What Seán spoke about.

13

Sep

2022

EN Speech

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Interim report on the 2021 proposal for a revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework (A9-0227/2022 - Jan Olbrycht, Margarida Marques)

Mr President, I welcome this report from my budget colleagues on the 2021 proposals for the revision of the multiannual financial framework. This report importantly ensures the MFF’s compatibility with the Parliament’s Fit for 55 package, particularly the alignment of the MFF with the Parliament’s position on the Social Climate Fund. The Social Climate Fund is essential to supporting and protectin…

13

Sep

2022

EN Speech

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The new European Bauhaus (debate)

Mr President, this cross-disciplinary initiative provides a welcome opportunity to combine our climate and digital goals with the benefits of creative design and to foster rural and urban developments that improve citizens’ everyday lives. Particularly, I welcome the report’s acknowledgement that the New European Bauhaus should be linked to the renovation wave. Modernising buildings to ensure they…

7

Jul

2022

EN Speech

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Sustainable aviation fuels (ReFuelEU Aviation Initiative) (A9-0199/2022 - Søren Gade)

Mr President, I was happy to vote in favour of the REFuel EU Aviation Initiative Report. The aim of the report is to boost the supply and demand for sustainable aviation fuels in the EU, in line with the goal of reducing aviation’s environmental footprint, which is huge, to achieve the EU's climate targets. It is imperative that European planes use the greenest and most sustainable fuels to help t…

7

Jul

2022

EN Speech

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Developing an EU Cycling Strategy (debate)

Mr President, one of the objectives of the European Green Deal is for the EU to become the first climate neutral continent by 2050. In order to accomplish this, significant changes are required for the European transportation system. Innovation will help, but a key solution already exists: a large modal shift towards active mobility, particularly cycling. Considering its indisputable environmental…

7

Jul

2022

GA Speech

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Better regulation: joining forces to make better laws (debate)

President, with EU regulation, we can create better standards and a legislative framework to achieve the EU’s aims. That said, we, as legislators, need to be mindful of the huge impact that EU law alone can have across all Member States. We have a duty to ensure that we do not over-regulate, and to avoid unnecessary administrative or regulatory burdens. Working for my Group on the AFCO opinion on …

6

Jul

2022

EN Speech

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Financial activities of the European Investment Bank – annual report 2021 - Control of the financial activities of the European Investment Bank – annual report 2020 (debate)

Madam President, as a rapporteur in the last mandate for InvestEU, I want to thank Mr Hoyer and the EIB and the European Commission for rolling out this very important instrument for the European Union. Now I am a rapporteur for the EPP for the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and the renovation of the EU’s building stock is a key Green Deal priority. However, at present, there is a fundi…

6

Jul

2022

EN Speech

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The UK government’s unilateral introduction of the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill and respect for international law (debate)

, Commissioner, colleagues, the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill marks a new low in relations between the EU and the UK. We mustn’t forget that the UK was a valued member of the European Union for 40 years and played a very constructive part. But breaching international law is just not acceptable, as Vice-President Šefčovič said. Also, it defies logic – because the protocol is working. The majority …

23

Jun

2022

GA Speech

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Illegal logging in the EU (B9-0329/2022)

Mr President, I voted in favour of this resolution on illegal logging in the European Union. While in many Member States this logging is of unequivocal concern as it is damaging to the environment and habitats, I think it is also important to encourage legal logging. The planning process in Ireland is a major obstacle and as a result, my country receives far more hectares each year than other coun…

23

Jun

2022

EN Speech

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Gas storage (C9-0126/2022 - Cristian-Silviu Buşoi)

A Uachtaráin, I voted in favour of this report and I had the privilege of speaking on it this morning. One of the points made, particularly by Professor Krasnodębski, was that a lot of this gas would be Russian gas which, as has been pointed out, is no longer reliable. Secondly, we probably don’t want – and obviously we’d like to become independent of – Russian gas soon as possible. In fairness to…

23

Jun

2022

EN Speech

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Candidate status of Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia (RC-B9-0331/2022, B9-0331/2022, B9-0332/2022, B9-0333/2022, B9-0334/2022, B9-0335/2022, B9-0336/2022)

A Uachtaráin, I voted in favour of this resolution concerning the granting of candidate status to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova and of a European perspective to Georgia. While full candidate status has been recommended for Ukraine and Moldova, it is important that Georgia fulfils a number of criteria before such status can be granted. That said, the proposed European perspective for Georgia …

23

Jun

2022

EN Speech

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Gas storage (debate)

A Uachtaráin, as the Russian artillery barrage continues to pound Ukraine, the notion that Putin was forced into definitive action by NATO becomes more and more ludicrous. The war has changed everything and has forced Europe’s hand, accelerating our Green Deal ambitions and fundamentally altering our overall energy policy but – as Vice-President Timmermans said – uniting us and not dividing us, as…

22

Jun

2022

EN Speech

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Preparation of the European Council meeting of 23-24 June 2022, including the meeting with Western Balkan leaders on 23 June - Candidate status of Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner Šefčovič, the Commission’s recent recommendations to the European Council to grant Ukraine and Moldova EU membership status was very encouraging news. We must make it clear that Ukraine belongs firmly within our European family. Our future lies together, side by side, in peace. This is also true for the Republic of Moldova, which has shown itself to be a great ally durin…

9

Jun

2022

EN Speech

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International procurement instrument (A9-0337/2021 - Daniel Caspary)

