Speeches

Mrs Tinagli, you have been chairing the housing committee for a year, you are chairing it well, we have had …. I'll repeat the time you put on your headphones... Mrs Tinagli, you have been chairing the special committee on housing for a year, you are chairing it well, we have received a lot of experts, we have conducted a lot of hearings, we have carried out studies, we have carried out missions. All of them have recommendations, and Mr Giménez's report does not go at all in the direction of everything that has been said for a year. From your point of view, do you think that this housing report reflects everything that has been said, everything that happened during a year on the housing commission? Or do you find the proposals and recommendations biased?

Madam President, rapporteur, you are quite a magician. What was supposed to be a housing report becomes a real estate report. The European goal of zero homelessness by 2030? Abracadabra! Disappeared! The right of tenants? Abracadabra! Focus on the right of owners! Mr Giménez, you are stronger than David Copperfield – Mr Giménez, hou, hou, I am talking to you... Well, he's busy with something else, as usual. This report does not defend the right to housing, but the lobbies of the construction and Airbnb. Those lobbies you've met 25 times in the last few months, while tenant representatives, you've seen them once. The market is the problem, you offer more market. Rents are increasing, it is because of the rent control. With you, housing is a pretext to deregulate. I remember that negotiating meeting you spent trying to convince us that the housing crisis was caused by the Birds Directive. Not speculation, not Airbnb, but birds! One might laugh if, to the absurdity, you had not added the ignominy with your infamous proposal of a Europol file of those who cannot pay their rent, treating them as organized crime. You criminalize the underprivileged, it's indecent, Mr. Giménez! We will vote against your report and we will continue to fight to build a Europe where cities are not museums, but territories where we live. So that instead of millions of vacant housing, our city centers are inhabited by those who work there. For the right to have housing to be greater than the right to own two, five or 25. Europeans don't need magicians. They need solutions to make the right to housing a reality in Europe.

