Nora JUNCO GARCÍA

Policy topics Nora JUNCO GARCÍA is active on

What Nora JUNCO GARCÍA has said (38)

• 2026-07-09 “Thank you. President. Commissioner. Last week, I had the chance to to board on a fishing boat in a small port on the Mediterranean. I spent the day with them. Saw the way they work, how they plan the day, how they deal with the catches, and how they comply with increasingly complex rules. It was a surprise for me. Fishermen don't think they're part of the solution. They get the impression they're constantly suspects. They spent years now dealing with these complex standards. Every year they're allowed to less fish on less and fewer days they have less certainty, less possibilities of feeding their families. These fishermen genuinely think that the European Union wants to kill the sector. While we're talking about sustainability, lots of fishing ports are closing down, vessels are being scrapped. Lots of jobs are disappearing. Above all, young people who want to continue their profession are becoming increasingly fewer and fewer and far between. Social, environmental and economic rules have to be more effective for them. We have to have more prospects for the CFP. We can't just talk about tonnages. We have to think about people, jobs, communities.”
  Environmental regulation of fisheries
• 2026-07-08 “(15:01:28 - 15:02:44): President, thank you. Commissioner, I don't want to talk about just how dangerous the mafia that are operating in the street are. We know that. We know that they are strong. We know they have funds, and they are getting ever more violent. But what I don't understand is why we keep talking about this as if this wasn't a bloody issue. The southern Spanish border, the civil guard are dying. They're losing their lives. They are exercising a dangerous profession, and we still really don't treat them as they deserve to be treated with the respect to the fact they are at war. They were going into situation of war. They need legal certainty. And we still have local authorities that are taking, and governments that are taking decisions we can't understand. We had an area that saw thousands of people just detained and, linked to drug trafficking. This is an issue that drugs traffickers are in control of. They are organized. They are powerful, and we fail to tackle them with effective tools. Interruption.”
  EU law enforcement cooperation in criminal matters
• 2025-03-13 “E-001084/2025 Answer given by Mr Dombrovskis on behalf of the European Commission The President of the Commission has made the reduction of red tape a priority for the new mandate of the Commission. The Commission started to act immediately and adopted the Competitiveness Compass 1 , one element of which is aiming at reducing administrative burdens. The Communication ‘A simpler and Faster Europe’ 2 sets out the tools and initiatives to radically lighten the administrative burden. The Commission’s 2025 work programme 3 contains 11 legislative measures (out of 18) which contribute to simplification, with the first Omnibus proposals 4 already adopted on 26 February 2025. The Commission is committed to ensuring that EU legislation supports technological development. In particular, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act fosters innovation by establishing a uniform framework to AI across the EU, thus providing much-needed legal certainty, reducing fragmentation and making it easier for AI system developers and businesses to innovate and scale. By limiting the vast majority of its obligations mainly to high-risk AI systems—where safety, health or fundamental rights are at stake — the AI Act encourages the development of trustworthy AI in a proportionate manner, helping to build public trust and drive adoption. At the same time, the AI Act includes concrete support measures for innovations in AI, such as regulatory sandboxes and real-world testing, creating a balanced framework that promotes both safety and technological progress in line with EU values. 1 https://commission.europa.eu/topics/eucompetitiveness_en#:~:text=In%20January%202025%2C%20the%20Commission%20presented%20the%20Co mpetitiveness,restore%20Europe%E2%80%99s%20dynamism%20and%20boost%20our%20economic%20grow th. 2 https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/8556fc33-48a3-4a96-94e88ecacef1ea18_en?filename=250201_Simplification_Communication_en.pdf. 3 https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/strategy-documents/commission-work-programme_en. 4 https://commission.europa.eu/publications/omnibus-i_en; https://commission.europa.eu/publications/omnibusii_en.”
  Artificial Intelligence · Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• 2025-03-12 “E-001072/2025 Answer given by Mr Jørgensen on behalf of the European Commission The Commission is carrying out a consultation during 2025 on the issues related to affordable housing raised by the Honourable Member, and following that, will put forward a European Affordable Housing Plan (EAHP). This Plan will assess the specificities of the rental market, too. The Commission will also analyse and – if necessary – make further proposals related to short-term accommodation rentals and/or make proposals to address the use of the current housing stock. In addition, the Commission will conduct an analysis of the impact of housing speculation and its economic consequences, as well as propose follow-up actions where needed. At the same time, the Commission notes that housing – in line with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality – is mainly a responsibility of Member States, regions and local authorities and in developing the EAHP, the Commission will respect these principles. While the Commission does not at this stage plan to produce a report on the impact of national regulations on housing availability in the Member States, the Commission seeks solutions where value can be added at EU level and aims at facilitating the sharing of best practices among stakeholders. The Commission notes that it is important to attract private investments to housing. The Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) group have recently laid the foundations for a new pan-European investment platform for affordable and sustainable housing 1 . The Commission will continue to work with EIB, national promotional banks, international financial institutions and other stakeholders to support local and national efforts. 1 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_671.”
