Compte rendu in extenso des débats

Lundi 22 avril 2024 - Strasbourg

15. Ordre des travaux

  President. – We come to the order of business. The final draft agenda as adopted by the Conference of Presidents on 17 April pursuant to Rule 157 has been distributed.

I would like to inform you that I have received one request for urgent procedure from the ENVI Committee, pursuant to Rule 163, on ‘the gradual roll-out of Eudamed, information obligation in case of interruption of supply and the transitional provisions for certain in vitro diagnostic medical devices’. The vote on this request will be taken tomorrow. If adopted, the vote will be held on Thursday.

With the agreement of the political groups, I wish to put to the House the following proposals for changes to the final draft agenda:

The following objections are added to Wednesday’s first voting session: ‘Objection pursuant to Rule 112(2) and (3): Calculation, verification and reporting of data on recycled plastic content in single-use plastic beverage bottles’ and ‘Objection pursuant to Rule 111(3): Novel foods – the definition of “engineered nanomaterials” ’.

Deadlines are as follows: amendments – tomorrow at noon; splits and separates – tomorrow at 19.00.

If there are no objections, these changes are approved.

We now move to requests for changes by political groups. For today, the ECR Group has requested that Council and Commission statements on ‘Recent attempts to ban political meetings – the importance of safeguarding the freedom of speech and peaceful assembly in Europe’ be added as the fourth item, before the report by Ms Björk and Ms Rodríguez Palop. As a consequence, the sitting would be extended to 23.00.

I give the floor to Nicola Procaccini to move the request on behalf of the ECR Group.

  Nicola Procaccini, on behalf of the ECR Group. – Madam President, I am one of the MEPs invited to attend the National Conservatism Conference last week in Brussels. Along with me and my colleagues were heads of governments, ministers, journalists, Christian and Jewish religious representatives. As you may know, three mayors of the municipalities of Brussels had decided a few days before to ban its holding because of the risk of violence by the extreme left and because they said they didn’t share the opinions we would express that day. One of these mayors even sent the police to suppress the conference by force.

Thanks to the intervention of Prime Minister De Croo and other European premiers, NatCon was able to go on, but I believe that what happened in Brussels should be discussed in this plenary. Therefore, the ECR request you add a debate on recent attempts to ban political meetings, the importance of safeguarding the freedom of speech and peaceful assembly in Europe.

  President. – Does anybody wish to speak against? That does not seem to be the case. Therefore, I will put the request to a vote by roll call.

(Parliament rejected the request)

We move to Tuesday. The Left Group has requested that the title of the HR/VP statement on ‘The EU’s response to the repeated killing of humanitarian aid workers, journalists and civilians by the Israel Defence Forces in the Gaza Strip’ be changed to ‘The EU’s response to the ICJ provisional measures, the UN Security Council Resolution 2728 calling for a ceasefire, and the repeated killing of humanitarian aid workers, journalists and civilians by the Israel Defence Forces in the Gaza Strip’.

The Left and S&D groups have also requested that the debate be wound up with a resolution. So we will first talk about the title and then the request for a resolution.

To talk about the title, I give the floor to Mr Wallace, on behalf of The Left Group.

  Mick Wallace, on behalf of The Left Group. – Madam President, it’s soul destroying that this House still hasn’t wanted a resolution on Gaza on the ICJ ruling. Whatever happened to our respect for international law? We’ve had six months of Israeli genocide in Gaza, over six months, and we are still to condemn it. We want the resolution added to the Gaza debate, and that we also include reference to the International Court of Justice order and the UN Security Council resolution, which Israel is flouting. We are allowing international law to be shredded to bits. The international legal system is at stake. The Palestinians are being murdered in their tens of thousands. Silence is a choice, and it’s not a good one.

Our proposed title is ‘EU’s response to the ICJ provisional measures, the UN Security Council Resolution 2728 calling for a ceasefire and the repeated killing of humanitarian aid workers, journalists and civilians by the Israeli Defence Forces in the Gaza Strip.

