Hildegard BENTELE

Policy topics Hildegard BENTELE is active on

What Hildegard BENTELE has said (31)

• 2026-06-16 “(15:42:24 – 15:43:11): Dear commissioner, the commission has rightly committed itself to reducing unnecessary burdens for European businesses. However, many companies are concerned about the implementation of the empowering consumers directive. While they support the objective of combating greenwashing, the current interpretation appears to require even products that were lawfully placed on the market before September 2026 to comply immediately with the new labeling and claims requirements without a sell through or grandfathering period. How does this approach fit with the commission's commitment to simplification and regulatory predictability for businesses? Thank you, madam.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• 2026-03-04 “Answer given by Executive Vice-President Séjourné on behalf of the European Commission 4.5.2026 Written question At the time of adoption of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 [1] , the Commission expressed regret over the short deadlines for the adoption of delegated and implementing acts as well as other follow-up actions [2] . The Joint Technical Committee of the European Committee for Standardisation and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation (CEN/CENELEC JTC24) are working on finalising the cross-sectoral digital product passport (DPP) standards. The following requested harmonised standards received a positive vote on 2 April 2026: (1) unique identifiers; (2) data carriers and links between physical product and digital representation; (3) interoperability (technical, semantic, organisation); (4) data processing, data exchange protocols and data formats; (5) data storage, archiving, and data persistence; (6) application programming interfaces for passport lifecycle management and searchability. The voting process for the remaining two standards will take place in the second quarter of 2026. Regardless, Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 already refers to existing relevant standards. A first version of the DPP registry to comply with Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 is planned to be operational in July 2026, in line with Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 [3] . The DPP registry will be upgraded gradually to allow for the rollout of all product-specific DPPs. Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 does not foresee DPP service providers as defined by Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, instead it introduces ‘operators authorised to act on behalf of the economic operator responsible for the battery passport’. The implementing act on access rights will specify who can access non-public data and how it may be used and is therefore relevant only after the battery passport applies. [1] http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1542/oj. [2] https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-11176-2023-ADD-1/en/pdf. [3] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1781/oj.”
  Sustainability of batteries regulation · Product passport
• 2026-03-04 “Answer given by Ms Šuica on behalf of the European Commission 5.5.2026 Written question By adopting, in 2025, Presidential decree 4/2025 [1] abolishing the so-called ‘prisoners and martyrs’ payment’, the Palestinian Authority (PA) confirmed its commitment to its reform agenda, moving towards establishing a new social protection system based exclusively on need and vulnerability criteria. The PA has commissioned an independent audit — which is currently ongoing — to confirm that cash transfer payments are allocated based on socioeconomic criteria. The Commission has always excluded financial support to the prisoners and martyrs’ payment system in its financial support to the PA. All EU contributions to the PA under the Palestinian-European Socio-Economic Management and Assistance Mechanism (PEGASE) — including those targeting social welfare cash transfers — go through high standards of control applied through ex ante and ex post verifications. These verifications have been evaluated as robust by the European Court of Auditors [2] . The safeguards measures are detailed in t he financial review of EU assistance in Palestine of November 2023 [3] . Part of the financial support to the PA is explicitly linked to concrete reforms and is released based on confirmed evidence of achievement of agreed milestones. The presentation of a draft Palestinian constitution [4] signals progress towards political reforms and participatory democracy. The draft constitution under public consultation contains references to the caring for the families of inter alia martyrs, the wounded and prisoners, to meet their humanitarian needs but does not indicate reinstatement of former schemes. Subject to any revisions following the public consultation, the current provisions do not provide a basis for concluding that the abolished prisoners and martyrs scheme will be reinstated within the future Palestinian constitutional framework. Further analysis will be conducted once a final text will be available following the conclusion of the public consultation, in line with the EU’s established clear position as set out before. [1] https://mjr.ogb.gov.ps/Decrees/Download/?p=f696dd21-7507-4d72-a3fc-b3e140469b55.pdf&d=%D9%82%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%B1%D9%82%D9%85-4-%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%86%D8%A9-2025-%D9%85-%D9%81%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B7%D9%8A%D9%86. [2] https://www.eca.europa.eu/lists/ecadocuments/sr13_14/sr13_14_en.pdf. [3] https://enlargement.ec.europa.eu/communication-commission-review-ongoing-financial-assistance-palestine_en. [4] https://dostor.ps/public/chapters.php.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine · Conditions to access EU humanitarian aid
