Speeches

Madam President, now we insist on having a vote on a resolution as well on this because Israel illegally and criminally attacked Iran this weekend. Illegally because you cannot just attack another country. I know Israel is in the habit of doing it, but it's still illegal. Criminally because a lot of civilians, including children, were killed and nuclear power plants were deliberately targeted, creating in this way the risk of a nuclear catastrophe with mass civilian victims. Now, this is terrible and so I was saying, like we did when Russia attacked Ukraine: the European Union will condemn this. But what do I see? No, Ursula von der Leyen even insists on the right of Israel to defend itself. To defend itself – what? They're the ones attacking. They're the ones having the news. They're the ones threatening to transform Tehran into Gaza. So we need a vote on this. We cannot just not condemn this and keep on supporting criminal actions that are against international law and against human rights.

Madam President, more than one in four Europeans is forced to skip a meal for financial reasons. Nearly 39 million Europeans cannot even afford a piece of meat, fish or vegetarian equivalent every other day. The price of our food does not increase because there would be too many mouths to feed, no, it increases because it is absolutely necessary to feed the purse. That is the problem. Families therefore think three times before spending 1 euro, see the price of the cart that explodes and, in the meantime, there are markets in which speculators play with our food as if they were at the casino. The cereals market, for example, is now controlled by four giants, four monopolies that set prices and make considerable overprofits. Regarding cocoa, coffee, olive oil, prices are rising not because of shortages, but because of speculation about potential shortages. We can no longer leave our food in the hands of these monopolies and speculation. We must now dissolve these greedy monopolies, regulate prices and prohibit all speculation on our meals.

But you're wonderful, you, really, you're wonderful! Firstly, you do not care whether the President of the European Commission is here or not. What kind of MP are you? Aren't you interested in the Commission's responsibility? What are you doing here? Secondly, in relation to weapons for Ukraine: My point is that today we are sending weapons to Ukraine, but we are not even sending humanitarian aid – we are not even guaranteeing it – to the Palestinians. They can die! When we asked for a debate here, you voted against: You don't even dare to talk about it! That's your complicity! Don't make movies about Ukraine and human rights, while in Palestine you want to see people die!

Mr President, Mrs Von der... Oh, no, she's gone? Really? The President of the European Commission is asked to be there for two hours this week and she leaves after half an hour? What kind of contempt is that? A worker should try: be paid full-time and get out after half an hour at work. Frankly, congratulations! Today, I heard you say that the occupation, we do not like – (reacting to non-micro words) ah yes, we have to work from time to time, I know that, perhaps, for some Members, this is also a problem – so let's talk a little bit... you said that you are against illegal occupation, against bombings, against massacres, against child abductions and that, therefore, we will increase sanctions against Russia and send more weapons to Ukraine. All right, all right. I too am against illegal occupation, for respect for sovereignty, for international law. So I don't understand why you continue to support Israel. Famines, massacres, genocide: A good part here applauds, refuses even to debate it, and we continue to deliver weapons. (Reacting to non-micro speechYes, you too, Madam, are indeed complicit in this policy. Be ashamed!

Mr President, Commissioner Šefčovič, I read your remarks in the press and I sometimes wonder: is there a Eurovision contest for being Washington's best lapdog? Because, honestly, Trump threatens us and your reaction is: well, we might import more shale gas. Yes, that's going to cost us very, very dearly, our workers will pay more, it's going to pollute our planet, but we'll do it. Please be nice to us!' The agricultural produce: I think you spoke about more beans on the EU market. Why do we want to reward him, or China? You say, 'yes, let's be tougher on China'. This will mean increased prices for European consumers and less access potentially to technology for our economy. I think if you really want to react to what Trump is doing – and what you would do if you were attacked by, I don't know, China with a trade war, or Russia or whatever – you would invest in our own infrastructure. Why don't we take, I don't know, public energy companies? They can guarantee cheap, affordable energy to industries and to workers. Or diversify our relations also with China and with all these other countries that have been mentioned? That is the strategy and that is what we need.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to request the postponement of this resolution on alleged discrimination or attacks against Christians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for various reasons. First, the title gives the impression – we can see the inspiration of the extreme right – that if a Christian is killed by a terrorist group in Congo, it is serious, on the other hand, if a Muslim or someone of another religion is killed by the same terrorist group, it would not be serious. But the bottom line is that this initiative comes from news that 70 bodies were found beheaded in a church in Congo. However, I read today in the Congolese press that this news would be denied. So, before this House adopts a resolution potentially based on false information – which, incidentally, is no longer even in the resolution, because... we don’t know! – I would like to ask for the postponement and say: "Let us not divide the Congolese people on the basis of possible false information.

