Speeches

Mr President, Mr High Representative, just as instability between Palestine and Israel did not start on 7 October, so instability in the Middle East did not start with Israel's attack on the consulate in Damascus, with Iran's irresponsible and criminal response to Israel recently. Let us remember that the West was complicit in a coup d'état in Iran in 1953, with the overthrow of Mohamed Mossadegh, which led to the imposition of a brutal and tyrannical regime of the Shah who gave in the Islamic Revolution in 1979. And today, we have this result of Western diplomacy. Therefore, in addition to sanctions, we must have two major actions: support democratic movements that want to establish democratic and secular regimes in Iran and also ensure that the conflict between Israel and Palestine ends, ensuring a peace process that creates two states that live peacefully side by side. I would just like to say that our colleague from the far right has called a high representative of the European institutions a criminal, he has done his job. TikTok He went out not to hear the answer. It is typical of the far right to make videos to TikTok and then go out and hear no answer from anyone.

Madam President, Commissioner, since 2019 we have had major challenges in the European Union. We started the mandate with Brexit, the withdrawal of the UK – we managed to negotiate Brexit. We also had the European Green Deal all these years – we were able to negotiate the European Green Deal and a series of laws to deliver on it. We have had a pandemic – we have been able to fight the pandemic, we have been able to pool debt, we have been able to buy vaccines at European level to help Member States, and therefore we have had very positive action in the recovery and resilience plans to boost our economy. We have been able to fight Russia and become more independent from its energy yoke. We have managed to make a number of legislative measures that improve the lives of citizens. Yesterday we had the issue of legislation on artificial intelligence. And does the European Commission want to make us believe that we cannot have harmonised legislation on animal welfare? This is not a question of a lack of pragmatic and economic measures for the sectors, it is a lack of political will. This is quite simply the point: It is a lack of political will.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to say that we had a fantastic job at the meeting that preceded this discussion and that today will conclude with the vote, in the afternoon, on the guidelines and policies for the next budget. We had a very constructive debate. All the groups have had their sensitivities inserted in the document, which is why we have had a broad supportive endorsement in the Commission. And so I would like to congratulate the rapporteur, Victor Negrescu, for his work, for his sensitivity in welcoming all groups, and especially also some of the Greens' priorities – with regard to decarbonisation; with regard also to the intelligent management of aquifer resources, which for a country such as Portugal is fundamental; on a number of issues on which we have been very difficult to reach an agreement; and also on the issue of foreign aid, and therefore everything that involves the conflict that is taking place in Palestine, in Gaza. In this way, we have managed to have a harmonised text. Unfortunately, once again - and let us hope that this is not the case, as happened last year - we can, this afternoon, in the vote, once again have these consensual political lines rejected by some completely radicalised amendments by some Members who do not participate in the construction of these common lines and who are normally linked to very extreme political strands. In fact, once again, I stress that the far right is not here, it has not shared anything, it has not worked, it is never on the negotiating table, and then it puts forward amendments to literally blow up all the work that has been done. I hope that the parties in the more moderate and central wing will not let themselves be carried away by this strategy, which serves TikTok very well but then, for the daily life of European citizens, does not work at all.

Mr President, recently, the Pentagon and its currently Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) investigative programme, named AARO, published a report considering that AARO has not discovered any empirical evidence that any sighting of UAP represented off-world technology or the existence of a classified programme that had not been properly reported to Congress. However, Luis Elizondo, the former director of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), replied that this public report is intentionally dishonest, inaccurate, and dangerously misleading. The same conclusion can be reached when analysing the recent statements of US top officials in the army, which mentioned in the congressional hearing that the government has secret programmes and that some UAPs are not explained by current human technology. For me and many others, one thing seems rational and obvious: someone is hiding something and it’s not those who are seeking the answers.

Mr President, colleagues, Commissioner, the EU-Chile Association Agreement, in force since 2003, has significantly expanded bilateral trade, including in the agri-food sector, making our continent Chile’s third-largest trading partner. However, the trade deal now needs to be modernised in light of the changed geopolitical landscape. Therefore, we welcome the inclusion of the new sustainability provisions in the trade and sustainable development chapter, as well as the review clause to account for changing environmental and social standards, and for the first time, a dedicated chapter on trade and gender equality. To be noted also, the inclusion of a dedicated chapter on sustainable food systems that promotes bilateral and international cooperation, including provisions on animal welfare, in particular, mutual commitments to maintain the phase out of the use of antibiotics as growth promoters, in place in Chile since 2018. However, there are challenges to be met. We need to ensure that Chilean producers and exporters will apply the production standards equivalent to those of EU farmers on food and feed safety and quality, traceability, sustainability, animal welfare, and the use of veterinary, medicinal and phytosanitary products. To conclude, this is not a perfect trade agreement, but it is clearly an improvement from the one that lived for more than 20 years.

