What Lukas spoke about.

27

Feb

2024

Speeches EN

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Recommendation to the Council, the Commission and the EEAS on the situation in Syria (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, I want to explicitly thank Nathalie Loiseau for her excellent work as a rapporteur on this Syria report, which is crucial and important for the security also of the Europeans, the security of the world and, of course, the future of the people of Syria. I have visited Damascus and the greater Damascus region two years ago. Immediately after that, I have talked to Nathalie Loiseau in order to implement especially the recommendations of international organisations active on the ground in Syria, especially United Nations organisations such as FAO or the Red Cross and others. I had the privilege to talk to – on site – those who had a clear impression on how humanitarian aid works and how it would not work. It works locally, it works regionally, it works when it addresses small and middle-sized enterprises and entities. It works when it addresses civil society and especially the education sector. This is also something we have implemented into this very report of the European Parliament on Syria. Secondly, I want to emphasise that the vast majority of refugees around the world are today Syrian refugees and the vast majority of them – around 80%, as experts tell us – want to go home. They would wish to go home and to have proper dwelling in their very home country, Syria, again, but they are reluctant to do so because they are afraid of violence due to the various tensions within society. Of course, on top of these threats is the Assad regime itself. It’s a threat to the world, it’s a threat to the region, it’s aligning with the ones who are threatening Europe such as Russia and others. This is also what the report obviously addresses, including, among final remarks of the report, also, the Aramaic language, which is a minority language – it’s about to disappear on this planet. We want to preserve the Aramaic language, and we want to have a proper, stable Syria for the future.

27

Feb

2024

Answers EN

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War in the Gaza Strip and the need to reach a ceasefire, including recent developments in the region (debate)

I hope we will continue our debate because the parliamentary debate is always worth it. Thanks for the question again. I could make the most important point at least.

27

Feb

2024

Answers EN

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War in the Gaza Strip and the need to reach a ceasefire, including recent developments in the region (debate)

Thank you for this question. My personal position and my policy is especially for demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip. After dismantling Hamas, which is taking hostage not only Israeli citizens but the people of the Gaza Strip – the Palestinians themselves – there must be demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip observed by Israel, but not only by Israel, by others. We then need civil society. We need education there. We need to fight anti-semitism. We need an economy which will be capable to help itself, and not be dependent on all the world’s aid all the time. This is what will be needed in the area, or in other words... (The President cut off the speaker) Is it possible to respond to a blue-card?

27

Feb

2024

Speeches EN

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War in the Gaza Strip and the need to reach a ceasefire, including recent developments in the region (debate)

Mr President, dear colleagues, time and again during our plenary sessions, the representation of the very citizens of our very European Union, our High Representative, the Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, does not show up. Again he does not show up. Otherwise, he would know about the decisions of this very Parliament on the current Middle East crisis. The decisions were always on behalf of the EU citizens on the side of Israel, our strong partner, the only democratic rule of law based in the region, defending itself, defending also us against terrorism and terrorist threats all over the world, confronting the Mullah regime in Tehran of Iran, which is threatening all the world. And otherwise he would not be able to say what he actually said in a recent interview in the newspaper El País that our Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, would have represented anyone but herself with her completely pro-Israeli position and visiting Israel in the most crucial days. Actually, our Commission's President represented what the people of Europe think in their majority, represented by this Parliament, which has decided it took that manner and direction. And this is what the High Representative and Foreign Affairs Commissioner should be aware about. I disagree on a lot with our Commission's President when it comes to bureaucracy, to the inside, when it comes to the new era of prohibition, to the inside of the European Union, but to the outside, Ursula von der Leyen is strengthening Europe. Josep Borrell is, unfortunately, weakening Europe, only remembering him also his visit to Moscow before the current Russia aggression. (The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question)

7

Feb

2024

Speeches DE

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Automated data exchange for police cooperation (“Prüm II”) (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! First of all, I would like to thank my Portuguese colleague Paulo Rangel for his work as rapporteur for this important report. The Presidency of the Council is no longer represented in this debate tonight, but this can only be a sign that the report has been so well negotiated in the European Parliament that it can be sent on a good journey and no longer viewed critically. The fact is that policing has become more difficult, especially since the migration crisis, then the pandemic crisis. Everything we are discussing these days as societal phenomena and challenges – here in the European Parliament, too, we are often negotiating – also has to do with policing, which has become more challenging. Police data exchange not only makes it possible to search suspects, including missing persons, more quickly and automatically, not only facilitates the fight against many types of crimes, including terrorism, but police data exchange also gives police officers the opportunity to do what human police officers need. For what cannot be done electronically and digitally, there are now more opportunities for the police officers. Police work is often also relationship work, and policing is creative work – it must also work in a networked way across Europe’s borders. If data exchange works across Europe's borders, then we see how important the European Union is for all of us to be safe, and what it means that we are making progress in policing and technical networking.

