What Gunnar spoke about.

18

May

2022

DE Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Madam President, On Europe Day, 9 May, 13 Member States issued a joint statement rejecting the key call of the Conference on the Future of Europe, i.e. the call for treaty changes to achieve an EU state that would erase the sovereignty of the Member States. The Conference on the Future of Europe calls for an EU Constitution. In 2005, after the Convention on the Future of Europe, this idea was alre…

18

May

2022

DE Speech

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Minimum level of taxation for multinational groups (debate)

Madam President, This Parliament supports the OECD agreement on minimum taxation and claims that it is an important step towards greater tax fairness. More tax justice is particularly important to us. The Socialist Group, however, recently invited Brazilian ex-president Lula da Silva, here in Parliament – the same da Silva, who was twice convicted and imprisoned in Brazil for corruption and money …

4

May

2022

DE Speech

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Competition policy – annual report 2021 (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner! Competition law addresses distortions of competition, including subsidies. However, climate rescue and the green transition are now to be subsidised – without a basis in the EU treaties. The green transformation goes far beyond environmental protection. Two economies are thus created, a state- and ECB-subsidised, regulatory and interest-favoured green economy and a conv…

3

May

2022

DE Speech

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The follow up of the Conference on the Future of Europe (debate)

Madam President, The EU Future Conference calls for EU forces to abolish the national veto and also the notion of illegal migration. Your transnational lists, in order to alienate members of parliament and voters from each other, you already got them today. Now this Parliament is pushing for a new EU constitution, after the first attempt 17 years ago failed in referendums in France and the Netherl…

2

May

2022

EN Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, last week the Conference on the Future of Europe endorsed 325 recommendations for a sovereign EU federal state with new fiscal powers, joint EU armed forces, a permissive migration regime and transnational EU electoral lists, which mean people would vote for Members of Parliament who may not speak their own language. We are told the proposals are consensus-based – really? One politic…

2

May

2022

DE Speech

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Election of the Members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage (debate)

Mr President, representatives of the Commission! In anticipation of the EU Future Conference and the EU state, this House wants to reform the EU electoral law here several times. First, through transnational lists: From now on, we will not vote for familiar national but unknown EU parties in European elections. Germans or Dutch vote for Portuguese or Maltese, while Greeks are represented by Irish …

6

Apr

2022

DE Speech

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Ongoing hearings under Article 7(1) TEU regarding Poland and Hungary (debate)

Madam President, Viktor Orbán has undeniably won the parliamentary elections in Hungary. The EU's response: the opening of Article 7 proceedings against Hungary for failing to comply with the rule of law. According to the Commission, Hungary is policing the judiciary, imposing transparency on Western NGOs, restricting media freedom and rampant corruption. In fact, Hungary has more oppositional med…

5

Apr

2022

EN Speech

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Question Time (Commission) - von der Leyen Commission: Two years on, implementation of the political priorities

I think Council Regulation 883 is quite clear. It says, I think in Article 2, ‘it shall be prohibited to sell, supply, transfer or export, directly or indirectly, dual-use goods and technology and any items which may be intended, in their entirety or in part, for military use or for a military end-user’.…

5

Apr

2022

DE Speech

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Question Time (Commission) - von der Leyen Commission: Two years on, implementation of the political priorities

Madam President, Hello, Mrs. von der Leyen, thank you very much for coming. President von der Leyen, you yourself called your Commission a geopolitical Commission, which would promote the European way of life and seek to assume a stronger role for Europe in the world. Now, you said these were long-standing concerns of yours, which would inspire your Presidency. In 2014, the European Council adopte…

4

Apr

2022

DE Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President! Commissioner Šefčovič wants to bring Ukraine into the EU because Ukrainians are dying for European values. For 20 years, the EU has been supporting Ukraine in the fight against corruption, with no results. In a special report last year, the European Court of Auditors attests to Ukraine's major corruption and the capture of the state by private interests. High-level corruption hampers…

23

Mar

2022

DE Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Madam President, The Conference on the Future of Europe states that the Europeans wanted an EU state with an EU constitution, dictated by the participation of 800 citizens, selected by a subsidiary of the US Bain Private Equity investment company. As a reminder: 800, that is 1.8 millionth of the nearly 450 million EU citizens. The 1.8 millionth is hardly to blame. They come joyously and inquisitiv…

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, never let a good crisis go to waste. In common parlance, crises instil fear and disorientation, which allow clever politicians to impose otherwise unacceptable policies. We saw that during COVID and are seeing it now over Ukraine. We are told the war is fuelling energy and food price explosions because we are too dependent on Russian gas and oil. The EU’s conclusion: to end Russia…

10

Mar

2022

DE Speech

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A systematic EU approach to chronic kidney disease (debate)

Mr President! 100 million people – as we have heard – suffer from chronic kidney disease, and it is projected that kidney disease will be the fifth leading cause of death in the world by 2040. Kidney function decreases by one to two percent annually in every person from the age of 50. If certain risk factors such as diabetes, obesity or high blood pressure are added, the function of the kidney can…

