Speeches

Madam President, I welcome the fact that this report contains the contributions we have made from the Committee on Fisheries so that the European protein strategy incorporates fishery and aquaculture products. The marine environment provides proteins of the highest quality and with a low carbon footprint. Good example to improve the Farm to Fork Strategy, which we want to call "From the sea to the table". Europe has a deficit in its protein production that needs to be addressed. We are jeopardising the Union's food security. The strategy is also a decisive tool to further incorporate circular economy principles into food production. We need legislation and support for innovation to fit the contribution that alternative plant proteins, insects, algae or fungi will make. We also need it to solve the technical and ethical problems that can arise from cell culture, and to avoid ambiguous or misleading labelling of new products. Consumers deserve it, which will also benefit from a better balance between actors in the protein production value chain.

Madam President, the crises that have marked this legislature encourage me to acknowledge and applaud the work we have done to grow our Union as a global actor. We have to keep it that way. Deepen common external action and improve our action in Africa or in America and on other continents. We have been a global reference in the pandemic, extolling our science and our social model; achieving a vaccine and encouraging exemplary distribution, and putting in place a transformative recovery plan that should lead us to the world's top in sustainability. The response to the invasion of Ukraine has completed this virtuous circle, certifying that we are the region of the world that best embodies respect for values and fundamental rights. Today, in the face of a new crisis, acting again with respect for human values and fundamental rights is the key to bringing peace and solutions to the crisis unleashed by the execrable terrorist act of Hamas on October 7. In the face of barbarism, we are united by the conviction that the cruelty, inhumanity and ignominy of others neither justify nor excuse their own. That base enlightened the European Union and points out the keys to what we can do to de-escalate this drama: condemn Hamas’ terrorism, expose its accomplices and interests – which are nothing more than preventing Arab-Israeli coexistence, support Israel’s right to defend itself and demand and control that this response respects international humanitarian law that protects civilians in conflict zones. Attacking civilians, depriving them of supplies or blocking humanitarian aid is certainly a violation of the law. Supporting united principles and values is how we can make a true geopolitical Europe... (the Chair withdrew the floor to the speaker).

Madam President, this week, the Ocean Outlook organisation valued that the findings and global scope of a four-year investigation into the activities of the Chinese squid fishing fleet are nothing like what we have done before, neither because of the global scope nor because of the facts discovered. This report responds to the same concern. We need transparency on China’s fishing activities globally, on its catches – more than suspicious – and on violations of fundamental and social rights affecting the crews of these vessels. The data already available should involve this State in a bilateral and multilateral ad hoc dialogue so that the commitment to sustainable fisheries is comprehensive. We need to unveil the content of fisheries agreements between China and other countries; prevent the social impact and the economic and food crisis induced by the fishmeal industry in West Africa. We are obliged to protect our market and our producers from unfair competition posed by a way of fishing and transforming unacceptable to our social, environmental and food health standards.

Madam President, today I would have liked the Commissioner for Fisheries to be present when we are going to talk about the most important regulation of your entire legislature. I would like to thank Clara for her work and also Isaac and Itxaso for all these five years of work on this regulation which strengthens and modernises the control of fishing activities in European and international waters. The intensive digitalisation effort involved will improve the traceability of fishery and aquaculture products and better preserve marine biodiversity. Today we welcome the outcome of five years of negotiations focused on achieving a balanced standard to strengthen the guarantees that fishermen deserve and that consumers need. The measures put in place help professionals to consolidate the socially, environmentally and economically sustainable practices that characterise the activity of European fleets. The labelling of fresh, frozen and processed products shall include information on the origin of the catches. In this way, the former will be better able to defend themselves against campaigns that only benefit competitors who do not meet our environmental and social standards. And, for its part, citizens will have reliable tools to reward with their purchase the most sustainable productions. Fishermen, as until today, will continue to do their part to improve sustainability, implementing digital catch logbooks, vessel-by-vessel monitoring systems and even video surveillance on vessels at high risk of non-compliance with the landing obligation over the next five years. We have even planned a register of lost gear to facilitate the withdrawal of these rights. The Regulation will harmonise the application of penalties in cases of non-compliance. And the European authorities must recognise this effort by supporting the sector and promoting the dissemination of the new guarantees that consumers will enjoy. In addition, for the first time, the control will be extended to recreational fishing to know the impact of this activity on the state of the stocks.

