Debate contributions by Elena KOUNTOURA

Madam President, Commissioner, it took 12 years for the Council to come up with a position on the revision of air passenger rights. Instead of solving long-standing problems, however, with the stance adopted in the negotiations, it chooses to weaken even already established basic passenger rights. The rules on which passengers rely today are a basis for us, and we are determined to improve them rather than reduce them. We will therefore not accept any reduction of existing rights. It doesn't make sense for passengers to pay extra for parents to sit with their children. No regression from the three-hour delay limit and existing levels of compensation, which are a pillar of effective passenger protection, and no regression from the request for the free transport of small hand luggage and personal belongings. Passengers pay for a service contract. Where this is not respected, they should have the right to fair and timely compensation, automatically and without hassle. The Council's position should be improved. Otherwise, there will be no agreement.

Madam President, Commissioner, the uncontrolled malicious use of artificial intelligence via deepfakes on digital platforms constitutes a serious violation of fundamental rights and a blatant threat to the victims, who are overwhelmingly women and minors. It should never be possible to use artificial intelligence tools to strip women and minors in Member States of the European Union, and it is not possible to allow companies to make profits by insulting human dignity. So you have to tell us why no formal sanctions procedure has been launched so far against these platforms that are in breach of European law. What exactly are you waiting for? If there is a legislative gap, immediately propose a revision of the Artificial Intelligence Act and the Digital Services Act and tighten the existing legislative framework to prohibit the use of such AI systems and prevent similar incidents in the future.

Mr President, Commissioner, three out of four Europeans are now buying their products online. Unfortunately, despite the strict European framework set by the Digital Services Act (DSA), illegal and dangerous products continue to be placed on the European market. It is shocking that online platforms sell child-like sex dolls on the European market. This is a blatant failure of the control system and the enforcement of European legislation. Immediate measures must be taken to ensure the full protection and safety of consumers. The Commission should launch an investigation into how these illegal products have circumvented the control mechanisms. Further strengthen control and oversight mechanisms, as customs and supervisory authorities are unable to manage this huge volume of orders. Better cooperation between Member States to exchange data and best practices, and finally severe sanctions for those who violate European legislation to ensure that we do not have such phenomena again.

Madam President, the new gender equality strategy comes at a very critical juncture. To have a meaningful impact on the daily lives of millions of women, it should contain ambitious policies and new legislative initiatives with concrete commitments, timelines, monitoring indicators, accountability and sufficient resources. There is a need for the Union budget to clearly reflect the fundamental objective of equality, and for the gender dimension to be incorporated into all European policies and funds. Gender-based violence is not a social phenomenon, it is a crime. It should be explicitly included in the Eurocrimes referred to in Article 83 of the Treaty. We need to invest more in educating young people and preventing violence and discrimination. Take more action to ensure women's universal access to sexual and reproductive health services and promote women's equality and empowerment at work, equal pay, equal opportunities and equal representation and participation in politics.

Madam President, violence against women violates fundamental rights, human rights: the rights to dignity, self-determination, freedom, autonomy and even the right to life. The exploitation of motherhood is due to inadequate policies that exacerbate poverty and inequalities, sustain gender discrimination and deprive women of the right to choose. Exploitation is experienced by women, mothers and workers, when the system itself does not ensure them fair leave, adequate care structures, equal pay and flexible working conditions, when they are deprived of effective access to safe abortion or contraception. Support for single parents and children remains incomplete. To support motherhood, European states must fully and immediately implement in their national laws and policies their obligations under the binding legal framework of the Istanbul Convention, the European Directive on violence against women and girls and domestic violence, as well as the European Charter of Fundamental Rights. There is no need for new discussions, but for laws to be implemented by means of acts...

Madam President, we commemorate World Elderly Day in Europe by recalling that justice between generations is judged where it is most difficult: in the periphery, remote areas and islands. Today, elderly residents of several Greek islands are forced to travel to a larger island or the mainland for medical care, specialized examinations, spending their pension on tickets and accommodation, and waiting months for re-examination. They experience transport exclusion, digital exclusion, energy poverty. They have a higher cost of living and higher prices for food, medicines and fuel because of higher transport costs. They live in social isolation. Their children are gone, neighbors are dwindling, public services are closing, and their options for entertainment and creative activity are scarce. A European strategy and support plan for our senior citizens is urgently needed, with particular attention to islands and remote areas, guaranteeing: access to optimal health and care services, affordable travel, safe and affordable housing, while strengthening the resilience of housing to the effects of the climate crisis. The age dimension should be clearly integrated into the allocation of European funds for regional development and cohesion, with a focus on quality of life and active ageing. It is a European responsibility to ensure that every one of our fellow citizens has a safe, autonomous and dignified life.

