Speeches

Mr President! We as European consumers, our environment and our companies that comply with the law are suffering from the flood of cheap Chinese products. If research shows that well over half of toys from third countries such as China are dangerous, then parents are quite rightly afraid that toys will fall apart on which their babies may even swallow or suffocate. Small European designers suffer because their designs are copied and squandered at cheap prices. People who like to shop online suffer when the new clothes from questionable production are contaminated with toxic chemicals. With this own-initiative report, the European Parliament sends a very clear signal: Illegal and unsafe products have no place in our internal market. We do not need new laws. The Commission and Member States must enforce rigorously applicable law, such as the Digital Services Act or the laws on product safety. We need to strengthen market surveillance, digitalise customs, abolish the €150 free border and ensure that illegal products do not enter our market in the first place. We must take the responsibility of the Chinese platforms to collect taxes and levies as well. Let's make online shopping safe again, that it is also fun and does not serve the exploitation of people or the environment and that the competition is fair.

Mr President! The bureaucratic hurdles in the single market cost jobs and cash because they keep our companies artificially small. Two examples alone: The posting of workers causes more paperwork than turnover, and all the national rules for product packaging or disposal are simply petty state-owned. It is still easier for small businesses to put their ideas on the shelves outside Europe than it is here at home. This must finally end. That is why I am so grateful to Commissioner Séjourné for the impetus provided by the Single Market strategy. With the Single Market Omnibus, the first step towards cutting red tape in the single market is finally being taken. Now comes with the definition for SMEs also a small mid-capDefinition, and there should be a direct facilitation in the implementation of some laws for these small businesses, as in the case of the General Data Protection Regulation. But that can only be the beginning. I would really like to encourage the Commission: Don't stop with this one omnibus law. Adapt all internal market laws to this new definition. Adapt them better for small and medium-sized businesses and themall mid-caps. Our goal must remain: Innovation must not only be conceived in Europe, innovation must be made in Europe. Let's tackle it, let's finally unleash the single market and the potential for our businesses!

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 according to the same rules. We must rigorously cut red tape and put all single market laws to the test. Above all, I would like to remind you: Competitiveness comes from competition. I'm a bit skeptical of disproportionate government interventions like lead markets. This is not a guarantee that in the end the best product will prevail at the best price, but the politically desired product. And I am really counting on the Commission and Commissioner Séjourné to have the courage to make the single market great. Think big of the strategy, don't just think about small things. We need to strengthen our internal market now so that we become stronger in the world. Conversely, the following applies: Those who do not strengthen the single market now weaken us in the world.

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 qualified professionals to come to us. We need to do better. Let's finally create the Capital Markets Union, let's make it easier to invest in Europe, let's make it easier to scale ideas, and let's see failure not as a disgrace, but as a learning curve. Innovation must no longer be stifled by red tape and costs. We need a mindset change: Regulation not out of fear, but only where there are real problems. And we have the courage to simplify our digital laws as well. Tomorrow's prosperity depends on our power to innovate and advance technology. I wish so much that Europe no longer only talks about innovation, but also burns for it and finally acts.

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, rather than a substitute for a lack of EU foreign policy. We must conclude the trade agreement with India later this year, ratify the agreement with Mexico, and above all: Any EU country that has not yet ratified the CETA agreement with Canada must finally do so. Above all, I no longer understand this mythical but fact-free blockade of the Mercosur agreement. While Trump is shinning every partner in the world, the EU must send a signal to old and new partners in the world: We want more trade with you! This makes us and our partners stronger economically and geopolitically.

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 does not say no. It is crazy that Europe is still feeding the enemies of democracy with its own money. And meanwhile, President Macron is at least trying to build a coalition of the willing – above all, we need a coalition of the doers. Europe must act, otherwise, in the conflict between autocracy and democracy, at best, we will be irrelevant, at worst, we will be shattered. The EU must now become the third world power alongside China and the US – a security power that can defend itself jointly and independently, an economic power that is home to innovation and growth rather than bureaucracy, and a diplomatic power that is a reliable partner worldwide and defends our interests and values. The EU can now take the torch of freedom from the US and itself become a beacon for all those who strive for freedom and democracy.

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 requirements. That is why I appeal again to the Commission: Please withdraw the open and still superfluous legislative proposals from the last mandate, because autocratic regimes are putting us under economic pressure, tech oligarchs do not want to comply with EU laws, and Trump's customs whims are poisonous for trade. Europe's economic strength will determine our future in the world. But when I hear here again today how many rely on zombie growth through subsidies and the state economy, I can only say: We need a social market economy. The Commission and capitals must now cut red tape, break down the artificial hurdles in the single market, enter into pragmatic trade partnerships and finally make Europe a hotspot for capital and innovation.

