Speeches

(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, for two years now, the right - and unfortunately I am sorry to see this - has also decided to use the environment as a weapon for the next election campaign. Fake news was spread in friendly newspapers, farmers' protests were manipulated and measures that until a few months earlier were considered irremovable were blocked. In 2019, also thanks to the commitment of the 5 Star Movement, Europe had taken the strong direction of the environmental and sustainable transition. In the last two years, however, there has been an attempt to turn the tables and this has created uncertainty first and foremost for the European production and business system. We have embarked with strength and courage on the path of electrification of the public and private transport system. Car manufacturers are making strong investments in this sector. We can't say "sorry, we joked, this is the right way". Europe does not turn back but looks forward.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, after the approval of the Next Generation EU, the reform of the Stability Pact is certainly the most important of this legislature. And yet he's going quietly. No European leader today to cut the ribbons, no headlines, no TV show. Why this silence? Perhaps because they want to hide, a few weeks before the European elections, the return of austerity? With these new rules, Europe will impose cuts of 12-13 billion a year on Italy. This means less money for healthcare, school, transport, investment. They will cut everything except for defense and the production of weapons and ammunition. And the absurd thing is that the masochistic Meloni government has even countersigned this straitjacket. We have the Troika at home and we didn't know it. Those who vote yes to this stability pact betray Italy and betray its citizens. And we, as the Five Star Movement, will continue to fight in every institutional forum for another Europe, the one that reaches out to citizens and businesses and does not stifle them with absurd rules that will increase poverty.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, first Qatargate, now Russiagate. The European institutions find themselves vulnerable to the many, too many attempts to influence foreign countries. For us there must be no doubt: If there are MEPs who have accepted money or favours with the aim of manipulating European democracy, then they must be expelled from our Chamber. Whether it is a Member of the European Parliament, a Commissioner, an official or an assistant, those who make mistakes pay and no longer have to work for the European institutions. This must apply not only to Russia, but also to all other foreign states. Those who work for the European Union cannot be on the payroll, directly or indirectly, of other foreign states. We need incompatibility. We ban all conflicts of interest and bring honesty and transparency back into fashion.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the income of our farmers has fallen mainly for two reasons. First of all because they suffer from the wild competition of low-cost products coming from the other side of the world, and then because our supply chain benefits the large distributors. One kilo of apples today is sold in supermarkets for no less than 2.10 euros, but producers only get 29 cents. This is the main problem. The environment has nothing to do with it. For some time now, as the Five Star Movement, we have been denouncing trade policies that sacrifice agriculture. We voted against CETA, which favoured cheap wild imports of Canadian wheat, and we have always opposed the EU-Mercosur agreement, which would have penalised our fruit and vegetables sector. We need to reach out to the farmers. Together with them we must build fair trade, close to their interests. Only in this way will we be able to safeguard our excellence and guarantee a future for our agriculture.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, today's debate clearly shows the two different conceptions of Europe that will clash at the next European elections: On the one hand, there are those who strongly condemn, as we and the vast majority of colleagues are doing, the fascist greetings in Italy, yes, but also the dangerous ideas about the deportation of citizens who are spreading in Germany. On the other side there is a right that minimizes, or is silent. Yes, nine days have passed since the commemoration of Acca Larentia and we still do not know what you think of those fascist greetings the Italian Prime Minister: She who used to tweet about everything today doesn't find the time to distance herself from those fanatics. The same Giorgia Meloni, moreover, who in 2008, as minister of the Berlusconi government, participated in that same commemoration and, even if she did not give the Roman greeting, paraded in front of Celtic crosses accompanied by characters from the neo-fascist world. And so we remember it, especially to the new generations: Fascism brings war, hate, discrimination, social exclusion. And is this the future we want for our European Union? I really hope not, because to be pro-European you have to be anti-fascist!