Mr President, Commissioner, Europe is the fastest warming continent on the planet. This summer, the hottest in history, has shown that the climate crisis is getting stronger. In my own country, Greece, the high temperatures of recent years are creating unbearable conditions for citizens, especially the most vulnerable. We need increased European funding to strengthen the resilience of homes in the face of the climate crisis, with massive renovations of buildings for energy upgrading and better insulation, as well as investments in affordable housing. The Commission should include this priority in the upcoming European Affordable Housing Plan with binding resilience standards. Good housing conditions are essential for the physical and mental health of citizens. Access to resilient housing is a public health issue and the housing crisis makes this situation even more dangerous. Cohesion policy must strengthen the resilience of communities and families, especially in regions exposed to extreme weather events.

Madam President, the European Union can overcome the multiple crises of recent years through more cohesion and convergence. This is also the aim of the Structural Funds which have helped it to build. Cohesion policy is the most crucial European tool for reducing inequalities. But the Commission's proposal for the new multiannual financial framework does not respond to the real needs of the regions, nor does it sufficiently strengthen the tools that will enable us to reduce these disparities. We must ensure that in the new multiannual financial framework, the Just Transition Fund continues with an increased budget – and unfortunately the Commission has not included it in its proposal – because it makes a crucial contribution to the climate neutrality objective in terms of social fairness and plays a crucial role in training, retraining and retraining workers, boosting employment and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises. Commissioner, in response to the housing crisis that disproportionately affects vulnerable groups, cohesion policy plays a key role and their needs must be placed at its core. Investments in public social housing should also be exempted from budgetary constraints. Finally, I am very proud that in our report we highlighted the particular challenges of European islands, calling for specific support with enhanced funding for targeted housing policies, so that islands can achieve substantial development and their inhabitants can remain in their place. Thank you very much.

Madam President, my country, Greece, as well as other European countries in the South and the Mediterranean, are experiencing the effects of the climate crisis once again. The heatwave threatens human lives. The fires again burn thousands of acres of agricultural and forest land, destroy homes and property and leave many times injured and victims. Unfortunately, many Member States are proving inadequate in tackling these extreme weather events. The European Union must immediately take more initiatives to prevent and tackle them. Unfortunately, the European Civil Protection Mechanism and the European Solidarity Fund are not enough. We need a strong and effective European Civil Protection Mechanism, substantially reinforced by the new Multiannual Financial Framework, to provide adequate and timely support to affected Member States, to immediately enable the necessary investments in critical infrastructure, modern technological equipment and, finally, to ensure adequate staffing, both in terms of prevention and immediate response.

Madam President, we have waited twelve years for the Council's position on the revision of air passenger rights. But instead of solving the problems of time, the Council is weakening even the already established passenger rights with its positions. Minister, by increasing the delay to four hours for compensation, you are depriving the majority of passengers who suffer enormous hardship of the right to compensation. Moreover, instead of protecting passengers from the unacceptable practices of some airlines that continue to impose additional charges for hand luggage, the text you adopted legitimises them. When paying for a service and not receiving it, passengers should be entitled to automatic and timely compensation and the burden of proof should be on the companies. A revision of the existing legislation is necessary, but this must not be done at the expense of basic passenger rights. Otherwise, we will not be able to support it.

Mr President, Commissioner, public transport is a crucial pillar for drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions in transport and achieving our central goal of a climate-neutral Europe. But it is essential to ensure that travel is safe, accessible, sustainable, modern and affordable for all, especially the most vulnerable citizens. New financing tools for reliable, accessible and safe public transport, minimum European quality of service standards, affordable access for all citizens to urban transport and multimodal transport solutions are urgently needed. Increased incentives are needed for citizens – and above all professional drivers – to replace polluting vehicles with clean means of transport. There must therefore be a clear commitment that in the new multiannual financial framework resources for public transport will be reinforced to ensure sufficient investment for the modernisation of infrastructure, digitalisation but also for the substantial improvement of working conditions in the transport sector.

