members-of-the-european-parliament

"Being Italian, being European, and being a patriot is not tied to seven generations, but to who you are. We must look at reality for what it is. I emphasise education, identity and culture because if you accept that you are European, in essence you are Italian and European not because your skin is white, yellow, red or green, but because you hold those convictions within you, because you live by those values within you, because you have that European spirit within you. Whether your parents were born in Kiev, La Paz or Dakar makes absolutely no difference."

"Oggi come sono stati i bombardamenti?."

"For the Italian government [led by Giorgia Meloni], there are two guiding principles when it comes to foreign policy: transatlantic relations and Europe. We are a founding member; we want to play a leading role in building a path that unites all peoples to tackle major geopolitical challenges together."

"It was a grave mistake to have killed Gaddafi. He may not have been a champion of democracy, but once he was gone, instability spread throughout North Africa."

"[About the 2024 Russian presidential elections] [...] these elections were characterised by intense and even violent pressure. Navalny was effectively excluded from the elections through murder [...] There were no candidates opposing Putin. We saw footage of Russian soldiers entering polling stations to see how people were voting. So it does not strike me as an election that meets the standards we uphold. (18 March 2024)."

"Human rights must always be respected, everywhere in the world, even in China."

"I insist on the need for a more democratic Europe [with] greater powers for the European Parliament... I say this not merely because"

"We are fighting to ensure that the right to asylum is governed by the same rules across Europe. Every state must have the same list of high-risk countries, which is not the case today. Because some countries have one list, others another."

"Le infrastrutture sono fondamentali per garantire la sicurezza, come peraltro anche la sanità, ad esempio un ospedale specializzato nelle cure agli attacchi batteriologico e chimico. Io credo che il Ponte rappresenti, quando ci sarà, punto importante nel trasporto.[...] Quindi anche per l’evacuazione, per garantire la sicurezza in caso di un attacco da sud. Perché esiste anche il fianco sud della Nato."

"[Gaffe during a rally in Bari] We would have filled the San Paolo stadium too."

"We need more Europe in the Western Balkans; this is Italy’s new strategy. Stability is crucial for maintaining peace but also for combating illegal immigration. As NATO, we must protect all the countries of the Western Balkans and Ukraine’s neighbours: it is now important to work together because unity is the most important thing and sends a clear message to Russia that we are ready to protect these countries."

"A country where the opposition is imprisoned is not a democratic country. I am not afraid to say it, just as the Venezuelan students who are demonstrating are not afraid."

"European consciousness is formed and passed on first and foremost in the classroom, and it is no coincidence that our young people are the most ardent supporters of Europe. I myself grew up surrounded by the example and reverence for the roots of European tradition, particularly thanks to my mother, who was a teacher of Greek and Latin. Europe is first and foremost a vision of life and of humanity. It is much more than a market or a currency [...] our civilisation has been forged through centuries of exchange, the blending of thought, the dialectic of ideas, art and science."

"I would lile to have a sort of European FBI."

"Having a common defence does not mean turning Europe into some sort of warmongering entity: it means having a Europe that plays a leading role in politics, a bearer of peace."

"We are in favour of Ukraine’s accession [to the European Union]... but we are also in favour of the accession of the Western Balkan countries that are candidates... otherwise we risk leaving peoples who nevertheless share a vision and tradition common to our own under the influence of other entities that do not share the same common ground."

"Mussolini? Until he declared war on the whole world following Hitler, until he became the architect of the racial laws, apart from the tragic affair of Matteotti, he did positive things to build infrastructure in our country, and then the land reclamation projects. From the point of view of concrete achievements, one cannot say that he achieved nothing."

"[Regarding the Supreme Court judge who delivered the guilty verdict against Berlusconi] The words spoken by Dr Franco make it clear that there has been a veritable judicial coup against Berlusconi and against democracy in our country. Someone at the top steered the verdict and we would like to know who [...] by striking that man, it was not only the individual and his family who were struck, but all those who had freely chosen to vote for him."

"(About the release of Patrick Zaki) There is no bartering, there are no backroom deals. The government has managed to bring back to Italy a young researcher who risked spending a little more time in prison. We have managed to achieve this result, and I believe it is no small achievement. People can say whatever they like, but there is no bartering. We are serious people; we do not engage in such deals. (20 July 2023)."

