Speeches

Madam President, Rafeef Ziadah: Today my body was a televised massacre, a televised massacre to fit in a digital audio and word limits. Don't mention the words apartheid and occupation. This is not political. So I gave them UN resolutions, statistics, we condemn, we deplore, we reject. And these are not equal sides. Occupying and busy. And between that, I count a hundred dead, two hundred dead, a thousand dead, thirty thousand dead. Is there anyone there? Will anyone listen? Today, my body was a televised massacre. And, let me tell you: There is nothing your UN resolutions have done at all about this. We teach life after they have built their settlements and walls of apartheid beyond the last heavens. We Palestinians get up every morning to teach the world life, Lord. A European legislature covered with complicity, indecency and shame ends, without a single concrete action to end Israel's genocide and impunity. I want to thank the citizens mobilized by Palestine. You can be sure that we will continue to fight from the streets and demand justice for Palestine more forcefully.

Mr. President, we have five months of Israeli-planned genocide in Gaza. Bombings, murders, forced displacements and the use of medicine, hunger and thirst as weapons of torture against innocents. Israel not only blocks the entry of humanitarian aid, but attacks the few convoys that pass through. And in the meantime, what does the European Union do? He remains unmoved by this barbarism. Not a single sanction or measure for Israel to comply with the ruling of the International Court and stop this genocide. Not a single measure to ensure the entry of the two thousand trucks with humanitarian aid that today Israel blocks on the border with Egypt. However, Europe does continue to buy and sell arms to Israel. This, ladies and gentlemen, is called complicity with murderers. Europe is participating today in the murder of tens of thousands of people. We're killing our credibility. Enough false propaganda. We need to unlock the entry of humanitarian aid now, not US bases into Gaza. We need an immediate and permanent ceasefire. And, for once, the end of impunity.

Mr President, Europe and this Parliament continue to empty themselves of democracy. The New Zealand Agreement is amended without even going through this Parliament, as is an obligation. It's unacceptable. But, while Israel continues to murder almost 30,000 people, while the International Court of Justice is investigating it for the crime of genocide, while bombs fall, while they have to amputate children without anesthesia, while people have to drink sewer water because they have no supplies or food, today Europe keeps the Association Agreement with Israel active. The European Union is not only whitewashing ethnic cleansing in Palestine, but is funding it: funds to develop machines to demolish Palestinian houses and open illegal settlements, companies drilling water wells on Palestinian land, Israeli arms companies producing drones, white phosphorus, cluster bombs, which once tested on Palestinians, are bought by Member States. It's an embarrassment. We must send a clear message, concrete actions, not wishes on the air. And that means suspending the Association Agreement now. Not another minute of complicity.

Mr Bütikofer, from the outset we denounced Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. A lie told many times does not become true. But I'll be very honest with you: What embarrasses me is the response from the European institutions and from this European Parliament, where it has been promised that our movements were for the Ukrainians when all they have done is finance a war that today is no longer on the main front page of the media, which in six months will disappear from all newscasts, but where millions of people will continue to be displaced with an absolutely destroyed country. The European Union has not defended European interests here, so it is time to bet on a just and lasting peace.

Mr. President, two years after Putin's invasion of Ukraine, of Europe's subordination to the United States to escalate this war, militarily arming and not pushing negotiation processes because it was done by Ukrainians, are they better today? Is peace closer? No. Thousands of lives are skewed, 15 million people depend on humanitarian aid, four million people are displaced in the country, six million refugees outside Ukraine, a public debt of 90%, another with the IMF of 70% of its GDP, total destruction of its infrastructure and an expired political system with outlawed parties. Its consequences also reached Europe: a rise in inflation, energy and food prices. But not everyone has lost in these two years: The United States has doubled its export of gas to Europe, being today the main supplier. Its arms companies have made multimillion-dollar profits and managed to bolster a brain-dead NATO. This is also the responsibility of the European Union and this Parliament, whose only response to the conflict has been to defend the interests of the United States and not the Europeans. Enough now. How long has this failed strategy been? Until the United States has the concession of the country's reconstruction companies? Let us now push through diplomatic channels and negotiating spaces to build a just and lasting peace. There's no time to waste. (She agreed to answer a question under the "blue card" procedure.)

