Speeches

For socialists, the struggle for the eradication of poverty is a moral and political priority. The European Commission gives an optimistic assessment of the objectives achieved during this parliamentary term. 90% of the policy initiatives presented in 2019 as part of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan have been achieved. Of the 75 specific measures to which the Commission had committed itself, almost all have been launched. Among them, the following have been highlighted: Wage Transparency Directive, Minimum Wages Directive, Platform Labour Directive, Labour and Digitalisation Directive, Child Guarantee, European Platform on Combating Homelessness, Council Recommendation on Minimum Income, Member States Recommendations to quantify household income. We will continue to fight to make the Commission aware of the many challenges caused by inflation, rising housing costs, energy prices, job insecurity etc. To this end, social policies must go hand in hand with a much more transparent, simple and integrated system of fiscal supervision and a global governance framework.

Madam President, Commissioner, Armenia is experiencing a turning point, and the European Union must accompany it by supporting its people. The upcoming EU‑Armenia summit should consolidate a much closer relationship, and Europe should help strengthen Armenia’s democratic institutions and contribute to stability that reduces external dependencies in strategic sectors such as energy, connectivity and the digital transition. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has shown that energy is part of our security, our sovereignty. That is why reducing dependency, strengthening interconnections and boosting renewables translates into democratic stability, and at the same time we must respond firmly to hybrid threats, disinformation and external interference that only seek to destabilise the region. The peace process with Azerbaijan has opened a window of hope that we must conclude with a lasting, fair and international law-based agreement, and Europe – the European Union – must stand alongside Armenia with democratic ambition, strong defence of civil rights and respect for its sovereignty.

Madam President, the time of Russian impunity must end. The daily attacks on civilians in Ukraine seek to sow fear, exhaust democratic resistance and impose a morale of defeat among the Ukrainian people. They are a violation of international law, an attack on human dignity and an attack on the very idea of Europe. That is why we must move towards an autonomous European security, committed to peace, to multilateralism and committed to the United Nations. And that is why we must also defend and use international justice mechanisms, from the International Criminal Court to a special tribunal for the crime of aggression to ensure reparation for the damage caused. At a time when international law and multilateral institutions are being attacked, questioned or ignored by Putin, Trump and Netanyahu, Europe must sustain them consistently and support Ukraine. Slava Ukraini!

Mr President, Commissioner, what is the point of talking about a stronger Europe if we weaken the policies that hold it together? Few policies better represent the link between the European institutions and citizens than cohesion policy. Let us not fall into the trap of those who want to reduce us to a mere sum of broken States without solidarity and without a common project. You have to take sides: In this budget too, we must decide which side we are on. Cohesion reduces inequalities, boosts affordable housing, offers a future for young people in rural areas and accompanies the green and just transition. That is why we have increased the Commission's proposal and defended an own figure for cohesion that cannot be subordinated to other priorities. We are not just talking about resources, we are talking about Europe's ability to help citizens in their day-to-day lives. Weakening cohesion would weaken Europe; To strengthen it is to defend the European project where it matters most: in each region and in each municipality.

Madam President, Vice-President Mînzatu, in a world where inequality has become the great problem of our time, the root cause of disaffection, polarisation and lack of horizon, to defend public education is to defend a more complete, more perfect democracy. Claiming a dignified and equal education, regardless of your origin or last name in your mailbox, is deeply transformative, because education is the best engine of equal opportunities. And some will say to us, "We already have that," and I will say to them, Let's not fool ourselves, today everything we took for granted is at risk. Cuts, underfunding and segregation have powerful allies in those who deliver discourses of misunderstood freedom that, in reality, only justify a smooth and clear track for a few and an obstacle course for a vast majority. Schools should be our civil temples today: Without them there is no equality possible and without equal opportunities there is no complete democracy.

Mr President, Commissioner, whoever evades taxes, sponsors the underground economy and breaks the law in order to profit from the work of others cannot go unpunished. Piracy of live events harms the European audiovisual sector and erodes funding for the European sports model that creates jobs and supports grassroots sport and inclusion. We cannot wait any longer, we urgently need legislation. We have already underlined this in a report in the last parliamentary term: We must focus on the owners of illegal websites and not on the fans or consumers who often use the service without being aware. We need a mechanism that pursues these websites with fast and reliable mechanisms. And in this fight we also need the work of the operators, because sport is popular culture and we need to enhance it. Therefore, we ask operators for responsibility, reasonable prices, easy access, transparent conditions and legislation from the European Commission. Together we must arrive at a fair and equitable system.

