Billy Kelleher
Member of the European Parliament · Renew · IE
“Madam President, fairness and burden‑sharing should be at the heart of the common fisheries policy, if we were truly to live in a European Union where we try to treat all citizens and all sectors fairly.”
“Migratory patterns of fish species are changing dramatically due to global warming and temperature rises and seas, and yet there has been no solid review of quota allocation and new quota allocation because of changing fishing patterns.”
“Mr President, humanitarian aid has been weaponised and politicised, 90 % of Gaza destroyed, 60 % of Gaza occupied, continual encroachments into the West Bank, aggressive actions by settlers being facilitated by the Netanyahu government and the Israeli Defence Forces.”
“A Uachtaráin, ar son mé féin agus fhoireann Fhianna Fáil, cuirim fáilte roimh an Taoiseach. Mar is eol do chách, is cara pearsanta é an Taoiseach. Táimid inár gcairde le beagnach 40 bliain. Guím gach rath ort, a Thaoisigh, agus tú ag tosú ar d'uachtaránacht.”
“We must get real when it comes to the budget and that means being honest about the level of funding needed to sustain a dynamic, progressive and ambitious Union. We must get real about the threats facing us and invest in our defences.”
“Mr President, this time last year, there was great uncertainty and volatility across Europe and great concern by workers and small and medium-sized businesses.”
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“Of course, Draghi is the Bible across Europe at the moment, but we do need to accept that there are many things in Draghi that need to be done quickly. Most fundamentally, the only way we can untap the single market and the private market is by bringing forward that savings and investment union. I hope that you put strong emphasis on that particular project. On an issue that is political, President von der Leyen, the people in this Chamber who are primarily supportive of this work programme sit from here to here, and it doesn't always work. You have an obligation, President, to ensure that the platform does work, and that we try and work from the centre out on the policies that you have outlined in your programme.”
“Mr President, Commissioner, I welcome the publication of the work programme for 2026. I also welcome many of the aspects that are included from the Renew Group. You speak about competitiveness, cost of living, jobs, growth and investment, and research and innovation. Of course, the most fundamental issue that we need to address is the harmonisation and the deepening of the single market, coupled with the 28th regime and bringing forward the savings and investment union. If we do not achieve those things, we undermine all that we are trying to do in the context of this work programme, but more broadly. So over the next number of months, my group will play its part in ensuring that the work programme can move forward with speed, to react to the issues that you have outlined as being very serious. 'Draghi Plus' has been mentioned.”
“I welcome this change and the slight change in tone in many European actors – particularly the Commission itself and some of the major European countries – around the need to support a two-state solution. But if we are to see the European Union play a role in the EU, it must play a positive role. It must not be afraid to say to Israel that the trade association agreement will be suspended if it does not honour its full commitments in terms of the ceasefire, promoting the peace plan, allowing humanitarian aid flow, and – just as importantly – the longer-term acceptance of a two-state solution. 2-0056-0000”
“Madam President, I welcome the recent ceasefire. Calling it a peace process may be very ambitious, but we must welcome the fact that the massive attacks on Gaza have stopped. But we also have to expect that humanitarian aid has to flow immediately unhindered into Gaza. We also need to see an international observation and international peacekeeping force deployed rapidly to ensure that there are no further breaches from a military perspective. In any peace process, accountability is critically important in the longer term, but in the medium term what is significantly at issue is the recognition of Palestine as a state because, clearly, peace without hope will not last very long.”
“It is absolved from all its obligations under international law, under basic decency and humanity, and it continues to flout and we continue to bow our head and pretend we don't see. It is a shameful, shameful stain on this Parliament and on the institutions that make up the European Union. We have to act and stand in solidarity and support a two-state solution, and insist that Israel is held accountable... (The President cut off the speaker) 2-0219-0000”
“Madam President, on the anniversary of 7 October, we must remember the 1 200 people killed, the 251 hostages taken by Hamas, a terrorist organisation. We now need a ceasefire, a release of all hostages and humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza. And we need to support a two-state solution and a peace plan. But let us be under no illusions. This conflict did not start in the last number of years. This has been ongoing for decades. The continual undermining and encroaching of the Palestinian territories by Israel has been continually allowed by this institution and many others in the European Union. As I have said previously, Israel acts with impunity because we have granted it immunity.”
