Speeches

Ursula von der Leyen stands for even more migration, even more woke re-education, even more green climate dictates, even more war. It is the face of the Green Deal and the migration pact. Its policy is directed against those forces that are striving for peace in Ukraine: She renounces the traditional inaugural visit to the Hungarian Presidency. This is pure disrespect for Hungary. It is a provocation to Viktor Orban, who is doing what the EU is supposed to do, namely to act as a peace broker. Orban travels to Kiev, Moscow, Beijing, Washington. If you want peace, you have to talk to all actors – Zelenskyy, but also Putin. This is a realistic foreign policy. That's what diplomacy is all about. Diplomacy is more than just a coffee party among like-minded people. Orban understood this, the value vests did not. This is precisely why Orban is taken seriously internationally, while one von der Leyen is considered a joke figure. Orban is doing what Europe needs to do: A policy of balance. Intermediation between East and West. Von der Leyen does the opposite: It relies on escalation and supplies billions of dollars and weapons to Ukraine, which, according to Transparency International, is as corrupt as Papua New Guinea, Niger or Gabon. It prolongs the war. Ukrainians are suffering and Europeans are impoverished.

Mr President! Venezuela has suffered enough in recent decades under Chavez, under Maduro, under socialism. Once a prosperous country, Venezuela is now the poorhouse of South America. In the market economy, luxury goods become everyday goods; in socialism, everyday goods become luxury goods. Venezuela is the best proof of this. This alone does not justify any regime change. And it didn't really happen anyway. Maduro was replaced by Vice President Delcy Rodríguez. Clear continuity: Maduro is gone, but his system remains. The amnesty law does not change that. It is merely intended to weaken international criticism and obscure state responsibility. The facts: All public institutions remain untouched. The Supreme Court remains untouched. The armed forces remain untouched. The ruling Socialist Party remains untouched and the security authorities remain untouched. The amnesty law therefore does not constitute a caesura – on the contrary: It covers only certain periods of time and confirms the repression, political persecution and criminalisation of opposition activists to date. The regime change So there was no one. There can be no talk of a democratic turnaround, at most of a PR coup.

Mr President, Haiti is a failed state. Criminal gangs control large parts of the country. Violence has become part of daily life. Kidnappings are commonplace. Women and children are systematically exploited. State institutions are being eroded from within. We must face the facts: our efforts to date have largely failed. Some EUR 600 million in aid over the past 30 years has produced almost no positive results, and the various large-scale UN missions have achieved only limited success. Institutions remain weak, corruption persists and the security situation is getting worse by the day. This approach cannot continue. A fundamental shift in strategy is urgently needed. We must therefore cut off the financial flows that sustain criminal gangs, intensify the fight against human trafficking, halt the illicit arms trade and ensure consistent international prosecution of those responsible. At the same time, close regional cooperation is essential to address the root causes of migration and instability. Haiti no longer needs symbolic measures: it needs effective and coordinated strategies that deliver real results.

Madam President, They want to exclude Russian citizens from major sporting events. That disgusts me. This disgusts me because it is small-minded, dishonest and, at its core, totalitarian. Yes, Russia has attacked Ukraine, and yes, we condemn it in the strongest possible terms. But what can Russian athletes do about it? You attribute collective guilt to innocents, you take innocents into clan custody. This is a civilizational step backwards. And it's pure double standards. Was the exclusion of American athletes demanded when the United States invaded Vietnam? Or in Guatemala? Or in Cambodia? Or in Grenada? Or in Nicaragua? Or in Panama? Or in Somalia? Or in Yugoslavia? Or in Afghanistan? Or in Iraq? Or in Libya? Or in Iran? Where was your clan? Where were your collective guilt theses? Where was your outrage? Nothing, zero, nada! According to your logic, the U.S. has never been allowed to participate in the Olympic Games in all the wars it has waged. And no, please don't misunderstand, that would also be wrong. American athletes can't support their government's policies any more than Russians can. The sport is supposed to unite peoples, but they abuse sport for division. All your indignation is pure hypocrisy. It is a sign of weakness. You have achieved nothing in Ukraine. They are pumping billions into a corrupt leadership in Kyiv as our people become more and more impoverished. They torpedo the peace efforts of others, but do without peace diplomacy themselves, Ms. Strack-Zimmermann. They impose sanctions that harm us more than Russia. They're just prolonging the war through all of this. Internationally, no one takes them seriously anymore. Everywhere Brussels is out. What you're doing here is ugly symbolism at the expense of innocents. You can't do more. Diplomatic failure coupled with geopolitical insignificance: It is a pity that Europe has fallen so low.

