Speeches

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, we are concerned that part of this Parliament uncritically accepts an abusive, partial, biased and even contrary to the literal and teleological meaning of the rules. Denying the life to which he is about to be born can never be considered a human right. It is an atrocity to pretend to legitimize it after the ambition to create other supposed rights. It is not possible to raise as a human right what is contrary to the natural order. Fundamental rights must be equally consistent in order to fulfil their purpose of safeguarding the good of our society. Reducing life to an available right corrupts, in essence, our laws and dynamites the security that the rule of law must guarantee.

Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, a child has the right to know his parents and be cared for by them. Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Child. The protection of minors is already covered by family law, the competence of each Member State, in institutions such as the natural family or through adoption with parental authority. Another way of constructing filiation involves a rupture of a sacred bond through a commodification of relationships and a reification of people who attack dignity. The mother or child ceases to be understood as subjects of law and becomes considered objects of transaction. This creates space for human trafficking networks, unprotecting the most vulnerable. This Regulation can only generate uncertainty with legal and existential dilemmas that harm the one they claim to defend, the child. They also harm the whole of society because they dilute the concept of the family as a necessary reality for each of us.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I regret that the passing of the Spanish Presidency has not honoured the greatness of my homeland. Perhaps the experience shows that, when the dignity of the person is not respected, there are no limits to its manipulation. We women have it clear. He's left us lying around. Mr. Sanchez, your government has reduced penalties and released sexual aggressors. It does not stop those who denigrate us and justify violations. With this logic, it is not surprising the lack of remorse in agreeing with terrorists and silence in the face of atrocities. Under his mandate, criminals are legitimized; Worse, they are made strong and the victims are forsaken. Yesterday in the Spanish Congress was presented an amnesty law that perverts the constitutional order and betrays our unity. It leaves us behind with greater unemployment, debt, dependency and poverty; the opposite of what he promises. His melody "bla, bla, bla, bla, bla" has stopped fooling. Spain has woken up. And Europe will follow us.

Madam President, in 2006 the European Union adopted a directive on equality bodies. In 2010 this was expanded to extend it to the self-employed. Today both are reviewed, they have merged and their capacity to act has been considerably expanded, promoting a standardization more typical of a regulation than of a directive. For example, agencies can set their own budgets, but have little accountability. A national, regional and local presence is intended, multiplying public spending with duplication, tripling and quadrupling. This is not an efficient use of resources and will place a greater burden on the taxpayer. Equality bodies may even bind other state bodies through regulatory, controlling and sanctioning powers, which may not be in the common good but in the body's own interest, as they have no defined control. They can also make it difficult for companies to operate in Europe, which will be involved in bureaucratic and judicial processes that not only involve burdens, but also legal uncertainty. This can seriously harm job creation. Therefore, we see that this proposal is giving these bodies authority over other bodies, without having legitimacy or democratic control. In addition, the scope of cases of discrimination is not limited to the concept of man-woman, so it can be assimilated through the back door to the Anti-Discrimination Directive, which our States do not see fit. We know that the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality and the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs have a different bias than this House as a whole. This House should therefore enrich and moderate Parliament's mandate. I therefore ask for your vote to give effect to democratic control and revision.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, we must respond appropriately to the dramatic situation of violence against women. It is clear that current policies have failed to effectively protect women. The data shows us that insecurity has increased. In Spain, 49 women were killed by their partners and ex-partners in 2022. In 2021, 202 143 rapists, 573 sexual offences in packs. In 2023, 1 205 rapists benefited from releases or reductions in sentences. It is a mistake to tackle violence against women on the basis of gender ideology, since it reduces the problem to simple gender stereotypes, to a supposed heteropatriarchy that confronts men and women, without delving into other causes, such as alcoholism, other addictions – for example, pornography –, hypersexualisation, the frivolisation of relationships or the influence of cultures that do not respect or despise women. In Spain we already have experience – almost 20 years – with the most radical gender laws. Some that do not resemble those of any other country. And the result has been terrible. They have failed to fulfil the purported task of protecting women and have undermined basic legal principles, such as equality before the law and the presumption of innocence. And we have something that doesn't happen in any other civilized country: Exceptional courts. Policies such as the "Just yes is yes" or the lack of action against uncontrolled immigration have proven to leave women more exposed to criminals and increase the vulnerability of women. We must ask ourselves why Spain, being one of the countries with the most radical gender legislation, does not manage to end violence? Because the answer must focus on other things, such as resources to protect those at risk, to ensure safety on the streets, to guarantee assistance to all victims of violence, to give value to our social model of family and coexistence – where equality and respect for women are achievements – and to control illegal immigration in our countries; in resources to investigate and prosecute, to ensure that criminals serve their sentences and that they cannot return to the streets to commit aggression. And of course, review the current laws trying to eliminate all ideological biases.

