Speeches

Madam President, High Representative, I thank President Metsola for her courage in going to Ukraine on behalf of all. Today I want to speak to the people of Ukraine, to you, children, young people, adults, elders, who face the terror of a tyrant and raise your voice for freedom, not only yours, but that of all; It is your home, it is your life; It is not just a territory, it is your country, it is the place where your grandparents, your mothers grew up, and your children will grow up. I want to ask all Europeans to be Ukraine: Imagine for a moment that in your countries the sound of laughter in the streets is replaced by that of sirens, and that of children playing, by that of bombing. I ask you to lose your fear, as the Ukrainians have done: We defend our European values, which today are threatened and attacked. What's happening is a massacre, we can't look the other way. Putin will go down in the history books as one of the worst criminals, as a great enemy of human rights and freedom. Bucha, Irpin, Mariupol, the European Union is at your side; Kiev resists, and Europe proves to be up to the task: Breaking diplomatic and economic relations with Putin is an obligation, and ambiguities are not worth it. The European Union must be firm against Putin now and when the war is over, hopefully soon: we cannot allow ourselves to give in to Putin when barbarism passes; It's not just about today, it's about tomorrow. It is also an obligation to strengthen Europe in the face of populist and like-minded nationalist movements that seek to destabilise our democracies. Member States must fulfil the commitments of the European Union and NATO, increase investment in security and defence, reduce energy dependence on Russia and take measures to mitigate the effects of the war, which, added to the accumulated inflation, are being devastating for European families. We stand with Ukraine, and we stand united with Europe every day.

Madam President, Europe should never again depend on a tyrant like Putin. We must be committed to a truly interconnected common energy market. The interconnection of gas with an infrastructure such as STEP is necessary to connect Spain and Portugal with the rest of Europe. We must act now. Families and businesses are desperate for rising prices. Inflation is a brutal tax that impoverishes us all every day that passes. The REPower EU Plan to ensure security of supply and affordable prices will be key. But the European Commission needs to act faster and more effectively; If not, he'll be late. But we must also demand that Member States lower taxes already on fuels and energy and grant more aid to the sectors concerned. Unfortunately, in Spain we are suffering from President Sánchez's inaction. It is in your hands to eliminate the expenses of the electricity bill that are not energy, lower taxes on fuels and even more on electricity. Farmers, ranchers, fishermen and transporters need measures now, but they only receive contempt from the Sanchez government.

Mr President, Commissioner, Putin is savagely attacking Ukraine and threatening Europe and the world. It is an international danger and the European Union is responding united with firmness and solidarity. Today I want to ask you to think about refugees and, above all, children, the most precious treasure for a family. I am Spanish and my country is one of the most welcoming children in Chernobyl for years to help them improve their health in view of the effects of the 1986 nuclear accident. And we can't abandon them. I am the mother of an eleven-year-old boy and I cannot imagine the pain that parents suffer when they see in the eyes of their children the fear because of the terror of a tyrant. There are many children with cancer in Ukraine who, because of the war, see their lives further endangered by not being able to receive medicines or treatments. I call on the Commission and the Council to support the initiative being coordinated by the members of this Parliament's BECA Committee to send medicines to Ukraine, transfer children with cancer to European hospitals and ensure funding for these treatments. We ask for safe corridors to the European Union, to freedom, and not burrows designed by Putin. I remember all fathers and, especially today, mothers on International Women's Day. Of those Ukrainian women who have stayed to defend the best country for their children and who decided to leave to protect them from attacks. All brave. Here we are to protect lives, defend freedom and build the best European Union.

