Debašu stenogramma

Otrdiena, 2021. gada 19. oktobris - Strasbūra

6. Komisijas 2022. gada darba programma (debates)

  Il-President. – Il-punt li jmiss punt fuq l-aġenda huwa d-dikjarazzjoni tal-Kummissjoni: Programm ta' Ħidma tal-Kummissjoni għall-2022 (2021/2887(RSP)).

Nixtieq ninforma lill-onorevoli Membri li, għal dan id-dibattitu, huwa previst ċiklu wieħed ta' kelliema tal-gruppi politiċi.

  Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the Commission. – Madam President, it’s a pleasure to present to you today the 2022 Commission Work Programme. Let me begin by thanking you for a very fruitful cooperation in the preparation of this important document.

In line with well-established practice, President von der Leyen met the Conference of Presidents to exchange views on the priorities for the next year, and I had the pleasure of exchanging views, which are further discussed in dedicated meetings with the Conference of Committee Chairs and the Conference of Presidents. In addition, my fellow Commission Vice—Presidents, Commissioner Hahn, and I discussed these priorities, based on the Letter of Intent and the State of the Union speech with the Conference of Committee Chairs just two weeks ago.

The past 12 months have been eventful, to say the least, and we have had to learn, adapt and deploy our collective resources, but we have produced tangible results. Over 70% of Europe’s adult population is now fully vaccinated, thanks to our common approach to vaccine purchases. With the help of the digital certificate, we have regained many of our freedoms within the Union. Thanks in no small part to our joint effort in getting Next Generation EU off the ground, economic recovery in Europe is stronger than initially predicted.

Yet the COVID—19 pandemic has demanded great sacrifices from our citizens – and young people in particular. To acknowledge these sacrifices, we will declare 2022 the European year of youth.

To finally overcome this pandemic, we also need greater efforts on vaccines – in the EU as vaccination campaigns have stalled in some Member States, but also further afield where the entire global community must pull its weight.

The other great challenge of our time has also had an impact in the past year, reconfirming the importance of our long—term priorities. I’m talking about the devastating effects of climate change, which were visible across the Union and the entire world. Recent events in Afghanistan underlined the need for the EU to develop its joint defence capacity, and we have seen how quickly our democratic principles can come under pressure and how we can never stop fighting for them.

It is in this context that we have drawn up the 2022 Work Programme.

We plan to adopt to the outstanding key initiatives to deliver the six headline ambitions of President von der Leyen’s political guidelines. This will enable us to emerge stronger from the crisis, to accelerate the twin green and digital transitions and build a fairer and more resilient society, in short to make Europe stronger together.

As the coming year will mark the mid-term of this mandate, we need to leave sufficient time for co-legislators to finalise the negotiations well in time for the European elections in 2024.

Let me give you a few examples of key initiatives planned for 2022. The Green Deal continues to be our growth strategy, and further action is needed to meet our ambitious target of carbon neutrality by 2050. We will therefore propose a certification framework for carbon removals to boost their sustainable deployment and create a new business model to reward land managers. To deliver on our zero-pollution action plan, we will tackle surface and groundwater pollutants, as well as ambient air quality.

We are determined to continue making Europe fit for the digital age. While the pandemic has accelerated digitalisation around the globe, notably the use of digital solutions for work and for education, it has also exposed shortcomings and dependencies in the EU. A European chips act will help foster an innovative and state—of—the—art European ecosystem for semi—conductors to develop new markets and prevent current supply shortages from recurring in the future.

All citizens need to benefit from successful digital transition. Therefore, we will propose a package of recommendations on digital in school and higher education, and new measures on multimodal digital mobility services. A workforce with strong digital skills will be key for our small and medium—sized enterprises and, in addition, we want to find ways to facilitate access to capital.

We should also ensure that citizens and businesses benefit fully from the advantages of the single market, even in times of crisis. That is why we will propose a new single market emergency instrument. For a socially fair European economy, firmly based on the European Pillar of Social Rights, we need concrete actions to support and protect workers. We will propose an initiative to protect workers from the risks related to exposure to asbestos at work. We share the Parliament’s sense of urgency on this issue and will examine the legislative own-initiative report in great detail. We will also adopt a recommendation on a minimum income.

To support a stronger Europe in the world, we will continue our efforts to support the rules—based multilateral global order. Along with our Global Gateway initiative, fostering transport, energy and telecommunication links with partners across the globe, we will work towards developing a strategic partnership with the Gulf. This is a region of great importance for our Union on a number of regional and global issues.

