Speeches

Mr President, I am glad that finally we have ratified the Istanbul Convention as a European Union. But I ask myself: why did it have to take so long when our values are so clearly enshrined in our Treaty? But the Istanbul Convention alone is not enough. This week in Malta, in my country, we remembered the murder of Bernice Cassar last year, murdered by her former husband. The Istanbul Convention alone did not save her. We need to change hearts and minds. We need to empower women and young girls in our schools. We need to give men and young boys a reality check. I urge all Member States – and I start from mine, Malta – to stop the resistance that we are currently finding in the Council in including a clearly defined rape in the directive on gender-based violence. Rape is a result of no consent, and this must be written down in the directive, and we need to do it now. So I start from my home country. We did it at home. Let’s do it now in the European Union.

Madam President, thank you, Commissioner, for being here with us at this late hour. This has not been a very good day for pollinators in our Parliament. It hasn’t been a good day for nature or our health, as those who oppose their protection managed to kill the law to have ambitious targets on the use of harmful and toxic pesticides. This means that pollinators will continue being killed and, unfortunately, are in extinction in a number of our countries and different cities and regions. But scientists are very clear: we need clear action, or else pollinators that are very essential for 35% of the world’s food crops will be lost. There is positive news, though, because our citizens have taken action and they want action from us as well, because over one million citizens sent us an initiative to save the bees, and ultimately save also our European farmers. In light of all this, I welcome the urgency highlighted in the Revised pollinators initiative to address this rising concern. It is high time for Member States and the Commission to listen to the plea of our citizens and to step up our efforts to protect and monitor wild pollinator populations, and to reverse pollinator decline as soon as possible, and by 2030 at the latest. We need to halt pollinator decline – and yes, Commissioner, I agree – funds are very important, and we need more funds to encourage more, not only young people, but others, to invest their energy in helping nature.

Mr President, what is the current situation? A European Union that is paralysed. A Union that takes more than eight years to decide on simple migration policy, not to leave countries at the periphery alone and saving lives. Let us look a bit at the current crisis. On the one hand, we have a Union that is absent on deciding and many times agrees only on the lowest common denominator, leaving a big vacuum. On the other hand, we have presidents of institutions acting sometimes unilaterally without having a mandate. And let us be clear, tomorrow’s vote is not on a new treaty per se or with a vote on how it should be – different voting arrangements etc. – but tomorrow is a vote triggering the whole process. Do we agree that there needs to a treaty change? Should it at least be discussed? This is what we will be voting on tomorrow. And if there is the agreement that we should start discussing a change in the treaties, then yes, the whole process commences, we can discuss what we should change, what we want to see, what we would not want to see, and then allow the Member States, as well, by unanimity to decide on the treaty change. But it is my belief as a socialist that the strength of any entity is the way it treats its smallest members. And in this regard, I believe that any future treaty change, for it to be successful, it should be measured also by the powers it safeguards to the smallest of its members.

Mr President, colleagues, imagine our continent without the unifying force of the European Union. This is what we are voting on today. It is not just a hypothetical scenario: we have multiple actors within and outside of our Union, working each day to dismantle this beautiful project that our foreparents dreamed of, built, and with which we have now been entrusted by our citizens, in our hands, to protect and strengthen. We come together because of our shared values, and in the face of the growing challenges our strength lies in staying united, notwithstanding the diversity within us. And this is what this report is all about. With this report, my colleague Yana and myself sought to put into text the legal heart of our cohesion, the rule of law, and the good functioning of our legal framework, which after all, all of us, all of our Member States, agreed to when we decided to join this beautiful project of ours. In fact, some had said, why should we even have this report today, because isn’t it so obvious that we all – well all apart from those at the far right – agree with this principle of primacy of EU law? So today’s vote is on whether we agree on the existence of our European project or not. Because if we dismantle what is fundamental, if we dismantle what holds us together legally, then unfortunately our Union would cease to exist. So I would like to thank all of those who have worked on this file, on this report, and I urge everyone to vote in favour today.

Mr President, whether we are in the car or on a pavement and passing a truck, crane or, in the past, a bus near us and literally fills us with smoke, so much so that we cannot even breathe. Harm to our health and damage to the environment and the climate. Just think about this, 25% of the traffic emissions come from these large vehicles, but these vehicles are only 2% of all vehicles on our roads. Conservatives here do not want to have changes for our health and the environment, but this is the time to shape the future; where we push for lorries, cranes, heavy and heavy heating vehicles, their future will be good for our health and the environment. And so, yes, the moment is now to start planning our future.

