Speeches

Mr President, after 20 years, the infamous Article 23 returns to expand the repressive arsenal imposed by Xi Jinping in the Hong Kong National Security Law. Joseph John, a dual Portuguese and Hong Kong national, is the first European to be condemned under the new law for alleged calls for "secession" from the UK. Pasmese yourself: five years of imprisonment dictated by the application of extraterritoriality for what the judge called ‘distorting history and demonising China’. Ridiculous! It is for him, but also for Andy Li, Kok Tsz-Lun and all the activists and defenders of freedom, democracy and human rights in Hong Kong – and it is good not to forget Macao too – that I say here once again: Enough! There is an urgent need to put an end to Chinese clandestine police stations in the European Union, to end extradition treaties between Member States, China, Hong Kong and Macao and to ensure that a life-saving mechanism is put in place for Hong Kong citizens.

Mr President, I would like to emphasise that this is a happy moment. The scheduling of this emergency had in fact an almost immediate effect, leading to the passage of Dr Ibadoghlu to house arrest. However, that is not enough. Today, I just had contact with your daughter, who is here, attending this session, Zhala Bayramova – whom I want to greet here – and she told me about her father’s situation. He needs urgent treatment in Germany. Such treatment is possible. Medical institutions are prepared to receive and treat him and all our efforts must be focused on creating the possibility for him to travel. But this effort should not stop here. And we have to be very clear: the European Union has a duty to demand the release of all political prisoners – all political prisoners – in Azerbaijan. And Azerbaijan cannot be considered as a reliable partner, as it has been considered several times by the Commission and also by the Council. It is not a reliable partner, and business cannot justify the human rights violations we are turning a blind eye to. We must be clear and precise on this.

Madam President, High Representative, this is the last time I address you in this regard and allow me, at this point, to underline my full agreement, my support and my recognition that I have so often been the most lucid voice among the voices of the European Union in addressing the upsurge of conflict in the Middle East. 40,000 deaths, including more than 200 journalists, more than 90 aid workers are figures that well portray the ongoing carnage in the Gaza Strip. The so-called civilised West has been sitting for six months on every treaty and convention watching live, under air conditioning and on carpet, the genocide of the Palestinian people. There's only one way to end this: move towards a two-state solution and stop this carnage. But stopping this carnage implies two things: the arms embargo, and we will quickly begin to review the association agreement between Israel and the European Union.

Madam President, if politics is the art of the possible, the present moment is one of the most striking illustrations of this. But even this awareness does not erase in all of us the bitter trait that, after years of clamouring for a common immigration and asylum policy, we will come to an end with this solution: a pact far short of what defending European values requires for the future. This is not my pact. I don't think it's almost anyone's pact. It is the possible pact at a time marked by the growth of the xenophobic, racist far right, instigator of fear, hatred and division among all of us. I feel this moment as a defeat, but I don't see it as a moment for withdrawal or discouragement. Rather, it is the starting point for new struggles in monitoring and monitoring the implementation of this legislative package, guided by the defence of the fundamental rights of immigrants and refugees. The fight is not over, it continues with renewed strength.

Mr President, Commissioner, with the return of the Taliban to power, after the uncoordinated withdrawal of the United States, barbarism has taken over Afghanistan and, once again, women have been the main victims. Once again, the heavy cloak of invisibility and dehumanisation has fallen on them and they are once again denied the right to education, work, free movement, freedom of expression and their own identity. But if all this, in itself, is atrocious and unacceptable, the news of public executions goes beyond all traces of brutality. The death penalty is degrading and intolerable in modern times and public executions represent a return to deeper darkness. It is our duty to support Afghan civil society, to be swift in granting humanitarian visas to persecuted women and human rights defenders, and to demand the release of victims of violence against women and girls in utterly degrading prisons, and the abolition of the death penalty and an immediate end to public executions.

