Speeches

I did not say that he is disadvantaged in Europe. I said we don't talk about it enough. I said that it was not included among the various possibilities of energy to be used. Then, instead, after the ruling that said that nuclear can be inserted into energy green, I say to Europe: We have the tools to start using nuclear energy seriously, we can really start using it and lower the costs. But I'm not just saying nuclear power, I'm saying it all together: technological neutrality. Not only one, but we don't think we can lower costs only with renewable energy: unthinkable!

Thank you for the question that allows me to answer in two parts. The first, I believe, is that with the bills decree, Giorgia Meloni has already responded abundantly to this crisis. The second, I answer you not as an MEP, but as a mayor. With competitiveness, with the prices we have today from energy, I risk having 2000 employees at home because my companies relocate to other companies where you can use coal, where you can use the raw materials that make the cost of energy low. So, I tell you that, before environmental sustainability, we have to worry about economic sustainability because the consequence of this is social sustainability.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, when we talk about energy, we are not discussing a simple technical dossier: We are talking about European household bills, the future of our businesses and Europe's competitiveness in the world. The Commission package contains steps in the right direction: investing in networks, strengthening interconnections, building true European energy independence. But it's not enough! We still see the risk of a transition driven more by ideology than pragmatism: Technological neutrality is proclaimed in principles but too often does not translate into concrete choices. When everything is focused on a few technologies, while other low-emission solutions, such as next-generation nuclear, remain on the margins, technological neutrality becomes more theoretical than real. We need to harness all technologies that ensure energy security and sustainable prices, because Europe does not just need clean energy: It needs secure, abundant and competitive energy, and without industrial competitiveness, colleagues, there is no transition that can withstand it.

Madam President, Commissioner, education is the first pillar of the EU's social rights, on which the concrete possibility for every citizen to live a dignified life, participating in the labour market, depends. Precisely in this area there are negative data. Unemployment and vacancies coexist in Europe. According to the Eurobarometer, the skills gap is increasing and 43% of SMEs are struggling to find specialised staff. On the other hand, the number of NEETs is always increasing. It is a great challenge, but also a great opportunity. The starting point is to listen to the territories, businesses, social partners, schools and universities, to build policies on real needs. The fear is that in the next seven-year budget a possible merging of funds with less transparency in the objectives will create a further distance between European institutions and local needs. How can we guarantee, Commissioner, in this new structure, a real listening of the territories capable of translating into truly effective training policies?

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the protection of minors online is a responsibility that no one can shirk, but it must be approached with balance and realism. The report contains constructive aspects but the overall framework, with digital age and European verification systems, risks becoming a tool for tracking and controlling children, as well as limiting national sovereignty. Similarly, extending the same provisions to areas such as video games, product design and platform functionality is disproportionate and distorted. Protecting children must not mean replacing families or circumventing national competences; This means adopting effective solutions, increasing the digital culture of parents and giving them the opportunity to use the tools that already exist and are necessary to protect their children. For a truly secure digital environment, we need a Europe that drives without imposing, that protects without controlling. Only in this way will we be the height of responsibility towards our young people.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, by 2050 the percentage of people over 65 in the European Union will be 30%. It is crucial to support change towards a society that values people of all ages. Initiatives such as the European Innovation Partnership on Active Ageing and the strategy to strengthen intergenerational communication are welcome. However, it is essential to take into account the challenges ahead. Technological development could fuel the gap between generations but, if it is guided by a principle of social inclusion, it can be an effective tool in terms of care for the elderly. From a working point of view, attention should be paid to lifelong learning, given the trend of raising the retirement age. In Europe, compared to younger people, only 30% of the over-60s participate in vocational retraining programmes. This puts them at greater risk of exclusion from the labour market. Expanding access to digital inclusion, starting with the elderly of the future, is crucial to promote equity between generations, for a real valorisation of skills throughout life and to recognize their important social role.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, Alzheimer's disease and dementia are a health problem not only for those who suffer from it, but also for families, often alone and struggling to cope with it. The OECD estimates 13 million people with dementia by 2030 and around 18 million cases in Europe by 2050; In Italy, more than 1 million Italians are affected. The project Rethinking Alzheimer's Disease offers recommendations to improve the lives of people with the disease, but it is not enough: It's time to act. In recent months, research on Alzheimer's disease has made significant progress on both the therapeutic and diagnostic fronts, also identifying a potential drug to prevent Alzheimer's disease in people carrying the APOE4 gene, associated with a high risk of developing the disease. However, Europe must continue to support research and also implement support to states and families with appropriate tools, as Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia place a significant economic and social burden on individuals. caregiver and health systems. Patients need support and it is our duty to ensure that they have access to affordable, high-quality long-term care. There is also a need to develop tailor-made care models that address clinical aspects and related psychological and social needs, but Member States will only be able to do so with the support of Europe, because these diseases have dramatic outcomes for both patients and their families. And no one should be left alone.