During the plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels (08-11 March 2021), MEPs participate in a joint debate on the European Semester: opening remark by Valdis DOMBROVSKIS, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of an Economy that works for People, and Commissioner for Trade. Opening statements by Markus FERBER (EPP, DE), Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ (S&D, ES), rapporteurs, Margarida MARQUES (S&D, PT), (BUDG); Nils UŠAKOVS (S&D, LV) BUDG, Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Portuguese Presidency, President in office of the European Council, and Valdis DOMBROVSKIS, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of an Economy that works for People, and Commissioner for Trade, and Nicolas SCHMIT, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Pascal CANFIN (Renew, FR) (ENVI) and Victor NEGRESCU (S&D, RO) (CULT). This transcription speech is the result of an automatic process. Check against delivery.

Brussels

SCHMIT, Nicolas (LU, EC)

statement

plenary session

Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

economic growth (T)

Committee on Culture and Education

Committee on Budgets

joint debate

FERBER, Markus (EPP, DE)

DOMBROVSKIS, Valdis (EPP, LV, EC)

European Semester (T)

CANFIN, Pascal (Renew, FR)

GYŐRI, Enikő (Patriots, HU)

NEGRESCU, Victor (S&D, RO)

GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ, Lina (S&D, ES)

MARQUES, Margarida (S&D, PT)

economic situation in Europe (T)

Recovery plan for Europe (T)

ZACARIAS, Ana Paula (PT)

recovery and resilience facility (T)

European Semester: Opening statements

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/16617285/I202834Chapters%5BSD-EN%5D.srt

SOUNDBITE (Original), Valdis DOMBROVSKIS, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of an Economy that works for People, designated to assume responsability for trade, President, honourable members, I would like to thank the European Parliament for its work on this file and to make the following statement on behalf of the Commission. In its proposal for the regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Customs Programme for Cooperation in the field of Customs, the Commission proposed to replace and repeal this decision 70/2008 EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of January 15th, 2008 on a paperless environment for Customs and Trade. So former E-Customs decision.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Valdis DOMBROVSKIS, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of an Economy that works for People, designated to assume responsability for trade, Decision 70/2008 EC serves as a legal basis for that multiannual strategic plan for Customs MASP-C. The Commission proposed to house its legal basis in Article 12 of the regulation instead of Decision 70/2008 EC. For the sake of compromise, the Commission does not object to delete the reference to the MASP-C from the regulation and do not repeal decision 70/2008 EC. The Commission regrets that by doing so, it cannot entirely fulfil its commitments under the better regulation agenda. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Roberta METSOLA (EPP, MT), Thank you very much, Commissioner.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Roberta METSOLA (EPP, MT), Next point on the agenda. Joint debate on the European Semester. A report of Ferber. The annual strategy for Sustainable Growth for 2020, and then a report from this morning's on the European Semester on Social Aspects and Employment and the annual strategy on sustainable growth for the year 2021.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Roberta METSOLA (EPP, MT), I'd like to remind honourable members that for all the debates on this particular session, there will be no Catch the eye procedure. We will not accept any blue cards. And apart from that, as we've done in other partial sessions, there are interventions by colleagues in individual member states. And therefore, I'd like to turn to Marcus Ferber, please.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Markus FERBER (EPP, DE), Thank you very much, Madam Vice President, Commissioner, Nicholas.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Markus FERBER (EPP, DE), Dear colleagues, I was really quite pleased that our Committee, after lengthy negotiations, came up with a compromise that actually met with the agreement of the three big political groups of the European Parliament. At the end of, well, some things went wrong in the final vote because it would have been a big step forward. Given the experience that we've been living through over the past few years.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Markus FERBER (EPP, DE), I'm all the more pleased that we've now pulled it off with the other groups following intensive negotiations over the weekend. And on Thursday, we got a compromise proposal that meets with a majority of the parliament. I think it's right and fitting and really quite up to the task. It's kind of like a spring gift for the [...] summit. And more than that, the employment committee.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Markus FERBER (EPP, DE), The compromise we came up with is, I think, acceptable for all sides. There are a number of minor adjustments we've made in the amendments, but I hope we've put it off this time. We've really managed to get this through the plenary. Allow me to talk about the essential salient points. There are two main points I would stress. First of all, the whole issue of what is the European Semester anyway?

