Speeches

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Mrs Giovanna is 81 years old and is forced to live in a damp, cold and draughty house, without being able to pay for her own heating. In 2023, 47 million Europeans are in this condition, unable to warm up properly, cook, move or turn on the light. Europe must put the protection of its population before the profit of the few, those few who profit on energy prices by recording record gains: Europe's six largest oil companies earned $75 billion in extra profits in the first quarter of 2022 alone, the same few that receive $400 billion a year in public fossil fuel subsidies. These economic resources belong to the people and should go back to the people. Starting from these resources, we could finally invest in renewable energy, which is the best way to lower energy prices, or in energy communities, for energy for and of people. We could support a plan to help people make their homes more efficient through financing and loans, as we asked Commissioner Jørgensen, to enable them to live better and drastically reduce the cost of their bills. Let us remember our promise to leave no one behind: Too many people are behind now. We need to act.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the ecological and digital transitions offer us an incredible opportunity, not only to create millions of jobs but also to revolutionise our productive and socio-economic paradigm towards a more just and inclusive world of work. The shortage of skilled labour is evident and it is therefore essential to close the skills gap through vocational training and retraining. This commitment, however, must not only be taken by the industry but also by us institutions, by the public. Only in this way, in fact, can we include in the world of work all the people who are systematically excluded from it. I am thinking of women, racialized people, trans people, those with disabilities and all those who suffer discrimination. I am thinking of young people and of all the difficulties in entering the world of work through unpaid internships and very low wages. It is therefore good to put European industry back at the centre of the political agenda: But to do so, we cannot make the same mistakes as in the past. Let us talk to the social partners seriously again, strengthen collective bargaining, guarantee high standards of safety in the workplace, fight anti-union practices, fraud, social exploitation and, above all, decent wages. A labour market resulting from an unequal society and an impoverished social fabric cannot be competitive.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the United Nations Special Committee has made it clear that the law against abortion in Poland inflicts physical and psychological suffering on women, putting their health and lives at risk. This is a serious violation of fundamental rights. However, access to unrestricted abortion is not guaranteed even when the law does not prohibit it. In Italy, for example, free abortion is not safe, it is not a right and, too often, it is denied: endless waiting lists, dozens of hospitals with 100% conscientious objectors, anti-abortionists also paid by European funds in public health places, which force those who want access to abortion to psychological torture. Too many women are forced to do the impossible to access a basic health service. It is again the extreme right that tries to threaten our freedoms. That is why we are asking the Commission to monitor the adoption of a new law in Poland, but also to do everything in its power to ensure that this right is guaranteed in all the Member States and to ensure that European funds are not used to hinder it. Therefore, it is necessary to include the right to abortion in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights: Stop doing politics on our bodies! Those who oppose safe abortion are not for life but against our lives.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the territory I represent has always played a central role in the automotive industry and Stellantis is the best example of what we are experiencing. Thousands of people have been on layoffs for years and 25,000 jobs have been announced at risk throughout the supply chain. But let's make one thing clear: What we call the "car crisis" is not the result of the switch to electric, but goes far back, from decades of wrong political and economic choices. In fact, instead of investing in innovation and sustainability, we decided to focus on maximizing profits for shareholders, subsidizing the fossil fuel, relocating, often at the expense of workers. Today we are at a crossroads: we can look ahead and seize the opportunities of electric, or we can remain anchored in a more inefficient technology that cannot evolve further, just to please the fossil lobby. So instead of bowing to China, we will give China our market. I ask you: When the global car market is electric, how will we sell our endothermic cars? What is needed is an industrial plan decided for the future, without hesitation, guaranteeing investment certainty and thinking about how to accompany workers in this transition.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, in the last decade sexual violence has increased by 105 % and 90 % of the victims were women. 10% of the LGBTQI+ community suffers gender-based violence. Our sisters continue to be killed. Behind this data is a young woman like me who is afraid to walk alone. There is a trans woman who is discriminated against and beaten just because she is trans. There is hatred and a strong patriarchal culture. Those who deny that this is a structural problem, those who discredit feminism and its demands, those who blame the victims, those who incite hatred and promote discriminatory policies are perpetuating this violence. In this scenario, it is unacceptable for us that gender equality has become marginal in the Commission's design. That is why this hemicycle must guarantee rights and respect. We must start from education to reduce the root causes of this violence, requiring that sex-affective education be integrated into school curricula. But we must also harmonise the definition of rape, understood as sexual intercourse without consent, and femicide. Let's take back our bodies, our voices, our freedom.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, 41 000 Palestinians lost their lives, 16 000 children killed, 17 000 orphans. Do you feel this silence? This is the deafening silence of a Europe that does not act. The silence of our complicity. The atrocities of 7 October, which we have rightly condemned, cannot in any way justify war crimes and genocidal acts. There is no justification for what is happening in Gaza and the West Bank, for the abuses that the Palestinian people have long endured. How much longer do we have to wait to condemn and sanction the Israeli government, as we already do for other conflicts? How long do we have to wait to stop the sending of arms and suspend economic interests and relations between Europe and Israel? How many lives are "too many" lives? How long do we have to wait to recognize the State of Palestine? Europe must be an example of peace and a defender of human rights and justice. So, let's stop the massacre, let's stop the genocide.