Speeches

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the European Union, the institutions, have given the Member States instruments which make it possible to improve the living conditions of the population, of the citizens of the European Union, to improve their salaries, and which are not being used. The Recovery and Resilience Plan is not being well implemented and implemented as it should be in the Member States. Cohesion policy funds are lagging behind enormously. It is essential that they are used for the competitiveness and cohesion of economies in the European Union. In addition, it was important to support households and businesses, for example with instruments that would allow them to be capitalised, and the InvestEU. On the other hand, the reduction in the tax burden was also essential to improve the wages of European citizens, in particular the Portuguese. It is primarily in the hands of the Member States to use the resources provided to them by the EU budget.

Mr President, there are people who, by imposing more bureaucracy, introducing rules that distort the market, bringing more expensive food to citizens, do not realize that they are being the best friends of the far-right, do not realize that it is then impossible to move towards legislation with animal welfare objectives with which we all agree. You are the best friends of the far-right. If you say, for example, that an animal cannot be transported for more than an hour, it is clear that this harms countries such as Portugal. There are, of course, a number of people who want meat not to be eaten, for example. There are good intentions here, but there is also an ideology here that is sometimes unacceptable and prevents the objectives from being achieved.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, first of all, it is essential that the legislation that exists is applied and is applied in particular by the Member States of the European Union. Then new legislation and rules are welcome for animal welfare, but it is essential that they are balanced. It is important that they do not bring more bureaucracy, more burdens on farmers and, at the same time, that they do not result in more expensive food for citizens. In addition, there is an essential point: the new rules must not distort the internal market and account must be taken of countries, such as Portugal, which are far from the centre of Europe, not to mention the climatic and geographical conditions, as I mentioned, of these Member States. The end point has to do with the fight against illegal trade, namely in dogs and cats, pets, something that is truly unacceptable and that should be in these new animal welfare rules. (The speaker agreed to answer a blue card question)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the European Union's budget, although small – around 1% of the European Union's GDP – makes an important contribution to competitiveness, territorial cohesion, productivity and sustainability. It is essential that, in 2025, small and medium-sized enterprises are supported in the context in which we live, farmers, young people, reinforcing Erasmus+. We must also never forget the moment we are living in and it is very important that the budget provides the means to support Ukraine. It is an investment we make in our own defence and in our values. The strategic autonomy of the European Union is also essential and, as the STEP has been approved, it is very important that we move forward with this strengthening of our strategic autonomy. 2025 is also a crucial year and it is very important that Member States do not lose even a cent of the resources they have at their disposal, and it is worrying to look at the implementation of the recovery and resilience plans, to look at the implementation of cohesion policy funds, and to see that there are risks of losses of these amounts. And in relation to the recovery and resilience plan, it was essential that it be extended and that there be no limit to its implementation, which is 2026. It was important that it be extended by at least one year, so here is the challenge and the question to the Commission: is it ready to extend it by one year and to move forward with legislation to this end?

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the European Investment Bank plays a fundamental, crucial role, it is an asset for investment in the European Union and for the pursuit of our objectives, particularly in the context of the climate and digital transitions. The European Investment Bank, we are not always aware, is the world's largest issuer of green bonds, but we need to do more, particularly in small and medium-sized enterprises. It is not enough to say that they are the backbone, because they are, more than 99% of companies in the European Union are SMEs and account for about 75% of employment. We have had a pandemic, we are experiencing a crisis resulting from the war. There are Member States, like my own, which have neither development finance institutions nor a strong promotional bank to help small and medium-sized enterprises. Well, the EIB needs to step up support for small and medium-sized enterprises and use, for example, InvestEU for this purpose. Small and medium-sized enterprises need support for investment, but also for capitalisation. We can help small and medium-sized enterprises by renegotiating debt, for example. The European Investment Bank also plays an important role in what global Europe is and there I welcome the opening, for example, of an office in Brazil, with the aim of Global Gateway and also in support for Africa. Congratulations on your work, very successful for the future.

