Li ANDERSSON

Policy topics Li ANDERSSON is active on

What Li ANDERSSON has said (80)

• 2026-07-16 “(10:03:31 - 10:03:35): recommendations. Thank you very much, and mister Swach. **Jiri Svarc (European Commission – DG EMPL.D.1): (10:03:36 - 10:05:58): Thank you. Indeed, housing led solutions are at the core of the recommendation, and this is where housing 1st approaches fit, and, many member states are picking up on on this, and we'll be happy to support them. I understand your, comment about the solutions. We need to understand that, and this was already highlighted on a number of occasions that, main responsibility to act is on the member states, and we are providing, the support in terms of guidance, evidence, piloting, and also, some EU funding resources, as well. On missing benchmarks, I would like to, maybe draw your attention to 1 of the projects that that we have that we have funded, and that's the homelessness count, where we indeed attempted to provide for methodologies to ensure, consistent, evidence based with counting the homelessness in different places of of Europe, this, ideally would lead to better indicators that we can then use, for our policymaking. And in this context, we have also we are also support, cooperating with OECD on, their accounts and, methodology. So we hope that these benchmarks will further develop. But as you can imagine, this is very difficult and will indeed require time and resources. We believe that the recommendation is very well embedded in the other strategies that I have mentioned, housing plan, child guarantee, anti poverty strategy, and and others. And we will further work on mainstreaming, which is 1 of the, objectives of the platform to combat homelessness to make sure that it is very well reflected in implementation of other strategies.”
  EU housing policy
• 2026-07-16 “(10:18:29 - 10:18:36): Thank you very much. And then Mister Svark, answers and also possible closing remarks for six minutes. **Jiri Svarc (European Commission – DG EMPL.D.1): (10:18:36 - 10:24:02): Thank you. Thank you for the pertinent questions raised. Overall, I think with the packages and initiatives that the Commission has put forward, especially in the last year in the area of housing and housing exclusion in particular, we showed on our part that we are committed to fight housing exclusion, homelessness, and to support more social housing and housing affordability. We, obviously, on the Commission side, are working with tools that are conferred to us by the treaty. And we acknowledge, and again, this has been repeated a number of times, the key responsibilities for policies, housing policies, social policies are with member states, and we are doing our maximum to provide them with adequate tools to address these pertinent challenges. So that's maybe the overall reaction. That also is linked with the remarks on evictions. Again, the recommendation asks the member states to properly examine their evictions processes, to make sure that they are fair, to make sure that there's no forced evictions happening, that people are also offered protective measures in case of necessary eviction procedures. So the recommendation offers some directions and solutions to member states to adapt their legislation or their processes in this area. Some of you mentioned also inadequate income. Again, this is something that the ECA recommendation addresses too. It is asking the member states to look at the policies on income that relate to housing, that adequacy is part of their assessment of policies or appropriate policies to address housing exclusion and homelessness. And again, maybe I would really emphasize that this recommendation is really part of the package of a number of actions that were taken and that also will be taken by the Commission in line with the affordable housing plan. This is not the last initiative of the Commission in the area of housing. So, we will remain active, and we will remain offering solutions to member states. Obviously, it is not only up to the Commission to make things happen. We really need to work together with all the institutions, including Parliament, and other EU level bodies and especially member states, but also including local and regional authorities and civil society who is often offering very practical measures and solutions to address the burning needs on the ground. So with that, maybe I would conclude that the Commission remains committed, is using the tools that are at its disposal and will continue to do so. We will continue to work with the platform on combating homelessness, make sure it offers the place to stakeholders to address their concerns and to offer solutions. We will make sure that the different strategies and actions and measures taken will support addressing homelessness. I will not comment on the discrimination legislation. I don't think we have a space here to discuss this. But again, I think, and I understood also from your remarks that there is an appreciation also from the Commission actions that are putting on the table initiatives to address different forms of discrimination. And again, recently, there were a number of initiatives starting with gender equality strategy, LGBTI strategy and so on that proves this point. So with that, I would close my remarks. Thank you.”
  EU housing policy
• 2026-07-16 “(09:30:04 - 09:31:47): Alright. Good morning, everyone, and welcome back to committee meeting. As next item on the agenda, I would like to welcome you all to today's exchange of views on the proposal for a council recommendation on combating housing exclusion. Today's discussion concerns not only housing policy, but also social inclusion, prevention, how we build resilient and cohesive societies. Addressing housing exclusion requires long term thinking, cooperation across different policy areas and levels of governance and approaches that put people and their needs at the center. While these issues are primarily within the competence of the member states, the commission proposal illustrates well the role the European Union can and should play and the added value it can bring by supporting coordination, encouraging the exchange of experience and promoting effective approaches. The proposal aims to support member states in strengthening their efforts and sharing best practices. It also provides an opportunity to reflect on how prevention, access to services and sustainable housing solutions can contribute to better outcomes for individuals and communities alike. I am looking forward to today's presentation by the commission representative as well as to our discussion, which I am sure will provide valuable insights and much food for thought. And let me also warmly welcome the members of the House Committee, who have been invited to take part in today's exchange as both our committees share a strong interest in this important topic. I would therefore 1st like to give the floor to mister Kiran Malouli, who is the house vice chair. So please, mister Malouli, the floor is yours for 2 minutes.”
  EU housing policy
• 2026-07-16 “(11:22:02 - 11:22:38): Thank you very much, minister, for being here, also to the members for active engagement, and we are really looking forward to a fruitful, cooperation. So we wish you all the best with the presidency, and I think values is also very much at the core of the work that we do here in this committee. So it's always, nice to hear, that being emphasized also on the side of the presidency. So thank you very much. Thank you also to the members, and have a very nice, relaxing summer for everyone except the coordinators because the coordinators are to stay here for the meeting that starts, now at 0.5 past. So thank you very much.”
  EU engagement with citizens
• 2026-07-16 “And missus Falk. **Jiri Svarc (European Commission – DG EMPL.D.1): (09:53:29 - 09:55:15): Thank you for the question. Obviously, I cannot really comment on the negotiations on the next MFF. This is now in the hands of budgetary authorities. What I would like to emphasize is that now, at this crucial moment, we, the commission, are putting forward a number of tools to make all, the fight against housing exclusion and homelessness happen. We're putting forward a guidance, that is presented in the form of this proposal for council recommendation. We are supporting stakeholder engagement, with the, platform to combat homelessness to make sure that we bring together all the experts and member states and civil society who can act. We are, financing a number of pilot projects to show, good practices, and we are also, preparing, a number of or have prepared a number of studies to show the, the evidence base. So all this, we believe, is a very good departing point, for the member states, to show how and where to program the resources that will come from the EU budget. But, obviously, the EU budget will not be able to solve all, all the problems. And we expect that, this guidance and evidence based and best practices will also incentivize member states to, put their resources to efficient solutions, to combat housing exclusion and homelessness themselves.”
  EU housing policy
• 2026-07-16 “Thank you very much, mister Swark. **Jiri Svarc (European Commission – DG EMPL.D.1): (09:48:32 - 09:50:58): Thank you. You you, thank you for the for the comments. You raised an important issue of, financing. This is, obviously, very important for making sure that, all the solutions can be implemented. It was mentioned at the beginning that, obviously, housing policies and also social policies are in principle competence of the member states. And we will support member states in, ensuring that their strategic frameworks offer a good framework for financing and effective financing solutions also from the, from the EU funding. Obviously, the negotiations on the next, MFF are ongoing. So here, we cannot envisage the results. But already in the commission proposal, there is a strong focus on social aspects, within the European, social fund with the proposed ring fencing of, national, reform plans, to address social, social issues. So, the the basis is there, and it will, obviously, be also up to member states to ensure that, the implementation happens, correctly, and efficiently on the spot. We also, currently support, within the European platform to combat homelessness, a number of pilot projects, to have the possibility, to share, good experiences from the ground, to put a menu of effective solutions that can be shared. And we also, are funding, several, studies to make sure that there is an available evidence, for member states, including for the local levels, to understand the extent of the challenge and to be equipped to provide for adequate solutions in their strategic frameworks.”
