Compte rendu in extenso des débats

Mardi 25 octobre 2016 - Strasbourg

11. Programme de travail de la Commission pour 2017 (débat)

El Presidente. – El punto siguiente en el orden del día es el debate a partir de la Declaración de la Comisión sobre el programa de trabajo de la Comisión para 2017 (2016/2724(RSP)).

  Frans Timmermans, First Vice-President of the Commission. – Mr President, I have just come from the College, where we agreed our Work Programme for 2017, and I am pleased to be here to present it to you straightaway this afternoon. The Work Programme is the Commission’s commitment to you, and to Europeans, about what we will do in the coming year. There are no surprises in what we announce today. The Work Programme makes concrete the policy priorities that President Juncker set out in his State of the Union speech and which we confirmed in the letter of intent.

This is a focused agenda centred on the big things, a principle this Commission has applied since the start of the mandate. It reflects our commitment to the ten priorities on the basis of which you appointed us. Like you, we have listened closely to people’s concerns. The challenges for our Union today are well known, and citizens feel them in their daily lives: jobs; inequality; the still nascent economic recovery that has yet to deliver for all; migration flows which have tested our external borders – and, I may add, our internal cohesion; the terrorist threat; ongoing instability in our neighbouring countries.

Europe cannot be the answer to all the problems, but Europe certainly needs to be part of the solution to the biggest and most pressing issues. Together, we have a shared responsibility to deliver where it matters most and where only working together can make a real difference. To protect Europeans’ interests and quality of life, as well as the security, fairness and well—being of our societies; to empower citizens and give them a perspective for a sustainable future for themselves and their families and to defend people’s rights – we already had a debate about that this morning.

The 21 new key initiatives we propose today are grounded on the ten priorities and the strategies we have presented to implement them. We commit to delivering on these proposals by the end of 2017. Our agenda has been enriched by our dialogue with this House, by the discussions we have had here in plenary and your resolution of July, as well as a day and a half of intensive and constructive exchanges between the College and the Conference of Committee Chairs, which I think was excellent.

It is also in line with the priorities identified by 27 Heads of State or Government in Bratislava. This broad degree of consensus about what we should be doing is very welcome indeed, but announcements and proposals are not what matter. Results do. We are therefore committed to working intensively and constructively with you and with the Member States in the Council to reach timely and ambitious agreements on the many proposals that we have already presented. We have listed the most important proposals, as we see them, in the Work Programme.

The new interinstitutional agreement on better lawmaking includes a commitment by the three institutions to agree a joint declaration, to be signed by the three Presidents, on priorities for the coming year. We look forward to working with you to jointly agree to move ahead quickly on the proposals that can make the most difference on the ground. We have already seen, with the European Border and Coast Guard and with European Fund for Strategic Investments, what we can achieve when we all put our full efforts into negotiations.

Agreeing proposals is just the start of the story. In the coming year, the Commission will put a particular emphasis on implementation and enforcement work, making sure that EU rules are properly applied and enforced across all policy areas, including the internal market and the environment. We will also continue our efforts to improve existing legislation and make it more fit for purpose, more proportionate, and better able to deliver on the policy goals it is supposed to achieve. In the next year we will integrate regulatory fitness in our key initiatives, as well as bring forward a further 18 refit proposals to improve existing law, taking into account the input we have had from stakeholders and Member States in the REFIT Platform. We have also published a short brochure which shows how REFIT is an integral part of delivering on our ten priorities. We are also proposing to withdraw some 19 pending proposals, which are outdated or are no longer needed for technical reasons, and to repeal 16 pieces of obsolete existing legislation.

Let me end by recalling what I said at the start. The focus of this Commission is squarely on delivery, but we cannot do it alone. This is a joint responsibility, a responsibility to ensure that our Union makes a real impact and protects, empowers and defends Europeans. This Commission looks forward to working with you in the next weeks and months to make that a reality through the results we deliver together. The last couple of years have been really encouraging for our mutual cooperation in many areas that are very important today.

  József Szájer, on behalf of the PPE Group. – Mr President, in thanking Vice-President Timmermans for his presentation of the Commission Work Programme 2017, I would like to follow from where he left off by saying that the Commission should not, and does not need to do it alone, because in Parliament this year there was an exemplary procedure for preparation of the Commission Work Programme 2017. Basically the Groups tabled in Parliament, in time to influence the Commission’s decisions this October, the joint resolution on the principles of the Work Programme 2017.

I think also there are some new elements in this process because the new modified or modernised interinstitutional agreement is also something which is aimed at making the cooperation between the three institutions much better. I would like to underline that we would agree with the content which you presented, Mr Timmermans, and which was based very much on what we have been bringing together here in Parliament among the different political Groups.

I also agree, and my Group agrees too, with the method and the better law-making method, but in general, as well, that the Union should be big on big things and small on small things. The main important thing is that the single market is a great achievement and source of satisfaction but it still needs to be expanded and the digital dimension is where we should go the most.

Economic recovery, as you have mentioned, is still fragile. The strategic investment plan has already shown results and should be managed in the future in a more effective way. Conditions to modernise the labour market and facilitate mobility. And here is the issue of migration where we are still here, discussing what to do about the distribution of migrants inside and how to stop this crisis and how to create the necessary conditions.

Safeguarding European values is a daily task; it should be embedded in every act we do and stability and revitalisation are the two keywords which we consider most important and we support the Commission in achieving these goals.

  Maria João Rodrigues, on behalf of the S&D Group. – Mr President, European citizens are requesting a European Union able to protect them, to empower them, and this is the title of the Commission’s Work Programme. We believe that the Commission Work Programme this year cannot be defined as business as usual. Europe needs a new road map, and the Commission Work Programme is just a first step in this direction. We can recognise many of the concerns of the European Parliament strategic resolution adopted on 6 July, but let me underline the concerns which are not clear and not presented strongly enough in the Commission adopted document.

First of all on the social pillar. It is not enough to have a social pillar updating social standards. We need to have the means to really deliver on these social standards. Secondly, when it comes to growth, investment and jobs, it is not enough to speak about the European Fund for Strategic Investment and the Youth Guarantee. We need to have a much more comprehensive investment strategy led by Europe 2020 and sustainable development goals, and this should be translated into industrial and trade policy to be updated in Europe. This should be translated into a pro-growth economic policy; it must be translated into a Community budget with higher ceilings; and it should be translated into a proper fiscal capacity ensuring convergence inside the Eurozone. So these points must be more clearly committed by the Commission before Parliament.

Then of course, we believe that if we have strong internal cohesion with European citizens, it will be easier to deal with external challenges – hosting refugees, managing migration and addressing security concerns. We believe we do need these new tools for defence and security, but to have a proper road map in Rome, we need to go beyond the one which was sketched out in Bratislava. We need to put working and living conditions at the heart of a good road map for the European Union.

  Vicky Ford, on behalf of the ECR Group. – Mr President, this annual debate gives us the time to identify the issues we face, decide what actions we need to take and which of those actions we should take together. We need to focus on what is needed, not just on what is urgent, and there are many issues. On the borders of Europe we see war and violence, precarious relationships with our neighbours, especially Russia. Many European countries have witnessed the horror of terrorism and many people are still facing real economic hardships.

Our leaders are changing too. We will soon have a new US President and then elections across much of Europe, so we will need new relationships. And then there is the issue of Brexit. A new relationship is needed between Britain and the EU. I hope it will be, I wish it to be, a cooperative one. There is a lot of work to be done.

On behalf of the Conservative Reformists there are areas where we do not agree with other colleagues in this Chamber. We do not support calls for increases to the EU budget, for more EU taxes, for an EU army or for more centralisation of decisions. But there are areas where we agree we need to work together – on fighting terror, on working with NATO on security and defence, on tackling the causes of the refugee crisis, on confronting climate change and reducing our carbon footprint, on re-energising trade relations in the single market.

In Europe we have spent 40 years tearing down barriers to trade. But now we face a real risk of a new era of protectionism. We must re-grab the conversation with the ordinary consumer on the benefits of trade and the single market for them, and not just focus on that border-crossing consumer elite. To the Commission I would say, please respect and reconsider where we disagree and work together where we agree. Recognise now that people do want greater control over the decisions that affect them, and some of our decisions are better left to national governments too.

  Marcus Pretzell (ENF). – Herr Präsident, meine Damen und Herren Kollegen! Wir diskutieren hier über das Arbeitsprogramm der Kommission und seit 15.08 Uhr haben Sie es in Ihrem E-Mail-Postfach.

