Speeches

Mr President, in Portugal and in the European Union the devaluation of women's skills persists. The wages, pensions and pensions that women receive are the lowest, they work the most hours and they suffer the most from precariousness, unemployment, income inequalities, social insecurity and poverty. The deterioration of the social situation also has implications for affective stability and is not disconnected from the increase in family and marital violence. In terms of equal participation, the progress achieved has been timid, showing that the great proclamations of principles and the great affirmations about equal rights are not reflected, in practice, in women's daily lives. Fulfilling women's rights means ensuring the right to work with rights, equal pay, professional appreciation, reconciliation and work-life balance. It also means preventing and combating inequalities, discrimination and all violence against women, as well as the challenges posed by climate change. For our part, we continue to fight for very concrete answers to these and other crucial questions.

Mr President, a student youth, a working youth, a creative youth, a youth with a transformative force: young people need another Europe. A Europe where they can assert the right to have rights, the right to have a better life. A Europe where public, free and quality schools are a reality for all. Where precariousness is eradicated and gives way to employment with rights. Where access to culture, sport, decent housing, leisure, health and sex education, equal opportunities are not mirages or a list of intentions. Where they can choose to live in the countryside or in the city, without this implying further discrimination. Where climate change concerns are not harnessed to do new business. A Europe that does not fit into this European Union, but is worth fighting for. And it is for young people and with young people that we will build a future of peace, cooperation, rights, prosperity and happiness for young people that is also inspiring in the struggle for their dreams.

Mr President, young people cannot be a rhetorical device. Their problems and aspirations should not be used as a mere propaganda tool. Obstacles to education, lack of access to decent and affordable housing, unemployment, job insecurity, deregulation of working hours, low wages, unpaid internships or so-called training grants that are perpetuated over time are part of the reality of too young people. These problems are not disconnected from the neoliberal policies that the European institutions impose on the Member States. And if the recipe keeps up, the results won't be any different. COVID-19 has exposed this reality and aggravated the situation of young people. The right to sport, culture and leisure has not only been delayed, it has in fact been undermined by rules that have not taken into account the importance of these activities for the physical and mental health of young people. In Portugal, thousands were laid off under the probationary period, many saw wages cut, rights threatened, hours deregulated. Job insecurity is spreading faster than a virus, and young people are wondering if they can dream of the future or if they have to just put up with the present, sacrificing youth. With or without the Year of Youth, young people know that they can count on us to turn dreams into reality. We are where we have always been, by your side every day.

Madam President, access to sexual and reproductive rights, including the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy, is a decades-long struggle for women. In practice, this defence and its implementation are in conflict with the guidelines and policies of the European Union which have promoted and promote the financial suffocation of public services in some Member States, particularly in the area of health, contributing to the closure of maternity wards and health centres, to the dismissal of health professionals necessary for the effective fulfilment of these women's rights. There is no point defending the right to sexual and reproductive health and rights if there are no public services providing such high-quality and free care, if we do not focus on services for the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases or on family planning services, if there is no free access to contraception, if we fail to implement sex education or if the rights of LGBTI people are not respected. Despite the progress that has been made in some countries in this area, the struggle will contribute to the advances that women aspire to and it is alongside them that we will be.

Mr President, digitalisation processes and digital services offer great potential for development in various spheres of human activity, including economics. Reality, however, has already shown that this means has served to increase the exploitation of workers or the phenomena of alienation and social and behavioral conditioning of individuals for the benefit of profits and the predominance of large companies and multinationals. The Digital Services Act that we are discussing today is nothing more than a step in deepening the digital single market, or, to put it another way, advocating the liberalisation of the digital market. The approach to regulating online platforms, which promote monopolies and strengthen the market power of multinational companies, which, moreover, the digital single market serves, does not answer substantive questions or compromise the interests of the digital giant. With this regulation, the European Union is developing yet another piece of supranational legislation that aims to strip Member States of the power to control digital platforms operating on their territory. The proposal is not geared to defending the general interest of the public domain of the sector, nor to promoting free public access to content, access to creation, enjoyment and the free sharing of culture, rejecting logics of commodification of culture, attacking multilingualism or strengthening further cultural colonization. With the creation and proliferation of a set of so-called independent entities, the aim is to remove the role of states and their national authorities, without any desire to guarantee the independence of these entities from major economic interests. States already have bodies with powers, for example, in matters of administrative and judicial review of illegal content, the scope of which should be extended to digital matters, while maintaining the process in the sphere of State sovereignty.

