Conclusions of the recent European Council meetings, in particular on a new European Competitiveness deal and the EU strategic agenda 2024-2029 (debate)
Madam President, Madam President of the Commission - well, she's leaving again - ladies and gentlemen! The EU appears to be waking up. There was no talk of the Green Deal at the Council summit. Instead, the focus is now on the Competitiveness Deal. So one finally recognizes in Brussels, in which disaster the de-industrialization policy of the Green Deal led by green ideologues and Mrs. von der Ley
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Type-approval of motor vehicles and engines with respect to their emissions and battery durability (Euro 7) (debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. I allow myself to point out two things. Firstly: Since the introduction of the Euro standard in 1992, emissions from passenger cars have fallen by 90%. However, any further euro regulation has an ever-decreasing marginal benefit. At the same time, the fulfilment costs are increasing, to the limit of technical unachievability. Secondly: E-cars are insufficiently
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European Central Bank – annual report 2023 (debate)
Mr President, Madam President Lagarde, ladies and gentlemen. "If you're not green, you're undesirable." These words were recently addressed to his staff by Frank Elderson, one of the ECB's six directors. He added: "Why should we hire people we need to reprogram?" Aside from the downright authoritarian nature of these statements, Elderson says that the free spirit of employees is not enough to unde
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Need to fight the increase of antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred (debate)
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen. This debate turns against anti-Semitism, i.e. Jew-hatred, and against Islam-hatred. This is to be welcomed in the aim: No religion should be the object of hatred in a civilized, free society. But the equation implicitly assumes that Jews and Muslims alike in Europe are in danger of religious persecution – and that is not the truth. The truth is: Synagogues mu
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Presentation of the programme of activities of the Belgian Presidency (debate)
Madam President, With Belgium, the country with the highest tax burden in the EU as a whole will take over the Presidency of the Council for six months. A country that, despite its draconian taxation, suffers from its ailing infrastructure. Now, Mr Prime Minister, you are also proposing additional EU own resources, let's call it by name, own EU taxes. And Belgium, I can't spare you that, is a coun
Madam President, Madam President of the Commission, ladies and gentlemen. Contrary to what you are describing here, Europe is in a deep crisis. Millions of Europeans hardly know how to afford the most everyday things. Businesses are moving a lot, deindustrialization is going on. Uncontrolled illegal mass migration is once again firmly under control in Europe. It is time to act urgently. These prob
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen. Some proposals here in Parliament make sense, others are unwise and some are simply shameful. The report on the relationship between the EU and the Palestinian Authority is one of the latter. This report is not only one-sided, it is anti-Israel, it demonizes the State of Israel in a shameful way. It is the product of a group of MEPs in this House who sometime
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. Today we are talking about the renaturation law. As is so often the case, what the European Commission is presenting does not sound bad at first. No one can be serious against nature, against an intact nature. However, if you take a closer look at the draft, the whole thing turns out to be a nicely packaged ideological madness, as is so often the case. The Commi
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This is Europe - Debate with the Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz (debate)
Madam President, Chancellor, ladies and gentlemen. Precisely you, Mr Scholz, chancellor of a once respected, strong and livable country, which is in complete decline under your government, are staging yourself here today as a great visionary for Europe? With all due respect, Chancellor, this has something involuntarily funny, downright ridiculous. Germany, under your leadership, which is not one,
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. There is no doubt that digitalisation offers opportunities and benefits, as well as risks and dangers. The risks and dangers clearly outweigh the ECB's planned digitalisation of the euro as a currency. Economically, a digital euro threatens small and medium-sized banks in an existential way. They are at risk of losing liquidity. The digital euro will not bring m
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This is Europe - Debate with the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel (debate)
Madam President, Prime Minister, my respect for your speech. That was refreshingly liberal – I was delighted. Nevertheless, the multitude of crises in the world raises questions about how Europe should position itself in foreign policy in the future. The key question is: How does the EU need to be designed to respond successfully to these crises? The reflexive answer – also from you, Mr Bettel – a
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Deaths at sea: a common EU response to save lives and action to ensure safe and legal pathways (debate)
– Well, it is quite clear if they have the opportunity to come to Europe this way, they will do it. It is just evidence, nothing else. So it is quite easy. If there is no more chance to come in this way, they won’t do it any more. That’s the Australian way, you know, and that would be a solution that not so many people must die in the Mediterranean as they do at the time. So we must change this by
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Deaths at sea: a common EU response to save lives and action to ensure safe and legal pathways (debate)
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen. Again and again, deeply shattering tragedies take place on the Mediterranean. Thousands of people have already lost their lives on the dangerous road to Europe. When we talk today about the so-called sea rescue, I say clearly: It is not a solution, but on the contrary, it is part of the problem and is also responsible. Those activists who are actin
