Speeches

The next item is the debate on the report by Nikolaj Villumsen, on behalf of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 98/24/EC and Directive 2004/37/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the limit values for lead and its inorganic compounds and diisocyanates (COM(2023)0071 - C9-0022/2023 - 2023/0033(COD)) (A9-0263/2023).

I am sorry, but this is a debate with a title, and so you should stick to the issue. Your speaking time is also over. We will move to the next speaker. I understand your emotions, but we have a debate under a title, and I would therefore ask all Members to deal with the issue.

The next item is the debate on the report by Katarina Barley, on behalf of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, on the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union – annual report 2022 and 2023 (2023/2028(INI)) (A9-0376/2023).

Thirty seconds, as always, so you did that, and I would remind everybody really to respect exactly what we are debating right now, and not to use words that are too harsh.

The next item is the debate on the report by Maite Pagazaurtundúa, on behalf of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, on extending the list of EU crimes to hate speech and hate crime (2023/2068(INI)) (A9-0377/2023).

Mr President, Commissioner, dear representative of the Council! The social market economy is what makes Europe strong. But of course, high-quality work also needs high-quality working conditions. If a woman rushes into the office in the morning with the child by the hand, and it does not fit back and front with the working hours, with the working conditions, with the work-life balance, then we must of course also improve the working conditions accordingly, so that this corresponding high quality of work enables the high-quality jobs. And what's in it? Regulated working hours, the right to be unavailable after the close of work, access to all the information necessary to do good work, to regulate minimum wage and platform work, the feeling of being treated fairly and remunerated, also vis-à-vis colleagues, and of course, above all, co-determination, the strengthening of works councils, the European works council, the trade unions in the company. We therefore need the Social Protocol in the European Union so that we can fulfil these conditions accordingly in order to create high-quality jobs.

The next item is the debate on the oral question to the Commission on the role of social award criteria in public procurement in strengthening social rights, good working conditions and inclusive labour markets by Dragoş Pîslaru on behalf of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (O-000058/2023 - B9-0003/24) (2023/2940(RSP).

Thank you very much, Commissioner. I have received one motion for a resolution to wind up the debate. The debate is closed. The vote will be held on Thursday.

Thank you very much, Commissioner. The debate is closed, and before we come to our next item, I would like to indicate a very small break – a technical break of just five minutes – and then we will continue. (The sitting was suspended at 19.52)

The next item is the debate on the Commission statement on the need for an EU and international response to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and for continued support to the Yemeni peace process (2024/2519(RSP)).

The next item is the debate on Council and Commission statements on ensuring the proper functioning of EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes (2023/3034(RSP)).

I just would like to remind everybody not to wear any T-shirts with logos or anything else, according to our Rules of Procedure. Catch-the-eye procedure

Mr President, Commissioner! If you are a mother, you are a mother. If you are a father, you are a father. That's the most obvious thing in the whole world. And that is why this should and must apply in every Member State of the European Union. It must not be the case that governments of Member States say to existing families: No, you do not correspond to our ideas here, so you can not exist with us on paper. This is abstruse – if the family is in front of the office and applies for a birth certificate. We want to give legal protection to all children, really all children, and their parents throughout the European Union. Therefore, my call to the Council: Help us with this and introduce the European Certificate of Parenthood with us.

Madam President, Commissioner! These crises cost us a lot. But above all, the crises cost us one thing – money, a damn lot of money – and contributed to inequality. So while there are now many losers of these crises, there are also some winners, such as energy companies. While some people no longer knew and still do not quite know how to heat sufficiently, energy companies have made huge profits. You have benefited from the crisis. Those who benefit from crises must also give something back to the society that is in crisis. This can be done by means of an over-profit tax, an Windfall tax. The European People's Party is now trying to denounce this excess profit tax. Simply put, they don't want this fair taxation. It is important for us Social Democrats, but also for so many other MEPs here, to say: Overprofit taxes are important, overprofit taxes are right, they are good, they are fair. The crisis has manifested and widened existing inequalities. Because now that 1 percent of the population owns almost half of the world's wealth, we must speak of a sick system. But the good news is: We have medicine against it, and that is the rich tax. A wealth tax alleviates the symptoms of injustice. A wealth tax is good for each and every one of us. I'm convinced of that. There is enough money in the world. It needs to be distributed better and more equitably. In addition, just before the COP, I would also like to mention the ban on private jets. This sounds purely symbolic, but is actually much more. 40% of these private jets only fly passengers – i.e. they actually fly without passengers, but only back and forth to pick up people. The richest 10% produce up to 40 times more emissions than the poorest 10%. So where is justice, please? We can also do that with taxes. Such private jets should be banned.

Mr President, Madam Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen! My message is short and clear: We in the European Parliament do not tolerate systematic violence against women. We call for a comprehensive package of protection against violence – and comprehensively, which means that rape must of course also be included. I would like to remind you: The Istanbul Convention, which could only be ratified by the European Union because we as the European Parliament have called for a legal opinion on the legal basis. And that turned out well. And so my message is, above all, to the Council: The legal basis is absolute, there are no lazy excuses. Rape must be included. And of course, picking up rape means: Only a yes is a yes, only a yes is a yes is a yes is a yes is a yes is a yes is a yes is a Yes is an Yes; and, accordingly, it is really a call on the Council to take responsibility. We must end this systematic violence against women once and for all.