Siegfried MUREŞAN

Policy topics Siegfried MUREŞAN is active on

What Siegfried MUREŞAN has said (43)

• 2026-06-17 “(09:42:42 – 09:44:32): Thank you very much, mister president. Firstly, congratulations to the commission and the council for the remarkable progress on enlargement made over the course of the last weeks. This is also the result of the fact that the European Commission has strategically prioritized enlargement since the beginning of its term in office, understanding that the safer, the more stable, the more secure our neighbors, the EU candidate countries are, the better for the people in these countries and the better also for the European Union. Let us continue to support candidate countries to reform, modernize, become stronger, fulfill accession criteria, and join us as soon as possible, firstly. Secondly, thank you very much to the Cypriot presidency of the council for the progress made on the multi-annual financial framework. It is very good that we now have a negotiating box in the council so that council can also start to make progress in view of reaching a council's position as the parliament already has a position for the upcoming negotiations.”
  EU enlargement
• “Thank you very much, Madam President. Of course we will do. Look, um, my colleague Victor Nagorski and myself were putting forward now this report on the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility and our thoughts for the way forward. The Recovery and Resilience Facility was the biggest package of economic support ever launched at European level. We did this immediately after the beginning of the Covid pandemic, and we said, we do this once with precise directions that we're going to finance. The European Parliament played a key role then in negotiations in designing which areas of investments are eligible. And we said, we're going to do this under a strict principle of conditionality, reforms and investments. Now, four years after the entry into force of the facility, it's a good moment to look back, see what went well, what didn't go well, and what lessons we are drawing for the future when it comes to our report. Let us say that this is going to be a European report, and this is how we, um, drafted it. And this is how we're going to look at the amendments. The scope of this report is to draw conclusions for the facility as a whole. Not to offer a platform for a different national divisive debate here. So it's going to be a European report and it's going to be a non-ideological report.”
  Conditions to access EU budget
• “So we are going to defend cohesion, we are going to defend agriculture and we are going to ask that each of them remains as a single distinct policy. We believe that merging some programmes may be justified, but we do not believe that merging all programmes into single national plans is a correct idea. The European Parliament rejects an idea floated by the European Commission that each member state should have a single national plan adopted at European level. We reject this because we want one budget for the European Union. We do not want 27 different national agendas competing against each other. We want a budget which is more flexible so that we can react to unexpected developments. And we also want a budget which is simpler and simplification for us means make accessing EU funds easier for beneficiaries, for SMEs, for farmers, for entrepreneurs, for local communities, making the budget simpler does not mean a big role for the Commission and a small role for Parliament and for the Council. We want Parliament to be involved in every step of the budget. I will say a bit more in the end, when I will still receive two more minutes about own resources, about about aligning the European funds with European values. But for the time being, we are presenting a clear agenda for the next seven years in line with the priorities of the people. And we ensure that the European Parliament will support this with a large majority tomorrow in the vote. Thank you very much.”
  Conditions to access EU budget
• “Thank you, Madam President. To the colleagues and to everyone here in the House who wants to weaken Europe. We say very clearly the pro-European parties here in the European Parliament are united in strengthening Europe, in defending the European Union. What the Eurosceptics advocate for a weak Europe only serves the Russian Federation and autocratic regimes around the world. We want a strong European Union capable of defending its citizens. A weak European Union is a vulnerable European Union. Being stronger means that we can defend the citizens. And this is what pro-European parties stand for, because this is what the people of Europe expect. Whoever believes that the world is changing is late. The world has already changed. Unfortunately, the United States of America are turning their backs on key allies, on their neighbors, on their closest partners, and also on international institutions which they helped create, which they often led and which brought prosperity and peace for over 80 years. What should we do in this case? In this case, we should make more friends and more partners around the world, and we should strengthen the international partnerships that the European Union has. In these times, the European Union is becoming more important and more relevant to the member states, to the citizens of Europe, and also to our neighboring countries.”
  EU political integration
• “Thank you very much, chairman. Good evening, dear colleagues. So, indeed, in April, we started our series of joint econ budget missions to assess the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility at the level of Member States. We have started this series of missions with Greece because Greece is the EU member state, which receives the largest envelope, the largest allocation per per capita. We went to Greece for three days together with the delegation, including Karlo Ressler, Yugoslavia's Matthias Nimetz and Anouk van Bruggen. So colleagues from most of the groups here in the House. The assessment is that Greece is doing well in the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility out of a total number of nine disbursements. Greece has received the Pre-financing plus five disbursements. Um, it has already attracted €21.3 billion, representing 59.2% of its of its total envelope. We met with representatives of the government, with ministers, with members of the national parliament, governing party and of course opposition opposition parties, with local authorities, with stakeholders, social partners, court of auditors and other independent institutions. Um, the meeting with the Court of Auditors was particularly particularly relevant, where we received suggestions for enhancing the interoperability and strengthening the oversight of of stakeholders from the meetings with representatives of local and regional authorities. Of course, we learned that they expect a bigger role in the implementation of the facility and and but this is a common feature with many other member states. They would have wished for a bigger role also in the design of the facility.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “Thank you, Madam Chair. Executive Vice President, commissioners. Welcome to this dialogue. We very much appreciated the dialogue that we had with the commissioners in the previous term. We are looking forward to interactions with you in this new term. I have three questions. Firstly, several national recovery resilience plans were changed in recent months and in the past, both the European Commission and the Court of Auditors assessed that frequent changes to the recovery resilience plans can lead to delays in implementation. The first question that I have is what is your assessment? Whether recent changes in national recovery resilience plans can lead to delays in implementation? And what measures is the Commission taking to prevent such delays? Firstly, secondly, it was in July 2023 that 2024 that the European Commission introduced simpler processes in an updated guidance to member States to make sure that working through the plans is easier. The question is whether you already have an assessment of this simplified guidance, and whether the Commission plans to introduce, also in the future, a simplified guidance so that it facilitates the implementation of the national plans. And my third question is, do you have an assessment on the potential amounts to be disbursed over 2025? We heard where we are today. What is the projection of the commission when it comes to potential payments to be made this year? Where will we be by the end of 2025? I am, of course, thinking ahead also in view of the conclusion of this facility in 2026. Thank you very much.”
