Speeches

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen! First of all, a heartfelt thank you to our rapporteur, Tom Berendsen, who presented an excellent report on the industrial strategy for Europe and who, above all, made it very clear in the report that what we need to do is to preserve added value in Europe. Our entire industrial policy must be geared towards securing jobs here on the ground. He rightly stated – and I would now like to emphasise two things in my short speech – that, above all, we must take into account the dramatic impact of Russia’s war of aggression on European industry in what we can now also do at European level. And I can only say: The most important thing is that we relieve, relieve, relieve our companies and our companies, get away from many bureaucratic requirements that the companies currently have to shoulder. Our companies are struggling to survive, insolvencies are the order of the day, productions are being cut back. We must relieve where we can only relieve and support, also with a view to reducing electricity taxes, horrendous prices, which are also there with regard to the procurement of raw materials, with regard to energy supply. That must be the order of the day. I welcome the fact that the Commission announced yesterday that it will also work in the direction of making ourselves more resilient and diversifying in the European Union. This must also be the goal of our foreign policy, that we organize here also access to rare raw materials. That is our task in the European Union.

Madam President, Madam President of the Commission, Mr Council representatives, ladies and gentlemen! Ukraine still needs our maximum possible support. Madam President, you said: “It is time to support, not for appeasement.” I can only support that. But the war also hits the mark on our citizens and businesses: High inflation, horrendous energy prices, households no longer have room for manoeuvre, companies are reducing their production, insolvencies are the order of the day. I think two things are necessary. Firstly: In times of supply shortages, we have to ramp up everything in capacity, resources. This applies to our energy supply as well as to our food supply. And secondly: Relieving rather than burdening is the order of the day, dear colleagues. I have heard that there should be an SME package. Let me just say: I hear the words, but I lack faith. I see that the machinery in the Commission continues unvarnished, unchecked. Business as usual is the order of the day. I look forward to the concrete proposals. What will be withdrawn when? The goal must be to maintain added value here in Europe and to prevent other regions in the world from benefiting from the fact that there are wars in Europe.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, We want to achieve climate neutrality in the European Union by 2050. However, climate protection is only associated with security of supply, energy efficiency and affordability. And that is why, with regard to the expansion of renewable energies, I think it is wrong to make the use of hydropower and forest biomass unprofitable through strict regulations. On the contrary: Energy from forest wood must continue to be recognised as renewable energy – I do not share what Mr Wölken said. Sustainable forest management is essential for urgently needed forest conversion and our goal of climate neutrality. We need strong forests that can reach their full potential as carbon sinks. The same goes for hydropower. Hydropower is a renewable energy that is always available, flexibly controllable and grid stabilizing. We must do everything we can to strengthen hydropower and not to put an end to small hydropower in Europe by setting strict guidelines.

Mr President, Commissioner, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, ladies and gentlemen! Deforestation and forest degradation must be tackled with all possible means. Our forests around the world are our green lungs. We absolutely must protect them. As CO2 sinks, they make a valuable contribution to our climate, even if they are managed sustainably. The Regulation provides for the most extensive due diligence and documentation obligations. Market participants and traders are obliged to carry out risk assessments here as well. I would just like to make a critical remark: I believe that we must not exaggerate this with these manifold obligations and obligations, especially for those who import and who participate in trade here. We do not want to build an extensive compliance system, but we want to tackle the problem at its root. That is why I believe that we must continue to think about alternatives and other measures – Mr Lins raised a number of points. So this is a proposal that will hopefully be evaluated with a sense of proportion in the vote tomorrow. But I think it's not the only way, and we should continue to work on alternatives.

Mr President, Mr Vice-President of the Commission, ladies and gentlemen! Better legislation has been a matter of heart for us in the European Parliament for years, and therefore a thank you to our rapporteur, who has presented an excellent report. I would like to highlight an initiative that is particularly important to me, for which I have also made myself strong: I think the most important thing is that the websites that inform our citizens, our companies about funding and funding opportunities for the European Union, are also made available in all official languages. I know that the Commission is working on this. Mr Vice-President, I would urge you once again to implement this by the end of the year, as was probably planned. I think that is a requirement of fairness that non-English-speaking citizens also know what they have in terms of funding opportunities, in terms of financing opportunities. We have billion-dollar programmes that we are putting in place, and that is why, I believe, it is a requirement of fairness to inform about them in all official languages.

