Speeches

Mr President, it is time to take the European Parliament to the next level and, indeed, it is time to take the European project to the next level, and this could not have come at a better time. Citizens were given the opportunity to speak directly in this Chamber itself, and they told us the changes they want to see for the European Union to be closer to them, closer to citizens. And what a stronger signal than this: the strengthening of democracy with Parliament itself initiating this procedure now for the 2024 European elections. And with these changes, we are not only proposing a second ballot with a small transnational list, voting to give European political direction, with a lead candidate to preside over the European Commission. But it also gives 16 year olds the right to vote. It works for gender equality in this Chamber, and gives stronger rights to people with all abilities to participate in our elections. Having the European demos strengthens each Member State because we are so much stronger when we are together. Let us make history together tomorrow in our vote!

Mr President, I would like to request referral back to committee pursuant to Rule 59(4) so that we may begin interinstitutional negotiations.

Madam President, thank you to the Vice—President of the Commission. I cannot but agree with you on all that you have said right now. I would like to first thank all of those who have participated in this debate on the Market Stability Reserve. It is the first out of the legislative files of the Fit for 55 Package that have come in front of this plenary. And I am very grateful for all the help and cooperation that I have found from all shadow rapporteurs on this important legislative file. Our EU ETS must remain fit for purpose, and it must ensure and incentivise that all Member States keep on working in order to reduce their current emissions and push forward towards a more environmental and green future. So, this is what we have tried to do with this file that we have been discussing today. And I am really sorry to hear those who are at the far right and the conservatives of this Chamber who still do not believe in science, who still think that climate change is something that does not affect our planet, and who still believe that they can simply ignore it. We do not ignore it, and we want to keep on legislating in order for our European Union to remain the most ambitious continent in this planet, in order to reach our objectives. So I really look forward and encourage all Parliament to give a strong and broad support to this file tomorrow in our vote in order to have a very strong hand when it comes to negotiating this with other institutions.

– Ms President, at this unprecedented time for the European Union and the world, our job is to ensure stability - stability for European families and stability for European businesses, because this is how we safeguard the interests of the most vulnerable in our society. Stability was precisely why this instrument, theMarket Stability Reserve originally created - an instrument whose job is to keep all of us focused on our environmental goals to further reduce emissions, ensure that the system is strong enough to cope with the shocks that come on earth from time to time. And what we haven't had in the last few years! A pandemic that set up the whole world, where we saw all our airports shut down, workers working from home, children attending school on their own computers and we are here in Parliament, which stopped our travel and represented the European peoples in this Parliament from our Member States thanks to the technological advances that allowed us to do so. While the environment had a relief from human activity that caused it so much damage, we did not stop working to protect our environment more permanently. We were the first continent that during a pandemic worked and passed a climate law, committed ourselves to be carbon neutral by 2050, and launched an ambitious package, theFit for 55, which will see us go a lot in addition what we have done for ourselves in the past. All this against the backdrop of new tensions between Russia and the rest of the world and Russia’s atrocious invasion of Ukraine in recent weeks. We understood, that in order to maintain stability and to stay on track to meet our environmental and climate targets, we had to work immediately as a Parliament, on the advice of the European Commission, to extend theintake rate and the allowances of the Market Stability Reserve until 2030 - rates that are twice as high as those originally planned but that reflect the realities we are living in today and our strong ambition for a much more environmentally friendly Europe. So in a few months we have managed not only to work on the law that extends what we have today but we have passed it in a speculated way by the Environment Committee and are here today to seal what we have already agreed on. However, this is not the same for the Council of the European Union. It seems that the Council has not even started discussions on whether or not to agree to this extension, and therefore, has allowed me to appeal - a call for the Council of Ministers to move on this important extension to European families and businesses - an extension that ensures stability at a time when it is much needed; an extension ensuring that we stick to our environmental ambition while at the same time protecting the interests of the most vulnerable citizens in the European Union. Because we want a green and environmental transition that is just for all - a transition that leaves no one behind. Let me know before I come to the conclusion that I am thankful for theshadow rapporteurs all for the valuable contribution we have come here and the cooperation I have found from each of them. Ending with an appeal: we must protect this land we live on because no one lives without our world, but in truth the world continues to live without us humans.

