Elisabeth GROSSMANN

Policy topics Elisabeth GROSSMANN is active on

What Elisabeth GROSSMANN has said (43)

• “In particular. I would like to offer my support to greater responsibility of economic actors and having clear requirements. And one person who is responsible for products from non-EU countries in growing online trade. We need to make sure that we have a clear financial and legal liability in order to offer greater protection to consumers and create fair competition conditions for our companies. Digitalization and sustainability. The circular economy need to continue to be strengthened, and as has already been said, the digital Product passport is a key instrument in this domain. To that end, I would like to lend my support to these compromises that have been presented for a cross-sector approach. Repairs, etc. replacement parts, spare parts, etc. as well as responsible disposal. At the same time, a sustainable business model must be promoted with the support of sustainable consumer habits. Repairs must also take precedence as well as a recycling. We must try to extend the life cycle of products and use our resources in a much more efficient way. And if there can be any tax based incentives, then this also should be on the basis of a harmonised approach rather than market fragmentation, which is something that we must prevent. And as a conclusion, I would also like to support this approach that has been taken to fast fashion and efforts to to tackle that and to make sure that we have a more responsible approach. So once again, thank you very much indeed for your constructive cooperation.”
  Ecodesign & durability
• “Can be possible outside the monopoly of manufacturers. Now, the circular economy process must be priority, for example through recycling. And we need to bolster sustainable methods so that this we can protect resources. And we need an EU wide certification system. And we need harmonised access to technical documentation as well. That's absolutely essential when it comes to market surveillance at EU level. This needs to be stepped up. And we support a risk based based approach which will penalise and sanction companies that do not comply. And I also support the demands of the rapporteur. When we know. These counterfeit counterfeit goods can undermine the product standards in Europe, and this can also harm fair competition. Therefore, it's urgent that we take action on this, and we should also follow the best practice models of certain member states, such as France. Harmonisation of VAT for repairs and refurbished products. That's also potentially a very effective tool in order to promote sustainable consumption again. Here we should focus on best practice models overall. I'm very optimistic that we'll be able to come to a common approach, and hopefully we'll be able to then see this adopted in plenary.”
  VAT harmonisation · Circular economy
• “Thank you very much the single market is the crowning achievement of our economy it is important for our growth our well-being and solidarity for all it should be at least but decades after its creation it has not been fully realized and it's really run aground in a number of areas. There's unfair trading practice territorial supply constraints and that is particularly bad for citizens in smaller member states it affects their spending things are more expensive or simply not available. Multinational companies create their own rules within their supply chains and the smaller member states such as Austria Belgium Slovenia and so on are disadvantaged in this situation. These inequalities have to be tackled because it really undermines trust in the single market and the European Union as a whole thank you.”
  EU Single Market harmonisation
• “Thank you very much, colleagues. Um, Madam Chair, I'd like to thank the rapporteur, the secretariat and all of the colleagues who have worked on this, uh, file up to now. So thank you for all of that work. I think we all share the aim of wanting to create an environment where our companies can grow, can be globally competitive, can maintain that competitiveness. Um, but that means we have to have a reliable, predictable, uh, legislation since the beginning of this legislative period. We've talked about reducing bureaucracy. We've talked about simplification in our debates in our votes. And the previous proposal is also part of an omnibus. And all of this is meant to contribute to simplification. Now how far can we go with that? That's part of the current negotiations. And I think it's particularly important when we look at the definition of the small and mid caps. And I think at the moment we have quite, um, different positions. I think in terms of the definitions. I think this new, uh, category of small and mid caps, I'm a little cautious about that. Companies don't just grow overnight from uh becoming from being SMEs.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “President. Thank you. President. Commissioner. Dear colleagues. Indeed, Commissioner, the existing framework from 2008 Eight has become too constrained for the challenges of our time. Digitization, global supply chains, AI, and the green transition require us to readjust to make sure that legislation isn't constantly lagging behind the technological reality. This initiative support sends out a resounding signal to the Commission. Europe needs a modern, consistent and enforceable set of rules that also holds third country providers accountable. We need to protect our businesses, provide legal certainty and bolster our businesses. We'll be voting tomorrow, but we've achieved great things. The digital product passport is supposed to become the cornerstone of our single market with clear information on durability, repairability and origin of products, and also possibility to extend it to second hand products is something we want to investigate. We want legal certainty for repairers and refurbishers that secure local jobs and promote the circular economy. We're finally addressing fast and ultra fast fashion and their impact on the environment and fair competition in Europe. We need clear rules in online trade. And this brings us to the key point of responsibility of online shops. We need to close the The loop holes where the DSA scope doesn't cover it. It can't end at the EU's borders. We need fair competition rules for European businesses and their employees. So my message to the Commission. This reform needs to be more than just a technical update. We need to use the opportunity, the window of opportunity we have now.”
