Arash SAEIDI

Policy topics Arash SAEIDI is active on

What Arash SAEIDI has said (39)

• 2026-07-15 “(11:24:31 - 11:29:43): Thank you, chair. If you'll allow me, I'll start by mentioning the rules of procedure given that Mister Sieper is with us today and knows the rules very well. When I go to the restaurant with colleagues, I invite them to join me. So please, do that to article rule 12 10. I'm sure you know what rule 10 of the rules procedure is. But I'd like to thank you, Rapporteur Rapazzi, for the work that you've done on this file. Thank you for including these guardrails safeguards to protect workers' rights. Including that underscores the fact that we are all aware that this text entails great risk. And at the end of the day, we have to weigh out these risks and advantages, and it does this all make sense? I'm I've been reading DG Just impact assessment from the May 11. After 20 years, we're looking at a 2,100,000,000 increase in GDP. We have risks for social rights, and, trade unions have spoken about that at great length. And I've got many, many amendments coming your way to outline many different risks that I believe this text poses to social rights. But just focusing on the economic aspect, 2,000,000,000 in additional GDP. But there's a risk of VAT fraud here between 2008, 2009 VAT fraud, fraud, and carbon credits. All of that cost 1,600,000,000, in France v in VAT fraud just in the face of 1 year. I don't have figures on carbon credits because by definition, we are often unable to to estimate the real, volume of the fraud. Europol has data on the 50,000,000,000 VAT fraud, the EPPO is also saying that we're underestimating fraud because they increased their estimate from 25,000,000,000 to 60,000,000,000 over the course of a few years. So the risk is huge, and we have created an instrument that is going to facilitate fraud. With our AKI, we're unable currently to combat this fraud. And this fraud provides the tools for fraudsters to continue working with a 48 registration, simplified insolvency, non registering, different leaders, company, bosses, and this is just making life much easier for fraudsters. And the list goes on. I know that you would like to make life easier for companies, and that's in good faith. But you just mentioned the red lights, Mister Ripassio. In doing so, we need to really stop and think, are we going to be able to stop these cars that are going to try to run the red lights on the highway? And I don't think today we're able to do that. 2nd risk that I identify here is about enforcement of this text. I am deeply concerned, and this is exacerbated by the upcoming NRPPs under the future MFF. I think we are going to step up competition between member states. This instrument, whether we like it or not, is going to allow companies to choose where they register their company and where they pay their taxes. It's going to put pressure on member states when it comes to taxation and and lead to tax competition. We're going to lose a lot of public money via fraud. But even without fraud, this instrument is going to put pressure on EU tax saying that, well, if 1 member state doesn't decrease their tax rate, I'm going to set up my company elsewhere. I'm concluding now. The risk at the end of the day is increased competition between states, lower tax revenue, and looking at the NRPPs as well. At the end of the day, some countries, some voters might think, why am I in the EU still? I'm being put in competition, with non EU 3rd countries via trade agreements like Mercosur, and I'm being put in competition with, EU member states because the upcoming MFF is going to bolster, and lead to intra EU competition with this 28th regime. I think I'm just going to be turning towards leaving the EU. That's what many people are going to see to say. Thank you very much, chair.”
  Anti-money laundering regulation
• 2026-07-14 “Thank you, Madam Chair. I'll speak French. First of all, I'd like to thank the rapporteur for this for this report on the strengthening of competitiveness and resilience of European agriculture. This text talks about the vulnerability vulnerability of a model and need to have a more fairer redistribution of support to respond to the crisis in agriculture, we need to be more ambitious. That's why we tabled a number of amendments to reinforce this report around three priorities. First of all, we have to get away commercial naivety, the multiplication of FTAs, free trade agreements, particularly with Mercosur, means that we have social dumping and sanitary and environmental dumping, which destroys family farms. We're asking for the creation of a compensation fund, which was promised by the commissioner dedicated and financed to repair the damage of these agreements. These must be measures to suspend imports of products which don't respect our production standards. Secondly, equality should apply to all workers in agriculture. Our amendments will stress the urgency of improving the conditions of migrant and seasonal workers, where social protections are too low. We have to guarantee stable imports. Incomes we need. Generational renewal shouldn't mean more exports and bigger farms, which mean which is bad for the ecology and in human terms. We need to have to move to, um, to an agriculture which is adapted to climate change to encourage young people. We should protect them in the face of climate change. We're proposing the creation of public risk pooling mechanisms, because that's a problem for too many farms at the moment. Thank you, Madam Chair.”
  Trade relations with Mercosur
• 2026-06-29 “(17:18:58 - 17:19:58): Thank you very much, chairman. I agree with what my colleagues are saying, but I'd go even further. Now when it comes to farming issues, the agri really committee should have a say. When it comes to these texts, And I can't ignore the Mergesor agreement either. The the in these agreements are being applied before ratified by the case. The the committee the key agreement is provisionally enforced without the opinion of the court of justice. It is ignoring the people, member states, parliamentarians, farmers. We are supposed to just say yes or no to an opinion that goes to the inter committee. They don't they don't care whatsoever about our opinion, quite frankly.”