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, in Italy over 1.8 million women of childbearing age – 15 to 50 years old – have a confirmed diagnosis of endometriosis, in Europe 14 million and almost 200 million worldwide. That's why we need to start treating it as a public health issue. The disease affects between 10 and 20% of women of reproductive age, but the diagnosis takes about eight to ten years, in which there are physical, psychological, social and professional consequences. It is also shown that women with endometriosis have an increased risk of developing ovarian, thyroid and breast cancer. Endometriosis is also a cause of infertility, except if the diagnosis is timely, but therapies to address it are, to date, still long and expensive. The lack of knowledge of the disease and the underestimation of pain expressed by women have contributed to a long delay in diagnosis and research and inadequate health care. Access to care is unequal for women living in Member States with weaker or economically disadvantaged public health systems. Europe therefore needs to do more to close access to care and therapies in the different EU Member States, to ensure uniform care and high quality, by implementing dedicated funding, such as TRENDO Project or Horizon Europe. What has been done so far is clearly not enough. It is necessary to intervene with appropriate measures, not only for the highly negative impact of the disease for the individual person, but also to combat the demographic winter, in fact, the natural balance has been strongly negative for years.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, in Italy over 1.8 million women of childbearing age – 15 to 50 years old – have a confirmed diagnosis of endometriosis, in Europe 14 million and almost 200 million worldwide. That's why we need to start treating it as a public health issue. The disease affects between 10 and 20% of women of reproductive age, but the diagnosis takes about eight to ten years, in which there are physical, psychological, social and professional consequences. It is also shown that women with endometriosis have an increased risk of developing ovarian, thyroid and breast cancer. Endometriosis is also a cause of infertility, except if the diagnosis is timely, but therapies to address it are, to date, still long and expensive. The lack of knowledge of the disease and the underestimation of pain expressed by women have contributed to a long delay in diagnosis and research and inadequate health care. Access to care is unequal for women living in Member States with weaker or economically disadvantaged public health systems. Europe therefore needs to do more to close access to care and therapies in the different EU Member States, to ensure uniform care and high quality, by implementing dedicated funding, such as TRENDO Project or Horizon Europe. What has been done so far is clearly not enough. It is necessary to intervene with appropriate measures, not only for the highly negative impact of the disease for the individual person, but also to combat the demographic winter, in fact, the natural balance has been strongly negative for years.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, electricity grids must be an instrument of energy sovereignty, but we must be aware of the challenges ahead. Delays in action and difficulties in granting permits require a coordinated effort. Integrating networks, making them flexible and digital will have positive effects on generation costs, but in a context made increasingly complicated by geopolitical tensions, it is necessary to think about a broader perspective, which includes all available energy sources, including nuclear, and not focused only on renewables. The text drafted in the ITRE Committee responds to this vision, but it is clear that the Commission will have to make the necessary corrections to a plan which, in our view, needs to be improved. Then there is the issue of resources and having included in our text the request for an increase in the CEF-E budget is a clear message. Italy, for example, is investing over $4 billion in modernizing its grid, to make it more resilient, interconnected and ready to cope with growing energy consumption. But it would need $23 billion to complete the interventions. If we widen the picture to 27, this needs to be close to 600 billion, and under the current rules the Member States will not be able to keep up. So let's try to be forward-looking, including the introduction into the network of nuclear or other types of energy, so as not to be forced, as always, to chase the technological transformation.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, this House must come to terms with the reality: Our companies are relocating and we are witnessing social slaughter with millions of layoffs. It is the fault of that same Europe that still today uses ecologicalism as an ideological weapon. The resolution on energy-intensive industry is proof of this: the cry "decarbonize!" was sanctioned the requiem of the sector, because it was drafted a text devoid of courage and ambition, destined not to help the sector immediately. Draghi is often mentioned in this House, only to ignore suggestions such as the reform of the ETS, the suspension of the phasing-out, technological neutrality and energy independence. Perhaps some of you did not understand the gravity of the moment. I therefore applaud those colleagues who have tabled amendments in line with what we have proposed, despite the different view of the groups of origin: I invite you to vote for them on an equal footing with ours. Today everyone shoulder their responsibility, this is the opportunity we have to show where we stand. I choose the industry, its suppliers and its workers.