What Jordi spoke about.

14

Feb

2023

FR Speech

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Response to the situation in Tunisia (debate)

Mr President, what is the legitimacy of a Parliament elected by 11% of voters, while 89% of citizens remain at home? They're sending a rejection message. Rejection of President Saïed’s roadmap and the way he has implemented it, in an overly authoritarian manner, as can be seen with the wave of arrests in recent days. Rejection of a parliament that was once too corrupt, with fragile majorities, but…

14

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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Establishment of an independent EU Ethics Body (debate)

Mr President, as long as there is someone tempted by corruption and others willing to corrupt, our institutions will be exposed to corruption. Therefore, we must adopt rules and mechanisms that minimise and possibly eradicate the chances for corrupt practices and corrupt individuals to make their way into our institutions. The Qatargate and Moroccogate scandals have made it clear that our rules on…

1

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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Preparation of the Special European Council meeting of February, in particular the need to develop sustainable solutions in the area of asylum and migration (debate)

Mr President, we have had to tear down many walls, both physical and psychological, to make the Union that Europe is today. It is therefore regrettable that some Member States and some political families are again insisting upon building new walls and fences and financing them with EU money to seal off Fortress Europe. They say walls will better help stop migration. But what they will stop is our …

18

Jan

2023

FR Speech

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Situation of journalists in Morocco, notably the case of Omar Radi

Madam President, Morocco is committed to making progress on human rights, but in some areas this progress is not being felt. This is the case of press freedom and acts of intimidation against journalists critical of the government, through campaigns of defamation and judicial harassment or through unlawful surveillance methods such as Pegasus, including against European journalists, such as Ignaci…

18

Jan

2023

EN Speech

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Humanitarian consequences of the blockade in Nagorno-Karabakh

Mr President, blocking access to Nagorno-Karabakh and depriving 120 000 Armenians living there of access to essential goods is an act of barbarism. Doing so under the disguise of alleged environmental NGOs is an act of cynicism. And doing it by cutting off the Lachin corridor is a mockery to the trilateral ceasefire statement of 9 November 2020. People in Artsakh have the right to live in peace, d…

18

Jan

2023

EN Speech

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Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 15 December 2022 (continuation of debate)

Madam President, the ongoing energy crisis, inflation, the American Inflation Reduction Act – all this is casting a large shadow over our economies. But it also is offering us an opportunity, which is to provide for a common European response. We have already seen that when the EU opts for common solutions at European level, it yields positive results. Take, for instance, the NextGenerationEU and …

17

Jan

2023

ES Speech

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“The Road to 2023” - Towards a stronger EU-Latin America partnership (debate)

Madam President, seriously and systematically strengthening the strategic relationship between the European Union and Latin America is necessary, all the more so since there is a current of political change in Latin America that opens an opportunity for more and better cooperation, and at a time when it is clear that we Europeans need to have more reliable partners in the world. This relationship …

16

Jan

2023

ES Speech

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The creation of a European Capital of Local Trade (short presentation)

Mr President, I would like to welcome and, obviously, support this initiative on the European Capital of Proximity Trade, as well as thank the proposal, particularly, the Barcelona Comerç Foundation and also the Catalan administrations that have been giving them support. A proposal to value everything you do and everything that local trade means and also help you to face your most pressing challen…

13

Dec

2022

EN Speech

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Prospects for the two-State solution for Israel and Palestine (debate)

Mr President, we know what the solution for a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine is: two sovereign states living in peace and security on the basis of the 1967 borders, and with Jerusalem as the capital of both states. But we also know that we are far from this solution – the farthest we have been in a long time. The situation on the ground is explosive. Illegal settlements proliferate, as…

13

Dec

2022

ES Speech

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Suspicions of corruption from Qatar and the broader need for transparency and accountability in the European institutions (debate) (debate)

Mr President, the shadow of corruption is tarnishing the reputation of this Parliament today. But this threat is not new: We already suspected that certain autocratic regimes might be trying to influence the work of this House by illicit means. I personally denounced it in 2017 through an amendment adopted by this plenary, which, in addition, called for, and I quote, "strong measures to prevent su…

24

Nov

2022

EN Speech

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Establishing the Digital Decade Policy Programme 2030 (debate)

Madam President, Mr Commissioner, rapporteurs, shadow rapporteurs, colleagues, during this decade, we want to give the EU’s digital transition a decisive boost. We had the Compass and now, with today’s decision, we have the concrete targets that we as a Union need to achieve by 2030 and the way to get there. Now all we need to do is to add political will and financial resources to these tools. In …

23

Nov

2022

ES Speech

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The need for a European solution on asylum and migration including search and rescue (debate)

Mr President, the debate on mechanisms for the search and rescue of people at sea – of people – is somewhat paradoxical because it does not match the approach. Instead of demanding that governments stop putting human lives at risk, putting absurd obstacles to disembarkation and not complying with their obligations derived, above all, from international maritime law, we blame NGOs for doing what ot…

22

Nov

2022

EN Speech

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Promoting regional stability and security in the broader Middle East region (debate)