Mr President, the Commissioner must keep his feet on the ground. In Belgium, both ArcelorMittal and BASF have suspended green investments for the future of our industry. One of the main reasons for this is, and will continue to be, energy prices, which are still skyrocketing. Nevertheless, the European Commission has still not come up with real solutions to the high prices. The solutions are being sought again at and in the private sector, but the energy multinationals will only make investments where and when this yields enough, and not because it is essential for the future of our industry or our climate. As a result, production is shifting to regions where energy is affordable, while jobs are disappearing and factories are closing. This is not an inevitability, but a political failure. In order to get the engine of our industry back on track, we need to make massive public investments and take back public control of our energy sector.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I am ashamed of the title of this resolution. In eastern Congo, the entire population is risking their lives on a daily basis because of Rwandan-backed rebels. There are 10 million victims, and the Congolese are angry, not least because the European Union continues to cooperate with Rwanda. What are you trying to do here, right and far right? Blurring tracks, hiding foreign interference and dividing Congolese among themselves on a religious basis. You pretend that in the DRC it is Muslims who are waging war against Christians. Why? Because you want to divide the Congolese to better plunder their resources. This is a classic colonial strategy. In the Great Lakes region, the Belgian colonizers, at the time, had imposed this division between Hutus and Tutsis, with all the dramatic consequences we know today. It is not a religious war, but a war for resources. Don't hide it and stop military cooperation with Rwanda. Take responsibility. European complicity must stop today!

Madam President, High Representative Kallas, you speak about a balanced approach, but balanced on what? On war crimes? On genocide? On the killing of 15 humanitarian workers? On mass graves? On the killing of children? And what would that balance be, exactly? Some nice words for the Palestinians. More weapons for Israel. Nice words for the Palestinians. Weapons for Israel. That is not balanced. That is complicity in genocide. I mean, in the face of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, I have never heard you speak about a balanced approach. There are 40 EU sanctioned regimes and not one on Israel, which stands accused in front of international courts of genocide. The ICC asks the arrest of Netanyahu. And yet, no EU sanctions. Stop this complicity now. Adopt sanctions. Palestinians need acts, not words. These empty words, they have not saved one single Palestinian child's life. Stop this now. Act!

Madam President, dear leaders, High Representative, first of all, you're the minister of foreign affairs – a little bit – of the European Union. You know that the International Criminal Court asked for the arrest of Israeli leaders, yet you go to Israel and your first words are: We are very good partners. Ms High Representative, what 'very good partners'? In crime, in genocide, in ethnic cleansing? These words are a shame for the European Union. They should never be uttered again. Then let's be clear: Here, together with the European Union, we are creating a more dangerous world. Why? Because our actions do not follow our words. We often talk about children’s rights, but how can we talk about it when, at the same time, we support Israel, which kidnaps hundreds of Palestinian children every year? How can we talk about democracy when we do not have a word of criticism about a presidential election in Rwanda that sees the president elected with more than 99% of the vote? How can we talk about justice when we talk about Saudi Arabia, which executes hundreds of prisoners? How can we talk about sovereignty when we do not dare to denounce the illegality of the US presence in Syria, nor the illegality of the Israeli presence in Lebanon and Syria? How, finally, can we talk about peace when our countries themselves have invaded many African or Arab countries? We are talking about a rules-based world, but in reality we are undermining all international law, which, not only is absolutely unacceptable, is dangerous for our citizens. Indeed, how can we ask other countries to respect the rules when we ourselves violate them or accept their violation by our allies, because, all in all, they guarantee profits to our multinationals? This is unacceptable! The European Union needs to fundamentally change its foreign policy towards a policy of peace and justice in the world.

Mr President, I am going to touch on something that has not been discussed and that has made headlines in the various newspapers: it is the fact that, as every year, there is a salary increase for the European Commissioners, and in particular for the President of the European Commission, Ms von der Leyen. I remember when I landed here a few years ago, it was around €30,000 a month. When I told people this, they would say to me: No?! Isn’t that possible?!” Today, apparently, it is going to exceed EUR 34 000 per month. We in the Left Group have been calling for a halving of the salaries of European Commissioners for a very long time, so that they are aware of people's priorities. Because, of course, it has an impact on the budget choices we make. Afterwards, it is easy to say, when you earn so much, that you are going to take money from the Cohesion Fund, intended for European citizens, and give it to the military industry. My question today is: "Is there a ceiling?" We are at €34,000 per month for the President of the European Commission. Is there really a ceiling? I believe, ladies and gentlemen, that this ceiling must be imposed in order to have a Europe that serves the interests of the people and not just the few rich.

