What João spoke about.

10

Jul

2023

PT Speech

Watch

Management, conservation and control measures in the area covered under the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA) (debate)

Madam President, Dear Commissioner, Dear Rapporteurs – Shadow, I note that the Commission continues not to give up its position and to contribute to a solution. I note the insistence, and I will say better, the stubbornness of the European Commission, the same stubbornness that I have identified in other larger files and that we have discussed in the Committee on Fisheries, with profound impact on…

10

Jul

2023

PT Speech

Watch

Management, conservation and control measures in the area covered under the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA) (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, dear Shadow Rapporteurs, I note once again that, in a debate on fisheries-related issues, the Commissioner responsible is not present. The purpose of this proposal is to incorporate into EU law the conservation, management and control measures adopted under the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA, the Regional Fisheries Management Organisation responsibl…

10

Jul

2023

PT Speech

Watch

Industrial Emissions Directive - Industrial Emissions Portal - Deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure - Sustainable maritime fuels (FuelEU Maritime Initiative) - Energy efficiency (recast) (joint debate - Fit for 55 and Industrial Emissions)

Madam President, research into and the use of alternative fuels that contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions associated with maritime transport is a change that may seem positive and necessary, but it must be done taking into account the specific realities of the Member States and the effort required to meet decarbonisation objectives, underpinned by a framework of public investmen…

13

Jun

2023

PT Speech

Watch

State of EU Cuba PDCA in the light of the recent visit of the High Representative to the island (debate)

Madam President, the debate that is being held today, in addition to the national benefits that some political forces want to make of it, is only intended to hinder the necessary normalisation of relations between Cuba and the European Union, a path that was opened with the signing of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and Cuba. Let us talk, then, about Cuba, about the…

12

Jun

2023

PT Speech

Watch

Large transport infrastructure projects in the EU (debate)

Madam President, we do not question the promotion of possibilities for mobility and connectivity between countries and regions. In fact, from here, we take the opportunity to remind you that Portugal no longer has important international rail connections to Madrid and Hendaye, in the historic and Lusitânia Comboio Hotel that ceased operating in 2021, and that we cannot fail to associate it with th…

12

Jun

2023

PT Speech

Watch

Order of business

Madam President, we have learned that on the 6th, a court in the United Kingdom rejected Julian Assange's appeal against the extradition decision to the United States, following the arbitrary detention to which he has been subject since 2019. This is a worrying decision, not only because of the real risk of serious violations of his rights, including his right to physical integrity, freedom of exp…

1

Jun

2023

PT Speech

Watch

Coordinated action to address antimicrobial resistance (debate)

Madam President, the increase in antimicrobial resistance and the widespread use of antibiotics are recognised as public health problems that require action and political decision-making. It is important to reject the instrumentalisation of this issue by those, such as pharmaceutical multinationals, who favour profit over the right to health. How to reject individual accountability approaches that…

31

May

2023

PT Speech

Watch

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, I wish to express here in the European Parliament our total solidarity with the just struggle of Easyjet workers in Portugal, who have been carrying out strikes these days. A fair fight for wage increases and working conditions similar to other European countries and against total deregulation of schedules, and, compared to workers from other countries of the European Union, the Port…

11

May

2023

PT Speech

Watch

Towards a strong and sustainable EU algae sector (debate)

Mr President, Portugal has a historical relationship with the collection and use of algae in coastal regions, from the harvesting of moliço to the harvesting of sargaço for agricultural use as a fertiliser, which has shaped coastal communities in central and northern Portugal. The use of this resource was replaced by the use of chemical fertilizers, but to the detriment of the environment and the …

11

May

2023

PT Speech

Watch

Protecting and restoring marine ecosystems for sustainable and resilient fisheries - Agreement of the IGC on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (High Seas Treaty) (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, the fisheries sector is facing a situation that requires immediate and concrete measures to ensure its continuity. However, what the Commission is presenting here is a handful of nothing. Both this action plan and other recently published documents seek to point out the responsibility of the situation in the sector to Member States and fishermen, who say they do not pro…

10

May

2023

PT Speech

Watch

Impact of the interest rate increase decided by the ECB on households and workers (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, after seven consecutive increases, we are finally discussing here the impact of the increase in interest rates decided by the ECB. Contrary to what some would suggest, this is a political rather than a technical decision. It is inconceivable that such a decision should be taken without taking into account the predominant causes of inflation, the economic and social s…

9

May

2023

PT Speech

Watch

Revision of the Stability and Growth Pact (debate)

Mr President, what we are talking about is not more flexibility or lighter rules. On the contrary, they add new and heavier constraints on the part of the institutions of the European Union and the powers that control them over states such as Portugal. They want to impose a regulatory framework with increasing interferences in the sovereignty and in the fiscal, financial, economic and social polic…

8

May

2023

PT Speech

Watch

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, we must value the National Health Service and reverse the right-wing policy that has contributed to its degradation, inseparable from its submission to the impositions of the European Union. The review of macroeconomic governance and the focus on primary expenditure point to even greater pressure for disinvestment in health. The ruinous path, followed by successive governments and wh…

