Younous OMARJEE

Policy topics Younous OMARJEE is active on

What Younous OMARJEE has said (18)

• 2026-06-16 “The sitting is open. The next item on the agenda is the Commission statement. Achieving digital Sovereignty and Resilience for Europe. In the light of recent developments affecting access to advanced AI technologies. I would like to remind speakers that given the test measures currently in place and the fixed end time of the debate, 1015 strict observance of speaking times will be required and I will be particularly strict and vigilant. To start our discussion, I have the pleasure. Pleasure to give the floor to the Vice Executive Vice President of the Commission. Hen Verkleinen, I welcome you and I give you the floor right away.”
  EU digital & tech sovereignty
• 2026-06-16 “25:26 – 10:26:16): This animated debate with all the blue cards, that's the end of the debate. And the next item on the agenda is the commission statement by the vice president by on achieving the role of the EU in efforts for peace and stability throughout the Middle East Middle East after the announced deal between The US and Iran. I'd like to remind speakers that given the test measures currently in place and the fixed end time of the debate, strict observance of speaking times will be required. I'd like to welcome the high representatives and vice president, miss Carlos, and I have the pleasure to give her the floor.”
  EU-Iran relations
• 2026-06-16 “The sitting is open. The next item on the agenda is the commission statement, achieving digital sovereignty and resilience for Europe in the light of recent developments affecting access to advanced AI technologies. I would like to remind speakers that given the test measures currently in place and the fixed end time of the debate, 10:15, strict observance of speaking times will be required. And I will be particularly strict and vigilant. To start our discussion, I have the pleasure pleasure to give the floor to the vice the executive vice president of the commission, Henna Virkonen. I welcome you, and I give you the floor right away.”
  EU digital & tech sovereignty
• “Thank you very much to the rapporteur. I would like to thank all of our director generals for They're very pointed responses to all of the questions asked. I will not comment as I am a member of the Bureau of the European Parliament, but it is certainly interesting for me to see how the Budgets Committee is providing oversight and control for our decisions. And I think that's very positive for the internal democratic functioning of our institution. Uh, budgets committee meeting is closed, but we will meet again here in this same room at 1130 for a joint meeting with the cont committee. We will have an exchange with the Court of Auditors on the performance regulation. Thank you very much. The Chair Kindly thanks the interpreters and thank you all for your attention.”
  Discharge of EU institutions and agencies
• “Dear colleagues, welcome to our Committee on Regional Development. Today we are going to proceed to the Constitution of our committee. Bureau. Committee. Bureau. Constitution means electing our chair and our four vice chairs pursuant to rule 2.19 of our internal regulations. So we will now proceed to the election of the chair and the vice chairs. Are there any substitutes who have to be announced? I don't believe so. I would also like to inform you, as you can see, that we have a quorum because 11 members is sufficient to have a quorum. And there are many more than 11 of us here this morning, and I hope that will also be the case in the future. I now call for candidacies for chair. I will now give the floor to the representative from the S&D group.”
  Transparency requirements of EU institutions
• “Chairperson Andrew, dear President or Chairperson Bulman, your Excellencies, ambassadors, let me start by welcoming our fellow parliamentarians from South Africa and to state how much of a pleasure it is for us to have you with us today. As you can imagine, Chair, I have many comments to make about what was said by first the first panel members but there I'll limit myself to just two comments. The summit that will take place in Angola will, we hope, make it possible to make some qualitative progress in the relationship between the European Union and Africa. The time really has come to move from words to deeds and I think that it is only parliamentarians who can make sure that this is the case. I mean, let us remember that heads of state meet only every three years and we as European parliamentarians, as African parliamentarians, as Pan African parliamentarians have an opportunity to evaluate what progress is being made in between summits or perhaps what progress is not being made, perhaps there is some backsliding. And this summit is taking place at a very specific time, a changing time in the world. We know that geopolitics is changing in a very radical way but we're not quite certain where that will end up, what direction it's going to go in. But there are some certainties. There's a certainty about demography. In 2100, the African continent will have a population of some four billion inhabitants whereas the European Union will see its population numbers continue to decline. In 2060, sixty percent of the African continent's population will consist of young people. So these two figures are sufficient to indicate very clearly that the century, the upcoming century, will be an African century. But as European parliamentarians, I think we can certainly regret the fact that the summit in Angola was not preceded, is not being preceded, by a parliamentary pre-summit. This is a precedent. The fact that this is being done is really the first time around and we must work hard to have a pre-summit. Nevertheless, in Amedan, now according to the information communicated to me by the secretariat, there will be one in Midrand because we're going there with a delegation of twelve or eighteen people from the European Parliament. So there won't be a pre-summit in Angola