Speeches

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I have yet to speak of Gaza, of the 13,000 Palestinian children who died innocently, of the women, of the civilians who were mercilessly killed, massacred by Israel, by Netanyahu's criminal policy. I have to talk about the millions of Jews around the world demonstrating against Netanyahu and his crimes, and not because they are anti-Semites but, on the contrary, because they are proud to be Jews and are indignant at the horror for which their country is responsible today. I've been talking about it for months: But in this building telling the truth about Gaza seems taboo. And that scares me. As I am frightened by what is happening in Italy, where the writer Antonio Scurati is censored by public TV because he is anti-fascist, on the eve of April 25, the feast of liberation from fascism. And so I want to greet this palace, remembering that it is our duty to fight for freedom and truth, to ask that Palestine be free and in peace and to support anyone, like Scurati, who is censored by those who do not yet know how to call themselves anti-fascist in 2024. I say it: Long live anti-fascist Italy, long live anti-fascist Europe, long live freedom!

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Netanyahu's policy of criminal aggression not only continues, but reaches unbearable, vomiting, unworthy heights of horror and inhumanity. Gaza is hell on earth. When you attack human beings who, exhausted by hunger, are receiving humanitarian aid, you are responsible for a disgrace that throws shame not only on those who pull the trigger and kill, but on the entire humanity that cannot stop this horror, which we have witnessed for months as if it were normal. No, it's not normal! It is an abyss of death, it is a defeat of civilization, of humanity, of human dignity. And every Palestinian child killed by weapons or hunger is stabbed in the living flesh of international institutions and organizations, which know how to talk about peace but are not able to block this so dismal and ferocious version of a brutal war. Many brave Jews around the world protest strongly against Netanyahu's conduct in Gaza. And what does Europe do? Why don't you have the courage to take a clear stance? To sanction this constant violation of human rights? Why don't you put your body between those who kill and those who die? What good is Europe if it can't do anything about Gaza?

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Julian Assange is a martyr of freedom. Julian Assange is a man who has lived in prison for the last twelve years of his life without guilt, without conviction, just for telling the truth. He is a father who cannot hold his children, a husband kept away from his wife Stella and father John. Which Europe is the one that does not fight with all its might to free Julian Assange? We fill our mouths with words such as freedom, human rights, respect, pluralism. Are these good things only for movies, for fairy tales? Or do we really want to protect all human beings, and especially those who told the truth about war crimes and serious responsibilities, which without him we would never have known? If Assange is extradited, he will die and with him will die the right, for all of us European citizens, to be informed freely and completely. We have to defend him to defend all of us. Julian, I will always be with you, as I did in London, I will be by your wife's side in this terrible battle. But I dream that all MEPs will fight for you, all heads of government, all European citizens, because until you are free, Europe will not be free.

(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we are saddened, shocked by the story of Alexei Navalny, by the ferocity with which Putin has suffocated him, deprived of his freedom and by his death in a Russian prison. Europe mourns Navalny and it is right to do so, although many of his ideas were wrong for me: You cannot die for informing the people. But if Naval'ny can only remember him, celebrate him, we should all mobilize forcefully to save another journalist, Julian Assange, who without guilt or conviction has been deprived of his liberty for twelve years and has been in prison for five years and risks dying in jail if he is extradited. I was in London with some colleagues last week to support Assange and I ask the whole Parliament to make itself heard with official positions, with determination and toughness. Assange is a journalist, not a criminal. Europe does not turn the other way, it does not allow democracies to treat a journalist, as Putin did. After losing Naval'ny, we defend Assange before it's too late: "Free Julian Assange now".

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I spoke here in plenary on 19 October, first and foremost publicly denouncing the violence of Israeli troops in Gaza against civilians. I reiterated this in November, recalling that it is not worthy of European values to witness in silence the massacre of innocent children, Palestinian children. Today is February 27 and nearly 30,000 civilians have died at the hands of the Netanyahu government, with 12,000 children and 8,000 women. And there are still those who dare to call anti-Semitic who criticize this infamous policy wanted by Netanyahu, which violates international law and tramples on the most basic human rights. Gentlemen, those who are anti-Semites must be ashamed of being anti-Semites and those who support Hamas must be ashamed of doing so. I am not anti-Semitic and condemn Hamas terrorism. But those who use the faults of Hamas and the persecutions unjustly suffered over the centuries by the Jewish people to pretend not to see the daily massacre that is taking place in Gaza, a few kilometers from the European borders, must be ashamed because they have no civil conscience. Europe must stand with the children of Gaza, with the innocent Palestinian people, with those who suffer violence and murder anywhere in the world. And the Gaza Strip is part of the world, it is not a place of fantasy, although it has been transformed into hell: He is still on earth! Stop the massacre!

