Catarina MARTINS

Policy topics Catarina MARTINS is active on

What Catarina MARTINS has said (57)

• 2026-06-17 “(10:08:35 – 10:09:43): President, commissioner, commissioner, you want unity. Unity for what? To applaud for Trump, a man who has made millions off the back of this war, a war which has strengthened Iran and which has led to the closing of the Strait Of Hormuz and even more power to Israel. Look what it's doing in Lebanon. We're in a situation that is worse than before. Should we applaud the ECB, which is raising interest rates, which will cause a cost of living crisis in Europe or worsen it? You asked for unity against the people that we should be defending ourselves against, and Israel is not on the agenda. Cyprus was hit by an Israeli missile, wasn't it? For 10 years, we have done nothing. We have done nothing on the association agreement for the last decade. Will you continue to play the background music? It's like the music that we heard on the Titanic when it sank.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• 2026-03-20 “Answer given by Ms Lahbib on behalf of the European Commission 15.6.2026 Written question The Commission does not comment on draft legislation or ongoing national legislative processes. Equality and non-discrimination are founding values of the EU enshrined in the Treaty on the EU and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU. The Commission remains firmly committed to combating discrimination and inequalities faced by LGBTIQ+ [1] people, also via the LGBTIQ+ equality strategy 2026-2030 [2] , which builds on the progress achieved under the 2020-2025 strategy. The Commission will continue to closely monitor the situation of LGBTIQ+ people across the EU, within the limits of its competences, and to use all the instruments at its disposal to uphold EU law in Member States. [1] Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, non-binary, intersex and queer. [2] https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/b4952371-4308-47ad-b995-02c539b75dda_en?filename=JUST_template_comingsoon_standard.pdf.”
  LGBTIQ+ · Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• 2026-02-16 “E-000660/2026 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Virkkunen on behalf of the European Commission The Commission attaches great importance to upholding and fostering pluralistic and independent media and condemns any form of interference in the professional activities of journalists and their editorial independence. Article 5 of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) 1 requires Member States to ensure that public service media providers are editorially and functionally independent and that the procedures for the appointment and the dismissal of the head of management or the members of the management board of public service media providers aim to guarantee the independence. It also sets out requirements for transparent, open and objective procedures to appoint the heads and management boards of such providers. The Commission is in close contact with all Member States, including Portugal, to make sure that their laws comply with the EMFA, applicable as of 8 August 2025, and will use its enforcement powers to ensure such compliance as appropriate, focusing on systemic issues. In addition, the Commission is monitoring relevant developments related to media freedom and pluralism in all Member States, including Portugal, under the annual Rule of Law Report. 1 Regulation (EU) 2024/1083, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32024R1083.”
  EU support for traditional (non-digital) media · Disinformation & online freedoms
• 2026-02-16 “Answer given by Mr Jørgensen on behalf of the European Commission 22.5.2026 Written question The Commission has been in close contact with the Portuguese authorities following the aftermath of Storm Kristin. Moreover, the competent authority under the regulation on risk-preparedness in the electricity sector [1] , the Directorate-General for Energy and Geology, shared with the Commission and other Member States information on the impact on the electricity grid and follow-up measures during an Electricity Coordination Group [2] meeting on 19 February 2026. The Commission does not set the standards for the quality and continuity of service. According to Article 59(1)(m) of Directive (EU) 2019/944 [3] as transposed into national law, national regulatory authorities set or approve standards and requirements for quality of service and quality of supply. Portugal reported that the national authorities and the transmission and distribution operators, in coordination with the Spanish transmission operator, were fully mobilised to prioritise system stability, safety and restoration, in line with the requirements of the Network Code on Electricity Emergency and Restoration [4] . Additionally, technical staff from energy operators from Ireland, Spain, France and Italy supported grid repairs. It should be noted that due to consecutive storms, the environmental and structural conditions in the most affected areas prevented accessibility and delayed repairs . The Commission intends to include a stronger focus on the impact of climate change and extreme weather events on the security of EU’s electricity system in the proposed revision of the energy security framework . [1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2019/941/oj/eng. [2] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=oj:JOC_2012_353_R_0002_01. [3] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/FR/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32019L0944&qid=1647526750255. [4] Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/2196 of 24 November 2017 establishing a network code on electricity emergency and restoration (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2017/2196/oj/eng).”
  EU approach to electricity market and prices · EU energy infrastructure integration
• 2025-05-07 “E-001846/2025 Answer given by Mr Hansen on behalf of the European Commission The REACH Regulation has restricted the placing on the market and use of some per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS); a dossier for additional restrictions on the whole PFAS family is on-going 123 . The proposal for a Soil Monitoring Law 4 introduces a monitoring framework for EU soils and a register of potentially contaminated and contaminated sites. The proposed revision of the water policy introduces maximum concentrations for several PFAS 5 . The EU Soil Observatory 6 works with EU laboratories and standardisation committees on a baseline for future PFAS monitoring in the EU and provides technical guidance to the Member States. The European Environment Agency maintains a database of examples of PFAS hotspots 7 , tracking the presence and sources of PFAS in the environment, and their potential impacts on human health. The Commission actively supports research on PFAS in soils. Under the EU Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ 8 , two projects work on the identification of contaminants of emerging concern including PFAS 9 . SOILPROM 10 and PHISHES 11 model pollutant transport (including PFAS) across the soil-water-atmosphere interfaces. E-SPFdigit 12 focuses on novel on-site (soil, plant and food) digital services on chemical and biological contaminants including PFAS. 1 Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), establishing a European Chemicals Agency, amending Directive 1999/45/EC and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 793/93 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1488/94 as well as Council Directive 76/769/EEC and Commission Directives 91/155/EEC, 93/67/EEC, 93/105/EC and 2000/21/EC (Text with EEA relevance)Text with EEA relevance. 2 Currently, a broad PFAS REACH restriction is under assessment. This was reflected in n a recent question from the European Parliament (EPQ-E-001152/2025). 3 Some PFAS have a harmonised classification and labelling under the CLP Regulation. REGULATION (EU) 2024/2865 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 23 October 2024 amending Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures (Text with EEA relevance). 4 Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on Soil Monitoring and Resilience (Soil Monitoring Law) COM/2023/416 final. 5 Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Directive 2000/60/EC establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy, Directive 2006/118/EC on the protection of groundwater against pollution and deterioration and Directive 2008/105/EC on environmental quality standards in the field of water policy (Text with EEA relevance) {SEC(2022) 540 final} - {SWD(2022) 540 final} - {SWD(2022) 543 final}. 6 https://esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu/euso. 7 https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/european-zero-pollution-dashboards/indicators/pfas-contamination-and-soilremediation-signal. 8 https://mission-soil-platform.ec.europa.eu/. 9 https://islandr-project.eu/, https://aragorn-horizon.eu/. 10 https://soilprom.eu/. 11 https://www.phishes-project.eu/. 12 https://e-spfdigit.eu/.”
