Speeches

Mr President, Commissioner, the European Union aims to increase the share of rail transport in its mobility strategy. But achieving our climate goals and a successful transition to rail requires developing a coherent transport policy and prioritising increased investment in rail transport. It is therefore incomprehensible that the Commission should encourage this modal shift while at the same time proposing to allow mega-trucks on roads and allowing fossil fuel subsidies for airports. Sufficient funds must be allocated to rail, and especially to infrastructure and digitalisation, through appropriate taxation of emissions from other transport modes and CO pricing.2. A change of framework is necessary in order to get us back on track in the true sense of the word.

Dear Mr President, Dear Commissioner! Every year we welcome the statement by the Commission and leaders across Europe on the importance of mental health. The figures, however, show us once again that the reality for many people in Europe is still very bleak. For the most vulnerable people, it's only getting worse: for young people, for people with disabilities, for people in precarious employment, for the LGBTIQ community and also for refugees and migrants. In Europe, suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people. If we want to take serious care of the mental health and well-being of people in Europe, we cannot continue as before. Europe must now make a clear choice: Either we respond to the concerns of the population or we continue to contribute to the dangerous status quo. It is time to foresee a European mental health strategy with clear objectives, a timetable and a budget – a strategy that will mobilise the Commission and the Member States to take serious action on all relevant fronts: in the world of work, in public health, in education, in the environment, in research, yes, also in anti-discrimination. Far too often, people living with mental health problems are isolated and rejected. They are hopelessly left behind. My message to you all today: There is hope, you are not alone, you can count on me and on this house!

Mr President, Commissioner, medical devices such as implants, surgical tools or inhalers are vital for patients throughout Europe. After several scandals related to defective devices, the EU regulatory framework was adopted to improve the safety and quality of healthcare. To date, we have still not achieved compliance with the rules and have extended the deadlines for the industry four times. Today, we urgently need to address the problems related to the implementation of this regulation. Compliance with the rules is not an impossible task, contrary to what the industry claims. Under no circumstances should we rush the revision of such important legislation. We must not allow patient safety and transparency to be compromised in the name of competitiveness or deregulation. It is up to the European Commission to carry out the independent evaluation of EU legislation, not the industry alone. In addition, ensuring patient safety is also a competitive advantage, especially compared to the United States.

Mr President, Commissioner, let us not panic, but let us be realistic. Let's talk about facts and science to build trust. The mpox is not new. In Africa, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention declared mpox a public health emergency as early as 2014. The World Health Organization recognized mpox as a public health emergency of international concern in 2022, and again in August 2024. As the mpox epidemic in Africa accelerates, the world has a new opportunity to demonstrate its collective commitment to fighting an international health crisis. Today, the epicentre of the epidemic is the Democratic Republic of the Congo. About 80% of the more than 700 mpox-related deaths have occurred in children, particularly in the most disadvantaged communities. As the mpox epidemic becomes increasingly worrying and deadly, Member States are taking too long to act. Why? Some would say that this is not our problem, because it does not yet affect Europeans or simply because it is far away. Some governments even prefer to stockpile and then throw away their vaccines that are about to expire rather than give them to children in Africa. What Europe is currently giving through Team Europe and Hera is laudable, but vaccines alone are not enough. Europe must show solidarity and genuine partnership with Africa, not pity. Cooperating with Africa to contain the mpox epidemic is also in Europe's interest. But are we once again in a kind of collective amnesia? Is everything we've learned from COVID-19 already forgotten? Because there is no real progress on the pandemic agreement and the European Union has even blocked progress on access to medicines in developing countries. The vaccines offered are again at very high prices, making African states dependent on donations, and there is no transfer of know-how. Once again, we are trying to build like a fictitious wall between Europe and the rest of the world. But this wall doesn't exist, so let's act, now, consistently and together.

Mr President, Commissioner! The way we farm and eat needs to change drastically. Mass animal husbandry causes immeasurable suffering for billions of animals in Europe. It also poses a huge threat to public health and harms the environment. If we want future generations to have a good life on this planet, we must finally act. The shift to a more plant-based diet and sustainable agriculture is essential; This is recommended by the participants in the strategic dialogue. They also call for a revision of EU animal welfare rules by 2026 and the phasing out of cages. If it's up to us animal rights activists, of course, it can also be earlier. I therefore really call on Ursula von der Leyen to take the demands of the strategic dialogue seriously and to incorporate them into the vision of the future of agriculture and to present the unpublished animal welfare proposals as soon as possible.

