Speeches

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Mr Vice-President, here is the compass for competitiveness, which we have been calling for strongly in recent months and which for now contains useful premises for driving a renewed future of growth and innovation. Reducing bureaucracy is the signal that I see as the most meaningful. Simplification is crucial to enable businesses to focus on what really matters: Innovate, grow and compete globally. In parallel, the Compass places a strong emphasis on innovation as a key driver for competitiveness. We need to invest in research and development, create a favourable environment for start-ups and technology companies. Only in this way can we maintain our leadership in strategic sectors and face international competition. There is no growth without people: If Europe is not facing demographic decline, who works in factories? Who drives innovation? Who keeps up our economic model and our way of life? Europe must become the place where innovation thrives, a dynamic ecosystem that breaks down barriers, simplifies processes and attracts investment. Bureaucracy and politics need to work together, not boycott each other. We must work together on the measures that will implement this plan and make it operational. We are waiting for the legislative work, starting with the fleet of omnibuses that the Commission has promised, to build a Europe that not only overcomes global challenges, but that manages to drive change.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, today, 10 February, in Italy we celebrate Remembrance Day, a day dedicated to the memory of the Italian victims of the foibe and of the hundreds of thousands of people forced to flee the Julian-Dalmatian lands, a wound that is still open, because many of them remain nameless and many families without a truth. But the pain of the missing is not just a memory of the past. Even today, in too many conflicts, thousands of people disappear without a trace. In Cyprus, 50 years after the Turkish invasion, more than 2 000 people are still missing. In the Balkans, during the wars of the 1990s, there are many unsolved cases, just as in Ukraine thousands of children were deported, separated from their families, victims of an injustice that will mark entire generations. Technology, at this point, can be a valuable ally in the search for missing persons. The use of satellite remote sensing and LiDAR technology can help identify mass graves and gather critical evidence to identify victims and restore their dignity. The European Union must invest in these technologies, but political will is needed in addition to technology. The European Union must promote binding mechanisms for the search for missing persons, so that no country can stand in the way of the truth. Ladies and gentlemen, the right to truth has no expiry date. The families of those who have disappeared continue to search, with no choice and no time. It is our duty to stand by them, turning Europe's values into concrete actions.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, it is 2050 and Europe is a continent of silence. Schools are empty, parks are deserted and factories are still. We did not listen to the signals and did not act. What about now? We are an old and tired continent. The birth rate fell below 1.4 children per woman and in some countries the population fell by 20%. For every pensioner there are only two workers. The system is collapsing. But this future is not inevitable. We can stop this decline, of course imagined. In October 2023, the European Commission showed the way by presenting the demographic toolbox, but the time has come – I believe – to dare more. It's time to pave the way for a family deal a European strategy that puts demographic policies at the centre, a new work-life balance, without neglecting support for longevity – a plan that is not just a list of measures, but a real cultural revolution. Colleagues, decline is not a written destiny. The family deal Europe is a response, a weapon against ageing, stagnation and oblivion. Let us not just imagine a living Europe: Let's build it all together. History will not wait, let's write it for ourselves and for the generations to come.

The next item is the debate on the Council and Commission statements on the geopolitical and economic implications for transatlantic relations under the new Trump administration (2025/2516(RSP)).

The next vote concerns the agreement between the EU and the Republic of Serbia on operational activities carried out by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency in the Republic of Serbia (see point 5.1 of the Minutes). (This concludes the voting session) (The sitting adjourned at 12:28)

On behalf of the President, I would like to warmly welcome you to the diplomatic gallery, where a delegation of presidents and representatives of the outermost regions of the European Union is present today. I would like to inform the House that I have received three requests for a point of order. So, let's proceed with the first one. Mr Mariani, for one minute.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, it was on 1 July 2013 that Croatia became the first of the seven Western Balkan countries to join the European Union: It is a historic event, a symbol of hope and a new beginning for the whole region. A little over ten years have passed and today we are again at an equally crucial crossroads. Since then, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia have embarked on a path of bold and difficult reforms: They are strengthening their democratic institutions, modernising the economy and demonstrating a clear willingness to share European values. Every step taken has brought these countries closer to the heart of Europe. Integration also has a clear and tangible economic dimension, as it is a strategic asset for the European Union, with 18 million citizens and a constantly growing GDP – more than 3% per year. Their geographical location, a natural junction between Europe, Asia and the Middle East, makes this region an essential crossroads for supply chains and international trade. We are talking about a process that is not just about geopolitics, but about the security and stability of Europe. Italy has always believed in this perspective and continues to play a leading role. Integrating the Western Balkans means strengthening the Union's external borders and building a bulwark against external influences.

The next item is the Commission statement on Misinformation and disinformation on social media platforms, such as TikTok, and related risks to the integrity of elections in Europe (2024/2967(RSP)). I give the floor to Commissioner Virkkunen, on behalf of the Commission.

The next item is the statement by the Commission: The right to drinking water in the EU. The floor was given to Commissioner Fitto, on behalf of the Commission, for five minutes.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, let us think big, let us think small. These are the words that I spoke in 2019 during my administrative mandate on my territory and I speak them today, with the same conviction, from this European Parliament, because the future of Europe is built precisely on the basis of our children. Today, as we celebrate the 35th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, it is a fundamental pillar, which has enshrined even more strongly how children are full citizens and bearers of inalienable rights. But is that enough? Europe must have courage and we are saying this today, at the beginning of the parliamentary term. We need to strengthen the rules to ensure full safety and equal rights for all children and also a safe digital environment, where everyone is protected and can grow up without fear. Online security isn't a luxury either, but it's a right. Children live our communities together with their families, in that wonderful intertwining of generations where the present coexists with the memory of the past and looks with hope to the future. Governing the passages of life means precisely this, so that no child is left behind and every family can feel part of a Europe that does not forget but that builds. So here is our task: Think big with the little ones in mind.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the silence you have just heard is the silence of millions of women who live every day: is the silence of fear, humiliation, isolation; It is the silence of those who no longer have a voice to ask for help. But we must break this silence with strength, determination and concrete action. The numbers are terrible: One in three women in Europe has experienced physical or sexual violence in her lifetime. And we know that behind these statistics there are faces, stories, families destroyed: They are mothers, women, sisters, daughters, friends. They are people who demand justice, protection, security and attention. And we representatives of the institutions have and must have the duty to defend them, to be their voice, their strength and their hope. Every year, Parliament organises the Gender Equality Week to take stock of achievements and identify new measures. As Vice-President in charge of the initiative, I invite everyone to take part, contributing ideas and reflections. We must ensure that those who denounce are believed, those who suffer find refuge and those who commit violence pay without mitigating circumstances. We need to educate: Women's dignity is non-negotiable! There are no traditions, religions or ideologies that can justify even a single act of violence. We will not stop our efforts until every woman is free to live without fear.

The Minutes of today's sitting will be submitted for Parliament's approval at the beginning of the next sitting. If there are no objections, I shall forward immediately the resolutions adopted at today's sitting to their addressees.

Motion for a resolution on the misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758 by the People's Republic of China and its continued military provocations around Taiwan (2024/2891(RSP))

Motion for a resolution on the situation in Azerbaijan: violation of human rights and international law and relations with Armenia (2024/2890(RSP)).