Committee on Budgets Ordinary meeting

Name: Committee on Budgets Ordinary meeting
Uploaded: 2026-09-10T08:00:00+00:00
Duration: 5395 s

18:55 - 19:27

Janusz Lewandowski

Thank you. Now I am inviting the other shadows, if available, for Patriots. No. Madame Furore would like to? No.

Okay, so for ECR, not.

But for sure Mr. Usakovs is... no. Who else? Madame Furet would like to, please.

19:27 - 21:38

Angéline Furet

Merci beaucoup, Monsieur le Président. Le transfert de crédit donc DEC 11/2026 que nous examinons illustre parfaitement en fait la déconnexion budgétaire de la Commission. On nous demande de redéployer 54, 56 pardon, 4 millions d'euros initialement prévus pour des subventions d'assistance macro-financière, tout simplement parce qu'aucune opération de ce type n'est envisagée pour l'année 2026. Sur cette somme, 6,4 millions d'euros sont réaffectés à la réparation de la nouvelle enceinte de confinement de la centrale nucléaire de Tchernobyl dans le cadre d'un engagement pris par l'Union européenne lors du sommet du G7 en France. Nous n'avons aucune objection sur ce point.

Garantir la sécurité nucléaire sur notre continent est un impératif sécuritaire rationnel. D'autant que le coût des réparations menées avec la BERD est estimé entre 300 et 700 millions d'euros. En revanche, la destination des 50 millions d'euros restants relève du délire technocratique.

La Commission transfère cette enveloppe vers la ligne voisinage oriental pour financer le segment sud-caucasien du corridor de transport transcaspien. L'objectif assumé est de relier l'Union à l'Asie centrale en évitant le corridor nord contrôlé par la Russie et la route sud passant par l'Iran. Le coût total de cette infrastructure est évalué à 1,5 milliard d'euros et Bruxelles s'engage à y injecter 100 millions d'euros d'argent public rien qu'en 2026, notamment via la plateforme d'investissement pour le voisinage afin de rassurer les financeurs privés. C'est la quintessence du logiciel Global Europe. La Commission se rêve en puissance impériale et joue au Monopoly géopolitique dans le Caucase avec nos impôts, pendant que nos agriculteurs s'effondrent et que notre base industrielle de défense mendie des financements souverains.

Nous allons subventionner le goudron et les rails en Asie centrale pour garantir la bancabilité de projets privés. L'argent de nos contribuables doit servir la souveraineté, la réindustrialisation et les infrastructures de nos nations. Il n'a pas vocation à éponger les ambitions géopolitiques démesurées d'une Commission européenne qui n'en a ni la légitimité démocratique, ni les moyens financiers. Je vous remercie.

21:38 - 21:45

Thank you, I don't see the other shadows, therefore back to Mrs. Filipkova for answers.

21:45 - 21:46

Thank you very much.

21:46 - 23:21

Lenka Filipkova

So indeed as regards the the foreseen cost of the repairs, we we've taken the information from the EBRD who is actually the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development who is responsible to to preparing and running the project and also pooling pooling the resources. So the contribution from the EU to this somewhere between 3 and 5 700 million is 75 million at the moment, but we have also contributions from from the US of 100 million dollars, from Norway I think 46 million of Norway crowns and from France, Estonia and Austria. So I think there there's a point is to to really pull all the resources that will be necessary and help help EBRD to to proceed with the repairs to the safe confinement. As regards the other question, the MFA grants line is always budgeted in in every year's budget, but it really depends whether there is an MFA agreement and whether the agreement on the loan also includes a grant component. So we need to foresee it so that it doesn't block us providing macro-financial assistance, however we also want to use the resources very efficiently.

So if it can't be used, then we are proposing to the budgetary authority to use them in other way and we believe that supporting the peace process in Central Asia and providing support and guarantees to the big project of the connectivity in the South Caucasus is is important priority for the EU.

23:21 - 23:47

Thank you. Hopefully satisfied with the answers. Therefore, we are moving to the next transfer that is for the for the Economic and Social Committee. For presentation, I invite Mrs. Pruy, if I am pronouncing correctly, head of the unit for budget. Please.

23:47 - 26:32

Claudia Pruy

Yeah, thank you very much. So we have three transfers to present. So one is to finance the vehicles, which we would finance from the interpreting budget line. This is due to the fact that there is a deficit on this article at the moment. There are higher leasing costs under a new inter-institutional framework contract, which means that in order to be able to pay for this contract, we need to finance it through additional money.

And we have, as it is only 20,000, we can take that from the interpreting budget line where we foresee that we will not need to use all of that money, so the 20,000 can be paid from interpreting. Then we have a transfer, two more transfers which would be financed from remuneration and allowances because we have, we are employing staff at lower grades after the internal competition that was carried out. And therefore we have some savings on this budget line, and we also have a higher rate of retirements than anticipated. So the funds would go to publishing, promotion of publications. There again, we have two projects financed through a framework contract that is run under the European Parliament and which, the framework contract also covers eight other institutions.

We have two projects under this. So we have the community of social media managers representing the members' organizations of the civil society.

And we have the social media team inside the EESC that would be supported because this team supports the sections, groups, and other entities to provide social media coverage to report to the audience about the work of the organized civil society. Furthermore, we need a small amount of only 4,000 euros for documentation and information resources for the annual subscription of Agence Europe. This is due to the fact that there has been a price increase and at the same time there has been a reduction compared with the budget 2025 on this budget line. So in order to be able to finance this daily bulletin, we would need another 4,000 euros. Thank you very much.

26:32 - 26:40

Thank you. Probably Mr. Usakovs is ready to replace our rapporteur Mr. Nemec.

26:40 - 27:10

Nils Ušakovs

Yes, thank you, Chair. On behalf of the rapporteur Matjaž Nemec, I wish to inform the Budget Committee that we have analyzed the transfer request from the EESC. As budget authority, we wish to recall that while prudent budgeting is advised, that's not always possible due to changing of circumstances. The reasons of this request have been well justified and the recommendation to Budget Committee from the rapporteur is to support the request. Thank you, Chair.

