Speeches

Madam President, the ban on beer in stadiums will have been as much talked about as the death of 6 500 slave workers. I don't know what to conclude for our humanity, but I know what it says about the Qatari government. It has no respect for its partners, nor for human rights, and is unable to live up to its commitments. Let us not pretend to be surprised because, behind the screen of FIFA, we are responsible – France in particular – for entrusting the organisation of this Cup to a State whose practices, however, we knew, often also let corruption guide its choices. Let us ask ourselves about these disproportionate events, often coveted by repressive states in search of a new image. Let us ask ourselves the question ahead of the climate impact and ensure that prior criteria are finally established. FIFA imposes luxurious specifications for the organisation of the worlds. It is time for it to impose a specification of human rights and ecology, and for it to be imposed. It is up to us politicians to make this voice heard. To parade is to make us complicit in this.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, sometimes it is by going there that we can measure a reality, that we can feel the temperature. At the beginning of September, I had the opportunity to visit Tunisia, to meet civil society actors, human rights defenders, Tunisians and Tunisians. I went to Tunis and travelled to Tabarka to meet a young mayor, elected in a partial election, who is being sued by the national authorities because she dared to allow unemployed young graduates to earn some money by holding the beaches and offering chairs and umbrellas during the summer. The list of democratic setbacks, I would like to assure you, is very long: a state of emergency that has become permanent, elections without transparency, judicial attacks against political leaders, military trials against civilians, intimidation of local elected officials; This is the Tunisian reality today. The security and anti-democratic shift unravels every achievement of the Tunisian revolution. You know, this great upheaval movement in the Arab world that we had supported. We thought that, finally, there might be a democratic process and that we should support it. When I went there, NGOs and associations still spoke openly. They even accepted the name of their association, their personal name. This has not been the case for a few days. I had the opportunity to exchange with associations. They tell me: Most of all, you're not quoting us. You give neither our name nor the name of the organisation to which we belong.” You see that today, after unravelling the institutions, it is associations, civil society that are under attack. There are 20,000 associations in Tunisia that had participated in the laws against violence against women, against discrimination, against corruption. This is what is under threat. And this is serious for the European Union, because in Tunis there are also associations that, from Tunisia, work through our programmes for Libya, for Palestine. What is happening in Tunisia is not simple. Europe needs to see clearly what is at stake in Tunisia and what President Kaïs Saïed is setting up. Yes, we must support Tunisia! Tunisians must be allowed to face the COVID crisis, the energy crisis. We must give money, but we must also support citizens, support actors, support democracy, because that is our responsibility and it is our honour.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, a climate conference is an international event of great importance: for states, which must push their ambitions loud and clear, and for people, who are the first to be impacted by the climate and who are pushing policymakers to do more and better. In Egypt, human rights are not respected, as everyone knows. Here in the European Parliament, we have made several requests and resolutions calling for the release of 60,000 political prisoners. In Egypt, associations are refused registration, the right to demonstrate freely is denied, and those who speak loudly are locked up. In Egypt, we are already afraid of reprisals after the COP. In the midst of the debate on human rights violations in Qatar for the organisation of the World Cup, it is essential that we establish a framework for the preparation of the COPs. Egypt this year, the Arab Emirates next year. COPs should not be allowed to be a communication operation for authoritarian regimes. So I ask one simple thing: the development of criteria by the United Nations in relation to respect for human rights for the holding of the next COPs. It is a matter of consistency. There is no point in trying to save the climate if it is to allow authoritarian regimes to emerge.

Madam President, Commissioner, we will soon run out of water. This omen of the ecologist René Dumont in 1974 is now reality. A violent reality, largely caused by the climate crisis and pollution. Inaction is unthinkable, even as the international community has enshrined the right to water as a human right. Water is not a consumer product like any other that can be traded. Let us not allow any industrial or agricultural activity to jeopardise access to water in third countries. No European company should be involved in these activities and we must be vigilant about the impact of our trade agreements on water. International recognition of the crime of ecocide is an essential lever in the fight to protect the right to water. That is why I call on my colleagues to vote in favour of this report, which recognises these elements as they stand. Colleagues, the arrival of water on the stock market in 2020 is one of the last aberrations of a bankrupt system. Let's raise the bar for the planet and for the law.