Madam President, what a strong tool we have given European citizens to directly participate in European democracy. Yet the Commission simply ignores. This is the tenth successful citizens’ initiative and, Madam Commissioner, it’s the fourth one in which so many citizens – 1.5 million – are asking us to legislate on animal welfare. This time, citizens are telling us that, as consumers, they do not want 37 million animals per year to be simply born and raised in cages to be killed in order to get their fur – they are electrocuted to be stripped of their fur. This is unethical, unsafe, unsustainable and simply despicable. It disrespects wild animals’ behaviour and needs; it risks both animal and human health; and it also harms our biodiversity. We want a fur-free Europe now. We need to ban this unethical behaviour by humans on animals as soon as possible in Europe, and citizens are asking us to do this in this mandate, Madam Commissioner, not later on.

Thank you, Madam President, and I listened attentively also to the reply to my colleague Daniel Freund. However, Mr Rangel, you haven’t said, do you condemn what happened in Greece? How did you vote? You mentioned your voting: how did you vote and how did your party, your group vote here in Parliament when it came to condemning Greece on the scandal where the EPP Government was wiretapping a number of journalists and politicians? And how did you vote on Bulgaria, and how did your group vote on Bulgaria? Let’s not forget that it took you 10 years to suspend and expel Fidesz from your group, so I think actions speak louder than words.

Ms President, the Maltese and Gozitans were saddened by our country's political system based on mud throwing. A system of two tribes where everything is white or black and where critical thinking is thrown out of the window. And we experienced it and exported it from our country and brought it to the European Parliament at least once a year. Because as my friends Sophie, Gwendoline and Konstantinos said, for the EPP it is only important to discuss those countries that do not have an EPP government. Where is the discussion on Bulgaria and where is the discussion on Greece? Regardless of everything, however, I would prefer that to recall the assassination and work of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was killed because of what she was writing, we dialogue together as Maltese and Gozitans, even with our European partners if necessary, to propose together the way forward to strengthen our democracy. I did so this week when I was invited to a discussion to share my thoughts. And as a Labour and Socialist in accordance with my statute and principles, I have put forward five proposals while strengthening others, including that we need to change our country's electoral system and we need a radical change in the party funding laws in our country. Obviously, the Nationalist Party will not agree because it does not even insert its submissions according to the law and its finances according to the law. But that is what we need and I hope that on the way forward we will dialogue more together, removing the polarisation that exists in our country so that together we strengthen our country with our Maltese values and our European values.

Ms President, on the environment, action must be now or never. This is the message we heard from scientists, experts, academics and all those working to protect the environment and fight climate change when we were New York for the UN forum. We know that 80% of the targets for sustainable development will not be met simply because we will not cope with climate change and biodiversity loss in the world and in the environment around us. And so, while I welcome that it is a good step - a step forward - that as a European Union we have started the review for each country - also to see where we are arriving - but this, Mrs Commissioner, is not enough. It cannot be voluntary only; we need a concrete action plan for Europe and each Member State of the European Union with funding that is also fair to the cause we are fighting for. We are talking about our health, our health, the living health of future generations all over the world. Today, we have seven hundred million people in the world living in poverty. We have eight hundred and twenty-eight million people in the world who in the year two thousand and twenty-one experienced hunger. We have nearly three billion people in the world who have not yet reached the internet. We have millions who are fleeing their country because they are sinking or unable to withstand climate change. And so, yes, we have to do something, we have to be strong to make sure we change what is not right. We are only seven years old. The time to change is now and today.

Madam President, the time is now. We have three wars on our borders and the European voice is fragmented. Our decision-making process leads us to be fragmented and agree only on the lowest common denominator, and then it leads our presidents to act unilaterally, without mandates to act, as we have seen recently also in Israel. We have seen, as history shows us even recently, that we are so much stronger when we work together. We need to amplify our influence in the global stage. As you said, High Representative, we are the Union of values. We are the values of peace, the Union of democracy, the Union of human rights, the Union of the protection of minorities, the Union of the protection of journalists. We need to be a strong voice in the global world in order to make sure that our values are transmitted across the globe, because the world needs Europe, and not only for our know-how, but the world needs Europe to lead the way.