Mr President, Commissioner, it is a Luxembourg connection today. A lot of emotion, I have to say too. The La Hulpe Declaration on the future of the European Pillar of Social Rights is essential to ensure the achievement of the objectives of the Porto Summit. However, this statement, for me, had two facets. The first, of course, is positive. Europe's social rights and policies are our strength. This is truly our European social model, which we must be proud of and fight for. We must always remember that. The second aspect is a little less positive, if not worrying, because social policies must not be limited to a nice to have. Thus, I am concerned about the visibly increasing importance given to economic competitiveness, productivity and purely industrial policies in the discussions on social Europe. This diverts attention from social rights. In the face of the rapidly evolving climate change crisis and environmental degradation, the digital and green transition must remain focused on social rights. The ecological transition will be social or will not be.

Madam President, Commissioner, the revision of the pharmaceutical legislation has not been easy, but I am convinced that we have managed to find a good compromise in the interests of patients and health systems. By reaching this compromise, we have succeeded in improving the accessibility of medicines, ensuring transparency of public investment in pharmaceutical research and development. We have also succeeded in tackling shortages of medicines, limiting the negative impact on the environment of the production of medicines, and also sending an important signal that HERA will eventually become an independent agency of the European Union. To accelerate our fight against antimicrobial resistance, we have succeeded in strengthening the One Health approach, while maintaining the attractiveness for development and innovation in Europe. I therefore encourage everyone to support the position of the European Parliament. Together, we can build a pharmaceutical policy based on the ideals of fairness, transparency, sustainability and patient-centredness.

Mr President, Commissioner! Setting up a successful European Citizens' Initiative is a huge job that deserves to be taken seriously. The importance of the ECI as a means of actively influencing European legislation must not be undermined. This is where the credibility of the EU institutions is really at stake. I would like to remind the Commission once again today that a large part of the European population expects an improvement in animal welfare in Europe. I therefore expect that every effort will be made to make animal welfare a priority in the new mandate. This includes the publication of proposals on the end of cages for so-called farm animals, slaughter and animal welfare labelling, as well as a concrete roadmap to phase out animal testing. However, this also includes efforts to better implement and verify animal welfare laws in the Member States and to penalise infringements. I am speaking here on behalf of many of our colleagues in the field of animal welfare: We are angry, we are disappointed – we finally want to see change.

Madam President, dear colleagues, this new regulation will allow for a more optimal use of the rail tracks, so that we can get more trains on the tracks. Train passengers will benefit from increased punctuality and reliability and it will become easier for shippers to use rail transport for their goods. This is a welcome initiative. It is also clear, to reach the EU modal shift targets, much more has to be done. I am very pleased that we found really solid compromises that improve the Commission’s proposal and I would like to thank the shadow rapporteurs and of course also their teams. To further strengthen rail capacity, we call on Member States and the Commission to provide stable funding for maintenance, for renewal and construction of rail infrastructure. We also agree that the rail sector should be closely consulted in all planning and management processes. One of our major criticisms was that the sector was intended to design and adopt its own rules, implement them, monitor them and conduct its own performance review. To counter this, we introduce an EU oversight for checks and balances by strengthening regulatory bodies and by an independent performance review body. We also give new tasks to the European Railway Agency to give support, to coordinate digital solutions and to identify obstacles for cross-border rail services. And finally, we set more ambitious targets for the implementation so that this regulation can have an impact on reaching the EU’s green objectives within this decade. With this proposal, we can start to move from a patchwork of networks into a seamless European railway network. So I count on your support.

Madam President, dear colleagues, dear Commissioner I really wonder what is really the reason for this debate tonight. Although it is true that the human rights situation remains concerning, can we really compare the situation on the island to other topics we are debating tonight? I welcome the efforts by Josep Borrell and Eamon Gilmore to engage in a constructive but critical dialogue with Cuba. Many challenges still exist, and we are particularly concerned about the situation of political prisoners and call for their release. But we are also concerned about the very difficult humanitarian situation, on the island because of the United States blockade. It will take time, but we should continue to engage in dialogue. Through parliamentary diplomacy, we have engaged in constructive talks with Cuba about an official visit of the European Parliament. I deeply regret it has not yet been possible to reach an agreement about the visit, and I hope that we, as Parliament, will be able to find a decent solution to this so as not to break the channels that we have opened until now.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, in Europe, patients and health systems are finding it increasingly difficult to access medicines. This is why it is difficult to support the ‘Let’s extend patents on medicines’ legislation. Indeed, we are currently working on the largest revision of the EU pharmaceutical legislation in 20 years to improve patients’ access to affordable medicines. Unfair practices related to unjustified patent extensions are common in the pharmaceutical market. Patents and intellectual property rights have been designed to guide innovation in the areas of unmet medical needs. However, today we see clearly that they have not kept their promises. We are told that the main reason for maintaining the current system of patents and supplementary protection certificates is to allow the recovery of R&D investments by industry. In fact, we know almost nothing about how much the industry spends on developing new medicines. We are blindly prolonging monopolies and paying more for medicines, without any basic transparency on R&D costs and government support. It is proven that in 80-90% of cases, sales of medicines exceed R&D costs on average four years after authorisation. In short, the longer the industry maintains monopolies on life-saving medicines, the longer we will continue to pay exorbitant prices for medicines, all because of the lack of competition from generic medicines. These billions of euros could be invested in a public research and development infrastructure that meets the needs of patients.

