Maria GRAPINI

Policy topics Maria GRAPINI is active on

What Maria GRAPINI has said (80)

• 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? It's 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 is good and bad about it?”
  EU digital & tech sovereignty
• 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)
• 2026-06-15 “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
• 2026-01-27 “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 · "Buy European" provisions · 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 policy on labour exploitation in global supply chains
• 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) · Trade relations with China · EU policy on labour exploitation in global supply chains
• 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.”
  EU approach to electricity market and prices · Energy (green transition)
• 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
• 2025-02-20 “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
• 2025-02-05 “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-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
• 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
• 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”
  Pharmaceuticals regulation in EU
• 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)
• “Commissioner. Colleagues, again, we are debating a very important subject, but this is not the first time we've debated it. The president of the commission is telling us what we should do from 2019. But she never does anything, actually. Yes, we need the single market. One market. We need the solidarity plan. We need to cut out speculation from the energy sector. We've been discussing all of this for years and years. But Commissioner, I think we need to take things seriously now. Clear measures to cut energy prices because we are dependent. But when did we create this dependency? When the war in Iran started. No. We've had this dependency for a long time. Of course, we can't expect miracles overnight, but let's do something because citizens are tired of hearing we should do this or that. Let's do it. And one more thing. Mr. Weber is a great hypocrite. He's no longer here. But he says that the motion in my country was voted by an extremist party. Yet he votes with the extremists right here in the European Parliament.”
  EU approach to electricity market and prices
• “Chair. Commissioner, I think that today's debate and the content of this report Import will determine the Commission and the Council to operate this prolongation is 18 months prolongation. You have said it yourselves. You have 68 targets to reach and more than half of the amount to spend. These funds are necessary and we need to adapt because there are new circumstances. So I do not think that the member state did not want to spend this money. But let's think that in the meantime, there were elections in some member states. One government drafted the mechanism, other another. One does need to apply. And I think it is normal to have flexibility to have this prolongation and of course, the control of the money, because I am in the commission, in the Committee for Budget Control, and we want to know the end users, we require the list with the companies and with the targets. And yes, the circumstances have changed. And maybe in some member states, some projects are not useful anymore and they have to think about different projects. So convince the council to prolong the deadline. Thank you.”
  Conditions to access EU budget
• “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 very much, chair. Commissioner. Dear colleagues, we do need a legal framework, a new legal framework for the use of biofuels. We need a new energy mix. We need technological neutrality. Commissioner, let's not make any more mistakes. Climate objectives have to be established so that the industry is not destroyed. At the same time, the biofuels support decarbonisation. But it's impossible to keep using them in such a small percentage. We have to use more biomass. And we also have to understand that if we don't have an integrated and balanced approach for the energy system, we will start having problems with De-industrialisation and we will not reindustrialize. Look what happened to the auto sector. So we have to have a balanced system in order to remove the dependencies from imports from third countries. Otherwise we will not be able to have competitiveness reindustrialisation, and we will not be able to rid ourselves of the dependency in all economic sectors.”
  Energy (green transition)
• “Thank you very much. Hello for everyone. Good afternoon. For Imco, it's very important is dossier because, of course, Omnibus, it's important for simplification, but don't the recommendation. It's important for Tron, but it's input for each company, especially for SMEs and for Inco. It's very important. We will have very good results. Thank you very much, and I hope we'll have after debate with commission and with 3 committee, very, very good conclusion. Thank you very much.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “Madam president, Commissioner, colleagues, we are talking about fighting sexual abuse and exploitation of children. These are crimes. We should not mince our words. These crimes should be punished. We shouldn't be talking about consent. We're talking about children age five, six, seven. What kind of consent are you talking about? The member States are have the duty to implement this directive and have the harshest possible punishments. I think sex education is important. It should be done in the family first and first and foremost, because the parents know how to approach their children. And as for platforms and I, we've adopted legislation on the platforms, and we need to think about how to implement those rules because sexual abuse is the most appalling crime.”
  Privacy & detection of online child abuse
• “Thank you. President. Mrs. Lagarde. Commissioner, of course, we are talking here about, uh, the apparent success of the European Central Bank. Uh, but from my point of view, and I'm representing here the citizens from my own country. I would like to ask you, Mrs. Lagarde, did you ever try to see the social effects of your monetary policy on the member states? Because we have member states who are in the eurozone and those who are not in the in the eurozone? In my country, the interest rates are three times higher than in the eurozone. The electricity costs twice what it costs in the eurozone. Uh, how do you think that people in my country feel about this? Don't you think maybe since we talk about banking union, after all, all 27 states have contributed to the creation of the ECB. Shouldn't we think of policies that should have social effects as well? Not long ago, we talked about the housing crisis in all member states, not just in Romania. Maybe we should do something to help solve this crisis. I think that monetary policy has not fulfilled its role because it did not take into account the socio economic situation.”
