What Juan Fernando spoke about.

—

Written Statements ES

Ongoing hearings under Article 7(1) TEU regarding Poland and Hungary (debate)

The Socialist delegation voted in favour of this resolution as it shows a genuine commitment to make significant progress in the ongoing Article 7(1) TEU procedures, in line with its obligations under the Treaties. At Parliament’s request, hearings are not organised in a regular, structured and open manner. We urge future Presidencies to organise hearings regularly and at least once per Presidency. We call on the Council to ensure that hearings under Article 7(1) TEU also address new developments, including those related to violations of fundamental rights. We call on the Commission and the Council to refrain from approving the national plans of Poland and Hungary under the Recovery and Resilience Facility until they have fully complied with all country-specific recommendations under the European Semester and implemented all relevant judgments of the Court of Justice of the EU and the European Court of Human Rights. The Commission's conclusions should constitute sufficient grounds for the Council to adopt recommendations in the Article 7(1) TEU procedure.

21

May

2026

Speeches ES

Watch

The Union’s preparedness for and response to health emergencies: the case of the MV Hondius and the hantavirus warning (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, have we learned any lessons from what was the terrible experience of COVID-19? Some of them do. And it is that in the face of the outbreak of the next pandemic, which in globalization will never know of borders or passports, the answer can in no case be based on superstition, nor on panic, nor on fear, but on scientific evidence. And the best health response begins with responsible solidarity, as exemplified by the Government of Spain, which you have acknowledged. 10 and 11 May: I disembark with all the guarantees and repatriation, condolences to the deceased and wishes for recovery to those who have been or are in quarantine, but, of course, recognition of that exercise of solidarity that was also widely shared by the Canarian citizens, beyond the fact that some unfocused voice has tried, through hoaxes, to try to exploit fear. No, the answer has to be reinforced civil protection, European solidarity, the articulation of a European health policy, but also biomedical research, walking in the opposite direction to the divestment being practiced by the United States Government, because that has to be the European response, in all its quality.

20

May

2026

Speeches ES

Watch

Situation of women and girls in Afghanistan following the Taliban's adoption of the Criminal Procedure Code for Courts

Mr President, Commissioner, to all the testimonies that you have censored as execrable the tyranny of the Taliban, with its massive and ominous violation of the rights of women and, particularly, of girls, to whom you subject all kinds of intolerable repression as incompatible, completely, with the equal dignity that the European Union professes, I add my voice to those who, in addition, have censored the hypocrisy of the European Commission, which invites a representation of the Taliban - nothing less than Brussels - to negotiate the return of people allegedly not eligible for refugee status, when the truth is that one and a half million people from Afghanistan fled in terror when the Taliban returned to power in 2021, many of whom are in Europe and there are none who can return safely. And, of course, not women, who are exposed to a massive and absolutely intolerable violation of their rights and dignity. Therefore, Commissioner, that conduct on the part of the Commission is also intolerable.

20

May

2026

Speeches ES

Watch

Repression and execution of protesters, dissidents, political prisoners and religious minorities in Iran

Mr President, Commissioner, since 2025, and particularly after the offensive launched against Iran by the Trump and Netanyahu governments, the repression has intensified and, therefore, the thousands killed by the repression: heroic women, minors, students. Now, we add the executions in the course of the war of aggression against Iran, which many of us have denounced as illegal. However, the European Union cannot stand idly by in the face of this massive violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, involving the execution of minors, which is being ravaged not only by the traditional Baha'i minority, but also by anyone protesting against the perpetuation of the regime of mullahs and ayatollahs. Therefore, the European Union - which has had in this European Parliament the support for restrictive measures, including declaring the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps terrorist - must use the full diplomatic power of its delegation in Iran and of the embassies of its Member States to put an end to this endless violence of the Ayatollah regime.