Madam President, dear Commissioner, our food system is broken: multinationals are making billions while farmers struggle to make ends meet; extremely low prices; family farms disappearing every day. We are in an agricultural crisis. To the farmers protesting outside: we are not your enemy. We Greens know that without farmers there is no food and that farmers deserve to make a decent living. We all also know that without nature there is no farming. What has led to this crisis are the policies pushed by the very people who like to blame us Greens: more and more free trade agreements, an unfair common agricultural policy, and simply not enough support to help farmers through the transition. Here is what we need to do: stop unfair competition from imported food; break the power of big corporations; more support to small farmers; less bureaucracy. Let us give farmers workable solutions that protect nature without burying farmers in paperwork.

Madam President, I will be very short, don’t worry. So, dear colleagues, the Claims Regulation applies to voluntary, nutritional and health claims on food products and food supplements in all commercial communication. The objective of the regulation is a high level of consumer protection and smooth functioning of the internal market. We want to protect European consumers, their safety, their health, but let’s be honest, also their wallet. The regulation has been enforced for more than 15 years, and I think we can agree that it has significantly contributed to protecting consumers from false and misleading health and nutrition claims on food. But still today, consumers continue to be exposed to unauthorised and misleading claims. The report we vote on today addresses key challenges in the implementation and suggests the regulation might need to be updated. So, we have three issues. Very shortly, consumers continue to be exposed to very unhealthy foods with authorised claims because 15 years after the regulation came into force, the foreseen nutrition thresholds for such claims have still not been established. Secondly, there is an on-hold list with over 2 000 claims on botanicals. Due to a lack of data, EFSA stopped evaluating these claims and the Commission put the claims on hold over a decade ago. This anomaly needs to be addressed. And thirdly, and lastly, online sales of food and supplements with unauthorised claims are booming. More cooperation and guidance are needed for successful implementation of this regulation in the online environment. I would like also to use this opportunity to thank the different stakeholders which provided us with input and as well to all my colleagues from other groups for constructive collaboration. Thank you!

Madam President, 2023 could have been a revolutionary year for animal welfare in Europe. Instead, millions of animals such as pigs or chickens must continue to suffer. They are locked up in tiny cages where they can barely move. In 2020, the European Citizens’ Initiative ‘End the Cage Age’ was successfully validated. 1.4 million citizens called for an end to cage farming and a real change in animal husbandry. This was supported by a large majority in this House in 2021 through a resolution. By the end of 2023, the Commission promised to present a proposal for the phasing out of cages. And now we have January 2024, and it's clear there's nothing coming. The demands of 1.4 million people remain unanswered. I therefore very much welcome the fact that the European Ombudsman has opened an inquiry into the reasons for the Commission's failure to act. This is about much more than animal welfare. It is about the credibility of the EU institutions and the right of European citizens to have a say.

Madam President, Commissioner! The European Health Data Space can make a real difference for patients in the EU – a digital space that allows my doctor in Luxembourg to access the data stored by a doctor in France during my last treatment there. But of course, my dentist doesn't necessarily need to know that I was also in treatment with a psychologist. In this digital space, I can decide for whom I open which door and to whom I show which door at all. This also applies to my anonymized health data, which can be used, for example, in research. A pool of anonymised data from across Europe – this can be a real game changer for research, for future treatments, but also for prevention in health crises. The data room is particularly beneficial for those who have a rare disease – 30 million people in the EU. 95 percent of them support this creation. Because this data room creates hope: a way to get access to specialised medical care in other European countries, to get a diagnosis earlier and to learn more about his little-known disease through research. And access to my own data, easily from home. Data protection is, of course, the be-all and end-all of this space, because health data is sensitive information that may only fall into the hands of those for whom it is intended. Ladies and gentlemen, I call for this text to be supported.

