Verbatim report of proceedings of 23 June 2022
Date: 2022-06-23
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: European Parliament, parliamentary debate








C_202406031EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series














10.10.2024







            23 June 2022
            VERBATIM REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS OF 23 JUNE 2022
            
         
(C/2024/6031)

Contents







1.

Opening of the sitting
4










2.

Gas storage (debate)
4










3.

National vetoes to undermine the global tax deal (debate)
14










4.

Composition of committees and delegations
24










5.

Resumption of the sitting
24










6.

Formal sitting – Address by Hakainde Hichilema, President of the Republic of Zambia
24










7.

Composition of Parliament
31










8.

Voting time
31










8.1.

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) (vote)
32










8.2.

Exceptional temporary support under EAFRD in response to the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine (C9-0185/2022) (vote)
32










8.3.

Gas storage (C9-0126/2022 - Cristian-Silviu Bușoi) (vote)
32










8.4.

EU Digital COVID Certificate – Union citizens (A9-0138/2022 - Juan Fernando López Aguilar) (vote)
32










8.5.

EU Digital COVID Certificate – third-country nationals (A9-0137/2022 - Juan Fernando López Aguilar) (vote)
33










8.6.

Draft amending budget No 3/2022: financing reception costs of people fleeing Ukraine (A9-0181/2022 - Karlo Ressler) (vote)
33










8.7.

Mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund: application EGF/2022/001 FR/Air France – France (A9-0183/2022 - Fabienne Keller) (vote)
33










8.8.

Mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund: application EGF/2021/008 EL/Attica electrical equipment manufacturing – Greece (A9-0185/2022 - Bogdan Rzońca) (vote)
33










8.9.

Objection pursuant to Rule 112(2) and (3): Antimicrobials or groups of antimicrobials reserved for treatment of certain infections in humans (B9-0327/2022) (vote)
33










8.10.

Objection pursuant to Rule 112(2) and (3): Genetically-modified maize DP4114 × MON 810 × MIR604 × NK603 and genetically modified maize combining two or three of the single events DP4114, MON 810, MIR604 and NK603 (B9-0328/2022) (vote)
33










8.11.

Objection pursuant to Rule 112(2) and (3): Genetically-modified maize NK603 × T25 × DAS-40278-9 and its sub-combination T25 × DAS-40278-9 (B9-0326/2022) (vote)
33










8.12.

Nomination of a member of the Court of Auditors – Stephanus Abraham Blok (A9-0180/2022 - Markus Pieper) (vote)
33










8.13.

Renewal of the Agreement for scientific and technological cooperation between the European Community and the Federative Republic of Brazil (A9-0176/2022 - Cristian-Silviu Bușoi) (vote)
33










8.14.

Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters: accession by the European Union (A9-0177/2022 - Sabrina Pignedoli) (vote)
33










8.15.

Illegal logging in the EU (B9-0329/2022) (vote)
33










8.16.

Implementation and delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals (A9-0174/2022 - Barry Andrews, Petros Kokkalis) (vote)
33










8.17.

Implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (A9-0171/2022 - Eider Gardiazabal Rubial, Siegfried Mureșan, Dragoș Pîslaru) (vote)
34










8.18.

Inclusion measures within Erasmus+ 2014-2020 (A9-0158/2022 - Laurence Farreng) (vote)
34










8.19.

2021 Report on Montenegro (A9-0151/2022 - Tonino Picula) (vote)
34










8.20.

Future of EU-Africa trade relations (A9-0169/2022 - Helmut Scholz) (vote)
34










8.21.

Future of EU international investment policy (A9-0166/2022 - Anna Cavazzini) (vote)
34










9.

Explanations of vote
34










9.1.

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)
34










9.2.

Gas storage (C9-0126/2022 - Cristian-Silviu Bușoi)
36










9.3.

Draft amending budget No 3/2022: financing reception costs of people fleeing Ukraine (A9-0181/2022 - Karlo Ressler)
36










9.4.

Illegal logging in the EU (B9-0329/2022)
37










9.5.

Implementation and delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals (A9-0174/2022 - Barry Andrews, Petros Kokkalis)
38










9.6.

Implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (A9-0171/2022 - Eider Gardiazabal Rubial, Siegfried Mureșan, Dragoș Pîslaru)
38










9.7.

Inclusion measures within Erasmus+ 2014-2020 (A9-0158/2022 - Laurence Farreng)
39










9.8.

Future of EU-Africa trade relations (A9-0169/2022 - Helmut Scholz)
40










10.

Corrections to votes and voting intentions: see Minutes
40










11.

Modified referrals to committees (Rule 56): see Minutes
40










12.

Amendment of the Rules of Procedure (Rule 237): see Minutes
40










13.

Transfers of appropriations and budgetary decisions: see Minutes
40










14.

Documents received: see Minutes
40










15.

Approval of the minutes of the part-session and forwarding of texts adopted
40










16.

Dates of forthcoming sittings: see Minutes
41










17.

Closure of the sitting
41










18.

Adjournment of the session
41




Verbatim report of proceedings of 23 June 2022
                  


PREDSEDÁ: MICHAL ŠIMEČKA


podpredseda

1.   Opening of the sitting

President. – First of all good morning everyone. I sincerely apologise for the delay due to the transport situation. I hope it wasn't too much of an inconvenience.

(Rokovanie sa začalo o 9.12 h.)

2.   Gas storage (debate)

Predsedajúci. – Rokovanie sa týmto začalo a prvý bod programu rokovania je správa ‘Skladovanie plynu’, ktorú predkladá pán Cristian-Silviu Bușoi, v mene Výboru pre priemysel, výskum a energetiku (COM(2022)0135 - C9-0126/2022 - 2022/0090(COD).
               

Cristian-Silviu Bușoi,
rapporteur. – Mr President, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, distinguished colleagues, at the 24 March European Summit, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, told the Heads of State and Government that Parliament was ready to deliver the necessary political deal to ensure that our gas storage was filled next winter.
I'm very glad to be here today in front of you on behalf of the ITRE Committee to tell you that indeed we have. On 7 April, this Chamber entrusted the ITRE Committee to negotiate this crucial piece of legislation, and on 19 May we reached a political agreement between co-legislators after long hours of negotiations in what was a second trilogue.
The legislation, if adopted, will enter into force in July. It gives Member States the possibility to take numerous measures to achieve their target, but also wants to ensure that non-market-based measures are only used when the market cannot do it alone. It will ensure that our gas storages are filled at a minimum 80% capacity by November this year, aiming for 85% and, from next year, a minimum 90%.
Above all, this agreement shows the will of the EU institutions and Member States to act together in solidarity to strengthen the EU's resilience and preparedness against external threats and in protection of European citizens. In addition, understanding the gravity of the situation generated by the Russian war against Ukraine, we have introduced a certification procedure by which every storage operator will have to demonstrate they are not a danger to our security of supply or our national security if they wish to retain ownership of the storage. We will not allow those wanting to influence and threaten our way of life to access our critical infrastructure.
We also introduced a voluntary mechanism for joint procurement of gas, and I congratulate the European Commission for moving very fast to nominate the Deputy Director-General and to set up this platform and the regional platforms, because we need that in order to offset possible price increases derived from the storage-filling obligations.
The House made it clear that the measures to fulfil our filling targets will be taken with a clear idea that we have to protect our security of supply and diversify our sources. Sadly, the war is still going on and the political games played by Russia with our gas supplies only have confirmed that our actions are justified and that sooner rather than later we have to cut ourselves off our toxic dependency on Russian fuels, fossil fuels.
Our work will continue in that direction and through the December gas and hydrogen package, the REPowerEU plan and the speedy implementation of the Fit for 55 measures we will, I am sure, deliver once again.
Allow me to finish by quickly underlining the outstanding job done by the Parliament's negotiating team, led by former President Buzek and composed of Patricia Toia, Kleman Grošelj, Marie Toussaint, Paolo Borchia, Professor Krasnodębski and Sandra Pereira. They have worked under a lot of pressure, but in a consensual manner, representing their groups faithfully and constructively.
Therefore, Mr President, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, dear colleagues, I conclude my statement today by congratulating my colleagues and showing them my full gratitude and appreciation, thanking the European Commission for the initiative and the very good cooperation during the negotiations, and also thanking the Member States, the European Council and the Council of the European Union for the very constructive attitude.

Frans Timmermans,
Executive Vice-President of the Commission. – Mr President, honourable Members, thank you for inviting the Commission to speak at today's debate. Commissioner Simson passes on her apologies for not being here today.
We know that energy security is the main topic of the day for many, many reasons. Russia has weaponised energy and we have seen further gas disruptions announced in recent days. All this is part of Russia's strategy to undermine our unity. In total, 12 Member States are now affected by Russian unilateral supply cuts. Ten Member States have issued an early warning under the Gas Security of Supply Regulation. So the risk of full gas disruption is now more real than ever before. That is why the adoption of the Gas Storage Regulation, together with other preparedness measures, is so important at this moment.
The good news is that the political agreement between the European Parliament and the Council has already led to results. Current gas storage levels, which are above 50% of our capacity, are well above last year's situation. So now is the time to go the extra mile. The Gas Storage Regulation includes not only a minimum obligatory level that gas storage facilities have to reach by 1 November each year, it also includes a trajectory and a monitoring system to ensure we meet our target.
The first monitoring verification will happen in August this year, so we need to be ready by that time. The regulation was announced on 8 March, the proposal on 23 March, and the political agreement was reached with the Council on 19 May. This was a record time and – I want to echo what honourable Member Bușoi said – this is really thanks to the excellent work of the ITRE Committee and the negotiating team. I'm really grateful for what you have done. This is remarkable.
So let me highlight some important points of the regulation. First, we welcome that the political agreement is an 80% filling target for 2022 with an important political commitment to seek to reach 85% at EU level. The filling target will rise to 90% for next year and will stay in place until 31 December 2025. Member States without storage capacity will also need to contribute in a spirit of solidarity to ensure that this level is achieved.
Second, we welcome that an agreement was reached on the filling trajectories with enforceable trajectories and intermediary targets already identified and included in the Act of 2022.
Third, for the first time ever, there will be a procedure to certify storage operators to make sure that influence by third country entities does not risk the security of the Union or any Member State.
Fourth, the regulation includes a provision on voluntary joint procurement for gas. As you know, last month the College of Commissioners adopted the creation of an energy platform task force in DG-ENER, and I also want to thank honourable Member Bușoi for referring to it.
Finally, Member States have reiterated their commitment to the ‘energy efficiency first’ principle. So the regulation is based on a fair and balanced burden-sharing mechanism. The unity and solidarity that the Member States and the European institutions show have been a pivotal signal to the markets, to our citizens, but also to our adversary.
He will not be able to divide us. We will stay united and we will make sure that Ukraine will come out of this as a free, independent country that is allowed to make its own choices of its allegiances.

Jerzy Buzek,
w imieniu grupy PPE. – Panie Przewodniczący! Dziękuję, panie wiceprzewodniczący Komisji, za świetnie przygotowany tekst. Chciałem państwu powiedzieć, że dzisiaj mamy 23 czerwca — to jest dokładnie trzy miesiące po tym, jak Komisja położyła na stole tę regulację, a więc to rekord.
               

                  Chciałem pogratulować i podziękować koleżankom i kolegom z zespołu negocjacyjnego, bo negocjacje były naprawdę przykładem solidarności i współpracy. Dlatego wielkie gratulacje. Udało nam się doprowadzić to do końca. Co najważniejsze, mamy regulację, która jest solidna. Przede wszystkim mechanizmy rynkowe w napełnianiu gazu, ale również możliwość wspólnych zakupów, co było zawsze jakimś marzeniem Parlamentu Europejskiego. Sto procent ulg w taryfach dla gazu płynnego z gazoportów, certyfikacja magazynów, aby nie były one w niebezpiecznych rękach. I wreszcie włączone kraje Partnerstwa Wschodniego, kraje Wspólnoty Energetycznej, zwłaszcza Ukraina – na tym nam zależy.
               

                  Niestety nie udało nam się zrobić jednej rzeczy – mówię o tym, żeby jednak ograniczyć napełnianie rosyjskim gazem. Ale to jest tylko jeden mankament tak złożonej regulacji. Bardzo dziękuję. Gratuluję wszystkim koleżankom i kolegom. Oczywiście zachęcam do głosowania za.
               

Patrizia Toia,
a nome del gruppo S&D. – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, il regolamento che approviamo oggi è un tassello dentro una strategia più ampia, un quadro più completo, quella strategia che l'Europa si è data, primo continente al mondo, di cambiare radicalmente il suo modello di approvvigionamento energetico, dall'energia fossile all'energia rinnovabile.
               

                  La guerra che la Russia ha portato in Ucraina, la sciagurata guerra non ha che aggravato questa situazione e accelerato il nostro cammino.
               

                  Ora, io voglio dire che con questo regolamento noi ci prepariamo ad assicurare ai cittadini europei, all'industria, alla mobilità europea, la sicurezza di poter affrontare la fredda stagione che abbiamo davanti e di potere dunque essere garantiti che ci saranno continuità di forniture e continuità di possibilità di ricorrere al bisogno energetico.
               

                  Mi interessa dire che in questo provvedimento, pur settoriale, ci sono i segni, gli elementi, direi le tracce di quello che è il nostro disegno, che è quello di costruire una politica comune energetica e di arrivare all'Unione dell'energia.
               

                  Faccio tre esempi: la possibilità degli acquisti comuni per un'Europa più forte e naturalmente volontari, ma per un'Europa più forte. La possibilità di meccanismi di scambio tra Stati membri, quelli che hanno possibilità di siti e di capienza, di forniture, di stoccaggio e quelli che non ce l'hanno. Quindi possibilità di condividere questa responsabilità e relativi oneri per un'Europa più solidale.
               

                  Il principio dell'efficienza energetica, che anche in questo momento contingente è stato richiamato per un'Europa più verde. Dunque un provvedimento che va nella giusta direzione. Dobbiamo però sapere che metterà in atto – inevitabilmente, lo sta già facendo, perché se la Russia riduce le forniture in questo momento in cui abbiamo bisogno di riempire gli stoccaggi – non è casuale mettere in atto un meccanismo di rialzo dei prezzi.
               

                  Per questo, signor vicepresidente, a Lei, ma soprattutto al Consiglio, chiediamo coraggio e responsabilità. I prezzi vanno calmierati, può essere il tetto – e speriamo che questi giorni venga fuori qualcosa di nuovo – può essere un intervento di monitoraggio e di attenzione al funzionamento della piattaforma di Amsterdam TTF, che certamente non è scevra da situazioni che andrebbero maggiormente monitorate. Insomma, chiediamo che ci sia responsabilità anche sui prezzi, oltre che capacità di strategia.
               

Klemen Grošelj,
v imenu skupine Renew. – Gospod predsedujoči! Gre za enega ključnih ukrepov zagotavljanja energetske varnosti oziroma oskrbe s plinom evropskih potrošnikov.
               

                  Pred nami je nabor ukrepov, ki so začasne narave in so predvsem odziv na brutalno rusko agresijo na Ukrajino in s tem povezanim ruskim energetskim izsiljevanjem. Zemeljski plin je tako kot hrana postal Putinovo orožje izsiljevanja in destabilizacije Evropske unije pri doseganju svojih neo imperialnih ciljev. Uspešno skladiščenje plina bo zagotovilo nemoteno delovanje enotnega energetskega trga in zagotovilo nujno solidarnost med državami članicami.
               

                  Povsem jasno je, tudi glede na pretekle izkušnje, da lahko le skupaj kot EU preprečimo resne motnje na energetskem trgu. Pomemben vidik je tudi, da se postavlja pravni in tehnični okvir statičnega skladiščenja plina in preprečuje energetski nacionalizem, s katerim bi energetska kriza prerasla v politično krizo in razkol znotraj EU. To pa je, ne smemo pozabiti, tudi eden izmed Putinovih ciljev.
               

                  Pomembno je poudariti, da uredba v ničemer ne ovira ali omejuje naše strateške cilje, zapisane v zelenem prehodu. Nasprotno, vzpostavlja okvir energetske varnosti, ki bo omogočil uspešen zeleni prehod tudi v zaostrenih geopolitičnih okoliščnih.
               

Marie Toussaint,
au nom du groupe Verts/ALE. – Monsieur le Président, ‘notre dépendance au gaz russe pose des risques économiques, sociaux, écologiques et physiques à l'Europe’. Cette phrase ne date pas d'hier. Elle date de l'an 2000. Elle appelle à sortir de cette dépendance via la diversification des sources d'approvisionnement et des obligations de stockage suffisant pour couvrir les besoins de la population et limiter la hausse des prix. Cela date donc de 22 ans. Voilà 22 ans que nous prétendons que nous agissons et que nous ne faisons rien.
               

                  Nous y sommes enfin, aujourd'hui, avec le texte que nous adoptons. Sauf qu'entre-temps, Poutine a accédé au pouvoir et étendu, avec notre contribution active, l'emprise de Gazprom. Sauf qu'entre-temps, la crise climatique s'est accélérée et nous contraint à ne pas seulement sortir du gaz russe, mais à sortir au plus vite du gaz tout court.
               

