Sylvie GOULARD, Commissioner-designate for Internal Market, is heard by the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) and Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) in association with the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) and the Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) of the European Parliament in Brussels to test her general competences, European commitment and specific expertise related to her portfolio. Statement by François-Xavier BELLAMY (EPP, FR), Christel SCHALDEMOSE (S&D, DK), Dita CHARANZOVÁ (RE, CZ), Marcel KOLAJA (Greens/EFA, CZ),

Brussels

Committee on Industry, Research and Energy

Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection

Committee on Legal Affairs

CHARANZOVÁ, Dita (Renew, CZ)

Committee on Culture and Education

GOULARD, Sylvie (ALDE, FR)

SCHALDEMOSE, Christel (S&D, DK)

hearing of Commissioners

KOLAJA, Marcel (Greens/EFA, CZ)

BELLAMY, François-Xavier (EPP, FR)

2019 Commissioners' hearings (T)

hearing of Sylvie GOULARD 2019 (T)

Hearing of Sylvie GOULARD, Commissioner-designate, Internal Market: extracts from the hearing

SOUNDBITE (French), Fran&#231;ois-Xavier BELLAMY (EPP, FR), How to understand that what made you stand aside from the government in France, does not prevent you from exercising the necessary serenity and independence as Commissioner? Is taking seriously this strategic mandate and our European partners, than not to apply the same rules here as in national politics?

SOUNDBITE (French), Sylvie GOULARD, Commissioner-designate, Internal Market, I am very attached to this principle of integrity. But I myself took a step back and I did not recognize Mr. Bellamy, I did not hold guilt. When the Secretary-General of this Parliament, after a thorough investigation, found that my assistant had worked for more than five years. He asked me a few questions and asked for a refund of the money. A nd it's' money I did not touch myself ! This is because there were problems when he resigned. So I think it needs an accurate presentation of facts, an accurate presentation of French law, and above all I ask you all a very great respect for the presumption of innocence.

SOUNDBITE (French), Sylvie GOULARD, Commissioner-designate, Internal Market, I am not indicted. I can not prejudge the outcome a procedure obviously it is left to justice to decide. You mentioned OLAF. OLAF is often seized when there is a procedure in a Member State so of course I will respect if it happens the Court decision.

SOUNDBITE (English), Christel SCHALDEMOSE (S&amp;D, DK), <p>Don&rsquo;t you think yourself are questionable here? You have an Olaf case pending and a pending case in France. You have you been paying back &euro;45,000. Don&rsquo;t you think that it is worth questioning whether you are questionable?</p>

SOUNDBITE (French), Sylvie GOULARD, Commissioner-designate, Internal Market, Honestly it was a problem of human resources management and if you refer to the General Secretariat of your institution, you will be well explained that it is not the judicial field it is an administrative check that was made. It is a question of human resources management that results in the payment of a sum that I did not perceive Mrs. Schaldemose. It was not me who had collected this money I paid.

SOUNDBITE (English), Marcel KOLAJA (Greens/EFA, CZ), <p>The Commission now plans to further upgrade the general liability rules in the new digital services act. At the same time your home country France is legislating on hate speech law which is widely criticised by digital rights NGOs in France and Europe. How will you ensure that the new digital services act respects fundamental rights online and that your national position wont influence your work on similar rules in Europe or impact the country of origin principal crucial for European companies to provide cross-border services.</p>

SOUNDBITE (French), Sylvie GOULARD, Commissioner-designate, Internal Market, I would not be at the European Commission to bring French laws or seek to impose them on others. It's not at all my state of mind. Not at all. But I think we all have to face a problem that is real. On the Internet you also have people who call for hatred, who call for terrorist attacks, who stigmatize people for religion, who introduce discrimination with sometimes significant consequences. So as in all questions of public liberty, we will have to find a balance. And this balance is a political choice and this political choice in a democracy is the choice of Parliament.

SOUNDBITE (French), Sylvie GOULARD, Commissioner-designate, Internal Market, For me the real concept is sustainability. How do we make beautiful cities, mountain areas, beaches, not become victims of their own success? So there is a question of sustainability. There is also a human issue, because tourism generates a lot of manpower needs and has sometimes been difficult. There is the question that is related to the platforms and the use of cooperative platform to make transport or to make the accommodation that may have in some countries resulted in that one of the activities of the people or to rent their apartment so intensively that it poses problems of neighborhood. Again all these issues are complicated there are environmental aspects, there are all aspects of heritage protection. I hope we will have the opportunity to talk about it again.