8:e valperioden Elisabetta GARDINI

I voted in favour of this legislative resolution on a proposal to amend the current regulations that govern a series of rules on direct payments and support for rural development in respect of the years 2019 and 2020. This initiative is important with regard to ensuring policy continuity in the final years of the programming period and to ensuring a smooth transition to the next programming period for European farmers and rural areas. A key part of this proposal is the insertion of added flexibility into the funding, allowing for the possibility to transfer funds between direct payments and rural development.

I voted in favour of this resolution on the 2017 report on the fight against fraud and the protection of the financial interests of the Union. Sound financial management and a comprehensive fight against corruption and fraud is fundamental for the legitimacy of the European project; citizens must be able to trust the fact that the institutions are working for their benefit and to show that Europe creates an added value, not just another level of bureaucracy.
It is good that progress in this field has been made and that the total number of irregularities has fallen in recent years, however it is important to underline the need for constant work to improve our practices. As such, one key step also highlighted by the report is to press for closer cooperation between Member States and to improve the exchange of information and data.
The new European Public Prosecutor’s Office will be a helpful addition in this regard and the office can serve to further enhance cooperation. This is especially true when it comes to VAT fraud, which by the Commission is estimated to cost the Union around 50 billion per year. This is unacceptable and further action is much needed to close the existing loopholes in this regard.

. ‒ I voted to support this report on the implementation and functioning of the .eu top-level domain. This important domain was set up in 2002 and is nowadays in wide use by institutions and businesses all over Europe. Since then, however, the legal framework used for the domain has revealed itself to be outdated and in need of amending. The proposal voted on by the Parliament will set to correct this and ensure that the legal framework of the domain is more future proof.
The .eu top-level domain should be a clear label for the Union an serve to support the further development of the digital single market. This will require a flexible and sustainable regulatory environment — one that protects the integrity of the domain name, while ensuring a simple administrative framework for European SMEs and businesses.