What Victor spoke about.

The next item is the Commission statement "Tackling the demographic challenges facing the EU: steps towards the implementation of the Demography Toolbox 2023" (2024/3016(RSP)), and we start with an initial intervention by the European Commission, Commissioner Šuica.

Madam President, Prime Minister Tusk, dear colleagues, the next six months are crucial for the future of Europe. The Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union must find ambitious solutions to the problems we face. For example, defining new relations with the United States under the Trump era. We need a new fair trade agreement, but also a stronger security partnership to protect the interests of our states: Protecting European democracies – we need to effectively fight foreign interference, disinformation and political radicalisation, especially in Romania and Germany, where important elections are coming up; the need for a larger European budget; protecting cohesion policy and the common agricultural policy. We also need to have additional funding for health and education. The well-being of Europeans must come first; the situation in Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova and how we can be at the table of new negotiations, Europe, and involved in the process of reconstruction of Ukraine. You have evoked our security and we need to develop European industry and respect our NATO commitments. If we fail, the European project will be in danger, and then we will all be in danger.

Madam President, this year's last European Council is a chance for a fresh start in how we need to make politics at European level. I am convinced that the new President, Antonio Costa, supported by the European Social Democratic family, will bring a new approach to the way decisions are based and the consensus we so badly need is built. The international challenges we face are pushing Europe to act to find a solution to the conflicts and tensions that directly affect our citizens. We need to help our partners, as is the case with the Republic of Moldova, in the context of the energy crisis, but we also need to increase citizens' confidence in European decisions. European leaders must explain directly and honestly that if we do not defend our values, if we do not support our allies, if we give in to those who want to harm us, we will be next. Our democracies cannot be saved with beautiful images on social networks, but only through a responsible and coherent message. Our democracies have not started this war, do not occupy territories or manipulate public opinion. Our democracies want peace and stability, they want to develop and raise the standard of living of the population. Finally, the European Council needs to adopt a clear and determined position in this regard to show that Europe is a relevant and strong actor at international level.

Before switching to the next debate, I want to inform you that Mr Lukas Sieper requested a personal statement at the end of this debate, according to Rule 180 of the European Parliament's Rules of Procedure, and this has been granted. I want to remind you that Members making a personal statement may not speak on substantive matters.

Mr President, dear colleagues, more and more of our citizens use social media for information. It is normal because this is accessible to everyone. It is also a reflection of our society searching for faster solutions, where we, as individuals, are more and more isolated while still being connected all the time. We have been talking about this for many years in this House, but it seems that our democracies have been taken by surprise once again. The problem is not social media by itself. The real problem is that we have individuals, groups and external non-democratic powers using social platforms to misinform us, manipulate us to destroy our democracies. Imagine that, due to algorithm manipulation, you get bombarded by false information, paid posts and mass messaging. This is social engineering and this has been done while illegally using money for the political campaign. Acting illegally is not freedom of speech. This is what happened in Romania. This is what the report presented by the Moldovan authorities shows happened to them. The decision of the European Commission to open an investigation today confirms what happened. Our mechanisms have not been efficient enough. Our coordination needs to improve. Platforms need to pay for their mistakes and recognise their failure, so that we can rebuild better and faster. Everyone needs to respect the rules in time for the next Romanian and German elections. They need to start sharing information and presenting themselves in front of the European Parliament, as they have done in front of the US Congress. Dear colleagues, it is not about left and right, about traditional or new parties. If you fail with Romania, your countries will be next.

Mr President, dear colleagues, the elections that have just taken place in Romania have been a real shock for many. The scale of foreign interference has affected the social climate, generating a blaming vote with enormous risks on democracy and Romania's Euro-Atlantic future. But the danger has not passed. Thirty-five years after the Romanian Revolution of 1989, the seeds of distrust in democracy have been planted and demand a paradigm shift more than ever. People need to be listened to by respecting their opinion, dissatisfaction and expectations. Political leaders must learn to trust Romanians more, both in the country and abroad. Authenticity, trust, facts, but especially education and modesty are the ingredients for a new stage of Romanian democracy. In memory of those who sacrificed themselves for our freedoms and rights today, we have a duty not to give up. We have the mission to understand and especially to act so that the strong Romania we want to live in peace and safety in a united and developed European Union.