  Conditions to access EU budget
• “Thank you, Madam President. Commissioner. Dear colleagues. Look, the automotive industry accounts for millions of millions of jobs in Europe. Much of the taxes and also a big part of our exports. It is in our fundamental interest that it does well here in Europe. Every car manufacturer that you would meet and that you would visit would proudly report to you how they reduce CO2 emissions and would also proudly report to you how they invest more in renewable energies. I think today the car manufacturers can be a partner in protecting the environment, in reducing CO2 emissions, in improving energy efficiency. This is why we need to do the transition to the green economy with them, not against them. We cannot establish rules here which endanger production in Europe because that would mean more unemployment, less taxes, less jobs here in Europe. The first and most important thing that we have to provide to every investor is long term predictability. Commissioner Tzitzikostas, I think you did very well by giving certain flexibilities to this important industry over the course of the next three years, solving an urgent problem that we have. But the most important thing that investors need is long term predictability. We have a target which is in place, which is rigid Regarding 2035, the most important thing that we have to do right now is look into the target and see if and how we can achieve it with the industry not against, and give to the employers that sense of long term predictability. Thank you very much.”
  Road transport environmental policy
• “That increase that we propose is about 10% of the budget. It is about €200 billion. So we would appreciate to hear where your priorities are, because we did not want to prejudge and because we want to listen to you. Carla, I mean, the draft budget, as you know, we propose to allocate that 10% evenly across the three headings of the budget. But now we're really interested in what is really important. Important to you then? Uh, 5th of March is the deadline for the opinion giving committees. And then on the basis of the amendments from the Budget Committee and on the basis of the opinions, we will draft together with the shadows, the compromises, and we will return here to the committee on the eighth, 9th of April for the vote, presumably on this report. So on that note, we're looking forward to the discussion. Thank you very much.”
  Size of EU budget
• “Um, and we cannot do more with the same amount, we have new priorities. The European Commission also proposes significant increases to security, defence and competitiveness, and those should not come at the expense of Common Agricultural policy and cohesion policy. Clearly, the Parliament rejects any reductions in absolute or in real terms of these two policies. And this is why we think that the proposal of the Commission from the 16th of July is insufficient in size. And we also think it is non-compliant with the demand of the Parliament that a next generation EU should be repaid outside of the EU. It should be outside of the EU budget, and it should be repaid without it having a negative impact upon the programmes. This is why Carla and myself propose that the cost for the repayment of next generation EU should be taken out of the budget. That is 0.1% of the NE. Um, and we propose that the amount uh remaining, which is 0.11% of the knee, should be used to fund programs which are underfunded in the proposal of the commission. This de facto leads to a 10% increase for the programs. Carla and me now propose in our draft that these 10% should be allocated linearly over the three headings. But we are ready to listen to the opinions of the opinion giving committees, and we think we, as a Parliament, should allocate those 10% to where the needs are biggest based on what the opinion giving committees tell us what the experts here in Parliament tell us.”
  Size of EU budget
• “Now there are 14 more months for the implementation and the conclusion of this instrument. This is why Victor Negrescu and myself are putting forward an implementation reform which should be factual, objective and European. It should help us draw the lessons of what went well, what could have been done better. And one conclusion is that this is a new instrument. It functions differently than all other EU funds. This is why it took time for member states to get used to it. It took time for the European Commission to get used to it, and we want for this instrument to be successfully concluded. It is a one off instrument. This was decided in the beginning, this was never up for debate. It will end. And for the time being, the rules say that everything ends. 31st August 2026. We say that those projects which are mature, which are eligible, which are approved by the Commission, which are in the implementing phase, we should make sure that they can properly conclude. This is why we say no handing in of new projects after the 31st August 2026, but give some more time, and the proposal of Parliament adopted by a large majority at the committee level, is to give projects 18 more, 18 months, more time to conclude successfully. We also ask member States to prioritise mature projects in the upcoming months to focus only on those projects which make sense, which are mature, and which can be properly implemented.”
  Conditions to access EU budget
• “We will not accept any weakening. And we need, for example, for farmers, the same amount as in the previous MFF, adjusted to inflation and the proposal of the Commission, falls short of that, and we have to work together to further improve things there. So, um, unity, continuity, building on the own initiative report from May, building on everything that, um, that we have done as a European Parliament on own resources. Obviously, whenever you will hear, uh, Carla Tavares and myself talk about it, or whenever you see something in any of our reports, please rest assured that we are always in very close coordination with Parliament's to own resources rapporteurs. We will always follow their advice and their line on this. But one thing is clear. Um, to reimburse next generation EU own resources are essential and it is not possible to have a budget which is sufficient without own resources. Last thing, because we're coming towards the end of this year. Mr. president, I would like to thank you. I would like to thank colleagues, members and the staff for all the work that we have done on the MFF together this year. Next year will be even more intense. So many thanks to all colleagues and have a good and calm holiday, Christmas and holiday season and Christmas break. Thank you very much.”
