Arba KOKALARI

Policy topics Arba KOKALARI is active on

What Arba KOKALARI has said (23)

• 2025-11-06 “E-004392/2025 Answer given by Mr McGrath on behalf of the European Commission Directive (EU) 2024/825 on Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition introduces targeted amendments to the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, the horizontal consumer protection ‘safety net’ to address misleading business-to-consumer commercial practices, including greenwashing. It entered into force on 26 March 2024 and will have to be transposed by 27 March 2026. It will apply from 27 September 2026. From that date, traders will need to ensure that their environmental claims and sustainability labels in a business-toconsumer context comply with the new provisions, including for existing products. Where traders identify environmental claims or sustainability labels on packaging that would not comply with the new rules, they will have practical options to ensure compliance, such as covering or correcting claims by stickers or adding supplementary information at the point of sale. Enforcement of consumer law lies with national authorities, and they will normally investigate and prioritise enforcement actions according to the gravity and the circumstances of each case. Authorities may assess, for example, whether traders have made reasonable and proportionate efforts to comply, including for products already in the distribution chain, taking due account of proportionality, legal certainty and legitimate expectations. They will also be able to take transitional difficulties into account during the early stages of application. The Commission intends to further discuss this matter with national authorities in order to support a fair and effective enforcement across the EU 1 . 1 Certain environmental claims may be also regulated under specific Union legal acts, such as claims in relation to recycled content in plastic packaging under Regulation (EU) 2025/40. This will become applicable from 12 August 2026.”
  Circular economy · EU restrictions on unfair commercial practices
• 2024-12-18 “E-003006/2024 Answer given by Ms Lahbib on behalf of the European Commission The Commission is strongly committed to upholding and promoting the fundamental rights of women throughout the EU. The Commission is also fully committed to advancing women’s rights and gender equality in all policy areas, including health policies and it recognises that sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are an essential part of achieving gender equality. This is evident in the Commission’s Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025, 1 which stresses that the EU supports women’s human rights, its defenders, SRHR, and efforts to curb sexual and gender-based violence throughout the world. However, it is important to note, that regulatory powers regarding health policies and therefore SRHR and sexual education, lie within the competences of the Member States. The EU competence is limited to encouraging cooperation between Member States and, if necessary, to lend support to their action. The Commission organises exchanges of best practices on gender equality, in the context of its Mutual Learning Programme, 2 including on women’s health and SRHR. The Directive on combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence 3 , adopted in May 2024, obliges Member States to ensure that victims of sexual violence have access to healthcare services, including sexual and reproductive healthcare services, in accordance with national law. The Commission will continue promoting women’s rights throughout the EU and across policy areas, including SRHR. The Commission presented a Roadmap for Women’s Rights in connection with the International Women’s Day in March 2025 and the principles identified in the roadmap will guide the development of the next Gender Equality Strategy post-2025. 1 Gender equality strategy - European Commission https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-andpolicy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/gender-equality/gender-equality-strategy_en 2 Mutual learning programme https://eur-lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-content/summary/mutual-learningprogramme.html#:~:text=The%20mutual%20learning%20programme%20%28MLP%29%20encourages%20EU %20countries,EU%20countries%20at%20national%2C%20regional%20and%20local%20level 3 Directive (EU) 2024/1385 on Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence https://eurlex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2024/1385/oj/eng”
  Sexuality and reproduction · EU competences on human rights
• 2024-10-22 “E-002209/2024 Answer given by Ms Kos on behalf of the European Commission The EU is supporting Ukraine’s alignment with the EU framework for a common level of cybersecurity enshrined in the Network and Information Security (NIS 2) Directive 1 , which boosts the resilience of highly critical infrastructure such as telecom. Ukraine is working on the transposition of the NIS 2 Directive into its national law as it implements the Ukraine Plan – a vision for the recovery, reconstruction and modernisation of the country linked with Ukraine’s accession path to the EU. The Ukraine Plan includes reforms that Ukraine has to deliver to receive the support from the Ukraine Facility 2 . As one of the steps related to the implementation of the reforms, Ukraine must adopt new cybersecurity legislation by the first quarter of 2025. Through the Ukraine Facility, the Commission is also facilitating investment in Ukraine’s telecom infrastructure. This has recently enabled an investment to modernise, expand, and improve the quality of the telecom service in Ukraine, while incorporating effective cybersecurity measures from the EU 5G Toolbox. Ukraine’s plans to launch the 5G networks have been challenged by the ongoing Russian fullscale war of aggression against Ukraine. The Commission continues to engage with Ukraine on the harmonisation of spectrum policy and the creation of cross-border 5G corridors with the EU. As Ukraine progresses further on the EU accession track, the Commission will ensure that Ukraine implements the EU procurement acquis and the measures of the EU 5G Cybersecurity Toolbox, the latter being a prerequisite for building a resilient and secure connectivity infrastructure in Ukraine. 1 OJ L 333 of 27.12.2022, pp. 80-152. 2 OJ L, 2024/792, 29.2.2024.”