  President. – I see that Ms Incir wants the floor, but do you want to speak against? OK, if you don’t want to speak against, first we will need to vote on the request to change the title.

So we put the request to change the title, as proposed by Mr Wallace, to a vote by roll call.

(Parliament rejected the request)

Therefore, the title remains the same.

Now, Ms Incir, you wanted the floor. Go ahead.

  Evin Incir, on behalf of the S&D Group. – Madam President, over 30 000 people have been killed in Gaza due to the bombs that are raining down on the people in Gaza. Over 70% of them are women and children – totally innocent.

It is unacceptable, this current situation, and we need to act. More than that, we need to start ensuring that we demand a stop to this ongoing violence that is taking place right now. So due to this, we from the S&D Group would actually want to add a resolution to the debate, but with the current title. So we don’t want to change the title, but we want to add a resolution.

  President. – So now we put the request for a resolution to a vote by roll call.

(Parliament rejected the request)

For tomorrow, the Greens/EFA Group has requested that a debate on ‘The simplification of certain CAP rules’, currently scheduled for vote only on Thursday, be added as the fifth item in the afternoon, after the statement on ‘The situation in Haiti’. As a consequence, the sitting would be extended to 23.00.

I give the floor to Mr Eickhout to move the request on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group.

  Bas Eickhout, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Madam President, this proposal was, of course, being published on a late Friday by the Commission as a simplification of the CAP proposal.

This is being brought by some of you as one of the big ways of alleviating pressure on our farmers. We more see it as, on a last minute, even with some legal unclarity and legal questions by the Legal Service on an urgent procedure to really simplify a CAP procedure, which is, in its core, downgrading the Green Deal. That deserves a public debate and a Plenary debate.

So, quite astonished that that was not carried in the Conference of Presidents. But we can fix this as Plenary, and even those who are happy with the proposal, then I still think they would like to talk about it and to declare why they are happy, and then we can declare our dissatisfaction. Therefore we would like to have a Plenary debate tomorrow, and we would like to ask it with a roll-call vote.

  President. – We put the request to a vote by roll call.

(Parliament rejected the request)

For Tuesday, The Left Group has requested that a HR/VP statement on ‘Diplomatic tensions between Ecuador and Mexico’ be added in the afternoon, after the HR/VP statement on ‘The situation in Haiti’. As a consequence, the sitting would be extended to 23.00.

I give the floor to Mr Scholz to move the request on behalf of The Left.

  Helmut Scholz, on behalf of the The Left Group. – Madam President, dear colleagues, you all know that on 6 April, Mexico’s diplomatic mission in Ecuador has been raided by police forces violating international law. This violation of international law has been firmly condemned by the United Nations Secretary-General, and has led to a crisis in the bilateral relationship between the two countries. Furthermore, it aggravates dramatically the situation already very aggravated in the region.

We believe that this House should not remain silent as the Vienna Convention is under attack, and encourage our partners to maintain relations based on international law. I therefore ask you to support our request for debate to be added on this week’s agenda, and to extend the session on Tuesday to 23:00.

  President. – So unless anybody wants to speak against, I will put your request to a vote by roll call.

(Parliament rejected the request)

For Tuesday, the Greens/EFA Group has requested that a Commission statement on ‘The responsibilities of fossil fuel companies in the cost of living crisis’ be added as the last item in the evening. Therefore, the sitting would be extended to 23.00. The debate would be wound up with a resolution.

I give the floor to Alviina Alametsä to move the request on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group.

  Alviina Alametsä, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Madam President and colleagues, in 2022, nearly 10% of our citizens lived in energy poverty, unable to properly warm their houses. At the same time, the biggest fossil fuel companies in Europe made great, extraordinary profits for themselves and were also lobbying and using considerable resources to lobby in favour of favourable policies to them, against climate, nature and the public interest.

