Speeches

Mrs. Colleague, I am with you at your last sentence: No one can die! But here, Hamas has started this war, a terrorist organization that has been oppressing its own people for decades. And therefore the counter-question: When do you finally realize that we need to fight this terror? This is a struggle we are waging for Palestinian civilians who are also oppressed by Hamas.

Mr President! With all the relief of the release of some hostages, we must not forget that many people are still under Hamas' terror violence. The shocking reports of unleashed sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas terrorists against Israeli women and girls, which have so far been far too little discussed – again here today in this debate – are evidence of Hamas’ readiness to commit violence, yes, of its inhumanity. Not least in view of this cruelty, now is not the time for the demand of the UN Secretary-General Guterres for an immediate, comprehensive ceasefire. Humanitarian pauses to provide for the civilian population: Yes. But no ceasefire can be negotiated with a terrorist group like Hamas. It is important to look ahead. The people of Israel need a credible perspective on a life of security and peace. Likewise, the Palestinian people need a credible perspective on living as Israel's neighbors in a viable state. All forces in the region, including Israel, must contribute to this. We, too, as the European Union, can make a contribution by pooling and using our political, social and financial resources together, without allowing them to benefit terrorists and their networks. (The speaker agreed to answer a question on the blue card procedure.)

, Mr President, dear colleagues, thank you very much for all your contributions. Your participation in this debate is yet another example of our shared ambition on this very important topic. I say it very clearly: those who really take the green and the digital transition seriously have to vote ‘Yes’ today on the Critical Raw Materials Act. Important: today’s debate and vote are not the end of the process; they are only the beginning – the beginning of Europe’s path towards a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials. The European Union must now translate the ambition into concrete actions – actions in the Member States and by the Commission – so that quick permits become reality and private investments in raw materials projects will be facilitated; actions that make Europe a leader in the development of substitute materials, and the implementation of innovative processes; and actions that deliver on our geopolitical ambitions to be a strategical sovereign union. We need a critical raw material agreement with Australia. Australia is a like-minded partner and ally for trade based on values, rules and fair competition. Let us seize the opportunity for free trade between partners and close cooperation on the raw materials sector, to strengthen the role of value-based cooperation in today’s geopolitically stormy landscape. We need to approach our partnerships with countries of the so-called Global South by conveying clear messages. We want partnerships on equal footing. We want local value creation. We want mutual benefits for all partners involved. We want to do business with you. Let’s use the momentum we have created for more raw material projects, more partnerships, and more and more sovereign Europe. This law is only the beginning. Let us act now.

