Sarah KNAFO

Policy topics Sarah KNAFO is active on

What Sarah KNAFO has said (22)

• 2026-06-17 “President, honorable members, the commission is proposing the following text on protecting childhood with nothing about pedophile crimes in Europe. They're only talking about controls on social networks. But what about the fact there is an effective way to protect children from inappropriate content on screens, and that is parents, the role of parents. And it is not up to the commission to replace parents. Children should not, encounter pedophiles on their way to school. In the Greater Paris region, we've seen tragically how public powers have failed in their mission to protect children. Rather than controlling access to social media, let's look at pedophiles, criminals, come up with a public register of all those sentence for pedophilia so that we can protect children.”
  Safety features & content control for child protection online
• 2025-10-02 “P-003879/2025 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Mînzatu on behalf of the European Commission 1.The Commission does not envisage a revision setting aside the interpretation by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) of Directive 2003/88/EC 1 , which establishes minimum standards aimed at improving the protection of the safety and health of workers. In order to assist national authorities, citizens and businesses in the application of Directive 2003/88/EC, in 2017 the Commission adopted an Interpretative Communication on the Directive, based on the case-law of the CJEU and aimed at enhancing legal certainty and clarity on the obligations and flexibilities of the Directive. The Interpretative Communication was updated in 2023 2 . It contains a section on paid annual leave and its interaction with other types of leave, including sick leave, and takes into account the judgments of the CJEU to which the Honourable Member refers 3 . 2. The Commission has a very ambitious simplification agenda. The adoption of six Omnibus proposals and the strong simplification dimension of the 2026 Commission work programme prove that this is a key element of the competitiveness agenda. The report on simplification, implementation and enforcement published on 21 October 2025 4 provides a thorough overview of the work done. Moreover, each Commissioner finalised an annual progress report on the work carried out in these areas. The Commission reiterates that the simplification agenda is a common one and that Omnibus and simplification proposals should be treated swiftly, focusing on their simplification dimension. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2003/88/oj. 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52023XC0324(01)R(01). 3 Judgment of 20 January 2009, Gerhard Schultz-Hoff v Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund and Stringer and Others v Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, joined cases C-350/06 and C-520/06, ECLI:EU:C:2009:18; judgment of 21 June 2012, Asociación Nacional de Grandes Empresas de Distribución (ANGED) v Federación de Asociaciones Sindicales (FASGA) and Others, C-78/11, ECLI:EU:C:2012:372; judgment of 13 January 2022, DS v Koch Personaldienstleistungen GmbH, C-514/20, ECLI:EU:C:2022:19. 4 https://commission.europa.eu/publications/2025-overview-report-simplification-implementation-andenforcement_en.”
  EU competences on social policies · EU policy on permanent and fixed-term employment
• 2025-10-02 “E-003875/2025 Answer given by Mr Dombrovskis on behalf of the European Commission The European Investment Bank (EIB) is a Multilateral Development Bank governed by the EU Member States as its shareholders and established under the EU Treaties. According to Article 16 of its Statute 1 , the Bank’s primary mission is to support the balanced development of the EU, while it may also operate outside the EU in accordance with policy directives adopted by the Council. In practice, around 90 % of the EIB’s financing takes place within the EU and roughly 10 % outside it. The EIB activities outside the EU are mostly carried out under mandates conferred by the EU – notably through the European Fund for Sustainable Development+ (EFSD+). External operations are not financed by EU debt, but by the Bank’s own resources backed by the EU guarantees and they serve to advance the Union’s external policy objectives, including stability in the neighbourhood, sustainable development, and the promotion of EU economic interests abroad. The Commission works with the EIB Group to reflect EU priorities in the Group’s activity, including industrial competitiveness, innovation, and energy independence. The EIB’s 20242027 Strategic Roadmap 2 approved by its shareholders is well aligned with the Political Guidelines for the European Commission 2024-2029 3 and outlines eight key interrelated priorities: climate action, digitalisation, defence, cohesion, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, high impact investments outside the EU, and Capital Markets Union development. 1 https://www.eib.org/en/publications/20250065-statute-and-other-treaty-provisions. 2 https://www.eib.org/en/publications/20240198-eib-group-2024-2027-strategic-roadmap. 3 https://commission.europa.eu/document/e6cd4328-673c-4e7a-8683-f63ffb2cf648_en.”
