Speeches

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Iran, Venezuela, Ukraine, but also Afghanistan, Iraq, what do they have in common? Oil and gas. These are the fossil fuel supply routes. We can never build peace if we depend on the fossils that drive wars, and as long as our energy system depends on importing gas and oil, our bills will be affected by global crises and market instability. In ten days the price of electricity in Italy has increased by more than 60%: So bills triple, double, and the cost of living, with them. The cost of energy can only be reduced with more renewables, more energy efficiency, isolated homes and allowing citizens to produce and share energy through energy communities. So prices fall and the economic, social and environmental benefits remain in the community. With more renewable energy than the citizen, we could finally also oppose the imperialist cravings of Putin and Trump who are trying to grab every fossil resource on the planet. But, all this, we had to have already done. In Italy, for example, we had to have five gigawatts of energy communities by 2030 and we are still at 50 megawatts. This package, Commissioner, should tell us that we no longer have time today.

Mr Vivaldini, you speak of ideology: He says we don't have to make ideological choices. And yet, it seems to me that the price of gas has increased by 50% in the last ten days. Our dependence on fossil fuels is making life completely impossible for us and increasing our bills. Yet it was precisely the Italian government, whose Premier is from his party, that decided that Italy, instead of investing in renewables, had to become the first country in the world.hub European gas, condemning us to the dependence on gas that is making our bills impossible. And in fact, it is precisely Italy, which has the highest cost of energy in Europe. Isn't that ideology? Isn't this being ideological and not wanting to do things for citizens?

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, this report is an insult to the citizens of Europe, emptied of all ambition, a gift to builders and speculators thanks to the usual tricks of the right. Instead of reversing course, it promotes the same measures that led to the housing crisis: ignores the structural causes of the crisis, such as financial speculation, lack of social housing, tourism, short-term rentals, the countless empty houses; It legitimizes the privatization of the social without conditions and a savage deregulation, without any recognition of the human right to housing. In short, instead of proposing solutions, ask for money to consume land and build houses for the rich, to enrich the very rich and for those who really need: Nothing. All this while today a full-time worker can not afford even a room: She was evicted and expelled from her city, sacrificed on the altar of profit along with her family. It is to these people that we want to give answers, not to the pockets of those who use the house to become billionaires. That is why we will vote firmly against it, but we will continue to fight in the neighborhoods and squares with those who defend the right to live every day.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, yesterday hundreds of workers came to Strasbourg to demand dignity in subcontracting chains. They looked us in the eye and asked us something very simple: You can go to work knowing you're coming home and hugging your kids. To do this, we need to do some basic things: limiting the subcontracting chain, having direct joint and several responsibility throughout the chain, direct employment for the main activities, but above all having European legislation that clearly sets out this line for all. It is a question of dignity, of social justice, of legislation that is necessary and that could have an impact on hundreds of thousands of people. Yet, the right is trying to delete the request for a directive from the text. Why do we not want to support our workers? Why don't we want to improve their lives? Tomorrow we will vote for this. report Parliament and we hope to see a request for a directive. Many people's lives can improve with this vote. We do not accept the rhetoric of simplification, which means sabotage of rights and that no, it is not good for our companies because it causes unfair competition. We are a Parliament and we have a duty to protect those who work from those who exploit them through fair legislation. Let us not allow ourselves to be thwarted by those who ask the European Parliament not to legislate. We are told that competitiveness justifies everything, even the dumping social conditions that lead to accidents and deaths at work. But competitiveness does not exist with very low wages, without rights and security. This is not the Europe we believe in. Colleagues and colleagues, tomorrow you can choose: Turn your back on those workers, or vote for them. report asking the Commission for a directive as soon as possible.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Madam Commissioner, education is the invisible infrastructure of democracy. Without education there is no participation, there is no equality, there is no future. And as we celebrate International Education Day we must say it clearly: Inequalities in access to education are inequalities of power. Erasmus+, for example, is one of the most successful European policies in our history. It has changed millions of lives, but it cannot become just a tool to fuel competitiveness. Within Erasmus, civic, cultural, non-formal and bottom-up education must remain strong, to form participation and citizenship, to make us feel European, active and non-spectacular citizens. But above all we must make it possible for the young people of the most marginalized, most vulnerable communities. For example, we need to increase the size of grants, but we also need to support Member States in paying attention to the educational quality of the peripheries, rural areas and the most disadvantaged areas. This means investments, attention and reforms to give space to an educational system that responds to the needs and opportunities of the present. Why Europe needs citizens who are able to participate and distinguish fake news of the truth, of defending the fundamental rights at the basis of our Union. Although competitiveness has become the unique and irrefutable mantra, we cannot overlook the role that education and culture have for our democracies. Preparing the younger generations to live in this society means giving them critical tools, spaces for participation, experiences of real European citizenship. To fall in love with Europe, we need to get to know it, get to know it and get to know it.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, unity and consistency are the only way to defend European sovereignty and autonomy. Enough of the double standards in international law, subalternity to the United States. We agreed to tariffs, to buy American gas, to increase military spending. Trump asks, Europe answers. Meanwhile, he winks at Putin and backs himself in imperialist aims, in defiance of international law and multilateralism. If we are united, democratic and defend a rules-based system, we are annoying. So they threaten us and set us against each other. But the attacks are also internal, from the extreme right of the Orbans and Salvinis who protect Putin and praise Trump, to those who refuse to sanction Netanyahu and his genocide, to all those colleagues who still say that the US is our greatest ally. We must give a serious answer, that is, energy and industrial autonomy, accelerating the transition. A common foreign policy that defends international law, but always, not to alternate peoples. A common defence and not the rearmament of 27 states, digital autonomy and fair taxation. A federal Europe with leadership that meets its responsibilities.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Mr Borchia, you are talking about Mercosur when Mercosur came to the Council thanks to Italy's vote. Mr Borchia, is the Lega not the government of Italy that voted for Mercosur and allowed Mercosur to pass by harming farmers? How do you come here to criticise Parliament, an eventual vote of Parliament, when it is your government, where your party sits and your leader is the deputy prime minister who voted for this agreement and allowed it to pass? How can you now say that you defend the farmers?

