Speeches

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Nariman al-Fasih, 35, lived with three children in a crumbling tent in the southern Gaza Strip. On Christmas morning she woke up at dawn to breastfeed her youngest child. "His body was cold, motionless," he said. I turned on the phone light and noticed that her skin was blue and bleeding from her mouth. I put my ear on his chest, but I didn't hear his heartbeat. At the end of December, six children died of cold in the Strip – children already weakened by famine and exposure to cold, children of whom no one has spoken. This weekend we have seen the embraces of hostages and prisoners who have finally returned home, but nothing can erase the violence and war crimes we have witnessed. We must ensure a future of peace based on respect for people and international law. Let's do it soon, for all the children who have the right not to die of hunger and cold.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, thirty years since the Beijing Declaration, which ignited a flame of hope for millions of women around the world. Today, however, gender-based violence is still entrenched in our communities. We have not yet succeeded in disrupting that patriarchal culture, made up of stereotypes and discrimination, which prevents women and girls from living free. I always say it: We need more education, starting with schools. We must educate our male children to respect the woman's body, her person and her will. This is essential to build a future without wage inequalities, promoting female representation in decision-making places and stopping building everything on a human scale. The European Union must lead by example through further efforts to achieve gender equality by applying the gender mainstreaming and investing adequate resources to close that unbearable gap. But we can't just work for ourselves. We – Europe – have a duty to stand up for all those women in the world who are not even allowed to make their voices heard. We are an army. We will no longer watch in silence. We have lost centuries of equality, but now you will not stop our race.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we are facing five years in which the fate of Europe will be decided. On the one hand, there are those who want to go back, denying climate change and environmental disasters and thus determining the economic decline and geopolitical irrelevance of Europe in the global context. On the other hand, those who look to a future of economic and social progress, sustainability and technological innovation. The policies of the Green Deal were born from the boys, who asked us, with their peaceful protests, a concrete commitment to guarantee them a fair future also through the modification of those rules, such as unanimity and veto, which limit and slow down our ability to decide. Our duty is to promote investment and research for the transition to a competitive Europe, advanced in technology and innovation and capable of creating quality jobs and new professions. A new specific fund will therefore be needed along the lines of NextGenerationEU, as indicated by Mario Draghi, to bring together environmental and health protection, work and development.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the Western Balkans are already in Europe: It is evident not only from the geography but from our stories, from the challenges that unite us and from the solutions that we can draw together. Yet, in fact, the situation appears different, stranded in a process of accession that moves in slow motion, if not backwards. We always repeat it: We need a new impetus on the part of the European institutions, not to do anyone a favour, but because enlargement policy is the main instrument for ensuring stability, the rule of law and peace for the Union itself. The Western Balkans need us, just as we need them. But beware: Not at any price. The need for a clear and determined will to be part of our family is evident; If you are a member of the Union, you must respect its values. Violence in political debate, corruption, electoral fraud, spying on journalists and activists and repressive methods of dissent cannot be tolerated. It is necessary to declare with deeds – and not just with words – which side to stand on.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, areas protected from smoking and passive aerosols are essential in the fight against addiction, cancer and non-communicable diseases. They are essential tools to achieve the objectives of the Cancer Plan and to protect public health, in particular of the weakest, such as children and pregnant women. It is crucial that the smoking ban be extended to all open spaces where people gather, but also include new products for smoking, such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco. These new products are advertised as harmless by the companies that produce them, of course, but they are actually very dangerous for those who use them but also for those close to them. The World Health Organization has clarified the danger of passive aerosols with scientific evidence. Unfortunately, many colleagues on the right, and not only, struggle to accept the scientific evidence: propose dangerous amendments that deny the positions of science and falsely present new products as less dangerous. And this is unacceptable. I find it very worrying that there are parliamentarians ready to deny science to support private, partisan, economic interests. We can make many compromises on many things: But not on people's skin and health. If you want to be taken seriously in the fight against cancer, then don't turn your back on science, on doctors. Ensure the adoption of a text that protects the health of Europeans. Defend science and reject the interference of lobbies of smoking and tobacco. The S&D Group will always be on the side of science and our doctors, patients, citizens. All those who ask us to defend health and protect the weakest, I hope that you will always find us on the sensible side and that this also prevails in the other political groups.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the regime in Iran continues to intensify its oppression and women pay the highest price for it: clinics to treat women who refuse to wear the hijab properly. This is how the Iranian government works! They call them optional scientific and psychological treatments but we know that there is very little optional in these measures. This is also what happened to Ahoo Daryaei, a student who, after stripping in protest, was labelled as crazy, locked up in a suspected psychiatric hospital and, fortunately, released. These practices not only violate human rights, but use psychiatry as a weapon of repression. The real madness, however, is that of a regime that represses, tortures, kills. The real pathology is also that of the Revolutionary Guards, which, as this Parliament has repeatedly called for, must be included in the list of terrorist organisations in the European Union. We cannot tolerate the struggle for freedom being repressed and raped, as the Iranian regime is carrying out. Ahoo Daryaei and all Iranian women deserve our support and deserve concrete action. Woman, life, freedom!