20

May

2026

Speeches ES

Watch

Financing EU priorities in a sustainable, predictable and resilient way through a new EU own resource from the online gambling and betting services sector (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, how many times have you heard from this part of the Chamber that no more can be done with less? Own resources: What are we talking about? We are talking about sources of income for the European Union that go beyond VAT, border levies, transfers from Member States' budgets and new taxes (e.g. plastic, tobacco, e-waste). Now yes: Taxing a business model such as online gambling, which exploits the vulnerabilities of population segments in the European Union, can not only generate resources for financing the new ambitions in Europe, but can deter such a business model. But that's not the end of the story: In order for the European Union to fulfil its vision of defence and security and not to take forward cohesion policy, solidarity policy, regional policy or the common agricultural policy, it must also be able to launch common debt programmes, such as the one tested with NextGenerationEU. The common European debt and own resources are the only way we can do more with more.

20

May

2026

Speeches ES

Watch

Recruitment of children by organised crime (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner McGrath, there is a shockingly significant – and growing – recruitment of minors for serious crime, drug trafficking and violent crime. It affects all Member States, but it is particularly hostile to Northern Europe, to some Scandinavian countries - Denmark, Sweden - and we are therefore obliged to act. And this is the meaning of this debate: what to do? Firstly, recruitment is online from the age of thirteen, and digital platforms should therefore be required to be strictly bound by European law, the Digital Services Act, which obliges them to remove illegal content – and, of course, those that invite crime are. Secondly, it is necessary to use all the data made available to us by the European Crime Prevention Network to take cognizance of the dynamics involved in this targeting of minors, who are incited to commit serious crimes. But thirdly, and of course, there must be prevention, the fight against exclusion, against marginalisation and against inequality, as well as social inclusion programmes aimed at the protection of children, as exactly proposed by the European Strategy for Internal Security: protection of minors against crime.

20

May

2026

Speeches ES

Watch

Rights, support and protection of victims of crime (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner McGrath, we at last welcome in this European Parliament the conclusion of the negotiation with the Council, which brings to an end a legislative procedure to update the Directive establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, adopted in 2011 and which we managed to complete in the last parliamentary term, in which I was heavily involved in the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. But it was not until this legislature that this legislative procedure was finally completed, avoiding the double victimization of those who have been victims of crime, strengthening their legal and procedural assistance, their social and even psychological assistance, and, in particular, focusing on the most vulnerable people. These are, of course, minors and child victims of crime, but also women, who are doubly victimized, particularly when they have been victims of sexual violence and require very special attention in their sexual and reproductive rights, where the S&D Group has put the accent. So are migrants. That is why the most vulnerable persons are given the right to complain even when they are in detention centres or deprived of their liberty. I can therefore only conclude that victims' rights are more human rights than ever before in European law as a result of this legislative procedure.

20

May

2026

Speeches ES

Watch

Advancing towards a care society: addressing the gender care gap (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, this debate does the right thing by focusing on the care economy from the perspective of gender gap, or gender imbalance, which affects their social and wage aspects and which requires European harmonisation from a tax point of view, from a labour point of view and also from a social point of view. But everything is accentuated and worsened when the care economy is entrusted to the migrant population, to migrant women. Because there are two options: on the one hand, marginalisation and exclusion leading to superlative labour exploitation and, on the other hand, regularisation and recognition of the rights of the migrant population in the care economy, as has been done, for example, by the Spanish Government. Because that is what contributes to the dignification of work, to the repair, not only of gender gap, that is to say, the gender imbalance, which undoubtedly requires a European pact on the care economy from that perspective, but also a different view of the migrant population, which does not pass through denial or rejection, but through integration and inclusion.

19

May

2026

Speeches ES

Watch

Opportunities and challenges presented by a comprehensive artificial intelligence strategy for EU trade (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, artificial intelligence is such a dizzying and unstoppable technological revolution that, when this European Parliament legislated, it was aware that such legislation would be obsolete the next day. And yet, despite this, it has been pioneering legislation through the so-called 'Brussels effect', and deserves to be preserved in all areas of European Union action, including that of trade strategy. But, yes, respecting the principles that inspire it. Firstly, consistency with the European standard of fundamental rights, and particularly data protection, which is the highest in the world. Secondly, the principle of prevention: restricted uses and uses prohibited as incompatible with the fundamental rights protected by the Charter. But thirdly, human oversight, which involves an effort – for which the Commission has to be responsible – to ensure that this AI standard is transparent, accountable and subject to democratic scrutiny.