SOUNDBITE (Original), Markus FERBER (EPP, DE), After about six months, we ended up with half a sentence as to what we think it should look like. In school, that would have been a big fat F on the grade card. But what we want the European Semester to be, that's another subject, but not really the subject of this report. The semester report is the key instrument for coordinating economic policy, i.e. getting things right for a stable budget policy, for a competitive economy, fiscal policy and economic policy in general, you name it.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Markus FERBER (EPP, DE), And in this cycle, there is a very close connexion with building the resilience facility. The European Semester is not a tool for coordinating environmental policy or climate policy or for the implementation of other measures. We have other tools for that, other formats for coping with those things. One thing we need to get straight, if we reconstruct, we construct this semester, well, there wouldn't be anything possible.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Markus FERBER (EPP, DE), So what we have to try to do is that in our reform proposals, we look at the Country-Specific recommendations and we have to avoid cherry picking and we can't allow member states to constantly just do what they want. Cherry picking, you know. Yeah, yeah, cherry picking, says the speaker, to help the interpreters. Well, that's what we need to avoid.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Markus FERBER (EPP, DE), The second thing I'd like to avoid the most recent communication from the Commission on Fiscal Policy. A number of colleagues here in the House already from the word go, said that the Stability and Growth Pact is something to be celebrated over the past months. Well, we've had high state debt and, of course, going skyrocketing sky high. And one thing I really want to do is to recall the Greek state debt.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Markus FERBER (EPP, DE), It wasn't that far better, but we had real hard core crisis on our hands. And that should be a reminder for us in the future as a cautionary tale. And in this new phase of stability, with this huge mountain of debt, nobody is going to claim that it's not a source of concern because the banks, with their huge buying up programmes and once again, we have an amendment merely stating that these debts with the European Central Bank should just be flattened out.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Markus FERBER (EPP, DE), The haircut were the last country that did that was Argentina. And I really don't think you could say or make a convincing argument that they've got it right. We should maybe distance ourselves from that notion in no way. And the level of interest should be. So low for so long in the USA, we're already seeing that the economic recovery is, of course, is going beyond the growth and the level of debt beyond 100 percent when it comes to economic output. Very quickly, that's going to lead to huge problems.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Markus FERBER (EPP, DE), We need to get it right to make very clear that the covid crisis shouldn't become a state debt crisis. And an exit strategy from the lockdown also means we need a successful exit strategy from the state debt crisis. And it's something that we've discussed for a long time. It might be useful as a key word for the months ahead of us, but not much longer in the future than that. We need a long term perspective for new state debt in the EU. There's an urgent need and the commission should attach utmost priority to that. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ (S&D, ES), Thank you, President. First of all, I would like to thank the MEPs, different political groups in EMPL for their cooperation and the consensus that led to this report. Thank you. Because together we made an effort to make a difference and we put the interests of our voters front and centre. We are looking at the future of Europe post covid. We are looking at the urgent steps that need to be taken to adopt solutions to mitigate suffering amongst the European public.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ (S&D, ES), We are drawing up a road map to ensure greater equality that that be part and parcel of our economic system and indeed make progress on environmental objectives. This was necessary before covid even more so now. Covid has held up a mirror to our society, and we need to tackle the deep rooted problems that we have identified. We need political solutions. That leaves no one behind. We know that millions of jobs have been lost. We know that there are European workers, many who live in poverty.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ (S&D, ES), There will be even more now. We need to look at the technological changes coming. We know that women have suffered in particular as a result of the pandemic. They carry the lion's share of the care burden. We know, that there are millions across the EU that are homeless. And the crisis has further undermined physical and mental health, particularly amongst the most vulnerable. We need to face these facts. We need to tackle these problems with real solutions, not fine words.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ (S&D, ES), The pandemic has been traumatic for Europe, and we cannot go back to austerity policies, we cannot repeat the mistakes made during past crises, we need to shape our future, consolidate the European project. We need to breathe life into the principles of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights, Freedom and Justice for example.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ (S&D, ES), My political group, the S&D is looking ahead to Porto and we feel that quality employment is important. And we cannot allow growing inequalities. We need to ensure our economies are more resilient. We need to look at evenly sharing out the benefits of growth. We know that social objectives must be as important as macroeconomic and environmental objectives. We need to assess the social impact of any measures taken excellente, we need to look at the release safeguard clause. We need to save jobs, and invest in individuals.