Mr President, we are talking again today about Cuba, the third time in the last six plenary sessions of this Parliament. It illustrates how the instrumentalisation of alleged human rights violations can be used as a weapon of interference. They may change the name of the debates and the titles of the resolutions, but the goals are the same as always. On the one hand, calling into question the achievements, development options, sovereignty and independence of Cuba and interfering in the process of normalisation of the European Union's relations with Cuba in the Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement, on the other hand, they seek to conceal the existence of the blockade imposed by the United States of America, which, contrary to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, brutally and violently disregards the rights of the Cuban people. We call for dialogue and cooperation between the European Union and Cuba on equal rights without interference and on the basis of mutual respect. From here we demand, once again, the end of the criminal blockade. We express our solidarity with Cuba and its people and commend their example of sovereignty, resistance and struggle.

Mr President, in labour relations there is one part, that of the employer, who holds almost all the power from the outset, and another, that of the worker, who merely sells his strength. One cannot speak of democracy at work without addressing this relationship, which is inherently unequal for workers with precarious and unregulated employment relationships, instability, low wages, lack of safety conditions, who suffer harassment and employer repression in the workplace. Democracy is a mirage. The reality also shows that the guidelines and policies emanating from the European institutions have not only not solved these issues, but have in many cases aggravated and deepened them. The promotion of democracy at work presupposes the valorisation of work and workers, their wages and rights, respect for and promotion of the right to collective organisation and action and recruitment, trade union rights, the right to strike, the principle of prohibiting unjustified dismissal, the reconciliation of family and personal life with work through adequate working hours, the reduction of working hours, with the aim of enabling workers to participate in political, cultural, trade union and social life. Respect and appreciation of workers, their trade union structures, collective bargaining and hiring must be reflected not only in words, but in concrete actions and whenever these rights are violated it will be by the struggle and organization of workers that will be won. And that's who we'll be with.

Madam President, the answer to the structural problems faced by some countries, such as Portugal, is not the adoption of so-called 'structural reforms imposed by the European Union', but a policy that focuses on national production. Only in this way can we stop being a country dependent on the surpluses of the great powers, a deficit and an eternal debtor that underestimates the internal market and with exports subordinated to the interests of the big multinationals. This is the way to free ourselves from low wages and pensions, unemployment and precariousness, the emigration of the youngest, the worsening of the lack of life. It is the way to valorise the interior and make full use of its enormous potential, to combat depopulation and economic desertification, which, combined with scarce public investment, impose obstacles on small and medium-sized enterprises and make life difficult for those who live there. The necessary replacement of imports by national production will also have this capacity to establish populations, especially young people, who may dream of a future in their country, in their land.

Madam President, women's rights, in particular the right to live a life in dignity, are fundamental rights that must be promoted by public policies. Exercising rights and participating equally is a legitimate aspiration of women, but the exercise of these rights, as well as participation on an equal basis, remains to be fulfilled. The vast majority of women continue to be deprived of the appreciation of their employment status and pay, of being a mother without penalties or discrimination, and this is an unfair and unacceptable reality. As long as this happens, equality will be nothing more than a slogan. At this rate, 60 years – I repeat, 60 years – remain to be achieved in order to achieve equality between men and women in the European Union. It is essential that Member States legislate in defence of women's rights so that this horizon can be reduced. In this sense, legislation that enshrines equality is of great importance in order to fill gaps and combat discrimination, and it must be removed from its role in order, in fact, to bring about further progress in the realisation of women's rights in life. On the report that we are going to vote on tomorrow, and regardless of the final text and whether or not the amendments tabled are adopted, or whether the parts of the text that will be voted on separately are retained, the text gives voice to the just demand for women's struggle and can be an important element of support for the fight for women's rights. Our work in this struggle does not end here.

