What Elena spoke about.

12

Dec

2023

EL Speech

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Parliament’s call for the right to disconnect - three years on (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, teleworkers are six times more likely to work in their free time and twice as likely to work 48 hours or more per week. Their additional workload and long stay in front of the computer screen puts a significant burden on their physical and mental health. As the European Parliament, we have called since January 2021 for the right to disconnect to be enshrined in EU law. …

23

Nov

2023

EL Speech

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International day for the elimination of violence against women (debate)

Mr President, gender-based violence is the most extreme form of inequality against women and a violation of their fundamental rights. Official figures in the European Union are shocking. One in three women has been the victim of physical or sexual violence, in many cases by their partner or ex-partner. However, two out of three do not file a complaint. This harsh reality has its roots in the patri…

2

Oct

2023

EL Speech

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Ensuring European transportation works for women (debate)

Madam President, the development of the transport system in Europe is almost entirely based on fossil fuels and is designed to serve mainly the needs of working men, disregarding the mobility needs of women in their daily lives, who have multifaceted roles in the economy, society and, of course, the family. This is clearly demonstrated by the statistics. European roads kill twice as many women on …

13

Jul

2023

EL Speech

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Global Convergence on Generative AI (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, artificial intelligence is evolving very rapidly and its growth potential makes it extremely difficult for European legislation to regulate it. The case of artificial intelligence production systems is typical. Their emergence, after the negotiations on the Artificial Intelligence Act had started, resulted in the adoption of limited obligations relating mainly t…

11

Jul

2023

EL Speech

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Greening transport package (debate)

Madam President, thank you very much, Commissioner, for your presentation. To meet our climate targets, we need to increase rail transport by 50% by 2030 and double it by 2050. These objectives are really difficult to achieve, bearing in mind that the Commission has been trying for decades to achieve an increase in rail transport, while the evidence shows that, contrary to intentions, rail transpo…

10

Jul

2023

EL Speech

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Industrial Emissions Directive - Industrial Emissions Portal - Deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure - Sustainable maritime fuels (FuelEU Maritime Initiative) - Energy efficiency (recast) (joint debate - Fit for 55 and Industrial Emissions)

Madam President, I would like to thank the rapporteur and the shadow rapporteurs, with whom we have worked intensively in recent months on the regulation on alternative fuels. We have significantly improved the Commission's initial proposal and have succeeded in setting ambitious but fully realistic targets for the development of infrastructure, alternative fuels and especially electricity on Euro…

9

May

2023

EL Speech

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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)

Κυρία Πρόεδρε, κύριοι συνάδελφοι, μετά από έξι χρόνια καθυστερήσεων, η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση κυρώνει τη Σύμβαση της Κωνσταντινούπολης, το πρώτο νομικά δεσμευτικό διεθνές μέσο για την πρόληψη και την καταπολέμηση της βίας κατά των γυναικών και των κοριτσιών. It is a historic day in the fight against gender-based and domestic violence. Ratification of the Convention is a crucial step in protecting the rig…

14

Mar

2023

EL Speech

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Data Act (debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the volume of data produced by humans and machines is growing exponentially every year. Industrial data can be a key factor in the growth, innovation and transformation of all sectors of the European economy. Unfortunately, today their full value remains untapped or concentrated in the hands of a few large companies. To change this, adequate responses should …

16

Feb

2023

EL Speech

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Developing an EU cycling strategy (debate)

Mr President, in the European Parliament today we are taking a very important step that will improve the daily lives of citizens. We call for a European cycling strategy to double the number of kilometres cycled in Europe by 2030. We live in cities that are dangerous to our health, the environment and the climate. Bicycles and e-bikes should become a key pillar of urban mobility in all European ci…

14

Feb

2023

EL Speech

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

Madam President, progress in the fight against violence against women is insufficient, while gender-based violence remains a global plague with explosive dimensions that is often concealed and its true magnitude is not reflected. We mourn victims of crimes that could have been prevented in time and this is a failure for all of us. Incidents of abuse are growing and the sad list of femicides is con…

18

Jan

2023

EL Speech

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Revelations of Uber lobbying practices in the EU (debate)

Mr President, in many countries, Uber's practices of forcibly and illegally expanding its activities through opaque relations with power have harmed the interests of legitimate taxi drivers and passengers. Few governments, such as the 2018 government of Alexis Tsipras in Greece, have managed to resist lobbying and interest pressures and put an end to these unacceptable practices. However, even tod…

12

Dec

2022

EL Speech

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Addressing persistent challenges in the aviation sector and the impacts on passengers, workers, capacity and safety (debate)

Madam President, millions of European citizens will fly for Christmas and New Year's Eve. The inconvenience and scenes of shame that we have seen at many airports in the summer, with delays and cancellations of flights that have also hit tourism, must not be repeated either now or, of course, in the future. There is an urgent need to ensure that groundhandling services at airports are adequately s…

23

Nov

2022

EL Speech

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Eliminating violence against Women (debate)