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 the supply chain law, because there is still a lot of unnecessary bureaucracy in it and not enough effective protection of human rights. Nevertheless: The Omnibus Act must come, because it is a minimum to reduce bureaucracy and strengthen competitiveness. That's why I honestly ask myself: Have some colleagues from the Social Democrats and the Greens not yet noticed how bad the European economy is? I find it really irresponsible how some people refuse to simplify and cut red tape. And unfortunately, when I look at Berlin, the black and red exploratory paper does not give me much hope that the Union is actually serious about real reforms beyond the election campaign. Therefore, my absolute appeal to the Commission: We need much more simplification, we need to reduce unnecessary laws and regulations, and that's why we need a lot of new buses. And the next one must be a digital omnibus, because we have to simplify the excessive digital laws. We need to be at the forefront of innovation, not regulation.

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 200-gram steak per person. This is not a market distortion, and should there be any, the Commission is even planning aid payments. The real problem is the EU-made bureaucracy – not trade – that is hampering the competitiveness of our farmers. Protectionism will not solve this problem. Climate change mitigation will not be weakened either; It is even strengthened. Compliance with the Paris Climate Agreement is an essential basis for this agreement. Therefore: Let's look at the numbers! Then we see that 800,000 jobs in the EU alone depend on trade with the Mercosur countries. From my home country of Germany alone, more than 12,000 companies export to Mercosur, 70% of which are small and medium-sized enterprises. We have just heard from Commissioner Šefčovič: The reduced tariffs alone mean savings of EUR 4 billion for our companies. The real opportunities arise only through this market opening, such as access to critical raw materials. This helps our economy, our climate goals, and most importantly, it reduces our dependence on autocracies like China. Let me tell you quite honestly: I am not ready to watch the autocrats of the world stand shoulder to shoulder – and we in the European Union should not even be able to trade with other democracies? I am not prepared to accept this, because in times of impending tariff spirals and trade wars, we need more trade with more partners, above all trade with Mercosur. There is no need for de-globalization and Degrowthfantasies. We need the Mercosur agreement for our jobs in the European Union, for economic growth and, above all, for international cooperation.

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 create growth. There must be an end to the stubborn, invasive state that regulates our economy into bureaucracy, restricts trade and creates artificial barriers even in the internal market. We need a one hundred and eighty-degree turnaround for cutting red tape and an offensive for the single market and free trade. Europe must become a hotspot for capital and innovation. We need to strengthen the social market economy instead of the state economy. Let us not let Europe be destroyed by the extremes. I want Brussels to stand for opportunities instead of bureaucracy – let's do better!

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 strengthen our partners. We need more dialogue with the US now more than ever. We do not need less dialogue.

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 itself instead of consistently opening up new markets. We need more trade with more partners. A pragmatic solution with the USA, preferably in individual sectors. By the way, this is also the chance to get a trade agreement with India. Any EU country that has not yet ratified CETA must do so immediately; This strengthens Canada and our backs against Trump tariffs. The new trade agreement with Mexico must be ratified immediately and the Mercosur agreement must not be broken as factlessly as TTIP – Mercosur must come now! Trade policy is a battlefield between autocracy and democracy, and the EU will only succeed at this time, in this new time, if we are economically and geopolitically interconnected: Partnership instead of isolation, trade instead of protectionism, and growth instead of stagnation.

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.

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 influence autocratic regimes and platforms that want to undermine our democracy, as some here in this House do. Therefore, it is unacceptable if the new US Vice President wants to tie NATO support to foolish freedom for Musk or if US companies should not comply with our laws. Trump's presidency will be a massive challenge because it shows us how weak we are in economic and security terms. But instead of snapping and moral index fingers, we should also be ready to grab our own noses. Regulating innovation does not create growth. Innovation comes from the US and China, and the EU stands for regulation. The U.S. has always been our most important partner, no matter who sat in the White House. We must defend our interests as well as our values vis-à-vis the Trump-U.S.A. with a hard-hitting course of pragmatism. And that means above all: Unleash the economy and strengthen security with us.

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 yet a diplomatic power, nor is it a military power. When we talk about values in the world, we are being listened to because of our internal market. Down bureaucracy, up innovation, more trade deals with more partners, such as Mercosur – also to free us from dependencies on autocracies such as China or the whims of Donald Trump. Only with a strong economy do we have the financial means to support Ukraine to victory and defend ourselves. Only with a strong economy can we drive forward the necessary investments for digitization and climate protection. And only with a strong economy can the best education and fair welfare systems work. Economic growth must be the order of the day.

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 platforms and we need to hold them accountable for accepting our laws.

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 non-stop onto our mobile phones with non-transparent algorithms. That's no coincidence! Nor is it the case that the extreme left and right are pleasingly spreading the narratives of autocrats on social media and even here in our Parliament. It is also no coincidence that these extreme forces claim that freedom of expression is under threat and censorship every time it comes to enforcing existing law online. Freedom of speech is one of the most important achievements of our democracy, I would like to clarify that here! It distinguishes us from those autocrats, where one is cold-blooded for one's opinion, put in prison or even murdered. But broad-based campaigns to decompose our liberal democracy are not freedom of expression. Our society and our democracy must be defensive, enforce law and, above all, oppose the attacks of autocrats.