                  Alors il est heureux que l'Union se décide enfin à agir face à la terrible guerre que Poutine mène à l'Ukraine. Mais nous tirons aussi la sonnette d'alarme: si les obligations de stockage que nous imposons nous enferment dans le gaz pour plusieurs décennies, alors nous violerons l'accord de Paris et nous causerons de nombreuses souffrances humaines. Alors pas de dépendance nouvelle aux énergies fossiles. Mais le climat et la paix.
               

Paolo Borchia,
a nome del gruppo ID. – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, grazie relatore e un ringraziamento doveroso anche al presidente Buzek, che è stato paziente tessitore di un accordo finale inclusivo delle diversità e delle diverse sensibilità espresse dai gruppi politici.
               

                  Questa è una fase anomala nella storia del mercato dell'energia e fa emergere con chiarezza tutti i limiti della crociata contro il gas a cui abbiamo assistito in quest'Aula per troppo tempo. Una crociata promossa da chi si rifiutava, magari tuttora rifiuta di accettare che il gas sia una fonte di transizione imprescindibile.
               

                  Al di là di questo, ritengo che il rischio maggiore della sua impostazione dell'obbligatorietà dei livelli di stoccaggio sia quello di creare tensione sul tema dei prezzi del gas. Tuttavia, l'accoglimento da parte del Consiglio della proposta al mio gruppo di mantenere una soglia più bassa porterà verosimilmente a dei risparmi sul lato dei prezzi.
               

                  Nessuna soluzione è stata adottata per porre argine alle speculazioni sui prezzi del gas e questa sarà la prossima urgenza su cui lavorare.
               

Zdzisław Krasnodębski,
w imieniu grupy ECR. – Panie Przewodniczący! Muszę powiedzieć, że rzeczywistość potrafi zaskakiwać. Trudno było bowiem przypuszczać, powiedzmy rok temu, że to właśnie jeden z liderów Zielonych w Europie, nieprzejednanych obrońców klimatu, obecnie wicekanclerz Niemiec, będzie ogłaszał ponowne uruchomienie elektrowni węglowych. Trudno było oczekiwać, że ten Parlament, który za cel postawił sobie bohaterską i bezkompromisową walkę z kopalnymi źródłami energii, wypowie się za obowiązkiem wypełniania gazem magazynów w całej Unii. Ten powrót realizmu jest czymś godnym poparcia i chciałbym podziękować wszystkim kolegom, panu premierowi Buzkowi za doskonałą współpracę.
               

                  Mimo to, jako ECR nie możemy zagłosować za tak przyjętym porozumieniem. A to dlatego, że gaz, którym chcemy wypełnić te zbiorniki, ma pochodzić głównie z Rosji. A to oznacza, że w decydujących miesiącach wojny zamierzamy wspierać Rosję dodatkowymi pieniędzmi. I to pewnie rublami – bo niektóre państwa płacą w rublach, jak wiadomo – przyczyniając się do dalszych popełnianych przez Rosję zbrodni wojennych, a może nawet do jej zwycięstwa.
               

                  Przygotowywana w pilnym trybie nowelizacja mogła przyczynić się do ograniczenia strumienia finansowego zasilającego rosyjską wojnę w Europie. Ale podjęcie decyzji o utworzeniu zapasów z innych źródeł albo przynajmniej o uprzywilejowaniu tych innych źródeł było zbyt odważne dla głównych grup politycznych tego Parlamentu i głównie dla Rady. Mimo że wówczas wyszlibyśmy z twarzą, nie tworząc przynajmniej poprzez to rozporządzenie zachęty – a tak jest niestety – do zakupu jeszcze większej ilości gazu z Rosji.
               

                  Tymczasem, jak wiemy, Rosja stopniowo przykręca kurek, pokazując swoją siłę, a my jesteśmy bezradni i mówimy o celach na następnych dziesięć, dwadzieścia lat, nie reagując odpowiednio w tej sytuacji.
               

Sandra Pereira,
em nome do Grupo The Left. – Senhor Presidente, a atual situação mostra que a segurança do abastecimento energético não deve ficar dependente de contingências de mercado que, como tem estado à vista, a ameaçam.
               

                  Na ausência do controlo público do sector, quando as condições de mercado não são atrativas para os agentes privados abastecerem os níveis mínimos que se consideram necessários por razões de segurança do aprovisionamento, os Estados são chamados a pagar a conta.
               

                  Se são os povos a pagar duplamente, por um lado as metas de armazenamento e, por outro lado, as já elevadas faturas de gás, porque insistem nesta lógica de mercado? Reverta-se o processo de privatização e liberalização do sector energético que tanto tem lesado os povos.
               

                  Este acordo e o seu procedimento urgente têm origem nas sanções impostas à Rússia que, assuma-se, afetam duramente os povos europeus e, se beneficiam alguém, é só os Estados Unidos da América. E daí advém também esta necessidade ou a obrigação de os países garantirem certos níveis de reservas energéticas, correndo o risco de substituir umas dependências por outras e de acrescerem impactos ambientais nocivos.
               

Tiziana Beghin (NI). – Signor Presidente, Commissario, onorevoli colleghi, per affrontare il prossimo inverno è imperativo riempire i depositi strategici di gas. Tuttavia il costo della materia prima interferisce con questa operazione.
               

                  Il prezzo del gas si aggira oggi intorno ai 120 euro al megawattora, contro nemmeno 19 euro di un anno fa. E questo non è dovuto solamente alla guerra in Ucraina e alle interferenze russe, ma anche all'ingestibile speculazione che affligge i mercati internazionali.
               

                  Il Movimento 5 Stelle chiede subito un tetto massimo al prezzo del gas, affiancato però anche da una tassa sulle transazioni finanziarie nei mercati dell'energia per legare le mani agli speculatori.
               

                  Chiediamo anche alla Commissione di procedere all'acquisto congiunto di gas, ma senza dimenticare il vero obiettivo del lungo periodo, la transizione ecologica, che potrà essere raggiunta solo tramite un nuovo Recovery Fund europeo destinato esclusivamente al finanziamento di quest'ultima. Un passo fondamentale per realizzare un'Unione europea green e non più prigioniera dei combustibili fossili.
               

Maria da Graça Carvalho (PPE). – Senhor Presidente, Caro Vice-Presidente da Comissão, Caros Colegas, felicito o Senhor Bușoi e toda a equipa pelo acordo alcançado num dossiê importante e urgente. Essas medidas significam que a União Europeia estará mais bem preparada para lidar com novas crises e aumentos na procura da energia.
               

                  Destaco a introdução do mínimo obrigatório de 80% para o armazenamento de gás e refiro, com agrado, que o meu país, Portugal, está bem posicionado para o cumprir. Mas este é apenas um dos passos necessários para garantir a segurança da energia na União Europeia.
               

                  É ainda preciso diversificar fontes, fornecedores, recursos, construir as infraestruturas que ainda faltam, aumentar a eficiência energética, bem como o recurso às energias renováveis e criar as condições para uma verdadeira economia e sociedade do hidrogénio.
               

Dan Nica (S&D). – Domnule președinte, domnule vicepreședinte Timmermans, este o plăcere să vă avem astăzi aici și să vă spun că, din punctul nostru de vedere, această directivă era un lucru mai mult decât necesar, pentru că elimină unul din motivele de speculații pe care îl aveam în piața gazelor din Uniunea Europeană, și anume lipsa unui nivel minim obligatoriu de depozitare a gazelor naturale. Și este evident că acum trebuie să ne uităm puțin și către ceea ce înseamnă pasul următor: capacități disponibile.
               

                  Domnule vicepreședinte Timmermans, apelez la dumneavoastră ca aceste mine de sare să devină o obligativitate pentru a fi utilizate în depozitarea gazelor, ele reprezentând, de altfel, și singura soluție tehnică de depozitare în condiții de siguranță a hidrogenului.
               

                  De ce unii se opun să fie folosite minele de sare ? Pentru că au un mare avantaj, care nu le convine celor care speculează prețul gazelor, și anume că poți să extragi gazul și zilnic dacă vrei, spre deosebire de depozitele tradiționale, unde nu se poate face decât de două ori pe an. Și acest lucru ar face să existe un mecanism pe intervenția asupra prețului gazelor și să limităm aceste creșteri care sunt speculative.
               

                  Vreau să spun și eu ce au spus și ceilalți colegi ai mei: domnule vicepreședinte Timmermans, vă rog să-i spuneți domnului comisar Simson un mesaj foarte clar: hubul de gaze de la Amsterdam este cel care provoacă aceste creșteri, care nu sunt justificate, nu au nicio legătură cu costul de achiziție a gazelor și acolo sunt profituri care depășesc orice limită a bunului simț.
               

                  Iar doamna comisar Vestager a demarat o anchetă asupra modului în care sunt formate prețurile la acest hub de gaze TTF de la Amsterdam și sperăm să vedem un rezultat al acestei anchete imediat, pentru că este inacceptabil să existe marje de profit de 100 %, să nu poți să cumperi gazul cu un preț și să-l vinzi de cinci ori mai scump. Acest lucru a dus la inflație și a dus la o situație economică grea.
               

Claudia Gamon (Renew). – Herr Präsident! Ja, es geht darum, dass wir mehr Gas in den Gasspeichern brauchen. Aber ich muss sagen, der Herr Professor Krasnodębski hat eigentlich schon einen guten Punkt gemacht. Womit werden denn die Gasspeicher gefüllt? Mit russischem Gas! Dem Gas, das im Moment dazu verwendet wird, um den blutigen Krieg in der Ukraine zu finanzieren. Das können wir natürlich nicht ignorieren. Denn der Schluss, den er genüsslich daraus gezogen hat, dass wir nicht über die Kohle hätten schimpfen müssen, ist natürlich vollkommen falsch. Das ist nicht der Weg, den wir jetzt gehen müssen. Wir müssen jetzt – und das ist die nächste Aufgabe für dieses Parlament – darüber reden, wie wir die Erneuerbaren und die erneuerbaren Energiespeicher endlich massivst ausbauen können.
               

                  Das, was wir in der Pandemie geschafft haben – dass auf einmal ganz viele Firmen Beatmungsgeräte produziert haben, Masken produziert haben, dass auf einmal viele Menschen in einem Bereich gearbeitet haben, in dem sie vorher nicht gearbeitet haben –, das brauchen wir jetzt. Wir brauchen Firmen, die Solarpaneele produzieren, die Wärmepumpen produzieren, und viele Menschen, die die Möglichkeit haben, diese auch in europäische Häuser einzubauen. Das müssen wir jetzt massiv tun, nicht auf die Kohle zurückgreifen, das wäre absolut der falsche Weg. Und wenn in Österreich gesagt wird: ‘Kein Grund zur Panik’, dann wundert man sich wirklich, was denn die Leute beruflich machen. Denn das ist eine Aufgabe, die wir jetzt zu lösen haben.
               

Ignazio Corrao (Verts/ALE). – Mr President, at the end, we reached a good compromise in the storage regulation in case of emergency as the scope to protect our citizens and households. However, we could do more with the ban on Russian gas, which should not be used to fill up our storage facilities. I welcome the fact that energy efficiency has become part of the security of gas supply policy and the filling target mechanism, even if we are still far away from a real policy that would prioritise energy efficiency, savings and renewables.
We should clearly understand that the disagreement is temporary because of the war and a geopolitical moment. I would like to remind the Commission that the real goal is the phasing out of gas and not its promotion. That's why I say that this regulation and the next gas package are not completely aligned with the targets of the Paris Agreement or the Green Deal because there is still no decommissioning of gas infrastructures, and targets on energy efficiency and renewables are insufficient.

Thierry Mariani (ID). – Monsieur le Président, les fédéralistes aiment à répéter la citation de Jean Monnet: ‘L'Union européenne sera la somme des solutions apportées aux crises’. L'Europe n'a pourtant pas attendu l'Union européenne pour tirer les leçons de son histoire. De Gaulle l'avait compris au moment de la Guerre froide: organiser une politique économique et industrielle de défiance vis-à-vis de la Russie n'est jamais, sur le long terme, une bonne solution pour notre continent.
               

                  Transférer le contrôle de nos stocks stratégiques de gaz à une technocratie sans légitimité démocratique n'est ni la volonté des Français ni leurs intérêts. Emmanuel Macron a consenti à un plan négocié en catimini et qui attente à notre souveraineté. Les États européens doivent conserver le droit à l'indépendance stratégique, à la politique de sécurité énergétique de leur choix. Si demain un pays, la France ou un autre, veut continuer à s'approvisionner principalement dans tel ou tel pays au niveau du gaz, il doit pouvoir continuer à le faire.
               

                  Monsieur le Commissaire, l'Union européenne ne nous fera pas croire que stocker du gaz algérien ou du gaz du Qatar reviendra, demain, à mieux défendre la culture européenne ou la démocratie. De même, acheter de plus en plus de gaz de schiste aux Américains ne nous fera pas, je pense, progresser dans la protection de l'environnement.
               

Nicola Procaccini (ECR). – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, vengo subito al punto.
               

                  È giusto che gli Stati dell'Unione europea si adoperino per fare uno stoccaggio minimo e obbligatorio del gas, necessario a superare il prossimo inverno, ma è giusto che si introduca anche un tetto al prezzo del gas, perché non ha senso diminuire la dipendenza dal gas russo pagandolo ogni giorno sempre di più. E sarebbe il caso, per una volta, di ammettere qui dentro che non è stato certo Orban fino ad oggi ad impedire il tetto al prezzo del gas, ma altri governi europei, quelli più verdi e più ipocriti.
               

                  La buona notizia è che questa ipocrisia ha una data di scadenza, che è la prossima plenaria di Strasburgo quando si voterà il parere sull'inclusione del gas nella tassonomia delle fonti per la transizione energetica. E allora voglio vedere come le sinistre europee riusciranno a spiegare un voto contrario al gas naturale. Un voto contrario alla realtà, un voto contrario alla sicurezza energetica e alla nostra libertà.
               

Seán Kelly (PPE). –
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 war criminal Putin expected.
Gas will be an important part of the EU's decarbonisation pathway, but the situation poses significant risks for security of supply. This required immediate legislative action on the Security of Gas Supply Regulation and the existing internal market for gas regulation. The importance of diversification for security of supply is evident, and this applies in particular to my own country, Ireland – and they'd want to wake up to it.
I am also glad to see the reinforced contingency planning to the gas coordination group and its crisis management sub-group included. The focus placed on these files and the speed at which they are being addressed should be commended. Although many share this credit, I would like to join with Vice-President Timmermans in particularly thanking Jerzy Buzek and Cristian Bușoi for their diligent work.

Nicolás González Casares (S&D). – Señor presidente, Polonia, Bulgaria, Finlandia, Países Bajos y Dinamarca; ahora Italia y Francia. Estamos ante una situación muy grave y ya somos conscientes de que Putin está utilizando el gas como un arma de guerra. Lo ha dicho el director de la Agencia Internacional de la Energía: ‘cuanto más nos acercamos al invierno, más entendemos las intenciones de Rusia’.
               

                  La necesidad de garantizar un nivel mínimo de almacenamiento es crucial. La obligación de almacenado enmienda un fallo de mercado y la intervención pública es necesaria para garantizar la seguridad del suministro. El acuerdo también ha necesitado de un ejercicio de acomodación de las especificidades de los Estados miembros, ya que no todos parten de las mismas circunstancias, incluso de las de aquellos que cuentan con una buena infraestructura de gas licuado.
               

                  También me gustaría mandar un mensaje a ciertos grupos políticos. Lo que acordamos aquí hay que defenderlo en los Estados miembros, igual que defendemos las sanciones y que debemos ser conscientes de la consecuencia de la guerra. Pero también tenemos que seguir avanzando en las reformas, porque la falta de gas afecta también al mercado eléctrico y a las reglas de precio, que tendremos que ir reformando.
               

                  Por último, Rusia no puede ser un proveedor fiable de la Unión nunca más. Además de independizarnos de Rusia y de los combustibles fósiles, tenemos que seguir profundizando en la transición energética hacia energías renovables que nos permitan una mayor independencia. Este es nuestro reto y debemos seguir trabajando en ello.
               

Christophe Grudler (Renew). – Monsieur le Président, Monsieur le Vice-Président, chers collègues, la guerre menée par la Russie en Ukraine a révélé notre trop forte dépendance vis-à-vis des produits énergétiques russes. Cet épisode nous montre à quel point il est important de limiter toutes nos dépendances vis-à-vis des importations énergétiques. Notre autonomie stratégique en dépend.
               

                  Je salue ces premières avancées des négociations sur la révision du marché du gaz, qui est une opportunité pour investir dans les énergies d'avenir telles que les renouvelables, mais aussi l'hydrogène bas carbone d'origine électrolytique, que j'aurais bien aimé voir poussé, Monsieur le Vice-Président, dans la communication REPowerEU, plutôt que de voir poussées les importations d'hydrogène renouvelable, par exemple.
               

                  Réactiver nos centrales à charbon n'est pas non plus une solution acceptable pour économiser le gaz. Mais pour le stockage du gaz, nous parlons d'une même voix. En deux mois seulement, nous avons réussi à mettre en place une solidarité européenne et un plan de résilience efficace. Continuons donc dans notre action vers l'autonomie énergétique européenne.
               