  Water pollution · PFAs
• 2024-12-04 “P-002769/2024 Answer given by Mr Micallef on behalf of the European Commission In March 2023, the Portuguese authorities designated Évora as European Capital of Culture (ECoC) 2027 based on the recommendation of the ECoC expert panel. Since then, Évora has been subjected to a monitoring process in line with Decision No 445/2014/EU 1 . Under the Commission’s auspices, the panel monitors the implementation of the ECoC project in Évora, providing guidance and checking that commitments made at selection phase are fulfilled. After discussions with the relevant public authorities, the Portuguese government published a decree-law in December 2023 establishing the Évora 2027 Association, in line with the Portuguese legislation. It is the responsibility of all concerned authorities at national, regional and local levels to create a solid governance to implement a project of the scale of an ECoC and have an appropriate representation of all parties (including the government as a main funder) in this structure, while ensuring ownership of the project by the title-holding city. The Commission will continue monitoring the process. In this context, it is important for the Évora 2027 Association to ensure adherence to the bid book to the largest extent possible and for all authorities to work in a good collaboration spirit. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32014D0445”
  EU and national cultural identities
• “Thank you very much indeed, chair. I wanted to start by saying that I very much hope we'll be able to work together well on this opinion. I know that seems to be the the case so far, and I wanted to look at some of the criteria that I followed when drafting this report. Firstly, I wanted to avoid saying what was already contained in the report, namely sexual reproductive health and and sexual reproductive health rights of women. That's why I decided not to repeat the comments made in the amendments already tabled along these lines. I wanted to look at what isn't or what is not sufficiently tackled by the report. There are four main questions that I focused on. The first of these is that I think we need to go further when it comes to the need to research, not just the health conditions that affect only women, but we have to ensure that the clinical and medical research which is carried out, takes account the gender specific conditions that affect women. This includes something which wasn't touched on by the report. That is, a generic medicinal products which come in different formats. And once again, when they are developed, a gender is not always considered. Secondly. I wanted to look at teaching and training of health professionals in the report. Many curricula do not cover gender specific conditions or health conditions which only affect women, nor specific conditions or specific ways in which a disease may affect women in the different stages of their lives.”
  Sexuality and reproduction
• “Thank you, Madam Chair. I'll I'll speak in Portuguese. Mr. Commissioner, you mentioned various future scenarios, but I want to talk about the cost of living emergency at the moment. I mean, uh, I come from Portugal and as you know, we suffered major storms. There are parts of the country that don't have electricity, and the cost of living reached a record this week. A basket of essential goods is more expensive than it's ever been this week in Portugal. So I wanted to ask you about immediate measures to reduce prices. Now, I have no doubt that we need to move forward with the energy transition, where if we'd already done that, then we'd be in a better position than we are now. But currently there are people who have to fill up their cars with petrol. They have no alternative. Now, the Portuguese government is part of a group of governments that has asked for measures to be taken, but the measures that they've requested won't have immediate effects, so they won't solve the problem. In addition, many fossil fuel companies take their profits outside the country. So windfall windfall profit tax won't work. So now we have people who are struggling to get to the end of the month. I mean, it seems as though people who, for example, are earning €1,000 a month in Portugal are not seen as vulnerable in your calculations, but they're struggling. So there are various measures that have been taken elsewhere which are pretty aggressive. Vat on fuel was cut in Spain, for example, and they've taken other measures. Now in Portugal, we're being told, well, the commission doesn't want to see that happen. The speaker is interrupted and asked to ask her to move to the question. So the question is, is the commission going to give Portugal a green light to lower prices, as is the case in Spain? Or are you going to continue to insist that balancing the books is more important than people's living standards? Thank you.”
  EU fiscal rules and oversight of national budgets
• “Thank you very much indeed, chair. And thank you very much to all my colleagues for their contributions. I'm very happy to see that. I think we've got a good starting point for our work together. That's great news. I think this is a topic which could give rise to a lot of subtopics as well, because essentially what we're doing is covering how everything is seen in the health sector, for example, taking the man as the reference agenda, which means that many health issues which solely affect women have never been correctly researched. Some we have started talking about, others not. That's one aspect of the problem. It's also true that the male body is seen as a reference body for all illnesses, all diseases, and research across the board. Women are only used for reproductive research. This means that all health conditions which are which affect both men and women. Well, we're never quite sure how women's bodies are going to react. Furthermore, the justification for taking this approach is that. Is to is an attempt to achieve a degree of stability in research and education. And women's bodies are unstable, women are unstable. And this odd justification is what has led to half of the population being excluded, because it was a little bit more complicated to work with a human body, which goes through hormonal cycles and the other changes throughout their life cycle. This is somewhat ridiculous as women make up half the population, and I very much hope that research practice has has improved and will continue to improve. I very much like the idea of a strategy on women's health. I think that the interest groups should be involved at the very beginning of the process. They raised that point at the beginning of this term, and I hope that we continue, continue can continue to make progress along this path. I look forward to hearing your amendments. I'm sure that the opinion will be much better thanks to them. And that's what we all need. Thank you.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Chair. I'll speak in Portuguese. I wanted to start by thanking the organizers of this extraordinary citizens initiative. I'd like to thank you for all of the work that you've done. Collecting signatures. That's an incredible job you've done to try and combat this aggression, which are conversion therapies. I'd like to thank you for your personal commitment and the strength you've shown in coming to speak to us today. In Portugal, conversion therapy is prohibited and it's criminalized and has been since 2024. It's a legislation in my own party we saw as a priority. This is a real achievement that we can't take for granted. So first of all, it's obvious to me that if we consider that in the European Union, human dignity has to be respected, then conversion therapy is discriminatory. So they are not acceptable from that point of view in any member state. And secondly, they are simply cruel. And when it comes to the effectiveness, they simply don't work. So let's not use terms like choice when it comes to sexual orientation or when it comes to gender identity or gender expression. The questions we've heard about how the European Union can help to criminalise conversion therapy in practice, and encourage exchange of information between member states where the bans already exist. Well, I could add two notes to those questions. First of all, we need to be careful not to indirectly finance associations or institutions that carry out conversion therapy in the European Union and also at the European level. We need to explain what conversion therapy is and why it cannot be allowed. There's a lot of lack of awareness in families about these issues. It's quite a complicated subject. Certainly in the European Union we can do better to fight conversion therapy in the field of ideas and explain why it has to be criminalised.”
  LGBTIQ+
• “Thank you, Madam President. Commissioner. We shouldn't play about with pensions. These are the savings of someone who saved their whole lives. For a time when there's very little support to subject the most exposed pensioners to the roulette of financial markets is irresponsible. And I hope we put a stop to it. We are seeing more tax benefits for investment funds that are attracting investors because of the tax perks. We're basically giving more to those who already have a lot and letting banks sell products that that are not profitable. And it gets worse. We're suggesting that we mobilize savings for high risk areas so people run the risk of losing their life savings, everything to finance war. We know what you're trying to get to. You want to privatize public pension systems. And I hope that there's at least one benefit to this debate, alerting our populations to the very strong need to object to the commission's plans.”
  EU policy on aging workforce and pensions
• “Thank you. Chair. I would like to thank the commission representative. But there's one thing I'm struggling to understand. We've established a climate law with a view to having scientific facts to set out the targets. So what is the commission done? It seems as though the scientific facts aren't relevant. Well, let me phrase this differently. Why are you setting out targets? But ignoring scientific facts. And then I was wondering, why does the Commission believe that the scientists advice should be internal and that local incites?”
