Debate contributions by Danilo DELLA VALLE

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the right to information and the right to democratic elections is a fundamental right of European citizens, won through centuries of struggle. From the title of this debate, however, it seems that the only threat is represented by TikTok, although other social networks were also mentioned in the Commissioner's report. It seems to me that the state of health of information in Europe has reached a rather critical level, so much so that citizens are looking for every possible space to express dissent. What I wonder is, what is the boundary between propaganda and foreign interference? For example, in the case of Romania, the elections were cancelled because there was a donation of about 1 million euros to some TikTok influencers, at the moment without any confirmation of interference. Is that enough to talk about disinformation? How do we assess then that the OpenSecrets organization analyzed the data and estimated that Musk's America PAC would spend more than $96 million to support Trump? Or that Meta donated $1 million to support Trump? Or that about 70 percent of the information disseminated in the West is trumpeted by only three major news agencies? It is clear that behind the alleged threat of foreign interference, fake news and disinformation hides the attempt to silence dissent towards the European establishment.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, as the world slides into World War III in pieces, we will be remembered for having chosen to speak four consecutive times about the elections in Georgia, which have different limits, and about the opposition protests. In the meantime, however, we do not vote here for a resolution condemning the infamous genocide that Netanyahu and his government are carrying out against the Palestinian population, but we find time to discuss Georgia because we do not want to recognize that Georgian citizens vote according to their own interests and not as Kallas or von der Leyen would like. Today's pretext is street protests against the government. But those who invoke these street protests are the same people who applaud the repression against workers and students who take to the streets in Europe to claim more rights or against the thousands of young people who took to the streets in defense of the right of Palestinians to exist, in Italy, France or the United States. The truth you do not want to tell European citizens is that you are trying to force Georgia, because the newly elected government has no intention of entering into a direct confrontation with Russia to further the interests of NATO or the US. The accession of third countries to the EU should be based on an equal relationship, respecting each other's dignity, without resorting to threats of sanctions as a means of pressure.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, elections were held in Georgia on 26 October and, according to official figures, 54% of the Georgian Dream party would have won. The opposition and the President of the Republic did not recognize the victory and denounced fraud. On 31 October, the Georgian Electoral Commission recounted 12% of the polling stations and 14% of the ballots, but found no irregularities. The Georgian Prosecutor General opened an investigation into 47 alleged cases of electoral falsification, calling the president to testify, but she refused. The OSCE then published its election report on 28 October and, while expressing concern about the general conditions of democratic debate in Georgia, in no way confirmed the opposition's allegations of large-scale falsification. Despite this, however, Georgia is now threatening to block the EU accession process, only because the people voted for someone else, who probably does not like the Commission and the majority of this Parliament. At the same time, however, elections were held in Moldova where, say, "our friends", friends of the West, won, no matter if only by a very few votes and with mutual accusations of fraud: This was a great victory for democracy. Then we will keep repeating it endlessly: double standards of hypocrisy have made the European Union and our countries lose all credibility, and are leading our democracy to become the periphery of the world – mere vassals of the interests of other geopolitical powers.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, when the majority groups in this Parliament deal with foreign policy issues, all the double standards and hypocrisies of the European Union come out. Georgia is a country that is approaching the European Union. The accession process has begun and this has sparked great enthusiasm on the part of all citizens, an enthusiasm that we cannot fail to see and appreciate. This process represents an opportunity to implement our presence in that region and to strengthen the processes of dialogue, cooperation and diplomacy, interrupted by the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. Instead, here someone wants to use this accession process to impose on countries like Georgia the geopolitical vision dictated by NATO and the United States, even going so far as to threaten the freezing of agreements and funding in the event that the outcome of the vote in the general elections is not in line with our demands. This is called meddling in a vote that will be held a few weeks from now, but which your short-sighted vision is trying to use as leverage in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. We warn: The game of slavishly following the foreign policy of the United States and NATO can be deadly for the European Union. Europe must promote peace, cooperation and dialogue processes, especially at regional level. Respect for the will of the people is the first step in building virtuous relations within the European democratic context. This does not prevent you from expressing criticism when you are wrong. For example, we are not afraid to criticize the law against the LGBT community in Georgia. Just as we want to be clear, once again: Those who govern Tiblisi cannot be decided either in Washington, Moscow or Strasbourg, but it must be the Georgians who freely decide their own future and who will govern it.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, we are not facing the risk of escalation in the Middle East: We are well beyond escalation, we are facing an open war launched by the Netanyahu government against the Palestinian people and against international law. Those who minimize or even worse deny this evidence prove to be hypocritical or even complicit in this genocide. There are 40,000 confirmed deaths in Gaza, but there will certainly be many more. Nearly 100,000 people were injured. Those who have lost their homes and have nothing left are many more. The Israeli army targets schools, targets UN officials and continues to illegally occupy Palestinian territories. And two facts make us fear the worst: the change of the status quo of the Temple Mount and the threat of invasion of Lebanon. The Israeli government does not want peace and the European Union must decide once and for all which side it is on. We have no doubt: The European Union should work for an arms embargo, it should work on the side of international law, peace and justice.

Clearly Crimea is Ukrainian territory, for sure, but there is a whole story clearly behind it. But it is clear that Crimea is Ukrainian territory.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, this debate clearly shows the sad script of the narrative constructed to justify the military escalation in Ukraine. The world is not divided, as you come to tell us, between the forces of good and the forces of evil. The world is divided between those who, by sending weapons, think of solving all problems and those who instead look at reality and speak the language of truth to European citizens, eliminating all rhetoric from war propaganda, which uses concepts such as final victory or destruction of the enemy. Look, this narrative fails to say that the road to military victory on the ground cannot fail to pass through a direct non-involvement of our armies in this conflict. Is this really what you want? The war in Ukraine will be remembered as the lowest point in the European Union's ability to protect its geostrategic interests and the well-being of its citizens. The sending of arms to the bitter end is justified in this House as the price to pay for freedom and democracy, but in reality freedom and democracy are the first victims of your mad war strategy. Prove that you are an orphan of the Bush Doctrine, which has already been defeated by history. Now I wonder: In the resolution that will be voted on Thursday, will you even go so far as to encourage the use of missiles in Russian territory? What will happen to nuclear weapons tomorrow? Now is the time to say enough. We in the Five Star Movement will continue to oppose this crazy war drift and we will continue to work so that peace in Ukraine can be brought through the only possible way, namely diplomacy.