This is why it is very important that we discuss this topic, and the Committee on Petitions tried to form a resolution but failed in that. I think the citizens deserve for us to have a genuine discussion to prevent energy poverty in the future. This is why I wish to add a Commission statement ‘The responsibilities of fossil fuel companies in the cost of living crisis’ with resolution on Tuesday evening, and this request should be taken by roll-call vote.

  President. – I give the floor to any colleague who would like to speak against. Yes, please.

  Christine Anderson (ID). – Frau Präsidentin! Das ist wirklich hochinteressant. Da beschweren sich nun also die Grünen, dass es Menschen gibt, die in Energiearmut leben. Ich will Ihnen mal was sagen: In Deutschland leben auch sehr viele Menschen und können beispielsweise ihre Stromrechnung nicht mehr bezahlen. Die wissen auch nicht, wie sie ihre Häuser wärmen sollen. Und wissen Sie, an wem das liegt? An Ihrer grünen Politik! Daran liegt es! Aber jetzt wieder die fossil-fuel companies dafür verantwortlich zu machen, das ist genau das, was ihr Grünen könnt: immer nur mit dem Finger auf andere zeigen. Ändern Sie endlich Ihre verdammte Green-Deal-Politik, verdammt noch mal!

  President. – We put the request to a vote by roll call.

(Parliament rejected the request)

We move to Wednesday. The Left Group has requested that the title of the HR/VP statement on ‘Iran’s unprecedented attack against Israel, the need for de-escalation and an EU response’ be changed to ‘Israel’s attack on Iran’s diplomatic premises, Iran’s unprecedented retaliation against Israel, and the need for de-escalation and an EU response’.

I give the floor to Mr Wallace to move the request on behalf of The Left Group.

  Mick Wallace, on behalf of The Left Group. – Madam President, on 1 April, Israel made an unprovoked attack against the Iranian diplomatic premises in Damascus, violating the sovereignty of two countries, as well as violating the UN Charter and the Vienna Conventions. It killed 16 people, including civilians. Where was the condemnation from von der Leyen? Iran retaliates, claiming self-defence. The logic Ursula von der Leyen vehemently supported on 7 October and Iran are met with strong condemnation from the EU. The hypocrisy is shocking. Why are you turning a blind eye to the actions of Israel? Are you trying to provide cover for them? Let’s not make total fools of ourselves. Our proposal to modify the debate is as follows: Israel’s attack on Iran’s diplomatic premises; Iran’s unprecedented retaliation against Israel; and the need for de-escalation and an EU response - to be taken by roll-call vote.

  President. – Does anybody want to speak against? No? So we put the request to change the title to a vote by roll call.

(Parliament rejected the request)

For Wednesday, The Left Group has requested that Council and Commission statements on ‘Lawfare and criminalisation of opponents and activists in support of Palestine, including recent bans of political meetings, the importance of safeguarding the freedom of speech and peaceful assembly in Europe’ be added in the evening, before the reports under Rule 144. As a consequence, the sitting would be extended to 23.00.

I give the floor to Ms Chaibi to move the request on behalf of The Left Group.

  Leila Chaibi, au nom du groupe The Left. – Madame la Présidente, le gouvernement israélien massacre les Gazaouis en toute impunité et c’est la critique de ce même gouvernement israélien qui est criminalisée. Ce rétrécissement de l’espace démocratique en Europe est très dangereux. Dénoncer les agissements de Tsahal ou alerter sur le risque de génocide fait l’objet d’une véritable censure.

En France, cela peut même conduire à une convocation au commissariat pour apologie du terrorisme. Il y a quelques jours, une conférence de Jean-Luc Mélenchon et de la juriste franco-palestinienne Rima Hassan a été interdite. Des rassemblements de soutien au peuple palestinien ont également été interdits. Nous devons défendre de toutes nos forces la démocratie, qui est aujourd’hui mise en danger par ces atteintes à la liberté d’expression.

C’est pourquoi j’aimerais faire une proposition d’ajout à l’ordre du jour pour mercredi.