  Liability for online marketplaces
• “Democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights. These are the foundations of the EU. But recent experiences showed that our rights are under pressure. Hate and distrust are rampant, and foreign actors are trying to influence and destabilise our unity and time of growing geopolitical tension. We need international cooperation, but we cannot allow for third countries to implement or interfere in our policies by hidden actors. We need transparency where it is necessary. A targeted influence of third countries on our political processes. At the same time, we have managed to ensure that the framework and the content of this directive cannot be turned against our own civil society, against our NGOs, even if some people in this House would have liked that to be the case. Democracy survives from a in the light of critical voices, and these should not be silenced.”
  Disinformation & online freedoms
• “Um, if implementation of these things is delayed, it leads to legal uncertainty, to a distortion of competition and disadvantages, particularly for SMEs. And that is why we need clear competences and good implementation and enforcement, even if compensatory measures are necessary. We always need clear rules on competition and state aid. And that need has been taken into account. And consumer rights have to be enforceable to um we. Can achieve that through having the right mechanisms. Looking to the future is very important. We have to ensure that the internal market in the digital area can continue to develop in a dynamic way, and the European Union is tabling increasingly on international standards. Our deeper cooperation with Switzerland should not only reflect the current legal situation, but should make continuous alignment possible. And that, I am pleased to say, has also been addressed. And this will ensure that new requirements with regard to digital products can compliance assessments that these don't become additional hurdles, a distorting competition, or creating regulatory gaps. So thank you once again for this balanced report. Market access can't be a one way street. I look forward to our continuing conversations. Thank you.”
  EU Competition policy
• “Thank you colleagues. First and foremost, I would like to thank the rapporteur, you, Andreas, for all of the work that's been done and the balanced approach. Relations between the European Union and Switzerland have grown very close over time, and they're very important for the functioning of the internal market, particularly in times of global turmoil. It's important to be able to work together on the basis of clear rules. And in order to do that, we need a stable legal framework which creates trust and stability. And as far as Imco is concerned, I think it is to be welcomed. And this is, um, the goal after all of this cooperation, it's important to deepen it. This is not about new relationships. It is about anchoring existing structures and ensuring predictability. And what is key is that the participants should, uh, have clear rules and make a contribution on the basis of the benefits that they draw. And it's very important that high standard should be preserved, um, high social standards. They should not come under pressure. I will therefore be tabling some targeted amendments on that subject. It is also Important. And you mention this to have a dynamic alignment and market surveillance and a functioning dispute settlement mechanism.”
  EU Single Market harmonisation
• “Mr. Commissioner president now simplification. This ought mean that sustainability and transparency will be gotten rid with deregulation is not a panacea. Actually, good regulation is the precondition for fair competition within the internal market. Dependable, uh, chains, um, supply chains and the confidence of consumers as well. We have to get rid of the various lacunae that exist. In other words, the territorial limitations that exist. Uh, the consumers in many parts of Europe are invulnerable because they are disadvantaged. They simply lost confidence in the European Union. We have to deal with that as quickly as possible by European. That ought to be applicable there with digital services as well. And the Commission ought to provide us with good examples and not ex and not communicate through X, for example, but through European networks. That would be something that I would like to request from the Commission. Thank you.”
  EU Single Market harmonisation
• “In the digital world we see endless scrolling addictive and harmful content. It is demonstratively causing anxiety, sleep problems, learning difficulties, aggression and further mental problems. Girls are often affected by feelings of lack of self-worth, unrealistic ideals of beauty. Boys are often the targets of violence and radicalisation Localization with terrible consequences. So life threatening tests of courage, violence or even gun attacks in schools of the kind that we've seen in my own hometown of Grazia. So the digital world can be a very dangerous place. Age limits are one option for protecting children and ensuring that parents are supported when they exercise parental responsibility. Business models, which are at the cost of our children, should be banned both online and offline. This initiative report is a clear mandate to the Commission to protect our children.”