27:10 - 27:16

Thank you. Monsieur Sanchez for Patriots.

27:15 - 28:15

Julien Sanchez

Merci, Monsieur le Président. Donc simplement sur ce virement pour le Comité économique et social européen, au-delà de rappeler que ce Comité économique et social européen a pour nous une utilité toute relative, je vais m'employer à parler très rapidement de ce virement. On est opposé à ce transfert de 218 000 euros. Sur ce montant, 194 000 sont destinés à la communication et aux réseaux sociaux du Comité économique et social, alors que cette ligne dispose déjà de 730 000 euros en 2024. Donc il y a plusieurs points.

On se demande pourquoi est-ce que ce n'est pas prévu dès le départ. Donc il y a un manque de visibilité budgétaire et de prévision budgétaire. Et ensuite, on considère que c'est un gaspillage d'argent public. On le rappelle, 181 millions d'euros, c'est le budget annuel du CESE. Je crois qu'il faudrait être un petit peu plus économe et lorsque de l'argent est économisé sur les ressources humaines, ne pas le réinjecter dans des dépenses de réseaux sociaux.

Je crois que les contribuables ne le comprennent pas. Merci.

28:15 - 28:19

Merci. Mr. Geisel, please.

28:19 - 29:05

Thomas Geisel

Thank you, Chairman. Ich kann sie auf Deutsch sprechen.

Es geht hier natürlich nicht um wahnsinnig viel Geld, aber ich muss sagen, als ich den Vorschlag gelesen habe, kam mir das schöne deutsche Sprichwort in den Sinn: Es ist wahrscheinlicher, dass sich ein Mops einen Wurstvorrat anlegt, als dass eine Behörde Geld, das ihr bewilligt wurde, nicht ausgibt. Also ich muss gestehen, ich habe für diesen... Es war offenbar so, dass der Ausschuss seine Personalkosten etwas zu großzügig veranschlagt hat. Jetzt bleibt Geld übrig. Ich denke, das Geld sollte eingespart werden.

Ich sehe keinerlei Veranlassung, das Öffentlichkeitsbudget zu erhöhen, zumal das mit über 700.000 Euro ja bereits sehr auskömmlich ausgestattet ist. Deswegen kann ich nur empfehlen, den Antrag abzulehnen.

29:05 - 29:13

Thank you. Back to the Economic and Social Committee for answers, please.

29:13 - 30:18

Claudia Pruy

Yes, thank you very much. So, the problem is that of course there is the need to employ external staff to support the work because we are under the stable staffing. This is also the institution which since 2013 has suffered the biggest cuts in terms of staff reductions.

So this is why the work can only be carried out with external staff supporting it. Social media is the way of reaching a lot of people and this is something that all the institutions do. And therefore it is also something that is done by the Economic and Social Committee. And through the civil society organizations with the member organizations, we have the possibility of reaching a lot of Europeans. And therefore it is important to reach the people, to show the work and the added value of the Economic and Social Committee and of the European Union as a general through its work.

Thank you.

30:18 - 31:06

Thank you. If there are no further comments, this is the end of this point. But before voting time, we have four cases on building policy, so much discussed in camera today. Hopefully everybody needed for this point is present. First case is the so-called prior approval after early warning already done, that is for the Pole Star building.

And here is the job for our rapporteur, Monsieur Chastel.

31:06 - 32:59

Olivier Chastel

Merci, Monsieur le Président. Chers collègues, donc notre commission est saisie effectivement d'une demande d'approbation de l'OIB concernant l'occupation de l'immeuble rénové Pole Star SB 36 sous la forme d'un contrat d'usufruit d'une durée de 18 ans pour l'usage de trois agences exécutives. Le bâtiment fait partie d'un complexe immobilier interconnecté composé de deux immeubles avec le bâtiment SB 34 et celui-ci est déjà occupé par plusieurs agences exécutives de la Commission depuis septembre 2023. L'occupation du nouveau bâtiment commencera à la fin prévue des travaux estimée le 31 mars 2028. Et outre le respect des ambitions de la stratégie immobilière de la Commission, ce projet permet de regrouper dans ces deux bâtiments les six agences exécutives de la Commission et offre des espaces disponibles en cas d'agrandissement des équipes dans les années à venir.

Le coût total non indexé pour la Commission de l'immeuble aménagé pour l'ensemble de la période du nouvel usufruit de 18 ans est de 235 millions d'euros. J'ai encore deux petites questions.

D'une part, quelles sont les marges de manœuvre et ou le plan B si les travaux prennent du retard, c'est-à-dire au-delà du 31 mars 2028. Et deuxième question, les six agences exécutives sont maintenant regroupées, interconnectées dans ces deux bâtiments et on nous fait part de synergies, d'économies qui pourront en découler. Est-ce qu'un peu plus concrètement, je peux savoir dans quels domaines on envisage de faire ces synergies et donc d'opérer ces économies ? Merci d'avance.

32:59 - 33:07

Thank you. Mr. Holmeier not present. Usakovs ready to comment or not ?

33:07 - 33:38

Nils Ušakovs

Yeah, if I may one question on the project PoleStar, please. On the specific fit-out works payable by the Commission, why did the Commission opt for a deferred 10-year payment plan with an added commercial margin instead of directly setting the fit-out costs up front through available administrative appropriations ? And will the chosen payment plan increase the costs for the EU budget and if yes, by how much ? Thank you.

33:38 - 33:41

Thank you, Madame Furet.

33:41 - 35:06

Angéline Furet

Merci Monsieur le Président.

Si un citoyen gérait son propre budget comme la Commission européenne gère son immobilier, il serait ruiné en quelques jours, et nous allons commencer à entendre Madame Keller faire des sons. Aujourd'hui, avec ce dossier Pole Star, on nous demande de valider un scandale financier. D'abord le contrat : la Commission veut s'engager sur 18 ans avec un promoteur privé, les yeux fermés, sans aucune possibilité de résilier le bail en cours de route. Pire encore, pour aménager les locaux, elle va emprunter 31 millions d'euros, ce qui va coûter plus de 9 millions d'euros rien qu'en intérêts financiers. Depuis quand le contribuable européen doit-il payer des frais de crédit exorbitants pour le confort de Bruxelles ?

