Christophe GOMART

What Christophe GOMART has said (27)

• “Not only does Europe only partially address the whole budgetary challenge, but it also does not sufficiently take into account the main financing obstacles faced by our defense sector. One difficulties in accessing financing. Two the ESG criteria are still interpreted too rigidly by investors, and three there is not enough specialised European investment funds, in particular large caps, to offer appropriate solutions. So the present report is divided into two main parts, with five general recommendations and four for specific proposals applicable in the short term. The aim is clear to support the increase of the European defence industry by creating an environment that's favourable to private investment in defence. In the first major section, it's a question of offering a clear, stable and attractive framework for private investment. Uncertainty and fear are the enemies of the entrepreneur, so our first recommendation is to reassure the defence sector and investors. Each member state is called upon to publish an ambitious and detailed strategic vision of its military spending, with a two year horizon to provide the necessary visibility for the sector as it makes investment choices. Today, only six member states have laws in place ensuring the sort of binding military programming. Now, faced with a growing awareness of manufacturers in the sector about their technological dependence, we also propose to support them more in becoming more independent by having preferential incentive for the eligibility criteria of Rearm Europe.”
  Defence spending
• “Thank you. Chair. Uh, thank you very much for this report. The military mobility is very crucial. We saw the time taken by the French tanks to reach Romania as part of the establishment of an Allied force. The observations you make is without appeal. But beyond this observation, how do we proceed? What are your recommendations? And for a long, a long time, I guess when I hear sharing platforms, I feel obliged to come back to our need for extremely secure, sovereign platforms as part of our wish to be able to protect ourselves by ourselves. Thank you.”
  EU competences on defence
• “Our second recommendation is for the EU to adapt its financial instruments to the real needs of the sector. This involves one ring fencing the defence envelope of the new Multiannual Financial Framework for 2028 to 34. Two formally extending the Eib's mandate with the creation of a subsidiary for Defence and Sovereignty and three offering better support for defence SMEs within the EU, in particular through our Chambers of Commerce, in order to help them access European funds. I truly believe that we need to reassure our companies and their investors about our existing commitments, but this will not be enough, which is why we have a second part of the report, which focuses on the specific obstacles that need to be removed to facilitate private investment. It includes our third recommendation to facilitate access to short term financing for the sector. An inventory of payment terms should be carried out each year by the European Payments Observatory. We also propose that the European Investment Bank should further increase its short term lending. Our fourth recommendation concerns the clarification of compatibility between defense investment and sustainable finance.”
  Defence spending
• “(09:31:45 – 09:32:20): Thank you Madam Chair. Beyond the excellent work carried by the agency it's important that you don't rely on the Commission. I fully agree on this point. I have a question: are you working on space and on the creation of a sovereign cloud? Indeed we are not doing enough to protect our satellites and we are not investing enough in space. As for digital technology, if we want to be independent and self reliant it's urgent that we develop this cloud. Thank you.”
  EU competences on space policy
• “Madam president. Commissioner. Ladies and gentlemen, single defense market is a false promise because it gives up on our objectives. There are six priorities for our defense industry concentration in industry interstate actions Competitivity more transfer within Europe, because a single market for defense is not going to achieve that, because we don't have a free movement for armaments, and any free movement would affect the possibility of technological leakage and strict controls that need to be there. We need to make sure that controls are in place because we want to see strategic concentration, for example, bromo, Leonardo, Thales and Airbus cooperating. Thirdly, looking at the commission, when they have states which have armaments exports, that's part of their national strategy. If we have a qualified majority. It basically takes out the veto and war may be at the door of Europe. That's not a good idea. We don't need a single market. We need an intergovernmental market on defense. With an observation that the commission should stay in its lane.”
  EU competences on defence
• “Thank you. Mary Agnes, thank you for your comments. For me, Europe really has a triple challenge when it comes to the defense industry and investors. Firstly, having a lot more orders, as Nicolas was saying, and greater visibility. And for that, we need military programming laws with clear objectives, targets for industry. Secondly, is really increasing production rates. And for that You need orders, but the industry also needs to be able to take decisions to increase production rates. And thirdly, is enable industry to access the necessary financing necessary to scale up. Those are the three main challenges that we need to overcome. Thank you.”
