What Tilly spoke about.

14 Mar

2024

DE Speech

Promised revision of the EU animal welfare legislation and the animal welfare-related European citizens’ initiatives (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner! Setting up a successful European Citizens' Initiative is a huge job that deserves to be taken seriously. The importance of the ECI as a means of actively influencing European legislation must not be undermined. This is where the credibility of the EU institutions is really at stake. I would like to remind the Commission once again today that a large part of the European…

12 Mar

2024

EN Speech

Use of railway infrastructure capacity in the single European railway area, amending Directive 2012/34/EU and repealing Regulation (EU) No 913/2010 (A9-0069/2024 - Tilly Metz) (vote)

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Madam President, dear colleagues, this new regulation will allow for a more optimal use of the rail tracks, so that we can get more trains on the tracks. Train passengers will benefit from increased punctuality and reliability and it will become easier for shippers to use rail transport for their goods. This is a welcome initiative. It is also clear, to reach the EU modal shift targets, much more …

27 Feb

2024

EN Speech

Critical situation in Cuba (debate)

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Madam President, dear colleagues, dear Commissioner I really wonder what is really the reason for this debate tonight. Although it is true that the human rights situation remains concerning, can we really compare the situation on the island to other topics we are debating tonight? I welcome the efforts by Josep Borrell and Eamon Gilmore to engage in a constructive but critical dialogue with Cuba. …

27 Feb

2024

FR Speech

Unitary supplementary protection certificate for plant protection products - Unitary supplementary certificate for medicinal products - Supplementary protection certificate for plant protection products (recast) - Supplementary protection certificate for medicinal products (recast) - Standard essential patents (joint debate - Patents)

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Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, in Europe, patients and health systems are finding it increasingly difficult to access medicines. This is why it is difficult to support the ‘Let’s extend patents on medicines’ legislation. Indeed, we are currently working on the largest revision of the EU pharmaceutical legislation in 20 years to improve patients’ access to affordable medicines. U…

7 Feb

2024

EN Speech

Empowering farmers and rural communities - a dialogue towards sustainable and fairly rewarded EU agriculture (debate)

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Madam President, dear Commissioner, our food system is broken: multinationals are making billions while farmers struggle to make ends meet; extremely low prices; family farms disappearing every day. We are in an agricultural crisis. To the farmers protesting outside: we are not your enemy. We Greens know that without farmers there is no food and that farmers deserve to make a decent living. We all…

18 Jan

2024

EN Speech

Implementation report on Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods (A9-0416/2023 - Tilly Metz) (vote)

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Madam President, I will be very short, don’t worry. So, dear colleagues, the Claims Regulation applies to voluntary, nutritional and health claims on food products and food supplements in all commercial communication. The objective of the regulation is a high level of consumer protection and smooth functioning of the internal market. We want to protect European consumers, their safety, their healt…

16 Jan

2024

DE Speech

Activities of the European Ombudsman – annual report 2022 (debate)

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Madam President, 2023 could have been a revolutionary year for animal welfare in Europe. Instead, millions of animals such as pigs or chickens must continue to suffer. They are locked up in tiny cages where they can barely move. In 2020, the European Citizens’ Initiative ‘End the Cage Age’ was successfully validated. 1.4 million citizens called for an end to cage farming and a real change in anima…

12 Dec

2023

DE Speech

European Health Data Space (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner! The European Health Data Space can make a real difference for patients in the EU – a digital space that allows my doctor in Luxembourg to access the data stored by a doctor in France during my last treatment there. But of course, my dentist doesn't necessarily need to know that I was also in treatment with a psychologist. In this digital space, I can decide for whom …

21 Nov

2023

EN Speech

Sustainable use of plant protection products (debate)

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Madam President, first of all, congratulations to the Green rapporteur, Sarah Wiener, for her tireless work on this file. ‘Sustainable use of pesticides’ – when it comes to chemical pesticides, isn’t that a bit of a contradiction? When it comes to our health, biodiversity and the health of our ecosystem, the less pesticides, the better, which is why we needed to increase ambition of the Commission…

19 Oct

2023

DE Speech

European protein strategy (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner! The EU has a protein problem. And no, it's not that we don't produce enough or need fancy technologies to increase production. We are a net exporter of animal protein. We produce and consume animal protein to an extent that is inefficient, unhealthy and unsustainable. To feed the billions of animals, we need 70 million tonnes of feed every year – 70 million tonnes! W…

19 Oct

2023

EN Speech

European Citizens' Initiative 'Fur Free Europe' (debate)

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Madam President, dear Commissioner, I stand with the citizens. Keeping and killing animals for the purpose of fur production and sale is cruel and unnecessary. Each year, around 37 million animals are killed for this business. Not only can animal welfare standards not be respected on fur farms, but fur farm is also posing a public health threat. Fur farms act as reservoirs for diseases, as we have…

4 Oct

2023

FR Speech

The proposed extension of glyphosate in the EU (debate)

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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, glyphosate has already been classified as probably carcinogenic by the World Health Organisation for more than eight years. In addition, there is evidence of the harmful impact of glyphosate on the environment, biodiversity and animals. Tired of waiting for a European ban, Luxembourg dared to take the lead a few years ago. From January 2021, the use of glyphosat…