A Uachtaráin, I voted in favour of this report. The International Procurement Instrument will enable the European Commission to launch consultations with third countries regarding procurement market access in order to facilitate better access for EU firms. The instrument empowers the EU to restrict access to the EU’s procurement market if third—country consultations do not improve market access fo…

9

Jun

2022

EN Speech

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The rule of law and the potential approval of the Polish national Recovery Plan (RRF) (B9-0316/2022, RC-B9-0317/2022, B9-0317/2022, B9-0320/2022, B9-0321/2022, B9-0322/2022, B9-0323/2022)

A Uachtaráin, I voted in favour of this resolution, which outlines Parliament’s concerns regarding the European Commission’s recent positive assessment of Poland’s recovery and resilience plan. There is no doubt that serious and sustained breaches of the rule of law abound in Poland, and the Commission would do well to adhere to the clear conditions attached to financing under the RRF in its appro…

9

Jun

2022

EN Speech

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Illegal logging in the EU (debate)

A Uachtaráin, the Commissioner is absolutely correct when she says we need more forests in Europe. Obviously illegal logging has to be tackled and eliminated, if at all possible, and I support our endeavours in that regard. Fortunately, in my country, it’s the opposite problem we have: we can’t get legal logging, because of rules by the department for planning permission, permitting, etc. – a whol…

9

Jun

2022

GA Speech

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The call for a Convention for the revision of the Treaties (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner and my friend, former MEP Ivo Belet, welcome back. The Treaties are the foundation of the EU and every action taken by it. They should not be changed hastily or flippantly, but that is not to say they should not be changed at all. As the world around us changes, we in the EU must also be ready to adapt when necessary. During the Conference on the future of Europe, citize…

8

Jun

2022

EN Speech

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Conclusions of the special European Council meeting of 30-31 May 2022 (debate)

A Uachtaráin, President Ursula was right when she said Putin’s war of aggression is what fuels the food crisis. On top of that, there’s the vile destruction of the infrastructure of Ukraine, the killing of its citizens and the raping of its women. While all this is going on, we have the President of the rotating Council, Macron, talking about ‘we mustn’t humiliate Putin’. Who is doing the humiliat…

7

Jun

2022

EN Speech

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Revision of the EU Emissions Trading System - Social Climate Fund - Carbon border adjustment mechanism - Revision of the EU Emissions Trading System for aviation - Notification under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) (joint debate – Fit for 55 (part 1))

A Uachtaráin, the Climate Law is set in stone: the end point of the green transition – 2050 for climate neutrality. We have the finish line and tomorrow we get the opportunity to decide, in part, how we run the race. Europe is and should be a climate leader. However, it is a fine balance. We want and need more ambition in decarbonising our economy, but not at the expense of severe loss of competit…

19

May

2022

EN Speech

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2021 Report on North Macedonia (A9-0133/2022 - Ilhan Kyuchyuk)

Mr President – me again, somewhat similar – I listened to the debate on North Macedonia. I think they have a strong case to be more integrated with the European Union. They have been sitting more or less on the side—lines hoping that something will happen for a long, long time. In the last mandate, there was very little desire to extend the European Union. But I think Brexit having happened, the p…

19

May

2022

EN Speech

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Commission’s 2021 Rule of Law Report (A9-0139/2022 - Terry Reintke)

A Uachtaráin, I welcome that the Commission has begun to carry out annual rule of law reviews across the Union with Member State—specific chapters and I voted in favour of the 2021 report. The EU was founded on respect for democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights. It should be clear to all that EU membership comes with not only far—reaching benefits, but also responsibilities. There must …

19

May

2022

EN Speech

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EU Association Agreement with the Republic of Moldova (A9-0143/2022 - Dragoş Tudorache)

Mr President, I voted for this report as granting candidate status to Moldova in line with Article 49 of the Treaty of the European Union on the basis of merit is the right thing to do. The report highlights that Moldova has been disproportionately affected by the Russian war in neighbouring Ukraine due to the arrival of more than 450 000 Ukrainian refugees since the invasion began on 24 February.…

19

May

2022

EN Speech

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The REPowerEU Plan: European solidarity and energy security in face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including the recent cuts of gas supply to Poland and Bulgaria (debate)

A Uachtaráin, I would like to welcome the REPowerEU Plan, especially plans to tackle massive problems in licensing and permits as well as increased renewable energy targets. However, to reduce our dependency on Russian energy and fossil fuels, we must address the building sector much more readily and give it the priority it deserves. The residential sector alone accounts for 40% of EU gas demand, …

18

May

2022

EN Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

A Uachtaráin, as a rapporteur for the energy performance of buildings, I am concerned that we may not reach our targets due to funding issues. Some 72% of renovations at the moment are self-funded, yet only 18% of consumers are taking loans to renovate their homes, as they are too expensive. So there is a funding gap of EUR 214 billion a year for green financing for residential buildings. These nu…

18

May

2022

EN Speech

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Minimum level of taxation for multinational groups (debate)

A Uachtaráin, I really welcome the adoption of a minimum level of 15% of taxation for multinational groups. This has been a bone of contention for many years and indeed it wasn’t always Member States’ fault because there was competition to get investment. But now that we are putting a floor under it, it establishes a level playing field. I am also very pleased that the European Union did not act u…

5

May

2022

EN Speech

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Competition policy – annual report 2021 (A9-0064/2022 - Andreas Schwab)

A Uachtaráin, I voted for this report as it condemns Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified aggression against Ukraine and welcomes the extraordinary measures that the EU is putting in place to help the Ukrainian people. It further supports measures directed at NGOs and businesses helping refugees flee to the Union from countries affected by war. The report highlights the development of an effective …