. – Mr President, Commissioner, one of the mandates contained in the mobility package is to improve state-of-the-art, digitalised rest areas with accessible, monitored and safe services for men and women. This means an improvement in living and working conditions for this group, and also contributes to road safety. It also encourages generational renewal and the recruitment of new and new professionals in a sector on which 70% of freight transport in the EU depends today. Even if we meet the train growth forecasts, the sector organisations set the shortage of places on our core road network at 100,000 and encourage us to solve it by 2030. We have the rules, standards and services that the areas must include according to the four established categories. We are deploying infrastructure for alternative fuels and smart transport services, building on recovery funds and the Connecting Europe Facility. The synergy between all these objectives and financial tools leaves without excuses the States that fail to comply with their obligations on safe parking, which, rightly, demands such an important sector for our competitiveness. And yes, Commissioner, we agree that the obligation to build safe car parks appears in the TEN-T Regulation.

Madam President, solving the problem of housing in the Union requires combating precariousness, poverty and the risk of exclusion. Our social model must therefore include a European housing programme focused on boosting supply, limiting the financial costs imposed on buyers and boosting support programmes for access to housing for the most deprived. Commissioner Schmit recalled yesterday that exclusion is the first enemy of our European model of life. The public promotion of social housing focused on renting is key, as it is better to regulate the phenomenon of tourist housing that, in cities, but also in small towns, tension the market. From the EU, rehabilitation and energy efficiency policies aim to improve the housing stock, supporting sustainability and circularity. More and better legal guarantees, as well as support for co-housing and cooperatives of assignment of use, which encourage private rehabilitation initiatives, can enhance these values, also in the regime of access and enjoyment of housing. Another good European contribution would be an observatory on housing that would make it possible to issue recommendations to states, exchange good practices and draw conclusions about what always works. And consider, in constituting it, that, without the institutions, which have most of the competences, basically, at the local and regional level, nothing will work. Mobility and anti-depopulation policies are also key to reducing market tensions.

Madam President, thank you to the rapporteur, Mrs Plumb, for her work and cooperation. The implementation of an integrated and intelligent mobility system is a priority so that by 2050 we reach the goal of reducing transport emissions by 90%. We need this Community standard to ensure interoperable, technologically neutral systems adapted to our data protection standards, which are deployed gradually and harmoniously, and are connected to urban mobility. Turning these principles into facts requires applying these criteria to the management of Next Generation EU funds and the Connecting Europe Facility. The Commission today approved the amended version of Spain’s modified recovery and resilience plan, which does not implement the appropriate priorities as regards investment in roads. The Spanish plan only includes state-owned roads and, according to the contents of this rule, it is a mistake to marginalise roads that are a priority in this deployment – both for their level of use and for their position in the trans-European networks – only because they are regionally (in this case, Basque) and not state-owned. That is why we call for this criterion to be corrected and for the same not to happen in other EU Member States.

Madam President, the enemies of democracy, the organizations that do not accept the decisions of citizens, continue to have power and influence in Guatemala. Sandra Torres' refusal to accept her defeat, attacks against the Seed Movement, arbitrary detentions of legal operators, threats and harassment against those responsible for the electoral process are worrying symptoms. That is why this debate is taking place today. Yesterday the Public Ministry fully justified our concern when it decided to raid the Operations Center of the Electoral Process, thus paying for the falsehood that the elections have not been clean. It is the discourse propagated by those who lost them. All observers strongly argue otherwise. That is why today it is more important than ever to support Bernardo Arévalo and Karim Herrera as winners of the elections. Let us support the will expressed in the first instance by President Giammattei to complete a transfer of power consistent with his acceptance of the electoral result. To put an end to actions such as those denounced is to respect the will freely expressed by Guatemalan citizens.

