Ahead of the plenary session from 13th to 16th March 2023, Manon AUBRY (The Left, FR) and Martin SCHIRDEWAN (The Left, DE), co-Presidents of The Left group in the EP, hold a press conference to give the priority of their group. The transcription is the result of an automatic process, please check against delivery.

Strasbourg

plenary session

press conference

SCHIRDEWAN, Martin (The Left, DE)

AUBRY, Manon (The Left, FR)

The Left

Press conference by Manon AUBRY (The Left, FR) and by Martin SCHIRDEWAN (The Left, DE), co-Presidents of The Left group

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/69074972/1678367169245_I238526Chapters%5BSD-EN%5D.srt

SOUNDBITE (German), Martin SCHIRDEWAN, Co-President of The Left, Thank you very much, David, and thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen, for coming along to our press conference in such large numbers. At 14:30, we have this presentation of the Energy Market Initiative. The Commission said they would take drastic intervention in the energy markets.

SOUNDBITE (German), Martin SCHIRDEWAN, Co-President of The Left, Prices have gone sky high and many consumers, if they have been faced with a situation in which they didn't know how they were going to pay their electricity and gas bills at the end of the month. A year ago, Ursula von der Leyen said that she would overcome the merit order principle, i.e. the electricity price that being coupled to the very high gas prices, which mean that consumers pay luxury prices for electricity.

SOUNDBITE (German), Martin SCHIRDEWAN, Co-President of The Left, Now, we don't exactly know what will be presented at 14:30 this afternoon, but we do have some sort of inkling there won't be. Well, the merit order principal is likely to be kept rather than abolished. And it's obvious that the energy lobbyists have done their work to force the Commission to have a rethink. So there's going to be joint procurement. That's good. There will be long term contracting and minimal interventions in price increases.

SOUNDBITE (German), Martin SCHIRDEWAN, Co-President of The Left, Okay, but that's not going to be a basic reform, a thoroughgoing reform of a broken system. Energy markets have been breaking in the last year and a half, and consumers are still going to have to pay high prices. The prices will stay high. The broken system won't be reformed in the interests of European consumers. The energy companies will be earning a fortune to their shareholders, will make a lot of money.

SOUNDBITE (German), Martin SCHIRDEWAN, Co-President of The Left, And there's a lack of a social component. Such as, I'm stopping people being cut off. Which was something which would help people now. A word on the banking crisis which has broken out in the U.S. There was a Silicon Valley bank. Which collapsed, and the Signature Bank and the First Republic Bank have seen share prices collapse.

SOUNDBITE (German), Martin SCHIRDEWAN, Co-President of The Left, Now, the investment strategy of those banks was low interest bond focus, and since the interest raise right of the Fed, the bonds have gone down in value. So there's a gap in the capital of those banks and they've tried to close the gaps. These banks, which led to panic breaking out in a bank run on the Silicon Valley bank. And we don't really know. The effects of the Fed interest rate policy on other banks.

SOUNDBITE (German), Martin SCHIRDEWAN, Co-President of The Left, We know what President Trump did with regard to stress testing the banks. We know that if the rules had been implemented, this could have been avoided. And shortly before the collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank, the bankers had large bonuses paid out. So people were making a lot of money out of this. And if we look at Europe and the own capital resources, a quarter, I think the level is lower than the American banks. And I think the ECB has changed interest rate policy.

SOUNDBITE (German), Martin SCHIRDEWAN, Co-President of The Left, We need it clear own resources rates which are higher. We need to address the too big to fail problem and the banking sector needs to be regulated. There needs to be no delay. We want to avoid a future financial crisis. So there needs to be a stop on dividends and bonus payments so that we can strengthen banks capital rates. To avoid being affected by crisis. So collective greed, on the one hand, needs to be ended and on the other hand, we need to protect the savings of normal citizens. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (French), Manon AUBRY, Co-President of The Left, Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Delighted to meet you all again in Strasbourg. I don't know if it's to do with the French social issues, but they plan a general strike every time we come to Strasbourg. It might be a try in throughout Europe, because this week we are right in the midst of a great social movement agitating in France, and we're voting on the European Semester and the budgetary rules that are being discussed at the Council of Ministers for Finance.

