Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the new directive on corporate reporting and sustainability is certainly an important step forward to improve the level of transparency on the behaviour of companies and also a lever to guide and improve their commitment. This is indispensable for the achievement of the objectives we have set ourselves, for countering the effects of the climate crisis, for re
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Whitewashing of the anti-European extreme right in the EU (topical debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, referring to the Resistance and Nazi-Fascism, David Sassoli said: "Europe has found the strength to unite to become the place of peace and solidarity among peoples" and even today this is the strength of Europe. There are therefore chills thinking that it is precisely in Italy - and I say this as an Italian - that important institutional figures such as Ignazio
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FRONTEX's responsibility for fundamental rights violations at EU's external borders in light of the OLAF report (debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Frontex is an absolutely negative and bankrupt page, it is even a very bad example of public money management, but, even before that, it is a tool of blatant violation of European values. In fact, there is only shame in the face of the systematic repressive action put in place by an agency that should help to manage migratory phenomena well and that instead has
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International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (debate)
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, today is the International Day against Poverty and we certainly cannot say that Europe is getting there with all its credentials. There are more than a hundred million poor Europeans. This figure, aggravated by the pandemic and the energy crisis, says a lot about the need for a breakthrough. We have recently made extraordinary strides, for example on the mini
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Countering the anti-European and anti-Ukrainian propaganda of Putin’s European cronies (topical debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Putin's war is not only fought on the ground. In fact, there is also a war waged on the ground of communication and propaganda, which evidently passes through massive disinformation and feeds on more or less obvious political complicity, complicity that we must have the courage to point out and unmask. Last week, Meta announced that it had discovered and blocked
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The death of Mahsa Amini and the repression of women's rights protesters in Iran (debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we stand by the women in Iran who are fighting every day in the name of freedom and dignity. Their struggle is also ours. The ruthless repression carried out in recent weeks hits first and foremost them, the women. It affects girls, it affects those who claim the right to decide for themselves, as indeed in recent years had often affected personalities from the
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Situation of Roma people living in settlements in the EU (debate)
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, there are thousands of people living in Roma and Sinti settlements in Europe in dignified conditions. Women, men, boys and children who often live in insecure housing, without drinking water, electricity, sanitation. People placed on the margins of quality educational paths, which would be the main opportunity for emancipation, and excluded from employment op
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, many times this Parliament has reiterated the need to consider relations with the African continent as strategic, relations in respect of which a change of course is also needed, moving from development aid to a real partnership, unrelated to any form of neo-colonial exploitation. The new partnership agreement signed with the Organisation of African, Caribbean a
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The relations of the Russian government and diplomatic network with parties of extremist, populist, anti-European and certain other European political parties in the context of the war (debate)
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, only five days had passed since Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, five days, and Matteo Salvini was already at the Russian embassy in Rome discussing with Ambassador Sergey Razov his possible trip to Moscow. Travel, however, as stated by the same embassy, paid by the Russians to allow circumvention of sanctions. Matteo Salvini then tried to build a channe
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EU preparedness against cyber-attacks following Russia invasion on Ukraine (debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Putin's terrifying war carries with it a load of violence and death that comes before our eyes every day. However, we are facing – and it is good to be fully aware of it – a multidimensional war that is also played out on less visible fields, thus also taking the form of a cyber, hybrid, cyber war. In this area, we have actually been witnessing foreign attempts
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The situation of marginalised Roma communities in the EU (debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the situation of the Roma community is very complex and so far we have not been able to escape from a substantially discriminatory vision, from a push towards their marginalisation. This is how ghettos are born, which are the opposite of what we need. Marginalisation processes should neither be favoured nor supported: Instead, choices must be made in the name of
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Cooperation and similarities between the Putin regime and extreme right and separatist movements in Europe (topical debate)
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I have in mind at this moment two politicians from my country, Italy. The first is Matteo Salvini, who for years explains that Putin is an extraordinary reference: He flaunts T-shirts with his face, participates in secret meetings with his entourage in the shadows and makes dark pacts. The second is David Sassoli, who, declared by Putin an unwelcome guest in