Madam President, Commissioner, this new regulation combines ambition with pragmatism and will deliver results because it is done with and not against the industries concerned. This is the best way to recognise their commitment and stimulate their involvement to decarbonise air transport. The rule obliges airports and fuel suppliers to incorporate at least 2% of biofuels into their operations by 2025 and to increase that percentage every five years to reach 70% by 2050. Moratoriums until 2030 are also envisaged for the outermost regions due to their special geographical conditions and mobility needs. In short, it supports the innovation necessary to ensure that there is sufficient fuel of sustainable origin and competitive prices within the deadlines set and boosts European leadership in this area. And, in this way, companies such as Iberia and the Basque Petronor already launched long-haul flights last year fulfilling the percentages that are marked for the year 2025. Likewise, an experimental program explores at Bilbao airport the use of this energy in the operations of handling. And that is the way to move towards that emissions-neutral Europe that we need and want in 2050.

Mr President, Mr Borrell, the European Union aspires to be a decisive global player. And to prove it requires that we return to the annual format of summits such as the one held last July with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, CELAC. Ten years later we recognize that it is key to sign association agreements and promote compliance and improvement of bilateral agreements, such as Mexico and Chile or the one we have to close with Mercosur. These agreements value respect for the rule of law, democracy, equality and minority rights. In the July declaration, we stepped aside, in addition to the paternalism with which we approached a region of the world that, as a Union, we have neglected; We have reaffirmed our commitments to our 33 states to advance the Paris environmental agreements and aid to developing countries for the effects of climate change. We recognize the effects of colonialism and the dark episode of slavery. Let us be clear that everything we do not do, everything we do not try to build sustainable development with other regions leaves room for other models that radically threaten this goal and the future of the planet. Mr. Borrell, let's continue like this.

Mr President, Commissioner, European SMEs are fundamental to the competitiveness of the Union. They create wealth and jobs and also create the fabric that makes Europe attractive to companies of another dimension. Today, being under pressure from inflation, interest rates and scarcity of raw materials, it is more urgent than yesterday to establish a fair, predictable and harmonised fiscal framework across the Union. We must lighten the administrative burden and allow simple and effective access to the various European programmes. Capital markets must also be made attractive for SMEs. In addition, I insist on three ideas: support SMEs in their digitalisation and decarbonisation processes from a technical and financial perspective; Let us redouble our efforts in vocational training, which, together with more fluid labour mobility, must solve the problem of the lack of qualified personnel – because professions that we considered to be of the future are already of today, and continue to evolve in our productive fabric; and, finally, let's think that technological innovation multiplies its effects if we also innovate in marketing and in organization.

Madam President, Commissioner, decarbonising transport is one of the keys to achieving our climate goals. I welcome this package because it touches on issues critical to achieving it, including emissions and vehicles. I hope that it will also encourage us to comply with standards that we already have, such as the mobility package and the railway package, which are an excellent basis for dealing with this transformation. I underline four ideas: The key: people. We need predictive vocational training to prepare professionals who need an integrated mobility system. The instrument shall: digitalisation. We will not be able to improve the management and integration of transport modes without a mobility data ecosystem. Conditions: meet our infrastructure investment commitments and equip them. The ERTMS routes multiply the capacity and speed that our priority transport corridors can accommodate. And the context: address this transition with transparency and seek citizen complicity, remembering every day that this process needs the commitment of each of us. The reward: cleaner air and better services.

Madam President, with this intervention I would like to call on the French Government to open the border crossing points that separate the communities from the cross-border area of the Basque Country today. And I want to ask the Commission to mediate to end these closures. This decision is incompatible with the Schengen Borders Code. And two different studies denounce the tremendous impact that the measure has on the rights, coexistence and economic and social development of a community that wants to continue living together. People who contribute, from two states of the Union, a millenary language and culture. One of the treasures of our Union and its diversity. This Friday, representatives of Euskadi and New Aquitaine lamented, separated by fences and fences, this nonsense. A closure that also facilitates inhumane practices on migrants, some of whom have lost their lives trying to swim across the Bidasoa River. The reform of the Borders Code should strengthen the shield against such abuses. It must promote a humane migration policy, cross-border cooperation and the freedom of movement for people and goods that makes our Union great.

