Investigation of the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware - Investigation of the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware (draft recommendation) (debate)
I am in favour of the European Parliament's recommendation on Investigating the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware, as are the majority of EPP Group colleagues. Unfortunately, due to force majeure, I cannot be present at this vote.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, as shadow rapporteur on the discharge reports for the financial year 2022, for the Court of Justice of the European Union, for the European Data Protection Supervisor, for the Committee of the Regions and for the European External Action Service, I would like to express my thanks to all the parliamentary groups and colleagues who have acted positively and constr
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The EU priorities for the 68th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (debate)
Mr President, achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls is a central objective for the European Union. To move in this direction, it is necessary to tackle poverty and strengthen all our policies with a gender perspective. Firstly, we must act actively to eradicate poverty, which affects women and girls the most. This includes promoting equal access to education, health and work
Mr President, education practices are a crucial tool for the development of young, and not only, professionals. It is our duty to ensure that these practices are quality and fair for trainees. We must protect the interests of trainees by ensuring that they are adequately remunerated and that they receive the appropriate material and professional experience that will help them in their future caree
Madam President, we cannot turn this respectable Convention into a field of debate guided by political considerations, which threaten the objectivity of our debates, especially in the run-up to the European elections. We noticed this phenomenon when we discussed allegations from journalistic investigations concerning Cyprus. Claims not verified by official competent bodies. Today we are experienci
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Humanitarian situation in Gaza, the need to reach a ceasefire and the risks of regional escalation (debate)
Madam President, we are being crushed by civilian casualties, which must be reduced as much as possible. We must support the provision of humanitarian aid to the innocent population of the Gaza Strip until it is rid of the yoke of Hamas terrorists. The responsibility for the civilian casualties that tan our hearts lies with Hamas, which orchestrated the horrific attacks on 7 October. These attacks
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Jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition of decisions and acceptance of authentic instruments in matters of parenthood and creation of a European Certificate of Parenthood (debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, today I have the opportunity to speak in the Chamber of the European Parliament on a subject which is very close to my heart. It is about the adoptions and difficulties that all those who wish to adopt in our Member States are going through. The procedures governing adoptions are time-consuming, bureaucratic and exhausting for stakeholders and children alike. Va
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EU strategy to assist young people facing the housing and cost of living crisis (topical debate)
Mr President, we are facing an unprecedented crisis of accuracy. Inflation has been successfully curbed, but this has not been done without unbearable increases in interest rates, the level of which limits the purchasing power of citizens and boosts their debt obligations. At the same time, urbanism and the modern way of life have weighed on cities and, as a result of the increasing population flo
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Need to release all hostages, to achieve a humanitarian ceasefire and prospect of the two-state solution (debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I have seen the brutality of Hamas' war against the territories of Israel during my recent visit to the war zone and I can say to everyone with certainty: We must eliminate this terrorist organization. Hamas opened Pandora's box on October 7 and, unfortunately, the drama has since been enormous in the Middle East, with enormous human cost to the civilian populat
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International day for the elimination of violence against women (debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, today, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, it is our duty to stand united against this inhumane practice. The European Union is committed to combating violence against women by promoting legislation and policies that protect women's rights and offer support to victims. It has ratified the Istanbul Convention on preventing and
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Cyprus Confidential - need to curb enablers of sanctions-evasion and money-laundering rules in the EU (debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, it is with regret that I am here today. As a Cypriot citizen and MEP, the first thing I have to say is: All in the light. The competent authorities at national and European level should investigate the allegations in depth and act accordingly. These reports go back thirty years. I must point out the enormous progress Cyprus has made in recent years in terms of t
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to offer my congratulations to all those who participated in the full day conciliation meeting, particularly Mr Siegfried Mureşan for his contribution, which was a catalyst for the final agreement. Nevertheless, we managed to claim an increase in funds for our young people, the Erasmus+ programme, young farmers, research, innovation, military cooper
Madam President, the world of work is changing rapidly. Digitalisation has brought new forms of work, including artificial intelligence, that have affected workers’ occupational safety and health, and in particular their mental health. Psychosocial risk factors, such as high workload, stress, toxic work culture and discrimination, can lead to burnout and negatively affect physical health, reducing