Ich finde, das muss man auch einmal lobend erwähnen. Wir wissen jetzt, worüber wir hier debattieren. Herzlichen Dank an die Kommission dafür!

  Sophia in 't Veld, on behalf of the ALDE Group. – Mr President, I was much more privileged than that because I received it 13 minutes before the start of the debate, so I had much more time than you did to prepare for this debate.

I would like to start by noting that the Council, except for the honourable gentleman here, seems to be absent for the debate, although you refer specifically to the Bratislava declaration in the document on the priorities, so I think it would have been proper for the Council to be present in greater numbers. I always find this kind of debate very difficult because we talk about matters or issues that we all find very important, but for some reason I get the feeling that most citizens do not really care that much. I commend the European Commission for trying to cut red tape, focus on the essential, etc., but I wonder if that is really what citizens are lying awake over. Repealing a law for energy labels for vacuum cleaners, fine, but is that really what is keeping people awake at night? I think that people are terribly concerned about the way that the European Union is working and one of the things, I think, that should be at the top of the list is transparency and accountability. You mention it in the document and yet I know that in practice, when we ask for documents, when we want to get information – I am not talking about you personally, but within the Commission, the Council, and yes, the European Parliament too – there is still a culture of confidentiality and secrecy. If we really want to regain the trust of citizens, that is something that we should address and should, I think, really put at the top of our list.

Secondly, better law-making, in my view, is not only about cutting red tape and repealing legislation that is considered unnecessary. It also means passing legislation that will stand up in court. Now we have seen safe harbours and data retention scrapped, and as regards PNR and Canada we do not know. We see that the Council is now making all kinds of agreements with Turkey and other countries, and these seem to have no basis whatsoever in the Treaties. We do not know who anyone is accountable to; we do not know who is exercising oversight. That is not better law-making: it is terrible law-making. It is neither democratic nor transparent nor accountable. So if we really want to regain trust, those are the issues that we should be focusing on, and that includes ourselves: we can be critical of ourselves rather about subject headings.

  João Pimenta Lopes, em nome do Grupo GUE/NGL. – Senhor Presidente, a resposta das instituições europeias à crise na e da União Europeia prossegue imersa em contradições, tendo como ponto comum o aprofundamento de divergência com os interesses e as aspirações dos povos e dos Estados. Fugas para a frente que se ensaiam, que aprofundam as vertentes neoliberal, federalista e militarista da União Europeia, visando aumentar ainda mais a concentração de poder económico e político no seu seio.

A vossa resposta põe em evidência duas realidades incontestáveis, a de que a União Europeia não é reformável e a da imperiosa necessidade de romper com as nossas políticas.

Garantir a reversibilidade dos tratados e a revogação do Tratado orçamental e do Tratado de Lisboa, criar um programa de apoio aos Estados-Membros que pretendam negociar a saída do euro, pondo termo à submissão e ao espartilho da moeda única, renegociar as dívidas soberanas, em boa parte ilegítimas, revogar a união bancária, retomar o controlo público da banca e de instrumentos soberanos de regulação da economia, recuperar para o setor público setores estratégicos da economia, defender e promover a produção nacional e os setores produtivos, valorizar o trabalho e os trabalhadores, defender uma política de justiça fiscal que alivia a carga sobre os rendimentos dos trabalhadores e do povo, rompendo com o escandaloso favorecimento do grande capital, defender o regime democrático no quadro da soberania dos Estados.

Apenas algumas propostas que a luta dos povos alcançará, possibilitando a construção de uma outra Europa, de cooperação, de paz, de solidariedade entre países soberanos e iguais em direitos.

  Bas Eickhout, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Mr President, I would like to thank the Commissioner for giving an overview of the Commission Work Programme for next year. Indeed, I also only received it 30 minutes before 3pm so I also had the privilege of a long reading time of more or less half an hour now.

Looking at what is on the table and what First Vice-President Timmermans was explaining to us in plenary, as to how we are going about things, I think we should just scrap this self-congratulatory tone. We are in a serious situation and still there are not so many people who feel involved and feel that the European Union is there on their behalf. I think that is still our biggest concern, for us all. We want a European Union that works for our citizens, for our consumers, and I think a lot of things need to be improved there. That is also why I get a bit tired when people say we have to focus on the big things: Europe should be big on the big things and small on the small things. Well let’s just conclude today that we all agree on that. The political discussion is what you call big, and what I call big, or what someone else calls small, which I call big. That is a political discussion. Let’s not hide as if a Commission work programme is a technical analysis. This is about priorities and political decisions, on where the European Union is focusing, and there are good things. If I look at what the Commission wants to do on the social pillar side, I think that looks good, but, how exactly is that going to look? Here I would like to subscribe to what my colleague from the S&D Group was saying. On the other and, if I look at the trade part, it is just business as usual, it is just continuing: ‘we are doing a great job so we continue’. Well sorry, but maybe some people have noticed that there is a huge debate on which direction the EU is going with its trade deals. We are not discussing trade deals more. CETA stands for Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. It is more than just a trade deal. That is why you are now having discussions with national parliaments. That is why there is now such a huge discussion, and the Commission is saying, we will just continue with it because it is working fine, which is just turning a blind eye to what is going on outside. I think that should be mentioned far more in the work programme.

The last point is on REFIT and this is a question to the Commissioner. I know there will be some discussions also on ecodesign and I know that you are a very good person who can convince people, so can you convince people also within your Commission how important it is to reduce our energy use? That is a big thing. With the vacuum cleaners we have saved energy equivalent to four coal-fired power plants. That is good for the environment, that is good for our economy, and it is good for our self-reliance on energy. That is what the Ecodesign Directive is about and I am sure that you can convey that message, rather than what a lot of tabloids are doing in portraying this as a regulatory burden, because I as a consumer do not mind what the rules are, but if in the end if I buy appliances that are much more energy efficient that is a good thing for us citizens.

  David Borrelli, a nome del gruppo EFDD. – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, dopo gli attentati di Parigi e di Bruxelles, dopo la Brexit, dopo ciò che sta accadendo quotidianamente nel Sud Europa, dopo il no di alcuni giorni fa al CETA, non è più possibile guardare l'azione delle istituzioni europee come prima. Il segnale che ci è giunto ieri non è soltanto un segnale tecnico, limitato ad un accordo commerciale, è soprattutto un segnale politico e tra le istituzioni europee nessuna più di questo Parlamento deve coglierne la valenza. Esiste una volontà di cambiamento radicale delle istituzioni europee, che sempre più cittadini vogliono.

Qualunque sia la configurazione finale del working program 2017, non si potrà, quindi, non tener conto di alcuni aspetti. Innanzitutto l'emigrazione di massa: nelle ultime settimane le navi italiane hanno soccorso ventimila persone e l'attacco a Mosul aggraverà l'emergenza. I numeri non lasciano spazio a indecisioni e ancor meno si può mostrare indecisione quando è in gioco la sicurezza interna, perché la sicurezza è il primo diritto e il primo bisogno che i nostri cittadini ci chiedono di tutelare.

La Brexit ci insegna che il distacco tra politica e istituzioni non si supera né con i proclami, né con le minacce, i cittadini valutano altro. Otto anni di crisi economica inchiodano le istituzioni europee al loro fallimento nel ricostruire su basi più forti la casa comune europea. Signor Vicepresidente, io mi auguro che il suo impegno speso per un consenso interistituzionale abbia successo, lo dico davvero, ma vorrei che sapesse che a quel dialogo interi gruppi di deputati non hanno potuto partecipare appieno a causa del non rispetto della democrazia interna da parte dei gruppi più forti e chi si è assunto allora la responsabilità di escluderli, sappia che la voce dei cittadini, di tutti i cittadini, saprà sempre come farsi ascoltare.

  Marcus Pretzell, im Namen der ENF-Fraktion. – Herr Präsident, meine Damen und Herren! 2016 hieß es: Jetzt ist nicht die Zeit für business as usual. Die Antwort der Europäischen Kommission lautete: mehr Europäische Union, mehr Zentralisierung.

Sie haben keine Antworten gefunden auf die Migrationskrise. Sie haben keine Antworten gefunden, die die Außengrenzen wirklich gesichert hätten. Sie haben keine Antworten auf den Terror – der bis nach Brüssel reicht – gefunden, wenn man vielleicht davon absieht, dass Sie jetzt die Eingänge des Europäischen Parlaments sichern. Sie haben keine Antwort gefunden, die die Wirtschaft, besonders die mittelständische in Europa, zufriedengestellt hätte. Nein. Sie ächzt auch weiterhin unter immer mehr und anwachsender Bürokratie. Sie haben keine Antwort gefunden auf den Brexit, außer dass Sie die Briten beschimpft haben – aus Brüssel und Straßburg. Und Sie haben auch keine Antworten gefunden auf die gerechtfertigten Bedenken der europäischen Bevölkerung gegen CETA.

