Speeches

Mr President, in the light of tomorrow's European Council, I have two major request. Firstly, we need to urgently support the TRIPS waiver, a TRIPS waiver on all COVID-19 medical tools, not only vaccines. I am very disappointed about the cancellation of the last WTO ministerial conference and dissatisfied with the EU's counterproposal, a counterproposal which is a diversion manoeuvre and which by no means addresses inequality. I am calling on all Member States to finally make the choice in favour of solidarity, public health and equality. Secondly, we have to tackle vaccine hesitancy and disinformation. Life expectancy in the EU overall decreased by more than eight months between 2019 and 2020. Some countries have not seen such a big decrease since World War II. Let’s be clear: vaccines prevent deaths. We need more effective vaccine campaigns and information actions. Vaccine campaigns which target the right person and that establish a community dialogue to generate better understanding about COVID-19 vaccines.

Mr President, the last year we have seen arbitrary arrests of opposition leaders, presidential candidates and human rights defenders. By eliminating all possible options for the main opposition groups, the elections on 7 November were rigged for only one possible outcome. It is clear that the elections were neither fair, transparent nor free. With the resolution we will adopt this week, the European Parliament will unite in the condemnation of these illegitimate elections. We call on the Government of Nicaragua to guarantee civil and political rights for all Nicaraguans, to cease the persecution of the opposition, the press, civil society and to immediately and unconditionally release all those arbitrarily detained. We also condemn the increasing criminalisation and persecution of environmental defenders and the continued attacks and acts of aggression against the indigenous people of Nicaragua. In 2020, 12 environmental leaders were killed in Nicaragua, making it the most deadly country per capita for environmental defenders. On 23 August, at least nine people from the Miskitu and Mayangna indigenous community were murdered by settlers, and two women were raped. These crimes remain unpunished, as the Nicaraguan Government fails to enforce legal protections of indigenous land. Therefore, it’s crucial that the EU increases its support to civil society and human rights defenders. We also need – and it was already said several times – more targeted sanctions, and we should ask the Commission to trigger the democratic clause of the association agreement, while ensuring that no sanction or any other measure could harm the Nicaraguan people. They need our support, so that they can ensure their right to freely choose their government and live freely without repression and human rights abuses.

Madam President, after years of difficult negotiations, I am glad to finally see a deal on this file, as it will guarantee more equal access to quality medicines and medical devices throughout the Union. So congratulations to the rapporteur and to all the shadow rapporteurs. Too often, expensive medicines, which do not really make a difference to what already exists on the market, still get approved. With HTA we will avoid duplication of clinical assessment – and hence of human and financial resources. I am happy to see that we have managed to integrate enhanced transparency and public access to HTA documents into the text, safeguards in case Member States still carry out national clinical assessments, as well as the establishment of a stakeholder network to guarantee civil society involvement. All in all, I am delighted to see that governments are now given every means to reimburse only medicines that truly work so that patients only access and pay for effective treatments.

Madam President, I think that the European Health Union is ready for an action plan on rare diseases. And as you know, I’m a strong advocate for rare diseases patients, especially the youngest concerned by them. About 75% of rare diseases affect children, and today paediatric cancers are unfortunately still the leading cause of death in children aged above one year, in Europe. Rare cancer patients often face numerous challenges, like the difficulty in accessing timely diagnosis and specialised health care services, adequate treatments or social services. In order to tackle this issue, we should have a more holistic approach to rare diseases and should take into account the social aspects of a patient’s life. Rare disease patients often feel alone, and their quality of life is greatly reduced. People living with rare diseases should have the right to live a normal life, and we need to create equal opportunities, as well as social protection and inclusion for patients and their families. As a former teacher, I am particularly attached to the educational aspect of children. Schoolkids with rare diseases still face inaccessibility to facilities, non-adapted teaching methods and are often behind in their education programme due to the frequency of medical appointments and their special needs. So a new action plan would therefore address areas such as research, diagnosis, treatment, social care, education, inclusion, as well as data collection compliant with the GDPR. Data is crucial and we should leverage European reference networks in the area of rare diseases to optimise data for patients and social benefit. As a shadow for the upcoming European health status-based file, I am calling for a data space that is seamlessly connected to the European reference networks so that we can create better health care passwords and clinical research, because unfortunately, data on rare disease patients are still scattered amongst different healthcare systems. Collecting this data could help us better understand the specific diseases and develop appropriate treatment. Ultimately, data can help us increase the quality of life of millions of people suffering from rare diseases.