  Defence spending
• “Thank you, Madam Chair. I will speak in French. Thank you for your statement. I'm not sure if I fully understood what you were saying about space, because Europe in French Guiana has its own launching site, which is well positioned to work in the field of space, giving us access First autonomously. Also, you seem to welcome the fact that American funds are showing an increasing interest in Europe. I'm not sure that's good news, because every year European strategic businesses leave because they've been bought up by American funds. And my third question is to say, I'm surprised in the current geopolitical situation that the EIB does not agree to invest in industries that make munitions, that allow us to defend ourselves, not so much to wage war, but to prevent war being waged against Europe.”
  Defence spending
• “(09:37:36 – 09:39:12): you very much to the commission and to the rapporteurs for this text on agile. I wholeheartedly support the ambition of agile in a strategic environment where we're measuring timelines in months or even weeks. We have to have a capable tool to be able to apply new technologies to operational demands, but we need to make sure that the speed is not to the detriment of efficiency. And we're looking at the program itself, which shouldn't become a support instrument for innovation. It has to be a broader thought to provide help for what is actually needed on the ground by our armed forces. So I'd like to look I'd like to see a better approach in terms of the decisions taken to take into consideration industrialization and the products selected, and we need to look at strategic autonomy as well. European finance has to bolster European defense industrial basis and have European preference built in. We need to avoid critical dependencies and companies that can have rapid access to European financing without any durable, residents in our territory would be problematic. But, SMEs, innovative companies, research, centers, and intellectual property shouldn't be jeopardized jeopardized. We shouldn't undermine the industry that we're trying to help develop. I'll be tabling 9 amendments along these lines. Thank you.”
  "Buy European" provisions
• “(09:31:45 – 09:32:20): Thank you Madam Chair. Beyond the excellent work carried by the agency it's important that you don't rely on the Commission. I fully agree on this point. I have a question: are you working on space and on the creation of a sovereign cloud? Indeed we are not doing enough to protect our satellites and we are not investing enough in space. As for digital technology, if we want to be independent and self reliant it's urgent that we develop this cloud. Thank you.”
  EU digital & tech sovereignty
• “Thank you, chair.I’m speaking French. Thank you very much to the commission and to the rapporteurs for this text on agile. I wholeheartedly support the ambition of agile in a strategic environment where we're measuring timelines in months or even weeks. We have to have a capable tool to be able to apply new technologies to operational demands, but we need to make sure that the speed is not to the detriment of efficiency. And we're looking at the program itself, which shouldn't become a support instrument for innovation. It has to be a broader thought to provide help for what is actually needed on the ground by our armed forces. So I'd like to look I'd like to see a better approach in terms of the decisions taken to take into consideration industrialization and the products selected, and we need to look at strategic autonomy as well. European finance has to bolster European defense industrial basis and have European preference built in. We need to avoid critical dependencies and companies that can have rapid access to European financing without any durable, residents in our territory would be problematic. But, SMEs, innovative companies, research, centers, and intellectual property shouldn't be jeopardized jeopardized. We shouldn't undermine the industry that we're trying to help develop. I'll be tabling 9 amendments along these lines. Thank you.”
  "Buy European" provisions
• “Thank you chair. Thank you for for your intervention. Um, as a general, uh, was deployed to many operational theater. I want to bring the debate back. To what really matters our ability to differ in Europe. This report should focus on four priorities strengthening. Strengthening strategic coordination at the European level. Giving a real leading role to the European Defence Agency to pool procurement and reduce fragmentation. And we have to optimise this agency, simplifying European space governance with a clear center of gravity in the Council and, above all, building a truly autonomous military headquarters, able of planning and conducting high intensity warfare in Europe. That's the only point we need. Otherwise, we don't need a European army. It's impossible. We need a situ able to conduct and to plan a warfare. So I was straightforward because today it's about stopping the talk and taking action. There are no obstacles to cooperate. We just need political will. Thank you.”
  EU competences on defence
• “Thank you. Chair. Uh, it turns out that I was in Canada in early February and on a French island, 25km of the coast Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, where we are closest to the Arctic and to the to the Canada. There is a real willingness to diversify their partners from the Canadian side in order to depend less less on the US, even though the two economies are deeply interconnected, including in the defence sector. For Europe as a priority beyond CETA, where we need to strengthen trade, we must go further in the space sector. The leader in satellite MDA manufacturing, MDA, has capabilities that are complementary to European ones in certain strategic areas, such as early warning systems. Missile defence detection, which we currently don't have an absolutely need to develop. Europe's absence in the Arctic is a strategic mistake. I think as the ice melts and new routes open, as our Fredrik Larsson explaining just a few minutes ago, uh, Russia is expanding its presence. Europe has neither icebreakers nor a real presence in the region. This must change. Strengthening defence cooperation with Canada is essential. Uh, a French naval vessels is already permanently based in Miquelon. Its port could become a forward European hub close to our Canadian allies. And at the gateway to the Arctic. Europe must step in. Thank you.”
