Debate contributions by Nora JUNCO GARCÍA

Madam President, High Representative Kallas, ladies and gentlemen, the departure of Nicolás Maduro should not be read as a foreign intervention, but as a long-awaited act of justice. President Trump has not invaded a country, he has captured a fugitive, a narcoterrorist who turned a prosperous nation into a center of torture and organized crime, as well as a miserable nation. But beyond the acronyms, today we talk about people. We are talking about more than nine million families broken by exile that today finally see light at the end of the tunnel. The legitimacy of this process lies in the courageous mandate of María Corina Machado and in the president-elect, Edmundo González. However, the road to democracy will not be real as long as the 777 political prisoners continue to be tortured in the regime's prisons; Every day they spend there is a stain on Parliament's conscience. Let us be courageous and support the transition. Let's demand freedom for the prisoners and help Venezuela become the home of Venezuelans again. Long live Venezuela free!

Madam President, Commissioner, when we talk about the so-called 2030 Consumer Agenda, I think it is worth asking ourselves, honestly, what we are doing with our European citizens. We live in a Union where massive decisions can be made, overnight, for entire sectors, to sacrifice meaningless livestock production, killing flies with cannons, and then we are surprised that prices rise and basic products are lacking and then buy out what we previously produced. Is that protecting the consumer or is it replacing common sense with an ideological mantra that we citizens always end up paying for? Ladies and gentlemen, there is no consumer protection without food safety. If we destroy European production and there is no sustainable growth, families cannot fill the shopping basket. In short, we want fewer agendas, more simplification and more reality.

Mr. President, Commissioner, comrades, today I wonder why so many socialist comrades looked the other way, why the left proclaims itself a feminist by handing out cards of virtue and giving lessons every day. And now it turns out that the left is rotten and full of machos in its own ranks. I am not talking about rumors, I am talking about internal denunciations, abuse of power and complicit silences. Where were they when their own partners needed support? Didn't they report because they didn't want to or because they couldn't? Did the position or obedience to the leader weigh more than dignity? That's not feminism, that's complicity by silence. If you really want to fight machismo, start at home. Because women's worst enemies are not always in front. Sometimes, they're sitting next to him.

Madam President, Commissioner, protecting the seas and oceans, yes. But we are legislating on legislation, creating more bureaucracy and more confusion. The BBNJ Agreement is neither above the rest of European regulations nor above RFMOs. It's on the same level. And what we see is not progress, it is normative duplicity. While here, in the offices of Brussels, the left congratulates itself, the main actors remain unsigned. Because I remind you, ladies and gentlemen, that the United States, China, Japan, India and the United Kingdom have not yet ratified. But, we, as always: Europe runs to obey the rules that the rest do not even recognize. Added to this is the commitment to technology transfer, a friendly term that hides the free transfer of European knowledge and intellectual property without guarantees or reciprocity. And in the midst of all this, and as the icing on the cake, the Danish Government deliberately delays its processing in the Council. Europe moves forward with pride, but runs alone on an empty circuit towards a goal that it alone has set.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, cold drops and floods on the Mediterranean coast are part of nature, not a climate story invented to justify the lack of management. This tragedy was seen to be coming: Since 94, experts had already been warning that in the Poyo ravine a channeling and a drainage were needed. Nine projects were drafted, nine. And what have we seen? Decades of governments, of all colors, leaving these works in the drawer; works that should have been done in the 90s, in the 2000s, and that are still pending today. In fifteen years not a single relevant preventive hydraulic work has been carried out in the Valencian Community. That's why, today after a year, I wonder: Why have preventive infrastructure plans been abandoned for decades? When will the works that could have prevented this tragedy be executed? What concrete mechanisms has the Ministry for the Ecological Transition put in place to prevent this from happening again, beyond speeches? Ladies and gentlemen, Brussels has delivered: more than €1.6 billion in solidarity and cohesion funds, but how much aid has been activated from the Spanish government? Many are still blocked. What has failed is the political responsibility in Spain, the inaction of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the unfulfilled promises...

