Lucia YAR

Policy topics Lucia YAR is active on

What Lucia YAR has said (26)

• 2026-06-16 “(11:26:12 – 11:27:33): Hi, representative. Trump and Netanyahu claimed that the strikes on Iran, Lebanon, and Palestine would deliver security. Instead, an entire region is in flames. None of the ceasefires so far have held, and civilians across the Middle East are paying the highest price. So no wonder everybody's a bit skeptical. And now the war is spilling into Lebanon. Beirut is under fire. More than 1000000 people have been displaced. Hospitals have been destroyed. Children killed. Fighting terrorism certainly does not look like this, and Lebanon therefore must not become a 2nd Gaza. There are talks of a lasting peace, but can these men that are gambling with the security of the entire world can be trusted? We will believe it only when the bombs will stop falling. Because if these stocks fall apart, Europe can no longer be complicit. We must finally mobilize all the tools at our disposal, including the suspension of the association agreement with Israel. Thank you.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• 2025-10-03 “E-003886/2025 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Mînzatu on behalf of the European Commission The Commission together with the European Education and Culture Executive Agency have carried out a thorough technical review of the projects engaged with the non-governmental organisation World Youth Alliance under Erasmus+. The procedures are ongoing. Experts in ethical standards provided their assessment regarding any potential breach of the grant agreement provisions. Subsequently, project review reports were communicated to World Youth Alliance for their feedback within 30 days. If it is concluded that a breach of the grant agreement provisions has occurred, appropriate measures will be taken. The corporate grant agreement used by the Commission requires that beneficiaries must respect EU values during the implementation of the project. In the event of serious breach of contractual obligations, including the violation of EU values, the grant may be suspended, terminated or reduced and funds may be recovered. Besides, as elaborated in the Commission’s replies to questions E-006476/2020 and E-001741/2021, the Commission implements the mechanisms provided in the Financial Regulation 1 to exclude persons or entities from participating in award procedures if they are found guilty of grave professional misconduct, including incitement to discrimination, hatred or violence against a group of persons or a member of a group or similar activities that are contrary to the values on which the Union is founded enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union. For the award of funds, a rigorous selection process is carried out with the assistance of external experts, including different checks on grant beneficiaries derived from the legal framework documents such as the Financial Regulation, the Erasmus+ Regulation and the respective calls for proposals. 1 http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/2509/oj.”
  Regulation of NGOs in Europe · Gender roles, equality and inclusion · EU engagement with civil society
• “Thank you. President. Commissioner. We're discussing two reports that speak in clear language. If Europe wants to defend itself, it's not enough for us to just spend more on defense. We need a genuine defense union, not 27 national systems. No fragmentation. We need to be acting as one. Funds for common defense should not be used like a cash dispenser for big business and oligarchs. Funds. We've seen cases that should teach us some lessons from Slovakia and other countries. So public funds should not be handed over to friends and businessmen. All public funds need to be shielded from corruption. Unions. The union's values are at stake.”
