Speeches

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, when we talk about renewables, we must not only think about solar panels and wind turbines, but also about the networks that will transport green energy throughout the continent. Because if the European Union is serious about achieving climate neutrality, at least €50 billion of investments will be needed in the modernisation of the electricity grid and at least €65 billion for the development of a hydrogen transport and storage network, and this by 2030, practically tomorrow. This regulation is a step in the right direction: It not only lays the groundwork for strengthening and developing these great interconnections but, for the first time, no funding will be allowed for new projects based solely on fossil fuels. Certainly we would have liked a bolder measure and it is true that there are still too many exceptions. But on the whole, we believe that we should not stand in the way of this and, while we are asking the Commission for more ambition, we will not oppose this regulation.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, energy and fuel prices have reached unsustainable levels throughout Europe, not only because of the war, but also because of outright shameful speculation. Certainly a reduction in taxes and excise duties is needed immediately, but the Union must immediately investigate these distortions that are enriching few and affecting many, especially households and small and medium-sized enterprises. The European Union is the largest importer of energy in the world and must take advantage of this weight to jointly buy energy and set a cap on the price of fuel. In the long term, however, the only real answer is renewables, as my movement has been saying for more than ten years. To those who say today that the transition is too expensive, I say that if we had already completed it, our citizens today would pay half of what they are paying.

Madam President, Mr President Macron, ladies and gentlemen, we are very much counting on this semester. On many issues Italy and France have a common vision and I believe that it is time to take Europe out of the buckets of immobility, selfishness and the double pandemic that affects the lives of all citizens, health and energy. The Five Star Movement gives you today its three priorities: the minimum wage. Following the European Parliament's vote, negotiations with the Council are ongoing. An ambitious agreement is needed to raise the salaries of Europeans, combat relocations, wage dumping and unfair competition between companies. Second point: the reform of the Stability and Growth Pact. The pandemic has closed theausterity. We say forever. Green and social investment must be excluded from future budgetary constraints. Third: the environmental and energy transition. There's no more time to waste. From transport to energy, from industry to finance: All sectors must contribute to saving our planet from disastrous climate change. The next six months will be decisive. President, you have a great responsibility, both courageous and ambitious, but not just in words.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, how long do we want to tolerate the trade in blood diamonds? All citizens know the horrors behind diamond mining and everyone knows that this very rich trade has financed abuses and conflicts. Perhaps someone also knows that twenty years ago the international community committed itself to stopping the trade in blood diamonds with initiatives such as the Kimberley Process, yet hardly anyone knows that to date the international definition of blood diamonds covers only the precious stones that directly finance wars, but does not apply instead to human rights violations, extensive environmental damage, labour exploitation and especially child labour, which is so common in the mines of certain countries. Almost twenty years later, we believe that this definition should be extended and that the Commission should make an international effort to do so. New technologies, especially the blockchain, make it possible to greatly improve traceability and combat such abuses. It's time to clean up the diamond trade once and for all.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, some rare metals and materials are needed for the green transition, because they are key components of batteries and renewable technologies. However, the pandemic has exposed Europe's vulnerability in the supply of these raw materials, as well as our dependence on foreign sources across a range of absolutely strategic resources. To avoid this situation in the future, I believe that it will be crucial to explore new international partnerships, but the Commission also proposes to increase research and extraction of raw materials here in Europe. As an entrepreneur, I fully understand the reasons for this choice, but I would like to remind you that every mining activity must be carried out in common agreement with local communities, respecting safety and environmental standards and preserving our delicate ecosystems and biodiversity in Europe. Environmental protection, ladies and gentlemen, is not only an end in itself, but also serves the development of many other equally important productive sectors such as agriculture or tourism, on which a large part of our economies are based. So it is absolutely vital to guarantee European strategic autonomy, but this must not turn into a new gold rush on the skin of our citizens, their health and our environment.