Madam President, first of all, congratulations to the Green rapporteur, Sarah Wiener, for her tireless work on this file. ‘Sustainable use of pesticides’ – when it comes to chemical pesticides, isn’t that a bit of a contradiction? When it comes to our health, biodiversity and the health of our ecosystem, the less pesticides, the better, which is why we needed to increase ambition of the Commission’s proposal, especially when it comes to reduction targets. But today, one of the most harmful pesticides is likely to be on the market for another 10 years. Yes, I am speaking about glyphosate, which the Commission plans to reauthorise because Member States failed to ban it, and glyphosate is but one dangerous pesticide still used today. So when we vote on what ‘sensitive areas’ are and what can be sprayed in and around them, please don’t think of the short-term profit of big companies, but think of the people and the children that will be exposed to these pesticides. I don’t want to have to tell the future generation that we failed them by failing to embrace less toxic ways of managing pests and producing food.

Madam President, Commissioner! The EU has a protein problem. And no, it's not that we don't produce enough or need fancy technologies to increase production. We are a net exporter of animal protein. We produce and consume animal protein to an extent that is inefficient, unhealthy and unsustainable. To feed the billions of animals, we need 70 million tonnes of feed every year – 70 million tonnes! We import a quarter of this amount from third countries, from areas where massive deforestation is still taking place. The solution: Fewer animals, more local protein food and, very importantly, more plants on our plates. Unfortunately, the report completely misses the target. Every second paragraph highlights the importance of animal protein, especially for fertile women. Seriously? Unfortunately completely unrealistic and untimely. I know that was not the intention of the rapporteur, and I am really sorry that her report was so torpedoed.

Madam President, dear Commissioner, I stand with the citizens. Keeping and killing animals for the purpose of fur production and sale is cruel and unnecessary. Each year, around 37 million animals are killed for this business. Not only can animal welfare standards not be respected on fur farms, but fur farm is also posing a public health threat. Fur farms act as reservoirs for diseases, as we have seen during the COVID pandemic. Because of pollution and invasive species, fur farming also directly contributes to the decay of the EU's biodiversity and ecosystem. This is why we need to keep fighting for a coordinated phase-out of production and sales of fur, for fur-free Europe to become an official EU policy for the citizens, for the animals, for the environment. It is a shame also that the majority of the Members of this Parliament have voted against a resolution for Fur Free Europe ECI, even though more than a million EU citizens have called for a ban on fur. Let us ban fur farming.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, glyphosate has already been classified as probably carcinogenic by the World Health Organisation for more than eight years. In addition, there is evidence of the harmful impact of glyphosate on the environment, biodiversity and animals. Tired of waiting for a European ban, Luxembourg dared to take the lead a few years ago. From January 2021, the use of glyphosate was completely banned. David versus Goliath. Unfortunately, we lost in court against the agrochemical industry. The use is legal again, even if it is not widespread. But for almost two years, our small country has been able to demonstrate that glyphosate-free agriculture is possible and that a ban in no way leads to a dramatic drop in yield. So don't believe these alarmist lies. Thousands of organic and conventional farmers in Luxembourg and throughout Europe show that we can produce in quantity and without glyphosate.

Madam President, Commissioner, like my colleagues, I think it is crucial to address the issue of European action to address medicine shortages. I am pleased that the Commission is preparing a communication on this subject and I look forward to strong action, particularly on three points. First, to ask for the transparency of production lines from the companies that supply us. We need a better understanding of where the problems lie on the production lines. Of course, transparency also means being informed early enough about shortages and their reasons. If an undertaking discontinues production of a medicinal product for commercial reasons, this should be notified to allow other interested producers to continue production. Secondly, to relocate the production of medicines. This is a crucial measure to enable better control of supply chains. It is also a natural measure in view of the benefits received by pharmaceutical companies in Europe to support innovation. It would therefore be fair for this to be conditioned on production in Europe. Finally, thirdly, the creation of a European public medicines infrastructure, with research and development capacities, but also with production capacities for essential medicines, to ensure a safety net for the supply of Europeans. We cannot rely solely on the pharmaceutical industry. We saw this during the pandemic and we need to act accordingly. Parliament called on the Commission to assess the feasibility of setting up such an agency in its COVID report. When does the Commission plan to publish this study? And does the Commission plan to include this aspect in its communication at the end of October?

