What Abir spoke about.

15 Sep

2026

EN Speech

The recent hybrid attacks and instrumentalisation of migrants in Ceuta and the need for a coordinated response to protect EU’s external borders (debate)

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Mr President, dear colleagues, what happened in Ceuta is serious. Europe must protect its borders, investigate this instrumentalisation, strengthen Frontex and dismantle the smugglers' networks. But why does every debate in this House about migration bring out the absolute worst in us, in our Union, in this House? Migrants are not the enemies. They are victimised twice over, once by the smugglers …

15 Sep

2026

EN Question

The recent hybrid attacks and instrumentalisation of migrants in Ceuta and the need for a coordinated response to protect EU’s external borders (debate)

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Colleague, thank you for taking my question. I have just a question of knowledge. Do you know where Ceuta is? Because you said that migrants had invaded Europe. Do you have any idea where Ceuta is geographically? And what is the difference between being Europe or the European Union?…

9 Jul

2026

EN Speech

Joint communication on humanitarian aid (JOIN(2026)0025) (debate)

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Madam President, let me first start with thanking you, dear Commissioner Lahbib, for your principled leadership and commitment to international humanitarian law. The humanitarian communication is a testimony of this leadership. Three hundred million people need humanitarian aid. Behind every number, there is a face, there are dreams, hopes, aspiration. There is a life that is uprooted and destroye…

8 Jul

2026

EN Speech

The EU’s role in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and the accountability of Israel under international law (topical debate)

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Mr President, Madam Commissioner, dear colleagues, I was asking myself what kind of a charade is this? Rebuilding Gaza, really? For 1 000 days, the Palestinians in Gaza have been enduring unimaginable suffering, and they have not even elected the despicable terrorist organisation Hamas, still, they are paying the price for this narrative that is broadcasted in Europe – somehow it is still connecte…

6 Jul

2026

SV Speech

Recent violent and fatal attacks in Italy and Denmark and their implications for public security in Europe (debate)

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Mr President, thank you very much. The World Cup should be a festival, a place of joy, community and hope. Instead, a Swedish football supporter traveled to experience football and never came home. To Christian's family and friends, I would like to express my deepest sorrow and warmest condolences. May you find comfort and light in this bottomless sorrow. When such a terrible crime occurs, anger, …

17 Jun

2026

EN Speech

Resumption of the sitting

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Mr President, I just wanted to say that I have never felt as unsafe in this Parliament as after the vote about the Return Regulation, because the shouting of the far right was not against the political opponent, it was 'send them back'. It was about ordinary people who did no other crime than looking for a better life in Europe, and shouting about ordinary people who are not present in the room, i…

16 Jun

2026

EN Answer

The role of the EU in efforts for peace and stability throughout the Middle East after the announced deal between the US and Iran (debate)

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A very good question. Thank you for this question. I do believe that the EU and the Member States together in the UN can push further for the reform of the UN, because the UN has not served everyone equally. We see it in the Global South, the global majority in the South, how they have been underserved, how their interests, their human rights have not been implemented nor have they been guaranteed…

16 Jun

2026

EN Speech

The role of the EU in efforts for peace and stability throughout the Middle East after the announced deal between the US and Iran (debate)

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Madam President, peace requires courage, peace requires leadership, and peace requires actions. The deal between the US and the regime in Iran might offer an opportunity for peace. But opportunities alone do not create peace; we have to act now. We have to use our diplomatic influence to reduce the tensions throughout the entire region of the Middle East. We have to use our economic and political …

20 May

2026

EN Speech

Situation of women and girls in Afghanistan following the Taliban's adoption of the Criminal Procedure Code for Courts

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Mr President, what kind of a regime punishes an abused woman for seeking help and then punishes the friend that dared to help her? This is not a criminal code, this is simply terror put into words. Under the Taliban regime, women are beaten to silence, erased from schools, from workplaces, from public life. This is nothing but a gender apartheid. And despite all that, the EU invites the Taliban re…

20 May

2026

SV Speech

Recruitment of children by organised crime (debate)

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Madam President, thank you very much. Commissioner, thank you very much. In Sweden, we see criminal gangs chasing our children. In school, on football practice, on Instagram and Tiktok. But what is the response of the Swedish government and the far right here? Yes, they want to lock up thirteen-year-olds. Children who today are used by the criminal gangs as a throwaway in the criminal wars of adul…

20 May

2026

EN Question

Recruitment of children by organised crime (debate)

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Thank you, colleague. Would you agree with me, then, and say that the same rules that you want to apply to these children who are hunted by the criminal gangs – when they are Italians, hunted by the Mafia – would you then also say about these Italian children that their families are not welcome, or that their families are criminal? Because I do believe that the Mafia is deeply rooted in the Italia…

27 Apr

2026

EN Answer

Importance of consent-based rape legislation in the EU (debate)

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My dad taught me once that when a person lacks arguments, then they look for the seeds of the watermelon in the garbage. This is exactly that kind of debate. Why don't you let everyone decide what they are? It's not your role as a politician to identify people – it's not your role! Do you know what your role is? What your responsibility is? Give us protection! Only 'yes' means yes, everything else…