  Own EU resources
• “Thank you very much, Mr. President. Dear colleagues, thank you very much for your support, but also for your constructive remarks and for the positions, the amendments that you have that you have announced. It is clearly the beginning of a process. We are looking forward to your amendments, and we are also looking forward to the opinions of the respective committees because, as we said, the position of the Parliament should be very well argued. We need a budget which is robust, which is ambitious, but build on very solid arguments. Of course, we need to make sure that EU money is well spent. This is why transparency, democratic control, accountability are very important. This is why we need to stay united and fight for the role of the Parliament for governance in each headings of the budget which secures transparency and the role of Parliament. And many thanks that many of you. Many thanks to many of you who have pointed this out. Then when it comes to the individual spendings, as we have said, our draft report now builds on the position which we took in the last months on the new priorities, on the traditional priorities. I would like to thank Jean-Marc Germain for the fact that he reminded us of the own initiative report on the fact that, you know, we say very clearly in the own initiative report from May that for agriculture and for the common, for the common agricultural policy and for cohesion.”
  Size of EU budget
• “Thank you very much, Mr. President. Good morning. Colleagues. Um, look, as you know, in December, Carla Tavares and me, we presented to you the draft interim report on the Multiannual Financial Framework. Once adopted, this will constitute the official mandate of Parliament for the upcoming negotiations with the Council and the Commission on the MFF. Last week was the deadline for the amendments here in the Budgets Committee. And as president has said, the scope today is to discuss the most important amendments, points, positions of the political groups and of the colleagues. So Carla and me are today here primarily to listen to you. 1000 amendments on a report of such magnitude is a reasonable number of amendments. So 3000 amendments would have worried us. But 1000, I think all of us together, we will manage. We're not concerned. Um, so please, we would appreciate to have, you know, clarity, what's really important to the groups, because Carla and me have tried to draft the report on the basis of long standing positions of the Parliament of our committee of what we had done in previous stages. For example, the cost for the reimbursement of next generation EU to be, uh, taken outside of the ceilings of the headings outside, beyond and above the ceilings of the budget, so that we generate an additional space of maneuver to increase resources where they are absolutely needed.”
  Size of EU budget
• “We are going to provide for prosperity, and we are going to do more on security and on defence. And as Manfred Weber has said in the beginning, the first step, the €800 billion, is just a first package. It's the beginning. Our clear position is that on security and defence, we will have to do more. We will have to do it faster and we will have to do it for a longer period of time. We have to create mechanisms right now, but we also have to make sure that we provide sufficient funding for security and defence in the long term. Security and defence should become a priority for the budget of the European Union in the long term, and we should invest in those projects which firstly bring European added value. People should see the European signature and secondly they meet the needs of the people on the ground. People should see that Europe is there to help. It spends where it is needed on the ground. Thank you very much.”
  Defence spending
• “President von der Leyen, dear colleagues, we are surrounded by autocrats. Autocrats want to weaken us, who cooperate. Look at their picture in Beijing, who attack our neighbours, our values, our cyberspace and our democracies. Disinformation, cyber attacks, provocations and electoral interference are their weapons, and they are looking for servants within the 27 member states of the Union. They challenge us from outside and they challenge us from inside. And looking away will not protect us. Nobody else will protect us unless we protect ourselves and it is clear that to live in peace, we need to be strong. This is why selling security and defense on the one side and competitiveness on the other side is our top priorities for the next years is the right decision. And these two security and competitiveness are interlinked. We will only be able to invest more in our security if our economies are strong, and the private sector will only invest more in our economies if they feel safe and to be protected. We need even more. Food security is of essence. There can be no national security without food security. And we need strong and modern infrastructures, energy infrastructure, digital infrastructure, which is innovative, modern and transport infrastructure, large cross-border projects which protect our single market, single market and smaller infrastructure projects which are deeply rooted at local and regional level. These shall be the priorities of the Union for the next years. And these should also be reflected in the way in which we spend. This is what the majority of colleagues in this House stand for. And this is why we believe that as we are embarking now on the work for the budget of the Union for the next seven years, we should defend this together in the work that we are going to do security, competitiveness, food security and good infrastructure strongly anchored at local level. Thank you very much.”
  Defence spending
• “Mr. president, welcome back to the European Parliament. Dear colleagues, the world is changing. The rules based international order is being put in question and we all have a choice to make. Do we give it up or do we defend it? And I believe, and this is the clear opinion of the majority of members of this House, that it is in our fundamental interest to continue to defend the rules based international order because rules bring security. Rules are good for citizens. Rules are good for companies, for investments. They bring jobs, growth, prosperity. No rules means anarchy, means isolation means poverty and means insecurity. And this is why, Mr. President, the priority of the Cypriot presidency on an autonomous union is very important. And it is correct right now. Hoping that the world is not changing would be wrong. Hope is no strategy. The only thing that matters is what we are doing right now. We have to prioritise security. We have to change our mindset. We will have to do more to keep Europe safe. We will have to do it faster and for a longer period of time. We have to invest more. We have to cooperate with the United Kingdom and with like minded partners. We have to we have to prioritise our border regions. And Cyprus has a lot of experience to share with us. Given its strategic geographic position. We have to support our outermost regions. And if we say that that security is a top priority for the European Union. It also has to be reflected in the way in which we spend the budget of the union for the next seven years has to become a budget for the security of all citizens of Europe, a budget for food security, for energy security, for cyber security, for defence, and for protecting our borders. Mr. president, the vast majority in the European Parliament stands ready to work with you on advancing the security of Europe, on keeping Europe united and safe. Thank you very much.”