Mr President, Mr Vice-President of the Commission - the President of the Council has already left Parliament here, very interesting - ladies and gentlemen! Granting candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova has been right, is a big, important milestone. We in Parliament were the first to call for this, and it is just right to continue to support Ukraine and Moldova, as is planned. However, it is unacceptable that the Western Balkans have been waiting for the EU accession talks for so long and that we have still not made any progress. At the last summit, I think we lost a lot of confidence in this region. How can the EU keep North Macedonia waiting after 15 years? How can it be that the accession talks with Albania have been repeatedly postponed, even though Albania has been a candidate country since 2010? Far too little has happened, and the evil of course is unanimity in the Council. That is where we have to start, and that is why it was right that we called for the establishment of a Convention in order to finally come to Treaty amendments, to finally get away from unanimity for the big, important decisions, especially the foreign policy issues. This can only be done with the amendment of the Treaty, only with the Convention.

Mr President, Vice-President of the European Commission, ladies and gentlemen! I am talking about CO2 emission standards for cars and light commercial vehicles. And I have two announcements. Firstly: I think electric cars have a good future. It is crucial that the charging infrastructure is set up and made available. I am convinced that if this is the case, throughout the European Union, then the electric car will become a self-propelled vehicle. Secondly: I am strongly against an end to the internal combustion engine 2035. I think technology neutrality is the order of the day. I see a future also for alternative fuels, synthetic fuels, hydrogen technology. I don't think we MEPs should decide which technology will prevail on the market, but I think there is a lot, a lot of potential still there in terms of innovation, in terms of scientific development. And we should not exclude other technologies from the outset. And we should also be honest and make a life cycle, a life cycle assessment and not always just measure the CO2 emissions at the exhaust.

Mr President! Commissioner! Ladies and Gentlemen! Reducing our dependence on Russia for exports is the order of the day. In this respect, I also welcome the proposal that the Commission has now put forward in the context of REPowerEU. It is gratifying in this proposal that there are good ideas for financing the ambitious plans. The aim is to exploit synergies and flexibility between existing EU funds and the EU Recovery Fund. I think that is right that we are taking advantage of existing funds that are not called up and not taking on new debt for the projects. Our priority must be to ensure affordability and security of supply. Our citizens must continue to be able to pay their energy bills. Only then will accelerated change have the chance to be widely accepted. Due to bureaucratic requirements, we must not take the air to breathe for small and medium-sized companies. I also say clearly: We need to look at why the accelerated change is taking place too slowly, for example in the case of photovoltaic systems. There is not the problem that there is no money, but there is a lack of material, and there is a lack of specialists who build the photovoltaic systems. So in the further discussions on ‘Fit for 55’ and on REPowerEU, please also take into account the given realities!

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen. This terrible war now lasts 70 days, bringing so infinite suffering and destruction. I think we really need to do everything we can to end this war as soon as possible. And with that, it is also necessary to increase the pressure on Putin wherever possible. I very much welcome the sixth package of sanctions. I believe it is a huge mark-up – on the one hand, that Sberbank is now also excluded from the SWIFT payment system, and the oil embargo, as it is now foreseen, is, I believe, the right step. Of course, we must consider the impact and consequences of this terrible situation in Ukraine on us as well; And here I am with the previous speaker, frankly. Everyone is affected, we have price explosions without end, energy prices are rising, we have huge, galloping inflation, and I think we also have to do much more at European level and react. The lives of our citizens throughout the European Union must remain affordable. I think that the Member States have a great responsibility here and have already done a lot: Lower VAT, lower taxes, give subsidies where necessary. I think that is really necessary in this crisis situation. I think we also need to reconsider where we can restructure funds to support and help on the ground. The European Central Bank also has an important role to play. So, price stability is the ECB's job, and it really has to live up to its responsibilities now and also turn on the interest rate screw, as the Fed did in the US. We have to relieve our companies, our businesses, especially our healthy SMEs, where we can only relieve them. We need to ensure that security of supply is guaranteed – it has been addressed – with a view to stabilising our energy supply, raw materials, food. Some things have already happened that fallow land can now also be cultivated, and I think that is exactly the right way to go, and in that sense we must continue. So please, Commission, also look at our situation on the ground here in the European Union.

