Speeches

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, first of all I would like to thank all my fellow Members who have worked on this important directive, which, in line with the European directive, will be crucial to achieving the objectives of sustainable consumption and climate neutrality. As has already been mentioned, the Goods Repair Directive will have important positive repercussions in many areas. We know that, according to Eurobarometer research, 77% of European consumers would rather repair their products than buy new ones, and that every year the premature replacement of goods leads to a de facto loss of EUR 12 billion and a huge production of waste. Parliament has worked hard to ensure that this directive makes repair more accessible, less costly and also cost-effective for repairers, making it easier for them to choose repair over replacement. All these measures, which also concern the creation of an open market, public measures and incentives financed to promote it, will not only have an impact on all European consumers, but also a positive effect on the environment, thanks to savings on greenhouse gas emissions, resources and lower waste generation. They will therefore bring us ever closer to the goal of climate neutrality. Like my colleague, this is probably my last speech in this House and I am very pleased that it is such an important rule for the environment.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the report reminds us that climate change produces disastrous natural events on our territories. Avoiding or reducing all this must be a shared responsibility and must be based on principles of realism and pragmatism. To increase resilience, it is necessary first of all to ensure the hydrogeological protection of the territory starting from mountain areas, the renaturalization of rivers, taking into account the need for expansion areas, but also the creation of retention basins to cope with drought. We can and must define clear objectives and at the same time allow appropriate flexibility in implementation for local authorities and all those involved. This must be done through precise territorial plans, which ensure responsibility and uniformity of intervention. Let us not forget, however, that, in order to do this, resources are needed, whether in the form of grants or low-interest loans, but they are absolutely essential if these interventions are to be carried out quickly. And to the right, I say that we still have to adapt, all the more so if emissions from China and India increase.

(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the data on inequalities in the world are worrying and describe an increasingly concentrated wealth, while millions of people live daily in conditions of hardship and hunger. As the Commissioner recalled, 5 billion people have become poorer in the last three years. The Sustainable Development Goals, the beacon of our development policies, seem increasingly difficult to achieve. We must therefore ask ourselves two questions. The first concerns the destination of our funds and the ability to make sure that they actually contribute to reducing the gaps, instead of becoming entangled perhaps in already rich bureaucracies. The second concerns our investments: Are they compatible with the objectives of reducing inequalities? If, in fact, the economic potential of Global Gateway is positive, there are also clear risks that the private sector is not fully involved in the same objectives. On this we have a duty, Commissioner, to give guarantees of consistency.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, as you can see, we in the S&D Group are passionate about this issue. There is no doubt that the Global Gateway is of absolutely strategic importance to us for its way of looking at the rest of the world, forging alliances, but also for creating new synergies together with international partners that are useful to everyone. For it to be effective, it is clear that we need to move away from the somewhat post-colonial approach that has often characterised our development policies, in order to achieve true partnerships built on a strategic and equal basis, with the guiding principle of common and reciprocal development at its core, which brings together environmental sustainability, human rights and social and working conditions. It is necessary that the Global Gateway is consistent with the rest of the Union's policies and that there is a clear role for Parliament in ensuring this coherence. Well, in fact, the Team Europe approach, which brings together all European actors by optimising every resource, but the European Parliament, which is the budgetary authority of the Union, cannot limit itself to observing, but must play a leading role in the strategic definition of this project.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the need to strengthen European citizenship also depends on greater cohesion in the places of political representation and democracy. In this sense, the European Parliament and national parliaments are natural allies to reinvigorate the Union's democracy through better parliamentarisation of the decision-making process. This had also been indicated by the Conference on the Future of Europe and had been practiced in that context, where families and political parties have productively worked in caucus European: This is an example to be projected in our regular relationship with national parliaments. Much can be improved, both now and in the context, obviously better, of a change in the Treaties, starting, for example, with the extension of the time for yellow cards – it has already been recalled – or with the definition of an indirect right of initiative through its relationship with the European Parliament. I dare to talk about green card. National parliaments can also play a very important role in conceiving the Council differently, bringing there the whole articulation of the political positions and representation they hold, thus improving the transparency of the Union's decision-making process.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, at this historic moment, with strong international instability and enormous environmental, economic and social challenges before us, we need a Europe that is strong, united and capable of making important choices. Choices that obviously need to be legitimized and driven by a clear democratic will and a strong and participatory relationship with the citizens. All too often, the appointment of the European elections has turned out to be the summation of national elections, in which the weight of the proposals for the Union is too marginal in the debates and in the common feeling. Of course, much progress has been made, but today we need a stronger impetus and a renewed responsibility of parties and candidates; the democratic link between voters' choices and the appointment of the next President of the Commission, which, I remind my colleagues, must be proposed on the basis of the election results, needs to be strengthened. The next Parliament will therefore have the political responsibility to agree on strong proposals on the figures on which it has competence and to start negotiations with the European Council.

Of course, we can do so in matters that fall within the competence of the European Union, because only together can we make the future history of this continent. Think about it, otherwise we will come out completely, as the philosopher Habermas says, from the future history of the world. And the legitimate power of each of us derives from our citizens as well as that of the states. I agree with you that, if we go ahead with this reform process, we will also have to discuss at the Convention how to respect the powers of national parliaments for those public goods that can only be provided at that level, and also those of regional parliaments and even municipal assemblies: that is, everyone must be able to provide their citizens with public goods that can only be provided at that level, including the European Union.

(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, with the proposal to reform the Treaties, this Parliament has the responsibility and - I am sorry for colleagues - also the legitimacy of taking a fundamental step for a Europe that decides and protects its citizens, to strengthen our European democracy and make Parliament a greater player, including through the power of legislative initiative. There is a need to change the decision-making processes and to override the right of veto in many areas, usually by introducing qualified majority voting in the Council. Today, more than ever, we need Europe to speak with one voice in the world. That is why it is necessary to increase the Union's competences in defence, foreign affairs and on the global challenge to climate change. There is an urgent need to build up the Union’s competences on health and social policies, as well as to introduce digital skills. And, of course, we need to be able to have our own resources. We are at a decisive crossroads and a strong and shared demand must come from this House to launch an ambitious constituent path. To the Spanish Presidency, I say that this will be a historic moment for us: For the first time, we will have used our powers to reform the treaties. But history is made together. Thank you if you can transfer our request without a vote to the European Council and convince it to respect Parliament's wishes and to convene the Convention. Together we will have taken a fundamental step in the future history of our continent. As Altiero Spinelli said, the road is long and difficult but must be traveled. And it will be. (The speaker agreed to answer a "blue card" question)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, last September's summit in New York was certainly an important opportunity for budgeting and raising awareness of the state of the art of the Sustainable Development Goals. In particular, it has shown us how far we are today from the now imminent date of 2030. For this reason, together with awareness, however, the commitment to an acceleration must be renewed, certainly very concrete and rational, which makes these objectives actually achievable, which remain, I believe, a goal of global progress absolutely not renounceable. And the Commission must also show us how the Global Gateway project can help us in this direction, including by multiplying the resources available. On this path, however, strong European leadership must also emerge, capable of setting a good example, but also of setting and guiding the necessary global advances and aligning them with the other commitments made, obviously starting from the Paris climate agreements, for us and for the countries we want to help. All this cannot be improvised or left to good will. We need a clear global strategy to complete the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, and that is what we are asking of our Commissioner and our Commission.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, democracy and European citizenship are valuable assets that we must never take for granted. Never before in this time of war in the heart of Europe have we felt its strength. We arrived through slow passages, often tiring, but our journey is certainly not over here. We need to improve and strengthen our democracy, its practices, its institutions, starting, of course, with Parliament, which should be given the right of legislative initiative. We must also structure experiences of participation by European citizens, with mechanisms, perhaps even permanent ones, for their involvement. The Conference on the Future of Europe has been an important moment of participation in the proposals and concrete measures that have emerged, we have a duty to follow up, and to strengthen European democracy we cannot think that everything will remain unchanged. As my colleague said earlier, we need a convention that works on the reform of the Treaties for a more democratic and stronger Europe, but also that opens up more to the citizens of Europe. Allow me to say to Mr Ilčić: It is not true that the European institutions are the last in the trust of citizens. They vote less because states don't promote. However, trust in the European institutions is greater than in national parliaments and governments, so get a better look at the polls and data.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, it is clear that this year will be absolutely decisive for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and that we must, with due frankness and a good deal of realism, analyse the shortcomings and address their contradictions. Today, just over six years after the 2030 deadline, we realize that we are, unfortunately, far from the goal, and that on some points, I think in particular of poverty and inequalities, the framework has further worsened. Added to this is the dramatic intersection between war and climate change, which risks worsening the situation, particularly affecting already more vulnerable territories and populations. We need to hold together the fight against poverty, development policies, policies to combat climate change, and do so through a renewed and stronger commitment. The European Union must be at the forefront of this challenge, integrating the Sustainable Development Goals more fully into its policies and, above all, bringing these priorities back into practice in building international partnerships.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately, we are gradually getting used to seeing our territories devastated by natural events of exceptional proportions: floods, droughts, melting glaciers, phenomena that disrupt the lives of populations but also devastate productive activities, produce victims and mourning. The list of these episodes is long, it was recalled: the floods of July 2021 in Germany and Belgium up to the recent and dramatic flood tragedy in Emilia-Romagna, Marche and Tuscany. The establishment of a European Day for the Victims of the Climate Crisis is therefore to be welcomed, provided, however, that the collective duty of political action and care for our territories is not concealed under ritual celebrations. The awareness that today puts the European Union at the forefront of the fight against climate change, which cannot only be proclaimed, but which must be marked by concrete and achievable objectives. Commissioner, I think it would be useful to have a guidelines on hydrogeological defence and the fight against drought to help governments and local authorities to operate in a coordinated and effective way, as is indispensable in this case. And on this path, the commitment of all of us will not be lacking.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, our democracy and the free and participatory processes by which we express and practice it are a very precious asset, we must not take it for granted and we must defend it in every way. The Commission's report on foreign interference shows that we have entered the era of awareness. But it is not enough to be aware. We must urgently close the gaps that still exist in our legislation and that make us permeable to the interference strategies of foreign powers. Strategies that are different and articulated, as well as our answers must be. In the report we are going to vote on, there are precise proposals to strengthen the resilience of the institutions, proposals on which we expect a prompt response from the Commission. The next European elections will be a delicate step for our democracy, so great attention will be needed. A path is being charted which we will have to continue, structuring our work here in Parliament in a consolidated way.