Mr President, we are only a short time away from entering the 13th year of war in Syria without any prospect of a peace solution. The greed of Assad and his allies, Russia and Iran, have incessantly condemned the Syrian population to misery, death and destruction, caused by war, but also by corruption and the trafficking of drugs and weapons, elevated to one of the main sources of revenue of this country and now also to the impacts and collateral damage of the conflict in the Middle East. It is imperative to end impunity and isolate the regime that perpetrated the most heinous crimes against its people, but we will only be effective if we are able to do so by protecting the 90% of the Syrian population living in poverty, the 12.9 million in food insecurity and the 16.7 million in urgent need of humanitarian aid. For them, it is imperative that there are no breaks in support for humanitarian action and that not only the corridors of Bab Al-Hawa remain open, but also that access by Bab Al-Salam and Al-Ra’ee be renewed. Without it, there is no help, there is no hope.

Mr President, in the current geopolitical context, the Caucasus and relations with Armenia are becoming increasingly important and relevant in this context. That is why Armenia's path towards closer relations and ensuring a European perspective for the country is important and must receive a corresponding response from the European Union. However, we must not forget the conflict that exists, the protracted conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh and the developments that have taken place in recent times, particularly with regard to the Lachin Corridor and the strategy of the autocratic regime of Mr Aliyev and his family. And so we cannot be complacent, nor often have a less coherent attitude here, as we have often had in the dialogue with Azerbaijan, we must be more assertive and clearer in that dialogue, and, while strengthening relations with Armenia, we must, on the other hand, seize this moment to push the two countries towards a dialogue that can bring lasting peace and a resolution to this protracted conflict because, as we know, protracted conflicts are always a threat to stability.

Madam President, 2023 was exactly the year of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and, coincidentally, our consistency with the values and principles enshrined therein has been questioned as never before. The war in Ukraine and the escalation of conflict in the Middle East have been producers of dramatic violations of this statement, which have been real fire tests of much of what we have been able to build over decades. The advance of autocracies and dictatorships, all over the world, has called into question the universality and indivisibility of the principles and rights inscribed in this declaration. That is also why this report, and I would like to congratulate my colleague Ignacio Sánchez Amor on his work, is of particular importance. Once we get here, it is important, perhaps more than ever, to ask what to do and take seriously what we conclude. It is important that, once and for all, we give full effectiveness to the instruments we have at our disposal. Greater transparency is required with regard to human rights provisions in financing agreements under the European Neighbourhood Instrument, and that human rights clauses are applied effectively and consistently in all agreements with third countries. Faced with serious and persistent human rights violations by the European Union's partner countries, the European Union must act swiftly and decisively, not as it has reacted to Israel. If we are not able to do so, we open the way to our irrelevance and it seems to me that this is not the way out.

Mr President, after all this time, we are overcome by weariness and lack of words to face this situation. There is no longer a single safe place in the Gaza Strip and, given the severity of the humanitarian crisis, hunger, lack of medical care and death are the only certainty for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, for all those who can still survive the Israeli bombings. UNRWA is, in this situation, the only line of hope for Palestinians inside, but also outside Gaza. We can't leave her without resources. The Union must carry out the planned transfers of support without delays or breakdowns, including those planned for this week, and the conditions must be created for an unconditional and immediate ceasefire, because this is the only way to save lives in the Gaza Strip. We cannot cope with the continuing atrocities being committed in this territory, nor with Israel's constant failure to comply with the recommendations made by the International Court of Justice. In view of this, we need to start thinking seriously about suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

Mr President, the death penalty, torture, inhuman and degrading treatment are black marks of the Lukashenka regime. More than 1,500 people have been detained since the 2020 elections. Meanwhile, the relatives of these political prisoners are being persecuted and detained in recent times. In a few days, Belarus will once again hold elections. And, once again, puppet elections, elections that are nothing more than a front act to which the OSCE or the OSCE-ODIR were not invited. Of course, elections should be held behind closed doors, away from the eyes of international observers. We all know that this election does not have the minimum conditions, because there are no minimum conditions of democracy when the opponents are detained and the parties are liquidated. We can only support civil society and strongly sanction Lukashenka.

Madam President, let me start by congratulating our colleague José Gusmao not only on the excellent work he has done on this report, but also on the way he has involved civil society and all those who are fighting for equality and non-discrimination. And I want to assure you that you will count on our support in including the reference to the need to ensure equal access to health for the LGBT population. In a Europe that has just lived through one of the most violent years on record among LGBT populations, we are witnessing continuous attacks on the freedom of our fellow citizens, driven by an extremist right that has made hate a weapon of pitch. Although yesterday the EU took a significant step towards the criminalisation of female genital mutilation, we still have a long way to go. Practices that embarrass us all, such as conversion therapies or forced sterilisation, continue inexplicably to take place in several Member States. It is time to put an end to this indignity. The ambition of the report we are discussing here today reflects our determination, laying the groundwork and committing to what we hope to see in the LGBT Strategy 2025-2030: a diverse, tolerant, inclusive and fair Europe, where the dignity and safety of LGBT people are those of all of us.