Mr President, geographical indications value our roots and traditions, promote our cultural and gastronomic heritage, defend authenticity, defend the rural world, are a sign of quality, are an asset, are a heritage and a legacy that we must nurture. We must protect the products, even if some are impossible to replicate, as is the case with green wine. We need to simplify and simplify so that we can increase this added value, which is geographical indications. In addition to simplification, support is still needed, especially for small producers, because geographical indications are mainly for the defence of the rural world, and this objective of defending small producers implies that there is advice, that there are regional and local structures to help farmers, small producers, to be able to certify their products, and that they may have protected geographical indications. I would like to take this opportunity to commend the work of the Commission and our rapporteur. Geographical indications are an asset and make it possible to strengthen the rural world, small producers and agriculture.

Madam President, STEP makes it possible to finance emerging technologies, strategic projects, an opportunity that we must not miss, which we must not waste. All companies are eligible, but small and medium-sized enterprises have a special focus. Skills, too, will have to be used and they too will have to be improved and STEP allows this. We can and have an obligation to improve salaries and attract talent to the European Union. Member States gain flexibility and it is not only cohesion policy that can be used at 100%. Through the recovery and resilience plans, up to 6% of the national amount can be placed in the InvestEU national compartment, which will enable the creation of financial and dedicated instruments for this objective. In addition, we also have an obligation, which is not to allow European funds to be used for companies in third countries and, for example, for Chinese companies. And we need to protect the European Parliament's budget, Commissioner, and if we did not, we would end up with the cumulation of funding being used for companies that diminish rather than strengthen our strategic autonomy. And finally, for the Council, I have always said this, you have EUR 40 billion on the table to decide, EUR 40 billion of new revenue that does not penalise citizens. Why don't you start the process? The EU budget is so small! In addition, they can add to it, for example, a tax on financial transactions. National selfishness does not resolve, wanting to put money and revenues in national budgets, when the European budget is an asset, it is not a good solution what you are doing. Decide for Europeans, we need an increased budget that gives the European Union competitiveness, strategic autonomy, cohesion and sustainability.

Mr President, Commissioner, Council, ladies and gentlemen, the European Union will only meet the challenges it faces if it acts firmly, courageously, ambitiously and unitedly, in solidarity. With this revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework, which we finally have after some attempts at blocking and blackmailing, we have been able to show that we are able when we are together to deliberate, to decide and to have means, namely to help Ukraine. It's our obligation. When we defend Ukraine, we are making an investment in our security and this is a challenge that we have today very clearly, the challenge of defence. I hope, and it is a challenge for the Commission, that the amounts that have been frozen, the Russian frozen assets, will be used, notably for our defence and for support to Ukraine. Globally, it is €300 billion. In the European Union, it is EUR 150 billion, which can be used, inter alia, as collateral for this purpose. There is this positive point of the revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework, but there are negative points. We want a competitive European Union, where research is present, but if we cut, the Council cut, EUR 2,1 billion in the research programme. It is clear that we need the Health Union, as the pandemic has shown, but the Council has cut €1 billion in the European Health Programme. The Common Agricultural Policy is a priority, but the Council has cut EUR 700 million in the Common Agricultural Policy. Cohesion is an obligation in the European Union, but the Council has cut EUR 400 million in cohesion. A Council that defends a geopolitical Europe in the proclamations, but then in the action, for the STEP programme, the Commission had proposed EUR 10 billion, we EUR 12 billion and you cut and only reinforced the European Defence Fund with EUR 1.5 billion. And STEP is essential, we need emerging technologies, we need to bet on clean technologies, cybersecurity, biotechnology, digital. We need a competitive European Union. This is an investment, again. The Council is very good in proclamations, but then in action it is bad. Even so, we have a positive regulation, where we strengthen governance, where we want a geographical balance as far as possible, and also various technologies that can be financed by existing funds, where we want synergies and complementarities. Moreover, and this is also a message to the Member States, we cannot destroy cohesion policy and therefore the ERDF is limited to 20% to support this strategic autonomy of the European Union. And we can use cohesion policy with co-financing of up to 100%. This is a good thing, but it requires responsibility, because these 100% must be well used in quality projects that effectively contribute, at the same time, to our competitiveness, our cohesion and the geopolitical union we want.