• 2026-02-11 “P-000575/2026 Answer given by Ms Lahbib on behalf of the European Commission The process introduced by the Israeli authorities to re-register international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) is currently underway. If these INGOs are ultimately deregistered in Israel, the consequences would be far-reaching, severely constraining the capacity to scale up and sustain the highly needed response in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. It should be noted that the INGOs with which the Commission works hold valid registrations with the Palestinian Authority. In 2025 alone 1 , INGOs delivered across the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) over 50% of the USD 1.3 billion in humanitarian assistance through bilateral agreements with donors. In addition, INGOs delivered a substantial share of the assistance that the UN received, given that UN agencies often heavily rely on national and INGOs for last-mile delivery. Therefore, INGOs are central to the humanitarian response. The EU implements rigorous safeguards and EU humanitarian funding is allocated exclusively to partners that demonstrate compliance with humanitarian principles, have proven operational and financial capacity, and fulfil the eligibility and due-diligence requirements set out in the EU’s certification process 2 . Partners are also required to put in place effective and efficient internal control systems and risk-management mechanisms. If there is clear evidence that any organisation has made inappropriate use of EU funds, these funds are recovered, and the grantee may lose eligibility for future EU funding. 1 For 2026 humanitarian funds it is not possible to make an estimation since the Commission is currently assessing partners proposals. 2 https://www.dgecho-partners-helpdesk.eu/ngo/humanitarian-partnership-2021-2027/how-to-become-a-partner.”
  Support for international humanitarian organisations · Relations with Israel - Palestine · Conditions to access EU humanitarian aid
• 2026-01-14 “P-000150/2026 Answer given by Ms Lahbib on behalf of the European Commission In 2025, the Commission allocated a total of EUR 220 million in humanitarian assistance to Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. This brings the total of humanitarian aid to over EUR 550 million since 2023, including funding provided to some of the 37 international non-governmental organisations (NGO) concerned. The Commission works with trusted and certified international NGO partners and intends to continue this support for as long as they can operate, even under difficult circumstances. It does not plan to suspend its humanitarian funding to principled international NGOs which are still legally registered with the Palestinian Authority. The EU has been unequivocal that the international NGO registration framework cannot be implemented in its current form, as reiterated in the joint statement 1 by the HighRepresentative/Vice-President (HR/VP), the Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, and the Commissioner for the Mediterranean, on 6 January 2026. The current process, and the ongoing de-registration of 37 international NGOs, is a major obstacle to the delivery of the humanitarian response in Gaza. The EU has continued raising these issues with Israeli authorities, including through the diplomatic engagement between the HR/VP and Israeli Foreign Minister. The Commission advocates for a registration framework based on clear and fair criteria, minimal administrative requirements and streamlined renewal procedures. Such a framework must fully respect international humanitarian law (IHL) and humanitarian principles, allowing humanitarian actors to operate independently, neutrally and impartially in line with IHL. 1 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/statement_26_41.”
  Conditions to access EU humanitarian aid · Relations with Israel - Palestine · EU foreign policy approach
• “Dear chair. Dear colleagues, dear expert from the European Commission, I am glad and grateful for having today the opportunity to discuss with you your assessment and ideas to build the future with nature by boosting biotechnology and biomanufacturing in Europe, as it is put in the title of our initiative report, which we will jointly work out until the summer break, and which should give guidance to the Commission for its proposal for a Biotechnology Act now foreseen in early 2026. I had a chance in the last term to dive into innovation in the raw materials, as well as well as in the energy sector, also in my constituencies, Berlin's rich research and innovation clusters, but I have to admit that I got really thrilled in the last weeks and months when I studied the manifold possibilities of the use of biological materials like cells, plants, microorganisms, and viruses to synthesize products, to act as tools, and even to undertake processes at industrial production scale. As an industrial policy maker, I was also happy to discover not a niche, but a globally leading sector, with an average growth rate of around 5%, anchored on a strong R&D ecosystem and fostered by an industrial infrastructure built over decades and with a strong SME backbone. I would like to recall that our strong biomanufacturing capacity, both from innovative companies and contract manufacturers, was central to Europe's successful industrial response to the Covid 19 pandemic. And here, dear colleagues, I see our main task. We have to secure a coherent and competitive framework which guarantees, enables and develops further the huge potential and benefits of this sector with regard to the health of our citizens, the resilience of our food supply, and the replacement of fossil and chemical options by sustainable ones.”
