Speeches

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the Athens ruling is an important legal victory. We stand by the victims of espionage: Journalist Koukakis and PASOK leader, who will bring his battle before the European Court of Human Rights. National security cannot become a free zone with respect to the rule of law: politicians, activists, journalists. But you know that there are at least 37 European journalists intercepted with spyware in the last five years? In Italy the judiciary has just confirmed the illegal espionage for the journalist Francesco Cancellato with the spyware Paragon, bought by the government that denies spying on the journalist. That is why we have set up an interest group in the European Parliament on the illegal use of spyware, with Members from various political families: Because it is not a partisan battle. Interception is legitimate to fight crime and terrorism. Use the spyware against those who exercise a fundamental right is not national security: This is a violation of democracy. Commissioner, when do you give us the recommendations of the Pegasus investigation?

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I must say that I share the Commissioner's words. Of course, what happened after here is a different story altogether. I want to say immediately that the killing in France of the right-wing exponent, Quentin Deranque, is a very serious fact that must be condemned without ambiguity. In a democracy, political violence is never acceptable and those responsible must be brought to justice. But violence cannot be used for political propaganda. Not even in an hour of time would I be able to tell all the crimes of the extreme right in my country, in Italy. I only tell you that there is a journalist who lives under guard because he is threatened by the right and that extremist movements are growing in Europe that feed hatred, racism, nationalism and ideological radicalization. This climate poisons public debate and increases the risk of political violence. This is why the answer cannot be instrumentalization: The answer must be more democracy, more rule of law and a stronger commitment against all forms of violence.

Madam President, Madam Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen, what has happened in Venezuela is a violation of international law: unilateral military intervention and the arrest of the incumbent president. Maduro is certainly not a democrat and his regime has been responsible for serious violations of civil rights and repression of the opposition, but none of this can justify military action. Not only does democracy not export itself with bombs, but bombs kill and destabilize entire areas of the planet. If the criterion was really the defence of rights, in how many countries should we intervene? Democracies in the world today are counted on the fingers of one hand. Venezuela has the largest oil reserves on earth. Should we really believe the anti-narcotics operation? Trump is interested in energy resources, he thinks Latin America is his backyard. That is why we defend multilateralism, the role of the UN and respect for sovereign states. If the law of the strongest wins, it loses international law.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, we are raising your alarm: It's out of control, he said, in Europe. Mehdi died in Marseille, the city where, fifty years ago, with the Marseilles clan, the European drug economy was born. A transversal revenge. Enters from Latin America, enters our ports, cocaine and, once in Europe, boys, often minors, are recruited as criminal labor: We must prevent them from ending up in this spiral of violence, we must invest in the European peripheries to send them to school, to combat cultural poverty and to train them for work. After that, there is certainly a repressive problem. So, the ports: these children are called ‘extractors’ – they enter ports because someone gives them directions to containers where cocaine is present. So let's take a serious fight against corruption and then – last but not least – invest in: There are scanners, they cost 10 million euros and you can find drugs.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, it must be parents, not algorithms, who raise our children. President von der Leyen is right, but the reality is that today 97% of young people use the internet every day and one in four is addicted to smartphones. Think that between 11 and 14 years old you exceed 9 hours a day online and, between 8 and 10, 6 hours: In these hours there are cyberbullying, pornography, hate content, gambling, opaque advertising. It's not that we can blame kids or families, the responsibility is ours because we intervened late, and platforms that use manipulative techniques. We need to set an age limit. "No ban" is an effective slogan, of course, but there are times when you have to have the courage to say "no": First of all, we need to protect children. We cannot deliver a generation to the training of the lords of the big tech. Either we intervene now, or the damage will be irreversible.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, it is a pity that there was no mission to Italy on the rule of law, a pity indeed! We would have realized the democratic recession. The European shield for democracy wants to protect us from manipulation and interference of information, but this manipulation no longer comes only from the usual actors that we are accustomed to mention, namely Russia and China, today the online manipulation of algorithms also comes from the lords of the big tech. We cannot accept that, after almost two years of investigations on Platform X, the Commission still has to decide: It is time to respond and act for a true European digital sovereignty. The shield speaks of the need to guarantee freedom and independence of journalists. And how can we do that if the informant is intimidated with spyware, threats, gag complaints? This is why we have launched a new interest group against spyware: No journalist spied on, no critical voice intimidated, no vote manipulated. This is where the strength of our democracy is measured.