Madam President, Christians are the most persecuted religious community in the world. And especially in the Middle East, this persecution is particularly brutal. In Syria, their situation has deteriorated dramatically since the fall of Assad. Nevertheless, Brussels is rolling out the red carpet to the new rulers in Damascus, of which Leyen pledges billions to Al-Dschaulani. This is unacceptable. The persecution of Christians is not limited to Syria. Christians are also being displaced in other parts of the Middle East, partly for Islamist motives and partly through ethnopolitically motivated land grabbing. In the West Bank, radical Israeli settlers are expelling Palestinian Christians from their villages. Local pastors, the Latin Patriarch Pizzaballa and the Vatican condemn the growing violence against our brothers in faith as well as Israel's former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. The protection of Christians in the Middle East must become a non-negotiable conditionality in our foreign and development policy. Those who persecute Christians cannot be financed and courted by Brussels.

Mr President, Niger is a fragile state. Poverty, instability, corruption, Islamist terrorism: these problems have persisted for many years. The military coup has further destabilised the country: President Mohamed Bazoum has now been arbitrarily detained for over two years. Many states of the region have condemned this. One might think that this has nothing to do with us: after all, Niger is far away. But that is not the case: under President Bazoum, Niger was an important strategic partner for us in the fight against Islamist terrorism, but also in border management. This matters because Niger is a key transit country for migration and has a rapidly growing population. The ongoing destabilisation of the country threatens us with even more mass migration and expansion of Islamist terrorism. This is neither in our interest nor in the interest of Niger. We therefore call for the immediate release of President Mohamed Bazoum, and we must find ways to cooperate with Niger in the fight against terrorism and migration management.

Mr President! Turkey is a great nation. Our peoples have many things in common, such as the Brotherhood of Arms, but also many common interests: trade, energy, countering illegal migration, border management and stability in the Middle East. Turkey is one of our key strategic partners and our bridge to Asia – this is particularly important in times of multipolarity. We should expand this partnership, but this also includes mutual respect. Turkey cannot finance Islamic organisations in Germany and Europe while harassing foreign Christians in its own country; It doesn't work that way. The fact that foreign Christians are structurally disadvantaged in Turkey can be traced back to a narrow formalistic interpretation of the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, which still defines Turkish minority and religious policy. In addition, since the 2016 coup attempt, there has been a greatly expanded concept of security and an overstretched prevention logic. According to this logic, foreign Christians are often seen as geopolitically exploitable actors, as a national security risk. It's absurd! Conversely, one would also have to consider Turkish Muslims in Europe as a fifth column. This asymmetry must end; it poisons our relations – this is neither in our nor in Turkey’s interest.

Mr President! According to former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin: ‘There is freedom of speech, but I cannot guarantee freedom after the speech.’ This is somewhat reminiscent of the situation of Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine: He had the freedom to run, but he had no real freedom after his candidacy. Critics of longtime Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni draw parallels to the reign of terror of Idi Amin. Uganda is a typical example of postcolonial authoritarian rule. This is known from many African countries: Opposition is suppressed, critics are intimidated, including opposition leader Bobi Wine. Between 2020 and 2024, the EU spent almost €100 million to strengthen governance in Uganda. That didn't work out so well: In Uganda, this was perceived as foreign interference; It provoked reactions. In the end, it was, it must be said, money thrown out. We should focus our development policy on infrastructure projects and economic growth, not on the export of value. This brings Uganda prosperity and gives us access to resources – win-win without instruction. This is the only way to achieve sustainable change.