  Safety features & content control for child protection online
• “Thank you very much. Thank you for that very comprehensive presentation of the full panoply of both risks and opportunities. So you made it clear we're talking about the digital sovereignty of Europe and the risks posed by a general omnibus. With, uh, an effort to target businesses based outside Europe. Which would then be able to obtain data from European citizens and users more easily. So could you give us some more detailed information about that to tell us about, to what extent we have recommendations to focus on enhancing on strengthening consumer and data protection. What should we as MEPs be particularly wary and attentive of?”
  EU digital & tech sovereignty
• “Um, if implementation of these things is delayed, it leads to legal uncertainty, to a distortion of competition and disadvantages, particularly for SMEs. And that is why we need clear competences and good implementation and enforcement, even if compensatory measures are necessary. We always need clear rules on competition and state aid. And that need has been taken into account. And consumer rights have to be enforceable to um we. Can achieve that through having the right mechanisms. Looking to the future is very important. We have to ensure that the internal market in the digital area can continue to develop in a dynamic way, and the European Union is tabling increasingly on international standards. Our deeper cooperation with Switzerland should not only reflect the current legal situation, but should make continuous alignment possible. And that, I am pleased to say, has also been addressed. And this will ensure that new requirements with regard to digital products can compliance assessments that these don't become additional hurdles, a distorting competition, or creating regulatory gaps. So thank you once again for this balanced report. Market access can't be a one way street. I look forward to our continuing conversations. Thank you.”
  EU rules on digital competition
• “Commissioner. Ladies and gentlemen. If it goes at this particular speed, then it'll be 130 140 years. When? When we'll reach true parity. Uh, we. It's too little to have equality on paper. We are no longer patient. Uh, we want we don't want to wait for more generations so that our great, great, great grandchildren will experience that equality and not experience this poverty. The European Union during the last period, a lot was done on this particular issue. Important pieces of legislation were there in order to function as catalysts to speed up the situation, the transparency regulation, but, uh, also the issue on platform working and providing some sort of transparency there as well, and demanding member states, effective measures. That's what has to take place right now so that more can be done internally within the various member states. And the commission must, must quickly implement, uh, whatever legislation is there in place. And we must fight against any sort of backlash whatsoever. Thank you. Thank you very much.”
  Gender pay transparency
• “Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In recent weeks or days, we've seen very serious cases where, uh, types of food which are defective and also toys which have caused grave harm. And my question, therefore, is this how can we improve the structures in such a way that these cases would be prevented?”
  EU measures on lifestyle-related behaviours (smoking, drinking, eating, etc.)
• “It is even more important to do so now that we face faced a major lobbying campaign from Big Tech supported by the Trump administration, which threatened the EU with tariffs if we impose fines to US big tech. I'm sorry today that the EMA is under threat. Last month, US Congressman Jim Jordan claimed that the DMA is a weapon against US tech firm aiming to remedy Europe's economic downturn. This is simply not true and solely aims at installing a fake story about how European rules work. As the commissioner rightly pointed out, the rules apply to all companies which meet the criteria of gatekeeper, irrespective of whether they are American, European or from anywhere else in the world. The Commission has provided the right justification in support of the DMA, and we back you on this. Now, in order to ensure a fairer digital single market in Europe and to preserve the credibility of our rules, we urge you to continue the ongoing investigations and to apply the measures provided under the DMA as strictly as you deem it appropriate. We need strong signs.”
  EU rules on digital competition
• “Thank you very much. Thank you for that very comprehensive presentation of the full panoply of both risks and opportunities. So you made it clear we're talking about the digital sovereignty of Europe and the risks posed by a general omnibus. With, uh, an effort to target businesses based outside Europe. Which would then be able to obtain data from European citizens and users more easily. So could you give us some more detailed information about that to tell us about, to what extent we have recommendations to focus on enhancing on strengthening consumer and data protection. What should we as MEPs be particularly wary and attentive of?”
  EU digital & tech sovereignty
• “Commissioner. Ladies and gentlemen. If it goes at this particular speed, then it'll be 130 140 years. When? When we'll reach true parity. Uh, we. It's too little to have equality on paper. We are no longer patient. Uh, we want we don't want to wait for more generations so that our great, great, great grandchildren will experience that equality and not experience this poverty. The European Union during the last period, a lot was done on this particular issue. Important pieces of legislation were there in order to function as catalysts to speed up the situation, the transparency regulation, but, uh, also the issue on platform working and providing some sort of transparency there as well, and demanding member states, effective measures. That's what has to take place right now so that more can be done internally within the various member states. And the commission must, must quickly implement, uh, whatever legislation is there in place. And we must fight against any sort of backlash whatsoever. Thank you. Thank you very much.”
