Johan VAN OVERTVELDT

Policy topics Johan VAN OVERTVELDT is active on

What Johan VAN OVERTVELDT has said (80)

• 2026-06-17 “(10:03:48 – 10:05:06): President, commissioner, minister, colleagues, the West fundamentally misunderstood China. China pursues a simple but effective strategy: dictatorship at home and coercion, deception, and protectionism abroad. We were blind believing that economic liberalization would lead to political freedom. Instead, China used its WTO accession to perfect a pattern of dominance, dependency, and blackmail designed to drive out competitors. China's economic model is built on protectionism, massive state subsidies, massive theft of intellectual property, and currency manipulation aimed at dominating strategic industries such as, for example, now electric vehicles, not to save the planet, but to gain economic and geopolitical leverage. With mounting internal problems, China will double down on export-driven growth targeting Europe. We need to react to that decisively. Thank you.”
  Trade relations with China
• “Thank you. Um, the vote on the budget opinion will take place on June 4 or 5 of this year. Of course, we go to point number four of our agenda. Business in Europe, the framework for income taxation. Briefly, before I give the floor to the rapporteur, Mr. Nerudova or the colleague who will replace her, and that's Mr. Sousa Silva to present the draft budgetary assessment, please, Mr. Sousa Silva, go ahead.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “Thank you. Thank you all for this clear, clear messages. We can move to point number four on our agenda, the Recovery and Resilience Dialogue with Mr. Raffaele Fitto, executive Vice-President of the Commission for Cohesion and Reforms, and Mr. Valdis Dombrovskis, Commissioner for Economy and Productivity, Implementation and Simplification. A big, warm welcome to both of you. I would like to welcome both of you. Our last dialogue was held on March 31st. Besides the bimonthly dialogues, the Parliament's overall scrutiny of the RRF is exercised via multiple channels. The Standing Bridge RRF working Group has met twice in this term to discuss the economic and social impact of the RRF, as well as control, audit and fraud prevention. A third meeting on the implementation of the six pillars, Cross-border projects and structural reforms in the education sector is planned for mid July. As we just heard, to evaluate the implementation of the RRF on the ground, the working group started undertaking fact finding missions to the Member States. Additionally, on May 20th, the Budget Econ Committee adopted implementation report on the RRF. The report takes stock of the performance and impact of the RRF and also draws lessons for the future. It is going to be debated in plenary tomorrow and voted on Wednesday. I pass the floor to my co-chair, please.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “But all member states, including small member states and SMEs, must be able to take part so that we can build up a European defence pillar and ensure that European defence protects everyone. A European budget is not just about money, it is about better use of available resources. The European Union cannot assume that every problem can be solved through more money. We need real reform, otherwise we will not see enough change. We can ensure a greater efficiency, simplify rules, cut down on red tape, modernise our structures. Look at completion of the single market. We need to look at entrepreneurship innovation. Ensure that the budget lines are amended accordingly. We need to complete the capital market. Ensure that our companies have access to the financing that they need to compete on the global stage. Whenever we begin a new budget cycle, if we automatically assume we need more money, we are not making the hard choices we need to modernize. We need to consider scrapping those programs where there is duplication and look at new initiatives as well. President. Commissioner. Honourable members. That is a brief overview of the 2026 budget. It is a vital step forward to allow the EU to continue to function in a time of crisis. The time has now come to react to the precarious geopolitical circumstances. The US is a traditional ally, but it seems to be adopting a rather unhealthy attitude. And we know the risks linked to China and the social knock on consequences. Allow me to conclude by saying that we need to look to the future. We need clarity for the future. We need reform. That is the key to ensuring greater efficiency, a more strategic autonomy and more prosperity. Thank you.”
  Size of EU budget
• “So we continue with point number 14 on our agenda, which is the I invite the people of Olaf coming forward, more or less the consequence of a very interesting visit to Olaf in May of this year, where Olaf representatives shared with us are their findings and insights in the RF, the Recovery and Resilience Facility. And among the things we heard were the limited capacity of central national authorities to carry out sufficient controls on the money spent. The fact that member States are not obliged to report irregularities at the Commission, and the fact that EU payments to member States are made based on achievements of milestones and targets, and not on actual costs. So this asks for more information. Given that kind of statement, it is not the first time that we hear about the shortcomings of the RF, given all the sessions that we had already with the Court of Auditors. But today's exchange of views is the first with Olaf, and we are, of course, very anxious to hear their views. The this also has to be seen in the context where the Commission's proposal for the coming MFF 2834 is to a very large extent based on that WRF model, including on the performance model being financed, not linked to cost, and that the Commission tries to maximise its room of manoeuvre, not least at the expense of the Parliament. Therefore, I'm sure this will be a very interesting exchange of views and I pass now, without further ado, the floor to Miss Saastamoinen. Who is Olaf? Deputy chair? Director general, please. The floor is yours.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “(15:03:26 – 15:04:06): Sorry. Thank you, Commissioner. This meeting means that the official procedure for the '27 budget has now, really been kicked off. The council will, of course, also examine the proposals laid down by the commission and determine its position. The 1st trialogue will take place on July 16 as well as an inter institutional meeting, on payments and a next generation EU meeting to which, all batch members will be invited. Thank you all for being in. Of course, special thanks for commissioner to be available at such court notice. Thank you.”
  Size of EU budget
• “Thank you. And my apologies to all of you for being withheld a little bit longer than I liked myself. But anyway let's do the discussion. Due to time limits, we have to limit the intervention to one person per political group. I thought, Mr. Ehler, for EPP, you would take the floor, please.”
  EU public communication strategy
• “Thank you very much, Mr. Arnold and Mr. Gross, for this introduction and the reply to the remarks that were made by the MEPs. Let's go now to the second part of our discussion this afternoon with the assessment of budgetary and governance dimension of the Commission's proposals. I first pass the floor to Mr. Johannes Heilbronn, who? Please go ahead.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “Thank you, chair, and thank you for the shadow rapporteurs for making a lot of Interesting point that should certainly be taken into account or more carefully or more pronounced into account in the report. The debt sustainability issue that was raised the attention for SMEs. Of course, the crypto sector risk is, of course a major risk. The sustainable finance risks data risks were also mentioned in a in a useful way. Um, the international role of the euro is certainly also an element that we need a little bit more focus on. Uh, and then of course, the cybersecurity issues are of course, in the financial sector also very important. The the request for a more specific mandate or a more elaborated mandate for European institutions is also very worthwhile to take into account. So I think we have a lot of stuff, interesting things to discuss to add to this report. Let me finish by expressing my astonishment at one of the claims that was made by the green Co-rapporteur. And I say this in all friendship and openness. I'm really amazed that you say that in recent crisis's, deficit and government debt didn't play an important role. May I remind you of the Greek crisis? The one and only? Well, the one and only big financial crisis that Europe specifically has undergone, which was clearly caused by excessive deficits and excessive debt. So I think that is really a point that we should nuance a little bit, starting from your observation. But thank you anyway.”
  EU fiscal rules and oversight of national budgets
• “Let me remind me all that the deadline for tabling amendments is February 24th, as already previously communicated by the Secretariat. Thank you all for this debate, and we will have in a few minutes the Recovery and resilience dialogue with Executive Vice. ***Recovery and Resilience Dialogue with Raffaele Fitto, Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms and Valdis Dombrovskis, Commissioner for Economy and Productivity; Implementation and Simplification”
  EU fiscal rules and oversight of national budgets
• “Thank you. Before we continue, colleagues, um, I have, uh, I think something quite important to say. Uh, we see now that, uh, at this moment, uh, president von der Leyen is giving a press conference and apparently she is giving more information than we get here. So I'll leave the last remark for what it is. But the first remark. Please, please, colleagues, please. Uh, there was a clear understanding that we would get the information that afterwards the press would get the information, which is, I think, if I remember correctly, you said at the beginning of this meeting. So, um, unfortunately, this is not helping to build up a good spirit. And it's flatly in contradiction with what we agreed upon. You were present there, too. Uh, I was present the, uh, the rapporteurs were present during the conference of presidents meeting in Strasbourg. So I think this is a very unfortunate incident. I understood and I think my colleagues do. If not, then, uh, it's something different that we would have the information here and then that after that, the information would go to the press. And on top of that, there seems to be a lot more information for the president. There is for us. So this is sorry. This is a lot of there is a lot of goodwill in this house, but you're, uh, really emptying the bucket. Anyway. Uh, we are grown up people. We are adult politicians and we have to do our job. So I pass the floor now to Miss Keller. Sorry for the interruption, Miss Keller. And you also have four minutes because you talk as a shadow for both files, please.”
