Speeches

Mr President, High Representative, I would like to express my strongest condemnation of the recent attacks in Colombia and to convey our solidarity with the victims and their families. Since the 2016 peace agreement, successive governments in Colombia have made enormous efforts to put those agreements into practice. This is also the case with President Petro and his commitment to total peace. And throughout this process, the European Union has consistently demonstrated undisputed leadership, which we recognise, with strong political support and continued financial assistance, also the efforts of the Special Envoy. The road ahead – we know – is very long and very difficult and the current challenges, the fragmentation of armed groups and an increased presence of organised criminal gangs require more support for Colombia. Therefore, we ask you that the electoral aims do not ruin everything that has been built so far, that we build unity of action and no more polarization also in this House, because Colombia needs more support for dialogue, not less. More support to create economic opportunities, not less. More support and involvement of local governments, activists, civil society and women. And, of course, it needs more support because it is also a strategic partner of the European Union and our responsibility is clear: to continue to accompany him in this very complex process and to continue to have hope.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, this summer has been particularly painful in Europe: Portugal, Greece, Italy, Spain, the mountain of León, the Bierzo, Orense, Cáceres, Asturias, Palencia have experienced the worst fires in thirty years, 130 fires in a single month, 330 000 hectares burned by fire. We have seen this summer, ladies and gentlemen, burn, with rage and pain, our cultural and natural heritage, our forests, our fauna, our peoples, our memories. We've lost neighbors fighting the fire. And, from that pain, ladies and gentlemen, it is where we are obliged to commit ourselves more against these fires and, above all, to be aware that we are living in a climate emergency - as the Commissioner has said - that multiplies up to forty times the risks and the chances of these fires occurring again. Also the danas, which occurred for example in Valencia. Therefore, it is important once again that we understand that it is not enough to respond, we must prevent and prepare. We need forest management plans throughout the year. We need native species and state-of-the-art infrastructure and, above all, well-endowed and well-paid human resources. We need to put depopulation in the equation, because abandonment of grazing and abandonment of land have a lot to do with it. We need, of course, a great political agreement, as proposed by the President of the Government of Spain. We need everyone and, above all, we need to understand - once and for all - that investing is not wasteful, as some leaders have said, it is better preparing for the response. And we need to comply with the laws, the ones we've passed here: nature restoration, the European Green Deal, all the laws that take advantage of us to better fight these fires. But what we do not need, ladies and gentlemen, are demagogy, but above all the denialism and negligence of those who deny climate change, of those who sow disinformation and hoaxes in catastrophes, because that causes much more pain and delays the response.

Mr President, in recent years, the number of development-related crises has increased and yet the financial resources to deal with them have clearly decreased. Four out of ten people live in countries where more money is spent on debt interest than on public education or health, as has been said here. And at this rate, according to all studies, we will not meet the Sustainable Development Goals by far. The world asks us for more action and we turn our backs on it. It is given by the United States, yes, but also by the Member States, which have been reducing aid for a long time, and also by this European Parliament, which did not even allow us to have a position for Seville. The Summit was held in a European country for the first time in many years. A country that has committed to debt swaps and official aid. And - as the Commissioner said - now, at this starting point in Seville, which must be for action, we need to move forward on a fair global financial system, on debt cancellation, on a much fairer global health architecture. Ladies and gentlemen, this debate is not just about solidarity, it is about how we build the political leadership of the European Union, about what values, with what allies; in short, about our moral stature and our credibility.

