Debate contributions by Mario MANTOVANI

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, I would say that the 2030 Consumer Agenda is an appreciable instrument, but it has already been established on the subject of dangerous and counterfeit products. The General Product Safety Regulation did not work and the strategic failure is that it underestimated the scale, speed and evolution of trade in these products. The TikTok Shop channel in Europe alone reached 275 million users, Temu 115 million, Shein 145 million: These tools have become critical business infrastructures, benefit from strategic support from the Chinese government, and constitute an access border for an intolerable share of counterfeit and dangerous products, exposing us to a political vulnerability that this agenda will not – in my view – address. The problem is no longer bureaucratic. It is time to demand direct, immediate measures, including sanctions, against the governments of these countries and to demand that they respect our rules, protecting consumers and the manufacturing industry together.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, Prime Minister, in a few minutes this Parliament will be called upon to give its opinion on immunity to a Member accused of violent criminal acts against defenceless people who had different ideas. I hope that Parliament will take pride in defending the rights of the democratic order. Charlie Kirk was killed by people who considered their ideas superior, ready to do anything to impose them on others. His predecessor Joseph Bech, in 1957, said: Nowhere in the world does this ideal appear to our minds and eyes in all its spiritual and material splendor as in Rome, in this supreme centre of ancient and Christian civilization. United around the eternal values that form the substance of this civilization, the European states will live worthy of their former greatness. They are bestowed with the greatest hopes.”

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, Mr President of the Lombardy Regional Council, friends of Monza and Brianza, strengthening democracy by defending it from foreign interference or threats is not only a necessity, but a duty towards future generations. However, they will not be the cybersecurity, the control of social networks or the cancellation of elections to make a difference, indeed, these measures will be experienced as authoritarian. Against the conditioning of autocracies, however communist, there is only one shield, the strongest: It is the strengthening of European democracy from within. Institutional reforms that bring Europe closer to its citizens, that free it from technocracy, that affirm Western European values and common cultural and religious roots; a common defence; There is only one voice in foreign policy. The European Parliament is one of the few in the world without legislative initiative, it cannot go. We must give back to the citizens the leadership of a Europe of which they feel part, a Europe that is protected not only by an algorithm but by the sense of belonging of the whole European people. Long live democracy!

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I believe that when it comes to Africa, we need respect, responsibility and vision. We must put an end to the predatory policies of some governments and concretely address the debt issue of African nations, because strengthening Africa also means strengthening Europe and building together a common stability. These are not my words, but those of Giorgia Meloni, Italian Prime Minister, pronounced at the international summit on the Mattei plan and I am pleased that this conference wanted to concretize the spirit with the relaunch of cooperation, new strategies for debt sustainability and the realization of projects and concrete investments. For this reason, the Seville conference will be remembered and for the 130 concrete projects expressed by the participating governments. Among these, the most significant is that of the Italian government, which will transform, with the help of innovative finance, 230 million euros of debt bonds into concrete investments. And for this I want to thank in particular Deputy Minister Cirielli, who led the delegation of the Italian government to the conference, because solving the problems of Africa means realizing its potential, creating jobs and well-being where there is now poverty and thus solving many of the European problems related to illegal immigration, trafficking, the exploitation of human beings and the need for security of European citizens.

(IT) Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, enlargement of the European Union is a process of great strategic importance, which must be tackled realistically and rigorously, especially in the light of the growing economic and geopolitical challenges. The entry of new Member States undoubtedly entails opportunities to promote and consolidate the values of democracy and freedom inherent in this Union, but also opportunities for growth and expansion of markets and strengthening of its European political weight. With this in mind, a review of common policies is needed, so that they do not become instruments for redistributing inefficiency, but levers for innovation, productivity and employment development. Economic governance is also essential, ensuring a level playing field in the internal market and ensuring the protection of the Community investments that we will make in those countries. In conclusion, an ungoverned enlargement weakens, an enlargement accompanied by reforms helps the European Union.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, private investment in innovation reached USD 370 billion in 2024 and will reach USD 1.5 trillion by 2030. But most of these capitals have been invested in America and Asia, not Europe. Here too much bureaucracy, too many taxes, too many costs: There is no real European innovation policy. Instead, we need to make Europe a hub global investment in innovation, with new, unique rules that can attract capital such as and more than Delaware C-Corporation American. Facilitated taxation and competitive tax rules are needed; fast and digital company formation procedures, low share capital (1 euro), European funds for start-ups, universities and human resources training are needed. A forward-looking political vision, not bureaucracy, is needed to relaunch Europe.

Mr President, Commissioner Tzitzikostas, ladies and gentlemen, friends of Varese, efficient and fast trans-European transport infrastructure, such as the corridors between Italy and Scandinavia, the Baltic corridor to the Adriatic, Genoa-Rotterdam and the Mediterranean corridor, are vital arteries for relaunching European growth at a time when we need to review our priorities. We need to accelerate the development of secure and interconnected infrastructure, reducing our dependence on competitor Such as China, which too often in the past has been allowed to invest in Europe in strategic infrastructure to support their exports. Not only do the TEN-T corridors represent strategic assets for our security and collective defence, but they also ensure crisis response capabilities and the protection of Europe's borders. Europe must invest and cut red tape; Otherwise, everything will be more complicated.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the Commission's work programme for 2025 introduces significant elements of discontinuity with the past. It incorporates many political demands that Fratelli d'Italia has fought in recent years: competitiveness, innovation, simplification of the European Union – I would remind you that in the past five years you have launched 13 500 different measures – the debureaucratisation of green constraints, a new approach on returns. However, Commissioner, since July 2024, this Parliament has adopted only 18 pieces of legislation and most of the acts under the 2025 programme have no legislative value. Meanwhile, Trump has issued 55 executive orders in a month. Commissioner, perhaps Europe needs a "Milei-style" chainsaw against the Green Deal, bureaucracy, the cost of energy, illegal immigration, deindustrialisation and Chinese competition. European businesses and households have not...

It was necessary to provide, even with special laws, to be able to stop, in the face of some events that took place in the sea, in particular in Italy, special laws were made to give the necessary punishment to these organizations.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, 'On this journey, no one cares whether you live or die': This is the title of the UN report on migratory routes. Finally, the UN also recognises that illegal immigration has its roots in organised crime: Two sides of the same phenomenon. We finally recognize that facilitating illegal landings, allowing some NGOs to act as smugglers' sea taxis, has been wrong and has helped to strengthen human trafficking and sow death. That says Mrs. Rackete, who was a longa manus of a traffic that has helped to support smugglers and crime? The policies of the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, have reduced illegal landings in the Mediterranean by 60% thanks to bilateral agreements with African countries, to prosecute traffickers globally and to non-predatory economic projects such as the Mattei plan. These are the lines drawn by the policy of the government that Europe is finally showing it wants to follow.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I would say that the results of the Green Deal are there for all to see: deindustrialization, production collapse, dependence on supply, rising costs and more bureaucracy for businesses. We can say with certainty that it was a planned Soviet-style policy, which undermined European competitiveness. Energy to businesses in Europe costs three times as much as the US and China, and energy needs will double in 2050. Do we really think about dealing with renewables? Commissioner Ribera will lead the clean, just and competitive European transition. A word of advice, ma'am: massive investments are needed for energy independence and technological neutrality that includes, in addition to renewables, nuclear, hydrogen, biofuels and so on. European competitiveness needs new policies and a vision, not ideologies.

(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, there is one emblematic case of children recruited by crime and it concerns unaccompanied foreign children in particular. These are over 50,000 young people, mainly from North Africa, who in the last two years are easy prey to organized crime. So far, the European Union has failed on this issue. It has been absent, putting the problem on the national states, already overburdened with emergencies and budgetary problems. We need new policies that provide, on the one hand, firm rules because these children, who are over 15 years old, attend professional courses aimed at job integration. Otherwise, they must be repatriated to their countries of origin, a place certainly better than the dark environments where drugs, theft and prostitution reign supreme.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, 10 October is World Health Day, a great human challenge. There are two main trends in the spread of these diseases: endemic uncertainty and disorientation in international relations, due above all to the loneliness of man without more bridges to the community. We are not talking only about serious disorders, but about anxiety, phobias, depressions, obsessive disorders, addictions, all forms that lead to unhappiness. Then mental distress must be considered among the aspects of primary health care. That is why I call on the Commission to make resources available for the integration of mental health into primary care. Effectively implement early detection plans at schools, workplaces, community centers, and promote quality improvement and care programs.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, all of us here in this House are saying that this law is uncivilised, that it is the offspring of a barbaric culture that deprives women of dignity and humanity. And we are rightly condemning it. But telling us is no longer enough: We need an immediate change of European policies towards the Taliban regime. I submitted, together with the delegation of Fratelli d'Italia, a question to the Commission to ask about the results of European policies towards Afghanistan and the €140 million granted in 2023 with humanitarian objectives, including support for women's empowerment. It is clear that these policies do not work. Concrete initiatives are needed to defend Afghan women. For example, we give protection and asylum to all those women who intend or manage to escape from this regime, who want to study or work in Europe. We immediately recognize these women as political refugees: They really are. Because a Europe either makes itself bearer of the principles of justice and freedom, and we stand for justice and freedom.