  EU competences on social policies
• 2026-07-16 “(09:36:18 - 09:36:39): Thank you very much. And on behalf of the AMPO Committee, we, of course, also highly value the good cooperation that we have with House. So thank you very much, mister Melulli. And I would now give the floor to, Yire Svark, who is head of unit for social policies, child guarantee, and the social protection committee at the European Commission, for 8 minutes. Case, the floor is yours. **Jiri Svarc (European Commission – DG EMPL.D.1): (09:36:41 - 09:45:57): Many thanks, for this opportunity, and many thanks for the committees to put this on the agenda, of your work. I would start with, mentioning the principle 19 of the European pillar of social rights, which effectively recognizes, access to social housing and support to homeless people as a fundamental social right. This was also our departing point, when we prepared the EU anti poverty strategy, which recognizes homelessness as housing exclusion as 1 of the, averse forms of poverty. In this context, it's also important to recall the Lisbon declaration from the 2021, which, where the member states and the EU institutions and civil society, committed to work, towards ending homelessness by, 2030. All this, has led to, preparation of our proposal for the recommendation on fighting housing exclusion as an important step to deliver on, that commitment. And to this end, we support, the European platform on combating homelessness, which has an important role, in mobilizing, stakeholders to, address homelessness. The affordable housing plan, that was launched, at the end of last year, included a dedicated pillar on protecting the most affected groups. And this is also where the recommendation is firmly embedded. So the the European, framework is, strong, and I'm trying to move the slides. I think I'll need to ask colleagues for the next 1. Yeah. If you can move the slides, please. Okay. In any case, I'll I'll I'll continue before we, sort this out. The recommendation, aims to support member states in preventing, the housing exclusion and addressing the needs of, those who are experiencing homelessness or living in a precarious housing situation. It shows the strong focus on, prevention, including early identification of, needs, and avoiding transition to to homelessness. And to this extent, we put a focus on developing, national, local, or regional strategic frameworks to ensure coordinated and long term, responses. It promotes, person centered approaches. This is key. It also support housing led policies. This is where the, housing 1st approaches, fit in, and it also calls for integrated actions. It is about joining, different policy strengths, different, institutional setups to work for the same, objective. Before, before presenting the substantive measures, it is important to clarify the the basic concepts throughout the recommendations. Housing exclusion is, broadly understood as a lack of access to adequate and secure housing and includes also homelessness. The focus on housing exclusion is a demonstration of our focus, on preventative measures. We don't we didn't want to focus only on fighting the, consequences, the the the homelessness itself, but also supporting measures, that are of preventative nature. And this is where the concept of housing exclusion, comes comes from. The recommendation starts with a with a very simple premise that effective policies require a reliable evidence and early identification of those who need the support. This is the 1st pillar of, the recommendation, identifying those who need the support both in terms of prevention and, also measures addressing the, precarious situations themselves. This is why the recommendation also calls for measures like, developing of early warning systems, better coordination of services, social services in particular and also strengthening the development of evidence based, solutions. There is a dedicated block of the recommendation that focuses on preventative measures, aiming to, support early interventions, preventative measures, preventing evictions, focusing on those at most risk, including children or families with children or young people leaving care and other vulnerable groups, and also ensuring that discrimination and stigma do not become additional barriers to access housing, support. The, the 3rd block, of the recommendation is dedicated to supporting people who are experiencing homelessness. Those are the ones who, need to receive timely, immediate, integrated, and person centered support, including, access to emergency solutions, but also offering, more long term accommodation solutions that will remain safe, accessible and that are supported with, appropriate social services. It is not only about housing. It is also about linking, housing policies, with social services, to make sure that the exit from homelessness becomes, sustainable. Next block of recommendation focuses on access to adequate and secure housing solutions. And this is, more, if you want, the supply side of the the solution. Looking at structural measures to, make sure that, social housing or emergency housing is available to address the, immediate needs. Recognizing that there's no single housing model that fits all the context, it promote diversity of, affordability oriented solutions from social housing to housing cooperatives or community led initiatives or innovative co living models. So this is, on the supply side. The next and last block is focusing on good governance, monitoring and evaluation. This is a important base for effective implementation of policies, ensuring that we put the efforts and resources where they, can make most of the difference. It is important to, create a robust monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, including, reporting every 5 years on accessing sorry, on assessing the progress in delivering on the, recommendations. Last but not least, member states are encouraged to involve people with lived experience, of homelessness. It is important to create solutions with those who, do have the experience and who are, suffering from homelessness or housing exclusion. So in a nutshell, this is a presentation of the main, scope of the recommendation. It is obviously much more richer in details that I could have, presented today. We are very happy that it's now, being negotiated in the council, and we hope for, its early adoption and start of implementation as soon as possible because the challenges are pressing. Thank you.”
  EU housing policy
• 2026-07-16 “(10:32:25 - 10:33:53): Alright, colleagues. If I can please ask you to take your seats. So we continue our committee meeting with the presentation of the council presidency's program. I would like to mention 1st that for this presentation, Irish as a passive language will be provided. And I would like to very warmly welcome mister, Dara Khaliri, Irish Minister for Social Protection and Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Geldtech. And I would also like to thank, take this opportunity to, thank you for the invitation and for your warm hospitality, during the informal EBSCO meeting, which I had the pleasure of attending, last week in beautiful Balina County Mayo And, I greatly appreciated also the engaging discussions that were held there on preventing poverty, strengthening enforcement and protection of workers' rights and, improving labor market participation of persons with disability, all also topics that have been greatly, debated and discussed here in our committee. So today, we will hear more about the Irish presidency program and the priorities, and we'll start by giving the floor to you, mister Kalleri, for the for 12 minutes. So please, the floor is yours.”
  EU policy on disability inclusion & accessibility
• 2026-07-16 “(10:47:18 - 10:47:55): Thank you very much, Minister, for this presentation. We are also very much looking forward to the cooperation. We will now move on to the Q and A session, with 2 rounds. So we will 1st have the group coordinators or other group representatives. And I thought I would take it in 2 blocks, meaning a few questions and then answers. And then the 2nd round, so if there are members wishing to take a floor in the 2nd round, please indicate that. But we start with the group coordinators or other group representatives, 1.5 minutes per question. Mister Radke from the APP, please.”
  EU political integration
• 2026-07-15 “(15:31:04 - 15:33:00): Colleagues. Welcome back. And we continue our meeting with a very important item, namely this year's employment guidelines. And we are very happy to have mister Mario Nava, director general for employment, social affairs, and inclusion at European Commission here to present them for us. This year, the guidelines have been substantially updated both in the recitals and in the guidelines themselves. And as you might know, the design and the adoption of the employment guidelines is part of the yearly European semester process. We have already discussed them to a certain extent with some members at our regular economic dialogue that we jointly organized with the Econ Committee on June 23 in the presence of Executive Vice President, Minsato and Commissioner Dombrovskis. This year, the guidelines are also important as they will guide the design of the country specific recommendations of '26 and '27 that in turn will be the policy framework, as I have been told, for the design and implementation priorities of the 20 28, 2034 EU budget and particularly for those of the national and regional partnership plans. So there are many, links here that have a a big importance for our committee. So therefore, mister Nava, we are particularly interested in questions such as how, you work to ensure that the employment guidelines are taken up in the country specific recommendations, how consistency is ensured between, for example, the guidelines and NRPPs or the country specific recommendations and NRPPs? And how are the country specific outcomes of the 2 stage analysis of the social convergence framework integrated in this whole process? So I will start by giving the floor to mister Nava for his presentation. So please, the floor is yours. Thank”
  European Semester (social dimension)
• 2026-07-15 “(16:14:08 - 16:15:05): So, coming back to the report, as was mentioned, this is something we have requested. And as was also mentioned, I would like to start by thanking the European Court of Auditors for taking up our suggestion. The report is highly relevant and can also help us in scrutinizing respective policies in the member states and to shape our decision as the co legislator, especially for the negotiations on the MFF. The report shows that while youth unemployment is decreasing as is the overall unemployment, youth unemployment is still too high. I would like to start by inviting Mister Manfredi Salvaji from the European Court of Auditors responsible for this special report to present his findings and suggestions on how to better ensure lasting employment for young people. Starting, Missus Salvaggi, by giving you the floor for around 8 minutes for the presentation. Thank you.”
  Youth employment & training
• 2026-07-15 “(16:10:20 - 16:14:04): Thank you very much. And so I want to thank all the colleagues and, of course, also Mister Nava and Mister Jyotto for being here and for this interesting exchange. Of course, our goal in parliament is not to make sure that our amendments will find their way into the final guidelines because there is also nothing stopping the council from incorporating them and through that, future country specific recommendations and then also in the NRPP plans. As regards to the next steps on the file, I would like to invite the shadow rapporteurs and colleagues to send their amendments by September 1 at the latest and only in English due to the short time available, unfortunately. So that was for the procedure. Thank you very much. So the next item on the agenda is the European Court of Auditors' special reports on cohesion policy support for youth employment. This is a report we as Emblem Committee have asked for, and, therefore, I would like to thank the European Court of Auditors for taking up our suggestions. Alright. Good. So we continue. We are going now. So tell him”
  Youth employment & training
• 2026-07-15 “(17:22:47 - 17:24:27): Okay. We still renew and greens. Try to get your members and your shadows here, but I think I will start now because as I said, I'm worried about the the timing. So, dear colleagues, as you know, among the legislative files currently discussed in the AMPA committee, The also the AMPAL opinion to the URI Committee on the commission proposal for the 28th, corporate regime or EU Inc. The committee has been working on the opinion for some time, and there's already been a number of shadow and technical meetings. And as there still is many open questions and also concerns, this is why despite working under extremely tight deadlines, we decided to have this exchange of views with experts in the field also for the shadows and the group members to be able to ask questions. And we have invited 4 experts, Corrado Malberty, notary and chair of the CNUE company law working group joining us remotely, Marcus, Meyer Edmund, senior researcher at the European Trade Union Institute Pedro Oliveira, Business Europe Director for Legal Affairs and Isabelle, Scheinemann, Deputy Secretary General from ETUC. You will each be given the floor for 6 minutes, for your presentations, which will be followed by a brief intervention by Mr. Rene Repassi, Juri Rapporteur, and then we will move on to the q and a question. So our 1st expert is Corrado Malberti, notary and chair of CNUE company law working group. And I will be strict, with the speaking time, so please limit the intervention to 6 minutes. Thank you.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• 2026-07-15 “(15:45:04 - 15:49:31): Thank you very much, Mario, for this introduction. So we then move on to the rapporteur and the shadows. And since this, file was allocated to me as rapporteur, I will say a few remarks in that capacity, and then I will give the floor to the the shadows present. So, with risk, of repetition, once again, even though these guidelines have been important previously as they set out the common priorities for national employment and social policies. They will have a more significant role, in the future as it's the framework on which the country specific recommendations are based. And the country specific recommendations in their turn is the policy framework through which the national and regional partnership plans will be assessed. So they will have a direct impact by providing the framework for the negotiations between the member states and the commission with regards to the allocation of social funding and also the reforms. The joint employment report also contains an analysis of potential risk to upward social convergence in member states in line with the social convergence framework. And I think this is very important to our committee because this is the concrete way in which the European pillar of social rights is incorporated into the semester. And to strengthen the social dimension, we would also need to have a strong link between the country specific recommendations and the analysis on the risks of upward social convergence. So to have a strong link there because without it, the framework around both policy reforms and access to funding risks severing the link to social Europe and the objectives enshrined in the European pillar of social rights and its relevant frameworks. I do also have to say, speaking as, you know, as we are all representatives of the European Parliament that I think the employment guidelines is also an example of the democratic deficits that are linked to the semester process as, formally, the parliament has only a consent role regarding the guidelines, not a specific influence on the country specific recommendations. So our goal should be to be on equal footing with council. And it's a step in that direction, of course, also to get council to incorporate some of our suggestions when we have finalized our work. So I therefore hope we can find common proposals and priorities on this file. And also important to pro pro, point out is that we are not starting from scratch. So I think we should strive to add priorities that are based on priority topics we already have worked on and are currently working on this mandate. And I also think there is a real need for this, as the proposal also actually now removes many crucial parts from the previous guidelines that touch specifically on structural conditions around employment, consideration around the digital and green transition as well as large parts related to the need to foster quality jobs and social dialogue. So I would propose that we commonly together elaborate especially on priorities that we have already jointly identified. The Just Transition, a skills agenda that recognize structural barriers people face in participation, are existing in joint call for the right to training that is cost free for workers, during working hours, providing adequate safeguards for AI and algorithm management, not just for platform workers, but for all, subcontracting chains, psychosocial risks, fair mobility and the statement we already have agreed upon in the anti poverty strategy. So I also want to underline in the end that the major changes in the guidelines are not traditions, but actually true also to what is not anymore present. So I also encourage everyone to read the proposal and the key parts, the annex side by side with those from the last year to grasp the differences as there has been a great deal of deletions, was mentioned by mister Nava, 40%. And I do think we can make good work as committee also in finding consensus and examples of what we can bring in here from work that we have already done together to make the guidelines better. So I look forward, to collaborating on this and to hear, the remarks from my colleagues, starting with, mister Falca, a shadow repertoire from the EPP.”