7

Feb

2024

Speeches DE

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Need to fight the increase of antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred (debate)

Madam President, dear Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen, Through a memorial project in my hometown of Gerasdorf, I learned a lot, for example about what Jewish fellow citizens feel when it is written on a memorial plaque – that was the case elsewhere – from history that people were murdered, but it is not written that it was Jewish fellow people who were murdered there, in the Holocaust, in the Shoah. Why is this so important? Because anti-Semitism is directed directly against Jewish people, because they are Jewish people, and anti-Semitism damages the entire society, lowers the groundwater level of mutual trust, of quality of life. There is no way to relativize anti-Semitism. There is also no reason to explain anti-Semitism, because it has no rational reason. It is pure hatred of people who cannot escape this hatred unless we all work to fight anti-Semitism. I would like to bring to your attention only a few figures from the time before the current major anti-Semitic riots also in our European capitals and throughout Europe: The anti-Semitism study commissioned by Austrian Parliament President Wolfgang Sobotka shows that more than a third of the population say: I am against the fact that people keep warming up the fact that Jews died in the Second World War. Or the Fundamental Rights Agency's anti-Semitism study says: 89% of Jewish people surveyed said they were victims of anti-Semitism. This has to alert us. Especially after the recent anti-Semitic riots in Europe, we must not move on to the agenda. And it must certainly not happen that the victim of the Holocaust, the Shoah, is commemorated, but in the same breath the right of Israel to exist is questioned, the development of Jewish life in Europe is not protected and promoted, and current anti-Semitism is not combated. One is related to the other. It is in Europe's vital interest to protect and enable Jewish life.

7

Feb

2024

Speeches DE

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The fight against hate speech and disinformation: responsibility of social platforms within the Digital Services Act (topical debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! A Parliament is a place of free speech – free speech is even protected by numerous safeguards. And yet, if you break the rules, the President here in Parliament will call someone to order; We just experienced this right now. And if I were now still scolding and arguing against others, then the call to order would probably be even sharper. And that is what upholds freedom of expression in our societies: Of course, there are rules. Freedom is always the freedom of others. The freedom of others to express their own opinions. And upholding that requires limits for those who use verbal violence. Freedom of speech is not the right of the strongest. Freedom of expression means listening to each other or at least giving space to those who may have a different opinion. Hatred, hate crimes on the internet, as they hardly exist in the real world, because this hatred is spread on the internet, in an anonymous setting or in a physically distant setting – this must be stopped, this must be stopped in order to uphold freedom of expression, in order to defend freedom of expression. And honestly: We parliamentarians are not the first victims of hate crimes, but those who cannot defend themselves, who do not have a public, who do not use this violent language; They are affected, and for them we fight hate crimes.

6

Feb

2024

Speeches DE

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Quality traineeships in the EU (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! We live in times of labour shortages and a rapidly changing attitude towards work. However, this also means that young people who work hard, who do more than what they absolutely need, who go the famous extra mile, can also do a lot – for themselves and for society. And, of course, they also deserve decent pay for it. Now it is the case that interns are not yet fully in the work process. But in order for them to be fully in the work process one day, it is important that they can complete the internship. And they do something in the internship, and that is also worth money; That's why decent pay is so important. What is true of what I just said? To the teaching. At least in Austria – in my home country – we have dual training – a highly successful model with low youth unemployment, with well-trained professionals who also repeatedly win international prizes for their expertise and specialist work. The same should be true for internships. The apprenticeship is not only paid for by the company, from the employer's side, but also by the public sector and accompanied by the vocational school. And even an internship cannot be done by the company alone, at least in many cases, but also here, young people need the support of society together and can thus come on a good path.

