Speeches

Madam President, the plot that connects Catalan secessionism with Putin seems to be taken from a spy novel. But, unfortunately, it is not fiction, but facts contrasted and investigated by justice. Puigdemont's meeting with a Kremlin emissary is under investigation just twenty-four hours before the failed declaration of independence. The transfer of explosives in Catalonia by spies from Moscow days after the illegal referendum is being investigated. And the Kremlin's offers to secessionism are investigated, such as the settlement of Catalonia's debt, payments in cryptocurrency to finance a hypothetical independent republic or, even, the deployment of 10,000 Russian soldiers in Barcelona. All this to turn Catalonia into a satellite of Russia in the heart of Europe. And in this plot, Puigdemont was, in Leninist terminology, Putin's useful fool. But a useful fool who poses a grave danger to the unity and security of the whole of Europe. That is why we must remain vigilant and isolate all those who seek a weak and fragmented Europe.

Mr President, Commissioner, drought is no longer a phenomenon limited to summer and Mediterranean Europe. Today, February 6, in the middle of winter, several regions of Spain already suffer from drought and fear for the summer that is coming; And even countries in the wettest Europe, such as Belgium, faced a severe drought last year. Therefore, we can no longer speak of episodes of drought, but of a real water crisis of European dimensions. The scarcity of this resource is causing multimillion-dollar losses in companies in different sectors, loss of jobs and even consumption restrictions. Particularly hard-hit areas – such as Andalusia, the Region of Murcia or the Mediterranean basin of Spain – are in a state of drought alert and need immediate action. To prevent the water crisis from worsening, it is essential that we continue to work to combat climate change, but also that we continue to invest in adaptation, that we invest in water infrastructure and in transfers. Yes, also in transfers, because millions of jobs and the prosperity of some of the southern regions of Europe depend on this. Water solidarity is an essential component of European solidarity, and the effects of climate change will make it even more necessary in the coming decades. I therefore believe that we must begin to consider water stress as one of the criteria to be taken into consideration in order to focus on European solidarity and, more specifically, as one of the criteria when allocating the various European funds. Therefore, the impact of drought on European economies and their populations is too severe not to be included in our calculations and financial balance and we must do so as soon as possible if we do not want to open an insurmountable gap between dry Europe and wet Europe. It's justice.

Madam President, for some, Europe's green transition is an objective to be achieved through legislation: requirements, restrictions and prohibitions on the productive sectors, which must be adapted at their own risk and by legal imperative. On the contrary, in the European People's Party we believe that the green transition is not imposed, but is incentivised and facilitated. It is incentivized with additional funding that allows farmers and ranchers to undertake the necessary transformations, and it is facilitated with technical resources, with technology and with innovation, such as the new genomic techniques that we approved this week. Achieving higher quality standards with fewer resources is impossible, unless we multiply the innovation available to our farmers. Thanks to this type of progress, we will be able to guarantee the future and sustainability of the European agri-food sector vis-à-vis its international competitors.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the left fills its mouth when it talks about inequality: inequality between men and women, inequality between people of one race and another, inequality between young and old. They talk about all kinds of inequalities, except the one that is the most flagrant in all of Europe: the inequality between the countryside and the city. The population in rural areas suffers from lower connectivity, both digital and transport. It has less access to education, financial and health services and, ultimately, has a substantially lower level of income than those living in cities. In some areas of southern Europe, as in my country, this gap is even greater. 78% of households in rural areas have low incomes, compared to 29% in urban areas. Therefore, ending this inequality and improving living conditions in rural Spain – in rural Europe – is a priority for the European People's Party. Ignoring this gap and pushing for radical measures, which will only aggravate it, is a very serious mistake that the left will pay dearly.

Mr President, Commissioner, I thought they had learned their lesson. He thought that after a pandemic, after a war and after an unprecedented drought, his positions would have been rethought. But it seems that the left of this Parliament is still ready to put an end to the productive capacity of the European countryside and the Spanish countryside – whoever falls will fall. This proposal for a regulation – as it comes today from the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety – can cause irreparable damage to the future of the European agri-food sector. That is why we will not tolerate the continued imposition of arbitrary restrictions without even an impact assessment. We will not tolerate these restrictions being put in place without farmers having alternatives to protect their crops. Nor will we tolerate that these limitations apply only to European farmers while unrestrictedly grown products from third countries continue to enter our markets. Let us learn the lesson and vote with our heads tomorrow, thinking about the food security of all Europeans.