Mr President, the aggression we Spaniards are suffering is existential. We see our soil, our concept of Spain, crumbling. Achievements of generations in a democratic order, blood of compatriots spilled, wasted by an unscrupulous ambition of political parties that have made it clear that they are capable of selling their motherland. For what? Well, not for what they imagine. Do you really think that the Spaniards are going to swallow with what some irresponsible politicians pretend, who have abused the trust of the citizens to, with their votes, betray them? The dissolution of our constitutional order is a precedent that threatens the European Union itself. If there is no strong statement from the Commission, Mr Reynders - we missed it today - they know that similar claims can be triggered in other states. Is that what you're looking for? A weakening of national identity? We will not fail to fulfill our duty to defend our country against those who want to see it split into thousands of pieces.

Madam President, Commissioners, ladies and gentlemen, it is very sad to see how our productive fabric has been dismantled. During this term of office, more than half of this House has endeavoured to make life impossible for companies with unfair and disproportionate demands. Because of its commitment to ideological agendas, it has left behind the one that generates prosperity and jobs. Now, in the end, a few months after the elections, there is talk of relaunching entrepreneurship: because it's a little late, because the damage is already done. To be serious about entrepreneurship, we need a change in the composition of this House on 9 June. Let's bet on who puts common sense and values the initiative of entrepreneurs. We must create a favourable regulatory environment by rethinking legislation and, of course, opening space for creativity, now reduced to the green and digital transitions. If there is no change of course, we will continue in a spiraling degrowth.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to express to you the concern of millions of Spaniards who have been peacefully concentrating for seventeen days in a row to defend our constitutional order. Pedro Sánchez has reached government agreements that corrupt our democratic system, selling the unity of Spain to achieve power. This lack of loyalty is only the beginning of proposals for extortion of separatist groups. Similar situations occur in other states of the European Union. Initiatives such as this one – that of my country – encourage other movements to embark on paths as painful as those we are suffering in Spain. It's an irresponsible current. It is an enormous irresponsibility on the part of politicians who, far from representing their citizens, use their votes to betray them.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, we are all part of a family, where life, natural ties and care are given. Whoever has grown up in a stable family with affection starts from a huge advantage. We wish this fate to every child. Those who have felt the selfless love of a family understand their dignity as a person and relate in this frequency to others and can return it to society. The family is the best tool for social inclusion against poverty and inequalities. The family needs to be valued, and it must be at the heart of social policies – especially in times of crisis. Instead, this House works to replace it, generating distrust, confronting relatives, distancing children from their parents. It is intended to end poverty by ending life, when life is the most important good to protect. The best guarantee for childhood is your family. Let's help parents do their job well.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the framework of the social economy must provide opportunities, it must be a framework in which projects that respond to different vocations can be shaped, which serves the common good with all the wealth that human beings – in society – are capable of contributing. Let us be inspired by the Member States and their developments in this regard. We know that the models are very varied, they depend on the evolution and traditions of each one. Sometimes – and we must remember this – they have a positive tint, but sometimes – in other states – they have a negative tint, because we must prevent captive systems from being created. In any case, corporate regulation is a national competence. This level must be protected in order to be able to attend to the casuistry of each place. Spain has a varied range where precious initiatives with a high impact on our society have found fit, as do so many commercial companies – so many SMEs – which must also be valued and never harmed by unfair competition. The vision and mission of each initiative should reflect the essence of its promoters. We are critical when it is intended to reduce with an alignment to certain precepts, such as the 2030 Agenda or the European Green Deal, or – even worse – when there is an ideological conditioning of the use of funds or public procurement. We see, even, when the social end is used rather as a disguise to get privileges. Let us then seek to give wings to creativity. It is about adding and offering solutions to those who need it – the world of care, education, the world of disability, art, culture, academia, innovation. We have so many ideas to develop. We support those who have a vocation, want to strive and have initiative, whether public or private.