Speeches

Madam President, High Representative, ladies and gentlemen, there is a boundary that measures the health of a democracy: It is the space recognized to women in study, in speech, in power. In Afghanistan it is canceled by decree, in Iran freedom becomes condemnation. It is the same logic: When power is afraid, it begins with the control of women. Contexts change, but some legacies also resist in the West. A woman who is afraid to go home, a lower salary, a leadership that remains an exception. They don't forbid us from being there, they leave us on the sidelines, they pay us less, they stop us out of leadership roles. Thus a democracy retreats in silence, without noise. That's why the most revolutionary infrastructure is the education of girls, the voice that breaks that silence. Because freedom is not abstract, it is a life that must not ask permission, it is a responsibility that we cannot avoid.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, we can pass all the laws of the world, but if a child grows up thinking that certain careers are not for her, if a boy learns that taking care of children is women's stuff, we have lost. Laws change norms, and education changes minds, so they both serve. On 8 March 2025, the Commission set an ambitious course for women’s rights, an important step that we welcome. But the fight against cultural discrimination must go beyond the legislative evolution, because the most dangerous discriminations are not only those that the laws fight, but are the invisible ones, rooted in cultures, handed down from generation to generation, those that are learned at home, in the courtyards. One in three women has suffered violence. gap Pensions exceed 25%, only one third of parliamentary seats are occupied by women: These data are not numbers, they are the result of cultures that resist change. So I say: We invest in education. The school is not a detail: That's where consciousness is formed, that's where limits or possibilities are born. Education must be the foundation of our post-2025 strategy. Every European school must be the place where no child gives up her dreams, where no child grows up with imaginary boundaries. Laws guarantee rights on paper, but it is education that makes them natural, evident, irreversible.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, today we are asking ourselves a decisive question: Do we want to remain prisoners of 27 different rules or do we want to build a true European Education Area? The answer admits no hesitation: In order to consolidate the internal market and make it more dynamic, the free movement of goods and capital is not enough; the free movement of educational qualifications, qualifications and skills must also be promoted. Without this, mobility remains a privilege, hampered by slow bureaucracies and divergent rules. We need a single legal status, automatic recognition of qualifications, shared investments between the European Union, Member States and businesses: Only in this way will we turn our human capital into our most powerful strategic infrastructure, because in this historical moment the skills are worth at least as much as the financial resources. The quality of our talents will determine Europe's role in global competition. European university alliances are therefore not just an academic project, they are a political act, a reforming design in which we strongly believe as the EPP. A necessary step for a Europe that wants to count, that wants to lead, that wants to win.

Madam President, Commissioner and Vice-President Fitto, ladies and gentlemen, I come from Calabria, a region facing the depopulation of inland areas, aggravated by the demographic decline and the flight of our young people. But Calabria has it all: sun for renewables, talents for digital, beauty to attract investments. The real challenge, however, is to make our riches opportunities for the future of those who want to stay. That is why, in my work in the EMPL Committee on Cohesion Policy, I put human capital at the centre, because every young person who remains is a source of growth and development for the territories. The new cohesion policy can be even more generative if it continues to focus on the social dimension, as well as research, industry and infrastructure. Calabria and the South, in the new simplified and more flexible framework, can then become a laboratory of cohesion and innovation that gives voice to the territories and their needs; It is also about ensuring that young people have the right conditions to stay.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, fires and droughts are now a dramatic event that Europe has to deal with every summer. I come from a region, Calabria, which, with its high forest density – 650 000 hectares of green heritage – is well aware of this challenge. And I like to point out how Calabria has become a positive model for Italy, which could very well be taken as a European model. The Zero Tolerance operation, wanted by the President of the Region, Roberto Occhiuto, has in fact brought extraordinary results: -77% of burnt area thanks to 28 drones for continuous monitoring, technological coordination and preventive action, a strategy that has reduced air intervention requests to the national fleet by 57%. Calabria therefore shows that if Europe does prevention it spends less and safeguards its precious forest heritage.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, when I talk about culture, my thoughts inevitably lead me to my Calabria, a land of extraordinary potential, because if the wealth of Magna Graecia that characterizes it were to meet digital technologies, disruptive opportunities could really arise. This is the alchemy we want: transform the cultural and historical heritage of the territories into concrete opportunities for development. It is culture that defines us as Europeans, because every euro invested in culture generates 2.7 euros of added value in the territories. But without strategic investment, this potential will remain untapped. The Compass of Culture must then be translated into concrete actions: funds for cultural entrepreneurship, tax incentives, innovative training. The choice is now! What is at stake is the future of our regions, of our economy, of the new generations, of our very idea of Europe.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, Europe must build with determination an interconnected and comprehensive education system, a system in which innovation, mobility and inclusiveness are the fundamental pillars. In this context, the model of automatic recognition of qualifications is finding effective application in academic education through the European diploma. But a question arises spontaneously: Why stop at the university and not extend the initiative to high schools? If the aim is to achieve the European Education Area, it is necessary to start from the foundations, i.e. secondary school. As a schoolgirl, I know this because I know these dynamics perfectly. Imagine the transformative impact that such an initiative could have in the peripheral areas of our regions. I think of my Calabria: effective integration of schools into an interconnected European education system would lead not only to universal recognition of qualifications but also to the creation of a European educational standard, not only a guarantee of quality for our students, but a concrete opportunity for access to training and professional pathways in all Member States. It would further simplify student mobility by removing bureaucratic and language barriers, strengthening a shared European identity. The Alliance of European Schools must therefore not only be a proposal but a categorical imperative for the full realisation of the European Education Area. Through the promotion of active and structural mobility, the innovation of teaching methods and the guarantee of inclusive education would create an educational community that not only shapes, but prepares young people to be aware European citizens ready to respond to today's global challenges.