We will therefore present an action plan on international ocean governance that will confirm the EU’s ambition to lead the quest to deliver the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development Goals. We also propose a new strategy on international energy engagement with the goal of moving away from fossil fuel imports and towards green energy solutions.

Alongside initiatives on education and security policy under the headline ambition promoting our European way of life, we will propose a comprehensive care strategy, from early childhood care and education to long-term care. We will also focus on citizens’ health by updating the recommendation on cancer screening, reflecting the latest available scientific evidence.

Under the new push for European democracy, we will continue to support the crucial role played by a free and vibrant media landscape in our democratic society and adopt the European media freedom act.

We will also further strengthen the rights of all children by proposing an initiative on the recognition of parenthood between Member States and continue our work on equality by strengthening the role and independence of equality bodies.

The 2022 Work Programme will not only be about the new initiatives listed in Annex I. With the full implementation of the ‘one in, one out’ approach, we will ensure that, when we introduce new, unavoidable burdens, we systematically and proactively would seek to reduce existing ones. This gives additional importance to the initiatives identified for evaluation and revisions in Annex II. Better regulation will also continue to support sustainability and the digital transformation, by focusing on the ‘do no significant harm’ and ‘digital-by-default’ principles.

In total, we are announcing 42 flagship initiatives this year, grouped under 32 policy objectives or packages. Under the regulatory fitness and performance programme, REFIT, we identified 26 significant pieces of legislation proposed for evaluation or revision. We have examined all proposals currently awaiting decision by the Parliament and the Council, and we are proposing to withdraw six of them. Some of them do not match this Commission’s political ambition. For others, we will reflect on more efficient ways to fulfil their objectives, in consultation with this House and the Council.

In closing, let me underline that good policy making is a team effort between all institutions, Member States and key partners throughout the policy cycle. Particularly as we will enter the second half of this mandate next year, constructive negotiations on important pieces of legislation will be paramount if we want to deliver for our citizens, businesses and stakeholders during these years marked by deep transformation.

I thank you for your hard work and spirit of cooperation, and I very much look forward to your interventions.

  Jan Olbrycht, on behalf of the PPE Group. – Madam President, first of all I would like to thank the Commissioner for the very good cooperation we have and remind all of us that 2022 is the year when we have all the necessary instruments we need to realise the European policies. I mean we have the MFF, Next Generation EU, all the policies linked to the budget, and all of them based on European solidarity and dedicated to more resilience in Europe.

Let me express on behalf of the EPP Group what we expect in 2022. We expect, especially in the Commission’s programme, more resilience regarding foreign interference and the attacks on democratic values and our way of life. We expect also reinforcement of our fight against corruption, money laundering, the fight in favour of the rule of law, which is the cornerstone of European democracy. And we cannot forget that in this year, 2022, we will still be fighting the consequences of the COVID crisis, so especially we have to think about the citizens and how to improve their daily lives.

The citizens need to be confident and we need to show the citizens that we care about their real fears and their concerns. I think that we can just list some of the elements which are really important for us. All of them are in fact linked to the EU recovery strategy. First, the question of the recovery strategy is mainly about people, and this is mainly about the added jobs, so that’s why we need to reinforce employment, to keep existing jobs, to create new jobs.

We cannot also forget the question of the brain drain, which I think is also of interest to the European Commission and this is one of the processes which we can face in Europe and which is reinforced by COVID. We have to take care of the people who lost their jobs, who are losing their normal way of life, who are concerned about their children and their future, and of course the people concerned with their pension and the eldest members of the family.

So this is also about the Green Deal and we cannot forget that farmers especially cannot be victims of the Green Deal, and the people living in the big cities. We have to remember digitalisation, which is also about recovery – digitalisation as a part of recovery – so that’s why we have to think about the whole society. We are ready to cooperate with the Commission and to cooperate successfully, and we will support the Commission in all these fields but we will be very active in working with you.

  Simona Bonafè, a nome del gruppo S&D. – Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, noi non possiamo che apprezzare il lavoro che la Commissione ha portato avanti negli ultimi due anni nella situazione emergenziale dovuta alla crisi pandemica.

Pensiamo ai risultati della strategia di vaccinazione, che ci stanno consentendo di mettere in sicurezza sanitaria i cittadini europei, o ai progressi del Green Deal europeo, con la presentazione del pacchetto "Fit for 55" per la neutralità carbonica, fino al piano d'azione del pilastro sociale e al lavoro sulla transizione digitale. Per non parlare di Next Generation EU, uno strumento straordinario per la ripresa delle nostre economie.

