What Paulo spoke about.

4

Oct

2023

PT Speech

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Need for a speedy adoption of the asylum and migration package (debate)

Mr President, Mr Secretary of State, Mr Vice-President, migration and asylum policy urgently needs reform. We fully support the Commission and Vice-President Schinas in their effort to reach an agreement still in 2023, so that as of 2024, and especially after the elections, we can have an asylum and immigration system at European level already in place, already in place. To this end, it is essenti…

3

Oct

2023

EN Answer

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Corrupt large-scale sale of Schengen visas (debate)

Dear Mr Jaki, you are wrong because I didn’t use any number in my intervention. But I have to tell you that there is very good reason to think that this number is in the sphere of hundreds of thousands. So, we should have a really impartial, independent investigation. That is what is at stake. If your number is 268, my dear colleague, this is not credible. And this shows that something is hidden n…

3

Oct

2023

EN Speech

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Corrupt large-scale sale of Schengen visas (debate)

Mr President, dear Vice-President, the recent discovery of systemic and corrupt sale of visas is a sad irony to whoever listens to the rhetoric of the Polish Government. Unfortunately, this scandal has serious implications for Europe, for Schengen and for the security of our citizens. We cannot ignore the fact that this government is openly criticising migration and asylum policies – a government …

3

Oct

2023

PT Speech

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European Media Freedom Act (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, we know that freedom of the press, free and independent media, whether internally, externally, internally or externally, are essential to the survival of democracy. This European Media Freedom Act does just that: create conditions for the internal and external independence of the media. But we can only do that if, in our practices, we also support media freedom and i…

14

Sep

2023

EN Speech

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Parliamentarism, European citizenship and democracy (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, there are some good ideas in this report. This is quite good when we look at the reinforcement and strengthening of Parliament, legislative initiative, when we see that the Council should go to a second chamber. This is totally good. I’d say they are very good developments. Also there are very good ideas for citizen participation. But this is a dangerou…

13

Sep

2023

EN Speech

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State of the Union (debate)

Madam President, President von der Leyen, on this occasion of the last debate of the State of the Union of this mandate, let me thank you for your outstanding leadership, namely in the pandemic and in the support to Ukraine. You are leading worldwide our fight in Ukraine for democracy and values of human rights and that is a major achievement for a geopolitical European Union. Senhora Presidente, …

12

Jul

2023

PT Speech

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The need for EU action on search and rescue in the Mediterranean (debate)

Madam President, Presidency, Commissioner, the fundamental values of European democracy require us to help those who need help. This is what dictates the principle of the dignity of the human person. But putting the dignity of the human person at the top, at the top of political priorities and migration policy, is not enough with political attacks in the aftermath of a tragedy; It is not enough wi…

11

Jul

2023

EN Speech

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2022 Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues: a year ago, we were voting on the last report on Bosnia and Herzegovina. Twelve months later, a lot is different, positively different. And something remains, unfortunately, the same. At state level, at federation level, at canton level, even at the level of civil society, we see improvement, we see resumption of political decision-making, we see that pro…

11

Jul

2023

EN Speech

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2022 Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina (debate)

Madam President, Commission colleagues, the past year was historic for Bosnia and Herzegovina. First, the granting of candidate status was a clear, a positive and an encouraging sign of a new dynamic in the European Union, of a new understanding of our geopolitical needs and of our own responsibility towards the Western Balkans – and the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who for such a long time…

11

Jul

2023

ES Speech

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2023 Annual Rule of law report (debate)

Madam President, I would like to greet the Spanish Presidency and wish it every success during this semester. Senhora Presidente, Caro Comissário, não é precise sublinhar a importância deste relatório para o Estado de Direito. Há muitas falhas em varios States and habém some progresses. Gostaria to highlight três situações that I worry about muito: a primeira, a Polónia. It continues to have clear…

11

Jul

2023

EN Speech

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Commemorating the 28th anniversary of Srebrenica (statement by the President)

Madam President, dear Commissioners, dear colleagues, we address today all Bosnians of all ethnicities, of all religions and beliefs. We address them not as citizens of a country, but as a living proof of Europe, because what we find in Bosnia and Herzegovina is all that is great, all that is painful and all that is human about Europe. The history of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the history of Europe…

14

Jun

2023

PT Speech

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Preparation of the European Council meeting of 29-30 June 2023, in particular in the light of recent steps towards concluding the Migration Pact (debate)

Mr President, Madam Minister, Mr Vice-President, first of all I would, of course, like to thank and greet the Swedish Presidency for the absolutely impeccable way in which it has presided over the European Union during this six-month period. I would also like to say that, in this Council, it is essential to strengthen support for Ukraine, after the brutal attack on the dam on the Dnieper River tha…

13

Jun

2023

EN Question

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Negotiations on the European Electoral Law (debate)

Colleague Sandro Gozi, first to say that I fully agree with you. It’s not acceptable what the Council has made with this electoral law, but also with the previous project from eight years ago. Then, let me tell you that you are not going to teach us democracy: in Parliament, every Member is allowed to speak about the issues that they want. The Parliament, different to a government, is diversity. S…