  EU housing policy · EU regulation of short-term rentals
• 2025-02-26 “E-000867/2025 Reply The EU has listed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and persons and entities belonging to the IRGC under several EU restrictive measures regimes 1 . The Council regularly reviews these restrictive measures in light of developments in Iran. The listing of a person, group or entity under Common Position 2001/931/CFSP (CP 931) 2 must satisfy the conditions set out in Article 1(2) to 1(4) of that Common Position, which provides a definition of persons, groups and entities ‘involved in terrorist acts’ as well as a definition of ‘terrorist acts’ for this purpose, and specifies the requirements related to the adoption of a decision by a national competent authority in respect of the persons, groups and entities concerned. The addition of any new organisations to the list of persons, groups and entities covered by the measures in Articles 2 and 3 of CP 931 is subject to the adoption of a Council decision by unanimity. 1 Iran human rights sanctions regime, Iran weapons of mass destruction sanctions regime, Iran’s military support to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and to armed groups and entities in the Middle East and the Red Sea region regime, the territorial integrity of Ukraine sanctions regime, the regime in view of Russia's actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine and the Syria sanctions regime. 2 Council Common Position of 27 December 2001 on the application of specific measures to combat terrorism 2001/931/CFSP (OJ L 344 28.12.2001, p.93).”
  EU-Iran relations
• 2025-02-03 “E-000473/2025 Answer given by Mr Dombrovskis on behalf of the European Commission The Commission is aware of the estimates published by the European Central Bank (ECB) 1 . according to which the potential output gains from NextGenerationEU could amount to 1.2% by 2031 2 . To address administrative capacity, the Commission updated its Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) guidance in July 2024 3 , with several simplifications to Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) implementation. The RRF Regulation foresees a control system to prevent fraud, corruption and conflict of interest. While Member states have the primary responsibility to ensure law compliance , the Commission assessed all national control systems and continually carries out audits. As mentioned in discussions in the Budgetary Control Committee (CONT), the European Court of Auditors also found a lower error rate for the RRF than for other EU funds 4 . RRPs balance reforms and investments and address challenges identified in country-specific recommendations (CSRs). Last year’s mid-term evaluation of the RRF 5 showed Member States’ significant CSR progress. To enable European companies to grow and compete globally, the EU must further integrate and deepen its capital markets. The European Savings and Investment Union (SIU) brings together Capital Markets Union and Banking Union in a holistic and coordinated way and aims to encourage retail participation in capital markets, mobilise institutional investors and incentivise productive investments. On 19 March 2025, the Commission put forward a strategy on how the EU can advance on the Savings and Investments Union. 1 Bańkowski, K. et al. (2024), ‘Four Years into the Next Generation EU: What Impact on the Euro Area Economy’, ECB Occasional Paper 362. 2 Bańkowski, K. et al. (2022), ‘The economic impact of Next Generation EU: a euro area perspective’, ECB Occasional Paper 291. The paper estimates the potential output gains of the structural reforms in the RRPs to be between 1.0% and 1.4%. 3 Commission Notice – Guidance on recovery and resilience plans, OJ C C/2024/4618, 22.7.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/4618/oj 4 See for example: 2022 Annual Reports on the implementation of the EU budget for the 2022 financial year and on the activities funded by the 9th, 10th and 11th European Development Funds (EDFs) for the 2022 financial year. 5 ‘Mid-term evaluation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF)’, European Economy Institutional Papers, 269.”
  EU industrial funding · Conditions to access EU budget
• 2025-01-21 “E-000245/2025 Answer given by Ms Šuica on behalf of the European Commission EU development cooperation with non-EU countries is a parallel competence of the EU and the Member States. The Commission ensures that cooperation with non-EU countries aligns with EU interests and does not harm Member States by enforcing strict eligibility criteria, transparency standards and robust monitoring systems. Concerning the logistical corridors in southern Europe, the Algeciras – Bobadilla railway forms an integral part of the Mediterranean and Atlantic European Transport Corridors. The designated coordinators of both corridors are committed to ensuring that this line is developed and upgraded within the given deadlines and complies with the defined infrastructure standards of the new trans-European transport network (TEN-T) Regulation (EU) 1679/2024 1 , which was adopted in June 2024. In the TEN-T Regulation, the Algeciras – Bobadilla railway line is designated as a core network line for both freight and passenger services. The Commission closely analyses and monitors EU country partners’ policies that may affect the European economy. For instance, as regards tax good governance standards that were developed based on the Commission’s 2016 External Strategy for Effective Taxation 2 , Morocco currently complies with all the criteria of the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes, after amending the preferential tax regime (Casablanca Finance City) in 2020, thus addressing potential threats to Member States’ tax base. The Code of Conduct Group for business taxation, with technical assistance of the Commission, will monitor that Morocco continues to comply with the EU listing criteria. Understanding the impact that Morocco’s policies could have is vital for crafting appropriate strategies to support EU industries’ growth and competitiveness and safeguard the EU common market. 1 http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1679/oj 2 COM(2016) 24 final.”
  Trade relations with Morocco · EU policy on screening foreign investment in strategic sectors and critical infrastructure
• 2025-01-21 “E-000244/2025 Answer given by Mr McGrath on behalf of the European Commission Through its annual Rule of Law Report, the Commission monitors developments in all Member States, related to the anti-corruption framework. The Commission is engaging with all Member States, including Spain, on the follow up given to the 2024 Report’s recommendations and will report on developments in its next Rule of Law Report. Upholding the rule of law across the EU is a priority for the Commission, as reflected by the President’s Political Guidelines. The Commission envisages further measures to ensure that the future long-term budget has strong anti-corruption safeguards applying to all funds, and that European funding is dedicated to supporting national measures on fighting corruption and protecting the financial interests of both the EU and its Member States. Furthermore, legislative negotiations are ongoing on a Commission proposal for a directive on combating corruption 1 , which aims to strengthen the fight against and prevention of corruption in the EU. 1 COM (2023) 234, final.”
