Verbatim report of proceedings

Thursday, 15 September 2022 - Strasbourg

15.3. Implementation of the Updated New Industrial Strategy for Europe: aligning spending to policy (A9-0214/2022 - Tom Berendsen)

Ústní vysvětlení hlasování

  Billy Kelleher (Renew). – Madam President, I voted in favour of this report, and it does highlight the challenges facing Europe with regard to the COVID pandemic and now the Russian aggression in Ukraine. It shows that we are very reliant on international trading partners, and sometimes we are incapable of ensuring that we can have production within our own borders within the European Union.

At the same time, I would be very concerned that we would use this to put up barriers to international trade, to put up barriers that force, rather than encourage, competition, and that ensure that we have the standards that we can export across the globe as well in terms of environmental, labour and other standards as well.

While we do need to have a capacity within our European borders in production, in modern technologies, and in creation of new ideas, thinking and innovation, we certainly do not need to become cold to others wanting to locate in Europe as well, to express themselves here in terms of how they manufacture and what they want to produce. So while welcoming the report, let’s not make Europe a cold place for international trade and international innovation.