Speeches

Mr President, I am very pleased that this report is the culmination of petitions from European citizens, proving that the European Parliament is listening to their concerns. Let's see what the numbers say: Only 1% of all petitions received each year by the Committee on Petitions concern disability issues, whereas there are around 87 million disabled people in the European Union. This should make us exhaust every effort to make this tool more widely known. This very comprehensive report highlights a number of fundamental issues for the life of disabled people in the European Union, which I also supported during the negotiations as shadow rapporteur on behalf of the EPP: from the need to finally come up with common definitions of disability and independent living, to pressure Member States to take seriously the high unemployment rates of disabled people, to ensure our equal access to healthcare, culture, sport and leisure, until we ensure the alignment of European funding programmes with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. To do so, however, requires a real culture of inclusion, better cooperation between Member States and a more effective exchange of best practices, but above all the effective implementation of the European Disability Strategy, with regular measurement of progress and ensuring the participation of disabled people at all stages of its implementation. Only in this way will we ensure modern European inclusive societies where disabled people can enjoy all rights and freedoms. And all this, Mr President, can be brought together in this Chamber; In our small society of 705 people, where a disabled person like me, a wheelchair user, cannot come to the central point, to the central podium to speak, as other colleagues do. Let's make this change soon, so that we have an equal participation of all of us.

Madam President, I wonder whether the situation in Afghanistan will be recorded in history as the persecution of the female sex. Because that is exactly what it is and as persecution it should be treated by the rest of the world. Afghan women are no longer allowed to live like humans, they are not even allowed to dream. For all these women and their children, we should insist that respect for their rights be a key condition of contacts with the Taliban. But we should treat it as a multi-layered crisis and consider all available humanitarian aid options and contribute towards stabilising the region. Dear High Representative, in closing, I just want to make one wish: in this crisis the European Union must act coherently, with a single foreign policy and not let the situation be managed by each Member State individually.

Madam President, Commissioner, as we all understand, the nature of work is changing, with technology giving platform workers flexibility about the type and time of their work, but also an additional income. At the same time, the exploitation of algorithmic applications and artificial intelligence create innovative services for the benefit of consumers and businesses. It was evident during the pandemic, when thousands of platform workers kept several businesses alive, such as in the catering sector. However, what must not change is our will to ensure that these workers have the same rights as those in the traditional economy. We must ensure the health and safety of platform workers, their access to healthcare and welfare services and the effective implementation of their rights to collective representation. But above all, we, as legislators, should make sure that legislation keeps pace with the speed of technological developments, but also that we understand the breadth of platforms, through the collection of up-to-date data on this form of employment. In conclusion, I call on the European Commission to table immediately a legislative proposal that clarifies the existing legal uncertainties, while ensuring fair working conditions for platform workers.

Madam President, dear Commissioner Johansson, the ongoing pandemic has forced children to socialise mainly through chatting applications, potentially exposing them more to risks online. This is further exacerbated by the varying degrees of digital literacy in our societies, making some parents feel that they can no longer protect their children. Therefore, the need to use technology to combat child sexual abuse online is more urgent than ever. The present text strikes a good balance between privacy, safety and security, enabling online services to detect and report child sexual abuse through the scanning of communications. But this is only a temporary solution and timing is critical. I therefore call upon the Commission to urgently come up with a robust legal framework ensuring that technology is used in a manner that guarantees children’s safety online.