Wallonien hat Nein gesagt. Was fällt der Europäischen Kommission dazu ein? Ultimaten, Erpressung und Bestechung. Was ist die Zustimmung von Wallonien Ihnen wert? Was werden Sie ihnen anbieten, um letztlich Millionen Menschen in Europa wieder hinters Licht zu führen? Wenn Herr Timmermans sagt, die letzten Jahre machen ihm Mut, dann sollten Europas Bürger davor Angst haben.

Es ist nicht die Zeit für business as usual –auch 2017 nicht. Aber Veränderung geht nicht mit people as usual. Deshalb braucht Europa neue Ideen, braucht neue Köpfe. In Deutschland werden wir damit 2017 anfangen. Und das ist erst der Anfang!

  Zoltán Balczó (NI). – Elnök Úr! Az Európai Bizottságnak meghatározó szerepe van két történelmi súlyú feladat megoldásában. Az egyik: kontinensünk Európaként való megtartása. Mert Európa nem csak egy földrajzi elnevezés: jelent minket, az itt élő embereket, múltunkat, történelmünket, identitásunkat. Lehet, és adott esetben kell is más földrészeken élők kultúráját, vallását tisztelni, de azt nem fogadhatjuk el, hogy milliószámra vándoroljanak be olyan emberek, akik agresszíven akarják érvényesíteni a saját szokásaikat, vallási előírásaikat.

A másik feladat Brexit után megtalálni az európai országok együttműködésének új formáját, mert teljesen világos, hogy ennek az együttműködésnek nincs alternatívája, de annak a folyamatnak, amely Lisszabon után egyre gyorsabban halad egy központosított állam létrehozása iránt, ennek kell, hogy legyen alternatívája, és ha ezt nem ismerik föl, akkor ez Európa széteséséhez fog vezetni.

  Cristian Dan Preda (PPE). – Monsieur le Président, je voudrais saluer l'adoption du programme de travail de 2017 par la Commission et dire que l'intitulé de ce programme est particulièrement bien choisi pour refléter les défis que nous devons relever actuellement.

Dans le domaine des relations extérieures, il faut rassurer les citoyens européens, répondre à leurs attentes par des actions cohérentes face à l'instabilité et aux conflits qui se multiplient dans notre voisinage, à l'Est ou au Sud. Plus que jamais, la défense et la promotion de la liberté, le soutien à nos alliés et la prévention des atrocités doivent être au cœur de nos actions dans notre voisinage.

En même temps, le processus d'élargissement doit continuer. Ce processus donne de l'espoir aux pays concernés et dissuade les velléités des puissances qui, à l'image de la Russie dans les Balkans ou bien en Moldavie, œuvrent à déstabiliser notre voisinage immédiat.

Par ailleurs, dans les mois qui viennent, la mise en œuvre du plan européen d'investissements externes sera cruciale. En reconnaissant le rôle central du secteur privé dans la création d'emplois, la croissance économique et les transformations sociétales plus larges, ce plan est une incarnation très concrète d'une Europe qui donne les moyens d'agir. Il représente aussi un espoir d'avoir enfin un cadre unique et cohérent pour stimuler les investissements en Afrique et dans notre voisinage ainsi que pour combattre la guerre, la pauvreté, l'absence d'infrastructures et la mauvaise gouvernance, qui menacent, au fond, la sécurité de nos citoyens.

  Enrique Guerrero Salom (S&D). – Señor Presidente, 2017 va a ser un año más, pero no debería ser un año cualquiera. Y no debería ser un año cualquiera porque está justamente a mitad del programa político y de la legitimidad de la Comisión y del Parlamento y, por tanto, empieza a ser el elemento fundamental de nuestro legado.

El legado que debe ser reconocido positivamente por los ciudadanos solo puede basarse en algunos puntos como, por ejemplo, proporcionar seguridad, que es una preocupación creciente de la ciudadanía, y, sobre todo, proporcionar protección sin proteccionismo. Protección sin proteccionismo significa trabajar por el crecimiento, la creación de empleo y oportunidades para los jóvenes. Me ha parecido leer que, de cara al Libro Blanco del próximo año en Roma, se pone el acento en la estabilidad cuando se trata de revisar el Pacto de Estabilidad y Crecimiento. Yo creo que donde hay que poner el acento es en el crecimiento, no tanto en la estabilidad.

En segundo lugar, hay que mejorar, también para los ciudadanos, su vida real, su vida social, su vida cotidiana. Y eso implica medidas concretas en lo que se refiere a la unión social.

El señor Timmermans ha hecho antes un cierto juego de conceptos que me parece muy apropiado, diciendo que «frente a la emigración hemos tenido que asegurar nuestras fronteras y responder a la cohesión interna». Pero la cohesión interna es sobre todo también la cohesión de la convergencia.

Si los ciudadanos europeos no perciben que la Unión Europea atribuye a todos unas oportunidades que les permitan vivir sin gran desigualdad, la Unión perderá legitimidad y, por tanto, debilitará su proyecto político.

  Ryszard Czarnecki (ECR). – Panie Przewodniczący! Mój przedmówca mówił o legitymacji. Parlament Europejski ma jednak inną legitymację niż Komisja Europejska, bo Parlament Europejski pochodzi z wyborów, Komisja tej procedury nie przechodzi i myślę, że tym bardziej powinna wsłuchiwać się w głos obywateli, a jej przedstawiciele mówić z nieco większą skromnością. Mam poczucie pewnego déjà vu, bo ja co rusz słyszę od kolejnych przewodniczących Komisji Europejskiej kolejne deklaracje o walce z biurokracją czy z eurobiurokracją. Część tej biurokracji stanowi Komisja Europejska, może lepszą? Tym niemniej jednak jest to trochę walka z cieniem. Czekamy w tej kwestii na konkrety, a nie na slogany i hasła. Dzisiaj dla coraz bardziej krytycznych wobec Unii Europejskiej (niestety tak można powiedzieć) obywateli te hasła nie wystarczą.

Wreszcie naprawdę odkurzacze to nie jest rzecz, która może porwać obywateli Unii Europejskiej. A co do transparencji, to bardzo proszę, żeby w czasie najbliższego spotkania z przedstawicielami Rady panowie z Komisji zapytali, dlaczego Rada nie odpowiada na nasze pytania, pytania europosłów, odnośnie do budżetu Rady. Tak się dzieje od 7 lat.

(Mówca zgodził się odpowiedzieć na pytanie zadane przez podniesienie niebieskiej kartki (art. 162 ust. 8 Regulaminu))

  Tibor Szanyi (S&D), Kékkártyás kérdés. – Tisztelt Képviselő Úr! Ön történész, ugye ezt tudjuk, és itt is utalt bizonyos történelmi távlatokra, főleg visszafele menően. De akkor én is hadd mondjak valamit, hogy Juncker úr 2006 tavaszán a Károly-díj átvételekor azt mondta, hogy vagy tíz éven belül megvalósul a szociális Európa, vagy ennek az integrációnak így vége. Ön szerint Juncker úr tévedett, vagy ennek van vége?

  Ryszard Czarnecki (ECR), odpowiedź na pytanie zadane przez podniesienie niebieskiej kartki. – Dziękuję za to pytanie panu posłowi Szanyi’emu, z którym często mamy różne poglądy, ale jednak zawsze z uwagą wysłuchuję tego, co mówi, bo warto go słuchać. Ja myślę, że akurat w tej sprawie warto poprzeć pana przewodniczącego Junckera, tylko należy się zapytać, co to może oznaczać w praktyce? Jest wyzwanie zwłaszcza dla młodych ludzi w Europie, także w moim kraju, których pierwszą pracą jest pójście do urzędu dla bezrobotnych. Ale pytanie, czy Komisja Europejska może ten problem realnie rozwiązać? I na koniec pamiętam inne słowa pana Junckera, który żartował, że kiedy zaczynają się problemy, trzeba kłamać. Ja myślę odwrotnie: zaczynają się problemy, trzeba mówić prawdę.

  Rolandas Paksas (EFDD). – Pone pirmininke, Komisijos vicepirmininke. Keletas pasiūlymų, gal labiau kalėdinių.

