Carlo CICCIOLI

Policy topics Carlo CICCIOLI is active on

What Carlo CICCIOLI has said (28)

• 2026-07-13 “(16:37:34 - 16:41:01): I listened to part of the report. I was in another area in parliament, but I'd like just to kind of make a comparison. I am a psychiatrist. I worked in public services for 25 years and I worked on a drug addiction and it seems like there's a real increase of addiction, but there are more refined types of addictions. There was digital development, the corona, and all of this is relative. To my mind, this structural problem shows that a lot of it is a lot of the problems are connected to the families. The families there are more and more single parent families. Therefore, the child doesn't have as much opportunity to be formed. Then there's a lack of brothers and sisters there is. Brothers and sisters gave kind of an area of stimulation and teaching the children how to deal with people. And then there's economic aspects. Sometimes the the family relations, families don't see each other. So some children are in cannot tolerate any frustration. They want everything right now. There's and they get very impulsive, and their emotional reactions are very different. There are a lot of mood swings, depression, euphoria. Then there are structural issues that, are connected to this. And the idea of how to form relationships at 1 time, children learn to do this in school. The teachers help them out with that, but their role is smaller and smaller. They just give education in their courses, but not for relationship. Then there are certain church organizations and even sport clubs. They had a very high influence helping the children how learn how to behave emotionally, and it's all now become very result based. And there are certain economic social aspects that have changed all of this. There's a difference in what of what happens in large cities and the smaller areas. And I think we have to figure out how to give a structural solution. Then, of course, it depend we have to show them how to handle anxiety. And the fact is that the children can't control the events. They feel more vulnerable to certain events. And they are not able to put up with unpredictable events because they've become more fragile and weaker. And we have to try to find a structural way to intervene.”
  EU policy on mental health
• 2026-07-13 “(17:46:47 - 17:49:11): Well, I'd like to very warmly greet our health minister who's coming back and presidency, and I hope that we'll have the opportunity to really intervene on things that really should have been sped up years ago. Now we're in a good phase for health. We've got new pharmacies which are and new scientists making a great deal of chemical and biological progress. We've got certain different other technological resources. We've got new genetic and biological serum. That's all good news. The problem is this is hugely expensive, and it is very difficult to have the people bear these cost. There we need to find more economic solutions, and they're accessible to people with greater economic resources. And the staff for all of these things are very costly. And as for the, we need to focus on technological innovation, through digitalization. If doctors and health professionals could do many different things even remotely and monitor, patients in their homes, that would be a great thing. So we've got a very ordinary budget, but we know that health is in the ordinary budget. But it's always been restricted with the spending has always been restricted. We need to maybe look into extraordinary investments which would allow us to fund shifting from a health system that we have now to transition to these extraordinary resources, like, the new, chemicals we're finding and also AI. This should be done at a European level. So that is the only way that Europe can become a quality health state. August”
  EU funding and budget allocation for health programmes
• 2026-07-13 “(17:03:36 - 17:05:51): Thank you, chair. So I'll I would briefly like to go back to a comment that ruffled feathers, which was Benedict the 16th in 2016. When he gave a speech and beyond the religious aspects, he mentioned this emergency. He mentioned an educational emergency of passing the baton, of teaching the new generation shared values, passing from one generation to the next. For example, the family has now been substituted by digital gadgets and mobile phones. And from a psychological point of view, the child or the teenager considers the device, the phone, a part of themselves. And we also need to look at drugs, which we should not forget that problem. Drug use at a very young age has a biological effect because while the prefrontal cortex is still being developed, drugs affect its development, and this regulates all of our emotional behavior. And it is shrunk from 5 to from 5 to 6 millimeters, it shrunk by about 1 millimeter by the end of adolescence. Now, the use of cannabis in particular can affect this area of the brain, so we need to look at that. And then there's a problem of identity. In this in a multipolar world, identities and belonging have weakened. And so with a weakened identity, we need to look at cultural identity, which belong to all cultures. These are the fundamental points that we need to look at. So, we are definitely going through a very strong cultural revolution. Thank you.”