Questi primi anni del mandato della Commissione hanno messo in pratica la nostra agenda progressista e adesso dobbiamo procedere anche per il programma che oggi ci presenta la Commissione per il 2022. Siamo convinti, infatti, che il futuro post-pandemia non possa essere basato su un approccio business as usual, ma piuttosto richieda un ripensamento radicale della nostra società e della nostra economia, che ponga al centro lo sviluppo sostenibile, la salute, il progresso sociale e l'uguaglianza di genere che vogliamo vedere maggiormente nelle iniziative della Commissione.

Qui voglio ribadire i principali punti sui quali caratterizzeremo la nostra iniziativa politica. Parto dalle politiche sociali, che non troviamo nel programma per il 2022. Impegni adeguati al contesto creato dalla pandemia; servono una legge anti-povertà, una revisione della direttiva sugli interinali e ancora direttive sulle nuove forme di telelavoro. Queste sono le misure necessarie per garantire condizioni di lavoro dignitose e al passo con le trasformazioni in atto.

Passo alla politica fiscale e alla governance economica. La crisi del Covid ha richiesto la sospensione delle regole di bilancio e ha evidenziato la necessità di una loro riforma. Bene quindi la consultazione pubblica aperta oggi sul patto di stabilità, con l'obiettivo di archiviare la stagione dell'austerità. Per lo stesso principio è anche tempo di introdurre una capacità fiscale permanente dell'Eurozona, basandosi sulle esperienze di successo di Next Generation EU e dello strumento SURE.

Sullo Stato di diritto, non ci stancheremo mai di sottolineare che alle parole devono adesso corrispondere azioni concrete, a partire dalla piena applicazione del regolamento sulla condizionalità dello Stato di diritto, voluto fortemente da questo Parlamento.

Mi auguro, concludendo, che la Commissione non perda quello slancio di cui ha dato prova fino ad oggi. Il gruppo dei Socialisti e Democratici intende fare la sua parte, continuando a fare pressione con spirito costruttivo per migliorare il programma di lavoro della Commissione, per il prossimo anno e quelli successivi, nell'interesse dei cittadini europei e dell'Unione europea.

  Malik Azmani, on behalf of the Renew Group. – Madam President, as we emerge from the pandemic, the green shoots of recovery we see must be allowed to flourish. There are challenges that risk undermining our recovery and let’s make sure we, as European legislators, are part of the solution. This is why I strongly welcome your intention to apply the ‘one in, one out’ principle to the Commission Work Programme of 2022. ‘Less, but better regulation’ must be our guiding principle.

On the content, my group was very happy with the proposal on the European Chips Act and the Cyber Resilience Act. But where are the proposals to deepen our single market? We celebrate the international success of the OECD global agreement on minimum effective taxation and our group wants to translate this into EU law quickly.

The pandemic showed us all the value of our health. Our group calls for action to make European healthcare systems more resilient and interoperable. We also want a comprehensive European Mental Health Strategy. Adopting this would be an important post-pandemic legacy.

Mr Vice-President, the ‘geopolitical Commission’ we were promised is missing in action. On trade, development, but also on migration, there is a lack of ambition. Our citizens want a visible Europe that protects their interests in a changing world. Let’s deliver on that promise and build new strategies and tools.

Finally, I want to stress the importance of implementation. I give you an example, but there are many others. The Rule of Law in the EU faces challenges. We had a debate this morning. Sometimes it feels like we are in reverse gear, which is why we need a truly European Rule of Law mechanism. An urgent plea: please, the Commission must apply the Rule of Law conditionality mechanism as soon as possible.

  Thomas Waitz, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Madam President, addressing Vice-President Šefčovič I wish to start by saying, Commissioner, that you haven’t talked all too much about climate and biodiversity, which is still the most pressing issue for our mid-term and long-term societal problematics, and I know this was part of the work programme last year but the work is still not done. Science clearly tells us that we should even be more ambitious or look even deeper into the root causes and change even faster.

The Commission was proposing the Green Deal, was relatively ambitious, especially compared to what we’ve seen from national governments and other regions of the world. And please be assured that you will have our backing in staying straight and staying firm on pushing through the proposed legislation against a lot of resistance, which I see coming very strongly from all kinds of stakeholders.

I sign up to what my colleague from the Conservatives, Mr Aubry, said on dependency on fossil fuels. We see very clearly our weaknesses and our vulnerability that we have in depending on fossil fuel imports, especially from Russia at the moment, as we see the skyrocketing energy prices that are linked to some geopolitical games played by that side. So becoming energy autonomous or as autonomous as possible, please put that at the forefront of your political proposals.