Pirma. Tai Europos Sąjungos tapatybės krizės įveikimas. Nebegalima ilgiau stovėti kryžkelėje tarp federalistinės Europos Sąjungos ir nacionalinių valstybių Europos Sąjungos. Ir apsisprendimas turi būti greitas ir aiškus – būtina užmiršti bet kokias federalistines užmačias, atsisakyti globalizmo ideologijos ir pastangų tarsi su buldozeriu prastumti Europos valstybių piliečiams abejotinos vertės sprendimus.

Antra. Keisti požiūrį į migracijos politiką. Atsisakyti kvotų, perskirstant po Europos Sąjungos šalis atbėgėlius. Stiprinti Europos Sąjungos išorės sienas, siunčiant aiškią žinią, kad ekonominiams migrantams iš trečiųjų šalių jos bus uždarytos. Ir iš tikrųjų jas uždaryti.

Ir trečia. Demokratija nėra Briuselio institucijų diktatas Bendrijos narėms, prisidengiant neva rūpesčiu dėl jos likimo. Pasitikėjimo institucijomis atkūrimas, pasitikėjimo komisarais atkūrimas ir visuomenei naudingi sprendimai – tai būtų geriausia, ką Europos Komisija galėtų pradėti daryti net nelaukiant 2017 metų.

  Mario Borghezio (ENF). – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, quest'Unione europea che ci presenta un vasto programma, come l'avrebbe definito il generale De Gaulle vedendo il cartello morte ai cretini". Io penso che parlarci di soluzione rapida del problema dell'immigrazione, di affrontare il problema della ricollocazione, quando tutti i telegiornali in tutta Europa attraverso euronews, ci danno le immagini di quello che sta avvenendo anche soltanto nelle coste italiane, dove ieri ne sono sbarcati 4.000 e tutti i giorni ne sbarcano da 500 a 700 a 1.000 e l'Europa si mostra incapace di affrontare seriamente.

Quindi questo è un programma del tutto illusorio partendo dall'immigrazione. D'altronde, se noi passiamo al tema internazionale, vediamo quello che intende fare la Commissione nei confronti dell'Africa, non vediamo misure serie, incisive, per esempio per l'applicazione degli accordi di Cotonou che prevedono l'obbligo per i paesi africani esportatori di immigrati di riprendersi i loro immigrati economici quando non hanno i requisiti. E invece questo non avviene perché l'Europa non conta niente.

Si spara a Mosul, si spara ad Aleppo, ci sono là interessi importanti di un'area strategica dal punto di vista anche economico e anche militare per i paesi membri dell'Unione europea, ma l'Europa dov'è? La signora Mogherini è sempre in viaggio, ci fa sempre sapere che ha degli ottimi rapporti, chiama amici tutti questi popoli, ma poi quando parla, e se parla, non se ne vedono i risultati, non si sente nemmeno rumore della sua voce. Allora basta con questa immigrazione clandestina! Diamo finalmente una realtà alla difesa delle frontiere esterne! Noi non vogliamo essere invasi!

  Françoise Grossetête (PPE). – Monsieur le Président, Monsieur le Vice-président de la Commission, dans l'histoire de notre continent, rarement les circonstances auront réclamé autant d'Union européenne. En effet, le plus grand danger qui nous menace, c'est celui de l'immobilisme, alors que chaque jour semble apporter une nouvelle crise et que la défiance est de plus en plus profonde. Pour cela, il faut donc que le programme de travail soit un programme de combat, combat pour la réindustrialisation de notre continent, la relance de l'économie et la lutte contre le chômage qui mine nos sociétés.

Je suis heureuse de voir que la Commission fait du secteur spatial l'une de ses priorités industrielles. L'utilisation des données spatiales et l'indépendance de notre accès à l'espace sont essentielles pour notre tissu industriel. Je mets également tous mes espoirs dans une défense européenne ou dans un plan ambitieux du numérique. Le combat doit aussi se jouer pour la convergence de nos économies et la protection de la zone euro. Dans ce domaine, il nous faut pallier le manque d'investissement chronique, malgré le plan Juncker sur notre continent, en renforçant l'union bancaire et celle des marchés des capitaux.

Je plaide aussi pour plus de justice fiscale et sociale. Les propositions de la Commission pour lutter contre la fraude fiscale et les paradis fiscaux vont dans ce sens.

Enfin, je dis qu'il faut mener le combat pour promouvoir des normes rigoureuses en matière de protection de l'environnement et de la santé. Sur ce point, je termine avec un regret parce qu'il s'agit là des biens les plus précieux de nos concitoyens et, malheureusement, l'on constate un manque flagrant de programme positif de la Commission en matière de santé, alors que tant de choses restent à accomplir dans la lutte contre le cancer et la résistance aux antimicrobiens ou encore pour faire de l'Europe un champion de la santé innovante. Tout cela participe à la croissance.

  Pervenche Berès (S&D). – Monsieur le Président, Monsieur le Vice-président de la Commission, je crois que vous êtes venu nous exposer le programme REFIT de la Commission européenne. Cela fait partie de votre mandat, mais ce n'est manifestement pas ce qui permettra de convaincre nos concitoyens que la Commission se préoccupe de ce qui les concerne ou de ce qui les inquiète.

Je laisserai de côté la façon dont vous gérerez la négociation du Brexit une fois que l'article 50 aura été mis sur la table par Theresa May, mais pour cette année 2017, personne ne peut, bien évidemment, passer sous silence l'enjeu de cette négociation.

Je voudrais insister sur trois priorités. La première, c'est la suite logique de la conférence de Paris et la nécessité de surdéterminer une stratégie d'investissement en faveur de la transition écologique. Vous avez entre les mains, pour l'année 2017, plusieurs outils qui vont vous permettre d'agir conformément à cet objectif. Je pense tout d'abord, bien sûr, au programme de renouvellement du plan d'investissement EFSI. Il faut, cette fois-ci, que vous écoutiez le Parlement européen pour en faire un outil au service de la transition écologique. C'est une stratégie que l'on doit retrouver aussi dans le pacte de croissance et de stabilité.

Deuxième priorité: l'achèvement de l'Union économique et monétaire, évidemment; je ne vous surprendrai pas. Mais le livre blanc dont la Commission européenne s'était fait attribuer la responsabilité dans le rapport des cinq présidents est devenu un rapport sur l'avenir de l'Union européenne. N'oubliez pas la priorité de l'Union économique et monétaire.

Dernier point, la politique commerciale, vous le voyez bien...

(Le Président retire la parole à l'oratrice)

  Bernd Lucke (ECR). – Herr Präsident, Herr Vizepräsident Timmermans! Das Arbeitsprogramm der Kommission ist den Abgeordneten so kurzfristig zugestellt worden, dass keiner von uns das Programm hat lesen können, über das wir jetzt debattieren sollen.

Meine Frage an Sie ist: Sind Sie bereit, sich im Namen der Kommission vor dem Parlament für diese Missachtung des Parlaments zu entschuldigen? Ich glaube, das wäre ausgesprochen geboten, dass Sie das täten, denn das ist eine Missachtung des Parlaments, wenn wir die Unterlagen, über die wir debattieren sollen – so wichtige Unterlagen wie das Kommissionsprogramm –, nicht rechtzeitig bekommen.

Diese Art von Missachtung ist in gewisser Hinsicht bezeichnend für ein Demokratiedefizit, das wir an vielen Stellen in der Europäischen Union haben. Viele Länder, viele Menschen in Europa haben immer mehr das Gefühl, dass über ihre Köpfe hinweg entschieden wird, ohne dass sie noch mitbestimmen können – und ich spreche für ein Land, das möchte keine Einlagensicherung haben, das möchte keine vergemeinschaftete Arbeitslosenversicherung haben, das möchte keine EU-Steuern haben, das möchte keine EU-Armee haben. Aber Sie und Ihre Kommission arbeiten zielstrebig auf genau das hin, und das ist die Missachtung, die auch im politischen Bereich durch diese Kommission ausgedrückt wird.

  Beatrix von Storch (EFDD). – Herr Präsident! Wir diskutieren über das Arbeitsprogramm der Kommission 2017. Auch wenn es schon angemerkt worden ist – gerne nochmal: Dieses Programm umfasst 50 Seiten: 20 Seiten Programm, 30 Seiten Anlagen, und es wurde uns exakt 10 Minuten vor Beginn der Debatte überlassen. Wir reden hier also über etwas, von dem wir gar nicht wissen was drinsteht.

Abgesehen davon: Das Arbeitsprogramm der Kommission sollte das Herzstück aller Debatten sein. Es geht um ihr Regierungsprogramm. Im Prinzip sollte dieser Raum voll sein, und wo stehen wir? Wir haben ein Plenum – es sind ungefähr 50 oder 60 Abgeordnete anwesend, gleichwohl 72 Dolmetscher, die hier übersetzen. 72 Dolmetscher für etwa 50 oder 60 Abgeordnete!