  EU Development & Humanitarian Aid · EU industrial funding
• 2025-10-02 “E-003878/2025 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Virkkunen on behalf of the European Commission Freedom of expression,media freedom and pluralism, are enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights 1 Under Article 30 of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD 2 ), Member States must ensure the independence of media regulators and that they exercise their powers impartially and transparently. Article 50 of the Digital Services Act (DSA 3 ) requires Digital Services Coordinators (DSCs) to monitor the compliance of service providers established on their territory, in complete independence. They shall neither seek nor take instructions from any other public authority or any private party. In France, Arcom has been designated under the AVMSD and as DSC under the DSA. While the DSA requires providers of online platforms to have in place reporting mechanisms for signalling illegal online content, both for users and designated trusted flaggers, it is always for platform providers to decide on what actions to take. Any final assessment of what is illegal is up to the courts. The DSA provides redress mechanisms which have already led to the reinstatement of millions of posts 4 .The DSA bans general monitoring obligations imposed on providers of intermediary services, preventing all online platform providers from being forced to monitor the online content of EU citizens or be held liable for illegal content they are not aware of. The Commission must respect the Charter of Fundamental Rights, including freedom of expression. Its DSA-related decisions can be challenged before the Court of Justice of the EU, while national decisions remain under Member State judicial oversight. The Commission is aware of criminal proceedings in France against Pavel Durov, based on the French Criminal Code, but does not comment on national investigations. 1 Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, OJ C 326, 26.10.2012, p. 391–407. 2 Directive (EU) 2018/1808 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 November 2018 amending Directive 2010/13/EU on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the provision of audiovisual media services. 3 Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market For Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC. 4 As reported by providers of online platforms in their DSA Transparency reports: https://digitalstrategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/dsa-brings-transparency.”
  Digital platforms liability for harmful and illegal content · Disinformation & online freedoms
• 2025-10-02 “E-003877/2025 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Séjourné on behalf of the European Commission Standards adopted by European Standardisation Organisations are in principle voluntary. The Commission relies on a specific standards type, the European harmonised standards, to provide presumption of conformity with EU product legislation. Developed by experts based on consensus, they are of voluntary use and simplify access to the single market, reducing conformity costs. In the Single Market Strategy 1 , the Commission announced a revision of Regulation EU 2012/1025 2 to enhance the speed and flexibility of the standardisation process. The Commission small mid-cap enterprises (SMC) definition, set by a recommendation on 21 May 2025 3 , lays the ground to better account for and support SMCs, in addition to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It provides for streamlined regulatory requirements, better guidance and access to finance. The new definition ensures SMEs can transition smoothly into SMCs. The recommendation was accompanied by the revision of eight legal acts in the Omnibus IV package, to extend measures for SMEs to SMCs, which would otherwise follow the same rules of large corporations. The Commission unveiled earlier in 2025 the Competitiveness Compass 4 , the EU’s strategy to strengthen the competitiveness of its economy and the Clean Industrial Deal 5 , the EU’s plan for competitiveness and decarbonisation. Both documents, largely inspired by the Draghi report 6 , envisage measures aiming at closing the innovation gap and decarbonising European industry. The Commission also launched in February 2025 a larger simplification effort, starting with proposals to reduce reporting requirements for companies 7 . To track progress, all 26 Commissioners are required to report on simplification measures taken in their respective portfolios 8 . 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52025DC0500. 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02012R1025-20241213. 3 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=OJ:L_202501099. 4 https://commission.europa.eu/topics/eu-competitiveness/competitiveness-compass_en. 5 https://commission.europa.eu/topics/eu-competitiveness/clean-industrial-deal_en. 6 https://commission.europa.eu/topics/eu-competitiveness/draghi-report/one-year-after_en. 7 https://finance.ec.europa.eu/news/omnibus-package-2025-04-01_en. 8 https://commission.europa.eu/law/law-making-process/better-regulation/simplification-andimplementation/2025-annual-progress-reports-simplification-implementation-and-enforcement_en.”