  European Semester (social dimension)
• 2026-07-15 “(17:30:10 - 17:30:20): Thank you very much. And I then would like to welcome our 2nd expert, mister Markus Mayer Erdmann, who is senior researcher at the European Trade Union Institute. So please, the floor is yours.”
  EU competences on social policies
• 2026-07-15 “(17:22:47 - 17:24:27): Okay. We still renew and greens. Try to get your members and your shadows here, but I think I will start now because as I said, I'm worried about the the timing. So, dear colleagues, as you know, among the legislative files currently discussed in the AMPA committee, The also the AMPAL opinion to the URI Committee on the commission proposal for the 28th, corporate regime or EU Inc. The committee has been working on the opinion for some time, and there's already been a number of shadow and technical meetings. And as there still is many open questions and also concerns, this is why despite working under extremely tight deadlines, we decided to have this exchange of views with experts in the field also for the shadows and the group members to be able to ask questions. And we have invited 4 experts, Corrado Malberty, notary and chair of the CNUE company law working group joining us remotely, Marcus, Meyer Edmund, senior researcher at the European Trade Union Institute Pedro Oliveira, Business Europe Director for Legal Affairs and Isabelle, Scheinemann, Deputy Secretary General from ETUC. You will each be given the floor for 6 minutes, for your presentations, which will be followed by a brief intervention by Mr. Rene Repassi, Juri Rapporteur, and then we will move on to the q and a question. So our 1st expert is Corrado Malberti, notary and chair of CNUE company law working group. And I will be strict, with the speaking time, so please limit the intervention to 6 minutes. Thank you.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• 2026-07-14 “Thank you very much, so dear colleagues. On the June 23, the 2nd trilogue on the regulation establishing an declaration for the posting of workers took place and proved to be conclusive. Having participated in this trial log, I know that reaching this outcome required considerable effort, which makes this agreement all the more welcome. And I would therefore like to warmly congratulate the co rapporteurs on successfully reaching a provisional agreement with the council. Another piece of good news is that on June 30, the agreement was endorsed by a large majority of member states at the Kodapar meeting, and our joint committee will shortly vote on a provisional agreement. So I will now give the floor to the co rapporteurs for 3 minutes to report back on the outcome of the, trialogue negotiations. Yes. Mister Danielson.”
  EU regulation of cross-border and posted workers
• 2026-07-14 “(17:07:18 - 17:09:55): Thank you. Thank you. Oh, it was very interesting. The Draghi paper was mentioned many times. We need public money to do it, and I I haven't seen the €800,000,000,000. It's all of tax money we need. Also, the defense investments was mentioned, and, everything there is paid by tax money. And, actually, there is no real market that would, benefit on tax cuts. So or or, like, I I really don't see the point. I think the sad thing is that you failed to fix the taxation for decades. And member states, they built a tax avoidance system we saw also in the tax justice network. And the biggest beneficiaries, they were companies biggest companies outside the EU, and the biggest losers were all of us. And, unfortunately, the OECD helped us, towards the fair competition and together with our own rules. We were going to a better direction, and, hopefully, the UN would do more. Now if we are moving back to deregulation again, I'm very worried that it it's actually the smaller companies in the EU, and it's the EU companies wider that are losing. And and and, again, the the the biggest companies outside the EU are the biggest beneficiaries. And so that's why I would like to see a wider analysis because, to be honest, in this house, I've seen so many omnibus legislation without a real impact assessments. We have done so many legislation, so much legislation without real impact assessments. So to the commission, I would like to ask, what is the expected revenue impact on this proposal by member state? And since you don't have it, should we wait to have more understanding how pillar 2, will work so we could do a real impact assessment before we do, any trust exchanges? To Business Europe, I would ask, does Business Europe support sorting out, all of this and publishing the expected revenue effects of each measure? And to SME Europe, I would like to know if the proposal has, since you said it has very limited impact on SMEs, aren't you afraid that big companies will get again more unfair competitive advantage of this? And to Tax Justice Network, I would like to know which proposed change creates the greatest risk for public revenues. Thank”
  Tax Havens
• 2026-07-14 “So, fuller substitute EMPL members replaced by non MPO members. I have Mr. Humberto replaced by Mrs. Pereira, Mr. Arimon replaced by Mr. Beck, Mrs. Holmes Ginell replaced by Mrs. Kalirand, Mrs. Vandenberri is replaced by Mrs. Garcia Hermida van der Valle Mrs. Langen Sieben replaced by Mrs. Kese and Mrs. Petter Hansen replaced by Mr. Serpental.”
  Recruitment policies in the EU
• 2026-07-08 “(10:22:44 - 10:24:29): Deadly heat waves, thunderstorms, flooding, and rampant wildfires. This is the world that the wealthy and the powerful have created. These are the consequences of our fossil fuel based economies. This is human made climate change, and we must be honest. We are not prepared for this. Our buildings and our cities are not designed for this. Our agriculture, our nature cannot stand this, and we are not affected in the same way. Those who are already struggling are hit the hardest. They also lack the resources to change the systems or to change their own circumstances. So while people are dying from the heat while people are dying from the heat, what is the right wing doing? Who did also did not bother to show up for this debate. They are calling for the EU's most effective climate policy tool, the emissions trading system, to be weakened. Under pressure from polluting industries and from far right groups, they have been watering down Europe's climate policy throughout this whole mandate. The most important response, the most important preparedness is to stand against the weakening of EU's climate policy. We will stand against the weakening of EU's climate policy because we know we must cut our dependencies on fossil fuels. We must tax the oil and gas companies and use the money to invest in climate friendly choices and adaptation that are accessible to everyone, not ****Li ANDERSSON: (10:24:29 - 10:24:34): only for the rich and the wealthy. Thank you very much.”
  Extension of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme
• 2026-07-08 “(15:40:12 - 15:41:29): Missiles and drones are killing people in Kyiv every night at the moment. Putin has shown that he is a modern day fascist leader by trying to conquer Ukraine militarily, but also by attacking those in his own country who oppose his imperialist ideology and who do not fit into his patriarchal and heteronormative notion of the nation. It is not only our moral obligation, but also in our own interests to support the Ukrainians that are fighting for independence and that are fighting against Putin's authoritarianism. And likewise, it is also in our own interests to support those democratic Russian opposition forces who share these objectives. This means engaging in dialogue, but also recognizing the diversity of actors in Russian civil society, including those representing linguistic and ethnic minorities. This means supporting independent media projects and also providing refuge in Europe for those who really need it, not sending back people belonging belonging to the LGBTQI community or”
  Russia-Ukraine conflict (10th term) · LGBTIQ+
• 2026-06-23 “(10:30:09 – 10:30:39): Alright. Since I'm I have, I'm seeing missus Vandenberg in the room, I will start. So, dear Empel colleagues, we start our meeting today with the consideration of the draft reports on boosting skills in the union, opportunities for vocational education and training in times of transition. And, I will start by giving the floor to the rapporteur, Gigit Van Denbelly, to present her report for the next 5 minutes.”
  Focus of EU policy on education (shaping workers vs citizens)
• 2026-06-23 “(10:57:07 – 10:57:23): Thank you very much. Then we move over to the next item on the agenda, the 28th Regime Corporate Legal Framework or EU Inc. And I will start with giving the floor to the repertoire, mister Danielsen, for 5 minutes.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• 2026-06-23 “Thank you very much, chair. Thank you, Rore. And I would also like to warmly welcome, the commissioners at this regular dialogue and and 2 points and a question to the introduction from the Econ chair. We welcome that the spring package addresses several major structural issues across the EU that are essential for our committee. In the revised employment guidelines and the draft country specific recommendations, we see an increased emphasis on investing in human capital, in quality jobs, combating poverty, and improving access to housing. These measures are the foundations of a cohesive, resilient society across the EU, and the recommendations on vocational, education, STEM education, and adult learning are also crucial as they will support policies ensuring that people can develop their talents and continue learning throughout their lives. We note that a major challenge in all member states remains reducing poverty and social exclusion, in particular, the effectiveness of social transfers in reducing poverty. There are also ongoing challenges in integrating inactive people into the labor market more effectively as well as persistent skills gap and in many cases, shortfalls in the quality of education. 9, 1 3rd of all member states have been identified as being at risk of upward social convergence, 7 of which were already flagged in the previous cycle. Therefore, in addition to the questions posed by the Econ share and in the light of these challenges, we would be curious to hear more about how the spring package and particularly the country specific recommendations will help support the creation of greater fiscal space, enabling member states to take action at the scale required to address the social challenges in these member states. Thank you very much.”
