Debate contributions by Alex AGIUS SALIBA

Mrs President, one of the sectors that we have the most consumers talking to us about because of problems they are facing, always remains that telecommunications sector. And so, in every reform we move forward, we must ensure that the most important element that always protects our consumers, which is that of competition, remains at the centre of our work. And so, it is important that no new regulation that we push forward, no new reforms that we move forward, do not reduce this type of competition, and on the contrary, lead to a situation where we have big regulators working in a more stagnant European market. When we talk about different companies in Malta, we all have three telecommunication companies, three telecommunication companies working in the smallest Member State. There are still many and many problems when it comes to protecting consumer rights. And so we should always keep in mind that the more companies that compete small, medium-sized, larger, the more a market that works for people, for our consumers.

Mr President, I remain amazed that the far-right and political groups on this side of the room consistently continue to defend their idol - their idol that is Trump - in the face of all these attacks on European integrity. Nowadays not only attacks on European legislation, but a direct attack, directly, on one of our Member States and its territorial integrity. I think that if you really want to continue to be called, at least, Patriots, European Patriots, the first thing to do is to be firm against those who attack European interests. Something that you are clearly not doing.

Mr President, the best weapon we can use against bullies, like Trump, is to be consistent. First of all consistent with our principles and values, consistent with the way we ultimately lead diplomacy and act in the face of threats. And so, I think the message that as a European Union has led us forward, when, following threats from the U.S. government, directly from President Trump, against theacquis European digital; and there the steps we have taken even through the revision of theacquis digital via the digital omnibus, has shown that we have a certain fear of this kind of threats. And so it is important to be consistent: Consistent by enforcing our legislation; consistent in our diplomatic policy; consistent by dealing with fundamental crises around us, such as the crisis in Gaza, such as the genocide in Gaza; in the same way as we deal with a number of other crises around us: the war of aggression in Ukraine and other geopolitical issues. Thus, the European Union can continue to act as a global leader working for peace and stability around us.

Ms President, can we continue to function when the internet continues to be demolished by a cyberattack? Today digital infrastructure has become as essential for our citizens as other utilities: utilities such as electricity supply and water supply. More and more now that our physical infrastructure has also become dependent on the internet to function normally, to enable hospitals to deliver care, to allow airports and airlines to transport our passengers. We need to be protected from cyberattacks. Unfortunately, this is a real threat in an unstable world. I am pleased to see the European Commission addressing this threat with the revision of the Cyber Security Act. We want to broaden certification beyond ICT, and look at all elements that may be affected in our digitalised society. ENISA, the European Union Agency for Cyber Security, should play a central role in putting forward a European Union-wide action plan. We need to speed up the process of setting common standards on all relevant sectors. Hybrid threats will not wait until we have everything in order, and our citizens and businesses expect the European Union to help them to always be protected.

Ms President, the photos of our children are no longer safe on the internet. Imagine your son's pictures, imagine your daughter's pictures being used to create child abuse material? This is a sad thought but it is a reality that many and many parents are facing across the European Union. Women, who are already facing a toxic environment on an online basis, are seeing their photos being used maliciously to generate pornographic material. Let's be clear, this is not allowed under European Union law, and Elon Musk can no longer act with impunity. It is time for strong enforcement of the Digital Services Act, AI, GDPR, so that they can keep up with the intentions of these oligarchs. We took note that the European Commission extended the investigations on X and ordered the maintenance of the internal documentation on Grokk. But it's good to ask: how much remains for this investigation to lead to concrete results? This is not something we can wait for, postpone, in order to ultimately take action. But all this also reminds us of the importance of safeguarding strong legislation that we already have, and not going on the path of deregulation that undermines the protection we already offer to our children, our women, our citizens. And so we should be very attentive to the actions we take when it comes to simplifying European legislation.