19

May

2026

Speeches ES

Watch

Recommendation on the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (debate)

Mr President, Mrs Kallas, the adoption of the European Parliament's recommendation to the next United Nations General Assembly in September is an occasion to reaffirm our own vision of the European contribution to the governance of globalisation, which has to be consistent with our commitment to legality, multilateralism and equality – to begin with, gender equality, with the commitment to a woman for the Secretariat-General. But it is also an occasion to denounce the shortcomings of this report on the recommendation of the European Parliament, because it cannot be that we are not clear that it is absolutely inadmissible and contrary to international law, founded on that international legality of the United Nations parallel to the European Union itself as its response to the disaster of the Second World War, that it completely ignores the condemnation of Israel's intervention in Gaza, that it fails to support UNRWA, that it does not clearly condemn the aggression of Israel and the United States to Lebanon and Iran or the intervention of the United States in Venezuela. Legality therefore does not allow double standards, which is the source of criticism that makes the European Union's internal and external credibility more vulnerable.

19

May

2026

Speeches ES

Watch

Europe's response to reduced US military deployments in Europe, particularly at its Eastern flank in the light of the latest US decisions (debate)

Madam President, Mrs Kallas, in order for the European Union to respond to the withdrawal of military personnel by the United States in Eastern Europe, the necessary condition is that the European Union has a voice of its own, worthy of being heard and respected. And that is very difficult when faced with the criticism of double standards: Faced with Russia for its aggression against Ukraine, but unable to say an audible word about the genocide perpetrated by Israel in Gaza, or its aggression against Lebanon, or the US’s illegal military action in Iran – an execrable regime, but one that cannot be bombed illegally without further ado. And, of course, double standards are exasperated when the European Commission invites the Taliban to negotiate returns of refugees from Afghanistan to European territory. Therefore, the main thing is that the European Union matures quickly, has the will to be and has the necessary resources to be globally relevant, also in defense and security.

19

May

2026

Speeches ES

Watch

EU governance under pressure – institutional responses to global challenges (debate)

President, Commissioner Šefčovič, "The governance of the Union under pressure" is the title of this debate in a global disorder, amid geopolitical turbulence that challenges as never before the raison d'être of Europe, founded, governed and limited by its own order, i.e. by law. And, in parallel, a Europe with international legality, learning from the lessons of the devastation of World War II. Europe crumbles before our eyes under the pressure of those who claim unilateralism and the law of the strongest. It is imperative that the European Union thus has a voice worthy of being heard – hopefully respected, but above all a Europe with something to say. And this is not possible under the current unanimity rules. If it is not possible with the current 27 Member States, even less so with the prospect of enlargement, with ten States on the waiting list. That is why it is imperative that we reform the Treaties, which is what the European Parliament called for in 2023. It is about institutional reform that goes beyond the dysfunctional rule of unanimity and imposes – at last – qualified majorities, not only to provide the European Union with its own resources and own resources, but to use the indebtedness that finances the new ambitions without crumbling what has been Europe’s raison d’être – its solidarity, regional policy and cohesion policy. But above all, an institutional reform that also strengthens the European Parliament – finally – with a legislative initiative of its own in its powers of investigation, control of the Commission, question time, parliamentary control. It is therefore a matter of regulating a full-fledged relaunch of the European Parliament. The conclusion is within anyone's reach: never before has the European Union been so alone and at the same time so dependent on itself in globalisation; of itself and of the Member States, which cannot be just a coalition or a Union within the Union, as has recently been proposed, but must be the political will to be the Europe of the Member States and of those who aspire to be. On that depends, now more than ever, the future of the EU.