Mr President, Commissioner, the countryside in Europe is becoming empty. Our farmers are aging and our young people do not see agriculture as a viable future for their lives. Rural depopulation therefore adds to the long list of challenges that the agricultural sector must face for its survival and, therefore, for ours. Without farmers, there is no food and, without food, there is no life. Today, only 11% of our farmers are under the age of forty and only in Spain two hundred thousand young people are needed to maintain a sustainable generational renewal. The figures speak for themselves. We cannot allow this to become a chronicle of an announced death. It is therefore urgent to ensure that work in the field remains a profitable activity, which is the basis for all. In addition, we must also ensure that our rural areas offer services and infrastructure comparable to those of cities. It is our responsibility to take matters into our own hands and do so now.

Commissioner, Secretary of State, 13 October: A 20-year-old Chechen jihadist slaughters a teacher in Arras – north of France. He had been in the crosshairs of the authorities for several years. His father had been deported for posing a risk to national security. The deportation of the son, however, was still pending. 16 October: Another jihadist, on this occasion of Tunisian nationality, murders two Swedish citizens in the streets of Brussels. He had arrived in Europe by sea in Lampedusa, Italy, where the intelligence services identified him as radicalised. From there he arrives in Sweden, but is expelled because he does not have a residence permit. He is finally seeking asylum in Belgium, where he was residing illegally after applying for asylum, which he was denied after not even appearing at his summons. His deportation was pending. As the national authorities themselves have acknowledged, there are other cases of radicalised extremists residing irregularly in the European Union. That is why this week the governments of France, Belgium and Sweden have called on the European Union to improve border control and a coordinated return policy. Return figures remain alarmingly low. Commissioner Johansson confirmed today that of the 400 000 return orders issued this year, only 65 000 - barely 16% - have been executed. We urgently need new legislation to facilitate these returns and prevent radicals in these circumstances from being able to attack again. Those who continue to block the Pact on Migration and Asylum are incurring a very serious irresponsibility. The adoption of this Pact should be an absolute priority for the Spanish Presidency. I hope we can reach an agreement before the end of the year. There's no time to waste.

Madam President, Mr Borrell, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, our neighbourhood is on fire again. To the bloody invasion of Ukraine we now add the war in Israel provoked by Hamas terrorists. A conflict that has overwhelmed the Middle East and reached our streets, as we have tragically seen with the jihadist attacks in France and Belgium. Europe, more than ever, must act as a cohesive geopolitical power, inside and outside. But, precisely when the hour is more serious, there are some extremists who are trying to sabotage from within the diplomatic action of the European Union. This is the case of the far-left ministers in Spain, who have not hesitated to show off their rabid anti-Semitism, have aligned themselves with Hamas terrorism and have caused an unprecedented diplomatic conflict. And all this before a president, Sanchez, an accomplice, undeterred; In order to remain clinging to his chair, he is willing to allow any barbarity. These incendiary radicals should be stopped immediately.

Mr President, Madam Vice-President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, I would like to begin by thanking you for your presence here today, Vice-President, but you have a long way to go to the Commission to address the recommendations contained in the PEGA Committee of Inquiry report. So my recommendation is: Get down to business. Despite the circumstances that are happening this week, I would like to highlight the issue of the jihadist attacks that have just hit Europe. After the cold-blooded murder of a professor in France, yesterday two Swedish citizens were shot by another Islamic terrorist in Brussels. This return of a threat that some seemed to have forgotten reminds us once again of the need for our police and security forces to have the resources and technological tools that are necessary to deal with them. In an era of express radicalization of lone wolves who commit attacks without being in contact with other terrorists, it is more important than ever to be able to access information on their devices. Tools of spyware Like Pegasus, they are indispensable to be able to anticipate the attacks and to stop radicalization processes at the root. But democratic countries, countries governed by the rule of law, countries where there is effective judicial oversight, as is the case – with some exceptions, such as Poland or Hungary – of the European Union, must be able to tackle terrorism with all their capabilities. I conclude by saying that we must continue to work on strengthening the rule of law where it risks fracturing, of course, but not by depriving our police forces of the resources needed to continue to ensure freedom and security for all.