  Gender pay transparency
• “(16:18:38 – 16:22:21): Chair, honorable colleagues, the commission is justifying this proposal because it says its simplification. But if you think about the impact, the consequences, I have to ask myself whether this objective really will be achieved. The commission admits itself that the expected savings will be very difficult to quantify, and they will be based upon many exceptions. And it remains unclear what impact this proposal will have. For me, it is a decisive factor. If we want to have simplification, that means we have to have deregulation. It shouldn't be we shouldn't confuse the 2. This kind of circular economy will only work if the member state producer can be identified, if they can effectively act against people who are not doing their part. If this was indicated in the nonpaper, it was indicated that producers were not contributing to this kind of scheme or already creating problems today. So nominating an authorized representative is not simply a formality. It is a very important instrument rather for market surveillance and traceability and for making sure that the person causing the issue is called to account. When you have producers from third states, this is also an issue. The European Parliament over the last couple of years within the framework of its initiative report on EU Registrative Framework had spoken out for having responsibility from economic operators from other countries and just strengthen their accountability. If we would look in other policy areas, if there are loopholes in cross border e commerce, and we're trying to close those loopholes, then we shouldn't create new loopholes in this field. Therefore, I'm of the opinion that it should continue to be mandatory, and they should have an authorized present representative. And that the administrative we have to understand, though, that it can be a problem for very small companies. So when we bear in mind that micro companies would benefit from a reduction in requirements, then we should actually restrict this derogation just to them. So we should restrict this to small companies, and it should also have a deadline, a very strict deadline for so that it can be brought in to line with the Circular Economy Act. This would be a balanced approach in my opinion. And here, producer responsibility for market surveillance that should be in harmony with the aim to have a reduction in unnecessary administrative burdens. And the form of extended producer responsibility, well, actually, that should be in the Circular Economy Act. And this is where we have to reduce the fragmentation, and where possible we should bring simplifications into play. Thank you.”
  Circular economy
• “This does not mean that our group does not want to work at a solution for Malian influence in politics and policy making. There is a solution to make something positive from this proposal. That is what we have proposed in our amendments. We have tabled a set of amendments that would reframe the Commission proposal as a general transparency directive. Why only request to register The third country interest activities. All lobbying shall be transparent and all activities shall be subjected to a registration. We have a European Transparency Register. Several member states like Germany and Ireland, have their national lobby register, and we should not create a separate system of registries specifically for the third country representation. On top of it, the current proposal does not help the harmonisation for the sake of the functioning of the international market, as the legal basis implies, a general transparency directive for all interest representation activities would harmonize and serve the the internal market. That is why in our amendments we changed the activities that fall under the scope of the directive by no longer limiting it on the third country aspect. We also proposed to make the definition of interest representation activities stricter. Looking at the formulation of policy and or legislation for the political decision making process in order to. It's too long. A short sentence in order to preserve small organizations and smaller companies undertaking interest representation activities, we introduced a threshold of €25,000 of annual costs for interest representation activities. Yes. Thank you. Thank you.”
  Transparency requirements for interest groups
• “Thank you very much. Well, first of all, I'd like to thank the rapporteur for all of his work and for his presentation today. We had our first shadows meeting yesterday, and I have to say, I'm very optimistic that we'll be able to find a consensus, a consensus which will serve the interests of consumers and at the same time will meet the challenges of digitalisation and the green transition, and do so in a firm way. We need a proper legislative framework that can anticipate future developments already because these. Because we need to take into consideration all the technological progress that will take place. So we need to have a policy that anticipates. And for my political group. Just on some individual points for my political group. It's key that we deal with the conformity conformity process and we harmonize that. And we also need to have standardised quality and safety standards. This is the only way we will have conditions for fair competition within the single market. Could. And it's very significant that the obligations of economic operators are very clearly defined, especially for companies outside the EU. And for this, we need to have a legal, responsible firm in Europe. And we can't have this.”