Madam President, against those who impose force above the rules, against those who mock peace, against those who despise multilateralism and international law, the time has come to demonstrate what the European Union is. This 2026 has started with difficulties and it is precisely at this moment that our principles must be defended more strongly: a united Europe, a cohesive Europe, a Europe that protects and gives certainty. In these six months with the Presidency of Cyprus it is time to focus on social cohesion, combat inequality and advance in affordable housing, with clear rules also inwards. Whoever attacks democracy and minority rights cannot benefit from everyone's money. That is why cohesion policy is strategic, because it closes gaps within and allows us to present ourselves outwards as a stronger and more credible Union. This is not the time to chop it up or dilute it into national plans, let us continue to rely on the European policies that work.

Mr President, Commissioner, this Union was founded to protect citizens' rights, not to finance those who cut them. Respect for the rule of law is not subsidiary, ancillary or supplementary. Judicial independence, checks and balances between democratic powers and respect for fundamental rights are what make us Europeans and Europeans. And that is why today we say to those who attack the founding values of the European Union - of diversity, freedom and equality - that European funds are not a blank cheque. Here we share sovereignty and we share budget. And it cannot go free to despise norms, colonize institutions or point out minorities, starting with the LGTBI collective. That is why we welcome the willingness to adjust the conditionality mechanism, so that it is applied more effectively, so that it is applied with clear technical and legal criteria and with real safeguards. Whoever cuts fundamental rights cannot be financed from European solidarity. Not a euro from the European budget for autocrat apprentices.

Madam President, culture is a matter of sovereignty. Our sovereignty and independence are built with culture. That is why today we are not just talking about a directive, we are talking about defending the European Union against those who want to impose their rules by force. Trump's threats, with his 100% tax on European productions, are a direct attack on our cultural freedom. The Audiovisual Media Services Directive ensures fair conditions between creators and platforms, while protecting minors, consumers and freedom of expression; requires letter services to include at least 30% of European works in their catalogues and allows Member States to impose financial contributions on foreign platforms targeting their audiences. This directive is a shield to protect diversity, pluralism and the right of Europeans to see stories told in our languages, with our voices and our realities. Let's defend our culture and our independence. Our audiovisual production is not a bargaining chip.

Madam President, a flood devastates in seconds what it has taken a lifetime to build, and that is why institutions have to predict, prevent and, when disaster is inevitable, react as quickly and effectively as possible. Many of the 229 deaths could have been prevented; A year later, we must honor them, stand by those who suffered and work so that it never happens again. A few months ago this Parliament approved Restore to better respond to disasters caused by climate change. But there is something that no standard, however exhaustive, can guarantee: exemplary. The exemplary nature of mayors such as Mario Pérez Cervera – in Los Alcázares, in the Region of Murcia – who, one dana after another, is at the foot of the canyon with their citizens – the last one ten days ago, with the government delegate, managing the emergency, accompanying and giving the face; that exemplarity that the Valencians did not have a year ago with their president. Those who did not live up to it must leave, ask for forgiveness and be accountable to citizens and justice.

Mr President, Commissioner, sport is not just competition or spectacle. It's one of the most powerful ways to make community. Sport teaches us to cooperate, to trust others and to improve together and together. Playing sports reinforces that sense of belonging that we need so much. When a person leaves work at a reasonable time and goes to the sports center of his neighborhood, he is not only taking care of his body, he is recovering life time. Those of us who play sports usually know this well. Investing in sport is investing in well-being, mental and physical health and meeting spaces that prevent loneliness. That is why we should not let it slide down the slope of marketing or the easy business that would empty it of content. Ladies and gentlemen, sport embodies the deepest values of the European project: cooperation, equal opportunities, respect and solidarity. If we defend these values, we also strengthen the sense of belonging to the European Union and show that Europeanism is also built from the everyday.

Mr President, Commissioner, this summer, in Spain, we broke 59 different temperature records. Spain suffers summers with averages of 2.5 degrees higher than at the beginning of the century, and the last four Augusts have been the warmest in our history. Climate change is behind more than 20,000 deaths across Europe linked to extreme events in the last five years. We need to adapt our neighbourhoods, our cities, our buildings and our homes to this reality; Many of them were lifted before this climate emergency. We need a budget beyond 2027, with more resources for cohesion and the green transition, not a blank check to states. Only then can we achieve the objectives of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive that we adopted a year and a half ago. Europe cannot turn its back on the Green Deal, the right cannot try to compete with the far right by denying scientific consensus, we cannot take steps back on climate protection: To do so would be to abandon the citizenry in the face of the greatest challenge of our generation.

