Speeches

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, more than ever, we need a strong, cohesive, united Europe that makes common choices to defend the rule of law, to defend Ukraine's independence, to prevent totalitarianism from prevailing over democracies all over the world. That is why we also need a credible Europe when it comes to energy policy. We have always fought to have a cap on the price of gas, we cannot give the Russian Federation a division that puts families and businesses in difficulty. That is why we must also combat speculation on the price of gas by controlling what happens on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. A politically strong Europe. Allow me, Madam President, to fight for this politically strong Europe in the last twenty-eight years of my life. This is my last speech in this House and I want to confirm my commitment to a political Europe, to a stronger Parliament with legislative initiative, so that we can all continue to be proud European citizens in the coming years. I thank all of you, starting with you, Madam President, I thank all my colleagues in my political group, but also those in the other political groups. I have always tried, even as President of Parliament, to be objective. I apologize for making mistakes, but I have always tried to respect all parliamentarians, whatever political force they belonged to. Thank you again. I also thank all the officials and interpreters for what they have done to allow us to express ourselves in our mother tongue. Thanks to all of you. I will continue, in the Italian Parliament, to fight my battles for a stronger political Europe.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Mr Vice-President of the Commission, thank you for also recalling the tragedy that struck my country, the Marmolada. Even before this drought wave, 52 million Europeans lived in areas under water stress for at least one month a year. From 2017 to 2019, a significant drought affected the Danube region, the Rhine, in 2018. Drought, in addition to causing disastrous damage to agriculture and inconvenience to the population, affects trade and transport by river. For the European Union and the United Kingdom, the estimates speak of around EUR 9 billion in damage to agricultural production, with peaks of 1.5 billion in Spain and 1.4 billion in Italy, as the President of the Piedmont Region knows – and I salute him – one of the regions most affected in my country by drought. Recovery funds for water supply, reduction of losses in distribution networks and strengthening of the agrosystem go in the right direction, such as the regulation for the reuse of reclaimed water for agricultural purposes, but this is not enough. Europe cannot tackle the problem only with emergency interventions, we need to be strong. That is why we call on the Commission to present a long-term plan. You need a big invaded plan that has two purposes: ensure water for citizens and for agricultural activities and create a large clean and renewable energy project through the pumping system and floating solar panels. An amendment to Directive 2001/18 to liberalise the use of new technologies of assisted evolution, freeing it from GMOs. New agricultural biotechnologies can ensure experimentation to have plants more resistant to drought and parasites. A European mapping of river basin districts is needed to rebalance water availability and meet the most urgent needs. More investments in new technologies applied to agriculture following the Israeli model. Satellites, drones and other military-derived technologies eliminate waste and determine the water needs of different types of land cultivation. I conclude, in order to do all this, we immediately need more flexibility in the management of the Recovery funds, but above all we need the courage to have a single European tax policy, starting with a new Recovery Fund.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, last year's European Council closed with lights and shadows. The decision to continue supporting Ukraine on its path to EU membership together with Moldova is a good one, but more courage is needed. Our economy is at war, families are struggling to pay bills and food, businesses are also facing rising commodity prices. In short, new and urgent measures are needed. We have been proposing for months a cap on the price of gas, an indispensable tool to defend ourselves against galloping inflation, the G7 said a few days ago. One could also consider using a copy of the SURE programme to support those countries that help citizens and businesses pay lower bills. However, Europe must emerge stronger from this situation. A great European, Václav Havel, wrote that what is needed in politics is the sensitivity to know when, where, how and to whom to say things. I hope that the new Czech Presidency will seize its legacy to build a new and cohesive Europe.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the Commission's delegated act on taxonomy goes in the right direction and finds the agreement of the Government of Ukraine, which just today sent a message of support for this proposal to our Parliament. Including nuclear and gas as sustainable investments serves to accompany us towards a gradual and non-ideological energy transition. We need seriousness right now. The Union's energy self-sufficiency is a priority, and war and inflation prove it. Safe and affordable energy supplies means fighting inflation, making our businesses more competitive and saving thousands of jobs. The EU's energy production mix with nuclear energy needs to be recalibrated. In fact, we produce only 25 percent of electricity, this is unacceptable, it takes more courage, nuclear power will also serve countries like Italy to recover a gap of decades and finally use this technology. Not to mention the benefits that nuclear power produces for research and development by creating potential new supply chains and jobs, think of the latest generation of mini reactors. The same goes for gas, but we need to put a cap on the price, because this becomes crucial.