Madam President, Commissioner, I’m very pleased that this week we will vote on a report ensuring that transportation works for women because this is not the case yet. Women travel differently than men. They walk more often or take public transport and they make many stops on the way home from work. Yet, cities’ transport facilities today are designed by men for men. Despite their reliance on public transport, women are more likely to suffer from sexual harassment and violence, and women are 47 % more likely to be seriously injured in a car crash than men. Why? Because car crash dummies have been designed by men for men, and we need female crash test models. It’s high time that we include a gender perspective in transport planning. In the future, women, in all their diversity, have to be involved in decision-making processes to ensure that transport and city planning fit their needs. We also know that focusing on women’s mobility patterns will directly and positively support the green transition. We need to ensure that no woman or girl feels unsafe in public transport. No woman should be afraid of getting home at night. There are many preventive measures that can be introduced. Some cities are already taking steps, but much more needs to be done.

Madam President, I am extremely concerned about what is happening in Guatemala. The election was peaceful. The highest electoral authorities confirmed the clear victory of Bernardo Arévalo and Karin Herrera from the Semilla party. However, continuous attempts by the country’s Ministerio Público are trying to undermine the election result. Yesterday, agents from the attorney general offices raided facilities of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal and started opening ballot boxes. This is an unprecedented violation of the law. The international community should have a coordinated answer to condemn these continuous and desperate attempts to destroy democracy. What we risk is a possible breakdown of the constitutional order in Guatemala. We urgently need to talk about sanctions to those who undermine the electoral process and systematically instrumentalise the judiciary to weaken the rule of law and criminalise opposition figures – people like Consuelo Porras, Rafael Curruchiche and Fredy Orellana. I call on all Guatemalan authorities to respect the election result and ensure a peaceful and transparent transition process. Citizens’ votes must be respected and the democracy protected.

Mr President, this report closes the work of the COVI Committee, which has certainly not been easy. Of course, I would like to thank my colleagues for their cooperation on this report, which takes stock, albeit not exhaustive but important, of the lessons learned during this pandemic. These included condemning triage practices in hospitals, calling for massive funding for our public healthcare systems and addressing the shortage of carers, and the importance of learning from the misuse of the EU Digital COVID Certificate by some Member States. But the report also calls for the necessary measures to be put in place to integrate the One Health approach in Europe. This is an extremely important point that we can control to prevent future health crises. And the first is already underway: antibiotic resistance. However, these positive points should not obscure the fact that the most important lesson of this pandemic is not repeated in this report. We have denied access to care to the majority of the world’s population. And why? To protect the profits of the pharmaceutical industry, which, it should be stressed, did not give us gifts during this pandemic. The Greens have therefore tabled amendments to correct the misleading balance sheet in this respect. If these amendments were not to be voted on, we would not be able to support a report that does not draw the main lesson from resolving this global health crisis.

Madam President, dear Commissioner, 10 years ago, the European Union took the decision to completely ban animal testing for cosmetic products and ingredients, becoming the first market in the world to do so. It might feel like a symbolic move or even an unimportant issue to some, but for me – as a European who deeply cares for animals – it was a proud and happy moment. This will be one area where European consumers could buy products in good conscience because they didn’t have to worry if animals had suffered in labs. But then they discovered that this is not the case at all, as animal tests still are performed for workers’ safety. This is a legal inconsistency that is also causing damage to the credibility of the Union and to the trust of our citizens. Alternative testing methods exist and continue to be developed, and we should support them more. So I wait for the Commission that the announced roadmap is really among the answers that we will give on this ECI, and that we have a concrete step to phase out animal testing.

Mr President, High Representative / Vice President, it is not the first time I speak in this plenary about the situation in Nicaragua. Indeed, we have debated this topic various times before, but the situation in the country is getting worse and worse by the day. The UN Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua concluded that the human rights violations committed by the Ortega regime amount to crimes against humanity against civilians. We take note of the release of the 222 political prisoners. But it came at a big price. With the resolution we will adopt this week, the European Parliament will condemn the deportation of the former political prisoners and the decision to deprive at least 317 individuals of their Nicaraguan citizenship. We call on the Nicaraguan authorities to reverse this decision, to stop the politically motivated persecution against dissidents and human rights defenders and to really release all those arbitrarily detained. This resolution is also an opportunity to ensure the life and integrity of human rights defenders who remain in Nicaragua, including among others also Vilma Nuñez. Already one year ago, we called on the Council to expand the list of sanctions to include also the judges, and we repeat this call. Of course, all these measures do not include to harm the Nicaraguan people. So I urge you, and that’s my last sentence, to really work together with NGOs, with Human Rights Defenders, that we strengthen the international cooperation to defend dialogue, democracy and human rights in Nicaragua.