What Urmas spoke about.

The adoption of the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime is an important complement to the EU’s human rights and foreign policy instruments and strengthens the Union’s role as a global human rights defender by enabling it to adopt restrictive measures against legal and natural persons involved in serious human rights violations worldwide. Among other things, the list of specific serious human r

Mr President, Dear colleagues, Justice must not depend on how powerful the perpetrator is or which country he or she represents. The existence of the International Criminal Court confirms the principle that even the most serious crimes must have consequences and no one must be above the law. We are also seeing the importance of this in the war in Ukraine. In the context of the investigation into w

Madam President, dear colleagues, China has a special responsibility and an opportunity to help end the war in Ukraine. China is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and one of Russia's most important economic and political partners. China should therefore use its influence to help bring Russia's aggression against Ukraine to an end. This also means taking a very concrete step

Dear colleagues, dear High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Russia's goal is to sow confusion and fear in European societies. And it is in the hands of the leaders not to let that happen. Unfortunately, Russian hybrid warfare is becoming state-sponsored terrorism, as many recent events have directly threatened the lives of European citizens. And all of this can only be countered by united, stro

Dear Mr President, Dear colleagues, With a population of one hundred and thirty-three million, Mexico is a strategic partner of the European Union and the second largest trading partner in Latin America. EU-Mexico relations have thus far been very important. However, there is still untapped potential. That is why it is also important to approve the agreements that deepen relations between the Euro

Indeed, as we all know, for thirty years Europe, the European Union, the countries of the European Union did not contribute enough to their security and defence. But as we have seen in recent years, first and foremost because Russia once again attacked Ukraine, the way of thinking has changed in many countries and Europe has finally taken its defence and security seriously. Without such a politica

Dear Mr President, Dear colleagues, Over the past ten years, the European Parliament has adopted several resolutions saying that much more attention needs to be paid to the Arctic. I have stressed the same as the rapporteur for the Arctic. And, unfortunately, the European Parliament has been right. The situation in the Arctic has become increasingly complex and problematic. Of course, the future o

Madam President, dear colleagues, a couple of examples of Russia's activities in EU countries over the past few weeks: the EU and NATO central hub, Brussels Airport, had to halt operations on several evenings due to drones; there was an explosion on one of Poland's busy railway lines; Vilnius Airport has been repeatedly closed because of balloons and so on and so on. Russia is consistently endange

Madam President, we all remember how quickly the things may change – also in the northern part of Europe, when, for instance, Finland and Sweden decided to join NATO, although for decades and decades, the majority of these societies said that it was not necessary. But then the events happened – Russia attacked once again Ukraine and public opinion changed dramatically. One of the aims – why we nee

Madam President, today we are discussing Europe's role in the Arctic – a region that is no longer distant, no longer abstract, and certainly no longer frozen in time. It is home to more than four million people, vibrant cultures, and ecosystems that are among the most fragile on Earth. And today, the Arctic is also where climate change, authoritarian aggression, and global power competition collid

Madam President, colleagues, perhaps a decision will finally be made to use the frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine's reconstruction. It has taken far too long to reach this point. It has been sad to hear arguments claiming that such a step cannot be taken because it would undermine the European Union's credibility as a trusted guardian of criminals' money. In reality, what damages the EU's c

Mr President, dear colleagues, Europe faces unprecedented strategic challenges. Our security and resilience depend not only on political will, but on the ability to make funds quickly and efficiently available for defence, training and critical industries. Bureaucracy cannot slow down Europe's response to evolving threats. The amendment to the ESF+ provides exactly this flexibility. It allows reso

Madam President, dear colleagues, I will move the following oral amendment to paragraph 16, so that the last sentence of the paragraph will be: 'Reiterates its call for the immediate and unconditional release of Mzia Amaglobeli and the withdrawal of all charges against her, which are politically motivated, expressing deep concern over her critical eyesight deterioration in detention and urging urg

Dear President, Dear colleagues, Greenland is a unique and very important part of Europe. The debate on Greenland reflects the changed situation in international relations, as well as the rapid changes taking place in the Arctic. All of a sudden, all of the world's major powers have become interested in the Arctic. However, decisions on the future of Greenland are first and foremost made by the pe

Madam President, dear High Representative Kaja Kallas, we have Russian war against Ukraine, hybrid war against Europe, strong turbulence in the relations between traditional allies. What else needs to happen for Europe to finally put itself together and to contribute adequately to its own defence, to the realisation of its international potential and to the development of its own economic space? I

Madam President, dear colleagues, the European Union is committed to lasting peace in the Middle East, supporting a two-state solution and halting Iran's destabilising actions. However, the EU's ability to influence the region has been limited by the need for consensus among all Member States, resulting in a fragmented approach. This lack of unity has prevented the EU from fully leveraging its for

Dear President, ladies and gentlemen, A day before Russia launched a new wave of attacks against Ukraine on 24 February 2022, many key analysts said they believed that Russia would not attack Ukraine. But he attacked. The analysts were very wrong. In recent months, several ships have repeatedly broken underwater electricity and communications connections in the Baltic Sea. The last time was on Chr

Mr President, dear colleagues, when I visited Georgia – which was under Russian invasion – in August 2008 and walked in the empty city of Gori, I hoped for a quick withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgia and for a clear future of Georgia in Europe. Unfortunately, it did not happen that way. Russia still occupies part of Georgia, and Georgia is currently moving away from Europe. But the majority

Madam President, dear colleagues, by adopting the foreign agent law despite huge protests from its citizens, the Georgian Government uses Russian tactics to oppress civil society, opposition and anyone critical of the government’s doings. This law is only the latest in a series of recent actions that include the persecution of journalists, political opponents like Saakashvili, spreading disinforma

–Dear President, Dear colleagues, In addition to killing and maiming Ukrainian people, Russia has massively destroyed Ukrainian cities, settlements and infrastructure, as well as Ukrainian property. And this destruction continues. Ukraine needs to be rebuilt. Both justice and justice say that this must be done first with the money of the aggressor and the destroyer, that is, Russia must pay for it

Dear President, ladies and gentlemen, With the killing of Alexei Navalny, Putin's regime once again sent a threat to Russian society that anyone who opposes or even hesitates in the regime would be destroyed, and that trials and prison would only be a play before the opponent was finally destroyed. In doing so, Putin continues to consolidate a fear-based social order in Russia, as has repeatedly b

Ladies and gentlemen, it is now of primary importance for the European Union that Russia does not get what it wants in Ukraine and that Ukraine does not become another country under direct Russian influence. We continue to see what the Russian-made conflict zones in Transnistria, Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia mean for the fate and future of these countries, as well as the constant

Madam President, dear colleagues, if the European Union is serious about being an influential geopolitical figure, it needs to step up its efforts on several issues. The liberation of Ukraine and its future are of particular importance. The European Union must finally make the sanctions against Russia work, and this will only happen when the back doors are closed for Russia. And it is not acceptab

Dear colleagues, An international tribunal for the legal condemnation of war crimes committed by Russia and for the prosecution of criminals must be established. The European Union and other countries that continue to attach great importance to international law must join forces so that no crime goes unnoticed and the perpetrator goes unpunished. I have no illusions that such a tribunal could be s