19

May

2026

Speeches ES

Watch

EU cybersecurity and preparedness in view of advanced AI systems (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner Virkkunen, when this Parliament adopted the Artificial Intelligence Act and even when it approved the bus to simplify it, we have been aware that we are facing an unstoppable and dizzying technological revolution that now abysses us to the so-called 'artificial border intelligence': Mythos, Anthropic, OpenAI... The precautionary principle practised by the institutions and the European Parliament cannot lead us to fear, but collaboration with these cutting-edge start-ups cannot lead us to accentuate dependency either. On the contrary, affirming our strategic sovereignty means also reaffirming our values: democratic institutional control, transparency, respect for fundamental rights... i.e.: human supervision, in short. It is a question of finding a balance that is consistent with the principles that inspired European artificial intelligence legislation and, at the same time, of increasing the European Union's readiness to defend itself also against the propensity for armaments and war, as well as against the ability of artificial intelligence to exploit the vulnerabilities of open societies.

18

May

2026

Speeches ES

Watch

European solidarity: key to securing medicine access in a shifting geopolitical era (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, in the global disorder and geopolitical turbulence that are the title of this debate, health threats and viruses know less than ever about borders, let alone passports. Therefore, it must be said that if we are not able to take care of our citizens in their health not only within our borders, but also outside our borders, we are not up to the challenge. And it is not enough the individual effort of any State that stands out, as has been the case of the Spanish health authorities, effort deployed on the ship anchored in the port of Tenerife, with exemplary behavior and an admirable device, as the Director General of Health has shown, recognizing the solidarity of the Canarian people. No, there is a need for a European strategy, with European investments that honour the design of health as a European public good, as our spokesman Andriukaitis, former Commissioner for Health, has shown; a European public good with investments that match it.

18

May

2026

Speeches ES

Watch

The impact of the implementation of the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive 2014/89/EU on fisheries in selected fishing areas and sea basins (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, on the twelfth anniversary of European fisheries legislation and in view of the announcement of an ocean law and the prospect of a collapse of the European Fisheries Funds, it is time to recall that this Parliament adopted in this legislature nothing less than specific indications for the outermost regions such as the Canary Islands, which affect three commitments in European fisheries legislation. Firstly, zoning and the protection of fishing. Secondly, support for small-scale fishing and generational renewal, in addition to the zoning of catch areas. And these priorities are manifestly unfulfilled in regions such as the Canary Islands, where irrational requirements are imposed, incompatible with artisanal fishing, such as the keeping of a digital notebook, which is simply impossible in the conditions of the sea, and an exact quantification of the catches before their landing, which is clearly irrational and disproportionate in fishing in the Canary Islands. This Parliament's warning is therefore clear and must be respected.

30

Apr

2026

Speeches ES

Watch

Women’s entrepreneurship in rural and island areas and outermost regions (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, rights are worth what your guarantees are worth. And if we talk about the rights of empowered women in rural areas and in the outermost regions we have to talk about their guarantees and their financial items reflected in the multiannual financial framework, as is the bet of this European Parliament approved in this plenary: increase the POSEI fiche to €7.3 billion, above the €4.5 billion it has provided for in the multiannual financial framework still in force, because it is precisely a question of compensating for the difficulties imposed by remoteness, insularity, fragmentation of territory, including in rural areas. Therefore, this is a very powerful message of cohesion of the European Union that must be reflected in the survival of the European Social Fund, the European Regional Development Fund and, of course, the specific agricultural item that is POSEI, to enhance equal opportunities and justice that the European Union owes to the outermost regions.

29

Apr

2026

Speeches ES

Watch

Situation in Lebanon: implementation of the ceasefire, support peace efforts and humanitarian access (debate)

Mr President, the title of this debate, which refers to a humanitarian situation in Lebanon, is once again misleading, because it is not the result of any catastrophe, of any accident, but of an illegal war of aggression perpetrated by Netanyahu with the unconditional complicity of Trump. And yet, not a single reference this morning by President von der Leyen to that illegal war that deserves condemnation, because its continuity is preventing any viable peace deal with Iran in the first place. In addition, it should be recalled that this Parliament expresses its commitment to support UNIFIL and UN officials, who are also – if not killed – harassed by Netanyahu’s aggression in Lebanon. Article 21 of the Treaty on European Union determines the subordination of the entire foreign policy of the European Union to respect for human rights, which means the inexorable consequence of the suspension of the Association Agreement with Israel, the sooner the better.

