Volledig verslag van de vergaderingen

Dinsdag 24 oktober 2017 - Straatsburg

12. Werkprogramma van de Commissie 2018 (debat)

  President. – The next item is the debate on the Commission statement on the Commission work programme for 2018 ((2017/2746(RSP)).

  Frans Timmermans, First Vice-President of the Commission. – Madam President, I have just come from the College meeting where we agreed on our Work Programme for 2018 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. It is a crucial period because together we have just over 18 months to show results before our citizens go to the ballot box to re-elect this House. There are no surprises in what we announce today. The Work Programme reflects fully the ambition, content and tone of Jean-Claude Juncker’s State of the Union speech and the letter of intent we sent you in parallel.

At the same time, our Work Programme has certainly been enriched by, and builds on, the fruitful exchanges we have had in this Chamber with the Conference of Committee Chairs and the Conference of Presidents, as well as on our exchanges with the Member States in line with the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law—Making. We have also discussed with the Council and have had contributions from the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. I would like to thank you for the excellent cooperation we have had and continue to enjoy. We need to build on this in the decisive months to come. I think we have now established, after three years, quite a routine in doing this and it is working well.

The Work Programme sets out an agenda for a more united, stronger and more democratic Europe. It has a twofold focus. First, we set out a limited number of new proposals, which we will deliver by May 2018 so that the legislative work here and in the Council can be finished before the elections. The Commission has already tabled more than 80% of the proposals needed under the 10 priorities set out by President Juncker in 2014. Now we will focus on getting the remaining proposals on the table and working with you and the Council to see them adopted.

Our focus is on the limited number of proposals needed to complete the strategies we have set out. To boost jobs, growth and investment, we will pursue work to deliver on the circular economy action plan and to complete the digital single market, the energy union, the capital markets union and the banking union. We will propose the creation of a dedicated euro area budget line within the EU budget, along with other measures to complete the economic and monetary union, including transforming the European Stability Mechanism into a European Monetary Fund.

To create a deeper and fairer internal market with a strengthened industrial base, we will present an initiative on fair taxation in the digital economy and a proposal to improve the EU food supply chain. We are – like you – looking forward to the proclamation of the European pillar of social rights next month.

We will follow up with a social fairness package that creates a European labour authority to help address labour mobility and social security challenges. We will improve the rules requiring employees to be properly informed about their contracts and will present an initiative on access to social protection so that everyone who works, whether in traditional or new jobs in the gig economy, can contribute and have access to social protection.

We will also table targeted new measures to complete the security union, in particular as concerns the fight against terrorism and ensuring the interoperability of stronger and smarter databases for our border migration and security needs. We will strengthen the Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism so that we are better prepared to help in situations such as the tragic and devastating forest fires we have seen recently in Portugal and Spain.

We will continue to work on our comprehensive approach to migration with an emphasis on returns, protecting our external borders, solidarity with Africa, opening legal pathways and, above all, agreeing on Dublin reform and the Blue Card proposal. We will set out our ideas about how to modernise our visa policy. We will keep up the focus on migration management in our relations with third countries and we will deliver on the global strategy, whilst also pursuing a balanced and progressive trade policy to harness globalisation.

The second focus of our Work Programme is more forward-looking and aims to shape the Union until 2025. This vision is based on three principles which must always anchor our Union: freedom, equality and the rule of law. A more united Union will require opening the Schengen Area fully to Romania and Bulgaria, as well as a credible enlargement perspective for front-runner candidates in the Western Balkans. By the way, the Schengen area should also be opened to Croatia if it can fulfil the requirements.

To build a stronger Union, we will table a proposal for the future multiannual financial framework, including own resources. We need a budget that helps us to meet citizens’ expectations of an EU that delivers on the things that matter most and that contributes to the long-term sustainability of the Union. We will also propose more efficient decision—making for the single market and certain foreign policy decisions. We will adopt a reflection paper on a sustainable European future and a communication on the future of EU energy and climate policy and propose an extension of the tasks of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to also tackle terrorism.

For a more democratic Union, we will make proposals for the creation of a permanent and accountable European Minister of Economy and Finance and an initiative on further enhancing subsidiarity, proportionality and better regulation in the daily work of the European Union. We will also propose an initiative on strengthening the enforcement of the rule of law.

Furthermore, since what matters is results on the ground, the Work Programme sets out the Commission’s commitment to step up its work on the enforcement of EU law, working closely with national authorities and the various European networks. In parallel with our Work Programme, we are also presenting today a communication on completing the Better Regulation Agenda. Our work here is grounded on strong stakeholder involvement, including the input of the REFIT Platform.

Given the forthcoming European Parliament elections, we are now firmly in a period where we need to deliver. Priority legislative files need to be adopted and, where possible, implemented before the end of Parliament’s mandate. The Joint Declaration on EU legislative priorities, signed by the Presidents of the three institutions last December, has proved valuable in helping us to find shared priorities and stick to them. The Commission looks forward to an agreement later this year on the new Joint Declaration shaping our common work for 2018 and we can then also take stock of what we did on the basis of the Declaration of 2017.

We need to use the current momentum to ensure real progress in order to finish what we have started and to deliver on our positive agenda because, when you rise for elections in a year and a half’s time, the success of the EU will not be judged on the number of proposals that the Commission has launched. We will be judged collectively on the answers we have delivered and how we have responded to the big challenges like climate change, globalisation, the security of our citizens, migration, jobs and growth, on which Europeans expect effective European solutions.

  József Szájer, on behalf of the PPE Group. – Madam President, I would again like to thank First Vice-President Timmermans for the gesture of immediately coming to us with the adopted Commission Work Programme. I am saying this because I am sure that some of our other colleagues will tell you that we do not do anything about this, except what you have said, but I think it is much worse if you know it from secondary and later sources, and we will definitely be able to learn about the details later on. However, on the general lines, I think it is very important in this last point to make some of the points of procedure clear.

This year, Parliament failed to adopt a joint declaration on the Commission Work Programme, so you had to do it without Parliament’s help, in a way. Next year – because it is close to the election year – and the year after there is no need, according to the interinstitutional agreement, to have such a resolution. I think it is a very difficult and tiresome exercise, but we should use these two or three years to rethink what is the best way. Would it be best to influence Commission decisions and to have a general resolution on the whole thing every year with tiresome negotiations and with no consequences? It depends on us (I am saying this to the colleagues here), but we can also maybe find other, more flexible ways to influence this.

The EPP welcomed the Commission’s proposal that less and better regulation is better for the legislation than in previous years, and I appreciate the discipline which the Commission brought to this process by really restraining itself. Having this figure which you mentioned – 80% – is really remarkable. Never before has the Commission, with such a high level of complacency, already reached the level of the programme which they were putting forward at the beginning of the term. That also goes to show that there is a clear attempt – albeit not always successful – to concentrate on the most important things.

On behalf of the EPP, we agree on the content in most cases, especially in the area of jobs: that we still have to deliver to enable companies to compete in domestic and global markets. In the area of migration, we are still in the midst of negotiations and resolutions here in Parliament. But to concentrate on fighting the root causes of migration and to use the private sector in the financing of this kind of migration crisis is key in achieving development objectives, as is much closer cooperation with the neighbourhood.

In the area of longer-term goals, the debate on the future of the European Union has started. It was launched by the Commission, and I would like to thank them for that. I would just say on behalf of my Group that we are happy to engage in this debate in the future.

  Maria João Rodrigues, on behalf of the S&D Group. – Madam President, the presentation by the First Vice-President of the Commission on the Commission Work Programme is welcome, because we need an ambitious road map for the European Union. But we also need to have it really delivered, and delivered with credible solutions.

We all know that this is the last shot for this European Commission, and let me be precise on what our demands are: to have real, fair and credible solutions. Yes, we do need a European Social Pillar, but let me be precise: the pillar needs to be translated in outstanding measures, notably making sure that everybody in employment – in whatever kind of job – can count on a decent labour contract and on full access to social protection.

When it comes to the reform of the eurozone, we need a eurozone not only with stability, but with roles and conversions – this means having a European semester working in this direction, a fiscal capacity supporting investment and supporting upward conversions, and a Minister of Economy and Finance who should be accountable to this European Parliament.

On migration, the long—term crisis in front of us and behind us can only be responded to via the proper reform of the European asylum system, legal corridors for legal migration, and a much stronger partnership with Africa. We also know that when it comes to the role of Europe in supporting the multilateral system and an open world order, a lot depends on the kind of trade agreements we are able to do. The kind of trade agreements that we are pushing for are those which should be inspired by sustainable development goals, and all these must be translated into to the European budget. This will be our last chance to redirect the European Union. This is our expectation.

  Anneleen Van Bossuyt, namens de ECR-Fractie. – Ik denk dat iedereen het erover eens is dat de prioriteiten van Europa inderdaad jobs, veiligheid en migratie zijn. Wat migratie betreft, verwachten wij eindelijk actie van commissaris Mogherini in verband met het afsluiten van de terugnameakkoorden, waarover al heel lang gesproken wordt.

Wat veiligheid betreft, hebben we meer Europese samenwerking nodig. Ik denk aan het aanpakken van cybercriminaliteit. De helft van de misdrijven vandaag de dag zijn immers cybermisdrijven en voor veel Europeanen is dit een grote bron van zorg. Daarnaast moeten we op het vlak van defensie nauwer gaan samenwerken Hier is het industrieel ontwikkelingsprogramma voor de Europese defensie een goed voorbeeld van.

Wat jobs betreft, liggen er nog heel veel mogelijkheden in de verdere uitbouw van de digitale interne markt. Hier wachten we onder meer op de voorstellen van de Commissie rond het business-to-business platform en op verdere samenwerking van de Commissie bij het afronden van de dossiers rond geoblocking en de onlineverkoop. Ik hoop ook dat de Commissie bij de voorstellen rond het nieuwe meerjarig financieel kader meer geld vrijmaakt voor Europees onderzoek. Want 1 euro die hierin geïnvesteerd wordt, levert een economische meerwaarde van 11 euro op. Dat lijkt mij dus een goede investering. Laten we op deze zaken focussen en niet op zaken waarvan geen burger wakker ligt, zoals een Europese minister van Financiën of transnationale lijsten.

