What Hélder spoke about.

18

Jun

2025

PT Speech

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Upcoming NATO summit on 24-26 June 2025 (debate)

Mr President, Madam High Representative, the threat of a European invasion is clearly no longer a hypothetical scenario; Today it is a concrete possibility. And it's not just on the border with Russia or Belarus. At every border in the European Union today we have serious threats. I therefore want to congratulate the European Commission on recent budgetary initiatives, notably the SAFE (Action for…

17

Jun

2025

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Implementation report on the Recovery and Resilience Facility (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, we are debating the evaluation of the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility at a crucial moment, given the approaching completion of this instrument. The state of implementation of this programme is clearly below what is expected and desirable, not even reaching 50% of the implementation rates in some Member States. In this sens…

16

Jun

2025

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, on 12 June we marked four decades of Portugal's accession to the then European Economic Community, a fundamental milestone in the consolidation of our democracy and also in the modernisation of the country. European integration represented for Portugal an opportunity for economic development, the strengthening of the rule of law and international p…

22

May

2025

PT Answer

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Choose Europe for Science (debate)

Honourable Member, thank you very much for your question. You always see the glass half empty. I always see the glass half full and what I can tell you is this: Portugal is an example at European and global level when it comes to innovation and development. Portugal has centres of excellence for innovation and development. An example is the issue of health; the Champalimaud Foundation in particula…

22

May

2025

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Choose Europe for Science (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, we will only have a developed, prosperous and sovereign Europe if we put science and innovation at the heart of our common project. The Choose Europe for Science initiative is a crucial step in this direction. For the first time, researchers will have not only robust and direct funding from the European Union, but also the guarantee of extended …

6

May

2025

PT Speech

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

Mr President, Commissioner, we are facing a great challenge when we talk about the definition of the next multiannual financial framework. While, on the one hand, it is essential to safeguard the European Union's traditional policies, such as cohesion policy or the common agricultural policy, they should continue to be properly and autonomously financed in order to guarantee balance, autonomy and …

1

Apr

2025

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EU Preparedness Union Strategy (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, I welcome the presentation of the EU Preparedness Union Strategy, which enshrines a key approach to strengthening the Union's ability to anticipate, anticipate and face crises. Prepared citizens are the first resource of a resilient society. Promoting risk literacy and ensuring early warning and warning systems are the responsibilities of the various levels of govern…

31

Mar

2025

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European Cultural Compass as a driving force for economic competitiveness and resilience (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, with this cultural compass from the European Commission, I believe that Europe is finally realising that culture is not a luxury accessible only to a few elites, but a real engine of competitiveness. The cultural and creative sector accounts for 4.2% of the European Union’s GDP and employs 3.7% of the workforce. But its impact goes far beyond th…

31

Mar

2025

PT Speech

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Guidelines for the 2026 budget - Section III (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the guidelines for the 2026 budget reflect a clear vision for the future of the European Union. Including culture and education in the guidelines is a crucial step, reaffirming their essential role in building a stronger, more connected, knowledgeable and better prepared Europe for the global challenges ahead. Protecting and strengthening programme…

12

Mar

2025

PT Speech

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Secessionist threats in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the recent escalation (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, the recent mission of the Committee on Security and Defence to Bosnia and Herzegovina, which I was privileged to join, has revealed an unavoidable truth: the country is at a dangerous crossroads, with high internal challenges and unacceptable external pressures threatening its stability. The destabilising forces, fuelled by nationalist and separatist narratives, are dri…

12

Mar

2025

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

Madam President, Commissioner, Europe clearly faces a major challenge. I am talking about skills shortages and the mismatch between training and the labour market. To overcome this obstacle, we need a genuine skills union, in which education and vocational training are drivers of growth, innovation and also social cohesion. Vocational training is key to continuous learning, preparing individuals f…

11

Mar

2025

PT Answer

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White paper on the future of European defence (debate)

(start of intervention with microphone off) ... tends not to see the true extent of the problem. The left in Portugal sees that China is arming itself, sees that Russia has already armed itself, but wants Europe to continue to bury its head in the sand. What we say is 'no', we want to have minimal deterrence to defend the European people of the 27 Member States. We do not want to make a weapon to …

11

Mar

2025

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White paper on the future of European defence (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, Europe's security is finally no longer a secondary issue. The White Paper on the future of European defence is a good – it is an excellent – foundation on which we will build a true European Defence Union. Our priorities are clear: a comprehensive approach to European security, significantly increase defence investment and develop a credible, autonomous and sovereign de…

