What Lukas spoke about.

7

Oct

2025

EN Speech

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Situation in Afghanistan: supporting women and communities affected by the recent earthquakes (debate)

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 b…

9

Sep

2025

EN Speech

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Gaza at breaking point: EU action to combat famine, the urgent need to release hostages and move towards a two-state solution (debate)

Madam President, first, I want to make the remark that also during this war and after this war, we in this Chamber have to talk to each other also on different matters. This is why I advocate for a bit of a de‑escalation in the language. I hear 'shame, shame, shame' all the time and things like that – I do not think this is the way to deal with it. Secondly, the whole mess has been started by the …

9

Jul

2025

EN Speech

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Outcome of the Conference on the Financing for Development in Seville (debate)

Mr President, I should like to thank the Commissioner for his courageous speech. I'm happy to have for the development policies and efforts of this Parliament such a champion in the European Commission when it comes to sustainable development. I am also happy that the European Parliament today managed to decide, in our voting, on a very particular specific message. Namely, we welcome the outcome o…

19

Jun

2025

EN Answer

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Institutional and political implications of the EU enlargement process and global challenges (debate)

Very interesting that you said you have asked the question several times and not received an answer; then it might be the case that the question is the problem, not the answer. That's the one side. The other side is, I mean, we have still a war ongoing. Putin and Russia's aggression against Ukraine. We have on the table several ideas of new Member States, which are not yet official candidate count…

19

Jun

2025

EN Speech

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Institutional and political implications of the EU enlargement process and global challenges (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, we need a Europe with more strength to the outside and more freedom to the inside. And at the moment, we are experiencing an era when the European Commission contributes a lot to a Europe with more freedom to the inside: deregulation, simplification, competitiveness – that's what we were thriving for for a long time and what's happening now. But we also need…

7

May

2025

DE Speech

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Return of Ukrainian children forcibly transferred and deported by Russia

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, Today we are discussing the return of those Ukrainian children who were abducted from Ukraine in the course of the Putin-Russia war of aggression. You have to keep that in mind, and you have to tell that to the whole world – and you have to tell that to those who keep trying to relativise. They're the smallest, they're the most vulnerable. It is…

1

Apr

2025

EN Speech

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Targeted attacks against Christians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – defending religious freedom and security (debate)

Madam President, dear colleagues, dear honourable High Representative/Vice-President Kallas, first, I want to again emphasise, as I do time and again, the difference between Islam and Islamism, between the religion of Islam and the harmful ideology of political Islam, between the religion that deserves and enjoys all the rights of religious freedom, on the one side, and Islamism – a violent, harmf…

1

Apr

2025

DE Speech

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EU Preparedness Union Strategy (debate)

Madam President, My Italian is just enough to agree with what you have just said, Madam President, and I thank you very much for that. Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! It is important that we invest in civil protection in Europe in these times. It is important that the new European Commission sets clear priorities for security and for the economy, for the economy and for security and for the in…

12

Mar

2025

EN Speech

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Severe political, humanitarian and human rights crisis in Sudan, in particular the sexual violence and child rape

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, humanitarian organisations call Sudan and the situation there literally one of the worst humanitarian nightmares of recent history. So, rightly, late at night now in the European Parliament, we use the time to reflect on this worst humanitarian nightmare of recent history. We all know the Russian attack against Ukraine is close geographically and is also clo…

12

Mar

2025

DE Speech

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100 days of the new Commission – Delivering on defence, competitiveness, simplification and migration as our priorities (topical debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! I did not make it easy for me to give Ursula von der Leyen a boost of confidence for a second term of office as President of the Commission. I have also received many critical e-mails from citizens for this voting behaviour, which I have made transparent. However, after 100 days of this new European Commission, I can say that I would do it again be…

11

Mar

2025

EN Speech

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The need for EU support towards a just transition and reconstruction in Syria (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, I visited Syria three years ago. In the main place, I met with international organisations present there. Already then their recommendation was to make exceptions in humanitarian cases from the sanctions, which would have been important and which remain important, while sanctions also remain important, as long as we don't know whether jihadists have turne…

11

Mar

2025

DE Speech

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Presentation of the proposal on a new common approach on returns (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, Very often, like many colleagues who criticise over-regulation, I have criticised the inability of the European Union to cope with illegal migration from this lectern. And now the new European Commission is coming into action at a considerable pace. Yesterday we discussed the fight against overregulation here because the European Commission made…

10

Mar

2025

DE Speech

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Cutting red tape and simplifying business in the EU: the first Omnibus proposals (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! An open word: My heart is bleeding that every day I get complaints from citizens of my home country Austria, from entrepreneurs about how overregulation makes business more difficult, how overregulation destroys jobs, how overregulation prevents growth because orders cannot come at all or can not be perceived, how overregulation leads to the fac…