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, we share the ambition that emerges from theAffordable Energy Action Plan to pursue energy sovereignty, taking into account the specificities of individual Member States. However, we are concerned about the strategies to achieve it. We are living in an age of contradictions, Commissioner, and the fact that France increased Russian liquefied natural gas flows by 81% in 2024 is one of them, especially when compared to the efforts of countries like Italy to open new supply channels. Here, I would not want these contradictions to contaminate the ultimate goal: Detaching ourselves from Russian gas forever. To date, the Commission has announced and postponed the plan for the phase out. I don't investigate the reasons, but doesn't it seem like a contradiction to you? As far as solutions are concerned, renewables are not enough. We need a nuclear strategy and investment in fusion research. We need hydrogen, we need biofuels, we need the courage to extract the gas reserves that we have in Europe but that we do not exploit. Come on, here's the key word: This is the key to winning what, in my opinion, is an epochal challenge on which the very existence of Europe is at stake.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, I have read the text carefully and I confess to you that I have not perceived the will to face the challenges that our industry is facing with the pragmatism that has been lacking in the last five years. Strengthening the European production system requires a different level of commitment because, of course, we are in this situation mainly because of the poor choices made in the last legislature. We need a conceptual change, not just a semantic one. Technological neutrality, ETS reform, less bureaucracy, research and innovation, reciprocity and energy security are urgently needed to preserve Europe's entrepreneurial fabric and boost growth. Clean Industrial Deal Don't be a G.reen Deal Masked. We ask for your foresight. The new geopolitical context imposes courageous decisions and, on our part, there is the iron determination to accompany and support you on this path. At the same time, however, we need you to become aware of the mistakes you have made. We believe it is crucial that we also begin to consider the social dimension, because, I stress, decarbonisation cannot and must not mean deindustrialisation and relocation.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, since 2022, the European Union has had a deficit of 1.2 million medical professionals. Population ageing, increased demand, demographic decline and precarious working conditions are among the main causes of this phenomenon. It is a real and urgent emergency. The pandemic has taught us that without doctors, nurses and health professionals, the health system risks collapse. Addressing these challenges requires coordinated efforts by Member States, supported by the European Union. We must support those who, every day, take care of us not with empty promises, but with concrete actions. Increasing wages, improving working conditions and hours, enhancing training, supporting innovation and making the sector more attractive are some of the strategies that national governments and the EU could adopt to tackle this problem. Job mobility from third countries cannot be considered the definitive solution when 11.2% of young Europeans aged 15-29 are neither in employment nor in education or training. Only with an ambitious strategy will the European Union be able to ensure a robust health system capable of meeting the needs of the population, even the poorest, and guarantee quality job opportunities for future generations.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, we are facing one of the most ambitious challenges of our time: ensuring a sustainable, secure and accessible energy future for all. Over the next three years, energy demand will increase by 30%, which, combined with the need to reduce emissions, requires a radical change of approach. Strengthening and protecting critical infrastructure is an urgent challenge, such as creating wider interconnections to better integrate the internal market. However, it is clear that, in an uncertain geopolitical context, fusion emerges as the most promising solution. With EUROfusion we have accelerated the process, but technology still does not make this energy marketable – it will be in 2050 – and actors such as China and the US invest resources that are difficult to match. Commissioner, it is time to establish an industrial strategy for nuclear, implementing research and development, allocating more resources to programmes such as Horizon Europe, strengthening international cooperation, actively involving European industry, creating synergies between researchers and companies. This must be done realistically, however: 25 years is a long time. In the immediate future, however, there are instruments such as solar, wind and geothermal, which represent the key to face the energy challenges and give us time to develop them in a safe and sustainable way, advancing fusion in a free and competitive market, aware that our commitment must be to create an environment that favors innovation and involvement of the private sector, but above all that protects citizens and the environment.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, if we do not listen to the farmers' cry of alarm in Brussels, the siege of tractors will return. These are my words in an interview with the Corriere della Sera on 3 December, and today Parliament is once again under siege. We are selling off the European economy through a Green Deal that has put so many sectors in agony. Remember that, just as farmers are not enemies of the environment, farmers are not enemies of animals in the name of profit, because there is no more profit. With your continuous reforms you are accelerating the closure of farms and threatening our animal production; You are directly affecting our food sovereignty. You cannot constantly forget about economic and social sustainability. Our animal welfare standards are among the highest in the world; Instead, rules should be imposed on imported products to avoid unfair competition from other countries. The proposals relating to travel times, outside temperatures, the obligation to supervise veterinarians in loading and unloading, the age and minimum weight of some animals, the space available in the vehicle and the new digital system make it clear that you do not know the reality of this sector. This proposal is unacceptable to us farmers. It must absolutely be modified because, in addition to the closure of many farms, there will be an inevitable increase in prices for the final consumer, who will be forced to eat imported food and less...