  Climate efforts
• “This cop has high. We have high expectations in this Cop, not only because of taking place in the Amazon rainforest, but it's actually the first cop since the pandemic, in which we hope there are conditions for social groups and activists to take part, because these are decisive voices when it comes to demanding action from institutions and governments. So we believe that it's quite important for them to take place. Having said this. In the European Union, we understand that we have to reduce our emissions and provide financing for adaptation. We know that funding at the moment is crucial, and so it's important that no one forgets about the historic responsibility that the EU has when it comes to its emissions, a disproportionate amount of emissions given its population. And we believe that we are reducing our environmental footprint. But at the end of the day, we're just exporting our emissions to other countries. We need binding commitments when it comes to reducing our emissions and financing. We need to stop subsidizing fossil fuels and ensure that financing for adaptation to climate issues is done.”
  Climate efforts
• “Thank you, Madam President. Commissioner. The far right here represents the climate deniers. And this shows a lack of responsibility. If you want to change something, you need some Clear rules and limits. It's it's all very well to express good intentions, but you need to go beyond that. We have to stop plastic pollution. We have to have the protected areas. Um. But, uh, the pact in 2030 will just be a piece of paper if we don't have the rules to back it up.”
  Microplastics
• “So a number of the amendments which I have tabled to focus on this training and education, including a school curricula. Thirdly, I have tabled amendments on technological Advances, and the way in which women's health has not been protected by new technological advances. Here I am talking not just about medical devices, but also the increasing use of AI tools in the health sector. Let me remind you that when looking at cardiovascular health, 80% of the data used by AI tools comes from male bodies, and this means it will be almost impossible to correctly triage a women. Then finally, I looked at some health conditions related to a woman's life cycle. But I also wanted to flag this up now. Some health problems that affect women in particular, and these are not considered. They are not sufficiently research. They are not covered by training or education here. I'm talking about cardiovascular health more than anything else. 40% of women die of cardiovascular issues in the EU. This is more than cancer. And I think this shows just how a set of factors can come together to negatively impact women's health. You can see that women's health hasn't received necessary attention over the last few years. There has, of course, been a lot of progress, but I think we're still very much running behind.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Thank you very much. This regulation, which is being prepared by the EPP, will have consequences when it comes to achieving climate goals, because one of the major issues that we're facing is that we have big promises, but nothing's really set in stone. And we know that there'll be more promises in the future and less capacity to have binding commitments. Having climate goals isn't doesn't. It doesn't doesn't go against the fact that people have problems when it comes to life being affordable. At the moment when we're discussing the national the next, we need to include aspects on energy efficiency, because one of the major issues we're facing in Portugal is energy poverty. Global warming is just exacerbating that problem. So these false contradictions are going to lead to our downfall. And I think it's a shame that we are listening to all of this in this committee. But when it comes to the NEC, the commission has stated that there are three member states who haven't even presented their plans. Belgium, Estonia and Poland. So when it comes to the thresholds, we're actually quite far away from achieving our goals in transport and buildings. We're not up to standard. And in fact, some member States have included some issues regarding the energy issues in Spain and in Portugal. We faced a blackout recently and that hasn't been included here as well. These climate emergencies aren't going to be solved from one day to another by transferring emissions using the ETS. We're also not going to solve a huge amount when it comes to ETS. At the end of the day. We're just using words and we're not taking real action.”
  Climate efforts
• “Thank you very much, president. Commissioner. Europe is investing a lot in health and medicine, but then it accepts to pay exorbitant prices for medicine. And we even accept the relocation of generic drugs. We did it because it was the only way to have accessible prices. But this means that private actors are lining their pockets, but the situation is worsening and will worsen if there is global uncertainty. Now, it's extremely important for the commission to do something about this, because if production in Europe is still a choice, Even public programs aren't going to manage. So the European Commission will have to, uh, have, uh, procurement for orphan drugs, because if it doesn't, that will be optional as well. Trump is threatening Europe when it comes to medicines as well. I know that the commission is paying more attention to lobbyists, uh, rather than what it should be doing. Industrial policy is a public policy commissioner. It won't be the pharmaceutical industry that will give us security. It is we who is next.”
  Pharmaceuticals regulation in EU — innovation/access axis · EU intervention in private pricing of medicines
• “Thank you very much. Madam president, there are two issues related to mobility. We have to address. It's not just a question of individual choices. And it's not something that we can just address with public health policy. In reality, as a society, 8 million people live with obesity, and we know that a big proportion of them are children and there are untimely deaths because of it yearly. We know the reasons are complex, but the causes are a number of environmental factors, economic factors and social factors. We know that there's ultra processed foods that are cheaper, but they are not healthy. And we know that with unregulated employment and low salaries, people have no other choice. Sports are expensive. Everyone is cutting costs and everything is in place. Therefore, for obesity to continue to rise. Mr. Commissioner, the commission's policy are a big part of the problem. Now there are innovative pharmaceutical products. They help, but we have to make sure that they are affordable for all. It's not a decision, a health decision that we can delay. There's not a single pharmaceutical product. However, that will mean that we don't have to look at the principal issues. We must change a lot. We have to make sure that healthy choices are affordable and not a luxury. The price of fresh food is a huge burden for families and this is unacceptable, clearly. We need to have the courage to regulate the market and to make sure that food that is not food isn't treated. It isn't sold as food.”
  EU measures on lifestyle-related behaviours (smoking, drinking, eating, etc.)
• “Thank you very much. I'd like to thank the commission, and I'd like to thank the rapporteur for the work done. I'd like to draw your attention to another aspect. We can't talk in terms of simplification if we don't talk about correction. We haven't taken account of gender and as a model. Across the board, you take the male and you can't always do that. There are variations depending on gender and age. And. So far, it's been considered that collecting aggregate data is optional, but it should not be optional. We should. Disaggregate on the basis of sex and age. There should be a representative sample of the overall population, and there must be differentiated analysis. There must be information about safety and efficacy depending on the demographic group and the number of participants. And we should also have a public data to avoid any problems, because there might be a device which works for a man of 40, but it does not work for women of 16. It's considered safe.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Thank you, madam president. Let's imagine that we'd followed the the example of the far right, and we'd left the WHO. We'd be left without coordination, without response, without any early warning system. Luckily, this didn't happen. And in fact, The United States have actually thanked the rest of the world for their activity in relation to this. Now we we we need to be clear. Our condemnation is to the family of families of those who've lost their lives, but we need to be clear. We need permanent cooperation. There is no cause for alarm, but it is proof here. And once again, that no country on their own can protect their citizens. Again, it's proof that if you cut budget from health budgets to build more weapons, and this is not the way forward, we need medical research. We need a strong budgets for, the health area, and we need to continue supporting the WHO. The ESN”
  EU competences on health (internal-competence axis, sharpened)
• “Thank you very much President, Madam Commissioner. Having a house is becoming more and more difficult. Work is becoming more difficult, precarious contracts, longer hours, apprenticeships are being put at risk and then on top of all this there are household chores to deal with, bills and you might have to face male violence on a daily basis. All of this is a big mental burden. This is concerning says the Commission but it's promoting housing speculation, exploitation of workers, it's not investing in public health. In 2016 you opposed the increase of minimum wage in my country. So what you are doing now is supporting the damaging programs of the Portuguese government. You are undermining people's health. You're putting democracy at stake here.”