  ECB monetary policy
• “I thank you, chair. Dear colleagues, thank you to the authors of the study. I would have wanted for the study to encompass all 27 member States, because we don't want a patchwork and we need this in agricultural sector. But the study confirms a very important thing that generational renewal is not just a matter of age, it's a matter of economic conditions, territorial conditions, social conditions that should allow young farmers to join the sector and stay in the sector. But they need predictability for this. And the number of young farmers has dropped, which means that the policies were not targeted properly. And this is, uh, this is not just a marginal problem. The future of European agriculture is at stake. Now about these integrated policies. This matter is very important. It's a pact. Support is a cap. Support is tantamount important. It's very important to go hand in hand with national programs. But we need a common agricultural policy policy. Um, this, uh, because we because young farmers do not get enough support to start a farm. They will not join the sector if they do not housing and so on. This is why generational renewal needs to go hand in hand with the in decent income. Um, and, uh, certain power, we talk about the 6% of the budget and then you see a P, although I would put forward a amendments, it does not have a budget for young farmers. The territorial dimension is very important because we, uh, have mountain areas, uh, faraway areas, um, outermost regions where they have. We have other conditions for. Outermost regions are far away from central markets and so on. They need certain conditions. We cannot have a one size fits all solution. And their report needs to integrate women farmers. It's unbelievable that we have a majority population of women, and we have so few women in agriculture. So of course, Europe cannot ask young farmers to join the sector unless they have the necessary conditions for a decent living. Generation renewal means enough income, enough access to land and so on. Thank you very much.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Um, we, uh, have we can give an opinion on the draft, uh, 2026 budget. Uh, the amendments, you could, um, table the amendments until the 24th of June. I don't know if anyone's tabled any amendments. I myself have tried in this, uh, draft to follow our position, which is, um. To make sure that this budget helps the functioning of the single market while supporting, uh, Um. Transition to a social economy and digital and, um, sustainable and, uh, um, CO2 neutral, uh, market. We wanted to promote and defend the interests of consumers at a high level, to do away with the disproportionate, uh, barriers to the four freedoms, uh, boosting the resilience of the single market and, uh, boosting the value chain, the European Union, given that we we are facing multiple challenges that need, uh, investment and coordination at EU level, we asked the Commission to put forward a budget for 2026 that mirrors all these challenges. And we need to, uh, look at what's happening in the world. The Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. The hybrid attacks on member states. Foreign interference. All of this has had its impact on the single market. And what we're asking through this opinion is that the single market be resilient and ready and apt to deal with emergencies against this background.”
  Size of EU budget
• “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
• “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'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 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 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
• “Dear colleagues. I think we're all seeing what's happening to the major platforms. Currently we're talking about Google, but they're all creating problems for our single market through their dominance and their own interest. This really is a scourge for our internal market and our competition. It's simply not enough. To punish them with fines. They're Preferring their own services. And obviously this impedes freedom of expression. Freedom of media. In 2017, we also looked into what Google was doing, and at the time, we also found that this was unfair competition on the single market. We need to take appropriate steps when it comes to actually implementing things. We also addressed this issue of TikTok and we're still waiting for results there. So we really have to ensure that we enforce fair competition across the board. Uh, we've got we should have our own high tech sector and we should have fair competition.”
  EU rules on digital competition
• “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
• “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. Commissioner. Dear colleagues. Of course, as my colleague was saying, this debate comes a bit late in the last day of our plenary. But we have to address this issue because it's been ignored for far too long. Commissioner. And I remember in 2023, we sent out letters and oral questions to the commission. But still millions of women are suffering in silence without care or adequate treatment. And this shows how deep this gender gap is when it comes to health research and public policies. I don't think we can ignore this reality any longer. We need investments in specific women's health. We need prevention and we have to include gynecological diseases. You know very well that research is conducted for other, um, illnesses. Nothing is known for real. And we need access for women in rural areas, for instance. And we need to conduct prevention. It's more important than anything. Moreover, this condition leads to infertility, and we know how important the demographic decline is in Europe. So, Commissioner, I'd be very happy if you could give us a reply. What is the Commission doing? What can the Parliament do as well? We've seen that there are costs of over €30 billion in medical leave, and that's just one aspect. But we should also consider women's suffering. So please come up with some concrete reactions. What can we do in order to tackle this disease that is It's affecting women that are suffering in silence.”
