misclassified/meps_speeches_with_translation.csv huggingface dataset:
Speaker: Christian EHLER (Germany — Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands)
Political group: Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats)
Date: 2023-07-10
Debate: Industrial Emissions Directive - Industrial Emissions Portal - Deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure - Sustainable maritime fuels (FuelEU Maritime Initiative) - Energy efficiency (recast) (joint debate - Fit for 55 and Industrial Emissions)

  Christian Ehler (PPE).   – Frau Präsidentin, meine Damen und Herren! Die Industrieemissionsrichtlinie, wie sie vor der Revision bestand, trug erfolgreich zur Reduzierung von Emissionen in Europa bei. Im Grunde genommen ist sie auch ein modernes Instrument, denn sie hat einen Mechanismus, wo Industrie, NGOs, die öffentliche Hand über Jahre diskutieren, wie man technologischen Fortschritt erreichen kann.
Aber wir sind in diesem Fall vollkommen über den Rahmen hinausgeschossen. Das wird ein Beitrag zur Deindustrialisierung Europas sein. Es ist superbürokratisch, es sind riesige Auflagen für die Industrie, es wird kein Gramm Schadstoff reduziert werden. Es ist ein riesiges Beauflagungs—, Kontroll— und Dokumentationssystem für eine Industrie, die wir ohnehin mit Dokumentationspflichten, mit bürokratischem Aufwand schwer belastet haben. 
Insofern müssen wir uns ganz genau überlegen, was wir wollen. Es gibt im Deutschen ein Sprichwort, das heißt: Viele Hunde sind des Hasen Tod. Ich glaube, es geht nicht darum, die Frage zu stellen, Emissionen in der Industrie zu reduzieren, sondern es geht um die Art und Weise. Es ist überbordend, es ist überbürokratisch, es geht hauptsächlich um Dokumentationen, und das wird der Industrie in Europa wie auch dem Klima nicht helfen.
Speaker: Christian EHLER (Germany — Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands)
Political group: Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats)
Date: 2023-05-09
Debate: Establishing the Act in Support of Ammunition Production (C9-0161/2023) (vote)

  Christian Ehler,  on behalf of the PPE Group. – Madam President, dear colleagues, every day, every week counts for Ukraine, desperately fighting against the Russian invasion. Supplying ammunition to Ukraine is urgent. We should therefore also deal with the proposal to ramp up industrial production of ammunition urgently. Therefore, the EPP Group requests and supports an urgent procedure along Rule 163 here in Parliament.
ASAP – the name of the Act brought forward by the Commission, the Act in Support of Ammunition Production – is a well-chosen acronym. I think we have to ramp up European production of the ammunition that is urgently needed in support of Ukraine in the war launched by Russia, but also for Europe itself. In that sense, the suggested EUR 500 million support for short-term ammunition production via ASAP is welcome in the EPP. We strongly support this effort.
The EU Member States and NATO partners have shown a great willingness to stand by Ukraine in the war, and have – individually and together – donated and financed an impressive amount of defence equipment. But we need more cooperation in Europe. We all understand that supporting Ukraine right now is also ensuring our own security in the long term. ASAP is timely, it is needed and it should be pointing to the future common EU defence efforts. Not all elements are to our unconditional liking, but let us begin to work. Ukraine needs it. We need it for our future.
Speaker: Christian EHLER (Germany — Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands)
Political group: Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats)
Date: 2023-05-08
Debate: Establishing the Act in support of ammunition production (debate)