Sie wundern sich, warum Sie die Menschen verlieren. Sie wundern sich, warum Sie die Menschen immer weniger erreichen: weil hier Geisterdebatten geführt werden, mit den immer gleichen Phrasen, mit den immer gleichen Worthülsen, die leer sind. Und sie sind bewiesenermaßen leer, denn Sie wissen gar nicht, worüber Sie reden.

Ich bin die einzige, die nicht über das Programm phrast wie alle anderen hier. Ich stelle fest, dass ich über etwas nicht reden kann, was mir nicht vorliegt. Ich glaube, wenn Sie feststellen wollen, wie Sie die Menschen zurückgewinnen wollen: „Entbrüsseln“ Sie sich.

  Bogdan Brunon Wenta (PPE). – Panie Przewodniczący! Ten rok był i jest rokiem globalnych wyzwań, także w zakresie polityki rozwojowej, i trzeba nastawić się, że podobnie będzie w roku 2017. Kryzys migracyjno-uchodźczy jest zjawiskiem złożonym o rosnącej skali także dla Unii. Pojawiają się problemy związane ze złą sytuacją humanitarną w obozach dla uchodźców czy polityką readmisji oraz reintegracji imigrantów i uchodźców w krajach pochodzenia. Dlatego też należy działać u źródeł, czyniąc współpracę na rzecz rozwoju bardziej skuteczną i skoordynowaną oraz komplementarną wobec pozostałych unijnych instrumentów działań zewnętrznych.

Wrzesień 2016 to pierwsza rocznica przyjęcia Agendy 2030, w której kształtowaniu UE odegrała ważną rolę poprzez konsultacje publiczne, negocjacje i liczne badania. Ważne jest, aby Unia jeszcze bardziej wzmocniła działania na rzecz wdrażania i monitorowania tego globalnego zobowiązania, którego celem jest likwidacja ubóstwa i zagwarantowanie zrównoważonego rozwoju.

Rok 2017 zbliża nas także do przeglądu i zawarcia nowego partnerstwa z krajami AKP po roku 2020. Jest istotne, aby podczas negocjacji podkreślić kluczowe znaczenie dialogu politycznego, który dotychczas był niedostatecznie wykorzystywany i mało skuteczny, oraz skupić się na poprawie sytuacji praw człowieka, zasad demokratycznych i praworządności w krajach partnerskich poprzez włączenie i budowanie potencjału społeczeństwa obywatelskiego. Dla obecnych i przyszłych wyzwań polityczne granice nie mają znaczenia, mają one charakter trans- i ponadnarodowy. Dlatego Unia powinna jednak starannie opierać się na metodzie wspólnotowej, z drugiej jednak strony kontynuować współpracę z partnerami zewnętrznymi.

  Bernd Lange (S&D). – Herr Präsident, Herr Vizepräsident der Kommission, liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Viele Menschen in der Europäischen Union haben Angst vor einer unkontrollierten gesellschaftlichen Entwicklung – sei es Globalisierung, sei es Digitalisierung, sei es die Frage ihrer sozialen Sicherung, sei es die Frage, wie Banken mit Geld umgehen und wie Konzerne ihr Leben bestimmen. Deswegen ist auch die zentrale Aufgabe der Europäischen Union, diesen Menschen wieder Sicherheit und Gestaltungskraft für ihre Zukunft zu geben, weil ansonsten Rechtspopulisten mit den Ängsten spielen können und Entwicklungen nach vorne bringen, die wir alle nicht wollen.

Deswegen glaube ich, dass es richtig ist, sich auf die zentralen Momente der Arbeit zu konzentrieren. Aber die müssen die soziale Sicherheit der Menschen in der Europäischen Union im Fokus haben, damit Rechtspopulisten keine Chance haben. In der Tat, Europa ist nicht das Problem. Der aufkommende Nationalismus in den Mitgliedstaaten ist das Problem, das wir angehen müssen.

  Sajjad Karim (ECR). – Mr President, some two and a half years ago I had a very pleasant surprise when the Commissioner/Vice-President wanted to sit with me and discuss what the Commission Work Programme should be at that time. I have many members from my committee here, where I have led on the subsidiarity and proportionality, better law—making brief. I have been very prescriptive in my approach throughout that time but I find, based upon my national position as a British MEP, that I cannot be so prescriptive now.

Commissioner, you may recall that in the conversation we had at that time it was clear that the Europe and national state relationship was broken and that is what did it for us in the United Kingdom now. That is what must absolutely be fixed. I keep being told by colleagues that you Britishers cannot have à la carte Europe. Well, actually, colleagues, you have all got à la carte Europe. When Europe does something good, your national governments claim it for themselves. When Europe does something which is misreported, your national governments blame it on Europe, and unless you bridge that gap by making your parliaments directly a part of the decision—making process here in the European Union, I am afraid that bridge is going to get wider and wider and eventually, one by one, we will all fall in ...

(The President cut off the speaker)

  Wim van de Camp (PPE). – De heer Timmermans is bekend met de kreet “zonder transport staat alles stil”. Ik dank hem voor het stuk dat ik snel even hebben kunnen scannen. Veel aandacht gaat terecht uit naar de decarbonisatie van de transportsector. Wij kennen de voorstellen van mevrouw Bulc. Die zijn nu opgenomen in het werkprogramma. Wij zullen daar als Europees Parlement driftig mee aan de slag gaan.

Toch mis ik een aantal onderdelen, al begrijp ik natuurlijk goed dat niet alles in deze brief kan staan. Voor het verslag van deze bijeenkomst wil ik daarom even aandacht vragen voor de algemene economische betekenis van de transportsector, de sociale thema's – er is immers veel te doen over sociale dumping in de transportsector –, en de grensbewaking. Schengen levert namelijk meer transportmoeilijkheden op. Het probleem Calais wordt, als het goed is, deze maand redelijk met de Franse regering tot een oplossing gebracht. Maar de transportsector staat ook voor veel innovatie en met name de concurrentie met de Amerikanen op het vlak van de zelfrijdende auto en met elkaar verbonden auto's.

Dat zijn allemaal thema's die ook hierbij aan de orde moeten komen. Tot slot IMO en IKO. Maar daar zullen wij verder over praten met de vakcommissaris.

  Elly Schlein (S&D). – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, mi pare che a fronte della grave crisi che è sta attraversando l'Unione, del trauma di Brexit, dell'egoismo dei governi europei che pensano solo ai propri dibattiti nazionali e alle scadenze elettorali, di chi vuole i benefici di stare nell'UE, ma rifiuta di condividerne le responsabilità, di fronte a questo mi pare che il programma di lavoro della Commissione abbia ancora il sapore del business as usual, troppo timido sulla dimensione sociale dell'Unione, su cui pure la Commissione si era impegnata all'inizio del suo mandato, ma alle parole non sono ancora seguite proposte concrete per dare ai cittadini le risposte che si aspettano. Su asilo e immigrazione, si conferma l'approccio securitario che ha già fallito e si va verso una progressiva esternalizzazione delle nostre frontiere, creando un preoccupante filtro all'ingresso. Dove sono la solidarietà e quelle risposte comuni che questo Parlamento ha chiesto a più riprese per distribuire meglio le responsabilità tra Stati membri? Mi pare si scelga di assecondare gli egoismi di alcuni di questi. Ecco, non è così che salveremo l'Unione dalla disgregazione. Qualche passo avanti si è invece fatto sulla lotta contro elusione ed evasione fiscale, ma bisogna ancora insistere per far valere un principio semplice: che le tasse si pagano dove si fanno i profitti.

  Evelyn Regner (S&D). – Herr Präsident, sehr geehrter Herr Vizepräsident der Kommission! Die Kommission hat es schwer: Die Handlungsspielräume sind eng, die europäischen Staaten bremsen gewaltig – wir wissen das im Europäischen Parlament. Umso mehr brauchen wir leadership der Kommission, und das Zauberwort dafür ist Soziales, mit fünf Rufzeichen. Menschen wünschen Sicherheit, soziale Sicherheit. Das heißt, wie immer wir es auch nennen, fetten Sie die europäische soziale Säule auf, so gut es nur geht. Machen Sie etwas!