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ (S&D, ES), Health care, care, education, the flexibility offered by the general escape clause must be used. We need to activate the general escape clause and use it wisely. We need the emergency measures adopted to be left in place for as long as necessary. We need solidarity, integration, social justice, and we need quality jobs created in all regions so that we have sustainable growth and move towards a new organisation of care that we don't rely on, unrecognised, unpaid to work.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ (S&D, ES), We need to look at economic governance and that is all compatible with competitiveness and we can ensure greater sustainability and resilience. Now, the European Parliament needs to revise this process, ensure greater transparency and look at supervising the recommendations put to member states honourable members. If we want a prosperous, successful Europe that makes its citizens its top priority, then we cannot leave anyone behind. We need resolve and clarity.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ (S&D, ES), The European Union is a peace project with social and economic goals. It has survived. It is a wonderful initiative that started with economic agreements. But let's not lose sight of the fact that the social well-being of citizens and democracy must take precedence. I believe that this parliament will be commensurate to the task ahead. And this report is just one further contribution towards what we need to shape the post covid future of Europe. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margarida MARQUES (S&D, PT), Thank you very much present the European Semester has been interpreted as something bureaucratic, lacking in transparency and not very relevant. But the instruments which have been designed to respond to the crisis have been approved by the parliament. And this is a first big step forward in giving the European semester greater meaning and greater effectiveness.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margarida MARQUES (S&D, PT), We need to transform it so that it becomes a genuine instrument for economic governance. The Resilience and Recovery Fund has shown how important it is for us to coordinate economic and social policy. The European Parliament has to play its role in defining the longer term goals of the European Union, and this presupposes that we make the requisite political choices we need to define our objectives.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margarida MARQUES (S&D, PT), We need to have a wide-ranging transparent and open dialogue with national institutions and across the European institutions, also with our citizens. The European Parliament wants to see greater transparency in these instruments and sees that as the way forward. It will enable us to attain our objectives, but also to have better surveillance over what is going on with the Recovery and Resilience Fund, which is so important to the budget. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nils U&Scaron;AKOVS (S&amp;D, LV), President, the Recovery and Resilience Facility success cannot be measured in square kilometres of repair roads, cubic metres of renovated buildings or numbers of projects packed with words, digital or environmental, as it is already done by a number of member states government. It is ultimate priority for the whole continent that RRF is used for creating the new green circular digital economy paralysed by poverty reduction, gender equality, social justice, social cohesion and upward convergence.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nils U&Scaron;AKOVS (S&amp;D, LV), That's what European Semester becomes more important than ever before, bringing together [...] with RRF and long term goals of the Europe continent. And it's why the European Parliament itself should be fully involved in the European Semester process, including the country specific recommendations. It's not about shaping the European Semester. It's about shaping the future of our continent. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, Madam President, honourable members, rapporteurs, Vice-President Dombrovskis, Commissioner Schmit, thank you for this opportunity to discuss the European Semester today, a topic to which the council attaches a great importance as the pandemic continues to pose major challenges across member states.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, Protecting our citizens, their health, their jobs is essential. In this uncertain environment, policies must remain supportive of the economy, and we have a unique opportunity to work together to rebuild a better European economy, a greener, more innovative, sustainable and inclusive economy. The European Semester remains a very useful framework to address this challenges.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, The Council has recognised the need to temporarily adapt to the semester to the recovery and resilience facility. But we want to build up on the established semester's governance and processes as much as possible. To obtain financing under the facility. Member states are currently working in their recovery and resilience plans, which will include their reform and investment agenda in line with the full dimensions of environmental sustainability, productivity, fairness and macroeconomic stability.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, And with the flagships identified in the annual Sustainable Growth Survey. They should also centered the on the green and digital transitions and also consistent with the country specific recommendations for 2019-2020. The Portuguese presidency is fully committed to this process. We hope to arrive at the end of our semester with the national plans duly approved, as well as with the own resources decision ratified by member states.