  Role of education (social change vs. tradition)
• 2026-07-09 “Thank you. President. The evaluation of the CFP confirms something which our fishermen have been. Fishermen have been saying for years. The commission itself recognizes the sector is suffering from an aging population of fishermen, the difficulty of attracting young people and the report basically admits that economic and social objectives of the reform haven't been achieved. For this very reason, the time has come for us to change course, a model which is almost exclusively based on red tape bureaucracy. It doesn't work. It makes our fisheries sector weaker. It increases the dependency of the European Union on imported sea products from countries which don't respect our same environmental and social standards. In Italy, very high proportion of our products are imported. However, the sustainability shouldn't just be seen in environmental terms, economic and social. Without competitive businesses, without profitability, without new generations coming to the sector that we can't talk about a transition for the fisheries sector. We call for more resources for this sector. A radical simplification of superfluous rules, the sidelining of rules which have shown to have been shown to be useless. For example, the obligation for landing investment in the fleet, innovation and stimulating measures for the aquaculture sector. It's essential for the future of our young people, the future of coastal regions. There are still young people who want to work in fisheries. Sustainability cannot be an ideological battle against fishermen. It has to be a pragmatic transition.”
  Funding for fisheries and aquaculture
• 2024-12-04 “E-002753/2024 Answer given by Mr Šefčovič on behalf of the European Commission The EU-Colombia trade agreement 1 does not include investment protection commitments that could provide a basis for EU investors to request arbitration or other related dispute settlement procedure. At present such procedures are only available to French and Spanish investors under bilateral investment treaties concluded by their respective Member States with Colombia. The Commission has not been made aware of similar difficulties faced by Italian investors, although affected investors may choose not to disclose such information. The Commission expects that Colombia will treat EU investors fairly, so that both sides can reap the maximum benefits of the EU-Colombia trade agreement. The EU Delegation in Bogota in cooperation with national authorities is closely monitoring the situation of protection of Member States’ investments in Colombia. 1 Trade agreement between the EU and Colombia of 26 June 2012, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 24 December 2016 (L 356), https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ%3AL%3A2016%3A356%3ATOC”
  Free trade agreements (FTAs) · EU policy on social & environmental impact of foreign investments
• “Thank you very much, chair. The risk here is that so many things are proposed. A ton of ideas are proposed, but unfortunately, at the end of the day, there's no clarity. There's a lot of confusion. Let me put pick up on a few key points. 1 is essential. Cross border infrastructure must remain a priority. Shipping merchandise provides added value for all of Europe. And we need to have full integration of the 10T network. That is a cornerstone of our work. Another key point is that within this network, we need to promote national projects. These help to renew rather to overcome bottlenecks and to complement European links so that everything can move from 1 place to another. But first and foremost, cross border and then national projects. Now based on this, the Reggie Committee very strongly spoke out with a document that they issued to support the cross court cross border component and strategic national projects, those that have a European impact. Obviously, we're talking at the European level here. Another key piece to bear in mind is new types of technology innovations. We need to modernize the system while focusing on security and competitiveness. Security is an essential topic. We must bear it in mind. And then let's pick up on shipping merchandise. If we want to decrease pollution, merchandise must be shipped more from roads to rail. That's essential. Third, money. That's always an issue. Without money, without sufficient financial resources, we'll never make progress. As a result, high speed trains is something we talked about many times when discussing funding, and I reiterate that it's essential to boost competitiveness and territorial cohesion. No territory should be poorly served. No territories should struggle to ship people or goods ship goods or transport people, that is. So I'd like to pick up on involving private individuals because funds aren't enough. We need to try to bring in additional private resources. They exist. The money is there. The funds are there. But if we don't manage to involve them in the project, then we'll all we'll have are the funds of the European budget, and that's not enough. So bearing this in mind, the 20 20 eighttwo thousand and 34 plan must include stable financing because this is long term, not short term investment. So over the course of the years, we need to guarantee appropriate ongoing constant levels of funding.”
