Speeches

Madam President, thank you very much. Being a democrat comes with the task of reacting instinctively to those who, with threats and violence, try to intimidate other people into silence. We elected representatives have a special responsibility to be at the forefront of the fight against racism and extremism. We shall give concrete expression to the zero tolerance of democratic resistance towards those who do not respect democratic rules of the game. The politician who relativizes and does not clearly distance himself from the anti-democratic forces is a politician who gives these forces power and opportunity. So who do you want to be? The one who makes racism, hate and violence possible? Or do you want to be the one who resists?

Mr President, thank you very much. Madam President, thank you very much. Mr. Prime Minister! Every day that goes by without the EU acting, we allow the Polish Government to restore Polish democracy. It is unacceptable that the European Commission does not use all existing means to do its job of guarding and defending the EU treaties. We may be frustrated that the Polish government is lying without shame and betraying its own people, but we cannot accept that the European Commission is not doing what it should. We can't sit back and watch. The EU must ensure that the people of Poland have the same rights as any other EU citizen.

Mr President, thank you very much. Last year we condemned the Polish Government's attack on abortion rights and we showed solidarity with the tens of thousands of brave Poles who took to the streets to protest the policies of the right-wing conservative government. Today, a year later, it's time again. In Texas, the same forces as in Poland have gained ground. The new abortion law that has been passed bans all abortions after week 6, and it makes no exception. It doesn't matter if you've been raped or subjected to incest. The law even calls for announcing. Anyone who can point out a person who has had an abortion or someone who has helped so that an abortion has been performed, that person, the pointer, can be rewarded with thousands of kronor. We know that this law will have devastating and deadly consequences. We know that banning abortion does not lead to fewer abortions. This leads to fatal abortions. What happens in Poland and Texas does not happen in a vacuum. The same value-conservative forces that restrict the rights of women and LGBTIQ+ people and minorities in Texas and Poland are also trying to gain ground in other states and countries, including your country. In our country. These are movements that transcend national boundaries and step by step challenge the progress that women have been fighting for for generations. Equality, equality, the right to make decisions about one's own bodies. It's tiring, and it's too fucked up. But we must continue to protest. To sound the alarm. Condemn every step in the wrong direction. We owe it to all those who have gone before us, and it is our responsibility to those who come after us.

Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner. In Sweden, one in ten children live in a violent family and are forced to see a parent abused. No child should be forced into contact with a parent who threatens, insults, strikes or kills. It's not harder than that. The new child peace crime that we have had to fight for in Sweden makes it criminal to expose the mother to her children or her partner to violence in front of the children. It is a big step in the right direction and a protection for all children. And it should be a protection for all children, not only in Sweden but in all 27 Member States. Putting the child's best interests first may sound like a matter of course. At the same time, there are politicians who pursue a completely different policy. They reduce children's rights. I hope that the work we have now done will lead to change.

Madam President, thank you very much. Listen to me now: One in three women in the EU has ever been subjected to violence. One in three women! So crazy is the reality we live in. Men's violence against women is everywhere. In every place. In every room. It is violence that hurts, that creates insecurity, that divides families, that kills. The fact that the EU, based on the principle of gender equality, does not have strong common tools to combat men's violence against women is unacceptable. We cannot, we must not, continue to betray the women who are abused, who are raped, who are deprived of the right to make decisions about their own bodies. Everyone should have the right to live free from violence and oppression, and we must defend it.

Madam President, thank you very much. Everyone knows that the lives of girls and women in Afghanistan became a nightmare on the day the Taliban took power – a life without human rights, without the ability to move freely in the streets and squares, a life without having to choose how they want to live. All of us who have listened to women in and from Afghanistan in recent weeks have heard the desperation. We can all see the testimonies and evidence showing how those protesting against the Taliban's insane coercion are beaten and killed. We all know that we are now on a path. Should we betray the Afghan girls and women and those who fought for human rights, LGBTIQ people and journalists? Or should we show them and the rest of the world that the EU's foreign policy is based on values that are more than fine words?