  European Semester (social dimension)
• 2026-06-23 “Thank you very much. Dear Executive Vice President, Commissioner, thank you very, again, for this fruitful discussion, which really shows the importance of these dialogues. For EMPOL, I want to remind you that we start in the same room as yesterday for Q1 for our committee meeting, and I will end by giving the floor to my colleague, Aurore Laluk, for her closing words.”
  EU political integration
• 2026-01-19 “P-000197/2026 Answer given by Ms Roswall on behalf of the European Commission According to the Habitats Directive 1 , the conservation status of a species will be assessed as ‘favourable’ when (1) the population dynamics of the species concerned indicate that it is maintaining itself on a long-term basis as a viable component of its natural habitats, (2) the natural range of the species is neither being reduced nor is likely to be reduced for the foreseeable future and (3) there is, and will probably be, a sufficiently large habitat to maintain its population on a long-term basis. Member States must define the favourable conservation status in line with the above requirements. In doing so they can take account, where relevant, of the transboundary nature of populations. Directive (EU) 2025/1237 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2025 amending Council Directive 92/43/EEC (Habitats Directive) as regards the protection status of the wolf (Canis lupus) entered into force in July 2025. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 15 January 2027. The Commission will monitor transposition and implementation of the amended Habitats Directive. The Commission is in regular dialogue with Finnish competent authorities and is currently assessing the information provided by Finland as part of the periodic reporting pursuant to Article 17 of the Habitats Directive, as well as data and recent legislative and policy developments related to wolf management. 1 Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, pp. 7–50.”
  Large Carnivores
• 2026-01-19 “Answer given by Ms Roswall on behalf of the European Commission 17.3.2026 Written question The Commission monitors the application of the Habitats Directive [1] in the Member States — including hunting and the reported conservation status of species in Annex IV and V of the directive — through, among others , expert groups and the Member States’ reports under Articles 16 and 17 of the Habitats Directive. Article 17 reports concern, in particular, the conservation status of species which has implications for the Member States’ obligations regarding Annex IV species (Article 12 of the directive) and Annex V species (Article 14 of the directive). Article 16 lays down some exceptions to Articles 12 and 14, upon certain conditions. The Member States delivered their Article 17 reports in 2025. The assessment of these reports is ongoing. It is carried out in cooperation with the European Environment Agency [2] and will lead to a public consultation in spring 2026. The conservation status of the species in question is relevant when assessing whether the Member States meet their obligations under the Habitats Directive with regard to Annex IV species like bears, lynxes, and otters (subject to a higher level of protection); and Annex V species, like wolves [3] . As part of that assessment, in relation to Finland, the Commission will also analyse the matters raised by the Honourable Members, notably hunting quotas and access to justice, and decide on the need for any further action. [1] Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7-50. [2] https://www.eea.europa.eu/en. [3] Directive (EU) 2025/1237 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2025 amending Council Directive 92/43/EEC as regards the protection status of the wolf (Canis lupus), OJ L, 2025/1237, 24.6.2025.”
  Large Carnivores · Nature protection and restoration in the EU
• 2025-06-30 “E-002627/2025 Answer given by Mr McGrath on behalf of the European Commission The Commission is closely monitoring the legislative developments of the draft Law on Transparency of Public Life, and it has voiced its serious concerns with the Hungarian authorities about the draft legislation. On 4 June 2025, the Hungarian authorities announced that the parliamentary work on this draft law would be postponed to the autumn session. The Commission has already taken measures in relation to the Law on the Protection of National Sovereignty, which establishes the Sovereignty Protection Office 1 . On 3 October 2024, the Commission decided to refer Hungary to the Court of Justice because it considers this law to be in breach of several fundamental freedoms of the internal market and related secondary legislation, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and EU data protection legislation. The case is pending before the Court of Justice (C-829/24). Regarding the Article 7(1) of the Treaty on European Union procedure against Hungary, the Commission continues to share several concerns raised by the European Parliament in its reasoned proposal of 12 September 2018. The Council has held eight formal hearings on Hungary, most recently on 27 May 2025. The Commission always stands ready to participate in Council hearings and contribute to any exchanges on the latest state of play on this matter. It is for the Council to decide on next steps in the Article 7(1) procedure, acting by a majority of four fifths of its members and after the consent of the European Parliament. 1 The Office would be empowered under the draft Law on Transparency of Public Life to propose to the Government the registration on a list of those organisations whose activities threaten the sovereignty of Hungary.”
  EU engagement with civil society · Rule of law in Hungary · Regulation of NGOs in Europe
• 2025-05-23 “E-002086/2025 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Séjourné on behalf of the European Commission Applications for strategic status under the Critical Raw Materials Act 1 are assessed by independent experts based on the criteria in Article 6(1)(c). The projects selected have demonstrated sufficient evidence of their commitment to responsibly measure, monitor and reduce the impacts of their operations on the surrounding environment. Strategic projects benefit from streamlined permitting processes that respect environmental laws. Although the status provides benefits, they still need to obtain a permit from national authorities which apply existing requirements. National authorities may decide if strategic projects’ public interest qualifies as ‘overriding’ under Article 4(7) of the Water Framework Directive 2 (WFD) and Article 6(4) of the Habitats Directive 3 . The WFD limits this derogation to cases where all practicable mitigation measures are taken, and when no other feasible and not disproportionately costly solution exists to achieve the same public interest. Projects in Natura 2000 4 sites are not per se prohibited. They must be subject to an appropriate assessment. In exceptional cases, if no alternatives exist and adverse effects on a Natura 2000 site remain despite mitigation, and the project is of overriding public interest, compensatory measures must be taken. For priority habitats or species, a Commission opinion may also be required. The EU Biodiversity strategy 5 sets a target that 10% of EU land and sea areas should be protected 6 . In addition, EU law ensures that environmental impact assessments, alternative analysis, mitigation or compensation obligations apply. The Commission provides guidance and monitors implementation to uphold environmental protection 7 . 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02024R1252-20240503. 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02000L0060-20141120. 3 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:01992L0043-20130701. 4 https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/nature-and-biodiversity/natura-2000_en. 5 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52025DC0420. 6 For criteria and guidance on strict protection, see https://environment.ec.europa.eu/system/files/202201/SWD_guidance_protected_areas.pdf 7 https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/nature-and-biodiversity/natura-2000/permitting-procedure_en.”