Und weiters: Setzen Sie die Einpersonengesellschaft auf die REFIT-Liste. Warum? Briefkastenfirmen muss endlich ein Riegel vorgeschoben werden. Wir sehen das bei all den Panama-Papers, LuxLeaks, BahamasLeaks usw. Legen Sie einen Vorschlag zur Sitzverlegung von Unternehmenssitzen vor, damit wir eben dieses Briefkastenproblem nun endlich lösen können. Die Umsetzung und die Durchsetzung von EU-Recht ist wichtig, aber bei weitem nicht genug. Und schließlich: Vergessen Sie auch bitte die Whistleblower nicht.

  Mercedes Bresso (S&D). – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, voglio anch'io ringraziare la Commissione per lo sforzo fatto per concentrare il proprio lavoro su priorità che rispondano in modo chiaro ai bisogni dei cittadini. Voglio ricordarne alcune. Innanzi tutto il lavoro che stiamo facendo al Parlamento con le tre relazioni sul futuro dell'Unione, che è finalizzato anche a aprire il dialogo con la Commissione sulla messa a giorno della relazione dei cinque presidenti. In secondo luogo, voglio ricordare un altro lavoro comune che dovremmo fare nel prossimo periodo, sarà quello sul registro di trasparenza e sull'implementazione dell'accordo interistituzionale su better lawmaking e, da ultimo, la necessità di dare risposte forti a temi quali migrazione, difesa, sicurezza, disoccupazione giovanile e il rilancio degli investimenti sul territorio europeo.

  Agnes Jongerius (S&D). – De Commissie-Juncker kwam in de loop van dit jaar met het idee van de sociale pijler. Die sociale AAA-rating is inderdaad een goed en belangrijk principe, vooral in deze tijd. Maar als we nu diep in het werkprogramma van de Commissie duiken, dan vinden we er nog niet heel veel van terug. Het blijft bij korte verwijzingen naar mogelijke initiatieven. Maar het idee was toch om ons sociaal model te verankeren in het Europese acquis en te garanderen dat er sociale zekerheid zou zijn voor alle Europeanen en dat alle Europeanen ook recht zouden hebben op een leefbaar inkomen in alle lidstaten?

Een Nederlandse uitdrukking luidt: veel beloven en weinig geven doet de gek in vreugde leven. Dat zouden we volgens mij moeten voorkomen. Laten we die AAA-belofte aan de Europese bevolking wel inlossen. Dat kan, maar dan moet de Commissie wel met concrete voorstellen komen voor de sociale pijler.

Intervenciones con arreglo al procedimiento de solicitud incidental de uso de la palabra («catch the eye»)

  Virginie Rozière (S&D). – Monsieur le Président, Monsieur le Vice-président, votre Commission prétend que les PME sont au cœur de ses préoccupations. Tant mieux, car ce Parlement vous a proposé, il y a un an, une mesure simple et efficace pour les soutenir: la reconnaissance des indications géographiques pour les produits artisanaux. Cela fait maintenant un an que nous attendons une proposition de la Commission.

Le textile, la céramique, la coutellerie et la pierre sont autant de secteurs et autant de PME qui attendent une protection efficace de la part de la Commission européenne. Ce sont autant d'emplois locaux qui pourraient être renforcés et une concurrence déloyale de produits provenant hors de l'Union européenne qui pourrait être évitée. C'est une demande récurrente des consommateurs qui attendent des certitudes sur les produits qu'ils achètent. C'est aussi une demande des citoyens qui veulent que la Commission européenne se préoccupe réellement de la situation des territoires et montre qu'elle comprend leurs attentes et qu'elle est au plus près du quotidien des citoyens et des entreprises.

Monsieur le Vice-président, nous attendons une proposition législative de la Commission. Nous comptons sur vous; faites en sorte que l'espoir ne devienne pas de l'impatience ou du ressentiment.

  Michaela Šojdrová (PPE). – Pane předsedající, pane místopředsedo, děkuji za sdělení vašich priorit pro nastávající období. Zejména bezpečnost, na kterou se chcete zaměřit, považuji také za prioritu. Velmi oceňuji směr Komise, která se chce zaměřit na provádění a implementaci stávajících směrnic. Myslím, že to je velmi správné rozhodnutí, a proto se Vás také chci zeptat a upozornit na to, že je v legislativním procesu revize směrnice o vysílání pracovníků. Bohužel je v tomto procesu právě ve chvíli, kdy probíhá implementace směrnice, která provádí směrnici z roku 1996, a tato implementace nebyla dokončena. Vážený pane místopředsed, já chci Komisi požádat, abyste zvážili, zda je rozumné provádět revizi směrnice, jejíž implementace nebyla dokončena. Je to myslím v rozporu s vaším záměrem soustředit se na implementaci, vyhodnotit a pak teprve provádět nové směrnice.

  Νότης Μαριάς ( ECR). – Κύριε Πρόεδρε, το πρόγραμμα εργασίας της Επιτροπής για το 2017 περιλαμβάνει μέτρα για την αντιμετώπιση των τρεχουσών προκλήσεων των κρατών μελών της Ένωσης σε διαφόρους τομείς, όπως η απασχόληση, η ανάπτυξη και οι επενδύσεις. Στα πλαίσια του προγράμματος εργασίας της Επιτροπής αναμένεται να υπάρξει χρηματοδότηση ύψους 8,5 δισεκατομμυρίων ευρώ για τον τομέα της καινοτομίας και της έρευνας, ενώ θα ληφθούν μέτρα για την ενίσχυση της απασχόλησης και την αντιμετώπιση της οικονομικής και προσφυγική κρίσης που πλήττει τα κράτη μέλη.

Ωστόσο, όπως φάνηκε και από το πρόγραμμα εργασίας το 2016, κύριε Timmermans, οι στόχοι της Επιτροπής για ανάπτυξη δεν απέδωσαν, με αποτέλεσμα σε ορισμένα κράτη μέλη του ευρωπαϊκού Νότου, και ιδίως στην Ελλάδα, να καταγράφονται ακόμη πιο υψηλά επίπεδα ανεργίας. Τα κονδύλια που δίνει η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση για την Ελλάδα είναι ψίχουλα μπροστά στις πραγματικές ανάγκες που υπάρχουν. Αντί λοιπόν η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση να τηρεί τους στόχους του προγράμματος εργασίας και να ενισχύει την ανάπτυξη και τις επενδύσεις, αυξάνει, δυστυχώς, με τη δράση της και την πολιτική λιτότητας και βίαιης δημοσιονομικής προσαρμογής που ακολουθεί, τα ποσοστά ανεργίας στην Ευρώπη.

  Luke Ming Flanagan (GUE/NGL). – Mr President, in a sense this is a programme for governance for 2017 and you would imagine that this place would be buzzing, alive with people. You would get more buzz out of a fly with one day to live! We have issues such as Brexit, we have trade deals – that you crave after, Mr Timmermans – that are falling apart all around your ears, we have a refugee crisis, we have a crisis in agriculture and we have a serious crisis of confidence within the EU institutions.

So, what do you do? With the people who were elected in this Parliament to represent the views of the people? You supply us with your programme for governance 15 minutes before we come in here! That is a complete and utter joke. How on earth can anyone have a debate with only 15 minutes to go through the information? I think I have heard longer standing Members at this stage joke about this. This is not a joke! If you want people to take the European Union seriously, if you are going to have a programme, give it to us more than 13 minutes before – but you do not care what we think and that is why you have done what you have done.

  Silvia Costa (S&D). – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, ringrazio naturalmente il Vicepresidente Timmermans per la volontà di dare delle indicazioni molto, diciamo, sintetiche e strategiche, però penso che il 2017 davvero non può essere un anno normale, sarà un anno molto speciale, non vorrei che fosse solo l'anno del Brexit, deve essere il sessantesimo anniversario dei trattati, e come tale, penso sia importante quello che sta facendo per il rilancio istituzionale, politico, economico. Metterei al centro i giovani. Inviterei anche la Commissione a considerare che l'anno prossimo sono due anniversari, 60 anni del trattato e i 30 anni di Erasmus. Mettiamo al centro la generazione dell'Erasmus per fare insieme un rilancio di fiducia nei cittadini di quello che deve essere l'Europa.

Credo che da questo punto di vista tra le dieci priorità sarà necessario inserire, oggi non c'è ancora di più, un tema senza il quale non c'è futuro nella prospettiva europea parlo delle politiche della cultura delle politiche per l'educazione e delle politiche per la coesione, quindi l'inclusione sociale e l'agenda sociale. Mi sembra anche importante che noi rispettiamo anche quanto ha detto Juncker - e chiudo - quando ha detto che la creatività, la cultura, gli autori sono i gioielli della corona. Siamo coerenti, inseriamo di più questo aspetto, questo settore strategico del culture heritage, dell'industria culturale creativa nelle politiche industriali, nelle politiche di crescita e nelle politiche anche di innovazione.