  EU support for bioeconomic applications
• “Thank you very much. Thank you very much, commissioners. I was, you know, hoping to see all four of you. Now we have it in my second term. That's great. Um, and I think we should work together. That's extremely important because, uh, I mean, uh, development cooperation is under pressure, and we have to justify much better back home what we do. And here comes my, uh, remarks. Uh, also, as the global gateway rapporteur, um, I don't want to see parallel structures because we are building structures under global gateway. And we are we have structures under global Europe. If I see a global Europe investment board, what is it for? We have a global gateway board. We have an investment hub. So please let's not double structure. But please let's not forget about this new direction. We have given development aid, which is a stronger involvement of the private sector. And with the stronger involvement comes new strategic priorities which are linked to our internal policies, which is competitiveness. And I don't understand why we cannot programme competitive measures, um, which is climate digital education, Erasmus, migration, all what we see here. So I don't see this horizontal, uh, I don't see this horizontal, uh, specifications. And so my question to you is also when does the horizontal, uh, performance regulation come. Because they should fit into this global Europe regulation. So um I have quite some questions and hope we get more coherent in this regard.”
  Global priorities for international development
• “Yes. I mean, we can read each other's now the conclusions of the Foreign Affairs Council says on the basis of the assessments made by the independent international institutions cited above, their indications that Israel would be in breach, not is in breach. Just to set this clearly, but I would like to also to ask the Commission, on which basis is this report being done because it draws, you know, it mentions you special representative for Human Rights, which was appointed on the 23rd of June, which is very weird. I have to say, if you appoint somebody, you know, which you you which you mentioned as a source. So I'd be really glad to hear about the authors, about, you know, information of member states which went into this report. And as such, how is a review of an association agreement being done? How many other association agreements are being reviewed currently because of human rights? What's the methodology? What's the process? Who is involved in this? And first of all, also in respect of article 779. Is Israel involved in this?”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• “President. Commissioner. Colleagues. Well, if there's a fortunately, we have stable networks in Europe. There's a constant increase in energy demand. But, uh, we're seeing problems in terms of transformation transformers and connectors. It seems to take four years to get hold of Transformers, and the use of them seems to have almost doubled since 2021. And that's because also of the aluminium, etc. we need appropriate supply chains because without security of supply we won't be able to improve our networks. I would call for a better raw materials policy so that we can have security of supply. We also need targeted measures to improve our access to skilled workers. We're going to be needing lots more workers just in the electricity branch by 2050. We need people who can work in these sectors. Electricity networks don't just supply energy. You need many, many policies that all will flow into making our electricity networks work. Thank you to the rapporteur. Now it's implementation that's the main issue.”
  EU energy infrastructure integration
• “Thank you, Mr. Slovin. I don't see any other shadow rapporteur in the room anymore. So I would then give the floor to the European Commission. Yeah. As DG batch has the horizontal responsibility over the performance regulation. They take the lead in responding. And colleagues from DG Inpa and DG echo can complement. So I pass the floor to Mrs. Lord Montoya.”
  EU competences on foreign affairs
• “Just one question. I would like to step in for EPP also with a question which is similar. I mean, as it was mentioned, it's not always the priority of of partner countries to invest into water management. So I'm wondering, can't we steer a little bit more also by if we give budget support, you know, in which sectors, you know, our partner countries should invest and that would be interesting. Also from you to here, Mr. Cargill, you know, what countries would you consider most suitable, you know, for to be approached? I mean, where are the conditions as mature, you would say we could come in if we get a little bit help of the EU. Is there some like 3 to 5 you could mention to us that would be super interesting. So I would now give the floor to the panel back, and then we would go to the Commission and to the EIB and to DG echo. So we go in the different orders. So we would we would go again with Mr.. Bogart. Bogart. Excuse me. Yeah. Only. Sorry. Two minutes.”