Madam President, Commissioner McGuinness, the growing threat from wolf packs has spread to rural communities across Europe, to the point where the President of the European Commission herself has suffered it firsthand. And the situation is so dramatic that the European Commission is urging all Member States to take the necessary measures to address it. But, in Spain, instead of allowing effective hunting management of the wolf, Sanchez's government has done just the opposite, extremeizing its level of protection without any scientific backing. A decision resulting from the ideological blindness that is triggering the presence of wolf packs in the northernmost regions of Spain. Therefore, it is time for the Government of Spain to pay attention to the demands and requirements of the European Union. Time for it to be transparent and publish the data at its disposal. Time for dialogue with the regions concerned and for the much-needed compensation funds to be made available to farmers.

Madam President, Mr Timmermans, yesterday hundreds of farmers from all over Europe were demonstrating outside this Parliament. They didn't ask for aid, they didn't ask for funding, they didn't even ask for laws favorable to the field. No, they simply asked that we not impose more restrictions on them and let them do what they know how to do: producing quality food at reasonable prices for all Europeans. In just three years they have had to face a pandemic, a war, skyrocketing inflation and one of the most serious droughts of recent decades. But there are still some who believe that we should add more burdens to them, that we should ask them for more effort. Some like the socialist MEPs, who have decided to ignore them and support the law of restoration of nature. While the farmers and ranchers, outside, feared for their future and feared for their economic subsistence, the socialist deputies, inside, applauded and shouted for joy. If what they want is to distance the field from the European institutions and give air and wings to populism, they are certainly on the right track. Mr. Timmermans, I'm done. You are turning the Green Deal into a black pact for the primary sector and the rural world. We must continue to be committed to the fight against climate change and to defending environmental sustainability. Of course I do. But we can't do it at anyone's expense. We need a consensus environmental policy that provides an opportunity for growth for all Europeans. Also for rural Europe. (He refused to have Petros Kokkalis ask him a question under the ‘blue card’ procedure.)

Madam President, Commissioner, summer after summer, Europe suffers from more severe water shortages than before. And this summer it is possible that we live the drought that fills the glass. In Spain, last April was the driest month since we kept the records. We have not even started the summer and Spanish water reserves are already below 50%, compared to 70% just ten years ago. And, in addition, it is not a localized drought, which affects only the south or the driest areas. No, the lack of rain already affects more than 80% of the entire Spanish countryside. Drought is an increasingly frequent and severe phenomenon throughout Europe. The combination of insufficient rainfall and extreme temperatures is jeopardizing our food security and the livelihoods of thousands of farmers. That is why it is our duty to act and offer quick and effective responses to this. In the short term, we must activate the financial support mechanisms available to the European Union to support those affected. Mechanisms such as the crisis reserve, which we have already used to help wheat producers in countries bordering Ukraine and which are now urgently needed by Mediterranean farmers. And, in the long term, we must invest in climate change adaptation, in technology and efficient irrigation systems, and in the modernisation and expansion of our water infrastructure. The survival of farmers tomorrow will depend on the investments we make today, and the future of our food security will depend on that. Therefore, for us and for the future sustainability of the whole of Europe, it is time for us to act and invest against drought.