  Nicola Caputo (S&D). – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, la spirale della crisi economica nella quale è precipitata l'Europa da oltre 8 anni continua a mordere e a rendere precaria la vita di milioni di cittadini europei. È ormai chiaro che trattasi di una crisi strutturale e come tale necessita di interventi immediati, concreti, ma anche innovativi. Occorre accelerare la transizione verso un modello di tipo circolare. L'occupazione resta la priorità assoluta, ma occorrono investimenti mirati in ricerca e nuove tecnologie per favorire una crescita sostenibile, ottimizzando l'uso delle risorse, avviando una moderna politica di coesione per il post 2020 che rispetti la vera natura di strumento di investimento e che valga effettivamente per tutte le regioni dell'Unione europea. Vanno rafforzate, per ottimizzarne l'uso, le sinergie tra i fondi strutturali e di investimento europei, il FEIS, e gli altri strumenti di finanziamento. Occorre, infine, agevolare l'accesso ai capitali da parte delle imprese, delle PMI e l'adozione di efficaci misure di protezione sociale affinché l'obiettivo della lotta alla povertà della strategia Europa 2020 non resti solo un buon proposito.

(Fin de las intervenciones con arreglo al procedimiento de solicitud incidental de uso de la palabra («catch the eye»))

  Frans Timmermans, First Vice-President of the Commission. – Mr President, let me start by making a comment on procedure. I came here immediately after the College decided on the Commission Work Programme. We immediately sent the Commission Work Programme to every single Member of Parliament and I immediately came here before going anywhere else – not talking to the press, not talking to anybody else – to make a statement on the Commission Work Programme out of respect for your Parliament and out of respect for your work. If you do not want that, just let us know and we will not do it. I will go and talk to the press and we can talk to each other later on. This is how I am trying to show respect for the European Parliament and give you, before anybody else, the Commission Work Programme.

Of course this is not the moment that we go through every detail of the Commission’s Work Programme. I am not expecting you to have read everything in 15, 20 or 30 minutes. That is not the point. The point is that I believe that if we have a decision in the College on the Commission’s Work Programme, you should be the first to hear about this and to be informed about this. I think this is a sign of respect and certainly not a sign of disrespect.

Secondly, on many of the things you said there will obviously be extensive debates in the months to come. But let me just pick up on some of the points that were made. This Commission is very much aware of the fact that people in Europe see Europe as a source of insecurity, as a source of injustice and as a source of globalisation that takes away their rights and that takes away the securities they had.

We need to change that paradigm into a different paradigm, where Europe can show that, by doing concrete things, we do indeed improve their lives, we do indeed improve employment, we do indeed improve Europe’s competitive position worldwide and we do provide protection by being very concrete in concrete measures there where we have a competence at European level. That is what the Commission Work Programme is focused upon again this year.

My second point is that, in the preparation of the Commission Work Programme, we have gone extensively through debates with your Parliament, starting with the debate on and after the State of the Union address by President Juncker leading up to the letter of intent; comments were given and the discussion was held in the Conference of Committee Chairs. That went extremely well and what we see today is completely in line with what we have discussed before so there can be no huge surprises. Obviously, because you are a political institution with divergent political views, not everybody will be equally happy with the content of what we did. This is where we will come to the debate in the months to come with all my colleagues.

On transparency, perhaps we could work, for instance, on the interinstitutional agreement on the mandatory Transparency Register to improve transparency. Perhaps Ms in 't Veld can then convince her Group to vote for the Giegold report on this, which would help us to bring it forward. So, in that sense, we can continue to work together to improve transparency.

Yes, we need a pro—growth policy and, yes, everybody would agree worldwide that what Europe lacks most is investment. That is why the Commission Work Programme for next year puts a lot of emphasis on increasing the possibilities of investment, of increasing the possibilities – especially for the younger generation – for getting people to take up a job, to take up an internship, to take up a course of study, which has been a successful approach and we need to expand on that.

I can assure Mr Eickhout that I am not about self—congratulation. Frankly, I remove every sentence that says ‘oh, we are so great’ in any communication coming out of the Commission on my behalf. So do not worry about that. I know where we are. I think I was the first, also in my own country, to announce that I saw the extent of the problems that we are in. I have also said quite clearly that this is a project that could also fail if we are not very careful. So in that sense I am very far from being self-congratulatory. I think we have quite a number of issues we need to solve.

Indeed I believe eco—design makes a huge contribution to solving some of our issues and to getting our economy to where it is going to be completely sustainable and therefore very competitive in a world, in this fourth industrial revolution, which is changing very quickly to a sustainable economy. The quicker we do that and the more we invest in that, the better we will come out of this, also in terms of employment and competitiveness.

Of course, the issue of migration will be first and foremost on our minds in the year to come. That is beyond any doubt but, there again, everybody needs to accept their responsibility. This is somewhere where we cannot have a European Union of à la carte solidarity. If we have a problem that is faced by the Union as a whole, every single Member State will have to take their share of the responsibility in solving the problem. That is the gist of the proposals the Commission, in close collaboration with your Parliament, has made and will be continuing to make.

And there I like the phrase ‘protection without protectionism’, which is something I think could be the core of what we need to do. Europeans want more protection. They want to regain control of their destinies. That was the core of the debate during the Brexit campaign. That is what we see in every single Member State and we, with the limited possibilities we have, based on the competences we derive from the Treaty, should offer some solutions for the protection people are looking for. That is, I believe, the gist of the Commission Work Programme.

El Presidente. – Se cierra el debate.

  Soledad Cabezón Ruiz (S&D), por escrito. – 2017 va a ser un año más pero no debería ser un año cualquiera, ya que se encuentra en la mitad del programa político de la Comisión Europea y del Parlamento Europeo. Va a marcar el inicio de nuestro legado. Un legado que debe tener en cuenta la seguridad, pero no solamente. Sobre todo, la Unión debe proporcionar protección sin proteccionismo mediante el crecimiento económico, la creación de empleo, y mayores oportunidades para los jóvenes. Hay que poner el acento en el crecimiento más que en la estabilidad para mejorar la vida cotidiana de nuestros ciudadanos. Esto sólo se conseguirá mediante medidas sociales. La cohesión interna necesaria no solo se consigue asegurando el control de las fronteras, sino que esa cohesión debe darse desde dentro de la Unión mediante la construcción de un proyecto interno común. Estamos a tiempo. Pedimos a la Comisión que haga efectiva las medidas que publica en el Programa de Trabajo Anual para el año próximo. Pero además, queremos más: en iniciativa joven, en economía circular, en el marco financiero plurianual, en el mercado único digital, en la fiscalización de las multinacionales, en la Unión Económica y Monetaria y, por supuesto, en el pilar social.

  Iratxe García Pérez (S&D), por escrito. – 2017 va a ser un año más pero no debería ser un año cualquiera, ya que se encuentra en la mitad del programa político de la Comisión Europea y del Parlamento Europeo. Va a marcar el inicio de nuestro legado. Un legado que debe tener en cuenta la seguridad, pero no solamente. Sobre todo, la Unión debe proporcionar protección sin proteccionismo mediante el crecimiento económico, la creación de empleo, y mayores oportunidades para los jóvenes.

Hay que poner el acento en el crecimiento más que en la estabilidad para mejorar la vida cotidiana de nuestros ciudadanos. Esto sólo se conseguirá mediante medidas sociales. La cohesión interna necesaria no solo se consigue asegurando el control de las fronteras, sino que esa cohesión debe darse desde dentro de la Unión mediante la construcción de un proyecto interno común. Estamos a tiempo. Pedimos a la Comisión que haga efectiva las medidas que publica en el Programa de Trabajo Anual para el año próximo.

Pero además, queremos más: en iniciativa joven, en economía circular, en el marco financiero plurianual, en el mercado único digital, en la fiscalización de las multinacionales, en la Unión Económica y Monetaria y, por supuesto, en el pilar social.

  Benedek Jávor (Verts/ALE), in writing. – After repeated calls from Parliament that the Commission has so far ignored, it is a welcome development that the Commission’s 2017 Work Programme includes the commitment that the scope for EU level action to protect whistle—blowers will be assessed this coming year.

In our crisis-stricken societies, the credibility of democracy is of utmost importance. While more than three out of every four EU citizens think that corruption is widespread in their country, and while the EU proclaims of itself that it wants to lead the world in liberties and justice, we cannot drag our feet any longer when it comes to protecting those who speak up at high personal risk to protect the public interest.