Ensuite, l'enfumage sur les conditions de travail : on nous explique qu'on va faire des économies en regroupant des agents. La vérité, on va entasser plus de 2 100 personnes dans un bâtiment 26 % plus petit qu'avant. Les bureaucrates appellent ça des espaces collaboratifs dynamiques. Dans la vraie vie, ça veut dire retirer les bureaux attitrés des employés pour masquer le manque de place. Et le comble de l'absurdité : pendant que l'on entasse ses agents, l'Union européenne va continuer de payer 3 millions d'euros par an pour garder d'autres bâtiments vides, juste pour s'en servir de zone tampon.

L'argent public n'est pas une partie de Monopoly, il est grand temps d'arrêter les frais, je vous remercie.

35:04 - 35:07

Any other shadow ready to take the floor? If not, I am asking Mrs. Lehkonen, head of department for the answers, if present, of course. Yeah?

Thank you.

35:22 - 36:39

Sari Lehkonen

Yes, dear chair, I'm right here on duty. So, for the two first questions about the buffer zones, indeed we have still availabilities to continue to use the premises situated in the Covent Garden building, and that would suffice if there is a plan B needed. Otherwise, the buffer zone in the said building could be used for eventual future works in other Commission buildings. When it comes to synergies, I would like to emphasize the importance of the new future evaluation platform. Agencies organize a lot of evaluations annually, and this would be by far the best way of coordinating the work together.

It's a key facility in the new Pole Star building. It would include 82 meeting rooms in different sizes, and it would be able to accommodate almost 1,300 visitors, evaluators simultaneously. Then there was the question about the financing scheme.

I will give the floor to my technical expert. Thank you.

36:39 - 37:34

Orador 21

Good morning, members, chairman. So, with regarding to the budget... I'll just... Yeah, with regarding to the possibility of paying out for the fit-out works already in one go, we do not have the budget within the ongoing committed budget within the Commission to be able to pay this within one year, which is why we have opted for a loan. The loan is subject to an interest rate which is 170 points above the base rate.

This is standard for real estate developers, and therefore we have opted so.

37:34 - 41:58

Thank you.

Voting session has been scheduled for half past ten. I see members in the room. So now I am changing the order of our agenda. We have still some points on building policy. But if you allow me, we are ready to go for voting.

Not going to be very complicated. But we have to test quorum. Therefore I am opening the vote. Closing vote. Should be okay for voting.

Therefore, and Mr. Rasmus Andresen is saving a lot of our time by striking compromises. So first vote is of the regulation of the European Parliament and Council establishing Global Europe. Raising hands. Compromise number two. Who is in favor?

Against? Abstentions? Approved. Compromise number one. Who is in favor?

Against? Abstentions? Approved.

And now I am opening vote for the final vote. Closing. 17 in favor, six against, zero abstentions, approved. Second vote is on transfer of appropriations general budget 2026. Roll call vote, opening the vote.

Closing the vote. 18 in favor, six against, zero abstentions, approved. And the final vote is on occupation of the renovated Polstar building discussed several minutes ago. So this is again roll call.

I am opening the vote. Closing vote. 18 in favor, 6 against, 0 abstentions. Again approved. And this is the end of our voting session.

And in a minute we are resuming building policy again because the order has been changed with your approval.

Colleagues, this is the end of voting, but not the end of meeting. We are back to building policy, case number two. This is for B5 building, and again I ask Mrs. Lehkonen to present the case.

41:58 - 42:58

Sari Lehkonen

Yes, dear chair, honorable members. So, the Commission wishes today to submit to the budgetary authority the pre-information for the contracting under usufruct of a building provisionally entitled B5/2026. This building would have a gross floor area of 30,000 square meters. It is situated within the approved prospection zone that you are well aware of, and this building is to be commissioned and moved into during the first quarter of 2028. The building file, including the usual draft usufruct contract agreement, is planned to be sent for prior approval of the budgetary authority during the first quarter of 2027.

Thank you.

42:58 - 43:07

Thank you. Our standing rapporteur asking me all the time to speed up the procedure, so the floor is yours.

43:07 - 43:37

Olivier Chastel

Oui, rapidement, Monsieur le Président.

Donc cette demande s'inscrit très clairement dans le cadre de la politique immobilière de la Commission visant à remplacer les immeubles en fin de cycle de vie ou dont le contrat de bail arrive à échéance. J'ai pas de question à ce stade en commission et nous reviendrons sur ce dossier lorsque nous aurons un certain nombre d'éléments plus concrets. L'OIB peut peut-être simplement nous indiquer quelles seraient les DG amenées à y déménager si on a la réponse hein.

43:37 - 43:39

Orador 22

Mr. Slef-Colin?

43:39 - 43:53

Sari Lehkonen

Monsieur le rapporteur malheureusement on n'a pas encore cette information à notre disposition. On revient vers vous dans le dossier plus complet.

43:53 - 44:23

Now asking any shadows to to take the floor. If not this is done and case number three is External Action Service building in New Delhi. This is again early warning. Should be with us Mrs. Fröberg acting head of division for real estate safety and greening. Please.

44:23 - 46:13

Denise Fröberg

Thank you. Thank you Mr. Chair.

So yes, the European External Action Service is launching the procedure for signing a new lease for offices in New Delhi for the EU delegation to India, because the current lease will expire towards the end of the year. The current offices are located in two separate buildings. They are on adjacent plots and they are owned by different owners. The two buildings were constructed relatively recently, one in 2014 and the other one in 2016. And in both cases the delegation was the first occupant of the building.

The delegation rents a total net area of around 3,000 square meters and accommodates 56 staff, as well as seven staff of our co-locators, the European Investment Bank and DG ECHO. The current premises are well located. They are just outside the diplomatic area and thereby therefore nearby the EU member state embassies as well as the government ministries. The neighborhood is part of a gated area. It's secure, it's quiet and the buildings are in a good state.