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, We would like very much to organise in Lisbon on June 21st, a recovery summit, a conference shaping Europe's growth to discuss the outlook of the current economic and financial situation and the what is the economy past covid. Now it's time to deliver it. It's time to deliver on sustainable growth and job creation, on high quality education, social protection and inclusion and environmental sustainability.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, And we hope that the social summit in Porto in May will provide an opportunity to confirm at the highest level the commitment and ambition to put people first in Europe, recovery and beyond. There are many challenges and you have identified a number of them in this important reports to date. You have done also so recently in the discussions with the national parliaments, persistent and increasing inequalities remain between and within member states and regions.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, In fact, they have been exacerbated by the impact of the pandemic. This widening inequalities, increased poverty and social exclusion. Therefore, robust labour market and social protection measures need to be taken to mitigate the social and economic impact of the crisis. And this requires coordinated efforts. We also need a proper balance between boosting investment and implementing sustainable structural reforms to support the recovery, strengthening the single market is also key.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, Supporting growth with smart fiscal policies while paying close attention to the long term stability of our budgets, and that it's also essential. And therefore we welcome the European Commission communication adopted on the 3rd of March, providing member states with broad guidance on the conduct of fiscal policy in the period ahead. It is important, as suggested in the communication, to relaunch the public debate on the whole economic governance framework once the recovery takes hold.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, Madam President, honourable members promoting recovery, cohesion and European values is a priority for the Portuguese presidency. The cohesion policy as the EU main investment policy and social and economic and territorial development has demonstrated its effectiveness and over the years, and in reducing all the inequalities and different regional differences.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, The recovery, combined with the digital and green transitions, need to take place in a societal just and fair manner. And the European pillar of social rights and the action plan that has just been presented should continue to serve as a compass towards better working and living conditions in Europe, steering the coordination of employment and social policies at union level.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, And to achieve this, it is also essential to ensure a meaningful dialogue, the involvement of local and regional authorities, civil partners, civil society, social partners, youth organisations and other relevant stakeholders in the semester in designing and examining the recovery and resiliency plans and the national reform programmes, only by closely working together to consistently push for an inclusive recovery will we be successful in creating tangible benefits for all citizens of Europe. Thank you very much for your attention.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Valdis DOMBROVSKIS, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of an Economy that works for People, designated to assume responsability for trade, Madam Chair, honourable presidency, honourable members, it's a pleasure to be here today at today's debate on the European Semester, eight times as it comes at a timely moment as we are working hard to prepare for Europe's recovery. So I would like to congratulate the rapporteur on their reports on annual sustainable growth strategy and a social and employment, employment and social aspects of it demonstrates the broad alignment of positive views for our coordinated policy response to the pandemic.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Valdis DOMBROVSKIS, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of an Economy that works for People, designated to assume responsability for trade, These have been exceptional measures to deal with exceptional situation. We acted with great speed so that member states could do everything possible to mitigate socio economic impact of the pandemic. The unprecedented circumstances required us to adjust normal procedures and temporarily adjust European Semester to it remains our primary tool for coordinating economic, fiscal and employment policies.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Valdis DOMBROVSKIS, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of an Economy that works for People, designated to assume responsability for trade, Our joint policy response has been successful. We estimate that a fiscal and liquidity measures cushioned GDP contraction in 2020 by around 4.5 percentage points. This was facilitated by the activating of a general escape clause early on in the crisis, as well as applying for full flexibility of state aid rules. As we prepare for postcrisis face, the EU's massive recovery package Next Generation EU was its principal funding instrument Recovery and Resilience Facility will take centre stage.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Valdis DOMBROVSKIS, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of an Economy that works for People, designated to assume responsability for trade, It is thanks in part of the European Parliament that [...] were put in place in record time. With the RRF the watchword for the next months will be implementation. What is important now is to get high quality national recovery and resilience plans prepared and rolled out quickly. These must be ambitious and contain appropriate balance of reforms and investments.