What Marc spoke about.

2

Oct

2023

FR Speech

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Rising precariousness in Europe including the need for aid to the most deprived (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, in Europe today, 35% of citizens are struggling to make ends meet. More than one in ten Europeans lives below the poverty line. The numbers of precariousness in Europe are constantly increasing. The economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and inflation are causing a frightening price spike. Too many European households now have to choose between…

12

Sep

2023

FR Speech

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50 years since the murder of Allende and the Coup in Chile: democracy and sovereignty (debate)

Madam President, 11 September 1973 marked the end of the hope of the Chilean people, the end of a more just society embodied by Salvador Allende and his democratically elected government. Thousands of his supporters were tortured, maimed, murdered or disappeared under the ensuing bloody dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Tens of thousands of Chileans had to go into exile in order to have the right …

12

Sep

2023

FR Speech

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Ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe (debate)

Mr President, as the leading cause of death in the world, air pollution caused at least 300 000 premature deaths in Europe alone in 2020. This air pollution also causes or aggravates many medical problems and represents a significant increase in healthcare costs. It is to stop this downward spiral that we will be voting on Wednesday on a whole series of measures to improve air quality in the Europ…

11

Jul

2023

FR Speech

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Nature restoration (debate)

Madam President, the proposed law on nature restoration is an essential step to avoid ecosystem collapse and prevent the most serious effects of climate change and biodiversity loss. Once we said that, we said it all. For little, of course, that the general interest is our compass. And yet, two weeks ago, in the parliamentary committee, 50% of the Members present thought it smart to refuse the tex…

10

Jul

2023

FR Speech

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Protection of journalists and human rights defenders from manifestly unfounded or abusive court proceedings (debate)

Mr President, we must take steps to improve the protection of journalists and human rights defenders from abusive legal proceedings. These intimidation techniques, which often emanate from powerful organisations or individuals, are only intended to prevent these whistleblowers from speaking out and gagging them, in order to eliminate any alternative views. It is important that those who monitor ma…

15

Jun

2023

FR Speech

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The water crisis in Europe (debate)

Madam President, it is high time to realise that water is a vital resource. Its scarcity in many European countries is one of the many consequences of global warming that even the most climate-sceptical can no longer deny without pretending to be crazy. The situation is serious, but not yet hopeless. Solutions exist. They require a real awareness of the value of water and better water management t…

13

Jun

2023

FR Speech

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Ensuring food security and the long-term resilience of EU agriculture (debate)

Madam President, this report on food security, given the context, is of even greater importance. But I'm puzzled: We find everything and its opposite. Good proposals, it is true, but also much less good ones. In any case, the negotiations on this report were able to remind those who doubted two clear findings: 1) It is obvious that the EPP has declared war on the Green Deal, in particular by defen…

1

Jun

2023

FR Speech

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Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (A9-0184/2023 - Lara Wolters)

Madam President, today is an important day. Today is the day when Europe takes a decisive decision on workers’ rights, ethics and morals, strengthening environmental protection. As we commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Rana Plaza tragedy and pay tribute to the more than 3 600 victims of this tragedy, we must remember that this tragedy is also the responsibility of European companies who prefe…

31

May

2023

FR Speech

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Geographical Indications for wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products (debate)

Madam President, illegal practices relating to agricultural geographical indications account for 9% of the entire sector. It was therefore high time to revise the system so that it could fully benefit the rural economy, and achieve a higher level of protection, especially for e-commerce. I welcome the rapporteur, Paolo De Castro. I would stress three points: notorious advances in the field, such a…

21

Nov

2022

FR Speech

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Situation of human rights in the context of the FIFA world cup in Qatar (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, just nine years ago we voted on a resolution on the deplorable situation of workers in Qatar. For nine years, there has been nothing more like a resolution for the simple reason – and you explained it, Commissioner, in your very measured speech – that there has been progress on workers’ rights. So, of course, the situation is not perfect in Qata…

4

Oct

2022

FR Speech

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Radio Equipment Directive: common charger for electronic devices (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, it took about ten years, but finally we got there, finally a universal charger! So let's not sulk our pleasure in the ambient grayness. I feel the same way as I did five years ago, when we removed roaming – phone roaming charges – and therefore lowered phone bills. Our role in both cases has been to defend the interests of European consumer righ…

6

Jun

2022

FR Speech

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Order of business

Madam President, I was making a few gestures to express exactly the same thing as the previous colleague: Interpreters are heard in chunks, in a hatched manner. So it is not a problem of connecting where we are because many of us have the same problem, and apparently in several languages. In any case, the French cabin is inaudible because the communication is chopped; It comes to us intermittently…

16

Sep

2021

FR Speech

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The case of human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor in UAE

Madam President, in its 2018 resolution, the European Parliament had already referred to the case of Ahmed Mansoor. Three years later, nothing has changed and the situation has even deteriorated. Indeed, on 20 March 2021, Ahmed Mansoor began his fourth year in solitary confinement. He is serving a 10-year prison sentence for the crime of offending the status and prestige of the United Arab Emirate…

8

Jul

2021

FR Speech

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The death penalty in Saudi Arabia, notably the cases of Mustafa Hashem al-Darwish and Abdullah al-Howaiti

Mr President, Commissioner, the Saudi authorities had announced an ambitious programme of human rights reforms linked to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's plans to modernise the country. One of the key commitments was to abolish the use of the death penalty for minors. However, it is clear that the Saudi authorities have once again renounced their promises. On 15 June, Mustafa Hashem al-Darwish, …