Speaking in the joint debate on the conclusions of the European Council meeting on 26-27 October, ECR Co-President Nicola Procaccini said that the European Union should not further harm itself economically and should not allow society to be subjected to further excessive migratory pressure.

Hamas’s attacks on Israel have upset the world order and played into the hands of Putin, China and Iran. Europe should therefore return to sensible policies on migration, energy and the economy. “To be politically strong, the EU must be economically strong and energy independent. That is why it is a mistake to impose too many ideological burdens on economic production. The EU should be freed from all the dirigiste impositions typical of green-painted socialism”, Procaccini said.

The ECR Group leader also took a swipe at Australian-American Cate Blanchett, who as an UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador had previously spoken out in favour of accepting more refugees in Europe. According to Procaccini, the left-wing groups would be better off making a constructive contribution to combating illegal immigration than having a highly paid Hollywood actress appear in the European Parliament to give lessons in humanity.

Procaccini’s speech can be read in full:

“Thank you, President,

The last European Council took place in the aftermath of the Hamas attack on the people of Israel. A vicious, cowardly, inhuman act of violence. Since that day, the world has entered a new spiral of fear and disorder. And for some this is good news:

For China, for Islamic regimes, and for Putin, who needs the distraction of democratic nations for his senseless war against the Ukrainian people.

To be politically strong, the EU must be economically strong and energy independent. That is why it is a mistake to impose too many ideological burdens on economic production. Instead, it should be freed from all the dirigiste impositions typical of green-painted socialism.

In this respect, I appreciated the passage on mitigating the consequences of global warming. We must focus our efforts on protecting our territories from extreme weather events and not just on our CO2 emissions, which are now low compared to the rest of the world.

Finally, I believe it is no coincidence that only today, with a majority of centre-right governments in the European Council, is the issue of immigration being tackled with common sense. A year ago, it would have been unthinkable to read in the Council’s conclusions the need to protect external borders, to fight traffickers and to conclude cooperation agreements with third countries, as in the case of Tunisia.

Sadly, there is a section of the political class that continues to boycott any possibility of combating illegal immigration. They are the ones in here who will applaud a Hollywood actress for her humanitarian lectures before she returns to Highwell House, her 5 million euro mansion in East Sussex. But they are too snobbish to get their hands dirty with reality. Fortunately, democracy is not a film and is coming to rescue us from their hypocrisy.”