And then you tackled health. Well, health is an issue that is related to global warming, but health is also related to many other topics towards environmental protection. And I really want to say a word against what Mr Aubry said, that farmers are endangered by or victims of the farm to fork strategy or environmental policies. It’s exactly the opposite. If we go environmental, then this is helping the farmers.

And I also sign up to the proposal to put in the forefront the question of foreign interference, of fake news, that is actually contradicting our democratic processes, which are at the heart of our decision-making and of the European Union.

And just last but not least, we need to find legal ways of tackling migration and adopting our trade policies so less people have to flee from their homes. This is a key issue for the next working programme, I think.

  Marco Campomenosi, a nome del gruppo ID. – Signora Presidente, signor Commissario Šefčovič, onorevoli colleghi, io questo tipo di dibattito l'ho seguito anche prima di essere un parlamentare europeo, nel ruolo che avevo precedentemente.

Mi piacerebbe che fosse modificato anche il tipo di rapporto che ci porta a questo perché, è chiaro, il mese prossimo voteremo una risoluzione e avremo modo di analizzare meglio il lavoro che la Commissione europea pone davanti a sé.

Ma quello che mi preme sottolineare, prima delle cose di merito, è che i tempi stringono. Purtroppo la legislatura è già a metà praticamente e, a causa di una pandemia, a causa di tutto quello che è successo, siamo indietro. E questo non è colpa di nessuno, indubbiamente, ma il mio invito è a essere non troppo ambiziosi, perché sappiamo già e lo abbiamo già visto con la presentazione del pacchetto "Fit for 55" che in Consiglio, legittimamente e giustamente, ci sono preoccupazioni e più la Commissione presenta testi legislativi complessi e che fanno discutere, più i tempi si allungano.

Per questo io invito, anche sui temi green, a ricordare sempre il tema della competitività, cioè dell'impatto che queste misure devono avere per fare sì che poi non ci troviamo a inseguire o a lavorare su proposte un po' troppo lontane rispetto a quelle che sono le esigenze del mondo delle imprese e dei lavoratori.

Sulla difesa, secondo me, possiamo mantenere e migliorare le cose che ci sono adesso. Sulla politica commerciale dovremmo, secondo me, accelerare un po' e poi, sul patto di stabilità, superare definitivamente misure, cioè quelle dell'austerità, che si sono dimostrate inadeguate in un sistema privo di shock esterni, figuriamoci adesso che dobbiamo uscire da una pandemia che ha danneggiato tutti e che dobbiamo tornare a crescere e a produrre rapidamente.

  Elżbieta Rafalska, w imieniu grupy ECR. – Pani Przewodnicząca! Panie Komisarzu! W ocenie EKR-u program prac Komisji na 2022 rok powinien być nakierowany na zwalczanie skutków pandemii, w tym ograniczenie ubóstwa, budowanie odporności w obszarze zdrowia publicznego, jak i rozwoju gospodarczego. W odniesieniu do inicjatyw z zakresu polityki klimatycznej: po pierwsze, nie może być ona prowadzona kosztem najuboższych grup społecznych, po drugie, nie może skutkować pogłębieniem ubóstwa energetycznego i zapaścią całych górniczych regionów. Jesteśmy rozczarowani, że na liście planowanych inicjatyw nie został umieszczony projekt zmieniający pakiet mobilności, który jest potrzebny dla zachowania spójności i wiarygodności polityki klimatycznej.

Obecna sytuacja na zewnętrznej granicy Unii Europejskiej z Białorusią nadała nowy kontekst dyskusji na temat reformy Schengen. Wspieramy dążenia do przywrócenia pełnej funkcjonalności strefy Schengen oraz budowy odpornego na kryzys systemu zarządzania migracjami w Unii Europejskiej. Kluczowe jest trwałe odzyskanie kontroli nad przepływami migracyjnymi do Unii Europejskiej poprzez dalsze ograniczanie skali nielegalnej migracji oraz nadużyć systemu azylowego. Chcielibyśmy też podkreślić, że projektując konkretne rozwiązania prawne, Komisja Europejska powinna respektować zasady traktatowe, w tym zasadę pomocniczości, równości i zasadę proporcjonalności.

