What Marc spoke about.

14

Dec

2023

FR Speech

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Outcome of the UN Climate Change Conference 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (COP28) (debate)

Madam President, the climate summit will therefore have talked about fossil fuels. It's positive. But before posing, as Europeans, as climate defenders vis-à-vis the rest of the world, we must still look at the facts: Today, we are investing heavily in new terminals to accommodate American shale gas. The United States obviously multiplies its production to export it to us, and we know that this sh…

13

Dec

2023

FR Speech

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European Defence investment programme (EDIP) (debate)

Madam President, our trains are running late, our crèches are overcrowded, hospitals are overcrowded, and housing is becoming unpayable. And in this context, what does the European Commission propose? A new major investment programme for multinational arms companies! Yes, of course, while people are sorting, we will still guarantee gifts to companies that are among the most profitable on our conti…

13

Dec

2023

FR Speech

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EU strategy to assist young people facing the housing and cost of living crisis (topical debate)

Mr President, today, when you look at the evolution of rents in Belgium, I think that over the last five years they have increased by 12%, and in Brussels, over the last ten years, by 30%. Buying a house or apartment for a young person or a young couple is almost impossible. And when you get there, it’s a lucky thing to find a crèche, because you have to have registered your child before you have …

12

Dec

2023

FR Speech

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Need to release all hostages, to achieve a humanitarian ceasefire and prospect of the two-state solution (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, UNICEF is talking about a war against children. Currently, more than 7,700 Palestinian children have been massacred by Israel. When the same thing happened in Ukraine, you were talking about genocide. Today, a number of you justify Israel. I will not answer you, because there is no political difference between you and me, there is simply a difference in humanity…

11

Dec

2023

FR Speech

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Role of tax policy in times of crisis (debate)

Madam President, the European Union is preparing to tell you again that we need to tighten our belts, that there is no money for health or for schools. Yes, it will be necessary to tighten the belt, except that it will be up to the workers to do it, because the multinationals, frankly, they, they profit. We talk about the ‘crisis’, but it is not the crisis for everyone. This is not the crisis for …

21

Nov

2023

FR Speech

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Proposals of the European Parliament for the amendment of the Treaties (debate)

Mr President, frankly, people are fed up with the fact that the European Union comes with dictates every time, saying ‘you have to cut the budget of your schools, your nurseries, your hospitals, you have to work longer, for less money’. Frankly, neither can people have this Europe without transparency, without democracy, without being listened to. And in this context, what does a coalition of Gree…

20

Nov

2023

FR Speech

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Framework of measures for strengthening Europe’s net-zero technology products manufacturing ecosystem (Net Zero Industry Act) (debate)

Madam President, when it comes to industry, people are basically interested in two things. First, a quality job, and second, a healthy living environment. And what do you propose to us today in this text? First, to give full support to businesses in the name of competitiveness, without strategic priorities and without strong conditions, especially without strong social conditions. And we know this…

8

Nov

2023

FR Speech

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State of the Energy Union (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, your self-satisfaction is truly unbearable. Frankly, you are talking about a success of European politics, while Belgians, for example, still pay twice as much for their energy as they paid before the crisis. Is that success, bleeding people, raising their bills? You dare call it a success? Please start by breaking the power of multinationals, by breaking this market. B…

16

Oct

2023

EN Speech

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Order of business

Madam President, the Parliament has rightly scheduled a debate to condemn the attack – the 7 October attack of Hamas on Israel. Since then, however, the Israeli attack on Gaza has killed 725 children. Water, food, electricity has been cut off to Palestinian homes and hospitals and over 1 million Palestinians have been ordered to leave their homes. The UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Territo…

3

Oct

2023

FR Speech

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Medicine shortages and strategic healthcare autonomy in the EU (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, thousands of medicines are lacking in the European Union, country by country, life-saving medicines, and the medicines available are often too expensive. States are paying absolutely crazy prices. But we must also dare to say why this is the case. The explanation, the reason is clear: You have decided to leave all the power to the big multinational pharmaceutical compan…

2

Oct

2023

FR Speech

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Rising precariousness in Europe including the need for aid to the most deprived (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, you are drowning the fish a bit. You're drowning the fish. There is a terrible social emergency in Europe today. Terrible. In Belgium, a quarter of parents are unable to feed their children enough. Three quarters of teachers have already faced starving children in school. Students can no longer find a kot, a student accommodation payable. And if today, as a worker, you …

14

Sep

2023

FR Speech

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Improving firefighters’ working conditions (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, as you have heard, these workers and firefighters who save us in difficult situations are 300% more likely to develop cancer. So let's recognize this work as painful and carcinogenic. Why does it take so long? Don’t we want to save them? Why can't it go faster? But let's not pretend that this will solve everything. Because a big problem is obviously the fact that the…

13

Sep

2023

FR Speech

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State of the Union (debate)

Madam President, Madam President of the European Commission, you have expressed with great eloquence all your contempt for the working class in Europe today. I know you earn 30,000 Euros a month, but do you know that today in Europe 30% of people have to skip a meal because they do not have the money for three meals a day? Do you know that 46% of Europeans are afraid to turn on heating, and theref…