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, European farmers are protesting and making themselves heard. It happens in Italy, it happens in Belgium, it happens here, outside this building, in Strasbourg. The reason is very simple: As they say, they can't make it to the end of the month. For years, even decades, we have allowed large retailers to strangle producers. Producing a kilo of tomatoes or wheat or a liter of extra virgin olive oil costs the producer more than he can sell it. This is the central problem and it is really bad faith to think that protecting the environment is going against farmers. On the contrary, we must protect the environment together with farmers, also because, if the environment is not protected, farmers will have even greater problems in a few years' time. The truth is that there is a price problem and there is a problem of unfortunate international agreements. And the truth is that Europe needs to rethink not its environmental policy, but its trade policy, to really support farmers. Each, in each European region, must have the same contribution. Today, a Sicilian farmer makes a contribution that is less than a third compared to that of other Italian regions. This is unacceptable. Let's change those rules now.

(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, fascism was a criminal dictatorship that took away all freedom and led thousands of Italians to die in concentration camps. Mussolini's fascism was the primary tumor of which Nazism was the metastasis - said Primo Levi - a tumor that led to the death of Italy, Germany and Europe. Repeated gestures in Rome reveal ignorance of that tumor: People who look with nostalgia and admiration at the darkest period in history are horrified. Italy can only be anti-fascist, it is by constitution! With those outstretched arms you are killing a second time innocent children, women and men who died in Auschwitz, in Marzabotto and everywhere. Fascism is: Shit! We should say it every day, explain it to children from elementary school. Italy and Europe cannot tolerate this crap and it is very bad that the second office of the State does not have the courage to declare itself anti-fascist, not even from the track from which Mussolini started the trains to the concentration camps. Italy and the whole of Europe have a duty to eliminate this shit. Enough busts of Mussolini and Roman greetings, let's sweep them away! Or, I remind you with the words of Primo Levi: Our children will wring our faces, the disease will strike us, the house of Europe will fall apart forever.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, COP28 has, yes, produced results, but we are not yet really determined to tell the truth, namely that we must immediately end fossil emissions because the future of all humanity is at stake. We have known dictatorships on this continent, the fascist dictatorship and the Nazi dictatorship, and today we cannot think of moving forward with the dictatorship of fossil fuel capitalism. And I also tell the capitalists that ecology is a business. Having energy from genuine renewable sources, that do not pollute and that do not compromise the future of our children and our planet, is a business. So, just as Europe has opposed and will always oppose fascism and Nazism – Sánchez did well yesterday to remind us how dangerous the extreme right is – we must also say no to fossil fuels much sooner. And we hope that in Brazil in 2030 this will happen more decisively.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, one in three students in Italy cannot bear the cost of renting a house and 30% of university students are in enormous economic difficulty. There is a need for about 700 000 beds and about 40 000 are offered, only 5%; 10 000 new beds have been financed through the NRP, but many of them are managed by private individuals, who then rent these houses for 800 euros a month, which are also paid for with European money. In cities like Milan they ask 600-700 euros a month for a bed. This kills the right to training and the possibility for those born into a less affluent family to study and grow; the social elevator function of the university is destroyed by the inability to offer affordable housing. Therefore, we have a duty to help all young people who need accommodation at decent prices and in particular students; The situation of university students in Italy, in my opinion, needs strong and concrete European help, not gossip.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, children who have died from reckless attacks; Civilian women and men killed mercilessly just because they were Palestinians; Even newborns who die in incubators because even hospitals have been stripped of electricity: This is happening in Palestine. These are Netanyahu's grave responsibilities. A month ago, in this House, I asked Europe to condemn this horror, these violations of international law, and nothing happened. We have rightly condemned the terrorist action of Hamas, we have rightly condemned Putin's act of war of Russia. But what are we waiting for to condemn Netanyahu's criminal policy? It is a shame to accuse those who criticize this government of Israel of anti-Semitism: Thousands of Jews around the world are protesting Netanyahu's crimes. What is Europe doing? Don't those desperate children, those bodies on the ground with no more heat, horror you? Are there any Serie A and Serie B deaths? Are there crimes and violations of law that Europe tolerates? No. Therefore, out of respect for those innocent Palestinian children killed by Netanyahu's choices, Europe must take a stand and condemn immediately or it will no longer be the European Union but it will be squalid hypocrisy.