Madam President, can I first ask the Council to stop laughing? You are laughing here, while we are talking about the death of I don’t know how many Palestinians, of a starving population, and you are laughing and making jokes! It’s not funny! Palestinians are human beings, too, and you should be ashamed! This is the hallmark of this European Union today: a contempt for the lives of Palestinians! Because yes, you managed to make a speech by saying: Ah! The situation in Gaza is getting worse...", not to mention why it's getting worse. Why is it getting worse? Well, because Israel blocks all humanitarian aid, all food, and even electricity. What does this mean? Without electricity, there is no desalination of water, and therefore no drinking water. So people, families, children don’t have drinking water, and you’re here laughing! How is that possible, Minister? How is this possible, please? So today, this European complicity and disrespect for the lives of Palestinians must stop, because it will pay cash! I promise you!

Mr President, the Commission comes up with its Clean Industrial Deal and then claims that the solution is for everything. Let's look at three crucial factors: Firstly, energy prices. Energy prices remain high and you do not come up with a mechanism that guarantees that there will be a stable, low price for all companies. You will not come up with a massive public investment package that we say "we will take back into our own hands and control over energy prices". Secondly, there is another problem of industrial policy. That is that in recent years we have given a lot of public money, tax money, to companies that have put it in their own pockets, to shareholders without guaranteeing jobs in Europe. The Commission is also failing in this respect. What guarantees are there for the workers, for the workers? Thirdly, you now also want to weaken the social and environmental responsibility of multinationals with regard to raw materials. This means that we will see more looting in eastern Congo, that we will encourage Rwanda even more to start the war there. That's not the solution. We need a public industrial policy.

Madam President, Commissioner, dear representatives of the Council, ladies and gentlemen, 800 billion is not to increase Europeans’ wages, nor to increase pensions, nor to guarantee quality healthcare for all Europeans without waiting lists, nor even to have one-off buses or trains in every city and village. No, you're in love with the madness of war. Congratulations! Let's say it, though: We are already spending two to three times as much as Russia today on war. According to the German press, we currently have four times as many warships as Russia, three times as many battle tanks and artillery and twice as many fighter jets, while fortunately Russia is unable to conquer even a quarter of Ukraine. Before the Russians land on the Grand Place in Brussels, it will take time! If you do not want to hear it, it does not matter. These are the facts, but you prefer ideology. Stop your cinema: all those who want more weapons and more soldiers, will you send your children there to you? Is that what you are going to do? No, it will still be the children of the working class who will have to die! Well, we will not accept it. We need to coordinate more, not spend more, and finally invest in diplomacy.

Madam President, listen, it is indeed mind-blowing to imagine that, on a continent as rich as ours, the most essential medicines, from paracetamol to amoxicillin, are lacking, and that last year, in my country, Belgium, 1 in 3 families faced such shortages and were unable to access certain medicines because they were unavailable. It is not so much the fault of the Indians or the Chinese, no: It is the fault of the Europeans. Why? Because we are dependent in the first place on the choices made by the big multinational pharmaceutical companies. They decide what to produce, where to produce, how much to produce and at what price to sell, even when they have received public subsidies for research or production. What needs to be broken today is the monopoly that these companies have, and to do so NGOs, associations and even trade unions have already given us the way forward: It is about creating a public infrastructure for research and development in Europe. This is possible. You find 800 billion for weapons; You will find a few billion for health. What are you waiting for?

Mr President, EUR 800 billion: not to increase salaries or pensions, not to remove waiting lists in health care, nor to finally guarantee punctual buses and trains in every village. No, for guns. Let me give you some figures. We already spend 2 to 3 times more on war than Russia. This week the German press stated that we have four times as many warships, three times as many battle tanks, three times as much artillery and twice as many fighter planes as Russia. Meanwhile, Russia fortunately does not even manage to occupy a quarter of Ukraine. The Russian tanks will therefore not immediately be on the Grand Place of Brussels. To all those who say today that we need more weapons and more soldiers, I would like to ask the question – and to Mrs Van der Leyen – who will soon send his sons and children to the front? Stop the war fever and bullshit. We need more investment in diplomacy. We need to coordinate more, not finance more weapons.