Ms President, Ms Commissioner, Véronique, I cannot but start this speech today by not mentioning a Maltese hero who lost his life tragically, Dr Victor Calvagna, who healed and lived with hundreds of Maltese and Gozitan children from cancer. Today we are remembering cancer in children. In recent months we have met experts, scientists from around the world and what they have told us has been the same and clear. Forty percent of cancer in Europe is preventable. These scientists have now passed this onion to us in this run, in the hands of politicians, to make our decisions from all walks of life to reduce cancer in Europe. In front of us we have a choice, either to rely on science and improve the lives of citizens, or to try to protect the interests of those big companies, whose sole purpose is profits. For the first time we have a European plan, all of us, with four billion euros allocated to it. Many across Europe are busy, but only together with our science-based vote tomorrow, we can start the way to win our European fight against cancer.

Vážená pani predsedajúca, the animals used in circuses are unattended participants in performances that endanger their physical and mental health. Researchers found that 99% of their time is spent in stressful living conditions and small cages without enough space to be able to grow and live their lives normally. In a short time, people will be hanging out. All of this is first and foremost cruel to animals. But it also poses a risk to humans. In Europe alone we have seen 478 incidents involving 889 animals over the past years. The blame for all this certainly cannot be placed on the animal, although in all these circumstances it is the animal that gets it and ends up being cursed and killed. 23 Member States have already adopted laws restricting the use of animals in circuses. Another country is also currently under its law in the process of stopping them. However, we are very pleased that in my country, Malta, this is already a law and we have the ban on the use of animals in circuses. But, Mr. Commissioner, we must listen to European citizens. One million citizens are calling on the European Commission to take immediate action and ban the use of animals in circuses throughout the European Union. Only a complete ban can guarantee a coherent and effective solution to the suffering these animals experience on a daily basis. This is a matter that affects every Member State of the European Union, because we see that they are transported from one country to another of the European Union where they are bound by chains in small vans to move from one country to another for long hours in order to go to give these shows. So, I ask the Commission to stop this issue from Europe once and for all.

Madam President, a Member said earlier on that women should only be carers. What are they saying? Can’t they see all these women working here and being the representatives of a lot of European citizens? Madam President, Mr Commissioner, growing up as a queer person in a conservative society, I was always told that if I were to succeed in life I should not flaunt who I am and should keep my identity hidden, because society was not ready to include people like me. I fought that because I believe in equality. I wholeheartedly campaigned for my country to join the European Union because that is what our European project stands for: a union of equality where we are all united notwithstanding our diversity. But two weeks ago, Mr Commissioner, with your opening remarks at the Commission’s press conference, you showed that the European Commission believes in unity and diversity only on paper, but not in practice; that the European way of life is not one of equality and inclusion, but one of ‘straight’ privilege where we should all fit in only two boxes. You killed the European dream of equality so many Europeans aspire to; and to sensationalise and stop the momentum for equality, the conservative forces embarked on this disinformation campaign on Christmas when there’s nothing regarding Christmas, as they are saying, in the document the Commission presented. Let’s remember that in 2019 this House adopted guidelines which are very similar to the ones issued by the Commission, and they were voted for also by the EPP. What is different today?

Mr President. Caroline, Elenor, Maria, Antonia, Shannon, Lourdes, Marija Carmela, Angele and Chantelle. Our sisters, our mothers, our friends. The nine women who have been killed in my country, Malta, only in the past five years because of a very specific disease: hatred and violence towards women. And despite the 137 women who are murdered every day in the world, femicide continues to be a de facto definition, and no single Member State seems to have a concrete taxonomy defining the murder of a person which is the direct result of hatred because of their gender. The root cause when it comes to gender-based violence is gender stereotyping, which not only harms women, but harms all those who identify with their gender, and those who don’t. The ratification of the Istanbul Convention is key in the fight against gender-based violence. It is unacceptable that Bulgaria, Czechia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary and Slovakia have still not ratified it. Enough time-wasting. Ratify the Convention now.