  EU Single Market harmonisation · Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• 2025-10-02 “E-003876/2025 Answer given by Mr Jørgensen on behalf of the European Commission The EU economy-wide electrification rate is currently 21.3% while it should increase to 32% by 2030 12 . Increasing electrification 3 , contributing to lower prices and independence, results in increase in grid investment 4 , as illustrated by growing grid connection queues in at least 15 countries. In addition, European electricity grids are aging and need to be upgraded 5 . The EU framework for grid planning is regulated by the Trans-European Networks for Energy (TEN-E) Regulation 6 and electricity market legislation 7 . Cross-sectorial and efficient grid planning is required at both EU and national levels. The Commission will put forward by the end of 2025 a European Grids Package, aiming to further improve planning, permitting, use and cost-sharing for EU energy infrastructure, to ensure cost-efficiency. Nuclear energy can also help build a resilient and clean energy system 8 . In June 2025, the Commission adopted the new Nuclear Illustrative Programme. 9 It assesses costs and investment needs covering the full life cycle of nuclear installations, upskilling, diversification and supply chains 10 11 . 1 COM/2025/85 final, Clean Industrial Deal: A joint roadmap for competitiveness and decarbonisation. 2 Clean Industrial Deal introduces a key performance indicator of 32 % of electrification rate for 2030, a steep increase from current situation in 2024. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52025DC0085. 3 As shown in the study on network development planning, tariff structures and connection requests for electricity distribution grids: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/08843617-9cf8-11f0-97c801aa75ed71a1. Study sees steep increase in grid connection queues as a consequence of growing demand for electricity grid connection. 4 The 2040 target impact assessment estimates the total electricity grid for the energy transition at about EUR 1.7 trillion between 2030 and 2050. This analysis is aligned with other studies on energy infrastructure investment needs. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52024SC0063. 5 As stated in the Action Plan for Grids, 40 % of DSO grids have an average age of 40 years or more, https://eurlex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:52023DC0757. 6 Regulation (EU) 2022/869 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2022 on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure, amending Regulations (EC) No 715/2009, (EU) 2019/942 and (EU) 2019/943 and Directives 2009/73/EC and (EU) 2019/944, and repealing Regulation (EU) No 347/2013. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:32022R0869. 7 Directive (EU) 2019/944 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on common rules for the internal market for electricity and amending Directive 2012/27/EU (recast). https://eurlex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2019/944/oj/eng. Regulation (EU) 2019/943 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the internal market for electricity, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02019R0943-20240716. 8 The Commission’s 2040 Impact Assessment presents nuclear capacity as it is stated by Member States’ policies, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52024SC0063. 9 COM/2025/315 final. 10 The Nuclear Illustrative Programme (PINC) also assesses financing models for a faster development and safe deployment of new nuclear technologies such as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), Advanced Modular Reactors and microreactors in Europe. 11 Member States have the right to choose their own energy mix, including nuclear energy. Further, under the reformed internal energy market legislation, nuclear projects have equal access to financing schemes including Contracts for Difference and Power Purchase Agreements. The Commission has also announced the design phase of a new potential Important Project of Common European Interest candidate on innovative nuclear technologies. Based on the first deliverables of the European Industrial Alliance on SMRs, the Commission will”
  Nuclear energy · EU energy infrastructure integration
• 2024-08-23 “E-001546/2024 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Vestager on behalf of the European Commission Freedom of expression and information are pillars of democracy and protected under the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union which binds the EU institutions and the Member States when they are implementing EU law as well as under the European Convention of Human Rights. The Digital Services Act (DSA) 1 does not stipulate whether content is illegal. Its objective is to ensure EU users’ safe enjoyment of online platform services while respecting fundamental rights, including the right to freedom of expression. The DSA defines the platforms’ responsibilities and provides for mechanisms to mitigate risks, preventing over-removal of lawful content and limiting arbitrary content moderation decisions, in particular for very large online platforms and search engines (VLOPSEs) such as Meta or X. Under the DSA, platforms must provide clear reasons for decisions on account access and suspension 2 . Users can have decisions reviewed through an internal complaints system and submit disputes to a certified out-of-court dispute settlement mechanism body. The Commission supervises DSA compliance by the VLOPSEs. To this effect, the co-legislator entrusted the Commission with investigative and enforcement powers. These powers and related procedures are laid out in the DSA. All acts and decisions adopted by the Commission based on the DSA, including in the case concerning X and all other enforcement actions, are undertaken within the limits of its powers and are subject to judicial review. Finally, the European Media Freedom Act 3 adopted in April 2024 provides safeguards for reputable media service providers related to the moderation of their content deemed incompatible with the terms and conditions by very large online platforms. 1 Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market for Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act). 2 For more information, please consult Article 17 of the DSA. 3 Regulation (EU) 2024/1083 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 establishing a common framework for media services in the internal market and amending Directive 2010/13/EU (European Media Freedom Act).”