Madam President, as the prospect of a third dose for adults in Europe becomes clearer, I note with despair that we are sorely lacking vaccines in low-income countries. Thus, only 1.1% of the population received at least one dose of vaccine in these countries. While I welcome the recent delivery of nearly 100 million doses of vaccine to COVAX, it is imperative that we accelerate cooperation and deliver on our commitments. Until the day before yesterday, COVAX had distributed only 250 million vaccines out of the initial target of 2 billion doses. Again, I am outraged by the power conferred on the pharmaceutical industry. A letter sent to the Commission by the German Secretary of State indicates that the surplus of vaccines in many Member States is increasing without the possibility for the Member States to redistribute them. Why are unbalanced contracts signed with vaccine producers? These contracts contain minimum selling prices, onerous compensatory payments or restrictions on vaccine donation. It is time to put an end to these abusive practices and counterbalance the power of pharmaceutical giants.

Madam President, for three years, we have been saying that the proposal for the next CAP is fundamentally flawed, that it is inadequate to fight climate and biodiversity crisis and the loss of small farmers all over Europe. The text on the table today is still flawed. The Commission, the Council and the negotiators from this House have failed to fix it. This is not a reform, or even a stepping-stone for reform, it’s indeed a mess. Since the negotiations ended, we have seen the strategic plans that Member States are drafting. Most of them confirm our fear that the environmental ambition will be set as low as possible. What also happened in between, in October, a big majority of you adopted a report in support to the Farm to Fork Strategy. That report explicitly supported almost all of the targets of the strategy. How can you then support a text which makes it easy for Member States to refuse the alignment of their strategic plan with the Green Deal? It would be completely absurd to support both the Farm to Fork strategy, the biodiversity strategy, and this CAP. Regarding the ‘new delivery model’, it will fail to tell us if the CAP is actually delivering on the ground what taxpayers expect: they want more sustainable practices and more support for small farmers. The ‘performance model’ will at best be able to tell the Commission if Member States are sticking to their plans. This is purely an accounting exercise and there will be no consequences if the plans are terrible. So, if this CAP is adopted, we are giving Member States a blank check, with no guarantees of good results on the ground. As I said before, the existing draft plans show that Member States will use the new flexibility to change exactly nothing about the status quo. So, it is our responsibility, as representatives of the people, to vote this CAP down.

Madam President, Commissioner, I am delighted to see some key points for my group in this report. Thus, we have finally established conditions of transparency, accessibility and affordability for pharmaceutical companies when their products are developed with public funds – funds that come from taxpayers. It is time to put an end to the exorbitant prices set by the pharmaceutical companies, which have also received significant public aid. It is also time to put an end to this system that puts patients at risk. And I demand that the price of medicines finally reflect the real costs of developing them. At the same time, the shortage of medicines is ravaging some countries in Europe and I am delighted to see that the report refers to preventing delays in market entry for generics and biosimilars. A subject that is also very close to my heart: Finally, we have stricter obligations in terms of environmental protection and a call for the use of alternatives to animal testing. The drug responds above all to a fundamental need: health. It should not only serve the interests of the pharmaceutical industry. So I am still a little disappointed to see references to regulatory flexibility in this report. Instead, we need a strong regulatory system to ensure the safety and effectiveness of our pharmaceuticals. I am also a little disappointed that this report gives preference to voluntary licences in the context of a global pandemic, which should allow governments to use compulsory licences to meet public health needs. That is why we have introduced an amendment to this paragraph, to put voluntary and compulsory licences at least on an equal footing. Ladies and gentlemen, I therefore call on you to take responsibility as representatives of European citizens and to vote in favour of this amendment.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, in the face of an upsurge in cases of COVID-19 contamination, it is essential that we pool all our efforts for better coordination within the Member States of the European Union. It is important that we put in place common and well-thought-out measures. As highlighted by the European Council of 21-22 October, vaccination campaigns across Europe have made significant progress. But we need to step up efforts to overcome vaccine mistrust, including by tackling disinformation. While vaccination is an effective way to fight the pandemic, it should not be made mandatory. Getting vaccinated must be done with conviction. I am therefore outraged by Austria’s coercive measures. By making vaccination compulsory from next February, the Austrian State is only increasing the social tensions that are already present on its territory and risk dividing society. Some 35,000 protesters in Vienna this weekend demonstrated this. Riots also broke out in the Netherlands and Belgium, where protesters protested health restrictions and the government’s plan to restrict access to certain facilities for unvaccinated people. Vaccination must be a smart and thoughtful choice. Building trust presupposes individual freedom and an absence of coercion. These drastic measures only increase the distrust of part of the population towards vaccines. So let's be consistent and clear in our communication in order to persuade and not force.

