What Valérie spoke about.

18 Sep

2024

EN Speech

Resumption of the sitting

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Madam President, Robert Fico's regime once again undermined the democratic foundation of the Slovak Republic. Yesterday, Michal Simecka, the opposition leader and our former colleague and former vice-president of this House, has been dismissed as vice-president of the national parliament by the SMER and SNS parties. This is another serious attempt to destabilise the opposition and its leader in Sl…

18 Sep

2024

FR Speech

The devastating floods in Central and Eastern Europe, the loss of lives and the EU’s preparedness to act on such disasters exacerbated by climate change (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. Households without electricity, highways cut, dams that give way, Europeans affected by hundreds of thousands by storm Boris. First of all, I want to have a thought for all the victims and all the victims. Ladies and gentlemen, storm Boris is not due to chance, but to climate ch…

18 Jul

2024

FR Speech

Statement by the candidate for President of the Commission (debate)

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Madam President, if need be, this proves that it is fundamental and urgent to defend the right to abortion throughout Europe. Second priority... (Applause and exclamations) Second priority: the economy. We expect you, Mrs von der Leyen, to act for the prosperity of the continent, through a triple shock: simplification shock, investment shock, innovation shock. Let's simplify the lives of our entre…

18 Jul

2024

FR Speech

Statement by the candidate for President of the Commission (debate)

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Madam President, Madam candidate, I reassure you that there are many other pro-Europeans left in this Chamber. Europeans made their voices clear on 9 June by bringing a clear pro-European majority to this Chamber, with no displeasure to those who want to make people believe otherwise, and with no displeasure to those who do not want to recognise the outcome of the ballot box. Mrs von der Leyen, fr…

17 Jul

2024

FR Speech

The need for the EU's continuous support for Ukraine (debate)

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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Ukraine must once again become a free land, for its territorial sovereignty, for peace, for our geopolitical balance. This is a moral imperative, for the lives of the Ukrainians under attack and for its sovereign neighbouring countries. Let me be clear: Despite all the disinformation launched by Moscow and its allies, in this war there is an aggressor and an …

23 Apr

2024

FR Speech

Conclusions of the recent European Council meetings, in particular on a new European Competitiveness deal and the EU strategic agenda 2024-2029 (debate)

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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, a prosperous Europe is what we all aspire to in this Chamber. All right, all right. The question now is not whether we want this prosperity, but how we build it. I welcome the report by Enrico Letta, which makes fair findings. These recommendations must now be followed up with facts. We must take decisive steps to ensure our competitiveness. The United States…

10 Apr

2024

FR Speech

New allegations of Russian interference in the European Parliament, in the upcoming EU elections and the impact on the Union (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I am outraged to learn that members of this House and candidates for the European elections have been paid by the Russian government and its proxies to spread Kremlin propaganda and to work against the interests of those who elected them. That is why we, Renew, demand names, names and numbers. Who paid? Which party? Through which intermediary? For …

13 Mar

2024

FR Speech

This is Europe - Debate with the Prime Minister of Finland, Petteri Orpo (debate)

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Madam President, Madam Vice-President, Prime Minister, many in this Chamber have always regarded Finland, your country, as a land of tranquility and serenity. So much so that many have forgotten that Finland shares Europe’s longest border with Russia. A border that was, as you recalled, the scene of a hybrid war with the instrumentalisation of migrants last winter by Vladimir Putin. With the arriv…

12 Mar

2024

FR Speech

(International Women's Day Celebration)

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Madam President, dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being so inspiring, for mobilising, inspiring and being role models for so many generations of girls and women, even today. Really, thank you for who you are and what you do. I would like to talk to you – I could talk to you – following this International Women’s Day, about my pride in seeing one of our states enshrine in its Co…

12 Mar

2024

FR Speech

Council and Commission statements - Preparation of the European Council meeting of 21 and 22 March 2024 (debate)

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Madam President, Madam President, Minister, ladies and gentlemen, once again, at this summit, the Heads of State or Government will have the essential task of making Europe speak with one voice. One vote for Ukraine. Ukraine, which continues to bravely confront the Russian aggressor. Our support is and must remain unwavering. The launch of missiles in the vicinity of a European head of government …

11 Mar

2024

FR Speech

Order of business

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Madam President, I propose that we maintain our title of debate, but indeed agree with the resolution.