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, we all have a responsibility to create a good working environment, but unfortunately the dimension of the mental health problem cannot be reduced to this area. We face an environment of insecurity, fears, scarcity; an increasingly confrontational, individualistic and hypersexualised society where relationships are instrumentalised and not stable; loneliness, abuse of technologies, a culture without moral principles where emotions or perceptions are presented as reality. This causes wounds, confusion, disorder, sadness. It should come as no surprise that anxiety, depression and addictions are increasingly common conditions. Let's change course. Mental health can be related to our development as people. It depends on being able to respond to the purpose of serving and loving others. Let us not ignore our spiritual dimension, which allows us to give a transcendent meaning to life. Mother Teresa said it several times: The great hunger of the world today is the hunger for love.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, a war shakes the foundations of any society. Citizens who are exposed to cruelty whose limits, unfortunately, do not cease to amaze us; dramatic situations against the life and dignity of the person; women exposed to sexual violence, to having to flee with their children leaving their lives behind. Sure, they deserve all our support and consideration, but do you think we help them with this kind of proclamation? It is a tremendous irresponsibility to deal with emotional manipulation matters of such magnitude, because that is not how they are faced. The European Union's response must follow moral criteria that set insurmountable limits in our international relations. Failure to do so, that is, the naivety and infirmity of the Commission and of some Members of this House, exposes those people - indeed, exposes us all - to criminal regimes that take advantage of confusion to expand their evil. Let us recover the compass that guides us to the truth, which understands life as a good that must be guarded.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, our children, our children, are on the brink of the internet. The impact of age-inappropriate content affects their development, risking their psychological and emotional integrity. Controlling and prosecuting child pornography, online child abuse should be a priority for all. The average age of onset of consumption is eleven years. A content that minors find, persistently and repeatedly, also involuntary, when browsing games or platforms. When we know that pornography consumption can work like a drug: that hijacks the will and generates addiction. Especially in an immature brain, in an immature stage such as adolescence. The platforms that allow this type of content – pornographic pages – outperform the most used social networks in views, have more than 45 million users. On the other hand, the Digital Services Act does not impose any requirements on them. I ask the Commission: Why aren't they on the list? We need effective blocking and verification. They exist. There must be will. What is an offline crime has to be online as well.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the concern of the founding fathers of the European Union was to reconcile peace through agreements guaranteeing the supply of energy and raw materials. But today we see how our single market is not giving the necessary response by ideologized strategies or legislation that have compromised our competitiveness. We depend on basic goods such as active ingredients and drug components. We depend on third countries such as India and China. We depend on cancer treatments, antibiotics for children or for diagnosis, such as iodine. Patients' health and lives are put at risk if we are limited or short of supply. I don't know if they realize the damage they can do to us. It's a security issue. Today the Spanish Medicines Agency reports 954 medicines with supply problems. Many, no alternative. This serious problem will not be solved if the laws that harm our industry are not corrected. And, truth be told, we see no intention of doing so. The Commission has put forward a proposal for pharmaceutical legislation that completely discourages innovation in our space. Let us correct this course and fight for the safety and health we all deserve.