  Sexuality and reproduction
• “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. 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
• “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
• “Madam president, Commissioner, colleagues, 50 years of relations with China. And if we take stock, we can see what we've lost in 50 years. We've lost a. So much. I think that the I think we have to be clear at the summit, we have to be able to defend ourselves. We've been, uh, talking about the parcels that come from, uh, China. Billions of parcels. We need a relationship with China, but it has to be based on healthy principles. Commissioner. Why don't we have the same public procurement rules as China? If they can be restrictive, why can't we be restrictive? Uh, we have our security considerations, too. We don't have good relations with the United States. We don't have good relations with China. We don't have good relations with Russia.”
  Trade relations with China
• “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
• “Hundreds of thousands of jobs in Romania. The people from steel factories had to live at home, had to leave home. That's because of the dumping. That's because of the derogations to the imports from Russia. That's because we're not using what other states are using. We should enforce the Made in Europe principle, which should take into account the fact that steelworks influence all the other industries, and we cannot have a strong European economy without the steel factories. And now we should walk the talk, because otherwise we cannot protect the European steel industry. That is why I believe we should vote for this report.”
  "Buy European" provisions
• “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
• “Commissioner. Colleagues. The European fertilizer industry has been gravely affected by the rise in energy prices, and we're aware of that. That's why many production sites in Europe have had to close, such as the site of Azot in Romania, and workers were sent home. This state of uncertainty is no longer acceptable. We need to put an end to imports. We should be pushing for EU production of fertilizers rather than having production come solely from third countries. This production ought to be seen as critical infrastructure for the EU. Commissioner. We must amend the directive in order to eliminate hydrogen for fertilizer production. Transport infrastructure. When it comes to hydrogen, well, that's not even there. It doesn't exist. Which means that transportation can't take place. Power grids. That's not enough for green energy as is. We need fertilizer production here in Europe.”
  Use of fertilisers
• “Madam speaker. Commissioner. Colleagues, this is the first step. Commissioner, you said you were lucky to have received these two reports at the beginning of your term. Well, you can be the first commissioner that actually reforms the cap, but not just on paper. And I'm now thinking about these two reports strengthening the role of farmers in the value chain and the simplification that you talked about. We don't just have to produce, we also have to sell. And you know that very well. We've seen our farmers in our country, uh, throw away their produce because they couldn't sell them. We have to be able to give them a fair price. And that also includes partnerships and agreements and products coming in from other countries that don't have the same standards we do. We hope, Commissioner, to have more flexibility, for instance, when it comes to, uh, awarding damages. There's huge bureaucracy in this case because you have to establish the losses and the next season comes around before the the problem is solved. And yes, we need more flexibility for member states, for small groups of farmers, for women farmers. And I hope in the meeting in Bucharest we will be able to give us better news. Thank you.”
  EU policy on farmer–buyer relations in the agri-food supply chain
• “Thank you. President. Commissioner, it is good that we discuss an energy package, but we've been saying for a long time that we need an energy market because it's been said here. We have millions of European citizens who live in energy poverty. In my country, Romania, there are millions of citizens who cannot afford to pay their bills. Why is that? Because first of all, in Europe the price is higher than in the US than in China. But in the Eastern European countries, prices are higher than in the West, although purchase power is lower. And yes, there is speculation and we've talked about this in Parliament. I've raised the question how can we curb speculation from by suppliers? How can we have reasonable prices for our citizens if we do not produce energy within the EU? And there are other ways, Commissioner, biogas waste turned into energy. We fail to use all the means to produce cheaper energy. Please tell me, what can I say to my citizens when I go back home? What concrete measures are you taking for the price of energy in the EU can be lower and fair. Equitable prices. How can we make it so that they can afford their bills? Let's talk to aluminium to steel sectors. Everybody talks about energy. **Nicolae ȘTEFĂNUȚĂ @Chair: Mr. Davos will have the floor now.”
