Speeches

Madam President, the workers are the forgotten ones in this speech. A mention of politeness, nothing more. For you wages are a detail, pensions an economic problem. The proof that earning €30,000 per month, it totally disconnects you from reality. Soon we should celebrate 30 years of the internal market, you say. This will be an opportunity to measure the joy of our destroyed and privatized public services, I suppose? On vaccines, you claim that the EU has "supplied" vaccines to the world. In reality, the Union has mostly "sold" them, often to the richest countries while you prevent other countries from producing them. Then let's talk about climate. Talking about "Fit for -55%" when the scientific consensus requires a reduction in emissions of -65% is painful from a com point of view. And the lesson you learn from 20 years of military intervention in Afghanistan and an unnamed disaster? Make more military interventions, more bombs and more wars. Frankly, your European Union, built by states at the request of European employers, is a social disaster and a climate failure.

The vast majority of Parliament, of which I am not a member, asked a month ago for an immediate gas and oil embargo against Russia, without taking into account the consequences for Europeans. It is clear that such an embargo would have enormous economic and social consequences. Inflation in Europe is exacerbated by the escalation of war, sanctions and counter-sanctions. While Europe is debating a sixth package of sanctions, we hear from the Russian opposition that the sanctions do not affect Putin himself, and we see that the sanctions have not ended the war. Meanwhile, Europeans have to sleep in their cars because they are afraid of the fuel costs of their commuting. Pendling has become a luxury. Paradoxically, the working class in the EU seems to feel the sanctions more than Putin. At the same time, energy, arms and agro-multinationals are increasingly making profits. This must be over. We must put an end to the war quickly through a major diplomatic initiative. We also need to protect the purchasing power of our working class. After all, this is what people expect from the EU; No hollow rhetoric that does not help anyone and only further escalates the situation.

We are asked to fast track an Act in Support of Ammunition Production. Commissioner Breton wants to give huge amounts of taxpayers’ money to extremely profitable multinational companies, but refuses any democratic debate. Let us be clear: this proposal goes far beyond supporting Ukraine – it aims at creating a European network of arms producers, a proper EU military—industrial complex. The proposal diverts funds away from economic recovery and the green transition towards arms multinationals that are already making massive excess profits because of the Ukraine war. The proposed act also explicitly undermines workers’ rights. Article 18 proposes to bypass the Working Time Directive, which imposes minimum daily and weekly rest periods, annual leave, breaks, maximum weekly working time and night work. This way it sacrifices social rights for militarisation, giving a free pass to industry to introduce working weeks of over 48 hours. The Treaty on the European Union, Article 41.2, prohibits expenditure arising from operations having military or defence implications from being charged to the EU budget. Labelling this act as an industrial project, the Commission deliberately circumvents these provisions. Let us build peace on our continent and invest in socio—economic recovery, and a public switch for the climate.

Madam President, most of you don't condemn, even support Trump's and Netanyahu's war on Iran, yet claim to stand with the Iranian people. Now, I dare you to say that to the eyes of that seven-year-old girl, her backpack still beside her desk, that was killed when a US Tomahawk missile hit her elementary school. Dare to admit to the 167 other victims in that school that you are offering European bases to US killing machines. Tell the families of Tehran, a city of 10 million people, that you support the chemical warfare of Israel, as they poison the air with toxic fires and black rain that will cause cancers for decades. Tell the Iranian people how much you really love them, while from Golestan to Chehel Sotoun, Western bombs damage centuries-old cultural heritage. Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Iraq. Your bombs never brought democracy and never will. They bring chaos, death, destruction and the unbearable silence of children who will never come home.

Madam President, 100% of the Belgian population now lives in a PFAS risk area, and 20% even in a high-risk area. These so-called eternal chemicals accumulate in our bodies, are in the soil, are found in drinking water and are linked to cancer and hormonal diseases. But today, the European Union, rather than protecting people, is talking about deregulation. Soon, some large companies will no longer be forced to say what toxic, chemical substances they use, or even how much. And you even want to deprive public authorities of the time it takes to look at whether a project, yes or no, harms public health. Until now, two or three years were considered reasonable, but now I see that for extremely dangerous projects, especially those related to the defence sector, we are talking about two or three months that we would give as time. We obviously can't do a serious investigation into that time. And if we don't have the means to do the investigation: tacit approval. Extremely dangerous. It's going to mean profits for shareholders and cancers for people. It will never be our choice.

Mr President, we know that on any construction site now in Europe – whether it is a hotel, hospital or building site – the prime contractor displays his name in a big way, but in reality the workers work for different companies, different subcontractors – one for pouring concrete, the other for scaffolding, etc. A study has identified up to 188 subcontractors on the same site, 17 levels. And we see it in other sectors: industry, agriculture, food, etc. It has become a business model. To maximize profits, the rights of workers, of unpaid wages, of workers literally killed, are put under pressure. And then the unions, the workers mobilize. What do we see here? The right which comes to explain: No, no, workers, you didn't understand anything. We know, we don't need a law. We know better than workers, better than those who literally die at work. That is unacceptable. Today we need a European law to limit these practices, to limit this social dumping, and we are counting on you. Tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, we'll keep pushing.

