Speeches

Mr President, Viktor Orbán has been attacking freedoms and fundamental rights by restricting freedom of opinion and by weakening the rights of minorities and workers for years. And now he is doing exactly what authoritarian leaders always do when they are not stopped – he is going further, by giving authorities broad powers to monitor, sanction or even ban activities of civil society, trade unions and media by withdrawing Hungary from the ICC and by attacking diversity and democracy through banning the Pride event. Enough is enough. The EU must be able to act to protect fundamental rights and freedoms of all Europeans, and this is a legitimacy question for the whole Union. As parliamentarians, our most important, job is to support the people in Hungary who are protesting against this, who are organising the Pride march despite the repression, and I, for one, am proud to be joining them.

Mr President, workers have a fundamental right not to fall ill because of their work, and it is often even a matter of life and death. Few people are aware of the importance of the EU in the development of OSH. In 1989, a framework directive was adopted which, in addition to setting minimum standards, sets limits on, inter alia, exposure to dangerous substances, protective equipment and the protection of, for example, young people or pregnant workers. Yet in 2022, there were around 3 million accidents and more than 3 000 deaths related to work in the EU. But as the world changes, so does the law. In Finland, mental health problems have outpaced musculoskeletal disorders as the most common, i.e. the most common, cause of sick leave and disability pensions. We lose up to seven million working days a year. That is why we need a directive on psychosocial risks and to address them during this period. We need to take mental health much more seriously.

Mr President, the US is ruled by an authoritarian president who is using trade policies as a means of coercion and political extortion. While it is clear that European workers will only lose in a full-fledged trade war, the EU should be much bolder and much more imaginative in its own response to Trump's actions. The EU should target the oligarchs that are close to Trump, through action directed at Tesla and Musk, and by digital tax aimed at the huge digital platforms. The EU should also signal its readiness to use the Anti-Coercion Instrument. But most importantly, we need to make the European economy less dependent on US exports. That means supporting internal demand in the European markets, and that means supporting real wage growth and also increasing investments. More than ever, we need to put people and workers first in our economic policymaking.

Mr President, only about a year ago, in this Chamber, new EU fiscal rules were adopted and are already being amended. It tells us all about how badly these rules fit in times of multiple crises. Changing the rules to allow only defence investments is obviously not enough, neither for competitiveness nor for a social Europe. We need investments in the climate and energy transition, research, education, lifelong learning, welfare services and affordable housing. The latest Eurobarometer survey shows once again how citizens want the EU to tackle inflation and rising prices. But what do EU leaders do? They are stuck in deregulation and think that lowering human rights and environmental standards should be a winning concept. It has never been and never will be. We need a strong social Europe and, in order to achieve this, we need investment in people and workers.

Madam President, last week we in The Left Group gathered young Ukrainian leftists and trade unionists in Brussels to discuss how Ukrainian civil society can be supported during the fight against Russian imperialism. The message was crystal clear: in addition to arms support, Ukrainian society needs to address acute problems such as the severe lack of affordable housing, the lack of care services, and also proposed reforms to weaken workers' rights and trade unions. We need to find the legal basis to use frozen Russian assets and to direct these funds into a large investment programme for social housing in Ukraine. Now is also the time to finally put an end to Viktor Orbán trying to stop support to Ukraine and blocking Ukraine's EU accession process. We must remove Hungary's voting rights in the Council under Article 7. Enough is enough.

Mr President, Executive Vice‑President, who is at the centre of all of the transformations that are ongoing in Europe? It is the workers. They are the first to face the emergence of new technologies, and every day they feel the rising costs of living. As a response, we need action to secure good working conditions and quality jobs and an ambitious skills agenda. At the moment, EU Member States are far behind when it comes to participation in adult education. By 2030, the number should be 60%, yet at the moment it's only 34%. The common starting point should be: how do we find the right tools to change this? Member States need new incentives to invest in high‑quality vocational education and training, but increasing the supply of training for individuals is not enough. We also need new proposals to secure the right of workers to training. Investing in people and investing in skills is essential to reduce poverty and to deliver quality jobs in all sectors.

