Speeches

Madam President, it is impossible to discuss a new EU-China Strategy without talking about Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong, but also about Macau and the constant abuses of the Portugal-China Joint Declaration and the rights, freedoms and guarantees enshrined therein. We cannot remain indifferent to the misuse of the pandemic to suppress freedoms of assembly and demonstration, to the conditioning of the press, such as the instructions given to TDM journalists not to make news deemed negative for China, to the prohibition of the vigil in memory of the victims of Tiananmen and we cannot tolerate the arbitrary and persecutory disqualification of the various pro-democracy candidates in Macau's parliamentary elections last Sunday, contrary to the call of the European Union in defence, I quote, of the rights and freedoms guaranteed. The peaceful citizens of Macao responded with a 13% increase in abstention and an exponential increase in the number of blank and null votes. The European Union cannot remain without a reaction. There will be no agreement with China as long as it continues to violate agreements with European Union countries.

Madam President, the explosion of the port of Beirut in 2020 was also the explosion of an intricate political system where stories of clans and legacies of tragedies, the public and the private, the national and the family, are mixed. A system marked by corruption and impunity that urgently needs to be put to an end and that has led the country to the abyss of hyperinflation, unemployment, lack of water, electricity, fuel and medicines and, worst of all, disbelief. The formation of a new government after 13 months of stalemate creates the conditions for implementing a reform agenda starting with the agreement with the IMF and holding undelayed municipal and presidential legislative elections. Fair, transparent and inclusive elections. One last chance for everyone. It is up to the Lebanese people to choose their future. It is the obligation of the European Union to support at this crucial time. I hope that the Beirut described by Nadia Tuéni as "a thousand times dead a thousand times resurrected" will rise again from the rubble.

Mr President, death to death, war to war, hatred to hatred. Freedom is an immense city of which we are all fellow citizens. I evoke these words of the writer Victor Hugo in a text in which he welcomed the abolition of the death penalty in Portugal 154 years ago to point out how anachronistic, cruel, degrading and inhumane the persistence of the death penalty in the 21st century is. Shame on humanity. By condemning the execution of Mustafa Hashem al-Darwish and the death of Abdullah al-Howaiti at the hands of the Saudi authorities, we are not only condemning the death penalty in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, but calling for its universal abolition. In view of the multiple violations of human rights and international law, we call for an embargo on arms supplies to Saudi Arabia and for a more assertive and coherent diplomatic attitude on the part of the European Union.

Mr President, freedom of expression and the free and independent press are pillars of any democratic society. The closure of Apple Daily represents another step in Hong Kong's slide towards censorship, repression and disregard for international conventions and the Basic Law. In Hong Kong and other parts of China, such as Xinjiang and Tibet, and even Macau, national security law is used to persecute, arrest and repress as many as do not blindly obey the orders of central authorities or try to defend their basic rights and freedoms. And here we cannot forget the case of Macau and the case of TDM and the conditioning imposed on journalists when the Basic Law agreed with Portugal will be in force until 2049 and freedom of the press is inscribed in it. These persecutions of free media are yet another attempt to conceal and silence all critical voices. Beijing does not admit vehemence and it is necessary to give clear signals and sanction those who are involved in these human rights violations.

Madam President, the COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most serious tests Schengen has faced to date. 18 of the 26 states have imposed restrictions on the right to move freely within the European area. Such measures, even if justified on grounds of public health, have often been applied in a random, uncoordinated and disproportionate manner at the expense of the free movement of persons and goods. The fragmentation of Schengen has become more evident, as has the need to reform it. The new strategy represents an opportunity for strengthening Schengen and the proposed revision of the evaluation and monitoring mechanism can be an important step. But for effective steps to be taken, more needs to be done on infringement procedures and the protection of fundamental rights. We need assertiveness and courage in the protection of this common good, and you are counting on us for that, Commissioner.

Mr President, in March this year the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned of deeply distressing reports of sexual and gender-based violence, extrajudicial killings, widespread destruction and looting in Ethiopia's Tigray region. Since then, the international community has remained in distressing paralysis. Unfortunately, disrespect for human rights is not confined to Tigray, it extends throughout the country. It is therefore important to demand that the Ethiopian authorities end the arbitrary arrests, the persecution of the Tigray, Oromo and Ogaden ethnic groups and the immediate release of all political prisoners. The European Union should actively support the creation of the conditions for a sustainable ceasefire, the only way for the urgent safe access of international humanitarian aid teams to the territory, and mobilise the necessary aid to populations in severe suffering and food insecurity.

Madam President, enabling the enjoyment of human rights by all people is a strategic objective of the European Union. This phrase, uttered by the High Representative when adopting the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, demonstrates not only the scale and importance of this foreign policy instrument, which many of us have been calling for for so long, but also our responsibility to ensure that it is implemented consistently, transparently and effectively. That is why Parliament, in the exercise of its democratic powers, has decided to move forward with the oral question and resolution we are now discussing. It is important to discuss the operationalisation of this instrument, the role of Parliament and even the type of breaches to be covered. For the sake of the credibility of this instrument, it is important to provide it with transparency by making clear the criteria for inclusion and removal from the list of sanctioned persons, and to shield its application against double criteria that weaken it by serving its detractors. We believe that Parliament's role should be strengthened, including the possibility of proposing and scrutinising the application of sanctions. We reiterate that decisions must be taken by qualified majority, I stress, by qualified majority and not by unanimity. Mr President-in-Office of the Council, we know what the unanimous decision would lead to: to the satisfaction of those who oppose the effective implementation of this mechanism. We argue that corruption should be included in the list of punishable violations and that cooperation with similar sanctioning mechanisms in several countries should be systematised. We have defended and fought for this regime in the logic that it is fundamental to equip the European Union with the right tools to consistently defend its values in the framework of its foreign policy. I believe that the adoption of the global sanctions regime for human rights violations is a step of the utmost importance. It is now necessary to further improve this tool. This is the mission we will continue to fulfil.

Madam President, the constant array of new challenges that foreign interference and disinformation pose to the health of the democracies of the European Union forces us to rethink our defence strategy against such threats and our attitude to such attacks. These problems are not solved by fiery statements towards Moscow or Beijing. It is necessary to establish increasingly robust mechanisms to defend the integrity of our electoral processes, to strengthen control over the external financing of European political parties and, I stress, to respond with sanctions to attacks on our democracies and our values. The assertiveness with which the Union is able to deal with these phenomena, at a time when illiberal powers are increasingly aggressive and unfazed in their attacks, will determine our common future. It is up to the European Union, the Member States, civil society and online platforms, in close coordination, to fight this fight.