(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, many beautiful rural places in Europe – there are many in Sicily and Sardinia – are now depopulated, abandoned by young people, by the new generations, with a triple negative result: whole areas of our regions that risk becoming ghost cities, the very dangerous advance of desertification and the increasing dependence on imports, with less control over the product and the supply chain and with the loss of enormous job and economic opportunities for our communities. Agriculture in Italy and Europe is a potential endless gold mine, but care is needed to support it, generational renewal is needed and we need to help young people discover the enormous opportunities that agriculture can offer today. Therefore, let us commit ourselves to providing ad hoc funds to help young farmers, in addition to the measures already provided for in the CAP, and let us find measures to gradually accompany farmers approaching retirement towards a genuine and fruitful generational renewal. Let's not kill our rural communities, let's help young people stay and grow.

(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the terrorist violence of Hamas, the massacre of civilians, the kidnapping and killing of children and young people without fault are an atrocious horror. Therefore, it is very right to reiterate Israel's right to defend itself and live in peace and to condemn terror, but it is not enough. If we are honest, we cannot be silent that the response to the atrocities of Hamas, that is, cutting off water and light to the Palestinian people and forcing them to a new exodus, is unworthy, because it denies the right to exist and live in dignity to children, women and families who are not terrorists, are not guilty of massacre, but are only Palestinian human beings who have and must always have the right to live and live in peace, exactly as the Israelis have. The people of Gaza must be protected by the European institutions, just like Israel. Let us resume the work of Yitzhak Rabin, let us fight for two peoples in two states, but let us not hypocritically close our eyes to the violence that the innocent Palestinian people are suffering. Let's shout it out loud: "Israel, free! Free Palestine! It would be fatal to see only part of the crimes and violations of international law, it would be a shame for Europe and I do not want to be ashamed of being European!

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, it is useless to mock us, it is useless to turn around. Today children, children, from an early age, use new technologies, use mobile phones, use devices, iPad and digital. Technologies that are not bad or good in themselves. Moreover, even those children who have not used them, those of friends, companions, etc. The problem is the content that is conveyed thanks to new technologies and education in the use of new technologies. Of course there is concern about the spread of pornography among children, among minors, but there is also online bullying, which is a huge problem that we must not forget. I believe that the only possible way to avoid harm and to avoid growing generations accustomed to unchecked online violence is that of an education from an early age to the use of new technologies. I therefore hope for a regulation, which can be adopted by all the Member States, for the education, from primary school, of new technologies.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, it is essential today to talk about Julian Assange, because whenever we discuss freedom of the press, rules regarding the press, we have a duty to remember the story of Julian Assange. Julian has been in fact imprisoned for years without any fault, indeed, for having done exclusively his duty as a journalist: informing citizens, thus making them more aware of what is happening in the world. I come from Sicily, a land where unfortunately the mafia has killed journalists such as Pippo Fava, Mario Francese, Mauro De Mauro, Peppino Impastato, Beppe Alfano and others. The Camorra killed Giancarlo Siani. All of them had no fault but to tell the truth. Even in memory of journalists who are victims of the Mafia, such as those I mentioned and the Maltese Daphne Caruana, we must prevent Julian Assange from living an early death, a death on the ground, imprisoned as a dangerous criminal, when instead he is only a journalist. President, ladies and gentlemen, today we should all shout loudly, without hesitation: Release Julian Assange! Free Assange now!".