6

Feb

2024

Speeches DE

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Russiagate: allegations of Russian interference in the democratic processes of the European Union (debate)

Madam President, Mr Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen! Europe has a parliament for the first time in history since 1979, and it is a parliament in which the great European continent, yes, the European Union, is represented. But it is spoken for the continent by those who are democratically legitimized. It is the most exciting political arena in the world, and it is a target for espionage and hybrid warfare, as the experts call it. And today we are discussing the case of a colleague who appears to have been contaminated by Russian intelligence activities. We must be aware that these dangers exist. We have to protect ourselves. We must protect democracy by protecting parliamentarism. We must also have a special committee against foreign interference in the next parliamentary term or set up a fixed committee against it. We need parliamentarians who are not bribery or blackmailable. We need parliamentarians with character. And we must be aware that, in addition to those who can be influenced and against whom there are attempts to influence – and we all know that there are – there are also ideological persuaders who unabashedly sing the song of the autocrats in this world, who unabashedly sing the song of the autocrats in this world. Appeasement We want to fight the perpetrators of violence in this world. They call themselves communists, quite blatantly, also in my home state of Austria. They are right-wing extremists, some of them right-wing extremists, and they put this on record. There are democratic elections. The vast majority of citizens can defend themselves against this song being sung by autocrats and violent offenders.

6

Feb

2024

Speeches DE

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The need for unwavering EU support for Ukraine, after two years of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. It is important and right for the European Union to support Ukraine in its self-defense struggle. It is existential for the European Union, for Europe, for the whole free world. And the year 2024 will show that the European Union has to do it on its own. At the same time, what the President of the Commission said at our special meeting here in the European Parliament on 1 March 2022, immediately after the start of the war of aggression, is important, namely that we must keep our hands outstretched to the other Russia, as she said. But we don't know the other Russia yet, no face, no name. This will not happen in 2024 either. We have to stand together, we have to stand with Ukraine. We must not mislead the people of Ukraine into thinking that this will come to an end quickly or that EU membership will come to an end quickly. Ukraine will be free. Europe will be free, democratic, rule of law – and it is worth every effort to do so.

17

Jan

2024

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Addressing urgent skills shortages and finding the right talents to boost job creation (European Year of Skills) (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! Let's face the facts. Forecasts for economic development in 2024 do not point to a rapid improvement. That means there's a lot to do. This is why there is also a shortage of workers, because not everything that needs to be done can be done. And if, despite the bad economic situation, there are orders that cannot be completed, then this is not a good forecast for economic development. It therefore needs the best working conditions so that young people and all people like to work, like to get into the work process. It also needs a move away from populism, which says there could be a reduction in working hours. Europe is the place in the world with the best social systems. However, maintaining this requires a great deal of added value. We have to fight for it, we have to fight for it. And we have to turn away from the idea that with less work, more could be achieved. It's the other way around, the conditions have to be right. It is now three-quarters ten, as we say in Austria. This is where we work, in the European Parliament. It has to suit everyone and everyone as work is done, but there is something to do around the clock.

17

Jan

2024

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Situation in Serbia following elections (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! Serbia is a wonderful country with a strong culture, with hardworking people. As I keep saying: Serbia could be the Germany of the Western Balkans, the economic engine. It is the largest state with the strongest economy. What happens instead? aggression inwards and outwards. Commissioner Reynders, you are here again for almost the entire plenary week for the European Commission. Tell Mr Borrell, tell Mr Várhelyi what you hear here in Parliament. As a Commission, read the reports of the election observation missions. And don’t be surprised – no one can be surprised at how the alleged elections went in Serbia: If something acts like an authoritarian, undemocratic regime, if something reacts like an authoritarian regime, if something behaves like an authoritarian regime, then it may be an authoritarian regime. And it's over with appeasement. This is my request to the European Commission. Let's help the people of Serbia who want freedom. You deserve it, you deserve a European future. Let us be with these people, and let us do our best to ensure that Serbia has a good future after this regime.