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, today we are not just debating a directive: We are defending cultural diversity, legislative sovereignty and European democracy from a frontal attack. The Trump administration has chosen to designate the Audiovisual Services Directive as a "commercial barrier" and threatens to hit European productions with a 100% tax. It is a hostile gesture, not only towards the European Union, but towards all those who believe in a strong, diversified, independent audiovisual sector. Trump strikes Europe by imposing the law of the strongest, ignoring the mutual respect and cooperation that underpin transatlantic dialogue. But we won't bend. The defence of our cultural heritage is non-negotiable. This directive is much more than a law: It is a shield to defend the diversity, pluralism of our authors and our stories. This is the battle for Europe's independence and cultural diversity and it is a battle we do not intend to lose.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, if I have understood correctly, this is the debate on the Europe of spies, which is not the title of an action film but concerns this Commission closely, very closely. Agents of the Hungarian secret services allegedly pretended to be permanent representation officials, infiltrated into the institutions between 2015 and 2017, just when Olivér Várhelyi, now European Commissioner, was in charge. If it were all true, we wonder: but Várhelyi knew and was complicit or didn't know? Ladies and gentlemen, this is a matter concerning a Member State of the European Union and NATO and which calls into question the political responsibility of a Commissioner currently in office. In the light of these facts, it is necessary for the Commission to answer two fundamental questions: What role would Commissioner Várhelyi have played in these events? Why does President von der Leyen not suspend Commissioner Várhelyi pending the conclusion of the investigation? If the security of the European institutions is violated from within, this is a direct threat to European democracy. And finally, waiting for the "Mata Hari", I want to express my solidarity with Daniel Freund, illegally spied on by the Orbán regime.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I thank the Commissioner for her important words and - I must say - I am very sorry for the intervention of the representative of the People's Party, including the Italian one. Italy, according to Oxygen for Information, is unfortunately the first country in Europe for threatened journalists: 516 in 2024 alone, more than 7500 since 2006. In the first six months of this year, episodes have already increased by 76%. Today 29 journalists live protected by the Italian State, because they are threatened by organized crime. In this climate the attack against Siegfried Ranucci, conductor of Report, the in-depth journalistic broadcast of Radiotelevisione italiana: A bomb in his house. This is not an isolated case: Journalists are targeted with intimidation, reckless lawsuits, delegitimisation, illegal espionage. We know of 36 journalists illegally spied on in Europe. And so we ask President Meloni, too, to tell us who spied on Italian journalists illegally with Graphite and Paragon, because it is the Italian State that had – as it were – that device delivered. And also tell us: concrete solidarity is fine, but at least withdraw the bold lawsuits! Stop delegitimizing journalists, because that's what politics does! Freedom of the press is for everyone or not.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, freedom of the press is not an algorithm: It is democracy and the search for truth. The fine imposed on Google is a fair and necessary signal, because Google has abused its power, monopolizing digital advertising and stifling competition. When a single actor controls data, news, advertising and revenue, there is no longer freedom of information: There is a monopoly, which is the enemy of pluralism and we need a plurality of voices. Those who pay the highest price are independent newspapers, journalists who seek the truth every day, small publishers. Now it is necessary to really live our laws that we have passed, such as the Media Freedom Act, because rules are needed to guarantee freedom of information. To the Commission, I say: Don't be afraid of giants! This must continue, including in the ongoing investigations of the other platforms – TikTok, Meta, X. Defend citizens, not algorithms. Europe cannot be neutral when press freedom is at stake: You have to choose which side you want to be on. On the side of democracy.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the situation in Italy is getting worse and worse. There are now 29 journalists who, for their work, are forced to live under the protection of the State, because they are threatened with death by organized crime. The attack on Sigfrido Ranucci, journalist and presenter of Report, RAI’s in-depth journalistic broadcast, is a very serious fact that takes Italy back in time, when the mafia and terrorism killed journalists. On the night of October 16, in Rome, a bomb exploded in front of his house: two cars destroyed, a war scene – there could be the dead. Eight years ago, on 16 October, in Malta, an investigative journalist – such as Sigfrido Ranucci – was killed by a car bomb: It was Daphne Caruana Galizia. There is a way to silence a journalist: intimidation, murder, delegitimization, reckless lawsuits, illegal espionage. To strike a journalist is to strike at democracy. Commissioner McGrath is right: Freedom of the press is non-negotiable in Europe. But words are not enough. I give only the title of this debate, on the proposal of the Socialists and Democrats: ‘Criminal intimidation against investigative journalists in the European Union – The attack on Sigfrido Ranucci’. I hope there is everyone's agreement.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, today President von der Leyen said that disinformation is dividing our societies, eroding democracy, and then we can say that an effective democratic shield must be based on two pillars. The first is freedom of the press: Independent information and protection of sources is the only antidote to disinformation. Journalists are being spied on with spyware, and it is illegal!, and if the media is not independent of politics, democracy becomes fragile. The second pillar of the shield is the defence of the vote against foreign interference and large digital platforms; We cannot allow the Elon Musks on duty to manipulate our democratic processes. It is not possible that almost two years have passed since the opening of the investigation into X and we still do not know anything. Freedom of the press and digital transparency are the backbone of democracy.