Speeches

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, in the next Council you will be talking about Syria, Ukraine, the role of the Union in the world, the Middle East and immigration, but the question we can no longer avoid is: Is there a European foreign policy? Is the process towards political and federal Europe moving forward or is there an intergovernmental dimension? What should be done is in the words of Spinelli and Rossi del Ventotene Manifesto: The problem that must be solved in the first place and failing which any other progress is but appearance is the definitive abolition of the division of Europe into sovereign nation-states. And at the very moment when it seems most difficult, when nationalisms have raised their heads, we must integrate Europe with courageous reforms towards political Europe, because this is the only way to strengthen the European countries. A united Europe is a hope, nationalism is a condemnation. The history of European popularism has also taught us this. Remember this simple truth to the Council, it will help everyone! Let us move forward for a stronger and more humane Europe, but towards the United States of Europe.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, we are looking at European citizens who are afraid of the future and are losing hope and are asking for protection. And individual countries alone will not be able to guarantee this future and only Europe can be a solution, but it must change: It is not an intergovernmental Europe of nations, but a Europe which, in the midst of world disorder, is returning to the path of federal integration. We need to come together, invest in stronger common policies at work, competitiveness, industry innovation, technological research, train new adequate human resources, tackle the ecological and digital transition, think about new models of innovation. welfare and health to protect people. We must unite around bold reforms that make us a global actor for a common foreign and security policy and defend peace, relaunch enhanced cooperation, re-discuss the unanimity criterion, think about common tax reforms that bring justice. President von der Leyen, we voted on your programme in July for these reasons. Now, if you have changed your mind and are looking for other ways, it would be correct to say it without cunning, because now that program must be implemented with facts. And beware: Nationalists do not have a different idea of Europe. They do not want a united Europe and are allied in the world with Europe's enemies. We will vote 'yes' because we have to leave. We will not give gifts to Donald Trump and Putin, but from now on no discount. We will monitor the respect of the program and we will fight in every parliamentary space to advance the project of a new Europeanism, knowing, as Altiero Spinelli said, "that the way forward is not easy, it is not safe but it must be traveled and it will be". That is why we will vote 'yes' with this clarity towards a new Europe, stronger and more humane.

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.