Maria GRAPINI

Policy topics Maria GRAPINI is active on

What Maria GRAPINI has said (80)

• 2026-07-14 “Thank you chair. Um, lots of minister, lots of success. Minister. You're right in what you said. But first question, is there unity between the Commission, the Council and our committee? Because I have a lot of examples to the contrary. Uh, delayed payments blocked in the council that affect farmers, for instance. Indeed, six months or six months, you can only do as much. But what do you think about the new, uh, MFF where the cap is put together with other policies. How can we believe that some money will reach the farmers then the internal market? I've been here for three mandates and I think we don't have a in internal market. Can you tell the Romanian farmers, uh, why they have lower, uh, subsidies three, four times lower subsidies. They and they use less pesticides than farmers in the Netherlands, for instance. You said you are ambitious. What percentage of what you mean to do do you think you'll manage to do? Thank you.”
  Direct payments to farmers (pillar 1)
• 2026-07-13 “(15:17:33 - 15:19:56): Thank you, Chair. I speak for Andrea Rodriguez now, the rapporteur. Thank you, Chair. Thank you to the rapporteur, Maria Walsh. Thank you for the work, for the open and constructive approach you've had when working on this file. There were a lot of amendments, which, as was mentioned, shows us that generational renewal is a priority for this committee. We have different political approaches, yes, but we also have a strong shared understanding. European farming will only have a future if it manages to attract and retain young farmers. The perspective of S&D is the following. Our amendments focus on strengthening the report on the following. 1, generational renewal cannot focus just on setting up. Young farmers also need a fair income, predictability, a stronger position on the food chain, and better access to land, credit, investments, counseling, advisory services, rural services, and so on. 2, we need a strengthened territorial approach. Young people in island, mountain areas, ultra-peripheral areas, they are facing constraints, structural constraints that are specific to these areas. So on articles 3, 4, 9 from the TFEU, and when it comes to POSEs and other such tools, these are very important. Then we have access to land, land ownership, land use. All of these issues need to be dealt with, and the right to have fair payment is also very important. We need to support and not hinder generational renewal through this. Then we have amendments on succession, retirement in a dignified fashion, gender equality, resilience to climate change, the lack of water, and developing services in rural areas. We've read the amendments put forward by other political groups, and we believe we can find a compromise here on financing, simplifying cooperative models, mental health, professional development, and so on. But these reports need to keep focusing on its goals. It shouldn't become a general debate focused on the entirety of the architecture and the CAP after 2027. We're ready to collaborate, and thank you to the rapporteur.”
  EU policy on farmer–buyer relations in the agri-food supply chain
• 2026-07-13 “(15:57:27 - 15:58:56): Thank you, chair. Thank you to the commission for all the information shared. This is nothing new when I say that the farming sector believes that this trade agreement is critical and that the concessions on lamb and beef are not acceptable. On sugar, how does the commission intend to monitor the real impact on the European sugar market, and what are the warning thresholds to trigger the safeguard mechanism? Now a lack of alignment in standards may lead to unfair competition. So how will you check the certification that you mentioned? It's one thing for this certification to be on paper and another to actually verify it in the field. As my EPP colleague said, there are many, many trade agreements that have been signed and that applied huge pressure on us, the Mercosur among others. Can the commission specify a quantitative threshold that would automatically trigger the safeguards? Thank you.”
  Trade relations with Mercosur
• 2026-07-13 “(17:07:29 - 17:07:59): Thank you, chair. Thank you for the presentations. We would like to receive them because they contain plenty of details. I'm also the vice chair for the internal market as well as the agriculture committee. Mister Hoxha, among other things, you talked about decarbonizing. How can we do it without doing away with the industry? Just so you know, I'm part of the industry. I care for it. And without it, the EU will have no strength in this world. The issue is exactly this question. How do we decarbonize?”
  Energy (green transition)
• 2026-07-13 “(18:15:16 - 18:15:39): I'm happy we're here. We listen to the industry. We listen now to Kofi and Kajika, the representatives of the farmers. We are the agri committee in parliament, and we have the European Commission with us as well, dear colleagues. I'm an engineer, and I used to work in the industry. To me, it is clear. We can have a bioeconomy, bioenergy, biofertilizers, but we need to do this in”
  Use of fertilisers
• 2026-07-13 “(18:15:58 - 18:16:43): I will go on as far as I'm concerned. We have these timings, this harmonizing, which has not happened. It's a watch that doesn't work properly. The industry has to lose food security, farmers, consumers. Everyone has to lose when this chain is not well managed. This chain that also contains consumers, by the way. So I believe that the European Commission should do something, and the agri committee has talked about this several times. We need a strategy that is industrial focused on food security, the CAP. All of this needs to contain harmonized budgets that take technology into account. We don't have enough technology for cycling in many fields. Thank you.”
  Agriculture (green)
• 2026-07-13 “(17:08:07 - 17:08:55): how do we decarbonize? In my country, we closed down the fertilizer plant, Azomurish. Missus Simonaova said that we produce less than we need to use, so we depend on import. So how do we square this circle? It is very important that we sit down together, farmers, industry, everyone involved. You said that there are two causes for increased prices, the supply and demand on the one hand and prices for gas and energy on the other hand. So it shouldn't be the farmers who carry this weight. I don't agree with what the colleague said that we can't shut down the industry because we need to produce in the EU. And I believe that you, alongside us, the commission, the farmers, we need to find a way to get out of the situation. We can't decarbonize. We should not destroy the industry. Thank you.”
  Use of fertilisers
• 2026-07-09 “(11:46:24 - 11:46:54): Thank you, president. You said that we need this, single European framework. But do you think that it can remain operational as long as we have 27 public procurement different systems because we asked for this and the council blocked it. Then we have 27 separate laws for delayed payments. Again, something that's blocked in council. How do you think we should have a harmonization of the entire system? Otherwise, how to do it? Thank you.”
  EU rules on late commercial payments
• 2026-07-09 “Thank you chair. I agree with what you said about the the PCP and the revision of the regulation, but you haven't mentioned one thing, and I'm interested to know about your position and your group's position when it comes to the social dimension of fisheries, because in many regions in my country included, this is an important revenue for small fishermen. And don't you think that there should be some funding for small fishermen? How can they manage in this storm of regulations without possibilities to invest?”
  Funding for fisheries and aquaculture
• 2026-07-08 “(09:47:26 - 09:48:32): Thank you so much for the information that we received today. But let me just mention a couple of points, the multi annual financial framework. Commissioner, you talked about 2 levels, but what about our own resources? Because the parliament has put forward resources for this revenue. We don't want to reduce the budget. And then let's talk about competitiveness. Europe, you talked about a a trade agreement or with China. If we want to support industry, we need to revise this trade agreement, and we need to look at policies, not only support for steel, but also for the agricultural sector. What about disloyal competition? We have customs rights for raw materials, which are lower than for the end product. That makes no sense. We will never be competitive in this way. Commissioner, maybe the holidays will allow you to think about, competitiveness and reindustrialization of Europe. Thank you.”
  Trade relations with China
• 2026-07-08 “President, Commissioner, colleagues, we absolutely need a bioeconomy strategy. But, madam commissioner, as you said, we do have capital. So what are we lacking? Confidence. What often happens is that we develop contradicting regulation in the EU. Let me give you an example. We've been talking about pharmaceutical biotechnology. It's really important that we become independent because people's lives depend on this. But then we have a directive on wastewater, and we, as the parliament, have voted on a resolution inviting you to amend that directive because we don't want pharmaceutical factories to close. The same applies to the garments industry, which I worked for in for 30 years. The EU has destroyed a lot of hemp products. It has been considered as a weed, but actually hemp is extremely useful. It can be used for many purposes as can its oils. So we need to look at our European policy making because it's turning off our investors. So we need to bring down some of these barriers. And now there's an additional barrier, tariffs, customs duties, which are being placed on raw materials and commodities, and they're not at the same levels for finished products.”
  EU support for bioeconomic applications
• 2026-07-07 “Thank you. President. First of all, I would like to thank all the shadow rapporteurs. It was really intellectually stimulating and very constructive effort that produced this report. I think that all the pro-European groups who negotiated the report were brought together by a great sense of unity, of purpose, but also a sense of urgency. I would also like to thank Commissioner Cross for her personal dedication and commitment to supporting, in every possible way, Moldova's very legitimate European aspirations, and I would like to thank all the colleagues for an extremely constructive debate here. I hope that the report that we are going to be voting on tomorrow and and also tonight's debate. Help us to send a very clear message to Moldovan people and Moldovan government, a message of support and solidarity, but also a message of what are our expectations as to the next steps to be taken in this reform path? I also hope that the report and the debates send a very clear message to our colleagues, the political leaders in our member states, capitals who periodically meet around the council table, a message that that we expect them to to live up to our end of the bargain, as I said, to to actually act with the with the same sense of urgency, because it is absolutely clear that the Russian pressure on Moldova will not dissipate until the successful completion of this process. Moldova did not apply for membership and we did not launch this process in order for. For us to allow them to enjoy the process. It must be a purpose driven process that will conclude in fully integrating Moldova into our European family without any unnecessary delay. Thank you.”
  EU-Moldova relations
• 2026-07-07 “(10:20:47 - 10:21:49): Commissioner. President, commissioner, you started your intervention by saying that last year, our automotive sector was, about to die. And it is true because I think that the commission started, on its way not taking into account the reality. A private manager always takes account takes into account, global realities. Globally, we cannot produce the way China does. We have a higher cost for energy. And, of course, we are we lack infrastructure, the charging, infrastructure in the EU. And let's think about the, the the ordinary citizens, because, cars are not luxury objects. They are a necessity for mobility. This is why we must think, how we can build an automotive sector that does not lose jobs, that 1 that creates jobs in Europe. And I like your proposals. Yes. I would like to, see made in Europe in the value chain of, the automotive automotive sector,”
  2035 ICE phase-out: strict zero-emission target vs. flexibility for carmakers
• 2026-07-07 “Ambitious al republicii. Moldova pentru viermi trebuie sa fie. Inceput sa sa. Republica. Moldova. Anca. Republica. Moldova. Doresc sa encourage pentru un proyecto. European pentru. Administration de la. When you are a Republica Moldova e la granica y este se resist la dieta indirect a fake news si se la Union Europea es un proyecto. La cara minum Dorit. Kolo Doamna, Commissar. Consiglio. Parlamento. Se. Republica. Moldova. Europeana. Lucru. In. Ucraina. Tehnologie. Republica. Moldova. Trebuie. Sa se parem. Romania. Bulgaria. Schengen. Se fin. Correct. Obiective in ucraina nu se pot respecta termeni. Si si se Moldova. Si la Republica Moldova se a familia.”
