Speeches

Mr. President, I address you with deep concern. The Mar Menor, one of the largest salt lagoons in Europe, is dying in the face of the scandalous inaction of the most direct political leader: the Government of the Region of Murcia. Illegal agriculture, which breaks the rules, continues to pollute the land and groundwater with nutrients that then end up in the Mar Menor. A new episode of anoxia with thousands of dead fish is expected this summer and the Government of the Region of Murcia does nothing but repeal the rules that protected it. He didn't do anything after the 2016 green soup. It did nothing after the deaths of thousands of fish in 2019. And it did nothing when in 2021 the fish that died were counted by tons. All it does is blame others when the competitions are its own. Even in the European Parliament, MEPs were able to check their status on a mission, even though they tried to hide the reality. I ask you to focus on the Mar Menor, because the death of this jewel is a loss for all of us, for all of Europe.

Mr President, the situation we have been seeing for more than a month in Ukraine reminds us of the importance of education in transmitting the values of democracy, solidarity and diversity. European values. Citizenship education is the main tool at our disposal to weave the project of the European future. Moreover, at a time when the fight against climate change is facing a life-threatening challenge, education for environmental sustainability must play a key role. Our young people must be involved in this struggle with us. The implementation of the European Education Area is an indispensable tool to achieve these objectives, enabling the European Union to have more competences in education. We must do so without delay by the planned date of 2025. If we want to preserve our values and ensure a more sustainable, tolerant and inclusive European society for the future, we must ensure adequate education for citizens.

Mr. President, how would you feel if your children suddenly ran out of class for a whole month? What consequences would this blockage have for their formation? This is what is happening to millions of children fleeing the horror of the war in Ukraine. Our obligation is to go beyond words. We need concrete action to help those who have lost everything. And one of the fundamental issues for child development is education. Every day that a child goes without going to school, without relating to his peers, with his teachers, without learning, is a day lost in his future. It is a lost day for the future of Europe. The European Union must ensure that refugee children can enjoy their right to education here. More teachers, materials in Ukrainian language, more infrastructure, ensure that schools can take care of them with dignity. And for that, we need infrastructure, investment, personnel, European funds. And, in addition, we must put the focus on the recognition of titles. When people, many young Ukrainian students, who are already in the universities of the European Union, flee the bombs, they do not think about taking their degree or their qualifications. They come to colleges and our colleges have trouble recognizing their degrees. They need a support plan to facilitate recognition procedures. What plan does the European Commission have to support our universities within the territory of the European Union? May the war not snatch from us and not snatch from Ukrainians the right to a dignified education, to their opportunities for the future.

Mr President, Mr Vice-President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, the pandemic has hit our entire society hard over the past two years. But if there is one group that has suffered especially from the consequences of the pandemic, it is youth. Being young can't mean having fewer opportunities. Being young should not mean not having a living wage. Being young cannot be synonymous with unpaid internships. Being young is more than just looking for job opportunities. To be young is to think about the future, and we must bet on the future of young people. Their future also depends on the education and training they receive in the present. Without quality, inclusive and barrier-free education, our young people will have a harder time achieving their goals. In 2022, we celebrated the European Year of Youth and the Conference on the Future of Europe. There is no better future than the one our young people represent. Let us truly involve young people in shaping the Europe of the future. Each person is only young once in a lifetime. As a society we cannot afford to be wasted. Let's not let young people miss this stage.

Mr President, thank you, Commissioner, for being here with us today. Every generation has only one chance in life to be young. Today's young people are the generation of Europe's future, and the pandemic has hit them especially hard. We cannot afford to run out of a future. It is time to dedicate a European year to European youth. But we need to make sure that this initiative puts in place policies and mechanisms that have an impact on young people beyond 2022. We in our group are satisfied with the text we agreed on today, but we will be very vigilant that this project serves to improve the participation of young people, especially in the Conference on the Future of Europe, to promote and incentivise youth work and paid traineeships, to pay attention to the most vulnerable young people and to serve as the basis for an integrated, effective and long-lasting youth strategy. We cannot forget the most important thing: education. This European Year should also reach schools. We need to take advantage of the European Education Area to improve the quality of education and education infrastructure and truly reach young Europeans. We spend our lives saying that young people are the future, but now is the real time to show it and bet on them.

Mr President, thank you, Commissioner, for coming to this important debate. Education is a fundamental right to which all people must have access throughout their lives. Education is the main driver of equal opportunities between people and the European Union must strive to achieve this full equality of opportunities. The European Education Area should certainly aim to be the guarantee of educational quality and equal opportunities in the Union. That is why we must work without delay to get this project in place by 2025, as planned, without further delay. We must ensure as soon as possible that the European Union has a comprehensive approach that ensures quality, inclusive, accessible and affordable education for all. The European Education Area must be the tool to ensure that we leave no one behind. The European Union needs educated citizens with skills and abilities to develop a full working and social life. And education must ensure that they have all the tools to do so. We also need to value the work of teachers and improve their working conditions. The European Education Area is a great opportunity to spread the European values of tolerance, respect and freedom. The report we are debating and voting on today states that we must work to reduce the gender gap in education, combat all forms of bullying and all forms of discrimination. Education has always been and will always be the basis for building more sustainable, more tolerant and more inclusive societies. Moreover, at this time of economic, green and digital transition, the European Union must rethink its role in training and education. And the Conference on the Future of Europe is a good exercise to reflect on our competences. I do not want to end my speech without thanking Michaela and the other speakers for their work and collaboration, which has allowed us to have a clear and forceful text that expresses our position very well.

Madam President, every day that passes and we do not act against climate change is a lost day for the next generations and for our planet; time passes: We cannot lose a second in achieving compliance with the Paris Agreement and the 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Methane, after CO2, is the second largest contributor to climate change and accounts for more than 10% of total greenhouse gas emissions in Europe; It also contributes to the formation of ozone in the lower atmosphere, a powerful air pollutant that causes serious health problems. I would like to thank the rapporteur, Mrs Spyraki, and the rest of the honourable Members for the work they have done to arrive at this report, with which we are calling on the Commission to ensure that the European Union's strategy to reduce methane emissions includes the creation of a comprehensive legislative framework on methane emissions, with binding measures in all sectors - energy, recycling, agriculture and livestock, in particular; the imposition of emission control measures on imports, throughout the value chain – the European Union leads control policies, but must impose them on its partners abroad – and the prohibition of practices such as venting and combustion, as well as the commitment to converting agricultural and livestock waste into biogas and the involvement of Member States by introducing effective and sustainable measures in their national strategic plans, which must be strictly monitored by the Commission. The Commission should incorporate these and other measures envisaged in this report in its legislative proposal, which it will present in December, on methane emission reductions in the energy sector. We cannot fail to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, delivering on the European Green Deal and contributing to the well-being and health of today's citizens and future generations.