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, imagine if, at the end of the World Cup in Qatar, an Argentine leader had gone to kiss Leo Messi in the mouth: What was going to happen? And why did a Spanish leader do it with a woman? The problem of harassment and then rape is primarily a cultural problem and must be fought by educating children and young people to mutual respect and a complete awareness of their own sexuality and that of others. But it must also be fought at the legislative level: in Italy today a woman has only one year to report harassment or rape; Until recently, only six months. The great scandals of recent years would not have had any criminal consequences in Italy, since they were born from complaints arrived after several years by courageous women who had overcome the trauma. I therefore propose that Europe establish an obligation for all Member States to provide sex education for their young citizens and to provide for a limit of at least five years for a woman who wants to report harassment or rape. Without new rules, I'm afraid, we'll be talking for decades more about rape culture and unpunished harassment.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, at this moment, as we speak, the south coast of the island of Lampedusa is literally invaded by boats that the criminals responsible for human trafficking continue to use, putting thousands of lives at risk, enriching and exasperating the daily reality of a small island that bears on its shoulders, on its slender shoulders, a burden that should be shared by all of Europe. This summer I went personally to Porto Empedocle, where the situation was unsustainable. Therefore, rather than glorify a downward agreement with Tunisia that solves nothing, Europe should take responsibility for taking away from the country of first arrival what a single country cannot stand. The inhabitants of Lampedusa are heroes and I am nominating that people of heroes for the Sakharov Prize and I invite all colleagues and groups to take an examination of conscience and sign the candidacy: Today, a small island is doing the work that 27 Member States are supposed to do, while mothers and children, as has rightly been mentioned, die in the desert without any fault. Europe is ashamed of this tragedy and assumes its responsibilities now, because they are its own.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, all European citizens, let us be honest, the Dublin Agreement is a complete failure. It is a disgrace to require the countries of first entry to deal in solitude with an epoch-making phenomenon that affects the whole of Europe. Thousands of migrants arrive in Italy and Greece every day and for help and rescue at sea means, men and money from all European countries are needed, since women, children and men on those ships come to Europe, not to Italy. The Italian right has attempted a downward agreement, which does not touch the absurd rule of the country of first entry, and precisely the European allies of the Italian right have refused even that downward agreement. And so we are witnessing immense tragedies such as that of Cutro, that of Pylos: Thousands of children, women and men died at sea, in the indifference of so many who seem incredibly addicted to this horror. We cancel Dublin, as von der Leyen promised at the inauguration, and we share the responsibility of aid and rescue at sea, so we will erase forever the shame of a Mediterranean transformed into a huge marine cemetery of human beings without any fault.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the availability of food and healthy food for all is an inalienable right. Today, even in Europe, we risk taking a path that in a few years could make the availability of food insufficient, just as the accessibility of healthy food for millions of European citizens is already inadequate. We are at a crossroads and we must take the right path: not the brutal intensification of production that consumes the soil and pollutes, but the sustainability of a wide production, which today, thanks to technological innovations, can be compatible with the protection of the environment, with the quality of products and the accessibility of food, even for those with medium-low incomes. The Commission's study shows us that the EU must strengthen the sustainability and resilience of the entire food system, and this passes through a framework law, which also indicates the promotion of healthy diets compatible with environmental protection, as well as encouraging good production, distribution and consumption practices that can continue to make Italy and Europe, even in the future, the cradle of healthy and sustainable nutrition for all.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, artificial intelligence is an opportunity, yet another one that is given to us by technological progress, but at the same time it can become a risk for our communities. For this reason, artificial intelligence developed and used in Europe must be human-centric and respect the fundamental rights and values of the Union as enshrined in the Treaties. We must work to support innovation and businesses, increasing legal certainty in all Member States, making regulation of the sector clear and making it easy for individuals and public authorities to comply with the new obligations. We need to steer innovation towards improving our lives, respecting rights, and that is why I see with concern the spread of facial recognition and any other tool that can be used for discriminatory purposes. I would like to thank the rapporteur for the work he has done in this direction and I hope that he will not give in to the sirens of those who would like a deregulation dangerous, but on the contrary create together an integrated digital single market and a legislative environment that rewards entrepreneurship and innovation, protecting our security and the rights of future generations.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the system of geographical indications has done so much for European excellence, being useful to producers, especially virtuous producers and consumers, Europeans and beyond. To improve it, some procedures for the recognition of bodies could perhaps be simplified, nothing else. The Commission should remember that the operators of the PDO and PGI system in a few years have helped to create a quality food system recognised worldwide, worth over EUR 75 billion, and we need to protect them, help them, even better. The battle within the Union to excel in one sector must not be accompanied by rules that put some Member States at a disadvantage and others at a disadvantage. That is why the compromises we have reached at AGRI, also thanks to the work we have done with my colleague, Mr De Castro, whom I thank, reassure us. We have a duty to preserve those good practices, such as the PDO and PGI system, which have led to the wealth and development of entire sectors and regions, and we will not allow, under the pretext of improving them, a system that has worked and works in Europe to sink in.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, last month, after years of negotiations, an agreement was finally reached at the United Nations on the need for a holistic approach to the conservation of resources in the most sensitive areas, and not just in international waters. We must in any case avoid the gradual melting of glaciers, combining the battle for zero CO2 emissions with that for the conservation of the oceans, since the two battles are closely linked, they are in fact a single mission that we have the duty to carry out. The threat of deep sea mining is therefore dangerous and unacceptable, given that this practice risks causing immense and irreparable damage to glaciers, fish stocks and the biodiversity of areas that have inestimable environmental and economic value and that are also very important for scientific research. May the European Union be the leader of this battle of civilization and not give up one step on the protection of the oceans, even saying a dry no to deep sea mining.