"90 years ago, Ukraine was ravaged by a terrible famine caused by Stalin and the USSR [the Holodomor]. Italy remembers the millions who died, victims of genocide. Today, with the war, the spectre of those days returns. We will not abandon the Ukrainian people."

"[The issue of migration must be addressed] not through the lens of the colonisers, but through the lens of the Africans."

"[To the Italian ambassador to Iran] How was the bombing today?"

"If half of the funds that arrived had been used, Calabria could have been a small Switzerland."

"Naples is a special city, and has been so throughout history. When the entire continent was experiencing periods of stagnation, Naples marked important accelerations in the world of culture. Its university, one of the oldest in Europe, was a point of reference when the rest of Europe was torn apart by internal wars. It is a city that never allowed the Holy Inquisition to act freely and unchallenged. It is a city that, under foreign and military occupation, liberated itself by autonomously surrendering to those who brought about the retreat of the Nazis in World War II."

"I hope that Ireland votes in favor so that the Lisbon Treaty can come into force and be a step forward for democracy in Europe, because the European Parliament will have more powers and greater importance, and it will not be the governments that are in charge but the people through their representatives in Parliament. In Ireland, Italian-Irish people also play a fundamental role."

"Once there were deviant services, a deviant judiciary, and even deviant journalists, but now the situation is being reversed. The few magistrates who conduct investigations, the few journalists who write, and the investigators who do their duty are the ones who are deviant."

"There is a new form of organized crime in Calabria, which is not only 'ndrangheta, which tends to manage public funds, those that have arrived, those that are arriving, and those that will arrive. This is the fundamental crux of the matter, because it is there that collusion between institutions, politics, business, and the banking system takes root, grows stronger, and increases."

"The Master q:it:Aldo Masullo, to whom we recently conferred honorary citizenship of Naples, has left this earthly life. One of the greatest philosophers of the late 20th century, with the highest ethical standards and profound intellectual rigor, we remember his lucid political analyses right up until the last few days. A beacon for many, a solid point of reference for Neapolitan culture."

"By exposing your brain to new impressions you are compelled to think new thoughts and be inspired by others."

"Let us practice what we preach, by making sure our own institution is a front-runner in the green transition – for example, by adding solar panels on the twenty thousand square meters of flat roof available on our buildings here in Strasbourg."

"I was 10 years old the first time I picked up the phone, and a Nazi told me that I"

"Dear colleagues, we must earn and protect the trust of our citizens, by delivering on the biggest challenges people around Europe face today."

"If we can change the textile industry, then we can change everything."

"There are three little words, written at the bottom of every resolution, every report and every legislative position in this house. Three small words that connect us all. United in Diversity."

"The sign of our coherence in our relationship with Israel is it does not depend on the difference of the changing governments in Israel but it's stable position."

"Charles Tannock, Vice-President of the Human Rights subcommittee of the European Parliament, had written in a 2005 editorial that, “The world cannot afford a second Afghanistan in Bangladesh, where Huji (Harakat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh or HuJI-B -- Movement of Islamic Holy war/Bangladesh) members are believed to have given sanctuary to many Taliban fighters after the fall of their regime… All of Asia’s powers, including China and Japan, will have to play a part in stopping Bangladesh’s drift into fanaticism and chaos. The rest of the world should support them before it is too late.” Tannock pointed out that a massive rise in the number of madrasas (Islamic seminaries) “financed by Saudi and Gulf money — totaling roughly 64,000 and operating under the same fundamentalist Deobandi Islam that inspired the Taliban — is part of a clear effort to change Bangladesh’s culture of religious tolerance.” Tannock’s fear and assessment were both on target as 2006 saw an increase in violence and worsening condition in Bangladesh."

"Berlusconi hired Mangano, I introduced him to him, it's very true, among so many people who were in competition for that position, and to whom Berlusconi even entrusted the house, and Mr. Mangano also accompanied Berlusconi's children to school. I don't see anything strange in the fact that I dated Mr. Mangano in this way, and I would still date him now."

"I have a very good relationship with Casini. I don't hide the affection I have for Pier Ferdinando. I like the extraordinary sympathy of him. He is a pleasant person: I love him. I am grateful to Casini. After the Palermo court ruling (actually it was before, ed.) he exposed himself as president of the Chamber by expressing solidarity in a spontaneous, sincere, disinterested way."

