What Gunnar spoke about.

25

Nov

2021

EN Speech

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The International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women and the State of play on the ratification of the Istanbul Convention (continuation of debate)

Mr President, the Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence is the first European convention to impose legal duties specifically to protect women. It’s been ratified by most EU Member States. The EU is now calling on the remaining six members to follow soon. Two comments. Of course, women should be protected against violence. However, why only wom…

22

Nov

2021

EN Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Madam President, Stephan Harbarth, the President of the German Constitutional Court recently declared Poland fell short of German rule of law standards. Moreover, the Polish judiciary was not independent. Two comments – first, Poland’s top court has questioned the supremacy of EU law over national constitutions, a position which is exactly that of Germany’s top court, except the German judges wilf…

10

Nov

2021

DE Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President! Since 2015, at least five million so-called refugees have followed Angela Merkel's invitation to the world to come to Germany and the EU. According to a recently published Danish study, the citizens of this German world rescue policy cost more than 100 billion euros every year. Now German politicians renew their invitation to the world, and immediately thousands gather in Belarus to …

10

Nov

2021

DE Speech

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Disclosure of income tax information by certain undertakings and branches (debate)

Madam President, The EU is not a state, but an international organisation, that is, it cannot determine its tasks at will, but can only act on the principle of conferral. Tax legislation is not part of its contractually assigned tasks, but remains the prerogative of the nation states. According to Article 115 of the EU Treaties, the EU may act only if the Member States decide unanimously. That is …

20

Oct

2021

DE Speech

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Increased efforts to fight money laundering (debate)

Mr President! The European Commission is calling for the establishment of another EU supervisory agency, stricter cash controls and an EU asset register. Under the guise of anti-money laundering, it registers and monitors what all citizens own, buy, sell and drive. This is not about money laundering. Hungary's law regulating the funding of LGBT and migration NGOs, foreign universities and the medi…

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, Poland’s top court decided it can set aside EU law when that law either exceeds the EU’s powers, as limited by the Treaties, or violates the Polish Constitution. The judgment is clear, concise and correct. The EU is not sovereign and, according to Article 5 of the EU Treaty, EU law only has primacy where the Member States delegated powers to the EU. Where powers are unclear, however,…

6

Oct

2021

DE Speech

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Banking Union - annual report 2020 (debate)

Madam President, Olaf Scholz, arguably the next German chancellor, wants to complete the EU banking union through the joint deposit guarantee EDIS. This is also intended to save and rehabilitate northern European savers of dilapidated banks throughout the eurozone. After Brexit, Germany already pays around 45 billion euros to the EU annually. In addition, there are around 100 billion TARGET2 loans…

6

Oct

2021

DE Speech

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

Mr President! The EU recovery fund of well over 700 billion euros is illegally financed by Eurobonds and is supposed to mitigate the economic and social impact of the coronavirus wave. In fact, the Fund is a shadow budget that violates the prohibition on debt laid down in the Treaties in Articles 310 and 311 and serves to finance and bribe Eastern Europe to swallow the EU migration pact and EU-reg…

6

Oct

2021

DE Speech

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Reforming the EU policy on harmful tax practices (including the reform of the Code of Conduct Group) (debate)

Mr President! Politicians like to scourge state-damaging practices of taxpayers. Let's talk about tax-damaging government practices and spending. The German government has brought at least 2.5 million migrants into the country since 2015, including newborns of asylum seekers. Every unaccompanied minor migrant costs the German taxpayer 65,000 euros per year, other migrants slightly less. That makes…

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, when asked to assess the historical importance of the French Revolution, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai famously said: ‘It is too early to say.’ Today we know the Revolution failed. For the Pandora Papers have once again confirmed that the very rich remain tax exempt, and avoid paying tax perfectly legally. Two comments. First, many of the tax evaders are from countries which are amon…

16

Sep

2021

DE Speech

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EU transparency in the development, purchase and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines (debate)

Mr President! The EU failed, not succeeded, in the COVID crisis. We had the biggest economic slump in the world because it was sloppy at the beginning and then the lockdown policy was all the harder. East Asia did not have a lockdown. Despite tougher measures, the EU, together with the UK and the US, has the highest death rates. Despite higher costs, less has been achieved. And as inefficient as t…

16

Sep

2021

DE Speech

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The situation in Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya

Madam President, In the Kakuma refugee camp, Kenya hosts around 200,000 migrants, mainly from Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea. This year there were arson attacks against lesbian residents in the camp. Now the sexual minorities are to be transferred to the EU if their situation does not improve. This House also wants to extend EU asylum law to climate migrants and pregnant women who have been denied …

16

Sep

2021

EN Speech

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Government crackdown on protests and citizens in Cuba

Madam President, on Thursdays this House is fondly debating issues in faraway places about which we know little. Today it is Cuba. Presently, there are shortages of essential foodstuffs and medicine and problems in the management of the COVID virus wave. The issue today is whether or not to condemn Cuba for its mishandling of public protests and restrictions of media freedom. We unreservedly conde…

15

Sep

2021

EN Speech

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

Madam President, the EU is currently withholding Poland’s corona funds because Poland is allegedly politicising the judiciary and limiting foreign ownership of the media to minority stakes. Let’s compare Poland’s reforms with reality in Germany again. In Germany, public prosecutors are not independent. Judges may be members of political parties and top judges are all effectively appointed by the g…

15

Sep

2021

DE Speech

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Implementation of EU requirements for exchange of tax information (debate)

Ms. President! Tax avoidance and evasion are real problems to be addressed. We support this goal, but not without objections. Firstly: We have not only a tax avoidance problem, but a tax avoidance problem. Multinationals zSome of them pay less than one percent tax on their EU profits, and international banks are all too happy to shift their billion-dollar profits. offshore. We have a tax fairness …

14

Sep

2021

DE Speech

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Direction of EU-Russia political relations (debate)

Mr President! This report accuses Russia of expanding its sphere of influence, discrediting Western liberal democracy, disregarding international law and LGBT rights, and, listening, pursuing its own national interests. Perhaps it is part of EU climate policy to launch politically new ice ages. The report is hardly a recipe for better relations with Russia. Please consider: Who has been assisting …

7

Jul

2021

DE Speech

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State of play of the implementation of the EU Digital COVID Certificate regulations (debate)

Mr President! The COVID certificate digitally proves whether its holder has been vaccinated, tested negative or recovered from COVID-19. The Commission claims that the certificate ensures the free movement of persons in the EU. Compatibility with systems of non-EU countries also facilitates travel abroad. Under EU law, the certificate is not a precondition for entry into other Member States. The C…

6

Jul

2021

DE Speech

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The 70th anniversary of the Geneva Convention (debate)

Madam President, The Geneva Convention on Refugees is a document of humanity and charity. After the Second World War and the Cold War, it protected persecuted and displaced people, but it also respects national sovereignty, the right to national character and the distinction between citizens and foreigners. The Convention does not contain a general right to asylum, nor does it grant the right to n…