  Trade relations with Mercosur
• 2026-06-23 “(12:25:18 – 12:28:27): Thank you, chairman. Well, 1st of all, I'd like to thank the rapporteur and, Colleen Defend for their excellent reports. And just to say that, overall, I support their reports. If I may, mister Montevanti, I'm wondering where you've been for 2 years because since I've been elected, I get the impression that this parliament, spends all of its time voting on resolutions on Venezuela on Venezuela and on Venezuela again. So I don't get the feeling that we were absent, from that debate. But okay. I mean, if you if you want, I can send it to you. On the 02/06/2025, Donald Trump signed a decree which sanctioned the International Criminal Court for the 4 sanctions. And then in August, 4 further members of the XP and then the 2 additional judges. As you can understand, I can stress 1 point of this because I support it comprehensively. The consequences of these sanctions, they're banned from the territory. Their bank accounts are blocked, closing or suspending all of their American Apple Paypal, accounts, access to software are closed. Payment systems, Visa, Mastercards are banned, and any contact, with American banks, they they have their, bank accounts closed. This exitorial sanctions don't just affect, the judges. It's a direct attack against the European Union sovereignty because despite us, this these sanctions apply on our territory. And what do we do faced with that? Well, through the presence of the high representative, the union reacted well reacted as saying a lot. They regret, once again, deeply regret these sanctions, blah blah blah. That's it. Nothing more. So, indeed, until we activate the, unblocking regulation, we'll we can't do anything. We'll be weak on the international scene, and the words will have no, effect whatsoever. As I said, I only want to stress 1 point. We need to strongly condemn any unilateral action designed to pressure or sanction anyone with a UN mandate, in particular, the, criminal international criminal court judges. These extraterritorial sanct extraterritorial sanctions threaten the sovereignty of the EU, and we must urgently demand the commission to activate the EU blocking statue statue to counter the American actions to reinforce international law because that is, in fact, the subject we're discussing today. Our support must be unconditional, and I repeat, unconditional support for the judges of the International Criminal Court, in particular, when their inquiries affect countries throughout the globe.”
  Support for International Criminal Court
• 2026-06-23 “(11:59:28 – 12:01:30): you, chairman. Colleagues, our colleagues' report is more or less going in the right direction, which is not an easy tax given the initial tax proposed by the commission. Through the digital omnibus on data, the European Commission has shown once again that they have a difficult issue distinguishing between simplification and deregulation. That's why I would support our colleague's approach, and I would like to welcome certain, steps forward in the report. 1st of all, the work carried out on article 1, which limits the exemptions based on trade secrets and reaffirms that the refusal refusing access, must remain a final resort. Data needs to be dealt with, on the proportionate organizational, approach and not any sort of arbitration arbitrary arbitrary approach limited to, limiting access to substance. Secondly, I'm happy with the reference with the p 2 b because this is a pillar for restaurants, tourism, and the tourism sector given the, unfair, power of platforms. However, it's time to, mention the elephant in the room. Article through 3 on the PODG, is completely absent here. There's nothing mentioned about, changing personal data, margin for additional appreciation granted to the commission to determine what, represents or not, anonymize data. Nothing is mentioned about anonymizing certain category of data used for training AI systems. Nothing is mentioned about possibility for derogating biometric data. These are key issues, however, for the legal certainty of our regulatory framework, and we feel fully fit within the concerns expressed by jury committee. So it's with that in mind that we will be submitting our amendments, designed to complete and reinforce this report. Thank you.”
  Artificial Intelligence
• 2026-06-22 “Thank you very much, chairman. I just wanted to talk about the last part of my colleague's, intervention, so I don't want to repeat anything. But the legislative aspects, of course, yes, the report is extremely relevant. But as Diana said, would it not be good to look at why piracy has gone up so much? Is if we look at cost, for instance, today, football fans or basketball fans or ice hockey or all 3 at the same time, unfortunately, not an MEP. I'm not sure how people can watch these things without resorting to piracy, you know, because, obviously, MEPs have decent salaries, but people have to turn to VPNs, or you may be caught, and that might be higher. The risk might be higher than the cost, but just funding following 1 championship and a European Cup can mean having to have a 2 or 3, 4 subscriptions. These are all examples that are real. People who are cheating, people who are resorting to these piracy services are not huge criminals. These are people who simply want to follow a sports event that they that they like and that they want to access at that at an affordable price. And that's the majority of citizens. Most citizens don't want to have VPNs or have poor quality broadcast that that are cut off. No. It's these prohibitive costs that are pushing people to resort to piracy for the events.”
  Broadcasting of sports events
• 2026-06-16 “(11:47:26 – 11:48:32): You, madam president. In order to be credible, the position of the EU when it comes to international law needs to be, coherent, not changeable. When you listen to what the EU has to say on human rights, it needs to be sincere. The EU needs to find its independence again. The EU needs to speak strongly when it comes to the respect of international law in Iran, in Gaza, in Lebanon. Europe needs to be constant when it comes to human rights regardless of.”
  EU foreign policy approach
• 2026-03-11 “Answer given by Mr McGrath on behalf of the European Commission 5.5.2026 Written question The Commission fully supports the mission of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and remains firmly committed to further strengthening the EU’s anti-fraud architecture (AFA), of which the EPPO is a key component. Further to the adoption of its related White Paper in July 2025 [1] , the Commission is currently reviewing the EU’s AFA. In this context, the Commission is assessing the cooperation and information exchange among the relevant actors, including the EPPO, as well as the recovery of misused EU funds, with a view to identifying targeted improvements where appropriate. The Commission will also take due account of the relevant recommendations of the European Court of Auditors in this process. Furthermore, the forthcoming evaluation of the EPPO Regulation and the directive on the fight against fraud to the Union’s financial interests by means of criminal law (the PIF Directive) [2] , the joint impact assessment supporting the possible revision of the EPPO and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) Regulations [3] , as well as the ongoing consultations carried out in the context of the review of the EU’s AFA, will provide an opportunity to assess the functioning of the current EPPO’s framework, including the tools and conditions under which the EPPO operates. In that context, the Commission could consider whether any adjustments are needed to further enhance its effectiveness, including as regards the recovery of misused EU funds. [1] White Paper for the Anti-fraud Architecture Review, COM(2025) 546 final, Brussels, 16.7.2025. [2] Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2017 on the fight against fraud to the Union’s financial interests by means of criminal law, OJ L 198, 28.7.2017. [3] Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 of 12 October 2017 implementing enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), OJ L 283, 31.10.2017 and Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 September 2013 concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), as amended, OJ L 248, 18.9.2013.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• 2025-12-26 “E-005076/2025 Answer given by Mr Várhelyi on behalf of the European Commission The Commission invites the Honourable Member to refer to the answers to P-004478/2025 1 and E-000029/2026 2 . As explained therein, under the the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) 2016/429 3 ), Member States may decide to implement vaccination against Category A diseases, including lumpy skin disease (LSD), irrespective of the availability of a DIVA (Differentiating infected from vaccinated animals through serology) vaccine. Furthermore, available polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays developed by the European Union Reference Laboratory enable differentiation between field and vaccine strains, supporting surveillance. Vaccination is an important complementary tool but does not replace stamping out once infection is confirmed. Detection of LSD in a herd indicates circulation within the epidemiological unit and rapid culling of the affected herd remains the most effective measure to prevent further spread and ensure swift eradication. These measures are continually evaluated with the support of the European Food Safety Authority and reflect a suitable approach, in particular enabling emergency protective vaccination while maintaining stamping out as an essential response where the disease is confirmed, in line with the international standards of the World Organisation for Animal Health. 1 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/P-10-2025-004478_EN.html. 2 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-10-2026-000029_EN.html. 3 OJ L 84, 31.3.2016, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/429/oj.”