11 Mar

2024

FR Speech

Order of business

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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the right of women to freely dispose of their bodies and to have access to voluntary termination of pregnancy is at risk. It is in danger in the world, but also in Europe, threatened by reactionary populist forces who want to impose their program on us. We have seen it in the past in Poland, we have seen it in Hungary, and each time it is women who pay the pr…

28 Feb

2024

FR Speech

Formal sitting - Address by Yulia Navalnaya

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Madam President, dear Ms Navalnaya, before I address this Chamber, I would like to address you personally. Obviously, this misfortune has an international political impact, but it is above all a personal and human tragedy. I would like to express my sincere condolences to you, who have just lost your husband, and to your two children and loved ones. Your courage is exemplary and admirable, and all…

28 Feb

2024

FR Speech

Strengthening European Defence in a volatile geopolitical landscape - Implementation of the common foreign and security policy – annual report 2023 - Implementation of the common security and defence policy – annual report 2023 (joint debate - European security and defence)

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Madam President, Secretary of State, ladies and gentlemen, for too long we have ignored the signs of the world's turning point. Increasingly, our values of freedom and democracy are now under attack, physically or virtually. Despite these threats, we have become too accustomed to some comfort. This comfort, it could make us forget at times the harsh reality that can inflict on us the jolts of geop…

7 Feb

2024

FR Speech

This is Europe - Debate with the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis (debate)

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Madam President, Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, Romania is entering an election year: parliamentary, presidential, European and local elections. These elections will be crucial, and it is a strong symbol to see that Romanians will write both their national and European future within a few months, as the values and interests of Romanians are firmly rooted in the European project.…

6 Feb

2024

FR Speech

Conclusions of the European Council meetings, in particular the special European Council meeting of 1 February 2024 (debate)

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Madam President, Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, last Thursday Europe took up its responsibilities. Last Thursday, the whole EU sent a clear message to President Putin. Until Ukraine regains its full territorial sovereignty, Europe will stand by the Ukrainians. €50 billion until 2027 will be used to support Kiev to protect itself, to finance its schools, hospitals, and ultimately to rebuild it…

17 Jan

2024

FR Speech

Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 14-15 December 2023 and preparation of the Special European Council meeting of 1 February 2024 - Situation in Hungary and frozen EU funds (joint debate - European Council meetings)

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Mr President, Commissioner, Minister, ladies and gentlemen, on 1 February the eyes will be on what will happen in Brussels. It will not be a summit like any other, because what will be decided there is the path that Europe will take for the coming years. The reality, colleagues, is that leaders have no choice. Since 24 February 2022, Ukrainians have been fighting valiantly to defend their territor…

16 Jan

2024

FR Speech

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

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Madam President, Prime Minister, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the Belgian Presidency of the Council that is opening is part of a pivotal period for Europe. A pivotal period because at the end of your presidency, Prime Minister, as we all know, the European elections will take place. What is starting today is the path our Union will take tomorrow. There is no doubt, as we gather in this Cham…

13 Dec

2023

FR Speech

Planned dissolution of key anti-corruption structures in Slovakia and its implications on the Rule of Law (continuation of debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, Secretary of State, ladies and gentlemen, what is happening in Slovakia? Slovaks, pro-Europeans deep in their souls, see their new prime minister, Robert Fico, dismantle their institutions, built in pain and sweat. The guardians of democracy – prosecutors, magistrates, police officers, journalists – are intimidated, dismissed. Because they want to end impunity, those…

13 Dec

2023

FR Speech

Preparation of the European Council meeting of 14-15 December 2023 (debate)

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Madam President. Commissioner, Secretary of State, ladies and gentlemen, I will not go around the bush: There's an emergency. We urgently need to strengthen our European budget to deal with all the crises that are hitting us – the migration crisis, the debt crisis, the competitiveness crisis – and, of course, for Ukraine. Ukraine, which could give up any hope of defeating Russia in three weeks, th…

12 Dec

2023

FR Speech

European Economic Security Strategy (debate)

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Mr President, Mr High Representative, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen: dependence on Russian gas, massive subsidies to '', increased international competition, especially from China... The changes the world is going through are hitting our Union hard. These crises directly affect the daily lives of our citizens and businesses, which have to cope with rising prices and the increased risks of rel…

11 Dec

2023

FR Speech

Role of tax policy in times of crisis (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, let us make it clear: States have lost part of their fiscal sovereignty. It is now clear that Europe needs to respond on the right scale to this challenge of the 21st century. This is what we have done, for example, by imposing a solidarity contribution on fossil energy giants, because there are tax bases that can no longer be understood at nati…

21 Nov

2023

FR Speech

2024 budgetary procedure: Joint text (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, Secretary of State, ladies and gentlemen, this year, even more than the others, our annual budget negotiations have demonstrated the impossibility for Europe to adapt forcefully to the challenges of the moment. EUR 340 million was the amount we could discuss, with the rest almost fixed in stone. I would like to congratulate our rapporteur-general, Mr Mureşan, and our ra…

9 Nov

2023

FR Speech

System of own resources of the European Union (debate)

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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, our debate has only strengthened my intuition: The time has come to regain leadership. And not just any leadership. I am talking about the leadership of yesteryear with the visions of the founding fathers. Raise your head, look away from the accounting tables to see where we want to lead Europe, we parliamentarians, heads of state, ministers, civil society, E…

9 Nov

2023

FR Speech

System of own resources of the European Union (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, since 2019 we have taken up with José Manuel Fernandes, whom I welcome here, the torch of own resources. An emblematic file, and for some a sea snake. I have to admit that all this time I have sometimes wondered how national leaders in the 1950s agreed from the very first moment that Europe should be financed entirely from genuine own resources. Th…