Madam President, gender-based violence against women and girls is a global scourge. It's a moral insult to all women. It is a sign of shame and failure for all societies and a major obstacle to the development of the European Union. One in three women has experienced the nightmare of gender-based violence and one in twenty has been raped, often without vindication, support or protection. At its co…

22

Nov

2022

EL Speech

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

Madam President, ten years after the Commission's initial proposal, the European Union is moving forward with the adoption of the Women on Boards Directive, taking an essential step to put an end to the under-representation of women on the boards of major European companies. We are proud of the result we have achieved in the negotiations with the Council and the European Commission. I would like t…

19

Oct

2022

EL Speech

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Fighting sexualised violence - The importance of the Istanbul Convention and a comprehensive proposal for a directive against gender-based violence (debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, in Europe, one in three women has experienced physical sexual violence and one in twenty women has been raped. In Greece alone, in the last eight months, 300 children have been sexually abused and 19 femicides have taken place. These figures are shocking, while the facts are much more, as women, either out of fear, shame or lack of trust in the authorities, d…

17

Oct

2022

EL Speech

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Sustainable maritime fuels (FuelEU Maritime Initiative) - Deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, the European Green Deal provides for a reduction in emissions of at least 90% by 2050 for the transport sector. The transition to electrification and sustainability has multiple benefits for the climate, the environment and people's health. A key condition for this reduction and for citizens to continue to move seamlessly is the availability of charging stations where t…

4

Jul

2022

EL Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I have an obligation to inform this House of yet another worrying development concerning Turkey's provocation towards Greece, centred on the Aegean Sea. Turkey has registered the term Turkaegean as a European brand and uses it extensively in a pan-European marketing campaign to promote its tourism product, creating confusion among the travel public. It should…

4

Jul

2022

EL Speech

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US Supreme Court decision to overturn abortion rights in the United States and the need to safeguard abortion rights and Women’s health in the EU (debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the decision of the United States Supreme Court banning the right to abortion marks a dangerous blow to extreme conservatism in women's fundamental rights and overturns achievements that have been enshrined in modern societies through years of struggle. This decision will only end safe abortions. Women will now turn to dangerous practices and illegal clinics.…

3

May

2022

EL Speech

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Impact of Russian illegal war of aggression against Ukraine on the EU transport and tourism sectors (debate)

Mr President, tourism accounts for more than 10% of European GDP and supports millions of jobs in all Member States. Businesses and workers still struggling for their survival, after two years of a devastating pandemic, are now threatened by the impact of the war in Ukraine and the acute energy crisis. Operating costs have soared, as have transport costs, while inflation is eroding Europeans' disp…

15

Dec

2021

EL Speech

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EU response to the transport poverty (debate)

Mr President, ambitious climate policies require equally ambitious policies to support citizens' transport needs. Fuel prices have soared in Greece, gasoline has reached 1.74 euros per liter, one of the highest in Europe. In the wonderful Greek islands where you enjoy your holidays, fuel costs even more expensive and, combined with the unbearable transport costs and the high cost of living, condit…

13

Dec

2021

EL Speech

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Combating gender-based violence: cyberviolence (debate)

Madam President, gender-based cyberviolence is not a new form of violence, but the continuation of gender-based cyberviolence. A very important reality. No political proposal will be effective unless it takes into account that this is the other side of the same coin. Today, more and more forms of gender-based cyberviolence are being created and are constantly spreading due to the rapid growth of t…

5

Oct

2021

EL Speech

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Assessing the Union’s measures for the EU tourism sector as the end of the Summer season nears (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, since the beginning of the pandemic we have repeatedly called (the Committee on Transport and Tourism TRAN, personally I, the Special Group on Tourism, the Task Force) for measures aimed at greater coordination and deeper cooperation between the Member States under the leadership of the European Commission. Since June 2020, we stressed in a Parliament resolution the …

4

Oct

2021

EL Speech

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EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021-2030 – Recommendations on next steps towards "Vision Zero" (debate)

Mr President, every year more than 20,000 of our fellow citizens and children die on European roads. This price is tragic and unacceptable but not inevitable. Dear colleagues, Commissioner, we are in a state of emergency and the European Parliament through this report is calling for strong will, action and immediate results from all of us. Our families, loved ones and we use roads every day, wheth…

4

Oct

2021

EL Speech

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The impact of intimate partner violence and custody rights on women and children (debate)

Mr President, I would like to warmly thank the colleagues who have worked on this very important file. I am very proud of the outcome of our committees. This report will be a milestone in the debate on a common European response, which will culminate at the end of the year in the Committee's legislative proposals on combating gender-based and domestic violence. We adopted a progressive report that…

4

Oct

2021

EL Speech

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The impact of intimate partner violence and custody rights on women and children (debate)

Mr President, first of all I would like to thank Mrs Regimenti for the excellent report that we have co-created. One in three women has experienced the nightmare of gender-based violence, often within the family environment, without the necessary protection, vindication and support. During the pandemic, this violence increased due to forced confinement at home, making it difficult for women to acc…