Valérie DEVAUX

What Valérie DEVAUX has said (19)

• 2026-02-19 “P-000706/2026 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Séjourné on behalf of the European Commission The Commission is aware of the fact that flush door handles are implemented by vehicle manufacturers and of incidents related to this technology. The matter of door release mechanisms and their operation in the event of electrical system failure is currently being addressed with high priority in the Working Party 1 on Passive Safety of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) World Forum for the Harmonisation of Vehicle Regulations. The objective is to develop an appropriate and technically robust solution at international level within the shortest possible timeframe. The Commission actively participates in these discussions and supports the ongoing work. Once a harmonised technical solution is agreed in the UNECE framework, it will be applicable after adoption and furthermore implemented on mandatory basis within the EU after updating Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 2 . This approach ensures a high level of road and passenger safety while maintaining international harmonisation and legal certainty for manufacturers. 1 https://wiki.unece.org/spaces/trans/pages/346980588/EDO+4th+Session. 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32019R2144.”
  EU policy on aviation safety
• 2024-10-31 “P-002379/2024 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Fitto On behalf of the European Commission The EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) can only be activated at the request of Spain within 12 weeks as from when the first damage occurred, demonstrating that the total direct damage exceeds the thresholds specified in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 1 . The EUSF may cover part of the costs for emergency and recovery operations incurred by public authorities. This includes, for example, the recovery of essential infrastructure, provision of temporary accommodation to the population, cleaning-up operations, and protection of cultural heritage. The Spanish authorities informed the Commission about their intention to submit an application for the EUSF following the recent floods in Valencia. As provided for in the EUSF Regulation, this will be done once a proper estimate of the damages is carried out and within the 12-month regulatory deadline. A special emergency procedure and the review of the scope of the Fund is not planned under the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). The recent mid-term revision of the MFF 2 increased the annual allocation for the EUSF for the years 2024-2027. The Fund now has an annual budget of EUR 1 016 million 3 (in 2018 prices). This is an annual increase of EUR 216 million. The Commission adopted on 21 October 2024 its proposal RESTORE – Regional Emergency Support to Reconstruction 4 . The proposal is subject to the co-legislative negotiations . Upon entry into force of the Regulation, based on the Commission’s proposal, Member States will have four months, to submit programme changes to the Commission and will receive subsequently pre-financing and reimbursement of expenditure. It will be up to programme authorities to make use of the support and flexibilities provided as quickly as possible. 1 Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 of 11 November 2002 establishing the European Union Solidarity Fund (OJ L 311, 14.11.2002, p. 3) as amended by Regulation (EU) No 661/2014 of the European Parliament and the Council of 15 May 2014 (OJ L 189, 27.6.2014, p. 143) and by Regulation (EU) 2020/461 of the European Parliament and the Council of 30 March 2020 (OJ L 99, 31.3.2020, p. 9). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:32002R2012 2 Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/765 of 29 February 2024 amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027. 3 EUR 1 144.1 million in 2024 prices. 4 This is a proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2021/1058 on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund and Regulation (EU) 2021/1057 on the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+).”
  EU Development & Humanitarian Aid
• “Madam. Madam. Thank you very much. I'm speaking on behalf of Marianne Senate, who can't be here. And as rapporteur for the opinion, he's asked me to express to you that he supports this incentivising defence related investments in the EU budget to implement the Rearm Europe plan. Military mobility is no longer just a specialized preoccupation. It's a strategic necessity. It has a direct impact not only on our capacity to provide for our security and defence, but also for civil transport, civilian Transport for Economic Resilience and the Internal Market. The is about a 94% overlap between the military corridor and the dual use corridors, and investments in this area will provide benefits across the entire union. The proposal, allowing for voluntary transfers from the Cohesion Fund to the mechanism, the Interconnecting Europe Mechanism. Are pragmatic and necessary. It improves governance. It guarantees alignment with the European Union's priorities and also preserves the objectives of the cohesion policy itself. Amendments have been tabled by Marianne Zrich, which aim to give priority to sensitive issues which are of a cross-border nature and to bring about short term effects and to encourage the use of a European Union technology and materials. He's happy to work in close cooperation with the shadow rapporteurs, and would encourage them to submit amendments on the transport dimensions of this proposal. Their contributions will be essential to ensure that the ultimate opinion fully reflects the priorities and expertise of the Tran Committee. Thank you very much.”