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Valdis DOMBROVSKIS, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of an Economy that works for People, designated to assume responsability for trade, They need to address or a significant subset of the challenges identified in Country-Specific Recommendations. And they should help strong focus on the green and digital transitions. As the report says, the 2020 semester exercise offers a good opportunity to improve national ownership. Since member states are developing, tailor-made plans to respond to their different needs. Here, the European Parliament will play a major role and I will be addressing as a house on this issue tomorrow.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Valdis DOMBROVSKIS, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of an Economy that works for People, designated to assume responsability for trade, Honourable members, we know that we still have a difficult months ahead, but as our grounds for cautious optimism, it's still, of course, subject to uncertainty but growth should resume in spring and gather pace in the second half of the year. But we should also look further ahead still in terms of our coordinated fiscal policy response. This was the aim of the updated fiscal approach that the commission presented last week.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Valdis DOMBROVSKIS, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of an Economy that works for People, designated to assume responsability for trade, What is paramount that fiscal support measures remain in place as long as needed. For this year and next, the overall fiscal stance should remain positive. Here we can expect a substantial impulse from RRF funding and this result adding to the national debt and deficits. Regarding the general escape clause, decision on whether to continue or activated should depend on overall assessment of the economy. The key criterion should be whether economic output has reached its pre crisis level of 2019.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Valdis DOMBROVSKIS, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of an Economy that works for People, designated to assume responsability for trade, According to our current forecast, GDP should reach its 2019 level towards middle of 2022. Based on this general escape clause would remain active in 2022 and no longer in 2023. Then, at the appropriate moment, member states should resume fiscal policies aimed at achieving prudent medium-term fiscal positions.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Valdis DOMBROVSKIS, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of an Economy that works for People, designated to assume responsability for trade, They will find it easier to do if their current support measures are temporary and targeted, therefore avoiding a permanent burden on public finances since the crisis has widened divergences and increased inequalities. We also need to improve convergence, resilience and ensure inclusive growth. Our labour market and social policies will play an important role in this respect. And Commissioner Schmidt will now address these points. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nicolas SCHMIT, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Madam Chair, honourable members and rapporteurs, dear Vice-President, dear representative of the Portuguese presidency. This year's joint debate on the European Semester comes at a very crucial moment. I would like to thank the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and in particular the rapporteur, Gálvez Munoz, for the very comprehensive report and her presentation. The Parliament has underline the importance of employment and social aspects for overcoming the crisis and putting us on the path towards renewed inclusive growth.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nicolas SCHMIT, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, It calls to give fairness and social rights the same importance as macroeconomic objectives and social and economic model that improves the well-being of people in the EU. The covid-19 crisis has significantly increased the vulnerability of our economies and societies. Its socio economic consequences could leave deep and long lasting scars, in particular on our young generations. It is imperative to swiftly implement policies and measures leading to a fair, inclusive and sustainable recovery.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nicolas SCHMIT, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Social Europe must be at the heart of the recovery, and without a strong social dimension, there will not be a lasting and sustainable recovery. We dispose of powerful tools, the renewed multiannual financial framework, next generation EU and the Recovery and Resilience Facility to bring the European economy back on track and to boost reforms and investments while fully exploiting the potential of the green and digital transitions.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nicolas SCHMIT, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, And the European Pillar of Social Action Plan, adopted last week, embeds social progress in our recovery strategy and strengthens the social dimension across all policies of the union. Our efforts towards a sustainable and solid recovery need to encompass all dimensions, social aspects must be on an equal footing with the economic, environmental and digital dimensions, the implementation of the recovery and resilience facilities embedded in the semester.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nicolas SCHMIT, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, And the latter will continue to play its role as the main framework to coordinate and monitor the member states' economic, employment and social policies based on the national recovery and resilience plans. The level of ambition of reforms and investments covered by the national plans should fully match the employment, skills, education and social challenges highlighted in the country specific recommendations.