Mr President, Commissioner, the Energy Union certainly represents a great opportunity for growth and security for our Europe. With a single purchasing powerhouse and finally weighing the strength of our Union, businesses and citizens can get more competitive prices than ever before. However, there are still many shaded areas. The renewable energy boom in 2022 is not homogeneous across all parts of Europe. There are countries, like Italy, that are struggling, not taking full advantage of the potential of sun and wind. Also in Italy, state subsidies to fossil fuels in 2022 increased by more than 500% compared to 2021, when the Conte government brought them to an all-time low. The Commission must put its breath on the necks of the Member States, on energy communities, on renewables, on combating energy poverty and on plant efficiency. National energy and climate plans must reflect these objectives, otherwise we will all have failed.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, in this legislature we have adopted the minimum wage directive and a recommendation on minimum income: These are the first, but unfortunately insufficient, steps forward. More needs to be done because today poverty affects the elderly, students, children, families and even workers. The entire middle class is at risk due to skyrocketing inflation. Commissioner Schmit, we are concerned that the Italian Government intends to circumvent and misapply the criteria laid down in the minimum wage directive. The Commission must monitor and stop this mockery because in Italy more than 3 million workers have starvation pay, and this Parliament has voted for the directive. Finally, a proposal: the fight against poverty must not be left to the Member States alone, let us establish the income of European citizenship and finance it with the common budget. We have done economic and monetary union, we are now a people's Europe.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, after the deniers of tragedies such as the Holocaust and the climate deniers, here come those who even deny the evidence, namely gender discrimination in Europe. Let me give you some examples. Poland 2020: More than 100 municipalities, all administered by the right, have declared themselves "LGBT-free zones". Italy 2023: The Meloni government blocks registrations of children of gay couples and some courts retroactively cancel the family relationship. Also in Italy, the Parliament votes on a law that sends to prison the parents of children born through gestation for others in altruistic form. President, those who today in Poland and Italy claim that the right does not touch gay rights lie knowing they are lying. And that's enough, and I say it as a heterosexual mother of five daughters. As the philosopher Samuel Adams taught: We do not need a majority that prevails, but rather a tireless minority eager to ignite foci of freedom in the minds of men.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Mr von der Leyen, you have proved over the past four years that you are more of a marathon runner than a sprinter. And this is a merit in politics. Allow me, however, to make one suggestion: in this last year of work, continue to pursue only the common good and the future of the European Union and do not listen to the sirens coming from European capitals. Ours and its goal is not the European Council of June 2024, but 2050, the date on which we must reap the benefits of today’s policies. For the Five Star Movement, Europe must not take as a model theausterity 2011-2012, but the Next Generation of 2020. The Stability Pact cannot therefore be the copy and paste of the mistakes of the past, but must become the springboard for a greener, more technological, more social and fairer Europe. President, the war in Ukraine is the main threat to the future and lives of European citizens. Let's stop her! Only diplomacy and dialogue can bring peace back to our continent, not weapons.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, skyrocketing mortgages, precarious jobs, starvation pay, increasingly distressed businesses, peace in Ukraine ever further away. No, for this debate the right led by Fratelli d'Italia did not propose one of these urgent issues for citizens. Their priority is to nurture yet another witch hunt against women and homogeneous families. Gestation for others is something very far from our culture, especially the Mediterranean one, which revolves around the family. But the fact that it's different doesn't mean it's right or wrong. Who am I to judge who makes different choices from mine? If we want to be serious and not make becerious propaganda, today we should all together condemn the exploitation for reproductive purposes, but not the free and conscious choice of many women to help other couples to realize the dream of being parents. That's the difference between us and them. We respect others, the right wants to impose its own lifestyle. For us, all children, regardless of how they were born, and all families, straight, gay, with only one parent, should have the same rights, for the right, however, no. But you will not win even in the next legislature, because love is always stronger than hatred and prejudice.