  EU competences on consumer protection and product standards
• “Thank you. Well, public procurement awarders have a responsibility, and therefore they need to comply with social and environmental standards when we are re ING public procurement rules. And I do think we need to seek to avoid business models emerging that are designed specifically for the public procurement sector. For example, there are lawyers cabinets which we've seen in Austria. I was responsible for school buildings. It was cheaper to have comparative have tended rather than undertaking construction.”
  EU policy on sustainability criteria in public funding
• “Thank you, madam colleagues. Well, first of all, I would like to thank the rapporteur for his very ambitious draft report. He's sending out a clear political signal saying that the reworking of the NLF needs to be adapted to the challenges of our time, because increased digitalisation constantly faces us with new challenges. And the existing framework from 2008 is no longer fit for purpose. It is no longer in line with reality, and that leads to legal uncertainty and also hampers the further development of the circular economy in different areas. The draft report addresses the need to adapt existing rules such as the Ecodesign regulation and directive to address the right to repair and put all of that into a coherent framework which can strengthen the circular economy and offer a static framework. It's also important that secondhand products are reliable and environmentally friendly, and in line with the needs of the consumers. So our focus is on harmonised measures which respect and improve the meeting of quality standards and conformity standards, and also promote our sustainability goals. I hope that during the negotiations, the approach of this report will be further developed so that our principles of Repairability. Long life and circular economy. Do not remain dead. Letter. At the same time, equal competition conditions and legal certainty should be guaranteed for all actors.”
  Ecodesign & durability
• “Thank you. I can, but agree with the previous speaker. This has been discussed for long enough. We need to actually do something. We need to, uh, get there. I'd like to thank the speakers for these excellent analyses, and particularly what type of dangers are threatening here and the types of dangers that have already been seen to exist. And this really is a very concerning signal, uh, what we saw this weekend, in fact, uh, report in the Financial Times. That from the shows that, uh, from the commission, there's attempts to weaken the AI act because of concerns from the United States and because of pressure from Trump. Uh, so the US administration, Trump's administration. And so here we really need to be very decisive. And we need to work together to go against that. We need to make sure that our what we do is not placed on some kind of negotiating table for the US administration. We mustn't become victims to that. We need to work against that. And we need to attempt to have independence, digital independence and has already been said. Economically speaking, we need to build on this as well, so that we can have European alternatives and we can promote those, because in the general population, people don't really know about alternatives. And we need to make sure that we have a digital panorama that's broader than that, and that's something that we need to all work on. It's a task for all of us as European players at the political level.”
  EU digital & tech sovereignty
• “It's, uh, not necessarily linear process. And that has to be reflected in our legislation as well. We have to think about these standards, data protection, environmental protection. Um, these aren't, uh, bureaucratic burdens. They are fundamental parts of our single market. And I think it's a competitive advantage for companies that want to promote their competitiveness and their responsibility. So I think in some places we have found successful, uh, wording here, uh. For these, uh, companies, uh, so I think. We have the right, uh, threshold levels as well that can be in the future changed to delegated acts. I think it's an important, uh, part of that, uh, that, uh, those changes remain in the hands of the co-legislators. I think it's an issue of democracy and transparency. So just to summarize, we do want simplification, but we don't want to see weakened standards. The proper procedures have to be, uh, followed. And of course, I think we do want to all support smaller companies better to help strengthen them and make them more competitive. Thank you. Thank thank you very much for PFA.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “Thank you colleagues. First and foremost, I would like to thank the rapporteur, you, Andreas, for all of the work that's been done and the balanced approach. Relations between the European Union and Switzerland have grown very close over time, and they're very important for the functioning of the internal market, particularly in times of global turmoil. It's important to be able to work together on the basis of clear rules. And in order to do that, we need a stable legal framework which creates trust and stability. And as far as Imco is concerned, I think it is to be welcomed. And this is, um, the goal after all of this cooperation, it's important to deepen it. This is not about new relationships. It is about anchoring existing structures and ensuring predictability. And what is key is that the participants should, uh, have clear rules and make a contribution on the basis of the benefits that they draw. And it's very important that high standard should be preserved, um, high social standards. They should not come under pressure. I will therefore be tabling some targeted amendments on that subject. It is also Important. And you mention this to have a dynamic alignment and market surveillance and a functioning dispute settlement mechanism.”
  EU-Switzerland relations
• “Mr. Current commissioner. Back in autumn, you were saying that there has been year long access to goods and services, and now we're seeing that the generation that is not part of the digital natives is really struggling to carry out banking operations or to purchase goods, or really are finding themselves excluded from economic life. So do you still believe that this population group should have equal access to services, and can you guarantee that? And on the subject of banking services. Would you be opposed to unilateral disadvantages that are contained in the terms and conditions. Business terms and conditions.”