  Sophia in 't Veld, on behalf of the ALDE Group. – Madam President, thank you, and thank you, Commissioner. I have only just received the text, so I have not been able to read all the details yet, but I am going to say something which may shock you. Indeed, I intend to praise you for what you have just said – yes, I know you are going to need months of therapy to get over it. Nevertheless, we do seem to be past the stage of thinking that delivering results lies in scrapping red tape. What you have just told us here sounds like a vision for the future, and, unlike some other people, I do not believe that you need to see an eye doctor if you have vision.

On migration, the Commission has done what it needs to do. Parliament has done its homework. It is actually those who are absent who have not done their homework. As we said this morning, migration is more than Fortress Europe, for the question is not only how we keep people out, but also how we are going to process people, the rapid inflows of migrants.

I am very, very pleased to hear that you are going to work on a mechanism for the enforcement of the rule of law: that is, of course, most welcome, but in the short term there are also things that we need to do. For example, I would be really, really pleased if the Commission were to reinstate the corruption reports: we have just seen last week in Malta what corruption and in particular those who are investigating corruption can do. We urgently need a strong tool for investigating corruption and also the rule of law – in Poland, for example. What does it mean if the Commission has more or less concluded that the judiciary in Poland is no longer independent? What does that mean for cooperation? What about the European arrest warrant, ECRIS, the Schengen Information System – are we going to use Polish material? What are we going to do? And finally, I am very curious to see the details of your proposals for a Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance, which, to my mind will contribute greatly to a more accountable and transparent European Union.

  Δημήτριος Παπαδημούλης, εξ ονόματος της ομάδας GUE/NGL. – Κυρία Πρόεδρε, κύριε Timmermans, οι πολίτες δεν αρκούνται πια σε ευχολόγια, θέλουν συγκεκριμένες πράξεις με μετρήσιμα αποτελέσματα στη ζωή τους. Ζητούν πράξεις που να ενισχύουν την απασχόληση, που να μειώνουν τις ανισότητες, που να ενισχύουν την κοινωνική συνοχή. Ζητούν η Ευρωπαϊκή Κοινωνική Χάρτα να αποκτήσει υπόσταση πραγματική και να φέρει αποτελέσματα στη ζωή τους, μειώνοντας την ανεργία, την επισφαλή και κακοπληρωμένη εργασία, καταπολεμώντας τη φτώχεια και τον κοινωνικό αποκλεισμό. Kαι, μέχρι τώρα, και η Ευρωπαϊκή Κοινωνική Χάρτα και ο ευρωπαϊκός κοινωνικός πυλώνας είναι απλώς μια ετικέτα. Ζητούν το Σύμφωνο Ανάπτυξης και Απασχόλησης να γίνει πραγματικά Σύμφωνο Ανάπτυξης και Απασχόλησης και όχι ένα δόγμα εμμονής σε μια μονομερή λιτότητα και σε μια δημοσιονομική ακαμψία. Ζητούν μια ενιαία ευρωπαϊκή πολιτική ασύλου και μια αλληλέγγυα Ευρώπη στο προσφυγικό, που δεν θα φορτώνει στη χώρα μου την Ελλάδα και την Ιταλία όλα τα βάρη, αφήνοντας στο απυρόβλητο χώρες όπως η Ουγγαρία και η Πολωνία, που αρνούνται να τιμήσουν τις δεσμεύσεις τους. Εάν προχωρήσουμε προς αυτή την κατεύθυνση, και έχετε μεγάλη ευθύνη να το κάνετε πράξη και όχι μόνο λόγια, αυτό θα είναι η καλύτερη απάντηση στην ευρωπαϊκή άκρα δεξιά, που επιδιώκει μια Ευρώπη αδύναμη, διαιρεμένη, δέσμια εθνικισμών με οξυνόμενες διαρκώς κοινωνικές και περιφερειακές ανισότητες.

  Ska Keller, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Madam President, we are very much looking forward to Commissioner Timmermans’ proposals and I am sure, Commissioner Timmermans, that on a lot of them we will work together with you. A few others we might not like so much, but that’s life! I still want to point out some of the areas where we think that we absolutely need more progress and some of them have already been mentioned by colleagues.

Number one: the rule of law. We have a dramatic situation in a couple of Member States. I think we all agree that we need to stand firm and that we need to be coherent in what we are doing if we want to achieve a good result and we should never let go, we should never give up on such a fundamental thing as making sure that the safeguards against arbitrary leadership, and even despotism, are not endangered in Europe, and this goes to the very heart of the European project.

In Parliament we are currently working towards asking for Article 7.1 to be triggered against Hungary and I think that the Commission must do the same now also with regard to Poland. So you will come to the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs – we are looking forward to your report – but we need to get active on that as well. As has been mentioned, I am glad that you are also taking that up, to look too into other measures, measures that have been proposed by Parliament in the past and which are more sophisticated, more varied as well, and I think we need to go ahead with that to make sure that we are firm and strong on our European core principles and values.

I also would like to mention the whole issue of sexual harassment because no woman should ever have to put up with such treatment – not on the street, not at work and not in this House or in any European institution. I really would like to applaud all of the women who in the past weeks have taken the courageous step – because it is an incredibly courageous step – to go out and say ‘this is what happened to me’. We must make sure that it is not just a matter of individual courage but that we actually also do something against sexual harassment.

I would also say generally about sexism because sexism is what enables sexual harassment in the end, and there we really need to do more. We need to do more, we can do more as the European Union. I would like to see this play a part in the Work Programme too, that there will be initiatives, because I think we should not just have a debate and then say ‘okay, well, next time we will have another debate’, but we should really get serious about this and say we do not accept it any longer.

Next on social justice, and colleagues have also mentioned that. I think social justice is absolutely key if we want to take the European Union further and I think most of us here want that. We want to protect European citizens but that also means social protection. To have a proclamation on the European Pillar on Social Rights, as is envisaged, is absolutely great and fantastic but proclamations alone are simply not enough.

I think, for example, that the Commission should propose a framework directive on an adequate minimum income for all Europeans or different minimum incomes. We Greens have also proposed an EU sustainability and prosperity pact for the European Monetary Union (EMU) and the EMU must go hand in hand with a binding roadmap for social, economic and environmental convergence. I think the issue of tax justice also forms part of the whole social justice package; the income part, so to say. All companies must contribute their fair share to welfare in the European Union and therefore we also need to look at minimum tax for companies and common tax instruments because tax fraud and evasion must be fought with all consequence.

Lastly, on climate change, we do need much more effort. If we want to reach our targets then we have to get serious. We have to adjust our targets upwards and that is, I think, what we need to do because, as you rightly said, this is the last year before the European elections. We want people to vote and we want them to know why we make a difference.

  Peter Lundgren, för EFDD-gruppen. – Fru talman! Ja, det är alltså 18 månader kvar tills det är dags att hålla Europaparlamentsval igen. Jag kunde inte låta bli att se att man nu har tagit fram en publikation som låg här utanför. Man skriver bland annat i den om ett mer demokratiskt Europa, det vill man skapa. 33 procent säger man har en positiv bild av EU. Det är ju en försämring jämfört med de 42 procent som deltog i förra valet, och jag är säker på att det blir ett dåligt val denna gång med. Man har en lista för att göra EU mer populärt, med elva punkter. Man utelämnar såklart. Man tar bara med PPE, S&D och ALDE. Man tar inte med ECR och de gröna och såklart inte EFDD eller ENF. Och hur rättfärdigar man att Macron lyfts fram som EU:s nya ledare, eller bedriver han redan kampanj för att ersätta Jean-Claude Juncker 2019? Det här är så illa, att jag får visa vad jag tycker om demokratin i detta hus, och det är det här [ljudet av ett papper som rivs]. Det finns ingen demokrati i det här huset längre.

  Olaf Stuger, namens de ENF-Fractie. – We praten vandaag over het werkprogramma van de Commissie. Maar wat werkt er nu eigenlijk echt? Natuurlijk, we zien de heer Juncker aan het werk: duidelijk aangeschoten zoent en tikt hij erop los alsof de hele me too-hype niet bestaat. We zien de heer Timmermans bezig, bestraffend naar de landen die opkomen voor hun eigen bevolking, zoals Polen, Hongarije en Slowakije. Let wel, Voorzitter, dit zijn democratisch gekozen leiders, die op de vingers worden getikt door mensen hier op wie niemand heeft gestemd. Niemand.

Klimaat is ook zo'n onderwerp waarbij het craquelé in je bril springt als je dat leest. We gaan de opwarming van de aarde met enkele duizendsten van graden tegen als we de CO2-uitstoot met de helft laten dalen. Dat kost honderden miljarden aan belastinggeld. Dat werkt dus ook niet.

Ik sluit af met het onzalige plan om te gaan werken aan een Europese minister van Financiën. We zien in de verschillende landen de desastreuze gevolgen van een falende euro. Door het bijdrukken van 80 miljard per maand wordt de munt kunstmatig gestut. Dat is natuurlijk een onhoudbare constructie. Als de euro straks weer op eigen benen moet staan, dan breekt de hel pas echt los en is het leed niet meer te overzien. Dit werkt dus ook alleen maar in de fantasie van de mensen daar vooraan in de bankjes. Het enige wat echt gaat werken, is dit mislukte experiment opdoeken en de besluitvorming terugbrengen waar ze hoort, namelijk bij de democratisch gekozen parlementen in de lidstaten.

