Speeches

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, there is too much violence in American society. You are right, my colleagues on the left. Certainly, our souls are indignant at the deaths and we feel comforted in our superior European civilization, which would never allow us to witness such images. But then, excited by the anti-Trump hatred, you forget to say that this violence, as well as deaths at the hands of the police, as well as the ICE itself, have existed in America for decades, unfortunately, and well before Donald Trump. And you forget to say that it is not normal, and it would not be normal here in Europe either, to organize systematic protests and violent actions to prevent law enforcement from doing what the law of the state, any state, provides. And of course, fly over the strong political polarization taking place in Minnesota and fly over the billionaire scams orchestrated by local Democrats with the Somali community. And, not happy, in recent days you have come to denounce the arrival of the ICE in Milan for the Winter Olympics, evoking a kind of armed invasion, deportations of immigrants and other similar lies. And so you ended up burning the squares of hatred. And we saw the results. After the violence in Turin, ended with an agent hammered, on Saturday the "No ICE" demonstration in Milan resulted in the ennesimi, repeated attacks against the police. This is what the left should be concerned and concerned about, in Italy and in Europe, not about the non-existent ICE danger, but about the extreme left groups that have now decided to wage war against the State, the police and all decent citizens and towards whom we continue not to feel on your part a dutiful and clear condemnation.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, what happened in Honduras before, during and after the presidential election campaign on 30 November is very serious. We have concretely risked, and perhaps still risk, that Honduras will fall into a Maduro-style drift or Ortega Murillo. The presidential elections were held in the presence of international observers who certified their full validity and legitimacy. The electoral authority proclaimed Nasry Asfura elected president and the President of the Republic ordered a further recount, challenging the legitimate action of the college. We now have a timid promise from the President to start the process of political transition and the European Union must do everything in its power to ensure the affirmation of the rule of law and the restoration of constitutional order. But we cannot ignore what happened. Once again, in Latin America, when a conservative candidate democratically wins the elections, a certain radicalized left chooses to delegitimize the institutions and fuel a climate of confrontation, which in Honduras has also led to serious episodes of political violence, such as those against the parliamentarian of the national party Gladis Aurora López, to whom our solidarity goes. Today we strongly support a peaceful and orderly transition, in full respect of democratic rules. The European Union must accompany this process with clarity and consistency, reiterating a simple principle: Sovereignty belongs to citizens and their vote must always be respected.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the transition of the aviation and maritime transport sectors requires seriousness, investment and pragmatism. Too often, however, the European Union has chosen ideology, imposing objectives without guaranteeing the means to achieve them. We've been saying this for a long time: Without a genuine European market for sustainable fuels, there will be neither decarbonisation nor competitiveness. The Sustainable Transport Investment Plan is moving in a more realistic direction and this is a good thing. Recognizing the role of LNG, biomethane, methanol, advanced biofuels means finally admitting that there is no single technology valid for everyone, but a gradual path that must start from what is already available today. The problem is that, while we are calling on industry to make an enormous effort, we are continuing to impose very high costs on it, aggravated by a sick system such as that of ETS allowances, which, as it is - and we have seen it in maritime transport - continues to produce counterproductive effects. The funds made available by the Commission are not enough to close the price differential that is holding back European production of sustainable fuels. Targeted instruments and smart use of ETS resources are needed. And we need to simplify: certifications, traceability, imports, partnerships with third countries. Without regulatory certainty, there will be no private investment and we will remain dependent on markets outside Europe. If we really want Europe to play a role in this game, we must put aside ideological approaches and ensure full technological neutrality, supporting innovation and industry instead of hindering them. Only then will the transition be credible and within the reach of our businesses.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Madam Minister, Commissioner, we were eagerly awaiting a sign of repentance from the Commission, after the many criticisms received in recent weeks. And yet, once again, it seems that the mountain has given birth to a mouse. Some progress on cohesion, of course, but in the face of a proposal on agriculture that is still absolutely and largely insufficient, I would say unacceptable. Sadly, setting aside a percentage of resources for rural areas figuratively on paper does not mean supporting farmers, and the Commission is well aware of this, and farmers in particular are well aware of this. What we will not stop asking for is not yet another experiment in creative finance. We want guaranteed resources for those who, every day, ensure our food and our food security. We do not resign ourselves to seeing the CAP dismantled with choices that fuel imbalances in the internal market and weaken our producers in global competition. We need a sound, autonomous and adequately funded agricultural policy, because only this approach can guarantee our food sovereignty and thus guarantee the freedom of our peoples.