29

Apr

2026

Speeches ES

Watch

The need to combat antisemitism and protect Jewish life in Europe, following the recent attacks against the Jewish community in the Netherlands and Belgium (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, neither the hatred nor the criminal violence it generates can have any place in a European Union based on values and governed by a law that exalts the equal dignity of all people. Jewish communities are an integral component of European diversity – which unites our law – and therefore any discrimination against Jewish communities directly undermines the heart of Europe. We have expressed this in resolutions of this European Parliament and that is the work and objective of the Parliamentary Intergroup against Anti-Semitism that I myself have had the honour of chairing. But just as it is unfair and completely out of place for Netanyahu to label as anti-Semitic anyone who justifiably criticizes, including from this rostrum, his disproportionate and brutal retaliation in Lebanon and his genocide in Gaza, it is completely out of place for Jewish communities that are part of European diversity to have to suffer any discrimination for facts that have nothing to do with them or with them. Therefore, I express a very clear message: Anti-Semitism has to be combated, because it directly attacks the European identity, which is exactly that of its diversity.

29

Apr

2026

Speeches ES

Watch

The need for targeted criminal provisions and platforms’ responsibility to effectively address cyberbullying and online harassment (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner Micallef, is cyberbullying - the cyberbullying— a Europe-wide evil? Definitely. It affects millions of people in all 27 EU states. It is particularly targeted at vulnerable people: women, minors ... without a doubt, and, therefore, not only moves us, but must force us to act. And the answer cannot rest exclusively on parental surveillance, digital literacy or the coordination of national strategies, no. It must have a European scale of response that, first of all, confronts large technology platforms and their unacceptable business model, because it harms absolutely precious fundamental rights, and forces them to comply with the Digital Services Act and all European law with absolutely exemplary sanctions when they do not remove illegal content. But secondly, it must also compel the Commission to take the initiative of making cyberbullying a European crime, with clear definitions, common rules and common penalties in all the criminal codes of the Member States, in order to also criminally tackle cyberbullying, which is an evil that undoubtedly deserves criminal qualification.

29

Apr

2026

Speeches EN

Watch

Amendment of the European Electoral Act allowing Members to vote in plenary by proxy voting during pregnancy and after giving birth (A10-0123/2026 - Juan Fernando López Aguilar) (vote)

Madam President, dear colleagues, we are about to complete a long-awaited, targeted reform of the European Union Electoral Act. And you know what it is about. It is about precisely to meet the needs and the situation of our female colleagues, who are about to give birth or have just given birth, so that they do not have to make a choice between their voting rights and maternity, because they can actually do both by the reform we are about to complete. It was not easy because it is a very special legislative procedure. It took our vote in November largely ‑ a majority vote, and I thank you for that ‑, but it also takes the unanimity in the Council. The Council has taken some months to make up its mind and actually come with some amendments that make sense in order to review also the Rules of Procedure and the Statute of the European Parliament. But now we are having a chance to make the right thing in the right time. Actually, it's long overdue, and I thank you in advance for your kind support for this report that we are about to adopt.

29

Apr

2026

Speeches ES

Watch

EU strategy in response to the ongoing Middle East crisis, its implications on energy prices and the availability of fertilizers (joint debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, this is one of these occasions when the title of the debate deceives rather than explains: "EU strategy in response to the current crisis in the Middle East". This is a strategy that does not yet exist and does not call the Middle East crisis what it really is: an illegal war unleashed by Trump and Netanyahu, with very damaging consequences for European citizens. For there to be a strategy, there should be, to begin with, resources for repair from a tax on the extraordinary profits of the big oil companies. Above all, however, the double standard must be exceeded, which threatens the external credibility of the European Union and its internal legitimacy, because it is unacceptable that in von der Leyen's speech there was not a single mention of the suspension of the European Union's agreement with Israel, which violates human rights and therefore breaches the agreement with the European Union; the denunciation of the attack on Lebanon of the illegal war in Iran; and, of course, neither of the death penalty imposed by the apartheid Israeli anti-Palestinian population in the Strip. It is therefore unacceptable...

