Debate contributions by Margarita DE LA PISA CARRIÓN

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, in Nigeria the educational system is largely sustained by the action of the Church and her congregations, thus providing training and opportunities for children of all faiths. Today, many of these schools are closed due to insecurity. Kidnappings are common. Less than a month ago, 300 students from St. Mary's Catholic school were kidnapped with their teachers: Imagine the desperation of parents to see how they take their child at gunpoint. Half of Nigeria's population is Christian, but they have been persecuted for their faith for more than twenty years: in 2023, at Christmas Mass, a massacre; attacks on Christian villages by Islamist armed groups such as Fulani or Boko Haram, which have state-of-the-art weapons. Who provides them? We know that the authorities do little or nothing to prevent it from happening. They react insufficiently and look for rocky excuses such as climate change or the lack of resources to not recognize that it is a cruel persecution against Christians. Worst of all, these excuses are also heard in this house. The motion for a resolution that we shall be voting on tomorrow is again lukewarm. It does not recognize that it is a persecution against Christians, it dilutes it among other conflicts. Displacement of persons does not justify genocide. Or is it? Look, look at how the U.S. statement worked. With excuses Christians are unprotected, we expose them to greater threats. We need a strong solution.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, autonomy in the production of medicines is a matter of safety. And we have committed it for lack of support for an essential sector that is also a source of prosperity and jobs. We have the talent, we are still leaders in publications, but we do not know how to carry out the transfer to technology. We must guarantee our own infrastructure in Europe, creating the environment to be productive. We encourage dialogue, we truly believe in the environment where innovation can take place. Regular backs to the sector can lead to even more shortages. Let's measure the impact of the measures well. There will be no investment in Europe without legal certainty. Let's reduce bureaucratic burdens. Let's give value to those who risk and have initiative: in the case of pharmacological innovation, it is synonymous with hope for those who need it most.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I am surprised, indeed, that the situation in Sudan is analysed without the Commission mentioning that it has a religious component. Radical Islamism is once again responsible for the greatest atrocities. The killing of El Fasher can be seen from satellite imagery. In this horror, Christians and other religious communities are living through two wars: that of the conflict itself and, moreover, that of the intensification of persecution for their faith. More than a hundred churches have been attacked, burned, damaged by religious extremists, who take advantage of the situation of chaos to increase abuses. There are kidnappings, murders, sexual violence. Christians are forced to leave, discriminated against even from humanitarian aid. They are denied food and health care for religious reasons, when precisely before it was the Christian congregations that gave aid indistinctly. I wonder why the European Union does not raise its voice for our Christian brothers. This silence leaves them helpless and exposed to horror. And, in addition, we stop pointing out the threat that radical Islamism is to everyone, wherever they are.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, life is an unavailable gift and the dignity of the human being is inviolable. Are we respecting this principle? I ask them: Are we not increasingly accepting attacks on the integrity of the person – even legally – in order to satisfy individual wishes or interests? Right to decide on my body or on my life, right to be parents, self-determination ... although they disguise themselves as new rights, they contradict the natural right, degrading people as an object, even of trade or discard: people as a means to an end – in surrogacy or prostitution, but also in abortion or euthanasia, among others. Can an assault be legitimate because there is consent or payment? Never. This logic acts as a weapon against the most vulnerable – including ourselves – and against society, and destroys at its root the protection that human rights should provide us with.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, when we talk about mental health, we understand that there is a psychosocial, emotional and even cultural dimension. We know that family stability, childhood development, affective environment and habits are essential factors for health. But we cannot forget that there are also conditions of the brain and central nervous system that are congenital or that have a genetic component, such as some types of sclerosis and ataxias or autism. Others affect neurological development and are degenerative throughout life, such as migraine, epilepsy or ALS. Trauma can also occur. That is why we need to take a more holistic approach in Europe that broadens our eyes: expand the scope of this topic to what is understood as brain health. Millions of people live with neurological diseases; Many are rare, invisible and poorly understood diseases that also need attention. Let's go beyond what is meant by mental health, where many pathologies may not be being addressed: promote research, prevention and rehabilitation and ensure the active participation of affected people, their families and carers. Only in this way can we speak of a Europe that takes full care of people's health and dignity.