Madam President, it is terrifying to imagine masked militiamen to the teeth who not only attack protesters who demonstrate peacefully, but in addition to seeing Robocop To kidnap Liam, a five-year-old child, and then to have the far right come here just to do its theater to applaud these fascist practices, to hope that this happens also at home. It's terrifying. Trump sends his police, his private ICE militia, terrorizing working-class neighborhoods and schools, and you applaud? Oddly, I can't hear you asking for the same treatment for billionaires. Epstein files. These, you don't want to worry them, I wonder why. But we must also say that Europe does not have this moral superiority. We see Mme von der Leyen is unable to condemn because it is the United States. We see that Frontex, our version of the ECI, is militarised, lacks transparency, and will now be able to send small children to countries where they have never been. So we are putting ourselves on a slippery slope that is likely to get us on exactly the same path as the United States. Well, we will be in the resistance, dear colleagues, goodbye.

Madam President, Commissioner, I will start by agreeing with you when you say that an inclusive dialogue between Congolese is needed. It's essential. But let's also be clear: It's not that, what's on the table today, what drives the discussions. When, three weeks ago, in the US Senate, we discuss the agreement and the objectives of the agreement that the Americans are negotiating - or have imposed - they are clear: The objective is to restore the dominant position of the United States in the critical materials sector. And, of course, block Chinese companies. This is American-style colonialism: decide with whom the Congolese can trade or not. And in Europe, it's no better. I still saw yesterday a Tweet the Belgian Minister of Defence, who said: It is time to strengthen our historic role in critical minerals in the DRC. Belgium's historic role in the DRC's minerals is colonial plunder, let's be clear. The same looting that the Congolese have been fighting for decades. In other words, from the United States to Europe, we always look at the DRC with the eyes of looters. And to achieve his goals, Trump will not hesitate to support a neocolonial dictatorship. And we know that violence in the east is used to maintain division and pressure on the Congolese. And that is why the Europeans also do not take any measures, no sanctions, especially with regard to Rwanda, even if it has been a year since you have been asked to do so. It is true, the Europeans are discussing with different political forces, but at the same time, we still want to have a military presence also in the region. We must stop celebrating the past and have neocolonial aims. We must break with the past and stop treating Congo like an open-pit mine. There are Congolese who deserve respect. We have to start respecting them. And above all, today, we must accept that the Congo must become, has the right to become a sovereign country.

Mr President, I want to point out the elephant in the room, because you've mentioned the sovereignty of Syria, but no one here condemned the fact that Israel wiped out the entire Syrian military infrastructure, taking advantage of the regime change. No one here is condemning the fact that the United States still have troops in Syria, and they should withdraw. Otherwise, we cannot speak of sovereignty. No one here dares to speak about territorial integrity. Why? Why can we not say that the Israeli troops that are illegally occupying parts of Syria should withdraw? And then look at the Kurds – the Kurds celebrated in 2015 as the forces that were fighting ISIS, Daesh. They got US support. The US took advantage of it to establish military bases in the oil-rich regions of Syria. Today, they can be killed because now we support the other leader. They are learning basically what some US analysts already said: being an enemy of the US may be dangerous, being its friend is fatal. If this is true for Europe as well, we are a shame.

Mr President, Mr Costa, Mrs Kallas, last year the President of the European Commission, Mrs von der Leyen, was in Washington and took some orders. We saw her with her little notepad. How many American weapons do we have to buy? Okay, it's okay. How much of your gas? Okay, okay. And how much do we pay him? It's okay. Total bid. We fell silent when the United States spied on our leaders. We fell silent when they bombed eight countries in a single year, from Venezuela to the Middle East. And even today, while Trump says he wants to annex Greenland, the president of the European Commission comes here saying: But we are still aligned. But Stockholm syndrome, it's powerful, it's very clear. If we make so much carpet, necessarily that we end up on the menu, it does not surprise me. Today, American imperialism has the honesty to say that it is the greatest threat to peace and security in the world. So what to do with it? Unite with others. Americans are powerful, but they are not all-powerful. And all over the world, from Brazil to China, from India to South Africa, the powers of the South are fed up with American imperialism. So let us unite, let us make the United Nations for peace. Ah but the United Nations exists, let's go!

Mr President, High Representative, colleagues, have you seen Trump's message about Macron? Finally, Macron's message that Trump showed, where he says: Listen Donald, we agree so much on Syria and Iran, please leave Greenland to us. I think it perfectly synthesizes a good part of European foreign policy in recent decades. We always agreed with the United States when it came to bombing the countries of the South. Even the illegal war in Iraq in 2003, half of Europe that today complains and defends international law, at the time supported it. We supported him when he illegally overthrew the Libyan regime. It was supported when, after 20 years of occupation in Afghanistan, the Taliban was replaced by the Taliban. And again recently, when he illegally bombed Iran, when he kidnapped the Venezuelan leader. We didn't dare condemn. And inevitably, when we see that we make the doormats, sooner or later we get walked on. Now is the time to change our approach. Because if not, the same colonial logic that was applied in Gaza and Palestine, it will now fall on Greenland and Europe. And what's the alternative? It is to regain international credibility and to say, together with all these countries that exist, Brazil, India, China, we will see them, we will create coalitions and a counter-power to the bully Washington, which has emerged and is now, indeed, attacking us, like all imperialism, sooner or later, too. Let's rethink that credibility. Canada is trying to do so so as not to be annexed. What does Europe expect? Let us turn to the South and ask for alliances.