  EU approach to electricity market and prices
• “Mr. Minister, Commissioner, dear colleagues, the budget for the internal market is very important. We cannot have a solid internal market that is also competitive without investment and without a proper budget. We've already announced our red lines. Commissioner, you have a very important role in the negotiations with the councils, with the Council, we cannot vote the cuts that the council proposed. We need money for the SMEs, for their development, for their capitalization. We need money for the farmers. We saw the farmer protests today. We cannot not support agriculture. That means our food security. And of course, we have to support young people and innovation and housing and a better life for people. That is our purpose here and that is why we were sent here. The commission has a huge role right now, and you do have the resources and we can find them. Uh, you find Google, you find Google. Uh, recently, uh, if we, uh, we see, uh, VAT tax evasion, if, uh, we control, uh, financial crimes better, we will have more money in the budget because of course, we also have to develop our market in relation to the US and the other markets. Thank you.”
  Size of EU budget
• “Thank you. Chair. Commissioner. The internal market. I hope you're listening to me, Commissioner. So I was saying that you've defined the single market in various ways, and I believe that the single market is the basis for the European Union project. But Commissioner, I come from the SME sector and I left that sector in 2012 and nothing has changed. If you're discussing with an SME nowadays in any of the 27 member states, particularly in the eastern part of Europe, you'll see what the real obstacles are. We're not being coherent. We come up with all sorts of strategies, but we're not doing anything to increase the credibility of the single market. You said we should invest in the single market. Yes, of course we do. Mrs. von der Leyen also said this, but investors, citizens, SMEs will not make investments if they don't trust in stability, if they don't have predictability. And that is why I believe, Commissioner, that what we are suggesting in this report, um, coming on top of all the strategies, should lead us to a single coherent strategy that we, um, speak about and that we implement because we speak and we don't implement.”
  EU Single Market harmonisation
• “I will speak Romanian. Uh, ministers. First of all, I don't need to tell you that you will have. You are facing six complicated months with your presidency. I would like to wish you every success. I wish you every success. As I was saying, I have a few questions about what you said, Minister, that you wish the internal market to no longer be fragmented. We all wish for that. I have been part of this committee since 2014, and I have been asking for measures to curb fragmentation over and over again. Do you believe that we can at least diminish market fragmentation, as long as we have no common energy market? We pay €200 per megawatt of energy and Sweden pays only 30. Can companies be performance? Can they afford to pay good salaries? Of course, you will not complete the energy market in six months, but can you do something about it so that fragmentation is reduced? Um, second of all, um, we're talking about the late payments regulation, which is blocked. This contributes to the fragmentation of the internal market. If in one case state, uh, reciprocal payments are made on time, but they're not made on time in another member state, obviously they will be pushed out of the member state while the rules are not abided by. Now, about the new customs regulation, we were not able to conclude the works during the Danish presidency. Do you think we can do this during your presidency? We have entries from third countries. Of course we do. If we do not have a customs regulation that does not harmonize the way we check our products. And last of all, how do you feel about Mercosur in member states? There is discrimination for subsidies for the Cap. In Romania, farmers get a different subsidy. The impact is strong on fragmentation. You have mentioned in general terms what you wish for, but will any of this become a reality? And now about public procurement. We've talked about that. Is a regulation or a directive fitter in your opinion to prevent market fragmentation? I think a regulation would be better. Thank you.”
  EU Single Market harmonisation
• “Thank you very much. I will speak Romanian. Thank you chair, and thank you for this detailed presentation. I have to say that, uh, after having Go talked to consumers from several countries. I know that, uh, this, uh, directive is keenly awaited. So people were looking forward to it. Uh, yes. It's a good idea to extend this delegated act in order to include local space heaters. It's a way to contribute to a circular economy, to reduce waste. And, uh, it's, um, money that consumers can save. It's better to pay a reasonable price to get the product repaired and get warranty for it, rather than replace the product. So my question is, if 31st of July, 2026 is the deadline for implementation, including of this delegated act, will that, uh, EU platform be online on the 31st of July 2026? And secondly, don't you think we should have a consumer information campaign so that consumers know that they have this right to repair and where they could, uh, look for information? Of course, we could have some shared competencies here, or maybe the member states should do it, but maybe the commission, too should, uh, try to start a campaign and inform consumers, especially since we were waiting for this directive for so long. Thank you.”
