Angelika NIEBLER

Policy topics Angelika NIEBLER is active on

What Angelika NIEBLER has said (48)

• 2026-06-17 “(09:59:21 – 10:00:09): Thank you for your question. We need to allow as many member states as possible to join the EU, and we need to adjust our treaties to that end. We need to look at the veto right in particular. What is key when it comes to the next enlargement is that we consider how we can be more effective in the EU and adapt to changed circumstances, respond swiftly when there are changes around the world, and that's a debate we need to have. Thank you, colleague.”
  EU political integration
• 2026-06-17 “(09:57:20 – 09:58:37): you, president, for your understanding. Commissioner, minister, honorable members, I would like to talk about Europe's relationship with China, one of the key issues on the summit agenda. We in Europe should not be naive. We need to harness all our potential and tackle new challenges. China is a difficult partner. We see that here in the European Parliament, and our companies back home feel it all too keenly. We heard about Chinese state subsidies and overproduction risking our markets. We want competitiveness and trade, but that must be on fair terms. China also relies on global trade. It needs the European market, 450,000,000 consumers at the end of the day in the EU. Let's not bow down and make ourselves smaller than we are.”
  EU-China relations
• 2026-06-16 “Thank you very much, president, commission, vice president, colleagues. Europe must be more independent. There's no doubt about that. We are dependent on IT services and components from non European suppliers. In 2021, we had a chips crisis. Factories was standing still, there were problems in the car industry. But the decisions from The US recently and throughout about access to anthropics I AI models. If you're dependent, you can be blackmailed, and we must not allow that, colleagues. The commission has announced a tech sovereignty package with a whole host of different measures to strengthen our European capacities in, semiconductors, cloud and open source. Madam vice president, I welcome this package. We have to talk about the details, of course, but it's a good package. Our capacities must be built up, in particular, our critical infrastructure. But in doing that, we shouldn't be protectionist. Sovereignty is like an immune system. If it's healthy, it will protect us. But if it overreacts, it will be against act against our own body. We need the right balance in light of the, high dependencies that we have at the moment and colleagues. We have free trade agreements with many regions in the world being done. We have reliable partners, and we shouldn't limit, exclude them. We should, include them in building up our facilities and infrastructure.”
  EU digital & tech sovereignty
• 2026-06-16 “Thank you very much. President. Commission. Vice president. Colleagues. Europe must be more independent. There's no doubt about that. We are dependent on IT services and components from non European suppliers. In 2021 we had a chips crisis. Factories were standing still and there were problems in the car industry. But the decisions from the US recently and thought about access to anthropic's AI models. If you're dependent you can be blackmailed and we must not allow that. The commission has announced a tech sovereignty package with a whole host of different measures to strengthen our European capacities in semiconductors, cloud and open source. Madam Vice President, I welcome this package. We have to talk about the details, of course, but it's a good package. Our capacities must be built up, in particular our critical infrastructure. But in doing that, we shouldn't be protectionist. Sovereignty is like an immune system. If it's healthy, it will protect us. But if it overreacts, it will be against act against our own body. We need the right balance. In light of the high dependencies that we have at the moment, and colleagues, we have free trade agreements with many regions in the world being done. We have reliable partners and we shouldn't limit or exclude them. We should include them in building up our facilities and infrastructure.”
  EU digital & tech sovereignty
• 2025-11-20 “P-004641/2025 Answer given by Mr Šefčovič on behalf of the European Commission The measures on imports of candles, tapers and similar products were adopted to address the injury caused to the EU industry by unfairly priced Chinese imports, safeguard EU producers’ viability, and ensure fair competition. All stakeholders could comment, though no unrelated importers or users cooperated with the anti-dumping investigation. The Commission found that importers have alternative supply sources within and outside the EU whereby their viability is not exclusively reliant on Chinese imports. Since candles represent a small cost share for retailers and consumers, any price rise from anti-dumping duties should have minimal impact on purchasing or business operations. Overall, the limited negative effects of the measures on importers were found to be outweighed by the need to eliminate the trade distorting effects of injurious dumping for the EU industry and to restore fair competition. The Commission is taking steps to correct competitive imbalances between EU economic operators and major e-commerce platforms by directing national authorities to enforce EU product safety and digital rules strictly 1 . Through instruments such as the Market Surveillance Regulation 2 , the Digital Services Act 3 and the broader customs reform, the EU ensures that all businesses selling into the EU face equivalent obligations and effective controls. In this regard, the EU will apply a EUR 3 customs duty to low value e-commerce parcels from 1 July 2026. 1 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions A comprehensive EU toolbox for safe and sustainable ecommerce, COM/2025/37 final; https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:52025DC0037. 2 Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on market surveillance and compliance of products and amending Directive 2004/42/EC and Regulations (EC) No 765/2008 and (EU) No 305/2011, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2019/1020/oj/eng. 3 Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market For Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act), https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/2065/oj/eng.”
  EU policy on custom fee on non-EU imports · Trade relations with China
• 2025-10-29 “E-004236/2025 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Séjourné on behalf of the European Commission The risks to the environment posed by calcium cyanamide when used as fertiliser are detailed in the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) Annex XV restriction report 1 and in the opinion of ECHA’s Committee for Risk Assessment 2 , and are confirmed by scientific literature 3 . In line with the objectives of the Defence Readiness Omnibus, the Commission has carefully considered all impacts, including the possible indirect impacts on ammunition production, before deciding to propose a ban on calcium cyanamide as fertiliser. In its proposal, the Commission has taken into account the recommendations of ECHA and its scientific committees, as well as the changed geo-political context following ECHA’s assessment, and deviated from the opinion of ECHA’s Committees to avoid possible consequences for EU’s defence and strategic autonomy. The restriction proposal (i) is limited to the fertiliser use, preserving all other uses, including defence applications, and (ii) currently includes longer transitional periods than those originally recommended by ECHA, providing additional time and flexibility to the company to reorganise its production and minimise impacts. Discussions with the Member States in the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals Committee on the proposed restriction are ongoing, including on how to best preserve the EU’s strategic autonomy and ensure defence readiness. In this context, additional evidence has been requested from the affected company and is being assessed to further inform the decision-making process. 1 https://echa.europa.eu/documents/10162/6c6b7b9f-20bb-85c7-ab25-ca203975e1ab. 2 https://echa.europa.eu/documents/10162/b2b4d2e8-836e-c073-155f-5ad5455e2164. 3 See references at page 87 of the Annex XV restriction report, and tables 34, 36 and 37 in the same document.”