Madam President, Commissioner, I would like to announce in this debate my opposition to the European Commission's proposal, criticising three aspects of it: Firstly, there is the delay in transposing fisheries conservation, control and management measures in the Southern Indian Ocean adopted by the Indian Fisheries Advisory Council: the SIOFA, which is seven years late. The European Union has been a contracting party to this RFMO since 2008, and its agreements therefore bind it. Secondly, the introduction of dynamic references, which are supposedly intended to speed up transposition, but which go far beyond the original agreements, altering the measures to be transposed. Thirdly, the resistance to communicating to those affected in their own language the scope of these measures. We have expressed these positions clearly to the Commission in these months, but the positions do not move. That is why it is time to say no to this way of doing that, once again, negatively affects the European fisheries sector.

Madam President, Commissioner, I would like to express my strong opposition to the content of this initiative and to advocate responding to it from the point of view of transparency and the criteria with which science professionals work. For years, the European Association for Animal Research has been promoting and strictly complying with the welfare standards applicable to laboratory animals. Practice, in addition, the code of the three Rs: replacement, reduction and refinement of procedures, encouraging the use of alternative methods. What to do when there is no other option? Let's listen to initiatives such as "Commitment to Science", promoted by the European Brain Council, which asks us for support for research on neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases. Let us remember, with the scientific community, that experimentation with laboratory animals has saved and will continue to save lives; These include, without a doubt, those of people who, with their best will, have been able to sign or support this citizens' initiative on the use of animals for science.

Mr President, activate the democratic clause of our association agreement; encourage an investigation before the International Criminal Court to end impunity for crimes against humanity; providing visas to enable fundamental rights defenders to continue their essential work from exile; focus sanctions, in addition to the hard circle of Nicaraguan dictators, on the courts, judges and prosecutors who cover them; call for the immediate release of exiled political prisoners, persons deprived of their nationality, property and freedom. It is the endless list of actions that former liberators deserve, turned into terrible dictators today. Ortega and Murillo are afraid of culture, freedom, free thought, debate, democracy. They hate indigenous cultures, ideas they don't like, and people they can't control. They use the same cruelty and repression that they fought. Assuming that condition and recognizing, reversing and repairing their mistakes are the conditions for dialogue and politics to restore coexistence. In the meantime, civil society must continue to be supported.

Madam President, Commissioner, this report is very timely because the basic freedoms, competitiveness and climate objectives of the Union are progressing with the timely completion of the trans-European transport networks. The routes, investments and deadlines that define them are not imposed by Brussels; We established them together in the institutions, by common agreement. When some states fail to meet their commitments, there are delays that, in some cases – as the European Court of Auditors points out – exceed the decade. Cost overruns of up to 40% are generated, and the returns of very important investments already made and the start-up of services claimed by citizens are delayed. Large areas of the Union are condemned to isolation and thus loyal, productive and intelligent cooperation between institutions representing citizens at all levels, what we call 'European added value', is unfeasible. In this context, and when France announces, for example, that another 12 years of delay are accumulating for a cross-border priority section that must be in service by 2030, which breaks the Atlantic axis in its cross-border connection between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of the continent, there is an urgent need to react. I therefore fully agree with the withdrawal of European contributions to any non-priority investment and the empowerment of the corridor coordinators as interlocutors with the Member States. Also with the proposal to prepare annual reports on the progress of these projects together with the European Court of Auditors, to detect and avoid in time delays that we cannot afford and to be accountable for it here and in each of the States. We're not just losing money. The free movement of people and goods is the basis of our Union; its material foundations are the trans-European transport networks.

