What Francisco spoke about.

16

Mar

2023

PT Speech

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Long term commitment to animal welfare (debate)

Mr President, bullfighting. This is the barbarism that defines the profound hypocrisy when we talk in this House about animal welfare. While Article 13 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union defines animals as sentient beings deserving of protection, in the same article we see these rights being crushed in favour of the supposed traditions of the Member States. With regard to bullf…

18

Jan

2023

PT Speech

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The storming of the Brazilian democratic institutions

Madam President, the far right has a fanatical and violent roadmap. And the latest episodes of invasion of institutions representing the rule of law, both in the United States and in Brazil, are a clear example of this political savagery. But this fanatical and violent script lives and feeds mainly on disinformation, unrealism and denialism. And the goal is clear: reject democratic elections when …

22

Nov

2022

EN Speech

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2023 budgetary procedure: joint text (debate)

Mr President, dear all, Europe is facing multiple crises with the war in Ukraine, the fossil energy dependence, the inflation and the growing climate collapse. That is why it was so vital that we reach an agreement on making the EU more resilient to the challenges we currently face through the EU budget for 2023. And our 2023 budget shows focus: focus on helping people both in European Union and i…

18

Oct

2022

EN Speech

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General budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023 - all sections (debate)

Madam President, dear all, the European Union budget for 2023 is not a merely standard procedure where we should just present normal budgetary lines and carry on with our standard work. We live in times of urgency. We have to tackle the climate catastrophe that we are on. We have to address war in our borders. We have to prepare for possible humanitarian crisis. And we need to mitigate the huge im…

13

Sep

2022

PT Speech

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Consequences of drought, fire, and other extreme weather phenomena: increasing EU's efforts to fight climate change (debate)

Mr President, once again here we are talking about drought and its serious impacts on society and ecosystems. Once again, it seems to me that nothing structural will be done, because the majority of MEPs, governments and European institutions continue to look the other way. To ensure the survival of humanity, we must face reality. We need to be radical, that is, go to the root of the problem. We n…

12

Sep

2022

PT Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, Brazil is a key and important partner of the European Union. However, Brazil and its citizens are currently experiencing a dangerous and structuring economic, environmental and social crisis. And the first round elections will take place on 2 October, and I do not believe that it is the populists, both left-wing and right-wing – and I am talking about Lula da Silva and Bolsonaro – wh…

22

Jun

2022

PT Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Madam President, the European Union is already in the sixth package of sanctions against Russia over the invasion of Ukraine. However, in the fisheries sector, I believe that we can go further. Overall, we import about 2.5% of fish and fish products from Russia, worth EUR 605 million annually. It is true that there is already a ban on the import of caviar, but this ban is merely symbolic, as expor…

5

Apr

2022

PT Speech

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Guidelines for the 2023 budget – Section III (debate)

Madam President, it is curious that my colleague from the Portuguese Communist Party did not agree to answer a question and, once again, on an issue that is as important as the 2020-2023 budget. There has not been a single word of condemnation of the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation and so, once again, we see here the position of the Portuguese Communist Party in whitewashing an invas…

5

Apr

2022

EN Speech

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Guidelines for the 2023 budget – Section III (debate)

Madam President, dear colleagues, dear Commissioner, these 2023 guidelines were impacted by the horrific developments in Ukraine, and in total support we adapted the text and opened the door to further economic support and to the reconstruction of the country. This collective work was led by Ştefănuță, whom I salute. Together we were able to reach a balanced text that we can support. This text inc…

23

Mar

2022

PT Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Madam President, the invasion of Ukraine has, of course, created great market instability and a brutal increase in fuel prices, and this increase has, of course, affected several sectors, including the fisheries sector. But we know that there are large tax exemptions for fossil fuels in fisheries and also subsidies to this industry, and this is not the way we are able to help small-scale fishing a…

14

Feb

2022

PT Speech

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Implementation report on on-farm animal welfare (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, in political speeches, animal welfare in the European Union tends to be characterised as one of the best in the world. However, we need to be cautious when we express this pride because, in most cases, animals that are exploited by the intensive livestock sector do not lead a dignified life, quite the contrary. In livestock farming, these animals are not free to expr…

16

Dec

2021

PT Speech

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An EU ban on the use of wild animals in circuses (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, animals in the circus suffer from profound physical and emotional abuse. They are not happy animals and this is seen by their eyes. They are slaves to a system and an industry that profits from their suffering. However, in many Member States measures have already been put in place to fully ban the use of wild animals in circuses. However, there are countries in the E…

23

Nov

2021

PT Speech

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Common agricultural policy - support for strategic plans to be drawn up by Member States and financed by the EAGF and by the EAFRD - Common agricultural policy: financing, management and monitoring - Common agricultural policy – amendment of the CMO and other regulations (debate)

Dear President, Dear Commissioner, this morning I was taking my two daughters to school and I was looking at why some political groups and some MEPs are in favour of this common agricultural policy. It is totally incomprehensible to me how one votes in favour of a common agricultural policy that directs most of its funds to those who do not need them - so 80% of direct payments will go to the rich…

8

Jul

2021

EN Speech

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Plans and actions to accelerate a transition to innovation without the use of animals in research, regulatory testing and education (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, the EU has made a clear commitment to proactively reduce and replace animals in science since 1993. However, we are now in 2021, 20 years later, and despite almost three decades long, the number of animals used has decreased very, very slowly. So why doesn’t the EU have relevant policy initiatives on the line to reduce, replace and actively phase out animal testing? Why…

7

Jul

2021

PT Speech

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Establishment of Antarctic Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and the conservation of Southern Ocean biodiversity (debate)

Madam President, I begin this speech with the appeal of the Portuguese environmentalist and diver, Miguel Lacerda. Antarctica is a sanctuary of biodiversity and must be protected. And it is at the next meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources that the world has an opportunity to take a decisive step to protect Antarctica and the South Ocean. Why? Because …

5

Jul

2021

EN Speech

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European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (debate)

Madam President, we have been destroying the oceans for many decades, and with this European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, we believe we will continue to do so because, in a time of climate emergency, we should not be aiming for the lowest common denominator. On the contrary: the EU should be listening to science and ensuring real leadership in ocean governance. But this is not the cas…