Speeches

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, rapporteur, the islands, like my Sicily and Sardinia, have suffered and are still suffering today from the effects of the pandemic crisis that has severely affected their natural tourist vocation, aggravating their structural isolation. If we add to this the effects of the war in Ukraine, with the significant increase in fuel and energy prices, the situation risks becoming unsustainable for activities such as agriculture, fishing, crafts and trade. Our islands need to start an immediate process, able to fill the structural gaps that prevent their real inclusion in the global context. For this reason, a pact for the islands, as conceived, structured and articulated by the rapporteur, which puts in place precisely wide-ranging projects and takes into account the needs of the territories by inserting them within the economic and commercial mechanisms, is the way to follow. That is why we will be voting on the report, as President Fitto also announced. I think that insularity, therefore, can become a positive element and not yet considered as a disadvantage factor.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, first of all I would like to thank the shadow rapporteurs for their availability and for their contribution, allowing the report to be adopted unanimously in the Committee on Fisheries, showing that the sea and the fisheries sector are a priority for everyone. The report aims to emphasise that the proper implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy should have as its primary objective the achievement of the right balance between economic, environmental and social sustainability. The Mediterranean Sea has been supporting the coastal populations and economies of the countries bordering it for millennia. It is also one of the most exploited seas, with levels of up to 80% for certain demersal species. However, there are other environmental factors behind the decline of specific fish stocks, as fishing and its ecosystems are subject to sources of pressure and degradation, such as pollution, climate change, hydrocarbon exploitation, dredging and navigation. The Commission's desire to set high environmental standards is entirely acceptable and positive, but this should not come at the cost of increasing imports and reducing food production in the European Union. In recent years, some countries have seen fleets and crews halve, with production falling by more than 50 % in favour of imports, which currently stands at around 85 % for small pelagic and demersal species. The conditions must be created so that the safeguarding of resources and the profitability of companies coexist and go hand in hand so as not to frustrate the efforts made to date. It is necessary, in the general interest and always in order to safeguard the resources and profitability of companies, to harmonise all the regulations issued in order to simplify fishing activities and not to place additional burdens on companies. It is essential, more than a year after the entry into force of a regulation, to conduct immediate scientific research on the health status of the stocks concerned, in order to obtain scientific data on the effectiveness of the restrictions applied and to verify their suspension. Greater involvement of practitioners in decision-making processes is vital and the key points should be, firstly, greater involvement and co-management of stakeholders and, secondly, to integrate scientific data with the knowledge of practitioners. If environmental data are always taken into account, there is a risk that some very important aspects, such as the socio-economic implications of fishing restrictions, will be overlooked. Ensuring the principle of the rule of law. There are many conventions and treaties signed by countries bordering the Mediterranean and not only for the management and protection of fisheries, but in practice the actual implementation is extremely diversified and has concrete contradictory elements. The preconditions for real and effective cooperation and cooperation in the management of fisheries in the Mediterranean exist and are clearly established, in order not to undermine the efforts that are required of the European Union fleets, limiting fishing activities and consequently also economic sustainability. In this context, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, signed at Montego Bay, declares that each State is free to determine the extent of its territorial waters up to a maximum of 12 nautical miles. Some states arbitrarily apply more than doubled limits, creating situations of absolute danger and making the coasts of the countries bordering the Mediterranean subject to encroachments by fishing vessels from other countries, which go up to three miles below the coast. The conclusions we can reach: a holistic approach that takes into account all aspects that affect the state of health of the sea and the constant updating and collection of scientific data relating to the situation of stocks. Sustainable fishing means ensuring the sustainability of the entire fishing sector and the entire production chain, with positive socio-economic consequences.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we have always strongly supported the protection of the family, women and above all children, and I congratulate the rapporteurs on the passion with which they presented their initiative. However, it is necessary to be very careful, given the delicacy of the topics covered, and not to fall into the mere generalized demonization of man on the basis of a distorted vision of society. In fact, to convey the image of a totally patriarchal and misogynistic European society, also suggesting some legal solutions that can be used with the intention of distorting relations between men, women and children within the family as a whole, we believe that it is a serious mistake. Some paragraphs of the report are invading Member States' competences in criminal law and family law in a completely misleading way, so we think it is better to rely on the national sphere of competence. Any form of violence must be countered, in any way, but in law enforcement there must be no room for the interference of ideological assessments to only influence legal and criminal action. We must continue to fight for the protection of women and children in the appropriate fora and the issue of child custody is too serious to be subject to a priori assessment.