  Minimum wages harmonisation at EU level
• “Obrigado, president. Thank you. Madam president. Commissioner, this debate has been one mistake over another. We've heard the far right talking about money for universities. But look at what's happening in Palestine. We're seeing other people on the far right talking about cutting research for anything involving women. And then there's a third group on the far right, which is saying that we should take a fascist approach to research. So when you talk about academic freedom, I think you shouldn't only look at what Trump is doing. He's threatening universities. He's attacking scientists and academics. Yes. But this lack of knowledge and misogyny, homophobia, racism, which you see in the US, is present in Hungary to it's present in other EU member states. And you wouldn't guess that from what you're hearing here this morning in this debate, Choose Europe for science is about bringing scientists from around the world to Europe to do science here. It's good that Europe should open itself up to the world. And science is fundamental. Yes, but we should look a little closer at what is happening here. We don't have enough funding for science. We have racism and xenophobia within our systems. We have liberals joining ranks with the far right. And yet we say, let's bring in some Americans. Actually, we should be turning things around a little bit to do it better here.”
  Governance of academic priorities within the EU
• “So a number of the amendments which I have tabled to focus on this training and education, including a school curricula. Thirdly, I have tabled amendments on technological Advances, and the way in which women's health has not been protected by new technological advances. Here I am talking not just about medical devices, but also the increasing use of AI tools in the health sector. Let me remind you that when looking at cardiovascular health, 80% of the data used by AI tools comes from male bodies, and this means it will be almost impossible to correctly triage a women. Then finally, I looked at some health conditions related to a woman's life cycle. But I also wanted to flag this up now. Some health problems that affect women in particular, and these are not considered. They are not sufficiently research. They are not covered by training or education here. I'm talking about cardiovascular health more than anything else. 40% of women die of cardiovascular issues in the EU. This is more than cancer. And I think this shows just how a set of factors can come together to negatively impact women's health. You can see that women's health hasn't received necessary attention over the last few years. There has, of course, been a lot of progress, but I think we're still very much running behind.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “So a number of the amendments which I have tabled to focus on this training and education, including a school curricula. Thirdly, I have tabled amendments on technological Advances, and the way in which women's health has not been protected by new technological advances. Here I am talking not just about medical devices, but also the increasing use of AI tools in the health sector. Let me remind you that when looking at cardiovascular health, 80% of the data used by AI tools comes from male bodies, and this means it will be almost impossible to correctly triage a women. Then finally, I looked at some health conditions related to a woman's life cycle. But I also wanted to flag this up now. Some health problems that affect women in particular, and these are not considered. They are not sufficiently research. They are not covered by training or education here. I'm talking about cardiovascular health more than anything else. 40% of women die of cardiovascular issues in the EU. This is more than cancer. And I think this shows just how a set of factors can come together to negatively impact women's health. You can see that women's health hasn't received necessary attention over the last few years. There has, of course, been a lot of progress, but I think we're still very much running behind.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Thank you very much. And good morning, everyone. This process is quite important, and I'd like to thank all the rapporteurs for the work that they've done. So for far. We're debating an obvious problem, which is the credibility of Cop and our own action in Cop of after 30 cops without clear commitments and following the goals of the Paris Agreement, which. Have been exceeded. We need to ask ourselves whether this cop can bring us anything different. And I would say that it actually has to bring us something different that the European Union right now has more responsibility than ever. The. These responsibilities have come about at a complicated time from a European point of view. These we've seen mixed signals and Quite harmful. The commission has suspended legislation which could combat, um, climate issues. We've also seen how the NDCs up until now have been insufficient. So we'll have to see what happens at the Cop. I think the wars that are happening right now are not only a humanitarian disaster, but an environmental one as well. And we know that military emissions aren't even included in these climate goals.”
  Climate efforts
• “Commissioner. Making the most or subsidizing companies that pollute the most is an error when it comes to decarbonizing the economy. It doesn't ensure jobs because it doesn't cover all of the companies, and nor does it guarantee the fight against the crisis of cost of living. When you talk about supporting families, you say we need targeted measures. But then when it comes to industries, uh, we're, uh, enabling people to earn more. These aren't targeted measures. So I agree with you that we need to be prepared for future crises. What I wonder is, don't you think it's time to do away with isolating the Iberian Peninsula? The Iberian Peninsula produces some of the cheapest energy in the European Union. You're saying that nuclear can be the future, but that costs four times more. If we allow for renewables in the rest of Of Europe. We would decarbonise and energy would be cheaper for all people. Is that or not a strategic objective for clean energy and industry in Europe?”
  EU approach to electricity market and prices
• “This cop has high. We have high expectations in this Cop, not only because of taking place in the Amazon rainforest, but it's actually the first cop since the pandemic, in which we hope there are conditions for social groups and activists to take part, because these are decisive voices when it comes to demanding action from institutions and governments. So we believe that it's quite important for them to take place. Having said this. In the European Union, we understand that we have to reduce our emissions and provide financing for adaptation. We know that funding at the moment is crucial, and so it's important that no one forgets about the historic responsibility that the EU has when it comes to its emissions, a disproportionate amount of emissions given its population. And we believe that we are reducing our environmental footprint. But at the end of the day, we're just exporting our emissions to other countries. We need binding commitments when it comes to reducing our emissions and financing. We need to stop subsidizing fossil fuels and ensure that financing for adaptation to climate issues is done.”
  Climate efforts
• “Thank you. I'll speak in Portuguese. Commissioner. I was listening to the debate on competitiveness, and it came to mind that the, uh, gulp results were higher than 40%. Repsol 153% BP, 453%. And I assume that investors. Are paying the price of the cost of living. I'm not sure what the competitiveness is there. I also have some problems with the debate that thinks that decarbonization can be left aside. It can't be. I agree, but I think that biodiversity is important too. To give you an example, in my country, in a few hours, in a few hours, a windstorm a. Destroyed significant amounts of the GDP. And after the wind destroyed everything, we've got the risk of forest fires. So climate and biodiversity are essential. Commissioner, we have a huge crisis currently with the war that the USA and Israel are waging against Iran. I think that the European Union is not behaving appropriately. It's not doing what it can to stop the war. But at the same time, there's a clear problem of the cost of living and employment that's affecting the industry. Smes as well, which form a significant part of European employment possibilities. We need to ensure that this crisis can be overcome with permits for. By preventing permits for polluting companies, the polluter pays principle should be used. We need to focus on all decarbonisation objectives. We need to also think about the impact on the cost of living and employment. So what do you think of that possibility and what are the commitments that might be undertaken?”
