Speeches

Dear Chairman, Commissioner, in today's Iran, systematic repression is part of state policy. Peaceful protesters were killed, thousands of them. Activists, journalists, members of ethnic and religious minorities are exposed to violence, degrading detention conditions and arbitrary arrests, which are increasingly used as a means of so-called hostage diplomacy towards European citizens. It is not only a violation of international law, it is also a betrayal of Iran's own civilizational heritage, as this tragedy takes place on the ground of a civilization that more than 2,500 years ago produced the Kirov cylinder, one of the first historical principles of government based on justice and human dignity. Europe must therefore stand firmly with the Iranian people in their fight for freedom and dignity, and therefore support this resolution, which calls for additional sanctions and measures against the regime, which oppresses its own people and poses a threat to the entire region.

Mr President, the situation in Uganda is not only a problem for Bobi Wine – of course, it is for him and his family. It's not only a problem for Uganda, for the country. We've seen that last year in Tanzania. We unfortunately are seeing that in other parts of Africa. But this is also a failure for us. It's a failure of our development cooperation policy. Because I will remind you that in the UN SDGs, the 16th SDG is about good governance. And this is exactly what is lacking, for example, in Uganda. Then we are thinking, why is it the case that for every euro that we are sending in our development cooperation, there are ten times more euros that are evaporating in corruption in these countries? This is because there is no accountability, because the opposition is treated in that way, because we have presidents that are in the seventh mandate without any checks and balances. This is a failure also of our development cooperation policy.

Dear Chair, as we have heard in this debate, the argument is very clear why the European Parliament should not be circumvented. I would only add that both Albania and Montenegro are candidates, the most advanced candidates for membership in the European Union, and we ask them to respect the rule of law, to respect the role of Parliament, not to bypass their parliaments, and then we should set such an example in the European Union in respecting our fundamental treaties and in having this high house not only a right, but also a duty to give our consent to the accession of Albania and Montenegro to the Hague Convention.

Mr President, Madam Commissioner, the international community has welcomed the political agreement and the ceasefire agreement reached between the Syrian Government and the SDF from March 2025 and January this year. Yet, it is crucial that the significant steps towards de-escalation are carried out in a way that will finally bring peace and protection to all citizens and, of course, to all ethnic and religious communities in the country. In this regard, the Institute for the Documentation of Human Rights Violations Against Religious Minorities in the Levant has recently published – on 3 February 2026 – a report documenting and denouncing the fact that Alawite, Druze, Kurdish, Yazidi and Christian communities in Syria face targeted killings, abductions, forced displacement and other forms of religious persecution. What can the European Union do in this situation? Well, I will suggest at least two things. Firstly, in addition to all the efforts that the Commissioner for the Mediterranean is making, the Commission should also finally appoint a special representative for religious freedom. This is something that was promised a year ago. It is time to deliver on it. Secondly, to promote a federal constitutional framework in Syria, granting local and minority self-governance. The EU should support the right of all citizens in the country to have an inclusive political system that will guarantee peace and stability.

Dear Chair, Commissioners, colleagues. Russia has never given up control of the whole of Ukraine. For Moscow, Ukraine is part of the so-called Russian world, it does not want to give up regardless of regime changes or ruling ideology. In the past, the justification was a socialist revolution, and now the narrative of Moscow as the third Rome has returned, Moscow, the guardian of civilization, which then supposedly has the right to govern the fate of other peoples, especially Ukrainian. When Ukrainians rebel against such a Russian occupation, then Moscow destroys them. Yesterday it was a Holodomor, and today it is bombarding energy infrastructure so that Ukrainians can freeze and die from the cold. But Russia also counts losses, both human and material. Russians are probably seeing maps being drawn in China with new borders including Siberia. Therefore, it is time for Moscow to either conclude itself or, forced by external pressure, agree to an end to the conflict.

Dear Chairman, today we are talking about an independent Europe, which requires a European Defence Union and strengthening our economy. Both require access to critical raw materials, and we cannot do so unless we support the Mercosur agreement, which we will decide in a matter of minutes. Of course, we also need to reduce Europe’s dependence on foreign trade and strengthen our internal market. We have Letta's report, we need to implement it faster. And finally, energy policy, in the past mandate, was defined exclusively by climate objectives. This is no longer sustainable in today's world. Environmental concerns must of course be at the heart of our energy policy, but geopolitical goals, strengthening our economy, strengthening our competitiveness and achieving our geostrategic autonomy must be at the heart.

Madam President, 15 years ago, over 50 % of the population in the world were living in democracies. Today, that is less than 30 %. So obviously Fukuyama was wrong when he thought about the end of history and that democracies will finally win over autocracies. However, in many critical areas that we have mentioned today, I would like to use this opportunity to mention also a success story. I was the chief observer in Bolivia for the elections there. After 20 years of one hegemonic party – the Movement for Socialism – we were organising, we were supporting, we were trying to be with our Bolivian friends to support them in a democratic transition. And there were a lot of fears that they would not succeed. However, we supported the electoral commission to be independent, to be professional, and they managed to do that. And the most important thing: the citizens of Bolivia, when they saw us with their European cap, they saluted us because they saw in the European Union a guarantee that the democratic process will be respected. So there is a lot of bad news, but we also need to be aware of our success stories.

Mr President, well, as the rapporteur has rightly said, the European Union has always supported a rules-based order. The problem is that that order is disappearing, if it has not disappeared already. So we need to adapt and act quickly. I see here three points. First, to speed up our investment in defence if we want to get some sort of strategic autonomy. Second, we have a very important vote tomorrow on Mercosur. I think we cannot afford not to support the deal with Mercosur if we want to be a geopolitical actor. All the talk about global Europe or Europe as a geopolitical actor would be just wishful thinking without that deal. Third, enlargement. I think we need to move forward with enlargement, but we also need to put the alignment of candidate countries with the European CFSP at the heart of the accession negotiations. This is extremely important if we want to have a successful enlargement and if we want to adapt to this new world.

Madam President, Madam Vice-President, first of all, no Democrat should regret the fall of Nicolas Maduro. His dictatorship caused millions of emigrants, hundreds of political prisoners, corruption, drug trafficking and an appalling impoverishment of the Venezuelan people. Secondly, the abuses of power by a dictatorship – it is true – do not entitle a superpower not to respect international law, but international law cannot be an excuse for the systematic violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and for the international community to do nothing about it. The international community and, in particular, those governments and political forces that have collaborated closely with the Chavista dictatorship have failed the Venezuelan people, and are therefore the last to talk about international law. Thirdly, this Parliament recognized Edmundo González Urrutia as president-elect, although many did not want to vote on that occasion. That recognition allows us today to insist that both González Urrutia and María Corina Machado must participate in a transition to democracy in Venezuela. Talleyrand told Napoleon that you can do many things with bayonets, but you can't sit on them. The use of force can overthrow a dictator, but it is not enough to gain legitimacy. The legitimacy of the transition process can only be given by the inclusion of the democratic forces led by María Corina Machado.

Dear Chairman, this is not just Greenland, but a serious crisis in transatlantic relations and therefore it is not the time for panic moves, to throw ourselves into the hands of the Chinese, as some advocate, but for a clear and firm position. The position that we are open to cooperation with the United States on security issues, on common security, but we do not accept any blackmail. We will certainly know how to deal with these threats about customs. This has already been proven in the past and the European Union has the tools to deal with it. But for our message to be credible in the long run, we must clearly build European defence capabilities and thus reconfigure our transatlantic relations, our partnership with the US and beyond Trump.