Mr President, nowadays, most of us get our news from social media – in Malta, around 80 % do so. And while healthy democracies rely on quality journalism for objective information, this is not how our platforms are working. Big tech made a business out of polarisation. Their algorithms give preference to interaction. – it's what keeps attention and sells more advertisement for them. We know this, and the Digital Services Act was made to tackle it. It is high time to enforce our rules and stop the toxic recommender systems that are making us addicted and pushing extreme content onto our citizens' timelines. Things have got worse with Elon Musk running X as a passion project, openly railing against the EU and supporting extreme right parties in election campaigns. This is no longer a neutral space for public debate. X has become a propaganda machine aimed at undermining our European community. A EUR 120 million fine is a start, but not enough to make Musk respect our digital acquis. Bolder action is needed to force him to comply. Other platforms are not much better: on Facebook and Instagram there are signs of shadow banning. If a news outlet or a politician publishes on the genocide in Gaza, their content is demoted and their reach diminished. Is it how things should work in a democracy that a company like Meta, a billionaire like Zuckerberg, decides what Europeans hear, what Europeans see online? Yesterday it was Gaza. This week it was the LGBTI pages that were removed. And tomorrow, what and who will be the next target of the algorithmic ban? At the same time, bot networks of fake profiles are given free space to influence our public debate, even in election periods. And while the problem grows, Meta's new policy since the start of the Trump administration is to drastically reduce content moderation, allowing more bad stuff on their platforms while undermining our democracies in the process. When do we stop? The limit of what we can take has long been reached, and we expect the Commission to act as soon as possible.

Madam President, Executive Vice‑President, our democracy thrives by transparency. We need to shed light on all the special interests and also lobbies that try to influence our policy, and this goes beyond third country interests: it is as much about corporate lobbies and all legitimate civil society organisations that provide us with useful advice. Our voters want to know who tries to influence us. Transparency builds trust that we can act on our conviction. We are here to serve the European people and no specific interest of anybody. This is why we, as S&D, proposed turning this directive into a General Transparency Act. But our amendments, unfortunately, did not get the support of right‑wing groups. Instead, we are left with a very targeted proposal that will deal with the internal market for third‑country interest representation, and this is good, because we need to open our eyes to the fact that there are campaigns by foreign powers to influence Europeans and Member States in their favour. At the same time, we need to make sure we prevent a chilling effect on civil society, about which several UN special rapporteurs have warned us. That is why only services which are economic in nature are and should be in the scope of this directive. It is in line with the legal basis ⁠– that of the functioning of the internal market. There is no carve-out for NGOs, and they will be covered only insofar as they deliver commercial services, But all non‑profit activities executed and based on charity grants and subsidies will not be covered. On top of this, we have clear additional safeguards for activities in the interest of the common good. The supervisor who will enforce this directive will be totally independent and will limit the sanctions only to administrative fines, excluding potentially criminal sanctions. The text is one that my group can support. It has the right balance between the transparency needed on foreign influence in our democracy, and the need to protect and support civil society that is doing democratic and legitimate work on policy from stigma or even prosecution.

Mr President, the proposal for a digital omnibus comes at a very difficult time – I would even say at the worst time possible. The US Commission are already having a difficult task to enforce our digital rules with the headwinds coming from the US. Investigations on platforms are ongoing and need to be concluded to ensure that they respect our acquis. In this context, you are opening a discussion on the rules that are the very bedrock of our regulatory model, how we deal with the very personal data of our citizens. It comes to no surprise to read the news today from the US Secretary of Commerce, Lutnick, that he is saying that he is negotiating with EU Commissioner Virkkunen on a rollback in digital protection in exchange for lower steel tariffs. We cannot barter away our value-based approach to the online world. We have been very clear about that. This Parliament has voted and decided on our sovereign rules, and we cannot give the impression that we are willing to trade our citizens' protection for the interests of US big tech companies. Simplification can be good when it comes to streamlining different data laws, but here we are not speaking of simplification, here we are speaking of deregulation that is going against what we have worked for. Your proposal reduces the scope of personal data and thereby reduces the level of protection of the GDPR. Do we really want to allow processing of sensitive, personal data for the development of AI systems based on legitimate interest? Do we want to give an exception to the processing of biometric data, where it is necessary to confirm the identity of a person? I am extremely worried that these changes can lead to massification of data tracking and lower protection for Europeans. We as Europeans have been global leaders in setting the rules and standing up against all the powerful hyperscalers and their owners. Do you want to squander this reputation? How can we water down the AI Act that we have voted only a couple of years ago? We should be confident about our approach and believe that we can support an EU tech ecosystem based on privacy, competition and European values. Today it seems that we are questioning ourselves. We need to show strength instead of weakness. We need to be resolute and make tech companies accountable.