Madam President, Robert Fico is an old-school Social Democrat. His beliefs don't always match mine, but I can respect him. Why? Because he doesn't want to give up national sovereignty, because he doesn't push the woke virus, because he's betting on diplomacy, he's not a war bastard. And he's right. It is not in Bratislava that women are mass raped, it is not in Bratislava that children become victims of premature sexualisation, it is not in Bratislava that peace diplomacy is rejected. This is happening in Brussels, in Berlin. You talk about diversity all the time, but your diversity only applies to those who have your views. And all your rule of law proceedings against Slovakia and Hungary are nothing more than blackmail. You have no respect for the values, traditions and history of these countries. You're acting like colonial gentlemen. Stop it! Hands off Slovakia!

Madam President, Leftists cannot lose, but they will have to get used to it – in Europe, in Honduras. There, right-wing conservative Nasry Asfura was elected president. International election observers, including the EU, have not been able to detect any electoral fraud. Nevertheless, the executive refused to acknowledge the outcome. The executive is – oh wonder – in the hands of the socialists. It has therefore been recounted – the result is the same: Victory for Asfura. The incumbent socialist president, Castro, didn't care. She called for a second recount of new, hand-picked election observers, monitored and supervised by the socialist-enforced executive – completely unconstitutional. The will of the Hondurans must be respected. They want a new president, they want to go the right way, they want Asfura – for good reason. Honduras is the poorhouse of Central America – high murder rate, rising corruption, a hotspot of drug trafficking. How do you fight that? Neighbor El Salvador shows how. President Bukele has fought gang crime there in the shortest possible time, the murder rate fell by 96 percent. El Salvador is now safer than Canada, and the economy is growing faster than before. Honduras can do that too.

Madam President, The EU understands nothing: Geopolitically irrelevant, economically increasingly weak, demographically catastrophic. But still confident enough to teach the whole world. Want more money for NGOs? Why? To destabilise countries you do not like: Regime change included. Abortion is a human right. Birth rates are falling. They are deploring the global decline of democracy. But in Europe, elections are annulled, politicians are excluded from them, and party bans are mused about. They want to impose gender ideology on the whole world. Zero respect for national sovereignty. Zero respect for other cultures. As a patriot, I respect other cultures. I just don't want them to replace mine. That's what makes diversity. They don't want diversity. You're just talking about it. They want simplicity. You want the whole world to dance to your pipe. This is value imperialism. This is neocolonialism. That's unsympathetic. That's arrogant. This is one reason why Europe is becoming increasingly irrelevant internationally. It's a pity! We do not need an action plan for human rights and democracy. We need an action plan for realpolitik, for remigration and for reindustrialisation.

Mr President! Iran is in crisis. The economy is in free fall. The people are protesting legitimately. Religiosity is also diminishing. People are getting poorer, their faith weaker. This is a problem for an Islamic theocracy. A problem that Tehran has to face, because the protest – initially organic – was later fuelled from the outside. Terror and violence followed. Many dead, like many, we don't know, but too many. Iran deserves better times. But sustainable change must also come from within. Regime changeOperations are not suitable for this purpose. Especially in Iran, we know that. No Islamic revolution ’79 without a coup against Mossadegh ’53. Those who are fascinated by democracy and human rights often only want power and oil. This is how authentic protest is discredited. That's why we should stay out of it. Even Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are warning of an escalation. No friends of Iran, but they know the region better than we do. We should listen to them. Chaos in Iran only leads to civil war and waves of refugees. And they always reach us in the end.

Madam President, Military coup in Guinea-Bissau, most likely staged. There are many things that speak for one Fake coupBecause it's funny: The military junta has used the elections as an opportunity to coup. The new cabinet: Almost invariably close allies of the overthrown President Embaló. But why stage a coup against an ally? Perhaps to cover up his election defeat? In this way, Embaló can continue to govern indirectly. A coup to stay in power – very creative. In the meantime, the country is sinking into chaos: political instability, poverty and excessive drug smuggling. Especially the latter is becoming more and more of a problem for us. Guinea-Bissau is a narco-state. Drug lords infiltrate politics, police and other government agencies. The origin of the drugs can no longer be traced. A third of the cocaine consumed in Europe is now being smuggled across the Gulf of Guinea. By 2030, it will be loud OCCRP half of it. It hurts Guinea-Bissau, it hurts us. We have to stop this. How? We have to put pressure. No fight against drug smuggling, no development aid. It won't be any different.