Mr President, more than a month after the pouring of plastic pellets that today flood the beaches of Galicia and other regions of the Cantabrian Sea, the Xunta de Galicia, governed by the Popular Party, continues to deny the gravity of the catastrophe. The same People's Party that denies climate change and only saw a few threads of plasticine in the oil spill prestige has said that pellets are not only non-toxic, they are edible. This is the level of irresponsibility and shamelessness. The environmental emergency that is shaking Galicia clearly points to the need for ambitious European legislation to put an end to the impunity of companies that refuse to take responsibility for dumping and cleaning up and to force the authorities to act immediately. We certainly need to protect the environment and our fishing sector. The spill on the eighth day is a catastrophe. What has happened since then is negligence. Don't ever lie down.

Madam President, the European Union must be an autonomous actor. And it can only be so if it is governed by criteria of international law, becomes an actor of peace and abandons the selective warlike drift undertaken. Today, for the European Union, some deaths are worth more than others. And this selection is no coincidence: This is due to the EU’s hypocrisy in dealing with conflicts in its own neighbourhood, to the economic interests of a few or to the dictates of the US and NATO. The solution to a war is not to increase the military budget or finance the arms industry of colonialist and genocidal governments, as in the case of Israel; Nor is it letting people fleeing violence die in the Mediterranean or signing trade agreements with occupying powers and human rights violators, as in the case of Morocco. We must tackle latent conflicts with determination and stop propping up authoritarian and criminal governments. Diplomacy and climate and social justice are the best tools of an autonomous foreign policy based on human rights for all peoples and everywhere.

Madam President, let us face the facts: European policy towards countries such as Turkey and Israel has failed and the European Union should take good note and do its homework with India. Modi's authoritarian and supremacist drift is a danger not only to religious minorities, migrants, women or LGBTI people in the country. Failure to act to curb hate speech and denial of rights turns against everyone over time. The Netanyahu government is a good example of this. Determined action is needed to combat all kinds of supremacism. Strategic autonomy and peer-to-peer relations are needed for the mutual benefit of our peoples, with human rights, peace, disarmament, climate justice and multilateralism at the centre. No strategic relationship can be built at the cost of ignoring the violation of the rights of millions of people, neither in India nor elsewhere.

Madam President, Mr President, welcome to the European Parliament. Of the hyperbole and accusations heard and which we will hear today from the Group of the European People's Party, I will only say that the groping of this institution has become a ridiculous custom. We live in a time of great challenges. Today the far right is the first force in the vast majority of European countries, and Spain is an exception. And the reason is none other than the government coalition with Unidas Podemos, which proposed and defended tooth and nail a social shield and courageous measures that have proven to be the best antidote to the far right. During the Spanish semester, important progress is being made. Examples of this are the Nature Restoration Law, a pioneering law on artificial intelligence or the unlocking of the electricity market reform. The scandal is still curious when we proposed the need for the gas cap, which is today an example and practice that is displayed in the European Union. But it's not enough. To have energy autonomy it is necessary to promote public energy companies, make a deployment of renewables hand in hand with the territories with strategic vision. Two big losers: the social pillar and progress on equality. There is nothing that breaks the European project more than inequality and a social pillar that is outside the priorities and its consolidation. Spain has been a pioneer in advancing women's rights. That's how it's been recognized multiple times here. However, leaving under the umbrella of justice the negotiation of the directive on sexist violence has resulted in not moving in the right direction due to lack of priority and lack of feminist perspective. The black hole: abandonment of human rights. Today, a pact on migration and asylum is being negotiated that legalises human rights violations, fails to address the causes and lacks the necessary European solidarity. It is not acceptable today to remain in words and not to push for concrete actions to end impunity and stop the planned genocide in Gaza. Spain can and Spain must promote the suspension of the Association Agreement, the arms embargo and sanctions against those responsible. There will be no European project without credibility. If Spain is an exception today, it is because we never lower our arms. To the far right, barbarism only stands with more rights.

It is with great pleasure that you ask me this question, Mr Bütikofer. What we are experiencing in the last two months are continuous violations of international law: leaving the population without supplies, without electricity, without water, without gas; forcing population displacements within the territory of Palestine; bomb hospitals, schools, civilians; more than 18 000 people killed, half of them children. Yes, Mr Bütikofer, it is a planned genocide and yes, Mr Bütikofer, it is now an extermination camp. As I say again, if we want to have a European project, the least we have to have is credibility.