  Climate efforts
• “Thank you very much indeed, chair. And thank you very much to all my colleagues for their contributions. I'm very happy to see that. I think we've got a good starting point for our work together. That's great news. I think this is a topic which could give rise to a lot of subtopics as well, because essentially what we're doing is covering how everything is seen in the health sector, for example, taking the man as the reference agenda, which means that many health issues which solely affect women have never been correctly researched. Some we have started talking about, others not. That's one aspect of the problem. It's also true that the male body is seen as a reference body for all illnesses, all diseases, and research across the board. Women are only used for reproductive research. This means that all health conditions which are which affect both men and women. Well, we're never quite sure how women's bodies are going to react. Furthermore, the justification for taking this approach is that. Is to is an attempt to achieve a degree of stability in research and education. And women's bodies are unstable, women are unstable. And this odd justification is what has led to half of the population being excluded, because it was a little bit more complicated to work with a human body, which goes through hormonal cycles and the other changes throughout their life cycle. This is somewhat ridiculous as women make up half the population, and I very much hope that research practice has has improved and will continue to improve. I very much like the idea of a strategy on women's health. I think that the interest groups should be involved at the very beginning of the process. They raised that point at the beginning of this term, and I hope that we continue, continue can continue to make progress along this path. I look forward to hearing your amendments. I'm sure that the opinion will be much better thanks to them. And that's what we all need. Thank you.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Thank you very much indeed, chair. I wanted to start by saying that I very much hope we'll be able to work together well on this opinion. I know that seems to be the the case so far, and I wanted to look at some of the criteria that I followed when drafting this report. Firstly, I wanted to avoid saying what was already contained in the report, namely sexual reproductive health and and sexual reproductive health rights of women. That's why I decided not to repeat the comments made in the amendments already tabled along these lines. I wanted to look at what isn't or what is not sufficiently tackled by the report. There are four main questions that I focused on. The first of these is that I think we need to go further when it comes to the need to research, not just the health conditions that affect only women, but we have to ensure that the clinical and medical research which is carried out, takes account the gender specific conditions that affect women. This includes something which wasn't touched on by the report. That is, a generic medicinal products which come in different formats. And once again, when they are developed, a gender is not always considered. Secondly. I wanted to look at teaching and training of health professionals in the report. Many curricula do not cover gender specific conditions or health conditions which only affect women, nor specific conditions or specific ways in which a disease may affect women in the different stages of their lives.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Thank you. Chair. Thank you. Commissioner. I just wanted to ask about cardiovascular illnesses. And I have a question related to this on artificial intelligence in cardiology. Inequality is a death sentence. Cardiovascular illnesses kills 40% of European women more than all cancers combined. But the tools, the diagnostic tools continue to be focused on men's bodies and ignore the biological reality of half the population. The commission's proposal for the Safe Heart Plan refers to the need to consider gender differences in diagnosis, but doesn't go further into detail. Risks such as pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes duplicate the risk of heart attack for women in future menopause. With a decline in estrogen impacts, vascular health and diagnostic tests are rarely adjusted for this transition, and hormonal contraception, although it is widely recognised as having an impact, is also not taken into account during health tests. France, the Netherlands and Sweden already have programs that include data sharing between gynecology and cardiology specialties, and the European Union, we assume, should follow best practices. So I would like to know is what does the Commission plan to do specifically to integrate obstetrics gynecology in cardiovascular risk protocols, presenting disaggregated data broken down by gender in all clinical tests financed by the European Union and to strengthen equal participation of both genders. Financing information campaigns on differential diagnosis for women and including in the Framework programme. Financing research for diseases which predominantly hit women and which are underfunded. And finally Commissioner. As regards artificial intelligence, you've heard of the advantages. I know that it has a positive impact on health, but do you have any specific proposal to make sure that these algorithms represent both sexes equally and take into account the health care specifics that impact women? The cardiovascular doctors are trained on 70 to 80% male subjects. So at the moment, the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare is an additional risk to women's health. Thank you.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Senator. President in Portuguese. O mercado funciona al trimestre. De jovenes com jovens quem é. O problema de nenhum jovem e sua vida é absurdo o problema de jovenes e fazer todas as e todas as transitions de inteligencia artificial al Klima a uma Longo da vida. E trabalho a vida de vida. Familiar o coletiva. Encontrado. Emancipation. Emancipation E Como. De entrada de jovenes. Cada vez mais baixo em Portugal E é uma verdadera ciencia de justicia generational Portuguese acaba de presentar un conjunto de trabalho o outsourcing a largo plazo e viola de trabalho em plataformas cada vez mais realizado Como sabemos o governo Portuguese estabilidade e in Portugal trabalhadores. It is very important Europeia também vai fazer a sua fazendo e europeas nomeadamente sobre plataformas e trovar este retroceso obrigado.”
  Youth employment & training
• “Madam president. Commissioner. With the digital platforms, the real crime is the business model. Violence is fundamental to that model. 1 in 6 of our children have been victims of cyber bullying, and one in every ten children have been on the receiving end of violence, insults, hate, or images shared without consent. We have cyber bullying in schools or cyberbullying directed against women. They're not the same, but they're both fed by these machines. The cultural breeding ground for all of this is the manosphere. And that is something that some of you in this chamber actually stand up for. So what we need is prevention. We need there to be real consequences for the real crimes which are destroying lives. Digital platforms cannot be some kind of legal offshore structure. The Digital Services Act should have real consequences. Otherwise, it's no point.”
  Digital platforms liability for harmful and illegal content
• “Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Chair. I'll speak in Portuguese. I wanted to start by thanking the organizers of this extraordinary citizens initiative. I'd like to thank you for all of the work that you've done. Collecting signatures. That's an incredible job you've done to try and combat this aggression, which are conversion therapies. I'd like to thank you for your personal commitment and the strength you've shown in coming to speak to us today. In Portugal, conversion therapy is prohibited and it's criminalized and has been since 2024. It's a legislation in my own party we saw as a priority. This is a real achievement that we can't take for granted. So first of all, it's obvious to me that if we consider that in the European Union, human dignity has to be respected, then conversion therapy is discriminatory. So they are not acceptable from that point of view in any member state. And secondly, they are simply cruel. And when it comes to the effectiveness, they simply don't work. So let's not use terms like choice when it comes to sexual orientation or when it comes to gender identity or gender expression. The questions we've heard about how the European Union can help to criminalise conversion therapy in practice, and encourage exchange of information between member states where the bans already exist. Well, I could add two notes to those questions. First of all, we need to be careful not to indirectly finance associations or institutions that carry out conversion therapy in the European Union and also at the European level. We need to explain what conversion therapy is and why it cannot be allowed. There's a lot of lack of awareness in families about these issues. It's quite a complicated subject. Certainly in the European Union we can do better to fight conversion therapy in the field of ideas and explain why it has to be criminalised.”
  LGBTIQ+
• “We don't have any insight into how the commission reached its conclusions. And then when it comes to this flexible approach on the part of the commission, why is it that certain sectors are not supposed to be included when it comes to emissions reductions? What's the reasoning behind that? When it comes to the Green Deal, there's a lot of talk of competitiveness as well as innovative approaches. So I would assume that the commission intends to exclude certain sectors when it comes to innovation and investment. So I want to know which sectors are we talking about? Then the EPP said they weren't quite sure what to make of all this. The EPP. Has been collaborating with groups in this House who said that there's no need for emissions reductions and climate protection. Is the EPP aware of what they're doing? This is climate negation ism. And well, the EPP has sided did with these groups to block emergency procedure, to see to it that the EU has different targets for the next climate sectors. So a lot has been delayed. The EU has sided with the climate negations. And then one more thing. It cannot stand that a right wing extreme group is working on this. That doesn't believe it's important as a topic. The EPP knows exactly what they're doing in collaborating with them, and it really is shameful to see that the Parliament is not living up to its climate commitments.”
  Climate efforts
• “Who's going to solve these problems? We're trying to look for excuses when essentially, um, there is no money, there's no budget. First of all, we have to say, we have to admit that there is no budget, but we are going to have to take the necessary measures to allow the sector to be more dynamic through deregulation, for example, so that we can have safe drugs, safe health products and safe research. And we need high environmental standards as well, because there is the environmental excuse, especially when it comes to certain aspects, but for the actual manufacturing companies, but not the health sector itself. So we need to have more money. We especially if Europe wants a high quality strategy for the health sector. And then secondly, what we really need to do is provide more incentives for research and innovation and allow a little more deregulation of the financial markets. Public health services ten years ago went through a crisis and they lost part of their resources. Now we have a crisis of access to healthcare in certain member states. We don't. There's a staff shortage, and all of this is a consequence. There's an impact of the deregulation of the financial markets at the time when the member states had to pick up the tab for the mistakes made by the banks.”