Madam President, Commissioner, I am a bit surprised no one mentions here that the United States have also withdrawn from the Human Rights Council of the United Nations. This makes the world a more dangerous place for all Europeans. I am not surprised, of course. I mean, we are speaking in the end of a country whose governments have illegally abducted people and tortured them in secret prisons throughout the Middle East, killed children, bombed weddings from Iraq to Afghanistan. A country responsible, according to its own universities, for millions of victims in the Middle East. We are speaking about a government that is actually today currently pushing, supporting genocide, supporting the deportation of millions of Palestinians. The country blocking the Cuban people from getting the medical equipment they need and deserve. A country imposing sanctions on working‑class families throughout the world just because they disagree with their government, and a country currently mass‑deporting working class families from the United States. Now the question is not why is the US withdrawing from human rights conventions, the question is why is Europe not reacting? Do we think this is a good thing? Are we afraid to stand up? Or is this the true face of this Union – not fighting for global human rights, but for corporate interests and profits of Musk?

Madam President, listen, I see that today the United States is behaving more and more like an international bully, first of all because they are coming to tell Europe that we should no longer invite Chinese researchers, that we should no longer do business with China. Then, at the moment when we have this technological backwardness, they tell us: "Listen, our semiconductors, the ones you'll need for your defense, for cars, etc., well you won't have them anymore." So, they make us completely dependent on them, obviously, and they undermine our industry, they undermine our economy. So what is it as an ally? He's not an ally, that's a big guy. So why can't Europe react? Yet DeepSeek, the equivalent of ChatGPT developed in China, gives us hope. Why? Because the Chinese did it with fewer means, but with a different vision. Rather than giving the masses of money to the big monopolies, to the big multinationals, they developed this collaboratively. In Europe too, we can do this: on the one hand, a rapid public, digital and digital infrastructure is needed, and on the other hand, an open source cooperative approach is needed. Commissioner, please change your point of view!

Mr President, Commissioner, something should be explained to me: Rwanda is invading the Congo and we, as the European Union, as European countries, are still sending arms to Rwanda? Rwanda is stealing Congolese resources and we are going to make an agreement with Rwanda to buy these raw materials from the Congolese who have been stolen? Because that's what's happening: The European Commission signed this agreement with Rwanda and what happened two months later? The M23, the Rwandan-backed rebel movement, has been conquering Congo's largest coltan mine to smuggle these resources and sell them on international markets. So, in fact, the European Commission has, in a way, given the Rwandans the green light to invade Congo. In other words, Europe is on the side of the aggressor. And all this for the profits of the multinationals, on the bodies and bodies of the Congolese. So looting, destruction, millions of deaths in the meantime, it must stop. Africans are fed up, because we saw it with gold in Mali. We saw it in Niger with uranium, we saw it in Libya with gas and oil. It's still the same looting song. And then you are surprised that the peoples of the South are revolting. Africans are fed up. It is seen in Mali, Niger, Burkina, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Central African Republic, Senegal. Every time, there are Europeans who have been kicked out. So today is the time to say "basta!". The days of colonialism are over. Suspend this agreement to plunder Congolese natural resources and impose a military embargo on Rwanda. Commissioner, we don't need crocodile tears, we need action.

Mr President, Commissioner, I have tried to understand the European Union's strategy in the Middle East. First I was told: "Yes, but it's human rights." I thought to myself: Human rights, but wait, when Israel commits genocide against Palestinians, when Israelis go door to door, house to house, to steal, to evict Palestinians from their homes, the European Union delivers them arms. When Saudi Arabia executes a record number of prisoners last year, we let them pass quietly." So you told me: No, but there is international law that is important to us. But Israel is illegally occupying not only Palestine, but also part of Lebanon and part of Syria, and you want to strengthen ties with Israel? When Donald Trump threatens to deport 2 million Palestinians, you say nothing. Now I understand, it's the economy: You want gas and oil. As you said, India's economic corridor passes through the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Israel, even stealing gas from the Palestinians potentially. For that, you walk on the bodies of the Palestinians, on the bodies of the Arab peoples, who want only one thing, that is sovereignty, and to be able to decide for themselves their fate. Respect that, Commissioner.