  EU Development & Humanitarian Aid
• “I also heard that there is a big appetite to work also on food. This is a little bit controversial, I was told in the past, but I'm looking forward to support from you to defend this towards our agriculture. So I'm also more on the progressive side with regard to novel food. Uh, I'm looking forward to strong amendments in this regard that we keep it as broad as possible. Uh, in general, thank you very much for your, you know, feedback. Um, the deadline for amendments is until Monday, so it's pretty short. But as I said, we try to incorporate as much as possible, but please approach me also on an individual basis if you want to have more in. Thank you so much for this exchange, and I'm also glad that we have enough time to, uh, to impact on the proposal of the Commission. If we had known that the proposal comes only in 26, I could have had more time. But I think it's also okay if you finish before the summer that we also look in the study, which was commissioned, about the regulatory barriers we can take into account in August and October. So I think that that's a good structure of the time frame. Thank you so much.”
  EU policy on novel foods
• “As a general remark, I would like to state that I am fully committed to the one in, one out and to the simplification principle. That means new legislation or regulation only if it is duly justified and impact and cost assessed. If it is needed to close gaps in the internal market, or to keep up our European industry to developments in competing regions. My current guess would be that we rather need adaptation of existing legislation, streamlining of strategies and solid build in of the biotechnology sector into general European industrial, promoting scaling and financing policies. In this regard, one thing is for sure we need a clear stewardship in the Commission for Biotechnology and biomanufacturing, ideally in the same way as it was handled by Parliament, where competence was given alone to the committee as brief as possible. What are the main challenges for the sector which I think need to be tackled? First, regulation is slowing time to the market. As noted in the Draghi report, only a third of patents registered in EU universities are commercially utilized, and the implementation of safety and quality procedures often fail to meet commercially viable timelines so that the EU cannot benefit from new technologies as an early adopter. Since project developers often search for authorisation in the US or in Asia with much shorter timelines than in the EU.”
  EU support for bioeconomic applications
• “Yes. Thank you. Dear colleagues, I'd like to pick up on a point that, um, our colleague, uh, um, Mr. Falla has said. And an area where Mr. Beckham is Schreiber. The EU has to do its homework. Um, authorization, permitting procedures. We're not at all competitiveness at all. At all, uh, fermented proteins, us or Israel have been adopted already, and there's not a single, um, authorisation for fermented protein in Europe. And that's key for the particular sector of industry concerned. And we know that when it comes to investors, all these procedures are very unpredictable. We've got to stop the clock, all sorts of documents, etc. but there's no deadline or final date for a decision and that is a huge barrier to investment. And biotech one I already have my own experience with the Raw Materials Act. Uh, you have to have specific deadlines, and the European authorities have to stick to these net zero Industry Act that has allowed for a breakthrough. And we can see that approach in the environment omnibus as well. So I'd like to appeal to all of you colleagues. We have to be very courageous. And we have to set shorter deadlines for our authorisation procedures for biotech solutions. That's the most important measure which would make our biotech industry more competitive.”
  EU support for bioeconomic applications
• “Thank you very much, chair and. Dear colleagues, thank you for the opportunity to present to you the draft. Own initiative report on biotechnology and biomanufacturing. The report aims to deliver a clear industry and research focused message from this committee and serve as a guidance for the upcoming commission initiatives as the Biotech Act. The review of the bio economy strategy and the Life science Strategy. Let me briefly reiterate the key points that guide my approach. Biotechnology and biomanufacturing are not niche topics. They are strategic sectors for Europe's competitiveness and resilience. With an average annual growth rates of around 5%, a strong R&D performance and a vital role in health, food and sustainability. The sector holds immense potential. The Covid 19 pandemic was a stark reminder of what is at stake. Our biomanufacturing capacity was central to the EU's ability to respond quickly and autonomously. What does this mean for US industry policymakers? Our task is to ensure a coherent, enabling and competitive policy framework that allows this industry to grow and deliver across different areas of strategic importance, be it in replacing fossil based production, strengthening supply chains or scaling industrial innovations. Now let me outline the main elements of the draft report. First, I remain committed to the principles of one in, one out and simplification. New legislation such as the EU Biotech Act must be justified Fight and come with a clear assessment of cost and impact.”
