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Thank you very much, Commission President, we will now go to the first round of political group speakers,

starting with the EPP Group, its chair, Manfred Weber.

Thank you of the European Parliament, President of the Commissioners, Prime Minister Carney, great to have you here, dear colleagues.

We are facing a fundamental shift that hits Europe with 3 shocks.

The first shock is a technological one, and that's why I thank the Commission President for putting AI in the center, artificial intelligence.

It fascinates, it scares, and it will change the way of life.

That's why a revolution is ongoing, and, yes, we have to answer it. The second shock is a geopolitical one.

I don't know whether you saw the pictures from the BRICS summit on the weekend, with a laughing war criminal, Putin next to President Xi.

Discussing their idea of a new world order for me truly shocking pictures,

and the era of naivety is over for us as Europeans, and the third shock runs through our own societies.

Every month we are losing 27,000 industrial jobs, well paid jobs.

The best concept for a social market economy is to have well paid jobs,

and the fear the emotions created by this are fears among families. We have to find solutions.

As Christian Democrats, as the European People's Party, we give a response.

The first response for us is a different way of doing politics. Not lecturing people. But listening to people.

When people cannot afford to fuel their cars because of the conflict in the Middle East, don't tell them that this is good for climate defense.

Climate change is a reality, no question about this, and we have to work hard to fight against it,

but we have to do it together with people and not against people.

The EPP will fight for a reasonable ETS reform and we stop the ban on combustion engine,

as we promised, we need innovation and not bans.

Let me mention a second example of the way we do politics.

Let's not wait, let's act, and that's why a big thank you to Ursula von der Leyen for the proposal on protecting our children.

Children are not an advertisement target, they are our future, and we should look to Australia,

our colleagues there allowing users to switch off the algorithm.

Elon Musk will not like it, but probably that's a reason for doing it, dear friends.

The second response from an EPP point of view is let's act together.

Ursula von der Leyen spoke about the devastating wildfires.

In France, 70 Ukrainian firefighters came to help. Europe at its best defense.

We must apply the same logic to defense. We spend on defense.

Today more than we spent during the Cuban Missile Crisis,

€6.4 trillion in the next 10 years. And what do we get for this? Let me be a little bit provocative. 27 bonsai armies in the future. The threat is clear. Putin won't stop. We know it.

The airspace violation in Romania, the Polish border, today the news from Lithuania.

Colleagues, the answer is unity and now a European pillar of defense.

François Léotard and Helmut Kohl did not just introduce the euro, they made with the euro European unity irreversible.

No one, even not the hardest nationalist, can exit from the euro without risking a bankruptcy at national level,

and that is exactly what all the defense now needs.

Europeans worry about an empowered German armed forces led.

In the future, possibly by an authoritarian ASD defense minister.

Don't get me wrong, that's not the reality today.

But many Europeans are worried when they look to the polls.

Our answer to this is a single market for amendments, joint command structures, European drones,

European satellites so closely connected that no one can ever undo this cooperation.

Adenauer, De Gasperi and Schumann, dear friends, understood this political and historic dimension of unifying Europe in this field. The treaty for a real defense pillar.

Has been sitting in the drawer since 1952.

Let's make this old treaty now a new reality France with a promise,

and this promise means lasting peace for Europe. This is our generation's project.

Finally, the third response from an EPE point of view, bring back growth means bring back hope to Europe.

The EPP delivered on the roadmap towards the single market. Let's make it now a reality.

On AI, US investsR €300 billion China €290 billion.

Comparing the figures from France and Germany, it's a little bit funny to see these figures.

That's why the message is clear we only can do it together. We need a European AI Fund.

The new Competitiveness Fund, dear friends, the EPP will fight for a strong MFF for farmers, mayors and researchers, and if someone wants to cut the European Fund,

please stop being populist, tell us where you want to stop and where you want to cut, then on this. Friends, finally we need friends.

Prime Minister Carney, Canada is the best example for this.

Ursula von der Leyen already referred to the big success of CETA,

and I have to say I was here in this plenary when we ratified CETA.

I still remember the debate about CETA, and I really want to ask again those who opposed to CETA years ago, think again.

Trade agreements are more than new markets, they are the foundation of an alternative world order,

a world order where Europe is not alone anymore.

That is what is at stake when we speak about these kinds of things.

We win by listening to people and answering with bold solution.

We win by listening to people with answering with European vision, and we win by listening to people answering with hope.

The EPP fights for hope and Europe offers hope.