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the European educational framework has forced us to think urgently. Too many students lack basic skills and a shortage of teachers puts the future of education at risk. The average age of the teaching staff is high and the profession is unattractive. Too many young people no longer choose education, discouraged by uncompetitive wages and insufficient social recognition. On my input, the EPP raised the issue in CULT with an ongoing study; The action plan for teachers, which is part of the skills union, is certainly an important initial response: strengthens the career prospects of teachers and provides for remuneration appropriate to their social role. I would now ask the Commission to ensure that this process is carried out and to encourage the Member States more to take concrete measures. We invest in teachers, because without a qualified and motivated teaching staff, Europe will not be able to keep up with history.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I am a doctor, not Sabina; I am a teacher, not Mariangela. I'm a leader, not Giusi. How long do we have to wait for us women to be considered for our qualifications and nothing else? 286 years. If we do not change pace, this is the time estimated by the United Nations to fill the legal gaps and eliminate gender discrimination. So it's time to run! That is why, as Members of the European Parliament, we must play a leading role in the next UN Commission on the Status of Women. We must ensure that gender equality is at the heart of the EU's external action. As delegation chair, I consider gender equality a key priority to strengthen dialogue with our partners and to accelerate the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. Europe must lead by example, putting in place sound policies and adequate resources. Among the priorities included in the report, which we strongly support as the EPP, are supporting women's economic autonomy and entrepreneurship and creating jobs in high-growth sectors, such as STEM and artificial intelligence, because investing in women means investing in the future of Europe and the world. Equality cannot wait for no woman to be called by name.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, it is incomprehensible and offensive to our people that the government should not think about the respect and dignity of its citizens. These are not the words of Giusi Princi or any other secure MEP within these walls; I am the democratic cry of the Georgian president, a woman who risks her security and freedom every day to defend her country. Salomé Zourabichvili is not alone. Too many political activists face defamation, violence and death threats in EU candidate and neighbouring countries. This is also demonstrated by alarming data: Four out of five women parliamentarians in the world are victims of psychological violence, intimidation and verbal abuse; Two out of five even receive threats of physical or sexual violence. Colleagues, we cannot talk about enlargement and partnership without addressing these systemic injustices. Women's political participation is not a concession to be defended intermittently: It is a pillar of democracy. From Brussels to Tbilisi, from Kiev to Reggio Calabria, we must strengthen our actions against those who use misogyny as a political tool. To Salomé and to all the women who defy silence we owe more than a round of applause: We need concrete efforts to ensure that in every country, in the EU and outside the EU, the courage of a woman in politics is the norm and not the exception.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, one in three women in Europe experience violence in the course of their lives: In Italy alone, 100 women have been killed since the beginning of the year. This is unacceptable! Online violence is also a growing scourge. How extensive is it? We don't know. There is currently no harmonised definition of cyber-violence. It is time to fill this gap. As EPP we call for legislation that makes digital an opportunity, that improves the Violence against Women and Domestic Violence Directive, to be extended to all forms of sexual abuse, including non-consensual pornography. So let's look to the future with an action plan on artificial intelligence (AI). AI can and must identify signs of domestic violence through data collected from safety devices or apps, enabling immediate preventive responses, a rapidly developing field that we must regulate to protect women. To all the victims we say: You are not alone. We are all with you, without distinction of political color, because the only color that counts today is that of the orange flag that symbolically flies in front of the Parliament in Strasbourg. It is our duty to be the cry of those who have been silenced: We raise the volume on rights and stifle the deafening noise of violence.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, our ability to remain competitive and resilient depends on the quality of our skills. The Draghi report makes it clear that investment in this context is essential for training a highly skilled workforce. This is the only way to ensure that Europe has a role to play. leadership in key industries such as digital, green energy and sustainable finance. In the first twenty years of the twenty-first century we have witnessed forms of knowledge and innovative productions that, ultimately, with the advent of artificial intelligence, have generated profound professional changes. 56% of jobs are disappearing and will undergo massive transformations within a few decades. New challenges need to be addressed by rethinking new educational and training models. Europe is still lagging behind the US and China in investment, research and education. But even within the same continent we see the countries of the North investing more human resources than the marginal areas of Southern Europe. The EPP Group and Forza Italia, with their recent economic paper, strongly believe that the European Year of Skills should therefore be an opportunity to invest uniformly in research, education and innovation to stem the lack of skills and the deep shortage of skills supply and demand. Our commitment, however, cannot be exclusively technical. We need to ensure that access to skills is fair and inclusive: all must be able to participate actively in European growth in order to prevent technological progress from creating new inequalities.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, today, as we celebrate World Mental Health Day, it is essential to reiterate one concept loud and clear: There is no health without mental well-being. As a former school leader and vice president of the Calabria Region, I have seen how deep the wounds of the mind can be. Depression and anxiety, exacerbated after Covid, have in fact led suicide to be the second cause of death among young people. Three teenagers every day decide to take their own lives in Europe. As the EPP Group, we have long called for a European Mental Health Action Plan. We want quality access to psychological care for all citizens, especially for the younger generation. In my region, we have invested EUR 9 million to bring psychologists to Calabrian schools, but we need a European step forward. The European Union must put the health of our children at the centre. How many more lives will be ruined before we intervene decisively? As President Sergio Mattarella said: Mental well-being is a collective responsibility, everyone is called to do their part.