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, it is not your fault; It's not your skirt's fault. It's not that glass's fault. It's not your fault if you don't love him anymore, if you have a better job than his, if you said yes before but then changed your mind: It is always the fault of those who commit violence and the denunciation should not be seen as a shame. I'm talking to a third of European women. Yes, because one in three has suffered some form of violence. And violence is not just physical violence or femicide, which in Italy has already recorded about 100 victims this year. There are also psychological violence, the control of every action, the deprivation of economic independence: Violence continues to increase, and the majority are already inside our homes. We need a cultural revolution to undermine the patriarchy that still dominates us. We need to teach respect for people's bodies in schools and we need children to learn to accept no, because violence is always the one against consent. Women's violence is a problem for men who must become protagonists of this battle, because a society free from violence, a society free from fear is a better society for all.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, seven women have already died in Poland as a result of the ban on abortion. Polish law is one of the most restrictive in Europe, a law that not only restricts women's freedom, but heavily affects the duty of doctors to care for people. Criminalizing abortion does not eliminate abortion, but makes it clandestine and dangerous for women. An illegitimate intrusion of politics that recalls a debate these days in which an Italian minister even goes so far as to ask doctors to behave like spies. We all hoped that with the change of government something would change in Poland: It wasn't like that. The right has still disappointed women and girls, who have taken to the streets in Poland and throughout Europe, to remember that everyone must be guaranteed the fundamental right to self-determination. It is not just about health rights, it is about health services, it is about fundamental rights defended in the rule of law. Know that we women will no longer allow you to decide on our bodies.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, a few times, even in this House, we have heard of Nagorno-Karabakh. Yet the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia has caused hundreds of casualties and the forcible transfer of a population: It is a real crime against humanity. Azerbaijani authorities continue to shrink civil society spaces, shutting down NGOs and arresting journalists on dubious charges. Just as all this is happening, however, Azerbaijan has received great support to become a host country of COP29: Baku wants to present itself to the world as a country with an irreproachable institutional profile. But we cannot be enchanted by the diplomatic use of Azerbaijani gas by selling off our principles for economic interests. Any agreement between the EU and Azerbaijan must be conditional on respect for human rights and international law, including the suspension of the current memorandum. Not only: We call for investigations into the atrocious violence in Nagorno-Karabakh and for those responsible to be sanctioned, and then work towards a constructive and respectful peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, according to the World Health Organisation, one in eight people suffers from mental disorders. A situation exacerbated by the pandemic but also by wars and extreme climate effects that also disproportionately affect our young people. The European Health Union must include the Pillar of Rights, in particular the right to state-of-the-art, quality public health for all, including mental health services. This is why we consider the cuts proposed by the Council on the budget for the EU4Health programme unacceptable, when health funds are expected to increase. We call on the next Commission to maintain a high level of focus on health, which is the most valuable asset for the majority of European citizens. This is why I think that one of the battles that we will have to carry out is that of a directive that establishes minimum health services at European level for all, against discrimination and inequalities that are unfortunately still very present.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the right to health is a major concern for our citizens. Recently, Europe has approved a reform of the pharmaceutical legislation, but this reform effort cannot be complete without an update of the rules for medical devices. The objectives are common: accessibility, fair prices for all citizens, Europe's strategic autonomy and independence from third countries, the competitiveness of our businesses in the service of public interests. All this requires a public commitment to the research and development of medical devices and products, which does not replace private efforts, but rather supports and complements them. In the last parliamentary term, our group strongly proposed a public research infrastructure, acting in the public interest, which unfortunately was not included in the pharmaceutical package. I ask the Commission to re-evaluate, together with Parliament, this proposal, which can also serve in the field of medical devices, to relaunch an urgent and necessary project for the enjoyment of the right to health for all European citizens.