  Rule of law in Spain · EU Supervision of the Rule of Law
• 2025-01-21 “E-000246/2025 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Séjourné on behalf of the European Commission 1. The Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) 1 is a Commission initiative to boost investment in manufacturing of critical technologies, digital and deep-tech innovation, clean and resource-efficient technologies, and biotechnologies. Spain can amend its Cohesion Policy funding towards these priorities under the STEP Regulation. Furthermore, Spain is currently setting up a Member State compartment under InvestEU 2 using their Recovery and Resilience Facility 3 funds and the national budget to mobilise additional private and public investments in Spain under the sustainable infrastructure, research, innovation and digitisation and the small and medium-sized enterprises policy windows. 2. The Net-Zero Industry Act 4 and the Critical Raw Materials Act 5 strengthen the EU's manufacturing capacity for net-zero technologies while ensuring access to critical raw materials. The Commission has engaged with Spain to ensure their early implementation. The new Competitiveness Compass 6 places competitiveness as a core principle for EU action. The Commission’s Clean Industrial Deal is a key deliverable in this regard 7 . The Commission counts on Spain to contribute to the simplification effort. The Commission will also present a Quality Jobs Roadmap to improve working conditions and labour market participation. 3. The Commission considers it important for Spain to design and implement a national exploration programme 8 to improve critical raw material potential. The Commission has published the first list of strategic projects on 25 March 2025 9 . Five of them are located in Spain and one concerns lithium. To support these projects, including early-stage exploration, Spain could develop financing instruments such as a national critical raw materials fund. 1 Regulation (EU) 2024/795 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 February 2024 establishing the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/795/oj/eng 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=LEGISSUM:4516649 3 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02021R0241-20240301 4 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=OJ:L_202401735 5 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02024R1252-20240503 6 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52025DC0030 7 COM(2025) 85 final. 8 Art. 19 2024/1252 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1252/oj/eng 9 Strategic projects under the Critical Raw Materials Act https://single-marketeconomy.ec.europa.eu/sectors/raw-materials/areas-specific-interest/critical-raw-materials/strategic-projectsunder-crma_en”
  Cohesion and rural funding
• 2025-01-21 “E-000251/2025 Answer given by Mr Hoekstra on behalf of the European Commission In the framework of the European Semester, the Commission monitors the performance of the Member States’ tax systems, including Spain. In 2024, the Council issued its recommendation on the economic, social, employment, structural and budgetary policies of Spain 1 . The view of the Council (recital 20), based on the Commission’s recommendation, is that tax reforms should be a central part of Spain’s fiscal consolidation strategy. Thus, it was recommended to Spain to ensure fiscal sustainability including by: reviewing and simplifying the tax system in order to support economic growth and employment, cohesion and the green transition; and improving the quality, efficiency and equity of public spending. According to the Council Implementing Decision approving the assessment of the recovery and resilience plan for Spain 2 , the objectives pursued by the reform of the Spanish tax system that was included as a measure in that plan (Component 28) are to make it more equitable, progressive, sustainable and fair, while deepening the design of green taxation, incorporating a gender perspective and enhancing public policies of general interest, such as health protection. Other objectives include to increase tax compliance and collect more tax revenue (Component 27). In this context, Spain has adopted a number of measures to increase the efficiency of the structure of the tax system by: implementing the ‘polluter pays’ principle; improving income redistribution; addressing tax evasion; internalizing social costs; and modernizing the tax system. These measures have been positively assessed by the Commission in past payment requests, while other tax measures are being assessed now or will be in the future 3 . Efforts made by Member states to ensure fiscal stability are welcome and encouraged by the Commission. 1 https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-11701-2024-INIT/en/pdf 2 https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/ed27b95c-50d1-4db2-907a619ec619d635_en?filename=COM_2024_592_1_EN_annexe_proposition_cp_part1_v4.pdf 3 See for further reference: Commission’s preliminary assessment of the first payment request of Spain: https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/183d154f-dd37-4220-b542-3ad88cfd2052_en?filename=rrfpreliminary-assessment-1st-payment-request-spain.pdf Commission’s preliminary assessment of the 2 nd payment request of Spain: https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/df0421da-e704-44e9-8b1e9e3a9bce45d7_en?filename=c_2022_4574_1_annexe_en.pdf Commission’s preliminary assessment of the 3 rd payment request of Spain: https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/31ffd973-ed88-4055-91aba6663b65d08f_en?filename=C_2023_1280_1_annexe_en.pdf Commission’s preliminary assessment of the 4 th payment request of Spain: https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/e8b93743-5a80-4c10-9caa4dabedc95728_en?filename=C_2024_4171_1_EN_annexe_acte_autonome_nlw_part1_v2_1.pdf”
  EU competences on taxation · EU fiscal rules and oversight of national budgets
• 2025-01-21 “E-000252/2025 Answer given by Mr Dombrovskis on behalf of the European Commission The Commission assesses fiscal sustainability in a comprehensive way, considering a country’s overall public finances at different time horizons. For this, the Commission accounts for the expected change in age-related spending, including for pension and health care systems. Long-term projections are prepared and discussed with all Member States within the Ageing Working Group and published in a triennial ‘Ageing Report’. If pensions contribute to an identified sustainability risk, the Commission will signal this through several channels, including through the European Semester of economic and fiscal policy coordination. With the introduction of the Recovery and Resilience Facility an extra incentive was provided for Member States to implement reforms. Spain committed to a pension reform in its recovery plan. The Commission preliminary assessment of the fourth payment request 1 considered the fiscal sustainability requirements of the pension reform as satisfactorily fulfilled 2 , noting that ‘the closure clause legislated as part of Milestone 409 ensures that corrective measures enter into force as soon as necessary so that the long-term fiscal sustainability of the pension reforms […] is preserved even under less favourable developments than assumed’. Since 2024, under the revamped fiscal rules, Member States commit to a 4-year plan during which public finances are put on a sustainable footing. This adjustment period can be extended from four to seven years – as is the case for Spain – if Member States commit to set of reforms and investments, notably to improve the long-term budgetary and economic outlook. 1 https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/e8b93743-5a80-4c10-9caa4dabedc95728_en?filename=C_2024_4171_1_EN_annexe_acte_autonome_nlw_part1_v2_1.pdf. 2 These requirements are set out in the Council Implementing Decision: https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-10150-2021-ADD-1-REV-2/en/pdf.”