Madam President, dear Commissioner, dear colleagues, we did it. We found an ambitious agreement on the EU annual budget for 2025. With our plenary vote, we give the final go‑ahead for the EU budget to be signed into law. As the chief negotiator of the European Parliament, I believe it is important to highlight that this was more than a mere formality. In times of institutional transition, societal turmoil and complex geopolitical realities in many regions of the world, public budgets are often the focal point of political conflicts. We see governments and coalitions stumble over their battles about spending priorities, but we kept our unity. At almost EUR 200 billion, the EU budget for 2025 that we have agreed with the Council is 6 % bigger than this year's, meaning a EUR 10 billion increase, responding to the needs of Europeans while being able to pay back for the post-pandemic economic recovery of the Union without cutting key programmes. By approving our EU budget for next year, we will send a forceful message to the citizens that the EU, despite the difficult political and economic context, is able to equip itself with the financial means necessary to implement its policies and respond to its people's needs. On top of the Commission's proposals, we have managed to add: EUR 422 million more for education and young people, increasing Erasmus+, to a total of EUR 4.3 billion; EUR 45 million for research, innovation and health; EUR 30 million for agriculture, in particular for young farmers, making it a total of EUR 39.9 billion for the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund; EUR 5 million for nature, biodiversity and climate action; EUR 10 million for the management of the EU external borders, in particular for Schengen enlargement with Romania and Bulgaria; EUR 6 million more for military mobility or EUR 50 million more for humanitarian aid. And we have many examples of this kind, but also we have increased our support for the work of the European Public Prosecutor's Office and Europol. Within these tight margins of the financial framework, I am proud that we have shown that we can pay this cost without cutting flagship programmes, and at the same time, we managed to install a budgetary discipline. At the same time, we managed to restore Council reductions to the flagship programmes and at the same time retain a sizeable amount for the flexibilities for next year. We also have provision in the budget for additional disaster relief in our regions and, of course, in particular in the rural areas, and we are trying to help the compatriots affected by the floods, droughts and wildfires. As part of the agreement, we accorded to frontload payment appropriations of up to EUR 3 billion to provide support for regions affected by natural disasters. And, of course, we refer here to the regions and the countries from Central and Eastern Europe, and, of course, to our friends from Spain. Our unity among the groups helped to push our interests and priorities in the discussion with the Council. Despite the fact that we have differences in this House, we were able to negotiate a solid and strong budget for 2025 that replies to our citizens' expectations and helps alleviate some of the hardships that they are facing. I call on you to vote in favour of the budget 2025 tomorrow, and I would like to thank my colleagues, the shadows, my colleagues from the S&D conciliation team, the Council also for their work, but also the Commissioner. This is your last budget. You did a great job – thank you for that. And I think we need to approve the budget tomorrow.

Madam President, Europe needs to wake up. We face unexpected and unpredictable times, and European leaders must be more realistic in the way they design policies and how we build the future of the European Union. The report is right: the war in Ukraine, the conflict in the Middle East, the threat of Russia and China and the growth of the far right are harming us. Europe needs to invest more in our military and civil preparedness, but the EU also needs to do more for our citizens, protecting our democratic values, listening to people while explaining to them the options and why we unfortunately need to make all of us further efforts. What are we fighting for if not for our people? In order to be able to maintain peace, we need to prepare for all circumstances. But no one will follow us if Europe is blocked by minor political interests, bureaucracy burden or the arrogance some are showing. If we build trust, Europe will be trustworthy.

Madam President, just a short intervention before the vote. First of all, thanking everyone for the support that they have given to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2025, the Parliament's reading. And now we are supposed to vote on the resolution, I politely ask you all to support, as you did before, the compromises that we have reached for the resolution. We have solid, but at the same time fragile, compromises. But we need these strong positions in the upcoming negotiation with the Council. As the minister has just said, we have to show that we are capable of respecting the agreement, the compromises, but also what was discussed in the Committee on Budgets. I kindly ask you indeed to respect those compromises during your votes. People have high expectations when it comes to how we are voting, so I hope we will be able to respect what was agreed upon by everyone. This is fair and this is what people expect of us, and we need to defend this House also in our position in the upcoming negotiations.

The next item is the debate on the report by Ms Li Andersson on behalf of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs on the proposal for a Council decision on guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States (COM(2024)0599 - C10-0084/2024 - 2024/0599(NLE)) (A10-0004/2024). We start the debate with a statement by Mrs Anderson as rapporteur.