“We can't have a situation where we dance around this particular fact. And until such time as China says clearly that they respect the international integrity of the Ukrainian borders, well, then we must always call them out. But I wish the summit well, because we do need a reset and we need to rebalance it, ensuring that it is in Europe's favour as well. 2-0060-0000”
“Madam President, I welcome the EU-China summit that's happening in the near future, because we do need a reset of relationships between the European Union and China. We need to have reciprocity. We need to have mutual respect and fairness. We need to have access to the Chinese market for European companies. We need to ensure that we wean our dependency off China in certain areas of raw materials and rare earths. And we need to insist on a rules-based order, an international rules-based order, the World Trade Organisation, the United Nations and the others that keep this world revolving around fairness and respect for each other. On the issue of Ukraine, we have to call it out straight: China is actively supporting Russia in the war in a European country. And that has to be said very loud and clearly.”
“So from my perspective, I do want to see a great emphasis on an energy union, on investment in the transnationalisation of the grid and ensuring that when we do generate electricity, that we can use it for those that need it most in terms of our competitiveness, but certainly not in dumping electricity when we surplus production. 3-0411-0000”
“Madam President, we need to invest in the transnationalisation of our grid. We need a seamless transmission of electricity across the entire continent. The cost of electricity and energy is a significant threat to our collective competitiveness. At times, in certain parts of this European Union, we dump surplus electricity, rather than being able to use it in some other part of the continent. So we do need to ensure that we can transport energy across the continent. It will also drive down costs and increase our competitiveness. But we do need to ensure that we have a stable mix of electricity sources: solar, wind, nuclear, hydrogen storage, and obviously gas in the short to medium term as well. And that will ensure that we have base-loading and balance and grid stability, which is a very important component in the modern world.”
“The unconditional support by the President of the Commission to Israel simply is unacceptable, and a fundamental breach of trust and the Treaties on which this Union ... (The President cut off the speaker) 3-0184-0000”
“Madam President, 50 000 people dead in Gaza, hospitals targeted by bombs, schools attacked, the West Bank killings, displacements, illegal settlements, International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court rulings, fundamental breaches of international law, genocide in Gaza, using food and aid as a weapon of war – as a weapon of war. Israel acts with impunity because we have granted it immunity. We have done nothing to address the fundamental issues, which are that a two-state solution is required, that the Palestinians have an entitlement to statehood and their own lands, and that Israel has an entitlement to exist and defend itself. But we have always taken only one side in this debate. We are losing our moral authority. We are losing any shred of credibility. We have to act as an honest broker.”
“And that has predominantly been done by super-trawlers, as opposed to the smaller trawlers and coastal community fishers that are taking sustainable stocks from our seas. So any re-evaluation and review of the common fisheries policy must look at sustainable coastal communities, supporting our fishers, but certainly addressing the issue of the massive exploitation of fishing stocks across the globe and in European waters by super-trawlers. 2-0122-0000”
“Madam President, Commissioner Kadis, I would like to thank you for visiting Ireland recently, and meeting with stakeholders and particularly fishers in the west of Ireland and Castletownbere. I appreciate it and I know they appreciate the engagement as well. At the outset, the lawless exploitation and abuse of our oceans has to stop, and I hope that the European Ocean Pact is a policy that will bring about that change in mindset. From my perspective, when we talk about sustainable fishing, we have to address a very fundamental issue, Commissioner, and that is the fact that super-trawlers across the planet are industrial-scale fishing and exploiting stocks beyond sustainable capacities. So I believe that, if we are to have a review of the common fisheries policies, we have to look at the fact that we are overfishing in many areas.”
“I very much welcome it. If we are to really exploit the single market though, we ultimately need to unleash a lot of capital, and that requires us to really embrace the concept of a banking union and a capital markets union. So, Commissioner, not only is this a very, very welcome process, but we have to underpin that with capital availability, and the capital markets union is one of the only ways we can do that, to prise out the trillions of dollars that are in deposit accounts across the European Union, doing nothing for the real economy. So I would urge that that would be a part of the policy as well. 1-0221-0000”
“Mr President, firstly, I welcome the strategy, Commissioner. Just to say at the outset: anything that takes burdens away from small and medium-sized businesses in terms of developing the growth trajectories is very welcome. So this particular strategy must be coupled with real action now. I know that a lot of us will have difficulties in Member States trying to protect national competences, and the fact that we have so much crossover with regard to oversight and regulation, and the interpretation of regulation in different jurisdictions. The fourth omnibus simplification package is very significant, of course, with regard to establishing a mid-sized CAP company, whereby companies that aren't multinational, yet are significant players, aren't burdened with the same obligations that we would place on massive multinationals.”