Madam President, Vice-President of the European Commission, ladies and gentlemen! Artificial intelligence can be a great asset to our society and our economy. Today, we are already realizing that artificial intelligence is used in a wide variety of ways in everyday life: For example, artificial intelligence is used in music streaming platforms, and artificial intelligence is used in online language translators. When you look at medicine: What progress has been made in the diagnostic field through the use of artificial intelligence and big data! Image data is evaluated, disease patterns are detected earlier. There are also many ways to use geospatial data for climate protection. With the help of AI systems, agriculture can work here in a more targeted way, and also in the household: What there can be in terms of efficiency gains – immensely. It is very, very important that we address the issue of artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence is the future and has huge potential. But: Where there are opportunities, there are usually big risks. I always say: Curse and blessing at the same time. The topic:Social scoring“ has been addressed, for example, the fear that, with the help of AI systems, comprehensive surveillance will also be carried out here, whether in the work area or elsewhere. That is why, I believe, we need to think carefully about how we will continue to shape regulation here in the future. I think it is important for us as Europeans that, in everything we think about regulation now – and the proposals are on the table – digital technologies must always serve people. So the human being must be at the center of the question of how to regulate here. This is the most important thing for us to prevent discrimination and other things. I would like to thank Mr Axel Voss for his great report and all the colleagues who have spent many months in this special committee dealing with the widest range of questions relating to the use of AI. And I am now also looking forward to further discussions and debates when it comes to the concrete regulatory proposals. I believe that we Europeans can really set another fragrance brand here and create regulation in this digital environment that will serve our citizens across Europe at the end of the day.

Madam President, A heartfelt thank you also to all those who took part in the debate today. I would also like to use my two minutes to thank you. Monsieur le Commissaire, cher Thierry Breton, merci. Merci Beaucoup pour tout ce que vous avez fait aussi pour présenter cet acte. And then I would like to thank the shadow rapporteurs once again. It has been a great pleasure to work together on this dossier. Thank you also to the colleagues of the advisory committees. There was also a lot of input, which was very helpful for this dossier. And once again, a heartfelt thank you to all those who have spoken here today in plenary. I would also like to thank our Chairman of the ITRE Committee, Cristian-Silviu Buşoi, who also led the last round of negotiations in such a way that we came to a conclusion late at night. It is important for me once again to emphasise – it has been raised by some colleagues: This data governance law is a piece of the puzzle in a big puzzle we're currently working on. Data law, the AI legislation, all this will come, is in the consultation. I think it was important to find the right balance between making data usable – on the one hand – but on the other hand also upholding data protection. I was very grateful, also for suggestions from colleagues Sergey Lagodinsky, Damian Boeselager and many others who stressed this again and again. I think we really have a chance to make a Schengen for data. This has also been addressed. And I can only say: If we continue on this path well now, I hope that we will really be able to provide a framework that we can say here in Europe in a few years' time: We have strengthened our SMEs, our small and medium-sized enterprises, we have strengthened our society, we have ensured that the data we have here from 440 million citizens, who are a huge asset, is also used here in the European Union according to our ideas, according to our rules, according to our European spirit. And that's what I'm looking forward to. Thank you very much for everything, and for continuing good cooperation here in this House. If we stick together, then we are also very strong as the European Parliament.

