Speeches

(NL) Mr President, I would like to thank everyone very much for their strong and broad support for the directive on the disabled parking card for Europeans and non-residents. I have not been able to hear any dissonance and I am pleased and proud of that, because Europe stands for our values and norms. Since this is my last speech in this Chamber, as I will be putting an end to my work as a Member of the European Parliament from July, it is up to the next generation to build a better European Union. I would like to send a message to the following colleagues: Keep looking at people who have trouble connecting. Keep looking at the older generation that has built the current EU. A very important message — and I would also like to convey it to Commissioner Dalli: try to build a health union where a healthy lifestyle and active ageing are important to prevent welfare diseases. Welfare diseases are our future threat in the European Union. Let us fight for a Europe where young and old can learn even more from each other, a Europe we are proud of. I'm not only a proud Brazilian or a proud Dutchman, no, I'm also a proud European. In 1989, Jacques Delors said: ‘You cannot love the internal market’. Well, I've been with my wife Jacqueline for 50 years. Not only because I have an economic partnership, but we also love each other. So you have to try to convey that emotion and identity as well. Europeans need to love Europe more and be more proud to be European. That is why I call on the Commission and also on my colleagues from the new Parliament: Invest in European emotion and identity, making us feel much more connected to the Union we live in. I am grateful for the beautiful 20 years in this house in which we have been able to work together with many colleagues and achieve a lot. Above all, I want to thank my family, my wife, children and friends for the wonderful years and for all the support I have received from them. We should not look backwards, but forwards. And let us not forget that this Union is about peace, about values and norms and, of course, also about a strong European internal market. Here is a proud European and I thank you all very much.

Mr President, Commissioner, before I turn to this directive, I would first like to thank Alice Kuhnke for the cooperation, as well as my staff and the staff and advisers of the EPP Group. Because we have once again succeeded in improving a piece of free movement. In this case, the free movement of persons with disabilities. Time and again, we are making a small step forward to further expand the values and norms of the European Union. This morning we had a meeting with a number of colleagues and then it was said: “This is really just a parking card for tourism and temporary visits to other Member States.” But I have learned in my time in this Parliament that every time a very small step is taken here and in the next mandate that parking card becomes much larger. The big advantage now is that this disabled parking card is recognised by all Member States. That's an important matter. Subsequently, this directive is also very important for a more inclusive society. We don't want discrimination based on disability. Globally, the European Union is always the one that shakes the finger and says to other continents that we very much want them to respect the values and norms of human rights, you name it. But there is still a lot to be improved within the European Union. And today we are taking a small step. This parking card is also being introduced for citizens from third countries and that is very important to us, because everyone in Europe must be approached in the same way and have the right to move. This disability parking card is a good example of strengthening the exercise of the right to free movement of persons and this is a fundamental European right, which Jacques Delors once proposed, one of the four freedoms. This is important for the proper functioning of the internal market. For years now, in the European Parliament, I have focused mainly on strengthening that internal market, because that is where we deserve our resources, which we can then devote to improving rights for all. I've always tried to connect politics with people. It's not just about big files. This is a small file, but a very important one. It is often about small, practical things that we often talk about here in the house and we do not get the press with that. There are a lot of practical things that I think need more attention. I would mention, for example, this European Disability Card and the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities. I mention the universal charger, the IBAN name check, the PIN code on credit cards, the training fee for professional footballers, etc. Large files are often highlighted in the media, but I think we need to find new ways to make citizens heard, seen and convinced that a lot of good things are being done in Europe that relate to people's daily lives. In this case, we are talking about improving the situation for people with disabilities, but there are many more things. I would also like to draw attention to some broader issues that are important. In addition to this directive, I have worked on environmental crime, the battery regulation, better protection around video games and late payment, which we have voted on today. We need to find new ways to make Europe known to citizens in a positive way. We will soon have elections and I notice that we are not sufficiently successful in, for example, making such a small step as this sufficiently known to the citizens and showing that we are doing good things that we can be proud of.