  Means of payment (cash vs digital)
• “Thank you. Chair. My colleague Laura Ballerini asked me to read her statement. We recently celebrated the first year of the DMA since its entry on application after one year of life. The DMA has brought positive results in Europe. Gatekeepers have been identified. Consumer can more freely choose the web browser they want to use on their mobile. New app stores have emerged for consumers. Pre-installed applications, for instance on iPhone, are easier to change, and we see that meta is working on measures to make WhatsApp and messengers communicating with other messaging services. This is good for competition, this is good for innovation, and this is good for consumers. Yet more progressive progressives need to be made today. Gatekeepers still not comply with the duty to obtain proper consent from users to use their proposal data across gatekeepers services, or to combine it with data acquired elsewhere. Certain gatekeepers still block users from finding cheaper deals on their app stores. Self-preferencing practices are not fully addressed yet, so there is still work to do, and we count on the commission to apply the dmas swiftly and quickly.”
  EU rules on digital competition
• “We can't see these companies shirk their responsibility. So the liability needs to be set up very clearly now in order to ensure legal certainty. It's also essential to have clear definitions for repair and for refurbishes, especially when it comes to the problem of liability, because. Refurbishes and second hand sellers should not have the same liability as manufacturers. For this reason, we need to have precise definitions when it comes to liability. Now, digitalisation offers many opportunities to reduce the administrative burden. And overall, in my view, the approach is absolutely right. That is to reduce administrative hurdles. But this cannot be to the detriment of standards. Consumer protection and safety standards must have the highest, must have high priority and compliance is absolutely non-negotiable, including in a digital world. Now the digital product passport for my group and for me, is the key tool that's needed in order to ensure transparency and traceability. And it must. This must be a cross-sectoral passport And it must ensure that authorities are able to carry out their control functions. That is, market supervision authorities and customs authorities. So that there can be a proper transfer of information. At the same time, we need to ensure that repair companies and refurbishes have access to technical information so that compliant repairs.”
  Product passport
• “Thank you, Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, discrimination is unjust and is something that hurts physically and psychologically. And I'm absolutely staggered that some in this House call this discussion a waste of time and say that it's being misused for propaganda purposes. Discrimination affects human dignity, but it also costs money. And I'm addressing those who like to think about money above all. It does cost money. Studies have calculated that the potential advantages of the directive. Can be reflected in monetary terms. You know, more participation in education, in health, housing, all of that would generate higher salaries, uh, higher involvement in society and lower social expenditure, therefore. And improved access to goods and services also brings its benefits. During the first five years, the implementation of the directive could lead to €1.5 billion, and that is something that should be borne in mind.”
  EU policy on integration and ethnic, racial and religious discrimination
• “Madam president, just to look at biology. I mean, we find all the information that we need with regard to DNA, but DNA is just theoretical. And when we look at the digital infrastructure of Europe, the Judicial Networks Act is supposed to. Really transform everything into actual operations should overcome fragmentation and speed things up. Invest in 5G and six G and so on and so forth. Of course, what is a bit disappointing is that there is nothing for large cloud providers. Perhaps we could get some information about why this is the case and optional or voluntary conciliation procedures. Now this I think shows a weakness because of the pressure that the we are under. And with regard to authorisations and so on. The the fact is that it's big tech that are still in charge and will continue to be so. And we mustn't ignore the need for net neutrality.”
  Senders-pay
• “Thank you. Chair. I'll just take my mask off. But don't worry, I'm not dangerous. I just have a cold that I'm trying not to spread. So thank you very much. Abir Al-sahlani for this report. We have worked together very effectively on a cross-party basis. And in your draft opinion, we already saw that a lot of topics had been covered. And I want to just pick up on a few highlights from that. Areas where we've really focused and this report, we looked at the concerning developments of Anti-gender movements and also their funding. We have emphasised the importance of gender mainstreaming, and we've also looked at the needs to tackle the causes of sex inequality, gender specific violence against women. Offline and online. And we have looked at the need for women to play an active role in peace negotiations. Gender inequality is something which is often present when we look at technology and the use of artificial intelligence. I would like to thank everybody who has been involved, everybody who has worked together with us to put together this draft opinion and to add in other topics, for us, it was particularly important to focus on the following topics. We wanted to have the explicit naming of sexual reproductive rights. So s r h r is the acronym that we use. And we want these rights to be recognized as fundamental human rights, which must be upheld worldwide. We also want to ensure that people have access to contraception and information that we have consent based, age appropriate, unprejudiced health care. These are vital prerequisites if we're going to have global equal inclusion of women. And it's also particularly important to us to ensure that the calls for access to reproductive and health rights are also taken up in areas where there is war or conflict, and that we mention that in the opinion.”