  Defence spending
• “Thank you. Thank you very much. Look, I'll just start with Rasmus, our last colleague. Of course, there's two ways of looking at it. Firstly, you know, we want to spend and we just want to spend a lot. And we should find ways to generate revenues. Or there's another way as well, which says, look, um, we should only spend what we can cover, what we have revenues for. And of course, uh, the end result will be a combination of the two. But we cannot say we want to spend a lot. We don't have the revenues, so we'd better generate them. So what we spend, and this is what Carla and me have tried to put forward, um, the amount of the budget should be ambitious. It should, you know, match the needs that we have on old and new priorities. It has to be realistic as well. We have to take into account the fiscal constraints that, uh, um, That exists, but there are indeed areas where there is a lot of added value. If we act together, if we spend together at European level. So this is why. Thank you very much for the exchange of views. We heard very good positions for the representatives of the groups on what we should focus on, what should be the priorities. We take the message that the budget has to be strong, ambitious, clear, predictable. We heard many colleagues talking about the ring fencing, the predictability of each policies. Thank you very much. Also to Rasmus Nordqvist for caring about farmers and agriculture. We are looking forward to working with colleagues on this as well to securing a clear, predictable, strong funding for the Common Agricultural Policy, for the regional policy to be innovative and future oriented when it comes to competitiveness research innovation.”
  Size of EU budget
• “We are thinking of 12 months. We are including this. We included this now a draft report given to projects with respect to all conditions which are in the implementation phase, an additional 12 months to be concluded so that, you know, there is no abrupt termination. Then the European Parliament from the beginning wanted NGOs to be involved, national parliaments to be involved, and primarily local and regional levels. Governments didn't do this properly. So the involvement of the stakeholders of the, uh, particularly of the local regional authorities is something that we are also evaluating in this report. Then, of course, transparency. Um, after difficult negotiations, we managed to include in the regulation the obligation for the 100 largest final beneficiaries to be published. That was a difficult achievement of the Parliament in the negotiations. We feel that there is not enough transparency when it comes to the EU funds, which are the beneficiaries that really receive the funds very often. Um, authorities are reluctant in publishing and if they publish, for example, they would just publish the Ministry of Transport as a beneficiary for a big highway. But of course, you know, that is the, uh, the institution managing the project, but which are the construction companies, which are the final beneficiaries, the contractors, the The subcontractors.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “And this is why, um, um, we think that unallocated amounts increase the flexibility of the budget. But why has the commission focused on blanket authorizations in non pre-allocated envelopes? Um, that void the role of the budgetary authority. So the question is how do we ensure flexibility without reducing the role of Parliament and centralising the decisions at the Commission? Then secondly, you mentioned Ukraine. If you could enlarge a bit on your assessments with regards to the financial needs of Ukraine, also, uh, over the course of the next months, maybe before the next MFF. Are the needs of Ukraine covered for the whole of the year 2026? And do you believe that the facility that you described in the next MFF will be enough for the next, next seven years? And then the third and last question from my side, the annual budget procedure, we've heard from the Commission that the role of the Parliament would be increased there. But, um, uh, can you please explain to us how that steering mechanism is going to make the annual budget procedure more, uh, more meaningful? Because basically we are also seeing that you had elements like European Council conclusions, which we believe they would enormously reduce the interinstitutional negotiations, uh, and we think they are a risk. So for more details, please, on the annual budget procedures and the role of the Parliament. Thank you very much.”
  Conditions to access EU budget
• “We need more transparency there. And of course, whoever wants European funds needs to respect European values, right? So rule of law conditionality. Um, and I mean, making sure that whenever funds are disbursed, conditionality is linked to European values and the rule of law are being respected. Is one additional element. Um, this is a bit the content of our report assessing what happened. Now, believing that implementation has to be a priority, particularly the focus on the mature projects. And then also looking at how this will end in 2026 or eventually give an additional limited period of time for the successful conclusion of projects. A deadline for amendments is 24th February, so the draft report is already available. It is presented to you now. Deadline for amendments 24th February. The objective is for this to be finally adopted in plenary in June. Many thanks to Victor as a co-rapporteur, and many thanks to the shadows who have already worked with us in a very constructive and positive manner. We are looking forward to the amendments. If they feel that maybe something needs to be amended from our draft report. Thank you.”
  Conditions to access EU budget
• “We expect the Cypriot presidency to present before the end of the presidency in June. A second version of the box with detailed figures, and that will be the mandate for the council's negotiations. And our plan is before the council has their mandate for negotiations in June to have Parliament's position in this form of an interim report. Now, what do we propose? We propose a draft report, which is in line with what we, as a Parliament, have said over the course of recent months. We need a budget which responds to new challenges. A budget which sees security, defence and competitiveness as new priorities, but not at the expense of the traditional policies. We want the Common Agricultural Policy and Cohesion policy to continue as distinct, clearly defined at European level policies. We reject any Europe a la carte where governments can opt in or out on whether they do more agriculture or more cohesion, or less on each of them. We believe that co-legislators have to determine, define a clear common agricultural policy, a clear cohesion policy, which is sufficient in size, which is ambitious, and which is also future oriented and in line with the new, with the new priorities. Now, of course, we believe the budget has to be, um, sufficient.”
  Size of EU budget
• “So it's basically a electricity facility. The positive consequences of that investment are more energy security for the Attica region, which is Athens, and the region around Athens, but also transport of energy to Crete and to other parts of Greece. So energy security and energy efficiency, and of course, it's also linked to the transition to the green economy. So we could see there are several of the strategic objectives of the RF being being met. Um, although Greece is doing very well in comparison to other EU member states, still the authorities that we met, um, told us that any possibility for projects which are eligible, which have started, which are under implementation, which might not be concluded by the 31st of August 2026 as per the current regulation. Any possibility to conclude them any extension of the deadline for the conclusion of the programmes would, would help and would be beneficial. These were the conclusions of the meeting of the meetings of the visit. It was the first of a series of meetings. Um, I would like to thank all colleagues for their participation. I would like to thank the staff of both committees also for the very good preparation. And I think the next meeting will be scheduled in July. If I'm not wrong, in Italy, which is the country that has overall the largest, um, national allocation from the RF. I think these meetings are very useful. We should continue. Thank you very much.”