  Sourcing of critical raw materials
• 2025-02-25 “E-000842/2025 Answer given by Ms Albuquerque on behalf of the European Commission The Commission has adopted on 26 February 2025 a package of proposals to simplify sustainability rules 1 , with the aim to better integrate competitiveness and climate goals, creating a more favourable business environment to help companies grow, innovate, and create jobs. Quick action was needed to streamline processes and reduce administrative burdens due to urgent challenges faced by EU businesses. Therefore, in place of a full impact assessment, the Commission prepared a Staff Working Document assessing the impacts 2 , in line with the Better Regulation rules applicable in urgent cases 3 . The legislation being modified has already undergone extensive consultations and impact assessments in recent years. The Commission further gathered extensive feedback from stakeholders to inform its proposed measures, including: a public Call for Evidence in 2023 with almost 200 responses, 4 a workshop on climate-neutral economy financing in 2024, a ‘Stakeholder request mechanism’ for EU Taxonomy delegated act changes, a ‘reality check’ and roundtable discussion in February 2025 with NGOs and stakeholders and position papers, open letters, and joint statements from stakeholders and groups. The simplification proposals do not diminish the progress made by early adopters. These companies led the way, not only progressing in their transition but also gaining competitive advantages, fostering stakeholder trust, and driving innovation. The Commission encourages businesses to view the proposed package as an opportunity to demonstrate leadership in sustainability and to benefit from more efficient and effective due diligence and reporting processes. 1 https://commission.europa.eu/publications/omnibus-i_en 2 See footnote 1. 3 COM/2021/219 final. 4 https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/13990-Administrative-burdenrationalisation-of-reporting-requirements_en”
  Sustainable corporate governance · Transparency requirements of EU institutions · Due diligence in supply chains (environmental and human rights)
• 2025-01-28 “E-000375/2025 Answer given by Mr Hoekstra on behalf of the European Commission 1. Regulation (EU) 2018/841 1 introduces an EU-wide net removals target for the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector in 2030, aiming to increase the EU's net removals by about 15% and reverse declining trends. The EU target results in binding net carbon removal national targets, leading to a better performance of the LULUCF sector in all Member States who are responsible to implement the appropriate policies and measures to achieve these targets. The Commission is annually assessing Member States progress under the LULUCF Regulation and Finland may be required to submit a corrective action plan in case of insufficient progress. As the compliance exercise will take place in 2032, the Commission is not yet in a position to give a more precise answer. 2. The Commission has no jurisdiction to impose requirements on the forest industry with respect to logging practices, provided EU relevant legislation 2 is respected. Regulation (EU) 2024/3012 3 creates a voluntary framework for certifying carbon removals, carbon farming and carbon storage in products across Europe, that will facilitate investment in sustainable carbon farming solutions, including forestry holdings. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02018R0841-20230511 2 Such as the Habitats Directive (EC) 94/43 or Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 on deforestation-free import of products (EUDR). 3 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L_202403012”
  Management of EU forests · Climate efforts
• 2024-10-30 “E-002322/2024 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Mînzatu on behalf of the European Commission One of the main objectives of Directive (EU) 2022/2041 1 is to promote collective bargaining on wage-setting, given that well-functioning collective bargaining is an essential factor for achieving adequate minimum wage protection. In this regard, Article 4(1) of the Directive requires all Member States, with the involvement of the social partners, to take measures to increase the collective bargaining coverage and facilitate the exercise of the right to collective bargaining on wage-setting. In accordance with Article 153(5) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union 2 , the Directive fully respects the competence of Member States as regards the right of association. National measures regulating the exercise of this right are outside the scope of the Directive. Now that the transposition deadline of 15 November 2024 has elapsed, the Commission will assess Member States’ transposition measures. This assessment will include the measures to which the question refers, but only to the extent they fall within the material scope of the Directive, which is still to be determined. The Commission will then take any necessary action in case of non-compliance with the Directive. In addition, as part of the implementation of the Directive and in accordance with Article 10 thereof, Finland will have to periodically provide to the Commission, as from 1 October 2025, data and information on the rate and development of collective bargaining coverage and on the minimum wage protection provided for in collective agreements. The Commission will analyse the information provided, report the results of this analysis to the European Parliament and to the Council and shall simultaneously publish the data and information transmitted by Member States. 1 Directive (EU) 2022/2041 of the European Parliament and the Council of 19 October 2022 on adequate minimum wages in the European Union (OJ L 275, 25.10.2022, p. 33–47) - https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32022L2041 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A12008E153”
  EU competences on social policies · Minimum wages harmonisation at EU level
• 2024-10-30 “E-002321/2024 Answer given by Ms Roswall on behalf of the European Commission 1. The EU Biodiversity Strategy 1 commits to strictly protect all remaining EU primary and old-growth forests. The Commission services are not in a position to undertake a formal compliance assessment of the national process of defining primary and old-growth forests, due to their voluntary nature. Nevertheless, the Commission will continue the dialogue with the competent authorities to ensure the effective protection of these forests, in line with the definitions and criteria agreed in the process of drafting the Commission guidelines 2 . 2. The guidelines establish distinct definitions of primary and old-growth forests with the aim of protecting both categories. Old-growth forests explicitly include secondary forests ‘of native tree species that have developed, predominantly through natural processes, structures and dynamics normally associated with late seral development phases in primary or undisturbed forests of the same type’. While Member States will develop and use their own methodology to conduct the identification of old-growth forests, they are expected to respect the definitions and criteria outlined in the guidelines. 3. The Commission will continue communication and outreach activities with the relevant actors in Member States to ensure that the targets formulated in the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, as well as those committed to in the guidelines, are met. 1 https://environment.ec.europa.eu/strategy/biodiversity-strategy-2030_en 2 https://environment.ec.europa.eu/publications/guidelines-defining-mapping-monitoring-and-strictly-protectingeu-primary-and-old-growth-forests_en”
  Energy (green transition)
• “Thank you very much. And just a short final question on my behalf, because you might have mentioned it, but I didn't catch it. So on the index, how and where will it be used and what will be the relationship, say, between that index and the indicators that are used in the social scoreboard on the semester process? So, Flor, back to Mrs. Sedakova.”
  European Semester (social dimension)
• “Welcome everyone please take your seats we are starting and I am delighted to welcome Missus Kalyan Schiele who is the Executive Director of the European Institute for Gender Equality to the Employment and Social Affairs Committee. Welcome nice to have you here again as well as Missus Ana Carla Pereira Director for Equality and Nondiscrimination from the European Commission. Nice to have also you with us again. This exchange of views is taking place in the context of Parliament's sixth Gender Equality Week held from the third to ninth of November and the aim is to review our achievements and identify new measures necessary to advance the rights of girls and women and to ensure gender equality with a particular focus this year on promoting talent. I am very proud to note that our committee is among the numerous committees participating in this initiative attaching great importance to the events of this gender equality week. EP President Roberta Metzla wishes to welcome the participants in a video message so we will now start by watching her message to us together.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Honorable chair. Not a good start. Indeed. This work program, which is supposed to be about moving forward together, includes zero legal initiatives in the field of social fairness. Zero. Instead, we get a long list of initiatives aimed at watering down standard legislations from the last mandate to lower standards when it comes to Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Commission. This is not what Europeans expect from you. The rising cost of living and the personal economic situation were the two most common reasons for Europeans to vote in the last EP election. Now it seems like the social agenda is forgotten altogether, and the Commission is focusing on deregulation in a way that, in the end, will not even benefit the companies. If we move along this policy line, we risk moving backwards, divided.”
  Sustainable corporate governance
• “Thank you very much. And we then move on to the social partners, starting with Mrs. T, who is the confederal secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation. So please, the floor is yours for the next four minutes.”
  EU competences on social policies
• “Given that workers in high risk professions are especially vulnerable to health and safety related risks at the workplace. Ample would like to further explore the situation of this specific group of workers. The hearing today brings together experts and relevant stakeholders to do the necessary stocktaking and to discuss the changing work environment and new emerging risks also for high risk professions. The hearing will also explore the needs in terms of preventive measures, new skills, training and tools to protect high risk workers to the highest extent possible. Rising temperatures and heat stress are one of the growing risks for workers. The outcome of this hearing will therefore also contribute to the preparation of a planned, ample report on the effect of extreme temperatures in the workplace on workers health and safety, which the committee has decided to draw up in due time. For the first part of the hearing on the state of play and an emerging risks. I would now like to give the floor to Valentina Tagliaferro, firefighter and member of German Public Service Union and the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions. Mr. Tagliaferro, the floor is yours for the next seven minutes.”
  EU rules on hazardous working conditions
• “However, in order to do so, I consider it still necessary to have an exchange of views on the proposal. And as a reminder, in the last year guidelines, some of the ideas that were taken up from the European Parliament were, for example, close cooperation with social partners and an emphasis on better exploitation of the renewable and circular energy, a circular economy, training opportunities for workers during working hours and at no cost. Protecting workers rights in the context of climate and digital transformation. Addressing brain drain and improving social dialogue and collective bargaining. Eliminating all forms of discrimination in the labour market and supporting older workers. So I would like to start by giving the floor to Mrs. Katja Berti from the European Commission for five minutes. We have another representative from the commission. Could we please check if she is attending at a later point, or if there is some misunderstanding? Okay, so we are still waiting for information on the Commission representative. So I would suggest that we move on to the political group representatives Lives, starting with Mr. Ratcliffe.”
  EU policy on brain drain
• “I don't know which alternative is worse, whether the commission is trying to weaken workers rights even though publicly they claim something else, or whether the Commission is not planning to weaken workers rights. But at the the legislative level, they is so weak is so that they do that anyway. Miss von der Leyen, who says that the new EU Inc plans will not affect workers rights. Business Europe even even. They have said that workers rights legislation shouldnt be mixed up with that. That's an important message. But nonetheless, we have a draft. That will weaken workers rights and will put at risk the right of workers to be represented in companies councils throughout the EU. So EU ink should be. Corrected so that. Things should be based on the legislation of the country where the work is done and workers rights are strengthened throughout the EU. The most worrying thing is that the Commission Commission's vice president in the Finnish media has said that. Sections having to do with workers rights will be added to this in future. So this threatens to weaken workers protections throughout the EU and means that somebody working in Finland wouldn't be subject to Finnish legislation or Finnish collective A collective rights, rather EU level rights which might be weaker, weaker. This shouldn't be allowed. It's important to promote the single market, but it shouldn't take place at the cost of workers rights.”
  EU regulation on worker representation in company decisions
• “Thank you very much. And I will now give the floor to Mr. Jeroen Reuter, who is the director for Employment and Social Governance Analysis at DG in the European Commission. So, please, the floor is yours.”
  EU competences on social policies
• “Thank you very much. And dear chair, I fully share your remarks. The health workforce is a pillar of our society in the EU, and the great challenges that it faces need to be addressed in a multifaceted and also an urgent manner. The importance of the issue, which we will vote on today, is also testified by the no less than 865 amendments that have been tabled. I am convinced that the several important calls contained in this motion for resolution will contribute to better recognising, mapping and eventually rectifying the issues faced by our healthcare workforce. In view of making such a vital sector more attractive and more sustainable. So thank you very much.”
  Public and private sectors role in healthcare services
• “Thank you. We're talking about administrative simplification or should I say deregulation. The message we're getting from the commission is we should do things better. This is not the first time. However, now faced with this omnibus package, I think we've all seen the documents. And having seen it, it's fair to say that most of what we heard simply isn't true. You have to identify whose interests are best served by this deregulation. And the answer is major large companies. We want to tolerate failure to comply with environmental or human rights regulations. What about liability and the directive on that? This is an attempt to sideline small companies and to disregard human rights violations. I think we should ensure that we fully understand what's going on in the full length of the supply chain. We have to identify the implications of these changes for human rights. We need to know what companies are being, doing and not doing in Europe, and the implications and repercussions of that in Thailand or elsewhere.”
  Due diligence in supply chains (environmental and human rights)
• “In. Uh, we have a slightly different, uh, situation, um, but still not, uh, pay equality. We have to take Tangible actions here. There is no, uh, act, uh, for a quality. It wouldn't have come if women hadn't organized themselves and had kept, uh, their opposition and fought back. This inequality is also about the labor market. We see underrepresentation of men in badly paid sectors. So this directive is something which is extremely important, uh, in terms of equality. But this pay gap tells us that we are still living in the same world where we do not receive the same salary for the same job. And that is the problem, because this directive on salary transparency is supposed to help with that. I am disappointed that the Finnish government, following lobbying from the corporate world, has modified the definitions and weakened this directive and the application of this directive on the application of, uh, salary transparency. The Finnish government is making it clear that they think it's more important to stay in the good graces of the CEOs rather than, um, having these rules in place. Unfortunately, the case of Finland shows once again why we are here at the EU level to work and to ask for measures to improve gender equality.”