as is usually the case but there will be one in Miraanda. But for the time being, within the presidency of the European Parliament, we haven't received any official confirmation of that and that's why I'm expressing my regrets about this. And the President Youssef of the Pan African Parliament has been invited by the President of the European Parliament to speak in plenary before the European Parliament in December and that will be a significant step forward in the development of relationships between our two parliaments and that will be an opportunity to put in place some strengthened cooperation between the committees of both parliaments. I have been to Addis Ababa and I have seen to what extent the legislation that we adopt here in the European Parliament has in fact an impact in the African continent and we need to continue this work of taking into consideration what those impacts are and how they can best be channeled. I hope that we will have an opportunity to welcome various people in our committees, Madame the Commissioner Francois Lely and Moses Billard Caty also in order to be able to discuss all of these various issues of such importance for our cooperation between the two parliaments. And the delegation of the European Parliament and the very important mission that you led, Mr. Bulman, to the continent in a situation that was particularly difficult and complicated. Now this parliamentary cooperation must be strengthened. Our counterpart is the Pan African Parliament and we must work on strengthening that relationship and improving it. I won't dwell at length on further points but the meeting that we will have in plenary in December at the European Parliament, I think that will be a very important moment because we will be receiving the President of the Pan African Parliament and I hope that members of our parliament will be present in great numbers. So thank you, Vice President. **Udo Bullmann (Germany, S&D) @Co-Chair: Exchange of opinions between our colleagues here on the hurdles that are still in the way of parliament to parliament collaboration. There is only one answer and this answer is: we shall overcome. Don't worry. So the next speaker is Lindy V Kumalo, Clerk of the Pan African Parliament. Can you see us? Can you hear? Wonderful. Welcome. You're invited to address us.”
  EU policy on African region
• “Good. Our colleague Bernier has given his consent. Are there any other proposals? There aren't any. So I propose that our colleague be elected by acclamation. And I congratulate him. **Dragoș Benea @Co-Chair: Thank you very much for your support, and I would like to assure you that I am fully aware of the challenges and the responsibilities that this position implies. I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Omarjee for the contributions I made to this committee, and wish him all the best for his future position as Vice President of the European Parliament. I don't want to spend time telling you about things that you know better than I do. I would like to call for coherence and collaboration within the committee to ensure efficient collaboration Here and with DG Regio, we need to fulfill the requirements of our mandate, coming up with new rules to shape cohesion policy and the Multiannual Financial Framework. Since we don't have much time, I propose to get down to business. The election of the four vice chairs. There is a quorum which allows us to proceed with the election. For the position of first Vice president. Mr. Dalmau, from the popular EPP. Thank you very much for this, uh, proposal for, uh, and congratulations on your election as chair. I wish you a rich, fruitful mandate. I would like to propose the Madame Gabriel candidacy for the first vice chair. She is an MEP for the first time. However, she has worked at DG environment at the European Commission for 16 years and therefore has a significant experience. She was responsible for the European Semester, the implementation of environmental policy and legislation, and the negotiations on the CFP. Given the challenges that the future of the cohesion Policy is facing, we ask our colleagues to support the proposal of our candidate who has a extensive experience, are there any other proposals? I don't see any. And therefore I would like to ask if Madame Gabriela Guazzini accepts this nomination. Thank you. **Dragoș Benea @Co-Chair: Yes, yes I do. Given that you are part of this committee and you fulfill all of the requirements to be elected to this position, we can proceed to a vote by acclamation. Should we invite Vice President Gabriela Grassini? And I would now like to invite you to come and join me at the front. **Dragoș Benea @Co-Chair: We now have to elect the second vice chair and I open the floor for proposals from the Socialist Party.”
  EU political integration
• “The session is open. The minutes from yesterday's meeting and the adopted text are available. Are there any comments? No. In which case the minutes are adopted. The non attached members have told the president that they have taken decision on a change to the nominations to their commissions and delegations. These decisions will be in the minutes of today's meeting and will take effect from now. The next point on the agenda is the commission statement on Endometriosis Europe's wake up call on the gender health gap. It's our pleasure to welcome Commissioner Hazel Habib. Welcome, madam. And you have the floor on behalf of the European Commission.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Concludes the debate and the vote will take place tomorrow in accordance with our order of business. We move on to a commission statement on the need to reduce work related fatalities. I want to draw your attention to the fact that there will be only one round of speakers. We have the speakers from each political group and that's it. No further debate and no contributions by other members, backbenchers or indeed no blue cards. That said, I give the floor to the Vice President of the Commission, Mrs. Busato.”