Mr President, Commissioner, it is a great pity that we have not been able to write a resolution on this, because I think this is an extremely important issue for the future of the European Union and the future of our healthy society. But during your contribution you mentioned many important issues that we can address through a coordinated approach from the European Union. Every day from birth you get one day older. I was born on March 14, 1956. I am now 68 and fortunately I am still trying to get older in a healthy way. This debate is about saving, and I notice that in politics we would much rather spend money than think about saving. Let me call you something: 300 billion costs for cardiovascular diseases within the European Union, one in eight people suffers from obesity, 80% of all healthcare costs stem from welfare diseases, according to the WHO. Covid has shown us that healthy people are much less likely to get sick. So if we now look at the cost of the COVID crisis, if I mention that 300 billion, if we are going to actively do something with healthy lifestyle interventions, then we can save 17% of all those billions, according to the WHO. We have enough money to help poor children. We have enough money to build healthy cities. Then we even have enough money to defend the European Union, to contribute to defence. Why do we want to tackle smoking? And why do we not want to tackle an excess of sugars, an excess of fats and an excess of salts in our diet? I don't understand that. Because smoking in any case causes damage to health, but for the state treasuries a lot of money in taxes. Too much sugar, too much salt and too much fat only cost money because it makes people sick. Because of the advertisements that come over us every day, especially in deprived neighbourhoods, the food is only unsafe. These children have no chance, because they are actually sickened by the media, by the advertising campaigns, at a very young age. And I'm not talking about the Nutri-Score yet. For example, I wanted to treat my grandson today. I think: ‘I buy a pizza.’ It had Nutri—Score B, so I think: ‘Oh, that's a healthy pizza.’ And what turned out? It's like a lot of bad pizza. So stop using those Nutri-Scores and put on them what's in them and what's good for us. I hope that in the next work programme the Commission will perhaps appoint a Commissioner for healthy lifestyles.

Mr President, in the Committee on the Internal Market we agree with the environmental standards to be achieved and the improvement of air quality. This is also stated in our advice. What we do think is that emissions must be measured over the entire life cycle of a car. When we talk about electric cars, it is therefore about producing batteries, producing technology, but also about recycling batteries. We certainly don't want to prescribe a technique, but we do want the end goal. So we have called for the ban on internal combustion engines to be revised as soon as possible in 2035, in order to restore one of the most successful inventions of the European Union, namely the internal combustion engine, the ability to be as clean as possible and to achieve the goals we prescribe. It is very special that an American study has been published today, which shows that a hybrid car is cleaner than the average electric car. We call for improvement of the internal market, including for cars.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, when I saw the Commission proposal coming into the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, I had to think of the Timeshare Directive. Twenty years ago, we had a similar problem. These rules are necessary because of the success of the platforms that exist. Because if you can take 25% of the market in such a short time, then something is not right. I thank Kim Van Sparrentak, because young and old can agree on the same approach: The free market, but within the rules. The platforms have disrupted different markets, e.g. the rental market – already mentioned several times – making rental housing unpayable for people, city dwellers who want to live in the city and stay there permanently. It is a disruption of the market for the regular hotels and bed and breakfasts, because they have to comply with all kinds of permits and I do not know what. It is difficult for the tax authorities to get their tax payments, including for the cities, and it is important to do something about this – it is happening very quickly, Mr President – but it is also in the interest of the safety of tourists.

Mr President, I have listened to loud speakers. They are all talking about the revision of the multiannual financial framework. Rightly so. It is good that we are going to vote on this, but I have not heard anyone who also wants to make some savings in the budget. I am glad that the Commission is there and that the Council is there. I have drafted a resolution on preventive health. We spend €300 billion a year on cardiovascular diseases in Europe and, according to the WHO, 70% of these are lifestyle-related, i.e. due to a wrong lifestyle. I call on colleagues to sign the resolution at the next session to spearhead the Commission’s next work programme on preventive health, so that we can save hundreds of billions for other purposes.

