What Martin spoke about.

7

May

2025

DE Speech

Watch

Competition policy – annual report 2024 (debate)

Madam President, Does economic and competition policy benefit the general public or, in particular, the boards of directors of corporations and their shareholders? We have to answer this question together. In recent years, we have experienced an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis – rents, food and energy prices have risen rapidly. In Germany alone, food prices have risen by a third since 2020, wh…

6

May

2025

DE Speech

Watch

A unified EU response to unjustified US trade measures and global trade opportunities for the EU (debate)

Mr President! Donald Trump has managed to completely chaotic international trade relations in the first hundred days of his presidency. The consequences for the economy and the population are already foreseeable. Economic output will decline and at the same time prices will become more expensive. The mine for this will first pay the working population again and those who have little money in their…

5

May

2025

EN Speech

Watch

Passing of Pope Francis – Statement by the President

Madam President, Christianity and socialism might not share the closest link at first glance, but Pope Francis used his mandate to advance the Christian social doctrine that is also deeply rooted in socialist politics. The fight for social justice and against poverty – one of the cornerstones of Francis's pontificate – remains a central responsibility for both the progressive Left and the progress…

1

Apr

2025

DE Speech

Watch

Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine: standing with Ukraine and upholding justice (debate)

Madam President, High Representative Kallas, world politics is moving rapidly and hardly gives us a breather, and it would have been very welcome if you had made one or two statements here before the European Parliament in recent months. Russia's war of aggression in violation of international law continues unabated and affects the Ukrainian civilian population as well as the country's infrastruct…

31

Mar

2025

DE Speech

Watch

Order of business

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, You have all noticed that Donald Trump announced last week that from 2 April, that is, from this Wednesday, on European car exports to the United States 25% punitive tariffs will be due. These tariffs will come into effect on Wednesday. In my group's view, therefore, there is an urgent need for this House to address this situation – the trade war escalated by…

11

Mar

2025

DE Speech

Watch

European Council meetings and European security (joint debate)

Madam President, Donald Trump is ready to blame Ukraine on Russia. The destruction of international law and an international order in which the strength of the law is no longer valid, but the law of the stronger, are priced in. All the more revenge now, Mrs von der Leyen, that you have unfortunately so shamefully ignored diplomacy in recent years and have relied solely on a military solution to th…

12

Feb

2025

DE Speech

Watch

Collaboration between conservatives and far right as a threat for competitiveness in the EU (topical debate)

Mr President! After this strange denial of reality speech by Mr Caspary, I would like to help you get back to reality. Hundreds of thousands are currently taking to the streets in Germany to demonstrate against the fall of the German Conservatives, who for the first time since the end of the Second World War have made common cause with the fascists of the AfD. That's why people sing on the streets…

12

Feb

2025

DE Speech

Watch

One year after the murder of Alexei Navalny and the continued repression of the democratic opposition in Russia (debate)

Madam President, Almost a year ago, Alexei Navalny died in a Russian prison camp – killed because, as the most prominent opposition and regime critic in Russia, he repeatedly criticised the corrupt dictatorship of Vladimir Putin in the strongest possible terms. I cannot understand every phase of the political development in Navalny's life, but regardless, I recognize his political courage, which h…

12

Feb

2025

DE Speech

Watch

Commission Work Programme 2025 (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner! I had actually expected that the work programme presented here would roll up the sleeves and finally get rid of what it takes. But there is nothing to see far and wide. EUR 800 billion would have to be invested annually in the European Union. You referred to the Draghi report yourself. This means that massive investments are needed in industry to secure the future of…

11

Feb

2025

DE Speech

Watch

Wider comprehensive EU-Middle East Strategy (debate)

Madam President, The goal of any EU strategy for the Middle East must, of course, be lasting peace in the region. There are two prerequisites for this. First, it requires the recognition of Kurdish self-government in northern and eastern Syria and the establishment of diplomatic relations with Kurdistan. The change of power in Syria now also offers the opportunity to enforce the right of the Kurdi…

18

Dec

2024

DE Speech

Watch

Preparation of the European Council of 19-20 December 2024 (debate)

Madam President, When I hear all these empty and somewhat inconsequential confessions, I know why EU foreign policy has become so irrelevant. In Ukraine, Russia's war of aggression has made clear, unabated by initial reports of combat operations by North Korean soldiers, that this war is escalating, rather than finally reaching peace. The war in Gaza continues unabated, although Hamas and the othe…

17

Dec

2024

DE Speech

Watch

Misinformation and disinformation on social media platforms, such as TikTok, and related risks to the integrity of elections in Europe (debate)

Madam President, The Romanian elections were manipulated by TikTok. But since Brexit and the first Trump election, we know that social media-platforms for targeted disinformation and election manipulation. Bot armies, hacker groups and AI are deliberately destabilizing the political order on X and TikTok. Hate speech, violence, anti-feminism, conspiracy theories – democracy is under attack, throug…

17

Dec

2024

DE Speech

Watch

Toppling of the Syrian regime, its geopolitical implications and the humanitarian situation in the region (debate)

Mr President, High Representative! We have felt the joy of the overthrow of Assad and his cowardly flight into the lap of his war buddy Putin millions of times in the last few days on the streets in Syria, but also in Europe, but the future of Syria is open. The new leader al-Dschaulani is an Islamist wanted with a $10 million bounty. His militia, the HTS, is listed as a terrorist organization by …

19

Nov

2024

DE Speech

Watch

1000 days of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine (debate)