Madam President, as a leftist, I think that Putin and Trump form one of the most dangerous ideological alliances that the world has seen in a long time. Therefore, it is essential that the EU strengthens its support for Ukraine. In addition, the EU should set a strategic goal of reducing our dependencies on the US. This means: creating a European security architecture, redirecting all financing currently going to the US arms industry to Europe; reducing energy dependencies; and limiting the powers of the digital oligarchs. Changes to the fiscal rules must enable all of these investments. I do understand that the goal might also require more investment in European defence. But it would be a historic mistake to finance this by cutting welfare, because that would only cement the rise to power of Putin's and Trump's allies in Europe: the extreme right. And for once, the EU needs to be smarter than this.

Mr President, 'it is not a matter of deregulation, it is a matter of simplification. We just want to do things better." We have heard these messages from the Commission on several occasions, but now, at the latest, this omnibus package shows that these claims are not true. The whole of this so-called preparatory process has shown whose interests are being defended by deregulation – big companies and even those who are currently being accused of human rights violations and environmental problems. The changes proposed by the Commission undermine, for example, the CSR Directive by excluding smaller subcontractors from its scope and by weakening the position of victims of human rights violations. If care is required only at the first stage of production, as the Commission is now proposing, the human rights impact of the production of pineapple juice, for example, will in future be monitored only in Kuopio, Finland, and not in Thailand, where subcontracting will take place. Such regulation makes no sense and destroys the very idea of this directive.

Madam President, not a good start indeed. This Work Programme, which is supposed to be about moving forward together, includes zero legal initiatives in the field of social fairness. Zero. Instead, we get a long list of initiatives aimed at watering down legislations from the last mandate to lower standards when it comes to corporate responsibility and sustainability. Commission – this is not what Europeans expect from you. The rising cost of living and personal economic situation were the two most common reasons for Europeans to vote in the last EP election. Now, it seems like the social agenda is forgotten altogether, and the Commission is focusing on deregulation in a way that, in the end, will not even benefit the companies. If we move along this policy line, we risk moving backwards, divided.

Mr President, appreciation - that is what professional students have talked to me about the most. The wish to be seen as equals in terms of skills, working life and the economy. As a former Minister of Education, it is therefore a great pleasure to take part in this debate. Vocational education and training must be developed as an attractive educational path, including sufficient quality education in general subjects and civic skills. At the same time, the problem for the EU is that Member States too often adopt completely contradictory economic policies in relation to these objectives. It is impossible to improve the level of skills if, at the same time, EUR 120 million is cut from vocational education and training, as the Finnish right-wing government is currently doing. Adult education allowance has already been abolished. It is important for the EU to talk about vocational education and skills, but there is also a need for a debate on how current economic policies lead to policies that are detrimental to competitiveness and have nothing to do with the EU's objectives of improving skills.

Mr President, the last time I called in this Chamber in October for stronger action to tackle Russia's shadow fleet. Since then, we have indeed seen the risks associated with the shadow fleet: it enables Russia to finance and continue the illegal war in Ukraine, it can sabotage critical infrastructure and it poses a continued serious environmental risk to the Baltic Sea. For example, we have already set a warning example in the Black Sea. The Finnish authorities have rightly been commended for their prompt action on the Eagle S, but we need more means. The EU must support the Baltic Sea Member States in finding, within the framework of international maritime law, the means for stopping and inspecting ships. The EU must add ships to the scope of sanctions. Contrary to what is sometimes said, sanctions policy has had and has had a significant impact on the Russian economy, and therefore work needs to continue to stop the shadow fleet – for both Ukraine and the environment.