  Disinformation & online freedoms · Digital platforms liability for harmful and illegal content
• “€2 trillion. This is what being asked to vote for so as to fund electricity grids through till 2050. We might ask, naively, how on earth could you justify this enormous expenditure? Although Europe has been electrified for many decades now, and electricity consumption has not increased over the last 15 years. Let me explain. Ladies and gentlemen, you as politicians are responsible for this. You abandoned nuclear power. Replacing it with solar panels and wind farms. But the nature of nature means that you can't decide when the sun shines or the wind blows. This means we need more. Wind farms have all over the place, backed up with gas power stations. And they also have to be interconnected. So let's go for it. Let's spend another few billion on cable networks and links. The problem is that when the sun is shining, when these installations, which most of the time produce nothing, all suddenly come on stream, we don't know to do what to do with the surplus electricity. That doesn't really matter, does it? It doesn't bother you? What should we do? We'll just have even more interconnections so as to ensure that Danish wind farms can send electricity to Sicily. And solar farms in Spain can send power to Vilnius, wasting more and more billions while concreting over our landscape with pylons and networks, rather than recognising what a failure this has been. You inject further billions to try to ensure that a system which is dysfunctional function. So errors are human, but repeating them is diabolical.”
  EU energy infrastructure integration
• “Thank you very much. Chair. Madam Vice president. I am fully satisfied that for the Commission, industry and competitiveness are no longer swear words. Progress has been made, at least in terms of your diagnostic. But the measures that you have here, I think, are worse than the problems. The idea is that you would like to open industry up to affordable energy, but you would like to accelerate the policy that has made prices go up higher and higher. And you've shown that intermittence does not help when wind stops blowing. You have to add gas plants and all of these that only work 20% of the time. You have to link them up better. The result is that we are paying Of five grids instead of one. That is what you call modernizing and strengthening the grid. So you're multiplying the expenditure to have a dysfunctional segmented system. And when the wind blows and when the sun is shining, all of this productive is producing all at once. We don't know what to do with the excess energy. And what's more, you want more interconnections for Danish. Wind sends power to Sicily and Spanish sun goes to Vilnius. This is going to cost billions in public funds. With the copper and cement everywhere. There's nothing ecological, environmental or competitive here. We cannot assist businesses by wasting public money. If we're going to then just level huge taxes on them and bring them to their knees. We have intermittent energy, and that means that we need more and more public money to keep this afloat, and that just shows the failure that exists there. And thank you, Madam Vice President.”
  EU energy infrastructure integration
• “Well, good. Chairman. Colleagues, you've entrusted me with an own initiative. Report on an essential subject. Technological sovereignty. And I'm proud to present it today. I think we agree on this. The digital revolution is just starting. And will Europe be part of that? Or will it just be an onlooker captive of from technology devised elsewhere? As all members here, I worked on this report with Microsoft Word on an Apple laptop. I searched on Google using and also using Safari and I communicated with you loving using Microsoft Outlook. What better illustration of our dependence? All this report is about proposing solutions, which means that we can deal with this, that it's not just this dependence doesn't just mean less economic possibilities. It's about the security of our data and the risk of extraterritorial, extraterritorial US laws. The first material of a, a I we have a lot of that. That's the gray matter in our engineers and our researchers. It's not about to us, the members of Parliament, to come up with breakthrough technologies. We should avoid our researchers going elsewhere. So we should have an economic space which is attractive. That means we need to reduce all the regulations which stifle regulation, stifle innovation. I am proposing a 1 in 2 out.”