  Λάμπρος Φουντούλης (NI). – Κυρία Πρόεδρε, είμαι πεπεισμένος πως το 2018 θα είναι ακριβώς όπως και όλα τα προηγούμενα χρόνια της παρούσας Επιτροπής. Εξαγγείλατε πάλι πολλά, αναλύσετε μεγάλα σχέδια και στόχους. Όμως πάλι τα αποτελέσματα θα είναι κατώτερα των προσδοκιών μας. Όπως τα προηγούμενα χρόνια, έτσι και το 2018, δεν θα δώσετε λύση σε κανένα από τα μεγάλα προβλήματα της Ευρώπης, σίγουρα όμως θα συνεχίσετε να κατηγορείτε όσους είναι αντίθετοι από εσάς ιδεολογικά σαν λαϊκιστές και οι λαοί της Ευρώπης θα συνεχίσουν να υφίστανται τα λάθη των πολιτικών σας επιλογών. Μετά από τόσα χρόνια οικονομικής κρίσης, δεν έχει επανέλθει η ανάπτυξη, συνεχίζεται η λιτότητα και η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση τείνει να γίνει Ευρώπη δύο ταχυτήτων. Η λαθρομετανάστευση εξακολουθεί να είναι ένα τεράστιο πρόβλημα, ειδικά για τις χώρες του Νότου. Η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση παραμένει ένας οργανισμός απρόθυμος να επιβάλει περιορισμούς ακόμα και στα υπό ένταξη κράτη, όπως η Τουρκία. Αντίθετα, ο Ερντογάν δείχνει να μπορεί ανά πάσα στιγμή να εκμεταλλεύεται και να απαξιώνει τους ευρωπαίους πολιτικούς. Τέλος, το μόνο θετικό μέχρι σήμερα ήταν πως η παράλογη και στρατευμένη ιδεολογικά πολιτική σας έπεισε τους πολίτες του Ηνωμένου Βασιλείου να απαλλαγούν οριστικά από τα δεσμά της Ένωσης. Ελπίζουμε σύντομα να τους ακολουθήσουν και οι υπόλοιποι λαοί της Ευρώπης.

  José Manuel Fernandes (PPE). – Senhora Presidente, Senhor Vice-Presidente, Caras e caros Colegas, todos temos a obrigação de proteger a vida humana. Sei que a competência da proteção civil está nas mãos de cada Estado-Membro, mas a União Europeia também deve ajudar. E espero que, em 2018, haja a concretização de uma força rápida de intervenção na área da proteção civil.

Também é urgente a prevenção e os Fundos Estruturais disponíveis em cada Estado—Membro são importantes para essa mesma prevenção. A solidariedade, um fundo de solidariedade para fazer face aos danos, é urgente que funcione rapidamente, até porque essa solidariedade tem de se sentir.

Também em 2018, Sr. Vice-Presidente, vai haver a proposta para a apresentação do novo quadro financeiro plurianual. É um quadro financeiro plurianual que tem de estar à altura dos seus objetivos e isso significa que tem de ter meios financeiros em consonância com os objetivos a que se propõe.

Precisamos destes meios e também precisamos de uma outra coisa: é que novas prioridades têm de ter um financiamento adicional. Espero que haja um quadro financeiro plurianual para mais de 7 anos, para dar previsibilidade, com a flexibilidade que se exige para podermos responder a imprevistos.

Também espero uma nova rubrica para a segurança e a defesa e também gostava, para finalizar, que o Sr. Vice-Presidente nos dissesse, se é que já tem essa informação, relativamente à linha consagrada no orçamento para a zona euro e para aqueles que querem aderir à zona euro, qual é o montante que está previsto para essa linha orçamental que vai estar dentro do orçamento da União Europeia.

  Udo Bullmann (S&D). – Frau Präsidentin, Herr Vizepräsident, werte Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Eine der vornehmsten Aufgaben dieser Kommission in den nächsten Wochen und Monaten wird es werden, die Europäische Union als ein demokratisches Projekt zu verteidigen. Warum sage ich das? Ja, natürlich ist unsere Fraktion dafür, dass wir bei der Vertiefung der Wirtschafts- und Währungsunion voranschreiten. Natürlich, wir wollen einen europäischen Währungsfonds. Aber das kann doch keine zwischenstaatliche Angelegenheit werden. Oder wollen Sie mit 19 Finanzministern – oder besser noch mit 27 – regeln, in welcher Weise wir auf die Schocks dieser Welt reagieren sollen und was wir für Maßnahmen wo abstimmen und wie lange das dann dauern soll?

Wir haben diesen Unsinn bei der Troika erlebt. Wir haben erlebt, wieviel Unsinn in die Welt kommt – gut gemeint, aber schlecht gemacht –, wenn es keine parlamentarische Kontrolle gibt. Wir stehen Ihnen zur Verfügung, weil wir diese Vertiefung wollen. Wir wollen die Verbesserung unserer wirtschaftspolitischen Instrumente. Aber die Kommission muss aufstehen und ihre eigene Rolle verteidigen.

Wir wollen auch nicht, dass die Übersicht über die mitgliedstaatlichen Finanzen auswandert aus der Kommission; sie gehört in die Kommission. Ihr Chef heißt Juncker und nicht Regling. Wir haben Sie hier gewählt und Herrn Juncker und die Kommissionskolleginnen und Kollegen. Aber wir haben hier nicht Herrn Regling gewählt. Es braucht demokratische Kontrolle – es braucht das Europäische Parlament. Dabei wollen wir Sie gerne unterstützen, heute und auch in Zukunft; ich danke dafür.

Ich will einen letzten Satz sagen, vielleicht auch im Namen der Kolleginnen und Kollegen. Ich möchte mich aus gegebenem Anlass einmal bei den Dolmetscherinnen und Dolmetschern bedanken. Sie machen einen großartigen Job. Sie machen das nicht nur heute, sondern sie machen es das ganze Jahr. Herzlichen Dank dafür.

  President. – We can agree with that as regards the interpreters. Our thanks to them.

  Peter van Dalen (ECR). – Voorzitter, Europa moet het vooral van zijn soft power hebben en het sterkste soft power-instrument dat Europa heeft, is handel. Op mondiaal gebied is Europa in de handel echt een heel belangrijke speler. Het systeem van handelspreferenties is specifiek bedoeld om landen aan te sporen de eerbiediging van de mensenrechten te verbeteren. Laten we vooral dat specifieke doel niet vergeten.

Een van de landen die momenteel het GSP+-handelsvoordeel geniet, is Pakistan. Helaas worden in Pakistan de mensenrechten met voeten getreden, ook door de overheid. Immers, waarom staat er nog altijd de doodstraf op blasfemie? En waarom zit Asia Bibi al 7 jaar in een dodencel? Ik roep de Commissie op tot een serieuze evaluatie van de handelsvoordelen voor Pakistan en ik schat in dat deze voordelen helaas het verschil niet hebben kunnen maken. Als dat zo is, dan moet die GSP+-status worden bevroren of ingetrokken. Ten slotte ben ik van mening dat het mandaat van de speciale gezant voor godsdienstvrijheid komend voorjaar moet worden verlengd.

  Cecilia Wikström (ALDE). – Madam President, as the Chair of the Conference of Committee Chairs I would like to thank you, Vice-President Timmermans, and all of the Commissioners for a very good and fruitful cooperation that has improved throughout the years. On a practical note, I hope that the Commission will expedite any remaining legislative proposals and present them to the co-legislators at the latest by April 2018 to give us a fair chance to conclude before the end of this mandate.

It is abundantly clear from the Eurobarometer of May this year that citizens expect the Union to deliver in areas like migration, defence, the environment and foreign affairs – more than two—thirds of citizens have asked the European Union to deliver on that. We also know that 81% of citizens underline the importance of the free movement of citizens in the Union: speaking about migration, last week this House managed to unite 751 MEPs from five Groups that consist of more than 200 political parties. Council, though, was not present here today. They could not up until now unite 21 Ministers. I find that quite remarkable, and I urge the Commission to give them a push in the right direction when it comes to pushing this area to a qualified majority vote.

  João Pimenta Lopes (GUE/NGL). – Senhora Presidente, mais uma vez, a Comissão insiste em apresentar as mesmas propostas e os mesmos caminhos: perda de soberania económica, monetária, fiscal e bancária em benefício das grandes potências europeias, a austeridade, o empobrecimento, a exploração, a concentração da riqueza para uns, a miséria e a incerteza para os demais, mais investimento na indústria da guerra e em medidas securitárias e a supressão dos direitos de asilo e dos refugiados. Mais do mesmo, sem que se retirem quaisquer lições das políticas que impuseram e querem continuar a impor.

As necessidades, essas, são claras e evidentes: o reforço dos fundos para a coesão, contrariando as crescentes assimetrias, a necessidade de defesa da democracia no quadro da soberania dos Estados, a defesa de políticas de desenvolvimento progressistas que respondam às necessidades dos povos e que façam uso dos recursos e capacidades em proveito próprio, apoios aos países afetados por catástrofes e direcionados para mecanismos de prevenção, a necessidade de apoiar a recuperação dos setores produtivos em países como Portugal, com apoios direcionados à pesca, à agricultura e à indústria, apoios que se canalizem prioritariamente para as micro, pequenas e médias empresas, apoios e políticas que favoreçam necessárias políticas públicas em setores estratégicos, como a energia, os transportes e as comunicações, apoios e políticas assentes na oferta de serviços públicos, gratuitos e de qualidade, em setores como a saúde, a educação e a justiça, apoios que reforcem a capacidade de produção científica e de investigação, políticas que promovam a criação de empregos, o trabalho com direitos, a contratação coletiva, o aumento de salários, a redução de horários e uma segurança social pública e universal.

  Yannick Jadot (Verts/ALE). – Madame la Présidente, Monsieur le Vice-président Timmermans, il ne vous a pas échappé que nous n’en avons pas fini avec les extrêmes droites et les nationalismes de gauche et de droite.