Mr President, I would stand here and call out the names of those Italian Government members of parliament who proposed an amendment to ban LGBTIQ+ content from being shown on public television in Italy. But that would give them the populist promotion that they so avidly seek. So I will instead call out the names of young people who are no longer with us, because when they realised that they were different and saw no one like them, they thought that they themselves should be banned or cancelled – as some of you have mentioned today –from society: François, Annalise, Sharlon, Tonio and Sandro. Five people that I personally knew, five in my teenage years. Their demise will not be futile. It will not be forgotten. We march for you. We legislate for you. We fight for you in this Parliament, on Italian television, in Hungarian bookstores, and on Polish streets, everywhere across the world. Because we do not fear the far right. We fight them hand on heart every single day. We live, because we can do that for those who no longer can.

Mr President, do I talk to many people in our squares and streets in Malta and other European countries, and do you know what they say? On immigration, Europe has failed. Do I talk to immigrants in detention centres or in open ones, and do you know what they also say? On immigration, Europe has failed. As many of us said here in this Parliament this morning, on immigration, Europe failed. Eight years ago, and eight years ago governments in the Council tried to reach an agreement and a position. In this Parliament, we did our job. We have a strong position reached within a reasonable time and we have been waiting for the Council for eight years. I hope that at this morning's meeting they will move in and out in a position. In the meantime, the Commission tries to throw money without the consent of this Parliament in the pockets of Saied in Tunisia to try in one way or another to close the mouth of those populists on this side of this House. But in vain, because that money that was thrown into Saied's pocket failed to do anything. We have seen what happened in Lampedusa over the past days. Citizens deserve a solution, and that is our duty, whatever institution we are in our Europe.

Mr President, air pollution is the great pandemic that every human being, wherever we live, is experiencing all over the world. Although comparisons are odious, we need to understand how important it is to take immediate actions on air pollution. Do you know that more people die every year in Malta due to air pollution than, unfortunately, they left us due to the COVID-19 pandemic? Over 500 people a year, in our small country, lose their lives every year due to pollution. We therefore want concrete actions in favour of the environment. We have been living in countries, different in Europe and around the world, where governments think they can be touched by people using a bit of greenwashing. Taparsi are doing beautiful environmental things but then from the bottom, those important decisions that need to be taken, do not take them, as we have heard here in Parliament today from the right ones who do not want to move forward. The environment should be declared a fundamental human right. Not doing so, even the financial burden of not doing so, is much greater than the burden we can have in order to have the environment as a fundamental human right and to start taking care of the clean air that we also have around us.

Mr President, and good morning, Madam Commissioner, I’m sorry to say, but I don’t believe that the European Commission should be happy because there are more pages being given to the public and to us parliamentarians. Because when you look at the actual pages, you’ll find that so much of it is just being blocked and redacted. And my only experience of this was when, during the pandemic, we had the right to see the negotiations and contracts that the European Commission was doing with the different pharmaceutical companies, you would not even be able to read the page because all of it was totally redacted. So, while we may be happy or say that the numbers are good, in reality, when you look down at what actually is being given, the Commission was totally not transparent on what happened. And I think that this report highlights the urgency with which Europe needs to act on its democratic legitimacy. We do not give visibility to our work simply by posting posts on social media, very nice pictures. But people care about and should know about what is happening behind closed doors because that is where the decisions that affect their daily lives are being taken. And I think that the Qatar scandal should have been a big wake-up call for all of us. And, unless our response is real ambition, these kinds of scandal scandals will keep on emerging. As is highlighted in this report, We have a very long way to go in this area. The changes needed to address the limits of the Public Access to Documents Regulations have been advocated by Parliament for many years now, and it seems like our pleas have so far fallen on deaf ears. We need to reopen negotiations and as soon as possible, because our citizens deserve the widest possible access to documents we use in our day at work.

Ms President, today was a very good day for European citizens but it seems not to have been a good day for the European People's Party, because today it became clear how Nationalist politics is based only on greenwashing. They say that they are concerned with the environment, but at every chance they have to try to weaken the laws that protect our environment, weaken the fight against climate change and thus weaken the protection of our human health. Because those who truly believe in strengthening our nature do not vote for one amendment after another to weaken laws like this morning. We saw how faced with such a crucial vote for the future of our environment, the Nationalists were divided, of Weber versus Metsola, of Metsola versus Von der Leyen, where even a letter, the President of this Parliament, was ready to scare her neutral hat, which she boasts so much, and speaks in a partisan way about the Financial Times against, and I quote, ‘... to impose environmental ambitions on our citizens’. We have not yet understood that we have spoken to citizens and will continue to speak to them. We want the greatest possible protection for our environment and our health.