  Public and private sectors role in healthcare services
• “(18:04:32 – 18:07:02): Thank you, chair, and thank you, commissioner. I'm going to speak Portuguese. When the fires came, the people had not recovered from the winter, and the right was not part of that debate. The preparedness of the EU, we know, cannot be reserved for storms that occur every 50 years. That world does not exist anymore, and we are calling for the preparedness of citizens in a world in which extreme weather events are increasingly frequent. We are calling on citizens to be prepared, but the institutions are not prepared. We do not have significant investment in civil protection. We don't have a new instrument to ensure supply chain resilience. We don't have new capacity to invest in critical infrastructure, and so we have this idea that the European institutions are calling on citizens to do something that we are not prepared for when we look at the budget. The recent crisis in Portugal left 1,000,000 people without electricity. And four months later, we don't have any answers. Families suffering energy poverty weren't able to deal correctly with the situation. Harvests were destroyed. Supply chains and stocks were disrupted. Crises are not socially neutral, and the most vulnerable always suffered the most. Now I would like to ask you, commissioner, if you don't think that the new strategy should include strategic stocks of essential goods in order to provide for populations. And as well whether funds should finance autonomous energy systems and solar panels as well as health equipment and other critical equipment. And please don't say that there's a problem with resources because we were able to find resources for defense while civil protection has remained neglected. Thank you very much.”
  Climate efforts
• “President. Commissioner, is the earth flat, or do we still believe in silence? We have a corpus of scientific information which helps us make decisions. And scientists have been quite clear we need to reduce emissions. But if you reduce emissions somewhere else on the planet while we increase ours, that's pointless. It seems obvious because we've only got one planet, so we have to have goals that apply to the whole planet. And what is the commissioner doing? What is the commission doing? Ignoring the scientific advice. And you're introducing additional flexibility. But the scientists have expressly said that that won't work. And so we're not going to achieve our goals, are we? Now, we've seen the US leave the Paris Agreement that's happened. And now the commission doesn't seem to believe in the Paris agreements anymore. Everything depends on the market. But you can't negotiate the temperature of the planet or the level of the seas as you negotiate with the market we need to protect. Uh, but this isn't happening.”
  Climate efforts
• “Thank you very much. This regulation, which is being prepared by the EPP, will have consequences when it comes to achieving climate goals, because one of the major issues that we're facing is that we have big promises, but nothing's really set in stone. And we know that there'll be more promises in the future and less capacity to have binding commitments. Having climate goals isn't doesn't. It doesn't doesn't go against the fact that people have problems when it comes to life being affordable. At the moment when we're discussing the national the next, we need to include aspects on energy efficiency, because one of the major issues we're facing in Portugal is energy poverty. Global warming is just exacerbating that problem. So these false contradictions are going to lead to our downfall. And I think it's a shame that we are listening to all of this in this committee. But when it comes to the NEC, the commission has stated that there are three member states who haven't even presented their plans. Belgium, Estonia and Poland. So when it comes to the thresholds, we're actually quite far away from achieving our goals in transport and buildings. We're not up to standard. And in fact, some member States have included some issues regarding the energy issues in Spain and in Portugal. We faced a blackout recently and that hasn't been included here as well. These climate emergencies aren't going to be solved from one day to another by transferring emissions using the ETS. We're also not going to solve a huge amount when it comes to ETS. At the end of the day. We're just using words and we're not taking real action.”
  Climate efforts
• “Thank you, Madam President. Commissioner. In August 2020 for the world hit two degrees. This is Europe. That is is heating up most quickly. Obviously when we have the forest fires in the summer, we know climate change is here. Now we have the Paris Agreement. And this said that all promises and we would all make efforts to make sure we don't go beyond 1.5%. Oil was always louder. Now we're getting to the 30th cop and the many people will ask, can't we actually wait any longer? Some people says Trump are denying climate change, governments and climate and the commission are doing nothing. We're not we do not have an effective strategy for the end of fossil fuels. Now. We also have militarization as well, which undermines all of our aims. Global signs of hope are coming today from environmental groups. Cop 30. In Brazil, indigenous groups will make themselves heard and their commitments are taken by governments. There are certain people who do recognize the vital role of indigenous people in this. And if we want the end of fossil fuels, this is the time to say no to new, um, oil, um, prospecting in the Amazon. Now a question for you, Commissioner. Will you have the time to sit down with the summit, the peoples summit, and listen to their, uh, requirements? Or will you only be meeting with the oil lobby? I know that social movement is what has driven the green agenda up until now, and this will be the same new group.”
  Fossil fuels
• “Thank you very much indeed. Look at these numbers. 41% of, uh, men are the, uh, have higher education in the, uh, in the Portuguese job market, women have less 12% less in some countries, but it's 18% gap in some in some countries with 54 or 56 days a year not to actually getting paid anything, and that means they're going to have much lower pensions. Women are working three three months more, would need to work three months more every year just to be earning the same as men. And they have to juggle that with all their housework. So, uh, they're not they're not increasing the pension. They are increasing tiredness. Now we hear the old matches, macho, uh, policies coming through voices saying, oh, well, women should stay at home, go back home, go back behind the doors. I have two responses to that. This idealized view of happy women bringing up all their kids at home is a lie. Uh, women have to be involved in everything they. Whether they're recognized or paid or not. Is that what you want? Do you want people out of public space? You want people out of the working, uh, area. You want them out of the decision making area. This is all just Macho policies. No, we're not going to take a step back from what we've achieved. We want proper payment for care giving from the creche right up to pension. We want same money and the same respect.”
  Gender pay transparency
• “Thank you very much indeed. Look at these numbers. 41% of, uh, men are the, uh, have higher education in the, uh, in the Portuguese job market, women have less 12% less in some countries, but it's 18% gap in some in some countries with 54 or 56 days a year not to actually getting paid anything, and that means they're going to have much lower pensions. Women are working three three months more, would need to work three months more every year just to be earning the same as men. And they have to juggle that with all their housework. So, uh, they're not they're not increasing the pension. They are increasing tiredness. Now we hear the old matches, macho, uh, policies coming through voices saying, oh, well, women should stay at home, go back home, go back behind the doors. I have two responses to that. This idealized view of happy women bringing up all their kids at home is a lie. Uh, women have to be involved in everything they. Whether they're recognized or paid or not. Is that what you want? Do you want people out of public space? You want people out of the working, uh, area. You want them out of the decision making area. This is all just Macho policies. No, we're not going to take a step back from what we've achieved. We want proper payment for care giving from the creche right up to pension. We want same money and the same respect.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Thank you very much indeed. Look at these numbers. 41% of, uh, men are the, uh, have higher education in the, uh, in the Portuguese job market, women have less 12% less in some countries, but it's 18% gap in some in some countries with 54 or 56 days a year not to actually getting paid anything, and that means they're going to have much lower pensions. Women are working three three months more, would need to work three months more every year just to be earning the same as men. And they have to juggle that with all their housework. So, uh, they're not they're not increasing the pension. They are increasing tiredness. Now we hear the old matches, macho, uh, policies coming through voices saying, oh, well, women should stay at home, go back home, go back behind the doors. I have two responses to that. This idealized view of happy women bringing up all their kids at home is a lie. Uh, women have to be involved in everything they. Whether they're recognized or paid or not. Is that what you want? Do you want people out of public space? You want people out of the working, uh, area. You want them out of the decision making area. This is all just Macho policies. No, we're not going to take a step back from what we've achieved. We want proper payment for care giving from the creche right up to pension. We want same money and the same respect.”