  EU-Ukraine relations · EU policy on screening foreign investment in strategic sectors and critical infrastructure
• “(10:49:46 – 10:51:23): Thank you, madam vice president. Dear colleagues, a strong Europe starts with a single market, where a German florist can work in Sweden as easily as in Germany, where a Swedish startup can build and scale in Poland, where that startup can raise funding from a Spanish investor instead of leaving Europe. Europe has talent, we have the ideas, and the capital, but our rules are too fragmented. And the costs of our fragmentation can be equal to 45% of tariffs on goods and 110% tariffs on services. We need 1 market in Europe, not 27. We need to cut red tape for real. We need to lead on digitalization. We need to simplify our rules so that Europe can be the best place for businesses and people to thrive. So we can become the best continent to live in in the world for now, for us, for our children, and for the future. Thanks. Thanks to you, honorable Gonzalez. Mister Gonzalez. Madam president, dear commissioner, absent counsel, I'll speak in Portuguese.”
  EU Single Market harmonisation
• “It was mentioned here. I myself, I've been the rapporteur or am the rapporteur for the Istanbul Convention. I was the shadow rapporteur, writing the Digital Services Act, and now I'm the rapporteur for the AI omnibus. The laws that we have in Europe needs to be enforced. So we are now in the negotiations in the omnibus. Also looking into how the AI omnibus can help to a safer environment online, where women are protected from this kind of violence, because it's also important to say that the solution is not a ban on technology, which some voices seem to promote, and that would be as inefficient as banning cameras just because people use them to take nude pictures against people's consent. We are living in a digital society, but it's important that the laws that we have in Europe are adequate in where and what they can be used for, that they are properly enforced and trustable. This is something that we are currently discussing in in the AI omnibus. And I have a question for our speakers. How can the EU become better in using the existing legislation effectively so that we can stop these abusive deepfakes without banning the technology itself?”
  Transparency and oversight of AI-generated content
• “And this is also this duplication is acknowledged in the AI act. And I know this because I'm in the working group for the implementation of the AI act as well. So some of the amendments that I have received seem to really ignore this, unfortunately. And they call for entirely new legislation, which I think is premature to discuss now. And we need what we need right now is to clarify the rules that we have and not create new rules. And thirdly, when it comes to the recommendations from the Parliament, I think we need to focus on investing in training the the workforce in Europe to use AI. And I'm happy to see that we all agree on this among the groups. And I welcome the amendments on establishing AI regulatory sandboxes to encourage the development of more European AI, and on jump starting the European venture capital scene. So I think we have a good prospect to secure a well-balanced text. And I know that lots of companies and startups and entrepreneurs and innovators across Europe are expecting us to make Europe thrive when it comes to tech, AI and what is creating value and growth right now. So looking forward to the negotiations and to deliver a good report, uh, in the committee.”
