Speeches

The very stability of Europe is at stake! The current European Commission was elected in 2024. Since then, it has proved to be aware of what’s at stake for Europe, especially in the economy and for our security. At the same time, the Commission has been challenged due to crises and geopolitical developments. Its initiatives for the Omnibus-packages show the efforts by the Commission to contribute to Europe’s future prosperity. For our security, the Commission has been a constructive partner of the European Parliament in fostering our defence capability. When it comes to global crises the Commission has been keeping up Europe’s stance. I see the motions of censure against the European Commission as nothing but attempts to destabilise Europe; no matter whether they had been tabled by the extreme left or by the extreme right like recently. As the EU is for the time being to be seen as the most stable part of the world, it’s even more severe when political groups try to destabilise it. For all these reasons my intention has remained as in all the former cases to vote against the motion of censure against the European Commission.

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, Georgia is an enormously important European country, a country we will not lose sight of and one that is important for the future of Europe. Georgians feel European, they think European, they have European aspirations. My very first visit outside the EU after the election in 2019 led me to Georgia. I was meant to participate in a conference in the Georgian Parliament and to speak at this conference on the premises. It did not take place because riots were on the streets because, already at that time in 2019, a Russian representative had sat down on the Georgian Parliament Chair's seat, and that's what the people couldn't accept. This is what I experienced there: they want Europe, they do not want to be a Russian satellite state. We will help the people of Georgia, we are on their side.

Thank you, I appreciate it. We are already exercising the parliamentary debate as it is meant for Parliament. So thanks for this additional question. Well, among many things that should be looked at, I always put it in the framework of more strength to the outside and more freedom to the inside. This is what the future structures of the European Union should provide. I think the number of issues where the unanimity principle would apply must be much, much smaller. This number must decrease in order to make the European Union ready to react and act stronger to the outside and to the inside. And a very last point. There are already rumours and discussions, even open discussions, about the core Europe or something like that. I think this is a fallback position that must be discussed, but it would be better if the European Union would be reformed and enlarged in its entirety.

Of course, we need a new EU Treaty. In the 1.5 minutes of speaking time I had before, I was not even able to only mention the third institution: the Council. And I think it's up to the Member States, in the Council, to the governments of the Member States, to take the courage to start a negotiation process on the Treaties. This was always the way Europe was reformed, the European Union developed. We have the longest period of time in Europe's history without a Treaty reform. We have the longest period of time without an accession. We have even had a country dropping out of the European Union during that period of time. So there are many good reasons to really work on further reforms, but we exercise now how a reform approach can work with this very agreement.

Madam President, Vice-President, colleagues, we have inherited from generations before us a Europe with separation of powers, a Europe with the very first parliament in Europe's history for Europe in its entirety – a parliament established in 1979, the same year as the Iranian regime. And I very much trust now more than ever that the European Parliament will last longer than this Iranian regime. I want to, in particular, thank our colleague Sven Simon for undertaking the endeavour of negotiating this agreement, because it is of utmost importance that we achieve results with the separation of powers, with a strong parliament, which is the only directly elected body in this European Union and which is the citizens' chamber. I think it is not by chance that Vice-President Šefčovič is with us today, because he is not only the longest-serving member of the College, he is also – and I know that from my personal experience – a good example of how the Commission can engage with the parliamentarian when it comes to the very interests of the Europeans. But this must be structurally enshrined. The people want more leadership, a more visionary approach, and this very body – the directly elected Chamber, the European Parliament – is the body providing more leadership, a more visionary approach. And these days, we have seen a more visionary approach by our Commission's President when it comes to the statements on the evolving situation in Iran. This is why, to the inside for more freedom, to the outside for more strength of Europe, the Parliament must have a stronger say and the agreement is a good path towards that.