Mr President, sweeping accuracy and profiteering have been uncontrollably hitting European citizens for the third year in a row. In my own country, Greece, according to Eurostat, 27% of citizens are at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Two out of three people say they barely make a month. Food prices rise every year by up to 10%. The purchasing power of Greeks is in the last positions of Europe. It has up to three times more expensive products than the other Member States, but with wages up to three times lower. Harmonised pricing practices by oligopolies lead to market cartelisation, resulting in Greek products being sold cheaper in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and elsewhere. Commissioner, these distortions cannot be solved by letters. I urge you to take immediate horizontal measures against accuracy, strengthen oversight and control mechanisms and impose severe penalties where harmonised pricing practices exist. Finally, tax the excess profits of profiteering on food and take measures to support vulnerable groups.

Madam President, Commissioner, cohesion policy is a crucial vehicle for reducing inequalities exacerbated by the multiple crises of recent years. The social, economic and territorial convergence of the European Union is a key priority and this must also be reflected in practice. We must ensure that in the next multiannual financial framework cohesion policy funding is significantly reinforced, and that sufficient additional resources are provided for the needs we are experiencing, so that in the coming years we can achieve sustainable and fair growth without leaving anyone behind. We must reject cutting cohesion funds and transferring them to the defence sector. Such proposals run counter to the fundamental objective of cohesion and the objective of convergence. Finally, the decentralised nature of cohesion policy must be fully preserved. A place-based approach is essential. Regional and local authorities have a better understanding of the urgent needs of communities, and must remain at the core of the design and implementation of cohesion policy.

Mr President, international law stipulates that all children must have the same rights without discrimination. In practice, however, when a family moves from one European Member State to another, it can face the unacceptable reality of the non-recognition of parenthood established in another Member State. This legal uncertainty creates serious obstacles to the daily lives of thousands of families, from access to healthcare and education, to issues of residence and inheritance rights. The Parenthood Regulation is a necessary step to ensure that, if you are a parent in a European Member State, you must be recognised as a parent in all countries of the Union, and that every child in the European Union has their rights recognised and protected, regardless of their place of residence and the type of their family. The Council must immediately adopt the regulation in order to put an end to this unacceptable discrimination against millions of children in Europe. Thank you very much.

Mr President, Commissioner, your roadmap for women's rights is not as ambitious as we would like it to be. Specific targets, commitments, timelines and ambitious legislative proposals to tackle inequalities, such as gender stereotypes and entrenched social perceptions, are missing. We would expect you to define specific indicators and evaluation tools to assess and make effective European national policies for equality, freedom and security. Provide sufficient funding and resources to implement the measures so that the proposed actions do not remain unimplemented, and include legislative proposals on sexual and reproductive rights, such as the right to safe and legal abortion, as well as measures on wage equivalence. We'll do a lot more. We must strive to ensure that the progress we have achieved continues and that the achievement of a fair, secure and equitable society is not delayed. Thank you very much.

Mr President, 2024 has been recorded as the warmest year in history. The effects of the climate crisis and warming are intensifying and extreme weather events are causing major disasters across Europe. In Southern Europe and especially in Greece, islands and coastal zones do not have sufficient funding, do not have resilient infrastructure, and do not have the necessary connectivity to cope with these phenomena, thus being disproportionately affected and leading to desertification. In order to deal with the negative consequences of the climate crisis, it is therefore urgent to create a new regional governance model for the prevention and management of natural disasters, directly linked to European climate adaptation strategies, to strengthen vulnerable areas with modern and resilient infrastructure, through a flexible implementation mechanism, and finally to allocate additional European resources to deal with the effects of natural disasters through the creation of an independent long-term fund for natural disasters.