Madam President, in recent news, we witnessed all assets deployed, millions spent and all news channels stopped their regular broadcasting and focused on the search and rescue of five very rich people who went missing in a submarine to have a look at The Titanic. It was good that everyone did their utmost to try and bring them to safety. But let us not forget that there are countless others – people fleeing persecution yes, and even hunger – who deserve the same level of urgency and compassion. Every life is precious and we must extend the same efforts and do everything possible to rescue everyone at sea. Yes, European challenges require European solutions, yet we cannot have European solutions without European solidarity among Member States. This can only happen and work with real mandatory relocation. Only then can we ensure that no one is left behind, that every life, regardless of their money, regardless of their circumstances, is afforded the dignity and protection that it deserves.

Madam President, there must be no shortcuts, no compromises, no derogations when it comes to the rule of law in any country, Member State or not. Because a violation of the rule of law is a direct threat to our fundamental rights as human beings. A threat to our nature, a threat to our environment, a threat to our health, a threat to our dignity and a threat to our lives. I have always called myself more of an activist rather than a politician. My first ever step into politics was through my activism, calling for Malta to join the European Union with my colleague in front of me. And the reason was simple: I simply believed in a union of freedom, democracy and a Union ruled by law and passion for what is right. So to me, the European Union must always be a beacon of the rule of law, the epitome of democratic principles, of fairness, of equality and of justice. And those of us in this House who believe in a union ruled by law should never settle for anything less than that.

Mr President. We in the EU must champion journalists’ protection and the urgent need for the strongest laws against SLAPPs. Europe and all our Member States should always stand on the principles of freedom of the press and the right to express opposing views. Colleagues, we must not allow the governments and the Council to weaken the Commission’s proposals. The rich and those with powerful interests must not be allowed to stifle journalists or silence activists. They all must be protected from the intimidation and the window—shopping of court proceedings. I agree with the Commissioner: compensation for damages suffered by victims must be strong. And I thank Tiemo, my colleague, for this very strong report here in the European Parliament, because the brave journalists and activists risked their lives to shed light on the truth and we owe it to them to have the strongest benchmark laws possible here in the European Union.

Ms President, we have less than seven years left to implement the 2030 Agenda. We have a clear decision before us: we can either use the remaining years to show the rest of the world that we are not ready to practice what we preach or challenge the status quo and compensate for the time lost with concrete actions, especially on the environment and climate. Adopting the voluntary review in the European Union to compare what we promised with where we actually arrived was a step in the right direction. However, it is very disappointing that this fails to include a concrete action plan, backed by adequate funding to address the stagnation we are experiencing in crucial areas, such as biodiversity loss which is undermining progress in around 80% of the targets for Sustainable Development Goals. Despite this positive step made with the voluntary review, citizens expect much more than just a reporting exercise on how governments are failing them. This is the time to show that we are ready to sleeve and give hope back to citizens through strong actions that lead us to meet the environmental targets that citizens expect.

Madam President, a few years ago, my male partner’s sister spoke to us, telling us that should we want to build a family, she would be willing to help us to do so. She did so unprompted, unasked for, but she wanted to be there to help, should we want to. Therefore, I really much agree with what Pierre Karleskind said earlier with regards to people wanting to help others. This debate has been asked by the Italian far right of Meloni not because of the interest in fighting for women’s rights, because in all your votes in this Chamber, you have always voted against even the most basic of women’s rights in our journey towards gender equality. You simply wanted this debate because you thought you could divide us, because we might have different opinions on this matter. However, as a House, we are truly committed, and very strongly, towards freedom and we are very committed towards human rights for every single individual living in our European Union. Unlike the Italian far right of Meloni, this House stands for women’s rights and the right to their bodily autonomy. Unlike to the Italian far right of Meloni, this House stands for Europe being an LGBTIQ freedom zone, which you have voted against. We stand in this House with all Italians who have to wake up every day, seeing their rights being taken away, by this new government that has been formed, every day. But ultimately, irrespective of our personal beliefs on this matter, I want to thank all of the women in this House who have for years worked for gender equality. We have written history together in these five years in this House, where for the first time we did agree about the right to autonomy in the Matić report. Thank you to all those who have always worked for women’s rights, and I am really sorry to see this very cheap way of fighting against equality by the ECR.

Ms President, for the last four years we have been waiting to see what was promised on an Ethics Commission to be implemented for the European institutions. I think of Europe, as a European Parliament, as a boast of the fact that we are very much protecting the rule of law, that we have mechanisms to ensure that the different Member States abide by the rule of law and that they have the highest possible standards and ethics. But it's time to look at ourselves. We have been saying this for several years now, and we cannot wait without enforcing ethics and standards on ourselves, as a European Parliament but also as European institutions. Debating is necessary but not enough. So much so that many of the debates of recent months, especially, and also listening to the Commission's promise, had to lead to this very ethics body which had to scrutinise and enforce the actions of the European institutions. Today, four years later, this does not yet exist, but I have a strong heart that over the next time, even with the insistence of this Parliament, this body of ethics can exist and also start to look at our work as a whole.

Mr President, a giant surrounded by sea in a country where the sea represents every aspect of our lives: leisure, food, physical and mental health, economy and work, and we must undoubtedly combat abuse that certainly does not come from small artisanal fishermen. We have seen the European Environment Agency’s warnings about the current state of degradation of European seas and we must address the impact of human activities. We agree with it, both those who want to protect the environment and those who at the same time represent the best interest of fishermen. Commissioner, we have to tackle illegal dumping of toxic waste at sea from maritime tourism, which they are doing to save costs. Do you know that 3000 ships emit mineral oil into our seas every year? This is equivalent to eight oil spills per day, each as large as 750 football pitches. We have the action plan, the law on nature restoration but now action is needed. We have invested in systems that detect these illegalities, and let’s use them. The protection of the seas is essential for fishermen and for all of us.

Mr President, Saleh – a name I am using to protect the identity of a 24-year-old from Yemen – has been persecuted, raped for food, detained at gunpoint by those supposed to protect him after his parents expelled him from home because he is gay at the age of 18. He lived in caves, eaten from litter, fell on pavements in Yemen, and now in Egypt, where he is now, after helping him escape from Yemen. According to you, this should apply to asylum from a country that does not even recognise it; according to you, it should do everything to stay where it is despite being persecuted and almost killed every day. Ideally no one would have to flee their country, no one would have to flee wars and no one would have to flee persecution but that is not the truth, that is not the reality of these people. Are you the far right, who have been saying that they should apply for asylum from these countries, willing to help this young man? Are you ready to join me and others to make sure that this young man has a protected life and is in Europe, where he can live of what he really is? Probably not, because you don't even believe that we Europeans should have fundamental rights and equality.

Mr President, the report paints a clear picture of the future that we should expect according to what we decide to do now and in the next decade. Our decisions will have an impact not only in the short term but for thousands of years. The responsibility we have on our backs as legislators is very great and should push us to take tough decisions that leave no one behind. We must protect the most vulnerable regions; we must increase the global financial contribution to adaptation, especially in developing countries. The far right, today, told us that our policy for the environment is an ideology or religion. No one can merit science and facts, almost half of the world’s population lives in regions that are highly vulnerable to climate change. We must remember that, in the last decade, deaths from floods, droughts and storms have been fifteen times higher than normal. This is not an ideology, this is not a religion, these are the facts. These people cannot be left alone and we now have confirmation that last summer was the hottest in history and that Europe is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world. The road ahead is a tough one because last year was the most emission-intensive, but we can achieve a noticeable reduction in global warming within twenty years. Let's be together on the right side of history.

Mr. President, we are living in an unprecedented time. On the side of a climate emergency we have to fight it in the strongest possible way. At the same time, the highest inflation rates across Europe. Citizens care about the environment, but at the same time they cannot afford more burdens. They want us to go beyond Europe's buzzwords, and expect direct help in their pocket to tackle environmental challenges together. What we promised in the Socialist manifesto in 2019 became a reality with the Social Climate Fund. What an irony that by the procedures of the European Parliament, touched upon the EPP to write this law governing it. We arrived at an important moment. Money must be delivered to those who really need it. This is not only essential for workers, but also for the most climate-vulnerable living in the most remote areas and European islands. As a worker’s movement, we will go hand in hand in this journey towards the greatest environmental ambition to make sure that everyone is part of it, and no one is left behind. Green environmental transition, with a red heart of socialist justice.