Speeches

Madam President, if we want to talk about research and innovation, we must necessarily talk about their agents, researchers and their working conditions. Many of them experience the uncertainty of the renewal of the research fellowship, the fixed-term contract, the outcome of the tender and the funding of a project. What they need is stability in a bond. To publish the results of their research, specialized publishers, who live at the expense of the work of these researchers, even ask for payment for the publication of articles. That is, researchers, often under pressure from the evaluation of their position, produce science that they publish in scientific articles, which are provided free of charge or on payment to publishers, who in turn use scientific reviewers free of charge and then sell these articles to other researchers and institutions. We need open access policies and a guarantee that institutions and researchers will not have any cost to publish and access scientific articles, ensuring that publishers will not profit from researchers' scientific work. One last note: the sharing of scientific knowledge and its application should be at the service of humanity and the well-being, peace and health of peoples, rather than being hindered or even prohibited.

Madam President, the proposal put forward raises a number of doubts and concerns which do not allow us to accompany it. I only list a few that are not properly safeguarded. The trend towards digitalisation of administrative law and the subsequent development of the interoperability of systems, allowing the interconnection of freely accessible databases or databases with different levels of access, may pose a risk associated with the concentration of data that, in general, should be avoided, which may compromise the right to the protection of personal data. The sharing of data between companies for remuneration, in a mercantilist logic of personal data, is contrary to the principle of looking at personal data as an extension of the human personality, removed from any forms of marketing, which aims to legitimize practices that are today illegal and legally null and void. The necessary guarantee of consent in any communication of personal data should be duly taken into account and the introduction of an alleged figure of a personal data sharing intermediary raises reasonable doubts as to its independence and civil liability. It is the preservation of the interest of the individual, and not of the large multinationals, that should guide these initiatives.

Madam President, the measures on energy issues announced by the Council leave the essential aspects of the energy market untouched, including the wholesale pricing methodology, which is responsible for brutal differences between production costs and consumer prices, ensuring huge profit margins for private oligopolistic groups. The current situation highlights not only the need to regain public control of strategic sectors, such as energy, but also to promote domestic production, mitigating productive deficits and external dependence on states. The approval of the so-called strategic compass constitutes the militaristic path that the European Union insists on deepening, a path that absorbs increasing resources for this militaristic drift, while resources are lacking in combating productive, energy, food, technological, democratic deficits, in fully financing public services, in combating poverty, injustices and social inequalities. This is a path that will not bring greater security to Europe, but will bring greater risks. Arms escalation and sanctions policy do not serve the interests of the peoples or the necessary path to peace.

Madam President, women and girls are a particular target of the Taliban and their absolute reactionism. They are denied the right to work, individual expression, autonomy, divorce, and the right to education. The attacks on women are a structural attack on Afghanistan's development, but they did not begin when, in August last year, the Taliban retook power from the void left, after 40 years of interference and aggression by the United States and its allies, including 20 years of invasion and occupation. The path of equality for Afghan women began to be denied when, some 40 years ago, the United States and its allies financed and armed the most backward and obscurantist forces to attack the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. From here, we express our solidarity with the Afghan people in the firm conviction that it is up to the people of Afghanistan, and specifically Afghan women, to solve their problems without external interference and to pursue their development.

Mr President, we have been advocating that the development of energy infrastructure should be aligned with national energy plans and should contribute to the existence of a high-quality public energy supply service at fair and affordable prices for all. The current situation is characterised by escalating sanctions that harm all peoples and speculative prices that weigh on the pockets of citizens and small and medium-sized enterprises. The so-called temporary exception granted to Portugal and Spain leaves untouched aspects such as the liberalisation, privatisation and segmentation of the sector or the wholesale pricing methodology that is responsible for scandalous differentials between production costs and consumer prices. Even the adoption of timid market regulation measures, which they now dare to consider, could and should have been implemented a long time ago. Public and democratic control of the energy sector is the only way to ensure an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable sector, ensuring stability and security of supply.

Mr President, the rising cost of living that workers and the people are feeling alarmingly is one of the biggest problems facing my country. If, on the one hand, strong and urgent measures are needed to curb the rise in prices for essential goods such as food, on the other hand, it is important to increase wages so that workers do not pay the inflation bill with their own wages. In this context, it is particularly important to increase the productive capacity of each country to ensure the supply of food, reducing external dependence, avoiding food shortages and curbing speculative price increases. For example, it is necessary to promote cereal production and improve the functioning of the food chain in order to ensure fair prices for production. Only by increasing the food production capacity that the population needs, storage and access to food, can we tackle the huge imbalances in our food balance. That's what we're committed to.