  EU policy on aging workforce and pensions · EU competences on social policies
• 2024-12-02 “E-002724/2024 Answer given by Ms Roswall on behalf of the European Commission Article 14 of the Waste Framework Directive 1 establishes that the costs of waste management must be borne by the original waste producer or by the waste holders. The Directive also indicates that Member States have the possibility of using economic instruments that cover the actual costs of waste management. It is good practice to link these economic instruments to the actual amount of waste generated, as indicated in Annex IV to the Directive. However, the Commission has no direct control on how the collected fees and funds in the field of waste management are spent. The costs of waste management for the citizens can be reduced by reducing waste volumes and replacing single use items with reusables. Along this line, the impact assessment for the recently adopted new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation 2 , which contains concrete measures for waste reduction and more sustainable packaging waste management, quantified savings of EUR 100 per citizen and year. 1 Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain Directives, OJ L 312, 22.11.2008, p. 3–30, as amended by Directive (EU) 2018/851 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May, OJ L 150, 14.6.2018, p. 109–140. 2 Regulation (EU) 2025/40 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2024 on packaging and packaging waste, amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 and Directive (EU) 2019/904, and repealing Directive 94/62/EC, OJ L, 2025/40, 22.1.2025.”
  Energy (green transition)
• 2024-12-02 “E-002723/2024 Answer given by Mr Kadis on behalf of the European Commission Since 2015 the EU and China cooperate in fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing through a working group under the bilateral Ocean Partnership 1 . It facilitates exchanges on the respective anti-IUU policies, the implementation of the EU catch certification scheme and on Chinese investigations and actions regarding alleged and confirmed IUU fishing activities of their distant waters fleet. The group meets at least once a year but intersessional exchanges are continuous regarding new cases of traceability or law enforcement. The IUU working group has been successful in increasing transparency and encouraging China to go into concrete results in fighting IUU fishing. One of the deliverables has been to trigger investigations and sanctions by Chinese authorities on national vessels that had perpetrated IUU fishing. Another important deliverable of the IUU working group is the adoption by China in 2023 of a dedicated legal basis for sanctioning non-compliance with the EU catch certification scheme. Since then, seven Chinese companies had their export permits revoked thanks to joint investigations by the Commission, Member States and other market states. Controls by Member States at EU borders are crucial to enhance traceability in the seafood supply chain. The digitalisation of the EU catch certification scheme, which was agreed by co-legislators in the revised Fisheries Control Regulation, will become effective in January 2026 and will further strengthen traceability and help safeguard European fishers. 1 https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/mare/document.cfm?doc_id=53843”
  Import of agri-food products in the EU · Environmental regulation of fisheries
• 2024-11-21 “E-002622/2024 Answer given by Ms Šuica on behalf of the European Commission EU funding is subject to specific rules and regulations, in respect of sound financial management, which ensure oversight and accountability. Particular attention is given to the respect of fundamental values, human rights, democracy and rule of law. Assistance can be suspended in the event of the degradation of fundamental values. The Commission conducts regular monitoring and evaluation of funded programs to assess their impact, effectiveness and compliance with EU values and principles. The Commission involves civil society organisations (CSOs) in the design, implementation and monitoring of EU-funded programmes and projects since CSOs play a crucial role in promoting democratic values and transparency. The EU has also established solid mechanisms, such as continuous follow-ups, audits and verifications, to ensure transparency and accountability in the use of EU funds. As a key multilateral actor, the EU is committed to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 1 , which include reducing poverty and inequality worldwide, including in non-EU regions. Furthermore, the EU has established partnerships with countries in its Southern Neighbourhood to advance joint priorities, such as peace, stability, economic prosperity, upholding democratic values and human rights, notably working together with Member States through the Team Europe initiative and with special focus on gender issues (Gender Action Plan III 2 ). By acting together, recognising the growing interdependence, the EU also aims at turning common challenges into opportunities. By investing in these regions, the EU promotes its own economic interests for instance by increasing trade and creating opportunities for European businesses, while ensuring mutual benefits for partner countries. 1 https://sdgs.un.org/goals 2 https://international-partnerships.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2021-01/join-2020-17-final_en.pdf”
  Trade relations with Morocco · EU relations with the Southern Neighbourhood
