Speeches

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the rule of law crisis in Poland and the attacks on civil rights, which particularly affect women and LGBTQ communities, further distance the country from common European values. The erosion of the independence of the judiciary and its instrumental use to achieve political objectives has reached such levels, especially with the recent decisions of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal, as to call into question the primacy of European Union law and the European Convention on Human Rights. Protests continue over severe restrictions on abortion and risks to women's health, but there are new proposals from the government to introduce a centralised register of pregnancies and miscarriages. To control and target those who fall outside the standards imposed in the field of sexual and reproductive rights, there is clearly an aberrant plan against which the European Union must react strongly. Respect for human dignity and fundamental rights cannot have free zones in any Member State.

(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, violence against women remains one of the most widespread and serious violations of human rights. The suffering and negative consequences on physical and psychological health, as well as in the public and private sphere, are amplified in conditions of vulnerability, humanitarian crises and with the current pandemic. Femicide, trafficking, genital mutilation, sexual abuse and harassment, online and offline, are just some of the phenomena through which violent behavior manifests itself, to which the family context is not foreign. It is therefore necessary to strongly condemn the attitude of those Member States which call into question the Istanbul Convention, delaying its ratification and implementation or even expressing their willingness to withdraw. This type of behaviour undermines efforts in the European Union to expand actions to prevent gender-based violence, to facilitate the protection and assistance of victims, the reporting and prosecution of perpetrators. The objectives of the Convention represent a priority challenge to be overcome in the legislative, social and cultural fields to combat violence against women and affirm their fundamental rights.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the European Court of Auditors has provided a worrying picture of the fight against money laundering in the banking sector. Despite continuous updates of the rules, Europol estimates that the value of suspicious transactions in Europe amounts to hundreds of billions of euros, or about 1.3% of the EU's GDP. European anti-money laundering legislation, consisting of directives and not regulations, continues to be transposed in a fragmented and uneven way, while the Commission is unfortunately slow in ensuring its implementation and initiating infringement procedures. As the Court points out, action is needed to improve money laundering risk assessments, as well as terrorist financing in relation to third countries, as well as on supervisory procedures, information exchange, investigations and decisions relating to breaches of EU law concerning credit institutions and financial institutions. Bridging the shortcomings of the banking system to target those who intend to convert and move illicit proceeds must be a priority to protect the legal economy.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the recent events in Rome have rekindled attention to the danger of far-right groups using both physical and moral violence as a method of political action. They are also yet another sign of a growing phenomenon affecting every Member State of the European Union. The squadrist attacks suffered by a union and a hospital garrison, which took place with the involvement of representatives of a far-right political force, are the subject of a debate in Italy on the legitimate request for the dissolution of fascist-inspired political movements. With the intention of acquiring proselytes and popularity, extremist and violent groups instrumentalize the discomfort of social groups deriving from the current emergency and health context with the aim of hitting the symbols of democracy, institutions, civil liberties, fueling the rhetoric of hatred, xenophobia, racism and other forms of intolerance. These vile and despicable conducts, which do not provide an answer to the problems concerning work, safety and health, are an insult to the values of democratic societies and must be strongly condemned and prosecuted.

(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the transformation of EASO into a more efficient European Agency with more resources and tools has required a lot of work to improve the text of the legislative proposal. The aim has always been to strengthen the Common European Asylum System, through adequate support for the management of migration flows, asylum applications and the reception system. Despite the well-known diversity of views on the part of the Member States, the Italian Government and the Mediterranean countries have shown, in this case, a clear willingness to move beyond the deadlock that has been affecting the immigration and asylum reform package for years. The prediction of the "sunrise clause" for the rules concerning the monitoring of national asylum systems and the various powers conferred on the institutions and the Agency, it remains a key element. The Regulation is related to the ongoing debate on fair sharing of responsibility and solidarity, in particular on an automatic and mandatory relocation mechanism. The frontline countries do not intend to backtrack on this.

(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, violence against women and any other form of gender-based violence, whether online or offline, is one of the most widespread and unpunished violations of fundamental rights and freedoms. Often it causes mortality, causes disability, and it is a few days ago the news, yet another, of femicide, yet another woman, wife and mother killed by her husband in my region, in Calabria. The recognition of gender-based violence as a new area of crime will make it possible to combat it more effectively, on common legal bases, with regard to the definition of offences and sanctions. However, in addition to a harmonised legislative framework on aspects relating to the prosecution of perpetrators, prevention, failure to report and the protection of victims, targeted social and economic actions are needed in order not to exacerbate inequalities, as was the case during the pandemic. Ending physical, sexual, psychological or economic harm and suffering, as well as gender-based discrimination and unequal treatment, must be a battle of civilisations that no one should shy away from.