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nicolas SCHMIT, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, The European Pillar of Social Rights should guide the national recovery and resilience plans of all member states, thereby enhancing the economic, social and territorial cohesion and supporting upward convergence within the union. The joint employment report, which has been adopted by the council, helps member states identify priority areas for reforms and investment to be included in their recovery and resilience plans.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nicolas SCHMIT, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, It is key to invest in active labour market policies and employment services, adapt working environments and ensure adequate working conditions, tackle labour market segmentation and atypical contracts, ensure quality and inclusive education. Promote skilling upskilling and reskilling, boost employability and guarantee gender equality through equal wages and opportunities.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nicolas SCHMIT, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, The employment guidelines have been aligned to reflect the covid-19 crisis and to take into account the green and digital transitions. They remain fully relevant under the current circumstances. We need to avert an unemployment crisis and further exacerbation of poverty and inequalities. The Commission wants to put a strong focus on quality job creation, especially for young people and women.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nicolas SCHMIT, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Well-designed and coherent, active labour market policies and effective and inclusive skills policies are key not only to tackle the consequences of the covid-19 crisis, but also to accompany the green digital transitions easing job to job transitions. I would like to highlight an important initiative adopted last week by the Commission, together with the Social Pillar Action Plan.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nicolas SCHMIT, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, The Commission recommendation on effective active support to employment following the covid-19 crisis called [...]. This recommendation provides guidance to member states with a view to accompanying labour market transition from declining to expanding sectors. It is based on the policy package, including hiring and transition incentives, upskilling and reskilling and enhanced support by employment services.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nicolas SCHMIT, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, It indicates how member states could use EU funds, including those available under the RRF, to support these policies. We encourage member states to design these policies and to include them in their national recovery and resilience plans. We need to join our efforts now to turn our recovery strategy into a unique opportunity to build back better and to prepare a better future for our young generations. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Pascal CANFIN (Renew, FR), ommissioner, Madam Minister, dear colleagues, on behalf of the Environment Committee in the European Parliament, I would welcome the work that is underway right now and I hope moving forward it will be adopted, this work on the European Semester. The debate this summer and over the course of the winter confirmed the need for this European plan, which is the second European economy, the second largest green economy in the world, according to the United Nations.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Pascal CANFIN (Renew, FR), And we need to connect the dots when it comes to macroeconomic policy and other policy measures. And I hope once this is adopted tomorrow, we will have a climate connexion as well, will connect that dot to ensure that in our economic follow up, also necessary will be accompanied. We can't overlook the serious climate situation, and this should enable the commission to really follow and monitor in real time the massive improvement in innovation, in technology and in ways to combat carbon.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Pascal CANFIN (Renew, FR), Let's not make the mistakes of the past. In 2009, we're not going to repeat those mistakes. That's where the difference lies. And what we're building now is not to, you know, pull down the budgetary restrictions too soon and to put a change in the direction of climate change for the future.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Victor NEGRESCU (S&D, RO), The European Semester process should be seen as a key EU policy tool and should be expanded to integrate better education, youth, culture and digital policies. Therefore, the committee urges the commission and member states to deliver on the European pillar of social rights by offering inclusive, accessible and high quality education and comprehensive lifelong learning and training for all.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Victor NEGRESCU (S&D, RO), In this context, the committee calls for a 10%year marking for education in the recovery, recovery and resilience plans. We believe that the European semester format should also integrate digital education as severe discrepancies still exist across Europe.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Victor NEGRESCU (S&D, RO), Macroeconomic efforts should also address the risk of poverty, especially for young people and member states, who dedicate at least two percent of the recovery funds to the cultural and creative sectors, 25 %for social investment and 20 % for digital transformation. We also ask the commission to closely monitor the Member States' progress report on the implementation of the recovery plans within the European Semester exercise to make sure they respect all these objectives.