  EU rules on hazardous working conditions
• “Thank you very much, dear colleague. Next speaker is Marie Toussaint. Dear colleagues, a week ago, a young person was killed, crushed by a truck, a forklift truck. They just turned 18. Itan was their name. April 18, only a month ago, another young person also lost their life in 15 years only crushed by a forklift truck. There are 100000 young people under the 25 who sustained injuries at work, and 423 have It's now 20 26. There are still children dying at the place of work here in Europe. More than 100000 people every year die because of the risks that they have been exposed to on our continent because of the work that they do. I'm talking primarily of cancer risks. Again, young people are the least well informed. They're not made aware of the danger of toxic products. It is dramatic. It is suffering for entire families. What could be worse than to lose your own child? So, yes, we do have a responsibility to bear. We need to improve our labor inspectorates. We need to also protect workers against extreme heat, and we need to guarantee that in the future, there will not be an other fatality ever in the place of works. Thank you very much. Next speaker, Konstantinos Avantis. President,”
  EU rules on hazardous working conditions
• “Thank you. Mr.. **Nicolae ȘTEFĂNUȚĂ: Commissioner. Tough job. You have to deal with both houses and the heating of said houses. In in my country. Uh, yeah, it was it was a lottery. People cut down on the temperature inside their houses. They they unpack the woolies. Okay. We'll do with 16, 18°C inside, but we need to plan for this. We need to be able to help our citizens. And then when people take matters into their own hands and they try to produce some energy, they're not allowed access to the market. The major companies don't allow them to sell the surplus Us or to give it to somebody else. You cannot give away cheap energy even if you want to. We need to support this type of energy community. We need to bring down the electric bills because people don't feel at home that things are getting better, then they won't support Europe. What we do here is very important. I can't wait to see the four pillars with all those actions. I can't wait for them, I mean it. And let me tell you something else. We don't need to be dependent on various dictators. Aliyev or God knows who. No, we need our renewable energy produced here in Europe and also produced by citizens with European support. Good European energy. That's what the Green Deal is all about. It's not a woke leftist Marxist conspiracy. It is all about a Europe that relies on its own energy. Thank you very much.”
  EU approach to energy security (home-made vs import sources)
• “Madam president, thank you, Madam Commissioner. She's not speaking, but without her, the world is. Declining. We're seeing a massive, uh, dying out of bees who are swamped with Pesticides. We see this. Intensive agricultural sector. Agriculture and farming. And each a hive which survives. It means that you have a field which breathed a sigh of relief, and which is a promise of life for everybody. The bees are flying away. We are seeing that there is an imbalance of those who are alive, and the European Union really needs to move towards this, a Green deal for Europe, in order that it can survive, in order that it can support a proper ecological farming practices. We need to ban what is destructive and to love and protect what gives life. Thank you.”
  EU policy on pesticides
• “(21:41:50 – 21:43:12): Thank you, vice president, commissioner. If this new law from the People's Republic Of China aims at ethnic unity, then what is at stake is mass assimilation and the systematic restrictions on language, culture, and religion. It will affect minorities such as Tibetans, Uighur, Manchus, and Mongolians. If we look at Tibet, we can see that the cultural identity and religious traditions are increasingly being repressed. That is why we are calling for the repeal of this law. We are calling for the release of political detainees, including the Sakharov prize winner, Ilham Toho, and the eleventh Panchen Lama, Gedom Chokinyema, the Tibetan Buddhist teacher, and the Tibetan monk and the Mongolian activist, Hada. In the dialogue with China, we need to consistently stand up for human rights and make it clear that the successor of the Dalai Lama is not a political decision. It is a purely religious matter. And we must also ensure that we protect people in Europe from persecution on the basis of this law. Europe stands for cultural diversity protecting minorities and human rights. Marius Kaminsky. Marius Kaminsky. Ladies and gentlemen, the law on ethnic unity and protest is another example of a brutal violation of human rights by the communist authorities in China. It strikes at the fundamental right to maintain one's own national, cultural, religious identity. Forced assimilation is affecting Tibetans, Uighurs, Manchus, and other national minorities. The provisions remind us of the worst practices of the cultural revolution in China. They force communist ideology on children, but they also encourage them to report on, incorrect, inverted commas, attitudes from their own parents. The bill also refers to Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan and creates a basis on which cross border repression can be carried out. It's legislation which reminds us that communist China, is a totalitarian country, which is a threat for the whole world.”
