Speeches

Mr President, Commissioner, a bit like a compressor roller, crises and conflicts have, for several years, violently impacted the balance of the world. By ambush or completely assumed, Russia and China are jostling Europe and systematically attacking our democracies. It is therefore imperative today that Europe regains its place on the global political scene and defends it. With this in mind, the Global Gateway strategy is in a way the antidote to the violent poison of the new Beijing Silk Roads. It is imperative to say and repeat the reality. In its cooperation, Europe must be China's inverted mirror. We do not take back with the right hand what we have given with the left hand. On the Indo-Pacific axis, as in Africa, Europe is investing a lot, but we are sorely lacking in visibility. In addition to the communication battle, what we need to gain is the respect and trust of our partners. Respect and trust, which are built by strengthening the effectiveness of our cooperation.

Mr President, Commissioner, sense of responsibility, solidarity: In Dubai, we had a hard time imposing these two fundamental elements to win our battle for the climate. Yet, absolutely everywhere, absolutely everyone knows today that the compressor roller of climate change requires us to immediately change our lifestyles. Disaster after disaster, the devastating alarm signal requires much more than words, much more than a declaration of intent. COP28 is setting a new course and that's good. But for millions of Europeans in the overseas territories, as for our neighbours in the small island states, we are on the front line and our urgency is to strengthen international cooperation to save the ocean, preserve biodiversity and win the water battle. For us, for our children, for today and for tomorrow, we absolutely need new funding to build solutions. We don't have a second planet, we won't have a second chance.

Mr President, Commissioner, Mr Secretary-General, ladies and gentlemen, of course humans cannot live without water. For a thousand reasons – biological, health, economic and humanitarian – we absolutely need water. This water crisis is hitting the world and has become an emergency. It is even a vital emergency for Europeans in Mayotte. Right now, nearly 300,000 people, 300,000 Europeans, are running out of water. Men, women, thousands of children are in great pain. Of course, the French government intervenes and organizes national solidarity. One can certainly polemic, one can fall into the ease of populist polemic, but the Mahorais expect above all durable solutions. Like all of us, they know that the whole world is going to be hit by this water crisis. And in this regard, Mayotte sends a kind of global alarm signal. We need to organise ourselves, we need to support and encourage change in our lifestyles, as we need – above all – to invest in infrastructure and innovative technologies. This fight for water must become a major European fight. It is a duty of solidarity. Above all, it is an imperative for the future.

Madam President, Mr High Representative, many of us are regularly alerting to the Chinese compressor roller that is devastating our relations with the rest of the world, and in particular with Latin America and the Caribbean. In the face of this Chinese offensive, our collective responsibility is to retaliate. A lot of money has been committed. What will we do with this money? Once again, I want to make the case for smart regional cooperation. In this region, we have several European, French territories, which can be anchors and, at the same time, projection points to build this win-win relationship that we need. Mr High Representative, I would like once again to draw your attention to these European territories in the Caribbean on which we must rely, and to reiterate that playing the card of regional cooperation also means giving us, as Europeans, the ability to be much more effective.

Madam President, Commissioner, the immense danger that threatens us prevents us from being naive. It must be understood that when Vladimir Putin blows up a hydraulic dam in Ukraine, it is the water he uses as a weapon of war. Because Putin, like all of us, knows very well that we cannot live without water. Moreover, the UN is warning that in a few years' time, one in two humans will run out of water. How can we avoid disaster? Our collective responsibility is engaged. We must first change our ways of life. Sobriety is no longer an option, it is now indispensable. Small gestures and big solutions are important, and Europe must invest in research and innovation, waste water treatment and the fight against waste. Every individual effort must be encouraged, and every collective initiative must be consolidated. Once again, the right balance must be built between all water users. Everyone must show responsibility, but also solidarity.

Madam President, Commissioner, the last seven years have been the warmest on record on the planet, and this climate emergency is severely reducing our ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, especially as the climate compressor roller is sweeping through everything. Much faster action is needed; Above all, we must act differently. This is the spirit of the major international summit organised in Paris in a few days’ time, on the initiative of President Emmanuel Macron and the Caribbean State of Barbados. The aim of this new Global Financial Compact is to find new funds to help developing countries achieve these Sustainable Development Goals. In this common fight for the planet, we must share the best: innovation, sharing solutions and cooperation. This collective intelligence is an imperative and we absolutely need it.

