Estelle CEULEMANS

Policy topics Estelle CEULEMANS is active on

What Estelle CEULEMANS has said (34)

• 2026-06-17 “(10:57:48 – 10:59:01): Madam president, this week, the council will have to validate its position on the future MFF. And what is on the tie table is concerning and even unacceptable. For the 1st time since the treaty of Rome in 1957, the European Social Fund will no longer have specific allocations. And, we are talking about a cut of 60%, yet social issues are key, especially when it comes to internal security. In Porto, the council, the commission, and the parliament and social partners adopted an action plan on the European social rights. 5 years later, we're backsliding and not honoring our commitments. Europe urgently needs to find its social compass again and put it straight to put an end to poverty that affects 1 out of 5 Europeans, especially children, and make sure that all women and men can access quality jobs, affordable housing, and proper health care. You have to make sure interruption by the president.”
  Child poverty policy · EU expenditure on social policy
• 2026-03-12 “Answer given by Executive Vice-President Ribera on behalf of the European Commission 18.5.2026 Written question The Commission does not possess any information on the specific guarantee issued by Credendo. If a guarantee would not have been provided on market terms and constituted state aid, Belgium would have had to notify the measure to the Commission. When it comes to the rules against social dumping, including as part of the Mobility Package [1] , their enforcement is primarily ensured by the Member States’ competent authorities and the Commission monitors their correct and on time application and enforcement. If necessary, the Commission may launch infringement procedures against Member States. The Commission takes into account social objectives and regulations in several EU-level financial instruments. For instance, instruments issued under the European Social Fund Plus aim at contributing to the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, to support jobs and create a fair and socially inclusive society. Further, financial instruments issued under InvestEU support financing projects in social infrastructure, social innovation, social enterprises, integration of migrants, refugees and vulnerable people, for example. [1] For further details please see: https://transport.ec.europa.eu/transport-modes/road/mobility-package-i_en.”
  State Aid · EU policy on social criteria in public funding · EU Competition policy
• 2025-06-02 “E-002193/2025 Answer given by High Representative/Vice-President Kallas on behalf of the European Commission Following the exchange at the Foreign Affairs Council on 20 May 2025, the High Representative/Vice-President announced the review of Israel’s compliance with Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association 1 . The review was presented at the Foreign Affairs Council on 23 June 2025 2 . The ministers of foreign affairs agreed that the EU’s aim is to improve the humanitarian situation. On this basis, the EU engaged in a frank and principled dialogue leading to Israel’s agreement to take significant steps to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. The outcomes were presented at the Foreign Affairs Council of 15 July, and considering the urgency to implement the agreement, Member States asked to regularly report to the Council on the progress. The EU will continue to closely monitor the implementation of the agreed actions and consider next steps, if necessary, based on developments on the ground. Regarding sanctions against violent settlers, the Council has so far listed nine individuals and five entities responsible for serious and systematic human rights abuses against Palestinians under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime (in April and July 2024) 3 . Among them are violent activists blocking the humanitarian aid to Gaza. Additional listings are under discussion at the Council. Sanctions are taken by Member States by unanimity. Military cooperation with third countries is a matter for Member States’ national authorities. The competent authorities of Member States take the final decision whether to authorise or deny an individual export or transit licence of military equipment. 1 https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/fac/2025/05/20/. 2 https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/fac/2025/06/23/. 3 https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2024/07/15/extremist-israeli-settlers-in-the-occupiedwest-bank-and-east-jerusalem-as-well-as-violent-activists-blocking-humanitarian-aid-to-gaza-five-individualsand-three-entities-sanctioned-under-the-eu-global-human-rights-sanctions-regime/.”