Madam President, despite the rain of recent days, much of Portugal is still suffering from severe or extreme drought. With sanctions on the pretext of war and criminal speculation, rising prices and shortages of raw materials further stifle small and medium-sized farms. It is therefore important to support farmers and mitigate the increase in production costs, starting with the fight against the speculative escalation of fuel, electricity, fertiliser and feed prices, confronting monopolies and large-scale distribution that crush prices in national production. It is also time to question the policies of the CAP and its model of super-intensive exploitation and monoculture, a water sink that we do not have. The water we have should be used for the food we need as bread for the mouth, for the promotion of our food sovereignty and our right to produce. We salute from here the farmers who tomorrow will take to the streets, in Braga, in defense of national production and their work.

Mr President, accidents at work, occupational diseases, safety and health issues at work are not inseparable from existing working conditions, precariousness, the rhythms of work imposed, or the deregulation of working hours. The right to safety, hygiene and health at work is a social right of workers which requires respect for the right to physical integrity, the prevention of accidents, occupational diseases, work-related diseases and the promotion of health in the workplace. In Portugal, this right is a constitutional right, with employers taking measures to guarantee this right and the State, through labour inspectorates, effectively monitoring compliance and taking punitive action in the event of non-compliance. Much remains to be done to drastically reduce work-related accidents, particularly those that are fatal. At the same time, it is crucial to increase social protection and effective accompanying measures for the return to work of workers affected. Some occupational diseases which, although not classified as such, are actually classified as such. Diseases such as some of the psychic sphere do not give rise to sick leave and this is a tremendous injustice since workers, victims of bad working conditions, brutal rhythms imposed on them, discrimination at work, psychological terrorism, are then classified as absentees. In the 21st century, the right to safety, hygiene and health at work cannot be a mirage.

Madam President, women's rights are to be fulfilled, to be continued and cannot be merely propaganda for an equality to be achieved. On International Women's Day, we affirm that we need to move forward in the fight against unemployment and job insecurity by valuing women's careers and socio-occupational status, increasing wages for all workers and achieving equal pay between men and women. Progress needs to be made in promoting the rights of working mothers, reducing working hours, complying with maternity and paternity rights and the right of mothers and fathers to accompany their children, ensuring that crèches are free of charge and creating a quality and accessible public network, equipment and support services for the elderly and people with disabilities. Progress must be made on equal access for all women to public services and social functions of the state, on the allocation of decent pensions and pensions, and on ending the increase in the retirement age. We therefore welcome the role of women and their representative organisations in the struggle to defend their rights. You can count on us.

Mr President, workers are subject, not always consciously, to the deterioration of their working conditions, their health and, ultimately, the loss of their lives. Protecting workers must be a matter of priority in principle and we cannot accept that, in the 21st century, this concern is not yet central. It is essential to guarantee the protection of workers, the increase of their rights and safeguards, which are often inaccessible or jeopardised due to precarious employment relationships, which are unfortunately too fashionable. If, on the one hand, it is essential to increase the preventive aspect of exposure, on the other hand it is essential to ensure, at the same time, fair compensation for the damage suffered by this exposure. Finally, it should be recalled that it is not enough for the law to have these rights enshrined. National inspection authorities, where human and material resources are too often scarce, must have real conditions for monitoring and intervention to enforce the law and workers' rights.

Mr President, in Portugal and in the European Union the devaluation of women's skills persists. The wages, pensions and pensions that women receive are the lowest, they work the most hours and they suffer the most from precariousness, unemployment, income inequalities, social insecurity and poverty. The deterioration of the social situation also has implications for affective stability and is not disconnected from the increase in family and marital violence. In terms of equal participation, the progress achieved has been timid, showing that the great proclamations of principles and the great affirmations about equal rights are not reflected, in practice, in women's daily lives. Fulfilling women's rights means ensuring the right to work with rights, equal pay, professional appreciation, reconciliation and work-life balance. It also means preventing and combating inequalities, discrimination and all violence against women, as well as the challenges posed by climate change. For our part, we continue to fight for very concrete answers to these and other crucial questions.

Mr President, a student youth, a working youth, a creative youth, a youth with a transformative force: young people need another Europe. A Europe where they can assert the right to have rights, the right to have a better life. A Europe where public, free and quality schools are a reality for all. Where precariousness is eradicated and gives way to employment with rights. Where access to culture, sport, decent housing, leisure, health and sex education, equal opportunities are not mirages or a list of intentions. Where they can choose to live in the countryside or in the city, without this implying further discrimination. Where climate change concerns are not harnessed to do new business. A Europe that does not fit into this European Union, but is worth fighting for. And it is for young people and with young people that we will build a future of peace, cooperation, rights, prosperity and happiness for young people that is also inspiring in the struggle for their dreams.