Madam President, in recent days a heat wave has swept Europe from north to south. Drought threatens all regions, not only to the south and not only to the Mediterranean, although in the Mediterranean it is devastating. There are fires in Greece, Germany, France, Serbia and Scotland. Two human lives have been lost in Lleida and we are fighting the consequences in Tarragona. Extreme weather events due to climate change put health, the economy and our lives at risk. If we have learned anything from the negligent and painful management of the damage in the Valencian Community – and also from what is happening in Texas – it is the importance of being on time, of alerting the population and also of investment and the need for good public resources and human resources, of conserving nature and fighting climate change. Commissioner, we need to shield the European strategy with resources and instruments; We're gonna support her for that. We need to involve governments, institutions, citizens and also science. We need to improve the systems and ensure coordination between them. These days we will have the opportunity, with the financial framework, to know if we are up to the task and also to see if the president is allied with disinformers and denialists or with those with whom we want to arrive on time and save lives.

Madam President, Commissioner, the UN report on humanitarian aid shows that there are two trends that are increasing humanitarian needs in the world: conflicts and the devastating consequences of climate change. Both are desperately occurring in South Sudan. A country exposed to the consequences of climate change, natural disasters and violence, yet the hardest part of everything South Sudan faces is our indifference. The indifference of those who want us to reduce our commitment to humanitarian aid and development cooperation. The indifference of those who look the other way or who vote against the report on financing for sustainable development. Ladies and gentlemen, if we continue to reduce our commitment to humanitarian aid, if we continue to reduce our commitment to financing for development, if we continue to show signs that the problems of the Global South do not matter to us, we will not only condemn millions of people, but also end up putting our security and our lives at risk.

Mr President, I want to condemn in all firmness the political violence in Colombia and, of course, the attack on Senator Uribe and the attacks on all the victims who preceded him. I also condemn the escalation of violence they suffered a few weeks ago in Cali and Cauca. But I also want to take this opportunity to condemn the murder of our fellow Democrat and her husband a few days ago in the United States, because there is no greater scourge for democracy than political, verbal and physical violence. And we must react. The irresponsible polarization, the permanent harassment of the adversary – especially women – and the destruction of the opposite as a way of doing politics are the breeding ground for this violence. And we must say enough, in Colombia and also here. Colombia deserves to achieve a total, lasting peace through democratic means. We must strengthen our political support for the Government and society. We must include civil society and local governments in its implementation, and our society deserves a public debate, serene, focused on solving problems and not sowing more hatred. As our colleague Jo Cox, who was murdered nine years ago, said precisely because of hatred: Democrats have more things that bind us together than things that separate us. Let us banish once and for all the extremisms of democracy.

Mr President, once again we bring to plenary the continuous and daily genocide of the people of Gaza. But today enough of words. It is time to talk about inaction, shameful hypocrisy and our indifference. Madam High Representative, are we really going to tell our citizens again that we are not going to do anything? Will we continue to tolerate the killing of children and the blockade of humanitarian aid? With what face are we going to tell journalists that they are risking their lives to tell us the truth, to humanitarian actors, that we are not going to do anything? Mrs Kallas, you have instruments to put pressure on the Government of Israel. We call on you once and for all to suspend the Association Agreement, to apply individual sanctions, to restrict trade with Israel, to prevent the sale and use of weapons and to demand once and for all the entry of humanitarian aid from the United Nations. Are you gonna do it this time? Because everything else is already complicity.

Madam President, the last year and a half, the last months and especially the last hours will be marked in the calendar of history forever; They will mark what kind of society we are, what moral stature we have – especially political representatives – on which side of history we were. And when our children, nephews and grandchildren look us in the eye and ask us what we were doing and how we responded while televising genocide, ethnic cleansing, the European Union will not live up to the answer. Madam Vice-President Kallas, I am very sorry that you are not here today. Enough of looking the other way, enough of supporting and being complicit in the instrumentalization of aid. The European Union must act now: not another second of a trade agreement with a country that uses humanitarian aid as an instrument of occupation, as a weapon of war, as a torture of hunger and cold. Not another minute of complicity. We must put an end to this barbarism, guarantee humanitarian aid, achieve peace and deploy our full force of peace, politics and humanitarian diplomacy to stop once and for all. Enough of the words: It's time to act. Everything else is already complicity.