Mr President, Commissioner, by the end of my speech, someone will have starved to death somewhere in East Africa – a man, a woman or a child. This is an absolute tragedy. This is an emergency that requires us collectively to act. Globally, food insecurity is exacerbated by the climate crisis. It also causes terrible conflicts, and in reality no one is safe. We have a collective responsibility to work together and to work fast. In the face of climate shocks and food crises, Europe must be a strong partner in building local solutions, which are often also excellent global solutions. It is imperative to win our common fight against hunger. It is also a real challenge for humanity and for our common destiny.

Madam President, Madam Vice-President, a few words first of all to thank and congratulate Mr Amaro and also to tell you that the report we are going to vote on tomorrow reaffirms the importance of a strong European commitment to our overseas regions. At home on the island of Réunion, which is a European territory in the Indian Ocean, our breeders, farmers, fishermen, small businesses and young people know that Europe is a fundamental partner in our development. But everyone also knows that the effectiveness of public action depends on respecting our specificities. This adaptation is important in all the common struggles we have to fight. For jobs, for the climate, we must bet on innovation, on audacity. As there is a Europe of solutions, there are also overseas solutions, and Europe must rely on us. Today, this is not only a requirement, but also an emergency.

Madam President, Commissioner, it is now more important than ever to simplify European procedures. To illustrate this urgency, I will once again tell you about the men and women from overseas, our fishermen, who put their lives at risk every time they go out on boats that are far too old, our business leaders, who continue to create jobs while they crumble under the bills, our farmers, our breeders, who work hard in the face of tropical climate constraints. Everyone works in extremely difficult conditions here, which is why we need to make it easier for them to access EU funds and state aid. I'll be clear: the aim is not to avoid the rule. On the contrary, the aim is to adapt the rule to make public action more effective. It is the meaning of this overseas reflex that I carry here, for a Europe that is more united, more efficient and that takes into account the reality of our local specificities.

Madam President, Commissioner, obviously no border can stop a pandemic. Similarly, no wall can stop a natural disaster. The threat is global, so global solutions are needed. Human health is directly connected to environmental health, and this is where Europe has a role to play with development aid. We need to strengthen our cooperation: cooperation for health infrastructure, cooperation for medical research, cooperation for sharing solutions. Obviously, if the planet is sick, we will all be sick. So we have to work together, work more, work better. We are already very late.

Mr President, Commissioner, in the southern hemisphere, more than 3 billion people live under the constant threat of climate change. Right now, in East Africa, the terrible tropical cyclone Freddy is wreaking havoc and the death toll is already over 200 for small island developing states. The issue of resilience, resistance to climate change is not only a matter of survival, but also a matter of money. And we have to talk about it because it is expensive to rebuild, to adapt, to innovate. And these frontline countries need more funding with simpler and, above all, faster procedures. The Bridgetown Agenda puts forward strong proposals to unlock access to billions of euros of investment needed to build climate resilience. But to succeed, we need to put everyone around the table: developed countries, developing countries, financial institutions, the private sector as well. This inclusive approach is imperative to achieve concrete results. As you said, next June, France will organise a crucial summit for a new global financial pact. We will then have the obligation, the obligation to move forward together, to share solutions, to support local initiatives as close as possible to the ground to combat this infernal spiral of climate change. It is time for cooperation, solidarity and efficiency. We need to act. Act fast. We don’t have time anymore.

Mr President, Commissioner, we are talking to each other. In its strategy for international cooperation, today Europe is at a fundamental crossroads. What must we do to ensure that Europe has a real place on the world stage, a real place, not a strapontin? The new Chinese Silk Roads, which are a poison for the global balance, must be fought firmly. All the billions that Beijing gives with one hand, the Chinese regime violently takes them back with the other by strangling developing countries that have been seduced by this kind of siren song. On the contrary, we Europeans respect our partners. Our cooperation tool, the Global Gateway, is a respect-based partnership tool. It is not just a matter of money. This EUR 300 billion must be used to implement projects to combat climate change, for energy transitions, for collective intelligence and for local initiatives. The money is there, but we must now speed up the construction of projects and construction sites. We are not going fast enough. We know there is a danger. It is therefore imperative to go faster, to go further. We are still far from having succeeded in our gamble, and I want here today to set an alert point, particularly on the Indo-Pacific axis.

