European Parliamentary Week/Economic, social and budget concerns. MEPs and national MPs are meeting in Brussels for their annual conference on social, economic and budgetary issues affecting the EU. The parliamentarians’ discussions are set against a backdrop of geopolitical uncertainty and high inflation, which will necessitate a change in focus from previous years. Welcoming words by Roberta METSOLA, EP President and Andreas NORLÉN, Speaker of the Swedish Parliament (Riksdag)

METSOLA, Roberta (EPP, MT, EP President)

EU - Sweden (T)

European Parliamentary Week (T)

NORLEN, Andreas (SE)

president's agenda

European Parliamentary Week 2023 - Opening session on Economic and social challenges in times of geopolitical uncertainty: Welcoming words by Roberta METSOLA and Andreas NORLÉN

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, Dear Speaker Norl&eacute;n, Dear Andreas, Vice President Dombrovskis, dear Valdis, distinguished guests and colleagues, it is a pleasure to welcoming you to the opening of the 2023 edition of the European Parliamentary Week. Three days ago, we marked one year since Putin launched his full scale military aggression against independent and sovereign Ukraine. One year of brave Ukrainians risking their lives to protect their homeland and to defend our values. One year of global instability, as Putin persists in his illegal and ruthless pursuits.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, Last year, when I addressed this forum, I spoke about the impacts of crises on our economy and our response to them. The war in Ukraine was only a few weeks old, yet. However, the effects of inflation, energy and food prices had already started to impact citizens and businesses throughout Europe. And I wanted at the time to draw parallels between our response to the pandemic and the one that would be required from us in the face of the Russian aggression.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, Both were challenges that necessitated a European response. And I believed then, just I believe still, that the choices we will make in the course of this war will prove decisive, both for the current and the future generations of Europeans. Today, I think we can all be proud of the choices that we have made, and I know that it was tempted for, perhaps each one of us, to go at it alone.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, Yet, we resisted, we defied Putin, we confounded cynics and came together like never before. In solidarity with Ukraine and in defence of our values. In doing so, we remained open and frank about the costs that it would have on our citizens. Nevertheless, we managed to find unprecedented ways to shield our economies and societies from the effects of war. The difficult, yet necessary step to move away from Russian energy supplies is one of the many decisions that will make our Europe more resilient.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, A year later, I will not in any way try to underestimate the challenging situation we still find ourselves in, and I remain painfully aware that we have not yet done enough for Ukraine and for our citizens. The war is still raging. We cannot allow war fatigue to set in because that is exactly what the Kremlin is hoping for. It wants to exhaust our systems. It wants to exhaust our patients when Ukraine still needs much more support. And our citizens need more support, too.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, In this time of global instability, of high inflation, costly energy prices, struggling industries and painful household bills, Europe needs to build on its biggest assets. This year, our single market marks its 30th anniversary. In this time, we have seen more opportunities for people, businesses and consumers than we could have ever imagined. Being the world's largest single and democratic market has strengthened our place in the world.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, And even in times where our European way of doing things is being put into question, we are still setting global standards, because our way of open societies and open markets works. And we can build on this. We should speed up investment in Europe to put the European economy back on a stable path of growth. Two years ago, next generation EU was our historic response to the effects of the pandemic. Two years later, it is now also crucial to our responses to the effects of the war.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, The recent agreement on Repower EU will accelerate the green transition and strengthen the European Union's strategic autonomy. And even after all of this next generation, EU funding is still capable of financing more key investments and reforms. We only need the political will to do it. Just a few weeks ago, it was reported that energy and electricity firms made record breaking profits in 2022. Now is the time to go back, even double down on the idea of a windfall tax on energy companies. And I know that last September, Member States had agreed on a form of a windfall tax, but this will only start applying this year and will be limited in scope.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, So when we are looking at around €40 billion worth of additional revenues for one energy firm alone, at a time when businesses and citizens are on their knees, it is clear to me that there are far too many still falling through the cracks. The latest forecasts show that the European Union will be able to deploy more renewable energy in the next five years than it has in the past 20. The need for this transition is not a threat, but an opportunity.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, And if we stick to our democratic values and pursue our climate agenda with our tailor made regulatory framework, I am convinced that the European Union will be able to gain a competitive edge globally. And in doing so, we must avoid the temptation of participating in a protectionist race. We do not need to fence ourselves in. Our economy has grown over the years, precisely because we stood for the opposite. Ultimately, our way of doing things works.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, To achieve this, what is once again required from us is a bold, coordinated and united European response, a relationship which this interparliamentary dialogue has been nurturing for years. This year, the European Parliamentary Week brings together 111 parliamentarians from 39 chambers across 29 European countries. It is particularly special for me to be welcoming the representatives from the national parliaments of Ukraine, Moldova and Bosnia-Herzegovina, including Speaker Dennis Vidic, who for the first time are participating in this forum as European Union candidate status countries.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, Let me also take this opportunity to thank our colleagues from the Swedish Riksdag, in particular Speaker Andreas Norlén, for facilitating this important conference and for keeping interparliamentary cooperation high on our agenda. By exchanging ideas, we will learn together to find the best solutions for all citizens, ensuring that no one is left behind.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, I wish you all many fruitful discussions, and I look forward to hearing your perspectives from all speakers and colleagues, from all national parliaments and from this House. I thank you. I give the floor now to my colleague, speaker Norlén, go ahead Andreas.

SOUNDBITE (English), Andreas NORLEN, Speaker o f the Swedish Parliament, Madam President, Speakers Riksdag, Commissioner, members of Parliament, and distinguished guests. More than a year has passed since Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine started. As we are all painfully aware, the war continues to rage and it is hard to grasp the full scale of the tragedy.

SOUNDBITE (English), Andreas NORLEN, Speaker o f the Swedish Parliament, Russia's invasion is an attack on the peace, democracy and prevailing security order of Europe. But Russia's war in Ukraine has not only threatened the stability of Europe, it has also significantly affected our economies. Many households are struggling to make ends and it means, businesses need to adapt to an uncertain and harsh economic environment.

SOUNDBITE (English), Andreas NORLEN, Speaker o f the Swedish Parliament, But we must not forget that the highest price for Russia's illegal war in Ukraine is paid by the Ukrainian people. The tragedy of war is painful to witness with so many destroyed lives, destroyed homes and destroyed cities. Millions of Ukrainians have been forced to leave their homes and to seek shelter in Europe and elsewhere. The war has also imperilled the world's economic recovery from the COVID 19 pandemic.

SOUNDBITE (English), Andreas NORLEN, Speaker o f the Swedish Parliament, With the sharp rise of inflation, food security, energy security and further supply chain disruptions. These are just a few of the challenges policymakers in Europe and worldwide. Worldwide must tackle. These issues affect all of us, which may also make this conference so topical. It is important that we, as parliamentarians from all over Europe can meet and discuss various aspects of economic and budgetary policy which have such great impact on the everyday lives of our citizens.

SOUNDBITE (English), Andreas NORLEN, Speaker o f the Swedish Parliament, It is therefore also very satisfying that we are being joined here in Brussels today by representatives of the candidate countries and perhaps most significantly, by representatives of the record crowd of Ukraine to take part in our discussions. I would like to extend an especially warm welcome to you. We all greatly admire the resilience and bravery of the Ukrainian people and we are deeply impressed that they have been able to continue its operations during the most difficult of circumstances.

SOUNDBITE (English), Andreas NORLEN, Speaker o f the Swedish Parliament, This spring, Sweden holds the EU presidency for the third time and we are obviously assuming this important role in troubled times. Russia's war in Europe will continue to affect almost all spheres of the political agenda this spring. The priorities of the Swedish presidency must therefore be seen against that background. The four priorities of the Swedish government with broad support in Parliament are security, competitiveness, green and energy transitions and democratic values and the rule of law.

SOUNDBITE (English), Andreas NORLEN, Speaker o f the Swedish Parliament, And the Swedish presidency will give priority to continuing economic and military support to Ukraine. This is of utmost importance. The battle of the future of Europe has been fought and is being fought at cities like Kharkiv, Mariupol, Kherson and hundreds of other Ukrainian towns and villages. And when the history of this war is written, it will say that this battle was successful because it has to be successful.

SOUNDBITE (English), Andreas NORLEN, Speaker o f the Swedish Parliament, It is simply unthinkable that the free world with all its might and all its resources, wouldn't do enough. And the Swedish presidency will also continue to respond to the climate challenge by bringing forward a 5 fity55 package, accelerate the energy transition and to address high energy prices. The EU is based on democratic values and consequently for the Swedish presidency, the rule of law and fundamental rights are particularly important.

SOUNDBITE (English), Andreas NORLEN, Speaker o f the Swedish Parliament, Against this background, today's conference is also very timely. As parliamentarians, we are at the forefront. We have the important task of upholding a political system based on trust, respect and reason. Today, we will first listen to Commissioner Dombrovskis and Secretary General Cormann of the OECD, who will give a broad and initiated overview of the economic and social challenges in times of geopolitical uncertainty.

SOUNDBITE (English), Andreas NORLEN, Speaker o f the Swedish Parliament, Later today, several parallel committee meetings will be held where members of national parliaments, together with members of the European Parliament, will have the chance to go into further detail on a broad range of topics. Tomorrow, we will gather again for plenary debates on the review of the EU economic governance framework and on fiscal challenges connected with remote working.

SOUNDBITE (English), Andreas NORLEN, Speaker o f the Swedish Parliament, The review of the EU economic governance framework is a fundamentally important subject and there are diverging views. I think it is precisely for this reason. The debate is so important and it is by putting forward our arguments that we can find reasonable solutions, just as the framework has been put to the test by the multiple crises Europe has faced recently. So is the topic of the second plenary session tomorrow closely linked to recent events.

SOUNDBITE (English), Andreas NORLEN, Speaker o f the Swedish Parliament, In the wake of the pandemic, more and more people tend to work remotely and perhaps from another country than where the employer is based. Cross-border remote working is increasingly creating many opportunities, but the new situation also gives rise to new questions, some of them related to taxation. These issues and other can certainly be challenging, but they are our common challenges.

SOUNDBITE (English), Andreas NORLEN, Speaker o f the Swedish Parliament, Seeing so many members of Parliament come together to constructively take on these issues together gives me confidence and hope. I would therefore like to end by wishing you all the very best of luck in your deliberations and discussions. We are meeting in times at a time of challenges, but challenges are there to be overcome. Thank you.