Kamila GASIUK-PIHOWICZ

Policy topics Kamila GASIUK-PIHOWICZ is active on

What Kamila GASIUK-PIHOWICZ has said (40)

• 2026-07-14 “Thank you. Following the recent decisions of the United States administration to restrict access to the most advanced AI models for Non-united states citizens, Europe is asking itself a fundamental question can we build our security, our competitiveness, our digital future on technologies that may become unviable because of political decisions taken outside Europe? So let me start with this. How much can Europe count on anthropic as a long term partner, not only for innovation, but also for cybersecurity and defense? And how can we be sure that access to your most advanced technologies will never become become a political bargaining chip? Secondly, how can you guarantee that European institutions, businesses and citizens will not suddenly lose access to your key technologies because of a decision taken in Washington rather than in Brussels? This leads to a broader question who ultimately decides where the limits of your models lie? Anthropic, democratically elected governments or the US national security apparatus? Where does corporate responsibility end and government influence begin? Finally, I would like to address the issue of data protection because trust is impossible without transparency. Can European. Users data be accessed by US authorities. Please give me a clear answer. Yes or no. Where is European customer data stored and who both technically and legally can access it? And finally, if United States authorities requested access to European customers data, ordered restrictions on your services, or required changes to the way your models operate, would you inform that customer? Thank you.”
  EU digital & tech sovereignty
• 2026-06-17 “(15:25:52 – 15:27:18): Ladies and gentlemen, electrification is not an objective. It is a tool, and tools are assessed on the basis of whether they really contribute to our security and resilience. This electrification is necessary, but we also need to think about risk factors. We are avoiding dependency on Russian gas, but at the same time, we are becoming dependent on China. A majority of worldwide refineries of rare earth metals are located over there. We also need to diversify. We need to use diversified fuels such as hydrogen. We need solutions that are adapted to the specificity of various sectors. It is not always electricity that is the best alternative. This is why the energy mix should remain a prerogative of member states. And I will continue supporting investment in interconnectors and modernized grids, which means that we have less dependency on any source of energy. We need to be pragmatic. We don't want to build a transformation which would lead to another dependency. This will not contribute to our security. Gonzalez Casares. Thank you very much, mister Gonzalez Casares.”
  EU approach to energy security (home-made vs import sources)
• 2025-09-10 “E-003502/2025 Answer given by Mr Hoekstra on behalf of the European Commission The initiative of the Industrial Decarbonisation Bank announced in the Clean Industrial Deal 1 Communication will aim to fund with EUR 100 billion the deployment of decarbonised technologies in industry. The goal of the Industrial Decarbonisation Bank will be to support the transformation of energy intensive industry in Europe, including the chemical industry, beyond early-mover projects. The Industrial Decarbonisation Bank will be proposed as part of the upcoming EU Emissions Trading System review. However, already at the end of 2025, the Commission will under the Innovation Fund open a pilot auction for decarbonisation of industrial process heat (via electrification or geothermal, solar thermal solutions), where all industrial sectors will be eligible and carbon abatement will be the metric for providing support. It should be noted that the EU emissions trading system already recognises competitive challenges from extra-EU countries by providing sectors facing this ‘carbon leakage risk’ a higher share of free allowances compared to other industrial installations. The EU soda ash producers belong to this group of sectors having their competitiveness supported. 1 COM(2025) 85 final.”
  EU industrial funding · Carbon leakage support
• 2025-05-06 “E-001814/2025 Answer given by Mr Várhelyi on behalf of the European Commission Annex III of Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 1 inter alia provides that, where frozen fishery products need to be at a temperature higher than -18 °C to permit the use of machines that slice or cut fishery products, they may be maintained at such technologically required temperature for a period of time as short as possible and in any case not exceeding 96 hours. Annex VI Part A 2(a) of Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 2 also provides an exemption for labelling products as defrosted for foods for which freezing is a technologically necessary step of the production process. However, storage and transport at these temperatures are not allowed. 96 hours is the maximum time considered necessary for implementing the processing step of the cutting or the slicing of fishery products at temperatures different from the storage temperatures required in points 1 and 2 of Chapter VII of Section VIII of Annex III of Regulation (EC) No 853/2004. The Commission decided to clarify the Union rules applicable in this context, given that certain companies processing fishery products have been storing fishery products illegally for months, at the temperatures other than those required by EU rules, claiming that it was part of the processing of those products. The microbiological risk associated with the stiffening process was not relevant for the adoption of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1141 3 because it was not the object of that Regulation. Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 does not apply to retail, unless expressly indicated to the contrary. Regulation (EC) No 853/2004, as amended by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1141, is applicable to processing establishments and it was therefore not necessary to assess the rules applicable to retail. 1 Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin OJ L 139, 30.4.2004, p. 55–205. 2 Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on the provision of food information to consumers, amending Regulations (EC) No 1924/2006 and (EC) No 1925/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Commission Directive 87/250/EEC, Council Directive 90/496/EEC, Commission Directive 1999/10/EC, Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, Commission Directives 2002/67/EC and 2008/5/EC and Commission Regulation (EC) No 608/2004 OJ L 304, 22.11.2011, p. 18–63. 3 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1141 of 14 December 2023 amending Annexes II and III to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards specific hygiene requirements for certain meat, fishery products, dairy products and eggs OJ L, 2024/1141, 19.4.2024.”
