What Estelle spoke about.

8

Jul

2026

FR Speech

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EU’s response and preparedness to protect people against recurring heatwaves and upcoming wildfires (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, social justice and climate justice: Same fight. Already today and even more tomorrow, the most vulnerable people in the north and south of the planet are paying the price for climate change. In Europe, it is estimated that the morbid count will be 80,000 deaths every summer. In Belgium alone, for this June's heat wave, there are more than 1 200 …

6

Jul

2026

FR Speech

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Coordination of social security systems (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the European Union is founded on the fundamental right of free movement of persons. This is for principle. Because, in practice, asserting your social rights when you are a frontier worker, a posted worker or when you work in one or more other Member States can become a real headache. Not to mention abuses linked to social dumping, which affect wor…

17

Jun

2026

FR Speech

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Preparation of the European Council (joint debate)

20

May

2026

FR Speech

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Recent proposals to fight poverty in the EU (debate)

You ask for the controllers, but you completely assume that in fact you are manipulating and lying to your voters since you say you are defending them and, in reality, you never vote to defend them.

20

May

2026

FR Question

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Recent proposals to fight poverty in the EU (debate)

Thank you, Mr. Leonardelli. I am glad to be able to ask you a small question, because you are a great defender of the fight against in-work poverty across Europe and in your country. But how is it that representatives of your group never vote on measures, in particular to ensure a minimum wage for workers, fight poverty, protect trainees from free traineeships? So here it is, of course, very inter…

20

May

2026

FR Speech

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Recent proposals to fight poverty in the EU (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, 93 million Europeans, or one in five, live in poverty or social exclusion, and almost a quarter of them are children. Admittedly, the strategy presented by the European Commission is an important step and has the ambition to eradicate poverty, but far too far away, because now is the time to act. This strategy refers to quality employment, affordab…

25

Mar

2026

FR Speech

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Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 19 March 2026 (debate)

Madam President, on Friday, the 27 Heads of State and Government discussed the repercussions of the attacks launched by the United States and Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran. If the Council has called on all parties to de-escalate, just to note that this war is not our war is not enough, because it must be strongly condemned, even if this war is aimed at a bloody dictators…

9

Mar

2026

FR Speech

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Gender pay and pension gap in the EU: state of play, challenges and the way forward, and developing guidelines for the better evaluation and fairer remuneration of work in female-dominated sectors (debate)

Madam President, on 8 March we were again thousands on the street demanding equal pay for equal work. However, this principle has been enshrined in the Treaty of Rome for almost 70 years. Of course, we have made progress, but we are still a long way from equality. In Europe, wage inequality between women and men rises to 30% if part-time work, most of which is not chosen, is…

11

Feb

2026

FR Speech

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Addressing subcontracting chains and the role of intermediaries in order to protect workers’ rights (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, Mykhailo died on a construction site in Belgium. He was Ukrainian, seconded by a Polish company for which he had never worked. That same undertaking subcontracted to a company registered in the Netherlands, without an employee. The company disappeared, the accident was never reported. Four years later, his family is without income, without rights, …

11

Feb

2026

FR Question

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Developing a new EU anti-poverty strategy (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, how is it possible that in 2026, in Europe, we will have to fight to eradicate poverty? Five years ago, however, ambitious targets were set for 2030. But our social state is increasingly under attack by right-wing policies, and today one in five Europeans is at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Children are particularly vulnerable. More than …

11

Feb

2026

FR Speech

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Urgent actions to revive EU competitiveness, deepen the EU Single Market and reduce the cost of living - from the Draghi report to reality (debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, tomorrow, António Costa will bring together the 27 European Heads of State for a competitiveness retreat. This is an initiative to be welcomed, because there is an urgent need to work towards the strategic autonomy of the European Union. Today, of the 18 key industrial sectors, only one is doing better than our Chinese or American competitors: aeronautics. Th…

22

Jan

2026

FR Speech

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A new action plan to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, since 2017, the European Pillar of Social Rights has been our compass for a truly more social Europe. Since 2021, the first action plan to implement this compass has been divided into three main objectives: to increase the employment rate, for access to training, to drastically reduce poverty – especially that of children. Where are we today, when …

21

Jan

2026

FR Speech

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European Council meeting (joint debate)

Madam President, Mrs Kallas, Mr Costa, ladies and gentlemen, the Commission and the Member States are negotiating the future European budget. And what we are hearing is worrying, because we are talking in particular about diluting European social policy into a vast programme, with agricultural policy or fisheries. And the result: there would no longer be the same obligations for Member States to u…

26

Nov

2025

FR Speech

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EU strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities post-2024 (debate)

22

Oct

2025

FR Speech

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Preparation of the European Council meeting of 23 October 2025 (debate)

Madam President, today the European Council is meeting with competitiveness and simplification at the top of its agenda. So let's be clear, no one likes bureaucracy and opposes healthy simplification. But what is going on in Europe is something quite different, with deregulation in Far West mode, with the aim of destroying important social and environmental regulations, standards that are neverthe…

8

Oct

2025

FR Speech

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Second World Summit for Social Development (debate)

Mr President, due to geopolitical developments and global tensions, social justice is now largely under the radar, including at European level. This is a very serious mistake. Although I cannot understand Qatar’s choice to host the second summit for social development, because the least we can say is that it is not a model in this area, nor in that of respect for human rights, it is nevertheless v…

8

Oct

2025

FR Speech

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Establishment and functioning of European Works Councils - effective enforcement (debate)

Madam President, in 2024, Audi Brussels workers were informed of the relocation of their company's production by a newspaper specialising in cars, which one year later led to the closure of the site and the elimination of some 6 000 direct and indirect jobs. Such a process is intolerable. There is therefore an urgent need to strengthen the European Works Councils Directive. That is why the text pu…

7

Jul

2025

FR Speech

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From institution to inclusion: an EU action plan for deinstitutionalisation, family- and community-based care (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, whether they are minors or adults, people with disabilities, dependants, people with mental health problems, everywhere in Europe, are either left to their fate – and then, often, at the expense of those around them, and especially the women around them, who suffer just as much from the dependence, precariousness and isolation of these people – or …

21

May

2025

FR Speech

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Improving mental health at work (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, stress, burn-out, harassment: mental health problems explode in a context of intensification, pressure at work, connected work or loss of meaning. According to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, 50% of workers are under heavy pressure or overwork. It is therefore essential to counter this phenomenon, which leads to real personal and…

6

May

2025

FR Speech

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A revamped long-term budget for the Union in a changing world (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the future budget will reflect Europe's ambition and, as such, I refuse to shout with the right and oppose defence and social Europe, because we can respond to these two challenges. For this, it is essential to look for new resources, especially on the side of the widest shoulders. Yes, solidarity is a sine qua non of our external security, but als…

3

Apr

2025

FR Speech

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European Action Plan on Rare Diseases (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, between 27 and 36 million people are diagnosed with a rare disease in the European Union. A figure largely underestimated. Even when they are diagnosed, it is a real journey of the fighter for these patients and for their loved ones, because few treatments are adapted or accessible financially. The research and development of suitable medicines and treatments is…

2

Apr

2025

FR Speech

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Topical debate (Rule 169) - Social Europe: making life affordable, protecting jobs, wages and health for all

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, if Europe is rethinking its external defence, it cannot ignore its internal security, i.e. social cohesion. Today, however, we are witnessing a regular, almost systematic attack on social policies, the reason given being competitiveness. There is, however, urgency. Europeans are suffering the full brunt of job insecurity and social inequality. We are experiencin…

1

Apr

2025

FR Speech

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Improving the implementation of cohesion policy through the mid-term review to achieve a robust cohesion policy post 2027 (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, it seems that the current discussions on the future of cohesion policy are once again an opportunity for some to try to weaken European social policies. Cohesion policy accounts for one third of the EU budget. It is the main long-term investment policy and focuses on social, economic and territorial investments. It is enshrined in the Treaties to reduce inequali…

12

Mar

2025

FR Speech

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Social and employment aspects of restructuring processes: the need to protect jobs and workers’ rights (debate)

Madam President, Executive Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen, more than ever, Europe is facing major transformations, not only in industrial activity, but also in many sectors such as distribution, energy and transport. There are challenges related to the climate and digital transitions. This is why it is essential to commit to better preventing and supporting restructuring. Too often, companie…

12

Mar

2025

FR Speech

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Union of Skills: striving for more and better opportunities to study, train or work in the EU and to bring our talents back home (debate)

Mr President, Executive Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen, today in Europe, one third of the working population, or 75 million people, has only a low or no level of qualifications. At the same time, 15% of young people leave school without a diploma. Yet the necessary reindustrialisation of Europe and the digital and climate transition require new and adapted skills. That is why we in the S&D G…