What Maria-Manuel spoke about.

18 Oct

2023

PT Speech

Preparation of the European Council meeting of 26-27 October 2023 (debate)

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Mr President, there are many immediate challenges ahead of us and they have already been mentioned here today, but that must not make us forget the strategic challenges, such as strengthening our competitiveness. We need to invest more in skills and innovation, making talent our main resource. Our competitiveness in the European Union cannot be based on low wages, the absence of social rights or t…

13 Sep

2023

ES Speech

Guatemala: the situation after the elections, the rule of law and judicial independence

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Madam President, today I am speaking from here, from Parliament, especially for all the citizens of Guatemala. I address all those who shared with me on the street the hope that corruption will diminish and that Guatemala will improve its international reputation. I am writing to those who expressed their satisfaction at the clear result of elections that were free, as we saw in our mission and th…

12 Sep

2023

PT Speech

New Agenda for Latin America and the Caribbean in the aftermath of the EU-CELAC Summit (debate)

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Mr President, even though Latin America is an important trading partner and the part of the world with which we share more values and culture, it has received far less attention from the European Union than other regions. Several recent events and your action, Mr High Representative, have, however, converged to show that we needed each other very much, as was made clear at the last EU-CELAC Summit…

12 Sep

2023

PT Speech

Single market emergency instrument (debate)

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Mr President, Jean Monnet said that Europe was built on crises and it is popular wisdom to hear that we learn from mistakes. This is the case with this Single Market Emergency Instrument, born from learning about the pandemic crisis that caused the closure of borders and showed our dependencies. There are certain critical products that we cannot be deprived of, because of their importance to our l…

11 Sep

2023

PT Speech

Consumer credits (debate)

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Mr President, buying now and paying later is the name of a form of consumer credit that has become popular: . Apparently, at no extra cost and one click away, it can become a problem when payment is delayed. What had no costs begins to be paid, and it is paid dearly. When the interest rate rises, as it is now happening, we become more sensitive to credit problems. We understand better the importan…

12 Jul

2023

PT Speech

The political disqualifications in Venezuela

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Madam President, the process of disqualifying Maria Corina Machado as a candidate for public office for a period of 15 years is unfortunately a repetition, which joins a long list of Venezuelan opposition candidates who have seen these rights taken away, such as Henrique Capriles and Juan Guaidó. In the election observation mission to the elections in 2021, we had the opportunity to verify the dee…

11 Jul

2023

PT Speech

European Chips Act (debate)

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Madam President, of all the objects we have in our lives, it is hard to think which ones we do not currently need. They're on our phones, cars, appliances, the diabetes meter and even our ID card. The modern economy depends on them and this Regulation on chips helps us secure your supply in two ways: promotes the production of chips in Europe and helps prevent and correct crises in its supply, all…

13 Jun

2023

PT Speech

Artificial Intelligence Act (debate)

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Madam President, this technology that we are going to regulate today can be very positive for public policies to detect patterns of addiction in online gambling, predict the influx to hospital emergencies, better manage school failure and prevent it and even European funds. All are projects under development in Portugal. But these advantages have to be looked at carefully, avoiding high risks and …

31 May

2023

PT Speech

Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (debate)

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Mr President, when I was little, in my grandparents' village, there was a dark and polluted river in whose water we were not even allowed to touch. A cellulose company had killed the river, killing life on its bed and banks. Everything was apologised to him in the name of the jobs he created in the region. Today this would not be possible, and we know that many companies are actively involved in c…

9 May

2023

PT Speech

Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence – EU accession: institutions and public administration of the Union - Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence - EU accession: judicial cooperation in criminal matters, asylum and non-refoulement (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, every year we see a different version of the same newspaper covers: "A jealous husband does not accept divorce and shoots his wife", "sees deaths on television and tells the victim: “one day it will be you”, leaving her inanimate on Christmas Day, and so on. This is just the tip of the iceberg. It is estimated that one in three women worldwide has experienced violenc…

18 Apr

2023

PT Speech

Situation in Peru (debate)

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Mr President, Mr High Representative, Peru has been experiencing a period of incessant political instability and, as I have rightly said, Latin America and Peru deserve our attention as much as China deserves. Or maybe even more. In the last five years Peru has met six presidents of the Republic, including the first woman, Dina Boluarte, after the constitutional process legitimized by the Peruvian…

29 Mar

2023

PT Speech

The Rights of children in Rainbow Families and same sex parents in particular in Italy (debate)

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Mr President, not allowing the registration of children of same-sex couples born abroad creates enormous uncertainties and jeopardises the rights of children and many families. Parents may, for example, be prevented from accompanying their children to the hospital or from allowing them to go on a simple school excursion. In extreme cases, if a member of the couple dies in a Member State that does …

29 Mar

2023

PT Speech

Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 23-24 March 2023 (debate)

