Speeches

Mrs Miranda, thank you for talking here about fatphobia. It's a topic that hadn't been talked about yet. The stigma associated with obesity is very heavy. We also talked about socio-economic factors, they are important. But it is true that the stigma increases and with the bullying Social media is growing even more. I would like to ask ‑ if he thinks that at European level we can do more to combat stigma and to combat bullying What about Fatophobia?

Madam President, there are two myths about obesity that must be dismantled. That is merely a matter of individual choices, it is not. And that is a problem that is solved only with health policies, it is not so either. It's actually how we organize ourselves as a society. There are 8 billion people with obesity in the world. More than 400 million are children and we have more than 1.7 million premature deaths each year. Yes, individual factors are complex and unique, but the causes are a combination of known environmental, economic and social factors. With ultra-processed food, cheaper than healthy food, in an economy of low wages and unregulated work, with hours so long that they prevent adequate hours of sleep, where sports are expensive and the screen is the cheapest entertainment, everything is designed so that obesity continues to increase. And, Commissioner, the European Commission's policies, as you see, are a good part of the problem. Innovative medicines to treat obesity exist, but they are still only available to a few and must be accessible to all. And that's a decision about health that we can't postpone. But no medication changes our primary responsibility: prevent the disease. And for that, we have to change a lot. A first step: ensure that healthy choices are affordable and not a luxury. The price of food, and fresh food, is a huge burden for families today and that is not acceptable. And, of course, we have to have the courage to regulate the market and stop selling as food what is not food.

Mr President, while the people of Europe are despairing at the rise in energy prices, the Commission decides to say that it will lower them and do the exact opposite. At the same time, the Commission manages to increase the cost of living and discredit the institutions, which is the new normal. We are now experiencing a new episode of this political farce, while the United States and Israel attack Iran – committing yet another international crime and provoking a parade of atrocities – the response of European leaders ranges from cowardice to more propaganda. And the Commission announces plans to cut energy bills for citizens, while accepting the war that drives prices up. The new mandate of the Commission and this Parliament, moreover, began with numerous setbacks in climate commitments that were already insufficient. Disinvestment in the response to climate change has been mitigated by the warming of propaganda. Commissioner, it is all of us who are under attack. War and the energy crisis attack ‑nos in our daily lives. Betrayal of climate commitments attacks our future and, as always, it will be the poorest to pay.

Madam President, fix these figures: men are 41% of the Portuguese workforce with tertiary education, but occupy 84% of top positions in companies. Is it really merit? Across the European Union, women earn on average 12% less. In some countries the difference is more than 18%, working 54-67 days a year without pay. And we already know: Low wages condemn low pensions. In Portugal, women would have to work almost three months each year more to have the same annual salary and do three times as many homework and care tasks, those that never enter the salary or pension bills, just tiredness. And there are those who take advantage of this fatigue to try to push women home. The old machismo of old, with modern clothes of influencer, tries to convince us that women's happiness will be indoors and caring. For these, I have two answers: The idealized past of caring and happy women at home never existed. Women have always worked hard and at everything. The difference is whether or not work is paid, whether or not it is recognized. And we know what they want. They want women out of the public space, out of the workplace, out of the economy, out of decision-making. They want to maintain macho privilege and take away our independence and power. Condemn us to subservience, humiliation and violence. We're not going backwards. What we demand here is the fair sharing of care and public care services from daycare to support for old age. And we want equal pay, equal respect.

Madam President, today we mark World Cancer Day and make all statements about our commitment to the fight against cancer. And it sounds great, but there's a little problem: is that, without a budget, all we say today are empty words. Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and the European Mission on Cancer were policy decisions that had relevant results but were guaranteed funding in the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework. We are here today committing to things for which we do not know if there is a budget and that is the elephant in the room. The militaristic race is unprotecting European citizens also in health. In fact, it is no coincidence that, last year, 11 European health ministers asked for expenditure on medicines to be considered defence expenditure. This is the absurdity that we have reached. So I come here with an expectation: that there may be a majority in the European Parliament to secure funding for health programmes, including cancer, a disease which, as you know and despite all the extraordinary advances, continues to kill more than one million people every year in the European Union. I would like to leave a final note on the debate we have had. Finally, this resolution has been difficult to produce, to debate, it is being difficult, because of the inclusion of a reference or not to the risks of alcohol. Now, science says that there is no alcohol consumption that is safe, all carries risks. And in all environmental consumption risks, our obligation is to give the best of science to the population, because prevention is a big part of our path. Hide risks or give in to lobbies It is an irresponsibility.