Mr President, 75 billion for Vinci, 56 billion for Bouygues, 23 billion for Eiffage. Billions of turnover to build our stadiums, our metros, our Olympic villages. And at the end of the chain, on the construction sites, they are precarious workers, exhausted, endangered, sometimes without payroll or even without papers. Some leave their health there, others leave their lives there. What do the bosses say? "They are not our employees, they are only subcontractors." Impunity for contractors is based on a cascading system of subcontracting. It's not competitiveness, it's exploitation. And we can't close our eyes anymore. This is why subcontracting chains must be limited to two levels. It is necessary to establish joint and several liability throughout the chain so that large companies finally assume when there is fraud or accident. Yesterday, I was talking here with the trade unionists of the Grand Paris Express, the largest construction site in the world – which you are planning to visit shortly, Commissioner Mînzatu. Construction started six years ago. Of the first three years, six died, not to mention accidents. So the unions fought and they got, in particular, the prohibition of subcontracting beyond the second level. And since then, not one dead for three years. What the workers have won on this project, we can do for the whole of Europe with a directive to regulate subcontracting. Commissioner, now it is up to you to act.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, in 2021, Europe promised to end homelessness before 2030. We are in 2026 and renunciations in renunciations, 2030 has never been so far. In France, 350,000 people sleep on the streets, four times as many in the European Union. Families, young people, women, workers unable to live in housing live in the most extreme precarious conditions. The European Union has not kept its promises and this is a political failure. The homelessness platform is at a standstill. The Finnish model Housing First has never been taken back. The European Social Fund is being dismantled. Parliament's housing report defends construction lobbies far more than the homeless. You are launching a European anti-poverty strategy, while all the policies of the European Union are generating mass poverty. 2030 is fast approaching. We'll have to choose: fight the poor or fight poverty.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, no, Amazon, Google and the US Big Tech do not embody European sovereignty. This seems obvious. And yet, at a time when the United States is contemplating an armed conflict with the European Union, the Commission is opening the door to the United States. cloud European sovereign. The GAFAM have the nerve to explain to us that our sovereignty requires the use of their services. Even a five-year-old would notice the scam. The European Commission, however, is falling for it. Mrs. Virkkunen, ask the Big Tech CEOs. Should you, yes or no, share European data if Washington asks for it? Behind the technical smoke, the answer is obvious: Yes, they will comply with Donald Trump's demands. To be sovereign is to emancipate oneself from Big Tech and American law. It means mastering the entire production chain. This will certainly require significant public investment, but it is only at this price that Europeans can be truly protected from Uncle Sam's insatiable appetite.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Mr President, we are in a bad situation. The Council of the European Union is now chaired by Cyprus, whose territory is partially illegally occupied by a NATO member - I am talking about Turkey - in the name of its strategic interests. And today, another NATO member is threatening European sovereign territory for the same reasons. Washington is openly threatening to invade Greenland, but you are talking to us about rapprochement and enhanced cooperation with them as if nothing had happened. Not a word about the threat, not a word about Greenland. So I ask you the question: How will you react when Donald Trump parades through the streets of Nuuk? Will you unroll the red carpet for him? If this Chamber today began to praise the Turkish Government, you would be the first to stand up and leave the room, and you would be right. Let's stop with double standards. International law must once again become our compass, and the Cyprus Presidency should be the opportunity to do so.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the European Commission is always imaginative when it comes to sabotaging workers' rights, and the 28th regime is a perfect example of this. Why the 28th Diet? Because there are 27 states in the European Union. And here, it is a bit like the Commission creating a 28th Member State, a kind of fictitious state with its own rules, a parallel right that is said to be optional in reality unbeatable, faster, lighter, more profitable. A plan that employers will choose and workers will suffer. With this 28th regime, companies will be able to bypass national rules, choose the weakest right and organize the at least so-called social and tax race that pulls everyone down. The Commission knows this is explosive. Then she moves forward, masked. We already know the story. First, legislation presented as harmless. At the end of the story, we will end up with a right tailor-made for large multinationals and workers who will pay the bill. Moreover, the employers' lobbies are not mistaken. They applaud with both hands and are already calling for this regime to be extended to all companies. We reject this Europe of organised dumping, of unattached companies, of unprotected workers. The 28th regime is business without nation, without rights, without control. We do not want this Europe to be a stumbling block for capital. We want a Europe of rights for those who work.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, as the great Karl Marx said, nature abhors emptiness and capitalism abhors the absence of profit. Today, one in three internet users is under the age of 18 and web giants have decided to turn this reality into a market. Their logic is simple: capture attention, create addiction, cash in on the benefits. For this, they built an arsenal: interfaces that trap, ads that camouflage, mechanisms like loot boxes that hang, like in the casino. Faced with this, we are tightened up with the pseudo-miraculous idea of the digital majority. But, let's be serious, the ban for those under 15 would not solve anything, circumventable in two clicks thanks to a simple VPN and clearing the platforms of their responsibility. Because the problem is not the children, the problem is the big tech companies. If we want to protect the miners, we have to go after those who make the traps. In concrete terms, we need safe and inclusive social networks for everyone, minors and adults alike. Because what is toxic to children is also toxic to parents. We need a European framework for influencers and a ban on addictive devices. All this must be at the heart of the next Digital Fairness Regulation. To protect minors, we must not let big tech companies set the rules of the game. Our responsibility is exactly the opposite: Take back your hand and build an internet that protects.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Shein, Wish, Temu, Alibaba: I'm telling you, these platforms are thugs. The sordid case of child pornography dolls is just the umpteenth episode in a long series: smoke detectors that detect nothing, cancer-causing balloons, dangerous toys... In these online marketplaces, 80% of products do not comply with European standards. This unfair competition destroys our local businesses. But beware: our role as European legislators is not to point the finger at precarious consumers who place orders on these platforms. The European Union must shoulder its responsibilities, take action! There is the Digital Services Act, you will tell me. Well, I answer you that, on this subject, this regulation is the house that drives you crazy, with a billion steps before a hypothetical sanction. We might as well wait for the sky to fall on our heads! It is time to act. Penalty procedures need to be accelerated and platforms held accountable for products sold on their site. It is on this condition that the European Union can be respected in the face of these giants without faith or law.