  Defence spending
• “The tempi and accidents should. Spanish, Greek and European citizens. After grief, we now have to take the necessary measures to make sure that this sort of thing never happens again. It's difficult to offer a single answer to two different incidents. However, the ertms deployment is an essential step towards creating rail safety. Aging infrastructure is often a cause of accidents, and that shows the need for an investment policy to modernize equipment. Maintenance of the network should also be bolstered and allow quicker actions. Drone technology could also reduce diagnostic costs for this activity. Taking the train should not be a risk for passengers. Together, let's do our utmost to make sure that the tempi and accidents are the last of their sort.”
  EU support of rail transport
• “Thank you very much, president. Commissioner. Reducing the gender pay gap between men and women is not just social policy. It is also part of our competitiveness policy. Europe faces a shortage of talent drop in productivity, but women are underrepresented in strategic sectors such as science, technology, engineering. It's hard to talk about European competitiveness when we're underutilizing half of our talent. In order to encourage participation of women on the labour market, we need to ensure that women are paid the same as men, equal pay for equal work. We also need to have a better balance Between work and life, have better childcare and a better division of tasks in the family. Investing in equality means investing in innovation and the future of Europe. Thank you very much.”
  Gender pay transparency
• “Yes. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Thank you, Madam Commissioner. Colleagues, at the outset, I'd like to hail the gender equality strategy, the priorities that you've outlined, the fight against violence, economic empowerment of women and their participation in society all head in the right direction. I would nonetheless like to stress three points. Firstly, on violence. I hail the legislative progress that's been made in the support of the Member states. In its implementation, we see that girls are particularly exposed to online violence with massive exposure through social networks. We need to strengthen protection, including by setting the question of a digital majority at European level. How does the Commission plan to make specific progress on this point? Also on my voice, my choice. The commission's response is important. It sends a strong signal to all of those people who have mobilized around this issue. It's a political commitment that now has to become specific action. The question is also one of its continuity. How can we guarantee that this commitment continues beyond 2027, and is enshrined in the next financial framework to ensure effective access to sexual and reproductive rights across the union? Finally, on the consistency of our policies, we have this strategy on equality, and it includes a pact on care and soon an update of the strategy on disabilities. The issue is better articulating the connections between the two. Does the Commission envisage, for example, that the future Care pact will recognise as care workers even further, who are very often women as well as their specific needs, in particular in terms of their support. Thank you very much.”
  Sexuality and reproduction
• “Madam Director colleagues the directive on the balance between professional and private lives has given us a good basis but the provisions only provide four five days a year leave for someone who's caring for an elderly or disabled family member. Minimum leave being extended and giving it better remuneration would make it easier for women to join the labor market and would reduce gender inequalities. Apart from the duration of leave we would also need structures to help the carers to have some breathing space. I've seen this in places where there are institutions that give some breathing space to carers to avoid them running into exhaustion with the aging of the population this is something that's going to become more topical. So I have two questions for you which member states have the best or fairest provisions on carers' leave and what can we do? Do you think the current legislative framework is sufficient for us to make progress on leave for carers or do you think we need some other kind of legislation?”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Thank you very much, president. Commissioner. Reducing the gender pay gap between men and women is not just social policy. It is also part of our competitiveness policy. Europe faces a shortage of talent drop in productivity, but women are underrepresented in strategic sectors such as science, technology, engineering. It's hard to talk about European competitiveness when we're underutilizing half of our talent. In order to encourage participation of women on the labour market, we need to ensure that women are paid the same as men, equal pay for equal work. We also need to have a better balance Between work and life, have better childcare and a better division of tasks in the family. Investing in equality means investing in innovation and the future of Europe. Thank you very much.”