“I commend the Data Protection Commissioner for the efforts they made in ensuring there was a lengthy investigation, and they came up with the sanction and the fine. On the broader issue, Commissioner, we have to ensure that not only data protection but the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act are enforced. We need additional support to ensure that there is enforcement and that there are sanctions if there are breaches of those particular acts, particularly in the area of vulnerability and children. We certainly haven't done enough yet in Europe to ensure that their space is safe on digital platforms. 3-0467-0000”
“Madam President, just to remind my colleagues over there: I wouldn't hold up China as a bastion of free speech or protection of civil liberties. I certainly wouldn't trust them with my data. So certainly, from that point of view, we should be very conscious of the need for democratic oversight to ensure that the data of European citizens is protected. The Irish Data Protection Commissioner did take very serious steps to sanction TikTok to ensure that they comply with the democratic rules expressed in this House and Member States across the European Union. So it's quite shameful to come in here and undermine the concept of what we're trying to do, which is protecting citizens and ensuring that their data is safe.”
“Kraje członkowskie wzmocniły swoją infrastrukturę, ale również pokazały, że potrafią ponieść niezbędne koszty, jeśli chodzi o bezpieczeństwo swoich sąsiadów, bezpieczeństwo krajów, które mogły mieć w tym czasie problemy z gazem. Dlatego raz jeszcze chciałem podziękować za wysiłek włożony w pracę w komisji ITRE i jutro prosił będę o mandat do tego, żeby móc rozpocząć jak najszybciej rozmowy trójstronne i żeby dokończyć to, co komisja rozpoczęła. 3-0427-0000”
“Dlatego dziękuję Komisji Europejskiej za to przedłożenie prolongaty tego aktu, ale również dziękuję państwu zaangażowanym w prace komisji, którzy swoimi propozycjami i poprawkami, spowodowali, że jest szansa, że wypracujemy takie rozwiązania, które nie tylko spowodują, że obywatelki i obywatele Unii Europejskiej będą mogli czuć się bezpiecznie w tych najtrudniejszych z punktu widzenia okresu gazowego porach roku, czyli zimowej i wiosennej, ale również że doprowadzimy wspólnie do tego, że dzięki uproszczeniu tego aktu prawnego, dzięki takiej swego rodzaju deregulacji spowodujemy, że ceny gazu będą w Europie niższe. Ten czas Unia Europejska wykorzystała bardzo dobrze.”
“Let me assure you that the Commission is ready to play its role of honest broker and support the co-legislators to reach a strong and swift compromise so the EU can be prepared ahead of the next winter season. 3-0426-0000 Borys Budka, Sprawozdawca. – Pani Przewodnicząca! Panie Komisarzu! Szanowni Państwo! Przede wszystkim chciałbym podziękować za tę merytoryczną debatę, która pokazała, że w Parlamencie Europejskim, gdy chodzi o bezpieczeństwo, solidarność, potrafimy mówić jednym głosem, potrafimy przyjmować dobre rozwiązania, potrafimy współpracować dobrze z Komisją Europejską i z Radą. To bardzo ważny z punktu widzenia bezpieczeństwa obywateli akt prawny, który już – tak jak mówiłem na wstępie – sprawdził się w najtrudniejszych czasach.”
“I think we agree that gas stores play a crucial role in ensuring the EU's security of supply, since they cover 30-40% of the EU's supply in winter. The Gas Storage Regulation, adopted in 2022, has been instrumental in answering to Russia's manipulation of the gas supply and maintaining the EU's energy security. In the same vein, we expect the prolongation of the Gas Storage Regulation until December 2027 to guarantee a high level of energy security and contribute to price stability until the energy security framework of the EU is revived. Once again, I would like to thank the rapporteur and the ITRE Committee for the swift process and I look forward to the constructive negotiation during the trilogues.”
“So from an issue of national security, in terms of energy, we all obviously had to set up a state-led strategic gas reserve to ensure that we were no longer fully dependent on the interconnectivity between the UK and Ireland, that we will have the ability to import liquefied natural gas from other sources. Sustainability, affordability and security are key issues in the medium term until we transition to renewable fuels. I do want to commend the Commission – as I am often very critical – on how they responded very, very quickly to the need to pivot from Russian fossil fuels. 3-0424-0000 (Koniec zgłoszeń z sali) 3-0425-0000 Dan Jørgensen, Member of the Commission. – Madam President, thank you for this very interesting exchange of views.”
