What Caroline spoke about.

Mr President, a reminder to the Rules of Procedure concerning the use of an animal placed in its banana as a mere object, today, to make a declaration, a message of peace. How are you going to get that animal back now, sir? Where is animal welfare in this speaker’s action? I find this absolutely unacceptable.

Madam President, Commissioner, the crisis in Haiti has reached another milestone. Between 1 January and 20 March, more than 1,400 people lost their lives in gang-related violence. More than five million Haitians, including three million children, depend on humanitarian aid for their survival. The creation of a transitional Presidential Council is a good thing, as you said; but its composition rais

Madam President, did you know that at one hour from the European Parliament in Brussels, an environmental tragedy is underway? In the small Belgian town of Écaussinnes, a petrochemical complex owned by TotalEnergies produces 1.2 million tonnes of plastic pellets per year. Some of these granules get lost. They end up in soils, streams, rivers, and then oceans, killing seabirds and fish over time. T

Mr President, in the European Union, 300 million animals are raised in cages every year, although it is known that this leads to immense suffering. In the European Union, millions of animals are mutilated to meet the demands of industrial farming. In the EU, 330 million male chicks are killed each year by gassing or grinding on the first day after hatching, while in ovo sexing techniques would pre

Madam President, Commissioner, have you ever taken a train in the south of France? Are there renewable energy projects near you? Has the hospital near you been recently renovated? What do these projects have in common? These projects are funded by the European Union. Regional policy accounts for one third of the EU budget. It is our greatest weapon against economic and social inequality. It is a p

Madam President, what are we waiting for to adopt the Due Diligence Directive? When will we end this endless saga by approving one of the most awaited pieces of legislation, and finally hold multinationals accountable for their actions? A thousand textile workers perished in the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory, victims of ephemeral fashion; 160 million children worldwide are working; In Africa

Madam President, let us wake up! Let us not make the wolf the scapegoat of the crisis in the agricultural world. In the run-up to the elections, von der Leyen gave in to pressure from hunting and industrial agriculture lobbies. The Commission proposal to adapt the protection status of the wolf under the Berne Convention could allow the hunting of the wolf. Worse, it could endanger the pillar of Eu

I accept the proposal of S&D and therefore withdraw our request for this session. Thank you, Madam President.

Madam President, Parliament has an important role in monitoring the work of the European Commission. In July 2021, in response to the European Citizens’ Initiative ‘End the Cage Age’, which collected more than 1.4 million signatures, the European Commission committed to ban caged animal farming by 2027. The Commission carried out a broad impact assessment. In its 2023 work programme, it announced

Mr President, Commissioner, a deep, persistent crisis is plaguing Haiti. It is getting worse every day and leaving behind a country on the brink. In response to the security crisis, the UN decided to deploy a military force, although it is unclear when. The crisis in Haiti is not only a security crisis, it is also a political crisis: a collapsing state, widespread corruption, enormous injustices,

Mr President, a small aside, Mr Herbst: I was well in the Chamber and I did not leave the debate earlier. With regard to Mrs Bilbao's report, this report makes interesting and important proposals for improving consumer information on seafood. It is important that consumers have access to detailed information on the origin, species, date and place of catch and the fishing technique used, whether fr

Mr President, Commissioner, are we going to bury any objective of protecting the oceans or are we going to start the transition to fishing that is more respectful of marine ecosystems? That is the meaning of today's vote. For lack of political courage and electoral calculation, the right and its allies, gravediggers of the oceans, are now proposing a dangerous demagogic report that ignores the war

Mr President, the 2013 reform of the common fisheries policy has reduced overfishing, which is of great benefit to fishermen. But too often it is not fully applied. The landing obligation has been significantly weakened by exemptions. Ecosystem-based fisheries management is still in its infancy. Article 17 of the CFP, which requires States to allocate fishing quotas using social and environmental

Mr President, Commissioner, for years Norway has wanted to establish itself as the world leader in protecting the oceans. Yet in June 2023, the Norwegian government became the potential destroyer of the Arctic by proposing to open its waters in the Norwegian Sea to deep-sea mining. A time bomb for the climate and marine biodiversity! But what an admission of failure for future generations! Last we

– Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, imagine a life in which simple acts such as turning on the light or keeping food cool are a luxury. This is the daily reality for hundreds of millions of people. Access to clean and reliable energy is a driver of development. Access to electricity makes it possible to develop children's education, ensure quality medical care and livelihoods for communities. It

Mr President, the ecological transition will require large quantities of critical raw materials. It is necessary for the European Union to be able to source from its own soil and to be less dependent on third countries in view of the social, environmental and human impacts. But this procurement strategy must also respect planetary boundaries. The Critical Materials Act offers interesting elements

Madam President, my colleagues have said: rearing animals for their fur is an unjustifiable practice. Raising animals in cages, including wildlife, in defiance of their behavior and behavioral needs, killing them by gassing or electrocution to make them luxury clothes, this should no longer exist. Several States have legislated to prohibit this practice. It is time to act at European level, to ban

Madam President, did you know that some of the fish from the forced labour of the Uyghurs in China ends up on our plates? This is suspected in the latest Outlaw Ocean investigation. For years, the Chinese authorities have been implementing labour transfers from Uyghurs to industrial regions, where seafood processing plants are located. These products end up in supermarkets in Europe or the United

Madam President, without strong control measures, there is no confidence, and without confidence there is no longer a common fisheries policy. Without effective control measures, not all of the measures we take to improve the sustainability of fisheries would be implemented by all. The reform of fisheries control was therefore necessary and will have taken time to come – more than five years of ti

Madam President, Commissioner, speaking of the wolf as a danger to man, Ursula von der Leyen has revived the cultural fear of the great evil wolf. The public consultation that was launched at the same time is opaque and hasty. The aim is to review the protection status of wolves in order to introduce more flexibility and facilitate their slaughter. These statements are part of a well-crafted polit

Madam President, Ms Von der Leyen, you have reiterated your commitment to the Green Deal several times today, but you have said nothing, not a single sentence, not a single word on animal welfare and the revision of European animal welfare rules. Yet it is one of the parts of the Green Deal most awaited by European citizens. This reform is a repeated commitment by the European Commission to the Fa

Mr Herbst, you are often committed to defending fishermen and fishing. Fishermen everywhere are suffering from the destruction of marine ecosystems, including pollution of industry, pollution of agriculture and cities. If I take the example of cod in the Baltic Sea, the Nature Restoration Act allows for a solution in relation to cod. You are also president of the Recreational Fisheries Forum and r

Mr President, Commissioner, for years, scientists have been sounding the alarm about the collapse of nature, which is taking place at an unprecedented rate and which is already having serious consequences for humanity, starting with fishermen. We have many examples of fish populations collapsing due to degradation of marine ecosystems. The Law on the Restoration of Nature allows an approach as clo

Madam President, the cosmetics regulation of 2009 prohibits animal testing of cosmetic products and their ingredients. It also prohibits the placing on the market of products that have been tested or whose ingredients have been tested on animals. However, the European Chemicals Agency continues to require some manufacturers to use animal testing. There is currently no justification for animal test

Madam President, Commissioner, it is a fact: Climate change increases the frequency and intensity of droughts. The water crisis is just beginning, and we would be wrong to think that it is only related to climate change: it is also the result of political choices, which put water resources at risk. Urban sprawl, the artificialisation of land or the disappearance of hedges mean that less rainwater