Speeches

The next item on the agenda is the debate on the statement by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the EU response to the repeated killing of humanitarian workers, journalists and civilians by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip (2024/2701(RSP)).

The next item on the agenda was the debate on cases of violations of human rights, democracy and the rule of law (Rule 144). The next item is the debate on six motions for resolutions on the imminent serious famine in the Gaza Strip and the attacks on humanitarian aid (2024/2616(RSP))1. _______________ 1 See the minutes.

The next item on the agenda is the debate on the report by Andrey Novakov, on behalf of the Committee on Regional Development, on the implementation and results of cohesion policy 2014-2020 in the Member States (2023/2121(INI)) (A9-0049/2024).

Take your time, the Commissioner is not yet there. Just take your time, but she is expected to be there within a couple minutes I think. We are in the European Parliament and the notion of one minute can be interpreted in different manners.

The next item on the agenda is the debate on the report by Karima Delli, on behalf of the Committee on Transport and Tourism, on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on driving licences, amending Directive (EU) 2022/2561 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Regulation (EU) No 383/2012 (COM(2023)0127 – C9-0035/2023 – 2023/0053(COD))) (A9-0445/2023).

The next item on the agenda is the debate on the Council and Commission statements on the need to combat the increase in anti-Semitism and anti-Muslimism (2024/2556(RSP)).

Mr President! Hatred kills. Hatred killed doctor Lisa-Maria Kellermayr, as well as many other victims, because they can no longer stand the online threats and violence and take their own lives. Jana Lange and Kevin Schwarze were killed in an attack in Halle. The right-wing extremist attack targeted the Jewish synagogue – the door stopped. The perpetrator, a right-wing extremist, filmed everything with a helmet camera. Disinformation is a clear attack on our democracy, which is currently under attack from all sides. In Germany, 50,000 Russian fake accounts tried to destabilize the German government by spreading false information on X. The EU must act. For too long, the perpetrators have been given the space to spread their hatred and misinformation, especially on the net, undisturbed. In the fight against it, the Digital Services Act, the DSA, is a strong sword. This is what we need to do now – to protect democracy and, more specifically, to protect lives.

The next item on the agenda is the debate on the Commission statement on the situation of the EU solar industry in the context of unfair competition (2024/2558(RSP)).

The next item on the agenda is the debate on the report by Michiel Hoogeveen, on behalf of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) No 260/2012 and (EU) 2021/1230 as regards instant credit transfers in euro (COM(2022)0546 – C9-0362/2022 – 2022/0341(COD)) (A9-0230/2023).

The next item on the agenda is the debate on the Commission statement on the situation of prisoners in Hungarian prisons, in particular the case of Ilaria Salis (2024/2559(RSP)). I would like to draw Members' attention to the fact that there is only one round of speakers from the political groups. Therefore, neither spontaneous speeches nor blue cards are accepted.

The next item on the agenda is the debate on the Council and Commission statements on the situation in Serbia after the elections (2024/2521(RSP)).

– Madam President, dear colleagues, thank you very much for the appreciation of many of you, and thanks again to the rapporteurs who did such a great job. There was also some criticism, and I will not shy away from addressing it. Mr Hidvéghi wanted us to include criticism of a government that came into power on 28 December in a report on 22 and 23. OK. You could have put it in the amendments. You didn’t. Alright, there were some speakers from the right side of the Chamber who wanted this and that included in the report, saying whatever is not in. Well, you could have tried to get it in. The shadow rapporteur from the ID was not present one single time and also from the ECR, I think once. So I mean, you can’t stand here and say this and that and that is missing if you don’t work on it. And if they had been there, they might have heard me saying, which caused some criticism from the left side of the Chamber, that I only included in this report concrete mentioning of countries if we have an objective basis for it. Because I did not want this report to become a party-political thing. So we only have in this report mentioning of countries if we have a judgment of the European Court of Justice, something of the European Court of Human Rights or the Venice Commission or something comparable to that. So we really made an effort in this to make it as objective as it can be. But if you don’t contribute, then please don’t stand here and say what is missing.