Debate contributions by Estrella GALÁN

Madam President, the reactionary forces in Europe have no other project than hatred. They hate migrants, they hate free and empowered women, and they hate LGBTQ+ people, because when they hate them, they hate our friends and they hate our lesbian sisters and friends, and also our trans sons and daughters. Because when they hate them, they hate us, too. Wherever they can, they censor culture and attack the freedoms and rights of those who are, feel or think differently. We need to make funds conditional on respect for the rights of all people, because we are part of this society. The European Union of rights and freedoms cannot remain a mere slogan. The far right is being fought by expanding rights – as we have already done in Spain – with a new norm for equality and non-discrimination of LGBTI people in companies. Europe cannot be an accomplice. They want LGBTI-free zones and we want a Europe free of hatred and homophobia.

Madam President, today Europe has nothing to celebrate. A Commission embracing the far right, Mrs von der Leyen, is being approved here today. And, in addition, you give him a vice-presidency, which is not just anything. Do you owe them that much to give them such an important position? We are going to vote "No". And it will be a resounding and clear 'No', because we will not be complicit in a Commission that is whitewashing the heirs of fascism and the blackest history of our Europe. Today they are going to adopt a Commission whose priorities are far removed from the needs of the social majority. We voted 'No' to a Commission that whitewashes those who deny the climate crisis, those who consent to genocide in Gaza while drumming war on our borders, those who do not defend public services, those who foment hatred, racism and xenophobia, those who criminalise the LGBTI community and, moreover, deny diversity and equality between women and men. Today, the workers of Europe, the citizens who dream of a fairer and greener Europe, have nothing to celebrate.

Madam President, first of all, all my solidarity with the victims of the DANA in Valencia and with my Valencian comrades, who have been on the front line fighting and helping their people. This tragedy has made two things clear to us: the infinite solidarity of the peoples and that it is the public services that save the people, responding to those who have lost everything. What Valencians and Valencians do not deserve is the embarrassing spectacle that we are seeing these last two weeks and that we have also been seeing for two days in this Parliament. I feel deeply ashamed. Are you not ashamed to use this misfortune for politics and for your own political interests? Because, in the face of the negligence of Mazón and his government, in the face of shameful climate change denialist speeches and in the face of far-right hoaxes, our response can only be one: social shield, social shield and more social shield. We need more public resources, better services, because the only plan to protect people and to face climate change – which is present here and is not a Chinese tale – is tax justice, because tax justice today allows more than 12 700 workers in Valencia to have their wages protected, even if they cannot go to work, because it is tax justice that allows 10.6 billion euros to be approved to help the families who need it most at the moment. But, of course, these aids have to come, Mr Marzà. They've got to get here! That tax justice is what they repudiate from the far right and the right, preventing fair taxes. We've been saying it for a long time: The debate is not about raising or lowering taxes, but about who should pay them. We are going to make those who have more contribute to recover Valencia. Valencia, we're with you.

Madam President, Commissioner, the most repeated word in your speech this morning was return, return and return. Is that really the short-sighted view we want to apply to migration management? Building prisons for refugees in Europe is barbaric: concentration camps for human beings whose only crime has been to flee to save their lives. Can you imagine that we would have done this with the Ukrainian people who fled the Russian invasion? Mrs von der Leyen has crossed a red line in exchange for a handful of votes. How far are we going to allow Mrs Meloni to govern Europe? The proposal to open Guantanamo in neighbouring countries that do not respect human rights is illegal, immoral and inhumane. The agreement between Italy and Albania violates access to the right of asylum and international law, violating the principle of non-refoulement. These innovative formulas that we are now inventing to outsource asylum and borders are, in reality, a violation of human rights and a failure already demonstrated for decades. Do you really want to innovate? Apply international law, act humanely, open up legal and safe ways for people not to risk their lives at sea: that is the only effective management of migration, consistent with the European principles and values that Mrs Meloni despises, which we seem to want to buy from her.