– Madam President, Xi Jinping's repressive machine, in its battle for the iron control of everything and everyone, has nothing to do with it and even religious practice is not immune to the persecution of the Chinese regime. In addition to wanting to define the legality of religious activities, Beijing seeks to redesign religions, aligning them with the ideology of the Chinese Communist Party and promoting loyalty to the supreme leader Xi. The case of Ding Yuande is one among many others, drowned out over the years in China, of Falun Gong practitioners – a completely innocuous practice that in no way undermines any kind of interest. The European Union cannot be complicit in such cases through silence or complacency. We therefore demand the unconditional and immediate release of this detainee, as well as all Falun Gong practitioners and other victims of arbitrary detention, and respect for the rights of ethnic and religious minorities in China. We cannot be tolerant of such practices. In addition, the European Union and the Member States should support an international investigation into cases of organ withdrawal and also cases of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment in China.

Madam President, precisely a year ago - more month, less month, more week, less week - we discussed here in this House the authoritarian drift of the Mitsotakis Government. That debate was very much focused, at the time, on the Pegasus case, and, from then until today, the little evolution, we have not seen any evolution. On the contrary. After all this time, we continue to see the use of espionage mechanisms against political actors, activists, journalists. We continue to witness abusive trials against journalists and we continue to witness the crushing of independent media in Greece. There are levels of violation of the rule of law, freedoms and guarantees that we cannot afford in the European Union. Not least because these criteria of respect for the rule of law, democratic plurality of the media are criteria that are part of the membership criteria. And so what we have to do now is, in fact, a serious, persistent and consistent assessment, so that we avoid cases and drifts like the one we have seen in Hungary. The experience of time, the lessons learned, should hold us back from the authoritarian paths we are witnessing.

Israel has long overstepped its right to self-defense in the face of the October 7 attack by Hamas. What Israel is doing is creating a huge legion of rapists, hungry people, desperate people, fathers and mothers without children, orphans, and generating hatred in the region, generating fear, insecurity, hopelessness. My dear friends, at the end of December I was in Jordan with a group of the Delegation for relations with Mashreq countries. I have been able to witness the atrocious effects of this conflict in the region, the instability facing the future in the region, and I have also been able to witness the unbelief in our passivity in the face of everything that is happening. We only have one path, a sure path, a clear path, a clear path: a clear commitment, a diplomacy for peace with a view to a ceasefire, the implementation of sanctions for settlers who, in the West Bank and throughout Palestine, advance violence without being stopped in any way.

Madam President, Commissioner, over the years we have witnessed a slow and silenced genocide in Tibet, far from the television cameras, far from the spotlight, far from the media. But that is not what will silence us, nor is it what will make us forget what is happening every day to the Tibetan people. The abduction of children, their subjection to indoctrination in Chinese colonial boarding schools and their transformation into citizens obedient to the Chinese Communist Party constitute blatant violations of human rights, guided by the sole aim of slaughtering and exterminating Tibetan identity, history, culture and language. When I look at the conclusions of the recent EU-China Summit, I can only say to you, Commissioner, as a Portuguese song says: ‘knows me little by little’. You know a very slight reference to what is happening in Tibet. I hope that the next human rights dialogue will not be a mere diplomatic soliloquy, and that on Tibet we can have much more than a two- or three-word reference. But if others remain silent, we will not remain silent in defending the people of Tibet. We demand an immediate end to the repressive policies of assimilation and coercion, as well as the practice of family separation. We demand the release of Panchen Lama and non-interference in the appointment of the Tibetan spiritual leader. The ancestral autonomy of the Tibetan people must be respected once and for all.