  EU digital & tech sovereignty
• “Approach for all new regulation created in the strategic areas. It's also about private investments which should be facilitated. It's also about a reduction of energy costs which weigh on our competitiveness. So I'm proposing this report to reform the European electricity market so that we have a prices based by reforming the system based on the most expensive prices. Today, the foreign powers are more advanced than us. The hosting of data abroad and the US extraterritorial laws may leave us dangerously exposed. So I have six recommendations which are as practical as possible. Rapidly, we should adopt cyber security standards, which are strengthened and within the upcoming debate on UX and we should count on European technologies going forward for that. Public procurement is an important lever without having subsidies for companies. Let's let them compete without having to run and use foreign companies, which is pointed out in the Draghi report. This report touches on other important areas like quantum computing or semiconductors chips. I will go into that in more detail. But as you know, an own initiative report is limited in size and the Parliament's rules don't bend. So I had to make some choices. This is not the end of our work in this report.”
  EU approach to electricity market and prices
• “Thank you for the very constructive comments. I will try to answer in order, and I do apologize if I take a little longer than planned. Sovereignty does not mean isolation. Thank you for that clarification. I think the report is balanced on that front. Our companies want to export. They can become highly competitive. We are not trying to stand in their way. And And Draghi is not an isolationist, but they intend to give priority to European companies on public markets. Our colleagues from the left on public financing, now we have a model now where the same collective body can subsidize an EU body in the morning and then through the public markets, can use its US colleagues in the afternoon. We've got many examples of this in France, obviously in Italy, in Germany with software companies that model don't doesn't allow our companies to develop because there aren't enough markets, even if they have public subsidies. Subsidies are not the solution. And that's what all companies are telling me. They want markets. They're ready to compete in order to provide the best service, because that's what trains them, puts them in the best conditions and allow them to to grow. Gafam is not going to be addressed in this report. These are solutions, and we had to focus on what we need to do rather than by looking at facts we all know on submarine cables. That's a comment that came from our new colleague.”
  "Buy European" provisions
• “Madam von der Leyen. Covid, Ukraine, Iran. Three crises in five years and the same lesson every time. Under your commission, Europe is disarmed because it's given up on producing, because it's given up on its own energy, disarmed because it depends on countries that hate us. And who's paying the price for this? Europeans. Every crisis leads to the same things. Higher builds. A petrol becomes a luxury. The energy bills are a nightmare. The truth is, if we don't have wind, we need gas and that comes from elsewhere. That is the big sham of your mandate. You want to leave fossil fuels behind, but we can't stop crises from coming. We can just stop suffering from them. Nuclear is our independence. Several years of fuel are stored in advance. Whenever our suppliers fall apart. Our power plants continue. You have just recognized your strategic error on nuclear. So, Madam Vandalia, please recognize this. But please act. It's better. Thank you.”
  Nuclear energy
• “Thank you very much, Madam and Commissioner. I've. I read what you published on the 100 days of your nomination, and I was actually pleasantly surprised. And I'm not saying that ironically, it wasn't to your. I mean, it wasn't what I read that was that surprised me, because it was your honesty, because you recognize that you said, we've come out of our nature on the commercial plan, and I've understood the need to defend our industry. You recognize the links between this crazy nuclear policy that you defended in your national party, and that the commission has always followed. And as you said, it's it's time now. You also talked about the European preferences and the opening of the European market to the world was a mistake. And you said that the single market has lost as protectionist measures. And you spoke about the reporting, which has an effect on companies and the need to for simplification. And you also admitted that the Commission has made mistakes. And so. I certainly won't be contradicting you on what you said, but it was The your predecessors who sold industry without factories. And so perhaps you've understood now that your political family and your current employer, the Commission, has been making mistakes for 40 years, and now they need to undo everything they've done. And I won't reproach the time that you've needed to understand this, but quite the opposite. I congratulate you and I encourage you to go further. For example, how do you see the in the banning on the thermic engine in 2050? Do you not think that this will be an issue for the car industry and for the consumers? And that will lead our industry to ruin? The renewable energy doesn't exist properly and needs millions and billions of euros of public investment and aid. You say you wanted to get out of naivety. I congratulate you for that and it's now time to move on to actions. Thank you.”