Μαρία Σπυράκη (PPE). – Κύριε Πρόεδρε, εκτελεστικέ αντιπρόεδρε Timmermans, αγαπητοί συνάδελφοι, η πλατφόρμα για τις εθελοντικές κοινές παραγγελίες φυσικού αερίου από τα κράτη μέλη, η θεσμοθέτηση της πληρότητας στο 80% την 1η Νοεμβρίου του 2022 και η αλληλεγγύη στα κράτη μέλη που δεν διαθέτουν επαρκείς αποθηκευτικούς χώρους μας δίνουν σήμερα τη δυνατότητα να μιλήσουμε για ένα σημαντικό ευρωπαϊκό βήμα ενόψει του επόμενου χειμώνα. Ωστόσο, οι τιμές δεν υποχωρούν αισθητά. Η Επιτροπή έχει ήδη λάβει εντολή να μελετήσει την αλλαγή του μοντέλου τιμολόγησης του ηλεκτρισμού και τη δυνατότητα της αποσύνδεσής του από το φυσικό αέριο.
               

                  Όπως είμαι σίγουρη ότι πιστεύετε, αγαπητέ εκτελεστικέ αντιπρόεδρε, δεν μπορούμε να συνεχίσουμε να τιμολογούμε το ηλεκτρικό ρεύμα με βάση το ακριβότερο ορυκτό καύσιμο στον κόσμο. Ταυτόχρονα, το Ευρωπαϊκό Συμβούλιο οφείλει να δράσει άμεσα και να επιβάλει πλαφόν στην τιμή της χονδρικής του φυσικού αερίου, όπως πρότεινε μήνες τώρα ο πρωθυπουργός της Ελλάδος, Κυριάκος Μητσοτάκης. Κάθε μέρα που περνάει, αγαπητοί συνάδελφοι, αγαπητέ εκτελεστικέ αντιπρόεδρε, επιβαρύνει τα νοικοκυριά, δυσκολεύει τη ζωή των πολιτών και υπονομεύει την αξιοπιστία των ευρωπαϊκών θεσμών. Ας μη δώσουμε άλλο χρόνο στον Πούτιν, στους κερδοσκόπους και στους λαϊκιστές.
               

Massimiliano Salini (PPE). – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, vicepresidente, grazie ai negoziatori, a chi ha consentito di compiere questo percorso che correttamente è stato avviato dalla Commissione europea nelle forme di quella solidarietà che ancora una volta l'Unione europea riesce a dimostrare nei momenti difficili. Lo abbiamo visto con il Covid e lo stiamo vedendo in questa occasione così drammatica.
               

                  I colleghi all'interno di questa discussione legittimamente in alcuni casi hanno espresso la perplessità circa il mantenimento delle forniture del gas russo per l'Unione europea. È legittima come perplessità, ma la realtà deve prevalere. Noi oggi abbiamo il compito di garantire il riempimento degli stoccaggi, ma al contempo gradualmente limitare la dipendenza dalla Russia. Come? Con questa azione regolatoria, ma soprattutto con una politica di prezzo adeguata. È vero, dobbiamo uscire dal mercato eccessivamente finanziario, ma non dobbiamo uscire dal mercato, perché è importante che l'incontro tra domanda e offerta disciplini i prezzi. Il problema è che la domanda e offerta deve essere sul prodotto e non sul prodotto finanziario.
               

                  Allora la ragione per cui si propone un tetto al prezzo in questa fase strategica è proprio questa: stare nel mercato, ma con una politica fortemente tutelante per i principi democratici su cui si fonda l'Unione europea, alla quale speriamo possa aderire presto anche l'Ucraina.
               

Vystúpenia podľa postupu prihlásenia o slovo zdvihnutím ruky.


Henrike Hahn (Verts/ALE). – Herr Präsident! Gasspeicher könnte das politische Unwort des Jahres 2022 werden. Die Gasspeicherstände sind in Europa historisch niedrig, Putin führt einen Angriffskrieg gegen Europa, und während Gazprom die Gaslieferungen drosselt, explodieren die Gaspreise. Klar ist: Wir müssen erstens unabhängig von russischem Erdgas werden. Das bedeutet, dass die EU Mitgliedstaaten ihre Lieferketten diversifizieren müssen – und zwar nicht nur Deutschland – mit klarem Blick auf die Menschenrechte. Und zweitens ist das Ziel, überhaupt unabhängig von Erdgas und Gasimporten zu werden – zur Erreichung unserer Pariser Klimaziele. Nur so können wir die Bürgerinnen und Bürger und die Industrie in Europa vor explodierenden Gaspreisen schützen.
               

                  Wir müssen massiv in erneuerbare Energien investieren und in Energieeffizienz. Und wir brauchen den Green Deal jetzt. Jede einzelne Solarzelle, jede einzelne Windturbine bedeutet Energiesicherheit, bedeutet geostrategische Unabhängigkeit und entschlossenes Handeln gegen Energiearmut. Die besten Gasspeicher in Europa sind langfristig nicht die, die gefüllt sind, sondern die, die es nicht mehr gibt, weil eine erfolgreiche Energiewende stattgefunden hat – mit 100 % erneuerbaren Energien statt fossiler Energie. Und genau das umzusetzen, ist hier im Europäischen Parlament unsere Aufgabe.
               

Bogdan Rzońca (ECR). – Panie Przewodniczący! W gruncie rzeczy ta ciekawa dyskusja w tej chwili to jest dyskusja o bezpieczeństwie Unii Europejskiej, bo bezpieczeństwo energetyczne to ważny element tego bezpieczeństwa. Stąd chcę powiedzieć tu moim skromnym głosem, że oczywiście popieram te działania, które zostały przygotowane, jeśli chodzi o składowanie gazu, natomiast musimy jeszcze zrobić następny krok.
               

                  Stąd moje pytanie do pana przewodniczącego Timmermansa, jeśli można prosić o odpowiedź. Obserwuję rynek złóż gazowych w Europie i zauważam, że pojawiają się oferty pogłębiania starych odwiertów gazowych. Na to potrzebne są pieniądze. Takie oferty są w tej chwili z Austrii, z Węgier. Czyli krótko mówiąc, bez zbytniej ingerencji w środowisko naturalne można poprzez pogłębianie starych odwiertów dojść do nowych złóż gazu. Czy pan komisarz uważa, że można by było wspierać finansowo z Unii Europejskiej takie rozwiązania?
               

                  To jest moje pytanie, bo oczywiście sama kwestia składowania to jedno, ale drugie to kwestia kupowania gazu u Rosjan i u Putina – i to jest karygodne. Więc czy nie powinniśmy przygotować finansowej oferty z Unii Europejskiej na pogłębienie starych złóż i uzyskanie gazu z pewnych źródeł, bez zbytniej ingerencji w środowisko?
               

(Ukončenie vystúpení podľa postupu prihlásenia o slovo zdvihnutím ruky)


Frans Timmermans,
Executive Vice-President of the Commission. – Mr President, let me just briefly react to some of the things that were said. Obviously, the only way we're going to create long-term energy sovereignty in Europe is through renewables. And we also need to do more to save more energy. The cheapest energy is the energy you don't use.
So obviously that remains our main goal. But at the same time, if Putin can succeed to disrupt our societies with the weapon he has, which is gas, then we will never get to the situation that we can take our society into a sustainable and renewable future.
So that's why we need this legislation right now. It's not because we have an eternal attachment to fossil fuels and natural gas, it's because we know that if we don't fix this problem collectively as Europeans, we give Putin a weapon to disrupt our societies, and disrupted societies are societies that cannot embrace the need for change also in the right direction.
So that's why this is so essential. That's why I'm so grateful to the European Parliament for having moved so swiftly and so clearly in a legislation that we desperately need right now. I also want to point out that when Poland was cut off, Germany immediately stepped in. When Bulgaria was cut off, Greece immediately stepped in. So we do see solidarity, material solidarity, happening between our Member States when there is a need for that.
Finally, let me just also say that I am a bit surprised that those who for a long, long time felt very close to Putin – let me put it in very careful words – in this House are now invoking democracy or even liberty as an argument against the EU acting collectively.
The aim of Putin was, and is, to destroy and disrupt the European Union. Those who follow the agenda by being anti-Europeans or Europhobes should understand they are playing into his hands and not into the hands of our citizens, who want us to collectively solve problems they can't solve individually.

Cristian-Silviu Bușoi,
rapporteur. – Mr President, once again, I would like to thank President Jerzy Buzek and the whole negotiating team and also the coordinators for their extraordinary mobilisation and dedicated work to conclude fast and efficiently this very important legislation in the context of the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia. I would like to thank also all colleagues contributing to the debate today.
The debate reaffirmed the strong commitment of all colleagues from the European Parliament to protect European citizens and our industries from any major disruption and pressure from Russia. We showed our will and readiness to act together in solidarity to strengthen the EU's resilience and preparedness against external threats. With minimum 80% capacity this year and minimum 90% from next year, with solidarity agreements between Member States – and Vice-President Timmermans expressed some of the excellent examples in the near past, with the need for gas storage operators to pass the certification, and with the mechanism of joint gas purchases, Member States have now clear legislation to respect and the tools to act to ensure the protection of citizens and households.
I would like to stress that continuous support and guidance from the Commission's side is still needed along the process and Commissioner Kadri Simson, during many discussions with the ITRE Committee, and today Executive Vice-President Timmermans entrusted us with this.
We showed our will and readiness to act together and with the gas and hydrogen package and the rest of the Fit for 55 package, and with the implementation of the REPowerEU plan, investing in renewables and energy efficiency and hydrogen will achieve: firstly, security of supply and energy independence; will avoid, secondly, in the future the volatility of prices and the high prices of energy; and thirdly, and the most important for future generations, will reach our climate goals and ambitions.

Predsedajúci. – Rozprava sa týmto skončila. Hlasovanie sa uskutoční dnes na konci rozpráv.
               


Písomné vyhlásenia (článok 171)



Joachim Stanisław Brudziński (ECR),
na piśmie. – Wprowadzenie obowiązku magazynowania gazu ziemnego na poziomie państw członkowskich stanowi przeniesienie dobrej praktyki stosowanej przez Polskę na poziom UE. W Polsce, z uwagi na zagrożenia dla bezpieczeństwa dostaw wynikające z konieczności współpracy z rosyjskim dostawcą, od wielu lat wypełniamy magazyny do poziomu powyżej 90% przed każdym sezonem zimowym. Rozczarowuje jednak brak otwartości francuskiej Prezydencji na propozycje dotyczące wzmocnienia przepisów dotyczących certyfikacji. Propozycje te miały na celu stworzenie większej jasności prawnej w zakresie ścieżki postępowania względem podmiotów, które nie spełniałyby warunków otrzymania certyfikatu. Przepisy dotyczące certyfikacji powinny zostać na stałe ujęte w unijnym acquis.
               

                  Popieramy rozporządzenie w duchu kompromisu. Biorąc pod uwagę, że jego nadrzędny cel – zapewnienie zapełnienia magazynów przed sezonem zimowym – ma kluczowe znaczenie dla bezpieczeństwa energetycznego i poziomu cen na rynku gazu UE. Musimy jednak zrobić wszystko, by magazynów nie wypełniać gazem pochodzącym z Rosji. Nie możemy wspierać finansowo państwa, które instrumentalnie używa dostaw gazu do szantażowania państw europejskich, a zyski ze sprzedaży tego surowca przeznacza na zbrodnicze ataki, które grożą nam wszystkim.
               

Λευτέρης Χριστοφόρου (PPE),
γραπτώς. – Η εισβολή της Ρωσίας κατά της Ουκρανίας και η διακοπή παράδοσης φυσικού αερίου στην Πολωνία και την Βουλγαρία μας υπενθυμίζουν την αναγκαιότητα για διαφοροποίηση του ενεργειακού εφοδιασμού της ΕΕ από έναν μόνο προμηθευτή. Oι χώρες της ΕΕ χρειάζεται να προωθήσουν μέτρα για την ενίσχυση της ενεργειακής αποδοτικότητας. Η αποδοτική χρήση των υφιστάμενων υποδομών, συμπεριλαμβανομένων των διασυνοριακών δυναμικοτήτων μεταφοράς, των υπόγειων εγκαταστάσεων αποθήκευσης αερίου και των εγκαταστάσεων υγροποιημένου φυσικού αερίου, αποτελεί σημαντικό παράγοντα για την κατοχύρωση της ασφάλειας του εφοδιασμού με αέριο, σε πνεύμα αλληλεγγύης. Κατά την πλήρωση των εγκαταστάσεων αποθήκευσής τους, τα κράτη μέλη θα πρέπει να στοχεύουν στη διαφοροποίηση των οικείων προμηθευτών αερίου, με στόχο τη μείωση της εξάρτησής τους, όταν αυτό ενδέχεται να θέσει σε κίνδυνο την ασφάλεια του ενεργειακού εφοδιασμού ή τα ουσιώδη συμφέροντα ασφάλειας της Ένωσης ή των κρατών μελών. Η λειτουργία νέων τερματικών σταθμών LNG σε Κύπρο και Ελλάδα, όπως και ο αγωγός EastMed, θα συμβάλουν σημαντικά στην επίτευξη αυτού του στόχου και στη συνολική ενεργειακή ανεξαρτησία της ΕΕ από τις ρωσικές πηγές ενεργείας.
               

András Gyürk (NI),
írásban. – Az európai földgázellátásról szóló szabályozás átdolgozása helyes, ugyanakkor elkésett lépés. Fontos, hogy a zöld ideológiában nyakig süppedő Európai Bizottság is végre felismerte a földgáztárolók szerepét az energiaár-sokkok elleni védekezés terén. Szomorú, hogy ehhez a belátáshoz az elmúlt évtizedek legsúlyosabb energiaválságának kellett bekövetkeznie. A Ház előtt lévő javaslat a józan ész győzelme, mégpedig két okból. Egyrészt sikerült megakadályozni Brüsszel tervét, ami a nagy tárolókkal rendelkező országokkal, így Magyarországgal fizettette volna meg az európai energiabiztonság árát. Másrészt a tagállamok egységes fellépése révén sikerrel tudtuk letörni a brüsszeli buborék újabb gázembargós kísérletét is. Magyarország és Európa biztonságos energiaellátása minden javaslatnál vörös vonal számunkra. Nem engedjük, hogy Brüsszel elvont ideológiák mentén a családokat megkárosító döntéseket hozzon a fejünk felett.
               

Dan-Ștefan Motreanu (PPE),
în scris. – Este extrem de important sa asigurăm securitatea aprovizionării Uniunii Europene cu gaze naturale în contextul agresiunii militare ruse împotriva Ucrainei care a condus la creșteri fără precedent ale prețului gazelor naturale. Statele membre trebuie să se asigure că infrastructurile lor subterane de stocare a gazelor sunt pline în proporție de cel puțin 80 % până la 1 noiembrie 2022 și de 90 % pentru anii următori.
               

                  Foarte important, susțin posibilitatea statelor membre de a face achiziții comune de gaz din țări terțe, ceea ce le va consolida puterea de negociere în raport cu furnizorii de gaze și le va permite achiziții la prețuri adecvate. Încurajez toate statele membre să participe la achizițiile comune, întrucât, pe lângă aspectele practice, transmitem un mesaj puternic de unitate si solidaritate.
               

Edina Tóth (NI),
írásban. – Az európai földgázellátásról szóló szabályozás átdolgozása fontos előrelépés. Fontos, hogy az Európai Bizottság is végre felismerte a földgáztárolók szerepét az energiaársokkok elleni védekezés terén. Szomorú, hogy e helyzet felismeréséhez az elmúlt évtizedek legsúlyosabb energiaválságának kellett bekövetkeznie. A Parlament előtt lévő javaslat a józan gondolkodás győzelme, mégpedig az alábbi okok miatt. Egyrészt sikerült megakadályozni Brüsszel tervét, ami a nagy tárolókkal rendelkező országokkal, így Magyarországgal fizettette volna meg az európai energiabiztonság árát. Másrészt a tagállamok egységes fellépése révén sikerrel tudtuk letörni a brüsszeli buborék újabb gázembargós kísérletét is. Magyarország és Európa biztonságos energiaellátása elsődleges prioritás számunkra. Nem engedjük, hogy Brüsszel felelőtlen, zöld ideológiák mentén a családokat megkárosító döntéseket hozzon a fejünk felett.
               
3.   National vetoes to undermine the global tax deal (debate)

Predsedajúci. – Ďalší bod programu rokovania je vyhlásenie Rady a Komisie ‘Veto členských štátov, ktoré ohrozuje globálnu daňovú dohodu’ (2022/2734(RSP)).
               

Clément Beaune,
président en exercice du Conseil. – Monsieur le Président, Monsieur le Commissaire, Mesdames et Messieurs les députés, je suis heureux de me retrouver à nouveau devant vous pour cette session plénière pour évoquer un sujet qui nous tient collectivement à cœur – la question fiscale – et nos avancées collectives en matière de lutte contre l'optimisation fiscale, l'évasion fiscale, le dumping fiscal. Je crois que c'est un élément d'identité européenne, d'efficacité de notre projet, que nous devons poursuivre. Je profite de cette occasion pour saluer, à cet égard, nos avancées collectives, l'engagement de la Commission européenne, l'engagement personnel du Commissaire Gentiloni et l'engagement, Mesdames et Messieurs les députés, de beaucoup d'entre vous, toutes sensibilités politiques confondues, pour que ce fléau soit combattu à la bonne échelle, c'est-à-dire à l'échelle européenne et, à travers notre action européenne, à l'échelle internationale.
               