• 2024-11-06 “P-002439/2024 Answer given by Ms Roswall on behalf of the European Commission Progress in flood risk management has been enhanced due to the Floods Directive 1 . The Spanish second Flood Risk Management Plans (FRMPs) include several preparedness measures identified as critical or of very high priority. The Commission will soon publish the assessment of Member States second FRMPs developed under the Floods Directive 2 . The Commission is working with all Member States on a European Water Resilience Strategy to increase resilience to flooding and a European Climate Adaptation Action Plan 3 to enhance Member States ‘preparedness. In addition, the EU manages the Copernicus Emergency Management Service 4 and the EU Civil Protection Mechanism 5 . Under the Recovery and Resilience Facility 6 (RRF), Member States committed to finance measures related to disaster preparedness, including reforms and investments in infrastructures addressing climate change impacts. The Spanish RRF Plan can improve access to finance by Spanish Autonomous Communities in priority areas and support efforts for urban regeneration, including social and affordable housing. The recent legislative amendments on Regional Emergency Support for Reconstruction allow to flexibly mobilise cohesion policy funding 7 for reconstruction and damage repair, next to other planned measures for socio-economic development. The Spanish authorities may also grant State aid to compensate the damage provoked by this natural disaster 8 . Such aid can 9 be exempted of prior notification to the Commission 10 . Under the Common Agricultural Policy 11 , 12 Member States may programme preventive 1 Directive 2007/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on the assessment and management of flood, OJ L 288, 6.11.2007, p. 27–34. 2 Including country-specific recommendations to improve implementation in Member States. 3 https://commission.europa.eu/document/e6cd4328-673c-4e7a-8683-f63ffb2cf648_en 4 https://emergency.copernicus.eu/mapping/#zoom=2&lat=13.56036&lon=33.82273&layers=0BT00 5 https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/what/civil-protection/eu-civil-protection-mechanism_en 6 https://commission.europa.eu/business-economy-euro/economic-recovery/recovery-and-resilience-facility_en 7 Regulation (EU) 2024/3236 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2024 amending Regulations (EU) 2021/1057 and (EU) 2021/1058 as regards Regional Emergency Support to Reconstruction (RESTORE), OJ L, 2024/3236, 23.12.2024. 8 On the basis of Article 107(2)(b) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. 9 Under certain conditions. 10 Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 of 17 June 2014 declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty, OJ L 187, 26.6.2014, p. 1, and Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/2472 of 14 December 2022 declaring certain categories of aid in the agricultural and forestry sectors and in rural areas compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, OJ L 327, 21.12.2022, p. 1. 11 Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2 December 2021 establishing rules on support for strategic plans to be drawn up by Member States under the common agricultural policy (CAP Strategic Plans) and financed by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and repealing Regulations (EU) No 1305/2013 and (EU) No 1307/2013, OJ L 435/1, 6.12.2021. 12 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2024%3A495%3AFIN”
  Cohesion and rural funding · Climate efforts
• “Thank you, Madam President. Commissioner. Selling us this new plan as being the road to simplification. But it's more of the same empty rhetoric, insufficient measures coming in late and not good enough. We're being told it's cutting red tape and it will make us more competitiveness. But it's just a sticking plaster that keeps the regulatory apparatus in place, which is asphyxiating our businesses. We're caught up in our own web of standards. While China is taking huge strides forward in a practical spirit, we're not creating a flexible framework for innovation. Rather, more rules, more conditions, more obstacles. And in the meantime, our businesses are paying the price for that in loss of competitiveness and loss of jobs. If you look at the withdrawal of the internal combustion engine by 2035, that elimination is putting companies out of business. We need to stop punishing people for progress with bureaucracy.”
  Powertrain choice: EV-only pathway vs. equal support for hybrids, e-fuels, H2 · Overall simplification of regulation in the EU · 2035 ICE phase-out: strict zero-emission target vs. flexibility for carmakers
• “Thank you. President. Commissioner. Today, I'm referring to you with a resolution that we should not be accepting produce that is not in line with European produce for European farmers. This Mercosur agreement drives unfair competition. Look at the at the price we're going to pay by eating food full of pesticides and no guarantees. We are jeopardizing our health. What hypocrisy. Ladies and gentlemen, we are smothering our farmers with a regulation. And then we have trade agreements which favor other countries with different standards. Who's going to benefit from this? It's time to change this situation and draw up agreements which are beneficial for everyone. We also need to defend the health and well-being of our citizens. Uh, our, uh, rural areas don't want to live on handouts.”
  Trade relations with Mercosur
• “Thank you. Chairman. Well, we all agree that we need to protect our seas and preserve biodiversity. But the European Union cannot put the food security of millions of Europeans at risk just for this 2030 agenda, which is completely unrealistic. And that's in recital seven of this directive. Now I want to highlight an important point. The Bbnj agreement is something that Member States need to respect at all times, and they also need to respect everything established by UN organisations. Now, you can't have the Bbnj coming into conflict with other agreements. A further disadvantage is the socio economic compensation mechanisms, which are unclear because it's also unclear what kinds of real local and regional impacts there'll be. These need to be discussed in the Fisheries Committee. We need to provide minimal guarantees, at least to communities that depend on the sea. And thirdly, we've got two other issues that are perhaps quite surprising. Firstly, continuing with short deadlines when we haven't even reached the 60 necessary instruments of ratification, and many member states haven't even signed or ratified. And then secondly, looking at how many fishing powers haven't signed this agreement China, Japan, Turkey. And nevertheless, countries like Monaco or Jordan have signed, but they're not so much fishing countries. So we're limiting our fleets to. And by doing that, we're giving the green light to other fisheries powers that aren't as respectful of the environment. That will have undesirable consequences, I think.”
