Speeches

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 be made clear that the term Turkaegean is not innocent. It reflects the escalating Turkish aggression and is part of the same policy framework as the provocative statements and repeated threats by Turkish officials towards Greece. We need to build a European wall of solidarity in the face of Turkish provocations and send the message in every direction that challenging international legality and the Greek interests based on it, in all areas – commercial, energy and diplomatic – will not be tolerated.

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. And that will come at a human cost. We support with all our strength the struggle of the progressive citizens of the United States to prevent this ban. The right of women to abortion is not up for negotiation. Ensuring basic freedoms for women, such as the self-determination of their bodies, is not invalidated by court decisions. Access to safe, legal and effective abortion is deeply rooted in international human rights law and we have a duty to defend it in every way, both in the US and in Europe.

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' disposable income and shrinking their travel budgets. There is no more time for discussion and consultation. The tourism sector needs support now so that thousands more jobs are not lost. Our proposals are concrete and must be implemented directly by the Commission and governments. Firstly, creating an action plan to support the tourism industry from the effects of the pandemic and the war with sufficient resources; creation of a European Tourism Crisis Management Mechanism; supporting the liquidity of small and medium-sized enterprises with sufficient resources from European financial tools; tax breaks for the tourism sector to meet rising energy and food costs, in particular for small and medium-sized enterprises struggling to survive after two years of pandemic; and lastly, deferrals of the deadlines for the financial obligations of undertakings to the State.

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, conditions of demographic decline, greater isolation and exclusion are created. Gradually, older car models are obligatorily withdrawn, but without sufficient provision for the financial capacity of the weakest citizens to replace them. We claim: Reliable and safe public transport, free of charge or at least at an affordable cost for all in urban transport, using new financial tools. Reducing the cost of train tickets. Incentives to withdraw polluting cars and replace them with clean cars, mainly for those who use them for livelihoods. And finally, brave support for the islanders, so that they do not decay our islands under the burden of transport costs. Happy Birthday, Happy Holidays!

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 the internet and social media. Unfortunately, however, in the European Union there is no common understanding of what cyberviolence is and there is no appropriate European legislation to address it. There are several legislative gaps and Member States have different policies that do not cover all aspects of the problem. The European Parliament has repeatedly called on the Commission to swiftly propose a holistic directive to combat all forms of gender-based violence. With this report we call for a common definition of the crime of gender-based cyberviolence to be adopted, criminalised by all Member States and sanctioned accordingly. We call for the creation of a permanent European mechanism for collecting and publishing regular and comparable data on civil violence online. We call for the mandatory training of all professionals to combat it to be ensured and for measures to be put in place to promote and support prevention, as well as measures to adequately protect and rehabilitate victims.

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 need to adopt uniform protocols and measures aimed at facilitating travel in the European Union. In October 2020, the European Union Strategy for Sustainable Tourism, adopted last March, called for a common vaccination certificate as well as a common and non-discriminatory European Union protocol on safety and health. The European Digital Covid Certificate is a positive step, but it came too late. Europe's reflexes were not activated in time despite our repeated calls. This is because unfortunately there are no solid institutional foundations in the European tourism edifice. It is unacceptable that the tourism sector, which generates more than 10% of European GDP, does not have a European tourism policy, does not have a budget for tourism and also does not have a European agency that supports tourism in crises and improves its competitiveness. We all know that the pandemic is not over yet, and the future holds unprecedented challenges for the tourism industry, especially in the fight against the climate crisis. Millions of jobs and small and medium-sized enterprises are calling for Europe's support to survive and adapt. That is why we will continue to push for strong European institutions and policies in tourism, so that in the next crisis we are properly prepared to act swiftly and effectively and not late and piecemeal, as unfortunately happened with the crisis we are experiencing today.

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, whether as drivers or pedestrians, as cyclists, and we are all potential victims of asphalt. Our report is a roadmap that will deliver and lead Europe towards the goal of reducing the number of dead and seriously injured by 50% by 2030. However, the 2030 target is only the next step. We must make it a top political, social and personal priority to zero the number of dead and seriously injured by 2050, putting into practice the vision zero. Our goal is ambitious, but I am convinced that it is also achievable. We already know which factors are responsible for most deaths. They are known both from empirical data and because they have been extensively studied: speed, alcohol, poor infrastructure, non-compliance with traffic rules and impunity. I am pleased that the European Commission has re-established a target of reducing the number of dead and seriously injured by 50% by the end of the decade, and it is perhaps more important that it introduces a new, holistic approach, the safe system approach, to achieve this goal. This approach is based on the premise that avoiding deaths and serious injuries is possible even if human errors will never disappear; safer vehicles, safer infrastructure, which will reduce the risk of human error, combined with a strong health system that responds directly to the needs on the asphalt. In our report we address the most root causes of death and serious injury and propose concrete measures, both at European and national level. I will mention a few: The role of infrastructure is crucial. A systematic mapping and evaluation of European roads should be carried out in order to direct investments to the most dangerous points as a matter of priority. It is therefore necessary to ensure the necessary national and European resources and make full use of all financial tools, including the Recovery and Resilience Fund. Speed kills. It is unacceptable for our society to accept a speed limit of 50 km/h for pedestrians and cyclists in urban areas. Although drivers' deaths are steadily decreasing, unfortunately pedestrian and cyclist deaths remain alarmingly frequent, and even increase in many cases. There are now many examples of cities that have lowered the speed limit to 30 km/h, and the benefits are enormous. We expect the European Commission to do the right thing and immediately make a European recommendation to introduce the 30 km per hour limit horizontally in all European cities. Even outside cities, speed must be moderated by technical means such as intelligent speed control systems. Cars are not a means of entertainment and emotion creation, as the industry is trying to convince us, other means of transport with the dominant criterion being safe for all users of the infrastructure. We also propose zero tolerance for alcohol and drug use and proper enforcement even across borders, and we call for ensuring adequate support for the families of road accident victims. We must finally close the road safety performance gap in European countries. The worst performers need appropriate support and know-how, and in this the European Union can play a catalytic role. That is why we propose the creation of a new European agency for road transport, modelled on the agencies for rail, air and maritime transport. I would also like to emphasise our call for a European Year of Road Safety to raise awareness and inform European citizens about 'Vision Zero', the new European target to reduce deaths by 50% in 2030, our new strategy and how they themselves can save lives on Europe's roads. Finally, I would like to thank the shadow rapporteurs for their excellent cooperation and for substantially enriching the report with important proposals that have been incorporated by large majorities. I hope that we will have the opportunity to continue our cooperation in the coming years, with the aim of making an ambitious European road safety policy a reality. We will of course also continue our cooperation with the European Commission, and especially the road safety coordinator, Mr Baldwin, whose dedication to improving road safety in Europe is truly admirable and valuable.

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 creates a comprehensive framework for the effective protection of women and children from intimate partner violence and for resolving parental custody issues with the best interests of the child as a primary consideration. But I want to focus on one particular point: It is very worrying that in some Member States concepts such as 'parental alienation' or similar terms are accepted as a criterion capable of depriving an abused mother of custody. This practice is often used by abusive parents as a strategy against victims who attempt to report cases of child abuse or gender-based violence, and this is the case while the most important mental health institutions, the World Health Organization, American associations of psychologists, psychiatrists, doctors and others, have rejected the use of "parental alienation" syndrome, as it lacks the necessary scientific evidence. With this report we are sending a clear signal in all directions. We call on Member States not to recognise 'parental alienation' syndrome in their legislation and to discourage or even prohibit its use during judicial proceedings, particularly when checking for the existence or non-existence of violence. And we do this based on the recommendations of GREVIO and CEDAW and the UN Special Rapporteurs. Ladies and gentlemen, gender equality cannot exist unless we first eliminate gender-based violence. Today we must send a clear message from here, from Parliament. That is why I call on you to adopt the report, as voted for by our committees.

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 access effective protection and support. However, the full range of violence against women is not adequately documented and reflected in official European data. In several Member States the impact of intimate partner violence on women and children is underestimated when decisions are taken on the custody of a child and, although child abuse is a clear criterion for determining custody, in cases of domestic violence against the other parent rather than the child it is often ignored. This report is very important, because Parliament is for the first time putting at the centre of its proposals not only the impact that violence has on abused women but also the impact it has on children. And we're sending a clear message. Failure to recognise and address incidents of intimate partner violence when determining child custody and visiting rights constitutes a violation of women’s and children’s right to life and a life free from violence and is incompatible with the best interests of the child. In cases of domestic violence, custody is incompatible with the rights and safety of victims due to the severe impact it has on women and children and the risk of violence continuing after separation. This is why we believe that revoking custody and visiting rights of the abusive partner and granting sole custody to the mother if she is a victim of violence is the only way to prevent further violence and secondary victimisation. Commissioner, we are in a state of emergency and the European Parliament is sounding the alarm. According to this report, gender-based and domestic violence against women is a scourge of society and, in order to stop it in all its manifestations, we must make it a matter for all of us. We must strike it at its roots as the highest political and social priority and put an end to everything that sustains and reproduces it. The Istanbul Convention must be ratified immediately and implemented by the Member States that have not done so, but also by the European Union itself. We need binding European legislation, a holistic directive to prevent and tackle gender-based intimate partner violence. Victims’ safety and access to support structures and services, financed from state and community resources, and universal and quality medical and psychological support, including sexual and reproductive health services, must be ensured. Specialised courts with specialised judges should be created, where, with the support of specialist psychologists, child psychologists, they will be responsible for hearing family law cases. Provision should be made for compulsory training of judicial, police and forensic staff on all forms of violence and its mechanisms. A permanent mechanism should be established to provide harmonised reliable and comparable data on gender-based violence, to be used to formulate appropriate prevention and response policies. We must tackle economic violence against women. Financial independence is a prerequisite for escaping an abusive relationship. In this respect, the proposal for a directive on an adequate minimum wage and the proposal for binding pay transparency measures are very positive. Finally, a European protocol must be created to prevent gender-based violence and support victims in times of crisis and emergency such as the pandemic.

Madam President, gender equality cannot exist in the European Union unless we first eliminate gender-based violence against women and LGBTI people. Despite the positive steps taken so far in this direction, we have been unjustifiably delayed. How do we expect to combat gender-based violence when, even today, there is no comprehensive European strategy to eradicate it, or when gaps and divergences in Member States' legislation persist? It is necessary for the Commission to immediately propose a broad, holistic directive that puts an end to this systematic form of violence, horizontally, in the European Union. For this to happen, gender-based violence must be introduced as a new area of crime in Article 83 of the Treaty and thus act as a legal basis to ensure common legal definitions and common minimum standards aimed at preventing and addressing gender-based violence. Ladies and gentlemen, we cannot afford to waste any more time. I therefore urge you to rise to the occasion and vote in favour of the report.