They comply with the EU criteria. However, as the current lease agreements do not include a clause for further renewal, a market prospection and a negotiated procedure need to be conducted in accordance with the EU financial regulation. And this is in order to assess if there are better options in the market.

The targeted surface is in the range of 2,600 and 3,100 square meters. And given the current real estate trends in New Delhi, the new annual lease may exceed the threshold of 750,000 euro, in which case the file will be submitted for approval to the budget authority. Thank you very much.

46:13 - 46:18

Thank you, Monsieur Chastel.

46:18 - 46:49

Olivier Chastel

Oui, merci Monsieur le Président. Donc il s'agit d'un early warning, j'ai pas davantage de questions à ce stade. Je m'interroge simplement sur le calendrier. On est le 10 septembre et le bail se termine le 6 décembre. Alors je sais qu'il y a une option privilégiée, celle du renouvellement des baux actuels.

Mais est-ce qu'on est bien dans des délais raisonnables pour un suivi administratif correct, même de renouvellement ? Est-ce qu'il n'y a pas un problème de calendrier dans tout cela ?

46:49 - 46:57

Thank you, Mrs. Freiberg.

46:57 - 47:27

Denise Fröberg

Okay. Thank you, thank you Mr. Chastel. Yes, the EEAS acknowledges that we are late with this prior information. However, it is, we can explain it by the fact that we did not know whether the file eventually will reach the threshold, yes or no.

So the market prospection has been done in summer and now the negotiated procedure will be, will be launched. So apologies for any inconvenience, but we hope it will be done in time. Thank you very much.

47:27 - 47:53

Thank you. No further comments. The point is done. And the final building case, that is European Chemical Agency. This time, absolutely exceptionally, the remote presentation by Mrs. McGuinness from Helsinki, if available.

But it should be really, yes, please.

47:53 - 49:42

Mairead McGuinness

Thank you very much, Chair. I hadn't appreciated it was an exceptional opportunity, so thank you and also to you, the honorable members of the Budget Committee. As I said, we're here today to talk about ECHA's Building 2030 project, where our current lease here in Helsinki agreement expires in January 2030.

As you know, we're the agency that implements REACH, but also an expanded portfolio of other EU chemical and environmental legislation, and we require premises that support both our day-to-day operations, but also our broader scientific bodies in their decision-making. Currently, we have a premise that is composed of an office area for staff and a conference center that hosts ECHA's scientific committees. Looking ahead, our future building needs will be assessed on the basis of both current and future tasks and evolving tasks, and including those that will come to us with the new ECHA basic regulation. We will also look at developments in relation to new ways of working and the Commission guidelines on office housing, hybrid working, environment concerns, etc. This early warning notice is therefore intended to ensure we are transparent and providing you with the necessary information.

We hope to start the market prospection phase in this autumn, and of course, the draft building contract proposal will be submitted to the budgetary authority in Q4 2027 for your approval to allow sufficient time for scrutiny and decision-making before our current lease expires in 2030. So thank you for your attention, and of course, I remain available for any questions you may have. Thank you.

49:42 - 49:45

Thank you. Monsieur Chastel.

49:45 - 49:55

Olivier Chastel

Voilà Monsieur le Président, je n'ai pas d'autres questions à ce stade et je propose qu'on en reparle quand nous aurons des éléments plus concrets, c'est-à-dire courant 2027.

49:55 - 50:42

Thank you, this was so-called early warning. And for last building case, voting time is over and thanks to Mr. Rasmussen this was really very short. So we are moving to mobilization of globalization adjustment funds. I think there are three cases that is also indicating what is the climate, business climate in Europe. First case is mobilization of globalization adjustment fund for displaced workers from Finland coming.

And I think yes, Mr. Andresen is to replace our rapporteur Stefano Tapia. Please.

50:42 - 53:16

Rasmus Andresen

Yes, this I will do.

The report concerns, as already outlined by the chair, the mobilization of the European Globalization Fund upon the request from Finland following displacements in the Valmet Automotive and within five subcontractors and suppliers. The downturn in the automobile industry over the last years has significantly impacted also Valmet and the situation in Finland, forcing it to cut its workforce by almost 60% since the early 2020s, leading the number of long-term unemployment in the area to the highest level in history at the end of last year. The EGF will finance tailored measures in agreement with targeted beneficiaries, representatives, and social partners to support the reintegration in the labor market of 233 beneficiaries. In total, we are debating or discussing an amount of 410,310 euro, and they are proposed to be mobilized from the EGF, representing 60% of the total costs of the proposed actions. The measures includes up- and reskilling of workers, counseling, trainings, and start-up grants.

The report calls on the Finnish authorities to undertake initiatives to address social disparities leading to the exclusion of workforce, such as a low level of education and age, offering them skills training to facilitate their reintegration and to strengthen their skills, also regarding digitalization. It's worth mentioning that the company Valmet has signed a multi-year agreement with the National Defense Technology Company, and there are also some other potentials of rehiring some of the displaced workers in the region. So hopefully the measures will be supportive with those efforts. We would, in the name of Mr. Stefanuta, I would like to also remind all members that the deadline for tabling the amendments to the draft report is Tuesday, the 15th of September at 12:00, and we encourage everyone to support the report.

53:16 - 53:27

Thank you for presenting the report. As for shadows, I know that Mr. Sousa Silva is to replace our shadow from EPP, please.

53:27 - 54:32

Hélder Sousa Silva

Okay, thank you chair and dear colleagues, I will take the floor on behalf of my colleague MEP Sala, and in her role as EPP shadow rapporteur, she supports the report. It is in line with the EPP priorities and it follows the typical structure of the EGF files.

EGF, as you already said, aims to support displaced workers, namely in job seeking, training, and career coaching. This fund gives the opportunity to support the displaced workers of Valmet Automotive to access training to improve their job skills and help them with career path. MEP Sala remains at the disposal of the rapporteur and the other political groups to reach a good final agreement that facilitate the mobilization of these funds supporting the works in Finland and safeguarding the proper and responsible use. Thank you so much.

54:32 - 54:36

Thank you, for S&D Mr. Farantouris.