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the President of the Commission is a woman, that of Parliament, Commissioners, all of you. For what? To continue fostering an ideology that betrays us as women, that denies our identity, confronts us with man and victimizes us? This statement does not once mention the word motherhood. Look, it's hard talking about a woman. The concern is that women will contribute to GDP. Yes, yes, let's not stop working for a single day. Because we want to? How many times by obligation... with two salaries you do not reach the end of the month. Where is that freedom they promised? We are promised, we are put in the unfair situation of having to give up a life, to fall in love, to get married, to start a family. What I'm saying! This they try to show us as a setback: have children, take care of them, take care of them, love them. Love that is then returned to society in every way. This statement of the wonderful and necessary contribution of the family, which is also not mentioned, is forgotten. And other serious attacks on the dignity of women are ignored, such as female genital mutilation, forced marriages, prostitution, surrogacy. Unfortunately, all of them are a reality in Europe.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, in Afghanistan, as we have seen in the recent earthquakes, women cannot be cared for by a man, even if it is to save their lives. Why? For where the law of the Shariah a man is prohibited from touching a woman other than his wife or close relative. To the point of letting them die. It is a clear example of how women are treated, but not only in Afghanistan. They know very well what lies behind this cruel mentality. How is women treated in Pakistan, in Saudi Arabia, in so many countries in sub-Saharan Africa? In Iran, at least three hundred and two women have been executed since 2007. Afghan or Iranian women need recognition in this house of what, surprisingly, feminism denies, which is self-evident. They need us to act without complexes before the ideology that denigrates the dignity of women wherever it is applied, which is only radical Islamism. An ideology that is invading Europe without resistance and that puts us at equal risk to women here. Because a man who doesn't respect women in Afghanistan doesn't do it in Brussels either.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, today more than three hundred and eighty million Christians are being persecuted in the world. But look in the globalist media: They'll find little. They are silent against totalitarian powers, corrupt powers that are imposed by force, that attack the dignity and freedom of the people. Powers that try to end the Christian faith because they know that it is a source of fullness, harmony, forgiveness, stability and peace. A peace they seek to destroy. That is why Christianity is the most persecuted religion on the five continents. Nigeria, Congo, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, China, North Korea, Pakistan, India, Nicaragua, Cuba... could go on. Our brothers are being massacred, in their homes, in their church. During this year, in Nigeria, an average of thirty-two Christians a day. It's not a statistic, it's a dramatic thing. And Europe does not want to acknowledge it, it does not condemn it. Moreover, it denies its Christian roots, ridicules them and opens wide the doors to radical, anti-Christian mentalities and ideologies that justify these massacres or sometimes commit them even on our own soil.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, Alzheimer's affects millions of people across Europe, about one million in Spain alone. Behind each figure there is a person, a family, memories that, little by little, are going out, and these figures could double in the coming decades if we do not act decisively. And today we know how: with an early diagnosis and access to innovative treatments, without forgetting the integral support to the sick and their caregivers, which must become fundamental pillars of our action. In many cases families go through, in solitude, difficult situations that deplete their resources, both material and emotional. It is very hard to have to stop sharing things with a loved one in the same way as before the disease: Even if the relationship changes, his presence is deeper and more valuable than ever, because it transcends what he does or what he says. They may forget, but we can't: We don't want to forget about them. We therefore ask the Commission for a clear European investment commitment for research into this type of disease and we applaud the efforts of the scientific teams working in Madrid and Barcelona with already very encouraging results. There are technological advances that allow us to deepen our knowledge of our body – biological mechanisms – and thus know the causes and get the treatments right, but also with prevention and diagnosis. There are many factors that affect our brain health. Every time we live with more anxiety, stress or depression and we see how the incidence of other neurological diseases increases, not only Alzheimer's, but also epilepsy, chronic migraines, dementia or bipolar disorder. These already account for 35% of diseases in Europe today and generate an economic impact of more than €800 billion per year in the European Union. However, there are still many of them that remain invisible and, therefore, there is no coordinated strategy to address them, either from a medical, social or occupational point of view. Suffering from a neurological disease can mean uncertainty - one day being out of the game and, the next day, almost normally - an oscillation that wears out, because it involves reorganizing plans around unpredictable health. Those affected also face a stigma, because all this happens in a society where it seems that the value of people is measured by their productivity, as if our worth is something that must be demonstrated. This multiplies the pressure they feel, and is troubling because, somehow, the infinite dignity of every human being is questioned according to their circumstances. We must aim for Europe to remain an area of protection of life and human rights, an area of science and innovation where investment in health and care never ceases to be a priority.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the failure of green policies was demonstrated during the last term of office. The ballot boxes were clear in calling for a rectification, but the Commission still ignores this and again uses the pretext of an alleged environmentalism to further stifle, if possible, a key sector for Spain and Europe: the automotive industry. This regulation not only adds obstacles and bureaucracy to our manufacturers and dismantlers: mortgage our competitiveness and our ability to generate employment. These plastic recycling targets are impracticable and clash with the technical reality to make safe vehicles and, also, at a reasonable price, because this not only makes the purchase of a vehicle more expensive, but also puts restrictions on individuals to be able to make repairs. Let's give companies space to be able to deploy their creativity: When there has been freedom, we have been leaders in innovation. Let's respect people's right to choose how to move. We want cars that are safe, that we can pay for, that last, and not cars with an expiration date.