Mr President, Commissioner, environmental crime is in the top five most lucrative criminal cases and it is good that we have done something about it. I thank everyone who has made a positive contribution, and what is very nice: When we talk about crime, this Parliament is in complete agreement from left to right. We also had a unanimous vote on this in committee. In the end, I think we succeeded very well in putting forward Parliament's position very clearly in the trilogue. Often it is about only a few companies that really abuse and commit environmental crimes for financial gain. Of course, there must also be intent. As a lawyer, I have experienced a number of cases that have appealed to me enormously, as well as a film that I have seen on Netflix, The Dark Waters, about the company Dupont in the United States, where a lawyer has had to litigate for twenty years to get it right under civil law for the victims of their actions. I myself have experienced a case, the company Wyatt, which marketed hormone-contaminated sugar water, which has been reused for ice cream, lemonades and also for animal feed. Governments simply refused to intervene. The Commission is also to blame here, because no one now knows how many pregnant women have been victims of this. These things have been going on for more than 20 years now. This has encouraged me to commit myself 100% to clear legislation that is even – and this is called revolutionary – dynamic in certain areas. This is unique to criminal law. A number of issues have been included: The most important thing is that the polluter pays. Of course, the design requirement must also be provided for. The precautionary principle is very important. Irreversible damage to human health and the environment. Chain liability: even drug waste can be blamed on the supplier in this way if it is clear what it is being used for. I want to mention big wildfires. Member States may add offences. For example, if they have ecocide in their legislation, they can use this legislation to prosecute people who commit ecocide. The dynamic is that every year there is an update for new crimes. That is good, because the market is developing and we have to be prepared for that. It also includes a target fine: Member States may decide to use the fines they impose for environmental offences to make good the damage caused by the act. We also included anonymous reporting of environmental crimes. A security protocol or a compliance officer can be a reason for a reduction in sentences. Member States are called upon to introduce specialist judges and prosecutors, as environmental crime is often very scientific and quite difficult. Last but not least, and I think this is important to mention, also with regard to the cases of Wyatt and The Dark Waters that I have just mentioned: once this legislation is implemented, the directors and CEOs of companies that deliberately make people ill or pollute the environment for profit can face personal criminal prosecution. Does that mean more prisons need to be built? No, but it will mean much more preventive action in the companies out of fear that the director will have to go to prison. I hope that tomorrow everyone will vote for it.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, disinformation is a threat to our society and I will tell you why at the end of my speech. Platforms are responsible for their content. They make money from it. I remember Mark Zuckerberg apologizing in the Senate on January 31 for the fake content on his platforms. But it's very easy to apologize. I would like to ask you, Commissioner, to include in the Commission's next work programme the addition of a piece of criminal law to the Digital Services Act, so that the owners of platforms that send fake or injurious content are personally criminally liable. I am convinced that Mark Zuckerberg will do everything he can to stay out of prison and thus make his platform as clear as possible. You can make a lot of money in this society, but you also have to take responsibility for what the action and the actions you take to make that money bring about. Last month, a colleague of ours, Pascal Arimont, organised a meeting entitled ‘We are losing our children’. I've seen frightening movies and on platforms where children watch those bizarre movies, they circulate. It's about killing people. It's about killing animals. Those kids see that. These movies have a very bad influence. This means: When these kids grow up, we have a bad society. So we have to make sure that this disinformation disappears from the platforms.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of my older constituents in particular, I would like to thank Mrs McGuinness for introducing the IBAN name check that we discussed two years ago. I did not have time to speak at the time, which is why I am still doing it now, following the regulation on instant credit transfers. Thank you again, because older people in particular will benefit greatly from a safer internal market and a safer payment system. Then interoperable Europe, the collaboration between digital files. The single market has only been in existence for 30 years and it is good that we are thinking about getting the authorities to work together as well. That would be very good. We believe that cooperation should be faster and better, especially in the legal field. It should be easier to reach the digital service from all Member States. I have proposed to introduce a kind of Erasmus programme for civil servants, creating an exchange in the different Member States, increasing understanding of the different systems, but especially of the difference of cultures in Europe and the way of thinking. That would be a good thing and with that we are also developing a piece of European identity, because we need that in the future. Without a European identity and emotion, Europe will cease to exist. So I hope we can do something about it. Then I call on the authorities in the border areas to do everything possible to eliminate the communication that is blocked from telephone traffic in the border areas as soon as possible. That is a huge problem for communication in the border region. If you cross the border, your phone will simply stop for ten minutes and only later the signal will be recognized.