  GMOs
• 2025-10-08 “E-003940/2025 Answer given by Mr McGrath on behalf of the European Commission EU consumer protection law requires traders to inform consumers about the total price of the goods and services before concluding the contract. Such price transparency rules are set out in Article 7 of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive 1 and Articles 5 and 6 of the Consumer Rights Directive 2 . In addition, Article 19 of the Consumer Rights Directive prohibits traders from charging consumers, in respect of the use of a given means of payment, fees that exceed the cost normally borne for the use of such means. These directives do not regulate the currency exchange rates, nor do they require traders to indicate their prices in multiple currencies that may be used by consumers from other countries. These rules also do not preclude traders from applying different prices depending on whether goods are purchased in a physical point of sale at the border or online. As concerns the currency exchange rates and additional charges depending on payment type, the Payment Services Directive (PSD2) 3 does not set any cap on currency-conversion charges, but such charges must comply with PSD2’s transparency requirements and the enhanced disclosure obligations under the Cross-Border Payments Regulation 4 . This includes providing clear pre-transaction information and explicitly indicating any mark-ups applied. Under Art. 62(4) of the PSD2, Member States must ensure that payees do not request charges for the use of payment instruments for which interchange fees are regulated under the Interchange Fees Regulation (IFR) 5 . The IFR sets caps for interchange fees for debit and credit card transactions, which are not applicable, among other things, to transactions with commercial card or with card issued by three party payment card schemes. 1 Directive 2005/29/EC concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market and amending Council Directive 84/450/EEC, Directives 97/7/EC, 98/27/EC and 2002/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council, OJL149, 11.6.2005, p. 22. 2 Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on consumer rights, amending Council Directive 93/13/EEC and Directive 1999/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directive 85/577/EEC and Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, OJ L 304, 22.11.2011, p. 64. 3 Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on payment services in the internal market, amending Directives 2002/65/EC, 2009/110/EC and 2013/36/EU and Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010, and repealing Directive 2007/64/EC,OJ L 337, 23.12.2015, p. 35. 4 Regulation (EU) 2021/1230 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 July 2021 on cross-border payments in the Union, OJ L 274, 30.7.2021, p. 20. 5 Regulation (EU) 2015/751 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2015 on interchange fees for card-based payment transactions, OJ L 123, 19.5.2015, p. 1.”
  EU restrictions on unfair commercial practices · EU competences on consumer protection and product standards
• 2024-08-26 “E-001552/2024 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Šefčovič on behalf of the European Commission 1. The Commission has presented a comprehensive package to support the implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) 1 , including the proposal 2 of a 12-month phasing-in period to allow companies more time to prepare. If the one-year extension is approved by the European Parliament and the Council, the obligations laid down in EUDR 3 will apply from 30 December 2025 for medium and large companies, and from 30 June 2026 for micro and small enterprises. 2. The benchmarking system to classify countries or parts thereof according to the deforestation risk and the respective list of countries or parts thereof will be adopted at the latest six months before the new date of application, according to the Commission’s proposal. The Commission's methodology is firmly rooted in a commitment to fairness, objectivity and transparency; the same assessment criteria will be applied to the Member States and to countries outside the EU. 3. The EUDR indeed aims to minimise red tape. Upstream operators (those placing on the EU market or exporting from the EU market products that have not been subject to due diligence previously) have full obligations. Downstream operators and traders (those below in the supply chain) have more limited obligations, in particular in the case of small and mediumsized enterprises and can rely on traceability information submitted previously in the supply chain. 1 Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2023 on the making available on the Union market and the export from the Union of certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation and repealing Regulation (EU) No 995/2010, OJ L 150, 9.6.2023, p. 206–247. 2 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_5009 3 https://green-business.ec.europa.eu/publications/proposal-regulation-amending-deforestation-regulationregards-date-application_en”
  Energy (green transition)
• 2024-08-26 “E-001551/2024 Answer given by Mr Schmit on behalf of the European Commission The Commission notes that Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 1 , lays down rules to determine the legislation applicable to a person in a cross-border situation, such as students studying abroad. According to Article 11(3)(a) and (e), an employed person is subject to the legislation of the Member State in which they pursue their activity, while inactive persons, such as students, are subject to the legislation of the place of residence. When studying abroad in the EU, students generally remain covered by the legislation of the country of origin and access necessary health treatments in the country where they study with the European Health Insurance Card. However, when a student takes up work abroad, the social security legislation applicable to them changes as well. The Commission is thus aware of the possible changes in their social security coverage. Since the EU law in this field does not harmonise, but only coordinates national social security legislation, moving from one Member State to another can have consequences for an insured person in terms of entitlements and contributions. The Commission does not consider this to be an obstacle to the mobility of students as one of the main principles is the mandatory application of a single national legislation. This is to avoid that a person exercising their right to free movement would be left with no coverage or would have to pay contributions in more than one Member State. As for traineeships, the Council Recommendation on a Quality Framework for Traineeships 2 encourages traineeship providers to clarify if they provide health and accident insurance. This has been further strengthened in the Commission’s proposal reinforcing the Quality Framework for Traineeships 3 . 1 Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the coordination of social security systems (Text with relevance for the EEA and for Switzerland), OJ L 166, 30.4.2004, p. 1–123 - https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2004/883/oj 2 Council recommendation of 10 March 2014 on a Quality Framework for Traineeships, 2014/C 88/01, 27 March 2014 - https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32014H0327(01)&from=IT 3 Proposal for a Council recommendation on a reinforced Quality Framework for Traineeships, COM/2024/133 final, 20 March 2024 - https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2024%3A133%3AFIN”
  EU regulation of cross-border and posted workers · Youth employment & training
• 2024-08-26 “E-001553/2024 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Vestager on behalf of the European Commission The Commission notes that, in general, it is primarily the responsibility of the Member State to assess whether a measure constitutes State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and, if it reaches the conclusion that the measure constitutes aid, to notify the measure to the Commission. Regarding the health sector in particular, Article 168(7) TFEU states that Union action shall respect the responsibilities of the Member States for the definition of their health policy and for the organisation and delivery of health services and medical care. The responsibilities of the Member States include the management of health services and medical care and the allocation of the resources assigned to them. According to the recent case-law of the European Court of Justice 1 and the Commission’s decisional practice 2 , activities in the health sector may in certain cases be qualified as being of a non-economic nature and, in such circumstances compensation for these activities would not constitute State aid. Each case, however, must be analysed on its merits. 1 See for example judgment of the European Court of Justice of 11 June 2020, Commission v. Dôvera, joined cases C-262/18 P and C-271/18 P, paragraphs 30-31. 2 See for example decision of the Commission of 10 June 2024, Slovenian healthcare system, C (2024) 3755, SA.45844.”
