Debate contributions by Pierfrancesco MARAN

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Georgia is at a crossroads and we are at a crossroads with it. We know well the desire for Europe of the new Georgian generations, we were moved to see the European flags in the streets of Tbilisi. Today, however, we see with bitterness the fall in Georgia, one after another, of the essential elements that underpin European values: non-free elections, attacks on the press, imprisonment of opponents and Sakharov Prize winner Mzia Amaglobeli. We cannot turn a blind eye to these violations and it is not acceptable, as the Georgian Prime Minister does, to talk about alleged EU interference in the sovereignty of the country. The principles of freedom and democracy must be defended everywhere, and even more so in a State which is a candidate for membership of the European Union. We stand by the Georgian people and hope that the government will soon re-establish the essential conditions of freedom, which are essential to resume a path of rapprochement with Europe in accordance with democratic principles. And to those who fight for freedom in Georgia, I say: Continue to resist, even in Georgia the sun will return.

Madam President, dear Commissioner, I would like to speak on an issue that should be more present in the package presented today: autonomous driving. It seems that we keep repeating the same mistake: obsessing over the engine. The future of the car will obviously be electric as current legislation states, and as this plan reiterates, even if with some derogations. But this is not where the sector's competitiveness will be decided. Autonomous driving and software will redefine the value of a car. This is a challenge we must take on in the coming months, or we will end as we did with AI and mobile phones: becoming only a consumer market for technology developed by others. I appreciate your announcement to assess and review in 2026 the rules on vehicle type approval. Let's do it! This is the first key step, but others must follow. We need, for example, a European agency to harmonise national rules on autonomous driving. If Europe wants to lead and not only implement this evolution, we must act decisively and now.

Madam President, dear Commissioner, I would like to speak on an issue that should be more present in the package presented today: autonomous driving. It seems that we keep repeating the same mistake: obsessing over the engine. The future of the car will obviously be electric as current legislation states, and as this plan reiterates, even if with some derogations. But this is not where the sector's competitiveness will be decided. Autonomous driving and software will redefine the value of a car. This is a challenge we must take on in the coming months, or we will end as we did with AI and mobile phones: becoming only a consumer market for technology developed by others. I appreciate your announcement to assess and review in 2026 the rules on vehicle type approval. Let's do it! This is the first key step, but others must follow. We need, for example, a European agency to harmonise national rules on autonomous driving. If Europe wants to lead and not only implement this evolution, we must act decisively and now.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, there is a regime in Belarus, that of Lukashenko, who is also complicit in the war in Ukraine. But there are those who are fighting for a different future: Sergey Tsichanouski was jailed for running for election in 2020; His wife Sviatlana Tsichanouskaya ran for office and, despite intimidation and threats, heroically formed an opposition movement to the regime, only to be forced into exile. We, Europe, must ask ourselves what we can do concretely for those who fight for freedom in Belarus and we will continue to fight for the release of political prisoners and for free elections. We will do this by continuing to support the voices of independent media and resisting civil society. We will do this by asking European countries to support Belarusian political refugees in their daily lives, starting with facilitating visa renewal. We Europeans love freedom and those who fight for it: That is why we want Belarusians to be free to decide their future.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the framework of rules on product safety is certainly one of the great successes of the European Union. These are the rules written in 2008: In fact, it is a world that no longer exists. At the time Facebook was taking its first steps, Schlein had just been born. We are in 2025 and to protect businesses and consumers in the digital age we need updated rules. On the one hand, we need to use digitalisation in our favour: the idea of a harmonised digital passport would simplify procedures for businesses and create a single point of access with all product information for consumers, public authorities and repairers. On the other hand, however, we need to address the proliferation of millions of non-compliant products, which are still sold through third-country online platforms. It is a problem, as we know, of unfair competition for our companies, but also and above all of consumer protection. We therefore look forward to the work of the Commission, which has announced the updating of the legislative framework in the coming months. It is something that is fundamental for the benefit of our businesses and our consumers.

Madam President, Vice-President Séjourné, let's be honest: today there isn't one single market. Yes, we have integration in many areas, but we still have 27 markets and ways of doing business. This is a big obstacle for innovation. Over the past years, 150 unicorns were founded in Europe, but 30 % of these then moved abroad. That's not a lack of talent or ideas – it's a lack of European integration. We don't need a new digital ID for companies. We don't need deregulation and social dumping. What we need is one set of rules and a capital markets union. To help our innovative companies move and raise funds across our continent. To make them be European from day one. Vice-President, you asked for our support, and I tell you: you will have it, but only if the 28th regime becomes a step towards completing the single market. Let us tell those who want to invest in and start companies here that Europe is one and not twenty-seven.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, every year more than three million vehicles disappear in Europe, often illegally exported or dismantled, with serious environmental damage and losses to the circular economy. The new regulation on end-of-life vehicles will help to put an end to this phenomenon. In recent months we have been confronted for a long time with all the operators in the sector and we believe that this law has them as protagonists. The environmental transition is there if we recognise, as we do here, the essential role of categories such as demolishers and recyclers, who must be able to remain independent of producers and who are workplaces for hundreds of thousands of Europeans. With this law we will go from 0 % as a requirement of recycled plastic required today in new vehicles to 20 and then to 25 %, an environmental target that will also increase employment in the recycling industry. But this law also means easier-to-repair cars and affordable spare parts for consumers. With this law, we will take important steps to revive the automotive sector, promote innovation and reduce our dependence on third countries.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, overcoming the barriers that hold back the single market is Jacques Delors' dream and the heart of the Draghi and Letta reports. We must do this in the full protection of workers and their rights, showing that competitiveness policies increase the well-being of workers and do not undermine their arduous achievements. The most fascinating challenge for the single market is the implementation of the 28th regime: one sandbox with a single commercial law, valid throughout the Union, simple for start-up. It is both a way to avoid downward competition between national taxes and the best way to eliminate the overlapping rules and procedures that plague young companies. It must be done, and it must be done with intelligence: For example, it makes no sense for the 28th regime to include employment contracts, which must remain linked to where a worker actually works. We are for a single market in a Europe on the side of workers and those who dare to innovate.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, not even children and adolescents are saved from Putin's violence in Ukraine: Many die under bombs and many others are deported to Russia. Stories like that of Vlad, a 16-year-old boy bravely saved by his mother after he was deported to Russia and started military training. Luckily Vlad is back: But many others don't. We are talking about young people who, after having forcibly obtained Russian citizenship, are forced to fight against their compatriots and sometimes die. It is one of the most heinous sides of the war that brings us back to another Vlad Putin, who has no scruples about dividing families, children from fathers and who even in this House someone had the audacity to praise as a defender of the traditional family. We want peace for Ukraine and we want to live in a future at peace with Russia. But we want to do it knowing that some things can be negotiated and others not: The future of these children is non-negotiable. Their future must be at home, with their affections.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, a working family cannot live with the worry of how to pay for its expenditure. Yet 93% of Europeans are seriously concerned about how they will cope with the price hikes. We come from decades of low inflation and stable wages. Then it all started to grow: bills, rents and then the price of groceries; Wages are not. Over the past five years, prices have increased by 40% for bread, 50% for fruit, 70% for olive oil. There are many causes: war, climate change. But the effect is only one: Many families are worried and have already changed their shopping habits. Our efforts must be clear against speculation in the supply chain and against clever business practices such as shrinkflation. And then we have to ensure affordable prices for everyone. Today we voted on an important amendment that confirms the resources for the agricultural sector. But we must also do this by opening up new markets such as Mercosur. Getting to the end of the month without worries can not be a luxury: It is a question of freedom and it is a democratic question.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the right ones are those who, in the darkest moments of our history, have chosen not to look the other way, to try to make a difference. Even during Nazism and under communist dictatorships there are those who said no, jeopardizing their lives: a gesture that the community must recognize, hand down from generation to generation. From here the gardens of the Righteous were born, which are flourishing in many places of the world; an experience that I know well, because this project has also put solid roots in my Milan, thanks to the Gariwo association. And today we need it even more, because we must look for those who stand out to defend the good even from the many injustices and massacres that are happening around us now. On 10 May 2012, a declaration of support for the establishment of a European Day for the Righteous was adopted in this Chamber; that statement, as my colleague Letizia Moratti recalled a short while ago, was supported by all the parliamentary groups and, I would like to remind you here, had David Sassoli among the signatories and promoters. The date of March 6 was chosen. Dear Commissioner, the theme is different from that of the day we remember on 31 August and, in this debate, I am calling for that declaration to be finally implemented, recognising the Day of the Righteous for 6 March throughout Europe.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, on the occasion of Consumer Rights Day, I would like to bring to the attention of this House a subject dear to consumer associations, which reminds us of our role in defending consumers even in well-regulated and highly competitive players, such as car insurance. The cost of insurance is rising in Europe: In fact, they have increased by almost 20% in the last three years. This increase affects everyone but especially young new drivers, who often also have less purchasing power. The insurance world explains this with inflation and the increase in repair costs that affect, yes, but, given the hand, not to the extent of increases in policies: The suspicion is that these two causes are also an excuse to increase prices to the detriment of consumers. Dear Commissioner, the European Commission, the guarantor of the internal market, must ensure that in 2025 the market brings prices under control. We are asked to do so by consumer associations but, above all, it is a requirement of European families.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, as you have pointed out, certain aspects of the market need to be adjusted. online This must be done quickly. Today 70% of Europeans buy goods and services online. However, there are two markets: one for those who respect the rules and one for those who do not respect and circumvent them. Many have pointed out that some subjects are certainly protagonists of the violations. Operators such as Temu, Shein, AliExpress – which together have 300 million users in Europe – put thousands of unsafe products on the market at bargain prices. They know this well and they know that they can do it, because we are not yet putting in place structural actions that make them co-responsible. This is the main point of work, because we can not think of going to chase every delivery to customs. It is necessary to act at the source towards them, so that they work for a change in their commercial behavior. We owe it to European citizens, who must know that the products they buy are always safe and not be tempted by the convenience of the market. low cost without rules. And we owe it to companies that respect the rules and deserve not to have this competition.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, as Socialists and Democrats we fought for the first time ever for a European Commissioner to be appointed to the European Parliament.housing and we succeeded. All the interventions reported exponential increases in rents in their country, from 30% to 100%, financial speculation. overtourism. All true. In the meantime, salaries don't go up enough. But if in each country individually there is this problem, then yes it is a European issue. I took care of my home in my city, Milan, as a councillor, and I know very well that it is a complex issue. We need a great social coalition, we need to mobilize public resources and we need to involve private savings. The European Investment Bank will therefore play a central role. But we also need non-repayable resources for theaffordable housing, for the system of public houses and for the support of the cooperative world. This is a challenge that we must overcome at all costs. It is a pillar for European competitiveness that must be centred on a home plan that promotes non-speculative investments in favour of young people, workers and the middle class.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the elections in Georgia represent a crucial crossroads in the history of the country and its democratic evolution, especially after the passing of laws such as the one on the transparency of foreign influence, so similar to the Russian one, and on the family, which in fact is discriminatory. Laws accompanied by intimidation and threats against the opposition, the press and civil society. Fortunately, there is an extraordinary civil society in Georgia whose courage we admire, taking to the streets demanding freedom and waving the European flag. This Parliament will always be close to the Georgian people and as Socialists and Democrats we look forward to welcoming them into the great European family. For this to happen, there must be democracy and freedom, rights that protect all citizens, without discrimination. This is Europe, and the process of integration can only continue if those who govern stop intimidating their opponents and cancel those laws. We must ensure that the elections are truly free and fair, so that the citizens of Georgia freely decide their future.