"Luttazzi is a jerk."

"In Forza Italia the only one in charge is Berlusconi. There is no hierarchy. There are no hierarchs."

"Spatuzza? Someone like that, Falcone would have turned him in."

"Silvio Berlusconi entered politics to defend his companies."

"[About Pietro Grasso ] He is balanced, a statesman. He knows who I am. [...] Grasso is a good person, I am happy for his election as President of the Senate. [...] He is not a fanatical magistrate like Ingroia."

"[About w:en:Pietro Grasso:Pietro Grasso ] Grasso, when he was young, played soccer on my team, Bacigalupo, and he was famous because he always came out of the field clean at the end of the game: even when there was mud, he always managed not to splash himself."

"I am pleased to see positive trends in all segments, in trade, investment, tourism and services (between Slovenia and Serbia). The current circumstances due to the energy crisis also open up new opportunities for investment in the renewables and energy."

"There's no doubt about it, we're living in times where…the lives of innocent civilians are sacrificed in the wars of their masters. Yes in Ukraine, but not only. Since the last plenary tens of thousands of Afghani citizens have been forced to flee in search of food and safety, five million children face famine, an agonizing and painful death, a five hundred percent increase in child marriages and children being sold just so they can survive, and not a mention of it, not here, not anywhere, no wall-to-wall TV coverage, no emergency humanitarian response, no special plenaries, not even a mention in this plenary, no Afghani delegations and no statements. My God, they must be wondering what makes their humanitarian crisis so unimportant. Is it the color of their skin, is it that they’re not white? They're not European? That their problems come from a U.S. gun or a U.S. invasion? Is it that the decision to rob their country's wealth was taken by a despotic U.S. president rather than a Russian one? Because my God, all wars are evil, and all victims deserve support and until we get on that page, we have no credibility whatsoever."

"At this precise moment, of course, as usual, the voices challenging the rush to war are attacked and silenced, smeared as traitors, cronies, Putin puppets, Kremlin stooges, Russian agents. Frankly, it's pathetic, And I don't make the comparison lightly, but the crudeness and cynicism of these slurs coming from mainstream E.U. parties might as well have been written by [Nazi war criminal] Hermann Goring, who infamously said that even though people never want war, they can be brought to war with threats and smears. This house should be ashamed of this debate. Words are being twisted, meanings subverted, and the truth turned on its head. Opposing the horrible madness of war is not anti-European, it's not anti-Ukrainian, it's not pro-Russian: it's common sense. The working class of Europe has nothing to gain from this war and everything to lose. And I find it laughable that those calling for arms to Ukraine never call for arms for the people of Palestine, or for the people of Yemen. Unlike you, I oppose all war. I want it stopped. I make no apology for that."

"State sponsorship of terrorism is a term of US law. It doesn’t exist in EU law, but a Zelensky advisor called for it in the Parliament... And here we are again reporting for duty. And all it will do is make peace harder to achieve. Exactly, of course, what the extremists want. No peace. No off ramps, all bridges burning and Ukraine a permanent abattoir in a suicidal holy crusade against Russia. So, if you want to start naming state sponsors of terrorism, let's do it. European sponsorship of Israeli terrorism in Palestine, Western sponsorship of Saudi terror in Yemen, ISIS, the product of French, American, British, Turkish and Gulf sponsorship in Syria and Iraq, decades of right-wing US-backed terrorism against the Cuban Revolution. The Contras in Nicaragua, death squads in Guatemala, in El Salvador. Remember Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, horror after horror, terror after terror. There's nothing constructive about the pot calling the kettle black, would ye ever cop on, start championing peace, an end to the war which is patently in the interests of the EU, Ukrainian, and Russian citizens."

"You had no interest in talking to me for five years, so I've no interest in talking to you."

"The simple answer is this war will end when the US wants it to end. You might have thought that Europe, because it's engaging in a sort of a collective suicide, at least economically, with this war, might be pushing for it to end. Right now there’s a whole wave of strikes all across Europe, which will only escalate the longer the war continues on. I think turmoil in the Global South has to be a cause for concern for all of these actors. I suppose Italy, France and Germany have been less warmongering than the others, and are getting enormous abuse for that, by the way, by their European friends. You'd hope that maybe they could take the lead."