  EU competences on defence
• “Um, I think that's quite an important element. Often I feel that we are demanding a lot from our partners abroad, more than what we are demanding from our own member states. But here I only would ask you, how would you evaluate the methodology also, that misses the the negative score in your field of work, whether the projects that are being passed, um, shouldn't also have that that area for OECD. Um, I know that yes, one is one is currently on the negative, uh, certainly on the negative, uh, category. Uh, maybe. Do you or have you considered receiving revising this methodology or creating something different? And do some do some countries use a negative category somewhere in their gender budgeting? How could this probably or how does this assessment of impact of an action look like in practice? And second question for the OECD would be on gender, on the gender budgeting, where you are more talking about equality budgeting. Right? So is this approach of this equality budgeting used somewhere in in any country, and if so, what would be the examples? And the very last thing I know I'm across the time of for Austria, I think a great example of not only the implementation in the Constitution and but also with the ministries. My original question was whether how do you coordinate across the ministries? Because it seemed to be quite a challenge. But you were saying that this is indeed a challenge. So I'm not going to go deep into this, but I wonder whether you have. Some kind of coordination with other governments or discussions, and whether they are interested or in any way might be applying similar methods. Thank you. Sorry.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Thank you. Chair. Um. And, uh. Hello also to everybody for coming back from holidays. Uh, Mr. Reporter, Mr. Gummer, thank you very much for setting a strong course with your proposal. Uh, renews line here is pretty simple. And fragmentation and bite together in line with Niinisto and Draghi's report, we share the goal of turning higher defense expenditure into tangible results, meaning capabilities with common requirements, interoperability, interoperability by design, and collaborative multi-year block purchases that give industry predictable demand cut, variance and lower unit costs. Also, dual use projects help bridge gaps in resilience and mobility, but they will not replace financing hard capabilities such as air defense, drone counter, drone solutions, etc.. Maintenance logistics. Uh, so Europe must accelerate Russia, we've heard Hurt, and we know is spending around 7% of GDP on its war machine and we should move towards credible 2030 national plans with concrete milestones, but without blunt quotas that ignore fiscal realities and just give us some murky ideas of of where we are going. Smes and by European first are our core principles. Smes are critical for the defence, innovation and competitiveness of the EU defence market, but they need predictable order books and better access to private capital by European first means. Phased European content requirement in EU supported contracts with supply chain security checks and preference for cooperative multi-country orders. So public money builds European capacity and reduces dependencies on external suppliers Liars on EIB. It has not been operated at the speed, risk, appetite or scale or our defense and resilience needs. Uh, and requires. So, uh, we welcome the establishment of, of the defense equity facility, um, although it's not working uh, yet, but we seek to investigate the most effective solutions in order to deliver speed, scale and accountability. Thank you.”
  Defence spending
• “Thank you. President. Commissioner. We're discussing two reports that speak in clear language. If Europe wants to defend itself. It's not enough for us to just spend more on defense. We need a genuine defense union, not 27 national systems. No fragmentation. We need to be acting as one. Funds for common defense should not be used like a cash dispenser for big business and oligarchs. Funds. We've seen cases that should teach us some lessons from Slovakia and other countries. So public funds should not be handed over to friends and businessmen. All public funds need to be shielded from corruption. Unions. The union's values are at stake.”
  EU competences on defence
• “Thank you chair. So far today, we've heard about some of the most successful EU programmes. But when we talk about Erasmus, it is the most successful and the most visible EU programme for sure. I believe that everybody of you here sitting will agree with me. So few European programmes showed the spirit of our union as clearly as Erasmus+. For millions of young people it is a life changing opportunity. The first real experience of Europe. Living abroad. Learning in. New environment, meeting more people from different cultures. Erasmus+ has grown with each multiannual financial framework, and it also has learned from experience and it has adapted to the new needs. This is what makes your Erasmus+ so strong. So our task is clear here. We must protect what works well and we must improve what does not. I believe we share this approach with the court reporter, Mr. Zdrojewski. I also welcome him here, and I would also like to thank him and his team for constructive cooperation so far. So let me highlight several key points from the draft budgetary assessment, which I hope we can work on together. First, the overall budget. The demand for Erasmus+ is much higher than what it can currently support. This is not acceptable for such a high value program. With the merger with the European Solidarity Corps and new initiatives like a scholarship scheme that will be included, the pressure on Erasmus+ budget will only grow. The proposed €40 billion will not be enough, especially in light of inflation and rising housing costs.”
