Speeches

On the occasion of the anniversary of 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Gender-Based Violence, socialists are once again leading the way in supporting effective European action to end gender-based violence, which continues unabated. Women's rights are human rights and there is no place or space for violence against women in Europe. Following the ratification of the Istanbul Convention by the EU and the adoption of the European Directive in 2024, we will monitor its implementation in the Member States and promote both the creation of the euro crime of gender-based violence and especially the inclusion of the crime of sexual assault rape based on the absence of consent, against the extreme right-wing denialist forces, which instrumentalize gender-based violence against the immigrant population.

Madam President, Commissioner, I want to start by recognising and embracing the victims of railway accidents and their families, because they must always be at the centre of everything. Secondly, I would like to highlight the Spanish railway system, one of the most robust in the world, which will soon reach 90% of the urban and rural population. It is a high-performance service thanks to European solidarity as well. Ladies and gentlemen, when an accident or disaster occurs, the response of the authorities and the emergency services is vital. In Adamuz, the response to the accident – the terrible accident – and the emergency management by the Spanish authorities were transparent, coordinated and effective. The national disaster protocol was activated immediately. The population of Adamuz was exemplary, the State security forces and the emergency services were exemplary and the Government was deeply transparent, stood up at all times and committed itself to an investigation to determine all the causes, in addition to providing compensation. We have always advocated transparent and useful research: We did it in the Dana, we have done it in Adamuz and also, by the way, in the negligence of breast cancer screening in Andalusia. There are always four fundamental maxims in disaster management: care for victims, speed of response, investigation into causes and effectiveness in rehabilitation and response. Gentlemen of the PP, you have to have the face of cement to come here to give lessons. After the Yak-42, the Prestige, the Dana, the fires in Castilla y León and Angrois, understand at once that respect for the victims, truth and political responsibility are absolutely essential.

Madam President, after the presidential elections in Honduras, we must congratulate the winning president and, above all, the people of Honduras for their commitment to democracy. But we also want to recall the importance of ensuring the peaceful resolution of any differences and, above all, the full transparency of the contestation processes opened during a recount in the votes. We must also work to preserve democracy from foreign interference. If there is one thing we Social Democrats have, it is that we think that democracy begins – but does not end – in an electoral process. Just as democratic must be the proclamation of a president as the open process of those who contest it, as well as the guarantee of order. Therefore, we want to be very clear: no democracy is legitimated when the answer to the discrepancy is violence and no democracy is consolidated if its independent institutions do not prevail over any pressure or interference. That is why we call, first of all, on both sides: the Government and the opposition in Honduras, to seek a peaceful solution, to intensify dialogue and to ensure full democracy and freedom of expression; But we also call on the European Union to step up its diplomatic and financial efforts, and offer the people of Honduras all the support they need to ensure a peaceful future in democracy and freedom.

Mr President, Commissioner, intellectual property is crucial for the development and growth of the European Union. It contributes nearly €7 billion to our gross domestic product and generates more than 81 million jobs. But the other side of the coin is the huge losses caused by online piracy; increasing piracy, using increasingly complex, more sophisticated instruments and undermining investment capacity, jobs, public finances and European creativity. It's time to act. Voluntary measures aimed at curbing illegal broadcasts of live events have not worked. We have to be clear. We therefore need binding rules that address the particularities of live events in the digital sphere, in particular their immediate withdrawal, because it is live where their value resides. We must also hold digital platforms and intermediaries more accountable. In that regard, I would also like to thank the work of the EUIPO, with which we collaborate, in particular its awareness-raising work, because piracy steals our creativity and our sport.

Madam President, Madam Vice-President Kallas, since the last few years in this House we have followed very closely the deterioration of the economic, political, social and democratic situation in Venezuela. We have been particularly concerned and concerned about the violation of the human and political rights of Venezuelans and, especially, of political prisoners and displaced persons. About a year ago we agreed, after a long time, on a resolution which I had the honour of negotiating; a resolution rejecting outright the electoral fraud on the part of the Maduro regime – as demonstrated by international bodies – and therefore rejecting and denouncing Maduro’s illegitimate inauguration and echoing the international reports on the victory of Edmundo González – whom, incidentally, Spain removed from that country and welcomed into its midst; a resolution which also made clear the need to release arbitrary prisoners and to strengthen and extend individual sanctions. But today the situation in Venezuela goes much further, we are in another scenario. If a year ago here some talked about Maduro stealing the elections, today we should talk about Trump stealing the oil and also the will of the Venezuelan people. That is why, just as a year ago, we socialists defend that in this world there are two paths: confrontation and submission or dialogue and respect. The Venezuelan people have the right to guarantee peace, democracy and progress for themselves. That is why, in a manner consistent with what we have always defended, socialists say: not to the imposition of the strongest, be it Maduro, the United States on Venezuela, Russia on Ukraine or Israel on Gaza. What we are asking for – Mrs Kallas, we agree – is to use this window of opportunity to ensure a mediation that generates a peaceful solution, a democratic process that gives stability, democracy and will to the people of Venezuela. We also value those who have managed to free prisoners today. And I tell you: We will not stop responding to a single insult from those who shout a lot but do nothing. We stand with those who use politics to free prisoners and to lay the foundations of democracy and freedom.