                  Je suis au regret, aujourd'hui, de constater que le Conseil Ecofin de juin fut très proche d'un accord sur la proposition de directive relative à la fiscalité minimale, mais n'a pas réussi, à ce stade, à l'obtenir. Je suis néanmoins convaincu que les discussions se poursuivront. C'est notre engagement de présidence du Conseil, jusqu'au dernier jour, jusqu'à la dernière heure, afin de surmonter le veto d'un dernier État membre d'ici le 30 juin à minuit. Nous y travaillons sans relâche, je puis vous l'assurer. Ce blocage à ce stade est regrettable. Car, je le rappelle, nous étions politiquement, techniquement, prêts pour que ce dossier soit adopté et pour que nos concitoyens, qui attendent des mesures fortes, soient en droit de les voir enfin réalisées.
               

                  Je veux faire deux remarques très brèves à ce sujet. D'abord, cela pose la question – c'est l'objet du débat que plusieurs d'entre vous ont demandé – de nos règles de décision, à l'évidence. Il n'y a pas, aujourd'hui, de consensus au sein du Conseil pour changer cette règle d'unanimité en matière fiscale. Comme vous le savez, c'est le propre d'une règle de l'unanimité: pour la changer, il faut l'unanimité. Néanmoins, le Président de la République a encore été très clair devant votre hémicycle, le 9 mai dernier, pour dire que nous soutenions – la France soutenait – l'évolution de ces règles, pas seulement dans ce domaine, mais en priorité dans ce domaine fiscal.
               

                  À cet égard, je crois – nous en parlions hier encore – que les travaux de la conférence sur l'avenir de l'Europe ont été utiles et éclairants. Beaucoup de nos concitoyens nous pressent de faire évoluer nos modes de décision pour plus d'efficacité, plus de rapidité dans ce domaine essentiel, dans ce domaine de justice fiscale et sociale.
               

                  Je le dis néanmoins, nous devons avancer dans le cadre qui est aujourd'hui le nôtre, avec le maximum d'engagement, je le rappelais. Malgré cette exigence d'unanimité, le Conseil a réussi à adopter, tout au long de ces derniers mois ou de ces dernières années, souvent conjointement avec le Parlement et à l'initiative de la Commission européenne, un ensemble d'instruments législatifs déterminant dans le domaine fiscal. Par exemple, en ce qui concerne les taux de TVA, mais aussi sur le commerce électronique, sur les règles applicables aux prestataires de services de paiement et aux petites et moyennes entreprises en Europe. Nous avons mené, soyons-en fiers, précisément cet effort international en matière de taxation minimale et de juste taxation des multinationales. Nous sommes tout proche d'une avancée qui peut être transposée en Europe de manière historique.
               

                  Je crois qu'avec cet engagement, en réfléchissant sur l'évolution de nos modes de décision, mais en agissant sans attendre, nous pouvons obtenir cette avancée fondamentale dans les prochains jours et les prochaines semaines. Je le redis, la présidence française, qui se termine bientôt, y consacrera tous ses efforts jusqu'à la dernière minute. Je vous remercie, à cet égard, pour votre soutien et pour l'engagement de la Commission européenne.
               

VORSITZ: RAINER WIELAND


Vizepräsident


Paolo Gentiloni,
Member of the Commission. – Mr President, honourable Members, Minister, first of all, let me thank Parliament for bringing this topic back to the agenda of the plenary at this critical moment. This is a time where the EU must show unity. Unfortunately, the ECOFIN meeting on minimum taxation showed the opposite – on the responsibility of a single Member State.
Establishing a global minimum taxation should be a goal that unites us. We need to ensure fairness and equity both for our economies and our societies. For this reason, last October, we welcomed the International Global Agreement on both Pillar One and Pillar Two. We all agreed to this international deal – all the European Member States unanimously, without any exception. We have then worked tirelessly to present a proposal for a directive within a few weeks. Six months ago, we passed on the torch to the French Presidency – and let me pay tribute to the enormous work that the French Presidency and Minister Le Maire did with great enthusiasm and determination. This allowed to overcome a few technical hurdles and to reassure progressively all Member States on their fruition.
Meanwhile, you, the European Parliament gave its strong political support to the Implementing Directive with a very strong vote. And yet one single Member State raised last-minute opposition prior to the last ECOFIN, while it had endorsed the agreement at international level, but also the implementing directive in the previous ECOFIN meetings.
Let me quickly address the arguments that were used. First, the current context of the war and the economic situation. Well, the current context of the war mentioned by Hungary has affected us all, of course! This is a reality which has increased the need for adopting initiatives that are revenue generators for the EU economy and enablers to protect European citizens against the effects of Putin's senseless war. Indeed, Hungary had endorsed in previous Council meetings the directive, including the last one in May with the war going on since three months of the time. Minimum taxation benefits all Member States. A global minimum tax of 15% is estimated to generate around USD 150 billion in additional tax revenues annually. Why give it up?
The second argument was the ongoing work on Pillar One. I repeat that both pillars are important to me, to the Commission, to the Council and to Parliament. I repeat it tirelessly: both pillars have to be implemented. We need a global minimal taxation, and we need to ensure that the giants, especially the giants of the digital economy, pay their share of taxes where their profits are made, and not only where their headquarters are established. We will continue, as I have formalised, also with the availability to make a statement annexed to the minutes of the ECOFIN meeting, to monitor closely the ongoing negotiations in the OECD on the Multilateral Convention on Pillar One. We will submit a report on progress on Pillar One to the Council by June 2023 and reassess the situation accordingly with a view to submitting a legislative proposal if appropriate. Our citizens' expectations are very high and we cannot fail to deliver.
So the responsibility rests with the last opposing Member State. Let me be crystal clear. Of course, we encourage Hungary to reconsider its position, but as the French Minister said, together with Parliament and with the Council, in any case we will not give up!

Lídia Pereira,
em nome do Grupo PPE. – Senhor Presidente, a taxa mínima efetiva de 15% sobre o rendimento das multinacionais parece cada vez mais uma exigência europeia. O segundo pilar do acordo da OCDE é cada vez menos global. Do outro lado do Atlântico, nos Estados Unidos, já percebemos que a aplicação do acordo é uma miragem. Deste lado, os avanços e recuos são evidentes e ainda temos um longo caminho pela frente na legislação sobre o primeiro pilar.
                  

                     Concordou-se em tributar 15%, mas falta saber como o vamos fazer. A proposta da Comissão sobre a taxa é equilibrada e responsável, a opinião do Parlamento, entretanto aprovada, é realista e adequada. Falta, claro, a palavra de quem decide, o Conselho. De oito Estados que se opunham passámos a quatro. Às tantas, apenas a Polónia bloqueava e agora temos o veto húngaro.
                  

                     O que me parece é que esta diretiva é mais uma moeda de troca do que propriamente uma prioridade para os Estados-Membros. O ministro das Finanças português não tem razão. Não é essencial eliminar a concorrência fiscal, é preciso é garantir que essa concorrência é justa, leal e transparente. Há quem esteja a fazer a sua parte e resta-nos esperar que a Hungria seja, por uma vez, responsável e que o Conselho seja, de uma vez por todas, firme. É isso que nós pedimos. É isso que os europeus exigem.
                  

Biljana Borzan,
u ime kluba S&D. – Zahvaljujem, gospodine predsjedavajući. Prošle godine je čak 137 zemalja dogovorilo uvođenje minimalne stope oporezivanja za velike multinacionalne kompanije. Za nas socijaliste to je bio veliki uspjeh. Ne samo da se radi o nečemu što je pravedno i pošteno, kao i o nečemu o čemu smo ukazivali godinama, već je u ovoj situaciji takvo oporezivanje apsolutno nužno. Novac nam je potreban jer se ovoj krizi ne nazire kraj.
                  

                     Sustav u kojem mali obrtnik plaća veći postotak poreza od multinacionalne kompanije je duboko nepravedan. Svake godine Europa gubi oko 190 milijardi eura jer velike kompanije ne plaćaju porez. Štoviše, sele iz države u državu tražeći najjeftiniju poreznu oazu. Zato je ovaj veto prije svega nemoralan.
                  

                     Mađarski narod sad jasno može vidjeti kako gospodina Orbána nije briga kako oni žive, već postupa u interesu stranih kompanija koje se na našoj muci dodatno bogate. Hvala.
                  

Gilles Boyer,
au nom du groupe Renew. – Monsieur le Président, Monsieur le Commissaire, Monsieur le Ministre, nous avons conclu un accord historique entre 137 pays dans le cadre de l'OCDE pour qu'aucune entreprise dans le monde ne soit taxée à moins de 15 %. C'est un progrès historique. Parmi ces 137 États, il y avait les 27 États membres, unanimes, et nous devons évidemment appliquer cet accord dans l'Union européenne avec ambition.
                  

                     Malheureusement, comme vous l'avez dit, un État membre a récemment, et au dernier moment, mis son veto à la mise en œuvre de cet accord, après en avoir pourtant accepté le principe et les modalités. Je sais que la présidence française s'emploie à résoudre cette difficulté parce que ce qui est en jeu, c'est le leadership européen dans le monde sur la lutte contre le blanchiment, la lutte contre l'évasion fiscale et contre la fraude fiscale.
                  

                     Au-delà de cet accord indispensable, qui est attendu par nos concitoyens, cette péripétie met en lumière les limites de l'unanimité en matière fiscale. L'unanimité est prévue par les traités, évidemment, dans certains domaines. Lorsqu'elle se transforme, comme cela peut arriver, en caprice, en veto ou en chantage, au mépris parfois de la parole donnée, ce qui ne se fait pas entre amis, elle n'est pas acceptable. Alors nous devons y réfléchir et agir pour nous doter des outils pour éviter à l'avenir la paralysie des processus de décision, en particulier en matière fiscale, et la convention qui s'ouvre nous en fournit une opportunité unique.
                  

Claude Gruffat,
au nom du groupe Verts/ALE. – Monsieur le Président, Monsieur le Ministre, Monsieur le Commissaire, quelle merveilleuse histoire que cette fiscalité européenne! Un jour, la Pologne s'oppose pour négocier son plan de relance; le lendemain, la Hongrie – et on ne sait pas vraiment pourquoi. En attendant, des centaines de multinationales échappent à l'impôt, au mépris des Européennes et des Européens et au mépris d'un accord validé par 136 États dans le cadre de l'OCDE.
                  

                     M. Macron nous disait en janvier que ce dossier était sa priorité. Vendredi dernier, miracle: après trois échecs, Bruno Le Maire entérine enfin notre demande de majorité qualifiée. Alors, puisque ça prend du temps, il n'y a pas d'autres solutions pour ne pas envoyer cette révolution fiscale à la poubelle.
                  

                     Il reste sept jours à la présidence française du Conseil, à M. Macron, pour proposer une coopération renforcée entre les États qui souhaitent mener la bataille de la justice fiscale. Si la Pologne et la Hongrie ne veulent pas en être, qu'elles n'en soient pas, mais qu'elles ne nous volent pas cette justice fiscale et sociale que nous attendons depuis si longtemps.
                  

Gilles Lebreton,
au nom du groupe ID. – Monsieur le Président, chers collègues, la règle de l'unanimité au sein du Conseil protège la souveraineté des États membres de l'Union dans les domaines régaliens, notamment en matière fiscale. Je ne suis pas étonné que la présidence française cherche à la remettre en cause dans la mesure où Emmanuel Macron a toujours voulu substituer aux souverainetés nationales une prétendue souveraineté européenne.
                  

                     Dans le combat qui oppose aujourd'hui la Hongrie à la présidence française, je soutiens donc la Hongrie. Cet État a le droit, pour défendre ses intérêts nationaux, d'opposer son veto à l'adoption par l'Union d'une réforme fiscale. Certes, j'approuve le contenu de cette réforme fiscale qui consiste à imposer à hauteur de 15 % les bénéfices des grandes multinationales. Je regrette donc son blocage, mais la responsabilité de celui-ci incombe à l'Union: qu'elle verse à la Hongrie les fonds du plan de relance européen auxquels elle a droit au lieu de les geler pour des raisons purement idéologiques, et la Hongrie lèvera son veto.
                  

                     Moralité: la règle de l'unanimité est la meilleure arme dont dispose un État pour défendre sa souveraineté, comme le général de Gaulle l'a démontré dès 1965.
                  

Patryk Jaki,
w imieniu grupy ECR. – Panie Przewodniczący! Panie komisarzu! Panie ministrze! Otóż zorganizowaliście debatę o potępieniu jednego państwa, dlatego że zastosowało weto, a bardzo dużo mówicie o praworządności. Otóż praworządność to jest przestrzeganie prawa. Czy to państwo miało do tego prawo? Miało, ale to wam się nie podoba, że stosuje swoje prawo.
                  

                     Mówicie dużo o demokracji, ale przecież demokracja to szanowanie innego głosu. A państwo chcecie dzisiaj potępić inny głos. Otóż dla was praworządność to nieprzestrzeganie traktatów i to widać na przykładzie wielu innych spraw. A demokracja to dyktatura, bo możliwe jest tylko to, z czym my się zgadzamy.
                  

                     A jeżeli mówicie o solidarności, na którą się powołujecie, to bardzo dobrze, ale zacznijmy od solidarności w ważniejszych sprawach. Otóż na przykład w tych, które doprowadziły nas do gigantycznych problemów, inflacji, mianowicie Nord Stream. Dlaczego Nord Stream 2 jeszcze nie jest rozłożony? Zróbcie coś, Komisjo Europejska, żeby rozłożyć ten haniebny projekt i wtedy będziemy mówić o prawdziwej solidarności.
                  

Manon Aubry,
au nom du groupe The Left. – Monsieur le Président, l'évasion fiscale des multinationales nous coûte des dizaines de milliards d'euros chaque année et l'extrême droite est son fidèle complice. Elle vient d'en faire la démonstration juste à l'instant. Car oui, les États qui bloquent aujourd'hui la mise en place d'un taux minimum d'imposition des entreprises en Europe, ce sont bien les gouvernements réactionnaires et autoritaires de la Hongrie et de la Pologne.
                  

                     L'extrême droite, qui prétend incarner le peuple, montre à nouveau son vrai visage: celui d'un serviteur fidèle des puissants et des milliardaires. Le veto utilisé par cynisme par Orbán est aussi le même qui peut permettre aux paradis fiscaux européens de bloquer toute mesure de justice fiscale en Europe. Ce veto, c'est le verrou qui nous empêche systématiquement d'avancer et qu'il faut aujourd'hui absolument faire tomber. C'est pour cela qu'il faut absolument et de toute urgence abroger la règle de l'unanimité en matière fiscale qui nous condamne à laisser les évadés fiscaux nous voler en toute impunité.
                  

                     Mes chers collègues, nous ne pouvons pas non plus attendre éternellement que cette règle change. Qu'est-ce qui empêche d'avancer dès maintenant en coopération renforcée avec tout ceux qui le souhaitent et de construire des coalitions pour se lancer immédiatement avec ceux qui veulent avancer? D'ailleurs, je le dis, la France d'Emmanuel Macron a accepté d'abaisser le niveau d'ambition de ce texte et a échoué, en réalité, à trouver un accord au niveau européen.
                  

                     Alors, si vous voulez être crédibles, allez jusqu'au bout de la démarche, engagez une coopération renforcée, voire dites que vous êtes prêts à avancer seuls et à mettre en place un impôt universel. Trop d'États se satisfont très bien du statu quo actuel pour ne rien faire, y compris la France. Mais la situation n'est plus tenable. Reprenons la main et refusons que les évadés fiscaux imposent leur loi au peuple.
                  

Enikő Győri (NI). – Elnök Úr! Tisztelt Képviselőtársaim! Hadd kérjem meg Önöket, hogy legalább egy percre szálljanak ki a szokásos Magyarország-áztatásból, és gondolkodjanak. Gondolkodjanak, mert ha egy tagállam használja az őt a Szerződésekben megillető jogot, hogy megállítson egy folyamatot, ami meggyőződésem, hogy árt Európának, akkor lehet, hogy érdemes átgondolni, hogy miért tesz valamit egy tagállam. Hölgyeim és uraim! Ne legyünk önmagunk ellenségei! Van egy háború. Gentiloni biztos úr is utalt rá. Nekünk elsősorban a kármentéssel kellene foglalkoznunk újabb terhek kirovása helyett. Biztos úr is említette, ez egy kétpilléres csomag, az elsővel a nagy tech-cégek megadóztatásával nem tudunk előrehaladni. Csomagról volt szó, egyszerre kellene tető alá hozni a két dolgot. Harmadszor, mi rohanunk előre. Nemzetközi partnereink sem Ázsiában, sem Amerikában nem hajtották végre azt, amit mi már szeretnénk bevezetni. Ezzel az európai cégek versenyhátrányba kerülnek. Végezetül az OECD-ben nem dolgozták még ki a végrehajtási szabályokat. Cégeinknek nincs január elsejéig ideje felkészülni. Egyelőre kozmetikázó javaslatok vannak a Bizottság részéről. Ehelyett dolgozzunk tovább, meg legyen az egység Európa versenyképessége érdekében.
                  

José Manuel Fernandes (PPE). – Senhor Presidente, Caro Comissário, Caras e Caros Colegas, a unanimidade não pode significar bloqueio, não é aceitável que seja usada para a chantagem. O Conselho tem de ser muito mais do que a soma dos 27 egoísmos nacionais que por vezes constatamos.
                  

