What Nikolina spoke about.

Today marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, a day that reminds us of the terrible reality in which millions of women around the world, including the European Union, live. One in three women globally has experienced physical or sexual violence. In the European Union, the situation is no better. In different Member States, between 57% and 12% of women reported violence throughout their lives. These data point to barriers to reporting that underline the importance of women's empowerment and awareness-raising. This is not just a statistic, it is the lives of entire families, marked by violence, discrimination and systemic injustice. The European Parliament has demonstrated its determination to address this issue through the adoption of legislation such as the 2024 Directive on combating violence against women and the ratification of the Istanbul Convention. But there's still a lot of work ahead of us. We need to ensure strict law enforcement in the European Union and available funding for victim-supported programmes. Violence against women is not a personal problem. It is a social wound that requires our urgent and collective action.

Dear Chair, Commissioner, we are facing a serious skills and labour shortage in the European Union, and according to the latest data, about 44% of the population of the European Union still lacks sufficient digital skills, and as many as 54% of companies in the European Union report skills shortages as one of the key problems in their business. What do we do? Reskilling and upskilling the workforce must be at the heart of our policy action. This is particularly crucial in the STEM field, where we face a significant shortage of skilled workers, but also the underrepresentation of women. We need to invest in lifelong learning, develop a European certification system for acquired skills, reform vocational education and strengthen cooperation between Member States in this area. This is the key to our success.

Since the 1990s, we have been promoting the transition from road to rail, aware that medium and long-distance rail is the most efficient mode of transport and a sustainable alternative to road and air transport. We have committed to building the TEN-T network by 2030 to meet our Green Deal targets of reducing transport emissions by 90%. All this is accompanied by co-financing from various European funds. However, the reality is that rail is not used as much as it should, and this is corroborated by the 2020 figure that rail accounted for only 5 % of passenger traffic and 11 % of freight traffic between the Member States of the European Union. We are also witnessing that investment in the road continues to outperform investment in rail and the closure of railway lines in rural and cross-border areas. Although the current European budget foresees 26 billion euros for transport through the Connecting Europe Facility, this is simply not enough. I think we must all work together to make sure that our railroad plans are not just on paper. We need to step up our efforts to make rail the backbone of public transport in all European regions and accessible to all our citizens, no matter where they live. That is why we need to develop accessibility standards for public transport that allow access to essential facilities for our citizens without the need for a private car. By doing so, we are not only ensuring emission reductions, but what is equally important, if not more important, is that people stay in rural areas and thus demographic renewal.

Dear President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, more than two thirds of Europe's population live in cities. They are epicentres of innovation, job creation and the transition to a green economy, and through the development of cities, we also encourage the development of the surrounding rural areas. That is why it is extremely important to focus our efforts on urban development. My country Croatia has good practice through its new urban agenda, where, using the mechanism of integrated territorial investments, it has doubled funding and tripled the number of cities covered. In order to encourage the balanced development of cities, it is essential to continue strengthening cohesion policy and to ensure that the bureaucratic burden is reduced in the coming period, as well as a stronger focus on strategic objectives, such as for example affordable housing. However, it should be made clear that this simplification must not go in the direction of reducing control over the spending of European funds. It is time for all of us to realise that regions and cities are not just administrative units, but bearers of the future of the European Union, especially for our young people, for whom we must ensure a dignified life.

Housing is a fundamental human right enshrined in our European Pillar of Social Rights and a prerequisite for a dignified life. Unfortunately, from 2010 to 2022, on average, house prices jumped by 47%, rents by 18%, and as many as 10% of our citizens spend over 40% of their income precisely for housing. While housing policy is primarily a Member State competence, the European Union must play an active role in addressing this crisis. I therefore urge the European Commission to effectively double the planned investments from cohesion policy, as well as the announcement of a revision on state aid. But that's not enough either. A solution is needed that takes into account the specificities of each Member State, with concrete measures at European Union level. Affordable housing policy is key to keeping our young people in Europe. Without these young people, our social model, our economy is unsustainable and Europe's demographic image is irreversibly changing. Europe can only matter to its citizens if it proves that their needs come first.