Speeches

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.

The next item is the Commission statement on strengthening the security of Europe's external borders: the need for a comprehensive approach and increased support from Frontex (2024/2852(RSP)).

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.

Mr President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, the European path of the Republic of Moldova is close to becoming irreversible. If the citizens of the Republic of Moldova will vote massively for joining the European Union, at the referendum that will take place on October 20, then the road to accession will become easier and the support of the European Union more consistent. As Vice-President of the European Parliament, who is also responsible for the relationship with the Republic of Moldova, I am glad that through this resolution we once again show the unconditional support of all pro-European political families in the European legislature for Chisinau's European path. It is a support for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, for their development and security, in a challenging context, generated by the hybrid war and the interference of the authoritarian regime in Moscow, which wants to block this European path. I have to say it very clearly: Moldova is not sold, contrary to what the Russian agents there say. Moreover, we decided to allocate additional funds for the Republic of Moldova, EUR 50 million for the candidate countries and the Eastern Neighbourhood, EUR 3 million for pre-accession assistance. There's a lot of things to do. We are here for the Republic of Moldova. Thank you.

Madam President, French President Emmanuel Macron has recently said that the European Union is at risk of disappearing. Maybe he is right, but what he forgets to say is that the reason Europe is lagging behind is because the European Union has completely turned to the right of politics, forgetting the concept of solidarity and the need for dialogue. Multi-speed Europe is only the embodiment of an anti-European message meant to separate us, although the European project exists to unite us. The latest European barometer shows that 70% of European citizens believe in the European Union, in its key role for peace, security and development. It is time for political leaders to live up to expectations and act, equipping the European Union with the capacity to act directly to raise living standards, create well-paid jobs and improve education and health services. The solution to a better Europe is a united Europe based on mutual respect.

Mr President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, temporary border controls are only the result of too long-overlooked problems, which we Social Democrats have repeatedly raised. The subject of Schengen has been excessively politicised by populist leaders. This was the case in the Netherlands and Austria, where, in search of non-existent electoral benefits, certain political parties, without any argument whatsoever, kept Romania and Bulgaria outside the free movement zone, although they complied with all Schengen criteria. It is time to restore the principles of law, protect the right to free movement for European citizens and include in the Schengen area all countries that comply with the rules. At the Justice and Home Affairs Council on October 10, the interior ministers must offer concrete solutions, but also a real perspective that, by the end of the year, Romania and Bulgaria's access to the free movement area by land will be achieved. The decision can easily be formalised at technical level. Pilot projects implemented by the European Commission for border security and good results achieved through enlargement Air Schengen prove the efficiency of European solutions and the fact that, with the integration of Romania and Bulgaria, the Schengen area becomes safer. That is why, as the European Parliament's chief negotiator on the European Union's budget, I have asked for EUR 4 billion for border security, the management of migrants and refugees, and the enlargement of the Schengen area. Let's not miss this moment and make the right decisions.