  EU support for bioeconomic applications
• “Sorry, I didn't fully get it, but I hope my Spanish is enough. But as I said, I mean, we are talking about we want to become more independent from fossil fuels. I think that was very clearly said by Manfred Weber, who said we have to rely on renewables. It was also said by the president of the commission. But we cannot do this from one day to the other. We rely for our kerosene a long time still on oil. And this is why I said we have to diversify our supply chains, and we have to also look that we are ready to keep up with military means. Our our supply chains. And I think this is what we are currently discussing, the Strait of Hormuz. And I think we should be ready because the next conflict is already on the horizon. If I look to Indonesia, who is discussing the Malacca Straits. So this is a strategic it's a security issue. As well as that, we have to decrease our dependence, dependence on fossil fuels.”
  EU approach to energy security (home-made vs import sources)
• “Yeah. Thank you very much. I was really concentrating now on the great aspects of the agreement, but I think we have to set some facts right. Because there was no there was no agreement that there is a breach of article two. As far as I read the conclusions from yesterday or the few information we have about it. But I will concentrate on the Association Agreement and thank you for the opportunity to speak. The Association Agreement has been the foundation of our strong and trusted economic relationship for more than 20 years. Israel is the EU third largest trading partner in the southern neighbourhood, and our total trade in goods reached 46.8 billion in 2020. For US, exports stood at 28.3 billion and imports at 18.3 billion. This is a strategic and mutually beneficial relationship based on shared values, economic complementarity, and a long standing commitment to cooperation across sectors. What makes this agreement especially valuable, that it goes beyond trade as well, has, on its own initiative, consistently taken steps to align with EU standards. Israel's policymakers, like the Minister for economy, Nir Barkat, whom I had the pleasure to receive for a meeting with colleagues in the European Parliament in March, describes this approach. What is good for Europe is good for Israel. This approach has made trade more seamless, particularly in areas such as pharmaceuticals, digital innovation and industrial goods, and most importantly, lowered the prices for European products in Israel since no more extra certifications are needed. The partnership also extends to research and innovation through programs like Erasmus and Horizon Europe, where Israel is an active and very successful and valued participant. While the agreement has recently been drawn into broader political debates, it's important to clearly, clearly distinguish between political questions and a solid rules based trade cooperation we have built. This trade framework works. This trade framework works very well for both sides. It brings prosperity, drives innovation and strengthens our ties with a key partner in a challenging region. We should continue to support and develop this cooperation with a clear sense of purpose and the focus on shared interest. Thank you.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• “Thank you very much. We take note of this. And with this, I close this topic of the agenda. Thanks for coming to the vote, and I hope you continue to stay for the next item, which is the. We're going to establishing a budget expenditure tracking procedure, performance framework, and other horizontal rules for the union programs and activities.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “So good morning, dear colleagues. It's 905. We have a vote ahead of us. I will start with the adoption of the agenda. I have no modifications to to propose to the draft agenda. Can we adopt it as it stands? Yes. So then I will proceed with the chair's announcements. Thank you for joining us this morning. Like always, active interpretation will be provided in the following languages for this meeting English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Swedish, Lithuanian and Hungarian. In order to facilitate the work of the interpreters, I would like to encourage you to speak slowly when given the floor. If you speak too fast, there will be no interpretation. Um. It has been decided to postpone the vote on the opinion on establishing the Erasmus+ programme for the period 2028 to 2034 and repealing regulations. Eu 21/817 and U. 2021/888. The new date for the vote on this file is set on 3rd of June. With regard to the chairs announcements concerning coordinators decisions, they may be found in the member's electronic meeting dossier. Then we proceed to the vote and we will vote first on the report on reinforcing Development cooperation to address irregular population movements and the root causes in partner countries. I will briefly pass the floor to Mr. Mundell if he would like to say a few words. **Lukas MANDL Thank you very much, chair. Dear colleagues. After six months of intensive negotiations and the conclusion of seven major compromises, this report reflects a broad and balanced agreement across political groups. At its core, the report recognises a coherent and comprehensive approach, combining development, cooperation and migration management with full respect of human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals. By focusing on the root causes for migration. The EU can provide tailored support to partner countries and tackle poverty, instability, lack of economic opportunities, weak governance and insufficient access to education, as well as health care in their path to self sufficiency, thus reducing migratory pressure on the EU and ensuring that people can build a future for themselves in their own communities. A key pillar of this report is policy coherence for development and migration with mutually beneficial partnerships. Eu development policy must also support EU migration policy goals and in general promote external action, trade, investment and migration tools into a single and consistent strategy. Preventing forced displacement is in the shared interest of both the EU and developing countries. I therefore invite colleagues to support this report, which sends a clear message to. Eu is ready to act as a reliable and strategic partner, not only in business but also in development assistance and humanitarian aid in addressing one of the defining challenges of our time. Thank you very much.”
