What Karin spoke about.

15 Mar

2023

EN Speech

The EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, without human rights defenders, there are no human rights. That’s why it’s so crucial that we follow up the implementation of the guidelines for the European External Action Service. Human rights defenders are harassed, detained, tortured and killed all around the world, only because they stand up for the most basic values on this planet. Today’s global d…

16 Feb

2023

SV Speech

The further repressions against the people of Belarus, in particular the cases of Andrzej Poczobut and Ales Bialiatski (debate)

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Mr President ! The Commission, colleagues and listeners! This debate is dedicated to all the people who are imprisoned, who are being tortured in Belarus because of their dreams of freedom. This is especially true of Nobel Laureate Ales Byalyatski. There should be a special place in hell for leaders who are fanatics of dictatorships, be it Hungarian ministers or the Olympic Committee, who think it…

15 Feb

2023

SV Speech

Access to strategic critical raw materials (debate)

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Madam President, thank you very much. Commission, Minister! We are in a time of transition. Leaving fossil fuels behind is not only crucial to saving the climate. It is also a matter of security. Our dependence on oil and the gas dependence of many European countries have trapped us in an unhealthy and dangerous dependence on Russia and a series of oil dictatorships. I am a liberal and technology …

14 Feb

2023

SV Speech

CO2 emission standards for cars and vans (debate)

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Mr President, thank you very much. Commission, ladies and gentlemen. Leaving fossil fuels behind us not only provides greener vehicles for the sake of the climate, but is also about safety, not being dependent on Putin or other oil dictatorships every time we are going to refuel the car. Fossil-powered cars soon or already belong to history. The automotive industry is changing rapidly and the EU i…

19 Jan

2023

SV Speech

The Global Gateway Initiative (debate)

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Europe is a strong player in the world and the strongest force for democracy and human rights. Our strength is based on openness, cooperation, trade and that we want to cooperate with all countries in the world. However, this does not mean that we are silent and turn a blind eye to and accept dictatorships that violate human rights and threaten their neighbours. The partnerships we have with other…

19 Jan

2023

SV Speech

The Global Gateway Initiative (debate)

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Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner, thank you very much. Europe is a strong player in the world, but there are concerns. whereas the democratic values of the EU are threatened and undermined by authoritarian regimes; Multilateral cooperation, or simply global neighbourly cooperation with common rules, is in crisis since Russia attacked Ukraine. Jobs and companies, our entire competiti…

17 Jan

2023

SV Speech

Presentation of the programme of activities of the Swedish Presidency (debate)

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Madam President, thank you very much. Commission, Prime Minister. What you already have is easy to take for granted. This is the case with European cooperation. The EU has evolved from a battlefield into one of the best areas in the world to live in, with peace, freedom and democracy. But it hasn't come by itself. Our Europe is the result of compromise and democratic cooperation. That's what it is…

16 Jan

2023

SV Speech

Shipments of waste (debate)

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Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner, thank you very much. There was a time when garbage and waste were just thrown into the lake or dumped into the forest on the principle of ‘what is not visible, there is not’, but today we know better. Waste is a valuable resource that can be used over and over again. But we still behave as before. whereas there is a risk that European waste ends up …

15 Dec

2022

SV Speech

The humanitarian situation in Ukraine due to Russia’s attacks against critical infrastructure and civilian areas (debate)

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Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner, thank you very much. It suffers for Christmas. We sing about a thousand Christmas lights and peace on earth. But in the Ukraine of war it is dark. Outside Sofia Cathedral in Kiev, as usual, a Christmas tree should be erected, because, as the mayor said, Putin should not be allowed to steal Christmas. But the spruce will not have any lights this year…

12 Dec

2022

SV Speech

Outcome of COP27 (debate)

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Madam President, thank you very much. Commissioner, thank you very much. Colleagues! When the world gathered in Egypt for COP27, it was in the shadow of war and crisis. We are struggling with rampant energy prices and inflation. But despite gigantic challenges, the climate can't wait, and I wish I wouldn't have to say that, but COP27 was yet another disappointment. It would be necessary to agree o…

23 Nov

2022

EN Speech

The continuing repression of the democratic opposition and civil society in Belarus

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Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, the Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski is one of the courageous human rights activists in Belarus. Since last summer, he has been imprisoned without trial. A desperate dictator tries to keep the people in fear. It’s not only the Belarusian people who suffer from Lukashenko’s tyranny. By allowing Russia to use Belarusian territory for attacks against Uk…

9 Nov

2022

SV Speech

Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (debate)

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– Madam President, thank you. Commissioner, thank you very much. Colleagues, listeners! When we shop, we can take responsibility and make sustainable choices. Price, labels and common sense go a long way, but not all the way. A nice sweater can be made with really ugly methods. Corruption is not visible, but it costs, in the form of reduced tax revenues, more expensive goods and non-compliance wit…

18 Oct

2022

SV Speech

UN Climate Change Conference 2022 in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt (COP27) (debate)