Madam President, Commissioner Breton, ladies and gentlemen! We are currently witnessing a turning point, triggered by this terrible, terrible war in Ukraine. The coronavirus crisis and climate policy are not the focus of attention, and this also applies to digital policy. Nevertheless, we are also experiencing an overdue turn of events in data and digital policy, which begins today with the adoption of the Data Governance Act. To be honest – stocktaking: Europe has slept through the birth of the online platform economy and the associated revolution in the use of personal data. We left it to the big US companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon, who, as innovators of the first hour, still dominate the digital world today. But with the European data strategy, which was already presented in 2020, we in the European Union have started not only to straighten the playing field in the digital world, but to fundamentally change the rules of the game. The Data Governance Act, which we are now discussing and will vote on this afternoon, is the beginning of a paradigm shift necessary to build a growing, innovative European data economy as a counter-proposal to approaches in the US or China. In the United States, data, colleagues, colleagues, is big business. The organisation of the data room is almost entirely left to the private sector, which has also led to these considerable concentration effects. In China, data is almost state property. China has a combination of government surveillance and large tech companies that largely control huge amounts of data on their own. And we here in Europe? We're going another way. With us, the user is at the center. We have already seen this when we discussed the General Data Protection Regulation for many years in order to protect the rights of users in particular here. So there is a huge opportunity for Europe to emancipate itself – I would say – digitally, to go our own European way. We need this because the strength of our data economy in Europe is also driven by small and medium-sized companies, by startups, which we have to give a chance to. The goal of the Data Governance Act is to break data silos, share data, make data sharing easier, make data easier to use for our economy and society. That is why the Data Governance Act provides the framework for neutral data intermediaries in the European Union to offer their services. Data intermediaries who do not pursue their own economic purposes with the data entrusted to them, as the other large platform operators do, but these data intermediaries are only responsible for aggregating and refining the data entrusted to them in such a way that others can work well with the data provided. We believe that this will create a trustworthy environment that enables fair data sharing, and we very much hope that this will also be accepted in practice. I would like to close with a very heartfelt thank you to the colleagues who have been intensively advising on this dossier for many months – I see them all here in front of me. I thank you for the good cooperation, and I believe that what was particularly important to us as the European Parliament on this file, we could only enforce in the tough negotiations with the Member States and with the help of the Commission, because we were so closed. We have now defined a strict scope of application that creates legal certainty. We have strengthened a European Data Innovation Board. We have decided that there should be a common EU logo for data intermediary services, a European Single Access Point, from which the datasets of the Member States can also be searched cross-border, and much more. My dear colleagues, I am proud that we have discussed this dossier so quickly together here. I think – and this is my last sentence – that the data revolution is not waiting for Europe and will certainly not come about through wishful thinking. We must act now! We must now do everything we can to make the data space so that our citizens have as much of it as possible, as well as our companies and our private sector, with the legislative proposals still to come.

Madam President, Mr Vice-President of the Commission, Mr High Representative, ladies and gentlemen! The ongoing Russian war of aggression and the associated humanitarian suffering in Ukraine are shattering and horrifying for all of us. The pictures from Butscha that reached us on the weekend are unbearable. War crimes against innocent people – men, women, children – must be punished. Those responsible must be held accountable. We must do everything we can to end this war as soon as possible. That means for me that we really have to do everything that hurts Putin more than us. I have two things to say: Firstly, I welcome the European Commission's proposal to stop imports of Russian coal. At the same time, however, we also need an import ban on Russian oil. Because Russian exports of coal and oil are both well substitutable, and we can continue to add to the Russian government with these embargoes. Russian banks active in oil and coal trading must also be decoupled from the SWIFT system. I am pleased that this is also provided for in the fifth package of sanctions. But for me it is also clear: As soon as we can even get close to a gas embargo, we should implement it. At the moment this is not the case, but I very much hope that if all the Member States work hard to make us more independent here, that we will be able to impose a gas embargo at an early stage. Secondly, we must now begin to build a common security architecture in the EU. I think joint procurement makes sense. I think bundling our research activities in the field of security and defence makes sense. There are enough suggestions. Here in the European Parliament, we have often discussed this issue, worked out and put forward proposals. We must now take a concrete approach to building a common security and defence union here. I admit that I have so far missed concrete initiatives by the Member States in this regard, and I would be delighted if this is finally addressed here by the Member States accordingly.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, Even before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, our citizens and European companies were already feeling the exploding energy prices. Due to the war in Ukraine, the situation has deteriorated dramatically. Yesterday in Germany a liter of diesel cost more than 2 euros. We have to react. We need to make sure that energy remains affordable and that it does not get cold in our homes across Europe in the future. What can we do? The first package of measures adopted by the European Commission in October was already quite good, but it is not enough. I welcome, Commissioner, that today you presented a second package – a tool package – with further proposals to relieve the burden on households, as well as on our businesses. I think that the Commission must allow, for example, that the energy taxes levied by the Member States can be completely suspended, i.e. not only reduced, but also - in such a dramatic situation - completely suspended. And governments in the Member States must, of course, also do their homework, and above all reduce VAT to the price of electricity. My country Germany is called for here. The federal government has not done so yet. In many other countries, this has already been done to ensure that the Windfall profits They do not go into the public purse at the expense of households and businesses. I think the Russian war of aggression is a turning point for politics, and we must also put the issue of energy taxation on a whole new footing. I am therefore pleased that the catalogue of measures is now available and we will certainly work constructively to ensure that there is a good package.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen! Cancer is a terrible disease that affects almost every family in Europe. We account for 10 percent of the world's population in Europe, but a quarter of all cancer cases diagnosed worldwide are attributable to patients in Europe. I think cancer must really be one of our top priorities, but it is also a matter of heart to me personally that we also send out signals from Parliament that we, as politicians, are doing everything we can to fight cancer. Three thoughts on this: Firstly: I believe that we need to invest heavily in research, in prevention, diagnostics, treatment, follow-up care for those affected and families. Secondly: I think it's very important to invest in patient organizations as well. So – what I am experiencing in my country – patient organisations are making a very, very valuable contribution to the treatment of cancer and we need to strengthen them. And thirdly: I think bans on certain lifestyles are not the way to go. Introducing blanket advertising bans on alcohol at sporting events or flashy warnings about alcohol are, I think, the wrong way to go. We must, of course, fight alcohol abuse. But it is important that we do educational work on the ground, especially towards our children and young people, that we run prevention campaigns. I believe that role models work far more and convince young people far better than that we pronounce prohibitions here.