Madam President, let me start by thanking the rapporteur, Manu Pineda, for his job with this file, as well as the collaboration from the other shadow MEPs. I think we will reach a good, balanced and interesting outcome. The vast region covered by this report across the Middle East has undergone profound changes over the last decade. We have been witnessing, for instance, the rise of the Gulf State…

9

Nov

2022

EN Speech

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Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 20-21 October 2022 (debate)

Mr President, at the last European Council – and President Michel mentioned this – there were lengthy discussions concerning EU relations with China, apparently with no definitive conclusions. But while the debate remains ongoing, Chancellor Scholz has rushed to visit China to promote stronger bilateral trade relations, leaving aside the wider European agenda. We see how China is becoming an incre…

20

Oct

2022

EN Speech

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European support to the Ukrainian research community (debate)

Mr President, Madam Commissioner, when Russia invaded Ukraine in February this year, many researchers across Europe quickly mobilised to host fellow Ukrainian researchers. Let me tell you about a nice example of this kind of solidarity. A few days ago, I visited the Beta Research Centre in Vic in Central Catalonia. They do an outstanding job in the fields of biodiversity, circular economy and envi…

19

Oct

2022

EN Speech

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Outcome of the first meeting of the European Political Community (debate)

Madam President, the biggest achievement of the first European Political Community Summit is probably that it happened at the moment it happened. Bringing together 44 leaders from across the continent at a time of war and overlapping crises in Europe is something positive, particularly given the need for political and security cooperation, as well as the need to send another strong message to the …

19

Oct

2022

EN Speech

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Preparation of the European Council meeting of 20-21 October 2022 (debate)

Madam President, for a growing number of Europeans, making ends meet is becoming a real headache. It is no longer simply paying skyrocketing energy bills, it is also dealing with a shopping cart, with climbing food prices and facing mortgage repayments as rates soar. Putin now has to use energy as a weapon against our economy, and we should have been prepared for that. But we weren’t, we chose to …

18

Oct

2022

ES Speech

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Continued internal border controls in the Schengen area in light of the recent ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (C-368/20) (debate)

Mr President, in Schengen Europe and cross-border cooperation, five huge stones have cut since January 2021 the Coll de Banyuls border crossing, between the northern and southern parts of Catalonia, on the border between France and Spain. Note that we are talking about a total, general and absolute closure, not a reintroduction of controls; a closure that had to be temporary, but has been in place…

5

Oct

2022

EN Speech

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Humanitarian situation after the devastating floods in Pakistan and the climate crisis (debate)

Mr President, the scale of the floods in Pakistan isn’t easy to grasp: 1 600 deaths, 33 million inhabitants affected, around one third of the landmass under water and more than 10 million people in need. As floodwaters slowly recede, the sheer scale of damage becomes even more evident. This catastrophe is yet another demonstration of the terrible effects that climate change can bring. It’s a count…

5

Oct

2022

EN Speech

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Russia’s escalation of its war of aggression against Ukraine (debate)

Madam President, Putin’s regime has continually violated international law since the very beginning of Russia’s latest aggression against Ukraine, but actually, since long before that – remember Crimea? The sham referendums that took place in four Ukrainian regions two weeks ago constitute yet further mockery of international law and democratic principles. These so-called referendums, which happen…

4

Oct

2022

ES Speech

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Question Time (VPC/HR) Heightening tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan following the recent military escalation

Mr High Representative, the two leaders of both countries pledged several times to continue negotiating a possible peace agreement; The last time was in August. Despite this, we have seen the latest of Azerbaijan's aggressions, this time already inside Armenian territory. It seems as if Baku would like to seize the moment to strengthen its negotiating position on these negotiations in order to rea…

4

Oct

2022

EN Speech

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The death of Mahsa Amini and the repression of women's rights protesters in Iran (debate)

Mr President, the mullahs – religious fundamentalists – killed Mahsa Amini and the regime’s repressive nature is now killing dozens of protesters, many of them women, who are demanding life and justice, life in freedom and dignity. All authoritarian regimes respond to popular unrest by claiming that they are the result of foreign interference, because they are simply unable to recognise that even …

15

Sep

2022

EN Speech

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State of the SME Union (debate)

Madam President, Madam Commissioner, yesterday’s announcement by President von der Leyen on the establishment of an SME relief package is very welcome. SMEs are suffering the consequences of the war in Ukraine with difficulties in access to raw materials, to certain agricultural products and with the increase in energy prices. All this happens after the huge impact of the pandemic, from which many…

14

Sep

2022

ES Speech

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Nicaragua, in particular the arrest of the bishop Rolando Álvarez

Madam President, once again this Parliament strongly condemns the repressive and authoritarian drift of the Government of Nicaragua. We did it last June and we do it again now, because unfortunately things have only gotten worse. To what we already said in our June Resolution we must now add the condemnation of the persecution of members of the Catholic Church. Imprisoning Bishop Rolando Álvarez, …

14

Sep

2022

EN Speech

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State of the Union (debate)

Madam President, confronted with a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU has provided a firm and united response. We have rightly decided to stand with the Ukrainian people in the face of this criminal aggression. We did the right thing. We have to be with those defending democracy, freedom and ultimately what we like to call the European values. But it should be remembered, as you did in your speec…