  EU transport infrastructure integration
• “Well, I wanted to look at one of the further aspects you mentioned on mental health. I'm a psychiatrist. Now, I've seen that there's a statistically relevant increase of personality disorders amongst young people with unforeseeable and severe episodes, even from the legal point of view, and an increase in the dissemination of drug addiction. Either it is clear, chronic, and even in the more subtle, um, occasional drug taking. And this is an alarm in our country because this is happening worldwide, but it does compromise a whole generation of young people. The increase of cocaine use and that of cannabis and the new chemical substance fentanyl and others, all these have increased the deaths in the United States in the last year. There are nearly 50,000 deaths from chemical drug taking. Now, I think we've got to set up a European plan to combat this, which is also a judiciary when we look at the legal aspects, but it has to be health, social and cultural. It has to be a reference point, which was unavoidable for the next few years and the next few months.”
  EU policy on mental health
• “I think it's we risk here standing in the way of other kinds of biofuels and options, which could reduce emissions quite considerably. I think these are solutions which do not require brand new infrastructure to be created because actually previous investment has already been pumped into this. We've also got to bear in mind that we're not going to be able to achieve a lot of our objectives by 2030, and we've got to take into account the geopolitical realities as well. We know we've already missed the the boat on this a little bit. We know that China has got a massive competitive advantage when we're talking about battery tech and primary materials. In the meantime, it seems that the EU really is putting its automotive industry at risk. We risk it dying overnight. We're always talking about European competitiveness, about the energy costs which we need to decrease so that we don't lose companies. We're talking about pressure on the internal market. About the cost to people's lives of these emissions. And I think it's incredibly important for us to look at what the technology can do for us here. It is a geopolitical need for us all. We need to ensure that we have free choice for our consumers, and our strategic advantage needs to be taken into account. We need to ensure that we use the existing networks that we've got in relation to fuel in Europe. Thank you.”
  Powertrain choice: EV-only pathway vs. equal support for hybrids, e-fuels, H2 · Biofuels (RED II)
• “Thank you very much. On behalf of the ECR. I'd like to thank the rapporteur. This report represents a useful step not only when it comes to biotech, but also to highlight the obstacles curbing the development of this and encouraging a wide European strategy. We've got industry that's involved health or well-being, agri food and manufacture. All these areas are concerned, and that is why it's important to take an intersectoral approach in order to flank the whole process. The text reflects the demands of the sector, but we think that we could home in on some specific aspects. So we'll be putting forward proposals to make this even have a higher impact, an integrated framework that we need to attract private investment. We need industrial Leadership. Because we have obstacles in the form of rigid rules. We're thinking about the uncertain certification of raw materials and the whole issue of patents. And often these patents aren't harnessed commercially. Now there's the issue of venture capital, and there is a reference to this in the text. It's vital for startups and biotech SMEs that have have costs that are front loaded, and it takes a long time to get returns on their investment.”
  EU policy on ethical standards in biotechnology applications
• “Yes. Thank you. My apologies, but I'm constantly running from one thing to another, one committee after the other. And so it's a little difficult to do the multitasking all the time. So first issue, this matter of the the barrier between the north and the south of Europe. An absolutely pivotal issue in my view. Transport must run east to west as well as north to south. But, uh, I shared this example in the intergroup that was taking place. That's where I was before coming here. Uh, container ships coming from the big manufacturing countries. China. India. Korea. They crossed the Suez Canal. They then arrived to the Mediterranean. And for two thirds of the goods, though, they are to reach the center of Europe. These ships disembark in the north and Antwerp and Rotterdam, and then the freight is carried via trains or lorries to Central Europe. Which means that costs are higher. Adding 5 or 6 days to the proceedings. And this leads to very high costs for companies. So we need to ensure that transport runs more smoothly. There is a kind of belt, if you will, around the south of Europe, the Mediterranean and in Italy as well in particular. But France is also affected by this and Greece as well. That is the strategic platform to then send on the goods for retail when the goods are distributed throughout the rest of Europe. But there is a barrier around this region. In particular, the Alps are significant physical barrier. There are filter and that filter works both ways south to north, but also north to south.”
