Speeches

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, something is wrong and we must look the monster in the face. That is why I want to bring to this Parliament the demands that a new generation is putting on politics and that are often not seen. According to the Eurobarometer, in the last twelve months, 46% of respondents have suffered from emotional or psychosocial problems, such as depression and anxiety, and the loneliness generated by our development model and the concerns related to the latest global events have grown. Last year the Union finally took a first step, it recognised that there is no health without mental well-being, but it is not enough, it is insufficient. In addition, many states cut welfare and health care. All this weighs on people's lives and development and costs the countries of the European Union 600 billion, more than 4% of GDP. We need resources and not cuts, which the European Council, i.e. the right-wing governments, did. Today, therefore, more than ever, states and Europe should stand together and invest in health, research and prevention. And here too we need a stronger and more humane Europe.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, fears are fought with a stronger and more humane Europe and certainly not by creating fears or by pointing to scapegoats such as immigration. That is why, yesterday in committee, Parliament rejected the proposal for a European budget put forward by the Council. A proposal that cuts the future and cuts hundreds of millions on youth programmes, research, health and vocational training: 295 million less for Erasmus, 400 million less for Horizon, 100 million less for connectivity infrastructure. It's really extravagant to introduce tariffs on electric cars made in China and then cut funding for research that can make us more competitive. People expect from us common policies to boost development, create jobs, support innovation, accompany the ecological transition. That's how people are protected. Not the path right-wing governments want to take right now: a road that does not go to the future, but brings us back to the past and leaves people alone. This is not the Europe the world needs and governments are making mistakes because we need courageous choices and investments, especially for young people, as Mario Draghi reminded us. We do not want a Europe that is complicit in fear, but a Europe that creates hope.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the report clearly states an inconvenient truth: Europe is no longer able to achieve levels of development and growth that guarantee its citizens peace, security, social protection, work and well-being, that is, what it undertook to guarantee in the post-World War II period. And if he can no longer do it, he loses his raison d'être. The solution to the crisis, therefore, is not the status quo, it is not the destruction of Europe, but, on the contrary, the opening of a season of strengthening integration and competitiveness, first and foremost in the most innovative sectors and for a stronger and more humane Europe. We need to invest to create more wealth. We must do this in a new way, safeguarding the planet and redistributing it better, in the name of equality. We know that the report now calls us into question, politics, but we must not be afraid. We must strive to move forward, because, as Seneca put it, "even if fear will have more and more arguments, you choose hope." And we must choose hope.