  EU energy infrastructure integration
• “Thank you very much, Madam President. Minister. Commissioner, welcome to Parliament. Dear colleagues, look, the debate that we are having today is very important because it is the start of us deciding how we will spend up to 2034. And this has to be in line with the priorities of the union. This will also influence priority spending at national and regional level and will also trigger private investments. The debate is important because we need to give certainty to the beneficiaries of EU funds. Farmers, students, researchers, small and medium sized enterprises need to know what amounts, under which conditions and for which types of projects will be available. Of course, seven years is a long period of time. Of course, we need to be open to unexpected developments, but we need to give certainty to those who invest, to those who keep the economy going. This is why the European Parliament starts this process with clear priorities. And we say, firstly, our new priorities have to be security, defence and competitiveness. And these two are interlinked. We need to strengthen our economy. We need to invest in research, innovation and digitization, improve our energy efficiency, reduce pollution. We need to improve security, defence. 1.2% of the previous MFF. Less than €15 billion for security and defence for seven years for 27 member states is not enough.”
  Defence spending
• “But, uh, with a very low starting level and in absolute terms, quantities are still small. So it means that this does not have a disruptive character for our market, for our producers here. So, uh, good for the union, good for the Republic of Moldova, for producers there as well. This is why what matters now is, of course, predictability for producers, for investors in an EU candidate country in the Republic of Moldova. And let me also wait to it. Of course, the fact that we as a Parliament have made clear, uh, lastly, in our June 2025 resolution, but also before that, we, um, call for the union to take swift and significant steps towards a permanent liberalization of our tariff rate quotas. This has been our position when it comes to the Republic of Moldova. But of course, looking forward to hearing from colleagues in the Commission. Our ongoing discussions with Moldovan authorities are going on. The sooner we can have a long term agreement, give predictability to our market, but also to expertise in the Republic of Moldova. Thank you very much.”
  EU-Moldova relations
• “This was not enough. Security and defence. Protecting the citizens will have to become a priority for the next seven years. We have to support a strong European defence industry, increase spending at European level in this area, enhance military mobility, be better on cyber security, support dual use infrastructure and protect our borders because this is needed safety, security first priority. Secondly, competitiveness. And this is also very much linked to safety and security. People will only. People will only feel safe in Europe if our economy is strong. Companies will only invest if they feel protected, and we will only be able to invest more in security and defence if our economy is strong and competitive. This is why we call for a simple investment structure stronger public private synergies, more funding for SMEs and for for start ups. And we should make better use of the European Investment Bank support strong, successful existing projects like Horizon Europe and Connecting Europe facility, which make our economy more competitive. All of the programmes that we have have to contribute to making Europe more competitive. We do not believe that just putting a headline commissioner called Competitiveness Fund upon merging some programmes, automatically makes our our economy more competitive. We are going to defend cohesion policy and agriculture. Of course, cohesion policy is our main investment policy. It has to evolve. It has to become more modern, be better aligned with our objectives on security, defence and competitiveness. But it is important many regions were developed because of it.”
  Defence spending
• “Thank you very much. Madam president, dear colleagues. The Common Agricultural Policy is one of the core competencies, core responsibilities of the European Union. Through our implication in that area. Through our support of farmers, we are guaranteeing millions of jobs in Europe, in the agricultural sector. We are guaranteeing rural development, which goes way beyond agriculture, and we are guaranteeing food security and high consumer protection. Our food standards, our quality standards here in the European Union are better than anywhere else in the world. And let me say very clearly, in times of multiple security risks that we are facing from autocrats around the world, there cannot be national security without food security. Food security is now more important than ever. Farmers have faced difficult recent years. They made more efforts. They faced more pressure. They are doing more to protect the environment. They are the first victims very often of extreme weather conditions. They are facing price volatility. They are facing high inflation and they are also facing a shortage of labor force. We are asking more for them, so we have a duty to do more for them as well. It is in our fundamental interest. It is in the fundamental interest of the people, no matter the sector, that they are involved in. This is why this European Parliament has a clear position, Commissioner, particularly now at the beginning of the negotiations on the next seven year budget. We want to preserve the identity of the Common Agricultural Policy people in Europe. Farmers specifically should know exactly that support will be coming in the next seven years as well, so that they can plan their investment. So our demands are clear. The Common Agricultural Policy should remain as a distinct policy with a separate budget, which is easily identifiable with the two pillars. We want a separate legal base, and in financial terms, the support of farmers should be at least the same as it was now adjusted to inflation. Parliament is united behind this position. Thank you very much.”