Madam President, Commissioner, rapporteur, 1.3 million Europeans die of cancer every year. Of these, 6,000 are children. 100 million screening tests were delayed by COVID. Today surviving cancer can still depend on where you live in Europe. Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan is a historic milestone, a paradigm shift that will end inequality, ensure equal access to the best treatments in the shortest possible time, and prevent future pandemics from harming people with cancer again. This Plan addresses prevention by, for example, making nutrition a basic service; with early diagnosis, we improve screening programs; with treatment, we boost joint purchases, as we have done with COVID vaccines; and with social and economic support for patients and relatives, the right to be forgotten, so that no one is discriminated against for having had cancer. And finally, leadership in research and innovation made in Europe. I am proud of this Plan and I subscribe to it almost entirely. Abuse of alcohol is one of the risk factors for health and we have to fight it firmly. But we do not share to equate the abusive consumption of alcohol, which is harmful to health, with the moderate consumption of wine. Because the Mediterranean diet, Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, is a valuable European cultural heritage that provides us with a healthy diet that contemplates this moderate consumption. That is why, in our amendments, which I ask you to support, we advocate a clear distinction between 'moderate' and 'abusive' consumption, as established by the European Commission. Therefore, let us together push forward this Plan to defeat cancer and give hope to each and every European.

Madam President, President Macron, we face great challenges over the next six months: in the face of the pandemic, let us continue to promote vaccination and boost the Europe of health; in the face of the economic crisis, let us support our industry, workers, the self-employed, livestock farmers and farmers. Therefore, let us efficiently use Next Generation EU funds to modernise the economy and create jobs: there is a need for control, transparency and a correct and rapid implementation of the funds; it is unacceptable that governments such as Spain have not implemented half of the European funds planned for 2021, while we suffer the highest unemployment rate in Europe. President Macron, Europe is incomprehensibly absent from the international board, and you have not mentioned Latin America, when it must continue to be a strategic geographical area for Europe. If we neglect it, other actors who do not share our values will take our place: In international politics, as you know, empty spaces do not exist. Let us recover and boost our role in the world.

Mr President, 2021 is coming to an end and it is time to take stock. From the European Parliament we have defended the rule of law and democracy inside and outside the Union. Through the European Funds we have defended economic recovery and solidarity. And by fighting the pandemic we have taken a decisive step towards a Europe of Health. However, there are many challenges that still lie ahead. We must win the battle against the virus by fighting disinformation and fake news, which are fearsome allies of COVID, and we must redouble our efforts to help vaccinate the rest of the world. Only in this way will we be able to achieve the much-needed vaccination. On the other hand, the Recovery Funds are a great responsibility. The management of huge resources should be accompanied by transparency and control in the implementation of the Funds in each Member State. Only in this way will we avoid inefficiencies, clientelism or corruption, and only in this way will we be able to modernise our economies and create jobs. You cannot squander a public euro at a time when life is becoming more expensive for millions of families. The price of the shopping basket and the energy bill has increased. And defending the well-being of Europeans also means defending our borders in Ceuta, Poland or Greece against the hybrid threats and attacks of those who want to destabilise our Union using the human drama of migration. That is why, more than ever, we must also work together for a common migration pact. Ladies and gentlemen of the Council, our values and our freedoms are at stake. Let us work together and firmly. And I wish you all a Merry Christmas.