Mr. President, if we have learned anything during this year, it is that spyware like Pegasus is an enormously powerful tool, a tool that our law enforcement agencies must be able to use to deal with threats such as terrorism, drug trafficking, organized crime or attempts to subvert the constitutional order. But they are also tools that must always be used respecting the precepts of the rule of law. This is unfortunately not the case in countries such as Poland and Hungary, where we have witnessed abuses against journalists, lawyers and members of the opposition, who have been spied on for partisan reasons. On the contrary, we have seen the great efforts that have been made by the Greek Government to strengthen its legal framework and prevent similar cases from happening in the future. In the Spanish section, we have dismantled the Catalan secessionist story and its propaganda campaign against Spanish institutions. The report acknowledges that, far from pro-independence hoaxes, Spain meets all European standards and adequate judicial controls, and has a strong rule of law. We have also pointed out the links between secessionism and Putin's environment, united in his attempt to weaken European unity. Finally, we have demanded that the Government of Sanchez give explanations about the hack of his mobile phone and the espionage to his ministers. European citizens still do not know what they took from the President of the Government's mobile phone, who did it and why. And today, from the European Parliament, we officially demand that you clarify what happened and answer these questions. (He refused to allow Diana Riba I Giner to speak under the "blue card" procedure)

Madam President, autocrats have turned migration into a weapon, mafias have turned it into a business, terrorists into an opportunity and populists on both sides into an instrument of political pressure. In the face of all of them, in the face of those who intend to use the tragedies of others for their own benefit, Europe must respond with determination. Because we have an obligation to give guarantees to those in need of international protection, but we must also protect our borders from external threats that endanger the security of our citizens. That is why we need an effective, coherent and comprehensive migration policy. And for this the European Union must use all the instruments at its disposal, not only internal policy, but also development cooperation or trade policy, conditioning agreements with our neighbours and partners on their collaboration for the return of irregular migrants and the fight against mafias. It is time for Europeans to put our resources and influence at the service of a more effective migration policy.

Mr President, Commissioner McGuinness, I would like to clarify to Mrs García Pérez, President of the Socialist Group, that the legalisation of the illegal wells in Doñana was done by the President of the Government, Mr Sánchez, granting 13 authorisations last year. Study, Mrs García Pérez, the administrative competences in Spain. And for false promises those of Mr. Sanchez, who has not executed the water infrastructure he promised five years ago. Ladies and gentlemen, I am afraid that the environmental policy being pursued by the Socialist Vice-President, Mr Timmermans, and Mr Sinkevičius is the chronicle of an announced disaster. When they produced a report detailing the huge loss of agricultural production and the increased costs of the Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy, we thought they would back down. We were wrong. When war broke out on Europe's doorstep, we went through an energy crisis and our food security was at risk, we thought they would back down. But we were wrong again. And now that inflation is breaking historical records, now that the shopping basket is more expensive than ever and now that the protests of the countryside are happening throughout Europe, now they tell us again that they will not back down. I fear that ideological blindness prevents them from seeing the reality in front of their noses. Mr Timmermans, Mr Socialists, it is enough to impose more unaffordable demands on farmers. Farmworkers across Europe are taking to the streets to ask for some sanity and should listen to them. It is not possible to make environmental policy fall whoever falls, without listening to those affected themselves. If they intend to continue, they will face the Popular Party, which will be as always on the side of the farmers, on the side of the rural world, on the side of the environment and on the side of wisdom.

Mr President, Commissioner McGuinness, the abuse of our citizens is undoubtedly a serious violation of their basic rights and a worrying security problem. However, the legal and legitimate possession and use of , not its abuse, is a resource that responds to national security needs. It is therefore the sole responsibility of the Member States, according to Article 4 of the Treaty on European Union. However, it is a very serious irresponsibility to use the argument of national security to cover up actions that go against the principles of freedom and democracy on which the European Union itself is founded. This is what the governments of Member States such as Poland and Hungary have tried to do, as we have seen. on-site. This may explain your refusal to answer the Commission's questions and to cooperate with our investigation. Other Member States, on the other hand, have cooperated with the Commission and have even sent ministers and senior officials to answer our interrogations – as is the case in Greece – and have done so even after having to hear furious accusations without any supporting evidence. We hope that, from now on, the other Member States will also work together in a more committed way.