  Environmental regulation of fisheries
• “Thank you. Madam president, ladies and gentlemen. What's the point of having the most ambitious cohesion policy in the world if governments don't execute this? Look at Spain. Of the more than 2636 billion we've benefited from in this period, the government has only spent or has only requested a 2.7% and has spent nothing. These are figures from the Bank of Spain. So our regions are losing services. Our provinces are hemorrhaging population while the money is just sleeping in some coffer somewhere. This is an insult to citizens and to the principles of the Union. The problem is not that we don't have money, but we don't have a good government. We have incompetence and a neglect of the regions. Commissioner. I call on you to put pressure on the Spanish government to activate the implementation mechanisms immediately. For the cohesion policy. The cohesion policy only makes sense if it ends up with the citizenry. So it's up to governments to get to work to make sure that this comes to pass.”
  EU cohesion/structural-fund architecture: consolidation vs ring-fenced separate funds
• “Thank you. Chair. I don't deny that climate is changing, but nor do I share the simplistic idea. That's all due to human action. The left is radicalising this debate and simplifying the climate debate in the name of the fight against disinformation. It's clear that there's misinformation about climate change, but the real danger is mixing up legitimate criticism with disinformation. The recent floods in Valencia is a recurring event. It's not something unusual in our climatology. What we're concerned about is the poor management of the ministry of Theresa Ribeiro that wasn't able to prevent the effect. We can't allow is that under the pretext of combating disinformation? We silence anyone who criticizes the climate agenda that is dominant. Point we. If you point out errors or imbalances or talk about predictive systems, that's not a misinformation. That's democracy. You're proposing a groupthink where anyone who questions the ideology, this Left-Wing ideology is dismissed as reactionary, and we need a balanced economic climate transition without a dogma that protects our productive sectors. This is a question of common sense. Thank you.”
  Climate efforts
• “You have the floor for one minute. One minute. So please do stay within the time. Uh thank you, chair. And thank you, Commissioner, for your presence here. I'd also like to thank you for this European effort to strengthen our preparation for our preparedness for emergencies. But we don't need protocols or speeches on global threats. In, uh, Spain. We have, uh, also had a devastating crisis. And it was not a surprise due to climate change, but the result of years of inaction, projects that were never brought to term and, uh, unrealistic policies. Forest fires are the same. They're not because of climate change. They're because forests have been abandoned, because they're not being maintained or managed adequately. Public health is the same when water is polluted. There's an immediate health risk. So I would like you to strengthen coordination with national directorates so that the European response is not ideological, but preventative and effective because not all extreme, extreme emergencies are due to climate issues. How can you distinguish between poor management and climate issues? We need to have technical responses and not ideological campaigns. Thank you, Mr. Beginning.”
  EU climate adaptation and disaster preparedness · Climate efforts
• “Thank you. Chair, Colleagues, we agree that we need to conserve our oceans. But the bbnj, as it is set out, is actually not great for European fisheries, especially for food safety, because closing off large areas of the high seas, without assessing the actual environmental impact, could affect the supply chains and make products more expensive for our families. Now, when it comes to the Rfmos, there are already regional organisations that manage populations. The Bbnj says that we should not undermine those frameworks, but the border of competences is quite unclear. Yes, we need to ensure that we cooperate with Rfmos and ensure everybody's on the same page. Now we are mixing in climate ideas, which is beyond the remit of this report, and it also adds red tape. Now funds have also created for genetic resource management, but they're not clear funds to compensate crews and ports if their work is restricted. And what is even more grave? We are debating a report that has not been ratified by the required number of parties. We need to have strict coordination with Rfmos and a compensation scheme that is clear for our sector. Thank you.”
  Environmental regulation of fisheries
• “Thank you. President. Commissioner. Today we're talking about cutting red tape to improve competitiveness in Europe. But let's be clear. In Spain and in Europe, we need to see more competitiveness. But. What we see throughout is that supply is not ensured where necessary. In Spain, um, 50% of uh demands were rejected, um, last year. And this is lost private investment. And if we look at the energy transition, the reality is that we don't have sufficient infrastructure or the political will to improve it. Without energy that is reliable and affordable, then we won't have any kind of industry. In Spain, when it comes to electrification, we're stuck between, um, Political interests. If we want to have a competitive future industrial policy, then we need to see more infrastructure and fewer, um, bureaucratic impediments. Thank you.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “Thank you very much. President. Commissioner. When we talk about the consumer agenda 2030, I think it's worth asking ourselves honestly, what are we doing with European citizens? We live in a in a European Union where decisions can be taken from one day to the next, where livestock producers, producers can be sacrificed. And then we are surprised when the prices go up and we don't have enough basic products, so we have to buy from outside. What we actually used to produce before. Is, is this ideology replacing common sense? Ladies and gentlemen, there's no consumer protection without food security. If we destroy European production and there's no sustainable growth, families won't be able to buy products. So we want fewer agendas, more simplification and more reality. Thank you.”
  Agriculture (green)
• “Gracias. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I agree with what had just been said by Mariano Fernandez. We need to look at what's going on at a regional level and be in touch with reality. Cop 30 left something very clear, and that is that reality has not been something we paid attention to in our group. For years. We have said that we can't have an energy transition by destroying our productive fabric. And what we've seen now is that even large economies, including those with whom we don't share a political model or strategic interests, they're not accepting, having a phase out deadline for oil and gas. The point is not that we agree with them, but the economic reality is the same for all of us. Without energetic sovereignty, there is no development and competitiveness. So shared ambitions between Latin America and the EU does not mean that we always share ideologies, or that we have unrealistic declarations without real effects. We need to work together on a practical agenda. Gas as a transition. Energy, nuclear technology, private innovation to create jobs. These are the tools that we have in order to reduce emissions without holding back development in our continents. We have heard about the importance of financing for adaptation. Europe has always been committed as a partner and will continue to be so. But true solidarity does not just mean transferring funds, it also means building alliances, which will generate value in both senses. We want win win relationships through investment, developing joint business projects and value chains. It will make both continents equally more stronger. And if we want results, then we need clarity and co-responsibility.”