  Agricultural funding
• “Thank you. Thank you very much, chairman. And thanks to all colleagues, members of the two committees of the budget of the econ committees for the work that we have done together on these files. We would also like to thank the opinion giving committees and ample. Obviously, the Recovery Resilience Facility was the most important package of economic support that we have created immediately after the beginning of the pandemic, with very large support from the Parliament and what Victor Negrescu and myself as Co-rapporteurs have tried to do throughout the work on this implementation report, was to make sure that we have an implementation report which is objective, accurate, non-ideological, European, and we work in a very inclusive manner with also the shadows of all groups. So now, in the end, I would like to thank first and foremost my Co-rapporteur, Victor Negrescu, but all the shadows for the whole engagement as well. And our report basically assesses what was good in the implementation of the RRF, but also what can still be improved. We would have liked to see more cross-border projects. We believe that scrutinising the implementation of the RFA through Parliament is also something that can be improved. We are analysing the link between reforms and investments and very important, we are asking the national authorities to focus on mature projects, which can be successfully concluded, and to make sure that the RRF is properly concluded and that the impact on growth job creation is, is maximised. We are proposing that, of course, the RRF, as per the legislation, is supposed to end on the 31st of August, 2026. But we are proposing that mature projects which are in implementation, be given an 18 months period of time to be concluded. With this, we believe that we can, to the very end, proved that the RF was a good and useful instrument. Once again, many thanks to my co-rapporteur Victor Negrescu and to all colleagues who have been involved in this. Thank you.”
  Conditions to access EU budget
• “Thank you very much, chairman. Firstly, thank you for putting the Republic of Moldova alongside Ukraine on the agenda today. Thanks to colleagues who are working on further, you know, um, expanding, improving trade between the Union and third countries. Understanding that this leads to more growth opportunities here in Europe, improves our competitiveness, generates more jobs here at the level of the union as well. Of course, the Republic of Moldova is an EU candidate country, a neighboring country to us important to our stability and security. So, um, the economic stability of the Republic of Moldova is also, of course, in our fundamental interest of the European Union. We do have the autonomous trade measures with the Republic of Moldova in place since 2022. For a year we extended twice, set to expire at the end of July. We are delighted to hear from the Commission that they are confident that an agreement in principle can be reached for the Republic of Moldova. We would appreciate as a Parliament, of course, to to hear more details on on that. Now, let me also say that since the autonomous trade measures with Moldova have been in place, we saw a gradual increase of the exports in those, uh, uh, for those categories of goods from Moldova into the European market.”
  EU-Moldova relations
• “Thank you very much, chairman. Commissioner, welcome back to the European Parliament. So, as you know, you presented the MFF proposal on the 16th of July. We had then a chance to have a first interaction here in the in the Parliament. And it is good that we can discuss some of the technicalities of your proposal today. As you know, we consider that overall, the draft of the 16th of July is not compliant with the position of Parliament as per our own initiative report. And the biggest reservations, which also political groups have expressed are linked to the role of Parliament, the role of regions, the NIPS. But this is not the subject of our meeting now today. So as also and we have and this is also known by colleagues. There is a contact group which you will attend with the President of Parliament, the MFF Co-rapporteurs and the group leaders this afternoon. That is the place where we expect a way forward and solutions from you and answers to those shortcomings for this meeting. Now, basically on the technicalities. Firstly, we have said as a Parliament that flexibility is important, but we do not want the flexibility in the next MFF to mean that there will be unpredictability to all types of beneficiaries. Different types of beneficiaries need a multiannual planning, research, innovation, but also farming. And it's clear that, um, uh, it's clear that the EU budget should not just become a crisis budget, it should be a predictable, uh, predictable budget.”
  Conditions to access EU budget
• “Thank you, Madam President. For the report which they put forward. You are making the most with the limited resources that we have. This is a budget in which young farmers, young students for the Erasmus programme, Connecting Europe facility, Frontex, Eurojust, Ukraine, our neighbourhood military mobility receive solid support. This is a position that deserves to be supported. On behalf of the EPP Group, we are going to support the work done by our two rapporteurs and we are confident that they will receive tomorrow a clear majority where we will see pro-European groups united. They make the most with very limited resources and we are now going to together decide a budget for a year, which is close to the end of this multiannual Financial framework. And we can already see the consequences of some of the mistakes which we made when we designed this multiannual Financial framework. And we should not repeat these mistakes again for the next Multiannual Financial framework. And the mistakes were firstly, this budget was insufficient. There were not enough margins, not enough reserves. It could not react in situations of crisis. We see also the margins very limited for 2026. So we need to draw the lessons for the future there firstly. Secondly, we did together a next generation EU. We see reimbursing next generation EU costs money. The correct lesson to be drawn there is that we need to work together on the introduction of own resources. And Minister, if we all want Europe to do more, particularly on competitiveness, on security, on defence, that cannot be done at the expense of the traditional policies we as a Parliament will defend also for the next MFF, an ambitious but future oriented Common Agricultural policy and cohesion policy. And what I want to say is we cannot do more with less. This is something that we have to take into account also for the next MFF. Thank you very much.”
  Size of EU budget
• “These are our new priorities. But you cannot have security without food security, and you cannot have a competitive economy without an investment policy. And this is why our traditional priorities, our traditional policies, the Common Agricultural Policy and Cohesion policy are today more relevant than ever. And this is why we see, dear colleagues, Commissioner before the proposal on 16th July. The utmost priority of Parliament now, and the strong expectation is that the identity and the strength of the Common Agricultural Policy and of the Cohesion Policy shall be preserved. This means a clear, distinct, separate budget to our farmers. They need to know exactly what the resource is available for them, what the resources for rural development are, a legal base, a separate legal base for agriculture and for cohesion. A clear goal for cohesion. A clear goal for the regions in the cohesion policy. We need a direct allocation for regions in the cohesion policy. And and the cohesion policy should continue to serve the development of the least developed regions. These are our priorities. Parliament is clearly united behind this, and we are ready to start work on negotiations as soon as possible.”
