Home Dan-Ştefan MOTREANU

The digital divide is pervasive in Europe where 42 % of EU citizens lack basic digital skills. We must update the skill sets of the European workforce urgently. Both conventional education and VET can boost digital skills and make available new opportunities for job-seekers and improve labour market resilience. I believe that soft skills such as adaptability, entrepreneurial thinking and critical thinking will become even more important post-COVID-19. Critical thinking is one of the key skills we need in the digital era to tell fact from fiction and discern disinformation and fake news. The Commission and Member States should therefore put forth creative outreach and motivation strategies to increase the participation of adults in training activities. I call on the Commission to provide a clear timeline of the actions announced to meet the skills needs of the labour market.

I supported this report. Currently, only 12 % of the materials used by the EU’s industry come from recycling. We want to move forward and significantly reduce waste in Europe. We should co-ordinate research into recycling processes and technologies making good use of programmes such as Horizon Europe. A visibility campaign featuring companies that already have waste reducing business models might inspire other companies and entrepreneurs. A fully functioning market for high-quality and non-toxic secondary raw materials would create new jobs in the EU. We call on the Commission to put forward harmonised end-of-waste criteria for key waste streams and plan ahead for the skills required by the circular economy.

In 2021 the traffic in human beings is still a sad reality in the European Union. Research shows that quarter of all victims are children and three quarters of child victims are European citizens. In addition to physical and psychological harm, trafficked children are vulnerable to exploitation. I voted this report calling for more resources including well-trained and properly supported emergency guardians to accompany child victims. All officials who work with child victims of trafficking need child-sensitive legal and psychological training and to consider the best interests of the child being as paramount in all their actions. I call on the Commission and the Member States to focus on the rights of all victims of human trafficking, including children, to provide the necessary services and assistance, and to ensure that children and their families have access to justice, compensation and reparation.