What David spoke about.

6

Jun

2022

EN Speech

Watch

The EU and the security challenges in the Indo-Pacific (debate)

Mr President, the Indo-Pacific has become one of the centres of geopolitical gravity and a rallying point for many global players. Its growing economic, demographic and political weight makes it an increasingly important region in shaping the international order. Therefore, the European Union must increase its efforts and step up its strategic engagement with the region. Last year, first the Counc…

9

Mar

2022

DE Speech

Watch

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, ladies and gentlemen, The barbaric war of aggression against Ukraine, as several previous speakers have already emphasised, marks a turning point. The certainties of the last three decades since 1990 have finally lost their validity, the world of power competition is back. As Europeans, we must learn again to fight for our values, to name and enforce our interests in the world. In…

1

Mar

2022

EN Speech

Watch

Russian aggression against Ukraine (continuation of debate)

Mr President, the Russian military aggression and invasion against Ukraine is illegal. It is unprovoked. It is unjustified. This is indeed a crucial and historical moment, the moment of truth, as Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pointed out. Too many times in the past, the international community has been blind in front of unfolding tragedies. Today, we as a European Parliament are sendin…

16

Feb

2022

EN Speech

Watch

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

Mr President, as many colleagues from different political groups have underlined this morning, the current escalating tensions and the threat of unprecedented military aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine are indeed not only targeting Ukraine but also threatening the rules-based international order and threatening Europe as a whole. And this is why we must stand together in this cr…

15

Feb

2022

EN Speech

Watch

Implementation of the common foreign and security policy – annual report 2021 - Implementation of the common security and defence policy – annual report 2021 (debate)

Madam President, it’s up to me to conclude this debate now. I would like to thank all colleagues for this open and constructive debate, which lasted more than two hours. I believe it is a strong signal that most of the colleagues I listened to in this House act in concert towards a stronger common foreign and security policy. The challenges of the 21st century call for more, not less, EU action on…

15

Feb

2022

EN Speech

Watch

Implementation of the common foreign and security policy – annual report 2021 - Implementation of the common security and defence policy – annual report 2021 (debate)

Mr President, recent international developments and challenges, such as the Russian military threat against Ukraine, the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan or the geopolitical consequences of the COVID—19 pandemic, have once again reminded us that the European security environment is today more volatile and more complex than ever since the end of the Cold War. At the same time, not a single EU Member…

14

Dec

2021

EN Speech

Watch

The situation in Nicaragua (debate)

Mr President, the elections on 7 November in Nicaragua violated all international democratic standards for credible, inclusive, fair and transparent elections. They were a sad climax of Nicaragua’s continuous authoritarian development as they complete the conversion of this country into an autocratic regime. As the European Parliament, we reject the legitimacy of the results of these fake election…

21

Oct

2021

EN Speech

Watch

The outcome of the Western Balkans summit (debate)

Mr President, the European perspective of our partners in the Western Balkans is in our mutual interest and remains our strategic choice. With the visit of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last month and the EU Western Balkans Summit two weeks ago in Brdo, the European Union has once again demonstrated its strong political commitment to the Western Balkan countries and the entire accessio…

5

Oct

2021

EN Speech

Watch

The Arctic: opportunities, concerns and security challenges (debate)

Madam President, two weeks ago, as Anna Fotyga mentioned, the delegation of our Foreign Affairs Committee visited Denmark, Greenland and Iceland to discuss international cooperation and challenges in the Arctic. Anna Fotyga, Željana Zovko, Urmas Paet and Andreas Schieder will probably agree; our visit demonstrated that the unique complexity of the challenges on the ground requires more engagement …

14

Sep

2021

DE Speech

Watch

Brexit Adjustment Reserve - Draft amending budget No 1/2021: Brexit Adjustment Reserve (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner! Ladies and Gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, Our rapporteur, Pascal Arimont, has just made the following point: Brexit has many negative social and economic consequences for people, businesses and public administrations. I very much welcome this €5 billion Brexit adjustment reserve because it is important for the regions of Europe that are particularly affected by the co…

14

Sep

2021

EN Speech

Watch

Instrument for pre-accession assistance (IPA III) 2021–2027 (debate)

Mr President, this is an important day for the EU’s external action and opens a new chapter in our enlargement policy. The modernised instrument for pre-accession assistance (IPA III) paves the way for improved governance, for coherence and for transparency of our external funding in this crucial period of our enlargement policy. Commissioner Várhely, I do hope that IPA III can improve our visibil…

14

Sep

2021

EN Speech

Watch

Situation in Afghanistan (debate)

Madam President, the recent developments in Afghanistan must be a wake—up call for us to reflect about our Common Foreign and Security Policy. It is clear that we have to go beyond just expressing our concerns. First, of course it is about providing immediate humanitarian assistance for all those people in need in Afghanistan in order to stabilise the whole region and to prevent a migration crisis…

6

Jul

2021

EN Speech

Watch

EU global human rights sanctions regime (EU Magnitsky Act) (debate)

Madam President, the European Parliament has been consistently calling for an EU-wide mechanism which would allow for imposing targeted sanctions against individuals and entities that are involved in grave human rights violations. Therefore, I welcome last year’s adoption of the EU global human rights sanctions regime, which some of us in this House prefer to call simply the EU Magnitsky Act. This…

6

Jul

2021

EN Speech

Watch

Situation in Nicaragua (debate)

Madam President, I would like to underline what so many colleagues have already said this afternoon, that we as the European Parliament should condemn in the strongest possible terms the ongoing systematic detention and arrest of opposition leaders, as well as the repression of journalists, students, indigenous people and human rights defenders in the great country of Nicaragua. The latest develop…