Speeches

Mr President, political integrity means exercising political power consistently in the public interest. Lobbying has shown us that it can be a force of good when it is being ethically practised, but it can also lead to undue influence to the detriment of public interest and affect public policies when action is taken to benefit one lobbyist group. Transparency is key to ensuring that policymakers, like you and I, do not give preferential treatment to interest groups. Transparency promotes openness, accountability and public trust, and there is an inherent obligation on politicians to share this information with citizens, thus making those in political power accountable to citizens. Today we debate Uber, who themselves have stated that they massaged the facts to earn the trust of drivers, consumers and politicians. This is not acceptable. It is not acceptable to the drivers who work for them and the consumers who use their platform business. In relation to politicians, this only heightens the importance of the Transparency Register, and rules for lobbying are crucial to safeguard the integrity of the public decision—making process. Transparent lobbying is a fundamental component of our democracy. It therefore falls to the Parliament and our Member States to ensure that our European citizens get the truth and all the truth.

Mr President, I welcome the findings of this report and its aim to strengthen consumer protection and the single market, as both go hand in hand. I believe we are looking at and we could see opportunities to drive and support policies and regulations tailored to the industry of gaming and e—sports industries, and they want to be at the table of this conversation. I call for the swift transposition and implementation of this directive on contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services. It will give further confidence to consumers, especially, as many colleagues have shared, the PEGI label for parents and their children. These measures will help both consumers and the gaming industry as it will give confidence to the consumers and the industry and will offer clear parameters in which to operate and build their businesses. Finally may I add, because it was mentioned by a colleague of mine, as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the creation of the single market, we must ensure its readiness for the digital age.

Madam President, we know that democratic values and freedom of speech are in retreat and, in some parts of our world and EU, in serious decline. It is essential that we as a European Union defend journalists as this is a means of defending democracy itself. And it is deeply concerning that in 2022 alone 63 journalists have been killed, 78 journalists are retained as hostages and 478 journalists are imprisoned. And that’s just what we know of. On the day that we as a Parliament have awarded the Sakharov Prize to the people of Ukraine, let me echo the words of President von der Leyen when she stated that one lesson from the Ukrainian war is that we should have listened to those who knew Putin best – to Anna Politkovskaya and all the Russian journalists who exposed the crimes and paid the ultimate price. The EU must be guided by its founding values of freedom of expression and ensure the safety of journalists here in the EU and around the world.

Mr President, I know it’s shocking to read news of police investigations into the work of an elected official and staff of Parliament. It is shocking to me and incredibly shocking to our EU citizens. And it is important that due process is followed. Today, in Strasbourg, I, along with 624 MEPs, voted for an early termination of the office of Vice-President of the Parliament Eva Kaili. The public should be able and needs to be able to trust the work of us MEPs and Parliament’s staff. At the end of the day, we are elected by the public for the public to carry out our work in public interest and are answerable to the people. That is our job. Corruption of any nature has no place in our political landscape here or in our Member States. I welcome any internal investigations and improved procedures to uphold the reputation of our EU institutions. We need to be transparent, to be accountable, and to do what is right. I stand for a strong Europe, a fair Europe, and a trusted Europe.

Thank you very much for the question, colleague. I do agree with you. I think we rushed it. I think it was a fantastic year. But ultimately, look at the room right now. We should have 705 MEPs talking about how successful the European Year of Youth was in their constituency. We don’t. We should have younger people as part of this conversation, and not just the younger people sitting up here in the podiums. I think that when we talk about the European youth and protection and this lasting legacy, we also need to deep dive into what worked. I mentioned youth conferences and events, organised local events worked. But, ultimately, who wasn’t in the room? It was all those with different abilities not in the room. It was issues like mental health, like climate change, like the future of digitalisation and their impact on that. Was that heard? It wasn’t. But now we have time, and ultimately I hope that in this building of a lasting legacy, we do take it seriously, and that in our Culture and Education Committee, as we had agreed, we continue to have youth voices heard because, as I mentioned, it is our mission to protect our peace project for the future.