12

Feb

2025

DE Speech

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

Mr President! Mr Executive Vice-President! Dear colleagues! Cooperation between conservatives and right-wing extremists as a threat to competitiveness in the EU – in other words, this is already a title that seems to be on the agenda and is to be made with the election campaign in Germany. The speeches of colleagues Repasi, López, Freund and Schirdewan from the far left made it quite clear that th…

11

Feb

2025

DE Speech

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Escalation of violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (debate)

Mr President! Commissioner! Dear colleagues! It is a tragedy of unimaginable proportions that is taking place in the Congo, and I will say right at the beginning: If one or the other in Europe asks ‘What is our concern?’, then I say, for many reasons, it is our concern! Firstly, one of the values that Europe represents is human dignity and freedoms. That is, it affects us when people experience su…

10

Feb

2025

EN Speech

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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: the need for the European Union to contribute to resolving the humanitarian crisis of persons missing in wars and conflicts (debate)

Mr President, when a person goes missing and remains missing, not only is this person affected in one way or another, but many people around; friends and family, parents and children would be affected by that. It is a pity that we have to say today the absolute rule to avoid persons going missing also in armed conflict is not respected anymore. There are more and more missing persons. Particularly…

10

Feb

2025

DE Speech

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Escalation of gang violence in Sweden and strengthening the fight against organised crime (debate)

Madam President, Dear colleagues! In Sweden, there is an explosion of gang crime of unimaginable proportions. I would like to express my thanks to Tomas Tobé and the other Swedish colleagues for putting this on the European Parliament's agenda. Sweden is exactly as long a member state of the European Union as my home country Austria is. In these 30 years we know: We can only solve cross-border cha…

21

Jan

2025

EN Speech

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Humanitarian crisis in Sudan (debate)

Mr President, thank you, thank you Commissioner for your clear words on this urgent and important issue, dear colleagues. This is one of the examples where we need a Europe stronger to the outside, meaning a Europe that can help when help is needed, and the Europe that pays attention where attention is needed. I am in strong contact with the World Food Programme experts and officials. World Food P…

21

Jan

2025

EN Speech

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Further deterioration of the political situation in Georgia (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, in 2019, at the beginning of the last mandate, I was meant to visit Tbilisi and to speak in the Georgian Parliament, on the premises of the parliament at a different event. But this speech never happened, because during this event a Russian visitor at that time took over the chair of the event, and the people went on the streets and demonstrated against it a…

17

Dec

2024

DE Speech

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

Mr President! Dear colleagues, High Representative and Commissioner for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas, welcome to the European Parliament! I look forward to working together, and this is urgent and important. The internal political dimension of Europe, with the large number of refugees in European cities and in all Member States, and the geopolitical situation with Syria are linked. I was in Syria t…

16

Dec

2024

DE Speech

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A European Innovation Act: lowering the cost of innovating in Europe (debate)

Mr President! Ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, welcome to the European Parliament. It is good that we have the first debate with each other on the important topic of innovation. I am pleased that your very first appointment immediately after your nomination by Ursula von der Leyen as Commissioner for Innovation took you to my office. At that time we already explained the importance of innovatio…

28

Nov

2024

DE Speech

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Foreign interference and espionage by third country actors in European universities (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen! As a rule, a Russian agent will not say: I'm a Russian agent. He will hide behind civil society actors, behind pseudo-media actors, behind pseudo-scientific actors, will appear in public – and what are they talking about? The Russian agent will not speak of war as Putin-Russia is waging war, but of peace. And this is what we are witnessing in our societies as pa…

27

Nov

2024

EN Speech

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The increasing and systematic repression of women in Iran

Madam President, thank you very much, dear colleagues, the mullah regime in Iran was founded in 1979, quite as the European Parliament, which was founded the very same year. Parliament will exist much longer than the mullah regime in Iran: that is what I am convinced of and what I strive for. Not to mention that I was born the very same year and also intend to live longer than this mullah regime, …

26

Nov

2024

DE Speech

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Full accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen Area: the urgent need to lift controls at internal land borders (debate)

26

Nov

2024

EN Speech

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Continued escalation in the Middle East: the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank, UNRWA’s essential role in the region, the need to release all hostages and the recent ICC arrest warrants (debate)

Mr President, dear colleagues, (inaudible) defend democracy and the rule of law, separation of powers, independent justice, freedom of speech and opinion, freedom of press. These are pillars our civilisation is about. And who is fighting at the utmost frontier for this civilisation and for these values? It's the Israeli Defence Forces, it's the Israeli government and it's the Israeli people in the…