Madam President, Mr President Zelenskyy! The war of aggression against Ukraine has been raging for 1,000 days now, and well over 10,000 civilians have now been killed in Putin's murderous war. My solidarity and sympathy belongs to the needy Ukrainian people. That is why it is true that millions of women, the elderly and children who have fled the war have found humanitarian protection in the Europ…

13

Nov

2024

DE Speech

Watch

EU-US relations in light of the outcome of the US presidential elections (debate)

Madam President, One of the great democracies and the greatest economic and military power will be ruled for the next four years by a professed anti-democrat and a convicted criminal. Billionaires dominate the media, business and politics in the United States. There is an oligarchy before our eyes. The announcement of a fundamental reorganization of the state, the political control of the judiciar…

23

Oct

2024

DE Speech

Watch

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

Madam President, If you look at the state of the European steel industry, this is not a debate about the future of this industry, but an obituary. Hundreds of thousands of jobs in the steel industry and upstream and downstream industries are at risk. How can such a strategically important sector get under the wheel? Unfortunately, the answer is clear: Political and economic mismanagement. Firstly:…

9

Oct

2024

DE Speech

Watch

Ensuring sustainable, decent and affordable housing in Europe - encouraging investment, private property and public housing programmes (debate)

Mr President! For many of the 150 million tenants in the EU, housing has become priceless. And why? Because living space has become a speculative object, because a fat return can be earned with the rent. The left says: Stop it! We want an investment plan in social housing. The costs for energy-efficient building renovation must be socially just and certainly must not be passed on to the tenants al…

9

Oct

2024

DE Speech

Watch

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

Madam President, Prime Minister Orbán, it was a great mistake to entrust you with the Presidency of the Council. Unfortunately, you prove this every day through your policy. I am not only referring to your trips abroad to Trump or Putin, which were above all embarrassing PR stunts in their own cause. It's all so absurd and embarrassing, I'll leave that to you. But what really drives me politically…

18

Jul

2024

DE Speech

Watch

Election of the President of the Commission (request to adjourn the vote)

Madam President, Mrs von der Leyen spoke at length this morning about transparency and accountability. Now, just yesterday, the European Court of Justice ruled that this Commission unlawfully withheld from the public the full COVID contracts it concluded with the major pharmaceutical companies. This is about the essence of democratic politics. Transparency is a prerequisite for trust in democracy,…

17

Jul

2024

DE Speech

Watch

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

Madam President, Of course, it is necessary for the European Union to continue to support Ukraine so that Russia's war of aggression ends as quickly as possible. Almost every day, Ukraine is attacked with Russian missiles and drones. The repulsive rocket attack on Kiev's largest children's hospital a few days ago once again showed us the entire brutality of Putin's war. The families of the victims…

24

Apr

2024

DE Speech

Watch

The sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive - Anti-Money Laundering Regulation - Establishing the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (joint debate - Anti-money laundering)

Mr President! Out of 10 billion euros, a free school and kindergarten meal could be financed annually in Germany alone, or every pensioner could receive an annual supplement of 500 euros. 10 billion euros, that is exactly the amount that the German state escapes from tax revenue through money laundering. The Commission expects up to 210 dirty billion euros per year in the EU to be diverted and lau…

24

Apr

2024

DE Speech

Watch

Iran’s unprecedented attack against Israel, the need for de-escalation and an EU response (debate)

Mr President! The escalation of the conflict between Israel and Iran has brought the world community to the brink of a new major war, and the risk of further escalation is far from over. The regime of the mullahs in Iran pursues a policy of annihilation of Israel and must be stopped in this anti-Semitic madness. Inside, all progressive forces are brutally suppressed. Arbitrary arrests, the executi…

10

Apr

2024

DE Speech

Watch

Screening of third country nationals at the external borders - European Criminal Records Information System - Third Country Nationals - Common procedure for international protection in the Union - Establishing a return border procedure, and amending Regulation (EU) 2021/1148 - Asylum and migration management - Addressing situations of crisis and force majeure - Establishment of 'Eurodac' for the comparison of fingerprints for the effective application of Regulation (EU) No 604/2013, for identifying an illegally staying third-country national or stateless person and on requests for the comparison with Eurodac data by Member States' law enforcement authorities and Europol for law enforcement purposes (recast) - Union Resettlement Framework - Standards for the qualification of third-country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection - Standards for the reception of applicants for international protection (recast) (joint debate - Migration and Asylum package)

Mr President! The day will go down in European history as the day on which the European Union adopted its humanist principles. Those who will agree to this CEAS reform are de facto digging up human rights. And the right to asylum is the direct consequence of the atrocities and crimes of the Second World War, it is part of the ‘never again’ of the basic anti-fascist consensus. But this agreement is…

28

Feb

2024

DE Speech

Watch

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)

Madam President, If one listens to you in this way, Mrs von der Leyen, but also to colleagues from green to conservative, then one hears the same words over and over again: more money for weapons, armaments, war capability, combat readiness. I think it is very easy – and you all make it very easy – to hide behind these spurious words in order to distract from the failure of your own policies. The …

6

Feb

2024

DE Speech

Watch

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

Madam President, The war in Ukraine is now going on for almost two years, and every day innocent civilians are dying, soldiers on both sides are dying, caused by the ongoing Russian invasion. And much has changed in the lives of Europeans over the last two years. In addition to the persistently high prices for energy and the increasingly expensive food, fear and concern about a further escalation …