Mr President, we are talking about human rights today and they must be kept very high and protected in Europe. The mutual recognition of parenthood across the Union with this proposal is an extremely important issue. Fortunately, in our free world, we have different types of parenthood – and we are happy to allow that free way of thinking – and that is where children are born. Partners can choose their partner, but children cannot choose their parents. That is why it is extremely important that we, as the European Union, stand up for the rights of children. All children are equal and have the same human rights, the same basic rights, and we have to fight for that. As long as we do that, it's fine. There are now some colleagues who say: “This ensures that surrogacy must be recognised throughout the European Union.” No, this report does not mention it at all and it is a pity that we are now turning it into a political discussion, because after all it is about the rights of the child. Sometimes, if those rights of the child are not recognised because parenthood is not recognised, then those parents have to go to court, to the European Court. And they're always right there. Only, it is extremely costly and takes up a huge amount of time. It is therefore good that we are now going to implement mutual recognition throughout Europe, it is good that this is done quickly and it is good that children's rights are protected.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, committees, we are about to vote on the report on the cultural and creative sectors. This sector suffered enormously during the Covid crisis and we must prevent that next time. The cultural and creative sectors – music, art, theatre – and sport connect people, as the Renaissance once did. We call on the European Commission, in its work programme for the next mandate, to encourage the cultural and creative sectors to bring all Europeans closer together. Love comes from the heart, not the wallet. If Europeans feel European, the Member States will follow and the future of the European Union is guaranteed.

Mr President, Commissioner, it is always nice to be able to debate with you. Living is a basic right for everyone. At the moment, older people, young people, but also newcomers, are no longer getting the right housing. I have already heard many colleagues speak, including your Commissioner, and everyone is analysing the right problem: Too few homes are being built. But why? In my opinion, the municipalities are consciously introducing scarcity. They want to be able to sell their own land. In addition, we ourselves – and then we have to look in the mirror – have also made a huge number of rules that make it more difficult to build. I am thinking of insulation, I am thinking of noise protection, I am thinking of construction provisions, I am thinking of flora and fauna legislation. We have to look at ourselves in the mirror. It is very good that we make rules to protect certain things, but what are the negative consequences? Well, many rules that we have come up with ourselves have negative consequences in terms of living and building. It's so complex these days. If you want to apply for a permit to build a home, you have to comply with so many complex rules. Then you need a consultant to apply for the permit. It costs a lot of money. Then you submit the permit. Then the municipality must hire a consultant to have the application of a consultant assessed by a consultant. As a result, 20 to 25% of the costs of construction go to administrative burdens. In the Netherlands you even have to hire a quality guarantor, which the contractor used to do. If he built it, he did it well and then the quality was in order. But now we have to hire another consultant. Living is a basic right. Let's put our shoulders behind it to tackle the problem together.

Mr President, Commissioner, the Single Market Emergency Instrument is going to help us in the future. Bureaucracy never works and has never worked and will not work in the future. And the COVID-19 crisis has taught us how important it is to keep the internal market open. And that is a hugely important aspect to keep, say, the supply lines. Member States were in great panic during the COVID-19 crisis. "Everyone for themselves" was the motto and everyone said "Member States for themselves", and that did not help. I would therefore like to thank the Commission for acting quite decisively at that time, seeing the importance of not trying to resolve the crisis by Member State. No, for all Member States, for all European citizens. And as a European citizen, I am glad that the crisis has been resolved. And I didn't want to talk about rights, because we have to respect them. But I am very happy that the crisis has been resolved, that we have found a targeted solution. Thanks to Mr Andreas Schwab, there is now a clear definition of a state of emergency. And I am also pleased that he has added the resilience of that internal market, which is so important for the survival of the European Union. We can still face a lot of crises, because globalisation means that everything is going around the world very quickly – within a day – and that can cause problems. Climate change can also play a major role in crises. Then we think of weather conditions, but we have also seen the tiger mosquito far in Europe. This file is a good step to solve the crisis in the future, to combat it for all Member States. And that action together, and that cooperation in a single internal market, is the strength of the European Union.

Mr President, Commissioner, it is good that Europe is protecting vulnerable consumers through this consumer credit directive. It is good that we have included the so-called right to forget, specifically for people with cancer. First of all, I think that many other diseases should also be forgotten when applying for a credit. And I believe that vulnerable consumers should be protected. In the past you had to go to a bank and then you were looked in the eye and you could get credit or not, and then you had to show much more and we knew each other. Through modern techniques, we see – via the internet – that it is very easy to obtain a consumer credit through an internet bank or through a mail order company that puts a lot of vulnerable consumers in trouble, and ultimately in a much bigger problem. And the fridge is long worn out as people still have to pay for their credit. It is good that Europe is working to protect them, but in all the regulations we make, we should take them into account in order to protect vulnerable people, especially the elderly, and often also young people.