  EU transport infrastructure integration
• “I will start with establishing what I have heard already is that there are policies that have been defined, and yet we are seeing that those policies are having massive negative impacts on employment and social cohesion. Commissioner Hoekstra, you have put forward this new policy as a first opportunity to define the necessary conditions to achieve the objective of the 90% reduction by 2040. Now, without a serious rethink of this strategy and help for the industrial sectors concerned. This is going to lead to disaster. This won't be aligned with the economic reality or. Nor with social realities on the ground. So how we are we going to take into consideration the real conditions on the ground in Member States and adapt this better to have a more flexible approach and to make sure that we are not seeing something forced on us from above, a top down approach. We need to see, in your first 100 days in office that you're not actually penalizing various sectors, including energy, which are become important things for many parts of industry and also for storage.”
  Energy (green transition)
• “Well, I arrived in Europe with huge enthusiasm, thinking we could discuss honestly, bringing the voice of my people and also making people understand that you can't legislate if you're completely disconnected from grassroots. But I quickly realized that politics counts for nothing in this Parliament. It's not us who take the decisions. It's the politicized and ideological European Commission that's taking us. Nowhere is ignoring the citizens and the companies in its own bubble. The automobile sector is a symbol of this failed approach. Thousands, millions of jobs are at risk. It's penalising consumers, and it's leading Europe to depend on other countries. Let's focus on innovation, technological freedom, research rather than on bureaucracy and dictatorship of obtuse rules. We need a genuine, far reaching change, a cultural revolution which is aggressive in form and which will shake up Europe. And officials have thought for decades that they can change things with arrogance. But those times are gone.”
  EU political integration
• “Thank you. In Europe. We have a process of deindustrialization, of traditional manufacturing industry, but there is great potential for high quality, high tech manufacturing. Biotechnology production is one of the expanding, high quality sectors, and that presupposes three things. Highly qualified and trained staff that we have a small environmental impact and a big market to sell into. And here talented researchers are part of it. Often they go outside Europe where they find better research and development conditions. We need a more of an intake than an outflow. One of the problems that has been raised is the rules. I recall thinking back into history, the Soviet Union. And they wanted to put rules on everything, and they crushed everything, and it collapsed from the inside rather than an outside attack. Europe is doing the same thing, putting rules on everything and crushing creativity. We are highly restricted. We must promote industrial freedom, industrial investment and high levels of activity. That's our recipe to get out of the stagnation we're experiencing at the moment. Biotechnologies are a central topic to come out of that impediment.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “The Adriatic Baltic Railway corridor is key in the rail network. It's important for connectivity between the north and south of Europe. It's important at a geopolitical level. It strengthens the role of the Mediterranean. It increases exchanges in the Adriatic and also with North Africa and the northern Mediterranean is very important for trade, and Adriatic ports are an important platform for the transport of goods onto European markets. Thanks to their geographic position and with modal connections, it means a more rapid distribution to central and northern Europe. So my question is, what are the measures that the Commission is going to adopt to make sure this corridor is in place by 2040 and to boost investment? Thank you.”
  EU transport infrastructure integration
• “Thank you. Well, in recent years, we've certainly seen a massive increase in electric vehicle use. But we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that the regulation here is an ideological thing that was created by the green. The Green Deal moving towards electrification, the total electrification of the automotive industry. Today, however, what we're seeing is a real change in the way people are looking at this. We've moved away from an environmental dream more towards a kind of industrial reality, particularly bearing in mind the difficulties that the industry is facing and the difficulties of our own economic structures here. We've also got, of course freedom of choice for consumers, which is incredibly important. I think we're clear. The choice for electric isn't always incentivized as it should be. Often, instead, it is imposed by legislation which is instead excluding all other options. We believe it would be more sensible for us to set strict environmental targets, and to leave consumers the choice to select the best technology for them. We've seen this in the past. In Italy, for example, between 1990 and 2000, we saw a lot of talk about methane and increase. There was quite considerable because it was economically convenient and because consumers wanted it rather than because it was imposed upon them. I think this is a very good example of where the market can guide people to make a good choice. The topic of environmental neutrality, which has been talked about in the ECR, has, from the very beginning of the negotiations, been set aside.”