  Energy (green transition)
• “President. Commissioner. Colleagues. Unfortunately, in Europe, we are forgetting who feeds us. We have all these rules, but the fields are empty. Farmers don't need more rules. They don't need more lies. They need to be able to produce in freedom. They need support. The report there that we're discussing today, and I'd like to congratulate the rapporteurs who are going in the right direction. It should be used for this to provide simplification for people who are. Want to be competitive and who want to feel proud of the work that they do in the fields. We have to fight to ensure that our rural areas aren't depopulated, that rural families can continue to live, that they don't abandon that area. We're losing part of our sovereignty, and doing this means that Europe will not be as independent compared with the outside world. It's not just a rural issue, but it's also a strategic issue. Without farming, we won't have food security or territorial independence. We want to have policies with roots. We want to defend those who are farming in Europe before Europe forgets who actually feeds it.”
  Agriculture (green)
• “Thank you president. Thank you Commissioner. This own initiative report, while it's not binding, focuses on the essential. It calls on us to adopt national housing strategies to simplify the rules, to make good use of European funds and to protect private property and the right to live in a community. But in Spain, Sanchez government is still turning these priorities into slogans. Real implementation is lacking. European funds are being misused or being spent with no justification, which has made Spain one of the one of the world's least effective countries when it comes to absorbing funds. Instead, what we're seeing is that we're not getting anywhere with housing. The socialist government in Spain must prove with facts that it's capable. Capable of transforming cohesion funds into solutions.”
  EU cohesion/structural-fund architecture: consolidation vs ring-fenced separate funds
• “Thank you. President. Thank you to the Commissioner. Colleagues, we are celebrating the step of the signing of the European Ocean Pact as an outcome of the niece UN Oceans Conference. That's a huge political step, a declaration of intent which recognizes the urgency of acting for the health of our seas. But we can't talk about sustainability when we're imposing restrictions without scientific evidence, and we are ignoring the voice of people who for generations have been taking care of the seas. We can't allow further sacrifices of our fishermen when illegal non-European fleets are fishing with impunity around our coasts. So we need to support the economic sustainability of our coastal communities and give them with real instruments for financing and protection. The EU economy will only be sustainable if it's fair, transparent and respectful of our traditions. In the meantime, the fleets from third countries are still out of control within margin of the pact. If the pact. If we want it to have a real effect, then they have to be to face the same requirements as our own fishers. And yes, we want to protect the marine environment. But first and foremost are fisher folk because they are the genuine guardians of our seas. Thank you.”
  Environmental regulation of fisheries
• “Thank you very much, chair. And I should also like to thank the speakers here. What we are talking about is the shortage of workers in the construction sector. And we are really analysing this wrongly in Spain. Are you saying that there aren't enough people to work? But I do think that really what's lacking is incentives to join this sector, particularly economic sectors. For years, the construction industry was considered a low level industry, and people would go into it and things would change every six months. So what we need is to create stability here. It's important that a vocational training is given priority here. It's good to have a good carpenter, a good site manager, a good engineer. And what we have to do is to ensure that we create modern and ecological training courses. We also need to ensure that we have proper labour mobility throughout the EU. Incorporate also people instead of incorporating people from third countries. What we are trying to do sometimes is to renovate an impossible number of buildings, and we really don't have the funds for it. We have to really look at this in reality, or housing is going to become a luxury for the few in the Murcia region. What we are seeing is the possibility of making it easier to issue licences. But quite honestly, as far as I know, there's been a blockage here that's been held up. What's happening? How is it when you come to try and employ a labourers or a labour force, what do you have available there? And is the energy efficiency element Important here. Do you need a more European funds or what? Could you answer that for me, please?”
  Funding for vocational training
• “Thank you. Thank you very much, Commissioner, because this is a good beginning. This is a good beginning, this particular plan. But the problem that we have is very clear. We lack homes for European citizens. Uh, an example of a situation which involves, uh, supply and demand. Uh, so we've thrown the blame on, uh, different institutions that are out there, short term rents and so forth. But, uh, it's not that we would be able to solve the housing problem with getting rid of those particular problems. I think we've simplified the issue. We need solutions which are concrete, which are tangible, tangible. We have to get rid of speculation on the part of local authorities, and we have to simplify the issuing of approvals and licences. Private, public, public, private. And we need, of course, legal security as well. It's not an ideological debate. It's a debate concerning reality. We have a systematic problem. What we're doing is propaganda. If we don't provide systematic solutions. Actually, without investments, there will not be affordable housing, neither in Spain nor elsewhere in Europe.”