Mr President, Commissioner, as rapporteur for the pharmaceutical strategy, which has just been adopted with a large majority, I wanted to thank you for this great support, because this puts patients at the centre of our health policies in Europe, and so Europe will be better prepared for future health emergencies. Vaccines are the best weapon to fight COVID-19: the joint effort in the European Union together with our health systems, professionals, public-private cooperation and our industry have demonstrated this. The data support it: We lead vaccination in the world. But there's a lot of work to be done. There are still more than 120 million people to be vaccinated in the European Union and COVID-19, unfortunately, is going to stay with us for a long time. Therefore, we must continue this joint effort of truthful information campaigns, which raise awareness and convince our citizens of the importance of protecting our health, and combatting fake news and the disinformation that has done so much damage to the European Union in this area. Vaccination is an act of solidarity and solidarity is one of the cornerstones of the European Union. A good example is that the European Union has already exported 1.5 billion vaccines to 144 countries, we have financed the COVAX initiative with more than €3 billion and Team Europe supports Africa with more than €1 billion for the development of regional vaccine manufacturing centres. This is the clear example that the solution is not to lift patents, but to help transfer technology, knowledge, talent, logistics to developing countries. But we can't settle; Let's continue to lead, let's not back down. This is when the European Union must make the most efforts to help vaccinate everyone.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to start by thanking all the groups and shadow rapporteurs for the great work done together during these months: Europe is leading the fight against climate change, and after the pandemic we must lead Europe's pharmaceutical and health innovation. The fight against COVID-19 has made us build in a year what once probably required a generation. In record time, we have been able to lift the pillars of the future European Health Union: COVID-19 vaccination strategy; strengthening the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control; the strengthening of the European Medicines Agency; the creation of the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) and its Incubator, and the new EU4Health programme, with ten times the budget it had before, as well as the European Beating Cancer Plan, which, together with the new pharmaceutical strategy, inaugurate the European decade of health, innovation and research, giving Europe a greater social dimension. We have been hit by severe crises, but we have learned that science and technology are two huge social shields, together with a more competitive pharmaceutical industry and public-private collaboration. Therefore, we are committed to innovation manufactured in Europe after decades of relocation and also to having depended too much on third countries, perhaps losing autonomy in a sector that is strategic. Twenty years have passed since the last strategy and the world has changed; Therefore, we need to update the laws and the incentive system: The new strategy is the ideal framework for updating and strengthening any new generation of pharmaceutical regulations for this decade. The new strategy proposes a paradigm shift through six objectives. To begin with, we put the patient at the center of all health policies; We reduce the time to market for medicines, aligning EMA approval times with national agencies, and we also support a new framework for the design of innovative clinical trials, giving prominence to patient associations in the prioritization of their therapeutic needs. As for the second objective, we guarantee that all patients have access to the most advanced treatments in the shortest possible time: we cannot tolerate that in Europe there is a gap in access between nine and a thousand days in some treatments or that, in the last twenty years, the shortage of medicines has multiplied by twenty. Therefore, we promote greater research and availability of generics and biosimilars in the market, we encourage the use of gene and cell therapies, personalized medicine, nanomedicines and mRNA derivatives, as well as we standardize throughout the European Union the application of the priority medicines scheme to accelerate the availability of essential medicines. The third objective is that we respond to uncovered medical diseases, such as the more than 8 000 minority diseases of which, today, only 5% are treated, with 30 million people unanswered in Europe, as well as paediatric cancers, neurodegenerative diseases and antibiotic resistance, which I dare say is one of the silent pandemics on our continent. That is why we call for a European fund to acquire, through joint purchases, orphan medicines, as well as for the harmonisation of a European framework to be applied in national plans against minority diseases. The fourth objective is that we are committed to a competitive pharmaceutical industry with supply chains that do not depend on third countries by incentivising the production of medicines of high therapeutic value that respect, of course, quality standards and the European Green Deal. We are therefore committed to a secure, predictable and less bureaucratic regulatory system, and we defend a strong framework for the protection of intellectual property rights. The fifth objective: we ensure the sustainability of our national health systems in the 27 Member States, which are one of our great strengths and distinguish us from other third countries. We therefore promote public-private partnership tenders for research funding, the production of innovative medicines and the re-use of medicines, and invite Member States to promote the use of biosimilars. As for the sixth objective, we strengthen the European Union as a world leader in health so that it is more prepared for future health crises with the creation of HERA and its Incubator, as well as promoting trade agreements with third countries that reward competitiveness based on innovation to achieve greater access for each and every patient, not only in Europe, but also in the rest of the world, as well as requiring companies from third countries to access our market that comply with European quality standards. We also promote a structured dialogue with all actors in the pharmaceutical sector to have diversified supply chains and a drug shortage risk mitigation plan. The new pharmaceutical strategy strengthens collaboration with the WHO and international bodies, as well as the link with the European Union's industrial strategy, the SME Strategy and, above all, the future European Health Data Space. Therefore, in order to achieve the European Health Union, we must work together with patients, the scientific community, healthcare professionals, industry and Member States, together with the European institutions. This strategy strikes a balance between promoting innovation, patient access to innovation and the sustainability of our national health systems in Europe, putting patients at the centre of all policies. The health of Europeans depends more than ever on the health of the European Union and I am very convinced that the European Health Union is one of the great pillars of this European Union.