  Public funding for education
• “We will see the actual results later on. So is this accounted for in the tracking methodology? It was very clear for me. Gender tracking methodology applies to all programs direct indirect shared management. But how do you see any differences in the data or quality of the tracking in different management modes? This would be my second question. And thirdly, maybe it's kind of twofold. It's regarding this zero score that we've been discussing. And I think this is quite a tricky measure. We got already very comprehensive report on this in Femm committee. So I think we I'm trying to follow up with with on all that. But currently the no. Category two account for the negative impact on the gender equality. This is the OSCE, OECD methodology. So the Commission assumes currently the 69% scoring zero as gender neutral. But if programs harm gender equality, they cannot obviously be considered gender neutral. We do not have the negative score. So how does the Commission verify this zero effect on gender equality? And also the second part regarding the methodology is something that we also do or you are doing tracking, tracking the gender ex-post. We we have very little or probably not much on ex-ante part accounting for gender equality in the preparatory phase of the budget. So I believe we need both parts. So regarding this, what is needed so that we can get there and what are the biggest hurdles That we are facing in order to kind of have that evaluation, maybe in early stages. Um, for Geneva, um, you were explaining very nicely the gender equality markers.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Thank you chair. I will be speaking on behalf of Stine Bosse again. So investment in our transport and energy infrastructure is the backbone of Europe's economy, competitiveness and resilience. Therefore, she is very pleased to play a role on this important file in the current geopolitical context. It is clearer than ever that we need to enhance our energy independence and the best, cheapest and the most sustainable way to this is by expanding our renewable energy sources. Therefore, strengthening investments in renewables should be a key priority within the Connecting Europe facility. When talking about scaling the EU's energy independence, it is evident that we have an urgent need to invest in grids. Right now, our under-developed grid infrastructure is one of the main barriers for the energy transition. We cannot allow this to continue in the budgetary assessment we should highlight the EU added value of combining EU grants with loans, as well as public and private financing. This is already successfully applied in other programmes, such as the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Facility, and has demonstrated effectiveness in attracting additional investment and mobilising private capital. In that regard, it is also essential that the provisions and governance arrangements of the facility support decision of the facility, support decision making by the budgetary authority and ensure a robust, robust parliamentary scrutiny.”
  EU energy infrastructure integration
• “Many stakeholders actually point to a need closer to 60 billion as a need, and we should not forget our own targets. The European move recommendation sets clear goals for mobility by 2030, and if we are serious about reaching them, we must provide the necessary funding. I'll take longer than three minutes. Chair. Second, synergies with other programmes. Erasmus+ should not stand alone. It should work closely with programmes like Horizon Europe and European Competitiveness Fund. The Commission has a key role here. It should map these opportunities and integrate them into an annual budgetary cycle and the work programme. At the same time, the new NPS under the new multiannual financial framework will be important. Member states can use them to invest more in young people and skills, and we should encourage this, including through regular coordination at national level. Good examples from some Member States on the complementarity between Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Fund. Plus now to be pulled into the NRP piece should be promoted and supported across the Union. Thirdly, support for participants. If you ask young people what holds them back from taking part in Erasmus. One answer comes up again and again, and it is money. Grants are often too low. They do not reflect real living costs. And that's why if we want Erasmus+ to be open to all, we must address this. We know the programme cannot cover everything, but it also should not cover only the rich kids. When I have to be blunt in that, we therefore need to rethink the grant setting mechanisms and make it better adapted to the realities on the ground.”