8

May

2023

PT Speech

Watch

Impact on the 2024 EU budget of increasing European Union Recovery Instrument borrowing costs - Own resources: a new start for EU finances, a new start for Europe (debate)

Mr President, they seek to institutionalise an EU tax policy by meddling in the tax policy of each state, subverting the right principle of a budget based on contributions according to the gross national income of each state. They want to make those who are in the worst condition pay more, imploding the concepts of cohesion and convergence, calling into question the redistributive function of the …

8

May

2023

PT Speech

Watch

Order of business

– Madam President, last week we were confronted with the seventh increase in interest rates by the ECB, which will see further developments in the future. This is an option that worsens the living conditions of workers and peoples. It is not just a matter of the brutal increase in the benefits of housing loans – and it would no longer be a small one – which, in countries such as Portugal, means th…

18

Apr

2023

PT Speech

Watch

Guidelines for the 2024 budget - Section III (debate)

Mr President, the European Union budget, particularly in the context of the brutal increase in the cost of living stifling peoples and workers, which is inseparable from EU policy choices, must contribute to promoting investment, improving public services, supporting productive and strategic sectors, promoting food and energy sovereignty, creating jobs with rights and increasing wages and pensions…

17

Apr

2023

PT Speech

Watch

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, Commissioner, from here we welcome the intense and persistent struggle of the French workers and people against raising the retirement age, resisting the brutal repression to which they have been subjected. Cynic silence and atrocity of the European institutions in the face of aggression and violation of fundamental rights and that does not ignore the political choice of the EU for r…

17

Apr

2023

PT Speech

Watch

Revision of the EU Emissions Trading System - Monitoring, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas emissions from maritime transport - Carbon border adjustment mechanism - Social Climate Fund - Revision of the EU Emissions Trading System for aviation (debate)

Mr President, what we are dealing with today is the deepening of the perverse and ineffective instrument of buying and selling the right to pollute, extending emissions trading to a greater number of sectors. The scope is broadened, demands are increased on States, a path is required that will contribute to the aggravation of inequalities and asymmetries, to phenomena of economic and productive co…

17

Apr

2023

PT Speech

Watch

Deforestation Regulation (debate)

Mr President, forests, particularly large tropical and subtropical forests, mostly located in developing countries, are essential ecosystems for the balance of the planet and the existence of humanity, influencing the water cycle, meteorological regulation and as a guarantor of biodiversity. Forest degradation, and especially deforestation, have objective causes, ranging from harmful forest manage…

29

Mar

2023

PT Speech

Watch

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, today we have proposed a debate on the concrete and urgent measures to be taken to mitigate the impact of the increase in ECB interest rates. Regrettably, the right, with the votes of the PSD and CDS MPs, and the far-right voted against this proposal. While thousands and thousands of families in Portugal, as in other countries, are seeing the bottleneck tighten more and more, not kno…

29

Mar

2023

PT Speech

Watch

Order of business

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, in the middle of this month, the European Central Bank set the reference interest rates at 3.5%, following the sixth consecutive increase in those rates, and has already announced further increases. Measures that have a brutal, albeit unequal, impact on the economic difficulties of workers, families, companies and states. Dramatic impacts on housing, particul…

16

Mar

2023

PT Speech

Watch

European Citizens’ Initiative "Save bees and farmers! Towards a bee-friendly agriculture for a healthy environment" (debate)

Mr President, without pollinators, agri-food production capacity and quality would be substantially reduced. We are not just talking about the honey bee, but about the immense group of solitary and communal bees and other insects that are irreplaceable in pollination. Research is needed in this area to reduce the use of and dependence on the use of pesticides. Opposed to the interests of pharmaceu…

14

Mar

2023

PT Speech

Watch

Deterioration of democracy in Israel and consequences on the occupied territories (debate)

Mr President, the increase in Israeli repression of the Palestinian people is being brutally aggravated, with an escalation in the policy of forcibly expelling Palestinians from their homes and lands at the hands of the current Israeli government, which integrates forces of a fascist nature, and which is even more ostensibly pursuing Israel's long-standing plans. The repeated proclamations of the …

14

Mar

2023

PT Speech

Watch

European Semester for economic policy coordination 2023 - European Semester for economic policy coordination: Employment and social priorities for 2023 (debate)

Madam President, as much as you want to paint it social or green, the European Semester will still be what it has always been: an instrument of conditionality and interference in the budgetary policy of States, to the detriment of the peoples, for the benefit of the great powers and economic groups. Let us recall that the 2022 country-specific recommendations, in the case of Portugal, highlighted …

14

Mar

2023

PT Speech

Watch

This is Europe - Debate with the President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda (debate)

Madam President, this is yet another speech which, by pointing to war, without pointing out solutions to put an end to it, seeks to scapegoat all evils. And yet, the concrete problems facing the peoples – aggravated by the policies of sanctions, liberalisation of sectors, concentration of production, precariousness and low wages that the European Union promotes – still lack solutions. Where are th…