  EU-Moldova relations
• 2026-07-06 “(21:38:39 - 21:40:06): I'll speak Romanian. To be honest, when I'm taking part in this debate, I see us as 2 parts, 2 sides, agri and envy committees. I think we need balance. I'm an engineer. I was active in the research. We have to remove the extremes. We cannot think that we can destroy agriculture based on things we suppose because you yourself said that these are not scientific observations. The commission came in an extra k with an explanation. The reporters try to tell us how to simplify not to endanger our health. I don't think anyone wants to harm health by simplifying these directives but someone was saying earlier, if we do not try to find solutions for farmers, for agriculture, for plants, for animals at a pace where research can bring something new, then we will destroy. We were talking about new generation. Does a young man go to work in agriculture with no perspective? What will what will we do? We will import from Brazil, from Mercosur, from wherever we can, things we should do. Agree. And then we we should impose in our trade agreements for everyone to respect the same production conditions for food safety. Thank you.”
  Agriculture (green)
• 2026-07-06 “Colleagues, we need coordination of social security systems. We it could have been sooner. As the report has said, it has taken a long time, but it's a good piece of news because we all have examples of persons who have had accidents at work, particularly in construction, and they hadn't been able to cover their hospital costs. Unemployment benefits and freedom of circulation should be guaranteed that there shouldn't be any social dumping, any exploitation just because citizens work across borders. It's a great success. It's a great triumph after 7 years of negotiations. We have to verify, of course, the implementation by member states, but the protection of citizens' rights is vital so that we have justice, equal treatment for all workers in all the member states. I hope that tomorrow we will vote and adopt this report. Thank you.”
  EU regulation of cross-border and posted workers
• 2026-07-06 “Chair, commissioner, vice president, commissioner the EIB is extremely important. We know it very well. And I, commend you for reaching this 100,000,000,000, new investment, a record amount. But I think that the EIB should have an overlap, with the strategic plan of the EU. And I'm saying this because in the EU, we have this objective, cohesion. And just as our colleagues mentioned earlier, there are still regional disparities. There are very significant. And I would have liked to hear, out of this record amount, how much of it, went to start ups or SMEs in lesser developed regions or lesser developed countries? Because after all, investments should lead to cohesion. We keep mentioning it and citizens expected. And, of course, the EIs EIB's role is enormous when it comes to reindustriizing Europe and facilitating capital for SMEs.”
  Cohesion and rural funding
• 2026-06-24 “I will speak Romanian. I would like to pick up from what my colleague said. We find it hard to understand these things, but let's think about the consumer everyday person who is not as has digitally literate and, uh, um, that leads to a lot of confusion. And I have a lot of questions about your presentations. One of the speaker maybe I didn't get it right said that the contract can be modified, changed unilaterally. How is this possible? I've never heard something like this. Um, in in these contracts, uh, you have a lot of legalese terms that you you don't really know. You can't, you don't understand. And the consumer can't be sure that the, the, what these terms of the contract are. And if the consumer is indeed protected from the risk of, um, of faulty product or the product is not what the consumer thought it was. Now about, uh, uh, sanctions, you said that member states can impose sanctions, but the market is a patchwork in terms of sanctions. And what about if the company has no doesn't isn't making any money. You cannot sanction because the sanction is based on profits so that they get off scot free. So things are really unclear in this legal methodology. It's not it can't really be a guarantee for consumers that what they buy as digital products is really what they want, what they need. And here in our committee, we've always said that we need, um, overall, the same conditions for online and offline products, whether we're talking about a physical product or a digital product, whether we're talking about a car, a piece of clothing or a digital product, we need the same guarantees. But whatever I've bought two years on, It stopped working whenever I had a guarantee. Now warranty. Now we have the right to repair. But, um. Tell me, what about. Tell me about this. Uh, unilaterally. The unilateral ability to change a contract. How can this be done? I don't understand, thank you.”
  EU competences on consumer protection and product standards
• 2026-06-24 “Of course, this is all very interesting. I'd like to personally thank you very much. Um, just like my colleague. I too am thinking about what we could do to clarify these two legal acts that you talked about, the ones that are newer and that the commission is working on a report for. You're working on a report on how they were implemented. You said that you, um, thought that you are working with the questionnaire applied on 1215 consumers and businesses. Uh, do you think it is relevant to have a questionnaire applied on 1200 consumers when the internal market has millions of consumers? And who are the 12 states in which you applied this questionnaire? I've always had doubts related to how relevant studies can be carried out. Studies that were presented by the Commission were which had been carried out on a few respondents and in a few member states. I mean, there are 27 member states in the EU. Um, wouldn't you like to draw up samples from each member state and um, include consumers and companies, but in a much larger number so that it could be relevant. I mean, I did study statistics and I don't think it's relevant to have respondents from 12 member states. It would be interesting to see what those member states were. How did you choose them? Because we shouldn't just formally run a questionnaire. We should really try to learn about the results of the implementation of two legal acts that are so important for consumer protection. Thank you.”
  EU competences on consumer protection and product standards
• 2026-06-17 “(10:56:36 – 10:57:42): Minister, commissioner, I notice again that you have a very charged agenda, but the European citizen does not find himself on it. We talk about competitiveness, but we do not see facts. We have a fragmented single market. Commissioner, I said it before. How can you introduce higher customs duties on, on raw materials than on, finished products? How do you want to have an industrial policy in this way? We see the council blocking the directive for late payments. I asked for a regulation. We have blocking because we asked for regulation on public procurement to to, to take up SMEs as well. Nothing is happening, actually. You talked about the conflict with Russia and Ukraine, but what are you doing for Romania and for other states which were attacked by drones? You are not talking about protection, security of citizens, and about economic development and indeed, strengthening the single market. This is what we are talking about. And the message going out to the citizen creates a lack of trust. Citizens must be placed 1st.”
  EU Single Market harmonisation · EU rules on late commercial payments
• 2026-06-16 “Dear colleague, technological sovereignty is not something that's fashionable. It's something we need. We need it for security and for competitiveness. You said that we have to find a European path for AI. But how can we find this path? Why are we lagging behind others, such as The United States or China? What are your concrete suggestions? Because the commission has come up with a program. What do you think is good and bad about it?”
  EU digital & tech sovereignty
• 2026-06-16 “Dear colleague, technological sovereignty is not something that's fashionable. It's something we need. We need it for security and for competitiveness. You said that we have to find a European path for AI, but how can we find this path? Why are we lagging behind others, such as the United States or China? What are your concrete suggestions? Because the Commission has come up with a program, what do you think? It's is good and bad about it?”
  EU digital & tech sovereignty
• 2026-06-15 “Thank you. It may be a temporary agreement, but I think mister Lang and his team have managed to improve, this agreement. So the provisional agreement is good, but let's, go further. Let's make sure that mister Trump respects his promises, but let's not ignore the fact that a market like The US market is a very important 1. And so we also need to look at the security side of things. You know? You don't wanna pay tariffs of to 50% and then the counterpart be 0 tariffs. So we need to see this as a whole, the market as a whole, security as a whole, also keep a close watching brief on whether his promises are being kept. Otherwise, commissioner, you'll have to step in because we cannot be, allow this agreement to be to be ignored.”
  EU-US trade relations
• 2026-06-15 “(18:10:15 – 18:11:27): Of course, the topic at hand, is an old 1 from 30 years ago when we, created the internal market. We need economic independence. Commissioner, I've had very close contention to what you said. How can we have an industrial policy? How can we invest in a single market when the European Commission has made the has done the worst thing? We have a customs office for raw materials higher than for the final product. So we pay more taxes on raw materials than on the final product. We cannot develop our industry like that. And another thing, you said that Europeans send their savings outside of Europe. Why? But why? Because there's no fiscal pressure there because they can accumulate capital there. So we cannot have bad policies and then want to have economic independence. We depend on imports. We have no value change for any products. If we want economic independence, we need a tax policy and an industrial policy that allows investment to be made in Europe.”
  EU industrial funding (mechanism level: EU-pooled vs nationally-financed)
• 2026-01-27 “E-000318/2026 Answer given by Mr Tzitzikostas on behalf of the European Commission The Commission has been made aware of the matter by stakeholders. It appears that the recent Hungarian measures concern heavy-goods-vehicles above 20 tons crossing the state border of Hungary by road. The Commission services have already contacted the Hungarian authorities to understand if heavy-goods-vehicles above 20 tons registered in Hungary are also covered by the new rules, which are laid down in particular in the amended Hungarian Act I of 1988 on road transport. The Commission services are currently assessing the Hungarian measures against EU law, notably the free movement of goods (Articles 34 and 35 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union) and Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 1 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 on common rules for access to the international road haulage market. The Honourable Member will be informed of the result of this assessment. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2009/1072/oj/eng.”