  Transparency requirements of EU institutions
• “(12:41:07 – 12:42:10): Thank you very much. Thank you all for, participating in this, discussion. 2 remarks to, really conclude. First of all, as was already mentioned earlier, the Secretariat will communicate in writing the new deadline for amendments, which will be June 16 at noon. However, depending on the number of amendments and possible, what they call technical hiccups, This means that the availability of all language versions for our next meeting on July 14 cannot be guaranteed. Also, there will be 0 flexibility for corrections to be tabled to the tabled amendments once the deadline has, passed. Thanks for understanding this. My second remark is that this afternoon in batch, we will have a hearing on the budgetary aspects, of NRPP, and, all people also from AGRI and REGI are, of course, invited to join that discussion.”
  Discharge of EU institutions and agencies
• “Thank you. We move to point number five of our agenda, the budget mission to Latvia of last month. And I come back to Mr. de Sousa Silva who chaired the mission, please.”
  Discharge of EU institutions and agencies
• “Thank you for the European External Action Service. Mr. David Hallenstein Hallenstein, head of the Budget and Post Management Division there.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “Thank you. This closes this point number seven of our agenda. So we. We can go to the point number eight, the voting time. Let's first check the machinery. I open the vote. I close the vote. And it is apparently working. So the first voting we have to do is on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for displaced workers following an application from Belgium. Compromise? No, sorry. First amendment for who's in favor. Who's against who's who abstains adopted. Compromise one. Who's in favor, who's against who abstains. Adopted. Amendment six. Who's in favor? Who's against who abstains. Rejected. Amendment seven was in favour. Who's against who abstains? Adopted. Amendment eight who's in favor? Who's against who abstains? Rejected. Amendment nine who's in favor? Who's against who abstains? Adopted amendment ten. Who's in favor? Who's against who abstains? Rejected. Amendment 14. Who's in favor? Who's against who abstains? Rejected. Amendment 15. Who's in favor? Who's against abstentions? Uh, adopted amendment. Uh, no falls. Then we have amendment one. Who's in favor? Who's against who? Abstains, rejected. Amendment two. Who's in favor? Who's against who abstains? Rejected amendment three. Who's in favor? Who's against who abstains, rejected. And then we vote on the draft text as amendment. The roll call, roll call vote. The vote is open. The vote is closed and it is adopted 26 in favor, Two against, three abstentions. Then we vote on the budget. Section three. The transport transfer of appropriations. Dec two roll call. Vote. The vote is open. The vote is closed and it is adopted. 26 in favor, three against two abstentions. And then the budget. Other sections again transfer of appropriations. Number one roll call vote to vote is open. The vote is closed. It is accepted 24 in favor, five against one abstention. And this is no request for the building policy. This is the end of the vote. Thank you all.”
  EU expenditure on social policy
• “Minister. Ladies and gentlemen, the debate on the situation in the Middle East is taking place. But I think the contribution from the EU is quite limited. We see the price increases of oil and gas because it's dependent on sources in the Middle East. Yesterday, the president of the commission gave a mea culpa and said it was a mistake to stop using nuclear energy. We had warned her and unfortunately we have lost precious time. So now we need to take energy policy into our own hands. Just with renewable energy, it's not going to be enough. We also depend on a partner, uh. Um, which has, um, a significant portion of the solar panel, uh, market. Um, and, uh, about 80% of, um, wind turbines as well, as well as quite a lot of rare earth materials. We need to be careful not to lose our strategic independence. Thank you.”
  EU approach to energy security (home-made vs import sources)
• “(14:40:38 – 14:40:55): Thank you. Thank you for the answers, commissioner. We now go to the other sections. 2 minutes per shadow, and we really have to, keep, keep us ourselves to that time limit. 1st of all, miss Tavares, who speaks for Sandra Gomez Lopez, the SND. Thank”
  EU political integration
• “President. Colleagues, the first 100 days of the commission should be a time for reflection. But it seems to be more a time of emergency. And the next days will be even more important. We have a war on our borders, subsidies for international trade and new technological development. I think this is more than enough reason to make ourselves less dependent on foreign powers. We need to see a change of tack. In recent years, we've had this dogmatic green agenda, which too often denies economic reality. Furthermore, there is a direct link between competitiveness and the. Desperate need to rebuild our defence capacity, which will also require private investment if we're going to genuinely improve our competitiveness. Also important is when it comes to efforts in defence. The Commission does everything possible to ensure proper coordination between member states. And to ensure that this operation isn't a wasted effort. Thank you.”
  Climate efforts
• “Thank you. Let me, uh, again, add one question. When we had Mr. Dombrovskis, your colleague last week, he explicitly said that the commission reserves its right to use the cash balance of the frozen assets to repay the loan. But if I understood you correctly, you exclude that possibility because you said that the frozen assets are out of the picture. But. Okay, let me understand. Better.”
  EU-Russia relations (from March 2022)
• “Thank you. Chair. Colleagues. The European Union is at a crossroads. The world has changed dramatically since the launch of the fit for 55 package and the initial proposal for this file in 2001. Today we are facing next to the climate challenge, also deep and structural competitiveness concerns. Growth is stagnant, productivity gains are modest, and an increasing number of European firms are either delaying investment or relocating outside of the union. The revision of the Energy Taxation Directive must be approached through this lens. The goal should not be to burden households and businesses with additional costs, but to ensure that our taxation system becomes a tool that facilitates economic activity, facilitates the energy transition and facilitates innovation and investment in Europe. In the spring of last year, the Parliament asked the Commission for a comprehensive overall impact assessment of the entire fit for 55 package. The reason for this was a growing concern, concern that is still there about overlapping legislation and the cumulative burden it imposes on European industries. Unfortunately, we did not receive a satisfactory reply from the Commission, but still we continued the negotiations and the draft report presented reflects the progress and the contributions from all political groups. As rapporteur, I have opted to continue exactly where we left off last term. This draft report is the last version of the political negotiations, which dates from a year ago. As you know, the European Parliament plays a consultative role in this file as it is fiscal legislation. The Council holds the final say, and the need for unanimity has proven a major obstacle. Also, for this file, it is therefore even more important that we as Parliament, adopt a position that is realistic, economically grounded and responsive to the concerns we are hearing throughout society.”
  Priorities of taxation policy in the EU
• “Thank you. Before passing the floor to the Commissioner, I would like to ask myself two questions. First of all, on this Ukraine loan facility, um, you're talking about, uh, quarter two and quarter two, disbursement 30, 30 billion. You're talking about, uh, 1 billion interest burden. So back of the envelope. You're aiming at an interest rate of a little bit above 3%, obviously. What does that mean in terms of the duration of the loan, the maturity of the loan? Because I think with that interest rate, uh, you will have to go short. You will not be able to borrow at ten years time, for example, at that rate. Uh, so please elaborate on that. And that, of course, also automatically leads to the, uh, the question of what is the repayment schedule that you foresee at this point in time. That would be my two questions. But, uh, please, because there were a lot of other questions and remarks to the floor is yours.”