54:36 - 56:26

Nikolas Farantouris

Thank you, Chair. First of all, I would like to thank the rapporteur for his draft report. We fully support the proposal for the mobilization of the EGF in order to support the displaced Valmet Automotive workers. This case is another reminder that workers bear the cost of industrial restructuring and unemployment in affected regions keeps rising.

In the case of Valmet Automotive, unemployment in the region increased by nearly 15% in a single year. It is particularly concerning that 95% of the displaced workers have post-secondary education level or lower, and more than 27% are aged over 54, meaning that they would face greater barriers to re-entering the labor market. This case is added to a series of requests for the mobilization of the EGF that are constantly increasing. This is a very strong signal that we must act. We must act to protect the industrial sector, but also to protect jobs and create new ones.

At the same time, we must keep pushing for stronger, more accessible labor market policies for workers in order to ensure full reintegration into sustainable and quality employment. For the latter, we cannot rely on the EGF mobilization alone. The EGF is a limited, targeted, and complementary mechanism that requires further action on multiple levels. Thank you.

56:26 - 56:28

56:28 - 56:38

Angéline Furet

I ask if I can do just one intervention for the whole three files as it is all FEM, if you don't mind, President.

56:38 - 56:43

Let's, let's try this experiment because they are so different, but please go on.

56:43 - 56:49

Angéline Furet

Thank you very much. I will, I will wait until the end of the three files.

56:49 - 57:24

Mrs. Filipkova would like to comment on, or not, on this case? So, vote to take place on 28th of September. So far everybody was in favor of this case. Second case for Globalization Fund is unfortunately again automotive industry. This one is coming from Spain.

And I think again Mr. Usakovs is to replace rapporteur.

57:24 - 58:53

Nils Ušakovs

Thank you, Chair, on behalf of Sandra Gómez López. This report concerns the mobilization of the European Globalization Adjustment Fund in support of 671 workers made redundant in Galicia's automotive industry following a process which was driven by weaker European demand and significant disruptions in the trade and supply chains.

Within the region, the most affected area by these redundancies was Vigo, where unemployment is close to double the EU average. The profile of the displaced workers highlights the urgency of this intervention, as eight out of ten displaced workers have a post-secondary education level or lower, while one in four is over the age of 54. These characteristics can constitute significant barriers for re-entry into the labor market, and most importantly, this is not an isolated case. This is a similar pattern reflected also in other applications to the European Globalization Fund. A coordinated approach with trade unions, regional authorities, and social partners is essential for the mobilization of the EGF proposed to ensure that support is tailored to the needs of workers.

On the basis, we recommend, on this basis, we recommend the approval of the Commission's proposal and the financial contribution of 2,725,000 euros for Spain. Thank you.

58:53 - 58:58

Thank you. Yes, Mr. Silva, you have the floor.

58:58 - 01:00:18

Thank you, Chair. In this file, I'm replacing and speaking on behalf of MEP Benjumea, the EPP shadow rapporteur.

Today we are discussing the mobilization of European Globalization Adjustment Fund in Spain, and more specifically in the region of Galicia. We welcome the fact that this report highlights the importance of assessing how these funds are used and their actual impact. We also welcome the specific measures to which the funding will be allocated: training and career guidance for workers, many of whom are over 50, incentives, reskilling, entrepreneurship training, and job search assistance. These are all important priorities for the EPP Group, on which we regularly table amendments, and we are pleased to see that they are already included in the report. MEP Benjumea remains at the disposal of the rapporteur and the other political groups to reach a good final agreement that facilitates the mobilization of these funds for Galicia and ensures that they are used for the purposes for which they were created.

Thank you so much.

01:00:18 - 01:00:59

Thank you. Madam Fritzon, final, final. Okay. Any shadow? So now what rests for me is to recall that the deadline for amendments, as it was in the previous file, is 15 September at 12:00.

We are to vote, again as in the previous file, on 28 of September. Final mobilization of Globalization Adjustment Fund is coming from Belgium. And I think again we have replacement by Mr. Sousa Silva.

01:00:59 - 01:03:09

Thank you, Chair. It's the first intervention related with the same fund and, of course, dear colleagues, the supermarket chain Cora has been passing through a period of restructuring which leads to a progressive downsizing and successive waves of collective redundancies affecting 1,257 workers in Belgium, mainly in the region of Wallonia. Behind these numbers, there are workers and families facing uncertainty.

It is on such occasions that Europe must continue to show its solidarity. The Commission proposes to mobilize 3.82 million euros from the European Globalization Adjustment Fund, covering 85% of the total costs to finance targeted and personalized reintegration measures with a clear goal: to support and reintegrate these workers into the labor market as quickly as possible. However, this fund remains a limited and complementary instrument. It cannot replace the national responsibilities or substitute competitiveness. Cora's difficulties reflect changing consumers' habits, digital transformation, rising costs, and competition from non-EU online retailers.

Europe needs a business-friendly environment that promotes innovation, that reduces unnecessary regulatory burdens, and that helps companies to adapt, remaining competitive and sustaining quality jobs. Nevertheless, solidarity must therefore go hand in hand with responsibility. Effective monitoring and evaluations must ensure that funding delivers real results for workers. For these reasons, we support this proposal and we call for its rapid, effective, and responsible implementation. Thank you very much.

01:03:09 - 01:03:27

Thank you, and I'm sorry, you are right, rapporteur.

You are on so many occasions today as a substitute or replacement, that is justifying my mistake. But Mr. Silva is rapporteur on this file. Mr. Farandouris would like perhaps to...?

01:03:27 - 01:05:05

Sure. Thank you, Chair. Unfortunately, our shadow, Mr. Giuseppe Lupo, could not be here today due to overlapping obligations, but he asked me to share a few points on his behalf. Mr. Lupo would like to thank the rapporteur for their work on the EGF file. S&D, we support this proposal and the more than 3 million financial contribution to the displaced Cora workers in Wallonia.

This case illustrates the human cost of structural retail sector changes, with 1,257 workers displaced, driven by e-commerce growth and unfair competition from non-EU platforms, which are not operating according to the EU regulatory and production standards. It is particularly concerning that the majority of displaced workers have upper secondary education level or lower and are aged more than 54, meaning that they would face barriers to re-entering the labor market.