  Environmental regulation of fisheries
• “(10:21:46 – 10:23:19): morning. Today, I would like to tell you what European businesses need and what Polish entrepreneurs need and what they expect from this hemicycle, from this chamber. They're not expecting more debates. What they want is a single market that actually works in practice. Almost half of our business people in Poland say that bureaucracy is the main problem for for them. Let me give you a couple of examples. European companies, when they want to be active on the markets of other states, member states, they waste time on bureaucracy. They have to fill in lots of paperwork rather than using that energy to really develop, to thrive. So we need 1 single declaration per company. Full stop. Also, 700,000 Polish workers go abroad for jobs every year. They are seconded. That's also a lot of admin, a lot of bureaucracy. Secondment should therefore be much more straightforward. Just 1 form, not a separate procedure in every single member state every time you want to send Polish workers or a team of Polish workers. So these are more important issues, more perhaps than, customs, duties, in fact, customs tariffs that we removed decades ago. This is even more important. Therefore, we need to remove these hurdles, these obstacles. Every time we work on legislation, we need to factor in how much this costs for European companies, whether they're Polish or anything else. Miss Vita. Madame Levis”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “European sovereignty is in our hands and that includes digital sovereignty. The DMA is working well and Google have waste lines running to millions. We now need to ensure proper enforcement of those decisions. I have read your Your information. I have heard about our cooperation with Trump. Well, we're not afraid of the U.S. administration. We will speak up in defense of our citizens. That is the point of the DMA to fight back against DMA.”
  EU rules on digital competition
• “Thank you. This year we celebrated 25 years since Allegra has been active in Poland, but this reliable European e-commerce platform is now facing unfair competition from Chinese players who focus on offering the lowest possible price. In doing so, they ignore complying obligations and benefit from the €100 €150 low value goods threshold. Allegro gathered over 20 million users during this 25 years. Teemu managed to gather over 15 million Polish users in only six months. I wanted to ask the speakers and Mr. Heyman in particular, about the prospect of removing the €150 for low value goods threshold as soon as possible, and about replacing it with a robust system in the United States. President Trump first decided to abolish a similar system. This leading to a drop in the daily sales of Shein and Temu by 41% and 32%, respectively. He then made a significant U-turn, delaying the application until adequate systems are in Are in place to fully process and collect tariff revenue. Applicable. How can we move faster towards the abolition of this threshold, which is currently giving massive advantageous to Shein and Temu, forcing European companies out of business? Of course, enforcement of EU laws is the key to building a fair and safe environment online for e-commerce and will remain a top priority for us. And in this sense, I will be hosting a high level panel discussion on this Thursday. Continuing today's discussion, to which I invite all those interested to participate. Thank you.”
  EU policy on custom fee on non-EU imports
• “Use your headphones. Today we are faced with a threat, and we can't divide Europe. We can't submit to Russian disinformation. We mustn't relativize the fact that Russia is the deadly threat faced by Europe and we need to sanction Russia. Today, the remains of a Russian drone fell on Polish land 30km from my own home. The war is close by. Poland is defending Europe, shooting down Russian drones. That is where we are at on the eastern border. So we have to show that we are powerful and united because Russia only understands the language of strength.”
  EU-Russia relations (from March 2022)
• “We need to, uh, act sensibly here if we want to be global leaders. Thank you. Now I'm taking the floor for the second time. You talked about producing cheaper energy. You talked about CO2, energy sources. What country in the EU has no carbon emissions? The The cost of these low carbon energy sources can be quite high. It's difficult to achieve all of this. We have the issue of transport as well. How are we supposed to be transporting that hydrogen? What are we have to think about the technological conditions. Uh, -200°C. It's just not practically feasible. So what exactly are we talking about here? The European Commission is drawing up legal acts. Perhaps it's slightly better than it was before, but it's based on ideology. It's not reality. And I want to be very clear here. We've looked at this. We've analysed all of this. I don't think anybody in industry is going to deal with green hydrogen or low carbon hydrogen. I don't think that's been approached properly either. I think, uh, you're killing off future investment. This is not the right way to go. It's not going to be, uh, beneficial to European industry. Apologies for having taken the floor a second time, but I'm really quite irritated about what we have heard. Uh, it's just doesn't bear any resemblance to, uh, reality. I don't think you're dealing with this in a serious way. Shell and other companies, they're just going to go in another direction. We should, uh, perhaps look at how others are dealing with this.”
  Low-carbon hydrogen
• “Thank you very much for the Greens, Miss Kim van Sperantak. **Kim Van Sparrentak (Netherlands, Greens/EFA): Thank you very much. Hello. Hi. I'm here. Ask any youngster or teenager on the street to show you their screen time, and they easily spend seven hours on their device. While kids are glued to their devices, I sadly speak to more and more young people who were shown more shocking content just to keep them online and were even slowly dragged into funnels of extremism, self-harm, eating disorders, or misogyny by the algorithms. The super addictive design of games and online services now impacts children's ability to focus in schools, and problematic smartphone use can have a serious mental health impact with risks of depression, anxiety, and even effects on brain development. If we do not intervene now, this will have an enormous impact on generations to come. But we should not get lazy. A safe internet for kids should not only be about restricting children or parents' responsibility because no one can beat the manipulative tricks big tech uses to keep us online at all costs, even if they end up showing children harmful content. We need to be ambitious and fundamentally tackle the unsafe system behind it. Online platforms should be safe for everyone, and this is why we have to ban the most harmful addictive design features such as the endless scroll and autoplay for everyone. Tackle addictive algorithms based on data collection, profiling, and engagement that promote shocking and outraging content. Let's give people, not the big tech companies, control to decide exactly what you want to see and when, for example, simply based on who you follow. We also had first discussions around a minimum age for certain online platforms such as social media. I think if we do this, we need to make sure this can be done in a safe and privacy-friendly way.”