Madam President, Madam Vice-President, the right wants to convince us that the European Union has the power to destroy rights, but not to create. It may require liberalisation of labour law, but not labour rights. It may require privatization of public services, but not the right to health or housing. It's not about competence, it's about choice - and your side is clear. The left, for its part, has been fighting for the European social model to be something more than a propaganda article. Protecting and re-founding the post-war social contract (with robust public services, with dignity for all people throughout life and strong labour rights, including, yes, minimum wage, protection of those working for platforms or the right to disconnect) is the minimum of the minimum. Demanding an effective social pillar and for these times is a choice about the Europe we want. A Europe of rights or a Europe of the race to the bottom. This choice will decide not only the future of Europe, but the future of democracy.

Madam President, we are talking about a case of life or death. We're talking about a man who was kidnapped by the Wagner Group a year and a half ago, who was tortured. It was handed over by the Wagner Group to the Central African Republic and barbarism continued. He was tried in a trial without guarantees of justice and sentenced to an absolutely inhuman sentence of ten years of forced labour. We are talking about Joseph Figueira Martin, an anthropologist, humanitarian worker, with dual nationality: Portuguese and Belgian. But if we were to talk about any citizen, anywhere in the world, this whole story would be unacceptable - and this has to stop. Of course we are in the European Parliament and we have an increased responsibility to defend the citizens of the European Union. And here we are, and it is also for this fellow-countryman of mine - fellow-citizen - that I speak. The least the European Parliament can do is demand his immediate release. We did it in July; the situation has worsened. And the problem is that, if the European Parliament can continue to table resolutions calling for release, we do not know how much longer this man can wait, because his health is deteriorating at every moment. That is why this joint position and this determination of the European Parliament to ensure that Joseph Figueira Martin is released is very important. If all the other reasons for the abuse of rights were sufficient, let us now also look at the humanitarian reason for his poor health.

Mr President, Commissioner, the right tries to justify the retreats in the Green Pact with two arguments which are two lies: competitiveness and costs for families. On competitiveness, we understand, even China already has an agenda for the energy transition and the European retreat will only have two consequences: technological backwardness and jeopardising European companies that see their efforts in vain. Going back into the environment is a mistake. Moreover, there is no competition with the planet, there is only one planet and our responsibility is to have an economic model that allows the life of the human species on Earth. As for costs for households, the energy transition, if done well, only lowers costs and thus frees up wages. Good free and efficient public transport protects the environment and protects the wallet. Decentralized renewable energy production lowers the bill for light, allows more efficient and comfortable homes. If we play less with green taxes, which are anything but green and only serve to ease the conscience of the big polluters, and if we invest seriously in the just transition, those who live off their work only have to earn, even in better jobs and better wages. Meanwhile, the irresponsible far-right deniers, the retreat of the right and the lack of courage of socialists and greens, keep us in this situation of going to vote on emissions reduction targets that are a farce. It will not be for us that the European Union is without reduction targets, but we will not fail to denounce what we have here: with so many flexibility mechanisms, there is no guarantee of reduction here. We will not lower our arms! There is no planet B!

Madam President, Commissioner, one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. Every year in Europe, half a million women receive this diagnosis and 125,000 die. Tragically, the risk has increased even in young women, but the evolution of health brings hope to all women. This hope has three conditions: timely diagnosis, appropriate treatment and follow-up. For this, we need robust, universal and timely health services, not health cuts. We need health literacy, more and better education, and fewer prejudices and taboos. Fighting the stigma and celebrating the survivors also saves us all. And we need living conditions. Yes, women postpone appointments and diagnostic tests too often, because work has too many hours, outside and inside the home, because they give priority to caring for others – children, parents, companions, family – and when they need care too often they are left alone. October is Breast Cancer Visibility Month. Every month is to fight for women's health and lives. A final call: do the screening.