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I am going to talk about another important part which is cooperation between both sides of the ocean. Latin America is making up its mind and Europe is late. While we discuss, China consolidates the market, logistics and power, and absorbs around 14% of Latin American exports, with a strong weight in oil and mining, while its presence has been growing for two decades. In 2025, it broke records for the strip and the route that – for those who do not know – is the great geostrategic project plotted by Xi Jinping, with 123 billion dollars in contracts and investments in the first quarter alone. And that's not narrative, it's geopolitical muscle. The report is tender. Remember that this relationship cannot remain sentimental, that it must be strategic, based on reciprocity and shared principles. Our response must be efficient. Fewer blank checks to unchecked NGOs and more auditable European investment, with shared rules and infrastructures and value chains to deliver. And a clear message about freedoms. Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua show that without freedom there is no future. Democracy is non-negotiable. And without the rule of law, there is no reliable partner. Europe must choose: Either he leads with values or he will end up buying his conscience at the lowest price in the Chinese market.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, in Europe, unfortunately, we are forgetting who is feeding us. We fill the law offices and the fields are emptied. Our farmers don't need new rules, they need respect, fair prices and freedom to produce. The reports we are debating today – for which I congratulate Mr Rodrigues and Mrs Imart, because they are on the right track – should serve this purpose: to simplify, remove obstacles, restore competitiveness and productive capacity, but, above all, to return pride to the countryside. If we really want a green Europe, we must fight to ensure that our rural areas are not emptied and that family farms are still alive. Every abandoned hectare is a piece of sovereignty that we lose and every young man who leaves the countryside is a defeat for Europe in the face of dependence on the outside. To protect the farmer, rural nostalgia is not necessary: It's a strategic issue. Without strong agriculture there is no food security, no territorial balance and no real independence. It's time to move from green speeches to politics with roots. We have to defend those who grow Europe before Europe forgets how it is grown.

Madam President, Commissioner, this INI report, although not binding, has the essentials: calls seriously for national housing strategies to be adopted, for rules to be simplified, for European funds to be used well and for private property and the right to remain in community to be protected. But in Spain, Sanchez's government continues to turn these priorities into slogans. The actual implementation shines through in its absence. European funds are not unblocked, squandered or remain unjustified, which has made Spain one of the least effective countries in absorbing cohesion funds. Meanwhile, instead of alleviating the housing crisis with promises, they get stuck in bureaucracy and corruption allegations. We support the report precisely because it points the way. Spain's socialist government must now demonstrate with facts that it is capable of transforming cohesion funds into solutions.

Mr President, southern Europe has burned again: Thousands of devastated hectares, families evacuated and the left repeating the easy slogan of "it's for climate change". It's not denialism. We have had – at least in Spain – the rainiest winter and spring in years. The problem is not the climate, it's political incompetence. With European funds available for prevention we continue to see uncleaned mountains, non-existent firewalls and poorly organised brigades. Meanwhile, rather than taking responsibility, administrations prefer to talk about the 2030 Agenda and climate change. Only one piece of information: in Spain, 48% less is spent on prevention than seven years ago. This shows a lack of strategic vision and ineffective management of both central and regional governments in forestry. Are we talking about climate change or propaganda change? It is only about allocating funds with intelligence: Strengthening prevention means fewer expanses burned, fewer costs in extinction and, above all, fewer tragedies. Fires are not fought with ideology, but with management and prevention. We need more management and less propaganda.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, what is the use of having the most ambitious cohesion policy in the world if governments do not then implement a single euro? Spain is the most scandalous example: of the more than EUR 36 billion allocated in the period 2021-2027, the government has only requested 2.7% and spent exactly EUR 0. This has been said and is being warned by the Bank of Spain, not the opposition: our peoples lose services, the provinces are more depopulated and in inequality, while the funds sleep in drawers. This is an insult to the citizens and to the principles of the Union. What we have is not lack of money, it is lack of government, incompetence, propaganda and abandonment of territory. From this point of view, I would ask you very clearly to put pressure on the Spanish Government to activate the enforcement mechanisms immediately. Cohesion policy only makes sense if it reaches citizens, if it is implemented and if it is transformed. And for that we need governments that work, not that live from the story.

Mr. President, today I come dressed in the colors of my flag because Spain hurts me, it hurts me deeply. I cannot remain silent while my country is plundered from the government itself. Pedro Sánchez has crossed all lines: their number two and number three, charged with corruption; his brother, under investigation; his wife, on suspicion of benefiting friendly companies; and yet he does not resign. But it doesn't assume anything: He clings to power with complicit silence and has tried to manipulate justice. The Civil Guard is discredited, judges are pressured, judicial independence is trampled upon. This is not a healthy democracy. We are in free fall towards an authoritarian regime. As a Spaniard, I'm outraged. As a European, I am alarmed to see Europe stand idly by while a Member State is corrupted from within. To defend Spain today is to defend the democratic principles that underpin this Union. Mr Sanchez, resign: out of shame, out of decency and out of respect for a democracy that you have betrayed.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, we welcome the step taken by the signing of the European Ocean Pact as a result of the United Nations Summit in Nice. It is, without a doubt, a relevant political advance, a declaration of intentions that recognizes the urgency of acting for the health of our seas, but we cannot talk about sustainability while imposing restrictions without a scientific basis, distributing funds with opacity and ignoring the voice of those who have been caring for the sea for generations. We cannot call for more sacrifices from our fishermen while illegal non-European fleets fish with impunity at the gates of Europe. The Pact talks about conservation, but ignores the economic sustainability of our coastal communities and lacks real financing and innovation tools. The blue economy will only be sustainable if it is also fair, transparent and respectful of our traditions. In the meantime, these third country fleets continue to operate out of control and outside this Pact. If we want the Pact to have a real impact, these fleets would have to be subject to the same rules and requirements as ours. Yes to a pact for the oceans, yes to a protection of the marine environment, but, above all, yes to our fishermen, who are the true guardians of our seas.

Mr President, the blackout on 28 April was not an accident, it was a direct consequence of the ideological negligence of climate fanaticism and of an Agenda 2030 that has turned energy into a political toy in the service of the left. That day the technology did not fail, but the policy failed: Socialism, disguised as environmentalism, failed. Plants that guarantee supply are being dismantled, nuclear energy is being cornered with taxes and mills and plates that do not give stability to existing infrastructure are being sold to us with smoke. The peninsula, with Portugal and part of France, were collapsed, in black. What was the Government's response? Quiet. There were none: no resignation, no self-criticism. Ladies and gentlemen, this is not an energy transition. We are facing a betrayal of logic, the citizen and the country. And if we don't stop it, the next blackout won't just be electric: will be moral, institutional and democratic.

I still think the same thing: I reaffirm that Cuba has been run by corrupt people for sixty years. It is run by corrupt people who starve the population.

Madam President, Cuba is the living example of the absolute failure of communism. There's no other way to put it: Communism has destroyed the country and betrayed the fundamental principles of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement. The recent revocation of the probation of opponents José Daniel Ferrer and Félix Navarro is not isolated, but part of a systematic repression against those who exercise their right to freedom of expression. We cannot be complicit in this injustice. Cuba has become a giant prison where the people survive day by day under the control of a corrupt elite while Cubans starve to death. The European Union needs to reassess its relationship with Cuba. We cannot continue to support a regime that systematically violates human rights.

Mr President, today I want to talk to you about a mistake that is impoverishing Spain and Europe: raise the minimum wage by decree while suffocating small and medium-sized enterprises with taxes. In Spain, the left has increased the minimum wage by more than 80% since 2016, without our economy growing at the same rate. What is the result? For wages are getting lower, in real terms, and small businesses are shutting down and unemployment is steadily rising. And, to top it off, more taxes, more bureaucracy, more labor costs. This does not favor the workers, it sinks them. While large corporations remain protected by political power, the self-employed and SMEs, who create the majority of jobs, cannot even hire. They speak to us about social justice, but they are building a model of misery and dependence. If we really want a strong Europe, we need less interventionism, less taxation and more freedom for those who generate wealth. It's time to change course. It is time to give citizens back their right to prosper.

Mr President, Madam Vice-President, today we are talking about cutting red tape to improve European competitiveness, but let us be clear: the most serious bottleneck for the reindustrialisation of Spain and Europe is energy, and not because of lack of generation, but because of inability or deliberate refusal to secure supply where it is needed. For example: in Spain, 50% of applications for high power for industry were rejected in 2024; the result: €60 billion of private investment lost. While we are flooded with regulations and discourses on energy transition, the reality is that there is not enough infrastructure or political will to modernize. Without reliable and accessible energy there is no industry, no employment and no economic sovereignty. While other countries multiply their investment in electricity networks, in Spain we are still caught between political interests and suffocating bureaucracy. If we want a competitive industrial future, it is time to end this paralysis: fewer barriers, more infrastructure and more freedom to grow.

Madam President, the Commission is selling us its new plan as a big step towards simplification, but what we have ahead of us is more of the same: empty rhetoric and insufficient measures that arrive late and poorly. We were promised less bureaucracy and more competitiveness, but what we see is a patch that keeps intact this regulatory burden that suffocates our companies. Europe remains entangled in its own web of regulations while Chinese industry moves forward with agility and practicality. Instead of creating a flexible environment for innovation and investment, we continue to add more rules, more conditions, more obstacles... And in the meantime, our companies pay the price in the form of loss of competitiveness, relocation and job destruction. A clear example is the recent regulation on the definitive ban on the sale of combustion engines by 2035, which puts the European automotive industry in jeopardy. This imposition is pushing our companies to close. It is time to give freedom back to our businesses and stop punishing progress with bureaucracy.

Mr President, Commissioner, today I address you with the firmness of rejecting the incorporation of products that do not meet the same conditions and requirements that are required of ours, our farmers, our fishermen and our farmers. This agreement with Mercosur promotes unfair competition. Does it really make up for the price we're going to pay: to consume food without guarantees, with pesticides and plant protection products not allowed in the EU, putting our health at risk? What hypocrisy, gentlemen! We suffocate our farmers with regulations and regulations to favor third countries that do not play by the same rules. It's unfortunate. Who benefits? It is time to reverse this situation and create win-win agreements and, above all, defend the health and well-being of our citizens. And I remind you that our country doesn't want to live on handouts.

Mr President, the European Commission promises us growth, but in reality it brings nothing but spending, regulations and more taxes. How long will Brussels continue to ignore reality? Former ECB President Mario Draghi has already made this clear in his report: Europe is impoverished against the United States because we do not have a dynamic capital market. Companies that want to grow are devoured by taxes and regulations and those that do run away. This plan solves nothing. It does not talk about removing tax barriers, or reducing investment taxes, or allowing labor flexibility, or what companies need to adapt to the age of artificial intelligence. While Europe continues to dream of bureaucratic solutions, money and innovation go to other countries. True competitiveness is not achieved with subsidies and regulations, but with economic freedom and less taxation.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, it is outrageous to see how the regime of Nicolás Maduro continues to consolidate with impunity, while the international community – including the European Union – is unable to exert effective pressure. But what is truly astonishing is the implicit complicity of the Spanish government led by Pedro Sánchez and his allies on the left, who have helped facilitate the movements of this dictatorship. What do the representatives of the left do, knowing that the Maduro government represses, imprisons and blackmails its Venezuelan citizens and foreigners? Well, nothing, just his complicit silence. It is intolerable that, under the pretext of international solidarity, the Sánchez government maintains dark relations with a dictatorship that threatens fundamental human rights. Spain and the European Union must not be the refuge of dictators or accomplices in their crimes. We must demand transparency and, above all, justice for the Venezuelan people.