What Svenja spoke about.

8 May

2025

DE Speech

Old challenges and new commercial practices in the internal market (debate)

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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. In geopolitically uncertain times, we need to radically expand our single market. Our economic strength makes us an attractive partner. And if partners like the USA are no longer reliable, we must make our home market more attractive, also for our own companies. There must finally be an end to this regulatory micro-statery – a product, a service, a market accord…

7 May

2025

DE Speech

Winning the global tech race: boosting innovation and closing funding gaps (topical debate)

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Mr President! Heads, capital and AI – that must be our triad if we are to finally put the EU at the forefront of innovation. Let's train the best minds and become a talent magnet. But the smart minds Trump is driving out of the U.S. right now, they're not coming to us. Language barriers, high regulation of research and too high income taxes in many countries make it simply unattractive for highly …

6 May

2025

DE Speech

A unified EU response to unjustified US trade measures and global trade opportunities for the EU (debate)

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Mr President! Our goal must clearly remain free trade. But the EU must also be ready to fight back with full force in the trade war. Because only from a position of strength will there be a solution with someone like Donald Trump. We must be open to pragmatic solutions, but above all we must finally seize the opportunities that lie openly before us. Trade policy must finally become more pragmatic,…

1 Apr

2025

DE Speech

Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 20 March 2025 (debate)

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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen. It is simply frustrating when we see how small the steps of the EU countries are, while Trump and Putin and the autocrats are tearing our world apart in the sprint – and meanwhile the associations of democracy within the EU are blocking any progress. At the same time, the world cannot wait for us until we have poured money on Orbán again, so that he at least …

12 Mar

2025

DE Speech

100 days of the new Commission – Delivering on defence, competitiveness, simplification and migration as our priorities (topical debate)

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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. 100 days of new Von der Leyen Commission – and once again we are talking about competitiveness and cutting red tape; I could do the same with my speech a month ago. I am convinced that Europe must finally get out of the talk and deliver results. That's why the first bus can only be the beginning. We need to remove strictly superfluous regulations and reporting r…

10 Mar

2025

DE Speech

Cutting red tape and simplifying business in the EU: the first Omnibus proposals (debate)

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Mr President! I am relieved that Mrs. von der Leyen is willing to correct the birth defects of her own ill-made laws. Especially with regard to the Supply Chain Act, we as the FDP had already said at that time that the scope of application and the scope of liability had to be limited – so it is good that it comes. I would go even further and say it would be better for the Commission to withdraw th…

13 Feb

2025

DE Speech

EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement (debate)

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Madam President, Dear colleagues! To be honest, I find it irresponsible how fact-free and populist some in this Parliament stir up fears, fears of free trade. Of course, we need to take concerns like those of our farmers seriously. That is why there are also very low import quotas in sensitive areas, such as beef, where it accounts for one and a half percent of total EU consumption. That's about a…

12 Feb

2025

DE Speech

Competitiveness Compass (debate)

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Mr President! Instead of deregulation, the Commission's work programme contains an almost endless number of new projects. Above all, it does not dare to abolish existing laws. It is not a relief to withdraw 37 open proposals that were blocked anyway. Instead, 123 new initiatives are added – all in one go; There are 45 new proposals in the compass for a competitive EU alone. Regulation does not cre…

11 Feb

2025

EN Answer

Preparedness for a new trade era: multilateral cooperation or tariffs (debate)

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In general, more trade with more partners makes us more versatile and less dependent on individual partners. So diversifying our trade and having more trade agreements is the thing that the EU needs to do now. We need to talk with the US for finding solutions in specific sectors, like we're doing in the Trade and Technology Council, and if we have more partners, that will strengthen us, that will …

11 Feb

2025

DE Speech

Preparedness for a new trade era: multilateral cooperation or tariffs (debate)

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Madam President, Subsidies, foreclosure and forced transfer of know-how are faced by European companies in other countries. And at home, in the EU, in recent years there has been regulation rather than a more competitive single market. Economic dependencies are a weapon against us democracies for autocracies like China, and tariffs are a means of pressure for Trump. The EU is struggling with itsel…

21 Jan

2025

DE Answer

Need to enforce the Digital Services Act to protect democracy on social media platforms including against foreign interference and biased algorithms (debate)

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In Germany in particular, by the way, the DSA has abolished the Network Enforcement Act and has thus fundamentally strengthened freedom of expression. You will also notice this yourself: You can do a lot of nonsense because it is covered by freedom of expression. It's about illegal content, and they don't have anything to look for offline or online in our society.…

21 Jan

2025

DE Speech

Need to enforce the Digital Services Act to protect democracy on social media platforms including against foreign interference and biased algorithms (debate)

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Madam President, Yes, we have freedom of expression, by the way, you can also notice from some completely fact-exempt contributions here this morning. Therefore, once again for the colleagues from the right to write along: The DSA is not an instrument of censorship, it is an instrument for enforcing applicable law. Above all, it is intended to make us resistant to illegal activities and to influen…

18 Dec

2024

DE Speech

Preparation of the European Council of 19-20 December 2024 (debate)

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Madam President, Olaf Scholz's erroneous economic policy and foreign policy inaction has isolated Germany in Europe. Germany needs a stable and capable government because Europe needs a stable and capable Germany. And heads of state and government are discussing the EU's role in the world this week. And just as we need the economic turnaround in Germany, we also need it in Europe. The EU is not ye…

