What Elio spoke about.

Mr President, we are dependent and subject to external blackmail in strategically vital areas such as energy, medicines, artificial intelligence, food and defence. We will have to invest hundreds of billions and free ourselves from the trap in which Europe has set itself. And above all, we must support our European populations. More than half of Europe's regions have a level of wealth below the Eu

Madam President, violence is unacceptable and those who have committed violence must be brought to justice. The police also experienced this violence, let's give them the means to act, especially by the number of plainclothes policemen infiltrating the breakers. But police overflows have no place either. Police commands need to be evaluated and evolved. Some propose to create law enforcement with

Madam President, every migrant is looking for a better life. My dad did it. Millions more did it yesterday and will do it tomorrow. A state can be strict in migration matters, but it must be transparent, controlled and humane. Sending back a person in an irregular situation, we can hear him, but never treat him like a beast that we hunt. This is what we see in the current United States with ICE. T

Mr Oliveira, dear colleague, my solution: peace and negotiation. But you and your party have the art of turning things around and telling lies that appear to be truths. We don't want to prolong the war. We don't want to help the Russians. We want the Russians to lose, but there are international rights and laws. Maybe it escapes you, but fortunately, the day when the European Union itself does not

Mr Bystron, dear colleague, you have to know what you want in life: Either you want to be European and all countries – or at least as many countries as possible – stand together, or there is no Europe. I would like to point out what Mrs von der Leyen said: on the one hand, it proposed conditional Russian assets and, on the other, a European loan. And it is clear that it is the European loan that i

Mr President, Belgium does not want Russia to win, but the vast majority of the frozen Russian assets are in Belgium, at Euroclear. Using them without the guarantee of risk sharing by as many European countries as possible would expose Belgium to a major legal and financial risk. In case of litigation won by Russia, Belgium could be forced to repay up to €185 billion, or almost 30% of its gross do

Mr President, Commissioner, I, my party, my country, want peace, and peace above all else, but we must have a European deterrent force, otherwise we are not credible. In military mobility, there is something very important: it is a civil mobility and military mobility. That is to say, our citizens will benefit from it, be it for bridges, roads or railways. I would like to draw your attention to th

Madam President, Commissioner, even with my opponents, even with my enemies, there is one democratic principle that I have always wanted to put at the forefront of what I do: the presumption of innocence. And so I'm not going to change. Only what is said and written in the press deserves a thorough examination, and I am delighted to see M.me Loiseau getting ready. She is chairing the special commi

Madam President, the press is reporting on a spying mechanism attributed to Viktor Orbán and his friends, through the Permanent Representation and the Commission. If this were true, it would be one of the biggest scandals we would have known. I would ask you to clarify the situation through an ad hoc committee. Moreover, if a committee of inquiry of the European Parliament confirmed, after a preli

Madam President, Prime Minister, dear neighbours, it has been said to the requisite extent that our countries have made a tremendous contribution to the development of the European Union. But today, what our fellow citizens are asking for is serenity: financial serenity and physical serenity. As you said, the challenges facing the Union are enormous: ensuring a genuine industrial policy, ensuring

Madam President, Commissioner, as President von der Leyen has pointed out, there are deep differences with China: fundamental freedoms, support for Russia, unfair economic practices, monopolies – particularly as regards critical raw materials –, sanctions against MEPs... But China is a key global player, and it would be irresponsible to curb the dialogue with Beijing. Of course, the European Union

Madam High Representative, the war in Iran is mediating Gaza and it's accommodating Mr Netanyahu. We must distinguish Mr. Netanyahu and his government from all the people of Israel and all the Jews of the world. I have fought, always, against anti-Semitism and I will do so until my last breath. But what is happening in Gaza is really genocide and I have studied the legal clauses a lot: Everything

Madam President, Madam High Representative, my country, with a strong defence industry in both Wallonia and Flanders, is committed to a Europe of defence that would be strengthened, including through an increased budgetary effort. But I want to be clear: I want peace and not war. The world is shaking in Europe. The military threat, it must be said, is also a moral threat. If we weaken, it is also

Mr President, Commissioner, first of all, your greatest merit tonight is to stay so late. So I'll try to be brief. I could just say that I share 100% of what you just said, but if I did not say that, for television, it would be nothing: So I'm going to have to say a few words. We observed the organization of the elections and I must say that they were very well organized. This is a really signific

Madam President, Mr President, like you, I do not want war. I do not want war, but turning our backs today on the realities we live in would be a serious mistake for all of us and our fellow citizens. So we have to do what you propose. Europe urgently needs to take its destiny into its own hands and, let me tell you, Mr President, not necessarily at 27. In the field of defence in particular, we co

Mr President, Commissioner, the history of civilisations teaches us that there is no respected political power without a military force capable of defending its people. In your strategy, I believe that every euro invested in defence must be invested in favour of our companies and SMEs, as well as our workers, employees and engineers working there. People's security also means social security. Defe

Madam President, in addition to what my colleague Wouter Beke has just said, I must give you the facts. On 1 August 2023, the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo asked Dr Lusadisu Kiambi to take over the leadership of the Congolese secret services. He was a teacher, a surgeon and had attended military school. This gentleman, this doctor, asked Jean-Jacques Wondo, himself a professor at t

Mr President, Commissioner, I looked a little bit at who was dealing with these ships and I noticed that a lot of intergovernmental agencies were being mobilised. Of course, the European External Action Service is responsible for coordination, but these are also internal EU issues. Indeed, the consequences concern the internet, for example: There are 1.3 million kilometres of underwater Internet c

Mr President, Commissioner, Elon Musk, as you know, has more than 7 000 satellites orbiting the Earth, which is more than 60% of all satellites in space. Only one man has exorbitant power. He owns X and he can manipulate algorithms to impose his truth. Today, however, our digital connections have become existential. The question is simple: Can public authorities leave this power unchecked? In Roma

Mr President, Mrs Kallas, you have certainly seen the shocking images from CNN where journalist Clarissa Ward enters a prison in Bashar al-Assad. She released a prisoner who had been locked up in total darkness for three months. This man, at first visibly frightened, finally understands, by rediscovering the light of day, that he was in fact recovering freedom. Despite the tyrant’s flight, as has

Signora PresidenteThe Letta and Draghi reports are final. The European Union must fundamentally change its industrial strategy, whether for defence, decarbonisation, energy or electronics. Private investment will not be enough to catch up with the rest of the world. According to some sources, €800 billion per year will be needed. But Europe has decided on austerity. Many Member States will have to