  Age restrictions on children's access to social media · Safety features & content control for child protection online
• “Europe is facing the truth right now. Our citizens have been very clear about this. They want security. They want a strong Europe that is capable of defending them. And we have 27 defence markets right now instead of having one single European one. Today, European armies using 18 different types of tanks. Whereas in the US they only have one type in the. In the EU they have only six types of jet fighter pilots. We have many more in the EU. They spend. We spend more than we have to. And our military equipment is incompatible with that of other member States. In Poland, we understand very well the importance of security. We already invest 5% of our GDP in defence, and we want to strengthen the work of NATO. But we don't want to do this alone. And we cannot do this in an isolated way. The war in Ukraine has shown us. That the rate of production is very important. If we don't produce more for our armies, then we won't be able to make progress. We need to remove obstacles in the market. The European defence industry needs to get rid of red tape. It needs chains of command and a single defence market, because the most important thing is the citizens, the security of the citizens of Europe and the future of Europe.”
  EU competences on defence
• “Thank you very much. Now Miss Bararin. **Laura Ballarín Cereza (Spain, S&D): Thank you very much, Chair. First of all, I'd like to congratulate the rapporteur on this report, my colleague Crystal Scaldemosa, for her good work on drawing up this draft report, and congratulations also on the negotiations. The S&D group has been asking for this topic, the protection of minors online, to be placed at the top of the agenda in Europe since the beginning of the legislation. This report is proof of that. We also welcome the fact that President Von der Leyen is including this topic in her debate, in her speech on the state of the union. I think that the report is well balanced between the different groups. I think there are two important points I'd like to highlight, and I'd also like to see how we can move forward. So first of all, I think it's extremely important for this report to include age verification. Of course, we believe that that needs to be robust and effective, and it needs to protect minors' privacy. But this also needs to go hand in hand with the debate on the digital age of majority. We need to undertake this debate, see how we're going to do this, but we can't be hypocritical about it. And I think that if certain tools exist that are robust when it comes to, if they're not robust when it comes to age verification, we won't be able to protect minors from the harmful content that they are consuming, which are leading us to a mental and physical health pandemic among our young people. Secondly, I think it's important for this report to include a reference to the future Digital Fairness Act. If we want to be ambitious, we can't simply stick to the laws we already have. Yes, we have to implement those, but we also have to call on the other members of this Parliament to make progress in this area so that we can address the dark patterns, the rabbit holes that exist, and of course the role of influencers. Finally, I think today's debate has shown hypocrisy of the far right saying that they protect our minors when in reality all that they care about is protecting the large technology companies. So I hope that European forces will unite and that we will be able to have an ambitious report. Thank you.”
  Safety features & content control for child protection online · Age restrictions on children's access to social media
• “Thank you very much. I would like to thank the rapporteur for his work on the budgetary assessment. As the rapporteur for CEF, I can only say that we fully share the perspective and priorities presented by Mr. Lewandowski? These are were reflected in the draft report sent to the translation at the end of the last month. This is one of the most successful union funding programs. This is demonstrated by a strong oversubscription in both previous and current iterations of the program. Cef has been a key element for advancing on major infrastructure projects with high European added value. Even when they could not demonstrate commercial viability from the beginning, given its success and achievements over the years, as well as the constantly increasing interest, there is a strong case for increasing the CEF budget in the next MFF. The commission proposal already goes in that direction, but the rapidly changing the political context demands us to adapt itself to the new reality. I fully agree with the rapporteur that military mobility has become a central priority for our security, and this needs to be clearly reflected in the structure of, and the allocation dedicated to the programme, together with military mobility. We also need to adapt our energy infrastructure to the new challenges. This. The conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East confirmed that energy infrastructure plays a critical role for our security. The next step needs to invest in the protection of critical infrastructure in securing our energy supply. In diversifying our energy supply sources and in producing our own necessary energy stocks in Europe. This needs must be met with the appropriate budgetary allocation. The work conducted on the MFF interim report already goes in that direction. We therefore count on the batch committee support in the upcoming MFF negotiations for securing this increase and equipping the CEF with the much needed financial resources. Thank you.”
  EU funding for transportation
• “Ladies and gentlemen, holidays are for us to have fun. But what if we have to cancel them due to extraordinary circumstances like the pandemic or war? Thanks to the new directive, we will be able to cancel that in advance with no cost. During the pandemic, holiday cancellations meant that we got payments late but meant problems for SMEs and the directive is more flexible. Thanks to vouchers, we will be able to be reimbursed, refunded but also get a voucher that could be worth more than what we initially paid. At the end of the day, if we don't use, the voucher will be refunded at the end of the day. What if there is insolvency of the company? There are guarantees introduced Used that to mean that refunds are going to be treated as a priority for consumers. And when it comes to consumer rights, there will be clear and available in advance simple, clear, practical solutions for us to be able to enjoy our holidays very much.”