  Sexuality and reproduction
• “Madam president, the Digital Markets Act is one of the most important instruments we've created to make sure we have fair, open digital markets in Europe. The decisive point here is proper implementation. Though colleagues have already referred to some questionable practices which are damaging to users, they distort competition and they are generally very negative, particularly the concerns related to costs related to certain platforms. So if businesses aren't able to shape their own prices freely, well, that of course undermines competition. It stops innovation and also impacts consumers freedom of choice. This clearly runs counter to the spirit of the DMA. So we expect that the Commission will act rapidly to ensure we see full implementation of this instrument and, if necessary, to adopt further measures. This is about European sovereignty. Our rules apply to all businesses that are operating in EU, regardless of where they have their headquarters. Miss Grossman, would you accept a blue card from Mr. Hirsch, please? 350.”
  EU rules on digital competition
• “Thank you very much. Thank you for that very comprehensive presentation of the full panoply of both risks and opportunities. So you made it clear we're talking about the digital sovereignty of Europe and the risks posed by a general omnibus. With, uh, an effort to target businesses based outside Europe. Which would then be able to obtain data from European citizens and users more easily. So could you give us some more detailed information about that to tell us about, to what extent we have recommendations to focus on enhancing on strengthening consumer and data protection. What should we as MEPs be particularly wary and attentive of?”
  EU digital & tech sovereignty
• “Thank you, Commissioner, for for addressing this so intensively. This issue of tech sovereignty. I have a question. How can we achieve this? How can we make sure that European companies have a higher market share in AI than they do at present? Yesterday, the was said that anthropic, the US company who had developed the chatbot, is preparing to go on the stock market and it dominates. The whole market is dominated by US companies. And the truth is that experts who are trained at European universities are then poached by the Americans. How can we turn this around?”
  EU digital & tech sovereignty
• “In this context, I welcome the requirement for clear definitions for refurbishers repair operations and, uh, people selling used goods to have clear terms, and also to make sure that we have clarity. At the moment, we don't have clear definitions of these characteristics and categories. And often, uh, the, uh, misunderstanding. And they are allocated into the wrong category, say importer or retailer. So these categories are inappropriate and conceal the risk that requirements have to be met and that liability has to be borne, which simply cannot be fulfilled. And liability obligations fall outside the responsibility, which in actual fact are the realities of other actors. And if we don't repair this problem, then we're missing an opportunity to create local jobs, to reduce waste and to enhance the right to repair. And then there's also the need for a digital product basis. I would stress that and also the positive approaches I would like to highlight them reducing fast fashion advertising bands is something that could hold water. It's also about competition opportunities being increased for European economy, and doing our utmost to depart from a throwaway society and move towards a sustainable society.”
  Circular economy
• “Commissioner. Ladies and gentlemen. If it goes at this particular speed, then it'll be 130 140 years. When? When we'll reach true parity. Uh, we. It's too little to have equality on paper. We are no longer patient. Uh, we want we don't want to wait for more generations so that our great, great, great grandchildren will experience that equality and not experience this poverty. The European Union during the last period, a lot was done on this particular issue. Important pieces of legislation were there in order to function as catalysts to speed up the situation, the transparency regulation, but, uh, also the issue on platform working and providing some sort of transparency there as well, and demanding member states, effective measures. That's what has to take place right now so that more can be done internally within the various member states. And the commission must, must quickly implement, uh, whatever legislation is there in place. And we must fight against any sort of backlash whatsoever. Thank you. Thank you very much.”
  Gender pay transparency
• “Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Crystal Hauser, for this excellent report, and which will focus on enforcing the current laws and in improving things. Many good aspects have already been mentioned. I'd like to touch on one in particular. Because. Because there was a shooting in my home city of Graz recently, a pupil. Shot dead 11 people. And this was after years of being radicalized via video games. And he was also a member of an online community. These are these operate globally. And he was radicalized in that group. And it's feared that he's not alone. And for that reason, for that reason in particular, I would like to stress just how dangerous it is if people for years. See violence as a solution and are trained to think that way, and they then translate this into reality. Obviously we need to protect individuals, but we also need to protect the whole of society. And so I'd like to just highlight how urgent that is.”