  Conditions to access EU humanitarian aid · Relations with Israel - Palestine · EU Development & Humanitarian Aid
• 2025-03-19 “E-001151/2025 Answer given by Ms Lahbib on behalf of the European Commission As the Commission already pointed out in its answer to written question P-000962/2025, in preparing the first work programme of the mandate, the Commission thoroughly assessed all proposals currently pending with the co-legislators. In its assessment, the Commission took into account whether proposals were actively being considered and agreement could be reached or, on the contrary, blocked for a very long time and/or without any real perspective of progress in the foreseeable future. As a result of this assessment, the Commission put forward a list of 37 proposals it intends to withdraw. This includes the proposal for a Council Directive on equal treatment 1 presented 17 years ago in 2008. The Commission has consistently supported the Council Presidencies and the Member States to help them in making progress towards the adoption of the Council Directive. While a majority of the Member States have indicated their support for the proposal, unanimity is required and does not seem likely to be reached. In line with the interinstitutional agreement on better law making 2 , the Commission provided the reasons proposing the intended withdrawals in the Annex IV of the 2025 Commission work programme, together with a time indication 3 . The Commission will take due account of the positions of the European Parliament and of the Council on the intended withdrawals before taking a decision. Building a Union of Equality remains a key priority for the Commission, as demonstrated by the recent adoption of the Roadmap for Women’s Rights 4 and the preparation of new strategies on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer equality, anti-racism and gender equality. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:52008PC0426. 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/agree_interinstit/2016/512/oj/eng. 3 https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/7617998c-86e6-4a74-b33c249e8a7938cd_en?filename=COM_2025_45_1_annexes_EN.pdf. 4 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_681.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion · EU policy on integration and ethnic, racial and religious discrimination
• 2025-02-28 “E-000886/2025 Answer given by Mr Várhelyi on behalf of the European Commission Challenges around orphan drugs are manifold. Medical requirements of patients with rare diseases (RD) are not adequately met, affordability of products is a growing challenge for individuals and health systems, and the existing regulatory framework does not sufficiently cater for innovation. The Commission has taken strong actions on RD notably with the European Reference Networks (ERN), making expertise travel and disseminate. To maximise the benefits already offered by the ERNs, their integration into national healthcare systems is needed. A Joint Action is underway until 2027 to achieve this goal 1 , providing a clearer picture of the RD landscape in the EU and informing future decisions. The ongoing revision of pharmaceutical legislation 2 promotes the development of treatments for RD via regulatory incentives and enhanced scientific support from the European Medicines Agency. It focuses on areas where patients have no treatment options 3 , facilitating faster access to innovative medicines and affordable medicines. The Commission supports ORPHANET’s work on RD nomenclature and high-quality information on RD codification 4 . ERNs for RD 5 have conducted over 4,000 virtual panels on RD patients since 2017. Collaborative research on RD has been a Commission priority 6 since 2006, when it first coordinated research funding with national agencies 7 . Recently it launched its fourth successor, the European Partnership ERDERA 8 , and at global level 9 . The Innovative Health Initiative also supports RD research 10 . Gaps are tackled from various angles: treatments 11 , diagnoses 12 , newborn screening 13 , Health Technology Assessment 14 , specific regulatory needs 15 , inclusion of RD patients, and through relevant projects 16 . 1 JARDIN Joint Action https://jardin-ern.eu/. 2 Reform of the EU pharmaceutical legislation https://health.ec.europa.eu/medicinal-products/pharmaceuticalstrategy-europe/reform-eu-pharmaceutical-legislation_en. 3 EU Pharmaceutical reform: Steering innovation to address unmet medical needs https://health.ec.europa.eu/document/download/93406a57-1be5-4005-a63fde5fb1de4748_en?filename=factsheet_umn_en.pdf. 4 Nomenclature: ORPHAcodes https://www.orpha.net/. 5 European Reference Networks https://health.ec.europa.eu/rare-diseases-and-european-referencenetworks/european-reference-networks_en. 6 https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/research-area/health/rare-diseases_en. 7 E-Rare https://www.era-learn.eu/network-information/networks/e-rare. 8 https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101156595. 9 Through the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium https://irdirc.org/who-we-are-2/. 10 https://www.ihi.europa.eu/projects-results/project-factsheets/realised; https://www.ihi.europa.eu/projectsresults/project-factsheets/c4c; https://www.ihi.europa.eu/projects-results/project-factsheets/ardat and more. 11 https://cordis.europa.eu/programme/id/HORIZON_HORIZON-HLTH-2022-DISEASE-06-04-two-stage/en; https://cordis.europa.eu/programme/id/H2020_PHC-14-2015/en and previous calls. 12 https://cordis.europa.eu/programme/id/H2020_SC1-PM-03-2017/en and previous calls.”
  Pharma IPRs · Pharmaceuticals regulation in EU
• “I will be speaking in French. Commissioner, the European Parliament has just voted on the special committee's report on the housing crisis recently. You two put forward your own plan for affordable housing, and that is something that we welcome. Of course, that both the Commission and the Parliament are truly recognising the fact that the housing crisis is an emergency across Europe. I also welcome the fact that there seems to be a real willingness to take action against Airbnbs and short term rentals, etc., but I'm quite worried about the situation that many Belgians and Europeans are experiencing at the moment, and nothing seems to be happening, especially when it comes to support with rents and rents are literally exploding. And if we look at households, they're having to spend over 40% of their income today in the larger cities in order to be able to have a roof over their heads. So you are also the Commissioner for energy, and this point has just been made. Do you not think that it's also important to provide a proper response for for citizens, especially those in the most precarious situation, given the current geopolitical situation that we are, which is between the the devil and the deep blue sea on both sides of the Atlantic. And finally, I do understand that you also want to mobilize on the public and the private side, but nothing is very clear about the role played by public authorities. Should we perhaps move away from the calculations that have been made regarding affordable housing, as the Commission has been authorizing for for defense? Should we perhaps put an end to these procedures which force The public owners to sell to the private sector projects once they are economically viable. And finally, perhaps we should extend the duration during which public authorities remain owners of social housing. When they were built at the beginning of the European budget. I'd be very happy if you could shed some light for me on those various points.”