17 Dec

2024

EN Answer

Misinformation and disinformation on social media platforms, such as TikTok, and related risks to the integrity of elections in Europe (debate)

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Every social media platform is accountable for incorporating law. Every social media platform needs to be held accountable to ensure that only rightful content, legal content, is happening on their platform, and therefore we have several pieces of legislation in place and we need to ensure that illegal content online is treated like illegal content offline. And that is the responsibility for all p…

17 Dec

2024

DE Speech

Misinformation and disinformation on social media platforms, such as TikTok, and related risks to the integrity of elections in Europe (debate)

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Madam President, Social media has long since become the weapon of hybrid warfare between China and Russia. Autocratic propaganda and disinformation wants to poison our society. AI fakes, fear campaigns, troll factories: Russia has been playing this keyboard of disinformation for many years. With TikTok, the most popular medium among young people comes directly from China and pushes extreme content…

27 Nov

2024

DE Speech

Topical debate (Rule 169) - Budapest Declaration on the New European Competitiveness Deal - A future for the farming and manufacturing sectors in the EU (topical debate)

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Mr President! Unfortunately, EU countries are completely unambitious when it comes to initiating the economic transition in Europe. The Budapest Declaration is economic policy bare minimum, and it is precisely the Member States that have lifted protectionist hurdles in the internal market. I also expect concrete ideas on how they want to create economic growth. We need a Capital Markets Union, a s…

23 Oct

2024

DE Speech

U-turn on EU bureaucracy: the need to axe unnecessary burdens and reporting to unleash competitiveness and innovation (topical debate)

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Mr President! I am a child of independent parents. For me, bureaucracy means my mom wasn't home for dinner and my dad went to the office at the weekend because you fill out the forms for the state when the day-to-day business is over and no customer calls anymore. Bureaucracy takes the air out of businesses to breathe. 13 000 new legal acts in five years – more than twice as many as in the US. Mas…

22 Oct

2024

EN Speech

People’s Republic of China’s misinterpretation of the UN resolution 2758 and its continuous military provocations around Taiwan (debate)

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Madam President, in the conflict of our time between autocracies and democracies, Taiwan is a key democratic partner and anchor for stability. And with autocratic regimes supporting each other – with know-how, with resources, with weapons – we democracies are not doing nearly enough to strengthen our cooperation. And, particularly, economic cooperation is the key to boost our resilience against au…

21 Oct

2024

DE Speech

A stronger Europe for safer products to better protect consumers and tackle unfair competition: boosting EU oversight in e-commerce and imports (debate)

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Mr President! If toys for babies fall apart so easily that they can choke on them, then parents are rightly afraid. Especially when research shows that more than half of toys from third countries such as China are dangerous. If designs are copied by small European designers and the clothes from questionable production are contaminated with toxic chemicals and then also squandered on platforms such…

21 Oct

2024

DE Speech

Empowering the Single Market to deliver a sustainable future and prosperity for all EU citizens (debate)

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Madam President, Dear colleagues, when we talk about values like democracy in the world, we have been listened to because we were an attractive market. The single market is at the heart of the EU – it has made us strong economically and has allowed us to grow together. But the single market is ailing, partly because the Commission has done too little for its future. Mr. Letta gives us a long to-do…

8 Oct

2024

DE Speech

The crisis facing the EU’s automotive industry, potential plant closures and the need to enhance competitiveness and maintain jobs in Europe (debate)

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Madam President, The automotive sector is under enormous pressure – transformation, energy prices, unfair competition and bureaucracy. Sure, some challenges are self-inflicted, but the EU in particular has permanently dumped sugar into the tank of one of our most important industries through overregulation. Mrs. von der Leyen promises: Now, however, competitiveness is finally being strengthened! I…

17 Sep

2024

DE Speech

The future of European competitiveness (debate)

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Madam President, Massive overregulation, red tape for SMEs and protectionism in the single market. The Commission's biggest self-deception was the promise of innovation. Made in Europe, while she herself has always produced new editions. And Mario Draghi captures here today what we liberals have been for years. It lists so many construction sites – above all, we need to develop the single market, …

17 Sep

2024

DE Speech

Global measures towards social media platforms - Strengthening the role of DSA and protecting democracy and freedom in the online sphere (debate)

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Mr President! Thank you, Commissioner Vestager, for your work and your clear stance here, because freedom of expression is one of the most important achievements of our democracy. It is precisely this freedom of thought that distinguishes us in essence from autocracies. Therefore: Do not be misled by the right-wing populist colleagues here: The DSA fights against illegal content and no opinion; Th…

24 Apr

2024

EN Speech

The proposed repeal of the law banning female genital mutilation in The Gambia

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Mr President, dear colleagues, female genital mutilation is such an incredible, terrible and brutal violation of human rights. It is not justified by any religion or culture. It is abusive, it is harmful, and it leads to irreparable damage. It is psychological damage, physical damage, it is reproductive and sexual health damage. It can lead to death, and if girls are lucky enough to survive it, th…

22 Apr

2024

DE Speech

Prohibiting products made with forced labour on the Union market (debate)

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Madam President, The EU single market must no longer be a market for products derived from forced labour. The new law must contribute to the fight against modern slavery. This is both a question of human rights and a question of fair competition, because exploitation must not be a business model. We must not forget that the protection of human rights is first and foremost a state task. That is why…