Madam President, Commissioner McGuinness, every time we speak in this Parliament on agriculture, in this case in the framework of the citizens' initiative 'Save bees and farmers: towards a bee-friendly agriculture for a healthy environment", it seems that some have just discovered agriculture or want to make tabula rasa of all the achievements we have achieved in recent decades. A clear example is pesticides. Over the last 50 years our farmers have reduced their use by 95%. They have done so without tax reduction targets, simply by applying an increasingly innovative and precise technology. And why did this happen? Because farmers want to spend less money on plant protection products, they want to give the best treatment to their crop and they want to protect biodiversity, which is so important for their subsistence. We in the European People's Party share these ambitions and want to further improve the quality of products and agri-food practices in Europe. But we also need enough to feed the 450 million Europeans, and as many outside Europe, and to do so at an affordable price. Therefore, before making any decisions that harm our food security, we need realistic and affordable alternatives. We need the right time periods for farmers to adapt. And we need studies on socio-economic impact to support any legislative changes. Let us trust our farmers, as we have done for decades, and let us be for them a support and not a hindrance.

Mr President, Mr High Representative, it is very curious to see how those who raise their voices today when talking about judicial independence are precisely those who for years have already handed down sentences against Israel. As on so many other occasions, we are having a preventive debate. Even before the reform has completed its process of debate within Israeli society, some members of this House have already drawn their conclusions. Like various sectors of Israel's society, we too share your concern about the risk of tension in Israel's constitutional balances. But we are also aware that most Israelis believe that judicial reform is necessary. The real challenge now is to choose, with the greatest possible consensus, which reform is right for Israel. But regardless of how this legislative process proceeds, talking about a deterioration of democracy, or even illiberalism, is exaggerated and remote when we are still talking about a project. The rule of law, judicial independence and democratic quality in Israel so far are beyond doubt, and this is demonstrated by numerous international bodies. Let us therefore respect democratic times and procedures. Let us wait for the final version of the reform and stop discrediting, without definitive facts, the institutional health of a partner as strategic as Israel.

Mr President, in 2022, more than 300 000 people illegally crossed the borders of the European Union. Currently, 600 000 asylum applications are still pending. 79% of return decisions from the previous year have not yet been executed. About 270 000 people who should have been returned to their countries of origin have not been returned. People like the one responsible for the murder of a sacristan last week in Algeciras, Spain. A dramatic event that we must avoid repeating anywhere in Europe. To prevent this, Europe must step up the protection of its external borders, provide our security forces with adequate legal and material resources, reform our migration and asylum policy, and improve return mechanisms. To achieve this, Europe must act together. Migration management is not only the responsibility of a few border states. Finally, we must not forget the necessary balance between solidarity and responsibility.

Madam President, Commissioner, as a magistrate, I am deeply saddened that, from the European Union, my country is being singled out for attacks on the rule of law. We are used to the fact that, with some frequency from the Socialist Group's bench, they want to give us lessons in patriotism. And, here, lessons of patriotism, the Group of the People's Party need not receive any. I also believe that it is no lesson in patriotism to proffer free verbal aggression to the head of the Spanish delegation of the Group of the People's Party. I am pleased, Commissioner, that you will continue to assess compliance with the recommendations suggested by the European Union. Unfortunately, the PSOE's attempt to interfere in judicial independence comes as no surprise. And I explain: They did so in 1985, during an absolute majority, when they changed the Organic Law of the Judiciary to change the system of election of the members of the General Council of the Judiciary. So, they started out there, went on to another stage with another president and are culminating now: the Minister of Justice, the other day in the European Parliament, acknowledged to us that the Constitutional Court was a political court and that the Government had nothing to do with the renewal of the General Council of the Judiciary, when it turns out that the one who negotiates on behalf of the Socialist Party is the Minister of the Presidency, Mr Bolaños. Therefore, we are reaching an unprecedented level of brazenness and interference that is leaving, of course, at a low level that claim of Alfonso Guerra when he boasted that Montesquieu had died. Therefore, here we defend that Spain is one of the most advanced democracies in Europe. But the President of the Government, Mr. Sánchez, has endeavored to degrade it and is molding all institutions in his image and likeness. It is what it is doing with the Criminal Code, changed up to six times in 2022, something that had never happened, to reverse the judicial sentences for pure partisan interests and their government partners. Stop looking for pretexts and change and return to the original text, which coincides with the recommendations of the European Commission.