  Christian Ehler,  on behalf of the PPE Group. – Mr President, dear Commissioner, as soon as possible, ASAP, I think the acronym is well chosen. The need for ammunition, but also the need for production in Europe for ammunition is urgent. In that sense, the suggested EUR 500 million support for the short-term ammunition production via ASAP is welcome. As the EPP, we strongly support this effort and we salute your personal effort not just to ask for another programme but also to answer the questions of where to produce, how to produce and what is our relationship to the industry. 
EU Member States and NATO partners have shown a great willingness to stand by Ukraine in the war and have individually and together donated and financed an impressive amount of defence equipment. We all understand that supporting Ukraine right is also securing our own security in the long term. 
Looking forward, this proposal cannot be the last effort to strengthen our common European defence effort. If we want, for the future, a strong European defence technological and industrial base, and we do, the EU Member States have to put their money where the mouth is. 
I would therefore expect that the same willingness that is shown to invest in defence by the Member States right now would be fully reflected in the upcoming European defence investment programme. Give fresh money – no more tricks of cannibalising existing EU programs. 
I think, to round it up, ASAP is timely, and that’s the reason why my group had been suggesting today and we are going to vote for that for more for an urgent procedure. I think that’s a political matter; not to have an urgent procedure, not to act quick could be even counterproductive. It’s not a technical or a political or institutional question, it’s a very political question that we act quickly. So we salute that. And we hope that our colleagues and the plenary is going to support that fast track procedure, which puts also a certain urgency on the Council.
Speaker: Christian EHLER (Germany — Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands)
Political group: Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats)
Date: 2023-04-18
Debate: Guidelines for the 2024 budget - Section III (debate)

  Christian Ehler,  rapporteur for the opinion of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy. – Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, if you are going to look back on that decade, we will learn that this year will be decisive for the future of Europe in terms of competitiveness, in terms of transformation of our societies, in terms of technology, in terms of our ambition of the transformation of our societies towards the CO2-free world. And we are going to see that we don’t understand a lesson we tell children in school. The lesson is no arms, no cookies.
We have been negotiating the Chips Act tonight. The result was a shame for Europe because we are investing on chips, but we take it away from other priorities like cybersecurity. We trade our future against our security. We have a net-zero act which is hardly financed. The Americans have been spending 200 billion on the Inflation Reduction Act in the recent months – we are not even talking about years. So we have to learn that this is a decisive time, and that is a time where we need to invest because that is the only way to trigger private investment.
Speaker: Christian EHLER (Germany — Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands)
Political group: Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats)
Date: 2023-03-14
Debate: Data Act (debate)

  Christian Ehler,  on behalf of the PPE Group. – Madam President, dear colleagues, today we are discussing legislation that can enhance the European data-driven economy and enable new business models for industry. Enabling secure, efficient data sharing among businesses can have a profound impact on the economy, leading to more innovation, growth and job creation. It will provide businesses with the right incentives and support to innovate, develop new products and services based on data and, by doing so, it can create new opportunities for business across Europe, driving growth and creating jobs.
And I would like to congratulate – because we don’t do that often in this House – the Commission, and specifically Commissioner Breton, but also our rapporteur, Pilar del Castillo, and also the other colleagues. Because we do something, we salute much more – and we should do that in the presence of many more colleagues. We do something for the competitiveness of Europe. And that’s the bigger issue.
We should be aware that, in the presence of this House, it is much more vivid. If we strangle the European industry, if we regulate, if we create ambitions which are not fostering European competitiveness – and it’s a relatively lonely business or it seems to be – then we are saluting the fact that now we are really substantially contributing to European competitiveness.
But we should be aware: it is starting. We are starting to deindustrialise Europe. And what had been promised for the Green Deal has to become a Green Deal, whereas the second leg – the digital leg – is the one we are saluting today. And it’s a good signal and a good day for the European industry.
Speaker: Christian EHLER (Germany — Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands)
Political group: Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats)
Date: 2023-03-14
Debate: Question Time (Commission) - How to ensure energy security in the EU in 2023

  Christian Ehler (PPE).   – Herr Präsident, Frau Kommissarin, lassen Sie uns doch ein bisschen konkreter werden. Die Internationale Energie-Agentur hat eine Studie veröffentlicht, dass wir noch in diesem Sommer und spätestens im Herbst ein riesiges Problem haben werden, die Gasbestände in Europa wieder aufzufüllen, anders als im vergangenen Jahr, wo wir es immer noch über russisches Erdgas und über Flüssigerdgas (LNG) gemacht haben. Die Energie-Agentur hat hier konkrete Vorschläge gemacht. 
Insofern ist meine Frage jetzt ganz konkret, und ich weiß, dass sich das auch auf die Mitgliedstaaten bezieht. Wir haben bei den Vorschlägen gehört, wir brauchen mehr Energieinfrastruktur – eine Vertiefung –; wir haben aber gesehen, dass in dem Resilienzfonds des großen EU-Programms keine einzige transnationale Infrastruktur ist.
Das zweite Thema ist: Wir haben auf dem Markt LNG gekauft, was China im letzten Jahr nicht verbraucht hat, dieses Jahr aber absehbar verbrauchen wird. Und das dritte: Wir haben keinen Zugang zu russischem Erdgas. Also die Frage lautet sozusagen: Wie wollen wir ganz konkret über den Sommer bis zum Herbst die Speicher in Europa wieder auffüllen? 
Eine letzte Frage: Sie haben sich auf Energieeffizienz bezogen. Die Mitgliedstaaten haben dem verbindlichen Energieeffizienzziel nicht zugestimmt. Insofern wird uns das Thema im Sommer nicht zur Verfügung stehen.
Speaker: Christian EHLER (Germany — Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands)
Political group: Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats)
Date: 2023-03-14
Debate: Question Time (Commission) - How to ensure energy security in the EU in 2023

