Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 21-22 October 2021 (debate)
Speaker: Manfred WEBER (Germany, Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) / Christlich-Soziale Union in Bayern e.V.)
Date: 2021-11-23

  Manfred Weber,  on behalf of the PPE Group. – Mr President, today I do not start with a problem, I want to start with a solution. Traditionally we start with problems, but today I want to do it the other way around, because this morning and this lunchtime we voted in favour of the agricultural reform of the European Union, a big part of our budget for rural areas, for the independence of food production in Europe, for a more ecologically responsible behaviour in Europe. We took a good step.
I say this as an example that this model of bringing things together, compromising on issues, is needed more than ever before in a time when we have so many challenges in front of us. We are compromising and we are delivering. That’s the main message. I think the Slovenian Presidency did a good job. I think also the French Presidency in front of us will do a good job. We want to deliver now. That is our main aim. 
The top issues of the last Council meetings are in a way still there, even having in mind that we are already four weeks after the last Council, and the top issue for sure – when we talk about the concerns of our citizens – is still COVID. The virus is powerfully back and I think Europe as a whole is prepared. We ordered enough vaccine doses for our citizens, so we are prepared. We have to tell our citizens that the only chance to overcome it is to be vaccinated, to go for the vaccination. That’s the only chance to do it. My political appeal is hopefully we will not see more and more countries where vaccination is misused by party political interests, because that is growing even among the democratic landscape in the European Union. I hope that we can overcome this and we together try to convince our citizens. 
The second top issue is Belarus, and again good politics start with good analysis of the situation. I am happy that now more and more people understand that this is not a migration crisis, it’s a hybrid war going on. 
My first message is congratulations to the Commission and to the Council. Together, with Margaritis Schinas as the responsible Vice—President, we have managed to stop new arrivals in Minsk, in Belarus, and that is a great achievement, because Europe did it, not the Member States. We together managed this. 
I want to also give a clear message of support to the Border Guard, who are currently defending the European border. They are the persons who are defending Europe against this hybrid war and if we can create more legal certainty with an additional, let me say, review of what is currently the legal base, if we can give them more clarity about what they can do and what they should do, then I think that’s absolutely welcome. 
We cannot, as the EPP, accept any kind of deal with Lukashenko. Let me be clear on this. He created the problem. He has to solve the problem. In concrete terms, we don’t support any kind of humanitarian corridor to the European Union. Lukashenko wants to set an example that he won, and we cannot accept this. The message is that we are firm on the external border.
Another aspect – and that is equally important – is to care about the victims, because the people on the ground are not the problem, they are the victims. That’s why all activities together with the United Nations are welcomed and necessary, and we should again underline that this development on the eastern border of Europe is a wake—up call for all of us. We have to conclude the migration dossier. We have to come to a common understanding on how to manage this subject in the long run.
Und wenn Sie erlauben, möchte ich am Schluss noch ein Thema ansprechen, das beim Rat zentral im Mittelpunkt stand, nämlich die Rechtsstaatsfrage. Es war auf der Tagesordnung. Wir sind froh, dass es diskutiert worden ist. Vielleicht ist das schon der größte Erfolg, dass es überhaupt mal diskutiert worden ist. Also, wir sind froh. 
Aber wenn man sich anschaut, dass wir in der Europäischen Union Mitgliedstaaten haben, die EuGH—Urteile nicht akzeptieren, die Antikorruption nicht umsetzen, womit die Gefahr besteht, dass sie Gelder missbrauchen, die Disziplinarkammern haben, die einen klaren Bruch der Unabhängigkeit der Justiz mit bedeuten, dann ist man schon enttäuscht, wenn man keine Schlussfolgerungen sieht. Dann ist man enttäuscht, wenn beim Artikel-7-Verfahren nichts passiert, wenn die Erwartungen, die wir alle hatten, leider Gottes nicht umgesetzt worden sind. Und deswegen bitte ich den Präsidenten Michel, auch bei den anstehenden Sitzungen bei diesem Thema dahinter zu bleiben. 
Wir unterstützen einen politischen Dialog. Wir wollen, dass politisch gesprochen wird. Aber es muss auch etwas daraus entstehen. Es muss auch zu Ergebnissen kommen.