  Gender pay transparency
• “Madam president thank you, Madam Chair. Colleagues, increasingly women's rights are being called into question and the next European budget should not allow for any backsliding for Renew Europe. This means that EU funding has to be aligned to the EU's values. This means within the EU, but also when it comes to its external actions. This can be done by putting in place an ambitious action plan for gender equality for the post 2027 period, and making sure that there are adequate resources made available for it. We also need to specifically translate the European citizens expectations. That means that a voluntary mechanism needs to be put in place, which will allow member states to have access to EU financial support so that they can make sure that there is legal access to safe and legal abortion along the lines of the European Citizens Initiative. My voice, my choice. Now, if equal access cannot be ensured, EU funding needs to make up for the gap. If we want tangible results, then gender sensitive budgeting has to be Systematically included and needs to permeate the EU's budget. This means we need to strengthen and improve the gender monitoring instruments so that we can make sure that real progress can be made on equality. For Renew Europe, the next budget needs to be a budget of investment inequality. Thank you.”
  Sexuality and reproduction
• “Thank you. Chair. Thank you, Mr. Schmidt, for your comments. Now, I'll be brief. After the accident, significant work was done between national railway networks. In order to prepare common solutions to avoid such situations. The Swiss decision to unilaterally adopt a decree on this subject goes against this common approach and creates a serious, harmful precedence when it comes to undermining the north south connectivity in Europe. So I would encourage the Commission to formalize its opposition to such unilateral measures with respect to the Swiss Confederation, while asserting our support to the area's action, which is the right venue to handle such issues. Thank you.”
  EU transport infrastructure integration
• “Yes. Uh, there is a mention of high speed rail. This is a laudable Initiative economically as well as in terms of mobility for Europeans. This plan is also necessary to reach the goals we've set ourselves. That is doubling, uh, traffic and uh, by three times, uh, by 2050. Between 1000, there's about one. We want to reach about 1500 uh, kilometres in new rail. Commissioner. Well, what how will you support, uh, the railways? And when can we expect, uh, your plan and your. Statement? Mission statement. We think it's fundamental that they are accompanied by, uh, expectations that, uh, stand up to what we want to achieve in terms of the European railway. I'm thinking about connections in Connections in my country, for example. This European support is highly needed because it allows for these smaller projects to be achieved.”
  EU support of rail transport
• “Thank you very much. Thank you very much for these very elucidating presentations. The guidelines for ten T's are being set up for the different portions of the corridors, and there's a timetable for projects underway bringing more visibility to the those that run the projects. Now, this has already proven its worth, not least in the North Sea Mediterranean corridor. Now, when it comes to the use of the tool, I wonder what you would say about that. Now to Mr. Reuter. The Fmcs system may not be mature, but in the future it might prove a little bit less onerous than ertms. What do you think the prospects are when it comes to that?”
  EU transport infrastructure integration
• “Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Thank you, Madam Director. I speak on behalf of Mr. Allen, who is the Renew Shadow, and he sends his apologies. First of all, thank you very much for your crystal clear presentation. On behalf of Renew Europe, we welcome the sixth revision of the directive. It takes into account the changes in dangerous substances that are more and more ubiquitous in the workplace, and this will allow us to protect workers. Gregory Allen was a firefighter for many years and is very happy to see that we're focusing on for firefighters now, during the negotiations, we're going to have to strike a good balance between public health issues and socioeconomic reality in the EU. At the same time, we would like to raise two issues when it comes to cobalt and isoprene are isoprene are potentially carcinogenic, according to the International Cancer Research Center. And there is a higher risk for tumors, especially when it comes to lung cancer and liver cancer. Government representatives and employers were unanimous and wanted them included in this revision, so I'd like to know why I Supremes have been excluded while member states have been clamoring for more substances to be regulated at EU level so that we don't have different approaches in the member states. And that's for isoprene. Now on cobalt, because of the energy transition, more and more workers are going to be exposed to cobalt. The tripartite committee issued clear recommendations and the stakeholders and social partners have been consulted. Why has the European Commission not taken into account the dates on future revision of this substance? Why haven't you included it? Thank you.”