Mr President, Commissioner, as a Portuguese thinker and a dear friend of mine, Joaquim Granja, say, 'Inequality is the mother of all problems' and we must rethink how we combat inequalities in the European Union. There are already quite interesting experiences that indicate that we, perhaps, have to rethink the solution. Giving money to people is actually one of those ways that is quite simple. Therefore, implement projects or pilot experiments of Unconditional Basic Income, known as Universal Basic Income, it is indeed one of those measures that is easy, it is directly for people, and the pilot projects show something quite positive. People do not stop working, they have incomes to pay their most basic expenses, they have the ability to project their life over the next few years, they have the ability to get rid of slave labor, and therefore this transfer of money is also a transfer of power to citizens. Therefore, it is urgent to think, to implement an Unconditional Basic Income project in the European Union.

Mr President, dear Commissioner, the 23-year-old Mohammad Ghobadlou was the ninth protester executed by the Iranian regime. At no time in the past three decades has the human rights situation been as grave as it is today under the presidency of Ebrahim Raisi – notoriously known for his role as a member of the ‘Tehran death commission’ which sent thousands of prisoners of conscience to the gallows for their support for democratic opposition. The current situation in Iran underscores the moral imperative for the international community to support Iranian people in their struggle against tyranny. It is crucial to recognise and uphold their rights to seek freedom, justice and democratic government as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. So the EU diplomacy must not foster a culture of impunity: a foreign policy is needed, focusing on accountability through international courts and universal jurisdiction before we see another massacre in Iranian prisons. To conclude, may the future bring a free, democratic and secular Iran.

Mr President, dear Commissioner, the European Commission is currently finalising its upcoming proposal for an EU Space Law. This important initiative envisages common rules to address safety, resilience and sustainability of space activities and operations. However, in the security pillar there is a gap that needs to be filled. Currently, the EU does not have a harmonised and scientific system to report unidentified anomalous phenomena. This topic, which needs to be a serious issue, needs to be addressed and is being dealt with with the utmost importance in other countries. For example, in the United States, the data collection and analysis of UAP activities in space, civil and military locations is considered as a national security priority. This security concern also led to the creation of a space research programme inside NASA. Therefore, it is fundamental that the EU Commission includes in the European Space Law a programme to collect data on new UAPs as well as the scientific body to analyse these events in a transparent and public way.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, this is one of those debates which perhaps not only serves to launch for social media and the media, but it is a debate involving something very important which is the improvement of public services in our European Union. And perhaps that is why, because it is a debate that has involved many hours of debate, has involved many positions and has involved many constructive changes to effectively improve the daily lives of citizens and many businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises in the European Union, perhaps that is why the far right is not here, not only because it has not participated, but also because it has nothing to add. Because we are talking about profound issues that really go to the heart of what needs to be done in the European Union, which is to discuss how we, as political actors, improve the daily lives of citizens and businesses. This legislative framework is indeed one of those cases and, therefore, we must congratulate all the work that has been done here, and, once again, note that the far right is not here to discuss matters that are fundamental to the daily lives of European citizens and businesses.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I believe that this point – and this tragedy, which unfortunately happened in Galicia and which is also present on the Portuguese coast – demonstrates a positive role for the European Union. And here we often see the extreme-right blaming everything: the globalists, the lack of inaction of the European Union. But it is good to note that the European Union, and in particular the European institutions, have made their way, have done their work: not only legislation here in Parliament, but then also at international level, to ensure that the whole chain of production and distribution of these goods – which must be considered dangerous – is indeed effective and that we are able to respond at these precise points to these emergencies. We should also point out here the role of the European Maritime Safety Agency, which was created about two decades ago with the tragedy that happened with the Prestige and which also demonstrates this will of the European Union, as a whole and in a global form, to attack these phenomena. And here, the extreme-right, once again, comes here, makes two or three clips for the Youtubes and for them TikToks and then he leaves and basically blames everything and a few others, and then he doesn't stay here to answer even one question.