  EU housing policy
• “Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And I'm going to speak in French. I have 2 questions for the Business Europe online guest. I'd like to know what he meant when he was proposing 25% of simplification, which has to be applied also to health and safety at work. Of course, health, we're talking about health and sometimes question of life and death because 5000 deaths because of chemical exposure. Because I don't know what he meant. I'd like to hear a little bit more practically speaking about that figure. And then we know that the 89 directive is going to be changed. But how are we going to manage to identify the gaps in all this? We've got our experts today. We've heard about mental health at work, working in extreme conditions, lack of hygiene. But everything has to be regulated through social negotiations. But we know that in France, are actually suppressing some of these negotiations in companies. Thank you.”
  EU rules on hazardous working conditions
• “Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Thank you very much for organising these hearings today. This is on a particularly relevant and topical issue. Now I offers many opportunities, but it also represents several threats and also negative repercussions for workers. And to be very clear, for the S&D group, a directive which covers AI much better is needed AI in the workplace that is now. On the necessity for more transparency and a better framework for AI in the workplace. I'd like to comment on a few things. One. We need we need to talk about working conditions. Obviously, we need to avoid machines. Machines and algorithm management dehumanize work even more. And it's been said it's not only supervision and permanent evaluation, but in some companies now we are returning to Fordism and people are suffering psychosocial risks at work. And for 50% of European workers, this represents extra pressure at work and this jeopardizes their mental health. Second thing, how can we ensure respect for privacy and private data? The GDPR would so supposed to protect workers, but it's not the case if it includes camera surveillance at work in workplaces. And that's what's been said to day. When it comes to job interviews and evaluations, we also heard about Evaluations and assessments of people's emotional state.”
  Artificial Intelligence
• “Thank you. Commissioner colleagues. Well, Michela was. He died on a site in Belgium. He was a Ukrainian. He was working for Polish company. He'd never worked for that company before. That country that company was in subcontracted to a company in the Netherlands. The company disappeared and the accident was never clearly declared his family has not received any kind of compensation in the construction sector and also in logistics and in the food sector. This is a this type of subcontracting is a business model. You get companies that dilute responsibilities. The true employer is almost impossible to find. Some of these chains, the subcontracting chains could be up to 17 level. The longer the chain, the worst the workers are. Often that, I think is the reason why a directive is indispensable. We need to get a limit to the chains. So we need to protect the physical integrity of workers. We need to make the main contractor responsible. And that is right up to the very end of this chain. And the practice of gangmasters. There needs to be access to training for workers. You need to strengthen controls and inspections. We need to put an end to workers expectations and practices that literally kill people. Thank you.”
  EU policy on labour exploitation in global supply chains
• “Unfortunately, work workers are surveilled, completely managed. Uh, their time is run by AI, and so it's high time that we do something about how AI is used in the workplace. Also, I understand that there are some contracts between Amazon and some EU institutions. So I would like to see these contracts because the practices that we're talking about here today in Amazon. Well, you know, this kind of, uh, climate of terror, um, uh, where they put pressure on workers. Um, we, you know, it wouldn't be surprising if it was some hidden company, but this is a big company that everyone knows about. So we know that in Italy there is an agreement that exists. It's not ideal, but it does allow some conflict resolution and has allowed, uh, Amazon Italy to continue to make profits still. So how can what can we do to try to promote this kind of model? We know that, uh, the Spanish, uh, labor inspection took Amazon to court because of, uh, how they use certain algorithms in the, workplace. What can we do to strengthen the role of inspection services and digitalization here as well? And then the Amazon are using about using wristbands we've heard to check what workers are doing. Is that true? And what happens if a worker refuses to wear this wristband? Thank you.”
  Artificial Intelligence
• “So on the 8th of March against, we were humiliated once again in the, uh, street for calling for equal pay, for equal work. It's more nearly 70 years since this was in part of the Rome Treaty, but we're still far away from being on an equal footing. The gap is 30% if you take into account part time, which is something that most women don't choose to do. And certain organizations like Business Europe find nothing better to do than to attack our efforts to to try and get this equality. Hello, business Europe. We're trying to make this a thing. We're not going to step back from this. So we have managed to do away with a lot of the wage inequality. It's down to 5% in Belgium. But we have to continue to try and silence these sexist voices. It's not just a question of justice. It's a matter of finally doing away with this unacceptable violence against women. And it's also about being more efficient, efficient and guaranteeing social cohesion across Europe. Thank you.”