Mr President, Madam President of the European Commission, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to remind you of something important. The European Parliament is made up of legislators, i.e. people who have been elected to build laws, rules that improve the lives of Europeans. It seems obvious, but I think it is essential to remind you, because for the last sixteen months and the beginning of this new mandate, I personally have the impression that the Commission expects us to unravel the laws rather than legislate. Duty of vigilance, Green Deal, digital regulation, all these texts that we have adopted to protect Europeans, you unravel them, you bypass them, you scuttle them with your many omnibuses and now a "citizen omnibus". What is it? We don't know. We expect the worst. You call this simplification? This work of undermining, we undergo it on a daily basis here. A few months ago, there was a consensus for directives on the right to disconnect, on artificial intelligence at work, on subcontracting and today all this seems to be called into question. In the realm of simplification, regulating has almost become an outrage. Mrs von der Leyen, I propose that we go to the end of your logic. We will simplify democracy, we will abolish the European Parliament and we will let you govern alone, quietly, the European Union, a European Union without faith or law.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, after several years of investigation, the European Commission has finally decided to sanction Google for its abuse of a dominant position. This fine is a reminder of the obvious: The European market is not a Wild West at the mercy of the GAFAM. But throughout this sequence, what a heartbreaking spectacle the European Commission has proposed to us. A vice president, Mr Šefčovič, trying to postpone the decision so as not to offend Donald Trump. Another Vice-President, Mrs Ribera, is here to announce the decision on a quiet Friday afternoon, without press. Two sides of the same coin, two faces of the same Commission, hesitant, divided and far too submissive to the US digital giants. Commissioner, the European Parliament will remain on the lookout. The rustines announced by Google in the operation of its search engine will not be enough. The fine must be paid by Google. The digital sovereignty of Europeans must be defended. And to show us the way forward, we don't need Google Maps.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we had to dare. A World Summit for Social Development: So far, everything's fine. But to hold this social summit in Qatar is a provocation. In Qatar, 6,500 workers died on the construction sites of the football world cup. In Qatar, migrant workers are exploited and their passports confiscated. In Qatar, trade unions are muzzled. How can the European Parliament endorse this charade by sending a delegation, also after Qatargate has splattered our institution? Talking about social development in Qatar is insulting the memory of the workers who died, it is trampling on the values of the trade union movement. All this is indecent. Social development is measured not by the height of the skyscrapers, but by the dignity of the workers. And on this ground, Qatar is anything but an example.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, dividing for better rule is an effective technique for exploiting workers by preventing them from organising themselves. Ways to break up collectives include uberisation, precariousness and subcontracting. The commercial franchise model is one such strategy, and its best advocate is McDonald’s. A Big Mac, whether cooked in Paris or Bratislava, has the same taste and leaves the same burns on the hands of those who prepare it. But because these restaurants are franchised, McDonald’s workers do not have the right to a European or national works council. In the revision of the European Works Council Directive on which we will vote tomorrow, Parliament initially wanted to address the problems posed by the franchise model, and I regret that the final version of the text does not mention this. European Works Councils remain an important tool for the organisation of workers, and we will vote in favour of this revision, which strengthens their role. However, the franchise model must cease when it is used to prevent the organisation of workers. Let's continue the battle for the workers of McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Subway and all the multinationals that use the franchise.

Mr President, in recent months, European digital sovereignty has been on everyone's lips in Brussels. But in fact, the European Commission is subject to Trump. She acts as a vassal of the United States: it is a Commission that refuses to tax GAFAMs, that wanted to appoint a former Facebook executive to head its competition policy and that unravels its own regulation to please Washington. Always with the same chorus: GAFAM complains, Washington orders, Brussels obeys. But digital sovereignty is not decreed. It is built by establishing a true European preference, supporting our own infrastructure and digital public services and finally taxing the colossal profits of the internet giants. Digital sovereignty at the service of Europeans, not subject to Silicon Valley shareholders or the fantasies of pro-Trump billionaires: This is the sovereignty we defend.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, 14% of the European Union's GDP, EUR 2 trillion, public procurement is an essential part of our economy. So yes, the revision of the Public Procurement Directive will be a key moment in this legislature. Currently, it is the criterion of the lowest price that governs. Town halls must choose the cheapest providers, with the result: extension work, defects and despicable working conditions. By improving the award of 1% of public contracts, EUR 20 billion would be better distributed. Public procurement must serve as a lever to defend workers and promote our economic sovereignty. But this requires mandatory social conditionalities and a genuine European preference. Unfortunately, that is not what the report says that we will vote on tomorrow. It is still possible to change the situation by supporting the amendments we have tabled, because Europeans' money must be used to improve working conditions and support the European economy. The European economy, not the Chinese economy, not the US economy.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, toys stuffed with carcinogens, motorcycle helmets that do not protect, clothes made from forced labour: Temu, Shein and AliExpress flood Europe with dangerous, counterfeit products that do not meet social or environmental standards. Europe needs to legislate to stop these practices, remove the exemption from customs duties for small parcels, hold online platforms accountable for the products they import and sanction them if necessary. This is a first step. But by voting for this text, which is a step in the right direction, we will, ladies and gentlemen, have come only halfway. Because effectively combating the online sale of dangerous products or ephemeral fashion means also fighting against the practices of companies that are well-established in Europe, and not only against Chinese platforms. Amazon is the perfect example: unacceptable working conditions in its warehouses, resorting to everything to avoid having to implement the Digital Services Act, refusing to respond to the multiple summonses of our Parliament ... Amazon has nothing to envy to Chinese platforms. Finally, some, to the right of this House, deplore the effects whose causes they cherish. When they call for burying the Due Diligence Directive or the European Green Deal, they are actually facilitating the sale of dangerous, polluting and forced labour products. This hypocrisy must stop.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, whenever there is talk of innovation, some here have only one mantra: Unravel, remove and then bury the rules that protect our standards, social rights and digital freedoms. You can repeat it as many times as you want: The European Union's delay in innovative technologies is due to the lack of public investment and not to the rules put in place to protect us from the digital Wild West. Actually, you're low-level Milei. You bow your back in front of Elon Musk, you kneel in front of Donald Trump. Buy American Act, Chips Act, Inflation Reduction Act: Washington has always protected and supported its industry and innovation. What have European leaders done? Close your eyes first, then query, finally answer, but so little. Supporting the continent's digital sovereignty and our innovation is all about massive public investment. But for that, ladies and gentlemen, we must agree to put the price on it.