  Russia-Ukraine conflict (10th term)
• “Political independence also necessitates the ECB's actions to remain a political. Reaffirming. Reaffirming the ECB's independence is particularly vital in the current global context, where central bank independence is facing increased pressure. Rising debt levels heighten the risk of what they call fiscal dominance. The situation where fiscal needs and debt financing issues increasingly dictate monetary policy. The threat to independence is especially pronounced in the United States, where actions and comments from the current president regarding the Federal Reserve and its leadership not only undermine the internal financial stability of the United States, but also have significant international consequences. Given the dollar's dominant role, These challenges exacerbate the broader financial stability risks we already encountered. Today, the ECB plays a crucial role in safeguarding financial stability through credit conditions. The Single Supervisory Mechanism and in responding to potential future crises. However, an increasing share of financial activity occurs beyond its direct supervisory reach, particularly with the non-bank financial intermediation sector, whose growth rate is really impressive. Concurrently, closer security of the largely speculative crypto asset ecosystem, including stablecoins, is absolutely necessary. Both monetary and financial stability are colleagues like electricity or clean water? Their true importance is only recognized when they are absent. Effective monetary policy can primarily prevent money itself from becoming a significant source of economic disturbance. Thank you.”
  ECB monetary policy
• “Thank you. Okay. Let's proceed. Number 12 of our agenda, the mobilization of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, again for displaced workers following an application from Belgium. I give the floor to the rapporteur, Mr. Sousa Silva, please.”
  EU expenditure on social policy
• “Thank you, Mr. Nemec. Any of the shadow rapporteurs wanting to take the floor? Okay. Then we can go to point number seven of our agenda. The building policy, more specifically the IBA building project. And I give the floor to Francois-louis Michaud, executive director of IBA, for a presentation.”
  Discharge of EU institutions and agencies
• “Okay, apparently it's working. Thank you. So First Amendment for who's in favor, who's against? It is rejected. So amendment five we vote on amendment five. Who is in favor? Who's against? Who abstains? Rejected. Amendment six. Who is in favor? Who's against? Who abstains? Rejected. Amendment seven who's in favor? Who's against? Who abstains? Rejected. Amendment eight who's in favor? Who's against? Who abstains. Rejected. Amendment nine is deleted. No.”
  EU political integration
• “Merci. Monsieur Catala, head of the administration of the Fundamental Rights Agency. Sorry, I misspoke. I said federal, uh, rights agency. But it is. Of course you said that correctly. Do you want to intervene?”
  EU Supervision of the Rule of Law
• “Okay, again, I think there are good reasons to accept this proposal for postponement, which makes it for easy and quick going at this point. Next item for you, Monsieur Chastel, the ESMA, the premises optimization, please. Oh, sorry, I have to go to Miss Cazenave of ESMA. Sorry. Please go ahead.”
  Discharge of EU institutions and agencies
• “Thank you. All three. The two vice presidents and the secretary general. Uh, thank you for this meeting. Before closing this item, I. Let me remind you about the upcoming exchanges of views on the Parliament's budget. During the budget meeting of March the 5th, the Director general of DG come in low and high tech will present their priorities for 2007 and during the budget meeting of March 1617, the rapporteur will present his draft report. Thank you. We go now to point number five. Budget 26, section three. No transfer request. Maybe we can stop for one minute. In order for people who want to leave. To leave in peace. Yeah. Okay. Let us let us resume, colleagues. Let us resume because we are a little bit behind schedule. We still have. We still have to wait a few minutes for the voting time because we first have to do point number six. The budget of the sections and more specifically on the European Data Protection Supervisor request. I pass the floor to Helmut Kehler, the acting head of Unit on HR and budget for the DPS. Go ahead, Mr. Keller.”
  Discharge of EU institutions and agencies
• “(13:32:47 – 13:35:18): Thank you all. Let me first of all welcome, in the back of the room, the students from the College of Europe in Bruges. Welcome to all of you. And then, of course, also a warm welcome to Commissioner Piotr Seraffin to this meeting on the Committee of Budgets for one of the, let's say, one of the most important meetings of the year, namely the presentation of the draft budget for '27, which has been adopted by the College of Commissioners. As per standard practice, you are, you, Mr. Commissioner, are presenting it here first, which means we didn't have the time to look at it carefully and in detail yet. We are eager to hear and discuss about its main figures. Before I give the choreography for the meeting, I should do points number 1 and 2 of our agenda. I was a little bit too quickly. The first point is the adoption of the agenda, which I deem adopted if nobody jumps on his chair at the moment. No. Thank you. The Chair's announcement, only announcement that the interpretation is available in 12 languages. So back to the budget '22 or draft budget 2027. Follow the commission presentation, I will give the floor to, first of all, the general report on the '27 budget, Mister Uzhakovs, and then the commissioner for replies. Then Mister Lewandowski will take the floor, he replaces Mister Ajipantella, the rapporteur for the other sections 27. And again, then back to the commissioner for replies. And then, we'll have the shadows and eventually, if time allows, also, catch the eye. Dear commissioner, well, it's an understatement to say that we are in a world we are in a world that is moving very quickly and not always in the directions that we like or that we would prefer. But this means that there are continuous challenges before us, which of course means that also for the MFF, this is a perhaps not so pleasant reality with which we will have to deal one way or the other. And in the meantime, we also have the budget of '27 to take care of. So I gladly take you, give you the floor for 20 minutes. Please, Mister Commissioner.”
  Size of EU budget
• “Point number nine. We are now in the transfers budget 26, section three. No transfer requests are here. Point number ten. The. The other sections we have. Request from the European Committee of the regions. I give the floor to Mr. Francois Philippe Pech, deputy director for Human Resources and finances of the Committee of the regions, please.”
  Discharge of EU institutions and agencies
• “I understand that you’re talking now about the mechanism to deal with it, but that does not change the amount of interest burden that will be due. And that that is what I'm challenging, that it is more than the 1 billion you you're putting forward.”
  Own EU resources
• “Good evening, everybody. Let's start this joint budg-econ meeting. If no objection is raised, I deem the agenda adopted. Thank you. There is interpretation available in almost every language you can imagine. And point number three, if no objection is raised, the minutes of the meetings of March 31st, April 23rd and May 20th are deemed adopted. Thank you. Point number five on our agenda is about the fact finding mission in Greece of last April. Uh, of course, in the context of our working group on the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the objective of this fact finding missions is to complement Parliament's scrutiny. Work on the WRF conducted in particular in the context of the bimonthly dialogue with the responsible commissioners and within this working group, and by providing Parliament with specific information on the implementation on the ground. Thereby, Parliament should be put in a better position to assess the overall effectiveness of the WRF, its economic and social impact, as well as the concrete implementation challenges faced by Member States and of course, also to draw lessons for the future. In this context, between April 10th and 16, the budget of this year, the Budget Econ delegation travelled to Greece for the first WRF working Group mission. The aim is to visit as many member states as possible in this legislative term, with the order of missions following, the member states total envelope per capita. I will now give the floor to Siegfried Muresan, who chaired the mission to report back. Siegfried, please.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “With respect to the choreography, um, we now go to the political groups where two minutes each for the speaker of the groups. Unfortunately, I don't see anybody from EPP. So we immediately switched to Sadie and I guess, Monsieur Germain for prendre la parole.”
  EU public communication strategy
• “Legal clarification and burden reduction. The growing systematic relevance of non-bank financial institutions, which compromise now close to 50% of the EU financial sector assets, calls for the review of regulatory gaps. We suggest to take steps in reforming the money market funds regulation in line with international standards, in further developing stress testing and scenario analysis with regard to marginal practices. The policy approach to supervision should move in the direction of a system wide and activity based supervisory approach to dealing with risks and vulnerabilities associated with different types of activity across the financial sector. Enhanced data capabilities can support Macroprudential oversight. Supervision can, however, only get us so far. We should also prepare for the crisis that we have not seen coming. The role of the single resolution Mechanism in ensuring robust crisis resolution, and the ECB's function as lender of last resort to safeguard liquidity and trust during crises is of crucial. Or both of crucial importance. Generally, we support the efforts of the ECB, the Esrb and the European Supervisory authorities in cooperation with financial institutions like the MMF and the financial or the Fiscal Stability Board in safeguarding financial stability. Thank you very much.”
