What João spoke about.

17

Jun

2025

PT Speech

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Combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child sexual abuse material and replacing Council Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA (recast) (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner Brunner, we must spare no effort in the fight against child sexual abuse. This fight requires much more than criminal measures. The proposal for a directive that we discussed focuses on criminal measures to combat abuse after it has occurred and ignores measures to prevent abuse. We need prevention measures that guarantee the proper and safe functioning of institution…

17

Jun

2025

PT Question

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Combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child sexual abuse material and replacing Council Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA (recast) (debate)

Mrs Ana Miguel Pedro, you spoke about the various contexts in which situations of child abuse occur. The first question I wanted to ask you has to do precisely with that. Does it not seem to you that this requires much more than criminal measures to increase penalties? Does this not seem to you to require preventive measures to ensure the proper and safe functioning of institutions and spaces wher…

16

Jun

2025

PT Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, housing is a priority in responding to people's problems and the European Union needs to take the necessary measures so that there are solutions at national level to increase the public supply of housing, protect tenants, combat property speculation, ensure that the necessary investment is mobilised so that homes that are vacant – State-owned real estate – can b…

16

Jun

2025

PT Speech

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Strengthening rural areas in the EU through cohesion policy (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner Fitto, the day we debate this report on the importance of cohesion policy for rural areas is precisely the day when the Committee on Budgets has just voted on amendments to the regulations for the European cohesion policy funds, namely the ERDF and the Cohesion Fund, which now have militarism as their specific objectives. Military mobility in the Union has become one of …

16

Jun

2025

PT Question

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Strengthening rural areas in the EU through cohesion policy (debate)

Madam President, Mr Rodrigues, the honourable Member has referred to several important aspects of this report, but I would like to ask him about other aspects that go in the negative direction. Firstly, I would like to ask you how the development of rural areas is supported by placing this focus on militarism – which also appears in this report with the reference to the importance of military mobi…

16

Jun

2025

PT Speech

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The human cost of Russia’s war against Ukraine and the urgent need to end Russian aggression: the situation of illegally detained civilians and prisoners of war, and the continued bombing of civilians (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner Kos, the war has been raging in Ukraine for more than 11 years. Reality shows that dialogue is urgent; a dialogue for a political solution to the conflict, a dialogue addressing the problems of collective security and disarmament in Europe, a dialogue aimed at compliance with the principles of the UN Charter and the Final Act of the Helsinki Conference. The resumption…

16

Jun

2025

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The human cost of Russia’s war against Ukraine and the urgent need to end Russian aggression: the situation of illegally detained civilians and prisoners of war, and the continued bombing of civilians (debate)

Mr Blaha, I have listened carefully to your speech and I would like to ask you a question. After all the speeches we have heard throughout this debate have expressed concern about the loss of human lives, about the destruction of Ukraine, the question I want to ask you is simple: do you really think that the European Union and its institutions are committed to a solution of collective peace and se…

22

May

2025

PT Speech

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Choose Europe for Science (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner Zaharieva, scientific and technological development is absolutely essential for the development of any country. And asymmetries and inequalities in development between the countries of the European Union are a serious problem that must be tackled – and it is therefore absolutely essential that the European Union’s choices in science and technology make a decisive contrib…

22

May

2025

PT Question

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Choose Europe for Science (debate)

Mr Gonçalves, I would like to ask you two questions. First, how does Portugal get out of the situation of dependence of the strongest countries, of the great powers of the European Union, in access to funds for science? The European Union has just announced a set of measures with large associated funds. Portugal is always in a position of dependence, because to access these funds, our science and …

22

May

2025

PT Question

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Choose Europe for Science (debate)

Madam President, Mr Sousa Silva, you have made a very important speech, but you have forgotten the most important aspect of investing in science: investing in the social and professional development of scientists and researchers. And this is one of the main problems facing Portugal. The social and professional devaluation of its scientists and researchers is a brand that sinks our country, condemn…

21

May

2025

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, valuing work and workers is a condition for social justice and also for national development. A country that does not value its workers, their wages, their careers and professions, their working conditions is a country plagued by social injustices and inequalities, and also a country with less conditions for development. A government that executes a policy of attacking labour and soc…

21

May

2025

PT Speech

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Improving mental health at work (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner Mînzatu, low wages and socio-occupational devaluation, job insecurity and discontinuity in employment and work, shift work and deregulated working hours, discrimination and harassment in the workplace, violation of maternity and paternity rights: these are some of the underlying problems that are at the root of the mental health problems that affect workers. We often dis…

21

May

2025

PT Question

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The EU's response to the Israeli government's plan to seize the Gaza Strip, ensuring effective humanitarian support and the liberation of hostages (debate)