Mr President, unity in diversity. Colleagues, this is our slogan, and these are the words that bring us together. As a Union, we are all different and it is that which makes us European. We come in different shapes and sizes because of the places we come from, but we have diverse frames of mind and opinions, but regardless of these key and sometimes fundamental differences we are all European. What binds us together are our values, those values that all of us hold as supreme and that we all agreed upon when we came together in this European project. To uphold values one thing is vital: dialogue. The ability to sit together and speak to each other and understand where we are coming from and what we want to achieve. This is what I wanted out of our mission to Ljubljana to achieve, but unfortunately we were met with empty chairs. We must be able to listen to each other and not turn everything into smear campaigns and to slander and polarisation. This is why it is so important to have forward-thinking discussions on fundamental rights and the rule of law, as the Commissioner said earlier on, be it in Slovenia, Germany, Poland or in any other Member State. It keeps us all on our toes striving to be better. It allows Member States like my own, Malta, to recognise where we can improve and make changes in order to reach a higher standard for all citizens. But in order to reach a higher standard, we must ensure a number of safeguards are in place to protect our democracies. The European Public Prosecutor is one of them. Although it took a much longer time than expected, the nomination of Slovenia’s European Public Prosecutor is a step in the right direction, but one which could have been made much earlier. I thank the College for their appointment today. European governments must ensure the separation of powers. European governments must ensure and must follow and abide by rulings by the courts. European governments must protect journalists and European governments must ensure diversity of opinion and freedom of speech.

Mr President, thank you very much Vice-President Timmermans for the strong work you and your team have done not only in Glasgow but also in all previous months to make sure that we are the most ambitious continent when it comes to climate change, and that this will be our whole fight, of the whole world, to convince everyone and Permit me to make this plea, on behalf of all the European youth and the youth from all across the world, so that we remain that continent, we will remain that voice which is pushing and is most ambitious in the world when it comes to climate change. I can understand the anger of young people, I can understand their anger when they see that, because of the past, they know that their future is very unclear at times when it comes to climate. And I know where your heart is on this, because we have had so many meetings in the past months, and I know that your heart is with young people and that we can be and remain that continent that pushes the rest of the world for more ambition. We are the heart and mind of this battle which we have when it comes to climate. But as my friends and my colleague Mohammed Chahim, for instance, mentioned very good that emerged from this COP26 Conference. We also have to talk about what hasn't happened, and what we have to do more. And the question of theloss and damage, which is often very difficult to talk about because we come from those countries that we are stronger economically, but also on those issues ofloss and damage We need to be the world leaders on this. Today, people are affected by climate change. There are people who are having to flee their countries, cities and villages, due to climate change. And we want to be the continent that helps them. We must convince the rest of the developed countries that we should be at the forefront of these vulnerable countries which are having a major impact on the lives of many citizens. And so I urge you, for the COP27 in Egypt, to be and remain at the forefront of this fight, even when it comes to theloss and damage.

Ms President, I cannot but start today by not than than thanking Abir for her work on this very important report for the European Union and for the future of our European economy. Together with the negotiators of all political groups, we have seen how together we can come up with the strongest proposals to address not only the needs of the European Union today, but the needs of the European Union of the future. We are, therefore, not only asking the European Commission, but we are here putting forward a set of proposals with a long-term vision and being future-proof. We want a stronger European Union. An ambitious European Union. A courageous European Union that never ceases to change. A European Union with the greatest possible talent to excel in all areas. A European Union that continues to grow and not just begins to prepare for shrinking. I'm saying this because today we have a big challenge ahead of us: shops, restaurants, factories, hospitals, schools that are not finding enough workers to offer all their services. In Malta, my country, I have heard the cry of several small entrepreneurs, for example a young man like Sean Gravina who has invested all his time in creating what he has always dreamed of, to find now a wall without employers. I also heard the worries of hospital managers who, although during the pandemic several foreign nurses and doctors, along with local ones, kept our hospitals going, are seeing Europe no longer attractive to them and that they are moving to other parts of the world. As the Commissioner said, I mentioned a European Union that must continue to grow and not prepare to start shrinking because we have a difficult reality. We are the oldest continent. A society that is growing older and will no longer be productive as we know it today. We need to attract talent to our shores and we must do so in a way that does not endanger the lives of those coming to Europe to contribute to work. Because we do not address the present situation, it does not mean that we do not have workers from countries outside the European Union, but it means that these workers come irregularly, they probably end up working undeclaredly and we are letting the standards of protection of workers crawl on the ground with unacceptable exploitation. I therefore look forward to the proposals coming from the European Commission in this regard to achieve, as a European Union, all our ambitions.

Mr President, I think that, before me, my colleague from the left should be allowed to speak in this Chamber, notwithstanding the fact that he has a message on his T-shirt. It is a message against racism, which is very important in this day and age, and he is not able to speak. I think that this is anti-democratic in a democratic Chamber, which allows the voice of everyone to be heard from the left to the right. That does not matter. We should all be allowed to speak in this Chamber and be allowed to hold our mandate as we have been elected to do. But, on this file, which is an important file and I congratulate Elena for her tireless work and for pushing forward a text which strengthens the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) by turning it into a fully—fledged agency, one which is vital in its help to Member States and their work with asylum seekers and refugees. Finally, we are here to conclude this file, a file negotiated firstly under the Maltese Presidency four years ago, a file where, as Parliament, Commission and Council, we had already found compromise. However, as per usual, the file was stalled due to political reasons, and Elena and her work showed that we can find a way forward on migration legislation together. As a Maltese Member of this European Parliament, this legislation means a lot to me, not only because I come from the smallest EU Member State, which also happens to be at the frontline of migration, but also because the offices of EASO are situated in our Grand Harbour in Malta, which for centuries was a port of refuge for many, including, as the Bible says, Saint Paul in the year 60 AD. I want to focus my intervention today on the fundamental rights aspect of our new agency. Having visited EASO last week with S&D colleagues, we had the opportunity to discuss the future of EASO with the management, and I was pleased to see the extra emphasis the office is giving to intersectionality through their training, such as those focused on gender and sexuality. But the best way to ensure fundamental rights are fully protected is by implementing through concrete solidarity. Our call, as progressives, is clear. It is unacceptable that all the responsibility vis-à-vis migration falls on the shoulders of a few Member States. As others said this morning, the monitoring mechanism implementation in EASO is conditioned by the Dublin negotiations, but this should only strengthen our resolve to come together and make this mandate where we finally finalise a solution to our common migration challenges.

Ms President, whenever we had a challenge before us and worked on our own, each country for itself, alone. But whenever we had a common challenge and faced it together, as one European Union, we managed to achieve the best results for all European citizens. This as an example we had the joint procurement of COVID-19 vaccines. The challenge ahead is currently the prices of energy and fuels and concretely the challenge of seeing that European citizens do not have to choose between medicine or heating their home, or choosing between food for their family or cooling their homes. And so we must concretely see that the European Commission comes up immediately with proposals that have a positive impact on the pockets of all citizens of the European Union, and not that these benefits end up being seized by those who, ultimately, are providing and speculate on these energy prices. An Energy Union cannot leave anyone behind and we want to see that every country, even those islands, which are on the periphery of the European Union, also play a key role in this European Energy Union.

Mr President, I am very pleased to address this topic today because I feel that it actually affects the thinking of why we have a European Union and therefore the democratic legitimacy of this our Union. If anything, the COVID-19 experience has opened our eyes to a number of things and has managed to show where the European Union is the strongest and where we also have some shortcomings. One of these is the need to recognise that we should not only look at the final results of our work but that what we are doing reaches people. I ask: was there sufficient access to information against the greatest fears and concerns? To reach our work target, citizens must have full confidence in the process so I believe that the pandemic should serve the European institutions as a lesson for the future. The way forward after these two years is clear: I agree with President von der Leyen's speech yesterday that now is the time for the European Health Union and I believe it should include buying medicines in a united way as one European Union as we did with COVID-19 vaccines. But in order to do so there must be more confidence in the process, we must convince ourselves that unfortunately the process we have been through has been blurred by doubts, fears and even questions that have often not been addressed. Questions, for example, whether or not health has been prioritised on the profit agenda of large pharmaceutical companies. Everyone has the right to know how their money has been spent. With timely access to information we can overcome the reality of a number of European countries that are still among the most sceptical citizens of the vaccine worldwide. We must also address the lack of trust in health authorities in a number of countries and this can only be done by having transparent systems. So in our strategy we need to see more information on regular vaccinations and to tackle vaccine hesitancy. We need to cooperate more in health to ensure that everyone has access to medicines and that they are affordable for everyone. It is therefore fundamental for the Commission to build on what we are recommending with the delivery and publish a study on the process we have had for COVID-19 vaccines. Specifically, it has to assess transparency in the process and I suggest the Commission to follow up on success stories we have seen in some European Union countries such as Malta, my home country, with the highest vaccination rate in the world with more than 91 percent of eligible citizens over the age of twelve being vaccinated thanks to continued transparency and engagement with citizens throughout the process. Let’s also see that we have a transparent Europe in all.

Mr President, thank you very much to Javier who managed to close this Directive after a long time with many obstacles. Five years. So much so, as a European Union, we have come to an agreement on the revision of the Blue Card Directive, although a large number of businesses across the European Union are in doubt because of the great need for workers to be able to continue to grow and expand. Colleagues, the economy needs workers from third countries and we can no longer escape this reality. The far right tells us that this is some "socialist" or "left" idea. But it is not. I am a socialist, but I am also speaking on behalf of businesses that have labour gaps all over the continent. Europe is losing 74 billion euros a year due to the lack of legal avenues for the legal functioning of these people. The same far right is saying that legal workers from third countries should not come to Europe and that they should stay in their country. Not knowing that they are NOT staying in their country, because they are still moving to the UK, America and Canada and, in the meantime, the European Union is losing talent, because others have simpler rules, because they recognise the qualifications of these people, who can generate 37 billion euros a year to our economy. As shadow rapporteur of the Socialists on Parliament's initiative on legal immigration, politics and law, I thank Javier for closing this report despite these populist forces I spoke about. If we want to talk about socialist ideas, I remind them of the rights of workers, including European workers, who often ignore.

Mr President, in the past days, working on the resolution on Hungary, the only picture that kept coming to mind was of friends I had as I was growing up in my teenage years in a very conservative society. Friends like François who were burdened with facing a society that they believed could never understand them, that their only hope was that of leaving this world, and unfortunately, that is what they did. This is how serious this discussion is. This is why we are here today, and this is why it is so important to make sure that all children and teenagers have access to information: to let them know that if they feel they are different to others, it is fine to be different, and that there are many others outside of that classroom who are as different as they are. We are also here today because it is important for every child and teenager to know that if they have someone in their classroom that looks or behaves differently, it is fine to befriend them and accept them the way they are – because we are all different in all our own different ways. We are here today to give hope. I know people in Hungary, people like Vikki, who I have spoken to during the past days, are on the edge of their seats waiting for us to give them hope, because they know that the European Union that they aspired to, that they aspired for their country to join in 2004, was a union that held fast to its values of equality, human rights and the protection of minorities. These values transcend any national laws, and they expect action to be taken because that is the European dream that they believe in. Colleagues, as we are seeing, hate is contagious and we have seen how fast it is travelling. But I believe that courage is contagious, too, the courage being shown by the oppressed community in Hungary, Poland, in Georgia yesterday, and elsewhere all around the world, to feel proud of whoever they are. The same courage that was shown by Marsha P. Johnson at Stonewall 52 years ago. We must, as the European Union, now show the same courage and take all the necessary action, as per the resolution, to protect European values and protect European citizens. There is so much courage being shown by the queer community around the world from Hungary to Poland, from Poland to Georgia, from Georgia to Ghana and all across the world, the courage to be who we are, the courage to love who we love, the courage to come out of the closet, the courage to assemble even when police state that they would not protect us, the courage to go in the streets and affirm our identity, and the courage to be seen in front of those who believe we should not exist.

Mrs President, let me be clear from the beginning. The immigration package without solidarity between Member States is unacceptable. We cannot allow a small number of countries to fall and rise from European values and principles of solidarity, to keep all of us hostage and blocked from moving forward, with the consequence that the countries of the periphery, such as Malta, are left alone on immigration. This is not acceptable! One of the four pillars of the Asylum, Immigration and Integration Fund is solidarity and that the fund ensures that the Member States most affected by immigration will find the rest of the European Union with them, with solidarity and with common policies and systems to face the challenges together. It is clear that this is not done - the only thing that happens is to cover the problem with money, but it does not solve anything. While the intention of financial assistance is very good, the solution is not more money, but solidarity in practice.