  Financial regulation
• “Mr. Rodriguez, you should talk a little bit Sorry, because the translators are getting lost. **Adriana RODRIGUEZ RIVERA (Climate Strategy & Partners): Sorry. Yes. I'll try to keep it to ten minutes. Um, so, um, our report reviews the evidence for how efficiently this cohesion, common agricultural policy, but other funds are being used and whether they are delivered, delivering the types of funding that mature climate assets need. So we look at cohesion policy, eRDF and Cohesion Fund, and we find that there is an average usage of financial instruments of below 8%, and many of the grant schemes are not being delivered to the end beneficiaries than it grants the most, or they're not prioritizing public benefits over private goods. At the same time, cohesion funding suffers from very low absorption rates. The Commission and the European Court of Auditors suggest that local managing authorities don't have the capabilities and knowledge to design and manage financial instruments, we suggest that this impediment will remain, and hence we propose alternative distribution channels for mature and retail assets. This is when we come to invest in you. It's a good practice of how to efficiently make the most of EU money via financial instruments proposed by our budget guarantee. On average, €1 delivered via Investeu provides a leverage factor of 11.4 times. It has already been mentioned in this hearing that Investeu has member state compartments where member states can contribute with their own funds as collateral for the budget guarantee, and get support from the EIB Group to design a financial scheme that is ring fenced to the region and is implemented by local banks. Countries can contribute their own resources or recovery funds, cohesion Cap and other EU sourced funds. So far, only member states have been using these national compartments, although we understand that more member states are considering using this method to speed up the delivery of RF funding given the time pressure that exists to absorb these funds. **Adriana RODRIGUEZ RIVERA (Climate Strategy & Partners): This is an example of how Greece used a compartment of Investeu to develop a financial scheme to enhance credit access to SMEs in their green transition. Greece put 400 million of its recovery funds in the EU member state compartment to activate the sustainability guarantee of EIF, and deliver 11.3 times more to Greek SMEs via four local retail banks. So looking forward to the next MFF. What lessons can we learn from Investeu to increase the efficiency of the EU budget? And more specifically, how can we build on the model of the Member State compartment to increase the offer of financial instruments across Member States? And like this. Improve the delivery and efficiency of EU funds under shared management. We believe the member State compartment is a blueprint to develop a template of the shelf EU financial instruments as a service for member States that can be activated by national resources and funds under shared management. These EU instruments as a service share many of the key features of the EU Member State compartment, including higher leverage potentials, harmonization of instruments across the EU and reduction of complexity for end beneficiaries. Administrative simplicity with the design and management of reporting led by the Commission. Streamlined delivery via competing retail channels that provide clarity to SMEs and households locally, and also very important to increase Member States interest in these instruments is that they should allow for state aid approved local tailoring, which means that the member state can propose the size, the scope of operations and the implementing partners. **Adriana RODRIGUEZ RIVERA (Climate Strategy & Partners): Our idea of asset service financing mechanisms will simplify the design of financial instruments designated for climate assets at the local level. As shown in the Innovation Fund, hydrogen auctions, where a NASA service compartment has already been used by three member states, the commission's clean industrial deal points to this as a service mechanism, as a best practice to pool EU and national resources in a harmonised and state aid compatible competitive selection. This slide here. The next one is our most important slide. You can find it online because it might be a bit difficult to see from your seats. It shows a proposed design of the new European Competitiveness Fund, through which we believe EU financial instruments as a service can be systematically integrated into the EU budget, modeled on existing EU funds that have performed well for climate investments. Specific EU financial instruments as a service can be offered through the Competitiveness Fund at each maturity stage for clean technologies, and to support the uptake of clean assets by SMEs and households, for example. As you see there, the EU can develop EIC as a service for early stage tech innovation fund auctions as a service to provide fixed premiums for clean tech in later growth stages and for investeu, it can offer more asset specific and tailored instruments such as an EU renovation loan, as a service for buildings, or an electric loan as a service for transport. Each member state should allocate a percentage of their EU funds under shared management to these new EU financial instruments, which will help accelerate the delivery of investments via competitive local retail channels for grant schemes. **Adriana RODRIGUEZ RIVERA (Climate Strategy & Partners): Member states can use local managing authorities and strategically target local public goods and provide support to energy poor families. Now coming to the end. We believe that EU financial instruments as a service are most efficient when tied to the asset. These instruments can then take into account the specific default risk ratios and and potential leverage factors that relate to the specific asset. As these vary depending on the sector and the technology. For instance, we expect lower risk for an EU renovation loan than for an instrument targeting the manufacturing of higher risk innovative cleantech. This is why we recommend a permanent platform with the EIB Group to monitor EU financial instruments as a service that includes national promotional banks and local proximity banks, including those that are specialized in sector specific financial instruments like agriculture banks. To conclude, we propose four principles to improve the use of EU financial instruments delivered through a new competitiveness Fund and to extend budgetary reach and efficiency. These four principles are simplified the governance and delivery of EU funding with strategic horizontal conditions to prioritize investments with additionality in SMEs and households. Integrate an efficiency first approach in the EU funding and funding a member state's investment planning with targeted reforms and supported by local stakeholder consultation, built flexibility in the EU budget instruments availability while safeguarding the scope of EU funding programmes for climate and energy investments, and finally, avoid reinventing the wheel and boost existing EU funds that have performed well for climate and energy investments like invest, EU and others. Thank you very much.”
  Cohesion and rural funding
• “Thank you, Miss Philippe. Jean-marc, please know maybe one last, one more, more political word. I began with saying that everybody was happy. The Parliament, of course, and the commission. But one reason of being happy is that the pro-European majority that we like very much was still reformed after the nasty week that happened before in the parliament. So it's also some something that I, that I, Lucia, that I keep in mind for the future. And I want again to thank Andrés, which, which plays a very particular important role in achieving this. And I hope that the kiss of death will not happen next week, next year. Thank you. No further comments. Then let me finish this part of our agenda of today by also throwing some flowers around. You've all been very generous in throwing flowers around. It was an honor for me to chair this conciliation. It was indeed sometimes a little bit difficult. It's it was my seventh conciliation, and it certainly was not the easiest one, although a priority. We expected it to be relatively easy given the room to maneuver that was available. But the Danish presidency was a tough nut to crack, as they say.”
  EU political integration
• “Thank you. This closes this point number seven of our agenda. So we. We can go to the point number eight, the voting time. Let's first check the machinery. I open the vote. I close the vote. And it is apparently working. So the first voting we have to do is on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for displaced workers following an application from Belgium. Compromise? No, sorry. First amendment for who's in favor. Who's against who's who abstains adopted. Compromise one. Who's in favor, who's against who abstains. Adopted. Amendment six. Who's in favor? Who's against who abstains. Rejected. Amendment seven was in favour. Who's against who abstains? Adopted. Amendment eight who's in favor? Who's against who abstains? Rejected. Amendment nine who's in favor? Who's against who abstains? Adopted amendment ten. Who's in favor? Who's against who abstains? Rejected. Amendment 14. Who's in favor? Who's against who abstains? Rejected. Amendment 15. Who's in favor? Who's against abstentions? Uh, adopted amendment. Uh, no falls. Then we have amendment one. Who's in favor? Who's against who? Abstains, rejected. Amendment two. Who's in favor? Who's against who abstains? Rejected amendment three. Who's in favor? Who's against who abstains, rejected. And then we vote on the draft text as amendment. The roll call, roll call vote. The vote is open. The vote is closed and it is adopted 26 in favor, Two against, three abstentions. Then we vote on the budget. Section three. The transport transfer of appropriations. Dec two roll call. Vote. The vote is open. The vote is closed and it is adopted. 26 in favor, three against two abstentions. And then the budget. Other sections again transfer of appropriations. Number one roll call vote to vote is open. The vote is closed. It is accepted 24 in favor, five against one abstention. And this is no request for the building policy. This is the end of the vote. Thank you all.”
