What Isabel spoke about.

Article 7 TEU aims to ensure that all EU countries respect the common values of the Union, as enshrined in Article 2 TEU, including the rule of law. The European Parliament has always been very active in addressing the challenges related to the rule of law in the EU, in particular by adopting resolutions that initiated the above-mentioned Article 7(1) TEU procedure for both countries. Since then,

Mr President, the construction of Europe's project is born of the power of memory, because there is no history without memory. Aragon has been the first Spanish region where the neo-fascists of Vox, together with the Popular Party, have repealed the Law of Democratic Memory, a Law based on the fundamental principles of truth, justice and reparation, a democratic right of Aragonese citizens that ga

Mr President, I take this final turn to greet the President of the Court of Auditors, Mr Murphy, and his companions, as well as Commissioner Hahn and the members of the Council because, as the debate has been brought forward, I did not have the opportunity to do so at first. In conclusion, I would like to thank the Court of Auditors for its annual report and for its excellent cooperation, as well

Mr President, Commissioner, we are debating the approval of the 2022 accounts of the European Union, a year in which we are facing successive crises that had a profound socio-economic impact on all Member States. A challenging year as we were still managing the COVID-19 pandemic – an unprecedented health, economic and social crisis – when Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine broke out, which

Madam President, Commissioner, I congratulate the co-rapporteurs on the great work done with the revision of the EU Financial Regulation. We in the Committee on Budgetary Control welcome improvements aimed at protecting the Union's financial interests, crisis management and reducing the administrative burden for beneficiaries. The changes we have adopted, which we have repeatedly called for in thi

Mr President, Commissioner Hahn, the European budget is our main tool to improve the lives of citizens, to promote our values and to tackle crises, as we saw with the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the energy and food security crises. And for this it has been shown that we need some flexibility and further simplification, accompanied, of course, by robust control systems to prevent any misuse of

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the revision of the Weights and Dimensions Directive is essential to make freight transport more sustainable. This revision incentivises the deployment of zero-emission trucks. International traffic rules are harmonised at European level and rules controls are strengthened to prevent the circulation of overloaded trucks that put road safety at risk. With this

Madam President, Commissioner, I am speaking on behalf of my colleague, Josianne Cutajar, rapporteur for the Transport and Tourism opinion on this regulation, who was unable to be with us today. Tourism and hospitality have always been at the forefront of the digital transition. It is therefore logical that this sector should have state-of-the-art regulation establishing harmonised rules for the c

Madam President, Madam Vice-President Šuica, road safety is responsible for eliminating or reducing risk factors in order to prevent and minimise road accidents and their fatal consequences. In the European Union, we want to achieve the goal of zero road deaths by 2050, but the reality is that more than 20,000 people die on our roads every year. This revision of the Driving Licence Directive is ke

Ms Sander, the legitimate protests of farmers in France have become worrying and illegitimate altercations against trucks transporting Spanish agricultural products; acts which, in addition to jeopardising the safety of carriers, run counter to the free movement of goods and fair competition which must prevail in the European single market. Do you think that the solution for agriculture in France

Mr President, Commissioner, in order to achieve the objective of 'vision zero', i.e. zero casualties and serious injuries on European roads by 2050, decisive action is needed. Since 2010, the creation of a European road safety area has been one of the objectives of the European Union towards this "vision zero". And one of the main elements of this European road safety area is the one dealt with in

Mr President, Commissioner Reynders, this is the first time that, instead of congratulating the rapporteur on the report, the shadow rapporteurs should be congratulated, because they are the ones who have managed to turn the report around and that this is not a mere attack and an attempt to demonise NGOs. NGOs play a crucial role in the lives of countless people. They perform an essential task for

Madam President, the new measures proposed in this review aim to make drivers safer in tourist and occasional transport and to improve their working conditions. It is a very specific sector characterized by working days in which driving is combined with other types of work linked to tourism activities, so fewer hours are driven than in the regular one. The new rules give workers some flexibility t

Mr President, Commissioner Hahn, Mr President Murphy and team, I appreciate the hard work done by the Court of Auditors and its presentation here in Parliament today. We cannot deny that the increase in the error rate estimated by the Court of Auditors is worrying, especially if we focus only on the number and compare it with that of previous years. But we must look at the whole picture, understan

Madam President, we welcome all internal measures that serve to strengthen integrity, transparency and accountability in this European Parliament, as they are a great step towards consolidating the ethical culture of the European institutions. Standards should deter, hinder and punish unethical individual behaviour. But we say it again and again in the Committee on Budgetary Control: only effectiv

Madam President, mobility must be a universal right and we must therefore ensure that all citizens can move freely across all territories and in the most sustainable and fair way. This plenary session, with the vote on the regulation on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure and the FuelEU Maritime initiative, will make this possible. With the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulatio

Madam President, the European Public Prosecutor's Office has been a before and after in prosecuting the crimes of fraud, corruption and money laundering that affect the European budget. The figures for 2022 are strong: 1 117 investigations and 359 million euros seized, seven times the budget of the EPPO itself. Its success is based on the fact that its competences do not stop at national borders,

Madam President, we finally have the long-awaited proposal from the Commission to set up an independent ethics body and I regret to say that, for this trip, there was no need for saddlebags. Parliament called for an ethics watchdog and the Commission proposes a body that simply lays down minimum standards for each institution to apply as it pleases. The rules exist and can be harmonised between al

Madam President, Commissioner, sound financial management must ensure that resources are used effectively and the return on money is maximised for the benefit of citizens. In large transport infrastructure projects, sound financial management should result in improving the competitiveness of businesses, improving the mobility of citizens, strengthening the European supply chain and even improving

Madam President, Madam Minister, after listening above all to the latest speeches, I would like to point out a couple of things. Mrs. Montserrat, from the appreciation and respect I have for you, mix churras with merinos. The only thing that fails in the management of Spain is the opposition that the Government of Spain has. Look, the 2021 discharge is the first in which we are examining the Recov

Madam President, Mr Hahn, Mr Murphy, as rapporteur for the adoption of the 2021 accounts of the European Parliament, I have to acknowledge that examining how we have used our budget and what we need to do to improve it is not an easy task. We are talking about EUR 2 billion, about 9 000 employees, 705 Members and a large building stock. Important public resources intended to enable Members to carr

Madam President, Mrs O’Reilly, we congratulate you one more year on your work as European Ombudsman, working to make the European institutions closer, more accessible and more transparent for citizens. From the Committee on Budgetary Control we insist that transparency, good administration and accountability are fundamental principles to protect the European budget and to maintain credibility in t

Mr President, Commissioner, the creation of an independent European ethics body was one of President von der Leyen’s commitments as early as 2019, and this Parliament reminded her and asked for it in September 2021. It's 2023. After having detected one of the largest cases of corruption within the European institutions and understanding that it is undoubtedly a complex issue, it is undeniable that

Madam President, Commissioner, as rapporteur of the Committee on Transport and Tourism for this report, I would like to stress that the two main milestones that condition this review further highlight the value of investing in mobility and infrastructure in the European Union. COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine have had an incalculable impact on Europe’s transport and tourism systems, sectors that co

Madam President, Commissioner, the aviation sector is facing numerous challenges affecting passengers, workers, companies and, of course, Europe's environment and connectivity. COVID-19 virtually paralysed the sector, minimizing air traffic, with restrictions on mobility, effects on connectivity and also on competitiveness. Thousands of people were dismissed from their jobs (airport staff, self-em