of you call today for clear political will, and I couldn’t agree more that it…

13

Sep

2022

EN Speech

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Consequences of drought, fire, and other extreme weather phenomena: increasing EU's efforts to fight climate change (debate)

– Mr President, honourable Members, Minister, the climate crisis is here. With scorching heat, devastating droughts, historic levels of forest fires or deadly floods across the globe. It left one third of Pakistan underwater while uncovering riverbeds of the Loire, Rhine or Elbe. Remote possibility turned into a harsh reality, yet again, in Europe. Water scarcity has crippled the energy generation…

12

Sep

2022

EN Speech

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Interim report on the 2021 proposal for a revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework (short presentation)

– Mr President, honourable Members, dear rapporteurs, the Commission welcomes this interim report. It is based on the Commission’s proposal of December 2021 and it provides important and timely input for a targeted amendment of the Multiannual Financial Framework Regulation. Let me briefly recall two very specific objectives of the Commission proposal. First, to allow the financing of the Social C…