3 Written explanations of Marek BELKA
Financial assistance to Member States and countries negotiating their accession to the Union that are seriously affected by a major public health emergency
. – Honourable Members, this situation is like none of the crises that the EU has faced until now. In the times of peace, we have never faced a crisis, which began with a lack of mobility of people, not only in our countries, not only in the EU. Worldwide.For such special times, we need special responses. We need to forget about the deficits, or limits as we have known them. Still, some rules must apply. I see that the Commission has understood it and has proposed various mechanisms to ease the effects that this virus causes. Understanding that the EU budget is not unlimited, the Commission has done a lot to help national states to find ‘a cure’ for this crisis. Amongst many steps, I welcome the concrete funds, easing the rules for state aid, facilitating the use of flexibility in the Stability and Growth Pact or joint purchases of safety equipment and coordinating bringing EU citizens back home. Also finding the funds to invest in research for a vaccination against COVID should be applauded.At the same time, I need to stress two issues.First, as a crucial matter is to guarantee liquidity in order, mainly, to minimise a rapid growth of unemployment, I think that we need to make sure that the support and state aid go to companies that do not fire people. Secondly, from an economic perspective, we cannot allow any solutions on the EU level to distinguish between eurozone and non-eurozone Member States. Our citizens are all European and all of them suffer from this crisis. A crisis in one of our countries will have a spill-over effect on the community as a whole.Nevertheless, I believe we need to agree a shared framework for quarantine, testing and containment strategies so that we implement it together. Otherwise, we might extend this crisis and the waves of infections might return.Unity is something we need in the EU now more than ever. If we do not show it, eurosceptics and populists will raise on the smouldering ruins of our economies, foreshadowing the end of our European Community.The last few weeks have proven that we need more Europe. Maybe this is a lesson to be learned? Let us remember that people do not want to aim for change up until they see a necessity for it. And this necessity for more Europe is now!
A safety net to protect the beneficiaries of EU programmes: setting up an MFF contingency plan (A9-0099/2020 - Jan Olbrycht, Margarida Marques)
I fully support the resolution we have voted on. Obviously, it should have been broader in scope but achieving wide support in the European Parliament was more important. This compromise shows the Council and the Commission that we will not only be passive by-standers in the process of re-focusing, re-developing and re-inventing of the European Union.At the same time, in the Council a similar compromise has to be found. Distinctions between the North and South, East and West, eurozone and non-eurozone countries should be put aside. We are all in this together - this virus does not know borders. Hence, the recovery plan must be available to all Member States of the EU and the Parliament must be involved.Secondly, knowing that we need an ambitious, revised MFF, we also need a reform of the EU own resources system to finance our pledges. Here all countries - including my own- have to walk the talk that they preach: we need the digital services tax, CCCTB, financial services tax and the carbon border adjustment mechanism. They will strengthen the EU, our internal level playing field and the external competitiveness. The time is now!
Pandora Papers: implications on the efforts to combat money laundering, tax evasion and avoidance (B9-0527/2021, RC B9-0530/2021, B9-0530/2021, B9-0531/202)