Mr President, Mr Vice-President Šefčovič, tomorrow's European Council is an important step in the process of European integration. Without prejudice to the criteria required for accession, the decision to grant candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova is crucial at this war-torn stage. On this path, we are also awaiting the progress that Georgia has undertaken to make, but it is also necessary to give, as many colleagues have also said during this debate, a concrete prospect of accession to the countries of the Western Balkans. We must be interpreters of their demand for freedom and democracy and their desire to be Europeans. We cannot abandon this important part of Europe for the sake of others. At the same time, we must support our citizens. The food crisis, exacerbated by the drought that afflicts southern Europe, inflation and high energy prices are seriously damaging our families and businesses. That is why it is necessary to guarantee grain supplies to Ukraine through the solidarity lanes that for now do not seem very operational and to support our farmers. We need a cap on the price of gas and the decoupling of gas and electricity prices. It is not only this that is needed, it is also necessary to think about the revision of the Treaties.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, tomorrow's vote is a very important first step towards the European Parliament's right of initiative. That is why I would like to thank Paulo Rangel and all the members of the AFCO Committee whom I have the honour to chair. We have been insisting for years that this Parliament should be a Parliament with full powers, as are parliaments around the world. If we want, after this global crisis, with the war now and the coronavirus and the Lehman Brothers crisis first, to have a Europe that is strongly political, with citizens feeling it as part of their lives, as an umbrella that protects them in times of difficulty, we need more democratic institutions, institutions closer to citizens. A Parliament which does not have the right of initiative is a monk Parliament. So I believe that we must have the courage to move forward in this direction, in an overall framework of reforms, because it cannot be just the right of initiative. I personally believe that the President of the Commission should be directly elected. In the end, the role of the President of the Commission and the President of the Council should also be unified, as so many other reforms must be made. Unanimous voting is a vote that blocks our institutions. Citizens will risk never seeing Europe as a real political player. That is why this choice that we are making is really an impetus for change in order to have a more democratic Europe and therefore closer to the citizens.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has certainly strengthened Western cohesion, but it has also highlighted the delays in our Union's foreign policy, defence policy and security policy. You have to have the courage to do more. The world after this war will change. China will be the great director of a political operation to invade half the world with its products and will have at its side, if things go on like this, even the Russian Federation. Pay attention to what is happening, of course, on our eastern border, but also to what is happening in Africa, to what is happening in South America. Russia and China will be stronger. That is why we need to react with politics. But foreign policy also needs a defence tool. The Strategic Compass, a regular EU Council of Defence Ministers, enhanced intelligence cooperation are certainly a step in the right direction, but more courage is needed. We must speed up the construction of a common army, of common armed forces, which will certainly have to cooperate with NATO and, at the same time, strengthen the European presence within the Atlantic Alliance. The European Defence Fund must also be financed by a new issue of common debt securities, Eurobonds. A European Commissioner for Defence is needed to coordinate policies and optimise investment, including in military research and health. In short, the European Union is at a crossroads: Only with more solidarity in all our policies will we be able to counter threats to the security of our citizens, including the fight against terrorism and the fight against terrorism. cybersecurity.

(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, of course we reiterate our solidarity with the Ukrainian people, victims of violence that we believed belonged to a dark past. War, the food crisis, rising commodities and inflation are bringing our businesses and families to their knees. The REPowerEU plan, presented by the Commission yesterday, is a positive first step forward, but more courage is needed. The energy transition is also a priority to be supported through nuclear energy, as the Commission rightly states. But we have to be realistic: To do this, you need hundreds of billions. Use unspent funds from Next Generation EU It may not be enough to meet the many challenges of these years. In fact, the plan does not allocate any new financial resources. We also believe that a new common issuance of debt securities is needed to finance a common energy policy. Well the platform for joint purchases, as long as it does not remain a vague thing and that, as done for vaccines, you get to have a real single European price of energy. That is why a European cap on the price of gas is essential. In short, we can do more, but we are going in the right direction.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Mr President of the Court of Auditors, the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, in its resolution on the 2020 discharge of the Council and the European Council, regrets the continued lack of cooperation on the part of the Council. We need more transparency. We have asked to work on a memorandum between Parliament and the Council, but that is not enough. At the Conference on the Future of Europe, citizens also called for more transparency and accountability. Those who elect us have the right to know how we spend their money and it is up to this House, the house of European democracy, to be accountable to the Europeans. In these months, with a pandemic and an ongoing conflict, with the economic crisis, many are calling for our Union to be put in a position to give concrete answers. That is why we are calling for a revision of the Treaties, the reform of which must also provide for the protection of the Union's financial interests and the prerogatives of the European Parliament.