  EU consumer protection rules: stricter requirements and tougher enforcement vs business flexibility and reduced burden
• “Thank you very much for all the remarks and comments. As mentioned before, my team is already working on the compromise amendments, and I understand that the first technical meeting will take place already at the end of this week. We will try to make a balanced text that reflects your amendments, and that can give Imco a strong negotiating mandate in the upcoming discussion with Iter and said Tomorrow we will already have the first interest Shadows meetings meeting. My team will keep you informed of any new developments that may come out of this meeting. I trust that we can find a very good compromise between the political groups. We already have previous agreements that we can base our final position on taking into consideration, of course, that this is a new instrument. Thanks once again for your amendments, and I look forward to working together on the final text. Thank you very much. ***ECA special report 03/2025 – Unjustified geo-blocking in e-commerce”
  Geo-blocking
• “We are not. We cannot afford to be a hostage to the white House. How much I'm paying for the plane ticket or for petrol should not depend on the white House. The prices of energy have shot up by 85%. Lufthansa has scrapped 20,000 flights. The president of the International Energy Agency says we will have enough fuel for six months. I'm saying no. I'm responsible as a rapporteur for Sev three. This makes it possible for fuel prices to be reduced for our energy security to be increased under Sev. It will be possible for the first time to finance alternative You will still be produced here. We want to produce jet fuel here. Poland wants to start on a path of nuclear energy. Many countries opt for green energy, but we want to be self-sufficient and independent. How much we are paying for energy, how much we are paying for plane tickets shouldn't depend on a conflict somewhere else. We cannot be a hostage to the fancies of the white House.”
  EU approach to energy security (home-made vs import sources)
• “Okay, I will speak in Polish. Ladies and gentlemen, the case of Shin shows very clearly that enforcement of law is slow and it is not a technical issue. It is something that impacts specific people, their safety, including the safety of our children. These are real stories, real facts and facts that are not very recent, and they do not go in line with what you have said about the quality of products set on your platforms. We have heard about dangerous chemical compounds in products in clothing sold on Sinn platform. The most recent study, dating November last year, showed that 18 products out of 56 tested included very dangerous chemical substances in quantities far surpassing the limits. Seven jackets that were tested and in seven out of seven norms were surpassed by over 3,000%. Lead cadmium were present. The same pertains to jewelry, clothing, toys that fall apart. This winter, we heard about sex dolls that looked like children that were offered by the platform. So Europe has to demonstrate that we are ready to take swift actions. We should not be thinking of actions in the future. These were not just unhappy consumers. This is a situation where law is being broken and not respected in any way. And also apart from the fact that we are endangering our consumers, we are allowing for our market to be destroyed. Platforms are doing actions that are detrimental to our market. And when they are being caught, they disappear and appear elsewhere. So they are people. They are jobs that are in danger. They are taxes that are not being paid. And they are safety norms. And everyone loses because we are not able to enforce the law. So my question is very direct. It's a question to Shin. Do we have to sanction you in order to make sure that you remove dangerous and illegal products from your platform? What did you do when dangerous chemicals were detected in your products? What are you doing? In order to make sure that products sold on your platforms are safe for consumers health? And a question to the Commission, what do you intend to do in order to make sure that your actions are swift? Thank you.”
  Liability for online marketplaces
• “Thank you for gathering us today. I will speak in Polish. Thank you very much. Increasingly, Europe is basing its security strategy on satellite data. This data helps us to react when there are floods or we need to have Evacuations are the other crises and helps to protect our critical infrastructure. However, we do have to be clear today this dependence is impeding upon our independence in a lot of key areas. In many key areas, we are dependent on a small number of systems or on data coming from outside of the EU. In the current geopolitical context, this means we are at risk of losing control and without that we won't be able to react and therefore we won't have security. That's why we are increasingly hearing about European satellite constellations on a larger scale. So hundreds of satellites that will provide constant data flow that will ensure citizens security. This is key for our digital security. So my question is, is the commission currently taking account of the possibility of developing these multi-level satellite constellations in order to enhance European resilience against hybrid threats. Also, in the context of current European initiatives or initiatives on the table, are these types of constellations of satellite data being taken into account as a an element of strategic security today? This is not a luxury. It's necessary.”
  EU competences on space policy
• “Ladies and gentlemen, today the Commission has presented a very ambitious strategy for a simpler and stronger single market. Fragmentation and highly complex provisions are costing us a lot of money. Up to €457 billion a year. By removing these barriers, we would be able to double the benefits that flowing from the single market and thus strengthen the global competitiveness of the European Union, which is absolutely essential in a world of growing tension with the United States and China. Just imagine the owner of a small company who wishes to expand into the foreign market in the first country that he wishes to have access to. It turns out that the GDPR provisions are interpreted differently. So he gives up and he tries a second member state where he comes across the need a requirement to block €100,000. A guarantee on a special bank account. Finally, he tries a third member state, but before he can start his economic activities, he has to pay very high fees to register his. Um. The fact that he's actually living there, and it's these kind of barriers that very effectively put off our European businessmen. And I think the most important goal of the strategy is to do away with the dreadful, the terrible tens and to create a 28th company law regime for the European Union, a uniform across the whole union, and we have to implement this strategy. It's a question of our security, because only having a very strong single market, that we can have a secure union.”
