What Maria spoke about.

Mr President, Commissioner, at least one in ten Europeans is living in energy poverty. This means that so many Europeans will not be able to cope with the necessary heating and electricity costs. Increasing fossil energy is not the answer to this crisis, but a quick exit from it. Dependence on fossil energy is a huge security threat to Europe and a threat to people's everyday security. Energy efficiency is the key to preventing energy poverty. At the initiative of the Greens, Finland has introduced energy self-sufficiency loans to support households. The aim of our Greens is to get this model across Europe so that we can quickly reduce European energy poverty and dependence on the terrorist state Russia. I would therefore like to ask the Commission: Are you going to include this in your program?

Madam President, Commissioner Schinas, when I left Montreal 2 years ago as a minister, the spirits were really high. After really long negotiations, the historical Kunming-Montreal agreement was really there. We did it. But since then, the optimism has been overshadowed by the lack of progress in implementing this important framework. A dedicated global financing instrument for biodiversity is still missing. The political guidelines for the next Commission highlight efficient implementation of the EU's biodiversity commitments, including the Kunming-Montreal agreement. However, we have just seen watering down of the Deforestation Regulation, lost opportunity with the COP16 and the lack of real, concrete ambition in the Commission's guidelines regarding nature. The climate and biodiversity crises are entwined. We have lost the luxury of time in tackling these crises a long time ago. So my question for the Commission is: how will the Commission ensure that the EU is fulfilling its global commitments to stop biodiversity loss?

Mr President, dear colleagues, Commission, a just, green and social transition is the most critical challenge in our hands at the moment. It is imperative that employment measures support this huge transition. As the labour market is undergoing profound changes, we must ensure that new jobs that are created are quality jobs that enjoy the highest standards and labour rights. Workers in a vulnerable situation cannot be left behind. Everyone has a right to safety at work and protection from dangerous conditions arising from, for example, climate change and loss of biodiversity, such as extreme weather events. Everyone has a right to social dialogue and collective bargaining, and to work in a place where artificial intelligence is used for their protection, not to undermine them. All workers have a right to be treated with respect and dignity, without discrimination. All workers across the EU now have a right to a minimum wage. And I ask the Member States: why are you still not living up to this commonly agreed principle?

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, we are living in the warmest years in the history of measurements. Climate change and biodiversity loss are advancing faster than ever before in human history. All this underscores the urgent and continuous efforts to combat biodiversity loss and climate change, which must also be reflected in the EU's general budget. Additions to the EU’s LIFE programme for environment and climate action will become increasingly important in the coming years when the Nature Restoration Regulation is implemented. The increased risk of natural disasters requires coordinated action and preparedness through the Union Civil Protection Mechanism. Biodiversity can only be safeguarded through cross-sectoral work. For example, the EU's common agricultural policy is an important budget item for achieving the EU's biodiversity objectives, and unfortunately this link is now missing. The Kunming-Montreal agreement to halt the global migration of nature is binding on the EU. Combating nature migration requires commitment and securing sufficient financial resources.

Madam President, dear colleagues, I urge you to see poverty. Poverty that comes in millions of different forms. It can mean a person struggling without fresh water and housing thousands of kilometres away from here. But poverty can lurk in situations where your neighbour is not able to access medical care in time of need. Poverty can look like sleeping rough outside the European Parliament. But poverty can also come in the form of lack of empathy. Lack of empathy which prevents politicians from seeing the struggle of so many. Lack of empathy prevents politicians from making decisions that would eradicate poverty. Because we know that international day of eradication of poverty and homelessness is every day and it is every night. Dear colleagues, I urge you to see poverty, and I urge you to take concrete action and fight against it. And I urge the Commission to present an ambitious anti-poverty strategy with legislative proposals to reach our objectives.

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, nearly 1.3 million people sleep rough or without permanent accommodation in the EU. 400,000 children are homeless. And I welcome the long awaited affordable-housing plan by the Commission, which must build on the successful Housing First principle. This requires actually a change in our mindsets, because, previously, a home was an outcome when a person demonstrated progress in their lives, such as finding a job or tackling substance abuse. The thinking was that only by solving other issues first, a person deserves a home. But the reality is exactly the opposite. Housing is a human right. Only from the safety of one's home can a person start solving other challenges in their lives. When we discuss about what affordable housing means, who builds and who owns it, and how it is regulated, we must keep in our minds the most vulnerable people whose lives can actually be transformed if we, politicians here and all over Europe, just put housing first.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, southern Europe is once again plagued by terrible forest and wildfires. Destructive wildfires, floods and other extreme weather events will become more common and their scale will only increase as climate change and biodiversity loss progress. We need to be better prepared for these challenges in the future. We need better cooperation within the EU and a strengthening of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. When we talk about wildfires, we cannot help but talk about the state of our forests. The Commission's decision last week to postpone the entry into force of the deforestation regulation was also a lousy decision in this regard. When forests are being destroyed in Europe, they say, turn your eyes to the Amazon, turn your eyes to the big questions. Now that this important deforestation regulation is coming into the toolbox, we are not taking it into use. This is incomprehensible news! On the contrary, it is more important than ever to ensure the implementation of EU legislation that is central to the state of forests, and we need to increase ambition. We also need more comprehensive information on the state of our forests in order to better protect them. Above all, we must be able to address the root causes of the disasters. We do not have time to take a step back in climate and nature action, and we cannot send a message to the world that the EU will not work on these issues in the years to come. Nothing is more important than a viable planet. When ecosystems collapse and food production drowns, our forests burn to the ground, groundwater spoils and species around us die, we cannot eat banknotes and drink securities. We need action now.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, I think it is valuable that the report puts a climate-resilient Europe and skilled people at the heart of competitiveness. However, competence must be based on a foundation where people's basic income, housing and education are guaranteed to everyone, where everyone, regardless of their background, has the opportunity to realize themselves, and in this report, unfortunately, leaves something to be desired. The competitiveness created by consuming nature and people has come to an end. Good working conditions and a fair working life, as well as a stable and equal society, biodiversity, are prerequisites for sustainable competitiveness. Together, we must make the decisions that will make the EU the most competent and prosperous people in the world. Let's start with the fact that everyone has a home from which to build a good life.