  Manon Aubry, au nom du groupe The Left. – Madame la Présidente, il y a aujourd’hui une pandémie qui fait des dégâts terribles, mais que la Commission européenne ignore ostensiblement dans son programme de travail 2022: c’est la pauvreté. Et l’explosion des prix de l’énergie dont vous êtes directement responsables est la goutte d’eau qui peut faire basculer des millions de gens dans la misère. Alors, comme d’habitude, vous avez d’abord attendu, vous avez dit: «C’est pas de ma faute». Puis, vous avez été contraints de suspendre vos règles absurdes qui empêchent le contrôle public des prix. Mais vous avez aussi averti que vous ne changeriez rien au problème: l’énergie restera une marchandise comme une autre, un point c’est tout.

Vous n’en êtes pas à votre coup d’essai. Cela me rappelle le début du COVID, quand il a fallu aider les gens à tenir. La Commission a d’abord dit aux États: «Débrouillez vous!». Et puis, elle a été obligée de concéder qu’elle pourrait déroger un peu à ses règles chéries du tout austérité et du tout concurrence. Mais là encore, seulement provisoirement, bien sûr.

C’est encore et toujours la même histoire avec le dérèglement climatique et les inondations terribles qui ont ravagé des régions entières en Europe. Vous avez versé quelques larmes de crocodile et juré, la main sur le cœur, que l’écologie, c’était le défi du siècle. Mais vous avez refusé de changer la moindre virgule de votre loi sur le climat, qui ne permettra pas de respecter les accords de Paris. Le schéma est maintenant connu: vous créez des règles iniques, vous vous exonérez de toute responsabilité quand elles créent le chaos, vous les mettez temporairement entre parenthèses quand il est déjà trop tard, après quoi vous les renforcez au lieu de vous en débarrasser définitivement.

Je me rappelle pourtant qu’il y a un an, on s’était dit «plus jamais ça» – plus jamais cette austérité qui a détruit nos hôpitaux, plus jamais ce libre-échange qui nous a empêchés de produire des masques, plus jamais ces salaires de misère pour les premières de corvée. Un an après, toutes ces promesses ont été oubliées. Car votre programme de travail est à l’image des précédents. Vite! Rétablissons la règle des 3 % de déficit. Vite! Revenons à l’interdiction des aides d’État. Vite! Signons toujours plus d’accords de libre-échange. Vite! Étendons encore le marché du carbone.

Vous feriez mieux de revenir à la raison et de tirer les leçons de vos échecs. Débarrassons-nous définitivement de vos obsessions du passé. Tournons la page de l’évangile néolibéral pour répondre aux préoccupations du quotidien: comment payer ses factures? Respirer un air sain? Offrir un avenir à ses enfants? Voilà ce qu’attendent des millions d’Européens pour l’année 2022. Bref, renouer enfin avec un peu d’espoir.

  Fabio Massimo Castaldo (NI). – Signora Presidente, Signor Vicepresidente Šefčovič, onorevoli colleghi, lotta al cambiamento climatico, all'esclusione sociale e alla disoccupazione: sono queste le priorità che i nostri cittadini hanno evidenziato nell'ultimo sondaggio dell'Eurobarometro. Iniziative presenti all'interno del programma della Commissione per il prossimo anno, senz'altro, ma che per essere concretamente realizzate hanno bisogno di un passaggio fondamentale: riformare le regole di bilancio, sulla cui inadeguatezza concordano, ormai da tempo, quasi tutti in Europa.

La Commissione presenta proprio oggi una comunicazione per dare il via a questa revisione. Come Movimento 5 Stelle abbiamo sempre chiesto di ripensare l'intero sistema di governance economica dell'Unione e questo è un obiettivo che ora, grazie anche ai nostri sforzi, potrà e dovrà essere finalmente realizzato.

La scadenza del 2023 non ci concede molto tempo per trovare un consenso condiviso, dobbiamo procedere al più presto alla definizione di una golden rule europea per gli investimenti verdi, digitali e sociali e alla riforma radicale degli indicatori che sono attualmente utilizzati nel semestre europeo per integrare gli obiettivi di sviluppo sostenibile.

Se non saremo in grado di disegnare politiche che aiutino le persone a conservare la propria dignità – lo ricordano anche i premi Nobel per l'economia Banerjee e Duflo – la fiducia dei cittadini rischia di essere definitivamente compromessa. Non solo dunque numeri, dobbiamo restituire l'economia e la dignità ai nostri concittadini.

  Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the Commission. – Madam President, I would also like to thank all honourable Members for their interventions, for their comments, and I can say also for their support as I was feeling it in most of the remarks which we just concluded. If you allow me, I will just try to briefly respond to the honourable Members.