Madam President, Commissioner, in August 2024, the world reached two degrees centigrade for the first time. Europe is the fastest warming continent. In my country, in Portugal, summer fires never let us forget that climate change is our present. Ten years ago, the Paris Agreement sealed the global promise of every effort being made not to exceed one and a half degrees. It didn't happen. Oil has always spoken louder. We are going to the 30th COP, and there will be a lot of people wondering if we can still expect anything. In the face of Trump's denialism, the inaction of the European Commission and governments, Parliament's resolution does not quite give up on effective changes to a strategy to end the fossil. But there is a tragic setback: militarization as an exception and that jeopardizes all objectives. Signs of global hope come to us today from environmental movements. At COP30, in Brazil, indigenous peoples make themselves heard and, in the parliamentary commitments made, there is a dedicated section that recognises their rights, their indispensable role. We now propose one more step. If we want the end of the fossil, this is also a time of opposition to new oil exploration projects in the Amazon. I invite Members to vote on this compromise coming from the Peoples' Summit, and I ask the Commissioner whether he will have time to meet with the Peoples' Summit and get to know its demands, or whether all his time will be for the oil lobby. One thing I know: the social movement has driven the environmental agenda to this day, and COP30 must be the moment for more social movement.

Mr President, Commissioner, not being able to pay for the house, living in an overcrowded house and postponing life projects puts mental health at risk. Working underpaid, with long hours and precarious contracts, puts mental health at risk. When education is a competition, rather than a learning, it puts mental health at risk. On top of all this, having homework and care tasks, without the support of quality public services, and still dealing with everyday macho violence, yes, puts mental health in question. Poverty puts mental health at risk. The European Commission says it is concerned about all this, but it promotes property speculation, overexploitation of labour and disinvestment in the welfare state and public services. I do not forget that the European Commission in 2016 opposed raising the minimum wage in my country; and I don't forget the struggle it was to do it anyway. But I also know that you are now comforting the Portuguese Government's plans to destroy the few remaining labour rights in my country. Your policy puts at risk mental health and the mismatch between what you proclaim and what you do puts democracy at risk.

Mr President, Commissioner, when the Second World Summit for Social Development meets next month, 30 years will have passed since the Copenhagen compromise, without us being able to live up to what was required. In a world of growing inequalities and growing political forces betting everything on putting workers against workers, and following Donald Trump’s decision to end USAID, which is estimated to kill more than 14 million people in the world – especially children – by 2030 for lack of vaccines and food, holding this summit in Qatar is tragic cynicism. That at least this Parliament is able to fight for strong commitments; poverty eradication, decent employment, social cohesion are goals that can be achieved – there is political will. This is the time for the European Union to lead by example. The phrase that is repeated so many times and practiced so little. Commitment to development is not a favor, it is an obligation and must be an instrument of peace. Solidarity is not a weakness, it is a strength.

I am sure that the European Union has not done what it should have done. The European Union did not do what it should to defend the humanitarian flotilla, because I do not forget that the Mediterranean is full of Frontex boats that could have accompanied the flotilla boats, broken the siege and brought humanitarian aid to those in need. Did the European Union not do what it needed to do to defend the flotilla, because it would accept from some country, as it accepted from Israel, a criminal detention in international waters and the inhuman treatment given to those detainees, which not even the support of lawyers, many of them, were able to have? And I know that the European Union has not done what it should do because the Member States (“...”)

Madam President, tested in a real scenario, it is the hallmark of Israeli weaponry. A business that grows like never before. Europe is the main buyer, but there are also Arab countries to buy. Palestinians are dead. Gaza is the testing ground of the death industry. A peace plan tailored to this business is not a peace plan. In Trump's and Netanyahu's plan, the Palestinians are not even heard. War criminal Tony Blair is the foreman of service and Israel maintains not only all power but all impunity. It is a war plan and it is the end of international and humanitarian law. Europe pretends to condemn, but continues to arm genocide. They have flown F-35s to Israel with the permission of the Portuguese government. The minimum required of the European Union is less cynicism and more effective sanctions. Follow the courageous example of the flotillas and send their fleets to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, break the siege, stop the genocide, commit to the accountability of war criminals. Then we can have a peace plan with some credibility.

Mr President, Commissioner, in 2025, Portugal was the Member State with the most burnt area in the whole of the European Union. Hundreds of firefighters risked their lives, and populations were left alone fighting the fire to save their villages. The Portuguese government failed, devalued, did not prepare, called for international help too late, was not able to provide a coordinated response. He left the populations, the firefighters, GNR, mayors, to their fate. And we are grateful for European solidarity, but I think we should also discuss whether we cannot do better. In fact, the European Union did not live up to what was expected either: the European Civil Protection Mechanism took five days to send the air assets, after being activated. Five long days. While continuing to export arms to Israel and promising Trump more business for the military industrial complex, Member States and European institutions are failing at the most basic to ensure the safety of their population – civil protection – as if the safety of European citizens were secondary. The villages surrounded by fire, desperate for help, are the tragic result of contempt for the populations and should be the first reason to shiver the path and give priority to cohesion and climate transition.