  EU competences on space policy
• “Thank you, Madam Chair. I will speak in French. Having a strategy and an implementation plan for this strategy is absolutely vital. All of our regulations need to be guided so that we can work better together. Let me draw your attention to three areas that are extremely important. Firstly, defence is an exclusive competence of Member States in compliance with our underpinning treaties. Taking decisions for the defence industry, we see that doing this means our institutions are overstepping and are treading on member States sovereignty, on defence. Secondly, the legitimacy of the Parliament, the fact that the Commission through the Save programme, which you mentioned just before. We're looking at €150 billion and using article 122 of the Tfeu. All of this is questionable, and I think that this is something that should not happen again. We could have avoided these decisions. There are ways that we could leverage the Commission to consult the Parliament. The third point that I want to mention is that Europe I none. None of this works. Nothing can ensure the the that our that our industry will prosper. Like defense. We need to work together on these key strategic problems. These are vital issues. We are falling far behind. And these strategies could have been implemented better by pooling our resources. We're talking about our autonomy in space. This is insufficient to protect our countries from military point of view. You, and we need a sovereign cloud so that we can safely store our data. Thank you.”
  EU competences on defence
• “Here, we call on the Commission to clearly reaffirm that the green taxonomy does not exclude defence activities in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 16. We also call in investment policies to move away from the vague notion of controversial weapons, and to replace it with the notion of prohibited weapons, which does have a definition in international treaties. Our fifth and final recommendation is to stimulate growth of investment funds for European defence, to support consolidation between European groups and European equity investments. For this, we propose an increase in the budget of the European Investment Bank's defence equity facility from 175 million to €1 billion. It's proven its ability to multiply and attract private capital to defence SMEs and startups. Also, we are convinced of the usefulness of developing a sovereign finance label for Europe to encourage savings to move towards this form of investment. Ladies and gentlemen, this report is not just a technical exercise. It's a political response to a strategic emergency, that of giving our defence companies the means to increase their position, to be able to be up to the security challenge facing us. Thank you for your attention. I look forward to the work that lies ahead and with the shadow rapporteurs and the House. Thank you.”
  Defence spending
• “Thank you. I'll be speaking French. Thank you very much for that presentation. You seem very happy with the NATO summit. I thought it was hypocritical. We all know nobody's going to get up to 5% of the US is not even 5.5%. So I think it's wishful thinking. How do you feel about article five? Do you really feel that after what Donald Trump said, article five would be applied? You say that NATO and EU. Will get should get together. So when is it going to be a European rather than American? When are we going to stop taking orders from America and then telling us it should be 5%? We should be able to have our own defense architecture better.”
  Relations with NATO · EU-US relations
• “Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will speak in French. I am always really surprised that people are surprised about America's disengagement. This started some 15 years back under President Obama, who was clearly more oriented towards and engaged with the Pacific. Of course, historically, we've needed the Americans to defend ourselves. We're 100 million more than the Americans, or we need to do is invest, create a proper security architecture, and we should be able to do it in America. A lot of people actually came originally from European heritage. So the country may be far away, but they have a strong European heritage, just that. Today's young generations don't know Europe in the way that older generations did. But it's high time we realized that we need to take our defense into our own hands and stop relying on the Americans. I think in the context of NATO, we could establish a European pillar, we could defend ourselves, and we could establish a proper European security architecture. The question is, are we prepared to do it? Is it really necessary for us as Europeans to think that we need to rely on America? Thank you.”
  EU-US relations
• “Madam president, Commissioner. Ladies and gentlemen. Single defense market is a false promise because it gives up on our objectives. There are six priorities for our defense industry concentration in industry interstate actions Competitivity more transfer within Europe, because a single market for defense is not going to achieve that, because we don't have a free movement for armaments, and any free movement would affect the possibility of technological leakage and strict controls that need to be there. We need to make sure that controls are in place because we want to see strategic concentration, for example, bromo, Leonardo, Thales and Airbus cooperating. Thirdly, looking at the commission, when they have states which have armaments exports, that's part of their national strategy. If we have a qualified majority. It basically takes out the veto and war may be at the door of Europe. That's not a good idea. We don't need a single market. We need an intergovernmental market on defense with an observation that the commission should stay in its lane.”