  Public and private sectors role in healthcare services
• “Thank you so much, chair. I'm going to speak in my mother language, if that's okay, in German. Thank you very much for the presentation, but I would echo my comments from the comments from Mr. Ailor. I am very skeptical about this delegated act, so I can just give my political evaluation here. I have, uh, read this through. Now, I know that there has been some movement, there's been some improvements when it comes to the delegated act, but I have real concerns, as I did before. Are we really going to achieve what we want to what we voted for with a large majority in Parliament to have an effective hydrogen market? So I have the same concerns as Mr. Ehler. I don't really see how this is going to change the status quo today. Having the security and the stimulation we need for the hydrogen production in Europe to ensure that this really functions properly. When I see, uh, the restrictions in the calculation methods that you have explained and I have really, uh, I really have some concerns, uh, with regards to import with regards to ramping up the market. If we see all of these, uh, imports, I think it's going to be difficult to have the decarbonisation of hydrogen in industry. So I would really like to understand your thinking about how you think this is, uh, going to, uh, work. I think we have a different picture from the energy industry. So we really do need to think about this. Uh, the means, the instruments here, uh, for this, uh, stimulation, uh, hydrogen market is extremely important. There's a lot of expectations here. So I think, uh, if this isn't successful, we're really not. We're really not going to get anywhere. Uh, we've worked on this for a number of years, so I think it really would be good to get some more specific details with regards to this proposal. How do you think this is going to work in terms of production imports in particular? Thank you.”
  Low-carbon hydrogen
• “Madam president, vice president, Commissioner. Ladies and gentlemen, we need to make Europe attractive again as a place to do business, to to manufacture. We need to strengthen our industry and attract investment to Europe. That's what we need to do over the next few years. The commission work programme, in my view, sounds promising. They are geared towards more competitiveness. The turn of the tide is coming and it is not business as usual. As you rightly said, Commissioner, we need to reduce red tape and that is to be addressed. Investment is going to be made in the infrastructure for the future energy reducing costs. That's all well and good. Now we need to have courageous proposals. It is good that we are finally seriously addressing bureaucracy, getting rid of all the red tape that is the bane of the lives of our businesses. Get rid of rules that have no added value. Have the courage, finally, to get rid of this thicket of rules. That's a good thing. I'm happy to see that there are no rules on liability laws. I don't think we need that. When it comes to sustainability reporting, things are really getting out of control. I think we need to try to counteract that and I'm looking forward to proposals on this. We need to invest in our future. Dear colleagues, that means we need to build data centres. Other America is showing the way here. The proposal to support I build Gigafactories so that we can train our own European artificial intelligence models. That's what we need. That's the right approach. We need to invest where necessary. For example, in the European Sky shield, this is what it comes down to show that Europe is strong, capable of action and that is concentrating on the essentials.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “Thank you. I'd like to congratulate the rapporteur. Excellent work. A lot of good ideas there and I think that a lot is really very good. This 28th regime will be able to strengthen the single market and contribute to European integration. And this idea of easygoing digital that you can register, found and register as a company in 48 hours. We think that's great. And not just innovative companies, but all types of companies. Will be able to take advantage of all of this. So I think that's excellent. Now I do have one question in line eight. You talk about the 28th regime which is limited to non um listed companies. So I'd like to know what the reason for that is. If there's a company that's scaling up and they now want to get involved with capital markets, then they wouldn't be able to take advantage of this. So this is this bit where it says about the not listed on the stock market. So I'd like to understand why you've done that and perhaps whether we could not delete that and allow companies that are focused on capital markets and want to be listed on the stock markets, who would then be able to take advantage of this 28th regime?”
  EU Single Market harmonisation
• “Thank you, Chair and President. Colleagues, the targets for 2035 are a dead end. They will cause a loss of jobs massively. And the invasion of Europe with Chinese vehicles, as well as with the downturn of the industry in Germany over the past year, we have a loss to 50,000 jobs in the automotive industry. And if we believe the predictions, which I do, we will see that in that very soon we will lose 300,000 jobs. The combustion engine ban is insufficient. We have to focus on technology because then that way we will remain competitive and we will be able to react to future developments. The industry needs framework conditions the researcher needs. Needs more research into the technologies. Hai. Hai. Whether it be hybrid vehicles, e-vehicles and so on. I do urge you, dear colleagues, to look into the seriousness of the situation. Um, as we know, Commissioner, we need that. We can see that there is also an automotive omnibus that has been planned. And the, uh, we also need to make the industry more, uh, ecological. But we must not let jobs continue being lost and the automotive industry lose its important role due to these targets, and that is why we need the amendments to be made to the project. Thank you.”
  Road transport environmental policy
• “(11:30:43 – 11:32:27): Thank you very much indeed, madam president, vice president of the commission. Dear colleagues, the European single market is, in economic terms, life insurance. We've got 470,000,000 consumers and countless companies. The single market accounts for 18% of global GDP and generates about €14,500,000,000. And that's why we have to do everything in our power to breathe new life into our single market. And I dare say that there are a whole host of very good proposals on the table. EU incorporation, for example, as a novel form of European incorporation and to make it easier, particularly for small and medium sized enterprises to really make the most of the European single market, particularly if they are seeking to grow. And we also have a proposal for European business wallet, which would serve as an interface by means of which companies in future could have legal certainty throughout the single market in future. I think that is a very sound proposal. And the third thing, which in my eyes is absolutely paramount, is to cut red tape. It's important that we have a moratorium, that we stop the clock and make sure that we make life easier for our companies, and make sure that that we really put them in the position to try and cut through the thicket of bureaucratic regulation. So I very much hope that we will manage to revive the single market. Our prosperity depends on it as does the creation of jobs. The rate now is Thank you very much. The next speaker is Costas Mavridis.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “Thank you, Madam President. Vice president, colleagues, India is the largest democracy in the world, and it's the fourth largest economy in the world. And we have a lot in common, a lot of interests in common with India. And this is why we need to strengthen our partnership and work on a strategy. I think after today's Mercosur vote experience, I think Hopefully we will all value this. Now we can send out a very strong signal for a rules based world. Trade order and partnerships are important, as you said, Madam Vice President, and we're working on all sorts of areas. We'll continue working with innovation, technology as well as security and defense cooperation in cyber security and counter-terrorism with India and in space, in views of the crises and geopolitical tensions is a wonderful opportunity for us. So this will be more specific, as you've seen from the as you will see next week with the security partnership. And of course, human relations are important too, when we have exchanges with Europeans and Indians. This is very important as well in terms of academic cooperation. Education. There's so much potential to tap into now when we talk about strategic partnerships. Of course, this means speaking openly in dialogue. We have different views relations to Russia, for example. And I think this is something that we have to do. We have to speak openly about what our position is and what we expect from this strategic partner. But, you know, we can't have a partnership without dialogue, and hopefully it will be carried out with mutual respect and hopefully very soon we will have a free trade agreement and the strategic cooperation in lots of other areas as well. We'll send out a very positive signal and I'm looking for support from all sides.”
