Speeches

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, it is not necessary to look at the Sahara to understand desertification: The deserts are now behind the house. More and more often, surreal and at the same time dramatic images show transformed landscapes, rivers reduced to paths and lakes completely dried up. 40% of southern Italy's soil is already at risk, as are many Mediterranean countries. In this way, we are transforming millennial landscapes. And this is not only the result of climate change, but also of unsustainable agricultural practices, which have depleted our soil. Here, our approach must change, focusing on the quality of production and the regeneration of the soil. Degradation is not inevitable, fortunately: We can reverse course. However, incentives are needed for agricultural models based on soil quality and regeneration. Policy must stop funding outdated practices and instead support innovation. Colleagues, desertification, in fact, is not only a technical challenge, but it is also a question of justice towards our territories and above all towards future generations. My warning is that it is not COP17 that saves European soil, but our concrete commitment today.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, today we are debating a fundamental right that is becoming increasingly precarious: the right to drinking water. Let me give you some local examples. In Basilicata 140 000 citizens now live with water rationing that exceeds 30 consecutive hours. The region's response? Use the water of the river Basento, which arrives brown and unhealthy in the faucets of families. Added to this is the historical contamination of Lake Pertusillo by oil extraction multinationals. Or another example, in Sicily, where we are witnessing the alternation of water crises and climate catastrophes that cannot be faced with existing infrastructure. Yet the current Italian government invests billions in the Strait Bridge, ignoring dilapidated and inadequate water infrastructure. Well, Europe cannot close its eyes: We need a strategic plan to protect our water resources and ensure clean drinking water for all.

Madam President, Mr Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen, the RESTORE package is certainly a step forward in Europe's ability to respond promptly to natural disasters. With this proposal, the affected regions will have immediately available resources to deal with the devastating consequences of unfortunately increasingly frequent and intense natural disasters; So we can say that the European Parliament and the Commission have done a very good job. However, we must not lose sight of the essence of cohesion policy – a long-term investment for balanced, sustainable and inclusive development. Systematically entrusting cohesion with the task of responding to emergencies risks undermining its strategic mission. I therefore call on the Commission and the Council to consider a substantial increase in the European Solidarity Fund in the next multiannual budget. We cannot continue to respond to emergencies with temporary solutions: RESTORE is certainly needed today – we all agree – but tomorrow we will need a structural commitment to protect our territories and communities.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, every year in Europe around 700 000 people lose their lives to tobacco use, and for tens of thousands of them the cause is exposure to second-hand smoke: We are talking in most cases about children, the elderly, who do not choose to smoke, but are still exposed to the smoke of others. All of us here have a duty to protect our citizens and, if we think that many types of cancer can be completely prevented, avoided, due to simple changes in our lifestyles, our responsibility becomes even greater. That is why we want Member States to ensure, through internal rules, smoke-free environments, even outdoors, where social distancing cannot be maintained: we are talking about outdoor areas, schools, bars, restaurants, workplaces, as well as in parks and on beaches. Only in this way will we take a crucial step towards Europe's Beating Cancer Plan, which, if achieved, will not only save lives, but will offer a healthier future to all European citizens.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, we are all here in the European Parliament because we firmly believe in the founding values of the European Union. But it is important to say that the beating heart of the European project is not found inside these buildings, but in the territories to which each of us belongs. I am talking about the regions and the city and today I am speaking to you not only as a Member of the European Parliament but as a member of the municipal council of my city, Ostuni. And I tell you with certainty that the environmental, social and economic challenges that are talked about so much here, rightly, are addressed first and foremost by the municipalities, which are at the forefront of the fight against social exclusion, in the implementation of measures related to the green, industrial, digital transition, in the fight against climate change. What can Europe do? It must support regions and cities, involving them in all decision-making stages, especially in cohesion policies, and improve their access to funding. I conclude by taking advantage of this space to thank all the local administrators for the great work they do every day.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, today we are celebrating World Mental Health Day, but we must remember that mental health requires daily action that must be courageous and concrete. Mental health cannot be treated as a secondary issue. Today, 84 million people in Europe live with mental disorders and the costs to society exceed EUR 600 billion per year, or 4% of European GDP. It is a problem that concerns each of us and that has been further exacerbated, as my colleagues have said, by the ongoing crises: the pandemic, which has forced us into social distancing measures; inflation, which brings families to their knees who can no longer shop and make it to the end of the month; unemployment, which does not allow young people to find their own autonomy. These are all aspects that affect our mental health. The European Commission finally launched a comprehensive strategy last year that focuses on three key pillars: prevention, access to quality care and social reintegration. This is a step forward, but we call for mental health to be integrated into all EU policies, from education to work and social inclusion. We must make full use of European funds to strengthen the training of professionals and to promote innovative tools, such as telemedicine, which can improve access to care, especially in the most isolated areas. We must vigorously combat the stigma surrounding mental disorders. Here, we will always continue to fight for a fairer, more inclusive Europe, where no one is left alone to face their own problems.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the agricultural sector on its knees, water rationing for families and the increase in fruit and vegetable costs are some of the consequences of the drought emergency that is affecting many parts of Europe, in particular the South of Italy. This year, for example, temperatures in Sicily, Puglia and Calabria exceeded 45°C for several days, causing devastating crop losses. And while in these days the floods and floods hit Emilia Romagna – to whose citizens all my solidarity goes – only yesterday President Meloni asked to cancel the Green Deal. In fact, floods and droughts are closely related and are the result of those climate changes that Europe should fight even more strongly. At Meloni we say: Environmental policies such as the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy are not a whim, but a necessity, a necessity to defend our productions and the food security of our citizens and the citizens themselves. We of the Five Star Movement propose the creation of a climate emergency fund for the prevention of these natural disasters, through policies attentive to territories and future environmental challenges. The future of the world we live in is in our hands. We have to take care of it.