Speeches

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I was born in a small village in Sicily and looked to the rest of my continent, which was Italy, and to Europe, with confidence, with hope. I wonder today if our young people see perspectives as I did, I don't think. Reading their needs is not on the agenda. We move by slogan. I do not believe that our young people today want to go to live in cities where they are not guaranteed even affordable accommodation, where they are not guaranteed the opportunity to care for themselves, to raise a child. I believe that our young people, if we invested with a law on the mountain, if we invested in small businesses to support them directly, would like to stay in small villages, those small villages that are increasingly depopulated and increasingly exposed to the risks of climate change. I have only one hope, that we will begin to read their needs and in reading their needs we will find the keystone for the future of this Europe that is no longer inclusive.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, on the one hand, Europe places social rights at the centre, with priority on the agenda of the new legislature, but at the same time it approves a stability and growth pact that imposes cuts of 13 billion on a country like mine. These cuts will affect social rights, people's right to health, because that's where those rules take away that right. La Hulpe's statement does not satisfy us. Behind so much smoke and beautiful words there is a lack of a strategic vision, an overall perspective that makes Europe truly able to compete with the United States and China. We do not abandon the path of the ecological and digital transition to embrace defence and rearmament policies, so we will deny our peace policies that have characterized us and move away from them. Work, education, welfare, health, transport, we do not want a new season of market economy. We really want a Europe and without new sovereign wealth funds that will support this transition we will fail.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, seeds and plant reproductive material are a fundamental pillar for our food security and agricultural biodiversity. Over the past 100 years, we have lost 75% of the crop varieties available. No further misstep is tolerable. To accompany our farmers in the challenge of transition, we must allow them to exchange a minimum amount of plant reproductive material, without this good practice, which pertains to our traditions, being considered a commercial activity. We must allow gene banks to donate the seeds of their collections to farmers. Equipping ourselves with fair rules is in everyone's interest and will mitigate the risk associated with the mass-produced market, dominated by only four companies, which control 51% of global seed sales. Protecting agrobiodiversity is a duty for Europe. We take this commitment and leave our children with a safe and resilient food system.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, we must prevent the dispersal of plastic. Microplastics are dispersed everywhere: in the air, in the water, in the soil, in agricultural land and we ingest them by eating contaminated food. Dealing with this problem means dealing with health as a whole. A recent Italian study shows that many diseases, such as the risk of stroke and heart attack, are caused by microplastics. We must act at the source and we are doing so. More prevention means less sick, less pressure on our devastated health systems. Every measure like this contributes to the reduction, as did the measure on packaging and reuse. Today is World Earth Day. The theme of the edition is just that. In 190 countries around the world, citizens are on the streets precisely to give this desperate cry. Let's give them the floor. This is a good measure.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, safeguarding animal health and preventing animal diseases serves to protect public health, animal production, food safety and supply, as well as rural economies and the environment. Behind the great promises we gave birth to a mouse and this betrays everyone's expectations. Enough abuse and unnecessary suffering on farms: Providing animals with more space, lowering unsustainable temperatures and minimizing travel times is a necessity. We have farmers who respect animal welfare and the environment and we must protect and support them to foster a model of sustainable meat production and consumption, and instead we protect intensive livestock farming. To those who accuse us of thinking more about animals than people, we respond that the balance of the ecosystem in which we live is an inseparable condition for the quality of everyone's future. Health is only one, we remind everyone.