Mr President, with 1 134 people killed and more than 2 500 injured, the Rana Plaza tragedy in Bangladesh can be regarded as the most serious work accident in history. A tragedy only apparently far away, because at Rana Plaza the clothes that were sold in stores all over the world were manufactured, even here in Europe. We therefore also have responsibilities for working conditions in third world countries, and as Europe I must say that we have reacted. Since the tragedy, there has been greater involvement of companies in social responsibility, the adoption of higher international standards and increased pressure on governments to increase workers' rights. Has everything been done? Can we say that tragedies like Rana Plaza will never happen again? No. The pandemic and the advent of theultra-fast fashion They have fuelled other forms of abuse: from algorithms that decide on the lives of workers, to hunger pay. As a 5 Star Movement we support the European Citizens' Initiative, promoted among others by the World Fair Trade Organization, Clean Clothes and Fashion Revolution. "Good Clothes, Fair Pay" is the title of the campaign calling for legislation in Europe to achieve decent wages across the garment, textile and footwear sectors. Next June 17 as 5 Star Movement we will be in the square in Rome for them too. #BastaVitePrecarie is not only a commitment that we want to make in Italy, but a goal to be achieved throughout Europe and around the world. This Parliament is working not only on corporate social responsibility, but also on the regulation to put an end to forced labour. Tomorrow we will vote on an emergency measure to buy more weapons and ammunition. In our opinion, however, these are the urgencies on which we should work. No more Rana Plaza. Enough exploitation of workers. No more precarious lives.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, children are children, regardless of how they were born, how they come into the world, the race and sexual orientation of their parents. Their rights must be defended, without ifs and buts. And I say this as a mother of three biological daughters and two acquired daughters. What is happening in Italy, in my country, is shameful. A far-right government that is waging a covert war on families, like mine, just because they are different from mine. This is not the Europe we dream of, this is not the Europe that in the Treaties defends the equality of its citizens and respect for their rights. Commissioner Reynders' answer to one of our questions goes in the right direction. Recognizing the rights of children of rainbow families is a matter of social justice, but also of legality. The principle of subsidiarity has nothing to do with it because no one disputes family law, but fundamental rights are protected. Madam Commissioner, don't stop here. Use all the powers provided for in the Treaties to achieve the recognition of children of same-sex parents. Let us fight together for a Europe that is free and open to others.

Madam President, President von der Leyen, President Michel, ladies and gentlemen, the European Union is already lagging behind its major competitors the United States and China in the challenge of transition. Despite falling in recent months, the price of gas remains too high and costs for European businesses and households are up to 7 times higher than those in the United States. And it is clear, therefore, that not only can we no longer depend on abroad but we must keep energy costs low, otherwise our competitiveness will weaken. In this context, the next Council will be decisive in making up for lost time, but energy measures are not enough. Europe needs a new large-scale industrial programme in order to fully meet the challenges of the transition, so I welcome President von der Leyen's speech today, which I naturally agree with and look forward to hearing more about. However, we must focus on certain investments and with funds dedicated to this new industrial era based on clean and sustainable energy. But on this I still see too many reticences. Unfortunately, too many countries, including mine, today do not seem to understand that we cannot miss the train of a future that is already here and try unnecessarily to remain anchored to models now outdated. The world goes on even without us and today is the time to show ourselves united here in Brussels for a Energy Recovery Fund This would be vital for Italy and the EU.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, the Five Star Movement shares the objectives of the Green Deal industrial plan, but we have doubts about the path identified to achieve them. In short, we share the end but not completely the means. The U.S. IRA provides subsidies, tax rebates of $370 billion, and what worries us most is the exclusion of European companies from this aid. This is a real unfair competition that we have been denouncing for weeks. We are friends, we are allies of the United States, but precisely because friends and allies we must demand respect. And the "do-it-yourself" policy with more flexibility on state aid is not enough, because it would create distortions and damage the European single market. Instead, we support the proposal for a European Sovereignty Fund, but it must be financed by issuing common debt. The European budget is saturated and no new contributions can be requested from the Member States. Defending our competitiveness is not an expense, but an investment necessary for the very survival of the European Union.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I was in Washington a week ago and, together with many colleagues, we have repeatedly pointed out to our American interlocutors that the new US inflation law violates WTO rules and will have a very serious impact on European businesses. Many of the green subsidies that will be introduced in America severely discriminate against the most virtuous and advanced European industries: I am talking about our car manufacturers, manufacturers of renewable energy systems, battery manufacturers, other energy-intensive industries in the European Union, but above all I am talking about thousands of European jobs in danger. Not only does this law put European companies at a disadvantage vis-à-vis their star-and-stripe rivals, but our current state aid rules, in their current form, prevent member countries from doing the same and offering equally generous tax breaks to their companies. So, in addition to the damage, the mockery. We must have the courage to tell the Americans that this is not to help domestic industry, but to make real unfair competition, moreover to a historic ally like Europe, and we must make them understand that this ally does not intend to stand by and, on this, I hope that it really does not stand by.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Mr von der Leyen, I very much appreciated your speech, I acknowledge your efforts and, above all, I agree with your statement that the only way to combat the energy crisis is to accelerate the transition to renewables. However, we cannot hide behind the fact that today in Europe there are 95 million people at risk of poverty, also because of the energy crisis, and for them the increase in the price of gas does not mean lowering the thermostat, but choosing whether to eat or warm up, and that is why I believe that our delay in setting a price at the gas ceiling is truly unjustifiable and the next European Council must find an agreement. I would like to recall that in early 2021 methane cost 16 euros per megawatt hour and this was the value decided by the market, to which all suppliers were well available to supply Europe, not just Gazprom. In June, there was talk of an price cap At EUR 90, I do not understand how the Commission thought it acceptable to propose a threshold of 2.75, and the 225 now of the Czech Presidency are also too high and make the measure in fact useless and unenforceable. The EU must represent all citizens, especially those who cannot warm up. It must ask for a price cap on fast and effective gas for them.