  Christian Ehler (PPE).   – Herr Präsident! Meine Frage bleibt ganz nah am Thema, weil es die gleiche Frage ist. Die Energie-Agentur hat ein gap von 57 Billionen Kubikmeter attestiert. Wir haben das im vergangenen Jahr durch russisches Erdgas und LNG geschlossen. Erklärtermaßen ist auf dem Markt das LNG zur Verfügung gewesen, weil China in diesen Größenordnungen wegen der COVID-Maßnahmen dieses Gas nicht gekauft hat.
Die Chinesen haben erklärt, dass sie in diesem Jahr massiv den Einkauf steigern werden; das russische Gas wird nicht zur Verfügung stehen. Woher werden wir das Gas bekommen?
Speaker: Christian EHLER (Germany — Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands)
Political group: Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats)
Date: 2023-02-15
Debate: A Green Deal Industrial Plan for the Net-Zero Age (debate)

  Christian Ehler,  on behalf of the PPE Group. – Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, in 2020, the Commission proudly announced a new industrial policy to implement the European Green Deal as a growth strategy. Yet it took a loud bang from the US to wake up the von der Leyen Commission. Three years later, they finally woke up to the fact that simply placing Fit for 55 regulation is not enough. We need a business case for the European industry that the industrial transition will be a success.
The EPP Group welcomes, therefore, the Green Deal Industrial plan, but the EPP Group really wants to make sure that the von der Leyen Commission hears this final warning shot loud and clear.
So far, the Commission approach has to be too prescriptive, too ideological, and too much focused on regulating the demand side of the European market. Technology neutrality was an afterthought rather than a leading principle. What we need is a serious effort to create a regulatory framework that gives our industry certainty and freedom to innovate and invest. This requires simple, fast, predictable decisions on state aid and permitting, for example, and domestic sourcing of raw materials.
Productivity is our industry’s competitive advantage, not even mentioned in the statement from the Commission. Our social and energy costs are among the highest in the world, but so is also the quality of our scientists and engineers. We need to address these high costs, but most importantly, we need to unleash the potential of our innovation—driven productivity growth. To ensure our competitiveness on the global market we also need an ambitious free trade agenda, and yes, we want to ratify the pending trade agreements. If the von der Leyen Commission realises what needs to happen, the European economy can thrive and provide quality jobs for our citizens also in the future. And only if our economy thrives, the European Green Deal can be a success.
Speaker: Christian EHLER (Germany — Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands)
Political group: Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats)
Date: 2023-01-18
Debate: An EU strategy to boost industrial competitiveness, trade and quality jobs (debate)

  Christian Ehler (PPE).   – Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, when he presented the Green Deal in this House back in 2019, Vice-President Timmermans said that the fundamental question before us was whether we would be masters of the momentous change ongoing in our industry or we would be subject to what others decide. Through the Green Deal we are supposed to be masters, and the American Inflation Reduction Act showed us that the Green Deal did not us masters. We became subjects to what others decide.
The Green Deal was supposed to be the growth strategy and was supposed to support our business to become world leaders in clean technology. But it never delivered on that. It delivered the ‘Fit for 55’ regulatory framework, which forces the European economy through a massive transformation. But it did not deliver the business case for that transformation. Yesterday, finally, the Green Deal industrial plan was announced, a plan that finally considers how to ensure there is a business case for the transition in Europe.
We should not fear the Inflation Reduction Act. It shows us simply that the Americans incentivise this transformation and we regulate. And we need breathing space for our industry. We need deregulation. We need not additional burden. We have to reduce and to focus on what we want to achieve on 55 and not to add burden to the industry. That’s what industry want. Not simply much more money. The end of this regulatory nightmare in this Parliament.
Speaker: Christian EHLER (Germany — Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands)
Political group: Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats)
Date: 2022-12-14
Debate: EU response to the US Inflation Reduction Act (debate)