Madam President, you all warmly welcomed Cuban doctors during the COVID crisis. We did not hear you at that time calling for an end to the Association Agreement between the European Union and Cuba. For 63 years, the Cuban people have been suffering, and today you should be ashamed. Shame on calling for the suspension of the Association Agreement between the European Union and Cuba. All this has only one purpose: Once again, you, to the right of this Chamber, to the far right, what interests do you serve? The interests of Donald Trump! The interests of the United States! Shame on you. I hope that you have heard the message, Mrs Kallas, and that you, like the vast majority of countries in the United Nations, will demand an end to the American embargo. It is a question of international justice, of solidarity, but also of European sovereignty.

Mr President, 'Capitalism carries war as the cloud carries the storm': This sentence of Jean Jaurès was pronounced at the dawn of the First World War and it is more relevant than ever. The European Union has just announced $800 billion in investment to prepare for war. The Maastricht criteria and the 3% straitjacket when it comes to the arms race have disappeared. What the European Union should do to guarantee peace is first of all to offer a dignified life to its citizens and to protect workers. Instead, the war economy is imposed on us as a new pump for finance, with the mantra of competitiveness, deregulation and simplification. Social policies are under the carpet. 800 billion were found to produce tanks, missiles and guns. I ask for 800 billion to build housing, hospitals and schools; 800 billion for our social model, for decent wages everywhere in Europe, for directives that protect workers, reduce their bills and make social cohesion possible. Social cohesion is the best guarantee of peace.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, it will soon be the birthday of my daughter and nephew. So, to celebrate, I made purchases on the internet. My nephew is a fan of manga, so I bought him small One Piece figurines. My daughter, right now, loves animals. I found a lot of bath toys in the shape of cows and hippopotamuses. For the decoration, I ordered a lot of balloons. I'm far from suspecting that I'm about to poison all of us, my daughter, my nephew and me. These objects come from platforms like Amazon, Shein and Temu, which escape European regulations. By swelling these balloons, I will swallow carcinogenic substances called nitrosamines; Playing with their cute, colorful gifts, my nephew and daughter will breathe phthalate, a chemical that alters children's hormonal system and brain development. If we get sick, no one is responsible, because these sellers are outside the European Union. This impunity must be brought to an end. Platforms must be responsible for what they sell. These objects have their place in the trash, not in the hands of our children (Speaker presents some examples of toys).

Madam President, Commissioner, Renault in Flins, Audi in Brussels, ArcelorMittal in Reims, Michelin in Cholet... The list of factory closures is growing. The green and digital transition has become the new pretext for the destruction of millions of jobs, while on the contrary the transition can and must create jobs. However, this requires support for industry; vocational retraining needs to be supported; we need an interventionist policy, a thousand leagues from the dogma firmly rooted in Brussels, which believes that the market and the economy manage themselves. Today, our factories have to close. They are not doing well in the face of competition from solar panels and hyper-subsidized electric cars from the United States and China, which subsidize at billions. What is the docile Europe doing during this time? She watches the trains – or the Teslas – pass by. Let's wake up! Let's condition public support for maintaining jobs! Relocate the industry! Let's subsidize production! Ensure the involvement of workers in retraining projects! This is how we can both create millions of jobs, ensure our industrial independence and empower our continent on the international stage.