Speeches

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, 2023: more than 3000 deaths at work and almost 3 million accidents, not to mention occupational diseases, which are still too often invisible. The priority is one: prevention. Prevention means training and a culture of safety, full implementation of standards and effective controls. In a rapidly changing world of work, between digitalisation, algorithmic management, new forms of employment and extreme environmental events, new, less visible but no less serious risks emerge. We therefore need an updated and concrete approach, capable of accompanying these transformations without lowering the level of protection. However, we must also ensure balance: Protecting workers does not mean demonising companies, but enabling them to comply with clear, proportionate and enforceable rules. Only in this way can we combine security, rights and growth, because safe working environments protect the dignity of people and strengthen the sustainability of our production system. It is on this balance that the credibility of social Europe is measured.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Madam Vice-President, wealth cannot be distributed unless it is first created. A European anti-poverty strategy that ignores this fundamental principle is bound to turn into mere political propaganda. Social rights are not protected by rain subsidies that feed dependence on the state, but by creating the conditions for a dynamic economy, capable of supporting entrepreneurship and generating decent work. True social protection is people's economic independence, not permanent welfare. Moreover, a top-down strategy, which does not take into account the profound differences between territories, rural areas and local realities, is bound to be ineffective. Reducing poverty only to an alleged structural injustice, solvable only by redistribution and new universal and free rights for all, is not a solution. It is an ideological narrative. No need for yet another Task Force European. We need to change our approach, returning centrality to growth, work and responsibility.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, education is not just a principle written in the Treaties, it is a moral choice, it is the measure of what a society believes in the dignity of a person. It is the first and most powerful antidote against poverty, marginalization and inequality. It is a responsibility that arises from the deep roots of Europe, from the classical tradition, from Christian thought, from the centrality of the person. Where education is lacking, fear, fragility and injustice grow. Where education is quality, freedom and opportunity arise. Without education, a society loses its memory and identity. Inclusive education strengthens social cohesion, stability and the future. Europe provides more than half of the world's aid for education. An important commitment, but not enough, because hundreds of millions of children in the world remain excluded from education. We are therefore called to guarantee the right to study, which must become a real right to learning, concrete, accessible, demanding because every child excluded from education is a betrayed promise. But every child who learns, while respecting their own identity, is a victory for Europe and for the civilization that we want to transmit and safeguard.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to focus on the issue of NEETs. In Italy, the share of young NEETs remains high compared to the European average. Approximately 16% of 15-19 year olds are not in education, employment or training. In numerical terms, this means more than 1.3 million young people without an active role in education and work. This is well above the European average, highlighting the gap between Member States and how the phenomenon remains a structural challenge. Behind these numbers there are not simple statistics, but young people who live discouragement, isolation and loss of trust and who we cannot and must not leave alone. Addressing this challenge, then, means putting the dignity of work, the responsibility of the person and the role of companies back at the centre. OECD analyses show that young NEETs have lower skill levels than their peers in employment or training. Every year spent out of work and training reduces these skills and makes it more difficult to return to the labour market. For this reason, it is essential to strengthen the integration between education systems and labour markets, improving guidance and creating incentives for companies to invest in competent young people. I therefore ask the Commissioner how the Union intends to accompany these young people to a real and stable job, offering not only economic instruments, but also guidance, closeness and trust, because without work there is no dignity and without accompaniment there is no inclusion.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, today we are called not only to celebrate, but to act. Mental health must no longer be a taboo, it must no longer be accompanied by stigma, shame, forced silence. It is not a sign of weakness, but a fundamental right. Yet, in Europe too many people still suffer in silence. Too many families carry the burden of an invisible disease that leaves no scars on the skin, but deeply marks lives. I think of depression, the black hole of the soul, a dark evil that sucks in energies, hopes, desires. It is not a simple sadness, but a disease that involves mind and body, often invisible to the eyes of others. In a society that exalts strength and perfection, those who suffer tend to hide. So let us learn to listen, to recognize the pain, not to be afraid to ask for help. There is no future without the commitment to build a Europe that knows how to protect not only bodies, but also the invisible fragilities of minds and hearts.