17

Jan

2024

Speeches DE

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Situation of fundamental rights in the EU in 2022 and 2023 (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, For me, parliamentarism is one of humanity's great innovations. Why? Because this is a political form of cooperation that also defends fundamental rights. And fundamental rights are part of what the European Union is all about. Nowhere in the world is human dignity and civil liberties so upheld, nowhere is democracy and the rule of law so clearly derived from it. But it is every day to defend what generations have built here before us. Parliamentarism erases what violence in the world was before, where decisions were made by force – that was the violence of an authority, the violence of the street. Parliamentarism is at least trying to overcome this, and fundamental rights are trying to enshrine it. Each generation had to defend fundamental rights in its own way. And we have to see: What do we have to do today? What needs to be done in our generation to defend fundamental rights? I believe that a new prohibition policy is a threat to fundamental rights. Appeasement – appeasement – towards aggressors in this world is a threat to fundamental rights for us, because they are also threatened from the outside, but also a kind of Biedermeier mentality or a cocooning, as former German President Christian Wulff recently said – the withdrawal of the probably large majority of people who want to live together in peace and respect, who understand that freedom is above all the freedom of others, who must be respected, respected and also defended. All of this is linked to corruption and other forms of crime that go so deep that they endanger trust within our society: These are all phenomena which threaten fundamental rights today and which must be defended and upheld through the defence of fundamental rights in every policy area and at every level, and ultimately also through the assistance of every citizen.

17

Jan

2024

Speeches DE

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Extending the list of EU crimes to hate speech and hate crime (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! The legal philosopher Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde has said that the modern state lives on conditions that it cannot create itself. And what citizens create is free speech, fearless speech. But when hate speech enters our societies, there is a fear of freely saying what one thinks. And defending this freedom of expression also means taking action against hate speech. It is poison that is brought into our societies, from the political side, but also from people who do not perceive themselves as political, but bring this poison into our societies on social media and other channels. This week I had Daniel Landau from Austria as a guest here in the European Parliament. He took the initiative with others. Yes we care! Launched where the vast majority of citizens who want to interact well with each other are represented – respectful. And we defend them when we take action against hate speech, against this poison in our society.

16

Jan

2024

Speeches DE

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Role of preventive diplomacy in tackling frozen conflicts around the world – missed opportunity or change for the future? (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, The world is moving more and more into a phase of confrontation. More and more actors are looking for confrontation. It is the cooperation that has made Europe strong, internally. And it is also the cooperation that Europe is supposed to make as a contribution to this world. That is why I am grateful to my colleague Željana Zovko and all the co-negotiators in this report for focusing on how EU world policy, EU geopolitics, EU foreign policy could be, namely much better coordinated. For years, if not decades, it has been talked about that the European Union should speak with one voice. But now it's really high time that she did too. The new period will ultimately offer the opportunity to reposition this. More members of the European Commission must be outward-looking. This will also lift the pressure of regulation and over-regulation and ban policy internally as more Commissioners promote Europe's strength externally. This will help Europe's internal freedom. And then to work more closely with the elected parliamentarians will be important so that the strength of parliamentary diplomacy – namely not having to speak as diplomatically as diplomats in the truest sense of the word, but often being able to go further, to be able to speak more clearly – can also be used. At the same time, Europe must not remain naive, make no appeasement, appease aggressors seeking cooperation, but on the basis of clear values.

16

Jan

2024

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Humanitarian situation in Gaza, the need to reach a ceasefire and the risks of regional escalation (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! You have to keep in mind what is really happening: A state is attacked, an entire society is attacked by a terrorist act with more than 1 200 deaths – children, women and men. And then this state defends itself. He defends himself with an army that is the most watched army in the world. No army pays so much attention to how it operates, when it does what, what military means it uses. So in the full light, in the full attention of the world public, Israel, our partner state, defends itself, the only democracy in the Middle East, the only rule of law in the Middle East, which for years has made contact with the Arab world through the Abraham Accords, which almost 20 years ago withdrew from the Gaza Strip to give space to the Palestinians. What was the space used for? For the construction of terror. That means, what do you need? It takes demilitarization in the West Bank, in the Gaza Strip, to eventually move towards a two-state solution. It needs tribunals, but not against Israel, but against those who make terror, who also make terror in Europe. Israel defends not only itself, but also us against this terror. And I want to see that after months and years, when the terror will be pushed back a bit, there is also gratitude in Europe for meeting this Islamist terror. And Islamism is always to be distinguished from Islam, as I emphasize again and again.