Madam President, I would like my first words to be of deep solidarity and condolence with the families of the victims of the train accident in Andalusia, in my country; of deep gratitude to health emergency professionals and workers, to all institutions and to citizens. I would also like to express my deep gratitude to you, Commissioner, for always being close to Spain and for always responding with agility. This report is a solid report that gathers the contributions and testimonies of different experts from NGOs of humanitarian workers in the field, from different international organizations. It is also presented in a context of different crises, very complex crises. Surely this is the time of greatest crisis in the humanitarian system; It is because we have never before had to face such complex crises and at the same time respond with the least will and the greatest drop in humanitarian aid available. That is why today I want to remember that, while we are talking, there are 305 million human beings in need of humanitarian aid. It's hard to say without losing your breath. That is why this report is aimed at all the bodies of the European Union and its institutions to build their real and concrete leadership from the commitment to human rights, international humanitarian law and humanitarian principles; to exercise their commitment by complying with our Treaties, with those humanitarian principles, such as that of humanity, which alleviate suffering wherever and by whomever it is suffered; that of neutrality, not to have equidistance, but to guarantee that everyone has the same answer, or that of impartiality, that which is on the side of the victims and not of the bombs, of war and of independence. We want political courage to deploy all our diplomatic capacity to stand up to those who intend to veto NGOs on the ground or who prevent humanitarian aid from reaching them. Because it is not enough just to increase aid, we need to guarantee its access, of course, in Gaza, but also in many other places. And we know that in the current context we need to reform the humanitarian system. We need a much more ambitious and truly responsive financial framework. We also need a more effective, more transparent, more impactful and stronger humanitarian system for local actors, which we need to strengthen. And we also want a humanitarian system that is able to be especially effective in fragile contexts, that guarantees that nexus between peace, the humanitarian situation and development, and that places women at the heart of the political agenda, not only to protect them as victims, but to believe in them and strengthen them in their role in conflict prevention and resolution. I would like to conclude by saying that the European Union cannot continue to allow the situation that exists today in many places, which is why this report is clear. I want to end by thanking Lucas Mandl, but also Abir Al-Sahlani, Ana Miranda, Carolina Morace and all our teams for the great work we have done to get here. I want to trust that the commitment and unity that has brought us to this plenary meeting will be maintained tomorrow in the votes, because the message of forcefulness and unity in this report will be a message of hope for so many men and women in Afghanistan, in Sudan, in Gaza ... and in so many places living in an absolutely devastating situation. Thank you also, Commissioner, always for your commitment, your determination and your sincere and constructive dialogue.

Madam President, six years ago we suffered a COVID-19 pandemic, a crisis that altered our lives, our societies and our economies, a crisis that tested our health systems. But then we had allies that we could count on, that we could work with. Today that has completely changed. That is why, while the threats of war are increasingly noisy, we cannot forget the next pandemic; nor of patients in need of innovative treatments and of the most vulnerable. We need a joint purchasing system, autonomy in production and shared access to and supply of medicines. We need to be autonomous in the face of the new threat, because the next threat will come and we will not be able to say that we were not warned. This must be at the heart of the preparedness strategy and that is why this Regulation is so important. And no, Trump won't like it, but if we don't, our citizens won't like it. We will pay very dearly and that we can not consent.

Mr President, in order to have a democratic debate on equality, the first thing to do is to ensure that the rights of women in this House are respected and that violence against women is prevented here as well. Spain is the fourth European country and the tenth in the world that scores best in equality, and it is no coincidence: It is thanks to the efforts of feminist organizations, which always show the way, and also of socialist governments, which despite the sticks in the wheel that all of you put, have made us advance in equality. There's a long way to go, no doubt. Discrimination, sexual violence ... exist everywhere, but what differentiates organizations committed to equality is that if cases of harassment or violence appear, they are not silenced: victims are supported. Those of us who have been fighting for equality for many years will continue to fight to guarantee safe spaces for denunciation, to enable guarantee processes and that no harassment goes unpunished. Moreover, we will work so that it also reaches those parties that do not even have, and can denounce. And what we are not going to do, in any case, is accept not a single lesson from those who accuse us of making false allegations and protect those speeches that deny that women are discriminated against, harassed and killed for the fact of being women.

Mr President, Commissioner, the European Union is surely at one of the worst crossroads since its birth. And, in my opinion, we're not living up to it. We don't know how to react. Because we should start calling things by their name, also in this debate: the current US administration is no longer an ally of the European Union. Now they've written it down. It is not in trade, it is not in the worldview, in respect for international standards and, unfortunately, not in health. When the United States pressures companies to sell medicines at a higher price in Europe, they are directly attacking our citizens and our patients. We need to develop real and intelligent strategic autonomy. We need to ensure the production and supply of medicines by protecting public health and our universal public system. We must ensure that the results of our science and our patents are developed here. We need, above all, to have a robust system. Because, Commissioner, getting better prepared and defending our security also means guaranteeing supplies of medicines and equal access for all, especially those who need it most.

Mr President, denying climate change, saying – as we have heard here today – that it is ideological fanaticism or that it is bullshit, will not only not prevent us from suffering more and more consequences in floods, heat waves or also in devastating fires, but will mean that we will increasingly expose our citizens, our economy, our security and our lives. That's why we have to take it seriously. I would also like to highlight the positive results of a summit that some tried to blow up and which, fortunately, continued with some progress. But I also want to denounce that we are not taking the commitment to climate change seriously. Fortunately today, citizens, civil society and indigenous people do, but we must take it much more seriously than we have done so far, especially the European Union. Because it is not enough just to sign agreements; we must be consistent. And, here, what we are doing every week is dismantling the firm commitment in the fight against climate change that we had advanced in the last legislature. That is why we ask the Commission for consistency and facts.

Madam President, Commissioner, today we bring once again to this sitting the most graphic example of horror, of a horror that sometimes we only intuit or imagine through the testimonies of children and women who manage to get out of it. A horror that involves ethnic cleansing and genocide in a place where 25% of the population suffers gender-based violence. A horror that is the epicenter of suffering, but also of indifference. Just look at what has been raised for the humanitarian response: only 33% of what we need, i.e. 0.01% of the Union's GDP. And what are we going to do in the face of this horror? First of all, we need to deliver a loud and clear, unanimous message here in Parliament. But the European Union, in addition to making a humanitarian effort, Mrs Lahbib, as you are doing, must take seriously its role of political deployment and humanitarian diplomacy. We need to involve regional actors. We have to take the response to this horror seriously and we have to deploy our full capacity to put an end to it.

Madam President, today we are visited by the victims of the damage and also by the mayors who, even today, continue to work and fight to rebuild their villages. That is why I would like this Parliament to give them the warm welcome they deserve and to pay tribute to them. Victims must always be honoured, treated with respect and committed to working hard to ensure that a disaster – and its consequences – does not happen again. Climate change will make us live new catastrophes, but the political responsibility is to be where it should be and, above all, to build policies that are able to anticipate and respond to them. That is why I would like today, once again, from here, to pay a profound tribute to the victims of dana.

Madam President, breast cancer is the most common tumor in women. There are more than 35,000 new cases diagnosed annually in my country. And today it is still the leading cause of cancer death in women. It is estimated that one in eight women will develop this disease. That's why prevention and early detection are a lifeline. However, in my country, in some regions governed by the right, unacceptable negligence has emerged. In the Valencian Community, for example, one in five women did not receive the screening invitation. More than 90 000 have been excluded from prevention programmes; 21 000 only in the case of Alicante. But, in addition, problems are emerging in the protocols, leaving women with uncertainty, with fear, without knowing the results. And this is unacceptable. That is why we call on the Commission and the European Council to act to implement cancer prevention plans and to ensure women's fundamental health-related rights. Because behind this there is a dismantling of the public system to generate business in private.

Mr President, Commissioner, we want our first words as a group to be for the victims - two hundred and thirty-five people, two hundred and twenty-nine in our region, in Valencia - for whom a year ago they saw their loved ones die and their homes, their lives and their memories destroyed forever. They are always in the center, above all else. It is before them that we have to commit ourselves once again. Commit ourselves, ladies and gentlemen, to knowing precisely and rigorously what happened, what failed and who failed that afternoon. To debug responsibilities and, above all, to commit ourselves so that this does not happen again. Those who were not where they should ask for forgiveness and should commit to repairing that pain. Because the climate emergency will continue to cause more and more catastrophes. We will have damage and virulent and devastating fires like those we have lived in León, Galicia and so many other countries of the European Union. We will live again pandemics and increasingly complex crises. That is why we must work tirelessly here to prepare ourselves better, to have systems that allow clear and rapid alerts, to ensure that our population knows what to do and when to do it. Recognize our professionals, who these days are mobilized again, with sufficient resources and, above all, do not give in to those who demand the dismantling of emergency units, as happened in Valencia, and it cost us painfully very expensive. The improvement of the Civil Protection Mechanism will allow us in this House to strengthen the solidarity of the European Union and is a good opportunity to improve all this. There we will listen again to the victims because it is to them that we must listen and not allow those who deny climate change to direct politics, who demand the dismantling of the public. Because not doing so will be the best tribute we can pay to the victims today.

Madam President, Commissioner, there are more than 1.5 million displaced people, and half the population suffers from hunger. The tragedy in Haiti is a clear example of a deeply forgotten crisis – a tragedy – such as that in Sudan and many others. A crisis that, despite the human suffering it entails, does not occupy our time, nor our agendas, much less our debates, because it does not occupy our newscasts. That's why. And look at the fact that in the end an atrocity has had to happen again for the international community and this Parliament to talk about this reality. And it won't be because we haven't tried. On September 11, in Cabaret, more than forty people were summarily executed victims of indescribable cruelty at the hands of gangs. Haiti today is the clearest sign that we have further relegated and left the United Nations alone: only 10% of the funding for that. There is hope, but we have to tell the Member States to strengthen their cooperation and commitment. And, above all, we need the Cabaret massacre not to be another number in the statistics, but to awaken our consciences and force us to act now.

Mr President, Commissioner, indeed, as you said, 2025 is a crucial year for social development and so is the Summit. Now is the time to assess progress and make decisions accordingly. Thirty years have passed since the Copenhagen Summit, but also thirty years since the Beijing Summit, which marked the global agenda for women and equality. And ten have also passed since the Paris Agreement and five are missing to meet the 2030 Agenda. It is time to understand what are the consequences of the crises we are experiencing; the importance of strengthening public services because they protect the vulnerable; the importance of better preventing responses to the crises that are coming to us. The need to understand that we live in a climate emergency and that should guide our decisions. And more importantly: weaving resilient societies with a strong civil society. And I want to tell you, Commissioner, that we have the opportunity to live up to it, but that the multiannual financial framework is not going in the right direction. It is precisely the cohesion funds and social instruments that should be the greatest shield. So, if we want to be consistent, we must change that course.

Madam President, in a few weeks we will be holding the EU-CELAC Summit and it is an enormous opportunity to strengthen relations with a region of the world with which we share the same values, the same way of understanding the world and the same interests. In other words, it is a region of the world that we know, that we recognize and with which we have the same interests. But the summit must be an opportunity to move from values to concrete things. We have to undertake together the reform of the international financial system and forgive the debt of middle-income countries, such as those in the Caribbean, for example. Also agree and definitively promote and approve the agreements with Mercosur and Mexico, which will boost our trade relations, but also guarantee our environmental rights. We must invest more in cooperation through Global Gateway and also humanitarian aid. We need to create a civil society forum for civil society to participate. And finally, we also want a bi-regional pact for care that puts care at the heart of the political agenda. I don't want to end up without the advice of my friend Forges: Don't forget Haiti. Because Haiti is the poorest country in Latin America and requires our attention and commitment.

Mr President, Madam President-in-Office of the Council, Commissioner, today we come to denounce once again a new situation of violation of international humanitarian law, one more twist to the unbearable apartheid of women in Afghanistan. And we want to denounce, loud and clear, the deliberate helplessness to which the Taliban regime has condemned the women victims of the earthquake catastrophe, many buried under the rubble without being rescued and without any right to receive medical care or assistance. We left Afghanistan and left them to their fate, because we sent humanitarian aid - and I thank you very much for your effort, Commissioner - but we must demand - the international community must do so - that humanitarian workers can act and can distribute aid. And, above all, we must speak loud and clear. We must say once and for all that we are talking about a crime against humanity against 50% of the Afghan population, and that the international community and the European Union must be involved so that this does not happen again.

Mr President, a new heat wave has hit Europe this summer. An estimated 47 000 people die as a result of heat each year, especially in Mediterranean regions, regions and cities such as Alicante. But studies show us that if temperatures in 2023 had occurred 20 years ago, deaths would multiply. That means that prevention and adaptation plans work, when they are put in place. For this reason, political will is important, as it is also important for cities to lead it: we need funding and cohesion funds, we need to bring the health dimension into urban planning, take into account materials, take into account green areas and blue areas. It is necessary to fight against heat islands, which have a devastating impact on people's health. And we need to protect the most vulnerable people. Therefore, we have to redouble these plans and take into account good practices, such as those of the State Pact of the President of the Government of Spain or those of the city of Barcelona, which has more than 300 climate shelters. What we don't need is disinformation and denialism, because that costs lives.