Speeches

Mr President, Commissioner, artificial intelligence is here to stay. How digital services are here to stay. The Digital Services Act or the Digital Markets Act are necessary, but they were late. For the first time, the European Union is a pioneer in the digital field. With the Artificial Intelligence Act we created the world's first standard on this revolutionary technology. In the 2000s we bet on a future that was not digital, without knowing that we would pay very dearly. This Law shows that we have learned from the mistakes of the past. However, we must not be naive. Regular is not enough. In this sector we compete, among others, with the United States, a country without regulatory limitations when it comes to innovation. That's why we have to continue working to position ourselves in the global digital race. To this end, it is essential to support our SMEs, reduce the bureaucratic barriers faced by our companies, retain European talent by creating an attractive ecosystem and avoid gold-plating by inviting public-private collaboration. And, of course, put the citizen at the center. All this is based on values and principles, on the European way of doing things. Only in this way will we be able to exploit the potential of the digital single market and ultimately increase the competitiveness of the European Union. We cannot and should not leave alone in the hands of private companies something that continues to change our lives and our society.

Madam President, Commissioner Breton, there is no doubt that digital services bring great advantages, including the optimisation of traditional services. However, it also brings challenges that we must face. Short-term rentals are no exception. This market is characterised by an imbalance between professional services facing a significant burden of obligations and online platforms that have taken advantage of market fragmentation to self-regulate. However, our action by the European institutions is limited since the competences in this area lie with the Member States, which often even cede them to the municipalities. Where we do have competencies is in data management. In view of this, I very much welcome the Commission's proposal to regulate data management through a transparency mechanism. However, it only addresses obligations for those rents that obtain a registration number, something that usually depends on local administrations. So, trying to solve the fragmentation of the market, we are creating rules that are going to be applied arbitrarily to some yes and others no, and this could generate legal uncertainty. This concerns me and I think we should fix it.

Mr President, Vice-President Jourová, Mr Gozi and Mrs Donáth, as well as the other rapporteurs for this regulation, the European Union is distinguished by its commitment to the European values and principles that are at the heart of the European way of life and underpin our Union. In the face of malpractices and interference that attempt to destabilize our democracies and undermine our values through disinformation in electoral processes, we must implement clear transparency measures. We have witnessed in recent years various examples of these interferences in elections that have threatened our democracies and the European project. The Brexit The illegal referendum in Catalonia are two clear examples of this kind of manipulation. This regulation seeks precisely to defend our democratic values through transparency rules on political advertising services, to lay the foundations for a balanced playing field for all and to strike a balance between freedom of expression, opinion and transparency. Citizens have the right to truthful and verified information and to know who is behind it in order to exercise their right to vote. The negotiations have not been easy and have lasted longer than expected, so I regret that the objective of being able to implement it for the first time by the next European elections in June has not been achieved. However, it will be a good tool to minimise the impact in the future of any attempt at interference to weaken our democracies. For all this, I call for the vote in favour of this important agreement.

– Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, this report is fundamental and lays the foundation for what will be the next stage in the digital revolution: Web 4.0 and virtual worlds. We have experienced the different digital transitions of the web in the European Union without paying enough attention to them. Our single market, devoid of digital legislation, became the playground of the big platforms, which settled here imposing their rules and self-regulating. This has undoubtedly weighed on the competitiveness of our companies, especially our SMEs, and generated an immense cost for our citizens in terms of privacy. We cannot, and should not, leave alone in the hands of private companies something that will continue to transform our lives and our society. We have learned from our mistakes as evidenced by the impressive work we have done this legislature with the Digital Services Act, the Digital Markets Act, the Data Act or the Artificial Intelligence Act, among others. However, we have always been late. In this report we highlight as priorities European talent, training in digital skills, the competitiveness of our companies, the protection of citizens, especially the most vulnerable people such as children, innovation, accessibility and inclusion of people with disabilities and an adequate telecommunications infrastructure for the increase in data traffic planned for this decade. I would like to congratulate the shadow rapporteurs on this report, in which we lay the foundation stone for Europe to be digitally competitive, always in accordance with our values and principles, and placing the citizen at the centre. I therefore call for the vote in favour of this report. We have the opportunity in this new digital transition to put the European Union at the forefront and thus be a relevant player in an increasingly digitised world. We must not make the mistakes of the past again.