Mr President, let me be clear: no military solution will solve a political problem, and the numbers show us that reality. More than 18 000 Palestinians were murdered in Gaza. Israel also killed more than 100 UN representatives and 60 journalists. But to achieve peace we need politics, not bombs. Therefore, we need an immediate ceasefire with an exchange of hostages, a political deal to a two-state solution, the end of the Israeli occupation in all Palestine and the sending of UN blue helmets to maintain future peace agreements. Moreover, the EU should establish a Palestine facility mechanism like we are negotiating for Ukraine to rebuild critical infrastructure such as houses, schools, roads and sanitation systems. Again, the solution is political, not militaristic. To finish, let me send my gratitude to Bisan Wizard and Motaz Azaiza, who are freely reporting from Gaza. Without you and many others, the world would be blind to the crimes against humanity.

Mr President, Commissioner, representative of the Council, we are here to discuss what a positive vote on the 2024 budget will be tomorrow. And despite being only 1% of the European Union’s GDP, the European Union budget does have an impact on all EU citizens and represents something more than 1%. Indeed, it represents this vision of unity between 27 Member States in specific areas that are essential for, for example, decarbonising the economy, ensuring sustainable employment for decades to come, tackling phenomena beyond our borders, supporting those who need it most, including in Gaza. And it is interesting that, once again, the far right, which speaks and does so much clips For YouTube, which shows that it is very concerned about the European Union, not only does it not participate in the debate, it does not put forward proposals, but it is not even here on the bench to discuss this budget. Once again the far right fills its mouth to talk about nothing and then does not even come here for the debate. It is important for us to understand this dynamic, because in Portugal we will have national elections and the far right will evoke many of these measures, but it has not even set foot here to debate and to present solutions.

Madam President, I was going to talk about the massive lobby that the meat industry made within the European Commission to derail a historic promise made by President Ursula von der Leyen to improve animal welfare standards in the European Union. However, I will focus on the unfair, unjust and inhumane conviction of the lawyer and animal activist Wayne Hsiung in the United States. So Wayne was recently convicted of conspiracy and misdemeanour charges for, brace yourselves, saving sick and injured livestock animals from factory farms. The system is so rotten that even in the trial, all the evidence of animal abuse and cruelty were dismissed. The power is so corrupt that this hero was convicted for having compassion towards sentient beings. So let it be known all around the world and here in the European Parliament that we stand by you, Wayne, and we will fight back.

Madam President, I would like to thank the petitioners, who managed to collect 1.5 million signatures. This mobilisation of civil society and many non-governmental organisations is really fantastic. But politics still surprises us. Here we had a speech from the Commission that talks a lot about animal welfare, which is very concerned, but then, when it comes back to putting the measures in its drawer into practice, it does not put them up for debate. Therefore, give us some crumbs here, saying that they will review the legislation around animal welfare in transport, but leave aside everything that is the production of animals, namely animals that need this legal protection. And here we are talking about a very concrete issue, which is to ban something that is morally unjustifiable, that is, there is no moral, economic or environmental justification for maintaining this production. And then we see here arguments that surprise me. Instead of trying to move towards this goal and really ensuring that there are no imports of these products either, we want not only to keep these skin products, but to use the carcasses of these animals for biofuel or for possible human consumption. This, in politics, is all heard today.

Mr President, the Commission's omission from this work plan for 2024 is surprising: everything to do with animal welfare. Therefore, everything that was the review of animal welfare matters is missing. It does have a proposal to revise part of what is considered to be the transport of live animals, but it is basically throwing dust and sand into the eyes of citizens. We have the European Citizens' Initiatives that gather millions of signatures, mobilise civil society and then they come here, they are validated, there is a hearing and nothing! And nothing! And we know that since the beginning of the Commission’s programme, Ursula von der Leyen said that animal welfare issues were key and that they would come up with such a revision of proposals around animal welfare and those proposals are in the drawer. What I ask is: What is it that limits you to putting forward these proposals so that we can start debating? What are you afraid of? Who are you afraid of? Do you need more debate? We have debates on these issues for years, we have economic impact reports. What else do you need to make these proposals?