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, just this morning, on my way to Strasbourg, I read the news of a man who killed his wife in southern Italy. I didn't even make it here in time that I was reached by another news, this time in Northern Italy, in Genoa, concerning a rape that took place over the weekend. Gender-based violence is one of the few crimes that continues to be increasingly common across Europe. Underlying it is a patriarchal culture that keeps half the population trapped. This brutality, in many cases, leads to death. In other, more subtle cases, such as psychological or financial violence, it deprives women and girls of fundamental freedoms. There is one way, perhaps the most important of all: It's called prevention, it's called education. To make sure that our children can live in a world free of violence. Sexual and affective education in schools is the key so that young people of all kinds learn to respect their own body and that of others, learn to accept the "no", to preserve a psychophysical well-being, to live a healthy, conscious, respectful sexuality. Then it's up to us, colleagues, to politics. The crime of rape must be clearly and unequivocally defined, with consent at the centre, which, I recall, can be revoked at any time and cannot be fully manifested if the person is not free to express himself or herself due to fear, intimidation, disability and other vulnerable circumstances. It is called freedom of self-determination and must apply to everyone, including women.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, gender apartheid: This is what is happening in Afghanistan. Since the Taliban took power three years ago, women have been engulfed in a spiral of violence and denial of rights and freedoms aimed at erasing their voice and figure from Afghan society. I ask this Parliament to reflect: What would you do if your daughter, your sister, your partner, or yourself were forbidden to exist? Imagine not being able to leave the house alone, not being able to speak in public, show your face, study or work. It would simply nullify your existence. The European Union cannot let these women be forgotten. Three years have passed and the situation is only getting worse. We are still indebted to the Afghan people who over the years have supported the international coalition and have been trapped in the country. For them, for activists and journalists, we must guarantee humanitarian visas. We need to rebuild a country destroyed by hunger, poverty, and to do so it is essential to involve women, who are not only victims, but can operate as agents of change. That is why we cannot accept that they are banned from participating in international dialogue and negotiation tables, as has unfortunately already happened. This form of apartheid against women and girls is not yet internationally recognised and this limits the tools to stop Taliban violence. The European Union must lead this battle. Gender apartheid has codified itself as a crime against humanity.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, thank you to all those who have contributed to this result. We are very pleased to give the green light to an ecodesign regulation. The time has come to free ourselves from the outdated "take, produce and dispose" model that is creating many problems for our planet, our health and our economy. We are paving the way for a new era in which every product is made in a more sustainable way and in which consumers can save energy, repair, make smart environmental choices. A win-win situation, both for the wallet and for the planet. In addition, by successfully including in the regulation the prohibition of senseless destruction of unsold fabrics and footwear, we want to contribute to a change in the way producers of fast fashion They produce their products with greater social and environmental sustainability. Thank you all for the work. I believe that the birth of the digital product passport, through which it will be possible to provide consumers with more information on sustainability, will ensure that it is consumers who choose which side to stand on and I hope on the side of environmental protection always.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, my friend Zara, who miraculously managed to escape from Kabul in August 2021, has a motto ‘Women for Women’. She turns it first of all to herself, because despite having managed to move to Italy and regain her freedoms, she cannot forget all the women, girls and girls who remained in Afghanistan. They have become faceless people, without rights, without a future. Yes, because by depriving young people of education, of the possibility of working or even of caring, their future, their life, is put at risk. Two and a half years have passed since the Taliban took power and I would like each of us in this Parliament to adopt the motto 'Women for Women'. It is we, born in the fortunate part of the world, we who can speak freely, write, express ourselves through art, it is we who must keep our attention high on the future of Afghan women and girls and make sure that they return to being creators of their destiny and protagonists of the rebirth of their country.