Ahead of the plenary session in Strasbourg (06-09 May 2022), Philippe LAMBERTS (Greens/EFA, BE) and Ska KELLER (Greens/EFA, DE), Co-Group Leaders hold a press conference.

Strasbourg

LAMBERTS, Philippe (Greens/EFA, BE)

press conference

Greens/EFA

Press conference by Philippe LAMBERTS (Greens/EFA, BE) and Ska KELLER (Greens/EFA, DE), Co-Group Leaders - Greens/EFA Press briefing

SOUNDBITE (English), Ska KELLER (Greens/EFA, DE), Co-Group Leader of the Greens/EFA, Indeed, this week is going to be absolutely crucial when it comes to European climate legislation, because we've heard a lot of talk, a lot of big talk about what Europe is going to do in order to save the planet. And I should say, rather, save humanity because the planet can do well without us. And now is the time to put everything into legislation. We have some targets. Of course, the screens we set, they should have been more ambitious. But we need to come now down to the concrete measures and what that means also for different sectors. So that's why we have the Fit for 55 package this week in the voting session.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ska KELLER (Greens/EFA, DE), Co-Group Leader of the Greens/EFA, And while we have some highlights in there, like the ETS, the emissions trading scheme, also the carbon border adjustment mechanism, as well as social climate fund cars and planes and all sorts of other things. And we unfortunately see from some groups the wish to water down some of the ambition and it will be a very important test whether the majority of the parliament goes along with that because already now the EU's targets are not really sufficient in order to make sure that we stay at 1.54 degrees global warming. And that means ready devastation, a lot of catastrophes for example, small islands, but also for coastal regions, for more droughts, for agriculture, for so many things. And a lot of distress also for people who are not so well adapted for coping with heat, of course.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ska KELLER (Greens/EFA, DE), Co-Group Leader of the Greens/EFA, So what we are striving for and what we hope we can achieve in this vote is that we keep the good ambition that the Environmental Committee has set out. That is what we should stick to. We should by no means fall behind and below the Commission ambition, because that's already not the most ambition you can go to. So we definitely call on all parliamentarians and all MEPs to follow in line and to show that the big words are not just big words, but that we actually put those words into action, that the EU is taking leadership when it comes to climate action, because if we don't go ahead who else is supposed to do that?

SOUNDBITE (English), Ska KELLER (Greens/EFA, DE), Co-Group Leader of the Greens/EFA, Another issue I would like to mention is the rule of law that has been taking a big blow by the Commission, saying it will go ahead with the Corona funds for Poland. No money has been released yet, but the Commission has given its first green light and we don't think that this was the correct decision. There were milestones to be fulfilled by Poland, very low milestones, we have to say, and they haven't been met. So we don't think it's the right way to go ahead. And we are hoping for and we're working, not just hoping, also working towards a resolution that will be very clear in saying that this is not correct and that the Commission as guardian of the treaties has to make sure it actually regards the treaties also when it comes to fundamental things.

SOUNDBITE (French), Philippe LAMBERTS (Greens/EFA, BE), Co-Group Leader of the Greens/EFA, I'll carry on on this subject. We're talking about the foundations of the Union. We're based on Values, Article 2. But first of all, above all, so these values need to be respected by all member states. And so we can't say that there is one or two member states that create problems, there are others as well but there are countries where the problems are more serious and the conditions that have been set out by the President of the Commission to the approval and payment of the Recovery and Resilience Plan is an ensemble of all the problems that we have and illustrated by the decisions of the Court of Justice with regard to the rule of law.

SOUNDBITE (French), Philippe LAMBERTS (Greens/EFA, BE), Co-Group Leader of the Greens/EFA, So and there are certain conditions that need to be fulfilled before something is paid out. So we're reducing the number of the cushions. We're saying that that that there should be laws adopted by Poland. But the read in statement of judges who have been unjustly dismissed doesn't even come into play. So, in fact, we are accepting a system where they can, in fact, do what they like. If I were the president of the Commission and two of my executive vice presidents vote against then I will make sure that it doesn't happen again. I will make sure that I have a broad consensus within my Commission on an issue which is so important.

SOUNDBITE (French), Philippe LAMBERTS (Greens/EFA, BE), Co-Group Leader of the Greens/EFA, So within the Commission itself, there is no unanimity with regard to the Polish plan. So maybe this initiative, which has come from three MEPs who say, why not have a censure motion vis a vis the Commission? But if the Commission does not respect its role as guardian of the treaties, can we consider that to be a serious fault and can we request dismissal? But the three MEPs are asking the seven 702 MEPs, give us your signature so that if need be, we can submit a censure motion. No, we can't do that if there is going to be this motion. This is extremely serious and it should be the subject of a creating a consensus within the Assembly. And I don't think that three snipers are really going to help us to reach such a consensus. We need to have a debate on how appropriate such a motion for censure is adequate.

SOUNDBITE (French), Philippe LAMBERTS (Greens/EFA, BE), Co-Group Leader of the Greens/EFA, Not a kopech has been paid out in the recovery plan. And this is a decision that is incumbent upon the Council on the proposal of the Commission. So we are asking the Council not to approve the proposal of the Commission anyway. And if the Council were to approve, we're not going to, not even a euro should be paid out to the Polish government as long as the conditions set out by the president of the Commission are fulfilled.

SOUNDBITE (French), Philippe LAMBERTS (Greens/EFA, BE), Co-Group Leader of the Greens/EFA, It's very easy to say, yes, they've promised. They've promised now, but it's a question of confidence. If the Polish government has shown one gesture that it was going to do something without losing face. We're not asking humiliation or to humiliate the Polish government. But this is a member state. I'm not asking that we should humiliate the Polish government but what I expect from them is to show that they are willing to do something and see how we can improve on things. But there is not even a glimmer of hope. So there is nothing that we are dealing with somebody who's acting in good faith. So we have to be extremely cautious and prudent.

SOUNDBITE (French), Philippe LAMBERTS (Greens/EFA, BE), Co-Group Leader of the Greens/EFA, And it seems to me that the Commission has been imprudent and I will say so in plenary. European unity is absolutely crucial vis a vis the war in Ukraine. And we shouldn't trample our values, because that will be giving a victory to Vladimir Putin that we don't put our money where our mouth is. Now, with regard to the agreement in the trilogue, this is crucial. Many of our citizens feel that Europe has favoured competition. And to look for workers where they are the cheapest. So the directive on a minimum wage is a directive that exists for a long time, and perhaps now it's going to be adopted because there has been an agreement in the trialogue.

SOUNDBITE (French), Philippe LAMBERTS (Greens/EFA, BE), Co-Group Leader of the Greens/EFA, This is a very sensitive issue. It's not a solution to all problems. We shouldn't present this as the be all and the end all. But it is something that will improve a lot for about 20 million Europeans because their finances will improve. And you know that poor workers are mainly women. Wage differences is something that is very true in Europe. And this directive is a legislative instrument that will help us redress some of the inequalities that exist between the salaries of men and women. There are still exceptions, there are ways of bypassing legislation but this legislation will have a real impact on millions of Europeans. And I welcome that. Thank you.

Q&A, regarding the Green's support for the Fit for 55 proposal.