Roberts ZĪLE

Policy topics Roberts ZĪLE is active on

What Roberts ZĪLE has said (18)

• “The next item on the agenda is the cases of human rights and environmental defenders, Andrey Yunos and Mohammad Rashidi in Indonesia. And I will start with the authors. First to speak will be Idoia Mendia.”
  EU competences on human rights
• “Money is spent already from this MMF. And that's why this is not so much. We have to change the rules in the next MMF for self-regulation, for example. But mainly we have to just add more money and commission proposal shows that there is more money. Let's see how council will will work with with with the same issue. And um, so and one more issue, what what was the principle in our first package of amendments we would like to keep not so much geographical. Uh preciseness. We would like to keep the skeleton of the report around for military mobility corridors, which very much linked with the Ten-t network core network and also part of the comprehensive network of 20. That's why we don't see that there is a necessity to be written almost all geographical points, because already those former military mobility corridors are already is a kind of compromise between member states, uh, which implementing those projects. Also, there were several requests to put additional. And we partly, uh, approved those uh, as a compromises that, uh, it's not only military mobility, meaning railway lines, roads, ports, but also hubs. But as you remember, there was already already mentioned from about these 500 hubs, which I guess commission will in legislation proposal in a mini omnibus coming out of end of this year, they will make some hierarchy of these 500, uh, Hotspots, which of course include all the kind of necessary things for logistical part for military side. So, uh, so that was our principles. We would like to hear from shadows how it looks like after the first half of, uh, compromise amendment proposal. And we will issue it, as I said this week. Uh, also second part. Thank you.”
  EU funding for transportation
• “Yes. Thank you, chair. And dear colleagues, thank you very much for your very active participation in submitting amendments. And we tried with Petras as much as possible, and we already issued on Friday or half of the file until the eastern flank part from regional report and also at other part will come out from our side as a proposal for compromises after first technical meeting. So I think I really thankful for, for this really active participation. The main principles were from the committee. We normally we would like to we used to work with legislation very much with the CCF and so and other military mobility. We would like to keep it very precise, and our aim was not to so much create a new, uh, maybe some rules, but to make a more simple unity for commission services and also member state services to cooperate with NATO, NATO, with the harmonisation of rules as a general principles for those low hanging fruits, as we discussed in a previous debate. And many members said that the military Schengen issues are where we really think that we have to make a find a harmonisation of rules, not so much creation of new rules and standards because they are already existing mainly from coming from standardisation from NATO and which was approved also by member states who are members of NATO. A majority of them are also members of EU. So that's why I think we will follow these rules. Of course, there are a lot of issues which requires also to changes in connecting facility on military mobility access. But experience from this MMF shows that there was not so much problem of the rules. How theft tenders are organized on military mobility centers are organized through the commission, but they mostly because of there was lack of money.”
  Relations with NATO
• “Madam chair. Commissioner. Colleagues, I'm delighted that finally, not only the EPP Trend Committee and its coordinators, my dear colleagues, acknowledge that the importance, the importance of military mobility, and it is now reflected also at the Commission and Council, especially with regard to dual use. I hope the Council will follow. Why do I say. Finally, I'd like to remind you that in the summer of 2020, when the EU Council took the final, the decisions on the current MFF, then the military mobility, the expenditure for military mobility was reduced from nearly €6 billion to zero and only thanks to the commission hard efforts, 1.5 billion were allocated and which was tendered out within two years because the demand was very high. And therefore I believe that this is a very important, crucial issue for us because other steps do not actually work. The the mid-term review of the MFF lately did not work because we didn't have anything, not even €1 for military mobility. And the same applies to the mid-term review of the Cohesion Fund, which has been created flexibly yesterday by the European Commission. I think it will also be hard for member states to reallocate the funds from from this fund. Therefore, let's let's get ready and, and, and um, let's support the commission first. Thank you.”
  Defence spending
• “We are closing catch the eye procedure and Commissioner Serafin Florez, yours for. Respond. On behalf of the Commission, please.”
  EU public communication strategy
• “Thank you. I'll speak for Mr. Roberts. I will read his contribution in the name of the SER. I would like to thank the rapporteurs for the initial draft for the work done. Many of the ideas mentioned earlier in an Eni report where we contributed as ECR, have now been found in this report. This means that we support those who say that the next multiannual framework must focus on financing a European public Uh services, uh, while focusing on the European added value. We're skeptical, uh, towards combining different policies in a single plan for each member state. This would be against the unity and the cohesion of such policies of Common Agricultural policy or cohesion policy. In fact, such a varied approach based on national plans would lead to fragmentation of single market, and that would give unfair competitive advantage to some players and would be against the principle of solidarity, of solidarity, which is one of the basic principles of European integration. This would be also against financial, uh, predictability for final beneficiaries, and this would work against the reliability of our common project. Now moving on to ECR priorities. First of all, when we talk about common good at the European level, our first priority should be connectivity between national transport networks and energy network. At the top of the list is also border security and defence spending, particularly in reaction to the threat from Russia on our eastern borders and a more general need to better manage migration. When you look at what is expected by our citizens, they point always to migration and security as their top priorities. The EU should react to those needs if our common project is to be of importance in future. We also expect more flexibility so that we are able to react to unpredictable events such as floods. As we saw recently in Poland, in Sicily or in Spain, we need to reinforce our common force and show solidarity because that is beneficial to all citizens of the European Union. Thank you very much.”