  EU Single Market harmonisation
• “Thank you very much. Dear colleagues, I would like to thank you all those of you who have tabled amendments to the Imco opinion on EDP. We received over 260 of them, and my team is at the moment working on drafting the compromises and circulating them very soon to all shadows. I was very happy to see that across the political groups, we all share the same goals of making our union more prepared for facing the worst case scenario. This will be the basis of our negotiations and of our final outcomes. As you all know, last week in Strasbourg, during the plenary, we voted on advancing with the file through an accelerated procedure in the lead committees Iter, and said Europe is in crisis situation and it needs to be complemented in the shortest time possible, while also allowing for discussions and negotiations between groups and committees. Having an accelerated procedure, but still voting in the May plenary and not fully excluding the committees from the procedure, is a good compromise that allows us to deliver the intended result given the urgent procedure, Iter and said will have an extremely fast calendar with amendments due to be tabled on March 25th, 2015 and a vote in plenary in May for Imco. That means we will also have to advance our calendar in order to vote, most likely around the date of April 8th, in order to be tabled to vote on this date. We need to conclude negotiations on April 30th at the latest. Taking into consideration your amendments, I think it will be possible to present a draft version of the compromises that reflects the position of a comfortable majority.”
  EU political integration
• “Ladies and gentlemen, we have to be credible. We have to be fast. We have to be smart. Otherwise, we will lose in this race for dominance in new technologies, with the US, with China and maybe new Asian countries. We have the best digital laws in the world, but too often we are not using it enough. Ucpd the directive on unfair trade practice. We provide for high fines for those who sell fake or dangerous products. However, implementation of these rules is still lagging behind in our member states, similar when it comes to DSA or CPR, but we have. So we have great tools, but we are not using it without using them. We cause losses to our companies, to our consumers, small internet shops and huge companies. Who is threatening them? Who makes it possible for billions of products which do not abide with our rules to reach Europe? These Chinese platforms such as Shein or Temu, they are coming here because they are cynically using the gaps in the system. They are not carrying the costs of safety norms, etc. they are using subsidies in their own countries. They are using unfair practices in applications making the users dependent on them. So we should finish with this. We should end with that. We should do it for our enterprises and for our citizens.”
  Liability for online marketplaces
• “Europe is facing the truth right now. Our citizens have been very clear about this. They want security. They want a strong Europe that is capable of defending them. And we have 27 defence markets right now instead of having one single European one. Today, European armies use 18 different types of tanks, whereas in the US they only have one type in the. In the EU they have only six types of jet fighter pilots. We have many more in the EU. They spend. We spend more than we have to. And our military equipment is incompatible with that of other member States. In Poland, we understand very well the importance of security. We already invest 5% of our GDP in defence, and we want to strengthen the work of NATO. But we don't want to do this alone. And we cannot do this in an isolated way. The war in Ukraine has shown us. That the rate of production is very important. If we don't produce more for our armies, then we won't be able to make progress. We need to remove obstacles in the market. The European defence industry needs to get rid of red tape. It needs chains of command and a single defence market, because the most important thing is the citizens, the security of the citizens of Europe and the future of Europe.”
  EU competences on defence
• “Thank you very much, dear chair. Dear colleagues, uh, thank you for the flexibility and for the postponement, postponement of this point for today between September 15th and 17th. Uh, we concluded, uh, conducted the commission to Copenhagen and Gothenburg with the main objective to strengthen the cooperation between the European Parliament and national authorities in Denmark and Sweden on the policy areas that fall under the competence of our committee, we focused on consumer protection, Action, innovation, product safety, as well as on how to boost competitiveness and ensure the sustainable growth of our single market. Over the three days that we spent in Denmark and Sweden, we had excellent meetings with the Danish Minister for Digital Affairs, the Danish Consumer Ombudsman, the Danish Chamber of Commerce, the State and Municipal Procurement Service, the Confederation of Danish Industry, the Procurement Department of the City of Gothenburg, just to mention a few. Furthermore, we have also visited the Volvo trucks to the factory, the Port of Gothenburg and the Lindholmen Science Park. Sweden and Denmark are recognised leaders in digitalisation, consumer protection and sustainability. They both rank high in terms of competitiveness and the visits conducted, offer us an in-depth understanding about how they implement EU policies at the national level and how they combine sustainability with growth and enhanced competitiveness. During the meeting with Miss Caroline Olsen, the Danish Minister for Digital Affairs, we discussed about the Danish presidency priorities in terms of digital policy, about the need to step up the implementation of the DSA, ensuring consistent and effective enforcement across the union.”
  EU consumer protection rules: stricter requirements and tougher enforcement vs business flexibility and reduced burden
• “Good morning. Today I would like to tell you what European businesses need and what Polish entrepreneurs need and what they expect from this hemicycle, from this chamber. They're not expecting more debates. What they want is a single market that actually works in practice. Almost half of our business people in Poland say that bureaucracy is the main problem for them. Let me give you a couple of examples. European companies, when they want to be active on the markets of other states, member states, they waste time on bureaucracy. They have to fill in lots of paperwork rather than using that energy to really develop, to thrive. So we need one single declaration per company, full stop. Also, 700,000 Polish workers go abroad for jobs every year. They are seconded. That's also a lot of admin, a lot of bureaucracy. Secondment should therefore be much more straightforward. Just one form, not a separate procedure in every single member state, every time you want to send Polish workers or a team of Polish workers. So these are more important issues, more perhaps, than customs duties. In fact, customs tariffs that we removed decades ago. This is even more important. Therefore we need to remove these hurdles, these obstacles. Every time we work on legislation, we need to factor in how much this costs for European companies, whether they're Polish or anything else.”