  Safety features & content control for child protection online
• “So there is a call for greater protection of rights. It's particularly important to bear in mind the needs of women who are politically engaged women's rights activists. And then another important point is the right to abortion. And we want to make it quite clear that a rejection of the right to abortion is something that can amount to the use of torture. So you have problems in terms of mental and physical health, but a refusal of a right to abortion can have serious consequences, physical consequences to women's health, or even lead to their death. It was also important to us to make it explicitly clear that worldwide, women are subject disproportionately to the effects of man made climate change. This is because worldwide women continue to lack equal rights. Their socio economic status and existing financial dependencies can mean that women do not have equal access to resources and education, that those are things that could protect women from the consequences of climate change. It was also important to us to name the specific vulnerabilities of LGBTQ people, because they are particularly affected by hate crime. We wanted to include the issue of a ban on conversion therapy, and we were also particularly concerned to ensure that the systematic rape of women in war areas triggered by geopolitical wars should be mentioned, and that we should try to find a form of words which really covered all forms of aggression of that kind. So once again, thank you very much for cooperation on this report.”
  Sexuality and reproduction
• “Thank you. Now, the answer is in the first round. That led me to another thought about online violence and cyber harassment. Have you considered the question of AI and the omnibus package? There was a majority in the European Parliament to tackle deep fakes and ban these across the EU. Now, have you considered the fact that you wanted to push this responsibility back to member states? This would mean there would be no EU legislation in this area. Is that what the your approach is? Should it be a member states competence, or should we have appropriate reforms on an EU level? My next question on the budget. We need, as we negotiate the new MFF, we need an ambitious gender budgeting approach, but we also need concrete resources allocated to these new policies. And many women's organisations are very concerned about the steps back in this area.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Thank you. Thank you. The digital product passport, I think, is important for traceability and transparency and also for effective market surveillance. Just one question, if I may. When it comes to repair companies or refurbishes, for example, what's going to happen there? Are they also going to be obliged to provide a digital product passport? Is there going to be any kind of support measure for these kind of companies? Is it going to create opportunities for these recycler refurbishes, which would add to the Giving a bit of a longer life to certain products, you know, to the benefit of the consumers. But those kind of companies obviously would have to be given some kind of support. And to what extent are you going to take a look at, um, manuals of use and, uh, repair manuals for the consumers? Are they going to be consumer friendly and easily readable?”
  Ecodesign & durability
• “Thank you. Thank you. You mentioned the legal framework. Uh, which isn't sufficient, but could I just look at the issue of liability in particular when it comes to the use of, uh, autonomous vehicles? Often this is mentioned as an obstacle to the development thereof. But we've come a long way with the AI Liability Act, which across the EU would have put in place a liability system and could have been an important precondition for the use of autonomous vehicles. Unfortunately, the Commission has withdrawn that act. And given that you mentioned this in your introduction. Could I just ask whether you're planning something at European level, a European In uniform harmonised liability regime. Are you planning on putting that in place? For autonomous vehicles? Because as I said, it really is a precondition for allowing these types of vehicles on our streets.”
  Regulation of vehicles insurance
• “Well, it was only in the last plenary week recently that we were talking about the influence of third states, democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights. More and more are falling under pressure. Hate disinformation and targeted manipulation are being deployed systematically in order to influence elections and to undermine the cohesion of our societies. And it's against that very background that the European democracy is meant to defend us. The objective is correct and we need it. But what I would have liked to have seen from the Commission is more ambition, because for a while now we've been viewing elections in Europe as well, where there is a choice for us, or where very large online platforms are influencing these elections, where this form of spying and messing around is making ground and where being above board is not working. So we need to have an area for democratic discussions and fair elections. If it is algorithms that's deciding what things get done. It's not a question of democracy. It is something that is actually undermining democracy.”
  Disinformation & online freedoms
• “Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In recent weeks or days, we've seen very serious cases where, uh, types of food which are defective and also toys which have caused grave harm. And my question, therefore, is this how can we improve the structures in such a way that these cases would be prevented?”
  EU measures on lifestyle-related behaviours (smoking, drinking, eating, etc.)