Ms President, the online world today is not a safe place for our children primarily because of the model with which platforms work that are leading to excessive times our children are spending on their smartphones, on their tablets. And in some cases, algorithms are pushing even totally flawed content, which promotes self-harm on minors, with devastating effects on them. Cyberbullying is on the rise and may also include a false image of our children, fake profiles, who have had a number of cases across Europe that have led to suicides. And what about the greatest risk, that is that of online grooming and sexual abuse of our children. As a parent, this is a concern that keeps me awake at night. And I am not alone in being so concerned. All our citizens know that something is intrinsically wrong, and big technology platforms know about it. We heard from whistleblowers who worked with them. But they don't care to act. We are making huge profits from our children, and this is not a mistake, this is not an accident. It is a fundamental part of how social media works: Keep your eyes on the screen. This is the key to the success of every platform. And if they don't act, we need to act. This report is therefore important. The Commission must deliver on its promise to address this issue, this crisis as a matter of urgency. Where is the group of experts supposed to present solutions by the end of this year? Every day we are losing, it has a negative price on the development of the growing generation. The Parliament is taking a position today. We want a minimum age for young people to access social media. We need an age check, and not by pressing "yes" or "no" children who have an age exceeding the minimum age. We must address the additive design of these platforms. We need the digital justice act with real solutions that put the limits of harmful practices for platforms. A healthy online environment is not only good for children, but for each and every one of us.

Madam President, President of the Commission, a roof over your head is the basis for any decent life, and a basic right that should be enjoyed by each and every citizen. But how can you find a place to call home when housing prices spike and rents explode? This is not an issue of one European Member State. The housing crisis has become a cross-cutting European problem: from Italy to Ireland, from the Netherlands to the Czech Republic, more and more citizens cannot afford housing. This is hitting very specific segments within our society, specifically our young people, single parents, but also our elderly. There is poverty, and homelessness is on the rise. It is time for the EU to act on this obligation, which is also found in the Charter: to recognise and respect that Europeans who lack resources need housing assistance, because those for whom the market has failed to deliver are looking up to us to find a concrete solution. So let me welcome the fact that the Council agrees with my political group. The Commission needs to swiftly present an ambitious and comprehensive plan for affordable housing. We have made this one of our priorities with the introduction of a Commissioner responsible for housing, and we have full confidence in Dan Jørgensen that he will deliver. But while we focus on our citizens' worries about finding a house, we cannot forget about those in Gaza, whose houses no longer exist because they have been deliberately destroyed. The agreed ceasefire is giving them a sliver of hope, but despite the outcome of the summit for peace, the killing has not stopped completely and there remains an urgent need for humanitarian support. Seeing the complete destruction of very basic infrastructure in Gaza, the EU should do everything to make lasting peace possible and, at the same time, make sure that those responsible for potential war crimes are brought to justice as soon as possible. This is what I expect from Europe as the defenders of the rule of law. Let me end on a positive note for the cost of living for Europeans. We support the call by the Council to build a true European energy union for clean and cheap energy. In the long term, the cost of living for all EU citizens will benefit from a stable supply of affordable, reliable and green energy – especially if we improve the internal market for this energy. We need to turn the green transition into something positive for the wallets of our voters to get them to buy into it.