(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, on 16 September 2020, in this Chamber, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated 'If you are a parent in one European country, you are obviously a parent in another European country' and announced an initiative on the recognition of the children of same-sex couples in the European Union. Two years have passed and this promise has not yet been fulfilled. The Court of Justice must intervene to recognise the rights of rainbow families in Europe. In Italy we live in a similar situation: the Salvini Decree imposes, in documents and forms relating to minors, indications that exclude and discriminate against homogeneous families. This decree may slow down or even prevent the issuance of a passport and therefore violates the right to freedom of movement enshrined in the Treaties. President, in recent days I received a letter from a woman who is a mother together with her partner, writing to me: "Mother" is the most beautiful word in the world, unless it is repeated twice. Stop discrimination, let's win the right and love.

(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, throughout the European Union, high energy is pushing millions of households below the poverty line and, as mine is the country of small and medium-sized enterprises, it is also seriously jeopardising three and a half million jobs here. So well the joint purchase of gas, is what we have been asking for a long time, even better the abandonment of the price index of the Amsterdam market, where now the majority of operators are not energy companies but speculators. And finally, it is very good to fix a cap on the price of gas, it is a measure that we have been asking for since the beginning of the crisis and that will certainly help citizens, if implemented correctly. But what would really make the difference for businesses and households would be to create a new Energy Recovery Fund, thus jointly recovering the capital on the market and transferring it to Europeans in difficulty. The measures against the dear bills do not serve immediately, they served yesterday, and only one of these will not be enough, they serve all and they serve now.

Madam President, Madam President von der Leyen, ladies and gentlemen, if the symbolic image of the European Union during the pandemic was the dramatic one of wards full of COVID patients, today's one is this. This is the energy bill that a small Ligurian entrepreneur received for the month of August: €5,600 compared to €1,700 last year. More than tripled. And because of this bloodletting, many entrepreneurs have already ceased their activities, many will be forced to do so and millions of families will not be able to reach the end of the month. To these people we cannot respond with unproductive summits, with words and promises: We need facts! President von der Leyen, do you remember the meetings with President Conte? This is the model you should be inspired by: the recovery fund It is the polar star to follow even in this energy crisis. Then you need immediately, of course, other measures: a cap on the price of gas, common purchases and storage, a tax on extra profits. And about this, do not ask the Draghi government for advice, because they have miswritten the law of the Italian State and lack revenue of 9 billion euros out of 10. It's a scandal. These funds are now needed to cut the bills of citizens and businesses. Hurry up!