Madam President, Commissioner, once again I will denounce the appalling working conditions of fishermen in the overseas territories. We cannot talk about fishing in Europe without repeating that our ultramarine fishermen are Europeans. They are not large manufacturers with large boats, they are craftsmen with small boats, with end-of-life equipment. They have nothing to do with the pirates that devastate our oceans. Our collective responsibility is to protect them, to accompany them. Then it is necessary that immediately stop this unbearable ping-pong game between Brussels and Paris, where everyone returns the ball. It is unbearable that an administrative millefeuille endangers the lives of our sailors, discourages our young people who would like to take over and weakens an artisanal sector that is essential to our food autonomy. So we must immediately authorize, launch and implement the renewal of fleets of small fishing vessels in our overseas territories. This is an absolute urgency.

Mr High Representative, as we speak, the shockwave of the war in Ukraine is hitting the whole world hard. And when Vladimir Putin uses food security as a weapon of war, of course, we must protect all Europeans, but also our international partners and especially the remote islands. I come from a small European island in the Indian Ocean, Réunion, and as Chair of the CARIFORUM parliamentary delegation, I also hear worrying warning messages from the Caribbean island states and it is an economic humanitarian bomb that threatens to explode. So, Mr High Representative, I would like to ask you what Europe intends to do to accompany the island territories which, instead of giving in to Chinese and Russian sirens and promises, have instead chosen a stronger partnership with Europe?

Mr President, Commissioner, with each passing day Haiti sinks a little further into chaos. In July, more than 230 people in Port-au-Prince were killed by ultraviolent gangs. Even NGOs are attacked and humanitarian aid stocks are looted by terror-ridden bandits. As chairman of the Cariforum parliamentary delegation, I have always worked to ensure that Europe remains a strong and supportive partner of the Haitian people. But the extreme violence currently ravaging Haiti requires the Haitian government to take measures for security and against corruption. We here must strengthen our solidarity with the Haitian people. Europe must not abandon the Haitian people, but Europe must also protect the European citizens of the region, the Caribbean, the Guyanans who are also strongly impacted by the migratory consequences of this chaos.

Madam President, Commissioner, following the violence of this summer’s drought and the devastating effects of climate change, one of the fundamental questions we are asked today is how Europe will cope with the next water shortages, and, above all, how we can protect our citizens from the – high – risk of a water war. Indeed, what we feared is already there; The water war is here. While we are talking here, in the world, from the Nile to the Mekong, several thousand people are fighting, with weapons, for access to water. By the end of the decade, 700 million people will be forced to leave their region because their territory will have become unlivable, completely burned, devastated by drought. So what can we do? First, Europe must act, because our collective responsibility is engaged in this climate disruption. What are we going to do? Well, in view of this global challenge, international cooperation must first be organised to finance solutions for water research, preservation and distribution. We also have tools at European level, such as development policy, which must be mobilised to ensure access to water. Finally, we must change our lifestyles: less waste, more solidarity. By 2050, one in two humans will face water scarcity. Acting is a vital emergency, but words are no longer enough. We must act, and above all, act quickly.

Mr President, Commissioner, it is dinner time here in Strasbourg. But even today on the same planet, in the southern hemisphere, in Madagascar, millions of children will have eaten only a small piece of cassava cake and a small glass of cactus juice: This is the reality of food insecurity. So our collective responsibility requires Europe to engage – and it is already engaging with a lot of solidarity – but we also need to address the causes of this food insecurity. Together with our partners, we need to co-build solutions adapted to agriculture, access to water and health. But we must also accelerate this global fight against climate change, which causes drought, famine and conflict. The urgency is to work together because coherence, efficiency, convergence are the keys to our collective challenge.