Mr President, I shall begin my speech with a basic reflection on international relations: A change of government that occurs through the ballot box should never be a reason to sever relations with a country. Much less when it comes to such a fundamental ally for Europeans as Israel. It is a strategic partner in energy and commercial security and intelligence, and in many other areas. It would not only be a diplomatic clumsiness, but also a profoundly undemocratic gesture, unfit for the European Union. And we'd go upstream: While the Arab world and our transatlantic partners support the Abraham Accords, strengthen their ties with Israel and intensify cooperation, some in this House want Europe to do the opposite. We already know that the radical left is always willing to polarize, is willing to blow up the bridges that unite us to Israel. But if they succeed, they will not only be blowing up a strategic relationship, but also any future for the two-state solution and for peace in the Middle East. That is why, in the face of incendiary radicals, in the face of those who veiledly justify terrorist acts, in the face of those who question Israel's sovereignty, Israelis and Palestinians will always find the outstretched hand of all Europeans who defend their right to exist, to exist in peace, and the need to count on them as allies.

Mr President, the wolf situation in Europe is very serious. The exponential growth of this predator has increased attacks on livestock and even humans. And in Spain the situation is even worse. A purely ideological and radical decision of the Government of Sanchez has restricted the hunting management of the species north of the Douro River. The wolf population has soared that, in Galicia alone, which represents barely 5% of the Spanish surface, there are three times more wolves than in all of France. The disaster is threefold: economic, because every sheep killed by a wolf is a loss added to the increasingly depleted income of farmers; social, because more and more farmers are abandoning grazing and, with it, increasing rural depopulation; and environmental, because depopulation is leading to the abandonment of thousands of hectares of forest, which has triggered the risk of fire. If we want to preserve the future of the rural world, we must put an end to the ecological ideological blindness in Spain and Europe and ensure a balanced and consensual coexistence.

Madam President, Mr High Representative, the European Union External Action Service has defined China as a strategic partner, a systemic rival and an economic competitor. Cooperation on strategic issues is indeed a shared responsibility, but to make progress we have to ensure reciprocity in the rules of the game. We need to continue to break down the unilateral trade barriers that China maintains for our products, but also, as Beijing does, we need to be very careful about investments in critical sectors (such as the most advanced technologies, artificial intelligence, semiconductors or the defense industry), which are the basis of our strategic autonomy. If we have learned anything after the invasion of Ukraine, it is that dependencies, both energy and technology, can become our Achilles' heel. So, Mr Borrell, do you think that China's increasing investments in infrastructure and technology companies pose a geopolitical risk to the European Union? Or, in other words, are the port of Hamburg and similar investments a new Nord Stream 2?

Mr President, Commissioner, after the invasion of Ukraine, the price of gas in Europe has increased by 800 % compared to March last year. This increase has led many European fertiliser production plants to close, reducing production by 70%. This, coupled with reduced imports from Russia and Ukraine, has virtually eliminated the supply of fertilisers on the European market. With a food security crisis looming, it is essential to safeguard our production and, for this, we need affordable and accessible fertilizers. If measures are not taken in time, the lack of availability of fertilisers will have very negative consequences in the agricultural sector and throughout the value chain. That is why we need to take measures to lower the costs of fertiliser production, as requested by the United Nations. We need to reduce the tax burden on farmers so that they can cover their costs and remain competitive on the international market. And finally, we need to facilitate the import of active materials in all their forms, and thus prevent our production from being placed at a disadvantage vis-à-vis third countries.

Mr President, we are witnessing today a deliberate, coordinated and utterly disproportionate attack on the Greek Government, and it seems that everything goes to attack, even muddying Greece's reputation in Europe with lies: I have come to hear these days that Greece is a second-class democracy or even an autocratic country. Quite the contrary, the action of the Greek government after the revelations of espionage is being much more determined than that of the other Member States: it has been found that these are legal eavesdropping, carried out with judicial supervision, respecting the rule of law and, even so, measures have been taken to clarify responsibilities and prevent the repetition of inappropriate eavesdropping from a political point of view, such as the resignation of the technical and political leaders of the eavesdropping, the creation of a special committee in the national Parliament or the reform of the legal framework or that of the supervisory system of the Greek intelligence services. I wish the rest of the European countries pointed out by espionage scandals much more serious than the Greek followed their example of responsibility.