  Christian Ehler (PPE).   – (start of speech off mic) ... the Inflation Reduction Act is a systematic challenge for the Green Deal. It’s an alternative to the Green Deal because we never delivered on the deal part of the Green Deal. We are regulating our industry. We are co-creating the regulation. This House is part of that exercise, but we are not investing to ensure in the business case for the transition. That’s what the Inflation Reduction Act is doing. The Inflation Reduction Act creates a business case for a sustainable transition. It offers an industry a deal, and our only possible reaction to it is to become furious about the deal part of the Green Deal. 
Madam Commissioner, we thought you to be too intelligent to announce yet another fund. I think we have to have a better understanding of the complex transnational, sectoral ecosystems of the industry affected by the Inflation Reduction Act. We need to step up investment in innovation and develop real transition pathways for our industries. We need to mobilise all unspent cohesion funds from the previous MFF to invest in our industrial transition. We need to invest more in energy and mobility infrastructure and deepen our European market. We have to care about the deal and not steer towards America. Let’s get serious about the deal part of the Green Deal.
Speaker: Christian EHLER (Germany — Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands)
Political group: Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats)
Date: 2022-10-18
Debate: Keep the bills down: social and economic consequences of the war in Ukraine and the introduction of a windfall tax (debate)

  Christian Ehler (PPE).   – Herr Präsident, meine Damen und Herren! Es ist schon ein bisschen erschütternd: Wir spulen hier alle unsere alten Platten ab. Die Kommission betont, was sie alles machen wird, es hat aber noch nicht angefangen. Der Rat betont, was er machen wird. Er hat aber bei Artikel 122 sozusagen immer darauf gesetzt, dass die großen Jungs handeln – Olaf leiht Macron Energie, aber der gleiche Macron ist dann das Problem, warum es keine Leitungsverbindungen von Spanien nach Frankreich gibt, wir fordern den Sozialismus, wir fordern die Energiewende ...
Ich glaube, wir sollten uns wirklich mal gemeinsam dazu bekennen, dass die einzige Lösung für diese Fragen ist, dass wir ein gemeinsames Europa brauchen. Ohne einen vertieften europäischen Energiemarkt wird keine der vorgeschlagenen Lösungen in irgendeiner Weise realistisch sein – weder gemeinsame Steuererhebung, weder die Stärkung der Versorgung –, weil wir eben wissen, dass wir die LNG-Terminals in Spanien brauchen, um in Deutschland LNG zu haben, weil wir wissen, dass wir einen vertieften Strommarkt brauchen. Ich glaube, wir sollten uns heute zunächst mal zu Europa bekennen. Ohne Europa wird keine unserer Vorstellungen realisierbar sein. Dieses Europa ist die Lösung und nicht das Problem.
Speaker: Christian EHLER (Germany — Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands)
Political group: Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats)
Date: 2022-10-18
Debate: General budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023 - all sections (debate)

  Christian Ehler,  rapporteur for the opinion of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy. – Madam President, Let’s be realistic. I mean, what the Council has been suggesting is that no less than 40% of all the suggested cuts fall on Horizon Europe. So 40% is on innovation – the innovation we need for everything we are going to endeavour in the coming years. If you look a little bit closer, it is just 7% of the budget, but you impose 40% of the cuts. I mean, if you give a madman a nail and you puncture the Horizon budget, you come up with your proposal. You cut EUR 180 million off the proposal on Digital Europe. At the same time, you’re selling to the international audience a CHIP programme; you’re selling that. You promised already. You want to have 3.3 billion for that budget, and rightly so. It is one of Europe’s ambitions. But at the same time, you cut the digital budget before we even started the discussion of where and how to finance new ambitions.
So, let’s be realistic. Either you say ‘No’ to innovation in Europe, or we should start to negotiate.
Speaker: Christian EHLER (Germany — Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands)
Political group: Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats)
Date: 2022-09-15
Debate: Implementation of the Updated New Industrial Strategy for Europe: aligning spending to policy (debate)

