What Siegfried spoke about.

23

Mar

2022

EN Speech

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Need for an urgent EU action plan to ensure food security inside and outside the EU in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner and Minister, welcome back to the Parliament. We do not know the full implications and the impact of the Russian invasion into Ukraine, but we know for sure that we have to avoid a food crisis in Europe and in our immediate neighbourhood at any price. This is why we have to do the following: firstly, increase production in Europe as much as we can so that there is eno…

23

Mar

2022

EN Speech

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Address by Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

Madam President, I should like to welcome Prime Minister Trudeau. Welcome to Europe. Thank you for addressing the people of Europe today and thank you very much for choosing the European Parliament to address the people of Europe today. Canadian soldiers have fought for democracy and freedom in Europe throughout the First World War and throughout the Second World War. We have seen, we have known, …

23

Mar

2022

EN Speech

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Debriefing of the European Council meeting in Paris on 10 March 2022 - Preparation of the European Council meeting 24-25 March 2022 (debate)

Madam President, the situation in Ukraine is worsening. People in Ukraine are being bombed, civilians are being bombed, hospitals are being bombed and schools are being bombed. So our answer needs to be clear – maximum support for Ukraine and the people of Ukraine, and maximum sanctions for the Russian Federation. We have already applied some sanctions, but I believe that more is needed and more i…

9

Mar

2022

EN Speech

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Debate with the Prime Minister of Estonia, Kaja Kallas - The EU's role in a changing world and the security situation of Europe following the Russian aggression and invasion of Ukraine (debate)

Madam President, I should like welcome the Prime Minister back to the European Parliament. Four points on my side. Firstly, thank you, Prime Minister, for everything that yourself and Estonia has been doing in support of Ukraine. Estonia was one of the first countries to understand the importance of developments in Ukraine, to help Ukraine even before the invasion. I feel that Estonia understands …

9

Mar

2022

EN Speech

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European Semester for economic policy coordination: annual sustainable growth survey 2022 – European Semester for economic policy coordination: employment and social aspects in the annual sustainable growth strategy survey 2022 (debate)

Madam President, I should like to welcome the Commissioner back to the European Parliament. The war in Ukraine, the military invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine, shows exactly why Europe needs a strong economy. We will be able to face much easier the economic consequences of this war if our economy is strong, if our economy is competitive. This is valid during this crisis and this will…

8

Mar

2022

EN Speech

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The deterioration of the situation of refugees as a consequence of the Russian aggression against Ukraine (debate)

Madam President, I would like to thank the Commissioner very much for all the initiatives which she undertook in recent weeks, including the visit to my home country, to Romania, to the border, and all of the support that she and the European Commission are providing to Ukrainian people in need, but also to local authorities, to volunteers, to NGOs, to governments who are trying to help Ukrainian …

7

Mar

2022

EN Speech

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Implementation of the 2021-2027 cohesion policy (debate)

Madam President, the European Union will be spending in the next years more money than ever, from the budget of the European Union and from the Recovery and Resilience Facility. And the Recovery and Resilience Facility, together with the cohesion policy, are the most important investment policies that the European Union has, benefiting the net recipient countries, but in fact benefiting also the s…

1

Mar

2022

EN Speech

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Russian aggression against Ukraine (continuation of debate)

Mr President, dear colleagues, now is the time for actions and clear words, so I will say four things very clearly. We can only live in safety and security within the borders of the 27 Member States of the Union if we are surrounded by countries which are safe and stable in our neighbourhood. This is why defending Ukraine means defending the European Union. We have to provide all the support that …

16

Feb

2022

EN Speech

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The Rule of Law and the consequences of the ECJ ruling (debate)

Madam President, the European Parliament welcomes today’s decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union. We welcome it with the very large majority, with the majority of pro-European groups who believe in the rule of law. European funds are money from the people of Europe for the people of Europe. This is money that has to be protected; it is money from the people, for the people. It is n…

16

Feb

2022

EN Speech

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EU-Russia relations, European security and Russia’s military threat against Ukraine (debate)

Madam President, let us be clear what military aggression by Russia against Ukraine means. It means the instant international isolation of the Russian Federation. It means political isolation. It means economic isolation for the Russian Federation, and we all know that isolation brings poverty. It means poverty for the people of Russia. For 20 years, the rule of Mr Putin has led the people of Russ…

15

Dec

2021

EN Speech

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State of play of the RRF (Recovery and Resilience Facility) (debate)

Madam President, Commissioners, Minister, welcome to the European Parliament. Almost exactly one year ago in December 2020, we managed to agree between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on the largest package of economic support ever created by the European Union: the Recovery and Resilience Facility. Much was achieved in this one year, since, with 22 plans already approved b…

15

Dec

2021

EN Speech

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Preparation of the European Council meeting of 16-17 December 2021 - The EU's response to the global resurgence of Covid-19 and the new emerging Covid variants (debate)

