What Sérgio spoke about.

Madam President, Commissioner, valuing vocational education is a strategic decision for Europe. Europe's technological and industrial future depends on skilled professionals with attractive careers and prospects for progression. The Austrian experience offers a reference: combining school and business, maintaining pathways to higher education. Portugal also has experience to share in its professio

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, in the European Union, ‑ is estimated to have a deficit of around 1.2 million health professionals. Behind this number are overloaded professionals, growing waiting lists and deep territorial inequalities. This report responds with concrete priorities: valuing and retaining professionals, ensuring decent and safe working conditions, and anticipatin

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the region of the European Union is the best place to live, but today almost 95 million Europeans are still at risk of poverty or social exclusion. But there is one particularly worrying fact: in the European Union, around 20 million children are growing up in a context of vulnerability. This represents an immediate social risk, but also a major

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, for too long the European Union has become overly dependent on external supply chains, especially for active pharmaceutical ingredients and essential medicines. Currently, a significant part of the world production of these components is concentrated outside Europe, especially and in particular in Asia. This dependency exposes our health systems to

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the agreement on the Cali Fund for the fair and equitable sharing of benefits associated with the use of digital information on genetic resources represents an important step in strengthening international cooperation on biodiversity. Digitalisation of genetic information presents new challenges, but also new opportunities. It is essential to en

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, obesity is one of the biggest public health challenges in Europe today. And this is politics. More than half of European adults are overweight and one in six live with obesity. Against this background, the European response must be clear: strengthen prevention, promote healthy lifestyles and ensure proper diagnosis and treatment for

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the European Pillar of Social Rights is a fundamental commitment of the European Union to decent work, social justice and equal opportunities. However, despite the 2021 Action Plan, significant inequalities persist between Member States, notably in access to quality jobs, social protection, housing and healthcare. In a challenging context, marke

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, we are living in times of profound geopolitical instability. The sea, which for centuries has been a symbol of trade, prosperity and connection between peoples, has today also become a scene of hybrid threats, environmental risks and growing strategic pressures. It is in this context that the update of the mandate of the European Maritime Safety Ag

Madam President, breast cancer remains the most common cancer in the European Union and the leading cause of death from cancer among women. Every year, more than 350,000 people receive this diagnosis. However, more than a third of these cases can be prevented. Early detection saves around 21,000 lives per year, but inequalities persist in access to screening across Member States. To talk about scr

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the day is already long, on the way to 11 p.m., but let me underline a dimension that Portugal is well aware of: the historical, cultural and linguistic relations that unite Europe and Africa. Lusophony is a natural space for cooperation and dialogue that already serves as a bridge between continents and as an example of how the European Union can

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, in 2022 more than 60 000 Europeans lost their lives due to excessive heat. This requires immediate and effective responses. First, in housing: accelerate the implementation of the Energy Efficiency of Buildings Directive by ensuring better insulation, sustainable climate solutions and tackling heat islands in cities. We cannot accept that our homes

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the trans-European transport network will only be credible if it is prepared to withstand such new attacks. For that, of course, we need alternative navigation systems and faster response protocols. But it is not enough to act only within the borders of the Union – the skies and the seas know no political borders. We must cooperate with our neig

First of all, Mr Gonçalves, with regard to these forestry policies, we cannot make policy with disasters, with loss of life and with material losses for people. We are talking about a scourge. As for the Pontal party, what I can tell you is that, for the first time, we had a prime minister in August giving his face, taking responsibility and being worried about everything that was happening in Por

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, first of all I would like to thank all those who risk their lives fighting fires and fires. We also do not forget the dead and we do not forget those who have lost everything. This summer of 2025 was the warmest in my country, Portugal, in the last 94 years – a clear and undeniable sign of climate change. The fires in southern Europe are increasing

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, my teaching as mayor of Portugal has taught me many things, one of which is: “Prevention is better than cure. Better safe than sorry’ The best response to the growing risk of fires and droughts lies in the wisdom of preventing ourselves. It was with a boost from the EPP in the European Parliament that the Union reinforced the rescEU programme wi

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I am speaking to you as a European citizen, but above all as the responsible Member of this House, on a subject so significant that it affects the lives of millions and millions of people. We must take a number of points into account, but I am going to tell you about three. First: interconnectivity is important, especially in the outermost regio

Mr João Oliveira, the government I support in Portugal, with great pride, has done all this and much more than I have said. Much more than Russia does, North Korea, or other countries. I believe in the European Union. I believe this commissioner who's here. I believe that the European Commission will, step by step, make us one of the territories with the highest quality of life. This is the path w

Mr President, Commissioner and friend, ladies and gentlemen, I come from a country that knows very well the importance of investing in sustainable and intermodal public transport. It is committed to strengthening public transport connections in low-density territories and promoting on-demand transport services to combat precariousness and increase inclusion. It is determined to support the transit