- 2025-10-02 “E-003858/2025 Answer given by Ms Lahbib on behalf of the European Commission Regarding the Cyprus firefighting hub, which aims to ensure effective wildfire response and to strengthen support and capacity for the wider region in the Mediterranean, the Commission is currently exploring various options, tools, and funding. The Commission is also discussing the hub’s structure and operations with the authorities in Cyprus. The Commission is committed to a constructive dialogue with all relevant parties and will continue to update the European Parliament on developments on this important preparedness initiative.”
Climate efforts
- 2025-07-01 “E-002661/2025 Answer given by Mr Várhelyi on behalf of the European Commission Under Article 168(7) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, Member States are responsible for the organisation and delivery of health services and medical care, including treatment. The Commission supports Member States in reducing the burden of noncommunicable diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, under the ‘Healthier Together’ initiative 1 . More than EUR 160 million from the EU4Health programme 2 has been allocated for effective and impactful actions on cardiovascular diseases, including their early detection and timely diagnosis. The upcoming EU cardiovascular health plan is expected to build on these actions to support the integration of innovative and personalised tools to detect people at risk as early as possible, and improve the management of cardiovascular diseases, such as structural heart disease. The gender dimension is an integral part of EU health policies and actions, in line with the Commission’s gender equality strategy 3 . The EU has already invested over EUR 2 billion in research and innovation on women's health, including to improve early diagnosis and develop personalised treatments for women suffering from cardiovascular health issues (among other research areas). Research in this field will continue to be supported under the Horizon Europe programme 4 . In the development of the EU cardiovascular health plan, the Commission will identify funding opportunities to support the plan’s flagship initiatives within the remaining budgetary resources for 2026-2027 under the current Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 5 and explore possibilities for further actions under the next MFF 6 . 1 https://health.ec.europa.eu/non-communicable-diseases/healthier-together-eu-non-communicable-diseasesinitiative_en. 2 https://health.ec.europa.eu/funding/eu4health-programme-2021-2027-vision-healthier-european-union_en. 3 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0152&from=EN. 4 https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-opencalls/horizon-europe_en. 5 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=LEGISSUM:4499418. 6 https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/eu-budget/long-term-eu-budget/eu-budget-2028-2034_en.”
EU competences on health · Gender roles, equality and inclusion
- “President, commissioner. When a boat with 9 European nationalities on board is struck by a virus in the middle of the Atlantic, It's not just 1 capital city that has to respond. A European chain of action is put in place, coordination and complementary action. Now this chain didn't exist before COVID, but now it's really operational. We learned the lessons of that global pandemic. We were able to make Europe able to react to health crises. Our reactions are quicker from a few months to a few days, and we show more solidarity now in the union. But we still need to go further. Last week, commissioner, I was in, Corsica, and they're setting up high level laboratories. Let's follow that initiative and make islands in the Mediterranean, in the outermost regions, watch posts for these pathogens. Citizens in Europe want us to take all the opportunities available to make sure that we can prevent catastrophes. Thank you.”
EU competences on health (internal-competence axis, sharpened)
- “President. Commissioner. Minister. Europe is on fire. Temperatures over 40 degrees. In particular in the south of Europe. Forest fires in March in the Netherlands. Devastating our countryside here and now. I spare a thought for my comrades active on the front line. For those that have lost their belongings. I worked as a firefighter for over 30 years. Fought on the front line here. I am fighting a different scourges. An MEP. The scourge of climate sceptics. We must all stand firm against climate sceptics. The scientists unequivocal. And it is crystal clear. Day in, day out. We must anticipate and prepare. That is the whole point of the EU preparedness union strategy. How can we do so without sufficient resources. We must bolster funds for the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. 58 times last year, funds were called down from that mechanism. Prevention is always cheaper than cure. So how can we prepare without sufficient resources? As you said, we have a number of firefighting planes deployed on the ground. But today, here and now, I call on the Commission and the Danish presidency of the Council to acquire European firefighting planes made in Europe. For Europe, we have those skills here in Europe. Beyond the operational urgency, this is a matter of sovereignty and strategic autonomy. If we are to be properly prepared, we must protect the commitment shown by our citizens. There are over 80% of firefighters who work on a voluntary basis. I call on the commissioner to recognize their efforts. This is very important to many MEPs. Thank you.”
EU policy on infrastructure for preventing climate-related disasters (floods, droughts, extreme weather etc.)