  EU development aid (migration conditionality)
• “(10:30:50 – 10:33:54): Dear colleagues of the inter committee, thank you for inviting me today. With regard to a potential suspension, I would like to recall the procedural requirements for such a step. First of all, I would hold your opinion that a new report on potential human rights violations would be needed to be issued since this report from 2025 is outdated and was additionally strongly flawed having been issued by an anonymous office relying on very few sources and never having been made public, especially not to us as members of European Parliament. Second, the association council would need to be convened. Israel would need to be given their opportunity to present its position and eventually remedy the potential violations, etcetera. If UN Commission choose to embark on a new policy of examining EU association agreements on the basis of human rights violations, I would encourage you to do so in a nondiscriminatory manner and subsequently focus on all potential perpetrators including, for example, Israel's neighbor Egypt where severe human rights violations have been reported for many years where the death penalty remains established practice and where executions are reported carried out on a monthly basis. With regards to product labeling, I would also call on you not to act in a discriminatory manner and not to violate the IHRA working definition of anti-Semitism as it is currently the base. There are more than 150 conflict occupied and disputed territories in the world, yet the EU requires labeling only for Israeli products originating from disputed areas. What we are currently witnessing is the politicization of food labeling requirements as socioethnical considerations are suddenly being introduced into what should be a technical and consumer-focused framework. Again, if you, dear inter colleagues, intend to embark on a political human rights-based labeling policy, then this should be done in a non-discriminatory manner. For example, future Chinese products should be labeled made in China suspected of oppression of the Uyghurs. I could also point out that the ECJ judgment does not specify the exact wording acceptable for the implementation of the required labeling and that national guidelines are therefore needed for this purpose. I am running out of time. Allow me just a final remark. Figures clearly show that Palestinians benefit significantly through higher wages, health insurance, and other social services when working together with Israelis in places such as the Barkan Industrial Zone in Samaria, Misho Adumim near Jerusalem, or the Ariel Industrial Zone. I strongly believe, as it was the case in the European Union, economic cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians can be a tangible and pragmatic pathway towards coexistence, and I continue to believe that the European Union should remain a destination for products of such provenance.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• “Thank you, Mr. Mundell. Then we can proceed to the vote. But let us check if all voting machines are working properly and that no group is over represented. I will ask, of course, a question. Are you in favour of renaming the Development Committee into Committee for International Cooperation? What is open? What is closed? Okay. Wow. Please, let's give clear majorities in the next round. Okay. Thank you very much. We are fine. Nobody is overrepresented. All the machines are working. Um, then we can start with a vote. And we start with, uh.”
  EU competences on foreign affairs
• “We must ensure that the unique qualities of biomanufacturing, its sustainability and safety profile, are reflected in how we apply environmental and chemical rules. Biotechnology cannot always be treated the same as petrochemical processes. Definitions and interpretations of Sustainability must evolve to include biotech innovations. Gaps between national interpretations of EU rules lead to an unlevel playing field, and hold back the development of a coherent EU biotech market. This must be addressed to ensure that innovation and growth can flourish in all corners of the union. This is why I'm calling for an EU wide approach to coordinate public investment in R&D on biotech, and that 3% of European GDP is devoted to R&D spending by 2030. And finally, as the sector evolves, so must our understanding of the potential risks involved. We are dealing with synthetic DNA, genetic editing tools and sensitive materials. The report will therefore include a call for better monitoring and access controls, as well as for resilient and secure supply chains. I'm grateful for the 40 engagement from many of you so far, and I encourage continued contributions as we are heading towards the amendment phase. Our goal is clear to position the EU as a leader not only in biotech and research, but also in applications, scale up and production. Thank you very much for your attention. I'm looking forward to your input.”