Thank you, Mr Olivera. I would argue that it's not true that this has just become true because of the tariffs and the trade war that Donald Trump is imposing on us, first of all. Second, I think this is a scenario that is telling us that Europe needs to be more independent, more strategic, and needs to be able to have its own resources – that is what we're learning. And don't get me wrong – in my speech, I said that I don't want to stop a dependency to create another dependency. I want to stop a dependency to create autonomy, to have our own resources, to be more efficient, to be more green, to be more sustainable. We need to use less to produce the same. We don't need to buy more or buy from Trump. So yes, I just want to ...

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, it is undeniable: China is consolidating a dominant position on critical materials. Its industrial policy is strong and aggressive, underpinned by low prices, and has already eroded 10% of Europe's industrial capacity. But there is one element of Chinese politics that we should look at with interest: China has decided on a clear direction in terms of energy and industry. What about us? Europe goes back and forth in its decisions, to the sound of deregulation and uncertainty. Instead, we need to build a strong and cohesive European industrial policy, with serious and targeted economic levers and funding through coordinated and as fast as possible European decisions. We cannot think of stopping an addiction with another addiction and, therefore, we must have more efficient designs and the circular economy to reduce the critical materials needed. We need to diversify supplies, boost strategic production in Europe and invest in clean innovation and technologies. It is essential to relocate key productions in critical supply chains...

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, no sane entrepreneur should hire a woman of childbearing age; Feminists are modern witches. I am sure that a woman is only a woman if she has given birth: These are all current phrases of our politicians. And so hatred grows, anti-feminism normalizes and conquered rights are questioned every day. Today we define the European strategy for gender equality and we call on Parliament not to compromise with a reactionary and sexist right, because we want to be with those who suffer violence and struggle to be believed and protected, those who fight for the right to abortion, to contraception, to unstigmatizing and accessible reproductive health, those who work in the most feminized, less recognized, more underpaid sectors, those who care without protection or remuneration, those who believe that education is the best form of prevention. The strategy should focus on this: social justice, freedom, redistribution of power and value, equity. We need bold, binding, structural and funded policies. There is no longer time for declarations of intent.