  Gender pay transparency
• “Thank you very much, Madam President. Well, if I've understood this debate properly, if Member states don't do what the big companies do, then they just go over the state's head. If they want to cut salaries and destroy the environment, doesn't worry them. These democratic decisions should simply not irritate the big businesses. Well, Mrs. von der Leyen, I must listening to what the members say. This all disgusts me. So what are they proposing? The EU seems to be not a state. It seems to be an offshore. And the obvious issue is that competing that the US is going to be competing against. Sorry. The, uh, it's basically trying to undermine everything and trying to undermine taxpayers rights to the, uh, the right to schools and education and health. They're trying to simplify deregulate and to finalize the EU economy. This is not simplification. It's a race to the bottom. What we should be doing instead is trying to, uh, get the best out of every country to ensure this qualification, education and health and hope. It's not just the far right that's here threatening democracy. It's also the Commission and those who support it.”
  EU political integration
• “Thank you very much indeed, chair. I wanted to start by saying that I very much hope we'll be able to work together well on this opinion. I know that seems to be the the case so far, and I wanted to look at some of the criteria that I followed when drafting this report. Firstly, I wanted to avoid saying what was already contained in the report, namely sexual reproductive health and and sexual reproductive health rights of women. That's why I decided not to repeat the comments made in the amendments already tabled along these lines. I wanted to look at what isn't or what is not sufficiently tackled by the report. There are four main questions that I focused on. The first of these is that I think we need to go further when it comes to the need to research, not just the health conditions that affect only women, but we have to ensure that the clinical and medical research which is carried out, takes account the gender specific conditions that affect women. This includes something which wasn't touched on by the report. That is, a generic medicinal products which come in different formats. And once again, when they are developed, a gender is not always considered. Secondly. I wanted to look at teaching and training of health professionals in the report. Many curricula do not cover gender specific conditions or health conditions which only affect women, nor specific conditions or specific ways in which a disease may affect women in the different stages of their lives.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “I'll keep it very brief, because I don't want to repeat some of the points that have already been made. I'd like to thank you very much indeed for your work on this file and say that I really think we have to focus on budgetary issues in the EU. You. Of course, we want to develop many of these projects, and some of the points that have been raised here aren't budgetary. There are areas where we could go into greater discussion. We have to improve our work. There is one glaring problem if we don't have the budget, all of these commitments made on a European level are worthless. So we have to we have committed to beating cancer, and as such, we have committed to investing in research, innovative therapies that could save life. But we are also committed in ensuring committed to ensuring that screening happens early on a more effective manner. But we have to ensure that treatment is fair. Across the EU, we know that access to treatment is extremely unequal, but in order to do all this, we need the budget. And I think the resolution which we passed in plenary last session shows this. I think that we have a broad political support in this committee to ensure that the next EU budget is sufficient to meet the commitments we have made here. Thank you.”
  Size of EU budget
• “Obrigado. Thank you. President. Menstrual pain are made invisible in our society. Endometriosis is a further expression of the inequality imposed by patriarchal society that undervalues women's health. We have to combat this. When the endometrial tissue grows outside the uterus. Menstruation can be very painful. In many cases, it's a incapacitating pain. It's a chronic, chronic, debilitating illness that has a serious impact on quality of life, including fertility. And it's only prejudice that has led to this being so neglected. In Portugal, we have a law allowing women three days of paid leave for women suffering from endometriosis. The recent news is very worrying. Not only are there employers who refuse to follow the law, but there are doctors who refuse to sign the certificate required and schools that are not accepting it as a justification for pupil absences. This is pure prejudice. But this prejudice extends across Europe. 14 million Europe, a million European women suffer from and endometriosis. But there's still a lack of research. Diagnosis takes seven years on average, and when the diagnosis takes place, there's a lack of treatment. So this can only be explained by prejudice. Patriarchal prejudice is everywhere, including in the health system. If we start talking about this inequality, I think this is largely thanks to feminist activism that has put these items on the agenda, because otherwise there would be behind a wall of silence.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Thank you very much indeed. President. Madam Commissioner, in order to guarantee reactivity in the case of disasters, you're calling on people to have a basic kit to cover their needs for 72 hours. And many people throughout Europe have gone out and bought batteries, medicines, tinned goods and so on and so forth. But the commission seems to be struggling to heed its own advice, because what is the point of trying to build up reserves if there are discontinuities in our supplies. I mean, it's all well and good having these intentions, but we don't have the budget for this. We don't have the budget for these kits. I mean, where is the money going? Well, into weapons there. We have appropriations running into the millions, but we don't have enough money for anything else. So it's all well and good trying to guarantee our security and our safety. But are you actually investing in it? Actually you're not. Commission isn't being truthful about this. It's actually cutting health spending to add to our arms expenditure. Hugely irresponsible.”
  Defence spending
• “Thank you very much. And good morning, everyone. This process is quite important, and I'd like to thank all the rapporteurs for the work that they've done. So for far. We're debating an obvious problem, which is the credibility of Cop and our own action in Cop of after 30 cops without clear commitments and following the goals of the Paris Agreement, which. Have been exceeded. We need to ask ourselves whether this cop can bring us anything different. And I would say that it actually has to bring us something different that the European Union right now has more responsibility than ever. The. These responsibilities have come about at a complicated time from a European point of view. These we've seen mixed signals and Quite harmful. The commission has suspended legislation which could combat, um, climate issues. We've also seen how the NDCs up until now have been insufficient. So we'll have to see what happens at the Cop. I think the wars that are happening right now are not only a humanitarian disaster, but an environmental one as well. And we know that military emissions aren't even included in these climate goals.”
  Climate efforts
• “(14:48:28 – 14:50:45): Following the pandemic, the European Union has tried to do more in terms of commitment in public health. We're now up against this draft budget and it's clear that we've forgotten the lessons we should have taken from the pandemic. I'd like to thank the rapporteurs for the work. We do agree with the number of priorities as reflected in the amendments lodged. However, the amendments from the left will have two main thrusts. Firstly, we need a budget that is full health because if we don't have a very clear budget for health under a larger budget, then the danger is that it'll be diluted. We don't believe that the reasoning underlying the Competitiveness Fund is in the interests of health for a number of reasons. Firstly, because any profit generated by health—it shouldn't be profit; it should be a benefit that helps the whole of society as opposed to being privatized. So we should support vulnerable people, namely patients.”
  Public and private sectors role in healthcare services
• “von der Leyen? So I would also like to ask you about some issues that we have here when we talk about medical devices, biotech and so forth. When it comes to the need for simplification or to be more precise, deregulation. When I hear you speak, I have a great deal of difficulty in distinguishing what the commissioner says from what lobbies, pharmaceutical lobbies say. I understand that they want deregulation, but my question is, what is being done? To ensure the safety of patients and what is being done regarding accessibility, not just geographic accessibility. Reaching out to the entire population, but also economic accessibility. Price because today this exerts tremendous pressure on national health care systems and on families. And very briefly, I would also like to say that this committee approved an opinion on women's health. And of course, there is a need for investment in this area. For example, cardiovascular health, which is the number one cause of death among women. And as we know, there's very little research in it. And in addition, AI is completely ignoring women's bodies. And I'd like to know what you plan to do about this.”