  Gender pay transparency
• “Thank you. President. The collaboration between the conservative parties and the far right. Is it a threat for competitiveness? It is. But this cooperation is a danger for democracies and fundamental values. So it is crucial that we have the cordon sanitaire if the far right. Uh, says that they are acceptable. Its DNA hasn't changed their racist, authoritarian and sexist sexist. They betray the letters. And in a complex world. They they never, never have a response to these legitimate fears of people. They talk about hate between others, hate of foreigners. But we are all potentially these other people, these foreigners. So compromising with them and collaborating with them is a danger. And we shouldn't give space for their ideas and their speeches, and we should always prefer the original to the copy, and we should have some specific responses to citizens concerns. The speaker is cut Thank you.”
  EU political integration
• “Thank you thank you Miss Sheila it's just a shame that we only have gender equality week once a year it should be every week. Just coming back to the point about professions the kind of typical professions that are gender based they were applauded during COVID as being essential but often they lead to precarity given low salaries and the fact that they are part time jobs particularly in my country. And then the second point I wanted to make is the point about work in the home and unpaid work it can be up to fifteen percent of GDP in certain member states so it has a high economic value as you said but unfortunately our employment and economic policies don't take account of that unpaid work. So I'm wondering according to you what would the main recommendations be so that care professions for example that are essential can be given greater value and secondly how can we guarantee a true sharing of care and work in the home for example by having compulsory and paid paternity leave because you know it's right from birth that the partner should be able to take care of the young children otherwise the boat is missed. And how do we reach the Barcelona goals for example care for children from zero to three years apparently at the moment it's only forty five percent so fifty five percent of children are not in high quality accessible care structures which is an obstacle to women working so how do we reach those Barcelona goals or do we need to revise them?”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “In 2024, the Audi Brussels workers were told about the their work was being, uh, moved elsewhere by a car um magazine. And this led to a loss of 6000 direct indirect jobs. Uh, this is something that's utterly unacceptable. Therefore, it's absolutely vital to strengthen the directive on European works councils. And that's why the text that will be voted on tomorrow will be absolutely vital. We're talking about over 5.5 million workers and hundreds of multinationals. It strengthens the requirements for information and consultation and therefore strengthens democracy in businesses. Moreover, confidential confidentiality can't just be thrown around to block access to information. And there's also this 40% quota for women on the IWC. So this draft of the directive shows that we can simplify legislation while also strengthening the rights of workers rather than deregulating. Thank you very much.”
  EU regulation on worker representation in company decisions
• “At the end of January, the president of the European Commission presented her competitiveness compass. But she's not giving us the honor of being here for the debate. We're at a crossroads in the EU. We need to rebuild strategic autonomy in the digital spheres, among others. But the project on the table is more than worrying, because we've got the dogma of competitiveness as an end in itself. Once again, there are social environmental issues here. I see backsliding and yes, there are references to deregulation. The EU will never become one of the big global powers again without workers behind it. Mrs. von der Leyen, Commissioner, please do not give the impression of a Javier, Mila or Donald Trump by your approach. Don't lose sight of the fact that welfare, Quality of life and the prosperity of European men and women should be your guiding principles. Don't take the wrong road and make sure that the economy serves human beings and not the other way around.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “Thank you very much, president. Ladies and gentlemen, it seems that the discussion about the future of cohesion policy is once again time for people to try and fragment social policies at European level. Cohesion policy constitutes one third of the European Union budget. It is the fundamental investment policy for the long term and works on a social, economic and territorial level. It is enshrined in the treaties to try and get rid of the disparities between regions and generate cohesion. It's not a crisis management mechanism. The objective is not to deal with emergencies that come along or provide money for the defense spending. We need to find other resources for that. And the future multiannual Financial Framework has to have a budget set aside for genuine implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights. The European Social Fund Plus has to remain a strong and independent instrument to bolster the social side of Europe. Thank you.”
  Cohesion and rural funding
• “Well, it's not often that I use this kind of language within the European Parliament, but I am disgusted today for two reasons. First of all, because of the, uh, what we've heard from our speakers, and in particular, I would like to thank those workers who were brave enough to come and bear witness to the conditions in which they work in Amazon. And I say they dared to do that because the raining atmosphere is one of terror there. This is a business model based on dehumanizing workers. Um, they use, uh, the body and mind and spirit of workers to absolute depletion. And as we've heard, it's a dystopian what happens here. There's a climate of terror, not just within the warehouses, but perhaps also within this parliament. We invited Amazon management to come and speak to us the second time. They've refused to come and speak to us. And. The decision to invite them was an open, transparent decision from our committee. Since then, they've put pressure on the chair of our committee. They've sent letters to the president of Parliament to put pressure on. It's absolutely unacceptable. And so it shows not just the climate of terror that reigns in warehouses, but also what they're prepared to do here. So coming back a bit more specifically. To what Amazon workers and representatives want from us as members of the European Parliament, as members of the Employment Committee. Our priority in legislative terms was to work on artificial intelligence AI. I was very happy, happy to hear what the commission said, and I hope that the Commission will support us so that we have a directive to better ensure that AI is better framed in how it's used in the future workplace.”