Targeted, tailored support will be essential to their sustainable reintegration. We must not lose sight of the workers who are at the core of this file. The EGF alone is not enough. We must keep pushing for stronger, more accessible labor market policies to ensure workers' full and lasting reintegration into the labor market with sustainable and quality employment conditions. Thank you.

01:05:05 - 01:05:10

Thank you. Now time for Madame Feuillet.

01:05:10 - 01:06:21

Angéline Furet

Merci beaucoup, Monsieur le Président. Aujourd'hui, l'Union européenne joue les pompiers après avoir elle-même allumé l'incendie. Derrière ces trois dossiers, ce sont 2200 pères et mères de famille qui se retrouvent brutalement sur le carreau en Belgique, en Finlande et en Espagne. Arrêtons le jargon et l'excuse des changements structurels. Ces gens perdent leur emploi à cause de vos décisions.

En Belgique, notre commerce de proximité se fait écraser par la concurrence déloyale des géants étrangers du net. En Finlande et en Galice, c'est toute notre industrie automobile que vous tuez à petit feu, sacrifiée sur l'autel de l'écologie punitive et du tout-électrique forcé.

Nous voterons ces aides car c'est l'argent de nos impôts et il doit servir à nos concitoyens dans la détresse. Mais notre ligne rouge est non négociable. L'enveloppe de ce fonds doit aller à 100 % dans la poche des travailleurs licenciés. Pas un seul euro ne doit être détourné par la Commission européenne pour payer ses propres frais administratifs, financer ses petits séminaires de mise en réseau ou s'offrir des campagnes de pub. Cessez de détruire notre travail d'un côté pour nous faire la charité de l'autre.

Je vous remercie.

01:06:21 - 01:06:32

Thank you for this really horizontal remark on three cases discussed today. Mr. Geisel, yes.

01:06:32 - 01:08:22

Thomas Geisel

Thank you, Chairman. I'm going to speak German again. Ich habe in dem Zusammenhang drei Fragen an die Kommission. Es liegt erneut ein Antrag aus Belgien vor. Ich habe mir mal die Mühe gemacht zu überprüfen, welche Anträge in dieser Legislaturperiode gestellt wurden.

Wenn ich es richtig recherchiert habe, waren zehn von 17 Anträgen aus Belgien. Gibt es aus Sicht der Kommission irgendeinen Grund, weshalb Belgien so überproportional bei Anträgen aus diesem Fonds berücksichtigt wird oder Anträge stellt?

Das zweite, der Antragsteller, es geht um eine Supermarktkette. Beim Globalization Adjustment Fund geht es ja in erster Linie darum, von Entlassung betroffene Arbeitnehmer, die letztlich aus als Folge der Globalisierung entlassen werden, diese Arbeitnehmer zu unterstützen. Gibt es aus Sicht der Kommission irgendeine besondere Betroffenheit von Supermarktketten, also vom Einzelhandel mit Lebensmitteln und Dingen des täglichen Bedarfs, die im Zusammenhang mit den Folgen der Globalisierung steht? Die dritte Frage: Bei den vorgeschlagenen Maßnahmen geht es in erster Linie um Trainings- und Qualifizierungsmaßnahmen, die so nehme ich an von externen Dienstleistern erbracht wurden. Unmittelbar den betroffenen Arbeitnehmern kommen, wenn ich die Unterlage richtig gelesen habe, lediglich sogenannte Incentives und Allowances und gegebenenfalls Startkapital für den Einstieg in die Selbstständigkeit zur Verfügung.

Hat die Kommission einmal untersucht, wie viel der Mittel des Globalization Adjustment Fund unmittelbar den betroffenen Arbeitnehmern zugutekommt und welcher Anteil der Mittel externen Dienstleistern zufließt? Vielen Dank.

01:08:22 - 01:08:30

Vielen Dank, das waren drei Fragen an an die Kommission. Mrs. Lenka Filkova ready to answer?

01:08:30 - 01:10:04

Lenka Filipkova

Thank you very much and thank you for the questions. So indeed it is true that Belgium presented most of the cases compared to the submission from other member states. I don't think it is, or we also looked at it, that it is necessarily disproportionate impact of globalization. It's just maybe the willingness and the knowledge of the authorities to actually submit the request for the EGF, while other member states or other regions might simply decide to cover the cost themselves rather than go through the administration and necessarily also delays on receiving the money. Core and globalization, I can also pass the floor to my colleagues, but I think it respects the rules and indeed the impact for the hypermarket is the fact that many people simply buy online and probably don't go so often to a hypermarket.

So it is the globalization and impact of the trade patterns and trade habits of the people. Indeed, again, the EGF measures are meant to provide training and help requalify the workers so that they can work or get self-employed. But I don't know if it is not unemployment benefits as such.

I think that are different active market measures than that, but I can also pass the floor to my colleague.

01:10:04 - 01:13:41

Orador 39

On the first question, why there is apparently many more Belgium cases, in the past two years, the number of bankruptcies in Belgium have increased heavily and that reflect to the increase in the applications. The EGF is a support that comes on top what is available at national or regional level. So this increase in bankruptcies has put pressure on the resources available at national level and Belgium has increased their applications.

But if we check the historical data, we see that not every time are the same member state, but reflect impact in particular member state. So it's not that Belgium is behaving in a different way. Regarding the remark about that retail cannot be fully linked to globalization, I wish to recall that in the current regulation, the trigger of the fund was moved from the causes causing the displacement to the effect of such displacement. And a huge effect was considered to be reached the moment there is at least 200 redundancies. It's clear that online retailers outside of the EU are having an impact on the EU retail sector, but nevertheless, the case is eligible not because of that.

That is a cause, but not the only one.

As I said, the case is eligible because of the huge impact of the redundancies on the territory. And regarding how much money should go to workers or not, I wish to recall that the, let's call it shortly, cash payment, that is allowances and financial incentives, are capped by the regulation at 35% of the total cost of the package. In this 35%, we include a contribution to commuting costs, to pay the cost of carers of dependent persons, and also to pay hiring benefits. That means that if such payments are capped at 35%, 65% goes mainly to counseling and upskilling and reskilling. That is how the co-legislators defined an EGF package, and therefore the package is eligible because it's down the line, the line settled by the regulation.