  Public funding for education
• “Thank you, thank you chair. Thank you, commissioners, for being here. Uh, it is probably not very difficult to understand that this House is not the biggest fan of the NPS. I don't think it's, uh, anyhow, uh, a secret. Nevertheless, I am hoping that the commission will not be giving in, especially to the groups that we know from the beginning. From the beginning will not support neither MFF nor NPS. So, uh, of course, renew has, um, certain priorities. We are also concerned that the NP has become a way through which only national priorities will be supported, that the budget, the European budget, will be renationalised, regions will not have strong voice, etc. etc. many concerns will state were stated here, but I will have a very budgetary question. As the Budget Coordinator for renew to the Budgetary Commissioner, Mr. Serafin, and it is regarding the budgetary accountability under the performance based payment, because in the system. Um, it's maybe a little bit more technical question, but I think it's concerning a lot to whom I'm talking to in a system where payments are no longer linked to actual costs. Uh, how will the Commission ensure sound financial management, calculated error rates and also provide us in Parliament with assurances that the EU funds reach final beneficiaries proportionately and lawfully because, for instance, uh member states, uh can confirm that the total payment from the commission does not exceed the exceed the total amount paid by the Member states to the beneficiaries, uh, if they don't verify the cost. So how the member states will confirm that as we are currently reading it. Um, and this is I think our concern is that it seems that the verification of costs will be decoupled from the EU level and performed at the national level. So that's my question.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “Thank you. Chair. And thank you. Reporter. Miss Marina Kaljurand for a really good job that you were doing for presenting this draft opinion. It is really encouraging to see that we are picking up what the commission has presented earlier this year. And it is clear from the time that we are living in that there are still much work that we have to do on many fronts. It is deplorable that in the 21st century, 1 in 3 women knows firsthand what violence is, and the upcoming gender equality strategy must focus all available resources on eradicating gender based violence in all its forms, both offline and online. The adoption of the Directive on Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence last year was a major milestone, but it must now be fully and promptly, promptly implemented. We must also go further to encourage the violence faced by women online, especially those active in public. Life is neither normalized nor left unaddressed. But of course, this goes beyond those women that are active in public life. These efforts must be complemented by work on consent based rape legislation, which has become the standard in many member states but still lacking in others, including my own in Slovakia. Adding gender based violence to the list of euro crimes is essential to enable stronger action against such violence at EU level. And yes, there are differences across the countries and even across genders. My colleagues, including a healthcare dimension in the strategy, will be another key priority. Women's health and sexuality remain under research under research, with serious consequences for the quality of care for women that women receive. This applies not only to diagnoses specific to women, such as endometriosis, but also to common conditions like heart attacks, which can present differently in women. Healthcare is a right for all, and it must serve everyone women, men, people with disabilities, LGBTQ people and other minorities. This is a real issue that demands solutions, unlike populist efforts to use the Constitution to attack minorities.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Thank you very much. President, Commissioner, Europe is finally doing what it should have done long ago. It is removing bureaucracy and is planning investments together in some. Countries and governments reject cooperation. They are risking putting us all at risk. The commission is going in the right direction, but it doesn't have the right instruments so that he can implement commitments and, uh, and protections against politicization and corruption, because we want European defense, not just a just to be a plan. We need a clear system for responsibility that shows who invests, who is, um, holding it up or who is, um, doing government business with who. Uh, Brussels shouldn't just look on, uh, on this. It's about our own security. Because those who want to meet, uh, Putin. They have two possibilities. Either they are part of European defence or they will become dependent on the enemies of democracy. And we should not allow that.”
  EU competences on defence
• “Thank you. Thank you chair. So I will be speaking on behalf of Shadow's boss, who largely welcomed the commission's proposal, which lays out an ambitious direction for investment in the EU's overseas territories and Greenland. She's particularly pleased to see the allocation of €530 million in funding for Greenland. With the rising geopolitical challenges, it is crucial that the EU strengthens the engagement in the Arctic while emphasizing security, respect for international law and sovereignty. Ensuring investments and equal partnership with the overseas territories in Greenland are essential for the union's long term competitiveness and strategic autonomy. It enhances diversification of strategic supply chains and access to critical raw materials, while also ensuring protection of biodiversity and climate resilience of the world's most climate exposed regions in ecologically rich ecosystems. Furthermore, Srinivasa welcomes the proposal into integration of the Investeu instrument with its 14 time multiplier effect. It is a crucial instrument to leverage on public and private investment. Finally, it is essential that spending is used strategically to maximize impact, efficiency and address investment gaps together with a high level of transparency.”
  Funding for OCTs and outermost regions
• “Commissioner. Colleagues, the 2026 budget is not just about figures. I hope we know it. It's about Europe's future. It's about the promises that we make to our citizens. We in Renew Europe fought very hard to secure hundreds of millions more for research, for innovation, for health and for defence. These are investments that protect and empower Europeans. But I turn to member states to council because I cannot comprehend. How can member states keep on proposing cuts to Erasmus+? The EU's most successful and most beloved programme? Erasmus+ is not just a budget line, it is the promise of opportunity. It is the bridge that is connecting young people across borders. Instead of cutting it, we should be expanding it. We should be bold to make grants easier, more accessible. Renew Europe and I will fight fiercely for this because every euro in this budget must serve people and above all, young generation.”