  EU-China relations
• “Thank you very much, Madam Minister. That concludes the debate. The next item of business is Miss May's report on the European Social Fund, ESF, plus specific measures to address strategic challenges. I should remind you that there will be one round of speakers on behalf of the political groups, but there will be no blue cards. And it is a great pleasure to welcome Mr. Ninjato, um, Executive Vice president of the commission to whom I give the floor.”
  EU expenditure on social policy
• “Good. Our colleague Bernier has given his consent. Are there any other proposals? There aren't any. So I propose that our colleague be elected by acclamation. And I congratulate him. **Dragoș Benea @Co-Chair: Thank you very much for your support, and I would like to assure you that I am fully aware of the challenges and the responsibilities that this position implies. I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Omarjee for the contributions I made to this committee, and wish him all the best for his future position as Vice President of the European Parliament. I don't want to spend time telling you about things that you know better than I do. I would like to call for coherence and collaboration within the committee to ensure efficient collaboration Here and with DG Regio, we need to fulfill the requirements of our mandate, coming up with new rules to shape cohesion policy and the Multiannual Financial Framework. Since we don't have much time, I propose to get down to business. The election of the four vice chairs. There is a quorum which allows us to proceed with the election. For the position of first Vice president. Mr. Dalmau, from the popular EPP. Thank you very much for this, uh, proposal for, uh, and congratulations on your election as chair. I wish you a rich, fruitful mandate. I would like to propose the Madame Gabriel candidacy for the first vice chair. She is an MEP for the first time. However, she has worked at DG environment at the European Commission for 16 years and therefore has a significant experience. She was responsible for the European Semester, the implementation of environmental policy and legislation, and the negotiations on the CFP. Given the challenges that the future of the cohesion Policy is facing, we ask our colleagues to support the proposal of our candidate who has a extensive experience, are there any other proposals? I don't see any. And therefore I would like to ask if Madame Gabriela Guazzini accepts this nomination. Thank you. **Dragoș Benea @Co-Chair: Yes, yes I do. Given that you are part of this committee and you fulfill all of the requirements to be elected to this position, we can proceed to a vote by acclamation. Should we invite Vice President Gabriela Grassini? And I would now like to invite you to come and join me at the front. **Dragoș Benea @Co-Chair: We now have to elect the second vice chair and I open the floor for proposals from the Socialist Party.”
  EU political integration
• “@CHAIR (21:39:46 – 21:41:49): And the vote will take place tomorrow. The next item on the agenda is a debate entitled new Chinese law on ethnic unity and progress and the intensified suppression of ethnic identities. I give the floor to Danushy Nederudova. Dear colleagues, what China calls a law for ethnic unity is, in truth, a law for assimilation and ethnic erasure. It imposes Mandarin and forces state ideology and extends China reach beyond its own borders, threatening anyone, anywhere. This law doesn't target 1 community. It targets many. The Uyghurs have endured mass detention and cultural destruction. The Mongolians have lost their language in classrooms, and the Hue faced restrictions on their Islamic practice. Each of these communities deserve to be named. Each deserves our solidarity. But today, I speak with particular urgency about Tibet. The Tibetan people are not a problem to be solved by Beijing. They are an Asian civilization whose culture must be protected. And let me be clear, the succession of Dalai Lama is a sacred religious matter determined by Tibetan Buddhist tradition alone. No communist party officials has the authority to decide it. Dear colleagues, the e relationship with China cannot e built on looking away. Europe stands with Tibetan people, with Uighurs, with Mongolians, and with all who are being silenced. Thank you. Hans Heide. Hans Heide. Vice president”
  EU-China relations
• “Thank you. Commissioner. That closes the debate. I've received six proposals for resolutions. The vote will take place tomorrow. We now move to the discussion of the arbitrary detention of President Mohamed Bazoum by the junta in Niger, and I give the floor. First of all, to the authors of the resolution to begin will be Christophe Gomart.”
  EU policy on Sahel and Sudan
• “Thank you very much. Irmhild Borsdorf. Now. **Irmhild BOẞDORF: Nearly €800 billion are going to be spent on Europe's war hunger. You might wonder at the. Insistence on arming ourselves to the teeth. Uh, um, the Bulgarian armaments industry is not just grounds for Bulgarian pride, but also European pride. Of these 800 billion, while some will be supplied by the cohesion funds instead of nurseries for children in rural areas, money will go into rearming Europe. And you will get infrastructure, but that is in order to ensure that tanks can go more easily to war zones. We are preparing for a war that only the EU wants. Nobody else. A real strategic challenge would be to strengthen our regions and to turn Europe into a continent with a future and worth living in. Thank you.”
  Defence spending