Marcelo Rebelo de SOUSA, President of Portugal, addresses the Plenary at a formal sitting. Opening statement by Roberta METSOLA, EP President. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

statement

Strasbourg

plenary session

METSOLA, Roberta (EPP, MT, EP President)

EU - Portugal (T)

formal sitting

REBELO DE SOUSA, Marcelo

president's agenda

Formal Sitting - Address by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, President of Portugal: opening statement by Roberta METSOLA, EP President

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Good morning. Dear colleagues, we have with us today the president of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. President a window. Nobody got up for a start. Welcome, President. Thank you for being here today. This house in 2016, you anticipated many of our common challenges and spoke of issues that continue to be relevant today. In the face of adversity, you called for unity and solidarity because you understood already then that we had more to gain by working together.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, That is how we dealt with the pandemic. That is how we stood up to the Russian aggression in Ukraine. President, I would like to commend you on your efforts in protecting our European values and in fighting social exclusion. The social and economic impact of the war in Ukraine, the energy prices and an increased inflation rate across our union are once again testing our unity and commitment towards those values.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, The call for more unity and solidarity is perhaps today more pressing than ever before. This is the moment to stand together. This is Europe's moment to stay united. New political and security challenges pose a greater, more complex threat to our democracies.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, The rise of populism and Euroscepticism, fuelled by information warfare and disinformation campaigns, seek to erode trust in democratic institutions by hampering citizens from making informed decisions. How we responded to this and how we will continue to respond to those looking to undermine our democracy will be the litmus test of our values. Here I am convinced that Portugal will continue to play its part.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Surveys after survey show that the Portuguese population is exceedingly eurooptimistic, especially about the future of the European Union. This is encouraging. And yet we must keep doing more. More to bring the message of Europe closer to our people, more to show that the values that bind us as Europeans is still so much greater than what can ever seek to divide us, and more to assure our citizens that their vote at the European elections next year does in fact matter. Estimado Presidente, the floor is yours.