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I thank the Commissioner for her speech and for her words. I would like to develop a small, as it were, paragraph of his speech, which is fundamental in my opinion because where there is no freedom of the press there is no democracy, and therefore we must ask ourselves the question of Serbia's accession to Europe. In Serbia, being a journalist means being exposed to threats and daily violence. Second Reporters Without Borders, there have been 65 physical attacks since the beginning of the year, while the European Federation of Journalists reports more than 180 cases of threats, violence and political pressure in the first eight months of 2025: Journalists beaten, kneeled and immobilized by the police, criminalized by the government and even called terrorists. The situation is also worsening from the point of view of pluralism: Independent channels suffer restrictions in distribution, Al Jazeera has closed, Radio Free Europe risks the same fate. Serbia now ranks 96th in the world's Press Freedom Index, penultimate among EU candidate countries.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, thank you, Mr Verheyen, for your words of truth. In a month, on August 8, the Media Freedom Act. There are many countries that have not yet "registered" their regulations. In Cyprus, for example, the draft law makes it easier to spy on journalists; It is better not to talk about Slovakia. in Malta it is not even known which ministry deals with it; in Orbán’s Hungary there is no political will; and in Italy the heads of the RAI are appointed by the government, in contrast to the Media Freedom Act. Politics, once again, elected the board of directors of the public service, but not the president, because it split. No governance reform on the horizon: Control is in the hands of the majority. RAI executives have publicly claimed membership of Prime Minister Meloni's party. And, finally, four Italian journalists are illegally spied on with a spyware, Graphite, sold only to the States by Paragon, an Israeli company with American funds. No more alibis. Governments know what they need to do: to comply with the Media Freedom Act. Brussels has a duty to demand it.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, talking about the Spanish Government today seems more like an instrumental move by the People's Party than a real concern for the rule of law in Spain. The People's Party has tried in every way to delegitimize the socialist government: fake news and disinformation. So, I take this opportunity to thank President Pedro Sánchez. In the face of serious news, he did not hesitate and in the meantime apologized to the citizens and obtained the resignation of the number three of the PSOE. This is political courage. This courage is lacking in the Spanish people, who are trying these days to divert attention from a serious fraud scandal involving the comrade of the President of the Community of Madrid, led, coincidentally, by the Spanish People's Party. The issue of corruption affects everyone, some more and some less: right, center, left, no one excluded. We must be the ones, before the magistracy, to ring the alarm bells. Do we want to talk about the government of Giorgia Meloni, which abolishes the abuse of office, a spy crime for corruption? The Libyan torturer Almasri, wanted by the International Criminal Court, arrested in Italy and returned to Tripoli on a state flight? Half the government is being investigated for this. And what about Carlo Fidanza, head of the delegation of Fratelli d'Italia to the European Parliament? He pleaded a one-year, four-month sentence for corruption. Or the Minister of Tourism, Santanchè, on trial for forgery, bankruptcy and fraud? Undersecretary Delmastro, Undersecretary Sgarbi? The list is incomplete. I have to stop for time. Let us therefore stop using the parliamentary chambers as weapons against the political adversary. We face the rule of law crisis in Europe, where we are dangerously retreating. How do we select the ruling classes? We have to answer that question.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we are talking about PEGA. After two years, the Commission has not yet proposed binding legislation against the abuse of spyware, nor published the promised communication. Do it now, because there is a new case that shakes Europe: the Lo Paragon Graphite Spyware. According to Meta, 17 European countries involved, 61 users infected, of which 7 Italian. Apple is talking about 150 countries around the world. I appeal to those who have been illegally spied on: Come out, help us! We must protect journalists, opponents and activists from illegal espionage, spied on by Israeli software funded by American funds. Citizen Lab Confirms that at least two Italian and one European journalists have been spied on. The Commission responded to my question by saying that the illegal use of spyware This is unacceptable, but concrete action is needed. On May 30, with the S&D and Verdi groups, we were in Rome and talked to the victims. This case is not only Italian, it is European. I am sorry for my colleague Cavedagna, but he is not up to date on the facts. There is no democracy without freedom of the press.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, there was on average one explosion a day in Sweden last month. But it is not an isolated case, it is a wake-up call for the whole of Europe. I think that the State must intervene first, removing our boys from the handiwork of crime, from civil death. Then there are social networks, multipliers of discomfort. Let's think about the murder of Salwan Momika, famous for burning a copy of the Koran in public and killing in January during a live broadcast on TikTok. The state must be there first, Europe must be there before violence, and we must be there before it is too late. We need investments in our economic, social and cultural peripheries.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, precisely because we love freedom of expression, we think that Mr Musk is a danger to democracy, because he represents something new: Technopopulism. The richest man in the world, political, monopolist, who questions liberal democracies and the rule of law. And we know how important it is to fight against private monopolies to strengthen our democracies. It is not acceptable that, through Platform X, Mr Musk interferes in the internal affairs of the Member States of Europe, spreads hatred and disinformation. Social media giants have sided with their platforms for the American right, while Meta recently cleared fake news: Therefore, we need to know as soon as possible whether Platform X violated the Digital Services Act. We must fight for European digital sovereignty. Only then can we defend our democracies. President von der Leyen, Europe can no longer stammer.

