Speeches

Mr President, Mr Ambassador of Pakistan, climate change has caused a new humanitarian crisis with unprecedented dimensions – more than 30 million people affected. However, from the European Union we still do not have defined how we are going to protect people displaced by the climate and without defining the figure of the climate refugee. What would the European response be like if we designed it with a Pakistani girl in mind who has lost everything in recent months? This girl, in addition to drinking water, in addition to not getting sick, in addition to eating, dreams of returning to school. The European response to Pakistan must therefore be based on the three-pronged approach. Not only can there be a humanitarian response, not only from the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), but it needs development in the medium and long term. This cannot be purely humanitarian action. We are the largest donor of cooperation and have an added responsibility. We need not only to strengthen adaptation and mitigation to climate change, but also to anticipate crises and strengthen the mechanism of loss and damage. Let's not forget Pakistan's bet a few months ago on hosting Afghan refugees. Our NGOs are there. We must also involve the private sector to strengthen and respond, so that this girl has a future and can continue to go to school in Pakistan.

Madam President, indeed, this report speaks of political will and coordinated work between institutions to put an end to Roma settlements. In Madrid, one of the richest communities in all of Europe, is located, just 14 kilometers from Puerta del Sol, one of the largest Roma settlements in Europe, the Cañada Real. We are talking about the necessary coordination of the Community of Madrid to put an end to this situation: Yes, the Government has already earmarked 5 million euros for the settlements, but we need the Community of Madrid to be involved as well. That is why we ask the Commission to demand coordinated work from the Community of Madrid in order to put an end, as soon as possible, to the pain of 7 000 people, including 1 800 children, who have been without electricity for two years. The most urgent thing is to give access to electricity to this population, which passes the cold, which passes the snowfall, which passes the high heats that we endure this summer alone. We therefore ask the Commission to require coordination from the Community of Madrid and that, if the latter does not do so, the Commission imposes sanctions on it, in application of the infringement procedure, for violation of the human rights of the Roma population in the Community of Madrid.

Madam President, Commissioner, next year the European Union will be examining the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and we must come up with the duties we have done. The European Parliament should be in this follow-up mechanism to the Convention. This European Accessibility Centre is heading in the right direction; I thank Mrs Langensiepen for her work on this report, although we would have liked to have been able to maintain a physical accessibility centre. We come from the European Accessibility Act. We now agree on the Accessibility Centre and the aim is to move towards a genuine European Accessibility Agency. We ask the Commission to grant management as soon as possible to consortia in which persons with disabilities are included, and not to specialised consultants. As the sector rightly says, “nothing for us without us”, nothing for people with disabilities without people with disabilities. We also call for sufficient funding to meet the objectives and make a real European Accessibility Agency a reality as soon as possible.

Mr President, Commissioner, thank you, Commissioner Ferreira, for your resolute commitment to cohesion and constant work with this Parliament. Both the 8th Cohesion Report and the one addressing border regions as integration laboratories are useful tools to respond to the demand of our mayors. Cohesion policy is an excellent instrument because of its flexibility in crisis situations, but let us remember that it is a long-term investment policy, and therefore specific response mechanisms should be created in the future multiannual financial framework, as well as the European Union Solidarity Fund strengthened and specific lines created for people with disabilities. Local politics is where most of the problems of the neighbors are solved, such as the increase in energy, etc., and now it is increased by the challenge of not only the reception, but the integration of more than seven million refugees after Russia's aggression against Ukraine, but it must be as broad as possible, because the cities of the south know perfectly well that not only Ukrainians knock on the door of the municipalities. For all this, and not only, it must increase, and strengthen the metropolitan areas, which is where there is more intraregional inequality... (the Chair took the floor from the speaker).

Mr. President, let's talk about hunger, without technicalities. Nothing more frequent for those who eat several times a day and, at the same time, nothing more distant for many of us. This is perhaps the biggest failure we have as a civilization, with more than 193 million people suffering from hunger and 24,000 people dying a day. Even if the European Union delivers, we are not achieving the SDG goal of the 2030 Agenda. As this report points out, conflicts, climate change, pests and finally the pandemic set us back many years. The impact of the war in Ukraine following the Russian invasion adds further risks, such as blocking grain silos in Ukraine. On the effects of war, we must also fight disinformation. It must be said loud and clear: Sanctions bear no responsibility for the increase in hunger. Russia's agricultural sector is not objective. Our sanctions do not include the transport of agricultural products. As standing rapporteur, I call for stepping up humanitarian aid, but this is in the short term, as the Commissioner rightly said. We need medium- and long-term measures that focus on the triple nexus between humanitarian aid, development and peace. Commissioner, we ask for your communication as soon as possible... (the Chair took the floor from the speaker).