Ils prétendent rassembler – nous le savons – les perdants de la mondialisation et les perdus de l’Union européenne, mais l’Europe d’aujourd’hui déçoit aussi les plus convaincus. Comment leur en vouloir? Le néolibéralisme comme horizon, l’austérité comme solution et la technocratie comme méthode déçoivent forcément l’ensemble des citoyens européens, y compris les plus convaincus, et rendent nos institutions détestables.

La question de la mondialisation – on le sait – est un enjeu majeur de souveraineté. Évidemment, sans Europe, nous serons balayés par la mondialisation, mais quand l’Union européenne devient une petite mondialisation libérale et qu’à travers ses accords de libre—échange, elle met en concurrence les salariés, les territoires et, aujourd’hui, de manière croissante, les choix de société, elle met à portée de canon de quelques multinationales le climat, la santé, l’environnement, la protection des données personnelles ou les services publics. Évidemment, à ce moment-là, l’Europe ne remplit pas sa mission.

Monsieur Timmermans, il faut changer notre politique commerciale pour qu’enfin les droits sociaux, environnementaux et humains priment sur le droit du commerce et sur celui des investisseurs. Si nous ne réussissons pas cela, l’Europe sera diluée dans son essence même. L’Europe est une communauté de droit. Si les citoyens ne sont pas coacteurs de ce droit et que ce sont les multinationales qui décident, il n’y aura plus d’Europe.

  Mario Borghezio (ENF). – Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, sull'immigrazione l'unica cosa che ci propone l'Unione europea è l'affidamento a personaggi straordinari come da una parte Erdoğan e dall'altra parte i galantuomini delle milizie libiche, che dovrebbero garantire la sicurezza dei cittadini europei. Bel programma e tanti auguri!

Noi euroscettici siamo soliti attaccare l'Unione europea dicendo che è una costruzione estranea al sentire dei popoli. Ne abbiamo la prova: è successo alla Catalogna e, a poche settimane, in un'altra delle aree – come la Catalogna – più produttive, di gente onesta, che lavora e che produce: in Lombardia e nel Veneto milioni e milioni di persone vanno a votare, vogliono un referendum. È una grande manifestazione, esattamente come quella di Barcellona, di voglia di libertà, di democrazia diretta, di partecipazione e di rappresentanza.

C'è una grande crisi di rappresentanza in questa Europa, che voi dite proiettata verso più democrazia. Ma se adesso non ne parliamo, se nel vostro documento non esaminate neanche lontanamente la questione catalana, la questione del nord Italia e la questione delle minoranze che chiedono rappresentanza, quale sarebbe questa nuova democrazia? Non ne avete il coraggio, siete lontani dal sentire e l'unica soluzione è l'Europa dei popoli e delle regioni, non quella della burocrazia, delle banche e delle multinazionali che vi stanno molto a cuore.

  Janusz Korwin-Mikke (NI). – Pani Przewodnicząca! Pan Verheugen powiedział dwa dni temu w wywiadzie, że musimy zwiększyć konkurencyjność, bo przegrywamy z krajami Dalekiego Wschodu. Otóż ja czytam ten program Komisji Europejskiej. Słucham tych wypowiedzi. One wszystkie idą w dokładnie przeciwnym kierunku. Przecież jeżeli –jak chce tutaj mój antykolega – chcemy, żeby prawa socjalne, prawa człowieka miały pierwszeństwo przed prawami ekonomii, to oczywiście będzie niemożliwe konkurować z nikim. Prawda? Państwo musicie zrozumieć: Europa kiedyś przodowała. Byliśmy motorem rozwoju całego świata dzięki temu, że rządziły wartości europejskie. One są dokładnie odwrotne niż wartości unijne. Jeżeli chcemy znów wrócić na przodujące miejsce, musimy odrzucić wszystkie acquis communautaire. Musimy odrzucić demokrację. Jak można wierzyć, że większość – głupich jest więcej niż mądrych –podejmie rozsądne decyzje? Przecież widzicie państwo wyniki nie tylko ostatnich wyborów, ale również wyniki decyzji podejmowanych przez demokratycznie wybierane rządy. Musimy iść dokładnie w przeciwnym kierunku. Ja wierzę, że Europa się odrodzi, że zrzuci okupację Unii Europejskiej i znowuż powstanie wolna Europa.

  Lambert van Nistelrooij (PPE). – Commissaris, vicevoorzitter Timmermans. Ik wil u graag complimenteren met uw verhaal over de voortgang, maar toch wil ik een uitnodiging aan u overreiken. 2018 wordt hét jaar van het MFK met tientallen uitvoeringsverordeningen die voor de periode na 2020 moeten worden voorgelegd.

Wat is nou onze ervaring? In de afgelopen periode hebben we gezien dat zij te laat kwamen om daarmee daadwerkelijk bij de aanvang 2014, 2015 en 2016 te beginnen. Dit had bijvoorbeeld op een aantal terreinen, zoals het cohesiebeleid en de tweede pijler landbouw, tot gevolg dat die uitgaven pas heel laat op gang zijn gekomen. Dat moet nu beter. Dat moet nu sneller. Dat kan ook als de verordeningen in één keer, midden 2018, worden gepresenteerd. Als we dat niet doen, dan krijgen we een herhaling van datgene wat we gezien hebben, namelijk dat uitgaven heel laat in de periode, in de 5 of 7 jaar, worden gedaan.

We zagen vorige keer dat er een geweldige stapel van onbetaalde rekeningen kwam. We zien nu al dat in 2016 8 miljard euro naar de lidstaten teruggaat. Ook dit jaar zal dat deels gebeuren en we krijgen een geweldige lawine van rekeningen, straks in 2019 en 2020. En dan spreken niet over de Brexit. Dus inderdaad, betere regelgeving en ook tijdige regelgeving om in 2019 te kunnen laten zien dat het Parlement die richting ook echt geeft. Het kan niet zo zijn dat we midden 2019 met elkaar in een situatie komen van debatten die niet zijn afgerond en dat 2020 en 2021 slechte jaren worden. Dat is mijn oproep: tijdige regelgeving.

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  Jeppe Kofod (S&D). – Madam President, the Commission’s annual work programme is a key tool to addressing shared European challenges. Sadly, I have to say tax fraud, tax evasion and money laundering remain an enormous shared problem in Europe, costing EU Member States what amounts to EUR 2 000 on average per citizen in lost taxes every year. I therefore welcome the initiative on taxation of the digital sector, but I think we have to do much more.

I have spent the last few years working as a co-rapporteur for the Parliament’s inquiry committee into the Panama Papers. Our investigations show how unregulated intermediaries in Europe and in offshore tax havens help the super-rich hide their wealth in tax havens. We have to stop this shadowy industry of tax dodging, and also stop the corrupt global elite that are doing this.

That is why we, the Socialists and Democrats, want to break new ground to put an effective end to tax fraud, money laundering and tax havens by introducing a common EU licence for wealth managers, tax advisers and other intermediaries, so that licences can be instantly revoked throughout the EU in the event of illegal actions.

Only a common system with EU licences will make sure that we can put an effective stop to the industry of tax fraud in Europe. I hope that the Commission supports this idea in the next year’s work programme.

  Zoltán Balczó (NI). – Jean-Claude Juncker az uniós csúcs előtt munkavacsorán találkozott a visegrádi négyek vezetőivel. A Bizottság munkaprogramja szempontjából nagyon fontos lenne a renitensnek nevezett országok álláspontjának megértése, annak tudomásul vétele, hogy ezek az országok nem fogadják el a Bizottság migránspolitikáját.

Jean-Claude Juncker már 2014-ben, amikor még senki sem hallott az úgynevezett „Soros-tervről”, világossá tette, hogy a népességfogyással szembenéző Európa számára a megoldást a migránsok betelepítésében látja. Az EP jelentése pedig azt hangsúlyozza, hogy a migrációra pozitív eseményként kell tekinteni. Ha ez így lenne, akkor miért kell kötelező befogadási kvótákat előírni?

Az októberi tagországi választások alapján Juncker elnöknek az ilyen tárgyú vacsorákhoz egyre nagyobb asztalra lesz szüksége. De az is jó lenne, hogyha meg is tudná emészteni azt, amit ott elébe tálaltak.

  Albert Deß (PPE). – Frau Präsidentin, Herr Vizepräsident! Ich begrüße den Vorschlag der Kommission, dass alle noch zu erwartenden legislativen Vorschläge spätestens bis Mai nächsten Jahres vorzulegen sind. Dies muss auch den Vorschlag zum MFR nach 2020 umfassen, damit unverzüglich umfangreiche interinstitutionelle Verhandlungen aufgenommen werden können. Das Ziel muss es sein, diese Verhandlungen bis zum Ende der laufenden Wahlperiode erfolgreich abzuschließen. Alle erdenklichen Anstrengungen müssen unternommen werden, um eine neue Zahlungskrise abzuwenden, auch durch einen Beschluss über die angemessene Höhe der Mittel für Zahlungen in den kommenden Haushaltsplänen. Ein strukturierter Dialog über die Gesamtmittelausstattung, die politischen und finanziellen Prioritäten, die Gestaltung und Flexibilitätsbestimmungen des künftigen MFR ist unabdingbar. Ein Standpunkt zur Laufzeit des Finanzrahmens muss erreicht werden.

Die EVP-Fraktion hat sich eindeutig dafür ausgesprochen, dass die Kommission einen legislativen Vorschlag zur Lebensmittelversorgungskette vorlegen soll. Daher freue ich mich sehr, dass diese Forderung eine breite Mehrheit im Parlament und in der Kommission gefunden hat und im Arbeitsprogramm, im Legislativvorschlag vorgesehen ist. Der Vorschlag muss eine Rahmenregelung auf EU-Ebene zu unlauteren Handelspraktiken enthalten, und die amtierende Präsidentin hat hier sehr massiv mitgewirkt.