  EU-India relations
• “Thank you very much. President. Vice president. Colleagues, the commission work programme. Is looking at reducing dependence, is looking at strengthening Europe as a location and strengthening the economy. And I think that the last is in really urgent simplification is the order of the day. Of the 38 proposed initiative, almost half have the aim of dismantling bureaucracy. And Vice President, I really welcome that. In the past year in the European Parliament, I feel as I've been a tennis player who is on the field and who is being constantly aimed at by a tennis ball machine. We seem that new provisions are being brought forward again and again in the commission has been shooting itself in the process. But this seems to be a pastor. I think that the 28th regime in particular is important. I think it is excellent that we can have a new framework for commission rules and regulations. We want simplification, as you have done, of the rolling out of the internal market. And the Commission, with its defence package, has come up with something really excellent. So we wish it well. And thank you, colleagues. Also on the approach of the political agenda. Research and high tech and innovation. I think these are all an excellent range of initiatives.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “Thank you thank you chair and commissioner from me also you very much that you're working on simplification and that you're showing such enthusiasm for it. I think it's very clear you've looked at three very important areas where we have to reinforce European economy by getting rid of bureaucracy. The first point is what my colleague Mister Axel has already said this holistic approach that would be my request. We've got the first omnibus we've had discussions on that and now there are the sector specific omnibus but when I look at the first omnibus what has been agreed upon after the trial log how will that be taken up for example with issuing loans how can and with the ESG criteria when we're talking about granting loans that would be my request. How will this holistic I'd like to be able to see this holistic approach so that we're we're are in a situation where we're simplifying in one field but not in the other. I'd be grateful if we could have this holistic approach and then a specific problem which I would like to touch upon is that there are many municipal companies that have very important roles for waste disposal gas supply water. Some of the omnibuses they foresee that there is for smaller countries there is a a simplification for them and these municipal companies some of them are over are are they're they don't come into this category although they often only have a very small number of quite a small number of employees. So I would ask that you could take up this issue with regard to companies which are part they are partly publicly owned so whether they can also benefit from easier rules for financing and for less bureaucracy. Thank you”
  Conditions to access EU budget
• “Thank you very much indeed. Madam president, vice president of the Commission. Dear colleagues, the European single market is, in economic terms, our life insurance. We've got 470 million consumers and countless companies. The single market accounts for 18% of global GDP and generates about €14.5 billion. And that's why we have to do everything in our power to breathe new life into our single market. And I dare say that there are a whole host of very good proposals on the table. Eu incorporation, for example, as a novel form of European incorporation, and to make it easier, particularly for small and medium sized enterprises, to really make the most of the European single market, particularly if they are seeking to grow. And we also have a proposal for a European business wallet, which would serve as an interface by means of which companies in future could have legal certainty throughout the single market in future. I think that is a very sound proposal. And the third thing, which in my eyes is absolutely paramount, is to cut red tape. It's important that we have a moratorium, that we stop the clock and make sure that we make life easier for our companies and make sure that we really put them in the position to try and cut through the thicket of bureaucratic regulation. So I very much hope that we will manage to revive the single market. Our prosperity depends on it, as does the creation of jobs.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Thank you for the exchange. I wish you a good presidency. I have three questions on digital resilience. So, first of all, on the issue of Buy European. So we'll be having discussions on that in various committees as to how to implement that. So I'd be interested to hear your opinion on that. And then the second question. Gdpr and data protection. And so do you think we should be doing data processing and data storage in Europe in terms of our resilience. And I just like to emphasize what my colleagues said. I think it's good not to have too much extra, uh, legislation. Uh, but uh, have some, uh, trust in the situation. Uh, as it is, I think it is important that we do reduce our bureaucracy. Thank you.”
  EU digital & tech sovereignty
• “Angelika. Niebler. Thank you. President. Commissioner. Honourable members. The upcoming summit will be a historic one. Can we in the European Union take action? Will we shoulder our historic responsibility? That is what is at stake. I appeal to heads of state and government to assume their responsibilities for the European endeavour, and not think in national terms. Mr. Gerbrandy made that point. So what does this mean? We need to ensure financing for Ukraine. Our security in general is at stake as well as the security of Ukraine. We need a green light for Mercosur with the appropriate safeguards for our farmers. So what does this mean? We need to be open minded when it comes to structural changes to the European architecture. Our party leader Manfred Weber mentioned that earlier. If we continue down the current path with unanimity alone in the Council on Foreign Affairs, how will we manage in coming years? So the 2026 period really needs to be one that sees structural change. In 2016, we saw referendum in the United Kingdom. We saw how traumatic the aftermath, and we talked about change in the European Union, but nothing happened, despite the fact that we in the European Parliament called for a convention to be established to address urgent issues for Europe's future. Nothing has happened since there then. And so next year, let's tackle this challenge together. And in the meantime, Merry Christmas, very happy New Year, and I hope that we embrace that New year in a European spirit.”
  EU political integration
• “Thank you very much, chairman. And I'd like to start by welcoming both of the ministers, vice Prime minister and the Minister for Resilience and Preparedness. Thank you very much for this exchange. I have two questions to both ministers, and I'd like to start with the deputy Prime Minister. You know here that we don't have a single market for European And, um, arms. The proposal is on the table. My question is, in your Danish presidency, what will you do to make these proposals reality? How will you tackle this? We don't have any standardization in our market. There's a lack of mutual recognition of certification. We need joint procurement as well. So I'd be very interested to know what specifically in your presidency, you plan to do. My second question. This is about the Baltic Sea. Uh, we're a neighboring country. We know that there's been sabotage attempts on infrastructure. That my question is, what countermeasures can be taken there? What, uh, what's your view on that? And I also have, uh, a question for Mr. Peterson. Thank you very much. To your message. You said that cybersecurity is one of the top priorities of the Danish presidency. I think that's excellent and you have my full support for that. You highlighted how you will tackle this and what steps you will take. One question. First of all, this is about the cyber security strategy. In our EU institutions, there are reports that we are not very well prepared when it comes to our own protection. My question to you can you do anything about that? And another question. I think it's good that quantum computing is being used more with all of its advantages, but obviously there are disadvantages. Traditional cryptographic security measures can be circumvented very easily. So my question is, is this something that is on your agenda and will this be covered under the Danish presidency? And I would like to wish you all the best. And good luck to both of you for the Danish presidency. Thank you.”
