What Catarina spoke about.

8 Oct

2026

EN Speech

EU strategies for islands, coastal communities and outermost regions (debate)

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Madam President, an island, a coastal community, an outermost region. All of these definitions apply to the place where I was born and raised – the wonderful islands of the Azores. So, colleagues, Commissioner, I know the challenges first-hand. Demographic crisis – because young people leave. I myself left at age 18 to go study and I never lived back in the Azores. Difficulties in accessing health…

7 Oct

2026

EN Speech

The cases of Ali Karimli, Anar Mammadli and other political prisoners in Azerbaijan

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Mr President, colleagues, Commissioner, let me start by welcoming the fact that Dr Gubad Ibadoghlu, the 2024 Sakharov Prize finalist, has finally been allowed to leave house arrest and is now receiving essential medical care that he much needed. But his charges must still be dropped, and he was far from being the only person arrested for political motivations in Azerbaijan. Look no further than th…

6 Oct

2026

EN Speech

The state of play of advancing EU-Africa trade and investment relations (debate)

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Madam President, colleagues, the UN estimates a gap of over EUR 1 trillion to reach the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa. Closing this gap would mean achieving something very concrete: female entrepreneurs gaining equal access to investments, daily blackouts becoming a thing of the past, and vibrant communities leading the green transition. It means giving millions of young people a real fu…

6 Oct

2026

PT Speech

This is Europe - Debate with the Prime Minister of Portugal, Luís Montenegro (debate)

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Madam President, Prime Minister, almost ten years ago I emigrated and times were difficult, but today, unfortunately, times remain difficult and old problems are added to new ones. He talked about housing: With record costs in Europe, his government prefers to facilitate evictions and reward speculation rather than uphold the fundamental right to housing. He talked about migration, we see the expl…

8 Jul

2026

EN Speech

Ongoing persecution of Christians in Nigeria, notably the Kawel village massacre

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Mr President, innocent people were massacred at the Kawel village and our thoughts are with the families of the victims. The violence in Nigeria is driven by disputes over land and water, climate change, poverty, criminality, weak governance, persistent impunity and deep‑rooted religious, ethnic and intercommunal tensions. Together, these pressures have fuelled a brutal cycle of revenge and breaki…

8 Jul

2026

EN Speech

The EU’s role in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and the accountability of Israel under international law (topical debate)

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Mr President, a few months ago, I stood in the occupied West Bank, and around me was the rubble of what was once a community centre. The family next door were next – their house was next to go. And right there, there was still a children's playground with a shiny blue EU plaque. I wonder how many of those plaques are buried under the destruction of the genocide in Gaza. Israel has destroyed more t…

17 Jun

2026

EN Speech

Continued crackdown on civic space and fundamental freedoms in Burkina Faso

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Madam President, colleagues, today in Burkina Faso, critics are silenced, journalists disappear, political parties are dissolved, civil society organisations are suspended. Human rights defenders, judges, students and opposition figures face arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and intimidation. Proposed legislation to reintroduce the death penalty and criminalise LGBTQI+ people raises furth…

15 Jun

2026

EN Speech

EU-US trade deal (joint debate)

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Madam President, tomorrow we vote on a deeply unequal deal. A deal to prevent the worst, even though the worst was deemed illegal by the US Supreme Court. A deal, so we know what to expect, even though, since it has been struck, the US has already increased its tariffs on steel and aluminium, and today threatened France with more. A deal to get certainty and predictability from the same US adminis…

15 Jun

2026

EN Question

EU-US trade deal (joint debate)

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Colleague, you talk about certainty and predictability. With the US administration of Donald Trump, you think you can write on a deal what will happen and that he will follow by the rules because he follows by the rules? What kind of certainty and predictability are you giving businesses? If today he threatened France with more tariffs on wine if they do not scrap their digital service tax, what c…

21 May

2026

EN Speech

European Citizens’ Initiative ‘Stop destroying videogames’ (debate)

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Madam President, the Commissioner said that he understands the problem, and I'm glad to hear that, but that the Commission is not ready to present a solution quite yet. That's okay – we've waited many years for many amazing video games to come about, and we've also sometimes waited many years for great European laws to come. I just hope we don't have to wait as long as we've been waiting for GTA 6…

21 May

2026

EN Question

European Citizens’ Initiative ‘Stop destroying videogames’ (debate)

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Colleague Warborn, I can agree with a lot of what you said, but you also spoke about the importance of defending the video game industry in Europe. I can very much agree with that. But of course, when we legislate our market for our consumers, we don't just apply that legislation to European companies; we can apply it to whatever companies want to operate in our market. So, given that reality, wou…

20 May

2026

EN Speech

The cases of human rights and environmental defenders Andrie Yunus and Muhammad Rosidi in Indonesia

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Mr President, as the EU and Indonesia prepare to close on the CEPA agreement, we must remember that allies are more than just trade partners – they stand for the same core values this Parliament raises today, the cases of Andrie Yunus and Muhammad Rosidi, not as isolated incidents, but as symbolic of our greatest concerns when it comes to freedom, human rights and the rule of law in Indonesia. Bec…

20 May

2026

EN Speech

Situation of women and girls in Afghanistan following the Taliban's adoption of the Criminal Procedure Code for Courts

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Mr President, it's very frustrating when we need to stand in this Parliament to say the obvious, but the obvious is worth stating: women's rights in Afghanistan are being infringed upon by the Taliban regime. Women have, pretty much, lost their right to exist: their right to education, move freely, express themselves, access justice, and work. This will have so much impact on society for so many, …