Madam President, Minister, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, let us face it: The real novelty of this Council is the letter on competitiveness that President von der Leyen sent to the leaders on Monday. A novelty, also because, for the first time, we read a self-criticism on the Green Deal, which, in addition to finally opening up biofuels for cars, recognises that many rules risk exacerbating strategic dependence on China and making our industries less competitive. The king is finally naked! But, while with the right hand you write a letter to finally meet businesses and citizens, knowing that you are dealing with governments less and less willing to follow these follies, as if there were still Timmermans, with the left hand you tighten the rope around the necks of businesses and citizens, with the nefarious proposal of the climate law and the reduction of emissions to 90% in 2040. And we are moving forward with weak solutions, such as the timid postponement of the deforestation regulation, which should instead be radically changed. Unfortunately, the message is clear: The road of downside compromises with the left is a dead end that leads Europe into irreversible decline.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, today the automotive industry, the beating heart of our economy, risks dying suffocated by ideological choices and a technocratic vision that do not take reality into account. The ban on combustion engines since 2035 is the emblem of this tragic mistake. It is not an environmental policy, it is a wrong and suicidal industrial policy that is giving China the almost monopoly on the market and control of entire production chains, with electricity becoming the Chinese Trojan horse to conquer even the endothermic market. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of jobs across Europe are at risk of disappearing. What does the Commission do? He wastes time in a strategic dialogue in which he hears but does not listen to the cry of pain that comes from the sector, in particular from the extraordinary fabric of small and medium-sized industries of the related industries and components that are in danger of disappearing. It sends the fines back to the manufacturers, yes, but only for cars and vans and, incredibly, not for heavy vehicles. And President von der Leyen's magic recipe for competing with the Chinese would be to produce cheap mini electric cars in Europe. A ridiculous idea that sounds like the definitive surrender of a continent that has built its greatness on innovation and quality industry. That is why the joint letter from Italy and Germany to the Commission marks a turning point. Two major manufacturing countries are strongly demanding to change course, to rewrite the rules, to overcome the dogmas of 2035, of the "all-electric", putting technological neutrality and freedom of innovation back at the center. We need a European industrial policy that recognises the value of renewable fuels, biofuels, e-fuel, hybrid engines and new clean combustion solutions. We need a policy that defends Europe's technological, productive and strategic sovereignty, instead of handing over our hands and feet to Asian competitors. That is why I want to make an appeal to the friends of the EPP. There is a possible majority in this House on these issues. Let it express itself with a vote, without suffering the perennial blackmail of the left, the enemy of industry, labor and the environment. And there is also a majority in the Council if, as we hope, Chancellor Merz is able to curb his allies in government. We've been saying this for a long time: Sustainability comes not from prohibitions, but from the freedom to innovate and the courage to compete. For this reason, revoking the 2035 ban is not a step backwards, it is an act of political lucidity to save a strategic sector, millions of workers and the industrial independence of our continent.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, today, in too many Latin American countries, the values of freedom and democracy are threatened by authoritarian regimes and the growing influence of hostile powers. While Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua continue to repress opponents and violate fundamental rights, the European Union always chooses the most comfortable path, that of downward compromises and the fear of inconvenience to autocrats. Freedom is not negotiated. That is why we have tabled proposals to strengthen this resolution, clearly calling for the suspension of the agreement with Cuba and for the designation of the Cártel de los Soles with its leader Maduro as a terrorist organization, as did the Trump administration and other governments in the region. But it is also time to deal with the very serious violations of the rule of law underway in Brazil against members of the conservative opposition by the duo Lula and de Moraes. Only a Europe that rediscovers the courage of truth can truly defend freedom, inside and outside its borders.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, the measures we are going to vote on tomorrow go in the right direction and finally give an important signal of attention to the agricultural world. With the reform of the common market organisation, we are introducing concrete measures to strengthen the position of farmers in the value chain, rebalance contractual relations and enhance the role of agricultural cooperatives. The rules on the labelling of meat products, which are essential to ensure transparency and genuine consumer protection, and the measures that prioritise our products in public procurement, strengthening their traceability and indication of origin, are also good. By simplifying the CAP, we are also reducing red tape and finally giving farmers more effective tools to innovate and compete. Positive the increase of the support to the producer organizations and the measures for a whole European livestock supply chain, with good peace of those environmental associations that still today have sided for the continuation of the unfortunate policies of the Green Deal and to the detriment of our farmers. Instead, it is time to return to an agricultural policy that focuses on production, reciprocity, profitability and economic sustainability. Following in the footsteps of these two positive measures, we therefore call on the Commission to move forward more quickly, more forcefully and more courageously in supporting Europe's farmers, food security and food sovereignty, starting with the future CAP post-2027 and, above all, with the next Multiannual Financial Framework, which, in the proposal formulated, we continue to consider completely unsatisfactory.