Mr President, Commissioner, three decades ago the Erasmus programme changed, forever, the way students see Europe. Today, as then, we are facing another turning point, which is to shape the third great university revolution after Erasmus and Bologna: alliances of European universities. By equipping alliances with the tools they need, we will be transforming not only the European university, but also Europe's role in the world. Commissioner, we need a specific and stable budget that does not depend on third programmes; We need to move decisively towards the European degree that revolutionises the concept of academic mobility for millions of students and we need to reduce the administrative burden to make our public universities more competitive. All this projecting our principles, because European academic cooperation must be synonymous with academic freedom, equality and diversity, in contrast to the United States of Donald Trump. This Parliament today approves an initiative that places our universities at the forefront of the Europe we want and have built up among all democratic forces.

Madam President, Mr Vice-President, we are experiencing a housing emergency, and an emergency situation deserves a response from the public authorities that is up to par. We did not vote on one more text: We voted on the first document on the housing crisis of this legislature. We vote for part of the European budget to be translated into welfare for a social majority that is exhausted and choked by this problem. This report sets another course. This report opens the door to an investment in housing that is unprecedented in the history of the European Union. And it does so with an inalienable principle: when there is public money on the table, housing will always remain affordable and for public use, because houses are for living, not for speculating on. This is not another report to keep in a drawer. It is a proposal with a marked social profile and that puts clear solutions on the table. Let us approve this report and with it increase the public supply of housing, let us contribute through cohesion policy to creating a large public park that balances the effect of a private market that is out of control. If we approve this text, if we approve this mandate from Parliament, we will be laying the foundation stone for a large European public housing stock and giving back to people what should never have been lost: to see in your home a home, a place that means tranquility and tranquility, a place to develop your life project and not a cause for distress every first of the month. This Parliament will vote tomorrow for a decisive change of course. We voted to put the European Union at the forefront, to help resolve one of the most serious crises facing our continent.

Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, the welfare state begins at the door of the house. If that's not secured, everything else staggers. And, for too many people, housing has become a source of distress, of suffocation. And it is something that is repeated every beginning of the month. Every day 1 it's time to pay 40%, 50% or up to 60% of your rent just to pay for a roof. When a basic right is swallowed up more than half of the disposable income of citizenship, that has a name. And that name is a social emergency, because housing should be the pillar on which to build a project of one's own life and the right to access decent housing cannot be a privilege reserved for a minority or a good to speculate on. The problem is quite clear: between 2015 and 2023 the price of housing in the European Union increased by 48%. In 2023, one in ten urban households spent more than 40% of their income on housing and when mere access to a house drowns, chokes and determines the lives of the majority from the top down, it is time for public authorities to act. That is why, in the preparation of this report, we have listened to those who are suffocated by rent every month. We have heard young people who cannot even consider leaving their parents' house. We have heard experts and institutions calling for a new housing policy for their cities, a decent housing policy. And that is precisely what we do today: We bring concrete proposals, we bring concrete solutions for a new housing policy at community level. Because the European Union can and must do more. I've repeated it many times: Cohesion policy is the social policy of the European Union. It is the tool that turns European priorities into real projects, into opportunities where they are most needed. And with cohesion policy we can increase the supply of affordable housing already, both in the mid-term review and in the multiannual financial framework from 2027. First, by enabling the ERDF, the Cohesion Fund and the Just Transition Fund to give specific support to investments that solve the problems of the housing crisis, including affordable and sustainable housing within these objectives. Only in this way will we increase the offer and facilitate their access to part of the citizenry. Secondly, stable and long-term financing. The Commission and the European Investment Bank should create new investments in affordable and sustainable housing, linked to cohesion funds, and combined with national, regional and local budgets. And it must be done with an inalienable condition: housing financed by public money must remain affordable and for public social use for years, strictly prohibiting long-term speculative selling. Public money must be converted into housing to live on and not to speculate on. Thirdly, let us simplify, because this is a pressing problem. Fewer procedures and shorter deadlines for licenses, grants, clear contracting, public-private collaboration. A territorial approach is not just urban: also rural areas, islands, remote regions. And fourth, let's prioritize the most vulnerable groups. We need to protect workers and students living in tourist areas from abusive rents, recalling the need to ensure sustainable housing. I would like to conclude by thanking my colleagues in the Committee on Regional Development, as well as all the Members who have contributed to it, for their generous and constructive work. Because housing is one of the main factors of inequality and it is time to move from diagnosis to action. It's time to get down to business.

Mr President, cohesion policy is Europe's social flag. It is the policy that creates jobs, that generates investments where they are needed. It is the policy that turns disaffection into Europeanism, improving infrastructure, building health centers or schools. It is also an instrument of solidarity within the Union and has responded to the challenges we have faced in recent years, which have not been few. We live in a challenging context and cohesion policy has responded. That is why, in this review, we are opening the door for States in need to reschedule needs. Flexibility, yes, but not at the cost of issuing a blank check to the states or forgetting about common policies, as we see in the proposal for the next financial framework. Because that path dismantles the idea of a Europe that acts integrated and cohesive and returns us to be a mere sum of countries with very different approaches. Europe needs to ensure its own security and defence and that is why we, from the S&D Group, have worked to ensure that every euro of cohesion and defence has a dual use for citizens. We have also strengthened the water resilience strategy, incorporating desalination to ensure water for regions like mine – the Region of Murcia – that are suffering from increasingly harsh and unpredictable droughts due to climate change. And we have also reinforced the need to support affordable housing to avoid the ravages of an uncontrolled market. And we have added safeguards to the rule of law, so that not one euro of cohesion policy goes to those who do not respect the common rules. Commissioner, this group is going to fight for a cohesion policy with sufficient funding, clear rules and guarantees. We cannot accept the re-imposition of cuts, austerity and men in black, because, for socialists, cohesion is an inalienable principle of our idea of Europe.

Madam President, Commissioner, the European Union is the union of our cultures, a melting pot of different heritages that makes us the richest land in the world. However, in smaller regions the cultural heritage is at risk: Traditions, rituals, languages, songs... are part of the immense cultural richness of the European Union and we cannot allow them to be lost. Cohesion policy is the best lifeline for our regions; but, Commissioner, a cohesion policy that today, more than ever, is at risk from the proposal for the new financial framework. We need to strengthen cohesion policy funds to protect our cultural heritage, which is at risk in many regions. We cannot allow cohesion policy to be lost and diluted into a single fund per state. Regions and cities must remain at the heart of a modernised, decentralised cohesion policy adapted to the new challenges of the European Union; Because to lose culture is to lose the European Union.

Madam President, Commissioner, Georgia's aspiration to be part of the European Union has become a nightmare. The culprit? Georgian dream. This was already proven by the European Parliament's mission in the elections last October: purchase of votes and other irregularities before the elections and while they were being held. The elections were not clean and the Georgian Dream Government is now taking an authoritarian drift. Every day fundamental freedoms are attacked, social conquests are reversed, legal reforms are promoted to criminalize legitimate protest and opposition. And we can't consent to it. We want Georgia within the European Union and we will work towards that. The country deserves it, and we won't let the Georgian Dream take it away from you. Therefore, we need to support sanctions against those responsible for this nightmare: Let the democratic opposition feel the support of its allies.

Mr President, Commissioner, the road to integration into the European Union is the road to democracy, justice and peace. Moldova knows this and has chosen to follow this path. This was made clear by its citizens, last October, in the referendum to shield its Constitution towards European integration. And not only its citizens, its government is making progress on the necessary and essential reforms to achieve membership as soon as possible. It is now up to Europeans to support this process, to help strengthen public administration and institutions and, above all, to cooperate in strengthening the independent judicial system. We must acknowledge this: All support is little when democracy and resistance to Russia's neighbour are at stake. Only the path of Moldova’s European integration – together with Ukraine – will be able to stabilise the peace that we so long for in the area.

Madam President, Commissioner, whoever is born today in a rural area of the European Union is condemned to emigrate. Our rural areas are depopulated and any citizen should have the right to stay where he or she was born. Rural areas account for 83% of the EU territory, but are home to only one third of the population, and their average income is only 87.5% of the average income of urban areas. Rural areas have major challenges ahead: improve their mobility and connectivity, ensure lower unemployment rates, increase basic services and opportunities for economic development... If we fail to act, we jeopardise European diversity as well as social and economic progress. Rural depopulation and inequality run counter to the principles of cohesion policy, which should inspire the work of the Community institutions. Cohesion policy beyond 2027 should be ambitious and increase decentralisation, fostering balanced growth, with more resources in strategic sectors, rural entrepreneurship, rural tourism, policies supporting the energy transition, and supporting especially women and young people to curb demographic decline. If we centralise cohesion policy, we will definitely be killing our rural areas. It is our responsibility: guarantee the right of everyone to stay where they were born.