Madam President, the objective of our 2022 European Year of Youth was to shine a light on the importance of Europe’s youth in building a better future, and to put them at the centre of decision making. I believe the EU year was successful in some parts in achieving this, but the work cannot stop. It is essential that we, as EU decision makers, continue to welcome young people in every aspect of our work. We must build a lasting legacy. Yearly youth conferences and events should take place across all four corners of our Union, fostering local debates and encouraging young people to give their much—valued input into developing EU policy. In addition, I ask the Commission to adopt an EU youth test to mainstream a youth perspective into the preparation of all our European policies. In September, I was delighted to welcome four aspiring parliamentarians from my Midlands–North—West constituency to the Parliament as part of the EPP’s Youth Week. I saw first hand the commitment our young people have to our European peace project, our future and the invaluable perspectives they offered to us all. I want to thank Chloe, Lisa, Amy and Dean for joining us at EPP Youth Week. Let us ensure that we continue to listen to the voices of young people and make their future our ultimate mission. (The speaker agreed to respond to a blue-card speech)

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, the love of a family knows no borders. In her State of the Union address in 2020, our Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, affirmed to us all: if you are a parent in one country, you are a parent in every country. But sadly, the freedom of movement of rainbow families is not guaranteed. It is a time now that the Commission and the Council act to ensure the legal protection for rainbow families exercising their fundamental right to free movement, and that the Baby Sara judgment is implemented. Any Member State that infringes on the values of human dignity, human rights, freedom and equality should be held accountable. In my own Member State of Ireland, despite the legalisation of same—sex marriage in 2015, rainbow families still face a variety of struggles, especially concerning the legal parenthood of children. The choice of donors affects same sex parents’ legal relationship to their children. In particular, the system leaves gay men and our trans—community and others having children in legal limbo. Every child deserves to have their parents’ name on their birth certificate, and as my colleague Marc Angel shared, no child deserves to be stateless. In striving to build a Union of equality, let us make sure that all rainbow families can enjoy the rights that every other family in the EU holds dear.

Madam President, in the past three years of this Parliament, how many times have we discussed the actions or, in most cases, the lack of action by the Hungarian Government? How many? We have debated the serious consequences of their decisions that have impacted, in my belief, the founding principles of our Union. And yet here we are, again. The Hungarian Government has not delivered in solidarity in protecting the fundamental rights of EU citizens, yet they sit comfortably in protecting their economic assets with their continued push back against sanctions on Russian energy. The Commission and the Council must understand when a country continues to strike and strip the LGBTI+ community and other minority groups of their rights. We cannot continue to ignore. We cannot. Discrimination against one group festers, it spreads outwards and it can affect more and more communities, and we must pay attention. We cannot turn our backs on EU citizens no matter which EU governments attempt to work against the founding principles. We work to protect the people of Hungary, to protect all citizens. And as shared earlier, the rule of law is not to be negotiated.

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, creativity, design, storytelling, animation and music – all of these components are key for a successful video game. However, as shared just now, society has perpetrated a stereotype of gaming as anti—social and very technical, without recognising its massive cultural and creative impact. Global gaming revenue in 2021 was billions of euro – that is bigger than Hollywood and the music industry combined. We here in Europe must recognise the potential of the video games sector in developing creative talent and upscaling cultural creators, as we see. A great example of the opportunities in this sector is Black Shamrock, a leader in gaming development globally, based in Dublin city centre, who just today announced 80 jobs due to growing demand in their work. GamerFest, Ireland’s biggest e-sports festival, was held last month very successfully and outlined the endless creative industry and the strength of the gaming community as a whole. In order to maintain Europe’s position as a cultural centre, we must look to the future and invest in our video game sector through Horizon Europe and Creative Europe. I welcome this finding and thank you very much to our colleagues for their work.

Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, this week in Kyiv, rather than striking military targets, Russian missiles damaged cultural spaces, parks and monuments. One of those missiles cratered a children’s playground, just a few metres from a monument dedicated to Taras Shevchenko, Ukraine’s national poet. Russia’s war against Ukraine is an attempt to eradicate Ukrainian identity, its heritage and its history. These acts, as said by many of my colleagues, amount to a war crime, and targeting these shared spaces where Ukrainians come together to celebrate their rich culture is an attempt by Russia to break the spirit of the Ukrainian community. Russia is not just freezing people out. Russia is trying to tear communities apart and scare people into isolation. However, Russia has and will continue to fail, but that requires our continued support here in the European Union. I have seen first-hand the resolve of the Ukrainian people when I visited the border last month and met, like many of you, Ukrainian community members in our Member States. Let’s continue to strengthen our solidarity with the people of Ukraine through defending and celebrating their culture, their history and, the most important, their future. (The speaker concluded the speech in an unofficial language)

Mr President, hate kills. Tepláreň bar, once a safe space for Bratislava’s LGBTI+community, has now fallen silent, with flowers lining the pavement outside following the homophobic murder of Matusz and Juraj. Backsliding on LGBTI+ rights is a growing issue within our EU, with Europe’s LGBTI community increasingly living in fear and experiencing high levels of verbal and physical violence. Words prompt actions and rhetoric incites hatred. This gunman was motivated by far—right ideology, which has been fuelled by the reckless and irresponsible statements of politicians. I stand with the two victims and the thousands of people who took part in the vigil for them, demanding action on LGBTI+ rights, demanding safety and demanding respect. I send my sincerest condolences to the family and friends of both victims. We continue our work for equality in their name.

