What Alex spoke about.

Today we live in a world where digital platforms have become the battlefield for our democracies. We have had the negative effects that anti-democratic forces have left on our democracies following disinformation attacks. Social platforms are built by themselves to maximize the attention and time spent by those who use them. Unfortunately, often what keeps us attached to the same platforms is fake, shocking or sensational content. Democracies are built on the presumption that citizens have access to truthful information, trustworthy information to participate fully in civic and governmental decision-making. Unfortunately, the economic model of platforms is having a negative impact on our societies where information has ended up being used as a technological weapon against democracies, threatening our governance models. We can do a lot to overcome these challenges. The first thing we have to do is to lose sight of the advertising model as the main economic source from which these platforms are living. A source that is focusing on exploitation and intrusion into our private life.

Mr President, on Wednesday we will be voting on my report on the protection of persons with disabilities through petitions – lessons learnt. First of all, I would like to thank my colleagues and shadows for their important input in this report. There was a high degree of cooperation across all the political groups within the European Parliament. I would also like to thank Inclusion Europe and also Autism Europe for providing us with an easy—to—read part of my report in order to make this report accessible to all persons with disabilities. Heartfelt thanks to you. Approximately, there are 87 million persons with disabilities throughout our Union. Their situation may vary considerably from one Member State to another, but they are generally more likely to be exposed to social exclusion, more likely to be exposed to poverty, and it is more likely they are exposed to unemployment. Despite all our common agreed values and also our treaties, people with disabilities continue to face multiple obstacles and discrimination, in their everyday lives, which prevent them from basically enjoying their most fundamental freedoms and rights as laid down in applicable EU law and also in UN legislative frameworks. One of these is the mutual recognition of disability status between EU Member States, the lack of which tremendously hinders freedom of movement within the EU for persons with disabilities. Moreover, access to public transport, physical, sensory and cognitive accessibility of the built environment, goods, services and programmes, use of sign languages and all other means and types of accessible communication and information, financing of – and equal access to – education and also vocational training, access to the labour market, access to personal assistance schemes, community inclusion, equality in opportunity and treatment in employment and also in other occupations. Let me stress that here the Committee on Petitions plays a very crucial role as a bridge between the EU citizens, Parliament and other EU institutions, and also has an important instrument for getting our citizens involved in a more active way in participatory democracy. The right to petition Parliament is one of the most fundamental rights of every EU citizen. However, persons with disabilities are still facing enormous obstacles in exercising this right to petition. That is why it is important for the European Parliament to first of all ensure that its website is accessible for persons with disabilities, in line with the ‘leading by example’ policy. Moreover, it should allow the tabling of petitions in both international and national sign languages used in the EU, thus making the right to petition more accessible for sign language users. Over the years, the Committee on Petitions has received many important petitions on the protection of persons with disabilities in the EU. Citizens regularly get in touch to express their concerns on accessibility, social protection and also employment rights. My report highlights these examined petitions, in which our citizens have raised issues on accessibility and social protection, mutual recognition of disability status in the Member States, as well as inclusive education and employment rights. In the received petitions, the petitioners raise issues of obstacles that persons with disabilities face in various fields, such as access to public transport, the built environment, use of sign languages, financing of – and access to – education and also vocational training. This is a strong message for Europe to act. The report is also very timely, taking into account the recent launch of the New Disability Strategy 2021—2030 by the European Commission. The new strategy aims to improve the lives of persons with disabilities in a barrier—free Europe and to protect the social and also economic inclusion and participation of persons with disabilities in our society, free from discrimination, in full respect of their rights and on an equal basis with all other citizens. It is also important to mention the Commissioner for Equality, Helena Dalli, who played a significant instrumental role in establishing this new strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities. Currently there is still no mutual recognition of disability status between EU Member States, which is still creating an obstacle for persons with disabilities when moving from one Member State to another to work, for studies or for any other reason. The Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is basically proposing an EU—wide disability card. The European Disability Card, I must say, will be a very important instrument to help persons with disabilities to exercise their right of freedom of movement, and therefore I have stressed in my report that the European Disability Card should become mandatory in each and every Member State. The report also focuses on a number of barriers that children with disabilities encounter when it comes to inclusive education, especially children with intellectual disabilities, where such children with autism or children with hearing loss are still facing many obstacles when it comes to fulfilling their educational path. I believe that the European Commission should continue to strengthen the role of the Child Guarantee in ensuring inclusion of children with disabilities and also that Member States should increase their educational systems’ capacity to provide high—quality, inclusive education for all learners. Last but not least, I stress in my report also the important role of focal points in the EU, in all institutions, in all agencies, including in Parliament and in the Council, with the central focal point being within the Commission’s Secretariat—General, which would be supported by an appropriate interinstitutional mechanism. The report highlights the importance of prioritising the appointment of persons with disabilities to the role of disability coordinators.

Mr President, biodiversity destruction and climate change are real challenges we face on a daily basis. The majority of biodiversity destruction is taking place in developing third countries and this is also having a direct impact on biodiversity in our Member States, especially when it comes to bird migration. It is therefore pointless that the European Commission only continues to restrict sustainable hunting and trapping practices in our Member States and then ignores the ongoing massacre in our neighbouring third countries. Eradicating biodiversity and ecosystems is also preventing us from progressing to meet the ambitious milestones of the SDGs. We therefore need to address the real cause of biodiversity destruction and redouble our work in these areas. First and foremost; increase funds and investments. There also needs to be a holistic plan on due diligence in the conservation and sustainable use of the rehabilitation resources of our ecosystems. And there should also be more adequate communication with local communities of the same third countries. If we lose biodiversity we will lose our important ally against climate change as well as the challenge of eradicating poverty once and for all.

Platforms for the Collaborative Economy today have become an integral part of our lives, posing new challenges – challenges to industrial relations, challenges to social security, challenges to a regulatory framework of our Member States. The precariousness faced by platform workers is a real challenge and with the COVID pandemic it continues to expose a number of vulnerabilities that these workers were already facing in the past: false self-employment, lack of working conditions, low or fragmented income, health and safety risks, insufficient social protection, unclear employment status. And therefore the Commission's pledge to introduce enforcement measures to ensure labour market integration and eliminate inequalities in the platform economy sector is a project that we have been waiting too long now. What is illegal on an offline basis should likewise be considered illegal on an online basis, which is a principle that I fully agree with. Workers in the digital sector should enjoy the same rights and treatment as other workers. Digital platforms should no longer profit from legal uncertainties in order to abuse the fundamental rights that every worker should enjoy.

At the risk of losing my flight today, I decided that it is more important to be here defending the rights and working conditions of workers working in the aviation sector, including Maltese national airline workers – Air Malta. The aviation sector also has a human face and this is the face of the workers who over the past months have had to pay the highest price for the pandemic – the highest price in the most historically difficult time in this sector. The negative impact of the pandemic further added to the pressures that were already felt very strongly in this sector due to competitive market forces. Although the Commission has helped the sector, little has been done to help workers. The Commission must take action today before tomorrow to protect workers in the aviation sector and ensure that their basic rights are always safeguarded. Commissioner, please, take action today before tomorrow because it may tomorrow be too late.