Mr President, Vice-President of the European Commission, ladies and gentlemen! Paul Krugman, a Nobel laureate in economics from the USA, predicted in 1998 that the Internet would hardly reach a greater importance for the economy than the fax machine. How wrong he was and how wrong he was! Today we know: The Internet has not only completely changed our economy, but also our daily life, our society, our coexistence. However, the rules that can be relied on for this economy and cooperation online are still from the so-called digital Stone Age, from which Krugman's forecast also comes: The e-commerce policy is over 20 years old. Internet companies have therefore used the past few years to establish and enforce their own rules, not always in favour of fair competition and democracy. And finally, we also have a patchwork in the European Digital Single Market, because individual national governments have begun to regulate themselves here. It is therefore now time, dear colleagues, for us to use the digital space here with the help of the Digital Services Act design and order that we create a rules-based, secure digital space – in the interest of our citizens and in the interest of our businesses, including many small and medium-sized enterprises. There are over 10 000 online platforms in the European Union; 90% of them are small and medium-sized enterprises – they also need to have fair opportunities online. I think if we can do it tomorrow, by a large majority, this Digital Services Act to adopt it – perhaps we will have to revise it in the trilogue – then we have the chance to do the same as with the General Data Protection Regulation: Perhaps we will once again create a piece of legislation that is at the forefront of the world, that gold standard As has already been said by colleagues. I would be very happy about that. Thank you to everyone who has worked so hard on it. And once again a ‘thank you’, an ‘everything good’ from my side to my colleague Gebhardt – you were my first shadow rapporteur on my first file in the European Parliament many years ago. All the best for your next phase of life!

Madam President of the Parliament, Mr President of the Republic, Mr Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen! First of all, the success of the French Presidency of the Council! Monsieur le PrésidentYou spoke of peace as a European promise. Peace is the greatest achievement of our European Union. For this, we need a strong Europe that is united, that is a reliable partner in the world. But that is still missing at the moment. We do not have a single European response to Russia's aggression on the Ukrainian border. I believe that the most important or one of the most important tasks of your Presidency is to ensure the unity of the 27 Member States. The Member States must agree on a line and a catalogue of measures in relation to Russia. Only then will we be perceived in the world, only then will we be able to play a role. I found it shameful to note that the US and Russia negotiated the European security architecture over our European heads. A second issue that I would like to briefly address is the issue of sustainability, which is also a focus of your Presidency. For me, sustainability means not living at the expense of future generations. And by that I mean our finances. We must not just leave debts to future generations. France has a government deficit of 115 percent – one of the highest in the eurozone. I believe that we must return to sound budgets in the European Union and in the eurozone. And I warn against loosening the Stability Pact. Making debts at the expense of our children and grandchildren is the wrong way to go.