27 Apr

2026

EN Speech

Importance of consent-based rape legislation in the EU (debate)

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Madam President, stop hiding behind legal jargon. Stop hiding behind your pretended care for women. Just stop it. Because this is very simple, straight-to-the-point legislation. We are just asking that only yes means yes. The lack of it, therefore, means no. The lack of it, therefore, is rape – no matter what the colour of the man is, no matter the age, the length, the width. Men are raping. Men a…

25 Mar

2026

EN Speech

Order of business

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Madam President, I want to draw this House's attention to a shocking case: a woman in Malta was sentenced to prison after going to hospital with heavy bleeding, and instead of receiving medical care, she was reported to the police. Just think about that for a moment. A woman seeking medical attention was treated as a criminal. Her sentence must be immediately overturned – because not in Malta, not…

10 Mar

2026

EN Speech

Establishing an EU talent pool (A10-0045/2025 - Abir Al-Sahlani) (vote)

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Madam President, the talent pool is the tool our businesses have long awaited. It is the clearest example of what we, together in this House, can achieve when reason prevails and when we listen to our companies and businesses. It is rooted in the understanding, also, that migration is not just a challenge, but could be a part of a solution. At a time when irregular migration has significantly decr…

10 Mar

2026

EN Speech

International Women’s Day

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Madam President, today we heard the story of Nicole Fox and the courage of her mother, Jackie. The fight reminds us of a difficult truth: violence against women does not always leave bruises and marks. It spreads through screens, through humiliation, through images weaponised to shame and silence girls and women, generated without consent and replicated at massive scale. What happened to Nicole wa…

9 Mar

2026

EN Speech

Gender pay and pension gap in the EU: state of play, challenges and the way forward, and developing guidelines for the better evaluation and fairer remuneration of work in female-dominated sectors (debate)

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Madam President, yesterday we celebrated the progress on women's rights, but today we have to confront the backlash because across Europe an anti‑gender movement is growing, spreading conspiracy theories about feminism and attacking women's rights. And yes, we see it here in the Chamber because the patterns of the vote is always the same: you say you want to protect women, but when we vote, you al…

11 Feb

2026

EN Speech

Systemic oppression, inhumane conditions and arbitrary detentions by the regime in Iran

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Mr President, we are not witnessing strength in Iran. What we are witnessing is fear – a regime terrified by its own young women, terrified by students, terrified of a generation that has stopped being afraid. In the hospitals, medical workers are reporting that they are walking in blood. Dead young bodies are arriving to the morgues faster than what hope can do. This is what regimes do when they …

10 Feb

2026

EN Answer

Presentation of the action plan against cyberbullying (debate)

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Thank you so much, Mr Sieper for your question, it is a very considerate one. Of course, I am checking a lot of the boxes: I am a woman, I consider myself still younger, I am of a migrant background and I am also a Muslim. So, I am ticking a lot of the boxes that correspond to who are the victims. What it makes me feel is that we need to work harder on this issue, we need to work on all levels, an…

10 Feb

2026

SV Speech

Presentation of the action plan against cyberbullying (debate)

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10 Feb

2026

EN Speech

Situation in Northeast Syria, the violence against civilians and the need to maintain a sustainable ceasefire (debate)

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Mr President, somehow, a debate about the dire situation in Syria has turned into a migration debate by the far right. That's amazing. But President, dear colleagues, when al-Sharaa took power, we all accepted him with a very bitter taste. So today I'm standing here in Kurdish traditional dress to honour the Kurdish women and the people who have paid a very high price for their freedom. When they …

20 Jan

2026

EN Speech

Brutal repression against protesters in Iran (debate)

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Mr President, woman, life, freedom. Three words that shook the world. Today, they echo again through the courage of the Iranian people who are fighting on the streets. Yet we as Europeans have not raised to their courage as we did before. Am I angry with the grey, half-hearted statements by the European Union? No, I am profoundly furious. Be concrete – offer humanitarian visas for activists. Break…

19 Jan

2026

SV Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Mr President, thank you very much. When we politicians were home over Christmas, to celebrate with our loved ones and rest, evil and violence struck against women in Sweden. Two women were killed by two men, one in their own home and one on their way home. Children witnessed violence in their own safe environments – or what should be safe environments. The lines to the women's shelters and childre…

19 Jan

2026

EN Speech

Humanitarian aid in a time of polycrisis – reaffirming our principles for a more effective and ambitious response to humanitarian crises (short presentation)

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Mr President, I would like also to start by giving my condolences to the people of Spain due to the horrible accident that has happened in the country. Madam Commissioner, thank you for being here and thank you for always promising and for delivering on your promises. And this will be an urge to continue to deliver on the promises that you have made, especially when it comes to the humanitarian ai…

17 Dec

2025

EN Speech

Mass kidnapping of children in Nigeria, including from St Mary's Catholic school in Papiri

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Madam President, while many children go to school, play with their friends and count down to the holidays, children in Nigeria live in fear of abduction and violence. As a mother, my heart breaks into million pieces. As a politician, I am furious. Families are pleading for international action and we must not look away. These attacks are a grave violation of international law and of children's fun…