Dirk GOTINK

Policy topics Dirk GOTINK is active on

What Dirk GOTINK has said (72)

• 2026-06-16 “Thank you very much, mister Groteus. You rightly say, that we need to be, really ambitious shoot for the moon. We need to work on software as well. And in order to do that, we need to go a lot further than the simplification, agenda that we've discussed previously. Could you perhaps expand on that a bit? Now for us, it's not a fight between, environmental protection and, sovereignty. It's a mass a matter of timing. Do we invest now? Do we build now? How do you think see things? GDPR. Defense size dual bending. I”
  EU digital & tech sovereignty
• 2026-01-26 “E-000292/2026 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Virkkunen on behalf of the European Commission The Unfair Commercial Practices Directive 1 (UCPD) prohibits traders’ from misleading consumers, including with false information about the product’s main characteristics that deceives average consumers or is likely to lead them to a transactional decision that they would not have taken otherwise 2 . The UCPD applies only to business-to-consumer transactions and therefore does not apply to transactions concluded solely between consumers, which may occur on platforms such as Vinted when the seller acts as a private individual. The UCPD, transposed into national laws of the Member States, which are in charge of its enforcement with respect to individual traders, acts as safety net ensuring consumer protection and complementing the requirements of specific EU legislation, such as the Digital Services Act (DSA). The DSA, applicable to providers of intermediary services like Vinted, establishes a framework for tackling misleading practices and the dissemination of illegal products such as counterfeit goods on online platforms. Under the DSA, providers of online marketplaces must put in place notice and action mechanisms to report illegal products, process it in a timely manner and provide feedback on their decision 3 , establish complaints handling mechanisms for users 4 , take firm measures against repeat offenders 5 and make best efforts to assess if the information obtained from trader is reliable and complete 6 . As Vinted is not designated as very large online platform, the Member state in which its main establishment is located in the EU (i.e. Lithuania) is competent to supervise and enforce the DSA against it. Vinted is also a signatory of the Memorandum of Understanding on counterfeiting, industryled and facilitated by the Commission 7 . 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2005/29/oj/eng. 2 Article 6 UCPD. 3 Article 16 DSA. 4 Article 20 DSA. 5 Article 23 DSA. 6 Article 30 DSA. 7 https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/industry/strategy/intellectual-property/enforcement-intellectualproperty-rights/memorandum-understanding-sale-counterfeit-goods-internet_en.”
  Liability for online marketplaces · EU restrictions on unfair commercial practices
• 2025-10-15 “P-004052/2025 Answer given by Mr Brunner on behalf of the European Commission Launching the first annual migration management cycle is a very important step in the implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum 1 and a priority for the Commission. Given that this is the first time the Commission is launching the annual migration management cycle in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2024/1351 2 and that the cycle will not in fact start until midway through 2026, the Commission took the time needed to properly calibrate all the necessary aspects to finalise the adoption of those acts, irrespective of the electoral calendars in Member States. On 11 November 2025, the Commission adopted the European Annual Asylum and Migration Report 3 , the Commission implementing decision on determining Member States under migratory pressure, at risk of migratory pressure or facing a significant migratory situation 4 , as well as the Commission proposal for a Council implementing act establishing the Annual Solidarity Pool 5 . 1 https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/migration-and-asylum/pact-migration-and-asylum_en. 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1351/oj/eng. 3 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council: The European Annual Asylum and Migration Report (2025), COM(2025) 795 final, https://eurlex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:f449c5d6-bf11-11f0-a612-01aa75ed71a1.0001.02/DOC_1&format=PDF. 4 Commission Implementing Decision (EU) of 11.11.2025 pursuant to Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1351 of the European Parliament and of the Council, C(2025) 7099 final, https://homeaffairs.ec.europa.eu/document/download/a7eb5da4-ed82-4431-925b-0d71eaff93c6_en?filename=CommissionImplementing-Decision-pursuant-to-Article-11-of-Regulation-EU-2024-1351_en.pdf. 5 This document is restricted until the adoption of the Council implementing act referred to in Article 57 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1351, as set out in Article 12(6) of that Regulation. The document was transmitted to the European Parliament following the adoption.”
  Asylum & border control
• 2025-10-08 “E-003936/2025 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Séjourné on behalf of the European Commission The Commission acknowledges the growing concerns around ultra-fast fashion imports and is committed to implementing targeted regulatory and enforcement measures. Companies operating in the EU, including Shein, must adhere to all applicable laws to avoid any restrictions or penalties that might affect their operations, including the opening of physical stores. The Commission monitors company compliance with EU rules and enforces sanctions when violations occur. Third country companies that are established in the EU have to comply with the obligations arising under the internal market acquis. On 13 November 2025, the Council reached the political agreement on the elimination of the customs duty relief threshold of EUR 150 1 , and made a commitment to work towards a simple, temporary solution to charge customs duties on e-commerce goods as soon as possible in 2026. The rest of the Customs Reform package is under negotiation and will be adopted in 2026. Eliminating this threshold is therefore a step towards a more level playing field between EU-based physical shops and online sellers, such as Shein and Temu. 1 https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/news/e-commerce-150-eur-customs-duty-exemption-threshold-beremoved-2026-2025-11-13_en.”
  EU policy on custom fee on non-EU imports · Trade relations with China · Due diligence in supply chains (environmental and human rights)
• 2025-07-09 “P-002806/2025 Answer given by Mr McGrath on behalf of the European Commission At EU level, by virtue of the reference to the Hague Protocol of 23 November 2007 on the Law Applicable to Maintenance Obligations (the Protocol) contained in Article 15 of the Maintenance Regulation 1 , its rules are directly applied by EU courts for the purposes of determining the law applicable to maintenance obligations, provided that the cross-border case falls within the Maintenance Regulation’s temporal and material scope of application. However, such matters as the establishment of maintenance and the determination of the amount of monthly maintenance are decided under national law and do not fall under EU competence and the Commission may not monitor their application by national courts 2 . The European arrest warrant (EAW) is an entirely judicial procedure between judicial authorities in the EU Member States based on the particular circumstances of each individual case following a national arrest warrant. Neither the Commission nor the Member States' governments can interfere with decisions taken by judicial authorities. An EAW should always be proportional to its aim. Even where the circumstances of the case fall within the scope of Article 2(1) of the Framework Decision on EAW 3 , issuing judicial authorities are obliged to consider whether issuing an EAW is justified in a particular case. Considering the severe consequences that the execution of an EAW has on the requested person's liberty and the restrictions of free movement, the issuing judicial authorities should assess a number of factors in order to determine whether issuing an EAW is justified 4 . 1 Council Regulation (EC) No 4/2009 of 18 December 2008 on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of decisions and cooperation in matters relating to maintenance obligations, OJ L 7, 10.1.2009, p. 1–79. 2 On Article 14 of the Protocol, see page 55 of the Practice Guide on the application of Regulation No. 4/2009 on maintenance obligations: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/c92dcdc5-a2d5-11ee-b16401aa75ed71a1. 3 Article 2(1) of the Framework Decision on EAW provides that an EAW may be issued for acts punishable by the law of the issuing Member State by a custodial sentence or a detention order for a maximum period of at least 12 months or, where a sentence has been passed or a detention order has been made, for sentences of at least four months. 4 See for the specific factors: para 2.4 of the 2023 Commission Handbook on how to issue and execute a European arrest warrant: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52023XC01270.”
  EU law enforcement cooperation in criminal matters · Jurisdiction conflicts between EU and national courts
• 2025-05-28 “E-002159/2025 Answer given by Mr Šefčovič on behalf of the European Commission The Commission has reached an agreement in principle in its consultations with Ukraine to review the reciprocal tariff liberalisation under the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement 1 in accordance with Article 29 of that Agreement, which will define the future trade relationship following the expiry of the autonomous trade measures (ATMs) Regulation 2 . The review has provided a well-balanced, mutually beneficial solution that will allow for reciprocal trade between the EU and Ukraine in agricultural goods which supports the economy of Ukraine and the EU, while at the same time protecting EU farmers and addressing interests flagged by some Member States and Members of the European Parliament. Furthermore, the negotiated solution would also include a safeguard clause that would be triggered to prevent any adverse impacts of trade flows on the EU market, including in one or several Member States. The review also links additional trade liberalisation with Ukraine’s gradual alignment to EU production standards for agricultural products, providing an incentive for closer integration to the EU market and supporting the accession process. Until the entry into force of the result of the review under Article 29 of the Agreement, a bridging solution in the form of the application of the current quotas of that agreement on a pro-rata basis ensures a smooth continuation of Ukrainian exports following the expiry of the ATMs. 1 https://data.europa.eu/eli/agree_internation/2014/295/oj. 2 https://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1392/oj.”
  Agricultural trade: Ukraine imports · EU policy on custom fee on non-EU imports
• 2025-05-28 “P-002158/2025 Answer given by Mr Tzitzikostas on behalf of the European Commission 1. Regulation (EU) No 598/2014 1 (hereafter the ‘Regulation’) requires a balancing of economic and environmental interests when Member States implement noise related measures at airports. The noise situation should be regularly assessed, and Member States may implement measures including operating restrictions. 2. The Regulation refers to the method, indicators and noise information to be provided when Member States intend to implement noise-related operating restrictions. Another very important element of the process is carrying out appropriate stakeholder consultations and the cost-efficiency. All elements should allow a thorough analysis on which measures are needed to achieve the desired noise objective. 3. On 5 March 2025, the Commission adopted its decision 2 on the notified operating restrictions for Schiphol airport, which is publicly available. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2014/598/oj/eng. 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32025D0519.”