Mr Tânger Corrêa, 53 000 dead – 15 000 of whom are children – 119 000 injured, 430 humanitarian workers killed – 305 of them from the United Nations –, more than 1 400 health professionals and 213 journalists killed. At the moment, there are 14 000 babies at risk of starvation, two million people without food, without water, without medicines because of the blockade of humanitarian aid imposed by …

8

May

2025

PT Speech

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Old challenges and new commercial practices in the internal market (debate)

Mr President, the policy that the peoples need is a policy of boosting the internal market that increases purchasing power by increasing wages and pensions; to gear the economy towards job creation and meeting social needs rather than the profits of economic groups; to stimulate productive development and the incorporation of science and technology into production; and to take on the objective of …

8

May

2025

PT Speech

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80 years after the end of World War II - freedom, democracy and security as the heritage of Europe (debate)

Mr President, the remembrance of the 80th anniversary of the day of the victory over Nazifascism must serve to recall the hard lessons learned by humanity from the tragedy of that war, so that the peoples can avoid its repetition. The legacy of Nazi-fascist barbarism is unprecedented destruction – genocide, concentration camps, tens of millions of deaths. With 20 million dead, it was the Soviet Un…

7

May

2025

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High levels of retail food prices and their consequences for European consumers (debate)

Mr President, a lady interviewed in Portugal about rising prices told Portuguese television that the worst thing is that you run out of money to buy a book. This sentence reflects well the consequences of the increase in the cost of living. It's not just what you stop buying in basic necessities, it's the rest of people's lives that gets compromised. And, speaking of the increase in the cost of li…

7

May

2025

PT Question

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High levels of retail food prices and their consequences for European consumers (debate)

Madam President, Mrs Miranda, you have indeed referred here to a circumstance which is contradictory, or apparently contradictory. Because, while it is true that distribution groups crush the prices they pay to producers, the truth is that they have not stopped increasing prices in the sale to the public, particularly in essential goods. And when we question this, what we are told from the Europea…

7

May

2025

PT Speech

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Resilience and the need to improve the interconnection of energy grid infrastructure in the EU: the first lessons from the blackout in the Iberian Peninsula (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner Jørgensen, the problems that caused the blackout of 28 April may happen regardless of how the electricity sector is organised and operates, but their scale and consequences are the result of the policies of liberalisation and privatisation of the energy sector by national governments under the patronage of the European Union. These policies cut the electricity sector …

7

May

2025

PT Speech

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Competition policy – annual report 2024 (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner Ribera, there are two central ideas in this debate. The first central idea is that competition only serves the European Union when it suits economic groups and multinationals. When it serves to limit public investment, the operation of public enterprises or to impose their privatisation, the pretext of competition is useful. When competition rules limit the interests …

7

May

2025

PT Question

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Competition policy – annual report 2024 (debate)

Madam President, Mr Andrus, competition has served as a pretext to limit or even prevent public investment and the strengthening of state-owned enterprises. The Portuguese State had to face a thousand and one difficulties to recapitalize the public bank, Caixa Geral de Depósitos, and has suffered a thousand and one forms of pressure to sell the public airline, TAP. This means that competition serv…

6

May

2025

PT Speech

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An urgent assessment of the applicability of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (PDCA) with Cuba (debate)

Madam President, it is absolutely essential that there be respect for the sovereign will of the Cuban people and that there be channels of relationship, cooperation and dialogue with Cuba so that, in relations based on these principles, solutions can be found to overcome the problems facing the Cuban people, particularly the truly criminal consequences of the blockade that the United States contin…

6

May

2025

PT Speech

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

Mr President, the proposals we have put forward for this multiannual financial framework report state an alternative with clear priorities: prioritising economic, social and territorial cohesion and considering it as a cross-cutting principle of the multiannual budget of the European Union; prioritising objectives such as full employment, raising the living conditions of workers or eradicating pov…

6

May

2025

PT Speech

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A unified EU response to unjustified US trade measures and global trade opportunities for the EU (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner Šefčovič, the response to Trump's tariff policy must be based on three essential elements. First, strengthening the internal market by increasing purchasing power, supporting policies to increase wages and pensions. By strengthening our internal market, we have an economy that is less dependent, less vulnerable, less exposed to the decisions that others make, especially …

6

May

2025

PT Question

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A unified EU response to unjustified US trade measures and global trade opportunities for the EU (debate)

Mr President, Mrs Pereira, you spoke about the need for diversification of markets and a broader trade policy. Unfortunately, this is one of the competences that has been transferred to the European Union and in which the national states today have no possibility of developing their action – the case of Portugal is a blatant example of this. But the question I want to ask you has to do with anothe…

5

May

2025

PT Speech

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Ninth report on economic and social cohesion (debate)