                     Num domínio como o da fiscalidade, é essencial que este acordo da OCDE seja posto em prática, pois significará mais justiça social. É também importante que aqueles que mais lucram sejam aqueles que mais contribuam. É igualmente essencial combater a fraude, elisão e evasão fiscais, o que se poderá fazer através da harmonização e o que equivale, segundo contas da própria Comissão Europeia, a cerca de sete orçamentos anuais, ou seja, cerca de mil milhões de EUR por ano de perda.
                  

                     Tal significa que podemos ter mais receita e não penalizar, pelo contrário, podemos aliviar os cidadãos europeus. Para além disso, e termino, é essencial que o pilar I seja utilizado para os novos recursos próprios da União Europeia e que os gigantes do digital deem ‘…’(O Presidente retira a palavra ao orador).


Paul Tang (S&D). – Mr President, I could almost hear the screams when, after significant work by the Commission and by the French Presidency, a last-minute blockade was erected yet again. But pointing fingers is easy but doesn't really work. Yes, Orbán torpedoed a European minimum tax, harming his own citizens for his own narrow gain. But let's be frank, and I hate to say this, but this is also the Commission's doing.
If you look in a mirror you will be reminded of Dorian Gray, whose pact with the Devil also didn't pay off. Because if you put the rule of law up for grabs once, you will be pressured to do so again and again. So let's stop the endless bargaining game and look for a path that cannot be blocked. We can isolate Orbán and implement this deal. Europe can still escape the Faustian fate with long overdue majority voting or with enhanced cooperation. Let's get this deal done.

Billy Kelleher (Renew). – Mr President, I'm extremely disappointed that we were unable to implement this particular OECD agreement of 137 countries after many, many years of negotiations. My country, Ireland, had genuine concerns about the proposals and we were one of the last countries to sign up to it. But we did come to the table in a spirit of negotiation and compromise, and we did welcome and sign up, as I said, to the agreement.
The fact of the matter is that Hungary is vetoing this not because of the specific issue of the tax deal itself, but they just want to flex their political muscle because of the other issues that Orbán is consistently raising. That undermines the basic structures and fabric of what the European Union stands for.
But I do think that we want to be very careful that we don't rush headlong into a situation where we now use the fact that Hungary is blackmailing Europe, through a tax proposal, to unwind national sovereignty around the issue of taxation. And if we are to have any major discussions in how Europe is framed, how it's underpinned with treaties, the integrity and the sovereignty of nations, taxation is a fundamental issue. It's fundamental to citizens in Member States. Governments are elected in Member States. One of the great democratic processes is an election itself. And very often taxation is at the centre of those debates at Member State level.
So if we are to have a debate around unanimity versus a qualified majority voting on the issue of taxation, we want to be very careful that we don't undermine the basic concept of member sovereignty in the areas of taxation, which means democratic accountability as well. Tread carefully on that particular issue.

Ernest Urtasun (Verts/ALE). – Mr President, well, the situation is indeed very serious. The deal is about to derail. And it is us Europeans who are about to derail it because of the veto of Hungary. How are we going to explain that to our international partners if that happens?
Secondly, I think, Mr Beaune, the way you have tried to overcome the veto has come to a dead end. The logic of accepting the blackmail and doing secret deals behind doors has come to a dead end. It doesn't work. And also we have to say that what kind of working methods will the Council adopt if this is the logic for the way forward? Which is going to be the next file if we accept that logic? This needs to stop. And the only way to stop that is to go for an enhanced cooperation in the short term. I'm very happy to hear Commissioner Gentiloni saying that we're not going to give up: the Parliament will not give up, and not giving up today means finding other ways, overcoming the veto and go for an enhanced cooperation.
And finally, I think we need to address the issue of unanimity in fiscal matters. Member States need to address that seriously, because this needs to stop.

Gunnar Beck (ID). – Herr Präsident! Polen hat sich die Aufgabe seines Vetos gegen die Einführung eines globalen Mindestkörperschaftsteuersatzes von 5 % sehr gut bezahlen lassen. Denn dafür gab die EU Kommission nun den milliardenschweren polnischen nationalen Aufbauplan frei. Als Folge blockiert nun Ungarn, das letzte Land, das noch auf sein Geld aus Brüssel wartet, den Steuerdeal, bis dann auch hier die scheinheiligen EU-Einwände aufgegeben werden und Ungarns Aufbauplan genehmigt und die Milliarden nach Budapest überwiesen sind.
                  

                     Die EU verweigert Staaten EU-Finanzmittel. Die fadenscheinige Begründung: Missachtung der sogenannten Rechtsstaatlichkeit. Doch der hohe Wert der Unabhängigkeit von Justiz und Medien degeneriert hier zum Spielball oder bargaining chip beim politischen bluff poker. Dies allein schon ist ein eklatanter Verstoß gegen rechtsstaatliche Prinzipien und unser demokratisches Staatsverständnis. Ferner nutzen Polen und Ungarn jetzt noch das Einstimmigkeitsprinzip bei Steuerfragen als Faustpfand gegen die Erpressungsversuche der Kommission.
                  

                     Wird dieses Prinzip aufgegeben, hat Brüssel endlich seine Besteuerung ohne Repräsentierung, taxation without representation, als Eckpfeiler unserer politischen Ordnung etabliert.
                  

Jessica Stegrud (ECR). – Herr talman! I skuggan av Ukrainakriget, skenande el- och bränslepriser och inflation utnyttjar Europaparlamentet tillfället till att försöka utöka EU:s makt, genom ett avskaffande av medlemsstaternas vetorätt i en så grundläggande fråga som skatter.
                  

                     There is no taxation without representation.
                  

                     Utan representation, ingen beskattningsrätt, heter det. Jag har sagt det förr och jag säger det igen: EU är ingen stat och ska därför inte ha makt över skattepolitiken. För representationen, den finns inte bara här. Den finns på lokal och nationell nivå. Och makten ska främst finnas hos folket, långt, långt härifrån.
                  

                     Det är varje lands regering, inte eurokrater, som står till svars inför sitt folk. Är väljarna nöjda blir de omvalda. Om inte, kan de röstas bort. Att som parlamentet ständigt gör, prata om vikten av demokrati, och samtidigt föreslå det djupt odemokratiska – att frånta ett folk kontrollen över sina skatter – säger mycket om den bristande demokratiska kompassen här i parlamentet. Det är oerhört oroande.
                  

Chris MacManus (The Left). – Mr President, I warmly welcome this debate so that I can put on record that my party, Sinn Féin, totally opposes moving away from unanimity on tax matters. I also want to put on record our support for the OECD deal and the EU directive implementing it.
Hungary has been cynical in opposing the deal. It's reneging on its word. All those that signed up to the OECD deal in the EU and across the world, including the US, should implement the deal as soon as possible. There is, unfortunately, another wave of cynicism on show here today. Those who seek to end tax sovereignty are using one Member State's cynicism to cynically advance their own agenda. We should not throw away the rulebook just because there's a temporary political issue.
Unanimity is not a block to progress. It is a safeguard of democratic decision-making. Sinn Féin rejects centralisation of tax powers and defends unanimity on such crucial matters.

Luděk Niedermayer (PPE). – Mr President, Commissioner, guests, dear colleagues, the OECD agreement was a great success. It was a political success that was concluded by the underwriting of the agreement. Now we are turning this political success into economic success. And here I firmly believe that whether we implement or not implement agreement is decisive for the future of this very, very important agreement. And this is also of potential benefit for us, not only globally.
So that's why the EU bears enormous responsibility in starting the implementation of this very important agreement. The EU is a very democratic society based on the rules, and it's right that within these rules there is unanimity principle. But I believe that the unanimity principle that brings strong power to the states must be balanced by the responsibility. So that's why I call on the Member States to use this right in a responsible way. In this case, if they will not be responsible, I guess it's time to find an alternative way.

Csaba Molnár (S&D). – Elnök Úr! Óriási dolgot készítettünk elő, kedves Kollégák. Végre egy igazságos adót akartunk kivetni a leggazdagabb multinacionális cégekre. Csakhogy van az Európai Unióban egy kormány. Történetesen megint a magyar kormány, amely ezt meg akarja akadályozni. Hogy miért? Azért, mert a magyar miniszterelnök valójában a multik érdekeit védi a magyar kisemberekkel szemben. Azért, mert Orbán a leggazdagabbak helyett a kis- és középvállalkozók és a legszegényebbek vállára szokta tenni a közös terheket. Hiszen a magyar miniszterelnök mindig csak akkor harcolt a leggazdagabbak ellen, amikor még nem tartozott közéjük. Eddig azt hihettük, hogy Orbán Viktor csak a Gazpromnál csapott fel közép-európai területi képviselőnek, de láthatóan most már kibővítette a szolgáltatásait az összes Európában működő adóelkerülő multicég képviseletére is.
                  

                     Orbán vétózni fog, mert vétóját zsarolásra is használni akarja, mert abban bízik, hogy ha vétóval fenyeget, akkor a jogállamiság helyreállítása és az állami korrupció megszüntetése nélkül is hozzájuthat az európai uniós támogatásokhoz. Na, ezt nem engedhetjük. Nem ejtheti túszul Európát egy tolvaj akkor sem, ha a névjegykártyájára miniszterelnök van írva.
                  

Rasmus Andresen (Verts/ALE). – Herr Präsident! Freitag war ein schwarzer Tag für alle Europäerinnen und Europäer und ein guter Tag für multinationale Konzerne. Viktor Orbán blockiert abwechselnd mit der polnischen Regierung die Umsetzung der globalen Mindestbesteuerung für große Konzerne. Dank Viktor Orbán zahlt Amazon weiter keine Körperschaftsteuer in der Europäischen Union. Und viele europäische Konzerne wie Bayer oder BASF können ihre Steuerschuld weiter künstlich kleinrechnen.
                  

                     Steuerdumping in der EU muss beendet werden. Es ist ein demokratisches Problem, wenn Staaten wie Ungarn mit 9 % oder Luxemburg mit einem Effektivsteuersatz von 2 % unser Steuersystem untergraben.
                  

                     Sehr geehrte EU-Finanzministerinnen und EU-Finanzminister, lassen Sie sich nicht weiter von Ungarn und Polen erpressen. Führen Sie die globale Mindeststeuer ohne Viktor Orbán und Morawiecki ein. Ja, das ist möglich! Wir Grüne fordern Sie auf: Nutzen Sie Artikel 20 zur verstärkten Zusammenarbeit und setzen Sie den globalen Steuerdeal endlich um.
                  

Aurore Lalucq (S&D). – Monsieur le Président, résumons la situation. La réalité de la situation, c'est que le gouvernement hongrois et le gouvernement polonais refusent de mettre en place au niveau européen un accord qu'ils ont accepté au niveau international et qui nous éviterait de perdre 50 à 60 milliards d'euros par an. Pourquoi? À cause de l'unanimité. Mais pourquoi, surtout? parce qu'on est faible. Parce qu'on accepte leur jeu. Parce qu'on sait très bien que le problème, ce n'est pas la question de la fiscalité. Le problème est ailleurs, ils nous attaquent sur nos valeurs, ils nous testent sur nos valeurs et il y a une volonté d'humiliation très claire.
                  

                     La question qui se pose donc à nous, c'est: quand accepterons-nous d'être forts? Ça commence par, point 1, la coopération renforcée. Ils ne veulent pas de cet accord, ils ne veulent pas des 50 à 60 milliards? Très bien. Nous, on les veut. Donc, quand est-ce qu'on met en place la coopération renforcée? Point 2: quand, de manière générale, la Commission européenne va-t-elle déclencher l'article 116?
                  

                     Et enfin, la question de la majorité qualifiée. Je comprends que ce soit compliqué, on le sait tous, de changer les traités, de sortir de l'unanimité, etc. C'est compliqué, mais ce n'est pas infaisable et aujourd'hui, on est dans un monde où on ne peut plus se permettre d'être faible. Donc on vous attend, le Conseil et la Commission, là maintenant, fermement.
                  

Spontane Wortmeldungen


Stanislav Polčák (PPE). – Pane předsedající, bavíme se v této debatě opakovaně o zavedení 15% daně na základě toho, že některé členské státy využily svého práva veta. Ale řekl bych, že ke škodě Evropanů, ke škodě nás všech. Je jasné, že zisk by se měl danit tam, kde vzniká. Digitální obří korporace mají velké zisky. Já jim to vůbec nezávidím, ale opravdu by tato zásada měla být promítnuta na mezinárodní úrovni. Na mezinárodní úrovni byla schválena, ale u nás bylo použito veto. K čemu to vede ? Vede to de facto k nekalé daňové soutěži. Viděli jsme to na různých případech leaked papers, mohl bych vypočítávat. Jaký máme z toho další postup, jaké máme řešení? Jedině oslabit, umožnit oslabení principu jednomyslnosti v Radě, protože ta už začíná být na obtíž. A to, co je na obtíž, a nikdy bych si nemyslel, že to řeknu, tak to je třeba odhodit.
                  

Juan Fernando López Aguilar (S&D). – Señor presidente, este debate acerca del veto impuesto contra un acuerdo para una imposición mínima sobre sociedades en todos los Estados miembros, que obedece a un mandato muy prolongado de este Parlamento Europeo, pone de manifiesto, primero, que se trata de una Directiva y, por tanto, los Gobiernos de los Estados miembros tienen la oportunidad de hacer valer en el Consejo sus especificidades fiscales, allí donde las haya, por ejemplo, los territorios insulares.
                  

                     Pero imponer el veto sobre la base de la represalia frente a las medidas adoptadas y votadas por este Parlamento Europeo en relación con el Estado de Derecho es sencillamente inaceptable.
                  

                     De modo que se pone de manifiesto que la reforma de los Tratados, como consecuencia de los trabajos de la Conferencia sobre el Futuro de Europa, es inevitable para acabar con la unanimidad y establecer, por tanto, un proceso de toma de decisiones que permita, además, la ampliación. Estamos hablando de incorporar nuevos Estados miembros. ¿Puede sostenerse una ampliación sobre la base de una unanimidad que haga imposible un principio de justicia tributaria tan elemental como que las grandes multinacionales paguen donde obtienen los beneficios? La respuesta es sencillamente no.
                  

Maria Grapini (S&D). – Domnule președinte, domnule comisar, stimați colegi, iată, încă o dată, un blocaj la Consiliu. Da, a se ascunde sub subsidiaritate că taxarea ține de competența statului național este ridicol, pentru că aici vorbim de un acord pentru a pune capăt flagelului, pentru a pune capăt evaziunii fiscale, care este transnațională. Să fim serioși! Nu pot lupta IMM-urile dintr-un stat membru sau chiar un stat membru împotriva paradisurilor fiscale.
                  

                     De aceea, noi, Parlamentul, am votat masiv să existe acest acord și cred foarte mult că nu putem să scăpăm de această inechitate, până la urmă, și susțin ca și pilonul 1 și pilonul 2 să fie rezolvat prin acest acord. Da, rolul Comisiei și al Consiliului este să ajungă să pună în aplicare ceea ce noi am votat, să apărăm cetățenii europeni, să apărăm întreprinderile europene, cele mici și mijlocii, și să existe etică și echitate, să se plătească acest impozit minim de 15 % și impozitul pe profit acolo unde operează multinaționala.
                  

Margarida Marques (S&D). – Senhor Presidente, gostaria de lembrar que nós temos sido submetidos frequentemente, ou sistematicamente, a vetos ou a ameaças de vetos por parte de vários Estados-Membros da União Europeia. Aconteceu com a assinatura do Acordo de Paris por parte da Polónia, para que a União Europeia pudesse assinar em nome da União Europeia, com a negociação do quadro financeiro plurianual, com a aceitação da Polónia desta Global Tax e somos agora confrontados com a posição da Hungria.
                  

                     Acho que a União Europeia não pode legislar nesta base. É por isso que, necessariamente, a Comissão Europeia deve recorrer ao artigo 116.o do Tratado sobre o Funcionamento da União Europeia para que, efetivamente, se possa sair desta situação de bloqueio.
                  

                     Não podemos continuar sistematicamente a ser chantageados por um Estado-Membro da União Europeia. Gostaria também de lembrar que há aqui um aspeto que nós não podemos esquecer, que é a contribuição desta taxa para os recursos próprios, para o reembolso do NextGenerationEU.
                  

(Ende der spontanen Wortmeldungen)


Paolo Gentiloni,
Member of the Commission. – Mr President, I think that this debate confirmed how important it is for Parliament and for all the European Institutions to reach agreement on both Pillar One and Pillar Two.
We should never lose sight of what we are talking about. We are talking about establishing a reasonable level of effective minimum taxation at 15%. This would undermine the effectiveness of tax havens and of illegal tax competition, not fair competition, in the European Union, with a huge amount of additional revenues for our Member States, in a difficult economic situation.
Second, we are working on Pillar One on the target of reallocating taxing rights, because it is no more possible with the digital economy that taxing rights are paid only where companies establish their headquarters and not where they make profits. I think this is very popular, very well understood in our countries.
We have the unanimity rule, but the unanimity rule is not something allowing Member States to veto something that they have endorsed internationally and they have endorsed at a European level 20 days before. Because here we have also another principle in the Treaties, which is the principle of loyal cooperation among Member States. Is this loyal cooperation? I doubt it, honestly.
So I appreciate the call for considering the proposal from the Conference on the Future of Europe for qualified majority voting. You know that President von der Leyen has referred to this in several speeches.
I have heard strong voices calling for exploring the possibility of enhanced cooperation. Overall, I think that the EU decision-making process that we respect, because it's a democratic one, should not be undermined. For this reason, I repeat that, together with you, with the French Presidency, with the Council, we will not give up!