  EU housing policy
• “Thank you. President. No, it is continuing. Espanol. Thank you very much for all the contributions. That was really interesting. And thank you very much, Madam Ryan, because your analysis shows that institutional investors have an influence on prices, but also that they are not the only cause of tension around housing because without the offer or supply, the market becomes more. Fragile without enough supply any. Well, it ends up having a negative impact on prices. We have to make sure that we don't just use companies as scapegoats. It's counter productive. It amounts to attacking, Creating housing, there will be less supply and less construction. We need a framework to promote investment for construction. My question is following. Your study shows that institutional investors can have an impact on the market, but also that the true root of the problem is insufficient supply and very rigid markets. Does the ECB consider that scapegoating companies can distract member states from the structural reforms that actually work, such as making licences easier to obtain, free up land and make housing affordable? Thank you very much.”
  EU housing policy
• “(11:53:02 – 11:54:03): you. I'm going to be quite concise. When it comes to building homes, it's not so much about building homes. We've seen that in Spain last 14 years. There's been a 663% increase in houses. But people can afford houses. That means that other people are accumulating houses. So it's not an issue of building houses. It's about accumulating ownership. A small number of people owning houses, so we need regulation for that. So just another quick point. I just want to illustrate how frustrating it is we've seen through this panel that we've talked about fine funding, financing, architecture, etcetera. But when it comes to talking about young people and initiatives, we don't have that much time. So I think that's something that gives us food for thought because young people, don't always participate in these decision making spaces.”
  EU housing policy
• “Thank you. President. The south of Europe has about 10,000 hectares have been burnt and families have been evacuated. And, um, the left is saying this is climate change as usual. It's been the wettest spring in years in Spain. It's not climate, it's politics with available European funds for prevention. We have a forest without which are cleaned without firebreaks. Administration's talking about agenda 2030 and climate change. Rather than shouldering their responsibilities. Just one piece of data, 48% less is being spent on prevention in Spain than seven years ago. This clearly highlights a lack of strategic vision and inefficient management by the central government and the regional governments in terms of forests. Are we talking about climate change or are we talking about propaganda change? We need to in the prevention, which means less surface, less extinction and less tragedies above all. Fires are not fought with ideology. They are fought with management, with prevention. We need more management and less propaganda. Thank you.”
  Management of EU forests
• “No, no. In Barcelona it is regulated. In other words, as a whole cities of licenses. There are 30,000 in Barcelona in order to regulate the market for tourism, housing or in other words, short term rentals. In other words, these are specific cases in specific cities. The same in cities like Madrid as well. So I don't think that the problem comes to getting rid of these 30,000, um, approved licenses for short term housing. Uh, we're speaking about, uh, hundreds of thousands of families that need proper housing. It's, um, it's something which is a problem in the centers of cities, historical centers and elsewhere as well. They need, of course, all of those facilities that a city provides for. Thank you.”
  EU regulation of short-term rentals
• “Thank you very much. President. The European Commission has been promising growth, but all they're leading to is regulation expenditure and more taxes. Until when will the European Commission and Brussels continue ignoring the reality? Mr. Draghi talked about this. Europe is becoming poorer, poorer than the US because we don't have a dynamic capital markets Union companies that want to compete are burdened with taxes and regulation. So many are fleeing. This plan isn't solving anything. It doesn't say that investment taxes should go down, or that there should be more labour flexibility, and that companies should adapt to AI. While Europe continues dreaming of bureaucratic solutions, money and Money and innovation are fleeing to other countries. Real competitiveness cannot be achieved with subsidies, but with less taxes and economic freedom.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “Thank you very much, chair. So I'd like to thank the experts for their speeches. But I would also talk about a different reality from what, uh, one of the speakers said, because in fact, um, the Bank of Spain gives some latest figures and they're talking about 600,000 houses which are lacking in Spain. So there is a shortage of housing, which is contrary to what she said. It's true that there is some legal insecurity when it comes to renting out housing. But we're not talking about squatting because sometimes there are tenants that have a contract, they go and they occupy the house, but then they don't pay their rent. And so sometimes people don't rent out their their housing because they're worried that they don't have the security. We also know that in Spain that we have of the highest unemployment rate in Europe. And this is above the average in the EU. And I'd like to conclude now. So I'd like to know what we can do so that these. Tent zones are eased in some in some way. And so we can also bring the population back to rural areas and ease some of the tensions. Thank you.”
  EU housing policy
• “Thank you. Chair. Like the colleagues, I was late because I had something else on that clashed with this, but I think all of the presentations were very interesting. European fisheries and aquaculture aren't just economic sectors, but strategic pillars of our food sovereignty and consumer safety. So the market is increasingly vulnerable, and we need to shore up traceability and transparency to ensure that what is on Europeans tables is the right quality and meets the efforts that our fishers are making. Regional fisheries management organisations must still be an international benchmark in ensuring sustainability and responsible management of resources in the face of unfair practices and competition from third countries that don't meet our laws. We also need to, uh, prosecute IUU fishing. Otherwise we'll be neglecting our consumers fishers and endangering the future of the sector. Defending fisheries is defending Europe and our coastal communities, our food security and our independence from other imports. Thank you.”
  Environmental regulation of fisheries
• “Thank you very much. The blackout of the 28th of April was not an accident. It was a direct consequence of the ideological negligence, climate fanaticism and the 2030 agenda, which has turned energy into a political toy at the service of the left. So it wasn't technology that failed. It was politics. Green socialism. Power centers that guarantee power have been undermined and been replaced with windmills and solar panels, which are not compatible with the current infrastructure. The peninsula and France collapsed, plunged into darkness. And what was the response of the government? Silence. No response, no resignations, no self-criticism. We're looking at a energy transition at the moment, a betrayal of logic. The country and the citizens. And if we don't turn this around, then we will see institutional democratic failure.”
  Energy (green transition)