  Animal diseases prevention and management in the EU
• 2025-12-26 “E-005080/2025 Answer given by Mr Serafin on behalf of the European Commission The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) play a key role in protecting the EU’s financial interests. In 2025, the Commission launched an in-depth review of the EU’s anti-fraud architecture (AFA) with the aim to strengthen and modernise the EU’s anti-fraud framework and better protect the EU budget. To tackle cross-border value added tax (VAT) fraud, the Commission adopted a proposal to amend Council Regulation (EU) No 904/2010 1 to enhance cooperation and exchange of information on VAT matters by granting EPPO and OLAF a direct communication with the Eurofisc network, the European network of national VAT antifraud officials. With increased access to relevant VAT data, OLAF and EPPO will support Member States more effectively in ensuring faster recovery of evaded amounts. In the context of EU administrative constraints, the Commission will explore whether administrative arrangements could be put in place to allow the pooling of expertise and building of joint capacities for modern anti-fraud investigations involving different anti-fraud actors. This reflection occurs within the EU AFA review. Moreover, the Commission is currently conducting evaluations of the EPPO Regulation 2 and the OLAF Regulation 3 . These evaluations will examine how the current framework can be improved. Based on these, the forthcoming joint impact assessment will assess options for strengthening the protection of the EU's financial interests, including the recovery of EU funds lost due to fraud and other crimes affecting the EU budget. 1 Council Regulation (EU) No 904/2010 of 7 October 2010 on administrative cooperation and combating fraud in the field of value added tax (recast), https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2010/904/oj/eng. 2 Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 of 12 October 2017 implementing enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (‘the EPPO’), https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32017R1939. 3 Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 September 2013 concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (Euratom) No 1074/1999, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32013R0883.”
  EU law enforcement cooperation in criminal matters · Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• 2025-11-11 “E-004455/2025 Answer given by Mr Síkela on behalf of the European Commission The EU has been a key supporter of the Global Fund since its establishment in 2001, with a total contribution of EUR 3.5 billion. The EU alone is currently its seventh public donor. Jointly with its Member States, the EU represents roughly a third of the total funding of the Global Fund. EU commitment to Global Health and multilateralism is enshrined in EU Global Health Strategy adopted in November 2022 1 and in the EU Global Gateway Strategy 2 . It was captured in the declaration of the EU-AU Summit that took place in Luanda on 23-24 November 2025 and reaffirmed with the announcement of a new Global Health Resilience Initiative during the State of the Union in September 2025 3 . Global health challenges benefit from global responses. International support is also fundamental to complement the very much needed increase in domestic efforts in EU’s partner countries. Country ownership together with an integrated health system approach is the key to success. This is why the Commission encourages the Global Fund and all relevant Global Health Initiatives to enhance their joint work and cooperation to accompany countries in their transition towards self-reliance, in line with the Lusaka Agenda. The Commission could not financially commit during the Eight replenishment summit in November 2025 while expressing its strong support to the principles and to the mission of the Global Fund. The Commission has clearly shown willingness to continue being a major partner and intends to contribute to the new cycle of the Global Fund along the lines of previous cycles. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52022DC0675. 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52021JC0030. 3 https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/state-union/state-union-2025/main-initiatives_en#a-globaleurope.”
  Support for international humanitarian organisations · EU Development & Humanitarian Aid
• 2025-06-25 “E-002550/2025 Answer given by Mr Hoekstra on behalf of the European Commission The Commission has repeatedly analysed foundations as part of the social economy 1 . The Commission Staff Working Document “Relevant taxation frameworks for Social Economy Entities” 2 provides a comparative overview of key features 3 , notes that the respective tax framework is rather complex and fragmented in most Member States 4 and includes a section on inheritance tax as well as country fiches 5 . In addition, the Commission published a Staff Working Document on “Non-discriminatory taxation of charitable organisations and their donors: principles drawn from EU case-law” 6 . The notion of public benefit is explicitly mentioned in the tax law of all Member States 7 and Member States enjoy broad freedom to determine the tax treatment applicable to public benefit purpose entities and their donors with respect to a number of taxes 8 . Regarding circumvention, the Court of Justice of the European Union has highlighted that the fact that a foundation is established in another Member State cannot give rise to a general assumption of criminal activity 9 . In addition, 10 Member States exchange tax information to support the administration and enforcement of domestic tax law under the Directive on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation 11 . 1 See COM(2021) 778 final, p. 3, see also Commission Staff Working Document Non-discriminatory taxation of charitable organisations and their donors: principles drawn from EU case-law, https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-10651-2023-INIT/en/pdf, p. 2. 2 See https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/system/files/202309/Relevant%20taxation%20frameworks%20for%20Social%20Economy%20Entities%20%20Staff%20working%20document.pdf. 3 See SWD(2023) 211 final, p. 1. 4 See, https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/system/files/202309/Relevant%20taxation%20frameworks%20for%20Social%20Economy%20Entities%20%20Staff%20working%20document.pdf, 6. 5 For Belgium, a recent publication on the Legal Environment For Philanthropy in Europe (https://philea.eu/wpcontent/uploads/2024/11/Belgium-Philea-2024-Legal-Environment-for-Philanthropy-in-Europe.pdf) notes (p. 3) that under Belgian tax law, “The substitute inheritance tax (“taxe compensatoire aux droits de succession/tax tot vergoeding der successierechten”) is applicable to private foundations (as well as to associations). Publicbenefit foundations are not subject to this tax.” 6 See SWD(2023) 212 final. 7 See SWD(2023) 211 final, p. 7. 8 See Proposal for a Proposal for a Council Regulation on the Statute for a European Foundation (FE), https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2012:0035:FIN:EN:PDF, recital 20. 9 See case C-386/04, Stauffer, point 61. 10 See SWD(2023) 212 final, p. 6. 11 Council Directive 2011/16/EU of 15 February 2011 on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation, see also European Commission website, https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/taxation/tax-transparencycooperation/administrative-co-operation-and-mutual-assistance/directive-administrative-cooperationdac_en#email.”