  EU competences on defence
• “Thank you so much, chair. Dear, dear, dear colleagues. Happy to be here. And I'm really glad that we have the opportunity today to exchange on the latest advancements of the negotiations on the free trade agreement between the EU and India. For us in the Parliament, I think well, in particular also at the level of of the delegation for relations with India, these negotiations are very, very important and we really do hope that they will lead to a good, mutually beneficial trade agreement between the European Union and India. Such an agreement would certainly serve as a foundation to also enhance the strategic strategic partnership with New Delhi, which is more than ever important. If we look at the international developments, the geopolitical tensions and the weaponising of economic dependencies. I think it's really very, very important that we have a chance to also conclude this agreement until the end of this year. We welcome the new EU India agenda, which was adopted by the Commission last week and which was already discussed in the Foreign Affairs Committee two days ago. I think this is going to pave the way also for strengthening the partnership in a wider number of areas than ever before. So it's important to look at the trade relationship. But I think, you know, looking at other at other areas where we can mutually benefit and closely cooperate, where we can bring people together from India and from the member states of, of, of the European Union. I think this is also very key. We hope that the result of the trade negotiations will be a commercially meaningful agreement.”
  Free trade agreements (FTAs)
• “(16:52:12 – 16:53:47): Thank you very much, chairman. Operator, ladies and gentlemen, this is an extremely important dossier, this European business wallet. I think this can be a breakthrough towards getting us to a true single market alongside the 28th regime. There's no subject that I want to address because I hadn't decided what my view was. Mister Matovani talked about voluntary, about things being voluntary, yes, for B2B. But for the public-private sector, I wonder whether we shouldn't make it obligatory. Obviously, with a sort of staggered approach to deadlines. I think if we want to motivate the public sector more by making it obligatory, then I think we'll get a breakthrough much quicker. I love this idea. This is a startup phase, but there's so many other services. If we can get this off the ground in this confidential area, then I think it can really be a breakthrough towards speeding up processes and getting rid of red tape. I just think we need to tackle it properly. I wonder, I just want to ask the colleague, should we not make this obligatory for the public sector?”
  Electronic identity
• “Thank you to all of the colleagues in the commission. We've heard about the commission, which is extremely challenging for the automobile sector, which is suffering. Um, we've lost 50,000 jobs in Germany in 2024, in the sector. I paid close attention to how the automotive package is going to look. The one we're awaiting in December. I'd encourage the commission to come up with something bold. And technology neutrality should be taken seriously. A life cycle analysis. Alternative fuels. On the issue of business fleets, I can only say that something I have a critical eye upon. And I'd ask the commission to learn from the impact assessment. And finally, on small, affordable cars, that is something which I'm also rather critical on. It sounds more like a planned economy. As someone has said, one of the reasons that the automobile automobile industry is doing badly is because our production costs are too high. So we needed to ensure that it is affordable through affordable energy prices and create demand for electric vehicles. That's partly to do with the charging infrastructure, and we need to invest in future technology, particular battery and battery software and semiconductors. Thank you.”
  Road transport environmental policy
• “Thank you very much, chair. Colleagues. First of all, thank you very much to our rapporteur for his explanations. I can only fully, uh, agree with that. The commission's proposal is a good one, but there is room for further improvement. Now, the headlines that our rapporteur sketched out were pretty good and I would only support those. I wanted to make four comments. The first comment is along the lines that the rapporteur already suggested that we want to build upon the Draghi report. He wrote that our economy and our social model is being tested at this moment because of the overbearing bureaucracy that has been added in recent years. It's not the only reason, but that's one reason why it's so important that we steer in the other direction. Simplify. Deregulate where possible. Mr. Wayborn talked about the growth forecasts that we are hanging behind in Europe compared to the rest of the world. Geoeconomic geopolitical challenges are not going away. Quite the contrary. So we shouldn't be just tightening small screws here. Rather, we should be taking this omnibus proposal seriously. Make it a real relief for our companies at home that they can actually feel.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “Thank you very much, chair. Well, thank you for coming here to this exchange today. Commissioner. It's great to see how committed you are about your task as a commissioner and that you're focusing on start up and scale up initiatives. That's great. My first question. There's an initiative to set up seven AI Gigafactories. How is that connected with the initiatives we want? I was a young, talented person to train their eyes in these gigafactories. How will that work then? Um, regarding the framework programme, I think it's good to have an independent, um, framework programme. It's important to, um, strengthen the IOC and the ERC and to continue supporting research. The European Research Area is, of course, key. And then there's another issue: dual use. The geopolitical situation has shifted since last week, and we have to ramp up our own capacities when it comes to security and defence. So again, I would encourage you to focus on dual use, and I'm looking forward to what you have to say on that.”
  EU research funding
• “Thank you very much. President, Commissioner, colleagues, Europe is an absolutely excellent location for global scientists and researchers. The teaching, research and innovation is a very valuable asset we have. We need to promote this as far as we can. We need to create incentives to attract talent to Europe. That's exactly the right way forward. And so I very much welcome this new support programme for cutting edge research and top researchers. And I very much welcome the super budget that has been put together by the council. It is excellent that the Marie Curie Grants and research funding is being beefed up. I welcome all this very much because it makes Europe that much more attractive. Where we still need to improve the situation is the framework programme. We need to actually facilitate conditions for researchers and scientists coming to Europe, because they have a lot of difficulties with applying for visas sometimes, and it can be very protracted and complex to do this. Obviously, this is not the Commission's responsibility and the first instance, but they could at least perhaps try to facilitate the administrative procedures and visa applications for scientists coming into the EU from abroad. Thank you very much.”
  Research priorities within the EU
• “Thank you, Chair. I'd also like to welcome President Campinos here to our committee. Thank you for joining us. It's very impressive to hear everything that you have to tell us about the purpose of the Patent Office, not just granting patents but also everything else that you do, all of the data that you have to manage and the database and the efficient use thereof and this patent index. It's all really interesting. Also, what you do in order to identify trends, that's fantastic. We need to know where are we strong in Europe. What are the trends that we can identify? Where are things going? So you don't just grant patents. You look at the bigger picture and how you can use the data that you have available to learn things. So that's really fantastic. I think that, well, this trip that the EUREA Committee has to Munich might hopefully give us an opportunity to go and visit your office as well. I wasn't actually aware that only 18 Member States were part of the Unitary Patent System. I think all of us should see an opportunity here. We have seen it said that now is the time for us to strengthen our internal market even further, to break down obstacles more and more. Now really is the time for us to see how this Unitary Patent System, the Unified Patent Court, can really help contribute to having a fully functioning internal market. We can see what we can do here in the Parliament, what sorts of initiatives we could have in this area. I think the Unitary Patent is a real success story for the EU. To see what we've managed to do in the past 20 years, we can reach this sort of harmonization at the patent level, is really impressive. And also bringing costs down in the process. So it's good what we've already done and we need to do even more. I also noted something that really I think is a shame. What happens with the SMEs and what about the startups? I wonder if you have any ideas there. When you hear the word patent, you always think it's long and expensive to get a patent. And startups are the first to tell us that they are just not going to bother. But it's in their interest to get that sort of protection as well. So I wonder what sort of ideas you might have. Particularly with respect to the cost, are there some sort of exceptions or exemptions for SMEs with respect to the cost of a patent? And the second point that you already raised, which is a very hot topic here as well, the standard issue patents. I wonder why you think an EPO, a European Patent Office, would be in the position to deal with the standard essential patents. If we were to have a new regime set up, I mean I know this isn't really being talked about now, but it might come up again. Why do you think that the EPO would be in a better position to be the administrator of this system, better than other institutions? Thank you.”