Mr President, President von der Leyen, Minister, people in the European Union are concerned. People are watching and are feeling the increase in energy prices. People are seeing the pressure on the external border of the European Union to Belarus. They are following the developments in Ukraine. And they see the emergence of a new COVID-19 variant. In this situation, we as the European Union, need …

23

Nov

2021

EN Speech

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2022 budgetary procedure: joint text (debate)

Mr President, the budget is one of the most important tools that we have to serve the citizens. At local level, at regional level, at national and at European level, the budget is the expression of our political priorities. With the budget of the European Union, we basically tell the people in which direction we intend to take the European Union next year, in the year 2022. With this budget, we ar…

20

Oct

2021

EN Speech

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Preparation of the European Council meeting of 21-22 October 2021 (debate)

Madam President, I would like to welcome President von der Leyen and the Minister back to the European Parliament. This is an important European Council because we see more and more negative impacts of the crisis generated by increased energy prices. People are affected by it. People see their purchasing power reduced and they expect concrete solutions. We had the first debate here in the Parliame…

19

Oct

2021

EN Speech

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The Rule of law crisis in Poland and the primacy of EU law (debate)

Mr President, for the people of Poland, the European Union means they can choose freely where they live, where they work and where they study, anywhere in the European Union. For the people of Poland, Europe means more investment and better and more stable jobs at home. It means a better quality of food. It means better roads, more highways, quicker trains, more modern buses, better schools and mo…

6

Oct

2021

EN Speech

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The state of play on the submitted RRF recovery plans awaiting approval (debate)

Mr President, I welcome the Commissioner to Parliament; welcome to this debate. We are here because we need transparency on all the expenditures coming from the Recovery and Resilience Facility: EUR 672.5 billion. This is the biggest package of economic recovery ever created by the European Union. We need to make sure that money reaches the intended beneficiaries. We need to make sure that money r…

6

Oct

2021

EN Speech

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Pandora Papers: implications on the efforts to combat money laundering, tax evasion and avoidance (debate)

Madam President, one thing is clear: the release of the Pandora Papers last week has exposed a number of tools and problems that we need to urgently address. Firstly, it exposed how easy it still is for individuals and entities to hide money beyond the reach of tax authorities and investigations. Second, it also showed us that the EU tax havens blacklist put in place after the Panama Papers of 201…

6

Oct

2021

EN Speech

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European solutions to the rise of energy prices for businesses and consumers: the role of energy efficiency and renewable energy and the need to tackle energy poverty (debate)

Madam President, I should like to welcome the minister to the European Parliament. One thing is certain and sure, the current crisis is preoccupying. It is affecting citizens. It is affecting European enterprises, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, which were already affected by the pandemic and by the economic consequences of the pandemic. It is our duty to help citizens and enterpr…

15

Sep

2021

EN Speech

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Media freedom and further deterioration of the Rule of law in Poland (debate)

Mr President, dear colleagues, the first priority of the institutions of the European Union is to defend EU values, and top of the list of European values are freedom of the media and rule of law. The fact that we are discussing today the situation regarding the rule of law and freedom of the press in Poland is a clear signal that there is a problem in Poland, and it is a clear signal that the Eur…

15

Sep

2021

EN Speech

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State of the Union (debate)

Mr President, I would like to welcome President von der Leyen back to the European Parliament. Over the course of the last year, we have made far—reaching decisions together. Together we have overcome the most difficult part of the pandemic. Together we have made the decisions to help those people affected by the pandemic and to make sure that the European Union will be stronger in the future. Exa…

7

Jul

2021

EN Speech

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Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 24-25 June 2021 (debate)

Mr President, I would like to welcome back President von der Leyen and President Michel to the European Parliament. Presidents, you both spoke about the protection of European values and about the rule of law. This is very important and it is very good. Let me be very clear. Hate and exclusion have no place in the European Union. Europe means integration. It means diversity. It means protecting al…

6

Jul

2021

EN Speech

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Presentation of the programme of activities of the Slovenian Presidency (debate)

Madam President, I would like to welcome Prime Minister Janša back to the European Parliament. The people of Slovenia have achieved so much in the last 30 years. Slovenia joined the European Union, Slovenia was the first member of the new EU Member States to become a member of the euro area, and today Slovenia is a member of the Schengen area. The people of Slovenia enjoy all of the benefits of th…

5

Jul

2021

EN Speech

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Financial activities of the European Investment Bank - annual report 2020 - Control of the financial activities of the European Investment Bank - annual report 2019 (debate)

Mr President, may I welcome President Hoyer back to the European Parliament. Without any doubt the European Investment Bank (EIB) played a crucial role in helping us overcome the pandemic in Europe and reduce the impacts of the pandemic on people, businesses and regions; in particular, the support given to help small and medium—sized enterprises cope with liquidity shortages was very welcome on th…