  EU expenditure on social policy
• “Want to monopolize, but I think it's important to understand. Am I correct in concluding that this means that the commission will only go to the market, let's say, by the summer, because otherwise the interest burden will be much more than 1 billion.”
  EU fiscal rules and oversight of national budgets
• “Thank you. Any interventions from other MEPs on this one? If not, then we can go to the second building file which is on the European delegation to Ghana. Basically two separate files, but I think we can treat them in one. Uh, in one go. And I pass the floor first to Mr. Francesco Fini, head of Division of Real Estate of EA.”
  EU competences on foreign affairs
• “Okay. Sorry. Amendment nine. Who's in favor? Who's against? Who abstains? Rejected amendment. Who's in favor? Ever. Who's against who. Abstains. Rejected. Amendment 11 was in favour. Who's against? Who abstains. Rejected. Amendment 12. Who's in favor? Who's against? Abstains. Rejected. Amendment 13 who's in favor? Who's against? Who abstains. Rejected. Amendment 14 who's in favor? Who's against? Who abstains. Rejected. Amendment 15 who's in favor? Who's against? Who abstains. Rejected. Amendment 16 who's in favor? Who's against? Who abstains. Rejected. Amendment 17 who's in favor? Who's nobody? Who's against? Who abstains. Rejected. Amendment 18. Who's in favor? Who's against? Who abstains. Rejected. Amendment 19. This is bizarre. But anyway who's in favor? Who's against? Who abstains? Rejected. Amendment 20. Who's in favor? Who's against? Who abstains? Rejected. Amendment 21. Who's in favor? Who's against? Who abstains? Rejected. Amendment 22 is in favor. Who's against? Who abstains. Rejected. Amendment 23 who's in favor? Who abstained? Who's who's against? Who abstains. Adopted. Amendment 24. Who's in favor against abstention. Adopted. Amendment 25. Who's in favor?”
  EU political integration
• “Thank you. Commissioner. President. Colleagues. Some ten years ago, together with council and commission, we reached agreement on the 2026 EU budget. 192 2 billion per year. Focus on the main challenges today investment in defence, in safeguarding our external borders and strengthening our competitiveness. The European Defence Fund and military mobility is a way to bolster our defence capability, manage migration and safeguard our borders. We focused on research, innovation and of course, energy and transport networks. We did not overlook any of those priorities in our deal. We need to invest in security and prosperity of citizens. Honourable members, this is a positive opening statement, but let's not fool ourselves about the hard facts. The European budget does not sufficiently focus on the future. There is too much focus on the past and not enough focus on the future. We need more to tackle the huge challenges ahead, to be better prepared rather than chasing events. And so the next must be a turning point that is an opportunity to finally overhaul the EU budget. In other words, we need greater emphasis on those areas where Europe can offer added value research, innovation and cross-border infrastructure. In the mid-term, we need to look at more mature EU policy on migration, defence and security. The EU and member States must ensure cohesion and agricultural funds that are targeted and efficiently used. We need a highly efficient budget, and so we need to move away from fragmentation and look at the way we organise our defence industry. Currently, the 26 EU member states use 178 different weapon systems. If you compare that to the US, they have some 30 different systems and so we have duplication, no economies of scale and incredible waste. We need to look at the European Defence Fund. Those are steps in the right direction to stimulate cooperation, reduce costs.”
  Defence spending
• “Thank you. Um, this closes our point number six. We go to point number seven on building policy. We have five files for the commission. Uh, first, an early warning and an a prior approval request for the extension of the lease of six buildings, then three early warnings concerning the intention of the commission to negotiate contracts for the occupation of three buildings, starting 27 and 28. Um, we will all take them together for the sake of time, but let me allow me a preliminary remark. We received the early warning, which concerns the extension of the lease of six buildings on November 26th and the request for prior approval on December 2nd, which means five days apart. Such a timeline forced us to discuss both the early warning notice and the prior approval request at today's meeting. Because you were late and perhaps forgot that you had a deadline looming at the end of the year to extend these contracts. Yet it has been made clear at many occasions already to the Commission that we want to discuss early warning notice before receiving prior approvals requests. Moreover, the financial regulation is quite clear with respect to this when it says that the budgetary authority shall be informed of building projects as early as possible. All that being said, now I pass the floor to Miss Sara Lehkonen, Head of Office Department Management of Real Estate, for a presentation of three minutes. Please.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “Good afternoon to everybody, and welcome to this Budget Committee meeting of Monday, October the 13th. Uh, if there are no objections, I deem the agenda adopted. Okay, then a few announcements. The coordinator's decisions of October the 6th can be found in the meetings file, and they are deemed adopted if there are no objections raised to it. Thank you. And then. Interpretation available in 16 languages. And speakers are of course invited to speak in their mother tongue. Third point of the agenda adoption of the minutes. If there are no objections, the minutes of September 23rd of this year are deemed adopted. Then we go to the point. Number four, the 25 budget. Other sections where there are several items. And we, uh, I give the floor to the people involved and let me announce them. Maybe, uh, one by one, uh, as related to the institutions, uh, first of all, for the European Parliament, Anna Bosca, director general of DJ Inlo, uh, and VIP, uh, is that correct? Vp director of DJ link. Lorenzo Mannelli, director general of DG Witek. That's, uh, for the first part, sufficient already. Please take the floor in the order that was announced.”
  Discharge of EU institutions and agencies
• “Good morning everybody. Could we start our meeting, please? Welcome all to this, uh, budget committee meeting of, uh, December 11th. Uh, first, the adoption of the agenda. If there are no objections, I deem the agenda adopted. Thank you. Then translation in a long list of languages, amongst which you will certainly find your, uh, your preference. Then third point, the adoption of the minutes. Uh, if there are no objections, the minutes of October the 13th are deemed adopted. Thank you. Point number four on our agenda at the interim report on the proposal for the MMF framework. 2834 I immediately passed the floor to the rapporteurs, Co-rapporteurs, first of all, Siegfried Muresan and then Carla. Carla. Carla Tavares. Siegfried, please.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “Thank you. Next is the European Economic and Social Committee and I pass the floor to Frederico Frederico Rossi, Deputy Director for Human Resources and Finances at EU, please.”
  Discharge of EU institutions and agencies
• “Thank you very much. Thank you also to the speakers for their contribution today. Let me then conclude by pointing out that the next joint meeting of the Budget Econ committees will take place on May 20th, with the presentation of the draft report on the revision of the Investeu regulation. Thank you. Enjoy your evening.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “For passing to the Commission. I take the freedom to allow myself also a question under catch the eye for Miss Christie. Um, you talk about the EU safe asset and you compare or make the comparison with US treasuries. Now, we all know that for financial markets, having a full institutional framework is of the utmost importance to be able to develop something like the the benchmark which the US Treasury market is and which, by the way, Mr. Trump is trying to to destroy now, but that's for his account. But you cannot claim that we have that kind of institutional framework in the EU at the moment. So does it make sense to talk about EU safe asset? If not, at least we finish first of all, the banking union which we have not yet finished. The deposit guarantee scheme is still waiting there, and if we don't take important steps towards a capital market union before passing the floor again to the three experts, I would now like to hear Miss Peresa from DG BUDG. The commission please.”
  European Banking Union
• “Mr. president, ladies and gentlemen, during the discussions in the European Council, defence and competitiveness were focal focal points. There are other issues as well, but there are a lot of interlinking issues there. Without a healthy economy, we can't have competitiveness and we can't push for an extension to our defence. Now, pressing for a stronger economy is not an end unto itself. We need to get our house in order to make sure our competitiveness is improved, to get the funding we need for defence. As the councillors point out pointed out, we can have a drastic simplification of rules. We can strengthen the internal market, we can have digitisation and promote innovation and Investment. I'd add to that there are a number of burdens in general in private industry in defence should be removed. Those private investments are absolutely essential if we're to make sure that public funding doesn't go off the rails. Thank you.”