18 May

2026

EN Speech

Negative trade-related effects of global overcapacity on the Union steel market (debate)

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Mr President, colleagues, today we protect our steel industry and its workers from unfair competition, notably from China. Today, our Union takes the lead in the global stage to tackle overcapacity in the steel sector. And today, for this, I'm especially proud we reaffirm that the green transition and trade defence instruments can and should go hand in hand. By securing the decarbonisation criteri…

29 Apr

2026

EN Speech

Shortcomings and deficiencies of the ‘Amnesty Law’ in Venezuela

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Mr President, colleagues, this resolution is not just about Venezuela and the Venezuelan people. It's also about defending the principles of rules-based international order that the EU and this Parliament stand for. Let's be clear: the Maduro regime was catastrophic for Venezuela but, at the same time, the US military intervention and abduction and removal of Maduro represent a clear violation of …

29 Apr

2026

EN Speech

New Chinese law on ‘ethnic unity and progress’ and the intensified suppression of ethnic identities

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Mr President, dear colleagues, with the adoption of the Law on the Promotion of Ethnic Unity and Progress, China is taking another step to intensify the repression and forced assimilation of Tibetans, Uyghurs, Mongolians, Hui and Manchus. This law does not promote unity – it shrinks the space for diversity. While it claims equality, the law strips minorities of their right to learn their own langu…

29 Apr

2026

EN Speech

Escalating trafficking and exploitation by criminal groups in Haiti

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Mr President, colleagues, the situation in Haiti is beyond words. Thousands of homicides, over 1.4 million internally displaced, and armed gangs exploiting the absence of state authority to massacre the population. Killings, kidnappings, extortion and sexual violence are commonplace. Children are trafficked, exploited and recruited. As often happens, women and girls are disproportionately affected…

29 Apr

2026

EN Speech

Situation in Lebanon: implementation of the ceasefire, support peace efforts and humanitarian access (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, Colleagues, Lebanon is once again being torn apart by war. What we are seeing in Lebanon, we have seen before in Gaza. Israeli airstrikes hitting densely populated areas. Civilian infrastructure destroyed. Hospitals damaged. Humanitarian workers targeted. Entire communities displaced. We are seeing more than 1.3 million people who have fled their homes. These are clear …

11 Mar

2026

EN Speech

The arbitrary detention of President Mohamed Bazoum by the junta in Niger

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Mr President, colleagues, Commissioner, more than two years after the coup, Niger's democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, remains under house arrest – without charge, without trial. This is unacceptable. I call for his immediate and unconditional release. Not only for him, but for all those arbitrarily detained, like, for example, human rights defender Moussa Tchangari, who is detained…

11 Mar

2026

EN Speech

Immunity of International Criminal Court officials and the activation of the EU Blocking Statute to strengthen EU strategic autonomy (debate)

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Mr President, it's clear that for doing their job, upholding international law and investigating genocide claims, the International Criminal Court Judges and the UN Special Rapporteurs are being treated like terrorists with sanctions from the from the US administration. We've raised it in letters, we've raised it in committee meetings, and we are raising it here in plenary. But even after this mee…

11 Mar

2026

EN Speech

Multilateral negotiations in view of the WTO’s 14th Ministerial Conference in Yaoundé, 26 to 29 March 2026 (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner Šefčovič, in a time of unilateral trade tariffs and systematic breaches of the global order – by the way, a global order that indeed is still worth defending – it's also worth acknowledging that 70 % of global trade still relies on WTO rules, and that is quite remarkable. As we head into Cameroon in two weeks, three things are sharply on my mind. First, that we mus…

20 Jan

2026

EN Speech

Human rights and democracy in the world and the European Union’s policy on the matter – annual report 2025 (debate)

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Madam President, colleagues, Ms Kallas, we are taking a painful snapshot of 2025. In Gaza and the West Bank civilians suffer unimaginably while humanitarian access is restricted. In Sudan, mass atrocities continued without accountability. In Myanmar, a brutal military junta uses sham elections to legitimise its repression. In Iran, dissidents face systematic violence and a wave of executions. And …

17 Dec

2025

EN Speech

Grave political situation in Guinea-Bissau after the coup of 26 November

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Madam President, dear colleagues, dear Commissioner, Guinea-Bissau has once again been plunged into crisis by a military coup. This coup, reportedly orchestrated to prevent electoral defeat, reflects a troubling trend of unconstitutional changes of government that is undermining stability and the rule of law across West Africa. Since the coup, journalists, civil society leaders, electoral official…

17 Dec

2025

EN Speech

Mass kidnapping of children in Nigeria, including from St Mary's Catholic school in Papiri

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Madam President, dear colleagues, today I speak in outrage and in solidarity. The mass kidnapping of children and teachers in Nigeria, including the abduction of 100 children from St Mary's School, is shocking and unacceptable. This is not an isolated tragedy: it is part of a wider pattern in which students, teachers and schools are deliberately targeted. Violence against education is enabled by a…

16 Dec

2025

EN Speech

Recent developments in Palestine and Lebanon (debate)

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Mr President, on Sunday I returned from Palestine. And let me start by telling you what I did not see. I did not see Gaza, children exposed to the cold in tents under a storm, the continued lack of humanitarian aid, or Palestinians mourning the loved ones that were killed even after the ceasefire. But what I did see was the West Bank, a relentless system of illegal settlements, carving up Palestin…