  Medical devices
• “Thank you. Madam President, Commissioner. In 2025, Portugal was the member state with the largest surface area affected by fires. Hundreds of firefighters risked their lives and people were left to their own devices in certain cases to combat fires and save their villages. Portugal and its government have failed. There was a request for aid, but it was late. Efforts were not coordinated. People and municipalities gendarmes were left to their own devices. We recognise the European solidarity, but we must also acknowledge that it was up to the mark. The civil protection mechanism sent aerial support after five very long days. But you continue to export weapons to Israel. And support military industrial complex. So while you fail in what is most important, that is protecting our population as if European citizens took second place. Villagers affected by fire were waiting for aid which did not arrive. That is their destiny. And that is why we must ensure that we give priority to climate change.”
  EU policy on infrastructure for preventing climate-related disasters (floods, droughts, extreme weather etc.)
• “Thank you, chair. I'm going to speak Portuguese. I'd like to thank the panelists, and I have a few concrete questions based on what's already happened and on new, challenges. So the first is about climate change. When there are heat waves, more people die. So when will we have maximum temperature limits based on concrete criteria? We already have these in Spain. The second question is for everyone to answer, and it's about algorithms. Under the, platform directive, we, have certain bands. And should we not increase the scope of these platforms of this directive? And then the third issue is about the financial and legal obligations of companies when there is a workplace accident. How far should this, accountability go, especially when you have a subcontractor? We have an increasing amount of, subcontracting. And the fact is that we have major underreporting of workplace accidents. Now I hear from some quarters that we need to have less red tape, that we need to have less bureaucracy, but I think we face a scourge underreporting of accidents. Thank you.”
  EU policy on employment subcontracting
• “But we women also need to act. There's a lack of research into women and their bodies. Men's bodies and health cannot be the standard subject of clinical practice and research. No. We need to give full value to the symptoms and conditions that affect women. We need to set targets to inform health professionals and direct public health systems. We need better health education at schools, including education about menstruation. All women should have a right to dispose of their own body and receive the care that they need, including abortion. Madam Commissioner, the declaration from the commission saying we need to overcome persistent health inequality in Europe is important. Dealing with this is an important step forward. It's good that we're doing it, even if it is the final stretch of the plenary session, and there's very few members still in Strasbourg. But the next essential step is a global strategy for the health of women, including sexual and reproductive rights, across the whole of Europe, and that is what we're going to continue to work for. Thank you very much.”
  Sexuality and reproduction
• “(15:25:33 – 15:30:23): Thank you, chair. I'll be speaking Portuguese commissioner. Commissioner, I'll just wait a second. Commissioner, I wanted to ask you about Ebola, but let me start with what you were saying about women's health. In your portfolio, you have women's health, and it was clear for the parliament that we didn't have enough defense of women's reproductive rights before. In terms of sexual and reproductive rights, these are health rights, and inequality in terms of access is not just a question of reproductive rights. I was the rapporteur on the opinion for a strategy for women's health, including rights and access to sexual reproductive health care, but all other issues such as cardiovascular health, which is one of the areas where women are forgotten and where the impact is very high. This is related to the fact that women's bodies have not been studied as much as men's medically. Now I think if you could present a strategy on women's health, we would gain a lot. And that would be the request of this committee, and we'd like to have a dialogue with you where the EU could set a fundamental example. I wanted to ask you about this Ebola outbreak. I don't want to be alarmist, but we are at a delicate point in time. There have been more than 330 lab confirmed cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but also in Kampala and Uganda. Given the speed that this is moving at, UNICEF has moved to its highest level of alert and is asking for urgent integrated action to treat, to trace, and to train professionals as well and to inform communities and to coordinate a cross border response. There's this therapeutic problem. There are no licensed vaccines, or any other treatment for this variant at the moment. The Lancet Journal has also said that we are facing an endemic crisis where the virus is mixing with malaria in areas of armed conflict leading to deaths. The best lesson from the past on the Ebola outbreaks is that Ebola can decapitate health systems unless we address it. In Liberia, it killed three quarters of the country's doctors. The €7,400,000 allocated are being outpaced by the situation on the ground. The emergency funding to respond to UNICEF's call and that of other humanitarian actors to guarantee swift testing and isolation in these provinces. Is that enough? When we heard from the ECDC in the hearing this morning, I think we saw that we need more help. And, obviously, we need to strengthen these local systems. Our safety here in Europe depends on the situation in Goma and Kampala. How is the commission using humanitarian diplomacy and civil protection to ensure health and civil protection corridors, which allow effective tracking and tracing of contacts in areas where there are armed conflicts? This is a very complex outbreak.”
  Sexuality and reproduction · Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Thank you very much indeed, chair. And thank you very much to all my colleagues for their contributions. I'm very happy to see that. I think we've got a good starting point for our work together. That's great news. I think this is a topic which could give rise to a lot of subtopics as well, because essentially what we're doing is covering how everything is seen in the health sector, for example, taking the man as the reference agenda, which means that many health issues which solely affect women have never been correctly researched. Some we have started talking about, others not. That's one aspect of the problem. It's also true that the male body is seen as a reference body for all illnesses, all diseases, and research across the board. Women are only used for reproductive research. This means that all health conditions which are which affect both men and women. Well, we're never quite sure how women's bodies are going to react. Furthermore, the justification for taking this approach is that. Is to is an attempt to achieve a degree of stability in research and education. And women's bodies are unstable, women are unstable. And this odd justification is what has led to half of the population being excluded, because it was a little bit more complicated to work with a human body, which goes through hormonal cycles and the other changes throughout their life cycle. This is somewhat ridiculous as women make up half the population, and I very much hope that research practice has has improved and will continue to improve. I very much like the idea of a strategy on women's health. I think that the interest groups should be involved at the very beginning of the process. They raised that point at the beginning of this term, and I hope that we continue, continue can continue to make progress along this path. I look forward to hearing your amendments. I'm sure that the opinion will be much better thanks to them. And that's what we all need. Thank you.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Chair. I'll speak in Portuguese. I wanted to start by thanking the organizers of this extraordinary citizens initiative. I'd like to thank you for all of the work that you've done. Collecting signatures. That's an incredible job you've done to try and combat this aggression, which are conversion therapies. I'd like to thank you for your personal commitment and the strength you've shown in coming to speak to us today. In Portugal, conversion therapy is prohibited and it's criminalized and has been since 2024. It's a legislation in my own party we saw as a priority. This is a real achievement that we can't take for granted. So first of all, it's obvious to me that if we consider that in the European Union, human dignity has to be respected, then conversion therapy is discriminatory. So they are not acceptable from that point of view in any member state. And secondly, they are simply cruel. And when it comes to the effectiveness, they simply don't work. So let's not use terms like choice when it comes to sexual orientation or when it comes to gender identity or gender expression. The questions we've heard about how the European Union can help to criminalise conversion therapy in practice, and encourage exchange of information between member states where the bans already exist. Well, I could add two notes to those questions. First of all, we need to be careful not to indirectly finance associations or institutions that carry out conversion therapy in the European Union and also at the European level. We need to explain what conversion therapy is and why it cannot be allowed. There's a lot of lack of awareness in families about these issues. It's quite a complicated subject. Certainly in the European Union we can do better to fight conversion therapy in the field of ideas and explain why it has to be criminalised.”
  LGBTIQ+