Mr President, Commissioner Breton, ladies and gentlemen! In our interconnected world, global challenges transcend national borders and call for joint action. We are witnessing serious geopolitical changes such as Russia's brutal war of aggression against Ukraine or China's increasingly aggressive claim to geopolitical power. The export restrictions on gallium, germanium and graphite speak a clear language here. It is therefore imperative at this time to work together to advance our strategic sovereignty, to act swiftly and effectively. Only four months between the Commission's draft Critical Raw Materials Regulation and compromise in the European Parliament. Only a further four months for the agreement in the trilogue, one month after that finalized here and thus in record time in the legal gazette. So, ladies and gentlemen, there is a European capacity to act, as we should demonstrate more often. And most importantly: a good, practical law that lays the foundation for Europe's secure supply of raw materials and thus for the digital and green transformation, for our prosperity and sustainable economy. A law on raw materials that stimulates rather than burdens the industry – with investment incentives, simple, fast approval procedures and planning certainty for companies and investors instead of more bureaucracy and reporting obligations. Many of our key points as a Parliament are included. Let me quote four: a new innovative concept with a recycling benchmark on the basis of the raw materials already present in the waste. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a realistic approach. Instead of uncertain projections for consumption in 2030, we are guided by the quantities of strategic raw materials present in waste and how much we can recover from them. This is how we send a clear signal to the recycling industry: We want to recycle strategic raw materials in Europe. Second point: ambitious and predictable permitting procedures. Currently, approval procedures for critical raw material projects in the European Union have a time window of up to 15 years. But time is money. In the future, the deadlines for strategic projects in the EU will be significantly shortened. 27 months for mining projects, 15 months for processing and recycling projects. With these ambitious deadlines, we are finally achieving planning certainty for companies in Europe. Thirdly: clear and central contact persons. The far too often played responsibility pong of the authorities is now a thing of the past. An authority is responsible for coordinating the approval processes. And for entrepreneurs, it's even better: You have a central contact person at all times in the approval process, who is available to you as the person responsible. Fourthly: an innovation boost along the value chain. Substitution projects can also become strategic projects – a new idea from this Parliament. This is not only an important step towards European technology leadership: scale-up in the area of innovation, but this also enables a direct reduction of environmental pollution from mining as well as from our dependencies. Because it is clear: Every gram of raw materials that we can substitute, we do not have to mine or import. With this reorganization, dear colleagues, we are at the same time becoming an attractive partner worldwide. With strategic partnerships in third countries, we reduce geopolitical and economic risks alike and create new future opportunities for our partners and ourselves, from mining to processing, recycling and substitution. In short: Planning certainty for businesses, real incentives for private investment in the EU and with reliable partners in third countries – this secures jobs and prosperity, reduces one-sided dependencies, protects us against the storms of geopolitics, whether from East or West. From my side, I would like to thank the European Council and the Spanish Presidency, the European Commission, in particular Commissioner Breton and Director-General Jorna, and all the colleagues involved here in the European Parliament, in particular their teams, for the productive and forward-looking negotiations and constructive cooperation over the last few months. We would also like to express our thanks to the staff of the administration of our European Parliament for ensuring accelerated advice. And now I am looking forward to a lively debate.

Mr President! With all the most justified concern for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, for the suffering of the population, the civilian casualties, the essentials must not be forgotten: The cause of this suffering is Hamas's barbaric terror. Terror that continues. Every day, Hamas fires rockets at Israeli civilians, using the people of Gaza as shields, including over 200 hostages in their violence. It is in the hands of Hamas to end the suffering, to silence the weapons, and to do so, the release of all hostages is mandatory. For real peace, however, Hamas' terror must end. Would it be presumptuous to think that Israelis and Palestinians can do this together? To hope that leaders with personality, even with their own painful experiences of losing loved ones, stand up for ending this conflict? To believe that politicians are willing to override power interests and work for a common future? This was achieved in Europe after the Second World War. We need a new Oslo moment, and we as the EU should do everything we can to support it.

The minutes of this meeting will be submitted to Parliament for approval tomorrow after the vote. Our heartfelt thanks go to the interpreters who gave us an extra quarter of an hour.

The next meeting will take place tomorrow, Wednesday 22 November 2023 at 9 a.m. The agenda has been published and is available on the European Parliament's website.

The next item on the agenda is the brief presentation of the report by Cristina Maestre Martín De Almagro, on behalf of the Committee on Regional Development, on talent development in Europe’s regions (2023/2044(INI)) (A9-0325/2023).

The next item on the agenda is the brief presentation of the report by Sara Matthieu, on behalf of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, on Jobs creation – Just transition and sustainable investing (2022/2170(INI)) (A9-0342/2023).

The next item on the agenda is the brief presentation of the report by Carlos Zorrinho, on behalf of the Committee on Development, on the draft innovative humanitarian aid strategy with a view to current and forgotten crises (2023/2000(INI)) (A9-0321/2023).

The next item on the agenda is the debate on the Council and Commission statements on the latest developments at the EU external border between Finland and Russia and the need to comply with EU law (2023/2999(RSP)).

The next item on the agenda is the debate on the report by Arnaud Danjean, on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, on the EU strategic compass and space-based defence capabilities (2022/2078(INI)) (A9-0334/2023). I would point out that the political groups have agreed that there will be only one round of political groups in this debate, so neither spontaneous interventions nor blue cards will be accepted.

The next meeting will take place tomorrow, Thursday 9 November 2023 at 9 a.m. The agenda has been published and is available on the European Parliament's website.

The next item on the agenda was one minute's speech on important political issues (Rule 172). I shall mix a little bit between the groups in the list before me, and we shall start with Mr Tomislav Sokol.