Mr President, Commissioner, having a home is no longer a possibility for everyone. Having a home has unfortunately become a privilege for only a few. Having a home will be something we tell, if we continue like this, to our daughters and grandchildren as a thing of the past. If we do not stop this, Commissioner - and you have a great challenge in this matter - we will have to explain to our sons and daughters why from this Parliament we did nothing to prevent housing from being a right hijacked by hedge funds, by vulture funds and by all the large housing containers. The commodification of housing particularly affects the young people of the European Union, our young people, and it is the great black hole through which the family economy of thousands and thousands of working families is going. Half of the salaries will be paid a rent like the one mentioned here, of a flat of sixty square meters for more than 1,200 € in any neighborhood on the outskirts of Madrid. This is a social emergency. It is our moral obligation to put in place a directive, from here, to be able to shield access to decent housing as the fundamental right that it is and as a protected public service, as we do with health or education. And this measure must be accompanied by funds so that it can be carried out. This weekend, the streets of Spain - the streets of Madrid and many other cities - are going to be a clamor, because we are going to demand housing as a right and not as a business. Citizens must be listened to. Let's listen to them and do something.

Mr President, in the 1980s we were able to tear down the Berlin Wall and today, precisely, internal borders are being rebuilt, which are walls to detain people. And I say it like this: to people, to human beings. With a perverse discourse that links immigration with security, not only the Schengen area is threatened, but also our values, our coexistence and respect for international law, including the right to asylum, which is a sacred right that protects us all. We cannot allow borders to be places of non-rights, of infra-rights, where human beings are criminalized. And I say it again: to human beings, who need protection and who arrive in Europe as they can because there are no legal and safe routes, because we do not put in place such measures. Europe must now choose between walls that isolate and separate us, as the far right wants - and is already demonstrating today in this House - or bridges of solidarity, cohesion and coexistence.

Madam President, Commissioner, a year later, neither the Israeli hostages have returned nor the genocide has been stopped. Clearly, Netanyahu doesn't care about Israeli victims. And you know it as well as I do. All he cares about is staying in power and, to that end, he is trying to force a regional war that is clearly dangerous. It has already invaded Lebanon; has attacked Syria, Yemen... How far are we going to let this gentleman go? Netanyahu is today the greatest threat to peace on the planet and to international law, which he is violating with impunity. If international law falls, we all fall. War in the entire region is not irremediable if there is political will, because peace is the only way to resolve this situation. Citizens have said it loud and clear in the streets this weekend: They want us to stop this barbarism now! Ceasefire, suspension of neighbourhood agreements, durable solutions, arms embargo. We have to stop this war.

Mr President, Commissioner, last July the European Commission denounced the failure of platform X to comply with the DSA. Mr Elon Musk responded by insulting and denigrating the Commission. Commissioner, how long are we going to continue using a platform that does not comply with European regulations? We are seeing how social media has become a kind of "wild West" where anything goes. Under this false defense of freedom of expression, on these platforms it is allowed to vomit hatred, hoaxes, disinformation ... with impunity. Are we really going to continue to consent to all this? The promotion of xenophobia, machismo, hate speech ... is seriously affecting our social cohesion and also the mental health of many of our young people, who are the most vulnerable. Just as there is a consensus to end racism and homophobia in our workplaces, in schools, in our neighbourhoods ..., I would like to think that there is a democratic majority in this House that defends social networks free of hatred and discrimination. It is time to stop this drift, Commissioner. The Commission should take action to ensure that digital platforms comply with the law. There is an urgent need to strengthen European digital sovereignty. We need platforms with democratic and transparent functioning that are no longer at the service of private interests and the ideology of their owners.

Madam President, Commissioner, all my solidarity with the victims of terrorism and violence, from Solingen to Gaza. Unfortunately today we see again how we repeat the same mistakes as always: Continuing to link security and migration is a profound irresponsibility and the perfect seed to foment hatred and discrimination in our society. Indeed, this discrimination is aimed at people who find it increasingly difficult to seek protection, with increasingly dangerous and deadly routes - you know that the Mediterranean is full of corpses - due to the lack of legal and safe routes and the policies of externalisation of borders that we are carrying out. I'll say it very clearly: failed policies focused on border shielding have neither prevented nor will prevent people from arriving, and you know this as much as I do. Are they aware that, in addition, these speeches put our coexistence at risk? We play a lot, ladies and gentlemen, that's why it's essential...