  Wealth taxation · Tax Havens · EU competences on taxation
• 2025-06-25 “E-002551/2025 Answer given by Ms Šuica on behalf of the European Commission The INTAXMOD microsimulation model, developed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), estimates inherited wealth and the potential long-term government revenues from inheritance taxation under various demographic and wealth projection scenarios. It has been applied to six EU countries: Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy 1 and Austria 2 . The model uses data from the Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS), coordinated by the European Central Bank. The JRC intends to expand it to all Member States with available HFCS data where studies on inheritance taxation can inform policy discussions. Extension will depend on data availability and policy relevance. The recent 2025 Annual Report on Taxation 3 of the Commission highlights growing concerns about wealth inequality and the role of taxation in addressing it. It underlines how the taxation of wealth transfers can contribute to reducing wealth concentration and improving equality of opportunity. The Commission and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are jointly working on a study on inheritance taxes and gifts and their implications for wealth, expected by December 2025. A study on wealth concentration and inequality is already available 4 . Drawing on this study, the Commission’s 2024 Annual Review on Employment and Social Developments in Europe 5 provides an in-depth examination of patterns of wealth. The Commission recognises the importance of intergenerational dynamics—such as the role of inheritances in shaping wealth distribution and access to housing—and will continue to monitor and analyse these issues in the context of broader policy efforts to promote fairness and social mobility across the EU. The Commission will also consider wealth-related issues in its Anti Poverty Strategy. 1 Krenek, A., Schratzenstaller-Atzinger, M., Grunberger, K. and Thiemann, A., INTAXMOD - Inheritance and Gift Taxation in the context of Ageing, European Commission, 2022, JRC128480. 2 European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Grünberger, K., Derndorfer, J. and Schnetzer, M., Inheritances in Austria: A model estimation of intergenerational wealth transfers up to 2050, European Commission, Seville, 2024, JRC138223. 3 Commission: Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union, Annual report on taxation 2025 – Review of taxation policies in the EU Member States, Publications Office of the EU, 2025,https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2778/6367826. 4 https://employment-social-affairs.ec.europa.eu/mapping-trends-and-gaps-household-wealth-across-oecdcountries_en. 5 https://op.europa.eu/webpub/empl/esde-2024/.”
  Wealth taxation
• “Thank you chair. Thank you rapporteur colleagues. Every time we try to do little touch ups to improve things without actually look I mean we're looking at this text. But if we'd actually. If we were trying to look for ways in which we can improve it here and there so that it's better implementable without losing the substance. What the problem is that certainly for me, this A text from the commission gives me an impression of. Losing a surveillance of companies. And instead of a simplification, it's just a removing responsibility. And so naively, I'm participating in the work. Naively, I'd say that with a little smile. But we do hope, or I do hope, that by participating, we're able to improve this text and not just do these little touch ups here and there. Um, without, uh, changing the substance. But I am worried that in reality, all this is, is removing responsibility from companies on for their value chains. And at the end of the day, we won't be able to vote for the text that will be presented to us.”
  Due diligence in supply chains (environmental and human rights)
• “Thank you, Chair. Well, Pascal Campagne has given up, but I guess I'll be the last person to speak French here. Let me first thank all of the speakers for their very interesting comments. It's very enlightening in all senses of the word. Let me just say there's one thing that I regret here, that simplification would seem to be synonymous with deregulation in the view of the Commission. But that comes as no surprise to you, that we truly regret that the Commission is not paying attention to the text that we have adopted here in this Parliament not too long ago and that we worked so hard on preventing the impact assessment application. So to be brief here, I'm not actually going to ask any questions. But Mr. Afreux, I think, made it quite clear when he said a moment ago that the financial holdings need to be disengaged from any responsibility because they simply make money without actually producing anything. Okay, maybe that's not exactly what you said, but that was the point you made. And now this is not against you, of course, but I think you really illustrated it best, the problem that our group sees in the philosophy that the Commission's taken here in the omnibus. The Commission would seem to think that multinationals should have no responsibility other than simply to amassing profits, whereas we would think the opposite, that they must be much more concerned about how they actually make those profits. Those would be my comments. Thank you.”