  Artificial Intelligence
• “Thank you very much. And thank you to the shadow rapporteurs who have made the comment today. And I think it's of course, very important remarks, and I look forward to the discussion that we will have in this. And I understand there was a remark that I was mentioning too little of the risks, but I also want to remind our colleagues here in the room that Europe, we already have some of the most strictest and most risk based approach legislation in the world. It's not the problem that we do not have laws. We have great loss. The problem is that we are not enforcing them properly. And the solution for that is not proposing new laws, because then we will not. The laws then are only good on paper. And then if they're not enforced, you know it doesn't matter, right. So the problem that we see today is that if we're going to tackle the risks of new technology, we need to use the technology. Because if if we are not using it, then criminals and people who are misleading consumers or using fraud online in the financial service, they will use technology.”
  Artificial Intelligence
• “Yes, thank you very much. Good morning everybody. Thank you. To the chair. It's a pleasure to be discussing AI in the finance and to kick start the work on, on this report. I want to thank all of the shadow rapporteurs from the other group for submitting, and also other colleagues in the committee for proposing amendments, and many of the proposed amendments have been very constructive and balanced. But we have, uh, we have some work to do. And now we are going to get into the shadow meetings starting already next week. And I really look forward to it. And you've all seen that there is already, um, I've written the compromises, the compromise proposals already. So we have content to work on. As I've previously mentioned here in the committee, this report on AI are looking into the use of AI in the finance sector, the regulatory landscape and the policy recommendations that we in the European Parliament will have to the business sector and in my view, is that AI in finance should be encouraged as much as possible, and that the finance sector in Europe is already the largest spender on IT and ICT services. So which means that they are really playing a key role in also mobilising private investments on AI and the usage of AI. And this will be very crucial to keep Europe competitive in the global AI race that we are currently in.”
  Financial regulation
• “Yes. Thank you, chair. Honorable commissioner and colleagues, thank you for coming here and talking about the consumer agenda. The EU has the strongest legislations when it comes to protecting consumers, and that's great and we should be proud of it. But when I hear the discussion here and what I've heard the discussion lately, it feels like we don't have any legislation to protect our consumers. So my question is basically we in what way will the Digital Fairness Act actually close the loopholes and the obligations that we already have in many of the consumer protection problems already because, for example, concerning the topic of dark patterns, dark patterns is already addressed in the Digital Services Act, the GDPR and the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive. So do we really have lack of legislation when the actual problem is that we are lacking enforcement of the strong laws that we already have in Europe, and that we are lacking in clarity for businesses to how to follow European legislation. So because right now, um, the purpose of the Digital Fairness Act was to close the loopholes. So please be very specific. Where are these loopholes? But now it's the scope is just widening and widening all the time. When I hear the discussion and in one hand, I feel that the EU Commission is saying that we need simplification, we need clarity, strong enforcement of the current legislation that we have, which is crucial. On the other hand, new legislations are being proposed now that is seen out there as a duplication when we already have laws in place that are not being enforced. So please be very specific on on how you will actually close the loopholes and not add new overregulation and duplication of the current laws in Europe.”
  EU competences on consumer protection and product standards
• “Dear colleagues, we are having this debate because the chatbot grock on X has allowed users to create AI generated sexual images of women without their consent, including the vice prime minister of my country, Sweden. There were even reports of minors being sexualized. This is clearly, clearly illegal. Sexualized content without consent, whether it's real or AI generated, is exploitation and an act of violence. And we have actually laws for this in Europe, and we should not be afraid to use our laws. If the online platforms do not put safeguards in place, we should hold them accountable. The images may be fake, but the damage is real. And let me be clear here sexual images without consent is not. Innovation is an act of violence. It's unacceptable. And it must be stopped now. Thank you.”