Mr President, Commissioner, TikTok is under the magnifying glass of the European Commission for potential breaches of the Digital Services Act. The cancellation of elections in Romania due to TikTok interference demonstrates the seriousness of the situation: The Commission has successfully initiated formal proceedings against TikTok for suspected infringement of the Digital Services Act. But platform X should also be put under observation, because its owner, Elon Musk, is no longer a simple American entrepreneur, leader in space, electric cars and social media: It is also, by now, a political subject because it has a role in the Trump administration. The European Union must take note of this. Musk has turned a powerful communication tool into a weapon to undermine democratic institutions, manipulate public discourse and delegitimize European regulations. Together, Mr Musk and Donald Trump promote a worldview in which representative democracy – our values – is seen as obsolete. Under Musk's management, X abandoned any claim to neutrality, manipulating algorithms to amplify political narratives favorable to him and his ideological allies. This platform, once a symbol of pluralism, is now the vehicle of divisive narratives, hatred and ideological manipulations. Attacks on the Italian judiciary, criticism of the division of powers in the European Union and insults to Breton are no coincidence. By calling the former European Commissioner for the Internal Market "promoter of undemocratic policies" and publishing offensive memes, Musk has deliberately ignored the provisions of the Digital Services Act. These attacks therefore pose a direct challenge to the regulatory sovereignty of the European Union and to our ability to protect European citizens. The European Union must demonstrate that transparency, security and citizens' rights come before the interests of an individual. This is an appeal to Europe: Let's get rid of Mr. Musk's power! His platform is now opaque, with huge conflicts of interest on the part of the American tycoon.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, children's rights, denied rights: Let's think immediately of Gaza, of Ukraine, let's think of Afghanistan, where there are war zones, war zones, children are the ones who pay the most. But they pay the price here too, in our Europe. We heard colleagues say: 25% live at risk of poverty and social exclusion. Poverty and marginalization mean: high rate of school evasion, cultural poverty, illiteracy of return, that is, nothing for the future of these generations. Then we need to do more as Europe: We must take concrete action in children's lives and pass on healthy rules and values to them, as sport, for example, can do. There's no time to waste. The children of our peripheries have the right to dream and change their future and the European Union must support them and put their rights at the centre of any political action.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, yes, the wound is still open. In my country, which lives in times of peace like all other European countries, eleven journalists have been killed: Nine from the Mafia and two from terrorism. I am a member of the Democratic Party and we have a big problem, for example, in our country, which are the municipal councils – politics – which have relations with the mafia and corruption: think that in my region, Naples and Campania, there are 21 municipal councils dissolved for mafia infiltration: Ten of the centre-left and four were mayors of the Democratic Party. Then, I saw the clash between the People's Party and the Socialist colleagues in Malta; Here we have to say simple, clear things: We are all against the mafia, corruption and organised crime. There is a point for Daphne Caruana Galizia: He needs the truth, to know the whole truth. And until he knows the whole truth that part of Malta, there will be no pacification and to have pacification we must make peace.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, as an Italian delegation from the Socialists and Democrats Group in the European Parliament, we have called for a debate on the protection of journalists reporting on the war in Ukraine. The decision of the Russian government to issue arrest warrants against two Italian journalists, Stefania Battistini and Simone Traini, is very serious: Informing is never a crime. The two, accused of illegal crossing of the border and unauthorized shooting, risk up to five years in prison. These allegations violate the Geneva Convention, undermining freedom of the press and transparency. This is not an isolated case: Other foreign journalists are in the same situation. This is a clear attempt at intimidation that we strongly condemn. When Russian intelligence enters the field, vigilance is required. Russia has stepped up its crackdown on independent journalism, calling European and international media "secret agents." Europe must make itself heard, expressing solidarity with journalists targeted by Putin, but also with concrete actions: We must demand the revocation of arrest warrants for these journalists. Those who speak to you are one of the 22 threatened journalists that Italy protects. I would like to conclude by appealing to all 27 Member States of the European Union: Protect your journalists when they are threatened! Democracy needs free information and when a journalist dies for his work, not only in theaters of war but also in so-called "peace" countries, democratic, as in Europe, it is a piece of democracy that dies.