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, even during this plenary session we have repeatedly recalled Putin's war of aggression in Ukraine, we have renewed the call for a ceasefire on Gaza and we have voted for a report that rightly draws attention to Syria. It is clear that the international situation has drastically worsened and the need for a Europe that is determined and strong in its foreign policy is even more evident. We need to move forward with enlargement, which I remember as the main investment to ensure peace, stability, security and democracy. We must give answers to those countries that have been waiting for too many years to join our family and that risk losing the European push. It is important not only for our future, for their future. In the meantime, it is our duty to prepare the European Union for this enlargement. An enlarged, effective and decisive European Union is not conceivable if we maintain the existing rules.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, more than 30 000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since October. We have repeatedly reiterated that Israel's right to defend itself cannot be revenge, siege, massacre of innocent civilians in defiance of international humanitarian law. Israel's reaction cannot turn into genocide, because even war has its own rules and the Netanyahu government has trampled on them all. We must continue to call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, allowing civilians to receive humanitarian assistance and the release of the 130 hostages still held by Hamas. We take to the streets with the courage of those young Italians who have shouted their pain for the war and who, in response, have suffered the batons of the police. Violence and truncheons represent the failure of politics, of the rule of law, of right-wing governments that, like Netanyahu's, instead of working for dialogue and peace, have always sown hatred, intolerance and violence. Europe continues to remain the model of democracy and freedom capable of protecting its values and bringing them to the world as a sign of civilisation and justice.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, there is a dangerous virus that is becoming more and more entrenched in our societies. This is about hate: hatred towards the other, towards the different, towards those who do not think like you or towards those who pray to another God. It is a dangerous sentiment, often used with the aim of diverting attention from the real problems through fake news, sometimes fueled by Russian propaganda that finds its shores in the worst right, in parties such as that of Matteo Salvini. It is the same right that does not know how to give answers to the real problems, such as having an efficient health system, a decent job, a house overhead or the possibility for young people to start an independent life or to live free. And it is there, in the face of that inability to find solutions, that the right always blames someone else, on the governments that preceded them, or by addressing the most fragile and vulnerable instrumental and unfounded accusations. Hate generates hatred, does not help our businesses, does not offer a future to our children, does not solve the effects of climate change, does not generate growth or, much less, peace. Hate is fought with an effective policy against racism and religious intolerance, to build a just future for all.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, for two years now Ukraine has been courageously defending its territory and its citizens against Putin's illegitimate attack. In these 24 months we have witnessed very serious violations of international law by Russia, which has threatened not only European security and stability, but also all the values of peace and democracy that underlie it. Putin thought Ukraine would crumple on itself. Instead, the determination of its people and the firm European support did not allow it. From day one, all European institutions have sided with the Ukrainian resistance. A concrete support, which has translated into 80 billion between humanitarian, financial and military assistance. Europe is determined to stand up for democracy and will not leave Ukraine alone against an unscrupulous dictator like Putin. And this despite the attempt of some sovereignist leader, a friend of the Italian government, to block the necessary resources. It is not enough, dear colleagues, to concretely support the Ukrainian people: The rule of law must be defended in Europe, where there are still those who think of trampling on freedom and civil rights in general indifference.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, these days my country has been shaken by the death of Giulia Cecchettin, who was killed by her ex-boyfriend. To find the author of a femicide you don't have to search far. Unfortunately, like Giulia, there is a woman who dies every three days at the hands of a husband, a partner, an ex. Giulia Cecchettin could be one of us, she could be our daughter, our sister, our friend. Laws are not enough, severe penalties are not enough. What is needed is a real educational revolution that unravels that patriarchal and misogynistic culture that continues to kill women. And we must first of all educate our male sons, because that of femicides is a problem of men, not of girls, not of our daughters. Men who are not able to accept a no. That is why we must introduce education in affectivity, mutual respect, as a compulsory school subject. Access to affective sex education must be a right of our children to preserve their health, well-being and, in some cases, their lives. Girls rebel, because freedom is won by raising your voice, destroying stereotypes, the retrograde culture that continues to kill. Boys join your friends, comrades, wives or sisters, because violence against women kills you too.