  EU transport infrastructure integration
• 2026-01-20 “Answer given by Ms Zaharieva on behalf of the European Commission 7.4.2026 Written question The EU is not a member of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) [1] and not part of the CERN governance. The Commission can only comment on EU funds under its remit such as from Horizon Europe [2] , with competitive open calls for proposals e.g. for research activities, technology development, and knowledge valorisation. The selection process involves independent experts and is based on pre-defined and transparent criteria (excellence, impact and implementation). The implementation is controlled through reporting, monitoring, and auditing, with specific procedures depending on the fund used for a specific call. As such, CERN has applied and been awarded funding for projects under different parts of the Horizon Europe Programme, including European Research Council grants, Marie-Sklodowska-Curie fellowships, Pillar 2 collaborative projects and research infrastructures. This is carried out in full transparency and all the information on the projects and awarded funding can be freely accessed in the Horizon Europe dashboard. The Commission is accountable for the EU funding and ensures that the procedures for allocating and monitoring this funding follow the highest standards of excellence including transparency. EU funding for research infrastructures opens national facilities to researchers from all over Europe through support to transnational access and supports technology development needed by European facilities to remain state-of-the-art. The importance of complementary EU funding of research infrastructures was highlighted in the Letta [3] , Draghi [4] and Heitor reports [5] of 2024, and the Commission’s 2025 proposal for Horizon Europe under the EU’s next Multiannual Financial Framework [6] includes an ambitious support to research infrastructures. [1] An intergovernmental organisation essentially funded by its members. Currently, 25 countries, including 20 EU Member States, are members of CERN. [2] Regulation (EU) 2021/695 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/695/oj/eng. [3] https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/ny3j24sm/much-more-than-a-market-report-by-enrico-letta.pdf. [4] https://commission.europa.eu/topics/competitiveness/draghi-report_en. [5] https://op.europa.eu/publication-detail/-/publication/2f9fc221-86bb-11ef-a67d-01aa75ed71a1. [6] https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/news/all-research-and-innovation-news/horizon-europe-2028-2034-twice-bigger-simpler-faster-and-more-impactful-2025-07-16_en.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget · EU research funding
• 2026-01-19 “E-000190/2026 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Séjourné on behalf of the European Commission The revision of the current legislative framework on procurement 1 was announced in the Commission work program for the second quarter of 2026 2 . On 14 October 2025, the Commission published an evaluation of the current public procurement framework 3 , followed by the launch of a public consultation, which closed on 26 January 2026 4 . The Commission is now preparing the impact assessment. While the current framework allows contracting authorities to consider quality, environmental characteristics, social aspects, innovation, and lifecycle costs alongside price, the evaluation showed that lowest-price awards remain very frequent across the EU. The Commission is currently assessing policy options to strengthen the strategic role of public procurement and better promote socially responsible public procurement. Although the evaluation shows small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) winning a significant share of public contracts, public consultations suggest that challenges remain in this area. The Commission is currently assessing policy options to improve SME access to public procurement contracts, notably through simplification and reduction of administrative burden. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02014L0023-20260101. 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52025DC0085. 3 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52025SC0333. 4 https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/15492-EU-public-procurement-rulesrevision/public-consultation_en.”
  EU policy on sustainability criteria in public funding · EU policy on social criteria in public funding
• 2026-01-14 “E-000139/2026 Answer given by Mr Hoekstra on behalf of the European Commission The Commission is aware of the potential impact of the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) on the costs of imported nitrogen-based fertilisers by the agricultural sector, where fertiliser costs represent in average, all sectors combined, around 9% of the total costs of production. In December 2025, the Commission adopted the detailed rules 1 for the definitive phase of the CBAM including the methodology for calculating embedded emissions, default values and the rules for the free allocation adjustment. This allows the calculation of the CBAM obligation for imported fertilisers. The CBAM Regulation 2 provides that the definitive phase of the CBAM commences on 1 January 2026. No postponement is foreseen. The implementation of CBAM is essential to level the playing field between EU and non-EU fertiliser producers. The Commission is taking several steps to support farmers. Given the impact of high fertiliser prices, under CBAM, it has recently introduced a lower, 1% mark-up for the default values that may be used to calculate the CBAM obligation for fertilisers. The Commission has proposed to suspend, for one year, the most favoured nation duties on imports of several key nitrogen fertilisers and inputs for their production (ammonia, urea). The tariff suspension 3 will be implemented for all countries, except Russia and Belarus, through duty-free tariff rate quotas. Lastly, the Commission is monitoring the availability and affordability of fertilisers in the EU through the Fertilisers Market Observatory and will, in the first half of 2026, propose an action plan for fertilisers 4 . 1 The list of relevant implementing acts can be found under ‘Implementing acts and related annexes’ on the CBAM website, https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism/cbam-legislationand-guidance_en. 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02023R0956-20251020. 3 https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/documents-register/detail?ref=COM(2026)99&lang=en. 4 RESourceEU Action Plan, COM(2025) 945 final, https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/document/download/01c448d6-dc93-40d7-9afe-4c2af448d00c_en.”
  Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
• 2025-11-06 “E-004383/2025 Answer given by Mr Hoekstra on behalf of the European Commission Following the adoption of the proposal 1 for the 2040 climate target, the Commission is preparing a review of the Emission Trading System (ETS) Directive, the proposal being scheduled for the third quarter 2026. The Commission is analysing the impact of a number of elements, including potential measures to prevent the risk of carbon leakage, as well as measures for supporting the decarbonisation of industry via the Innovation Fund or the Industrial Decarbonisation Bank. As part of this process, the Commission will take fully into account the provisions relevant to carbon leakage in the final amendment to the Climate Law. In addition, the Chemicals Industry Action Plan 2 outlines further action that the Commission is taking to modernise and strengthen the competitiveness of the chemicals sector, including a Critical Chemicals Alliance to address risks of production capacity closures, simplification options via the ‘omnibus’ packages, and action to support low-carbon fertilisers produced from renewable or low-carbon hydrogen or bio-based chemicals, including digestate from biogas production, as a source of organic nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. Lastly, the Commission is monitoring the availability and affordability of fertilisers in the EU through the Fertilisers Market Observatory. In the first half of 2026 the Commission will propose an action plan for fertilisers 3 . As regards the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), the Commission’s approach is to find a good balance between preventing the risk of carbon leakage by ensuring equivalent carbon prices between domestic and imported fertilisers and to maintain prices for imported fertilisers affordable. 1 European Climate law amendment proposal: https://climate.ec.europa.eu/document/download/e1b5a957-c6b94cb2-a247-bd28bf675db6_en. 2 A European Chemicals Industry Action Plan. COM(2025) 530 final. 3 RESourceEU Action Plan- COM(2025) 945 final: https://single-marketeconomy.ec.europa.eu/document/download/01c448d6-dc93-40d7-9afe-4c2af448d00c_en.”
  Use of fertilisers · Carbon leakage support
• 2025-09-29 “E-003770/2025 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Séjourné on behalf of the European Commission The Commission’s 2025 Single Market Strategy 1 has a strong focus on the facilitation of the free movement of services, including by tackling key barriers identified in the ‘Terrible Ten’, such as restrictive and diverging national services regulation, burdensome procedures for temporary posting of workers or issues linked to recognition of professional qualifications. In addition, the existing horizontal policy approach will be complemented with sector-specific services’ initiatives. The Strategy reiterates the need of more national ownership and commitment from all actors at all levels of national governments. Member States are encouraged to prevent new barriers and to address existing ones. The Commission has been working with Member States on different levels and various forms. This could include for instance Working Party on Competitiveness and Growth (High Level), expert groups and other forums. The Single Market Enforcement Taskforce (SMET) 2 is a collaborative forum where the Commission and Member States work together to identify and address some of the most pressing Single Market barriers. An important part of the current SMET work is linked to the ‘Terrible Ten’ barriers presented by the Strategy. These broad areas are broken down to specific problems which businesses face on the ground. The objective is to ensure that they can be tackled in a more effective way. The Commission will continue to focus on priority policies areas and collaborate with Member States. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=PI_COM:Ares(2025)13007. 2 https://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/smet/index_en.htm.”
  EU Single Market harmonisation
• 2025-07-16 “E-002917/2025 Answer given by Mr Šefčovič on behalf of the European Commission On 5 February 2025 the Commission adopted a Communication titled ‘A comprehensive EU toolbox for safe and sustainable e-commerce 1 ’. It outlines the Commission’s comprehensive approach to addressing the challenges posed by e-commerce imports into the EU across their entire life cycle. In its Communication, the Commission proposed to introduce a non-discriminatory handling fee for imported goods delivered directly to consumers. The rationale behind such a fee would be to address the scaling costs of supervising the compliance of such consignments with EU rules. This fee should be incurred by the importer, i.e. the online retailer or intermediary (online platform), and not by consumers at the point of delivery of the imported package. The amount of the fee would be commensurate to the services rendered by the customs authorities, thereby compensating the EU Customs Union for the costs incurred. The handling fee and its set-up is part of the discussions on the broader Customs Reform proposal 2 , currently under negotiation by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union 3 . 1 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/e-commerce-communication-comprehensive-eu-toolbox-safeand-sustainable-e-commerce. 2 Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Union Customs Code and the European Union Customs Authority, and repealing Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 (COM/2023/258 final). 3 Council Presidency compromise text of 20 June 2025 REV 1 (10017/25 – UD 131, CODEC 764, ENFOCUSTOM 96, MI 365, ECOFIN 732, COMER 87, TRANS 233, FISC 137, RESPR 13).”
  EU policy on custom fee on non-EU imports
• 2025-07-09 “E-002797/2025 Answer given by Mr Hansen on behalf of the European Commission The Commission encourages the use of risk management tools to enhance the resilience of farms and to reduce the impact of unforeseen events. Farmers can be supported for participation in risk management tools, such as insurance, mutual funds and other tools, in accordance with Article 76 of Regulation 2021/2115 1 , the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plans Regulation, funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural development (EAFRD) and co-financed by the Member States. This was also the case in the 2014-2022 period. Lately, the EU agricultural reserve has been increasingly used to address damages caused by natural disasters and adverse climatic events, although its primary objective is to help farmers in case of market disturbances. For this reason, the Commission has proposed to limit its use to market crises and to offer new tools for crisis payments to farmers severely impacted by natural disasters, adverse climatic events and other catastrophic events, which occur with growing frequency. As the availability of EU and national financing varies across the Member States, the Commission has proposed that crisis payments may be funded in the CAP Strategic Plan in combination with national funds regardless of the EU financing is from the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) or from the EAFRD. Similar possibilities for national financing have been used for past crisis payments. This flexibility will, enhance crisis support possibilities in all regions and Member States. In its proposals for the CAP after 2027, the Commission envisages a similar combination of support for crisis situations, from national envelopes in the National and Regional Partnership Plans and the Union Safety Net. 1 Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2 December 2021 establishing rules on support for strategic plans to be drawn up by Member States under the common agricultural policy (CAP Strategic Plans) and financed by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and repealing Regulations (EU) No 1305/2013 and (EU) No 1307/2013.”