Madam President, as Greens, we of course fully support the farm to fork strategy, even though it is not perfect. The report on which we have worked this past year even goes beyond the strategy, and we applaud this. But, as is clear today, the report is under attack. This really is a shame, especially considering the current context – the CAP reform. Many Member States are currently protesting behind closed doors. They don’t want the targets of the farm to fork strategy to be considered for the national strategic plans of the CAP. So, as Parliament, we should be fully backing this strategy, instead of questioning its targets. Because as Members of the Parliament we have a responsibility towards small producers, who would like to have perspectives and support in becoming more resilient and sustainable. We also have a responsibility towards citizens, who deserve healthy and sustainable food and transparency. We should be the ones following the science, which clearly says that our food system needs an ecological transition. So, dear colleagues, support this text as it stands. Don’t sabotage this ambitious report. Let’s show the Commission, the Council and the citizens that we stand behind this Green Deal.

Madam President, Commissioner, tourism has gone through a difficult period. This is the sector most affected by the pandemic: Many people have lost their jobs. Now is the time to rethink this sector. The tourism sector, and especially the mass tourism sector, has a strong impact on climate change as well as on nature. It contributes to 8% of global CO2 emissions and CO2 emissions continue to rise. But it is also a very vulnerable sector, as it is also a victim of climate change and biodiversity loss. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we Greens have called on the Commission to ensure that the restoration of the tourism sector is consistent with the Green Deal. We must ensure that the recovery plans drawn up and the investments made in this sector guarantee a transition to sustainable tourism, tourism that is fair for human beings and for the planet. Every aspect of tourism must be sustainable, from mobility to housing. But what is the Commission doing to encourage and monitor the green transition in the tourism sector, so that we do not return to the status quo? Local authorities and small and medium-sized enterprises are playing a key role in this transition. But to what extent does the funding actually correspond to the objectives of the Green Deal? Finally, tourism must be accessible and affordable for everyone, including those who, for a variety of reasons, cannot get vaccinated. The EU Digital COVID Certificate is a successful initiative allowing EU citizens to travel again. But there is a need to increase funding for testing and make testing free for everyone, to ensure that access to the certificate remains guaranteed for all and to avoid discrimination.

Madam President, I believe my colleagues have already explained well why, as Members of this Parliament, we are so worried, but also angry, about the current proposal. We all want to strengthen the capacity of the EU to respond to health emergencies, but this process must be independent and driven only by public health interest. As foreseen now, the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) will not be an independent agency. The Commission will work directly with the industry on research, development and manufacturing of medicines. The only way to guarantee the independence of HERA will be to include strict and binding policies on conflict of interest. We cannot afford, neither financially nor morally, that HERA become an additional channel to give pharmaceutical companies a blank cheque. We have to draw the lessons from the so far poor experience of the EU public and private partnerships. We cannot afford to make the same mistakes for the credibility of the project, but also for the credibility of the European institutions.

Mr President, last Friday, in Mondercange, a 91-year old woman was hit by a lorry on a zebra crossing. She died from her injuries. She is one of around 23 000 people still dying every year on EU roads, including many children. Furthermore, 120 000 also get seriously injured. This is not acceptable! The EU has to step up its action to reduce deaths and serious injuries. Speeding is a factor in a third of all fatal road crashes. Therefore, we call for safe speed limits on all roads, and especially for 30 km per hour as a default speed in residential areas. It is also key to promote lighter and smaller cars, which are much safer for all road users. We also call for urban space to be redesigned, putting people and public transport at the centre and promoting active mobility with safe infrastructure for those walking and cycling because, when it comes to mobility, safety and sustainability go hand in hand.

Mr President, Commissioner! I wholeheartedly welcome this report. The amount of petitions that speak of the rights of people with disabilities shows how acute and widespread the problems are still. People with disabilities must have access to inclusive education and training, be able to live independently and in a community-based manner, be able to travel freely and flexibly, have a chance in the regular labour market, and have access to personal assistance. These are not just trifles or even pity actions, but human rights. Inclusion in all areas of society should not only be an option, but a matter of course. However, this paradigm shift is not complete everywhere. One of the demands of the report, such as the EU-wide Disability cardIt will soon be a reality. For other demands, such as the Anti-Discrimination Directive, we have been waiting for ten years, and the future of this is uncertain. But it could give many people more protection in all areas of life. (The President withdrew the floor from the speaker.)