Mr President, the ceasefire will hopefully be at least a moment's relief from human suffering, an opportunity for people to be safe and an opportunity to bring humanitarian aid to the Gazans desperately in need. The release of prisoners is an important step forward, but a ceasefire does not yet mean peace and does not bring justice. It will not bring back the tens and tens of thousands of people who have lost their lives in the Gaza genocide. Rebuilding schools, homes, hospitals and streets will be a huge task. EU countries are also responsible for the continuation of crimes for such a long time, and it is now up to EU countries to ensure that those responsible for war crimes are brought to justice. But that is not enough. The Palestinian people's human rights and self-determination must be fully realised, and Israel must put an end to the illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories. Only through the implementation of these principles can a just and lasting peace be achieved.

Mr President, Commissioner, in September I visited a group of young Swedish car mechanics who work at the Tesla workshop in Umeå. They were ordinary girls and boys who, at the time, had been on strike for over a year. Why? To protect their right to make collective agreements. The Tesla example shows why safeguarding the right to collective bargaining and the right to strike is increasingly important. They are fundamental tools for ordinary people and workers to protect their democratic rights, and they are tools to ensure that people like Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos – the richest man in the world – cannot dictate the rules in the labour market as they wish. That is also why the EU needs to safeguard these rights. Implementation of the Minimum Wage Directive is extremely important, but the EU also needs new tools to strengthen collective bargaining through reforming the rules on public procurement and through the use of social conditionality to improve workers' rights as part of the green industrial policies to be launched. This is the time to stand firmly in solidarity with Europe's workers.

Mr President, the fall of the dictator al-Assad is joyful and reassuring news for all Syrians and for the whole world. However, the future of Syria remains a matter of great concern. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham's commitment to women's rights and polyphonic democracy, for example, is still a big question mark. Turkey and Israel are now taking advantage of the situation for illegal territorial conquests. Turkey is attacking the Kurds in the self-governing region of Rojava and is arming Islamist groups for this purpose. The EU must put pressure on these countries to immediately stop the illegal activities in Syria. At a time when the EU is apparently establishing formal links with the new Syrian regime, the recognition of Rojava's self-government must be a condition. When discussing the future of Syria, the Kurds must be involved both nationally and internationally. The international community must not and cannot turn its back on the Kurds, who have persistently and with great sacrifice fought for equality in the region against ISIS terrorism.

Madam President, around three weeks ago, I was sitting on a train from Kyiv going back over the border to Poland. We were visiting Ukraine with a delegation of representatives from different left parties, having meetings with NGOs, trade unionists and the Ukrainian left organisation Sotsіalniy Rukh. Everyone in Ukraine was telling us the same thing: they expect this winter to be the hardest period since Putin started this war of aggression, with attacks on energy infrastructures, soldiers getting worn out, and relentless drone and missile attacks keeping people in constant alert. It is therefore of utmost importance that we stand firm in our solidarity with Ukraine. It is up to the Ukrainians to decide when the time is ready for possible negotiations. But for the possibility of a just and lasting peace, there must be enough pressure on Putin. That is why we need military support, and that is why we need to strengthen the sanctions regime. But Ukrainian society also need other forms of support. There is a pressing need for social and non-profit housing models to address the housing crisis. Trade unions need to be strengthened so that collective bargaining and social dialogue can be continued as soon as possible. A strong civil society and transparency is needed in the fight against corruption. And Ukraine's sovereign debt also needs to be cancelled so that we can ensure the economic and political sovereignty of the country, in addition to its independence and territorial integrity.

Mr President, everyone is talking about skills nowadays. Companies have highlighted the lack of skilled workers as the main obstacle to growth in Europe. There are many sectors affected by labour shortages, and the Draghi report also sent the message that all European workers must be guaranteed the right to education. It is important that Europe unequivocally puts skills and learning at the centre of competitiveness. We must not compete by trampling wages, weakening working conditions, exploiting natural resources or allowing inequality to explode. We need to do things in a new and better way – both to strengthen the economy and to improve people’s lives. But are we really ready for an education policy that responds to these great challenges? Then both employers and societies must be prepared to finance the studies of working-age people more than at present. Employers must then be prepared to allow employees to spend time on it. The unemployed should then be given the freedom and opportunity to study. Then our education system must also respond better to the needs of different learners. All of this requires investments of a completely different scale than what we have seen so far. We also need to understand that labour shortages are not just about skills or lack of them. It is also about working conditions – wages, working conditions, working conditions and opportunities to make a difference. No amount of skills or education in the world will make up for giving people the opportunity to do their jobs well, for good compensation.