  Decarbonisation of aviation sector · EU policy on aviation safety
• 2025-04-25 “E-001676/2025 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Ribera on behalf of the European Commission 1. In general, State aid should not encourage or facilitate the relocation of services or production from one Member State to another. EU State aid rules contain safeguards in this sense. The Hungarian aid to Apollo Tyres was granted in the context of State aid schemes approved by Commission decisions in cases SA.56926 and SA.57375 1 . The schemes were adopted to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and to partially compensate companies for losses suffered because of the lockdown measures introduced by the Hungarian Government, in line with the State aid rules applicable to this type of situations. 2. Regarding the alleged closure and relocation of the Enschede factory, the Commission cannot interfere in specific company decisions regarding restructuring plans. 3. The Commission decisions in cases SA.56926 and SA.57375 do not depart from the standard interpretation of the applicable State aid rules. Furthermore, the Commission does not have any indication that the Hungarian schemes at issue were not implemented in line with those decisions. 1 Commission decision of 8 April 2020 in case SA.56926 (2020/N) – Hungary COVID-19: Aid measures for increasing competitiveness of undertakings in relation with the COVID-19 outbreak, OJ C 144 of 30.4.2020; Commission decision of 23 June 2020 in case SA.57375 (2020/N) – Hungary COVID-19: Compensation scheme related to the recovery of the Hungarian economy, OJ C 302 of 11.9.2020.”
  State Aid · EU Competition policy
• 2025-04-16 “E-001808/2025 P-001561/2025 Answer given by Mr Várhelyi on behalf of the European Commission EU pharmaceutical legislation 1 protects the legal supply chain from falsified medicines and regulates the sale at a distance of prescription medicinal products to the public. Its enforcement in relation to falsified medicines is a national competence and jointly addressed by customs authorities, police and medicines authorities. The Commission recently issued a communication on e-commerce, which includes its enforcement priorities, calling for strengthened cooperation and coordination among all relevant authorities 2 . The Commission is aware that certain online seller and other vendors sell potentially harmful medicines without proper medical supervision and, together with national authorities, regularly warn consumers against purchasing medicines from unauthorised sellers. The import and purchase of medicines from outside the EU by individuals is regulated at national level. At EU level, the European Anti-Fraud Office investigates and coordinates operations targeting counterfeit pharmaceuticals. The priority to fight drug trafficking including ‘the production, trafficking and distribution of synthetic drugs and new psychoactive substances’ has been proposed among the EU crime priorities for 2026-2029, as well as the counterfeiting of goods including medicines 3 . Regarding cooperation with China, several initiatives and dialogues are taking place to limit the illicit supply of precursors and synthetic drugs from China. The fourth dedicated EUChina Drugs Dialogue is planned to take place in Beijing in autumn 2025. The EU-China customs cooperation agreement was expanded last year to include drug precursors and the strengthened collaboration with Chinese customs aims to stop consignments of precursors in China. 1 Directive 2001/83/EC. 2 E-commerce communication: A comprehensive EU toolbox for safe and sustainable e-commerce: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/e-commerce-communication-comprehensive-eu-toolbox-safe-andsustainable-e-commerce. 3 Council conclusions on the enhancement of EMPACT and on EU crime priorities for the next EMPACT cycle 2026-2029, 13 June 2025: https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-9397-2025-INIT/en/pdf.”
  Pharmaceuticals regulation in EU · Regulation of drug precursors in the EU
• 2025-01-09 “E-000066/2025 Answer given by Mr McGrath on behalf of the European Commission The Commission is currently assessing the said Royal Decree in the light of EU data protection law. To that end, the Commission is in contact with the Spanish authorities to gather more information, which is a standard approach when compliance of national laws with EU law is at stake.”
  Privacy & law enforcement
• 2025-01-09 “E-000057/2025 Answer given by Ms Albuquerque on behalf of the European Commission The Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) 1 Regulation on the prevention and prohibition of market abuse involving crypto-assets, applies to acts carried out by any person concerning crypto-assets that are admitted to trading or in respect of which an admission to trading on a crypto-asset platform has been made, in the EU (Article 86). Provided Mr Musk’s actions refer to crypto-assets admitted to trading or a request for admission has been made in the EU, Article 91(2)(c) which prescribes that no person shall engage in or attempt to engage in market manipulation, including the dissemination of information through the media would apply. The supervision and enforcement of the MiCA Regulation is the competence of the national competent authorities. The national competent authorities have the power to investigate and impose any appropriate sanction for actions that are found to be in violation of the provisions of the MiCA Regulation, including the provisions for the prevention of market abuse. The Commission is scheduled to review the MiCA Regulation at regular intervals. Article 140 lists all the areas that the review will cover, including the functioning of markets in cryptoassets in the EU and any market developments and trends, therefore possibly covering indirectly international developments that may affect crypto-asset markets. 1 OJ L 150, 9.6.2023, p. 40–205.”
  Regulation of crypto · Financial regulation
• 2024-10-02 “E-001927/2024 Answer given by Ms Ivanova on behalf of the European Commission The Commission is fully committed and legally bound to ensuring that persons and entities involved in criminal, unethical practices or activities incompatible with EU values do not receive EU funding. To safeguard EU funds, various mechanisms, framed by the EU Financial Regulation 1 and relevant agreements concluded with recipients of EU funds, have been put in place 2 . Entities implementing EU funds also need to comply with EU restrictive measures 3 . Since its revision in September 2024, the EU Financial Regulation includes, under the Early Detection and Exclusion System, an exclusion ground in case of incitement to discrimination, hatred and violence against a group of persons or a member of a group, or similar activities incompatible with EU values, where the conduct may negatively affect the performance of the contract. Should the Commission become aware of any evidence in this respect, it can exclude these entities from EU funding. Gaziantep Islam Science and Technology University has been a beneficiary of the Erasmus+ programme 4 . All projects led by this university were selected by the national agency responsible for the implementation of Erasmus+, in line with standard procedures (indirect management). A cooperation project led by them (involving five other universities) was recently selected for funding 5 . The Commission is currently investigating allegations in the press, in close cooperation with the national agency in Türkiye. As a precautionary measure, pursuant to the newly introduced exclusion grounds mentioned above and in accordance with the EU Financial Regulation, the Commission asked the national agency to suspend the contracting process for the grant agreement on the recently selected cooperation project referred to in the Honourable Member’s question, until there is clarity on the matter. 1 Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2024 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (recast). 2 e.g. suspension of contract or payments and contract termination. 3 Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. 4 https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/ 5 With a grant of EUR 250 000.”
  EU policy on Islam · Jewish culture and antisemitism
• 2024-08-24 “E-001547/2024 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Šefčovič on behalf of the European Commission 1. The Commission initiated an infringement procedure 1 against the Netherlands for noncompliance with Articles 2, 3, and 4 of the Birds Directive 2 . The case is supported by scientific reports, including the 2024 study 'Geactualiseerd landelijk overzicht van vogelsoorten met concentraties van (inter)nationaal belang 3 ' (updated national overview of bird species with concentrations of (inter) national interest). 2. The exchanges between the Commission and national authorities in the course of infringement procedures are not public. As confirmed by the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union 4 , this is justified to ensure the effectiveness of the loyal cooperation between the Commission and the Member State concerned in order to achieve compliance with EU law as soon as possible. 3. The Commission attaches great importance to transparency on its enforcement actions. With each infringement cycle, the Commission publishes a press package setting out the cases by policy area, describing subject matter and main grievances of individual cases, as has been done in the infringement procedure referred to by the Honourable Member 5 . Moreover, all infringement decisions are published in a public database 6 , updated in real time. The Commission’s annual report on monitoring the application of EU law sets out Member States’ compliance with EU law in all main policy areas, describing trends, progress made and fields where additional efforts are necessary 7 . 1 INFR(2024)4014. 2 Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds (codified version), OJ L 20, 26.1.2010, p. 7-25. 3 https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten/rapporten/2024/04/10/bijlage-basisrapport-concentratiegebieden 4 Judgement of 14 November 2013, in joint cases C-514/11 P and C-605/11 P, paragraph 63 and case law cited therein, https://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf;jsessionid=90163329A7A95D015161DD03AC754C65?text =&docid=144492&pageIndex=0&doclang=en&mode=lst&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=4956475 5 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/inf_24_3228 6 https://ec.europa.eu/atwork/applying-eu-law/infringementsproceedings/infringement_decisions/?lang_code=en&langCode=EN 7 https://commission.europa.eu/law/application-eu-law/implementing-eu-law/infringement-procedure/2023annual-report-monitoring-application-eu-law_en#more-information-on-infringement-cases-by-policy-area”
  Energy (green transition)
• 2024-07-17 “P-001371/2024 Answer given by Mr Serafin on behalf of the European Commission Diederik Samsom informed the Commission about his appointment by the Dutch Minister of Finance to the function of chair of the Supervisory Board of Gasunie, a transmission system operator in charge of large-scale energy infrastructure for transport and storage which is 100% owned by the Dutch State. After a thorough examination of Mr Samsom’s responsibilities in the Commission during his last three years in the service and of his envisaged activity as well as of risks resulting thereof for the interests and reputation of the institution, the Commission issued a decision authorising the employment subject to the respect of strict restrictions. These restrictions will be disclosed at a later stage, as part of the Commission’s annual publication of information concerning the occupational activities of senior officials after leaving the service. As regards Mr. Samsom’s late notification of his intended employment, the Commission would like to recall that, according to Article 16(2) of the Staff Regulations 1 , staff members must inform their institution of their intention to engage in an occupational post-service activity, during the two years after leaving the service. The Investigation and Disciplinary Office of the Commission has been mandated to establish whether Mr Samsom was in breach of this obligation. Information on individual cases is confidential. 1 Regulation No 31 (EEC), 11 (EAEC), laying down the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community.”