  Digital platforms liability for harmful and illegal content
• “Thank you very much, chair. Hello, everybody. Thank you to our speakers and thank you for this initiative, a great initiative for this hearing today about this growing problem that we have on gender based violence online and now in the era of AI and online abuse can can harm women's dignity very, very quickly. We see that every day. And it may begin with an ordinary image, such as a vacation photo, which is then manipulated to undress or sexualize her without consent. And this is a problem that affects many women across Europe and women in public life, for example, including elected representatives, are often particularly exposed. We have such an example in my home country in Sweden, with our Vice Prime Minister who have been exposed like this. The chatbot Grock on X has reportedly allowed users to create AI generated, sexualized images of women without their consent, and according to the reports, grok has created and published 4.4 million images in just nine days. Because of this terrible violence that many women have experienced, it is. I'm glad and it's good that the Commission is now investigating how these platforms can help, can be held responsible, because it's very important to say that we actually have laws in Europe on this. We have the Digital Services Act, DSA, the GDPR, the AI act, the Violence Against Women Directive, the Istanbul Convention.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Well, thank you for those remarks. And we've gone through the the discussion in the, in the committee that we have political differences on how we see AI, if we see it as a potential to create better financial services for consumers and to protect our consumers from fraud and criminality, which the usage of AI is and is going to also be very crucial that we have a strong financial sector in Europe that is highly regulated for good reasons, which creates certainty and safety for businesses and consumers. And I think now we're in a stage where the technological development is going faster than ever. We have to decide politically if we are, if Europe is going to lead and be part of that development, or if we are going to be run over by China, US, where the growth and jobs will be created somewhere else. I think that we have the chance now to create that opportunities for our citizens and businesses where innovation, AI are crucial elements. So I really look forward to the discussions that we will have. And I think we we will manage to have a well balanced text that addresses the risk but also addresses the innovation and potential of AI. And I think sometimes in Europe we have discussed too much of the risk and forgot the the potential of tech and technology. So I think we should be more positive for what kind of future we want to create. Thank you.”
  Artificial Intelligence
• “There are three key themes in my report which will be which we need to be aligned on to here in the in the Parliament. The first one is the state of the current AI use. The second is the regulatory landscape and the third are the Parliament's recommendations. The first one regarding the state of AI adoption. Um, we have spoken to many stakeholders, and there is a strong consensus that the finance sector, financial sector in Europe is using AI in a careful way. Um, and I note that in some of the many of the amendments from other groups, particularly from the group from the left side, there are mainly focusing on highlighting the risks rather than the opportunities. And I understand their perspective. It's important to have both perspectives, but I think we need to concentrate on the actually the material risk that truly matter and not, uh, come up with things that, well, in some way could be a fantasy or not. Secondly, um, and as regards when when it comes to the regulatory landscape, the finance sector is already one of the most heavily regulated, which is good and important. Uh, so we already have existing rules that govern AI deployment. And many of these sectoral rules, um, are are already overlapping with the AI act.”
  Artificial Intelligence
• “Thank you, Madam President. Dear colleagues, Commissioner Virkkunen, I think it's time for Europe to focus less on other countries and more on helping European companies to grow, because this is our market, it's our rules and it's our responsibility. Our digital policies play a key role for Europe's competitiveness. And with the DSA and the DMA that we are discussing here, we are creating one set of rules across Europe instead of 27 different. And we're setting a global standard on user rights, on transparency online, on freedom of speech online and on open markets. Now we need to enforce these laws that we already have in place, but we also must become much more bolder and faster in creating a business environment in Europe that makes startups and tech thrive in this continent. And we need to have simpler. Simplification of the rules. We need to invest in digital infrastructure. We need to enable more data sharing and have a faster AI adoption, because this is what is going to make Europe richer. This is what is going to make Europe independent, and this is what is going to make Europe globally competitiveness. We must understand that we need to work with the technology, not against it, because tech is the future of Europe and AI is the future of Europe. Thank you.”
  EU digital & tech sovereignty
• “Thank you, Madam Vice President, dear colleagues, a strong Europe starts with a single market where a German florist can work in Sweden as easily as in Germany, where a Swedish startup can build and scale. In Poland, where that startup can raise funding from a Spanish investor instead of leaving Europe. Europe has talent. We have the ideas and the capital, but our rules are too fragmented, and the costs of our fragmentation can be equal to 45% of tariffs on goods and 110% tariffs on services. We need one market in Europe, not 27. We need to cut red tape for real. We need to lead on digitalization. We need to simplify our rules so that Europe can be the best place for businesses and people to thrive. So we can become the best continent to live in, in the world for now, for us, for our children, and for the future. Thanks.”
