- 2026-06-17 “Beautiful, perfect bodies. And for a change, I'm not just talking about girls. I'm also talking about boys. Because social media is terrible, horrible for their mental health as well. Boys who are still finding out their place in the world are confronted with this swollen supplement men who tell them they should get rich by dodgy investments, then they can get a girl, and then they should provide for her, and they should never be vulnerable.
And the further these manoswam men go, the more their content gets boosted online. I think this is problematic. Social media has become a machine to create addicted and insecure people and then squeeze the most out of them. And teenagers deserve more. No more addictive designs. Social media platforms should be saved by design. And if they're not, we should hold those platforms accountable.”
Gender roles, equality and inclusion
- 2026-01-22 “Answer given by Mr Brunner on behalf of the European Commission 20.3.2026 Written question Member States can introduce border controls at their internal borders under certain conditions as set out in EU legislation. The Commission is working closely with all the Member States that currently have internal border controls in place, as well as with the Member States affected by the controls. The Commission is currently assessing all notifications of temporary reintroduction of prolongations of border controls at internal borders, including by Germany, in accordance with the revised Schengen Borders Code [1] . In the framework of this assessment, the Commission takes into account the reports submitted by those Member States pursuant to Article 33(2) of the Schengen Borders Code. According to the provisions of the Schengen Borders Code, the conclusion of these assessments should take the form of Commission opinions. The Commission will act in line with its obligations under the Schengen Borders Code. The reintroduction or prolongation of internal border controls does not affect the right of EU citizens to move freely, as EU citizens continue to have the right to enter and leave another Member State freely, provided they have a valid identity card or passport and do not pose a threat to public policy, public security or public health. [1] Regulation (EU) 2024/1717 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 amending Regulation (EU) 2016/399 on a Union Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders. OJ L 2024/1717, 20 June 2024.”
Asylum & border control
- “Thank you. Yeah. On behalf of Melissa Camera, I would like to express the opinion of the of the Greens. And first of all, to thank the rapporteur. So we as the Greens EFA group, we support a strong and binding strategy for gender equality that goes beyond symbolic commitments and leads to concrete legislative and financial measures. So we welcome the inclusion of intersectionality as a cross-cutting principle. But we also stress that it must be systematically mainstreamed across all EU policies, including impact assessments and funding programmes. And looking at the contribution of Libya, we support things that strengthen, first of all, the visibility and protection of migrants, of racialized, of LGBTQi+ and disabled women who are often neglected in EU gender policies. Please. We support the recognition of femicide as a distinct crime, and the call to include gender based violence as a new area of crime, as well as the criminalization of rape based on lack of consent. And thirdly, we support the demand for gender disaggregated and intersectional data collection to shape evidence based and inclusive public policies. So overall, we call for a firm stance against inter gender movements and their funding sources, including foreign actors. This is both a democracy and a human rights issue. So the strategy must include measures to counter them. The strategy must also include a budgetary pillar. Gender equality cannot be achieved without mandatory feminist budgeting across all EU instruments. On health, we insist on a universal, safe and legal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, including rights for trans and intersex people. Thank you.”
Gender roles, equality and inclusion
- “Thank you very much, chair, and I'm very happy to present today our opinion on the report on women's entrepreneurship in rural and island areas and outermost regions. I also want to start by complimenting the rapporteur on this report. She wrote that women in rural economies embody the balance between tradition and progress, and I think that is very well put. And I have a similar message that I put forward, because I do believe that women are the cornerstone of rural economies as farmers, entrepreneurs, innovators, caregivers and community leaders. Yet too often their contributions remain undervalued or unsupported. And today, I want to share with you my five priorities. The first two are on agriculture. So to start with, I would like to would like to highlight the structural inequalities that persist in agriculture. Women do receive less cap money for two reasons. The first is that about 30% of EU farms are managed by women, and those farms are typically smaller and therefore less supported by the cap, even though they often have more sustainable business practices. Second, women also still face the from father to son inheritance model, which locks them out of land ownership, and that means they also receive proportionately less from both cap pillars. And as I said, even though their farms often follow more diversified and environmentally more sustainable practices. And I think it's simple women should have the same access to land.”