  EU-Russia relations (from March 2022)
• “Yes, thank you very much, chair. And good to see three former coordinators here in the House. Welcome back to the Transport Committee. Good to see you. You are all in good shape and you stick to your time. That's a good starting point for discussion. I have just two minutes now, so I will start with Gesine Meissner and on her interesting presentation. From a legislative point of view, we have always a problem that we are ambitious on our targets. But then you come and report that, for example, on the on push onshore power supply. You just delivered 10% numbers from 2024. So in a way, it's a question. Now, is it our duty to have an earlier review on the Orfeo, or could we have a better implementation at national level? Where is the problem or is it both? We should revise legislation and have a proper enforcement. So there I need your advice then to Marian Marinescu. So the CF connection and of course the budget is under discussion here. The first draft from the commission was pretty well. It goes in the right direction. The CF is almost doubled and we have more money for military mobility. But of course, you know very well that in the House, if I look to my colleague now, he's not longer here. Novakov from the regional Committee on cohesion, on agriculture, there's a lot of opposition, so we are not sure that we can safeguard it.”
  EU funding for transportation
• “She said it was ten times more than it was the previous current MFF. But as the story is a commission proposal seven years ago for this current MFF on military mobility was over about €6 billion on that time. Money at the end of the European Council high level, it was a few hours when it was zero and then it came back to 1.6, about €1,000,000 billion, which are tendered out already a few years ago. So does that mean we don't know what would be the final figure? But I hope that the leaders of the states this time would be more serious and not cut the commission proposal from this €17.5 billion in the MFF for 2028, 2034, significantly or even increase in the best case scenario. Uh, we already said about military Schengen, but this really created the confusions when we, uh, met with experts and we found that EU and NATO formed 3 or 2 documentation. It was very famous in each member state different. So and it cannot work like that. And it's manual. It's handwritten. It's not digital. Uh, it should it doesn't require so much money. It's require will. And we will would like with this report to put pressure on the commission also defense readiness omnibus and upcoming joint communication on military mobility expected in the end of this year. So we also would like to see a clear distinguish about what we can do in this crisis period. We know peacetime and wartime phases, but crisis is in between, which is currently actually.”
  Defence spending
• “And that's why we cannot wait so many meetings. That should be, in our opinion, there should be clear political, high level decisions that this crisis period and in that stage, all commissioners, all institutions and member states know what to do with a moving of military personnel and also our military equipment. Improving infrastructure. Petras already said, I just would like to add one point, that we are happy that the majority of those 94% of the NATO corridors are in the same line, like Trans-European Transport Networks. Most of the EU member states, as we know, are NATO members and it could be very confusing. It would be different corridors. That's that's the positive side concurrent position enhancing capabilities. We found that during the meetings with experts that unfortunately, there are no good producers in the high level producer who can do flatbeds for the rolling stocks and also locomotives issue on the railway sector. We cannot do everything by electricity that we know the dual engine locomotives, otherwise we are in difficulties in a in a crisis or even war period. And the final part of subtitles, as you see, is enhancing EU, NATO cooperation. We outlined that is a serious improvement. But it should be the still find a better communication between these two institutions. And it's going on. So there is a this NATO information sharing platform to support the work of NATO joint support and enabling command. So thank you very much. We are listening, of course, of colleagues and looking forward for your amendments. Thank you.”
  Relations with NATO
• “The next setting is tomorrow, Thursday on the 21st of May at 9:00 in the morning. The agenda is published and is available on the European Parliament's website. The minutes of this setting will be submitted to Parliament for its approval tomorrow at the beginning of the afternoon. And today's sitting is closed. Thank you.”
  EU public communication strategy
• “Thank you. Yes. Thank you very much. Colleagues, we are closing the debate on this point in agenda. I received six proposals for resolutions and what will take place tomorrow. Next point in agenda was was to expect an explanation of votes. But because nobody almost is here. So there is no explanation of what everything is explained. Thank you very much. Vice President Executive Vice President for your time. So, and I just going to the final announcements.”