  Energy (green transition)
• “Thank you. A few years ago, the first Iris project was launched and the idea was this was a long term project. 2030 was to be its inception. It was meant to compete with Starlink, Elon Musk. The intention was to have hundreds of satellites around the Earth, and that it could be used for civil and military purposes, and would be and secure communication. Starting already had over 6000 satellites. Next year it will be 12,000 and in the end it will be 42,000. Amazon is also planning to use three and then eventually 16,000 satellites in its criteria project. Italy has signed a 1.5 billion contract with Starlink Starting for military security and starting is already got 4 million clients the world over. Given the rate at which European projects are evolving and the impressive speed of Elon Musk's and Amazon's projects, could you give us a bit of an analysis of why you think we have cause for optimism? I concern myself that perhaps a reality check is more appropriate.”
  EU competences on space policy
• “Commissioner Sejourne, ladies and gentlemen, were debating an initiative launched by the European Commission on the issue of competitiveness. You can count on the European Commission to make our companies competitive. But that's like asking for an arsonist to become a volunteer firefighter. Now the European Commission wants to make Uh, the rule making process more quickly. Companies don't want you to churn out rules more quickly. They need you to stop with the rules. Bernard Arnault, a businessman, said, please stop stifling businesses. I think this speaks volumes, but instead you want to have a new type of company. Mid-cap companies up to 1500 employees. One more category. That's really what we needed. So this is how you're streamlining. You know how to add, but you know you don't know how to discard your hoarders. If you want to be credible when talking about competitiveness, start by getting rid of the Green Deal. Then get rid of 80% of the rules that you've been creating for 30 years. Back then, there was an anarchy in Europe. We had stronger growth, we had better public finances, and companies had more structure. You want to aim if you want to increase competitiveness, take a long holiday.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “(17:52:13 – 17:54:22): in love, we say if, when someone is no longer there, we suddenly realize how valuable that person is. And the same is true with our industry. Once you have martyred our industry, you suddenly realize the problem. Let's look at steel mills and the steel industry. You have, multiplied the regulations to make it more, less polluting but a lot more costly. And that means that the continent that in that invented steel production only produces 8% now, and China produces some 55% of the world's steel polluting much more than we do. Global emissions, therefore, have not decreased. On the contrary, our industry, however, has paid the price. And now the commission is finally realizing this, and they are coming up with a doubling of duties on imports of Chinese steel. Let us recall free trade and competition profit both sides when they exist in a fair way. However, with China, our companies are competing not with other businesses, but with a state, a bigger state, a more populous state than our entire continent that take our markets without opening theirs. It is not a fair trade. It is completely distorted trade. Therefore, we can't be naive. We have to protect our industry and to protect free trade with those who accept the rules. Therefore, what should we do? Let us reduce costs, energy costs, wages, and costs related to employment and production costs. Then as let let us produce our own energy because energy makes up for 40% of the cost of steel. The solution is nuclear nuclear energy, the only 1 that is decarbonized and competitive. And then let's protect what we can smartly. Let us free up our economy from within and protect from unfair trade from without. Thank you. Now we jump into the second part of the debate. My first speaker then is mister Warborn. You have the floor.”
  Trade relations with China
• “Thank you. Chairman. Madam director general, the commission counts on greater integration of the European energy market to bring down prices. But experience teaches us the opposite. You didn't talk about the market rules on electricity, which will push up prices for many member states. You don't talk about the 2009 regulation which allows nuclear producers to sell partly at a loss. And that's been something in France for ten years. The electricity price in France has doubled, and the portion of gas has doubled to it's more expensive and higher in carbon. And that's that's what happened when we've cut down on nuclear and renewables. You talk about investments and think you're talking about new subsidies for renewables, but perhaps you can enlighten me on that. I think that the EU and the member states have spent enough billions of euros in subsidies for renewables in these recent years, and it didn't bring down energy prices. Actually, the opposite you in your. You said that nuclear takes time to quote I agree it's an unfortunately that the EU has wasted so much time. We've discouraged. Generations of engineers to go into the nuclear sector. We should look at the causes, not the consequences, which is a ban on. Internal combustion engine engines and and obstacles to nuclear. All this pushes up energy prices. Are these have there been thoughts in the Commission and and if that is the case, how do you actually propose to move forward?”