Gender roles, equality and inclusion
- “Close your eyes and picture a farmer. What do you see? Maybe an old man farming in an old way. Or maybe an angry protester driving a tractor. Well, open your eyes. I visited many young farmers, and I want to tell you what I've seen. I saw green innovators with cutting edge technology working on the agriculture of the future. And they had a message for Brussels. They said, give us what we need to build a sustainable agriculture of the future. Give us better access to land and credit. Make it less risky to experiment with new and green ways of farming, such as with different protein crops. And set clear and consistent sustainability goals. If we want to grow the farmers of the future, we must plant the seeds right now. And, Commissioner, your budget can do so. Thank you.”
Agricultural funding
- “(09:48:38 – 09:49:59): Thank you, chair. The CMO, I think, is not longer just a tool for market stabilization, but also a tool to shape our food systems and diets. And this is also an opportunity cause we know that half of the Europeans right now is overweight and this is something we should work on. And I think the school schemes can be an important tool to do so because it will promote healthy foods, for example, the uptake of fruit, vegetables, but also plant based milk. It has an important education factor. People will learn from a young age what is healthy food, how to, keep up a healthy diet. And within the school schemes, it's important to keep involving local and regional, authorities. A second important element of the CMO is that it could support the protein sector. So as said before by a colleague, Hasikamp, it can help to promote the uptake and the cultivation of legumes, of beans, of proteins here in Europe, which could feed our markets, could be used for food. It could deliver a double win because we become less dependent on imports of soy and we can create a healthier balance between animal and plant based proteins here in Europe. So let's use the CMOs also to talk about healthy foods and healthy diets. Thank you.”
Nutrition
- “(17:47:03 – 17:48:59): Thank you. I will be speaking on behalf of, Eric Marcart, our, shadow rapporteur. However, I do share, his opinions and observations. Mhmm. So he wants to thank the rapporteur for for his drafts, And he says that as already discussed in his committee, the commission proposal introduces some fundamental changes to the structure of the funding.
And he has, and I do too, serious doubts about the extreme flexibility that the regulation introduces, the lack of clear spending targets or actions and the absence of proper parliamentary scrutiny. And these doubts go for all home affairs regulations, exacerbated by the possibility to shift funds between them.
For the BMV, we need to take into account the additional risk that even in the current BMVI, funding was not spent properly between all objectives. Actions on assistance and protection of people received almost no funding, whereas large part of the funding went to infrastructure, equipment, and IT systems.
And Eric is questioning how the rapporteur sees the increased flexibility in the regulation, considering that this draft, introduces some language to further specify objectives and actions. And he also wants to stress, that we want to ensure sufficient funding of all objectives under the regulation, including protection and assistance elements.
Lastly, here, we see the introduction of the terms migration as weaponization and hybrid threats. And we would like to highlight that these are not legal terms. They're not. So they risk undermining international protection standards. So we do object to their use in general, and they should definitely not be introduced into budgetary leg legislation in this way without any proper legal basis.
So he wants to ask the operator why he decided to keep these terms and why they and what they legally mean according to him. Thank you.”
Asylum & border control
- “Do you want to be a mother and still earn good money? I hope you're good at TikTok because right now it's only my influences. Who are the only women who get rich after being a mom just for being a mom. If your mother today, your income will decline with 8% compared to a woman who does not have children. This is what we call the motherhood penalty. But for the dads in the room, don't worry, you'll most likely get your nice 5% daddy bonus. You think that European countries are taking steps to deal with this wrong? The Dutch government. My government plans to reduce leave benefits for parents with middle and higher incomes. This will lead to more men to avoid taking parental leave. It will have negative effects on the division of care work at home and as a result, expand the gender pay gap. I am proud that we here have worked, and I have worked on this report to close the gender pay gap, but it is no use advancing in Europe only to retreat in individual countries. Colleagues, tomorrow is our vote and we can do better.”