Madam President, I have personally experienced the brutality of the Hamas war in the territories of Israel and I can tell you one thing with confidence: This terrorist organization must disappear from the face of the earth and with it all the atrocities it commits against humanity must be eliminated. But I have to refer to the axis of evil, which at the moment is cooperation between Russia, Turkey
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General budget of the European Union for the financial year 2024 - all sections (debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, first of all I would like to thank my fellow rapporteur Siegfried Mureşan and the Committee on Budgets for their effort to draw up the 2024 budget. We owe it to our citizens to demand a European Union that is more developmental, more innovative, more social, ready to solve the ongoing problems facing humanity. The events that have unfolded in recent times are sh
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Situation in Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan’s attack and the continuing threats against Armenia (debate)
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, 100,000 Armenians are being forced by the Turko-Azerbaijans to leave their ancestral lands. The Armenian nation has always been plagued by hostilities and violations of its right to self-determination, while thousands of years of Armenian culture in Anatolia and Artsakh are erased from the map of history. This is the result of the selective imposit
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the European Union urgently needs an instrument against the threatened or actual imposition of economic costs by third countries, with the aim of exporting a political concession, as is clear from the lacuna in European Union law. Today, Europe is under economic coercion in the form of a threat from countries such as China, Russia and Turkey. The unavailabili
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Regulation of prostitution in the EU: its cross-border implications and impact on gender equality and women’s rights (debate)
Mr President, first of all I would like to thank the rapporteur and the shadow rapporteur of the European People's Party for this report. This is undoubtedly an extremely sensitive issue. However, we must remember what is at stake, which is nothing more than the protection of women and girls, which must always be our priority. I would like to draw your attention to the amendments I tabled concerni
Madam President, I must refer to the ongoing and unresolved problem of invasion and occupation facing my country. We cannot accept any suspicion or reference as to the attitude and actions of the Republic of Cyprus towards our Turkish Cypriot fellow citizens, since they themselves suffer because of the policies of the pseudo-state. A pseudo-state that is completely controlled by Erdogan's Turkish
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The need for EU action on search and rescue in the Mediterranean (debate)
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, as the Republic of Cyprus, we are sending out a signal of danger to migration. The magnitude of the problem facing Cyprus is evidenced by the numbers, since our island accepted 50% of the migrants who arrived in the countries of Europe in 2022. Cyprus, like the other frontline countries of migration flows, is called upon to deal with disproportionate flows in
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This is Europe - Debate with the President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides (debate)
Your Honour, President of the Republic of Cyprus, I welcome you in turn to the European Parliament. Mr President, the moments are extremely critical. It takes unanimity and vigilance to prevent new faits accomplis and to counter Turkish rhetoric, such as the one we heard yesterday from Mr. Erdogan. But I would like to hear from you some words, apart from the Cyprus issue, about gender equality and
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Marking the World Day against Child Labour (debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, today, 12 June, is World Day Against Child Labour. While taking immediate and effective measures to end child labour in all its forms is a firm commitment of the European Union and one of the Sustainable Development Goals, the reality is that we remain far from that goal. According to the most recent estimates, the number of children in employment has increased
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Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence – EU accession: institutions and public administration of the Union - Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence - EU accession: judicial cooperation in criminal matters, asylum and non-refoulement (debate)
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, we must bear in mind the scale of the problem of violence against women. The numbers speak for themselves: one in three women in the European Union has been the victim of physical and/or sexual violence since the age of 15; more than 50% of women have experienced sexual harassment; one in five women has experienced physical and/or sexual violence by a current
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Cross-border adoptions from third countries (debate)
Madam President, we all know that matters of adoption are a national competence for the Member States. However, what is happening with the trafficking of children by networks active in illegal adoptions outside the European Union is forcing this Parliament to take action. Equally important is that there are many families who would like to offer love to these children who are in orphanages and welf
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European Semester for economic policy coordination 2023 - European Semester for economic policy coordination: Employment and social priorities for 2023 (debate)
Madam President, dear colleagues, I will speak on behalf of my colleague Petri Sarvamaa, who is the rapporteur of the budget opinion on the European Semester for Economic Policy Coordination 2023. First, we would like to thank Ms Tinagli for this report. It raises important and topical issues related to the current challenges and opportunities of the EU economy. The annual European Semester cycle