  EU rules on hazardous working conditions
• “Thank you. Chairman. Indeed. This is a report and a request for a European directive to deal with a key problem. As has been said today. Subcontracting has become very problematic. We can understand that subcontracting is used for external expertise, but it's being used more and more to subcontract out for the actual tasks of the company itself. And we see that the aim is to create systems which are sometimes, uh, mafia systems. I do hope that my colleagues will have another look at their position and can, uh, positively engage with this, uh, draft because it's not just a question of, uh, placing companies, uh, in competition that are actually fraudulent companies and exploiting human beings, but it's much more of a comprehensive problem from an economic point of view. I was lucky enough recently to go visit a disastrous situation in Puglia in the south of Italy, which shows that when the extreme right is in power in certain countries and try to limit immigration, they have no problem, uh, with exploitation via subcontracting to exploit countries that come from third countries migrants, as they are called, but not just migrants. I think it would be useful to have a mission to actually go and see these situations, which are situations which are the reasons for this widespread, uh, subcontracting at multiple levels. And in that case, these are Mafia systems which exist. And I think that's a significant aspect. And the idea of limiting, uh, subcontracting to two levels is much simpler than if we start getting into the heart of the, uh, companies or not. We run the risk of, uh, saying, well, yes, this is, but this is not. So I think simply a system to limit it to two levels would be the most efficient. And I would invite my colleagues to have another look at their position with respect to that, because we really need a directive which ends these mafia systems. Thank you.”
  EU policy on labour exploitation in global supply chains
• “Thank you. I speak French well. Thank you very much for the presentation this morning on the somewhat fatal risks, which are still unacceptable, these risks that numerous workers have faced, and they run the risk of being worsened depending on the, uh, status or the precarious nature of the work. Today or tomorrow, we are going to see, we hope, a roadmap for, uh, quality of work that is supposed to be ambitious with regard to health and safety at work, because obviously the key word for this is prevention and eliminating risks. So my question is, has to do with regard with the legislative framework, the existing one, and what we would like to see, because we're in a context that's rather one of deregulation today, which is a bit strange today. This makes it difficult to adopt new regulation. So I'm turning to you, the different speakers, to know which aspects would allow us to say that current legislation is not sufficient. It needs to be reinforced. And above all, it needs to give rise to new regulation in particular. Risks of violence at work and better structure of everything that has to do with work conditions linked to heat or extreme risk due to climate change.”
  EU rules on hazardous working conditions
• “So on the 8th of March against, we were humiliated once again in the, uh, street for calling for equal pay, for equal work. It's more nearly 70 years since this was in part of the Rome Treaty, but we're still far away from being on an equal footing. The gap is 30% if you take into account part time, which is something that most women don't choose to do. And certain organizations like Business Europe find nothing better to do than to attack our efforts to to try and get this equality. Hello, business Europe. We're trying to make this a thing. We're not going to step back from this. So we have managed to do away with a lot of the wage inequality. It's down to 5% in Belgium. But we have to continue to try and silence these sexist voices. It's not just a question of justice. It's a matter of finally doing away with this unacceptable violence against women. And it's also about being more efficient, efficient and guaranteeing social cohesion across Europe. Thank you.”
  Gender pay transparency
• “Madam president. Commissioner. Colleagues. Well, how can it still be possible that in 2026, in Europe, we still have to fight to eradicate poverty? Five years ago, ambitious objectives were set for 2030. But social policies are under attack from the right. And now one European in five is on the risk of poverty or social exclusion. Children in a particularly bad situation, more than one worker in ten is poor and can't live on their salary. But we continue to make more flexible working arrangements that are at a lower level. So poverty, social exclusion, lack of access to care and education. This is the reality for young people and for many old people as well. Europe has to maintain its compass heading for a poverty reduction €25 billion budget for the European Child Guarantee. Massive investment in health, education and public health. Quality jobs and a European minimum minimum salary. We hear so much about strategic autonomy, but that has to fit in with the security of each European citizen so that they can have a secure livelihood. You cannot build a flourishing Europe on a social desert. Eradicating poverty is a political choice. We have to set the course for a dignified future for all.”