Mr President, Madam High Representative, ladies and gentlemen, on 11 August last, Senator Miguel Uribe, a Democratic and Conservative opposition candidate for the next presidential elections, died following the attack he suffered on 7 June. A crime for which the Petro government is politically responsible, including for refusing to strengthen Uribe's personal security. In the following weeks there were new serious terrorist attacks, which caused dozens of deaths and injuries among civilians and law enforcement. Non-isolated episodes that demonstrate the seriousness of the Colombian crisis. President Petro's so-called total peace turned out to be a resounding failure: Armed groups have reorganized, drug cartels have strengthened their power and cocaine production has reached record levels. The role of the Cártel de los Soles, totally penetrated by the upper echelons of the Venezuelan regime of Nicolas Maduro and Diosdado Cabello, destabilises the entire region, including Colombia. This is why the European Union needs to send clear messages: condemns the political polarisation implemented by Petro; identification of the perpetrators of the Uribe murder; protection of candidates in view of the 2026 elections; support for any initiative aimed at dismantling criminal networks, starting with the inclusion of Cártel de los Soles in the list of terrorist organizations to permanently disrupt their financial networks and sanction their political leaders.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, 'the sign I hope to leave is one of commitment, respect for people and for reality. That's where it all starts. With these words, last Thursday Mr. Giorgio Armani left us, as his collaborators used to call him. Stylist of extraordinary elegance, founder of a creative universe recognized throughout Europe and all over the world. Giorgio Armani embodied, in his most authentic form, the Italian genius and the value of Made in Italy, which for him was simply this: beautiful, well done and thought out in Italy from start to finish. He was able to resist flattery and remain faithful to his city to the last: "It's the center of my world, it has always inspired me," said Armani of Milan, his city that today greets him and that, after all, looks so much like him: discreet, hardworking, never too flashy. He loved sport, he dressed the Olympic national team, he accompanied from his place on the sidelines the baskets and the victories of his beloved Olympia, because sport - he said - "has the same values that I pursue in life and work." Its cultural heritage of sobriety, modernity, sophistication and universal aesthetic sense will continue to make us proud and inspire future generations. Farewell, King George.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, today more than ever the common agricultural policy must be defended and strengthened, because the CAP - and with it the food we produce - is not only an economic instrument, it is a guarantee of stability, autonomy and security for the entire European Union. Food safety cannot be taken for granted: wars on Europe's doorstep, global tensions over supply chains, extreme weather events, everything shows us that food is not just good, it is a geopolitical lever, it is a strategic issue, and we cannot afford to depend more and more on third countries if we want to ensure sufficient good and healthy food for our citizens. For this reason, any proposal to cut CAP funds, inside or outside the so-called single fund, is not only unacceptable, but short-sighted. Cutting the CAP means weakening our farmers, putting rural areas at risk and delivering a crucial part of our sovereignty to external instability. And so we call for a strong, autonomous, adequately financed CAP, but also a more modern CAP, addressed to those who really produce, to those who innovate, to those who do quality, to those who have to deal with trade agreements without reciprocity, to market crises, animal diseases and increasingly frequent natural disasters; A CAP without ideological follies green, but with incentives and rewards for those who invest in sustainability. This is the CAP that we are asking for, this is the CAP that we are going to defend, as millions of European farmers have asked us and are asking us to do.

Madam President, Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the last European Council, which focused heavily on international issues, was preceded once again by an immigration summit, chaired by Giorgia Meloni and her colleagues from the Netherlands and Denmark. Immigration must not be suffered, but it must be managed. Next, then, with the fight against irregular immigration, with agreements with non-EU countries, with the definition of safe third countries and with the acceleration of returns. Because the instrumentalisation of immigration is one of the hybrid threats to which Europe is subjected, as we saw yesterday in Libya, in eastern Libya, where Commissioner Brunner and three important ministers from as many European countries have been denied access. And that is also why, when we discuss our necessary defence investments, as we did in the Council after the NATO summit, we must also consider as such those to counter hybrid threats, defend borders, protect strategic infrastructure and control critical raw materials. It means defending our freedom and our sovereignty.

(IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Madam High Representative, the assassination attempt on 7 June on Senator Miguel Uribe, one of the most successful candidates for the next presidential election, struck us deeply. In these critical hours for his health conditions we renew our prayers for him, as in recent days many Colombian citizens have invaded the streets of the country in silence, with great composure. We express our closeness to his family, already tried in the past by similar events, and to the friends of his party, the Democratic Center. But expressing sadness and solidarity is no longer enough. The European Union must demand that President Petro, who in recent years has given free rein to the drug cartels, which have begun to strike again with impunity, should take political responsibility for this attack on democracy in Colombia. We can't pretend anymore. In a nation where mafia-political violence is growing, where the president goes ahead with emergency decrees and constitutional forcings, Europe has a duty to speak out. President Petro's government is a danger and a threat to democracy, because it owes its survival to years of ambiguity and collusion. We need international observers for the next elections and a constant commitment to defend freedom, above all else. It is true in Venezuela of the sadistic tyrant Maduro, it is true in Cuba of the persecutor Díaz-Canel, it is true in Nicaragua of the bloody regime Ortega Murillo and it is also true in Petro's Colombia. Long live freedom!

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, for months now we have been calling in vain for an urgent resolution on the crisis affecting theautomotive. Today, after so much insistence, we are finally discussing at least the Commission's amendment that allows manufacturers to defer emissions on a three-year basis, rather than on an annual basis. This is certainly a step in the right direction, but it remains insufficient to respond to the problem of fines, which, moreover, will continue to concern - and this is really incomprehensible, colleagues - the heavy-duty vehicle sector, despite the fact that the share of registrations of zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles was only 2.3% at European level. And not only: the crisis in the sector needs to be tackled more at its root automotive, we must anticipate as much as possible the revision of the entire regulation, fully respecting the principle of technological neutrality constantly violated in the name of the sacrifice of our industry to Chinese electricity and thus strongly defending European companies and workers from a decline that we are imposing on ourselves.

Madam President, Commissioner, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, ladies and gentlemen, much has been said in the last Council about defence and security. Do not abandon transatlantic cooperation in the name of ambition; not only to think of new public debt, but of instruments to stimulate private investment; Not just about rearmament, but about 360-degree security and defending our freedoms against hybrid threats. This is the path of common sense traced by far-sighted leaders, such as Giorgia Meloni. But there was talk of competitiveness and simplification: key concepts, which, however, can only be achieved by revising the objectives and timing of each individual measure of the Green Deal, defusing the automatic pilot of some ideologued bureaucrats. Colleagues, in the coming hours we will deposit the necessary signatures to request the establishment of a commission of inquiry on the so-called "green gate". I thank the almost 200 Members who have supported it and I appeal to the friends of the EPP, who have played an important role in calling for clarity on the actions of environmental NGOs, to join us in this battle of truth and transparency.