Ich fordere die Kommission auch auf, einen legislativen Vorschlag zur Weiterentwicklung der Gemeinsamen Agrarpolitik vorzulegen. Hier ist auch ein konstruktiver Dialog notwendig. Herr Timmermans, die Landwirtschaft sorgt dafür, dass in Europa über 41 Millionen Arbeitsplätze vorhanden sind. Wir geben 32 Cent pro Einwohner und Tag dafür aus, dass wir diese Arbeitsplätze sichern und jeden Tag über eine halbe Milliarde Menschen genügend Lebensmittel erhalten. Ich glaube, das ist ein geringer Betrag, der auch in Zukunft dafür vorgesehen werden muss.

  Isabelle Thomas (S&D). – Madame la Présidente, Monsieur le Vice-président, la Commission présentera en mai prochain le projet de cadre financier pluriannuel pour l'après-2020, afin de permettre un débat fructueux et partagé sur l’avenir financier de l'Union. Or, le fameux programme des dirigeants présenté par le Conseil prévoit une conclusion des négociations fin 2019, ceci au mépris du Parlement et de la Commission, car, en accord avec le commissaire Oettinger, nous avions élaboré un calendrier qui ouvrait la possibilité d'un accord entre Parlement et Conseil début 2019.

Je rappelle l'article 312, paragraphe 5, du traité sur le fonctionnement de l’Union européenne: «tout au long de la procédure conduisant à l'adoption du cadre financier, le Parlement européen, le Conseil et la Commission prennent toutes mesures nécessaires pour faciliter cette adoption».

Le Conseil ne respecte pas ses obligations en envisageant une conclusion des négociations au moment où le Parlement et la Commission seront en pleine reconstitution. Il ne respecte pas le Parlement quand il imagine que son consentement ne sera qu'une formalité.

J'en appelle donc au président de la Commission pour dire, avec le Parlement, au président du Conseil: «Amendez votre programme!». Ne donnons pas le sentiment d'une Union qui attend toujours le dernier moment. J'en appelle à la Commission, gardienne des traités, pour tout faire afin que les négociations soient démocratiques et fructueuses.

  Bogdan Brunon Wenta (PPE). – Pani Przewodnicząca! Panie Komisarzu! Tu w skrócie stanowisko mojej grupy politycznej w odniesieniu do priorytetów programu prac Komisji Europejskiej na 2018 r. z perspektywy działań Komisji Rozwoju, komisji DEVE. Popieramy ustanowienie mechanizmów nadzoru implementacji celów zrównoważonego rozwoju przez Unię Europejską, jak i państwa członkowskie, zgodnie z nowym europejskim konsensusem w sprawie rozwoju. Jesteśmy świadomi obecnej ograniczonej zdolności Europejskiego Funduszu Rozwoju do wspierania inicjatyw dotyczących jednocześnie bezpieczeństwa i rozwoju. Opowiadamy się za ustanowieniem nowego instrumentu finansowania, pozwalającego na kompleksowe wsparcie działań na rzecz demokracji, dobrego zarządzania i ochrony praw człowieka. Nawiązując do postulatu dotyczącego przeciwdziałania przyczynom migracji, ponownie wyrażamy poparcie dla innowacyjnych metod rozwiązywania kryzysu migracyjnego, proponując i promując współpracę z sektorem prywatnym, umożliwiającą rozwiązywanie problemów ekonomicznych leżących u podstaw migracji. Z perspektywy stosunków Unii Europejskiej z państwami Afryki, Karaibów i Pacyfiku, jak wiemy, rok następny jest momentem, w którym powinniśmy rozpocząć negocjacje w sprawie partnerstwa, które zastąpi umowę z Kotonu. Nasza współpraca z partnerami afrykańskimi powinna zakładać większą regionalizację i wspieranie odporności państwowej, a także być oparta przede wszystkim na dialogu politycznym i wspieraniu rozwoju oraz handlu.

  Pervenche Berès (S&D). – Madame la Présidente, Monsieur le Vice-président, nous sommes ici pour parler du programme de travail de la Commission pour l’année 2018.

J’éprouve un certain malaise car, pendant ce temps-là, le président Tusk a proposé au Conseil européen une feuille de route, non pas pour être en harmonie et mettre en œuvre ce programme de travail – s’en servir –, mais en donnant l’impression de vouloir mettre en œuvre un agenda parallèle.

Je voudrais dire que la même chose semble se retrouver au niveau des propositions que vous allez faire dans le domaine économique et monétaire, où vous vous proposez de transformer le Mécanisme européen de stabilité en un Fonds monétaire européen – proposition qui devrait être sur la table le 6 décembre –, tandis que le président de l’Eurogroupe vient d’être recruté par le Mécanisme européen de stabilité lui-même pour réfléchir à cette réforme, ce qui pose tout de même question quant à la crédibilité des institutions dans leurs rôles respectifs.

Quelle sera la proposition sur la table? Je vous mets en garde contre ce que nous sentons venir: une proposition dans laquelle la Commission serait au final dessaisie de ses compétences en matière de supervision budgétaire au bénéfice du Mécanisme européen de stabilité, la Commission restant, elle, seule compétente pour mettre en œuvre des réformes structurelles dans le cadre d’une conditionnalité macroéconomique que ce Parlement européen a toujours refusée.

  Andrzej Grzyb (PPE). – Pani Przewodnicząca! Panie Komisarzu! Chciałem podziękować za tę prezentację celów Komisji na rok 2018. Jest wiele ważnych kwestii, które Komisja postawiła, proponując jak gdyby bycie wielką w sprawach wielkich, takich na przykład jak unia energetyczna, kontynuacja tego projektu, Unia Obrony, w tym obrony granic Unii Europejskiej czy agenda cyfrowa i łączące się z nią oraz z Unią Obrony cyberbezpieczeństwo. Bardzo jestem zadowolony z faktu, że jest deklaracja w sprawie rozszerzenia o kraje Bałkanów, przynajmniej o jeden z krajów Bałkanów i prace nad tym.

No i jest coś, co bardziej – że tak powiem – dzieli czy jest kontrowersyjne – to jest kwestia specjalnej linii budżetowej dla strefy euro. Musimy o tym dyskutować. Ale też zaproponowano między innymi pakiet „mobilność a zmiany klimatyczneˮ, który jest potrzebny, ale też budzi wiele kontrowersji, bowiem przyszłe regulacje dotyczące kwestii emisji powinny być skorelowane z długoterminową wizją transformacji sektora samochodowego w kierunku bezemisyjnym. Tu nam potrzeba pewnej mapy drogowej do elektromobilności, która jest ważna, potrzebna i przyszłościowa. Musi ona jednak brać pod uwagę również rozwój rodzimego europejskiego przemysłu samochodowego – w moim kraju to jest ponad dwieście tysięcy miejsc pracy i oni chcieliby wiedzieć, jak ma wyglądać ten projekt transformacji.

No i być może sprawa mała: to jest kwestia dyrektywy Parlamentu i Rady z 2001 r. w sprawie czasu letniego. W moim kraju, na przykład, toczy się dyskusja i jest wielka aprobata dla tego, aby podejść do rezygnacji z tej dorocznej dwukrotnej zmiany czasu. To nie jest tylko kwestia mojego kraju, ale również, na przykład, wielu innych krajów europejskich, które podnoszą zasadność. Wydaje mi się, że skoro ta debata się rozpoczęła, to również należałoby się do niej odnieść.

  Roberto Gualtieri (S&D). – Madam President, I welcome the Commission Working Programme on the EMU and also the key choice that has been made for the Community method. This has a number of implications, and I would like to focus on them, in particular on two implications.

First, the ESM integration into EU law is really essential. It is essential because with Article 352 of the Treaty we will have full EP involvement via the consent procedure; it is essential because it will ensure EP scrutiny to the new body; it is essential because this is the only way to obtain the meaningful budget line that is in your programme; and it is also essential if we want to fully safeguard Commission competences on economic policy coordination and budgetary surveillance, including by avoiding to building up a parallel capacity to do Article 4 reports by the ESM.

Second, on the Fiscal Compact incorporation: incorporation requires reform which means also that full co-decision procedure and double legal basis are necessary.

VORSITZ: RAINER WIELAND
Vizepräsident

  Miriam Dalli (S&D). – Ir-riforma hija ta’ importanza assoluta, u t-triq għal Unjoni li hija aktar magħquda, b’saħħitha u aktar demokratika tista’ titqies bħala pass pożittiv biss jekk l-Unjoni Ewropea u l-istituzzjonijiet kollha tagħha, inkluż l-aġenziji, igawdu l-fiduċja tal-pubbliku.

 

Qiegħda nitkellem b’mod partikolari dwar l-iżviluppi riċenti dwar il-glyphosate u anki dwar endocrine disruptors għaliex dawn iqajmu tħassib serju dwar il-mod ta’ kif qegħdin jaħdmu l-aġenziji tal-Unjoni Ewropea dwar il-kimiċi u anki dwar is-sigurtà tal-ikel. Xogħolhom għandu jkun li jipprovdu data xjentifika li hija indipendenti u konklużjonijiet li ċ-ċittadini jistgħu jafdaw dwar is-sigurtà tal-kimiċi li niġu f’kuntatt magħhom.

 

Id-dipendenza tal-ECHA u anki ta’ EFSA fuq studji li jingħataw mill-industriji qed joħolqu sfiduċja serja u dan qed iqajjem mistoqsija dwar l-indipendenza u anki l-affidabilità ta’ dawn l-aġenziji. Fil-fatt l-aġenziji qegħdin jgħidu li huma jsegwu r-regoli. Jekk dan huwa l-każ, allura għandna nerġgħu nħarsu lejn ir-regoli, u l-programm ta’ ħidma tal-Kummissjoni 2018 għandu jindirizza dan.