Mr President, Vice-Presidents, ladies and gentlemen, having an open forum to deal with the United States after years of closures and misunderstandings is a great step forward, for which I congratulate the Commission. However, I have some questions on which I hope the Vice-Presidents will want to express themselves, because almost a month after the first meeting I continue to wonder what the true nature of this is. Trade and Technology Council. Is it a forum to mediate on thorny issues of legislation, or is it simply a place to discuss? Is it a tool to exchange ideas or do you want a basis for a future transatlantic agreement? In short, if the commitments made are not binding, as has been repeatedly reiterated, what is the level of commitment and engagement of partners, especially vis-à-vis some collective challenges such as emission limitation measures or artificial intelligence? And finally, what role does the Commission see for Parliament in all this? Since so far we have not been particularly involved in this forum.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, we have taken exceptional measures against the pandemic, we have shown the world that Europe exists and is able to manage emergencies in a united and authoritative manner. Now we must respond with the same force to another emergency, that of the 250% gas increase from January to today: This is a blow for our businesses, but also for millions of European citizens who will risk not being able to heat their homes this winter. As an immediate response, governments must immediately provide funding and vouchers for the weakest, reduce taxes for businesses, freeze prices for consumers, but this is not enough: We need the strength of the European Union. First: The Commission must allow room for fiscal manoeuvre to reduce the burden of bills. Second: We need to postpone the entry into force of all those measures that could further increase energy prices. Third: we must accelerate the environmental transition by focusing on renewables, on energy efficiency, as Italy is doing with the 110 % super bonus. Colleagues, only renewable energy will make us independent of the price of fossil materials. Let's look to the future and bet on clean energy!

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the recent tensions and tariff wars between Europe and the United States have hit our companies hard, causing huge losses not only to large industry but also to small and medium-sized enterprises and retailers. Maintaining good transatlantic relations is therefore crucial, but it must take place on a different basis from what has been done so far. Over the past 25 years, most attempts at trade coordination with the United States have failed. The last was TTIP and everyone here remembers the doubts and fears it had generated in European civil society. For this reason, we of the Five Star Movement ask to continue and strengthen the dialogue with the United States, but we want more fair and transparent relations. We demand a definitive end to tariff wars and a case-by-case resolution of trade barriers that respects the precautionary principle. Europe and the United States have a centuries-old friendship and together account for 40% of the world's GDP, but our relations must live up to the needs of our citizens.

Madam President, Madam President von der Leyen, Commissioners, ladies and gentlemen, in the coming months we will have to take decisions that will have important consequences for future generations. The future is in our hands. The Five Star Movement has a proposal: Let us meet, President von der Leyen, and discuss, together with Giuseppe Conte whose contribution has been fundamental for the Recovery fund, how to transform the Stability Pact into a Solidarity and Development Pact. Sustainable development, to save our planet from environmental catastrophe; technological development, to help our companies compete in the global market; development of rights, because in too many areas of Europe they are denied. The Commission proposes changes to the current budgetary constraints that the pandemic has put out of history: We turbocharge public investment with a new pact that replaces the word austerity with solidarity. we approve the European minimum wage; We strengthen the common foreign and defence policy, because the citizens of the world look to our values, democracy and freedom, as a model to follow. Finally, I conclude, President, by thanking you for inviting our champion Bebe Vio. If Europe has even half the character and courage of this extraordinary champion, the future will not scare us.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, commodity prices are skyrocketing across Europe and businesses are finding it increasingly difficult to source. Steel prices rose by 117-150 % and polyethylene by 113-128 %. If a company needs a supply of polystyrene it has to wait 12 weeks, while microchips and components are practically unobtainable and this is not only a problem for businesses, it is a problem for all of us, because these resources are fundamental to our recovery plans, which are financed by the Recovery Fund. That is why I would like to remind you, once again, as I have done in all the reports for which I have been rapporteur, that the only possible answer is a real and strong European industrial policy closely intertwined with our trade strategy. And we need more flexibility on safeguard clauses, in order to activate and deactivate tariffs quickly according to the needs of the market and companies, thus allowing resources to enter when they are needed, instead blocking unfair competition when there is overcapacity.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, time has run out and we must face reality. A real emigration has begun in Poland, an escape from the most conservative parts of the country where cases of homophobia are multiplying and leading to violence. In Hungary, since 1 July, it has even been forbidden to broadcast a film featuring a homosexual person. But where did we get to? All this is happening in our home, in Europe. How can we afford it? How can we pretend anything? In these two countries, the climate of hatred and witch-hunt raised by governments has turned the LGBTQI community into the nation's public enemy. These European citizens feel lonely in their own countries. They cannot even count on judges, who are now aligned with politicians, if not even chosen by them. These citizens have only us. They have the European Union, we are their hope and we cannot betray their expectations. Let me remind you – just give me a second – that Raffaella Carrà has been missing these days. You all know her. She said: "The world is not made of gay and straight, but of creatures", let us remember, we have to do something also in Hungary, also in Poland.