Madam President, High Representative Kaja Kallas, colleagues, we live in a world with more and more confrontation. Europe's approach has always been – at least when it was successful – one of cooperation, and cooperation is the decisive element of the success story of Europe to the inside, and cooperation is the way Europe reaches out to the outside. Of course, especially in recent years, we've been able to defend Europe, we've been more independent in security and defence and enlarging also this capacity, but cooperation is our approach. Maybe that's something we still have to fight for and to argue for. This very week in the European Parliament has shown exactly that – that it is a very tight race always between the ones who see the value of cooperation against the ones who are reluctant or are driven by anxiety, not even rationale, so much. So we have to do a lot here. And this is where India comes in: the largest country on earth, a country we have a lot of prospects with, a lot of opportunities in joint endeavours. And India is open for this cooperation with Europe. India is also the largest democracy on earth, while of course different in the one or the other respect to Europe, but still a country we can work with, a country that is open for us. And this is why the EU-India summit is a shining light in these times of many shadows and a lot of darkness.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, Europe needs a recovery. We need it for prosperity now and in the future, for our social security systems, also for our independence from other parts of the world and to maintain our civilization. We therefore also need every opportunity to become entrepreneurially active. That is why it is right that there should be a separate European legal form for companies valid throughout the European Union – if this makes possible something that we know from the Declaration of Independence of the United States, with whose administration we are currently dealing with major problems, but which we nevertheless appreciate, namely the pursuit of happiness – Pursuit of Happiness. I say this today because this new legal form is intended to make entrepreneurial activity easier, but not the knighthood of fortune. Not the gold mining mentality, which may then turn the stable European economic model upside down. No, striving for happiness and happiness is not just profit, although it belongs to the economy if it is to work, but means contributing something, entrepreneurially, to make other people's lives easier through products and services. This is what many in Europe want and can do, but they lack the legal form for it and the right capital market for it in Europe. That is why the Capital Markets Union is so important. That is why we need to mobilise what capital would actually be available in Europe.

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, we keep up the attention for the people of Georgia. This is a clear message the European Parliament conveys again today to Georgia, to Europe, to the world. Because to keep up the attention is the first step to a better future. This very week, we have provided courageous Georgian journalists with the Sakharov Prize, the human rights prize of the European Parliament, and we will keep up the attention. I have visited Georgia several times, for example, exactly the day of the riots in 2019, in June, shortly after the European Parliament's elections, and these riots took place because of Russian interference, or at least, the allegation of Russian interference, the appearance of a Russian leader in the Georgian Parliament, even in the seat of the Chair there. It should have been a lesson for the leadership already at that time that people do not accept this kind of Russian influence because they know what it is about after the occupation of Abkhazia, of South Ossetia. So also we, as European Parliament delegations, we several times conveyed the messages: speak to each other among the political parties, keep up democratic standards, try to seek for diversity in your political landscape. It is exactly the opposite that has happened. But the Georgians deserve better. The Georgians want a better situation, and we will keep up the good faith and also the concrete support for the Georgians to have a better, positive European future.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the debate is about recent developments in Palestine and Lebanon. The developments are very different. In Lebanon, Hezbollah is weaker than ever; in Palestine, Hamas is still not yet fully defeated. In Lebanon, we have a bright future already close in reach with an election next year. After the Pope's visit, there was a lot of confidence in the country. In Palestine, UNRWA is still around. We need more trustworthy organisations of international funding, we need support for a proper future, on the way to a two-state solution which can only be – in one generation or more – really applicable. It is a huge difference. The future for the region is the Abraham Accords. The Abraham Accords are starting exactly like the European integration once started: with cooperation among former enemies in economic dimensions and then in other dimensions, and this led to peace, freedom, prosperity. This is what we all have to wish for. All the countries in the region – no matter whether Palestinians, Lebanese or the others – would be affected.

Mr President, colleagues, when I was reading early morning on Monday after the horrible attack in Sydney, Australia, in a Jewish newspaper about the matter of fact that the hero Ahmed Al‑Ahmed was a muslim, is a muslim, fortunately, since he survived the attack. It touched me deeply and it reminded me of what I have stated time and again in this plenary and elsewhere that Islamism and Islam is not the same. Islamism is an ideology of hatred, anti-Semitism, violence, brutal terrorism. Islam is a religion as other religions and deserves the same freedom of religion. How many times have we talked in this very Parliament about anti-Semitism and where it leads to, and about the responsibility of the vast majority of people who are not anti-Semites, to make proper dwelling for Jewish people possible. And how many times it was of doubt whether we are coherent in Europe of doing that. So Australia is not Europe, but we must not underestimate the threat that's also here. It's also in the Member States of the European Union that's everywhere in the world. So this horrible attack, while we mourn the victims, we must even strengthen our efforts to make proper dwelling for Jewish people possible and to fight anti-Semitism in all its forms.

Mr President, dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, the Iranian regime has been a threat to the outside and to the inside. The Iranian regime is weaker than ever before after the attacks on 7 October 2023 against our civilisation, I would say, because the Iranian regime was behind it, and the Iranian regime had to pay the bill for it and still has to pay the bill for it. But I care for the people in Iran. No matter what religion or ethnicity, everybody deserves a proper life. This is exactly what the difference is between us and our values in Europe and beyond, and the approach of the Iranian regime. I have been sanctioned by the Iranian regime since January 2023, and I am absolutely aware of the fact that the Baha'i and other minorities are even more under threat than ever before, because the regime is so weak that it tries to do everything to remain in power. We must not allow the regime to get away with that.