  Child poverty policy
• “Voila. Merci. Merci, president. Thank you, madam, and thank you, Mr. Cabrol, for that introduction to this file, which is essential. I apologise for the shadow rapporteur, Mr. Mubarak, who has long standing commitments in her constituency but would have liked to have been here for this first of exchange because for her it's essential to follow two lines prevention of risk, which is the first thing when we talk about exposure to cmrs, but also the matter of following the social partners line who are familiar with the field. So a question for Mrs. Cabrol could be as follows. Because we see that the proposal does not incorporate all the conclusions of the Advisory Committee on Safety in the workplace on the inclusion of isoprene in the revision. So the Commission is departing from the principle of respecting the social partners views and preventing risk. Isoprene is a carcinogen. The reasons have been identified, and that is why the social partners and the members of the Advisory Committee for Fixed Limits on Exposure to that substance would like to hear the Commission on exposure to that substance. And then furthermore, in European legislation, Miss Mebarek, uh, will be saying in this committee's opinion that we need to take account of the gender aspect of exposure to substances. The approach is not sufficiently differentiated between exposure of men and women. And we know that that can, be a very important factor, we know, on health matters. Many diagnoses or specific aspects relating to women are not taken into account, and we feel it should be important to take account of certain professions where there is a higher exposure. Firefighters, for example, this could be classified as a carcinogen, a carcinogenic profession given the high exposure to fumes. Thank you.”
  EU rules on hazardous working conditions
• “Today, the European Council will be meeting with on its agenda competitiveness and simplification. But let's be clear about this. Nobody likes bureaucracy and nobody will be against simplifying it. But what is really at stake in Europe is quite different. We have a type of Far West deregulation, the idea being to do away with very important social and environmental legislation provisions which are essential if we are not to give in totally to the market. Madam von der Leyen, this deregulation is a threat for Europe and it will nourish anti-European interests. And what workers and citizens want is a Europe which will ensure that the interests of the community. The collectivity are maintained, not multinationals. Decent salaries an economy which is based on the human factor and not the contrary. This is what is really at stake, our very existence. This is why I'll be voting against doing away with due diligence and a Europe which respects social rights.”
  Due diligence in supply chains (environmental and human rights)
• “Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I'll be speaking in French. Of course, the question of shortages and surpluses. Sometimes it's used to support certain trends from a political point of view. Pointing the finger in certain directions, etc. and shifting responsibility. So the first thing that we should have to look at is the definition. What definition have you attached to this notion of shortage? That's very important in the construction sector, for example, that's a sector where we hear a lot of complaints that they're lacking workers. But how do you really quantify those vacancies? Because that's very difficult to to find how that is defined in certain sectors. So I'm interested in that. And also perhaps we should have a better definition of this of of these registers that we have of vacancies, etc., with the public um agencies, as you've mentioned. Identifying the cause, we also know about the mismatch problem that we have, but the gap between training and what is being asked of on the market. We know that, um, we have to look at the causes. Causes. Could you also have an analytical grid as part of your analysis? Looking at the different elements that might be the causes because for the same profession it might be a mismatch issue. It might be working conditions. And then there are other, um, developments that you point out in your report that suggest that even in jobs where there are shortages, the risk is a worsening of working conditions. So then that would be a vicious circle because if you have the shortage, then the possibility of, um, improving working conditions, etc. It. Here it seems to be the other way around. The final point. Apologies for having gone on at length. We have the Eures regulation, which has existed for over over ten years. Is it not time to give it a facelift? Refresh it somehow. Thank you.”
  Recruitment policies in the EU
• “Commissioner colleagues. Would the future budget will be a picture of the future of the European Union? I think we can really respond to both the social aspects and defense. I mean, we can certainly try and put a burden on the broader shoulders. We need to focus on our. External security and we need to focus on social rights. Don't believe that if you don't invest in social aspects and in cohesion issues, our societies will become unsustainable. Let us not give this gift to the vampires of human, of human nature. Let us defend ourselves, but let us also meet the concerns of citizens and workers. They need quality jobs, well-paid good pensions, and right to health and to homes. We need a social Europe. There will be no Europe if we don't have a social Europe too. Thank you.”
  EU expenditure on social policy
• “Thank you very much. I'll be speaking French. I'll give you time to put your headphones on. Hard work. Work hard, work hard and enjoy yourself. That's what it says on Amazon's facade. And anything to do with reality is purely. Incidental. They work hard, of course. But as for having fun or writing history, That's different. I quotation here harassment is daily. The work is so hard and we don't even dare to drink because then we have to go to the toilet. This describes degrading and constant surveillance as far as the toilets and algorithmic management. Repetitive gestures, constant beeps with consequences on mental and physical health, a failure to declare accidents at work, workers being pushed so hard that they die, as happened in Black Friday in Germany. Do you have anything that counts as our vision of Amazon? You're refusing to allow Works Inspectorate because you say it's confidential. We think that a lot of your facilities are really beyond the law, and you have orders sent by SMS. You're doing your business. You're earning a lot in Europe, but are you ready to accept the rules of the game? How many of your workers of the 150,000 are actually covered by right to collective bargaining negotiations in Europe? And I mean really covered. And what do you do to make sure that they really have a right for consultation and education? What do you do to respect the needs to protect health at work, including mental health? And how can you limit the use of algorithms to supervise and monitor your workers? And how can you make sure that your subcontractors actually respect the rules as well and are viable?”