3 Oct

2023

FR Speech

Medicine shortages and strategic healthcare autonomy in the EU (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, like my colleagues, I think it is crucial to address the issue of European action to address medicine shortages. I am pleased that the Commission is preparing a communication on this subject and I look forward to strong action, particularly on three points. First, to ask for the transparency of production lines from the companies that supply us. We need a better unde…

2 Oct

2023

EN Speech

Ensuring European transportation works for women (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, I’m very pleased that this week we will vote on a report ensuring that transportation works for women because this is not the case yet. Women travel differently than men. They walk more often or take public transport and they make many stops on the way home from work. Yet, cities’ transport facilities today are designed by men for men. Despite their reliance on publi…

13 Sep

2023

EN Speech

Guatemala: the situation after the elections, the rule of law and judicial independence

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Madam President, I am extremely concerned about what is happening in Guatemala. The election was peaceful. The highest electoral authorities confirmed the clear victory of Bernardo Arévalo and Karin Herrera from the Semilla party. However, continuous attempts by the country’s Ministerio Público are trying to undermine the election result. Yesterday, agents from the attorney general offices raided …

11 Jul

2023

FR Speech

COVID-19 pandemic: lessons learned and recommendations for the future (debate)

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Mr President, this report closes the work of the COVI Committee, which has certainly not been easy. Of course, I would like to thank my colleagues for their cooperation on this report, which takes stock, albeit not exhaustive but important, of the lessons learned during this pandemic. These included condemning triage practices in hospitals, calling for massive funding for our public healthcare sys…

10 Jul

2023

EN Speech

European Citizens’ Initiative ‘Save Cruelty Free Cosmetics – Commit to a Europe without animal testing’ (debate)

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Madam President, dear Commissioner, 10 years ago, the European Union took the decision to completely ban animal testing for cosmetic products and ingredients, becoming the first market in the world to do so. It might feel like a symbolic move or even an unimportant issue to some, but for me – as a European who deeply cares for animals – it was a proud and happy moment. This will be one area where …

13 Jun

2023

EN Speech

Situation in Nicaragua (debate)

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Mr President, High Representative / Vice President, it is not the first time I speak in this plenary about the situation in Nicaragua. Indeed, we have debated this topic various times before, but the situation in the country is getting worse and worse by the day. The UN Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua concluded that the human rights violations committed by the Ortega regime amount to cr…

1 Jun

2023

FR Speech

Coordinated action to address antimicrobial resistance (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased that the European Parliament is once again taking a stand to call on the Member States to be consistent in their action against antibiotic resistance. We are talking about a silent pandemic, but the consequences are glaring. More than 35 000 people die each year in the EU from antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and this will only increa…

11 May

2023

EN Speech

Prohibiting chick and duckling killing in EU law (debate)

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Madam President, dear Commissioner, first of all, I am happy that we speak about animal welfare, but I would be also happy if we do not always do it in the Thursday afternoon when nobody is there to listen anymore at all. But I will switch to German now. Das Töten von Eintagsküken ist eine inhumane Praxis, die immenses Leid verursacht und gegen die im EU-Recht verankerten Grundgesetze des Tierschu…

19 Apr

2023

EN Speech

EU Global Health Strategy (debate)

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Madam President, dear Commissioner – I know the Germans speak English very well – I would like to congratulate the Commission for its efforts to put health on top of its agenda with this strategy and remind the Council that citizens want more action from the EU on health, not less. I could not agree more with the objectives to build stronger global partnerships, to face new common challenges and t…

19 Apr

2023

FR Speech

This is Europe - Debate with the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, dear Prime Minister – moien, leiwe Xavier – it is always a pleasure to see you in the European Parliament. Historically and still today, Luxembourg is at the heart of the European project, and we must honour our role as one of the three European capitals. In our Union of 27, even a small country like ours has its place in the negotiations and can be a game changer. I…

18 Jan

2023

EN Speech

Revelations of Uber lobbying practices in the EU (debate)

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Mr President, the news on the Uber files broke in the middle of the negotiation on the Platform Workers Directive here in the European Parliament. It was shocking to hear about how Uber broke the law and used aggressive lobbying tactics to delay and block laws on labour and social rights. That’s why it has been particularly concerning to see how many colleagues here in this Parliament have been ec…

17 Jan

2023

EN Speech

“The Road to 2023” - Towards a stronger EU-Latin America partnership (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, in Latin America, the rule of law is under attack, the democratic space is shrinking, journalists and human rights defenders are threatened and corruption is widespread. Extreme poverty makes every day a struggle. In particular in Central America, the security situation is extremely worrying and to combat the gangs, we have seen how state of emergencies have been int…

17 Jan

2023

FR Speech

Surge of respiratory infections and the shortage of medication in Europe (debate)

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Mr President, the current situation is alarming and I understand the anger of the citizens. On the one hand, the increase in respiratory viruses puts European emergency services in an extremely precarious situation and, on the other hand, citizens are facing shortages of medicines, a direct consequence of the laissez-faire policy applied for years to the pharmaceutical industry. The result? Massiv…