  Direct payments to farmers (pillar 1) · Agricultural funding
• 2025-07-03 “E-002729/2025 Answer given by Ms Roswall on behalf of the European Commission 1. The EU has a comprehensive body of water legislation which can be considered overall fit for purpose, but there are often challenges linked to implementation. The Water Resilience Strategy (WRS) 1 therefore stresses the need for accelerated implementation. The Commission will launch Structured Dialogues with Member States to identify challenges, enforcement priorities and encourage cross-border cooperation. The Strategy supports this with over 30 flagship actions to ensure Europe becomes a sustainable, and competitive water economy, restoring and protecting the water cycles. 2. Directive (EU) 2022/2555 (NIS2 Directive) 2 aims to increase the common level of cybersecurity within 18 critical sectors, including the drinking water and wastewater sectors. Entities from these sectors have to take cybersecurity risk-management measures to protect their network and information systems and report significant incidents 3 . Together with the Critical Entities Resilience Directive 4 , this framework addresses current and future online and offline risks, from cyberattacks to natural disasters. Through the Cohesion Policy midterm review 5 , the Commission recognises water infrastructure and management systems are critical for the security of food, energy and economic systems. Measures to strengthen water resilience investments are proposed 6 . 3. The Drinking Water Directive 7 requires Member States to assess water leakage levels, setting targets and reduction measures. The WRS encourages the adoption of digital technologies which can contribute to leakage reduction. In order to reduce leakages, water utilities may need to invest in infrastructure. EU cohesion funding 8 is available to this end. 1 https://commission.europa.eu/topics/environment/water-resilience-strategy_en. 2 Directive (EU) 2022/2555 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 on measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union, amending Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 and Directive (EU) 2018/1972, and repealing Directive (EU) 2016/1148 (NIS 2 Directive), OJ L 333, 27.12.2022, p. 80–152. 3 respectively pursuant to Articles 21 and 23 of the NIS2 Directive. 4 Directive (EU) 2022/2557 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 on the resilience of critical entities and repealing Council Directive 2008/114/EC, OJ L 333, 27.12.2022, pp. 164–198. 5 https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/information-sources/publications/communications/2025/a-modernisedcohesion-policy-the-mid-term-review_en. 6 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_25_930. 7 respectively pursuant to Article 4(3) of Directive (EU) 2020/2184 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2020 on the quality of water intended for human consumption (recast), OJ L 435, 23.12.2020, p. 1–62. 8 https://commission.europa.eu/funding-tenders/find-funding/eu-funding-programmes/cohesion-fund-cf_en.”
  EU policy on water management
• 2025-07-02 “E-002702/2025 Answer given by Mrs. Mînzatu on behalf of the European Commission The Commission recognises the key role of volunteering in fostering solidarity, civic engagement, and skills development among young people. The European Solidarity Corps 1 offers an EU-level framework for volunteering. It ensures that participants benefit from high-quality opportunities and that competences acquired through volunteering are recognised. At EU level, there are two main recognition and validation tools for volunteering. First, the Youthpass certificate is available to all European Solidarity Corps participants to reflect and document learning outcomes. Second, the Europass 2 curriculum vitae supports the understanding of skills acquired in formal, non-formal and informal settings, including through volunteering. At national level, legislation and practices reflect diverse traditions. The Council Recommendation on the mobility of young volunteers across the EU 3 notes that ‘National or EU frameworks supporting the identification, documentation, and validation of learning outcomes of volunteering activities [already] exist’. However, the Commission sees the value of enhancing the visibility and recognition of voluntary activities. It continues to explore ways to improve the recognition of volunteering experiences, including through digital tools and better use of existing resources, and works with Member States to support this goal. 1 Regulation (EU) 2021/888 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2021 establishing the European Solidarity Corps Programme; https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2021.202.01.0032.01.ENG. 2 Decision (EU) 2018/646 of the European Parliament and the Council of 18 April 2018 on a common framework for the provision of better services for skills and qualifications; https://eurlex.europa.eu/eli/dec/2018/646/oj/eng. 3 Council Recommendation of 5 April 2022 on the mobility of young volunteers across the European Union (2022/C 157/01); https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32022H0411(01).”
  EU volunteering programs
• 2025-06-17 “E-002444/2025 Answer given by Mr Šefčovič on behalf of the European Commission Industrial competitiveness is a key objective of the Commission, as outlined in the Clean Industrial Deal 1 . The Commission wants to turn decarbonisation into a driver of growth for EU industries, accelerating the transition towards a circular economy and ensure that the EU expands its network of reliable trading partners. International trade is vital for EU industries, particularly those relying on global supply chains for key inputs, or those that are present on export markets. The Commission wants to ensure that all requirements applicable on the internal market, including EU’s environmental and labour policies, are designed and implemented to reduce excessive regulatory burdens, costs for EU producers and consumers, while maintaining EU’s relationships with key partners. That is why the Commission is prioritising simplification efforts and ensuring that sustainability, and competitiveness go hand in hand, for example through the Omnibus I Sustainability Simplification Package 2 . EU free trade agreements can support these objectives by improving market access and also promoting adherence to internationally agreed environmental and labour standards, as well as compliance with EU sustainability rules. At the same time, the Commission is aware of the challenges faced by the European ceramics industry, including high energy costs and unfair competition. The EU ceramics industry has already been impacted, with production volumes decreasing by 2–3% between 2022 and 2023. The Commission stands ready to defend EU industry against unfair competition. The Commission adopted definitive anti-dumping measures on imports of ceramic tiles from India and Türkiye by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/265 of 9 February 2023 3 . 1 COM(2025) 85 final: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52025DC0085. 2 https://finance.ec.europa.eu/news/omnibus-package-2025-04-01_en. 3 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2023/265/oj/eng.”
  Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) · Free trade agreements (FTAs) · EU trade defence against unfair imports
• 2025-06-03 “E-002222/2025 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Séjourné on behalf of the European Commission The Commission is aware of the challenges faced by the European ceramics industry, including high energy costs as well as the lack of a global level playing field with producers from other jurisdictions with lower carbon costs, and lower labour and environmental standards, such as India. The Commission stands ready to defend EU industry against unfair global competition. In this regard, the Commission recalls that it adopted definitive antidumping measures on imports of ceramic tiles from India (and Türkiye) by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/265 of 9 February 2023 1 , and from China by Regulation (EU) 2024/493 of 12 February 2024 2 . Industrial competitiveness is a key objective of the Commission, and the Clean Industrial Deal 3 outlines concrete actions to turn decarbonisation into a driver of growth for European industries. As part of the Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act (IDAA), to be adopted in the 4th quarter of 2025, the Commission is assessing the introduction of resilience and sustainability criteria to foster clean European supply for energy-intensive sectors. These criteria (e.g. clean, resilient, circular) can strengthen demand for EU-made clean products, and promote innovation as well as EU environmental and social standards and ensure a level playing field. IDAA will also propose concrete measures to address permitting bottlenecks related to industrial access to energy and industrial decarbonisation projects. In addition, the European Competitiveness Fund, proposed on 16 July 2025 4 , brings together current competitiveness funding under one powerful fund to foster decarbonisation through innovation, drive Europe’s growth and strengthen our competitiveness. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2023/265/oj/eng. 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2024/493/oj/eng. 3 https://commission.europa.eu/topics/eu-competitiveness/clean-industrial-deal_en. 4 https://commission.europa.eu/publications/european-competitiveness-fund_en.”
  Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) · EU trade defence against unfair imports
• 2025-05-22 “E-002062/2025 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Virkkunen on behalf of the European Commission The Commission considers that the current Roaming Regulation 1 adequately ensures endusers’ protection from inadvertent roaming. According to Articles 13(5) and 14(6) of the Roaming Regulation, roaming providers are obliged to take all reasonable steps to protect their customers from paying roaming charges due to inadvertently accessed roaming services while situated in their home Member State. This includes informing customers on how to effectively avoid inadvertent roaming in border regions. Equally, according to Article 4(2) of the Roaming Regulation, roaming providers should ensure that, when roaming within the EU, roaming customers are able to use the retail services to which they subscribe and benefit from the same level of quality of service as at home. National regulatory authorities and, where applicable, other competent authorities are expected to be alert to situations of inadvertent roaming in the border regions. They should monitor and collect information on inadvertent roaming and take appropriate measures where necessary. Moreover, roaming providers are, pursuant to Article 14(4) of the Roaming Regulation, obliged to grant to their customers at least the default financial or volume limits in value of EUR 50 and 100 2 for regulated data roaming services that the customers consume, including outside the EU, when technically possible. In light of the above, the Commission considers that the current Roaming Regulation’s framework provides adequate protection for end-users against inadvertent roaming. More efforts though could be taken at national level to implement, monitor, and enforce the existing Roaming Regulation’s framework, for the benefit of end-users. 1 Regulation (EU) 2022/612 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 April 2022 on roaming on public mobile communications networks within the Union (OJ L 115, 13.4.2022, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/612/oj). 2 Per monthly billing period, excluding VAT.”
  Geo-blocking
• 2025-03-10 “E-001026/2025 Answer given by Mr Tzitzikostas on behalf of the European Commission Tourism is indeed contributing approximately 10% of GVA (Gross value added) to the EU, employing over 20 million people. The Commission has been working together with tourism stakeholders in supporting resilient, sustainable and digitally-fit European tourism along the priorities and actions agreed together under the Transition Pathway for Tourism and European Agenda for Tourism 2030. Transnational projects are supported by several EU programmes, such as Interreg, LIFE, Single Market Programme. For example, the Eurovelo project supported by the LIFE programme and managed by the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF), is developing a network of 17 long distance cycle routes that cross and connect the whole of Europe. The 2021-2027 Interreg programmes have allocated almost EUR 2 billion from cohesion policy funds to finance projects under the specific objective tourism and cultural heritage, a key area for cooperation and regional development. There is a strong link between tourism and other EU priorities, such as enhanced research and innovation, environmental protection, and competitiveness. For example, INTERSMART is a transnational cooperation project cofinanced under the Interreg Black Sea Basin programme where partners are working together to create a transnational Network for Interdisciplinary Solutions for Smart Sustainable Tourism and Services in the Black Sea Basin.”
  EU strategy for tourism development
• 2025-03-04 “E-000915/2025 Answer given by Mr Jørgensen on behalf of the European Commission On 26 February 2025, the Commission presented the Action Plan for Affordable Energy 1 alongside the Clean Industrial Deal underlining that affordable energy is a fundamental pillar of Europe’s strategy for sustainable prosperity and industrial competitiveness. The Action Plan for Affordable Energy sets out eight concrete measures across four pillars to accelerate the clean transition and complete the Energy Union. It includes actions to reduce electricity bills, such as making network charges more efficient and lowering taxation for electricity, while promoting long-term contracts like power purchase agreements (PPAs) and contracts for difference (CfDs) to stabilise prices and support investments in clean energy. Faster permitting for grids, renewables and storage will also help reduce costs across the system. The concerted measures of the Action Plan are expected to bring forward overall savings of EUR 130 billion per year by 2030. With the full engagement of Member States and all relevant stakeholders, the implementation of this Action Plan, together with the Clean Industrial Deal, will enable Europe to remain globally competitive while advancing decarbonisation and ensuring that the benefits of cheaper, cleaner energy reach households and industry alike. 1 https://energy.ec.europa.eu/strategy/affordable-energy_en.”