  Due diligence in supply chains (environmental and human rights)
• “Thank you. Chair. I'll be speaking French, Commissioner. Well, I too am growing tired of hearing this word simplification being used instead of deregulation. You know, I think an absence of rules is a bit like driving on roads without traffic lights, without signage, without a highway code, and then just kind of seeing who survives. Survival of the fittest. But this may seem like an exaggerated example, but actually, the former President Sarkozy suggested that there shouldn't be a preferential treatment for cyclists, but there should be more simplification, more freedom. There should be fewer traffic lights, fewer road markings and simplified highway code. You know, I thought this was a joke. I was using the example to actually highlight the absurdity of doing away with economic rules, but some people simply seem to really take that literally and want to go that far. When you do away with rules, it's really survival of the fittest that takes over. So I have a question on the rights of citizens within Europe and the freedom of movement. I will be asking you about some cases that we're seeing an increase of words It isn't like an illustrator was barred from entering French territory, and I wonder whether we will be taking measures to ensure that citizens can fully enjoy their right to free movement.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Greetings to the Cyprus presidency. On my side too. On the subject of air passenger rights. The Parliament has spoken almost unanimously about its willingness to guarantee the protection of passengers rights, especially when it comes to travel delays and cancellations, but also when it comes to price transparency as well, to avoid any unwelcome surprises for these passengers and to ensure that there is fair competition between air companies. Previous discussions with the Danish presidency unfortunately didn't find the right balance, and I believe my colleague, the member Richie, just mentioned this as well between passengers and different interests as well of the legitimate interests of the airlines. Against this backdrop, can the Cyprus presidency offer any assurance at this stage that the Council is in a position to revise its initial position so that we can make some real progress on this file and reach an agreement which is balanced. If we want to make sure that there is an agreement, it has to be balanced and in a position to meet the the needs that have been expressed by our citizens for a number of years now. Thank you very much, Madam Chair.”
  EU policy on aviation safety
• “Thank you very much. Thank you for calling me Monsieur le president. I, too, am delighted to be back here to participate in this battle. We're all coming together to fight in defence of this sector of agriculture. We need to protect our wine growers in the face of the crisis that they're facing. There are a number of directions of travel proposed by the commission, which I find a bit worrying. For example, new categories of low alcohol percentage or 0% alcohol. This is a bit problematic to my way of seeing it, because I think that this is not necessarily unproblematic. Chemical process can be used to remove the alcohol, and this is bad for anybody's health, but could encourage young people to drink more. And this is a worry to me. We need to focus on organic production and on various different types of processing, which we could expand in the sector. And we need, of course, to be able to protect the consumers better, which means cutting the use of pesticides. Size. We could be supporting tourism more because this could be beneficial to the wine sector. It would bring more people into the rural areas, and it would not be something that was just pouring money into the pockets of large scale industry. The European Union needs to differentiate in the programs of supporters offering. Small producers do a great deal to protect the environment, the landscape and to attract younger generations. They preserve the diversity of our landscape and our countryside and our society. We need to promote that. Thank you.”
  Drinking regulation
• “Thank you chair. Thank you. Rapporteur. And your draft. We've been looking at the risk of protection for national workers and what currently exists. And we're slightly concerned about the mechanism that could be set up to. Avoid this from being circumvented, but we'll come to that. We need to defend our social companies. The plan we've got the plan for the, uh, harmonised, um, European model. And I do have some concerns as regards your work. We've already discussed this and the way in which this would be implemented by the Commission and the majority in our Parliament. I'm afraid, really, about the ambiguities on tax and whether this regime would not just end up allowing for there to be loopholes or avoiding tax, which would end up being legal, but it would still be a getting around it and evasion, um, legal shopping where people set up, set themselves up, set up businesses where legislation is more favourable and it could be a way to avoid, uh, um, social, environmental, um, rules. I can see there's good intentions behind this, and I can see what the objective is. But. When it's tax issues, you have to. Has to be approved by unanimity. So we'll have to see what happens there. Um. The idea of course, is to simplify. And basically we're going to be simplifying getting around the rules. So we need to make sure that everybody is applying the same tax um social and environmental rules.”
  EU competences on taxation
• “Thank you. Chair. I'm going to speak in French. I'll give you time to put on your headphones. Thank you, ministers, for being here today. And thank you for coming so quickly at the beginning of the presidency. Now, I have two questions. I can echo what was said by my colleague to my left. I am concerned about due diligence and. Are camouflaged. Deregulation. In the name of simplification. Now, if liability only goes down one step to one subcontractor, then it's very easy to ignore what happens beyond that. And it's not really a question because perhaps I would ask how you can ensure that simplification won't become deregulation. And you might say that that is not your responsibility. It is up to the Commission. But I have heard what you said about ensuring that simplification shouldn't only be deregulation. Now I agree, but I have quite a gloomy outlook in this regard. My second question is on the 28th regime. What are you going to do exactly? Do you have any ideas of how you can ensure that simplification? And facilitating cross border opportunities, as you said, will actually be something positive but will not lead to tax evasion and avoidance? Thank you.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “Thank you. Chair. I will be brief. I echo what David Coleman said on the need to keep the initial goal of the text in mind, and we will be working hand-in-hand with the rapporteur in that direction. I would just like to make a couple of comments. This text talks about rivalry with the US and China, and my first comment would be to what extent should we simply bury our heads in the sand relating to human rights, the situation of victims of abuse, climate aspects, people who are fall victim to accidents in the workplace, or certain working conditions that we all are aware about beyond our borders. This text would make them responsible, so I'd like to rethink the idea that this text will limit victim's access to to justice. To take this behavior to court, because these victims will bear the brunt of such matters, and they will not be able to undertake any legal proceedings. My second comment you mentioned this increased rivalry between ourselves, the US and China. In Europe, we see an average dividend sharing of 35%. In France, it's about 40%. This is for larger companies. Their investments and development efforts come to only 16%. And in the US it's 30% dividend, 20% in investment for China is 20% dividend and 20% investment. So what this means is that they have a 20% higher investment and development, and that's something that could make us more competitive. So distribute fewer dividends and increase investment. But we don't want to completely unravel everything that we voted on a few years ago. And to allow all of these large companies to shirk their responsibilities with a pretext of making them more competitive. Thank you.”
