Speeches

Mr President, it is honestly difficult to understand how a debate on legislation about protecting children from sexual abuse has been turned into a debate dominated by the so-called 'chat control lobby'. Yes, I have seen colleagues back in 2021 who voted in favour of the temporary derogation and then changed their mind after the campaign kick started. Protecting privacy and protecting children's safety are not mutually exclusive goals. Online platforms cannot continue being a wild west. Right now, the strength of the chat control lobby has made many forget what this discussion is really about. It's about children being sexually abused online. The crimes are growing. Victims are increasing. Today's classrooms and schoolyards are not only physical spaces anymore; they are also digital spaces. For every child in Europe, we need strong and long-term legislation that protects what we should be able to agree on: the safety of our children.

Madam President, international law is not optional. The rule of the jungle cannot rule. The actions of the United States and Israel are unlawful and the region urgently needs de‑escalation to prevent further suffering of innocent people, of innocent children. There is one person, however, that I do not shed a tear for and that is Khamenei. His death may mark the beginning of a new chapter. For decades, Iran has been ruled through fear, repression and violence, and the current regime's tentacles, through its proxies, have even spread fear onto European soil. But Iran is not only its regime. Iran is a country with Persians, Kurds, Baluchis, Azeris, Arabs and many other communities, all of them who deserve the right to shape their future. The European Union must act with unity and courage. It should never take years to turn words into actions, as it did when it took over three years to label the IRGC as a terrorist organisation. That was shameful. We must now act forcefully with sanctions against this heinous regime to ensure that power ends up in the hands of the people. For Jina Amini and for all those who gave their lives for a dream that must finally become reality.

Mr President, colleagues, what we are witnessing in Türkiye is not an isolated incident. It is a pattern: a pattern of silencing journalists, a pattern of targeting minorities – be it Christians, Alawites, Kurds and many other minorities, religious, based on ethnicities – a pattern of abusing national security as an excuse to crush dissidents. Journalists are being detained, deported and intimidated: Kurdish journalists, Christian journalists, independent voices who dare to report on their truth. And now, increasingly, European journalists, Western journalists, face similar attacks, including the Swedish journalist Joakim Medin. This should concern every single one of us. This is not how a democracy behaves. This is how autocrats rule. But I also want to emphasise that this did not happen in a vacuum. For years, we in the European Union have pursued a lenient policy towards Erdoğan. We have prioritised short-term political conveniences over democratic principles. As a result, the situation has deteriorated. When the EU is weak, authoritarian leaders become stronger. We must now clearly say: enough is enough!

Mr President, for almost 50 years, the people of Iran have lived under an Islamic regime waging a war against its own population. It's not a metaphor; it's not rhetoric; it's a real war. And when bullets are not enough, the regime pulls the plug. It shuts down the internet to isolate the people, to erase evidence, to hide its crimes. Internet shutdowns are weapons of repression. Europe cannot continue acting like the three monkeys: seeing nothing, hearing nothing, saying nothing. It took three years to call the IRGC for what it is: a terrorist organisation. What was called impossible suddenly became possible. Now we must act decisively and ensure full internet access, fully enforce sanctions, prevent their circumvention and end impunity. Responsibility to protect – R2P – does not stop at declarations: it applies to us as well. It means taking our share of responsibility, because only action is responsibility.

Mr President, colleagues, Commissioners, thank you for this action plan. Some act as if the internet is a safe space to act in a way that they would never, ever dare to do in the offline world. Honestly, I am shocked by the behaviour of some grown-ups – even grown-ups here in this parliament – and their actions on online platforms and social media. We need to act in defence of our societies and also in defence of our children. Preventing and combating cyberbullying is our joint duty. There is no one magical solution, there are many – but it is important to take a step towards age verification on social media platforms for all our Member States. And it should cost for social media to not act. Enforcement of the Digital Service Act is essential and so is an AI act in function. We cannot let our children be taught their worth through heinous words of others – sometimes even the words of grown-ups – on online platforms. Inaction would sentence our children to live lives in despair, and I know that we can do much better than that.