Madam President, there are two threats to recovery: high electric bill and stagnant vaccination globally. From Europe we must act with intelligence, not like the Government of Spain, where its interventionist measures with light only endanger families and companies. When Sanchez's government gets its hand in the economy, prices go up, and the only thing that should be going up is vaccination. We must, from Europe, continue cooperation with third countries. We should be better informed, use appropriate channels to reach out to young people, and fight hard against fake news which put health at risk. And speaking of lies and fake newsAllow me to reflect on the role Mr Borrell is playing on Venezuela. He has concealed the report of the European External Action Service, which warns that a European election observation mission can help legitimise the fraudulent electoral process in Venezuela. He has avoided appearing in Parliament despising the Venezuelan Democrats and, in addition, is tough against Leopoldo López and soft with Maduro. And, for more inri, he has said that an election in Venezuela can not be like in Switzerland. And I ask him and why not? Shouldn't Venezuelans have the right to elect their representatives freely? This attitude of Borrell whitewashes the dictatorship. Perhaps the Spanish socialists are already doing well under the Venezuelan dictatorship? Perhaps because he has already begun to sing the so-called "El Pollo" Carvajal and to recognize payments from the regime to former socialist leaders? We still don't know who has gold mines in Venezuela. What we do know is that the Venezuelan regime has a mine of support with socialists like Borrell. Mr Borrell, appear in Parliament, defend the Democrats in Venezuela. And ladies and gentlemen of the Council, take note.

Madam President, the rising light obscures the European recovery. We are experiencing historic increases in the price of electricity, gas and fuels. Inflation turns against the most vulnerable and, throughout the European Union, the ones who suffer the most from the rise in light are the Spaniards. The Government of Spain has reacted late and badly, with a confiscatory and interventionist regulation that causes an unstoppable rise in the price of electricity, which ruins families, bankrupts marketers, curbs energy transition investments of the entire industry and paralyzes the production of renewables. This shows, once again, the incompetence of Sánchez's leftist government. This electricity crisis puts the social acceptance of the Green Deal at risk. The Green Deal is ambitious and necessary, yes, but it cannot be a wall to recovery and a drag on families and businesses. Families should only pay for the energy they consume, so taxes on the electricity bill should be abolished and CO2 money should be invested to ease the pressure on the consumer. And Europe must take charge of its future. We are vulnerable to gas supplies from Russia and Algeria and to high CO2 emission allowance prices. We therefore need to protect the competitiveness of industry, ensure legal certainty for investments, avoid speculation with CO2 emission rights and, of course, protect jobs and families. The EU must react now so that the economic recovery is not trapped in a blind alley.

