Speeches

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the news from the front says that Ukraine is winning the war. But are we really sure that Putin will agree to lose without raising the bar? Nuclear drift is a possibility that becomes more likely every day, said General Petraeus, the former director of the CIA, to avoid World War III. What you call the European populists are calling for peace and negotiation. But Zelensky, but also the US and the EU say no. So what I'm wondering is: Will the European Union survive this war? I do not think so, because we must also ask ourselves whether, when the bombs arrive on our cities, we will do as our colleague Mr Sikorski did, who, after the bombing of the pipelines, said: "Thank you USA". We will also have to say 'thank you European Union', or at least that is what our citizens will say. Let's think about how many lives and how many companies we want to sacrifice. I ask you: Please stop this madness!

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I must sincerely congratulate Mr López Aguilar on his report, because it is very complete and accurate and touches on all the problems concerning violations of fundamental rights in the European Union. I agree that it is an inescapable task for European democracy to defend at all costs, under all circumstances and without exclusion, all violations of human rights and I believe that this must be done with extreme courage, in particular by combating incitement to racial hatred, the persecution of linguistic minorities, the violation of freedom of the press and freedom of expression, even when these are put in place by a government that wants to enter the European Union, such as the Ukrainian government, which has drawn up proscription lists of MEPs, such as myself, and other colleagues. If we want to defend human rights, we must have the courage to do so always, in all circumstances, without fear and without looking anyone in the face.

Madam President, I am literally shocked by what I’ve heard here today. Are you really proposing to restrict the political activity of parties which democratically represent European citizens in their national dimension? Since when has the EU taken over, by totalitarian control, the political line of Member States’ national parties? What we are discussing today is a dangerous and disturbing drift towards a deeply antidemocratic scenario with the false claim of protecting democracy. But doing this, we not only repress freedom of expression and freedom of opinion, but we deny the fundamental principle of democratic representation. If national governments don’t formally declare a state of war with Russia, there is no reason and no legal basis to forbid or restrict any political diplomatic relationship at the national level with Russian interlocutors. The majority of Italian people do not support the ban to commercial, energetic and political relationship with Russia, and they definitely have the right to be represented in any field of political action. That’s it.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Vice-President, we are facing a real perfect storm. The European intervention in the war in Ukraine and the drought that is affecting Italy and partly Central Europe have produced a devastating economic situation for our economy. On the other hand, it was foreseeable that raw materials would become a battleground with Russia, just as it was known that our dependence on Russian gas cannot be eliminated in a few months. Famines and droughts today need to be addressed at the real economy level, while monitoring market reactions to rising inflation and the resulting monetary policy choices. The escalation of commodity and energy prices is hitting households and eroding the margins of the industrial system, just when it is imposed to invest more in renewable sources. The proposal for a cap on gas prices that the European Council will discuss tomorrow is necessary to contain speculation on the price of electricity. I hope that common sense and solidarity among the Member States will prevail on this issue, excluding the path of rationing that would affect our production sector, holding back Italy's economic growth and putting at risk the sustainability of the massive public debt accumulated so far.

(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we all want war crimes against civilians and military prisoners in Ukraine not to go unpunished, but unfortunately this will happen, as has happened to date. For example, the perpetrators of the 2014 Odessa massacre, in which dozens of men and women were massacred and burned alive in the union house, as well as thousands more civilians in Donbass were exterminated by the Ukrainian army, as verified by reports of UN and OSCE humanitarian missions; We had been expecting justice for those victims for eight years, but it never came. Today on the dock is Putin, and the Russian army, and only that, regardless of the responsibilities that can objectively be ascribed to one or the other militia. The European Union ceased to be credible in pursuing justice when it ceased to be impartial to side uncritically with a leader not immune from accountability for the degeneration of the crisis with Russia that led to this war. Only if and when the Union, starting from this House, recovers autonomy and objectivity, will our purpose become credible and achievable.

Madam President, Mr High Representative, ladies and gentlemen, the conclusions of the European Council on the war in Ukraine contain statements that are ineffective and of no use in achieving the objective that we should all be pursuing, namely the cessation of the ongoing conflict. Demanding that Russia withdraw unconditionally, allowing the restoration of the situation prior to the entry of its troops into Ukrainian territory, is a pure verbal, veiled and pleonastic exercise. Moreover, I remember that Ukraine, before last February 24, was not exactly a peaceful country, given that the war in Donbass has lasted for eight years and there too there have been massacres of Ukrainian civilians, women and children, in our indifference. Nor was he democratic, given the repressive measures taken by his government against Russian-speaking citizens and opposition. But, in any case, the high sanctions on the Russian and Belarusian people have had no effect on the war scenario, while they have triggered a very serious energy crisis and repercussions on the industrial, agricultural and food systems of European countries. Today I even hear a proposal for a total embargo on Russian gas, in fact absolutely unsustainable for our economy, based on the facts of Bucha reported by the Ukrainian government, but on the veracity of which there are already many doubts. Rather, we should send an independent inquiry to Ukraine to investigate the real dynamics of the facts and the real responsibilities for the violence and massacres against civilians. The UN Under-Secretary-General, speaking to the Security Council, reported on reports of sexual violence by Ukrainian forces and Civil Protection militias and the UN, with the humanitarian mission, is verifying these allegations. So further European funding for the arms industry or further sanctions will only prolong this war, increasing the death toll and exacerbating a crisis affecting an already weak Europe today. The European Union should regain a role of third-partyism and objectivity, by identifying its own representative who is super partes, to facilitate negotiations and bring about a cessation of hostilities, which can only be achieved through effective mediation with neither winners nor losers. Our citizens want a Europe that promotes peace and stability, they do not want to finance a war and exacerbate a rift with our neighboring governments and populations, both geographically and culturally. Let us listen to our citizens!

Madam President, Madam Prime Minister, Mr High Representative, ladies and gentlemen, the decision to arm Ukraine and dramatically increase sanctions on Russia is bearing bitter fruit: more deaths on the scene of the conflict, Putin's predictable countermeasures and the inevitable devastating repercussions on the European economy. European citizens and businesses are paying the bill for the short-sighted and reckless policies decided by the Commission, and it is a very high bill. Commodity prices are exploding, the repercussions on the cost of consumer goods are already beginning to be seen. A period of hyperinflation and famine is coming in which thousands of businesses will fail, poverty will rise dramatically and social tensions will escalate. All this will not happen in Russia, colleagues, but in Europe. And the responsibility for this disaster cannot be left to Putin alone, because in reality it is also the result of inadequate choices by the European government. Are you convinced to solve the problem with more weapons, more deaths and more sanctions? But it's too convenient to be heroes with other people's lives. And in the face of this, do you propose to centralise the defence and security of all of us in the European Union by investing taxpayers' money to finance an army under the leadership of the Commission? So this is the goal? No, thank you.

(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, in Europe and in the world, it is not a global renaissance of COVID-19, but simply the transition of SARS-CoV-2 from the pandemic phase to the endemic phase. The virus is becoming less and less aggressive. The Omicron variant, to date, has not caused any death and produces only a very mild symptomatology. If policy followed science, this would be the time to remove any restrictions, focusing on treating symptomatics to allow all citizens to naturally immunize themselves, ending the COVID era. Instead, today the scientific knowledge acquired in over a century is renegade and instrumentally bent for political purposes of control and undemocratic domination, as well as for dishonest profit. Citizens are hostage to perverse logics that trample on human rights and the founding principles of the European Union. This Parliament has so far fattened the budgets of multinationals with public money, following the theses of scientists close to governments. Out there is the European people shouting and demanding freedom and equality. How much longer, colleagues, do you want to pretend you don't hear?

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the question today must not be how to vaccinate the world, but why should we do so? We all call "vaccines" of experimental gene therapies with mRNA or DNA that do not immunize, because those who receive them can become infected with COVID-19 and infect, and reduce only partially and for a few months the probability of serious course of the disease. Conversely, following administration, thousands of adverse effects are recorded every day, even very serious and disabling and continuous post-inoculation deaths, the causal correlation of which with the injected products has already been established in many cases. The precautionary principle is therefore denied. In addition, we allow very serious discrimination, deprivation and violence against those who do not accept inoculum for medical, immunological or personal reasons, in violation of fundamental human rights. Now do we want to commit more money from European citizens to extend this treatment to the whole world? Cui prodest? In the name of God, colleagues, let us stop this madness!

(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, it is truly frustrating for an Italian European citizen today to witness this unprecedented test of the Union's strength against the Polish State for failure to comply with the Rule of law on LGBTQ ideology and the appointment of judges, while in Italy the fundamental human rights enshrined in the European Charter of Human Rights are being trampled on by the government of the unelected President Draghi, with the introduction of gravely discriminatory and vexatious measures against the minority of workers and students not vaccinated against COVID and the violent repression of the ongoing peaceful protests. Violation of the Rule of law in Italy it is much more serious than the one complained of by Poland, but the Commission does not deal with it. Perhaps Prime Minister Draghi has received a license from the European institutions to kill? If this is not the case, Commissioner, take immediate action to defend the Italian citizens who are asking for help, as they did yesterday in Trieste.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, these three measures address the crucial issue of investment in infrastructure, with the aim that we all share of speeding up construction sites by simplifying the bureaucratic burden on businesses. However, I am disappointed to note that the funding eligible for the Connecting Europe Facility does not cover, if not in the least, the costs of maintaining the infrastructure already in place, which will therefore remain the responsibility of the Member States. The financial envelope is also insufficient in relation to the ambitious climate objectives included in the CEF through environmental conditionalities, alongside what should be the main purpose of these instruments, namely to support the completion of networks and transport safety. In regions lagging behind in development such as Sicily and Sardinia, road infrastructure is definitely lacking and the expenditure for maintenance that our bridges and roads need does not find capacity in regional budgets. Wouldn't it have been more appropriate to allow all European citizens to have safe and efficient communication routes before devoting huge resources to cycle paths and electric charging stations?