What Nuno spoke about.

Madam President, Commissioner, while we are debating the package for the defence of democracy, Spain holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union and, tomorrow, Pedro Sanchez will speak for the first time in Strasbourg. Pedro Sánchez has been fleeing the European Parliament for six months. This is only because the rule of law is being violated in Spain. In a democracy, no party leader

I will be very sincere and, with all due respect, what is happening in Malta embarrasses the European Union. And I tell you, from the purchase of nationalities, what cannot happen in a country that claims to be democratic, to the murder of a journalist, who is in fact investigated, has been investigated for years, but it is known, and it is public, that it happened by investigating corruption case

Madam President, Commissioner, the murder of Daphne Caruana Galicia allows us to see the violation of the rule of law in the general aspect that needs to be fought. In fact, when a journalist is murdered in Malta because she investigates corruption cases that may involve rulers and the Maltese authorities do not cooperate with the European Public Prosecutor's Office, the rule of law is being viola

Mr President, Commissioner, southern Europe and Portugal in particular are already experiencing the consequences of global warming. It's not predictions, it's reality. We are faced with extreme heat waves, extreme cold, erosion of coastal areas, reduction of groundwater, increased fires. In 2022, Portugal experienced the worst hydrological drought situation in the last 100 years, with 55% of the t

Madam President, Commissioner, what separates Christian democracy, which my party – the CDS-PP – represents, from the extreme – left and the extreme – right, is the European project, it is democracy and it is freedom. We do not do as the Portuguese socialists do, who only contemplate the extreme-right and forget their sectarianism, the extreme-left. The more far-left and far-right parties grow, th

Mr President, Commissioner, the digital revolution is redefining all aspects of life in society. Crime is no exception. More and more criminals are using technology to plan and commit crimes of a wide nature, including cross-border crimes. Cases of paedophilia, child pornography, bullying, financial crimes or terrorism are just a few examples of crimes where electronic evidence can be absolutely d

Madam President, Commissioner, corruption undermines the foundations of the European Union, weakens the institutions that represent us and is perhaps primarily responsible for the rise of extremism. In states governed by the rule of law and respecting the principle of the separation of powers, justice is supposed to be able to fight corruption effectively. The problem is that this is not always th

Madam President, Commissioner, access to and storage of energy sources is a strategic concern on a global scale. It should be recalled, in this regard, that the European Union is a net importer of energy, with 58% of available energy produced outside the Member States in 2020. A path towards imposing sustainable and clean forms of energy production only makes sense if science can keep up with the

Madam President, Members of the Commission and of the Council, in order to combat organised crime, justice must be provided. And I ask: what can lead a government to allow the prescription of crimes and the annulment of proceedings that benefit potential criminals, instead of giving the courts the means to do justice? That's what's happening in Portugal as I speak. Numerous cases are being overtur

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we must be aware that corruption is one of the greatest enemies of democracies. Corruption not only undermines the foundations of the regime, it also favors the growth of extremist parties that win votes by exploiting feelings of revolt, with the aim of destroying democracies, in a paradox that it is important that we be able to explain to the peoples. Democraci

Madam President, colleagues, as a Portuguese, I feel a great connection to Spain, a country with which we share borders, culture and many affections. So it is with respect that I say that I am very sorry that in Spain, as in Portugal, the socialists share the same shortcomings. For socialists, power matters only by power, and to achieve it any business prevails over reasons of principle. In Portug

Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, when human beings are executed with their hands tied, throats cut and shot in the head, war crimes are committed. When women and children between the ages of four and eighty-two are raped by Russian soldiers, war crimes are committed. When civilian buildings, including nurseries, hospitals, residential buildings, are bombed, indiscriminately killing civil

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, there is no freedom of the press without working conditions. In many countries of the European Union, starting with Portugal, most journalists have miserable salaries and jobs are precarious. All freedom is thus conditioned by a justified sense of injustice and revolt. There is no freedom of the press without diversity. The increasing placement of media outle