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, Council representatives, I welcome this much—needed debate and our Parliament’s support of it. Commissioner, you’ve been dedicated to our citizens’ mental health long before your mandate as our Health Commissioner began, and I want to thank you for your continued support. At this very podium last month, in her State of the Union, President Ursula von der Leyen proposed a dedicated initiative for mental health. Finally, a Commission president who is listening to the thousands of Europeans who demand and expect their mental health to be supported by our EU. In the past 10 to 15 years, our citizens have faced the great recession in 2008, Brexit and nearly three years of pandemic, and are now facing great uncertainty with inflation, the cost of living, an energy crisis, a climate crisis and multiple wars. We desperately need to understand that mental health is about being proactive and preventative in our care and should never solely focus on existing in a stressful cycle of reactive support. We need the initiative introduced by the President to promote well—being. We need the initiative to protect the rights of people who live the experience of mental health and tackle the stigma and discrimination they face on a daily basis. We need each of our 27 EU ministers responsible for mental health, working collectively with experts and organisations, but not just in silo. Creating an EU mental health strategy is now needed more than ever, and we need that strategy to be implemented in weeks, not years. These are the actions we need to tackle to improve the daily lives of millions of our EU citizens.

Mr President, I welcome the reactive measures, such as the proposed introduction of a windfall tax, but it should not have taken European leaders over 236 days of a crippling crisis to introduce such measures. While this debate focused primarily on using the windfall tax mechanism on fossil fuel companies, we must utilise this instrument for the large building suppliers and supermarkets. Ensuring families, feeding their families and building their homes and growing their businesses can survive the coming weeks and months. In addition, it is incredibly important we recognise that the cost of living crisis is affecting people’s mental wellbeing. Following this debate, we will lead a dedicated discussion on mental health. These two discussions are connected now more than ever. This emphasises the need for a comprehensive EU approach to mental health and not just talking about in times of crisis, but as a cornerstone for all 27 Member States.

Mr President, we cannot begin to understand what the community in Donegal has been going through for the past ten days since the explosion in a service station and an apartment block. The tragedy in Creeslough stole ten precious lives from a very small rural community in the north west of Ireland. No words can comprehend what the families and those who are still working tirelessly on the front lines have gone through and are continuing to go through in the process. And it is important we honour the lives lost and share our support, solidarity and hope from the European Parliament to the community in Donegal. A book of condolences will be placed outside the EPP Group meeting room here in the Parliament for all colleagues, staff and friends as we stand together as a European community with heartfelt sympathies. I want to thank for the support shown to the people of Creeslough and Donegal, and I also share my thanks to the President of our European Parliament, Roberta Metsola.

Mr President, Mahsa Amini and the women of Iran are incredibly powerful. We’ve seen this at first hand, in large part because of the instantaneous connection we all have through social media, and the bravery of our trusted and free journalists. The young women of Iran have grown up in an age of digitalisation, of connectivity, and because of this, are connected to the rest of the world in a way that older generations could never imagine. They explore, they learn, they decide for themselves. They hear the voices and see the faces of fellow change—makers their own age. They are powerful. We are living in a time – thankfully – where young leaders are standing strong for their rights, for their freedoms, for their future. They too see fundamental rights are to be protected. Mahsa Amini should never have lost her life to hateful ideology. Never. While the Iranian Government works to cut these brave young women off from the rest of the world, we see what they are fighting for. These women will not be silenced. No woman should ever be. Their protests are fundamentally changing the course of history for the generations to come. We here in Europe stand with you in the spirit of Mahsa Amini.

Madam President, Roma experience significant inequalities and marginalisation in Ireland and across the EU due to their exclusion from mainstream society. Our health services are failing Roma communities because of the lack of insurance, discrimination by health professionals and segregation in health care facilities. Roma women in particular experience multiple forms of discrimination and gender—based violence, affecting both their physical and mental health. We cannot continue with this ‘out of sight and out of mind’ attitude when it comes to the position of minority groups. We need to break the cycle of disadvantage. I am encouraged by the projects like the Roma Health Project in Ireland, a dedicated initiative to tackle Roma health inequalities. Their work ensures that there is no danger of segregation. The Commission and the Member States need to implement the EU Roma strategic framework, which aims to give all Roma equal opportunity. We need to eradicate any form of structural and institutional anti—Roma policies that we discuss here, in this House, and ensure full equality in areas such as housing and health care, including mental health care. I want to acknowledge the work Commissioner Dalli does on this in her mandate, as well as my colleagues here, on the floor, for this incredibly important time that we make an equal Europe for all, not just some.

Madam President, the micro—USB charger was a major EU success story and it reduced the number of incompatible chargers in the market from 30 to 3. We’ve heard this this morning. This was essential in reducing electronic waste and making life easier for our citizens, our consumers. However, the move towards a common charger is still incomplete. This directive will ensure that USB-C chargers must be the same for everything from phones to video game consoles and gadgets by 2024. Most importantly, it will be applicable to all manufacturers, including Apple. This directive underlines the EU’s commitment to sustainability by reducing annual electronic waste by approximately 11 000 tonnes. This is a direct request from citizens in the Conference on the Future of Europe in the area of reducing consumption. We are here and we are listening. It will make everyday life easier for consumers and is a concrete example of a practical and positive change that our environment so desperately needs. Congratulations, Alex, and to your team.

Mr President, it’s time – this is the theme of this year’s EuroPride to be held in Serbia this weekend. The Serbian authorities have banned the march, citing security concerns. After three years of planning and coordination, they backtracked on LGBTI+ representation. Heartbreaking, but entirely too familiar to us in this House. We have our own leaders here in the EU backtracking on the work done, actively writing discrimination into national laws on women’s rights, on LGBTI rights. Deliberate strategies aimed at weakening our fundamental rights. It is our duty and responsibility to stand strong with our citizens. It is also our duty and responsibility to ensure that the fundamental rights of all our citizens are protected. Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez shared it best. It’s not up to us to love parts of people. We love all people, and we are all equal in the eyes of the law. It’s time we take the opportunity to reflect on the lessons learned in reports like this and push to truly protect all our citizens. While this report outlines how we are taking steps in the right direction, we have not done enough to protect our minority communities today. It’s time our leaders fully defend our European values and equality and promote our European identity. I’ll be at EuroPride, together with colleagues from across this political House. We will march. We will stand for fundamental human rights. Colleagues, it’s time.

Madam President, I very much welcome a new mental health initiative through a citizens’ panel. This is an incredibly important and positive step forward following our Future of Europe Conference, following the impact of COVID, the stresses of isolation and the war that we are all living through. We must, through an EU year of education and training and a citizens’ panel dedicated to mental health, really look at and finally understand the root causes of mental health and how it is impacting all facets of a person’s life, especially our young people. You mentioned SMEs. We know from research that an employee is over 30 days more productive if an employer looks at their wellbeing and the mentality that they have, that is sustainability. Let’s together deliver a citizens’ panel and prepare for a 2024 EU year dedicated to mental health.

Mr President, Commissioner and colleagues, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, young people suddenly find themselves socially disconnected from their closest friends, classmates and teammates. They spent excessive hours isolated in their rooms, connected only online. This disruption to their lives and education meant millions of young people have significantly missed out on aspects of learning and education that would have, in normal times, been acquired in the classroom. Against an already decade long pattern of deteriorating mental health among Europe’s youth, this disruption has compounded the ill effects of mental health, resulting in higher rates of stress, anxiety, depression, eating disorders and isolation. A Eurobarometer survey on young people identifies the improvement of mental health and physical health and wellbeing as one of the two most important issues of our European Year of Youth. I would ask you colleagues to join me in calling for an EU year dedicated to mental health to be established next year in 2023, which will both honour the voices and the lives of our young people and make sure our EU is one of welcome and not of distress.

Mr President, thank you, Commissioner, and thank you, colleagues. There has never been a more fitting time to put mental health on the agenda. And I want to thank the many colleagues who highlighted young people, highlighted our ever-growing European community, particularly our Ukrainian citizens who are finding their home and safety in the European Union. We so desperately need to ensure that collective EU mental health policies are put in place. Each of us are here today speaking about something like solidarity, and we’ve seen that it has worked. We’ve experienced the impact of working together in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in the sharing of best practices between Member States, which resulted in sharing of medicines, and also an EU-wide financial support for all. We have the blueprint to get this right and it is essential now that we use this information collectively at EU level. By supporting this report, you will join our call to the Commission to adopt an EU mental health strategy and deliver a European year dedicated to mental health next year in 2023. The EU year and mental health strategy will raise awareness of mental health policy. It will ensure debate in our institutions and across our Member States. And perhaps most importantly, it will change the prevailing attitudes towards mental health and well-being across our European Union. I appeal to each and every one of you to join my group, the EPP, our online petition to further support our call to the Commission to dedicate a European year to mental health next year. Colleagues, our citizens are dying in silence. We heard from many today, and that statistic cannot be put aside any more. For once and for all, we must remove the stigma around mental health. We must be the voice for each and every citizen. And we must bring about real and meaningful change for this and future generations.

Mr President, it is great to be standing here this morning and talking about the mental health of our communities. Colleagues, last year UNICEF reported that suicide is the second leading cause of death among our young Europeans. That same report outlined that, here in Europe, 9 million of our adolescents aged 10 to 19 years are living with mental disorders – 9 million. A joint OECD and EU Commission report, dated four years ago, found that one in six across our European Union suffered negatively with their mental health. The report also noted that the total economic impact of our citizens’ mental ill health is over EUR 6 billion. That is more than 4% of GDP across our 27 Member States. And what are we doing? There is a silent belief that we, as EU policymakers, do not have a role or competency to deliver change for the mental health and well-being of our citizens, and this, colleagues, this silent belief, is utter fabrication. There can be no debate or policy discussion on health, on care, on the future of our European Union, without the mental health of our citizens at its very core. To deliver better mental health services, we, as policymakers, across committees and countries, must wake up and learn to communicate with one another and work together. A cross-sectional approach to mental health is critical if we are to shift the dreadful imbalance our citizens face in accessing healthcare, education and employment opportunities. Our citizens – especially our young people – cannot continue to live in an EU where people must hit rock bottom before they receive support for their mental health. Early intervention is key. Reintegration and tackling mental health among our young working population is also vital. Both of these aspects are crucial if we are to develop and strengthen our labour market and social policies for our EU for generations to come. This report on mental health in the digital world of work examines benefits and the risks of digitalisation, drawing from the experiences of our employees and employers over the past two and a half years that they faced of the COVID-19 pandemic. By supporting this report, you will join our call to update current EU legislation to respond to the new realities of the digital way of working, thus enabling companies and countries to really facilitate positive mental health practices for themselves and their workforce. I really look forward to today’s discussion, hearing from my shadow rapporteurs, my colleagues, and of course, Commissioner Schmit. I hope from this we don’t continue to talk only about mental health; we actually start putting these things into practice.

Madam President, I very much welcome the findings of this report, particularly in the areas of outreach and inclusion. However, while the inclusion measures in the Erasmus+ programme 2014-2020 were much improved, considerable challenges and shortcomings continue to persist. We must ensure that anyone wanting to avail of Erasmus+ has the opportunity to do so and has access to information and financial assistance to really enjoy and flourish from the experience, as this continues to disproportionately affect those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, migrants, Roma people, Irish travellers and our disabled community members. In addition, as an MEP representing a constituency on the border with Northern Ireland, continued inclusion of Northern Irish students in the Erasmus programme is key, given the current political climate we all live in. Erasmus was founded on the basis that cultural and educational exchanges between countries foster peace and this is now more important than ever. The Erasmus+ programme must be, at its heart, guided by a spirit of inclusion for all.

Dear colleague, I think we’re missing the point. My mother had access to all the maternal help that she needed because she lived in a developed country. I was born in the United States. I was raised in Ireland. And I was raised to see, like my mother wanted me to see, that every woman, every man has the right to choose what they wish to do with their bodies. That is the end of the conversation. My mother is exceptionally proud that I am making this debate tonight for her friends who didn’t have the right to choose. And there was many of them – undocumented Irish that did not have access to legal and safe healthcare, equality. And that’s happening worldwide. It’s happening in the European Union. And a question like that should never be asked in 2022 in this Parliament.

Great question, colleague. And I think, in many cases, we also have to support those at home too. I take great example of my own country of Ireland, which I’m very grateful that you brought up and mentioned. It’s about sharing the stories you heard from my EPP colleague, Frances Fitzgerald, also. It’s about storytelling. It’s about the lived experience of men and the many women. It’s about connecting to our fellow colleagues in both sides of the House – democratic and republic – because, as you can see in this House, women’s right to choose and equality overall is supported in some sections right across this House. And for that, I think it is conversation and continuous debates like this and all and I’m grateful for the President here allowing so many blue cards because it highlights the fact that we are as passionate about equality universally and not just in the European Union. I do want to say, if you don’t mind, I’ve never met a woman who wanted an abortion, I’ve never met a woman. And I think that’s an argument that the other conversationalists and viewpoints often miss: it’s not out of want, it’s unfortunately out of choice and out of need.