  Claude Moraes (S&D). – Mr President, clearly, such a big proportion of the Commission Work Programme lies in the field of migration, fundamental rights and security because that is where our clear challenges lie, and it is appropriate that Vice—President Timmermans is here today.

On migration, after all the difficulties of relocation and after all the work we have done with the Commission here in Parliament, we now need to seize the challenge of Dublin. Let’s get the mandate from the Council and let’s get the mandate from the Member States. So much hard work was done here. This will also release the asylum package qualifications, the Asylum Support Office, and all of the files that come behind this and create a package in the run—up to the European elections in 2019. That is a prize that is worth seizing.

On fundamental rights and the rule of law, we want to see a proposal for a democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights pact, and that is something that I know the Commissioner will also want to see. On security, which is also close to the hearts of our citizens, ETIAS, ECRIS and SIS II must also have impact assessments to make better implementation key. We want quality legislation. We do not want legislation just in name, but in quality that will last and that will have privacy at its heart, but which will also be effective for the security of our citizens.

  Bernd Lange (S&D). – Herr Präsident, Herr Vizepräsident Timmermans! Unter Punkt 15 des Arbeitsprogramms steht: Auslieferung der Trade for All strategy.

Ich glaube, wir können nicht nur ausliefern. Wir müssen auch noch ein bisschen Gewürz in die Handelspolitik bekommen. Nicht nur eine normale Pizza, sondern eine spicy Pizza muss dabei rauskommen.

Drei Punkte seien dazu genannt. Die Handelsabkommen, die auch aufgezählt sind, sind nicht hinsichtlich der Quantität, sondern hinsichtlich der Qualität zu bewerten. Ich glaube, heutzutage müssen wir auch die Frage der Steuervermeidung, die Frage der Korruption hineinbringen, so dass es letztendlich ein gutes Abkommen ist und nicht nur die Anzahl von Abkommen zählt.

Zweitens: Wir haben einen Vorschlag für ein multilaterales Investitionsgericht. Das müssen wir in der Tat puschen, damit wir hier eine Reform hinkriegen. Heißt aber auch, Herr Timmermans, dass wir die 1 200 bestehenden europäischen Investitionsabkommen auf den Prüfstand stellen und entsprechend auch ändern, insbesondere die Energiecharta, denn sonst sind wir unglaubwürdig, wenn wir zwei Maßstäbe haben.

Drittens: Wir müssen enforcement durchsetzen. Es kann nicht sein, dass bei der finanziellen Unterstützung Konditionalitäten nicht berücksichtigt werden – der Rechnungshof hat ja einen Bericht vorgelegt – und auch Arbeitnehmerrechte müssen durchsetzbarsein. Sie haben das in einer Rede im Mai gesagt: Enforcement ist der dritte richtige Schritt für mehr Gewürz bei der Handelspolitik.

  Cécile Kashetu Kyenge (S&D). – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, pochi mesi fa il Presidente Juncker, rivolgendosi a quest'Aula, ci illustrava uno scenario su cui costruire il fondamento della nostra Unione: la libertà, l'uguaglianza e lo Stato di diritto.

Oggi le sue parole vanno nella stessa direzione e infondono in noi un cauto ottimismo. Lei ci conferma che la sua visione dell'Europa corrisponde alla nostra e che i mesi che ci separano dalla fine della legislatura saranno decisivi per consolidare le fondamenta di un'Europa più unita, più forte ma anche più democratica, in grado di influire davvero sulla scena internazionale e, soprattutto, di affrontare con i suoi alleati, insieme, le principali sfide globali che ci attendono da qui ad alcuni anni.

Signor Presidente, consideri quest'Aula il suo principale alleato, ma soprattutto le abbiamo già dato prova che non ci tiriamo mai indietro, soprattutto dopo aver approvato Dublino.

Io lancio qui un appello per continuare sulla strada della...

(Il Presidente interrompe l'oratrice)

  Olga Sehnalová (S&D). – Pane předsedající, před několika týdny jsem tady na plénu uvítala slova předsedy Komise, že v Evropské unii nesmí existovat spotřebitelé druhé kategorie. Sociální demokraté očekávají, že v avízovaném balíčku nové politiky pro spotřebitele přejde Evropská komise od slov k činům.

Začnu bojem s dvojí kvalitou výrobků. Díky úsilí věnovanému popsání této praktiky již víme, že dvojí standardy existují. Dozorové orgány nyní potřebují jasné a účinné nástroje, jak jí čelit. Chceme lepší veřejná opatření k prosazování práv spotřebitelů. Nezákonné praktiky všeho druhu vyžadují rychlou odpověď a věřím, že zde důležitou roli sehraje nařízení o spolupráci dozorových orgánů.

Dalším problémem jsou omezené možnosti nápravy. Je proto načase představit návrh systému kolektivní právní ochrany spotřebitelů. Musíme také konečně řešit nerovnováhu mezi podniky v potravinářském řetězci. Nekalé obchodní praktiky mezi jednotlivými aktéry jsou zde dlouhodobě závažný problém, který vyžaduje legislativní opatření na evropské úrovni, a jsem ráda, že jste tuto problematiku zmínil.

  Момчил Неков (S&D). – г-н Председател, уважаеми г-н Тимерманс, г-н Юнкер нееднократно е заявявал, че младите са основен приоритет на неговата работа. Естествено е да очакваме конкретни инициативи в тази насока и в работната програма на Комисията за 2018 година. Какво означава това в конкретика?

Първо, предложение за нова Младежка стратегия, която да адресира реалните нужди на Европейската младеж. Макар и да бележи спад в сравнение с 2014 година, към днешна дата младежката безработица остава неприемливо висока. Всеки млад европеец трябва да има шанса за професионална реализация тук в Европа, а не извън нея.

На второ място, говорейки за професионална реализация, няма как да не споменем дефицита на дигитални умения, който представлява сериозна пречка. Ще очаквам от комисаря Габриел да насочи усилия не само към осигуряването на дигитална инфраструктура, а най-вече към развитието на дигитални умения на европейските граждани. При условие че 40% от европейците нямат базови дигитални умения, за кого ще работи този единен цифров пазар?

  Enrique Guerrero Salom (S&D). – Señor presidente, señor vicepresidente, cuando uno vuelve la vista atrás a 2014, comprueba cómo una parte del programa inicial de la Comisión se ha visto alterada por la sucesión de crisis que han sacudido a la Unión Europea: bajo crecimiento y alto desempleo, crisis de la deuda, inmigración y refugiados, terrorismo e inseguridad.

Hoy parece que algunas de estas nubes desaparecen y que el horizonte es algo más claro; por eso, la Comisión presenta unas propuestas de futuro, y en esas propuestas de futuro hay un nexo común: la seguridad.

Pero nada ofrece más seguridad a los ciudadanos que un robusto sistema de protección social.

Por eso, la propuesta que nos ha planteado en torno al pilar social suena bien, la música es buena. Es necesario que la letra la acompañe pero, sobre todo, que el ritmo de aplicación sea lo suficientemente intenso para que, antes de ir a las próximas elecciones, los ciudadanos comprueben que Europa piensa en ellos y les protege.

  Der Präsident. – Wir kommen zum Catch-the-eye-Verfahren, und ich muss Ihnen leider sagen, dass ich etwa doppelt so viele Meldungen habe und deshalb etwas reduzieren muss. Ich bitte um Verständnis.

Catch-the-eye-Verfahren

  Mairead McGuinness (PPE). – Mr President, I would like to thank Vice President Timmermans. The line that caught my ears, and indeed my eye, was about the food supply chain. A few of us, many years ago, started talking about unfair trading practices, and this chamber voted by 600 Members for the Commission to take action. So you did listen, and I am really looking forward to seeing the details of that proposal. I hope as many Members support the initiative, which I believe has to be very strong and very tough.

I also want to take the opportunity to say that we are doing things in this House which are having a negative impact on food production and conventional agriculture, like the votes on plant protection products and on other technologies around agriculture and our trade policy is also having an impact. So when we look at the food supply chain initiative, which I welcome, we are going to have to take a holistic look at what we want for food production in Europe and how we intend to support that type of food production and be careful how we advance.

  Maria Grapini (S&D). – Domnule Președinte, domnule comisar, sigur, sunt de acord cu ceea ce ați prezentat, este foarte important ce face Comisia ca program pentru 2018, pentru că se apropie finalul mandatului acestei Comisii. Eu, ca cetățean român, m-aș bucura ca în 2018, când țara mea are două evenimente importante (sărbătorește centenarul și este anul dinaintea președinției), cetățenii din țara mea să se bucure de toate drepturile de cetățeni europeni.

Pe de altă parte, așa cum spuneați, domnule comisar, avem nevoie de o Uniune mai unită. Este foarte important acest lucru; este, cred, principalul obiectiv, pentru că pe toate le putem face dacă suntem uniți, dacă avem aceleași obiective: o Europă unde să avem o mai bună coeziune socială, să avem mai puțină populație săracă, needucată, bolnavă. Sunt obiective prioritare pentru noi, pentru grupul din care fac parte. Dorim o Uniune Europeană etică, așa cum ați spus și dumneavoastră, echitabilă, dar pentru aceasta trebuie măsuri concrete, la care să le măsurăm rezultatul.

Mă bucur că ați vorbit, domnule Timmermans, de echitate. Oamenii așteaptă acest lucru, și cetățenii europeni doresc o mai mare siguranță a frontierelor. Mulțumesc.