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Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, listen to me. The climate crisis is acute. In November, the COP27 climate summit will be held in Egypt. It is happening in the shadow of Russia’s war against Ukraine, rampant energy prices and inflation. In one situation, we have to deal with many big, difficult issues at the same time. Nevertheless, we must stick to our climat…

5 Oct

2022

SV Speech

Outcome of the Commission’s review of the 15-point action plan on trade and sustainable development (debate)

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Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much. When former Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström launched the negotiations for a free trade agreement with New Zealand, the ambition was high. Many may have doubted. Some resisted. Is it possible to negotiate a free trade agreement that has both far-reaching trade liberalisation and at the same time high su…

5 Oct

2022

SV Speech

Countering the anti-European and anti-Ukrainian propaganda of Putin’s European cronies (topical debate)

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Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner, Minister, colleagues! No one can turn a blind eye to what Russia has done and is doing when it comes to making the lie the truth in order to achieve its purposes. We can't say we didn't know, we didn't see it coming. After all, Russia's annexation of Crimea and the war in eastern Ukraine were nothing more than a blow to the mouth of the European sec…

4 Oct

2022

SV Speech

Situation of Roma people living in settlements in the EU (debate)

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Madam President, thank you very much. Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much. We cannot accept a Europe of discrimination and exclusion, a Europe where exclusion makes people unable to work and earn a living, unable to educate themselves, unable to participate. We cannot tolerate a Europe in which Roma continue to be excluded. It is not a coincidence that countries where the rule …

14 Sep

2022

SV Speech

Human rights violations in the context of forced deportation of Ukrainian civilians to and forced adoption of Ukrainian children in Russia

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. – Madam President, thank you. Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much. We hold our breath. In real time, we see how the Ukrainian army fights back. Square meters for square meters, street by street, village by village liberated. Putin's war, however, is not just about territory. This is not the first time that Russia has used hunger and deportation as a weapon. History repeats it…

5 Jul

2022

SV Speech

The EU and the defence of multilateralism (debate)

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Mr President, thank you very much. A world without international cooperation would be both more dangerous, poorer and, above all, less free. To fight pandemics, save the climate, create rules of the game for space or protect human rights, we need multilateralism – organisations and structures where big and small countries can have their say. The alternative is that powerful countries dictate, that…

22 Jun

2022

EN Speech

Future of EU-Africa trade relations (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, I am happy to see the broad support in Parliament for stronger trade relations between the European Union and Africa. I hope this means that we are ready for Africa as a true partner, that we are ready to trade with African countries and companies, producers and farmers on their own merits and respective strengths. Because successful trade is a partnershi…

9 Jun

2022

SV Speech

A new trade instrument to ban products made by forced labour (debate)

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Mr President, thank you very much. What the Chinese state calls vocational training, in Xinjiang, are effectively concentration camps to carry out genocide against the Uyghurs. There are about a million people in prison simply because they belong to a minority group. There is not only political indoctrination and torture, but also cynical exploitation of forced labour on a large scale for Chinese …

8 Jun

2022

SV Speech

Violations of media freedom and safety of journalists in Georgia

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Madam President, colleagues, listeners! On 3 March, Georgia submitted its application for membership of the European Union. Over the last 20 years, the country has clearly demonstrated both its ability and its willingness to move closer to the European family. And we'll welcome that. But now the leadership has gone down the wrong path. Because when journalists are threatened, prosecuted and impris…

5 May

2022

SV Speech

The impact of the war against Ukraine on women (debate)

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Madam President, thank you very much. On April 8, I visited Ukraine. When twilight fell on Bucha, we stood around the open mass grave and spoke to one of those who had taken care of the victims. He described in detail how people were executed, tortured, had their eyes burned out by cigarettes and raped. The fact that the Russian army used rape as a weapon is a fact. Equally true is that the hell t…

4 May

2022

SV Speech

The continuous crackdown of political opposition in Cambodia

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Madam President, thank you very much. The situation in Cambodia is dark, but it could have been different. The country could have been a democracy with bright prospects and an economy based on trade relations and growth. Since the beginning of the 21st century, Cambodia has had an agreement with the EU on preferential trade conditions under the ‘Everything but Arms’ programme, aimed at some of the…

5 Apr

2022

SV Speech

Outcome of the EU-China Summit (1 April 2022) (debate)

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Madam President, thank you very much. Vice President Borrell! China is not only a growing global economy, but also a country with a special status at the UN. It commits, especially when the very basis of cooperation within the UN is violated. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has brought the matter to a head, and China has deeply disappointed us. No country has the right to invade, occupy or annex a…

5 Apr

2022

SV Speech

Trans-European energy infrastructure (debate)

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Mr President, thank you very much. There are two problems with Russian gas. First of all: It is Russian; secondly: It's gas. After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, no one can turn a blind eye to the problems. Cutting off dependence on gas, in particular Russian gas, is a matter of freedom for the whole of Europe. We must get rid of Russian gas so that Putin does not have power over our energy supply,…