11

Mar

2025

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European Council meetings and European security (joint debate)

Madam President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, Commissioner, the conclusions of the extraordinary Council represent the recognition of a European strategy which, for decades, has developed a weak and contradictory security model, a Europe that is geopolitically relevant, but without the necessary instruments of power to influence its own neighbourhood. We're running now to make up for los…

10

Mar

2025

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Madam President, Commissioner, water is a source of life! And I ask: what is the European strategy for water management? The goal is that we can ensure that future generations have access to water for consumption and also for the various economic activities, particularly agriculture. Southern Europe, and particularly Portugal, currently suffers from high water scarcity. In our case, the regions of…

13

Feb

2025

PT Speech

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EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, the agreement with Mercosur is a fair agreement, a balanced agreement and a good agreement from a geopolitical, economic and social point of view. There is no doubt that for industry it is a good agreement and that we must include guarantees from the point of view of the agricultural sector. Additional guarantees are provided for in this latest version of the agreement,…

12

Feb

2025

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Competitiveness Compass (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, Minister, ladies and gentlemen, the European Union is currently facing one of the most critical moments in its history. It is at a turning point, where the capacity for reinvention will determine whether the European Union will be a protagonist or a mere spectator. The Competitiveness Compass thus appears to be an important, ambitious and framing document, but it nee…

11

Feb

2025

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Continuing the unwavering EU support for Ukraine, after three years of Russia’s war of aggression (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, we have unfortunately counted three years of war in Ukraine this February as a result of the illegal occupation that Russia unilaterally decided to carry out. Thousands killed and wounded, millions displaced, billions of euros of damage, generations lost and a people shattered. What did the Ukrainian people do to suffer in this way? That's the ques…

10

Feb

2025

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, security and defence have finally become priorities of our Union. Security and defence, after food and water, are at the bottom of the pyramid of human needs. Without security and defense there are no social rights. And investment in defence is not just an expense, it has a multiplier effect on the economy, as well as job creation, scientific research and social development. Strength…

23

Jan

2025

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Combating Desertification: 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the United Nations Convention (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, desertification is a growing challenge facing the European Union, especially in the southern Member States and particularly those close to the Mediterranean. Lack of water, soil depletion and climate change are now a harsh reality in some parts of the Union and, in addition, we are also witnessing the depopulation of some inland regions due to a lack of attractiveness a…

22

Jan

2025

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Uniting Europe against actors hostile to the EU: time to strengthen our security and defence (topical debate)

Madam President, Minister, Commissioner, I believe that the hour of fiery speeches is over. We need to get to work. We need to make it happen. Yes, defence is a primary responsibility of the Member States. And yes, as MEPs, we have a responsibility to be an active voice in justifying the Union's increased investment in defence, whether we are in the north, the centre or the south of Europe. But th…

21

Jan

2025

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Need to detect and to counter sabotage by the Russian shadow fleet, damaging critical undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea (debate)

Mr President, Minister, Commissioner, by operating ghost fleets through shell companies, Russia has created a new model of proxy warfare that threatens Europe and the world. It is not only in the Baltic, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean that they also walk. While we are here, these ships map in detail the location, state and possible vulnerabilities of our submarine infrastructure, both telecomm…

17

Dec

2024

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Russia’s disinformation and historical falsification to justify its war of aggression against Ukraine (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, history is history only because of the collective memory that we all perpetuate, whether in words, deeds or images. At the same time, deliberate acts of historical revision are Russia's only option when it wants to paint the invasion of Ukraine as justifiable. Russia uses disinformation and historical bias to rewrite the past, justify the present, but above all to ma…

16

Dec

2024

PT Speech

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Right to clean drinking water in the EU (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, without drinking water we have no life. The last century was a time to secure and bring drinking water to the homes of European citizens. It was a great battle, but it's not over yet. Climate change, the pollution of aquifers and the destruction of infrastructure are jeopardising the water supply in some latitudes of the Union. Southern Europe, in particular Portugal…

16

Dec

2024

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Regional Emergency Support: RESTORE (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, since time immemorial there have always been natural disasters. However, climate change has increased the occurrence of these disasters, leading, unfortunately, to thousands of deaths, millions affected and trillions of euros of damage. In addition, the disorder of the territory with man-made construction in places of risk, has clearly aggravated the situation. The D…