  President. – Does anybody want to speak against this proposal? I don’t see that to be the case so we put the request to a vote by roll call.

(Parliament rejected the request)

For Wednesday, the S&D Group has requested that Council and Commission statements on ‘Recent attempts to deny dictatorships and the risk of Europe returning to totalitarianism’ be added in the evening, after the Council and Commission statements on ‘Forging a sustainable future together’. As a consequence, the sitting would be extended to 23.00.

I give the floor to Mr Luena to move the request on behalf of the S&D Group.

  César Luena, en nombre del Grupo S&D. – Señora presidenta, les voy a leer un pasaje de un libro de Timothy Garton Ash: Europa. Una historia personal. Dice: «la práctica del olvido deliberado había sido la norma en Europa durante siglos. […] Pues bien, en los años sesenta y setenta se estableció una norma nueva: ¡no olvidar jamás! Había que documentar y analizar el pasado problemático, abordarlo desde un punto de vista psicológico, moral y político en un proceso de reconocimiento público y privado.».

¿Por qué traemos los socialdemócratas aquí este debate? Porque tenemos que defender el motor del recuerdo frente al abismo del olvido, que es adonde nos llevan las derechas.

Ejemplos: una concentración fascista en Italia. ¿Qué dijo la señora Meloni? Niente [nada]. Y, en España, los neofranquista de VOX y la derecha del Partido Popular —que siempre es muy tímida cuando se trata de condenar el franquismo— están eliminando las leyes de memoria democrática en las comunidades autónomas. Y eso es una vergüenza.

Por eso, en este Parlamento tenemos que tener este debate para defender el recuerdo como un motor verdadero de construcción europea. Nunca, jamás, el olvido.

  President. – Does anybody want to speak against? No? Therefore, we put the request to a vote by roll call.

(Parliament approved the request)

Therefore, the agenda is changed accordingly.

The Renew Group has requested that Council and Commission statements on ‘The anti-LGBTIQ bill passed by the Ghanaian Parliament, with implications for human rights, freedom of expression and democratic principles’ be added in the evening, after the Rule 144 reports.

I give the floor to Mr Kauch to move the request on behalf of the Renew Group.

  Michael Kauch, on behalf of the Renew Group. – Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the Ghanaian Parliament has passed a law which is really draconian not only on homosexual behaviour, but also about freedom of speech, about political debates on LGBT rights. All this faces up to ten years of imprisonment. It still requires the signature of the Ghanaian President, so there’s still hope that it is not finally passing.

It is not only a question of LGBT rights: it is a matter of Ghanaian democracy; it is a matter of freedom of speech and human rights in the world. The Member States are still very quiet, so we would like to hear from the Commission and from the Council about their response to this Ghanaian law, so we ask you for your support for a debate.

  President. – I give the floor to anyone who wants to speak against. That does not seem to be the case so the request is put to a vote by roll call.

(Parliament approved the request)

Now for Thursday, the EPP Group has requested that the vote on ‘The simplification of certain CAP rules’, currently scheduled for Thursday, be moved to Wednesday, to the second voting session.

I give the floor to Mr Lins to move this request.

  Norbert Lins, on behalf of the PPE Group. – Madam President, last plenary session, Parliament endorsed an urgent procedure to be applied for the simplification of certain CAP rules. The vote is for now scheduled on Thursday this week and Parliament waits for the EEC to adopt its opinion on Wednesday. Following the consultation of the EEC agenda, it should be easily feasible that Parliament receives the EEC opinion on the simplification of certain CAP rules in time before the second voting slot on Wednesday afternoon. For this reason, the EPP Group would like to advance the vote from Thursday to Wednesday afternoon, second voting slot.

  President. – Yes, we are informed that, in fact, the opinion should be received on time. So let’s put the request for a change of title to a vote by roll call.

(Parliament approved the request)

Therefore, the agenda is adopted and the order of business is thus established.

Have a good last plenary week, everyone.

(The sitting was suspended for a few moments)

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