  Intellectual property rights (IPR)
• “Madam president, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen. The European Commission has now opened up legislation on CO2 emissions, including for HGVs. But what's the situation regarding technology neutral or neutral? This is essential to maintaining jobs in my own state, Bavaria. More than 350,000 people work for the automotive components industry. Look at the situation on the market. More and more electric vehicles are being sold. The new registrations for electric vehicles are constantly increasing. Why? Because customers are choosing them. Surely we can't leave it up to legislators. To decide which technology is the right one. Competition comes from innovation, from new offerings, and from available infrastructure rather than from political diktats. Nor should we try and shut out new markets in many parts of the world. The internal combustion engine continues to rule, and the fact is we have to sell cars outside Europe. This is why the electrification quota, in particular for corporate fleets, is something which is the precedent is banging a gavel.”
  Road transport environmental policy · Corporate fleet electrification: binding zero-emission quotas vs. voluntary approach
• “Thank you very much. Madam president. Commissioner, colleagues, the energy crisis is not over. On the contrary, the situation remains uncertain and unpredictable. Now, the commission has a toolbox and it has responded appropriately. But the measures fall short. They will not protect our domestic industries against increasing costs, and that is why it is more important than ever before that we get the revised ETS directive, because this is a golden opportunity for our industry, and it will reduce burdens on them in the medium term. Now, a lot of colleagues have told us all the facts and figures, but we are the only region of the world which has a significant CO2 price. So €65. And in China it is below €10. So that is not a level playing field. Rather that is disadvantageous, detrimental to European industry and is a structural problem involved. And that is why we've had a system which has come into force long before appropriate technologies were available. And the market therefore is not working. It is creating shortages. We are also Experiencing external shocks and that creates huge problems. We have allowances which are being withheld and they are therefore not spending the capital, which is actually needed in order to make a success of the energy transformation. And that is why I do think that the free allowances are going to have to go in the longer term, and we're going to have to do away with the processes, which involve a lot of red tape. We've got to optimise the processes and make sure that we protect our external borders, and that the ETS can be fit for purpose for the future. Thank you, Mrs. Olga.”
  Carbon leakage support
• “Thank you. President. Vice president, honourable members. Cyber attacks are becoming ever more common, targeting data systems and people across all sectors. It infrastructure is targeted. We see power outages, attacks on energy supply, hospitals, communications, transport systems. Today we are talking about the cyber security package and Act. We're not just talking about technology. We are talking about domestic security, economic stability and our Geopolitical clout. The 2019 Cyber Security Act is a key cornerstone of cyber security strategy in the EU. It urgently needs to be overhauled to reflect current geopolitical developments and recent technological developments. So I welcome your proposal, Vice President. Why is Enisa not more effective and powerful? It lacks resources, financial and human resources. It does not have a clear remit and a robust mandate. I believe that Enisa should not just be a secretariat for Member States. Rather, Enisa must have the power to take action. I hope that we can do that In 2019, I was involved in negotiations and we called for such a mandate. We were unable to convince member states at the time. We need to take a close look at the certification procedure. It is not terribly practical. As things stand, things need to move more swiftly, be more effective, and it must be easier for SMEs. We need to ensure that certification is structured in such a way that international standards can apply. European standards must set the international benchmark. We need to look at critical infrastructure that's a matter of security and European sovereignty. And of course, we don't want to shut ourselves off from the outside world. I look forward to negotiations so that we can produce legislation that is so important for us in Europe.”
  Scope of EU cybersecurity obligations
• “Thank you. President. Commissioner. Colleagues. Well, a business person that spends hours sending filling in forms and waits for a permit for ages, can't focus on their main job or implement their projects. Obviously permitting takes time. It puts a brake on innovation. And in Germany every year we have about 5 billion in red tape. A lot of that is involved with lengthy permitting procedures and production costs are huge because of all of this. And that is affecting our families. Family companies and SMEs in particular, because in construction, the traffic sector as well. That's affected too. I was listening to my colleagues and it's actually quite astounding that the same applies in pretty much all the member states. I thought it was quite unique to Germany, but apparently it takes just as long permitting is just as long winded. And that's why we have to do something in Europe. Recently I've heard that we want to establish hubs and connectors in, in my constituency as well. If something takes seven years, nobody's going to invest in that. We need, we need investment in Europe urgently. And we only get that if we speed up our permitting procedures in those main areas. And therefore, I hope that the proposals before us will provide the necessary breakthrough. Thank you.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “Second comment I'd like to just say how we should approach this file. I always ask myself two questions. First of all, how can we reduce bureaucracy? Can the proposal help us to improve the competitiveness of our companies? The second question is, does it help our companies to have legal certainty and predictability so that they can plan? Well, I find that very important. Third comment I'd support the individual proposals, but on CSD and CSD, the sustainability reporting is going to have its scope reduced. And I think that's excellent. This should not be sector specific regulation. I think it's very important that the CSR standards are being reworked, that the SMEs should be excluded. I support that, and when it comes to the supply chain and due diligence, my question is. Does this file improve our competitiveness? Well, I just say openly, no, I don't think so. I think that there is there is good ground to be very skeptical. There are some good proposals coming from the commission that would lead to more simplification. First of all, that there should be no EU wide liability rules. That's something I would welcome. And no collective redress proposals that we already have existing legislation that would increase predictability and legal certainty for companies. That would help our international companies to remain competitive internationally. Thank you.”