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, today we are talking about biodiversity, and I would like to mention three fish: carpione del Garda, marble trout and lasca. They are among the twenty fish present in Italian lakes and rivers at risk of extinction; This is not because of the impact of fishing or pollution, but because they are threatened by the common cormorant, whose population in Europe today is close to 2 million. It is estimated that the excess number of cormorants has impacted on 20% of the lake and river fish population at European level. These are the numbers of a real emergency. Yet the Commission has referred the problem to the Member States, arguing that the Birds Directive offers appropriate tools for population management. This is not the case, because the cormorant is a migratory bird, protected under that same directive. Moreover, there are no Community guidelines for the containment of the species. Commissioner, protecting biodiversity involves making difficult – and perhaps unpopular – choices such as allowing sufficient cormorants to be contained by selection to allow endangered species, such as fish, to strike a balance between predators and prey.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, agricultural work is one of the most dangerous in Europe. Studies show that deaths in agriculture are 233% higher than in other sectors and accidents are 18% higher. Added to this are other stressors related to arduous work and lack of support. Our farmers and ranchers are under pressure from unfair competition, price uncertainty, ever-increasing regulatory burden and suffocating bureaucracy. This condition has repercussions in terms of attractiveness for young people: Today, only 10% of European farmers are under 40 years old, which will pose further challenges in the future. Commissioner Hansen, I am a farmer, and we are calling, above all, for a more proactive attitude on the part of the supervisory authorities, which to date have taken a more vexatious approach than a collaborative one. It is essential to address this situation without ideology, in a pragmatic way, recognizing the category's crucial role in presiding over and defending the environment: a primary sector that plays a decisive role in ensuring the healthiness of our food.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Madam Commissioner, the energy crisis and the associated rise in prices have been addressed by the European Union with emergency measures that have contained its dramatic effects. But the situation is still critical: It undermines the competitiveness of businesses and the sustainability of energy costs, leading to the impoverishment of households. Energy poverty affects around 50 million people in Europe, people waiting for concrete answers. The energy transition must therefore be balanced by energy security both in the choices and in the timing of implementation. The Houses Directive green" It is not a solution at the moment, but an additional heavy burden for many citizens. We must have the courage to look at solutions without ideological prejudices, to guarantee families and businesses access to energy at a fair price. It is urgent to reconsider nuclear energy, demonized for years, through the use of small modular reactors for the production of low-cost renewable energy. This is the direction we need to take.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, training, attracting and retaining talent is something we all share in this House. But the talent challenge cannot be disconnected from the birth challenges. We must encourage births with structural measures, accompanying children from birth to the labour market. Several studies have predicted that Europe as a whole will miss 35 million people of working age by 2050, especially in rural areas, widening an already alarming gap with urban areas. It means that scientists, doctors, engineers, skilled workers who could have helped change our future, will never have this opportunity. It is obvious – and I strongly claim this – that ensuring greater usability of digital skills and spaces is crucial. However, while we continue this reflection, on the one hand, there is the Council that has proposed a cut of almost 300 million to Erasmus, on the other hand, there is still no initiative on the protection of working women with adequate salaries. Talents must be cultivated, but first of all they must be brought into the world. Otherwise, we will find ourselves putting forward very good policy proposals with no one to apply them to.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the crisis in theautomotive It is a reality: The failure of your policies green The only consequences of the last five years have been a drop in sales, closed companies and unemployment. It is good to reduce emissions, it is right and it must be done, but not at the expense of the competitiveness of a sector that is worth 7% of European GDP and employs 13 million people. We know that electric is not the solution. Already in 2017, Marchionne warned that, without first knowing how to produce energy from clean and renewable sources, electricity would pose a threat to our planet. The European Union's legislation has not only forced that path, but with its failed strategy has given us a Europe that is poorer in economic, employment, innovation and research terms. Commissioner, the sector is calling for advance verification of the results achieved by different technologies, in the market and in environmental results, without waiting for the 2026 verification. It is up to politics to give an answer and to give it quickly. The question is whether this Europe, pervaded by green ideology, is willing to listen.