Speeches

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the war breaks out in Ukraine over the vile invasion of Russia and only then do we see that many Russian oligarchs can count on European citizenship thanks to the gold passports sold by some Member States. We already knew, after all, but this practice was tolerated, because it brought economic revenue. Now it has become a problem, so much so that some procedures have been suspended. Today the Russians, tomorrow who else? Do we have to wait for a new emergency to understand the risks of this practice? Because the risks are many, starting with the facilitation of criminal and terrorist organizations, money laundering and the reinvestment of dirty money. I am in favour of an inclusive European Union, but towards those who are genuinely entitled to it. There are children of immigrants born in our countries who live in legal limbo for years, victims of an economic disparity: Let's think about them first. Let us be more and more a Europe of rights, not of business. For this reason, I believe it is important to take action that can regulate and limit the practice of passports and golden residences, as well as making their lists transparent.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank the European Ombudsman for her work, in particular for her great commitment to deepening the European Union's response to COVID-19. When we need to act in an emergency, the risks to transparency increase. For example, even today we cannot fully know the content of contracts for COVID vaccines. We cannot know if there are conflicts of interest, nor the figures paid. On conflict of interest and revolving doors, an obvious case concerned the Executive Director of theEuropean Banking AuthorityHe became CEO of a financial lobby. A serious case, also because for a certain period of time the former official still had access to confidential documents of the European institution. We need to change the contracts. When accepting a position, the executive must know that he will not be able to work in a particular role in the private sector for a certain period of time, and on this point, Mrs. O'Reilly, he will have our support. There must be no derogations or discretions, it is the credibility of our institutions that is at stake.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the ECB has certainly acted courageously during the pandemic. The government bond-buying programme and an accommodative monetary policy have fostered the current economic recovery, which, however, we would like to see made fairer to all citizens. The ECB's annual report attests to the good work that has been done, although there are at least two major challenges ahead: energy price increases and inflation in the first place. Raising interest rates abruptly would risk a sovereign debt crisis and we cannot afford it; Instead, we continue with unconventional monetary policy instruments to help businesses and households. Second emergency: The ECB can contribute to the fight against money laundering and tax evasion. Let us remember that a large part of tax evasion and money laundering also takes place through banks and that they also rely on tax havens, which are also present within this Europe.

(IT) Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the Recovery and Resilience Facility represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for States to relaunch the economy and make an environmental change, but the funds must be used to their full potential. We cannot allow criminal organizations and business committees to seize them and use them for their own enrichment. We need controls by the European institutions, but above all by the Member States. A common effort is needed to achieve a homogeneity in the action of prevention and contrast. That is why I believe it is essential to provide adequate resources to both OLAF and the new European Public Prosecutor's Office, so as to guarantee controls and investigations to avoid fraud, fictitious splitting of contracts and waste of resources. I also welcome important initiatives such as the NextGenerationEU law enforcement Forum promoted by Europol and the Italian Crime Centre, led by Director Vittorio Rizzi. A forum to which many Member States have already joined with the aim of monitoring the use of funds.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank the European Court of Auditors for its work. In these difficult years, marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, the European institutions have been called to exceptional work, with a bold and never-before-seen relaunch programme. But there is one unanswered question: How much has been spent by the European Commission on vaccines and now on anti-COVID pills? As an independent external auditor of the European Union, will the Court of Auditors be able to let us know the price paid by the EU to the big pharmaceutical companies for vaccines? It's apparently a very secret thing, linked to contractual clauses. Transparency vis-à-vis citizens should be a priority for the European institutions. How can we know if the power of pharmaceutical companies has not affected the contracts entered into, especially at a difficult time such as the pandemic? If we want public confidence, we need to work with the utmost transparency.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, there are also problems with freedom of the press in states that are regarded as bulwarks of democracy. The case of Assange is emblematic and the European institutions should tackle the problem more decisively. In the silence of the media themselves, there are many journalists forced to defend themselves from reckless lawsuits, made only to hinder their work, which is the basis of the right of citizens to be informed. Journalists have already been subjected to searches, eavesdropping or investigations to uncover sources and block their reporting activities. With today's excellent report, Parliament has played its part, and we now expect an ambitious legislative proposal from the Commission. We also need the cooperation of the Member States, because you can no longer hear stories of journalists such as Report, Lorenzo Tondo or Alfio Caruso, brought to trial and sometimes even convicted - in situations of obvious conflict of interest - just for telling the truth thank you.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, it is not just the fraudsters of tax evasion who are in the Pandora Papers. No. There are also criminals and mobsters who use tax havens and shell companies to hide and launder dirty money, escaping national regulations against organized crime. We know that tax havens also exist within the European Union. black list which has been drafted is extremely lacking. Do we want to fight tax havens and money laundering? Do we want to do this seriously? It is necessary for Member States to adopt anti-money laundering directives as a matter of urgency and for the European Union to take effective action against tax havens. I thank the journalists and their sources who made the spread of the Pandora Papers possible. Freedom of the press is often the only effective bulwark against these illegal practices and allows citizens to know the truth. This is why I also return to stress the unfair detention to which Julian Assange is subjected. Assange must be free!

(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, when it comes to artificial intelligence used by law enforcement, there is not only the issue of facial recognition, a sensitive issue on which a balance must be struck. Hacker and criminal groups across Europe too easily enter the IT systems of public institutions and private companies. For example, they have affected health facilities in Italy, France, Germany and Spain, putting their functioning at risk. Artificial intelligence must become a key tool in the hands of law enforcement to more effectively counteract the cybercrime. But there is not only the repression of criminal phenomena. We need to invest much more in prevention, strengthening the defenses of personal data that can otherwise end up in the black market for data. Effective barriers must be created against hacker and use artificial intelligence as a kind of infiltrator, thanks to which law enforcement can block possible attacks before they occur. Prevention is much more effective than cure.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, perhaps we are not aware of how serious the risk of cyberattacks is. The Council rightly places these issues at the top of its agenda, but we need to act quickly in a united way, because criminal incidents such as data theft and ransom demands and platform paralysis are already on the agenda. We are also witnessing an evolution, a refinement of the type of threat increasingly directed against complex computer systems, with data ranging from health to financial and administrative. The next step will be to improve the current European regulatory framework. It might also be useful to think of a coordinating authority to deal with these issues at supranational level. It is also important that individual countries intervene with uniform national regulations that make data exchange fluid. I close with a thought, however, to the reporter Peter de Vries who was shot in Amsterdam. I turn to you, President von der Leyen, the mafias are a European problem that as such must be tackled with European legislation.