Madam President, Minister, Commissioner, colleagues, no – the proposal that the Council has made for next year's EU budget cannot be accepted as such. It is too far from what the European Parliament has requested to see in its guidelines earlier this year and it proposes severe cuts that go against what has been agreed in the recent revision of the multiannual financial framework. My role as rapporteur and negotiator on behalf of the European Parliament is to defend the role of our institution as a budgetary authority, but also to make sure that the annual budget addresses the priorities, which we have agreed together with the political groups. The recent European elections have sent a clear message that for more solidarity between Member States and more investment in policies and programmes, we need adequate financing and we need, of course, to use that financing in order to improve people's lives. This call cannot be translated into more budgetary cuts and a reduction in badly needed resources to help our people go through these difficult times. Prudent budgeting does not mean to block the financing of citizens' priorities. It does not mean rebates, and it certainly does not mean cutting programmes to finance high interest rates. We need to do more together and better, not less. Indeed, some errors have been made in the forecast, also by the Commission. It is up to us to find together the best solutions to the current challenges, but we still have a different perspective on how to reach that goal. To be clear, the Council proposes to cut commitment appropriations for next year by EUR 1.52 billion. This translates into a EUR 400 million cut for our research programme, Horizon Europe, and a EUR 110 million cut for the Connecting Europe Facility Digital. We also have cuts for the InvestEU Fund, Digital Europe Programme, the Single Market Programme, including SMEs, the Technical Support Instrument as well as for EU4Health. The Council proposed also a huge cut to Erasmus by EUR 294 million, which is our flagship programme for young people and education. We also see cuts in employment and social innovation, European Solidarity Corps, Creative Europe, Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values and our LIFE environmental programme. Even border protection is affected. These cuts go against what the Parliament has defended in its guidelines, meaning more investments and financial allocations for the programmes that improve people's lives. We also call upon the Commission to be clear on the negative impact of these measures and to act consistently in enabling us to reach a good outcome during the negotiations. Together with my colleagues from the Parliament, we prioritise programmes for health, education and youth, support for agriculture and farmers, the need to improve our infrastructure and have a fair, green and digital transition. Defending gender rights, protecting our values and making our fight against corruption more effective. Improving our action at the global level, in particular in our neighbourhood, both east and south: western Balkans, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. Protecting our borders and ensuring the functioning of the Schengen Area with Romania and Bulgaria joining the freedom of movement zone by land. We also call for a better coordination of our social security system to improve intra-European mobility. Last but not least, we understand the need for solidarity. In the context of the natural disasters that affect our continent, I call together with my colleagues upon the Commission and the Council to allocate additional financial means for all the instruments dealing with such crises, like the EU Civil Protection Mechanism or the EU Solidarity Fund, but also to prioritise investments that enable to reduce the impact of natural disasters. We are confident that the European Union, being based on solidarity, will find the resources for those affected by the floods. At the end, dear colleagues, I count on your support in establishing a strong budgetary position of the European Parliament. I appreciate the work of our shadows and the good relationship we managed to build. Dear Minister, I am confident that our negotiations can lead to a good outcome for the people that have so many expectations from us. So let's not let people down. Dear Commissioner, we do count on your valuable experience in finding the best compromises, hopefully in time, but before the end of the current mandate. We have a lot of work to do together and I'm confident we will find a solution for it.

Madam President, Commissioner, we have all seen the disastrous effects of the massive floods caused by Cyclone Boris in Central and Eastern Europe, which have unfortunately led to the loss of human lives. In Romania, thousands of households have been affected by floods, and the danger has not yet passed. The people in the area are asking us for urgent measures to support them. As the European Parliament's chief negotiator for the European Union budget, I have called on the Commission and the Council to activate the Solidarity and Emergency Aid Reserve and the Integrated Political Crisis Response mechanism so that we can directly help those affected. At the same time, I support an increase in the budget for financial instruments dedicated to emergencies and disasters, both for the Civil Protection Mechanism and for compensation. Last but not least, we need to invest in prevention, and in this respect we have once again called on the European executive to come forward with concrete proposals and financial allocations. We stand with those affected, we will seek immediate solutions and we will do everything we can so that the European Union can support them. We would like to thank all those involved in the rescue and the volunteers who helped those affected by the floods.

The next meeting will be held tomorrow, Tuesday 17 September 2024 at 9 a.m. The agenda has been published and is available on the European Parliament's website.

The one-minute speeches are over. (addressing the meeting room) As I said earlier, 30 interventions were selected and those who received...(Words that don't get along). It's a procedure, I tell you, I'll repeat the procedure, I said it earlier. The procedure I mentioned earlier was as follows: people who want to intervene in this type of debate, one-minute interventions, register in advance. The Secretariat selects 30 one-minute interventions. It is not a selection that I make, I just preside over the list that is communicated to me. You have normally received an e-mail and that e-mail confirms or disproves your intervention. Colleagues say otherwise. If there's a problem, my colleagues tell me it's the cancellation email, I don't have any more details. It's what's being communicated to me. If any errors or problems have occurred, please report them to the Secretariat and, as far as possible, these will be corrected in the future. I hope that this has not happened and together we can find the way in which we can comply with the procedures.

I want to remind you kindly that you cannot show signs or images, or even wear t-shirts with messages. The Rules of Procedure are clear in this regard; please do respect them as well. (Inaudible comments in the Chamber) This is why it's better to inform us before.

The next item is the one-minute speeches on matters of political importance. This debate is based on Rule 179 of the Rules of Procedure. I also take the opportunity of these one-minute speeches to add my voice to the statement of the President this afternoon, by expressing our solidarity with the people affected by the floods in Central and Eastern Europe, and the families of those who lost their lives in Romania. This being said, I remind colleagues that there can be up to 30 speeches, with a maximum duration of 1 minute. These can only be presented by those Members who have signed up before and have received a confirmation. You have, of course, to intervene from your seats. So based on the list that we received, I will start giving the floor. We start with Mr Tsiodras. Mr Tsiodras? So let's try to be in the room when giving the floor. No, from your seat. This is what I said. From your seat, or any seat now. This is why I underlined the rules at the beginning. You have to stand.