  Due diligence in supply chains (environmental and human rights)
• “Thank you very much. I think it's wonderful that we have got this item on our agenda, because we have to put the support for women at the heart of our considerations, particularly in the area of. Taking on responsibility and management roles in entrepreneurship. Three points already touched upon in the presentations, which I'm very grateful for. First, education and training at all stages and parts of life. We have too few people across, too few women across all of our programs, and it's important to consider developing training programs and education programs in schools, universities and institutions from the point of view of what is attractive to women and also placing entrepreneurship at the heart of those considerations. I think the more we support and promote women's women entrepreneurship, the more successful we can be. Secondly, role models are essential. Mentoring programs are very Positive here, and I can only support the Commission as they formulate their programme in this direction. Really investing in mentoring programs. I think that's an excellent step. We do need role models for young women to be able to look to, to know that it's possible to start and run your own business. Um, it's also important for them to know, um, how businesses can fail. Um, quite often failure is perceived in successful entrepreneurship cultures as one step on the road to success. It's important that we inculcate that then banks, public banks. I think we need to do something to promote the granting of loans when there is a good business idea, with a good business plan, which shows that there's space for the business to grow in the market. However, when it comes to decisions on loans being made, women are often disadvantaged. So I think we need to spread the understanding that women are as good, are as good at being entrepreneurs as men are. I look around me here. I see Alex from Austria, a very good role model who represents that women can be a success in this area. Thank you.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “I believe that the outcomes of the summit from the Joint Comprehensive Strategic Agenda to the Security and Defence Partnership and the Free Trade Agreement we have now the instruments to bring the EU India strategic partnership to its full potential. We can build trust and based on that, to discuss all sensitive but essential topics for us, such as the Russian illegal aggression against Ukraine here in the European Parliament. We look forward to working in that direction in the next months, we will closely scrutinise the concluded FTA. We will also put to good use our parliamentary diplomacy and reach out and engage with our counterparts in the Indian Parliament. Our strategic partnership needs to be about trade, economy, security and defence, but it also needs to be about building trust and ties between people. In this respect, the European Parliament's delegation for relations with India will pay a visit to New Delhi and Bengaluru at the end of March with the aim of holding the 16th Inter-Parliamentary meeting, but also discussing with all relevant stakeholders. That was the statement I read out on behalf of Angelika Niebler. And now I give the floor to Villy. The replacement of our effort. Standing rapporteur.”
  EU-India relations
• “Thank you. I would echo what Timo Wolken has said. It's very important. How do we protect copyright holders and content creators, ensure that their content is not stolen in the AI era? That's very important. I listened very carefully to everything that was said. I'd like to thank Mr. Voss for his creative thinking here. I personally, off the top of my head would say that I am skeptical about a register. It sounds like it would create a lot of red tape. I don't know if it's the right path, but Axel Voss, who talked about a digital watermark, and Mr. Mantovani mentioned blockchain technology. It would be exciting for us to put our thinking caps on, see how we could be effective here, and properly protect our cultural and content creators. I'm not sure that we've yet found the right solution, but I'm happy to try to play my part here. Thank you.”
  Artificial Intelligence
• “President. Vice president. Colleagues. Ladies and gentlemen, what are we experiencing in this House right now? This is a simulacrum of a debate and nothing more than that. The left is trying to insinuate some sort of cooperation between the conservatives and the far right. Um, there was no cooperation. There will be no cooperation with the far right. What? You haven't put aside from the left is our position and our conviction in this house and. And you, friends from the left and from friends from the green. You are doing exactly as what Mr. Gaspari said, simply undermining and using these particular issues and manipulating a debate. I just spoke with Monika Hohlmeier about the debate guidelines. You have not followed those particular guidelines. You have worked in the same way that the AfD has worked, for example. So look at your voting behaviour before you point a finger at others. So really, I can say one thing. Those that see what the problems are in our country and don't ignore those problems, take them seriously. Those are going to be the ones that are voted in, and those are going to be the ones that help to brush to sweep away the AfD. So. The issues of the issues of joblessness, uh, we've seen serious problems of that, and we've seen hundreds of billions in investment going to the winds as well. These are going to be the problems that will lead to the right.”
  EU political integration
• “Thank you very much chair. I'd like to thank all of those who've reached out to us, also to our rapporteur to present the resolution. I can support a lot of what we've heard. It's important for our energy intensive industries to stay in Europe. It's important to have affordable energy. Now you mentioned the Italian model. It would be great to get more information on that. Apart from that, I could only echo what colleagues already mentioned. Key elements are transport transformation, decarbonisation, blue hydrogen. And it's essential for us to use all the energy resources we have in the European Union. So in renewables we shouldn't have just solar and wind, but also, um, water or hydroelectric and bioenergy. We have to facilitate investment, attract private investment to be channelled into these important infrastructure projects. The EIB can play a key role in this, I believe, and we need to have concrete proposals in the context of the clean industrial deal, and then we've got cbam. We should rethink this. What's the point of having cbam if our energy intensive industries are suffering? We need protection. Our industry has to be competitive, but all of this has to be done in a sensible way. That's all I had to say. I'm looking forward to the further debate. And then another key thing is that we make headway and provide our industry with the opportunity to produce and have good prices, because otherwise, in the long term, we'll lose out on research on investment. And it's really key for us to focus on energy intensive industries at this point in time. So thank you very much for proposing a solution on that. Thank you.”
  Energy (green transition)
• “Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thanks, Mrs.. First of all, for coming and Happy New Year to all of you. I have only one question which is not directly linked to the ten issue, but but I think it's important. My colleague also already mentioned the hydrogen issue and I wanted to know maybe you can elaborate a little bit on the strategy on hydrogen imports as well, because we are we do not have hydrogen available in Europe, so we will be heavily dependent on imports. Actually, the IRA had sent a mission to Chile last week, and we learned a lot how they are producing hydrogen there, and that might be also a trustworthy partner maybe for us. But if there is a strategy. Yes. Happy to learn more about that. Thank you.”
  EU approach to energy security (home-made vs import sources)
• “Thank you. President, vice president, Minister. Ladies and gentlemen. Us tariffs hit our businesses hard. The United States are our main trading partner, and millions of jobs here in Europe depend on exports. If the US administration adopts unilateral, illegitimate tariffs, thereby triggering off a trade war, we have to ensure that we close ranks and negotiate together. I think the commission has acted correctly. They took the time to reflect. They didn't immediately retaliate. They made willing their openness for negotiations and dialogue. However, the Commission also took preparatory measures so as to ensure that it is in a position to respond immediately to punitive tariffs if they are reinstated. It's important, I believe, to find new strategic partners. And here, once again, I would like to compliment the commission for their efforts. The Commission has been travelling round the world to conclude agreements India, Asean countries, African countries. I would welcome all of those initiatives. That's exactly the right way of going about it. Congratulations, and I wish you all the best in concluding future trade agreements.”