Clément Beaune,
président en exercice du Conseil. – Monsieur le Président, Monsieur le Commissaire, Mesdames et Messieurs les députés, je pourrais faire miens les commentaires que vient de faire à l'instant Paolo Gentiloni. Je crois qu'il faut qu'on distingue, dans cet objectif partagé de juste taxation, trois éléments.
                  

                     D'abord, la question qui se posera dans le moyen et le long terme – car cela prend du temps, mais cela est d'autant plus nécessaire – est celle de repenser, je le disais, nos modes de décision. C'est un sujet difficile que celui de l'unanimité, dans ce domaine en particulier. Mais la France, au-delà de sa présidence, y est engagée et déterminée.
                  

                     Nous pouvons aussi envisager, dans le cadre existant, les outils qui sont à notre disposition et que nous n'avons pas hésité à utiliser par le passé, malgré les difficultés, comme la coopération renforcée. C'est un outil à notre disposition et, je le dis en tant qu'État membre, au-delà du semestre de présidence, nous n'y sommes pas opposés. Mais, comme l'a rappelé le Commissaire Gentiloni à l'instant, sur le sujet majeur qui nous occupe aujourd'hui, il y a urgence et il y a nécessité de respect de la parole donnée et d'une coopération collective et loyale. C'est cela qui est en jeu, puisque, en effet, tous les États membres ont donné leur accord à ce texte international. Tous les États membres ont indiqué qu'ils soutenaient la mise en œuvre rapide de cet accord international. Il faut maintenant que chacun prenne ses responsabilités, tienne ses engagements.
                  

                     Le rôle de la présidence, du côté du Conseil, est de s'assurer que cette efficacité est au rendez-vous, que ces engagements sont tenus, en cherchant, dans le cadre juridique qui est le nôtre, un accord rapide. Et je le redis, jusqu'au dernier moment de notre présidence, jusqu'au 30 juin à minuit, nous y sommes engagés, consacrés, et je crois que nous réussirons parce que c'est l'intérêt de l'Europe et que nous ne pouvons pas imaginer, dans des moments aussi difficiles que ceux que nous vivons – le Conseil européen nous le rappellera encore, dans quelques heures –, que l'Europe se divise sur des sujets sur lesquels c'est elle qui a fait avancer la coopération internationale, grâce à nous tous.
                  

                     Tous ces sujets doivent donc être bien distingués. S'il se trouvait d'autres voies, nous les explorerions. Mais aujourd'hui, c'est le respect des accords conclus, des paroles données et des engagements pris qui est notre priorité, notre boussole pour les heures qui viennent.
                  

Der Präsident. – Die Aussprache ist geschlossen.
                  


Schriftliche Erklärungen (Artikel 171)



Marc Botenga (The Left),
schriftelijk. – Als het gaat om het belasten van multinationals, vinden ze in deze Europese Unie altijd wel ergens iemand om dat te verhinderen. Nu eens blokkeert Luxemburg een wet tegen belastingontwijking of fiscale paradijzen, dan weer wil Ierland niet van een Europees belastingpakket voor het grootbedrijf weten. Ook bij de belasting op financiële transacties werd het een spelletje van wie wat wanneer uitholde. Een pingpong om toch maar te vermijden dat het grootbedrijf iets bijdraagt.
                  

                     Nu blokkeert dus het Hongarije van Viktor Orbán een deal die, och arme, een minimumbelastingniveau van 15% voor multinationals moet garanderen. Vijftien procent. Dat is echt weinig. Heel weinig. Nauwelijks een paar decennia geleden was dat in België nog 48 %. Maar voor extreem- en conservatief rechts is zelfs 15 % te veel. Daarmee toont het nog maar eens aan wiens kant het staat in de strijd tussen arbeid en kapitaal. De werkende klasse mag altijd betalen, maar de multinationals wil het vooral niets opleggen. Wij staan aan de andere kant. Het is duidelijk: deze deal moet er komen, maar voor fiscale rechtvaardigheid is meer nodig. Want terwijl de dividenden de pan uit rijzen, komen de mensen nauwelijks rond. Meer ambitie kan via versterkte samenwerking tussen ambitieuzere lidstaten.
                  

Beata Kempa (ECR),
na piśmie. – Nie ma sesji plenarnej PE bez debaty o Polsce czy Węgrzech. Co te debaty przynoszą? Kompletnie nic. Nie ma zmiany władzy, jak chciał pan Pons z EPP. Nie ma zagłodzenia Polski, jak chciała pani Barney z S&D. Nie ma tęczowej rewolucji, którą widziała pani Reintke. Jest za to postępujące osłabienie wewnętrzne Wspólnoty Europejskiej, erozja wolności i suwerenności państw członkowskich, które są boksowane przez instytucie unijne ku uciesze części izby. Za tym wszystkim stoi głęboka niesprawiedliwość, która krajom starej UE daje jakiś moralny supremat nad krajami, które dołączyły do UE po 2004 roku. W tym wszystkim widać też grę interesów ekonomicznych krajów starej UE, które od lat nie potrafią opanować swoich problemów wewnętrznych związanych z bezpieczeństwem oraz bezrobociem, a starających się za wszelką cenę zbudować scenerię, na tle której wyglądają zacnie. Dość podwójnych standardów w UE, czas na współprace i zrozumienie, a nie butę i federalizm.
                  
4.   Composition of committees and delegations

Der Präsident. – Ich habe noch eine Bekanntgabe: Die Fraktion Renew Europe hat der Präsidentin einen Beschluss über die Änderung von Ernennungen in einem Ausschuss übermittelt. Dieser Beschluss wird im Protokoll der heutigen Sitzung veröffentlicht und tritt am Tag dieser Ankündigung in Kraft.
               

(Die Sitzung wird um 10.52 Uhr unterbrochen.)


PRESIDENZA: ROBERTA METSOLA


President

5.   Resumption of the sitting

(The sitting resumed at 11.03)

6.   Formal sitting – Address by Hakainde Hichilema, President of the Republic of Zambia

President. – Dear colleagues, dear President Hichilema, in May 2017, this House adopted a resolution in which we expressed grave concern over your arrest, Mr President, and incarceration on fabricated, politically motivated charges. We insisted on the need to ensure fairness, diligence and transparency during your trial. After the abuse and hardship you suffered, you now address us as the democratically elected President of your country. It is indeed, therefore, a great honour to have you with us today.
Zambia is a democratic model in Southern Africa and an example of a mature democracy for the whole African continent. In the current troubled geopolitical context, it is important that democratic forces nourish and further develop cooperation with each other. This applies especially for Africa, where we see the increasing influence of Russia and other malign players.
Zambia is a long-term, stable partner of the European Union and plays a key regional role. Our relationship is rooted in a spirit of mutual respect and cooperation. It is based on shared values of democracy, respect for the rule of law, human rights and rules-based multilateralism.
We are well aware of the serious economic challenges brought on your country by the pandemic and exacerbated by the increased prices of fuel and fertilisers resulting from the Russian aggression against Ukraine.
The European Union stands ready to mitigate these consequences through the ‘Global Gateway Africa’ initiative and through reinforced political dialogue. This Parliament fully supports your government in its endeavours to tackle your main challenges and priorities – notably the fight against poverty, encouraging economic recovery, the creation of decent jobs and the promotion of good governance.
Dear President, the floor is yours.

Hakainde Hichilema,
President of the Republic of Zambia. – Thank you very much your excellency, Ms Roberta Metsola, President of the European Union Parliament, honourable Members of the European Union Parliament, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, greetings to you all from Zambia.
Allow me first and foremost to express our sincere condolences on behalf of the people of Zambia, and indeed on my own behalf, on the passing of his excellency Mr David Sassoli, former President of the European Parliament. May his soul rest in peace.
Honourable Members, this is the first time in Zambia's history that a sitting president addresses a European Union Parliament, and it is a source of great pride for our country that we have been recognised as an exemplary democracy on the African continent and as a key cooperating partner of the European Union. We thank you for this recognition, and we look forward to deepening our engagement and collaboration in the coming years, which should result in tangible benefits for both the people of the Republic of Zambia and indeed the European Union.
May I address my 2017 incarceration, which the President of the Parliament has indicated.
Honourable Members, it is a particular privilege for me to personally address this Parliament given the circumstances of 2017. I am talking about the incarceration.
Following our unlawful incarceration in 2017, the EU Parliament boldly and consistently demanded not only for my release, but also for the restoration of the rule of law in our country and of course, human rights. And an official resolution was passed by yourselves. An official resolution was passed by yourselves – this is absolutely, absolutely humbling to us.
The resolution of 2017 on Zambia, particularly the case of one Hakainde Hichilema, who happens to be myself, was a mark of true solidarity and real commitment to protecting human rights. I remain indebted to you for standing up for human rights and freedom, not only for myself and my co-accused, but for all of the people of the Republic of Zambia under the extremely difficult circumstances that we faced at the time.
I thank you most sincerely for this gesture. Truly the people of Zambia thank you for taking a principled position on the promotion of human rights in our country and indeed on our continent.
The Zambia 2021 elections deserve my comment, our comment.
Honourable Members, Zambia's general elections held last year in August; in that time, that election, the people of Zambia demonstrated remarkable strength and resolve in their determination to preserve Zambia's democracy by voting out the party then which was in government and voting for us into government.
It was a very extraordinary display of willpower and people power in the face of economic hardships and indeed political intimidation. In the face of economic hardships it was difficult for ordinary people to make such a democratic decision as they did in our favour.
And it's clearly, clearly, you know, we owe the people of Zambia a huge gratitude for that. They decided that they wanted change for a better livelihood, given the circumstances that they faced.
This was not only merely an election, but a call to action, a call for change. The youth, I must say, who made up 56% of our registered voters, were at the heart of this call for change. I must acknowledge that, and we thank them for that. They showed leadership, courage, determination, at a time when Zambia needed those qualities the most because democracy was under threat at that particular time.
On a continent where far too often elections turn out violent, but in our country we able to go through a smooth, non-violent transition, once again, because our country has done it several other times since 1991, when we moved from a one-party state control to a democracy; peaceful change then, peaceful change in 2011; peaceful change in 2021. Really, credit goes to the people of Zambia for being resilient and for their love for democracy.
This is what Zambia is known for. This is who we are. And we intend to continue on this path on our continent, which sometimes is described negatively – if not sometimes, most of the times, I must say.
Honourable Members, as we reflect on this achievement, I wish to once again express our sincere gratitude to the European Union, yourselves, who, together with others, deployed a physical observer mission in our country to observe elections led by one of you here, the honourable Member of this House, Ms Maria Arena. Thank you to you, madam, and your team.

(Applause)

The observer mission was a continuation of the long-standing relationship that we've had with the European Union and a clear demonstration of commitment by yourselves to supporting Zambia's democratic process – well acknowledged and appreciated. On behalf of the people of Zambia, I wish to place on record our deep sense of gratitude to you in the EU, who once again demonstrated your commitment to walking alongside us in our quest for development under difficult circumstances. We thank you for that.
May I address the issues of human rights – human rights, governance and anti-corruption in our country.
Honourable Members, in Zambia we inherited a very difficult situation, and Zambia at the time of elections was on the brink of economic collapse, where corruption, excess and greed of public officials reigned supreme. No one stood in their way. They got what they wanted, yet they were supposed to be servants of the people, not to be served, but they chose to be served.
So much short-sighted policies were put in place, designed to extract maximum benefit for the few at the expense of the many, where the order of the day was basically converting public resources into private hands. Really an unacceptable situation.
In Zambia, we inherited freedom of expression, freedom of association; civic participation was curtailed. Our democratic institutions designed to ensure checks and balances were compromised, ladies and gentlemen, honourable Members of this House, and reduced to mere instruments of dominance for those who held power – very evident.
It is against that backdrop that I stand here to firmly attest that the rule of law, following the changes in our elections in August, the rule of law and respect for human rights are a matter of priority in terms of their restoration. And we did just that.
One of our major pronouncements after taking office was to indicate to all our citizens that community violence, political thuggery was unacceptable, and anyone who engaged in that from the then ruling party at the time or from our own party would be on their own. And that signified the end of community violence.
And today, Zambians can move freely at bus stops, at markets, widows, single mothers, trading to take care of their children, without the violence which we experienced only 11 months ago. Leadership, in our view, is key in these areas.
I must say Zambia's reputation for peace and democracy is a source of great pride to us, which our administration will continue to protect and safeguard. The peace, stability and unity of our beloved nation is not up for any negotiation at any cost. And we want to make sure that as we progress managing public affairs, we strengthen institutions so that in future no one comes again with such heavy handedness.
I think it's important for us to draw the line and ensure that such things don't become common in future. But we need partners to do that. You are the partners, you are some of the partners.

(Applause)

A free media is indispensable, ladies and gentlemen, to a democratic governance and our administration will protect this fundamental principle of democracy in our national discourse. As you may know – probably you don't – in the last government so many media houses were shut down. And we committed when we came into office that not a single media house would shut because the government had sacked it; it would shut because it had failed to operate commercially. That would be the only reason, or indeed other reasons, not the political shutdowns which we experienced.
We committed to this because it is important to provide checks and balances. Every single Zambian is welcome to participate in the governance of our country. It is the right of every citizen and our government to lead by listening to the will of the people at all times.
Honourable Members, may I address legislative reform in our country. The state of our country in terms of democratic governance, economic performance and upholding human rights, as I have said already, demands that we take bold action to arrest its decline, which we inherited at the time. This is why we have placed reform at the very top of our agenda; amongst the critical issues that we place particular attention is the legislative reform, as I said, to curtail excesses of the past.
It's important that we don't just legislate, but we also strengthen institutions, oversight institutions, because it's not possible to legislate and expect results without – without – actually ensuring compliance. And compliance is better delivered by institutions that will outlast a political party in office – very important to us.
Honourable Members, as part of these reforms and in response to the extensive recommendations, yet again, I must say, by the EU observer mission – I see her still sitting over there – thank you madam, thank you very much – your extensive recommendations by your missions and others our government will undertake, it has already started undertaking significant electoral reforms, electoral reforms that would tackle inherent weaknesses in the system and mainly to progress towards increasing the independence of our electoral commission, our electoral body. Because this is important to ensure participation of citizens is guaranteed, transparency is guaranteed at all levels of political competitive elective offices – grassroots, up to the president's. It's very important to us.
May I comment a little bit about our youth. Honourable Members, as an administration, we regard our election not as a triumph but as a challenge. Very important. Our challenge over the next five years is to lay the foundations that will see a prosperous future for Zambia's future generations.
It is important to us that we must and we will tap into and enhance the innovation, wonder of the youth who hold enormous potential in developing new and intensive, inventive rather, responses to the challenges that we face as a country. Our children and youth are our future, as it is here in Europe – no question about it. It is in them that we shall invest in the coming years, invest probably disproportionately higher in skills development amongst our youth, because it is very, very important that we do that.
And we want to rebuild our economy and repair the social fabric of our country to create opportunities, as I said, for skills, for jobs, for self-employment, for our youth. This is why our administration has made primary, ladies and gentlemen, and secondary education completely free, even in a challenged environment with a restricted treasury, our first budget delivered free education, universal education for all our children, especially children from disadvantaged families, underprivileged families.

(Applause)

We have a debate going on in Zambia at the moment, ladies and gentlemen, where the colleagues in the opposition, probably rightly so, are saying that our policy of free education has failed. And why? Because there's over enrolment in the classrooms. There are more pupils than ever before, before the policy was introduced. And we have responded and said it's a clear demonstration that children were not in school before the free education policy was implemented.
Our challenge now is to buy more desks, to build more classroom space, and we are committed to doing that. I think this is the level, the level we see the importance of the youth and tooling, re-tooling the youth for their future development.
Ladies and gentlemen, coupled with a free education, we have also increased what we call a constituents development fund to basically decentralise resource allocation to match the local priorities of our people in the constituencies, all of the constituencies across the country. And then they will decide what is the priority for development for them. And this government – our government – has allocated resources to allow them to implement those developmental priorities that they've decided upon. Never happened before. It never happened before us.
Just to give you a contrast: 11 months ago the Constituency Development Fund in our local currency was ZMK 1.6 million – nothing! In our office budget we've increased this to ZMK 25.7 million, close to USD 1.6 million per constituency to be decided by the local people. It's fundamental. You may not see it that way here because you are a big economy, but this is basically a life-changer in our country.
Let me comment a little bit on our economy and Zambia-EU cooperation. It's very important that we comment on this.
Honourable Members, the performance of the Zambian economy over the last decade has been on a downward trajectory. The rising cost of basic commodities is the order of the day. The cost of fuel, inflation, poor economic policies – as I mentioned earlier – had basically left our economy on its knees before we took office. Our country, yet with so much wealth in terms of potential, was reduced to abject poverty. Our people were reduced to abject poverty. This is unacceptable, 58 years after independence.
Repairing, therefore, restoring and reviving our economy will therefore be the main marker of our government's performance. That will be the main marker. As a government, we want to make sure that our people are considered first as public servants, which you are yourselves in this Parliament.
Our people come first. We are there to serve, not to be served by them. A clear contrast from the previous regime. This is our priority and the bedrock upon which we want to develop policies around. This is the change that drove us to be ushered into office. And this is it. That's what we have to work on.
We are committed to becoming a more productive and industrious country over the years to come. Zambia has a lot of capacity to produce quality goods and services for the EU and other regional and global markets. We therefore seek a favourable trade and investment relationship with yourselves in Europe for mutual benefit – very important to us.
Small and medium enterprises are crucial to us in this regard. We want to make sure that these become part of the building blocks for our economic revival going forward. We look to you, our partners – I shall repeat this – we look to you, our partners, to work with us to establish financial assistance packages that aid research, development, technology and skills that will create new and sustainable Zambian small and medium enterprises.
We look to working with you as the EU to help us to improve access to credit for SMEs through initiatives such as the Global Investment Package, which will lead to increased industrialisation, agricultural production, manufacturing, trade and sustainable energy sources for our SMEs.
This is the surest and most sustainable way of creating meaningful employment, and of course diversifying our economy. We are encouraged by the first ever, ladies and gentlemen, we are encouraged by the first ever Zambia-EU economic forum, which we recently held in Lusaka under the theme ‘Economic Transformation through Green Growth’. We're very, very enthused about this occasion, and it was the first of its kind between the EU and Zambia – very, very encouraging to us.
This important engagement, which brought together entrepreneurs, corporate institutions, financial institutions from Europe, obviously working with our own people, our own enterprises in Zambia, is very, very highly appreciated, and we expect that it will become an annual event going forward because we must institutionalise this, we must ensure continuity of the progress that we made.
This is in line with our recognition of the private sector as a key driver of our economy, of course with government support; this is a crucial part of our government's efforts to repair, restore and revive Zambia's economy, anchored around these issues. Our government wishes to leverage on these initial steps and ensure that the red tape and other barriers are dealt with.
Our economy is open for business, ladies and gentlemen, once more, our economy is open for business. Zambia is back in business. As you would say it in football here – Europe like Africa has a love of football – we are back in the Champions League.