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, more than statements and proclamations by the Commission and the Council, we need action, action in favour of European farmers and citizens. They are paying more and more expensive food prices and farmers are getting less and less. A coordinated Europe-wide action plan is needed to prevent speculation and for us to strengthen our autonomy, particularly on the issue of fertilisers and what is increasing prices and inputs. And the Member States must do their part. In my country there are 1200 taxes on farmers. We can use recovery and resilience plans to help farmers fight drought, store water and manage it efficiently. In addition, we can and must move forward with instruments to capitalise small and medium-sized enterprises to even help them renegotiate their debts. It is in our hands to effectively help farmers.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, farmers are rightly protesting and protesting. We have an obligation to know how to hear the cry of revolt in order to act, to act accordingly. Farmers deserve support. And here I turn to the Council: missed an opportunity, had the revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework, where they could have increased amounts for farmers. And what did they do? They have cut back on the Common Agricultural Policy as far as direct management by the European Commission is concerned, which is truly unacceptable. We need less bureaucracy and we need a more stable legislative framework. What about the European Union? The European Commission must do its part, as must the European Parliament. But then the Member States also have to do their job. In particular, in what is drought, there are solutions that Member States are not implementing and could use, notably the funds from the Recovery and Resilience Plans to prevent drought and to help farmers.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the agreement reached unanimously by the Council is generally positive. We will have the resources to show our commitment and solidarity with Ukraine and also with migration. But there are negative aspects that need to be corrected. We need a European Union that focuses on research and innovation. The Council cuts in research and innovation. In the pandemic, we have shown that having a European health programme is positive. The Council cuts the European health programme. In cohesion policy, in what is direct management, it has cut back on agriculture. It cuts into what the Commission's direct management is, when it was necessary to give an important signal to farmers. Member States make legislation and then do not take responsibility for it. They give the impression that it is the responsibility of the Commission and that they do not provide the necessary resources for farmers. In addition, they have every possibility of having financial resources. Why do they not use frozen Russian confiscated assets, which can serve, for example, as collateral for InvestEU as a guarantee? They have EUR 40 billion of their own revenues on the table, which stem, inter alia, from the emission allowance market and also from the internal market of the carbon border adjustment mechanism. They want these resources to fatten up national budgets. It was important that they come to the EU budget.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, we must value, we must support farmers. They produce high-quality food, respecting the highest environmental and food safety standards. We cannot overburden farmers with red tape, meaningless rules, impossible demands, as many colleagues have approved and defended here in the European Parliament, and now they are making speeches here in which they appear to be farmers' best friends. And this hypocrisy is unacceptable, just because there are elections. We have to listen to the farmers, we have to involve the farmers. Is there a transition that is needed? Because they have to be involved and it is not against the farmers that we will achieve some change. And this change will always have to be gradual, allowing better salaries for farmers, respecting farmers and the rural world.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, it is not acceptable for a ruler, a single ruler, Mr Viktor Orbán, to harm European citizens – the 450 million European citizens – by blackmailing and blocking them, and blackmail can never be rewarded. The challenges we face imply de facto solidarity: concrete actions and coordinated and joint actions. Nationalism is not the solution. Proudly alone is not a solution and we therefore ask the Council to decide quickly on the revision of the multiannual financial framework. There is an urgent need to support Ukraine. There is an urgent need to have financial resources for this and you have €40 billion a year on the table in revenues that do not harm, do not overburden European citizens. It is urgent for you to decide, in order to have resources for migration, for strategic investments, for the strategic autonomy of the European Union. We therefore hope that in the next Council you will decide and that the Council will not be the sum of 27 national selfishnesses.