  Agricultural funding
• “A European budget for European priorities for projects with European added value. We also believe that whoever accesses EU funds has to respect European values. You want European funds, you have to respect European values. This is why we will be strong on the rule of law conditionality, on implementing a budget in a way in which it is aligned with with our European values and important debt was made in the past. Immediately after the beginning of the Covid pandemic, we launched the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the biggest package of economic support ever. It contributes to growth to employment, but the repayment is not yet clarified. Own resources are the only possibility to repay next generation EU Recovery and Resilience Facility without affecting the EU budget. This is why we, as a Parliament say, stay so strongly in favor of own resources. And to conclude, immediately after the European Commission puts forward their proposal, we will be ready to negotiate with the Council with the support also of the European Commission. The sooner we agree, the better, so that the budget can be implemented as of 1st January 2028 without any delays. Thank you all for the support in view of tomorrow's vote.”
  Conditions to access EU budget · Own EU resources
• “Thank you very much, Commissioner. Firstly, thank you very much for acting timely on on the decisions which were made also in the European Council last year. The clear signal that has to go out of this committee and of the European Parliament in the upcoming weeks, is that we are continuing to provide unwavering, predictable, long standing support to Ukraine, which is also in the fundamental interest of the European Union. We shall find solutions. We shall overcome difficulties. Um. And we shall know that helping Ukraine is essential for the security, for the stability of the Union as, uh, as a whole. Thank you very much for your remarks, your presentations, uh, today and basically, um, of course, what we need to know now is, uh, your assessments when it comes to the needs, the additional needs for the budget of the union for 2026 and 2027 that are not linked to Ukraine. So basically, what are your updated estimates for additional needs that might affect our budgets this year and and next year? Firstly, secondly, um, of course you describe the yuri cascade mechanism. What is your assessment when it comes to, uh, the costs that the EU budget has to shoulder this year and next year in relation to the to the jury line. Uh, so basically, in simple words, if you can give a bit the overall picture on the space of maneuver that we have in the budget because, um, we understand we have to accommodate Ukraine and we have to find ways to accommodate Ukraine in a way in which, of course, we can continue to fund our priorities in the budget. And then my second question, Commissioner, if you could please give an overview of the impact that the council's position would would eventually have upon the budget this year and next year, and the specific differences between the position of the Council and the proposal of the European Commission. We are of the opinion that the initial proposal of the Commission is a good basis, uh, for us to. Of course. Proceed. Thank you very much.”
  Russia-Ukraine conflict (10th term)
• “Madam president, Commissioner, dear colleagues, indeed, at the very beginning of the pandemic generated by the coronavirus, the European Union acted swiftly united and we launched the biggest package of economic support ever created at European level to help those affected by the pandemic citizens, companies, regions and member states to cooperate to cope with the economic and social consequences of the of the pandemic. This had a very important impact then also upon the private sector, which kept on investing, knowing that financial support from Europe would be coming. We showed then that Europe is united, that we express solidarity and that we support those in need. It was Europe at its best. Our main objective then in the short term was to help those affected. But our main objective in the long term was to strengthen our economy, to strengthen also the private sector, to reform them, to make them more digital, more energy efficient, to improve the resilience, to make sure that whenever the next crisis hits us, we will be better prepared. And for that, we knew that investments are important, but that reforms are needed as well. This is why this is a package of investments and reforms. Whenever money is involved, we tend to speak only about money, but we should not forget that this is a package of investments and reforms, and its benefits can only be maximized if authorities at local, regional. But particularly at national level, reform and improve their improve the state of their economy and also of their public sector.”
  EU fiscal rules and oversight of national budgets
• “Thank you very much, Mr. Youngblood. Providing support to farmers, to researchers, to students, protecting our borders, making our economies greener, more digital, more innovative, making money available for artificial intelligence. This is what Europe is doing through the budget of the European Union. What you are proposing is a weaker Europe is weaker. Member states is bad for the citizens of Europe and bad for the enterprises of Europe. And the European Parliament will be united in making sure that the budget that we are going to adopt, together with the European institutions, is relevant, is future oriented and corresponds to the expectations of the citizens. Now, adopting the budget is a core competence of every parliament, and designing, agreeing and implementing the budget of the European Union is the main is one of the main responsibilities of us as the European institutions, and the European Parliament has a major role in this. Following the presentation of the budget by the European Commission in July, we have listened to people. We have listened to beneficiaries of EU funds, to farmers, to researchers, to small and medium sized enterprises. And we have heard that security and defence on the one side and competitiveness on the other side should be the priorities of the budget for the next years. This is what the European Commission is putting forward. This is also what we as a Parliament have asked. And these two priorities are clearly supported.”
  Size of EU budget
• “Mr. Lazarus for mixing up everything with everything in trying to to gain some of our attention, but not much of what he said is, is true. The European Union is very democratic entity. This very Parliament that we are all together in is directly elected by the citizens of Europe. We have elected together the the European Commission and the European Commission is making decisions checked, controlled by the European Parliament. We have clear procedures here at European level. This is all very democratic. Thank you very much.”
  EU political integration
• “Thank you very much. Madam president, dear colleagues, thank you very much for this long and fruitful debate. And thank you for the broad support for the report, which Victor Negrescu and myself have drafted and are putting in front of you. We are, of course, noticing different opinions. The overall support. And let me say that in our report, we wanted to present a factual and objective, a non-ideological and a European report, a report which properly assesses the recovery and resilience facility with all its merits, but which also points at its shortcomings and draws some lessons to be learned for the future. When speaking about marriage, we all are seeing that hospitals were built with support from the Recovery and Resilience Facility. The transport infrastructure was made more energy efficient. That the education system was modernized, was was digitalized, that the public administration was also modernized, and that overall the economies became more competitive, more resilient due to the investments, but also due to the reforms which were implemented and which are important. Um, so we all see the merits, we all see the achievements, but of course, some things we could do better in the future. And one of them is the way in which we link reforms and investments.”
