Debate: Statements by the President
Date: MONDAY, 16 JANUARY 2023
Speaker: Roberta Metsola
Country: Poland
Language: EN

Dear colleagues, last week marked one year since our friend and President, David Sassoli, passed away. I have lost count of the number of times this year that I wanted to pick up the phone to ask his opinion. His clarity of thought, his vision for a Europe of equality and justice, his championing of the most vulnerable in our societies are things that define our common European mission and this European Parliament. David left his mark on our project and on all of us. In his last public address, he referred to Europe as a ‘project of hope – a project to unite us all, a project that embodies our Union, our values and our civilisation’. I promised a year ago that this Parliament would continue to honour his legacy, and I know that we will keep that promise. Today, we also mourn our colleague Miroslav Číž, who died on 29 December. I ask you all to stand for a minute of silence to remember. On Iran, it has been a long 120 days since women, men, students, academics and so many more in Iran took to the streets chanting ‘Women. Life. Liberty’, demanding respect for their right to live freely. Those standing up in Iran have inspired the world and I want to tell them that we will not leave them alone. I’ve just come from a rally outside where I repeated our call for the international community to respond forcefully to the terror that has been unleashed by the regime on the people on the streets of Iran. We must crack down on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. We need those responsible for the killings, those responsible for the executions, those who prefer to see free people held forever in chains and those who provide drones used to kill Ukrainians to be held accountable. The people on the streets are on the right side of history; they will make history, and we will stand with them as they do. On Ukraine, colleagues, these last days saw again a series of indiscriminate strikes by Russia against people in Ukraine. We saw how residential buildings were targeted. Women, children massacred. The images of Dnipro will haunt forever all those who saw them – all those who were forced to live through them. The bravery and resilience of the Ukrainian people should be an example to all. They have shown the world that might does not equal right. That terror will not break Ukrainian spirits. Europe will continue to support Ukraine – politically, humanitarianly, militarily and financially. The EUR 18 billion financial package that this House voted for will begin to be disbursed this week. Our ‘Generators of Hope’ campaign is in full swing, with towns, villages, cities all doing their part to help power Ukraine. I am so proud of our response and I know that we will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. I also wanted to speak about the decisions needed on measures in the House to increase integrity, independence and accountability. The European Parliament prides itself on its openness, its accessibility and its defence of legislating in the public eye. We are not in some imaginary ivory tower. The principle of ‘openness builds trust’ is one we hold dear and that we defend. Any abuse or misuse of the tools that we created for this purpose must be addressed strongly, systematically and with any potential weaknesses addressed. The events of the past month have led to a need to re-build trust with the European citizens we represent. We must acknowledge this. Citizens, rightly, demand accountability and integrity. We will respond. I promised you last month that we would come back with a series of reforms. With group leaders, we have agreed on a first-step approach on a number of points that can go a long way. This is the beginning, not the end. We will start with measures that we can implement quickly while starting the process for a longer-term reform. Consultations will continue across the board. As a starting point, we will look at how we can implement a revolving door policy, at how we can ensure more transparency, of how we can improve accountability and checks of interest representatives, of how we can better control who has access to our premises. We will ask for more transparency also when it comes to those representing third countries and their interests and from former Members. We will shine a brighter light on what we do as Members, with more and clearer information being made available to the public. We will enforce rules that disallow any activities that could create confusion with official European Parliament activities – particularly when it comes to interaction with third countries. We will do more to ensure that the public has clear information on our financial declarations and we will ensure more training on whistle-blowing and compliance. We will propose measures to boost the fight against corruption and on how we can push back against foreign interference. We will strengthen our systems, address any shortcomings, and be honest and open throughout this process. And we will do all of this while protecting the freedom of our mandate as elected representatives. We will not hinder that – we will do the opposite and do so while highlighting the important, crucial role played by MEPs in European decision—making and our role in making the lives of Europeans a little bit safer, a little bit fairer, a little bit more equal. Our House is the embodiment of European parliamentary democracy and I need your help to ensure that the pillars holding it up are strengthened. We owe this to our citizens, to all those who came before and to all those who come after.