Mr President, Commissioner, Spanish Presidency, I am going to give an example of the importance of the budget that we are debating here and which, if all goes well and we hope it will be adopted soon. Today, we have received some Erasmus students here in the European Parliament and it has been possible to understand how difficult it is for them, with the inflationary period, to manage the money they have had to experience the European experience. It was Portuguese students who are in Belgium and this perception is clear. Therefore, there is an additional effort by these students to ensure that these funds serve the purpose of experimenting with Europe, gaining knowledge and strengthening the European spirit. Therefore, the funds being negotiated here are also directed towards this population and inflation has eaten up part of this margin. Therefore, the reinforcement that will be done here will be very important to ensure that there is that capacity for young people to experience the European experience - except for redundancy - and also for such fundamental issues as the environmental transition, which seems to be somewhat forgotten when we discuss the 2024 budget. We are still in a climate crisis. We need to regenerate biodiversity. We need not only national, but European funds to ensure this transition, and therefore programmes such as the Life, they are key to ensuring that we are able to combat these phenomena, not only from the increase in greenhouse gas emissions, but also from the massive destruction of biodiversity that we are experiencing.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, this debate became fundamental when we went through a pandemic crisis and saw the importance of the workers who work and work in this sector, not only because they are fundamental to distributing the goods necessary for our existence, but because without them much of our economy does not work. Therefore, the proposals we are talking about here, as well as the Commissioner's words, are, I believe, welcome to everyone. There are, however, a number of issues that need to be addressed. When we talk about these more digitised car parks, with more safety, with more quality for drivers, we must also take into account the issue of the new technologies that will emerge; and therefore these spaces should include, in addition to what has been said here by the Commissioner, the empowerment of the lorries themselves and the physical structures themselves to be able to generate or distribute clean and renewable energy. This is therefore also crucial given that there will be a transition in this sector and therefore this environmental transition is also motivated and focused on this specificity. It must also be ensured that there is a renewal of the workforce and that these people can be assured that this market, this sector, is attractive, in order to attract more young people and more women, with guarantees of safety, with guarantees of hygiene and health, with guarantees of mobility, and reduces the stress that these workers have due to long periods of travel. It is also necessary to ensure legal certainty so that workers coming from outside the single market are not exploited. In this way, cohesion can also be ensured: guarantees not only for workers who are legally and legally operating within the internal market of the European Union, but also for workers who are from other countries and work here. I would just like to say that the automation of this sector, i.e. collective freight transport, is also underway and that, therefore, we will have to take into account the social impact of this transition. That is why – and curiously enough, the Commissioner who discussed the multiannual budgets of the European Union is here – it may be interesting in the near future to think about basic income mechanisms for these workers, because the stress and the pressure that will come with auto automation will require new solutions and new out-of-box thinking.

Madam President, in Portugal, access to decent housing is no longer a luxury, it is a miracle. We are talking about a catastrophic situation that has pushed hundreds of thousands of people and families onto the streets, into social informality and economic marginality. They are citizens who work and cannot pay rent, they are Portuguese who can only survive in tents, they are entire families with children crammed into rooms, they are divorced couples forced to stay in the same space, they are thousands of Portuguese forced to emigrate because they do not have a roof to build their present. We have reached the breaking point and only structural measures can change this tragedy. So, we must freeze the increase in rents, end the visas gold, halt local rentals, stop the tragedy of mass tourism strategy, secure more first-housing tax benefits, foster the construction of new homes at fair prices, lower interest rates on housing and move forward with a basic income experience. This basic income pilot project will help thousands of Portuguese, in this inflationary period, to pay rents or housing credits. The only thing missing is political courage.

Madam President, from what I share here, I believe that the European People's Party should change its name and designation to the European Populist Party. Because it talks about animals, and it is very concerned about livestock, but I do not see this dimension and this desire to protect animals when it comes to revising all the legislation on animal welfare. Zero. There is nothing they have done to put legislation on the table. Zero. Then they talk about biodiversity, about protecting biodiversity, and they're so concerned about diversity, but when you talk about the law for nature restoration, zero. It was those who allied themselves with the far right to try to reject this proposal. Zero. Then they talk about farmers, they are also very concerned about the rural world and farmers, but when it is to support small and medium-sized farmers, when it is to support real measures to expand regenerative agriculture, zero. They support the CAP, the Common Agricultural Policy, which builds all these intensive monoculture practices. Therefore, the credibility of the European Populist Party in this matter is zero.