  Ecodesign & durability
• “We've been talking for a long time, so I'll have a very short, uh, question. I have a question for the Agriculture Commissioner as a member of the Agriculture Committee. Commissioner, do you truly believe that if we apply this new vision, this new program, we will still have a cap? What can we tell farmers? Tomorrow? I will have a meeting with farmers tomorrow. How can we tell them that we still have a cap? If everything is jumbled together, everything will be cannibalizing itself. Uh, you're passing the hot potato to national authorities because there isn't enough money. The mayor will want to make a road or, uh, put, um, water, um, in the village, and the farmers will get nothing, so it will be very crazy. I see nothing here, so I need a very clear answer from you. You were in Romania. You were in front of 800 farmers, and they told you very clearly. We need a separate budget for the cap. I do not understand how this will end up. The current plan will end up. Agriculture will suffer even more than currently. Thank you.”
  Agricultural funding
• “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
• “Also. Thank you. Um, uh, I'll be very direct. Uh, I have, uh, 35 years of experience in private economy, and I think reforms need to make things better. And this reform is destroying the single market. And the Commission is saying that it wants to strengthen the single market internal market. But when we see that this neutral report, not from the Parliament, from the Court of Auditors, I think, uh, they point out ten risks, maybe there are more. Um, and just one good thing flexibility for member things, ten bad things. One good thing, how can we believe that you want to reform things? Reforms. Reforms are not meant to give work to civil servants. Reforms are meant to make things better. And I've asked this before is the commission's proposal constitutional? Because we need to look at the treaty. We've had this common agricultural policy since 1962. We have less money. You want to put it in the same basket and we don't know who spends what. What happens to traceability? Uh, simplification, predictability. Everything is being destroyed by this proposal. I will never be able to vote in favour. Not as a vice president of Imco, not in agri. But I am waiting for the Commission to take our position and X position into account.”
  Agricultural funding
• “Commissioner, we are now debating a topic that we launched in December. The Savings and Investment Union is an unfortunate name because citizens in my country, with the help of the extremists, understood that you want to take away their money from their accounts. We have to explain to our citizens what this union means because the wrong message was sent to the citizens in many places. So there is no trust. And now people have said that we don't invest sufficiently and the investments go outside of Europe. And I'm an investor, so I know the psychology of investors. The investor goes where there is more safety and where he can trust that his money is safe. Through this package, we have to convey trust to the citizens and to the companies, especially to smaller companies. That way they will know that by investing they will earn more money and they will earn more capital. But if there is no trust, of course they will not invest. And there is another issue here. Uh, you say that there should be no fragmentation and we should have a single a true single market. We've been talking about the single market since I've since I first came here in 2014, maybe even before that. But the concrete measures that eliminate the obstacles. We still don't have those.”
  EU Single Market harmonisation
• “Thank you. Thank you. We really need pollinators. For our beekeepers, but for our farm, for our farming in general. We need to be able to take the right measures in the next programming period. But for that, we need the right figures. And I went to Italy recently, and I saw very modern form of farming with pesticides that are used at the right times when they are actually needed. So what can we do with the new Cap and for the commission for the post 2027 cap, you want to combine various funds, but how can we ensure that we have enough funding for agriculture and for farming at the same time? We cannot move to more modern farming. If we don't have research, if we don't have substances which pollute less and that are less harmful for bees and for insects and pollinators in general, we need specific tangible data because we can't believe in a measure if we do not have a full analysis. Thank you.”
  Agricultural funding
• “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
• “Thank you. I will speak Romanian. First of all, I'd like to thank the Commission for giving us hope. You say you have more staff now and that you've reorganized the verification teams. This is exactly what we wanted. We wanted to make sure that the time it takes you until a problem is identified, until it is solved, gets shortened. Otherwise, we'll just be here complaining. My question is based on something you said. You said that platforms should take responsibility, should own it. But what happens if they refuse to do so? Because I see this happening in Romania. We should protect minors against sexual abuse material, but also against violence. There are 13 year olds committing murder in my country. A 13 year old boy, together with two other miners killed, murdered a 15 year old boy. And this is because there's too much violence online bullying on the internet. And then they try to get revenge. So I think we should, um, come up with legislation that protects children from all kinds of violence because, uh, you end up seeing, uh, brothers killing each other. You, uh, mentioned TikTok. Yes. Um, the committee organized a hearing. Um, we had a debate on what happened with the elections in Romania. Crystal asked, and I want to ask as well, is their sanctioning proportional to the violation? Because otherwise, maybe, uh, these platforms would rather pay a fine and carry on business as usual. I think we should do something that really deters them and that ensures that we protect the children, women and all victims of sexual violence. Protect women against these sexual images and protect children from being pushed to commit crimes.”
  Digital platforms liability for harmful and illegal content