Madam President, Commissioner, Members of the European Parliament, the perspective of transport policies requires a broad vision in order to find affordable options and solutions for all citizens. But the reality is that there are more and more difficulties for mobility. Lack of safety on public roads, isolated and uninhabited rural areas in favor of large cities, public transport that does not efficiently reach everywhere. Entry into cities today is a luxury only accessible to those who can buy an electric car. A worker who, with his effort, bought a vehicle, cared for it, maintained it, is now banned from driving. Rising fuel prices have made our lives more expensive. Going to work or school – let alone travel – is already a privilege. There is no longer any profit margin for any professional activity or trade; It is not even left for leisure itself, so necessary to breathe in the face of day-to-day pressure. All these environmental policies are conditioning our way of life with difficulties, scarcity and loss of freedom in our decisions.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, respect for human dignity is an inalienable human right. Prostitution is inherently an evil because it understands people, and especially women, as objects of consumption, of mere pleasure, which is a serious attack on their physical, psychological, affective and spiritual integrity. Wherever it has been legalized, an increasingly degenerate sex industry has proliferated, which encourages and covers up the mafias of human trafficking, surrounding us with insecurity. It is our responsibility to support and give way to those who are in this situation. A society that banalizes sexuality and detachment from love, even if it claims to protect women, is encouraging practices that really denigrate them. Let's react to a cultural drift that damages our hearts. As human beings, we are called to the fullness of our relationships.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, it is worrying that this Parliament, which represents the citizens, is presenting a text to wash the Commission's hands by applauding its measures without demanding accountability or transparency from it. We must be critical. There have been clear shortcomings in our supply chain. We suffer from an unprecedented limitation of fundamental freedoms and rights that should not remain so. In Spain, the Government of Pedro Sánchez, with the complicity of other parties, took action without consulting experts, prevented parliamentary control and took advantage of all kinds of legal weaving. He censored social networks, there were illegal lockups... Only Vox faced two appeals to states of alarm, which were declared unconstitutional. The pandemic should have been avoided: That's the first failure. The first cases were not reported and not only have no responsibilities been demanded but it is intended to approve a treaty on pandemics giving more prominence to an institution that is not democratic or reliable like the WHO. The health pretext cannot be an excuse for attacking the sovereignty of Member States with competences that the European Union does not have. We continue with this continued intention to push forward a globalist agenda that has weakened us.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the European Commission is showing no scruples when it comes to wanting to impose itself and try to destroy our primary sector using an alleged environmental concern as an excuse. The so-called "nature restoration law" talks about restoring, but in reality it is threatening a large part of our arable area, which was already severely restricted by previous regulations. Those who have the experience of millennia – our farmers – whose activity is essential to our livelihood are despised for imposing an absurd green discourse. In Spain the forests burn because they cannot be cleaned. Dams are knocked down when water will be needed in drought. We will not allow our food to be risked. They take us to the precipice. We need strong governments that make sense of our policies and do not succumb to climate fanaticism.

Mr. President, comrades, what can you expect from a society that does not appreciate life, childhood, that ignores the family, that understands people only in an instrumental way? For what we can expect is what is happening, what has been happening for years of governments obedient to anti-natalist agendas: in the 1970s, Europe accounted for more than 10% of the world’s population; now 5% and by 2080 we are expected to be just 3%. In my country, young people cannot become independent, nor can they aspire to buy a house or build a home, fulfil their natural desire to start a family and have children. The reality is that there has been no political will to resolve this or the will has been just to get to this situation. Is Europe dying or is Europe being killed? In Spain we are clear: Where Vox is, support for motherhood and families has always been a priority. A Europe without children is a Europe without a future. We want neighborhoods full of children's joy. We want hope. Let us put an end to this existential pessimism.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, our constitutions, the Treaties of the European Union and the Western rule of law are based on the protection of the dignity of the person. The Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man is the ultimate expression in this regard. In the case of parenthood, legal tools have always been sought to defend the child's right to know and be cared for by his or her parents. Avoid the risk of a mother being able to snatch her baby. That's all at risk today. Technology has given rise to certain practices in reproduction, without timely reflection. Surrogacy is full of undeniable ethical and legal dilemmas. There are cases of children being abused or abandoned for being considered – sorry for the expression – defective. Women deprived of liberty, null contracts because the good of the person is unavailable. The person is a subject of rights, it can never be considered an object of transaction. This commodification of relationships, the reification of people, seeing them as an object of mere desire, is unaffordable because it transforms the treatment that every person deserves, pretending to end the inherent and infinite value that our existence confers. Gentlemen, consider the impact such a look has on our society. The human person acquires his status from its genesis, with a unique and unrepeatable genetic load, inheritance of his father and mother, from generation to generation. The expression of life cannot be dissociated from the affective and family dimension. Let's look for a robust legal system that avoids the risk of breaking the bonds that naturally unite parents and children. The Commission's regulatory proposal goes in this worrying direction.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, we all agree that care must be taken to ensure that harassment does not have room in our institutions. However, I do not trust that mandatory courses for adults and sanctions for those who do not or other measures with a gender perspective will be positive, rather, even the opposite. Gender ideology promotes a rarefied environment of mistrust and confusion. He only understands confrontation, which does not help, at all, a harmonious coexistence. This report advocates exemplary behaviour within the institutions. But I invite you to reflect on whether the exclusion that exists in this Parliament towards certain political groups deserves this consideration. I have experienced it in the first person for defending the voice of my voters and carrying out my activity as a deputy. We are all responsible for the atmosphere of respect that this House deserves.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, even today many of those who have a job do not make ends meet. The bills don't come out. No one's going to be held responsible? The Commission's measures, supported by the majority in this House, have not only not prevented us from being in this situation, but have largely provoked it. The energy crisis, the increase in the money supply, the shortage of supply, dependence on third parties, not being able to exploit our raw materials, suffocating taxation, legal uncertainty, the dismantling of the productive sectors, climate radicalism, excessive bureaucracy and regulation, a mastodontic political spending. Add it up and go on. Avoidable situations, caused by concrete policies, which our ECR Group has warned about on countless occasions, and which, despite the evidence of their failure, are not being corrected. European taxes were voted on today. And I wonder: Whose interests are they defending? Not only is the welfare of families and workers being played out, the very security of our nations is being threatened. Let's change course. Let us regain our autonomy and strategic sovereignty to ensure our prosperity.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, Europeans are getting poorer, not less. It will have to do with the political line of this House. Once again, the pretext of the "social" is used as an instrument for the European Union to advance in competences. And I say pretext because the legislative initiatives - up to 15 - proposed here are not only an abuse, but they are also anti-social. They will not have an impact on the well-being of citizens because, if the ecosystem of prosperity and entrepreneurship is stifled, social benefits cannot be guaranteed. Especially when the root of the problem does not want to be tackled. Ladies and gentlemen, it does not matter whether infinite resources are put into an artificial care structure if policies do not recognise and support the family as the basic cell of society. Ladies and gentlemen, Europeans cannot satisfy their natural yearning to be parents, as evidenced by the demographic crisis, in the face of which they close their eyes. Our culture is a model of success, it is what makes us attractive, and uncontrolled immigration would put an end to this atmosphere of freedom that everyone – even the next one – wants to enjoy. Look at the countries that follow another course, check the good results. Not only in the economic dimension, but also in the atmosphere of hope. Where young people can start a life in front of an agenda that only wants to offer them crumbs like the co-livingHe will have nothing and you will be happy, the culture of subsidy or victimization... loneliness. The social model must be balanced. Support the vulnerable, but never end motivation. Effort must be a reward. This is what we should promote.

Mr Rangel, according to the Istanbul Convention, violence against women is the consequence of an alleged heteropatriarchy where the male is an alleged abuser by nature against women. I ask you, as a man, how you feel. I understand that you agree with this statement. Should I see you like this, as an abuser? Should I be afraid of you as a woman?

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the need to combat violence is too serious a challenge to be used to impose any ideology. The application of so-called gender perspective concepts does not help to prevent violence but rather hinders the implementation of truly effective measures. As recognized in its own preamble, the Istanbul Convention is based on gender theory, according to which violence against women must be eradicated by eliminating socially constructed roles, thus obviating that the problem of violence is not criminal behavior but cultural constructions. It moves so it's a social problem and not a criminal one. In my country, in fact, the penalties for rapists are reduced and, therefore, the aim is to address the problem by promoting a change in the way of understanding the relationships that confront us and generate inequality between men and women, which transforms the concept of the family, as a place of conflict instead of encounter. The data shows the reality: high level of violence in countries that have based their response to violence against women on the paradigm contained in the Istanbul Convention. Despite this, today the European Union imposes this system, which does not protect, by adhering to it, by circumventing the objections of those Member States that have not ratified the Convention because they find it contrary to their Constitutions. It is the Member States which, in the use of their sovereignty, must accede to international conventions.