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, we have been hearing for decades about gender equality and millions supposedly intended to improve women's lives, but this spending has not been focused on something as important as our health. We have seen campaigns aimed many times at social engineering, while the real problems that affect so many women, such as endometriosis, remain completely invisible. One in ten women suffers from this disease, with severe and chronic pain and infertility. However, there is no effective early diagnosis. The investment is insufficient to achieve effective treatments. I ask him the following: Why not allocate spending on ideology to research on diseases that affect women? Over the last decade, the European Union has invested more than €400 billion in projects related to gender equality and the promotion of gender equality policies. Where is the political urgency when the pain is real and not just a slogan? Let us recognize that little has been invested, but, of course, what can we expect when it comes to an ideology that cannot agree even on a definition for what it means to be a woman? A clear reorientation of EU public funds is vital and urgent. Women need real solutions to real problems. This disease affects millions of women in Europe and represents an estimated annual cost of €30 billion in sick leave alone. I'm sure every woman would appreciate an in-depth look at the causes, prevention and treatment. The incidence continues to increase and it is not yet known what factors may be affecting this.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, Europe is blind or perhaps prefers to close its eyes. On June 22, in Damascus, thirty Christians were killed during Sunday Mass in an Islamic terrorist attack. His church – a place of refuge and prayer – became a scene of death and violence. Can an Islamic fundamentalism that has seized power be trusted? Alawites, Druze or Christians, who are examples of reconciliation, suffer unchecked offenses, aggressions, abductions, rapes, massacres for their religion. Let us remember that Christians in Syria have been a fundamental part of the country's history and origins for more than 2,000 years. Today, they are an essential pillar in society, because they offer essential services, such as hospitals, schools and disability care. In 2011 they were 10%, today only 3%. Their persecution and exodus not only threaten Christianity in the region, but also end the hope for a democratic future, stability and peace in the Middle East. But not only there, our spiritual roots are there, the soul of Europe is Christian. To protect you is to protect who we are, to protect our identity, especially in the face of the radical Islamism that many of you...

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, one in five children in Europe is sexually abused. Today's adults must be ashamed of us. We are failing them, leaving them unprotected against violent situations that will leave physical, psychological and social consequences that will mark them all their lives. We cannot forget the aggression of exposing minors to pornography. What a child sees, he lives as a real experience, so pornographic content acts as a psychic violation, breaks his innocence and thus affects his cognitive and affective development. This danger is accessible and persecutes them online, hooks them when they are not yet mature, which generates a pathological addiction that is already a public health emergency and also a social poison, because, as children learn by imitating, they will repeat the model they see and thus tend to hypersexualize their relationships, reifying people, especially women. They will return the aggressiveness they have seen on screen. Unfortunately, every click is revenue. 12% of pornography visits are by minors. We must persecute those who profit from the dignity and health of our children.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, Europe cannot look the other way when we talk about excellence in health. Our culture has always been oriented towards the development of science and the humanities. We have trained generations of talented researchers and healthcare professionals, guided by a commitment to the common good. We have a responsibility of leadership, not only by capacity, but also by principles, so that health is guided by the desire to heal, to protect life, to accompany and alleviate suffering, so that it is at the service of the person, and not of interests alien to it. It is essential to remember that cancer claims the lives of almost 1.3 million people in the European Union every year. Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death and neurological disorders affect more than seven million people. We must, like Europe, move forward together, sharing good practices between Member States. Let us bet on a Europe of cooperation, exchanging effective experiences and supporting each other, always taking into account the particularities and needs of each country. The next few years may be revolutionary for medicine. New tools – such as biotechnology or personalised medicine – already make it possible for us to face diseases that were previously intractable. However, its potential is limited by a regulatory framework that makes it difficult to transform research into real solutions for patients. SMEs, which lead innovation, are particularly affected, including by a lack of funding in the early stages of development. If we want Europe to move forward in health and innovation, we need a coherent and supportive environment that facilitates investment and accelerates the arrival of new treatments to patients. Of course, an equally clear commitment to care is also required. We have the possibility to offer hopeful options to all those who suffer from diseases, not only in terms of diagnosis and treatment, but also