Madam President, like many Members here, I was outraged by the appointment of Ms Scott Morton as Chief Economist in DG Competition. Ms. Scott Morton is not only an American citizen, when we have to hire European citizens, but Ms. Scott Morton is a lobbyist for Apple, Amazon and Microsoft. And to put a lobbyist in the institutions of the European Commission to fight the GAFAMs and supervise them is
Madam President, I will keep my proposal. But, of course, I think that we in this Parliament have a common interest in providing a better framework for the work of the Commission, which, on this subject, has seriously lacked transparency vis-à-vis the European Parliament.
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, as you know, the President of the Commission is currently in Brazil. His visit follows previous visits by the European Commission and European Heads of State or Government. Last month we had two delegations from this Parliament: one from the Committee on International Trade and the other from the Delegation for relations with the Federative Republic of Brazil
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The need for a coherent strategy for EU-China Relations (debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, are we run by goldfish? Goldfish who have forgotten all the lessons of the war in Ukraine and who repeat the same economic and political complacency. Economic complacency: Olaf Scholz, who goes to Beijing to repeat the same nonsense with Xi Jinping’s China as with Putin’s Russia, where ultimately Volkswagen’s interests weigh more than the survival of the Uyghur
Madam President, I would like to remind our colleague that when we talk about 'Green Khmers', we are referring to the Khmer Rouge. And two million dead, victims of genocide. So I would like our colleague, if he does not apologize to the Green and Green MEPs, to at least apologize to the two million victims of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.
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A Green Deal Industrial Plan for the Net-Zero Age (continuation of debate)
Mr President, Commissioner, there is an absence in this debate, and yet it is obvious: this is the question of geographical preference in our public procurement. We are making a text to react, in particular, to the "Buy American Act" and we are not talking about the "Buy European Act". We promise companies and jobs on European soil, but we do not give ourselves the means to prioritise European com
Madam President, Mr Vice-President of the Commission, in recent days the press has echoed a meeting between the European External Action Service and the Governor of Xinjiang, Mr Tuniyaz. We learned a few minutes ago that, at the initiative of the Governor of Xinjiang, this appointment was – only – postponed. How can a body of the European institutions meet the governor of Xinjiang, who is complici
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EU response to the protests and executions in Iran (debate)
Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, it has been four months, four months since the assassination of Mahsa Amini. Four months that women – especially women, at risk of their lives – young people and the Iranian people are demonstrating for a revolution. A revolution with extraordinary courage. A revolution of consciences, a revolution of hearts, a revolution of bodies. A political
Madam President, Mr High Representative, the question is: Can we have normal relations with a country whose regime oppresses its population and organizes genocide against the Uyghurs? Two years ago, the European Commission, Chancellor Merkel and President Macron said yes by celebrating the investment agreement with China. A few days ago, Chancellor Scholz also answered in the affirmative, consider
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Russia’s escalation of its war of aggression against Ukraine (debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, of course, today we must step up sanctions, step up all aid to Ukraine in order to achieve Ukraine's military victory and an end to the atrocities. The High Representative told us how much what is at stake is a conflict of civilizations, a conflict of values already staged by Vladimir Putin. Unfortunately, this conflict of civilizations, this conflict of values,
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The death of Mahsa Amini and the repression of women's rights protesters in Iran (debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, how can we describe the extraordinary movement that women and young people in Iran have so courageously carried out since the assassination of Mahsa Amini and so many others since then? Some people talk about revolt. No, it's a revolution. Not this Islamist revolution, that of the mullahs which is only a regression, this regime of oppression and corruption, this
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Violations of human rights in Uganda and Tanzania linked to the investments in fossil fuels projects
Madam President, Commissioner, there have been very strong words in this Chamber this morning, including from the President of the Commission. On the atrocities in Ukraine, on climate chaos, on European values, on human rights and of course on the absolute need to get out of fossil fuels. So there is a project that is totally the opposite of everything we said this morning: it is this project in U
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A new trade instrument to ban products made by forced labour (debate)
Mr President, Commissioner, a year and a half ago, the Commission and the Council presented the investment agreement with China as a success when there was already persecution and repression in Hong Kong. Almost a year ago to the day, this parliament blocked the discussion on the investment agreement with China and forced the Commission to include the issue of forced labour in the European debate.
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Revision of the EU Emissions Trading System - Social Climate Fund - Carbon border adjustment mechanism - Revision of the EU Emissions Trading System for aviation - Notification under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) (joint debate – Fit for 55 (part 1))
Madam President, Mr Vice-President, there is no French minister to greet, obviously, they will have really marked their absence permanently in this presidency of the European Union. We have an extraordinary opportunity, with carbon border adjustment, finally to have a climate policy that lives up to our carbon footprint by taking into account imports. And then, it's an extraordinary opportunity to
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, at this very moment, in the streets, in homes, Ukrainians are heroically defending freedom. They defend their democracy, they defend their territorial integrity. They are, for the whole of Europe, the front for security, peace and democracy on our continent. So let us massively sanction Putin and the oligarchs and immediately include Belarus in these sanctions.
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Presentation of the programme of activities of the French Presidency (debate)
Madam President, Mr President of the Republic, you have undoubtedly made a beautiful speech. Everything was there: economic sovereignty, European values, the civilisation project, even climate and biodiversity. Except that, Mr President of the Republic, you have been President of France for five years and, as such, you are accountable for a balance sheet – a balance sheet for France and a balance
Mr President, Mr Vice-President, Mr Representative of the Council, ladies and gentlemen, it does little to say that the agreement reached in Glasgow is very far from what is necessary. There is a gap between the agreement and the expectations, the demands of European citizens and the citizens of the world; a gap between the agreement and science; a gap between the agreement and what Europeans and
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UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, the UK (COP26) (debate)
Mr President, Commissioner, Council representative, ladies and gentlemen, as we know, the planet is burning with megafires, it is sinking with floods and every European, every European, is now feeling climate change in its flesh. But we too often forget the famine in Madagascar or the floods in India. Yet we are only 1.2 degrees of global warming. At the current rate, 1.5 degrees is not for the en
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Pandora Papers: implications on the efforts to combat money laundering, tax evasion and avoidance (debate)
Madam President, Commissioner, Council representative, ladies and gentlemen, this is not the first scandal and yet we still have 11 trillion euros that are not taxed. They escape taxation because of the indecency, immorality and impunity of a number of our leaders, including a European Prime Minister – the Czech Prime Minister –, senior officials or business owners. At the same time, there has bee