“Madam President, having sufficient energy storage is not just a wise energy policy, it's also an issue of national security and European security. And we were sadly exposed when Russia invaded Ukraine and then decided to blackmail Europe in the context of using energy as a weapon. But Europe did react very, very positively in terms of bringing forward floating storage and regasification units and making themselves less dependent on Russian gas. But we must do more. From an Irish perspective, Ireland is an island nation. We are very dependent on interconnection.”
“Otherwise, our ability to export the large sums of wind energy that will hopefully be generated in the years ahead would be significantly challenged, because there will have to be interconnectors directly from Ireland to France otherwise. 1-0114-0000”
“From my perspective, sharing a jurisdiction on the island of Ireland, it is critically important that we have that continual building of personal relationships, and universities and third-level institutions are a great way to do that. The other key areas where I believe we have to make a lot of progress – again, I look at it from the context of Ireland being offshore – offshore in terms of wind energy and the distribution of electricity from Ireland through the UK and onwards into Europe. I believe we have to have a full and open and honest debate with the UK around that particular issue to ensure the simplification of the export and import of electricity via the UK itself.”
“Madam President, thank you very much. I do really welcome the reset of EU-UK relations, and I do look forward to a positive outcome in the summit. And there's just a few points I want to allude to, Commissioner, in terms of the important issues: one being the issue of the Erasmus programme. It has been spoken about a lot, but it really is hugely fundamental to the concept of young people being able to travel, to live, to learn, to love in other cultures. And it would be a shame if over the next number of years, we were unable to see another generation of UK citizens travelling to Europe and European citizens travelling to the UK.”
“Rare diseases, by their nature, are rare. Not every country or region can have a clinical centre of excellence for every type of rare disease. Europe needs to become what it once was: a hub of innovation and research. We must come together to ensure that we can conduct proper clinical trials. We have the skills, the resources and the values to really make an impact in addressing rare diseases. But we must do it working collectively. 4-0030-0000”
“Mr President, the issue of rare diseases and how we, as a society, support people living with them should be a priority for us all. Fragmentation of services and supports results in one thing: poor outcomes for people with rare diseases and the families supporting them. We need to come together as a Union and address the bottlenecks in terms of developing new medicines and treatments, improving diagnosis and especially securing diagnosis at a far earlier point. A simple but effective change will be a rollout of a gold standard neonatal testing scheme, or a heel test, across the 27 Member States. There shouldn't be a postcode lottery when it comes to neonatal testing. We must urgently address the unmet medical needs and inequality in patient journeys. We must pool our resources and, crucially, our expertise.”
“But equally, we have to look at it from a Member State perspective and ensuring that countries that are specifically dependent on certain sectors are not harshly punished by decisions of the EU collectively. And for that, I welcome the fact that President von der Leyen has said she has been in discussions with the Heads of State and Heads of Government across Europe to try and come up with a strategy to ensure that we can retaliate, but also in a way that does not damage Member States and certain sectors of industry in Member States itself. From an Irish perspective, we clearly want to maintain that unity of purpose of the European Union. But in doing that, we must ensure that we look at every country and the dependence that they may have on specific sectors when we are making decisions on behalf of the European Union. 2-0023-0000”
“Madam President, President von der Leyen said that the EU had the strength to negotiate and the power to push back. And those are the two things that we must do. We must negotiate and continue to have dialogue. But equally, the European Union is obligated to ensure that it acts strategically in terms of potential tariffs that may be placed on European goods tomorrow, which is called 'Liberation Day' by President Trump. But may I say from the outset, it is critically important that when we are looking at tariffs and when we are looking at retaliatory measures, that we do it strategically and without emotion, that we look at it from the point of view of the impact that it will have collectively across Europe.”
“So I hope that this particular programme will be supported and encouraged at Member State level, facilitated by local authorities. But we need to ensure that in areas of deprivation, they are not forgotten, and that they're as entitled to access this programme as any other child across the continent. There must be no barriers to children being able to access this programme and facilitated by the educators that support them. I commend it and support it. 4-0194-0000”
“Mr President, I am very excited about this European Schools Alliance, and I really do welcome it, and I hope that it is supported across the entirety of the European Union. This is not about integration. It's about a celebration of diversity, broadening horizons and deepening understanding, learning about each other and learning from each other. And if we can get to that principle in terms of education, I think we will have done an awful lot for the generations of children to come. If you look at the Erasmus+ programme, it has has been really beneficial to third‑level students right across the European Union. To learn to live, to love in another country and another culture is a beautiful experience and something that stays with people for evermore.”