Gender pay transparency
- “(10:23:43 – 10:25:44): Thank you, chair. Generational renewal strategy for this is much needed. And if we're serious about the next generation, it cannot just stay with nice words and applause. We have to have concrete actions and more a long term vision. And I think Maria Walsh did a great job in representing the demands that young farmers have. Because when I talk to them, they are very clear. They want access to land, fair prices for their products, good living conditions, and investing in climate mitigation and adaption for the future.
And I sit here today, not just for myself, but also my colleague, Per Holmgren, who works on this report, and he and the Greens have very concrete and feasible, solutions. We think that policy should support investments in sustainable and future proof, business models, production models like agroecology, investment in new protein crops, both for feed and food, especially also for food, and, we have to enhance circularity.
A second issue that is also close to my heart is that we have to address the issues that, female farmers face. Because right now, they don't have the same abilities, access, for example, to finance succession supports, they need advisory services and decision making power in agriculture organizations to get to the top jobs as well. So if we want them to do their job well, we should also invest in public services such as childcare and health care.
Then lastly, we have the cap, the most, powerful instrument that we have and we should invest and use it wisely. We support the cap starter pack for young farmers, but this alone is not enough. The cap now supports, the largest farms. And because of this, we have lined concentration by prioritizing the largest farms. And I think we should move away from direct payments and effectively finance generational renewal with this, ring fence budget. And then I think we can actually deliver for young farmers. Thank you.”
Gender roles, equality and inclusion
- “Because if not, then women are forced to choose between family and entrepreneurship. And in rural areas, we will continue to lose talent and I think that would be a waste. My last priority is on violence. I do think we also have to talk about gender based violence, because violence remains a major barrier to women's economic independence. Also, in rural areas where isolation and stigma make access to support more difficult. My amendments strengthen the text by calling for rural tailored strategies shelters, helplines, more mobile support units because entrepreneurship and safety go hand in hand, because women cannot build a business if they are unsafe in their homes and communities. So to conclude, if we want Vibrant rural area, strong farms and resilient communities. We simply have to change. And I do strongly believe that we cannot just talk about women's worth and keep repeating those words words, but we have to follow it with actions. And that is what my opinion tries to do, and I hope I can count on your support.”
Gender roles, equality and inclusion
- “Do you want to be a mother and still earn good money? I hope you're good at TikTok because right now it's only my influences. Who are the only women who get rich after being a mom just for being a mom. If your mother today, your income will decline with 8% compared to a woman who does not have children. This is what we call the motherhood penalty. But for the dads in the room, don't worry, you'll most likely get your nice 5% daddy bonus. You think that European countries are taking steps to deal with this wrong? The Dutch government. My government plans to reduce leave benefits for parents with middle and higher incomes. This will lead to more men to avoid taking parental leave. It will have negative effects on the division of care work at home and as a result, expand the gender pay gap. I am proud that we here have worked, and I have worked on this report to close the gender pay gap, but it is no use advancing in Europe only to retreat in individual countries. Colleagues, tomorrow is our vote and we can do better.”
Gender roles, equality and inclusion
- “Thanks a lot. Yes, I will be quick. Thank you. And I'm first of all, again happy that we address this topic, because it's still one of the most persistent inequalities in Europe. I have seven priorities, uh, as a shadow. And they all highlight the more structural and cultural issues that are the basis of the gender pay gap. And the first one is about gender stereotypes that still shape career choices and pay structures, leading to the under evaluation of women's work. So we asked to also challenge biases in education, awareness and policy, and to achieve real equality in the labour market because it already starts from a young age. What the differences are. Second one is about tackling the systemic under evaluation of female dominated, female dominated sectors such as care, education or social services. I'm very happy that I heard many people here echo this and in addition. But this is on a member state level, it's very important that we address the childcare gap, because it's one of the most pressing challenges for new parents and especially women. The fourth is the implementation of Pay Transparency Directive, which, as we heard, is not implemented by all countries yet. So what can we do to help those countries implement it? My fifth priority is to address the issue of data, because available statistics on pay and pension gaps are often outdated or incomplete, so that should be one of our priorities. The sixth is to have an inclusive and intersectional approach, also recognising that women with disabilities, migrants, older rural or LGBTQi women are often disproportionately affected by paying pension gaps. And my seventh priority would be to invest in the future by encouraging women to enter the male dominated fields, such as the Stem jobs. What we just heard that that is not just a quick fix. If they enter those sectors, We also have to give them the same rights. And I do think if we add those seven priorities, we can make a real, tangible step and we go beyond words and can make this a reality.”