Mr President, the cultivation of algae, the development of a sustainable industry that takes advantage of the potential of this resource is one of the greatest hopes to respond to the growing demand for food and reverse and correct mistakes made in the past and on firm soil. The multiple applications of a product that regenerates the marine environment and increases our capabilities to sequester and neutralize carbon emissions deserve a specific plan with its corresponding financial deployment. Research, innovation and support for entrepreneurship have to boost what we already know today, but also develop alternatives and products to meet the growing global demand for food in general and protein in particular. It is an emerging sector that needs more dissemination and awareness campaigns to generate interest that catalyzes talent acquisition and drives knowledge. It is a sector that will be key to income diversification in coastal areas, complementing that from fisheries. It can also be key to our development cooperation policies by offering opportunities, hope and alternatives to those who, because they do not have it today, risk their lives in dangerous migratory processes. But, in addition, today we already have a great opportunity to improve our rules on labelling that does not adequately protect fish today against productions that pretend to be such. Experience shows that existing legislation is not sufficient to achieve this. And products made with algae can't go that way. A United Nations study on the algae revolution points to them as a great hope for resetting the planet. Let us improve our labelling rules to prevent algae from being presented as fish. But, from today, let's go further. The branding of the algae has to be alternative, built from the beginning from its fortresses. Sustainable, tasty, nutritious, healthy, natural products, but others, new, different. Health for you, for us and for the planet.

Mr President, Commissioner, on Europe Day many sirens rang in hundreds of EU ports. They denounced that the Commission’s plans to supposedly protect and restore marine ecosystems for sustainable and resilient fisheries, with the progressive ban on trawling by 2030, lack impact studies, are generating more pressure and conflict in areas not affected by restrictions and threaten a sector with which nothing has been consulted. A strategic sector for the resilience of the Union that, in the language of the sea, reiterates to the Commissioner that it deserves, needs and wants to be heard. Because he is committed to those goals and has demonstrated this by bringing extraordinary efforts, knowledge and sacrifice to achieve them. Experience shows that, only by connecting these objectives with reality, only by proposing a process with the sector that is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable, we will continue to progress in sustainability and resilience. These principles, before anyone else, are of interest to the sector itself. Professionals who investigate, innovate, now for example in towed gear, anticipating the complaints they receive from their detractors and institutional initiatives. Initiative, will, work, vision, such as the signing on May 3 of the global alliance of tuna capitals for sustainability, a global alliance driven by a small fishing village, Bermeo, my hometown, which commits our industry and that of Manta, Port Victoria in Seychelles, Pago Pago in American Samoa, Concarneau in France, Majuro in the Marshall Islands and General Santos in the Philippines. Examples of this kind will be provided from all four corners of the Union. Rigging, digitalization, technology, alliances, knowledge of the environment, willingness to work together from reality and without prejudice. Please, Sheriff, don't miss this opportunity. Listen to them.

Mr President, I have asked a single question to the Commissioner who has not replied and I would like him to give an answer, because many statements have been made here that are not true. I believe that the European Union, with its action and legislation, is part of the solution, not part of the problem, as the Commissioner has just said. And my question, in my speech, was: what is the European Union doing in RFMOs to force countries such as China, Korea or Japan, which do practice shark finning (finning), Don't they do it? That's the way to extend our standards. That's the question. Please, I would like a response from the Commissioner, beyond understanding the popular initiative.

Mr President, Commissioner, we do not agree with the content of this popular legislative initiative, because the European fleet, as demonstrated in a scientific report prior to the revision of Regulation (EU) No 605/2013, does not practice shark finning (). Our boats are obliged to disembark in port the whole piece of shark species whose fishing is allowed. Since November, in addition, any part that is marketed here by the fleet or that exports must incorporate a CITES certificate. This document is issued under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. It proves that the fish from which the fin comes is legally caught and has arrived completely at the auction halls of the ports. As a result, the initiative does not bring anything new to the sustainability of European fleet practices. On the contrary, it incorporates a new unjustified restriction to our professionals that will increase the pressure on these species by the fleets that, in other areas of the world, do practice the finning. Thus, China, Japan or Korea will continue to block the measures antifinning regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs) in which they participate. Asian longliners will continue to make clandestine transshipments of these products on the high seas. The solution, therefore, is to strengthen the external dimension of the Common Fisheries Policy, one of whose missions is to extend our standards of economic, social and environmental sustainability around the world. We would also like to know what problems the Commission encounters in RFMOs so that these standards that do oblige the European fleet are not assumed by the aforementioned countries that do practice the finning. In short, proposing these cosmetic initiatives only harms the most transparent and sustainable fleet in the world and the species it is intended to protect.

