What Dennis spoke about.

6

Jul

2026

DE Speech

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Coordination of social security systems (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! First of all, congratulations to the rapporteur and also to the shadow rapporteurs who have worked constructively. You have to let it melt on your tongue: I have been a Member of the European Parliament since 2017 – since 2017. Of course, there are recurring issues, such as what needs to be improved and changed at the meta level, but the fact that …

11

Feb

2026

DE Question

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Developing a new EU anti-poverty strategy (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! I am amazed that Mr Bystron has not presented his very personal programme for combating poverty here. Unfortunately, this is not accessible to everyone, namely: Cleaning women at the expense of taxpayers, bribes from Moscow and cross-border employment of AfD family members with other AfD deputies – the AfD has developed its own personal poverty …

22

Jan

2026

DE Speech

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A new action plan to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights (debate)

Mr President, Madam Executive Vice-President of the Commission, ladies and gentlemen! I remember well when Jean-Claude Juncker set the topic of the European Pillar of Social Rights. He has been ridiculed by many in the end, it is indeed a hodgepodge of nice declarations of intent, but basically nothing that helps in the concrete policy making. And a few years later we have to say: Those who mocked…

19

Jan

2026

DE Speech

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Just transition directive in the world of work: ensuring the creation of jobs and revitalising local economies (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner! Dear colleagues! First of all, dear Jana Toom, thank you very much for your report and all the work you have invested. And I share the concerns you outlined here. I want to say this very clearly, because what we are experiencing at the moment – I do not like the word transformation so much – could not really be more formidable. We have the geopolitical pressure from …

20

Oct

2025

DE Speech

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International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, dear Roxana, dear colleagues! In my view, the instruments necessary in the fight against poverty are as diverse as poverty itself is diverse. I could argue about it for hours: When do you become poor? Are you really poor only when you are one of those people that we in Brussels, right on our doorstep, in front of the European Parliament, almost stumble upon or step over…

8

Oct

2025

DE Speech

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Second World Summit for Social Development (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! The resolution we are voting on tomorrow may not be overstated in its importance, but we should not underestimate that importance either. Because it was important to me, also as spokesperson for the EPP Group in the Social Committee, that our delegation, which flies to Qatar and takes part in the Summit for Social Development Don't go there empty-h…

8

Oct

2025

DE Speech

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Establishment and functioning of European Works Councils - effective enforcement (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! Thank you very much for the partly emotional and definitely very interesting debate. Because it was particularly interesting for me, because I have heard things and arguments in some places in this debate that are so wrong that not even the opposite of it is right. So if it is claimed here that, so to speak, functioning participation in Member S…

8

Oct

2025

DE Speech

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Establishment and functioning of European Works Councils - effective enforcement (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, Today's debate, and above all tomorrow's vote on the amendment of the European Works Councils Directive, marks the end of a debate that has been going on for 16 years since we last amended the European Works Councils Directive. And the debate in recent years has been primarily about not saying we need to completely rethink this directive, but th…

8

Oct

2025

DE Speech

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Europe’s automotive future – reversing the ban on the sale of combustion cars in the EU (topical debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! The automotive industry in Europe is experiencing huge disruptions and is really at a crossroads, where we, as political leaders, are also responsible for deciding which way this key industry should go in Europe. It is becoming more and more apparent – and that is why we as the CDU/CSU group have also voted unanimously against it – that the dogmati…

8

Jul

2025

DE Speech

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Presentation of the Chemicals Package (debate)

Madam President, Commissioners, ladies and gentlemen! This Chemicals package It is now a good opportunity for the Commission, but also for us as a whole, not only to praise and praise the chemical industry with words, but also to support it with concrete political action – because there is a hell of a lot at stake. And that's why I urge you to: Away from these commonplaces and from these rushes. Y…

2

Apr

2025

DE Speech

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European Steel and Metals Action Plan (debate)

Madam President, Mr Executive Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen! The Steel and Metals Action Plan It's late. I hope he's not too late. We as the EPP have been fighting for this for more than a year and a half now, because the European and German steel industries are of course under enormous pressure due to overcapacity and extremely high energy costs. We cannot speak in our Sunday speeches abou…

12

Mar

2025

DE Speech

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Social and employment aspects of restructuring processes: the need to protect jobs and workers’ rights (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! Thank you very much for the debate, and tomorrow we will also vote on a report by Mrs Ceulemans on this subject. I think it is really important to deal with this issue, because the upheavals we are witnessing right now, across Europe, in the economy, in industry, are really huge. And you know, this bracelet was made for me by my 7-year-old daugh…

12

Mar

2025

DE Speech

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Union of Skills: striving for more and better opportunities to study, train or work in the EU and to bring our talents back home (debate)