  Gender pay transparency
• “Honourable chair. Last week we in the left group gathered young Ukrainian leftists and trade unionists in Brussels to discuss how Ukrainian civil society can be supported during the fight against Russian imperialism. The message was crystal clear. In addition to armed support, Ukrainian society needs to address acute problems such as the severe lack of affordable housing, the lack of care services, and also proposed reforms to weaken workers rights and trade unions. We need to find the legal basis to use frozen Russian assets and to direct these funds into a large investment program for social housing in Ukraine. Now it's also the time to finally put an end to Viktor Orban trying to stop support for Ukraine and blocking Ukraine's EU accession process. We must remove Hungary's voting rights in the council under article seven. I think enough is enough.”
  Russia-Ukraine conflict (10th term)
• “Okay. And from Ambleside, Mrs. Obadia is replaced by Mrs. Montserrat EPP. Mrs. Mendia is replaced by Mrs. Sanchez Murillo from Mrs. Doshi, replaced by Mrs. Delos from Patriots. Mr. Hauser is replaced by Mrs. Ortega. Patriots. Mrs. Donazzan is replaced by Mr. Ser. Mrs. Malone is replaced by Mr. and Mrs. Peter Hansen is replaced by Mr. Green's Mrs. and is replaced by Mr. McCarthy Green's and Mr. Ruddock is replaced by Mr. EPP. That is correct. No. One here.”
  Recruitment policies in the EU
• “This proposal has been referred to the Ample Committee, as it is the lead committee on health and safety measures in the workplace. We have a Commission representative here today to present the proposal and give some background information about the decision process that led to proposing limit values for occupational exposure for some new substances, as well as a number of other adjustments to the current directive. The Commission anticipates that this revision will prevent about 1700 lung cancer cases and 19,000 other illnesses over the next 40 years, and in addition, the new measures implemented could save up to 1.16 billion in healthcare costs. As the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs. We will continue like we did during the previous revisions of this directive, to aim at ensuring the best possible protection of workers from health and safety risks. Workers exposure to these substances need to be prevented or where this is not possible, reduced to the minimum, and this is also an important stepping stone for the Vision Zero approach to eliminate work related deaths in the EU, as laid down in the EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work 2127. For the presentation of the Commission proposal, I will now give the floor to Mrs. Maria Luisa Cabral, who is the director for Quality Jobs, Working Conditions and Social Dialogue for the next 12 minutes. So please, the floor is yours.”
  EU rules on hazardous working conditions
• “Okay, colleagues, it is 10:00, so we will be starting our hearing on artificial intelligence at the workplace. And this hearing aims to feed into the ongoing ample committee work on digitalisation, artificial intelligence and algorithmic management in the workplace, shaping the future of work. This legislative own initiative report is focusing on harnessing the potential and advantages of digital transformation. The conditions for a socially sustainable digital transition, and on the challenges that AI and algorithmic management present for workers, as well as businesses and labour market Regulation. It will make concrete policy recommendations and proposals, notably on possible future legislation for algorithmic management, including AI in the workplace. The use of AI in the workplace generates productivity gains. It can generate better time management, it can create greater autonomy, but it also generates risks from from intrusive data collection to discrimination and biases in recruitment practices or performance management, to new forms of excessive monitoring and surveillance or health and safety risks. Although algorithmic management has been inherent to the platform work, it is rapidly expanding to more traditional workplaces, and it's already a reality across many sectors in the labour market. Our committee has a long standing interest on this topic, having initiated already during last mandate, parliamentary resolutions on the right to disconnect and employment related aspects of platform work, and organized a similar hearing on algorithmic management at work also in November 2023. Our committee has very recently negotiated the Platform Work Directive, and also set up a monitoring group to follow up on the transposition and implementation of this directive, following last Parliament's call for relevant legislation.”
  Artificial Intelligence
• “Thank you very much. And thank you all who participated in this discussion. So the rapporteurs will now work with the shadow rapporteurs to find a compromise text with a vote on the final report scheduled for the November for the month of November in ample. All right. We will continue with the next item on the agenda. And I'm very happy to welcome you to today's exchange of views with the Commission on the Commission's first ever strategy on intergenerational fairness, adopted on the 6th of March 2026. I believe most of my colleagues here in the committee will agree that this is a timely and an important discussion, as intergenerational fairness is not only about solidarity between different age groups, but also about ensuring that Europe's social and economic model remains credible and sustainable for everyone today and in the future, and also for everyone to have trust in this model. The choices that we make on employment, social protection, housing skills, and public investment shape opportunities across generations for us here in the committee, this debate goes to the heart of our work about creating quality jobs, reducing inequalities, supporting inclusion, and ensuring that both younger and older generations can participate fully in society and in the labour markets. We're looking forward to hearing more about the Commission's approach, and, in particular, how the proposed actions could strengthen fairness and opportunity across generations. So I will start by giving the floor to the European Commission to Biljana Sirakova, who is deputy head of unit for youth and intergenerational fairness. So you have the floor for the next eight minutes.”
  EU engagement with youth
• “Thank you very much, executive vice president, for being here. And we can maybe say that this is the first step of a very long road, uh, because this is a long process. And, of course, our committee will also be contributing to the assessment of the commission proposals and, um, on the elements that relate to our committee and, of course, closely follow the development of the negotiations on the whole, MFF. And I actually think you mentioned that you have a formula for assessing the amount of funding for social in the next one as compared to the last, and I think that will probably be of interest to all groups in, in the committee. So if I could please ask for that information for all of us, I think it would be be useful. So that's the end of the agenda for today. Thank you very much, colleagues. And the next meetings will be in the 8th of September in Strasbourg and 22nd to 23rd of September here in Brussels. Thank you. Thank you.”
  EU expenditure on social policy
• “Thank you very much. I think an excellent summary also with very interesting national examples. So. Well. Very good. Scene setter for the discussion at hand. We will now go on to hear from Members of Parliament, social partners and members of the European Parliament. Starting with Mr. Dennis Radtke, our co-rapporteur on the minimum Wage directive and also the co-chair of the Minimum Wage Directive Monitoring Group. So please, Dennis, the floor is yours for the next four minutes.”
  Minimum wages harmonisation at EU level
• “56:51 – 10:59:17): Thank you very much, Chair. I think on a general note, on a general discussion, I just want to say that I come from a country where business has been very strongly in favor of the ETS system, and any kind of negative changes or changes to water down the system would actually be a punishment against industry, businesses, and companies that have adapted to the system the EU has chosen and also made the necessary investment for the transition. So it's very difficult for me to understand why you would want to send a signal like that to the businesses and the industries. But coming to the topic at hand on the revenues, which are of course extremely important that they are used to accelerate the transition into a low carbon society, and it's also important for the societal acceptance and understanding of the climate policy that we are doing.”
  Extension of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme
• “Thank you. Uh, is there any other member that wish to take the floor at this point? No. Um, so thank you very much, colleagues. And I understand that no objections have been raised. I hope I do the correct analysis. So that means we can confirm the employment guidelines as they are this year and therefore in the coming days, we will also prepare our own short committee report that will be voted in plenary at the beginning of October. And now, since Sato is coming at 11, I would propose that we take a break. So we will gather back here at 11:00. Thank you very much. So, colleagues, we are ready to start. If I could please ask you to take your seats. And it is my pleasure to welcome Roxana Sato, executive vice president for social rights and skills, Quality, Jobs and preparedness. As we all know, on the 16th of July, the Commission adopted the proposal for the Multiannual Financial Framework post 2027 and the bulk of proposals for the EU programmes post 2027. On behalf of our committee, I would like to thank executive Vice-President for participating in our Committee meeting today for an exchange of views on this package. From the point of view of the Ample Committee and as you well know, No executive vice president. The Parliament adopted an own initiative report on the ESF Plus post 2027 earlier this year, where we expressed expressed the Parliament's expectations for the future of the ESF plus. The Committee also contributed to the Parliament's own initiative report on the MFF post 2027, so I'm sure also, Executive Vice President is familiar with the committee standpoints when it comes to these and especially the ESF plus. So we take note of the commission package for the next MFF, and we're eager to hear from you on all of the elements related to our committee. So please, um, Roxana, you have the floor for the next 15 minutes.”
  EU expenditure on social policy
• “What was the main reasons for Europeans to vote in the last European parliamentary election? It was rising prices and the cost of living. And what are the issues that they think the European Parliament should address as the main priority? Inflation, rising prices and the cost of living. I think we have been given a pretty clear message and a very clear mandate to act. That is why last year it was a shock to see zero legal initiatives in the work programme in the field of employment and social policy this year. Luckily, this has been corrected with several legal and non-legal initiatives for employment and social policy. The Quality Jobs Act will be especially important. We want to see restrictions on subcontracting rules for using algorithms and AI in the workplace. We want to secure workers rights to training and to address psychosocial risks. And we also want to ensure that while we take one step forward, we do not take two steps back. The 28th regime and the citizens omnibus, whatever that will mean, can in no way mean lowering labour standards. The EU cannot afford to disregard the clear message and the mandate from the people. I think this mandate should not be about deregulating for big business. This should be about the rights and the livelihood of the European people.”
  EU competences on social policies
• “Thank you very much. We will open up for the group round, but since we have representation from the commission here as well, because I think this was new information that was presented here regarding platform work directive being revised as a part of the digitalisation omnibus. So I would start actually by asking the commission to to comment on this. And then we move on to the group round, because I think it's information that the members might ask anyhow. So we could get some comments right at the start.”
