Speeches

The European Union is in an internal context full of major political and social challenges, and in an international context of huge challenges due to wars and crises in our environment. The crossroads for the President of the Commission is either to continue building the Union in coordination with the pro-European forces that supported her candidacy, or to get carried away by those who want to dismantle the policies that the President herself proposed, and that have been built by the pro-European “grand coalition”, such as the European Green Deal, the Directive against gender-based violence, the Digital Services Act or the Migration Pact. The Spanish Socialists ask the Commission for courage and political will to face the challenges that European society faces. Citizens, especially young people, demand that their rights, such as access to decent housing, be guaranteed. We need a European pact for affordable housing. Citizens want and need peace. That is why we ask the Commission to act and stay on the right side of history, as the Spanish Government is doing in the face of the genocide being committed against the Palestinian people. Socialists remain committed to building the European Union.

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 Micallef, thank you for presenting this Action Plan against Cyberbullying today. It is time to act, and yes, all measures are welcome; Some very valuable ones have been mentioned in this debate, because there are things that we cannot normalize. Today cyberbullying is also amplified in social networks: Their model pushes addiction and rewards polarization, and networks, when there is harassment, look the other way, because conflict retains attention and attention generates money. But when a government proposes measures to protect minors, there the machinery is activated: lies, threats... the wily tale of the authoritarian ruler. We saw it last week in Spain. The most serious thing is that this script is not left out; in this House it is bought and repeated, and I wonder: Who do they work for? Because of course they are not defending children who suffer harassment or their families.

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.

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, 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.