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, according to an old saying, when an elderly person dies, it is a library that burns. Our history lives on in the memory and experience of older people. It is the elderly who, in an accelerated time, teach us the value of slowness, the time of storytelling. It is the elderly who remind us that every step forward in our European journey bears the imprint of the generations that preceded us. It was they who imagined a united Europe after the war, who believed that solidarity was stronger than divisions. Yet, too often the elderly are left on the margins, isolated, as if their time was already over. We forget that old age is a treasure trove of stories and history, a story of the world. It is up to Europe to bridge the gap between generations and the elderly, between memory and innovation, between roots and the future. Talking about intergenerational equity means looking into the future, without forgetting who has allowed us to get here. It means ensuring that a young person can enter the world of work without precariousness and that an elderly person can live their retirement with dignity. Intergenerational equity means walking together, because a Europe that forgets its elderly loses its memory and a Europe that does not invest in young people loses its future.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, are you hypochondriac? Do you have a low pain threshold? Don't exaggerate, what will it ever be? With these superficial and offensive phrases a very serious problem is minimized, which can even become disabling. Endometriosis affects over 14 million women in Europe and causes pelvic pain for which it is difficult even to sit, tiredness, migraine and, in some cases, even infertility. Yet, there are those who still find it hard to believe that it is a disabling disease and to be taken seriously. If it hits men with the same incidence, we would already have uniform guidelines, timely diagnosis, and guaranteed access to care and job protection. For women, nothing. Then it is time for the European Union to recognise endometriosis as a public health priority and to promote a specific European strategy. We need more research, more training for doctors and concrete policies for the recognition of the rights of women who suffer from it, including in the workplace. We can no longer leave millions of towns in invisible pain. Let's break down this wall of silence here in Europe.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, are you hypochondriac? Do you have a low pain threshold? Don't exaggerate, what will it ever be? With these superficial and offensive phrases a very serious problem is minimized, which can even become disabling. Endometriosis affects over 14 million women in Europe and causes pelvic pain for which it is difficult even to sit, tiredness, migraine and, in some cases, even infertility. Yet, there are those who still find it hard to believe that it is a disabling disease and to be taken seriously. If it hits men with the same incidence, we would already have uniform guidelines, timely diagnosis, and guaranteed access to care and job protection. For women, nothing. Then it is time for the European Union to recognise endometriosis as a public health priority and to promote a specific European strategy. We need more research, more training for doctors and concrete policies for the recognition of the rights of women who suffer from it, including in the workplace. We can no longer leave millions of towns in invisible pain. Let's break down this wall of silence here in Europe.

Madam President, Commissioner, Jean Monnet said: Europe will not fall from the sky, it will be through crises and it will be the sum of the solutions found to these crises. Albania, on its European path, also faces complex challenges, but has already shown that it wants to turn them into opportunities for growth. Now it is up to us to accompany it consistently and responsibly, because enlargement is not a favour: It is an investment in our common future. As Vice-Chair of the Delegation for EU-Albania relations, I welcome the progress made, but I cannot ignore the remaining problems, on which decisive and concrete steps are needed. Despite the persistent political polarisation, the issue of accession remains a shared priority and deeply felt by civil society and the Albanian diaspora in Europe. Albania looks to us with confidence. It is up to Europe to respond firmly and constructively.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, guaranteeing people with disabilities the right to live in the community with the same freedom of choice as others is a commitment that Europe must make clearly. The transition from institutional to personalised care models requires investment, integrated coordination and above all a clear recognition of the role of caregiver family members. Millions of Europeans, often women, provide daily care in the home, giving up work and enduring an often invisible emotional burden. In Italy there are over 7 million, an essential component of the care network that deserves more attention and enhancement. For this, we need an action plan that defines the role of the caregiver, by integrating them into national welfare systems, strengthen funds for community services, set up a platform to share good practices and then promote inclusive housing solutions. Let us remember that we must not include anyone: These people are already part of our society. We must only guarantee them freedom of choice, dignity and closeness to their families, not solutions imposed from above.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, when we talk about child abuse, we are not talking about numbers. We are talking about children, broken childhoods, silences full of shame, scars that no one can ever erase. Whoever hurts a child destroys a world, and whoever closes his eyes or takes refuge behind the bureaucracy is complicit. Every child deserves to grow up in a world full of love, security, respect. Abuses, then, are not just crimes, they are invisible wounds that mark the lives of innocents forever. Good intentions or downward compromises are not enough. We need exemplary punishments, faster investigative tools and a true alliance between family and school. For this matter there is no room for ambiguity, there is no right, there is no left, but there is only humanity. Defending children means defending the foundations of our society and every delay, every omission is a collective defeat, because every child who suffers in silence deserves our voice even stronger.