Madam President, Madam Vice-President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! Fair play must also apply in the digital world. We therefore need a strong sword to tackle distortions of competition and anti-competitive behaviour. Existing competition law is not sufficient to ensure fair rules. It is therefore very good, ladies and gentlemen, that the Digital Markets Regulation is on the table. I think we also need a strong digital middle class. This presupposes that start-ups that small and medium-sized enterprises have fair market access to the large platforms and also fair conditions on the platforms. It is important that the ActHe who is now on the table is sure. This means that it focuses on the largest Internet companies and on so-called Core platform servicesmarkets with real competition problems. And that's the most important thing for me: Don't regulate everything, don't regulate everything, just go in there and tackle what really causes problems. And I think the version of digitally Markets Act, which has now also been worked out in Parliament, can do just that. That is why I would like to thank all my colleagues, especially Andreas Schwab, for his great work.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, I think that the current situation report on the Energy Union is extremely helpful and contains good news. Firstly: We have reduced our CO2 emissions by 31% since 1990, with a very efficient instrument, namely emissions trading. This is also clearly underlined in the report that we have relied on the right instrument, a market-economy-based instrument; We should also develop this further. Secondly, it is positive that there is more renewable energy in the entire European energy mix than ever before – this is also good news. And that brings me to my third point: But we can't fool ourselves either. Our import dependency on energy remains very high, at a level not seen in more than 30 years, i.e. 60.6%. In other words, if we are to achieve the goals of Green Deals If you want to achieve this, then it is also important to get a handle on this high dependency. Of course, we have to massively expand renewable energies, but I think it is just as important to rely on bridge technologies such as gas for a transitional period. Gas infrastructure also plays an important role. And, of course, we also need to harness hydrogen. And here, too, I would like to plead for not just looking at green hydrogen, but keeping an eye on hydrogen of any color. In order to build the market, we need not only green, but also turquoise and other hydrogen. This is what we have decided in our hydrogen strategy as the European Parliament.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, First of all, I would like to congratulate our rapporteur on her excellent report. There is so much inside, dear Dolors Montserrat, you could go into a lot of things. I think it is great that the report is written from the patient's point of view, that patient organisations have their say, that the topic of European Health Data Space is an issue – so much that could be addressed. I want to focus on good news and bad news. I'll start with the bad news. Many of my colleagues have mentioned it: We depend on the global production of medicines in other regions of the world. But the good news is that with a successful and good pharmaceutical strategy, I think we can do something about it. We can be strategically different. I think our motto must be: Diversify, support, protect. We need to diversify supply chains. On the one hand, we should be careful not only to obtain critical medicines from one or a few producers, but also to produce or stock up more ourselves in Europe. Secondly: We need to take small and medium-sized businesses by the hand. They are our engines of innovation, and they need advice. They need little bureaucracy, but support, especially when it comes to clinical trial financing. Last, but not least: Patents for medicines are essential. They provide incentives for companies to conduct ambitious research and development. It cannot be done without patent protection; This has just been seen in the biotech companies and classic medium-sized companies such as BioNTech.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, I quote from Mrs Bentele's report: Only 1 % of raw materials for wind turbines, less than 1 % of lithium batteries, less than 1 % of fuel cells, only 2 % of raw materials relevant for robotics and only 1 % of silicon photovoltaic assemblies are produced in Europe. On the other hand, we set ourselves the most ambitious climate protection goals. I believe it is obvious that we need an intelligent raw materials policy. Two issues are of particular importance to me. On the one hand, we need to ramp up domestic procurement of critical raw materials. In Europe, we have a unique opportunity to operate sustainable mining in a process that meets the highest environmental and social standards in the world. I don't think we should oppose that. Second, Of course, we will have to continue to source critical raw materials from third countries. Therefore, critical raw materials must also become a core element of any trade relationship, any trade partnership.