Mr President, 18,000 Palestinians have been killed under the bombs, and half of them are children. Every day, right now. Sixty-three journalists and more than 100 UN workers, 1.5 million displaced civilians. This is not self-defence. Israel has set out to break every last line of the Geneva Convention and turn the Gaza Strip into an extermination camp. And, in the face of this, it is not enough to ask for a humanitarian pause. You have to act, calling things by name and using all the tools available. The European Union can today suspend the Association Agreement with Israel, impose an arms embargo, adopt sanctions against those responsible and bring the arrest and investigation of crimes before the International Criminal Court. Our citizens are demanding it from us on the streets. Stop being complicit in barbarism, because there will be no solution without justice or solution without decolonization, nor will there be a European project without credibility. We will not be silent until the end of this barbarism comes. Of course, genocide does not stop; Genocide stops. (She agreed to answer a question under the "blue card" procedure.)

Madam President, something as small as bees has great environmental and agricultural value. They keep our ecosystems balanced. They are the engine of beekeeping and a third of the world's food production depends on them. Today they are seriously endangered by climate change, habitat loss, industrial agriculture, intensive agriculture and pesticide abuse. As a result, biodiversity, beekeeping and food security are also at risk. Precisely to ensure our own food sovereignty and the survival of the beekeeping sector, the European Union must protect bees: on the one hand, banning toxic products for these insects and, on the other hand, deploying plans to save them from extinction. But, of course, it must go further, betting on a model of extensive, sustainable and ecological agriculture, which produces healthy food and preserves biodiversity. This is what nature's restoration is all about: to ensure the health of our environment to ensure our food in the future.

Madam President, what are you going to wait for? What are they going to wait for to demand compliance with international legality from Israel? One month of siege in Gaza, more than 10 000 people killed – 4 000 children, UNRWA staff, journalists – cuts in water, electricity and food supplies, ambulances, hospitals and schools bombed, more than 1.5 million people displaced. How many war crimes have I already named? How many? A planned genocide right under their noses. And you are not able to demand a ceasefire and react. Sanctions against those responsible, arms embargo, suspension of the Association Agreement. End Israel's impunity. Silence and inaction also hold them accountable today. It's an embarrassment. And certainly not in our name. If you have a minimum of dignity left, act now.

Mr President, the Egyptian people continue to suffer fierce attacks on their freedom of expression, association, assembly and the press by the Al-Sisi regime. Today, from the European Parliament, we call for the immediate release of Hisham Kasem and all journalists and social leaders arbitrarily detained for their positions critical of the regime. It is unacceptable to continue whitewashing a repressive and authoritarian regime that stops, prosecutes and persecutes any dissent or germ of democratic movement. The Union and the Member States must accompany the democratic and associative efforts of civil society, which, despite repression, disappearances and torture, continues to organise itself to lay the foundations of a democratic society with rights. Human rights must guide European foreign policy and the Egyptian people do not deserve the European Union to turn its back on them.

. – Madam President, for 30 years attempts to bring stability and peace to the Caucasus have failed. It has been three decades in which the European Union has not only looked the other way, but has encouraged Azerbaijan's aggressiveness. A very clear example is what happened last year: After increasing the amount of Azeri gas and oil imported into Europe, von der Leyen defined Azerbaijan as a reliable and credible partner. This reliable and credible partner bribed European staff to stand up to complaints about the situation of their political prisoners. This reliable and credible partner signed a diplomatic and military cooperation agreement with Russia forty-eight hours before the invasion of Ukraine. This reliable and credible partner systematically violates human rights and international law. And since the attack on Nagorno-Karabakh, more than 100,000 people have fled at the risk of ethnic cleansing. Now, however, Europe has deployed neither the solidarity nor the aid that other countries have received. And today I would like to ask the Commission: Is Azerbaijan still a reliable and secure partner, a reliable and credible partner? Say it. This House, European citizenship and also Armenian citizenship deserve to know.

Mr. President, "it's over." It is the flag that the football players of the Spanish national team raised next to the World Cup. A Cup achieved with many obstacles, with a lot of effort, with a lot of work and that have made us all feel proud and proud and that has created new references in girls in our country. Thank you very much. "It's over". It is also the flag raised against sexual violence, against the culture of rape, against sexual and labor discrimination, against silence and impunity. With it a whole wave has risen in Spanish society. Women and men who defend that there is no sexual freedom without consent. A social change that advances consciously and resolutely, but that still faces many instances of resistance – Rubials with toga – that refuse to respect and guarantee consent and the right to sexual freedom. That is why all of us, from all institutions, must work to make it so. Thanks to the feminist movement and the legislative changes that accompany this struggle, where Spain is a pioneer today, we continue to advance. Only yes is yes. "It's over".