Gender roles, equality and inclusion
- “Do you want to be a mother and still earn good money? I hope you're good at TikTok because right now it's only my influences. Who are the only women who get rich after being a mom just for being a mom. If your mother today, your income will decline with 8% compared to a woman who does not have children. This is what we call the motherhood penalty. But for the dads in the room, don't worry, you'll most likely get your nice 5% daddy bonus. You think that European countries are taking steps to deal with this wrong? The Dutch government. My government plans to reduce leave benefits for parents with middle and higher incomes. This will lead to more men to avoid taking parental leave. It will have negative effects on the division of care work at home and as a result, expand the gender pay gap. I am proud that we here have worked, and I have worked on this report to close the gender pay gap, but it is no use advancing in Europe only to retreat in individual countries. Colleagues, tomorrow is our vote and we can do better.”
Gender pay transparency
- “Gender responsive climate action is critical to ensuring that women are included in green job creation and energy transitions and sustainable economic growth, and can play an important role in ensuring that gender perspectives are integrated into environmental policies and the European Green Deal. So while we fully support the need for urgent action to combat violence against women and girls, the intersection of gender based violence and environmental issues should not be overlooked. Climate change and environmental crisis exacerbate vulnerabilities for women, and particularly in terms of displacement, access to resources, and exposure to violence, and these topics should be tackled in tandem, not in isolation. So Miss Keyes will propose amendments there. Lastly, we support the view that more human resources are needed to ensure IAEA can meet its objectives, particularly in such important areas as violence against women and gender equality in the green transition, and adequate funding needs to be ensured. Cutting back on the Green Deal aspects of Ijf's work might seem like a simple solution, but in the long term, this could undermine the very intersectional approach that is necessary to address the systemic issues facing women today. And there also miss proposed amendments. Thank you very much. And she looks forward to work with you.”
Gender roles, equality and inclusion
- “The online world is not safe for young people, so I want to thank the Commission for taking action. But digital safety is not a gender neutral issue. Girls are targeted more. 99% of deepfakes target women. We need more education, especially for young boys. They need to learn that online culture can normalise abuse. How deepfakes or the sharing of intimate videos can cause permanent damage, depression, self-harm or suicide. We need to curb the power of tech giants like the AI pornographer in chief, Elon Musk. They have proved time and time again that they will not change a single line of code if it costs them a single euro of profit. Today, a petition was launched calling for a ban of new DeFi apps. And I ask you all to sign it because when someone asks AI to remove the clothes of a woman of a child, this is a crime because online abuse is abuse. So let's ban these tools and make the internet a safe place for everyone.”
Safety features & content control for child protection online
- “Farmers are taking to the streets in Brussels once again because bristles fails to deliver. Taking away bureaucracy is good, but there is such a hyper focus on simplification that I fear we will feel them once again. Farmers ask for fair income and good contracts and what do they get? Political theatre such as a veggie burger ban. Farmers don't need culture wars. They need bargaining powers. Farmers ask for stable rules. And what do they get? Yearly derogations, last minute exemptions and constant policy U-turns. They don't need uncertainty. They need long term perspective. And young farmers, they ask for a future. And what do they get? Still no real reform on land access and no tailored financing. They need a dedicated budget and financial support for sustainable business models. Reform should be about fair markets, stable rules and real generational renewal. Let's deliver.”