16

Jan

2024

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Keeping commitments and delivering military assistance to Ukraine (debate)

Mr President, Vice-President of the European Commission, ladies and gentlemen! An important choice for the world was the primary election of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of Iowa, because it highlights what can be expected in a negative case for 2024, namely a re-election or re-election of the former U.S. president. An important choice was the one in Taiwan, which is sharply criticized by the People's Republic of China, although it was a free choice that clearly expressed what the citizens of Taiwan want. Why am I mentioning this? Because we are facing huge challenges in 2024: Europe is still not at peace, it is still war on the European continent by the attack of Putin-Russia on an important European country, a great European country that defends itself with great bravery and that is supported in this defense by the European Union, by its Member States. We must be able to assert ourselves confidently as the EU in these times, because the help from other parts of the world is rather no longer to be expected.

15

Jan

2024

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Revision of the European Labour Authority mandate (debate)

Madam President Regner, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! The European Labour Authority is important if it is doing the right thing. We see that there is a lot to do on the continent of Europe, in our Member States, and that it takes a lot of hands to get the job done, especially in times of economic crisis, even a recession in some parts of Europe. At the same time, we are experiencing labour shortages. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but many solutions are needed to address labour shortages. This certainly includes improving working conditions for workers, in all respects – financially, but also structurally, including in terms of childcare, including care, and the environment as a whole. Of course, this also includes reducing irregular migration and the opportunity for legal labour migration for people who want to and can integrate into our societies and who can tackle it in our labour markets. The international situation shows that competition with other parts of the world, where there is undoubtedly hard work, is growing, growing. Demographic and demographic developments require that what is possible in Europe – to maintain our prosperity, to maintain prosperity also for future generations, thereby also being able to maintain social systems that are typical of Europe in a global comparison – that these opportunities are also exploited. If the Employment Agency contributes to this, it not only has a firm place in the European Union, but it is also an important pillar for now and for the future. If it becomes a bureaucratic apparatus, through overregulation and perhaps a policy of prohibition, then it is dangerous. And then we, especially as a parliament, have to put a stop to it.

13

Dec

2023

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European Defence investment programme (EDIP) (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! An important preface to today's debate on the Defence Investment Programme, which is so important: What has made Europe strong is the cooperation of the states of Europe. What has brought us prosperity, made peace possible and defended freedom is cooperation. Today we live in a world where other forces on this planet are increasingly seeking confrontation. We must arm ourselves in the interests of our values, our civilization and the safety of future generations. And at the same time, we must not forget what we have learned from history, from the generations before us, about the value of cooperation. We must seek cooperation, but from a position of strength. And if states like Russia or China have increased their defense budgets by 300 or even 600 percent in recent years, and these defense budgets are actually not for defense, but for attack, then it's important that we invest in defense. And for another reason, it is important that we use tax money sparingly because European states will cooperate in the defence investment programme – currently only 18% of defence investments are made together. And it is also important because it enables innovation, including for the civilian sector, also for jobs and opportunities for the next generations, for the entire economy, thus increasing Europe's independence and competitiveness.

13

Dec

2023

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Planned dissolution of key anti-corruption structures in Slovakia and its implications on the Rule of Law (continuation of debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! Current developments show that elections have meaning and that every vote counts. In Slovakia, we can see that the rule of law is under serious threat shortly after elections. We have seen in Hungary for years that booksellers are no longer allowed to sell books, for example, in a very specific case where companies – including those from my home country Austria – are also subjected to harassment, as is not likely to be the case in the EU. There are problems with free journalism and other problems in our single market in Malta. But positively, elections can have an impact in Poland, where a government that did not take the separation of powers and the rule of law seriously could be voted out in democratic elections – this is a positive development. And it shows for 2024, when not only we vote in the EU, but also the US and many parts of the world have important ballots, how important it is for citizens to defend their rights here. Unfortunately, the extreme example of our weeks is Spain, where a coalition government was formed that tramples the rule of law by simply making an amnesty for thousands of people, for over a thousand people, and suddenly the right can no longer be considered valid by the ordinary citizen, by the ordinary citizen. And then the Spanish representative here in Parliament today also has the insolence, instead of concluding the Presidency of the Council of the EU here at the end of the year, to do domestic politics, namely domestic party politics in Spain. We have to put a stop to this. That is why we have the conditionality principle.