Madam President, Mr High Representative, ladies and gentlemen, the horrific images of the violence committed in Bucha and in so many other cities in Ukraine have provoked the right reaction of the West, the right and sacrosanct reaction of the European Union. It is clear that our goal is peace: We must work to achieve it, but we must remember that there is no peace without justice. That is why we must defend Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity and Roberta Metsola did well to represent all of us, in Kiev, to show that we are on the side of peace but of peace with justice. It is obvious that the sanctions we are imposing on Russia must be accompanied by strong European action in support of citizens, families and businesses. I believe that it is right to have the stability of a recovery That, through the use of bonds, allows, for example, to help countries such as Poland that, with great courage, are welcoming millions of Ukrainians fleeing their country. European solidarity must be supported, as action must be supported to have a common European defence, as action for agri-food self-sufficiency must be supported. Beware of threats coming from Russia, beware of what may happen in Africa: If the Russians do not send grain and maize to those countries, we will face other migratory flows from the south to the north of Europe. We certainly need to reflect on the CAP and also reflect on the Farm to Fork Strategy: They need to be stopped and we need to think about that. Then we must also work hard to think about how to rebuild Ukraine, which is now a candidate country to be part of the European Union. And then there is the energy issue: we need a European cap on the price of gas in order to avoid unfair competition within the Union and to give a gift to those who want Europe to divide. Our strength is the unity of Europe, the unity of the whole West: Union, United States and NATO.

Madam President, Mr High Representative, ladies and gentlemen, we must be realistic: China is a global power with which we have to reckon, but that does not mean giving up our values at all. We are very different from them: Just think of the positions on the war in Ukraine that emerged from last Friday's summit; There is nothing Beijing is doing to stop the Russian aggression. But also on the issue of Hong Kong, Taiwan, up to the respect of the rights of minorities, as in the case of the Uyghurs: China is not a democratic country. We must demand respect for the principle of reciprocity and fair competition: it is not possible for our companies to be excluded from public procurement in China and, in the same way, it is not possible for Chinese companies to follow different rules from European ones in terms of protection of workers, health and the environment. The Chinese project, Xi Jinping said, is a hegemonic project that we cannot passively accept; It is a hegemonic project that aims to invade our European market and the Silk Road is a very dangerous project that must be blocked in its most disturbing aspects. In recent years, China's presence in Africa and South America has disrupted commodity markets, harming European companies and citizens. To stem this phenomenon, it is necessary to rewrite the rules of the World Trade Organization, but this is not enough. In the light of COVID, war, the energy and raw materials crisis, we may also need to rethink the EU-China Investment Agreement. We need a clear legislative framework for our businesses and those operating in Europe. In short, in this clash we must defend European interests more strongly. I conclude with a Chinese proverb that reads: To have principles, you must first have courage. We must have the courage to defend our values and ideas.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Russia's unacceptable invasion of Ukraine will bring about a momentous change in the European Union. The Council of tomorrow and the day after tomorrow will have to deal with the great question of a Europe which must be politically stronger in order to defend its values, but which must also focus on self-sufficiency. Self-sufficiency of defence: It is therefore a good compass and a good step forward in the single defence of the European Union as a foreign policy instrument. Industrial self-sufficiency: We need European microchips. Food self-sufficiency: We cannot be subjected to the whims of Moscow and other powers. Energy self-sufficiency: We need to make progress towards the single energy market, with a cap on the price of gas and purchases of unique stocks, to allow Europe to be free and not to be forced into blackmail either by Russia or by other countries. That is why we also need strong economic action, we need to postpone the Stability Pact, we need a Recovery with bonds to get more money and you need the Central Bank to continue with the Quantitative easing.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the increase in raw materials, starting with gas and oil, has further increased inflation in Europe by eroding the spending capacity of our fellow citizens. Many businesses today risk shutting down forever. The public finances of European states already tested by the pandemic will have to face the cost of welcoming refugees (30 billion for this year alone), the increase in military spending (40 billion), the explosion of energy bills and new support for businesses. The current European budget is not able to respond to these challenges; for this reason it is necessary that the common issuance of debt securities, the eurobonds, become permanent. The European Commission's proposal for action in favour of energy security goes in the right direction, but that is not enough. Limits to the price of energy cannot be set by individual states, the Union should negotiate a single price on the market as for vaccines. It is also necessary to achieve that food autonomy that serves to support agriculture, containing the prices of wheat and corn. It is an appeal to the European Commission, to Commissioner Gentiloni, who will speak after me: A return to the reactivation of the old Stability and Growth Pact with rigorous choices would be detrimental to the entire European economy.

(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, discussing today how to welcome the millions of refugees must not be just a symbolic fact; Our credibility, our values, our economy are at stake. Meanwhile, I want to thank the many volunteers and associations, doctors, nurses, local administrators, national governments who are doing everything to welcome the victims of this conflict. Charity and humanitarian aid are fundamental but they are not enough to face this epochal transition, we need a strong political Europe. We have a duty to welcome and integrate refugees into an economic system that is experiencing great difficulties today and needs to be strengthened. They certainly represent a first step forward in the proposals approved by the European Commission to promote our energy autonomy, but we need European roofs, non-national European roofs, for energy prices, but we also need a plan for food autonomy. And to face this new crisis we call for a new permanent fund for the construction of the European common home financed by the common issuance of debt securities. To do what? Business support funds for increased burdens resulting from sanctions, common migration policies, common energy industrial policy, common defence, infrastructure for the ecological transition and for the storage of raw materials.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we are all Ukrainians. All of Europe, all of the West, are on the side of freedom and democracy. We will continue to counter the violence of the Russian aggressors with the strength of our values: the unity, cohesion and hard resistance of the people of Ukraine, the strong nation of Europe! They forced Russia to sit around a table. We all want peace to be achieved, and we hope that the talks can continue to achieve fundamental goals: peace. But peace does not mean colonization of a free country. Many citizens of Ukraine are fleeing the war; It is our duty to set up humanitarian corridors and a major plan for the reception of refugees. The tragic, dramatic events of these days must also push us more and more to have a real foreign policy, a real common defence policy. We need an even stronger Europe to defend our values. Energy autonomy is also needed: We need a single energy market, if we really want to be free, otherwise we will always be blackmailed by someone. But we must also have a Europe of solidarity, which helps families and businesses who have mobilised with great enthusiasm in favour of sanctions, but who are also ready to pay a price for them. But States and the European Union must look to these courageous entrepreneurs and to these courageous families, trying to help them in the coming months and years because, it is true, freedom and democracy have a cost but the cost of our commitment is certainly priceless. But we will have to look at those who fought with great determination.

. –Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the contribution of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs to the reports is divided into three essential points. Firstly, the Union needs to improve its crisis response capacities in a rapidly changing global environment, in short, we need more courage on the part of Europe. Secondly, more efforts are needed to combat disinformation, including from third countries, which negatively influences political debate in Europe and the Member States. Thirdly, it is necessary to strengthen Parliament's scrutiny of the Union's external action, through consultations with the High Representative and Vice-President and the Commission. Parliament, together with the other institutions, is committed to the protection of democracy through election observation missions and through every instrument of parliamentary diplomacy. We hope that the Conference on the Future of Europe will be an opportunity to strengthen the role of the European Union in the world. Why did I say we need more courage? We are on the right track, but we need to speed up. A common European defence also means being able to reduce defence costs for individual Member States. Today the United States spends 778 billion dollars and China, official figures but probably more, 252 billion. Europe is in third place with 230 billion, but it is the expenses of the different countries. Probably with a common European defence we would be able to reduce expenditure and this also means being able to be in tune with NATO, because everything Europe can do must not be at odds with the transatlantic organisation. Since we are part of a Western system, we also want foreign policy, as was once said, to be able to act under the flag, that is, when there were ships in front of the ports of countries with which we were at odds, force was shown. Even on the Ukraine affair we were able, and perhaps we could do even more, however, to give a signal of strength that led to a situation today that, compared to yesterday, has slightly improved, but if we had not been strong Russia would probably have made further steps forward. Of course, then there's the whole thing about the defense industry. I have been Commissioner for Industry and I believe that this sector is crucial, not only for the military aspects but also for the security aspects in general. As a final point, a common defence policy would also allow for a more efficient organisation of military health in the fight against different pandemics. We have seen how useful military interventions have been in this fight against the coronavirus. A European army, a European defence system, could have done even more. So let's look to the future.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I wish you and your families a Merry Christmas. The guidelines prepared by Commissioner Dalli on the use of inclusive language, promptly withdrawn by the Commission, have deeply offended the sensibilities of millions of citizens and thousands of EU officials. If the intention was to protect cultural diversity and highlight the inclusive nature of the EU, it was done absolutely wrong. Promoting integration does not mean offending the feelings of the majority of the European population and I would also say the majority of the employees of the European Commission. An open society never denies its majority culture, its roots, its values. In these two years of pandemic we have recovered the spirit of solidarity between citizens, that solidarity that has its origins precisely in Christianity, as in Christianity the separation between State and Church originates, respect for women and this flag of ours also represents our Christian roots: those twelve stars are the twelve tribes of Israel that surround the head of the Virgin Mary and the flag is blue because the mantle of the Virgin is blue. This absurd language proposed by the Commission does not take into account that language is linked to a place, a time and a community, it is our cultural heritage. Reality does not change by tearing down statues and erasing words. As the writer Primo Levi liked to say, there is no future without memory. I want here, in conclusion, to pay tribute to Patrick Zaki, an Egyptian boy who has been detained for months and months in prison for defending the right of Coptic Christians in Egypt to profess their religion. Thank you and again Merry Christmas to all.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, COP26 was not a great blah blah blah blah as some have said and the results are clear. The reference to the reduction of fossil fuels, for the first time included in a final document, the choice to fight deforestation and block it by 2030 and the decision to invest over $19 billion to replant billions of trees by 2050 are an important signal that has arrived. Those who challenge these findings seem more concerned with challenging a model of market society, Western society, rather than engaging in the fight against climate change. It says nothing against China, which is the world's biggest polluter. Here, a strong message must also come from this Parliament to China, which, unfortunately, is the great power that invades our area with its emissions. Europe, let us remember, emits only 8% of greenhouse gases. It is obvious that the fight against climate change must involve industry and agriculture. There are investments of 520 billion for the transition and green. We need a public and private effort, but we must put industry and agriculture in a position to change. Just setting goals isn't much use. It is necessary to put, through important funding, these two fundamental sectors of the real economy, fundamental for the West, in the conditions to be able to truly transform themselves. If we think of the dangers that also run in my country, in Italy, theautomotive, I cannot but insist on this need for investment as 60 000 jobs are at risk by 2035. Well, all this must push us to move forward, because we have the duty to defend the planet, but to do it intelligently, without politicization, aiming at what we must bequeath to our children.

(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the SLAPP processes are part of a strategy, sometimes even desired by governments, to silence opposition. How can we forget the tragedies of Daphne Caruana Galizia and Ján Kuciak, murders that led to the resignation of two socialist prime ministers, indirectly but strongly involved in these murders. Unfortunately, this continues to happen, the attacks on freedom are insistent, so welcome the new rules of the European Commission, which will present next year. There are still many initiatives of the investigating judiciary, sometimes to defend itself, which attacks journalists and attacks politicians, even crossing the border between judiciary, executive and legislative power. In recent months in Italy, for example, the Attorney General of the State has requested a million euros in compensation from the famous journalist Alessandro Sallusti for alleged damage to his image, because in a book he described how political power groups within the judiciary have managed the careers of Italian magistrates. For the same reason, the editor of the newspaper The Reformist, Pietro Sansonetti, received several complaints from some magistrates, and so a leader of an important Italian left-wing party was published, during an investigation, in the newspapers even his checking account, as if to intimidate him. Who knew his bank account? Someone who was in the institutions. And even more, the Court of Auditors condemned a few weeks ago the regional councillors of a region, the Valle d'Aosta, for voting for the rehabilitation of the Valley Casino. So it means there's something that's not working. Even the investigating judiciary, even the accounting judiciary, must come to terms with the protection of the principle of freedom, they must defend it and not conculcate it.