  EU rules on hazardous working conditions
• “Well thank you. Chairman. Well, this this this plan and this, this social climate fund are essential because energy precarity and problems of mobility and the problems that small firms have to face in terms of energy are key. And we've got to find solutions. We've got to do that quickly. Now here in this plan, this is something that's positive. This is something that ties in with sustainable development, with its three pillars here. We've got the social here we've got the environmental pillars. We're also going to be helping, uh, low income households to deal with the energy, uh, change in transition to help that will help the environment, and we'll provide support for them to do that. It's also very good for the economy. I mean, if you, uh, you renew a building that creates jobs and construction and Belgium, unfortunately, we have right wing governments, particularly in Wallonia. Well, that's a very that's a negative example because you see all of the incentives for renewals in that part of the country are being wound up. So this actually destabilizes the construction sector. So the questions wonder, how are we going to make sure that member states actually put this money to good use. Europe's putting this money to available to them to help the households that are most at risk in terms of transport and in terms of energy in the home. Uh, and we're also very concerned about the future of this social climate fund, because if you look at the budget, if you look at the the framework, uh, multi-year budget, where you've got some points that just mentioned these are for, uh, memory. Well, that's not reassuring, because if we're going to undermine the regulation in terms of emissions, we're likely to see that this question, uh, this, this guarantee, this safeguard disappears. So how can we be certain that this undertaking is going to be pursued and indeed strengthened in the future?”
  Energy performance of buildings
• “Thank you, Madam President. Madam. Mr. Costa, dear colleagues, the Commission and member States are negotiating on the future budget of the European Union. And what we're hearing is worrying, and it's a matter of diluting European social policy through a vast programme, together with agricultural and fisheries policy. There would no longer be the same obligations for member states to use EU funds to invest in social matters and employment. For my political group, this is a no. We need to invest in access to quality education, health and employability. That's not optional. As madam von der Leyen herself has committed to, the integrity of the European Social Fund must be preserved and it should have an ambitious budget to face up to the challenges that we stand before. This is about Europe's future, its sovereignty, our values and even our domestic and geopolitical security. Let us not let social distress and anger spin the wheels of the extreme right here in Europe. This is our responsibility.”
  EU expenditure on social policy
• “Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you very much for this discussion, which has been extremely interesting with our colleagues from national parliaments talking about the state of play, of transposition of the minimum wage directive, and on both sides of it, because here both sides are essential when it comes to implementing the treaty of the European Union. And the first side looks at implementation as such in the EU's member states. So to make sure that there are adequate minimum wages, and this is a question of implementing the principle of convergence of living conditions and conditions for workers all across Europe, and also upwards convergence rather than the other way around, including on the issue of wages. It's this transposition which is essential at a time like this when the European Commission is launching an anti-poverty strategy, because obviously, adequate minimum wages are the first line of defense against poverty, especially because today working just to be poor is not only unacceptable from a societal, societal point of view and runs counter to our European values, but it's also economically unproductive because wages are still the driving force of the economy. On the second side, which is also this question of 80% of coverage of of collective bargaining, there's also a question of recognising the key role that collective bargaining plays as a vector. Not only for positive social and economic development, but also pillars of social convergence all across the European Union. Perhaps we need to remember that this directive, unlike what was said previously, is not at all at odds with our national social bargaining systems. I have two questions that I'd like to ask today, and particularly to the representatives from the Etuc, but also Business Europe. What do you think the main obstacles are in the different member states on both parts of this directive? As I've mentioned, the adequate minimum wage side, but also the social partners side. And what do you think the best way of responding to those obstacles are? Thank you.”
  Minimum wages harmonisation at EU level
• “So on the 8th of March against, we were humiliated once again in the, uh, street for calling for equal pay, for equal work. It's more nearly 70 years since this was in part of the Rome Treaty, but we're still far away from being on an equal footing. The gap is 30% if you take into account part time, which is something that most women don't choose to do. And certain organizations like Business Europe find nothing better to do than to attack our efforts to to try and get this equality. Hello, business Europe. We're trying to make this a thing. We're not going to step back from this. So we have managed to do away with a lot of the wage inequality. It's down to 5% in Belgium. But we have to continue to try and silence these sexist voices. It's not just a question of justice. It's a matter of finally doing away with this unacceptable violence against women. And it's also about being more efficient, efficient and guaranteeing social cohesion across Europe. Thank you.”