12

Sep

2023

FR Speech

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Question Time (VPC/HR) - Situation in West and Central Africa in the light of the recent coups d’état

Minister, I am surprised that you do not see the plundering of African resources – which is still widespread in Africa, whether it is fish in Senegal, gold in Mali or, indeed, uranium in Niger – as one of the causes of the anger of African populations against Europe and European policies. But I want to ask you a question. Your Special Representative for the Sahel, Emmanuela Del Re, said in the new…

12

Sep

2023

FR Speech

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Question Time (VPC/HR) - Situation in West and Central Africa in the light of the recent coups d’état

Minister for Foreign Affairs, when more and more states in Africa are asking for the departure of European troops – first of all French, then other countries – there is a whole series of potential explanations that are provided, with varying degrees of relevance. Afterwards, when you listen to Emmanuel Macron’s party representative, you get the impression that France in Africa is almost an NPO – i…

12

Sep

2023

FR Speech

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Single market emergency instrument (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, at the time of the Covid pandemic, indeed, many states closed their borders to keep certain goods and services at home. There was a reason for this: This is because these states often lacked medical equipment, for example in hospitals, due to years of austerity imposed on these hospitals. Another reason was that often there was insufficient productive capacity in dif…

11

Sep

2023

FR Speech

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European Defence Industry Reinforcement through common Procurement Act (EDIRPA) (debate)

Doesn't the war in Ukraine affect workers in Europe? Of course I do. And that is why I have thrown you a little in the face of the complete absence of diplomatic proposals. For the past year and a half, you have refused to take any diplomatic initiative to stop this war, so that Ukrainians no longer die under the bombs, so that we European citizens no longer face a war on our borders. You do not, …

11

Sep

2023

FR Speech

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European Defence Industry Reinforcement through common Procurement Act (EDIRPA) (debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, we live in a paradoxical situation in Europe: today, on the one hand, states are investing massively in so-called militarisation, i.e. research, production and purchase of weapons, worth billions – 100 billion, 200 billion – and on the other hand, we are experiencing an incredible social emergency. We lack crèches, our schools lack teachers, our hospitals lac…

12

Jul

2023

FR Speech

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Tax the rich (topical debate)

Madam President, what always strikes me here is that when we talk about taxing billionaires, it is as if they have an army of Members at their service, ready to defend them. We obviously have the macronists crying out: No, no, no, let's not tax the rich! You don't know? Let's work on tax evasion. You who are in government in France, you could perhaps start there. Maar ook het Vlaams Belang. Als wi…

12

Jul

2023

FR Speech

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Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 29-30 June 2023, in particular the recent developments in the war against Ukraine and in Russia (debate)

Mr President, cluster bombs are terrible weapons. They are weapons that do not differentiate between civilian and military populations. They are bombs that disintegrate and remain in the environment, that hide, that do not all explode, until a child sets foot on it and is killed. This is why the majority of European countries have banned these weapons and more than 100 countries worldwide have ban…

11

Jul

2023

FR Speech

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Relations with the Palestinian Authority (debate)

Madam President, listening to some of you, I wonder what planet you live on. You saw the images in Jenin of Palestinian families, Palestinian refugees, with their hands in the air, leaving their homes, leaving the refugee camp for fear of being brutally shot by Israeli occupying forces. Have you seen these images where you don’t care? Imagine for a moment that it was Ukrainians in these images, le…

11

Jul

2023

FR Speech

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Question Time (Commission) – EU-Africa Strategy

Commissioner, historically, the African debt does not originate in China. It has its origins in colonization and in the role of European countries after decolonization. We must therefore acknowledge our responsibility in this. So are you at least prepared to say that we are going to abolish the debt these African countries have to European countries? That is a first question. Second question, very…

11

Jul

2023

FR Speech

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Question Time (Commission) – EU-Africa Strategy

Mr President, Commissioner, I would like to return to the issue of critical raw materials, because I think it is essential and I think that in Africa this issue is very sensitive. You know that the colonial and neo-colonial plunder of Africa was essentially the stealing of raw materials. You are also aware that, even after independence, these practices continued, often under the guise of recommend…

11

Jul

2023

FR Speech

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COVID-19 pandemic: lessons learned and recommendations for the future (debate)

Mr President, the European Parliament is discussing the lessons to be learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. I note that Mrs von der Leyen is absent. She was also, or refused to come, when we invited her to the Special Committee. She makes it a habit. Commissioner, do you have his phone number? Because when the CEO, the boss of Pfizer, sends WhatsApp, she responds. So maybe now is the time to text he…

11

Jul

2023

FR Speech

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European Chips Act (debate)

Madam President, Mr Breton, the United States today, with which you want a stronger partnership, is also hindering the future of European industry. They forced a leading Dutch company to limit its exports to China. German companies are hit and pressure is put on universities and companies to prevent them from inviting foreign researchers or students, who bring know-how to us. At a Belgian universi…