(Applause)

Ladies and gentlemen, food insecurity and climate change, just to address that a little bit.
Honourable Members, as the world faces critical shortages of key agricultural produce and as we witness the devastating effects of food insecurity in all our regions of Africa, and beyond, Zambia is well-placed. May I remind the House, Zambia is well placed and suited and aims to be a major contributor to addressing this insecurity in the food around the world.
In this regard, I am pleased to note that Zambia and the EU have increasingly collaborated in agricultural endeavours and I urge more collaboration in this important sector. Ladies and gentlemen, Zambia has the potential to be the solution to food instability in our region, and we intend to work with you to realise this potential. We urge you and our European partners, you are the European partners, as a collective, as the European Union, but also as individual member countries, to come on board and explore the numerous opportunities for joint investments in Zambia's agricultural sector – huge potential, good agronomic conditions, soils, sun, you know, clean water, fresh water not saltwater, fresh water. Basically a good climate for growing food.
As we work to increase our agricultural and industrial output, we are cognizant of a responsibility to do so sustainably – sustainably. This is why our government is taking concrete steps to harness Zambia's potential to develop renewable energy, ladies and gentlemen, as well as sustainable agriculture to mitigate the devastating impacts of climate change.
We have created the first ever Minister of Green Economy and Environment in our country's history to dedicate efforts to sustainability as we engage in agriculture, in our quest to develop green energy. We want sustainability to be the order of the day. We are keen to leverage on these areas and to create joint investment opportunities between yourselves and ourselves.
Honourable Members, in pursuit of our economic transformation, we look to cooperating with other partners, you our partners, European partners as a whole, as I said, but also as individual countries. While we appreciate development support from yourselves and others, we look forward to more partnerships, greater investment and trade. This is the most sustainable way to work together, and Zambia is up to the task in this area.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me address the issue of migration. I'm sure you expect me to do that – the issue of migration.
Honourable Members, in enhancing collaboration and partnership on various issues, Africa and the EU must take advantage of the presence of the skilled human capital available on both continents – on both continents.

(Applause)

And we are talking about skills from women. The skills from our women, the skills from our youth, who have the energy. These are most desired because they will provide that skilled labour for longer periods of time and help to look after the older skill holders as they retire. I think it's an important equation to look at.
So ladies and gentlemen, honourable Members, Africa and Europe have a lot in common, and our people have a lot to learn from one another. Africa and Europe have traded with each other for centuries – even in the Stone Age era, the Iron Age era the two continents traded with each other. I believe it's true because we just got separated. If you look at the distance that separates Africa and Europe, it's so small. It means at one point we just used to walk over to each other's village. And obviously the climate over millions of years changed that situation for us.
It is important that easing the movement of labour between our continents will, and therefore should, contribute to peer-to-peer knowledge exchange, improve the flow of information and bring about new innovations. Putting in place therefore, honourable Members, putting in place formal agreements and easing the movement of people between our regions will also assist in reducing illegal and negative migration. No one wants illegal and negative migration, but we must open up formally so that people can move.

(Applause)

If we can be specific, certainly at the moment between Zambia and Europe and EU individual countries, there's more movement of people, easy movement of people, from your continent to our country. I think we need to ensure that we really look at this situation together and begin to arrest this problem from source, deal with this negative migration from source, working together.
I think it is not healthy to push back people on ships once they have accessed your countries. We can pre-empt that. We can proactively avoid that. I believe we can work together in that sphere.

(Applause)

Ladies and gentlemen, we stand ready to channel our resources and energies towards achieving the benefits that are ready to be unlocked for our people in collaborating with yourselves. And I want to repeat, we as a country are open for business. Zambia is ready to transact with yourselves.
The International Monetary Fund – honourable Members, we strive to deal with one of our challenges, which is debt which we inherited. And we are very, very grateful for the support that the European Union has rendered to Zambia in unlocking our debt situation. And to that score, we are very pleased that on 16 June, which is only last week, the first creditors' meeting under the common framework took place. And we want to congratulate and thank France, a member of the European Union, and the Republic of China that co-chaired the creditors' meeting. Thank you to the European Union for your support. But we need you to continue supporting us in resolving our debt crisis.

(Applause)

Peace and stability – I'm sure you expect me to address this issue and I want to address it as well, very briefly. Peace and security. Peace and security. Honourable members, Zambia has been a bastion of peace and stability in our region and our continent since independence. We aim to maintain this distinguished reputation as we continue to lead and participate in efforts to restore peace in the troubled regions of not just Southern Africa, but Africa and the continent at large.
This is extremely important. Zambia remains actively involved in the ongoing operations in the northern part of Mozambique called Cabo Delgado, where there's extremism there. Zambia remains engaged on the issues around the conflict between the DRC, eastern Congo and Rwanda. It's very important that we remain engaged. As the world grapples with instability in various regions, we wish to express most sincerely our government's concern regarding the ongoing war in Ukraine. We are extremely concerned about that situation.
It is tragic and heart-breaking to witness the thousands of lives lost and the millions displaced unnecessarily as a result of an altogether avoidable conflict in Ukraine. While we stand by those that are directly affected by the war, both in Ukraine and in neighbouring countries – our own neighbouring countries and your own – there have been far-reaching consequences arising from this conflict and other conflicts, particularly on food – food security or insecurity, fuel, fertiliser and other commodities.
As a country, these three things are challenging our own economic reconstruction efforts. Food prices, fuel prices and fertiliser prices, and they are beginning to drive the cost of living, which will impact negatively more on the very poor that we would like to support to improve their living standards. And war is not what we need – anywhere, anywhere, any part of.

(Applause)

We therefore categorically say no to war in Ukraine and elsewhere.

(Applause)

And we continue to urge the parties directly and indirectly involved to resolve these matters from the negotiation tables.

(Applause)

That's the correct way of doing it.
As I stated, ladies and gentlemen, in my maiden address to the African Union Assembly in February this year, and I want to quote myself, then I said, ‘instability anywhere is instability everywhere’. There's no question about it. We've seen that ourselves.

(Applause)

We prefer and we argue to this Parliament and beyond this Parliament, we prefer to channel, all of us, our resources, energy, indeed time to resolving conflicts in all regions of the world. We should all focus on improving the lives of our people everywhere in our interconnected world instead of waging wars.
I must repeat this. We must focus our energies, all of us, on improving the welfare, the lives of our people, children, women, old people, differently abled and other disadvantaged communities, all of us, rather than waging wars across the world. I think that message must go and go straight.

(Applause)

Honourable Members of the distinguished European Parliament, in conclusion, I wish to express once more, I wish to express once more profound gratitude for the support that you rendered personally to me in my difficult times and to the people of Zambia during the dark days in our democratic development as a country. Thank you very much for your support.
We also wish to thank the European Parliament for the incredible honour, incredible honour and privilege of addressing this esteemed House today. We are so grateful to you because we know you are busy, you have a lot on your plate, but you allowed us to address you, to listen to us. Zambia's partnership with the EU is built on a strong foundation of mutual respect, shared values and belief in the core tenets of democracy.
We look forward to growing this partnership significantly over the years to come, and we are confident of the benefits that our joint efforts will surely yield for our people in Zambia and indeed in the European Union. I thank you for your kind attention.

(Sustained applause)


President. – Thank you very much, President, for that speech.
7.   Composition of Parliament

President. – Before our session, I have one announcement, dear colleagues, before we go to the votes.
Following the resignation of Fernando Barrena Arza, Parliament takes note that, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure, his seat will be vacant as from 3 September 2022. Parliament will inform the national authority accordingly.
8.   Voting time

President. – The next item is the vote.

(For the results and other details on the vote: see Minutes)

We move now to the first vote on this historic day for Europe. We proceed with this very important joint motion for a resolution before this afternoon's European Council, which will decide on the candidate status of Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia.
8.1.   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) (vote)

President. –
(After the final vote on the joint resolution as a whole) The joint resolution is overwhelmingly adopted.

(Loud and sustained applause)

Congratulations, dear colleagues. I will convey this message of the strongest support this afternoon in a few hours at the European Council.
8.2.   Exceptional temporary support under EAFRD in response to the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine (C9-0185/2022) (vote)
8.3.   Gas storage (C9-0126/2022 - Cristian-Silviu Bușoi) (vote)
8.4.   EU Digital COVID Certificate – Union citizens (A9-0138/2022 - Juan Fernando López Aguilar) (vote)

— Before the vote:


Juan Fernando López Aguilar,
rapporteur. – Madam President, I thank you all, just a minute of your time to show appreciation for the work that has been carried out by the negotiating team in order not only to respond to the Commission's initiative to extend the current instrument before it comes to its deadline – soon enough, 1 July — but also to improve it in at least two ways.
First, by stating the principle that the Commission is to assess whether or not it's needed before the end of the year, according to the latest scientific developments and knowledge. And second, to commit the Commission to overview the domestic uses so that we prevent that there are further restrictions for travelling and that all the measures which are adopted are according to the principles of necessity and proportionality.

— After the vote on Amendment 18:


Jean-Paul Garraud (ID). – Madame la Présidente, l'amendement de rejet de ce règlement prolongeant l'utilisation du certificat numérique COVID de l'Union européenne jusqu'en juin 2023 venant d'être refusé, ce que nous regrettons profondément, je demande maintenant que soient mis au vote les amendements du groupe ID visant à limiter les atteintes aux droits fondamentaux qui en résulteront.
                  

                     Ces amendements proposent, par exemple, que l'utilisation du certificat numérique COVID de l'Union européenne ne soit requise par les États membres que lorsque cela est strictement nécessaire et proportionné, que ce certificat disparaisse avant la date prévue du 30 juin 2023, que les tests d'anticorps ou toute autre méthode scientifiquement validée pour prouver l'immunité naturelle permettent de bénéficier de ce certificat, et qu'au plus tard le 31 décembre 2022, la Commission présente un rapport au Parlement. Je rappelle à mes chers collègues qu'il s'agit d'un débat démocratique, et refuser ces amendements serait profondément antidémocratique.
                  

(The request to put the ID Group's amendments to the vote was rejected)

8.5.   EU Digital COVID Certificate – third-country nationals (A9-0137/2022 - Juan Fernando López Aguilar) (vote)
8.6.   Draft amending budget No 3/2022: financing reception costs of people fleeing Ukraine (A9-0181/2022 - Karlo Ressler) (vote)
8.7.   Mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund: application EGF/2022/001 FR/Air France – France (A9-0183/2022 - Fabienne Keller) (vote)
8.8.   Mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund: application EGF/2021/008 EL/Attica electrical equipment manufacturing – Greece (A9-0185/2022 - Bogdan Rzońca) (vote)
8.9.   Objection pursuant to Rule 112(2) and (3): Antimicrobials or groups of antimicrobials reserved for treatment of certain infections in humans (B9-0327/2022) (vote)
8.10.   Objection pursuant to Rule 112(2) and (3): Genetically-modified maize DP4114 × MON 810 × MIR604 × NK603 and genetically modified maize combining two or three of the single events DP4114, MON 810, MIR604 and NK603 (B9-0328/2022) (vote)
8.11.   Objection pursuant to Rule 112(2) and (3): Genetically-modified maize NK603 × T25 × DAS-40278-9 and its sub-combination T25 × DAS-40278-9 (B9-0326/2022) (vote)
8.12.   Nomination of a member of the Court of Auditors – Stephanus Abraham Blok (A9-0180/2022 - Markus Pieper) (vote)
8.13.   Renewal of the Agreement for scientific and technological cooperation between the European Community and the Federative Republic of Brazil (A9-0176/2022 - Cristian-Silviu Bușoi) (vote)
8.14.   Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters: accession by the European Union (A9-0177/2022 - Sabrina Pignedoli) (vote)
8.15.   Illegal logging in the EU (B9-0329/2022) (vote)
8.16.   Implementation and delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals (A9-0174/2022 - Barry Andrews, Petros Kokkalis) (vote)
8.17.   Implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (A9-0171/2022 - Eider Gardiazabal Rubial, Siegfried Mureșan, Dragoș Pîslaru) (vote)

— After the vote on Amendment 9:


Eider Gardiazabal Rubial,
rapporteur. – Madam President, after the Council's last decision we need to update our report. So I would like to present an oral amendment that is supported by the PPE, Renew, the Greens, The Left and the S&D.
The oral amendment says, ‘Regrets the Council's decision to approve Poland's NRRP; reiterates the Parliament's position that no payment under the RRF can be made in relation to Poland's NRRP before …’ and then the text. And we also add, ‘considers that the recent Polish judiciary reform voted in the Polish Parliament on 16 June does not fulfil the requirements of milestone F1 in Poland's NRRP’.

(The oral amendment was not accepted)

8.18.   Inclusion measures within Erasmus+ 2014-2020 (A9-0158/2022 - Laurence Farreng) (vote)
8.19.   2021 Report on Montenegro (A9-0151/2022 - Tonino Picula) (vote)
8.20.   Future of EU-Africa trade relations (A9-0169/2022 - Helmut Scholz) (vote)
8.21.   Future of EU international investment policy (A9-0166/2022 - Anna Cavazzini) (vote)

President. – That concludes the vote.

Puhetta johti HEIDI HAUTALA


varapuhemies

9.   Explanations of vote

President. – Dear colleagues, we move to the explanations of vote. So I would request you to leave the room so that we can give space to the 21 Members who want to give an explanation of vote.
9.1.   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)

Suulliset äänestysselitykset


Eugen Tomac (PPE). – Doamna președintă, este o premieră și cred că este de salutat faptul că Uniunea Europeană răspunde acestor așteptări care există din partea Moldovei și Ucrainei. Îmi doresc foarte mult ca și Consiliul European să se alinieze mesajului pe care l-a transmis Parlamentul și Comisia, și anume să ofere o perspectivă de aderare foarte clară Ucrainei și Republicii Moldova. Acolo se moare astăzi pentru visul european și este foarte important ca mesajul nostru să fie încununat de un mesaj de încurajare din partea Consiliului.
                  

Seán Kelly (PPE). –
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 is testament to the continued progress being made by the people and government of Georgia in this regard.
Overall, the commitment of these three countries to European values and ideals has been remarkable, particularly in recent months following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The ambition of these countries to accede to the European Union has become even clearer. It is my hope that progress can be made on this front as quickly as possible and I am delighted with the positive vote here in Parliament today. It must really encourage particularly the unfortunate people of Ukraine.

Mick Wallace (The Left). – Madam President, the EU could have offered Ukraine conditional European Union membership in exchange for restoring neutrality in Ukraine and ending the war in the Donbas long before now, in line with the Minsk Agreement. It would have avoided the present war.
The EU has spent EUR 15 billion on ‘Ukraine's reform process’ since 2014, and yet only last September, the European Court of Auditors deemed Ukraine the most corrupt country in Europe. Zelenskyy has now banned nine opposition parties and most of the opposition media. Is Ukraine a democracy?
We need a negotiated peace now. Polling shows that the majority of people in Europe are in favour of peace rather than just punishing Russia. Macron, Schulz and Draghi went to Zelenskyy's Ukraine with a view to actually encouraging some negotiation, but were quickly followed by the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, who put him off the idea. He wants the US-NATO war agenda instead.
Are we going to let the warmongers ensure the destruction of Ukraine? Are we going to let the warmongers collapse living standards in the EU and cause the starvation of millions in the global South?