in terms of accompaniment. It is no coincidence that the less life is valued, the more health systems deteriorate. In Spain, we have very serious problems: endless waiting lists, lack of health professionals – and those who need to do marathon work days – thousands of people who die waiting for access to palliative care... But, of course, who's going to want to invest in health if we don't value life? It is frightening to think that there are countries – such as Spain – where the only alternative offered to people with serious illnesses is death, namely euthanasia. We cannot resign ourselves to a health model that measures its effectiveness by costs or ideologies, but by its ability to care, to heal, to deeply respect human life in all its stages. In the face of suffering, our response must be more humanity, more commitment, more investment in health, research and also palliative care. If Europe wants to be a reference in innovation, it must also be a reference in respect for the dignity of the person.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, in 2004, a dozen eggs cost EUR 1.20; Now it's around three. The kilo of tomatoes has gone from 0.9 to 2.50 euros, more than double. More and more families are relying on aid to meet their essential needs. This is the result of the socialist ideology that applies today here in the European Union and also in my country, which has always led us to poverty in every way. They intend to impose scarcity as a lifestyle. Now even electricity is going to be a luxury. After Spain's blackout, there has been no resignation. Take responsibility. This unfortunate situation could have been avoided by making other decisions about energy or green regulations. It's misery disguised as progress. Their collection cravings drown families. Europeans have awakened to these attacks on their dignity and freedom. Comply with the citizens and recognize the electoral turnaround.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, health tourism is a growing trend at international level. More and more people are traveling abroad in search of specific medical treatments, from aesthetic and dental interventions to specialized surgeries. At the same time, the European Union has become a key destination for patients from other countries seeking quality medical care or more convenient legislation as appropriate. Spain, in particular, is among the ten most popular destinations in the world for this type of tourism. Faced with this rising demand, we must leave the European Union. We must look carefully at the matter. Health is a very sensitive issue and these practices, while they can be beneficial, carry significant risks. We must ensure that citizens travelling to countries outside the European Union undergo safe procedures that meet minimum quality standards. There are risks of malpractice with postoperative complications that lead to truly desperate situations. At the same time, when receiving this type of tourism, in our countries we must also pay extreme attention and caution, since just as they can be a source of prosperity, they can also have a very negative impact on the stability of our health systems. Increasingly, the responsiveness of our services is limited, as can be precisely the case in Spain: staff cuts, reduction of beds, delays in medical appointments, endless waiting lists. As we debate the rise of health tourism, the reality is that thousands of citizens face late diagnoses that seriously compromise their treatment and, in many cases, even their lives. We cannot forget the health professionals and the precarious work they suffer: Insufficient salaries, temporary contracts, strenuous working hours and a shortage of staff that is aggravated by the flight of talent. Added to this is the unequal management of services, even within each country, which causes enormous deficiencies in some regions in terms of investment, resources and access to treatment, as is the case in rural areas. All this happens in a context of increasing pressure on the health system. On the one hand, the aging of the population, which demands more care and resources and, on the other hand, uncontrolled immigration, which has triggered the number of patients incorporated into an already saturated system. Many of these new users, being in an irregular situation, do not contribute to the sustainability of the system, but they do generate additional demand that aggravates the lack of resources. The resources of any country are limited. And it's not just an economic problem. Overload prevents quality care from being offered, putting everyone's health at risk. This crisis threatens the right to health care of those who have supported with their work a welfare state that characterizes the European Union and that, ironically, is what makes us attractive to those who seek this assistance from abroad. There is an urgent need to revise the current model. If we do not find a balance between solidarity and sustainability, we run the risk that public health in the Member States, conceived as a universal right, will become a collapsed and unsustainable system. Ensuring fair access and quality care should be a priority.

Mr President, Commission, ladies and gentlemen, life is the beginning of everything and without it we cannot talk about rights. Today I want to give a voice to more than 30 million Europeans suffering from rare diseases, whose right to live and do so with dignity is at stake. Spain ranks 27th out of 33 European countries in access to orphan medicines, with an average approval time of 517 days and a diagnosis that takes an average of five years. Many patients do not have this time. Let's use the resources in well-targeted research, which allows us to know in depth these diseases and, thus, respond with new therapeutic tools and new hopes. This is where the European dimension can make a difference. Let's focus on the patient, guaranteeing their care. Let's support families. Expenses are sometimes unaffordable. There are people who need 24/7 attention. Jordi Sabater, who has been with ELA for ten years, denounces that, in the Spanish State, to whom he cannot cover his care, the only option offered is death, instead of aid to live. Health must be a cross-cutting concern of the political groups, where we are expected to work together, especially from Europe.