  EU Single Market harmonisation
• “It is clear that member States face common challenges which require a common European answer. We need better coordination for overseeing online marketplaces, as well as for determining platforms to assume greater responsibility responsibility in verifying product safety online. What we learn from the Nordic experiences is that clear guidance, proportionate procedures and serious enforcement ensure sustainability, innovation, growth and Competitiveness and resilience. This mission has been a fantastic opportunity to learn about best practices from the Danish and Swedish authorities. I have been personally impressed by their track record in implementing digitalized solutions in the field of public procurement, by their exceptional ability to render public services accessible, inclusive and efficient, allowing actors of all sizes, sizes and backgrounds to sign up and win public tenders. The authorities and organizations that we met are a strong proof of how less is more can be implemented in practice. I would like to thank you all members who participated and kept discussions lively, actively engaging with our hosts. I would also like to address a special thanks to the members of the Secretariat Miss Marina mainardi, Miss Ratzinger and Miss Oliva for their dedication and constant support throughout all mission. Thank you very much.”
  Liability for online marketplaces
• “In the case of an armed conflict, whether it was in Ukraine or in the Middle East. The lesson we need to draw are that we must protect our critical energy infrastructure. Europe is currently vulnerable and already experiencing cyber attacks, as well as hybrid actions that aim to sabotage our energy infrastructure. Cef can play a strong, active role and invest in the cross-border projects that secure these objectives, together with the protection of critical infrastructure. We also need to think about our dependencies and future energy needs. The past weeks have revealed our strong dependency on fossil sources, especially in relation to liquid fuel originating in unstable areas. The vulnerability would be even greater in case of security crisis in Europe. Zev needs to be part of the solution to addressing this vulnerability. It is through supporting more cross border European Union cooperation and investing in pan-European infrastructure, allowing us to produce alternative fuels locally and transport them to the areas where they bring her European added value. That CEF can contribute to the same. For this purpose, complementarity with the PNR and ECF horizon and Global Europe programmes is also essential. My pure priorities as a co-rapporteur in charge of energy are to make sure that the programme is also equipped to respond to future crises. That actively contributes to the decarbonisation of our energy mix, increasing affordability, reducing our external dependencies, ensuring reliable energy supplies and protecting our energy infrastructure.”
  EU energy infrastructure integration
• “Ladies and gentlemen. Our aim is to win Europe. The European Union has a desire to win. But there is one condition if you want to. If you want to beat China or the US, the AI is a critical infrastructure and needs to be protected as a critical infrastructure. By being over overtaken by other superpowers, our data cannot be transferred to some other countries. It needs to be financed in a forcible way. And also legislation needs to be simplified. Our strong position depends on unity. If we are not united, we will be building infrastructure in terms of data processing and very good. Case in point are two centers in Poznan, Poland. In Krakow, Poland. It was to be hoped that there is a general understanding that the technological sovereignty is the precondition of a 70 per se.”
  EU digital & tech sovereignty
• “Ladies and gentlemen, nobody is above the law of above the law, regardless of who they are, how wealthy, how powerful. And obviously here this also concerns the technological giants. I was very happy to see the decision from the commission, because it is a clear signal when it comes to our commitment to implement legislation. This decision Session is talking about fundamental, the fundamental foundations of our digital society, including freedom of the media and press. And if we can actually call technological companies to account, regardless of their position, I feel that this is our obligation vis a vis the media and the citizens. For too long, this abuse has misshaped the, um, the market and has also meant that certain journalists have foregone some of their income. We're talking about small independent media sources, and they are those who provide us with reliable information straight from the source. It is our obligation to create fair conditions in the digital sphere so that not only the large concerns the large companies, but also small and regional local Media. For example, in Central and Eastern European countries like Poland, they have access to the market and get fair remuneration for their work. But there is one question, apart from implementation of these provisions, the legislation, we also have to innovate and support innovation, which is going to help us build up a sustainable business model for independent media. And this means that we want a strong media, strong Europe.”
  EU support for traditional (non-digital) media
• “Together with the Co-rapporteur, we agreed that the European Parliament needs to have a clear say on defining the priorities of the CEF, as well as on shaping the future governance of the programme. The proposed structure reflects this approach and is aligned with the Cop guidelines. We want to work closely with the Commission while also fully exercising our prerogatives as co-legislators. This approach is also valid for the budgetary structure. We agree that the Commission should have a level of flexibility that allows a swifter response to crises, but nevertheless considered that this should not become a blank check for the commission. This is why the draft report clearly separates transport, military mobility and energy in three different chapters. In order to obtain a better balance between flexibility and the much needed predictability. Dear colleagues, I look forward to your constructive input and amendments. As the 22nd of April deadline is approaching. Yousef needs to continue its current successful path, but it also needs to adapt to current global challenges and equip our union with the right tools that increase our resilience and ability to withstand future crises. Finally, last sentence. I would like to thank the technical teams and the secretariats in particular, as in my capacity, I work more closely with the Secretariat for all the assistance and technical support offered so far. Thank you very much.”
  EU cohesion/structural-fund architecture: consolidation vs ring-fenced separate funds
• “Yes. Thank you. Thank you sir. I would like to start by first thanking my Co-rapporteur, Eliana, for her cooperation and absolutely great work done so far in developing the draft report. I look forward to continuing our work together during the upcoming negotiations. Ccf is, of course, we know this one of the most successful and popular EU funding programs. This is demonstrated by a strong oversubscription and an impeccable track record when it comes to the projects completed on the energy side. It was through TEF that we managed to fully synchronise the Baltic states to the EU energy grid. Turning the page from the Soviet era to the new chapter of freedom and energy independence. Even now, in the current iteration of the MFF, the TEF has remained a stand alone program which demonstrates once again the added value and importance of the instrument for completing our Trans-European transport and energy networks on the energy side. The main mission of the CEF remains ensuring the funding for cross-border interconnection infrastructure, allowing us to remove bottlenecks, better integrate renewables and improve cross-border energy flows. However, given the complex political context, we cannot continue in a business as usual format. Cef needs to adapt and respond to the global challenges. The substantial increase in budget for military mobility is part of that response, but a clear signal also needs to come from the energy side. The current geopolitical events have shown us that energy infrastructure has become an essential target.”
