During the plenary session (24-25 March 2021) in the European Parliament in Brussels, MEPs discuss on the Reform of EU Own Resources: opening statements by José Manuel FERNANDES (EPP, PT) and Valérie HAYER (Renew, FR), rapporteurs and by Johannes HAHN, European Commissioner for Budget and Administration. This transcription speech is the result of an automatic process. Check against delivery.

Brussels

statement

plenary session

own resources (T)

joint debate

HAHN, Johannes (AT, EC)

FERNANDES, José Manuel (EPP, PT)

Multiannual financial framework 2021-2027 (T)

HAYER, Valérie (Renew, FR)

Joint debate on the Reform of EU Own Resources: opening statements by José Manuel FERNANDES (EPP, PT) and Valérie HAYER (Renew, FR), rapporteurs, and by Johannes HAHN, European Commissioner for Budget and Administration

SOUNDBITE (Original), Roberta METSOLA (EPP, MT) The joint discussion is closed. We now will speak about the reform of EU own resources following the recommendations and reports of the MEPs Hayer and Fernandes, the reform of EU own resources based on plastic and the certain aspects of [...] and also own resources on [...] .

SOUNDBITE (Original), Roberta METSOLA (EPP, MT) For the whole debate, we will not have the catch the eye procedure and we will not be accepting the blue card. Moreover we will we will have also remote speeches from the member states. And now the rapporteur, José Manuel Fernandez for six minutes.

SOUNDBITE (Original), José Manuel FERNANDES (EPP, PT) Thank you very much Madam President, I'd like to also wish a warm welcome to our Commissioner. Colleagues, the Parliament's speed in responding, the Parliament's sense of responsibility contrasts with a certain amount of irresponsibility on the part of the Council. We've already stated this in the past.

SOUNDBITE (Original), José Manuel FERNANDES (EPP, PT) On the 16th of September, we adopted our own resources decision, which allows the Commission to go on to the markets and to raise six hundred and fifty billion euros. The Council only adopted its own position on the 14th of December and it required unanimity so Member States could exert blackmail on the others.

SOUNDBITE (Original), José Manuel FERNANDES (EPP, PT) On the all under the rule of law issues that were being raised, so what are we now going to be doing? We are going to vote on the implementing rules of that decision that allows the own resources decision to be implemented.

SOUNDBITE (Original), José Manuel FERNANDES (EPP, PT) And once again, we are far ahead of the Council or rather the member states, it's the member states that have to ratify the own resources decisions according to their own constitutional rules. But in more than half of those member states, there has still been no ratification of the own resources decision.

SOUNDBITE (Original), José Manuel FERNANDES (EPP, PT) We need own resources because it is urgent, we urgently need to respond with investment, with support for the health care sector, with support for those who need help the most, those who have been most affected by the covid pandemic. So that's why we have to be proactive.

SOUNDBITE (Original), José Manuel FERNANDES (EPP, PT) We have given our consent so that the council is in a position to decide immediately as soon as the ratification is complete. At this moment in time, we are talking about only one new own resource, and that's the recycled plastic waste resource.

SOUNDBITE (Original), José Manuel FERNANDES (EPP, PT) But new own resources are important for the future. We have a binding calendar, a road map for new own resources so that we do not end up having cuts in future budgets, so that we do not overload our citizens.

SOUNDBITE (Original), José Manuel FERNANDES (EPP, PT) Commissioner, the the institutional agreement has to be transmitted to all of the ministers involved. It still has to be adopted by all of the institutions, the Finance Ministers and the Prime Ministers. They need to know that this agreement is binding, that it introduces new own resources, and that's its objective.

SOUNDBITE (Original), José Manuel FERNANDES (EPP, PT) We have to pay back the debt that we have incurred by borrowing 750 billion euros for next generation EU between 2021 and 2027? We're talking about zero point zero one percent of the of the EU GDP, sorry, the budget rather. And from that point, the cost of after that date, we'd be talking about 10 percent of the European Union budget if all of this money is going out.

SOUNDBITE (Original), José Manuel FERNANDES (EPP, PT) And of the European Union budget and subsidising member states, then the payment repayments of that debt has to be provided for by future EU budgets until 2058, we cannot accept cutbacks in programmes and activities of about 15 billion euros a year.

SOUNDBITE (Original), José Manuel FERNANDES (EPP, PT) At the same time, we cannot pass this burden directly onto our citizens, those who benefit from the single market and don't pay enough to start paying. That's why we need a digital tax. And it's only fair that there should be a carbon border adjustment mechanism so that third countries that export also have to respect the environment.

SOUNDBITE (Original), José Manuel FERNANDES (EPP, PT) It will also create revenue and a fairer competition, the tax on financial transactions, and that's also a necessity. And harmonisation is important so that we can ensure tax justice. Every year in tax avoidance and tax evasion, we use more than a bit, lose more than a billion euros, seven annual budgets. That is unacceptable.

SOUNDBITE (Original), José Manuel FERNANDES (EPP, PT) We can have more revenue without penalising our citizens. That's exactly what we need. We have always called for new own resources, but now more than ever, they are urgent. The member states always want to talk about just retour. I want my money back.

SOUNDBITE (Original), José Manuel FERNANDES (EPP, PT) The idea is that there are net beneficiaries, a net donors. No, I insist that everyone benefits from the European Union budget. Own resources that we have been calling for protect the future, we need to ensure we have a present, but we have to protect future generations to the new budget of the European Union.

SOUNDBITE (Original), José Manuel FERNANDES (EPP, PT) Is less than one percent or barely above one percent of EU GDP, but it's essential for our competitiveness, for our health union, for the digital transition, for us to respect the environment and simultaneously. We need a union that shows solidarity and cohesion. Only in that manner can we make solidarity, concrete and tangible. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Roberta METSOLA (EPP, MT) Thank you. Six minutes Mrs rapporteur, Valerie Hayer, please.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Valérie HAYER (Renew, FR) Thank you, Madam President, Commissioner, dear Colleagues, we are at the dawn of the European recovery. We just need a handful more states to ratify the recovery plan or to ratify so that the recovery plan can be launched.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Valérie HAYER (Renew, FR) So I urge all of them to do so so we can launch the Europe of tomorrow, the green, a resilient digital Europe of tomorrow. That is what is we are that is what we are opening the way to with our proposals here on own resources in these reports.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Valérie HAYER (Renew, FR) After ratification, Europe will be able to borrow and issue bonds. We will all be able to buy some of these and thus contribute to European recovery. Following ratification, the plastics levy will see the day the first resource introduced for 33 years and this is a smart resource which combines defence of the environment, European policy and financing a financing source and this is a triumph because own resources are an important symbol.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Valérie HAYER (Renew, FR) I defy you to find any pro-European who would be against own resources, but also all of those who have doubts about Europe can hardly object. This is something that can bind all of us, the visionaries and those who want to keep the status quo.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Valérie HAYER (Renew, FR) Colleagues, what we have achieved is a great thing. The European Parliament is the only parliamentary democracy that has no powers over taxation, even though we are elected directly by European citizens. So that doesn't help. It's never helped. We've only ever been consulted. And that is what has prevented us from reforming our budget over the last 33 years.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Valérie HAYER (Renew, FR) But this time we have been able to negotiate collectively, cleverly, sincerely, who in this parliament believes that the heads of state and government would have approved the plastics levy on its own merits? Nobody said it was a condition of our approval of the budget. It was thanks to our pressure here in this Parliament and in the media, with or without our staunch support, this plastic's levy would have just gone in the bin.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Valérie HAYER (Renew, FR) So we can be proud of this, but our struggle is not yet over. We have a timetable to respect, a repayment timetable to respect. And the next important date will be the European Council, the European summit, where the tax on digital giants will be discussed.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Valérie HAYER (Renew, FR) These global giants, the profiteers of the crisis, also have to contribute. So I think this will be an important date to remember when the commission will have to come forward with its proposal that it is committed to in June 2021 without waiting for the OECD to make its proposals on tax justice.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Valérie HAYER (Renew, FR) Because we have to be at the cutting edge of this. We have to make our voice heard. There is a tough choice for all of our citizens. The reality is that Facebook, Google, Alibaba and all those Internet giants won't participate in fair taxation and none of us can accept that. Also, the carbon border adjustment tax is important, as is the reform of the carbon market.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Valérie HAYER (Renew, FR) We have to use these measures as a as a tax measure, as we should have done years ago. All too often, however, our taxation policy initiatives, even though they are supported by academic scientists, researchers, just crash against the wall of unanimity, this requirement of unanimity of member states in tax matters.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Valérie HAYER (Renew, FR) But this is not a solution. It doesn't make anything better. It just increases the tension between the people who are opposed to this idea and those who use it as a weapon on every occasion. It's a thorn in our side in the European Union. Because of this, 80 percent of our budget comes from national contributions, which just turns the council into a battlefield where national selfishness comes up against the European interest.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Valérie HAYER (Renew, FR) In fact, the interest of Europe is just on the sidelines in this battle. So I think we have to deploy a simple principle, a principle of common sense. If there is any European policy or measure that generates revenue that revenue should be used for the European budget is as simple as that.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Valérie HAYER (Renew, FR) That's what the principle should be. And it's also easy to understand what our political obligations are now. We shouldn't pay back our borrowing by raising taxes in any way. There's just one obvious political and economic answer that the weight of paying back our borrowing has to be on the shoulders of the digital giants and the polluters and the financial speculators.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Valérie HAYER (Renew, FR) So, colleagues, I'm feeling confident the approval of these reports, I think, is a chance to bring back some hope to Europe, all the opinion polls show that Europe, Europeans look to Europe to protect them, to protect the environment, to bring about tax justice, to calm relations between our member states and more.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Valérie HAYER (Renew, FR) I think Europe will be judged by these yardsticks. And we shouldn't wait until 2024 to do something about this when it's time for us to be re-elected colleagues. So I think is a question of our responsibility as Europeans to rise to the challenge that faces US own resources is not a technical matter.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Valérie HAYER (Renew, FR) It is really the mother of all political battles, and it is the condition for the success of the European project. José Manuel Fernandes and myself are determined and full of hope. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (Original),Rainer  WIELAND, Vice-President of the EP, Commissioner Hahn, please, you now have the floor. Thank you very much.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Johannes HAHN, European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, Last week or last year, I have to say, was a remarkable year for all of us, but also for the European Union budget, thanks to the MFF and next generation EU, the Union is providing an unprecedented, ambitious answer to an unprecedented crisis which has hit out our economies and societies.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Johannes HAHN, European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, It's a demonstration of solidarity and the swift response at times of crisis. It will be the largest package ever financed to the through the union budget of a total of one point eight trillion euro.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Johannes HAHN, European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, Momentous decisions were also taken on the financing side was a simplification of the VAT based only source and the introduction of the plastic on resource. Before that, the Union own resources system had remained stable over a long time, and the main categories of own resources have remained the same since the 80s.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Johannes HAHN, European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, Traditional own resources contributions from the member states based on value added tax and on gross national income. I wish to thank the European Parliament for its unwavering support to both maintain diversity based on resource as a historic pillar of the existing system and to reinforce this system with the introduction of additional own resources.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Johannes HAHN, European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, While the main elements of diversity on resource are maintained and the complexity of calculations and therefore the administrative burden for member states and the commission are significantly reduced.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Johannes HAHN, European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, Let me come now to the most notably normality entering into force in 2021. The new only source based on non recycled plastic packaging waste. It introduces a novel mechanism to encourage member states to achieve their environmental commitments without prescribing how clearly the ultimate success in reducing the quantity of plastic packaging waste that goes and recycle depends on the actual increase of virtuous behaviours using less plastic packaging, while sorting and recycling more.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Johannes HAHN, European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, To ensure such success, we must measure it credibly. The Implementing Regulations and the Making Available Regulation provides the commission with adequate control powers and ensures that the commission is assisted by an expert group.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Johannes HAHN, European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, Tthese regulations also rely on sectoral legislation, which has been recently sharpened to improve the quality of reporting and the comparability of statistical data. This is crucial to guarantee equal treatment of all contributors.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Johannes HAHN, European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, There remains one element in the package you are examining today, which the commission cannot accept. The rapid review procedure that has been included in the [...] and the VAT regulation by the Council would put at risk the timely and comprehensive making available of resources by member states.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Johannes HAHN, European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, Therefore, we really welcome the support of the European Parliament to top this in order for the own resources system to function properly. We need a solid framework in place to ensure that we collect EU own resources, effectively timely and with minimum administrative burden.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Johannes HAHN, European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, So far, the system in place has fulfilled the first two kataria as acknowledged in the annual discharge where revenue has been a green area. And in the ratings, the simplifications introduced in the only source decision approved in December will contribute to a reduction of administrative burden.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Johannes HAHN, European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, To bring those changes into practise, it's essential to agree on the implementing regulation as soon as possible. A delay would hamper the opalescent operationalisation of the new only source decision.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Johannes HAHN, European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, So far, certain member states have already ratified the decision and we are confident that the process will be concluded in May so that it can enter into force by June for the start of the