Mr President, Commissioner, absolutely no one can say that they have not understood that climate change is a deadly compressor roller for absolutely everyone, absolutely everywhere. It is not just a race against time, it is a race against death. The reality is there, more than 40 ° C in France, a few days ago, a terrible fire in Spain, drought, heatwave, on absolutely all continents. Faced with the climate threat, the Sustainable Development Goals are both a compass and a thermometer. The compass is heading, and we know all the massive efforts we need to make quickly now to change our ways of life. The thermometer says where we are, and it is a wake-up call, because the reality is there: Climate change threatens everyone. This is an emergency for everyone and we need to act quickly. We must protect all Europeans, of course, and especially the most remote ones, on the islands, in the overseas territories. But I also want to reiterate our responsibility to support our partners in developing countries, because Europe’s solidarity in the face of climate change cannot stop at the geographical limits of the European continent.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, as we speak here, more than 20 million Europeans live on islands. And when we look at the list of challenges of the island territories: adaptation to climate change, the challenges of energy, transport, youth, employment, well we realize that these are the great challenges of the European Union and we immediately see that we are bound by a common destiny. So we need a common strategy to compensate for the effects of insularity, aggravated by remoteness and isolation. This report must be understood as a call for mobilisation for all European islands, because, from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic, we can clearly see that our commonalities are more important than our differences. And this report is also a call to respect our specificities in each of our territories. We need a strategy adapted to the reality, the constraints, the challenges of each of our territories, each of our islands. This, I believe, is the key to the success and effectiveness of a European strategy for all our islands.

Madam President, Commissioner, I want to say at the outset that when Vladimir Putin savagely attacks Ukraine, he also puts in his crosshairs the unity of Europe and the cohesion of European territories. In the face of our great challenges, including the great challenge of peace, we need to strengthen the cohesion and solidarity that are in the DNA of the European Union. Territory by territory, region by region, this war will impact absolutely everyone. The shock wave is powerful. It is already shaking our hearts and will also impact our economies and social balances. We need to speed up the deployment of cohesion funds as close as possible to the territories. Simplification efforts must also continue to encourage local initiatives. The strength of our response and resilience depends on the collective intelligence of the territories. You know, the dictionary says that cohesion is a force that unites. But here we know that it is also a force that is able to bring together the best of humanity to face together the worst moments in our common history.

Mr President, Commissioner, right now in eastern Africa, in the Indian Ocean, in southern Madagascar, almost one million men, women and children are devastated by a terrible famine: there is no more water, drought burns the soil, nothing grows and there is nothing to eat. More than 70,000 children are hungry and given a mixture of cactus and ash to try to keep them alive. Europe is already intervening, but in Madagascar, as everywhere, emergencies must be addressed. The causes must also be addressed. And even when it is not the direct trigger for humanitarian disasters, climate change systematically aggravates already existing failures. We have talked a lot about solidarity, but I stress our responsibility. Our partners are our neighbors, they are also our brothers, so their sufferings are also our sufferings.

Madam President, Commissioner, I would like to repeat here at once that, despite the geographical distance, Haiti is our neighbour. Indeed, the great suffering of the Haitian people resonates strongly in the European overseas territories close to Haiti. Once again, the Haitian tragedy is at the heart of this Chamber and I want to thank the European Commissioner, Janez Lenarčič, for his commitment to the Haitian people, immediately after this terrible earthquake. Of course, the European humanitarian mission must continue with the Haitian people, but we know that the fight against poverty will not be enough. Criminal gangs, sometimes backed by local politicians, are spreading appalling terror and all this violence is hampering the democratic process, preventing much-needed reforms and directly impacting the fragile migration balance in neighbouring overseas regions. For all these reasons, Europe must remain a strong partner of the Haitian people, but in its negotiations with the Haitian authorities, Europe must be strong and demanding so that security remains at the centre of non-negotiable priorities.

Madam President, Commissioner, for the three million tourists who used to come to spend their holidays in the French Overseas Territories, our territories look like paradise; But the violence of this crisis has been hell for our tourism professionals and for our island economies. The emergencies are there and Europe must absolutely support the relaunch of tourism in the Overseas Territories. Why? Because investment must be encouraged, regional airlines must be supported and the attractiveness of tourism professions, especially for young people, must be increased. I can hear you: you want to launch a modern, sustainable and responsible tourism. I say to you ‘Put on us!’ because we have treasures of biodiversity, because our greatest wealth is the men and women of our territories, and because this is also tourism: unforgettable encounters and the opportunity to build oneself in openness to others and respect for each other.