Mr. President, Peru needs stability to strengthen democracy, social justice and economic progress that place it among the strongest countries in the area. The constitutional solution offered to the crisis of the Castillo government must be strengthened by dialogue and based on the legitimacy provided by transparency. That was the roadmap that was supported from the Union. A response based on those values, following the unrest that resulted in the death of more than sixty people through the disproportionate use of force, must be the basis for further de-escalation of the protests. Some measures, such as the removal of eight generals from the National Police, the establishment of a special team of prosecutors to investigate these events with complainants or the creation of a commission to care for the victims are steps in the right direction. They should be emphasized by urging national institutions to investigate impartially and bring to justice all those responsible for human rights abuses or violations. This will increase the legitimacy of the currently constituted institutions in which conversations are held that should lead to future elections. On that path, social justice, the guarantee of basic rights such as freedom of expression and demonstration or the eradication of any discrimination, such as that felt by indigenous communities, are part of the recipe. A substantive work that requires the prohibition of violence and the excessive use of force, including lethal force, which requires recognizing the value of diversity and engaging in a sincere and open dialogue so that the growth and progress maintained by the Peruvian economy builds a fairer and more cohesive society.

Mr President, last week Europol published, with the security committees of the ports of Antwerp, Hamburg, Bremen and Rotterdam, a report confirming the progress of drug trafficking networks in the European Union. The coordination of networks of corrupt port employees and the misappropriation of container codes are today leading to the introduction into the Union of tonnes of drugs and other illegal goods. They are disturbing data that certify that criminal technification and innovation prevails. It coincides with the increase in violent crime, with the negative impact of drugs on health, on the functioning of various economic sectors and the impact that our consumption has on the development of particularly depressed areas of the world. The Action Plan on Drugs in Europe for this five-year period encouraged us to have a tangible impact by 2025 on both the reduction of supply and demand and the dismantling of criminal organisations. Reports such as Europol's call for a comprehensive, holistic, coordinated and multidisciplinary European drug strategy to become a priority in the Union for the next five years.

Mr President, I would like to express my full commitment to the objective of making the Union climate neutral by 2050 and to make sure that this transition to a zero-emission economy is guided by participation, the enhancement of available social knowledge, consensus and technology. Thus, we will avoid episodes such as the one recently experienced with the prohibition of the sale of combustion vehicles. A race to get the most showy starter penalized equally effective proposals, but from technological neutrality. I hope we will take advantage of the lessons learned. One example is Amendment 56, which I support, to the article which vetoed an inhalation-administered and difficult-to-replace anesthetic, especially in paediatric surgery. The original proposal raised an exception for the veto when its use was essential and there was no clinical alternative. It also required justification by a complex procedure, but that did not prevent emissions. We also support allowing the use of this substance when used in combination with a capture system for these harmful emissions. I rely on a project underway in the Basque Public Health Service (Osakidetza): a technology that avoids emissions, reduces the carbon footprint of the hospital that implants it, guarantees anesthesiologists the free choice of anesthetic and easily adapts to the work practices of any hospital. Knowledge, consensus and technology better than headlines and ideology.

Mr President, digitalisation and decarbonisation are the keys to the roadmap that must make the Union viable and resilient as a community and competitive as a productive system by 2050. We have to innovate in processes and standards, generate protected and accessible data quarries, transform our mobility, energy generation, consumption habits and encourage the changes that people forge. Therefore, we must consider equality a competitive advantage. The hardest to break glass ceilings will have the richest economies in talent. And that's competitive. That's why we must treat immigration as an opportunity, because our aging society needs people willing to seize an opportunity. And so we have to fairly distribute wealth and help the most disadvantaged. Marginalization is incompatible with resilience. Therefore, the key to this transformation is to adapt our education systems to a world that, in addition to technology, needs humanity, talent, social justice, equality and innovation. Yes, intelligence, but more than artificial.