Mr President, Europe should not compete at deregulation. Europe should not compete for the lowest price. We compete on quality. We should compete on fairness. Our rules make a fair internal market. When I look at your work plan, I am hopeful that we can make progress – meaningful legislation that makes a difference in the lives of our citizens. The quality jobs act should ensure that workers are protected against the strains that digitalisation is putting on them. We have to regulate the use of algorithmic management that monitors our workers, and we should introduce the right to disconnect. Limits and safeguards are needed to protect the mental health of workers, on and off duty. The announced digital fairness act can fill the gaps of digital consumer protection. Online addiction to social media is a real hazard to our young people – and to all of us, frankly. Platforms are designed to be addictive – this is their business model. If there is one legislator that can put an end to addictive design, it is the European Union. My expectations are high, but you can count on our support, where necessary with amendments on these acts, to make a better difference in the lives of our citizens.

Mr President, I would like to ask a question to the Chairman of the LIBE Committee. In your speech, you said that judicial processes are still ongoing. Only one trial remains in this case of the persons who are accused of involvement in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, and there is an ongoing trial, which the Government has nothing to do with. What are you proposing? I.e. do you propose, as Chair of the LIBE Committee, that the Maltese Government, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Justice speak directly to the courts so that the trial, the trial, is conducted quickly, immediately and the rights that the accused, in this case, is taking forward, rights deriving from the Maltese law and constitution are violated?

Mr President, I would like to start by quoting part of the Maltese Chief Justice's speech which he gave two weeks ago. He said, "I would like to thank the Minister of Justice who has always heard my suggestions on behalf of the Maltese judiciary. Suggestions to strengthen our courts. There has always been mutual respect between us, respect based on our respective constitutional roles." The words of the Maltese Chief Justice. And so I ask. Why is this attack on our country? They told us, in the title of this debate, that we have a delay in bringing justice. Delays in bringing justice when we have five accused in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia who all passed trial, with the last trial ending a few weeks ago? Only one final trial is pending in the hands of our courts. And I ask. What is the European Parliament proposing? The Prime Minister, Robert Abela, goes to our courts and tells them to speed up the trial? You would be the first to point your fingers to us and tell us that you are interfering in the work of our courts. He told us that the rule of law went back, in this debate. Going back, the rule of law, when we passed through the Maltese Parliament a law, an average of a month's law, in order to strengthen our recommendations? Has it returned, the rule of law, when we have the greatest number of judges in our country's history, and we have given them more tools to work better? Did you return, the rule of law, when we removed powers from the hands of politicians in order to appoint the judiciary, and handed them over to an independent commission? Going back, the rule of law, when did we create the state attorney? Do you know who violates the rule of law? The Nationalist Party, part of the EPP Group, that they, having resisted for years to have a party financing law, have been violating this law for five years by not publishing their audited finances. According to Maltese law, the EPP party here is not even a recognised party in our country. So I appeal to the EPP that, before pointing their fingers to others, they see that they clean their home a bit.

Ms President, Commissioner, the recent ceasefire agreement should not only be empty words, but it must be an end to the brutal occupation and implementation of the two-state solution. The European Union is not just a humanitarian agency. The European Union must play a much more important role in ultimately ensuring that no other colonial protectorate is put in place, but we guarantee that Palestine has the power to govern itself. Any future arrangement must see and place the Palestinian Authority at the centre of Gaza's governance. The so-called Trump Agreement must also be framed in the vision of both states and implemented in line with the rulings of the international court of justice. Let us see that Europe again becomes a bastion for justice, peace and protection of life rights and to achieve this, we must see that today more Member States recognise the Palestinian State. Only then will we have a two-state solution that can live side by side, in peace and harmony.

Mr President, Maria, a 9-year-old girl, who is currently hospitalised in Malta after she tried last week to take her life away from her hands. A 9-year-old girl after experiencing a number of videos on social platforms related to self-harm. Those are the challenges facing us, as a European Parliament, as a European Commission, challenges in order, ultimately, to ensure that we can avoid these tragedies. Suicide is the biggest cause of death among young people, European children and it is therefore urgent, more than ever, that in such days, where tomorrow we will be celebrating World Mental Health Day, we will see that we are not only pardoning and making many speeches. But we see that we have real action and we can see that we have real action by controlling the way these platforms work, controlling the access our children and young people have to high-risk platforms that can lead to major mental health problems. Let's be brave and celebrate Mental Health Day, not just as tomorrow, but throughout the year.