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Europe today appears even more confused and uncertain in the war scenario that surrounds us. But do we really believe that sending more weapons to Kiev can defeat a nuclear power such as Russia? And in the face of violence and the violation of every rule of international law in Gaza, are our ambiguous conditions enough? Pope Francis has hit the mark and interpreted the most authentic desire of European public opinion, which wants an end to the war. Peace is the only way forward, peace that will never be achieved if the only option is to send arms or even mobilize the European army. In front of a nuclear weapon there is no defense that holds! At the next European Council, Madam President, open a table of serious negotiations and negotiations, let us not leave the initiative to Erdoğan! It is not in our history, it is not the purpose that Europe has set itself, which is to put an end to wars and military escalation. President, I call you, as always, to be a woman and to always seek a peaceful solution.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, painting green does not undermine the right of consumers to make informed choices and empties the meaning of the term sustainability. Too many products, passed off as ecological and natural, then turn out to be anything but healthy and ethical; the commitment to plant 90 000 hectares of trees does not make a multinational company environmentally friendly if, before, perhaps, it had as a partner a company that has made hectares and hectares of illegal logging. Consumers are tired of being circumvented! This directive will increase the competitiveness of companies that embrace the real challenge of transition and do not instrumentally use the environmental sensitivities of the new generations and those who, like us, are investing in their future. The European market that citizens are asking of us is made up of responsible choices and production models. We do not betray their expectations, we are on the right track.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the shortage of medicines and medical devices harms the national health systems of European countries and poses a risk to the continuity of treatment for patients undergoing treatment. These scenarios cannot be effectively addressed by Member States: The pandemic has taught us that we need more Europe in health and for health. Therefore, supply chains need to be strengthened, both for the day-to-day distribution of medical devices and equipment, and for forecasting future crises. We enhance the use of the database to increase transparency and market availability as well as monitor purchasing systems. The regulatory framework should be simplified. I agree with my colleagues who preceded me: European citizens deserve fair, safe, timely access to both diagnosis and quality medical care. It is Europe's duty to guarantee their sacrosanct right.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, they are still dead in Florence. It is a daily massacre for Italy that holds a sad record: In our country every 8 hours a worker dies. As regards procurement and subcontracting, common rules should be laid down both for public procurement and for private procurement. Let's not confuse: That's what we're asking for. Competition law and the protection of small businesses must be combined with job security, which is not negotiable. No more sub-contracting in cascade: produce anomalous declines and fragmentation of security measures. We streamline the procedures for obtaining residence permits: The workers serve. Let us strengthen security controls and remove expenditure on controls from the Stability Pact. No more compromises! Enough indignation and condolences, but actions aimed at safeguarding the health of our workers.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, low salaries, disproportionate workloads, few guarantees and precarious contracts: In Italy, as in other Southern European countries, teachers are mistreated, although education is the backbone of our society. Their working conditions and wages are not worthy of the responsibilities they bear. In Italy, then, the constraints of a three-year stay in the first recruitment schools reduce the income for those who, away from home, are forced to pay an unsustainable rent or very expensive trips. And this affects teaching continuity, not the other way around. The lack of continuity of teaching is combated by combating precariousness, which in our country involves more than 400 000 teachers, and ensuring the reconciliation of life and work. This is the best investment we can make for the future and, in this sense, for my country we will put a question to the Commission.