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the cost of energy for Europeans has practically tripled in the last year. But the most absurd thing is that such figures depend not only on war and scarcity but also and above all on speculation on the international market. Then it is good to intervene by taxing the extra profits of the fossil multinationals: but we have to use the proceeds for a new emergency fund, a recovery fund energy for the benefit of households and small and medium-sized enterprises in difficulty. Above all, as the Five Star Movement has been asking for months now, we must find the courage to impose, without wasting time, a cap on the price of gas, implement joint purchases and, once this crisis is over, we must reason about the usefulness of an energy market like the one in Amsterdam, which creates enormous profits for a few, large multinationals and costs the raw material 10 or 20 times more than the ten-year contracts it should replace.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, Ukraine is the breadbasket of the world and war is starving the planet. And if the prices of bread and pasta have increased here, in Africa and in the Middle East there are those who risk starvation, because entire countries are 100 percent dependent on Ukrainian exports, which remain blocked by Russian mines and bombs. These are immense amounts of food, because of the 620 million tons of grain traded in 2021, Ukraine alone supplied 11 percent of them. So we need to act now, because if global grain stocks fall below a certain level, it would not only increase world hunger, but every producing country would react with understandable fear by limiting grain exports. A measure that seems sensible if viewed individually, but if dozens of countries took it at the same time, the global collective effect would be an unprecedented explosion in price, which could reach unprecedented thresholds. The major powers must therefore agree on the urgent opening of maritime food corridors, but in the meantime the Union must facilitate transport by land, allocating resources for the purchase and rental of trains and trucks and supporting logistics operators to cope with the huge insurance costs. The construction of product transfer facilities from Ukrainian to European trains, which are not interoperable because they use tracks of different sizes, must now be financed. Moreover, world exporters are no longer buying Ukrainian wheat, as they are rightly concerned that the product they buy today will never be delivered. For this reason, the Commission and the UN should also consider buying wheat directly from Ukrainian producers and then reselling it to exporters. Finally, we need to coordinate efforts, at the G7, at the G20, to avoid restrictions that would be catastrophic for wheat exports. Only then will the humanitarian disaster that is this war not turn into a global food disaster.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, in order to face the coming winter, it is imperative to fill strategic gas deposits. However, the cost of the raw material interferes with this operation. The price of gas today is around 120 euros per megawatt hour, compared to not even 19 euros a year ago. And this is not only due to the war in Ukraine and Russian interference, but also to the inexplicable speculation plaguing international markets. The Five Star Movement immediately calls for a cap on the price of gas, but also a tax on financial transactions in the energy markets to tie the hands of speculators. We also call on the Commission to proceed with the joint purchase of gas, but without forgetting the real long-term objective, the ecological transition, which can only be achieved through a new Recovery Fund It is intended solely for the financing of the European Union. A key step towards a European Union green No longer a prisoner of fossil fuels.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Madam Vice-President, slavery should be a phenomenon of the past, relegated to the darkest pages of history books, but unfortunately it is still very topical because there are 25 million people in the world who are in the condition of forced labour, and three quarters of these are women and girls. The Commission is about to present a new regulation that will remove goods produced through forced labour from the market. I am proud of it, because I believe that this is also what international trade is for. But for this tool to work it must apply to the entire production process and not just the finished products. So I would like to ask what the scope of this regulation will be, how the Commission intends to ensure effective compliance with the rules, because the situation in the textile sector has exposed all the shortcomings of the international audit and certification systems, even in the face of serious and repeated violations. Finally, we must ensure that those who carry out checks have all the resources necessary to investigate, because this regulation must not remain a set of good intentions that cannot be applied, but must work to make trade fairer and cleaner.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Mr Draghi, welcome back to the European Parliament. During the pandemic we discovered how many positive things Europe can do for citizens, as you rightly pointed out, with Next Generation EU we have saved our economy and created the conditions for a restart. Then with SURE we allocated billions to help the unemployed and precarious. Of course, it was not easy: There were many European leaders who were skeptical about the measures to be taken, but solidarity and unity prevailed and today, thanks to European unity, Putin has so far not achieved what he wanted in Ukraine, but be careful, we have not achieved what we wanted either and that is peace. Dear colleagues, more than two months after the beginning of this conflict, the time has come to save the Ukrainian people from further death and suffering by the force of diplomacy. Ukraine's right of defence is sacrosanct, but let us not forget that our real ultimate goal must be peace. And then at the same time we take advantage of these difficult months and start concretely