  EU-US trade relations
• “Thank you very much. I'd like to thank the commission for the presentation. And last week, I think we had a debate in the plenary on it. I think the commission really does do a good job on this. Going out into the world, trying to find new trade partners, deepening the internal market, dismantling barriers and looking at the different fleets of omnibus that are coming in. This is important. We criticize them a lot, but on this I think it's all going well, but it's going a bit too slowly. So could you inject a bit of speed into the process? And I think we need to be louder and clearer. We need to ensure that we remain an attractive investment site. I was working with medical representatives, medicines representatives, pharmaceutical industry and they were speaking internally. Are we going to invest in the US or in China? Europe? Not really in focus there. And that really affected me to hear that we need to make Europe attractive with measures that are clearly communicated. We need to ensure that our internal market benefits. Two questions US-China negotiations deal question mark. Is that going to help us in the European Union or not? How should we deal with it? What's our approach in the future there? And colleagues have also mentioned the whole issue of climate digital services. I would like to have a little bit more guidance from the Commission. On the one hand, we're saying that we want to be digital early independent EU only. The colleague talked about tariffs. But we are. However, on the other hand, an area that is dependent on services from the US. How can we reconcile this? These two positions have be grateful for comments from the commission on this. Thank you.”
  EU-US trade relations
• “Thank you very much, Mr. Whiteley. Um, Angelika Niebler chairs the delegation for relations with India. She can't be with us this morning, and she's asked me to read out her statement, which I will now do. I would first like to express my regret for not being able to join today. The exchange of views and association between the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the delegation for relations with India. The Eu-india summit in Delhi was indeed a historic one for the relations between the two sides. It is the symbol of a significant leap forward concluding trade negotiations, reinforcing ties on security and defence, setting the agenda for the strategic partnership for the next years. These are important outcomes that have been achieved. The conclusion of the Eu-india Free Trade Agreement, in particular, sends an important message to the world that rule based trade, openness and cooperation can be a way forward for the prosperity and stability. It is also proved that in complicated geopolitical times, Europe stands ready to invest in its strategic partnership with India, and so does India. Over the years, the most encountered characterization of the Eu-india relations was that it has not yet reached its full potential. But much more is possible.”
  EU-India relations
• “President. Vice president of the Commission. Colleagues. What will happen if our networks break down? If we can't communicate? If no data arrives in a connected world, we have a clear answer. Then our societies will come to a standstill. That's why we must have more resilient and swifter and more secure networks. Our critical infrastructure cannot be operated by third country operators. They could turn off the lights at any moment. That would endanger our technical sovereignty. Vice president, I'm glad to have this presentation of the DNA. It is of vital importance. It lays the groundwork for a true European market for communication are clear. Our goal must be clear. We must be cutting edge when it comes to AI, cloud and other technologies. They are the innovations which are coming and which must come. And we must phase out our obsolete copper networks and roll out fibre, 5G and six G. We must, of course discuss the methods, though we must also create incentives for the member States so that they invest in their infrastructure. And that has to happen. Uh, as part of a single market, we have to do away with these sets of national rules. We mustn't have, uh, doubling and overlap. That is a brake on our competitiveness and on the extension of the network. I'm really looking forward to the debate on this, uh, Digital Networks Act, And I believe that we must roll out our networks so that it becomes more resilient. We need that more than ever in these current times.”
  EU digital & tech sovereignty
• “Thank you. President, Commissioner. Ladies and gentlemen, Europe is a car continent. The automobile industry and supply industry is one of our core industries. More than 13 million people work in the car industry in my country. More than 600,000 alone. That's Germany. We want that to remain the case. We want these jobs to remain in place. And that's why I welcome the Commission's actions action plan. It's a very important signal being sent out to our companies and our workers in such an important industry. I think it's absolutely correct that automobile manufacturers be given more time to reach the emissions barriers that have to be achieved, the thresholds, and avoid the penalty payments. Economically, it's a very challenging time, but what is set out in the action plan is one thing, but what's missing is something else. All the other alternatives to propulsion systems should be allowed regardless. The ban on internal combustion engines to be come in for 2028 should be removed, and I hope that we in this Parliament can reach an agreement on that. Thank you.”
  Road transport environmental policy
• “Thank you. President. Commissioner. Colleagues. India is not merely a fascinating country, but also for us Europeans. It's going to be a very close strategic partner. 1.4 billion people, fourth largest economy. Everything speaks in favour of us intensifying our ties with this country. So I welcome the new strategic agenda. I wish the Commission every success with the free Trade Agreement negotiations to conclude that by the end of this year. And, my dear colleagues, we need to step up cooperation in other areas in technology, security and defence aviation. And all of these are indeed in the pipeline. And that's good. Strategic partners and friends can speak to each other openly and broach difficult topics. Other colleagues have mentioned this issues to do with Russia, Belarus and human rights issues. All of these issues are topics that we must broach. But first and foremost, we need to establish close ties, close cooperation, so that we can then have an open and intensive exchange on those topics that are particularly close to our hearts as well.”
  EU-India relations
• “I would like to address three things: firstly, preparation, perhaps Europe makes for me; what is Europe? What matches Europe? That is our culture, those are our heads, those are our authors. I am convinced that we all have to think together about copyright protection in a generative AI site. So what have I learned from all the interventions by the experts and stakeholders? What have I learned? Just again for me on TDM: Text and data mining. No exception. Out. Opt out. If it doesn't work, the market isn't functional either. If it doesn't work, everything is crucial to create transparency. I have that now. The first question about transparency is that it isn't the should or the distribution, but I would ask our experts again and our stakeholders again what, what, what the concrete transparency needs is, Axel spoke about it. We also want one in Europe that was developed by I and to be honest if you have transparency then it is linked to reports with young people that is of course all tedious and bureaucratic when you work with start-ups companies that the biggest platforms don't have if that is the case in Europe after the USA we still see these in the UK, these are different, the authors also have to be somewhere and the two of us have to think about it together. I have the right approach to the market. Statutory licensing is one of the options, general opinion. Now these are the technical solutions. The Commission has the floor and I would like to say that in other regions of the world too, thanks to this world.”
  Artificial Intelligence
• “President. Commissioner. Dear colleagues, what is happening in Ukraine today is going to determine the fate of Europe, our freedom and our security. We can see that we can no longer count on the transatlantic alliance as we have in the past. If you take a look at the national US strategy, that's made it perfectly clear, and this means that what we have to do is firmly and decisively support Ukraine economically, militarily and at the same time, we have to start working on our own security architecture in the European Union. So how could we have a strengthened EU pillar in in the NATO? Should we build up our own structure or build up on NATO structures? That is a debate we need to have. What about a European defence agreement? How would we deal then with partners like the United Kingdom and Norway? There are lots of questions that have to be asked and clarified. We have to act firmly. And it's not just a question of how we adopt our position here in the European Parliament. It's also how the euro member states can assume responsibilities.”
  Relations with NATO