  Energy (green transition)
• 2025-02-20 “E-000782/2025 Answer given by Mr Šefčovič on behalf of the European Commission The Commission Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council on the modification of customs duties applicable to imports of certain goods originating in or exported directly or indirectly from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus 1 is designed to gradually phase out the EU’s dependence on Russian nitrogen-based fertilisers through a transitional approach. This involves measured annual customs duty increases on imports from Russia of such fertilisers over a period of three years, minimising the risk of potential price impacts. Its entry into force is dependent on the conclusion of the ordinary legislative procedure currently ongoing in the European Parliament and the Council. If the proposal is adopted in its current form, the Commission expects the measure to result in a gradual and orderly replacement of Russian nitrogen-based fertilisers with alternatives, including domestically produced ones, contributing to fair competition in the EU fertilisers market and supporting a stable, long term role of the EU fertilisers industry in ensuring the EU food security. For broader background, some fertilisers (potash) from Russia are currently subject to an import quota as part of the sanctions adopted following Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine 2 . 1 https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/documents-register/detail?ref=COM(2025)34&lang=en 2 Article 3(i) of Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02014R0833-20250225”
  Use of fertilisers
• 2025-02-20 “E-000781/2025 Answer given by Mr Tzitzikostas on behalf of the European Commission Decades of liberalisation of the air services market 1 and regulation of air ticket distribution 2 have led to a mature distribution market. The Air Services Regulation provides for pricing freedom of air carriers and the Booking.com 3 case law has underlined the right of businesses to set differentiated prices across different channels. The widespread presence of flight offers in different channels is an indicator of competition. In this context, while some airlines may opt for particular intermediaries, other airlines may opt to disintermediate some of their tickets. This is a usual commercial practice seen in many competitive markets. Limiting airline freedom to deal with intermediaries of their choice and negotiate distribution contracts could disrupt the balance between airlines and intermediaries and may undermine competition between airlines. Consumer protection and passenger rights apply equally to all flight-only ticket sales, irrespective of the channel. There are also specific protections for package travel 4 . In 2023, the Commission proposed that intermediaries, where they acquire a ticket on behalf of a passenger, shall provide the contact details of the passenger to the air carrier, so that the air carrier can comply with certain obligations it has under Union law, such as re-routing, information and provision of care 5 . Furthermore, the Commission plans to adopt a proposal on Multimodal Digital Mobility Services (MDMS) in 2025, to achieve seamless multimodal passenger transport. The initiative aims to set out principles to facilitate cooperation between transport operators and intermediaries and to improve the availability of flight tickets in multimodal platforms. 1 Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008 (Air Services Regulation) on common rules for the operation of air services in the Community, OJ L 293, 31.10.2008, p. 3–20. 2 Regulation (EC) No 80/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 January 2009 on a Code of Conduct for computerised reservation systems, OJ L 35, 4.2.2009, p. 47–55. 3 European Court of Justice, Case Booking.com and Booking.com (Deutschland), C-264/23, paras. 61 and 62 ‘so far as concerns wide parity clauses, which prohibit partner hoteliers referenced on the reservation platform from offering, on their own sales channels or on sales channels operated by third parties, rooms at a lower price than that offered on that platform, they do not appear to be objectively necessary for the main operation of providing online hotel reservation services or proportionate to the objective pursued by it. After all, there is no intrinsic link between the continued existence of the main activity of the hotel reservation platform and the imposition of such clauses, which clearly produce appreciable restrictive effects’. 4 Directive (EU) 2015/2302 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on package travel and linked travel arrangements, OJ L 326, 11.12.2015, p. 1–33. 5 Please see COM(2023) 753 final, Art. 14a, and COM(2023) 752 final, Art. 5.”
  EU restrictions on unfair commercial practices · EU Competition policy
• 2025-02-05 “E-000503/2025 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Virkkunen on behalf of the European Commission In the context of the Romanian presidential elections held on 24 November 2024, the Commission sent to TikTok requests for information on 29 November 1 and 6 December 2024 regarding its measures to address risks from inauthentic activity, automated exploitation, and its recommender systems. Additionally, on 5 December 2024, the Commission adopted a decision imposing on TikTok an obligation to retain all information relevant to its management of the risks of any actual or foreseeable negative effects to electoral processes and civic discourse in the context of national elections held between 24 November 2024 and 31 March 2025 2 . On 17 December 2024, the Commission decided to open a third set of formal proceedings against TikTok 3 . These proceedings focus on TikTok’s compliance with its obligation to diligently assess and mitigate systemic risks related to civic discourse and electoral processes stemming from: (1) the intentional manipulation of TikTok’s services and its related systems, including its recommender systems, and (2) the amplification and potentially rapid and wide dissemination of political advertisements and paid-for political content that is incompatible with TikTok’s terms and conditions. This investigation is ongoing: the Commission is currently gathering and analysing evidence. Furthermore, the Commission published in March 2024 guidelines on recommended measures under the DSA to mitigate systemic risks online for election 4 , and released, in February 2025, the DSA elections toolkit for Digital Services Coordinators 5 . In addition, certain very large online platforms (VLOPs), together with the Commission, took part in an election stress test in March 2025, organised by the Romanian authorities 6 . 1 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/commission-sends-additional-request-information-tiktok-underdigital-services-act 2 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_6243 3 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_6487 4 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_1707 5 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/dsa-elections-toolkit-digital-services-coordinators 6 See also the European Board for Digital Services’ post-election report on the EU elections: https://digitalstrategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/european-board-digital-services-publishes-post-election-report-eu-elections”
  Recommender systems · Disinformation & online freedoms
• 2025-01-22 “E-000262/2025 Answer given by Mr Hansen on behalf of the European Commission The EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement (EMPA) strikes a balance between EU offensive and defensive interests in agri-food trade: to limit the impact in terms of competition on the EU internal market for sensitive EU sectors 1 , trade preferences are granted as tariff rate quota (TRQ) for a limited share of the EU market. No new sugar TRQ was granted to Brazil. A major share of the ethanol TRQ will be exclusively for the use by the chemical industry. In addition, the EMPA contains robust safeguard provisions, including for products under TRQs. The Agreement will open new export opportunities for the EU agri-food sector, notably for wines, dairy, olive oil, some fruits and vegetables and processed agricultural products and will strengthen Geographical Indication protection in that area. The Commission will monitor agricultural market developments closely. For the unlikely event that the agricultural market situation in the EU were to be negatively impacted due the EMPA, the Commission announced a financial reserve of at least EUR 1 billion. The EMPA contains a chapter on Trade and Sustainable Development, including obligations to adhere to multilateral environmental agreements, a commitment to halt deforestation and an institutional setting for agrifood policy dialogues to foster environmental sustainability. In addition, the Paris Agreement to combat climate change is an ‘essential element’ of the EMPA, which means that a party can suspend the agreement if it considers that there is a serious breach of the Paris Agreement or if a party leaves it. The Vision for Agriculture and Food 2 lays out a pathway to better support the European farmers in the process of a just and sustainable transition, including striving towards a fairer global competition. 1 See the related JRC study: https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC135540 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52025DC0075”
  Trade relations with Mercosur · Import of agri-food products in the EU
• 2025-01-22 “E-000263/2025 Answer given by Mr Hansen on behalf of the European Commission 1. Under the common agricultural policy (CAP), young farmers benefit from support for setting up as agricultural businesses, for investments, for cooperation projects, as well as for participation in risk management and other instruments. Young farmers receive also support under the first pillar of the CAP, which further boosts their income and reduces their risk profile, including when applying for bank finance. The CAP is implemented under shared management. It is for Member States to determine the best mix of available support options for their young farmers’ development. The Commission will propose a strategy on generation renewal in agriculture in 2025. 2. Member States may choose to include support for financial instruments (FIs) in their CAP Strategic Plan. The Commission, in cooperation with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and through its fi-compass programme 1 , actively supports Member States to set up FIs such as loan and guarantee funds through training, studies and analyses as well as communication actions. It reports annually on the implementation of financial instruments under the European agricultural fund for rural development (EAFRD) in 2014-2022 2 . In the 2023-2027 period, under the CAP Strategic Plans, in total 13 Member States programmed EUR 1.1 billion of total public expenditure (of which EUR 692 million from EAFRD). These amounts include support for investments and activities undertaken by young farmers. Recently, the EIB launched a specific financial package of EUR 3 billion to support EU agriculture and bioeconomy, including young farmers 3 . 1 https://www.fi-compass.eu/funds/eafrd 2 https://www.fi-compass.eu/sites/default/files/publications/summary_data_fi_1420_2022.pdf 3 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_6322”
  Direct payments to farmers (pillar 1) · Agricultural funding
• 2024-12-18 “E-003026/2024 Answer given by Mr Tzitzikostas on behalf of the European Commission 1. The obligation to ensure that the rights of passengers under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 1 are respected lies with the national authorities of the Member States, the so-called national enforcement bodies (NEBs). In its legislative proposal on ‘Enforcement of passenger rights in the EU’ 2 , the Commission aims at strengthening the role of the NEBs by mandating them to perform compliance monitoring activities based on risk assessment and to investigate suspected practices of non-compliance by carriers. 2. In order to ensure a more effective complaint handling for passengers, the Commission proposal introduces clear deadlines and includes rules on intermediaries, such as online booking platforms. It also provides for the adoption of a standardised reimbursement and compensation request form to make it easier for passengers to submit their claims. Furthermore, carriers and terminal managers would be obliged to adopt and implement service quality standards, notably regarding complaint handling. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2004/261/oj/eng 2 COM(2023) 753 final; 2023/0437(COD).”
