Debate contributions by David CASA

Mr President, when he kills a journalist by car bomb, the victim is not only the journalist but also democracy. On the day we were commemorating the eight years since Daphne Caruana Galizia's brutal anniversary, news of another explosion comes, and it is not by chance that the criminals who committed the attempt on Sigfrido Ranucci chose that particular date. Colleagues, I have no doubt that this is a message aimed at fear and silence. But we can't let them be afraid. We can't let them silencing us. This Parliament has been and continues to be at the forefront of our fight for press freedom. What happened in Rome is a reminder of the current threats faced by journalists today. The worst danger is impunity for criminals, because it is when the journalist is the most vulnerable, when there are no consequences for the evil he exposes, when he is left alone. And so I call on all governments to protect journalists. Make sure there is concrete action by the authorities for their stories, because democracy depends so much on your work. Yes, dear Sigfrido Ranucci, this Parliament is behind you. All journalists, this Parliament stands behind you, now and in the future and forever.

Mr President, Commissioner, I want to start by thanking this Parliament. Thank you for having been on the side of the Maltese and Gozitan people for eight years. And thanks for being here today, continue to honour the memory of Daphne Caruana Galizia. What we have achieved so far is also a result of the scrutiny of this House. It is, of course, incorrect to say that there were no changes. For example, the low-level criminals who committed the assassination were sentenced to prison. The way the judiciary is appointed in our country has changed and European laws protecting journalists have entered into force. But there is still a lot to be done. For example, Daphne's family is still awaiting the outcome of the case against the alleged mandant. There are recommendations of the public inquiry, an inquiry that this Parliament has repeatedly said should be made that, to date, they have not been carried out. The first of these is that everything that had to be changed to overcome the climate of impunity, to date, has not been done, has not changed. Why, colleagues, justice for Daphne means justice for the crime that has been killed to stop her from exposing. But eight years after the assassination, there is still no single condemnation that is one of all that corruption it had exposed. Nor did we learn the lessons of the importance of journalism in a democracy. Suffice it to say that last week, on the anniversary of the assassination, an employee from the Prime Minister's office went to throw away the flowers left to remind Daphne of her memorial in Valletta. It was condemned by several European embassies but not by the Prime Minister. And so, yes, there is a lot to do in our country, but also around the world. Those who do not believe that we still have a journalistic problem in the world, look at what happened in Gaza and look at what happened even in Italy. Let's defend journalists to continue doing their work and reveal the truth.

Ms President, Commissioner, the ongoing human tragedy in Gaza is naturally intolerable. We are all witnesses of blatant violations of international law, of unprecedented cruelty. And all this as a reaction to the terrorist act of 7 October. At that time, more than a thousand innocent people were massacred and there are hostages who are still prisoners of Hamas to date. My friends, all too much. There is, however, a light shine: there is a peace plan proposed by the US Government, a plan to release hostages, a plan to stop the attack on Gaza and set out a path for a two-state solution to allow Palestinians and Israelis to live in peace in the region. Let us do our best in this Parliament to make this plan a success. But let us also see that there will be consequences for anyone who has violated international law so that what has been done will never be repeated again.

Mr. President, I had a speech prepared but will change. I want to understand the real reason why the European Socialist Party always defends corrupt politicians. That's what I did about Joseph Muscat. Today we are ashamed. Former Maltese Prime Minister, one of the most corrupt politicians in the world. Today we are ashamed. Why? Joseph Muscat also came to tell us sorry. He told us sorry, but the Maltese people came out protesting on the streets and the Maltese people forced him out and Joseph Muscat is no longer the Prime Minister of Malta today. Prime Minister Sanchez should do the same. Corruption is bad, it is a robbery by your people, it is a robbery even by the Spanish people. Corruption kills, corruption kills Daphne Caruana Galizia and you come here, the European Socialist Party, defends Joseph Muscat, under whom a journalist was killed for speaking out against corruption. You should be ashamed. He is also making great disservices to the Spanish people. I respect the Spanish people. Continue to protest on the streets because with your protests tomorrow Prime Minister Sanchez will be forced to resign: non-Prime Minister, his place faces justice.

