Press conference by Siegfried MUREŞAN (EPP, RO), Pieter LIESE (EPP, DE), Eider GARDIAZABAL RUBIAL (S&D, ES) and Dragoș PÎSLARU (Renew, RO), Rapporteurs on RePowerEU chapters in recovery and resilience plans.

Strasbourg

press conference

MUREŞAN, Siegfried (EPP, RO)

LIESE, Peter (EPP, DE)

GARDIAZABAL RUBIAL, Eider (S&D, ES)

PÎSLARU, Dragoş (Renew, RO)

recovery and resilience facility (T)

REPowerEU (T)

Press conference by Siegfried MUREŞAN (EPP, RO), Pieter LIESE (EPP, DE), Eider GARDIAZABAL RUBIAL (S&D, ES), and Dragoș PÎSLARU (Renew, RO), Rapporteurs on RePowerEU chapters in recovery and resilience plans

SOUNDBITE (English) Press officer - We are ready to start our press conference this morning. As you see, the mood is very lively. We had another deal in the middle of the night, well towards the morning, I believe it was 4:00 am this morning. We have successfully closed negotiations on the re EU chapters in the recovery plan. So I'm here with the co-rapporteurs and the rapporteurs for the opinion. So we will they will present to you the the the main takeaways from from from the deal. And after that, we we will expect your questions. I will come back to that. So without further ado, I will start giving the floor to the co-rapporteurs for their introductory remarks. Mr. MUREŞAN , please. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (English), Siegfried MUREŞAN (EPP, RO), Rapporteur Thank very much. Good morning and welcome to the press conference in which we are happy to announce good news for Europe. Early this morning, the negotiators of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, together with the support of the European Commission, managed to agree on RepowerEU, which is a new European fund of €20 billion that will provide support to people, to enterprises, to regions affected by the current energy energy crisis. What is the objective to reduce the dependency on Russian fossil fuels? To facilitate and accelerate the transition to a green economy? To improve our infrastructure. To improve our energy efficiency. We as a European Parliament have managed to make sure that more money will reach beneficiaries sooner. As the demand of the European Parliament, 20% pre-financing will be paid to Member states after the adoption of their plans by the European Commission and by the Council. We have also managed to make sure that w...

SOUNDBITE (English), Siegfried MUREŞAN (EPP, RO), Rapporteur We need to interconnect our countries better as per the proposal of a European Parliament. Cross-border projects should become a priority. Our objective is that 30% of these amounts go into cross-border project projects, which the European Commission identifies as benefiting more Member states. Countries that have such cross-border projects shall do them. Of course, countries that do not have such projects should not be obliged to do them. Projects can be financed all types of projects which are eligible. As of February 2022, any project in the area of energy that is eligible, which Member States are already doing. If it started after February 2022, it can be financed. More transparency for EU funds, more involvement of local and regional authorities. This was also what the Parliament fought for and what we managed to achieve. I would like to thank the two co-rapporteurs and able and now for the fruitful, close and trustworthy cooperation that we had. I would also like to thank the rapporteurs from the sectorial committees. We together managed to secure what I believe is a good deal for the people of Europe. Fund will enter into force beginning of next year. Support wi...

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Eider GARDIAZABAL RUBIAL (S&D, ES), Rapporteur thank you very much. I'm going to do it in spanish. Thanks to all the team, there were three of us as rapporteurs leading the negotiations. But of course we couldn't have done it without the four from the specialised committees. We formed a team of seven, the Magnificent Seven, who did succeed in defending the priorities which this Parliament had set for itself. We've kept European funds. We've also achieved what we believe is a very good agreement for the EU, for the 27 Member States and above all for our citizens. That was our main aim when we faced the pandemic crisis in the EU. The EU reacted quickly. We put in place the Recovery and Resilience plan. We've been working on. The basis of that new mechanism, added a new chapter to combat the energy crisis, to provide assistance to Member States, particularly those who are most dependent on Russian energy. And in this way, we want to move towards independence from Russia and a non dependence on Russia. And we also want to help t...