- “I will I speak in French. We don't write. We will not be supporting these objections. With proposed by this rather surprising alliance. On if we accept to postpone the entry into force by one year. In Europe or in the rest of the world, we will be creating more problems. We want compliance and we want legal clarity. We want predictability, and we need that constancy also applied at European level. Instead. If we if we allow these objections, we will create more problems. The list of high risk countries is something that has happened, but we also are happy to see European countries all categorised at low risk. That would that will streamline the implication, the implementation of this regulation. Now, what I've heard colleagues say is that there won't be a quick update of countries into different categories, changing them into different categories. But if you look at FAO data. It only takes four months to get data from them in order for the commission. That means the commission will have all sorts of tools to assess the risk of countries, and that can happen relatively quickly. That means that they can be that they can be accurate and rapid in assessing forestry risk throughout the world, and we look forward to that revision. We think it is fortuitous. I have been on the ground quite a bit. I've seen the effect of deforestation. We've talked about it a lot here in Parliament, but whenever there are heatwaves, fires is happening in Europe it's I. I tell you all of a sudden hear people talk about protecting civil protection of forests. And that is something that we absolutely need.”
Trade impact on forests
- “Industrial sovereignty. And this is what you're saying as well Commission. This could help also in our fight against forest fires. We could you know, we have to take those political choices. There are projects in Europe, in France, Italy, Spain that would allow us to have our own planes and helicopters, European helicopters and planes that would be able to put out fires here. So we need to make those political choices. We have to make that choice and go for European. Second request, and I'm sure you understand, Commissioner. 80% of those people working against um, forest fires every summer are volunteer fire fighters. So what can we expect to strengthen what they do? We recognize what they do, but we need to protect them. It's these men and women who are deployed on the ground that you've been to these areas. You've seen them and they really are expecting and their federation as well. The European Federation is expecting support from you. Third request is restoration, protection of our ecosystems. You said soil is in good health. And these are areas which are more resilient when it comes to forest fires. This is key and we need to see all of that in our cap. The communication is a really good starting point, but we need to make sure that acts follow. Thank you.”
EU policy on infrastructure for preventing climate-related disasters (floods, droughts, extreme weather etc.)
- “Mr. president, madam Commissioner, colleagues, today we recall an essential demand. The protection of our workers isn't a variable of adjustment. It's a collective responsibility. This Protection Commissioner starts by prevention. Volunteer firefighters in companies and workplaces supports safety for all. They are trained in first aid and risk management, and they provide a culture of safety at work. We should give them the means they require and recognise their commitment throughout Europe. Protecting workers is really making companies more resilient, more productive and more competitive. Effective protection means facing up to new risks, like extreme heat and thinking of our farmers at the mercy of change seasons. Our road workers with hot bitumen, building workers under a blazing sun and firefighters fighting forest fires, which are getting more severe. Climate change. If you deny that it's denying the difficult work done by thousands of workers, work safety isn't a luxury. It's a human and economic demand. Protecting our workers is. That's assuring our resilience and our sovereignty. Thank you.”
EU rules on hazardous working conditions
- “President, Commissioner, Minister. Ladies and gentlemen. Throughout my whole career as a firefighter, I'd never seen such a destructive event. I was working in the AUD, and the extent of forest fires in Europe leaves me speechless. But we no longer have the luxury to be silent. There's no point giving you a list of everything the pictures speak for themselves or the thousands of hectares gone up in smoke. People have died. It is clear that these fires are a direct consequence of climate change. And nonetheless, despite this reality, we've heard it once again. The extreme right is still denying climate change. But it's clear that denial is not going to protect us from the flames. Only action will do that. First of all, faced with this new generation of abnormal fires, fighting is not enough. Yes, prevention has to become our first firewall. Developing a true culture of countering risk and preparation is not an option anymore. It's an imperative. Then we're going to need European firefighting planes just with masks coming from China. Our sovereignty cannot depend on planes from Canada. Europe has the know how. It just needs the will to start building European production, which is sustainable. And finally, the women and men Without the women and men, we have no fight. There will be no fight. A lot of the firefighters are volunteers. And then our first armor against the flames. And we have to make sure that we allow the obstacles to be removed so that these people can do their jobs. Forest fires have changed in their nature. We need to change our response. Thank you.”