  Νότης Μαριάς (ECR). – Κύριε Πρόεδρε, κύριε Timmermans, θα επικεντρωθώ στο θέμα των μετεγκαταστάσεων. Την Κυριακή 22 Οκτωβρίου είχα πάει στη Σάμο, ένα από τα νησιά του Αιγαίου. Στα νησιά του Αιγαίου έχουν εγκλωβιστεί αυτή τη στιγμή περίπου 20.000 πρόσφυγες και παράνομοι μετανάστες. Επίσης, στην Ελλάδα συνολικά υπάρχουν περίπου 70.000 πρόσφυγες και παράνομοι μετανάστες. Το θέμα της μετεγκατάστασης δεν έχει προχωρήσει, διότι εκτελέστηκε το πρόγραμμα μόνο κατά το εν τρίτον, δηλαδή, από τις 17.209 άτομα που έπρεπε να πάρει η Γερμανία, έχουν μετεγκατασταθεί 4.447. Στη Γαλλία έχουν μετεγκατασταθεί 3.948, ενώ έπρεπε να πάρει 12.599 άτομα. Αντιλαμβάνεστε ότι απαιτείται, στη νομοθετική δράση που αναλαμβάνεται, να επεκταθεί το πρόγραμμα μετεγκαταστάσεων, να μην σταματήσει, να συνεχίσει, διότι μόνο έτσι μπορεί να υπάρξει μια αποφασιστική και αποτελεσματική λύση.

  Der Präsident. – Vielen Dank, Herr Kollege Marias. Ich darf darauf hinweisen, dass es parlamentarisch nicht üblich ist, dass von der Besuchertribühne Zustimmungs-, Beifalls- oder Missfallensbekundungen gegeben werden.

  Τάκης Χατζηγεωργίου (GUE/NGL). – Κύριε Πρόεδρε, αγαπητέ κύριε Timmermans, θα συμφωνείτε μαζί μου ότι δεν υπάρχει δημοκρατία χωρίς καλή οικονομία. Δεν υπάρχει «rule of law» με ανεργία, με τόσα εκατομμύρια Ευρωπαίους κάτω από το όριο της φτώχειας και κακοπληρωμένες θέσεις εργασίας. Δεν υπάρχει «rule of law» όταν δεν μπορείτε να κάνετε τίποτα εναντίον κρατών που συμπεριφέρονται τόσο εγωιστικά απέναντι σε άλλα κράτη μέλη. Και αναφέρομαι, βέβαια, στην Πολωνία και την Ουγγαρία, με την απαράδεκτη συμπεριφορά τους στο θέμα των μεταναστών. Έχετε προτείνει τη δημιουργία του θεσμού του Υπουργού Οικονομικών. Σε ποιους όμως θα λογοδοτεί; Όπως το Εurogroup που δεν έχει καμιά λογοδοσία απέναντι στο Ευρωπαϊκό Κοινοβούλιο και τους εκλεγμένους αντιπροσώπους των λαών; Ποια θα είναι η δημοκρατική του νομιμοποίηση; Ποιος ο ρόλος του Ευρωπαϊκού Κοινοβουλίου απέναντι σε αυτόν τον άνθρωπο που θα διορίσετε;

  Jaromír Štětina (PPE). – Pane místopředsedo Komise, v červenci jsme hlasovali o usnesení Evropského parlamentu s podnětem pro pracovní program Komise. Toto usnesení se bohužel nepodařilo přijmout. Ve Vašem projevu jste zmínil důležité cíle, jako jsou digitalizaci vnitřního trhu či komplexní přístup k migraci. Úplně na začátku jste hovořil o demokratičtější Evropě. Tento cíl je také pro mne alfou a omegou veškerého snažení.

Některé třetí země a nestátní subjekty vynakládají stále větší úsilí s cílem zpochybnit za pomoci prostředků hybridní války, včetně dezinformací, legitimitu demokratických institucí v rámci Evropské unie. Komisi jsme v našem usnesení vyzývali, aby výrazně posílila svou odolnost vůči hybridním hrozbám a zlepšila svou schopnost reagovat přiměřeně na falešné zprávy a dezinformace. Evropský parlament vznesl tento požadavek opakovaně v mnoha zprávách i na různých fórech. Odpovídající reakce se však zatím nedostavila. Věřím, že se tak stane v nejbližší budoucnosti.

  Tibor Szanyi (S&D). – Elnök Úr! Én úgy vélem, hogy a Juncker-bizottság egész mandátumának az eredményességét két olyan területen bekövetkező véleményalkotás fogja leginkább meghatározni, amely szerintem az európai polgárok zömét leginkább érdekli. Az egyik a szociális Európa ügyét szolgáló intézménycsomag, így az EU szociális pillérének beindítása, amit, azt hiszem, valamennyien nagyon várunk, az igazságos és kiegyensúlyozott európai munkaerőpiacok feltételének kialakítása, a munkavállalók szociális és jogi helyzetének javítása s egységesítése, az Unió munkaügyi hatóságának felállítása, és még egy sor, az európai baloldal által régóta szorgalmazott, s most az Elnök Úr által is prioritásként kezelt kezdeményezés és feladat elvégzése.

A másik: végre konkrét és hatékony közösségi lépések az alapjogok és a jogállam tiszteletben tartásának és gyakorlati működésének garantálása érdekében. Egyformán valamennyi tagállam tekintetében, beleértve az uniós szolidaritás érvényesítését, ha kell, kikényszerítését, illetve hiányának szankcionálását.

(Ende des Catch-the-eye-Verfahrens)

  Frans Timmermans, First Vice-President of the Commission. – Mr President, I have listened very carefully to the contributions from this House on the Commission Work Programme for next year, and I retain a few things from our discussion.

First of all, I sense that we share a sense of urgency – that we understand that the challenges Europe faces are daunting – and I also see that the vast majority of this Parliament wants to act, and wants us to try and help our citizens regain control over their destinies with measures at a European level that can no longer be taken only at the national level. There is a part of this Parliament that believes in fleeing in a form of nostalgic nationalism, talking people down all the time as though we are on the brink of extinction; as though everything is going wrong, etc. Yes, the challenges are daunting. Yes, we are coming out of a deep economic crisis that has increased disparities in Europe, and that has not led to the convergence we want. But we do have a new sense of shared destiny, which was expressed also in the European Council.

But one thing that perhaps did not get enough attention in that European Council is that if you want that sense of purpose to be translated into concrete measures, you need the co-legislators. You need someone to make a proposal, and you need Council and Parliament jointly to take a decision so that you can implement it. And that is why the Commission Work Programme is not just a bureaucratic exercise; it is a concrete translation of the ambitions that are formulated in this House, in the European Council, and in the Commission. I believe speeches will not solve problems; even the most brilliant speech does not solve a problem. Concrete steps forward on social policy, on the digital single market, on completing the internal market and the banking union, on making sure that the very fundamental issue of the rule of law is something we strengthen in Europe and do not weaken in Europe, and on the fact that we need to deliver concrete results – and we do not have much time left until the next election – that is what we have reflected in the Commission Work Programme.

Yes, there are disagreements amongst us, but this is the Commission’s proposal, and we will look for a majority in this Parliament in a debate. That is how democracy works. I even heard somebody say that the only legitimate democracies are at the national level. What nonsense: every single Member of this House has been elected directly by European citizens and therefore has a mandate to decide with the Council on legislation that affects every single European citizen, and I think we need to understand this responsibility we have. We need to be able to face our voters in 2019 with something we have accomplished and with a plan for the future, and for those of you who have raised the issue of governance in the economic and monetary union, saying that this cannot be a bureaucratic process: that is exactly why the Commission has made this proposal. This should be discussed and mandated in this Parliament if we take these major decisions.

So that is the gist of our proposal for next year, and let me end on one thing: I believe it is also a matter of honour that we acknowledge that some of the problems we face are very, very complicated to solve, but we will not let them go. I refer to what the honourable Member Mr Marias has said: the situation on the Greek islands is still unacceptable, completely unacceptable, and this Commission will never let go of its responsibility to make sure that we solve it. And I do agree with those of you who have said that this requires pan-European solidarity by all Member States. I believe we are in our full right to demand this responsibility in Member States. And responsibility also means that we adhere to the truth, that we do not tell fairy tales about a secret plan to ‘Brusselise’ – or whatever they call it – European populations, or about a secret plan to force people to take migrants. This is not the case.

The only plan we have is to provide European citizens with the tools so that they can shape their futures and their destinies on the basis of their values, and we need to do this collectively. Globalisation will not go away if we take refuge in nation states only. Globalisation can only be harnessed if we as Europeans, act together with a common sense of purpose.

  Der Präsident. – Die Aussprache ist geschlossen.

Schriftliche Erklärungen (Artikel 162 GO)

  Vilija Blinkevičiūtė (S&D), raštu. – Europos Komisijos Vicepirmininkas, pristatydamas 2018 m. Komisijos darbo programą, pažymėjo, kad Komisija ketina kitais metais pristatyti socialinio teisingumo paketą, kuriame bus siūlymas sukurti Europos darbo jėgos instituciją, padėsiančią spręsti darbo jėgos judumo ir socialinės apsaugos problemas. Labai sveikinu tokią Komisijos iniciatyvą, kuri yra svarbus žingsnis siekiant sukurti Europos socialinį ramstį, ir nekantriai jos laukiu, tačiau manau, kad to negana. Norėčiau pabrėžti, kad Europai reikia ne deklaratyvaus, bet veiksmingo Europos socialinio ramsčio, kuris užtikrintų, kad visi darbuotojai, nepriklausomai nuo darbo pobūdžio, turėtų deramas darbo sutartis ir tinkamą socialinę apsaugą. Tačiau Komisijos planuose pasigendu ir kai kurių kitų svarbių iniciatyvų, kurias Parlamentas prašo parengti ir pateikti jau ne pirmus metus. Pavyzdžiui, nors jau daugelį metų kviečiu Komisiją ir valstybes nares sukurti Europos vaikų garantiją, pagal kurią būtų galima taikyti konkrečias, finansiškai pagrįstas priemones, kurios padėtų įveikti vaikų skurdą visoje Europoje, ateinančių metų programoje tai ir vėl nėra numatyta. Taip pat nėra numatyta jokių priemonių dėl kovos su moterų ir vyrų atlyginimų ir pensijų skirtumais. Tai – problema, apie kurią kalbame jau daug metų, ir prašome pateikti iniciatyvas, padėsiančias įveikti šiuos skirtumus Europos lygiu.