Mr President, Commissioner, the 'use and throw' formula no longer works. Today consumers have the right to participate in the economy – based, for example, on the seven Rs rule: reduce, reuse, recycle, redesign, repair, renovate and redesign – thanks to the circular economy strategy. However, in order to exercise this right, they must have truthful and reliable information about the products they buy. Practices such as greenwashing They seek to deceive consumers by offering opaque information that we must combat. There are companies that promote their products as environmentally friendly, but they are not or cannot justify it. With this directive, we are moving forward in the fight against misleading information to ensure that they can make informed decisions. This Directive provides legal certainty for both businesses and consumers. We need to ensure a European single market in line with our values and principles, finding harmony between consumer protection and the environment without harming the competitiveness of our businesses.

Mr President, Commissioner, in the wake of Hamas' attacks on Israel, social media has been flooded with fake news and images, hate speech and illegal content. Those same platforms that come to ask us to understand, when it comes to legislating against their abusive practices, that they have already put in place sufficient mechanisms to fight disinformation, but at the first opportunity they show that they continue to use those same practices. They maintain algorithms that reward and enhance a large number of interactions without caring about the content. Platforms cannot rely on the fact that they do not manufacture the contents they host in order not to be responsible for them. They use hate crimes and fake news and images that proliferate on social networks these days and that arouse strong feelings among users to enhance the use of their services. Don't you have limits? We require platforms to take their share of responsibility and comply with the DSA's objectives and obligations on content moderation and the Commission to do its job. That is why I applaud the agility and forcefulness of Commissioner Breton's performance. Once again, our European values must prevail. We cannot let the internet giants continue to impose their way of acting on us and play with something as sensitive as hate speech with the sole intention of making a profit. The debate no longer lies in the duality between freedom of expression and censorship, but in the right of citizens to truthful information online and the fight against disinformation. We have crossed the Rubicon against disinformation. There's no going back.

Madam President, Commissioner, this regulation is part of the Fit for 55 package and seeks to adapt the aviation sector to the environmental standards set by the Green Deal. It is summarised in three types of measures: for suppliers the obligation to produce, for airports the obligation to dispose and for airlines the obligation to make use. Proposes to boost the supply and demand of sustainable aviation fuels, the so-called SAFs, through a step-by-step approach: from 2025, a minimum of 2% of aviation fuels shall be sustainable fuels, increasing the share in a phased manner every five years to 70% by 2050. To this end, it aims to incentivise the use of SAF for airlines, one of the sectors most affected by the COVID-19 crisis. CASs are currently the only technically feasible alternative to kerosene. They do not require changes in aircraft structure and can reduce emissions by 60%. What's the problem then? They are up to five times more expensive than kerosene. Currently we do not have a market in Europe for the production and use of CAS, so it is essential to find appropriate mechanisms that encourage it. This regulation seeks to boost it and the gradual transition it proposes can be the necessary stimulus for the creation of a strong and competitive European market for SAF, without imposing an unaffordable burden on the sector or raising prices for consumers. From the EPP Group we defend the environmental objective set and we believe that decarbonisation should not be at odds with the competitiveness of European companies or with the pocketbook of the citizens. This regulation can and should be an opportunity for Europe – and Spain – to become one of the largest producers and exporters of SAF while taking care of the environment. Let's do it.

