What Juan Fernando spoke about.

20 Jan

2025

ES Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Madam President, at the December plenary session I spoke about the disaster in Mayotte with fatalities and, the next day, many colleagues asked me whether that island in the Indian Ocean is a European Union. Of course it is, along with five other French regions, two Portuguese and the Canary Islands in Spain; the only regions qualified by European law to obtain solidarity – where, when it is most …

19 Dec

2024

ES Speech

Recommendation to the Council on the EU priorities for the 69th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women - EU priorities for the 69th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (joint debate - EU priorities for the upcoming session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women)

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Mr President, Commissioner, all Member States' constitutions prohibit discrimination on grounds of sex, as Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union categorically does. However, with just five years left until the expiration of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda, which enshrine access to equality, the United Nations itself declares that …

19 Dec

2024

ES Speech

Need to update the European strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, the rights of people with disabilities – more than 10 million across the European Union – are fundamental rights. This is clearly stated in Article 26 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which is binding on all Member States. In addition, it says the obligation of the European Union to comply with the EU Strategy on the Rights of Persons with …

18 Dec

2024

ES Speech

Need to ensure swift action and transparency on corruption allegations in the public sector to protect democratic integrity (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner McGrath, it does not fail: in every Strasbourg plenary session, whatever the pretext, there is no agenda that is free from the cacophony of criticism poured into Spanish from all right-wingers against Spain and its government. And it's not only sad, it's outrageous. First, because they are worth every falsehood, every lie, every defamation and every slander in what has b…

18 Dec

2024

ES Speech

Preparation of the European Council of 19-20 December 2024 (debate)

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Madam President, immediately after the overthrow of the Assad tyranny in Syria, several governments in the European Union have rushed to urge the four million Syrian refugees in the European Union – more than three million of them in Germany – that it is time for them to return. Fortunately, we have heard sensible words from President von der Leyen: such returns must be dignified and voluntary. Bu…

17 Dec

2024

ES Speech

Towards a shared vision for European tourism, its sustainable growth and brand Europe (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, this debate shows the good reasons for pursuing a European tourism policy, because it imports more than 22 million jobs throughout the European Union, more than 12% of employment and more than 10% of gross domestic product and, in some specialised regions, such as the Canary Islands, more than 30% of GDP and more than 35% of employment. Therefore, when it collapses to z…

17 Dec

2024

ES Speech

Situation of female politicians in EU candidate and neighbouring countries facing harassment and cyber violence (debate)

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Mr. President, Commissioner, cyberviolence and cyberbullying against women and the dissemination of discriminatory, defamatory and sexist content against women, particularly when they participate in electoral processes for representative positions or political responsibility, are not exclusive to neighbouring countries or candidates for European integration. It also happens in the European Union i…

17 Dec

2024

ES Speech

The situation in Mayotte following the devastating cyclone Chido and the need for solidarity (debate)

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Mr President, in this very plenary session we have discussed and welcomed the reform of the Emergency Regional Support Regulation (RESTORE) and situations such as the La Palma volcano, the fires in Madeira and now this cyclone in Mayotte, with a hundred fatalities, were mentioned in that debate. What are they telling us? That if with someone the European Union has to have a regional policy with su…

17 Dec

2024

ES Speech

Russia’s disinformation and historical falsification to justify its war of aggression against Ukraine (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, we were talking a while ago in this very Strasbourg plenary session about the power of disinformation and the threat it poses to the founding values of the European Union. But when we talk about Russian-made disinformation, this issue reaches its peak, its paroxysm, because Russia has a long history of falsification of narratives, from the concealment of the Holodomo…

17 Dec

2024

ES Speech

Misinformation and disinformation on social media platforms, such as TikTok, and related risks to the integrity of elections in Europe (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner McGrath, disinformation on major technology platforms poses a dark side and a threat to European values and rights, not only to the integrity of electoral processes – as evidenced by the presidential elections in Romania – but to the entire European framework of the rule of law, fundamental rights and democracy: against the rule of law because technology platforms resist…

16 Dec

2024

ES Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Mr President, you are well aware that one of the formats of activity in this European Parliament is the formation of intergroups: meetings of Members of the European Parliament from different political groups but united by a common interest. During this parliamentary term, this Parliament has decided to form an Intergroup on Cohesion Policy and Outermost Regions – the only ones mentioned by name i…