Mr President, first of all, I would like to say that I am really glad to see how much political support this subject got in this room. At the same time, I am very disappointed that despite this broad horizontal consensus, the Commission continues to act behind closed doors and ignores all our calls for full transparency when it comes to vaccines. This is a legitimate call and, in this limited time, I will only focus on two points. First, the Commission invested a huge amount of EU money to fund research, and the development and acquisition of these vaccines. EU money is taxpayers’ money. EU money is citizens’ money. We cannot accept that, at a critical and unprecedented time as during a pandemic, the European Commission decides to deliberately ignore the right of citizens to have access to information. Transparency is a key principle, and it is key because it reinforces public scrutiny and trust over what the institutions are doing. In this particular case, all this opacity, all this secrecy, not only undermines the trust of our citizens, but it also leads to uncertainty, disinformation and, even more seriously, to the risk of vaccine hesitancy. Is the Commission considering this aspect? Is it aware of the long-term consequences of its choice? Secondly, as a directly elected institution representing EU taxpayers, we Members of the European Parliament are called on to exercise democratic oversight over the EU budget, to make sure that the Commission and all the other institutions are dealing with European funds properly. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, this has not been possible and, as a Member of this institution, I honestly have the feeling that I cannot exercise this obligation the way it should be done. I can understand that the negotiations to secure vaccines for all EU Member States were unprecedented. I also acknowledge the challenges that the Commission might have faced. But today, exactly one year after the start of the crisis, we can no longer accept this secrecy. I cannot accept that our multiple requests continue to be ignored. I cannot accept it as a citizen, and I cannot accept it as a Member of this Parliament.

Madam President, dear colleagues, I regret that some of my colleagues here today want to use the debate on Cuba for their own national political interest. We should not forget that the EU is not there to give lessons, we should work together with our partners in a mutually respectful way to protect human rights, democracy and freedom of expression. The EU-Cuba Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement forms the basis of this cooperation. I very much support the constructive but critical approach taken by the High Representative and the EEAS. At this time more than ever, it’s important to keep the channels of dialogue open to support Cuba in the challenges the country is facing. In July, we saw the largest demonstrations in Cuba since the uprising in 1994. Numerous protesters have been detained, including journalists, and some are held incommunicado. I urge the Cuban Government to immediately and unconditionally release all those detained for the exercise of their freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. I also deeply regret the death of at least one protester, and I call for an independent investigation into the case and that those responsible are held accountable. The protests in July came in the context of a difficult economic situation on the island. The US embargo against the country has deepened the economic crisis and restricted access to food, water, medicine and power. The situation was made even worse by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a devastating effect on the country’s tourism industry. A combination of all these factors created an increased demand for civil and political rights in the country. To find a way out of this crisis, I ask the Cuban authorities to do their utmost to ensure that economic, social and cultural rights of the Cuban people are met and I invite them to engage in an inclusive national dialogue towards a process of modernisation and democratisation of the country. The COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly difficult in the last months in Cuba and I must acknowledge that, despite the difficult economic situation in the country, Cuba has managed to develop their own vaccines and they have been able to send doctors abroad who greatly have contributed during the pandemic. It is clear that the unilateral US sanctions have a damaging impact on the Cuban people, but they also have a negative effect on EU’s economic interests. I had hopes that the new US administration with Joe Biden as President would create a window of opportunity to improve the US-Cuba relations, but so far I have been mistaken. I end my speech today by really saying again: they should end the US embargo!

Madam President, on 6 May a deliveryman lost his life on a bicycle in Normandy. After a rainy and cold day, he was delivering a meal under pressure, fatigued and overworked. Unfortunately, this drama is not the first, but hopefully it is the last. Platform workers have become a rapidly growing part of the transport sector and this is precarious self-employment, especially in driving and delivery services. Algorithmic management so often used by platforms can put excessive pressure on workers, with implications for road safety. The COVID-19 pandemic clearly shows a lack of social protection for these workers. Many of them lost their source of income from one day to another, but could often not access the income measures, neither for employers nor for self-employed. Platform workers should enjoy equal access to decent working conditions, including a fair income, social security and protection for unemployment and sickness. Work tasks should be predictable and transparent, and algorithms must always have human oversight. Those working in the driving and delivery services need adequate protective equipment and accident insurance. We need to ensure that all workers are treated equally in the EU. With this report, the European Parliament sends a strong signal in favour of platform workers’ rights. It’s now up to the Commission to deliver a progressive legislative proposal.