Management of EU forests
- “I will speak in French. Climate disinformation is no longer a simple, small issue. It's become a real. A way to attack our societies. And too often we see political agendas from the far right being pushed forward. So this is the issue has become fertile land for those who want to peddle doubt. And these issues are inflaming doubts with all these, uh, all this climate disinformation. This is awful, but it's real and it's here. So Europe needs to do something about this climate disinformation is even present in our own institutions. Looking at cases in Portugal and Spain, we, uh, saw in, for instance, cases where technical failures were used by politicians to criticise green energy and the climate seems to be the topic most attacked by disinformation campaigns from Russia and Belarus. We see a lot of disinformation about the climate online and the figures are increasing. This is infiltrating traditional media instead of information based on science and data. So why is this happening? Well, it's to distract from real issues, distract citizens from the reality of climate change and global warming, because those spreading these lies are those who are against any progress when it comes to the environment, any transition measures, anything done to protect citizens? They deny the causes. They pretend that's not what the cause is. When things actually happen, when we see the consequences. I have seen how the flames are being fought in our forests regularly, and I don't know how those who deny the climate can continue to do so. We need a real campaign to fight disinformation. Today, our legislative tools are not keeping up with the reality. We need a strengthened legal framework. We need deterrence against those platforms that allow these toxic, uh, lies to be spread. And we need, uh, uh, reliable scientific information to be shared. So two questions from you to the commission. When will the commission officially join the initiative? Uh, for the integrity of information on climate change, uh, launched by Brazil and Unesco in 2024. And when will the Commission strengthen its legal framework? Knowing that climate disinformation is a real systemic risk, uh, when we consider the Digital Services Act. Thank you.”
Disinformation & online freedoms
- “Mr. president, Mr. president. Commissioner. Colleagues. For some people, summer means holidays. For others, it means isolation and housing. Like a sauna. This summer, Europe was hit by heatwaves, uh, 48 degrees in Sicily, 46 in Spain and even higher temperatures in Scandinavia. This is not an exceptional situation. It's a snapshot of what awaits us and it always affects the most vulnerable, the most. Energy insecurity knows no season. Uh, poorer households are exposed to warmer houses. These houses that are like freezers in the winter are also the ones that become saunas in the summer. Our populations are aging. And in France, we've seen hundreds of people who have died this summer. We've also seen an increase in 42% in deaths linked to the heat on in the workplace. We have to act for all of these people to protect our citizens. They don't want to see a climate plan. That's just PR. We have to build a resilient society, an egalitarian society, because our citizens deserve more than just surviving the heat. They deserve to live in safety and dignity.”
EU climate adaptation and disaster preparedness
- “On behalf of renew, we'd like to look at the role of our mayors, of our local actors and the presidents of the regions so that we can protect our population and our territory when dealing with climate change. Not all the regions of Europe are up to this challenge. I'm thinking of the ultra peripheral and the overseas regions there to their laboratories for working against climate change. They are experiencing what we might have to deal with later. In France, the fourth edition of The Day for resilience reminds us of the need to prepare, prevent and adapt our territories against these events, which can be drought, can be floods and damage to the territory. Everything. We were looking at this, but everything is too theoretical. This 10% which is considered before 2030, it will not be reached without a real roadmap and a real framework. My region the south of France, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur. We are dealing with the drop of 45 rainfall, 45% in the summer since 1960. And as far as the water table is concerned, there's going to be reduced further. And yet we have these sudden floods, which often are deadly. This phenomena of drought, of of water stress is in certain territories today. The regions are lacking technical, financial and strategic support. This has already been mentioned, but we need to plan a strategy. Now the solutions could be as follows. The new multiannual framework a financial framework. How does the region going to accompany the various regions with this increasing climate risk? How to look at water resilience in Europe, and how do we connect this with regional policies without a coordinated effort on the territory in the field, this will remain just a dream. Instead of becoming something which is factual and efficient. Thank you.”
Funding for OCTs and outermost regions
- “Chair, commissioners, colleagues, thank you very much indeed for those statements. Thanks for the communication. 25th of March that came out. After that, we saw some quite dramatic fires, not in the south of Europe, but in the Netherlands. Hundreds of hectares burnt down there, even in areas that are more humid. And I think this shows what it shows the past few weeks that this phenomenon is happening throughout the whole of the EU. The communication. Well, last summer over a million hectares saw fires. But if you don't really understand what this means, well, a million hectares, that means around 100 to 300 million tonnes of CO2 that were emitted. Does to remind colleagues here. 300 million tonnes of CO2. That's basically the annual production of France. And that was just in one year, basically because of these forest fires. Uh, the same amount of CO2 as France emits in one year was emitted. And that's why we're very happy with this communication. I actually was on mission last year in Rabat. And yes, I've seen how climate, uh, regulations, regulations have moved forward. Uh, and therefore, I very much like this integrated approach looking at prevention preparation and also response response and reconstruction. And this is what we do in the Resilience and Civil protection intergroup. You come to us very often and we thank you for that. Just three points. I think we still need to strengthen three points. First is industrial sovereignty. It's been more than 50 years now that we've been fighting against these forest fires, using planes and helicopters that we buy elsewhere.”
EU policy on infrastructure for preventing climate-related disasters (floods, droughts, extreme weather etc.)