  Soledad Cabezón Ruiz (S&D), por escrito. – El programa refleja el contenido del discurso sobre el Estado de la Unión de Jean-Claude Juncker y la carta de intención que la Comisión envió al Parlamento. Establece una agenda para una Europa más unida, fuerte y más democrática. Con un número limitado de nuevas propuestas, que entregarán en mayo de 2018 para que el trabajo legislativo en el PE y en el Consejo pueda finalizar antes de las elecciones. La Comisión ya ha presentado más del 80 % de las propuestas necesarias en virtud de las 10 prioridades establecidas por Juncker en 2014. Ahora se centrarán en las propuestas pendientes, para impulsar el empleo, el crecimiento y la inversión, para crear un mercado interior más profundo y más justo con una base industrial reforzada, y en nuevas medidas específicas para completar la unión de seguridad. El segundo enfoque del programa de trabajo es más prospectivo y tiene como objetivo dar forma a la Unión hasta 2025. Tres principios que siempre deben ser el ancla de la Unión: la libertad, la igualdad y el Estado de Derecho. Una Unión más unida exigirá la apertura total del Espacio Schengen a Rumanía y Bulgaria, así como una perspectiva de ampliación para los candidatos en los Balcanes Occidentales.

  João Ferreira (GUE/NGL), por escrito. – Refletindo a crise de um processo de integração capitalista esgotado, que pouco tem para oferecer aos trabalhadores e aos povos senão mais do mesmo – mais retrocessos no plano social, mais injustiças e desigualdades, mais divergência económica, mais ataques à democracia e ao direito dos povos decidirem de forma livre e soberana o seu destino –, a Comissão Europeia apresenta um Programa de Trabalhos para 2018 que não constitui surpresa, mas que, nem por isso, deixa de constituir motivo de preocupação.

O sentido geral é o da continuada perda de soberania por parte dos Estados, especialmente dos Estados periféricos, em benefício das grandes potências europeias que controlam as instituições da UE. Mais neoliberalismo. Mais mercado único. Mais investimento para a indústria do armamento; uma deriva militarista e securitária, com consequências ao nível da supressão de direitos; continuado ataque ao direito de asilo, aos refugiados, aos mais elementares valores da solidariedade e do humanismo. Esquecido fica o que era verdadeiramente necessário. O reforço da coesão e dos seus instrumentos. O apoio aos setores produtivos dos países mais afetados pela divergência – agricultura, pescas e indústria. Mais emprego com direitos. A defesa dos serviços públicos e das funções sociais dos Estados. Investimento na prevenção de catástrofes, no ambiente, na ciência e tecnologia.

  Juan Fernando López Aguilar (S&D), por escrito. – El programa refleja el contenido del discurso sobre el Estado de la Unión de Jean-Claude Juncker y la carta de intención que la Comisión envió al Parlamento. Establece una agenda para una Europa más unida, fuerte y más democrática. Con un número limitado de nuevas propuestas, que entregarán en mayo de 2018 para que el trabajo legislativo en el PE y en el Consejo pueda finalizar antes de las elecciones. La Comisión ya ha presentado más del 80 % de las propuestas necesarias en virtud de las 10 prioridades establecidas por Juncker en 2014. Ahora se centrarán en las propuestas pendientes, para impulsar el empleo, el crecimiento y la inversión, para crear un mercado interior más profundo y más justo con una base industrial reforzada, y en nuevas medidas específicas para completar la unión de seguridad. El segundo enfoque del programa de trabajo es más prospectivo y tiene como objetivo dar forma a la Unión hasta 2025. Tres principios que siempre deben ser el ancla de la Unión: la libertad, la igualdad y el Estado de Derecho. Una Unión más unida exigirá la apertura total del Espacio Schengen a Rumanía y Bulgaria, así como una perspectiva de ampliación para los candidatos en los Balcanes Occidentales.

  Krystyna Łybacka (S&D), na piśmie. – W ramach programu prac Komisji na 2018 rok zwracam uwagę na rolę Unii Europejskiej we wspieraniu państw członkowskich w reformowaniu i modernizacji systemów edukacyjnych. Zgodnie z zasadą pomocniczości Unia powinna w większym stopniu angażować się w ten proces oraz współpracować z państwami członkowskimi w identyfikowaniu i wprowadzaniu głównych reform, które pozwolą na wykształcenie wśród Europejczyków umiejętności i kwalifikacji niezbędnych do funkcjonowania w dynamicznej, szybko zmieniającej się rzeczywistości społeczno-gospodarczej. Kluczowym celem powinno być dla nas oferowanie wysokiego poziomu edukacji w całej Unii. Współczesna edukacja, również akademicka, to nie tylko przekazywanie wiedzy i osiągnięć nauki, to również uczenie umiejętności selekcjonowania i praktycznego wykorzystania wiedzy. Dążenie do poprawy jakości edukacji to ciągłe zadanie, które wymaga zaangażowania wszystkich zainteresowanych stron, doskonalenia i adaptacji. Istotne są nowe rozwiązania dydaktyczne wspierane technologią cyfrową, które pozwolą na spersonalizowany model kształcenia sprzyjający interdyscyplinarności. Konieczna jest także zmiana zarządzania systemem kształcenia ukierunkowana na promowanie edukacji wysokiej jakości oraz włączenia społecznego. Zwracam także uwagę na wsparcie nauczycieli i dążenie do doskonałości w nauczaniu. Finalnie konieczna jest także szybka i skuteczna strategia integracyjna w związku z napływem uchodźców.

  Evelyn Regner (S&D), schriftlich. – Wir diskutieren heute das letzte wichtige Arbeitsprogramm dieser Legislaturperiode. Und die BürgerInnen der EU erwarten vor allem eines: Dass wir endlich anpacken! Europa wird sozial sein, oder es wird nicht sein. Die Überschriften der Sozialen Säule müssen mit konkreten Gesetzesvorschlägen gefüllt werden, denn Europa braucht mehr als einen unverbindlichen Sozialknigge. Dazu gehören eine Rahmenrichtlinie für menschenwürdige Arbeitsbedingungen, eine Grundsicherung für Kinder in Armut, die Verankerung der Sozialpolitik im Europäischen Semester und die Schaffung europäischer Mindeststandards. Die europäische Arbeitsmarktbehörde ist hier ein wichtiger Schritt! Wir müssen außerdem die Multis dazu zwingen, ihre Steuern zu zahlen. Die Ableitungen aus dem Panama-Untersuchungsausschuss müssen als Fahrplan für die Kommission gelten. Die Rücknahme der Europäischen Ich-AG aus dem Arbeitsprogramm ist ein Riesenerfolg. Nur durch den Druck von uns SozialdemokratInnen haben wir den Widerstand im EU-Parlament aufbauen können und somit die Kommission zur Besinnung gebracht. Herr Kommissionspräsident Juncker hat uns davor gewarnt, dass es in Europa keine BürgerInnen zweiter Klasse geben darf. Also packen wirs an, damit wir das Wohlstandsversprechen wieder für alle einlösen!

  Ivo Vajgl (ALDE), pisno. – Spoštovani, ob pregledu programa dela Evropske komisije 2018 lahko ugotovim, da v večjem delu odraža potrebe časa in se sooča z izzivi, ki Evropsko unijo čakajo v prihodnjem letu oziroma v prihodnje.

Vsekakor pa je na tem mestu potrebno poudariti, da program ne izpolnjuje pričakovanj, ki se nanašajo na demografske spremembe v Evropi, medgeneracijsko sodelovanje, starajočo se družbo in seveda položaj starejših v družbi. V tem delu program ocenjujem kot premalo ambiciozen.

V Evropskem parlamentu me veseli trend, da vse več poslank in poslancev Evropskega parlamenta spoznava, da so demografske spremembe in pravice starejših v Evropi področje, ki bo predstavljalo enega največjih izzivov za države članice ter Evropsko unijo. Žal tega trenda ni opaziti v programu Evropske komisije za leto 2018.

Pri pravicah starejših gre dostojanstvo in gre za osnovne človekove pravice, ki so univerzalne ali, če hočete, evropske. Zato načelo subsidiarnosti ne more biti razlog, da na tem področju na nivoju Evropske unije ni narejeno, kar državljani EU pričakujejo. Zato pozivam Evropsko komisijo, naj nameni več pozornosti izzivu starajoče se družbe ter skupaj z državami članicami končno pristopi k pripravi in sprejemu strategije, ki se bo odzvala na demografske spremembe na nivoju Evrope. Starejši si to zaslužijo!

  Miguel Viegas (GUE/NGL), por escrito. – A Comissão Europeia apresenta um Programa de Trabalhos para 2018 que não constitui surpresa, refletindo a crise de um processo de integração capitalista esgotado, que pouco tem para oferecer aos trabalhadores e aos povos senão mais do mesmo - mais retrocessos no plano social, mais injustiças e desigualdades, mais divergência económica, mais ataques à democracia e ao direito dos povos decidirem de forma livre e soberana o seu destino.

O sentido geral é o da continuada perda de soberania por parte dos Estados, especialmente dos Estados periféricos, em benefício das grandes potências europeias que controlam as instituições da UE. Mais neoliberalismo. Mais mercado único. Mais investimento para a indústria de armamento; uma deriva militarista e securitária, com consequências ao nível da supressão de direitos; continuado ataque ao direito de asilo, aos refugiados, aos mais elementares valores da solidariedade e do humanismo.

Esquecido fica o que era verdadeiramente necessário. O reforço da coesão e dos seus instrumentos. O apoio aos sectores produtivos dos países mais afetados pela divergência - agricultura, pescas e indústria. Mais emprego com direitos. A defesa dos serviços públicos e das funções sociais dos Estados. Investimento na prevenção de catástrofes, no ambiente, na ciência e na tecnologia.