  Public funding for education
• “Second, inclusiveness must be at the heart of the strategy. Certain groups face particularly high risks of poverty, such as LGBTQ plus individuals, single parent households, victims of gender based violence, women with migrant backgrounds, and cancer survivors. These risks must risks must be addressed through targeted measures. Thirdly, the strategy should also integrate reproductive rights, menstrual health and hygiene and call on member states to ensure affordable access to menstrual products. Promoting women's entrepreneurship is equally important as it creates economic independence. Dot fourth, prevention and means empowerment, education, training and lifelong learning are crucial in breaking the cycle of poverty. At the same time, we must tackle harmful stereotypes and discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and other factors. Finally, no strategy can succeed if people in need do not know their rights. It is essential to guarantee that information about available public services and social support reaches those who need it most. During the negotiations, we will focus on these priorities so that the final opinion is ambitious, inclusive and firmly, firmly grounded in human rights. Thank you. Everybody involved.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Thank you chair and thank you both ambassador and Miss Wallstrom for being here, speaking to us, motivating us and very much inspiring us. I have to tell you that looking around, and well this is a public hearing, many people will not be able to see probably the full attendance but we are here five members of the parliament and it is literally breaking my heart to see how much this committee is putting interest in policies, foreign policies that are very much related to human rights and to women and women participation in foreign policy. It says a lot. And it says a lot because the F word feminism, it's freaking out this European Parliament. Since I came here, I've been here this is my first mandate and I'm seeing everywhere from every single committee when the word feminism or even gender now appears in any text, in any discussion, things are shut, things are being openly shut here. We excluded FEM committee from this hearing. We've already heard from Lina Galves and we couldn't do it together and this needs to be heard because we are not walking the talk. As Miss Ambassador was saying, we are putting bright words everywhere, creating wonderful strategies, we have things written on papers but we are not walking the talk. And members of this parliament, even from the pro European coalition, are not present, are not interested and are doing everything they can to exclude women and feminism. This radical notion of women being human beings which you said from the policies you Miss Moulstrom inspired a whole generation of women to take part in politics in foreign policy. I personally was very much intrigued teaching even feminist foreign policy classes in Slovakia and it's an utter honor for me to be in speaking with you here. I also want you to know that, well you obviously know that the feminist foreign policy got through the world: Canada, France, even Mexico, countries which were very much inspired by what Sweden was moving, was doing thanks to you. And currently, and Lina Galbos was talking about it, we are walking backwards. And yes, I wanted to ask on your point of view on whether to keep on using the F word that is scaring everybody out or not. But I'm going to also follow-up and ask whether you think that we are able to find some allies because now it seems like we are coming backwards. Maybe those are the times when you were starting to push for the feminist foreign policy agenda in the past you might not have many alliance but you convinced many. So I want to maybe get back to it, what are the strategies in times like this when we are not discussing anymore if the women are present at the table. This is not even a topic we are discussing as my colleague Sanchez Amor said, the raw materials and all the real politics. So can we find allies anywhere in times like this, pretty dark times like these? Thank you. **Hana Jalloul Muro (Spain, S&D) @Chair: Sorry, yeah, yeah, no the mic was maybe not on, was it on the mic? Yeah, yeah. Okay, it was on, no worries ma'am. I just wanted to be sure. Thank you. Our colleagues from the Committee of Development have been invited to attend this hearing as well, so I will now give the floor to the DEVE gender focal point Robert Ritterrand. Please, the floor is yours. Thank you. **Robert Biedroń (Poland, S&D): Thank you very much sir, thank you very much Hannah and I'm honored that I have an opportunity to be here today with Miss Farstrom, our former Vice President of European Commission and a new appointment Ambassador for Gender Equality Maya Kalish. Congratulations and thank you very much for holding this hearing today. Gender equality is under attack. We heard it from your interventions, it echoed from my colleagues' founding cuts, particularly from our perspective affecting gender policies and programs, especially in developing countries. Also, are being cut and we see it in many programs. US UN estimates, United Nations, that we need three hundred