Mr President, we in Europe must do everything in our power to make the war as costly as possible for Putin. It is a key means of putting pressure on Russia to end war crimes and violations of international law in Ukraine. With the help of the Shadow Fleet, Russia finances its illegal war of aggression through oil trade and acquires defence and security technology. In addition, tankers in poor condition pose a huge risk of environmental disaster in the Baltic Sea. We heard from the Commission representative what action the EU has taken so far and what tools the EU has at its disposal, but tankers continue to circulate in our seas. The EU must therefore take more decisive action. We can't afford to wait another minute, we have to act. It is our duty, both from the Ukrainian and the environmental point of view.

Mr President, I want to thank all colleagues for this wide-ranging discussion and debate, and also for the broad support that was voiced for this report. Some colleagues pointed out that you think these things should be dealt with on a national level, but as one colleague said, rightly, this is not a legally binding instrument. So if you think that, on a national level, Member States should focus on decent working conditions, on ensuring a balanced labour market, securing jobs for everyone, then you should absolutely vote in favour of a recommendation to the Member States to do exactly this. I think these guidelines are also an important policy document, a statement from the Parliament regarding how we want to ensure fair and balanced employment policies in Europe, how we think Member States should address issues facing working life, and all of the millions of Europeans who have not yet found their own place and their own role in the labour market. As has been pointed out, this legislative term will be much about competitiveness, but it's worth stating that there can be no competitiveness in Europe without worker well-being, without making sure that not a single European worker will get sick from his or her working environment. We need to make sure that we secure decent working conditions, education and training, and that we also put social dialogue and collective bargaining at the heart of how we define European competitiveness.

Mr President, the employment guidelines provide guidance to Member States for their employment policies and the setting of national targets. The employment guidelines must be consistent with broader economic policies, but Member States should also work to incorporate the recommendations of these guidelines into their economic policies. The employment guidelines are drawn up annually. This year, the Commission proposed a number of changes to the employment guidelines. There is a strong emphasis on education and training, on new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and algorithmic management, as well as on recent policy initiatives, such as platform work, affordable housing, and addressing labour and skills shortages. I very much welcome these changes, and I particularly welcome the emphasis on social dialogue and collective bargaining. The changes proposed by the Commission were also widely supported by the EMPL Committee. In addition to these proposals, there were some policy areas that we wanted to strengthen in this text. Member States must provide good wages and decent working conditions, in order to support both social and economic development and the green transition. In addition, strengthening democracy at work, social dialogue and collective bargaining play an important role in the development of working life. Member States must protect workers' rights, address labour and skills shortages, and promote quality and inclusive education, with a particular focus on improving basic skills of disadvantaged students. Member States should take preventive measures to reduce early school leaving, with a particular focus on students at risk. In addition, gender equality policies should be anchored and mainstreamed in all phases of economic governance. Adequate working conditions for employees, including occupational safety and health, and physical and mental well-being, must be ensured. Thus, in this legislative mandate, it is necessary to develop a comprehensive framework for quality jobs, including legislative initiatives on working conditions for teleworking, the right to disconnect and artificial intelligence in the workplace. Access to affordable housing is a precondition for ensuring equal opportunities, and therefore the Union and Member States should take immediate action to provide affordable housing for all. Homelessness is one of the most extreme forms of exclusion, negatively affecting the health, well-being and quality of life of homeless people, as well as their access to employment and social services. Member States must prevent employment relationships that lead to precarious working conditions, such as bogus self-employment, and it is therefore important that they, without delay, implement the Platform Work Directive, which will improve the working conditions of people working via digital platforms. In addition, Member States should swiftly implement recently adopted EU legislation on issues such as pay transparency and minimum wages. The strong message in these guidelines is that good employment policies are based on good treatment of workers, on respecting workers' rights. They are based on education and training accessible for all, on comprehensive collective agreements and social dialogue, and, of course, decent working conditions for all workers in Europe.