Mr President, Madam Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen, After the election of Joe Biden, there were high expectations that the transatlantic relationship would improve quickly and efficiently. Unfortunately, these expectations have not yet been met: AUKUS, uncoordinated withdrawal from Afghanistan, no progress in reducing tariffs. It is true that the US is our most important strategic partner. But partnership requires trust. And I think both we as the European Union and the United States are called for here. We have common interests, and we should focus on them, especially with regard to cooperation on the newly created Technology and Trade Council. For example, in semiconductor production: We have gaps in supply chains. I believe it is very, very important to work together here to close the gaps in the supply chain, to ramp up production. Example of digitalisation: create new rules together – for AI, for platform economy and the like. And, of course, our relationship with China: Here, too, I think we need to work much more closely together strategically. Last but not least – Mr Sikorski referred to it: I think now is the time, the hour, to work on a common European defence union.

Mr President, Madam President of the Commission, Mr Council representative, my dear colleagues! I would like to make two comments on the state of the Union: Firstly, on COVID-19 crisis management and what the European Union has done in this difficult and challenging time. I think it has not gone badly, Madam President of the Commission. You mentioned youth in your speech, and I think that's great. I think that's really good because I think we talked far too little about the young people during the pandemic period, about what we asked them to do during that time. I am pleased that the ALMA programme has been launched, that we are investing in the education, training, further education and training of our young people and that we are doing everything we can to enable our young people to exchange and meet in the European Union. My second comment is about the geopolitical role of the European Union, the European Commission. That was also one of your core concerns, Madam President, when you took over the role of Commission President, and you mentioned Afghanistan, for example. I ask: If not now, when should we strengthen the European pillar in NATO? If not now, when should we develop and build the Common Foreign and Security Policy? We are required. And what is really important here is to put all the political will and strength into it if we want to be taken seriously globally, and not just as a strong economic power. If we take our own security seriously, then we need to get there. And that is our great task, even in the next two and a half years, to make real progress here and to give our citizens the security they deserve.

Mr President, Mr Vice-President of the European Commission, Mr Council representatives, ladies and gentlemen! I think it is good that the Fit for 55 package is finally on the table and we can discuss it. The bad flood disasters in the summertime, especially in my home country, in my home country, in Belgium, in the Netherlands, have shown the urgent need for action. I would like to make two comments on this package. On the one hand: Climate protection does not exist at a zero rate. But energy must of course remain affordable, on the one hand for our citizens. I am thinking in particular of heating and driving. This must remain affordable. But industrial electricity prices must also be competitive for our industry. Otherwise, we will only sell our companies from Europe to other regions of the world. Secondly: I think we need to go to the market and we need to focus on innovation. We can't make bans. To call bans a driver of innovation, I think, is completely wrong. Ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen! I was just last week at the IAA Mobility in Munich, one of the major mobility fairs, and I was able to convince myself how much innovative power there is in our medium-sized companies, in our start-ups, in our companies. This is what we need to focus on: that innovative solutions, innovative new technologies come to the market, with which we also show other regions in the world that we can cope with climate change.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, I have to go straight to my previous speaker: Mr Botenga, it was not the big pharma industry that developed the COVID-19 vaccine here, it was a start-up. It was a 100-man operation. And this company, thank God, has been supported with European funding. Otherwise, if this support and these small, medium-sized start-ups did not exist, we would probably still be carrying out our parliamentary work from our offices above exclusively in the home office. So just push in on the pharmaceutical industry, so you make it a bit too easy for yourself. Of course, there is still room for improvement in European research policy. I am particularly interested in three issues. Firstly: Hundreds of billions of euros are being spent on European research. But if we compare these sums with investments in the US and China, then of course we are still lagging far behind in Europe. I believe that it is important that we not only invest public funds in research and innovation, but also to re-incentivise private investment in research and development. Secondly: We need to bring companies, our companies, even better together with universities, with universities, with research institutions. This is the only way to create opportunities for our SMEs to grow into innovative business areas for our start-ups. Thirdly: European research policy has been a success story for many years. I think we need to tell this story to our citizens over and over again. Our citizens know the freedom to travel, they know roaming, the abolition of roaming charges, the common market. But joint research in Europe is also a success story worth telling.