Madam President, Commissioner, in March 2020 COVID-19 revealed the capacity, or rather the inability, of a coordinated response by the European Union to a situation of extraordinary emergency. It is essential to learn from the lessons of that situation and to address a legislative instrument that allows for an agile and adequate response to protect our citizens and our market. This is not about more bureaucracy, but about providing legal certainty. I would like to congratulate Andreas Schwab on his work in this regard and stress that it is essential to have a mechanism such as the one he proposes to respond quickly and in a coordinated manner to emergency situations. With this Regulation we adopt tools to prevent border closures in emergency situations, facilitating the movement of workers within the European Union and promoting the joint purchase of goods of common interest. These measures will be essential to address future crises and avoid shortages while guaranteeing the fundamental right to the mobility of people and goods. Therefore, I believe that it is urgent to adopt this Regulation and thus move towards a more resilient and globally competitive European Union.

Madam President, Madam Vice-President, the arrival of the internet revolutionised our lives and we managed to adapt to take advantage of its full potential, which is not without risks. Today, with the advent of artificial intelligence, we are already seeing changes in our daily lives. There are many challenges we face, but with the adoption of this new law, we are moving towards more responsible artificial intelligence based on European principles and values. European way—, with transparency and privacy protection as basic pillars. We also position the European Union in the world in terms of the development of artificial intelligence. We must continue to protect and promote our SMEs, so that they have the real capacity to compete and thus position the European Union in the global digital race. For this technology to work, we need to build trust and, in this regard, I want to highlight three challenges that we address with this law: transparency, privacy protection and competitiveness. We already know the opportunities and the risks. Only with legal certainty will we be able to adapt the full potential of artificial intelligence to our lives and to our benefit.

Madam President, Commissioner, everything that can be connected will be connected. This is a law that has the potential to change the European digital and industrial landscape. The European Union has not been part of the global race, in which data has become an essential asset. We know that countries such as China and the United States are already implementing their strategies in the industrial field by enhancing the possibilities offered by data. In Europe, we cannot and will not be left behind. Today we can boast of a Europe at the forefront of global regulation with the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act. Two regulations that lay the foundations of what the online world should look like and that, for the first time, put an end to the internet giants that, for a long time, have taken advantage of our market without clear rules. Now, with the Internet of Things, we need to find our own way to take advantage of the potential of industrial data: of those that we already have and that are currently underused and of those that we can generate, always respecting – of course – our European values and lifestyle. It is necessary to improve the strategic autonomy of the European Union through the digital sector to boost competitiveness through the innovation of European industry, while protecting our companies and, of course, our citizens as well. I cannot conclude today without congratulating the rapporteur, Pilar del Castillo, and the other rapporteurs in this House, as well as Commissioner Breton, on the extraordinary result of this work, which I hope will be massively endorsed in today's vote.

Madam President, Commissioner, this regulation seeks to ensure the transparency of electoral processes by harmonising political advertising services to protect our democracies and our citizens. With it we adopted an instrument based on the Digital Services Act, which establishes transparency obligations on these services. We also minimize attempts at foreign interference, which we have already seen from some countries, such as Russia. Far from establishing prohibitions, we seek to strengthen the transparency obligations that must be fulfilled by anyone who wants to advertise politically in the European Union. With the obligation to publish who is behind the ad, who funds it and for how much, and what techniques have been used to direct it, we will avoid scandals such as that of Cambridge Analytica. It will be possible to make electoral campaigns as until now, only that it will be necessary to record the means used. In addition, it can be done directly in any Member State, as the barriers that exist today are removed. This is particularly important for the European elections. I expect majority support from this House for the text to start trilogues with a strong position from this Parliament. It will be important to maintain strictness, taking the Digital Services Act as a reference and without stepping on other existing legislation, such as the General Data Protection Regulation, at European level, or entering into the electoral legislation of each Member State. Finally, I would like to thank the rapporteur, Sandro Gozi, and the shadow rapporteurs for the constructive spirit we have maintained during the negotiations. We must all share the same goal: moving towards a more democratic, more transparent and stronger Europe vis-à-vis those who want to weaken our democracies.

Mr President, Commissioner, there is no doubt that in recent years there has been an impressive rise in the video game sector, a highly innovative cultural and digital sector in the European Union. I welcome the objectives set out in this report, in which we remember that we must aspire to be leaders in the global video game market, always promoting the development of talent and our way of doing things, our market and our rules. I would like to highlight four key aspects in this regard. The first, the positive effects of video games and their cultural value. We always or often talk about the harmful effects, but let's focus on the unique creative value that this sector has. Video games can provide interactive channels for educational and training purposes. Let us legislate and work so that it is also a cultural path. The second is the fundamental mechanisms to protect the consumer, especially minors. Half of Europeans using these platforms are between six and 24 years old. Useful parental control tools are essential, so we need to communicate more and better. Thirdly, service providers. How online gaming works depends on connectivity and strong infrastructure. The metaverse, artificial intelligence or the transformation of the Internet from 2D to 3D. There are many digital initiatives that are coming and it is essential that we guarantee the proper functioning of the solvent networks that can support this connectivity. Finally, I welcome the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the text. The European single market must also be inclusive and accessible. I believe that the rapporteur, Adriana Maldonado, has done a great job together with the shadow rapporteurs and, therefore, I believe that this own-initiative report should be supported.

Mr President, Madam Vice-President, after the COVID pandemic and despite the war in Ukraine and its consequences, today is undoubtedly a day of celebration. 30 years of the Single Market: is undoubtedly one of the great achievements of the European Union; Perhaps the best tool we have to ensure the peace, stability and prosperity of our continent. There are many successes achieved and challenges overcome, although we have also experienced disappointments and some frustrations. With the Brexit Some envisaged somewhat utopian new freedoms for the UK. The result is clearly different. But I want to focus on the digital realm. Fourteen years ago, we started to boost the digital single market. Europe had been left behind for not paying enough attention to the transition that other countries were making, especially the United States. In 2014, the European Commission realised this and made the digital market one of its priorities. Today we can boast that in Europe we are at the forefront of global regulation with the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act: two regulations that lay the foundation on what the online world should look like based on our values, European values. However, we cannot relax and make the mistakes of the past again. We need to complete the digital single market with initiatives such as the Artificial Intelligence Act or the Data Act, among others. We must remember that the single market is stronger than the sum of its parts; that we do not compete with each other, but on a global level. It is crucial that we continue to break down barriers anchored in the past and protect and empower our European citizens and businesses, especially our SMEs. Only then will we make more Europe. Only then will we continue to be influential in an increasingly digitized, increasingly globalized world.

Madam President, Commissioner, thank you very much for being here. The pandemic has impacted strongly in all sectors, but especially in the aviation sector, wreaking havoc on the fundamental right to mobility, which directly affects something that interests me a lot, and is of great interest to my country, such as tourism. To this is now added the energy crisis. First, we must understand that it is an absolutely fundamental sector for social and economic development. Aviation is an economic enabler and engine of development. The challenge of sustainability and the green transition is not a threat, but it is a challenge. Decarbonisation in the aviation sector is a necessary but complex objective to achieve. We need time and resources to achieve the objectives of the Fit for 55 package. Today we are still not able to produce appreciable quantities of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), there is a supply problem that the market, on its own, cannot solve and whose investment will undoubtedly be important. To this is added the level of indebtedness of airlines as a result of the pandemic, which is considerably high. The EPP Group's commitment to the fight against climate change is undeniable, but we must clarify the price of the green transition in the aviation sector. We cannot deprive our businesses of competitiveness to the detriment of our economy, our citizens, or put hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk in Europe. I would like to conclude by recalling the countless benefits that the aviation sector brings. That is why our efforts must focus on making it work. If we fail to do so, we will not only jeopardise the leading position of the European aviation sector, but also the fundamental right to free movement.

Mr President, Madam Vice-President, Commissioner, we know the benefits of the digital revolution, but also its risks: scams and dangerous products, threats to the physical and psychological integrity of minors, illegal dissemination of content protected by intellectual property, dependence of SMEs on internet giants or interference in electoral processes in third countries, to name but a few. What we have called the digital Wild West is a consequence of the, until today, lack of clear regulation, which has positioned us at the tail end of the digital career revolution. The Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act have sufficient potential to start solving the problems that internet giants have created in our internal market. We create a digital constitution to protect and improve the accessibility of citizens in the environment online We lay the foundation for our businesses, especially our SMEs, to grow and compete in an enabling environment. This is just the beginning to position the European Union in the global digital race. Further work is needed to complement this legislation and address specific challenges. We all fit into the digital single market, provided that our rules are complied with and that no one imposes anything on us from outside, on the basis of what we have called the European Way.

Mr President, Commissioner, the war in Ukraine is having dire consequences on our economy, including in the transport and tourism sectors. The European Union will not be the same after this war, the consequences of which add to the ravages of the pandemic. We see shortages of supplies, disruptions in the logistics sector and high energy prices. The automotive sector, for example, suffers from a shortage of electronic compounds and many of these companies have paralyzed their activity. Europe needs a competitive industry and not just a service provider. For this, the transport sector is essential. We need to roll up our sleeves and look for ways to maintain European competitiveness. We must bet on digitalization to optimize the logistics chain in air, sea and land transport. We must be aware of the situation, the challenges we face and the threats that exist, and rethink how we want to face them in order to maintain a Europe that is peaceful, prosperous and competitive. To maintain the logistics chain, the transport sector is key. Tourism is also about protecting and promoting our values and lifestyle.

Mr President, thank you very much. We have problems with the Spanish translation. So it’s coming and going and we cannot follow the debate without the translation. In English it’s still fine, but if somebody else is going to use other languages, we have problems with that. If you can fix it, please.

Madam President, Commissioner, redesign, reduce, reuse, repair, renew, recover and recycle. This, as you know, is the seven Rs rule, the fundamental pillar of the circular economy. It includes a fundamental step: repair. The right to redress that the European Commission intends to create must be based on the circular economy, one of the foundations of the Green Deal. From here we welcome the presentation by the Commission a week ago of the circular economy package of proposals, in particular the proposal for a regulation on the ecodesign of sustainable products, based on the seven R's rule that I have just mentioned. In general, we have a serious problem with waste management, also in the European Union. That is why we must work on proposals that fight against planned obsolescence and empower citizens. It's not just an environmental issue, it's also an ethical one. It is time to overcome the habit of consumption, of using and throwing away. We must return to bet on quality and durable products as was done in the past and find a way to make this profitable for our industry and, especially, for our SMEs. It should also be an attractive option for consumers, so that repairing a product is an alternative to valuing before being forced to buy a new product. The circular economy will be a competitive advantage not only for our industry, but above all for the environment. Let's bet on the circular economy. Let's bet on the right to reparation.

Mr President, Madam Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Commissioner, first of all I would like to congratulate the rapporteur, Mrs Schaldemose, also the shadow rapporteur of my group, the EPP, Arba Kokalari, for the great work she has done, and, likewise, the other rapporteurs involved in her spirit of cooperation: I would like to highlight the great consensus work that has taken place among all the groups. I welcome the fact that the European Commission presented the proposal for a Digital Services Act, which undoubtedly went in the right direction: this proposal was much needed to adapt European legislation to the new digital reality. I think it comes out of this Parliament strengthened and well on its way to trilogues, especially since here we have already dealt with the various sensitivities of the different political groups represented in this House and have reached a great consensus. This law is a regulation designed to create a safer network environment while promoting digital innovation in the European Union. This proposal updates the e-commerce directive of the year 2000: during these 20 years, the world has changed radically with the emergence of new digital services; therefore, legislative alignment was and is urgent to address these new challenges. No one questions the progress that these services have brought to our societies; however, the need to increase online security has also been identified. The new obligations established by this law on digital services go precisely in this direction: We want to protect our citizens and businesses from the abuses of internet giants. To this end, the measures provided for in this Law are based on a fundamental principle, ‘what is illegal offline must also be illegal online’, a principle that is implemented through transparency rules. All this is key to the fight against the impunity that currently exists on the internet and that affects our most vulnerable citizens and companies, especially children and our SMEs. I would also like to stress that we have taken special care with the type of obligations imposed on SMEs, since, due to their limited resources, some of them could not comply with them: It is a matter of simplifying their lives, not adding bureaucratic and administrative procedures. We will have to continue working to complete this legislation, which is just a first step: With this law we lay the foundations of what security should be in the digital environment, but there are still many challenges to be addressed. It is a comprehensive and transversal legislation with which we establish a foundation for digital regulation in the European Union, that is, it sets basic standards for all digital content, products, services and activities based on a principle of horizontality. We certainly need future initiatives to address concrete challenges and complete robust legislation in line with our European values: this week we will adopt Parliament's position on this law, and I encourage the trilogue negotiations to continue in the spirit of cooperation.

Madam President, Madam Vice-President, Commissioner, this week we voted on the Digital Markets Act, one of the most important proposals for our single market in this legislature. I should like to congratulate the Commission, which, after twenty years, is finally bringing forward a proposal in line with the needs of the digital market vis-à-vis the internet giants. This proposal is of vital importance for our SMEs. Far from going against anyone, it seeks to create a balanced playing field for our SMEs, so that they can compete on equal terms and with the same rules of the game as the digital giants. To date we have not had clear legislation regulating how these giants act within our market. With this proposal we create legal certainty. Every company is, without a doubt, welcome, as long as it complies with our way of doing things, what we have called the «European way». The privacy of our data is fundamental and, therefore, we have opted for transparency. We want to have our own way of managing in the digital field and not the one imposed on us from outside. Until today we could only act in terms of competition a posteriori. With the mechanism ex ante Today we want to make it easier for our SMEs to grow digitally by generating jobs and wealth, while being globally competitive. The Digital Markets Act puts us at the global forefront. Europe is again an example in digital regulation, as we already are in data protection with the General Data Protection Regulation. I would like to congratulate the rapporteur, Andreas Schwab, and the shadow rapporteurs for having done so in the time set at the height of the pandemic, and I hope that it will be adopted as soon as possible and along the lines set by the rapporteurs, who have worked with a strong will to compromise.

Mr President, Commissioner, thank you very much for being here. I welcome the fact that, at last, we are dealing with this important debate that we have proposed from my parliamentary group - from the EPP - because it is undoubtedly one of the priority issues in Europe and it affects not only the transport sector, but all the links in the logistics chain and, ultimately, of course, all Europeans. The pandemic has caused transport costs to increase by more than 1 000 %, causing delays and blockages in the distribution of goods globally. This is creating great legal uncertainty for all actors involved. Added to this is the increase in energy costs and the scarcity of raw materials, which we in the European Union have to import and which mostly enter our ports. Indirect effects, such as rising prices and inflation, threaten the economic recovery, the pockets of our citizens and the competitiveness of our businesses. As I said, the crisis affects all sectors, of course food, but also automotive, construction or textiles, to name just a few. The threat of shortages is real and is expected to continue at least until summer 2022. At the same time, in the European Union, we are working on a new framework for the system of CO2 emissions – the so-called ETS – including maritime transport, the consequence of which will undoubtedly be the increase, even more if possible, of the already very high cost of maritime freight today. A relocation of current traffic to third countries not affected by the ETS system is foreseen, although this will already give us for discussions later. We know that the causes and solutions of the crisis are global. But, having said that, we cannot sit idly by waiting to see how things evolve. Action must be taken to contain the impact and ensure that our ports remain globally competitive. What does the Commission intend to do at European level to minimise the effects of this crisis on the single market, on our citizens and on our industry, and especially on our SMEs?