Mr President, as Chair of the Committee on Petitions, I would like to present the committee's oral question on the full transparency of the European Union's strategy for COVID vaccines. From the outset, Parliament has closely followed the vaccine research and development process. He has repeatedly stressed that citizens need to trust vaccines and that it is important to fight disinformation. Meanwhile, the Committee on Petitions has received several petitions on the strategy, one of them pointing to the lack of transparency in the agreements on COVID-19 vaccines that the European Commission signed with pharmaceutical companies. Lack of transparency has fuelled uncertainty and disinformation about COVID-19 vaccines. The public has the right to know the details of the contracts and the results of the clinical investigation. Transparency in the development, purchase and distribution of vaccines is necessary to address the COVID pandemic and is a prerequisite for stimulating and maintaining public confidence in vaccines, ending vaccine nationalism and ensuring the legitimacy of joint EU health procurement. It is problematic that the Commission and the Member States have legally restricted the publication of details of vaccine contracts concluded with pharmaceutical companies. This has happened despite the fact that the European Union and Member States have publicly funded much of the vaccine research, covering the upfront costs of vaccine producers, and granted emergency authorisations. In this context, public health must be given a higher priority. Moreover, it is difficult for Parliament to exercise its duty of budgetary control without having full access to contracts for the purchase of vaccines. In this context, the Committee on Petitions asks the European Commission the following questions: When will the Commission publish all the details of the vaccine contracts, especially as regards the sharing of costs between public and private vaccine investors, the number of doses distributed to each country and what the deliveries have been per quarter and also to future quarters, the prices per vaccine dose, the number and location of available production sites, agreements on intellectual property rights, technology transfer and liability and compensation schemes for any damage caused by vaccines? What will the Commission do to ensure that the results of clinical trials and protocols for potential COVID-19 vaccines are published in a timely and clear manner to reduce vaccine concerns and counter disinformation? Will the Commission carry out and publish an evaluation of the European Union strategy for COVID-19 vaccines, reviewing all elements in detail and making recommendations on the framework for future EU joint procurement, especially in relation to transparency?

Mr President, Madam President of the Commission, today, the International Day of Democracy, is the best day to hold this debate. Over the past two decades, various crises have hit Europeans. Jobs have been lost, and worse, we have lost loved ones. Responses to these crises have not always been the most successful: the BrexitNationalism and populism are three examples of false promises that worsen the present and obscure the future. Europe needs to move towards a more perfect Union, avoiding unsupportive and opportunistic separatism, because division weakens us. The crisis in Afghanistan is a humanitarian drama, it is a setback for the West and it must be a turning point for Europe. We must do much more to defend freedom and democracy in sister countries such as Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua; we must have greater capacity to act and respond in foreign policy and we must make decisive progress in the field of defence; Otherwise, the result will be vulnerability and dependence on other global actors. We have led in an exemplary and fraternal way with the vaccination against the coronavirus. Also with the European recovery funds, although we must remain vigilant so that their distribution is fair and efficient. These funds are for reindustrialising Europe, for a competitive, sustainable and digital economy, creating opportunities and quality jobs. But major challenges remain: reaching a common European agreement on migration, the protection of the rule of law in the 27 Member States, the separation of powers and judicial independence. Ladies and gentlemen, the European Union represents the defence of human rights, freedom, equality, prosperity and solidarity, but it must also have the means and the will to exercise those principles. If we give in to nationalism, populism and illiberal regimes, we will end up betraying that great legacy. We cannot allow the Union to end up becoming an empty shell, unable to offer a better future to our children. The European Union must remain at the forefront of the world.

Madam President, President Janša, I wish Slovenia every success. It will not be a simple Presidency, there are many challenges ahead. Together with the European Union, the German Presidency successfully completed the pandemic vaccine; the Portuguese Presidency managed to have 70% of the European population immunised; And now we have the challenge of rebuilding and recovering everything that has been socially and economically destroyed by COVID-19. The Slovenian Presidency needs to ensure that recovery funds are distributed transparently, fairly and proportionally across all regions. These funds are owned by Europeans. Let's prevent them from being used in a discriminatory way, let's avoid cronyism and corruption. The aim of this Presidency should also be to protect and promote the rule of law in Europe. Populism and nationalism always take advantage of moments of crisis to attack. The pandemic has extraordinarily strained the seams of our liberal democracies. The rule of law, the independence of the judiciary and freedom of the press are fundamental principles of the European Union. In some cases, as in my own country, governed by the Socialist Party, we observe astonished how the limits of the separation of powers are crossed, questioning the Judiciary and granting extra-judicial privileges in exchange for political support. We must be clear that in Spain, as in any corner of Europe, guaranteeing equality and unity is inexorably about defending and strengthening the rule of law. Without it, without the rule of law, neither equality nor freedom can be guaranteed. And concord and coexistence are not possible without justice.