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, 30 years have passed since the Copenhagen criteria for a State to become a member of the European Union. In these 30 years, many things have changed in Europe and in the world, but one thing has remained the same: Enlargement policy is one of the most important instruments for ensuring peace, security and prosperity for peoples. The Russian aggression against Ukraine is in fact also aimed at weakening the enlargement and accession process and this would lead some countries, a few steps from our borders, to fall into the arms of authoritarian regimes. I therefore turn to the Western Balkans, to Serbia in particular, asking them to continue in the accession process in order to ensure the strengthening of the rule of law, solidarity and common growth through a clear path without ambiguity. The Union needs a larger budget and sufficient own resources to meet future challenges. But above all, the reform of the Treaties is needed to simplify the decision-making procedures and bring this Europe closer to the needs and, above all, to the hopes of European citizens.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, enlargement policy is a crucial instrument for the stability, prosperity and peace of our continent. Peace that unfortunately is often compromised, with all the tragic consequences that we now witness every day. Over the past year and a half, the European Union has extended its hand to Ukraine, which deserves all our support and commitment, but we cannot forget the Western Balkans, which twenty years ago was promised a place in the European family. It is necessary to speed up the step to show the citizens of these countries the advantages of being part of the Union, which focuses on freedoms and rights, so as to revive the desire for membership, a desire that in Serbia, for example, seems to have frozen. At the same time, however, we must be firm in calling for progress on essential reforms, for the normalisation of neighbourly relations to be put first through an immediate de-escalation of tensions between Serbia and Kosovo. We must demand that the press is not watered down by Russian or Chinese propaganda and that it embraces the only possible foreign policy line, the one supported by the European Union working for peace.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, as my colleague Mr De Meo said a moment ago, last night, at around eight o'clock, a tragedy took place in Mestre (Venice): a coach carrying several people from several European countries, due to circumstances still to be defined, crashed from an overpass and, after a flight of over 15 meters, crashed, catching fire. Twenty-one are dead, of which two are children, one is a newborn, and one is a teenager. Fifteen people were injured, five of whom were seriously injured, two of whom were brothers, Germans, aged 7 and 13. More than forty ambulances arrived on the scene along with firefighters, rescuers and local authorities, all engaged in rescue efforts to bring as many people as possible to safety. An apocalyptic scene, as the mayor of Venice defined it. From this Chamber of the European Parliament, which represents different histories and cultures, which dialogue with each other, and which knows how to show solidarity and help even in the most difficult moments, we want to express our closeness to the families of the victims, to the Venetian citizenry, to the mayor and to the local authorities, dedicating a great thank you to the rescuers who have worked to help the survivors. I ask the Presidency to observe a minute's silence to commemorate the victims of this tragedy.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, what happened on 24 September in northern Kosovo is terrible. A frightening explosion of violence that has caused the death of several Serbian and Kosovar people. A violence that unfortunately is not new, since in recent years we have witnessed a frightening escalation, animated by an aggressive narrative, often watered down by propaganda and false reconstructions. All this, however, cannot make us lose the compass that has long pointed towards the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina. We cannot hide behind the suffering caused by these actions to escape from a path that has been asking to be accomplished for years. It certainly takes a thorough and impartial investigation to ascertain responsibility and ensure that those responsible face the consequences. But it is also necessary to work to defeat the hatred that fuels these actions and cure what it leaves in the living flesh of people. There is no alternative to dialogue, not only in order to finally pave the way for accession to the European Union, but also because we do not want more deaths and do not want to return to the fear experienced in the 1990s and repeat the same mistakes as then.