Mr President, Executive Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen, European competitiveness cannot be separated from the polarisation of skills, support for quality training and the fight against brain drain, a phenomenon that is transversal but which affects my country dramatically. This hemorrhage of talents is a defeat for all of us: A phenomenon that has serious consequences because it involves a loss of human capital, reducing the capacity for innovation and development of the same country. The Union must ensure that mobility exists but, above all, it must create the conditions for European citizens to build their future within their own countries. To do so, they must be guaranteed the right to remain, freedom of residence, as well as the right to return. So let's stop the brain drain with a concrete commitment to ensure adequate opportunities for those with key skills, preventing the country from losing its most precious potential. We stem the brain drain by adopting a multidimensional approach that involves different sectors of society, from education to economic policy, from scientific research to social policies. We need concrete solutions and among these I think of some: promote tax policies, create networks of ex-students and professionals who have had experiences abroad, but also, for example, promote a positive vision of their country, launching information campaigns to show how local talent can contribute to the improvement of the country and its development, thus countering the idea that only abroad there are training opportunities.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, does this table really include all women? Or perhaps, too often, there is a category that continues to be forgotten? I think so. Yet more than one in four women in the European Union live with a disability. These women face double and triple discrimination: as women, as persons with disabilities and, in many cases, also on the basis of their age or socio-economic conditions. Let's say enough to these invisible women. Let's give them a voice. We therefore expect this roadmap to explicitly recognise the rights of women with disabilities, promoting concrete measures to ensure their access to employment, economic independence, protection from violence and abuse, the right to health and maternity, equality in education, training and political participation. The credibility of this table will be played on the inclusion of these women: Let us help these women, and help us, Commissioner.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, what is the challenge today? The challenge is not only to create new jobs, but to prepare our young and old to seize these opportunities. This is why it is essential to promote flexible training courses that allow rapid and concrete retraining of skills in an ever-changing market. Fundamental then is the enhancement of technical and vocational education, often unfairly considered second-class compared to academic paths that, most often, are not aligned with the real needs of the labor market. European companies are looking for qualified technicians, innovators and capable professionals. We must therefore ensure that vocational training receives the right recognition and support, knowing that it fosters employability, innovation, economic growth and social cohesion. But, above all, we need streamlined training, which is truly in line with the needs of our economies, while respecting the sovereignty of the Member States in defining their educational strategies.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, 190 000 fewer births by 2030: This is the figure that Eurostat forecasts for the whole of the European Union compared to 2020. In the face of this emergency, it is our duty to take concrete and coordinated action to create a birth-friendly environment. We need to build a society where families are not forced to choose between career and parenting. And we must do so, as well as with interventions in the socio-economic field, also through an action of cultural awareness, where parenthood is conceived not only as an investment for the future, but also as a source of wealth for the person and the whole community. For decades it has been said that giving birth to a child would compromise freedom, dreams and career, which was therefore an inconvenient choice. An inconvenient choice? No, maybe it's just a difficult and complicated choice. But for those who decide to bring children into the world it is always a choice of love and gratuitousness, which we have the duty to protect.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, 131 years to close the gender equality gap; 169 to bridge the gap of economic equality; 162 for that policy. Women around the world continue to face disproportionate burdens, gender bias and discrimination that hinder their autonomy and deny them equal opportunities. The next session of the UN Commission must find a united and courageous Europe, capable of defending women's rights and promoting sustainable solutions to address global challenges, without ever renouncing its identity and values. It is essential to address, with concrete measures, tragic realities such as forced marriages and female genital mutilation, or human trafficking, a scourge that mainly affects women and children. Finally, it is necessary to support measures that promote the reconciliation of work and family life and enhance family talent. Commissioner, help us build a Europe where a model of social cohesion can lay the foundations for effective policies, without imposing ideological agendas.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, today more than ever, Europe has a duty to live up to its fundamental principles: equality, inclusion and dignity for all citizens. Yet millions of people with disabilities continue to experience discrimination, barriers and exclusion on a daily basis. It is clear that the European Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities needs an ambitious update, capable of responding to current challenges and building a fairer future. We have made progress in recent years, of course, but we cannot ignore the fact that obstacles remain in key areas such as access to work, transport, education, independent living and recognition of workers' work. caregiver family members. Too many European citizens with disabilities are still trapped in poverty and social exclusion; The new strategy needs to be stronger and more concrete, with binding and clear targets for Member States supported by adequate funding. We call for an effective monitoring system to be put in place for the implementation of the strategy and for sanctions to be put in place for Member States that do not meet the standards set. This means moving from a care approach to a rights-based one, where the person with disabilities is the protagonist and not the subject of interventions.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, Article 12: "the views of the child must be duly taken into account, taking into account his or her age and degree of maturity". It is the right to listen, that right denied most of the time, which is therefore not limited to the possibility of expressing an opinion but implies that it is really taken into account in particular contexts: I think of the family, school, judicial and public, protected. Yet there are many situations in which their opinions are not examined, almost denied, especially in social or legal contexts where they are often perceived as passive recipients of decisions rather than actors with rights and ideas of their own. We strengthen this right. Let's make sure that listening then, really becomes a concrete and widespread practice in the lives of our children. Let's give voice and listen to our children, let's learn to respect them, let's address ourselves with polite words and then, colleagues, let's lower ourselves to their height to always look them in the eye.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, to all women victims of violence: Stop being silent! Say enough to the silence of your thoughts, to the solitude, to the silence after a slap, to the silence after a violence or an offense, to the silence of provocations and gratuitous allusions. Say enough to the silence of expectations, of the knot in your throat, to the silence of courage. Be all free, in harmony with your dignity and bold in the face of this intolerable social barbarism that requires actions of severe, constant and concrete prevention. But it also requires a cultural and educational commitment against that miserable conception of the relationships of possession and jealousy that bind a man to a woman. And then we educate our children to healthy relationships, based on respect and acceptance of the differences of which each of us is an expression. The many forms of slavery, commodification, painful physical and psychological wounds require us to defeat this form of degradation that reduces women to mere objects. Violence is a choice: Let's stop being silent! Let's make noise together.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, we certainly welcome some updates incorporated into the new guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States. Our amendments have strengthened the importance of education and refocused on the issue of teacher salaries, as well as the key role of vocational training and support for older people and people with disabilities. However, the critical issues in the final text remain too many: I am thinking of access to work for persons with disabilities, which requires further efforts to improve their independence; I am thinking of the education sector, which still suffers from chronic shortages and programmes disconnected from the labour market; There are too many ideological references to the mainstreaming gender and too many redundant requests for new legislative proposals from the Commission. All this, when instead we should focus, for example, on skills development in Europe, avoiding the systematic use of migration as a solution to labour shortages.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, poverty is not just an economic issue: It is a social scourge that undermines people's dignity and hope. Fighting it is a moral duty and a political responsibility that must engage us all, without exception. There is one aspect that deserves special attention and that too often is overlooked: the situation of people with disabilities, who are among the most exposed to the risk of poverty. The data speak for themselves: 28.8% of people with disabilities in Europe live in poverty and social exclusion. This is unacceptable, especially if we think that we are talking about an already vulnerable category, which must face not only economic difficulties, but also the structural, cultural and social barriers that society imposes. We cannot tolerate that in a Europe that proclaims itself a "paladin of human rights and inclusion", almost a third of people with disabilities live in conditions of economic hardship. Our strength is measured by our ability to include those who are already weaker.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, today we are called upon to reflect on the profound impact that health issues have on millions of European citizens. The pandemic, economic uncertainties and geopolitical tensions have exacerbated the mental challenges that already affected more than one in six citizens in the Union every year. These events have left deep scars, especially on our young people. According to UNICEF, about 11 million citizens and children in the Union suffer from mental disorders, live with them, and we must and must take care of them. The global problem of mental health, especially of children and adolescents, requires determined interventions: increased research, increased knowledge, not only in the social sphere, but above all in the cultural and health spheres. Mental health is often ignored. Why? Because people are ashamed. Yeah, they're ashamed. Think of depression, the black hole of the psyche. Then there is a stigma about it that we can no longer ignore. We need a commitment to educate, to raise awareness, to create workplaces, including school classes, that are attentive to mental well-being, so as to combat the stigma that characterizes these discomforts. Responsibility is needed to guarantee that right of access to aid, as you said, Commissioner.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the emotion I am feeling is the same as that of the 87 million people who, with various forms of disability, have always fought for the recognition of their rights. Finally they will have an extra tool to realize their dreams and aspirations. Tomorrow's vote marks a historic achievement. For this reason I can only rethink the path that has led us to this point and what we have learned from these extraordinary women and men in facing the difficulties of life with strength, but above all with great dignity. My thoughts also go to their extraordinary families, to all the volunteers, to all the associations that fight for the affirmation of an independent life. I think back to all the girls and boys with disabilities and on the autism spectrum who, during this legislature, managed to challenge a thousand problems and unforeseen events, coming from the regions of southern Italy to carry out an internship in my office. Promoting the recognition of their dignity has always been my responsibility, a commitment, a mission that I intend to continue towards all those who are more fragile and vulnerable. I owe it to each of them, no one excluded.