What Jordi spoke about.

14

Dec

2021

ES Speech

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The situation in Nicaragua (debate)

Mr President, democratic elections are very serious because, in democracy, elections are the basis of the legitimacy of the rulers and, for this legitimacy to be indisputable, elections must be free and fair. When opposition candidates are thrown in jail, parties and candidacies are invalidated, voting in a climate of persecution and disregard for human rights, these elections can be called anythi…

10

Nov

2021

EN Speech

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The escalating humanitarian crisis on the EU-Belarusian border, in particular in Poland (debate)

Madam President, using migrants as a retaliatory weapon and playing with their lives is deplorable. Marching them to the EU’s external borders and leaving them stranded is inhumane. All this deserves a clear and prompt response from the EU. The dictator in Minsk must know he won’t get away with it. But, regretfully, on our side, we only see wire fences going up. More and more troops being deployed…

20

Oct

2021

EN Speech

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Preparation of the European Council meeting of 21-22 October 2021 (debate)

Madam President, the European Council will hold, amongst others, a strategic discussion on EU trade policy. This is one of the most important tools we have at our hands to advance globally our agenda on human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international law. Now, this is exactly the opposite to what the EU has done with its fisheries and agriculture agreements with Morocco in r…

19

Oct

2021

EN Speech

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Situation in Tunisia (debate)

Madam President, President Saied’s decisions since July have shaken the democratic foundations of Tunisia, the country where the Arab Spring was born. It isn’t clear yet whether these highly controversial decisions will end up being a parenthesis in Tunisia’s democratic journey or represent a turn for the worse. Fighting corruption or pushing for reforms to improve the socioeconomic situation are …

7

Oct

2021

FR Speech

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The case of Paul Rusesabagina in Rwanda

Mr President, Paul Rusesabagina, known for saving thousands of lives during the Rwandan genocide, was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Groups that independently monitored the trial denounced his judicial journey, as it was marred by numerous violations of his rights, including the illegal circumstances of his transfer from Dubai to Kigali, his enforced disappearance, his subsequent incommunicado d…

6

Oct

2021

ES Speech

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European solutions to the rise of energy prices for businesses and consumers: the role of energy efficiency and renewable energy and the need to tackle energy poverty (debate)

Madam President, the huge increase in the price of electricity is worrying. In Spain, for example, the megawatt hour has increased fivefold in a year. The causes are multiple, but the main factor is the rise in the price of gas and not, as some claim, the emissions trading system. Pointing out the Green Deal as primarily responsible for the increase in energy prices is simply a fallacy. The best w…

5

Oct

2021

EN Speech

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The situation in Belarus after one year of protests and their violent repression (debate)

Mr President, it’s been one year since brave Belarusians took to the streets to demand democracy for their country, and the dictator is still there. He and his illegitimate regime keep suffocating the democratic revolution, whilst our response so far has failed to make much of a difference. What is happening at the border between the EU and Belarus is completely unacceptable: the instrumentalisati…

16

Sep

2021

ES Speech

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Government crackdown on protests and citizens in Cuba

Madam President, I believe that those who resist condemning the repressive response to the biggest protests that the island of Cuba has recently experienced are wrong, in the same way that I also believe that those who refuse to condemn the blockade and its repercussions on the living conditions of Cuban citizens are wrong. I believe that the violation of human rights must be condemned wherever th…

15

Sep

2021

EN Speech

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State of the Union (debate)

Mr President, I say to the President of the Commission: the pandemic has shown that when European institutions take the lead in facing common challenges, the EU can deliver results: vaccine development and purchase, the COVID certificate, Next Generation EU. Despite some initial flaws, what has been achieved so far is truly remarkable. With the terrible contradiction though, that we now have milli…

14

Sep

2021

EN Speech

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Situation in Afghanistan (debate)

Madam President, the Taliban takeover has certainly been a blow for the West but, after our chaotic withdrawal, what cannot be further defeated are the values we stand for, and solidarity is one of them. This means providing humanitarian assistance, keeping up efforts for evacuation, and using our levers and instruments to help protect human rights as much as we can, but this also means not turnin…

8

Jul

2021

EN Speech

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Hong Kong, notably the case of Apple Daily

Mr President, a year ago, almost to the day, the National Security Law entered into force. Our concerns and those of the people of Hong Kong proved to be right. This law is a pretext for restricting human rights, silencing dissenting voices and dismantling democracy and freedom in Hong Kong. The case of the forced closure of Apple Daily is the latest regrettable example. The once vibrant democrati…

7

Jul

2021

EN Speech

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A new ERA for Research and Innovation (debate)

Mr President, since 2009, achieving the European research area (ERA) has been an explicit Treaty objective. Nevertheless, progress is still needed today to accomplish many of the ERA objectives. For instance, on the level of research and innovation expenditure, we are still lagging very much behind other countries such as Israel, South Korea, Japan or the US. Research and innovation (R&I) are esse…

6

Jul

2021

ES Speech

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Situation in Nicaragua (debate)

Madam President, Mr Borrell, there is no more revolution or democracy in Nicaragua. Only betrayed ideals remain and an increasingly authoritarian regime that spreads fear and repression to ensure survival in power and, of course, the economic benefits that this entails. The latest strategy is to bust the November elections by detaining candidates so that nothing or no one endangers Ortega-Murillo'…

6

Jul

2021

EN Speech

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Presentation of the programme of activities of the Slovenian Presidency (debate)

Mr President, let me congratulate the Slovenian people for the 30th anniversary of its independence, but let me also recall that there are still other European countries struggling to vote on our independence, struggling to exercise our right to self—determination, as you did 30 years ago. Let me also hope that during your presidency, you can show that small, performing nations like Slovenia can t…