Madam President, thank you, and thank you, Minister and Commissioner, I have listened carefully to all the points of views expressed, and I respect all positions. I'm even more grateful for the strong support expressed in the BUDG Committee for the report and the resolution. The EU budget maze is already complicated enough, and I am happy with the balanced language we have managed to reach on the most complex issues, including on ensuring EU funds are not used to finance terrorism, border protection or the situation in the Middle East. I am particularly happy with the strong language that we have in relation to the fight against corruption. Any amendments that go against these fragile, but strong, compromises will hurt the European Parliament and our capacity to actually make our priorities heard. With regard to the Council position, we understand the challenges faced by our Member States, but cutting the EU budget would actually accelerate our budgetary and financial challenges, because everyone knows that the euros we have invested at EU level have a multiplication effect that benefits everyone. If we want the German economy to recover or the French deficit to be resolved, we also need to invest in our economy, our competitiveness and in our common development. I'm confident we will move forward and find a good compromise in a timely manner. We will also count on the Commission to act as an honest broker. I'm confident that after the votes tomorrow, the European Parliament will enter negotiations with a clear and ambitious position that will allow us to work together in building a 2025 EU budget that matches citizens' expectations.

Mr President, dear Commissioner, I also expected the ministers to be here, dear financed, when preparing the speech for today's plenary, I felt triggered in a maze that looks to repeat every year. This is the annual EU budgetary procedure. We know there is a way out – a better solution for the European Union to continue to have a positive impact in the lives of the people we represent – but we always make things more complicated than they are. The EU budget is an investment budget designed to provide financial resources in the areas that require common action. And today, based on EU polls, citizens expect us to finance the programmes and actions that increase their living standards and protect their prosperity and quality of life. This is what the European Parliament is making in its resolution, adopted by a large majority in the Committee on Budgets. I take the opportunity to thank all the political groups involved, and our staff, for a wonderful work and for this result that hardly, in my opinion, as general rapporteur, to what needs to be done to match citizens' expectations. Our proposal is prudent yet ambitious. We seek to allocate resources for the key flagship programmes, while at the same time maintaining financial availabilities for unforeseen events and for the payments needed for the Recovery and Resilience Facility. In this regard, in our resolution, we call upon the European Commission to assess what we call 'errors', to conduct better forecasts when it comes to financing the full implementation of the recovery plans, and to ensure the predictability we need for the EU budget. The European Parliament's position is clear: the EU budget cannot be a prisoner of the interest rates by reducing our programmes beyond the agreement we reached during the revision of the multiannual financial framework. The European Parliament will defend its role as budgetary authority and will continue to protect a budget that is fit for the current challenges. Coming back to the maze. The position of the Council – Hello, Minister. Thank you for coming – it is based on false assumptions that go against what we believe to be the economic considerations at work. In a challenging economic environment, we need to invest and increase Europe's impact at global level. The Draghi and Letta report highlight the importance of increasing investments in order to maintain the competitiveness of the European Union. Let us call it what it is: what the Council is making is austerity. Reducing our investment capacity at the European Union level will make us vulnerable on the world stage, will diminish our capacity to help Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and the frontline countries considered by the illegal war launched by the Russian Federation, would reduce our instruments to innovate and build a competitive economy, will leave our borders unprotected, and would ignore our farmers and young people calling for help that year. I will switch to Romanian. That is why the European Parliament wants our annual budget of around EUR 200 billion to include the following priorities: an increase of 110 million for health programmes. The COVID-19 pandemic is over, but we cannot ignore the lessons learned. We can do more and better together in health. The plan to fight cancer, as well as preventing cardiovascular disease, improving mental health or helping rare disease patients and children in need of medical care are just some of the things we can do more for together; in addition to rejecting the cuts proposed by the Council, we call for an additional EUR 70 million to our youth and education programmes. Erasmus has become a programme that is mostly accessed by elites, as it has become impossible for our students and professionals to access mobility as living costs increase; €42 million more to protect our citizens from the effects of natural disasters, including recent floods affecting Central and Eastern Europe. President von der Leyen pledged €10 billion and organised a beautiful conference, but we need new sources of funding. the European Parliament takes a practical approach and identifies additional amounts of available funds; Additional EUR 96 million for farmers and agriculture. We need to ensure that our citizens have access to quality food, while our farmers are paid fairly for their work. Rural, remote and mountainous areas need special attention from the European Union. For example, in my beautiful Alba county in Romania, right in the Apuseni Mountains, people still expect Europe to do more for them; EUR 35 million for border protection and support for asylum seekers, including to complete the full integration of Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen area; supporting transport and energy infrastructure by increasing funding for the Connecting Europe Facility or increasing funding to protect nature and biodiversity and support the fight against climate change; increasing our capacity to act globally by increasing funds in this regard, whether we are talking about humanitarian aid or funds for the Eastern and Southern Neighbourhood, especially for the Republic of Moldova, which now, after the recent referendum, needs more support. It is also clear that Europe can act. That is why I want to underline our strong message when it comes to more effective and stronger action by the European Union in confronting drug cartels, in ensuring mental health or in developing our military and defence capabilities. I will also finally emphasise the need to facilitate mobility within the EU. This is why the European Parliament calls for improved social security coordination, which will allow the European diaspora to transfer its social benefits and pensions more quickly from one country to another.