Mr President, 'Jin, Jiyan, Azadî'. 'Women, Life, Freedom'. We have all heard these words. But too few know where they came from. They are the foundation of the Kurdish‑led administration in Rojava. They are the words shouted by Kurdish female guerrillas as they stood against ISIS. When others in Syria refused to fight, when the world hesitated, the Kurdish forces of Rojava stood their ground. In the midst of war, they built something rare: self‑rule instead of tyranny. Women's leadership instead of oppression, coexistence between Kurds, Arabs and Christians instead of sectarian hatred. Those who defended us must now be defended. Yes, integration matters, but so does respect for ceasefires, so do minority rights, and so does the dignity, culture and education, of course, and all other communities of Syria. For long, this dress that I am wearing today and this Kurdish flag was banned in Syria. For Syria to become truly inclusive and truly democratic, it must respect all its communities ... (the speaker used a slogan in a non-EU language)

Madam President, when we speak about human rights, I cannot accept that silence is still a choice in the Parliament, in our Member States and in the Commission, especially when it comes to the Kurds, whether in Turkey, Iran or Syria. The silence is constant. Right now, while we are debating global human rights, Kurds and other minorities are being slaughtered by Syrian regime forces with the support of Turkey. Thousands have been killed, more than 100 000 are displaced. And in the middle of it, the presidents of the Commission and Council travelled to Syria last week and pledged EUR 620 million to the regime, with no serious conditions on human rights or international law. If you do not care about the Kurds, then care about Europe. ISIS detainees are escaping from Kurdish jails right now. The threat is returning to even our streets here in the EU. These forces are committing war crimes, executions, torture, ethnic and religious persecutions. This is not stability. This is complicity. The EU must stop funding repression, start protecting minorities and defend Rojava.

Madam President, Venezuela has long faced a deep political and humanitarian crisis rooted in years of authoritarian rule. Nicolás Maduro did not have democratic legitimacy, and yes, he is a dictator. The 2024 elections lacked basic guarantees, and his government has long been responsible for serious human rights violations. But this cannot justify abandoning international law and giving a green light to US unilateral military actions. Rule must always apply to all countries and in all situations, whether in Venezuela, Ukraine, Gaza, Iran, Syria or elsewhere. Selective respect for international law undermines the very order meant to protect all of us. The EU must support the opposition, put pressure on the regime and use the sanction tools. We need to help people to take power, but not through violating the multilateral structures and international law that we put in place after the Second World War. International law is here to defend all of us and ensure that people like Trump cannot claim countries like Greenland either.

Mr President, there is no force more powerful than a united people who refuse to kneel. From the streets of Tehran to the plains of Fars, from Kurdistan's mountains to the Baluchistan shores, from Khorasan to Azerbaijan province, the entire country is standing up. This brutal Islamic regime must not be managed, negotiated with or normalised. It must be ended. Casting it into the dustbin of history must be our shared responsibility. To the Commission: what are you waiting for? Label IRGC as a terrorist organisation, throw Iranian diplomats out of the EU, sanction the mullahs and support the opposition. Condemnations without real words are meaningless. Act now! And to those who are exhausted, wounded and grieving: we are with you. The day is coming when the prisons are silent, when the streets belong to the people, when children learn the name of the tyrants – the mullahs – only in history books. Justice will prevail, dignity will be restored, and Iran will once and for all stand in freedom and equality for its whole population – rich, poor, middle class, Persians, Kurds, Baluchis, Baha'is, Azeris, Arabs and all others.

Madam President, thank you very much. What crazy world do we live in? With AI tools like Grok, the threshold for creating fake nude images with sexual abuse material has effectively been erased. The result is a pandemic of involuntarily sexualised images that spread uncontrollably online. We see that many people have been affected, including politicians, but mainly women and children in our Union. Moral calls to think do not bite those who want to harm others, nor do they bite the industrial mass deployment of AI pornography. Especially when tech oligarchs like Musk and Zuckerberg make billions from deepfakes and scams thriving on their platforms. The only thing that can stop this is clear and binding legislation. I therefore honestly do not understand the position of the EPP Group and the Swedish Moderates and Christian Democrats when you crave deregulation – or, oops!, simplification, as you pretend it is – in the digital field. It's completely incomprehensible. Let us protect Europe's women and girls, not the tech oligarchs!

Mr President, it is unacceptable that a handful of powerful online platforms shape what our citizens see, while their algorithms amplify lies, fuel polarisation and distort public debate. The Digital Services Act gives us, yes, the tools to hold them accountable, but without enforcements it is meaningless. It is also crazy that there are people in here from the far right who are defending these platforms and their super rich friends, instead of defending our democracies. Member States have even exposed coordinated disinformation campaigns designed to interfere in EU elections and undermine trust. The European Democracy Shield must protect our people, our democracies and our elections against threats coming from the platforms Meta, TikTok, X and other spaces. With power should come accountability and responsibility, and this is something that these platforms refuse to understand and even accept. We need rapid crisis response tools, real oversight of platforms, algorithms and cooperation with fact‑checkers and civil society. Democracy will not defend itself. We must defend it and defend it now.