Madam President, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, first, for the vast majority of people on this planet, spirituality, religion is a major part of their identity. Only because in Western Europe it is only slowly increasing that we have this understanding, we must not forget to have that in mind and take that into account when we reach out to the world. Secondly, Islam and Islamism are two different things. Islam is a religion. Islamism is a terrible terrorist ideology, very harmful. And most harmed by Islamism is Islam itself, because it disappears as a religion from the public sphere if Islamism is too present, and Islamism is also the grounding for persecution of Christians in Nigeria and elsewhere, but mostly in Nigeria today. And we have to fight that by fighting Islamism and by keeping up religious freedom. I want to, in particular, commend the activities of our Vice-President Antonella Sberna in that specific field of religious freedom, which is of utmost importance also in the very interests of Europe's core values.

Mr President, Commissioner, thank you very much for your speech and the EU's efforts so far. I think we should align with those who also take efforts for stabilisation, for future peace, and for proper dwelling and dignity. That is what we wish for everybody and especially for the people in Sudan due to this largest humanitarian crisis in the world. It has been the largest crisis since 2023, but I cannot avoid to make the remark that we might have been covered with some crisis regions, which we, ideologically driven, focused more on for a very long time. But now we focus on the largest crisis we have on Earth, especially on this very day, which is also the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Rape as a weapon of war is widely used in Sudan. This is something that is absolutely unacceptable and it has to be addressed, as well as humanitarian aid, meaning also humanitarian access. This is something that will be a precondition for what the Commissioner has just pointed out as EU help, EU support. Humanitarian access is a precondition for that. Politically speaking, we are confronted again with an actor we already pretty much know: the Muslim Brotherhood. So, I think the European Union politically should support the efforts of the so‑called 'Quad' – meaning the US, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt – to achieve a ceasefire, and to support a peaceful and sustainable resolution of the matter. This would be the political approach the EU should take.

Madam President, there is this saying about the so‑called elephant in the room. It might be that in the past it was meant for various different things. Today, my impression is that it is meant for China, because after each and every discussion we have, in whatever capital of Member States or on the European level, in the end somebody would state that it was a very interesting discussion, but there is the elephant in the room: we have not talked enough about China. But still, we talk about China and it is becoming more and more, but I would advocate for talking with China more. China is called by the Strategic Compass of the European Union an economic competitor, a strategic partner and also a systemic rival. I know from encounters with Chinese officials that the systemic rival dimension is not very well received. It is obvious that we have different values: human dignity, individual freedom – the death penalty would be something that is absolutely not compatible with European values – but we have to talk with China to de‑risk without to decouple, and to diversify our risk in many different fields of economy and other fields.

Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, the pact for the Mediterranean is of the utmost importance for Europe and for Europe's global outreach, for Europe's strength to the outside, for obvious reasons: we are close neighbours. All the countries close to the sea, no matter whether it's Europe or North Africa or even the Middle East, are in the end, on a global scale, compared to the rest of the world, close neighbours. Why would we let other powers on this planet – who might seek confrontation against us instead of cooperation with us – why would we allow them to influence Africa in general, North Africa in particular, and also other parts surrounding Europe, even Europe itself, more than we ourselves do? We involve ourselves in our own destiny. We get involved in our own pathway forward if we cooperate in the Mediterranean. This is why it's of utmost importance that this will be a success – a success in terms of the economy, a success in terms of security, and also a success in terms of fighting illegal migration. We need the partners to fight illegal migration. We need security also in terms of confronting hybrid threats. We need economic success, and as Ronald Reagan once stated, 'The best social program is a job,' I think the best development aid is economic cooperation – and this is what we have to seek with our partner countries in the respective regions.

Madam President, Ronald Reagan has quoted in his time that one can go to Germany or to France, but he won't be a German or a Frenchman, but he could go to America and become an American. This is not true at the time of the current US administration, but it can be a pattern of what it means to come to Europe and become a European. On the other hand, there is the tolerance paradox of Sir Karl Popper, who says: "Tolerance against intolerance does not work." And there have been many who are intolerant of our European civilization, and Europe has not been able to face it together for ten years. That's why it's so nice and a special day, a good day, to be able to say today: After ten years, Europe has unified access. Europe treats together what Europe must tackle together as a challenge. And that this succeeds under a commissioner from Austria, Magnus Brunner, is particularly beautiful, but Magnus Brunner did it for the whole of Europe. And so we can look to the future and cope with integration with those who are there. Because that is what burdens citizens the most.