There is one point that you are missing: The point is that we have always condemned Hamas, that we are demanding that Hamas – rightly – be disarmed and leave the Gaza Strip, that we absolutely must enforce Hamas’ responsibilities. The problem is that no one is talking about enforcing the responsibilities of a genocidal government that is continuing to occupy, that is perpetrating ethnic cleansing, and no one is trying to enforce its responsibilities and enforce international law for that government as well. So no, there can be no peace if there is a government that has done what it has done and no one is asking it to answer for its responsibilities. I'm sorry, that's the big difference.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, 'They destroyed what we had inside. They demolished my house, all my memories. They took away everything that helped me live. How can I be the same as before?" Ghazal, 14 years old. Imagine that you are a Palestinian child and everything you knew has been destroyed. Then they tell you that peace has come, that there is a plan. But the world around us remains the same, occupied: i checkpoint remain; the genocidal army is in your homes; aid is controlled by those who used it to starve you; Land is confiscated and gunfire and bombs continue to make noise. Since the ceasefire began, at least eight Palestinian children have been killed by Israel. Peace cannot exist without an end to the occupation and justice for the war crimes committed. Until the State of Palestine and the self-determination of its people are recognized; As long as economic and political relations with Netanyahu continue as if nothing had happened, the word "peace" remains only a cover for "oppression." Dear EU, we have been largely absent so far, but we still have a chance to work on justice and international law: Let's implement the announced sanctions, let's suspend the trade agreements until there is a real reparation! The coexistence of two peoples without responsibility cannot exist.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, today, 7 October, is the anniversary of a terrible and bloody attack, which I condemn without hesitation. So why don't you condemn the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th of October? Why, after two years of Palestinian genocide and ethnic cleansing, are we still doing nothing to stop Israel? Because you refused to talk about the Flotilla if you do not care about the rights of the Europeans you represent, of your colleagues? So how can this House do anything for the Palestinian people? President von der Leyen said yesterday that Europe must remain united in order to stay alive. I tell you that Europe is dying in the silence and complicity of these institutions. But there is another Europe, alive in the millions of people who are in our streets, shouting "not in our name". A Europe that believes in justice, in law, in peace, that does not want to repeat the mistakes of the past and that really opposes genocide. We stand with that Europe, with the oppressed Palestinian people. Now is the time to put into practice the values that we say to defend, otherwise you remain in your hypocrisy, but we will be in those streets, on those boats, we will be with humanity, because there humanity lives, here humanity dies.

Madam President, me and another 400 people – including four Members of this Parliament – were kidnapped by Israel in international waters. This is a grave violation of international and maritime law. We were forcibly taken to Ashdod, illegally detained, checked and denied basic rights. Participants were brought to a high‑security prison, deprived of water, food, sleep and medication, in some cases physically attacked. Our only fault? Bringing humanitarian aid to a population in famine and doing what these institutions and many other governments are not doing: protecting the respect of international law and human dignity. Our only fault was humanity. We could not stand still while watching a live‑streamed genocide in Gaza and the Israel violations. What we experienced is just a glimpse of what Palestinians experience every day. While we are here discussing whether or not we should put sanctions, our colleagues Rima Hassan and Emma Fourreau are still not back. Another flotilla with the MEP, Melissa Camara, is now approaching Gaza. If Europe still wants to call itself a guarantor of democracy and human rights, we should strongly react to the violation and support the mission ...

