Speeches

Madam President, Orwell was mentioned here before, and I think, 'what if the popular media are in the hands of the oligarchs, superrich or authoritarian leaders?' As we know, the algorithms in X and TikTok are not open. Do you think that these algorithms should be open, so that everybody can know if they are brainwashed or not? Because we know that X, TikTok, maybe some others, are brainwashing us.

Madam President, I want to thank President Lula for his leadership and priorities. We really need effective taxation of the super-rich to pay the education mentioned here. We need measures to alleviate poverty. We need a ceasefire in Gaza. We need to reform the United Nations Security Council. All things the world needs desperately. Things that the EU and the West have not been interested in or even been against. The world sees our double standards when we support the genocide in Palestine. The world knows we demand things from the poorer countries that we are not ready to do ourselves. There was also huge disappointment; support for Ukraine looks to be weakening. And failure to demand transition away from fossil fuels, although people are dying because of climate change in Valencia, Bosnia, Poland, Czechia, not to mention poor countries. We need to wake. We need to unite with Brazil and all the countries wanting to build a better world.

I've been quite shocked by what you said and by what the previous colleagues from your group were saying. Today we are here speaking about violence against women. All kinds of violence against women in all kinds of groups. But from your group, there was even more hatred against all the women before, and now you are talking like it is a thing that is happening for the immigrants. And I want to know what you are doing to help these people you are talking about and all the other women who are suffering from violence because you are only using this to build more hate.

Mr President, Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has already been going on for a thousand days next week. That's a thousand days too much. The European Union must stand by Ukraine against Putin’s reign of terror – and words alone will not suffice. We must do everything possible to prevent Putin from building up his war bankroll with European money. This initiative is also very welcome. Europe's support for Ukraine must be strengthened, especially now after the US elections, but at the same time the most important thing is to involve the rest of the world. Europe is seen as a double standard because, as we have heard in our recent debate, people from different countries have not been of equal value to us. Only by consistently condemning all wars of aggression, genocide and occupation in both Ukraine and Palestine will we be able to involve the Global South and the rest of the world in these joint efforts.

Mr President, I've been personally organising peace demonstrations against antisemitism of right‑wing activists for years. Also, your party has a Nazi history, so you have been hating Jews before you change to hating people with Islam, with the Muslims. But we have had lots of Jews in the demonstrations against the genocide going on in Gaza. And I want to ask you, do you think it's right that you are saying that these antisemites and Jews and Muslims and everybody, it's the same group? Do you think that a Jew can be an antisemite?

Mr President, many people think that the European Union is nothing more than bureaucracy. No one wants unnecessary bureaucracy. But even less do Europeans want our common funds to be misused. And often it is the bureaucracy that protects us from corruption and crime. But less can be more. For example, if deposit banks and investment banks were separated, one important measure could replace thousands of detailed rules. But as long as the EU is not prepared to reject the demands of the great capital of lobbyists and the richest of all, politicians will be forced to try to protect citizens and democratic society with the means we have at our disposal. Instead of populism, we need to look at the root causes. Then bureaucracy can and must be reduced in a sustainable way. I also hope that this debate will be a little more specific and that we will talk about concrete issues and not on such a general level.

Mr President, I speak in Hungarian, i.e. in Finnish. I love Hungary. I have been there countless times since I was 12 years old when I visited the city of Tata with our school class. I still know the Hungarian national anthem, and I've toured almost every city in Hungary. But year after year, I have become more saddened by the situation in Hungary when I see Hungarians losing faith in the future. More and more hope and joy have been replaced by gloom and nationalist suspicion. Viktor Orbán, who spoke here today, has brought down the rule of law during his reign. At the same time, he has channelled the common EU funds of the Hungarians and all of us into the pockets of those around him, and he has invented scapegoats for other countries, his own minorities and refugees. Orbán uses the same right-wing playbook that is used here, as does Putin, for example. It is no wonder that, even today, he wanted to stop the green transition here and return to dependence on oil-rich fuels. That's not how real patriots work. We need to put an end to this. The rule of law and democracy are non-negotiable.

Mr President, I grew up in an ordinary working-class family in an equal welfare state. Its promise was that everyone can become anything and no one will be left alone in the face of illness or unemployment. Equality created well-being for all. However, capitalism is increasingly supplanting democracy and equality. The wealth of the world is concentrated in the hands of fewer and fewer people. Concentration of wealth among the few threatens both democracy and the market economy. Often those who benefit the most from the social system pay the least taxes to it. The EU will enable a common market, pay for agricultural and cohesion subsidies and possibly even start a common industrial policy with joint debt, but jointly coordinated spending will require a coordinated income. We must immediately close tax havens within the EU and give all support to the G20 and other global plans to restore democratic governance of the economy. Otherwise, the election and this arena will be nothing more than a worthless play.

I would ask that when Israel has occupied the West Bank, has for a long time driven Palestinians out of their homes in violation of UN resolutions, Israel has besieged the people, has pushed the people ever harder. It has been called the world's largest open prison. Israel has undoubtedly violated international law, killed Palestinians and completely blocked the implementation of the two-state model. There is no one-state model for Israel, because there would be a majority of people they do not accept as human beings at all, nor a two-state model, but they have blocked it. Netanyahu has lived by oppressing Palestinians. So why are you in favour of violating the UN's fundamental declarations?

Madam President, the green transition is an existential question. Climate change is the most dangerous thing facing humanity. However, it is because of not only the climate and biodiversity that we need to invest in clean technologies to get rid of fossil fuels. Without these investments, we are also losing jobs and seeing a rise in poverty. I am glad Mr Draghi acknowledges this in his report. One crucial point is to stop pouring tens of billions every year into the military industry of the United States. I would love to see global disarmament, but it is currently impossible with Europe under attack from Putin's imperialist regime. We need European solutions, but the transition must be fair. I am worried about proposals to focus our support on the so-called European champions. This would in fact destroy the European markets and worsen the capitalist accumulation of wealth. It would strengthen the power of capital over democracy. We cannot have a system where profits are private and debts are public.