Madam President, Madam High Representative, we European socialists always defend freedom, democracy and human rights, and we do so in any country, in any situation, including when there are arbitrary detentions: We do it in Cuba, also in El Salvador, in Gaza and elsewhere. And I would like to recall that the defence of democracy and respect for human rights are precisely the central element of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and Cuba, because, as the High Representative has said, one can and must be demanding in that framework: human rights violations must be reflected there, the necessary reforms in the economic and democratic field must be demanded. That is the area that will make us move forward, but making burned land does not help Cuban citizens at all. Ladies and gentlemen, let us be consistent: with the same energy with which this debate is brought here today, if we really want to deal with Cuban citizens, let us also denounce the devastating consequences that the blockade of the United States is causing on the Cuban population, which is having serious difficulties in its day to day.

Mr President, in this debate we should start with language, because rather than rare diseases we are talking about diseases that affect between 27 and 36 million people in the European Union. We are talking about between six thousand and eight thousand different diseases, some of which can affect only a few, but others can affect more than 245,000 people. Approximately 80% of these diseases are of genetic origin, highlighting the urgent need for care and resources in research and treatment. It's true that we've made progress. We have better coordinated the investigation. We have made a commitment to coordinate and have better aggregated data. But we need to go much further. And, above all, we need to accompany families, to give them a message of hope, a message of real political commitment, of accompaniment to their social circumstances and their life expectancy. That is why we believe that we must continue to advance, we believe that health is an inalienable right and we must ensure that there is equal access for all people, including those suffering from these diseases.

Madam President, Commissioners, 'the process of globalisation has broadened the concept of security which, going beyond purely military conceptions, has acquired a multidimensional character'. This phrase was uttered by our first High Representative, Javier Solana, more than twenty years ago. He was already right then and, from then until today, the European Union has experienced floods, devastating natural disasters, a pandemic, cyberattacks, digital threats to our democracy, military threats. We need a change of mindset to move from reaction to anticipation, to being merely prepared. But in a world of global threats, what does it mean to be prepared? First, it is to know the real threats rigorously – all of them – and to fight those who deny them. We need to know where our capabilities are and integrate our civilian and military instruments. We need to integrate all areas of global and local governance and, above all, generate a citizen culture of response. People should know how to do it and when to do it. And we need, above all, tools for communication and the effective fight against disinformation.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the humanitarian situation in Sudan is the mirror where all the failures of the international community are reflected: the impact of climate change, the extreme poverty of more than half the population, rape and systematic sexual violence against children as a weapon of war, the disappearance of hospitals and any kind of infrastructure... one wonders what else has to happen to get us to take the situation in Sudan seriously. Because the worst of all is the systematic oblivion to which we have subjected the citizens of Sudan. And as if this were not enough, the decision of the US Administration to withdraw its official development aid will enter into force on Monday. And that forces the European Union to redouble its efforts, to be even more present if possible. We talked about security today. And I say to them: security is not only a matter of defence, it is also a matter of conflict resolution and the fight against poverty.

Mr President, it has been said that the agreement with Mercosur is very relevant in trade terms, but it is above all very relevant in geopolitical terms. We have been talking for months about the need for strategic autonomy for the European Union. And with whom are we going to ally ourselves if not with a region like Latin America, with which we share values, with which we have defended the Paris Agreement or the 2030 Agenda at the multilateral level? And, of course, it is important that in this debate we talk about what this agreement actually contains, because of course we are sensitive to environmental elements. That is why it should be said that this Agreement includes binding commitments for the protection of forests and nature, which are fundamental. We are also sensitive – as it cannot be otherwise – to social elements. Therefore, it is important to make it clear that this Agreement also recalls very clearly the labour rights, gender equality or the rights of indigenous peoples and small producers here and there. And we are also sensitive to the agricultural sectors - citrus fruits, for example - but we want to tell you that this agreement contains clauses and we have tools such as the European observatory or, of course, safeguard clauses, which we are going to use to defend a good agreement for the interests of our farmers here and there.

Mr President, we are deeply concerned about the situation in Nicaragua. This Parliament, in fact, has already pronounced itself on up to seven occasions to condemn the authoritarian drift of the Nicaraguan authorities since 2018, and today again we have to raise our voices to denounce the last constitutional reform recently approved: It is yet another twist on democracy, another twist on political pluralism and the rule of law, and one more step to leave control of all institutions in the hands of Ortega and Murillo, who continue to deepen Nicaragua's international isolation with the withdrawal of multilateral institutions and the breach of their international commitments, delve into unjust and arbitrary measures against the political opposition and civil society. That's why we want to deliver two clear messages. One, to the authorities, because for many reforms they make, political persecution and the limitation of fundamental rights will never be acceptable. And two, to civil society and organizations, to tell them that they are not alone, that we will continue to be by their side, deploying all the diplomacy and forcefulness of democracy, and that we will continue to work, even welcoming them as Spain and other Member States do.

Madam President, multilateralism has entered its worst-case scenario following Donald Trump's return to the White House. The withdrawal of the United States from WHO global agreements and research programmes is a lethal blow to peace, the fight against climate change, pandemics and inequality. Worse, the deliberate dismantling of the world's most important humanitarian aid architecture is a message of hopelessness to humanity, but above all it is a giant awkwardness to America's geopolitical goals. Because this is not just a debate of solidarity, it is also a debate about how security is guaranteed in the world. And that security threat is even greater in the face of the risk that Europe will not react in time, forcefully and intelligently. Commissioner, we agree with your analysis and your guidance, but the announcement of a cut in European aid and rumours about cuts in the European External Action Service or refocusing cooperation instruments on other interests are going in the opposite direction. The European Union must shield international humanitarian law. It must become the guarantee of peace and multilateralism and must do so for coherence, not only for solidarity, but also for ensuring the well-being and security of its citizens, who otherwise will not be able to do so.

(start of the intervention out of microphone) ... here this debate, but I invite you to make it a sincere debate, to be hypocrisies. Because the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration of peace for all people to live free and equal in dignity and rights, and there are groups in this House that differentiate humanitarian crises and also victims: just look at what they say or how they respond to the victims of Gaza or other crises; Nor do they do so in my country where, long after that declaration, we were still suffering from a long dictatorship full of disappearances and deaths. Ladies and gentlemen, a Europe without memory is a Europe that cannot look to the future or to coexistence in peace; A Europe without memory is one where young people do not know what happened or what was the conquest of freedom. That is why we want a European Union that guarantees the right to memory, reparation and justice throughout the world, including in Spain, and that prevents the repeal of memory laws that condemn victims to remain in the gutters. Therefore, let us stop hypocrisy and fight for the memory and dignity of all the victims in the world, also in Europe and in Spain.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, it has been said repeatedly here that we are facing a seemingly silent but profoundly devastating crisis: desertification, loss of fertile soils and water resources. Again, it is a global crisis that affects us all, also in Europe, especially in the Mediterranean, in countries like Spain, in regions like Alicante. Up to 40% of the world’s land – almost half – is degraded. This poses a threat to biodiversity, but also to food security. The figures make it clear: 90% of the world's population goes hungry; more than 700 million people, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of people displaced and refugees by desertification and climate change. The right to food is fundamental. Ladies and gentlemen, we cannot be talking here about droughts and desertification, but then try to delay and delay the rules that protect against soil degradation or that protect biodiversity. We can't talk about the numbers here, but then want to be more lax with the laws that fight against that. That is why, ladies and gentlemen, as the Court of Auditors said, as the United Nations said and as the Council said, we need an ambitious, cross-cutting plan that is coordinated with other United Nations Conventions, with budget and with objectives, without further delay.

Mr President, Commissioner, 10 million displaced people, 25 million people in urgent need of humanitarian aid, an escalation of intolerable and unimaginable sexual violence, areas classified as famine areas: We are witnessing a catastrophe of historic dimensions. Sudan is today, sadly, the great forgotten crisis, ignored by the indifference of those who can and should do something. Sudan also forces us to think about how we can improve our current humanitarian system, because we need more resources, with an ambitious new multiannual financial framework for humanitarian action, and more financing instruments to combat the impact of climate change, but we must also think about how we can work in a more coordinated way with humanitarian actors. We need more coordination and stop working on silos. We also need to coordinate and strengthen the capacities of local actors and think about the so-called "nexus", how to maintain humanitarian assistance while thinking about the capabilities of the future. It is also essential to protect women and the European Union – we and we – have a responsibility to address human suffering wherever it is. We can't leave them alone.

Mr President, we Socialists and Democrats – all Democrats – are deeply concerned about the current situation in Venezuela. Venezuela has suffered a serious political conflict for ten years, with a serious economic, social and democratic deterioration. What happened on July 28 is the culmination of this profound democratic deterioration, based on the denial of the political adversary and the rupture of the essential rules of democracy. I want to denounce once again, without any doubt, the lack of legitimacy that surrounded the elections in July 2024 and, therefore, the lack of legitimacy of the inauguration of Nicolás Maduro on January 10. And I want to demand once again, emphatically, that the Venezuelan authorities respect democracy and the rule of law. We call on them once again to recognise their obligations under international law and respect the Vienna Convention, to end political persecution and to unconditionally and immediately release all those arbitrarily detained, especially minors. We are also very concerned about the social and economic situation that Venezuelans are suffering, as well as the thousands of people who have been forced to migrate or seek refuge, especially in neighboring countries. Here, fortunately, Spain and the Member States have welcomed them with open arms. What we need to do, as the members of the Commission and the Council said, is to work once again with the support of the international community and, in particular, regional support for a final, lasting and sustainable political solution in Venezuela. I am talking about reaching an agreement that includes measures to support the Venezuelan people, measures to support migrants and refugees and legal migration measures. Our task, ladies and gentlemen, must be to deploy the best policy, the policy in capital letters, to denounce democratic abuses, but above all to push the international community and count on the region to seek and find definitive solutions. That is what the opposition has asked us to do, and that is what the Commission and the Council have also asked for here. I just said that, in politics, the easy thing is to make inflamed speeches: polarise, spend more time insulting the political adversary – as we have seen now – than talking about Venezuelans. But what is really relevant, what really helps the Venezuelan people, is a democratic and massive bet; is unity of action and policy that delivers results. That's what we're in and that's what we're going to be in.

Mr President, human suffering must be taken care of wherever it is, paying special attention to the most vulnerable. Thus they pray the values of our culture and religion, of what we have called our civilization. And so, too, does the European consensus, that of all of us, on humanitarian aid. The cry and tears of desperate hope - which came to us a few days ago from the thousands of Palestinian refugees who have been massacred with total impunity, time and again, and from the Israeli families who can finally embrace some of their loved ones, after months of intolerable retention - is the clearest reflection of what we are living through, but our obligation is to turn that weak hope into a robust, just and permanent reality. We must ensure that humanitarian aid reaches the entire population, unhindered and clearly. We must let humanitarian workers, especially UNRWA, work. And the European Union must work for a final two-state solution, deploying all its diplomatic capacity and supporting the International Criminal Court. But above all, ladies and gentlemen, we must - the European Union in particular - look after the people who are suffering and who are asking for help, ask for it in Arabic, Ukrainian, Pashtun or Spanish, because double standards are not acceptable here.

Mr. President, in 1932, Hitler won the elections in Germany: This is a phenomenon that has been studied on many occasions, but it came as a surprise to those who thought that it did not have the support of the main media, which was then the press. It used three key elements: the first, a new means of communication that was not so well known, radio; the second, propaganda or disinformation, and, a third element, taking advantage of political discontent in a situation of economic crisis. Today we are witnessing the consolidation of new media that escape democratic rules. Here is the debate, ladies and gentlemen: This is not a debate about freedom of expression or the interference of freedom on the internet, this is a debate about democratic rules, as has happened in Romania, but it has also happened in Brazil. We need to regulate and we need to make them responsible for their use, so we must go further: We need education and awareness-raising, and regulation, because what is at stake today, ladies and gentlemen, is nothing more and nothing less than our democracy.

What I advocate, Your Honor, today, then and always, is equal access to humanitarian aid for all human beings. What I advocate is the need to stop sowing hatred whenever there is conflict and to stop using human tragedies to sow hatred in our societies, as you do over and over again. Stop taking advantage of the really devastating situations of others. We must be in solidarity. We must build new hope for the Syrian people. We must guarantee humanitarian aid and, more importantly, we must guarantee a future of hope for the Syrian people.

Mr President, welcome, Mrs Kallas. We want to go back, but we are afraid. And the question is to go back to where. These are the words of Shadia, a Syrian woman who, along with her husband and two disabled daughters, fled Homs five years ago due to the brutal dictatorship in her country. Today Shadia and her family are in a refugee camp in Lebanon, as are millions of Syrians in the region. In the region: It should also be stressed here today to those who, once again, take advantage of this debate to try to sow hatred in our societies. Where is your humanity? Because the humanitarian situation facing the Syrian population is one of the most serious crises of our time. More than 13 million people have been displaced. More than 90% of the Syrian population is in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. And, in a context of crisis such as the one we are experiencing, the European Union must act decisively with an urgent increase in humanitarian aid, without being tempted to reduce that aid quantitatively. The commitment we have seen here today, as well as the announcement of the European Union these days, is positive. But it's not enough. We have to maintain it and sustain it in time. We cannot allow the European Union and the international community to forget the Syrian people again in a few weeks or a few months' time. The EU must work with all parties and ensure a state and a future, including access to humanitarian aid, for the Syrian people. It is true, as the President of the Commission said, that a time of hope opens up, but that will depend on whether we are up to the task. We must put the Syrian people at the centre of our action and humanise this crisis: Stop talking about numbers and start talking about people.

Mr President, the right to health is one of the fundamental rights of the citizens of the European Union: is the right to live in a healthy and safe space. However, the reality is that 700 000 Europeans die every year as a result of smoking. Our obligation here is to legislate based on scientific evidence, protect the most vulnerable people, guarantee smoke-free spaces, report on the real health consequences of smoking and discourage its consumption, especially among the youngest. Since 2009 we have come a long way. Many of us here have legislated in our respective Member States, but we need to go further, because consumer habits have changed and so have industry strategies. The number of children experimenting with vapers multiplies exponentially and these have a lot of health risk: children believe that they have fewer risks and also believe that they are very accessible. If we really want a tobacco-free generation by 2040, we must be serious and ambitious. We must agree on a real policy and a common European framework in the face of the interests of industry, hand in hand with scientific societies and with the greatest possible consensus.

Madam President, the G20 Leaders' Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro, has left us with a bittersweet feeling. On the one hand, we want to value a joint statement with positive elements, something that many did not expect. But on the other hand, we see – with regret – how it is becoming increasingly difficult to reach comprehensive agreements at the multilateral level, where we need more multilateralism than ever before. But this summit has left several lessons for the European Union. The first is that a country like Brazil, an emerging country, has placed at the heart of the global agenda the need to fight, without excuses, against poverty, against hunger, against inequality. And this comes at a time when, in this house, there are temptations to backtrack on climate change and nature conservation. We need more ambition in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We need to continue fighting, without excuses, against climate change; because after COP29 in Baku we cannot afford any more excuses or delays. COP30 will be our last chance, it will be time for truth, and there the European Union will have to live up to it.