Mr President, Commissioner, The Committee on Petitions is the only Committee in which citizens can participate directly in confrontation with Members of Parliament, the Commission and even in a number of cases directly with representatives of Member States. And it is the only committee that can give a direct response to our citizens. And, ultimately, I believe that this report of the deliberations of the Petitions Committee is showing most clearly that citizens continued to seek this Committee, even in a period where the European Parliament was able to say standing during an election campaign and, ultimately, this shows the importance of this Committee and the need on a number of occasions, especially with a number of particular DGs on the part of the European Commission. More attention from us as parliamentarians, and here I will not just throw the ball at the feet of the Commission, I think that as a European Parliament we should give more and more importance to this Committee. But in a number of situations too I believe that the European Commission can be much more proactive in seeing that those of our citizens who have made a rather small effort to even come here in the European Parliament in order to fight for their rights: environmental rights, fundamental rights, animal rights. Rights which are enshrined and protected by this Treaty of the European Union. I believe that we should give them more and more importance in order to find real solutions and, ultimately, so that the European project remains a real people's project that addresses people's priorities.

Mr President, Commissioner, a lot has changed in the 30 years since the first World Summit for Social Development. Millions of people were lifted out of poverty, but still, it is far from being eradicated. Even within the EU, we can see what the cost of living crisis did to the most vulnerable people within our society. If anything, inequality seems on the rise and the arrival of a class of ultra‑rich tech billionaires is continuing to complicate things further. Reducing poverty and inequality should be our priority, from the local to the global level. The best way to social inclusion is to provide people with a quality job that has good working conditions. This goes beyond decent pay. In times of digitalisation, we see new forms of exploitation of workers. In Europe, we are seeing workers being pushed to the limit by algorithmic system management. In this new reality, workers' rights need to be respected. While the digital divide is growing, social inclusion will depend on digital literacy for all workers.

Mr President, Vice-President of the Commission, In every democracy, the rules must apply fairly, equitably to all, without any kind of exception. We know that European sovereignty is under threat in the digital sphere. Following the great efforts that this House has made during the past legislature, to push forward and approve legislation, which was the first in the world, which has put the European Union at the forefront of digital regulation such as the DSA, the DMA, the AI Act, it is now time, in the end, to move to the next step and ensure that enforcement is done in a fair and good way. Only then will our citizens get back the results from this legislation, which we have worked so hard for, and it will only be when When, Apple, X, TikTok, Google and others start to abide by our rules, that we ultimately get there. And they need to do it by changing their traditional business model. So far they have changed very little and have done so often against their hearts and this is not just a situation of imposing fines. It is a situation where the European Commission should demonstrate that it does not agree with this kind of way these platforms are working and should ultimately do so in order to protect the laws of the European Union, our democracy. And despite U.S. President Donald Trump's attacks, violations must be met with sanctions without hesitation. These threats should ultimately trigger, as soon as possible, the anti-cohesion mechanism. That is why the Digital Omnibus, and here we should be very careful, should not be a clock-back exercise, which sends a message that we will be reducing the implementation of our regulation. Furthermore, it is also important that in this unprecedented situation, which we are facing, where we have a number of digital attacks taking place around us, at our airports and in the systems most vulnerable to our citizens, it is important to reduce the dependence of our technologies from outside the European continent. And so we strengthen our digital sovereignty as soon as possible.

Ms President, some pride I felt yesterday when on the Maltese Embassy, for the first time, I saw the Palestinian flag rise after the recognition that Malta formally made a few days ago at the United Nations of the Palestinian State. And I think that at this stage we are currently in it is important that before we start talking about a two-state solution, we call on all our Member States as soon as possible, which would be the strongest message to recognise the Palestinian State. Why? Because it is important that the Palestinian people have a strong voice if we ultimately want to find a fair solution, a just solution after this human tragedy that we have seen develop in Gaza. Following this genocide that has taken place in the face of us, following this massive killing of children, young people, women, innocents over the past weeks, months and now years, two full years, so it is of the utmost importance to see that the Palestinian people have a strong voice, now, that it is supposed to find a way forward so that in the Middle East we really have peace to make ...