  EU competences on defence
• “Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like first of all, to welcome this work, which reflects a determination to move forward more quickly in our vital rearmament. So thank you, Mr. Commissioner. Your omnibus proposal calls for clarification of the ESG criteria defined by the by the EU applied to defence so that only prohibited armaments on an international list are deprived resources. What do you think of the recent move by by the Estonian Investment Bank to go further, by withholding public funding from investors who refuse to finance defence, particularly ammunitions. Thank you.”
  Defence spending
• “Thank you Chair. I will speak in French today. We are examining a report that is attempting to reconcile the interest of the EU with those of third countries without really seeing reality for what it is. Paragraph nineteen especially underlines the strategic role of Turkey in NATO and its cooperation with the EU but I think we have a responsibility to confront the truth. For years Turkey has not respected our democratic values or fundamental rights. It is occupying part of Cyprus and EU member state. It disregards Greece. It is instrumentalizing migrant trade flows to pressure Europe and carries out aggressive diplomacy in Libya, in Caucasus, in the Middle East which is not in the interest of regional stability. It is becoming increasingly authoritarian, persecuting the press, violating minority rights and arresting political opponents. To continue to pretend that Turkey is a credible EU candidate in these conditions for me is illusory and that is why I would request the immediate and formal suspension of excessive negotiations. Thank you.”
  EU-Turkey relations
• “Thank you Chair I will speak in French this. Is a very useful road map and I'd like to thank you for your work on this which is indispensable at a time where historic alliances are breaking apart and others are being formed. Europe has to fight for or needs to reclaim its place. We need to stabilize our relationship with the US and create a second line of defense using a general staff within the EU which is autonomous and cooperates with NATO. I'm in favor of cooperation capabilities and consolidations the three Cs. We need more European capacities and need to consolidate our alliances. Another thing is we should have a strategic partnership with Latin American countries. This would allow us to have a strategic and defunct corporation also when it comes to technology to fight organized crime.”
  EU-US relations · Relations with NATO
• “Thank you, Madam Chair. I will speak in French. Merci. Thank you, Francois Marie, for your introductory remarks. I have a number of questions on the meeting of defense ministers. The 5% target. Some countries have almost achieved it. Others will never get there. Do the ministers really believe in this, or is this just lip service? Fine words. Another question on regional commands. The US have abandoned some positions, but the US generals are still there. Is there a date soon where we will see them passed on to European Command? What is the US mindset? Do you see them willing to pass the reins to the Europeans on strengthening the Eastern Front against the Russian threat and European troops in Romania, Lithuania, Latvia. What is your feeling on a US presence? If we had a coalition of the willing. Do you really think that the Americans would be involved? Thank you.”
  Relations with NATO
• “And this is why I've organised a seminar on the 2nd of July. And thank you for the MEPs and colleagues who were present where we looked at the second line of defense, namely a European line where the US were not to intervene. We need to think of that scenario because that may be the case. So Belgians, financial instruments, we also need to think about how to mobilise private investment to increase defence capability, to reduce our dependencies. I think it's imperative, essential to reduce our dependencies today. In one of the issues to do with AI or digital data, we need to develop a European cloud, which is sovereign because 80% of data of European businesses are in clouds, which are in American under American ownership. So of course, and thank you, Martins, for your comments about the Baltic states. Of course, the Baltic states are a major, important stakeholder. I know that you're in the front line. I'm very well aware, and I know that if tomorrow the Russians were to attack a NATO country, they would certainly start off with the Baltic states. And I reckon they the presence of European troops in Baltic states for training purposes for as a deterrent. And I think that we will be deterrent towards Russia if our own European defence industry is reinforced, if our own European armies are reinforced as they need to be. Thank you.”
  EU competences on defence
• “Thank you. Chair. Uh, it turns out that I was in Canada in early February and on a French island, 25km of the coast Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, where we are closest to the Arctic and to the to the Canada. There is a real willingness to diversify their partners from the Canadian side in order to depend less less on the US, even though the two economies are deeply interconnected, including in the defence sector. For Europe as a priority beyond CETA, where we need to strengthen trade, we must go further in the space sector. The leader in satellite MDA manufacturing, MDA, has capabilities that are complementary to European ones in certain strategic areas, such as early warning systems. Missile defence detection, which we currently don't have an absolutely need to develop. Europe's absence in the Arctic is a strategic mistake. I think as the ice melts and new routes open, as our Fredrik Larsson explaining just a few minutes ago, uh, Russia is expanding its presence. Europe has neither icebreakers nor a real presence in the region. This must change. Strengthening defence cooperation with Canada is essential. Uh, a French naval vessels is already permanently based in Miquelon. Its port could become a forward European hub close to our Canadian allies. And at the gateway to the Arctic. Europe must step in. Thank you.”