  EU policy on aviation safety
• 2024-12-06 “E-002816/2024 Answer given by Mr McGrath on behalf of the European Commission The right to respect private and family life and the rights of the child are protected respectively in Article 7 and 24 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the Charter) 1 . The Commission is committed to ensuring the respect of the Charter within the remit of its competences. According to its Article 51(1), the Charter is addressed to the Member States only when they are implementing EU law. Substantive family law issues, such as the conditions under which a child is placed in alternative care and the possible limitation of parental rights, do not fall under EU competence. In such cases, it is for the national authorities alone, including the courts, to ensure that their obligations regarding fundamental rights – as resulting from their internal legislation and from international agreements – are respected. Nonetheless, the Commission is committed to promote the protection of the rights of the child. The Commission Recommendation on integrated child protection systems 2 calls on Member States to take all necessary measures 3 to ensure the prioritisation of family-based and community-based care for children, taking into account the best interests of the child as a primary consideration 4 , having due regard of the needs and wishes of the child, when placing them into alternative care. The same approach is followed in the Council Recommendation establishing a European Child Guarantee. 5 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/treaty/char_2012/oj/eng 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32024H1238 3 In accordance with national competences, circumstances and practices and fully respecting the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. 4 In accordance with Article 24 (2) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, in all actions relating to children, whether taken by public authorities or private institutions, the child’s best interests must be a primary consideration. 5 Council Recommendation (EU) 2021/1004 of 14 June 2021 establishing a European Child Guarantee, OJ L 223, 22.6.2021, p. 14–23.”
  EU competences on human rights · Support for families
• 2024-11-26 “E-2655/2024 Answer given by President von der Leyen on behalf of the European Commission The Commission remains committed to strengthening and deepening the internal market, which is a cornerstone of the European Union and central to this College’s ambitions for European prosperity and competitiveness. As outlined in his mission letter 1 , the Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy is responsible for industry, small and medium-sized enterprises and the single market, and the mission letter of the Commissioner for Democracy, Justice and the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection 2 sets out his responsibility for consumers. The College of Commissioners is structured to ensure effective coordination and cooperation across all policy areas, with all Commissioners expected to take an active role across all priorities, including the internal market. The Commission does not intend to revisit the structure of the College of Commissioners as presented by the Commission President to the Conference of Presidents on 17 September 2024 and approved by the European Parliament on 27 November 2024. The Commission will continue to work closely with the European Parliament, including the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, to ensure that the internal market and consumer protection remain key priorities for the EU. 1 https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/c6589264-e9b1-4024-ba36b12a59648dd3_en?filename=mission-letter-sejourne.pdf&prefLang=hu 2 https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/907fd6b6-0474-47d7-99da47007ca30d02_en?filename=Mission%20letter%20-%20McGRATH.pdf”
  EU Single Market harmonisation · EU competences on consumer protection and product standards
• 2024-11-21 “E-002494/2024 E-002616/2024 Answer given by Mr Várhelyi on behalf of the European Commission In September 2023, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) recommended to refuse the annual renewal of the conditional marketing authorisation for Translarna. The opinion was confirmed in January 2024 following a re-examination. In May 2024 the Commission asked the CHMP to consider further data brought to its attention. The CHMP reviewed its assessment and confirmed its recommendation in June 2024 and, after a re-examination, on 17 October 2024. The benefit-risk was re-assessed based on available data including that from the time of the conditional approval, that generated as per the specific obligations under the conditional approval (two clinical trials), that from the patient registry STRIDE, additional real-world data and from two paediatric studies. These data failed to confirm a positive benefit-risk balance. In line with the legislation 1 , the Commission shall prepare a draft decision based on the CHMP opinion and submit it to the Standing Committee on Medicinal Products for Human Use. In a Committee meeting on 12 December 2024, Member States considered the CHMP assessment robust but recognised the unmet medical need of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients and the very specific circumstances of this case. Member States discussed the need to manage therapeutic continuity for patients already under treatment given the absence of alternative treatments authorised in the EU. The Commission is considering how these aspects can be integrated into the final Decision which Member States will vote on early in 2025. There are currently 32 treatments for DMD under development in the EU. EMA is currently reviewing 2 such medicines: givinostat and the gene therapy delandistrogene moxeparvovec. 1 https://health.ec.europa.eu/medicinal-products/legal-framework-governing-medicinal-products-human-useeu_en”
  Patient access vs withdrawal/non-authorisation of orphan and innovative drugs
• 2024-11-11 “E-002493/2024 Answer given by Mr Hoekstra on behalf of the European Commission The Commission has been estimating the yearly value-added tax (VAT) gap 1 evolution in each Member State since 2009 as an indicator of the VAT enforcement effectiveness. In 2022, the amount of the VAT gap has been estimated at EUR 89.3 billion, falling from 11,2 % to 7 % of total VAT liabilities since 2018. This is still a very high amount of money. The fight against VAT fraud was one of the key objectives of the 2020 tax action plan 2 . In this context, the Commission reinforced Eurofisc 3 with advanced tools like the Central Electronic System of Payment Information and the Transaction Network Analysis, with the support of which suspicious transactions of EUR 14.6 billion were uncovered in 2023 4 . With its upcoming VAT in the digital age (VIDA) package, Digital Reporting Requirements based on e-invoicing will be implemented by 2030, which is expected to generate EUR 11 billion per year extra revenues for Member States. The Commission will carefully follow up the implementation of VIDA, will report to the Council in 2033 on the functioning of e-invoicing and to the European Parliament and the Council on the application of Council Regulation on VAT administrative cooperation 5 . The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) investigates VAT fraud perpetrated in connection with customs fraud in particular in cases of undervaluation, imports under customs procedure 42, transit procedures and, in recent time, e-commerce and Import One-Stop-Shop (IOSS). As part of these investigations, OLAF steers the cross-border cooperation of customs and tax authorities using administrative means with a view to the possible quick recovery of the amounts evaded. The EPPO 6 has been very successful in bringing the perpetrators of serious VAT fraud to justice 7 . The Commission will submit an evaluation report on the implementation of the EPPO Regulation 8 and the effectiveness and efficiency of the EPPO by 1 June 2026. 1 https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/taxation/vat/fight-against-vat-fraud/vat-gap_en 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0312 3 Eurofisc is the EU network for the fight against VAT fraud. 4 https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/taxation/vat/vat-and-administrative-cooperation/eurofisc_en 5 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2010/904/oj 6 European Public Prosecutor’s Office. 7 https://www.eppo.europa.eu/en/documents/2023-numbers 8 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2017/1939/oj”
  EU competences on taxation · VAT harmonisation · Anti-money laundering regulation
• 2024-11-08 “E-002479/2024 Answer given by Mr Hansen on behalf of the European Commission In January 2024 the Commission President launched the Strategic Dialogue on the future of EU agriculture, in order to strengthen the understanding of current challenges, bringing together farmers and other stakeholders from across the agri-food chain. The outcome of these discussions led to a series of recommendations published in September 2024 1 . To follow-up on an immediate recommendation, and on top of current dialogue platforms already in place, the Commission has recently launched the European Board on Agri-Food (EBAF) to ensure a more regular dialogue with key strategic stakeholders 2 . The outcome of the Strategic Dialogue, as well as other consultations and exchanges with citizens, stakeholders, Member States and other European institutions, will contribute to the preparation of policy initiatives by the College of Commissioners, including the post-2027 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) expected by end of 2025, following the presentation of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028-2034. At this stage, it is too early to anticipate the content of such proposals. The EU stands firm against unfair trade practices through trade defence instruments, in line with World Trade Organization rules and to protect European producers against international trade distortions. The EU will keep using these instruments in cases there is a need to restore fairness. In addition, food products placed on the EU market must comply with very stringent standards, and Member States must carry out official controls and enforcement activities according to Regulation (EU) 2017/625 3 at all stages of production, including at the stage of import, to ensure that only products in compliance with the applicable legislation are placed on the market. 1 https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/document/download/171329ff-0f50-4fa5-946faea11032172e_en?filename=strategic-dialogue-report-2024_en.pdf 2 With a call of interest published on 5 December 2024. 3 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2017/625/oj”
  Direct payments to farmers (pillar 1)
• “Thank you very much. Madam rapporteur, thank you very much to the Commission for your cooperation together with the rapporteur. I hope that the Commission can be more explicit on a number of points. We need harmonisation throughout the internal market. At the moment. Some member states have transparency registers and others do not. I think it would be good for that to be uniform because we have a single market. I have every confidence and I wish you success. 15th of July, I understand is the vote in Imco, so I hope there'll be harmonisation and compromises with the shadows til then. Uh, I wish you the best of success. Thank you very much. The chair kindly thanks the interpreters and says that we'll see you all tomorrow at 9 a.m..”
  EU Single Market harmonisation
• “Commissioner. Dear colleagues, um, the president of the Commission has, uh, made a display of ignorance yet again when she presented the Commission's program. Uh, again, she did not have the patience to wait for the Parliament's position. The Parliament is, at the end of the day, the institution that validated von der Leyen. How can you speak about prosperity? How can she mention prosperity when 15 million people are in poverty in Europe? We haven't seen any concrete change with regard to access to financing for SMEs. They are capitalized. Farmers have been taken. Taking to the streets for the last two years. Two years. I haven't seen anything in terms of an energy market or a capital market. We are lagging behind in innovation and transportation. We depend on the United States and China. What is the plan for 2026, Commissioner? Maybe von der Leyen can, can, can give us an answer. 22 points does not mean we change Europe.”
  Von der Leyen
• “I will speak Romanian. First of all, I'd like to wish all the success to the presidency. Because your success influences ours and the farmers. I would like to ask for a few clarifications. Some of them may have been mentioned by colleagues yesterday in our meeting. We were told that we want a new cap. That is fair. What do you understand by fair farming? That farmers, wherever they are in the 27 member states East, West, north, south receive the same support? What is your position on mixing cohesion and cap funds Refunds. And how do you think we can ensure generational renewal? How will you support in the council a budget line for the new farmers, so that we have younger farmers who are competitive and withstand competition with other farmers from other countries and on trade agreements? So far, we haven't managed to include in trade agreements equal conditions. Just an example. We are preparing for an agreement with India who we know is the biggest polluter. They don't pay for pollution, for emissions. So what can we do about this in connection to our farmers?”