  Road transport environmental policy
• “I think it's we risk here standing in the way of other kinds of biofuels and options, which could reduce emissions quite considerably. I think these are solutions which do not require brand new infrastructure to be created because actually previous investment has already been pumped into this. We've also got to bear in mind that we're not going to be able to achieve a lot of our objectives by 2030, and we've got to take into account the geopolitical realities as well. We know we've already missed the the boat on this a little bit. We know that China has got a massive competitive advantage when we're talking about battery tech and primary materials. In the meantime, it seems that the EU really is putting its automotive industry at risk. We risk it dying overnight. We're always talking about European competitiveness, about the energy costs which we need to decrease so that we don't lose companies. We're talking about pressure on the internal market. About the cost to people's lives of these emissions. And I think it's incredibly important for us to look at what the technology can do for us here. It is a geopolitical need for us all. We need to ensure that we have free choice for our consumers, and our strategic advantage needs to be taken into account. We need to ensure that we use the existing networks that we've got in relation to fuel in Europe. Thank you.”
  Powertrain choice: EV-only pathway vs. equal support for hybrids, e-fuels, H2 · Energy (green transition)
• “Thank you very much. First of all, I would like to say that I am pleased that people appreciate the proposal. The commission increase for CEF is a positive signal, but unfortunately it's not enough. The European Parliament has to make sure that there is economic predictability. We have the non cross-border projects that are in issue. We want to be able to connect all the different regions. We're going to have big corridors. But we need to also make sure that we have access to ports and other corridors. And of course, high speed corridors. The UAE is financing a high speed railway at 700km/h and China at 1000km/h. I know that these are just projects. I don't know whether they'll become a reality, but Europe should also be looking at this. So we need new road and railway technologies that we need to harness. And one last point. We have this fledgling European Competitiveness Fund. And we need to make sure that we can access private funds as well, because private funds can be complementary as well. Of course, we need to provide financial incentives so that these private funds can flow.”
  EU funding for transportation
• “There has to be a solid financial infrastructure and if we don't have that, we could lose innovation and highly skilled jobs, among other things. If we want to bolster industry, not only do we need to invest in research and innovation, but we need to stimulate demand, especially when it comes to advanced biotech plants. We have to focus on SMEs and the proposal to streamline administrative procedures. Because if it takes a long time, if you have a lot of red tape, it's a huge disadvantage and we cannot afford this any longer. But we must do this without compromising safety. And that is why we don't understand why you talk about preliminary preliminary trials in the food sector. We have to think about the social, economic, cultural and safety aspects of this. It's crucial to make sure that we have access to a biological feed feeding stock, but we need to have a strategy that makes you that. We have a circular approach and helps all those involved and that we promote research.”
  EU support for bioeconomic applications
• “Thank you. Chairman. Well, I'll make a few points at the start that perhaps don't seem to be connected to this. In Europe, we've got intuition and genius, but there's no desire. In the world. There is a desire and something that Europe had for many years, but no longer does. What about these pathologies that are now affecting Europe? It's very hypocritical of itself. There's hyper control and my Russian psychoanalyst says, this is hypernormalisation. There's a mother who really wants to control her child, and then actually they affect them. There's the risk here. Of course, you have to accept risk. Yes. That's right. Especially if you're making a mistake. But then there's the exception here when you make mistakes. Now coming back to the topic, we need to stimulate, fund support, incentivise biotech and its production. They are the objective factor for competition and Europe's competitiveness in comparison with the world. We need to remove the obstacles to biotech. And I would support some of the points that were made. And we need to incentivize them in the system. We need to have skills. We need to have support for the workforce. We need to stimulate the research at universities. And our universities are competitive, but they don't see the work implemented in industry. And we need to prevent a brain drain. We need to have a framework for legislation that is free, as free as possible where you have ex post controls, so controls afterwards. And we need to be able to have the capacity to do something. If we don't, that will never get started. So we need venture capital investment and so on and we need to help our companies.”