Ladies and gentlemen, since you accuse us of not being rational, do you want to suggest what measures are being taken to tackle climate change and the risk facing the new generations? Or do you deny, together with your party, that this is a necessity of our Europe, of future generations? Please be on time. It is too simple to accuse others of being irrational when you have no proposals or deny evidence.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040 is the right thing to do and you are delivering on your commitments to us. The European Union must confirm, indeed accelerate, the achievement of this objective. However, we must be realistic and with our feet firmly planted on the ground. Our economy, unfortunately, today depends on fossil fuels, and if we want to make it sustainable, we need investment. Without money, we do not make changes and risk leaving millions of people and entire productive sectors behind, starting with the agricultural sector. The Five Star Movement has always called for the launch of a new Recovery Fund, a Just and Inclusive Transition Fund, focusing on renewables, electrification and efficiency. We can't fail. Theausterity This objective is incompatible. Let us not turn our backs on the new generations and the future of the whole world, threatened by the catastrophe of climate change.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, plastic pellets are one of the biggest sources of microplastic pollution: they are dispersed in air, water and soil; They inhabit our bodies and those of animals. The Commission's ambitious target of reducing plastic release by 70% is a breath of fresh air for our marine and terrestrial ecosystems that suffocate under the weight of pollution. Best supply chain management practices, mandatory certifications, a harmonised methodology to monitor and prevent microplastic pollution: these are the smart solutions that concretely establish rules and tools for the players in the sector to be used in the exclusive interest of health. Health is one! A measure like this is not a drop in the sea, but a sip of life for many. This is the Europe we need, this is the Europe we want.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, skills shortages, the flight of young talent, precarious contracts, insufficient wages, unsustainable rent and house purchase prices, inaccessible loans: faces of the same coin. An emergency that is forcing many young people to give up their professional and family future and businesses to relocate. The training and the first home must be included in the list of general services; companies must be supported in these investments, excluding such support from the State aid framework. It doesn't take much. Let's take inspiration from some enlightened business models that have focused on the well-being of workers and encourage corporate welfare. Adriano Olivetti said: I think of the factory for the man, not the man for the factory. The new European humanism starts from here, from a new balance between life and work that fights the brain drain and makes its talents shine.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, today's stalemate on financial aid to Ukraine and the European budget stems from an original sin: The right of veto granted to only one country. It is not decided unanimously, neither in families nor in condominiums, especially when it comes to international politics and institutions. Orbán's right to vote must be removed by activating Article 7, but this is not enough: In order to put an end to its blackmail, it is necessary to change the treaties and decide by majority. It is no coincidence that the enemies of integration who fuel discontent and their votes on our indecisions are against this change. As 5 Star Movement we say yes to financial aid to Ukraine, because the war does not stop with weapons but with solidarity and with firm and decisive EU diplomatic action. At the next Council, we do not disappoint the citizens' hopes for peace.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we went to Dubai aware of what disasters climate change brings: floods, heat waves and desertification of our territories. During COP28 we listened to the cry of pain of the representatives of the small islands, which are in danger of disappearing swallowed up by rising sea levels. Their battle is our battle! Is the agreement reached at COP28 the best? No, we could have done more. There was a compromise on the definition of the phasing-out, but now it is clear: All countries in the world must take concrete action for the green transition, ending the age of fossil fuels. The decision to triple the use of renewable energy and double energy efficiency is positive. The EU must be a key player; I thank Commissioner Hoekstra and the Spanish Presidency for keeping the bar high on our ambitions. Now it is up to us to translate these commitments into laws and measures, but we must do it quickly.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, no, we are not dealing with the new generations. Hunger wages, skyrocketing rent costs... yet we wanted to be the Commission of the new generations. We need a new European housing policy: the first accommodation of our young people must become an economic service of general interest. We need to involve the business world in order to recover derelict properties to be made available to their workers. Banks must do their part and we must give appropriate guarantees. Let us all do it, let us do it now, otherwise our young people will no longer believe in this Europe and on this we cannot lose face. Our future is our youth!

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, a Europe that does not produce, a Europe that does not innovate is destined to die. Defending businesses, but especially small businesses, therefore means defending the work and the future of our society. But the business world must not cling to an ivory tower, defending as the last of the Mohicans a model that is no longer sustainable, neither environmentally, nor economically, nor socially. The energy and digital transition is a challenge that we must ride and win together without fear. We as the European Parliament must do our part: simplifying the regulatory framework, cutting red tape, acquiring sources of funding to help our small businesses but, above all, harmonising taxation at European level, preventing multinationals from having tax benefits. So we kill our small business. We are on the side of small businesses, which always make up 99% of European businesses.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, free water in restaurants, the possibility of reusing food containers, the stop to waste packaging for a single apple: Here are examples of the benefits for the environment and citizens. Recycling will not disappear but recycling alone is not enough: We need to intervene at the source. To reduce the huge amount of waste, reuse is also needed. Plastic waste recycled in Italy is only 17%. More than excellence! To the lobbies who are pushing the limits of decency, I say we focus on the opportunities that will open up, new jobs, new supply chains. Do not negotiate a minimum of mandatory reuse, where we are an excellence in paper and glass, and at the expense of sustainable supply chains is to support the plastic lobbies. Five Star MEPs care about the nation's interest, yes, but our interest is everyone's interest. And if we have to choose, let's choose the sick people, let's choose the mothers of the Pfas, let's think about them!

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the protection of public health depends on food safety. Sustainable use of pesticides is crucial for limiting impacts on human, environmental and animal health. Let's not forget: Health is only one. The Commission's proposal is a good starting point, but we must not forget that the quality of our products depends on the training and support we can give to our farmers. We must help them embrace the transition, stimulate research into pesticide-free agricultural production patterns and, above all, increase controls on the market, pesticide residues and products imported from third countries. We must fight unfair competition. We dare more. Let's reform the CAP. Putting the needs of small farmers and product controls first means investing in a quality future. In agriculture, the benefits will be many and for everyone.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the Commission has announced that it does not intend to propose legislation to protect animal welfare by the end of the parliamentary term. This betrays the principles of the Treaty. This betrays the will of 1.5 million citizens who signed an initiative to say "enough fur in Europe". Fur farms are cruel and unworthy, unethical and pose a threat to biodiversity and the environment. Not surprisingly, the fur industry is among the top five that pollute our aquifers the most, with toxic metals. 14 members have already adopted a total ban on these farms and hundreds of fashion houses have freed themselves from fur, responding to the ethical demands of their customers. What is Europe waiting for to take these positions? There is a need to homogenise the internal market. We produce this legislation and respond to citizens and our own principles.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, work is in itself a strong driver of health and well-being, but at the same time the working environment has an important impact on the physical and mental well-being of workers. Precariousness for young people and the need to reconcile care work with careers for all women are sources of stress and insecurity. Investing in people has become an imperative for all companies that want to break the vicious circle of "dissatisfaction - demotivation - absence due to illness - low labour productivity". Priority should be given to physical and psychological security, training employers, providing support services, providing a decent wage and, where necessary, decent housing, involving workers in workplace decisions, creating work-life balance, and promoting fair and transparent access to career progression. Europe must look to the Olivetti model, an Italian company that has invested in the organisational and personal well-being of its employees.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, according to UNESCO, water is our common future and it is essential to act together to share it fairly and manage it sustainably. There is an urgent need to establish international mechanisms to prevent the global water crisis from spiralling out of control. Access to water has become a source and instrument of war: The blockade of Gaza is proof of this. The safeguarding of water, food and energy security, the universal supply of water and sanitation, the reduction of climate impact and the restoration of ecosystems are pieces of a complex and inseparable mosaic. It is possible to compose it only if each of us, without exception, acts with this framework in mind.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, the approval of this revision is an important step in the right and necessary direction of safeguarding human, environmental and animal health. It was necessary for the wastewater sector to be subject to the rules of energy neutrality and it is good to encourage the reuse of water and sludge for the production of biogas. It is important, however, that the plants that are under construction also adapt from now on to the principles of efficiency and anti-waste provided for in this standard. I am thinking of the Chiavari plant, which will have a strong impact and does not envisage energy neutrality and the integral reuse of water in the planning process. Well the responsibility of manufacturers, especially in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics sectors. Congratulations also to the one for public toilets for citizens.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, rising prices are desertifying our historic centres. Cops, nurses, teachers and drivers do not find affordable housing. Our companies do not find workers. Labour mobility is strongly affected, as is the efficiency of public services. Young people with low wages and precarious work cannot take out a mortgage. I call on the Commission to review the decision on services of general interest concerning the population group receiving social housing. We must ensure decent housing not only for those who are in poverty, but also for those who can fall back on it because of the disproportionate costs. We must give concrete support to companies that recover abandoned properties to make them available to their staff. The Italian industry has had models to draw inspiration from, such as Adriano Olivetti, in enhancing human capital through welfare company. We aim European funds to achieve the objectives of energy efficiency and combating energy and housing poverty.