EU policy on farmer–buyer relations in the agri-food supply chain
- “Thank you chair. And I would like to start by giving a compliment to the rapporteur to rise up and for the constructive approach he has taken. It's a really good report and I particularly welcome some of the elements. First, the clear call for stronger and Ringfenced budget for food, agriculture and bioeconomy. I think it sends an important political signal that food systems shouldn't be a side issue, but a strategic priority. However, there's one thing that I would propose to adjust, and that is that this ringfenced budget should focus specifically on food and agriculture, and less so on bioeconomy. Um, I also welcome the strong emphasis on a multi-sector approach, ensuring that farmers, SMEs and processors and end users are fully involved. And I'm happy to hear that everyone agrees with this. So to build on this report, I have some additions. First of all, I would like to strengthen the overall emphasis on food and agriculture. We would like to see sustainable food systems and also healthy diets more explicitly embedded throughout the text, not only as an outcome, but as a guiding principle for research priorities and strategic autonomy should be framed more concretely. And for us, this means reducing Europe's structural dependency, in particular on imported proteins, synthetic fertilizers and fossil fuels. And innovation plays a crucial role to reduce these dependencies. And horizon could be a driver of this transition. And finally, I believe that horizon must be future proof. So projects that damage the environment, harm humans or animal health, or lock us further into fossil fuel dependency should not be supported with EU research money. So to conclude, I look forward to work with the rapporteur and all the shadows to strengthen the report along these lines. Thank you.”
Agricultural funding
- “(17:21:13 – 17:24:18): Thank you very much, chair. 1st of all, I'd like to thank the rapporteur and her team of her excellent work. I really appreciate how she handled everything, organized the meetings, the stakeholders. So really my compliments, for the way you approach this.
It's an important week with the deadline of the pact, the pact that will, go into place this Friday. And I think the army is a important backbone of of the pact. I have to say, I have many concerns about the pact and how this will play out. I'm afraid we're gonna have very chaotic period ahead of us. I'm afraid that it will be difficult to comply with fundamental rights.
But, nevertheless, despite my myself being critical, I think now that it's there, we have to make the best out of it. And as I said, the could be a backbone of this because the period to shout and call for innovative, innovations and measures is done. And now the less sexy part has to take place and the army could help with a functioning asylum system, well trained staff, adequate reception capacity, access to legal safeguards, and successful integration.
All of this should be arranged. And for those colleagues who say that because of this, we're trying to make the best out of this, we're fostering mass migrations should really look into the mirror and, question themselves if they take this topic seriously.
So the army could be the financial backbone of a fair, effective, and future oriented migration policy, I believe. It should really foster our internal system and support implementation, and that we should be mindful that it's not a tool to shift away our responsibilities.
An important part of the AMI file is to discuss integration, and I fear that this will fall off the agenda. So if we talk about migration policies, integration is an essential part, of it, although it is often treated as an afterthought. And the same goes for legal migration, which is we all know that with an aging society and indispensable part of Europe's future.
Then last but not least, we must recognize the crucial role that local authorities and CSOs play in the implementation in AMI, because they are often the 1st to provide practical support, expertise. However, they increasingly face funding challenges and administrative barriers. And I'm afraid that the current proposal will worsen their situation.
So with all of this in mind, I will have a few priorities in my amendments. The 1st is to to ensure that AMI, remains focused on improving our internal system rather than spending on external borders and financing political narratives. 2nd is to make sure that money is directed on integration and legal migrations. This should not be an afterthought.
And 3rd, strengthening fundamental rights safeguards and monitoring mechanisms. And 4th and lastly, ensure that civil society organizations have access to funds through sustainable co financing rates. So I look forward to, look, work on this, matter in a constructive way with the shadow operators. Thank you.”