working for energy independence from Russian gas and oil. We fight the energy pandemic with the same tools used during the health pandemic. We replicate the success of the Recovery Fund and approve an Energy Recovery Fund: This is the proposal of the Five Star Movement to accelerate the development of renewables as much as possible. The sun is our gas and the wind is our oil, but as you know, President Draghi, not all states have the leverage to activate the necessary investments. We need Europe's firepower and on this we ask you to insist at the next European Council because our credibility is at stake on dear energy. And I too, like the president of the Greens Lamberts, invite you to make European the success of the 110 percent super bonus that the European Commission has openly praised, while it is shameful that, while the oil giants accumulate profits for billions of dollars, one in seven citizens in Italy cannot pay the electricity and gas bill because it is too expensive. The galloping inflation takes away purchasing power from families and all this happens while wages are at a standstill and then we wonder why Europeans no longer have children. We have a problem of social fairness that must be opposed to the European minimum wage. President Draghi, we agree with you when you talk about reforming the Dublin Regulation, we need solidarity, responsibility always, as demonstrated in the reception of Ukrainian refugees. With equal honesty, I remind you that this House, thanks also to the contribution of the Five Star Movement, has voted four legislative proposals of the "waste" package. European standards do not provide for the indiscriminate use of incinerators. The polar star of the European Union is called the circular economy, let's apply it also in Italy. Finally, Mr President, today is World Press Freedom Day. We are proud of our values. We officially call, as Europe, for the release and freedom of Julian Assange. For him, for the Ukrainian people and for all oppressed citizens in the world, the European Union is the land of freedom and peace. Dear colleagues, more than two months after the beginning of this conflict, the time has come to save the Ukrainian people from further death and suffering by the force of diplomacy. Ukraine's right of defence is sacrosanct, but let us not forget that our real ultimate goal must be peace. Then, at the same time, we take advantage of these difficult months and start concretely working for energy independence from Russian gas and oil. We fight the energy pandemic with the same tools used during the health pandemic. We replicate the success of the Recovery Fan of Approviamo, an Energy Recovery Fund. This is the proposal of the Five Star Movement to accelerate the development of renewables as much as possible. The sun is our gas, the wind is our oil. But as you know, President Draghi, not all states have the leverage to activate the necessary investments. We need Europe's firepower and on this we ask it to insist at the next European Council because our credibility is at stake on dear energy. And I too, as President of the Greens, call on you to make European the success of the 110% super bonus that the European Commission has openly praised. While it is shameful that while the oil giants accumulate profits of billions of dollars, one in seven citizens in Italy cannot pay the electricity and gas bill because it is too expensive. Escalating inflation takes away purchasing power from households. All this happens while wages are at a standstill. And then we wonder why Europeans no longer have children? We have a problem of social fairness that must be opposed to the European minimum wage. Mr Draghi, do we agree with you when you talk about reforming the Dublin Regulation? We need solidarity and responsibility, always as demonstrated in the reception of Ukrainian refugees. With equal honesty, I would remind you that this House, thanks also to the contribution of the Five Star Movement, voted on four legislative proposals for the waste package. European standards do not provide for the indiscriminate use of incinerators. The polar star of the European Union is called the circular economy. We also apply it in Italy. Finally, President. I'll conclude. Today is World Press Freedom Day. We are proud of our values. We officially call for the release and freedom of Julian Assange as Europe. For him, for the Ukrainian people, for all the oppressed citizens of the world, the European Union is the land of freedom and peace. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Mr Glenn, close to speech, concludes Vice-President Giovanni Floris. But first of all I would like to thank all the group leaders for the words and expressions of esteem and appreciation you have had for my country. For me they are very important expressions. I must say that they surprised me and moved me. So thank you again. Of course, I want to thank the President of the European Parliament for this occasion, this opportunity to meet which for me is the first since I left the ECB and so I have not had the opportunity to do so for three years.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the EU-China summit did not produce the desired results. But the time for appeals and invitations is over and the time has come to use the leverage of our trade force more forcefully, to demand from China a clear position condemning the war in Ukraine. If China wants to trade with the European Union, it must make a precise choice, because international law, to paraphrase our late President Sassoli, is not an accident of history but the compass with which to orient our relations. Until hostilities cease, Russia must be isolated. Until now, the EU had hoped that more and more trade in goods and services would be enough to convince our partners to take the path of democracy and respect for human rights: But this approach has unfortunately failed with Russia and is not working with China either. For us, the possibility of trade must be linked to full respect for human rights. We must demand that everyone who does business with us respects people, the environment and international law. Only then will trade bring change and peace.