Madam President, Prime Minister, Ladies and Gentlemen, the Belgian Presidency has a duty – indeed an obligation – to contribute to a strong, capable, secure European Union; a European Union that is both competitive, solidarity-based and cohesive; a geopolitical European Union with global strength; a European Union that, for this, must have common projects, strategic investments. I ask the Prime Minister of Belgium whether he is ready to move quickly towards the revision of the multiannual financial framework, whether he is ready to decide on revenues that do not penalise citizens and that are on the table, allowing to add EUR 40 billion to the EU budget. We need to continue to support Ukraine, to have strategic projects, to have global strength, and for that we need investments. We can't wait any longer. Parliament is waiting. The Council cannot postpone this. Apathy must end.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, my first message goes to the Council. There are new revenues on the table, new own resources, worth EUR 40 billion a year, which gives us the European Union that we all want and that you also proclaim: a strong, capable, geopolitical European Union that delivers on its commitments. Make up your mind! We've made up our minds. The European Commission has also proposed. We have other recipes on the table, but this is an opportunity that should not be missed. And the Council must make its commitments: support Ukraine, pay off the debt of the recovery and resilience plans and defend strategic projects that contribute to the autonomy of the European Union. What will STEP do with these strategic projects? Do you only defend them with proclamations or are you also going to give funding? It is that having a competitive Europe and investing in it is not a cost, it is something that will bring a future. This will allow not only competitiveness but also territorial cohesion. It's up to you to decide. They have the solution, which is new own resources. Your action is urgent. The European Union cannot wait any longer. Stop making proclamations. Move on to action.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, a compliment also to the Presidency of the Council, we all know that the budget of the European Union is small: around 1% of the European Union’s gross domestic product, and around €189 billion in 2024. But it is essential for our competitiveness, for our productivity, for the cohesion of the territory, for our internal solidarity and external solidarity. I would like to thank our rapporteurs, and in particular Colleague Siegfried Mureşan, for achieving, in the face of constraints in the Multiannual Financial Framework, significant increases in European Parliament priorities such as Horizon Europe - the research programme -, support for young farmers by an additional EUR 20 million, and also support for Erasmus+, with a reinforcement of EUR 60 million, and support for humanitarian aid, increased by EUR 250 million. I now turn to the presidency. I hope that in your Presidency, in our Presidency of the European Union, there will still be a revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework. And I have one more request for Member States: It is essential that they execute, that they execute quickly. They are implementing the RRP and the Cohesion Policy funds very slowly. And one more request for both the Commission and the Council: we need to extend the timeline of the Recovery and Resilience Plans. The 2026 deadline is an exaggerated deadline. Parliament is available for such a review.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, today the European Parliament will give the green light for the introduction of three new own resources, three new revenue for the European Union budget. There is an urgent need for the Council to decide. It is unacceptable for the Council to delay. The own resources decision-making process is one of the most time-consuming. The European Commission has made the proposal, we give the green light, the Council has to decide unanimously and the national parliaments ratify according to their constitution. This unanimity must be used well, it must be used to strike a balance. What is my prediction is not acceptable either. There are Member States, which, as usual, will use unanimity to try to win on other files and blackmail the European Commission and the other Member States. And that will be truly inconceivable and unacceptable. These three own resources, a package of resources, there is not just one, this is not just by chance. Nor is it by chance, because one touches another Member State, the other touches another Member State and the whole is balanced. Therefore, these three own resources, which must move forward quickly. The challenges of the European Union do not stop. We have war in Ukraine, war in the Middle East, the need for humanitarian aid, the need for the reconstruction of Ukraine, the goal of enlargement. More and more challenges that cannot mean more taxes on citizens and, here, the next own resources, in addition to the objective we advocate in environmental terms, in climate terms, should also contribute to tax justice and to, and I conclude, Madam President, the objective of combating tax fraud, tax avoidance and tax evasion. And in the European Union, the Commission's accounts, it is about the equivalent of seven annual budgets, EUR 1 trillion that is lost each year in tax fraud, tax evasion and tax avoidance. We can have more revenue, benefit all citizens of the European Union, because the European Union budget benefits everyone and, at the same time, respond positively and positively to the challenges we have.