  EU Single Market harmonisation
• “And we need to keep in mind that finance is one of the most tightly regulated sectors already. And thirdly, my recommendations in the report is that I has a strong potential. It can improve efficiency, enhance consumer services, strengthen fraud detection, and help firms to stay globally competitive. But then we need to support the uptake of AI in the financial sector. And risks do exist, of course, but the financial sector already operates under strict regulatory frameworks that addresses these risks. And we also need AI to reduce this risk. And. And all the other cutting edge technologies that are currently developing. The debate on AI in financial services must be grounded in reality and not hypothetical risks or futuristic scenarios. We need to focus right now on what's happening now and how we can invest in training and boosting the use of AI across Europe. We should also promote consistent interpretations and avoiding overly strict application of existing regulations. The alternative would mean losing out on the opportunities that AI investments can give. In one of Europe's largest ICT users and we we must understand that the the change must be the perception of AI needs to be much more positive than it has been before in Europe, and that AI and tech is the key for European growth, is the key for European competitiveness, and it's the key to make sure that Europe will be a great continent also for our children in the future. Thank you very much, and I look forward to the comments from colleagues and the upcoming negotiations of this report.”
  Financial regulation
• “Thank you very much, chair. Commissioner, it's a pleasure to have you here. The IMF has estimated that the barriers in the EU internal market would be comparable to 45% of tariffs in manufacturing and 110% in services. That's huge. And if we really want Euro to be competitive, we must cut red tape. We must remove the barriers in the single market for goods, services and capital and enforce the the current legislations. And we need to enforce the rules before we create new ones. That's really important at this stage. We have very high expectations for this commission to improve the business climate in Europe and to make the EU a tech continent. So my concrete questions to you, which I hope you can answer today, is what single market barriers concretely have you identified as the most pressing and hurting when drafting this single market strategy? And secondly, how will you ensure that the single market strategy is not only a strategy in the end, but also will lead to concrete results on cutting bureaucracy and strengthening the competitiveness for European companies? Look forward to your answer.”
  EU Single Market harmonisation
• “Dear chair and colleagues. The Commission, thank you for this presentation. And if we want to strengthen Europe's economy and competitiveness, we need to advance on AI. I hope that's really clear for everybody at this regard. The I action plan. The I action plan is very much welcome, and I support the effort that the Commission has. And if we look on the strategic areas that the Commission is pointing out, I want to start by commenting on the access to high quality data. And one of the major obstacles for companies in Europe is for using AI is the GDPR. And that includes the difficulties and how bureaucratic GDPR is itself, its fragmented application across the union and its interplay with the AI act. And here we really need to find ways to improve the access of data, to be able to scale up for for companies to be able to scale up AI solutions. Another aspect of encouraging innovation in AI is the clarity on the compliance of the AI act, which right now is still very unsure. And I really welcome the AI act service desk, and I hope that enable for it to be fulfilled. The purpose of it to be fulfilled, it need to be workable for smaller companies and companies who are not normally engaging with EU institutions. So it's really important that it's really a service desk that is going to be used, and it's going to be accessible for SMEs. I have two questions. My first one is what can we expect in terms of the ambition of the data union strategy? And secondly, how is the Commission working on the uncertainty in when it comes to international data flows? Thank you.”
  Artificial Intelligence
• “Yes. Thank you very much, chair. Colleagues, I'm very happy and pleased to be able to present this report on, on a on the impact of AI in financial services. I think we all know by now how important I will be in the whole society, in all sectors, and we have a golden opportunity now to make sure that the development of tech and AI in Europe becomes a success story for our economies and the future of Europe. And this report is looking specifically at the. On AI in financial services. And the financial services is the largest spender of ICT services, actually, and can play a key role in mobilizing private investments in AI. This will be crucial to keep up European competitiveness in the global AI race that we currently see, not only in Europe, but in many other continents as well. And if we want to succeed, we need more innovation and not more regulation. I have divided this report in three sections. Firstly, the current use of AI. Secondly, the regulatory landscape. And thirdly recommendations on how we can boost the use of AI in financial sector. Firstly, a state of AI adoption in Europe. I know that most of AI in finance is used to reduce costs and streamline internal processes such as data processing, processing, risk modeling, and text analysis. And these are typically low risk applications where human experts are involved in nearly all AI supported decisions. This shows that the sector is using AI in a careful way. Secondly, the report highlights the regulatory landscape. Here, I really want to highlight the current overlaps that we have between the AI act and sectoral legislation, which is creating a legal uncertainty and unnecessary compliance burdens for financial institutions, but also other regulatory barriers.”