Whistle—blowing is an essential tool for maintaining accountability and integrity in both public and private sectors. That society owes protection and support to whistle—blowers has been recognised by soft law instruments adopted by international organisations to which most EU countries are parties. Yet, the protection of whistle—blowers throughout the EU is very uneven and scarce. There has been no shortage of pledges in recent years to change this situation. Now it is time for action. It is high time the Commission presented a legislative proposal!

  Paloma López Bermejo (GUE/NGL), por escrito. – El programa de trabajo de la Comisión representa la triste constatación del poco interés que tiene esta institución en las preocupaciones del pueblo europeo. Empezando por el hecho de que ni siquiera este Parlamento ha recibido el documento que debía debatir con más de 10 minutos de antelación: como si les molestara que hubiera algún tipo de debate político sobre las propuestas que nos presentan. No veo ninguna propuesta realmente ambiciosa en los ámbitos donde una respuesta europea es más necesaria: la armonización fiscal y social en el continente. Por el contrario, la UE propone más liberalización financiera, el TTIP (ATCI), la profundización de la gobernanza económica y del mercado único... En definitiva, las mismas políticas que han vaciado la democracia europea y han alimentado el dumping social entre Estados y la inestabilidad del sistema económico hasta su actual crisis. La UE ha pasado de reconocer su déficit democrático a alimentar una agenda postdemocrática, y no solo en su agenda interna. Su respuesta a la crisis migratoria, basada en negar derechos a los refugiados y una agenda imperialista cada vez más agresiva, es otra cara de la misma moneda, con la que Europa alimenta el populismo xenófobo que dice combatir.

  Момчил Неков (S&D), в писмена форма. – Европейската комисия пое ангажимент да се съсредоточи върху важните въпроси и да се вслушва повече в притесненията на своите граждани през 2017 г. Работната програма, която Юнкер представи за следващата година, има амбицията да предприеме конкретни действия, които да доведат до осезаеми промени в живота на хората.

ЕС преминава през най-тежката икономическа криза от създаването си, която има и сериозно социално измерение. Днес повече от всякога в Съюза има неприемливо високи нива на безработица, бедност и социални неравенства, а младите хора нямат перспектива за развитие. Възстановяването на европейската икономика трябва на всяка цена да бъде балансирано с нуждата от повече социална Европа.

В тази връзка приветствам решението на Комисията за създаването на европейски стълб на социалните права. Крайно време е да се обърне подобаващо внимание на необходимостта от осигуряване на равновесие между личния и професионалния живот на работещите семейства.

Наред с това обаче, Комисията трябва да помисли и за конкретни действия за намаляване на детската бедност, осигуряване на равен достъп до качествено образование и предучилищна подготовка. В ЕС има 26 милиона деца в риск от бедност и социално изключване, а тази статистика е абсолютно несъвместима с претенциите ни за развитие и цивилизованост.

  Alfred Sant (S&D), in writing. – The Commission Work Programme for 2017 has a high and a low point. The high point forms part of the Youth Initiative, in itself a most worthwhile priority. The proposal to establish a European Solidarity Corps merits full support. It seeks to engage young people in worthwhile public initiatives from which they could learn social and technical skills, while understanding better today’s realities in a changing Europe. One hopes that the scheme will operate on a devolved basis, drawing fully on national bodies involved in youth affairs. The worst that could happen to it is to be subsumed in the values and concerns of people living in the Brussels bubble. By contrast the proposal to work on a European Defence Action plan and a European Defence Fund is totally ill-advised. It is the kind of project that people in the Brussels bubble will dream of in their efforts to counter what they see as Europa fatigue. Besides having unintended consequences, some of them unknown, others dangerous, a so-called European defence capability, or even a start to it, will simply end up, sooner rather than later, reinforcing the wide scepticism about the European project that these people seek to contain.

  Olga Sehnalová (S&D), písemně. – Je to rok, kdy jsme zde v rámci stejné debaty o pracovním programu zdůraznili potřebu konečně aktivně řešit nerovnováhu v potravinářském dodavatelsko-odběratelském řetězci a vyzvali Komisi k akci. Výsledek? Komise opakovaně podpořila myšlenku seberegulace. V červnu letošního roku 600 poslanců tohoto pléna podpořilo zprávu kolegy Czesaka. Podle ní jsou obchodní praktiky mezi jednotlivými aktéry v potravinářském řetězci závažný problém, který vyžaduje legislativní opatření na evropské úrovni. Vyzvali jsme Komisi, aby předložila návrh, který bude definovat společné zásady v boji proti těmto praktikám. Reakce Komise na tuto výzvu s nebývale silným mandátem? Budeme situaci na trhu i nadále monitorovat. Vážený pane místopředsedo, postoj Komise v této věci je pro mne neakceptovatelný. Ignoruje nejen práci Evropského parlamentu, ale také brání nastavení spravedlivého konkurenčního prostředí a transparentních vztahů mezi výrobci, dodavateli a distributory potravin na vnitřním trhu.

  Ivan Štefanec (PPE), písomne. – Oceňujem, že sa Európska komisia chce viac sústrediť na oblasti, ktoré prinesú Európskej únii viac pracovných miest a viac bezpečnosti. Osobitne dôležité je odhodlane pokračovať v obchodných rokovaniach s našimi partnermi a hľadať kompromisné a prijateľné riešenia. V bezpečnostnej oblasti vítam začatie prác na stratégii Európskej únie pre Sýriu a Afriku. Znamená to, že Európa má ambíciu stať sa globálnym aktérom a pozitívne zasahovať tam, kde sú zdroje nestability, migrácie a aktuálnych bezpečnostných hrozieb. Čo sa týka hrozieb, očakával by som, že Komisia bude klásť dôraz aj na východný vektor a pripraví plán pre vzťahy s krajinami Východného partnerstva a strategický plán postupu voči Rusku a jeho agresívnej politike.

  Ivo Vajgl (ALDE), pisno. – Program dela Evropske komisije predstavlja politike, ki jim bo evropska komisija namenila posebno pozornost v prihajajočem letu. Vsekakor gre za pomemben nabor tem, za katere tudi sam menim, da je prav, da bodo obravnavane v letu 2017.

Vseeno bi želel izpostaviti, da program ni dovolj ambiciozen na področju demografskih sprememb, medgeneracijskega sodelovanja in pravic starejših. To so področja, ki jih program skoraj ne omenja oziroma jim namenja občutno premajhen pomen.

Zdi se mi nesprejemljivo, da v obdobju, ko se Evropa sooča s velikimi demografskimi spremembami, evropske institucije niso pripravljene nameniti več pozornosti staranju prebivalstva in sprejetju ukrepov, ki bodo pripomogli k zagotavljanju in ohranjanju osnovnega dostojanstva starejših generacij.

Še vedno pogrešamo strategijo, ki se bo odzvala na demografske spremembe na nivoju Evrope oziroma Evropske unije. In to kljub temu, da strokovnjaki opozarjajo, da brez ustreznih politik na področju medgeneracijskega sodelovanja lahko pričakujemo stalni konflikt med mladimi in starejšo populacijo.

Glede na navedeno, menim, da institucije Evropske unije zamujajo s potrebnimi ukrepi na področju demografskih sprememb. Zato pričakujem, da bo Evropska komisija v letu 2017 namenila tem področjem več pozornosti, kot jih predvideva program dela za 2017, gre namreč za problem strateške veljave.

  Marco Valli (EFDD), per iscritto. – Questo programma di azione per il 2017 conferma l'allarmante cecità della Commissione europea rispetto ai pressanti problemi politici, economici e sociali che da anni stanno destabilizzando l'Europa e la sua incapacità di individuare soluzioni concrete e adeguate. Al di là delle vuote e pompose dichiarazioni di intenti, questo programma si ostina infatti a riproporre la stessa miope e fallimentare strategia politica che ha condotto l'Unione europea nella più profonda crisi economica, politica e sociale sin dalla sua costituzione, senza metterne minimamente in discussione l'efficacia e senza ammettere, contro tutte le evidenze, i gravi errori compiuti sinora. È allarmante che la Commissione non consideri affatto prioritari i problemi relativi agli eccessivi squilibri macroeconomici e agli effetti asimmetrici tra Stati membri generati dalla moneta unica, alla deriva tecnocratica dei meccanismi decisionali, o all'assenza di legittimità democratica negli strumenti di coordinamento economico, o ancora la mancata riforma della finanza sulla base delle lezioni dalla crisi, e la scarsa considerazione dell'interesse generale dei cittadini europei nelle decisioni che determinano indirettamente le loro vite.