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, first of all, my words go to the co-rapporteur, Valérie Hayer, with whom we have done a fruitful job for this objective, this long-standing desire, which is to have new revenue for the European Union budget. It has always been our objective and, moreover, it should be noted that the revenue from the Union budget should be genuine. No one can feel the owner of the budget, a budget where everyone is a beneficiary, where the distinction between net beneficiaries and net contributors is unacceptable. With this proposal and in view of the urgency of paying off the debt of the Recovery and Resilience Plan, we have a solution that does not penalise European citizens, a solution that even helps to achieve the policy objectives in the areas of environment and tax justice. It should be noted that the repayment of NextGenerationEU debt, which gave rise to the Recovery and Resilience Plans, has a brutal impact on the European Union budget. This debt will be paid by 2058. Let us not forget that it is within the budget at the moment, which we regret. If we look at 2021-2027, EUR 15 billion was planned for interest alone. Well, it will be about EUR 30 billion. And after 2027 depreciation must also be paid and by 2058, the equivalent of about 20% of the European Union budget. It would be unacceptable not to have new revenue that is sufficient to pay this debt. Moreover, the Council, in an interinstitutional agreement, has adopted a roadmap for the creation of new resources, precisely in order to ensure that they are sufficient to pay the debt, so that we do not damage or cut funds and programmes. It would be against the next generations, against the future, against farmers and cohesion, if we did not have new revenues. Congratulations to the European Commission because it made the proposal, it complied, it has a set of three new own resources, based on the emission allowance market, the carbon market and a statistical revenue, a resource that already exists applied to multinationals. And with these resources we get about EUR 45 billion a year, an amount that is more than enough to pay off the debt and even reduce national contributions. We cannot burden European citizens with more taxes. Those who don't pay must pay. Those who benefit the most from the internal market should contribute the most. And then we must have revenue, own resources, which will also help not only to achieve fair taxation, fair competition, such as the carbon border adjustment mechanism, but also, at the same time, these new resources will make it possible to achieve global environmental objectives and, therefore, the emission allowance market and, therefore, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. The Council can decide, the Council has everything to decide and hopefully not too late.

Madam President, we need a strong, competitive, inclusive Europe, a secure Europe, a geopolitical Europe, and for that we need the Energy Union, interconnections, the Digital Union, the Union of defence, civil protection, health... And besides, we can't shut ourselves down. And here, trade agreements with Africa and Latin America, in particular Mercosur, are important. And I ask: How is the Mercosur agreement? It was very important that it was approved. Its ratification was urgent. And this bloc, based on values of 800 million people and more than 21% of GDP, could help global stability, peace and stability also in Africa. I hope that this geopolitical union will move forward and become a reality, for the benefit of the European Union and of all the world's citizens.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, Commissioner, my questions are to the Council. Why do they take so long to decide and often don't? And then European citizens put everything in the same bag and think it's the fault of Brussels, the European Parliament, the Commission. It's your responsibility! The Multiannual Financial Framework - there is an urgent need to revise it. Why haven't they decided yet? We need strategic autonomy. When do you have the mandate for STEP? It is important to support Ukraine. When do they unblock the Ukraine Facility? They take time, they don't decide, and it's urgent that we decide. This waiting is unacceptable. We all know that the 2024 budget will only be sufficient and capable, including for humanitarian support, which is urgent, if we have a revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework. And I'll finish with another request. We need new revenue, new own resources. We cannot penalise the next generations and we must pay the debt of the RRP, which will be paid by 2058. It's urgent. Hurry up, make up your mind. European citizens are grateful and waiting.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, Presidency, European citizens deserve a budget that lives up to their expectations and responds to the needs and challenges we face. And for that, we need a sufficient budget, a capable budget, a budget that supports research, farmers - and here a highlight to a proposal that we have for an increase of EUR 40 million for young farmers, young people with Erasmus+, Creative Europe, the social and territorial cohesion that is absolutely necessary. And in order to have this budget capable and sufficient, we also need humanitarian aid, support for Ukraine. But also, in order to have this sufficient and capable budget, we need the revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework and I hope that the Spanish Presidency will have this success that, in its mandate until the end of this year, we will have this revision. The revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework is absolutely essential for us to have the budget that Europeans expect and that Europeans also deserve. I have that confidence and I also make this challenge here and I hope that the Commission will work together as well. But now all this is in the hands of the Council. We are, as always, ready to negotiate and we are waiting for the Council to resolve it.

Madam President, we would like to request a plenary vote on the referral back to committee for interinstitutional negotiations in accordance with Rule 59(4).

