Speeches

Madam President, Commissioner, today we are discussing one of the important documents in the series, namely renewables. First of all, I would like to thank my colleague Markus Pieper as rapporteur on this matter and not quite the easy matter. I very much appreciate his efforts to find maximum support for joint action. This is a really important document, which should mainly simplify the administrative process for the construction of renewables. Indeed, we are currently faced with a situation in many Member States where there are different settings, be they geographical, energy mix and these conditions are very complex. Therefore, we, too, should not neglect the truly different situation and make sure that there are no crisis situations. Similarly, we must take very seriously the need to maintain the stability of energy networks, because member countries have to deal with back-up sources of electricity even in the event of a production failure from renewable sources. Once again, I would like to thank Markus Pieper and I believe that together we will manage to find a reasonable solution in this complex legislation so that, on the one hand, we simplify and speed up processes, but do not cause unnecessary crisis situations in the supply of electricity or energy in general.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I am very pleased that the NIS 2 Directive will be approved today as a very important element in strengthening cybersecurity. We are sending another message inside and outside the European Union that the European Union is taking this area seriously and we already have other legislation under discussion. I mean, of course, the equivalent of the NIS for EU institutions and agencies and the Cyber Resilience Act. Cyber threats are on an ever-increasing trend, so we need to gradually cover up all the weak spots. We are all watching what is happening on the battlefields, but unfortunately this war is also going on in cyberspace. A big thank you goes to Bart, our rapporteur, for his excellent cooperation and, above all, for the very good compromise negotiated with the Council. I don't think it's a compromise, it's an effort to find common ground. Compromise is sometimes negative. In this case, I think that a really good solution has been found. The final winners will be companies important to our society and economy that are more resilient to cyberattacks, but also national cyber authorities and CERTs better prepared at home to help and supervise across the Union and tasked with working together more effectively. I think that we have managed to find a reasonable limit in terms of the companies that will fall under NIS 2, as well as in terms of the requirements for the measures that they should take. It will take a few years for the whole ecosystem to sit down, of course, and for all the actors involved, this will undoubtedly mean special efforts and resources, but also a great school of life. But it is definitely worth it and I am convinced that in the future this is a good basis on which we are starting.

Madam President, Commissioner, first of all, I would like to very much appreciate the cooperation with the entire parliamentary team, headed by the rapporteur, Mrs Winzig, and congratulate her on the negotiated regulation, because it was nothing simple. Unfortunately, in the past, telecom roaming services have shown that administrative intervention is necessary. In the long term, the market has not been able to find reasonable parameters. We see that the principle-based dismantling of roaming across the Union has worked, and I am therefore pleased that our citizens will continue to benefit from the current system for the next ten years. We agreed to further improve consumer information when crossing borders, to solve the problem of emergency numbers and value-added services. As I was the shadow rapporteur for previous roaming legislation, the final nightly debate on wholesale price caps was a certain one for me. Interestingly, we always approve of roaming sometime deep after midnight. My approach has always been more conservative. Price caps should serve as insurance, as a real ceiling under which all operators hide. The compromise found defining the ceilings for wholesale data transmission prices is, as a result, a very reasonable solution. Once again, I thank my colleague Winzig and all my fellow shadow rapporteurs.