Mr President, we are talking about democracy, but if a democracy does not include people with disabilities, it will be incomplete. We have to remember that there are 14 Member States where even more than 400 000 people cannot exercise this fundamental right. With this reform of the European Electoral Act we would make Europe 400 000 times better. In Spain we have done it: We have reformed the Electoral Law to allow people with disabilities to vote. We are on time and that is why I ask you to vote tomorrow in favour of decoupling legal capacity from the fundamental right to vote and to vote in favour of improving polling stations and making them accessible, not only physically, but also sensorily. Europe can be 400 000 times better if we include people with disabilities. This reform of the European Electoral Act does so. I call for a vote in favour.

Madam President, Commissioner, today we are debating and voting on the third resolution on the situation in Afghanistan, the second since the Taliban took full power in the country. We must keep our eyes and heads on Afghanistan, which is suffering from one of the world's greatest humanitarian crises. Eight months is only getting worse and almost 95% of the population does not have enough food. The most vulnerable: women and girls, as always; Hence the importance of this debate. And the people who are already selling their sons and daughters and body parts so they can feed their families. We in Parliament have four priorities. The first: more budget for humanitarian aid, because to address the refugee crisis in Ukraine we cannot neglect other crises like this. The donor conference these days estimates the needed aid at more than $4.4 billion and only half has been raised. The second: political dialogue, so that NGOs can remain on the ground, and direct funding through NGOs. The third: security conditions for humanitarian workers. The fourth: to focus international pressure on girls to return to school. It is a universal right and not a gender-based privilege. Peaceful Afghanistan, inclusive Afghanistan cannot be done without women. Let's work for it.

(start of off-mic intervention) ... equality is not a privilege of European women. That is why we welcome the adoption of the third European Union action plan on gender in foreign policy. We welcome the figures given by the Commissioner, on 78% of NDICI-funded projects, but with a gender perspective, but remind her, from the Committee on Development, that it is urgent to prioritise women with disabilities in humanitarian action; that EU climate action is gender-responsive and helps channel development funds towards digital education for women and girls, and that there is universal access to sexual and reproductive health, including abortion rights, for women living outside our borders, including LGBTI women. The debate today is more timely than ever with the presentation of European law to force countries to criminalize non-consensual sexual relations such as rape, female genital mutilation, cyberbullying or the non-consensual online exchange of intimate images, known as the "vengeful porno". As called for by socialist feminists in this Parliament, with this law we demand the creation of legal instruments, such as the European restraining order, the financing of shelters and centres for women and their children, helplines for victims and education in schools. The message is key. There must be consensus and speed to definitively adopt this legislation. It is not a problem of the least developed countries, it is also a problem of the European ones. Thank you very much, and all of you with Ukraine tonight.

Madam President, Mr High Representative, we agree that the summit raises many expectations and that it is a unique opportunity to lay the foundations for a renewed and equal partnership between the European Union and the African Union. The visit of the President and several Commissioners to Senegal is a good sign, but Africa is a very diverse continent, with very different characteristics. We need to move from narrative to facts, because others, with very different interests, such as China or Russia, are already doing so. Climate migration is a reality and that is why we must make progress in the international protection of climate displaced persons and refugees. It is key for socialists not to link development cooperation policy to migration policy. We cannot condition aid to countries on receiving returnees. Patent liberalization that enables vaccine generation in Africa is also key. Yes, we must build together with NGOs working in the field, such as local actors, a true gender agenda that includes women's sexual and reproductive rights. I want to remind you that sexual and reproductive rights are a Sustainable Development Goal included in the 2030 Agenda. We must be firm to eradicate genital mutilation in girls: They're not traditions. We have political instruments, we have financial instruments, such as the NDICI, Team Europe, the Global Gateway, the Post-Cotonou Agreement, the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly... It is time to change the narrative, but, fundamentally, it is time to accompany it with facts. Africa awaits us...

Mr President, Commissioner, we are not delivering on the 2030 Agenda or the major summits we talk so much about, let alone Goal 2. Malnutrition starves millions of children while in some rich countries we spend more money on diets and weight-loss treatments. That is the contradiction before which this Parliament cannot remain indifferent. It is positive that the last Summit was led by some of the most affected countries, such as Bangladesh or Indonesia. It may be a good start, but we will only find solutions for it with strong partnerships. The report of the Committee on Development will put the issue on the agenda and I would like to focus on funding nutrition programmes in middle-income countries. We know that half of the world's hungry people are concentrated there. The most pronounced peak is Latin America and the Caribbean, with pots popular in cities in rich countries marked by inequality. One solution could be to move towards a profound transformation of agri-food systems, with one condition: political will and innovation that considers the empowerment of women and the most vulnerable as part of the solution. We are the largest global funder against hunger, but we must listen more to international organizations and the countries that suffer most from it.