Mr President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, the referendum on amending the Constitution with a view to the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the European Union has ended well. Citizens voted for the European path, development and security of the Republic of Moldova. Young people and the diaspora set the example and chose the path to a better future for all, even those who voted against. At the same time, the results of the referendum show the seriousness of Russian interference, but also the reduced response capacity against Russian propaganda. Democratic states and European institutions need to realise that the Russian Federation remains a threat and that membership of the European Union needs to be better explained. The Republic of Moldova must receive a predictable timetable for joining the European Union. That is why I hope that the completion of accession negotiations with the European Union will be possible by 2030. The European Parliament stands with the Republic of Moldova in achieving this goal.

The next item is the Commission statement "A stronger Europe for safer products to better protect consumers and fight unfair competition: stronger EU surveillance of e-commerce and imports" (2024/2862(RSP)). We start tonight's speeches with Commissioner Reynders.

Mr President, Mr Vice-President, Mental Health Day is a good opportunity to reiterate the European Parliament's call for awareness of the importance of this issue and the need to accelerate investment in policies and support for staff in the field. As the European Parliament's chief negotiator for the European Union's budget, I have called for a considerable increase in funding for the European health programmes next year in order to finance the mental health component precisely. An increase of €50 million for You4Health and €60 million for the health research cluster. Loneliness, bullying, stress and professional or social pressure are some of the phenomena that today lead to a major health risk for our societies. We must learn to act more coherently, to provide access to specialist assistance, information and prevention, taking into account the complexity of this phenomenon. I stress the necessary support for young people and seniors, but also the fact that we have millions of Europeans living in other EU countries who need support in their mother tongue and accessible services in their country of residence.

Madam President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, last year set a negative record for the number of drugged drivers at the wheel in my country, in Romania, who caused accidents leading to the loss of lives. The tragedy of the two young people killed in the May 2 resort shocked everyone. Unfortunately, drug use now also affects non-users. In the absence of clear procedures at European level, sometimes the culprits escape to other states with more permissive legislation or find procedural flaws difficult to manage at national level. We can't just sit around and watch anymore. We need more effective joint action at European level: information campaigns, the active fight against drug use and trafficking, the improvement of services to combat drug addiction and coherent legislation at European level are just some of the areas where we need clearer and stronger measures. That is why I have called, in my capacity as chief negotiator on the European Union budget, for additional funding for the European Drugs Agency, but also for Europol. So I invite you to support us in this endeavour.

Madam President, Prime Minister, last year, Romania and Bulgaria were partially welcomed into the Schengen area, after 13 years of waiting. The results achieved as a result of integration by air and sea have been a real success. At the same time, elections in Austria are over, and full membership can no longer be blocked with false populist arguments promoted by certain pseudo-patriots. It is time for the representatives of the Council of the EU to decide on the full accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area, and I hope that the real problems in Hungary will not affect this commitment. Honestly, our citizens have had enough of this ping-pong between populists, but also between institutions. This injustice must be repaired immediately and free movement within the Schengen area must be accessible to Romanians and Bulgarians. If you are serious about this topic, we ask you to propose to the Member States at the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 10 October to come up with a real and concrete perspective on the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area by the end of the year.