  EU competences on space policy
• “Thank you, Madam Chair. I'll speak in French. Europe finally seems to get the fact that we're economically in a tailspin. Back in 2008, GDP in Europe was the same as GDP in the US, and now it's 40% less. Now energy and raw material prices have gone up. It's difficult to hire people. There's a sword of Damocles over the heads of businesses. And yet we still continue to ask our businesses for more. Over the past five years, over 13,000 pieces of legislation have been adopted by the EU. Many of these have not yet come into force in France. The Environmental Code is now five times heavier than the Criminal Code book. I am therefore going to pay tribute tribute to Mr. Lewandowski, our rapporteur, who wants to change the thresholds of CSD and CSD. That will give breathing space to our companies. But we want to go further. We'd like to completely abolish the CSS because it's not implementable for our companies. I know that this will be difficult for some to hear, but Mr. Mertes, Chancellor Merkel and President Macron are in favour of it in Brussels. Will the majority parties be coherent and consistent? Will they support that? Any ambiguity will just mean that there is even greater legal uncertainty for our businesses. Thank you very much, Madam Chair.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “I will speak in French. Madam president. Chair. Ladies and gentlemen, shadow rapporteurs, colleagues. It's a great pleasure for me to present to you this own initiative report entitled in European Defence Readiness 2030 Assessment of Needs. The aim is to overcome budgetary constraints of our defence companies, thanks to more than 60 interviews run with investors from all over Europe representing banks, investment funds and insurers. I'm now able to propose to you new mechanisms that will act effectively on private financing of European defence. This subject is key in the face of the deterioration of our geopolitical environment and the need to accelerate the defence of Europe. Europe faces a triple challenge for our defence companies and their investors. First, the challenge of having significantly more orders and increased visibility. Second, the challenge of increasing production rates. And third, the challenge of enabling companies to access the financing they need in order to grow. And this report deals precisely with this third challenge, that of financing defense. Some will say that the €800 billion announced by the commission in its Rearm Europe plan for 2030 is designed to do this, and has already been said by expert that this is insufficient just by means of comparison. We know that the US spends nearly $1 trillion every year on its defense, compared to just under 370 billion by the EU member states, even though we have more population.”
  Defence spending
• “President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, tomorrow will be voting on an urgency resolution which I said great hard by. We call for the release of the President of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum. It's the fourth time now since 26th of July 2023, when the coup took place. The military have basically cut him off from the outside world. He doesn't have access to a phone and there's been 950 days of unjustified detention. Now he's dramatically democratically elected and he contributed there to jihadist terrorism, arms trafficking, human trafficking and contributed to regional stability. We can't stand by in silence when a European key ally is imprisoned. We need to show solidarity, and his release is urgent for two main reasons. First of all, on the 2nd of April 2026, his mandate will come to an end. If he's not released before then. Then that has to be seen as a major failure, and a clear message needs to be sent to our partners and their opponents. We are allies. We take our commitment seriously and we want more freedom and more stability. The detention of a democratically elected person is unacceptable. He is imprisoned by a military junta which is still in power today. We call on the immediate release of President Bush and his wife the restoration of the constitutional order and the Organization of Democratic Elections. There is insecurity and a spiral of violence, and the territory now is open to jihadist attacks on religious minorities. We can't stand by and see this happen, and we have an urgency resolution on this, and we need to vote in favor of it.”
  EU policy on Sahel and Sudan
• “Thank you, thank you. Chair. One of my one of the core principles is the concentration of the efforts. So when I look at your proposal, we spend a lot of money on many projects. I think it's too much. We have to concentrate on some of them because and in another way, we have four flagship projects for Europe. But from my point of view, we have to spend money for space, for access to space, or to protect our assets in space, because otherwise we will disappear as European Union. And the second point is sovereign cloud, because today's our datas are are stored in US clouds. Why we don't spend money to create a sovereign cloud. Thank you.”
  EU competences on space policy