years to reach global gender equality in this space and this is far too slow. We all agree with that. As the chair said, I'm speaking today on behalf of the Committee on Development and I would stress the importance also of taking FEM committee on the board when we discuss these issues. So maybe in the future we could consider also having more broad discussions with other colleagues and this would maybe help also my male colleagues understand that boys and men also need education on feminist foreign policy. We know so little about that. As we all know, currently the biggest story in development is the dismantling of US aid only a few kilometers from here where we are now here in Belgium. There is ten million dollars worth of contraceptives that are scheduled to be destroyed by the Trump administration which would result in over three hundred sixty thousand unintended pregnancies and over seven hundred preventable maternal deaths. This is one of the examples of the pushback in development policy in the context of feminist foreign policy. The EU and Belgium in particular cannot allow for this to happen. This is the meaning of the feminist foreign policy in action. This is a very symbolic thing which happens now because this is not just some slogan. Gender equality is also one of the most important objectives under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It is a powerful accelerator for achieving results all across all indicators including reducing poverty, enhancing education and health, attaining food security and of course addressing the impacts of climate change. The EU has ambition and is the fact of today global front runner in promoting gender equality as a key political objective of its external action. Ambassador has mentioned several of them. The EU Gender Action Plan Free for 2022-2027 is the main policy framework to realize this objective. In the 2022 resolution of the GAP Free for which I was co-rapporteur, we also insisted that the EU has a leadership responsibility which is less and less the case to promote a feminist policy at the multilateral level. The question is not that we should lead by example. The question is who if not us will it be Russia, will it be China, will it be today US? It won't be a case. It's only us who should, who has this responsibility for today and we should lead by example. Under the current NDIC Global Europe regulation it is expected that eighty to eighty-five percent of all EU external interventions have gender equality as a primary or subsidiary goal. It is vital to deliver on this objective in the context of the wider backlash against women's rights, gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights in many countries and sadly also in this house. We cannot allow for politically motivated attacks to endanger the health and safety of women and girls worldwide. Another example, and I will conclude, it has been shown that when women participate in peace processes the resulting agreement is more durable and better implemented. However, in 2022 women represented only sixteen percent of negotiators in active peace processes led or co-led by the United Nations. Again, as a part of a feminist foreign policy, the US has an obligation to work on increasing this number. And as our former Vice President said, more women mean more peace and this is the reality. In the coming months it will be crucial to maintain at least the same level of ambition on gender equality in the next Global Europe financial instrument and I want to thank the ambassador for confirming this commitment and this ambition. As Parliament we must firmly defend the position in the future negotiations to ensure ambitions and quality funding for Gender Action Plan and to increase direct core flexible and long term funding to women's rights organizations. Push back, we need to push back against this pushback and push feminist policy forward. I want to thank you with that. **Hana Jalloul Muro (Spain, S&D) @Chair: Thank you very much Mister Pedra. Someone asked for the floor, it's ESN Mister Bystron, please floor is yours for two minutes. Thank you.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Dear colleagues, Commissioner, I want to talk about the size of the MFF today, because the annual EU budget is roughly as large as the budget of the country currently holding the presidency, Denmark, which has 6 million people but Europeans have a billion people who demand much more. We've heard it. Prosperous regions, investment in infrastructure, security, climate action, media support for civil society and much more. But how? How to do all that, how to fund all this? If we shy away from discussing alternative resources, the Commissioner said it. We see memes comparing the US and China to the leaders of a new space age and the European Union dealing with the lids on the bottles. We heard that today. But dear citizen, this is about the amount of competences and precisely resources that our governments, national governments are granting to the European Union. And I see the MFF as a great opportunity to change it. We may not be able to change the treaties right now, but we certainly can shape the European Union with money, and Europeans are expecting nothing less from us. Thank you.”