–President, Commissioner, it is good that we are taking measures to protect those – journalists in this case – from improper use of procedures that actually cause them to be financially devastated and are no longer who they should be, namely people who are engaged in exposing wrongdoings in our society. I welcome the enlargement that not only journalists will be protected with this measure, but everyone, every individual who serves the public purpose. Because we see more and more often that the law is no longer accessible to everyone, that the costs are so enormous that individuals can no longer go to court to get them right and that they therefore accept that their injustice is done to them. In the past we could go under the lime tree: The Germans had jurisdiction under the lime tree, in the middle of the village. There were no costs involved, but there were judges who spoke justice. I hope that with this we will protect journalists and everyone who serves the public goal again to ensure that we can see what is going wrong.

Mr President, Commissioner, Minister, thank you for your endurance. It's a long run. How do we attract more investors in Europe? Stop the fragmentation of the internal market, I would say, because the directives that are implemented differently in each country make it a mess for entrepreneurs. So make sure we focus on maximum harmonisation. Stop ideas that come from the inside and are devised behind the computer, but go outside more often – we all have to do that, including as politicians, so let the Commission official do that too. New ideas often come from the outside and can then be optimized from the inside. The Green Deal is a huge step towards a new economy. But please don't exaggerate. We need to be able to absorb it. Do not drive the companies away, but facilitate them to stay within the EU. Not subsidies, but earning capacity ensures investments. Subsidies have to be paid by citizens and make citizens poorer, but if there is earning capacity, companies will start investing more easily. Make access to justice easier and cheaper for companies that have problems. Ensure a swift procedure before the European Court of Justice in case of cross-border problems to counter protectionism and do not allow this to happen in the Member States themselves. Make Europe so attractive that everyone can be proud of Europe. Because where you feel at home, you want to be there and you also want to invest there.

Mr President, Commissioner, Mr Variati, rapporteur, I would like to thank Simona Bonafè and her assistant Marco, of course, especially since they have taken on board a number of points from the Committee on the Internal Market which are very important for this dossier. I mention the national battery help centres to help small and medium-sized enterprises with the introduction of batteries and their use. Test centres in the EU. Research into deposit-refund systems for consumer batteries, because we are still throwing away far too many batteries and it is good that there will be an investigation to see if that is possible. Especially the smart charging of electric vehicles that can charge bidirectionally in the future. But also that electric vehicles can be connected to buildings where the solar panels charge the car during the day and the car can supply the building with energy at night. Finally, and perhaps most importantly: the introduction of a universal charger suitable for different product categories such as garden tools, kitchen tools, telephones, etc. In the case of telephones, it took 13 years. I hope that the universal chargers for these products are a lot faster. I would like to make one more comment before I close. In addition to these batteries, it is extremely important to ensure that the networks can provide sufficient power. Because I hear a lot of companies complaining that we need smart solutions. They cannot connect electric trucks because there is too little power on the networks.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the CDA strongly supports the proposals, the principles, of corporate social responsibility, because that is part of our norms and values. There is – and I have already heard several colleagues mention this, who have talked about a level playing field that we need to create in Europe – only one flaw in this proposal. It is a directive. And a directive, which is transposed in every country. And then we get 27 different systems, and that's not a level playing field. I therefore call on everyone to support Amendment No 423 tomorrow, which calls for maximum harmonisation, so that the principles that we fully support will work for all European companies. So I call on the Commissioner to support that. I call on Lara to support that in the trilogue and I also hope that everyone will vote positively on that tomorrow. Last but not least I would like to ask the Commissioner – and also Lara to confirm – that very small entrepreneurs, such as the butcher around the corner, the baker, etc., but also the local football association and the local music association, will never fall into the chain that they have to report under the conditions of this legislation. And then I say "better safe than sorry".