01:13:41 - 01:14:21

Thank you. Any other comments? No.

So again, amendments until 15th of September 12:00, voting of three cases on 28th of September. And this is the end of globalization cases. Final point to make this very long description short, this is about simplifying rules on medical devices and support for European Medicines Agency. And for this we have standing rapporteur for EU agencies, Mr. Sousa Silva, please.

01:14:21 - 01:18:28

Thank you, Chair, and dear colleagues. I'm presenting today the budgetary assessment on the revision of the rules of medical devices and on the role of European Medicines Agency. The proposal is above all a simplification of the rules for medical devices and in vitro diagnostics. Most of it concerns authorization and monitoring procedures that belong to lead committee, the Committee on Public Health. And of course, I would like to, to congratulate the presence here of the rapporteur of this file, our colleague Oliver Schink.

Only a small part touches the Budget Committee, and that is why this assessment is deliberately shorter and more focused than others we have seen on agencies. It covers what falls within our remit. And speaking about our remit, the budgetary picture is contained. The estimated impact for the period 28-34 is around 42 million euros under heading 2 and around 20 million euros under heading 4. The agency receives 24 additional posts and the Commission's own department receives 25, financed through redeployment.

We support these resources and our first insistence is a simple one. The tasks and the resources must match now and as the file evolves. Three points guided our work. First, resources, as usual, must follow tasks. We support the 24 posts for the agency and we note its strong recruitment performance with an occupancy rate close to 100%.

It's not, I mean, usual.

New tasks for agencies should be met with fresh appropriations and redeployments should stay limited and be examined with care. That applies to the Commission's posts as much as the agency's. Second, the balance between fees and the Union's contribution. The agency's new work is financed almost entirely by the Union budget, 88.7%, while fees cover only 11.3%. We do not object to that starting point, but we do ask for clarity on it and we recommend that if the broadened mandate brings in more fee revenue, the split between the budget and the fees is revised during the annual budgetary procedure.

We have also asked the Commission for fuller explanations in the financial statement itself. Third and the last one, we welcome the reductions in notified body fees for micro and small manufacturers and for orphan devices.

These are reductions granted by private bodies, not by the agency, so they carry no cost for our budget and they help exactly the smaller companies this reform is meant to support. Dear colleagues, I have shared these points with the shadow rapporteurs and I have proposed that we keep this a concise and a consensual assessment. Given this limited budgetary scope, I believe that is the right approach and I would welcome your support for it. Let me close by thanking the secretariat and the advisories for their support throughout all this work and I look forward to our exchange and remain available for any questions. Thank you so much.

01:18:28 - 01:18:45

Thank you. As usually, interpreters asking for slowing down, but this was not the case with you, this was more the case with me. But floor is for shadow rapporteur, Mr. Oliver Schenk.

01:18:45 - 01:20:30

Oliver Schenk

Thank you very much, Chair. I would like to switch to German, so please use your headphones. Liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen, herzlichen Dank erst einmal für die Gelegenheit heute hier auch Stellung zu nehmen. Herzlichen Dank an die Kollegin Sousa Silva für ihre Arbeit und die wirklich konstruktive Begleitung der wichtigen Überarbeitung der MDR- und IVDR-Regularien. Ihr Entwurf gibt uns wichtigen Rückenwind für die praktische Umsetzung dieser Reform.

Sie bewerten die vorgesehenen Mittel zum jetzigen Stand als ausreichend und unterstützen die wichtige personelle Verstärkung der EMA. Das ist für uns im SANT ganz wichtig. Wir wollen verlässlichere Verfahren, weniger unnötige Bürokratie und einen besseren Zugang zu sicheren Medizinprodukten. Dafür müssen auch die wissenschaftliche Unterstützung und die Koordinierung auf der europäischen Ebene funktionieren. Wir werden in der kommenden Woche in Straßburg beginnen unsere politischen Verhandlungen mit den Schattenberichterstattern, um tragfähige Kompromisse zu erarbeiten.

Mein Ziel ist, die Verhandlungen zügig voranzubringen und dabei die hohen Sicherheitsstandards zu wahren. Die erfolgreiche Umsetzung dieser Reform ist eine gemeinsame Aufgabe. Ihre Arbeit leistet dazu einen ganz wichtigen Beitrag, indem sie die notwendigen finanziellen und personellen Ausstattungen in den Blick nimmt. Und deshalb will ich mich dafür noch mal ganz, ganz herzlich bedanken. Und ich bin zuversichtlich, dass wir auch mit Ihrer Unterstützung diese wichtige Reform auf den Weg bringen können, die für viele Menschen auf diesem Kontinent einen Zugang zu Innovationen, zu moderner Medizintechnik öffnet.

Vielen Dank.

01:20:30 - 01:20:33

Thank you, Mr. Farantouris.

01:20:33 - 01:21:55

Thank you, Chair, again, on behalf of Mr. Giuseppe Lupo, a few points on his behalf. We would like to thank the standing rapporteur for the drafting report dealing with this important decentralized agency. The issue at stake, medical and in vitro medical devices rules, are a major pillar of public health and patient safety in Europe. We must ensure that the agency has sufficient staff and funding to execute its responsibilities in this regard. It is the long-standing position of the Parliament that new responsibilities and tasks must be accompanied by new resources.

We see this will in part be achieved by redeployments, and we reiterate that this approach has its limits. We will take a close look at the rapporteur's proposed approach on fees, which is one of the central points of this report, and if needed, table amendments.

Finally, when dealing with EMA, it is worthwhile to remind ourselves that the unresolved issue of the former headquarters building in London will be a burden on the financial resources of the agency and the EU budget for years to come. Thank you.