Madam President, our region, the Euro-Mediterranean region, is experiencing a resurgence of authoritarianism and international violence while suffering the increasingly harsh effects of climate change. In this context, Europe must create healthy, lasting and peaceful links for its neighbours. While our lockdown in Russian gas is so dark, let's not make the same mistake with our Mediterranean neighbors. On the other hand, let us build a Mediterranean Green Deal with them. While we have allowed a violent autocrat to settle in Moscow, to the point of exporting weapons to him, let us not make the same mistakes with the Mediterranean regimes that flout rights. Conversely, let’s step up our support for civil society actors who stand up for rights, from Jerusalem to Tabarka. As the European Parliament’s standing rapporteur on Egypt, I call on the European Union to put pressure on al-Sisi, demand the release of political prisoners and allow for a real mobilisation around COP27. Commissioner, the citizens of the Mediterranean do not expect Europe to exploit their wealth and market while imposing migration management worthy of a fortress. Let's reconnect with a migration management that puts international law and human rights at the center of our policies. Finally, in the coming times, our Mediterranean neighbours will face food insecurity of rare intensity, while Lebanon faces record food inflation. Let us stand with our neighbours to face these difficult months together.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, here we are: in about less than a year, we have managed to lay the legislative foundations more than incentivising. We have almost found the gap that allows the constraint to finally lay the basis for a wage shield within the European Union. And this is something very concrete. In fact, what we are trying to change with this directive is what is at the bottom of the payroll of European workers: 25 million of them will see their salaries increase by 20%. Through this text, we will succeed in reducing in-work poverty by almost 10%. This is a concrete step forward for an institution that was not hitherto recognised for its social effectiveness. Well, here we are. We are in the moment of truth. It is up to our good old nation states to act. They have two years, Commissioner, to transpose this directive and make it concrete, but they can do so now, as quickly as possible. In this context of energy and food crisis, our good old nation states can act to provide this protection to our fellow citizens. In any case, here we have done our job and we are succeeding in advancing social Europe. This is excellent news for Europeans, but also for a certain thought that we Europeans have.

Mr President, Commissioner, while the European Union is the world’s second-largest economic power, almost 97 million people face poverty and social exclusion, and 22% of the population is unable to make ends meet or lead a decent life. We fear autumn, but wake up: we are already in the unacceptable. There is an urgent need to adopt national ‘measures’. People do not want charity, but dignity and respect for their rights. We must make the European project our best social shield. This is urgent. A minimum income system in all Member States must be created to ensure that everyone lives in dignity. It must be above the poverty line. We also need to continue the green transition in a fair way to ensure safe and decent jobs, but also energy renovation projects that will limit constrained household spending. We have passed the minimum wage. We must also succeed in the right to housing, food and health.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine reinforces the need for a Europe of security, capable of ensuring peace. In order for defence investments to truly build this European defence, it is crucial that they are coordinated in order to close the European capability gap. More than ever, Member States must stop the dispersed initiatives that exacerbate the fragmentation of our budgetary resources to the sole benefit of the arms industry. Finally, our Europe of peace must engage politically and financially in arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation, at regional and global levels. The war against the Ukrainian people must lead Member States to act more responsibly and move towards a coherent and stabilising common security architecture.

Madam President, Shireen Abu Akleh, the death of this famous Palestinian-American journalist shocked the world. She was wearing her helmet and press bulletproof vest and was shot in the head. Killing a journalist is a crime against freedom of expression that cannot go unpunished. We call for an international UN-led investigation that can determine the entire chain of responsibility. But the horror did not end with Shireen’s assassination. Another journalist next to her, Ali al-Samoudi, also took a bullet. The investigation must also concern him. There were shootings, other deaths, unworthy provocations at the funeral and arrests among the funeral participants. But how far will injustices go? How far will the horror go? I ask us to have the courage to take the decisions to demand sanctions so that this crime does not go unpunished like others.

Mr President, Minister, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, as Ukraine faces the worst hours in its history, Europe must stand in solidarity with this aggressed people. To deal with and cure its own ills, Europe and its Member States must also strengthen their internal solidarity and social solidarity. We must prevent Vladimir Putin’s war from creating a social meltdown in the European Union, as Europeans are facing increased energy poverty and inflation. Both the right to housing and the right to food must be guaranteed. We have the means, mobilize the necessary funds for the power to live. The crisis we are going through must lead the EU to face up to and change its social policies in order to protect the most vulnerable. We need to act in a united way against the impact of the conflict on social inequalities, employment and poverty. There is an urgent need to stop procrastinating on European social projects. I therefore call on the French Presidency and the Council to be ambitious on the draft directive on minimum wages currently being negotiated. And I say that the minimum wage must guarantee decent living conditions for all workers. I also call for a joint minimum income initiative to eradicate poverty. This war puts us, after COVID, after years of precariousness, in front of an even more glaring social emergency. Our Europe, our Union, must respond to this by concretely strengthening its social policies.

Madam President, in order to deter Vladimir Putin from engaging in a bloody conflict at the EU’s doorstep, we must stand in solidarity and firm. In the face of the absurd expansionist nationalism of a man willing to sacrifice thousands of human lives, no complacency is possible. I condemn those in our democracies who engage in this complacency, which turns a blind eye to the corruption and aggressiveness of the Russian regime and its human rights violations. At this moment, which is so important for Ukrainians, but also for our security in the European Union, I expect Member States to demonstrate exemplary coherence. All Member States must support the sanctions regime. All Member States must say loud and clear that operations beneficial to Russia, such as the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, will be stopped immediately if Moscow comes to arms. A stronger and more united Europe is the answer to this crisis, which NATO’s expansion, which is too polarising, does not have the capacity to solve politically.