Madam President, in the Catholic tradition and also in the Orthodox tradition, we will celebrate Christmas in the coming weeks. And it is good to remember that Mikalai Statkevich, but also Polina Panasyuk, a young mother of two, will be away from her relatives. This is an absolutely intolerable condition. They are imprisoned solely and simply because they have asked for freedom and democracy for their people. This should make us all think and mobilise around the next package of sanctions. In the next package of sanctions, Mr Lukashenko cannot remain unscathed.

Mr President, Commissioner, at the beginning of this conflict, in the Committee on Foreign Affairs, we had the opportunity to exchange views on the high degree of lethality that this war threatened and also the high level of destruction. Two months later, we see UNRWA saying that it is on the edge of what is possible in terms of humanitarian aid. We're coming to a point where we're not going backwards: lack of water, food, electricity and even nowhere to flee, because more than 85 % of the population of Palestine is currently displaced – more than 80 % of the population of the Gaza Strip – and in the South we are witnessing the intensification of the bombings this evening. This is the news that comes to us. Where to run? Nowhere. Is humanitarian aid possible under bombardment? No, no. So what needs to be done now and now: let us stop divisions and join you and António Guterres in calling for a ceasefire, so that a definitive two-state solution can then be built.

Madam President, women in Iran continue to risk their lives fighting for rights. Armita Geravand, who died at the age of 16 for not using , is an example of this. Nasrin Sotoudeh, a Sakharov Prize-winning activist who has since been released, was arrested at Armita's funeral. He did not use the hijab. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi is jailed and without medical care for refusing to use the drug. hijab transport between the prison and the hospital. This year we will award the Sakharov Prize to Massa Jina Amini and to the Women, Life, Freedom movement, a gesture against the intolerable oppression and dehumanisation of Iranian women. Here we demand the release of all victims of arbitrary detention in Iran, including European citizens such as Johan Floderus. We condemn the practice of torture and the death penalty. We call on the Member States to bring those responsible for these crimes to justice under international law. We call for the designation of the custodian as a terrorist organisation and for the extension of the sanctions framework to Ali Khamenei and his followers.

Mr President, some will ask what is new in Hong Kong and I say that in recent years there has been nothing new under the sun in Hong Kong, except the sharpening of the continuing affronts to fundamental rights and freedoms. This is one of the hallmarks of Xi Jinping's autocratic power, based on the emptying of the independence of the judiciary, to which the political verdict overlaps, and on the fierce persecution of dissenting voices inside and even, let us see, outside the territory. A situation that also extends to Macau, let us not forget this, where after the revision of the National Security Law, in the image of the law imposed on Macau, the electoral law was recently amended, excluding from any candidacy for head of the regional government and all those who are not considered patriotic, that is, aligned with Beijing, so that no one has any doubts. And all this without the right to judicial redress, because who can command and Xi Jinping commands. Once again, in the face of the oppression to which all democratic forces have been subjected, in the face of the brand of oppression to which the press and all activists have been subjected, we call once again for the immediate and unconditional release of Jimmy Lai and all the pro-democracy activists, as well as the Chinese-Portuguese Tsz Lun Kok and Joseph John, detained in Hong Kong. And we call for the EU-China summit in December not to be a mere diplomatic soliloquy. The approach to these issues must be clear and straightforward and must be consistent. We urge the authorities to stop impeding the work of all journalists. We condemn the Chinese authorities for undermining the fundamental rights of Hong Kong communities in the European Union and call on all Member States to suspend extradition treaties with China, Hong Kong and Macao.

Mr President, Mr High Commissioner, Commissioner, first of all a word of appreciation for the foresight, firmness and determination at times when the reigning cacophony has threatened to take us out of an active role in the Middle East. Yesterday, like thousands of citizens, I received in my personal email a request for help from a non-governmental organization, which at one point said: Our teams still working in Gaza are exhausted and terrified. We have children being operated on the floor of the hospital and amputated without anesthesia. In view of this, little more needs to be said. Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas attacks is legitimate only if it is guided by the strictest respect for international humanitarian law. The time for half-words is over. The truce and the release of hostages, announced today, is cause for hope but it is not enough. The European Union must be clear in demanding a definitive ceasefire, the release of the hostages, but also an end to the violence in the West Bank. We must be guided by the struggle to defend the two-state solution, the only one that guarantees peace.