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 single market for services, so that good ideas can finally come from the drawing board to the shelf, so that start-ups in Europe can scale up instead of going to the US. And the issue of bureaucracy. The Member States and the Commission say they want to reduce bureaucracy by 25%. But what is the basis of assessment? I have not yet heard from any capital or from the new Commission very specific proposals as to which law should be abolished. If the member states can only agree on general phrases in trade policy, the economy in Europe has a problem. We now need the Mercosur agreement for a strong economy and secure jobs. Because more trade with more partners makes us more independent of individual countries such as China and the sentiments of Donald Trump.

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. Massive overregulation, red tape for SMEs and protectionism in the single market. The Commission does not even know how many reporting obligations there are and how many overlap. Now all laws must be put to the test. Which are far from practical implementation, such as the Deforestation Ordinance or the Supply Chain Act? Which current projects are better withdrawn altogether, such as the Late Payment Regulation? And we also need a fasting cure for new laws. And if new ones do come, then please only to fill real gaps, according to an impact assessment. And especially with digital laws, we first need a pragmatic implementation of the new rules. Let's listen to our companies and together break down barriers and bureaucracy in the single market, for more competitiveness and economic growth!

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 as Temu and Shein at low prices, then we consumers, our environment and our companies, who abide by the law, suffer. Illegal and unsafe products must not enter our internal market, preferably because they are stopped before they are sold. The Commission and the Member States must rigorously enforce existing legislation: the Digital Services Act and the new rules on product safety. Together we need to strengthen our market surveillance and customs. Above all, the digitalization of customs must move faster so that we can have the digital pre-registration and also the abolition of the exemption limit for illegal products, so that we can keep illegal products out of our market. I trust that the Commission will swiftly implement an action plan with the Member States to ensure that our youngest children are safe, that shopping does not lead to the exploitation of the environment or people and that competition is fair.

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 list with: above all, there are massive overregulation, high energy costs, taxes and levies and on top yet another mindset, which distrusts innovation and entrepreneurial success. This is poison for our internal market, this is poison for economic growth. And those who now see the solution in new taxes, redistribution and subsidies have fallen out of time. We are not making the EU fit for the future with ideas from yesterday, but with structural reforms. For more economic growth, we now need a radical reduction in bureaucracy and a fasting cure for new EU laws. And there must be an end to protectionism in our internal market. Growth must be the goal, because a strong economy creates jobs, finances education and our welfare state, and also ensures that we can defend ourselves. A strong internal market is the basis for our society, our cohesion and our security.

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! It has the best boost in its own hands – cutting red tape and deregulation. Instead, the Commission now wants to symbolically resolve the conflict with China over subsidies and market distortion in many sectors in the automotive sector. The EU sells more cars in China than the other way around. Tariffs in an industry will not resolve this structural conflict. If only ten out of 27 countries actively vote in favour of these tariffs, the risk of a divided EU is high. The only winner is China. Instead of defensive, we need more offensive trade. Workers in the automotive sector in particular deserve the Commission to create new trade agreements and open up new sales markets. Mercosur, in particular, must finally cross the finish line. Economic growth secures jobs, not the redistributive fantasies we have heard today.

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, create a Union in the capital market and a pragmatic trade policy. Mrs von der Leyen's Commission must finally focus on economic growth. But whether seven commissioners who are supposed to do something with the economy are this focus, I have my doubts. The Commission would have the most important boost for greater competitiveness in its own hands. Just put all laws to the test: Which rules are superfluous, out of time or out of practice? And if the Commission then began to propose legislation only after an impact assessment, and Parliament did not continue to saddle itself with it out of a gut feeling, much would already be gained. But always only reflexively calling for new debts, it can not be; This is not a structural solution to more competition. I would like to take a whatever it takes for innovation, an whatever it takes Deregulation and a whatever it takes for market economy.

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; The DSA is a tool for enforcing applicable law from the offline world online. But we must not give in to the illusion that the DSA alone would solve the problem of hatred, agitation and, above all, disinformation on the Internet, precisely because the fundamental conflict of our time remains autocracy versus democracy. And above all, it is autocratic countries like Russia, like China, that want to confuse our heads, unsettle our hearts and poison our democracy, our society. That is why, with the DSA, we also hold social media platforms accountable – as essential platforms of our society, we hold them accountable. They must fight disinformation and enforce the law, without ifs and buts, and we will measure them and hold them accountable. But it remains a task for society as a whole to counteract this autocratic influence. We must defend our democracy, and the key to this are education, education and media literacy, because we must use the power of enlightenment and the strength of the law to counter this destructive poison of disinformation in order to defend our democracy together.

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, they will be affected for their whole life. As a woman, as a politician, I am deeply worried that The Gambia is looking into lifting the ban on female genital mutilation. It would be the first time ever that this protection of women’s rights would be reversed – and with the numbers of women affected, it is shocking. Around 76 % of Gambian women between 15 and 49 have been circumcised, or 230 million girls and women worldwide are affected. As the European Parliament, we call on the Gambian Parliament: demonstrate your country’s commitment to international human rights law and the multiple international and regional agreements The Gambia has signed – and I expect the European Commission to join the efforts from this Parliament. We need to protect the rights of women and girls and – the Gambian Parliament: please reject the proposal to lift the ban and uphold the criminalisation of female genital mutilation.