Madam President, Mrs Kallas, it is genocide, not conflict – it is genocide. Twenty-eight children die every day in the Gaza Strip, at the hands of Israel and at the hands of all those who are complicit. Do not come here to mourn the millions of humanitarian aid that are rotting because Israel has decided to starve to death in Gaza. In fact, what I needed to be doing was supporting those who are trying to get humanitarian aid to Gaza. I didn't hear a word from you about the Global Flotilla. Tonight, one of the Portuguese-flagged boats travelling Greta Thunberg, Ada Colau, Mariana Mortágua and many other European citizens was hit by a drone. It's happened before. We know that's how Israel works. And what do they say? Roberta Metsola, Ursula von der Leyen, António Costa, where is your condemnation of this attack? Where is your guarantee of protection for the Freedom Flotilla? Where is the guarantee of protection for those who are doing what we should all be doing, which is bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza? Your silence is complicit. Israel is killing with European weapons and means. The accomplices of genocide are also genocidal.

Mr President, menstrual pain has historically been made invisible. The devaluation of menstrual pain and endometriosis is yet another expression of the inequality imposed by patriarchal society, which continues to devalue women's health, and this prejudice must be combated. When cells in the endometrial tissue, the tissue that lines the uterus, grow abnormally and elsewhere, menstruation is painful – in some cases disabling pain. Endometriosis is a chronic and debilitating disease with severe impacts on quality of life, including reproductive freedom, and only prejudice explains why it continues to be ignored. In Portugal, we passed a law to protect women in this situation, guaranteeing three days of justified and paid absences per month to those suffering from endometriosis and adenomyosis. The law is recent and the news is worrying. Not only are there employers who refuse to comply with the law, there are doctors who refuse to pass the declaration and even schools who are also refusing the declarations to justify absences of students suffering from the disease. A great cruelty, based on pure prejudice. Unfortunately, this prejudice still extends throughout Europe. It is estimated that there will be around 14 million women with endometriosis in the European Union, but funding for their study is lacking. Little is known about the disease and how to deal with it. The diagnosis can take up to seven years and, even after it has been made, therapies are lacking. In fact, there is no recognition of the problem. Prejudice, then. Patriarchal prejudice is present in everything, including health. And if today we begin to talk about this inequality, it is thanks to feminist activism, which imposed on the political agenda what was condemned to a wall of silence. But if we talk today, we also have to act. There is a lack of research on women's health and their bodies. Men's bodies and health conditions can no longer be the measure of medical research and clinical practice. Lack of recognition and appreciation of women's symptoms and health conditions. There is a lack of concrete targets for training health professionals and a lack of response in public health systems. There is a lack of sexual and health education in schools, including menstrual education. All women must be given the right to their bodies and the health care they need, including abortion. Commissioner, the Commission's statement, recognising the need to agree on persistent gender inequality, also in health, is fundamental. Addressing the issue of endometriosis is an important step and I am glad that we are doing so today, even at the end of the plenary session and with so few people in Strasbourg. But I'm glad we talked. But the other essential step will be a comprehensive strategy for women's health, including the right to sexual and reproductive health throughout the European Union. And that's what we're going to keep working for.

Mr President, menstrual pain has historically been made invisible. The devaluation of menstrual pain and endometriosis is yet another expression of the inequality imposed by patriarchal society, which continues to devalue women's health, and this prejudice must be combated. When cells in the endometrial tissue, the tissue that lines the uterus, grow abnormally and elsewhere, menstruation is painful – in some cases disabling pain. Endometriosis is a chronic and debilitating disease with severe impacts on quality of life, including reproductive freedom, and only prejudice explains why it continues to be ignored. In Portugal, we passed a law to protect women in this situation, guaranteeing three days of justified and paid absences per month to those suffering from endometriosis and adenomyosis. The law is recent and the news is worrying. Not only are there employers who refuse to comply with the law, there are doctors who refuse to pass the declaration and even schools who are also refusing the declarations to justify absences of students suffering from the disease. A great cruelty, based on pure prejudice. Unfortunately, this prejudice still extends throughout Europe. It is estimated that there will be around 14 million women with endometriosis in the European Union, but funding for their study is lacking. Little is known about the disease and how to deal with it. The diagnosis can take up to seven years and, even after it has been made, therapies are lacking. In fact, there is no recognition of the problem. Prejudice, then. Patriarchal prejudice is present in everything, including health. And if today we begin to talk about this inequality, it is thanks to feminist activism, which imposed on the political agenda what was condemned to a wall of silence. But if we talk today, we also have to act. There is a lack of research on women's health and their bodies. Men's bodies and health conditions can no longer be the measure of medical research and clinical practice. Lack of recognition and appreciation of women's symptoms and health conditions. There is a lack of concrete targets for training health professionals and a lack of response in public health systems. There is a lack of sexual and health education in schools, including menstrual education. All women must be given the right to their bodies and the health care they need, including abortion. Commissioner, the Commission's statement, recognising the need to agree on persistent gender inequality, also in health, is fundamental. Addressing the issue of endometriosis is an important step and I am glad that we are doing so today, even at the end of the plenary session and with so few people in Strasbourg. But I'm glad we talked. But the other essential step will be a comprehensive strategy for women's health, including the right to sexual and reproductive health throughout the European Union. And that's what we're going to keep working for.