Madam President, Sudan is on the verge of civil war over the army's confrontation with the FAR, the country's main paramilitary organisation. Many democratic forces, the main supporters of the revolution, had been warning of the possibility of this conflict since the 2021 coup d'état. The message on the streets is very clear: No transition will be democratic if it uses the power of the army and ignores the will of the people. This message was ignored by international actors, among others, the European Union, in order to promote a supposed stability that would allow to maintain economic exchanges such as the gold trade, beneficial for the elite but not for its citizens. Interests for which the military confrontation now takes place. The Sudanese people return to a critical situation: Hundreds of dead, thousands displaced, in an extremely vulnerable humanitarian context. A ceasefire is needed. And today we demand that the European Union and the Member States work to ensure the arrival of humanitarian aid in the country and to accept asylum applications from those fleeing barbarism. The European Union's external action must be coherent and accountable.

Mr. President, we will only have a habitable world if we act now. And we are very late, according to the report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; also the Copernicus programme report, which points to alarming changes in the European climate. Even today, in a context of rising global temperatures, severe droughts, torrential rains and fires, there are people who are determined to deny climate change. And they do so – let us not deceive ourselves – so that we can continue to extract a slice by voraciously polluting what belongs to everyone. An example of this is the Government of the Junta de Andalucía, which, with the extreme right-wing Earth-climate and its allies of the Popular Party in this House, is squandering the largest nature reserve in all of Europe: the Doñana National Park. The same happens with the Mar Menor in Murcia or with the effort to raze Canal Roya in Aragon. In this Parliament they are defending pollution, wasting water or continuing to burn oil, coal and gas as if nothing were happening. The first step of a just green transition is to protect our natural spaces and invest so that this transition leaves no one behind. If you care so much about life, defend it and stop saying barbarities at the service of the people. lobbies more pollutants.

Mr President, 70 people were killed, 1 300 were injured by police repression, 1 800 were indicted and more than 600 were arrested for protesting; persecution of opposition leaders, social leaders, peasants, a former president elected at the polls imprisoned without any legal guarantee. This is the balance of terror and this is the balance of the regime, to this day, of Dina Boluarte. And we say it loud and clear: no government that is sustained on the basis of violence can be said to be democratic. Today, from the European Parliament, we send our solidarity to the Peruvian people who are calling for the electoral advance and the constitutional referendum. Spain has suspended the supply of weapons to Peru, something that must be extended to the rest of Europe to stop the intolerable repression. Do you want to deepen relations with Latin America? Start by listening to the popular outcry and defending the fundamental rights of your citizens. Europe must demand an end to violence against the Peruvian people and support their longings for democracy.

Mr. President, how embarrassing. Yesterday Mr Weber said that they would not support national debates to avoid talking about the violation of LGTBI rights in Italy or espionage in Greece, but he did promote a debate on the rule of law in Spain. I understand that they have a lot of confusion after seeing their partner Feijóo walking around Brussels, pouring lies, trying to avoid the pension pact and the arrival of funds in Spain. But, if you want to talk about the rule of law in Spain, let's talk. Let's talk about how the People's Party has used public resources to build a political police force, spy on the opposition, create false evidence and boast of controlling judges, while suffering its avalanche of corruption cases. So much so, that the Justice described them as a criminal organization. Let's talk about the fact that, in Spain, the Popular Party has been violating the Constitution for four years by blocking the renewal of the General Council of the Judiciary, in the face of alerts from the European Commission. Ask Mr. Feijóo to stop his constitutional rebellion and to respect his country a little more. And, to the Socialist Party: you have other majorities to be able to change this situation. Let's not waste any more time.