  CAP delivery architecture: ring-fenced common fund vs integrated national plans
• “We're interested in quality as well. We have the Mercosur agreement, we have further agreements with India and so on and so forth. So this these amounts collected should go to financing infrastructure. And we must admit that we have a deficit of training of customs workers. And I can say that from my own personal experience, I have a private business experience. All the more so since this regulation, as you have said, brings a larger workload. We need to have infrastructure, but also well-trained staff that know how to apply the common procedures that will apply to all the 2000 border crossing points, customs points. So any entry in a customs point will be deemed an entry into the single market. And we have also reflected on what to do if a country has no interest in carrying out the controls and simply gets these products flow into the market, do we have a braking system to be able to pressure to put pressure on the market on on the member state that, uh. Allows these products to enter the single market uncontrollably? Yes. We want direct and indirect, uh, financing. But if we increase the workload of the customs, I think the money should go to the customs.”
  EU policy on custom fee on non-EU imports
• “Commissioner. President, the 2026 budget is something that we've all been working towards and we do need more funding. But, Commissioner, you said something very important here that here we're dealing with huge challenges, but we need to see where we're going to focus our efforts in the MFF. How can we cover all of the European Union with the Cap? Can cohesion, reindustrialisation and security? How can that then be made into a real budget? For years I was part of the budgetary control committee, and we weren't able then to deal with VAT fraud, which happens at a to a large extent in some countries. We also wanted to put rules in place for platforms. Every time we do this, we shouldn't have to take out loans and pay interest, but we need to clean up the whole system so we're not paying that.”
  Size of EU budget
• “We are talking about the single market here I have been here since two thousand and fourteen when are we finally going to make progress we need to have something that makes a real difference. We have all of these directives none of this is working directives for active financing for SMEs that doesn't work we also have the issue of the quality of products again it's not working. So what can we say to these SMEs we are debating debating at some point we actually have to give a response to our citizens what are we really doing here commissioner we need to act in a tangible manner. If we can't really simplify things we're not making things any easier there's different customs different rules different regulations we have a flood of products coming in from Asia and if we don't act now the single market will never exist thank you.”
  EU Single Market harmonisation
• “(10:16:43 – 10:17:14): The conclusion because I don't have time. 6 minutes for each. Absolutely. So with this image of digital transformation in mind, I want to, maybe just say that, we are looking forward to, cooperation with the with the industry to make this transition happen. We see that the challenges are, having a serious impact on the situation on the ground, but we also see it as an opportunity to make the construction industry in Europe more competitive and, more productive, helping to address the housing problem.”
  Energy (green transition)
• “Thank you, Director general. First of all, I'd like to thank you for this comprehensive presentation of the issues. I was very optimistic to see your presenting such good results, but my questions are related to what you mentioned as not as good, namely where the progress is not as high for some countries. Why do you think that is? I find that it's too little to have 5% investments. We can't have a sustainable agriculture with such low investments and now fair agriculture. You mentioned that 30 of 36 million were assigned and allocated to 5.6 million farmers. But how is this spread throughout the EU? This is very important. It's important that regardless of the region, as far as it may be, as remote as it may be, farmers have the same opportunities. And now when it comes to risk management, um, the percentage is very low now 1.6%. How can we have better results? Because I know in my country we have great issues here. Thank you.”
  Agricultural funding
• “We'd like to thank the commission and what you've stated so far. It is clear that we have a fragmented marketplace and we have to do something. It's not just something formal that we need to do. We need to improve the situation. I'm from the business environment myself, and I know. That this is important for economic participants. I have confidence in those who have put forward amendments. I have confidence in Mrs. Valean, who was a commissioner and who knows how to harmonise things. It's important that we have this protection for the internal market against unfair competition, to be very clear. So thank you very much. I don't know if colleagues wish to take the floor again Otherwise, two minutes to the rapporteur for her conclusions. Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and thank you for your support that you expressed to the the rapporteur and shadow rapporteurs.”
  EU Single Market harmonisation
• “We need to give them enough trust that if they do something, something will be done to protect their rights. And we also said that we believe that the staff that is in charge with implementing DMA and DSA needs to make sure that there is enough money, enough funds and enough human resources, because not enough to have the DSA and DMA. If we can't implement it because we don't have enough funding and we don't have enough staff to make sure. We need to make sure that these two regulations are effective and appropriate. And, um, and they can investigate the, uh, the issues that are carried by well-prepared and experts. And they need to be timely because it's important when we carry out these controls. We also said, and I'll finish right away, we want extra funding in order to apply the AI, act properly, and the AI office needs to have the necessary staff, including experts in the field from outside the EU institutions. We need money for this and at the same time, we need to boost research and AI based solutions and in innovative solutions that, um, help us boost our technological sovereignty. Thank you very much”
  Artificial Intelligence
• “Thank you. I will speak Romanian because this is a complicated topic. It really is. I would I'd like to thank the commission for their explanations. I would like to also thank Shane for their presence here. Imco is not, um, partial. We don't only criticise Shane, but we also criticise Amazon and other platforms. Um, according to your presentation, you are spotless. My colleague spoke about textiles earlier. Textile producers, um, in Europe have a larger problem because they need to mention all the cancer causing substances, not to mention them on the label. We need to do all these things which have a price tag. The materials that we use, the fabrics are superior in quality. I've worked with China when I was an entrepreneur when I was a minister as well. China does a lot of great things. Nobody contests that. But what you sell on your platform is the problem. Because, um, more often than not, you, uh, sell illusions. Uh, of course you will have buyers that wish to spend less, which have lower incomes. But you have a responsibility. You need to abide by our rules on the European market. This is when we have a level playing field. We have fair competition. We have, um, a proper protection of consumers. You say that you promote artists, designers, indeed. This is marketing policy. I myself am familiar with that because I am a businesswoman. But that doesn't mean that you should, um, sell products that have not been subjected to any checks at all. What do you do to ensure compliance? What did you do when you had complaints about your products? Because it is useless to tell us that you do everything perfectly spotlessly and that we only criticize you. I'd like you to tell us what concrete measures you intend to take to comply with the European standards. Thank you.”
  Liability for online marketplaces
• “Thank you, dear colleagues. Thank you for everyone for this exchange of view. Thank you, commission. I hope we'll have finally, 1 optimal, rapport after amendment informing members that, the deadline for amendment is, seated to 9 junior at 15 afternoon. Thank you very much.”
  EU public communication strategy
• “Madam president, Commissioner, dear colleagues, we are debating an essential report for the future of our planet, for the future of Europe. How can we say that the responsibility for protecting minors in the online environment, uh, belongs only to the parents. We haven't excluded the importance of education. The importance of parents in this report. But democracy is based on rules. The message of this report was the following. We, the Member States, need to find mechanisms of that platforms. Uh, limit the right of minors to certain information that is not age appropriate. People, children harm themselves. They commit suicide. Recently, uh, a boy killed his sister. So, uh, these are misleading platforms. The interfaces are misleading. Dear colleagues, I'm happy that we have a large majority here. For us, the future of Europe lies in the protection of minors. And together, we, the parents, the educational system, need to regulate this environment so that miners do not have access to, uh, things that are not appropriate for them.”
  Safety features & content control for child protection online
• “Thank you very much. I will speak Romanian. This topic is really dear to my heart because when I was in the private industry, I worked a lot with standards as a manufacturer and as a leader of the employers association. Now, since I've come to the European Parliament, I've wanted to do more for, um, fair labelling. We want to have the basic information, but not too much information, because if There's, um, too much information on overcrowded on a small label. The consumer will not read it. We also worked for, um, product quality. So under the same packaging we have different contents. We had a public debate with producers. Um, I organized it with colleagues from Italy and Croatia. I am from Romania myself. And we still, um, see that there is a different quality, different content under the same packaging. And the producers said that they adapt the product to consumers taste. Well, that's very nice if that's what consumers want, but it doesn't mean that the packaging should be misleading. Should have the same logo, the same labeling. So the same coffee, um, sold actually the same, brand of coffee sold in the same packaging has different taste. Different quality in Germany versus Romania. And there are many other examples I could give you.”
  Food labelling harmonisation at EU level
• “Colleague. You said that you wanted equal development in Europe. Now, do you think that what's been presented by president von der Leyen now at the end of this year, shows something of that provides a basis? I've been in the parliament since 2014 and Romanian farmers still get different subsidies to others, and there's still market fragmentation. Do you think that the report from the president of the commission is realistic, or is it just slogans that we don't need?”
  EU cohesion/structural-fund architecture: consolidation vs ring-fenced separate funds
• “I didn't really plan on taking the floor, but just like Andreas. As I was saying, like Andreas, after I heard the commission, I feel compelled to say a few things. First and foremost, we tend to super regulate. Uh, the commission says that the omnibus comes as a simplification. We have a law. We've worked a lot on it, like Andrea said. And in actual fact, there are no practical effects whatsoever. I don't know about you, but my email box is chock full of messages, uh, from from citizens complaining that we're interfering with the private lives, that we want to read all of their messages. You failed to provide clear explanations. This is a major, major problem. I've said it time and again when the commission comes up with an initiative, they have to communicate it properly through a system. People believe they were going to take money from their bank accounts. When you launched another idea in the past, it's the same situation now. I have tens of thousands of emails threatening me for what the commission did. Start planning properly. Stop coming up with initiatives that you fail to explain that come on top of what we already have. Nothing is properly checked. What happened with TikTok? We had countless hearings. No answer for everything that TikTok did. Children are dying. Young people are dying. There's interference in elections. Let's let's do things properly because people won't take us seriously anymore.”
  EU public communication strategy
• “Thank you. Chair. First of all, as a shadow rapporteur, I believe that it's important and necessary to modify our decision. The Parliament's decision from 1989. And just like the commission said, we need more competent competences, um, for the standing Forestry Committee. There is no exclusion for member states. There is subsidiarity here. Member states can nominate their members, and I strongly believe that we will be able to have a standing. Forestry committee that is modern, that is able to support policies that bring about. Technological change, like using new technologies for managing forests and improving efficiency in this way, because we need to improve the management of forests and make it more efficient. Forests are very important for our life on the planet. This is why I support this approach, because I believe that we need to think about protecting the environment, but also need to think about creating jobs and boosting local economies. Thank you.”
  Management of EU forests
• “College. President. Vice president. Dear colleagues. This is a very important report because it sets out a framework for product. Commissioner, we need a consistent framework. But what does that mean? We've got enough regulation as it is. But we need to ensure consistency. We need to protect consumers. We need to protect EU manufacturers to ensure we're not being flooded with parcels from third countries. We need to tackle counterfeit products, etc. we've got appropriate, uh, customs checks and without them, all of this wouldn't be possible. You're really facing a huge challenge, Commissioner. It's important to protect European industry, and at the same time, consumers need to protect them from products sold at dumping prices or counterfeit products. But we should also protect and provide perspective to our manufacturers.”