Mr President, Commissioner, Joseph Figueira Martin is a member of an NGO, FHI 360, and worked in the Central African Republic when, more than a year ago, he was arrested by the Wagner Group and then handed over to the authorities. More than a year later, despite many allegations by the Central African Republic government, no charges were brought against Joseph Figueira Martin. There has been no trial, there is not even a scheduled date, and there are complaints of torture that have to be investigated. But there is above all an undeniable demand. The law of the Central African Republic itself is being violated, because if there is evidence against José Figueira Martin, then there is prosecution and trial; If there is no evidence and they have not appeared for more than a year, Joseph Figueira Martin has to be released and it is already late. I know that it is not the job of this Parliament to investigate the guilt or innocence of any citizen of the European Union, and I do not want to do so. But it is the job of this Parliament and the other European institutions to demand respect for the basic rights of all citizens anywhere in the world.

Mr President, Commissioner, Joseph Figueira Martin is a member of an NGO, FHI 360, and worked in the Central African Republic when, more than a year ago, he was arrested by the Wagner Group and then handed over to the authorities. More than a year later, despite many allegations by the Central African Republic government, no charges were brought against Joseph Figueira Martin. There has been no trial, there is not even a scheduled date, and there are complaints of torture that have to be investigated. But there is above all an undeniable demand. The law of the Central African Republic itself is being violated, because if there is evidence against José Figueira Martin, then there is prosecution and trial; If there is no evidence and they have not appeared for more than a year, Joseph Figueira Martin has to be released and it is already late. I know that it is not the job of this Parliament to investigate the guilt or innocence of any citizen of the European Union, and I do not want to do so. But it is the job of this Parliament and the other European institutions to demand respect for the basic rights of all citizens anywhere in the world.

Mr President, Commissioner, in order to ensure preparedness in the event of a disaster, you have asked the population to have a kit able to meet basic needs for 72 hours and many people, all over Europe, bought lanterns and batteries, water, cans and, of course, medicines. But the Commission seems to have difficulty in following its own advice. Today's strategy, both on the creation of reserves for a possible breakdown in supply chains and on the health strategy in case of pandemics or others, is full of great intentions, but has no budget. That is, the European Union will not spend a penny on any kit of readiness. And where does the money go anyway? For armaments, of course, because there are commitments of many millions. For everything else, less and less. Is protecting supply chains and ensuring health security critical? Yes, yes. Do they invest? No, no. Indeed, and even without assuming it, the Commission is already doing what the Secretary-General of NATO requested. Take to health to spend on weapons. It is a huge irresponsibility, which we will definitely oppose.

Mr President, Commissioner, in order to ensure preparedness in the event of a disaster, you have asked the population to have a kit able to meet basic needs for 72 hours and many people, all over Europe, bought lanterns and batteries, water, cans and, of course, medicines. But the Commission seems to have difficulty in following its own advice. Today's strategy, both on the creation of reserves for a possible breakdown in supply chains and on the health strategy in case of pandemics or others, is full of great intentions, but has no budget. That is, the European Union will not spend a penny on any kit of readiness. And where does the money go anyway? For armaments, of course, because there are commitments of many millions. For everything else, less and less. Is protecting supply chains and ensuring health security critical? Yes, yes. Do they invest? No, no. Indeed, and even without assuming it, the Commission is already doing what the Secretary-General of NATO requested. Take to health to spend on weapons. It is a huge irresponsibility, which we will definitely oppose.