Mr President, Commissioner, thank you very much for this deep dive into the important matter of the EU-Africa Partnership. And, in the long term, there is not much on the planet that matters more to Europe, to Europe's future, than the EU-Africa Partnership, since this is nothing other than an important, a close, a deep and meaningful neighbourhood –it's neighbourhood. Some might think, when they think about Africa, in all its diversity, it would be about development, and development is important. Some might think it would be about migration, and migration is important. Some might also see it's about youth – strong youth – in Africa, striving for prospects. Some might think it is about business partnerships, and I want to clearly emphasise and underline that these things are connected. Actually, when it comes to development, time and again I quote Ronald Reagan, who said, 'The best social programme is a job'. And the same is true for development – the best development aid is economic partnership. This is why Global Gateway is of the utmost importance in our EU-Africa partnership, but also when it comes to other parts of the world, to try to influence the rest of the world under the umbrella of other values than the values we strive for. Then, time and again, I underline – also to our African partners – that it's the EU that is trustworthy, it's the EU that's rule-of-law based, and it's the EU that's reliable in the longer term. And this is why partners in the EU and partners in Africa belong together for the better of the population of both.

Mr President, what a pity the Commission President left our plenary debate about the Commission work programme. But I'm more than happy that the most experienced commissioner, Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič, is with us this afternoon, because it is an important matter we have to discuss. I kindly ask the Vice-President to convey the messages of this plenary debate to the Commission President. I have to say, I voted for her in her first election six years ago, in her second election one year ago – even while the Member States didn't even provide us with more than one candidate for this position, but this is all a future perspective – and I have defended, as has the majority of this House, the Commission President against the confidence vote we had here. Having said that, I really want to ask the Commission President to not allow herself to get distracted by these confidence votes from the extremists of this House. Because when I was thinking in the beginning of this mandate that now the right policies will be taken from the side of the European Commission in terms of deregulation for our economy and, of course, also in terms of security and to tackle the crises of our times, then I think it was a positive, optimistic approach of the beginning of a mandate. We must not allow ourselves to be distracted because one extreme wants to destroy our economy, the other extreme wants to destroy our security. We have to take care of both in Europe – our economy and our security – because both are existential. We need a Europe with more freedom to the inside and more strength to the outside. Therefore, I kindly ask the Commission President to remain a friend of freedom in that sense, and a leader in terms of security for Europe.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. When it comes to our Europeans' access to the digital age, to social media, to artificial intelligence, it's not just about a company, even if it's a big one, it's not just about a platform, it's about how we deal with the risks and how we deal with the opportunities. Fear is a bad adviser. This principle is very, very important, but the fear is very different from the fear, the fear of the risks, which are evident, which are there, which often already occur. Only today, a teacher from Tyrol in my home country Austria wrote me how much addiction potential for children and adolescents – and actually everyone – is already in social media, where, due to artificial intelligence in algorithms, much is designed for addiction, which people then develop in one way or another. That's dangerous. At the same time, as a friend of freedom, I also want innovation in Europe. I don't want us to be consumers of what is invented and produced and distributed in other parts. I want European companies to have the freedom to innovate in the field of artificial intelligence, based on European values. And ultimately, I want freedom, freedom of expression, freedom of the press to be not only the freedom of the loudest and the most extreme, and perhaps the most nude, but really the freedom of the voices reflected, the quiet voices, the marginalized. All this can only be achieved with a corresponding human contribution to the digital age.

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, while here in the European Parliament we have to discuss and vote on confidence votes against our Commission's President from the extreme right and from the extreme left, which is already kind of a shame, the Commission's President has just visited India and reached out for prosperous future cooperation. There are not many things sustainably so important as this. The reason is India is not only the biggest country on Earth, it is also the country where Europe can prove its strength to the outside in the very fields we Europeans care about. I have already fought my election campaigns with the clear message. I want Europe to thrive, with more strength to the outside and more freedom to the inside, of course. India, in terms of labour, in terms of people, in terms of education, in terms of skills, and in all the many other fields colleagues have already mentioned, from technology to security, is and will remain and become an even more important partner for us Europeans. So let's go for it.

Mr President, Commissioner, Minister, today marks 7 October. After 11 September 2001, the world took care of Afghanistan, but it didn't work out well. After 7 October 2023, we will see whether the world takes care of the Palestinian territories and where it will lead, because the ideology of different rights for men and women, the ideology of treating not only men and women differently, but also boys and girls, different communities differently, leads always from bad to worse. This happens in many kinds of ideological regimes, and this happens in Islamist regimes especially, and these days in particular. This is why the earthquake of 31 August is a big tragedy. It caused more than 2 000 losses in terms of lives and many other victims, and the European Union must take care of it. Humanitarian aid is provided by the European Union, and the EU remains the largest donor of humanitarian aid on Earth, also in this case. But women are affected more and girls are affected more, and communities which are not supported by the regime are affected more. This is what we must not allow to happen anywhere on Earth. And this is why humanitarian aid also must come along with a clear political message for human dignity.