Mr President, Commissioner, if the European Union is to maintain its position as the world's leading tourist destination in the coming years, it must redefine its tourism strategy, putting at its core a holistic approach to sustainable development for society, the economy and the environment. The goal of sustainable tourism development cannot be achieved unless we immediately review the policies, mechanisms and European funding programmes for resilience to increasingly violent climate change. There is an urgent need to prioritise the immediate creation of sustainable, resilient and safe infrastructure by 2030 and to create better working conditions for tourism workers. Immediately establish a system for monitoring the performance, sustainability and certification of sustainable tourist destinations. To give tourism a separate budget line and finally set up the European Tourism Agency needed for better coordination and better coherence, with tangible results, so that brand Europe is a global model of sustainable tourism destination.

Mr President, Commissioner. In many countries, both within the European Union and in neighbouring states, female politicians are often the target of attacks and intimidation. Threats, attacks and slander, particularly through social networks, have become a daily routine for many women who choose to serve the public interest, and according to the European Institute for Gender Equality, one in three female politicians in Europe receives threatening messages online. This is a reality that not only undermines gender equality, but also threatens democracy itself, freedom of expression and women's civic participation. The nature of the attacks often aims to degrade women's participation in public life, causing self-censorship and withdrawal from public space. In our previous mandate, we ratified the Istanbul Convention and voted on the first directive, the first European directive on combating gender-based and online violence. In this mandate, it is our obligation to step up efforts and adopt stricter rules, and for digital platforms to take greater responsibility for preventing and combating online violence. Develop targeted educational programs and campaigns at local and international level to raise social awareness and combat sexism and gender stereotypes. Tighten the legislative framework for the protection of victims of online harassment and finally strengthen cooperation with neighbouring and accession countries and use all available external and accession policy tools to ensure a safe political environment for women.

Madam President, Commissioner, the Restore proposal for exceptional regional support and reconstruction of areas affected by natural disasters is a positive step in tackling the effects of climate change. The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events is increasing dramatically and southern European countries, such as my home country, Greece, are increasingly in emergency situations. European adaptation to climate change should therefore be accelerated and projects contributing to sustainable and resilient infrastructure should be supported. We should ensure that cohesion policy maintains its long-term strategic character and that cohesion policy and investment objectives are not jeopardised. The next Multiannual Financial Framework will ensure the necessary additional funding to address the impact of natural disasters and we will continue efforts to create a new, independent, long-term natural disaster fund.

Mr President, the message of today's International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women must be strong. Zero tolerance for violence against women. The official figures of the United Nations are shocking. In 2023 alone, every 10 minutes, a woman was murdered by her partner or family member. In my country, Greece, in the last five years we have mourned 106 femicides. The European Parliament – we here – must ensure the protection of victims, their access to justice, structures, health services and specialised support. Change starts with prevention, education, getting rid of gender stereotypes. We need to step up funding for legal, medical and psychological support for victims of gender-based violence, promote awareness-raising campaigns, invest in education at all levels, so as to nurture in young generations the value of equality, mutual respect and zero tolerance towards violence.

Mr President, the European Union is committed to making rail travel the main choice for passengers, improving legislation and promoting programmes for more sustainable, connected and efficient transport. But despite the hundreds of millions of European funds that have been spent, there is a gap between European objectives and reality in several Member States. In Greece, the tragic train accident in Tempi revealed serious safety gaps, which still remain today. The policies of the Greek government have led to understaffing, fragmentation of responsibilities, obsolescence of infrastructure and delays in the installation of necessary modern security systems. Today, therefore, basic security infrastructures such as telecommand, light-signalling and ETCS remain incomplete or dormant. There is also a lack of interoperability in a large part of the European network. We urgently need more investment in safe and resilient infrastructure and we need to ensure that all Member States comply with European legislation on railway safety and interoperability.

Mr President, Commissioner, the cities and regions of the European Union are called upon to face continuous environmental, social and economic challenges and crises, to implement the green and digital transitions and to combat the climate crisis and inequalities. To continue playing this crucial role, they need the necessary financial tools and autonomy to make decisions according to local needs, specificities and priorities. In the next Multiannual Financial Framework we must ensure that cohesion policy funding is strengthened, that the decentralised management of European funds continues with the involvement of local and regional authorities and that it is maintained as a long-term investment tool to reduce disparities, ensure economic, social and territorial cohesion, strengthen connectivity and sustainable development at regional and local level. In this way we will achieve equitable development, particularly in the less developed regions, so that no one is left behind.