Madam President, Prime Minister, allow me to ask you about your government's AI strategy to achieve digital sovereignty by 2030. Soon, we will be halfway through the evaluation of Europe's digital decade and unfortunately, we are not meeting our targets. We need to learn fast because the digital transition is not waiting and we need to catch up. The fact is that Europe has become overly dependent on foreign technological infrastructure, provided mainly by big US tech corporations. One of those, Amazon, is based in your country and by now, is the biggest employer in Luxembourg. It makes me wonder how you deliver on sovereign cloud solutions and other infrastructural aspects that underpin your AI supercomputer ecosystem. What is the interaction between Amazon Web Services and the sovereign technological stack that you are aiming for? Could you enlighten us and also the Commission with your approach in this quest for a tech ecosystem and AI development in line with our democratic values and the roles of the AI Act and GDPR?

Madam President, at a time when protectionism continues to rise around us and we are seeing the effects of protectionism and market value that, ultimately, the United States is moving forward, I think it should open our eyes, make us more appreciative of the value of the European single market. A duty-free market between Member States. A market which, ultimately, also regulates the quality of the products we buy and consume, the standards of these products. And in small Member States such as countries, like Malta, we appreciate this value much and much more as we also depend on many imports. Ultimately, however, we must see that the European single market works fairly, equitably for all, including small Member States such as Malta, such as Cyprus, like Luxembourg, where in countries, for example, when comparing a number of essential product prices between Malta and other Member States, it sees major differences. We need to extend the common market also to medicinal products. Again, small Member States such as Malta are seeing major problems with the registration of medicinal products in each Member State and thus a marked difference and variation in the prices of medicinal products on a European basis. But also when it comes to the availability of these products for our patients, the most vulnerable people and so it is important to further strengthen the European single market, ensure a level playing field when it comes to prices. But we see that we also expand the European single market for medicinal products to provide the best service for our patients.

Madam President, first of all I would like to thank everyone for the overwhelming support to give a fairer deal to our consumers. Now, in accordance with Rule 60(4), I request referral back to the committee responsible for interinstitutional negotiations.

Ms President, Commissioner. In Malta we understand more the importance of the common market. And why do we do that? Perhaps more than other Member States. Because we are an island country that necessarily want to import the most essential products from the European continent on a daily basis. We can talk a lot about legislation, about streamlining the rules of the European internal market. But ultimately, when do our citizens, our consumers appreciate the European single market? It's when they go to pay. And what our consumers, especially Maltese and Gozitan consumers, are noticing is the difference in the price they are paying for the most essential products compared to other Member States. And so this reduces trust, trust in the European single market which, ultimately, is the most fundamental and important element for the European project. And so we have to see and work so that, in addition to having common standards, we have low prices and higher product quality. Thus, the European internal market remains relevant in the eyes of people. We can give the best deal to our customers.

Madam President, before I conclude, I would like to thank first and foremost to all the shadows that have collaborated to find consensus on this very important file. We have different political opinions; a different political background; we come from different Member States with very different realities, with specific interests, specific practices, also in the tourism industry; but still we came together and struck a balance between what we have heard from travel agents and also what we have heard from consumer associations, and directly from consumers, to find the right balance between these different interests. And in this delicate exercise, which we will take forward towards the Member States in the trilogue negotiations, we are hoping to ultimately find the right balance to increase consumer protection, but at the same time also strengthen our tourist operators. Therefore we want to keep vouchers voluntary – and this is an important line for my political group. We want to keep the protection and insurance of travel organisers in case of bankruptcy in place. Let us see the positive in this file that can make the difference for holidaymakers around Europe. And I count on your support in the vote that we have tomorrow.