“I would like to see greater investment in generation capacities and in harnessing capacities, particularly in the area of solar and wind, and we do need a Eurogrid, Commissioner, whereby we can transport electricity from where it is produced to where it is needed, and there will be significant challenges. From an Irish perspective, of course, we are an island nation. We have great potential in terms of wind energy, but we need to have the capacity to export it through interconnectors, via France directly, and also via the UK as well. There would be significant costs and challenges, but this needs to be done to advance our wind energy capacity. 4-0137-0000”
“Mr President, I welcome the publication of the Action Plan for Affordable Energy. Of course, affordable energy and energy in the context of security is vital for the development of the European economy, to give certainty in terms of investment, but equally – and importantly – we have to address a very fundamental issue around our competitiveness, the cost to businesses and the cost to families and households right across Europe. Reference has been made to affordability and, of course, affordability varies greatly across the European Union itself.”
“And of course, the big debate will be around the mutualisation of risk, the mutualisation of debt and how we fund the European Union and the Multiannual Financial Framework into the future. 3-0043-0000”
“But of course, we also have to address some very fundamental challenges facing us in the European Union from a social perspective as well, and that is the whole issue of housing and unemployment and weak economies not giving opportunities to our younger people. And therein lies the significant challenge that we face: to try and get budgets in line that are sustainable, but equally, to ensure that we have the capacity to invest into the economies, to ensure that we provide services for people and also stimulate housing, etc. And Draghi identifies the majority of those particular challenges. Of course, it is up to the Commission and ourselves here to come up with funding bases that will sustain that in a sustainable way.”
“Mr President, I welcome the debate. I suppose sitting in the centre of this Chamber and listening to the ideological debates from the left and the right probably points out that I'm sitting in the right place. We are obliged to put in place a sustainable financial and monetary policy in Member States and across the European Union, if we are to preserve, first and foremost, the integrity of the Euro currency. Of course, there are also immediate difficulties facing the EU in escalating geopolitical tensions and now, more recently, the trade tariff and tax distortion and threats to global trade.”
“So I really hope that there would be policies put in place to incentivise and encourage not only the innovation, but the production scale-up aspect of it as well. There is demand for sustainable aviation fuel. The problem is that there is no supply. We have to incentivise supply and encourage supply. So we need policies underpinned in that, because it will require huge capital investment. But more importantly, if there is certainty in policy, then I'm quite sure the aviation sector would embrace it. 2-0536-0000”
“Madam President, I welcome the publication of the EU Clean Industrial Deal. Just to say at the outset: I want to wish you well, Commissioner, in this particular endeavour. It is critically important that we do use decarbonisation as a growth pathway to ensure that Europe becomes competitive. But there is just one specific area I want to hone in on, and that is the issue of sustainable aviation fuel. Aviation accounts for about 4 % of our EU emissions. And if you look at it in the context of the transport sector, that would be about 14 % of transport emissions inside the European Union. Yet at the same time, sustainable aviation fuel – and reference to it in the Clean Industrial Deal – is very light, to say the least.”
“And of course, you are promoting the propaganda from Russia and elsewhere saying quite clearly that the European Union does not support. But if you look at it, and if you listen to President Zelenskyy himself, he says quite clearly and categorically that the European Union has been a friend to Ukraine and a support them both financially, militarily and in humanitarian assistance as well. So I reject your points out of hand, as they don't stack up with the evidence. 2-0035-0000”
“There has never been a greater force for peace, prosperity and progress than the European Union and we must defend this. (The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question) 2-0033-0000 Petras Gražulis (ESN), pakėlus mėlynąją kortelę pateiktas klausimas. – Gerbiamas pranešėjau, daug skambių žodžių, bet labai mažai darbų Ukrainos atžvilgiu iš valdančiosios daugumos ir iš Europos. Kodėl po šiai dienai Ukraina nepriimta į Europos Sąjungą? Kas, Amerika kalta? Ar Rusija kalta? Kodėl jūs neišgirdot Zelenskio per tokį laikotarpį? Gal išgirsit ir priimsit? 2-0034-0000 Billy Kelleher (Renew), blue-card answer. – Well, we have been very supportive of Ukraine's application to join the European Union and it has happened over many, many years. In fact, in recent times we have supported them financially. They have been supported militarily.”