(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the first time I heard about finning was back in 2009 and even then there was talk of banning this horrendous practice. It is 2023 and, while it is commendable that citizens are fighting to abolish it, it is sad that this has not happened before, years ago. The finning It is putting many species of sharks at risk of extinction and this seriously undermines the entire marine ecosystem. It is a barbaric, violent and unacceptable practice that serves to feed an illegal market, which sees China protagonist for the absurd and unscientific belief that fin soup has healing properties. We are still discussing this in 2023. We as Europe have an obligation to ban this practice and fight in international fora so that it is banned everywhere, to stop this massacre and not risk, as often happens, to set strict rules for us but allow others not to respect them, without paying any consequences. Stop finning now!

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the role of the farmer has always been central to the evolution of society and today more than ever it is essential to accompany humanity towards a more sustainable world and greater food security. The ecological transition must have the farmer as a key figure for our correct coexistence in a planet that is about to have ten billion inhabitants. So, either it will be sustainable or it won't be, that is, it won't have a future. We found a shared view on the phasing out pesticides, but we need to listen more closely to the demands of the sector and encourage virtuous examples. There are smart farm efficient and sustainable in Sardinia, Sicily, Austria, in many European regions. We value these examples, we invest more European money in virtuous projects that put the farmer at the center of our renewal action towards complete sustainability. An authentic transition that can make us richer and secure a future for us, our children and the entire planet.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the latest events and meetings between European leaders and China's summits have made it very clear that we need a common European foreign policy. Europe must be present and ensure balance at a time when the obvious tensions, such as the war in Ukraine, and the underground tensions, no less dangerous, oblige us to be united and play that role of authoritative mediator between the other great powers, China and the United States in particular, and between the continents, let us think of Africa. Economic and diplomatic relations with China must be nurtured, without ever neglecting respect for human rights and without penalizing our productive realities, our excellence and our ingenuity. Avoiding excessive tensions between the United States and China is therefore a precise task for Europe, which no one else could perform, but which needs unity, political compactness, authority and awareness of how important Europe's role is in the coming decades. Even observing what is happening in Africa, which concerns us very closely, and always keeping in mind the climate and environmental emergency that China cannot ignore. Let's not waste too much time anymore, please, let's unite and act together.

Mr President, colleagues, Covid and war have exacerbated problems that threaten to overwhelm humanity and the planet itself. I am talking about the dramatic growth of inequalities and therefore poverty and the climate and environmental emergency. Article 25 of the EU Directive, the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, indicates the obligation for companies with more than 250 employees to assess sustainability in environmental and social terms in the short, medium and long term. It is the official introduction of the concept of "società benefit", already recognized in Italy since 2015 and requested at European level by a petition that has collected over 475 000 signatures. The "benefit societies" must be the future and for every company it must become affordable, from an economic and image point of view, to be one hundred percent sustainable. This Parliament, and in particular the JURI Committee, undertakes to confirm Rule 25 without distorting it. We always remember the future, we build it.