  EU energy infrastructure integration
• “Ladies and gentlemen. Mr. Commissioner, €19 billion per year. This is how much European citizens are spending on products that can be dangerous to our health, that can do harm. And they are dangerous for our economy. 4.5 billion parcels of the value of under €150 arrived last year. 90% came from China. In Poland, we have an online platform named Allegro. It supports local businesses and fortunately, last month Timo has become a leader, surpassing Allegro by 1 million active users and it only took them a very short time. These platforms grow at a very fast pace and the law does not really regulate their functioning. They change their the models before they can be punished. They make quick profits and they are not responsible. So we need to act now. First of all, we need to remove the threshold of €150. Secondly, at the European level, we need to have specialized teams that will make sure that our laws on e-commerce are indeed implemented, and then cooperation on consumer protection needs to be ascertained. We need to act at the European level if we want to be effective in protecting our consumers and enacting it for those consumers.”
  Liability for online marketplaces
• “Thank you very much indeed. Just imagine you want to open a bank account in a country other than you own. I mean you know I'd say pretty trivial thing you would have thought but in actual fact in each country have separate forms different procedures as well as different charges. And the same applies to insolvency procedures. Now you know the single market has been around for a long time it really is the jewel in the crown of European integration but there are still far too many barriers in the market. Instead of promoting innovation forty percent of the budget for technology is actually spent on standards or administrative regulations and a lot of our companies simply can't deal with those regulations. And that is why as a matter of urgency we have to have the same rules for all companies level playing field same criteria should apply everywhere so that companies can operate across the single market. On top of all of that we absolutely need to improve the single digital gateway because we have an opportunity and all entrepreneurs must be given access to it in simple straightforward language and make sure that all the rules which they need are accessible. And finally we need to put an end to gold plating in other words let's not pile on extra European regulations instead of having greater simplification because we've got more and more rules more and more detailed rules. You know let's stop hiding behind all these different pretexts because our common struggle is to improve the state of our companies in a globalized world which is speeding up and against a more and more difficult backdrop that's what we need.”
  EU Single Market harmonisation
• “Thank you. I would like to thank the rapporteur, Mr. Maran, for his draft opinion. Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has completely changed the security situation on our continent, and cooperation between EU member states on matters related to defence and security has become a necessity. Over the past months, we have seen provocation greater than even than those from the Cold War era. In Poland, Russian drones have posed an immediate danger to the safety of our people and have therefore been shut down. Russian violation of EU aerospace are no longer limited to the countries on the eastern border, but have now affected Denmark, Sweden, Germany and last week even Belgium. No member state is safe and it has become clear that the only effective reply we can give needs to be united. Coordinated European projects of common interest, and in particular the flagship European defence projects of common interest, are a key element to delivering on our 2030 defence readiness objectives. We can only achieve those objectives if we strengthen and deepen the single market for security and defence products. Our task is is to now work on removing the barriers that exist on the single market for defence products, and ensure that projects like the Eastern flank ward, which includes the Baltic Defence Line and the Polish Eastern Shield, can become operational in the shortest time possible. My amendments will therefore focus on simplifying simplifying cooperation between entities across member States on speed and on efficiency. We should use all available resources towards completing these flagship projects and design a flexible framework, which allows us to prioritize investment in actions that bring an added value to the security of the Union as a whole. Our objective needs to be clear streamlining requirements, simplifying procedures for public procurement and transfer of products or components. Avoid overcomplicating selection criteria, focusing on speed and on meeting our defence readiness objectives before 2030.”
  EU competences on defence
• “Ladies and gentlemen, this is a critical moment. Security is not just about the well-armed military. It's also about competitive and strong economy, in which entrepreneurs produce products, offer services instead of complying with dozens of unnecessary administrative burdens. Poland has been hit hard by the legislative frenzy of the previous government of the Law and Justice Party, which adopted 200,000 pages of legislative acts. So stopping this legislative frenzy is one of the priorities of Polish presidency. We already act in Poland. We have a set of deregulation proposals for the Polish economy, which was drafted together with entrepreneurs. We know that excessive regulation is also the ball and chain of European economy. In a world which has become more competitive, we need to change that and we have no time to waste. Last week, I participated in an event with representatives of the Polish cosmetic industry, which presented us with a tsunami of EU regulations that they have to comply with. There are more than 300 detailed regulations for the cosmetics sector only. They change so often that running a company has become unpredictable. Therefore, I am satisfied with the initial omnibus proposal and I appreciate the commitment of president von der Leyen in the simplification of the life of our entrepreneurs. But the regulation has to be something else than just replacing current regulations with new ones. There just needs to be much fewer regulations. Let's fight for entrepreneurs. It's them that generate the wealth of the EU and let us wake up before it's too late. Thank you.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “The situation of e-commerce was also among the topics we addressed, highlighting the need for common action to address unfair commercial practices online. These issues resurfaced during our joint meeting with the Danish Consumer Ombudsman, the Danish competition and Consumer Authority and the European Consumer Centre Denmark. The discussions focused on enforcement of consumer rights, combating unfair commercial practices in the digital environment, and strengthening cooperation, especially through the CPC network. Later meetings with the Danish Chamber of Commerce and the Danish State and Municipal Procurement Service also brought into discussion the implementation of EU public procurement rules focusing on simplification, better access for smis and sustainability in public procurement. On Swedish side, the Imco delegation visited the Volvo trucks to the factory, the Port of Gothenburg and the Lindholmen Science Park. All three was extremely practical visits, allowing us to get a first hand contact with industrial production R&D processes. Innovation, initiators and enforcement of our customs legislations, one clear conclusion emerged, namely, that it is time to move decisively from strategy to implementation. We need to focus on simple, clear and enforceable rules as well as on coherent enforcement all across the union.”