Indeed, as Mr Olbrycht has said, currently we are in a much better situation than we were a year or two years ago because now we have the necessary instrument like the multiannual financial perspective and Next Generation EU at our disposal.

If I look back in retrospect how difficult the discussion just before the COVID crisis struck was on our common budget, I think the fact that now we have at our disposal more than two trillion, more than EUR 2 000 billion, to tackle the challenges which lie ahead for the European Union, is very good news.

But, of course, I understand that we need to spend this money well. We have to target the attainment of proper priorities. We have to increase the resilience of the European Union and the priorities which you mentioned, in particular the importance of the rule of law. We had a very important debate on this this morning. Continuation of tackling the consequences of the COVID crisis, tackling corruption, and of course, thinking first and foremost about our citizens and how we can deliver for them, are the priorities which we very much share with you, with the Members who are directly representing the people in our Member States.

We are going to make sure that we will be working very closely with you on some of the concrete proposals you mentioned. When it comes to issues like the brain drain, this is a new but very important phenomenon, and therefore we also decided in the Commission that we would tackle this issue because if somebody is gaining, somebody else is losing brain power, and therefore we want to make sure that we develop proper proposals and proper initiatives to tackle this issue.

Mr Olbrycht, but I think also Ms Rafalska, have been making very important references to the issue of security, cyber security, but also to the importance of the migration policy. I would also like to tell you that, with regards to the reform of Schengen, we still plan to deliver this year. We are continuing under the leadership of my colleague Margaritis Schinas to build the genuine security union developed with aspects which this initiative is covering. We want to make sure that the security union would indeed be future-proof, that we would not only be tackling the threats of the past, but the threats of the present also those in the future.

Ms Bonafè was making strong reference, together with Ms Aubry, to how important it is, despite the fact that we are hopefully now in a post-pandemic stage and are experiencing economic recovery, not to forget about our commitment to fighting poverty and to making sure that no one in Europe is left behind. I would just really like to reassure you that the action plan to make sure that we fulfil the European Pillar of Social Rights, adopted in March of this year, is something that we are going to be working on because it’s not only an issue for this year. It has to be our, I would say, longer term ambition, otherwise we would not fulfil what the Commission wants to deliver with regard to reducing the risk of poverty or social exclusion by at least 15 million people by 2030.

We want to use the MFF, the Next Generation EU, also for these very important goals and therefore we are proposing a very important number of initiatives to achieve these goals, including a proposal of minimum wages, a child guarantee, affordable housing initiative, and to make sure that we will not forget about the regions which are going through very difficult social or environmental or industrial transitions. Therefore we will see that this will be properly reflected in a lot of proposals, which will find their way to the European Parliament during the course of next year.

Mr Azmani was making a very important point about taxation. Here I am very glad to say that the support that the European Union was clearly demonstrating to international efforts in this field actually was successful and that we see that now we have 136 jurisdictions worldwide, including all EU members and the G20 members and OECD members to reach an historic agreement of global tax reform, establishing a global minimum level of effective taxation and the reallocation of taxation rights. Therefore, the proposal which we wanted to make in this regard next year can be accelerated and we still want to present it to you this year, most probably in the fourth quarter and I think that’s good news for everyone because this is one of the issues which were on our desks for many, many years, and I think that European taxpayers especially would very much welcome the outcome of this solution.

I also would like to assure you, Mr Azmani, that ‘one in, one out’ is the concept which we have been working very hard on and now all our services across the Commission have a proper toolbox. We are introducing really novel techniques how to measure administrative burden and we will be informing you continuously. You will see the first administrative burden report about the pilot phase of this in the spring of the next year, but the first full year where we are going to make sure that any new administrative burdens will be offset, preferably in the same area. We will come to you a year later because next year will be the first year of the full implementation and we discussed it at length with my fellow Commissioners just to make sure that there are not only services but also political oversight and that we have to deliver also on this very important goal.

Issues of migration are always very, very sensitive and therefore I can tell you that we are in permanent contact with the Council to make sure that we have more progress and faster negotiations and possibly better results in the discussion on the migration pact. I agree with you, it’s an issue which has been with us for too long. It’s extremely sensitive, it’s dangerous and it’s endangering people’s lives and therefore we need to act here, the EU, as a united actor.