  Digitalization of public governance & administration
• “We're looking at things in a very factual manner, and we want to draw. Objective facts, as I said, recovery resilience facility conditionality, reforms and investments. We observed that many governments, because of this instrument that we that we have implemented reforms which were being postponed at national level for years before, which otherwise they wouldn't have done. So we think this is an effective instrument for incentivising reforms. I know that when money is in the game, people normally talk only about money, only about investments. But the merits of this facility also lie in the fact that it incentivizes reforms. Then people were used to the EU budget. They were used with EU funds. But this is a different instrument each member state puts forward a reform plan approved by the European Commission, then it has to implement it. It was a new instrument. New structures had to be created. It took time. There were some delays. We are looking at the causes of the delays and the implementation, and we believe that the implementation has to be the utmost priority. Now, we believe that governments have to prioritize mature projects, those that really have a chance to be concluded by 2026, when the facility presumably will expire. But as Victor has said, we are also reflecting on whether it makes sense to give an additional limited period of time.”
  Conditions to access EU budget
• “Um. That's it in terms of size, in terms of approach. So we believe the budget has to be more robust, and we give this 10% framework to the respective committees as a guideline, as an orientation to see where the needs are more significant. Now, quickly, before I conclude, um, quickly before I conclude, um, on each of the headings, basically we say the following on heading one. We're concerned by the decrease of funding, and we are not going to accept that. Um, and as we said, you know, the distinct nature of those two policies has to be preserved. On heading two, the Competitiveness Fund, we welcome the increases. But, uh, we have concerns regarding the governance and the transparency of funds. And they are clearly things have to be improved. On heading three. We welcome the increases, uh, also the support for Ukraine, but we're not sure whether that would be enough for the volatile context of the next seven years. And we also very firmly oppose the diminished role of Parliament when it comes to the governance. So both in competitiveness fund and in global Europe, it's clear that on governance we have to, uh, improve things. That's it from my side. Thank you very much.”
  Size of EU budget
• “Thank you very much, chairman. Look, firstly, many thanks to you, the colleagues who have expressed themselves. We find the ideas valuable. We are looking forward to the amendments and to, you know, uh, further improving the, uh, the report, without a doubt. The Recovery and Resilience Facility was a very important instrument. We should all remember. It was proposed by the European Commission in May 2020 when we were still in lockdown. Many sectors of the economy were blocked and our economies were facing many uncertainties. It had, from the very beginning, a positive effect upon the economy. Private sector kept investing because it knew a European facility would be coming. So the glass is for sure more than half full. But our role as a European Parliament is to make a precise assessment and if anything can be improved. We talked about it and we spoke a lot about the things that can be improved. But what I want to say is the instrument worked well. More than €300 billion were disbursed. Many reforms were implemented, as well. And when it comes to transparency, yes, we can improve things.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “Many thanks to the EPP Group for the focus on fisheries, which clearly was very badly treated in the first proposal of the Commission. Many thanks to our colleagues for being very clear on the ESF Plus Fund. I believe that this has to be a common responsibility of our Committee and of Parliament to take care of the social aspect of the budget as um, as well, um, on, on own resources, basically. Um, indeed, we have to be creative, see what is feasible from the proposal of the commission, try to be creative, creative on other potential sources of revenue. But the Parliament has always backed this up as, uh, as, uh, as a philosophy. So in that sense, really, thank you very much for all the remarks. Yes. On the rule of law, we heard colleagues as well. Carla Tavares and me have always said the rule of law conditionality has to become even more predictable. Automatic. Less political. Offer less space for interpretations and obviously applying the same manner to everyone. But the position of the Parliament shall be clear. Whoever receives European funds needs to respect European values, and this has to be a red line for all of us. So thank you very much for being clear on this. We're looking forward to the opinions of the committees and then to drafting the compromises all together. Thank you very much.”
  EU Supervision of the Rule of Law
• “They faced inflation. They contributed to the transition of the to the transition to the green economy. They faced price volatility. Um, they faced extreme weather conditions. We believe the support of farmers needs to be increased, not questioned, not not decreased. And this is why the position of this European Parliament is for agriculture, the same amount until now adjusted to inflation. And the first question is whether the figure that you mentioned, which is ring fenced, would match the Expectation of the of the Parliament. Same for cohesion. We're open to change. We are open to the Common Agricultural Policy and to cohesion policy being reformed, being put in line with new objectives. But we are opposed to weakening these two traditional policies. We are opposed to change for the sake of change. We are open to change, for strengthening, but we are against change, for weakening. The new priorities of the union are clearly security, defence and competitiveness. On security and defence, we fail to clearly understand what the amounts foreseen would be. We would appreciate some more clarity and on competitiveness. So far, we see the Competitiveness Fund mainly as an umbrella for merging existing programmes, but we believe it needs to go hand in hand with a clear competitiveness competitiveness strategy. How do we strengthen the single market? How do we make the most of the potential that we have for external election as well.”
  Agricultural funding
• “I spoke about it with several of my colleagues as well. But of course, the conditionality with the reforms, the role, the rule of law, conditionality and many of the prerogatives that we have in there, make sure that, as a rule, money is well spent and irregularities, fraud, of course have to be tackled. The question of the payback is important. It still remains open when money is being spent. It needs to come from somewhere and half of the Recovery resilience facility is loans. Member states will pay it back, but half of it is grants. So we have to make sure that we reach an agreement with the council, with the commission to ensure the payback. We as a parliament, of course, are strongly supporting our own resources, and these are needed to make sure that, you know, the repayment of our roof is not a burden for the EU budget. What I want to say is many thanks for the good ideas. We will be working together with colleagues and rapporteurs to integrate these into the report. Thank you, thank you.”
  Own EU resources