  Platform workers
• “56:51 – 10:59:17): Thank you very much, Chair. I think on a general note, on a general discussion, I just want to say that I come from a country where business has been very strongly in favor of the ETS system, and any kind of negative changes or changes to water down the system would actually be a punishment against industry, businesses, and companies that have adapted to the system the EU has chosen and also made the necessary investment for the transition. So it's very difficult for me to understand why you would want to send a signal like that to the businesses and the industries. But coming to the topic at hand on the revenues, which are of course extremely important that they are used to accelerate the transition into a low carbon society, and it's also important for the societal acceptance and understanding of the climate policy that we are doing.”
  Extension of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme
• “Thank you very much, Mr. Nava. So we will now start with the first session entitled what are the aims of the directive and how have they been impacted by the Court of Justice judgment in case C 1923? As you know, in November last year, the Court of Justice delivered its judgment, in this case, confirming the legal basis of the directive and the validity of the provisions of the directive relating to collective bargaining on wage setting. However, the court annulled two provisions of the directive on the criteria to be taken into account by Member states with statutory minimum wages, as well as the prohibition on reducing minimum wages in case of automatic indexation mechanisms. The subject of this session will therefore be the impacts of this judgment. Before we hear our expert speaker, I will shortly outline the modalities for how this debate will go On your desk, you will find speaking cards. Members of national parliaments can use those to indicate that you would like to take the floor. Just fill in the card and hand it to the ushers. And for MEPs, I already have a preliminary list of interested speakers, and if there are more MEPs that wish to take the floor spontaneously, please just raise your hand or your card as we do normally during committee meetings. As for the timing, I will kindly ask you to limit your interventions to 1.5 minutes for us to be able to ensure that everyone that wants to also will have time to take the floor, and we will try to divide the speaking time so that we have two national parliaments, followed by one MEP, then two members of national parliaments and one MEP, and so on. So we will start with the keynote speaker in this panel, Mrs. Sasha Garbin, who is permanent professor of EU law at the Legal Studies Department of the College of Europe. She has already published a commentary on the topic of the legal challenge against the directive and a recent court judgment. So she is the best placed to set the scene for us for this debate. Please, Mrs. Carmen, you have the floor for the next six minutes.”
  Minimum wages harmonisation at EU level
• “Thank you very much. And now we have the intervention of Mr. Marius, who is the chair of the Committee on Labour, Family and Social Protection from the Romanian Senate. Please. The floor is yours for the next four minutes.”
  EU competences on social policies
• “President. The commission has made a historic mistake in reducing the whole issue of competitiveness to the regulation agenda. At the same time the Commission has concentrated on deregulation, it has failed to address the most important problems facing European competitiveness. Where are the initiatives for big investments needed in Europe? Where are the measures to safeguard our digital sovereignty? Instead, the Commission is backing down, lowering the bar in the green economy where we could have had a competitive advantage. Above all, Europeans do not want deregulation driven by the interests of big companies in their deregulation. They want real solutions to the cost of living crisis. Europeans must have enough money to live in their everyday life that is at the heart of all competitiveness. For this reason, we need to increase our social housing production, strengthen collective bargaining agreements, and reduce energy prices through investments in renewable energies. There's still time to change course. Thank you.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “43:27 – 09:45:38): Thank you very much i think the context of this commission proposal is quite problematic because under pressure from several national governments as was mentioned and also the heavy industry the commission is now proposing changes to the market stability reserve and the ets2 that risks undermining the system's climate integrity and that was also already mentioned without any proper impact assessment of the effects that this will have the market stability reserve already contains six hundred million additional allowances on top of the ets2 cap so if all of these were to be used between twenty seven percent and thirty five percent it would also mean that the total supply would rise by five percent to ten percent which cannot be interpreted as being a technical adjustment but it's a political signal that emissions can increase i do not think we should respond to high price projections by allowing more emissions i do not think that's the right way to go from a climate point of view nor from a social justice point of view but the only sustainable way in the long run to contain prices is to reduce demand for allowances and that is through strong energy efficiency strong investment in affordable green mobility affordable green heating and strong complementary policies and also of course keeping the incentives in place for these investments to happen in the member states yet at the same time we're also seeing many member states pushing to weaken key measures such as the phase out of new co2 emitting vehicles or green heating standards and these are also measures that would drive the carbon prices up and not down so instead of diluting the system with additional allowances i think we need to strengthen complementary policies accelerate socially targeted climate investments front loading as was mentioned strengthening the social climate fund and as i see this is the only way to sustainably contain ets two prices in the long run while at the same time sticking to the promise and the principle of delivering on europe's climate targets”
  Extension of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme
• “Thank you. Next speaker is Mr. Martin from Spain. **Spanish representative Thank you very much. As the as I said earlier, and as we heard in the presentation. The minimum wage in Spain is not formally implemented, but in practice it has had. It has been implemented pretty much across the board, and we've seen an increase in 67% over the last few years. This means an average increase of 6.5% over the last eight years. 32% increase in the purchasing power. Our commitment is to increase the minimum wage to up to 60% of the of the net average wage. And I must underscore Annette, because this is a free of tax and Social Security contributions, it's up to 90% of the average wage. So this falls within the provisions of the directive. And it complies with the charter signed by Spain. Now, such a quick implementation has led to another problem. That is, we have too many workers earning a minimum wage, at 13% of all workers. And what we have to do now is ensure that collective bargaining reacts to this situation. We have very broad coverage of collective bargaining. As my colleague said, 92% of workers are covered by a collective bargaining, but we have very low level of participation or membership of trade unions, just 10%. This means that negotiations are weighted in favor of the employer, which means that the labor market reforms that we need, which are also implemented during the the recession, are not necessarily positive. We now want to strengthen collective bargaining by ensuring that the Labour Market Observatory work is sent out correctly, so that all sides are negotiating on the basis of the same complete information. There's no asymmetries there, and we hope this will lead to an increase in minimum wages in across Spain. That will allow us to put a stop to the differences in purchasing power, which can be found in each of our autonomous communities. Thank you.”
  Minimum wages harmonisation at EU level
• “Honorable chair. Would you spend more than 2 trillion annually to buy from companies that disrespect workers? I certainly hope not. The rules on public procurement affect the wages, the working conditions and the working life of millions of European workers. The committee adopted an opinion to this report, with broad political majority, including possibilities to exclude companies that do not respect workers rights and also to strengthen collective bargaining. I was very disappointed to notice that the opinion was not included in the Imco report. To the extent that we would have expected, even though the amendments were clearly under ample competence, the revision of the rules on public procurement cannot turn into yet another missed opportunity to strengthen workers rights in Europe. To prevent this, we need a clear message from this Parliament. And to get that, we need to vote for the amendments. **Nicolae ȘTEFĂNUȚĂ @Chair: The floor goes to Mr. Branislav Ondrus.”
  EU policy on social criteria in public funding
• “And second, to evaluate Amazon's commitment to transparent and constructive engagement with this committee and the members present. The program we prepared for today reflect these goals. As with the January hearing, we are honored to welcome Amazon workers and their representatives from Germany and Poland, both present and online, alongside EU level representatives. And we have also extended an invitation to a senior Amazon executive to take part in this hearing. In line with what has been agreed during our coordinators meeting. Unfortunately, the representatives Amazon proposed did not meet the level of seniority that was requested by the committee. So this again raises concerns about the company's commitment to an open and honest dialogue. As a result, Amazon representatives will not be taking part in today's discussion. And I can only express my regret for this missed opportunity. Um. Moving on. Uh, our last exchange of views in January 2024 raised serious concerns. Uh, the testimony suggested that workers rights and protection in Amazon warehouses, to put it mildly, remain questionable. And recent developments have done little to ease those concerns. We continue to see headlines and reports highlighting issues such as intrusive employee monitoring, unpaid overtime, workplace safety violations and insufficient protection of workers rights.”
  EU rules on hazardous working conditions
• “Thank you very much. And last but not least, it is of course, also interesting to hear the Commission plans to follow up on the Parliament on how to follow up on the Parliament demands once our ENL is done, and also of the future quality jobs roadmap and how this topic is is linked to the preparations for that. So I will now give the floor to Manuela Geleng, who is the Director of Jobs and Skills at DG EMPL, for five minutes.”
  Youth employment & training
• “Demographic shifts, economic inequalities and changing labour markets are placing growing pressure on the relationship between generations. Younger Europeans today often face more precarious employment, higher housing costs and greater barriers to financial independence compared to previous generations. And at the same time, ageing populations are increasing demands on public finances, pensions and healthcare systems, which raises questions about long term sustainability and intergenerational equity. Furthermore, the committee looks forward to exchanging information on the Commission's prospective initiatives aimed at improving the working conditions of artists and cultural professionals. This sector, which plays a vital role in Europe's cultural diversity and creative economy, continues to face challenges related to precarious employment, income instability and limited access to social protection. So thank you once again for joining us here today, and we look forward to your remarks and the fruitful exchange. And we will, of course, start by giving you the floor to tell us about your work and the upcoming proposals and initiatives from the side of the Commission. The floor is yours.”
  EU policy on aging workforce and pensions
• “Thank you very much. Lina and colleagues, as you heard today, we will be hearing the presentation of this draft report. And as we all know, despite progress, women across the EU still face unequal pay, undervalued work and also lower pensions. This report outlines concrete steps to close these gaps, among other things stronger social protection, investment in care and flexible work, and support for women's entrepreneurship. It also calls for full enforcement of pay transparency and gender balance rules to achieve lasting equality and economic growth. So, without further ado, I would now like to pass the floor to the colleagues, replacing the two co-rapporteurs starting first with Mrs. Miletti on behalf of Miroslav and Nicole. So the floor is yours for three minutes.”