  Due diligence in supply chains (environmental and human rights)
• “Thank you, Madam Chair. Commissioner, you can't say I blindly trust the commission. But I do have to recognize that you've been very hard working. Uh, and I really like the way that you're showing this respect to the European Parliament. I've got a wish list, and hopefully some of these things will be listened to. Let me just restate that we really do need to have, um, fair prices for farmers so that they get a fair wage for the work that they do. And secondly, we need to rebalance the relationships within the value chain. We can't just have this. There's the issue of the multinational companies and and their evasion practices. Then on unfair Trading practices Commissioner and I, and many others think that if the Mercosur agreement applies. Will be just trying to bail our sinking boat out with a thimble.”
  EU policy on farmer–buyer relations in the agri-food supply chain
• “Thank you, madam and Colleagues. Yes. I would just first like to come back to what Mr. Ibanez has just said. Council wanted to weaken the role of parliament, and in doing so, they end up with a united front on our side which will stick to our guns until the very end. Uh, we rarely reach such uniform positions, but we will not give up. We will stick to our guns on this because, uh, this work has been done, uh, very wisely by the two rapporteurs and also by the shadow colleagues, because, uh, the glue of our cohesion is a defense of consumer rights on the method, as colleagues have said, uh, for pushing this through, uh, Forcibly. Sometimes it's commission, sometimes it's council. But at this beginning period of the mandate, we see a lot of attempts to weaken Parliament's role on the part of commission and council and council, and that damages the Interinstitutional Dialogue. I'm sorry, madam. You let me know when I have to stop speaking. Yes. The clock seems to have stopped. So have I got three minutes from now on. Okay. Thank you. So, yes, it damages the quality of texts and trust of the public in the institutions of the Union, as colleagues have said.”
  Transparency requirements of EU institutions
• “Thank you, sir. The president. Thank you, sir. The commissioner first for your presence, indeed it is important and the exchanges. And who we can have CANNOT be constructive. So for me, I am perhaps a little influenced by another of the men who is the approved commission or also talk a lot about administrative simplification hell and no administrative simplification. I hear you to hear some my colleagues on commission agree to simplification. It is above all the risk of going back on the necessary rules which we voted for. It's not that long ago that has NOT yet transposed. And Sergei said it earlier, there is still a risk for legal security and the legitimate confidence that we can have in our institutions, but I say they are necessary to moralize and the activity of multinationals. So I'll say it very simply. But I think you have a bit of my thoughts on the subject. Simplification yes we always follow you. If it makes life easier for PMUs, we will agree. On the other hand, if it is a pretext to regulate the activity of multinationals. We thank us. ** Ilhan KYUCHYUK @Chair: Merci, Monsieur samedi. Commissioner Dombrovskis, back to you to answer the first round of questions. And then we will have a second set of questions, please.”
  Conditions to access EU budget
• “Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Chair. I will also speak French. It's the new majority. Just looking at the title that's been chosen here, I wonder – I also have been perusing the omnibus, and I wonder if the Commission is already thinking here in choosing this 28th regime as the name, whether it's already considering what is going to be done in two or three years down the road, or if there's no plan to have any sort of enlargement in other years of new member states, but that might be beside the point. Anyway, colleagues, innovation is an essential component of Europe. It can lead to the green transition, the industrial sovereignty, and much more. And so having a simplified European framework for innovative companies is something that certainly merits our attention. I truly think this. However, innovation can't be an end in itself. It needs to be part of a project for society, which is broader. If this 28th virtual state is meant to facilitate startups and investment, then it can't at the same time be a vector for exemptions to social rights or environmental or tax justice provisions. And I would agree with you, Mr. Confin. If a company that covers the European market wants to benefit from exemptions, I don't know if this is exactly what you were saying, but it goes along these lines, I think. A company that covers the European market, should it be paying fewer taxes than our local baker? I personally don't necessarily think so. I'm not saying that that's what you were saying, but I think that the Commission might read that into this. We need to have common rules, not just to simplify, but to protect, to ensure that innovation benefits all and not just a few investor platforms. So that a European startup, wherever it is created, has the same obligations for corporate and environmental social responsibility. That's why we need to have these common rules. And it's in that spirit that we welcome the preparation of this report. We will be keeping a very close eye on its drafting. We'll be working together with the repertoire. We do not want to introduce imbalances into our social model. Innovation cannot be a pretext for eroding existing rights. It should be a reason to progress together. This is an initiative that merits our support, and this is the ambition that we will have in our amendments, in our debates, and in our contributions. Thank you.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “Standing in for Irish society. Thanks to MEP for the report. And this is something an issue that affects all European countries. And it isn't just countries that traditionally would be prone to droughts. It's countries like Ireland where, well, some people would imagine it rains every single day of the year. It doesn't quite, but sometimes it feels like it. But at the same time, there are times when we have water shortages. So even countries that have an abundance of water, it's a question of how it's managed and it's a question of the quality of that water. And I come from a country which would have an image of it being clean and green. And I had a daughter when she turned eight and drank out of her tap for the first time ever. She looked at me as if it was like being able to able to get Fanta out of her tap because it was such a unique experience for her. And this is in a country where we're clean and we're green, and it very rarely stops raining. So we really have to be careful what we do with our water resources. And one area that I think we really, really need to look at is areas such as the nature restoration law. And we look at a situation whereby the areas that will be asked to do the most. For example, in Ireland, areas with the least intense agriculture, the most extensive agriculture, but they're being asked to do the most. And the areas with the intense agriculture seems to be asked to do the least, and it seems to be on the basis of applying the stupid logic that, well, let's say in a swimming pool perspective, you can have non urinating and urinating areas, and the areas that you don't urinate in will not affect the other areas. Well sorry, it affects all areas and we've all got to do something about this. But for me, one focus and I'll be putting in amendments along this line is we've got to stop chasing extensive agriculture in order that we can boost GDP and forget about water quality and pretend that intensive agriculture isn't the problem.”