  Gender pay transparency
• “How can this better be regulated and what specific proposals are there for? To avoid discrimination when it comes to recruitment because machines are not necessarily more objective than humans. How can this be ensured? How can we ensure there is a human element to this? Thirdly, right to information. We know that digitalization of our societies and economies will mean that we need qualified workers, so we need to ensure right to information. How can we ensure that this technology is also accessible to everybody? It's not the case now. It's the significant discrimination. So how could we do have guidelines on that. And the next point we need to strengthen consultation of workers and their involvement and negotiations on AI. Obviously this will affect their working conditions and respect for their privacy. But there's also the question of fair distribution of wealth as AI is being developed in companies and being introduced into companies, but it's often developed by companies from outside the EU. How can we ensure that the wealth that's generated is also redistributed to workers in a fair way? Thank you.”
  Artificial Intelligence
• “Thank you very much, chair. Well, here we are. We waited for five years to finally be able to meet the representatives of Amazon. And the debate gives us the impression that we're talking at cross purposes. I'd like to say something to the European representatives of Amazon, and then I'd also address a comment to the American representatives from Amazon. We do not believe your figures or your statements or what you're saying about the practices, specifically when it's we will only buy it when it's based on negotiations and within the context of trade unions. And when we talk about trade unions, I just heard that you negotiate with representatives of trade unions, but also representatives that are not trade unions. We all wanted to avoid the yellow trade unions that would be there to bust the real trade union negotiation or social negotiation. So we will only really believe you when you once and for all, take the decision to negotiate with the representatives of workers that are chosen based on the national provisions. Sir, uh, representative from America. Thank you. We've heard that you are frequently in Europe, but you've never taken the time to come here in the European Parliament. If we're supposed to believe you based on goodwill. I would really have a lot of questions to ask based on the representatives that are here. We don't know who's lying to us. But there's a real issue when it comes to the practices and the pressure that has been put on the members of this committee to organize this hearing, to be able to give you your badges back. I think there are a lot of questions that remain about Amazon's practices. Thank you.”
  EU regulation on worker representation in company decisions
• “Thank you, Madam Chair. And thank you, Miss Saman and the rapporteur for this very important document. And for workers in Europe, because we know that there's a lot of turbulence at the moment and there's risks of growing risks of restructuring, restructuring in industrial industrial sector. But not only that. So this proposal, um, we hope, um, to strengthen things is coming at a good time, anticipating restructuring and helping workers before they lose their jobs, um, and before they, um, and helping companies, uh, before they lay off essential workers. It might be important, however, to put, um, on the table here. Um, anticipating is important, but we also need to consider workers before they start considering workers before they lose their jobs. Also needs social dialogue with this. Um. With the EGF fund. Um, social dialogue needs to be respected and negotiation needs to be done, and that needs to be considered. Another important element, um, with this revision is considering um workers. Who are subcontracted because when a company is affected, um subcontractors are also affected. So, um, the draft in the draft, the are elements considering subcontractors. But we do need more guarantees um for them. So that's maybe something to look at. Our final objective is also to have more of an ambition. Um, um, we have the €33 million. Um, but that should be strengthened, um, in the next MFF. But we should also make sure that there's a proper directive for the transition and not just the regulation, because workers who face uncertainty when it comes to big changes or the risk of losing jobs because of the digital twin transition. We need to make sure that there's a right to training for workers. We have the social European social rights pillar. It's not binding. We also need to have the ambition. And make sure that workers who are at risk of losing their jobs have guaranteed access to some sort of revenue. So these are different elements to just transition. Sure. Um, um, so I wanted to say that to the commission.”
  European Globalisation Adjustment Fund
• “Merci. Madame Vice president. Thank you, Madam Executive vice president. What I'm going to say here and like my colleague from the EPP, is not addressed to you personally, but rather to the Commission. I wouldn't like to be in your shoes today to defend this. On the 16th of July we learned after the press of the next MFF, and we were just leaving a particularly difficult plenary session following a motion of censure against the Commission. Obviously, lessons weren't learned from the vote on that. Now, this proposal is far from our position, which was discussed in March or May or even this morning. Uh, the problem with the proposal on the table today is not just a question of governance and the weakening of the Parliament's role. It's not just merging the cohesion and the European Social Fund, but it's first and foremost the lack of any specific budget line for the European Social Fund. That is the first time since 1957 that's the case, looked at this document. But strangely, there are very specific budget lines for managing migration or budgets. Frontex, a whole series of things that are all very interesting, but nothing for the European Social Fund. So I hear you when you talk about a budget 14%. But the problem, as you yourself have said, is that the social policy is going to be diluted, not just within the framework of the new overall fund, but also in the competitiveness fund. So how you are you going to be able to defend a budget which are no longer clearly included in the European budget lines. And then come back to the Global Adjustment Fund. Since 2007, this has supported not just companies, but above all, workers who lost their jobs because of major changes. And today, when the commission is signing tariff agreements with the US, is going to have a serious impact on the loss of jobs in the European Union. How are you going to ensure that our workers, when our workers will no longer have this fund to support them? Thank you.”
  EU expenditure on social policy