Mr President, yes, the attack of 7 October was atrocious. And yes, we reaffirm that Israeli hostages should be released immediately. But now we have a worse situation in Gaza: we are witnessing the killing of innocent people, children, women and men who are starving or even killed while waiting for food. The cruelty and suffering, which we allow to continue, will be a permanent stain in international conscience. Enough is enough and I think Europe should do its part to stop this genocide. There is a need, yes, to immediately suspend the Association Agreement, to recognise Palestine, to sanction politicians who are responsible for unrestrained war crimes, and to ensure that those responsible are held accountable before an international criminal court.

Ms President, we are going through a period of global instability but the biggest threat to our citizens is not from abroad, but from within. We are seeing major challenges in good governance and in several Member States. Corruption scandals, robbery by European citizens and an effort to keep robbers in power at all costs. This is the biggest threat to our citizens, for example, uncontrolled corruption in Spain, rights of minorities lost in Hungary. And in Malta they killed the magisterial inquiry which begins at the request of the citizen. The last remaining tool for the Maltese to defend corruption. Colleagues, our citizens want to see a stronger Europe. It is good that the sale of passports will be stopped, an important step but a small step when you see the grip on institutions. I therefore call for further action by the Commission and all of us to reign the rule of law in Malta and Spain and to protect honest citizens and not corrupt politicians.

Ms President. Yes, we have a worsening humanitarian situation in every second that passes through the Middle East. The Hamas attack, of course, on 7 October, I condemn it and yes, all hostages should be released immediately. I also agree that Hamas should be defeated, but Hamas are not journalists, Hamas are not doctors, they are not innocent Palestinian women and men. Hamas are not children and Hamas are not babies nor are they the ones providing humanitarian aid. Prime Minister Netanyahu's government has exceeded all limits of decency so I also agree that the Association Agreement should be suspended. But I also call on all Member States, especially Malta which is a country: We need to recognise the Palestinian State without further delay. Yes, we need to recognise the Palestinian State without further delay. This is just the test of our humanity.

Sir President. I have not come here to defend the millions that have taken Henley and Partners, millions that have taken from the backs of the Maltese people. I have come here to defend the identity of the Maltese and Gozitan people. I have come here because I respect the decision of the European Court confirming what we have been saying for years, that the Maltese identity and therefore the European one should not be sold. It is good to attract investment and the Maltese government might have wanted to operate a serious genuine investment scheme with robust safeguards, but instead chose greed, excess, lack of seriousness and bribery. And we should never forget that it was Daphne Caruana Galizia who through her work, with her investigative journalism, revealed abuse that was being committed through this scheme, and for doing her work, was threatened by the company operating this scheme, even with the complicity of the Maltese government. They were even planning to SLAPP against Daphne to try to break it. We should never forget how the government attacked the opposition because we could never accept that our identity would be given a price. Both of us are traitors, and they are still. What a hate campaign they did against all those who worked to stop this scheme. The bad thing is that we have been waiting for years until Europe finally came to a halt. Yes, the Court's decision is a victory for the Maltese and Gozitans who have bewildered their country's name to satisfy the greed of the few. More effort is now needed from the Commission because we should not wait for years to address the collapse of the rule of law that still prevails in our country. Men and women are better off than that.

President Jan Kuciak and Martina were killed for investigating the truth. Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated for the same reason. In both cases, justice was undermined. Just a few days ago, the alleged mandant of the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia was acquitted, being a shocking fact for the victim’s family and the general public. Even worse, whoever is telling the truth in my country is being left alone, not only without the protection of the State, but also with the whole government machinery against it. The murder of a journalist shows a failure in the justice system. Failure that the European Commission can no longer ignore. You should understand this: that when there are believers who can kill a journalist with impunity, it means that criminals trust in a corrupt system that guarantees their impunity. A rather cumbersome system, which in the case of Malta, is very clear. This system is not yet being addressed and our electorate is awaiting action by the Commission to enforce Member States’ obligations under the treaties. The rule of law is fundamental, and it is time to start giving the necessary priority with all the tools the Commission has. Commissioner, I mentioned the courage of Jan, Daphne and Martina. The Commission now needs to be courageous, defending people and no longer corrupt governments.

Mrs President, in Malta I met a 24-year-old nurse, at her peak. A month ago they found that she had chronic disease - a life-long, incurable RMD disease. This girl knows what it means for her future all this because she saw enough patients who could not go back to work because they did not find the necessary support. There are those who think that diseases like arthritis are something of the elderly, and therefore inevitable. But that is not the case. There are millions of people living with chronic diseases that European policy is ignoring because we are not investing enough either to understand them or to mitigate them. The European Commission thinks it should listen to science and recognise that RMDs are the biggest cause of disability in Europe; that we are keeping many people from the workplace and so we are putting great pressure on the economy and on the quality of life of many families. Europe has of course done a lot for people with disabilities, but now we have a mandate to do much more. And so it is an institution that believes in equality, dignity and solidarity, so we must not leave those who suffer for nothing. For disability strategy, let's be holistic, let's keep citizens at the centre of our policy and leave them a better future they really deserve.

Mrs President, Commissioner, it is certain that in this House, there is not one deputy who does not want a better life for his children than he had himself. The first step is to understand that despite the many decisions we make affect children, children are silent, do not go out to vote and do not go out to protest. They cannot change the situation in which they find themselves. So we want to ensure a better quality of life for them, a better present and a better future for them. Because the quality of their rearing indicates the quality of the rest of their lives. Because poverty is inherited and affects every aspect of their development. For 35 years we have had the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. A historic step, and one that has put children at the centre of our social policy. But despite this, despite the progress we have made, there is still a large percentage of children in the European Union living in poverty. Statistics from Eurochild show that millions of children, millions of children, in the European Union live in poverty. Children's rights must not just be written on paper, they must become a reality. We have done a lot for children: Work-Life Balance, for example, will help their upbringing. We have a Child Guarantee, but we need to strengthen it. We are still able. Every day we ignore the subject of children, we are also ignoring our country’s present and future.

Mrs President, seven years have passed since the assassination of Daphne. Killing that according to a public inquiry, was possible due to a culture of impunity that exists in the country. Theft and corruption. An unbroken pig on the back of the people without consequence. It is impunity that has made criminals so arrogant that they assassinated the most followed journalist in Malta, in the light of the sun, and unfortunately that impunity is still with us today. We have a Government that corrupts everything it touches with its hands, which, for example, left those who stole at the expense of cancer patients, left those who defraud payments from people with disabilities, and sold Maltese and European identity to people from third countries. And when justice moves, it moves because of the work of private persons, it moves because of the journalists and the judiciary that is doing its duty. Justice, if it moves, moves despite the rule over the police and the institutions of our country. And what is the answer, when justice approaches the corrupt, such as Dr Joseph Muscat, the former Prime Minister of Malta? An obscene attack on the judiciary. an attack on journalists. An attack on civil society and these attacks are carried out by the present Government. The Maltese deserve better, and the Europeans deserve better. Because the Maltese Government is failing badly, both to implement the results of the public inquiry and to bring justice to the corruption that Daphne exposed. No Commissioner, tell us more about the rule of law and the report you are talking about. Now there is action and no more reports, because the restoration of the rule of law, of the institutions that protect the people and not the corrupt, is the only suitable legacy that can honour Daphne Caruana Galizia. Now we are saddened by the Commission to speak only, now we need to see that the Commission acts and no longer speaks.