13

Jun

2023

EN Speech

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Negotiations on the European Electoral Law (debate)

Madam President, Minister, Commissioner, I have no doubt that the Council should not avoid or block any legislative initiative coming from the Parliament, even if its final position would be totally against the Parliament’s position. And so negotiations should have already started. But before this new electoral law, it is still pending there. First, reform of electoral law that is not into force. …

13

Jun

2023

EN Speech

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This is Europe - Debate with the President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides (debate)

Mr President, President Christodoulides, Commissioner, I have to congratulate you on your recent election, and especially in your commitment and engagement with European values and the European Union. We have today a Maltese President of the European Parliament welcoming the President of Cyprus in this House. And this means that in Europe there is no periphery. Mr President, I want to be very clea…

31

May

2023

EN Speech

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Threat to democracy and the rule of law in Poland, in particular through the creation of an investigative committee (debate)

Mr President, Council, dear Commissioner, what we are seeing in Poland is the final orchestrated attack on democracy and the rule of law in the country. After this, there will be nothing except a judiciary controlled by the government, media controlled by the government and, finally, opposition silenced by the government. Because what is happening is under the pretext of fighting a dangerous enemy…

31

May

2023

EN Speech

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Breaches of the Rule of law and fundamental rights in Hungary and frozen EU funds (debate)

Mr President, Council, dear Commissioners, we know that being part of the European project means respect for our core set of values, democracy, the rule of law, fundamental rights. They are not negotiable, and all Member States have voluntarily committed themselves to these values when they joined the EU. So being part of the European Union is not a cherry—picking exercise. I have to say that the …

10

May

2023

PT Speech

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Fighting cyberbullying of young people across the EU (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, there are a lot of technical matters going on here, a lot of important matters that are debated with distancing, with objectivity, with coldness. But there are days, like today, when we don't speak simply as MPs, as legislators, we speak as human beings, as mothers, fathers, brothers, as citizens. There are thousands of children and adolescents on …

9

May

2023

ES Answer

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Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence – EU accession: institutions and public administration of the Union - Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence - EU accession: judicial cooperation in criminal matters, asylum and non-refoulement (debate)

Madame de la Pisa, I accept your question and answer in your language with great pleasure to say that you have an ideological prejudice. Of course, men are not presumed to be abusers, but there are statistics that show that women are more vulnerable. Statistically they need protection. Because for centuries and centuries women have not had the same rights as men and that still has consequences tod…

9

May

2023

PT Speech

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Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence – EU accession: institutions and public administration of the Union - Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence - EU accession: judicial cooperation in criminal matters, asylum and non-refoulement (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, every time there is aggression by a husband, a partner, a father, a child against a woman, every time there is persecution, harassment or even rape, every time a woman is forced to marry or abort or sterilise, every time a child is a victim of female genital mutilation, we remember that we have not yet ratified, as the European Union, the Istanbul Convention, that th…

19

Apr

2023

EN Speech

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This is Europe - Debate with the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel (debate)

Madam President, dear Prime Minister, Commissioner, first, let me thank you and congratulate you for reinforcing the tradition of Luxembourg, Commissioners, Presidents of Commission and Prime Ministers in fighting for rule of law, for human rights, for the rights of minorities. Because I remember that, even against the first steps of wrongdoing of Orbán, Viviane Reding was always with the red alar…

18

Apr

2023

PT Speech

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The need for a coherent strategy for EU-China Relations (debate)

Mr President, dear High Representative, Mr Vice-President, relations between Portugal and China are the oldest and longest-lasting of any European state. We know very well the importance of dialogue and trade relations with China. But the boundless friendship with Russia, the aggressiveness and threats to Taiwan, the treatment of Uyghurs, are issues that must be on our relationship agenda with Chi…

29

Mar

2023

PT Speech

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Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 23-24 March 2023 (debate)

Madam President-in-Office of the Council, Mr Vice-President of the Commission, I would first of all like, of course, to congratulate the Commission. On the one hand, because of the success of the Windsor Framework Agreement for Northern Ireland, which Mr Vice-President also contributed to, and also because of the success of the Inflation Reduction Act in Washington and the impact it has on Europe.…

15

Mar

2023

PT Speech

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Combating organised crime in the EU (debate)

Madam President, the fight against organised crime is a borderless fight. The problem of organised crime is now a European problem. 70% of criminal networks active in Europe already operate in more than three countries simultaneously and more than half of them use violence alongside the illegal drug trade, which not only keeps billions of euros hidden in our economies, but destroys the lives of th…

14

Mar

2023

EN Speech

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This is Europe - Debate with the President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda (debate)

Madam President, President Nausėda, Commissioner, I remember that, in the late 1970s, my father, with a map in his hand, taught me, my brother and my sister, that Baltic states were not Soviet Union. They were occupied and they remained independent. I remember that, in 1987, our Prime Minister, from our party, Cavaco Silva – who was Prime Minister ten years and President of the Republic ten years …