16 Dec

2024

ES Speech

Regional Emergency Support: RESTORE (debate)

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Madam President, Vice-President Fitto, this amendment to the regulation on regional emergency assistance in the event of natural disasters will make it possible, in an agile manner, to mobilise up to 95% of co-financing in the framework governing aid for disasters such as that suffered by the Valencian Community, where more than 220 deaths have received the solidarity of this European Parliament, …

28 Nov

2024

ES Speech

Foreign interference and espionage by third country actors in European universities (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner Dalli, academic freedom is not the freedom of academics, but of students, teachers, researchers, at the service of innovation, knowledge and, therefore, well-being and progress. And in May 2023, the Special Committee on Foreign Interference in All Democratic Processes in the European Union, in particular Disinformation, of which I had the honour to be a part, clearly con…

28 Nov

2024

ES Speech

Strengthening children’s rights in the EU - 35th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, as evidenced by the intensity of this debate on the 35th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, we have nothing to celebrate: is a location for pressing challenges in this legislature. The first, against the 20 million children at risk of social exclusion: demanding implementation of the Child Guarantee with sufficient funding of th…

27 Nov

2024

ES Speech

Recent legislation targeting LGBTQI persons and the need for protecting the rule of law and a discrimination-free Union (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner Dalli, after 15 years of validity of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – with the same value as the Treaties – there is a very clear lesson, which is that those governments at the extreme right that harass the LGBTI community or restrict the rights of those people pose a systemic problem to the rule of law, judicial independence, pluralism of inf…

27 Nov

2024

ES Speech

Stepping up the fight against and the prevention of the recruitment of minors for criminal acts (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, this debate is not only timely, but necessary in view of the chilling intelligence report of the Europol unit on child recruitment in the European Union, which shows that up to 70% of criminal activity – particularly in cybercrime and drug trafficking – involves or involves minors with the economic incentive, in addition to the difficulty of linking them to internationa…

27 Nov

2024

ES Speech

Presentation by the President-elect of the Commission of the College of Commissioners and its programme (debate)

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Madam President Metsola, Madam President von der Leyen, in your investiture speech of July, when referring to migration and asylum – by far the most sensitive and divisive issue on the European agenda – you underlined the words ‘firmness’ and ‘security’ and alluded to imaginative solutions, such as an apparent subterfuge for externalisation of borders, in addition to migration and asylum applicati…

26 Nov

2024

ES Speech

Prison conditions in the EU (debate)

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26 Nov

2024

ES Speech

Full accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen Area: the urgent need to lift controls at internal land borders (debate)

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26 Nov

2024

EN Speech

Question Time with Commissioners - Challenges in the implementation of cohesion policy 2021-2027

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Thanks for your commitment with the regions, and particularly with the outermost regions and with the Canaries, as you have just mentioned. And just do one last service: convey your message, your commitment, gather your experience and send a message to your successor in the portfolio. Make a difference till the very last minute, like you have made it so far. Thank you!…

26 Nov

2024

ES Speech

Question Time with Commissioners - Challenges in the implementation of cohesion policy 2021-2027

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26 Nov

2024

ES Speech

Reinforcing EU’s unwavering support to Ukraine against Russia’s war of aggression and the increasing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia (debate)

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25 Nov

2024

ES Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Mr President, last week the Committee of the Regions met in Brussels on the occasion of its thirtieth anniversary. At that meeting, the work of the European Parliament to increase by EUR 3 billion the European Union Solidarity Fund and the Union Civil Protection Mechanism, which will allow European funding to be made available to repair the damage of the tragic flood that claimed the lives of 200 …

25 Nov

2024

ES Speech

Condemning the illegal unilateral declaration of independence of the secessionist entity in Cyprus and all efforts to legitimise it and reaffirming the need for European solidarity - 41 years after (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner Schinas, 41 years ago the illegal occupation of a part of the territory of which today is happily a Member State of the European Union took place: Cyprus. The European Union has never recognized that Turkish Cypriot entity in northern Cyprus and supports all United Nations actions to bring about the territorial reintegration of Cyprus and its reunification, which, incide…

25 Nov

2024

ES Speech

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, all Member States' constitutions prohibit discrimination on grounds of sex, as prohibited by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. And yet, you don't have to be a lawyer to know that what is actually being banned is discrimination against women and, above all, its most ominous version, which is criminal violence that murders women for the mere fact of…