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Eider GARDIAZABAL RUBIAL (S&D, ES), Rapporteur The regulation has several aims. The job is not done. We all have to keep working for a green transition. A reduction of consumption will have to be much more energy efficient. Buildings need to be much more energy efficient. We need to give a huge boost to renewables. We've done that in the recovery plan. But with this new chapter, one of the main aims will be to go for renewables to a much greater extent, renewing our transport system and helping zero emission transport to develop so that we're reducing our carbon footprint and also keeping our 2013 2450 targets for the climate.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Eider GARDIAZABAL RUBIAL (S&D, ES), Rapporteur The European Parliament wanted to ensure that do no harm to the environment would be upheld as a principle. It's obviously a critical stage, critical juncture. We are aware that as we move towards non energy dependence on Russian non fossil fuel dependence on Russia, some countries will face greater difficulties than others. We need to look for other providers and we need to ensure a green transition. So there is an exemption from the principle of do no harm to the environment. But it's a very clearly circumscribed exemption. Financing will only be permitted on the basis of the exemption if they are strictly necessary in order to maintain energy security of the relevant country or for the whole of the EU. There must genuinely be no feasible alternative and on top of that they must not undermine the 2030, 2050 climate targets Plus Member States need to commit to compensatory measures to ensure that we're not taking a step backwards, but rather a step forward in terms of combating climate change. So there's a whole set of criteria that for exemptions, but we also have a maximum per country for exemptions. And another very important point for the Parliament in the negotiation is, was that subsidies cannot be u...

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Eider GARDIAZABAL RUBIAL (S&D, ES), Rapporteur So over 30 amendments, I think we've reached a very balanced agreement in terms of pre-financing retroactivity as Secret said, this is the same line as followed in the recovery plan. I think it's a balanced agreement and I think as a Parliament we have managed to balance the different interests and the urgent needs of the present and we won't be taking a step backwards in terms of combating climate change.

SOUNDBITE (English), Dragoş PÎSLARU (Renew, RO), Rapporteur, Good morning. Indeed, I think that these morning, very early we delivered a historical instrument of solidarity that has this direct impact to the citizens and small entrepreneurs. What is important to know is that through the Parliament position in the negotiation, we have extended an instrument that started from concentrating on infrastructure that will secure independence, energy independence from Russia to something that is much more palpable. It's directly linked to the needs of our citizens, entrepreneurs. It's about how to help the small entrepreneurs, the vulnerable households to become more energy independent themselves. We are talking here about the neighbour across the street, about the bakery that is struggling at the corner. I mean, all these households, all these entrepreneurs that need support to reduce their energy bills and these measures are perfectly complementary with the kind of short term aid that we have seen through different other types of measures this time. But right now, investing in both, pursuing the green tran...

SOUNDBITE (English), Dragoş PÎSLARU (Renew, RO), Rapporteur, The important repowering is the solution for our citizens, for our business, for our generation that need to overcome the energy crisis by investment and cutting their bills this way. And I am proud to say that we've made it. The Parliament made the point and is Team Europe together with with the Council and the Commission, we are right now reaching this provisional agreement that I think it's really good for our citizens. There are three features that I would like to very briefly underline ambition, flexibility and transparency. I think that one of the most important thing is ambition. We started with this ambition to come up with fresh money. We are right now looking at 20 additional billion euro that will be able to focus exactly on what I've mentioned before. We have also maintained the ambition for the sectoral programmes. We have not much agriculture, we have just the an important part of the cohesion that that is not going to be affected only, only a small percentage. So we are going to focus with with this kind of investment ...

SOUNDBITE (English), Dragoş PÎSLARU (Renew, RO), Rapporteur, The second thing is flexibility. Right now we have an array of possibilities from the member States to intervene. It's about trying to to help with the housing reform, helping with energy efficiency, helping with solar panels, helping with all this kind of investment that can be so important, the context of green transition. And it's also important to understand that we, of course, have as a priority vulnerable household, but also lately, the middle class. The small entrepreneurs have suffered greatly and they can actually benefit a lot from this program. And when it comes to transparency, I think that's one of the important victories. Also reflecting on the fact that the in the implementation report of the IRF, this has been seen as something that is not going well. Will we manage to to obtain a provision that will oblige Member States to publish the list of the first 100 beneficiaries, the private companies that are 100 beneficiaries from collaborating contracts, including in...

SOUNDBITE (English), Dragoş PÎSLARU (Renew, RO), Rapporteur, EU So so this is really important to to understand that there is a breakthrough in terms of transparency moving towards that kind of a accountability that we would like to have always for our citizens. And I mean, last but not least, of course, I would like to thank the rapporteur and the there and all the rest of the Magnificent Seven, as they mentioned a theme and all the shadow rapporteurs as well, because we have been backed by our group shadows and especially a big thanks to ever popular. My Renew Shadow colleague, I think in the end is a historical moment and of course we are open to answer all your questions. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (English), Peter LIESE (EPP, DE), Rapporteur Thank you very much. Good morning, everybody. And we are in three crisis at the same time. So we are dependent from Russia and still Europe is paying a lot to get the energy from Russia. We paid more than the Russian military budget since the war started and we need to get rid of this. And people are struggling with the high energy prices. As colleagues have said, we need to do whatever we can to bring this crisis down. But at the same time, and that was my responsibility and every rapporteur, we should not do this at the cost of the climate and the cost of the future of our children and grandchildren. And I think we got quite a good result. My part was to get the 20 billion fresh money from the ETS and it was very difficult. It took us most of the hours tonight, but we have a balanced agreement. The Council and the Commission proposal would have been very damaging for the future and the Commission wanted to use hundred percent the MSR that would have weakened the integrity of the ETS and the council would mainly finance re power from the innovation Fund, which would be to the damage of the climate and the future of our jobs, especially wh...

SOUNDBITE (English), Peter LIESE (EPP, DE), Rapporteur So we didn't want a decision that invites European industry to go to the United States, and that's why we fight it so hard. The agreement is, first of all, based on the Parliament's proposal to frontload allowances. So we will use these allowances to finance free power in short term, but they will not be available then in the medium term. So which means we give no breathing space to citizens, to industry and finance. We power and then when all the investments pay off, we have more renewables, more efficiency, then the ambition will even be higher than in the existing ETS. So I mean, we will hit our 2030 target.

SOUNDBITE (English), Peter LIESE (EPP, DE), Rapporteur And the second element is, yes, we use part of the innovation fund, but we also assured that part of power will be used for industry. So it industry will also benefit from this 20 billion and we have a commitment of all the three institutions in the trialogue on Friday and Saturday on the ETS. We will fight to get a higher innovation fund and here we have also the commitment of the Council was the problem in that area. So that's a good signal for industry. We have a small part and that's 10% of the 2 billion where we take money from the MSR, that's 10% off the Commission proposal. So the environmental integrity is really safe and also that will be an issue on Friday and Saturday. So overall, it's a good balanced compromise. We have the citizens, we give breathing space in short term, but our climate ambition will not be weakened. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (Romanian), Dan NICA (S&D, RO), Rapporteur Thank you very much. Well, there is a programme which is extremely important for the European Union as particularly important for those countries affected by the war in Ukraine. And here I'm talking about Romania, my country. So this is a message that I want to send out to my coaches and citizens. Romanians. They need to be clear that a part of this plan.

SOUNDBITE (Romanian), Dan NICA (S&D, RO), Rapporteur So as I was saying, one of the criticisms that we've heard related to the fact that projects have nothing to do with what goes on in people's real lives. But here we have prepared I mean, we've had several crises coverage and then Ukraine and the recovery plans couldn't have predicted the consequences of this war, which has affected our lives on the ground, families, businesses, everything to do with the economic and social survival of the European Union. So that's why repower EU. This plan has clear measures to fight and attenuate the effects of the war in Ukraine and to ensure energy security. And it was my role in the energy and Industry Committee to ensure that the solutions that we adopted were scientifically appropriate, but also could be implement to rapidly renewables, ensuring that this kind of energy would be developed rapidly. We need to ensure that this energy is available now, not in several years time, because often projects on renewable energy, renewable energy take years to im...

SOUNDBITE (Romanian), Dan NICA (S&D, RO), Rapporteur We need rapid implementation of these projects so that they can show our citizens that the effects of the war in Ukraine, Russia's blackmail on gas will not negatively affect the European Union as long as it stands united. So that's the message I want to send out. And I'd like to thank my colleagues because they listened to the voice of the Energy Committee and Repower. You will be successful.

SOUNDBITE (German), Peter JAHR (EPP, DE), Rapporteur Well good morning and thank you very much from my side as well. I'm talking about agriculture here and I think the solution we found is extremely sensible here. I mean, when it comes to agriculture, it's the council that the council has followed the Parliament's version of things rather than the Commission. So just very briefly, let me mention a few things about what we've done. We managed to persuade that the Commission and Council of our solution. I think it was very sensible. Now firstly the time frame we have the Common Agricultural Policy reform coming into force in 2023 and Member States need to provide their national plans. They've all been adopted. And so the situation was pretty complicated for Member States as well when they had to do all of that. And then on the budget, if you look at RepowerEUjust well, on the funding side, agriculture was involved now on the philosophy of all of this. So promoting agricultural areas, I mean, what we're trying to do is help the smallest farmers. So individual farmers at the low absolute, the fundamental grassroots level. So that was a key point. And then the last point is that re power in rural areas for villages, for SMEs, fo...

SOUNDBITE (German), Peter JAHR (EPP, DE), Rapporteur So I think again that was a very sensible point. But the point is that the agricultural sector didn't have to contribute to the financing of this planning Committee for Regional Development. Thank you very much. Last but not least, first of all, it was my first night with these colleagues, and I have to say it was rather an interesting and and beautiful experience. So thank you for that. I'm glad that we found that compromise that could be considered as good, fair and balanced. I negotiated the exclusive competencies for the committee. I had a clear mandate and the deal is that we will allow member states firstly to use the 5% of the CPR money to be transferred. We allowed them to use the 7.5% of the CPR money to be used within the CPR. With the CPR method, we allowed them to use unspent amounts from the previous period, 2014 to 2020 to help vulnerable households and Smee. So beautiful projects could be done with that money. And we allowed them and this is something what we negotiated at the very end, that unspent money from the board, the Brexit Adjustment Reserve could be transferred to the Re Power chapters so that that money could be used in a different way. In a nutshell, we blocked the demand from the counc...

SOUNDBITE (German), Peter JAHR (EPP, DE), Rapporteur I think that this was in my mandate quite clear that we should not allow this because this fund is something different and should be should be held like like it is and like it has been conceived two years ago. To sum up, we assuages we respect our mandate. We get the things that we should negotiate and we yeah, we protect a little bit CPR and CPR money in the way that we should. But we are flexible to help people in crisis times.

SOUNDBITE (German), Peter JAHR (EPP, DE), Rapporteur And therefore I am grateful and I'm quite happy that we reached that deal. I would think Express is available to my colleagues to have respected this way of doing things in a trialogue because this was not so easy for us as a team. But each and every person respected the competence blocks that we had and therefore it was a huge collaboration between us and I would think you. But I want to thank as well the Czech presidency. Without the presidency, we should not have a deal. And the commission that helped us a lot to find those balance compromises. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Press conference by Siegfried MUREŞAN (EPP, RO), Pieter LIESE (EPP, DE), Eider GARDIAZABAL RUBIAL (S&D, ES), and Dragoș PÎSLARU (Renew, RO), Rapporteurs on RePowerEU chapters in recovery and resilience plans

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