Mr President, Madam Minister, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! Today we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the European Single Market. And yes, that's a reason to celebrate. Unlike monetary union, the single market is a real success story. The four fundamental freedoms linked to open borders within the Schengen area have brought much more additional prosperity to all EU citizens than most people
Mr President, Commissioner Hahn, ladies and gentlemen. The EU is really not too bad a crisis to inflate its budget even further and justify debt. In the case of the so-called Corona Recovery Fund, the contractual and unlawful joint borrowing was sold to us as a one-off exception. However, the Commission's current draft budget for 2023 already foresees that the EU will take on its own debt, this ti
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Preparation of the European Council meeting of 20-21 October 2022 (debate)
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen. War in Ukraine, energy crisis and the highest rate of price increase in decades. We are all experiencing phenomena in Europe that seemed to have been overcome long ago, where many had hoped and believed that this would never happen again – war, supply shortages, fierce inflation. Politics must act in this situation and it is more important than ever that they
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The death of Mahsa Amini and the repression of women's rights protesters in Iran (debate)
Mr President! Dear colleagues! The murder of the young Iranian Mahsa Amini by the so-called moral police is deeply disturbing, as is the brutal violence with which the protests in the country are now to be suffocated. There are reports of over 100 dead, hundreds injured and thousands of innocent detainees, victims of the criminal, even murderous regime in Iran, a regime that has been courted for f
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EU response to the increase in energy prices in Europe (debate)
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen. The massive rise in energy prices and the lack of electricity, gas and oil put an extreme strain on private households and companies. The current energy crisis threatens livelihoods across Europe. It really needs to be acted upon urgently. As an economist, I tell you clearly: It is perfectly clear that this crisis cannot be solved with savings and renunciatio
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EU initiatives to address the rising cost of living, including the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights (debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. When we talk today about initiatives to tackle inflation, everyone should be aware that we are talking here about the fully foreseeable consequences of a fundamental failure of the European Central Bank. With its irresponsible zero interest rate policy, fuelled additionally by gigantic bond-buying programs, the ECB has virtually systematically created this infla
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Global threats to abortion rights: the possible overturn of abortion rights in the US by the Supreme Court (debate)
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen. Today we are talking about a morally very difficult topic: The question of abortion. It is not for nothing that politics and society have been struggling for decades for a position, for a solution. The issue is more polarized than any other. It is highly emotional and unfortunately massively ideologically charged. I am concerned that both camps are becoming m
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Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 24-25 March 2022: including the latest developments of the war against Ukraine and the EU sanctions against Russia and their implementation (debate)
Look, I'm all about reacting with prudence. I think the sanctions we have taken at the moment and the new ones we are taking are right. But I also see in this House the desire to go even further and enter into a total gas embargo. This would actually ruin us economically – in some countries completely, in others less. And that's not something that serves anyone. If we want to provide help and soli
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Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 24-25 March 2022: including the latest developments of the war against Ukraine and the EU sanctions against Russia and their implementation (debate)
Madam President, Mr Borrell, High Representative! For six weeks now, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we have been experiencing a war that confronts us with ever more and more horrific images of real horror for the people in the contested regions. It is extremely important that we, as the European Union, respond unequivocally to this aggression in these times. But it is equally important th
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Rising energy prices and market manipulation on the gas market (debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. Millions of Europeans are thinking twice these days whether they can still refuel their own car or turn on the heater. Consumer prices for oil and gas are higher than ever before. Yes, the situation on the world market is tense, no doubt about it. The bitter truth is: The state artificially increases the cost of energy. Only one third of the price of gasoline is
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The deterioration of the situation of refugees as a consequence of the Russian aggression against Ukraine (debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. I think we are all still deeply shocked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We all no longer thought such a war of aggression in the middle of Europe possible. It is therefore all the more important that we do not remain in this shock, but resolutely help the needy in this war. To all those who in recent years have mistakenly referred to economic migrants as ref
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Presentation of the programme of activities of the French Presidency (debate)
Madam President, President Macron! Progress should therefore be a major objective of the French Presidency. It is perfectly clear: Progress and growth will only be possible with a reliable and affordable energy supply. This is an essential point. It is therefore to be welcomed that you, President Macron, are confronting reality in contrast to many other heads of government and are clearly committe