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Foreign interference in all democratic processes in the EU (debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, our democracy is a unique and precious asset, which we must never take for granted and which we must always commit ourselves to defend. A year and a half ago this Parliament, deciding to set up a special committee to analyse and counter all external attempts to influence and influence our democratic processes, demonstrated, precisely for this reason, great wisdo
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, under no circumstances and nowhere in the world can the death penalty ever be considered a form of justice! That is why the abolition of the death penalty worldwide must remain one of the main objectives of European human rights policy, and this must always apply. Iran remains one of the places with the highest executions, with a penal code prescribing the de
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Human rights and democracy in the world – annual report 2021 (continuation of debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the overall picture of respect for human rights is alarming. We are facing a backsliding on the rights of women, children and the LGBT community, an increase in human trafficking, cases of forced labour and arbitrary detention, and the restriction of the rights of full democratic participation. The European Union must make its voice heard even more and be much m
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, a new model of relations with the African continent is strategic and indispensable. We must move from the logic of development aid to a true partnership based on strategic cooperation. This means guaranteeing the African continent conditions of sustainable development, protection for natural resources and populations, guarantees for human rights, advances on
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Continuous crackdown on civil society and human rights defenders in Russia: the case of human rights organisation Memorial
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, we have said this many times in this House and I think it is right to say it again: Vladimir Putin's biggest problem is the strength that a free, informed, active civil society can have. Its real enemy is democracy, in all its forms and expressions, inside or outside Russia's borders. Now among Putin's goals is added the International Memorial Society, not on
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New orientations for the EU’s humanitarian action (debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, conflicts, environmental disasters, food insecurity and climate change are just some of the causes that today lead to at least 238 million people in the world in need of humanitarian assistance. 238 million. The European Union is the world's largest donor, but our action can and must be improved to be even more effective, as Mr Neuser rightly said. We need less
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The European Education Area: a shared holistic approach (debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we are well aware that there will be no recovery without a real commitment to education and training. Today, more than ever, we need a European education area and an approach to education that is holistic, inclusive, integrated, that puts students and the most vulnerable at the centre, that guarantees equal opportunities for all in accessing the labour market. C
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Disinformation and the role of social platforms (debate)
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, attempts at foreign interference in our democratic processes take many forms and use many tools. Social platforms are tools that have become fundamental for the circulation of information and communications. But it is also where disinformation and hate speech find fertile ground, strong weapons used unscrupulously by those who want to attack the Union and our
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Implementation report on the EU Trust Funds and the Facility for Refugees in Turkey (continuation of debate)
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, with this report, Parliament expresses its assessment of the experience of the trust funds and the Facility for Refugees in Turkey. It must do so by clearly indicating the need to turn the page on what has been achieved so far. Although these instruments have supported positive experiences, which must be continued, we have seen a substantial shift of resource
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The situation in Belarus after one year of protests and their violent repression (debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, for more than a year now we have been witnessing a dramatic deterioration in the human rights situation in Belarus. About 700 are now political prisoners, among them the main opponents and free voices of the country. On the other hand, almost 5 000 criminal proceedings have been opened against those citizens who peacefully demonstrated against the falsified outc
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The case of human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor in UAE
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Ahmed Mansoor is a free voice, who has always denounced human rights violations in the United Arab Emirates, and for his sacrosanct right to freedom of thought is serving a 10-year sentence, detained in unworthy conditions. Today we strongly call for its immediate release, as well as that of all human rights defenders, activists, political dissidents, impriso
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Reversing the negative social consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic (debate)
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, in 2020 the average income from work in the European Union fell by 7% compared to 2019 and it is clear from the first estimates that poverty increases. We are seeing growing inequalities within our societies. In this context, accelerated by the pandemic, restarting with finally adequate tools is indispensable. We often talk about a turning point an
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EU contribution to transforming global food systems to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (debate)
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the food issue is absolutely central to the achievement of all the Sustainable Development Goals. The way we produce, distribute and consume food inevitably determines what the world of tomorrow will be, its environmental and social sustainability. This is why it is dramatic to see - as Patrizia Toia said before - that the path to a healthier, more