Speeches

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I agree with your introductory report. The Ocean Pact must strengthen the protection of marine ecosystems and the promotion of the sustainable blue economy, ensuring the economic and social dimension, in particular in the Mediterranean, which is facing a serious crisis that is putting a strain on coastal communities, especially on islands such as Sicily and Sardinia. Commissioner Kadis, I know that you are listening to the protagonists of fisheries: I ask you to pay particular attention to the fishermen and fleets of the Strait of Sicily, which suffer from strong competition from third countries.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, Europe's future depends on its ability to invest and boost competitiveness in a strategic and inclusive way. For 2026, it will be crucial to have a strong budget and to focus European funds on key areas that can ensure real change. First, young people: Investing in education and training, in particular for youth and women's employment, is essential for the development of disadvantaged areas in the European Union, such as Sicily and Sardinia. There is a need to step up investment in health and research, humanitarian aid cut by the Trump administration, to help people affected by war, famine and natural disasters – as recently, unfortunately, in Burma. Vogliamo un'Europa che investe sul futuro, che investe sui giovani; un'Europa che sia più equa, coesa e prospera.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I very much welcome the presentation of the Roadmap for Women's Rights and I thank the Executive Vice-President, Roxana Mînzatu, for her excellent work. Despite the important steps forward, there are still strong gender gaps, especially in the most disadvantaged areas, such as Sicily, Sardinia, southern Italy, where unfortunately women's employment is still too low also due to the insufficiency of services to the family. It is necessary to invest, to invest in kindergartens, in kindergartens, in particular where the lack of services is still causing serious inequalities. We must support work-life balance policies, encouraging parental leave, flexible working hours, and women's work, which is essential for the growth of the entire economic system for a fairer society.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, we are unfortunately witnessing dramatic climatic events all over Europe. In this context, the Solidarity Fund intervenes by supporting Member States affected by disasters, demonstrating the concrete proximity of the European Union. Today we are voting on the proposal for a decision, already approved in the Committee on Budgets by all the political groups, to mobilise the fund in favour of Germany and Italy, for an amount of approximately EUR 116 million in relation to the floods that occurred in June 2024. I think it is necessary to adapt the Solidarity Fund to deal with future emergencies. I would like to thank all the cooperating institutions for speeding up the adoption of the mobilisation decision.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I appreciated the report and the work done by the Court of Auditors, in particular the assessments made in relation to the risks associated with the additional costs of financing the RRF. It is well known that, due to the rapid increase in interest rates, the additional costs of borrowing from the RRF under the current MFF could range between EUR 17 and 27 billion. In order to meet these higher costs, I believe it is necessary to provide for new own revenues and at the same time make use of the so-called cascading mechanism, provided for in the agreement with the Council of last February, which gave rise to the EURI instrument. Otherwise the only alternative will be budget cuts, budget cuts that we cannot allow, also because this is a budget already weakened by inflation. The European economy, as the Draghi report says, is relaunching with investment and not with cuts.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I think we must strongly support the G20's proposal to tax the incomes of the super-rich properly in order to reduce poverty and inequality. A programme supported by Democratic Party Secretary Elly Schlein and the S&D Group for a fairer tax system to ensure essential services to citizens, such as health and education, and resources to invest in jobs and the green transition. Everyone is required to contribute to public expenditure because of their ability to pay. "The tax system is informed by progressive criteria" reads Article 53 of the Italian Constitution. Because it is right that those who have more, pay more and those who have less, pay less. Europe must condemn tax amnesties and must fight tax evasion also in order to reduce the taxation of the middle classes, workers and pensioners. The recent directive on minimum taxation of 15% for multinationals is a step forward. We continue in this direction for a fairer tax system and a fairer society.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, thank you, Mr President, also for having wanted this sitting. It is an honour for me to remember in this Chamber Judge Paolo Borsellino and the agents of his escort Agostino Catalano, Emanuela Loi, Vincenzo Li Muli, Walter Eddie Cosina and Claudio Traina, people heroically engaged in the fight for legality, killed by the mafia in my city, Palermo, on 19 July 1992. After many years we join the pain of the families of the victims, who still today ask to know the truth about the massacre. Among the family members I would like to mention Rita Borsellino, sister of the judge, who was a Member of this Parliament in the seventh legislature and who, after the massacre in Via D'Amelio, spent her life to spread the values of legality and justice, especially among young people. I am sure that in this parliamentary term, under your leadership, President, the European Parliament will work with the same commitment to the same values.