01:21:55 - 01:22:02

01:22:02 - 01:23:14

Angéline Furet

Merci Monsieur le Président. Sous prétexte de simplifier la réglementation en matière de santé, la Commission nous présente un dossier qui cumule deux scandales : une dérive budgétaire et une violation de la souveraineté de nos États. D'abord le budget. L'Agence européenne des médicaments est normalement financée à 82 % par l'industrie. Pourtant, on nous réclame ici plus de 62 millions d'euros d'argent public, payés à près de 89 % par les contribuables, pour recruter 49 nouveaux bureaucrates.

Ensuite la méthode. Comme vient de le dénoncer officiellement le Sénat français, ce texte est présenté sans aucune analyse d'impact. Pire, Bruxelles profite de cette proposition pour forcer les États membres à transférer leurs bases de données nationales vers la base européenne centralisée Eudamed, en violation totale du principe de subsidiarité. Enfin, la Commission s'octroie le droit de modifier les règles essentielles par de simples actes délégués, contournant ainsi le contrôle des parlements nationaux. Faire payer le contribuable à la place de l'industrie pour mieux confisquer les prérogatives de nos nations, c'est inacceptable.

01:23:11 - 01:23:14

Thank you, Mr. Geisel.

01:23:14 - 01:23:45

Thomas Geisel

Thank you, Chairman. I can speak in German again. Ich habe zwei Fragen an die Kommission und vielleicht auch an den Kollegen Schenk als Schattenberichterstatter. Wenn ich die Unterlagen richtig verstanden habe, dient die Überarbeitung der einschlägigen Verordnung ja in erster Linie dem Bürokratieabbau. Es steht darin zu lesen, dass anwendbare Regeln vereinfacht, der administrative Aufwand verringert und die Kosteneffizienz des Zertifizierungsverfahrens erhöht werden soll.

01:23:14 - 01:23:16

Angéline Furet

Je vous remercie.

01:23:45 - 01:24:35

Thomas Geisel

Vor dem Hintergrund vermag ich nicht ganz zu verstehen, weshalb letztlich 24 zusätzliche Stellen mit erheblichem finanziellen Aufwand zusätzlich geschaffen werden müssen. Zweite Frage: Die Zertifizierung medizinischer Geräte durch die Europäische Arzneimittelbehörde erfolgt gegen Gebühren. Nach der Unterlage können Gebühren von der Arzneimittelagentur auch erhoben werden, nicht nur von den Herstellern für die Zertifizierung, sondern sowohl von den Herstellern wie von den nationalen Gesundheitsbehörden für Beratung und Stellungnahmen dieses neu einzurichtenden Expert Panels.

Wieso plant die Kommission dann zusätzliche Kosten in Höhe von über 60 Millionen, die aus dem Haushalt zu decken sind, wenn tatsächlich praktisch sämtliche Ausgaben der Behörde auch durch Gebühren gedeckt werden könnten? Vielen Dank.

01:24:35 - 01:24:52

Thank you, so we have questions and if rapporteurs would like to react, Sousa Silva or Mr. Schenk, no? If not, again Mrs. Filipková.

01:24:52 - 01:26:19

Oliver Schenk

Yeah, ich wollte nur wissen, wer von uns beiden beginnt. Vielen Dank für das Interesse daran, als Antwort auf den Kollegen Geisel der Frage der Bürokratie. Ich würde nicht sagen, dass der Abbau der Bürokratie im Vordergrund steht. Es ist ein notwendiges Mittel, damit wir bei der Zulassung insgesamt von Medizinprodukten besser werden. Wir sehen, welche Innovationskraft diese Branche hat.

Wir sehen, wie wichtig Innovation in diesem Feld ist, weil sie Therapiemöglichkeiten, Behandlungsmöglichkeiten für die Menschen verbessert. Wir sehen, wie die vorherige Regelung dazu geführt hat, dass durch ein Aufwuchs von Regeln Zulassungsverfahren behindert worden sind, dass teilweise bestimmte Verfahren in Europa gar nicht mehr zugelassen worden sind, sondern im Ausland.

Und dass wir vor diesem Hintergrund auch schnellere Verfahren brauchen und auch ein Abbau und von Verfahren und zu schnelleren Verfahren kommen. Diesem Ziel dient auch die Einbindung der EMA, die sehr viel Erfahrung hat bei der Zulassung von Arzneimitteln heute schon. Und durch diese Konzentration auch von bestimmten Verfahren an dieser Stelle wir die Erwartung haben, dass wir auch bei dem Thema Medizinprodukte wieder zu Wettbewerbsfähigkeit zurückkehren, die wir in den letzten Jahren verloren haben.

01:26:19 - 01:26:25

Thank you. Comments from Commission, please.

01:26:25 - 01:28:22

Lenka Filipkova

Yes, thank you very much. First of all, many thanks to the rapporteur for the support of the of the proposal and indeed the reassurance that that the principle that if the agency gets more tasks, that they would also should get sufficient resources. So we believe that for the task included in our proposals, the reinforcement for for the agency is justified and correct. Also we will have to see how we manage additional task within the Commission, but as proposed by redeployment. In principle, I think what we want to see and the LFDS also included assessment of the fees, but it is at this stage a forecast.

We will obviously then look at the implementation every year and then, depending on how much fees we can collect, the contribution from the budget is a balancing contribution. So if we indeed can collect more fees for these tasks, then indeed the impact or the contribution from the budget can decrease. And it is unfortunately the case that the EU budget contribution also includes the cost of the building that EMA had to abandon in London after Brexit. But that we have discussed, I think, many times in this committee. And I think there was... and obviously as we will follow up also the negotiation with our colleagues that lead from DG SANTE, but if there are any evolution in the tasks or the evolution or more information on the fees, then we will be very happy in the process to update the legislative and financial statements, also follow the usual procedure when there are changes to the agencies and then discuss in the trilogue before the final budgetary impact is assessed and then every year during the annual budget negotiation where you will have a say as usual.

01:28:22 - 01:28:47

Thank you. So far for the budgetary assessment. Deadline for amendments is on 18th of September, 12:00. Voting is on 4th of November.

This is the end of our session. We are to resume on 28th of September, voting also these three mentioned already Globalization Adjustment Fund cases. Thank you for your presence.