Debate contributions by Alicia HOMS GINEL

Mr President, Commissioner, this summer's extreme heat is not an anecdote, but a real threat hitting millions of people across Europe. It hits workers, who suffer from thermal stress, and entire families, who see their bills skyrocketing because their homes are poorly isolated: Sustainable and efficient housing not only protects the planet, but makes it more affordable, and also saves lives. Denying science, ignoring climate change, not acting in the face of the heat, the denialism promoted by the right... kills. We've seen it this summer: Do you really believe that such denialism protects people, when only one extreme heat wave of this 2025 has claimed the lives of more than 1,500 people in Europe? That is why the Government of Spain proposes this pact for sustainability, and it is urgent to reach an agreement as soon as possible and that is ambitious. Let's be serious. Europe needs urgent responses: investing in sustainable housing, protecting people in their homes and jobs and demonstrating that defending people's health and well-being is above any ideology.

Madam President, Mr Vice-President, we have before us an unprecedented housing crisis. What do we do when millions of young people in Europe cannot start their vital projects? When the most vulnerable families spend more than half of their salary on rent or when neighbors are expelled from their neighborhoods? At this point, the Union not only has a chance, but it has an obligation to act. And how? Comrade Marcos Ros's report explains this very well: by changing the rules and allowing cohesion funds to be used for affordable and sustainable housing, by providing states with the tools and resources to build, rehabilitate and ensure decent housing for all, and by ensuring that every euro that Europe invests in a public housing stock is always there and does not end up in the hands of speculators. Vice-President, what is at stake is not just another commodity, but the life, dignity and future of entire generations. The European Union must rise to the occasion. Let's not miss this opportunity.

Mr President, Commissioner, no one wants to be made invisible, no one wants to be locked up or segregated. However, this is what millions of people with disabilities and also older people continue to suffer in Europe. All of them have the right to live wherever they want, with whomever they want and however they want, because independent living is not a luxury, but it is a right, even as we age. Deinstitutionalization is to guarantee opportunities, to guarantee personalized, accessible and close supports. It is also to guarantee decent, affordable and adapted housing, because without accessible housing there is no independent living, and without independent living there is no freedom or right to choose. Let's not forget, this is also a gender and social justice issue: women with disabilities, migrants and those living in poverty face even greater discrimination. If we don't look with an intersectional approach, we will continue to leave too many people behind. This rights agenda will not move forward without a strong European Social Fund Plus with real resources that are sufficient and truly people-centred. Because deinstitutionalization is not achieved with speeches, it is achieved with resources that finance services that integrate and care for those who need it most. So let us not give them up.

Mr President, Commissioner, mental health must be at the centre of the social debate, just as it must also be at the centre of public policy. We're not just talking about numbers, we're talking about lives: young people who do not see the way out, exhausted workers, people trapped in a system that chronicles their malaise; Because, like it or not, that discomfort has a lot to do with work, precariousness, lack of rest, impossible days and algorithms that dehumanize. And I wonder: Can we build a fair European project while millions of people get sick from precarious working conditions? We want a Europe that respects the right to disconnect, that allows us to reconcile, that reduces abusive days and finally recognizes the occupational burnout syndrome as an occupational disease. And we want it with legislation, with directives that protect people. Because mental health is not cured with speeches, but by guaranteeing rights. Therefore, let us be courageous.

Madam President, Madam Vice-President, restructurings to dismiss while distributing benefits? Of course not, industrial transition with decent jobs? Yes, and it's possible. Restructuring cannot be the excuse for precarious employment or weakening collective bargaining. Therefore, we demand that workers have a voice, that companies that receive public money invest in quality employment and that there are clear rules to stop the abuses of subcontracting. Spain has already shown that there is another way: with social dialogue, strong regulation and courageous measures. This is how we have protected jobs and rights. We cannot allow Europe's industrial modernisation to become a "save who can". We want investment, yes, but with social conditions, stable jobs and strong unions, because without social justice there will be no just transition.

Madam President, I would like to ask the honourable Members of the right whether what they want is an economy where working people are pieces to use and throw away, always forced to recycle without any guarantee, or whether what they want is a society with decent jobs and rights. We are seeing that what this right wants is to impose competitiveness as the only objective, regardless of the social impact. For them, training is a privilege; For socialists, on the other hand, it is a fundamental right. Therefore, what we must do is demand a directive that guarantees the right to paid training, because workers do not need an eternal career of retraining, what they need is stability and decent wages. Spain already leads the way with the largest investment in vocational training in its history, betting on education, digitalization and the green transition. Here we see two clear models: aimless precariousness, or rights, dignity and future. The model on which the European Union must bet is the latter.