Speeches

I sincerely thank you for your contribution to the debate, for the good cooperation across the divisions of all political groups. I am glad that we were able to carry it out several weeks after the traumatic events that affected many European regions. Nowadays, when everything is rushing, every news practically the next day becomes outdated. It often seems that yesterday's problem no longer exists. No, ladies and gentlemen, the victims of floods and fires are still very often in a tragic situation. Many families do not have their own roof over their heads for the winter. That is why this debate and tomorrow's vote are of particular importance. Firstly, to show that we have not forgotten about the victims, and secondly, to confirm that we have fulfilled our promise of help. We did it reliably and as fast as we could.

Madam President, thank you very much. Mr. Commissioner, I would like to thank you. Ladies and Gentlemen, First of all, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the people and institutions who have enabled me to stand on the rostrum today and present this report. First of all, I would like to thank my co-rapporteur, the shadow rapporteurs, the European Commission and the Member States. The subject we are talking about is extremely important to me, also for personal reasons. I come from and live in a region that was one of the hardest hit by the September floods. Natural disasters occur suddenly and unforeseenly, and their effects do not end with water subsidence or fire extinguishing. I still visit these places, I see the sadness and helplessness of people. It is with them in mind, in a spirit of solidarity, that we have worked on the RESTORE Regulation. We agreed to apply an exceptional procedure, the so-called fast track, without amending the Commission's proposal, in order to speed up the adoption of the Regulation as much as possible and to ensure that assistance to victims arrives as soon as possible. I also believe that we should accept these minor amendments, which the Council has proposed in its position. At this point, I would like to thank my co-rapporteur and all the political groups for their agreement and cooperation on this issue. This is proof that the European Parliament can be very effective when it comes to urgent and important matters, it is able to go beyond its internal political divisions. It is also a strong signal of support that we send to affected communities. The changes we will adopt tomorrow concern three funds: the European Regional Development Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Social Fund Plus. It is important that we are not talking about a new budget, but only about the possibility of transferring 10% of the funds currently allocated to operational programmes. In the case of my region, Opole, it is about 96 million euros. Another important point is the funding at the level of 95% from European funds. This is a significant amount, but at the same time secured by an overpayment control mechanism. In addition, we provide advance payments of 25%, which meets the needs of local governments. I also agree with my colleagues that this aid must be one-off and that its limitation in time is justified. We will conclude the procedure in Parliament tomorrow, but this work is still ongoing in the affected regions. Within six months, Member States will have to create a new specific objective for RESTORE, followed by investment projects. I am convinced that by adopting the proposed solutions, we will show that the European Union is able to react quickly, flexibly and deliver real help to those for whom we are here – our citizens. I therefore call on all of you to support the amendment and the report in tomorrow's vote.

Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner, thank you very much. The Draghi report and many other studies and documents show that people in Europe need to be able to improve their competences and qualifications for their own professional security and sense of personal value. We want them to have the conditions for lifelong learning. It is difficult to measure these values from the perspective of the needs of entrepreneurs, but they indicate that economic competition requires highly qualified personnel. On the other hand, no European should be afraid of not being able to do something and of taking on new challenges. The European Social Fund has a huge but still untapped potential in providing targeted training and upskilling opportunities. Therefore, the programme should continue beyond 2027, with an adequate, high budget, so that it can play a key role in equipping our society with the skills of the future.