Debate contributions by Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR

Mr President, you are well aware that one of the formats of activity in this European Parliament is the formation of intergroups: meetings of Members of the European Parliament from different political groups but united by a common interest. During this parliamentary term, this Parliament has decided to form an Intergroup on Cohesion Policy and Outermost Regions – the only ones mentioned by name in Article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union – not only to single them out in the application of EU law, but also to adopt measures that precisely protect their specificities in the face of challenges such as their economic or social transformation, the scope of the future, the green economy, the blue economy and the circular economy. Those of us who are going to join this Intergroup on Cohesion Policy and Outermost Regions are well aware that it is more difficult now, in a Union enlarged to 27, than when it was a 12-member European Union with three Member States that have outermost regions: Spain, France and Portugal. But precisely because of this, we are ready to recall that cohesion policy underpins the interregional solidarity that must be at the heart of all European policies.

Madam President, Vice-President Fitto, this amendment to the regulation on regional emergency assistance in the event of natural disasters will make it possible, in an agile manner, to mobilise up to 95% of co-financing in the framework governing aid for disasters such as that suffered by the Valencian Community, where more than 220 deaths have received the solidarity of this European Parliament, or as in the case of the hundreds of deaths from the hurricane on the island of Mayotte. It will also allow 10% pre-financing and up to a grant that will combine the Cohesion Fund, the Social Fund and the Structural Fund to support the repair. But, in addition to that, we must increase the amounts, because I want to remember that there was also a natural catastrophe on the island of La Palma, a volcano for which only the remnant of up to ten million euros could be mobilized, a staggering amount in relation to the needs raised. Therefore, it is not only agility that we celebrate, but a massive substantive increase in the amounts destined for solidarity in the face of the increase in natural disasters.

Mr President, Commissioner Dalli, academic freedom is not the freedom of academics, but of students, teachers, researchers, at the service of innovation, knowledge and, therefore, well-being and progress. And in May 2023, the Special Committee on Foreign Interference in All Democratic Processes in the European Union, in particular Disinformation, of which I had the honour to be a part, clearly concluded that both academic freedom and scientific research, in such sensitive areas as neuroscience, quantum technologies or civil and military research, are threatened by foreign interference, notably by China, which forces all Chinese researchers to share their knowledge with the state. It is therefore absolutely essential that, in compliance with the conclusions of that special committee, the next Commission - the von der Leyen II Commission - should take all necessary initiatives to protect the integrity of scientific research, academic autonomy, academic freedom from its enemies, from foreign interference that seeks to undermine the foundations of the European model of coexistence.

Mr President, Commissioner, as evidenced by the intensity of this debate on the 35th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, we have nothing to celebrate: is a location for pressing challenges in this legislature. The first, against the 20 million children at risk of social exclusion: demanding implementation of the Child Guarantee with sufficient funding of the relaunched European Pillar of Social Rights. Secondly, in the face of rampant online abuse against minors and sexual abuse against minors: the Council must be required to adopt a common position on the legislation adopted by this European Parliament;. And thirdly, the Pact on Migration and Asylum: we have endeavoured to adequately address the rights of minors. Their solidarity redistribution is urgent where there are external border regions, as is the case in the Canary Islands, where they are stacked – without solidarity, to begin with, from the rest of the autonomous communities in Spain, but also from the Member States. Therefore, programmes of rehousing in solidarity and respectful of the rights of all minors arriving at the external borders of the European Union.

Madam President, Commissioner Dalli, after 15 years of validity of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – with the same value as the Treaties – there is a very clear lesson, which is that those governments at the extreme right that harass the LGBTI community or restrict the rights of those people pose a systemic problem to the rule of law, judicial independence, pluralism of information and fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter – that of non-discrimination to begin with – but also to the right to privacy and the best interests of minors, because the country that does not recognise same-sex marriage, however, does not allow the free movement and residence of married persons of the same sex, and because, in addition, it also infringes on the right to the best interests of minors that discriminates against minors, born or adopted within a same-sex couple, on the grounds of their origin. Therefore, Commissioner Dalli, you have done an outstanding job – which we recognise and thank you for – to tell your successor to commit to the LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020-2025 and to commit to completing the work of making hate crime that incites hate violence against LGBTI people a European crime incompatible with European law.

Mr President, Commissioner, this debate is not only timely, but necessary in view of the chilling intelligence report of the Europol unit on child recruitment in the European Union, which shows that up to 70% of criminal activity – particularly in cybercrime and drug trafficking – involves or involves minors with the economic incentive, in addition to the difficulty of linking them to international organised crime networks and prosecuting them. A first recommendation would be to harmonise the laws of the Member States on the criminal liability of minors. But above all, action must be taken to implement the roadmap adopted by the European Commission to prevent organised crime and drug trafficking insofar as it strongly affects minors. And a clear lesson is prevention: in addition to intelligence and judicial cooperation, sharing intelligence and information to prevent the involvement of minors in drug trafficking must become an absolute priority of criminal policy at European level, in which this Parliament has been a criminal legislator since the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon.

Madam President Metsola, Madam President von der Leyen, in your investiture speech of July, when referring to migration and asylum – by far the most sensitive and divisive issue on the European agenda – you underlined the words ‘firmness’ and ‘security’ and alluded to imaginative solutions, such as an apparent subterfuge for externalisation of borders, in addition to migration and asylum applications. However, today, in your speech, you introduced ‘shared responsibility’ and ‘solidarity’, in addition to the commitment to fundamental rights, which is exactly the object of the Pact on Migration and Asylum, for which we worked so hard in the previous legislature. Those of us who are about to vote in favour of the College of Commissioners are going to demand from the entire Commission an active commitment to its role as guardian of the Treaties and of European law, to demand from the Member States – of the 27 – an effective and rigorous commitment to comply with the obligations undertaken with the legislation we have put into force – the Pact on Migration and Asylum – and, of course, with full respect for the fundamental rights of migrants and asylum seekers.

Thanks for your commitment with the regions, and particularly with the outermost regions and with the Canaries, as you have just mentioned. And just do one last service: convey your message, your commitment, gather your experience and send a message to your successor in the portfolio. Make a difference till the very last minute, like you have made it so far. Thank you!

Mr President, last week the Committee of the Regions met in Brussels on the occasion of its thirtieth anniversary. At that meeting, the work of the European Parliament to increase by EUR 3 billion the European Union Solidarity Fund and the Union Civil Protection Mechanism, which will allow European funding to be made available to repair the damage of the tragic flood that claimed the lives of 200 people in the Valencian Community, was very welcome. But do you know why it was so celebrated? Because the item initially budgeted for the European Union Solidarity Fund and the Union Civil Protection Mechanism was rickety, as it has been, until now, the financing of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and Integrated Border Management, despite the fact that this Parliament has increased them by 2025 (the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund by two million euros and the Integrated Border Management Fund by ten million euros). Both are absolutely essential for the external border regions of the European Union, such as the Canary Islands, an outermost region that is really plagued by immigration from the north-west African cornice. So here is a task for the European Commission von der Leyen II: present decent budgets for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and Integrated Border Management to enable the effective implementation of Member States’ legal obligations under the Pact on Migration and Asylum.

Mr President, Commissioner Schinas, 41 years ago the illegal occupation of a part of the territory of which today is happily a Member State of the European Union took place: Cyprus. The European Union has never recognized that Turkish Cypriot entity in northern Cyprus and supports all United Nations actions to bring about the territorial reintegration of Cyprus and its reunification, which, incidentally, is pending the reintegration of the Cypriot Parliament and the bi-communal representation of Cyprus in this same European Parliament. But in the 2014-2019 legislature I had the honour of being the standing rapporteur for the Missing Persons Identification Programme – 2 800: 1 600 in Cyprus, on the Greek Cypriot side, and the rest on the Turkish Cypriot side – and this is a significant example of a European contribution to reintegration and bi-communal cooperation. In order for the European Union to be able to carry out its work, it is not only enough to condemn the illegal occupation of Cyprus, but it must be significant in its foreign policy and diplomacy in order to effectively help to overcome the problem definitively.

Mr President, Commissioner, all Member States' constitutions prohibit discrimination on grounds of sex, as prohibited by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. And yet, you don't have to be a lawyer to know that what is actually being banned is discrimination against women and, above all, its most ominous version, which is criminal violence that murders women for the mere fact of being one. According to the United Nations, there are 52 000 each year; one victim every ten minutes, tragically, of a man who happens to be his acquaintance or close associate. And the European Parliament has done everything in its power to finally bring into force a directive against gender-based violence that bridges the gap between the laws of the Member States. Because there are those who are pioneers and, instead, there are those who are far behind in this commitment against this structural violence that shakes the whole of Europe and all historically known societies. But the commitment will not be complete until we determine that the crime of rape and sexual assault throughout the European Union is based precisely on consent, and understand that the eradication of violence against women is a human rights issue.

Madam President, we are discussing in this plenary session of the European Parliament the Niinistö report on how to improve and strengthen the European Union's preparedness and response capacity to increasingly frequent and intense geopolitical, climate and technological crises, whether cyber or hybrid. And that certainly requires education, it requires communication and it requires awareness, but it also requires the European Union to step out of its comfort zone. Yesterday, in the debate with High Representative Borrell about the impact on the European Union of President Trump's return to the White House, we made it clear that it is imperative that Europe, in addition to sounding the alarm, get out of bed, out of its comfort zone, and prepare to respond. And it does so with this report, betting on an improvement in its defense and security capacity and an increase in investment, in addition to sharing intelligence, nothing less! Is the European Union currently prepared for that? No, the answer is no; But if there is one thing that becomes clear, it is the need to strengthen the European Union Solidarity Fund and the Union Civil Protection Mechanism to deal with increasingly frequent climate disasters, such as the appalling DANA suffered in Valencia, with a death toll of 200 victims that could have been avoided with better reinforcement. And, of course, funding for the European response must also be strengthened...

Mr President, Commissioner McGuinness, since your war of aggression against Ukraine, Russia has been expelled from the Council of Europe. It has been subjected – because it has been a creditor – to sanctioning measures in which the European Union has demonstrated determination and also unity between the different institutions (of course, the support of this European Parliament). It is time to draw all the consequences from the fact that the Financial Action Task Force – the so-called FATF – has also suspended the rights of the Russian Federation as a member. Because, we know, Russia is an example of concentration of power like no other on the planet, where nothing moves except under Putin's splint and his absolute control, from the Armed Forces to intelligence, justice, prosecution and, of course, the economy. In that we talk about the oligarchs, who corrupt everything they touch internationally. And that is exactly why it is time for the European Union to deduce all the consequences of Russia's exclusion from the FATF and blacklist it, as a jurisdiction not only at risk but absolutely unworthy of the trust of the international community and the European Union.

Mr President, Mr Vice-President Schinas, any discriminatory prejudice that incites hatred and violence is radically anti-European. That is why anti-Semitism, which has no place in Europe, is so, as is anti-Gypsyism and hatred against Muslims and Palestinians. Jewish communities therefore have the right to live in safety in Europe. But condemning anti-Semitism does not amount to ignoring or justifying Netanyahu's indiscriminate actions in Gaza, the West Bank, or Lebanon. But what we are discussing here is not only a condemnation of anti-Semitism, we are discussing an episode - the riots associated with the Maccabi party in Amsterdam (Netherlands) - that demands criminal liability, because it clearly incurs crimes that have to be criminalised in all Member States and that is what we have demanded from the Commission, when we urge it, in accordance with Article 33, to criminalise hate speech that incites violence. Therefore, we also demand that there be exemplary prosecutions and convictions against Maccabi and everything similar in Europe.

Mr President, Vice-President Schinas, why are we talking in the plenary of the European Parliament, at this hour of the night, about suspicions of fraud in Georgia? Because we care. Because it turns out that, after the Balkans, we have granted the status of candidate country to none other than Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, three republics subject to Russia's aggressive interference in our neighbourhood. Many of us in this European Parliament, when we talk about accession, express concern not because they – the candidates – do their homework, but because we do our own: to prepare the European Union, with institutional and decision-making reforms, to welcome new partners. But, as for the new partners, what is indisputable is that they have to meet the democratic standards that we have set for ourselves: Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union, separation of powers, pluralism of information, judicial independence and a strong anti-corruption strategy. Georgia has to do her homework without us getting lost along the way. We care about the purity of their democracies, because we care about cleanliness and their fight against corruption.

Madam President, High Representative Borrell, I have heard the metaphor that in the face of a shock to Europe's conscience it is not enough to sound the alarm, but that Europe has to get out of bed and out of its comfort zone. Trump's return to the White House imposes two enormous challenges on the European Union. One, that conflicts that matter to us in globalization lead to open conflagrations: Middle East, Iran, Taiwan, and Russia in the immediate vicinity of Europe. But there is another one even more imminent and it is the one that affects the European idea of democracy, insofar as addictive algorithms, ruled by extreme right-wing tycoons, impose alternative facts in which it is not only impossible to distinguish truth from lies, but truth loses all importance in the political process for which the European Union has the obligation to show its face. The European Union's response must therefore be, once and for all, to mature quickly, to get out of bed and out of the comfort zone and to take on the responsibilities of adulthood in globalisation.

Madam President, Commissioner, the business model of platforms – usually run by far-right tycoons – lies not only in exploiting the weaknesses, vulnerabilities and personal characteristics that users put at their disposal, but above all in generating addictive algorithms that target, especially, young people, who are the preferred users who spend half their lives in front of screens, consuming hate speech that radicalises, stigmatises, whole categories of people, in addition to violent content. The problem lies not only in the content, but in the exploitation of the vulnerability of young people: This is a huge challenge for the next Commission. We have adopted the Digital Services Act, we have put in place an anti-hate speech strategy that also includes not only a code of conduct for platforms – which is hardly binding – but, above all, an order that the Commission bring to this Parliament a legislative initiative to make hate crime that incites hate violence a European crime. But it's not enough: digital literacy, education, everything the Commission can do to protect young people, which is the future of the European Union, from the spread of hate speech online.

Madam President, Commissioner, when we are talking about hybrid attacks on the security of the European Union, under that cryptic reference we are talking about Russia: their campaigns of disinformation, intoxication, sabotage, interference in electoral processes, as well as funding or inspiring anti-European and europhobic speeches, formations and candidacies and platforms; for example, we have unfortunately heard Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who holds the rotating presidency, speak of the European Union as a new Soviet Union, calling against the rule of European law a movement like that of 1956 – a real nonsense. Well, in front of this we have instruments: the Digital Services Act, the EU Blueprint for Critical Infrastructure. But the next Commission has the job of ordering all this equipment and financing it properly, to make the European Union stronger against the threats to its internal security posed by those who despise and trample on European values: Russia.

Mr President, Commissioner, when we talk about the role of regions in the development of the European Union, I am talking about outermost regions: nine, including the Canary Islands, the only ones mentioned by name in the Treaty of Lisbon, which has a specific basis to protect them and single out the response. And the Members born or resident in the outermost regions have addressed a letter to Mrs von der Leyen making it clear that the pilgrim idea of centralising cohesion funds is unacceptable and particularly harmful for the outermost regions, which have to be decisive in the transition of their economic models dependent on some monoculture - in agriculture - or from tourism towards the blue economy, the circular economy and, of course, their incorporation - through innovation, connectivity, with European aid and renewable energies - into the future of the European Union, protecting them also against unequal trade agreements that require specific clauses with respect to sensitive or vulnerable products. That is doing regional policy and that is also having the potential of the outermost regions to make Europe.

Madam President, Commissioner, once again this Parliament pays tribute to investigative journalist Daphne Caruana, on the seventh anniversary of her murder, and also pays tribute to the half-dozen journalists who have been murdered in other Member States of the European Union, in the Czech Republic, the Netherlands or Greece, because what is at issue here is the protection of freedom of information, of pluralism of information, and not of attacking Malta, as is obsessively heard from the seats of the right simply because there is a government in Malta that is neither of its colour nor of its complacency. The point here is to draw lessons from experience, and this European Parliament has done so, legislating with nothing less than the Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation Directive, in order to protect journalists from intimidation, and with the European Media Freedom Regulation, which ensures transparency and accountability in institutional advertising, funding and media ownership. This reminder therefore serves as a reminder that Parliament has a duty to protect freedom of information and pluralism of information, which are fundamental rights protected by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. And that's what it's all about, nothing more than that.

Madam President, Commissioner, why are we discussing in the European Parliament restrictive abortion laws in Poland? It is true that there are aspects of criminal law and family law that remain within the competence of the Member States, but it is also true that in the European Parliament we put in place an EU Rule of Law Framework so that the regression that took place in Poland at the hands of an ultra government that restricted this right of women would trigger the procedure of Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union for serious violation of the founding values of the rule of law, and it is true that the EU Rule of Law Framework enshrines the principle of non-regression, that is, that legislation that restricts rights that were previously established cannot be produced. I am convinced that the voluntary termination of pregnancy is a human right, because women's sexual and reproductive rights are fundamental and human rights. I know that it is not easy to change a Constitution – it requires a qualified majority – nor is it easy to change the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – which requires nothing less than the unanimity of the Member States – but yes, this European Parliament can clearly state that this regression, this regression of fundamental rights, is completely contrary to European values and European law.