  EU policy on ethical standards in biotechnology applications
• “Thank you very much indeed President. Psychopathologies are the only illness which have implications for social and cultural life and therefore on World Mental Health Day we need to think about the various socioeconomic factors impacting the psychological well-being of our citizens. We need to talk about school performance and a lack of positive role models for children to replicate and this is where their sense of unease comes and often leads then to a lack of ease in society. And that is why young people then search for surrogates. They lose themselves in an online world instead of in reality. They go for virtual reality and that means that there is this existential vacuum which leads to psychological pain. And so it is therefore no longer an issue for an individual but it has profound social and cultural issues. That is why we must build relationships and ties so that people have a sense of belonging. Of course families should take care of their own but we need to try and inculcate a greater sense of responsibility into society to help families, to strengthen them along with societies to look after others and to try and palliate this sense of unease. And that is why I speak on the basis of twenty five years in public service.”
  EU policy on mental health
• “(15:32:16 – 15:35:27): I'd like to start by thanking commissioner Titi Costas for the work he has done and the work he will do together with executive vice president Fito to bring forward a clear European strategy for this sector. Europe has to develop a strong policy. There have been times at which maritime transport seemed to be considered less important because if you compared with terrestrial, train, aviation was more important. But now we see that it's key. Three quarters of transport goes through there, millions of European citizens, billions worth in goods. But there are a number of problems. First of all, fuels. This is a serious problem. New fuels, alternative fuels, are something that all operators are following and are awaiting, as well as new technologies that go hand in hand with that and new port strategies that will support them. ETS as well. ETS is leading to a number of competitive imbalances. The network needs to be corrected. We need to find new methods. We need to bring changes for the sector because otherwise, the ETS is going to destroy competitiveness for Europe in this sector. So either we need to take a step back, that's one possibility, or look at structural solutions to protect our maritime industry. The current solutions haven't solved it. Secondly, digitalization. We hear a lot about reducing bureaucracy, simplification, a clear strategy, but we need to have effective legislation, and it has to be clear. Europe has to try to be in the lead, compared with other parts of the world. Thirdly, port asset ownership is important. We are competing with China and Turkey in our ports, there is serious competition. I'm referring specifically to Italy, but I know it's the same for Greece and for a number of other ports as well, where there is significant investment from these areas. So we have to get back our own property. When Trump came to office, one of the first things he did was take back ownership of the Panama Canal, which was going to the Chinese. Then also when it comes to tenders in ports, we have to protect our own companies because otherwise, the competition will be unfair and our companies will be discriminated against and won't be able to keep up. So we have to create rules that won't discriminate against European operators. Thank you.”
  Decarbonisation of maritime transport
• “Thank you. The protection of workers from Unloyal competition needs to be implemented because very often there are opaque companies and this damages both the honest companies and the workers. This is a true. This is a true problem. But I think the way it is being tackled is not correct. We need a very strict controls and we need to apply the laws. In Italy we have organized networks that manage workers outside the rules. You get irregular extra community workers to come onto the market using false documents. And this leads to social dumping and disloyal competition. But but I don't think through a directive we're going to solve the problem. If you put very strict rules, this could also mean that you're penalising SMEs and you're not creating any flexibility. You need strict control, but no new rules. Thank you.”
  EU policy on employment subcontracting
• “Yes. Thank you. Fascinating. Because connection between the big European cities through high speed rail is essential for the development of Europe. And of course additional network would be important for minor cities. But there's a financial problem because I'm sure there are. Already the staff and funds like that, there are other funds. There are regional funds. But I feel that we really need the partnership with private sector. That way we can actually shorten. The organization time and there is a financial is there any financial strategy to bring in? The private capital and make it profitable so that we can speed up this project?”