12

Dec

2023

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EU-China relations (debate)

Mr President, Mr High Representative, ladies and gentlemen! China does not follow the human image that makes up our civilization, which is based on human dignity, which is based on freedoms, democracy and the rule of law – this is not new. A few years ago, China mediated that it was about modest prosperity, as it was called there, and recorded considerable growth rates. But there is not much to be seen of modesty, either inwardly or outwardly. We must reject attempts to influence Europe and other parts of the world. I note and find remarkable what the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has now managed to do, namely to withdraw from 16+1. It used to be 17+1, now it is only 15+1 – after the departure of the important European industrialised country Italy from this attempt by China to divide us. We need reciprocity, reciprocity – Chinese companies must no longer be allowed in Europe than European companies in China. We need a Level playing fieldA reciprocity, and then you will be able to talk to China, but not on the current basis.

12

Dec

2023

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EU-US relations (debate)

Mr President, Mr High Representative, ladies and gentlemen! The United States is and will remain our most important partner on the planet. At the same time, we need to have an open eye to the fact that 2024 will not only see elections in Europe, but also in the US, and that the world as a whole is at many crossroads, that only 25 per cent of people still live in democracies – with a declining trend – and that democracies, civilisations of freedom and the rule of law must stick together. This also means cohesiveness with the United States. But it also means independence for Europe. We were in the storm on the Capitol Hill seen on 6 January 2021 how quickly the great, consolidated democracy, the shining sign of democracy in this world, can also be jeopardised. How deep the shock still sits today, we see every day. It is important to point this out – in our own interest, to defend our democracies and to be on an equal footing with the challenges in this world.

12

Dec

2023

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Environmental consequences of the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the need for accountability (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! Democracy never sleeps, and that is also the message from the European Parliament today, where we are discussing an important issue late in the evening in a context of an even more important issue. More importantly, we must not lose sight of the fact that Putin-Russia has been conducting a military raid, combined with hybrid warfare, against all of us since February 2022 – against our civilization, not only against Ukraine and Ukrainians, but against all of us. The subtopic is that this also means that the soil is polluted, that the landscape is polluted by huge amounts of Russian metal waste on Ukrainian soil. This does not only mean pollution, this means the long-term non-useability of the soil for agricultural purposes. It poses great dangers to humans and animals. It's about mines, but it's also about metal waste. And it's about very large quantities. We need to get this under control together with Ukraine in partnership.

12

Dec

2023

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Need to release all hostages, to achieve a humanitarian ceasefire and prospect of the two-state solution (debate)

Dear Mrs. Colleague! I would strongly warn against abusing this Chamber, this Parliament, this representation of citizens, which stands alongside the people of Israel and all people of good will who respect liberties and human dignity, for something that is obviously not part of the legislation or foreign policy or parliamentary diplomacy of this House. If you have a relevant complaint about something about which I do not know anything and which is not of interest to this House, then you should address the right authorities and not distract from the fact that we have to fight anti-Semitism, terrorism and Islamism together here. I invite you to follow this path.

12

Dec

2023

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Need to release all hostages, to achieve a humanitarian ceasefire and prospect of the two-state solution (debate)

Mr President, Mr High Representative, ladies and gentlemen! Firstly: Israel defends itself by military means, by regular forces, against an irregular terrorist organization that does not respect the lives of children, that does not respect the lives of women, that does not respect the lives of men, but that seeks the lives of all Jewish people, and that, in addition, develops its Islamist activities far beyond the Middle East. This is the second point: Israel is not just defending itself. Israel defends all of us – Western civilization, the world of values, human dignity, freedoms. This is what Israel defends against Islamism, which is always distinguishable from Islam as a religion, but which is very damaging to Islam because of its terrorist, inhumane attitude. Thirdly: Anti-Semitism has become visible in our capitals, in Europe, in the entire Western world, as a result of this brutal attack, against which we must also all defend ourselves, which we must all fight if we want to maintain our civilization. Then the topic today is on the one hand the hostage liberation and on the other hand the two-state solution. Yes, it is ultimately the Israeli military professionals who know how to operate to protect the hostages – children, women and men held captive by Hamas – on the one hand, and to eliminate Hamas in order to create peace, on the other. And then it is the world community that must ensure that there is demilitarization, and that is a step into a long future to enable coexistence at all in peace one day. (The speaker agreed to answer a question on the blue card procedure.)