Mr President, young people cannot be a rhetorical device. Their problems and aspirations should not be used as a mere propaganda tool. Obstacles to education, lack of access to decent and affordable housing, unemployment, job insecurity, deregulation of working hours, low wages, unpaid internships or so-called training grants that are perpetuated over time are part of the reality of too young people. These problems are not disconnected from the neoliberal policies that the European institutions impose on the Member States. And if the recipe keeps up, the results won't be any different. COVID-19 has exposed this reality and aggravated the situation of young people. The right to sport, culture and leisure has not only been delayed, it has in fact been undermined by rules that have not taken into account the importance of these activities for the physical and mental health of young people. In Portugal, thousands were laid off under the probationary period, many saw wages cut, rights threatened, hours deregulated. Job insecurity is spreading faster than a virus, and young people are wondering if they can dream of the future or if they have to just put up with the present, sacrificing youth. With or without the Year of Youth, young people know that they can count on us to turn dreams into reality. We are where we have always been, by your side every day.

Madam President, access to sexual and reproductive rights, including the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy, is a decades-long struggle for women. In practice, this defence and its implementation are in conflict with the guidelines and policies of the European Union which have promoted and promote the financial suffocation of public services in some Member States, particularly in the area of health, contributing to the closure of maternity wards and health centres, to the dismissal of health professionals necessary for the effective fulfilment of these women's rights. There is no point defending the right to sexual and reproductive health and rights if there are no public services providing such high-quality and free care, if we do not focus on services for the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases or on family planning services, if there is no free access to contraception, if we fail to implement sex education or if the rights of LGBTI people are not respected. Despite the progress that has been made in some countries in this area, the struggle will contribute to the advances that women aspire to and it is alongside them that we will be.

Mr President, digitalisation processes and digital services offer great potential for development in various spheres of human activity, including economics. Reality, however, has already shown that this means has served to increase the exploitation of workers or the phenomena of alienation and social and behavioral conditioning of individuals for the benefit of profits and the predominance of large companies and multinationals. The Digital Services Act that we are discussing today is nothing more than a step in deepening the digital single market, or, to put it another way, advocating the liberalisation of the digital market. The approach to regulating online platforms, which promote monopolies and strengthen the market power of multinational companies, which, moreover, the digital single market serves, does not answer substantive questions or compromise the interests of the digital giant. With this regulation, the European Union is developing yet another piece of supranational legislation that aims to strip Member States of the power to control digital platforms operating on their territory. The proposal is not geared to defending the general interest of the public domain of the sector, nor to promoting free public access to content, access to creation, enjoyment and the free sharing of culture, rejecting logics of commodification of culture, attacking multilingualism or strengthening further cultural colonization. With the creation and proliferation of a set of so-called independent entities, the aim is to remove the role of states and their national authorities, without any desire to guarantee the independence of these entities from major economic interests. States already have bodies with powers, for example, in matters of administrative and judicial review of illegal content, the scope of which should be extended to digital matters, while maintaining the process in the sphere of State sovereignty.

Mr President, we are talking again today about Cuba, the third time in the last six plenary sessions of this Parliament. It illustrates how the instrumentalisation of alleged human rights violations can be used as a weapon of interference. They may change the name of the debates and the titles of the resolutions, but the goals are the same as always. On the one hand, calling into question the achievements, development options, sovereignty and independence of Cuba and interfering in the process of normalisation of the European Union's relations with Cuba in the Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement, on the other hand, they seek to conceal the existence of the blockade imposed by the United States of America, which, contrary to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, brutally and violently disregards the rights of the Cuban people. We call for dialogue and cooperation between the European Union and Cuba on equal rights without interference and on the basis of mutual respect. From here we demand, once again, the end of the criminal blockade. We express our solidarity with Cuba and its people and commend their example of sovereignty, resistance and struggle.

Mr President, in labour relations there is one part, that of the employer, who holds almost all the power from the outset, and another, that of the worker, who merely sells his strength. One cannot speak of democracy at work without addressing this relationship, which is inherently unequal for workers with precarious and unregulated employment relationships, instability, low wages, lack of safety conditions, who suffer harassment and employer repression in the workplace. Democracy is a mirage. The reality also shows that the guidelines and policies emanating from the European institutions have not only not solved these issues, but have in many cases aggravated and deepened them. The promotion of democracy at work presupposes the valorisation of work and workers, their wages and rights, respect for and promotion of the right to collective organisation and action and recruitment, trade union rights, the right to strike, the principle of prohibiting unjustified dismissal, the reconciliation of family and personal life with work through adequate working hours, the reduction of working hours, with the aim of enabling workers to participate in political, cultural, trade union and social life. Respect and appreciation of workers, their trade union structures, collective bargaining and hiring must be reflected not only in words, but in concrete actions and whenever these rights are violated it will be by the struggle and organization of workers that will be won. And that's who we'll be with.