Mr President, Mr Borrell, ladies and gentlemen, the crisis in Ukraine is a test that Europe has not experienced in decades. In a ballet of heads of state, Europeans try to avoid war. So, yes, Europe must build a new policy that guarantees collective security and through which it will speak with one voice. In the face of those who would like to remake world orders of the past, based on violence or spheres of influence, and who seek to corrupt our democracies, we need unity. We need an integrated security and defence policy. We need a policy that protects democracy and our values. Unfortunately, that is not what this report presents. This report does not rethink our sovereignty at European level. It does not allow us to adapt the means on which we base our security to the current challenges. What we have been waiting for is a policy free from the blackmails about immigration that shame us. Considering migrants at the Belarusian border as instruments of hybrid warfare is an intolerable moral mistake, rapporteur. We were also waiting for Europe to guarantee that weapons produced within it would not end up in the hands of dictators or war criminals. We were still waiting for the rejection of the perpetual mistake of the all-military in several regions where we deployed military assets – such as the Sahel. These are the means of development that are sorely lacking. Finally, we expected the awareness that the European Green Deal will not be achieved by turning a blind eye to these high-emission sectors. We expected quantified targets and mandatory transparency on emissions from this sector. This report is a report of the past. Environmentalists will not support it.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, freedom of movement for people and freedom of movement for workers are the daily lives of millions of us. While these freedoms define the European project, their associated rights are a neglected exercise. Enforcing your rights to unemployment, care and retirement is still part of the fighter's journey. Exploitation and endangerment of workers, such as massive fraud via letterbox subsidiaries, are still collateral damage to posted worker status. Faced with such a picture, it is difficult to understand the Commission's reluctance to act. There is an urgent need to ensure the portability of people’s and workers’ rights within the EU. Digitalisation is an opportunity, provided that data and the institutions that have the right to access it are not mixed; provided that for each data collected, a specific purpose is assigned and specific access is defined; provided that its operation in drawers is strictly controlled. The Commission can no longer wait to propose a European tool that protects the social rights and privacy of European workers.

Mr President, Europe and the United States must work together to tackle great challenges. The first challenge, the biggest and most urgent, is the fight against global warming and the decline of biodiversity. It is therefore imperative that the American and European objectives are ambitious and achieved. We must act together to live better on this planet. This requires fair international corporate taxation and a thorough revision of the OECD rules on exchange of information in tax matters. In the face of the Pandora Papers, in the face of the profits of multinationals, what are we waiting for to put an end to wealth grabbing together, help each other in the green transition and move forward together towards a fairer and more sustainable world? Because we share democratic and humanist ideals, the United States and Europe must exert their full weight to support rights around the world. Let us stand up against the crimes committed against the Uyghurs and against the detentions of political prisoners in Egypt. However, we must not be blind to violations of our own political regimes. In the interest of our common ideals, it is healthy for this Parliament to urge Texas this week to reconsider the Abortion Act. It is also healthy not to look away when the US administration is considering a migrant centre in Guantánamo. Finally, while both Trump's and Biden's U.S. does not always support European interests, it still owes respect to its allies. The submarine case is unacceptable. The chaotic evacuation of Afghanistan is a tragic reminder. Let us draw pragmatic lessons for a more balanced transatlantic relationship and finally build a united and emancipated European foreign and security policy.

Madam President, Commissioner, rapporteur, ladies and gentlemen, on 6 May 2021, Chahi, a delivery man, delivers a meal near Rouen, by bike, in the rain. He works for Uber Eats. Chahi, under pressure, is overturned. Would this father have lost his life if the platform had assumed its responsibilities as an employer? If the platform had ensured the safety of the bike and its equipment? If she had allowed him to work not at a discount, at the race, but with a wage guarantee? We, as legislators, have a responsibility to Chahi and the 24 million people who work for such digital platforms: that of making effective the right to work, acquired rights of great struggle, for them and for them. I welcome the fact that this Parliament is about to call on the European Commission to introduce a presumption of an employment relationship and to reverse the burden of proof before the courts. When we see that workers are at the orders of algorithms that put them in competition with other workers, when we see that they are subject to ever-increasing time pressures and prices dictated always downwards, we must force platforms to take responsibility. It is not up to the workers to prove the wage, it is up to the platform to defend itself against it. Yes to digital for social progress. No to the management of work by algorithms without human oversight and in the exploitation of the most vulnerable. Yes, to genuinely self-employed work, not to disguised employees and to the "disproportionalisation" of employers. Behind this report, many people hope that Europe will finally curb the irresponsible liberalisation of their work. For them and for victims like Chahi, let's live up to it.