Madam President, Commission, Council, 'we must increase our military spending'. You repeat it obstinately, ‘increase your military spending’, while trying to convince people that there is no more money for salaries, for pensions, for energy bills. There will be no doctor in the hospital or room available in the emergency room. At school, children will be crammed into small, cold classrooms without a teacher. But we need to increase military spending! Let us unmask this deception, because it would be a matter of defending ourselves against Russia. I agree, but NATO’s spending is already almost ten times higher than Russia’s. I am not saying that we should therefore be ten times more powerful than Russia, but not being able to defend ourselves with this budget is still a bit crazy. Where's that money going? What do you do with that money? And, most importantly, how much more money are you going to spend on healthcare to put him in the military? Before emptying the pockets of the workers to fill those of the shareholders of the US multinationals, explain to me a little bit what is being done, at the moment, with the money spent on the military and on weapons. And let's see where we can rationalize.

Mr President, can you imagine Russia saying: "We want a piece of Denmark," or for China to say: "Listen guys, we're going to annex Canada!" You'd all stand up, rebel, call for weapons because you'd have to defend yourself. Yet today, the United States is doing this, and even more! They want Panama, they threaten us with an economic war against our industry, against our energy. And what does Mrs. von der Leyen say? We need to intensify our relations with the United States. We will buy more energy and more weapons from the Americans.” What is this complex? A Stockholm syndrome, like a hostage to his hostage-taker? This is an incredible submission! What do you think? That our NATO military alliance will save us from an attack... by a NATO member, the US, who is the leader? We are in an absurdity that sees us submit to the United States rather than look a little further. Let’s invest publicly in European autonomy on the one hand, and look at other countries! Look at all these new alliances, BRICS and others, that are emerging, and that give economic and commercial openings! Let’s build the Europe of the future instead of staying in Washington’s trailer!

Madam President, the Commission, the Council, today, it must be said, the fundamental problem is that a handful of billionaires hold most of our information. This was already largely the case for traditional media, now it is also the case for social media. And the consequences are there, we see them: For each publication from a friend of mine, I now receive three advertisements. Suggestions to influence us a little, to manipulate our minds a little, like the truncated information that Elon Musk actually imposes on me through his network. Let’s not talk about freedom of expression, because when I publish a message about peace, about Palestine, which the bosses of the networks do not like, I suffer a form of censorship, a shadow ban. Yes, these ultra-rich are manipulating. They don’t want us to see, among other things, how they feed themselves, how they avoid taxes while workers sort out for wages of crap...uh... misery. In order to divert our attention while they are stealing from us, they are watering us with videos that push us to knock down, to those who are experiencing even more difficulties. Through manipulative algorithms, these billionaires seek to influence elections, or even buy them when and where they can. But it is the consequence of a liberal model that you have imposed on us, because it is not a few fines or even censorship that will solve the problem: The question of democracy is a question of power. This is a question of ownership. The internet used to offer a breath of fresh air when these big monopolies did not yet have their hands on the network. Think of Wikipedia: democratic, cooperative, collaborative. Let us now take back control of our information. Let us launch this transparent, democratic European public initiative. Let's free ourselves from billionaires!

Mr President, this ceasefire agreement has revealed something surprising, perhaps, but fundamental about the nature of the Israeli state. In exchange for the hostages released by Hamas, Israel was forced to release Palestinian prisoners. Speaking of Palestinian prisoners, some said they were dangerous terrorists. I was looking at who the Palestinian prisoners were who were released. There were 69 women and 21 children, the youngest of whom was 12 years old, locked up and imprisoned, without trial, without even a charge or conviction by Israel; in other words, hostages of the State of Israel. Israel is now a state that holds innocent Palestinians hostage. How is it possible for this House to be silent about this? How is it possible that we still support Israel, that we continue to fund that state? A state that practices hostage-taking is not a democracy, it is a rogue state. Today we need to humanise these Palestinian prisoners and press for their release.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I am Belgian, but I do not come from the MR. I say this because, first of all, they sent you Charles Michel, President of Europe – to what? 30,000 euros per month? – and, for five years, her only achievement was to refuse a chair to the President of the European Commission. Now we find ourselves with Didier Reynders, former Belgian Commissioner MR, who is suspected, according to the press, of having laundered EUR 1 million, in part by buying National Lottery tickets in a petrol pump. So I try to imagine that. Reynders, who is responsible for monitoring the rule of law across Europe, reportedly showed up at a petrol station. "Yeah, so I'm paying full, a pack of cigarettes and for €200,000 of lottery tickets, please." So, while he was lecturing the whole of Europe, he himself was under judicial or police investigation! What a blow to the image of the European Commission, anyway! Didn't you know anything? There is a problem of transparency. You have always told me that your luxury salaries are used to immunise you against this kind of scandal, but clearly this is not the case. It is time to take away these huge salaries and get out of the money bubble you live in today, to get your feet back on the ground.