  Defence spending
• “For president. Commissioner. Honourable members, we face a huge challenge. The current Emff is not up to the job. Look at the action that has been taken. Look at the Draghi report. It made it clear what the challenges are. What Europe needs is structural reform a true capital markets union. Innovation, entrepreneurship. If it would be deluding ourselves to say that all our structural problems can be tackled by throwing more money at them, we will not get anywhere if we have more spending without reform, that will just lead to stagnation. What do citizens expect of Europe? Well, they want more action on defence and migration. Those are two areas that will be key in the upcoming MFF. They must be. We need critical assessment of all programmes proposed by the current chamber. We need investment above all investment from the private sector. We need incentives to encourage investment. Something that is underscored in the Draghi report is the fact that we need to carefully thought through deregulation. Thank you.”
  Size of EU budget
• “Thank you. If I understood there are no questions for the Commission. The Commission could tell us why they're more interested in a foreign country than in the citizens of the Union to answer this.”
  EU competences on foreign affairs
• “It identified mistakes in the revised legislative financial statement, which should reflect the conversion of. Contract agents to temporary post. The legislators did not endorse the document of the trilogue, but tasked the commission to make the necessary corrections. The date of the vote on the Interinstitutional Agreement is tentatively scheduled for November 11th, and the adoption in plenary during the November 2nd session. Thanks again. I hope in the name of all of you, to the rapporteurs who successfully defended budgets in these negotiations and the teams who assisted them. And by the way, during the earlier coordinators meeting, we had a lot of discussions on the involvement of Budget Committee in the MFF negotiations. I think these are examples I just told you about clearly, uh, proof the importance of having budget input into this kind of negotiations. So thanks again to the rapporteurs and everybody involved in their work. If there are no comments to this, I don't see any fingers being raised. We go to point number five. I give the floor to the rapporteur, Mr. André, for the presentation of the compromise proposal on section three and afterwards to Mr. Major's rapporteur for other sections. Mr.. Alec, please.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “And thank you very much for respecting the allotted time. Mr. Stefanutto. **Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ: Thank you. Mr. Commissioner. Is everything okay? You can hear me. Thank you. I want to start off by saying that I know that you work on a under limited space with little flexibility, and it's not you. It's the member states. It's not you. However, we should not transfer not not become a transfer committee. We should still be a budget committee. So having said that, obviously I like some of the things that are happening in, in this budget and, and less overwhelmed about others. But all in all is to say that we are behind you as regards an MMF reconsideration, that doesn't put us always in a straitjacket. We already have so many crises and there's more to come for sure. So let's let ourselves have some some real flexibility. Uh, just to comment, I really welcome the increase on Erasmus. And I want to say to the Commission, please make sure that the Erasmus increase goes more to the individual scholarships and not to more. The reason being that the students are struggling with rents, with making ends meet, with food. So we shouldn't make more scholarships for kids who have money from their parents, but rather more money for kids who don't. Uh, secondly, on the eppo, I really welcome it. **Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ: Every euro invested in EPPO brings millions back, so it's the most value for money investments one can do, uh, by fighting fraud. And it cleans, uh, very needed image of Europe on Ucpmb. I come from Romania. We've just had floods, very impressive floods, destruction in pride in other places in Romania and we need all the support we can get. And I think in a in a context of climate change, that won't change much. One last point on on heading six with Ukraine, with Gaza, with Sahel, with other humanitarian crises. We cannot reduce the budget there with over 800 million, because that's a sign that we probably won't help as much as we promise to help. Last point, and this is a political point, and I know you will make it on your resurfacing. I think we should tell the story that the interest rate of the union and its schedule of payment have shown that the union is a reliable institution that can pay its debts back, and that it services the debt at a very low interest rate, lower than most member states can afford. So going forward, we need to tell the story to the citizens. Thank you.”
  Size of EU budget
• “Thank you. Next is the European Economic and Social Committee. I pass the floor to, uh, Mr. Gilles Guillard, director for Human Resources and finance at IH. Please.”
  Discharge of EU institutions and agencies
• “Thank you. Chair. Um, financial stability is a cornerstone of the EU's economic resilience. Recent year, political tensions have shown that it can be. Cannot be taken for granted. It is therefore important to keep working on the institutional Framework for supervision of financial stability and for crisis preparedness. Significant steps have been taken towards banking union and unfortunately to a lesser extent also towards capital markets union or what we in modern parlance call the Savings and Investment Union. This integration is essential for absorbing shocks and fostering investment within the EU. But we need to proceed with prudence. As we deepen financial integration, we must equally deepen our safeguards. Awareness is needed of the trade off between efficient risk sharing and diversification on the one hand, and contagion and amplification risks on the other hand. There are notable fragilities in the markets. The union is exposed to external shocks, such as, of course, the evident example these days, the Russian continued aggression in Ukraine and the renewed imposition of trade tariffs. The global financial crisis of 2008 has shown that financial instabilities can very quickly spill over across the world. Sovereign debt and deficit levels are at a record high, as well as leverage in the private sector. All this further challenged by the lagging productivity growth that we see almost everywhere. A strong macro prudential framework requires full implementation of the Basel II framework for banks, and this should go hand in hand with a view to simplification.”
  European Banking Union
• “If I may respond very quickly and briefly, uh, my mic is on. Yes. Somebody is indicating that my mic is not on, but I think it's on. Um, clearly there is a gray zone. Uh, but I think you exaggerate, uh, because in this case it is in the lead. There were such amendments that were taken on board by Italy and the train rules. So you have a point. There is a lack of clarity, but we should not start exaggerating that everything is a mess and that everything is in the gray zone. So please, let's be reasonable. And I fully agree with you that we need to bring more clarity to the way in which this process needs to be handled.”
  EU Supervision of the Rule of Law
• “Thank you. I look at the rapporteurs whether they want to conclude Miss Gomez-lopez, Miss Nedeva. If not, then we can close not only this part of our meeting, but the entire budget meeting of today coordinators meeting has been postponed. So we will see each other again soon. Thank you.”
  Discharge of EU institutions and agencies
• “Colleagues. Commissioner. Well, we're ready for this new MFF. And this can't possibly be another technical exercise. It's a choice that we need to make the direction Europe needs to take. And the European Union is budgetary. Uh, from a budgetary point of view, has, uh, old fashioned budgetary policies. Whereas we need urgent action for the future, we need to make room for new priorities. We need to make a choice for a slim, efficient instrument with good investments, with true value added aspects. Of course, we we support the reforms. Investments in And competitive, uh, um, possibilities. And this cannot possibly be an excuse for a budget which is, uh, spread too thinly. We need more flexibility. We need to be able to face up to crises, and we need to have a clear geopolitical policy. If we want to strengthen the European Union, we need to be capable to be stronger. We can't be a mammoth. We need to do something that we are capable of doing and we must not do. What is a mistake? Efficiency. Security room for maneuvering. The new MFF gives us an opportunity to take this course, so let us take up this opportunity.”
  Size of EU budget
• “Thank you. Third in line is for the European Data Protection supervisor, Edps miss Claudia Pruy, head of EDPS Secretariat, please.”