  Nature protection and restoration in the EU
• “Thank you, Madam President. Shami Noya, Kamila mansoor, Masoud Abd Ahmad and thousands of others. These are innocent civilian victims that we all deplore their loss, regardless of their origins. They died in Israel at the hands of terrorists, assassinated while food was being handed out in Gaza. They've been targeted by the, uh. The regime in Israel, in Tehran, uh, where there's not not real viable target and understanding of what they want to achieve by this. Their lives are worthy of our indignation. Madam Commissioner, I'm formally addressing you. Human rights are universal, but sometimes we see a level of hypocrisy and sometimes even complicity. Thank you.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• “Thank you. Chair. Commissioner, once again, it's not your action that is being called into question here, but it's Madame von der Leyen's proposal for agriculture, which is being criticized. She talks about Made in Europe, but I think that, again, she's not appreciating the quality of our products. I think that, um, going to Montevideo and, and, and on private jets and signing agreements with Mercosur and dining with Donald Trump, all of this to the detriment of the European farmer and in particular, the French. We've seen our ecology system and the and the, um, the, the green agendas also actually rung the death knell for, for agriculture. We we they don't we don't have any standards for, uh, for phytosanitary, um, standards that are respected elsewhere. So I think we've got to this, this project that you have is not one for of simplification. Thank you. Please slow down. It's a policy which is aimed at the massive destruction of our of the agricultural sector. There's nothing common about it. And I think if we look at food sector security, uh, we are sacrificing this for armaments and for defence. And I think it's a shame this is not really in the image of Europe and does not reflect Europe. And this Commission cannot base its policy simply on selling weapons, cars and industrial goods.”
  Trade relations with Mercosur
• “Thank you, Madam Chairman. Colleagues, now, the European budget has to re-establish the geographic and economic balance. It must ensure that there is a justice and give all the regions the ways and means they need to act. Now, we've heard about millions for, um, ecological transition, but railway lines are disappearing, railway stations are disappearing. And it's really very hard sometimes to use public transport. And there are therefore inequalities between the various regions of Europe. Now by merging all the instruments, by simplifying policy. Well, I think that and I come from the agri committee, where the same thing can be said for the cap, which has just been presented. I think that by merging these instruments, you are depriving the instruments from achieving their original goal. So this overall European budgetary package is cause for concern. Member states will be able to avail of the funds. There won't be any safeguards. We know that what this can lead to. In terms of disappearance of public services and inequalities between the regions. Um, climate priorities are being forgotten about to the advantage of military objectives. And then, of course, a green objectives remain a dead letter. Now we're talking about an industry for the future. But jobs are being lost. Companies are closing down all the means of transport, which are at the heart of a transition, are being jeopardised. And it's not just a question of a budget, it's a question of consistency, economic and social consistency. We have to think in terms of sustainable goals and ensuring mobility for all individuals. Be you in the centre of a town or in a rural area. Priority must be given to regions where networks are ageing.”
  EU cohesion/structural-fund architecture: consolidation vs ring-fenced separate funds
• “Mr. president. Thank you chair. I'm just going to follow up on my questions from before. Do you plan to put in protection under the 28. Regime. In terms of the possibility of the multiplication of opportunities for tax evasion.”
  Tax Havens
• “Really those operators that, um, do it properly. If you have a very low price on your website, but after spending an hour on the internet, uh, the passenger finds that the price has increased threefold. And when he or she gets to the airport, they get a horrible surprise because they forgot to check in and have to pay an extra €50. That's unacceptable. Not only does it have a financial impact on consumers, but that is an unfair practice that deals a blow to your rival that actually had a fair price and a transparent price online because there are these hidden costs. So I would like to say that I really disapprove of how the council is approaching this. Um, their approach to the airline passenger rides is dealing a blow to this whole Procedure. And I think we have to be clear. We need to stand together, speak with a single voice and demand a proper approach. This this will help our citizens. And I'm done, actually.”
  EU restrictions on unfair commercial practices
• “Thank you. Chair. Just quickly, because, uh, Mr. Flanagan unfortunately had to leave. I'd like to echo what my colleague here just said. I just wanted to underline an inconsistency. I think we can all agree that we need to anticipate things rather than treat them afterwards. It's cheaper that way around. But when we look at the direction that the commission is headed in and the general tone of the report, the commission. Seems to be forgetting about this anticipation when it comes to funding agricultural policy and adapting to climate change. And then correcting problems after the fact. And then I was quite surprised. So we do need reciprocity. But when we are trying to sign a free trade agreement where we want compensation. I think there are doubts that reciprocity actually exists. So those are just some comments that I wanted to make. Thank you.”
  Agricultural funding
• “Madam president. Thank you very much. The European budget is not a simple management tool. It should be a central lever for our ambitions in the area of social and environment. But this is not what's happening here. I deplore what certain groups are doing. They want to hollow out this text entirely by excluding agriculture from obligations relating to gender or the environment, or refusing to include indicators of gender equality, which is essential, and indeed also refusing to include anything about the environment. The Court of Auditors warns against indicators who are not sufficiently robust and too vague, which makes it very difficult to audit the funds and see where they're going. The EU budget should no longer be seen as a management tool. It should be a planning tool. It is essential to make sure that a significant part of the expenditure. On the environment should be linked to reducing chemical pesticides and biodiversity. I don't want to see a policy which makes people who produce our food invisible and puts in. Binding indicators. It's essential that we have decent living and working conditions on the farms. We can't have any performance indicators in the EU if we don't take account of the people working on the farms.”