28

Apr

2026

Speeches ES

Watch

Supporting democratic resilience in Armenia (debate)

Madam President, Armenia is a democratic state: Member of the Council of Europe, concentric circle of the European Union, committed to the rule of law, democracy, human rights and the peaceful resolution of conflicts; I mean, peace. And yet, within the Council of Europe, Russia made war on Georgia, Azerbaijan made war on Armenia, and now Russia makes war on Ukraine, also a member of the Council of Europe. The lesson is clear: We have to support those who are really committed to a democratic transition based on values in which we recognise ourselves – and this is the case in Armenia – but we cannot at any time neglect the rights of the displaced people of Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian minority that was in that enclave inside Azerbaijan. Therefore, the commitment continues, with support for the restitution of the rights of these displaced persons and for the efforts of democratic stabilization with all the difficulties of the legacy of the extinct Soviet Union that we hear here in his narrative, live and live, to the Prime Minister of Armenia in this plenary session of the European Parliament.

28

Apr

2026

Speeches ES

Watch

Ensuring accountability and justice in response to Russia’s continued attacks against the civilian population in Ukraine (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, both the first von der Leyen Commission and the second - of which you are a member - have been able to see that this Parliament, in a clear and consistent majority, has spared no effort to restrict any scope for impunity for war crimes perpetrated since Putin's aggression against Ukraine. From the activation of the Temporary Protection Directive to protect displaced persons to the launch of Europol investigation teams in cooperation with the Prosecutor's Office of the International Criminal Court to uphold the indictment for war crimes and crimes against humanity against Putin himself, we have done everything in our power, in addition to, of course, supporting the 20 packages of sanctions. But, in order to have credibility, consistency is necessary, with which we must also condemn the genocide in Gaza as a war crime and support the officials and judges of the International Criminal Court accused by the United States for doing their job, in addition to, of course, being willing to condemn equally the war crimes that are being perpetrated in the aggression in the burning Middle East, against Iran, by those who commit them.

28

Apr

2026

Speeches ES

Watch

The Commission’s 2025 Rule of Law report (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, with this 2025 annual report on the rule of law in the European Union, we are consolidating an institution that we invented and launched in 2019, and there are six exercises already in which we examined – together with the state of the Union – each of the 27 Member States in terms of separation of powers, judicial independence, information pluralism and anti-corruption strategies. But this report does more, rapporteur Arvanitis, because this report also deals with discrimination against vulnerable groups, against vulnerable people, gender equality, women's equality, sexual orientation and, of course, ethnic minorities, and also with the hate speech that spreads in the networks. They are sufficient lessons to conclude that, at this stage, we can say that there are no double standards, that the rule of law concerns the 27, but neither can there be any political instrumentalization in the service of any cause other than the common values that bind us and that are also required of the applicant States. With a view to enlargement, the examination has to be verified with regard to compliance with the values of Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union.

28

Apr

2026

Speeches ES

Watch

Situation of fundamental rights in the European Union in 2024 and 2025 (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, we are debating the annual report on the situation of fundamental rights in the Union by the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, which responds to ongoing concerns in the S&D Group: protection of minorities from discrimination, including migrants and asylees, and gender equality and sexual orientation. But it happens that we are not discussing – as this debate has shown – the annual report of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs on the state of implementation of and respect for the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which, incidentally, marks 25 years since its drafting and 16 years since its entry into force with the Treaty of Lisbon, with the same legal value as the Treaties and therefore binding on the European institutions and the Member States in compliance with EU law. Why don't we discuss it? Because it happens that the rapporteur - who was our colleague Alessandro Zan - has seen his report replaced by an alternative report that the PP has negotiated with the three groups of the far right, completely subverting the constant commitment of this European Parliament to fundamental rights.