Mr President, I would like to raise here a question which is more philosophical and ethical. We have been led to debate and regulate, and rightly so, in the European Union landscape, artificial intelligence and the development of these technologies in the various phenomena and segments of society, namely in the economy, at work, in education, in intellectual property, in culture. But where are we headed? In this debate, where do we have to go? Where we walk as Humanity has been made by the big tech industries, not the politicians. I think the path should be reversed. Indeed, let us turn the conversation and focus it on an ethical and civilizational level made by politicians. Why do I say this? Because there is a great development in other areas, namely after artificial intelligence. I speak clearly of transhumanism. Therefore, there are already technological industries working and experimenting in chips animals and there is a great evolution in this technology. And how far do we go? I believe that this path and this conversation must be taken here in this Parliament and not just by regulating artificial intelligence.

Madam President, Commissioner, we are talking here about the transition path towards decarbonisation and I believe it is crucial that we talk about agriculture, because this topic and this area have been used as a throwing weapon for this transition and we have seen this in Nature Restoration Law. And it is essential to break some myths here. We don't have a shortage of food production. In fact, about 20% of what we produce is wasted and, therefore, we have to focus on food waste and ensure not only that these food items are targeted to those who need it most, but also that small producers, many of them who do not benefit in this food chain, also have the income they need. But then also to say that (and a Commission proposal will soon be tabled on the healthy food system) that it is important that we too move towards a more sustainable food system. plant based, therefore, with less animal production, more extensive, more organic, which is effectively more resilient and which guarantees better income not only to those who produce food, but then also a public health policy that is: healthier food, closer, healthier, more local and therefore more plant based and with less animal protein. Therefore, this proposal from the Commission is crucial and we will be here to discuss it and to deliver on the European Green Deal.

Madam President, Commissioner, I believe that the Sustainable Development Goals are at risk, but they are at risk not because we lack the tools or the quantification of where we have to come from, but, above all, because we have political groups that effectively deny that there are challenges to be met by those goals. And I am talking about the far-right group – which is not represented here today by anyone – which denies obvious facts such as climate change and the impact of biodiversity loss. But worse than this clear denialism that we have in this European Parliament, and in several national parliaments, we have an added factor, which is the right-wing democratic centre that is falling into the trap of the far right. So this week, we have one of the big laws that is going to be debated and voted on, the Nature Restoration Law, and let's see which side the Christian Democrats and some liberals are on. Whether they are actually on the side of the Sustainable Development Goals or whether they are on the side of far-right radicalism and denialism.

Madam President, reading the title of this report, 'Ensuring long-term food security and resilience of European agriculture', I assumed that we would see here a great focus on food waste which is about 20% in the European Union, but not. Therefore, there goes the argument that there is a lack of food, there is effectively a lack of distribution of it and access to food. Perhaps it was also the focus on the overconsumption of animal proteins that exists also in the European Union, in fact, its effects on human health should also be contemplated, but no, the focus is not really on that. Therefore, this report also substantially disregards the impacts on global change. I'm surprised here, but I'm going to agree with the far-right MP who says that, in fact, the pro-European and pro-climate democratic centre-right is falling into the trap of the far right and, unfortunately, that's what we see. My advice is don't do it, because it's gonna go wrong.

Mr President, the Commissioner has warned that we are not doing enough, and I clearly agree, but also because, fundamentally, we ignore the impact of the livestock and milk industry, which has a high impact not only on greenhouse gas emissions, and I am talking about methane and CO2, but also on soil devastation and the destruction of aquifer resources. He also spoke here about the unsustainability of many investments. I also agree with the Commissioner. But there is a great inconsistency here when we, at the beginning of this mandate, adopted a package called the Common Agricultural Policy and which finances, with EUR 380 billion, a highly unsustainable agri-food system. And so there really has to be coherence, and the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shows us that coherence by presenting some solutions. One of them is to have a voluntary consumption of non-animal products, that is, to change to a lifestyle. plant—based. And so the question I am asking the Commissioner, since he has also spoken of consistency, is what he is going to eat today for lunch and whether it is actually a meal. plant—based.

Mr President, the livestock industry is a weapon of collective destruction, but it is not me who says so. It is the scientific reports that demonstrate the negative impact of this industry on ecosystems, human health and, of course, on the welfare of billions of animals. But this industry is even more damaging because it benefits from a status quo cultural, where any attempt to implement alternatives to animal-free production and consumption is seen as extremist. Plus, yours lobby in local, regional, national and supranational institutions it is continuous, conditioning and distorting public policies of general well-being. But the reality is that this pressure is no more than a sign of the fear these industries have of scientific truth and the power of choice of their citizens. And a shift to a non-animal lifestyle is not only possible but also desirable to achieve climate commitments, regenerate biodiversity, improve human health and protect the lives of billions of animals.