  Christian Ehler,  on behalf of the PPE Group. – Madam President, perhaps I might express our collective hope that we also get an additional five minutes like the Commission. But anyway, Madam Commissioner, you referred to the gratefulness of the Commission for our report. That’s on the one hand true, but on the other hand, what we are doing with that report is simply your job that you didn’t do. And why so? Because this Parliament is united behind this report, because we had been united behind the Green Deal. And the Green Deal included ‘green’ and the ‘deal’. And how to structure the deal was meant to be done by the industrial policy strategy. And the Commission brought forward a good idea: the ecosystems, a very specific, sector—wise perception of what is needed – technology pathways, the regulatory framework, infrastructure that differs from sector to sector. And you never delivered.
The Commission reminds us a little bit like a magician who is pulling one white rabbit out of their hat after the other. But there is no consistency. You regulate, you shoot in a certain direction, you fund and you appeal and whatsoever. But you didn’t deliver on the industrial strategy. We do not have a strategy for technology pathways for the chemical industry. And in the chemical industry you could see you would like to add a REACH. We all know that the framework of the chemical industry, that kills them. That’s totally inconsistent what you’re doing. And we did your job. This is not an additional nice report or whatsoever. We are doing your job. So do your job now, because otherwise the transition won’t work, the Green Deal won’t work, and people do not believe that you have an idea or a plan how it’s going to work.
Speaker: Christian EHLER (Germany — Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands)
Political group: Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats)
Date: 2022-09-13
Debate: EU response to the increase in energy prices in Europe (debate)

  Christian Ehler (PPE).   – Frau Präsidentin! Für die EVP sind drei Dinge wichtig. Erstens: Nur eine echte und verbindliche Verbrauchsreduzierung würde es uns möglich machen, durch den Winter zu kommen und die Abhängigkeit von Russland zu vermindern. Zweitens – und zwar ganz realistisch – muss jede Intervention auf die Vor- und Nachteile und ihre möglichen Folgen abgeschätzt werden. Eingriffe in den Preisbildungsmechanismus dürfen niemals zu höherem Verbrauch von Gas führen – wie es am Beispiel von Spanien sichtbar ist oder an unserem großen Wettbewerber in Asien, wo große Volkswirtschaften diese Interventionen vorgenommen haben, die jetzt dazu führen, dass auf den Märkten Gas vermehrt nachgesucht wird.
Drittens: Wir brauchen eine Vertiefung des Europäischen Binnenmarktes. Es kann nicht sein, dass die Infrastruktur eingepreist ist in die hohen Gaspreise. Wir haben das Problem, dass uns Infrastruktur fehlt – zwischen der Iberischen Halbinsel und Frankreich in Europa. Wir haben eine Abkoppelung der Energiepreise in Osteuropa, weil die Anbindung der Infrastrukturen an Westeuropa nicht vorhanden ist.
Und ich glaube, bevor wir an den Preisen operieren, müssen wir die Signale setzen, die wir setzen können: Infrastrukturinvestitionen. Das InvestEU-Programm muss einen viel stärkeren Zuschnitt auf große Investitionen haben. Wenn wir InvestEU nutzen würden, um zu zeigen, dass wir willens sind, Interkonnektoren zu bauen, Gas- und Wasserstoffinfrastruktur voranzutreiben, dann setzen wir Preissignale. Und wir müssen sehr vorsichtig sein, ob vorschnelle Eingriffe nicht dazu führen, dass im Grunde genommen der Verbrauch steigt und international wir dann in Konkurrenz treten mit Asien und mit Ländern, die langfristigere Gaskontrakte abschließen – 20 Jahre.
Und wenn dieser Kreislauf weitergeht, dass wir über Preisinterventionen vermehrt Nachfrage schaffen, dann wird Europa mit einer kurzfristigen Gasperspektive nicht der Gewinner sein. Also Vorsicht und einen genauen Blick auf das, was wir da wollen.