Asylum & border control
- “The plan to attract scientists to Europe is called Choose Europe. But what does it mean to choose Europe? It means to choose academic freedom, to choose a continent that still believes in climate change. And thank God for that. It means to choose diversity, being a strength instead of a weakness. Choosing Europe also means long and difficult visa procedures. It also means having your diplomas recognized in one country, but not on the other. To choose Europe means to talk about researchers and professors that we want, but sometimes forgetting about the nurses, truckers, and caregivers that we need. Choose Europe also means that sometimes we don't use our full workforce potential, because refugees and women don't always find a job. I want the best talent to come to Europe. But I also want the best for talent in Europe, and I believe we can do both if we invest in the people here and if we see labor migration as an opportunity. So why don't we train the people in Ljubljana but also look for them in Lagos? Why don't we help women in Dusseldorf to find a job, but also look for them in Delhi? Why don't we pay our professors and teachers in Saint-Etienne a fair wage, but also look for them in San Francisco? I would say, let's not ask why people would choose Europe, but let's ask ourselves, how can we make Europe the destination of choice for all talent? Thank you.”
EU policy on brain drain
- “Thank you very much. And welcome to the new executive director. We hope to see you more often, and I hope you feel welcome here. I have a question about Efsa and the key role enabling the shift towards a more sustainable agri food system, and more specifically when it comes to bio controls and innovative proteins, because currently the Efsa evaluation. Q is largely based on a first come, first serve approach. And now we see that there's products with huge sustainability potential that sometimes stick in this queue for ten years. And I've spoken to many companies who then um, or go bankrupt or they move their company to the US because they have more growth opportunities there. And I think we as the EU also want to be competitive. And there's a huge potential in these companies. So what can we change. And I wonder if you see the potential in moving from a purely reactive risk assessment model to one that actively, actively facilitates the transition to a sustainable food system. So that would mean a different approach from Efsa. Thank you.”
EU policy on novel foods
- “Thank you very much. And I will be speaking on behalf of Mrs. GIZ as I'm filling in for her. And she would also like to start with thanking Miss Kaneko for drafting this opinion. So on her behalf, we strongly support the call for the mandatory Gender Impact assessment, specifically focused on protecting violence against violence, as this would enable us to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of measures we adopt. However, the Greens are concerned that the draft opinion does not go far enough in demanding a significant increase in funding for gender based violence programs, and the opinion also addresses the impact of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine on gender equality policies, and it's vital that the EU does not lose sight of the specific needs of women and girls in conflict zones, ensuring that policies are designed to protect them. From our perspective, the opinion also needs to address the intersectional dimension of the crisis and in particular, how marginalised groups of women such as refugees, women with disabilities and ethnic minorities face disproportionate Risks, and these women are often excluded from aid and protection mechanisms, and the draft opinion could do more to address this gap. Then on Niger, um, our group very much appreciates the work and its support for this committee from Niger, and they also expressed their concerns on the opinion on the fact that this focus on the European Green Deal may have diverted attention from its core mission of promoting gender equality, because we strongly believe that we must address both gender equality and climate action together, rather than artificially separate them.”
Gender roles, equality and inclusion
- “Billions to create addictive and inescapable online worlds. Pennies to deal with the fallout of it. Tech companies have spent fortunes tweaking algorithms, targeting even more younger users and creating the most eye catching online worlds. But the moment their users are there, they are on their own unrestricted cyber bullying. Nothing to do with me, says Zuckerberg. Or harassment epidemic. Epidemic sounds like a you problem. Musk would say the result is serious deepfakes, sexual abuse, grooming and online widespread violence. And this violence affects everyone. But women are targeted, most especially young girls, politicians, journalists, women are actively pushed out of the public debate, afraid of being abused. And these problems are not accidental. They are built into the system. Algorithms boost what polarizes sexualizes and it amplifies that. What shocks? We must hold these platforms to account. It's them who we must. Who must take the lead in bringing this harassment epidemic to an end. Thank you.”