Madam President, the situation of Ukrainian refugee women has made even more visible the regression of women’s rights to sexual and reproductive health care, including abortion, in several Member States, such as Poland, Hungary and Romania. The denial of access to sexual and reproductive health care to women who have experienced - many of them on their territory, in their country - sexual violence, gender-based violence and often rape is inhumane and utterly degrading treatment, which cannot be tolerated in any way among us. Women and girls fleeing war must be protected in all dimensions of their lives - in access to housing, employment, work, education, but also in an essential dimension of their existence, which has to do with sexual and reproductive health and the right to an abortion in conditions that protect their lives. The Commission cannot shrug its shoulders and leave this task to the Member States alone. It is necessary to verify that they comply with their obligations.

Mr President, Commissioner, Minister, when I am asked whether this pact on migration and asylum is what I stand for, I reply that it is not. I answer, yes, that this is the possible pact, while the right persists in instrumentalizing immigrants and refugees, making them the external enemy that ensures their political survival. I regret that Mr Paulo Rangel, my countryman and compatriot, has yielded to this temptation. To build an effective asylum and migration policy, we would need a consistent and coherent foreign policy in support of countries of transit and origin that promotes development and stability and respect for human rights. We would need to establish humanitarian corridors for asylum seekers and legal and safe pathways to immigration, to create effective solidarity between Member States in responsibility-sharing, protection and also reception and search and rescue at sea, and to promote a proper integration policy that can boost talent. Until we are fully capable of this, let us approve of the possible pact and get out of the limbo in which we have lived. We cannot remain hostages of those who just want failure.

Madam President, we cannot say that Azerbaijan's continued military attacks on Nagorno-Karabakh in recent days are a surprise. After the 2020 war, Aliyev’s fiery rhetoric, the constant provocations at the border with Armenia and the blockade of the Lachin corridor in December 2022 gave a foretaste of what is happening. Despite this, the smell of gas and oil made President Von der Leyen name Azerbaijan a reliable partner. There are no reliable autocrats or dictators. And the values of the European Union and the values of democracy and human rights cannot be sold. Agreements with Azerbaijan for the supply of gas must be suspended immediately. There is a need to support Armenian refugees and displaced persons, to open the Lachin corridor, to strengthen the EU monitoring mission and to work towards a sustainable peace agreement. In 1915, we didn't have the media we have today or the Internet. Now we all see, hear and read. The European Union cannot remain silent or cross its arms.

Madam President, Commissioner, there is no room in Azerbaijan for vehemence in terms of political criticism or denouncing the corruption installed at the deepest level of state structures by the kleptocratic regime of the family of Aliyev and his comrades. Economist Gubad Ibadoghlu now joins other activists, journalists, opposition members and civil society representatives on the long list of victims of arbitrary, politically conditioned and inhumane detentions. We cannot cope with this situation. We cannot consider a regime that constantly violates the basic freedoms of its people and puts the Armenian population in Nagorno-Karabakh at risk, as is now the case with the closure of the Lachin corridor, as a reliable partner, as was recently considered by Mrs von der Leyen. It is our obligation to demand the rapid renewal of this country to the most basic principles contained in the Helsinki Final Act, to which it is a signatory. And to proceed quickly, and without any conditions whatsoever, to the release of all political prisoners. Without this, there can be no cooperation agreement. We cannot betray our values.

Madam President, there are 1517 Belarusians who remain in prison after the fraudulent elections in 2020 and the number continues to grow. Recently, Lukashenko banned Belarusians from renewing passports abroad, wanting to provoke mass return. In flight from a dictatorship that has captured and tortured them in the last three years, between 200 000 and 300 000 Belarusians have left the country. These numbers are people and what matters here is to speak of people, of the Belarusian people who suffer the consequences of a tyrannical, repressive, brutal power. Aleś Puszkin, a dissident artist who died in July in prison while serving a five-year sentence, should be mentioned. It is important to talk about Palina Sharenda-Panasiuk, a woman with two minor children who has been imprisoned since January 2021 and has been in solitary confinement for 200 days, subject to the most inhuman treatment. It is important to speak of Maria Kalesnikava and Mikalai Statkevich, of Ales Bialiatski and also of so many others imprisoned by Lukashenko. Those who hold the banner of democracy with their lives cannot be abandoned by the European Union.