9

Mar

2022

DE Speech

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Fair and simple taxation supporting the recovery strategy (continuation of debate)

Mr President! EU Member States have the highest tax burden of the OECD. The German tax burden on self-employed workers is 50%, compared to the OECD average of 34.6%. Nevertheless, the eurozone has the highest unemployment rate in the OECD: 7.2%, compared to the OECD average of 5.5%. 3.9% for the US and 2.8% for migration-free Japan. The hidden tax – inflation – expropriated German savers by 116 bi…

9

Mar

2022

DE 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, We are the winners of the war in Ukraine, not Moscow, Kiev or Beijing, but – at least at the moment – Paris, Rome and Frankfurt. In fact, the Maastricht rules should be reactivated after COVID-19. But the war in Ukraine means: Paris and Rome in particular do not have to save, and the ECB in Frankfurt continues to print billions every day. After the COVID-19 crisis, government debt…

8

Mar

2022

DE Speech

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Rising energy prices and market manipulation on the gas market (debate)

Mr President! The prices of gas and crude oil are rising faster and higher. Russia alone is to blame, because it is shortening natural gas and manipulating the price. Maybe. But the main blame lies with European Commission President von der Leyen. Firstly: Since taking office, she has replaced long-term supply contracts with spot contracts because she believed gas demand would fall. In fact, price…

7

Mar

2022

DE Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Madam President, The Kiev moment, according to this Parliament, shows that the citizens wanted more EU with a new EU migration pact to legalize all migration, more family reunification and safe access routes for up to 70 million migrants by 2035. In fact, Europeans want to help displaced Ukrainians. But, according to the results of the large INSA migration survey, 80% of Europeans also want more b…

16

Feb

2022

DE Speech

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

Madam President, The ECJ decided today that the Commission could link disbursements from the EU budget to compliance with so-called rule of law criteria. In interpreting the concept of the rule of law, the EU institutions have very wide discretion. Specifically, payments to Hungary and Poland can now be withheld because both countries are accused of endangering the independence and impartiality of…

15

Feb

2022

DE Speech

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A statute for European cross-border associations and non-profit organisations (debate)

Mr President! The ID Foundation recently investigated the influence of NGOs on EU legislation. Out of 12 600 lobbyists in the EU Transparency Register, 3 500 are NGOs. NGOs maintain close contacts with the Commission and politicians and write draft laws such as lobbyists, but are hardly subject to disclosure rules. From 2014 to 2017, NGOs received at least 11.3 billion euros from the EU budget. Th…

14

Feb

2022

DE Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Madam President, The EU is planning a new EU migration pact with fast asylum procedures, new access routes for migrants, more family reunification and more reception capacities through relocation. This means: Tens of millions of new migrants by 2040, because climate change and the right to abortion are also to become grounds for asylum. All this, according to Mrs. von der Leyen, the citizens wante…

14

Feb

2022

DE Speech

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European Central Bank – annual report 2021 (continuation of debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, Madame Lagarde! 30 years Maastricht and 20 years Euro: The ECB celebrates the euro as a major integration step and guarantor of Europe's economic strength. But there is no mention of the Lisbon agenda of making the EU the world's most competitive knowledge-based economy by 2010. What a hubris! The eurozone has had the lowest growth in the developed world for years. I…

20

Jan

2022

DE Speech

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Empowering European Youth: post-pandemic employment and social recovery (debate)

Mr President! Congratulations on your re-election! Youth unemployment in the EU is 16.3%; in Italy it is 30%, in Greece and Spain it is 33%, and in some places it is even above 40%. More than three million young Europeans are looking for work. At the same time, the EU has allowed five million unqualified asylum seekers to enter the country since 2015. In Germany, there is a shortage of skilled wor…

16

Dec

2021

DE Speech

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Continuous crackdown on civil society and human rights defenders in Russia: the case of human rights organisation Memorial

Madam President, On 11 November, the Russian Prosecutor General requested the Supreme Court to close the International Memorial organization. Memorial is said to have received donations from abroad and, contrary to the Foreign Agents Act, has not disclosed sources of money and has not provided relevant information to publications. The EU condemns Russia's actions. At the same time, Germany and the…

15

Dec

2021

DE Speech

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

Madam President, This year, EU governments received the first payments from the EU Recovery Fund. Relative to gross domestic product, Croatia received almost 1.6%, while Germany – the largest contributor to the EU budget at €40 billion per year – received only 0.06%. In addition to the 0.00% we receive from the SURE unemployment program. The EU therefore seems to be worth more than 26 Germans in t…

25

Nov

2021

DE Speech

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Human rights violations by private military and security companies, particularly the Wagner Group

Madam President, More than 50 French soldiers have died in Mali since 2013. The country is not pacified, Islamists terrorize the population. The government of Mali now wants the withdrawal of French troops and wants to protect the population with the help of the Russian Wagner Group. France is calling for further EU sanctions against Russia. Mali is the first test sample for the new Green Foreign …