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, I want to thank all this debate by those who are pro-European and who want the well-being of European citizens. This debate has also proved, once again, that the extreme – left and the extreme – right unite against everything that is progress, development, resources for financing, even in this objective of strengthening the strategic autonomy of the European Union. And not investing in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, biotechnology, green technologies is a huge detriment to European citizens and future generations. I therefore hope that the Council will be up to the task and support this STEP fund. We are ready to negotiate, tomorrow we will have the negotiating mandate. I hope that the Council, instead of only making proclamations about strategic autonomy and its importance, will also defend this same autonomy with concrete actions and with this regulation. Opportunities are not lacking. With this regulation, we have enabled Member States to improve their capacity to absorb the storm of millions that they currently have at their disposal and a few million that they refuse. Mr Commissioner, until 31 August, it was possible to claim the amount of loans that the Member States had at their disposal. The Member States did not want EUR 93 billion. What we are proposing is that this amount can be recovered so that it can be put, for example, as a guarantee in financial instruments such as InvestEU. And then we would have a much greater possibility of investment than other countries, and in particular the United States. There is political will. We are ready to move forward, we are ready and we hope that the Council will be much more than the sum of 27 national egoisms and move towards the work of the common good, towards the development of the entire European Union.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, the European Union's strategic autonomy is essential for our competitiveness, for our social cohesion, for our quality of life and, therefore, we must ensure that, rather than words, it is a reality. We must therefore move on to action instead of sticking to the proclamations that so often exist in the Council, and then there is no such will to materialize those proclamations. We need strategic investments in this area, that strengthen our autonomy, that contribute to the geopolitical union that we so much demand. At the same time, these investments need to be matched with the qualifications of Europeans, in order to be successful, to achieve the objectives, namely the climate objectives. I want to congratulate the European Commission, because the Commission has made a smart proposal. STEP is the first step, a step, in the right direction towards the creation of a Sovereignty Fund. If we set up a fund and did not use the existing programmes and funds, we would reach the end of the Multiannual Financial Framework and we would have no fund and we were wasting time. Therefore, the Commission is making a proposal where STEP is not a fund, but uses existing funds and programmes, such as InvestEU, Horizon Europe, the European Defence Fund, health programmes, cohesion policy, to immediately be able to move forward with projects that have this quality label for the objective of the European Union's strategic autonomy. There is one thing that is extremely important here: These projects add value not only where they are carried out, but also throughout the European Union. I would like to thank Christian Ehler, all the shadow rapporteurs, for the work we have done. I believe that we have substantially improved the Commission's proposal. First of all in governance, which is important. It is essential that there are synergies in these funds, that there is a geographical balance, that the investment platforms, the technologies used are not in a single area, in a single sector, that there is transparency. Therefore, we have what we call the STEP Committee, a structure that will give the seal and a structure that will take advantage of the work done by each of the programmes and instruments and that, therefore, does not add bureaucracy. On the contrary, it reduces that same bureaucracy, because we want the projects to be fast. I would add that we believe that the Commission's proposal to strengthen the programmes by EUR 10 billion is insufficient, and so we are asking for another EUR 3 billion, where we have allocated EUR 1.2 billion for InvestEU, EUR 800 million for Horizon Europe and EUR 1 million for the European Defence Fund. Another point that I think is important is the confidence that we give to the territory and the regions. The regions must then implement projects that they too deserve the SETP stamp. Projects funded by the European Commission, in our proposal, can also go to the portal, they also receive the STEP stamp, the stamp of excellence. There is one point here that is extremely important: regions have a huge opportunity here and less developed regions can take advantage of STEP to make investments in this area with up to 100% co-financing, an opportunity that I hope will not be missed.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, it is our obligation to defend freedom, democracy, the rule of law, the defence of life and human dignity and, therefore, we support Ukraine and, therefore, we must continue to support these values. By supporting Ukraine, we are defending the citizens of the European Union. There is an urgent need for the Council to decide and decide, inter alia, to revise the Multiannual Financial Framework to make this aid possible. The programmed assistance ends this year and the current budget has no margins, no flexibility to enable the continuation of this support. In the negotiations on the multiannual budget, we had already mentioned that we had an insufficient budget, with little flexibility and that we would not be able to respond not only to current challenges but also to unforeseen situations. That is why we are now reviewing the Union budget, and we are talking about support, between loans and grants, of around EUR 50 billion. But not doing so would cost much more, so action is urgently needed. Here is the call for the Council to act and act swiftly to approve the revision of the multiannual financial framework for this objective, which is an obligation we have: continue to support Ukraine.