  EU restrictions on unfair commercial practices
• “Dear colleagues. Mr. Commissioner, simplifying the rules and fully implementing our legislation concerning the single market is an essential condition for surviving globally and making Europe competitive. Small companies spend too many resources on compliance, on finding information about the rules they need to follow, all at the expense of innovation and productivity. Witty. It is not just one big barrier that they need to overcome, but hundreds of small obstacles that stand in their way to scale up and grow. Our lack of enforcement allows unfair competition to get ahead of European business. Chinese e-commerce platforms bypass our rules and make huge profits while European businesses are struggling. They only do it because they can. We need to finalise the work on legislation proposed for the omnibus simplification package. And more than that, our resources should go towards more enforcement. Let's use the DSA, the Ucpd, the Consumer Rights Directive, and let's make this framework effective.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “Mr. Commissioner, dear colleagues, the internal market is one of our greatest achievements, and yet our businesses and our consumers still face barriers, are confronted with unpredictable legislative changes and lack of consistency in the implementation of our single market rules. We need to simplify simplify our rules. We currently have have in place making sure that we keep those that protect consumers and entrepreneurs, but remove those that create excessive burdens. It is not enough to cut corners on paper to delight them or to simply exempt certain categories, we need to change them in substance in order to make them easier to comply with online. Our businesses face the challenge of complying with all these norms. While foreign traders, especially from Asia China, ignore our rules and they face little or no consequences at all. This is not a fair situation. The commission is currently working on a new Digital Fairness Act. Before this is presented, the Commission should present a plan to cut unnecessary norms and only then legislate in a very targeted manner. The next DFA cannot be another DSA. Businesses and consumers need predictability and a level playing field through the enforcement of existing existing norms.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “Uh. Thank you. I will speak in Polish. Uh. Ladies and gentlemen, Europe has some, uh, ambitious targets. If we look at, uh, 2030, we want to have 20,000 tons of, uh, hydrogen to be produced half in Europe and half to be imported according to the plan. That is the basis of our decarbonisation. But if we want to achieve that, we need to have a secure foundation in place to do that. This draft delegated Act, I think, really brings more obstacles than opportunities. If we look at the methodology, this is based on artificial, uh, values rather than specific projects, and that's been backed up by industry. Certain things have been ruled out of this. Things that can be very good, such as the uh, uh, technology. I think that's a bureaucratic, uh, decision. I think we need to look at technological logical neutrality when we're looking at renewable energy sources. We don't talk about biomass or atomic energy. So I think when we look at the emissions index, we're looking at countries rather than energy sources. And I think that's really punitive for East, the Eastern European countries, particularly Poland. Because in our energy mix we have a lot of coal. So if we were to calculate this in a different way, we wouldn't be punished in this way. And we don't really have a stable legal basis either. I don't think investors are going to invest a lot of money if they don't have this stable legal basis, if we want to try and phase out our carbon emissions by 2040. We need to do this in a different way. We need to be setting an example for the energy transition. I think we need to have more ambitious foundations, but we also need to think about industry, because otherwise this hydrogen revolution will just remain something on paper.”
  Low-carbon hydrogen
• “Parents, even responsible parents don't have the tools to address this. So my question commission, have you thought about introducing a prohibition throughout the EU to use social medias for under a certain age? Is there are there certain practices we could be banning? Are you thinking about some kind of guidelines or other incentive incentives to encourage the limitation to this access? Because we want to have this. The chair has interrupted. Can you speak a little more slowly, the speaker continues. Yes. It's very difficult to just to have to speak for two minutes and speak slowly. So I also have a question for Mrs. Kolchak. Now, within the EU legislation, there's really. There's a lot of there's a lack of clarity. In fact, when you want to respond to these threats and Mr. Bushka, when you're looking at the legal framework, you said there are having a new having new legislation isn't a guarantee for solving the problem. So don't you think there's some way we can have, uh, at least a minimum level? What would a minimum proposal include? Mrs..”
  Age restrictions on children's access to social media
• “Ladies and gentlemen, Europe is dying under a heap of papers. Instead of building up our future, we continue filling out forms. People are mad. They are angry because they can see clearly enough that Europe has a great potential. But Europe is destroying this potential with its own bureaucracy. We are losing to the US and China any minutes that we spent on filling out forms. There is. That is a gift and a boon for them in every member state. We have heaps of papers which are killing off our SMEs, but Poland is showing that you can do it differently. A huge wave of deregulation. Poland has joined the top 20 biggest economies in the world. Our GDP is over $1 trillion. One of the fastest growths in Europe. Unemployment slightly over 2%. So today in Europe we are talking about the omnibus package. But this is not deregulation. This is about cosmetic changes. Shifting time limits. True deregulation is removing bureaucracy Uh, from the market, which is what Poland did. Let's do it together now. Not in one year. Now, because our competitors are not waiting for us to agree on procedures.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU