Speeches

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, 30 years have passed since the Copenhagen criteria for a State to become a member of the European Union. In these 30 years, many things have changed in Europe and in the world, but one thing has remained the same: Enlargement policy is one of the most important instruments for ensuring peace, security and prosperity for peoples. The Russian aggression against Ukraine is in fact also aimed at weakening the enlargement and accession process and this would lead some countries, a few steps from our borders, to fall into the arms of authoritarian regimes. I therefore turn to the Western Balkans, to Serbia in particular, asking them to continue in the accession process in order to ensure the strengthening of the rule of law, solidarity and common growth through a clear path without ambiguity. The Union needs a larger budget and sufficient own resources to meet future challenges. But above all, the reform of the Treaties is needed to simplify the decision-making procedures and bring this Europe closer to the needs and, above all, to the hopes of European citizens.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, enlargement policy is a crucial instrument for the stability, prosperity and peace of our continent. Peace that unfortunately is often compromised, with all the tragic consequences that we now witness every day. Over the past year and a half, the European Union has extended its hand to Ukraine, which deserves all our support and commitment, but we cannot forget the Western Balkans, which twenty years ago was promised a place in the European family. It is necessary to speed up the step to show the citizens of these countries the advantages of being part of the Union, which focuses on freedoms and rights, so as to revive the desire for membership, a desire that in Serbia, for example, seems to have frozen. At the same time, however, we must be firm in calling for progress on essential reforms, for the normalisation of neighbourly relations to be put first through an immediate de-escalation of tensions between Serbia and Kosovo. We must demand that the press is not watered down by Russian or Chinese propaganda and that it embraces the only possible foreign policy line, the one supported by the European Union working for peace.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, as my colleague Mr De Meo said a moment ago, last night, at around eight o'clock, a tragedy took place in Mestre (Venice): a coach carrying several people from several European countries, due to circumstances still to be defined, crashed from an overpass and, after a flight of over 15 meters, crashed, catching fire. Twenty-one are dead, of which two are children, one is a newborn, and one is a teenager. Fifteen people were injured, five of whom were seriously injured, two of whom were brothers, Germans, aged 7 and 13. More than forty ambulances arrived on the scene along with firefighters, rescuers and local authorities, all engaged in rescue efforts to bring as many people as possible to safety. An apocalyptic scene, as the mayor of Venice defined it. From this Chamber of the European Parliament, which represents different histories and cultures, which dialogue with each other, and which knows how to show solidarity and help even in the most difficult moments, we want to express our closeness to the families of the victims, to the Venetian citizenry, to the mayor and to the local authorities, dedicating a great thank you to the rescuers who have worked to help the survivors. I ask the Presidency to observe a minute's silence to commemorate the victims of this tragedy.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, what happened on 24 September in northern Kosovo is terrible. A frightening explosion of violence that has caused the death of several Serbian and Kosovar people. A violence that unfortunately is not new, since in recent years we have witnessed a frightening escalation, animated by an aggressive narrative, often watered down by propaganda and false reconstructions. All this, however, cannot make us lose the compass that has long pointed towards the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina. We cannot hide behind the suffering caused by these actions to escape from a path that has been asking to be accomplished for years. It certainly takes a thorough and impartial investigation to ascertain responsibility and ensure that those responsible face the consequences. But it is also necessary to work to defeat the hatred that fuels these actions and cure what it leaves in the living flesh of people. There is no alternative to dialogue, not only in order to finally pave the way for accession to the European Union, but also because we do not want more deaths and do not want to return to the fear experienced in the 1990s and repeat the same mistakes as then.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, imagine that you are forced to leave your homes, your friends, the places where you grew up. This is what happened in a few hours to about 100,000 inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh, a population of Armenian culture and tradition but located in the Azerbaijani borders. It is not about migrants or refugees fleeing, but about ethnic cleansing, which constitutes a crime against humanity. The international community has also proved powerless during the nine months in which Azerbaijanis blocked the corridor that connects Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, the only possible entry for food, medicine and assistance in this unfortunate region. For years Russia has exerted its influence on these countries, failing in its mission of maintaining stability. We cannot let actors like Russia or Turkey take over. The European Union must prove to be a credible and decisive actor for peace and security. I condemn the unjustified military aggression by Azerbaijan and the abuses that have tormented the minority for years. We must now turn to the facts, offering humanitarian financial assistance, considering targeted sanctions and rethinking the energy supply agreements that many European countries benefit from.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, first of all I would like to thank my fellow Members, the shadow rapporteurs who have worked constructively on this file, the assistants, I and the Secretariat. We did a teamwork that allowed us, in less than a year, to approve an ambitious text that protects the environment and the health of citizens, while ensuring the competitiveness of our companies. Thanks to this regulation, colleagues, all the products that will be placed on the market will have to be environmentally sustainable, allowing consumers to save energy, to be able to repair their products and, through the digital passport, to have the awareness of what they buy. With this regulation, Mr President, Parliament shows that it lives up to the expectations and the responsibility that the citizens have entrusted to us.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I really want to thank all my fellow Members for their support, for their contribution and for the proposals that have improved the initial text. This has been a team effort, it is a work that has seen us, albeit in legitimate differences, united in the purpose of offering the market and consumers an ambitious regulation that focuses on the environment, the protection of ecosystems, consumer health. It is an important step that shows that, if there is the will, politics can live up to the challenges and the responsibility that citizens have entrusted to us. I am very confident that tomorrow we will prove it to the fullest.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, what we are going to vote on tomorrow is a proposal that will have a major impact on our society, on our businesses and on our consumers. In fact, this regulation will radically change the way industry operates in many sectors, indicating to the production world the way to manage the entire life cycle of a product, including the end of life. A regulation that finds its raison d'être within the limits of our planet, by establishing a legislative framework that will help make products compliant with a climate-neutral, resource-efficient and circular economy. The products that will be progressively placed on the market, therefore, will have to be designed in such a way as to respect the environment, the ecosystem and protect the health of citizens. It will also allow consumers to save energy, to be able to repair the products they buy instead of having to throw them away and to give them the possibility, through the digital passport, to be fully aware of what they buy. The digital passport is an important innovation in the current landscape and a decisive tool to promote circularity: the new products that will be available can be sold only if accompanied by this tool, which must contain accurate and up-to-date information on the environmental impact of the products in circulation, in order to allow everyone to make informed choices. A recent study by the European Court of Auditors sadly showed that European strategies and funding have so far had a modest impact on the transition to the circular economy and that the biggest delay is in design. The proposal we are about to vote on not only invests in waste management, but also in circular design: however, it is not only important how we design the product, it is also relevant how we make it, in which companies and under which working conditions. Globally, for example, the textile sector employs 60 million people, mainly women, and the wages of textile workers are often far below living wages. We remind everyone of the tragedy of Rana Plaza, the textile factory in Bangladesh where more than 1 000 people died ten years ago. In that factory were made those clothes that, for a few euros and without asking too many questions, we buy here in Europe. I wanted to ask the Commission in the coming years to consider extending the scope of the proposal also to social sustainability and due diligence requirements. In Europe alone, then, each of us discards about twelve kilos of clothes every year and most of these discards increase the pollution of ecosystems around the world but, without hypocrisy, we must say that it pollutes above all the poorest countries, which have always become the receptacle of what we Westerners discard. There is also the issue of unsold products. This Regulation introduces a direct ban on the destruction of unsold consumer products, which should apply to textiles and electronic devices. At the end of their life cycle, products will no longer be waste, a source of pollution, but a new resource to be used in the production process. Finally, the proposal aims to improve the potential of the single market by strengthening market surveillance activities, ensuring that businesses, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises, carry out their activities on an equal footing with their non-European competitors. Dear colleagues, no change is impossible. It is up to us, each of us, to do our part and to do so we need to have all the information of a product available and thus make the right choices. With these choices we can improve the context in which we live, not just thinking about what we see before our eyes, but looking to the future, beyond our borders, where people are forced to work in unacceptable conditions, sacrificing rights and freedoms, to allow us to continue this unsustainable and unjust lifestyle.

(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, after the dramatic experience of the pandemic, citizens are asking us not to repeat the mistakes and to learn from what happened, improving European health skills. In this report, there are concrete proposals to prepare the Union and the Member States to better protect health in the face of possible future health emergencies. First, the right to quality public health for all. Then collaboration and coordinated work for epidemiological monitoring and surveillance, but also the great potential of a united Europe for scientific research, for joint purchases of vaccines, medical devices and drugs, so as to make them accessible to all and at fair prices. We have called for greater transparency in all areas, both in the field of research and development, where the real costs, including those of private pharmaceutical companies, will have to be made public and serve as a basis for pricing, but also in the negotiation of contracts, in particular where public funds are concerned; We have called for the creation of a public research infrastructure to address market failures and work in the interest of citizens. Public funds will have to be adequately repaid for citizens, in particular for the availability of medicines at fair prices and their marketing in all Member States. On the social aspects we have focused on the most fragile parts of the population, we have included concrete proposals and targeted interventions to mitigate the consequences on people already marginalized, on women, on young people who have paid a high price, I am thinking in particular of mental health. This work could be a breakthrough for European and national capacities to react in times of crisis, not just health. Tomorrow's vote will be complicated. As always, we could have done better, but as socialists we will vote in favour of an ambitious text, aware that the interests of citizens come before political conveniences. This report, ladies and gentlemen, is a unique opportunity to continue building the European Health Union. We hope that the sense of responsibility will prevail, showing that we are up to the task that European citizens have entrusted to us.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, when I am together with so many women, I think that, according to the data, one in three of them has suffered physical or sexual violence, often at the hands of a close person, perhaps a family member. Scary numbers are those that photograph the female condition. Violence against women is a human rights violation that we can no longer tolerate. Preventing this violence, protecting victims and prosecuting perpetrators is an act due to the 150 million girls who suffer rape or sexual violence every year in the world. The Istanbul Convention is the first legally relevant international instrument, ratified by the majority of European states, and what we are doing today is a decisive but not sufficient step. The convention must be accompanied by a strong cultural policy that is implemented first of all within schools with sexuality and sexual health education, to grow women and men capable of respecting themselves, capable of being respected, capable of defending their health. We need to grow a generation emancipated from violence, a society where everyone feels safe, free to be themselves, without fear of harassment, abuse, discrimination.

– As the honourable Member has just stated that the Istanbul Convention is by no means useful as an instrument for combating violence against women, I would like to know from my colleague which, in his view, would be the most effective instrument.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, a few days ago, after months of drought, violent rains hit Emilia Romagna and in just 36 hours it rained one fifth of the total amount of water that normally falls in a year. Two people lost their lives, 500 had to leave their homes to escape the fury of the floods. We often say this in this House, Mr President, droughts and floods are two sides of the same coin, they are catastrophic events that mark the pace of climate change and we need concrete actions and forward-looking strategies to tackle these challenges. We need to make the best use of European resources, such as the European Regional Development Fund, to prevent risks, securing our fragile territories against geo-hydrological instability. Finally, I hope, Mr President, that European authority will finally be able to convince even the world's superpowers to invest in the fight against climate change, because we cannot do it alone.

Mr President, it is a tragic collapse that we are witnessing in Afghanistan with regard to women's rights. In just over a year, Afghan women have been fired from their jobs and removed from administrative roles, banned from playing sports and buying contraceptives, removed from high schools and universities, and prevented from building a dignified future. Banning girls from accessing education is a violation of human rights. It means denying all hope to millions of young people. But not only that, these criminal norms endanger the very lives of women. Just think of their health: Afghan women cannot be visited by male doctors, but if women are not allowed to study medicine, who can they turn to? I call on the European Commission to support organisations which, with great effort, seek to offer alternative services for the education of young Afghans. I also call on all European institutions and Member States to put pressure on the Taliban to respect human rights. Culture, knowledge and skills are the only tools that can allow the Afghan people to recover from the economic and environmental crisis and the food emergency that hold the country hostage, and the contribution of women, again, is fundamental.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, a tuft of hair escapes the veil and a woman in Iran is killed; a ballet and five girls are arrested; A day behind the school desk and the students are poisoned. We can no longer tolerate violence that aims to deprive girls of the right to their future. Thousands of students have been victims of chemical weapons in recent months, a terrible and cowardly crime. Chemical weapons used in schools that represent the place par excellence of emancipation. Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi, addressing this House today, was clear: Don't turn the other way. I want to say to Mrs. Ebadi, to the family of Mahsa Amini, to the five girls arrested, to the students who are afraid to go back to school and to all those who protest for their freedoms, that we will continue to work so that the Revolutionary Guard is considered a terrorist group, so that sanctions are implemented, so that no trade or financial agreement is carried out with the Iranian government. We will work for safe humanitarian channels for activists and continue to advocate for those who have been unjustly imprisoned and risk their lives. We support women and a free Iran. Woman. Life. Freedom.

Thank you, Mr. President. Dear Commissioner, I am happy to see you here today. I am convinced that these moments of exchange are essential to continue the path that brings our Union and the Balkan countries on the same track. Much has been said about the issue of Serbia's alignment with European foreign and security policy, in particular with regard to the sanctions applied to Russia. This is certainly a major issue, but there are other rule of law issues that deserve to be explored. Serbia has recently adopted constitutional reforms in the field of justice. I ask you, Commissioner, how you see these reforms. Is there enough progress for the country? And then, with regard to freedom of the press and the very poor representation of opposition in the Serbian media, how can the European Union facilitate a balanced narrative, free from disinformation and Russian propaganda, often precisely anti-European?

(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the green transition, the recovery of the pandemic and the digital revolution are shaping a fast-changing world and it is our task to ensure that no one is left behind. We need an inclusive digital economy, taking into account gender-specific needs, so that women and girls, in all their diversity, are not harmed or excluded from it. Supporting women's access to STEM, business and technology, not only ensures equality, but also ensures a decisive contribution that women can make to our economies. Work, which generates women's independence and economic emancipation, is fundamental to free them from violence in all its forms. That is why I support working with the United Nations to ensure that the Global Digital Pact is gender-sensitive. I close by addressing my colleagues, especially from the ID group and therefore from the League. I have spoken of women in all their diversity because I remember that every woman must be free to determine herself and to decide who she is. When the League talks about the negative effect that gender self-identification has on women's rights, it may forget that every individual is free to choose how to manage their body, without women's rights being defended at the expense of other rights.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the violent earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria, causing tens of thousands of victims, marks the beginning of an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. It will be the most fragile people who survived the earthquake that will pay the highest price. I am thinking, in particular, of women and children. The Commission must support the implementation of the process of identification, census and search for children separated from their families and must step up special border surveillance to combat trafficking and illegal adoption of children. Dear Commissioner, I believe that Europe should call on the Member States to change the adoption procedures in order to quickly help those children who have lost their families as a result of the earthquake. In addition, we can already imagine building humanitarian corridors to facilitate the family cares that were so successful for the children, for example, of Chernobyl. Dear Commissioner, let us do something concrete.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, there are more than a million girls in Afghanistan who cannot go to school. Banning girls' education not only denies a fundamental right, but deprives Afghanistan of the professional, cultural, economic and social contribution of women, because without women's work the country will not be able to recover from the current situation, which sees 97% of the population in poverty and 20 million people suffering from acute hunger. At risk are all those essential services, normally run by women, essential to save lives, especially of girls and children. Today they are victims of violence, torture and sexual abuse, without being able to call for legal and health assistance. I call on the European institutions to support the granting of temporary visas for Afghan girls and women, so that they can find a safe environment in Europe and escape from hell. Let's not turn off the spotlight on Afghanistan, let's continue to denounce the abuses and violence that women suffer at the hands of the Taliban. Let's not leave them alone.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I think it is very important today to discuss this complicated picture, which sees on the one hand the emergence of different strains of respiratory and flu diseases that are associated with COVID and, at the same time, the shortage of certain types of medicines that are starting to become worrying for some countries. Some of the solutions have long been proposed by the European Parliament, which adopted the report on the shortage of medicines, the identification of medicines considered strategic, a coordinated European initiative for the supply of medicines, the strengthening of conditionalities linked to public funding for research and development, to give just a few examples. However, I believe that one of the priorities today is to push more and more with joint purchases and the coordinating role of the European Union, which have worked well for vaccines and which could also serve to address the shortcomings of recent weeks and are fundamental. It would be a huge mistake if Europe did not build on what happened during the pandemic, drawing on the best practices and successes we achieved during that complicated period.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the rule of law, human rights, gender equality, minority rights, alignment with an environmental sustainability policy, a common foreign policy: These pillars, on which Europe cannot deal and on which it will not step back, because this is the starting point for a solid, credible and forward-looking enlargement policy. The last few months, in which we have seen peace in Europe at risk, have reminded us that enlargement policy is a decisive instrument for the European Union. Opening up our family by sharing values and responsibilities will strengthen the Union, increasing its centrality in the international geopolitical framework. We do not discount countries waiting to join, especially when it comes to values, democracy and rights. However, I call on Europe to strengthen its credibility vis-à-vis the countries involved. We are shortening the time to prevent citizens from losing hope, as is happening in Serbia, where the proportion of citizens who are in favour of accession is falling from month to month and is already below 50%. We introduce qualified majority voting to prevent regional downturns from putting the project at risk. We make citizens feel the benefits of being part of Europe during the accession process, not just at the end. At the same time, I call on the candidate countries to demonstrate their determination to become members of Europe through the adoption and implementation of reforms guaranteeing the rule of law and, at this difficult time, alignment with European foreign and security policy.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the news coming from Iran is terrible and frightening: More than 300 people have died, including 40 children, 14,000 arrests and at least six death sentences. Many of the women who started the protests are in prison, detained in atrocious conditions, victims of torture and rape. Yet the courage of women, young people, workers, many Iranians does not stop and continues to break down barriers, fueling the determination of the most prolonged protests in recent decades. Faced with this courage and the harrowing and harrowing demand for freedom, the European Union cannot stand by and watch. I welcomed the sanctions put in place, as well as repeated calls to free unjustly detained people, end violent repression, lift death sentences and ensure the free flow of information, including access to the internet. However, I believe it is important for Europe to be ready to provide real and useful support. We need a coherent and concrete European foreign policy that is able to act in a timely manner in relation to dictatorial regimes. We need a European strategy that enforces sanctions, isolates authoritarian governments and at the same time is close to countries that are embarking on a path towards the rule of law and European values. We will be very tough, but we will be equally supportive of civil society, of NGOs, of those who want to rebuild an economic, educational and health system that respects the rights of women and minorities and the freedoms of all. Woman, life, freedom. Women, Life, Freedom.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, we can no longer postpone the alarm clock that dictates the rhythm of enlargement policy, which has been sounded for a long time and Putin's unjustified war in Ukraine has only turned this sound into alarm. The time has long, in fact, come to address with commitment and credibility the issue of the enlargement of the Union to the Western Balkans. We are talking about a part of the European family that we risk losing because we are disappointed and discouraged by our slow progress. In Serbia, polls say that only 46% of the population is in favour of joining Europe, a percentage that decreases from month to month. Years of European stalling have left room for ferocious Russian propaganda which, through disinformation and fake news, has drawn public opinion into its orbit. Enlargement policy is now more than ever a strategic investment for peace, security and stability across the continent. Of course, the European alarm clock is not enough. It is essential that these countries resolutely pursue the necessary reforms. Only through concrete guarantees on the rule of law, normalisation of relations with the neighbourhood and alignment with a common security and defence policy could we truly come together under the same European flag.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, this is an extremely important regulation. Indeed, the availability of recharging and refuelling infrastructure primarily for cars, light commercial vehicles and trucks, but also for the maritime and aviation sectors is a key parameter for determining the future market share of low- and zero-emission vehicles in Europe in the years to come. The more recharging points there are, the more attractive it will be for consumers and operators to switch to cleaner propulsion technologies, such as electric and hydrogen vehicles. Today we are at a crossroads: With this piece of legislation, we will set the course for the coming decades in the field of mobility, and it is an important step towards an energy-independent Europe with green renewables. Having charging points in adequate numbers, efficient and easy is the most correct way to make our desire to achieve the objectives of the Climate Law and REPowerEU. For a clean Europe, an energy-independent Europe, a stronger Europe.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I turn to you and ask you: In which direction is our European Union going? What has happened to the values of solidarity, peace and the defence of human rights that should guide and inspire the Union's actions? What has happened to international law, which stipulates that every person seeking protection must – and I stress – be welcomed in the countries to which he or she flees? What happened to our humanity? These are the questions that arise when I read the OLAF report and when I hear testimonies of very serious violations of fundamental rights by a European agency. It cannot be tolerated that an agency acting under the mandate of the Union does not respect its fundamental principles, violating conventions, codes, internal regulations. I am Italian, I know well what it means to see migrants disembark on their coasts, I understand the commitment that is asked of the country that welcomes them, but I also know what these people are fleeing from, something that leaves no escape. I have also seen with my own eyes the migrants who populate the Balkan routes, who walk barefoot in the snow in order to reach a hope and who suffer illegal pushbacks. Colleagues, it is time to have courage and finally reach a common policy to manage immigration, based on solidarity and cooperation inside and outside the Union and respecting the human rights of all, always.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Serbia has finally today, three months after last April's elections, announced the official results of the polls and will be able to work on the formation of a government from tomorrow. What this executive will have to face in the critical period we are experiencing are important, complex, as well as urgent decisions, action, together with the process of European integration, which only a responsible and forward-looking government can complete. We understand the difficulties and peculiarities of the historical reasons, we appreciate the efforts already made on reforms, as well as the commitment to welcome Ukrainian refugees, and yet it is not enough. We call on the Serbian authorities to have courage and to stand unambiguously on the side of the Ukrainian people, invaded without justifiable motivation and violated in their sovereignty. This also means defending the European values of democracy and freedom against Russian propaganda, which continues to infiltrate the Serbian media to subtly condition public opinion. Finally, I call on the Serbian Government to have the courage to reach an agreement that will bring about the complete normalisation of relations with neighbouring countries, an essential step in accelerating the European path. Take courage and Europe will be at your side to support you.