Mr President, according to a recent Eurobarometer survey, the most common reasons for voting in the European elections were related to the rise in the cost of living and the voter's financial situation. That is why the future Commission is forced to take the social dimension seriously, and housing policy is a very central theme here. We expect the Commission to take concrete action to promote affordable housing. State aid regulations must enable social housing and the housing first principle must be implemented throughout the EU. In Finland, homelessness has been successfully combated for a long time, but right-wing politics are now changing the situation. Evictions have increased at a record rate as a result of social security cuts. Insufficient housing is being built, which will soon lead to housing shortages. Homelessness is therefore combated with long-term work, but the situation in Finland shows that the results can be quickly destroyed by short-sighted cuts.

I would encourage all Members of this Parliament to actually read up. How is China competing with Europe at the moment? With what type of technology and what type of cars is China actually beating Europe at the moment? If we want to make sure that Europe is not a museum, if we want to make sure that Europe does have a possibility to stand up in this competition, we need to make sure that the automotive industry in Europe keeps developing, because that is clearly where we haven't done a good enough job. Making sure that we in Europe also develop affordable models of electric cars – that is also important for all of the low-income earners in Europe, that is important for the European workers. So we should combine the possibilities for everyone to make environmentally friendly decisions with an industrial policy through which we secure jobs in the European automotive industry, also in the future.

Madam President, the crisis of the automotive industry in Europe affects the future, the jobs and the income of millions of workers. But this crisis is also a textbook example of why we need better industrial policy. Global competition, especially from China, is tough, and new technology has changed the whole industry. We need investment in technology that brings us new, affordable models of electric cars. The public sector can accelerate this transition by providing stable regulation and also by investing in charging infrastructure. The bottom line is that emissions still need to come down. Some will use this crisis as an excuse to say: 'we should back down on environmental regulation, we should do less'. But the situation is exactly the opposite. The European automotive industry has not adapted fast enough to these changes, and the worst thing we can do now is to slow down even further. That would also be much worse for the 14 million workers in the industry. Europe's autoworkers have demanded a just transition in this sector. We need coordination between Member States, cooperation with the unions, and EU-wide solutions to support the workers. Our job is to answer their demands, now.

Mr President, Ukraine's support is about how we react to the imperialist conquests of authoritarian leaders such as Putin and great powers such as Russia, and to the blatant violations of international law. In addition to tougher sanctions against Russia, we must continue to support Ukraine both economically and armedly. A cessation of arms assistance would not bring peace, but would lead to Russia's conquest of Ukraine. That would put us further away from a just peace. A just and lasting peace in Ukraine can only be achieved by supporting Ukrainians, both financially and armedly, in their defensive struggle and by bringing to justice those responsible for war crimes in due course.

Mr President, Mrs von der Leyen, the results of the European elections should be a real wake-up call for all decision-makers in the EU committed to human rights and democracy. Now is the time to find the right solutions to the concerns and problems that people across Europe are struggling with. With prices rising less and less, people on low incomes are particularly affected by the return of economic discipline in Europe. Right now, investments in fair working conditions and social justice must be placed at the heart of European decision-making. Combating poverty and promoting affordable housing are very important objectives, but strategies, seminars and fine words are not enough. The EU must also exercise its legislative powers. I would therefore like to ask you where are the concrete measures to promote well-being at work, to ensure corporate responsibility and to ensure fair working conditions for all Europeans. It is precisely such initiatives that must be at the heart of a socially just policy.