  Transparency requirements of EU institutions · Transparency requirements for interest groups
• “You'll remember Mister Peepers efforts in this regard. Um, so we warmly welcome this report. It is extremely concerning, I believe I thought the speech of Mr. Andrikiene I could have, I would have signed it myself. Um, because, um, basically it is an echo of what we've already been working on. And the people report of, of 24 or 23, it was adopted with support of S&D, renew, ECR and EPP. A lot of it is already in there, and the Commission is giving a very positive, uh, positive, uh, sort of appreciation of that. We're on our way. But I thought it was a bit out of sync with the urgency of what the Court of Auditors had signalled, not only in concrete sort of, um, examples about the fact that NGOs are sometimes not NGOs, but simply are NGOs to get inside a call for tender, or that that the self-declaration self-declaration part of the system is actually cause for concern, especially with this geopolitical perspective in mind. Um, there's no well, there is now a clear definition on, on our level, but, uh, to to other to the member states, it is still, uh, from that sense, a mess. There is no reliable and central overview of which NGOs receive how much money, information about funding is fragmented, etc., etc..”
  Regulation of NGOs in Europe
• “Thank you very much Chair. Well, the last trialogue was on the twentieth of November and we actually ended half an hour before the time that we planned to because we were talking about data access in the data hub. The data hub will be sort of the beating heart of this reform. It will allow customs to have access to data that they don't have now and that helps them to prevent this massive inflow of noncompliant goods into the Union. But member states are very, very hesitant to share this information not with us but with each other and that's the biggest problem. They consider data going into the data hub national data and we consider it Union data. Union data means that also Union bodies have access to that data. Of course OLAF has already direct access to customs data but think of the EPPO and others; they also need to have access to this data. Other topics that were on the agenda were the governance of the OKA. That is in principle we have a landing zone there. We have a text there where we balance really the member states' expertise which is very, very important in dealing with this and the Commission's role. I think we have a good position there. And the last time, the last thing we talked about in the last trialogue was on penalties and infringements. Council first reading deleted the entire chapter of this issue and for us it's very important because we need to prevent the waterbed effect. So those were the things we discussed last time. Now in the planning it says that next week on the tenth of December it should be the last trialogue. That is very, very ambitious I think and Cherry you would agree that we have still many, many topics that we haven't really touched on a political level. Technical level they have been working day and night and I thank by the way everyone involved in that also from the secretariat. This is not a small file; this is a huge file. This is two hundred sixty-four articles and it touches everything related to our economy. So I think we really need to see now. I hope on Friday that the Danish presidency gets mandates to move but if not then surely this will not be the last trialogue. I don't know Chair, there's also more and more sort of we're getting more and more contacted about the attribution of the data hub. The data hub itself, you know, the deadline for the bids has passed and we have a whole list of cities, it's eight or nine that are interested to welcome the data hub. I'm being invited to all the presentations and we all go to these presentations. We are in discussions still with Council about what the attribution, what the procedure will be because the last time we had AMLA this was a combined procedure between LIBE and ECON. Yeah, that was not a great success for Parliament as we all remember and in that sense we are reviewing this procedure and Council is also again thinking about how they can do it. So beginning of sort of in the next two weeks we should have more information on that just in case that you are also approached by others and you will have questions from delegations because now the perm reps and the mayors and everyone else are starting to lobby and to approach us about this procedure. Thank you.”
  EU policy on custom fee on non-EU imports
• “Madam president, the European Union has to be competitive. And if it is going to be so, it's going to have to rely on investment that's essential for our security. Now, why is it easy for a young person to move to San Diego to work in tech, than it is for them to work in Italy? That's a big problem. We need to deepen the single market and allow the European engine to move up a gear or two. We needed to ensure that tariffs and duties on services are not too high, and put an end to abuses of dominant positions in certain markets by certain large companies. The Commission is imposing more and more fines. We're looking at a specific kind of business model, and I would think that the commission deserves our thanks in the way it's responded to these developments. But unfair practices are becoming almost commonplace on the new market. We need to stand up for our businesses. At the same time, we need to recognise the massive problem that exists and seek to resolve this situation. We certainly need to start by deepening the single market.”
  EU Single Market harmonisation
• “And thank you for to be there. Well, you know, in this committee, I think we all feel a bit the same way about these platforms. Europe. Everyone knows Tom and Jerry. Europe is Tom and Jerry are the platforms, and the platforms always get away with it. Yeah, they always win because like my previous speaker and also said and we see it now in the customs reform, the legislation is simply not was never made with e-commerce in mind. It was made with YouTube videos in mind with with posts on Facebook, but not with actual packages. And you know what? The impact of packages on our economies and on our societies is way different from videos or online content. It is not the same, but we treat it the same in our legislation. And I think that is one of the main problems we're dealing with now. But Shane, um, you speak of compliance and I find it quite funny because every time we actually have a look at the compliance and at your products, we find too many chemicals. We find labeling problems. We find all kinds of issues that create huge problems in our second hand clothing sectors, for example. Your clothes are being resold on Vinted, for example, and there are huge margins being being, uh, earned with your clothing. You're undermining basically the market of textiles in the entire European Union. For me, it is clear there is a systemic problem in your business model and not only an incidental one. Um, so let me just ask you a concrete question. How many products, new products emerge on your platform every day? And what do you do exactly before a product emerges is allowed to be be presented on your platform? Thank you very much.”
  Liability for online marketplaces
• “Thank you. Chair. I am indeed replacing Miss Bencic. And of course, she would thank the rapporteur already for the work done and looks forward to to everything that will happen after the summer break. Um, from her perspective. Financial stability in Europe is not something we can take for granted. It is the result of clear rules, credible institutions, and sound economic and fiscal policies. From my perspective, it is essential. So, Miss Vincent's perspective it is essential that we continue to uphold these principles. Our amendments reflect reflect three main priorities. First, we want to strengthen responsibility and accountability, especially by reinforcing creditor involvement where appropriate and encouraging responsible fiscal policy in Member States. I fully subscribe to that. Second, we advocate for less bureaucracy and more transparency by reducing regulatory overlaps and enhancing coherence between national and European supervision. Third, we believe we must not lose sight of Europe's competitiveness. Financial regulation should support stability, but it must not become a brake on innovation and growth. So again, looking very much forward to the work to be done after summer. And she didn't write this down, but I promise you she will be there next time we speak.”
  Financial regulation
• “(16:32:19 – 16:35:10): Thank you, Chair. I like this concept very much that we, that in Kant where we mostly look at money and where money is useful and we have the professionals on the policy side that simply join together to discuss the same object and that is in this case a special report. I want to thank the Court of Auditors. We've been working on something in this Cont Committee and actually we've had the privilege to have access to hundreds of contracts related to LIFE.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “Thank you very much, chair. A question for Miss Hylkema. In many Member States, occupational pensions play a small, relatively small role. A sufficient income in retirement. In retirement heavily relies on state pensions and pay as you go structures, as we all know. But you already mentioned the demographic change we are facing, and also the fiscal space of of governments is a real, real challenge. Combined with the increasing inability of government to simply reform, actually getting pension reforms done is becoming almost an existential threat to to many governments. And not only do Europeans have the right to an adequate income in retirement, it is also highly necessary that countries release this pressure on their national budgets from state pensions by developing stronger occupational pension sectors. You have ideas about how this could be could be done, and one of them is auto enrolment. This is, of course, something which in my country is is uh, has been there for a long time and it works. But in some places it's not possible. How what do you think about the fixes in that? In that light, should the commission put it in the country specific recommendations, is that enough? Because we know how many countries specific recommendations are eventually implemented. So my question is what would your thoughts be on that on auto enrolment and how to fix that? And then also maybe to get back to to Marcus's question, all the insurers obviously play a huge role. How do you think the pension package can sort of also projects on them? What is what are your thoughts there?”
  EU policy on aging workforce and pensions
• “Thank you. Well, I think I was referring to that. As long as we cling to the idea that we have to share everything very fairly amongst the 27 member states, we're not going to make economic progress because the financial markets in some countries are simply not the same as they are in others. So I would be in favour of a much more flexible form of cooperation. I would. Support far more initiatives coming from member states. Too often member states look to Europe to solve their problems, but I'd like to hear more from the member States about which laws they are prepared to amend in order to make all of us stronger.”
  EU political integration
• “Thank you miss president are we talking about completing the single market as if we are almost finished it's like saying we have a customs union but in fact we only have an external tariff and the rest is all national. Colleagues' words matter and we should stop fooling ourselves and I think many other have also mentioned the same point on the customs union it means giving customs officials the instruments and the data to do their work. We need to scrap the de minimis and I really hope that that the Danish presidency will push for this in the next ECCOFIN we need this as an outcome it is on the table the commission has already proposed that we can do this now. We need to lower the entry barrier to the European market we also need to start charging for getting onto the EU market with a handling fee commission two euros is that it is that what what the European internal market is about two euros to get onto the market I think we can we can reflect on that. Most importantly we need to make economic actors that put bad products on our markets liable liable at the moment the consumer is liable for for for the for the products that they order online and that is absolutely crazy because there's a wildfire going on on the single market. Chinese ecommerce platforms are flooding the market last year four point six it will be much more this year because the Americans closed the shop with massive advertising spending highly aggressive marketing and ridiculous prices. These platforms sell huge amounts of noncompliant goods they don't pay enough taxes they don't respect our standards so commissioner now Zane has opened the shops in Paris how the hell is this possible. They want to be next to our high quality shops to make us think that they're also high quality it's not like that so we need the instruments to start protecting the single market urgently.”
  Liability for online marketplaces
• “"Are you out of your mind?" Is what is what is there? How can we find other ways than brute force in in creating an environment where people actually get into the transition that it makes sense for people's purchasing power and that the that the actual costs go down, which at the moment is the big problem. Investing in this transition is not immediately visible. You have to pay a small car before you actually maybe can see the results. And in many places, solar panels are not anymore compensated like they used to be. In the Netherlands, this is now a huge problem, so the incentive to do something should not only rest on the brute force of the state, but rather on the dynamics of the market. And I'm happy the internal market was mentioned several times today. It is one of the keys to, I believe, to solving the housing Crisis in situation in Europe. But please, many questions still, each with a reaction from the panel. And then we can round up this very insightful afternoon. Maybe if you want to speak first or we go by the order of the speaker.”
