Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, more than ever, we need a strong, cohesive, united Europe that makes common choices to defend the rule of law, to defend Ukraine's independence, to prevent totalitarianism from prevailing over democracies all over the world. That is why we also need a credible Europe when it comes to energy policy. We have always fought to have a cap on the price of gas, we c
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Mr Vice-President of the Commission, thank you for also recalling the tragedy that struck my country, the Marmolada. Even before this drought wave, 52 million Europeans lived in areas under water stress for at least one month a year. From 2017 to 2019, a significant drought affected the Danube region, the Rhine, in 2018. Drought, in addition to causing disastrou
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Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 23-24 June 2022 (continuation of debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, last year's European Council closed with lights and shadows. The decision to continue supporting Ukraine on its path to EU membership together with Moldova is a good one, but more courage is needed. Our economy is at war, families are struggling to pay bills and food, businesses are also facing rising commodity prices. In short, new and urgent measures are neede
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Objection pursuant to Rule 111(3): Amending the Taxonomy Climate Delegated Act and the Taxonomy Disclosures Delegated Act (debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the Commission's delegated act on taxonomy goes in the right direction and finds the agreement of the Government of Ukraine, which just today sent a message of support for this proposal to our Parliament. Including nuclear and gas as sustainable investments serves to accompany us towards a gradual and non-ideological energy transition. We need seriousness right
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Preparation of the European Council meeting of 23-24 June 2022, including the meeting with Western Balkan leaders on 23 June - Candidate status of Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia (debate)
Mr President, Mr Vice-President Šefčovič, tomorrow's European Council is an important step in the process of European integration. Without prejudice to the criteria required for accession, the decision to grant candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova is crucial at this war-torn stage. On this path, we are also awaiting the progress that Georgia has undertaken to make, but it is also necessary to g
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, tomorrow's vote is a very important first step towards the European Parliament's right of initiative. That is why I would like to thank Paulo Rangel and all the members of the AFCO Committee whom I have the honour to chair. We have been insisting for years that this Parliament should be a Parliament with full powers, as are parliaments around the world. If we wa
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The EU’s Foreign, Security and Defence Policy after the Russian invasion of Ukraine (debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has certainly strengthened Western cohesion, but it has also highlighted the delays in our Union's foreign policy, defence policy and security policy. You have to have the courage to do more. The world after this war will change. China will be the great director of a political operation to invade half the world with its products and
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The REPowerEU Plan: European solidarity and energy security in face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including the recent cuts of gas supply to Poland and Bulgaria (debate)
(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, of course we reiterate our solidarity with the Ukrainian people, victims of violence that we believed belonged to a dark past. War, the food crisis, rising commodities and inflation are bringing our businesses and families to their knees. The REPowerEU plan, presented by the Commission yesterday, is a positive first step forward, but more courage is needed.
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Mr President of the Court of Auditors, the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, in its resolution on the 2020 discharge of the Council and the European Council, regrets the continued lack of cooperation on the part of the Council. We need more transparency. We have asked to work on a memorandum between Parliament and the Council, but that is not enough. At th
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Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 24-25 March 2022: including the latest developments of the war against Ukraine and the EU sanctions against Russia and their implementation (debate)
Madam President, Mr High Representative, ladies and gentlemen, the horrific images of the violence committed in Bucha and in so many other cities in Ukraine have provoked the right reaction of the West, the right and sacrosanct reaction of the European Union. It is clear that our goal is peace: We must work to achieve it, but we must remember that there is no peace without justice. That is why we
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Outcome of the EU-China Summit (1 April 2022) (debate)
Madam President, Mr High Representative, ladies and gentlemen, we must be realistic: China is a global power with which we have to reckon, but that does not mean giving up our values at all. We are very different from them: Just think of the positions on the war in Ukraine that emerged from last Friday's summit; There is nothing Beijing is doing to stop the Russian aggression. But also on the issu
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Debriefing of the European Council meeting in Paris on 10 March 2022 - Preparation of the European Council meeting 24-25 March 2022 (debate)
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Russia's unacceptable invasion of Ukraine will bring about a momentous change in the European Union. The Council of tomorrow and the day after tomorrow will have to deal with the great question of a Europe which must be politically stronger in order to defend its values, but which must also focus on self-sufficiency. Self-sufficiency of defence: It is therefo
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European Semester for economic policy coordination: annual sustainable growth survey 2022 – European Semester for economic policy coordination: employment and social aspects in the annual sustainable growth strategy survey 2022 (debate)
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the increase in raw materials, starting with gas and oil, has further increased inflation in Europe by eroding the spending capacity of our fellow citizens. Many businesses today risk shutting down forever. The public finances of European states already tested by the pandemic will have to face the cost of welcoming refugees (30 billion for this year alone), t
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The deterioration of the situation of refugees as a consequence of the Russian aggression against Ukraine (debate)
(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, discussing today how to welcome the millions of refugees must not be just a symbolic fact; Our credibility, our values, our economy are at stake. Meanwhile, I want to thank the many volunteers and associations, doctors, nurses, local administrators, national governments who are doing everything to welcome the victims of this conflict. Charity and humanitari
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Russian aggression against Ukraine (continuation of debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we are all Ukrainians. All of Europe, all of the West, are on the side of freedom and democracy. We will continue to counter the violence of the Russian aggressors with the strength of our values: the unity, cohesion and hard resistance of the people of Ukraine, the strong nation of Europe! They forced Russia to sit around a table. We all want peace to be achiev
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Implementation of the common foreign and security policy – annual report 2021 - Implementation of the common security and defence policy – annual report 2021 (debate)
. –Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the contribution of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs to the reports is divided into three essential points. Firstly, the Union needs to improve its crisis response capacities in a rapidly changing global environment, in short, we need more courage on the part of Europe. Secondly, more efforts are needed to combat disinformation, including from third
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The European Commission Guidelines on inclusive language (topical debate)
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I wish you and your families a Merry Christmas. The guidelines prepared by Commissioner Dalli on the use of inclusive language, promptly withdrawn by the Commission, have deeply offended the sensibilities of millions of citizens and thousands of EU officials. If the intention was to protect cultural diversity and highlight the inclusive nature of the EU, it w
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, COP26 was not a great blah blah blah blah as some have said and the results are clear. The reference to the reduction of fossil fuels, for the first time included in a final document, the choice to fight deforestation and block it by 2030 and the decision to invest over $19 billion to replant billions of trees by 2050 are an important signal that has arrived. Th
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Strengthening democracy, media freedom and pluralism in the EU (debate)
(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the SLAPP processes are part of a strategy, sometimes even desired by governments, to silence opposition. How can we forget the tragedies of Daphne Caruana Galizia and Ján Kuciak, murders that led to the resignation of two socialist prime ministers, indirectly but strongly involved in these murders. Unfortunately, this continues to happen, the attacks on fr