  EU Supervision of the Rule of Law
• “Thank you. This allows us to pass to point number 11 of our agenda today. Uh, the proposed global transfer Deck 15, which is the subject of this point, completes the picture on the state of implementation of this year's budget together with DEP three. So again, the floor. Mrs. Filipova, you have to work hard today. The floor is yours indeed.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “Welcome all to this Joint Budget Committee meeting of February the 10th. First point on the agenda is the adoption of the agenda, which I deem adopted if no objection is raised. Thank you. Then there is interpretation in a whole lot of languages for all of you. And third point. Adoption of the minutes. Unless there are any objections, the minutes of October 21st of last year are deemed adopted. And then we go to the main point of our meeting together this evening, the implementation report on the Recovery and Resilience Facility. We start our discussion today with the presentation of the draft Implementation Report on the RAAF. The RAAF has entered the second half of its implementation period. At the moment, less than 50% of the available funds have been disbursed, and only 28% of milestones and targets have been fulfilled. Taking into account that we only have two years of implementation ahead of us, the Parliament's report aims to assess the performance and the impact of the facility, proposed improvements for the remainder of its implementation and, most importantly, provide forward looking guidance. Drawing lessons for the future is particularly important in view of the upcoming discussions on the post 27 Multiannual Financial Framework. I pass the floor to the chair, please.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “There's also a few items from the European Committee of the regions, and I pass the floor to Francois Philippe, acting director for Human Resources and Finances. Thank you very much, chair.”
  Discharge of EU institutions and agencies
• “Thank you. Next is the European Committee of the regions. Francois Philippe, acting director at the Committee of the regions, please.”
  EU engagement with civil society
• “As we deepen financial integration, we must equally strengthen the safeguards. The report or the proposal lists the key financial risks and the interaction with the current uncertain economic environment. As mentioned before, resilience to financial risks will enhance the EU's overall resilience and its global competitiveness. Finally, it explores the current regulatory framework and the potential improvements during the report emphasizes also a more harmonized, system wide and activity based approach to risk and the importance of a robust and credible crisis management framework. We have drafted the first compromise proposal. In this spirit, we have attempted to address our concerns while keeping the message of the report clear and concise. We hope that it is a message that all groups can support to give a strong signal in favour of safeguarding financial stability. We look forward to hearing all of your comments on how to improve the compromise further, and we will, of course, do our best to address them. Thank you.”
  Financial regulation
• “Thank you. All three. The two vice presidents and the secretary general. Uh, thank you for this meeting. Before closing this item, I. Let me remind you about the upcoming exchanges of views on the Parliament's budget. During the budget meeting of March the 5th, the Director general of DG come in low and high tech will present their priorities for 2007 and during the budget meeting of March 1617, the rapporteur will present his draft report. Thank you. We go now to point number five. Budget 26, section three. No transfer request. Maybe we can stop for one minute. In order for people who want to leave. To leave in peace. Yeah. Okay. Let us let us resume, colleagues. Let us resume because we are a little bit behind schedule. We still have. We still have to wait a few minutes for the voting time because we first have to do point number six. The budget of the sections and more specifically on the European Data Protection Supervisor request. I pass the floor to Helmut Kehler, the acting head of Unit on HR and budget for the DPS. Go ahead, Mr. Keller.”
  Discharge of EU institutions and agencies
• “Ladies and gentlemen, colleagues, can we do the vote? Take your seats, please. We first vote on the budget section three. We first check as Mr. Lewandowski. Kindly advise us to check whether the system works or I open the vote. Although it's all show of hands.”
  Discharge of EU institutions and agencies
• “And we go to point number five of our agenda, establishing the justice programme for the period 2008 34. And we have our rapporteur, Mrs. Hohlmeier. So I will keep on. I will keep on going. That and tell you that I will give the floor to Mrs. Hohlmeier for three minutes. Uh, and she has found the draft of her speaking points. Please, Monica. Go ahead.”
  EU policy on victims' compensation rights
• “Thank you. Next, for European Economic and Social Committee. Mr. Gilles Guillard, director for human resources and finance at EU, please.”
  Discharge of EU institutions and agencies
• “Colleagues, can we resume the meeting? Point number 13 of our agenda on the implementation of the EU, UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. As the rapporteur, my draft opinion sets out the state of play of the implementation of the section of the EU, UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement for which the judge is responsible, namely the financial aspects of UK participation in union programmes. Broadly speaking, developments have been positive, with the UK now taking part in Horizon Europe and Copernicus and having access to space surveillance and tracking services. Since my draft opinion, the EU and the UK came to a common understanding at the summit of May 19th that that contains several issues with a financial element which will be the subject of further negotiations. They include, amongst others, the UK's possible participation in Safe and Erasmus+. A possible SPS agreement and a possible link with the ETS and Cbam. Before I give the floor to the shadow rapporteurs, I wish to invite the Commission for five minutes for an overview of, first of all, the implementation of the financial aspects of the Eu-uk Trade and Cooperation Agreement and also the financial questions that flow from the common understanding. Please. The floor is for the Commission.”
  Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
• “Thank you, Mr. Gay. The next speaker is Mr. Brown from the European Investment Fund and also the floor for four minutes, please. ** Daragh BROWN (European Investment Fund): Good afternoon, and thank you very much for inviting EAF and EIB to, to to this hearing. Um, my colleague has already indicated our support for the conclusions of this, of this audit. Uh, and we have been working closely with the European Commission colleagues and European Court of Auditors in order to discuss those, uh, those various points. I would like maybe to flag to take the opportunity to, to to add a couple of points which are, uh, maybe more salient for the EAF business model. Um, we are working with very large numbers of, uh, final recipients. We're talking about. Um, my colleague from the commission has mentioned it, 1 million. We are reaching close to 1 million SMEs throughout Europe thanks to an investment such as such as Efsi. Um, and this means that we need to have requirements that are aligned with the capabilities of the of the SMEs and that are not overburdening them, basically. So we need to be mindful of the red tape. We need to be mindful of the simplification. Also objectives of the Commission. And while a number of the recommendations, of course we are supporting and a number of them actually have already been implemented for for Investeu, a number of them will also, of course be relevant for the next MFF. I think it will be crucial to keep a balance. Keep a balance between, um, the the desire to be perfect and to and to absolutely be able to track everything and report on everything on the one hand, and on the other hand, the capability and the reality on the market and the burden that that means for for the intermediaries, for the various beneficiaries of, of such a program. Having said that, uh, to conclude on, on Efsi FC in particular in terms of of the outreach, we are now witnessing the final investments from the funds in which we invested with the FC. As Mr. Casoni mentioned, this takes typically up to five years, so we're now in 25. The final investments are taking place, and we are confident that the target of FC will be met in terms of mobilised investments. Thank you very much.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “Thank you. Dear Commissioner. Dear colleagues, uh, thank you for being with us for this important debate. The commission proposal for a €90 billion support loan provides a crucial lifeline to Ukraine, enabling the country to defend itself in the face of Russian aggression and cover its budgetary needs, at least for the coming two years. The financing of this loan. And allow me to elaborate a little bit on this is, of course, a crucial issue. First, the proposal is based on EU joint borrowing, meaning that funds need to be raised by the Commission on the Financial Markets. Secondly, the proposal requires amending the MFF to allow for the use of MFF headroom as a guarantee, which results in additional contingent liabilities for the EU budget. Third, the Commission is proposing to cover the interest burden, which is estimated to be about 1 billion for this year, through a new special instrument, the so-called Ukraine Loan Instrument, over and above the ceilings that may be mobilized to avoid redeploying funds from other expenditure programs in the budget. On this point, could you update us on where the present discussions with the council are? Because this is, of course, very important. The EU budget is spread very thin and member states should not toy with all the European public goods it funds for short term gain, either in the current MFF or in the future MFF to protect the budget of the Union. The use of this uh special instrument should be mandatory and not an option. Thank you.”