Digital platforms liability for harmful and illegal content
- “My second priority is on the recognition of women's work on farms, because many women share farm responsibilities with their spouse, but they do not get the formal recognition. They lack social protection, maternity rights or pension rights. And I think it's time to end this. So I do call on member states to either change ownership and farm managing rules, or to create a specific legal status that guarantees these women access to the same protection. Because if we don't do this, women's work will remain undervalued and their vulnerability will persist. My third priority is on finance because access to finance, access to finance across the EU for female entrepreneurs, they still face enormous barriers in raising capital. While 30% of entrepreneurs are women, they receive only around 2% of non-banking finance. So I therefore call for strengthening alternative forms of finance like microcredit or stronger gender mainstreaming in EU financial strategies. My fourth priority is on healthcare, because access to child care, health care and schools is a precondition for women to have enough time to be economically active, and especially in rural areas, this is not always easily available. Therefore, I call on Member States to implement the Barcelona targets to ensure sufficient investment in accessible and affordable high quality care services.”
Gender roles, equality and inclusion
- “Thank you. And thank you for for joining us today. We all know that our food system needs a big update to become more healthier and sustainable, and I think Efsa has a bigger role to play there. And lately I've been visiting a lot of companies that work on novel foods or on bio controls on green alternatives. And every time we hear the same story that they have lots of ideas, but they are stuck and that at this moment feels more of a break because of these lengthy procedures and that they're struggling with investments because how can you, as a startup, find investments for ten years or even longer? That's difficult. So I wondered, we have been talking about the competencies of Efsa, but shouldn't we really look at how to reform the mandate of Efsa and to see that there don't only have a role of food security, but also really of speeding up this transition? So wouldn't this be the moment to look at it? So I wonder how you see this. And then I want to reiterate the question of of my colleague Thomas, if you can talk about the procedure for specifically bio controls, I will be working on the initiative report coming from the Parliament. If you see, for example, separate route for these products so they don't have to be tested as chemical products, but a new product. Thank you.”
EU policy on novel foods
- “(15:29:55 – 15:32:41): Yes. Indeed. Thank you. First of all, thanks for being here. It's indeed an important moment because, right now, migration policy seem to be defined in heated political debates, but it is in fact in the way we implement the pact because the devil is in the detail, and there are many devilish details here, I would say, that I worry about.
And 1 thing particularly strike, struck me is that, commissioner, you just said, you can count on us whether the pact is a success or not if the rivals go down. Well, I hope very much that it's not just about rivals going down, but it's about solidarity mechanism, monitoring fundamental rights, quality of, of facilities, etcetera. Because if not, then we're gonna go into a funnel, which is not, the right way to go.
I have 1 big question, and that is that we just heard heard that after 2 years, countries are on their way. They're doing a good job, but we also heard examples of countries that are not finished yet, don't have anything in place yet. So I just wonder what is it what is who defines what is the core that is in place? And what do we do with the countries that do not have anything in place yet? Because if 1 country doesn't have, doesn't have their screening regulation fixed and the commission will give flexibility, another country might do the same. So I do fear that there will be this race to the bottom.
So I want to ask the commission, will you enforce the pact, the lot, the law to make sure that everything will be implemented well, and will you actually serve as guardian of the treaties right now?
Then I have 2 more, questions. 1 is about the screening regulation and the independent monitoring system that country should have in place. I wonder how you how you will verify their independence because right now, we heard that in Greece, the monitoring will be done by the transparency authority, but they do not fulfill the criteria of independence. So how to make sure that they are truly independent and that they have access to facilities, information, and also the ability to trigger investigations.
And the last question is about children in detention because a lot of organization warn that there's this risk of children ending up in detention, not unaccompanied binders, but families with children. It is a last resort, but still it is legal. So can you guarantee that children will not just be deprived of their liberty for migration related reasons? And we also heard that many member states already struggle to provide adequate, child protection standards. So, yeah, if member states cannot guarantee the specialized staff and facilities, should they even be subjected to border procedures and detention? Yes or no? Thank you.”
Asylum & border control