  New Genomic Techniques
• “However, as the report of the Court of Auditors pointed out, the proposed framework does not always provide a clear link between funding and results. Neither does it show explicitly the correlation between intervention fields and policy objectives. This is. This in particular is the case for global Europe. Adding to the fact that the core objectives of our sectoral instruments still need to be defined by a joint report in Alford and Devore, and then in Codecision with the Council. The content of the single performance report is not proposed in detail by the Commission. So one of the critical questions for us will be which features of the current annual report on external financing instruments need to be retained and continued. Last but not least, the Court of Auditors pointed out that a mapping and correlation between global Europe's policy objectives and the intervention fields is not clear. I believe these are critical questions that our rapporteur addresses in his draft opinion, and I look forward to hearing his proposals as well as those of the shadows. I'll give the floor to the rapporteur, Nils for five minutes.”
  EU foreign policy approach
• “I am grateful that rapporteurs from the committees, from the Budget Committee and the committee are also with us today, and I would like to give the floor to Mr. Schumacher for 2.5 minutes. Please. You have the floor.”
  EU public communication strategy
• “Well, it depends exactly how many skilled workers are we have. I mean, there are initiatives in the European Union in terms of legal migration. We have a set up, a talent pool which links employers with potential employees. There are good initiatives, but I fully agree with you. We need legal migration of workers. Thank you.”
  Legal migration
• “Second, there is the well-known lack of venture capital and a general problem of high energy prices, but also the question of availability of feedstock like sugars and the impending danger that essential materials like enzymes are being forbidden. In the case of bioreactors, large scale plants are necessary to break the cost barrier. What collides with the need for validation processes and with high construction and operating risks, regulation and even more inappropriate regulation is impacting the market. And this is why I consider it necessary that the specificities, specificity, specificities of biomanufacturing, like additional safety and sustainability compared to chemical synthesis, are taken into account when applying environmental and chemical legislation. It is necessary that the definitions of sustainability, like in the taxonomy, do embrace also the developments in the biotech sector and that new materials like genetically modified microorganisms are being covered by legislation at all. For the newest of the newest regulatory sandboxes might rather be the answer than a binding and complex set of regulation. And finally, implementation of regulation is impacting the market, The bigger the gaps between member states, the smaller the level playing field and the more uneven the development and growth of Europe's biotech landscape. Our joint endeavor should be to raise the profile of the sector to the deserved strategic level, to ensure political focus, as well as sufficient support in terms of regulation and funding. With these initial remarks, dear colleagues, I'm looking forward to our discussion and your comments. Comments. Thank you for your attention.”
  EU support for bioeconomic applications
• “This would amount to a doubling of the support for Octs or are 74% increase if calculated in 2025 constant prices. In addition, the Commission proposes amendments primarily relating to first, the Global gateway and its toolbox, allowing budget support, policy based loans, budgetary guarantees, financial instruments, and blending as modalities to be used for cooperation with Octs. Second, the merging of the bilateral with the regional envelopes for Octs other than Greenland and third, cross-referencing and highlighting the complementarity of other EU funding programmes for which Octs are eligible. Lastly, the Commission proposes to adjust the Policy Dialogue framework. Now I will read out a statement by the rapporteur which Barry asked me to read. Firstly, we would like to welcome the Commission's proposal to increase funding for Octs, but we believe that more ambition is needed to face the unprecedented challenges the EU and Octs, in particular Greenland, are facing. My draft report aligns fully with the position Parliament adopted on the 28th of April. In the interim report on the MFF, and which calls for an allocation of 2.08 billion for Octs. Overall, my amendments seek to reinforce democratic accountability and consultation, take into account the increased geopolitical relevance of the partnership and to broaden social, economic and strategic opportunities for the people living in Octs by reflecting local voices, needs and sustainable development priorities. In this respect, it is important to strengthen the resilience of the partnership, its democratic legitimacy and citizens participation by reinforcing the active involvement of youth and civil society. I hope that a broad majority of our committee will support these overall priorities. Through the amendments tabled in my report, I underline that the cooperation with Octs in the context of Global Gateway should generate demonstrable mutual benefit, enhance safety and prosperity, and support stronger regional integration and diversification of economies.”