To Mr Waitz I would like to say that indeed, despite the fact that this year, there are very important initiatives linked to the Green Deal, what I think would be very important – and there was total agreement in the college – that what we need to do, and I would really very much hope for your close cooperation, we need to deliver on the proposals we made this year. This was the most ambitious political and legal package probably for the whole legislature of the von der Leyen Commission. It’s an enormous amount of work we had to do, and therefore I think that close cooperation on delivering this on time would be very, very important because indeed, these proposals have the transformational potential which would clearly put Europe on a safer and better path, and we again would continue to be a pioneers in tackling climate change.

Mr Campomenosi was referring to the importance of competitiveness and I would add also the issue of open strategic autonomy which we want to guarantee not only through the technologies which we are missing right now in Europe. I’m now making a point about the European Chips Act, which we need to have, we need to be strong in that regard because we see how many industries are depending on that. We also are making sure that when we make the proposals, we also measure the impact of these proposals from the point of view of making sure that they have these very important social and green, but also competitiveness elements in them.

If you allow me to close on Ms Aubry’s very important point on energy prices. This is indeed a very important issue and you have seen that what we proposed last week was very much focused on how to help the most vulnerable, how to protect the most vulnerable businesses, how to use the new windfall profit, I would say, from the ETS which is now with the Member States and where compared to last year, more than an additional EUR 10 billion was generated and how we propose to the Member States how we can deal with this money.

We propose more flexibility on taxation, more flexibility on tariff setting and I’m sure that after the very important discussions the leaders will have on this topic this Thursday and Friday, we will again look at what we, as a united EU as a concerted action, can do. I agree with you that in the long run we need to be autonomous, we have to be more green and we have to be less dependent on energy imports from outside the Union.

Madam President, I really would like to thank you for being so patient with me, for giving me the time to not only present the programme but also to respond to the honourable Members, to their questions, because we’ve been working with all of them very closely to make sure that our programme for next year is ambitious and to the liking of the European Parliament, because without your support we will not be able to make it a reality and I really would like to thank you for this once again.

  President. – Thank you very much, Vice—President, for that very comprehensive reply.

That concludes the item.

Written statements (Rule 171)

  Alin Mituța (Renew), in writing. – It is necessary to debate the Commission Work Programme in the European Parliament. However, we know that citizens feel disconnected from the EU decision-making process. In the context of the Conference on the Future of Europe, I did a tour of my country to discuss with citizens about their expectations from the EU. One of the takeaways from this tour is the fact that citizens want to be listened to; they want to be a part of the decision-making process. It is not enough to call them to vote every five years. We need to find ways to take this energy from the citizens and insert it into the political process every year.

I believe that involving citizens in the mechanism that produces the Commission Work Programme could be a way to achieve this. This is why I have proposed the implementation of an Annual European Agora that will take input from citizens regarding the main priorities of the EU and include it in the decision-making process that builds the work programme. Hopefully, through the Conference, we will also have input from the citizens present in the programme of 2023.

  Ernő Schaller-Baross (NI), írásban. – A világméretű chiphiány az autógyártást és elektronikát sújtja leginkább. Az európai ipar jelenleg szinte teljes mértékben kiszolgáltatott az Unión kívüli technológiai gyáraknak. Az európai gazdaság számára versenyhátrányt jelent a félvezetők beszállításának akadozása. Európai szinten 2021 első negyedévében a személygépjárművek globális termelése közel 1,3 millió járművel csökkent, ami 11,3%-os visszaesést jelent 2020 utolsó negyedévéhez képest. Az Uniónak biztosítania kell az olyan nélkülözhetetlen technológiai eszközök ellátásának biztonságát, mint az autóiparban is használt félvezetők. Fontos előrelépés, hogy az Európai Bizottság 2022. évi munkaprogramjában szerepel a félvezetőkről szóló új európai jogszabály.

A globális gazdaság egyre inkább a digitális megoldásokra támaszkodik. Míg a világszintű kereslet robbanásszerűen megnőtt, Európa részesedése a teljes értékláncban a tervezéstől a gyártási kapacitásig csökkent és jelenleg a harmadik országokból származó technológiai alapanyagokra hagyatkozunk. Itt az idő, hogy Európa megvédje magát és saját innovatív kapacitásaira építsen. Törekedni kell arra, hogy erősítsük az EU digitális szuverenitását, fokozzuk az uniós vállalatok versenyképességét és az európai, ezen belül pedig különösen a magyar munkahelyek biztonságát.