  Energy (green transition)
• “So we're now two years later of of what the Parliament had already asked for. And I understand there have been steps in, uh, in, in progress made by the commission, but it feels a bit unsatisfactory that two years after the Court of Auditors has to come with quite an alarming report that we actually don't know, and that we even the 7.4 billion, we should take it with a pinch of salt, because actually, we don't know how many billions of money goes to these kind of organisations without actually knowing whether it is really civil society in the traditional sense of the word, or whether there are other kinds of of structures with commercial interests, with geopolitical interests, with all kinds of hats on that we simply don't know how to identify. So I would like I would like to ask the Court of Auditors, could you please elaborate on sort of the solutions ahead? Because I guess we have a choice between regulatory approach. We change the rules. The financial regulation was already mentioned. Um, but is this only an issue of the commission simply putting more, um, man hours on checking and controlling and being more consistent, uh, and about their approach, or do we actually need to improve the regulatory environment, the financing rules that are there? Um, and can these rules also be then applied to other beneficiaries? Because I really think the label of NGOs is confusing for everybody.”
  Regulation of NGOs in Europe
• “A quick question before I head off to an econ vote, which is also happening in five minutes. Teemu is selling pesto sauce now in the Netherlands, and offers also other kinds of food products that are offered against much lower prices than you can find in any Dutch supermarket. So it looks very much that, um, Tim has found a way around the territorial supply constraints. And that is actually, I think, maybe an open question to any of you who has a. Perspective on it is that we are applying laws to our, to our own companies, but not very much to the ones that are that don't have a very formal, uh, representation in the EU. Um, Is this? Is this then the situation where we're in a question mark that Chinese competitors find a way around the tax, but our European companies cannot.”
  Trade relations with China
• “(15:07:52 – 15:09:47): Alright. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And thank you also to the Executive Vice President, of course, for spending the whole day with us here in IMCO. Very, very nice. I have a question that has to do with everyone thinking that member states would be happy to save money if we would do something together rather than with 27 different countries. What we realize every time is that, in fact, it's not that clear. I would give an example of our data hub in the customs authority. We have a beautiful data hub that could function as a single system. It would save member states a huge amount of money for IT systems and also quite some FTE, quite some people working on those systems, also contracts with IT companies. What is happening now in the rollout of this data hub is that every member state is fighting to keep their own little data hub inside the big system because they don't want to get rid of those places. They don't want to save money. Mister Commissioner, the internal market will only function if countries are really, really convinced that they can get some advantage out of it. If they're not even willing to pluck these very easy fruits of efficiency on data, then how the hell are we going to do the rest? I think it is also not anymore up to us or to the Commission. You've been more than convincing and giving us the data on why this makes sense. The member states, the capitals need to now decide, do they really want this efficiency, or are they happy to basically stay small and weak together? If that's the answer, then we can also simply all go home. But I think how will these share passes provide us with an answer to this issue? Because I think this is fundamentally blocking a lot of the good things that we can do.”
  EU Single Market harmonisation
• “(10:05:07 – 10:07:14): Thank you very much, Cher. Thank you colleagues for coming here, also the ones that are replacing their colleagues in Imco. This is a very, very big reform. It is the biggest integration actually of the customs union since we started it. It is a lot of work that should have been done in the past decades and has not been done to protect the border of goods to make sure that the goods coming into the market are compliant with our laws. Maybe you know, but at the border 20 years ago, there were about 20 laws that had to be respected. At the moment, there are more than 300. And that is all laws that were produced by the EU and national authorities. And customs are responsible to apply those laws. And if we don't invest in them, if we don't give them the tools to actually work, effectively considering the new streams of trade that are coming at us like e-commerce, then we will simply have an open shop and everything can get onto our market, which is de facto the case today. So this is a very big step forward. It will not happen tomorrow, but we have to vote quickly because before the end of the year, we want the handling fee, we want other provisions and the start of the agency, which will be in Lille, to get the work going. But in fact, in the long term, within now in a couple of years, our internal market will be much safer and much better for our consumers and also for the businesses that are complying with our laws. This is a massive facilitation, pro-business that is helping companies that do want to comply with our laws to actually compete in Europe and that's exactly what we should be doing. So, thank you very much for supporting it and also for the support of the, of course, of you, chair and the secretariat and all the shadows. I think it has been a very constructive process, and we can show in the plenary, I guess, September that this file actually unites the parliament more than it divides it, and I'm very happy with that. Thank you.”
  EU policy on custom fee on non-EU imports
• “My last or my own reflection on behalf of the EPP would would, uh, maybe be a question related to the last speaker on the MEPs. Um, in general, MEPs are members of the European Parliament, may be not the most popular specimen out there, but the maps you're describing are even less popular, I promise you, because it is very forceful. What you do, and it is it is creating a huge amount of uncertainty for people that are. If you spoke about the first home to be protected and people's homes are often also their their savings in a in a lot of places in Europe. And if you create a, a forcing mechanism through which you will force people before they can rent or sell their homes or you, then if you want to make Europe unpopular, you should do that kind of stuff. And then I ask you, so is are we not then mistaking the approach? And maybe France takes in a different way. Maybe the French understand that kind of policy. But in my view, if we would present the Dutch housing market with those kind of restrictions, then people would say.”
  EU housing policy
• “Thank you very much, chair. Yes. The last trialogue was on the 10th of December. And honestly, it feels like ages ago, so I had to go back and and see what what did we do then? The idea of the Danish presidency was to close it, and they pushed the parliament delegation very hard to make a package deal and throw everything on the table that was not yet discussed. Parliament obviously could not do that because there are many, many, many issues that are still on the table that are also still relevant for us, like penalties and sanctions, like trust and check status, handling, fee timeline, and very much also the access to the data hub, which is the combined data that we will be putting together in this in this new system. Um, I think we made progress in the last trilogue, but we are obviously not there yet. Um, the Cypriots have this as one of their ambitions, and this week they will also be in Imco, I believe, to uh, to, to say that, um, even though they saw when they opened the file document and saw what was still on the table. They have requested also that we push back this last, uh, trilogue that we, that we had planned. It was planned actually for February. More probable will be the beginning of March. And this will give the time to the technical teams, which are doing a great job also from all the from all the groups and also the Secretariat. I want to thank you for that. So that's the content side of things. Now the more tricky part is, is the, uh, the, the actual, um, customs authority because here in Imco, uh, or at least in the legislative file, there's an article that says we will have a European customs authority and it will be placed in dot, dot, dot.”
  EU policy on custom fee on non-EU imports
• “Thank you. Thank you so much, Commissioner. Chairman. Well, it's a good thing that we have a housing commissioner who also deals with energy, because look at the energy prices today and the building of homes is actually going to be more expensive. So the task that we have here to try and design a path for housing policy in Europe. Well, it's not that easy at the moment. Young people stay at home with their parents because they can't afford to pay homes, and people are on waiting lists for over a period of ten years. You know, the housing policy is not an exclusive policy of the European Union, but it is an issue which is a problem for all Europeans. I'm satisfied with this report. I think that Borja and Shadows have done some excellent work here. But the question is to the European Commission do we want to be part of the solution or do we want to stick to supporting the problem? You know, it's on the demand side. You need to renew, you need to build, you need to do this quickly. You need to adjust regulations and rules. And I think removing red tape is a good thing so that rental can come closer to the people, but simplification is what we need. And Commissioner, you have said we need this in the member states after all, because that is where the problem lies. But let us look at ourselves today, and we're therefore asking the commission, when can we see this simplification agenda? When can you table this before we forget this report and stick it at the bottom of a shelf thank you.”
  EU policy on urban development
• “That's what we're dealing with. So it's not the social partners starting it. It's the ones managing it now. My biggest priority would be don't get in the way of well-functioning systems. Yeah. And that's a big challenge, I think in the sense that there is a lot on supervision where I don't see the added value. And there is a lot of details also on the governance where I believe you're not making it easier for existing funds, you're actually making it more complex. And then on your issue of consolidation, consolidation is competition policy consolidation. For me, that was how do you regulate bigger pension funds? If if you're not talking about the actual issue of talking to social partners and getting basically a starter pack for for pension funds in member states, which is not what the commission is proposing to us here. Um, so I mean, we're still early in the process. We still have a lot of time. But if we're looking at the upside, we need to make sure that you have freedom to invest in, in different asset classes. Um, I think with the prudent person principle, you're making a step in the good, good direction. Um, there's a couple of other things about the transparency. Of course it's important, but please don't impose a European system on, um, national structures that have evolved over 20, 30, 40 years, um, where there is honestly speaking, not a very convincing European dimension. Thank you.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “Thank you very much, chair. Dear Commissioner, nice to see you again here. I will also pick up on the on the pensions topic. You know, at least for where I'm from, that's quite an important issue. The numbers of the Dutch pension system are quite it's 140% of GDP that we have in, in pension occupational pensions, basically savings. It's one of the reasons why why Dutch people are very nervous about Europe getting involved because we are somehow the exception. And I would therefore say, my first message in the one minute I have is don't try to fix systems that work. Focus on the places where we need actually to introduce occupational pensions, because it is a huge issue that will put everything in terms of how we can finance our our, the demographic, demographic change, intergenerational fairness, but also simply all the older age poverty will be a massive issue and is already an increasing issue. And when we collected connected to the Siu, it is the basis of a well-functioning capital markets. So if we I know it will, I'm happy. It will only be recommendations. But we also have to be find the right angle for actually nudging people towards longer labour market participation, for example, which is clearly needed. And will the Commission also pick up on that in the upcoming communication.”
  EU policy on aging workforce and pensions
• “And of course, the synchronized national audit and control systems, which actually, when you look deeper into it, is a wide, uh, wide network of different systems and different controlling and auditing cultures that, again, make it less easy to really control and to track down, for example, double funding, which is a massive problem. And we've dealt with it a lot here. Second main point simplification, of course, is the talk of the town. Um, but I think if I can count on two hands, the people in Brussels that understand the MFF profoundly and that makes it very difficult for this House and even normal members of Parliament that are not total budget experts to deal with it. This is the third MFF I see, not as a member, but I've seen three of them and I'm still it is still a huge challenge. So we need to make it more comprehensible because something that you cannot understand, you cannot control. And and you also cannot put your name under at the end. So we should make it make it easier for stakeholders to get into the EU budget to apply to and to be part of procedures, but also to have a greater transparency when it comes to accountability. I already mentioned it, the reform of the MFF, the flexibility and the responsive budget. It will be a key point. The EU's budgetary framework should be adjusted to allow for greater flexibility, reducing the budget cycle from 7 to 5 years.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “Thank you, Mr. Trump. The former American president. So the president with the inflationary Every effects. And there are also tax breaks in the USA which have tempted European companies away. So he wants to reindustrialize and increase purchasing power of the inhabitants, and the EU has taken that as an attack. But it must be said that the USA are our largest trade partners globally, and these kinds of measures where we can't simply react by doing nothing. If we have countered tariffs, then that could be bad news for our companies. If this trade war escalates, in particular, we want to have a functioning trade relationship which is good for our citizens and companies. We have to protect and strengthen our And we should support our industry more.”
  EU-US trade relations
• “President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, we are at a crossroads here in Europe and old friends are turning their back on us, and old enemies are getting stronger and stronger. And even if the Europe is trying to take the fore on the environment, other parts of the world are not keeping step. Talking about people in the S and D, we're not the leaders anymore. We're losing competitiveness. Now is the time to protect ourselves and remain relevant in the world. And president, it's not going well. The last term of office, this chamber was a mass producer of legislation. More complexity CS, triple D, CSR, d taxonomy. Very good examples of this. It's important that legislation be adopted before it's even implemented. So if our companies having to deal with this especially SMEs, they can actually um. Could compete. Steel and chemicals. Concrete. These are areas where we have to keep our competitive edge, and we have to allow our companies to do their work and expect that they'll do their work well. And the complexity that we're adding to here is one of the most important rules why companies stop doing what they're doing. Hence, this omnibus is an excellent idea. I hope to see a whole series of omnibuses to reduce the complexity of legislation and that that persists in time and that it be resilient across different levels. And we need to get the trust back of the SMEs in the European project.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “Thank you very much, Madam President. Thank you Damien. Um, we have indeed already met a couple of times now with experts and people also involved in drafting the proposal. And to be honest, the raison d'etre of the reform is not yet clear to me. Um, and, uh, and that's a problem, I think, um, because I think many of us share the political goal that we want more Europeans to have second and third pillar pensions. Why? Because it prevents a massive social crisis that is coming at us, which has to do with poverty at elderly age. Um, if you're only dependent on the first pillar, uh, income after your retirement, it is very challenging in many member states. Um, and this is demographically simply coming at us and we need to deal with it. The question is, is the EU reform the right approach? And at the moment I don't I don't see it, uh, to be honest, um, because we've been doing this already for a while and there is not a European market of ERPs. I think a 1% is cross border. So it's all national systems. But the commission is providing a proposal based on an internal market article which somehow gives this idea of of that there is this free flowing product out there which is called a second or a third pillar pension fund. It is not why. And I think it also has to do with the genealogy of how systems exist. It's the social partners that decide on on setting up collective schemes for sectors or companies, and then they are managed by another entity, which we then call the ERP.”
  EU policy on aging workforce and pensions
• “Thank you very much, chair. Thank you very much, commissioner. I have 1 1 and a half minutes, so I will not be able to say absolutely anything. First of all, I would say that the EPP group and, of course, there's still a long way ahead of us before everyone also in their own respective groups finds common ground. But, when I read the text, I see a lot of complexity. And I know that the the goals and the aims are noble, and there's a lot of overconfidence or confidence in the room that Europe is strong and we can do this. And I'm sure we can do this, but only if it is as simple to use as, to use a bad example, an iPhone. It has to be simple to use. We have to be very critical of the every single target we put in there. Because if we put it in a law, for example, 20% re re industrialization, Very nice, but that's exactly what Xi Jinping does in his 5 year plan for GDP growth. 4 and a half percent. He put it he puts it in the document and then the rest of the economy starts producing growth, which leads to huge amounts of inefficiency and throw throwing away of public money, which is what's happening on a massive scale in China. So I'd be very careful putting targets putting targets that in the end is also 0 sum because if our services sector will grow, which I hope that it will grow in the future with AI and all that stuff we're also doing, then, of course, it's it's if the services grow, then manufacturing has to grow even more. So please be careful with those kind of targets. Please be careful with not killing 1 of the main assets Europe still has in the world, that's our alliances. Don't close the door on our friends. It is an essential part of how our industrial policy can function in the future. And lastly, be critical of what is exactly a strategic sector because my dear green friends, part of the success of the green transition of the last 10 years was step state subsidies in China. They have been paying for the products that our citizens have been putting on their roofs and in their sellers. They have been subsidizing the green transition in Europe. And why would the why would we now, all of a sudden say, no, we're all gonna pay for that ourselves. We're gonna build our own solar solar panels, which will be twice as expensive. Please be careful which sectors would be strategic and which are less. Thank you very much.”
  Chinese clean tech competition: trade barriers and investment caps vs. open market
• “Thank you, chair, and thank you to everyone. I will be as short as possible. I will focus on consultancies and subcontractors. Reading through the answers of the questionnaire, I noticed that quite some agencies indicate that without consultancies and subcontracted subcontractors, they wouldn't be able to fulfil their mandate. Bringing to me all kinds of questions. But let's not cover all of them and simply focus on one of them. A lot of these consultancy work and contracts have to do with it. And then are there common standards among agencies that have to do with IT projects in terms of cybersecurity? Because we all know that that is the big weakness. We have a huge amount of data and we are having trouble to protect it. And this is also a question for Mr. Cazorla, because I would be interested to to see if you recognize a pattern of increasing use of consultancies and, and external partners in the agencies and how how that complicates our work as budget control people to understand where the money is going and who is actually getting that money. Thank you very much.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “(10:48:36 – 10:50:21): Thank you, Chair. I would also like to thank the representatives of TIMMY for our meeting 2 weeks ago in Shanghai with Mr. Sun Quynh. That was very informative. And I think you will hear from this committee what we already told you 2 weeks ago: that your business model is profoundly unsustainable on the European market and it will not be able to continue like this. So, the damage control that you are doing now is welcome. And I think these are steps in the right direction, especially regarding the first party seller issue and the liability because that is really one of the biggest loopholes we have when it comes to goods coming onto the European market. Now, I share all the dangerous goods comments of the colleagues. So, I will focus on something else that has to do with intellectual property rights. In our meeting, we were witnessing how effective you could be when it was about Europa Park and the products there. You have a Unilever beauty care shop on your website. Your website and your app is one of the most downloaded apps in Europe, by the way. Unilever is not aware of this beauty care shop. And the products like Vaseline, lip balm and hand cream are available on this site and competing with the real products offered by Unilever. Now, I'm not protecting Unilever here, but this happens to all the brands in Europe on your website and on websites of your competitors from China. Why is it not possible for your algorithm to get rid of these products that are basically unfairly competing with European brands? Thank you. Thank you so much. Katharina Baali for the S and D.”
  Liability for online marketplaces
• “You do that also here and there. I'm happy with that. And I think we really have to see this very important network of, of structures as sort of extensions of what Europe is doing and how effective our policy can be, because in many cases they are essential in sort of actually getting things done or delivering the expertise that that we need to to really do our jobs well. So in that sense, Um, I would also then again come back to this issue of, well, if security and migration are very serious priorities, and I guess the increase in Frontex budget is obviously one of those symptoms. Um, I think that that there needs to be a dynamic there that reinforces each other. The point on Eu-lisa. Um, we acknowledge that again, it receives a qualified opinion. So this is a recurring issue. Um, but maybe we should also consider what what the Court of Auditors have said about this, that it is basically a spillover from 2003 and that in that sense, um, if we look at the contracts of previous years and that those contracts are no longer in force and the issues seem to be addressed for now, I don't know if that's also now your sort of perspective or you do not agree with that. But, um, we would we would argue for a bit more clemency there. Um, but I'm open to also arguments in that sense, um, we appreciate the call for further synergies. Um, we should start exploring exploring more the idea of merging some agencies.”
  Asylum & border control
• “Thank you. Thank you so much, Commissioner. Chairman. Well, it's a good thing that we have a housing commissioner who also deals with energy, because look at the energy prices today and the building of homes is actually going to be more expensive. So the task that we have here to try and design a path for housing policy in Europe. Well, it's not that easy at the moment. Young people stay at home with their parents because they can't afford to pay homes, and people are on waiting lists for over a period of ten years. You know, the housing policy is not an exclusive policy of the European Union, but it is an issue which is a problem for all Europeans. I'm satisfied with this report. I think that Borja and Shadows have done some excellent work here. But the question is to the European Commission do we want to be part of the solution or do we want to stick to supporting the problem? You know, it's on the demand side. You need to renew, you need to build, you need to do this quickly. You need to adjust regulations and rules. And I think removing red tape is a good thing so that rental can come closer to the people, but simplification is what we need. And Commissioner, you have said we need this in the member states after all, because that is where the problem lies. But let us look at ourselves today, and we're therefore asking the commission, when can we see this simplification agenda? When can you table this before we forget this report and stick it at the bottom of a shelf thank you.”
  EU housing policy
• “Thank you very much, chair. Well, in the EPP, we're very happy that Mr. Sefcovic is travelling also to the US to to protect our economy from the very negative consequences of trade chaos. And we're also very happy that Commissioner Ribera is here today to speak about the DMA. I would like to introduce a company to you, a Chinese company. And I will say, now there will be a gatekeeper. But over a couple of years, not now. It is called Joy be in Europe. Joy by sounds very nice. It sounds like a start up. In fact, it is the European front of one of the biggest companies in China, and they are about to take over Mediamarkt and Saturn. The ownership is economy and they own basically the zero shops in Europe in about 12 countries, and they very soon. And most of the countries have already agreed to. It will be in Chinese ownership. Madam Commissioner, this is a very serious issue, and I have already written to you in a letter. And for tomorrow's vote or Thursday's vote, we have an amendment that will call on you to use every every single legislative instrument you have, whether it is the foreign subsidies regulation or also FDI screening. We need to make sure that one, no subsidies were used for a company like JD to become so big as it has become, because in Europe, companies do not get that kind of treatment. And secondly, the data that they will be buying because their colleagues, they will be owning about 100 million client profiles of Europeans. That data and the future data of your fridge and your washing machine and your microwave will be part of that business transaction and will not be any more in the ownership of Europe and will not stay in Europe. And we need the Commission to make sure that this will be the case in the future. Thank you very much.”
  EU policy on screening foreign investment in strategic sectors and critical infrastructure
• “I don't know how long we've been wanting this, probably for 20 years already, but it would be a great idea, in my view, to, to, to to have, uh, more complementarity between the political mandate of the institutions and the actual budget. A more adaptable approach to spending would ensure that resources are allocated where they are needed most without unnecessary, unnecessary rigidity. Of course, this can only apply to parts of the budget that are not rigid itself, which at the moment is is still very much the case. Another point I would like to emphasize in the amendments is the rule of law. Um, the integrity of the EU budget depends on strict adherence to rule of law principles and compliance with single market rules. Financial support must be conditional on the respect of these principles, ensuring that that EU resources are used in a way that aligns with these shared values and legal commitments. So the idea we can talk about it, but to make, um, also the implementation of of of EU law when it comes to the single market or other areas. Um, enforce it stricter because at the moment we have, I believe, an enforcement problem and many member states are actually undermining the internal market and our capacity for our economies to grow because they are simply not implementing the the laws that we have adopted.”
  Conditions to access EU budget
• “Thank you, chair, and I won't be long because I think also I wasn't for the whole hearing here. So my apologies for that. But the it seems that on several levels we're all dealing with the same problem. And that is we cannot hold certain companies to account for the stuff that they put on the internal market. And in the customs file we have the same question. And we have we are working with the deemed importer concept and try to have an opt in mechanism which makes it DSA compliant. Um, but as long as you don't change the DSA, you will always need to somehow have a workaround of the DSA. Now, my plea would be that we don't try to invent in every single file. So the CPC or when we change Icpsr or now with customs, we do different solutions in different places. And I really ask the commission to have an eye on this. Is that what we that we have? We need to reinforce this liability regime, even if it is not in the DSA, but that it is coherent over different pieces of legislation. Because in my experience, at least on the customs file, we are very good in making laws and applying them to our companies, but not to the companies that we're actually trying to enforce, because our supervisors, also our consumer organizations, they're mostly focusing also on the easy targets, which are our own companies, because we speak their language, we know the people and we have access to their to their meeting rooms. So coherence on legislation is is very important, I believe. And then maybe, um, when if we speak about the CPC, I believe the same again. As with customs, they're under-financed and the structures are not strong enough. How could you actually, um, how could how could that in fact be financed from a from a budgetary point of view? Because with with the customs we will have the handling fee. You can finance the system but on on the consumer groups, where do they get their money? Question mark.”
  Liability for online marketplaces
• “Yes. I think this is the start of the process. I believe we, uh, need to vote by 17 to 18 March. Uh, 1819. Okay, so this is the start of the process. I think it is. Uh, I appreciate the colleagues from Sadie and ECR being here. Um, so I take all the I take all the kind words of Mrs. Cepeda. I will cash them in immediately. Of course. Um, traceability. Transparency, fraud. I mean, we have we I'm sure we will find, uh, we will find some good, good, uh, wording there, um, for, for the handover performance based, on the performance based approach in this committee. We have spent a lot of time on looking at Looking at this. And I think you're absolutely right. In your analysis, it's striking the balance of how can we bring some reforms, how can we underscore results, and yet at the same time manage the fact that we can still check what is happening with the money? And with the RF? I think there's been a lot of mistakes there. I think it hasn't worked. We really have no overview of the final beneficiaries. And when we do have that, it's referred to as the ministries or huge structures. And we all aware that they're not the final beneficiaries. And this committee, under the pressure of our chairman, have tried to get some information, but it seems to approve. It's proven to be extremely difficult. You also mentioned indebtedness. We didn't really dwell on indebtedness at any great length because in the budget report, it's set out in article three that there's serious concerns about indebtedness. But I'm happy to discuss this at greater length. Because in the report as well, it says that as of 2028, the RF. Will cost 20 to €30 billion in terms of interest payments and paying off the actual capital.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “Now, I have heard some rumors about discussions on putting it forward by simplifying the implementation of a so-called de minimis, by not looking at all the thousands of products tariffs that you could, uh, that you would have to, um, impose on on these parcels, but simply use one tariff for everything under 150. Is that something that the Commission could could think about? Because then clearly customs would actually be able to implement a measure which without a data hub. And if you stick to the current system, it would simply not be possible. Second, on the handling fee. Yes, we saw your non-paper the non-paper that followed the invitation. Sorry, chair followed the invitation to consider a handling fee. Now, we've seen that you mentioned you mentioned numbers. Is this strictly necessary to mention numbers in the legislative act? Because I would say that if you then change the level, you would have to do a total revision of the legislative act. Is that not something you could do on a different moment? And could you please reflect a bit on the WTO limitations that are imposed on us for these handling fees? Thank you.”
  EU policy on custom fee on non-EU imports
• “Good morning, and thank you. Do I get the two minutes of the colleagues that. Were not there? No. Okay. Um, colleagues, the the internal market is a key driver of financing all around Europe. If we do not have a well-functioning internal market, we can forget about financing, demographic change, energy transition and everything that has to do with defence and also defending Ukraine. It is as simple as that and how difficult it is to defend the internal market. We will prove today at 12:00, because we will vote for a position of Parliament that undermines the integrity of the internal market. It is about the unfair enforcement of unfair trading practices in other countries. So we have gold plated rules of one member state that could be enforced in another member state. It is crazy. It is against Draghi, it is against Letta. But we will be voting for it. In any case. So colleagues, let's practice what we preach. We are talking about Draghi and Letta every single day and we're not actually practicing it. Thank you very much.”
  EU Single Market harmonisation
• “Thank you. Chair. Um. Madame Lagarde. Commissioner. The discussion over independence of the ECB is, uh, one that we have to have here, and it comes because of the, um, attack by Trump on the fed and your colleague Jerome Powell. It's good that, um, you showed even in Davos that things work differently in Europe and it should remain the case. And I think it's a bit concerning that when I listen to Mr. Bardella, he seems to be predicting a French resolution and he wants to change the mandate of the ECB. The Greens seem to do the same thing with the climate crisis. We have to ensure that independence is the basis of our stability here in Europe. We see that the dollar is is losing value. Um, we have to ensure that the Europe, um, becomes a world currency and is used more outside of Europe. But we can't talk about reforms in member states. We haven't heard about any genuine reforms today about tax pensions, the labour market. There are also ways to strengthen the Europe, and it shouldn't just be done on an international basis. And through geopolitics, we can begin here. And we must do that because, president, I hear a lot about safe assets, about Eurobonds, but very little about reform. Eurobonds seem to be a shortcut to avoid doing the real work. It's good, I think, Madam President, that our commissioner, Mr. Dombrovskis, is working on the simplification agenda. I think we really need to work on this to ensure that our economy can move forward. That's something that we all very much need. Thank you very much.”
  ECB monetary policy
• “Thank you very much. Uh, thank you to the commission for this initiative. It's the first time that the commissioner is thinking about housing. And although some people would like to take the competence to hear, I think it's important for us to look at what Europe is already doing that Europe is. Whether Europe is accelerating or construction or makes it more difficult. We want more building, but also more in more renovation. And that's part of energy and energy issues, part of that. Because what's the good of having a house if you can't afford to live in it and heat it? I haven't heard anything about simplification of legislation, and I think we could win a lot through that. The simplification procedure is here for 2027. I'd like to hear more about that, because what we see in practice, and of course this is something very, very difficult In Netherlands we have a densely populated area and the legislation means that permits are slower and slower. I've heard the commissioner that he wants to go through European legislation like a bulldozer, I think is important. And then there is the state aid proposal. I think this is really good news for the Netherlands. We've taken a good step here. And don't forget about the rules of settling, because we have more and more problems with nobody being prepared to take on important initiatives.”
  EU housing policy
• “Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And thank you very much for the, uh, speakers. I couldn't really connect with the very heavy idea in the last speaker, but maybe I didn't understand the the problem. Um, I have a question for Mr. Dreyer, because I think, indeed demography demographic change is hitting our social economic systems already now, um, and we're not really realizing the extent of it. Everything that has to do with our public systems, whether it is pension systems, social security systems or housing, everything will be will be affected by it massively. And we're also in a situation where a lot of our member states do not have a lot of fiscal space to sort of deal with those problems, at least not from their public budgets point of view. There comes the question of reforms, but limiting it to housing. The question is a bit okay, what can Europe do because it's one size fits all, doesn't work. You explain that I think quite well. Um, if you look at the demographic toolbox, also, countries have tried to buy new babies and more babies. It is very expensive and it doesn't really work, at least in the places in Europe where we've seen, uh, experiences with that. It is very, very difficult because the reasons for people to, to, to not have kids is very complex. What on the housing front could be done from a European perspective that could alleviate and this could solve this problem of young people staying home and actually postponing the moment of starting a family, because that, in essence, is what we are then trying to talk about. I think thank you very much.”
  EU competences on demographic policy
• “Thank you very much. I'm always happy to speak on this topic. Um, just to connect to a very good question from Miss Giza as well on this issue of, um, well, that we finally used now this, this instrument. Uh, I agree that it was a bit on the low side in that sense that I think these are calculated risks of very, very big companies that earn a lot, a lot of money taking this risk and abusing of of their market position at the expense of our entrepreneurs and smaller businesses and, and actually ideas in Europe getting a bit bigger before they get eaten up by, by the big ones. Um, from a more, a bit more macro perspective, uh, how do you think, uh, in the future, if we keep on dripping them with one fine after the other in 24 and 25 and 26, and they simply pay it because actually their revenues in Europe are huge. Um, how can we actually help support our sort of nascent industries, app developers, all these things beyond only the fines? How can we create a more healthy, competitive environment out there? Thank you.”
  EU rules on digital competition
• “And thank you, thank you very much for being here. I take the floor because we have some time left. I wasn't intending to ask a question because maybe it started Ludwig started a bit the thought process on this, on this tension between the need for long term investments, especially in defense, and this fiscal space. It looks like the political timeline in Europe is reducing so the timeline for governments to be able to do actually something that has to do with policy is reducing. It is all already, I think, well ahead of the full mandate in many countries. In my own country, the Netherlands, the last you have elections that just simply speed up every time. So political space and time is condensing and the need for long term investments is actually getting much bigger. So there's this huge, there's, I would say, this clash between the technocratic reality which is quite obvious based on content and science and just our future planning and then this reality of politics, specifically on the finance of financing of defense where this clashes quickly on the SAFE and on the escape clauses and basically what you can actually do in an annual budget. Wouldn't it be, and maybe do you have opinions about, for example, what we have in the ESM and that is already there, that is already, we have experience with it. Is that something you have opinions about whether that would, it would not push on budgets, I believe budgets, and it wouldn't hit the taxpayers as would, for example, an annual budget cycle? Do you have thoughts on that?”
  Defence spending
• “Um, in my view, with the compliment with are especially complementary to each other or overlapping. There are many agencies in the field of education and training, for example. I think we can rationalise some of the work that is done. This is not only on, on, on the agencies, but also if I think about I know the anti-fraud architecture, those same discussions are there. Last point, the use of consultancies. I raised those issues in the written procedure because I was simply interested to hear about it, and it appears that they are absolutely essential. Consultancies are essential for quite a lot of work that is done. Um, you you added one sentence to it. I think we can go a bit further. Um, that, uh, we look at. So you mentioned the prioritization, prioritizing the use of internal staff. Um, but it also we simply also have to realize that some agencies simply cannot do their work without these consultancies. So it creates it creates a, I think, a bigger problem than only, um, prioritizing internal staff. Um, because in some cases, not all agencies are crucial or essential, but some are. And if these, uh, agencies simply stop working because of, uh, consultancies, then we have also a, um, a resilience issue to deal with. Uh, so in that sense, I will, uh, come back on that in the, in the talks. But for now, thanks for all the work. And, um, also look forward to hearing from the other colleagues.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “And we have to come up with, with the right name of a city. That is a very tricky process. Um, we are now in negotiations with council on how that would actually work in terms of timing and in terms of voting arrangement. The only precedent we have is Amla, and that was a very painful experience for Parliament. So we're trying to improve that in order to create a more balanced institutional environment where where both legislatures are really on an equal footing. So basically those agreements on how we proceed with selecting the city, that will be this week. We are going to council later on in the day to to to try to find a common understanding there. Um, so actually this will be coming to us quite quickly and we will have the hearings, of course, or the Q&A session on Wednesday. I just received a beautiful letter in an envelope. So not even an email in a very nice letter in an envelope. It was also sent to, to Ana, um, that they will also be coming this Wednesday so we can confirm that it is now actually taking place because there were some, some questions whether council, uh, needed not a bit more time, but I'm very happy to to confirm that they will be coming and we will be able to ask questions. So it also motivates colleagues to to show up, have a look. Because this will be a very important piece of infrastructure that we have to to support our internal market and also protect consumers and businesses, uh, for against unfair competition and simply dangerous products. So, uh, that's more or less the feedback. I don't need five minutes. Thank you very much.”
  EU political integration
• “So violations should have tangible consequences. The last but not least is of course, performance based. It will be a huge challenge for us. The Court of Auditors have been very vocal on it and I believe this this committee has also been very responsive to that and has tried to to get to the bottom of, okay, what does performance based mean? Any shift to a performance based system should not use the RF as a blueprint, in my view, because we have come up with quite some limitations. It should be based on tangible results and outcomes. It should be based on a European added value instead of a renationalisation of of European investments. Um, so for us we really need an impact of this. Where is this European added value? We need methodology that can actually, um, convince us that there is an impact and a European added value. Um, so which would also mean a closer link between the disbursement of money and achievement of objectives. And last but not least, to how to deal with actually non-completion of the objectives that were defined beforehand. There are many other issues that we will be able to go into, but these are some of the highlights that I have on my mind at the moment, and I'm happy to hear your your perspectives as well.”
  Conditions to access EU budget
• “So I would also like to, to propose and to actually restrict the work that we do also to the competence that we have, because we could say, we could say anything we want about anything or single topic. But I think that would make this process quite, quite complicated. Um, let me just mention a couple of them, and this is not exhaustive. Uh, we can still talk about it bilaterally, uh, or even if necessary, we can we can meet in, in a wider circle. Um, strengthening financial oversight and transparency, basically core business. So accountability must be at the heart of our financial management. Stronger oversight mechanisms, including improved auditing and fraud detection, should ensure that funds are used effectively. Strengthening cooperation between institutions such as the European Court of Auditors, Olaf and EPPO is also essential in maintaining the integrity of this budget. The work of these, uh, stakeholders and how they work together should also be something that we reflect on. Profoundly, I think, um, the commission is also doing it. We should not also we should not just simply let that pass. Uh, transparency should be further improved by real time monitoring tools, not only for, for uh, citizens, but also as a control function for us. So you have better, better insight on where the money is going.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “Thank you very much, Madam Vice President. The draft report is already two years old, and we are here for, I don't know how many debates already on the same report. It might have been the fifth or sixth or seventh. I think the key question is that what we do in this House is very much redistribution of a budget and of things that member states can get back from Europe, but defence and economy, they don't work like that. The money and the investments will go to the places that are most that are best suited for investments, that have the highest yields, that have the best jurisdictions. Defense. It's the same thing. It's about expertise. It's about research and development. So our governance model of redistribution, and I regret because the Brits who still used to be here, um, were much better that than we are. Um, this redistribution reflects is actually blocking us now from choosing winners because it has to be fair. We cannot spread out economic integration over 27 countries in the same level because the financial markets are not the same, because the infrastructure is not the same. Of course we aspire to the same levels, but it is not the same. And as long as we do not recognize that, I do not see how we can really make progress, which is why enhanced cooperation is an urgency. And the second point I really support in the in. The president's approach was that member states really need to step up. Instead of consuming Europe, they should start producing Europe and tell us what laws are they ready to change in order for us together to to get stronger? Thank you very much.”
  EU political integration
• “Madam Vandenberg I find it very strange that you give me this kind of power that I could hold back the whole continent if we're talking about economic integration there is no break including in our elections manifestation we are full steam ahead particularly if we're talking about protecting the security of Dutch people in the Dutch market or Europeans on the European market because they are under serious pressure at the moment because we are not cooperating enough. We need to ensure strength strengthening reinforcement where it's necessary and do less where that's necessary and Dragi has said that and your side of the aisle makes this very difficult because we can do some things less but better.”
  EU political integration
• “Thank you very much, chair. And thank you, Commissioner Roswell. It is a pleasure to have you here. Um, because, of course, Dan Jurgensen is well known in this committee. But Dan needs his colleagues in the college. Uh, here. And he doesn't just need them for moral support. He really needs them in proposals, in thinking about housing, before we actually start writing what we want to do. And, um, just to connect to your overview, um, water resilient, bio based, uh, the circularity. There's a lot of potential there. But please think about the impact, uh, now of, for example, on permitting on permitting procedures because what we're doing now on several legislative files, we're changing legislation that has not even been implemented yet. We call them omnibus. Yeah. Um, and we want to prevent that in these, in these files. We don't want that in a couple of years. We basically say, oh, no, we overdid it. Um, so please be mindful of that. Have the simplification agenda in mind. You know, the EP has high expectations on that. So that's my message. First message. Um, the second one on the permitting. Um, the EP also would like to, to, to have a very critical look on all the existing stuff that we have. And you mentioned water, you mentioned air, you mentioned soil. Um, there is a lot there that depending on the region, depending on the city, impacts a lot on the permitting procedures. Are you working on sort of an overview or a horizontal perspective of where you can actually, uh, could actually do something to alleviate the pressure on these, uh, procedures? And, um, I guess in general, our question would be, and when can we expect, uh, deliverables on this from your side to help your dear colleague Dan. Um, that actually, we don't maybe have to wait until the Affordable Housing Act comes out, but we actually get into motion a bit earlier because I think a lot of people in this room are impatient and are so impatient that we cannot repeat that for the next year. Thank you very much, Commissioner.”