Madam President, the Commission's position is really incomprehensible. It speaks of conflicts of a different nature. A far-fetched speech not to mention Christians. Twenty-three killed in March 2025, one woman burned alive, children beheaded, in February seventy Christians beheaded with machete inside a church. It is intolerable that they are not clear, that they do not call things by name. It's a brutal religious persecution. Radical Islam kills our brothers just because they are Christians. Continuous massacres. The excuses that have been mentioned today for not recognizing or denouncing persecution when it comes to Christians are shameful.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, every child has a father and a mother. You have the right to know them and to be cared for by them as much as possible. This regulation jeopardises this natural principle by interfering with family law, over which the European Union has no competence. Under the pretext of simplifying the paperwork of complex situations in itself, it is proposed that everyone can choose legislation at their convenience, forcing countries to accept provisions outside their own law, which would create not only regulatory chaos, but would leave loopholes that can protect illegal practices with serious attacks on the dignity of people, such as surrogacy, illegal adoptions ... There has even been talk here of multiparentality. They know the result of opening these channels: more and more children in undesirable situations and the dangerous normalization of the breakdown of natural ties. The rights of the child are defended by strengthening the family, not by disfiguring it.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the best way to protect employment and workers is to facilitate initiative, to create opportunities, both for employees and for the self-employed. In Spain SMEs make up 99% of the business fabric, many in the agri-food sector, and today they have to combine their intense day to day with coming here to defend themselves from European regulations that can make their activity unfeasible, such as the Regulation on the protection of animals during transport. We are alarmed by the lack of wisdom in the Commission's proposal. Almost one million jobs have also been lost in the automotive sector due to its commitment to the European Green Deal. They know perfectly well the serious social consequences that this transition will have and, even so, it is not rethought. It is regrettable the hypocrisy of the popular, who today take their hands to the head for the loss of competitiveness and jobs, offer statements asking for wisdom, but at the same time continue to vote with socialists in favor of the regulations that are the rope in the neck of the Europeans.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, although the President is a woman, it seems that the Commission does not fully understand our aspirations. We don't hate men. We value family, motherhood, life and being able to take care of our own, as well as being able to develop a professional vocation. We want to be respected and loved, not reified. We would like to be quiet both at home and on the street, and be free. However, we respond with more gender norms that end our prosperity and do not protect us. Women are not protected by spending our money to foster an ideology that denigrates, confuses, victimizes and confronts us, an ideology that is destroying us as a society. Women are not protected by silence in the face of fundamentalisms that respect neither the life nor the dignity of women. Women are not protected when it comes to changing the founding values of the European Union for ideology surprised or Islamism.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, family law falls within the competence of the Member States. The Declaration of the Rights of the Child is clear: Every child has a father and a mother and has the right to know them and to be cared for by them as far as possible. The natural bonds between parents and children must be respected, as they transcend one's own existence: Who am I? Where do I come from?; the beginning of our life in the womb; the bond with our parents... Other forms of paternity interfere with this reality and expose the child and the persons involved not only to serious ethical and legal dilemmas, but also to situations where their own dignity is violated. Ensuring legal certainty for families is legitimate; However, we see how this principle is being instrumentalized to give a new form to the relations between parents and children by transforming them into contractual ones, sometimes even into mercantile ones, such as surrogacy. The human being ceases to be treated as a subject of rights and becomes considered an object of transaction, a consumer good, through the exploitation of women, causing a painful tear with the child and normalizing the rupture of natural ties. The difficult situation in which these children may find themselves must be resolved on a case-by-case basis at national level, not by a general European mechanism such as the certificate of parenthood: this would encourage these practices by exposing more people to this...

Mr Nardella, the simple fact that we are talking about competitiveness, the simple fact that the Commission has to present this Compass demonstrates the failure of the previous mandate. I repeat: the Commission maintains its chairmanship. How is someone who has disoriented us going to help us find our way?

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, this Compass, like Jack Sparrow's, does not point north. Makes us stay in the storm. Industry, the countryside and the citizens have been deceived. A rectification was hinted at in the campaign, but there is no intention of amendment. In the face of the devastating effects of their policies, the answer is always the same: more ambition, more Green Deal, more decarbonisation. We already know the result! Stop trying to run our lives. We don't need more regulation or hindrances. We need freedom to create, to grow and to thrive. In the face of decadence and absolute control, in the face of subsidy culture and confrontation, we are committed to a Europe of opportunities with legal certainty, less bureaucracy and taxes, respect for private property, decent work. Let's encourage initiative. Let's reward talent. Let's trust it. Each of us can contribute to a future of hope. Let's make Europe great again.