  EU policy on sustainability criteria in public funding · Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Madam president. Commissioner, you'll always find me by your side when it comes to making ambitious ideas for the cap. Public support guaranteeing a dignified income to our farmers. Guaranteeing food sovereignty across the two pillars of the cap. Both incomes and rural development. But I'm worried that an injustice is being done. 80% of the aid goes to 20% of the farmers. Debt is growing, and there is a lot of problems for those who work the land. We want a fair solution. It should not simply recompense size, but active farmers. We need to be particularly sensitive to the needs of small and medium sized farms. We need to ensure that young people can become new farmers, and we need to find ways of dealing with high levels of indebtedness in the sector. We refuse seeing the cap as being an adjustment variable for the free trade agreements like Mercosur. We cannot decide on strict rules here and then import meat from abroad, where it's a result of the deforestation and excessive use of chemicals. We want a fair and virtuous cap. Thank you very much.”
  Direct payments to farmers (pillar 1)
• “Thank you, Madam Chair. I'd like to welcome the collective engagement of the rapporteur, the shadows, the staff and members, assistants and the Secretariat as well. I think, um, I would like to herald the spirit of the meetings. It's been possible to envisage ambitious compromises, but there are major challenges ahead of us, and I think the obligations on operators will be at the heart of the debate, particularly when it comes to, um, time frames and transparency. I think we should reconcile the effectiveness of passenger rights without restricting the service because of, um, excessive burdens on operators and carriers. So the real, um, possibility of enforcing rights is key, and we need to keep an eye on the needs of the most vulnerable, not just the users, but intermediaries and carriers. Because we shouldn't be playing off one against the other. We need a legible, clear framework where each party is aware of their rights. That way, we can make sure that rights are respected and enable those who have obligations to comply with them. So we need reasonable time frames and clear responsibilities and rights. Thank you, Madam Chair.”
  EU policy on aviation safety
• “Please go ahead. So sorry, I should have raised my hand earlier. I thought it would be automatic. Thank you very much for this presentation. With climate change and many other things, we are facing more and more episodes of bad weather that affect our harvests, harvests and our farmers in general. The EU has decided to use crisis reserves this year to mitigate these losses and to allow farmers to deal with these crises and the. But given the acceleration of climate change crisis reserves, reserves will not be enough. We they. Will need. They also will need to be mobilised to deal with emergencies. I'd like to ask the Commission three questions to strengthen farming systems. Have you thought about a fund dedicated to the climate change events that will happen over the next few years with a clear, stable budget over the long term? And do you plan to also think at European level about the insurance system? We've seen that harvests are low year after year. And often the insurance system is based on the past five years of the past five years being bad. Before insurance can help farmers, this causes a problem. So. And also to fight these episodes, do you plan to implement a European system to allow the production of vaccines quickly, in order to not have to wait before funds are available to start production of vaccines? Thank you.”
  Agricultural funding
• “I was with Herbert on this mission. I'm glad that someone proposed it. Often the hosts show their best side. Sometimes I was surprised by how upfront and honest they were. We heard it from the horse's mouth. They said they used hormones because it's legal and undetectable. On the subject of the clause safeguards that we're trying to implement, Mercosur doesn't know much about them. They would be internal rules, which we can't really enforce. Further down the line. Sometimes you have to look in the deep, dark corners, as Mr. Flanagan said. But this was also an important mission to go and have a look. And it's not just agree that is facing this kind of situation where we have a busy agenda. I think everyone has a busy agenda. We I think we need to go to the Conference of Presidents. You know, we've only got three days. If you've spent a fortune crossing the Atlantic, wouldn't it make sense to be able to stay a longer, a bit longer so that it isn't wasted carbon?”
  Trade relations with Mercosur
• “Thank you very much, chair. Thank you for being here today, ministers. And for engaging in this dialogue. Today, I hope that you will avail. Of your presidency to ensure and that there is full respect between our institutions. This is a fundamental principle now regarding passengers rights. The methods, the solution chosen by counsel leads us rather puzzled by deciding to resort to a second reading without proper consultation. Council has avoided parliamentary debate. It has weakened the democratic process and in a way has shown its disdain for Parliament. Now this is a text which really concerns European citizens. We're talking about citizens who are waiting for refunds. Citizens with disabilities or neglected delays in reimbursing expenses which have been unfairly in charged, particularly regarding luggage. So there seems to be a delay regarding, um, guarantees and, um, and the like. Now we on our side have been working on, uh, passengers rights. We've come up with a balanced text, which is a text which protects consumers and supported, uh, unanimously, which is a rare occasion. We do not wish to give in to a financial interest. We want a European transport system, but not to the detriment of the rights of our citizens. Ministers, since you're representing the Danish presidency today, could I put this question to you directly? What is your real ambition in terms of passengers rights? Are you going to engage a genuine dialogue with Parliament, or will you continue to impose these delays in terms of rights for European passengers? Thank you.”
  EU policy on aviation safety
• “Thank you very much. Chairman. Commissioner Séjourné. Stefan. I'll start by asking you a simple question. Could you give us a timeline for European preference and the review of the public procurement rules? I admit I'm interested in that file, and I hope that we'll get an agreement there. You also mentioned stability of rules and standards, particularly in an international context that we're all very much aware of. Well, I agree, but the trust that our citizens should have in our institutions and legal certainty. Which can help the business sector. Well, it's up to the commission to protect it. And it seems that you're actually undermining, just that, undermining the key texts from the previous parliamentary term that you had proposed. And I'm talking about the omnibus, of course. And that's going to pretty much remove companies of their due diligence requirements. Smes seem to be a bit of an excuse to me. All of this simplification is simply deregulation. Colleagues have mentioned a text on standard essential patents. They seem to have. That seems to have disappeared. Okay, that's due to the council, but we've also got the, uh, due diligence proposals, which were only going to affect the large companies and multinationals anyway. I mean, we put together a list of the companies that were consulted on this. I didn't see many SMEs on that list that were involved in the consultation. My question is, can you provide me with a list of the companies that were consulted during the consultation process when putting together the text? I think at the end of the day, it's going to absolve multinationals of their responsibility and simply deregulate their activities.”
  Due diligence in supply chains (environmental and human rights)