Mr President, Madam Vice-President, dear Roxana, dear colleagues! Many thanks to the European Commission for this initiative. And there are not a few who say: Yes, Union of SkillsWhat's that supposed to be? This is somehow all so inconcrete, this is once again such a typical cloud-shifting of the Commission. That's how you can get there, of course. Or it can be said that it is a good start – and t…

11

Feb

2025

DE Speech

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Boosting vocational education and training in times of labour market transitions (debate)

Mr President! Madam Executive Vice-President! Dear colleagues! Many thanks to you, dear Roxana, and to the Commission for this initiative. I think the subject Skills was already prominently placed at the European Commission in the last period. But now it is important that we also take the next step in this legislature. Especially with regard to education, I think we have to come back to a differen…

11

Feb

2025

EN Speech

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The need to address urgent labour shortages and ensure quality jobs in the health care sector (debate)

Now, I wanted to use a blue card at the beginning of the debate, but unfortunately, that hasn't been possible.

11

Feb

2025

DE Speech

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The need to address urgent labour shortages and ensure quality jobs in the health care sector (debate)

Mr President! Commissioner! Dear colleagues! Somehow a bit bizarre. I am glad that we are discussing this topic again today. But when you think back to the COVID-19 pandemic, we discussed the topic of healthcare, the health sector and the developments, the needs up and down. Because suddenly everyone was directly affected and everyone was afraid. Will I get care if I get infected with the virus? W…

22

Jan

2025

DE Speech

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Addressing EU demographic challenges: towards the implementation of the 2023 Demography Toolbox (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, Mr Dubravka, ladies and gentlemen! First of all, I would like to thank the European Commission very much for the initiative, and I am sure that one or the other speaker will take the floor here and say: “What are you dealing with again? That is indeed all the competence of the Member States." But I think – as the Commissioner rightly pointed out – that despite all the c…

18

Dec

2024

DE Speech

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Promoting social dialogue and collective bargaining and the right to strike in the EU (debate)

Mr Vice-President. Commissioner! Dear colleagues! I think today's debate is actually coming at exactly the right time, because with a view to transposing the European Minimum Wage Directive into national law, the clock in the Member States has now expired. And we see that the vast majority of Member States have not yet delivered. So the task for the new Commission and above all for you, dear Roxan…

23

Oct

2024

DE Speech

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Tackling the steel crisis: boosting competitive and sustainable European steel and maintaining quality jobs (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! The European steel industry is in a historic crisis, and what we don't need in this situation are philosophically dreamy speeches about how great the future could be with green steel. We all want a future with green steel, but at the moment we are primarily called upon to ensure that our steel industry in Europe does not collapse on the way to g…

10

Oct

2024

DE Speech

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World Mental Health Day - need for a comprehensive EU strategy on mental health (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! I am really proud that we, as the European Parliament, can say: We are the drivers when it comes to mental health. When I think of the last legislative term alone – a wonderful colleague from my group, Maria Walsh, who is at the forefront of the movement and constantly ensures that this topic is not only important on an International Mental Health …

8

Oct

2024

DE Speech

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The crisis facing the EU’s automotive industry, potential plant closures and the need to enhance competitiveness and maintain jobs in Europe (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! I remember very well how we discussed the ban on combustion engines here in Strasbourg. There sat where Valdis Dombrovskis now sits, Frans Timmermans, who was responsible for this policy. And when I mentioned two things in my speech, namely on the one hand the question of the affordability of mobility and how much social explosives there is in t…

24

Apr

2024

DE Speech

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La Hulpe declaration on the future of social Europe (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! I could use my speaking time to express my astonishment that trying to make a thin declaration even thinner was not enough to get BusinessEurope and the Swedes on board with this declaration. But I can also save myself this and say instead: La Hulpe is just another small milestone on the road to a more social Europe. We have to keep in mind: What h…

23

Apr

2024

DE Speech

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European Disability Card and European Parking Card for persons with disabilities - European Disability Card and European Parking Card for persons with disabilities for third country nationals legally residing in a Member State (joint debate - Disability cards)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! Brussels and Strasbourg are often synonymous with making complicated things even more complicated. The epicenter of global bureaucracy. And what are we doing here in the European Parliament on the issue of the Disability Card? We take this cliché and turn it into the opposite. Because with the Disability Card it will be easier for millions of peopl…

28

Feb

2024

DE Speech

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Preventing work-related deaths following the Florence tragedy (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! Actually, it is already tragic that we have this debate on the agenda today. That is why the whole debate is not suitable for political polemics or finger-pointing. I think the Commissioner is absolutely right, first of all we have to pay tribute to the tragedy and think of the relatives and wish those who have survived a speedy and good recovery. …

26

Feb

2024

DE Speech

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Need to overcome the Council deadlock on the platform workers directive (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! I rarely turn my heart into a murder pit, so I don't want to start today and say quite clearly that I find it shameful that this debate is necessary here today. It is necessary, not because we are preparing the final vote here, but because we are currently in danger of three years of hard political work being undone in the end. In his speech, the C…