  EU transport infrastructure integration
• “New Europe is an historic necessity. The 20th century wars have marginalised Europe and balances have gone from our area to the other sides of the Pacific and Atlantic. The European Union is weak. 450 million people, compared to 1.45 billion in India. 1.4 billion in China. 1.5 billion in Africa. The European Union. Would have a different bit of clout if it was the EU of 450 of the Western and 250 Russians that live in as our neighbors. I think we need to rethink this. Think it differently without thinking about the current governments that we have, this leader, that government, etc., because. I've listened to a lot of people who've been hostile to Trump, and there's something that is clear. He has broken the balances in the post-World War II period, and therefore there's a complete and utter shift ever.”
  EU political integration
• “So the accident in the Gotthard Tunnel was an unfortunate and unpredictable event, but it does show how fragile our trans alpine connections are. Of course, the Alps work for Italy as a barrier which cannot be overcome or certainly slows down transportation considerably. But for Italy it is the door to the European single market, so every restriction can lead to serious economic damage to our businesses and our export and import system. And this is unacceptable. It violates the spirit of the transportation agreement between Europe and Switzerland. So there are technical reasons, unpredictable ones, legitimate, of course. But to impose unilateral restrictions is something which is unacceptable. When it comes to the Rhine Alpine corridor, we need to seek to avoid changing the European logistics transportation system, because this would undermine traffic of merchandise from Italian ports Genoa and Savona, in particular, towards another logistical network. So it's not a temporary emergency because it's taking a long time. It creates bottlenecks which are blocking our port system and its fluidity. And indeed, it even affects the Mediterranean logistics platform. So we need to establish a principle of solidarity and coordination through the Ten-t network.”
  EU transport infrastructure integration
• “This situation is unacceptable. So we have two suggestions to to make two proposals. The first is the duty of overlap. That is, the network managers must harmonize their maintenance timetables because often accidents come on top of temporary closing closures that have to do with maintenance, which are of course, one off and are necessary. And secondly, there's the role of the commission. The Commission cannot just act as a spectator. It must serve as a guarantor to maintain operational continuity. If there is a commitment, it needs to ensure an agreement with the member States involved so that the ordinary or limitation work is done in a coordinated fashion. Because if we have a bottleneck as a result of a technical, unpredictable technical event, but if we don't fluidify the system, then it's going to undermine our entire logistics network and operational continuity of the this area is not negotiable. If we don't have free circulation of goods, that is the heart of the single market that would disappear. We need to create rules for coordination among Member States so that we can maintain a balance when it comes to our merchandise transportation capabilities.”
  EU transport infrastructure integration
• “So in my view, from a strategic standpoint, we need to try and implement a different kind of policy to break down that barrier. We have seen months and years of work on the infrastructure there, and the work needs to be done no matter how long it takes. And of course, this is major strategic work. Then, of course, there's the matter of the upkeep or the maintenance of that kind of work. This means that we see increasing traffic jams. It slows everything down. And this happens periodically every few months or every year. We need to be pumping funding into this. There is the matter of Mont Blanc. We need to keep working on the tunnel there. And that's not all. We need to ensure that there is a strategic view to link up throughout the Alps, the bordering nations, obviously France and Italy. In the case of the Alps. But the other countries concerned there as well. On ten t, we need to ensure that we are aligning our strategy to the real needs and the work that needs to be done, and it's very important to keep in mind that Italy's logistical sector is losing out on millions every year. Because there is simply a lack of routes for goods to be transported. Another European member states are also being affected. So we need a holistic view, and we must ensure that there's the right kind of funding to move forward with this logistical work.”
  EU transport infrastructure integration
• “Now we need to be clear. The Middle East is not working. There's no way of the EU of discussing with them and then with us. The the individual states, neither their historic roots there. And we know that people are trying to wipe out the state of Israel and the Jews, which is unacceptable. We can see these ideologies of hate and terrorism and strange sources of financing. The 7th of October showed the vulnerability of Israel, and the only response to terrorism has been what we've seen. This is the logic behind the attacks on the Houthis and Hamas and Hezbollah. So we know that without a solution, there'll be no peace. We, as Europe needs to work with the United States. We need to recognize the right of Israel. And we know Israel has to respect the civilian population. But we have to find a solution. Uh, either we find a solution there, or there's going to be more hate for the coming century.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine