State of play of the implementation of the EU Digital COVID Certificate regulations (debate)
On 1 July, the European Union Digital COVID Certificate Regulation entered into force with the aim of helping to restore freedom of movement within the EU, a severely restricted right following the declaration of the pandemic. From this date, Member States should be prepared to issue and verify the physical or electronic document proving which persons are vaccinated, have been tested or have passe
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Framework of measures for strengthening Europe’s net-zero technology products manufacturing ecosystem (Net Zero Industry Act) (debate)
Mr President, Commissioner, Europe has to develop and implement an ambitious industrial policy that ensures our companies are competitive by supporting the required energy and digital transition. We need more industry, yes, but not just any kind of industry. We need clean industries that help decarbonize the economy. The Net-Zero Industry Act is one of the pillars to achieve this, also aiming to r
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Recent attempts to deny dictatorships and the risk of Europe returning to totalitarianism (debate)
Mr President, Commissioner, a few months ago, the Deputy Mayor of Valencia of the PP-Vox Government said: Being a Nazi is not a crime. Everyone who wants what they want. Truthful information in quotation marks. Recently, the Minister of Justice of the PP-Vox Government, of the Valencian Community, said: Franco was a historical character. Truth in quotation marks. With these positions, the coalitio
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Withdrawal of the Union from the Energy Charter Treaty (debate)
Madam President, Commissioner, we are facing elections in no time, as we all know. The most important thing is to provide citizens with security and coherence, and to provide them with security and coherence we need to uphold the objective principles of the green transition and the fight against climate change. And I very much agree with what you said, Commissioner: Staying in the Treaty is not an
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Prohibiting products made with forced labour on the Union market (debate)
Madam President, Commissioner, Europe cannot export values and import products made with forced labour. We have to end modern slavery. It has been said several times, and we must not fail to repeat it, that in the world there are 28 million people exploited, subjected to slavery, and 12% of them are children. Also in the European Union 1.3 million people suffer from forced labour. And they're all
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EU/Chile Advanced Framework Agreement - EU/Chile Advanced Framework Agreement (Resolution) - Interim Agreement on Trade between the European Union and the Republic of Chile (joint debate - EU-Chile agreements)
Mrs Pereira, I have asked you whether you have read the agreement and in what part of the agreement you have read that. Not what is your political position on the agreement that I know, understand and respect.
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EU/Chile Advanced Framework Agreement - EU/Chile Advanced Framework Agreement (Resolution) - Interim Agreement on Trade between the European Union and the Republic of Chile (joint debate - EU-Chile agreements)
Mrs. Pereira, have you read the whole agreement? Modernisation of the Advanced Framework Agreement. Have you read each and every chapter and every word? Can you tell me where it is written in this agreement that Chile's lithium and mineral exploitation monopolies are maintained?
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EU/Chile Advanced Framework Agreement - EU/Chile Advanced Framework Agreement (Resolution) - Interim Agreement on Trade between the European Union and the Republic of Chile (joint debate - EU-Chile agreements)
Mr. President, today is a great day. As co-chair of the EU-Chile Joint Parliamentary Committee, I would like to express my deepest satisfaction with the EU-Chile Advanced Framework Agreement reached that we voted on today in Parliament and for which I ask my colleagues for strong support. Today's vote is a finishing touch to the work of the parliamentary committee in all the accompaniment that has
Mr President, Mr Dombrovskis, Mr Borrell, first of all, I would like to point out that I very much appreciate the joint communication from the Commission and the High Representative, because I think it is a strategy that was necessary. For its content and for its opportunity, I totally agree with it. I also agree with the risks that have been identified in relation to the resilience of supply chai
Mr President, Mr Dombrovskis, I also greet all the citizens who are visiting this Parliament and are following us right now. I would like to begin by congratulating the rapporteur, Mr Winkler, on the excellent work he has done and on having incorporated many of our proposals. The Committee on International Trade has undoubtedly shown a great deal of consensus on where we want our bilateral relatio
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Framework of measures for strengthening Europe’s net-zero technology products manufacturing ecosystem (Net Zero Industry Act) (debate)
Madam President, Commissioner, I am speaking as rapporteur for the opinion report of the Committee on International Trade, where we do not have exclusive shared competences in any article, but rather the very fundamental role that international trade plays in - indeed - helping to meet the objectives of this necessary regulation, in order to facilitate the technological transition and boost the in
Mr President, dear Commissioner, dear Secretary of State, there is no doubt that transatlantic relations are crucial and fundamental, especially at this geopolitical moment in our lives. But, despite maintaining the EU-US Council dialogue. I think the most important thing is for the European Union to have more influence and more levelling capacity in transatlantic relations. And, for that, it is c
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Need to complete new trade agreements for sustainable growth, competitiveness and the EU’s strategic autonomy (debate)
Madam President, Commissioner, the European Union is an open economy that depends on international trade to thrive. It therefore needs trade agreements to provide certainty and to improve our relations with third countries by promoting our principles and values, and respect for human rights, climate commitments and social and labour rights. The pandemic, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine
. – Madam President, Commissioner, the process of modernising the Energy Charter Treaty is still pending. Several Member States have notified their decision to withdraw from the Treaty, including the modernised Treaty, in view of its incompatibility with the climate objectives we are pursuing and the investment protection system that the Treaty entails. I believe that the European Union needs to b
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Question Time with Commissioners – EU-China trade relations
Mr President, our economic and trade relations with China are based on unfair competition caused by a lack of reciprocity. We must recognize that this situation has occurred because we have allowed it and made it too easy for them for a long time. China has greatly expanded its influence in the global economic context at the expense, in part, of the European economy, whose excessive dependencies m
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50 years since the murder of Allende and the Coup in Chile: democracy and sovereignty (debate)
Madam President, Mr High Representative, today the death of Salvador Allende reminds us that democracy is never won, that we have to defend it every day, that it is worth fighting for freedom and equality and that this struggle belongs to all of us. Allende was also an advanced feminist. In his famous farewell speech on Radio Magallanes, to which the High Representative previously referred, the fi
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New Agenda for Latin America and the Caribbean in the aftermath of the EU-CELAC Summit (debate)
Madam President, Mr High Representative, I would first like to congratulate you. To congratulate you, and also the Spanish presidency, on the success of the summit, because its mere celebration has been, for its content and for the declaration - I think it has been a real success. And because it is essential to strengthen the European Union's strategic alliance with Latin America and the Caribbean
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The need for a coherent strategy for EU-China Relations (debate)
Mr President, Mr Dombrovskis, Mr Borrell, I am going to refer to two fundamental aspects to take into account in our relations with China. The first is our deeply deteriorated trade relations, with an unsustainable trade deficit, over-reliance on some critical raw materials and significant regulatory divergences. The second, China's role as a global actor, which must exercise greater responsibilit
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Implementation report on the Agreement on the withdrawal of the UK from the EU - The Windsor Framework (debate)
Madam President, I would like to start by expressing my and my group's satisfaction with the agreement reached. Thank you, Vice-President Šefčovič, for finding a way of understanding, for complying with what has been agreed and for overcoming the tensions and challenges arising from the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol. Let us hope that the magnificent history of cooperation between
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An EU strategy to boost industrial competitiveness, trade and quality jobs (debate)
Madam President, Commissioner, there is no doubt that international trade is in a very difficult and complex context, exacerbated by the action of the United States with the adoption of the Inflation Reduction Act, which undoubtedly represents a shift towards protectionism, triggering a global chain of subsidies where the strongest prevails and not the most competitive. Europe has to act now. We h
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“The Road to 2023” - Towards a stronger EU-Latin America partnership (debate)
Madam President, I am one of the people who always prefers to see the glass half full and I believe that today is an occasion for this, considering this debate, not as the last of the day, but as the first of tomorrow. The first of a new moment in the vision of the European Union's relations with Latin America. There is no doubt that the European Union needs to strengthen its relations with Latin
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Question Time (Commission) - “Protection of strategic infrastructure from China's influence”
Madam Vice-President, thank you very much for your reply. He is right, measures have been taken progressively, but the crises make us put ourselves more in front of the mirror. In that sense, the State aid regulations and the ease that has been given so that companies can protect themselves against crisis situations, such as the COVID-19 crisis and the energy crisis, have allowed to give more aid.
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Question Time (Commission) - “Protection of strategic infrastructure from China's influence”
Mr President, Madam Executive Vice-President, Mrs Vestager, I would like you to inform us whether you believe that the 18 Member States that have already implemented their own rules on investment screening – in order, precisely, to be able to protect the strategic infrastructure of the Union from the influence of those investments coming from countries such as China, which defend their interests,
Mr President, Mr High Representative, there are two indisputable truths between the European Union and China: China is our biggest trading partner, but it is also our biggest rival because of the difference, the distance between our systems. The challenge is that this contradiction does not paralyse us and does us moral and economic damage contrary to the interests of the Union. We can't stay in a
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Outcome of the modernisation of the Energy Charter Treaty (debate)
Mr President, Mr Dombrovskis, unfortunately, the modernised text of the Energy Charter Treaty does not meet the climate ambitions of my political group, that of the Socialists and Democrats, nor the demands of this Parliament, nor the internationally agreed emissions targets. The agreement certainly includes improvements, and that is why I would like to thank the Commission for its work and effort