Madam President, today in plenary we are discussing the work we have carried out for months on the report on gender inequalities in the European Union for the period 2018-2020. Women remain the main victims of existing inequalities, the gender pay gap, poverty and precarious work. We believe that economic independence is crucial for women's empowerment and for achieving equal participation in society. In this sense, we wanted to focus on labour and social issues and the eradication of the different forms of violence that, daily and in various contexts, oppress women. Member States should commit to implementing equality policies that advance solutions that uphold women's rights. Concrete measures are needed that, through employment policies, eliminate discrimination in access to work and strengthen employment with rights, collective bargaining and promote a general increase in wages and pensions, eliminating existing and unacceptable disparities and requiring improved living conditions. Greater action, awareness-raising and monitoring are needed in workplaces to ensure better working conditions for women, paying attention to workloads, the fulfilment of maternity and paternity rights and the reconciliation of work, family and personal life. We do not disconnect the existing inequalities from the neoliberal public policies imposed by the European Union, which have led to increased unemployment, deregulation of the labour market, deregulation of working hours, increased precariousness and low wages affecting women in particular. Similarly, cuts in public services, especially health, education and social benefits, further exacerbate the multiple forms of discrimination and inequality women face. It is not enough to defend the reconciliation of personal, family and professional life if labour rights are not respected, if hours are completely deregulated and if wages barely arrive at the end of the month. It is not enough to defend the right to sexual and reproductive health and rights, an area where there have been setbacks in several Member States, if there are no public services providing such high-quality and free care. It is not enough to defend a comprehensive education, capable of combating stereotypes, if in the public school there are no conditions for this responsibility and it is devoid of technical and human resources. It is not enough to defend the fight against violence against women if there are no immediate, close social responses that allow women to free themselves from the oppressions they have suffered. It is not enough to advocate for equal opportunities and access to a career if there are no public networks of infrastructure supporting childcare, such as crèches, in old age or in case of disability or other needs. The different forms of violence against women must also be recognised as extreme expressions of inequality and discrimination manifested in humiliation, disrespect for the physical and psychological integrity of the women who suffer them. Violence at work, domestic violence, dating violence, lack of health care, including sexual and reproductive rights, female genital mutilation, psychological and sexual harassment, prostitution or commodification of a woman's body as a sexual object are forms of violence that undermine the dignity, social status and rights of all women. Finally, a word of solidarity with the women's organisations that fight every day for equality to be a reality in law and in life, and from here we welcome their valuable intervention in defending women's rights. Before concluding, I must thank the shadow rapporteurs from the different political groups, their assistants and members of the secretariat and, of course, Charlotte, Leire and Filipa who worked with me. We managed to have a text that, it seems to us, makes a good diagnosis of the reality of inequalities between men and women in the European Union in the period 2018-2020.

Mr President, violence at work, domestic violence, dating violence, lack of access to sexual and reproductive rights, female genital mutilation, psychological and sexual harassment, prostitution or the commodification of a woman's body as a sexual object: different forms of violence against women that have to be recognised as extreme expressions of inequality and discrimination manifested in humiliation, disrespect for the physical and psychological integrity of women who suffer them. Forms of violence that undermine the dignity, social status and rights of all women. The autonomous treatment of each of these different forms of violence must be ensured, recognizing what this represents in women's lives. Measures to combat and prevent discrimination, inequalities and violence against women are essential for empowerment and equality in law and life. Today, 25 November, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, we welcome the valuable intervention of women's organisations in preventing and combating the various forms of violence and exploitation against women. That is also our commitment.

Madam President, many thousands of people in the European Union are affected by rare diseases, requiring a comprehensive response. I have been following the difficulties that pass the about 500 families that in Portugal are affected by familial amyloid paramyloidosis, also known as the disease of the little feet, a rare hereditary and degenerative disease for which there are few responses. This is a paradigmatic example. Since there is a drug with a high degree of success for the treatment of the disease, the market logic behind its distribution makes it completely inaccessible to many of these families. Only the strengthening of public intervention and investment capacities that guarantee a universal and accessible national health service, scientific research capacities that develop treatments, production and distribution capacities of medicines that do not subject patients to the vortex of pharmaceutical multinationals, can respond to the needs and desires of these patients. In addition to the necessary support for parents whose children are carriers of rare diseases, it is necessary to promote initiatives and programs aimed at eliminating the stigma that some of these diseases, usually due to ignorance, cause in others. From this European Union action plan, which is always so supportive of liberalisation and divestment, we will hardly find the necessary response.