  EU rules on hazardous working conditions
• “Thank you very much, sir. Mr. Executive Director, I thank you for your presence here today and for the clear presentation we heard. We are keeping tabs on what the joint undertaking is up to with a view to boost innovation and technological progress. And it's something quite vital given the challenges rail is facing modernisation, performance, attractiveness, but also competitiveness vis a vis other modes of transport. I'd like to pick up on the automatic train coupling. Recently in Switzerland you carried out trials. Could you tell us what the outcome was in terms of reliability and what the next stages are going to be. I think also when it comes cost, that's still a very important factor for the adoption of this technology. Do you have a cost estimate at this point for the operators as well as for the infrastructure managers? And how, given that this technology has been deployed elsewhere, is having such a tough time making it here in Europe?”
  EU support of rail transport
• “Mr. Commissioner, colleagues, our transport infrastructure is the backbone of our economy. Our ports, our railways, our bridges, our roads, our links that link Europeans. But our network is no longer up to the challenges of the new. Of the 21st century, member states are insufficiently connected, and that's a problem when it comes to mobility. For Europeans, it's a problem for the transport of goods, but also the environmental transition. Now, during the upcoming budgetary negotiations, we need to ensure that there is enough funding available for infrastructure and also military mobility. The capacity to rapidly mobilise troops and equipment is crucial for our credibility. We're facing unprecedented threats. Colleagues, we're deciding on Europe's place in the world of tomorrow. Let's be up to the task and invest in our future. Thank you.”
  EU funding for transportation
• “Thank you. Mentioned indeed, chair. I'd also like to thank the two co-rapporteurs for this high quality draft. When it comes to constructing Europe specifically in the Commission's proposal, CF three will be. When it comes to the scope, the only scope for cross border transport and. Obviously this sort of structure is what member States generally put less money into. And the envelope isn't endless, but because it's the envelope we're talking about, we need to look at this in looking at these networks. When it comes to overlapping borders, we'll need to look at that. But also within member states borders, we shouldn't allow members, the EU to have to do what member states should be doing themselves. We need, which is we're talking about a restrictive approach. We would also like you to support inter connection projects like air and rail. Thank you so much.”
  EU transport infrastructure integration
• “Thank you. Chair. Executive director. Firstly, I'd like to congratulate you on your, um, designation appointment to the head of I. You have many challenges ahead of you. We have, uh, changes in the railway sector that need to, uh, allow us to hit our aims now. Security and safety and interoperability have been absolutely key. The challenges are huge, but we need to provide new tools for the sector. And also we need automatic coupling of trains, which is absolutely vital to modernize the sector. Now, in the geopolitical sector that we know the European Union needs, also needs to take a leap forward in terms of defence. Now, for transport, we need to ensure that armies have the possibility to deploy across Europe quickly. We know that there is added value for railways for transporting heavy or dangerous freight. So the question is as follows. What technical issues, regulatory or financial issues? Exist to support military transport via rail. And how can Aero support its facilitation? Thank you.”
  EU support of rail transport
• “Thank you very much, president. Commissioner. Reducing the gender pay gap between men and women is not just social policy. It is also part of our competitiveness policy. Europe faces a shortage of talent drop in productivity, but women are underrepresented in strategic sectors such as science, technology, engineering. It's hard to talk about European competitiveness when we're underutilizing half of our talent. In order to encourage participation of women on the labour market, we need to ensure that women are paid the same as men, equal pay for equal work. We also need to have a better balance Between work and life, have better childcare and a better division of tasks in the family. Investing in equality means investing in innovation and the future of Europe. Thank you very much.”
  Gender pay transparency
• “Thank you very much, chair. We'd like to thank you for the publication and the presentation of this plan on the high speed rail initiative. As you've said, high speed rail is an important factor for development of rail in Europe. Taking into account both passengers and freight. Bearing in mind the high costs associated with this here, it seems we are talking really about the cherry on top of the cake. It's also about pride in our rail sector. And we have companies which really are at the forefront of this in Europe. There are a lot of costs, of course, associated with this level of ambition, particularly here, we're talking about €350 million by 2040. Now, you spoke about various ways that we can optimize the use of European funds, promoting and involving the private sector and access to advisory services. However, I think we also have to bear in mind that the Cf3 budget is quite considerable. And so I think it's important for us to look at those funds in budgetary negotiations. So my question to you would be as follows. Where is the money?”
  EU support of rail transport