  EU policy on custom fee on non-EU imports
• “Thank you very much. First, I'd like to talk about your presentations and ask a few questions. You said that there are methodological methodological differences, but why are why do they exist? We always have the same face with the same problem. Now, um, this reduction of 50% by 2030. Of course, this has to do with with the way we we train the professionals to reach this target for the entire EU, just 2000 trained professionals is not enough. And last but not least, if this 50% reduction are we talking about a a total use that you now have? But if we talk about this reduction of 50% and this needs to be distributed over the 20th of the 27 member states, because we have differences in subsidies and with fertilisers, the Netherlands uses five times more fertilisers than Romania. There are there are differences across the board and this kind of discrimination leads to negative effects.”
  Use of fertilisers
• “Commissioner colleagues. The cap after 2027 should first of all be fair. It should be a policy that is responsible towards all farmers. Thank you, Commissioner, for the talks we've had and I hope you come to my country, Romania, and discuss directly with our farmers over there, because here's what they want, and I represent them here. Um, first of all, there's an there's an unfairness. There's an imbalance between regions in the West, in the east and the north and the south of Europe. And this leads to less confidence in the European project. It's not just about incomes, it's about cohesion as well. And I think, Commissioner, we've seen very clearly that it's a red line for us. Um, we need a separate a standalone budget for Cap. We need generational renewal because farmers are getting older. We need to support small farmers with direct funding instruments. And of course, we should cut down on red tape. And I do believe, Commissioner, that we need to build a stronger, uh, viable, united, um, European agriculture. But for in order to do this, we need to place farmers at the centre because they know best.”
  Agricultural funding
• “Thank you. I will speak Romanian. Thank you very much for this overview. I am a rapporteur for customs. We often talk about the way to apply the new customs regulation. You know that EU is going to be, um, set up the new customs authority. We have had multiple shadow meetings and we've had three trilogue meetings so far. And we've discussed financing on many occasions because we may, uh, draft a perfect customs regulation, but without the infrastructure that you have mentioned, that is needed in the over 2000 customs points in the EU. We won't be able to control it. So we've started from the idea of having a new customs regulation, especially for that purpose, to be able to better control entries into the single market, to be able to protect consumers and producers from unfair competition. We've, uh, often mentioned the handling fee that, uh, is to be levied on small parcels. And here we have a dispute with the Budget Committee, because our position is that if we burden customs authorities with further controls, my political group believes that this handling fee should go to the budget of the customs authority and not to the general budget, so that we can be able to strengthen customs authorities from two points of view. We need to have capacity to analyze the content of the product and not only the quantity.”
  EU policy on custom fee on non-EU imports
• “Commissioner, colleagues, we are now debating about the cohesion policy, perhaps the most important pillar of the European project. These three reports, um, on simplification, just transition and the housing crisis can lead to, um, true cohesion. Now, my question is, do you think that you will take into account, um, of our position here in these reports? Of course, when it comes to defense. We should have arms, but don't take funding from the cohesion policy. Initially, president von der Leyen said that we should find new resources. We shouldn't take money from the cap. Now, when it comes to housing, of course, if everything becomes more expensive, housing will become more expensive too. And this means that for many citizens, opportunities are fewer, not better. And I think we have to make a connection to the demographic crisis. We can't have new families, young families that actually have children if they cannot afford housing. Commissioner, can you tell me whether you will present these three reports to the College of Commissioners and whether you will take into account the fact that the housing crisis is a necessity, not a whim.”
  Cohesion and rural funding
• “First of all, wanted to congratulate you, um, for this upcoming second mandate. And I've got a very concrete question for you. Now, you have answered our questions, but what could the Court of Auditors have done for us that they haven't done? During my three mandates here, I have asked Echa to introduce efficiency criteria rather than just audits. So is there really an added value in each euro that has been invested. I do not think this efficiency criterion has been introduced. For example, in my country for two years, the EPO audited a company that used European funds to build a hospital, and at the end of the three years, no faults were detected. So if we don't control things properly, you might end up blocking the economy. So what is the echo going to do with that? You say that you have got a good relationship with the EPO.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will speak Romanian. Director general, let me start from your statement that farmers are anxious and you seemed worried about this. Well, if they listen to your presentation today, they will become even more anxious, because what we are looking for is clarity and simplification. And I've listened to what you said very carefully, and I thought that what you presented is extremely complicated as a system and Extremely unsure because if the commission decides where the money for regional development goes, maybe that decision will be subjective. Why don't we do as we requested to the commissioner every time? Why don't we say that whatever is for agriculture is only for agriculture? Why should we send that money to the local level and forget about them, and don't know what that money will be used for? And then the farmers will be left to fend for themselves. Then, of course, we have some letters from the president of the commission promising that the money will be given. Let's look at the figures now. We have 293 billion compared to 378 in in the past. So, of course, farmers do not understand why this cut has been made. And we should also think of inflation. You also mentioned the fact that the national payments should be equal. But what if there are member states that cannot afford to make these payments? Thank you.”
  Agricultural funding
• “Thank you. I will speak Romanian. Thank you very much for this overview. I am a rapporteur for customs. We often talk about the way to apply the new customs regulation. You know that EU is going to be, um, set up the new customs authority. We have had multiple shadow meetings and we've had three trilogue meetings so far. And we've discussed financing on many occasions because we may, uh, draft a perfect customs regulation, but without the infrastructure that you have mentioned, that is needed in the over 2000 customs points in the EU. We won't be able to control it. So we've started from the idea of having a new customs regulation, especially for that purpose, to be able to better control entries into the single market, to be able to protect consumers and producers from unfair competition. We've, uh, often mentioned the handling fee that, uh, is to be levied on small parcels. And here we have a dispute with the Budget Committee, because our position is that if we burden customs authorities with further controls, my political group believes that this handling fee should go to the budget of the customs authority and not to the general budget, so that we can be able to strengthen customs authorities from two points of view. We need to have capacity to analyze the content of the product and not only the quantity.”
  EU policy on custom fee on non-EU imports
• “(14:44:20 – 14:46:00): Thank you, Commissioner. I'm going to speak Romanian. I love French, but still, I am very happy to have you here. I would like to very quickly ask you a couple of questions. You said you had no plans to regulate any further. But if you need to, there will be new regulations in order to do away with obstacles. Don't we think that obstacles appear when we have bad implementation? We have, for instance, a directive regarding delayed payments. In the last term, we saw that in many member states, the directive did not apply. It's a complete blockage, especially for SMEs because it's the state that is at fault because it doesn't pay its debt every 30 days, and SMEs have to borrow money in order to keep going. So my question is, I've been saying that a single market has to follow the same rules. When we have a lot of national rules everywhere, we can't say that we have rules for everybody. If I, as an entrepreneur, want to expand into another country, if I have to abide by different types of legislation, I have different costs. Does the Commission have any kind of study that shows what these obstacles are, and how do you want to do away with them? Thank you.”
  EU rules on late commercial payments
• “Chairman. Dear colleagues, this chemicals package is welcome. The intentions are right. However, we need to see how we will apply because in my opinion, the major issue that we've had here is that we are regulating. However, the problems appear on the implementation side. Without a strong industry, we cannot have a strong economy. We cannot be competitive in relationship to other third countries. And we can see that agriculture depends on chemicals, all industries, pharmaceuticals, they all depend on chemicals. We need to have this common data platform. I believe this is useful for SMEs, not like some colleagues were saying. It does not create a burden for them. We need to coordinate their tasks and anything that helps the agencies work better together. Together is great. We need to avoid duplication. The important thing is, however, how we communicate this, and it is also important not to give SMEs more tasks. However, without a strong chemical industry, we cannot have strong agriculture. We cannot have strong industry. Thank you.”
  Chemicals regulation
• “Commissioner, you are in Romania. You heard the farmers. You've heard the Minister of Agriculture. Um, let me ask you for a few other things, clarifications. You've said a lot of things, and very quickly, I do not understand how you can get this startup, uh, starter pack to, uh, to the to young farmers. But we don't have enough money. Do we have a separate, uh, budget from the AP or together with the cohesion? Another thing. Young people can calculate risk very well. So if we, um. Regarding fertilizers. The fertiliser industry, fertiliser industry in Europe has gone bankrupt. We have a cbam. We have, uh, um, we no longer have imports from Russia and so on. And of course, the price goes up, goes up for fertiliser, water, young farmers supposed to do. And we don't have workers. Not only young farmers do. Do you have a funding to, um, uh, to skill these Russian?”
  Agricultural funding
• “Thank you. President. Madam Commissioner, the regulation that we are, I hope going to adopt today will consolidate the position of farmers down the value chain, not just within a country, but throughout the internal market, because the 2019 directive did not cover that. However, Commissioner, we have to resolve something. The dominant position of major retailers in my country, Romania. Small farmers can't negotiate contracts with a multinational like that with any negotiating power. And of course, price, quantity and what things sell for on the shelf are all decided by the big company. And I don't think it's enough just to have a regulation. It's excellent. But we need. A mechanism that covers the 27 member states. However, we need to see cooperation as in the regulation. If not, we won't solve the problem of small farmers and medium sized farmers who shouldn't be destroyed. They're producing good things. Therefore, we need to fight this unfair trading in all Member states. And with this regulation, it's good, but we must ensure it comes into force.”
  EU policy on farmer–buyer relations in the agri-food supply chain
• “Thank you very much, chair. I want to congratulate the two women who spoke to us today. I believe that the situation is fairly similar in all 27 member states. Not enough women in charge of farms and even the percentage of women working in farms is really low. I believe two things are perfectly clear. On the one hand, we have the cultural barriers and our colleague Dorfmann spoke about it. We tend to see farm work as something that's the province of men. And then there's also an educational deficit when it comes to training for agricultural work in some member states, mine included. Uh, we're still lagging behind in terms of mechanized agriculture. There's still a need for hard physical labor there. Uh, and and then again, what we regulate here and what happens in real life might, might be two different things. When a woman goes to a bank looking for credit, she is, uh, received with disbelief and lack of trust. And this is something that we need to work on to change mentalities, change the culture, and then also work hard to simplify farm work. Thank you.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion