Contents

1.

Resumption of the session

3

2.

Opening of the sitting

3

3.

Statement by the President

3

4.

Approval of the minutes of the previous sittings

3

5.

Request for waiver of immunity

3

6.

Composition of Parliament

4

7.

Composition of committees and delegations

4

8.

Negotiations ahead of Parliament's first reading (Rule 71)

4

9.

Negotiations ahead of Parliament's first reading (Rule 71) (action taken)

4

10.

Signing of acts adopted in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (Rule 79)

4

11.

Documents received: see Minutes

5

12.

Questions for oral answer (submission): see Minutes

5

13.

Action taken on Parliament's positions and resolutions: see Minutes

5

14.

Proposal for a Union act: see Minutes

5

15.

Order of business

5

16.

Financial activities of the European Investment Bank – annual report 2020 — Control of the financial activities of the European Investment Bank – annual report 2019 (debate)

5

17.

Use of technologies for the processing of data for the purpose of combating online child sexual abuse (temporary derogation from Directive 2002/58/EC) (debate)

19

18.

European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (debate)

27

19.

Old continent growing older – possibilities and challenges related to the ageing policy post 2020 (debate)

34

20.

The impact on the fishing sector of offshore windfarms and other renewable energy systems (short presentation)

43

21.

Citizens' dialogues and citizens' participation in EU decision-making (short presentation)

45

22.

Trade-related aspects and implications of COVID-19 (short presentation)

47

23.

EU-NATO cooperation in the context of transatlantic relations (short presentation)

49

24.

Amendments to Parliament's Rules of Procedure (short presentation)

51

25.

Agenda of the next sitting

53

26.

Closure of the sitting

53

Verbatim report of proceedings of 5 July 2021

PRESIDENZA DELL'ON. DAVID MARIA SASSOLI

Presidente

1.   Resumption of the session

Presidente. – Dichiaro ripresa la sessione del Parlamento europeo interrotta giovedì 24 giugno 2021.

2.   Opening of the sitting

(La seduta è aperta alle 17.04)

3.   Statement by the President

Presidente. – Cari colleghi, vorrei iniziare la sessione di oggi esprimendo la nostra solidarietà al popolo di Cipro e alle vittime del devastante incendio che ha portato alla morte di quattro persone e ha causato tanta distruzione e sofferenza.

È con sollievo che apprendiamo dalle autorità cipriote che l'incendio è ora sotto controllo.

L'UE ha dispiegato rapidamente i mezzi di rescEU mostrando ancora una volta che quando si agisce insieme siamo più forti. Il tempo della solidarietà non è finito. Noi, cari amici di Cipro, saremo sempre al vostro fianco.

4.   Approval of the minutes of the previous sittings

Presidente. – Il processo verbale e i testi approvati nella seduta del 23 e 24 giugno sono stati distribuiti.

Vi sono osservazioni?

Non vi sono osservazioni e quindi il processo verbale è approvato.

5.   Request for waiver of immunity

Presidente. – Le autorità competenti della Germania mi hanno trasmesso una richiesta di revoca dell'immunità parlamentare dell'on. Jörg Meuthen, affinché il Procuratore generale di Berlino possa avviare un procedimento di indagine nei suoi confronti. Conformemente al regolamento, tale richiesta è inoltrata alla commissione giuridica del Parlamento competente in materia.

6.   Composition of Parliament

Presidente. – Le autorità competenti del Portogallo mi hanno comunicato l'elezione a deputato al Parlamento europeo dell'on. João Pimenta Lopes in sostituzione dell'on. João Ferreira con effetto a decorrere dal 6 luglio. Do il benvenuto al nuovo collega e ricordo che siede con pieni diritti nel Parlamento e nei suoi organi alle condizioni previste dal nostro regolamento.

7.   Composition of committees and delegations

Presidente. – I gruppi ECR e ID mi hanno comunicato alcune decisioni di modifiche relativamente alle nomine nelle commissioni. Queste decisioni saranno incluse nel verbale della seduta odierna ed entreranno in vigore a decorrere dal presente annuncio.

8.   Negotiations ahead of Parliament's first reading (Rule 71)

Presidente. – La commissione TRAN ha deciso di avviare negoziati interistituzionali a norma dell'articolo 71 del regolamento. La relazione che costituisce il mandato per tali negoziati è disponibile sul sito della plenaria. Il suo titolo sarà pubblicato nel processo verbale della seduta.

Un numero di deputati o uno o più gruppi politici pari almeno alla soglia media possono richiedere per iscritto entro la mezzanotte di martedì 6 luglio di porre in votazione la decisione sull'avvio dei negoziati. Qualora entro il termine suddetto non siano presentate richieste di votazione in Aula la commissione potrà iniziare i negoziati.

9.   Negotiations ahead of Parliament's first reading (Rule 71) (action taken)

Presidente. – A seguito della decisione della commissione AGRI di avviare negoziati interistituzionali a norma dell'articolo 71, paragrafo 1, annunciata mercoledì 23 giugno, non ho ricevuto alcuna richiesta di votazione. La commissione ha già potuto pertanto avviare i negoziati.

10.   Signing of acts adopted in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (Rule 79)

Presidente. – Firma di atti adottati nel quadro della procedura legislativa ordinaria: vorrei informare l'Aula che in seguito all'interruzione della sessione del Parlamento il 24 giugno, ho firmato insieme al Presidente del Consiglio un atto approvato nel quadro della procedura legislativa ordinaria conformemente all'articolo 79 del regolamento del Parlamento.

Vorrei inoltre informare l'Aula che mercoledì firmerò insieme al Presidente del Consiglio 11 atti approvati nel quadro della procedura legislativa ordinaria. I titoli di tali atti saranno pubblicati nel verbale della presente seduta.

Sophia in 't Veld (Renew). – Mr President, I just would like to ask you, as we speak, in Tbilisi in Georgia, there is a kind of witch-hunt going on against LGBTI people. Thousands of hooligans are attacking not just their offices, but people aren't even safe in safe houses anymore. They had to flee from the office of the United Nations, and the embassies of EU Member States, as well as the Embassy of the European Union, have actually failed to provide support and shelter. So I would ask you, President, to issue a statement of support and call on the embassies, and specifically the EU Embassy, to do everything they can to secure the safety of these people and speak to the authorities and insist that police protection be provided.

(Applause)

Presidente. – Grazie, prendo nota della Sua richiesta.

Nicolaus Fest (ID). – Herr Präsident! Nachdem das Parlament vor zwei Wochen im Plenarsaal seine Reverenz an die LGBTI-Community durch das Hissen der Regenbogenflagge gezeigt hat, sollten wir auch denen die Reverenz erweisen, die Opfer der Migrationspolitik geworden sind, nämlich den Opfern von Würzburg, aber eben auch von Wien und vermutlich auch von Göteborg.

Ich beantrage daher, die Flaggen vor dem EU-Parlament auf Halbmast zu setzen und diesen Opfern mit einer Gedenkminute Tribut zu zollen.

Presidente. – Prendiamo atto di tali richieste.

11.   Documents received: see Minutes

12.   Questions for oral answer (submission): see Minutes

13.   Action taken on Parliament's positions and resolutions: see Minutes

14.   Proposal for a Union act: see Minutes

15.   Order of business

Presidente. – Il progetto definitivo di ordine del giorno, approvato dalla Conferenza dei presidenti il 1o luglio del 2021 a norma dell'articolo 157, è stato distribuito.

Vi informo che le votazioni sono distribuite su diversi turni di votazione, tenuto conto del numero di emendamenti presentati e del numero di richieste di votazione distinta o per parti separate. Vi prego di notare che tale distribuzione potrebbe naturalmente essere soggetta a cambiamenti.

Le informazioni pertinenti relative alla distribuzione delle votazioni sono disponibili sul sito web del Parlamento, alla sezione ‘Informazioni e documenti prioritari’.

L'ordine del giorno si considera approvato.

VORSITZ: OTHMAR KARAS

Vizepräsident

16.   Financial activities of the European Investment Bank – annual report 2020 — Control of the financial activities of the European Investment Bank – annual report 2019 (debate)

Der Präsident. – Als nächster Punkt der Tagesordnung folgt die gemeinsame Aussprache über

—	den Bericht von Pedro Silva Pereira im Namen des Ausschusses für Wirtschaft und Währung über die Finanztätigkeit der Europäischen Investitionsbank – Jahresbericht 2020 (2020/2124(INI)) (A9-0200/2021) und

—	den Bericht von Bas Eickhout im Namen des Haushaltskontrollausschusses über die Kontrolle der Finanztätigkeit der Europäischen Investitionsbank – Jahresbericht 2019 (2020/2245(INI)) (A9-0215/2021).

Ich weise die Mitglieder darauf hin, dass bei allen Aussprachen dieser Tagung – wie gewohnt – weder spontane Wortmeldungen noch blaue Karten akzeptiert werden.

Außerdem sind wie bei den letzten Tagungen Zuschaltungen aus den Verbindungsbüros des Parlaments in den Mitgliedstaaten vorgesehen.

Pedro Silva Pereira, Relator. – Senhor Presidente, Senhor Vice-Presidente da Comissão Europeia, Senhor Presidente do Banco Europeu de Investimento, é muito bem-vindo a esta Câmara. Queria começar por agradecer o contributo de todos os grupos políticos, dos relatores-sombra e da Comissão dos Orçamentos na elaboração deste relatório sobre as atividades financeiras do BEI em 2020.

A atitude construtiva de todos beneficiou muito este relatório sobre o Banco Europeu de Investimento. Com este relatório, o Parlamento cumpre a sua função de realizar o escrutínio democrático da atividade do Banco Europeu de Investimento, o banco público da União Europeia, única instituição financeira internacional inteiramente detida pelos Estados-Membros da União Europeia, que deve, por isso, alinhar os investimentos que financia pelas prioridades políticas e valores da União Europeia, dando especial atenção aos projetos de interesse público. Mas o Parlamento deseja bastante mais do que estes relatórios anuais e algumas audiências pontuais com a administração do Banco Europeu de Investimento. Insistimos na necessidade de um acordo interinstitucional entre o Banco Europeu de Investimento e o Parlamento Europeu que estruture este escrutínio democrático, que assegure audiências regulares, mas que assegure também o acesso à informação e a procedimentos de perguntas e respostas por escrito. Se necessário, podemos preparar um memorando interino de cooperação para, ao menos, organizarmos os termos do diálogo regular entre as nossas instituições. Este relatório, como o título indica, incide sobre o ano 2020. Todos sabemos como 2020 foi um ano muito especial e muito difícil, mas este ano confirmou o papel decisivo do Banco Europeu de Investimento. O Parlamento saúda o financiamento de emergência e o apoio à recuperação da economia concedidos pelo Banco Europeu de Investimento. Desde logo, os 40 mil milhões de euros iniciais que facultaram mais crédito e liquidez para as pequenas e médias empresas, para além das moratórias, e os 25 mil milhões de euros do novo fundo europeu de garantia, importante sobretudo para as pequenas e médias empresas, mas também para o sector da saúde, nomeadamente para a produção de vacinas. Igualmente importantes foram os mais de 5 mil milhões de euros que o BEI destinou ao apoio relacionado com a COVID-19 fora da União Europeia, incluindo a participação na Covax para uma distribuição mais equitativa das vacinas.

Defendemos neste parlamento que o fundo europeu de garantia se mantenha operacional para lá de 2021 e que o Banco Europeu de Investimento pondere incentivos para estimular a aceleração de projetos e linhas de crédito já aprovados. Há, sabemos, um crónico défice de investimento na economia europeia que se agrava com a crise e com o crescimento das desigualdades. É, por isso, necessária uma boa articulação entre o BEI e os outros instrumentos financeiros europeus e assegurar a devida adicionalidade dos projetos financiados. Mas, é preciso também cuidar do equilíbrio geográfico dos financiamentos e garantir um apoio reforçado às regiões menos atrativas para o investimento e menos favorecidas pela derrogação das regras em matéria de ajudas do Estado ao longo desta crise. Naturalmente, depois do Green Deal e das ambiciosas metas da descarbonização da economia europeia, o défice de investimento na área do clima e do ambiente teria de ganhar uma nova prioridade na estratégia do BEI. Para sermos justos, esta era já uma missão assumida pelo Banco Europeu de Investimento. O novo roteiro 2021-2025 só reforça a ambição do Banco Europeu de Investimento e é algo que saudamos, assim como o alinhamento dos financiamentos do BEI com o Acordo de Paris já em 2023. Tudo isto terá importantes implicações no crédito ao setor dos transportes, ao sector da energia, à política industrial. Precisamos, além disso, de valorizar o setor social, os investimentos na educação, formação profissional, no setor da saúde e mesmo no setor da habitação. Não podemos esquecer o papel, já hoje muito importante, do BEI no apoio à cooperação para o desenvolvimento, o qual devemos fortalecer no quadro do Global Europe, em que o Banco Europeu de Investimento terá um papel importante a desempenhar.

Por isso, o Parlamento Europeu defende neste relatório, uma vez mais, o reforço do capital do Banco Europeu de Investimento para que este possa estar à altura das suas missões e dos seus desafios.

Finalmente, desejamos que o Banco Europeu de Investimento leve mais longe as suas políticas de transparência, que aperfeiçoe as suas regras em matéria de conflitos de interesse, que prossiga uma política de tolerância zero no que respeita ao assédio no local de trabalho e que estruture o diálogo com os representantes do pessoal.

Tudo isto contribuirá para que o Banco Europeu de Investimentos esteja mais à altura das suas funções e das suas ambições. O Parlamento Europeu saúda o trabalho feito pelo Banco Europeu de Investimento e deseja que, cada vez mais, o banco corresponda às prioridades políticas da União Europeia e às expetativas dos cidadãos.

Bas Eickhout, rapporteur. – Mr President, I should like to thank President Hoyer for being here. It's kind of a yearly tradition, isn't it ? And also, Vice-President Dombrovskis.

I think if you read the reports, both in the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, where I was shadow, but also, of course, the Committee on Budgetary Control report, you do see that for the Parliament the EIB, the European Investment Bank, is a very important bank and it's the largest multinational investment bank that we have. And we very much also welcome the role that, for example, the EIB played in the famous Juncker investment plan.

2019, it always feels a bit awkward to be very honest, to do a budget control of 2019 when we are already halfway to 2021. But that was an important year because that was also the year where the EIB announced to become the Climate Bank of Europe, and being a Green at the same time, I can only welcome that, of course. But as we also see with the Green Deal, ambition is one thing, but now we have to put it into practice and put it into action.

And there are, of course, still some critical questions to be asked. For example if you look at the absolute emissions that are linked to the projects that the EIB is financing, the emissions rose from 2019 compared to 2018, and there was still a finance of EUR 685 million into gas projects.

We know that the energy lending policies have been changed, but still, we would like to hear also from President Hoyer on how are you going to make sure that this phase-out of gas projects is going to be put forward. Also, given the concerns we are still having if you look into projects like Trans-Anatolia or Trans-Adriatic, these big gas pipeline projects. And also there I would be very much interested to hear from President Hoyer how the EIB is going to look at the issues of a fossil lock-in, because if we want to go into a future of decarbonisation, then a lock-in into any other fossil fuel is not what we want to do. And I'm sure we agree on that, but I would like to see some vision on the part of the EIB to work on that.

The same is also on the lack of transparency about emissions that are being financed via intermediaries. So you have the direct parties, of course, but you also have the intermediaries that are financed through EIB and are causing emissions. And we would like to see more transparency of that as well, so that we are having a full footprint analysis of the EIB and not only through direct.

Looking at what the EIB has been doing, we very much compliment what you have been doing on the revision of the energy-lending policies, the climate roadmap, the upcoming transport policies, reform where – at least if we are not mistaken – the EIB will announce also to stop airport expansion, but it would be good to reiterate that of course once more.

But also here, I think it is very important that we also look at the counterpart framework of the EIB again to make sure that there are decarbonisation targets for the EIB clients and intermediaries again. So I would be interested to hear from President Hoyer on that as well.

Not only is the EIB a climate bank, it also portrays itself as a development bank, so a role outside the EU. But there we really still would like to see the point that there is a concern of violation of human rights and really effective complaint mechanisms, and what is the EIB going to do about that in order to make sure that that is being improved?

This is also probably a question towards the Commission. Also within the EIB, we have, of course, a discussion on grants versus loans towards developing countries. And you will not be surprised that for some developing countries, it's not the loans that work, it should be grants, and there I think also the Commission should have a say if we look at what the EIB is doing.

I think where we are most critical is on the governance issues, staff issues governance. So I think we do have to address that also here in this plenary, and we really would like to hear a good reply of President Hoyer on that. There are on a couple of issues. First of all, on the conflicts of interest, I think the Parliament has reiterated a couple of times that we are concerned that vice-presidents sometimes are being in charge of their own home country. And we sincerely think that here there should be – I'm talking about vice-presidents in the management committee, right – so that they are responsible for their home country. What is the EIB going to do to make sure that there is not a conflict of interest, are there ideas of cooling-off periods, etc.? Here, really, we need a better approach of the EIB, and I'm sure that that colleagues of mine will raise that issue as well. I see some already nodding.

And then, of course, the staff issues. There have been some serious cases of harassment and I have to be honest here to say that the initial reply of the EIB could have been better. And I know that some of my colleagues will mention that as well, but any harassment case is serious and any harassment case should be prevented. And how is the EIB going to deal with that? Because I do think that any proportionate action needs to be taken and only written warnings is not sufficient. So really here we would like to hear a reply of President Hoyer how to address that, also because of the importance of the EIB. And this is a good development that the EIB is playing a more and more important role, but that also means that the scrutiny is more serious, and I think there also the EIB has to adhere to.

Last point is towards the Commission. You thought you could lay back there, but there is of course still the role of the Commission that is not very accountable towards the Parliament, and this is especially through Article 19 opinions, where we do not know necessarily what position the Commission is taking when the EIB is deciding. And the position of the Commission can be very important there. So we want more transparency on the position that the EIB is taking in management decisions by the EIB. I would be very much to looking forward to your reply on that.

I think those are some of the important points.

David Cormand, rapporteur pour avis de la commission des budgets. – Monsieur le Président, mes chers collègues, Monsieur Hoyer, quand nous sommes arrivés – je suis élu depuis 2019 –, nous avons été élus en disant: il faut maintenant une banque du climat pour changer de dimension au niveau européen et financer la transition. Et la BEI nous a dit: formidable! On va être la banque du climat, on sait le faire, on peut le faire.

Le problème, c'est que l'actualité nous rattrape et on voit bien les images terribles reçues d'un peu partout dans le monde – et tous les ans, toutes les semaines, tous les mois cela empire. On voit bien que ce que nous faisons va beaucoup moins vite que les destructions environnementales liées au changement climatique.

Monsieur Hoyer, mon collègue, M. Eickhout, vient de le dire: la BEI continue de financer des projets gaziers; la BEI continue de financer des autoroutes. La bifurcation que nous devons prendre est beaucoup plus rapide que celle qui est prise aujourd'hui.

Les questions ont déjà été posées et mon message est donc très simple, Monsieur le Président: si nous voulons que la BEI devienne vraiment la banque du climat, il faut agir plus vite, plus fort, avec plus de moyens. Il faut surtout choisir entre ce qui va nous permettre de faire la transition ou ce qui va nous maintenir dans la destruction que nous subissons encore.

Werner Hoyer, President, European Investment Bank. – Mr President, Members of the European Parliament, Ladies and Gentlemen, it's a great pleasure for me to be here – and to be here and not just to address you via video. The last time I had the privilege to address this House was in October 2019. How the world has changed since!

It has been a difficult, yet crucial, year for the EU, its citizens and its institutions, and I would like to use this opportunity to congratulate all of you for having kept the EU's democratically elected institution fully operating throughout this challenging period. I am happy to see that our constructive and fruitful exchange has continued throughout the pandemic.

I would also like to thank the rapporteurs of the two reports, Mr Silva Pereira and Mr Eickhout, for their thorough work and their good cooperation. The issues in your reports are extremely relevant. I also very much appreciate your support to the EU Bank – both for its activities in and outside the EU.

As you know, the EIB Group is an extremely effective instrument to the EU. In 2020, it increased its financing volumes to almost EUR 77 billion, exceeding its own targets. A third of these funds, EUR 25.5 billion, went into the immediate crisis response that started with the first package in March last year. Most of it went to small and medium-sized businesses to avoid insolvencies and job losses, especially in countries that did not have the necessary budgetary means for massive national rescue packages. It was important to have a European response there because the impressive national schemes that we have seen, if left alone, would lead to a threat to the integrity of the internal market. So we needed a European component to that crisis response.

At the outset of the pandemic, like firefighters, our job was to run forward into the fire and save others – in this case thousands of companies across the EU and beyond. By 31 March 2021, the EIB Group had approved financing of EUR 64.1 billion for COVID-19-related projects. The European Guarantee Fund (EGF), launched at the peak of the crisis, is now delivering fast. Businesses of different sizes have access to short-term financing, allowing them to pay their employees' salaries, their invoices and keep their business afloat, and I have listened carefully: there was the idea of making this a revolving or permanent institution, this European Guarantee Fund. We have already reached half of our target. Around EUR 14 billion worth of projects have been approved, spread over all 22 participating Member States, representing over EUR 116 billion of investment in the real economy.

Outside the EU, as part of Team Europe, we also contributed over EUR 7 billion, including EUR 600 million to the COVAX global vaccine distribution facility, and I am of the firm opinion that this must be expanded because we must bring substance to the statement that nobody will be safe until everybody is safe in this world. So we need to strengthen our activities also outside the European Union.

In the EU, our support is not only aimed at helping companies. A very substantial part of our work during the COVID-19 crisis was to support health projects aimed at ending the pandemic. This support targets the race in vaccine development, therapeutics and diagnostic solutions against COVID-19. We signed loans to support hospitals and we quickly approved a loan of EUR 100 million to BioNTech – by the way a company we have known for a long time because we had financed the development of their cancer products – that was leading to the development of the mRNA technology, which is now useful for fighting COVID-19. So we were practically the first in the industry to be on that track. We were in the favourable position of already working with them for several years because of the cancer treatment activities.

We also supported over 25 highly innovative European biotech and medtech companies with projects in treatments and diagnostics against COVID. The healthcare sector is clearly an example of what the EU Bank does best. As a public bank, we step in to invest where private money would not, or not yet, because of the long-term horizon of these projects and their high risks.

But, looking at the wider economy, what is clear is that the pandemic has exacerbated existing imbalances and accelerated structural changes. This is why the programmes we approved in the context of the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework are of crucial importance. Under InvestEU, the EIB Group will deploy EUR 19.6 billion of guarantee and a significant part of our work on InvestEU will be to directly support cohesion regions and Just Transition. We are also very excited to have started bilateral discussions with several Member States on how to implement the Recovery and Resilience Facility through providing advisory services and developing financial instruments.

This brings me to my next point, which is how best to support the green recovery and transition. Speaking of transition, today we are all countries in transition: transition to a climate-friendly and truly digital economy. Yes, as we learned, sometimes the hard way, like from the transition of many so-called new Member States in the early 90s, this process comes at a cost. A transition to net zero also risks disrupting personal identities and deepening social inequalities. Some jobs once thought to be for life might be lost. What does it mean? It means that we need to put people in a position to grasp the opportunities of change and managing expectations to avoid disillusionment. It means that we need to have a just transition.

I appreciate very much that this Parliament is so supportive of our climate action ambitions. Our Climate Bank Roadmap sets out how we will support the European Green Deal with the most ambitious strategy on climate action of all multilateral development banks (MDBs), and of course fully in line with the EU taxonomy on sustainable finance, which I welcome very much because we need transparency, we need accountability and we need reporting obligations. Only then will the investors give us the money that we need in order to finance all these policies to reach our objectives. It cannot be done with taxpayers' money only.

From 2025 onwards, 50% of our lending will be for climate action and environmental sustainability. This will help to leverage EUR 1 trillion of EU investment of the EIB Group over the critical decade ahead. That's a massive commitment. The second one is of course the full alignment of all our activities with the Paris Agreement since the start of this year, and we are on track to achieve our objectives.

We need huge increases in investment in physical capital – new energy systems, new transport systems, our carbon sinks, our ecosystems – and, as I mentioned before, in people to develop skills and innovate. We need EUR 300 billion a year, just to modernise the energy sector! Yet, for years, Europe has been lagging behind when it comes to investment. As was mentioned before, the Juncker Plan was a big step forward.

Let me say at the end a word about the link between innovation, climate and development. It is crucial that we begin to think of these three dimensions together. We will never be able to solve our climate issues and reach the climate objectives of the United Nations if we think that with 8% CO2 emissions in Europe reduced we can do it. No, we must help the other parts of the world to go in the same direction, and not with old technologies, but with new technologies. If there is one sector where the Europeans are top of the class in the entire world, then it is clean tech. We will have this edge now only for a couple of years and then the others will have caught up. So, if we don't want to see Chinese coal-power plants to electrify Africa or American plants in the west of Africa or elsewhere with shale gas used, then we must go into action. Otherwise, the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations and the Paris goals will be going up in smoke.

I need to stop here because I am so full of energy and ideas to refer to you, but I think I have the opportunity to come back and also to respond to individual questions.

(Applause)

Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President of the Commission. – Mr President, honourable President of the EIB, Mr Hoyer, honourable Members, I would like to welcome the two reports and thank the European Parliament and in particular the rapporteurs, Pedro Silva Pereira and Bas Eickhout, for their useful and relevant work.

The European Investment Bank is a vital partner for implementing EU policies inside and outside our borders. I welcome this opportunity to discuss in Parliament how the EIB can help the EU to achieve our political priorities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges to our societies and economies. It required the EU to respond decisively and in a coordinated way. Our collective agreement on the largest recovery package ever to be financed through the EU's long-term budget and NextGenerationEU is a testament to this response. The support of our key partners and notably the EIB is essential in providing and leveraging investments aligned with EU policy priorities, including innovation and the green and digital transformations. Support should also be fully in line with our strategic geopolitical considerations. It is important for the EIB to further improve geographical balance and step up its activity in less developed regions, particularly in the context of the recovery. It is important to ensure a balanced development of the internal market and further convergence within the EU, while also contributing to the green and digital transitions of these regions. The bank has a proven ability for significantly reshaping its activities and adapting to changing realities. The successful implementation of the European Fund for Strategic Investment perfectly illustrates its capacity to seize new opportunities and redefine business models to address investment gaps that still affect the EU today. This is particularly true for the innovation and infrastructure sectors. The EIB group will remain a privileged partner under Invest EU, implementing 75% of the budget guarantee and advisory budget. Rapid deployment is essential and I trust this will be one of the key priorities of the EIB group.

We also rely on the EIB's close cooperation with the Commission to align its operations and strategic direction with the EU's external policy objectives and build strong partnerships with other international financial institutions and national promotional banks.

Our aim should be to enhance our existing cooperation channels without major institutional changes or additional costs. We will build on the work of the High-Level Group on the European Financial Architecture for Development and on a stronger Team Europe approach along the principles of EU policy first and open architecture.

Let me now address two particularly relevant issues highlighted in your reports. First, climate change. The Commission fully supports the ambitious climate action strategy of the European Investment Bank, matching the ambitious commitments of the Paris Agreement. More investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency will be essential to meet those commitments. With the EIB Group's Climate Bank Roadmap, the EIB became the first multilateral development bank to be aligned with the Paris Agreement and ready to adopt the EU taxonomy. The EIB's leading role in climate financing can play an important role in a successful outcome of the upcoming COP 26 meetings. I rely on the EIB's close engagement with relevant stakeholders in this area.

Second, tax compliance. The EU has taken significant steps to fight tax avoidance. This includes integrating new requirements against tax avoidance in EU legislation concerning particularly its financing and investment operations. As a follow-up, the Commission has been working closely with the EIB and other implementing partners on adapting their current compliance procedures to this new environment. The EIB and the Commission have close and constructive cooperation to reflect recent EU and international developments in the bank's procedures. However, those who are keen to avoid taxes are highly creative, so we cannot become complacent. The Commission will continue to monitor this important area closely and work with the EIB on the necessary adaptations of its policies.

Now, relating specifically to a question raised by Mr Eickhout concerning Article 19 opinions, current Commission practice involves granting disclosure to individual Article 19 opinions upon request, which in the Commission's view, provides the best balance of different interests. Such requests are treated according to the access to document rules governed by the Access to Documents Regulation. Those rules build on a presumption of disclosure, but also take into account the fact that the opinions could contain information that is sensitive, not only with regard to the EIB, but also with regard to third parties such as private project promoters. This ensures at the same time that legitimate interests of the broader public in knowing the underlying rationale of the Commission's opinion and third party rights are annually protected.

To conclude, the Commission looks forward to working with the EIB on the upcoming revisions of its lending policies in a number of other important areas, notably the revision of the transport lending policy, which must be seen through the lens of decarbonisation, and the EIB's fundamental and social standards. Thank you very much and I look forward to a productive debate today.

Angelika Winzig, im Namen der PPE-Fraktion. – Sehr geehrter Herr Präsident, Herr Kommissar, geschätzter Herr Hoyer, Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Wir berichten heute über die Finanztätigkeit der EIB 2019 — eine Zeit, in der die Welt noch nicht aus den Fugen geraten und Europa auf einem sehr guten wirtschaftlichen Weg war.

Die Kreditunterschriften der EIB beliefen sich auf 63 Milliarden, das sind 14 % mehr als im Vorjahr. Aber auch auf dem Gebiet der Nachhaltigkeit hat die EIB bereits eine klare Strategie entwickelt und definiert. Was von der linken Seite alles in diesen Bericht gepackt wurde, ist für mich nicht nachvollziehbar. Es zeigt, dass Hausverstand und betriebliche Realität sowie das Wissen über den aktuellen Stand von Forschung und Entwicklung ignoriert werden. Das ärgert die Unternehmer, das ärgert aber auch die Bürgerinnen und Bürger.

Für den Grünen Deal bedarf es des Unternehmergeistes, es bedarf der Forschung und Entwicklung, und daher sollte dieser Bereich auch in diesem Bericht oberste Priorität haben und nicht die linke Verbotspolitik. Die EVP als Stimme der Vernunft in diesem Parlament wird sich aber weiterhin dafür einsetzen, dass der Zugang zu Finanzierungen umfassend für unsere Betriebe vorhanden ist, dass die Transparenzerfordernisse so gestaltet sind, dass sie nicht zu Neiddebatten vor Ort führen und in der Folge kreative Unternehmen keine Lust mehr auf Investitionen haben und dass Übergangslösungen wie Gas weiter unterstützt werden.

Denn Nachhaltigkeit bedeutet auch, dass die Transformation gelingt und Beschäftigung und Wettbewerbsfähigkeit der europäischen Wirtschaft auch im Wandel gesichert sind.

Jonás Fernández, en nombre del Grupo S&D. – Señor presidente, señor vicepresidente, señor presidente del BEI, muchas gracias por estar hoy aquí; es un placer recibirle.

Yo creo que el Banco Europeo de Inversiones hace muchas cosas bien, y el informe así lo reconoce: el trabajo en el despliegue del Plan Juncker, la definición del BEI como banco climático y, por supuesto, la inversión en todos estos últimos años para mejorar la capacidad, incrementar la demanda interna en el conjunto de la Unión Europea, y también en las labores de desarrollo.

Pero me gustaría hacer dos preguntas hoy aquí. La primera, tanto al presidente del BEI como al vicepresidente Dombrovskis. Hablamos a menudo de mejorar la rendición de cuentas democrática del BEI ante esta Cámara y de los problemas de capital del BEI; el informe solicita de nuevo un incremento del capital del BEI. En los últimos años hemos usado el presupuesto de la Unión para dar garantías a las emisiones del propio Banco Europeo de Inversiones, pero me gustaría que pudiéramos explorar la posibilidad de que, desde el presupuesto de la Comisión Europea, entremos directamente en el capital del Banco Europeo de Inversiones. Habría que revisar el propio Tratado del Banco Europeo de Inversiones, pero ya lo hemos hecho ante la salida del Reino Unido. Y, si la Comisión Europea estuviera presente en el capital del BEI, yo creo que el control de esta Cámara sería mucho mejor y más fuerte.

Me gustaría preguntarle también por la implicación del BEI en el desarrollo del Mecanismo para una Transición Justa, tanto a través de InvestEU como a través de la facilidad de crédito al sector público.

Y dos preocupaciones finales: nos han llegado muchas noticias sobre la gestión de recursos humanos del BEI, quizá demasiado presidencialista y no lo suficientemente democratizada que debería ser. Yo no sé si el presidente quiere aprovechar la comparecencia para comentar este asunto. Y es cierto que el Comité de Ética -de cuya existencia nos congratulamos- en los últimos años ha dado demasiados waivers y que realmente no es el caso de uno o de otro vicepresidente, sino que hay muchos vicepresidentes trabajando en el sector privado y yo creo que esto habría que revisarlo.

Alin Mituța, în numele grupului Renew. – Domnule președinte Hoyer, avem nevoie de Banca Europeană de Investiții pentru a ajuta Europa să treacă cu succes prin tranziția ecologică și digitală și avem, în egală măsură, nevoie ca BEI să continue să își îndeplinească rolul tradițional de investitor în infrastructura și coeziunea Uniunii și cred că aceste două roluri nu se contrazic, ci trebuie să meargă mână în mână. Iar acest lucru este foarte clar când vorbim despre Mecanismul pentru o tranziție justă, pentru care banca are o responsabilitate mare de asumat.

Nu trebuie să lăsăm în urmă zonele miniere, iar pentru asta avem nevoie de BEI atât pentru a asigura fluxuri de finanțare în acest sector, dar și pentru a ajuta proactiv aceste regiuni prin asistență tehnică specializată. Tot de o atenție mai mare au nevoie și fermierii noștri. Vedem foarte clar că sectorul agricol are, din păcate, una din cele mai mici rate de succes a proiectelor.

Dar dacă vrem ca agricultura să contribuie la tranziția ecologică, dacă vrem ca tinerii să se întoarcă în mediul rural, dacă vrem alimente sănătoase și accesibile, atunci avem nevoie și de mai mult sprijin din partea băncii pentru ca IMM-urile agricole sau tinerii fermieri să aibă acces la finanțare și la asistență, de exemplu prin extinderea mandatului Advisory Hub, inclusiv la domeniul agricol și de dezvoltare rurală.

Sven Giegold, im Namen der Verts/ALE-Fraktion. – Herr Präsident, liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Während wir hier über unsere Investitionsbank sprechen, brennen an vielen Orten der Welt die Wälder.

Unsere Investitionsbank, die Europäische Investitionsbank, handelt gegen den Klimawandel, sie hat merklich den Kurs geändert. Ich bin Ihnen, Herr Hoyer, auch persönlich dankbar für das, was Sie beim Kohleausstieg gegen harten Widerstand vieler Mitgliedstaaten, auch unseres eigenen, getan haben. Aber gleichzeitig reicht das nicht.

Wir brauchen jetzt den Ausstieg aus den nicht Erneuerbaren. Wir können nicht länger in sogenannte Übergangstechnologien investieren. Es ist keine Zeit mehr für Autobahnen, für neue Gasinfrastrukturen. Ein solcher Übergang ist letztlich ein Übergang in die Hölle.

Und deshalb ist es auch falsch, wenn jetzt die Europäische Kommission bei ihrer Sustainable-Finance-Strategie, die sie morgen vorstellt, Herr Kommissar, wieder Referenzen auf Gas, fossiles Gas, macht. Wir brauchen 100 % Erneuerbare. Wir Grünen streiten für eine Investitionsbank, die sich auf 100 % Erneuerbare verpflichtet.

Joachim Kuhs, im Namen der ID-Fraktion. – Herr Präsident, Herr Präsident Hoyer, Herr Kommissar, liebe Kollegen! Die Berichte enthalten viel Gutes, und die EIB tut auch viel Gutes. Aber in den Berichten finden sich leider auch einige negative Dinge – vor allem am Ende –, und darauf möchte ich noch einmal ganz kurz eingehen.

Erstens gibt es mangelnde Transparenz zwischen den zwischengeschaltetenFinanzinstituten. Es gibt mangelnde Informationen über die Endbegünstigten. Es gibt mangelnde Offenlegung des wirtschaftlichen Eigentums einiger Kunden – und dann dieses Problem mit der kurzfristigen Folgebeschäftigung von mehreren Vizepräsidenten.

Aber das eigentliche Problem ist doch, dass der Europäische Rechnungshof immer noch keine vollen Prüfungsbefugnisse hat. Und daran müssen wir arbeiten. Wenn es uns nicht gelingt, das zu lösen, dann werden wir auch in zehn Jahren immer noch über die gleichen Probleme diskutieren, und die EIB kann ihren Auftrag nicht erfüllen.

Eugen Jurzyca, za skupinu ECR. – Vážený pán predsedajúci, podľa plánu Komisie má aj Európska investičná banka prispieť k dodatočným 350 miliardám nových investícií na klimatické ciele, a to každý rok do roku 2030. Pre oživenie však nestačí, aby boli investície označené za zelené. Pre oživenie je nutné, aby investície boli produktívne, aby prinášali dlhodobý hospodársky rast a aby plnili klimatické ciele efektívne. Je nutné, aby všetky investičné ciele EIB podliehali nezávislému hodnoteniu ich hodnoty za peniaze. Bez hodnoty za peniaze môžu skončiť ciele Únie na rok 2030 podobne ako už zabudnutá ambícia stať sa do roku 2010 najkonkurencieschopnejšou ekonomikou sveta, teda so zbytočne obmedzeným hospodárskym rastom a zbytočne drahou plnením klimatických cieľov.

Δημήτριος Παπαδημούλης, εξ ονόματος της ομάδας The Left. – Κύριε Πρόεδρε, το Ευρωπαϊκό Κοινοβούλιο, κ. Hoyer και κ. Dombrovskis, με την έκθεση που θα υπερψηφίσουμε με ευρύτατη πλειοψηφία, ζητά από την Ευρωπαϊκή Τράπεζα Επενδύσεων να κάνει περισσότερα. Όσα θετικά βήματα έχουν γίνει μέχρι σήμερα δεν αρκούν. Χρειαζόμαστε περισσότερες επενδύσεις και λιγότερες ανισότητες. Να ενισχυθούν περισσότερο οι μικρομεσαίες επιχειρήσεις, ώστε να συμβάλει στον πράσινο και ψηφιακό μετασχηματισμό τους, γιατί πολλές από αυτές είναι αποκλεισμένες από τον τραπεζικό δανεισμό. Να εστιάσει περισσότερο στις επενδύσεις στον κοινωνικό τομέα (υγεία, εκπαίδευση, στέγαση), για να αρχίσει να γίνεται πράξη ο κοινωνικός πυλώνας. Να αντιμετωπιστούν οι περιφερειακές ανισότητες, να διορθωθούν οι ανισορροπίες στην επενδυτική δραστηριότητα της ΕΤΕπ και να υπηρετηθούν πιο φιλόδοξα οι κλιματικοί στόχοι που έχουμε θέσει, χωρίς να χρησιμοποιείται η πανδημία ως πρόσχημα για εκπτώσεις. Και δύο πάγια αιτήματα του Ευρωπαϊκού Κοινοβουλίου: περισσότερη διαφάνεια και δημοκρατική λογοδοσία, και βελτίωση στον τομέα της ισότητας των φύλων, ιδιαίτερα για τις σοβαρές καταγγελίες για θέματα παρενόχλησης.

Enikő Győri (NI). – Elnök Úr! Örömmel hallottam, hogy Dombrovskis biztos úr is szorgalmazta, hogy az Európai Beruházási Bank a tevékenysége kapcsán igazságosan járjon el a technológiai átmenet finanszírozása, illetve hitelezési politikájában pedig a földrajzi egyensúly érvényesítése terén. Én további három kérést szeretnék megfogalmazni a bank felé: Először is, hogy dolgozzon szorosabban együtt a nemzeti fejlesztési bankokkal, hiszen csak így tudjuk összehangolni az uniós, nemzeti és regionális fejlesztési programokat. Legyen tehát a bank fogadókész, a tagállamokból érkező kérések iránt.

Másodszor, hogy mindenhol mérjük egységesen a haladást, tehát, hogy ki hol tart a kitűzött gazdasági és klímacélok teljesítésében. Kérem, hogy osszák meg mérési módszertanukat és fenntarthatósági-mutató számaikat a nemzeti fejlesztési és partnerbankokkal. Az átláthatóság segíti a célok elérését, és így fel se merülhet a kettős mérce vádja.

Végezetül, hogy ne csak az elvek szintjén, hanem a gyakorlatban is minél több kis- és középvállalkozás jusson gyorsan támogatáshoz, így érhetjük el, hogy az életképes projektek megvalósulnak, javul a versenyképesség, és végre magunk mögött hagyhatjuk a válságot.

Ralf Seekatz (PPE). – Herr Präsident, verehrte Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Die EIB hat mit ihrem Förderprogramm für 2020 wesentlich zur Stabilisierung beigetragen.

420 000 kleine und mittelständische Unternehmen wurden unterstützt. Dadurch wurden vier Millionen Jobs – auch im KMU Bereich – unterstützt und gesichert. Arbeitsplätze konnten gesichert werden, krisengebeutelte Branchen wurden entsprechend gefördert, und die schwersten wirtschaftlichen Auswirkungen wurden abgefedert. Auch die langfristigen Ziele hat die EIB nicht vergessen. Gerade in wirtschaftlichen Zeiten ist es besonders wichtig, Wirtschaft auch nachhaltig vernünftig zu fördern und entsprechend zu unterstützen.

Von besonderer Bedeutung ist die Förderung unserer kleinen und mittelständischen Unternehmen. Diese dürfen wir nicht vergessen, sehr geehrter Herr Präsident. Das ist besonders wichtig aus unserer Sicht. Sie sind das Rückgrat unserer Wirtschaft, und ohne die KMU werden wir die Klimaziele nicht erreichen. Und diese KMU brauchen Übergangstechnologien, ob es den Grünen nun einmal passt oder nicht, und darüber müssen wir uns im Klaren sein.

Bitte unterstützen Sie weiter unsere mittelständische Industrie und auch die Übergangstechnologien.

Maria Grapini (S&D). – Domnule președinte, domnule comisar, stimați colegi, astăzi analizăm un raport foarte important. Banca Europeană de Investiții, așa cum știm, are o importanță deosebită în finanțare, mai ales acum, după criza pandemică.

Trebuie însă să-mi manifest nemulțumirea și mă surprinde că domnul președinte BEI, în cuvântul domniei sale, a arătat că este mulțumit de cât a finanțat IMM-urile, ori în raport rezultă foarte clar că din totalul fondului de finanțare doar 40 % a fost alocat IMM-urilor, iar noi avem în Uniunea Europeană 98 % IMM-uri.

Așadar, domnule președinte, eu susțin creșterea capitalului ca să avem un capital adecvat la BEI, dar, vă rog frumos, să vă orientați mai mult spre IMM-uri, spre cele care au cea mai mică rezistență la criză și, de asemenea, trebuie să vedem cum putem să creștem ritmul cu fondul de garantare pentru că ritmul este foarte lent.

Avem mai mult de un an de zile în care IMM-urile, HoReCa, turismul sunt în suferință și abia primele fonduri au fost aprobate la sfârșitul anului 2020. Doresc să mai subliniez că eu cred că BEI trebuie să-și revizuiască politica de creditare în domeniul transportului. Știm cu toții cât de important este transportul ca componentă în costul produselor, ca importanță pentru turism, ca importanță în Green Deal. De aceea, sper ca în anul 2021 să avem fonduri adecvate pentru acest domeniu al transportului.

Nu pot să nu spun că nu s-a realizat ceea ce tot sperăm prin investiții și anume eliminarea dezechilibrelor majore. Avem încă regiuni și state în care nu s-a realizat o coeziune socială și sper, domnule comisar, să ne explicați cum credeți că s-a răspuns coordonat, când știm bine că fiecare țară, în acest an de pandemie, a acționat diferit din punct de vedere al accesului pe piața internă.

Luis Garicano (Renew). – Señor presidente, señor Dombrovskis, señor Hoyer, el Banco Europeo de Inversiones que usted dirige es esencial para la economía europea, y lo ha demostrado una vez más durante la pandemia. Y es esencial porque es creíble y es eficaz. Y esa credibilidad, señor Hoyer, hay que protegerla como oro en paño. Por eso, resulta inexplicable que una vicepresidenta del Banco haya pasado directamente por una puerta giratoria del Consejo de Administración del Banco al de Iberdrola con, aparentemente, el visto bueno del propio Banco Europeo de Inversiones.

El conflicto de interés, señorías, es evidente: la vicepresidenta estaba a cargo de los préstamos a España y, en particular, de los préstamos a Iberdrola, que es uno de los principales clientes del Banco. Mil cuatrocientos millones de euros se habían prestado desde 2019 a esta compañía. En las ruedas de prensa en las que se anuncian estos préstamos aparece la señora Navarro hombro con hombro con el presidente de Iberdrola, para el que ahora mismo trabaja.

Señor Hoyer, las instituciones tienen que ser limpias y parecerlo. Por eso, en la evaluación que este Parlamento hace de su actividad le pedimos que dé explicaciones sobre la permisividad de su Comité de Ética sobre estos escándalos de puertas giratorias y también que revise las reglas que permiten que estos escándalos ocurran.

Finalmente, le recordamos que el Defensor del Pueblo Europeo calificó de mala administración una decisión similar de la Autoridad Bancaria Europea, y, por eso, le pedimos, señor Hoyer, que el Banco Europeo de Inversiones haga lo necesario para evitar estas situaciones en el futuro.

Ernest Urtasun (Verts/ALE). – Señor presidente, señor vicepresidente, señor presidente Hoyer, yo también quiero referirme al caso de la vicepresidenta Emma Navarro, que, como todo el mundo sabe, estuvo durante dos años de vicepresidenta del BEI y después saltó, al cabo de cuatro meses de haber dejado el cargo, directamente a una empresa, Iberdrola, que había recibido bajo su mandato directo proyectos y financiación por hasta 1 400 millones de euros.

Lo que es sorprendente es que el Comité de Ética del Banco autorizara eso, diera ese waiver. Es incomprensible, algo no funciona bien: o el Comité de Ética no hace bien su trabajo o el Reglamento interno no es suficientemente claro al respecto. Y creo, por lo tanto, que algo debe ser revisado, y yo celebro que la defensora del pueblo europea, a denuncia del Grupo de los Verdes, haya iniciado una investigación para ver qué se ha hecho mal. Y mucho me temo que probablemente concluirá de la misma forma que concluyó con el caso del señor Ádám Farkas, diciendo que ese waiver no debería haberse dado jamás.

Por último, le pedimos transparencia: queremos la resolución del Comité de Ética entera. Acabamos de recibir una respuesta por parte del BEI que nos invita a ir a Luxemburgo a una sala de lectura a leerla. Creo que una institución tan importante como el BEI merece ser mucho más transparente hacia sus ciudadanos.

Hélène Laporte (ID). – Monsieur le Président, Monsieur le Commissaire, mes chers collègues, même s'il faut soutenir le rôle de la BEI dans la mobilisation des financements en faveur de l'économie et en particulier des PME, les deux rapports pour les années 2019 et 2020 esquivent des questions de fond.

Tout d'abord, des financements qui ne seront accordés qu'à l'aune de la décarbonation me semblent excessifs et ne doivent pas se réaliser au détriment d'autres secteurs piliers pour la relance économique, comme la numérisation. Ensuite, je souhaite un retour d'expérience empreint d'exigence et d'humilité sur les projets qui ont fait l'objet d'une mauvaise évaluation et qui concernent pour la plupart des projets extra-européens. Ce noble objectif d'aide au développement avec les pays tiers souffre de nombreux exemples de projets comportant une absence de contreparties sociales et environnementales claires lors de l'attribution des prêts.

Enfin, je regrette que les prêts au profit de la Turquie, un pays qui ne respecte pas des principes fondamentaux de liberté et de démocratie, aient atteint 385 millions d'euros en 2018, soit un montant global de 28,9 milliards d'euros depuis 2000. L'Union européenne, à travers la BEI, a été faible en n'actionnant pas les clauses contractuelles autorisant la suspension des paiements avec la Turquie. J'invite cette institution multilatérale à recentrer ses investissements au sein de l'Union européenne, car ils doivent bénéficier aux États membres qui en sont les seuls actionnaires.

Johan Van Overtveldt (ECR). – Voorzitter, president Hoyer, vicevoorzitter Dombrovskis, de COVID-19-pandemie heeft ons leven deels on hold gezet, maar heeft de uitdagingen waarvoor we staan tegelijkertijd verscherpt. We moeten meer investeren in onze mensen, onze bedrijven en onze toekomst.

Iedereen is het hierover eens en inmiddels zijn ook de nodige middelen ter beschikking gesteld. De kwaliteit van de uitvoering is echter minstens zo belangrijk. We rekenen daarvoor op de Europese Investeringsbank, zowel voor de eigenlijke investeringen als voor het advies dat de bank bij de opzet van projecten verstrekt.

Om deze reden staan we achter de versterking en de voortdurende verbetering van de professionele structuur van de EIB. Daarbij stellen we de volgende drie absolute voorwaarden voor een kwaliteitsvolle dienstverlening: de nodige capaciteit en deskundigheid om duurzame partnerschappen tot stand te brengen, de coördinatie tussen de verschillende nationale en regionale spelers, en een bedrijfscultuur die gedreven wordt door de zoektocht naar innovatieve investeringen die de groei ondersteunen.

De EIB is van cruciaal belang als we sterker uit de huidige COVID-19-crisis willen komen.

Dorien Rookmaker (NI). – Mr President, the financial crisis more than a decade ago caused a tsunami of regulations – 15% more regulations in the banking sector every year. It wrecked the banking system. The recent crisis, the COVID crisis, led to panic within the EU. Governments feared bankruptcies and recession. In reaction to COVID, the EU decided to introduce a huge stimulus programme, the Next Generation EU. Billions of euros are flooding directly towards EU Member States. The extra billions of euros create political tension in and between Member States. The stakes are high. What would you do if suddenly you got your hands on a couple of billion euros?

While politicians in Member States fight, the EU is drowning in euros. The European Investment Bank will have to cope with this situation. My question is, will it lower its standards, which will lead to more risk, or give up its market share?

Tomáš Zdechovský (PPE). – Pane předsedající, pane místopředsedo Evropské komise, vážený pane Hoyere, ano, záleží nám na tom, aby peníze z Evropské investiční banky fungovaly efektivně, proto se to jmenuje investiční banka. My máme investovat do projektů, které půjdou do budoucnosti a které budou efektivní. Není důležité, jestli je ten projekt zelený, modrý nebo fialový, ale je důležité, aby ten projekt opravdu zafungoval jako takový efekt v Evropské unii, který spustí další a další projekty. Neměli bychom tvořit další bariéry mezi členskými státy tím, že v jednom podpoříme nějaké odvětví a v jiném ne. A já si myslím, že bychom měli veškeré naše úsilí soustředit na efektivitu. Možná se to některým nebude líbit, ale ne všechno, co se na první pohled může zdát zelené, může být nakonec i efektivní a může vést k cílům, které jsme si dali.

Alfred Sant (S&D). – Mr President, the EIB is the essential entity to sustain EU policy on investment and to facilitate financial support for major projects. Its newly acquired role as the EU's climate bank makes sense. Its work in the EU's partner countries is commendable. Still, major concerns about the bank's operational outcomes persist. Geographical imbalances in the EIB's lending remain a vital structural handicap. How can it be acceptable that in 2019 just four Member States between them received almost 50% of loans granted?

New criteria assuring a broader geographical allocation of investments are needed. There should be a higher prioritisation for regions traditionally burdened with an investment deficit, in particular those having geographical disadvantages such as the EU's peripheral and insular regions. Any shortfall in the general investment requirements for COVID-19 recovery and for the Green Deal will weigh most heavily on these regions.

So funding strategies must be adapted to fit the geography, not least for projects related to transport and energy. Another major issue is transparency, including the sharing with MEPs of information on the EIB's financing activities. One fails to understand the reasoning behind the EIB's sudden decision to terminate the dissemination of its European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) monthly state-of-play reports back in June 2018. A permanent mechanism of info-sharing must be in place, and the funding of approved lending per sector and per country. I look forward to continued dialogue between the European Parliament and the EIB. Together we can succeed and achieve a holistic and fair green transition of the European economy on a give-and-take basis.

Henrike Hahn (Verts/ALE). – Mr President, with financing of over EUR 60 billion per year, the European Investment Bank is a key player in putting EU policy into action. At the core of EU policy stands the Green Deal to decarbonise our economy and to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest. Therefore, we demand full alignment of the EIB with at least the goals of the Paris Agreement. This seems to be logical, but apparently it's not. When we Greens look at the annual report of the EIB we think that it doesn't fit together that the EIB claims to be a climate bank when half of its investments still go to heavy polluters.

We in the European Parliament call for decarbonisation plans to be in place for EIB counterparties, with clear timelines and targets based on science. For the public sector loan facility, where the EIB will be the main finance partner, the standards do indeed help the Just Transition. But for a real ecological, social transition in Europe, we need an EIB that is more courageous than ever to support the right investments. We have to fight against climate change by being ambitious.

Siegfried Mureșan (PPE). – Mr President, may I welcome President Hoyer back to the European Parliament. Without any doubt the European Investment Bank (EIB) played a crucial role in helping us overcome the pandemic in Europe and reduce the impacts of the pandemic on people, businesses and regions; in particular, the support given to help small and medium-sized enterprises cope with liquidity shortages was very welcome on the ground.

I believe that the EIB can play an even greater role in the medium and longer term now that all of the pieces of legislation are in place when it comes to strengthening our economy. When we negotiated the Recovery and Resilience Facility we allowed Member States to allocate up to 4% of their national envelopes into national compartments of InvestEU. Unfortunately, not many Member States have made use of this prerogative so far because they lack technical assistance. Please provide national and local levels with the best technical assistance as needed.

And my last point, transparency: we are going to spend more money than ever in the next few years at European level, and the more we spend, the more we need to make sure that money reaches the beneficiaries that it is intended for. Please, also as a bank, help us in this endeavour and allocate enough resources for fraud prevention and detection.

(Applause)

Frances Fitzgerald (PPE). – Mr President, while some sense of normality is resuming in our economies and societies, we cannot forget that many businesses all over Europe are still under severe strain. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has been an important support and lifeline throughout the crisis with its EUR 46 billion-worth of COVID-19 funding projects, and 425 000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have benefited. That is a valuable contribution. But this contribution must translate into more financial resources to enable the EIB not only to address the post-pandemic recovery, but also to drive forward key EU priorities: as has been said, the Green Deal, a Europe fit for the digital age and an equal and fairer Europe.

My country, Ireland, has benefited from EUR 19 billion-worth of financing from the EIB since the start of its operations, providing crucial support for our transport infrastructure and renewable energy. This has helped transform our economy, but given the enormous environmental and post-pandemic challenges we now face, public and private investment has never been more important. We need a strong and well financed EU bank to do this.

Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President of the Commission. – Mr President, President Hoyer, honourable Members, I would like to thank you for today's productive debate. The committees' reports testify that, overall, the EIB is on a very good path, in particular as a front-runner on climate action and as a role model for other international financial institutions in their quest to become Paris-aligned.

I also thank Parliament for its support in the discussions on the EIB's role as the EU's major partner in implementing EU funding. I very much look forward to continuing these discussions and for our close cooperation.

Werner Hoyer, President EIB. – Mr President, Members of the European Parliament, you have bombarded me with 40 points, which I have written down, which I should refer to now, and I've been given five minutes… so that is going to be difficult. But I promise each and every point that has been raised by you will be responded to directly or indirectly, and we will ask our colleagues in the Brussels office to contact you if necessary and possible.

First of all, let me thank the European Parliament for the support that we have always enjoyed for the work of the EIB. It is about the preservation of the role of and the standing of the Bank to deliver its mandate. Sometimes you might want to talk about a new legal basis for this Bank, but then you need to change the treaty. To be honest, the Bank is owned by the Member States of the European Union, and that's it. One can change that, I have nothing against the idea, but then please go to the European Council and the other formations and try to find Treaty change on that.

I'd like to start with a more general point, which is really on my mind and a heavy burden on it. We know exactly that we will overcome the big challenges and we will meet the big challenges only via innovative means. We need to be more innovative. The fact is that the Member States of the European Union and the Union itself, for the last 16 years, have on average invested 1.6% of GDP less into research, development and innovation than our competitors in North America and Asia. And nobody should believe that this goes without an impact on our competitiveness and our productivity growth.

So we need to address that issue first. And this is why I insist, violently, that we need not, that we must not take innovation, climate and development apart, it all belongs together. And nobody should hide behind the virus when it comes to these necessary activities in the field of innovation, climate and development.

I have heard with great joy that, for instance, Mr Silva Pereira expressed the wish for an institutional agreement between the EP and the EIB. I would appreciate a discussion on this and I also heard that some of you want to visit Luxembourg – you are always welcome. We should organise this indeed. I do not see too many MEPs in Luxembourg, but too few. So let's change that. We can get into good dialogue there.

You also referred to the European Guarantee Fund (EGF). I think we have had your great support, and the call for the continuation of the EGF – which is currently gaining a good implementation speed – is highly appreciated. Some of your remarks were music to my ears, but it's not up to me to change this.

On transparency, Mr Eickhout referred to transparency and also to intermediated lending, you will know that we not only review our transparency policy but we also look at the review of our environmental and social standards. Both processes are ongoing: we should keep the discussion going on on these issues. I take that extremely seriously.

When it comes to the governance issues, we have updated the codes of conduct in 2019, and further adaptations are taking place right now – this covers the code of conduct of the Board, the Management Committee and the Audit Committee. In this context, let me say that I take the sentences that I heard about a former colleague of the Management Committee very, very seriously. But it's a very individual case, and it has been referred to the European Ombudsman, which I respect, and I think it is in the very best hands there. We have delivered all information, we operate with full transparency there, but I need to protect a colleague who, in my view, is not being attacked in a fair way. We have played it by the rules and by the book, and she has, and therefore I insist that we don't come to premature conclusions before the European Ombudsman has taken a position. I trust that we have done the right thing there.

There were a couple of allegations concerning the personnel situation in the bank and I must say that some of the allegations that I've read in newspapers I simply cannot understand. And some of these were vicious. The EIB staff is highly motivated and proud to work for the bank. The EIB staff show a high degree of loyalty, otherwise we would have a little bit more rotation and mobility, but once we are in Luxembourg, they don't go away anymore.

The COVID-19 pandemic, of course, put additional stress on every institution and we tried to help people who are suffering from it. But the most important thing is that we are seriously trying to improve the culture of the institution, and one issue that has helped us in getting closer to where we want to be is through considerable progress on gender equality. And one last word, in this context: we have zero tolerance for harassment at the EIB. And that is something that needs to be said, particularly today when Luxembourg celebrates Pride Week.

So we are reviewing our environmental and social sustainability framework, and following the calls from the European Parliament, as part of the review, the EIB group will propose a new standard for intermediate finance to ensure the highest level of integrity and compliance of the financial intermediaries and their projects.

I have heard a word on the European Financial Architecture for Development (EFAD), which I loved. I think it comes through now more or less clearly that it is important to have one development finance institution that is run by the European Union and its Member States only. In the case of conflict, No Russian, No Chinese, No American, No Egyptian can intervene and block things. And we need to live up to this responsibility. This is why, to be quite clear, I believe that we should not reduce but expand our development business, particularly in the context of climate, innovation and development, and therefore we should organise ourselves better – in what form we can discuss. I believe as a subsidiary of EIB to which we might invite others like the European Commission or the national promotional banks or development agencies, is the best solution. But we have seen that according to the Council conclusions of June, we will now have in the third quarter of 2021 to deliver a report and a set of ideas to the EU institutions in this context.

So things will pick up speed now quickly. I am sorry, Mr President, I still have 25 pages here, but I promise you that I will really respond to each and every one in writing or in a personal approach. Thank you very much, it was a pleasure to be here.

(Applause)

Der Präsident. – Mit dem abschließenden Satz haben Sie, glaube ich, das Tor geöffnet, die weiteren Fragen zu beantworten.

Die gemeinsame Aussprache ist damit geschlossen.

Die Abstimmung findet am Dienstag, 6. Juli 2021, statt.

Schriftliche Erklärungen (Artikel 171)

Gunnar Beck (ID), schriftlich. – Der Bericht bezieht auch die EIB als den öffentlichen Kreditgeber der EU ein. Dies ist gemäß den Verträgen falsch. Die EIB ist rechtlich gesehen die völkerrechtlich geregelte Bank der Mitgliedstaaten. Es ist keine EU-Institution und kein öffentlicher Kreditgeber. Die Anteilseigner der EIB sind die Mitgliedstaaten und sie sind für die Investitionsentscheidungen verantwortlich. Es ist nicht die Aufgabe der Kommission oder des Parlaments, ihre Investitionsentscheidungen zu beeinflussen. Der Bericht fordert auch eine Kapitalerhöhung der EIB. Nach dem Austritt des Vereinigten Königreichs wurde das Kapital erheblich reduziert. Dies würde bedeuten, dass alle Mitgliedstaaten zusätzlich Kapital bei der EIB aufnehmen müssten. Der Bericht enthält zudem einige seltsame Empfehlungen, beispielsweise die Aufforderung an die EIB, in Fahrräder für abgelegene Gemeinden zu investieren, oder die Forderung an die EZB, bevorzugt in von Frauen geführte KMU zu investieren. Während Europa dringend Investitionen benötigt, lobt der Bericht die Zunahme der Investitionen der EIB in Drittländern. Ein Land wie die Türkei, das aktiv gegen die Interessen der EU und seiner Bürger arbeitet, hat seit dem Jahr 2000 fast 30 Milliarden Euro erhalten. Das muss aufhören. Die EIB ist eine Investitionsbank, keine Wohltätigkeitsorganisation für politische Träumereien und die korrupten autokratischen Freunde von EU-Regierungsparteien.

17.   Use of technologies for the processing of data for the purpose of combating online child sexual abuse (temporary derogation from Directive 2002/58/EC) (debate)

Der Präsident. – Als nächster Punkt der Tagesordnung folgt die Aussprache über den Bericht von Birgit Sippel im Namen des Ausschusses für bürgerliche Freiheiten, Justiz und Inneres über den Vorschlag für eine Verordnung des Europäischen Parlaments und des Rates über eine vorübergehende Ausnahme von bestimmten Vorschriften der Richtlinie 2002/58/EG des Europäischen Parlaments und des Rates hinsichtlich der Verwendung von Technik durch Anbieter nummernunabhängiger interpersoneller Kommunikationsdienste zur Verarbeitung personenbezogener und anderer Daten zwecks Bekämpfung des sexuellen Missbrauchs von Kindern im Internet (COM(2020)0568 – C9-0288/2020 – 2020/0259(COD)) (A9-0258/2020).

Birgit Sippel, Berichterstatterin. – Herr Präsident! Sexueller Missbrauch ist ein schreckliches Verbrechen, eine massive Verletzung von Grund- und Menschenrechten unserer Kinder. Das gilt für die reale Welt, aber ebenso, wenn etwa Bilder des Missbrauchs immer wieder online geteilt werden. Und in beiden Welten müssen wir besser werden – bei der Prävention, der Verfolgung der Täter, aber auch bei der Unterstützung der Überlebenden. Online-Maßnahmen sind eine Ergänzung, etwa zu verdeckten Ermittlungen oder der grundsätzlich besseren Ausstattung von Strafverfolgung und Beratungsstellen. Dabei müssen wir uns aber auch der Debatte stellen, wie viel Überwachung online mit unseren freiheitlichen demokratischen Grundrechten vereinbar ist und wo wir Gefahr laufen, ein umfassendes Überwachungssystem zu installieren, welches die intimsten Details der Kommunikation aller Menschen kennt, auch unserer Kinder, die wir ja besonders schützen wollen.

Schon heute scannen verschiedene Anbieter freiwillig private Nachrichten, um Kindesmissbrauch aufzuspüren. Dies drohte aber durch eine Änderung im elektronischen Kommunikationskodex unmöglich zu werden. Und so hat die Kommission im September letzten Jahres jenes Gesetz vorgelegt, über das wir morgen abstimmen. Eine Ausnahme von den geltenden ePrivacy-Regeln, die das Scannen privater Nachrichten auf Kindesmissbrauch weiterhin auch ohne Zustimmung ermöglicht.

Das Gesetz erlaubt verschiedene Technologien. Das sogenannte hashing wird bereits seit vielen Jahren angewandt. Es ermöglicht die Identifizierung von Missbrauchsdarstellungen, indem Videos und Bilder mit einem vordefinierten Satz digitaler Fingerabdrücke abgeglichen werden, den sogenannten hashes. Und als Berichterstatterin habe ich früh unterstrichen, dass ich diese Praxis nicht unterbinden möchte, habe aber auf zusätzliche Schutzmaßnahmen gedrängt.

Eindeutig strittiger war und ist der Einsatz von künstlicher Intelligenz zum Mitlesen von Nachrichten für das Aufspüren von unbekanntem Material und möglichem Cyber-Grooming. Lange hatte es die Kommission versäumt, sich mit den Auswirkungen des schon stattfindenden Scannens auf Kindesmissbrauch auseinanderzusetzen. Es wäre viel Zeit gewesen, um eine gute, nachhaltige Lösung für die rechtlichen Herausforderungen rund um das Scannen privater Kommunikation im Internet zu finden. Doch als die Kommission schließlich ihr Versäumnis erkannte, machte sie sich nicht einmal die Mühe, eine Folgenabschätzung zu den Grundrechtsauswirkungen vorzulegen, obwohl dies ihre Pflicht gewesen wäre.

Stattdessen wurde massiver Druck auf die Verhandler ausgeübt, um nur schnell zu irgendeiner Einigung zu kommen. Aber als Gesetzgeber haben wir immer die Pflicht, alle Fakten zu prüfen und im Einklang mit Grundrechten und rechtsstaatlichen Grundlagen zu handeln. Ich habe das schon mehrfach gesagt und wiederhole es auch heute. Wir können natürlich bei politischen Entscheidungen und gerade bei so sensiblen Themen unterschiedlicher Meinung sein, aber das enthebt uns niemals der Verantwortung einer kritischen, umfassenden Debatte.

Die nun zwischen Rat und Parlament gefundene Vereinbarung ist ein Kompromiss zwischen der Aufdeckung von sexuellem Kindesmissbrauch im Netz und dem Schutz der Privatsphäre von Nutzerinnen und Nutzern. Sie mag nicht perfekt sein, aber sie ist eine praktikable Übergangslösung für die nächsten drei Jahre. Der Kompromiss ermöglicht die vorübergehende Fortsetzung bestimmter freiwilliger Maßnahmen zur Erkennung von sexuellem Missbrauch, den Bildern und dem möglichen Cyber-Grooming.

Als Parlament haben wir hart dafür gekämpft, den Vorschlag zu verbessern und ihn mit bestehenden Datenschutzstandards in Einklang zu bringen. Wir haben Schutzmaßnahmen hinzugefügt, etwa die bessere Information der Nutzer oder die Einführung einer Aufbewahrungsfrist für Daten von zwölf Monaten. Wir wollen direktere Information an europäische Behörden und haben erreicht, dass die Diensteanbieter eng mit den nationalen Datenschutzbehörden zusammenarbeiten müssen. Diese können grundrechtsfeindliche Technologien untersagen.

Datenschutz und Schutz der Vertraulichkeit sind kein Täterschutz, sondern Basis der Demokratie. Wir müssen die Vertraulichkeit der Kommunikation auch im Sinne unserer Kinder schützen. Das gilt umso mehr für sensible Kommunikationen – etwa zwischen Missbrauchsopfern und ihren Ärzten und Anwälten.

Dieses Gesetz ist eine Übergangslösung für drei Jahre. Die Kommission hatte versprochen, noch vor der Sommerpause einen neuen, dauerhaften Rahmen für die Aufdeckung von Kindesmissbrauch vorzuschlagen. Jetzt dauert es noch bis September oder Oktober. Dafür erwarte ich einen deutlich verbesserten Vorschlag. Die langfristige Lösung muss sich mindestens an den Datenschutzgarantien der temporären Lösung orientieren. Sie muss zwingend Lösungen für das gezieltere Scannen privater Kommunikation finden, sonst wird sie vor nationalen und europäischen Gerichten kaum Bestand haben.

Und ja, wir erwarten dieses Mal eine umfassende Folgenabschätzung. Und deshalb sind Sie, liebe Ylva Johansson, und auch Sie, Frau Kommissionspräsidentin von der Leyen – denn ich weiß um Ihr Interesse an diesem Gesetz –, damit wieder am Zug.

Ylva Johansson, Member of the Commission. – Mr President, dear Birgit Sippel, let me start with the voices of the victims. ‘It's going to destroy my life.’ ‘I want to die.’ ‘I've already tried to commit suicide, please don't start again.’ These are the voices of teenage girls aged 14 to 17, tricked into sharing naked pictures and then blackmailed by a predator. He forced the girls to produce and send additional content, otherwise – he texted in the chat – he would publish the videos and pictures he had already received widely on the internet. The predator requested that the children record themselves engaging in sexual acts which might have been physically painful. ‘You're going to be sore after’, he texted in the chat.

The report we are discussing here today is very important because thanks to the agreement that Parliament and the Council reached in April, this kind of grooming can continue to be detected and stopped. Companies can continue to act against so-called known child sexual abuse material – almost four million images and videos were reported in the European Union last year – but also towards material that is not yet known about, so-called ‘newly produced’ material. Last year, there were more than half a million new images and videos of children being raped. Action can also be taken against grooming around – 1 500 reports last year.

The negotiations were difficult, but with the agreement you reached, co-legislators have shown that it's possible to find the right balance, a balance that responds to European citizens' concerns. I very much welcome the agreement, which ends uncertainty for companies and say it loud and clear: yes, you can continue to report child sexual abuse online.

Reports are used by police to rescue children all over Europe. Only last Friday, the ninth Victim Identification Taskforce organised by Europol's European Cybercrime Centre identified six victims of child sexual abuse, children that can now be rescued from harm to safety. Saving these children was possible thanks to Europol's repository of 59 million images and videos of child sexual abuse material. Europol specialists selected footage of victims whose location and identity had not yet been established, and 41 victim identification specialists from across the world joined forces to identify as many victims of child sexual abuse as possible. I congratulate Europol on their work and the excellent police cooperation with Member States and international partners.

Worried about privacy rules, some internet companies stopped voluntarily reporting on child sexual abuse material last December. In a few short months, reports dropped by 53%. Hundreds of cases go unnoticed every day, leaving children in the dark at the mercy of predators. It was vital to act quickly and with this interim regulation we have turned the light back on. Companies that provide email, chat or messaging services can continue lawful practice to voluntarily detect, remove and report online child sexual abuse.

We also agreed on important safeguards, safeguards that guarantee privacy and the protection of personal data. All practices are subject to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Data processed to detect child sexual abuse online is limited to what is necessary and is stored no longer than strictly necessary. Processing must be subject to human oversight and, if necessary, also to human review. These safeguards answer important concerns of Parliament. On top of these, companies will need to consult national data protection authorities if they use anti-grooming technologies or new technologies to detect material.

This interim regulation ends uncertainty for companies. It does not end the danger to children. This is only a temporary solution to fix an acute emergency. We need a permanent answer to counter a persistent threat against children. Still this year I will propose new permanent EU rules, rules that will include detecting and reporting obligations for companies and will provide a solid legal basis for the providers' activities. Because voluntary reporting is not enough. Right now 95% of all reports come from one single service provider. It's time for all providers to live up to their responsibilities, to make sure that no one can use their services to spread videos or pictures of children being raped or worse, facilitate the rape of children.

I also want to fulfil a request by the European Parliament to set up a European centre to prevent and counter child sexual abuse, a European centre to help companies and law enforcement to detect and report online child sexual abuse, to help police to rescue children, to provide oversight and transparency and accountability. The centre should also help prevent child sexual abuse and support victims who suffer for many years, even after the abuse is over.

The vote tomorrow will be an important step to protect our children. I would like to thank Birgit Sippel and her shadows for working intensively with the Portuguese Presidency and for making this possible. Today we can look each other in the eye and say we have done well, but from tomorrow we must be determined to do better. This agreement inspires me with the confidence that we can. I look forward to continue working with you to keep our children safe.

(Applause)

Christine Anderson, Verfasserin der Stellungnahme des mitberatenden Ausschusses für die Rechte der Frauen und die Gleichstellung der Geschlechter. – Herr Präsident! Ja, meine Damen und Herren: Auch im Jahr 2021 noch immer Regelungslücken im Kampf gegen Kindesmissbrauch – was für ein Armutszeugnis!

Der Aktionsplan gegen Desinformation stellt zwar sicher, dass politisch unerwünschte Meinungen in den sozialen Medien zensiert werden. Eine App zeigt mir an, ob sich in meinem Umfeld eine Person aufhält, die laut einem völlig nutzlosen PCR-Test angeblich mit Corona infiziert ist. Das Recht auf Freizügigkeit habe ich nachzuweisen mit dem digitalen Impfpass. Aber Kinder vor Missbrauch zu schützen, das schafft die EU nicht.

Vielleicht hoffen wir ja auch darauf, dass sich das Problem von selbst erledigt. Denn wenn die EU sich erst einmal auf dem Spielfeld ideologisch motivierter Pseudoprobleme fertig ausgetobt hat und ihre kunterbunte, gendergerechte, klimaneutrale Multikulti-Trallala-Welt errichtet ist, dann sind vielleicht auch alle Kinder ohnehin schon dem Menschenrecht auf Abtreibung zum Opfer gefallen.

Javier Zarzalejos, en nombre del Grupo PPE. – Señor presidente, señora comisaria, no ha sido fácil llegar hasta aquí: muchas horas de trabajo, un debate jurídico y técnico de una enorme complejidad y mucha presión sobre los ponentes. Pero este informe demuestra que el Parlamento ha estado a la altura de lo que se requería.

Las cifras de abuso sexual a menores son terribles. El consumo masivo de internet durante el confinamiento ha puesto de manifiesto las vulnerabilidades de los menores ante depredadores y traficantes sexuales. Por eso, mi grupo insistió en ampliar las tecnologías a aquellas que pueden detectar no solo el material de abuso sexual ya conocido, sino también el de nueva producción y el grooming.

Somos conscientes de que una legislación de esta naturaleza necesita garantías y salvaguardias añadidas y las hemos introducido en la nueva normativa para reducir al máximo los riesgos que puede correr la privacidad ante el procesamiento de estos datos. Desde diferentes posiciones hemos llegado a un acuerdo que, reiterando las palabras de la ponente, de la señora Sippel, es un acuerdo posible y necesario.

Creo sinceramente que esta normativa resuelve bien la necesidad de conciliar protección de la privacidad y protección de los menores. Porque, si llegáramos a la conclusión de que tenemos que elegir entre privacidad o protección de los menores, entonces tendríamos un grave problema. Tendríamos un grave problema como legisladores, como padres y como madres, y como ciudadanos responsables.

Juan Fernando López Aguilar, en nombre del Grupo S&D. – Señor presidente, comisaria Johansson, cualquier forma de abuso sexual es una grave violación de derechos humanos, pero es especialmente execrable cuando se cierne sobre menores, personas especialmente vulnerables.

La Unión Europea se precia de tener el estándar más alto del mundo de protección de la privacidad y la confidencialidad de las comunicaciones personales. Pero ha sido trabajo de este Parlamento hacer compatible ese estándar con la detección y prevención de cualquier forma de abuso sexual en línea contra los menores.

La Comisión tomó la iniciativa hace menos de un año, el 20 de septiembre de 2020, con la intención de evitar que la entrada en vigor del Código Europeo de las Comunicaciones Electrónicas dificultase la identificación del abuso sexual contra menores en línea, a la luz de la vigencia de la Directiva de ePrivacy del año 2002; era imprescindible establecer un correcto equilibrio entre esa Directiva y la detección y prevención de cualquier forma de abusos sexuales en la red.

Y el equipo negociador, liderado por Birgit Sippel, con el Consejo, lo ha conseguido: con una supervisión humana, con una garantía de remedios adecuados en el caso de la correcta aplicación del nuevo régimen jurídico que entra en vigor y con una temporalidad que debe durar como máximo tres años, a la espera de que se adopte una iniciativa definitiva sobre el abuso sexual en línea y cualquier forma de grooming, de acoso, no digamos de pornografía infantil, que obliga especialmente a actuar a este Parlamento Europeo.

Y creo que, consiguiendo ese equilibrio, este Parlamento Europeo ha demostrado una vez más ser un legislador al servicio de los derechos fundamentales de la ciudadanía, y está emitiendo un mensaje de empatía y de sensibilidad con las víctimas que han sufrido y con las familias de las víctimas que han sufrido esta forma especialmente lacerante e intolerable de violación de derechos humanos de personas tan vulnerables como son los menores.

Sophia in 't Veld, on behalf of the Renew Group. – Mr President, let me first start by clarifying that my Group is going to vote in favour of the trilogue results, but I would like to make a couple of remarks.

I have noticed in the process that whenever we ask critical questions about the legislative proposals, that immediately the suggestion was created that I wasn't sufficiently committed to fighting child sexual abuse. But I think you don't only have to know about child sexual abuse to be abhorred by it. I know child sexual abuse. I'm committed to fighting it. But I'm also a legislator and that means that I have to ask critical questions and I have to do a thorough job in making sure that the legislation is watertight.

Madam Commissioner, I think we both know that the result on the table is legally flawed. We also know that there's been, I would say, almost undue pressure on the process, including moral blackmail – not least by Facebook, who put pressure on the process by stopping or reducing their activities, and I think that's absolutely scandalous.

On substance, I very much agree with the arguments that have been put forward by my Green colleagues. But I would like to say one thing to my Green colleagues: politics is not about choices between good and evil. Politics is mainly about shitty dilemmas and making difficult choices and standing by it, and that is why my Group will support it. We have questions. We will support it. And we had better make sure that the final definitive law is going to be legally watertight.

Patrick Breyer, im Namen der Verts/ALE-Fraktion. – Herr Präsident! Alle Europaabgeordneten haben letzte Woche geöffnete Post erhalten. So würde es aussehen, wenn alle Ihre Post verdachtslos geöffnet und gescannt und verdächtige Inhalte der Polizei übergeben würden. Unvorstellbar? Für unsere elektronische Post soll genau das zugelassen werden – mit der ersten EU-Verordnung zur Massenüberwachung.

Frau Kommissarin, vor Missbrauch schützen Sie Kinder mit diesen Verdächtigungsmaschinen nicht! Kinderpornoringe benutzen kein Facebook und kein Google. Nach Polizeiangaben treffen bis zu 86 % der automatisierten Strafanzeigen Unschuldige. Ich bin selbst Vater. Ich will, dass mein Kind wirksam geschützt wird und dass es noch mit privaten Räumen und privaten Gesprächen aufwachsen darf. Kinder und Jugendliche haben auch ein Recht auf Privatsphäre. Und diese illegale Ausnahmeverordnung bricht dieses Grundrecht. Nach dieser totalitären Logik müssten ja selbst unsere Schlafzimmer als potenzielle Missbrauchsgelegenheiten unter ständiger Überwachung stehen. Was planen Sie als nächstes?

72 % der EU-Bürgerinnen und Bürger wollen nicht, dass ihre privaten und intimen Nachrichten und Chats – bis hin zu Nacktfotos – von Privatkonzernen verdachtslos durchschnüffelt werden. Respektieren Sie das!

Ich schließe mit den Worten eines Missbrauchsopfers: ‘Ich hatte keine vertraulichen Kommunikationswerkzeuge, als ich vergewaltigt wurde. Alle meine Kommunikation wurde von den Tätern überwacht. In einem geschützten Raum frei über das Erlittene sprechen zu können, ist für Missbrauchsopfer unersetzlich. Das Europäische Parlament wird darüber abstimmen, Überlebenden diese Sicherheit zu nehmen. Diese Verordnung wird Missbrauch in den Untergrund treiben, wodurch er viel schwieriger aufzuspüren sein wird.’

PRZEWODNICTWO: EWA KOPACZ

Wiceprzewodnicząca

Jean-Lin Lacapelle, au nom du groupe ID. – Madame la Présidente, chers collègues, Madame la Commissaire, la lutte contre la pédocriminalité et la protection de l'innocence de nos enfants sont des combats essentiels que nous, parlementaires, devons porter au quotidien. Je n'aurai donc pas de critiques sur le principe du règlement que nous examinons aujourd'hui. Nous devons en effet absolument prévoir dans la loi sur la confidentialité des données sur internet une exception concernant la pédopornographie, puisque cela ne relève en aucun cas de la vie privée.

Pour autant, j'aurai deux remarques, puisque l'exception pour les pédophiles n'intervient qu'à présent dans le cadre d'une directive qui est pourtant en vigueur depuis le mois de décembre. Cela veut-il dire que depuis six mois, les prédateurs sont protégés par la loi européenne? Y a-t-il eu des enquêtes bloquées, écartées, oubliées? Des monstres ont-ils pu échapper à la justice en raison de ce vide juridique?

Ma deuxième remarque porte sur le fait que nos textes punissent la sollicitation en ligne de mineurs n'ayant pas atteint la majorité sexuelle. Or, elle est différente selon les États. Un prédateur peut donc échapper à la loi selon que sa victime vit ou non dans un pays où la majorité sexuelle est différente. Je vous ai pourtant déjà interpellés plusieurs fois pour recommander d'harmoniser nos lois sur ce point essentiel. Je vous ai même proposé en janvier de cette même année une résolution que vous avez rejetée. Cette absence de réaction est irresponsable, voire criminelle.

Malheureusement, la pédopornographie n'existe qu'après les actes immondes qui ont été commis. C'est donc toujours trop tard. La priorité est donc d'agir en amont pour empêcher la diffusion sur les réseaux sociaux de contenus incitant à la pédophilie, afin d'empêcher les prédateurs de sévir et d'échapper aux lois. Des plateformes comme TikTok, Netflix, YouTube sont constellées de vidéos hypersexualisant le corps des jeunes enfants. Cela doit cesser.

Jadwiga Wiśniewska, w imieniu grupy ECR. – Pani Przewodnicząca! Ochrona dzieci przed przemocą i wykorzystaniem jest naszym obowiązkiem. Dzięki tym nowym przepisom dzieci w internecie będą bezpieczniejsze. Zgodnie z nowymi przepisami serwisy internetowe i media społecznościowe będą mogły wykrywać i zgłaszać przypadki nadużyć seksualnych dzieci, usuwać materiały i pomagać w identyfikacji sprawców. Pedofilia, uwodzenie dzieci, pornografia dziecięca są kryminalizowane offline i takie samo powinno być ich traktowanie online. Czas pandemii niestety zwiększył popyt na materiały pedofilskie, a to oznacza, że tych bezbronnych ofiar jest jeszcze więcej.

Bez wypracowanego kompromisu dotychczasowe praktyki wykrywania, zgłaszania i usuwania wykorzystywania seksualnego dzieci byłyby niemożliwe – zwracam się tu do pana posła z Zielonych. Tymczasem nowe przepisy wypełniają właśnie tę lukę prawną, która powstała po 21 grudnia 2020 roku. Zatem dzięki wypracowanym przepisom dzieci będą bezpieczniejsze. Bezpieczeństwo dzieci w sieci zależy od nas, dorosłych. Musimy je chronić i podjąć to wyzwanie.

Cornelia Ernst, im Namen der The Left-Fraktion. – Frau Präsidentin! Eines vorweg: Ja, gegen sexuellen Missbrauch von Kindern muss entschlossen vorgegangen werden, und ja, das muss auch unverzüglich geschehen. Aber nein, diese Regelung wird dem nicht gerecht. Das sage ich, so sehr ich die Berichterstatterin in all ihren Kämpfen unterstützt habe. Herausgekommen ist das wahllose Scannen der Kommunikation, und das ist weder eine verhältnismäßige noch eine wirksame Antwort auf Kriminalität.

Was erreicht wird, ist doch etwas ganz anderes: Das ist Massenüberwachung der Kommunikation, und die ist illegal. Anbieter von Messenger-Diensten wie Facebook werden nun beauftragt, den Inhalt und die Metadaten aller Kommunikationen auf bekanntes und unbekanntes Material zu scannen, was dazu führt, dass massenhaft völlig unverdächtige Bilder und Bildchen mit betroffen werden, erfasst werden und auch Menschen unter Generalverdacht kommen, die völlig unschuldig sind, und zwar in Größenordnungen. Ja, sogar Grooming, was noch nicht einmal richtig definiert wird – es gibt diese Definition nicht –, soll einbezogen werden!

Wahllose, verdachtsunabhängige Massenüberwachung jedweder Kommunikation ist durch nichts, aber auch gar nichts zu rechtfertigen. Es ist ein schwerer Eingriff in die Privatsphäre der Bürgerinnen und Bürger und juristisch ein Skandal, und das geht am Leben der betroffenen Kinder, tatsächlich vorbei. Statt auf rechtswidrige Ausnahmeregelungen abzustellen, muss es eine Regelung geben, die tatsächlich Kinder schützt und die Bürgerrechte wahrt. Darauf kommt es an.

Balázs Hidvéghi (NI). – Elnök Asszony! Az interneten egy olyan új információáramlási tér jött létre, ahol szélsebesen terjednek a gyermekekre káros tartalmak. A pedofil bűncselekmények és hálózatok, az online szexuális visszaélések új dimenzióba kerültek. A bűnelkövetők gyorsabban és egyszerűbben férnek hozzá az áldozatokhoz, ugyanakkor nehezebb a nyomukra jutni. Egy ilyen radikálisan új helyzetben gyors és hatékony cselekvésre van szükség, meg kell hozni minden olyan intézkedést mind nemzeti, mind uniós szinten, amely biztosítja a gyermekeink védelmét.

Minden lépésünknek és minden döntésünknek egyetlen elven kell alapulnia, ez pedig a gyermek mindenek felett álló érdeke. Ez az az alapelv, amit a gyermek jogairól szóló, 1989. november 20-i ENSZ-egyezmény rögzít, és ami az Alapjogi Charta 24. cikkében is megjelenik. A jelen megállapodás üdvözlendő, de alá kell húzni, hogy csupán átmeneti megoldásról van szó. Hosszú távon olyan állandó szabályozás kialakítására van szükség, amely kötelezően írja elő az ilyen tartalmak szűrését. Tétlenkedésre nincs idő, meg kell védenünk a gyermekeinket.

Nathalie Colin-Oesterlé (PPE). – Madame la Présidente, Madame la Commissaire, je vais m'exprimer pendant une minute, et durant cette minute, près de trente plaintes seront déposées dans l'Union européenne pour signaler des contenus pédopornographiques en ligne. C'est 17 fois plus qu'en 2010, et les violences en ligne ont augmenté de 57 % entre 2019 et 2020. L'Europe est devenue l'épicentre mondial des sites web hébergeant des images d'abus sexuels sur les enfants, avec près de 90 % de ces contenus sur des sites européens.

En décembre 2020, le code européen des communications électroniques est entré en vigueur. Pour des raisons de confidentialité, il ne permettait pas aux services de messagerie en ligne, comme Messenger ou WhatsApp, de détecter, supprimer ou signaler les contenus pédopornographiques échangés sur leurs applications.

Demain, nous allons enfin voter une dérogation temporaire de trois ans qui permettra à nouveau aux services de messagerie en ligne de lutter contre ces abus sexuels commis sur les enfants, dans l'attente de la proposition législative de la Commission au second semestre 2021. Cette proposition doit être ambitieuse, pérenne et beaucoup plus contraignante pour les services de messagerie, afin de protéger efficacement nos enfants.

Hilde Vautmans (Renew). – Voorzitter, mevrouw de commissaris, het heeft acht maanden geduurd voordat de Raad en het Parlement een akkoord sloten om kinderen beter te beschermen tegen seksuele uitbuiting en misbruik op het internet. Dit lag geenszins aan het Parlement.

Onlineplatformen zoals Facebook en Twitter mogen door de inwerkingtreding van de e-privacyrichtlijn al bijna zeven maanden geen tools inzetten om seksueel misbruik van kinderen op te sporen. Er zijn sinds de inwerkingtreding van de richtlijn eind december maar liefst 58 procent minder beelden van seksueel misbruik van kinderen en illegaal gedrag zoals grooming gemeld, terwijl het aantal meldingen van misbruik en uitbuiting in de afgelopen jaren exponentieel is gestegen van 23 000 in 2010 tot meer dan 725 000 in 2019.

Het actief opsporen en identificeren van slachtoffers en daders is in onze strijd van essentieel belang. Ik wil iedereen daarom oproepen om met een overtuigende meerderheid voor de afwijking van de e-privacyrichtlijn te stemmen en een vuist te maken tegen de seksuele uitbuiting van kinderen.

Assita Kanko (ECR). – Voorzitter, mevrouw de commissaris, de bescherming van kinderen mag niet door de mazen van de EU-wetgeving glippen. Ik ben daarom heel blij dat er een akkoord is gesloten dat zowel de veiligheid van onze kinderen als onze privacy waarborgt.

De bescherming van onze kinderen moet niet alleen voor de EU, maar ook voor de rest van de samenleving een prioriteit zijn. Onlinekindermisbruik is een van de vele uitdagingen die de EU onverwijld moet aangaan. Volgens een verslag van de Raad van Europa werden er in 2020 door een Amerikaans monitoringssysteem 10,4 miljoen unieke afbeeldingen en 3,7 miljoen unieke video's van seksueel misbruik van kinderen gemeld.

Dit gebeurt ook in Europa, hetgeen betekent dat de EU niet kan toekijken. Ik ben blij dat technologiebedrijven onlinekindermisbruik, waaronder grooming, vrijwillig mogen blijven volgen mits zij voorzien in aanvullende waarborgen om onze privacy te beschermen. Hiermee wordt naar mijn mening een goed evenwicht bereikt tussen de bescherming van kinderen en de bescherming van onze privacy en gegevens. We moeten echter waakzaam blijven en de situatie in de gaten houden, zodat we deze indien nodig kunnen verbeteren.

Stelios Kympouropoulos (PPE). – Madam President, dear Commissioner Johansson, the ongoing pandemic has forced children to socialise mainly through chatting applications, potentially exposing them more to risks online.

This is further exacerbated by the varying degrees of digital literacy in our societies, making some parents feel that they can no longer protect their children. Therefore, the need to use technology to combat child sexual abuse online is more urgent than ever.

The present text strikes a good balance between privacy, safety and security, enabling online services to detect and report child sexual abuse through the scanning of communications. But this is only a temporary solution and timing is critical.

I therefore call upon the Commission to urgently come up with a robust legal framework ensuring that technology is used in a manner that guarantees children's safety online.

Λουκάς Φουρλάς (PPE). – Κυρία Πρόεδρε, κύριε Επίτροπε, επιτρέψτε μου στην αρχή να πω δυο λόγια για την πατρίδα μου. Η Κύπρος βιώνει αυτές τις ώρες τη χειρότερη τραγωδία της από το 1974 και την εισβολή. Πυρκαγιές που ξέσπασαν ταυτόχρονα είχαν ως αποτέλεσμα να έχουμε ανθρώπινες απώλειες, δεκάδες σπίτια και επιχειρήσεις κάηκαν, ενώ 55 χιλιόμετρα δάσους και χωριών έγιναν στάχτη. Σας καλώ να σταθείτε δίπλα μας. Έχουμε ανάγκη αυτές τις ώρες την ευρωπαϊκή μας οικογένεια.

Σε ό,τι αφορά το υπό συζήτηση θέμα, θα είμαι ξεκάθαρος. Κανένας παιδεραστής δεν πρέπει να μπορεί να δρα ανεξέλεγκτα στο διαδίκτυο και να ενοχλεί τα παιδιά μας. Οφείλουμε να τα προστατεύσουμε. Ένα στα πέντε παιδιά στην Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση έχει πέσει θύμα κάποιας μορφής σεξουαλικής βίας. Είναι καθήκον μας να εξασφαλίσουμε ένα ασφαλές διαδίκτυο για τα παιδιά μας. Επιτροπή και κράτη μέλη οφείλουν να εντείνουν τον συντονισμό και να ενισχύσουν το νομοθετικό πλαίσιο. Κανένας νόμος και προσωπικό δεδομένο δεν μπορεί να λειτουργεί ως ασπίδα προστασίας για παιδεραστές.

Ylva Johansson, Member of the Commission. – Madam President, there have been some questions here in the debate whether this interim legislation actually makes any difference. It does. This voluntary detection and reporting, is what helps us to help us rescue children, victims of child sexual abuse. That was what makes it possible to arrest the perpetrators and to put them into court. And that is, of course, thanks to good police work and Europol. But without the detection and reporting of these grooming videos, pictures, it will not have been possible.

So, again, I would like to thank you and special thanks to the rapporteur, Ms Sippel, and to her shadows, and to their teams, and the European Parliament staff for working so hard on this proposal. I would like to thank you all for your commitment to find pragmatic and effective compromises and to reach an agreement with the Council. It was not easy, but children in the EU will be safer from abuse as a result of your efforts.

I think Ms in't Veld said something important here, that politics is not about choosing between the evil and the good, it's about finding the right balance when sometimes there are both different things that we would like to achieve or protect. For example, both privacy and of course the safety of children.

And that is the role of politicians: to find the right balance. And I feel confident that we will be able to do that also when we come to our next task, because we have a lot of important work ahead of us with the long-term proposal. And I feel confident that it will be possible together to find the right balance also in the new permanent legislation.

(Applause)

Przewodnicząca. – Zamykam debatę.

Głosowanie odbędzie się we wtorek 6 lipca 2021 r.

Oświadczenia pisemne (art. 171)

Caterina Chinnici (S&D), per iscritto. – Abusi e sfruttamento sessuali sui minori, online e offline, rappresentano una delle più gravi e intollerabili violazioni dei diritti fondamentali, le cui vittime rischiano di vedere la propria vita drammaticamente segnata per sempre.

Nell'ultimo decennio l'UE ha registrato un aumento impressionante delle segnalazioni di abusi sessuali su minori online, conquistando nel 2019 il triste primato mondiale per materiale pedopornografico ospitato. La pandemia ha ulteriormente aggravato la situazione: la domanda di materiale pedopornografico è cresciuta fino al 25%, portando a nuovi abusi. È necessario quindi un approccio onnicomprensivo, che includa prevenzione, repressione, protezione e sostegno alle vittime e che coinvolga settore pubblico e privato, compresi i fornitori di servizi online. A questi ultimi, con la deroga temporanea della direttiva 2002/58/CE si consente di continuare a utilizzare tecnologie per individuare, segnalare e rimuovere abusi e sfruttamento sessuali su minori, strumenti che si sono sin qui dimostrati preziosi nell'identificazione delle vittime e anche nel prevenire gli abusi stessi. Occorre ora adottare una legislazione europea di lungo termine, che delinei un quadro comune per una lotta sempre più efficace contro questi crimini, anche attraverso la creazione di un apposito centro europeo, come chiesto dall'intergruppo sui diritti dei minori e dal Parlamento europeo.

18.   European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (debate)

Przewodnicząca. – Kolejnym punktem porządku dnia jest debata nad zaleceniem do drugiego czytania sporządzonym w imieniu Komisji Rybołówstwa w sprawie w sprawie Europejskiego Funduszu Morskiego, Rybackiego i Akwakultury (06975/3/2021 - C9-0224/2021 - 2018/0210(COD)) (sprawozdawca: Gabriel Mato) (A9-0222/2021).

Gabriel Mato, ponente. – Señora presidenta, mis primeras palabras tienen que ser necesariamente de agradecimiento. En primer lugar, a los ponentes alternativos, Pierre Karleskind, Manuel Pizarro, Rosanna Conte, Ruža Tomašić, Francisco Guerreiro y João Ferreira. Su trabajo ha sido fundamental.

Por otra parte, y muy especialmente, quisiera mostrar mi especial agradecimiento a mi compañero Francisco Millán Mon por haber liderado las negociaciones durante el período en que yo estuve fuera del Parlamento. No era fácil y tuvo que trabajar duro para evitar reabrir todo el acuerdo y renegociar este dosier, como algunos pretendían. Si no hubiera sido por él, seguramente hoy no estaríamos aquí debatiendo el nuevo Fondo. ¡Gracias, Paco!

Asimismo, quiero expresar mi reconocimiento a las sucesivas presidencias del Consejo que han estado involucradas y principalmente a la Presidencia alemana, que concluyó este largo camino. Por último, pero no menos importante, mi profundo agradecimiento al comisario Sinkevičius, quien ha estado presente en todos nuestros diálogos tripartitos. Hemos tenido debates muy duros, lo reconozco, en los que cada uno hemos defendido nuestra posición, pero lo más importante es que hemos sido capaces de llegar a un acuerdo. ¡Muchas gracias, comisario!

Este acuerdo es fruto del trabajo de tres años de difíciles negociaciones con los grupos políticos y con el Consejo y la Comisión, y con todos los matices que quieran hacérsele, hoy podemos decir que hemos conseguido un buen acuerdo. Un acuerdo que, aunque algunos —los menos, es verdad— quieren desacreditar, cumple a rajatabla lo que fue mi primera línea roja al hacerme cargo de este informe como ponente: que nuestros pescadores pesquen en mejores condiciones, pero nunca que pesquen más.

El nuevo Fondo, con una dotación de 6 108 millones de euros, va a contribuir a una pesca, acuicultura y transformación más sostenibles, a apoyar una economía azul y a las comunidades costeras y a promover la gobernanza internacional de los océanos. No perdamos de vista que el Fondo ha sido negociado en una coyuntura excepcionalmente difícil, como es la pérdida de caladeros como consecuencia del Brexit, la parálisis de la cadena de valor de los productos de la mar a causa de la COVID-19, las dificultades para alcanzar un verdadero relevo generacional, la necesidad de ofrecer mejores condiciones a los barcos de pesca a la vez que seguimos luchando contra la sobrecapacidad, la necesidad de simplificar la burocracia para poder acceder a esos Fondos o las obligaciones derivadas de la PPC, tales como la obligación de desembarque y alcanzar el rendimiento máximo sostenible.

El reto era enorme y sinceramente creo que lo hemos conseguido. El Fondo acordado ayuda a afrontar esos retos mencionados y a alcanzar objetivos cada vez más ambiciosos. La burocracia actual se sustituye por un sistema simplificado que da la flexibilidad necesaria a los Estados miembros para programar las necesidades de sus sectores sin poner en peligro la transparencia y la responsabilidad. Por lo tanto, el futuro Fondo es fácil de usar.

Además, es respetuoso con las normas de la Organización Mundial del Comercio. No contiene subvenciones perjudiciales, ninguna ayuda para la construcción o adquisición de nuevos buques pesqueros, ningún aumento de la potencia de los motores, ninguna subvención directa para el aumento de la capacidad pesquera de los buques de más de 24 metros y tan solo para los buques de hasta 24 y exclusivamente con el fin de mejorar la seguridad, las condiciones de trabajo o la eficiencia energética. Y, además, un tope financiero del 15 % para las principales medidas de la flota. Es respetuoso con el medio ambiente y contribuye a la consecución de los objetivos del Pacto Verde. Estamos de acuerdo en que la lucha contra la pérdida de biodiversidad y el mantenimiento de los ecosistemas en buen estado requerirá una importante inversión pública y privada a nivel nacional y europeo.

Además, el nuevo FEMPA permite financiar inversiones que mejoren la eficiencia energética, la seguridad y las condiciones de trabajo de los buques pesqueros de la Unión Europea, garantizando asimismo la sostenibilidad del sector. También fomenta el relevo generacional al apoyar la primera adquisición de buques por parte de los jóvenes pescadores. Uno de los éxitos del Parlamento Europeo es que el nuevo FEMPA apoyará especialmente la pesca costera a pequeña escala. Los Estados miembros tendrán en cuenta en su programa las necesidades específicas de esta pesca. El mismo trato preferente se reserva a los pescadores sin embarcación y a los mariscadores. También apoyará la acuicultura europea, fomentando la inversión destinada a reforzar la competitividad de la producción acuícola, y, además, introduce un plan de gestión de crisis que permitirá prestar apoyo en situaciones de emergencia como las que se han vivido con la COVID-19.

Me gustaría destacar, además, viniendo de una región ultraperiférica como Canarias, que el texto final de este acuerdo tiene en cuenta las limitaciones específicas de estas regiones y que se mantiene el presupuesto actual para la compensación de los costes adicionales, que podrán ser completados por los Estados miembros con ayudas estatales mediante un procedimiento simplificado.

En definitiva, el nuevo FEMPA permitirá pescar mejor, no pescar más. No impedirá al sector invertir en la seguridad y el bienestar de los trabajadores y en motores y buques eficientes desde el punto de vista medioambiental, y permitirá la renovación generacional, al tiempo que proporcionará todas las salvaguardias necesarias para evitar el exceso de capacidad y la sobrepesca. Los Estados miembros ya tienen a su disposición un Fondo simplificado y pueden empezar a establecer prioridades y planificar la financiación. Pero, sobre todo, hemos logrado alcanzar un acuerdo que nos obliga a preservar y promover el frágil equilibrio alcanzado entre las consideraciones medioambientales, las sociales y las económicas.

Virginijus Sinkevičius, Member of the Commission. – Madam President, honourable Members, first of all, let me thank the two rapporteurs, Mr Mato and Mr Millán Mon, as well as, of course, all shadow rapporteurs and the entire Fisheries Committee (PECH) for their good cooperation. Although not present today, my thanks also goes to the former German Presidency, which was instrumental in securing the final agreement last December.

The negotiations on the European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, the so-called EMFAF, were long and intense. They involved three presidencies and they were not always easy. But in the end, the outcome was good and balanced, which reflected our joint determination to reach an agreement and avoid major delays. Of course, each of the institutions had to compromise. But as we know, compromise is the essence of democracy.

I have always been frank that the text is not perfect. The Commission would definitely have preferred a lower financial cap for fleet measures to secure more funding for core priorities such as sustainable fishing, fisheries control, collection of scientific data, innovation or local development. And as several of you said today, we had clearly hoped for a specific binding target or financial ring-fencing for climate objectives or for the protection of biodiversity. But overall, the result was a satisfactory one.

I want to explicitly underline the importance of this agreement. First, because in the next decade, with all the challenges it will bring, we will have a new fund to support our fisheries, aquaculture, coastal areas and the blue economy. The post-Brexit and COVID-19 context has put the resilience of our maritime sectors to the test, and the EMFAF will help in finding solutions. Second, because the EMFAF will deliver on the objectives of the European Green Deal as regards the protection of marine biodiversity, the full transition to sustainable and low impact fishing and aquaculture, and contribute to our decarbonisation goals.

In this context, as the Commission committed in the statement that accompanies the agreed text, let me be very clear: we will actively encourage Member States to reach the overall ambition in terms of annual spending under the multiannual framework to tackle biodiversity loss. And we will monitor this both during the programming process and during implementation. Where this monitoring shows insufficient progress, we will engage with Member States to adopt remedial measures, including programme amendments.

Last but not least, in the end, we have managed to avoid harmful fisheries subsidies. The EMFAF now only contains subsidies that contribute positively to the Common Fisheries Policy and to our Green Deal objectives. This was my commitment during my confirmation hearing before this House in 2019 and I am glad to see that together we managed to achieve this. Nothing in the EMFAF increases the overall fishing capacity of the fleet, contributes to overfishing or encourages illegal fishing. This would have been totally unacceptable for the Commission and for me personally.

I therefore welcome the balance we found between investing in the needs of the fleet and including the necessary safeguards to avoid overcapacity and overfishing.

I know that some question this interpretation, but I am truly convinced that the EU can negotiate on fisheries subsidies at the World Trade Organization with clean hands. The agreement you will endorse this week puts us in a very good position to eliminate harmful subsidies worldwide and ensure a global level playing field. This, above all, is in the interests of EU fisheries.

The new EMFAF will be geared towards the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources in line with our commitment under Sustainable Development Goal 14. It will help us make further progress towards sustainable fisheries. It will promote low impact and low carbon fishing techniques. It will support conservation, management and control measures, underpinned by scientific knowledge.

The new EMFAF will also contribute to the sector's economic and social sustainability. In this regard, the EMFAF will enable investments and innovation and support the development of the skills of our fishermen and women, as well as their safety, which are key enablers for profitability and resilience.

The COVID-19 crisis has indeed shown how important it is to increase the resilience of our fishing sector. The EMFAF will also support the digital transition of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors. IT and artificial intelligence are not only relevant for new emerging sectors but also traditional ones. The EMFAF precisely aims to unlock their potential and create new business opportunities in the long term. Digital tools will also contribute to modern, efficient and user-friendly fisheries control and traceability systems and are key for ensuring a level playing field for fishers across the EU.

I am also satisfied with the results we achieved on small-scale coastal fishing. Even if the initial Commission proposal of a dedicated action plan was not retained, the national programmes will have to address the specific needs of small-scale vessels and develop adequate actions. And I can only reassure you that the Commission will analyse these elements very carefully when assessing the programme prepared by Member States.

A key novelty in this EMFAF, compared with the previous fund, is the strategic approach for the outermost regions. The fund will continue to compensate the additional costs stemming from the specific situation of these regions and, in addition, will put in place the conditions for a profitable and sustainable blue economy. The EMFAF will not only contribute to sustainability in the EU, but dedicated funds will also be available to finance EU action on international ocean governance.

Last but not least, I want to highlight the significant simplification. Compared with the previous fund, the new framework will be much less prescriptive on eligibility rules and will focus on results. Member States will have more flexibility and with it more responsibility to develop the actions that best respond to their needs. Simplification and monitoring go hand-in-hand and, in this respect, I want to thank the European Parliament for having defended a robust monitoring and evaluation framework.

To conclude, the new EMFAF is a key financial tool to ensure that our fisheries and aquaculture sectors will manage the transition towards a green and digital future in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal. We will now monitor and accompany the implementation of the fund very closely to ensure that its objectives are achieved. And I look forward to its final adoption by the European Parliament. Thank you very much for your cooperation and for your attention.

Cláudia Monteiro de Aguiar, em nome do Grupo PPE. – Senhora Presidente, a aprovação do novo FEAMPA é de primordial importância para o setor das pescas e da aquacultura. Sobretudo num período de crise pandémica e económica em que os apoios são escassos. Não posso, no entanto, deixar de lamentar a insensibilidade e injustiça na posição quer do Conselho quer da Comissão quanto ao apoio à compra de embarcações novas para a frota pesqueira de pequena escala, apoios estes que foram reivindicados e aprovados por este parlamento.

Não se trata de pescar mais ou de aumentar a frota, trata-se de pescar melhor e de forma sustentável, com melhores condições, inclusivamente de trabalho. Só quem não conhece a frota europeia, o seu estado de envelhecimento, particularmente nas regiões ultraperiféricas, pode pensar que modernizar as embarcações existentes apenas e só resolve o problema. Não resolve. Se não houver apoio à compra, o abandono da atividade será uma consequência inevitável e dramática para algumas comunidades costeiras.

Em Portugal, podem em breve desaparecer as artes de pesca sustentáveis. Lamentamos que esta situação aconteça em regiões como a Madeira e os Açores, para quem a arte sustentável, a arte de pesca, é também uma forma de sustentabilidade e de economia.

Manuel Pizarro, em nome do Grupo S&D. – Senhora Presidente, Senhor Comissário, saúdo o empenho de todos nesta negociação longa e difícil, a qual conseguimos levar a bom porto. O setor das pescas, duramente atingido pelos efeitos da pandemia e do Brexit, precisa urgentemente do nosso apoio. Considero positivo o resultado obtido. Destaco o apoio financeiro para melhorar as condições de segurança, de trabalho e de alojamento a bordo das embarcações, assim como o apoio para os jovens pescadores poderem adquirir uma embarcação.

São medidas importantes para ajudar à renovação geracional tão necessária para o setor. O FEAMPA dará um contributo importante para a sustentabilidade ambiental, económica e social da economia azul e, em particular, das pescas e da aquicultura. Urge agora que os Estados-Membros estabeleçam os planos operacionais e que os fundos cheguem ao terreno. Trabalhámos para desburocratizar e simplificar o fundo.

A Comissão terá, agora, que caminhar no mesmo sentido e garantir que os Estados-Membros tornam isso uma realidade. É isto que as pescas europeias esperam.

Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, en nombre del Grupo Renew. – Señora presidenta, quiero celebrar este acuerdo interinstitucional porque mejora el Fondo que teníamos, lo convierte en una herramienta más flexible y sencilla e incorpora enseñanzas asociadas a la pandemia, los objetivos climáticos y los nuevos problemas, como los aparejados al Brexit.

Lamento el recorte del 5 %, pero espero que, incrementando la participación del sector, reconociendo su diversidad y acercándonos más a las necesidades, sin perder de vista los objetivos básicos de la PPC, acabemos con las rigideces y la complejidad que tanto han penalizado el acceso al Fondo que renovamos con este Reglamento. El objetivo es que con menos seamos capaces de hacer mucho más.

Este acuerdo tiene grandes logros. Compartimos los programas especiales para las zonas ultraperiféricas, a las que yo añadiría las insulares. Coincidimos en las medidas adoptadas para fomentar el relevo generacional. Aplaudimos que finalmente se haya apostado por la descarbonización de la flota, con más imaginación y apertura en la modernización de motores, y subrayamos el impulso que se ofrece a la mejora en las condiciones de vida y seguridad en los buques, que podría haberse completado con una fórmula menos cerrada sobre desguaces.

Nos gustan las mejoras en las medidas de apoyo a los ceses de actividad temporales o definitivos. Para completarlas, reivindicamos proximidad e imaginación para los programas de diversificación de la renta de las comunidades costeras en general, y en particular para las más afectadas por las nuevas restricciones, como las que se están imponiendo al arrastre.

Escuchar a estos profesionales, aprovechar el conocimiento que acumulan es incorporar activos a la cadena de valor del sector. Y este es el mensaje que les tiene que quedar a los Estados.

Francisco Guerreiro, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Madam President, we have been destroying the oceans for many decades, and with this European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, we believe we will continue to do so because, in a time of climate emergency, we should not be aiming for the lowest common denominator. On the contrary: the EU should be listening to science and ensuring real leadership in ocean governance. But this is not the case, and we will continue to destroy what keeps us alive, the oceans. How? By continuing to finance with public money a very profitable, large-scale fisheries sector. And we are obviously not talking about small-scale fisheries, but vessels that are above 24 metres and eligible for public support. On top of that, certain areas of support, like first acquisition, modernisation and replacement of engines, can also be considered as harmful subsidies and will lead, in our analysis, to more overfishing.

Yes, we recognise the efforts of the Commission throughout the negotiations, but unfortunately, once again, the Council and most political groups did everything they could to undermine this agreement. As usual, they continue to live in the past and we need policies that protect our future.

To conclude, the lack of ambition and concrete commitments concerning climate goals and biodiversity protection dictates that we, the Greens, cannot support this final agreement.

Rosanna Conte, a nome del gruppo ID. – Signora Presidente, signor Commissario, onorevoli colleghi, ce l'abbiamo fatta. Dopo anni di negoziati possiamo finalmente consegnare ai nostri pescatori e acquacoltori un nuovo Fondo europeo per gli affari marittimi, la pesca e l'acquacoltura.

La nuova programmazione 2021-2027 potrà contare su misure che vanno verso la sostenibilità in tutti i suoi tre pilastri. Non è stato facile, ma anche grazie all'azione costruttiva del mio gruppo, abbiamo raggiunto un certo equilibrio tra le istanze ambientali e quelle sociali ed economiche, soprattutto dei piccoli operatori e delle piccole e medie imprese.

Mi riferisco, ad esempio, al raddoppio del supporto all'arresto temporaneo fino a 12 mesi; ai sostegni per i giovani; al supporto mirato all'acquacoltura; all'accesso facilitato al credito e agli strumenti assicurativi in caso di eventi eccezionali che ahimè diventano invece sempre più frequenti.

Bene anche la possibilità di ammodernare i pescherecci e aumentare la stazza lorda per migliorare la sicurezza e le condizioni di vita a bordo e la possibilità di finanziare la costruzione di porti per agevolare la piccola pesca.

Purtroppo, il budget è stato ridotto, ma nel complesso questo nuovo FEAMPA rappresenta un primo passo verso un nuovo paradigma della politica europea per tutelare davvero la nostra pesca e la nostra acquacoltura, il tutto salvaguardando le nostre comunità costiere, la biodiversità marina e la sicurezza alimentare.

Quindi grazie al relatore Mato, al collega Millán Mon e a tutti i relatori ombra per il lavoro svolto insieme. Ora la palla passa agli Stati membri e alle regioni.

Ladislav Ilčić, u ime kluba ECR. – Poštovana predsjedavajuća, u priobalnim područjima ribarstvo nije samo jedna od glavnih gospodarskih grana već ribarstvo predstavlja očuvanje života ribara koji tim poslom hrane svoje obitelji i predstavlja očuvanje mediteranske kulture.

Zato je jako važno da nađemo dobar balans između očuvanja ribljeg fonda i interesa ribara. Da bismo u tome uspjeli, trebamo uzeti u obzir specifičnosti pojedinog akvatorija i pomorsku tradiciju svakog kraja.

Ovo izvješće to čini i zato zahvaljujem izvjestitelju. Komisija je predložila da se tijekom ovog šestogodišnjeg programskog razdoblja ribarima može isplatiti naknada za privremenu obustavu ribolova najviše šest mjeseci, a mi smo kroz ovo izvješće uspjeli izboriti dvostruko povećanje, dakle ukupno maksimalno 12 mjeseci, i to je velika pobjeda, jer toliko realno naši ribari i ne mogu loviti zbog različitih perioda mrijesta ribe koju love.

Chris MacManus, on behalf of the The Left Group. – Madam President, two weeks ago in our capital city, Dublin, a flotilla of fishing vessels sailed up the River Liffey to protest against the continuously bad deals they have received from the EU and successive Irish governments. The message was clear: the common fisheries policy (CFP) is destroying the Irish fishing industry. Brexit, quota cuts, prioritising money for bureaucracy and enforcement instead of our coastal and fishing communities are just a few examples of what is causing this hardship.

But there's an obvious solution: radical reform of the CFP. As an Irish Republican I firmly believe that the natural resources of Ireland belong to the people of Ireland, and I for one am tired of our fisheries being used as a bargaining chip.

Dino Giarrusso (NI). – Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, il Fondo europeo per la pesca deve andare agli operatori a cui era in origine indirizzato, se invece andiamo a concedere i fondi anche per imbarcazioni che arrivano a 24 metri, aiutiamo chi ne ha meno bisogno.

Le piccole marinerie proteggono il mare da secoli poiché ne vivono i ritmi naturali preservandone la vita. In aree dove la pesca sta scomparendo, perché si lascia accesso anche ai giovani che sono proprietari solo del 33 % dell'imbarcazione? Gli aiuti devono essere mirati invece proprio verso quelle aziende o marinerie che incentivano la partecipazione autentica ed un ricambio generazionale del 100 %.

Abbiamo sempre pensato che, proprio in quanto politica comune, quella della pesca debba essere molto attenta alle reali condizioni del settore per assicurare la conservazione della risorsa, l'aiuto ai piccoli e il ricambio generazionale, non quindi aiutare il dominio di grandi industrie che non hanno alcuna cura delle necessità fisiologiche di un ambiente molto sensibile come quello marino.

Non limitando i grandi sfruttatori si rischia di uccidere il mare e i marinai. L'Europa invece deve cambiare rotta senza indugi di sorta e sostenere le piccole marinerie evitando sussidi a chi nel mare vede soltanto un business, una miniera da sfruttare, spolpare fino all'esaurimento.

Francisco José Millán Mon (PPE). – Señora presidenta, el nuevo Fondo recoge muchas reivindicaciones de la cadena mar-industria en mi región —Galicia—, para pescar mejor y potenciar la acuicultura y la transformación. Debo dar la enhorabuena al ponente, Gabriel Mato, por este resultado tan satisfactorio, y dar también las gracias al comisario Sinkevičius.

Celebro especialmente que el nuevo FEMPA nazca con el fin de acabar con la burocracia, que tradicionalmente tanto ha lastrado su ejecución. A partir de ahora, todas las operaciones que no estén expresamente prohibidas estarán permitidas y podrán recibir fondos europeos.

El FEMPA contribuirá a mejorar las condiciones de vida y de trabajo a bordo, cuestión clave para garantizar el relevo generacional. Además, para aquellos buques de eslora inferior a los 24 metros —la mayoría en España y, desde luego, en Galicia—, el nuevo Fondo podrá financiar la adquisición de un buque por parte de pescadores jóvenes.

También es una grandísima noticia que, por vez primera, el marisqueo esté incluido en la definición de flota costera artesanal, a los efectos de contar con un trato privilegiado para acceder a la financiación europea.

Y, por último, celebro que las pequeñas y medianas empresas del sector de la acuicultura y de la transformación puedan recibir subvenciones directas.

Clara Aguilera (S&D). – Señora presidenta, señor comisario, quiero en primer lugar felicitar al equipo negociador, al ponente, el señor Mato, y muy especialmente, entre todos los ponentes alternativos, a Manuel Pizarro, nuestro ponente alternativo, que ha hecho un gran trabajo con todo el equipo negociador.

Por fin se somete a votación la aprobación de este Fondo, el más pequeño de los Fondos Estructurales y de Inversión Europeos, que esperemos que en este período sea, desde luego, más útil y atienda mejor las demandas del sector pesquero, del acuícola y de la economía azul.

Digo mejor porque el Fondo que acaba de concluir ha sido francamente nefasto. Y tengo que decirlo como lo siento, porque creo que tenía un exceso de burocratización que no ha ayudado en nada. La simplificación de este creo que va a ayudar.

Me alegro también de la compensación para las RUP, para Canarias, en mi país —en España—. Y entiendo que este nuevo FEMPA va a contribuir a mejorar las condiciones de trabajo y de vida de todos los pescadores. Y por eso —aunque solo sea por eso—, merece la pena.

Caroline Roose (Verts/ALE). – Madame la Présidente, chers collègues, j'ai un sentiment de gâchis face à ce nouveau Fonds pour les affaires maritimes, la pêche et l'aquaculture. Nous faisons face à un effondrement de la biodiversité marine. Les petits pêcheurs font face à la concurrence d'une pêche industrielle toujours plus agressive. Nous aurions pu tenter d'être à la hauteur. Au lieu de cela, vous abdiquez. Vous réintroduisez des subventions néfastes. Par exemple, des subventions qui étaient limitées aux seuls navires de moins de 12 mètres seront accessibles jusqu'aux navires de 24 mètres. C'est moins d'argent pour la petite pêche côtière, mais aussi un risque accru de surpêche, notamment en Méditerranée.

Les subventions néfastes sont contraires aux objectifs de développement durable de l'ONU. Nos prédécesseurs les avaient supprimées il y a plusieurs années. Les réintroduire va à contre-courant des négociations en cours à l'OMC qui visent à les interdire à l'échelle mondiale.

Enfin, aucun budget n'a été spécifiquement alloué à la protection de la biodiversité et des écosystèmes marins. Je ne peux pas cautionner cela. C'est pour cela que notre groupe a déposé une demande de rejet de cet accord et que je voterai pour cette demande de rejet contre ce nouveau FEAMP.

Rosa D'Amato (Verts/ALE). – Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, i finanziamenti per i piccoli pescherecci di lunghezza fino a 12 metri, la stesura di un piano per lo sviluppo della piccola pesca costiera e il 25 % dei fondi per la tutela della biodiversità: queste erano alcune delle principali richieste che il Parlamento aveva approvato con l'obiettivo di utilizzare i fondi pubblici europei per aiutare chi ne ha veramente bisogno – il segmento della piccola pesca costiera – e quindi promuovere la protezione e la ricostituzione della biodiversità nei mari europei.

Purtroppo, ci troviamo di fronte ad un testo, ancora una volta, annacquato dal Consiglio che, come al solito in maniera non trasparente, fa gli interessi della grande flotta ai danni dei piccoli pescatori e della biodiversità marina.

I soldi pubblici non possono essere utilizzati per sostenere imprese redditizie che rischiano di contribuire ulteriormente allo svuotamento dei nostri mari e devono essere invece essere messi a disposizione dei piccoli pescatori, volano della gestione sostenibile delle risorse marine.

Mi appello quindi ai colleghi perché votino contro questo testo: il Parlamento deve mandare un chiaro segnale d'impegno per la difesa della piccola pesca costiera e la tutela della biodiversità.

Virginijus Sinkevičius, Member of the Commission. – Madam President, honourable Members, thank you very much for this rich debate, which has shown support for our new fund. To conclude, let me underline the following two key principles.

First, in the same way as all the other sectoral funds under the multiannual framework for 2021-2027, the EMFAF will contribute to the European Green Deal. It will support the protection of biodiversity and the full transition to low-impact and sustainable fishing and aquaculture in line with our biodiversity strategy and the common fisheries policy.

And second, public support through the EMFAF should deliver maximum collective added value. It should support market failures and suboptimal investment situations, but not duplicate or replace private financing. Instead, EMFAF should facilitate and complement private investment, especially where the private sector is profitable, like the maritime economy in general is.

In this context, I see a clear need to use financial instruments in addition to traditional direct grants. Indeed, loans and guarantees can maximise private investments with minimum public support, in particular for energy-efficiency technologies, selective fishing gear and production facilities in the aquaculture and processing sectors.

I am looking forward to the final and formal adoption of our fund by the co-legislators. Our attention will then shift to the timely adoption of the national programmes which Member States are currently preparing. As I said before, it is of the utmost importance that these national programmes deliver maximum added value, in particular as regards their contribution to the green and digital transitions and to stronger resilience of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors.

The action supported in this respect must address strategic needs and deliver clear results. With a fund as small as the EMFAF, it is particularly important that every euro invested generates much more in terms of collective benefits and common good. Let's make the best use of it to address our key challenges and make it a success.

Przewodnicząca. – Zamykam debatę.

Głosowanie odbędzie się we wtorek 6 lipca 2021 r.

Oświadczenia pisemne (art. 171)

Carmen Avram (S&D), in writing. – I welcome the outcome of the negotiations on the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, and that we will be able to support the renewal of generations of fishermen from the Black Sea, and create the premises for a sustainable development of the fisheries and aquaculture sector in Europe, and implicitly in Romania. The regulation I voted today will help the fisheries sector to adapt their businesses to face the challenges of the European Green Deal. This vote recognises the importance of the fisheries and aquaculture sector in ensuring food security for Europeans.

19.   Old continent growing older – possibilities and challenges related to the ageing policy post 2020 (debate)

Przewodnicząca. – Kolejnym punktem porządku dziennego jest sprawozdanie sporządzone przez Beatę Szydło w imieniu Komisji Zatrudnienia i Spraw Socjalnych w sprawie starzenia się Starego Kontynentu – możliwości i wyzwania po roku 2020 związane z polityką dotyczącą starzenia się społeczeństwa (2020/2008(INI)) (A9-0194/2021).

Beata Szydło, sprawozdawczyni. – Szanowna Pani Przewodnicząca! Szanowna Pani Komisarz! Szanowni Państwo! Na wstępie chciałabym bardzo serdecznie podziękować wszystkim sprawozdawcom cieniom za państwa pracę, uwagi, sugestie, za złożone poprawki do raportu, a było ich niemało, bo prawie 600, co potwierdza, że temat starzenia się Starego Kontynentu i kwestie demograficzne leżą nam wszystkim na sercu i że zdajemy sobie sprawę z wagi tych wyzwań. Ale jednocześnie nasuwa się taka refleksja: czy po 600 poprawkach, które zmieniają w znaczącym stopniu treść raportu, ten raport jest jeszcze taki, jaki miał być w zamyśle autorów? Czy też jest to już zupełnie inny tekst? Niemniej jednak wydaje się, że temat jest tak ważki, że warto nad tym cały czas się pochylać. Chcę podziękować również bardzo serdecznie Sekretariatowi Komisji Zatrudnienia i Spraw Socjalnych, wszystkim pracownikom, którzy nas wspierali. Dziękuję za profesjonalizm, za pomoc. Dziękuję za Państwa zaangażowanie. Ale przede wszystkim bardzo, bardzo gorąco i serdecznie chcę podziękować mojemu zespołowi, asystentom, ekspertom, doradcom. To jest Wasza ciężka praca. To jest bardzo dobry raport, który przygotowaliście w przekonaniu, że robicie rzecz bardzo ważną dla wszystkich mieszkańców naszego kontynentu. Bardzo serdecznie Wam za to dziękuję.

Europa, Stary Kontynent, starzeje się. I to dzisiaj jedno z najważniejszych wyzwań, przed jakimi stoimy. Wydłużenie przeciętnej długości życia, niższa dzietność to są problemy, wyzwania, przed jakimi stoimy dzisiaj. Możemy powiedzieć, że te zmiany demograficzne powodują również pogłębianie się różnic między poszczególnymi regionami i w konsekwencji wyludnianie obszarów w Unii Europejskiej, zwłaszcza obszarów wiejskich.

Sprawozdanie jest bardzo obszerne i porusza wiele istotnych kwestii w życiu osób starszych, bo to właśnie osoby starsze są bohaterami tego raportu. To dla nich jest ten raport i wierzę w to głęboko, Szanowni Państwo, że wspólnie uda nam się wprowadzić takie rozwiązania, które będą wspierać osoby starsze.

Pandemia koronawirusa dodatkowo uwidoczniła problemy, które wymagają naszej szczególnej uwagi, i podkreśliła konieczność uwzględnienia w unijnych działaniach specjalnej strategii na rzecz osób starszych. Chodzi o zaznaczenie roli osób starszych w społeczeństwach Unii Europejskiej i otoczenie ich odpowiednią opieką, przeciwdziałanie samotności osób starszych i korzystanie z ich ogromnej wiedzy i doświadczenia. Dlatego w niniejszym sprawozdaniu podkreśla się, jak istotne dla społeczeństwa jest zachowanie więzi międzypokoleniowych, między innymi poprzez promowanie mentoringu i wolontariatu, oraz jak kluczowe jest zapewnienie osobom starszym odpowiedniej długoterminowej opieki zdrowotnej i wspieranie inicjatyw opartych na srebrnej gospodarce, mentoringu i sposobach aktywizacji seniorów. To senior powinien mieć prawo decydować o tym, czy chce pracować dłużej, czy może poświęcić się innym rolom społecznym, jak chociażby opieka nad wnukami czy działalność społeczna.

Apelujemy również o działania na rzecz poprawy jakości życia naszych seniorów dostosowanej do potrzeb tych osób w przestrzeni publicznej, w mieszkaniach, transporcie. Dlatego w raporcie postulujemy, aby Unia Europejska zachęcała państwa członkowskie do większego wykorzystywania środków unijnych z funduszy, takich jak chociażby Europejski Fundusz Społeczny Plus czy Europejski Fundusz Rozwoju Regionalnego, do dostosowywania infrastruktury dla seniorów. To jest zarówno bezpieczna i dostępna komunikacja miejska, jak również budynki publiczne czy mieszkania, które są dostosowane do potrzeb osób starszych.

Bardzo się cieszę, że w raporcie mówimy o działaniach na rzecz podtrzymywania tradycyjnego rzemiosła, bo nie można zapominać o jego nieocenionym wkładzie w dorobek kultury materialnej. To właśnie seniorzy są obecnie depozytariuszami wiedzy o tradycyjnych zawodach, które stanowią unikalny element europejskiego dziedzictwa.

Bardzo ważne jest także wspieranie budowy ośrodków opieki dziennej blisko szkół i przedszkoli, co będzie sprzyjać rozwijaniu więzi międzypokoleniowej i przeciwdziałaniu samotności osób starszych, bo przecież solidarność międzypokoleniowa to jedna z fundamentalnych wartości Unii Europejskiej. I nie wyobrażam sobie prosperującej Europy bez szacunku wobec osób starszych.

Postulujemy również ustanowienie Roku Solidarności Międzypokoleniowej i Aktywności Osób Starszych. To jest nawiązanie do inicjatywy z 2012 roku, kiedy to po raz pierwszy Unia Europejska próbowała podjąć problem starzenia się społeczeństw. Wiele ze sformułowanych wówczas zadań wciąż pozostaje aktualnych, a pandemia koronawirusa postawiła przed Unią Europejską dodatkowo nowe wyzwania w tej dziedzinie. I stąd apel o powrót do tej inicjatywy.

Należy także zdecydowanie przeciwstawiać się wszelkim formom dyskryminacji, przestępczości, wykluczenia i przemocy wobec osób starszych. To są problemy, o których musimy również mówić i przed którymi musimy osoby starsze chronić. Pandemia koronawirusa pokazała również, jak ważne jest to, żeby osoby starsze nie były wykluczone cyfrowo.

Szanowni Państwo! Wielu mówi, że ten raport jest zbyt mało postępowy czy zachowawczy. Pojawiały się różne głosy. Poświęciliśmy temu raportowi dużo czasu. Tak jak powiedziałem, wpłynęło ponad 600 poprawek, za które serdecznie dziękuję. Ja uważam, że ten raport wart jest tego, abyśmy ponad podziałami politycznymi pochylili się nad losem i sytuacją osób starszych.

Dubravka Šuica, Vice-President of the Commission. – Madam President, thank you for today's opportunity to address a key demographic trend that is impacting our entire continent, namely ageing, a trend that will significantly impact the European Union in the coming years and decades. It is vital that we prepare ourselves now. Many thanks to the rapporteur Beata Szydło for the comprehensive report. The issues you address all echo the work of the European Commission, including health and long-term care, measures to encourage active and healthy ageing and social inclusion.

Many of the competences linked to ageing are in the hands of the Member States. Nevertheless, the Commission has an important role in supporting the relevant measures at national, regional and local levels. The von der Leyen Commission is the first one to dedicate one portfolio to demography. Our work is based on the report on the impact of demographic change of June 2020. It is a valuable tool to help us to understand demographic change. We see how life expectancy at birth has increased by about 10 years for both men and women.

One of the most prominent features of ageing is that the sheer number of older people will increase. Today, 20% of the population is over 65. By 2070 it will be 30%. Meanwhile, the share of people above 80 is expected to more than double, reaching 13% in the same period.

The demography report lays the ground for the Green Paper on ageing. I want to emphasise the important message that ageing brings both challenges and opportunities. Ageing is not just a matter for older people. Everyone is impacted directly by the prospect of living a longer life, including the young. We must balance our policymaking for everyone across the entire life cycle, making sure we leave no one behind.

Adopted in January, the Green Paper was launched in the European Union-wide discussion on ageing. It takes a life-cycle approach and reflects the universal impact that ageing has on all generations and stages in life. It highlights the importance of striking the right balance between sustainable solutions for our welfare systems and strengthening solidarity between the generations. In fact, the full title of the paper is ‘Green paper on ageing: fostering solidarity and responsibility between generations’. This highlights the importance we attach to inter-generational fairness.

The paper's public consultation closed in April. We gathered a total of 473 replies from 26 Member States, as well as some from non-European countries. We are now analysing the input and considering possible policy responses. In this context the Commission has recently published three reports related to ageing, namely the 2021 Pension Adequacy Report, the 2021 Long-Term Care Report, and the 2021 Ageing Report. The reports address some of the main challenges of a continent growing older and identify areas that are key to ensuring intergenerational responsibility and solidarity. I look forward to hearing your views today as we strengthen efforts to address the challenges of ageing and grasp its opportunities.

Christine Anderson, rapporteur for the opinion of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality. – Madam President, this Parliament is the epicentre of good intentions. But as they say, well meant is usually the exact opposite of well done. This Parliament claims concern for our low demography, yet it just voted to accelerate this process by declaring abortion a human right. It claims commitment to reversing the demographic change, but all it can think of is the marginalisation of next-generation Europeans by subjecting them to the negative impact of mass immigration.

It claims to support women in their choices, but all it does is look down on women who choose to prioritise family life over career. It claims to stand for people's rights, but in truth, above all else, the EU seeks to meet the demands of the labour market. And this, ladies and gentlemen, is what we are really talking about – the demands of the labour market and nothing else. Shame on you, EU.

Romana Tomc, v imenu skupine PPE. – Spoštovana predsedujoča, lepo pozdravljena gospa komisarka, Dubravka Šuica, zelo pozdravljam današnjo razpravo v Evropskem parlamentu.

Končno je na agendo prišlo tudi področje demografije. Evropa se res stara, in če ne bomo posledic tega staranja predvideli danes, bomo jutri res lahko v veliki zagati.

Nujno opozarjam na porast tako rekoč epidemije nevrodegenerativnih bolezni, kot je Alzheimerjeva bolezen. Potrebujemo seveda dodatna sredstva za raziskave, predvsem pa za vlaganja v človeške vire, ki bodo v prihodnosti skrbeli za obolele in ostarele osebe. Teh namreč danes vse bolj primanjkuje.

Demografski izzivi ne prizadenejo vseh držav na enak način, vendar je trend povsod zaskrbljujoč. V zadnjih letih beležimo tudi porast sovražnega obnašanja do starejših oseb in med pandemijo je ta situacija postala še slabša.

Od Komisije tako pričakujem tudi usmeritve in politike, s katerimi bomo spodbujali medgeneracijsko sodelovanje. Starejše osebe so naša modrost, ki jo lahko z drznimi idejami mlajših oplemenitimo v skupen uspeh.

Milan Brglez, v imenu skupine S&D. – Gospa predsedujoča, komisarka, kolegice, kolegi. Maske so končno padle. EKR je po devetih mesecih pretvarjanja, da gre za demokratični proces, pokazal, da gre za zlorabo demografije, za spodkopavanje evropskih vrednot – enakosti spolov, pravice žensk, prepovedi diskriminacij.

Poročilo odbora je sicer manj ambiciozno in napredno, kot so dokumenti tako Komisije kot Sveta. Vendar je s pogajanji, tako tehničnimi kot s poročevalci v senci, smo uspeli to besedilo popravljati. Pozitiven odnos do starejših vnesti v njega, demografske spremembe vezati z upoštevanjem celotnega življenjskega cikla in človekovih pravic.

Za S&D so pomembne povezave med načelom enakosti spolov in demografskimi spremembami, potrebno je polno spoštovanje pravic žensk, vključno s spolnim in reproduktivnim zdravjem ter pravicami. Vse to EKR vsekakor ni bilo po godu, zato se danes norčuje iz Evropskega parlamenta z vlaganjem alternativne resolucije, ki izbriše enakost spolov, ženske, manjšine, celo mlade.

Zanika tako več kot polovico Evrope. Gre za strašljivo vizijo prihodnosti Evrope, ki jo ima radikalna populistična desnica na Poljskem, pa tudi posnemovalci drugje po Evropi, vključno s Slovenijo. Dejstvo je, da želi zvesti ženske zgolj na rojstvo otrok in skrb za družino. Pomiluje starejše in invalide ter krepi njihovo odvisnost, o podeželju pa govori zgolj kot o muzeju običajev.

Vsemu temu je danes jasno in glasno potrebno reči ne. Evropa ne gre nazaj v srednji vek. Evropski parlament je dom evropskih vrednot.

Атидже Алиева-Вели, от името на групата Renew. – Г-жо Председател, статистиката сочи, че населението на Съюза живее по-дълго и в по-добро здраве. Това е страхотно постижение.

Тревожно е обаче, че естественият прираст на населението е негативен през последните 10 години, което води до застаряване на населението и бързо обезлюдяване на отделни региони – тенденция, която за съжаление е силно застъпена и в моята страна – България.

Не можем да си позволим да отлагаме повече. Трябва да се изготви дългосрочна стратегия и план за преодоляване на негативните последици, до които тази тенденция може да доведе, като обезлюдяване на цели райони, сериозен натиск върху пенсионните и здравните системи на държавите, понижаване на конкурентоспособността на Съюза и недостиг на работна ръка. Преди всичко трябва да се отговори на нуждите на гражданите и социалните и здравните системи следва да бъдат подготвени за това. Основополагащо е да се изкорени всякаква форма на дискриминация, базирана на възраст, която за съжаление все още съществува, например при наемане на работа.

Следва да се създадат и благоприятни условия за активно остаряване в добро здраве и да се насърчи по-успешното социално включване на гражданите. Съюзът и държавите трябва да водят последователна и целенасочена политика и да разработват инструменти, които създават повече възможности за реализация на млади хора, да се осигури достъп до качествени услуги за всички граждани включително тези, които живеят в селските райони.

В този доклад ние предлагаме конкретни политики и мерки, които да бъдат разработени и приложени с участието на гражданското общество и местните власти. В този процес следва да се използват и възможностите, предлагани от дигитализацията, за предоставяне на услуги и създаване на възможности за заетост в редица сектори.

Stefania Zambelli, a nome del gruppo ID. – Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, l'invecchiamento della società è una delle sfide più difficili che l'Europa dovrà affrontare nel prossimo futuro. La popolazione europea sta pian piano diminuendo e si stima che nel 2070 conterà solo il 4 % di tutta la popolazione mondiale.

I cambiamenti demografici in atto e il minor numero di nascite stanno portando allo spopolamento di intere aree, specialmente quelle rurali e quelle montane. Da un lato, è obbligatorio dare sostegno e creare una strategia per i nostri anziani che in questo momento stanno soffrendo a causa della pandemia; è però necessario sostenere la natalità perché si possano mitigare gli effetti dell'invecchiamento della popolazione, dando incentivi alle giovani coppie, sostegni familiari e politiche per migliorare l'occupazione.

Sono strumenti che dobbiamo mettere in atto il prima possibile per non rassegnarci a questo continuo calo demografico.

Elżbieta Rafalska, w imieniu grupy ECR. – Pani Przewodnicząca! Sprawozdanie podejmuje bardzo ważny problem społeczny. Kto wie, czy problem starzejącego się społeczeństwa, wyzwań, wobec jakich stajemy, sytuacji demograficznej, nie jest największym wyzwaniem społecznym. Dlatego gratuluję sprawozdawczyni, która podjęła się tego tematu z inicjatywy własnej EKR, solidnie go przez wiele miesięcy prowadziła i doprowadziła to sprawozdanie do pewnego punktu. Za tym sprawozdaniem kryły się miesiące trudnych kompetentnych prac.

Bardzo żałuję, że te wysiłki w jakimś stopniu zostały zniszczone przez, powiedzmy sobie otwarcie, rozgrywki ideologiczne, bo dzisiaj okazuje się, że europejską lewicę bardziej obchodzą te rozgrywki ideologiczne niż sytuacja osób starszych, ponieważ odrzucają mądre wyważone propozycje, które były złożone na początku. Stąd przygotowaliśmy i złożyliśmy poprawkę – rezolucję alternatywną, która wraca do tekstu wyjściowego, jest spójna, kompleksowa i bardzo dobra, i proszę o poparcie tej poprawki.

Marc Botenga, au nom du groupe The Left. – Madame la Présidente, cela fait des années que l'Europe pousse les gens à travailler plus longtemps – 60, 65, 67 ans – et plus on recule l'âge de la pension, plus il y a de malades de longue durée. En gros, vos politiques rendent les gens malades.

Vous imaginez ma révolte quand j'ai lu dans votre nouvelle analyse, votre livre vert, qu'idéalement, l'âge de la pension devrait passer à 70 ans en Europe, voire 72 au Luxembourg et en Lituanie. Mais vous vous imaginez? En Lituanie, l'espérance de vie moyenne pour les hommes n'est même pas de 72 ans. Vous voulez vraiment que les gens crèvent au boulot? C'est quand même incroyable que vous osiez dire ça. Alors moi, je suis assez d'accord avec ce que m'a dit Joëlle. Joëlle est aide ménagère et m'a dit: ‘Je voudrais que les politiciens travaillent une semaine ou quelques jours comme nous. Ils se rendraient compte que travailler jusqu'à 67 ans, c'est pénible. On n'en peut plus.’

Garantissons le droit au repos! La pension – une pension digne et décente – est un droit humain. Et si la Commission européenne n'est pas d'accord, alors qu'elle bosse une semaine comme aide ménagère! On va envoyer tous ces commissaires faire cet effort, à bosser un peu durement comme aide ménagère ou comme travailleur… Et ils comprendront pourquoi nous disons que travailler plus longtemps n'est pas faisable.

Ádám Kósa (NI). – Elnök Asszony! Az idősek a társadalom értékes tagjai. Fontos, hogy életüket méltósággal és független módon élhessék. Segítenünk kell idősödő családtagjainkat, hogy az új technológiákkal élhessenek, otthonaikat szükségeiknek megfelelően átalakíthassák, és megtanulják kezelni az e-szolgáltatásokat is. Ugyanúgy, az idősek segíthetik felnőtt gyermekeiket az újabb generációk érkezésekor. Hazámban, Magyarországon a még dolgozó nagyszülők minden unoka születése után öt nap extra szabadságot kaphatnak, illetve arra is van lehetőség, hogy a nagyszülők otthon maradhassanak a kisbabával, hiszen az unoka kétéves koráig gyermekgondozási díjat is kaphatnak. Bátorítom önöket, hogy ezeket a jó példákat vegyék át Magyarországtól.

Jarosław Duda (PPE). – Pani Przewodnicząca! Pani Komisarz! Szanowni Państwo! Z satysfakcją przyjmujemy przygotowane przez Parlament Europejski sprawozdanie, zwłaszcza wobec zainteresowania Komisji i Rady problematyką starzenia się. Zmiany demograficzne mają rozległe konsekwencje i tylko strategiczne podejście pozwoli na wykorzystanie szans, jakie niesie wydłużenie życia Europejczyków oraz sprostanie wyzwaniu. Starzenie się powinno być traktowane na równi z taką samą uwagą jak transformacja zielona i cyfrowa.

Walorem sprawozdania jest podejście oparte na prawach obywateli i niedyskryminacji. Podkreśla ono wkład osób starszych w życie społeczne i gospodarcze. Dotyka bardzo bolesnych kwestii, w tym ageizmu, przemocy, nadużyć i oszustw wobec osób starszych, ubóstwa, sytuacji kobiet, przepaści cyfrowej. Uważam, że zabrakło w nim podejścia uwzględniającego potrzeby i trudności wszystkich pokoleń. Jestem też zaskoczony, że ECR złożył poprawkę w formie okrojonego alternatywnego tekstu, który pomija wiele kwestii, co do których jednak osiągnęliśmy porozumienie w komisji EMPL.

Leszek Miller (S&D). – Pani Przewodnicząca! Zajmujemy się sprawozdaniem, które, jak trafnie powiedziała pani Szydło, porusza fundamentalny problem, jakim jest starzejące się społeczeństwo Europy. W sprawozdaniu przyjętym przez Komisję Zatrudnienia i Spraw Socjalnych trafnie zidentyfikowano problemy i wskazano, że kluczem do ich rozwiązania jest zapewnienie sprawiedliwych systemów zabezpieczenia społecznego, umożliwienie kobietom i mężczyznom godzenia życia zawodowego z rodzinnym, skuteczna opieka zdrowotna i niedyskryminacja. W kontekście zwiększenia dzietności słusznie wskazuje istotną rolę wspierania praw kobiet, odpowiedniej edukacji oraz dostępu do usług i towarów w zakresie zdrowia seksualnego i reprodukcyjnego.

Mimo tych zalet sprawozdawczyni komisji pani poseł Szydło kwestionuje treści sprawozdania, zgłaszając alternatywny projekt rezolucji. Projekt, w którym pomija się tak istotne sprawy jak zwalczanie dyskryminacji, nierówności w zatrudnianiu i wynagradzaniu albo wsparcie kobiet żyjących na obszarach wiejskich. Takie postępowanie jest niezrozumiałe. Mam nadzieję, że Parlament opowie się za przyjęciem sprawozdania komisji wraz z poprawkami proponowanymi przez naszą grupę.

Dragoș Pîslaru (Renew). – Doamnă președintă, doamnă comisar Dalli, în ciuda provocărilor actuale, avem o șansă unică să schimbăm perspectiva asupra fenomenului de îmbătrânire, așa cum alături de Renew Europe am susținut în acest raport.

Măsurile pentru îmbătrânirea activă trebuie să permită activități cu impact în comunitate, un cadru de muncă flexibil pentru angajații vârstnici, schimburi intergeneraționale și acțiuni pentru menținerea stării de sănătate. Toate acestea potențează economia argintie, care va crea o piață uriașă la intersecția dintre cererea cauzată de schimbările demografice și oferta bazată pe revoluția tehnologică.

Există un potențial enorm pentru susținerea industriei de îngrijire, adică a serviciilor medicale și de terapie pentru afecțiuni cronice oferite îndeosebi populației vulnerabile îmbătrânite. Pentru România vorbim de un potențial economic enorm ce ar putea să plaseze țara ca unul din liderii acestui domeniu.

Susțin crearea unei rețele naționale la standarde europene pentru asistență medicală geriatrică, cercetarea și gerontologia socială, îngrijirea geriatrică și paliativă și cuplarea cu turismul de sănătate și balneoclimateric. Contribuția profesioniștilor români din medicină și asistență medicală este deja un fundament recunoscut la nivel european pe care putem clădi temeinic.

Guido Reil (ID). – Frau Präsidentin, liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen! ‘Unsere Oma fährt im Hühnerstall Motorrad. Unsere Oma ist 'ne alte Umweltsau.’ Das sang der WDR-Kinderchor vor zwei Jahren zur Weihnachtszeit. Die Intendanten des öffentlich-rechtlichen Senders fanden es offensichtlich lustig. Und warum die Oma eine Umweltsau ist, wurde in einer Strophe auch deutlich: weil unsere Oma Billigfleisch beim Discounter kauft.

Also das war genau der Grund, warum meine Mutter in die AfD eingetreten ist. Denn meine Mutter ist eine von 17 Millionen deutschen Rentnern, die weniger bekommen als 1 000 Euro. Und die kaufen nicht beim Discounter, weil sie es gerne wollen, sondern weil sie es müssen, weil sie arm sind.

Und wie sieht das deutsche Rentensystem im europäischen Vergleich aus? Unsere Nachbarn, die Österreicher, bekommen im Schnitt ganze 800 Euro mehr als die Deutschen – 800 Euro! Die Italiener arbeiten durchschnittlich 32 Jahre und bekommen 91,8 % ihres Gehalts als Rente, die Franzosen 35,4 Jahre, und sie bekommen 73,6 % ihres Gehalts, die Spanier 35,3 Arbeitsjahre und 83,4 % des Gehalts. Und wie sieht es im reichen Deutschland aus? Im reichen Deutschland? Wir arbeiten am längsten: 39 Jahre, und wir kriegen am wenigsten: 51,9 %.

Was stimmt da nicht? Da stimmt vieles nicht. Es stimmt nicht, dass hier Politiker am Werk sind, die die Nöte der Bevölkerung überhaupt nicht mehr verstehen, weil sie sich selbst überhaupt keine Sorgen machen müssen – die sind prima versorgt. Aber die Realität bei den Menschen, die nehmen die überhaupt nicht mehr wahr. Wir brauchen eine alternative Politik. Wir brauchen die Alternative für Deutschland.

Beata Szydło (ECR). – Pani Przewodnicząca! Pani Komisarz! Szanowni Państwo! Alternatywna rezolucja została przez nas przygotowana dlatego, że uważamy, iż jest to niezwykle ważny problem: starzejące się Europa i godna starość. Natomiast nie możemy się zgodzić, nie mogę się zgodzić na to, ażeby sprawozdanie o osobach starszych, o seniorach podlegał jakimś ideologicznym rozgrywkom, tak jak próbuje to zrobić jedna z grup politycznych. Nie mogę się zgodzić na to, żeby radykalna lewica w każdym dokumencie bez względu na to, czy tego temat dotyczy, czy nie, postulowała, żeby były wprowadzone tematy dotyczące np. praw reprodukcyjnych. I żadna ideologiczna rozgrywka i próba presji wywierania na mnie czy na moich kolegów nie zmusi nas do tego, byśmy zrezygnowali z naszych wartości, zasad, które wyznajemy i które uważamy, że jesteśmy winni naszym wyborcom, obywatelom Europy, którzy powierzyli nam te mandaty, nam wszystkim, żebyśmy zajmowali się ich sprawami, a nie właśnie ideologicznymi rozgrywkami.

Eugenia Rodríguez Palop (The Left). – Señora presidenta, para afrontar el envejecimiento en Europa necesitamos un pacto por los cuidados y una fuerte inversión pública en servicios sociales, sin perder de vista la perspectiva de género.

Pensar en las mujeres, pero no para socavar su autonomía reproductiva y convertirlas en máquinas paridoras al servicio de la patria, sino para darles una vejez mejor de la que tienen. Porque nuestras abuelas, las grandes cuidadoras, viven peor que sus homónimos varones. Sufren la precariedad, el paro y la brecha salarial cuando son jóvenes y la de pensiones cuando son mayores. Muchas viven solas y tienen más dificultad para acceder a servicios sanitarios, cuidados de larga duración o a una vivienda digna.

Cuando analizamos el envejecimiento de la población, tenemos que pensar en la desigual distribución de las tareas de cuidados y en la penalización laboral de la maternidad, más que en la prohibición del derecho al aborto o en esas políticas familistas que usan el cuerpo de las mujeres en edad reproductiva para abandonarlas después a su suerte.

La clave está en cuidar de ellas, de quienes nos cuidan, pero en todos los momentos de su vida.

Antonius Manders (PPE). – Voorzitter, mevrouw de commissaris, het is goed dat we deze resolutie hebben opgesteld om de commissaris alvast wat handvatten te geven voor de tenuitvoerlegging van het actief ouder worden.

Ik ben met name gekozen door ouderen op de lijst van een ouderenpartij en vind het dan ook bijzonder dat dit Parlement over ouderen spreekt. Ik ben blij dat mijn amendement is aangenomen, omdat het ervoor zal zorgen dat we ook met ouderen gaan praten. De bevolking van de Europese Unie bestaat uit jong en oud. We praten vaak over mensen, maar ik ben van mening dat we juist met mensen moeten praten. Ik ben wellicht een van de weinige opa's in het Parlement en weet daarom hoe belangrijk het is om die levenservaring te kunnen inzetten.

Ik ben blij dat de commissaris reeds in een eerder stadium heeft aangegeven voorstander te zijn van de parallelle opzet van een ouderenparlement naast het jongerenparlement om de ervaring van ouderen te gebruiken voor de vormgeving van beleid en niet ter bepaling van de pensioenleeftijd of ter invulling van het pensioenbeleid. Deze zaken vallen namelijk onder het nationaal beleid.

We moeten slimme systemen bedenken om de pensioenen betaalbaar te maken.

Agnes Jongerius (S&D). – Voorzitter, mevrouw de commissaris, vergrijzing in Europa kán problemen met zich meebrengen. Voorzieningen moeten worden aangepast, en in hoeverre dat moet gebeuren verschilt per regio. Maar we hebben dus creatieve oplossingen nodig.

Maar laat één ding duidelijk zijn: vrouwen zijn geen instrument van bevolkingspolitiek, dat kun je op je buik schrijven. En dat de PiS-partij hierop aanstuurt, is werkelijk van de zotte. Niet de kerk, niet de staat, maar vrouwen zelf gaan over de vraag of zij wel of niet kinderen willen. En vrouwen in Europa moeten ervan uit kunnen gaan dat seksuele en reproductieve gezondheid goed geregeld is in Europa. Ze moeten kunnen uitgaan van een goede balans tussen werk en privé waarbij zij niet voorbestemd zijn voor het aanrecht.

Vrouwenrechten – ik wou het hier maar duidelijk zeggen –, ik laat ze niet door dit rapport deleten.

Miriam Lexmann (PPE). – Vážená pani predsedajúca, európska spoločnosť starne. Tomuto vývoju predchádzali komplexné príčiny, ktoré vyústili do nižšej pôrodnosti, ale aj odlivu mladých ľudí z niektorých oblastí. Žiaľ, nezareagovali sme včas s podpornými politikami. Dnes vidíme narastajúci efekt takzvaných sendvičových rodičov, ktorí popri deťoch len ťažko zvládajú starostlivosť o svojich rodičov preto, lebo nemáme potrebnú infraštruktúru. Bije hodina dvanásta. Na to, aby sme prijali účinné politiky dôstojného starnutia, seniori potrebujú prístup k zdravotnej starostlivosti či opatrovateľským službám, ale aj k celoživotnému vzdelávaniu. Samozrejme, dobre nastavená rodinná politika a spravodlivé ohodnotenie starostlivosti o deti v dôchodkovom systéme sú absolútne kľúčové. Treba tiež vyzdvihnúť veľký potenciál nových digitálnych asistenčných technológií, ktoré môžu seniorom významne pomôcť k samostatnému životu.

Dôstojnosť života našich rodičov a starých rodičov je totižto naším zrkadlom.

Robert Biedroń (S&D). – Pani Przewodnicząca! Powiedzmy sobie szczerze, jesteśmy w bardzo kuriozalnej sytuacji, w której autorka swojego własnego sprawozdania je kontestuje, kontestuje tylko dlatego, że próbowała tylnymi drzwiami wprowadzić sprawozdanie pisane pod dyktando Watykanu. Sprawozdanie, w którym kobieta sprowadzona jest do roli przedmiotu, do inkubatora, który ma tylko rodzić dzieci. Sprawozdanie, w którym seniorzy, osoby starsze, osoby z niepełnosprawnościami traktowane są w sposób paternalistyczny. Nie udało się to jej i całe szczęście, bo była to przerażająca dystopia, którą próbowała zaszczepić z ziemi pisowskiej do europejskiej. Na szczęście postawiliśmy temu opór.

Dlaczego? Dlatego, że to nie jest nasza wizja Europy. To nie są nasze wartości, naszymi wartościami jest wolność, równość, sprawiedliwość społeczna i dbanie o wszystkich, bez względu na wykluczenia. Dlatego cieszę się, że to sprawozdanie dzisiaj wygląda całkiem inaczej, niż kiedy zostało zaproponowane w wersji fatalnej i nie do zaakceptowania.

Rosa Estaràs Ferragut (PPE). – Señora presidenta, el envejecimiento de la población es, sin duda, uno de los desafíos más significativos de la Unión Europea y de todo el continente. Hay un aumento de la esperanza de vida mucho mayor, hay un descenso de las tasas de natalidad, hay una disminución de la población en edad laboral, y, en definitiva, eso provoca una reducción de la proporción europea respecto a la población mundial. En algunas regiones de mi país, España, se producen también unas situaciones importantes de despoblación. Esto tiene consecuencias desde un punto de vista personal, pero también desde un punto de vista social.

Por lo tanto, es importante que asumamos el desafío y analicemos el impacto de este envejecimiento, que tiene que ser un envejecimiento digno y saludable. Se tiene que tener en cuenta, también, la perspectiva de género. Tiene que haber un aprendizaje permanente. Es muy importante el tema del voluntariado. Cuando una persona mayor quiere seguir aprendiendo, se va a una biblioteca y, por eso, es muy importante la solidaridad intergeneracional como valor fundamental de la Unión. Hay que apostar por los cuidados de larga duración, que además han de ser cuidados de calidad y accesibles. Y hay que luchar contra la pobreza en la vejez y, sobre todo, por que haya pensiones adecuadas y sostenibles, especialmente las de viudedad. Solo así estaremos a la altura de nuestros valores europeos.

Dubravka Šuica, Vice-President of the Commission. – Madam President, I want to thank you for this very enriching debate. All of you said ageing starts from the moment we are born, so ageing is a very complex phenomenon. Many of you said that ageing is a challenge, but it is also an opportunity since we said at the beginning that in the last 50 years we live 10 years more, which means that we live longer and healthier lives, so this is also very important. And I have to highlight once again that this is the first ever Commission which assigned one portfolio to demography, which shows how important demography is for us in Europe.

So your report shows that tackling ageing requires a whole-of-government approach. You identify a common goal of ensuring intergenerational solidarity and upholding the rights of everyone at all stages in life.

I have been listening carefully to the points you raised. Many principles of the European pillar of social rights relate to ageing, including the principle of lifelong learning, access to quality and affordable health and long-term care, pensions, many others. In synergy with the Green Paper, the European social rights action plan announced several initiatives relevant for ageing policies including the initiative on long-term care in 2022. The European Union gender equality strategy is also relevant in tackling ageing trends. It delivers on the Commission's commitment to achieving a Union of equality. Women often align their decision to work and how to work with their caring responsibilities. They carry a disproportionate burden of unpaid work, which constitutes a significant share of economic activity. Accumulated lifetime gender employment and pay gaps result in an even wider pension gap and consequently older women are more at risk of poverty than men. This is what many of you highlighted today.

Demographic change is happening in real time. Never before have citizens enjoyed such long and healthy lives. This is a major achievement of our social market economy model. Addressing demographic change is key to building a fairer and more resilient society. The European Union and its Member States can prevent or limit the negative impact of ageing. I reiterate once again, this is mostly in the competence of the Member States. For this, we need the firm commitment and engagement of young and older people. We need to foster intergenerational solidarity and responsibility with enabling policies.

I want to thank Parliament for your work on ageing policies, and we look forward to continued cooperation on demography.

Przewodnicząca. – Zamykam debatę.

Głosowanie nad poprawkami odbędzie się we wtorek 6 lipca 2021 r. Głosowanie końcowe odbędzie się w środę 7 lipca 2021 r.

Oświadczenia pisemne (art. 171)

Isabel Carvalhais (S&D), por escrito. – A evolução demográfica tem impactos diferentes nas regiões europeias, afetando de forma mais grave as zonas rurais e remotas, que também estão a sofrer um declínio da sua população, que poderá ter um impacto negativo na coesão social, económica e territorial da União europeia. Por outro lado, o envelhecimento da mão-de-obra e a falta de renovação geracional é um problema que afeta com maior intensidade a agricultura. Na minha qualidade de relatora do S&D para o parecer da Comissão da Agricultura e do Desenvolvimento Rural defendi ser necessária uma abordagem multidimensional e a importância de promover uma complementaridade e sinergia mais amplas entre as áreas políticas e os instrumentos de apoio de forma a vencer o desafio demográfico que a União Europeia enfrenta. O relatório apresentava algumas lacunas nomeadamente no que diz respeito à importância da igualdade de género, da integração do género e da proteção dos direitos das minorias, no quadro da ação necessária para enfrentar os desafios demográficos, pelo que apoio as emendas que forma submetidas neste sentido e que creio serem fundamentais para a melhoria do texto final.

Λευτέρης Χριστοφόρου (PPE), γραπτώς. – Η γήρανση του πληθυσμού αποτελεί μια πολύ σημαντική πρόκληση, την οποία η ΕΕ καλείται να αντιμετωπίσει. Το προσδόκιμο ζωής αυξήθηκε, τα ποσοστά γονιμότητας μειώθηκαν, η αστικοποίηση αυξήθηκε και ο ενεργός πληθυσμός συρρικνώθηκε, με αποτέλεσμα τη συρρίκνωση του μεριδίου των Ευρωπαίων στον παγκόσμιο πληθυσμό. Οι δημογραφικές αλλαγές επιτείνουν επίσης τις διαφορές μεταξύ των περιφερειών και, κατά συνέπεια, προκαλούν μείωση του πληθυσμού της ΕΕ, ιδίως στις αγροτικές περιοχές. Η πανδημία του κορονοϊού ανέδειξε τα προβλήματα που απαιτούν ιδιαίτερη προσοχή και τόνισε την ανάγκη να θεσπιστεί ειδική στρατηγική της ΕΕ για τους ηλικιωμένους. Στόχος είναι να δοθεί έμφαση στον ρόλο των ηλικιωμένων στις κοινωνίες της ΕΕ, να τους παρασχεθεί η κατάλληλη φροντίδα, να αποτραπεί η μοναξιά στα γηρατειά και να επωφεληθούμε από τις τεράστιες γνώσεις και την εμπειρία τους.

Patryk Jaki (ECR), na piśmie. – Mamy realny problem w Unii Europejskiej. Na świecie przyrost naturalny jest dodatni, niestety kraje UE mają poważny problem ze starzeniem się społeczeństwa i brakiem przygotowania do tego procesu. Musimy dbać o najstarsze osoby, które przez lata swojego życia budowały to, co mamy obecnie. Zdecydowanie za rzadko korzystamy z ich doświadczenia i wiedzy. Każde życie ludzkie jest bezcenne, każda osoba zasługuje na szacunek i swoje miejsce w społeczeństwie. Cele związane z rozwojem są ważne, ale tylko wtedy, gdy służą wszystkim. Najczęściej skupiamy się na chorobach fizycznych, zapominając o tym, że w słabnącym organizmie bardzo często funkcjonuje bardzo sprawny umysł. Martwi mnie też to, że w tak ważnym dokumencie lewica tradycyjnie przemyciła ideologię. Mam już coraz mniej nadziei na to, że PE skupi się na realnym rozwiązywaniu problemów i szukaniu kompromisu w jakiejkolwiek sprawie. To mógł być naprawdę wartościowy dokument.

Sandra Pereira (The Left), por escrito. – O discurso dominante faz do aumento da esperança média de vida um fardo para a sociedade, colocando gerações contra gerações, com um único intuito: agravar a exploração e maximizar o lucro. O aumento da esperança média de vida deve ser encarado como uma conquista civilizacional e um fator de progresso. Os avanços tecnológicos permitem que a redução da idade da reforma seja uma realidade e que envelhecer de forma ativa não signifique trabalhar por mais tempo, mas sim continuar a participar política, cívica, cultural e familiarmente na sociedade, usufruindo com qualidade desses anos de vida. Defender o envelhecimento digno passa também pelo combate à precariedade e aos baixos salários, pela garantia dos mais altos padrões de higiene e segurança no trabalho no período de idade ativa, pelo acesso a habitação de qualidade e acessível, pelo acesso universal a cuidados de saúde de qualidade ao longo da vida. Envelhecimento digno é também sinónimo de um robusto sistema de segurança social público, como garantia de proteção social dos trabalhadores ao longo da vida, nomeadamente na velhice, que esteja livre de plafonamentos, que seja regido pelo princípio de solidariedade intergeracional, que assegure o pagamento de pensões e reformas dignas e garanta o acesso universal a todas as dimensões dos cuidados geriátricos.

20.   The impact on the fishing sector of offshore windfarms and other renewable energy systems (short presentation)

Przewodnicząca. – Kolejnym punktem porządku obrad jest krótka prezentacja sprawozdania sporządzonego przez Petera van Dalena w sprawie wpływu morskich farm wiatrowych i innych systemów energii ze źródeł odnawialnych na sektor rybołówstwa (2019/2158(INI)) (A9-0184/2021).

Peter van Dalen, Rapporteur. – Voorzitter, de energietransitie is noodzakelijk, dus moeten we onder andere overstappen op de schone energie van windmolens. Steeds meer mensen op het Europese vasteland willen in hun woonomgeving echter géén windmolens. ‘Not in my backyard!’, roept men dan. En dan wordt er al snel naar de zee gekeken. Zet daar dan maar de windmolens. De Commissie visserij van dit Parlement vindt bijna unaniem dat over de bouw van windmolenparken in zee samen met de vissers moet worden overlegd. Zij zijn immers de oudste gebruikers van de zee, en daarom is de kern van mijn verslag ‘windmolens in zee, dan beslissen vissers mee’. Niet wat vage inspraak, nee, maar echte, volwaardige deelneming van vissers over de vraag waar die windmolens moeten komen te staan in de zee. Door doeltreffend en permanent overleg met vissers en aquacultuurproducenten worden conflicten bij de bouw van windmolens in zee beperkt, of mogelijk zelfs voorkomen. En op die manier staan vissers in een gelijk speelveld tegenover de machtige multinationals die windmolens in zee bouwen.

Ik vind deze keuze van de Commissie visserij buitengewoon verstandig. Vissers weten immers als geen ander waar de visgronden het beste zijn en willen die graag behouden en ook duurzaam bevissen. Daarom stel ik ook in mijn verslag voor om na te gaan of windmolens in mariene beschermde gebieden kunnen worden geplaatst. Dan wordt immers van de vissers niet veel visgrond afgenomen.

Tevens, voorzitter, wijs ik in mijn verslag op de risico's bij de bouw van windmolenparken in zee. Zo komt er bij het heien van de palen heel hard geluid van meer dan 130 decibel vrij. Dat kunt u vergelijken met het geluid van een startend vliegtuig waar u heel dicht bij staat. De vraag is wat dit met de vissen doet. Worden die misschien tijdelijk of permanent doof? En welke invloed heeft elektromagnetische straling uit de kabels op elektrisch gevoelige vissen zoals roggen en haaien? In welke mate wordt bij de aanleg, exploitatie en sloop van windmolens de maritieme biodiversiteit aangetast? Er is meer onderzoek nodig, want deze vragen zijn nog onvoldoende beantwoord.

Het verslag beklemtoont dat offshore windmolenparken slechts mogen worden gebouwd wanneer is uitgesloten dat zich negatieve milieu- en ecologische, alsook economische, sociaal-economische en sociaal-culturele effecten zullen voordoen voor vissers en aquacultuurproducenten. Dat is wat we dan samenvatten onder het voorzorgsbeginsel. Dat moet worden toegepast, en dat vinden we terug in artikel 191, lid 2, van het Verdrag betreffende de werking van de Europese Unie.

De Europese Commissie beoordeelt de maritieme ruimtelijke plannen van de lidstaten die nu worden ingediend in deze maanden. Daarbij moet de Commissie letten op de belangen van de visserij en op de effecten ervan op de vissen.

Dat is vandaag mijn boodschap aan de Commissie en ik hoor graag de reactie van de Commissie daarop.

Dubravka Šuica, Vice-President of the Commission. – Madam President, the Commission welcomes the report by the Committee on Fisheries (PECH) on the impact on fisheries of offshore windfarms and other renewable energy systems. On behalf of my colleague, Virginijus Sinkevičius, I want to thank in particular the rapporteur, Peter van Dalen, for all his work and strong commitment to this important issue.

This report puts a much-needed emphasis on environmental considerations, the rational use of space and the involvement of all sea users. This is very much in the spirit of our new approach to a sustainable blue economy. Under the European Green Deal, the European Union is committed to becoming climate neutral by 2050 in order to mitigate the effects of climate change and related biodiversity loss.

Sustainably-sourced and circular renewable energy is essential to reaching this target. Offshore wind energy needs to be developed in line with the objectives of the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 and the circular economy action plan. The Maritime Spatial Planning Directive clearly stipulates having, in the early stages, both a dialogue and cooperation with the fishing community and all relevant stakeholders. The main goal of maritime special planning is to ensure access to maritime space for the different sea users and to facilitate the coexistence and synergies between those users, while safeguarding the marine environment.

Therefore, one of the actions under the new sustainable blue economy approach will be the creation of a blue forum for all users of the sea. In the blue forum, a dialogue will be coordinated between stakeholders from the fisheries, aquaculture, shipping, tourism and energy sectors, as well as scientists. The aim is to develop synergies and reconcile competing uses of the sea.

The Commission has carried out and financed several projects looking at a combination of fisheries or aquaculture on the one side, wind farms on the other side, and the relevant impacts. Work in this area must continue. The Commission is encouraging this, notably via the blue forum and the Horizon Europe mission on ocean waters, coastal and inland waters.

In addition, best practices in terms of minimising disruption and mitigating damage to ecosystems will be shared and showcased by a new community of practices that will be launched by the end of this year. By March 2022, the Commission will also submit the report to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of maritime special planning interactions between sectors and stakeholders. Consultation processes will be looked at carefully during the analysis of all available national maritime special plans.

Through the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, we are supporting cooperation projects for maritime special planning in all European Union sea basins. By the end of 2020, we had already funded 13 such projects on maritime special planning for a total amount of more than EUR 25 million. This cooperation will be continued and increased in the coming year to tackle new challenges.

It is important to note that the maritime special planning process takes place in subsequent stages. Plans will be regularly updated to fit new realities and policy developments at a minimum of every ten years. All offshore renewable energy developments must fully comply with European Union environmental legislation, notably going through the environmental impact assessment before any project can begin. Together with your EU strategy on offshore renewable energy, in November 2020, the Commission adopted updated guidance on wind energy developments and European Union natural legislation. This guidance notably looks at the combination and integration of offshore wind farms within marine protected areas. Clearly, one does not exclude the other.

The end of life of wind turbines and decommissioning also need to be looked at in terms of environmental impact at sea and in terms of recycling. Therefore, the Commission will, in the coming year, carry out further studies on technology development in offshore energy. These studies will also look at how the related infrastructure can be embedded sustainably in the marine environment and socio-economic ecosystems. The European Union strategy on offshore renewable energy will boost emerging technologies that reduce the impact on fisheries, notably floating offshore wind, wave and tidal devices. To achieve this, we need to set clear, short and long-term targets for the ocean energy sector.

Finally, I would like to underline that easy access to renewable energy produced at sea in the form of electricity and hydrogen will create opportunities for decarbonising other blue sectors, notably shipping, fisheries and aquaculture.

To end, offshore wind energy plays a key role in achieving the objectives of the European Green Deal. This Commission is fully committed to ensuring that environmental, economic and social sustainability is achieved. We will therefore make sure that the fisheries and aquaculture sectors will be appropriately involved in all decision making in this context. Before any offshore wind farms see the light, all projects will undergo – as I have already said – the necessary impact assessment. I'm convinced that ultimately we will achieve a win-win situation for all stakeholders, including the fishing community.

Przewodnicząca. – Zamykam debatę.

Głosowanie odbędzie się we wtorek 6 lipca 2021 r.

21.   Citizens' dialogues and citizens' participation in EU decision-making (short presentation)

Przewodnicząca. – Kolejnym punktem porządku dziennego jest krótka prezentacja sprawozdania sporządzonego przez Helmuta Scholza w sprawie dialogu obywatelskiego i uczestnictwa obywateli w procesie decyzyjnym UE (2020/2201(INI)) (A9-0213/2021).

Helmut Scholz, Berichterstatter. – Frau Präsidentin, Frau Vizepräsidentin, liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Rechtzeitig noch vor dem Start der Bürgerinnenforen, dieser wichtigen zweiten zentralen Säule der begonnenen Konferenz über die Zukunft Europas, wird unser Bericht zur demokratischen Teilhabe von Menschen aus allen 27 Mitgliedstaaten hier im Plenum zur Abstimmung kommen. Ich bedanke mich ausdrücklich bei allen Schattenberichterstatterinnen für die Mitarbeit an diesem Bericht und für die Stellungnahmen aus den assoziierten und mitberatenden Ausschüssen PETI, CULT und LIBE.

Überaus wichtig für uns – und dafür vielen Dank – war das große Interesse aus zivilgesellschaftlichen Strukturen an der Erarbeitung des Berichts. Ich wollte ausdrücklich diese intensive Einbeziehung von NGOs, engagierten Wissenschaftlerinnen und ehrenamtlichen Fachleuten und jenen, die als themen- und fachspezifische Akteure letztlich helfen, Bürgerinnensichten entscheidend zu prägen.

Zivilgesellschaft lebt von Engagement. Die Richtigkeit der Planungsansätze im Ausschuss für konstitutionelle Angelegenheiten ist nur selten so deutlich geworden wie in diesen Tagen, da wir alle in unserem Alltag in unseren Gesellschaften im Kampf mit den Herausforderungen der Auswirkungen der Corona-Pandemie gefordert sind – nicht nur mit Blick auf die unmittelbaren Folgen für Gesundheit und Impfschutz, sondern generell, bezogen auf die Frage nach dem solidarischen Zusammenleben der Menschen in unserer Europäischen Union, die Frage nach staatlicher Verantwortung ebenso wie die nach der Widerstandsfähigkeit wirtschaftlicher und gesellschaftlicher Akteure und der Ausformung von politischen Strukturen im Interesse der Allgemeinheit. Demokratisierung der Demokratie – das war vor einigen Jahren ein zentraler Stichpunkt in vielen soziologischen und rechtswissenschaftlichen Debatten, gerade wenn es um Transparenz und Ermunterung eines Mitwirkens an politischen Entscheidungen auf der europäischen Ebene ging.

Der Austritt des Vereinigten Königreiches aus der Europäischen Union durch Bürgerinnenentscheid wirft da natürlich Fragen auf. Was waren die Gründe? Wieso wurde so entschieden? Und was wurde eigentlich von den Bürgerinnen hinsichtlich der Politik auf der nationalen wie auf der europäischen Ebene erwartet? Die Entwicklung der Europäischen Bürgerinneninitiative war ein richtiger und wichtiger Schritt, den Menschen konkrete Möglichkeiten der thematischen Mitsprache zu eröffnen. Aber wenn wir ehrlich sind, verblieb die Teilhabe viel zu oft im Konsultationsmechanismus.

Demokratische Ausformung unserer Gesellschaften lebt von der Kommunikation zwischen den Menschen, von der bewussten Teilnahme an Wahlen in einer repräsentativen Demokratie, aber viel mehr noch vom tagtäglichen Einmischen eines jeden in gesellschaftliche, politische wie wirtschaftliche Auseinandersetzung, um die Entwicklung des Gemeinwesens, in dem er leben und arbeiten will und kann.

Der Publizist Arno Widmann hat es in einem Essay so formuliert: ‘Nicht die Medien sind die Öffentlichkeit, nicht wir sind es und auch nicht die anderen. Öffentlichkeit ist der Moment, in dem eine Gesellschaft sich selbst erkennt.’ Ziel unseres Berichts ist es somit, den Bürgerinnen eine stärkere Stimme in der EU-Entscheidungsfindung zu geben. Dafür müssen wir die bestehenden Partizipationsmechanismen verbessern und neue auf EU-Ebene einrichten.

Es ist also von entscheidender Bedeutung, die Bürgerinnen in europäische Debatten einzubeziehen, sie aktiv an der Entscheidungsfindung der EU zu beteiligen. Nur so können wir auch das Verantwortungsgefühl der Bürgerinnen für eine EU stärken, die ihre Bedürfnisse und Visionen widerspiegelt, eine echte europäische Öffentlichkeit entwickelt und die demokratische Legitimität der EU stärkt. Dazu gehört auch, Bildung zu stärken, sowohl die politische wie die fachliche, ebenso wie die kulturpolitische Dimension.

Wir haben in dem Bericht eine ganze Reihe neuer Instrumente erarbeitet. Ich hoffe, dass die mit meinen Kollegen erarbeiteten Vorschläge für eine bessere Bürgerbeteiligung in der EU-Entscheidungsfindung Anklang bei der Kommission finden werden und für viele Menschen Lust und Ansporn sind, sich in Entscheidungsprozesse aktiv einzubringen. Ich bin gespannt auf Ihre Meinung, Frau Vizepräsidentin.

ELNÖKÖL: KLÁRA DOBREV

alelnök

Dubravka Šuica, Vice-President of the Commission. – Madam President, honourable Members, on behalf of my colleague Vice-President Věra Jourová, I thank you for this opportunity to exchange views on this important matter. The Commission is fully committed to engaging with citizens in shaping European Union policy.

We have been using various methods and tools for some time. Since 2012, the Commission has promoted a format of citizens' dialogues. These are open and direct dialogues between citizens and the European Commission. Sometimes senior Commission officials participate on specific issues. More than 2 000 dialogues have been organised across all Member States. I personally have participated in them and find them to be a valuable source of inspiration and exchange.

In the last year, due to the pandemic, citizens' dialogues have moved entirely online. I'm looking forward to meeting and discussing with citizens in person again too.

Dialogues allow the European Commission to open the debate about Europe to more and more people throughout the Union. They have uncovered an increasing demand for events that enable people to be heard. Many different participatory formats of dialogues have taken place over the years. Workshops and other methods are frequently used to ensure the participation of all those attending the events.

However, citizens' dialogues are primarily a listening exercise. This is where the Conference on the Future of Europe deepens citizens' engagement. This unprecedented exercise in deliberative democracy at the European level has a built-in feedback mechanism. In the joint declaration the three presidents committed to following up on citizens' input. Crucially, citizens will be able to see the outcome of their inputs.

The conference pan-European citizens panels as a key feature. A representative sample of 800 citizens will deliberate and come up with policy recommendations on the main topics addressed on the conference digital platform. These recommendations will feed into the overall conference discussions for follow up.

But we want to go a step further. We are therefore doing our utmost to mainstream citizens' participation in various policy domains. The conference is not a panacea for all ills. It will not replace representative democracy but will reinforce it. And I want to highlight this today here in this hemicycle.

One of the tangible tools engaging Europeans in the European Union policy-making for the last nine years is the European citizens' initiative. It gives all European citizens the power to directly ask the European Commission to take action on matters they care about.

On 30 June we have given a positive reply to the sixth successful initiative ‘End the cage age’ calling for prohibiting caging of various farm animals. This year legislative acts adopted in the follow up of two other European citizens' initiatives – Right to water and Ban glyphosate – entered into application. This is evidence of the substantive legal and political impact of successful citizens' initiatives.

But the real impact of the European citizens' initiative goes further. Even initiatives that do not reach the final formal steps of the process can generate multiple impacts because the citizens' initiative is first and foremost an agenda-setting tool. From the moment citizens start an initiative, they bring the issue they care about into the public space and to the attention of the Commission.

This year, we already registered six new citizens' initiatives. We hope to receive many more in the future as we are further extending our information campaign – EU take the initiative – and the legal and practical advice offered by the forum on the European citizens' initiative.

Honourable Members, dear Mr Scholz, the Commission will study your resolution and look at how to better involve citizens right from the early stages of policy-making. Structurally embedding citizen engagement in the European Union helps to address some of the frustrations and concerns of our citizens and contributes to bringing the European Union closer to them.

Elnök asszony. – A napirendi pont ezzel lezárul.

A módosításokról a szavazás holnap lesz, a zárószavazásra pedig szerdán kerül sor.

22.   Trade-related aspects and implications of COVID-19 (short presentation)

Elnök asszony. – A következő pont Kathleen Van Brempt a Covid19-járvány kereskedelmi vonatkozásairól és következményeiről szóló jelentésének rövid ismertetése (2020/2117(INI)) (A9-0190/2021).

Kathleen Van Brempt, rapporteur. – Madam President, when the world recovered in the last century from two world wars it became clear that international trade policy would become the centre of recovery and it brought us a full century of prosperity. Today, we are recovering from a pandemic and are heading towards the same direction, putting trade at the centre of recovery. But we have to take care that we do it in a different way, that we make sure that the 21st century recovery and stability put sustainability at the centre, and that is why European trade policy should change.

With this pandemic, we saw the face of biodiversity degradation and what will increasingly happen if we do not make sure that our economy becomes climate neutral. Our global actions cannot be limited to statements and non-binding commitments on big conferences. International trade policy in Europe needs to walk the talk of the Green Deal. This means for instance that we need to bring an end to fossil fuels, that green goods need to receive preferential treatment over brown goods and it means that the trade and sustainable development (TSD) chapters become really sanction-based.

During the crisis we also saw the decline of multilateralism. While our healthcare workers around the world had to combat a dangerous virus, governments struggled to buy personal protective equipment and basic medicines. Prices surged and there was no transparency on available stocks and production capacity. Weakened already by the Trump Presidency, the World Trade Organization and the World Health Organization struggled to come up with real answers and instead national responses took over, with dramatic export bans and disrupted supply chains.

Next time when the world faces a new pandemic, cooperation should be the first answer, not the last one, with strong international bodies to take on leadership. In this report, the European Parliament asks for strong support for an international pandemic treaty with a real and very robust trade pillar. We ask to establish a trade and health committee in the Twelfth Ministerial Conference (MC12).

More than ever, we also faced global inequalities. While the West was in lockdown, workers in the East were working around the clock to make our face masks – unprotected and with hunger wages for their services to the world. And while the economic figures are arriving in Europe, we see that women in Africa are struggling to make a living in their micro-businesses, with debt and inflation just around the corner. That's why we need mandatory due diligence across the supply chain, and fair and ethical trade schemes.

While the EU is a producer of the most vaccines in the world and an exporter, we see that the bulk of these productions go to G20 countries. Europe's global vaccination strategy is not guided by political leadership, but by companies. At a time of crisis the rest of the world needs to know that they can count on Europe.

This is a staunch warning not to isolate ourselves in the current discussion on intellectual property rights. Go and set yourselves at the right side of history. Of course at the same time we need to be assertive towards countries which undermine human rights and rule-based trade and democracy. A ban on products made with forced labour, an upgraded trade defence toolbox, effective sanction mechanisms on human rights need to be in place before the European Parliament even can think of starting the ratification of the investment agreement with China.

Dear colleagues, trade policy is the most powerful and the most important tool the EU has on the international stage. It is the lever which can unlock the Green Deal and Europe's industrial strategy for a climate-neutral continent. It is the key to unlocking the economic potential of developing partners and bringing stability to our neighbourhoods. It is the vehicle with which Europe can forge alliances and use its economic power to tackle global changes and global challenges such as pandemics. We need to do that together.

Dubravka Šuica, Vice-President of the Commission. – Madam President, honourable Members, on behalf of Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, I want to thank Parliament and the Committee on International Trade (INTA Committee) and our rapporteur, Kathleen Van Brempt, for the attention, work and time invested in this report. I also want to thank you for your involvement in the trade policy review process, which led to the adoption by the Commission of the communication on an open, sustainable and assertive trade policy on 18 February.

I fully share your analysis about the special context in which the trade policy review is taking place. As you rightly pointed out, trade policy finds itself at a crossroads. This is why there is a need for a new EU trade and investment strategy. This must take into account the difficult current geopolitical reality, including the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis, and also those stemming from our ambitions linked to the green and digital transitions.

The new trade policy strategy is built on three pillars: openness, sustainability and assertiveness. The key challenge we face is to find the right balance between these three elements.

On openness: reaffirming our commitment to open, fair and rules-based trade is not just EU idealism. It is an economic and political necessity. The competitiveness of our economy depends on it. This is particularly evident in the multilateral space. Again, I thank you for supporting our plans to lead an in-depth reform of the World Trade Organization.

It is in this spirit of openness that European Union has proposed that WTO members agree as soon as possible on a global trade initiative for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and medicines. The European Union also stands ready to support close cooperation between international bodies, especially the recently-announced intensified collaboration of the WTO, the World Health Organization and the World Intellectual Property Organization in fighting the pandemic.

In your report, you underlined the need for the European Union to enhance its strategic autonomy, notably to secure access to critical raw materials, goods and services, especially medical and pharmaceutical goods. This is a legitimate request that is supported by the openness of our economy. This is why the overarching concept guiding the strategy is the model of open strategic autonomy. To address today's most pressing challenges, such as climate change and biodiversity loss or the COVID-19 crisis, we need more rather than less global cooperation.

A policy of open strategic autonomy will therefore allow the European Union to continue reaping the benefits of international opportunities, while at the same time assertively defending our interests, protecting our economy from unfair trade practices and ensuring a level playing field.

I welcome that sustainability is very much at the forefront of the European Parliament's priorities in your resolution. This is in line with the new strategy, which represents a clear choice for a green and progressive trade policy. It puts the green transition and protection of labour rights at the very heart of European Union trade policy.

More concretely, I also agree with the view expressed by the European Parliament that we need to work further on issues such as fair, resilient and sustainable value chains, the enforceability of trade and sustainable development chapters, and the importance of delivering an efficient carbon border adjustment mechanism.

We shall also continue our efforts in promoting resource-efficient and circular economy models around the world through the trade levers. The dialogues on these issues will continue in particular during the review of the 15-point action plan on trade and sustainable development, which will be launched very soon.

On assertiveness, I certainly agree with many of the points made in this resolution. In particular, I agree with the idea that our openness should go hand-in-hand with effective rules, ensuring fair competition and a level playing field for European businesses. I also agree with you that where cooperation is not possible, the European Union should pursue its interests through autonomous measures to protect its values and fight against unfair trading practices in accordance with international law.

So this is very much in line with our clear shift towards stronger implementation and enforcement and with the new instruments that we are proposing, such as the foreign subsidies instrument and the future anti-coercion instrument.

Finally, I would like to emphasise that the Commission intends to build on the very positive trade policy review process and continue the dialogue and engagement on trade policy with all key stakeholders. I want to thank you, honourable Members.

Elnök asszony. – A napirendi pont ezzel lezárul.

A szavazásra holnap kerül sor.

23.   EU-NATO cooperation in the context of transatlantic relations (short presentation)

Elnök asszony. – A következő pont Antonio López-Istúriz White az EU és a NATO közötti együttműködésről a transzatlanti kapcsolatok összefüggésében szóló jelentésének rövid ismertetése (2020/2257 (INI)) (A9-0192/2021).

Antonio López-Istúriz White, ponente. – Señora presidenta, me alegra que este importante informe se vote esta semana. Quiero dar las gracias a todos los diputados que contribuyeron al texto final; especialmente quiero agradecer a los ponentes alternativos su trabajo.

Fuimos muy ambiciosos desde el principio. Queríamos tener un texto que pudiese enviar una señal política sólida y clara sobre el papel de la Unión Europea en asuntos de defensa. También queríamos que este informe fuese votado en comisión antes de la Cumbre de la OTAN y de la Cumbre de la Unión Europea con los Estados Unidos. Me alegra que las conclusiones de ambas cumbres vayan en gran medida en la línea de nuestro informe, mostrando que la Unión Europea puede ser verdaderamente un valor añadido a la actual estructura de defensa transatlántica.

Señorías, el informe destaca, naturalmente, la importancia de nuestra asociación transatlántica. También destaca nuestra historia en común, nuestros valores comunes y nuestros éxitos comunes. El informe dice claramente que nos encontramos ante una oportunidad única de estrechar la colaboración entre la Unión Europea y la OTAN. Los Estados miembros están actualmente estableciendo la brújula estratégica para la seguridad y defensa europea basada en el análisis conjunto de amenazas. Al mismo tiempo, la OTAN actualiza su concepto estratégico, destacando la visión de la Alianza sobre su entorno de seguridad y los objetivos para la próxima década. Ambos proyectos brindarán una clara ventana de oportunidad para establecer prioridades coherentes e identificar sinergias adicionales.

En lo que respecta al reparto de responsabilidades —burden-sharing—, el informe defiende que Europa debe redoblar sus esfuerzos para desarrollar sus propias capacidades de defensa y asegurarse de que lo hace de forma complementaria con la OTAN. En el texto demostramos constantemente que los instrumentos y las competencias de la Unión Europea pueden contribuir al mandato de la OTAN.

Algunas personas siempre han sido escépticas sobre la idea de la Unión Europea como un actor activo con sus propias capacidades de defensa. Pero creo que tras unos años en los que Europa se sintió sola en el mundo, las iniciativas como la CEP o el FED son ahora vistas como una necesidad, más que un lujo. La Unión Europea no es un obstáculo para los principales intereses de defensa de la OTAN o de los Estados Unidos. De hecho, la Unión Europea puede ser un actor complementario que contribuya a evitar redundancia y duplicación. La participación estadounidense en el proyecto de movilidad militar de la CEP es una prueba más.

El informe destaca que los Estados miembros y los aliados de la OTAN se enfrentan a una realidad común de competición sistemática, junto a las nuevas amenazas comunes, que tienen un impacto significativo en la seguridad de nuestros ciudadanos. Nuestros adversarios y rivales autoritarios no solo emplean la fuerza militar, sino también un amplio abanico de herramientas dirigidas a debilitar nuestras democracias. Solo recientemente nos hemos dado cuenta de lo poderosos que pueden llegar a ser estos instrumentos, como las amenazas híbridas, los ataques cibernéticos, la interferencia exterior o la manipulación de elecciones y las campañas de desinformación.

Aunque la Unión Europea y la OTAN no son lo mismo, sus competencias y conocimientos pueden complementarse al afrontar estos desafíos. Tenemos que conseguir el equilibrio correcto entre ambición y realismo; se están dando pasos serios al abordar la fragmentación de las industrias europeas de defensa, al invertir en interoperabilidad, llevar a cabo análisis de amenazas comunes y expandir misiones civiles y militares.

Permítanme terminar diciendo que es de suma importancia que este Parlamento demuestre que nos tomamos en serio la defensa europea y transatlántica. Los que se oponen a esta cooperación y a los esfuerzos de la Unión Europea para fortalecer su capacidad defensiva están participando en el juego de Rusia y China: tener una Europa débil y dividida. Fortalecer la alianza estratégica entre la Unión Europea y la Alianza Atlántica es fundamental para afrontar amenazas comunes y convertir a la Unión Europea en un actor y socio global más fuerte.

Dubravka Šuica, Vice-President of the Commission. – Madam President, on behalf of my colleague, High Representative and Vice President, Josep Borrell, I would like to congratulate the rapporteur, Antonio López-Istúriz White, for the comprehensive report on EU-NATO cooperation in the context of transatlantic relations.

Let me welcome that it incorporates a number of elements of key importance and relevance for EU-NATO cooperation, such as emphasising the European Union's ambition to be a global actor for peace and security, highlighting that the European Union's strategic autonomy strengthens transatlantic security, reaffirming the importance of key principles guiding EU-NATO cooperation and calling for coherence between the two reflection processes, notably the Strategic Compass on the European Union side and NATO 2030 on NATO's side.

In the current strategic environment and in light of the common challenges, joining and closely coordinating our efforts is the most obvious choice. Enhanced EU-NATO cooperation remains instrumental in bringing Europe and North America closer. We seek to deepen the fostering of the transatlantic bond. Cooperation with NATO remains a key priority for the European Union, as confirmed by the Council on several occasions.

Last month, the NATO Summit Communiqué reaffirmed that the European Union is a unique and essential partner for NATO. The two joint declarations of 2016 and 2018, together with the 74 common actions for implementation, provide a well-established, solid and comprehensive framework for cooperation. It is based on a strong political mandate received from both EU Member States and NATO allies.

The NATO summit invited the Secretary-General to develop the next strategic concept to be endorsed at the next summit. At the same time, on our side, we are taking forward our reflection process, which will lead to the adoption of the Strategic Compass in March next year. Rest assured that we see a clear need for coherence between these two reflection processes. We are working in this direction in full respect of the decision-making autonomy of both organisations.

In the wake of a very successful EU-US summit and as we approach the fifth anniversary of the Warsaw Joint Declaration, we see clear political momentum for further strengthening our strategic partnership and taking our cooperation to the next level. We are exploring ways regarding the common way forward, a renewed political commitment to take the form of a new joint declaration. I count on the continued support of the European Parliament in further strengthening our mutually reinforcing and beneficial strategic partnership with NATO.

Elnök asszony. – A napirendi pont ezzel lezárul.

A módosításokról a szavazás holnap lesz, a zárószavazásra pedig szerdán kerül sor.

Írásos nyilatkozatok (171. cikk)

Sandra Kalniete (PPE), in writing. – The report on the EU-NATO cooperation in the context of transatlantic relations could not be timely. Europe and North America face multiple common threats – threats to our democracies, climate change, pandemics, terrorism as well as challenges linked to cyber and hybrid threats. I would like to underline also information manipulation and coordinated disinformation campaigns, on which am preparing the report for the Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union. All These challenges require a united and cooperative transatlantic approach bringing together our institutions and Members. A truly strategic EU-NATO partnership is essential to pool our strengths and foster our shared resilience. It is particularly important for Latvia and other Baltic states, which are facing the hybrid warfare, directed by revisionist Russia. Therefore, I fully welcome the call of the report for much more enhanced and strategic cooperation across Euro-Atlantic space. However, the transatlantic community can only protect its citizens if we live up to commitments and ensure adequate resources to deal with the known challenges. I also believe that the military competencies of NATO and the EU and expertise are complementary to address common challenges.

Riho Terras (PPE), kirjalikult. – ELi ja NATO koostöö teemalise raporti järeldused ja ettepanekud on laiemas plaanis õiged ning kannavad sõnumit selgest vajadusest koostöö süvendamise järele. Minu hinnangul on aga peamine probleem ELi soovimatus ja suutmatus koostööd deklaratsioonide ja retoorika tasemelt edasi praktilisemaks ning Euroopa julgeolekule kasutoovamaks muuta. ELi ja NATO koostöö on ajaloolistel põhjustel olnud nö Türgi-Kreeka dispuudi pantvang. Samas on mõlemad organisatsioonid just viimase kümnendi julgeolekualaste ohtude ja arengute valguses püüdnud leida võimalusi strateegiliseks koostööks, sest terve mõistus ja kogemused sedastavad väga selgelt – vaid omavahel tihedalt koostööd tehes on võimalik tagada Euroopa julgeolekut. Ma olen veendunud, et lisaks NATO tippkohtumiste päevakordadele, kus koostöö Euroopa Liiduga on väga olulisel kohal, peaksid ka Euroopa Liidu riigipead ja valitsusjuhid ülemkogude raames koostööd NATOga regulaarselt arutama, sest vaid nii on võimalik muuta see praktilisemaks ning Euroopa huvidele paremini vastavaks. Paraku ei anna ELi poolt hiljuti tehtud otsused ja sammud alust optimismiks, mida Euroopa Parlamendi raport püüab edasi anda. Mäletame selgesti, et kui EL pidi aastate 2021-2027 eelarveraamistikus otsustama sõjalise mobiilsuse paketi osas, mis on kõige sisulisem ja praktilisemat kasu võimaldav koostööprojekt, kukkus ELi poolne rahastus lõpuks esialgelt planeeritust oluliselt väiksemaks. ELil on minu hinnangul väga hea potentsiaal olla NATOle aktiivne koostööpartner. Selleks peavad aga sõnad ja teod kattuma!

Alexandr Vondra (ECR), písemně. – Zpráva, jíž jsem byl stínovým zpravodajem, je na poměry Evropského parlamentu vyváženým textem. Oceňuje transatlantickou spolupráci, volá po dodržování závazku NATO věnovat bez ohledu na vnější okolnosti 2 % HDP na obranu a vítá rozhodnutí summitu NATO aktivovat článek 5 Washingtonské smlouvy i v případě hybridních útoků ohrožujících naši bezpečnost. Sám Evropský parlament může jen apelovat na členské státy EU a NATO, aby se jeho doporučeními řídily. I naše vláda má ve vztahu k obraně naší země co dohánět. Pevně doufám, že po říjnových volbách se situace u nás i v tomto směru výrazně změní k lepšímu.

24.   Amendments to Parliament's Rules of Procedure (short presentation)

Elnök asszony. – A következő pont Gabriele Bischoff az Európai Parlament eljárási szabályzata 99., 197., 213., 214., 222., 223., 230., 235. cikkének és V. mellékletének módosításáról, valamint új, 106a. cikkel történő kiegészítéséről szóló jelentésének rövid ismertetése (2021/2048(REG) (A9-0214/2021).

Gabriele Bischoff, Berichterstatterin. – Frau Präsidentin, Frau Vizepräsidentin! Wir werden diese Woche über meinen Bericht zur Änderung der Geschäftsordnung abstimmen.

Das ist ja so ein bisschen wie die Straßenverkehrsordnung: Sie gibt ganz klare Regeln dafür vor, wie wir arbeiten, und schafft ein hohes Maß an Rechtssicherheit. Aufgrund der Pandemie haben wir vor Kurzem bereits eine Änderung der Geschäftsordnung beschlossen, damit wir weiter funktionieren können. Das musste schnell gehen, da mussten wir intensiv vorlegen, und deshalb sind einige Fragen von Zeiten vor der Pandemie liegen geblieben.

Die haben wir jetzt aufgegriffen und haben deshalb überwiegend technische Änderungen vorgegeben. Wir aktualisieren also Quellen, wir führen neue Verfahren ein, die eben zwar schon vorgesehen waren, aber noch nicht definiert. Wir streichen obsolet gewordene Regeln, wir verlängern die Mandatsdauer von interparlamentarischen Delegationen, und wir liefern Klarheit darüber, wann Beschlüsse und Empfehlungen der Koordinatoren im Ausschuss als angenommen gelten.

Gut, ich hatte ja gesagt: überwiegend technische Änderungen. Eine Frage ist sehr politisch, und sie ist auch wichtig für dieses Parlament. Es geht um Artikel 213. Dabei geht es um die Bildung der Ausschussvorstände und insbesondere um mehr Diversität, denn ohne die bleibt die Demokratie unvollständig. Bislang besagt diese Regel, dass es ausreicht, wenn ein Ausschuss eben nicht ausschließlich aus männlichen oder ausschließlich aus weiblichen Mitgliedern besteht. Sprich: Es reicht ein einziges Mitglied, und dann sind die Anforderungen erfüllt.

Wir wollen hier einen Schritt weitergehen. Und deshalb schlagen wir vor, dass der Vorsitz und der erste stellvertretende Vorsitz eines Ausschusses nicht dasselbe Geschlecht haben sollen. Darüber hinaus soll der restliche Vorstand und in Zukunft auch der gesamte Vorstand paritätisch besetzt sein. Und das soll ab der nächsten Legislaturperiode gelten. Sie wissen alle: Die Rolle des ersten stellvertretenden Vorsitzes ist eine ganz besondere, und deshalb hat es wirklich Sinn, das hier zu verknüpfen.

Wir treffen unsere Entscheidungen in dieser Arbeitsgruppe in der Regel im Konsens. Bei dieser Regel war es leider nicht möglich, und ich habe es wirklich versucht. Trotzdem unterstützt eine Mehrheit der Fraktionen diese Neuerung. Ich hoffe trotzdem noch, dass alle Fraktionen, auch die größte in diesem Haus, meinen Bericht unterstützen können. Denn was wir hier festschreiben, ist wahrlich nichts Revolutionäres. Es ist das, was wir auch seit Jahren von börsennotierten Unternehmen erwarten. Und es ist deshalb auch eine Frage der Glaubwürdigkeit, dass wir hier selbst vorangehen.

Jüngste Erfahrungen wie bei der Zukunftskonferenz – Frau Šuica weiß das – bestätigen es: Da hatte die EVP entschieden für eine paritätische Besetzung plädiert und sogar ihre Entscheidung für die Gesamtliste davon abhängig gemacht. Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Dann lassen Sie uns dieses Prinzip der Geschlechterparität doch bitte auf unsere gesamte Arbeit anwenden und nicht nur à la carte, wenn es passt.

Und eine Bemerkung zum Schluss: Auch mit einer Enthaltung kann man sich nicht der Verantwortung entziehen. Für oder gegen mehr Geschlechtergerechtigkeit, das ist hier die Frage. Deshalb bitte ich Sie um Ihre Unterstützung für diese Änderung der Geschäftsordnung des Europäischen Parlaments, die dann auch den Anforderungen des 21. Jahrhunderts entspricht.

Es ist ein kleiner Schritt für Sie, aber ein großer Schritt für die Parität und ein großer Schritt für das Parlament. Geben Sie sich einen Ruck.

Dubravka Šuica, Vice-President of the Commission. – Madam President, I would like to thank the honourable Members and the rapporteur, Ms Gabriele Bischoff, in particular for consulting the Commission on these amendments of its Rules of Procedure.

This is foreseen in paragraph 21 of the framework agreement on the relations between the two institutions. The Commission gave due consideration to the amendments adopted in December last year to ensure the functioning of Parliament under extraordinary circumstances, in particular those linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Commission takes note of the current amendments which mainly concern internal arrangements of the European Parliament. These amendments mostly aim at ensuring legal certainty by updating a number of references in order to take account of recently adopted legal texts. In particular, the Commission notes the amendment to Rule 99 on discharge to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the budget amended to include a reference to the new financial regulation, that is Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046.

The Commission knows that the Rule 235 on powers and responsibilities relating to European political parties and European political foundations was amended to include a reference to the same regulation, and the Commission notes the reference of the Regulation (EU) 2019/1673 on the European citizens' initiative in Rule 222 on public hearings and debates on citizens' initiatives, and Rule 230 on the Citizens' initiative.

The Commission does not have any comments related to these amendments. The Commission welcomes the European Parliament's commitment to ensure gender balance within its internal bodies as reflected in the amendment to Rule 213 on the Bureau of parliamentary committees.

We understand that the revision of the Rules of Procedure is a work in progress. Additional amendments might be considered in the future to take into account further developments. This is relevant in the context of the reflection process launched by President Sassoli on how to improve the democratic work of Parliament and draw lessons from the recent pandemic.

The framework agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the European Commission is the written translation of the spirit of sincere and mutual cooperation that should govern the relations between our two institutions. It is therefore of the utmost importance that Parliament and the Commission duly implement its provisions, both when it comes to claiming rights and to respect obligations.

In this context, the Commission expects to continue to be informed on and stands ready to respond to any consultation on future amendments to the Parliament's Rules of Procedure that would affect the mutual cooperation. I want to thank you very much for your work and am looking forward to our cooperation.

Elnök asszony. – A napirendi pont ezzel lezárul.

A szavazásra holnap kerül sor.

Írásos nyilatkozatok (171. cikk)

László Trócsányi (NI), írásban. – A Parlament házszabályát módosító Bischoff-jelentés egyik javaslata az eljárási szabályzat 197. cikkének törlése. Megszűnik annak a lehetősége, hogy az összes parlamenti képviselő egyhuszada szavazást kezdeményezzen egy vita napirendről való törléséről. Egy olyan a kisebb frakciókat és függetleneket védő cikket töröl a parlament a házszabályból, amely a politikai sokszínűséget és a demokrácia elvét hivatott védeni.

Enélkül a független és kisebb frakcióban ülő képviselők nem tudják – még súlyos jogi hiba esetén sem – a nagyobb frakciók által támogatott napirendi pontok napirendről való törlését indítványozni, pedig ezen képviselőknek a politikai sokszínűséget korlátozó szabályok miatt alapvetően nehezebb a helyzete. Mindeközben az EP működése kapcsán a járványhelyzet alatt is jogi aggályok merültek fel. Noha javasoltam, hogy Bíróság vizsgálja meg a házszabály járványhelyzet miatti, decemberi módosításának érvényességét, ezt elvetették.

A Parlament jogalap nélkül állt át 2020 februárjában a digitális távszavazásra, és saját mulasztásának köszönhetően csak 10 hónappal a járványhelyzet kezdete után fogadott el új szabályokat a helyzet orvoslására. Házszabályát viszont még ekkor is távszavazással módosította, holott azt csak személyes jelenlét mellett lebonyolított szavazással lehetett volna módosítani. Nem teljesítette a strasbourgi plenáris ülések számát előíró szerződési rendelkezéseket sem, korlátozásra kerültek a képviselők jogai a járványhelyzetre való hivatkozással. A járványhelyzet alatt egyértelműen erősödött a demokráciadeficit mértéke.

25.   Agenda of the next sitting

Elnök asszony: Ezzel az ülést berekesztem, holnap 9 órakor folytatjuk. A napirenden a Tanács és a Bizottság nyilatkozata lesz a szlovén elnökség programjáról. Ezt a napirendet már közzétették, az Európai Parlament honlapján is elérhető. Jó éjszakát kívánok!

26.   Closure of the sitting

(Az ülést 21.12-kor rekesztik be.)