Mr President, the brutal rise in energy prices goes hand in hand with the choices made by the European Union. The consequences of the liberalisation and privatisation of the sector, the maintenance of oligopolistic markets, where cartelised prices and adopted methodologies ensure astronomical profits, or the creation and functioning of the carbon market, are being felt by consumers, especially the most vulnerable. Energy is a public good. Public and democratic control over the energy sector is a key requirement to ensure the sustainability of the sector. In my country, the Pego Thermoelectric Power Plant has recently closed. The solution presented is to import electricity from countries where it is also coal-fired. The decarbonisation process cannot be done at the expense of energy sovereignty, increased energy costs, jobs, nor when environmentally there is no gain either, as emissions are transferred to another country. Our solidarity with the approximately 200 workers of the Pego Central, for their struggle in defence of their rights and their jobs.

Mr President, the European Union presented itself in Glasgow at COP26 with the false image of the climate champion. The approach to climate change, whether in the field of combating or in relation to adaptation, is characterised by the inadequacy and inadequacy of measures, out of step with genuine social justice objectives and with questionable environmental results, based on market-based solutions such as emissions trading or green taxation, which have already shown their ineffectiveness and perversity. The Fit for 55 package retains full centrality in this type of approach. The closure of the Matosinhos refinery in Portugal is exemplary about the consequences of this path. Production capacity is destroyed and emissions are limited to crossing the border, moving a few kilometres. Another path is needed. A path that passes through public control of strategic sectors such as energy, encouraging local production and consumption, fair regulation of international trade, mobility policies that value public transport, a normative approach to reducing emissions to counter the market approach. Capitalism is not green.

Madam President, we reject any tendency to commodify knowledge, education and research and oppose the vision emanating from the policies of the European Union. As in the conception of the so-called European Higher Education Area or in the Bologna Process, concepts such as mobility, lifelong learning, recognition of skills, qualifications, diplomas and titles are mentioned, concealing that this process limits access to education, transforms it into a commodity, agglomerating it into more easily privatizable blocks, making it difficult for those with less economic conditions to access education. We believe that cooperation between Member States is necessary, but never forgetting that it is the responsibility of each country to educate its citizens, just as it is its responsibility to guarantee public access, universal and free of charge, that meets the needs of society, its development and not the interests of large economic groups. Education is a right of all, not a privilege of some.

Madam President, the guidelines for employment and social policies that have been issued by the European Union do not solve the problems faced by workers and the poor: poverty, unemployment, precariousness, low wages and high cost of living. On the contrary, these same policies and guidelines have sought to weaken the public response to the problems of populations, workers and the real economy. They have tried to annihilate universal access to quality public services, collective bargaining and bargaining, and reduce workers’ rights and guarantees. 11 years have passed since the implementation of the European Semester and the problems persist or have even worsened. Parliament is making resolutions which, while containing justifiable concerns, do not put their fingers on the wound. The European Semester is whitewashed by giving it a social and ecological guise in an attempt to preserve an instrument that has already proved to be a weapon against social progress. What is required is the repeal of this instrument which deliberately undermines the democratic decisions of the peoples of the Member States and which every year demonstrates its blackmailing and manipulative character.

Madam President, sexual and reproductive rights go hand in hand with fundamental rights such as the right to life, freedom, equal treatment, education, health or safety. All over the world we are witnessing attempts to impose retrograde and reactionary conceptions on women's sexuality and their role in society. They aim to impose a return to unsafe, clandestine, unprotected and dangerous abortions for women's physical and mental health, thus reversing one of their most important achievements. The way is to move forward, not to retreat. Alongside the defence of women's sexual and reproductive health and rights, advance the strengthening of public services, including free quality public health services, access to reproductive health services, implementation of sexual education, free access to contraceptives and family planning services. Moving forward, not backing down. The struggle of women has shown and will show that it is the only way!