“Ireland will not join NATO, but I firmly believe we must ensure our fellow Member States have the resources needed to defend their sovereignty and their values. We must have defence bonds. We must make it easier for the states to strengthen their militaries by relaxing Stability and Growth Pact rules. We must all work together on sharing intelligence and ensuring interoperability and defence systems and energy security. Ireland must use every possibility under our constitution to support our European friends: humanitarian aid training, non-lethal weapons, support for demining initiatives, financial support and increasing our own military defence capabilities. I will say it again, if it is worth building, it is worth defending.”
“We are on the side of freedom, democracy, multilateralism, and a global order based on international law. Ireland is lucky. We are an island in the Atlantic, surrounded by non-threatening nations. But I know my friends and colleagues along the eastern border of our Union live in fear of the return of Russian imperialism. I see the worry in their eyes. I hear the pain in my friends' voices when they speak about living under Russian occupation before independence. That is why I will not stand in the way in terms of defending your homelands and your homes. And Europe must collectively defend itself. Our unity is our strength. This is a big change, and I know I will be castigated by the extremists at home, on the left and on the right, but it is morally the right thing to do.”
“Madam President, the EU is a beacon of hope for millions of people across the globe. It's why Ukrainians broke down in tears when they crossed into our Union after Putin's immoral invasion of their country. And it's why migrants do everything to get here, to live and raise their families. And that's why Putin and other tinpot dictators despise us. We give people hope, while they only give people fear. It's why it must be defended. 'If something is worth building, it is worth defending' – these are the words is Seán Lemass, former Irish Taoiseach and leader who submitted Ireland's application to join the European Economic Community. My country is militarily neutral. We won't join a military alliance, but that doesn't mean we don't take sides.”
“I call on the Commission to keep up the momentum and continue to simplification agenda without diluting our ambition or its intent. We must assess the framework for each of our industries and ensure they're not being unnecessarily burdened. However, acting swiftly does not mean acting recklessly. This Parliament needs to carefully scrutinise the Omnibus proposals to ensure that they are truly bringing forward simplification measures and not deregulation for the sake of it. I think there is a big debate that is required in this particular House with regard to deregulation and simplification, and I do not think that we should be using deregulation to throw out the ambition that this Parliament, the Commission and the Council set in the last mandate. 1-0114-0000”
“Madam President, when I met business owners throughout the campaign, without fail, they would raise their concerns about the burdens of regulation and compliance, and when I continue to meet them, they still raise it. Regardless of whether it is a local high street business, a family farm or even a large multinational, they all felt the heavy weight of compliance and felt stifled because of it. Finally, the EU has woken up to the fact that the complex and duplicated regulatory requirements are weighing on European businesses. I urge my colleagues in this House and all Member States to act swiftly on these proposals, to keep their eyes on the objective and not try to reopen and rehash political debates that were settled when these pieces of legislation were adopted.”
“For the past five years, the Commission, Member States and MEPs have expended a lot of time and effort in attempting to communicate to citizens the importance of the Green Deal, the Farm to Fork Strategy, for us now just to tear it up for the campaign of simplification itself. More importantly, many of our farmers and businesses are already embracing the changes and investments in meeting their obligations, and they should not lose out. First movers should not be penalised when it comes to deregulation. Finally, I want to see swift action on the areas of the single market that will benefit our competitiveness, particularly banking union and capital markets union. And let us also address the fact that Draghi mentioned EUR 800 billion per annum additionally, to make sure that Europe was competitive.”
“Simplification is another buzzword in this document and I, for one, am very glad to see that. During the last year's European elections, many sectors raised deep concern about the bureaucratic burden being placed on them in order to comply with EU regulations. Small and medium-sized businesses, farmers, industry leaders and business owners were spending more time than it was worth filling out forms and providing data in order to meet their obligations. Anything that can allow these important parts of our economy to get on with their job, rather than being overloaded with bureaucracy, is a good thing. However, simplification must not mean a reduction in ambition.”
“It is our job, however, to hold you to account for your promises and, crucially, for your delivery on those promises. Now to the actual proposals. It is very welcome from me and my Renew Europe group that Europe's competitiveness is finally being given the priority it deserves. Don't get me wrong: I'm not against the ambition in the previous Green Deal and all the other policy proposals that were put forward over the last five years and legislated by this Parliament. But European competitiveness is critical to ensure that we have a strong economy. Our ability to lead by example on key issues such as sustainability, energy, climate action, democracy and rule of law will be destroyed if we do not have the economic capacity to put pressure on our global partners.”