Madam President, the defence of democracy and human rights cannot be subordinated to other interests. We cannot accept the European Union looking the other way whenever these are violated as long as oil or gas flows. What is consensus for Russia should also be consensus for Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The Azerbaijani regime is not a credible or reliable partner, as the Commission would have it believe. President Aliyev has been in power for more than twenty years and is well known for being accused of spearheading a money laundering plot by bribing European politicians to launder the image of his regime, the so-called "caviar diplomacy." I'm sure they remember her in the People's Party. His barbarism against the Armenian people is also well known. As this House silences the UN Secretary-General's call for dialogue, Azerbaijan, Putin's ally, is a credible partner in doing business. Interestingly, it is omitted to know that only forty-eight hours before the invasion of Ukraine, Putin and he signed an agreement on cooperation and military diplomacy. A regime where the rule of law is confused with the wishes of its president is not credible and unreliable. It is not credible, it is not reliable a regime where there is no freedom of the press or LGTBIQ rights, where political opponents are imprisoned, where protesters are beaten and human rights defenders are repressed. Is this the model of the European Union's strategic partner, the world we want to promote? Enough of double standards. Firmness and consistency.

Madam President, after eight months of war, the effects of the conflict are felt all over the world: runaway increases in energy and food prices. Today we repeat that the best solution to curb inflation is the firm commitment to peace and our energy and food sovereignty. The Council should promote what is already a consensus: put a cap on all gas, including that imported from Saudi Arabia or the United States, end the fallen profits from the sky, reform the energy market and accelerate the abandonment of fossil fuels. This war will be won on the battlefield. We will annihilate them. Yesterday I was asked whether Borrell's statements are in his personal capacity or on behalf of the Commission, and I did not know what to answer. You guys tell me. If they are only on the lips of the head of European diplomacy, he should leave immediately. And if they are on behalf of the whole Commission, what are they doing? Where does this take us? Stop playing warlords. Be firm, but step up diplomatic work. Call for a ceasefire, push for a negotiating table that will end a conflict that is causing thousands of deaths, millions of displaced people and that is aggravating the suffering of so many people who will not be able to pay the electricity bill. From one side of Europe to the other, suffering can become unbearable. What are they waiting for?

Madam President, the policy on the Southern Neighbourhood can be very valuable in strengthening the relationship between the two shores. We must overcome the economistic vision, something that is still maintained in this proposal. The region is not a source of resources or a place to relocate production and take advantage of the lack of labour rights. Today there is a vibrant and active civil society that resists authoritarianism. We must bet on an urgent ecological transition, for measures in favor of the rights of women and LGBTI people, for a more equal economic development and for a fair migration policy that goes to the causes and puts an end to the militarization of borders that has made the Mediterranean a common grave. We must help to de-escalate conflicts in the neighbourhood and prevent them, respecting international law and human rights, putting an end to apartheid to which Israel subjects the Palestinian population, demanding compliance with UN resolutions and CJEU rulings on Western Sahara, and supporting the Kurdish people in the face of Erdogan's persecution. Europe cannot remain unmoved as long as international law is violated, out of responsibility, decency and credibility.

Mr President, we have been hearing for months that a harsh winter is coming, but the people who are going to suffer it are not responsible for the situation we are in. For years we have been warning about the danger of playing with an essential good such as energy. The proposal for a directive on the promotion of energy from renewable sources improves, but is insufficient, environmental standards are far from what Europe and the world need: a target of 45% by 2030 is not good for us when science tells us that we need 55%; the promotion of biomass as renewable energy – much less nuclear and gas – does not help us, and the absence of binding targets for EU Member States certainly does not help us. The commitment to renewable energies must be firm and respect the realities of the territories. We have important examples of renewable energy production, proximity energy production. We need to put a stop to the oligopoly of electricity, which continues to shoot up its profits while, with the drought we face, it has been allowed to empty swamps to sell hydropower at the price of gas. Today we again call for climate ambition and social justice.

Mr President, the lack of water hits sectors such as agriculture, livestock and tourism in various parts of Spain. Last June the 40 degrees were exceeded for several days, something unusual in Navarre, in my country. The most worrying thing is that extreme weather events will become more frequent. They also mean that nature has fewer resources to deal with fires and that they spread at high speed, as happened, charring almost 15 000 hectares on my land, which forced the eviction of 9 000 people. And it's happening in multiple places. Adaptation and mitigation of climate change are two pending issues and, of course, we do not advance when considering gas and nuclear energy as green energies. On the one hand, we must guide our political action to curb the climate emergency and, on the other, adapt, as far as possible, our living spaces to extreme temperatures and phenomena. In the case of drought and heat, the consequences are very tangible and immediate and, of course, endanger our health and that of our environment. The hardest thing is not that we are facing the hottest summer in our history, the hardest thing is that we are facing the coldest summer in the rest of our history.