  Funding for OCTs and outermost regions
• “For 61 days now, an extraordinary situation has developed in the Middle East and on the oil markets. Now, the reasons for this escalating situation are lie even further back and we have to tackle this as the EU. Luckily, we are not involved in the military confrontation, but we are involved in the economic side of things and we have to learn the lessons from the Covid crisis. Supply chains work on an international basis and. It is no longer a given that we are able to ensure the survival of these supply chains. We need to be much more strategic when it comes to our autonomy. We have to take strategic approaches to supply chains and our trade relations with alternative infrastructure and a military approach as well. Our diplomacy investment in projects means that we have to be more realistic to protect our citizens here in Europe. A government which, uh, uh, which bases its approach on inspiring fear amongst its citizens, is not a good government. This does affect our economic interests and damages the rule of law. We need to focus on this when we look at our European foreign policy. Diplomacy with a credible military approach and diversification of our supply chains, common projects, and the promotion of democracy and the rule of law. Thank you very much.”
  EU foreign policy approach
• “Chair. Dear colleagues, we put the issue of fusion energy on the agenda because we consider it no longer a just a scientific promise, but a strategic industrial opportunity for Europe. Europe leads in fusion science, in startups and in supply chains. But leadership in research does not automatically translate into leadership in deployment. If we want fusion power plants on the grid in the 2030s, our EU fusion strategy must be designed first and foremost for commercialization. This means three things. First, fusion must be embedded in Europe's competitiveness agenda. Because again, here we are competing with the US and China. Fusion contributes directly to energy security, resilience and net zero objectives, but only if we scale it. The strategy should explicitly target industrialisation, not just a continuation of research. Second, we need fit for purpose funding instruments. Milestone based, technology neutral public funding and strong public private partnerships are essential to de-risk first of a kind projects and crowd in private capital. Fusion should be eligible under the Competitiveness Fund, the Innovation Fund or dedicated EU instrument aligned with the start up and scale up strategy. Third, regulation must match reality. Fusion is fundamentally different from fission. Treating it as such is not deregulation, it is smart regulation. Clear EU level guidance and legal certainty are indispensable to give investors and developers confidence across member states. Beyond this, we must secure Europe's advantage in supply chains and skills. Today Europe leads, but that lead is fragile. Mapping suppliers, adapting procurement tools and investing in workforce development are strategic necessities. The race is on. Europe can lead, but only if we act now. Thank you.”
  Nuclear energy
• “Yeah. Just to, um, put our discussion today in the hearing a little bit in the context, we do not have only a water conference upcoming at the end of the year. We have World Water Day next Sunday. For all those who don't know, but as it was mentioned, the data we receive about the state of water security is alarming. We heard it this morning when the joint report on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals was discussed. Sdg six on access to water and sanitation is one of the worst performing SDGs. The EU and its member states are among the top donors in the water sector, but in light of the ongoing aid cuts and a huge size of the investment gap you were just mentioning. We also need to think beyond Oda harnessing the global gateway. What I invested myself in the last month, the role of the private sector, actors and international technical cooperation is one important aspect here. The report we recently adopted in the DV and Afet Committee on Global Gateway stresses that growing water insecurity is starting to pose a major threat to economic growth perspectives and calls for the systematic integration of a blue dimension in the global gateway investments. The EU and its member states can also play an important role at the UN Water Conference coming up in December 2026, pushing for an ambitious outcome. It is encouraging that for EU member states are involved in the preparations of the conference. As chair of the interactive dialogues, which is Finland, France, Germany and Spain. So. And with this. Having said this before, we go to the other different perspectives of the main challenges. I would like to give you the floor. Dear colleague Orlando, for your intervention since you have to leave earlier.”
  Global priorities for international development
• “Madam president, ladies and gentlemen, if China wants it, so they can bring our industry to a halt in Europe because they have that power and they're using their upper hand as a strategic weapon. Recently, for example, they are publishing confidential business secrets, and that makes production more expensive. It endangers our technological security and our very security. We're dependent on rare earths for telephones, defense technologies, solar technologies. We in Europe have very few production places for these sort of things. We have the Critical raw Materials Act, so we're changing that. But we need to be quicker and more determined. We need to have short, shorter term measures, more targeted recycling and maybe look at our own export approach. The industry and the economy needs to work together. We need to take it up a notch for diplomacy. Unfair practices. Please name these. Clearly. Call a spade a spade with China and say that these must be brought to a halt at the same time in Europe. At all levels, we need to make more progress in quicker fashion and new strategic partnerships. Stockpiling innovation. China is acting in a strategic fashion. We must do the same. It is high time that the EU assumes responsibility and ensures a reliable provision of raw materials for our industrial bases, so that European prosperity will still exist tomorrow. Thank you.”
  EU-China relations