Mr President, colleagues, first to the far right MEPs, yes, it is true that we have citizens in Europe that are worried about European democracy right now, but why they are afraid is actually because of you. Please stop crying over us not wanting to cooperate with you. Yes, in a democracy we are all elected, but in democracies we also choose who to cooperate with. Commissioner, frozen funds must stay frozen until real actions are taken. No bargaining, no excuses, no shortcuts. Whistleblowers must be safe. Civil societies, universities, local government must get support directly. Parliament must see everything on time, fully without delay. Europe's values are not negotiable. Our taxpayers' money must be protected at all times. No compromises and no delays. Hungary is a net recipient of EU funds, while my country, Sweden, is a net giver.

Madam President, colleagues, let's be absolutely clear. No decisions about Ukraine can be made over the heads of the Ukrainian people. The negotiations where Russia, with support from the United States, demand that Ukraine surrender territory it has defended with extraordinary courage, is shameful. And at the same time, there are calls to weaken Ukraine's military and deny its right to choose its own future, including NATO membership. It is important that Europe secures the resources Ukraine needs to continue defending itself, using frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine is not only reasonable, it is justified given the immense destruction caused by Russian war, but it is not trustworthy to, as EPP on one hand echo the same words and amounts as us, and at the same time cooperate and legitimatise as the best friend of Putin. Colleagues, pro-European forces must unite. We must deepen our unity and take greater responsibility for our own security, not illegitimate ties with Putin's friends.

Mr President, colleagues, I am tired – tired of cherry picking and tired of hypocrisy. Debate after debate we talk, yet no concrete actions are taken against the Israeli far-right Government. The EU-Israel Association Agreement continues as business as usual after two years of genocide in Gaza. We are told there is a ceasefire. But let's be clear: there is no ceasefire when Palestinians are still being killed every day; when children are dying because they are denied food, water and medical care. Continuing calling this a ceasefire and refusing to act doesn't make it a ceasefire. It only masks ongoing crimes. Settlements expand. Severe violence and impunity is a fact. What business as usual is contributing to is complicity. Yes, Commissioner, it is important to help out to build up Gaza again. And it is important to support the Palestinian Authority. But it is equally important to ensure that Israel stops committing its crimes; stops destroying Palestine; stops killing Palestinians; stops demolishing and confiscating EU-funded projects and structures. So I will not ask what more Netanyahu must do for the EU to act. The time for statements is over. The time for action is long overdue.

Mr President, the horror in Iran continues, yet the world behaves as if nothing has happened, as if the Jina revolution never took place. 'Jin, Jiyan, Azadi – Women, Life, Freedom' once echoed across Iran, echoed across Europe, even in this very Parliament. But those words risk being forgotten. Oppression touches every corner of Iran and minorities Baha'is, Kurds, Baloch and others are hit the hardest because of their religion and ethnicity. Today we focus on the Baha'i community who for decades have faced systematic injustice: homes seized, women arbitrarily detained and an entire faith denied the right to existence. This is not random abuse; it is persecution by design – a state-engineered crime against humanity. Commissioner, we are still waiting for the IRGC to be labelled as a terrorist organisation. And yet, in the brutality, hope endures. It lives in Iran's minorities, in its women, in its students, the courageous forces still demanding dignity and democracy. They are the future of free Iran, and despite the regime's rage, the future will come. To them, I say: we see you, we stand by you, and we will not stop until every person in Iran can live freely without fear.

Colleague, thank you for the question and it is, of course, a very important question. As we can do offline, we should also be able to do online to safeguard privacy and integrity at the same time as we combat crimes and prevent harmful exposure that our children are exposed to. So if we can do it offline, we should be able to do it online also. There is something called safeguards and we need to have safeguards in place regardless of whatever tools we use online. I am very much convinced that we should be able to ensure that our children can grow up in safety and security online as they do offline, because the online world is also the real world. Do not forget that.

Madam President, thank you very much. The digital world cannot continue to be a lawless wild west. Today, criminal networks and organised crime and terrorism use social media to target and groom children into crime and into terrorism. Many young people are sexually abused, and every day children are bullied, threatened and humiliated online. It destroys young lives and weakens our societies. Online safety is crucial. Digital age verification is an important tool. There is no magic solution, but combined with digital skills for young people and greater responsibility for social media platforms, we can create a much safer digital environment. Today, online platforms are our modern streets, squares, schools and rooms. That is why Europe needs clear rules and real responsibility for platforms. Children's safety must never depend on the goodwill of Big Tech. While right-wing extremists in here lie flat for tech giants, we want progressives to protect our children. Every child deserves safety online and offline.