  EU approach to electricity market and prices
• “Thank you. Chairman. Converting metals and making steel isn't trendy anymore. A steel plant isn't pretty and it pollutes for decades. Therefore, there have been ever more rules to make them much less polluting and much more expensive. The result is a 30% collapse in steel production since 2008. In Europe, the continent that invented modern steel is only 8% of world production. Yes, steel making has left for China, which is now producing 55% of world steel. Polluting much more than we did. Global emissions in the world will not fall. Quite the opposite. But the industry will pay a very heavy price. And now let's go back to the fundamentals. Uh, 1400 degrees is the melting point of steel. That requires a lot of energy. When you know that energy makes up 40% of steel production costs, we can understand that the fall in fall in our production is one of the disastrous consequences of this mad European energy policy, which has led to our industrialisation. There are three solutions alone. The current solutions, where we continue to import Chinese steel and are ever more reliant on them. Another solution is that we use hydrocarbons and then we won't meet our CO2. Uh, rules. Or lastly, we use electric arc furnaces which don't emit CO2 and are less harmful. In that case, and I'd conclude with that, we'd have to be consistent and have abundant, reliable and moderately priced electric energy. So not the photovoltaic panels and the wind turbines, which unfortunately, you've gambled on, because then you need the wind to blow or the sun to shine in order to produce. So in the commission. What specifically are you going to do to make Europe an industrial continent. And a prosperous one again.”
  Energy (green transition)
• “Madame president, president of the commission. We don't expect anything more of you, but you still manage to disappoint us. We had energy crisis and the renewables fiasco. We thought that you would actually question your own policies, but now you're just going further. The loan has become much more expensive. But now you're putting forward an extraordinary budget with two of 2 trillion you've lectured us on the law, the rule of law. But now you should be respecting the judgment in respect of FISA information. But apparently the law only applies to other people, not to you. After Trump was elected, we thought that your anti-trumpism would actually lead you to defend European interests. But you gave in without a fight, and now you're going to sign a Mercosur agreement without whilst at the same time overregulating our own products. Looking at you, I really don't think you even understand what I'm trying to say. You will never change. You're an ideologist, a you're a technocrat and you will stay those things. The only thing that Europeans are expecting from you now is your resignation.”
  Von der Leyen
• “President. Colleagues, is it reasonable to lend money when you are already deeply in debt? I'd say no, but Following this huge debt accumulation, we're now spraying money to four corners of the planet. We need to look at who is lending to whom. We've got these priorities for prosperity. Sounds wonderful, but I'm afraid it's a very bitter pill to swallow for the taxpayers. Over 10% of last year's investment actually went outside the EU. And lovely postcards. Mattress manufacturers in Mauritania, sub-Saharan Africa to build a future of diversity. We are told 57% going on diversity. But we're seeing a nuclear which is decarbonised Only the only decarbonized solution only being mentioned once. People want tax cuts. They want, uh, orders to be coming in. They don't want us to be playing at bankers.”
  Size of EU budget
• “Madam president, dear colleagues, each time we reform the cap, we have new acronyms. More paper, more red tape, and less for the farmers. Our farmers, our strategic partners. They are more precious than any of the minerals or the waters that you would sacrifice them for. They work the land. And you, you neglect them. And you treat them poorly with unfair competition and more rules, as you will do through Mercosur. Beet sugar beet. And yet you are going to import 16 million tons of sugar. And if we look at their lighting, the passports for their cows, the time that they're out to pasture, and yet you lift customs on beef from other places. We are getting ready for the summer recess and it is. You will have a well-deserved rest. But the farmers will not be at the beach. They are going to continue to sow the land and bring water to their cows, and deal with all of the bureaucracy that you have laid forth for them. Without the cap, there would be not be an EU. Without farmers, there will be no more Europe. We must assist them. Free Freedom.”
  Trade relations with Mercosur