Mr President, Mr President, Commissioner, dear Elisa Ferreira, ladies and gentlemen, at the same time yesterday, I was at home on Reunion Island, in the Indian Ocean, with the French Minister for Europe. We kicked off the Regional Conference on the Future of Europe. We met a lot of citizens and they gave us a question. It looks like geometry, but it is a fundamental political question: how to be both on the periphery and in the heart of Europe? Right now, 5 million Europeans live in the Indian Ocean, the Caribbean and the Atlantic. They are waiting for our response to their hopes and emergencies. Our answer is this report that I am defending before you today. I call for a new European strategy for the outermost regions (ORs). These are nine French, Spanish and Portuguese territories: Reunion, Mayotte, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Saint Martin, Martinique, Madeira, the Azores, the Canaries. I want to quote them all, because I want to repeat here that each of these regions is an opportunity for Europe. They are at the forefront of major European challenges: climate, cohesion, health and, of course, the environment, since the ORs account for 80% of Europe’s biodiversity. This report is a call for action, for urgent action to build together a new development model for the overseas regions, for the outermost regions. I would also like to thank all my colleagues and their teams here. We have co-constructed this strategy in three axes, protecting, developing, valuing. This new strategy must be greener, of course, bluer, fairer too. There is still so much time to catch up; the poverty, the unemployment, the precariousness that make our young people say that their horizon is broken. We absolutely need a new, proactive and effective European commitment. So, how to be effective? First of all, it means respecting Article 349 TFEU and establishing a genuine OR reflex in all the European institutions. I will tell you, to forget is to forget that we are part of the European solutions. Forgetting ourselves is forgetting our commitment not to leave anyone behind. This OR reflex means demonstrating collective intelligence in the face of our common challenges. In addition to the climate emergency, which requires reconciliation between humans and nature, there are also social and economic emergencies. Faced with these fragilities, Europe is acting with its cohesion policy, its support for farmers, fishermen and breeders, as well as with its Erasmus mobility programmes. Our new OR strategy calls for consolidating achievements, respecting specificities and, above all, opening up new opportunities for our young people. This means creating campuses of excellence, developing digital to find jobs. It also means turning our ORs into driving regions for innovation, energy transition or research. So yes, I repeat here, Europe is an opportunity for the ORs. But each of our overseas territories is an opportunity for Europe. It takes boldness and determination. This is my ambition here in this new strategy to change your eyes, to change our eyes. Because the ORs are territories of solutions, territories with geostrategic assets, with our strengths and weaknesses, with our fragilities and with our assets, with our demands and with our hopes. We are in a way the mirror of your relationship with the most distant, the most weakened, the most resilient too. So, I tell you, in the face of climate and social challenges, maybe we are also your future. So, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, the ball is in your court and everywhere we know we can count on you.

Madam President, Minister, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, can a plea be enough for the South Pole? Of course, no. Do we need much more than a plea? Absolutely, yes. Yes, because saving Antarctica today is an absolute emergency that requires much more than words. We must act and we must act quickly. And it is the whole requirement of this resolution that Europe must carry as a fight for future generations. You know, the closest European territories to the South Pole are the French Southern and Antarctic Lands. There, scientists and military personnel work all year round in difficult conditions, and I want to say thank you to them because they are much more than our ambassadors. They are our eyes and ears. They hear the melting ice cream cracking. They see biodiversity disappear. The stakes are colossal and I will tell you: Europe cannot simply see. Europe must be committed and this commitment must be heard at global level. As you have said on several occasions, international powers covet these territories for the wrong reasons. These marine protected areas must be resisted and built. Beyond geopolitics, today, the strength and imminence of danger require and summon our responsibility. The South Pole may seem far away, but if Antarctica disappears, it is here, at the heart of our lives, that we will be impacted. And it is our children that we will condemn.