  Size of EU budget
• “Okay, so I will start with the strong agenda. Thank you very much for your presentation. It was very, um, very comprehensive, very wide and also very timely because as you know, we are about to start the preparations of MFF, and I believe that particularly I and I hope that Nico as well will try to make sure that the MFF that we will be preparing will have these elements quite significantly implemented. And if we get all these things right, we could we could really have achievements in the areas. Of course, a lot has been made already. You were very good explaining how or where did we get so far and how can we get perhaps further, I especially appreciate and also renew, appreciates and welcomes the efforts that are made by the Commission and also Pyotr Serafim, who was also during his hearing. Also when we were meeting stressing the the element and we I think need to use this momentum Obviously the gender budget, the EU budget is quite an important tool to advance our political goal. But if we set it up in a way that it also advances our values, which gender equality is one of them, then it will be even stronger. And if we can get it across all the programmes, that's that's another step in order to equalise it. So I will have a couple of questions to probably each of you, because I was trying to follow what what you were saying. So for the DG budget, um, I have three kind of areas. One is regarding the timing, because obviously some of the programs that we already have or you are dealing with might have some concrete effects on equality only after several years. Right. So let's say support for education for more women in Stem on the labour market.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Xalima. Yes. Thank you. Chair. Uh, so, um, on behalf of Daniels, let me read his message. Um, he would like to begin by saying that he fully supports the draft opinion prepared by the chair. Uh, many of the priorities that are important for us and renew our already reflected in the text. And he wishes to emphasize a few of them. First, it is essential to recognize that poverty is a clear violation of human rights. Second, the anti-poverty strategy must be gender responsive. Third, we need to address the persistent gender pay gap. Fourth, we must acknowledge the direct link between women's poverty and child poverty. Fifth, we have to ensure high quality and affordable public services. Sixth. It is important to tackle the systemic undervaluation of work carried carried out predominantly by women. At the same time, he would like to stress several additional priorities that are very important for our group and for Danaeus himself. Poverty and gender based violence are deeply interconnected. Violence is both a cause and a consequence of women's poverty. That is why an effective anti-poverty strategy must also address gender based violence by ensuring integrated support services for victims, and by urging the remaining EU member States to ratify and fully implement the Istanbul Convention.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Fourth, respect for the rule of law and EU values. Because Erasmus+ is built on these values and the vast majority of projects do reflect them. But we also see growing attempts by actors who do not share these values to access EU funds. We need a common An approach, strong safeguards and effective tools to detect and prevent misuse. At the same time, if rule of law is in the member states, in the in a member state affect the implementation of the program. We must be ready to protect the final beneficiaries and participants. Young people should not pay the price. This is where smart conditionality approach becomes important, and we need to explore ways of ensuring that. In such cases, final beneficiaries and recipients can continue to benefit from the program. So colleagues, these are some of the key points I believe we need to address. I am, of course, ready to strengthen and develop them further through amendments, and I look forward to your contribution. Contributions. Erasmus Plus has already changed the lives of generations. It builds skills, it builds confidence, it builds Europe. And as we look ahead, let us remember what is at stake. Not just numbers, but actually opportunities, not just funding, but the future of a more united and resilient Europe. Let's work together and deliver it. I would like to, thanks to advisors, Shadows and Secretariat for very good cooperation so far.”