Mr President, Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes is among the strictest legislation in the world, but this piece of legislation does not provide a clear strategy for transitioning to innovation without the use of animals. And as a consequence, every year nearly 10 million animals suffer in EU laboratories, with very limited research results. Indeed, there is a high failure rate – above 90% of new drugs tested on animals – and also a growing number of scientific reviews indicating that they contribute very little in understanding human diseases. Non-animal methods are game-changing technologies... (... inaudible ...) ... better coordinated, cross-sectoral and EU-wide approach, across all Member States and all European agencies. Based on these elements I have some questions for the Commission: does the Commission agree that after 10 years of no progress, we need a plan to accelerate the transition to animal-free methods? That it could work more with the Member States to promote the key competences and knowledge required to use non-animal methods? That it could create mechanisms for preferential funding of non-animal methods? That it could set reduction targets through a more proactive implementation of existing regulations that deal with the safety of chemicals and other products. And lastly, there is a plan to develop the European research area and to set up priority areas where Member States should collaborate. So does the Commissioner agree that the phasing-out of the use of animals should be one of these priority areas?

Madam President, I am very glad about the work that we have done and I would like to congratulate the rapporteur and all my colleagues that worked to reinforce the role of the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Many citizens probably did not even know about the existence of the EMA before the outbreak of the pandemic, but I think that today many of us have realised that its role is crucial to make sure that the treatments we take, such as medicines and vaccines, work well and are safe. As of today, the EMA will be stronger and will be able to help countries in a more efficient and faster way. First of all, it will put a much stronger focus on prevention and on the monitoring of shortages. The pandemic showed us indeed the importance of securing the supply of medicines and medical devices, because their shortages can have a dramatic impact on the treatments and therefore also on patients’ health. Companies will now have to submit plans where they explain how they would react in case they face problems during the supply chain and they will get penalties in case they omit information that can be useful to the authorities. This will increase transparency in the process and will allow timely interventions to mitigate possible shortages. We also worked to create a webpage that will be publically available, so that patients, healthcare professionals, but also every citizen, will be able to get information about the shortages in real time. Another new element will be the creation of a list of essential products that authorities will consider as critical during a health crisis: this will be important to monitor their demand and the supply and take actions to ensure their availability. However, I do not think it is a good idea that companies have their say on which products should be considered as essential as it is clear that as manufacturers they would have an interest in promoting a product over another one. So I would invite my colleagues to think a little bit more about this and exclude companies from this process. Apart from this, I think overall we did a very good job because we are reinforcing an important agency that in future will help us to act immediately and act together to fight viruses and diseases that, as we saw, will not stop at the borders.

Mr President, Commissioner, on 1 July the EU Digital COVID Certificate became a reality, and as I had already announced in this plenary, I think everybody should be happy about that. Such a coordinated initiative at EU level is great, because it should replace the patchwork of actions that every country was taking. However, we need to ensure that as many citizens as possible get access to the certificate, particularly also those – for different reasons – who cannot be vaccinated. To guarantee access to the certificate, we need to increase the testing capacity in each country by making the tests free for all. I therefore ask the European Commission to mobilise additional funding, as this Parliament had already asked before the approval of the certificate. More and free testing means that more people would be able to safely move around. We need this not just for tourists or tourism, but also to re-launch our economy, help citizens to get their lives back. Every citizen has the right to do so, and we need to make sure no one is left behind.

Madam President, I am deeply concerned about what is happening in Nicaragua. With the arrest of presidential candidates and opposition leaders, continuous persecution of journalists and civil society and an electoral reform that does not live up to democratic parameters, President Daniel Ortega continues to lead the country away from a peaceful and democratic solution to a serious political crisis in Nicaragua. It is evident that all this clearly hampers any possibility for a free and fair election in November. With the debate today and the resolution we will adopt this week, the European Parliament should send a strong signal to Ortega’s government. We need to call on Ortega to cease the repression against the opposition, human rights defenders, civil society and journalists, to immediately release all political prisoners, to repeal the restrictive laws, to restore citizens’ rights and to adopt electoral reforms that guarantee transparent, free and fair elections according to international standards. We should also call on the Council to expand the list of targeted sanctions and ask the Commission to trigger the democratic clause of the Association Agreement with regard to the trade part, while ensuring that no sanction or any other measure could harm the Nicaraguan people. The EU should continue to work with the international community to promote dialogue, democracy and human rights in Nicaragua and increase its support to civil society and human rights defenders’ work. We should also call on Member States to facilitate the issuing of emergency visas and provide temporary shelter to those who might seek a peaceful place outside their country. European companies operating in Nicaragua must ensure strict due diligence throughout their supply chain to ensure human rights are respected. Finally, our full support should be with the Nicaraguan people so they can ensure their right to freely choose their government and live freely without repression and human rights abuses.