  Financial regulation
• “Uh, thank you for that. I'm not really sure which of the apps you're talking about, but we have already decided in Europe that transparency is one of the key things on the AI regulation that users and consumers need to understand that what they see on the screen, is it AI or is it a real picture? And that is an important principle. But I also think that in Europe we have been focusing too much on being scared of the new technology and scared of the AI, because AI will also be the key to combat fraud and illegalities and deepfakes. So I think that technology is the key for a better society as well. So we cannot only be afraid of of AI, but I think AI is the solution for those problems.”
  Transparency and oversight of AI-generated content
• “Yes. Thank you very much, chair. Dear colleagues, everybody who is listening. The commission I want to address this to Shane. Shane, your platforms have again and again been caught by selling products that are illegal in Europe and the most recently, the childlike sex dolls in France, which is outrageous and unacceptable in the European Union. The thing is that this is not a one time thing. This is a pattern that there are lots of illegal products sold in your platform, and you are already under investigation by the EU Commission by breaching European laws. Let me be clear here from the European Parliament that if you want access to the European market. You must comply with our rules. And not just only in France, but in all EU member states. And if you do not comply, you will have to pay. And if this continues, I really don't think that France will be the last country that will suspend your activities. So I really hope that you're listening and that you are not only talking, but acting now.”
  Digital platforms liability for harmful and illegal content
• “Yes, thank you chair and colleagues and thank you specifically to the Commission for this very good presentation. As one of the MEPs who has advocated for the digital simplification and postponement of the high risk requirements in the AI Act, I'm very happy that this digital omnibus has been presented. So if Europe is going to become an AI continent we need to do much more to promote innovation, enable more use of data, apply AI in all of our sectors both in private and in the public sector. And one of the reasons that I believe that the digital omnibus is very important is to make it easier for specifically European companies and here I really welcome the extension that the Commission is doing to small mid caps and removing the regulatory overlaps. As some of you know I come from Stockholm which is one of the most vibrant hubs in Europe or in the world right now for tech startups and scale ups and we have some of the fastest growing AI unicorns globally. And when I speak to many of these startups and scale ups almost all of them are struggling with specifically compliance of GDPR and the uncertainty of the AI Act. And just to be clear American big tech companies on the other hand they have enormous resources to for compliance on European regulations and they can already afford to hire hundreds of new lawyers and compliance officers but the European startups do not have those resources. And I think that we need to have clear and proportionate rules for our European companies that promotes innovation, good enforcement, this is super important and that we give the companies the right support tools to comply and I think the European jobs, European startups and scale ups will be the winner if we are very clear in our regulations and how to follow our digital rule books. So I'm happy for this presentation from the Commission and yeah we look forward to the work onwards.”
  Artificial Intelligence
• “And if we're going to win that battle, we need to use more of technology. And what's happening right now is that if we are not keeping up of using more AI in our financial systems, then the products and the services that will be offered for consumers to have a better experience. And then, you know, those services, those jobs, those opportunities are being created in the US, in China and other parts of the world. And I do not want Europe to become a poor continent. I want us to lead and to be a rich continent for the future. And that's why it's so important that we discuss and have a political signal to the market, to the financial sector, that the European Parliament is embracing the technology. We are embracing the possibilities of AI, and we want to have European businesses to grow and to make our economy rich for our citizens. So I really look forward to this discussion in with the other shadows and also in the committee and with the rest of our colleagues. Thank you.”
  Artificial Intelligence