  EU Supervision of the Rule of Law
• “Thank you very much, chair. Dear colleagues, I'm pleased to present today, uh, the draft report to the report on European Defence Readiness 2030 Assessment of needs, to which I'm also, uh, shadow reporter in said. So we are trying to, uh, get this together. Uh, the context is a challenging one. Uh, the return of the war to the European soil and other major geopolitical shifts affecting the Union have all highlighted the urgent and persistent need for enhanced defence strategies within the EU. Let me start by saying that the proposal is a balanced one. It pushes for the path toward a genuine European Defence Union. It assesses the Union's defence needs and examines concrete actions to strengthen the EU's defence industry and to reinforce strategic autonomy. Obviously, the strategic shift taken by the union comes within the necessity of boosting defence spending. This is why my proposal for the budget brings a crucial point of view on how to secure sufficient resources, outlining the possible financing options and on how to make all these investments cost effective, ultimately optimising the value of public investment as well as incentivising private investments. Recent initiatives such as Re-arm and Save have not met our expectations in the European Parliament. We've heard about it a lot. We talked about it a lot, and I am also vocal about that in my proposal. This should prompt us to ensure that future opinions regarding the next MFF, own resources and the role of the EIB are truly capable of matching a matching identified needs. At the same time, it is imperative to safeguard Parliament's right of scrutiny and maintain democratic oversight and legitimacy over any new proposals. Hence, my draft report. Draft opinion covers a wide scope of current and future budgetary or financial mechanisms that can be used to foster a truly comprehensive security approach. I am looking forward to receiving your amendments. The deadline is Wednesday 15th October at 5 p.m. and to have fruitful exchanges with the Team of Shadows so that we can draw up a strong opinion on budgetary aspects in view of improving the EU's defence readiness. Thank you chair.”
  Defence spending
• “Commissioner. Next year, the budget will be €193 billion. The European Parliament did not give in and negotiated more than was proposed by member states and the commission, and we got more by 370 million. And this money will go to those areas which improve our lives of our citizens into research, energy, health, environment and defence. Our farmers will get more. Our students get more. So this is not a budget that will make savings to the detriment of our citizens. But now I call on the governments. Do not waste this opportunity. We have to use this money in a fair and just manner. And for those who need the most. And to my colleagues, look at what we can achieve, compromises and results. And I believe that with the same attitude will go into negotiations on the multiple financial framework.”
  Size of EU budget
• “When I became a new coordinator for the budget about a year ago, I knew one thing. That we do not have the climate for major treaty changes, right? But we certainly can shape Europe through the next MFF. We have this huge opportunity. However, today, seeing what's ahead of us, I fear that we lost that ambition. Ambition for the EU to be more than a mere conduit for national interests and for the contributions in Renew Europe. And you've heard it. We remain constructive, but honestly a bit concerned because regions remain sidelined even after the changes and too much power over common money is handed back to national governments. Because. Because Europe must live in every single corner around the continent. In the east of Slovakia, in the northwest of Bulgaria, in the south of Italy, and renew will make sure that we will keep this in our mind in the budget for stronger, fairer budget that serves people, that empowers regions and that delivers for Europe's future.”
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• “Police. Commissioner colleagues. The next multiannual Financial framework mustn't become only a excel sheet exercise. It has to be a strategic reaction to the challenges we're facing, including supporting the most vulnerable regions, including those bordering on the war in Ukraine. They are not a periphery. They are a strategic space in Europe because without a strong eastern Slovakia, there won't be a strong western France. And without a safe southern Italy, there is no prosperity in northern Germany. If we don't invest into a common security, for example, using the Eurobonds, Putin will have us for a dessert served to him by Trump. Our security has to be our priority. Let's not forget that the future and security of Europe is not only based on defence, but also on the ambitions and talents of young people. All that we invest into their education through the Erasmus programme will return to us only as an innovative, competitive and militarily strong EU. We can survive the pressure from growing China, chaos from the US and the aggression of Russia. Commissioner, our report isn't only about numbers, it's about the future of Europe. Please propose a stronger, larger and more pro-European budget in July. Thank you.”
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• “I just want to thank everybody. I think everybody's pretty much invested in it also emotionally. I'm very much looking forward again to work with the rapporteur for called Mr. Zdrojewski. He's been dealing with the project with Erasmus before, so he knows it very thoroughly. So it's really great experience also for me to learn from him. I personally have been through Erasmus Mobility's Youth Youth in Action. I did a lot of things, so I am one of those that actually, uh, through Erasmus+ were made to even sit here. So I'm going to fight for this project for more money for those, uh, that, that really need it. And I hope we will all support that.”
  EU volunteering programs