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Priority question for written answer  P-001797/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Radan Kanev (PPE)

Exchanges in 2020 between the Bulgarian data protection authority (DPA) and the Commission regarding the drafting of the first report on the evaluation and review of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) highlighted a failure to provide sufficient legislative guarantees as to the competence of initially nominated members of the DPA.

The same report specifies that the Commission will ‘continue to closely monitor the effective and full independence of national DPAs’[1].

However, numerous recent publications regarding the ongoing nomination and election procedure of members of the Bulgarian DPA report their failure to comply with the necessary qualification, experience and skills requirements.

In light of the above, can the Commission please answer the following:

• 1.What steps will it take in order to ensure the application of the GDPR as regards compliance on the part of members of the Bulgarian DPA with independence and quality requirements in the context of already established deficits of national procedural rules?
• 2.Will those steps include an urgent approach to the ongoing election procedure, since it is approaching the final stages, namely a vote of the National Assembly?
• 3.Is the violation of Article 53(2) of the GDPR subject to the EU Pilot mechanism?

Submitted: 2.5.2025

• [1] EUR-Lex – 52020DC0264 – EN – EUR-Lex.

Priority question for written answer  P-001840/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Eric Sargiacomo (S&D)

The strategic dialogue report submitted to the Commission President in September 2024 was lauded across the board for its content and for the collaborative process used to draft it.

One of the report’s key messages is that common agricultural policy (CAP) instruments need to be shifted away from per-hectare aid towards more targeted forms of support. It is stated in the report that ‘Today basic income support remains the most funded CAP measure however it is mostly unrelated to socio-economic needs. Therefore, this income support clearly needs to be better targeted at the active farmers who need it most, not only for reasons of sound public budgeting, but also to avoid negative corollaries, such as impacts on land prices and leases that make agricultural production more expensive and hinder generational renewal and reduction of administrative burden.’

It is also stated in the report that ‘An independent task force composed of social policy, economic and agronomic experts should be mandated by the European Commission to evaluate the most appropriate mechanisms and criteria to better target income payments.’

• 1.Has this task force been set up?
• 2.When are its findings expected?

Submitted: 7.5.2025

Question for written answer  E-001776/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Flavio Tosi (PPE)

As of July 2025, airbags will be compulsory for learners wishing to obtain a category A motorcycle licence in Spain, a move designed to bring down the number of road deaths among motorcyclists, a group that is at particular risk of being involved in serious or lethal accidents.

Because fatality rates among users of powered two-wheeled motor vehicles have remained high (this group accounts for around 20 % of all road deaths in the EU[1]), advanced personal protective equipment like airbags will be key to improving road safety.

Given that the EU has powers in the fields of vehicle safety and driving licences, and in the light of the recent revision of the CBE Directive[2]:

• 1.Will the Commission push for the adoption of advanced protective equipment for motorcyclists (including airbags) by means of legislative initiatives and recommendations at the EU level?
• 2.Will it provide financial support for the adoption of these devices through European funds and road safety programmes?
• 3.How will the Commission promote and disseminate best practices for reducing vulnerable road user fatalities among the Member States?

Submitted: 2.5.2025

• [1] https://transport.ec.europa.eu/news-events/news/eu-road-fatalities-drop-3-2024-progress-remains-slow-2025-03-18_en?utm.
• [2] Directive (EU) 2024/3237 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2024 amending Directive (EU) 2015/413 facilitating cross-border exchange of information on road-safety-related traffic offences.

Question for written answer  E-001791/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Carlo Fidanza (ECR)

As we have just celebrated Labour Day, it is an opportune moment to draw attention to the increasing number of fatalities and accidents among road hauliers, which are often linked to their gruelling working conditions and not always formally recognised as accidents at work.

The Italian Government has taken meaningful steps to improve controls and protect workers in the sector, including a new roadside checklist, a risk classification system for businesses and an extension to the period for recording tachograph data.

Initiatives have also been taken at EU level by the Commission and the European Labour Authority (ELA) to support the implementation of the mobility package. However, considerable disparities between Member States remain in the application of the rules, with repercussions for safety, workers’ rights and competition in the single market.

In the light of the above:

• 1.With a view to ensuring uniform application of road safety and labour protection rules in the road transport sector, what further steps will the Commission take to improve and harmonise checks at EU level?
• 2.Will it propose new initiatives to discourage the use of transport services that systematically breach the rules on driving and rest times?

Submitted: 2.5.2025

Question for written answer  E-001706/2025/rev.1
to the Commission
Rule 144
Sérgio Gonçalves (S&D), Johan Danielsson (S&D), Daniel Attard (S&D)

At the end of last year, a coalition of 50 scientists from across the world called upon global decision-makers to implement solutions to tackle aviation contrails[1]. These are the white lines formed by aeroplanes and they have a significant net warming effect on the climate – potentially equal to or greater than aviation’s CO₂ emissions. Notably, around 80 % of contrail-induced warming comes from just 5 % of flights. Small adjustments to these flight paths could reduce global contrail warming by more than half.

In the light of the above:

• 1.Is the Commission considering any measures to ensure the rapid and widespread implementation of contrail avoidance practices by airlines and air traffic management authorities?
• 2.Could the Commission provide an update on EU funding and support for contrail avoidance trials and associated research initiatives?

Submitted: 29.4.2025

• [1] https://www.transportenvironment.org/articles/aviation-international-scientists-warn-of-warming-impact-of-contrails-and-risks-of-delaying-action.

One of the Commission’s primary energy policy objective is to successfully implement the RepowerEU plan[1], which entails phasing out Russian energy imports to the EU. The expiry of the gas transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine end of 2024 resulted in the reduction of Russian gas imports to the EU by approximately 15 billion cubic meters per year. To ensure security of supply, the Commission has prepared for months, together with Member States, in anticipation of the end of transit via Ukraine, focusing on securing alternative routes and supplies. Notably, the Commission identified and incentivised Member States to utilise four diversification routes[2] with sufficient capacity, via Germany, Italy, Poland, and Greece. By doing so, the Commission effectively facilitated the EU’s transition towards a more diversified and resilient energy landscape, acting first and foremost in the interest of Member States with fewer supply alternatives.

The Commission did not intervene in Ukraine’s sovereign decision not to renew its transit agreement with Russia, neither did it intervene in the redirection of volumes via the Turkstream. The end of transit has caused Russia to lose approximatively USD 6.5 billion[3] per year, when the loss of revenues from the transit is estimated at USD 450 million for Ukraine per year.

• [1] https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal/repowereu-affordable-secure-and-sustainable-energy-europe_en.
• [2]  https://energy.ec.europa.eu/document/download/e8a46964-f29b-44f8-9410-689f9e34463b_en.
• [3] ‘Breaking the link: The cost of shutting down Europe’s last Russian gas pipeline’, 13 January 2025, Stockholm School of Economics.

Question for written answer  E-001691/2025/rev.1
to the Commission
Rule 144
Afroditi Latinopoulou (PfE)

Most European Member States have signed the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,[1] adopted by the UN General Assembly on 9 December 1948 and in force from 12 January 1951, which, inter alia, provides for the obligation to prevent the crime of genocide.

However, at the European Union level, there is currently no corresponding legal commitment to the prevention of the crime of genocide, since the only relevant text, Decision 2003/335/JHA on the investigation and prosecution of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, focuses on suppression[2] and prosecution.

At the same time, it is noted that the academic field of genocide studies, which is essential for raising awareness among European societies about genocides such as the Pontic, Asia Minor Greek and Armenian genocides, has not been developed at European level.

Given the above:

Does the Commission intend to establish a legal framework for the prevention of crimes of genocide, especially given the impact of genocides on the increase in migration flows?

Submitted: 28.4.2025

• [1] https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-prevention-and-punishment-crime-genocide
• [2] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EL/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32003D0335