  EU policy on permitting for renewable energy projects
• “Thank you. Chair. We're used to one minute. So four is like. Is this very long? Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Market, for your very comprehensive presentation and for a lot of work. I think it's the first time we do a single report on this, and it's interesting to see now how this process actually goes and what the experiences are. So for us, good structure, uh, well balanced, balanced. But of course we have some we have some points to make. Um, I think it's important to concentrate on the agencies that either raise some issues or as regards the implementation of the budget or the ones that represent a priority in terms of policy making. We appreciate that in general terms, the emphasis is put on the agencies which receive the qualified opinion and those that were, uh, and where we can see recurring issues, um, in terms of the agencies. There is, however, and we and we notice it also in your speech, a specific focus on Frontex. You can understand that the EPP will have some ideas how to deal with that. You also propose to look at the budget they receive or actually undo some of the budget they received. We would quite definitely not agree with that. Um, but I'm sure we will we will be able to discuss that in the upcoming, uh, in the upcoming meetings. In addition, we would like to place an additional focus on the link between the activities of the agencies and the political priorities of the Commission.”
  Discharge of EU institutions and agencies
• “Thank you. Chair. Thank you, Mr. Andrikiene and Mr.. Sorry I missed your name from the commission. Thank you. It sounds a bit like a parallel universe, but I was happy that in the end you did acknowledge the recommendations of of the Court of Auditors. But let me just start with what I wanted to say. Um, we are all here in this committee exists to control EU funding. That's the raison d'etre, let's say. And one of the areas where funding has increased a lot is to these third parties. Uh, and we call them a lot NGOs, even though many people have different ideas about that. Well, in among the Christian Democrats, we're quite aware of these, uh, clubs because they are called civil society. And they were born out of the Christian democratic tradition to counterbalance the power of the state and the market. And I think, um, the EPP is still very much in favor of these counterbalancing forces, but civil society has radically changed as evolved have become in many places, and here in Brussels have become also professional lobbyists, have become legal experts that go to court against member states, against cities, against anyone who, who, who crosses the law, which they often have helped to adopt and not, uh, and sometimes even with financing from the European Commission. So it's I think it's evident that we ask questions about it. And besides the lobbying activities, Qatar had already given us enough, um, sort of, um, oxygen to say, yes, you are right, because this committee has been working on it for years.”
  Regulation of NGOs in Europe
• “Thank you very much, sir. Thank you for this exchange of views. It is I believe it's very timely. Uh, even though quite late because the, uh, the, the proliferation is the technical word, but actually the explosion of content is, has not been since grok. It's been already going on for quite a while. And it is not linear. It is exponential. So in dealing with it politically, we not we don't need a linear approach. An investigation which is then followed by some time and then maybe a decision. We need also exponential sort of approach when it comes to politically dealing with this technology. So honestly, I hear many colleagues being welcoming the investigation. I believe so too, but no one is going to care. No one. And the Americans are laughing at us. Online. Online. Many people consider all this stuff to be part of free speech. Unfortunately, they're not in the room now. These guys that that actually consider this kind of excesses that go beyond anything that has to do with human dignity, with our morals, with everything that is important for us in terms of human beings. Um, and I would say that the commission really, really, really. And they're very understanding for your HR problems. But this is a massive political issue that is not only confronting kids, but also women. And I believe if this would all be about men, I think we would have been we would have been a lot quicker, to be honest. Um, so really, Commission, could you please give us some perspective to ban these apps, to give us some horizontal approach and not only a case by case approach that get into the headlines and gives some of your commissioners a bad day. Thank you very much.”
  Regulation of pornography in the EU
• “Thank you very much, president. We are living in the biggest social experiment in modern history. And essentially it's our children that are paying the penalty for it. And we're talking here about the influence that algorithms and social media have on their development. Neuro researchers and psychologists have been sounding the alarm for a long time. The mental well-being of our children is under an awful lot of pressure. Plenty of parents are asking for help. These systems are not neutral. They are developed to, um, strengthen emotions and keep us captive. Essentially, children are are being enslaved to these to these platforms. You look at what these American and Chinese companies are doing and look what's happening with the collection of all that data. These UN tested, um, substances, you know, if they if they are in our children's food, then we do something about it. And here we're dealing with algorithms that are feeding our children. And I think it's high time that we have a minimum age for, um, social media. And we should be banning infinite scrolling, and we should make sure that the platforms actually shoulder the responsibility for the crimes and the like that go on there. Thank you.”
  Safety features & content control for child protection online
• “Thank you Commissioner. President, I'm here on behalf of the Budgetary Control Committee. And this is exceptionally, a committee that's not so expensive. I mean, we need to provide the money. Come up with the money. That's a special situation. And a lot can be done here. Every MFF, MFF, or MFA is a possibility to improve the situation, especially in the area of expenditure in Member states and the way in which this Parliament can be strengthened in order to control this expense. Because, Commissioner, we spoke a lot about transparency and the access that we have to certain information on how money is being spent. I think we need to improve this and let us not repeat the mistakes of the past, which we had in the Corona Recovery Fund. The Budgetary Control Committee feels that it's extremely important to be able to exercise its control. And lastly, we're working on the revision of the anti-fraud structure, and I think major steps can be taken. We can make it more efficient and it not as costly. Thank you.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “President, let us go back to 2020. In 2020, we saw the beginning of Eurobonds. Some member states, such as the Netherlands, were concerned about these. They were concerned about how this debt was constructed, but also about the reforms and that what that would actually mean in practice. We're five years further on and now we can evaluate it. Said. The European Court of Auditors said that it was very clear that taxpayers have to get something for their money. We don't really see what the added value of these are for Europe, European citizens, um, what they see is a debt. Netherlands can only absorb 5 billion from the funds, and yet we're going to pay over 35 billion from the funds. And so they're going to put pressure on national budgets. And the cost should come from European expenditure, not from there. Can't be absorbed through new European, um resources. And so this is going to lead to a loss of trust in Europe. Um, when it comes to Eurobonds, uh, chair uh, once and never again I would say thank you.”
  Own EU resources
• “(16:32:19 – 16:35:10): Thank you, Chair. I like this concept very much that we, that in Kant where we mostly look at money and where money is useful and we have the professionals on the policy side that simply join together to discuss the same object and that is in this case a special report. I want to thank the Court of Auditors. We've been working on something in this Cont Committee and actually we've had the privilege to have access to hundreds of contracts related to LIFE.”
  Discharge of EU institutions and agencies
• “Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you Commissioner. Always good to have you here. Let me start by saying the same thing that you said at the end. Um, we, the Polish presidency is making a huge effort to to get this done. Um, I think we've we've already spent too much time on it, to be honest, because a lot of what we're doing now is actually, uh, things are things that should have been done, actually, maybe ten years ago. If you look at it quite critically, because we have a customs union, but the only thing we actually have is an external tariff, and the rest is all national. And we are now noticing that this is influencing influencing radically our what you said also our economic and foreign agenda. We are simply not sovereign. We cannot influence decisions or follow up on decisions if we don't have control of our customs in Europe. I have two specific questions. Um, one is regarding the impatience around the de minimis in this room. It is quite it is quite high. You will have noticed. And, um, there's there are discussions going on about, well, 2028. You cannot get rid of de minimis without the data hub. So that that pushes that pushes the, the um the thing quite far into the future.”
  EU policy on custom fee on non-EU imports
• “You can literally I can be an NGO if I would want to, because I self declare to be an NGO, which is absolutely crazy. If you look at the amount of money that is going there. Now on the lobbying issue. I do have an issue because of course, the, the, the the report was not about lobbying, but the Court of Auditors raised some, some very significant points, I think, about the lack of transparency there. We all here have tried to get more access to it. It is still very limited. Personally, I would like to get everything and I think this committee should, should, should insist on that. Um, but does the Court of Auditors plan? Does the Court of Auditors plan to sort of follow up on this, or was this a one off event? And, um, how would you how would you go about tackling this, um, issue of the, the transparency of the shadow lobbying and where this separation of powers and the debates that we've already had here could be, um, better, uh. We put together that we don't basically that we don't undermine the credibility of the work that we're doing here, because the commission is financing third parties that are trying to get their agenda through. Thank you very much.”
  Regulation of NGOs in Europe
• “I just had a factual question, I guess, for the mostly for the economist of the FAO. Um, because I find the composition of where this, especially the food prices come from, is actually the biggest part of it is unexplained. And now we have the discussion about the territorial supply constraints. Then my question and there were some numbers on how much it would cost the consumer 13 billion or 18 billion or something like that. What would that. Is there an estimation to make about how much, uh, the inflation on food comes from a total absence or problems in the integration of the internal market, or at least the the fragmentation of the internal markets. And I guess for all the colleagues that are aware of the unfair trade practices, that the situation is not getting better. If we look at the development in the agri committee, where the compromises will move against a more or less fragmented market system, because everyone will be able to do more of its own protectionist little things.”
  EU Single Market harmonisation
• “Obviously it is not up to you first of all. And if you ask me, if you ask me, of course bureaucracy is an issue, but the omnibuses are not are not the the the formula to get our growth machine back on the omnibuses are vertical corrections which we need. But the real stuff we need are horizontal integration ideas about the economy and about creating our wealth. So yes, we need to clean up the house. So a deep regulatory clean up. I like that concept, but I do not think that the suggestions made by my colleague. In that sense, are working in the same direction.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “And this is something that was blithely introduced and set up with the fund. And now looking at it from this perspective, paying off the debt. Doesn't seem to be to be at the top of the list of priorities for many, many heads of state and government have to say. And I think the Parliament's going to have to work with this, because otherwise it's going to come out of the running costs, the operational costs of the European Union's budget, and that will affect the farmers, the regions. Um, and that was on that last point about political priorities. I'll have a look at the amendment when we're looking at. Financing lobby activities here in Brussels or in the member states capitals lobbying elected parliaments that we have to keep a watching brief, brief on that. I'm very pleased we're doing that here in this committee as well, because when it comes down to it, it's about strengthening the legitimacy of what we're actually doing here And there's not a network of of lobbyists who are fixing things where the citizens basically are losing trust in us because of that. And I think I don't expect our positions to be very different on that. Thank you. Chair.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget