What João spoke about.

6 Oct

2026

PT Speech

This is Europe - Debate with the Prime Minister of Portugal, Luís Montenegro (debate)

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Madam President, Prime Minister, welcome, Commissioner, Minister, well back. This is Europe. And the question that arises on this occasion is what role does Portugal want to play in this Europe? Do we want to lead solutions or just be an example of European problems? If Europe has problems with growth and productivity, Portugal has a bigger one. If Europe has a problem of bureaucracy, Portugal has…

6 Oct

2026

EN Speech

Preparation of the European Council meeting of 15-16 October 2026 (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, dear representative of the Council, dear Thomas, next week, the European Council will try to sort out all the problems on the agenda, so let me save you some time. The source of all the problems is sitting around the table. Maybe you don't agree, so let me explain to you why. On competitiveness, everybody praises Draghi, Letta and all that, but then Germany and France a…

16 Sep

2026

EN Speech

State of the Union (debate)

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Madam President, Minister Byrne, President von der Leyen, in this envelope, addressed to the European Union and all the Member States, I have all the bills for all the programmes that we all consider crucial for the future of our Union. Let us go through a few of them: decarbonisation – hundreds of billions a year; competitiveness – hundreds of billions of euros a year; defence – hundreds of billi…

7 Jul

2026

PT Speech

EU-Mexico (joint debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner Šefčovič, at a time when it seems easier to launch tariffs, which are a kind of walls, it is a particular pleasure to talk here about trade agreements, which are a kind of bridges. And this modernisation of the global agreement with Mexico and the interim trade agreement are a beautiful bridge. It is not only the 99% of tariffs that disappear, which in agri-food alone…

17 Jun

2026

EN Speech

Preparation of the European Council (joint debate)

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Mr President, Minister, Commissioner Šefčovič, I only have one minute for a very long agenda in the Council, so I'll concentrate on competitiveness to once again ask for speed and urgency. On speed – okay, Europe is moving a bit faster, but the rest of the world is moving at warp speed and we keep falling behind, basically because we are massively underestimating the gigantic impact of AI and its …

20 May

2026

EN Speech

High time to deliver on the Single Market, providing certainty and predictability for EU businesses and quality jobs (continuation of debate)

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Madam President, Mr Vice-President of the Commission, dear colleagues, today I want to talk about madness, because 33 years after the creation of the single market, we are still imposing tariffs on ourselves. It's madness because Europe's competitiveness crisis is fundamentally a single market crisis. Another sign of madness: while EUR 10 trillion sit idle in European bank accounts, our start ups …

19 May

2026

PT Speech

Political repression and humanitarian situation in Cuba (debate)

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Madam President, Madam High Representative, hunger, misery, fear, despair and political repression in Cuba are no accident. The humanitarian crisis is above all the deliberate result of a brutal communist regime that has for more than six decades mercilessly oppressed its own people for the benefit of a corrupt elite. The regime threatens, arrests, tortures and lets all those who oppose it rot in …

19 May

2026

EN Speech

EU cybersecurity and preparedness in view of advanced AI systems (debate)

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Madam President, Minister, Commissioner, first, we are urgently debating cybersecurity and preparedness in the EU today, because we became suddenly aware that several new AI systems are especially good at detecting and exploiting system vulnerabilities like they were superhackers on steroids. But the real threat is – and has been for some time – less sophisticated and far more dangerous. The threa…

25 Mar

2026

PT Speech

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

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Madam President, Commissioner, President Costa, last week's European Council innovated on one thing: it has concrete deadlines rather than intentions. He says that the diagnosis is already made and that now what is needed is to do, and to do in deadlines that mark and that are short. They are short, at least by European standards. But it does more: it strongly links the issues of energy,…

10 Mar

2026

EN Speech

Single Market: how to move from an incomplete single market to one market for one Europe (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, Minister, Europe's so-called competitiveness crisis is, in fact, a single market crisis, because our potential is huge – 450 million inhabitants and EUR 18 trillion in GDP – but we don't make proper use of it. Example A: today there are EUR 10 trillion in savings idle in European bank accounts, while our start-ups ask the US for financing. Some say Europe lacks capit…

11 Feb

2026

EN Speech

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

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Madam President, Commissioner, President of the Council, the Draghi message was clear: Europe is losing ground on growth, productivity and innovation. So, President Costa does well to convene leaders for urgent talks about competitiveness and as well to invite Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta to be there. Let's hope their presence serves as a wake up call. Let's hope that some urgent action can be ag…

10 Feb

2026

PT Speech

Extreme weather events in particular in Portugal, southern Italy, Malta and Greece: European response in strengthening readiness, preparedness and solidarity mechanisms (debate)

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7 Oct

2025

EN Speech

Time to complete a fully integrated Single Market: Europe’s key to growth and future prosperity (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, Minister, today we say it is time to complete the single market, but that implies we're almost there. But are we? Really? Let's take a look. We should by now have the 28th regime, but we don't. What's blocking it? We should have a European energy market, but we don't. Is the French nuclear lobby blocking it? A European telecoms market – we should have it, but we don'…

10 Sep

2025

EN Speech

State of the Union (debate)

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Madam President, Frau von der Leyen, allow me to address you directly to remind you of the great wisdom of Spider-Man. With great power comes great responsibility. You have great power, Frau von der Leyen, you lead the executive unit of our Union. And I had a chance to talk to you, and also to Council President Costa, before your mandate began. Do you remember? So I'll ask you again today what I a…

9 Jul

2025

PT Speech

Arbitrary arrest and torture of Belgian-Portuguese researcher Joseph Figueira Martin in the Central African Republic

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Mr President, Commissioner, Joseph Figueira Martin has been in prison without charge for almost 15 months in the Central African Republic. It is captive in inhumane and degrading conditions. He has health problems that get worse every day and does not have any medical support. Joseph Martin must be released immediately. This description is unfortunately identical to many others that this House has…

9 Jul

2025

PT Answer

EU-US trade negotiations (debate)

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There is no direct link between Trump's tariffs and the international tax regime. What I do know is that many of these low effective corporate tax rates that the honourable Member mentions are not illegal, they are the use of the current tax regime, which exists a little all over Europe. The honourable Member is asking whether there should be a way to, and it is difficult to determine the tax base…

9 Jul

2025

EN Speech

EU-US trade negotiations (debate)

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Mr President, Madam Minister, Mr Commissioner, the present EU‑US trade environment is so bizarre that today, 9 July, the only source of relief is that we did not receive a letter. But it is only a temporary source of relief. In three weeks we will be anxious again, waiting to receive another letter or perhaps reach a personal agreement, or perhaps a late night post telling us which tariffs will ap…

18 Jun

2025

PT Speech

Electricity grids: the backbone of the EU energy system (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, without modern infrastructure there is no energy transition, no competitiveness and no future. The electricity grid is the backbone of the European economy and is indeed outdated, congested, fragmented and unprepared for a demand that is estimated and expected to grow strongly. The beautiful report we are debating here today shows the way: more investment, more technolo…

18 Jun

2025

PT Speech

Safeguarding the rule of law in Spain, ensuring an independent and autonomous prosecutor's office to fight crime and corruption (debate)

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Mr President, the abuses of the rule of law occur both in right-wing extremist regimes, such as Hungary, which we have discussed at length today, and in so-called moderate left-wing regimes, such as Spain, whose situation should inspire real concern. Because in Spain, the Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, always puts his personal and political interests before the rule of law. He passed an amnesty la…

21 May

2025

PT Speech

Single Market Strategy (debate)

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President, Commissioner Séjourné, the Communication "Single Market Strategy" was published today. Thirteen months after the Letta report, nine months after the Draghi report. In fact, the European Union still does not break speed records and, in this case, it is not even because it does not find the topic important, because Draghi already told us that barriers to the single market can cost 10% of …

11 Mar

2025

PT Answer

European Council meetings and European security (joint debate)

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Mr Oliveira, I believe that if we do not stop Putin, there is no housing, there is no education, there is no health that is worth any European. So it is the honourable Member who has to explain: Why, three years ago, since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, have you consistently advocated a policy of appeasing tyrants like Vladimir Putin? That is what the honourable Member has to explain.…

11 Mar

2025

PT Speech

European Council meetings and European security (joint debate)

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Madam President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, Commissioners, ladies and gentlemen, the world has changed a lot since the last plenary sitting here in Strasbourg. On February 13, the last day of this plenary session, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the following sentence: "The United States is no longer available to ensure Europe's security". Clarinho like water. As the President o…

12 Feb

2025

EN Speech

Competitiveness Compass (debate)

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Mr President, Mr Commissioner, Minister, the Competitive Compass has finally set Europe in the right direction: the direction of growth by creating the conditions to make the most of the creativity of our citizens and the strength of our companies; and the direction of simplification. Yet another attempt to cut the red tape that is strangling our families and our businesses. But let us make sure t…

21 Jan

2025

PT Answer

Geopolitical and economic implications for the transatlantic relations under the new Trump administration (debate)

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Mr João Oliveira, your blue card question is undermined by two facts: the fact that I did many and therefore did not even hear what I said, because the answer to your question was in my speech. What do we have to do? It is not a question of distancing ourselves from the United States, it is a question of being autonomous in relation to our interests. Europe should no longer have dependencies on de…

21 Jan

2025

PT Speech

Geopolitical and economic implications for the transatlantic relations under the new Trump administration (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner Šefčovič, representative of the Council, how many alarms do Europe have to sound to wake up? The economic decline of the European Union for decades was an alarm. The Draghi, Letta, Niinistö reports were an alarm. Trump's inauguration is yet another alarm, because Trump's world is not based on rules and values is based on interests and power. That is why Europe must wake …