President. – We now come to the vote on report by MrNemec on the estimates of revenue and expenditure for the financial year 2026 – Section 1 – European Ϸվ (see minutes, item 9.3).
I know you will get angry now, but I give the floor to the rapporteur, MrNemec, for two minutes, please.
– Before the vote:
Matjaž Nemec, rapporteur. – MadamPresident, dear colleagues, we are about to vote for the estimates for the 2026 budget of the Ϸվ. The text in front of you was approved in the Budget Committee and confirms the agreement reached in conciliation. It is very important that this agreement and the resolution are secured.
The basis for the next year's budget ensures a well-functioning parliament with a focus on its core business. The basis for the next budget – we also make sure that this house is equipped for new challenges, such as better cybersecurity and smart use of artificial intelligence.
We also welcome the attempt of this House for simplification and ensuring tangible cost reductions. The budget makes sure that Ϸվ can meet all of its obligations, yet limiting the overall increase of non-core expenses to less than 2%. I call on new colleagues to vote in favour of my report, including on the key elements of it, namely amendment 4 on the ethics body. This House must show we are serious when it comes to fighting corruption, dear colleagues. We also ask you to vote in favour of paragraph 33, with a call to establish real equality and to find solutions for our colleagues who are on long-term leave, for example, maternity and paternity for mothers and fathers of this house. So, finally, I call on all colleagues to vote in favour of amendment 2, on APAs' participation in official missions under certain conditions.
And finally, I want to thank you all the colleagues, all the shadows, for good and constructive work on this dossier, so thank you for all the support.
– After the vote on Amendement 8:
Lara Wolters (S&D). – There's a number of voting machines here that aren't working at the moment, so we need to get this checked.
President. – We will send a technician. We will wait a couple of seconds to see. Have you fixed the problem? If not, maybe you should try to go to another seat.