Mr President, this debate is part of the operation of interference and destabilisation against Belarus that the European Union, its institutions and, in particular, some Member States are trying to carry out. The instrumentalisation of refugees and asylum seekers, mostly from Afghanistan and Iraq, who are on Belarus' borders with Poland and Lithuania, and who are destined for countries that are part of the European Union, is a clear example of this action that has only geostrategic and political objectives, jeopardising the lives and safety of thousands of people seeking a better life. What is required is that the European Union and its Member States act with respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of this country, in compliance with the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law, respecting the right of the Belarusian people, as of any other people, to decide on its present and future.

Madam President, once again the European Parliament is used as an instrument of the campaign against Cuba, aligning itself with the policy of interference and aggression of the United States of America, increased with Trump and now maintained with Biden against Cuba and the Cuban people. Hypocritically, they cry out for human rights while hiding the existence of the blockade imposed by the United States of America, which, contrary to the principle of the Charter of the United Nations, brutally and violently disregards the rights of the Cuban people. Its aim is to question Cuba's achievements, development options, sovereignty and independence. Let's talk about Cuba. Let's talk about the criminal and illegal economic, financial and commercial blockade with an extraterritorial character imposed by the United States more than 60 years ago. Let's talk about the measures implemented by the Trump administration that persist, even in times of pandemic, aimed at preventing access to essential goods such as medicines and food, seeking to undermine rights, such as the right to health or economic development. Let us talk about the destabilising and provocative actions that the United States of America is promoting, cynically exploiting the nefarious consequences of the blockade for which they are responsible, destabilising and provocative actions to which this Parliament is associated with this resolution. Let us also talk about the fact that, in the face of this extremely complex and demanding situation, Cuba and its people have not given up on providing solidarity in the field of public health to other countries and peoples, including countries that are part of the European Union. Therefore, from here we reaffirm our solidarity with Cuba, with the Cuban people, valuing their courage and dignity and their resistance, and we demand an end to the blockade, interference and aggression against Cuba.

Madam President, we are discussing the working conditions of platform workers here. They may come to speak of new forms of employment or new realities of the world of work, but the form of exploitation is the same, and old, remembering the squares, piecemeal remuneration and waving freedom in the form of flexibility to increase labour deregulation and precariousness. Digital platforms mostly resort to the use of bogus self-employed workers who often work with the platform’s uniform and rules and do so for a fee or by paying a percentage of the amount charged always under the rules determined by the platform. There is no other solution than the recognition of the existing employment relationship under the national law of each country. It is unacceptable that, in the 21st century, the technical and scientific development achieved should not serve to improve the living and working conditions of workers and that, on the contrary, it should serve to increase their exploitation.

Mr President, the restrictions on mobility imposed by the COVID-19 containment measures have paralysed around 2/3 of global traffic, leading the sector to the biggest crisis ever, and support is needed to safeguard jobs, workers' incomes and the viability of businesses. It is true that many of these supporters came from the European institutions, but they were differentiated and discriminatory, jeopardising the sustainability of several flag companies. The main victims are workers, faced with layoffs, wage losses, precariousness and exploitation. An unacceptable situation that did not start with COVID-19, which only aggravated and exposed the logic of deregulation, liberalisation, decentralisation and increased exploitation and precariousness seen in recent decades as a result of the European Union's policies for the sector. Finally, a word of solidarity to TAP employees who are faced with reduced rights and redundancies. The number of redundancies continues to rise and today it has been reported that more than 100 workers will be made redundant. Some of those responsible are right here in front of our eyes. The fight continues.

Mr President, the Connecting Europe Facility 2.0 is essentially the revised and updated version of an instrument that pursues the European Union's usual political strategies. The privatization of public services, transport, energy, and communications, the divestment of equipment and infrastructure, the degradation and costly service provided to the populations and the precariousness of labor relations are the watermark of this mechanism. In addition, this mechanism reinforces the financial value for dual deployment, i.e. it finances and facilitates the free and rapid movement of troops and military equipment within and outside the European Union. We believe that the funds allocated to the Connecting Europe Facility should serve cohesion and the development of civilian infrastructure and contribute to the improvement of quality public services for all, allowing countries such as Portugal to pursue public policies that serve the needs of the people and the development of the country.