Madam President, Minister, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I will not say anything. Our group expected much more from this plan. Well the postponement of fines for manufacturers, strongly requested by us; It is very bad not to have provided for a derogation also for the heavy-duty vehicle sector, whose electrification is not technologically and market-friendly, severely damaging a sector in which we still compete with the non-European industry in advantageous conditions. Well the anticipation of the revision of the CO2 regulation, which is also strongly demanded by us; the failure to refer to technological neutrality, despite the reassurances of Vice-President Séjourné, was very bad. Unfortunately, we are still faced with a plan imbued with ideology. full electric Timmermans style, however watered down by the continuous references to autonomous driving and digital content: an unforgivable scientific, industrial, geopolitical error. Someone probably already considers theautomotive It suggests that we should devote ourselves to the conversion towards the defense of our heavy industry, with the beatification of that public debt once seen as smoke in the eyes. I say this clearly: We do not resign this idea and will continue to defend European industry and work, free consumer choice and technological neutrality, the supply chain of components and the industrial and political sovereignty of Europe. This is what the citizens asked us at the polls in June 2024 and with all due respect to the orphans of Timmermans: That's why we will continue to fight.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the European Union has culpably left South America at the mercy of Chinese penetration and of regimes, governments or movements that have often distanced it from Europe and the West. The agreement with Mercosur therefore has clear geopolitical motivations and also presents equally clear growth opportunities for some sectors. Yet, this agreement has generated an immediate reaction from European farmers. And you know why? Because in the recent past it was agriculture that paid the highest price in many free trade agreements. But also because in recent years the ideological choices of the European Union have hit hard the competitiveness of European farmers, with the follies green, with an asphyxiating bureaucracy, with an unbalanced distribution of profitability along the supply chains. It is certainly true that some agri-food sectors – I am thinking of the wine or cheese sectors – could benefit from the agreement. And it is true that the number of formally protected designations of origin is the highest ever included in a free trade agreement, albeit with some obvious flaws. But it is also true that the lack of reciprocity, the possibility granted to South American producers to continue to use pesticides that we have banned for some time, the lack of reliable on-the-spot checks on health standards and against counterfeiting, as well as in European customs procedures, in many of our European ports, on imports, tip the balance towards a legitimate and well-founded concern on the part of the agricultural world. And it will not be enough to reassure our producers of a safeguard clause that is difficult to activate or that one billion euros provided for compensation, a drop in the ocean and even less than that 1.8 billion euros provided by the European Union for Mercosur farmers. Today this agreement is still too unbalanced and too penalizing for our agriculture and we, under these conditions, cannot support it.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, this is not the first time in recent months that this House has debated and spoken out about the brutality of the Ortega-Murillo regime in Nicaragua. The constitutional reform, approved a few days ago, formalizes the diarchy between husband and wife at the top of the regime and puts an end, even formally, to the separation of powers, already violated by years of ruthless oppression and systematic violation of the rule of law. The only freedom guaranteed in Nicaragua is that of the communist terrorist Alessio Casimirri, whose immediate extradition to Italy we are once again strongly calling for. We stand by the political prisoners, the democratic opposition, the Catholic Church, the last garrison of freedom. Strong European political action is needed, coordinated with the United States and other countries in the region, the activation of the democratic clause of the Association Agreement, the blocking of cooperation funds if human rights are not restored and the tightening of individual sanctions against the top leadership of the regime.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Minister, Commissioner, today, a left that has become desperate and totally detached from the common sense of the peoples tries to tell us that the threat to Europe's competitiveness would be represented by collaboration between the conservatives and the extreme right, where obviously, with the usual distortion of words and reality, the Christian Democrats become conservatives and everything that moves to their right automatically becomes the extreme right. It is the usual game of putting labels on political opponents to disqualify tens of millions of Europeans from the democratic game and keep Christian-Democratic friends under perpetual blackmail: accept the left's agenda so as not to be demonized by the media mainstream. It is a pity that the people are rebelling against this plan. It is also a pity that they understand perfectly well that the real threat to European competitiveness is represented precisely by those who have made the European Union the most regulated and bureaucratized space in the world, by those who persist in carrying out ideological recipes. green, They lead us to productive desertification and China's dependence on those who want uncontrolled immigration and consequently low wages. They are the same ones who, after having benefited for years from the censorship of the big technological platforms, today cry out to the danger of the technoright, because some former democratic sympathizers in Silicon Valley are beginning to dismantle the unbearable cloak of political correctness. Faced with this left, in recent years the path to follow in Europe has not been traced by Donald Trump or Elon Musk, but by Giorgia Meloni, who has been able to build a credible right, the pivot of a wide and plural center-right. A national-conservative right, fiercely European, firmly Western, in love with freedom, an enemy of autocracies and without subjection to anyone. Definitely overcome the geopolitical ambiguities and the velleitarisms, on the one hand, and break down the fences and cut the undemocratic cordons, on the other: This is the only way to prevent the left, which is the real enemy of European competitiveness, from continuing to do damage.

Under Rule 215, we will propose a committee of inquiry to shed full light on this shameful scandal involving the European institutions. We want the truth about this shame and we want to know how much money was spent irregularly, to whom it was given, why, who they tried to condition, with what outcome and if it was also made on other important matters of our legislation.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I am speaking on a point of order pursuant to Rule 215 and Annex I to our Code of Conduct. Yesterday we had news in the press, relaunched by my EPP colleague, Mr Gotink, whom I thank, is a disturbing confirmation from Commissioner Serafin: during the last mandate, the European Commission would have allocated more than EUR 700 000 to environmental associations, in order to convince Members of this Parliament to support with their vote the green follies wanted by former Commissioner Vice-President Timmermans. We would be in front of a real greengatethe use of public resources to influence the vote of this Parliament...