SOUNDBITE (French), Manon AUBRY, Co-President of The Left, The Commission and Council have asked 139 times that Member States review and reform the pension system of France is asking its citizens to slave away two extra years. Their jobs in other countries such as Spain, decide to go a different road and increase taxes on the riches people. So this is right the time where today, ECOFIN is discussing a reform of the European Semester to change the rules so they can say what that everything to must change to keep things unchanged.

SOUNDBITE (French), Manon AUBRY, Co-President of The Left, So it's another just whitewashing. Let's not discuss the 3% deficit rule which brings everyone to cut down on their social and well for assistance. So let's keep just accounting goals. And this is the source of Europe's malaise. And while member states try to come together on these reforms, the European Parliament hasn't even started working on its position.

SOUNDBITE (French), Manon AUBRY, Co-President of The Left, It just mentions on the reports that are going to be voted this week, which are the usual ones. So these reports do not. Do not question the 3% deficit rule, but we do. And the EU is possibly living through one of its worst crises, the energy crisis we've had, the COVID. We've got a war on our doorstep. So it is more and more important and urgent to review these rules to stop making victims of European people.

SOUNDBITE (French), Manon AUBRY, Co-President of The Left, Given the impact on social services and the public sector. Another issue traditionally is every plenary session in the Parliament here. The last thing is like, what happens in Qatargate this time is the Commission has actually participated is where we always said since the beginning, Qatargate is just the tip of the iceberg. Let's have a look at what happens at the Commission.

SOUNDBITE (French), Manon AUBRY, Co-President of The Left, And we learnt, thanks to your political colleagues, which I whom I want to thank, that the Transport DG Director General has accepted at least nine business class free trips to Qatar to meet with Qatari counterpart paid by Qatar Airways. Link goes to they go to go negotiate a deal for Qatar Airways and the European Commission keeps saying, no, there's nothing here, it's fine. The rules were.

SOUNDBITE (French), Manon AUBRY, Co-President of The Left, The rules were a captain who signs off on the travel. The director general. So I suppose I could say, Well, I'm chair of the group, so I could just authorise myself to do anything. So obviously the control mechanism is outdated. It is not able to prevent these scandals in Parliament and the Commission, what have you. So, as usual, let the Conference of Presidents we this we asked a discussion as usual in-camera.

SOUNDBITE (French), Manon AUBRY, Co-President of The Left, We were told not an as usual were going to ask for it in plenary, in public and as usual because it's public, the Parliament said yes. So the clean up of these scandals and these bad practices have to be done at the Commission and here at the Parliament. And I don't know if we have any Italian journalists here in the room, but I think I understand that if some people say that Georgia Meloni has blood on our hands, it brings up some strange reactions from far right people.

SOUNDBITE (French), Manon AUBRY, Co-President of The Left, But let me say it here. The Italian prime minister has not respected her responsibilities. When it comes to people whose lives are at risk in the sea. Frontex informed the Italian authorities. Italian authorities knew that they were people whose lives were at risk in the sea. Not only were there no missions to save them, but Giorgia Meloni and her government are limiting NGOs trying to save people, and so she'd rather celebrated her birthday with her friend Berlusconi, dancing basically on the bodies of these dead people. So, yes, Meloni Giorgia has blood on their hands.

Q&A, Question regarding MEP Mike Wallace updating his declaration of financial interests.

Q&A, Question regarding France accepting money from the UK as to keep migrants in France.

Q&A, Question on the subject of the solutions proposed regarding NGOs helping migrants and on the matter of setting up a common migration policy.

Q&A, Question regarding the lack of cooperation by some certain member states with regards to the work of the Pega committe.

Q&A, Question regarding the banning of Tik Tok for al EP personnel.