  Ivan Štefanec (PPE), písomne. – Európska komisia prijala svoj pracovný program na rok 2022, ktorý predstavuje kroky postpandemickej premeny na vytvorenie zelenšej, spravodlivejšej a digitalizovanej spoločnosti. Ustanovila tak zoznam opatrení na nasledujúci rok, ktorý obsahuje 42 politických iniciatív v šiestich oblastiach. Zahŕňa napríklad Európsku zelenú dohodu v rámci, ktorým chce predstaviť certifikáciu odstraňovania uhlíka a akčný plán nulového znečistenia. Keďže potreba digitálnej Európy bola len zvýraznená počas pandémie, Komisia sa preto bude sústreďovať na európsky akt o čipoch a kybernetickej odolnosti či digitálne vzdelávanie občanov. Ďalšie iniciatívy zahŕňajú zvýšenie odolnosti sociálneho trhového hospodárstva, okamžité platby, európsku obrannú úniu či o vytvorenie nového medziinštitucionálneho orgánu EÚ pre etiku. Rok 2022 má byť Európskym rokom mládeže, rovnováhy záťaže a posilnenia demokratických princípov.

  Edina Tóth (NI), írásban. – Az egyre fokozódó digitalizáció és technológiai függőség következtében a félvezetők nyereséges, értékes és keresett termékké váltak. A koronavírus-járvány egyik előre nem látott következménye, hogy e félvezetők piacán világszerte hiány alakult ki, amely számos szektort érint a fogyasztói elektronikától az autóiparig. A globális chiphiány 2022-ben is kedvezőtlen hatással lesz az európai termelési láncra: láthatjuk, hogy az EU kapacitásai rendkívül szűkösek, és a legnagyobb chipgyártók szinte kivétel nélkül az ázsiai térségből származnak.

Üdvözlöm az Európai Bizottság félvezető-jogszabály megalkotására irányuló kezdeményezését, amelynek célja egy, az Unió határain belül működő chipgyártási rendszer létrehozása. Fontosnak tartom, hogy az európai chipgyártás elsősorban a belső piac igényeit szolgálja ki. Sajnos nem szabad megfeledkeznünk arról, hogy a termeléshez nem elegendő egy EU-s jogszabály megalkotása, hanem nyersanyagokra van szükség. Márpedig a chipgyártáshoz olyan ritkaföldfémek szükségesek, amelyek Ázsiában találhatók meg. Remélem, hogy az Európai Bizottság a nyersanyag-szűkösséget figyelembe véve fogja kidolgozni a 2022-ben bemutatásra kerülő tervezetét.

  Henna Virkkunen (PPE), kirjallinen. – EU:n komission työohjelma vuodelle 2022 jatkaa työtä kohti vihreää ja digitaalista siirtymää. Näin pitääkin. Molemmat siirtymät ovat avainasemassa koko unionin hyvinvoinnin ja kilpailukyvyn turvaamisessa.

Ohjelmaan sisältyy 42 uutta aloitetta, joista odotan mielenkiinnolla erityisesti kiertotalouden avauksia liittyen mikromuoveihin ja biopohjaisiin muoveihin. Ne avaavat mahdollisuuksia biopohjaisille innovaatioille, joilla voidaan korvata muovia ja muita fossiilisia raaka-aineita.

On hyvä, että ensi vuonna komissio alkaa vihdoinkin toteuttaa hyvän sääntelyn ”one in, one out” -periaatetta, jota EPP-ryhmäni on jo kauan peräänkuuluttanut. Jatkossa aina, kun otetaan käyttöön välttämätöntä uutta sääntelyä, samalla vähennetään järjestelmällisesti ja ennakoivasti vanhaa. Tämä on välttämätöntä, jotta yritysten hallinnollinen taakka pysyy kohtuullisena. Periaatetta on jo pilotoitu tänä syksynä, mutta sen toiminta ei valitettavasti vielä ole vakuuttanut. Toivon komission lähtevän nyt aidosti karsimaan turhaa säätelyä.

Olen tyytyväinen, että työohjelmassa huomioidaan koronakriisistä kohtuuttomasti kärsineitä nuoria. Vuosi 2022 on nimetty Euroopan nuorison teemavuodeksi ja luvassa on esimerkiksi uusi korkeakouluja koskeva strategia sekä ALMA-aloite, jolla tarjotaan heikommassa asemassa oleville nuorille työskentelymahdollisuuksia ulkomailla. Ehdottoman tärkeitä aloitteita, nuorten kansainvälisiä opiskelu- ja työmahdollisuuksia, on entisestään lisättävä, jotta Euroopasta löytyy jatkossakin osaajia, huippututkimusta ja uusia innovaatioita.