  Russia-Ukraine conflict (10th term)
• “(14:25:39 – 14:27:52): Thank you. Next is Moritz Korner for Renew, Thank you. Chair, we'll speak German. Viendank. Thank you very much to the commissioner for the draft budget. I think all of us here agree, and the colleague Uzef Skos has already mentioned this, that this is going to be a difficult budget, especially when we're talking about 477,000,000 in margins. We have some very clearly clear priorities that we will have to set out. For my group, competitiveness is very important. This is something we need to strengthen. We also have to talk about security and rule of law. We have to talk about strengthening the EPPO, the European Public Prosecutor's Office. You mentioned that as well. But we have to ensure that we strengthen rule of law in Europe. I think some colleagues have also mentioned that interest rates are going up. The URI line sets the budget under pressure. I'd like to support our rapporteur when he says that this should not be paid at the cost of Erasmus. We should not pay for these additional interest on debt we have undertaken by getting the youth of Europe suffering by cutting the Erasmus process. I mean, next generation is already going to be paying for these common debts. So I think that we must ensure that Erasmus is strongly funded and remains important. We have to discuss this with colleagues. And as parliament, we have to take a very targeted approach. It's the last budget within this MFF. There's very little room for maneuver, and this has already been mentioned a number of times. So we must set some very clear priorities, and I look forward to the negotiations. And I hope that we will be able to reach a strong common negotiating position as parliament. Thank you.”
  Youth employment & training
• “The other participating member present and the other MEP wanting to take the floor on this. If not, we can close this point of our agenda. Go to point number four, the Recovery and Resilience Dialogue. I would first of all, like to welcome Executive Vice President and Commissioner Dombrovskis to this 21st recovery and resilience dialogue since the start of the RF implementation in 2021. Since our last dialogue held on September 8th, the European Commission published one month later, the latest report on the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility. It concerns it confirms the Parliament's concerns about the low level of RF disbursements. As of the end of August 25th, only 55% of our efforts have been distributed or disbursed to the member countries, Trees and 17 countries with less than 50% of disbursements of their total envelopes. Our. As we are meeting today, Member States have a bit less than a year left to fulfill the agreed milestones and targets and request RRF disbursements. As we have seen today with the mission to Italy in 26, the Parliament will continue to carefully scrutinize RRF implementation during this time, including through the working Group and by means of dedicated missions to Member States next year. The missions will go to Croatia, Portugal and Spain. I pass the floor to Miss Laloo.”
  Conditions to access EU budget
• “Thank you. Does the rapporteur want to conclude. Now then we can go to budget 25 of the sections with three requests. First of all, the European Parliament. I pass the floor to Lars Sorensen, Director of Director of resources at DG INLO.”
  Discharge of EU institutions and agencies
• “I'm not going too much into the details, but I'd like to point out a few. Uh, how should I say priorities from my side? First of all, I think we must maintain technology neutrality. Policy makers should not be in the business of picking winners. The directive should create space for all technologies to compete fairly and contribute to our shared goals of sustainability and competitiveness. Secondly, there's a shift. There should be a shift from volume based taxation to energy content based taxation. That would reflect the underlying economic environmental characteristics of different fuels in a better way. Different fuels are used by different sectors, and we should tread carefully when it comes to the minimum rates included in the annex of this file. Thirdly, we must acknowledge the pressure our citizens and businesses are already under. Inflation has hit purchasing power substantially. Energy prices, though more stable than during the crisis peak, remain elevated. So affordability and consumer prices should certainly be taken into account. Finally, and maybe most importantly, this directive must not become another source of uncertainty in the present world situation. We have already enough uncertainty. We have seen how regulatory complexity can deter investment and slow innovation. I conclude, chair and colleagues, I support a targeted and economically viable revision of the Energy Taxation Directive. Climate ambition is and remains an important part, but it cannot be pursued at the expense of competitiveness, consumer prices or jobs. Of course, I look forward to hearing from all of you and, uh, looking forward also to work further on this important file. Thank you.”
  Energy (green transition)
• “Be wanting to take the floor. Miss Phillips, I want to add something. Thank you. The vote will take place at the meeting of March the 17th and for the deadline for amendments is March the 4th at noon. And amendments are to be tabled in English only. Point number 13 of our agenda this time. Also the Globalisation Adjustment Fund, but this time Austria. I pass the floor to Mr. Lewandowski, the rapporteur. Please.”
  EU competences on foreign affairs
• “You're welcome. Thank you. Thank you chair. It's always a pleasure being here. I just wanted to thank Monica for the draft report on behalf of our group. Said we wanted to stress and welcome the increased budget for justice program. At the same time, we welcome broadening of the scope of justice professionals as well as increased rule of law, conditionality, protection. We warned that the program should be should be closely linked to Agora to bridge the gap between legal rights and citizen engagement. And of course, we look we look forward to the work on the on this dossier, and we will be able to amendment amendments to improve it further. Thank you so much, chair.”
  EU Supervision of the Rule of Law
• “Thank you. This ends our point number four of our agenda on the MFF. We go to point number five, which will be very brief since for section three there are no transfer requests. And so we can go to 625 budget. Other sections with several transfer requests. Uh, I uh, pass the floor. First of all, with respect to those of the European Parliament, to Mr. Paul de Spiegeleer, head of the unit for Budget and Data Analysis, uh, at DG comm, and Miss Ellen Robson, Director General at DG. Please limit your intervention per transfer to one minute. Thank you. Thank you.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “Dear ladies, please no further comments and no request from the building policy so we can immediately go to our voting session. First of all, draft amending budget number three. That has already extensively been discussed in our committee, and we proceed to vote by hand on the amendments and then on the roll call vote. But let's first check the machine. I open the vote. Where is my own voting card? Somewhere in the pocket today.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “It works, but I can already assure you that we will have in principle vote by show of hands. But that may lead to. I have to check. So the section three. First of all, amendment compromise on revenue. Who's in favor? Who's against? Who abstains. Adopted the compromise on heading one. Who's in favor? Who's against? Who's who abstains. Adopted. The compromise on heading two was in favor. Who's against? Who abstains. And that was. Let's do it again. To avoid confusion on heading two. A who's in favor? Who's against who abstains. Adopted the compromise on heading two. Who's in favor? Who's against? Who abstains. Adopted the. The compromise on heading three. Who's in favor? Who's against who abstains? Adopted the compromise on heading for. Who's in favor? Who's against who. Abstains. Adopted the compromise on heading five. Who's in favor? Who's against who abstains. Adopted. Compromise on heading six. Who's in favor? Who's against who abstains. Adopted. Compromise on heading seven. Who's in favor? Who's against who abstains. Adopted. Compromise on who's in favor. Who's against who abstains. Adopted two. Then we do the vote on the other sections. Section one on the European Parliament. Who's in favor? Who's against? Who abstains, adopted the section two on the Council. Who's in favor? Who's against? Who abstains.”
  Conditions to access EU budget
• “Any other MEP? Before I go back to the authors of the research. So no other questions, I go back to our guests to respond to the remarks made by Monsieur Germain, please. **Laure SANSONETTI (EY) Yes. I think that if we take this approach from from the top down way, then how do we get at to this figure? We took an approach that seeks to be based on the project logic as we, uh, to try and. Say that sector by sector, the lever effect will be different. But we are all looking for this objective. You mentioned to mobilise public Money where it's needed to support innovation or the development of our sovereignty. I'll give you an example on the RR f uh, to do with the AI Mega factory. Is there really a gap in private investment for this project? We see that there are just private projects with no public support which are emerging, which are developing and which are profitable. So the issue is that if we have to mobilise 20 billion to set up various Gigafactory, various factories like this in Europe and at the same time support the emergence of alternative champions in Europe and to achieve our sovereignty eventually. The issue, though, is about whether. About when we say, if we only invest public money where there's a private investment gap. In terms of public initiatives and sovereignty, in these examples I've mentioned, it's necessary to have public money to enable champions to emerge, otherwise they wouldn't develop. Or to give them the opportunity to present another alternative. So the approach has been to use this leverage effect on windows like the transition defense and so on. But we also have to say that a part of the budget will have a weaker leverage effect. So we won't have this cover, this top down approach you mentioned, but it is necessary to support this innovation and to support, as well the emergence of alternatives which are necessary for competitiveness. I'm not sure if I have entirely answered your question there.”
  EU industrial funding