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Madam President, Mr Vice-President, it is good to know that the European Union has at last an assumed and not embarrassed industrial policy to reduce our dependence on what are essential conditions for the green transition, such as solar panels, or for the digital transition, such as semiconductors. An industrial policy forces us to do the same as our competitors: helping our businesses and suppor…

15 Mar

2023

PT Speech

Women activism – human rights defenders related to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) (debate)

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Madam President, in 1916, Emma Goldman was arrested in New York for giving lectures and distributing information on contraceptive methods. After more than 100 years, many women still have to put their freedom at risk for the defence of basic rights. In Poland, Justyna Wydrzynska was sentenced yesterday to eight months of community work just for helping another woman exercise her right to abortion,…

14 Feb

2023

PT Speech

Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence: EU accession (continuation of debate)

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Madam President, violence against women is a persistent plague for which we do not yet have a vaccine. It is estimated that one in three women in the European Union has experienced some form of physical or sexual violence since the age of 15, which affects not only their mental and physical health, but also the health of those close to them, such as their children. The accession of the European Un…

1 Feb

2023

PT Speech

Transparency and targeting of political advertising (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, the problems with political campaigns have always existed, but the digital age has brought new problems that require new solutions. First, it allows lies and false promises to be hidden more easily from those who can scrutinize them. To avoid this, Parliament proposes the creation of a database with all political advertisements online and information on who promotes …

18 Jan

2023

PT Speech

The storming of the Brazilian democratic institutions

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Mr President, we are not going to let democracy get out of our hands. These were the words of President Lula da Silva already at the Planalto Palace, after receiving the support of the governors of all Brazilian states, the President of Congress, the Judges of the Federal Supreme Court, in the aftermath of the unacceptable attacks of January 8. To this unexpected moment of broad convergence of Bra…

17 Jan

2023

PT Speech

“The Road to 2023” - Towards a stronger EU-Latin America partnership (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, 2023 is starting off well, talking about what unites us to Latin America and not what separates us. We have finally discussed in this Parliament a positive and ambitious agenda, an agenda that strengthens ties with this region, not only in terms of shared values, but also as key partners in trade agreements and cooperation for the environmental and digital transition…

17 Jan

2023

PT Speech

Consumer protection in online video games: a European Single Market approach (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, the world of video games has evolved a lot since the time when you blew on Nintendo tapes to make the game work. Today, in addition to consoles and computers, young people and adults play almost all connected to the Internet. If this opened up many opportunities and helped video games become an industry with great economic impact, it also brought some dangers to consume…

16 Jan

2023

PT Speech

30th Anniversary of the Single Market (debate)

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Mr President, 447 million consumers, 23 million businesses and 56 million jobs. Thirty years later, these are the figures for the Single Market and they say a lot about its success. An anniversary is a time to celebrate, but also to look to the future. That is why I have chosen three challenges that we must face. Many professions – architects, lawyers, accountants – still face barriers to the prov…

14 Dec

2022

PT Speech

Defending democracy from foreign interference (debate)

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Mr President, let us all still remember scandals in political campaigns such as Brexit or the Trump campaign. They were linked to foreign interference, but also to new ways, especially digital ones, of campaigning. With the regulation of political advertising that we are working on here in Parliament, we can, all at once, help to correct these two problems. We want to ban the financing of politica…

14 Dec

2022

PT Speech

Preparation of the European Council meeting of 15 December 2022 (debate)

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At the next Council, energy solutions and economic responses must go hand in hand. We need to extend the Iberian mechanism that has already allowed Portugal to reduce the energy bills of households and companies, by a value of 360 million euros compared to the scenario without this mechanism. We need to put in place joint purchases of gas to achieve more favourable prices and we need to accelerate…

23 Nov

2022

PT Speech

Legal protection for rainbow families exercising free movement, in particular the Baby Sara case (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, freedom of movement for people in the European Union is a right for all children, including those who are the daughters of rainbow families. But as is shown in the case of baby Sara, already decided by the Court, the authorities of certain countries refuse to recognise the parental relationship of children of same-sex couples, even when it has already been recognised in…

22 Nov

2022

PT Speech

Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges (debate)

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Madam President, five plus five: it was ten years that we had to wait for an agreement to improve the gender balance on the boards of listed companies. How many more will we have to wait for this balance to become a reality, not just in listed companies but in all of them, as something natural, effortless, part of life in a land where men and women share equally? Women make up 60% of new tertiary …

19 Oct

2022

PT Speech

Preparation of the European Council meeting of 20-21 October 2022 (debate)

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Madam President, almost every crisis we have known in history has exacerbated inequalities and led to poverty even for those who had already rid themselves of it. That was the case in the 2008 financial crisis, to which the European Union responded with austerity and we all remember the effects of the harmful effects that this had on the Member States and, above all, on the image of Europe. In the…