  Gender pay transparency
• “I was expecting this debate to be speech after speech about the successes of the single market and that's why I think it's important to point out that there is also another side to this story that is a story about all of the Europeans who have not benefited or gotten their share of this success. It is a story of workers who have had to leave their homes to work elsewhere because there's not enough jobs and no services. It is the story of both EU and non-EU workers who are working here within the European Union who are not being paid according to collective agreements and our national laws, who are given the most dangerous tasks, the most dangerous jobs, who are subjected to exploitation, to extortion and in many cases also violence. So yes, we would really need a stronger social dimension to the single market but this must mean tougher measures to address labor exploitation. This must mean limiting subcontracting and excluding companies from procurement that do not respect collective agreements. It must mean strengthening our labor inspectorates and also addressing problems such as self bogus self employment. Most importantly, we need a strategy to strengthen trade unions because the best way to secure workers' rights is to strengthen the unions that fight for these rights and for a socially just single market every single day.”
  EU policy on employment subcontracting
• “Thank you very much. And now we turn to the Amazon workers. Next on my list is our guest speaker from Poland, Mrs. Maria malinowski, warehouse worker of Amazon Poland and also a member of Workers Initiative trade union. So the floor is yours for the next eight minutes.”
  Platform workers
• “Thank you very much. Since it's late, I think it's good to kind of start with the basics, and the EU is facing a significant challenge when it comes to the climate investment gap. So it has been estimated that we would need new annual investments by around €350 billion every year to reach EU's climate and industrial objectives for 2030. So it's quite clear that to fix this, we will need a lot of public money. And we should also look at how our fiscal rules could support this better. But we also need changes in private money flows. And this was the whole idea of the taxonomy to be kind of the key tool and also compass, as my colleague mentioned here, to enable this. And it's why it's so concerning that the commission is now weakening the EU taxonomy, because this is, of course, what is going to happen and also to significantly reduce the reporting scope. And as has already been mentioned, again, this is not simplification. This is in many ways complication of rules. And this is again the regulation that is just being masqueraded or presented as simplification. And therefore the left will be tabling an objection to this delegated act. But I would also like to hear how the Commissioner sees the taxonomy after these changes. Can we say that the taxonomy will be a gold standard internationally when it's being weakened in this way? And what is your assessment of what the changes now proposed to the do no significant harm principle will mean for this principle?”
  Green Taxonomy
• “We have asked for the floor, but I do have to remind all members that we do not have the national political debates in the European Parliament. So we discussed the European policies here. Mr.. Sebi, one minute.”
  EU political integration
• “Honorable chair. The US is ruled by an authoritarian president who is using trade policies as a means of coercion and political extortion. While it is clear that European workers will only lose in a full fledged trade war, the EU should be much bolder and much more imaginative in its own response to Trump's actions. The EU should target the oligarchs that are close to Trump, to action directed at Tesla and Musk, and by digital tax aimed at the huge digital platforms. The EU should also signal its readiness to use the anti coercion instrument. But most importantly, we need to make the European economy less dependent on US exports. That means supporting internal demand in the European markets, and that means supporting real wage growth and also increasing investments. More than ever, we need to put people and workers first in our economic policy making.”
  EU-US trade relations
• “We will start right away since we have quite a tight schedule. Dear Commissioner, Madam chair, Mr. Rapporteur colleagues, I'm very pleased to start this exchange of views on the Commission's affordable housing plan and to welcome Commissioner Jorgensen here today. And I would also like to warmly welcome the chair of the House Committee, Mrs. Tinagli, and the House committee's rapporteur on this file, Mr. Jimenez. Lara's. The affordable housing plan was presented in the House Committee in December last year, and today's discussion gives us an opportunity to focus specifically on its social dimension. Over the past year, our committee has held several debates on the housing crisis, and throughout these discussions, one message consistently stood out. The right to affordable housing is part of the fundamental set of human rights. Housing is not merely a market commodity. It is a basic condition for dignity, stability and equal participation in society, and I am therefore very glad to see that the Commission's affordable housing plan recognizes the current situation not only in economic terms, but as a systemic social crisis that threatens the very fabric of European cohesion and human dignity. And it is equally important that the plan acknowledges the right to adequate housing as an element of fundamental human rights. This recognition is indeed paramount. We will move on and starting by remarks by Mrs. Tenaglia, the House chair, for two minutes. But I will warn you all that we have time only until 12, which means that I will be very strict with time. So everybody has to stick to the time limits. Starting okay now. So, Mrs. Tenaglia, the floor is yours for the next two minutes.”
  EU housing policy
• “Um. The article 13 requires parties to ensure traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples and local communities, and that it's accessed um, only with free, prior and informed consent and on agreed terms. And it should be good to also take this clear obligation, um, to be directly reflected into the directive. And the third and the last point is that there still seems to be an inconsistency with the scope of the agreement and the directive. I think it was addressed also in the last debate, uh, with the agreement applying to areas beyond national jurisdiction and the directive limiting itself to planned activities from the member states in this area, and the notion of planned activities is indeed relevant for part four of the agreement, but not for all of the agreement, and therefore the scope should reflect the scope of the whole directive. So hopefully we can address these points in the work to come. And also looking forward to working with all of you. And next on the list is Mr. Jongen.”
  Nature protection and restoration in the EU
• “In this context, the non unified and often not strong voice of the EU was emphasized um, and was also accompanied by a strong call to change this as rapidly as possible. Due to the urgency of the global situation, a declaration called the Doha Declaration was adopted at the beginning of the summit, which reaffirms some important strong commitments, including support to developing countries that intend to increase universal social protection by 2% each year. Also, to enforce labor laws effectively with regards to the fundamental principles and rights at work, namely the freedom of association of all workers and effective recognition of collective bargaining, strengthening social dialogue, strengthening the rights of migrant workers, of digital workers, and encouraging the ratification and implementation of the ILO fundamental conventions emphasizing the relevance of multilateralism. As chair, I had the possibility to intervene as a speaker in some very interesting side events, including on digitalization of social protection and also on advancing living wages. And I think our delegation also established some good and important contacts in our bilateral meetings with the ILO, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, as well as the international trade union organization and some civil society organizations. So to end, I think the most important message for the committee here is, as I mentioned, that many of these instances really emphasized the importance of the EU having a strong and a stronger voice on these issues and the need for cooperation with the EU and its member States to enhance and speed up social progress, and to work for the recognition and the safeguarding of the fundamental rights and principles at work.”
  EU competences on social policies
• “Okay, so our second session will deal with the implementation of the directive. And I will start by giving the floor to Mr. Torsten Schulten for his keynote speech, his political scientist and head of the collective bargaining archive in Hans Bückler Foundation. So, please, the floor is yours.”
  EU competences on social policies
• “Thank you very much. And as next speaker, I would like to give the floor to Joaquin Pintaran Nunez, ILO's Chief of the Occupational Safety and Health and Working Environment Branch. And he will also be joining us remotely. Mister Pinarro Nunez, you have the, floor for the next 7 minutes, please.”
  EU rules on hazardous working conditions
• “The root cause of the housing crisis is complete market failure. The problem is not a general lack of supply, but a shortage of not for profit affordable housing that could balance out the negative effects of this profit driven market. This point is exactly where this report that mostly focuses on increasing market supply falls short, and therefore, I think it constitutes a huge missed opportunity for this Parliament and for the EU to really address this crisis that affects millions of Europeans. For my country, the most acute issue is the new Eurostat classification, which treats interest subsidy loans for state subsidized housing as government debt. Even when the government only acts as a guarantor for the loans, this needs to be changed. If we want more incentives for social housing investments from member states. We need to address the failures created by the financialization of the housing market, and we need to recognize housing as a human right.”
  EU housing policy
• “The bigger a company is, the more difficult it is for an individual employee to make their voice heard. The legislation on European Works Councils deals with this by guaranteeing the right for workers to be heard. And the bigger these companies grow, the more employees will be affected. So in Finland now, by way of example, there are new works councils in the social sphere, and there are some covering early childhood education as well. And people in the chamber on the far, on in the right and far right. This good simplification, surely these European works councils exist. This directive is quite, uh, simply trying to cut red tape. So it's improving existing legislation, improving legal protection for workers. So I do find it strange. That when you have these small improvements and the right is against it.”
  EU regulation on worker representation in company decisions
• “Mrs. May and I will now give the floor to Mrs. Sinem Demir, who is a member of the European Affairs Committee in the Danish Parliament. As Denmark was in the origin of the legal challenge to the directive, it is. It is very interesting to hear your views on the topic and your perspective on the implications for national systems and a way forward. Um, so your intervention will also help us better understand how member states with strong collective bargaining traditions view this directive. Um, and the effect it will have. So please. The floor is yours for the next four minutes.”
  EU competences on foreign affairs
• “So what we are hoping for today, I would say, are clear answers. What is Amazon's management take on? The concerns that have been repeatedly mentioned here to our committee? Has any meaningful progress been made since these matters were first brought before us, and have working conditions genuinely improved our workers today better protected than they were previously, and our individual and collective labor rights fully respected. As I have also mentioned at previous occasions, this hearing is not about confrontation. It is about accountability, dialogue and progress. And I do hope that today's testimonies will help us move closer to our shared objective, which is to ensure that all workers in Europe, regardless of their background and regardless of their employer, are treated with dignity, with fairness and with respect. So we will start our discussion with our guest speakers. And the first to take the floor is Mr. David Zapolsky, Amazon Senior Vice president, chief of Global Affairs and Legal Officer. He is with us online, joining us from Seattle. So, Mr. Zapolsky, the floor is yours for the next six minutes, please.”
  EU regulation on worker representation in company decisions