Madam President, the answer to the structural problems faced by some countries, such as Portugal, is not the adoption of so-called 'structural reforms imposed by the European Union', but a policy that focuses on national production. Only in this way can we stop being a country dependent on the surpluses of the great powers, a deficit and an eternal debtor that underestimates the internal market and with exports subordinated to the interests of the big multinationals. This is the way to free ourselves from low wages and pensions, unemployment and precariousness, the emigration of the youngest, the worsening of the lack of life. It is the way to valorise the interior and make full use of its enormous potential, to combat depopulation and economic desertification, which, combined with scarce public investment, impose obstacles on small and medium-sized enterprises and make life difficult for those who live there. The necessary replacement of imports by national production will also have this capacity to establish populations, especially young people, who may dream of a future in their country, in their land.

Madam President, women's rights, in particular the right to live a life in dignity, are fundamental rights that must be promoted by public policies. Exercising rights and participating equally is a legitimate aspiration of women, but the exercise of these rights, as well as participation on an equal basis, remains to be fulfilled. The vast majority of women continue to be deprived of the appreciation of their employment status and pay, of being a mother without penalties or discrimination, and this is an unfair and unacceptable reality. As long as this happens, equality will be nothing more than a slogan. At this rate, 60 years – I repeat, 60 years – remain to be achieved in order to achieve equality between men and women in the European Union. It is essential that Member States legislate in defence of women's rights so that this horizon can be reduced. In this sense, legislation that enshrines equality is of great importance in order to fill gaps and combat discrimination, and it must be removed from its role in order, in fact, to bring about further progress in the realisation of women's rights in life. On the report that we are going to vote on tomorrow, and regardless of the final text and whether or not the amendments tabled are adopted, or whether the parts of the text that will be voted on separately are retained, the text gives voice to the just demand for women's struggle and can be an important element of support for the fight for women's rights. Our work in this struggle does not end here.

Madam President, today in plenary we are discussing the work we have carried out for months on the report on gender inequalities in the European Union for the period 2018-2020. Women remain the main victims of existing inequalities, the gender pay gap, poverty and precarious work. We believe that economic independence is crucial for women's empowerment and for achieving equal participation in society. In this sense, we wanted to focus on labour and social issues and the eradication of the different forms of violence that, daily and in various contexts, oppress women. Member States should commit to implementing equality policies that advance solutions that uphold women's rights. Concrete measures are needed that, through employment policies, eliminate discrimination in access to work and strengthen employment with rights, collective bargaining and promote a general increase in wages and pensions, eliminating existing and unacceptable disparities and requiring improved living conditions. Greater action, awareness-raising and monitoring are needed in workplaces to ensure better working conditions for women, paying attention to workloads, the fulfilment of maternity and paternity rights and the reconciliation of work, family and personal life. We do not disconnect the existing inequalities from the neoliberal public policies imposed by the European Union, which have led to increased unemployment, deregulation of the labour market, deregulation of working hours, increased precariousness and low wages affecting women in particular. Similarly, cuts in public services, especially health, education and social benefits, further exacerbate the multiple forms of discrimination and inequality women face. It is not enough to defend the reconciliation of personal, family and professional life if labour rights are not respected, if hours are completely deregulated and if wages barely arrive at the end of the month. It is not enough to defend the right to sexual and reproductive health and rights, an area where there have been setbacks in several Member States, if there are no public services providing such high-quality and free care. It is not enough to defend a comprehensive education, capable of combating stereotypes, if in the public school there are no conditions for this responsibility and it is devoid of technical and human resources. It is not enough to defend the fight against violence against women if there are no immediate, close social responses that allow women to free themselves from the oppressions they have suffered. It is not enough to advocate for equal opportunities and access to a career if there are no public networks of infrastructure supporting childcare, such as crèches, in old age or in case of disability or other needs. The different forms of violence against women must also be recognised as extreme expressions of inequality and discrimination manifested in humiliation, disrespect for the physical and psychological integrity of the women who suffer them. Violence at work, domestic violence, dating violence, lack of health care, including sexual and reproductive rights, female genital mutilation, psychological and sexual harassment, prostitution or commodification of a woman's body as a sexual object are forms of violence that undermine the dignity, social status and rights of all women. Finally, a word of solidarity with the women's organisations that fight every day for equality to be a reality in law and in life, and from here we welcome their valuable intervention in defending women's rights. Before concluding, I must thank the shadow rapporteurs from the different political groups, their assistants and members of the secretariat and, of course, Charlotte, Leire and Filipa who worked with me. We managed to have a text that, it seems to us, makes a good diagnosis of the reality of inequalities between men and women in the European Union in the period 2018-2020.

Mr President, violence at work, domestic violence, dating violence, lack of access to sexual and reproductive rights, female genital mutilation, psychological and sexual harassment, prostitution or the commodification of a woman's body as a sexual object: different forms of violence against women that have to be recognised as extreme expressions of inequality and discrimination manifested in humiliation, disrespect for the physical and psychological integrity of women who suffer them. Forms of violence that undermine the dignity, social status and rights of all women. The autonomous treatment of each of these different forms of violence must be ensured, recognizing what this represents in women's lives. Measures to combat and prevent discrimination, inequalities and violence against women are essential for empowerment and equality in law and life. Today, 25 November, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, we welcome the valuable intervention of women's organisations in preventing and combating the various forms of violence and exploitation against women. That is also our commitment.

Madam President, many thousands of people in the European Union are affected by rare diseases, requiring a comprehensive response. I have been following the difficulties that pass the about 500 families that in Portugal are affected by familial amyloid paramyloidosis, also known as the disease of the little feet, a rare hereditary and degenerative disease for which there are few responses. This is a paradigmatic example. Since there is a drug with a high degree of success for the treatment of the disease, the market logic behind its distribution makes it completely inaccessible to many of these families. Only the strengthening of public intervention and investment capacities that guarantee a universal and accessible national health service, scientific research capacities that develop treatments, production and distribution capacities of medicines that do not subject patients to the vortex of pharmaceutical multinationals, can respond to the needs and desires of these patients. In addition to the necessary support for parents whose children are carriers of rare diseases, it is necessary to promote initiatives and programs aimed at eliminating the stigma that some of these diseases, usually due to ignorance, cause in others. From this European Union action plan, which is always so supportive of liberalisation and divestment, we will hardly find the necessary response.

Mr President, the brutal rise in energy prices goes hand in hand with the choices made by the European Union. The consequences of the liberalisation and privatisation of the sector, the maintenance of oligopolistic markets, where cartelised prices and adopted methodologies ensure astronomical profits, or the creation and functioning of the carbon market, are being felt by consumers, especially the most vulnerable. Energy is a public good. Public and democratic control over the energy sector is a key requirement to ensure the sustainability of the sector. In my country, the Pego Thermoelectric Power Plant has recently closed. The solution presented is to import electricity from countries where it is also coal-fired. The decarbonisation process cannot be done at the expense of energy sovereignty, increased energy costs, jobs, nor when environmentally there is no gain either, as emissions are transferred to another country. Our solidarity with the approximately 200 workers of the Pego Central, for their struggle in defence of their rights and their jobs.

Mr President, the European Union presented itself in Glasgow at COP26 with the false image of the climate champion. The approach to climate change, whether in the field of combating or in relation to adaptation, is characterised by the inadequacy and inadequacy of measures, out of step with genuine social justice objectives and with questionable environmental results, based on market-based solutions such as emissions trading or green taxation, which have already shown their ineffectiveness and perversity. The Fit for 55 package retains full centrality in this type of approach. The closure of the Matosinhos refinery in Portugal is exemplary about the consequences of this path. Production capacity is destroyed and emissions are limited to crossing the border, moving a few kilometres. Another path is needed. A path that passes through public control of strategic sectors such as energy, encouraging local production and consumption, fair regulation of international trade, mobility policies that value public transport, a normative approach to reducing emissions to counter the market approach. Capitalism is not green.

Madam President, we reject any tendency to commodify knowledge, education and research and oppose the vision emanating from the policies of the European Union. As in the conception of the so-called European Higher Education Area or in the Bologna Process, concepts such as mobility, lifelong learning, recognition of skills, qualifications, diplomas and titles are mentioned, concealing that this process limits access to education, transforms it into a commodity, agglomerating it into more easily privatizable blocks, making it difficult for those with less economic conditions to access education. We believe that cooperation between Member States is necessary, but never forgetting that it is the responsibility of each country to educate its citizens, just as it is its responsibility to guarantee public access, universal and free of charge, that meets the needs of society, its development and not the interests of large economic groups. Education is a right of all, not a privilege of some.