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, as we spend billions on weapons, we are losing to climate collapse: temperatures up to 50 degrees, droughts, floods, fires. Europe continues to count the dead: only in Milan, 500, especially the elderly and disadvantaged. Children at home with kindergartens closed; The laborers, the riders and the workers collapse under the sun. In Italy, in 2024, 50 000 hectares were burned and more than 9 billion were damaged due to drought. Is this the world we want, where those who have less die? No emergency, those end: It is a structural problem. We need to be prepared with investments in prevention and infrastructure, greener cities, laws that defend workers, renewable energy and fossil fuel releases. We are witnessing a failure with first and last names: Eni, Shell, Exxon, Meloni, Trump, Musk, Bezos and friends. It is named after the EPP, which today voted against the urgency of the climate law, handing it over to the far right and throttling all of our ambitions. Speculators of a massacre announced, what will you answer to your children, when they ask you why there is no more water? That you were busy defending the lobbies and buying weapons?

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, as we spend billions on weapons, we are losing to climate collapse: temperatures up to 50 degrees, droughts, floods, fires. Europe continues to count the dead: only in Milan, 500, especially the elderly and disadvantaged. Children at home with kindergartens closed; The laborers, the riders and the workers collapse under the sun. In Italy, in 2024, 50 000 hectares were burned and more than 9 billion were damaged due to drought. Is this the world we want, where those who have less die? No emergency, those end: It is a structural problem. We need to be prepared with investments in prevention and infrastructure, greener cities, laws that defend workers, renewable energy and fossil fuel releases. We are witnessing a failure with first and last names: Eni, Shell, Exxon, Meloni, Trump, Musk, Bezos and friends. It is named after the EPP, which today voted against the urgency of the climate law, handing it over to the far right and throttling all of our ambitions. Speculators of a massacre announced, what will you answer to your children, when they ask you why there is no more water? That you were busy defending the lobbies and buying weapons?

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, in 2024 alone, seven Member States threw more than seven billion euros into unused clean energy. There are 1,700 gigawatts of renewable energy blocked waiting to connect to the grid in 16 countries. And these are just the data of the countries we have. These are numbers that speak for themselves: Without robust, high-performance and efficient networks, the ecological transition risks remaining unfinished. Electricity grids are a true lifeblood of Europe's economy and security. But the current system is not ready. It often relies on outdated national plans, unable to capture the acceleration of renewables and drive investment and create an interconnected European network. In doing so, we extend our dependence on gas at very high costs for our companies and our people. It is essential to modernise and digitise networks to integrate storage systems, develop efficient systems for demand flexibility, clean and decentralised technologies. Only in this way can we ensure a just and participatory transition, in which people, local communities, are protagonists, and at the same time electrify industry to improve the competitiveness of our companies, lowering prices and bills.

Madam President, I would like to react to the unproved, serious allegation regarding a youth organisation that is fighting for social rights and inclusion. I think that should not be possible in this House, especially when allegations are so serious and completely unproved. It is unacceptable that we accept the silencing of the voice of young people just because of their religion, just because they are Muslims. The harassment and discrimination that far-right groups carried out during the European Youth Event should be investigated by the Parliament and the Commission, as it made the event unsafe for a lot of young people. We ask for sanctions against Marion Maréchal Le Pen and her racist actions against the people, and for undermining the reputation of this Parliament.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, in Gaza it is easier to die than to survive; Sometimes it's better to die, a refugee from Gaza told me. We are tired of plenary debates as people die: Empty words if we do nothing. What more needs to happen to sanction Israel? To break the trade deal? A total arms embargo? I was in Rafah, in front of a border closed for months, separating medicine, water and food from the hungry Palestinian people, trapped between bombs and rubble: It's 40 degrees and there's not a drop of water. Fifteen thousand children could starve to death in the coming days. Hospitals are destroyed. Israeli politicians openly declare that they want to exterminate the Palestinians. Israel wants to use aid as a means of control, militarize it and distribute it only in certain areas and subject to identification: It is planned hunger, deportation, genocide. Why doesn't Europe say that? This Parliament and the Commission remain defenceless. The multilateral humanitarian system is collapsing and we do nothing. Your silence makes you accomplices now and in the history books.

Madam President, I think we should really take some repercussions for our colleague, because there's no justification for the killing of children, and that's what our colleague has just said. I want that – according to our internal rulings – our colleague is sanctioned for justifying the killing of children. There's no justification for the killing of children. And this cannot be allowed in this Chamber. Please, Madam President, do not allow this in this Chamber.