Mr President, Commissioner, we are discussing a good topic here: “More Europe and more jobs”. I would like to change that to ‘A better Europe and better jobs’, because ‘more, more, more’ is neoliberal. We also need to look at what the future holds. We all want to preserve our prosperity for ourselves, for our children, for our grandchildren. That's what we want, of course. We do not do this by making more and more rules, more legislation, but we also have to look at how Europe functions. Invest in better education to ensure future innovation. Invest in a healthy lifestyle as preventive health care, in order to maintain the knowledge and experience of older people active in society for longer. The internal market is deteriorating. And why? The supervision and control of all the legislation we produce here is no longer done by the local authorities because they do not feel European. Europe is a gripper of subsidies and that is why we want to be with Europe. Europe is economic cooperation. And what are we missing? There is no connection between Europeans. We all have the same history in Europe and yet we think nationally. I therefore call for more investment in a European emotion and identity. And you don't just do that by promising economic cooperation. We also have to do this through culture, sports and so on. I think that if we are going to do that, people will feel connected to Europe. And then it is also easier to comply with what is agreed in Europe, and not only on the basis of profit in the future. That profit lies in our prosperity in the future and in our well-being.

Mr President, Commissioner, we are talking about an own-initiative report on video games. That is time, because in it we call on the Commission to come forward with proposals, to come forward with legislation to regulate this hugely important new sector in industry. At the moment, we talk quite a lot about the negative aspects of video games, such as addiction for children, such as consumer protection, such as gambling on . Then we are talking about the treasury in a game that you have to pay during the game to get to a higher level. I don't think that's right. I am pleased that we are now asking the Commission to come up with an assessment, an investigation, to see how we can eliminate gambling. They can be exciting: If we can pay for it with points we collect during the game, then it's part of the game. But not that small children have to take the parents' credit card to be able to pay on it in the hope that they get a little further, because then they can already become addicted to gambling. It is good that, in order to reduce those negative aspects, we include the PEGI conditions. Now we have mentioned the negative aspects, but I would also like to mention the positive aspects of video games. First the economics. We know that video games are currently bigger than the film and music industries combined. Turnover, employment, is significantly higher and Europe plays a leading role in this. Video games can play an important role in education. Video games can solve the loneliness of the elderly. So we need to embrace video games in a positive sense. We hope that the Commission will come forward with proposals to remove the negative aspects, but that we will emphasise the positive aspects. Therefore, I am pleased that we in Parliament are going to look at setting up a video game award, similar to the Oscars; Let's call them the ones. That we can be proud of Europe and that we can be proud of the developers that Europe has, because we are leading in this world.

Madam President, on Monday, I had a point of order. I want to give a signal and ask the colleagues to stand up and to show a yellow card to FIFA because of their behaviour. If we stand and show our band, then we show that we are against what FIFA is doing in Qatar.

Madam President, I have a point of order. In addition to your remarks, on Article 120 on Human Rights, last weekend FIFA didn’t allow the captains of the national teams to wear the ‘One Love’ armband, and this is a breach of their position. I ask you and the European Parliament to condemn this behaviour strongly, because we are talking about human rights everywhere, and yet when you want to show something at a very big event then it is not allowed by the organisation.

I agree completely with you. It’s not about money, it’s about emotion. And my question was, at the moment, the Premier League is the super league, which is only filled with money and the EU clubs cannot compete anymore. All the money is going to the UK nowadays. My question is: are you willing to set up an open dialogue with UEFA and the Commission and perhaps some people who are entrusted to save the EU football clubs in the future to ensure that they are not completely eclipsed by the clubs from the Premier League, which is the case nowadays with their loads of money from all countries of the world Nobody knows where the money from Qatar is coming from who invested in clubs in the UK. It’s not possible in Europe. How can we save the EU competition?

Mr President, we are talking now about protecting critical infrastructures and we all talk about material infrastructures. But we also have to talk about immaterial infrastructures, because if we want to have a future in Europe, a future of the EU, we need to promote EU emotion and identity. I am nearly 50 years with my wife together. Do you know why? I love her, and I hope she loves me. That’s why we are together. We are connected. Fans are connected to their club in the EU and due to the UEFA’s policies now the Premier League is the so-called Super League and this will kill the EU football clubs in the EU. Are you prepared to start an open dialogue with UEFA – how to save the football clubs within the EU, to give them more EU identity and emotion? Because in the future we need the people to love the EU.

Mr President, fertilizers are not only used to produce food. At this moment, the European Commission is the fertilizer for UEFA by signing a new cooperation agreement while there is a case ongoing at the ECJ against UEFA. How can the Commission enforce the Treaty after the ruling in December? Is this a case of sports washing?