  Transparency requirements of EU institutions
• “Received eight motions for a resolution. The vote will be tomorrow. We now move on to the Commission statement on protecting citizens right to make cash payments and ensuring financial inclusion. And to ask to take the floor for the commission. Commissioner floor is yours, Commissioner, when you are ready. So please.”
  Cash as means of payment
• “Thank you very much. Next speaker from a sovereign nation Europe Imhilde Bossdorf. **Irmhild BOẞDORF: The summer is. Now heat wave. This summer, you know, as usual, we had a rainy July and then a sunny August. Now, it's rather surprising that we're now talking about housing and health policy. Is that a way in which we can counter a summer heat wave? Berlin certainly has spent €20,000 on public fountains. Um, and, um, on various, um, urban measures. But planting trees would be cheaper. But we have a policy in which we allow people to immigrate, those, um, whose cultures are remote from them, which exacerbates the crisis. And we are seeing the ideology of late summer. And, um, we have, um, various, um, people being killed by migrants. And we have all people then, um, failing to talk about this as a conspiracy of silence. And it's time that we now fought for the kind of Europe in which people feel safe and in which freedom of speech prevails. Thank you.”
  Asylum & border control
• “We are closing catch the eye procedure because we have many names that already know. So Siegfried Muresan would be the next speaker.”
  EU public communication strategy
• “Of course, it could be cooperated and should be coordinated on some issues like point number 19, ESM colleagues said about 19 point about corridors to Ukraine. It's exactly what is already in Ten-t regulations, which we refurbished. It was a couple of years ago in a previous legislature. But also we have to understand that we cannot give any kind of security guarantees for Ukraine without this corridor, this mobility, military mobility, capacity for Ukraine. Otherwise, it's our enemy will not trust it. So it's not serious guarantees. And the last point about our Mr. Gomaa, I think our French colleague said about the French brigade moving to Romania, it's very good. But I've been speaking with the experts who made the planning for those movement, and they said if they will do one brigade from France to Romania by land, it required at least months. It's not serious. You cannot imagine. It's certainly not a big troops. And to do it in one month. Of course you can use aviation and some other things, but it's, it's, it shows that how much things should be done better. So thank you very much. We look forward to a good report at the end.”
  EU-Ukraine relations
• “Colleagues. Yesterday's minutes of the text are available and the text accepted are also available. Do you have any comments? I don't see any comment. Comments. It means that the minutes have been approved, and the next item on agenda is topical debate requested by a political group. And Group's and the urgent need. To combat discrimination in the EU through the horizontal Anti-Discrimination directive. I would like to inform members that for this debate, there will be no catch the eye procedure and no blue cards will be accepted. So. Colleagues, please. So we have a I think silence in the hemicycle. So and I would like to give the floor to rapporteur um, Anna Caterina mendez. Floor is yours.”
  EU policy on integration and ethnic, racial and religious discrimination
• “But if member states are buying, uh, equipment, they can do it wherever they want. And for example, Finnish President and Prime Minister visit to us like we are not. It was very wise to my opinion about the proposals, what they did in Washington, D.C. and also, uh, like we are not but EU is buying from US arms for Ukraine currently ammunition. This is reality. So we have to you have to be real on on on this issue. Also let's see how Ukraine is preparing on, on third and fourth years of the war. They became capable to hit down hundreds of during one attack from Russia. Drones we are still using. In a case of Polish case, we are using very expensive munition which we have to recover. This is the things that we have to change very quickly. Also on mobility side, that's why I, I disagree with some colleagues who said, look, we have an ability between different. Come on. Between you and NATO. Most of the EU member states on the continent expect Austria are also NATO members. We cannot have a way for EU and wagons for NATO or roads for EU and roads for NATO. So let's forget about these things. And I really hope with such attitude, we will find good solutions for good report and also good legislation package from the Commission. Thank you.”
  Relations with NATO
• “Luis Vincente or Lazaro? **Luis-Vicențiu LAZARUS: Madam president.I understand that this regulation 1082 is one that is aimed. At the freedom and protection of press, media and the journalist. Yes, we totally agree that the journalist needs to be protected. We totally agree that they should be free. But what do we do when this doesn't actually happen? Just look at what happened in our country, in Romania. Candidates to the presidential elections have been forbidden from candidates, from being candidates. And then we cancelled a round of elections. And then you say that the basis of democracy, we have the freedom of the press. Look what happened here yesterday when we debated the motion against the commission. The initiator of this motion was given three minutes to express his idea ideas. And Mrs. von der Leyen received 15 minutes. And I, who supported the motion. I was not allowed to speak at all. We've been talking about this position, police of the truth for a long time now. Here you have it. Paid from a EU money. This is good for the protection of the press.”
  EU Supervision of the Rule of Law