Madam President, Dear Commissioner! Around 400 million Christians worldwide are persecuted. Christians are the most persecuted religious community in the world. This persecution is particularly brutal in Nigeria. Nowhere in the world are more Christians murdered than there, murdered for one reason – because they are Christians. One of them, Pastor Lawan Andimi, was beheaded for refusing to convert to Islam. Or the student Deborah Samuel, first beaten to death, then burned. Churches are systematically destroyed, looted or closed – on average more than three churches a day since the Boko Haram Uprising in 2009. That makes a total of nearly 20,000 churches. The U.S. envoy to the UN, Mike Waltz, is clear. He says this is not accidental violence, this is a genocide, a genocide of Christians. All these facts have been known for a long time. Why are we only discussing this now? Why has there been no outcry so far? Why was it kept silent for so long? Perhaps because Christians are often only second-class victims and perhaps because people are reluctant to talk about the perpetrators out of misunderstood cultural sensitivity. Let's be honest, for many it is the wrong victims and the wrong perpetrators. But we should call the perpetrators by name: Boko Haram, the West African offshoot of ‘Islamic State’, Fulani militias, in short Islamist terrorists. They murder, kidnap, rape, torture. We can no longer accept this. We can no longer look away there. We have to put pressure. Nigeria must protect its Christians. Nigeria must fight Islamist terror. To do this, Nigeria needs to strengthen its institutions – police, judiciary, security apparatus. If not, we can't send a penny to Nigeria.

Madam President, Mrs von der Leyen, you're making Europe a laughing stock. They stand for corruption, censorship, green deindustrialisation and geopolitical insignificance. They are outraged by Trump's peace plan. Where has your peace plan been all these years? Orbán's peace efforts have torpedoed you, now negotiate a little. Why not earlier? Ukraine would have been spared a lot and we too – about three years of recession. What for? For golden oligarch cloisters, for billions to a corrupt leadership in Kyiv fleeing from its own people. And for 19 packages of sanctions that hurt us more than Russia. This is not a peace plan, this is stupidity. Their whole approach is geopolitical kindergarten. Poor relations with the US, bad relations with China, bad relations with Russia, dwindling influence around the world – it is not possible to pursue foreign policy. Yes, we need strategic autonomy, our own strength, our own sovereignty, realism instead of moralism, smart diplomacy and real politicians instead of infantile feminists in pants. You, Mrs von der Leyen, are making Europe weak. They make Europe a geopolitical ghost-driver. Make Europe great again – I like it, but only without you. Please resign!

Madam President, Commissioner! A brutal civil war is raging in Sudan. The SAF, supported by Tehran, is fighting the RSF militias, supported by Abu Dhabi – it is about power and access to gold, weapons and trade routes. The consequences are devastating. Over 150,000 dead, 14 million displaced, 25 million hungry, mass rape and systematic persecution of Christians, the most persecuted group in the country. Sudan is like hell on earth. This is the largest humanitarian catastrophe in the world, but it has been reported very little. This catastrophe also affects us. Many are unaware of how close Sudan is to Europe. The northern border of Sudan is only 1,200 kilometers from Crete. This is roughly the route from Brussels to Vienna. And between Sudan and the EU lies only Libya – Libya, after the NATO bombings and the regime change In 2011 a Failed state: a Failed state as a gateway for mass migration to Europe. Many Sudanese are already on their way to us. We need to understand: Peace in Sudan also ensures stability on our continent. This is in our interest and it is also in the interest of the Sudanese. What can we do? Controlled humanitarian aid: help, but our money must not be in the hands of the warlords land. In addition: No arms exports, no war financing! Instead, we should offer ourselves as a mediator. The Sudanese would thank us.