Clare Daly (The Left). – Madam President, ‘The goal is an endless war, not a successful war’ – those were the words of Julian Assange in 2011 in relation to the war in Afghanistan, words which could now equally apply about Ukraine.
Ukraine should absolutely be able to join the EU, but on terms that don't bankrupt its people, and when it's ready and when a majority of its people choose. But that certainly will not be happening while the country is an active war zone, everybody knows it. So instead, we're artificially prolonging this war with a steady flow of heavy weapons, attacking peace efforts as appeasement.
The EU is guaranteeing a stalemate and ensuring that Ukraine will never be able to choose its own path. President von der Leyen gave the game away last Friday when she said Ukrainians are ready to die for the Ukrainian perspective. My God, what a deluded narcissist!
The real plan here – and we know candidate status is bait in a trap – is to transform Ukraine into a meat grinder and use its people as cannon fodder in an endless proxy war against Russia, with the European taxpayer footing one bill after another for the arms industry. There's nothing to celebrate in that!

Vlad Gheorghe (Renew). – Doamna președintă, am votat pentru viitorul european al Moldovei, Ucrainei și Georgiei. Acum, și așa, scriem istorie. Arătăm lumii întregi că ne ținem de cuvânt, că suntem lideri care știu și chiar fac ce trebuie. Pentru noi, valorile europeane nu sunt doar pe hârtie. Îi apărăm pe cei care le apără.
                  

                     Românii știu ce înseamnă să fii invadat de tancuri care uită să mai și plece. România știe ce înseamnă să ți se ia bucăți din tine la masa celor mari. Știm că armata eliberatoare de fapt distruge. În 2022, la fel ca în 1945. Am promis că niciodată nu mai permitem așa ceva. Spunem că suntem uniți, ne mândrim că suntem puternici împreună.
                  

                     Moldova, Ucraina și Georgia ne-au crezut. Moldovenii au votat să intre în Uniunea Europeană. Ucrainienii luptă ca să intre în Uniunea Europeană. Georgienii au ieșit în stradă cu zecile de mii ca să intre în Uniunea Europeană. Am auzit vocile lor și acum avem datoria să le și ascultăm.
                  
9.2.   Gas storage (C9-0126/2022 - Cristian-Silviu Bușoi)

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Eugen Tomac (PPE). – Doamnă președintă, am votat acest raport. Stocarea gazelor este o prioritate pentru care am votat. Ne aflăm într-un moment critic în care trebuie să putem garanta securitatea energetică a Europei pentru toți cetățenii. Vine o iarnă grea, pentru care trebuie să fim pregătiți. Putin, în mod sigur, va tăia gazul către Europa. Ce măsuri urgente putem lua acum, pentru a nu suferi la iarnă?
                  

                     În primul rând, trebuie să asigurăm logistica necesară stocării gazelor. În ciuda numeroaselor angajamente luate, capacitatea de înmagazinare a gazului în România nu a crescut semnificativ în ultimii 30 de ani.
                  

                     Trebuie să modernizăm urgent și să dotăm corespunzător depozitele și minele unde vom continua înmagazinarea. Trebuie să construim rapid noi depozite pentru stocarea gazelor. De asemenea, temporar, trebuie să repornim centralele termice pe bază de cărbune și să alocăm subvenții pentru lemne de foc pentru cetățenii vulnerabili.
                  

Seán Kelly (PPE). –
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 Ursula von der Leyen, she has gone around the world trying to get alternative supplies – Japan, Kuwait, Qatar, etc.
But at the same time, in some countries – and particularly my own country – we have an opportunity to build an LNG terminal, which the agreement is objecting to. Secondly, we have vast resources of gas offshore, which we could utilise pretty quickly. So we're quite happy for someone else to take it out of the ground and export to us and not to take it out of the ground ourselves.
I think in this time of crisis, the Commission should look at what resources are there within Europe, particularly that we can utilise so that we are not dependent on Russian gas and Putin won't be able to put us into a severe position this winter and the following winter.
9.3.   Draft amending budget No 3/2022: financing reception costs of people fleeing Ukraine (A9-0181/2022 - Karlo Ressler)

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Billy Kelleher (Renew). – Madam President, I strongly supported the motion for a resolution on the draft amending budget to finance reception costs of people fleeing Ukraine. There is no doubt there are about four and a half million people who have left Ukraine, fleeing Russian military aggression in their country.
I was very heartened at the response that the European Union came up with in such a short period of time, but particularly the Member States that are closest to Ukraine itself. I instance the extraordinary efforts of the Polish people in trying to accommodate as many Ukrainian refugees as is possible. Of course, there has been a dispersing of refugees across the entire European Union, and I want to commend all of those people that have tried to accommodate Ukrainian refugees, either in their own areas, communities or their own homes.
But we need to be conscious that this could go on for a prolonged period of time. So we need to be continually reviewing the budget so that we have enough supports in place to ensure that there is no downgrading of facilities, of support to Member States that are housing and receiving refugees from Ukraine.

Clare Daly (The Left). – Madam President, I voted for this report because I'm always in favour of giving money to refugees not just in Ukraine, but everywhere. I'm thinking today also of the people of Afghanistan who are grappling with a horrific earthquake on top of starvation, sanctions and being blocked out from entry to the European Union.
We have to end these double standards, but we also have to look at the policies that are making people refugees in the first place – mainly war and climate change. The report bemoans the lack of funds in the multiannual framework that we can use for refugees. That's fair enough. But why is that the case? It's because we're spending billions on the European Defence Fund, on the misnamed European Peace Facility, billions to the European coastguard to help drown people in the Mediterranean, billions to ensure that the Ukrainian war continues rather than working for peace and a negotiated settlement.
It was striking that when the President of Zambia called for that today, a majority of colleagues sat on their hands. They didn't want to know. But actually, a negotiated peace is the best way to help the refugees in Ukraine.
9.4.   Illegal logging in the EU (B9-0329/2022)

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Seán Kelly (PPE). – A Uachtaráin, vótáil mé i bhfabhar an rúin seo maidir le lománaíocht mhídhleathach san Aontas Eorpach. Cé gur ábhar imní in a lán Ballstát í an lománaíocht seo gan dabht agus í ag déanamh dochar don timpeallacht agus do na gnáthóga, ceapaim go bhfuil sé tábhachtach chomh maith, lománaíocht dhleathach a spreagadh.
                  

                     Is constaic ollmhór é an próiseas pleanála in Éirinn agus de bharr sin, cuirtear i bhfad níos mó heicteár i mo thír gach bliain ná mar a chuirtear i dtíortha eile. Tá sé ríthábhachtach go gcuirfear bainistíocht inbhuanaithe foraoise i bhfeidhm timpeall an Aontais Eorpaigh chun ár bhforaoisí a chaomhnú sna blianta atá amach romhainn.
                  

                     Beidh sé sin níos tábhachtaí fós chun ár spriocanna eile maidir le bithéagsúlacht agus athrú aeráide a bhaint amach. Caithfidh an Coimisiún agus na Ballstáit rud éigin a dhéanamh anois chun dul i ngleic le lománaíocht mhídhleathach chun ár dtimpeallacht a chaomhnú sna blianta atá le teacht agus brú a chur ar Éirinn níos mó chun níos mó crann a chur.
                  

Андрей Слабаков (ECR). – Г-жо Председател, аз гласувах против и ще се опитам да ви обясня много накратко за какво става дума. В този доклад няма нито една дума каква е причината за незаконната сеч. Това на първо място. Аз мога да ви кажа обаче каква е причината. Това е сбърканата енергийна политика на Европейския съюз.
                  

                     Освен това няма нито дума за така наречената битова сеч. Това са обикновени граждани, които няма с какво да се отопляват и започват вече да секат и в парковете, и в градинките. Аз не ги оневинявам, но мисля, че този доклад е абсолютно непълен и по същество трябва да се разсъждава за основните причини за едно нещо да се случва, а не просто някакви хора да бъдат осъдени заради това, че са го направили.
                  

Vlad Gheorghe (Renew). – Doamna președintă, am votat pentru protejarea mediului astăzi, am votat împotriva tăierilor ilegale de pădure, împotriva hoților de lemne și grupurilor infracționale organizate care ne distrug viața tuturor. Trăim fenomene meteo extreme peste tot în Europa. E doar începutul. Copiii noștri nu au un viitor, dacă nu luăm măsuri acum.
                  

                     Tăierile ilegale de pădure declanșează reacții în lanț. E științific demonstrat și o știm cu toții. Cu toate acestea, există încă politicieni care pun mai presus de sănătatea oamenilor, profitul și avantajele proprii. Dar averea nu îi va păzi de ceea ce urmează.
                  

                     Există încă partide care cred că în țara lor nu sunt tăieri ilegale, nu sunt deșeuri, nu există braconaj, dar poluarea nu are granițe, stimați colegi. Cei care nu înțeleg asta votează împotriva propriilor cetățeni. Cei care se opun pedepsirii infractorilor de mediu, o fac cu prețul sănătății noastre și a copiilor noștri. Acești politicieni uită că nu există ozon privat. Nu poți cumpăra aer nepoluat, ape curate sau pământ neotrăvit.
                  
9.5.   Implementation and delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals (A9-0174/2022 - Barry Andrews, Petros Kokkalis)

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Mick Wallace (The Left). – Madam President, the report's proposal for a new governance scheme for the Sustainable Development Goals at EU level is positive and ambitious. The emphasis on the well-being of the economy and the need for the Commission to quickly deliver the beyond-GDP indicators is welcome.
However, the report ignores the fundamental problem with the SDGs themselves. Goal Number 8 calls for continued global economic growth equivalent to 3% per year to achieve the human development objectives. The SDGs assume that efficiency improvements will be enough to reconcile the tension between growth and ecological sustainability.
Of course, regional development in the global South must continue, but global economic growth is incompatible with many environmental targets. Even if absolute decoupling of growth from resource consumption is theoretically possible, its success must be measured in terms of climate targets and whether it fits with limiting global warming by 1.5 degrees.
There is simply no scientific basis for not questioning the growth imperative.
9.6.   Implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (A9-0171/2022 - Eider Gardiazabal Rubial, Siegfried Mureșan, Dragoș Pîslaru)

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Eugen Tomac (PPE). – Doamna președintă, cred că mecanismul de redresare și reziliență este un instrument foarte util și a fost primit pozitiv în toate statele membre, pentru că, după criza de sănătate publică, iată că astăzi trecem și prin alte crize, cum este criza umanitară, cum este criza de securitate, cum este criza creșterii prețurilor în energie și efectele pe care le produce aceasta în economie.
                  

                     Tocmai de aceea cred că planul inițial pe care și l-a asumat Uniunea Europeană prin acest instrument trebuie permanent gândit și adaptat la realitățile prin care trecem, pentru că, iată, prețurile care au crescut enorm de mult în ultima perioadă pun o povară, o presiune foarte puternică pe cetățeni. Tocmai de aceea cred că este esențial ca planurile de redresare și reziliență să poată fi oricând discutate între statele membre și Comisie, astfel încât ele să fie adaptate cât mai mult la realitățile prin care trece Europa astăzi.
                  

Billy Kelleher (Renew). – Madam President, the Recovery and Resilience Facility is a very important fund and it is there to ensure that economies can grow again and can invest in services.
But we have to also be honest. We can't have this as a bargaining chip on the fundamental principles of equality, of independence of the judiciary, independence of the media, and fundamental freedoms. Oppression of the LGBTQ community and oppression of women in certain countries is now something that's beginning to happen again. The idea that we would actually negotiate the most fundamental rights that are the pillars on what Europe is about with regard to the Recovery and Resilience Facility is, in my view, very unacceptable.
The countries that made applications to the Recovery and Resilience Fund knew in advance of making those applications their obligations to fundamental rights, their obligations to ensure that they eked out corruption in their countries, that they followed the independence of the judiciary and the independence of the media, and that there would be no oppression of minority groupings.
That is not happening in every country. Particularly in the context of Poland and Hungary, they have a long road to travel, and the idea that we would make these funds available to countries that don't comply is very regrettable.
9.7.   Inclusion measures within Erasmus+ 2014-2020 (A9-0158/2022 - Laurence Farreng)

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Virginie Joron (ID). – Madame la Présidente, je veux revenir sur deux votes importants de ce jour. Erasmus, évidemment, je suis pour. Les jeunes se rencontrent et découvrent l'Europe, ses paysages, ses châteaux, ses peuples. Et parfois l'histoire se termine bien avec des couples qui se forment. Mais à l'heure actuelle, Bruxelles organise une caravane mondiale: depuis 2004, plus de 100 000 Turcs ont fait Erasmus en Europe et on envoie nos étudiants au Nigeria. Cela coûte 26 milliards d'euros, et c'est quoi, le projet? C'est la raison de mon abstention sur ce vote.
                  

                     Quant au deuxième vote sur le passe sanitaire, j'ai évidemment voté contre. Le QR code pour tous? Non merci. La Commission de Bruxelles a ignoré les 400 000 Européens qui s'étaient exprimés contre et ici, au Parlement européen, la majorité les a ignorés aujourd'hui. Mais le combat continue. Pourquoi cet acharnement à vouloir injecter à des bébés de six mois un vaccin COVID qui ne marche pas? Tant qu'il y aura 1,3 million d'effets secondaires répertoriés par l'EMA, ne mettons pas en danger nos enfants, nos adolescents, nos étudiants.
                  

Андрей Слабаков (ECR). – Г-жо Председател, аз съм един от докладчиците в сянка на този доклад и много харесвам програмата Еразъм +, но мога да ви кажа, че гласувах против.
                  

                     В този доклад има много добри неща, като специално внимание към хората с увреждания или към тези, които са от отдалечени райони, но кажете ми къде в Европа сте чували някога за училище или университет, където се избира на база сексуална ориентация или на база етническа принадлежност. Това нещо никога не е съществувало и е напълно излишно да влиза в този доклад.
                  

                     Не разбирам защо трябва да има някакви привилегировани групи, защото това води, според моите разбирания, до огромна дискриминация на мнозинството. Освен това, това е прахосване на пари, които биха могли да се пренасочат за нещо значително по-разумно в областта на културата и образованието. Това са двата сектора, които винаги страдат най-много по време на кризи, без значение дали са здравни, дали са геополитически, или икономически.
                  

Billy Kelleher (Renew). – Madam President, I was very proud to vote in favour of this report, and particularly the inclusion measures contained in this. The Erasmus+ programme is a wonderful programme. It does allow young people to travel, to live, to learn, to love across Europe. Many Irish people have had that beautiful benefit of being able to study abroad, and we also welcome people to Ireland from other parts of Europe. It does give people a really grounded basis of what Europe is about and it opens up opportunities.
But it needs to be opened up more. I believe it's too restrictive in the sense that people who access it primarily are coming through the third-level system. I'd like to see it opened up into areas where people are studying in the trade sector and in the technological area as well.
So I'd like to see that broadening of the base and to ensure that people with disabilities and from minority backgrounds also have access to this particular programme. It would be wrong of us if we were just to contain this to those that are going through the formal third-level process as well. It is a wonderful programme and most young European citizens should have an opportunity of being able to embrace it in some way or another, rather than just through the formal third-level process itself.
9.8.   Future of EU-Africa trade relations (A9-0169/2022 - Helmut Scholz)

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Mick Wallace (The Left). – Madam President, the relation of the EU to the continent of Africa has been, and still is, one of brutal capitalist exploitation in the service of maintaining Western corporate profits. This criminal history cemented in place a structure of intentional de-development that saw the enormous wealth of Africa flow directly into European coffers for hundreds of years, and little has changed.
The unmentioned spirit haunting the aspirational language in this text is China. China has approached many African countries with more attractive ways of doing business, and if Europe wants to compete, it's going to have to change its approach. If all the recommendations in this report were followed to the letter, the world would be a better place. But the report does not go nearly far enough. There is no mention of France's colonial currency, no mention of debt cancellation.
We are continuing to pauperise the global South. We enrich ourselves at their expense morning, noon and night.

Clare Daly (The Left). – Madam President, I voted for the report also. I'd like to compliment my Left colleagues who acted as rapporteurs. There's a lot of really good stuff in it about safeguarding food sovereignty, preventing deforestation and degradation, and many more issues.
But the truth is, it's a million miles from the reality of EU-Africa trade policy as it exists now, because our economic relations with Africa are simply a continuation of European colonialism perpetuating exploitation by other means. Africa trades more with Europe than it does with itself. It's portrayed as a poor continent, but actually it's the richest. It's just that the people there are denied the fruits of their land and their labour by unequal economic relations, by unfair trade rules, by illicit capital flights into Western banks, and by multinational corporations allowed off the leash by Washington, London and Brussels.
This report would begin to change that. But I think it would take a revolution to actually make that a reality.

President. – That concludes the oral explanations of vote.
10.   Corrections to votes and voting intentions: see Minutes
11.   Modified referrals to committees (Rule 56): see Minutes
12.   Amendment of the Rules of Procedure (Rule 237): see Minutes
13.   Transfers of appropriations and budgetary decisions: see Minutes
14.   Documents received: see Minutes
15.   Approval of the minutes of the part-session and forwarding of texts adopted

President. – The minutes of the sessions of yesterday and today will be given to the Parliament for adoption at the beginning of the next session.
So if there are no objections, I convey the resolutions adopted in today's session without delay to those entities and persons that are mentioned in the resolutions.
16.   Dates of forthcoming sittings: see Minutes
17.   Closure of the sitting

(The sitting closed at 12.46)

18.   Adjournment of the session

President. – I declare adjourned the session of the European Parliament.


ELI: 
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)