New EU-Africa Strategy (debate)
Speaker: Vincenzo SOFO (Italy, European Conservatives and Reformists Group / Fratelli d'Italia)
Date: 2021-03-24

  Karlo Ressler,  rapporteur. – Mr President, more than a year has passed since Europe, together with the rest of the world, was struck by one of the worst crisis events in a generation. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of our lives. Many have lost their loved ones, or have not been able to visit their families. Millions of bars, restaurants and businesses had to shut down. Theatres, museums and classrooms continue to stay empty. Europeans have struggled greatly in this period and our hardships, unfortunately, are still not over. Despite the fact that the months ahead of us are unpredictable, we cannot stay idle. We have the responsibility to put forward a vision and adapt to newer circumstances. 
With this in mind, I have worked on the guidelines for the next annual budget of the European Union. The programmes, policies and agencies we have built over the years have been facing tremendous new challenges. This is why the next annual EU budget has to be a recovery budget in all its aspects. A recovery fit for all regions, all sectors and all generations. 
First of all, we need to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises receive our full support. SMEs constitute the backbone of the European economy, representing almost 99% of all businesses in Europe and providing around three-quarters of all jobs. Only by protecting that backbone that has been hit particularly hard can we ensure a vibrant economy that boosts investments and tackles unemployment. 
Furthermore, the next budget should provide all the tools needed to close the digital divide and enable Europe’s economy and public sector to be at the forefront of the accelerated digital transition. 
This transition obviously also needs to be in line with the targets set in the European Green Deal, by turning green challenges into investments and opportunities in order to achieve a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient economy. 
The COVID-19 crisis has put European health systems under unprecedented stress and exposed shortcomings in production capacities for vaccinations and other essential medical products in the Union. So in order to achieve our budgetary priorities, we will need to ensure a strong European health union based on solidarity and collective responsibility.
 – Kolegice i kolege, pandemija je još jednom pokazala ogromne zdravstvene i gospodarske razlike između država članica. 
Zato su ključne kohezijske politike koje bi novijim državama članicama trebale omogućiti hvatanje koraka u razvoju, ne zato da bi se same države što bolje pozicionirale nego radi toga kako bi svim europskim građanima osigurali jednake uvjete zdravstvene zaštite i jednake mogućnosti. 
U tom kontekstu, ne možemo ignorirati niti činjenicu da se cijela Europa, a osobito neki njezini dijelovi suočavaju s negativnim demografskim trendovima. Demografski deficit dugoročni je problem koji zaslužuje sveobuhvatan pristup. Stoga je nužno osvijestiti važnost demografske komponente svih europskih politika pa i u kontekstu članka 174. Ugovora o funkcioniranju Europske unije. 
Poseban fokus u ovim smjernicama stavili smo na mladu generaciju. Mladi su još jednom posebno pogođeni posljedicama ove krize, uz povećanu nezaposlenost i negativne učinke i na obrazovanje i na mentalno zdravlje. Stoga je potrebno iskoristiti sve mogućnosti financiranja kako bi se povećala uključenost mladih na tržištu rada ali i njihove obiteljske i životne prilike. 
Gospodarski rast neraskidivo je povezan i s unutarnjom sigurnošću, zaštitom naših granica te očuvanjem schengenskog prostora. Stoga mi je posebno drago što smo i u ovim smjernicama naglasili važnost daljnje integracije Schengena što bi nesporno donijelo gospodarske koristi za cijelu Europu. 
I would like to thank colleagues from all the political groups who have contributed to the guidelines we will be voting on later today and tomorrow. We have an opportunity to achieve a strong, unified and comprehensive position on how we want to shape the next year, through one of the most efficient tools we have. The annual budget, as part of the unprecedented investment packages, has to be a reflection of how best to use the resources at our disposal in order to prepare Europe for the new post-pandemic digital era. 
This is an important step in achieving a unified position of Parliament, a clear signal to the Commission and to the Council about our priorities and also a message to our citizens that the EU will continue strengthening all successful programmes and policies in order to ensure a stable and fair recovery.