Mr President, Commissioner Lenarčič, as you well know, the pandemic paralysed almost everything, except climate change and its effects, which cause terrible humanitarian crises in the most impoverished countries – many of them considered as middle income, but we must continue to work with them. In this report we underline the cooperation between humanitarian action, development, disaster risk reduction and climate actors to reduce displacement. Mr Neuser, thank you very much, you did a great job calling, specifically in this report, for the consolidation of the triple nexus between humanitarian action, development and peace, because crises are becoming more and more enduring and intense. We do not yet have a disability strategy in international cooperation and humanitarian action; it is therefore important that this report explicitly includes persons with disabilities, especially women with disabilities, the most vulnerable and those with the most specific needs, such as the creation, for example, of a coordination mechanism to develop an approach to international humanitarian law. It is clear that we need more funding and cannot rely on a limited number of donors: that is why, from this Parliament, we will help it to have more resources.

Madam President, vaccination is the best example of inequality in the world. We are not delivering on the 2030 Agenda, leaving people behind. Reinforcement punctures in rich countries go much faster than vaccination in poorer countries. There are more people vaccinated in Europe with the booster dose than in developing countries even with the first dose. Therefore, this is a scandal that we must stop. We know the data perfectly: Latin America and the Caribbean, one of the regions hardest hit by the pandemic, with bleeding data such as Haiti, at 0.35%; Africa, as mentioned above, with 6% of people vaccinated on a full schedule; no vaccine approved or distributed, for example, in Eritrea. While in this Parliament we engage in grandiose debates on temporary patent exemption at the World Trade Organisation - which of course we support - from our competences in development cooperation and humanitarian aid, we can and must also focus on priorities such as the donation of surplus vaccines. The Government of Spain, together with France and Germany, are the most supportive in Europe, but we also have the rest of the 24 Member States, which we must convene. We can promote from the European Union a summit of donors, as has been done with other issues, for example, refugees from Venezuela. The COVAX mechanism, which so many relied on from the south, is fine, but effectively only 250 million of the more than 1,400 doses committed are coming in. Another important issue is distribution chains. From Team Europe, this tremendous mechanism that we have, let us exercise our power and our expertise to improve supply chains. Several developing countries are postponing vaccines, calling for them not to be delivered because they do not have mechanisms to maintain them, to improve distribution chains.

Madam President, Commissioner, the use of these funds, over the years, sheds some light, but many shadows: lack of transparency and information, little interaction with civil society and few independent monitoring mechanisms. In Colombia, the situation has not improved in five years and the peace agreement has not been implemented. The Africa Fund has been used to restrict immigration rather than create opportunities and channels for regular migration. Let us be clear and demanding in this Parliament: the new instrument for Turkey or any other country should not be made at the expense of the development cooperation budget. Commissioner, defend the development cooperation fund. We had known the four million refugees in Turkey before. Therefore, we do not accept that the money for their reception be withdrawn from the NDICI mattress. It is not consistent that in just nine months of implementation 30% of the reserve is spent. Initiatives should be financed through new appropriations, where necessary with contributions from Member States. We must not link migration policy with development policy, which should serve to create opportunities and not to keep refugees away from our borders. We must, from this Parliament, participate fully in the new instrument, including its structures and the origin of these funds.

Madam President, the Committee on Development is working on a report on corruption and human rights in international cooperation. That is why I wanted to bring some lines to the debate. The aim must be to target individuals, businesses, without punishing countries and their people at the same time. To change things, ladies and gentlemen of the Council, we must set the target on the money that abusers have abroad. Therefore, speak the language of power through sanctions. With the approved regulations, the so-called Magnitsky or Navalny Law, assets could be frozen and visas denied to people, entities, without punishing countries. The High Representative promised it in this House and fulfilled it in December last year. But in order to implement it, we need it to be included as an instrument in foreign policy; and include corruption. Interestingly, this crime is not part of the European sanctions regime, but similarities with US law would allow for much more effective coordination with Biden's presidency in Washington. We need to strengthen with a control phase the role of the European Parliament and the complementarity with other sanctions, such as geographical sanctions. It should be reiterated, ladies and gentlemen of the Council, that we are calling for qualified majority voting to facilitate the decision on sanctions. This and that of due diligence for companies are effective tools to work together to guarantee human rights, as global actors that we are.